Articles Of Confederation Essays - United States, James Madison

Articles Of Confederation Essays - United States, James Madison Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of the document. As adopted, the articles provided only for a "firm league of friendship" in which each of the 13 states expressly held "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." The People of each state were given equal privileges and rights, freedom of movement was guaranteed, and procedures for the trials of accused criminals were outlined. The articles established a national legislature called the Congress, consisting of two to seven delegates from each state; each state had one vote, according to its size or population. No executive or judicial branches were provided for. Congress was charged with responsibility for conducting foreign relations, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, settling boundary disputes, establishing and maintaining a postal service, and various lesser functions. Some of these responsibilities were shared with the states, and in one way or another Congress was dependent upon the cooperation of the states for carrying out any of them. Four visible weaknesses of the articles, apart from those of organization, made it impossible for Congress to execute its constitutional duties. These were analyzed in numbers 15-22 of The FEDERALIST, the political essays in which Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay argued the case for the U.S. CONSTITUTION of 1787. The first weakness was that Congress could legislate only for states, not for individuals; because of this it could not enforce legislation. Second, Congress had no power to tax. Instead, it was to assess its expenses and divide those among the states on the basis of the value of land. States were then to tax their own citizens to raise the money for these expenses and turn the proceeds over to Congress. They could not be forced to do so, and in practice they rarely met their obligations. Third, Congress lacked the power to control commercewithout its power to conduct foreign relations was not necessary, since most treaties except those of peace were concerned mainly with trade. The fourth weakness ensured the demise of the Confederation by making it too difficult to correct the first three. Amendments could have corrected any of the weaknesses, but amendments required approval by all 13 state legislatures. None of the several amendments that were proposed met that requirement. On the days from September 11, 1786 to September 14, 1786, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia had a meeting of there delegates at the Annapolis Convention. Too few states were represented to carry out the original purpose of the meetingto discuss the regulation of interstate commercebut there was a larger topic at question, specifically, the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. Alexander Hamilton successfully proposed that the states be invited to send delegates to Philadelphia to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union." As a result, the Constitutional Convention was held in May 1787. The Constitutional Convention, which wrote the Constitution of the United States, was held in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. It was called by the Continental Congress and several states in response to the expected bankruptcy of Congress and a sense of panic arising from an armed revoltShays's Rebellionin New England. The convention's assigned job, following proposals made at the Annapolis Convention the previous September, was to create amendments to the Articles of Confederation. The delegates, however, immediately started writing a new constitution. Fifty-five delegates representing 12 states attended at least part of the sessions. Thirty-four of them were lawyers; most of the others were planters or merchants. Although George Washington, who presided, was 55, and John Dickinson was 54, Benjamin Franklin 81, and Roger Shermen 66, most of the delegates were young men in their 20s and 30s. Noticeable absent were the revolutionary leaders of the effort for independence in 1775-76, such as John Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson.

