Is It Too Late to Save the Constitutional Republic? There are only three possible reasons for the poll results:The poll results are skewed on purpose in an election-year attempt by partisan hacks to affect the results in their favor;Reaction to the infighting that has taken over the Tea Party movement between the factions that want to stay above politics and those who want the movement to be more activist in nature; andReflection of societal transformation as a result of another three years of policies to promote ever-increasing government dependence.
I am afraid that the answer may not be as comforting as the first two possibilities. Benjamin Franklin astutely observed that "[o]nce the people find out they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic. " Thus goes the history of the greatest, most successful constitutional republic the world has witnessed. This utopian collectivist vision of what America should look like is all but reality in the eyes of the fifth column. Feudalism. Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief),[1] then in use, the term feudalism and the system it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people living in the medieval period. In its classic definition, by François-Louis Ganshof (1944),[2] feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs.[2] There is also a broader definition, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), that includes not only warrior nobility but all three estates of the realm: the nobility, the clerics and the peasantry bonds of manorialism; this is sometimes referred to as a "feudal society".
Definition. Serfdom. "Serf" redirects here. For the saint, see Saint Serf. For the type of magnetometer, see SERF. Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism. It was a condition of bondage which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted in some countries until the mid-19th century. Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the Lord of the Manor who owned that land, and in return were entitled to protection, justice and the right to exploit certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence. The decline of serfdom in Western Europe has sometimes been attributed to the Black Death, which reached Europe in 1347,[1] although the decline had begun before that date. In Eastern Europe the institution persisted until the mid-19th century.
According to Joseph R. United Nations 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery also prohibits serfdom as a form of slavery. Etymology Becoming a serf Freemen Slaves. French Revolution. The French Revolution (French: Révolution française) was an influential period of social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. Inspired by liberal and radical ideas, the Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of theocracies and absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and democracies. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East.
Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history.[1] External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution. The Revolutionary Wars beginning in 1792 ultimately featured French victories that facilitated the conquest of the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and most territories west of the Rhine – achievements that had eluded previous French governments for centuries. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. List of French monarchs. Louis XVI of France. The ensuing debt and financial crisis contributed to the unpopularity of the Ancien Régime which culminated at the Estates-General of 1789. Discontent among the members of France's middle and lower classes resulted in strengthened opposition to the French aristocracy and to the absolute monarchy, of which Louis and his wife, queen Marie Antoinette, were viewed as representatives.
In 1789, the storming of the Bastille during riots in Paris marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Louis's indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to view him as a symbol of the perceived tyranny of the Ancien Régime, and his popularity deteriorated progressively. His disastrous flight to Varennes in June 1791, four months before the constitutional monarchy was declared, seemed to justify the rumors that the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the prospects of foreign invasion. Childhood[edit] Family life[edit] Louis XVI at the age of 20. Marie Antoinette (2006 film) Marie Antoinette. Marie Antoinette (/məˈriː æntwəˈnɛt/ or /æntwɑːˈnɛt/; French: [maʁi ɑ̃twanɛt]; baptised Maria Antonia Josepha (or Josephina) Johanna;[1] 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793), born an Archduchess of Austria, was Dauphine of France from 1770 to 1774 and Queen of France and Navarre from 1774 to 1792. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I.
In April 1770, upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, she became Dauphine of France. She assumed the title Queen of France and of Navarre when her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI upon the death of his grandfather Louis XV in May 1774. After seven years of marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the first of four children. The royal family's flight to Varennes had disastrous effects on French popular opinion: Louis XVI was deposed and the monarchy abolished on 21 September 1792; the royal family was subsequently imprisoned at the Temple Prison. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, or (French: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen) of August 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights.[1] It defines the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal.
Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human nature itself. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by law. It is included in the preamble of the constitutions of both the Fourth French Republic (1946) and Fifth Republic (1958) and is still current. History[edit] Philosophical and theoretical context[edit] At the time of writing, the rights contained in the declaration were only awarded to men. Republic. A republic is a form of government in which power is exercised by the public at large,[1] and affairs of state are a concern of the public sphere (from Latin: res publica), rather than privately accommodated (such as through inheritance or divine mandate). In modern times the definition of a republic is also commonly limited to a government which excludes a monarch.[1][2] Currently, 135 of the world's 206 sovereign states use the word "republic" as part of their official names.
Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology and composition. In classical and medieval times the archetype of all republics was the Roman Republic, which referred to Rome in between the period when it had kings, and the period when it had emperors. The Italian medieval and Renaissance political tradition today referred to as "civic humanism" is sometimes considered to derive directly from Roman republicans such as Sallust and Tacitus. Etymology[edit] History[edit] Classical republics[edit] Classical republicanism. Classical republicanism (also known as civic humanism)[1] is a form of republicanism developed in the Renaissance inspired by the governmental forms and writings of classical antiquity, especially such classical writers as Aristotle, Polybius, and Cicero.
