- Dec 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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to establish beginnings, in short, to be developed by time, as those who come after us shall find expedient. They will be more advanced than we are, in science and in useful arts, and will know best what will suit the circumstances of their day.
The authors' historical self awareness here is pretty interesting to me. They knew that their time was only a point in history, and that they would eventually be surpassed by the next generations. I wonder how much of Jefferson's work on the constitution, specifically the amendment process, had on this?
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Anglo-Saxon
By Anglo Saxon do they just mean English? I wonder if they avoided specifically teaching "English" because the country had so recently split from Britain and Jefferson had such an important role in the split.
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- Nov 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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In conformity with the principles of our constitution, which places all sects of religion on an equal footing, with the jealousies of the different sects in guarding that equality from encroachment & surprise, and with the sentiments of the legislature in favor of freedom of religion manifested on former occasions,
I wonder how much influence Jefferson's work on religious liberties in Virginia had on this document. It clearly had some, but did he add this phrase and others like it himself or was it someone else who shared his ideas?
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- Sep 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express & preserve his ideas, his contracts & accounts in writing.
It's interesting that one of the original and primary goals of the university was not just to help turn students into productive members of society, but also to enable them to better themselves and accomplish their own goals. The phrase "to express & preserve his ideas" stood out to me as an example of this.
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