p. 314-316 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

Plato shows that tyranny and democracy are the same. What is the missing element that the founders referenced and Lincoln realized? Who was Socrates interrogator, and what did he say?

Start with the dialogue from The Republic here, then go to p. 315 and start with this paragraph and read over to end of section on p. 316 (although p. 316 is not in Google preview, and needs to be read).

Interesting how "the people" was used from Plato's time, to the time of the Declaration, through to today as meaning some group other than my group. Lincoln rejects that and includes everyone in "the people."

p. 307-308 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

How does Jaffa argue that 1854 was a more grave crisis than even the Civil War itself?

p. 306 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

What was the Democratic political landscape in 1860 and why were the slave states totally at the mercy of KS-NE?

Start at yellow highlight and read to end of paragraph.

p. 302 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

How are so many impassioned modern-day commentators against slavery the heirs of Taney and Thoreau? (See previous post to see the impact of Kant on Taney and the South.)

Answer: Start at "Perfect happiness" and read to the end of the paragraph.

p. 292-297 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

How did Taney use Kant's categorical imperative in his Dred Scot opinion? How did abolitionists ironically side with Taney's use of the categorical imperative? How is the categorical imperative one and the same with Thomas Sowell's unconstrained classification?

Answers on p. 292 - 297

p. 301 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

What is the best evidence that the Founders did not mean to exclude blacks from "all men created equal"?

Read this paragraph and the following paragraph down to "...has been equally endowed by its Creator."

p. 300 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

What is Lincoln's favorite standard maxim?

Answer here starting with yellow highlight.

p. 296-297 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

H.D. Thoreau and the abolitionists shared a political philosophy with Taney--what was it, and how did it put these opposites on the same side?

p. 294 A New Birth of Freedom, Jaffa

What are the definitions of barbarism and slavery as laid out in the Declaration of Independence?

The answer begins with the yellow highlight here and continues to the end of the paragraph.