The journey of a 1,000 miles
The protection of individual autonomy varied as sharply in ancient Rome as between Athens and Sparta. With Rome, however, there was a progression from rights being male citizens’ privileges to recognizing those rights in...
The preamble says the purpose of the U.S. Constitution (social contract) is to preserve its members “general welfare”. Accomplishing that requires an agreement to provide the necessary services and protections. These include assuring individual...
There isn’t “a history”, especially one of women’s personal autonomy. Instead, there are histories of whatever autonomy concerned the writer. Looking outside the expectations found in “Western” culture, women have enjoyed independence, leadership authority,...
The mudsill posts identified conservative values that justified creating non-persons. While many white men imagine themselves to be exceptions, they are non-persons: poor white trash, in antebellum language. They merit no more considerations than...
Understanding Mudsill Theory is a threshold step toward deconstructing the American Myth. Absolutely, being a slave and being an exploited factory worker are different. However, both the slave and eight-year-old cotton mill worker are...
Harriet Flud Hampton (1823-1848) 1. Spring ILR (Institute for Learning in Retirement) is here. I’m taking three classes and teaching one. I may not be able to write one post a week. I’ll do...
James Henry Hammond Ancient Athens produced philosophies and plays on morality that continue to shape our values and laws. Athens flourished on the labor of its slave population (15-40% varying over time). With the...
The Bill of Rights submitted to the states for ratification had twelve amendments. The amendment preventing any increase in compensation from taking effect until after the next House election was rejected. It became the...
Virginia was a Southern, slave holding state with a continental style government: semi monarch and aristocrats. It seems inconsistent that it would refuse to ratify the Constitution without an accompanying bill of rights. its...
Conservatives’ heroic Founders myth makes it difficult to understand what they deliberately created. The myth of men of extraordinary ability struggling to advance individual liberty frees the public to praise their good intent despite...
For multiple reasons the Articles of Confederation were inadequate, and Shay’s Rebellion was a catalyst for change. The weakness Shay’s Rebellion revealed was that a successful revolution in one state might spread to other...
