(no subject)
Mar. 22nd, 2010 08:05 amI swore I would not procrastinate about studying for my history exams! And, to be fair, I didn't do so badly this time as I did this time, but I still don't feel prepared for tomorrow's exam. I don't usually find history boring, but the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 just are not holding my interest. Which is a shame, because tomorrow I have to write two essays on them.
Additionally, I have the feeling that I will have a pop quiz in math tonight. I have no reason to think this other than the syllabus says we're going to have quizzes and we haven't had on yet. So I think what's going to happen is this:
I'm going to do some practice math today at work during any/all downtime.
I'm going to take tomorrow off and memorize some dates.
One of the cool benefits of studying history is having a better understanding of what our founding fathers were like. I now laugh at the people who say things like this, "It is time for us to remember the principles that founded this country in the first place, middle class America."*
Most of our founding fathers were actually Cosmopolitans who were more interested in protecting their own interests than helping out the poor farmers. And while Thomas Jefferson might be the person the folks mentioned above are referring to, he was only one man. Cosmopolitans were far more likely to have the time to leave their homes and jobs and attend the 2nd Continental Congress. George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, and John Dickinson were all Cosmopolitans. And it's important to remember Hamilton's plan: The King would be elected for life (as would the senators), would choose his own governors, and would be able to veto any state law. How's that for middle class!? And while Hamilton's Plan didn't pass, the 3/5 Compromise did. Our founding fathers decided that black men only counted as 3/5 of a vote. Which is more than women, black or white, counted for.
Sorry, the founding fathers had lots of good ideas, but lets remember they had a lot of really terrible ones, too. It was through compromise that we got the system we have today and even that has been refined over the past 234 years. Yes, let's "remember the principles," but let's not look at them through rose-colored glasses.
* Comment by Justin Townsend on a status update by a friend of mine on Facebook.
Additionally, I have the feeling that I will have a pop quiz in math tonight. I have no reason to think this other than the syllabus says we're going to have quizzes and we haven't had on yet. So I think what's going to happen is this:
I'm going to do some practice math today at work during any/all downtime.
I'm going to take tomorrow off and memorize some dates.
One of the cool benefits of studying history is having a better understanding of what our founding fathers were like. I now laugh at the people who say things like this, "It is time for us to remember the principles that founded this country in the first place, middle class America."*
Most of our founding fathers were actually Cosmopolitans who were more interested in protecting their own interests than helping out the poor farmers. And while Thomas Jefferson might be the person the folks mentioned above are referring to, he was only one man. Cosmopolitans were far more likely to have the time to leave their homes and jobs and attend the 2nd Continental Congress. George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, and John Dickinson were all Cosmopolitans. And it's important to remember Hamilton's plan: The King would be elected for life (as would the senators), would choose his own governors, and would be able to veto any state law. How's that for middle class!? And while Hamilton's Plan didn't pass, the 3/5 Compromise did. Our founding fathers decided that black men only counted as 3/5 of a vote. Which is more than women, black or white, counted for.
Sorry, the founding fathers had lots of good ideas, but lets remember they had a lot of really terrible ones, too. It was through compromise that we got the system we have today and even that has been refined over the past 234 years. Yes, let's "remember the principles," but let's not look at them through rose-colored glasses.
* Comment by Justin Townsend on a status update by a friend of mine on Facebook.