Cinco de Mayo


When we think of the fifth of May what comes to mind? Mexican food and beer?  What about the defeat of French forces at the battle of Puebla?

In 1862 as the United States was engulfed in the Civil War, Mexico was fighting for it’s independence from European powers (England and France) that sought to subject Mexico under their rule. The person of Maxamillian was installed as the new Emperor of Mexico and the fight was on. That year, Mexican forces defeated the French in the state of Puebla. North of the border Californians  took note of the events occurring south of Mexico City. The Californians couldn’t help but notice the similarities between what was occurring in Mexico and the struggle going on in the United States; they celebrated the defeat of tyranny in Mexico as a sign of the defeat of the tyranny of slavery. During the 1960′s and 70′s, during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, the holiday of Cinco de Mayo was used as a way of promoting pride in being Mexican. Like the original intentions of the Californians a hundred years prior, the Chicano movement sought to use the events surrounding Cinco de Mayo as a way of promoting a change in the United States.

Today, unfortunately, most Americans are ignorant of the origins of “Mexico’s greatest holiday.”

Published in: on May 5, 2013 at 16:03  Leave a Comment  

Roman Historiography: Politics & Morality


 

History has the purpose of telling people who they are, where they came from and teaching lessons. It is the purpose of the historian to tell a story, whether it is cultural, political, biographical, etc. The Roman people learned the art of history from the Greeks who first began recording history. Roman historians quickly became interested in one specific area of history: politics. It was important for them to record for posterity why it was their body politic was as successful as it was. Various historians took it upon themselves to tell the story of Roman res publica through a variety of different methods include general history and biography. Roman history is divided between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, but both still maintain similar features. Roman historiography focuses around politics and the role of morality is maintaining the body politic.

One of the earliest Roman historians, Polybius, concerned himself with the foundation of the Roman city. His historical study would lay the foundations for future historians of Rome by describing how it was the city of Rome came into existence and how it had been maintained. There are three periods in Roman history: Kingdom, Republic and Empire. Of the former we know next to nothing aside from what later historians wrote about it. The Republic and the Empire, however, were recorded during the time they existed and we therefore know more about them than we do about the Kingdom of Rome. Polybius helped to identify Rome as a political order in his Histories.  In this work, Polybius describes the foundation of a constitution and the various forms of government identical to the Greek philosophers. He then turns his attention to the Roman Constitution and identifies three reasons as to why Rome has succeeded: the Consuls, Senate and People. The strength of the Roman Constitution is described by Polybius:

For whenever any danger from without compels them to unite and work together, the strength which is developed by the State is so extraordinary, that everything required is unfailingly carried out by the eager rivalry shown by all classes to devote their whole minds to the need of the hour, and to secure that any determination come to should not fail for want of promptitude; while each individual works, privately and publicly alike, for the accomplishment of the business in hand.[1]

The Roman Constitution is the hallmark of Rome and therefore the focal point of Roman history. Only through extreme wealth and power could Rome’s Constitution become a victim of decay.[2] Polybius demonstrated that the Roman should heed their history.  The excesses of Roman life were, according to Polybius, what would bring about the destruction of Rome itself. The balance of power needed to be maintained in order for Rome to continue. Polybius placed an emphasis on examining the qualities of individuals and constitutions in order to understand their history. Polybius established a foundation of using history none historical purposes and was uninterested in telling Roman history unless it was to tell about the greatness of the city.

 Roman history maintained a similar usefulness for future historians in later centuries. However, it transitioned to lamenting the loss of the ethic that Romans once possessed. Where Polybius would describe the greatness of the Roman Constitution because it courted Fortune, as the Romans continued to distance themselves from the moral law Fortune seemed less on the side of Rome. Sallust wrote, as many historians, in the past tense when speaking about the city of Rome. To him Rome was already lost to a bygone era and there was only hope that the Roman people could once again reestablish old Rome. Like Polybius, Sallust saw the greatness of Rome in the people. It was the people who overthrew the kingship and established the republic. Through the republic, “Good morals…were cultivated in the city and in the camp. There was the greatest possible concord, and the least possible avarice. Justice and probity prevailed among the citizens, not more from the influence of the laws than from natural inclination.”[3] The loss of morality was what ultimately brought about the destruction of the republic. Sallust, like others of his time, lamented that the people were becoming complacent in their behavior and no longer honored the past generations. Only through history, which taught the lessons of the past, could Rome begin to regain the greatness it lost.

The source of Rome’s decay was the result of Roman superiority. The defeat of so many princes and most especially Carthage led the Roman’s to deviate from morality. “At first the love of money, and then that of power, began to prevail, and these became, as it were, the sources of every evil.”[4] Money ultimately created a new class of politician, one who only needed to bribe people into supporting their career. Men like Julius Caesar were able to establish their own armies, which gave way to them gaining immense power through intimidation. The people, for their part, fell away and allowed these new oligarchs to take control over the city.[5] During the end of the Roman Republic, Roman history took a distinct tone of lamentation. Roman history was praise for a Rome once existed but because of decay in the morality of the people that Rome was lost and replaced.

