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Give an example of this concept in U.S. History or an analogy from your own life to illustrate this point.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
U.S. History Question #2
James Madison once wrote, "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
Discuss the following quote with a parent and answer the following question...
What does this quote mean?
Give an example of this concept in U.S. History or an analogy from your own life to illustrate this point.
Discuss the following quote with a parent and answer the following question...
What does this quote mean?
Give an example of this concept in U.S. History or an analogy from your own life to illustrate this point.
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I think the quote says that James Madison believes that alot of goverments are slowly taking away our freedom and that very few goverments, take all of our freedom in one day.
ReplyDeleteTwo examples in history was when Hitler was a dictator and took the Nazis freedom away in one day. Also the U.S. goverment, today, is slowly taking away our freedom by installing more camras and slowly taking the ten commandments out of the Federal, States, and, Local's law.
I think it means that we are slowly losing the freedoms afforded to us by the constitution. our society has become more litigious about things we once relied on. People are more sensitive now and seem to be less open to compromise. Take for example the numerous lawsuits prohibiting the use of the words,"Under God".
ReplyDeleteAn example is in 1963 the US Supreme Court disallowed the non-denominational prayer that was said by students each morning. Another example was on September 25, 1986. A federal judge issued a restraining order at Douglass County High School prohibiting prayer before the football games. The results of this lawsuit eliminated pregame prayers at public schools in Georgia,Alabama, and Florida.
It means that the government slowly took away our freedom rather than taking it away all at once. An example of this would be if your parents took away your freedom to go to town one day, then the next day they took away your freedom to leave the nieghborhood, then to leave the street, then the house, then your room. Each freedom is taken away each day.
ReplyDeleteThe quote means that there have been more instances of compromise of freedom by the people in power than by the rebellion of the commoners. James Madison means that most of the time, the people who are in authority come to a compromise . Not everyone will get what they want, but they have to think that something is better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteAn example is the Great Compromise. Even though there were two different sides, the federalists and the anti-federalists, a compromise was made between the two different sides. The two beliefs were completely opposite from each other, so a decision was made combining the two together. The people in authority did this without fights or anything, so therefore the name is the Great Compromise. James Madison's saying can be seen in play in this instance where a peaceful compromise was made between two completely opposite sides.
Comments From Preston:
ReplyDeleteThe comment from Madison means that more freedoms have been given up gradually by our leaders making laws than by dictators taking over other countries.
Examples of giving up freedoms:
We no longer are able to do what we want with our land. We have to build houses according to what the government tells us. This is call zoning laws. We also have to pay property taxes on our land or the government will take the land away from us.
We are not allowed to drive as fast in our cars as we want to drive, because we have speeding laws to provide safety in some areas. Speed zones around schools are examples of freedoms we have given up to protect the safety of kids going to school.
Some dictators have not taken away near as many freedoms, after they conquer countries. Alexander the Great conquered many lands, but then left the people in those lands to continue practicing many of the freedoms they were use to before he took over their countries.
In the quote James Madison is saying that people are not loosing their freedom in a sudden, violent incident. Our freedom is being taken in a more discrete and scheming way. Those in authority are using their power to take away our self evident truths.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this was in the 1950's when Joe McCarthy went on a witch hunt and ruined peoples reputations by accusing them of being communist sympathizers. This action was referred to as "McCarthyism". Another example of this concept is how the government is trying to slowly take God out of our public school system. Children are no longer allowed to pray, say the pledge of allegiance, or celebrate Christmas. Our country was founded upon Christian beliefs. Our country was founded on these Christian morals.
Jimmy McCarthy
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ReplyDeleteJoe Schmoe
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ReplyDeleteJoe Schmoe
I believe that James Madison was saying that many times people in high authority take away freedom gradually instead of violently and suddenly. I believe that James Madison was talking about how the British forced the colonists to pay higher taxes because Britain was in debt after the French and Indian war. This increased over time and took away the rights of the colonists.
