Mary-Elaine Swanson has done an invaluable service for this and subsequent generations by resurrecting awareness and presenting an accurate knowledge of John Locke and his reasoning through an uncensored view of his life; writings; and incalculable influence on America. This book will help Americans understand the importance of Locke’s thinking for American constitutionalism today.You will learn the real meaning of the “law of nature†as it was embraced in Colonial America; and the separation of church and state embraced in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers looked to Locke as the source of many of their ideas. Thomas Jefferson considered Locke as one of the three greatest men that ever lived. Locke’s contributions to American Liberty can clearly be seen interwoven in our colonial Declarations of Rights; paraphrased in our Declaration of Independence; and incorporated into our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Declaration is born of the extensively studied and widely taught Treatises On Civil Government by John Locke. There Locke reasoned the very purpose of forming civil government is the protection of property; and that “life; liberty; and property (pursuit of happiness)†are not three separate rights but intrinsically one great and inalienable right he called “propertyâ€â€•which begins with the life of the individual; then his liberty which is essential to his productivity; followed by the right to enjoy the fruits of his labors without fear that the government will confiscate his property. These inalienable rights are from God and legitimate government has no authority to take them away but is chartered in fact to preserve and protect liberty.
#3899628 in Books Winoca Press 2010-04-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x 1.27 x 5.98l; 1.83 #File Name: 0978973690572 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Civil War Home FrontBy ckrBased on letters from the battlefield and the home front; this extensively researched book broadened my view of the Civil War. Before reading this book; I hadn't realized that New Englanders were motivated to fight in this war because memories of the Revolutionary War were part of their family history. Nor how the wives at home struggled to pay for firewood and flour; and to pay for a photograph that their husband could carry into battle.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Don't waste your time unless you're related.By teebeezeeI was so disappointed with this book. I have read many other books and memoirs about the Civil War; in particular; from the woman's point of view but this one really let me down; and I slogged through it to the bitter end. So many things:First of all; the title is misleading: it sounds like you will be reading a woman's letters that she wrote between these dates. However; 1835 is her birth year! And then 99% of the letters quoted in the book are TO her from her brother and husband. The few letters that she did write appear at the end of the book; at the end of the war.I also did not appreciate that the first 100 pages are a synopsis of the trio's lives (Eliza; husband Henry; and brother Andrew) and that the authors recount their entire lives; including when and how each died. I expected to find that out in the letters so that was a spoiler right off the bat. Some of that would have been more fitting as an epilogue.All Eliza's input is from her journal; but she didn't begin that until 1863; nearly two years into the war. And lest you think this is where it gets interesting; her "journal entries" are just daily notations in the back of a pocket-size memorandum book. Typical entries are: "I washed and ironed"; "Mrs F comes over"; "Get a letter from Henry"; "Quite well so I go out and spend the day with Sylvia".The men's letters were not much more interesting either. They all ran along the same lines; i.e.; I miss you; did you get my last letter; weather is cold/hot; so-and-so is sick/dead; I have/have not been paid yet; kiss the children for me; and so on. I don't presume to fault the men for writing such mundane letters but did the authors really need to include 300 pages of those? Neither man really delved into their feelings about slavery; the rebels; the battles; etc. although they often did profess their patriotism and their sense of doing their duty. And Eliza never mentioned how she felt about anything; her loneliness; her work in the mills; her children; etc.Many other small issues were annoying too; like the map of New England which is so small and detailed as to be totally useless. If the authors wanted to provide maps to show locations of the homes and wartime locations; they could have done much better. Another issue was that some of the letters were out of order so you knew about events before the letter's recipient did.So; as my caption reads; this book might be interesting if you're actually blood-related or from that area; but to the general public; it was long; redundant; and dull. I must say though that I did like the series of photos of Eliza showing her from girlhood; through motherhood; to shortly before her death. Very revealing; more so than her journal entries.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Snapshot of Civil War from a Woman's Point of ViewBy Steven C. LeviAs an historian I found WRITE QUICK to be an excellent snapshot of life during the Civil War. Even better; it was from a woman's point of view. While there are many Civil War books on the market; there is a real dearth of works from the woman's perspective. To its credit; the book uses letters as its primary documentation. What this means to the historian is that the experiences are here-and-now as opposed to memoirs written long after the event when the writer has a chance to gloss over events or; worse; re-write them. WRITE QUICK is as close to the Civil War on the domestic front as you are going to find and I heartily recommend this book for the historian; Civil War buff or just someone looking for a very good read as to what it was really like when brother fought brother from Bull Run to Reconstruction.
