Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment

               In the movie Lincoln, the president faces many difficulties when trying to ratify the thirteenth amendment.  Many people of the time period had issues with the proposal of the amendment because they were racist.  The majority of the public did not want African Americans to have the right to vote, which they believed would eventually happen if the amendment were to be passed.  Americans were also worried about losing their jobs to African Americans.  Lincoln had trouble passing the amendment because he needed two thirds for the majority and most of the house wasn't republican.  He also needed democratic support.  There  were many complications as to how the war would end and most of the people who wanted the amendment to pass only wanted this because Lincoln made it seem like this was the only way for the war to end.  Lincoln used his implied powers, which were slightly corrupt, to help the amendment pass.  Lincoln offers future jobs, such as post master and mayor, to the lame duck democrats as a bribe to gain their support in the ratification of the thirteenth amendment.  The president was also corrupt due to the fact that he lied about upcoming peace talks.  He wanted peace to be reliant of the ratification of this amendment.  Lincoln obviously thought that getting this amendment passed was of the utmost importance.  A vital effect of the amendment passing for Lincoln would be all of the votes he would receive from the African American population.  Lincoln was planning on running for another term as president and knew that if he passed this amendment, he would gain an abundance of votes for the next election.

Amendment Memes

               The fourth amendment states that the government must have probable cause in order to search one's private property.  If a judge declares there is enough probably cause, the police can search your property against your will. 

               The second amendment states that we have the right to bear arms.  This amendment is extremely controversial, especially with the recent rise in gun violence.  Not everyone should be allowed to own a gun, yet those people still manage to obtain them anyway.  

Family Guy: Petoria

          In an episode of Family Guy, a nation called Petoria forms.  Petoria is an Oligarchy because power remains within the hands of very few people and there is only one political party.  There are positives and negatives to Peter's new anti-federalist, small government.  Peter did not need to follow any laws that the people of United States had to follow, therefore, Peter and his family had more freedom to do whatever they wanted to at the time.  Another benefit of Petoria was that Peter and his family did not need to pay taxes to the United States government.  Even though there were positives to the Griffins's succession from Quahog, there were also many detrimental negatives that caused the Griffins to eventually need to become a part of the United States once again. When Peter annexes his neighbor's land, it causes issues with the United States and the military surrounds his house.  Peter faces consequences such as not being able to share the resources he would need from the United States, such as electricity, heat, and water for his house.  Peter's wife, Lois, even had to home school her children because they were not allowed to go to the United States's public schools.  Petoria may have seemed like a good idea to Peter at the time but it could not survive.