Reference no: EM133245925

QuestionsThomas Jefferson, excerpt from Notes on the State of Virginia; Jefferson, "Declaration of Independence;" "Bill of Rights;" U.S. Constitution; Samuel Jennings, Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of Blacks; two political cartoons, "Gendered Depictions of America" 

1. What specifically, according to Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, gave Americans the right to revolt against British rule?
2. What was the original purpose of the Bill of Rights? What problems in the Constitution was it meant to solve?
3. How and why, according to Jefferson in Notes on the State of Virginia, are people of African origin distinct from people of European origin?
4. A decade before the publication of Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "All men are created equal." Is it possible to reconcile these two documents? How do you think Jefferson would answer such a question? 
5. In Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, what is the relationship between a European American Lady Liberty, and the African Americans in the painting? What does this suggest about the artist's intentions and assumptions?
6. In the two political cartoons, "The Able Doctor" and "The Female Combatants," how do the two images suggest a conflict between civilization and nature? What do they suggest about youth and generational conflict? About the implied national characters of America and Great Britain?
7. Do you believe that America since the Revolution has held true to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence? Do you think America today adheres to these "self-evident truths"? What evidence would you provide in support of your answer?
8. Do you think it would be possible today for a new federal Constitution to be written and ratified? Are there any amendments you think should be added or abolished from what the U.S. currently has