Classical republicanism is built around concepts such as civil society, civic virtue and mixed government. Development[edit] In the classical period itself the term republicanism did not exist, but the term res publica, which translates literally as "the public thing" or "the public affair," was in usage. There were a number of theorists who wrote on political philosophy during this period such as Aristotle, Polybius, and Cicero,[2] and their ideas became the essential core of classical republicanism. However, Thomas Pangle has critiqued the inaccuracy of the "civic humanist" reconstruction and thus its distortion of classical republicanism on the one hand and of Machiavelli's political science on the other hand.
See also[edit] The American Revolution - (Commanders) Federalist Papers. Welcome to our Federalist Papers e-text. The Federalist Papers were written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution. In total, the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed "PUBLIUS" and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining five.
The Federalist Papers remain today as an excellent reference for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. We have three ways to browse the Federalist Papers. Other important documents of the period: These Federalist Papers Web pages were originally created by Rob Knautz and replace his version hosted online from 1996 to 2000. The Federalist Papers. How to Read the Constitution: Self-Government and the Jurisprude. The argument that original meaning should guide constitutional interpretation is nearly as old as the Constitution itself. Before there were strict constructionists, before there were judicial activists, there were originalists. In those early days, few seriously objected to the notion that the Constitution should be read in accord with its original meaning, though there were plenty of debates over how best to ascertain that original meaning and what exactly was required to be faithful to the Constitution of the founding.
The modern originalism debates are different. The authority of the original meaning of the Constitution has been routinely challenged in basic ways. The claim that the Constitution should be understood differently—that it is a “living Constitution” that means something different today than it meant when it was adopted, for example—is now itself quite old.
One important point should be clarified early. Why Originalism? Fixed Principles What is a Constitution?
Is the US Declaration of Independence illegal? 19 October 2011Last updated at 18:14 By Matt Danzico and Kate Dailey BBC News Magazine Was the Declaration of Independence legal? In Philadelphia, American and British lawyers have debated the legality of America's founding documents. On Tuesday night, while Republican candidates in Nevada were debating such American issues as nuclear waste disposal and the immigration status of Mitt Romney's gardener, American and British lawyers in Philadelphia were taking on a far more fundamental topic.
Namely, just what did Thomas Jefferson think he was doing? Some background: during the hot and sweltering summer of 1776, members of the second Continental Congress travelled to Philadelphia to discuss their frustration with royal rule. By 4 July, America's founding fathers approved a simple document penned by Jefferson that enumerated their grievances and announced themselves a sovereign nation. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteThe Declaration of Independence American experiment. American Thinker: A Thank You on Memorial Day. A soldier, a small American flag on the shoulder of his jacket, slowly walks through the streets of a once-bustling city now lying in rubble. The still-upright walls, their windows and doors blown out, appear as skeletons framed by the blue sky. He steps carefully around the broken bricks and shattered glass, alert to any noise or movement.
The soldier hears a faint stirring and, wheeling around, rifle at the ready, sees a young girl perhaps five or six years of age slowly walking towards him. Her tattered clothes barely cover her emaciated frame. Their eyes meet. The soldier sees eyes that have lost their sparkle and now reflect only the weariness of war and the never-ending struggle for survival. He offers his hand to her, and, while wary, she senses a genuine kindness in his demeanor. When the time comes for the soldier to depart, the little girl tugs on his sleeve and with tears in her eyes hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. American Thinker: Never Give Up Your Weapons. History demonstrates that destruction awaits those who attempt to placate their enemies by surrendering their weapons. In 149 BC, half a million citizens of Carthage tried to appease Rome by turning over their armaments. But instead of buying peace, they only facilitated their own destruction.
Ninety percent of the Carthaginians were killed, and the city of Carthage was razed. Those who survived were sold into slavery, and Carthaginian civilization was forever wiped from the face of the earth. The story of how the Carthaginians sealed their fate by delivering their weapons into the hands of their enemy is chronicled in my book, Science and Technology in World History, Vol. 1. Carthage was founded on the shores of North Africa by Phoenicians in the 9th century BC. Between 264 and 146 BC, Rome and Carthage fought three Punic Wars for control of the Mediterranean.
As time passed, the Roman Senate became convinced that Cato was right and resolved to wipe Carthage off the face of the earth. Renaissance. The Renaissance (UK /rɨˈneɪsəns/, US /ˈrɛnɨsɑːns/, French pronunciation: [ʁənɛsɑ̃s], from French: Renaissance "re-birth", Italian: Rinascimento, from rinascere "to be reborn")[1] was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe.
Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe. In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. Historians often argue this intellectual transformation was a bridge between the Middle Ages and Modern history. Overview[edit] The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Origins[edit] Black Death/Plague[edit] Age of Enlightenment. 17th-century philosophy. 19th-century philosophy. Renaissance philosophy.