Roman history became closest to moral philosophy at the time of the Roman biographer Plutarch. Rather than appeal directly to Roman history, Plutarch took the aim of appealing to individuals in both Greek and Roman history. Through the lives of these great heroes, one could learn how best to live. The imitation of persons long since dead was not a totally new concept even centuries before Plutarch. The Roman people had a history of accepting aspects of the lives of those whom they conquered. Plutarch expanded on what had come before him and brought a new level of achievement to the field of biography. Plutarch’s Lives brought the ancient heroes of Greece and Rome to a new audience living under the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire was first created under Caesar Augustus, it was important for the new emperor to maintain the façade of the republic. The Caesars who followed were less interested in the façade and more interested in acquiring wealth for themselves. The purpose of history had changed from the study of the constitution to the study of human virtue.[6] Through human virtue one might become familiar with how best to live, which in turn might lead back to the old Rome.

Changes in Roman historiography can be attributed to the decline of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire. Romans began to contemplate the reasons for this change. Polybius understood that if Romans did not maintain their virtuous ways they would inevitably decline. By the time the Republic was on the way out, historians turned to imploring individuals to imitate the lives of their ancestors and to reacquire the morality that they had lost. Livy, speaking directly at this decline said:

I would then have him trace the process of our moral decline, to watch, first, the sinking of the foundations of morality as the old teaching was allowed to lapse, then the rapidly increasing disintegration, then the final collapse of the whole edifice, and the dark dawning of our modern day when we can neither endure our vices nor face the remedies needed to cure them.[7]

Roman historians began to look not at what might happen but why it happened in order to provide an answer for the men who took charge of the city.

Roman history began in an attempt to understand where Romans came from and to explain the Roman constitution. By the time the Republic fell, Rome’s historians were looking at why the constitution had failed. Rome’s historians had always been interested in the moral virtue of the citizens, believing that only through morality and virtue could Rome succeed.

 

 

Bibliography

Breisach, Ernst. Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. Amazon Kindle. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Livy. The Early History of Rome. Edited by Beatrice Radice. England: Penguin Classics, 1971.

Plutarch. Lives. https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/168444/Main/plutarch.html (accessed August 28, 2011).

Polybius. Histories. https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/168444/Main/polybius.html (accessed August 28, 2011).

Sallust. The Conspiracy of Catiline. https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/168444/Main/sallust.html (accessed August 28, 2011).

 

 

[1] Polybius,  Histories. 30

[2] “And as this state of things goes on more and more, the desire of office and the shame of losing reputation, as well as the ostentation and extravagance of living, will prove the beginning of a deterioration.” Ibid. 32

[3] Sallust, The Conspiracy of Catiline. 9

[4] Ibid. 10

[5] “These vices at first advanced but slowly, and were sometimes restrained by correction; but afterwards, when their infection had spread like a pestilence, the state was entirely changed, and the government, from being the most equitable and praiseworthy, became rapacious and insupportable.” Ibid.

[6]“We should not waste this good desire on trivial pursuits, but should study human virtue.  In the acts of great men, we find a proper and natural object for our attention.  The reader will inevitably grow in wisdom and eagerness to imitate their good example.” Plutarch, Lives: Pericles, the Olympian.

[7] Livy, The Early History of Rome, ed. Beatrice Radice(England: Penguin Classics, 1971) 34.

 

Published in: on September 4, 2012 at 00:12  Leave a Comment  
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An American Revolution: The Election of 1912


Few elections in American history have had the lasting effects that the election of 1912 have had. Of course the elections of 1800 or 1860 are more well known, the election of 1912 has dominated the landscape of American politics for a century. Arguably one of the  most hotly contested Presidential race in history, it was also the first modern Presidential election. With popular vote more widely accepted, the people had an enormous influence on the election.  At the heart of the election of 1912 was a political revolution. The election of 1912 represents a transformation in American history the likes of which have rarely been seen before or since. In his book, The 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism: A Brief History with Document, Brett Flehinger presents a clear understanding of what made this Presidential election among the most influential in American History.

            The election of 1912, as Flehinger presents it, began as early as 1908 when Theodore Roosevelt refused to stand for reelection after assuming the Presidency 9 months into William McKinley’s second term and winning the Presidency outright in 1904. Instead, the President chose to hand over control of the Republican Party to his friend and Secretary of War William Howard Taft. Unlike Roosevelt, Taft lacked the charisma of America’s youngest ever President. A great legal mind, Taft was unable to control a fracturing Republican Party as well as Roosevelt. And by 1912 Taft had seen the complete fracturing of the party he was hand selected to lead.[1] The Traditional members of the Republican Party continued to hold power over the party of Lincoln while Reformers slowly tried to gain control. Roosevelt was an able enough leader to play both sides off each other, while Taft quickly found himself supporting the traditional members over the reformers. From Taft’s choices for his cabinet to his support of Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon he found himself increasingly  in opposition to Reformers.[2] The final straw that doomed Taft’s young presidency was the issue of tariffs. “The tariff directly affected almost every economic constituency in one way or another, and it was the most volatile issue of late-nineteenth century U.S. politics.” And it was Taft, who in 1909, took up the issue of revising the decade old tariff laws.[3]  Unfortunately for Taft he refused to alienate the controlling faction of the Republican Party and supported the conservative agenda of higher taxes. Within a year of winning the presidency, William Howard Taft had almost all but assured himself of defeat in the next presidential election. In 1910 Taft was, “demanding that ‘disloyal’ members be cast out of the Republican party.”[4] The turmoil within the Republican Party all but signaled to Democrats and others that the White House would be available for anyone willing to challenge the embattled President. More than anything, the political lesson learned from Taft’s presidency reinforced beliefs among reformers that change was all but necessary even in the Presidency.

