Excerpt: Thomas Jefferson’s inaugural address was delivered in “so low a tone that few heard it,” but the volume of the day proved explosive otherwise.

Of the questions concerning the many great minds of the European Enlightenment, the question of what constitutes right and proper government perhaps had the most enduring influence on the world stage. Both Thomas Jefferson and Immanuel Kant attempted to answer the question of what constitutes right government, in particular by basing the system upon the idea of human freedom as an inalienable right. This project is an attempt to compare the systems proposed by these two authors, as well as to critique each on its ability to protect and foster individual freedom. It is my opinion that neither manages to do what it is constructed to do, as each fails to fully protect individual freedom, and each has as part of it a component which conflicts with individual freedom.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves: [96]-99))

Ce mémoire s’intéresse à Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871), chef du Parti canadien (1815-1826) et du Parti patriote (1826-1837) ainsi que seigneur de la Petite-Nation (1817-1871). Y sont examinés plus spécifiquement le traitement historiographique, surtout au Québec, de la figure du seigneur Papineau ainsi que ses idées sur le régime seigneurial telles qu’elles se déploient dans sa correspondance privée et ses écrits publics. L’angle d’approche est donc double, soit celui de l’analyse historiographique et de l’histoire des idées. Généralement considérée comme paradoxale par les historiens, il est défendu dans ce travail qu’a contrario la conjonction de la condition de seigneur et des idées politiques démocratiques et républicaines chez Papineau peut être cohérente. Pour ce faire, son discours est étudié avec une attention particulière portée à ses sensibilités jeffersoniennes, c’est-à-dire aux caractéristiques qui font écho à l’admiration du seigneur pour « le plus aimé » de ses « maîtres en politique », Thomas Jefferson. Ainsi, les idées de Papineau sur le régime seigneurial sont mises en relation avec d’autres pans de sa pensée, notamment sur la propriété terrienne, la vertu, l’indépendance citoyenne, la morale, l’économie politique et le devenir de l’expérience républicaine en Amérique menacée par la question épineuse de l’esclavage des Noirs. Le régime seigneurial, pour lui, constitue un moyen puissant et bien adapté au Bas-Canada de développer et faire perdurer un environnement social favorisant la vertu. Rien dans la seigneurie canadienne, qui est tout sauf la féodalité européenne, n’entre en contradiction avec sa vision d’un progrès qui devrait être républicain autant sur le plan économique que politique. Cette vue plus globale sur les idées de Papineau tend à montrer qu’elles forment un tout visiblement cohérent. Afin d’approfondir le regard sur sa trajectoire intellectuelle, le portrait contextualisé de l’attachement de Papineau à la propriété seigneuriale lorsqu’elle fut à maintes reprises menacée d’extinction est brossé. Cet exercice qui englobe l’ensemble de sa vie épistolaire met donc en lumière les conjonctures dans lesquelles il intervient ainsi que les raisons qui le motivent à travers le temps. En somme, les conclusions de cette recherche remettent en question, d’une part, le bien-fondé de la thèse de l’« être divisé » de Fernand Ouellet qui avait vu dans l’articulation synchronique d’idées démocratiques et d’une position proseigneuriale une preuve de l’hypocrisie égoïste et de l’incapacité mentale de Papineau de marcher dans le sens du progrès libéral. D’autre part, elles contribuent à la restitution d’une part de sincérité et de cohérence aux idées de Papineau.

Thomas Jefferson: Life Lines is a five movement composition based on excerpts from Thomas Jefferson's personal letters. The material presented focuses on the intimate, human qualities of the man. The musical treatment of this material illuminates and amplifies different aspects of the inner Jefferson. The music is as diverse and varied as Jefferson's interests. The style, tone and form of the music are directly tied to Jefferson's words. Two fundamental components of Jefferson's being, the rational mind and the emotional heart, are musically portrayed in the introduction of the first movement. The music that follows in the first and all subsequent movements is derived from these two components. The first movement contains eight brief excerpts that highlight different aspects of Jefferson's mindset. Each of the remaining movements focuses on a single subject: The second movement, the death of Jefferson's wife, Martha; the third movement, Monticello; the fourth movement, a dialogue between Jefferson's head and heart; and the fifth movement, Jefferson's belief in the free mind. The music is presented by a chamber ensemble of twenty-two performers: five woodwinds (flute, oboe, two B-flat clarinets, bassoon), five brass (two french horns in F, trumpet in C, trombone, tuba), two percussionists, piano, four vocalists (alto, two tenors, bass) and five strings (two violins, viola, cello, double bass). Historical background for each epistolary excerpt and an explanation of the its corresponding music is found in the preface.

This paper analyzes the fundamental maritime defense mentality that permeated America throughout the early part of the Republic. For fear of economic debt and foreign wars, Thomas Jefferson and his Republican party, opposed the construction of a formidable blue water naval force. Instead, they argued for a small naval force capable of engaging the Barbary pirates and other small similar forces. For protection of the nation and commerce, they wanted a strictly defensive strategy developed around coastal gunboats and harbor fortifications. This research will analyze the naval aspect of this defense mentality from its creation in 1794, through the War of 1812. The coastal defense analysis will begin at the same time and conclude with the end of the American Civil War.

This study analyzes U.S. relations with the Barbary States from 1784 to 1805. After the American Revolution, the young nation found its commerce menaced in the Mediterranean by North African pirates sponsored by the rulers of Morocco, Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli. As the U.S. sought to find a solution to end piracy and the practice of paying tributes or ransom to free Americans held captive, Thomas Jefferson proposed several solutions as a diplomat, vice president, and as president when he authorized the Tripolitan War (1801-1805). Thus, this look at U.S. relations with the Barbary States focuses on Jefferson’s evolving foreign policy proposals and argues that William Eaton’s secret mission in 1805 eventually reshaped U.S. policy in the Mediterranean and brought Jefferson’s ideas for a military solution to fruition. This change in policy would soon bring about the end of piracy against U.S. merchant vessels and the nation’s involvement in tributary treaties.

The purpose of this manuscript is to explain Alexander Hamilton's idea that a national bank was essential for America's survival. Three key ingredients, clarified through the use of letters and documents, are used to understand the importance of Hamilton's objective: 1) Hamilton's relationship with George Washington, discussed in chapter one; 2) James Madison's and Thomas Jefferson's arguments against Hamilton's ideas, discussed in chapters two and three; and 3) Hamilton's proposal for the bank and his opinion in favor of its constitutionality, including the idea that the necessary and proper clause expands the authority of government, discussed in chapter four. The prosperity and stability America experienced after the national bank threw open its door is proof that Hamilton's initiatives were needed. While James Madison is considered the Father of the Constitution, Hamilton is most definitely it foremost interpreter.

No description available.

With historic ruins as a project vehicle, this thesis investigates connections to an existing structure through materials and spatial relationships. The proposed intervention, guided by design elements and preservation methods, reflects a sensitive approach and provides a transition between our built heritage and an adapted form of architecture. / Master of Architecture