Essay #3 Reflection

1)Group Interaction

I think my group interacted well with each other. We got along and talked to each other about the project a lot to make sure that everyone did an equal amount of work. There weren't really any conflicts with our group and we got along well with each other. I like my group members and we work well together.

2)Use of Contract

We didn't really use our contract a whole lot. We used it for what each person was going to be doing on the wiki, but that was really it. We did not need to use it for punishment because everyone did their work and we didn't really have any problems. It was helpful that we had already decided who was going to do what as far as research and posting goes.

3)Use of Wiki

We used our wiki a lot for posting research and the parts that we had written before we put them all into one essay. The wiki was great because it was a way for all group members to stay connected with each other and stay on track. I found it very helpful and it allowed me to stay on the same page as the rest of my group members. It was also one central place where we could all post our writing so it was easy to put together when we put it all into the essay.

4)Individual Progress

I think my writing has progressed quite a bit since the beginning of this year. At first it was hard trying to relearn how to write an essay and unlearn the five paragraph structure that they taught us in high school. I feel like I am doing better at writing and it comes somewhat easier to me now than before.

Essay #3 Final Draft By Tyler, Ericka, Megan, and Patrick

The views of Massachusetts, especially those advocating the ratification of the New Constitution, are widespread within the state. There was still, however, the presence of anti-federalism within Massachusetts, though it was drowned out by the mainstream federalist viewpoints. Although there were some reasons to fear and even oppose the ratification of the Constitution, the most intelligent and responsible thing to do would have been to scrap the Articles of Confederation and abide by the newly composed Constitution. Yes, the ratification of the New Constitution would cause changes to occur, but they would be for the best. The independent states would become united in a governmental sense. There were many reasons it was necessary to strive towards a strong centralized government. They were able to add amendments, and all states carried equal weight in the say of our country. Our new government would also keep itself in balance, with the introduction of three branches: judicial, legislative, and executive.

The federalist and anti-federalist parties were divided over the House of Representatives. Anti-federalists disliked the idea that all the states would carry equal weight. Larger states would lose some political power and smaller states would gain political power in order to make the states have equal weight. Some of the larger states did not like this obviously because their political power was lessened because they were a larger state. The anti-federalists were not happy about the representation for each state for a different reason. They believed that the representation for each state was too small and the term was too long. One member in the House of Representatives represented about 30,000 people from their state. Whereas, the members in the state legislatures are annually elected, are selected by small circles of people, are not moved very far from their homes, their community knows everything they do, and they frequently see the people they are representing. This allows them to represent their community accurately and the people can be assured that they are well represented and their opinions are heard. Anti-federalists were afraid that with one member representing 30,000 people that there would be no way for their opinions to represented accurately. They also feared that the only representatives elected would be members of the elite and that the middle and lower classes would be shoved aside and forgotten. The federalists just wanted people who were intelligent, powerful leaders. Leaders who would pass powerful amendments that would please all the states. This was just one of the concerns that stood in the way of the ratification of the Constitution.

The anti-federalists of Massachusetts had the concern that ratifying the Constitution would demean the original Constitution of Massachusetts. Ratifying the Federal Constitution would necessitate changes in there own constitution “which would be a violation of the compact,” (1). However the Federal Constitution is not as set in stone as the Massachusetts Constitution unlike the Massachusetts Constitution the federal Constitution can be amended. The ability to make amendments is one of the most appealing attributes of the Constitution. Under the new constitution the people now would not be confined to inflexibility of the old system. The people have been presented with the power to make amendments, the government will always be held in place by the people. The people of Massachusetts chose to embrace the new Constitution and let go of the ties they had to their own Constitution. The Federalists prevailed and the Constitution was ratified.

Though the one of the US Constitution’s biggest goals was to unify the people, many thought that it would do just the opposite and divide society’s powers even further. A large argument against the ratification of the constitution, especially within Massachusetts, was that there’d be a strong separation within the states; some thought that ratifying the constitution would further disconnect the classes. This argument was founded on the basis of those who wrote the Constitution itself. Citizens believed that because the writers of the Constitution were mostly part upper class Americans, that only the wealthy upper-class men and women would hold positions of power and control in the land. Also, those select believe that the power that they controlled would be absolute. These few are severely misinformed, because there are several checks and balances that keep the government in check, both by the people and within its structure.