            The election of 1912 took on the theme of reform in multiple ways, from reforming the American political system to make it more democratic, to challenging the traditionally capitalistic American economic system. Yet, despite all the claims to the 1912 election being the most reform minded election history, “No single leader dominated Progressivism, and different reformers could make it fit their own distinctive needs…the candidates in the 1912 election differed on how best to reform America, they fundamentally agreed on the need for reform.”[5] While each presidential candidate laid claim to the title of Progressive, Roosevelt going as far as to be the candidate for the newly formed Progressive party, both Roosevelt and Wilson are most historically remembered as the Progressives on that year’s ballot. The other candidates, Taft and Eugene Debs, are often marginalized for their roles in the election. From the outset the election had a reform feel to it, for the first time, “voters in states such as North Dakota, Oregon, and Nebraska voted in direct primary elections for their party’s presidential candidate.”[6] Roosevelt benefited greatly from the direct primary elections but the majority of the delegates were chosen in caucuses, which were largely in favor of Taft. When the Republicans met in Chicago in 1912 Theodore Roosevelt was the most popular politician in the United States as he had been since the late 19th century. William Howard Taft, on the other hand, controlled most of the delegates at the Republican convention. Roosevelt and his reform minded supporters walked out of the Republican convention when Taft received the nomination, only to return later that year to elect Roosevelt the first President candidate of the new Progressive Party and all but promise a Democratic victory in the 1912 presidential election. However, Woodrow Wilson was not a foregone conclusion for winner of the Democratic ticket in 1912.

            Woodrow Wilson was an academic turned politician who turned out to be the moderate choice for a Democratic party almost as fractured as the Republicans.[7] Wilson was at best a long shot to receive the Democratic nomination in 1912, but because, “the Democrats required a two-thirds majority, which allowed Wilson to erode [Champ] Clark’s support and gain southern delegates opposed to Clark; finally, with Bryan’s tepid support, Wilson became the Democratic nominee…”[8] Not yet a sworn Progressive, Wilson struggled to win support of perennial Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan. The only thing standing between Woodrow Wilson and the White House in 1912 was a continuing feud among Republicans and maintaining Bryan’s support.

            Socialist Party nominee Eugene Debs was the fourth candidate in the election of 1912.  Eugene Debs is not necessarily a house hold name the way Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson or William Howard Taft are. Yet as reform and Progressivism became the main theme of the 1912 Presidential election the Socialist party threw their hat into the ring with the nomination of Debs. “Deb’s inclusion in the race did not mean that the Socialists were any more unified than their opponents…For years party members had debated whether Socialists should use violence to fight capitalism, but by 1912 this was no longer a theoretical debate.”[9] While not a serious contender in the election, Debs’ inclusion in the election demonstrated the extent to which reform dominated the tone of the election.

            After decades of political scandals it is easy to understand the political reforms each candidate campaigned for.  However, at the heart of the Progressive movement was a desire to reform America’s economic structure after decades of control by wealthy businessmen. The last century had come to a close with three major economic depressions including the worst in 1893 and few people in America could ignore the super wealthy as the average American lived in relative poverty. In many cases the Robber Barons as they became known hel more wealth than even the United States government. The question of why 1912 and not some other election, “lies not just with the candidates or even politics, but in the basic economic, social and political system in early twentieth-century America.”[10] The election focused around two major camps, Procorporatists and Anticorporatists. The beginning of the 1912 election began as early as 1880 with the struggle of farmers who were fearful they would lose their business. “The rising corporate economy, and the interdependent and organized society it created, left farmers and industrial workers feeling economically and socially powerless.”[11] What came out of these feelings concerning the rise of corporations in the latter part of the 19th century was what became known as Progressivism. In an attempt to curb the power corporate leaders held over the American political system Congress passed the interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Congress’s responses to the uprising among the people lead to these two important acts that symbolized Congress’s desire to help curb theses powerful corporations. For each of the Presidential candidates in 1912, these acts of Congress and Corporations in general represented the central piece of the election. Further, the role the economy played in the election of 1912 and in particular the views held by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson would help shape the views of their respective parties for decades to come.