ReplyDeleteCurrently the government is trying to take away the freedom of Christians. They are doing this by saying that we can't pray in school. Also they say that government buildings will not be aloud to display traditional Christian decorations. This is because they represent Christ. This is an example of what Madison was talking about.
James Madison is saying that the people are starting to slowly loose their freedom by the government. However, he is explaining that the government doesn't want to do it all at one time so the people really aren't noticing or don't expect to lose all their power in the government. If they did it all at one time or in big chunks the people would figure it out a lot earlier and will vote on not keeping the president or someone else who started it. Honestly, not all the people are going to get what they want so there will have to be some compromises. an example will be simply The Great Compromise. The big states and little states all wanted something different. One of the compromises in the Great Compromise was that little states(population) wanted equal amount of reps. and the bigger states(population) wanted the amount of reps. based on the population. So, the government said that the amount of reps. would be based on population and each state would then have 2 senators.
ReplyDeleteJackson Hofmann
I believe that James Madison's quote can and will be interpreted in many different ways. My interpretation is that as citizens of the United States, both back then and now, are losing their freedom. This did not happen over night, it did not occur like an explosion, it happened over a long period of time, like erosion. Those who did not see what was happening would not realize what our great country had begun to be until it was too late. Those few people who knew what was happening, probably kept quiet. Because they thought, if they said something, everyone else would think they were crazy.
ReplyDeleteA great example of "losing our freedom", is right now in the United States. In the Constitution, it clearly states that we are to have freedom of religion and freedom of speech. In America, I do not Christians are getting the rights they deserve. While many other religions are being discussed throughout the media and political events, people are against Christianity. I believe they are against it because the famous people on television and candidates for office do not people to not vote or like them because they have told them that we need someone to save of from sin that will eventually land us in hell. They do not want to seem mean and harsh when Christians say that there is only one way to Heaven; Jesus Christ. That is why many people in politics and the media want to forget where the roots of this nation came from.
It means that the government is slowly taking away our freedom to choose. For example, now drivers must wear seat belts. Even though it is better for you to wear a seat belt, it is your choice and the government shouldn't make decisions for you.
ReplyDeleteMarin Winter
I think it says that goverment is taking away our freedom from us. If you dont want to do something that isnt a law like resisting arrest, then the goverment shouldnt be able to make you do that. That is taking our freedom away from us. Freedom is were you can stand up and do whatever you want you might get in trouble for it but thats why you have to be wise with freedom. freedom means we have the choice to do so. In this case it says the goverment is taking our freedom away, but the reason we have the goverment and the declaration of independece is because we wanted freedom. It wouldnt make any sense for them to take it away from us again.
ReplyDeleteWhen Britain was ruling over the colonies, it seemed as if King George III were not taking away a lot of the colonies' freedom, when in fact, he was. He was slowly removing some of the colonies' rights so that he had more control. He was gradual in taking away the people’s right that the people didn't really notice their freedom being taken away. James Madison realized what he was doing and how clever King George III was being. If King George III had declared war and took all of the colonies' freedom away at once, all the people would rebel against the British rule. Instead, King George III slowly and steadily took away the rights of the people.
ReplyDeleteIf today’s leaders want to change something, they do it slowly, like King George III. With building permits, in the past you didn’t need a permit to build on your own land. But as government started changing, so did building rules. At first it was something simple, like just getting permission to build. Now, you need to answer questions about what and why you are building. It seems unreasonable that you need to answer so many questions about your own project. Also, if the taxes are being raised, the government doesn’t raise them 20% at a time. The government raises them about 5% at a time, or maybe less to avoid suspicion. A gradual change in something is usually more effective than a sudden change of things, no matter what the circumstance.
I think that it means when there is a strong leader that people gradually get their freedom slowly taken away more often then some new leader coming in and changing all of the rules. For example, now in the U.S people can't buy cheap cars. They can't do this because the U.S has made a law where if you make a car that goes over 25 miles per hour, you have to put certain safety objects in the cars. This is why people can't buy cheap cars in the U.S, and because of the safety utilities it makes the car cost more money. This is just one example of the many freedoms that the U.S government has gradually taken away from U.S citizens.