Belief that those who hold power control absolutely only fuels the argument towards ratification of the Constitution itself. First off, anyone can hold a place in the government as long as they’re upstanding citizens, and the people wish them to hold that position. These constrictions ensure that only productive citizens are successful in attaining a political position.

In the end the federalists won and dominated the anti-federalist perspective. The federalist’s votes outnumbered the anti-federalist votes and the constitution was ratified. Helping lay down the foundation of the great nation of America. Even though the ratification process was far from over, Massachusetts had contributed their valuable vote. Although there was still internal strife throughout the country, Massachusetts had taken a firm stand and ratified the Constitution.

Sources:

(1)Harding, Sammuel B. "The Contest Over the Ratification of the Federal Constitution in the State of Massachusetts." Harvard Historical Studies 2 (1896): 1-196. Google Scholar. Ratification of the Constitution Massachusetts.

(2) Dougherty, Mary. The American Promise: A History of the United States. 3. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

(3) McGeveran,, William A., ed. "Origin of the Constitution." World Almanac and Book of Facts (2002): 530. EBSCO. Highline, Federal Way. 15 Nov. 2007. Keyword: Constitution.

Opinions

Megan:

I believe Massachusetts was just being cautious before it ratified something that would govern them for the rest of their lives. The Constitution is very important and Massachusetts just wanted to make sure that the Constitution was how they wanted it to be before ratifying it. They did end up ratifying the Constitution in the end but they were not the same as the other states.

Ericka:

Massachusetts was discerning about the ratification of the constitution. They didn’t runaround ratifying things willy nilly like the first states to ratify the constitution. Like a toad Massachusetts looked before it jumped, the other states were little frogs, they didn’t look before they jumped. After thorough examination and much debate Massachusetts ended up leaping into the glorious world of ratifying the constitution. I believe that the Massachusetts way was the best way to approach the ratifying of the Constitution. I think we all should be more like Massachusetts; they were champs at making good life choices. They analyzed the situation, strove to make it better, and then ratified the constitution like good little Americans should.

Tyler:

Since the Constitution was ratified in the end, and Massachusetts was a federalist state, I agree with their decisions and opinions. At the time, a strong centralized government was necessary. Being independent states with separate governments would not help them expand either land or control. They needed to have a stronger system that would allow them to have individual voices. Sort of like an umbrella that reached over all the states entirely was, and still is, necessary. Massachusetts was internally conflicted about the ratification of the New Constitution and was the first state to give the cause of ratifying the document trouble. Even their concerns were understandable; they did break from a centralized government, parliament, and they feared stepping back into those times. Overall, their federalist views overwhelmed their anti-federalist thoughts, and I agree wholeheartedly.

Patrick:

I stand on the Federalist side of the fight. The reason I agree with the constitution is because I agree that since all of the colonies had so much in common it would be a horrible idea to not all cooperate and function under the same government. I think that it would have been a bad idea for all of the states to run individually and have their own government for the simple fact that the colonies can all benefit from each other tremendously. It would be better because they can all use the ports and stand together in disagreements with other entities such as England.

Essay #3 Rough Draft

Massachusetts was primarily a federalist colony in the eighteenth century. Federalism was much more followed and was a very logical way of looking at things but there was still the presence of Anti-federalism in Massachusetts at this point in time. There was a huge separation between the upper and the lower class because the writers of the constitution were primarily upper class citizens. The ratification of the constitution caused changes in Massachusetts. The key arguments the Massachusettians had towards ratifying the constitution were that they were able to add amendments, and for the ability for all of the states to carry equal weight and they strived towards the ability to have legislation, judicial and executive.

