1. What is Civil Disobedience? How did Thoreau utilize this process? What was he protesting against? What is his critique of American society? How was his idea practiced in other movements?
Henry David Thoreau asserts that people should not allow the government to atrophy and overrule their conscience. The government has to govern the least. In fact, a government that does not govern at all tend to be the best (Thoreau 99). Civil disobedience refers to nonviolent resistance and the need to prioritize personal conscience over what is dictated by law. In most cases, civil disobedience entails active and professed refusal to respect certain demands, commands and laws of the government. Thoreau utilized this process in various ways. In fact, civil disobedience formed a platform to revolutionary changes in America (Thoreau 102). He influenced many people through the process of civil disobedience. Through the process, tremendous social reforms began in the America. Thoreau was protesting against the unjust laws that existed. On the same note, Thoreau also protected against the payment of tax (Thoreau 105). He asserted that payment of tax to the government is one of the ways of supporting the injustice that exist in government; hence, he refused to pay tax. In addition, Thoreau protested against the social policies and institutions, which mostly focused on Mexican-American War and slavery. According to Thoreau, the government is unjust because of its support on aggressive war and slavery. He critics the institutions and policies that existed in government because it supported slavery, aggressive war, and other unjust activities.
2. What are the Constitutional amendments associated with Roe v. Wade? Name three reasons why abortion remained illegal prior to 1973? What argument is most prominent when arguing about abortion as an issue (doesn’t matter if you are pro-choice or pro-life).
The issue of abortion is one of the constitutional amendments associated with Roe V. Wade. The 14th Amendments was extended during the process. The focus was the aspects of balancing the issue of protecting the health of women and protecting prenatal life. The Roe V. Wade reshaped the politics of the United States because it divided people to pro-life and pro-choice groups (Roe V. Wade112). There were three reasons why abortion remained illegal prior to 1973. One of the reason is that the laws that existed were the product of Victorian social issues that was meant to discourage aspects of illicit sexual conduct. The issue of medical procedure was also another reason behind illegal abortion prior to 1973 (Roe V. Wade113). The third reason was due to the state interest in protecting parental life. Women have the right to make their personal decisions on whether to undertake an abortion or not. Abortion should be based on the fact that women have a constitutional right to make their decisions. Various reasons drive the decisions. Abortion need to be legal based on medical reasons.
3. Touch upon THREE significant aspects of the African American experience you learned in class.
One of the significant aspects of African American experience that I learned in class entails the issue of slavery. The slaves underwent various challenges that became a barrier to their prosperity. The African American lacked various opportunities to evils associated with slavery. Lack of education and aspects of ignorance tend to dominate among African Americans. These aspects brought out the issues of embarrassment and hesitancy when addressing a group In fact; it is elaborated that slavery was a poor school for human heart and intellect. (Douglass 4). The third issues are the aspects of property ownership. The African Americans did not have the privilege to own property. The only thing they had was the constitutional liberty of conscience and person (Houston 298).
4. How is The Great Gatsby related to Jazz music? Draw connections between the story and the music.
Jazz has been taken to be the purest expression of American democracy. These are based on the fact that the music is built on compromise and individualism, corporation, and independence. The Great Gatsby is related to Jazz music in various ways (Fitzgerald 55). Based on the stories and music during the Jazz age it brings out the relationship with Great Gatsby. The relationship is based on the music. The dancing styles, and the lyrics of Jazz are the things that took place in The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald 136). The Gatsby parties were very typical during the Jazz age. In fact, Jazz music is associated with individualism, independent, and simplicity. During the Gatsby parties, people who attended came with simplicity of heart. The themes in the Great Gatsby also brings out the relationship between Jazz music and the Great Gatsby. Some of the themes of the Great Gatsby that create the portrait of the Jazz music include social upheaval, idealism, and resistance to change 9PBS). The songs played, and tunes played while the Great Gatsby parties were related to the Jazz music. The entertainment was played by jazz orchestra. In the general perspective, the Great Gatsby is related to Jazz music.
5. What are the main debates on the economy today? Who are freshwater and saltwater economists and what do they believe? How are they similar and where do they differ?
The main datable issue in the economy is whether the economy is expected to improve in the future. In fact, people who went through financial recession tend to focus on how not to go into the same economic situation again (Putnam n.p). On the same note, people debate on how the U.S economy has improved since the 2008 recession. The essence of the application of policies by economists is also a debatable issue (Primack n.p). The economics need to take a central role in dealing with depression and recessions. The freshwater economists are economists of the 1970s who challenged the consensus that prevailed on macroeconomic research. The freshwater economists were the purists in different issues. They believe that all the economic analysis begins from the fact that individual are rational. Some of the freshwater economists include Robert Lucas (Krugman n.p). Saltwater economists were pragmatic in the sense that it believed that the government had a role to play in stabilizing the economy. They both believed that the monetary policy that is well administered could yield results that are expected in the economy (Krugman n.p). They differed on is of theory and the economic policies.
Works cited
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845. < http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/f-douglas/narrative- douglass.pdf>
Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. < http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Great- Gatsby.pdf>
Houston, Alan. The Autobiography and other Writings on Politics, Economics, and Virtue. Cambridge. University of Cambridge, 2004 < http://www.lightforcenetwork.com/sites/default/files/Autobiography%20and%20Other% 20Writings%20%28Cambridge%20Texts%20in%20the%20History%20of%20Political% 20Thought%29%20-%20Benjamin%20Franklin.pdf>
Krugman, Paul. How did Economists Get it so Wrong?, The New York Times. September 2, 2009 < http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic- t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&>
PBS. Jazz Film by Ken Burns. http://www.pbs.org/jazz/
Primack, Dan. If the U.S. Economy is so Good, why do we Fell so Bad? Fortune. October 30, 2014 < http://fortune.com/2014/10/30/us-economic-midterm-voters-reality/>
Putnam, Blu. 5 reasons 2014 is Looking Good for the U.S. Economy. U.S. News and World Report. Jan 15, 2014 < http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/01/15/5-reasons- 2014-is-looking-good-for-the-us-economy>
Roe V. Wade. The American Experience, 1973
Thoreau, Henry. The American Experience: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1849
