Authors and main Ideas

Question 1

Author and main idea of “The 1620 Project”

Answer 1

Mark David Hall
In response to the 1619 project. The Mayflower Compact (Pilgrims) gave way to the most republican society ever established (by the later Puritans). The established society gave power to the government because of the consent of the governed and separated the state and church. Puritan’s supported Law of Nature/God’s law which states men have rights to liberty and propoerty, and right to defend them both when invaded

Question 2

Author and main idea of “1619 Project”

Answer 2

Nikole Hannah-Jones
Outlines the details of how the founding fathers and other main characters of the nation’s founding were establishing a country of liberty/equality on the backs of black people. “‘Enslaved African-Americans have been the foremost freedom-fighters this country has produced.’ For generations, (blacks) have believed in this country with a faith that it did not deserve. Black people have seen the worst of America, yet, somehow, we still believe in its best.” Black people continue to have profound influence.

Question 3

Author and main idea of “Moral Foundations”

Answer 3

Jonathan Haidt

Moral foundations and moral psychology

Our actions are based on our views held in each of the 5 moral foundations. Laws are then based on these universal foundations.

Question 4

Author and main idea of “The Making of New World Slavery”

Answer 4

Robin Blackburn

Due to primarily economic drives, slavery in the colonies was vastly different from slavery of other times, “old-world slavery”. It transferred slavery from a social status to a racial status. African slaves were the ideal fit (although expensive) for European-American farm owners

Question 5

Author and Main idea of “The Wealth of Nations”

Answer 5

Adam Smith

People working together accomplish much more and are more secure than those who work individually. Promoting commerce and labor among a society is key to prospering and growing.

The butcher, the brewer, and the baker

Question 6

Author and main idea of “The Passions and the Interests”

Answer 6

Albert Hirschman

Analyze the evolution of the word “interest”

Question 7

Author and main idea of “The Rule of Law”

Answer 7

Frank Fox and Clayne Pope

This essay shows the the 5 main principles of “the rule of law” and how they are tied to the colonies relation with England

Question 8

Author and main idea of “Social Institutions”

Answer 8

Naomi Braine

Shows the what, why, and how of social institutions. Explains how norms are representations of values which are implemented into social institutions.

Question 9

Author and main idea of “Possessive individualism”

Answer 9

Matt McManus

If we agree with Locke, and whatever we create is our own, then there is a problem with capitalism. The solution Locke proposed is contracts. But McManus sees that capitalism diminishes community because we all work for ourselves.

Ex. Every worker that helped build Trump tower has put labor into that, but Trump owns it all

Question 10

Author and main idea of “The American Revolution”

Answer 10

Gordon Wood

Three principle factors leading up to the American revolution were
1. The growth and movement of population
2. Economic expansion
3. Reform of the British empire
4. Imperial Debate

Question 11

Author and goal of “The Virginia Plan”

Answer 11

James Madison writing his attempt at a constitution. His plan includes giving the federal government more power so that minorities don’t end up ruling majorities.

Question 12

Author and main idea of “A Conflict of Interests”

Answer 12

Frank Fox and Clayne Pope

1. The advantages of a market economy over a mercantilism.
2. The characteristics and essential functions of a market economy
3. The government’s role in both economies
4. The ties of market economy to the government system established by the founding fathers

Question 13

Author and main idea of “The Bill of Rights”

Answer 13

Akhil Reed Amar

The author dives into the first proposed ammendments of the consitution and their motivations. The main drive was maintining a democracy that did not supress minority voices or give power to the government that belonged to the people.

Question 14

Author and main idea of “A republic-If you can keep it?”

Answer 14

Terence Ball

The discussion between Publius and the Anti-federalists (primarily Brutus) on the constitution and whether it established a republic. It covers topics such as if a republic is appropriate for the new country, how the republic should function, the possible outcomes of a poor republic, and the definition of the word republic.

Question 15

Author and main idea of “Imagined Communities”

Answer 15

Benedict Anderson

The nation (not the U.S., the notion of a nation) as an imagined political community – and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.

