Which concept was America founded on?

[jrobert484]

Reagan thought it was founded on this!

http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=4530

 

[Saxon]

Bush has taken the ones you had away.

You can be imprisoned for years without trial in the land of the free.

You can have that happen anyway, regardless of Bush. Happens here too, and we are as liberal as one gets, sadly enough.

 

[Saxon]

America was founded on property rights for the well to do.

Even Universal Male Suuferage was not part of America until the Jackson era. Blacks and females could not vote until much later. Collectivism did not become a popular politcal option until much later, either. So the poll really asks a non-question.

So, when the new nation granted everyone an opportunity for free land, it was only for the well-to-do? Uh huh. I could have sworn that was not the case. I guess 'westward ho' meant nothing? Those who uttered those words were rich bastards?

 

[ASPCA4EVER]

So, when the new nation granted everyone an opportunity for free land, it was only for the well-to-do? Uh huh. I could have sworn that was not the case. I guess 'westward ho' meant nothing? Those who uttered those words were rich bastards?

Might be a clear assumption on my part...but I thought that the entire
'West-Ward HO' theme was to beat the Mexicans/Spaniards/French and any other sovereign nation from settling/laying claim to any other territories that would split our country into different nations??? Well, that and the 'greed thing' was a big promoter of getter-it-done-now!!!

 

[Saxon]

Might be a clear assumption on my part...but I thought that the entire
'West-Ward HO' theme was to beat the Mexicans/Spaniards/French and any other sovereign nation from settling/laying claim to any other territories that would split our country into different nations??? Well, that and the 'greed thing' was a big promoter of getter-it-done-now!!!

The French? They had no call for any territorial claims, since they SOLD to you all of their possessions there. As for the Mexicans and Spaniards, they are irrelevant. The Spaniards had been severely weakened, which is why there was a Mexico in the first place. They were not a threat, and neither were the Mexicans. Westward ho, as in much of the US, was predicated upon promoting free land to attract new immigrants to your new country. Even I, a Canadian, know this. I should also like to remind you that your country was built upon the ideology of 'Manifest Destiny', whereupon you not only lay claim to many lands in the USA, but Canada itself too. I do recall the US invasion of my country, which in retrospect was very much a stupid move because you almost lost your own country in the process. Before the signing of the treaty that ended the war between the USA and Canada/Britain, we OWNED all of the Great Lakes, along with their cities, and we were moving deeper into your territory. Britain sued for peace only because it was becoming too costly, as her wars with one Napoleon Bonaparte, whose feet you should be down upon your knees kissing, drained her outright. Fighting with the US was nothing in comparison to fighting the world's most-powerful army, the Grande-Armee of the French. True, we defeated their asses, but the veterans from that war were toying with the American soldiers, yet Britain's coffers were empty. It is the same situation that the Soviets faced with Afghanistan. Rest assured, if the British had not been fighting Napoleon, the USA today would be British territory, and you Americans know it.

Westward expansion

In US history, the period of settlement 1800–50 when Americans pushed the frontier westwards in search of land and resources, economic opportunities, a better life, and, for some, religious freedom. In 1803 the USA comprised 17 eastern and central states, however the Louisiana Purchase (land bought from France in 1803) expanded its territory by 2,144,000 sq km/828,000 sq mi (the present-day states of Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma). People of US-birth and immigrants from Europe began moving westwards, especially after hearing wonderful reports from the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804–06), a US government survey of the new region. In addition, Americans believed in their ‘manifest destiny’, a God-given right and duty to spread out across the land; this philosophy preceded the phrase (first used 1845), and became one of the main justifications for settlement activity in the American West. The Mexican War (1846–48) and subsequent conquest of the southwest, along with the California gold rush (1848), further opened up the country.

The West
In 1846, Horace Greeley, a New York journalist, wrote an article encouraging young men to go west to find their fortunes, coining the popular phrase, ‘Go west, young man, go west’. Americans of all ages responded, drawn by the promise of free or cheap land, abundant resources, and religious freedom. They headed to Oregon country (the present-day states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming) via the Oregon Trail, and California along the California Trail. At this point, no-one settled in the Great Plains because the ground there was covered in sod (soil filled with tough roots), and they did not yet have the tools or the knowledge to cultivate it. The region also suffered from extremes of hot and cold temperature and a lack of water – in fact, in 1823 a US government surveyor labelled the Great Plains region as the Great American Desert, a name that appeared on maps of the era, and further deterred prospective settlers. This area was not taken up until the second half of the 19th century, when all the more desirable lands had been taken.

