Assignment Due 10-29

The Anti-Federalist paper I chose was #7.

“Of all the plagues that infest a nation, a civil war is the worst. Famine is severe, pestilence is dreadful; but in these, though men die, they die in peace. The father expires without the guilt of the son; and the son, if he survives, enjoys the inheritance of his father. Cities may be thinned, but they neither plundered nor burnt. But when a civil war is kindled, there is then forth no security of property nor protection from any law. Life and fortune become precarious. And all that is dear to men is at the discretion of profligate soldiery, doubly licentious on such an occasion. Cities are exhausted by heavy contributions, or sacked because they cannot answer exorbitant demand.”

My interpretation/What it means to me:

A civil war is considered to be one of the worse events that can happen to a nation. It is so bad even in comparison to a deadly plague a sickness that affects a great mass of people, a civil war is still considered worse. Men lose their lives in no regards to what they leave behind in hopes of fighting for a better future of what they left behind. Property during a civil war is not off limits. Anything can be destroyed during a civil war. People fight for a cause and will not stop until their demands are met under any circumstances. I would consider this passage as the highlight of the Paper. This passage means a lot in comparison to the entire paper. A civil war was considered to be so bad that when it’s compared to a plague a civil war is still worse. People fought for change in America and they fought any way that they knew how in hopes of creating a better tomorrow. This Passage highlights these facts. This passage also creates a picture of what a civil war was like. There was no area that was safe by security, or law during a civil war. People fought and stood up for what they believed in anywhere they decided to go.

Federalism:

The difference between horizontal and vertical federalism is the power that each types of federalism contains. Horizontal federalism can be viewed as placing limitations on power, and vertical delegates the direction of power. Vertical federalism provides services such as public and foreign policy while horizontal decides exactly who and how many people get to participate. 

Assignment Due 10-22-13

Madison 
"If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republic principal, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote. It may clog the administration, it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the Constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens."

Faction is a small organized dissenting group within a larger one especially in politics. If  faction consist of less than the majority James Madison states that relief is supplied by the republican principle. Republican principle are principles that are incorporated by the government which helps to fight against tyranny for both the majority and the minority being represented. When the majority is accounted for in a faction the government functions as it normally would towards the interest of all of its citizens. I found this portion of James Madison's essay intriguing because he points out that the government will only support something when the majority of its people are agreeing upon the same ideas. The minority will always be left out and unrepresented.

Hamilton
"This is the melancholy situation to which we have been brought by those very maxims and councils which would now deter us from adopting the proposed Constitution; and which, not content with having conducted us to the brink of a precipice, seem resolved to plunge us into the abyss that awaits us below. Here my countrymen, impelled by every motive that ought to influence an enlightened people, let us ,ale a firm stand for our safety, our tranquillity, our dignity, our reputation. Let us at last break the fatal charm which has too long seduced us from the paths of felicity and prosperity."

The sadness and depression atmosphere is a result of the insufficnett American Confederation. They are detering us from the path that the American government is capable of being on and are hendering the American governemt of adopting the proposed Constitution. It is now time to take a stand, and fight for justice. Its time to empower one another amungst  ourselves and enlighten the people.  I found this portion of Hamilton essay interesting because the situation was not as bad as he made it out to be in his essay. He made it seem as though the American people needed to take a stand right away and as though the confederation was causing depression amongst the people however it was not the case.