The American Destiny Questions and Answers

by Gakuhaitsu
1. Who was Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)? For what is he most remembered?
Thomas Jefferson was America's finest diplomat, political thinker, and founder of
the Democratic Party. He was most remembered for the creation of the Declaration
of Independence. Jefferson was also a politician, lawyer, architect, and music
enthusiast, and he designed the Virginian capital and the University of Virginia
2. Why is it said that Jefferson `molded the American spirit'? What did he oppo
se? Support?
- Opposed Vowed `eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mi
nd of man'
- For He was for the American man, the farmer and the idea of people's choic
e of their leaders
3. What important article did Jefferson write? When was it passed?
- Wrote the Declaration of Independence Congress passed it on July 4, 1776
birth of America.
4. Identify and quote the self-evident truths of this Declaration.
- 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 amo
ng these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
5. The Jeffersonian point of view was that the history of the condition of
man was synonymous with the following:
- The history of human progress from the Jeffersonian POV was thus `the histo
ry of the condition of man.' Man's condition could and would be improved.
6. Why did Jefferson hope that in America the happiness of the species migh
t advance `to an indefinite, although not to an infinite degree'?
The final extent of human expansion on this continent of America was indefinable
, though of course not unlimited; therefore it was indefinite, but not to an inf
inite degree.
7. Although the Jeffersonian does not act within the Christian, the humanis
t, the English nor the Faustian traditions, he is not a megalomaniac. Explain wh
y.
He is not a megalomaniacpower-hungry & tyrannical because Jeffersonian expansivenes
s expressed no personal megalomania; from the nature of his universe, his destin
y concerned the whole species and the entire continent. Even the concept of happ
iness was virtually emptied of its personal meaning: it was the happiness of the
species which concerned him. His indices of destiny therefore had to be outward
and public.
8. Why role do institutions play for Jeffersonians?
Institutions, from the Jeffersonian point of view, were not the skeleton but the
instruments of society; they were therefore conceived, not as growing impercepti
ble and by accretion, but as being consciously and purposefully shaped, to be re
paired or discarded when they had lost their immediate utility.
9. In your own words, explain the relationship between the Jeffersonian, th
e Creator, and the American continent.
The Jeffersonian saw his mission as one that had been given to the American cont
inent by the Creatorthe God. Jeffersonians believed that the American continent w
ouldn't have been so vast and fertile had the Creator not destined the continent f
or prosperity, and for it to stand out from the rest of the lands.
10. Contrast the Puritan and the Jeffersonian's responses to the environment.
While the Puritan (in resignation to his environment) had found a proof of his e
lection in the adversity which he suffered, the Jeffersonian boasted the unhampe
red prosperity of his enterprises. Jefferson discovered his election mainly in t
he promise of his physical universe and in the success of his attempt to master
it.
11. What evidence was there of the approval of the `Jeffersonian God'? What was
the role of His shield?
The evidence of the approval of the Jeffersonian God was expressed in health, weal
th and prosperity of human undertakings. The Jeffersonian wore the shield of his
Creator, not against the infidel or the legions of the Devil, but against polit
ical tyranny, physical adversity, and worldly disorder.
12. Discuss the significance of comments made by a church minister to a philosop
hical society in 1789.
The church minister, Reverend Nicholas Collin told the Philosophical Society in
1789 that, The United States possesses a vast territory fertile in many valuable
production....The will therefore, if truly wise, make agriculture the principal
source of prosperity and wealth: to prefer other objects, however useful in a se
condary view, would be perverting the order of nature, nay opposing the will of
nature's God.
The Reverend basically says that America was meant to me a country whose prosper
ity revolves around agriculture and that to pursue any other form of wealth woul
d be going against God. However, as time passed America's wealth started to grow f
rom not only agriculture, but from trade, mercantiles, and manufacturing. Accord
ing to the Reverend this is opposing the will of nature's God.
13. Why was America especially suitable for experiments in republican government
?
The extent of unexplored land especially fitted the continent for experiments in
republican government. As Jefferson wrote to Priestly, Its [the republic's] sparse
habitation is new. Malthusian pessimism would have no place in America, where th
e vastness of uncultivated land enabled every one who would labour, to marry you
ng and raise a large family. **Malthusian: of or relating to Malthus, an English
economist who argued that increases in population would outgrow increases in th
e means of subsistence (the population growth always exceeds the growth of the n
ecessary food supply)**
14. Why was it believed that the government of the American States would be vast
ly different from Old World governments? Give three reasons.