ReplyDeleteMitchell Ryan
Emily Kendrick
ReplyDeleteIn James Madison’s quote, he is basically saying that since the beginning of the world, there were more examples where the freedom that people used to have were taken away from them by a long period of time and on a larger scale than by short amounts of time.
When my parents first got married, they had a large amount of financial freedom. Then, gradually over time, they had to start adding insurance, taxes, house and car payments, and children funds. As my parents continued to move into their own life, they had to give up some of the amount of financial freedom that they had when they first got married. The more obligations they had, the less financial freedom they could obtain. This was a gradual change that didn’t happen six months after their marriage, but over a long period of time that was slowly taken away.
I think that it means that more people, dictators, and countries are slowly taking away other countries rights and gradually taking away their freedom rather than beating their country in a battle right away. It is easier, more effective, and involves a lesser amount of deaths.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this is Adolf Hitler. He was democratically elected as Germany's chancellor. Slowly he would take more and more of his citizens and followers rights away. Then he turned into a dictator after being a chancellor for 8 years. He finally had full control over his country and his country's armed forces, especially the army and navy. He wasn't even born in Germany, and he is the dictator of that country! He was born in Austria, tricked his way into getting full control over Germany, claimed that he was a "Christian", and killed over 6 million Jews. He did exactly what James Madison was talking about.
I think that this means that the people in power are taking freedom from the people gradually rather than all at once so the people won't notice. The government should not be able to do this and it is an inexcusable thing to do. It is wrong because the people in authority should not be able to take away God given rights and try to get away with it. This is a terrible thing to do and should not be practiced by those in authority. It is a way of saying that I have more power than you so I get to do whatever I want.
ReplyDeleteThis happened to me when I used to be able to watch one to two hours of tv and then gradually my parents changed it to only one hour and then to
thirty minutes. Of course tv time isn't a God given right but my parents did take what used to be a privelege and reduced it. I do agree with my parents about tv time but freedom is a whole different matter. Freedom is something given by God and I firmly believe that freedom should not be taken away at all. To take it away gradually so people won't notice is horrible. If a person in power tries to take away true freedom than that doesn't deserve to be in power at all.
James Madison is saying that freedom is more likely to be taken away slowly, than torn from your fingers. If King George III had passed one big tax act, the colonies would have rebelled immediately. But the king was smart enough to slowly raise the taxes so he wouldn't arouse suspicion among the colonists. An unsuspecting man or woman could look at a recent tax and see it only as a way for the king of England to make some money. If they had studied the acts long-term they would have noticed their missing freedom.
ReplyDeleteIf you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will jump straight out of the pot. Since it is cold-blooded, it will recognize the danger of the heat. If you put a frog in a pot of cold water and set the pot on the stove, it will sit there. The frog will not notice the heat of the boiling water because the temperature increases gradually, not instantly. Most people are pretty stupid, like the frog. We don't notice when our freedom is taken away because we are so caught up in our daily lives. Most of the time humans don't realize they are losing their freedom till it's almost gone.
Daniel Justice
In the quote, Madison is saying that freedom is more likely taken away bit by bit rather than one law that completely changes everything.
ReplyDeleteOne example in our contry's history is King George III taxing the colonists bit by bit. He started with one item, which led to another, which led to another. The more the colonists rebelled, the more he taxed. Eventually, the colonists had no freedom or rights at all. That is the reason why the Americans fought for freedom from Great Britain.
#1 The quote means that as people have become more educated and so called civilized our freedoms have decreased due to the increase of government.
ReplyDelete#2 In U.S. History segregation limmmited the freedoms of american people.
Mariah Cowan
#1 The quote means that as people have become more educated and so called civilized, our freedoms have decreased. My mom believes this is due to the increase of government in the lives of individuals. There is a need for laws, but on the other the increase in government has caused people to become lazy and dependent.
