Which of the following is not a tactic used by states to restrict or deny minority voter’s rights?

Think of a right you believe all people should have. For example, you probably agree that everyone in the United States has the right to be protected from robbers and burglars. The belief that everyone should have this protection is shared by most people in the United States. We hear about it on television, in the newspaper, and in discussions.

Individually or in small groups, explain how you think rights like the one you have identified can be protected.

Defining "Natural Rights"

Most people in the American colonies believed that everyone had a right to life, liberty, and property. These rights were called natural rights. (Sometimes these are now called basic rights or fundamental rights.) The idea of natural rights means that all persons have these rights just because they are human beings. Everyone is born with these rights and they should not be taken away without a person's agreement.

Many of the Founders believed people receive these rights from God. Others believed that people have them just because it is natural for people to have them.

John Locke was a famous English philosopher. He lived from 1632 to 1704. He had written a book called Two Treatises of Civil Government (1690). In that book he wrote about natural rights. He said that the main purpose of government should be to protect the people's natural rights. He also said that kings should not have absolute power, that is, power without limits. They should not be able to deprive people of their natural rights.

Many Americans had read Locke's book, and they agreed with what it said about government. Those who had not actually read Locke's book knew his ideas from newspapers, political pamphlets, church sermons, and discussions.

Protecting Natural Rights

Although people agreed on certain natural rights, they worried about how those rights could be protected. Locke and others thought about what life would be like in a situation where there was no government and no laws. They called this situation a state of nature. They were afraid that in a state of nature their rights would be taken away.

Think what your classroom might be like if there were no rules.

Problem Solving

It's your turn to think like a philosopher

Imagine what life might be like in a state of nature. Think what your classroom might be like if there were no rules. Think what might happen if the teacher didn't have the right to tell anyone what to do.

Work together in groups of about five to answer the following questions about such a situation. Then choose a person to explain your answers to the rest of the class. Then compare your answers with John Locke's which follow.

What might be the advantages and disadvantages of living in a state of nature?

What might happen to people's rights?

What might life be like for everyone?

Compare Your List with John Locke's

You may have seen the same disadvantages in a state of nature that John Locke saw. Locke believed:

The stronger and smarter people might try to take away other people's lives, liberty, or property.

Weaker people might band together and take away the rights of the stronger and smarter people.

People would be unprotected and insecure.

The Social Compact

John Locke and other philosophers developed a solution to the problems that exist in a place without government. In a state of nature, people might feel free to do anything they want to do. However, their rights would not be protected and they would feel insecure.

Locke argued that people should agree with one another to give up some of their freedom in exchange for protection and security. They should consent to follow some laws in exchange for the protection that these laws would give them. This agreement is called a social compact or social contract. A social compact is an agreement people make among themselves to create a government to rule them and protect their natural rights. In this agreement the people consent to obey the laws created by that government.

In a later lesson, you will study the Declaration of Independence. You will see how the Founders included all of the ideas you have studied in this lesson in the Declaration.

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4 years ago

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How were the Maya and Aztec civilizations similar?

choli [55]

Answer:The Aztecs and Mayans were two Mesoamerican civilizations that had much in common. Both civilizations observed 365 day calendars with similar markings and day/month symbols. They also both worshipped a pantheon of gods during religious ceremonies, some of which involved human sacrifice.

Explanation:

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3 years ago

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Answer:

1. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

2. European nations established colonies in the Americas, India, South Africa, and the East Indies and gained territory along the coasts of Africa and China.

3. There are five cause of new imperialism. It is economic, exploratory, ethnocentric, political and religious motives.

4. Social Darwinism is the theory that individuals, groups and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. Now largely discredited, social Darwinism was advocated by Herbert Spencer and others in the late 19th and 20th centuries and was used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism and to discourage intervention and reform.

5. The idea of White Man's Burden argued that the poem served as justification for imperialist practices. The author is suggesting that imperialism is a very good endeavor the United States should have. Author Rudyard Kipling says, "take up the White Man's Burden" and "To serve your captives' need." Those quotes show that Kipling thinks the United States should help Philippines by serving their need. "He also tells the white man to be done with childish days, meaning that the United States must civilize the Philippines.

7. Indian is recognized as the Jewel of the English Crown because India had all sorts of goods that the British wanted. These included things like spices, textiles, cotton and the opium that the British would sell in China to be able to buy tea. Because India had so many people and so much wealth, it was the "Jewel in the crown" of the British empire.

8. British Hong Kong was a colony and British Dependent Territory of the United kingdom from Britain eventually agreed to transfer the entire colony to China upon the Chinese government's determination to recover Hong Kong, it was necessary.

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4 years ago