The First Great Awakening and the development of government in America

The Great Awakening was a Christian Revivalist movement that swept through the Protestant states of Europe as well as the British American colonies in the seventeen thirties and forties. This movement had a huge impact on the latter due to its insistence on individuals having a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and its rejection of the old established ritual of the Church. The Great Awakening brought Christianity to the African slaves in these colonies and not only did it do this, but it also encouraged people to have a commitment to a new standard of personal morality. It is this religious revivalism that would eventually encourage the changes in the government of the colonies which eventually led to the American Revolution and the creation of a new and unique nation.
It can be said that the Great Awakening in the British colonies of America brought about a feeling of rebellion against the British government. This is most likely because many of the British elite were adherents of the Anglican Church, whose established ritual and doctrine this movement was against. Those at the forefront of the movement would have advocated for more freedom of government for the colonies so that they could have a hand in determining their own future. When the British government denied them this and instead abolished all the freedoms it had granted, this movement may have had a hand in the beginning of the fight against both the political and religious tyranny of the British (McCook, M, 2008).
The Great Awakening may have had a hand in the people of the colonies’ call for freedom. Its ideas may have inspired many to seek to choose their own destiny and not have it dictated from Britain. The Awakening was not a movement that targeted a single denomination but sought to reform the entire church establishment. This meant that when the call for political freedom came, most of the Protestant denominations may have taken a part in it. The ideals of this movement were later enshrined in the United States’ constitution where religious freedom became one of the fundamental rights of all Americans.
The constitution of the United States declares that all men are equal and this was an idea that was very common among the proponents of the Awakening movement and it seems that these ideas eventually made their way to the constitution of this great nation. This belief came from the bible which stated that all men are equal in the eyes of God and those influenced by the Awakening felt that this meant that there need not be a social hierarchy in society (Szabo, L, 1999). This meant that everybody within the society was to have equal rights and that nobody was to be treated differently from the other just because of their status. It is for this reason that America came to be known as the land of freedom.
In conclusion, the Great Awakening had a very significant impact on the development of government in America. Not only were its ideals enshrined in the constitution of the new republic, but it also made its people aware of their basic human rights. It created an environment in which the people of the colonies were able to fight for their freedom and later create a government that guaranteed that freedom, free of tyranny.
References
McCook, M. (2008). Church and state in america: The first two centuries. Canadian Journal of History, 43(2), 333-335. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alice.dvc.edu/docview/194354741?accountid=38376
Szabo, L. (1999, Feb 28). A great awakening unto the lord in the colonies, christianity becomes passionate and personal. Virginian - Pilot, pp. 16-M16. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alice.dvc.edu/docview/387915701?accountid=38376

Three ways to avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is the deliberate copying of the work of somebody else and presenting such work as one’s own work. It is the use of someone else’s work without acknowledging the source of the material being used and one can plagiarize from many different sources including published essays, books, and even journals. Many institutions of higher education do not allow plagiarism especially among their students and if caught, these students face very severe punishments such as suspension or expulsion from the institution. These institutions tend to clearly define plagiarism in their regulations in a bid to ensure that there is no misunderstanding about it among the staff and the students within the institutions (Aziz, J, Hashim, F, & Razak, N A,2012). In many institutions of higher learning, plagiarism is considered to be very immoral because their purpose is to produce a high caliber of students whose work is original. However, when students plagiarize the work of others, then they damage the reputation of these institutions and they further damage their own credibility as scholars, hence the severe punishments which are given to these students if caught. In this paper, we shall discuss several ways through which students and other scholars can be able to avoid plagiarism, both accidental plagiarism and intentional plagiarism. The following issues in relation to the avoidance of plagiarism shall be discussed: the need to acknowledge every piece of information that is neither one’s personal work nor common knowledge; the need for students to take accurate notes and keep precise records; the need for students to avoid taking shortcuts when writing their papers; and finally, the need for students to avoid leaving most of their work until the last minute because this has been found to be the leading cause of plagiarism.

