Bacon's Declaration in the Name of the People (30 July 1676) The Declaracon of the People.1.For haveing upon specious pretences of publiqe works raised greate unjust taxes upon the Comonality for the advancement of private favorites and other sinister ends, but noe visible effects in any measure adequate, For not haveing dureing this long time of his Gouvernement in any measure advanced this hopefull Colony either by fortificacons Townes or Trade. 2.For haveing abused and rendred contemptable the Magistrates of Justice, by advanceing to places of Judicature, scandalous and Ignorant favorites. 3.For haveing wronged his Majesties prerogative and interest, by assumeing Monopoly of the Beaver trade, and for haveing in that unjust gaine betrayed
In “Bacon's Declaration in the Name of the People” and “The declaration and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley his most sacred Majesties Governor and Captain General of Virginia”, they were pretending to be for the people and the king. They put on a facade to cover up their true intentions. Both Nathaniel Bacon and William Berkeley were insistent on discrediting the other by suggesting disloyalty. There was no way to end their debacle calmly.
"Governor William Berkely on Bacon's Rebellion 19 May 1676." American History From Revolution to Reconstruction and beyond. http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1651-1700/governor-william-berkely-on-bacons-rebellion-19-may-1676.php
Locke and Tocqueville were born nearly two hundred years apart from each other. This span of time corresponds to great changes in the European political spectrum, with Locke being born before the English Glorious Revolution (1688) and Tocqueville born after the French Revolution (1789). Much of what Tocqueville and his contemporaries would have written would have taken for granted the innovations to political thought which Locke and his contemporaries would have fostered. Thus, in areas such as the primacy of human self-interest, to the necessity of nominal societal participation in government, to the belief that “freedom cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith,” our authors share a common ground. It is from this common ground that Locke and Tocqueville most radically depart from one another, beginning with Locke’s conception of
What was the common good for all Americans in 1776? Thomas Paine, a political activist during America’s struggle for independence from England, argues in Common Sense, a pamphlet published in the Pennsylvania Magazine, with the American colonists, demanding a revolt with the British crown (Thomas Paine). He passionately believes that the answer to the “…benefit of all people in [American] society” (Thomas Paine) will result from the freedom of oppression for the thirteen American colonies. Common Sense, “the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era”, remains noted by historians as one of the most influential pieces of literature during the era of the American Revolution
... his diary "...and though we be Englishmen born, we are debarred Englishment's liberty (Document D).” Benjamin Franklin also recognizes this difference, and, in reference to Britain's new taxes on the colonies, warns that this treatment may cause rebellion.
The Declaration has helped in many debates ranging from the banning of slavery to the acknowledgement of newly independent nations (Tsesis 3). In 1774 delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies gather in Philadelphia to meet at the First Continental Congress to decide what to do about the British laws. Most people wanted to fix the relationship with England instead of gaining their independence. The British leaders would have most likely been up to the idea of negotiating, but instead the American Revolution was started. Thomas Jefferson was not present at the first Congress. A month after the Second Continental Congress started, Jefferson took his seat as a delegate from Virginia. John Adams stated that Jefferson had “a reputation for literature, science, and a happy talent for composition” (8). Jefferson noticed that many people were not yet open to the idea of independence, they were still trying to stay with England. During this time Common Sense came out and paved the way for the Declaration of Independence. After Common Sense came out, Richard Price published a pamphlet which condemned parliamentary infringement on the colonists’ rights. This pamphlet became very popular and was in circulation in England and America. On April 12,1776 North Carolina became the first colony “to concur with the delegates of the other colonies in declaring Independency” (10). On May 15 Congress published a preamble which explained that the Americans planned to be removed from the rule of England. This was the first step to a real declaration of independence because it finally showed that America decided to gain their independence.
Throughout its history, Europe went through several periods of dynamic change. From the 16th to the 17th century, however, these changes took a drastic shift in both religious as well as educational standards. As clearly seen through the writings of both Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis and Thomas More’s Utopia, these changes reflected a deeper movement in human culture. Referred to as the Christian Humanist movement (16th c) and the Scientific Revolution (17th c), Bacon and More capture the heart of the movement and portray it to their audiences in utopian societies. These works, then, demonstrate not only the authors’ attitudes towards the monumental changes of their time, but also the dramatic shift in ideology in approximately one hundred years.
In the year 1776 on January, the Common Sense was written anonymously by Thomas Paine. “The pamphlet began not with a recital of colonial grievances but with an attack on the “so much boasted Constitution of England” and the principles of hereditary rule and monarchial government” (Foner 198). Thomas Paine insisted that the British was more of a burden than a benefit of the colonies. Paine argued that both the outbreak wat in 1775, which was the British rights to tax the colonies, and the corrupted society that was growing were diminishing liberty. Having independence for the first time, the colonies could instigate themselves from involvement from the endless wars of European. “Common Sense quickly became one of the most successful and influential
On July 4th, 1776, America 's most important document in history was announced, "Declaration of Independence". The Declaration of Independence defined America 's prestige, value, and its freedom. It was the document which stated American colonies now did not want to be the part of British property. It is one of the most important days because for the first time in the history of America; it was on its own and stood as a single country. The majority of the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson which was debated by Congress and made many changes in the original document. One of the major changes made by Congress was removing an attack on the institution of slavery.