ReplyDelete#2 In U.S. History segregation limited the freedoms of American people. Some Americans believed that African-American people should not have the same rights as Caucasion Americans. It's hard to believe less than 100 years ago, that educated people believed that segregation was an acceptable practice.
Mariah Cowan
This quote means that more people throughout history have lost their rights little by little than by a huge war. Slowly, the government will take away your rights piece by piece until there are no more to take away, but if a power tries to take your rights away by fighting the people will fight back making the success odds lower. Most of the time when the government slowly removes your rights they have some explanation along the lines of protecting the country, but in the end you have lost more rights than the security you have gained.
ReplyDeleteFor example, after 9/11 the government started to listen to your phone calls to help prevent terrorist attacks. But slowly the government started to take more of our privacy away, and now we have our television, internet, and phone calls monitored by the government. So basically, we have given up so much of our privacy and traded it for security that we have lost some of our rights.
Kathleen Stueve
As society has become more advanced, the government has taken away more and more of people rights. In earlier times in history, such as during the American revalution, the government often used force to make people do what they wanted. Now the government uses the legislative process to accomplish very similiar goal. An example would be much of the national security that came after 9-11
ReplyDeleteI think it means that the government is slowly taking away our freedom verses doing it all at once. One example is how the government took prayer out of school, then they took the bible and anything religious out of the courthouses. The Christians would have never let the government do this all at once. So, they did it a little at a time.
ReplyDeleteThe government keeps on compromising. and compromising , but the people have no say. That is why he said we need to rebel so the government knows we do not like the new compromises and that we need to change them. King George knows we are not going to rebel unless there is a significant change in these taxes at one time, but they didn't happen at one time. They happened at little increments and so some people started to get suspicious and finally relies what the king was doing to them
ReplyDeleteThis is even happening now maybe not to this extent, but when the government takes down a tax by a certain percent another one is givin that same amount in percentages. Now in Atlanta we are getting taxed slot because it is such a big city. In some smaller cities they don't even have tax on food some times or clothing. In Atl it is hard to find something that isnt taxed.
To me, this quote means that over time you need to steadly be dropping hints about something instead of just asking for it. James Madison is saying that people dont like to be pestered about something all the time. Instead of this, ask for it over a long time period. The people of the colonies felt like their freedom was being taken away with their rights, and they wanted to do something quick about it. James Madison was telling them that they need to think things through and take their time.
ReplyDeleteI have found this can be very true, esecialy if you have strict parents like me. If I want something, I need to show them that I'll use it and enjoy it all the time, like the people would enjoy freedom.
my blog answer is the third one at the top
ReplyDeleteI think that freedom is given to us freely and those in charge should not be violent or have a dictator ship. I think that people should not be pushed around and I think they should be free without having to much laws in the government. People should not be taxed alot because it can cause alot of chaos. We should be free to make our own choices. I agree with this and we should prove to people that we can have a free government in the USA. Sid Brendel
ReplyDeleteI think that this means that we should all be free without having issues with our goverment and authority.It means that we dont want pt be annoyed about what eveyone else thinks. That we want to have freedom.We want to like the type of freedom we have.The goverment sometimes doesnt let us to make our own decisons and that is when we get annoyed wiht them.James madison is saying that we need to be able to make our own decisons.
ReplyDeleteFreedom is a right that we have that the governtment cant take away. I think that we have fought for our freedom and we deserve to have all the rights. All people should be treated equaly and that are rights and privliges are ours and the governtment cant take them away. We have our government does not have the right to take them away. olivia nicholas
ReplyDeletewhat he means by that is the government is not giving power like there supposed to be. The government is taking away power from citizens in the state it mean you need to be giving away little things to them instead of just telling them right away. he is saying people dont like to be nagged about something like the government all the time.
ReplyDeleteThey asked for it for a long time instead. He is telling them to be pacient about there right being taken away and that they will get it in a matter of time. People should live there life freely is=nstead of breaking the rules. You get to do alot in life you should efreciate what god has given you.