The federalists and anti-federalists were also divided over the House of Representatives. The federalists liked the idea that all the states would carry equal weight. Larger states would lose some political power and smaller states would gain political power in order to make the states have equal weight. Some of the larger states did not like this obviously because their political power was lessened because they were a larger state. The anti-federalists were not happy about the representation for each state for a different reason. They believed that the representation for each state was too small and the term was too long. One member in the House of Representatives represented about 30,000 people from their state. Whereas, the members in the state legislatures are annually elected, are selected by small circles of people, are not moved very far from their homes, their community knows everything they do, and they frequently see the people they are representing. This allows them to represent their community accurately and the people can be assured that they are well represented and their opinions are heard. Anti-federalists were afraid that with one member representing 30,000 people that there would be no way for their opinions to represented accurately. They also feared that the only representatives elected would be members of the elite and that the middle and lower classes would be shoved aside and forgotten. The federalists just wanted people who were intelligent, powerful leaders. This was not the only problem that stood in the way of the ratification of the Constitution.

The anti-federalists of Massachusetts had the concern that ratifying the Constitution would demean the original Constitution of Massachusetts. Ratifying the Federal Constitution would necessitate changes in there own constitution “which would be a violation of the compact,” (1). However the Federal Constitution is not as set in stone as the Massachusetts Constitution unlike the Massachusetts Constitution the federal Constitution can be amended. The ability to make amendments is one of the most appealing attributes of the Constitution. Under the new constitution the people now would not be confined to inflexibility of the old system. The people have been presented with the power to make amendments, the government will always be held in tact by the people. The people of Massachusetts chose to embrace the new Constitution and let go of the ties they had to their own Constitution. The Federalists prevailed and the Constitution was ratified.

Though the one of the US Constitution’s biggest goals was to unify the people, many thought that it would do just the opposite and divide society’s powers even further. A large argument against the ratification of the constitution, especially within Massachusetts, was that there’d be a strong separation within the states; some thought that ratifying the constitution would further disconnect the classes. This argument was founded on the basis of those who wrote the Constitution itself. Citizens believed that because the writers of the Constitution were mostly part upper class Americans, that only the wealthy upper-class men and women would hold positions of power and control in the land. Also, those select believe that the power that they controlled would be absolute. These few are severely misinformed, because there are several checks and balances that keep the government in check, both by the people and within its structure.

Belief that those who hold power control absolutely only fuels the argument towards ratification of the Constitution itself. First off, anyone can hold a place in the government as long as they’re upstanding citizens, and the people wish them to hold that position. These constrictions ensure that only productive citizens are successful in attaining a political position.

In the end the federalists won and dominated over anti-federalism. The constitution was ratified and there was an agreement to accept federalism more so than anti-federalism. So the future had been set in place. Now the people of Massachusetts had a common ground and a place build up from. Now that the whole ratifying and not ratifying situation had been dealt with the country as a whole could work towards making America what it is today. Their country had finally been formed and showed structure.

Opinions

Megan:

I believe Massachusetts was just being cautious before it ratified something that would govern them for the rest of their lives. The Constitution is very important and Massachusetts just wanted to make sure that the Constitution was how they wanted it to be before ratifying it. They did end up ratifying the Constitution in the end but they were not the same as the other states.

Ericka:

Massachusetts was discerning about the ratification of the constitution. They didn’t runaround ratifying things willy nilly like the first states to ratify the constitution. Like a toad Massachusetts looked before it jumped, the other states were little frogs, they didn’t look before they jumped. After thorough examination and much debate Massachusetts ended up leaping into the glorious world of ratifying the constitution. I believe that the Massachusetts way was the best way to approach the ratifying of the Constitution. I think we all should be more like Massachusetts; they were champs at making good life choices. They analyzed the situation, strove to make it better, and then ratified the constitution like good little Americans should.

Tyler:

Since the Constitution was ratified in the end, and Massachusetts was a federalist state, I agree with their decisions and opinions. At the time, a strong centralized government was necessary. Being independent states with separate governments would not help them expand either land or control. They needed to have a stronger system that would allow them to have individual voices. Sort of like an umbrella that reached over all the states entirely was, and still is, necessary. Massachusetts was internally conflicted about the ratification of the New Constitution and was the first state to give the cause of ratifying the document trouble. Even their concerns were understandable; they did break from a centralized government, parliament, and they feared stepping back into those times. Overall, their federalist views overwhelmed their anti-federalist thoughts, and I agree wholeheartedly.