One of the most important ways for students to avoid plagiarism is the acknowledgement of the sources which are neither their personal work nor is it common knowledge and this includes opinions, arguments, and speculations as well as facts, details, figures, and statistics. This will enable these students to better defend the arguments they make in their papers or in other works and will further increase the credibility of their work. The acknowledgement of sources will also enable those who read and study the work of these students to determine the influences that shaped their eventual opinion concerning the subjects they are discussing in their work. Furthermore, the recognition of their sources and the credibility which their work will gain from it will ensure that future students use them as sources, whether firsthand or secondhand, and this will help build and further their reputation as respected scholars. When using the exact words of the author of their sources, students should use quotation marks to show that these are not their own words. Paraphrasing the sentences or an entire paragraph from a source is also a useful tool in avoiding plagiarism because the student writes according to his own understanding of the source’s work, so long as the source is acknowledged (Badke, W, 2007)..

Another way for students to avoid plagiarism is the need for them to take accurate notes and keep precise records. Students should indicate in their notes whether they are directly quoting, whether they are paraphrasing, or whether they are summarizing a source. Students should also make sure that they know the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing sources in order to avoid confusion when writing their papers. Knowing the difference between these types of writing styles and source acknowledgement will enable students not only to get ideas from their sources but it will also be a way of learning about what different schools have to say about a particular subject. Students should also learn that to consult their instructors whenever they are in doubt of whether they are documenting their sources correctly because not knowing is never an adequate defense when one is accused of plagiarism (Kiehl, Ermalynn M, 2006).

Students should ensure that the do not take shortcuts when writing their work because this is a major cause of plagiarism. Writing hurriedly prevents the student from thinking clearly because his thoughts have not been well organized. This leads the student into the temptation of copying other people’s work in a bid to finish their own work without including or stating any of the sources which they have used in their writing. It is often very difficult for a student to clearly state their sources because of their hurrying through their work and randomly using sources without even taking note of who they are quoting. Many students end up committing plagiarism without even realizing that they are doing it and this tends to land many of them into trouble form their instructors and from their learning institutions. Students should learn to undertake all their assigned work in time so that they are able to take and quote accurate notes and sources to ensure the credibility of their work. They should not wait until the last minute to do their work because quoting sources accurately would seem to be a waste of time for them because they will be in a hurry to complete their work. It would seem to be a waste of time to quote sources when writing but then a lot more time will be spent by the student when attempting to defend himself or herself from allegations of plagiarism leveled against them (East, J, 2010).

In conclusion, the best way for students to avoid plagiarism is by taking their time to do their work so that they can take accurate notes as well as make proper citation of sources to ensure that their work is credible. Plagiarism is a moral crime which should not be encouraged among students because this would mean the loss of the credibility of the learning process. Therefore, it would be best if strict measures were taken against those who commit plagiarism and to ensure that it is no longer committed. Students should be given lessons concerning plagiarism from the very beginning of their academic career and should be made aware of the gravity of committing plagiarism and its consequences.

The Philosophers

Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher based in Athens, is an enigmatic figure about whom we only know through the works of his students such as Xenophon and Plato and through the works of the philosophers who came long after his death. Despite the enigma that surrounds his life and his teachings, Socrates is today considered by many scholars to be one of the fathers of Western philosophy. Most of his thoughts and ideas that have been put down in writing have been done by his student, Plato, because there is no record of his thought ever being written down during his lifetime. Based on this, it is very difficult to distinguish between the thought that was of Socrates and what was Plato’s because it can be suspected that Plato may have put some of his ideas into the mouth of Socrates to make them seem more credible to his audience due to Socrates’ reputation.

