Margaret Thatcher once said, “Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.” She was correct to state this due to the influence the philosophical debates across Europe had on the early creators of the United States. Yet, some of the creators were thinking too ahead for their time because after the United States Philadelphia convention in 1787, it was followed with the Naturalization Act of 1790 and 1795, Manifest Destiny, Chinese Exclusion Act, the Banana Wars of 1898, The Bankers Plot, the political divide of the late 20th and early 21 century, singular influence, and many more that made the United States pursue false notions, undemocratic moments, and attack the union of states (the Federal Government). Yet, some of the main articles of the United States were against such actions A “Summary View of the Rights of British America” by Thomas Jefferson “American Independence” by Samuel Adams, “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine, and The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
These articles articulated tolerance, the dangers of the pursuits of singular influence (i.e religion, utopian ideas, and mischaracterizations of history, ideas, and people), and the mistreatment of humans. These writers were following the development of many issues that were unfolding in Europe: enlightened despotism, censorship of any unfavorable ideas and books, the prosecutions of people who held different ideas, the differences in legal treatment, and so on. Europe was an example to some of the American creators of what not to do and the cautionary tale of too much influence and power held by a single group. To this day we still see these similar themes play out in politics, which seems to be the result of not properly teaching The Enlightenment in-depth and not reading from the texts that these ideas originated from. If schools read and expanded on the history and roots of the original essays of the creators of the United States, students may gather a deeper understanding of the history of the United States of America - the conflicts of who gets rights and does not is present in these and other essays of the early American people, some poorly choose based on inaccurate thoughts. In addition, an accurate read of all text and sciences is a must as noticed by some of the creators of the United States, for they feared what happened to Athenians, Spartans, and Roman Empire.
This would shed light on the oddities of our time and how we may progress to better endeavors. War and aggression should always be the last choice for any decision; hence why the arrows are in the left hand of the eagle and the right has an olive branch in the seal of the United States. Also, the words that float above the crest are, “In Pluribus Unum,” which means “Out of many, one.” A stark reminder about how the United States is for: a reasonable federal government, the equal treatment of everyone, a country that depends on the sincerity of its laws, and one that uses science as an arbitrator between the people within this Union. Moreover, it could allow us to heal many wounds that were caused by the past because if we elaborate further on these ideas, they might unravel truths that might help in bettering societies around the world. It is in studious behavior and happiness that one finds a true sense of understanding the world around them. One cannot be expected to be born and know all that has come before him or her. It is through education they learn about the current world and its dilemmas.
The pursuit of honest endeavors and the nobility of a civic life is the highest pursuit one can endeavor. It is through this life that one learns to live amongst his or her neighbors with tolerance and respect.