4 Matching Annotations
  1. Nov 2017
    1. To improve by reading, his morals and faculties.

      I think it is important to note the correlation placed between morality and education. Academic education does not define a person's morality as there are examples of educated individuals who have shown questionable senses of morality and vice versa. This skewed ideology though allowed for the sense superiority over cultures whose education was not based on the European standards of learning. Due to the lack of literature in native North American or African cultures, Western forms of thought looked down upon individuals as they correlated the lack "education" with lack or morality and "civilization."

    2. What, but education, has advanced us beyond the condition of our indigenous neighbours? and what chains them to their present state of barbarism & wretchedness, but a besotted veneration for the supposed supe[r]lative wisdom of their fathers and the preposterous idea that they are to look backward for better things and not forward, longing, as it should seem, to return to the days of eating acorns and roots rather than indulge in the degeneracies of civilization.

      The value that is placed on education by the founders is admirable but unfortunately, the utilization of education is seen as a means of degrading others. This brings to attention the importance of context. Education in the eyes of founders was having an understanding of literature and government but in the context of other societies, education could refer to an understanding of agricultural patterns or weather patterns. Education should not work as a weapon of superiority over other cultures, but rather as a means of creating cultural bridges of understanding.

  2. Oct 2017
    1. does not violate the equal rights of another

      What were equal rights? The terms appear losely applied as the primary focus was white males. This is able to portray the relativity of meaning behind words, as equal rights placed in different societal contexts can be free to be expanded or limited in within the societal beliefs and values.

    2. To give to every citizen the i

      The use of the phrase "every citizen" carries an inclusive connotation that brings about images of unity and progress but the reality of the phrase is that at the time period the denotation of citizen was limited to a small minority of priviledged individuals. This provides insight into the importance of historical context and how the time period can frame the interpretation of certain words and writings.