Patrick:

I stand on the Federalist side of the fight. The reason I agree with the constitution is because I agree that since all of the colonies had so much in common it would be a horrible idea to not all cooperate and function under the same government. I think that it would have been a bad idea for all of the states to run individually and have their own government for the simple fact that the colonies can all benefit from each other tremendously. It would be better because they can all use the ports and stand together in disagreements with other entities such as England.

AOD #9

Last week my family celebrated Thanksgiving. I did not realize that celebration and appreciation was an art of democracy, but it definitely is important to show thanks and appreciation for what we have done. Thanksgiving is a perfect time for this. It is a time to appreciate what we have accomplished and all of the wonderful family we have in our lives. I had a magnificent time with my family this Thanksgiving. Everyone on my mom’s side of the family lives in this general area in Washington so we all get together for the holidays. Even though we all live up here we don’t necessarily see each other a whole lot, so holidays are a nice time to catch up on things and see everyone and just have a good time together.

AOD #8

During our wiki group essay we had to talk to the people in our group and work with them and collaborate about who was going to do what. When we were deciding about what jobs to assign everyone we took into consideration what people’s strengths and weaknesses were. People we were good researchers did the research and found the sources. People who were good writers wrote more of the essay and did the editing. If we hadn’t paid any attention to those strengths and weaknesses then we would have had a harder time writing the essay. If we had people who were not good at find good sources trying to research then we might not have had good sources and probably had fewer sources. And the same thing goes for if we had had the people who aren’t the strongest at writing doing the paper then it might not have been as good. We really needed to utilize each other to write a strong, successful essay.

AOD #7

Today we did our reflections for our second essay. We reflected on our work and how well we thought we did. Then we evaluated our progress since our last essay and how well we worked with our partners and how well both we and our partner worked on the essay. We were asked to talk about how much better we did since the last essay and how we used our writing process.

This is the evaluation and reflection arts of democracy concept. We were assessing the lessons we had learned in Craig’s and Ben’s class and how we incorporated those into our essay.

Essay #2 Reflection

1) Your progress from essay #1 to essay #2
This essay did seem easier to write and I knew what was required more than the first essay. I knew where to go for sources and what sources were credible. I think that my writing has improved since my last essay. I think I did well on this essay. I tried to communicate with my partner. I did all of my work and got things done on time. I was a little confused towards the end as far as turning it in, but I think most people were at least a little bit confused.
2)How did your process mesh with your partners?
My process did not mesh very much with my partner's. We mainly did our own thing. We started out with the same process but once we got into writing the essay our processes varied. I did not really know what my partner was doing compared to what I was doing. I do think my partner did the work I think we just needed to communicate with what we were doing. As far as doing the essay goes I think my partner did very well. He did his end of the project. As far as communicating with me what he was doing, did not go so well.
3)If you had it, how did you handle creative conflict? If you didn't, what made your collaboration work?
I guess you could say that our creative conflict wasn't really the problem. It was the lack of communication between each other that caused problems. We were not on the same page all the time and so we did not know what the other person was doing so we just kind of did our own thing. Then when we tried to match up it made it more difficult. Other than the lack of communication, our collaboration worked okay. We didn't really have any creative conflict. When we did communicate things went smoothly and we were both able to say what we wanted to say.

Final Essay #2 By Megan Thomas and Chris Orr

Dear William,

I hope you are well in these times of turmoil. I am sorry to hear that year business is not going well. It is just another reason for us to end this war and separate from Britain. I do not understand why you are so afraid of becoming free and ruling ourselves. We do not need Britain to sustain us. All they have done is violate our rights and force us to start this horrible war.

Jacob left to go help our brothers quite a while ago and I miss him terribly. I get letters from him occasionally. He is doing well. I have had to take over all of the duties on the farm here, which has not become uncommon around here. The other women near often come together and we discuss matters as if we were in congress or parliament.

