History discuession

For this discussion, carefully read sources 62 through 65 in Chapter 10 of Voices of Freedom (starting on page 194).  One of the difficulties of establishing a democratic republic is finding a way to guarantee the rights of minorities. After all, in a democracy a majority can simply vote to take rights away from a minority group (or prevent them from gaining them in the first place.)

 In your discussion post, I’d like you to consider how the landless white men in source 63, the Native Americans in source 64, and the African Americans in source 65 attempt to secure their rights in the face of oppression by a majority group? What, in particular, is the language and the logic that they use in their arguments? In addition, you should address whether or not, as John C. Calhoun proposes in document 62, that the United States Constitution needed to be amended to offer additional protection for minority groups (note that in his case he's talking about Southern slaveholders as a minority group)?

  In your response you should use evidence from the primary sources to prove your point. Typically this requires a three-step process of making your assertions about the issue, giving the reader evidence that proves your point (usually by providing a brief quotation from the text), and then fully explaining to the reader why the evidence proves your point. When you do provide information from the reader, be sure to provide citation. A simple parenthetical with the editor's name and the page number (Foner, 30) will suffice since we are all reading the same few sources each week.

 Responses should run between 200 and 400 words. 

 For full credit, be sure to provide a substantive response of at least 100 words to someone else's post after you have posted your response. In these responses you want to fully explain why you agree or disagree with what the person has said.

A grading rubric for these discussions is available in the content section of this Blackboard site.