            “Roosevelt stood out in 1912 because he alone believed that the rise of the new large-scale business organizations was natural, inevitable, and if properly managed, beneficial for the American people as a whole.”[12] Had the Republican party remained undivided in 1912 many speculate that Theodore Roosevelt may have in fact beat Woodrow Wilson for the Presidency. Roosevelt was not staunchly opposed to Corporations like many Democrats and even Wilson to some degree. His views of direct democracy, and later his shift on the topic of women’s suffrage, were directly related to how he viewed the control of corporations would work. Roosevelt rejected that these large corporations were inherently dangerous, but also knew that if left uncontrolled they could become very dangerous. “Roosevelt’s argument drew from and influenced a rising school of thought that emphasized national power, efficiency, production, and prosperity over other goals.”[13] Roosevelt was simply put the American Nationalist in the Presidential election. However, “He believed that changes in the political process, including the initiative, recall, popular primary, and direct election of senators, could increase individual political power, effectively check the potential power of the corporations without restricting their economic efficiency and advantages.”[14] The Sherman Antitrust Act would be a tool to help these political ends while allowing the corporations to maintain their economic power. Woodrow Wilson represented the opposing side. “Wilson was clearly against corporate power, but he was unsure about how to restrain it.” Unlike Roosevelt, though, Wilson was strictly against furthering direct democracy and absolutely against women’s suffrage as a way of controlling the effects of large corporations.

            As it would turn out Woodrow Wilson won 6.2 million votes in the Popular election in 1912 and an overwhelming 435 electoral votes. In a distant second was Theodore Roosevelt who finished with only 2.1 million votes less in the Popular vote but only 88 total electoral votes. Taft and Debs finished even further behind in the electoral count with a total of 8 between them. What resulted from the election of 1912 was the rise of Wilsonian style Progressivism. While he failed to win Theodore Roosevelt’s name would live on in pop culture as the loveable would be reformer President. William Howard Taft was nominated to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States and most Americans have forgotten the name Eugene Debs all together.  By the end of his second term Wilson was disgraced and extremely unpopular in America. Unfortunately for Wilson, his legacy as a reformer was all but forgotten and the legacy he acquired at the end of his Presidency was what has stuck with him ever since. But the importance of the election of 1912 must never be forgotten. America had a choice over its future in the form of four reformers who wanted to become President.

Bibliography

Flehinger, Brett. The 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2003.

[1] Brett Flehinger, The 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism: A Brief History with Document, (New York: Bedford/St. Martins: 2003) “Even as he assumed office, Taft was forced to contend with multiple divisions in his own party, further complicating the task he faced as president.”

[2]Ibid.  Pg. 7 “Taft selected more corporate lawyers….when Taft refused to support the reformers’ attempt…”

[3]Ibid.  Pg. 8

[4]Ibid.  Pg. 9

[5]Ibid.  Pg. 4

[6] Ibid. Pg. 12

[7] “although at one point it appeared that they might suffer the same kind of internal squabbling…” Ibid. pg. 16

[8]Ibid.  Pg. 17

[9]Ibid.  Pg. 18

[10] Ibid. Pg. 21

[11]Ibid.  Pg. 23

[12] Ibid. Pg. 34

[13]Ibid. Pg. 37

[14] Ibid. Pg. 38

Published in: on September 3, 2012 at 00:01  Comments (2)  
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Vindicating ObamaCare: A Constitutional Question Answered


This is intended to be part one of a two part entry dealing with the Supreme Court of the United States‘ decision regarding the health-care overhaul commonly called ObamaCare. In this, the first, I will examine the way in which the Chief Justice of the United States argued and upheld the individual mandate at the heart of the debate over this law. Let me begin by stating this: I am not an advocate for Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and for political reasons I believe it should be repealed. However, my affection for Judicial Supremacy is unwavering even in this instance. I disagree for political reasons with the decision, but not for constitutional reasons. Chief Justice Marshall described our country as one “emphatically termed a government of laws and not of men.”(Marbury v. Madison) And described the role of the Supreme Court as:

It is emphatically the duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret the rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Court must decide on the operation of each.(Marbury v. Madison)

 

And in order to carry out this power the Court stated in 1895, “every reasonable construction must be resorted to, in order to save a statute from unconstitutionality.” (Hooper v. California) Therefore, if there is a means of interpreting a law that does not make it unconstitutional, then the law itself cannot be held as such. Therefore, while I cannot agree with the Opinion of the Court on political grounds as a defender and supporter of the United States Constitution I must agree with the Court that this law does not contain any construction that would render it unconstitutional. I will attempt to explain the Opinion of the Court in as simple terms as possible while explaining why their decision was in fact the correct decision.

There are three questions that the Supreme Court was asked to considered in the case NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS v. SEBELIUS (hereafter simply called National Federation and cited as 567 U. S. ____ (2012)) The first is whether or not the States, Individuals and the National Federation of Independent Business had standing in light of the Anti-Injunction Act, which prohibits a court from hearing a case pertaining to a tax not yet collected. In other words, is Affordable Health Care Act a tax and if so does the Supreme Court have the authority to hear the case. The second question before the Court is whether the Congress of the United States had the authority to issue the Individual Mandate whether under the Commerce Clause, Necessary & Proper Clause or the Taxation Clause of the Constitution. Finally, the Court was asked to review the provision of the law that requires States to engage in the enhanced Medicaid program created by the new law or lose their preexisting benefits for the program. I will say nothing more about the first and third questions than this: The Anti-Injunction Act is not applicable because Congress did not define the penalty imposed on those without insurance as a tax and Congress cannot force the states to engage in the new Medicare/Medicaid program by threatening to rescind the money they receive for the previous versions of the programs.

