Republicanism: Being A Citizen In A Nation: Citizens

Once Woods explains society and the shifts that were taking place in society and government, he goes on to explain the nature of republicanism. The ideals of republicanism took a firm hold in the colonies. He claims that republican “disinterest” was essential to the formation of America. This term is oftenly thought of as public virtue or the “willingness to sacrifice private interests for the sake of the community including serving in office without pecuniary reward”. When the nation formed citizens, particularly the elites, were pushed to overlook private interests and developed a disinterested state of mind in order to further the state of the republic.

It’s hard to say what the constitution means to me, what my favorite part is, or how it applies to me. It’s the fabric of our civilization, a cluster of ideas that outline the socio political experiment that is America. It sets up a government that ideally can’t screw anyone over. Even better is it is the basis of american morals. We teach it to kids. Then they grow up learning not to judge people off things they can’t control, and instead to judge based off their actions. They learn to accept people because our immigration laws that allow almost anyone who wants to become an american citizen can become one. This sets up a mixing pot of cultures that conglomerates into one unique culture.

The Republican Party believes that the government should not have a big part in the average American's life. They believe in taxes being lowered and less spending on social programs, they believe in the advancement of women in the military, marriage should be between man and woman.The republican party also believes that criminals can't cause harm or damage to anybody or anything if they are locked behind bars, that the death penalty should be enforced on major criminals and big drug kingpins, that our taxes should be going towards cleaning up our environment and finding better energy sources. They believe that we should help poor nations, that Americans should have a right to firearms without having to obtain a license to posses one, that the government should open more public land for hunting, that we should track each foreign traveler and should not have aerial surveillance over U.S soil, That increasing our minimum wage makes our country more competitive.

Citizenship can be defined as the position or status of being a citizen in a particular country (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). This definition is not very broad, nor does it cover the many aspects of citizenship that exist in the 21st century. It is not only about being a legal citizen of a particular country, it is also about being a social citizen. You can be a citizen of Australia but choose to live elsewhere for the majority of your life. In terms of citizenship it is relevant on a political and social level. If you are actively contributing to the country in which you live in some ways you are fulfilling your duties as a citizen.

A just society as one in which all citizens willingly subordinated their private, selfish interests to the common good

The answer can be found in the section “Republicanism and the Basis of Representative Democracy.”

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.” Without the right that the Constitution brings us, we wouldn’t have rights therefore the United States wouldn’t be a good place to live in. The Constitution brings us the right of freedom of speech (first amendment) , the right to bear arms (second amendment), and the right to protect against unreasonable government actions such as search and seizure of person property (fourth amendment). Being an American citizen means that you have rights that they would like you to fulfil. As an American citizen is it voluntary to vote, but others are required such as obeying the law and paying taxes. The Magna Carta, John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, and the Petition of Rights explains the rights and the responsibilities of an American citizen.

The Federalists and Republicans had contrasting outlook on how the young nation’s government should function. Alexandra Hamilton’s Federalists were an advocate for a strong and centralize role of the government. Federalist’s vision for a stronger government who had the power to tax, make treaties, control exports/imports, and declare war. They believed the “elites” should rule over the masses because these individuals would most likely hold elective positions in government. As for Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson, featured a lesser role of the federal government and favored a strong state government. Republicans believed the states should hold more power to protect the subordinate farmer form the business capitalist. Also Jeffersonian Republicans yearned for a strict interpretation of the Constitution, while Federalists opted for a loose interpretation. This meant Republicans concluded the federal government can only operate under the powers expressed by the

The Republican Party came up in the early 1790s during the reign of George Washington. In 1789, George Washington was elected unanimously as the American president and Thomas Jefferson was his Secretary of State (Bell, 1973). Jefferson and his people believed in states’ rights and a strict constitutional interpretation. They held that a strong central government presented a threat to the various independent liberties. The party followers viewed the United States of America as a combination of several sovereign entities brought together by a shared collective interest. Alexander Hamilton, who was the secretary of the national treasury, believed that a powerful central government was necessary to the peace and unity of the entire country. They argued for a comprehensive interpretation of the Constitution and viewed the Constitution need to evolve along with the nation’s growth.

Alexander hamilton and federalists believed that only the “best people” should be in charge the country. He believed that the qualified people should be well educated, wealthy, and public- spirited men like themselves, such people had the time, education and background to run the country right. Federalists favored a strong national government, they hoped to use the new government's power under the Constitution to unite the quarreling states and keeping order among the people, in their view the rights of states were not nearly as important as national power and unity. Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Republicans favored democracy over any other form of government, they had no patience with the Federalists’ view that only “the best people” should rule. To republicans, this view came dangerously close to monarchy, or to rule by a king. Republicans believed that the best form of government is the one that was favored the least, a small government with limited powers was most likely to leave the people alone to enjoy the blessings of liberty. To keep the national government small, they insisted on a strict construction, or interpretation, of the Constitution. The entire point to make the nation better in Thomas Jefferson’s view was because of the way that the British ruled with a monarchy. The people of America did not want a monarchy government, that is why Thomas Jefferson strived to change the

After the ratification of the Constitution, Americans were divided on their political stance. Should the people of our great nation be governed by a central government that would ultimately make up all of the laws and rules for them to abide by? Should the people determine the majority of the formation and configuration of their nation? Both are questions of the whether the Federalists or Republicans should run our government. Republicans believed that the government should govern according to the needs and opinions of the people because the people of a nation deserve liberties, freedom, and a voice within the political ring.

The Republican interpretation disagrees with the Liberal interpretation that ideas and beliefs are the sole motivation, but they think that they should still be studied. Republicans also reject the progressive view that Founders were only interested in their fortune. Instead, Republicans believe that the Founders were inspired by ancient societies like the Greeks and Romans and the Enlightenment. The teachings of the three

They believe government policies should be for the common good of all American people. While the republican values are hard work, family, and all life. They believe that the American family should be strengthened through new policies. The economy is a very important part of all societies.

political system I see around me to the best of my understanding. Republicans don’t like the government to

As stated in the film The House We Live In: Race—The Power of an Illusion “Whiteness was key to citizenship.”, in the United States. Being white was subjectively understood, it did not necessarily indicate your ancestry. The Court would make decisions about who was considered white or black under the law. Congress had passed an act in 1790 declaring that only "free white" immigrants could become naturalized citizens. Naturalization was extended to “persons of African descent” after the Civil War. Even still white citizens were the only ones who had the right to vote and participate in government duties as well as having access to better jobs. You could only gain the full benefits of being an American citizen if you were white. As stated by Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum and Carr (2015), “In modern societies, most people living within the borders of the political system are citizens having common rights and duties and knowing themselves to be members of a national community.” (p.396). The definition of citizenship changed over time because at first in order to be a naturalized citizen in the United States you had to be characterized as white or black. But with so many immigrants coming into the country of all different races, being defined as either white or black presented as a problem. In 1857 (Dred Scott) African Americans were not considered citizens and were not granted citizenship