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Thomas W. Dorr, An Address to the People of Rhode Island, 1834
This piece suggests the unevenness with which the fruits of the American Revolution spread across the country. While democracy took root in some areas, in others it was withdrawn or impeded. Its spread was not an uncontested progress. Fifty-eight years after 1776 the people of Rhode Island had to take up arms to win what the Revolution has promised. Through much of the nineteenth century Rhode Island was governed under its original charter, which limited suffrage and the right to hold office to men who owned $134 worth of property. By 1834 the state had become urban, and a significant portion of its population was made up of nonlandowners. Thomas W. Dorr, a Harvard-educated attorney, rebelled against the charter and eventually led a force against the state government. Here he offers a concise statement of the democratic impulse that was at work not only in Rhode Island but throughout the nation. Could be used with students. 3 pages.
Discussion questions
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What is Dorr's rhetorical strategy? |
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What is his argument based on? |
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Why was the expansion of rights a national phenomenon, despite the varied political traditions of different sections? |
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What implications does the democratic impulse expressed here hold for the relations between the North and the South?
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Reading highlights
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Note how Dorr calls upon the past. |
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Note how he finesses the issue of giving the vote to women.
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