The eastern states were becoming rapidly overpopulated, and land and work was no longer available for all their inhabitants, so many left for the west in search of free or cheap land. They had heard how the western areas had a moderate climate, good water supplies, and fertile soil. Oregon country had been claimed by both the USA and Britain in 1792, and was explored by the US government surveyors Lewis and Clark in 1803; a treaty of 1818 allowed both US and British activity in the region. In 1841 the US government's Pre-Emption Act allowed American settlers to buy 65 ha/160 acres of land for a minimum fee after 14 months' residence. As US settlement accelerated, the Oregon Trail becoming particularly heavily used after 1842, the necessity to make a proper division of Oregon country between US and British interests became more urgent. In 1846 a northern boundary between the USA and Canada was finally agreed at the 49th parallel. Oregon Territory was formalized in 1848, although Washington Territory separated in 1853. Oregon became a state in 1858, Washington and Montana in 1889, and Idaho and Wyoming in 1890.

OWNED. I told you so. Seems I know more about your own history than you, and American, do.

 

[PLC1]

America was founded on property rights for the well to do.

Even Universal Male Suuferage was not part of America until the Jackson era. Blacks and females could not vote until much later. Collectivism did not become a popular politcal option until much later, either. So the poll really asks a non-question.

Despite ideals of all men being created equal, blacks, women, and non property owners had to fight for the right to participate in decision making via the ballot box, that is true.

When and how did "collectivism" become a popular option? Just what do you mean by "collectivism"?

This nation was not founded on ideals of collectivism, nor on the reality of collectivism. It was founded on the ideal of individual liberty.

 

[Saxon]

Despite ideals of all men being created equal, blacks, women, and non property owners had to fight for the right to participate in decision making via the ballot box, that is true.

When and how did "collectivism" become a popular option? Just what do you mean by "collectivism"?

This nation was not founded on ideals of collectivism, nor on the reality of collectivism. It was founded on the ideal of individual liberty.

You DO understand that the very term 'United States' is itself 'collectivism', yes?

 

[PLC1]

You DO understand that the very term 'United States' is itself 'collectivism', yes?

Yes, and I also understand by the context of Samsara's comment that the states being united isn't what was meant.

 

[dahermit]

The French? They had no call for any territorial claims, since they SOLD to you all of their possessions there. As for the Mexicans and Spaniards, they are irrelevant. The Spaniards had been severely weakened, which is why there was a Mexico in the first place. They were not a threat, and neither were the Mexicans. Westward ho, as in much of the US, was predicated upon promoting free land to attract new immigrants to your new country. Even I, a Canadian, know this. I should also like to remind you that your country was built upon the ideology of 'Manifest Destiny', whereupon you not only lay claim to many lands in the USA, but Canada itself too. I do recall the US invasion of my country, which in retrospect was very much a stupid move because you almost lost your own country in the process. Before the signing of the treaty that ended the war between the USA and Canada/Britain, we OWNED all of the Great Lakes, along with their cities, and we were moving deeper into your territory. Britain sued for peace only because it was becoming too costly, as her wars with one Napoleon Bonaparte, whose feet you should be down upon your knees kissing, drained her outright. Fighting with the US was nothing in comparison to fighting the world's most-powerful army, the Grande-Armee of the French. True, we defeated their asses, but the veterans from that war were toying with the American soldiers, yet Britain's coffers were empty. It is the same situation that the Soviets faced with Afghanistan. Rest assured, if the British had not been fighting Napoleon, the USA today would be British territory, and you Americans know it.



OWNED. I told you so. Seems I know more about your own history than you, and American, do.

No, most Americans do not know that. I do though. It was just not Napoleon, Katherine the Great was pulling stuff on England also. She would do things like collect money for ship masts from England and then not deliver them. There was a name for her passive aggressive policies but I cannot remember what they called it. They really do not stress the importance of England's problems with European countries in American history books when they talk about the Revolution and the War of 1812.