“Of the Ends of Political Society and Government,” Ch. IX
•
Then write down the differences between life before and after the social contract.
Do the readings give any clues as to the reasons behind the establishment of government?
•
Go to
The Federalist Papers
and read nos. 1-4 and 9-10. Then, find two reasons why individuals willingly give up their
freedom to the government. Why are these reasons important?
•
In your opinion, what do the readings from
Locke’s Second Treatise of
Government
and
The Federalist Papers
have in common?
2. Do you think a social contract should last forever? Or are there any
circumstances under which it could and should be changed?
•
Read the
US Constitution: http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
•
Has this document remained the same since it was ratified? On what evidence did
you base your answer?
•
Did our forefathers expect the U.S. Constitution to remain the same or did they
provide any mechanism to change it? What was it? Where is it regulated?
•
Historically, what were the reasons behind great changes to the US Constitution?
Choose three changes and explain them. For that purpose link the dates of the changes to
historical events you will find in these addresses: “Living the Legacy: The Women’s
Rights Movement 1848 – 1998,”
“prohibition” movement, see:
;
“Africans in America: Abolitionism,” http://seed210.tripod.com/abolitionism.htm
; and on the Vietnam war see:
and
“Give 17-Year-Olds a Local Vote,” The Tech, vol. 122, no. 16 (Friday, April 5, 2002),
3. Write one page (double space) explaining when the Constitution of the US
changed and when do you think it should have changed.
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GO TO STEP II→
9
Convention