A history lesson
By now you have probably read all that you want to read about the Gilder-Lehrman seminar so I will keep this final posting brief.
Our last day of the seminar focused on the presidency of George Washington and a quick review of the passionate people of this time period: Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Burr to name a few. Each of these men and their families are worth their own seminar. Keeping that in mind, I recently purchased Ron Chernow’s book “Alexander Hamilton.” This 700+ page book should make excellent beach reading.
From 1790 till about 1800, the country came close to a civil war. The issue of the day was how to control the tyranny of the majority. Madison was most eloquent on this topic in his Federalist Paper #10 where he identified the numerous factions or differences in the country as the saving power of the republic. A diversity of ideas would allow all to be heard. Madison, along with many of the other Founders, assumed that the most enlightened individuals would rise to leadership positions and lead the country. While this may not have worked out at all times, our country has survived and thrived.
The main lesson of history is change is inevitable. We may not see the changes as we live our daily lives, but we can all look back on earlier days and recognize that life is not the same. Some of these changes can be discouraging and other changes may give us an optimistic spirit. So now the question becomes, what is your role in this fast changing country? Time for reflection…….
Our last day of the seminar focused on the presidency of George Washington and a quick review of the passionate people of this time period: Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Burr to name a few. Each of these men and their families are worth their own seminar. Keeping that in mind, I recently purchased Ron Chernow’s book “Alexander Hamilton.” This 700+ page book should make excellent beach reading.
From 1790 till about 1800, the country came close to a civil war. The issue of the day was how to control the tyranny of the majority. Madison was most eloquent on this topic in his Federalist Paper #10 where he identified the numerous factions or differences in the country as the saving power of the republic. A diversity of ideas would allow all to be heard. Madison, along with many of the other Founders, assumed that the most enlightened individuals would rise to leadership positions and lead the country. While this may not have worked out at all times, our country has survived and thrived.
The main lesson of history is change is inevitable. We may not see the changes as we live our daily lives, but we can all look back on earlier days and recognize that life is not the same. Some of these changes can be discouraging and other changes may give us an optimistic spirit. So now the question becomes, what is your role in this fast changing country? Time for reflection…….
posted by "1776 and More" at 4:57 PM
1 Comments:
Dr. Wood...Pulitizer Prize winning author; his book on Ben Franklin is on the best seller list!
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