History 1301 Lesson 3 and 4 discussion

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Read Chapters 5 – 6. Pay special attention to the Common Sense excerpt in the Voices of Freedom box in Chapter 5. Also, read the Declaration of Independence in the Appendix of your textbook. You may use Chapter 5 as background material on Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following items:

  • Compare the backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine; did Paine have an advantage or disadvantage by not being born in the colonies? Explain.
  • Examine the language used in both documents; who is the audience for each writer?
  • Why does Jefferson not discuss slavery in the Declaration?
  • What do Paine and Jefferson say about the monarchy in their respective documents?
  • Why does Jefferson focus more on the king than parliament?

Read Chapters 7-8 and the information included in Jefferson’s Message to Congress (1803). Once all reading is complete, respond to the following items:

  • Thomas Jefferson wrote this secret message to Congress about the Lewis & Clark expedition in 1803; what does it tell us about Jefferson’s views of westward expansion and Native Americans?
  • What solutions does Jefferson propose to the friction between the fledgling republic and the Indian tribes of the West?
  • What arguments does he use to explain the Lewis & Clark expedition?