That leaves us free to examine the Opinion of the Court on the question of whether Congress has the authority to institute the Individual Mandate based on either the Commerce Clause, the Necessary & Proper Clause or the Taxation Clause of the United States Constitution; we will take them as the Opinion does in this order. The Commerce Clause of the Constitution is Article 1 section 8 clause 3 and states, Congress has the authority ”To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes…” As the Court indicates the Congress can only regulate, not create commerce. If it was eligible to create commerce the remainder of section 8 would not be necessary (567 U. S. ____ (2012).) Therefore, Congress can only regulate existing international or interstate commerce. If the only question was whether or not Congress has, under the Commerce Clause, the authority to issue the individual mandate then it would emphatically be answered in the negative. The Court severely limits the authority of the Commerce Clause by asserting the power extends only to activity, not inactivity. Furthermore, the Commerce Clause only applies to activities not to individuals. In other words, if an individual is not engaged in a particular activity governed under the Commerce Clause they are not subject to the regulation under the Commerce Clause. (567 U. S. ____ (2012)) Uninsured Americans can choose to be uninsured and therefore are not participating in the activity of purchasing health insurance and the laws regulating the purchasing of health insurance cannot extend to those individuals who choose not to engage in the activity. Likewise the Court rejects Congress’ argument that the purchasing of health care insurance and the participating in receiving health care are necessarily the same thing. You can purchase health care insurance without actually receiving care for any variety of circumstances. (567 U. S. ____ (2012)) And as said previously, if the ruling of the Court was predicating entirely upon the argument that Congress can do this because of the Commerce Clause, it would be unconstitutional.

This leads us to the second argument, made in sync with the first as it is often made by the government but will be treated separately to indicate the importance of the Court has done. The Necessary & Proper Clause of the Constitution is generally seen, along with the Commerce Clause, as the omnibus authority granted to Congress to regulate just about anything and everything. In the past the Court has given expansive leniency to Congress for laws adopted under the authority of both clauses. The Necessary and Proper clause states, “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof” (Article 1 section 8 clause 18)  The Court has generally granted Congress the power to create non-enumerated powers in order to carry power those powers that are enumerated in the Constitution. Likewise, Congress has been given the benefit of the doubt on whatever it considers “necessary” in carrying out its duties. However, the Court’s Opinion states that the Necessary and Proper clause cannot be used to support a power used by Congress that is not enumerated by the Constitution nor can it be used to expand the authority of an enumerated power behind its consistently held logical means.(567 U. S. ____ (2012)) In other words, since Congress does not have the authority to create commerce the argument that the individual mandate is supported by the Necessary & Proper clause would grant to Congress a new power that is not enumerated by the Constitution. Likewise, using the Necessary & Proper clause to prop up the Individual Mandate’s constitutionality under the Commerce Clause would extend the authority of the Commerce Clause beyond its intended purpose by allowing those not engaged in international or interstate commerce to be regulated by those laws regulating those forms of commerce. (567 U. S. ____ (2012))

However, while the Court rejected the government’s argument for the individual mandate based on these two powers it did uphold the mandate based upon the government’s secondary argument: Congress has the power under the Taxation Clause to force people to pay a penalty if they do not purchase health insurance. The Taxation Clause states, “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States….” (Article 1 section 8 clause 1.) The Constitution restricts this power by stating, “No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.” (Article 1 section 9 clause 4.) Using a very complex argument, the Chief Justice argues that the penalty paid by those who refuse to purchase health insurance acts very much like a tax. This runs contrary to what is argued at the beginning of the Opinion when the Court rules that the penalty is not a tax. However, the Court explains that the penalty functions like a tax much like the penalty placed on the purchasing of tobacco, alcohol or lottery tickets. They are designed to discourage a certain behavior by individuals as is directed towards only those who choose to engage in such behavior. The penalty is to be collected by the IRS but the IRS is forbidden from punishing those who fail to pay the penalty. And in fact like the other examples, the penalty for not having insurance is not a penalty at all because not buying insurance is not a criminal act.(567 U. S. ____ (2012)) I have heard some argue that this explanation creates a new definition of what a tax is, but it in fact doesn’t. If one does not make enough money to constitute filing a tax return, the IRS and the government have no way of knowing if the person has insurance let alone the authority to collect the penalty payment. This functions in the exact same way the person who doesn’t make enough money to file a return is not penalized for not filing the return. However, the biggest argument against the rationale is that Congress can not “tax” Americans for not doing something. But it already does do this. If you fail to contribute money to charity you cannot receive the tax deduction. If you don’t purchase a new home, you don’t get the tax credit associated with the new home. In each of these situations you are being penalized for choosing not to do something that has no criminal recourse than to tax you. While this penalty is different in the way it functions (if you don’t buy a new house you don’t pay any more in taxes but if you fail to purchase insurance you do have to pay more) from other tax penalties, deductions and credits it maintains a similar though process since the individual mandate creates a tax that you can be exempt from by having insurance. It is likewise similar to the “sin” taxes placed on alcohol and tobacco products where you are not forced to pay the tax if you don’t purchase the items.

