The Jeffersonian Dream and Property as the Basis of Happiness
Assignment #2—Jefferson’s Philosophy of Happiness (Evaluative Essay)
Assigned Text to Engage in this Unit:
Cullen Ch. 2
The Declaration of Independence
the assigned section of the “Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson”
the assigned selections from “Notes on the State of Virginia”
Mathews, “The Radical Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson”
Richardson, “Jefferson and Race”
Assigned Instruction Videos:
Week 4 instructional video (see week 4 Module)
Week 5 instructional video (see week 5 Module)
Topic:
In our module on the “Jeffersonian Dream” we explored his ideas/philosophy on human happiness and how it relates to property. In this assignment consider how his philosophy of human happiness and political economy relate to American political views today. Compare and contrast Thomas Jefferson’s theory of property (as it has been discussed in text and instructional videos) and its relationship to happiness with the politics of one of the following:
The Tea Party USA(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement;https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tea-Party-movement (Links to an external site.))
The Democratic Socialists of America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Socialists_of_America (Links to an external site.); https://www.dsausa.org (Links to an external site.))
The Libertarian Party: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party_(United_States) (Links to an external site.);https://www.lp.org (Links to an external site.))
