Federalist #10

Federalist #10 was written by James Madison in order to persuade the people to ratify the Constitution. This was the most popular of the Federalist papers. He states that the causes of factions cannot be removed, yet its effects can be controlled. He believed that a Republic was the cure for everything. To him, a strong federal government is definitely possible, and it would be well represented by the majority no matter what.
I think that Federalist #10 is well written, and it proves a good point. Factions should not be "eliminated," and the people would still have a say in a large republic. Madison strongly argues his points. Factions, I agree, do well represent the people's views.

Taking Sides

Howard Zinn's "no" argument is the most powerful and persuasive. What really bothered me was that the founding fathers claimed to be democratic when the only real representation was among the wealthy! Women, slaves, Native Americans, and poor people had no say and were not represented at all. After reading this point of view, it seems as if every decision that was made by the founding fathers was extremely beneficial to them, but limited the power of everyone else. In addition, I believe that they made the Constitution in such a way that the people felt more represented and cared about than they actually were. Also, the Bill of Rights was established to guarantee that the people had more freedoms; however, the Sedition Act of 1798 basically took those freedoms back. In conclusion, the founding fathers may have had good intentions, but they were not truly democratic if they only represented themselves.

Columbus Day

I do not agree with the celebration of Columbus Day. As Bill Howes believes, this sends the message that America is rooted in violence and genocide. Columbus acknowledged his actions toward the natives of America, and saw nothing wrong with it. Do we really want to have a holiday named after a mean and uncaring person? Also, he was not even the first person to "discover" America. There were already many natives living here, so why does a European get credit for finding something already "found?" Our country should abolish this holiday or, at least, the name.

Living in the Colonies

If I lived in the colonies, I would choose to live in the Middle colonies. I ruled out the Southern colonies immediately because they were just too preoccupied with slavery, and there was basically no "family life." The New England colonies don't really appeal to me either because of the emphasis they put on strict religious practices. I wouldn't want to be punished for thinking differently about my God! The Middle colonies represent the perfect habitat for me because, even though it wasn't perfect there, they were a mix between the other colonies. Opportunities for religious freedom (and other freedoms) were abundant. To sum up what I believe, the Middle colonies were more liberal, and therefore provided an extraordinary place to grow and to succeed.