When I first heard the decision this morning I was as upset as everyone else over the Court’s decision but more so over the Chief Justice’s betrayal. As the day wore on I began to realize that he may have had sound reasoning. After reading the Opinion of the Court I am certain that Constitutionally speaking this law does pass. Does this mean that the Affordable Care Act is a good law? No, it is emphatically a bad law but that does not make it unconstitutional. If a construction of the Constitution can be found to incorporate a law, then that law cannot be unconstitutional. The Court did not accept the government’s first justification that they had the power under the Commerce and Necessary & Proper clauses to adopt this law. But the Court did find rationale in the government’s argument that the individual mandate does fall within the purview of the Constitution’s Taxation Clause. While the first part of the mandate cannot be found to have a basis in the Constitution, the second part can and since they are a part of the same instrument it holds as Constitutional.

 

 

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Published in: on June 28, 2012 at 21:34  Leave a Comment  
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We Two: A Biography of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert


 

Cover of "We Two: Victoria and Albert: Ru...

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We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, RivalsBy Gillian Gill

I recently finished reading the biography of the Royal couple who helped shape the 19th century in their own image: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This biography by Gillian Gill is a decent book but overall is lacking. The book, divided into two parts, covers the lives of Victoria and Albert during their youths and then their epic marriage. However, this book is often times lacking the historical feel that one would expect out of a biography. Dr. Gill is not a trained historian as the “about the author” page tells us that she holds a PhD in French Literature from Cambridge. Her training in language is clear as Dr. Gill often uses words that prove her high education; one needs both the Oxford English Dictionary and a dictionary for just about every other language both modern and dead! Overall Dr. Gill presents a chronicle of the lives of England‘s most memorable monarch and consort. She begins each chapter with a general outline and then goes back to fill in the blanks; don’t be surprised if you need a note pad next to you just to keep track of all the names she throws out. Finally, this biography comes off more as a biography of Prince Albert than of Queen Victoria. At best this book makes clear that Victoria was never herself; her being was constantly governed by the men around her whether it was John Conroy, Lord Melbourne, Prince Albert or John Brown. The book spends too much time thinking itself a feminist by admonishing Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for their backwards thinking and then praising Prince Albert and condemning Queen Victoria for the way they lived their lives.

I am a strong advocate for the general public learning more about Queen Victoria, but this book is among the least that I would recommend. Should you choose to start learning about this woman, I encourage that you begin by reading:Queen Victoria (British History in Perspective)by Walter Arnstein.

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Published in: on December 27, 2011 at 19:23  Comments (1)  
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Puritan or Pilgrim


My friend Ashok and I were at Starbucks today and along the way I mentioned to him my research I’ve begun on the Puritans. It lead to a question that he had for me about the difference between the Pilgrims and the Puritans. With it having been Thanksgiving a few weeks ago I think it is an important topic to discuss.

The Protestant Reformation had already hit England in many ways before Henry VIII formally separated from Rome. The Scottish were exposed to the Calvinist brand of Protestantism and formed the Presbyterian Church. Their beliefs and ideology spread down into mainland England in the aftermath of the English Reformation. There were pockets in England who believed that the King had not gone far enough in reforming the Church of England. Among those who believed this were a group that I will generally call English Calvinists. This group was made up of the Puritans and the Pilgrims; religious cousins if you will. Both groups subscribed to Calvin’s particular brand of Christianity and believed that the Church of England needed to be purified. The distinguishing difference between the two was what this purification meant. The Pilgrims quickly became a more radical brand of English Calvinism going so far as to flee England for the Netherlands.

The Pilgrims believed that the Church of England was beyond salvation and utterly corrupt. As an extension, because the King of England was also now the head of the Church of England the state itself was corrupt. The Puritans on the other hand held out faith that King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth and King James would all do their part to purify the Church more and more, eventually riding it of the Catholic influences. Puritans became integral members of their respective towns, including becoming political leaders. Puritans would even infiltrate the King’s own privy council with men like John Locke. And while members of the Puritan church did eventually leave England for the New World, their actions once they arrived separate them from the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims received a charter to establish a colony in Northern Virginia along the Hudson Bay and immediately set sail for the New World along with others who they called “Strangers” on board the Mayflower. When they arrived the men on board decided to write a compact for the governance of their new colony. This compact was the first such document written by the people in the new world and while it was not a constitution, it was very much a proto-constitution. It also is significant because it did not come from the King nor Parliament and the men who wrote it did not have legal authority to do so. However, the Pilgrims had taken it upon themselves to govern their colony as they saw fit rather than depending upon the corrupt government in London to do so.

Unlike the Pilgrims, the Puritans did not write their own compact when they arrived in the New World in the 1630′s. Instead they had their own charter. And while they did have a government, it was not in the same manner we would recognize as in New Plymouth. Eventually such compacts would be written by Puritans in Connecticut, though. In all the Puritans were seeking religious separation but not necessarily legal or political separation from the state. Their charter was revoked in the 1690′s and the New Plymouth colony and the  Massachusetts Bay colony were merged.

Published in: on December 2, 2011 at 00:48  Comments (3)  
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New Plymouth


Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History (Vintage)

Only some parts of this book are reviewed.