You are not the only one who is still fooled by His Majesty’s illusions. There are many others here who believe that letting them take our rights is equal to the so called “protection” they give us. Well who is going to protect us from them? The British make all these promises and give us supposed “rights”, but then they tax us without representation and do not give us the rights that our ancestors were given. Only part of the problem is the tax itself. It's the principle, the fact that they taxed us without our own representation. They did not have the right to do that. They have too much power over us and do not care about our rights.

I fear for myself with my husband gone. The soldiers just barge into the house and demand food and lodging without any kind words. I know we need to be independent from Britain and that it is the best thing for us. I just can’t believe that you would believe that anyone that uses their authority that way would benefit us. You say that we are a valuable part of England, and yet England does not consider us valuable enough to not impose upon those rights and freedoms they gave us initially.

I know you believe that our resistance is worthless and we are only wasting our time trying to fight the most powerful nation in the world. But these are our rights, our freedom that we must claim for our own. We should be able to make our own laws and tax ourselves. And that money should go to us. They may give us some freedoms but they take away many more and those freedoms are not guaranteed. Yes, we have lots of new, free land, but we do not need Britain to tell us what we can take for our own. That is simply opportunity, not freedom. I really wish you could understand this, brother. I know you want to remain loyal to the king but I strongly urge you to change your mind.

Well I wish for this letter finds you well. I am very concerned for you and pray for you everyday. Let me know if you ever need a favor. I will try and do all that I can for you. I hope that your business keeps you well sustained until we have our freedom. Then I promise you that you will prosper like never before. I speak the truth and I hope you will see that. I will write often.

Your dearest sister,
Elizabeth Bailey

Sources:
1)The American Promise text book
2)Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 (http://moe.ic.highline.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=a9h&AN=21212324&site=ehost-live&scope=site)
3)Is Patriotism A Mistake? (http://moe.ic.highline.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=a9h&AN=4012279&site=ehost-live&scope=site)

Essay #2 Rough Draft

Dear William,

I hope you are well in these times of turmoil. I am sorry to hear that year business is not going well. It is just another reason for us to end this war and separate from Britain. I do not understood why you are so afraid of becoming free and ruling ourselves. We do not need Britain to sustain us. All they have done is violate our rights and force us to start this horrible war.

Jacob left to go help our brothers quite a while ago and I miss him terribly. I get letters from him occasionally. He is doing well. I have had to take over all of the duties on the farm here, which has not become uncommon around here. The other women near often come together and we discuss matters as if we were in congress or parliament.

You are not the only one who is still fooled by His Majesty’s illusions. There are many others here who believe that letting them take our rights is equal to the so called “protection” they give us. Well who is going to protect us from them? The British make all these promises and give us supposed “rights”, but then they tax us without representation and do not give us the rights that our ancestors were given.

What protection are they giving us? I fear for myself with my husband gone. The soldiers just barge into the house and demand food and lodging without any kind words. I have been lucky because the other day Isabel came rushing into the house in a panic. She had bruises everywhere and was limping a little. When I asked her what happened she told me that those horrible soldiers had taken over her house. This is getting so out of control and I do not know how much longer I can take all of this. I know we need to be independent from Britain and that it is the best thing for us. I just can’t believe that you would believe that anyone that uses their authority that way would benefit us.

I know you believe that our resistance is worthless and we are only wasting our time trying to fight the most powerful nation in the world. But these are our rights, our freedom that we must claim for our own. We should be able to make our own laws and tax ourselves. And that money should go to us. I really wish you could understand this, brother. I know you want to remain loyal to the king but I strongly urge you to change your mind.

Well I wish for this letter finds you well. I am very concerned for you and pray for you everyday. Let me know if you ever need a favor. I will try and do all that I can for you. I hope that your business keeps you well sustained until we have our freedom. Then I promise you that you will prosper like never before. I will write often.


Your dearest sister,
Elizabeth Bailey

AOD #6

Whenever we have a guest speaker I try to listen actively. I try to be attentive and take notes. I also try and ask questions to help me understand what they are talking about further. This really helps me understand what they are talking about and it also helps me remember what they said later on and if I do not remember then I have notes to go back and look at it to refresh my memory. I think this also encourages the speaker when you are asking questions and being attentive because you actually look like you care about what they are saying and it seems to encourage them and make them more confident.