From The Spirit of Laws is a document that discusses the need for three branches of
government, the legislative, the executive, and an executive with regards to civil law,
each with powers separate from each other. The legislative branch is to enact the laws
and amend or abrogate the laws that have already been enacted. The executive branch
has the power to make peace or war, send or receive embassies, establish the public
security, and protect against invasions. The second executive branch, or judicial branch,
determines disputes between two parties and punishes criminals. It continues to discuss
that if the executive and legislative branch were not separate there could be no liberty
because one could enact tyrannical laws and execute them in a tyrannical manner.
Again, there would be no liberty if the judicial branch was not separate from the
executive or legislative because the rights of an individual would be exposed to arbitrary
control or the judge might act with violence and oppression. The information in this
document shows that during the time of this writing there was unequal rule in the
government with no checks and balances to control the rule and the people were
unable to choose their government. I believe this document was critical in changing the
governmental structure throughout Europe and heavy influential to the founding
fathers of the United States.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a document of France that laid out
the basic principles upon which their government would be founded. The document
begins by stating that all men are born free and remain free and equal in rights and
theses rights include liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. Its goes
on to state that laws can only prohibit such actions that are harmful to society and that
they are expressions of the general will, meaning every citizen has a right to participate
in its formation. It also expresses the idea of innocent until proven guilty and that no
person should be falsely imprisoned. This document shows the political frustration
during the time and the need for reform in order to have a basic foundation of laws for
an equal society. I believe this document was a great step in creating an equal society in
18th century France.
The Conditions of the Working Class in England in 1844 is a firsthand account of
conditions in Manchester’s working class neighborhoods. It discusses how unclean the
conditions were including pools of urine and excrement laying in the narrow streets and
how the houses were crammed together almost one on top of the other. The houses
that the workers lived in were referred to a “pig pens.” Factories would dump their
waste into the bank creating a black, foul smelling stream of debris. This document
shows the complete separation of power between the rich and the poor during this time
and the horrible living conditions the poor, working class had to endure. I believe this
document was an eye opener to the living conditions of the working class.
Inquiry into the Sanitary Condition of the Poor is a document that analyzed the living
conditions of the poor. It begins by describing the many diseases among the laboring
classes are caused by atmospheric impurities caused by decomposing filth and
overcrowded dwellings and that cleanliness is obstructed by defective supplies of water.
It states that the annual loss of life from filth and bad ventilation are greater than the
loss from death in any wars which England has fought in during the time. It goes on to
describe that there are thousands of cases of widowhood and even more of orphaned
children. This again shows the lifestyle separation between the wealthy class and the
poor, working class. I believe this document is a shocking description of the horrible
conditions the poor had to endure.
Commissioner Lin Zexu’s letter to Queen Victoria was an attempt of China to try to
suppress the opium trade of Great Britain. In the beginning of the letter the
commissioner brings up the fact that opium is illegal in Britain which is proof that the
queen knows how harmful it is to mankind. The letter describes the amount of exports
of China to Britain including tea, cinnamon, ginger, and raw silk, all of which are
necessities of British life and the fact that Britain’s exports to China only serve as mere
amusements. Commissioner Zexu goes on to order the queen to not only stop all trade
of opium, but to have all of England’s colonies where the opium is grown, including
Bombay, Bengal, and Malwa, to also cease growing the drug. This letter shows the
strained tensions and cultural differences between the West and Far East. I believe this
letter established China as an independent nation capable of providing for its own
people and made a statement to the powerful countries to the west.
Mein Kampf is the autobiography of Adolf Hitler in which he states Germany lost World
War I because of a failed propaganda campaign. Hitler states that the great masses are
not receptive to anything that is weak and in order to make effective propaganda you
must understand the masses emotional ideas. He goes on to say that the masses
attention is limited and intelligence is small but their power to forget is enormous.
Propaganda must be limited to very few points and you must keep repeating these
slogans until every last person of the public understands the slogan. The key is to
convince the masses and ideas are to be repeated thousands of times until the masses
finally remembers them. This document shows how weak and desperate the times were
in Germany and how the country yearned for some kind of leadership. I believe this
autobiography was an insight into the grim future of Germany under the crazed
leadership of Hitler.
Aaron Smith
Chapter 17: The Spirit of Laws: On Separation of Governmental
Powers 1748
Chapter 20: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
1789
Chapter 21: The Condition of the Working Class in England in
1844
Chapter 23: Inquiry into the Sanitary Condition of the Poor
1842
Chapter 25: Commissioner Lin Zexu Letter to Queen Victoria
1839
Chapter 28: Mein Kampf: The Art of Propaganda 1924