American Thinkers and the Fundamentals of a Free Society

Objectives The student will… Read several speeches from American political thinkers and compare them to the fundamentals of a free society Summarize the speeches into a newspaper headline Analyze the influence of ancient leading political thinkers on the development of United States government. Standards: GC. 1 Cite textual evidence and evaluate multiple points of view to analyze the influence of ancient Greek, Roman, and leading European political thinkers such as John Locke, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, Niccolò Machiavelli, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and William Blackstone on the development of United States government. (H, P) GC 41: Summarize the central ideas of iconic primary documents to identify the fundamental values and principles of a free society and evaluate their meaning and importance, including the writings and speeches of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

The Gettysburg Address 51,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were missing, wounded, or dead at the battle of Gettysburg Brief speech for the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery As Lincoln described the significance of war, he invoked the DOI Principles of liberty and equality

Kennedy’s Inaugural Address Coming into the Presidency at the height of the Cold War Needed to balance peace with strength Also dealing with poverty and Civil Rights Appealed to young people Meant to unite the nation under patriotism and service

A Time for Choosing Ronald Reagan In support of Barry Goldwater Republican presidential candidate, 1964 Stressed the need for a smaller government Encouraged Democrats and Republicans to work together Set the ground work for his political career

Newspaper Headline Example Directions: Pick two of the speeches (not the Declaration of Independence) that you think you understand the best. Create a newspaper headline and write a 5-6 sentence paragraph about the speeches you have chosen. Your paragraph should include at least two of the characteristics of a free society. Speech (document): The Declaration of Independence Headline: American Colonists Break Away from England! Paragraph: The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson. It was written as a protest against the abuses of the King of England. This document embodies several characteristics of a free society. One characteristic of a free society is equality. Jefferson writes that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” This means that everyone has the same opportunities to be successful and should be treated equally. Another characteristic is popular sovereignty. When Jefferson writes ““…whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,” he means that the people are in control of the government. The ideas found in the Declaration of Independence are the foundation on which the American Revolution was built.

That influenced American Government Philosophers That influenced American Government

rEADING John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government (p.11 in the textbook) Look for 2 phrases that sound familiar in terms of American government.

Niccolo Machiavelli Born in Italy in 1469 Historian and philosopher during the Renaissance Father of political science Promoted the idea of a republic because people, not kings and queens, are best able to make decisions about the common good. The Prince

William Blackstone Born in England in 1723 Judge and law professor Wrote out English Common Law Developed many ideas that are found in the DOI and Supreme Court decisions Promoted the idea of a strong central gov’t

Thomas Hobbes Born in England in 1588 English philosopher Though humans were naturally selfish and quick to fight – “life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” Social contract The relationship between government and citizens Gov’ts are designed to project and control people Not a very positive guy

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Born in Switzerland in 1712 People have to give up freedom to be protected by the gov’t (Social Contract) Examples? Favored a direct democracy so citizens would have more control of the gov’t Pushed the idea of active citizenship

Montesquieu Born in France in 1689 Philosopher Promoted the idea of separation of powers and checks and balances Each branch should have power, but not too much power Each branch should be able to check the power of the others Had a cool wig

John Locke Born in England in 1632 Philosopher Natural rights- life, liberty, and property Gov’t must protect these rights Social contract Used to have a cool wig; he must have lost it.

Check on learning Grab whiteboards 

Who is this? This Swiss philosopher promoted the idea of a direct democracy and wrote The Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau!

Who is this? This English philosopher thought the job of government is protect and control citizens Thought the life of man was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” Thomas Hobbes!

Who is this? This Italian born philosopher promoted the idea of a republic because people, not rulers, were best to make decisions for the common good Niccolo Machiavelli!

Who is this? English judge and law professor Wrote out English Common Law Favored a strong central government William Blackstone!

Who is this? French philosopher Subscribed to the idea that central powers needs to be divided up Montesquieu!

Who is this? English philosopher Natural rights- life, liberty, and property John Locke!

QUIZ FRIDAY

Exit Ticket Write a short paragraph (~5 sentences) explaining the following: To what extent did these philosophers of the past influence the development of the United States government? Which of the seven characteristics of a free society that we discussed do you think they emphasized?