The Communist View on the US Constitution

1. What main point does this textbook seem to be making to Soviet students? Note at least two examples it uses to try to get this point across.

A first main point made in this article is that even though we stress equality, it doesn't always happen. For example,when the Bill of Rights were put into effect, not everyone had rights. The Native Americans never enjoyed the same rights as white Americans. Neither did African-American slaves until amendments were put into the Constitution. A quote I thought was interesting was "These 'freedoms' exist even now on paper, but they are constantly violated." The reason people first came to America was for equality, and even now it is a fight within the country. Another interesting thing was that Russia only sees our country as being good for the bourgeois. They see our democratic country as the bourgeois ruling. Another main point is how we are not advanced. They state that gaining our independence was good but it did not advance us at all. Their example is that slavery was legal for almost 100 years are eventually made our country have a war within itself.

2. Give two examples from the excerpt of statements of fact and two examples of opinions. How does the excerpt reflect a bias against the United States?

One example of fact is about the Bill of Rights. In the article, there is a paragraph about when the Bill of Rights was added and what it protected the people against. Right after it, there is a statement that is purely opinion. "These 'freedoms' exist even now on paper, but they are constantly violated." Another example of fact in this paper is when the author explains how America became independent from Britain. The second example of opinion is how the Soviet Union sees our government as only being for the good of the rich. This article shows a bias on our form of government. Throughout the entire thing, they make cracks at the way we decided to form our government.

3. Do you think this Soviet textbook's criticism of the United States are valid?

I think that their criticism is valid. They have a right to teach their students how they want to. If they want to teach them that the American government is wrong and has many flaws then they should be able to. everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We have no right to get angry at them for saying these things about our government when we do the same to theirs in our textbooks. Almost everyone in the United States sees the Soviet's government as being horrible. To them, it's normal. I think some of their opinions are wrong but I have no right in telling them to stop teaching their students what they think.

George Washington's Farewell Address Analysis

George Washington was our first president and set the standards for all presidents after him. He didn’t think very high of himself. He always thought that he wasn’t good enough and unqualified to ever take the position. Even though he didn’t think he was well educated and smart, he knew a lot about what the country should and should not do. He gave us good advice about political parties and foreign affairs.

Washington was always stating that it was for the good of the country if he didn’t take a third term as president. In my opinion, it might have been beneficial for Washington to stay. It would have prolonged numerous problems that we ran into after he left. Prolonging the outbreak of the problems would have been better because America was in a sorry state. The country was in massive debt from the revolution and just starting to adjust to its new government.

Washington knew a lot about the things that as a new country, America should have stayed away from. Political parties were one of those things that he heavily warned about. He feared that the different political parties would misrepresent one another and spread propaganda. He turned out to be very right. A perfect example of this was the various ads for the senate campaign for Coakley and Brown. George thought the the country would be torn apart based on geographical location. Washington was also right about that. Certain states are democrats or republicans. For example Massachusetts votes democrat always and Texas always votes republican.

George Washington also warned about dealing with foreign countries. He knew that it would only make our situation worse. In his opinion, party fighting would allow foreign influence. Foreign influence in some parts of the country could possibly turn into their own government and breaking away from the country as a whole. Washington stated that our only reason for dealing with foreign countries is for trading purposes or money. Other than that it could be potentially hazardous. George Washington was obviously right. If we had left Iraq alone and let them deal with their own governmental problems, maybe we wouldn’t be in this recession. In all cases dealing with foreign affairs, if we had listened to Washington, they wouldn’t have been so severe.

All in all, Washington was right about a lot of things. He may have not had a great education but he was very smart about politics and economy. If our country had kept taking his advice and following it, our country would be a lot stronger right now. At this time, America is weak and should’ve listened to the man that essentially jump started our country. If he wasn’t our first president, who knows what our country would be like today. Would it have been better or worse? I believe he was perfect for the job. I guess others could say otherwise.

XYZ Affair and Alien and Sedition Acts

1. How did the XYZ affair increase tension between France and America?

France was already angry with American because they didn't help them out during their revolution. America and France had an alliance which was being broken. The French and Americans both had representatives to negotiate with each other. When they started to talk, The French demanded $250,000for a bribe and $12 million for a loan. The Americans refused to give the French any money at all. Because the French and Americans wouldn't negotiate, the US stopped commercial trade with France. They also renounced their alliance of 1778. Naturally the French wanted to go to war and it was eminent. They wanted it their way and they French wanted it their way. Neither was willing to compromise which made it difficult to keep the alliance and the tensions down between the two countries.

2. Were the Federalists justified in passing the Alien and Sedition Acts or were they a violation of the Constitution?

The Alien and Sedition Acts were a violation of the Constitution. The federalists were definitely not justified in their decision to pass them. The Naturalization Act was ok but the others were wrong and violated everything America stood for. The Aliens Enemies Act allowed the president to kick people out because they weren't Americans in time of warfare. This is completely against the Constitution. Although this had no purpose, if it had been used it would have been unjust. People came here for opportunity to be free, if they were kicked out, our country would basically stand for a big contradiction. The Sedition Act was the most unjust of all. It prohibited against anti government activity. This meant that no one could publish or speak anything bad or false about any government official. This violates the freedom of speech and press. Obviously, this was unconstitutional. The Alien Act authorized the president to deport or imprison all aliens unsafe to the US. This law was never enforced. It might have been useful but it was still unjust and should have never been passed.

3. Were Kentucky and Virginia justified in their response to the Alien and Sedition Acts?

Kentucky and Virginia were not justified in their response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were the only two states to approve the laws. The Alien and Sedition Acts were wrong and should not have been passed. For those two states to even consider letting the government pass these was wrong. I can't even believe they ok-ed the laws. Thank god they were the only two states to pass them.

Washington's Farewell Address Summary