Most school children in America are taught the story of the Pilgrim voyage to the New World and their subsequent Thanksgiving with the local Natives. The name Squanto resonates in the minds of Americans and those who pay a bit more attention to history know the name belongs to a Native American who helped save the New Plymouth colonists from starvation. None of this is found in Nick Bunker’s book Making Haste from  Babylon.Without actually telling his reader what happened when the Pilgrims reached Cap Cod, he instead describes what William Bradford must have meant in his book on the history of New Plymouth. This history, published in 2010, of the New Plymouth Colony is more concerned with the landscape and seas than with the actual events. The book is divided into six parts with three chapters in each.

The first part tells the tale of how the Pilgrims came to the Mayflower and then adds in stories of other ships and the landscape that the Pilgrims and there ship must have seen. Only brief mention is made of the reasons the Pilgrims are uninterested in staying in England, despite the fact each of them are English subjects. He conflates the Pilgrims with their future northern neighbors, the Puritans. In all, the reader finds the discussion more interested in describing the history of the Mayflower and it’s skipper prior to taking the Pilgrims to America. This part is largely insignificant with exception of it’s description of why the English government chose to allow the Pilgrims to migrate. But as we’ll see, the book only picks up in part two; part 1 could almost be renamed “Prologue 2.”

In the second part of the book, Bunker decides to leave us at the banks of Cap Cod and tell another tale some 40 years prior to the voyage in 1620. The story of the origins of Separatism is actually quite interesting and tells the story of John Browne, but also the other influential leaders and families of Separatism. Many readers will be interested in finding that Sir Francis Bacon’s brother was actually involved in the formation of the Pilgrim faith. Chapter 5 is very useful for students of Puritanism and Separatism. Bunk helps to shed light on the origins of both faiths and who were the most influential thinkers associated with the movements.

This historian, if we can call him that, gets side tracked too often and ends up burying the actual point of his chapter, part or even book. Making Haste from  Babylon is an excellent read for those who are interested in the deeper historical aspects of the Pilgrim voyage. However, for those who are only interested in learning about the Mayflower, the Pilgrims, Cap Cod and New Plymouth this book is absolutely useless and a waste of money.

The book does have some very useful information in it and Bunker does a decent job at analyzing the history of New Plymouth. While at times the book drags on about the landscape of England or New Plymouth, it does provide the reader with an indepth analysis of the events leading up to the colony. However, as was said above if you are not familiar with the basic storyline this isn’t worth the purchase.

Published in: on November 4, 2011 at 11:13  Leave a Comment  
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Queen Victoria


Queen Victoria (British History in Perspective)Historical Biographies & Memoirs)
 

Is it too astonishing for us to think that Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire for 64 years? The young 18 year old princess became Queen Victoria in 1837 upon the death of her uncle. No other British or English monarch has served 60 years, let alone even approached the Queen’s historic mark. Henry III, George III and Elizabeth II are the only other rules of the British people to eclipse 50 years on the throne of St. James. The events of Queen Victoria’s life range from the British Industrial age to the Crimean War to the Prime Ministerships of Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone.

Queen Victoria by Walter Arnstein is an excellent read for those who are interested in learning more about the queen. And as Queen Elizabeth II approaches her Diamond Jubilee on the British throne, it is even more important to understand the immense changes the isles of Great Britain went through in the 64 years of Queen Victoria’s reign.

Published in: on May 30, 2011 at 10:26  Comments (3)  
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The Monroe Doctrine


As a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.

                                  -President James Monroe‘s 7th Annual Address to Congress 12.2.1823

When the United Colonies, in General Congress Assembled, declared their independence from Great Britain there were three European powers occupying North America: Spain, Russia and England. By the time the 1790′s rolled around, France was reoccupying the Louisiana Territory; a tract of land France had ceded to Spain following the end of the French & Indian War. For her own part, the new United States of America had little means of removing these powerful Europeans from American soil. It had been with the assistance of the French, and a lesser degree the Spanish, that the US had even won her independence. However, the problem of French occupation quickly found a peaceful resolution when Thomas Jefferson authorized the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Within a decade of that purchase, the United States found herself in a second war with the English; the War of 1812. While this war is still considered by many to be a status quo war, it demonstrated the emergence of American military capabilities.

It was with this that 11 years after the Americans stood toe to toe with the English that President James Monroe promulgated his Monroe Doctrine. This doctrine warned the powers of Europe to never again attempt to colonize the Americas. Yet, our Monroe Doctrine did not take into consideration that in 1823 the United States did not have the military capabilities to enforce this doctrine. Therefore, the Monroe Doctrine relied heavily upon our good relations with the English. American military power was not at the point of enforcing such a doctrine until after the Spanish-American War, which was explicitly fought to enforce the Monroe Doctrine.

The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine added the next evolution in American military involvement in the world. In addition to preventing European powers from occupying the Americas, the Roosevelt Corollary promised American intervention in Latin Countries unable to pay international debts. It also declared the right of the United States to intervene and stabilize any Latin American Country. This doctrine helped create a partnership between the United States and her Latin American counterparts to the South. It was not, however, the last evolution of the Monroe Doctrine. Rather, the Monroe Doctrine would undergo another change in the late 1940′s.

