Reflections on God … Man … Life
Thoughts on history and the historical profession. Clio is the muse of history–this category title is a play on that concept.
I believe I’ve read most of C. S. Lewis’s essays sometime during my life, but some of them I read so long ago I have forgotten the pearls within. I recently re-read his “Learning in War-Time” reflections as Britain was engaged in WWII and was reminded why others have commented on it so often. The big question he asks and attempts to answer is why should people continue to be interested in what are considered the normal, routine matters of… Read more »
Why did the Stamp Act, passed by the British government in 1765 and scheduled to go into effect the next year, raise such a furor in the American colonies? What was different about this act and how did they respond to it? As we continue our examination of American history, I will begin to tackle that question today. The colonists considered this act poisonous to their liberties. Why? The act itself was a tax on all legal documents, newspapers, playing… Read more »
Most people have never heard of James Otis and the part he played in American history, but he could easily have the title of First Leader of Resistance to the British Tyranny. Here are the facts. The Great Constitutional Debate Period prior to the American Revolution ranged from 1761-1776. It was a unique period in history, very unlike most others, when debate over the proper role of government and the basic rights of the people came to the forefront. Usually,… Read more »
Sir William Blackstone wrote Commentaries on the Laws of England, volumes published from 1765-1769. They became the standard for understanding how English laws were to be applied. The timing of these volumes was opportune for the American colonists, as they also looked to Blackstone for their basis in law. The preface, or introduction, to these volumes lays out the foundational beliefs that were supposed to govern English laws. They were as follows: The Law of Nature=The Will of God; Man’s… Read more »
The American colonists, as they moved toward independence, relied upon the writings of political philosophers of their era to help support their arguments against the British government’s intrusion upon the rights of Englishmen. One of those writers was John Locke, whose Second Treatise of Civil Government provided a bedrock explanation for why they could make their argument. Published in 1690, right after the expulsion of James II and the assertion of parliamentary prominence over the king, Locke laid out the… Read more »
I am in Abilene, Kansas, researching at the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library. Spent all day there yesterday and will finish my research today. It’s rather sad that Eisenhower is practically a forgotten president for the current generation. Of course, I’ve often commented that students today know next to nothing about American history, but what they do know spans only their lifetime, or a portion of it. The Eisenhower decade was really rather prosperous for America, and he kept the peace… Read more »
I’ve been chronicling the legal foundations of British history to show how the early American colonists viewed their rights. Thus far, I’ve noted the significance of the Magna Carta and the Common Law. The seventeenth century saw a number of other improvements that are worth mentioning. First, when King Charles I wanted money from Parliament to conduct a war, the Parliament balked, issuing instead what we call The Petition of Right in 1628. Any law like this, when you look… Read more »