The University Of Oxford Essays - Oxbridge, Russell Group

The University Of Oxford Essays - Oxbridge, Russell Group The University Of Oxford The University of Oxford The University of Oxford in Oxford, England is a very old and distinguished institution. Oxford University has been in existence for around nine centuries (Brief 1). It is the oldest English speaking university in the world (History 1). There is no exact date when the University was established, but there is some evidence of teaching going on around 1096 (Kenny 2). There are said to be several different founders of the University, but there is no way to designate one over another. Oxford was always struggling to prove it self as being a serious university. This is because of its great rival university in Paris, which got most of the spotlight in the earlier days. Oxford is rich in its origins and history, which is due to its extremely old background. Even though Oxford is such a distinguished institution it does have a past of problems. The University has a history of altercations with the townspeople, which involves fights, major crimes, and conflicts over the unfair treatment the t ownspeople received due to the University. The Universitys relations with authority came with an abundance of privileges. The king and other leaders always put the Universitys needs before the townspeople. Oxford also demanded a great deal from its students, whose lives revolved around the University. Oxford was an extremely difficult school whose courses were of the highest quality. Oxford University is a very important part of Englands history and society today. Oxford Universitys origins, relations with town and authority, students, and curriculum make it of the most important and significant institutions of all time. Oxford University has had many situations, people, and events that have helped in its growth. Oxfords location is in an ideal place for a major university. It is located on the confluence of the Rivers Cherwill and Thames (Oxford 1). Since Oxford is not a great cathedral city its location is one of the things that helped it gain people and popularity in its earlier days (Leff 77). The fact that royal and religious people surrounded Oxford also attracted visitors and students to its whereabouts (Leff 77). Henry I built a palace at Woodstock, which is only a few miles down the road from Oxford (Leff 77). There are also two monasteries built around Oxford, which brought the religious people to the city (Leff 77). One of the major events in Oxfords past, which helped to bring students to the city, is when King Henry III banned English students from attending Paris University in 1167 (Story 4). This forced the English students who were attending Paris to come to Oxford if they wanted to continue their studies. King Henry IIIs ban greatly boosted the number of students attending Oxford University. These are a few of the major things that helped in the growth of Oxford University. The origins of an individual being the head of the school at Oxford are unknown to this day, but there are bits and pieces of historic information that show early leaders. There is some mention of a master of schools around 1201, but there is no chancellor in existence at that time (Thompson 2). In 1214 a charter of liberties, this involves the punishment of the townspeople, contains the first reference to a chancellor (Leff 79). The year 1214 marked the inauguration of a chancellor at Oxford University, whose name is Robert Grosseteste (Leff 79). The chancellor at Oxford symbolized something different than at its rival Paris University. At Oxford the chancellor stands for self-rule because, he was in the society of masters. While at Paris the chancellor was not in the society of masters so he would symbolize alien rule. Probably one of the earliest known teachers is Theobald Stampenisis in 1117 (Leff 77). He taught European fame and is said to have had around fifty pupils while he w as at Oxford (Leff 77). Emo of Friesland was the first student to attend Oxford from overseas in 1190 (History 1). His arrival marked the beginning of Oxford Universitys tradition of international scholarships. These are just a few of the notable leaders who brought about great things to Oxford University. Oxford Universitys relations with authority were something like a parent

Ataraxia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ataraxia - Essay Example It is a difficult state to attain in modern times, as it is almost impossible to be detached from the material world and gain access to philosophical state of mind. Hellenistic philosophy, also called philosophy of Plato recommended that man should be self-sufficient and self-dependent and should rely only on himself for happiness. It is important to find the right balance of mind, deed and outlook so that happiness is not beyond reach to attain ataraxia, imperturbability, which could also be termed as mere 'peace of mind'. "Ataraxia is a spiritual balance, the research of physical and psychical harmony so difficult to achieve by human beings. Ataraxia becomes a state of tension able to open our minds and be receptive towards life experiences" http://www.myspace.com/histrionia Epicurus gave a totally different meaning to ataraxia. This philosopher had given a lot of thought to death, its imminence and relevance in day-to-day life. He thought that without connection and thought of death, every day life takes a queer shape and hence, death is an inescapable truth and the ultimate aim. It is also a total blackout and hence not painful later, and we should avoid physical pain while being alive. And to live without being bothered by physical pain is the pleasure of life. "Since death is a total annihilation that cannot be experienced, in our present lives we need only live a simple life and seek always to avoid physical pain. It is pleasure, understood in this negative sense, that is the highest good for Epicurus. Freedom from mental disturbance. http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/epiu.htm EPICTETUS Epictetus stressed on basic good life of humans. According to him the good life itself is based on ataraxia and if one is conscious of it and controls his own life based on high values as a rational human being should do, he would live in complete happiness. He offered extensive arguments on complete and achievable happiness, based on his amazing understanding of life. "The eudaimonia ('happiness') of those who attain this ideal consists of ataraxia (imperturbability), apatheia (freedom from passion), eupatheiai ('good feelings'), and an awareness of, and capacity to attain, what counts as living as a rational being should. The key to transforming oneself into the Stoic sophos (wise person) is to learn what is 'in one's power', and this is 'the correct use of impressions' (phantasiai), which in outline involves not judging as good or bad anything that appears to one" http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/epictetu.htm He said people have to be motivated and inspired by virtue, act virtuously. According to him, life with right principles is the secret of attaining happiness. Total happiness cannot be achieved without a clear conscience and this cannot come without a guiltless life. Self-satisfaction and the feeling that the individual had taken every decision in life without selfishness, without any personal gain and with total ethical justice is the path that leads to a clear conscience and self-acceptance. He said this is the only way to attain imperturbability. DIOGENES Diogenes argued from an entirely diverse viewpoint. He said marriages should be made null and void and the family should become communal and the responsibility of community and State. He was so advanced for his time that he demanded patriotic citizenship and the citizenship of the world. Diogenes was considered to be