With World War II officially over, the post-World War world began to take shape. In a matter of years it was apparent that the United States and Soviet Union were settling in for a long, cold War. President Harry S. Truman, hoping to halt the spread of Communism, issued his own corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: The Truman Doctrine. This doctrine stated that the United States would send troops to anywhere in the world in order to prevent the spread of communism. It was under this doctrine that the United States became involved in the Korean War and Vietnam War. As an extension to the Truman Doctrine was the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was the economic side of the Truman Doctrine. The plan called for the United States to economically prop up Western Europe to help confront the Soviet Union.

Finally, the last of the evolutions of the Monroe Doctrine came in the wake of 9/11. The Bush Doctrine called upon the United States to meet the spread Terrorism anywhere in the world it may find safe harbor. This doctrine has resulted in the United States intervening in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Monroe Doctrine was devised to simply assert that the United States would not tolerate European intervention in the Americas. Since it was first put forth by James Monroe, the Monroe Doctrine has been transformed to assert American right to intervene in the governments of Latin America, under the threat of Communism, or supporters of Terrorism.

Published in: on April 11, 2011 at 12:49  Leave a Comment  
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The Declaration: A Review


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

What does the Declaration of Independence mean? We are clouded by over 200 years of historical and political interpretation that we can’t even make out what our founding document actually has to say.  In a class of students, if the question is asked, “how many self evident truths are present in the Declaration of Independence?” almost none can actually answer the question.

Thomas Jefferson wrote that there are certain truths that are self evident and immutable. Since the time of Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, most Americans only see one self evident truth: that all men are created equal. Yet, what of the word “truths”? If Jefferson only wrote one truth, that all are created equal, then why did he write that there are “truths”; an implication that there is more than just the one truth to be found. The idea of self evident truths is connected with the belief in the Natural Law, which St. Thomas said is inscribed on the hearts of all men. John Locke, one of the many names attached to the Law of Nature, believed that there are certain precepts or truths that can be known but that most must be acquired through knowledge. Jefferson, a Lockean thinker, acknowledges that there are self evident truths and proceeds to name them.

“That all men are created equal” is the first of Jefferson’s self evident truths. It might seem a bit wrong for those of us living today for a known slave holder to suggest that all men are created equal. It would seem even stranger for us to find that it was a well accepted truth that all men are created equal by the time Jefferson wrote his famous Declaration. First, Jefferson does not say that we are all created equally, but rather simply as equal. The word equally is an adverb, whereas the word equal can be a verb, adjective, or noun. If we were all created equally, then we’d be identical in manner or equal to a certain extent. However, we’re not created equally but rather equal. The word equal has a number of separate meanings, however, the one Jefferson is aiming towards is, “having adequate powers, ability, or means.” It is only if this basic truth is accepted that the others can be called self evident. It is because we are equal in power, ability and mean that we are able to say the other three truths.

It was because we are all created equal, a truth widely accepted by this point in history, that Jefferson was able to posit a modified version of Locke’s famous “life, liberty and property.”  Jefferson says, “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Because we are all created equal, we have the same unalienable Rights. Even in absolute monarchies like France, Spain or Russia it would be accepted that the Sovereign cannot deprive someone of their life or their liberty without just cause. Again, it might seem odd to suggest that they believed that liberty is an unalienable right when there still existed slavery and serfdom in the western world. However, is slavery or serfdom opposed to liberty? Remember, the individual slave owners thought they were doing right by their slaves. It was assumed that the slaves couldn’t fully enjoy their natural rights unless they were enslaved. And remember, neither the Declaration nor the Constitution and its amendments say that all are to be treated equally; because we are only equal. Once again, it is because we are created equal and because we have unalienable rights that we can identify the third self evident truth.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Our ability to form governments is based upon two self evident truths: all men are created equal and we are endowed with certain unalienable rights. One cannot consent to be governed if they are inferior and lack certain unalienable rights. And while there were more monarchies than democracies in the world in 1776, the idea that the King was chosen by God to rule (Divine Right Monarchy) was not as widely accepted as it had been less than 100 years prior. The writings of Hobbes, Locke and Sidney had already permeated into the world and while Louis was King of France he ruled largely because the nobles allowed it. In England, the King ruled only with the consent of the people. The Declaration of Independence came less than a century after the Glorious Revolution and the English Interregnum. Kings Charles I and II both were overthrown by the people or parliament and ruled with their consent.

This leads to the final self evident truth as laid out by Thomas Jefferson:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

 The idea that a people could overthrow their legitimate sovereign had always been a point of contention. When Europe was still Catholic, the Papacy held that it could alone severe the ties between Prince and his subjects. As was seen in England, the right to revolution was already well established in the aftermath of the Interregnum and the Glorious Revolution. However, the idea that a colony could revolt and establish itself as an independent nation was still a new idea. It is this self evident truth that Jefferson made central to his Declaration of Independence. The Right to Revolution is based entirely on the acceptance of the other self evident truths. As such, the fact that we were all created equal is both the least significant self evident truth and the most important since from it stems our understanding of the other truths.

Published in: on April 8, 2011 at 10:48  Comments (1)  
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