AP US Government - Day 1 Introductory Readings

ONE: Why did Mr. Chiang assign this piece AND what are the main ideas? (tag sections)
TWO: Where do you want to know more AND where have you found insights? (tag sections)
WITH ALL HW, ASK YOURSELF THE TWO QUESTIONS ABOVE.
1) US Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government.
2) US Constitution, Article 1, Section 8
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors
and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
3) California Code, Penal Code 187(a)
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.

4) US Citizenship Oath
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance
and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have
heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of
the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when
required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the
United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under
civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any
mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
5) Japanese Citizen Oath
I swear to obey the Constitution of Japan as well as its laws and ordinances, fulfilling the
established duties, and become a good citizen.
6) Canadian Oath
I swear (or affirm) That I will be faithful And bear true allegiance To Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth the Second Queen of Canada Her Heirs and Successors And that I will faithfully
observe The laws of Canada And fulfil my duties As a Canadian citizen.

7 ) Politics, Book 4 by Aristotle (350BCE)

Of forms of democracy first comes that which is said to be based strictly on equality. In such a
democracy the law says that it is just for the poor to have no more advantage than the rich;
and that neither should be masters, but both equal. For if liberty and equality, as is thought by
some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike
share in the government to the utmost. And since the people are the majority, and the opinion
of the majority is decisive, such a government must necessarily be a democracy. Here then is
one sort of democracy. There is another, in which the magistrates are elected according to a
certain property qualification, but a low one; he who has the required amount of property has
a share in the government, but he who loses his property loses his rights. Another kind is that
in which all the citizens who are under no disqualification share in the government, but still the
law is supreme. In another, everybody, if he be only a citizen, is admitted to the government,
but the law is supreme as before. A fifth form of democracy, in other respects the same, is
that in which, not the law, but the multitude, have the supreme power, and supersede the law
by their decrees. This is a state of affairs brought about by the demagogues. For in
democracies which are subject to the law the best citizens hold the first place, and there are
no demagogues; but where the laws are not supreme, there demagogues spring up. For the
people becomes a monarch, and is many in one; and the many have the power in their
hands, not as individuals, but collectively. Homer says that 'it is not good to have a rule of
many,' but whether he means this corporate rule, or the rule of many individuals, is uncertain.
At all events this sort of democracy, which is now a monarch, and no longer under the control
of law, seeks to exercise monarchical sway, and grows into a despot; the flatterer is held in
honor; this sort of democracy being relatively to other democracies what tyranny is to other
forms of monarchy. The spirit of both is the same, and they alike exercise a despotic rule over
the better citizens. The decrees of the demos correspond to the edicts of the tyrant; and the
demagogue is to the one what the flatterer is to the other. Both have great power; the flatterer
with the tyrant, the demagogue with democracies of the kind which we are describing. The
demagogues make the decrees of the people override the laws, by referring all things to the
popular assembly. And therefore they grow great, because the people have an things in their
hands, and they hold in their hands the votes of the people, who are too ready to listen to
them.

8 ) Politics, Book 7 by Aristotle (350BCE)

Now it is evident that the form of government is best in which every man, whoever he is, can
act best and live happily. But even those who agree in thinking that the life of virtue is the
most eligible raise a question, whether the life of business and politics is or is not more
eligible than one which is wholly independent of external goods, I mean than a contemplative
life, which by some is maintained to be the only one worthy of a philosopher. For these two
lives- the life of the philosopher and the life of the statesman- appear to have been preferred
by those who have been most keen in the pursuit of virtue, both in our own and in other ages.
Which is the better is a question of no small moment; for the wise man, like the wise state, will
necessarily regulate his life according to the best end. There are some who think that while a
despotic rule over others is the greatest injustice, to exercise a constitutional rule over them,
even though not unjust, is a great impediment to a man's individual wellbeing. Others take an
opposite view; they maintain that the true life of man is the practical and political, and that
every virtue admits of being practiced, quite as much by statesmen and rulers as by private
individuals. Others, again, are of opinion that arbitrary and tyrannical rule alone consists with
happiness; indeed, in some states the entire aim both of the laws and of the constitution is to
give men despotic power over their neighbors. And, therefore, although in most cities the laws
may be said generally to be in a chaotic state, still, if they aim at anything, they aim at the
maintenance of power: thus in Lacedaemon and Crete the system of education and the
greater part of the of the laws are framed with a view to war. And in all nations which are able
to gratify their ambition military power is held in esteem, for example among Scythians,
Persians, Thracians, and Celts.

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