The previous world governments (dynasties aka hereditary powers like monarchies) fell as the world sought to unite fraternity, power, and time meaningfully together.

Question 16

Author and main idea of “Stratification, Emotional Energy, and the Transient Emotions?”

Answer 16

Randall Collins

Societies are held together by social mechanisms which produce emotions. We experience emotions at greater heights/depths when 1. we are in an assembled group collectively experiencing the emotion and 2. there are previously charged up symbols/events that are used as ingredients in carrying out a successful ritual (an event where emotion is the highest). Righteous anger is when these 2 elements combine within a group and is targeted towards persons who violate the groups sacred symbols. People are upset like this when their conception of the social world is described as arbitrary and not objective.

Question 17

Author and main idea of “Democracy in America”

Answer 17

Alexis de Tocqueville

Despotism (tyranny) isolates men from each other. The hallmark of the success of the American society is association. Association is what drives citizens to unite for a multitude of causes and what leaves men in a state that encourages competitiveness as well as unity. Americans are individualistic in their lives until something must be done for the greater good in which case they readily unite. Having political freedom actually increases the drive for associations rather than increasing individualism as one might expect, and it opens the door for much more civil associations outside of political realms.

Question 18

Author and main idea of “Relationship with the Consitution”

Answer 18

Joseph Smith

The views of Joseph Smith concerning the constitution. He views it as almost divine in the principles it establishes. The only fault he finds in it is that it does not provide the way to enforce the keeping of its principles.

Question 19

Author and main idea of “Finishing the founding”

Answer 19

Fox and Pope

The constitution was formed through many compromises which left many issues unsolved. The most important questions were 1. Does power primarily belong to the federal government or the state government and 2. Does slavery belong in the Union. These questions were left to the subsequent generations.

Question 20

Author and main idea of “South Carolina Declaration of Secession (1860)”

Answer 20

South Carolina

The constitution outlines pro-slavery practices (like returning slaves that run away back to the southern owners). Other states and the federal government have encroached on this law and enacted other laws that are contradictory. South Carolina sees this as a valid reason for the Constitution to be of no force for them and they have a valid reason to seceed.

Question 21

Author and main idea of “Slouching toward Utopia”

Answer 21

J. Bradford de Long

Before 1870 major inventions did not lead to any changes in the world order or lead to any waves of invention. After 1870 the “second Industrial Revolution” led to a series of inventions and societal reformations that shaped America into the beacon of innovation and opportunity. People moved from around the world to be in America and enjoy the economy of corporations that raised the standard of living greatly.

Question 22

Author and main idea of “The Laws of England”

Answer 22

Sir William Blackstone

When men and women marry, they must be willing to contract, able to contract, and actually contract under the proper forms and solemnities required by law. When they marry they become a single unit duly responsible for debts, responsibilities, etc. A man is charged with disciplining his wife since he is also responsible for her behavior. Anciently, harsh discipline was used but modern times are against this.

Question 23

Author and main idea of “Divisions of Household Labor”

Answer 23

The concise encyclopedia of sociology

After the industrial revolution, spheres of work developed. Households used to generally be self-sufficient but now the men typically seek work in urban factories (productive or paid labor) while women work at home doing housework (unproductive or unpaid labor). When kids are born, men will typically be less involved in housework while women increase their housework load to take care of the extra family members

Question 24

Author and main idea of “Two Kinds of Liberty”

Answer 24

Isaiah Berlin/Grant Madsen

Negative liberty is the notion that freedom comes from NOT having to do something, aka freedom from coercion. It is negative because it negates what others (like the government) can do to me.
Positive liberty argues that we increase freedom by increasing abilities. This means that coercion can increase freedom in the long run (such as coercing children in the US to attend school until they’re 18).

Question 25

Author and main idea of “A fierce discontent”

Answer 25

Michael McGerr

The Second Industrial Revolution changed life dramatically and provoked the importance and division of classes. He describes the upper 10, the middle class, and the working class. The middle class (Victorians/Progressives), and especially the women, are living urban lives amidst lots and lots of hardships that are somewhat exacerbated by large amounts of immigrants. The Victorians realized they were alienated from the upper 10 and the lower working class.