“Natural” liberty, according to Winthrop, makes man more evil. Hutchinson’s and Winthrop’s understanding of religious liberty were different. Hutchinson believed that many early Puritans were not experiencing religious freedom, but were constrained by their belief that salvation is through good works, rather than grace. John Winthrop, however, believed that Hutchinson was wrong. He believed that religious liberty was moral liberty that is based under Christ’s authority. Through the reading of the articles and textbook, I learned that many early Puritans sought for a land where their particular beliefs were dominant; they were not seeking for religious freedom.
David Hume offers a well conceived plan for the formation of government and its political workings. Furthermore, he grants that in special circumstances the citizens of a particular government may revolt. However, with respect to obedience and disloyalty, Hume gives no formal rules for revolution. We would like something more from Hume regarding revolution and, more specifically, what he considers justified revolution. Some authors, such as Richard H. Dees, find the basis for Hume’s account of justified revolution in his historical works. By connecting Hume’s historical writings with his political theory, we find a fuller account of revolution. Such an account, however, does not require him to give a rule or maxim prescribing revolution since such a rule or maxim would obviously go against his political theory as stated in the Treatise and his political essays. In sum, justified revolution for Hume centers around the established political practices and the principled causes held by factions. Unjustified revolutions, however, are denoted by lack of adherence to established practices and want of a genuine cause. They are, rather, motivated by speculative factions subject to fanaticism and enthusiasm which are the foundations of Hume’s political worries. These central tenets of Hume’s view of revolution are delineated within this paper.
...ve in Virginia did not mean immigrants were free from its rule. Upon departing England, those leaving would take an “oath of allegiance and supremacy” (Virginia Ship’s List). This meant that the people owed their loyalty to the monarch of England, not to Virginia itself. The colonists of Virginia could have been frustrated that their head official was chosen by a single person, a person who had no place within their community. In fact, Berkeley, the governor the monarch of England elected, “brought high taxes on the people, increased his power at the expense of local officials and created a monopoly on Indian trade” (Divine, 85). This abuse of power is possibly one of the causes of rebellions, specifically Bacon’s rebellion. This republic government leading the Virginia Colony was an increasingly stark contrast to the Massachusetts’ Colony’s democratic government.
In the seventeenth-century, England was recovering from the "Glorious Revolution" and political thought centered on the issues of nature and the limits of government. Two great political thinkers, John Locke and Thomas Hobbes took a scientific approach to analyze government and focused on the state of nature and natural rights of individuals. Locke was particularly interested in property and governments role in the protection of property. He believed that God gave the world to men to use common, but also gave them reason to make the best use of it (Locke 17). According to Locke, the best use of the land and resources involved gaining property, using the word in a narrow sense. He also used the term 'property' in a broad sense, which he defined as people's "lives, liberties, and estates" (75). A French thinker in the eighteenth-century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau basically agreed with Locke on the definition of property in a narrow sense, but took an opposing view to Locke's regarding the effects property had on society. Rousseau was a Romanticist and believed that property was the first aspect of injustice. The opposing views of Locke and Rousseau are obvious in their respective works, Second Treatise of Government and Discourse of the Origin of Inequality.
The revolutionary period of the Renaissance, where the concept of individuality is in the center, will suggest progress in the promotion of the freedom of speech. Surprisingly, in John Milton's time, the opposite occurs: in England of 1643 comes forth the order of the regulation of printing, in which every printed material has to be licensed by the parliament in order to get published. Milton retaliates against this law by writing the tract "Areopagitica", a Greek word whose meaning is 'place of Justice'. This place is what he calls the "commonwealth" -- the public sphere. Consequently, it makes sense to allow limitations in order to uphold justice. However, Milton believes censorship prevents the ability to truly choose Good over Evil. He argues that people should be independent in their religious pursuits, through self acquired knowledge, and maintains that by pursuing differences England will find a common ground.
Sir Francis Bacon was the grand architect of a perspective on reality so revolutionary that the human mind has yet to break its mold. Although he was neither an accomplished scientist nor a prodigious mathematician, Bacon is accredited with the creation of the philosophy of science and the scientific method, and he so effectively reapplied the notion of inductive reasoning that he is often considered its father. Bacon was the first to embark on the pursuit to translate nature into information, and believed that held to "the torch of analysis" nature would reveal her secrets. Bacon was on the precipice of a new era in thought that has blossomed into technologies he could never have imagined. Upon inspection, however, there are certain uncanny parallels between his thought and the innovations of the information age. This observation is not to say that Bacon's mindset was identical to that of a modern man by any standards, but it is to say that the nature of information seems to submit to Bacon's perception of reality.