Harper's Academy U.S. History and American Literature

Feel free to provide links here for the debates for and against the 2nd Amendment. You can leave them in the comment section. I'll provide material for both sides because I think it is imperative for a person that defends a position to know both sides. There are meritorious reasons for both sides of this discussion. Today, I have been reading some current events, something I hope you do, at least weekly.  I've been watching some of the headlines coming out of Spain, where a region is hoping to claim its independence. Spain disagrees with their decision to separate. While the Catalonian citizens were showing up to vote for their secession, they were met with government opposition in rather brutal forms. Here are some images: Twitter Here's an article on the events in Spain. Is this an example of government tyranny? Would armed citizens be a useful thing here? What are the gun laws in Spain? Is fear of our government a reason to keep the Second Amendmen...

 Class, Today was a great class! I hope you were able to make the connections between the commentary and parables of "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to our progressing American culture and shifts in ideology. I also hope that our discussion on the electoral college, low voter turnout, and the differences between a Republic and a Democracy was helpful. As for our debate, I am hoping we can continue to pick up next week on some of the other topics concerning our 2nd Amendment. I do have some pointers I'd like for you to consider. When you are debating a position, ALWAYS define your position in clear terms. Do not give your opponent a foothold to define your position for you. If you are arguing for an interpretation of a "militia," you need to define in very clear terms what you mean by this. If we are arguing "arms," you need to be specific and clear by what you mean. Are you meaning all arms? Or are you suggesting that we ...

This week you are working in groups to better understand the first three Articles of The Constitution . Your job is to each read through your assigned amendment. Ally's table has Amendment I. Rowan's table has Amendment II. Hannah's table has Amendment III. Read through your Article several times. Work as a group to define this Article's purpose and main ideas. You will need to work together to present a short summary to the class next week. Hold your peers accountable and make sure they are all contributing!