1. Every one may have land to labour for himself, if he chooses.
2. Preferring the exercise of any other industry, a man may exact for it su
ch compensation as not only to afford a comfortable subsistence but wherewith to
provide for a cessation from labour in old age.
3. Ever one, by his property, or by his satisfactory situation, is interest
ed in the support of law and order. And such men may safely and advantageously r
eserve to themselves a wholesome control over their public affairs, and a degree
of freedom.
15. Thomas Paine declared that the cause of America is in a great measure the cau
se of all mankind. Jefferson believed that eventually the whole world would benef
it from the American assertion of the rights of man. What reasons did they have
for these beliefs? In your opinion, were they justifiable?
They believed that a just and sold republican government would be a standing monume
nt and an example for the aim and imitation of the people of other countries. The
believed that the world would follow America's lead once they saw that a governme
nt run by the people could be prosperous. These reasons were justifiable because
in world where a common man's rights were given and taken at the whim of another
supposedly better man, a government where the common man would always have a say
in would be desirable. For this very same reason the French Revolution was star
ted. Therefore, it was reasonable for Paine and Jefferson to believe that the wo
rld would follow America's lead for republican governments and the fight for the r
ights of mankind.
16. Jeffersonian isolationism expressed an essentially cosmopolitan spirit. Explai
n this apparent contradiction. Although America was meant to be the asylum and th
e beacon for the oppressed of Europe, Jefferson was not an advocate of unlimited
European immigration. Explain.
Jeffersonian isolationism expressed an essentially cosmopolitan spirit means that
the Jeffersonian was determined, even at the cost of separating himself from the
rest of the globe, and even though he be charged with provincial selfishness, t
o preserve America as an uncontaminated laboratory so that the rest of the world
could see that a government run by the people actually worked. Jefferson was no
t an advocate of unlimited European immigration because he thought that America
could succeed if only she did not have too many European immigrants with their p
enchant for monarchy and their debilitating city-bred vices.
17. Why did the Jefferson argue for the agrarian life and oppose that of the mer
chant?
Jefferson argued for the agrarian life which developed men's affection for their s
oil and he opposed the life of a merchant who knew no country except for the pro
fits he drew from it.
18. In your own words, give four examples of the divine approbation Jefferson outl
ined in his First Inaugural Address.
1. To honour and confidence from fellow citizens because of their actions,
their accomplishments and one's sense of them instead of because of their birth an
d station.
2. The right to think for oneself and not have others direct one's actions.
3. Living in a country that has enough room for descendants to the hundredt
h and thousandth generation.
4. Too high-minded to endure the degradation of the others.
19. Historically, what was the impact of the Jeffersonian goal of expansion for
its own sake?
The impact of the Jeffersonian goal of expansion for its own sake was uniting th
e south and the north continents and bringing the south up to their standards. T
he goal was to make their hemisphere one of freedom.
20. How did the passion of some American philosophers exceed their reason?
They believed that because of the American Revolution, the world would open its
eyes and follow their lead. They also believed that the Creator intended the Ame
rican Revolution to show the continent unforeseen physical and moral potentialit
ies of the human species. That now diseases that were thought incurable could no
w be cured because of certain herbs found in places never before explored.
21. For what reasons did the Jeffersonian accept his task in America as a divinel
y appointed mission?
By indefinitely improving the condition of man in America, and thereby vindicati
ng the human species, the Jeffersonian sought to satisfy his need for a divinely
appointed mission. He felt that the immediacy with which he perceived his tasks
; their concreteness, their obviousness and their appeal to his workmanlike tale
nts and energies proved that his was indeed a divinely appointed mission because
any other definition seemed distracting.
22. Discuss Jefferson's philosophy: I like the dreams of the future, better than th
e history of the past. How do you think this preference has influenced The Americ
an Dream as you understand it?
This preference has influenced The American Dream because the Dream is always on
e of looking forward and trying to find any opportunity one can no matter what y
our past or your station of birth was. The American Dream is the search for happ
iness and success, forever dreaming of the future and all that it can be. This i
s a reflection of Jefferson's philosophy and what he based his country on.