Top Ten Most Exciting Events in American Expansion

The Pain and Excitement of Growing

How can growing up be both exiting and painful? Well, there are a lot of ways. When you grow up you are allowed more freedoms, but you also have more responsibility. You get to make more of your own decisions, but you are responsible for your decisions. One example of this is; if a child shoplifts, its parent pays the store back, but if an adult shoplifts, they go to jail. It’s not that society wants life to be less fun the older you get, it’s just that the older you get, the more the more you should know what is an acceptable action.

When is Breaking the Law Justified.

When is breaking the law justified? The people of the American
colonies believed it was justified when the law takes away ones “natural rights”. The writings of John Locke had a large influence on the philosophies of the colonists. He was the man who coined the phrase “natural rights”. He stated that each person had the rights of life, liberty, and property. Prior to the revolutionary war, the British tread upon these rights.
Prior to the American Revolutionary War, the British Government had gone into great debt. There solution to getting out of debt; tax the American colonies. First they instituted the Stamp Act, where they taxed goods such as tea, pots and many other things. This enraged the colonists who hadn’t even been consulted with.
American colonists decided that action needed to be taken. Many
colonists did without these things, and started making many of these goods themselves. When the British demanded that the tax for a shipment of tea must be paid, a group known as the Sons of Liberty, came on board the ships and dropped all of the tea into Boston Harbor.
In the twentieth century, African-Americans were not allowed all of
the same rights as the other Americans. One of these rights might seem rather small, but was able to make a very large impact in this case. The law stated that on buses, African-Americans had to give up there seats to Caucasians if it was needed. One day in Montgomery Alabama, an African-American woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a Caucasian. She was arrested, and in her honor many African-Americans started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where instead of using the bus they carpooled.
When is breaking the law justified? In both these instances people
broke the law when their “natural rights” were not respected. They broke the law ready to accept the consequences of their actions, because they believed in what they stood for. The American colonists believed that they should have a say in how they were governed. Rosa Parks believed that African-Americans should have equal rights with Caucasian-Americans. I think that each of these instances were justifiable. These people made no effort to injure the people who dictated them, nor did they run away from these trying experiences. They simply stood up for their God given “natural rights”.

Boston Tea Party Reflection

One of the things I learned was how dedicated the men who executed the Boston Tea Party were to their cause. They destroyed the tea when they could have stolen it. When a couple men did try to steal some, they were chased so that the tea could be destroyed. They were very thorough in destroying it as well. Before throwing the crates of tea overboard, they hacked holes into them so it would be ruined, and if the tea came out of the crates they would smack it with paddles until it was ruined.
The thing that surprised me most was how calmly the Boston Tea Party was executed. Each man was told to follow one of three commanders, only one of whose name is known. Each man worked side by side with a man who he did not know and did not speak to. There wasn’t any shouting as they threw the crates of tea overboard. They simply dropped the crates over the edge one at time. As they walked away from their accomplishment, each man went to his own home without a word to his nameless partners.

Government and Revolution

These are five purposes of government that I came up with. The first is to create legislature. All nations need laws. The second is law enforcement. If there isn't anyone to enforce the laws what is the point of having them. The third is to have a judiciary system. There must be consequences when laws are broken. The forth is protection in the form of a military. A nation needs to be able to protect itself from foreign, and sometimes native threats. The fifth is an executive system. Nations need a person who can make decisions when there isn't enough time to be democratic.

Would I rebel if the government failed to follow through with these things. I don't know. I would actually be more worried about my government abusing this power instead of not fulfilling it. For instance if the government was creating laws that were taking away rights and making me more under their control. If the judiciary system was making decision not based upon the laws, but instead upon political aspects. If the executive, which in America is a president, was making choices that furthered it's own agendas. I'm not sure how far it would have to go to make me rebel. It's not a decision that I take lightly, and is one I hope I never have to make. It's a decision that I would probably have to contemplate for months before actually making. It's a rather frightening thing to think about. Hopefully I'll never need to.

A Reflection on 'How I Became a Printer in Philidephia'

One thing I learned about life in the colonies, was how common it was for people to become indentured servants. Benjamin Franklin was an indentured servant/apprentice to his brother James. The servitude was supposed to last nine years. This was the thing that surprised me the most. When people think of Benjamin Franklin, they think of the man who was one of the greatest Americans, which he was, who discovered electricity. No one would ever think that he came from such a humble background. One of the things that I found to be the most different from modern day America is how then you weren't allowed to voice opinions. Because one of the newspapers that James Franklin published criticised the British government he was imprisoned and told that he couldn't publish that newspaper again. Freedom of speech and freedom to express opinions is one of our greatest freedoms, and one that I greatly appreciate.

Immigration

I think that there are many reasons why people immigrate to the US today. Many people know that they can make money easier. Others come so that they can have religious freedom. Others come for a chance of getting higher education. Whatever the reason, these people will still have to leave their homeland, friends, and sometimes even their family. If I were to immigrate it would most likely be for economic reasons. If I had a career that could be advanced by taking a job in a foreign country I would most likely take it. There would be many other things that would influence my decision, just as there are things that influence the decisions of people coming to America, both today and in the past.