The dialectic method of enquiry can be considered to be Socrates’ most lasting contribution to Western philosophy which tended mostly to be applied when dealing with moral matters such as what was good and just within the society. The dialectic method which Socrates used was first described by Plato when he stated that in order to solve a problem; this problem would be split into a series of questions the answers to which would eventually create a logical solution (McCall, C, 1935 – 1936) . The scientific method that is used today is heavily influenced by Socrates’ dialectic method of enquiry because a hypothesis for the solution of a problem is often the first stage in the scientific method. Socrates’ development and practicing of the dialectic method is what has earned him his place as one of the fathers of Western philosophy as well as the creator of the study of political philosophy, and moral philosophy.

Plato was a classical Greek philosopher who was based in Athens and was a student of Socrates, and is often considered to be the greatest of Socrates’ students. He was not only the founder of the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, the Academy of Athens, but his work has, throughout the ages since his time, been used to teach a wide range of subjects including philosophy and logic. Plato has made a lot of contributions to Western philosophy in matters ranging from political philosophy to those theories dealing with the metaphysical, and his theories and thoughts in these matters have occupied the minds of philosophers for the last two millennia.

Through his Dialogues, Plato advanced some of his ideas as well as those of his teacher Socrates and it is through them that we get to know of the teachings of the father of Western philosophy. Plato also had a great influence in the setting up of and the evolution of the modern government as it is manifested today through his famous political work, The Republic. It is the theories from this work that are today used as a framework for the definition of democracy and not only that, but most of the constitutions of the current states in the world today are based on the work of Plato (Colmo, C, 1781). It is therefore a fact that Plato’s influence can be felt all over the world, and most especially in the Western world, which is the main receptor and beneficiary of Plato’s work.

Aristotle was a student of Plato and a teacher of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, and his works covered almost every aspect that affects human life from government to biology. He is considered, along with Socrates and Plato to be among the founding fathers of Western philosophy. His views on the physical sciences greatly influenced the scholars of the middle ages and his views were paramount until they were later replaced by the views of Isaac Newton. His thoughts also influenced the study of ethics due to his belief that ethics did not exist just to be studied but they were also to be practiced in our day to day lives.

According to Busch, P (120) Aristotle’s influence on the realm of politics can also be seen today in some ideologies which accept the world the way it is and have no space for reason that is not based on experience. The thoughts and theories of Aristotle are still considered relevant today in a wide range of subjects other than ethics and politics, especially in the biological sciences where he made a great contribution in the area of the classification of different living organisms. It can be said that Aristotle was a well-rounded philosopher whose opinions on many subjects bordered on the genius not only during his time but they have lasted for over two millennia to the modern age, remaining relevant throughout most of that time. The Aristotelian thought is one of the greatest foundations upon which Western philosophy is based most especially because his work was well recorded, despite a lot of it having been lost over time.

Religious and Ethnic Divisions

The ethnic division in Northern Ireland has been an ongoing issue in that state for most of its modern history and it has only gotten to calm down in the past few years. The easing of the problem in Northern Ireland has mostly been solved through dialogue that has taken place between the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland was mostly based on religious beliefs, that is, the Catholic Irish in opposition to the Protestant Irish. These two respective groups have had support from some outside states, with the Catholics, being Irish nationalists fighting for a union with the Republic Ireland, and the Protestants fighting for remaining within the United Kingdom. These differences developed over time into serious divisions within the society with many people who had lived side by side all their lives turning against and at times killing each other (Wolff, S, 2001).

The situation in Northern Ireland can be comparable to that which is happening in Rwanda and it is our belief that the solutions which were applied in Ireland are also applicable to that in Rwanda. It is therefore the best thing for the people of Rwanda, whether Hutu or Tutsi, to settle their differences through dialogue because all other means of bringing a peaceful solution to the conflict are bound to fail (King, E, 2005). Dialogue should be made the most paramount means of conflict resolution and it should be encouraged within the society. Since the current president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, came to power, peace has returned to the country through his government’s encouragement of dialogue and a return of friendship between the two major ethnic groups in the country.