No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such state, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the united states in congress assembled can be consulted: nor shall any state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the united states in congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the united states in congress assembled, shall determine otherwise.


I see this part of the constitution as making peace in all the 13 states. By obeying this law, no state will wage war against another or against any other nation. The states were urged to consult congress of any conflicts they may encounter from their adversaries before taking action. However, in instances where they are being threated by their adversaries, or in cases where their enemies attack them first, they can go ahead and defend the state.

ON LIBERTY

"For the other point concerning liberty, I observe a great mistake in the country about that. There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man with beasts and other creatures. By this, man, as he stands in relation to man simply, hath liberty to do what he lists; it is a liberty to evil as well as to good. This liberty is incompatible and inconsistent with authority and cannot endure the least restraint of the most just authority. The exercise and maintaining of this liberty makes men grow more evil and in time to be worse than brute beasts: omnes sumus licentia deteriores. This is that great enemy of truth and peace, that wild beast, which all of the ordinances of God are bent against, to restrain and subdue it. The other kind of liberty I call civil or federal; it may also be termed moral, in reference to the covenant between God and man, in the moral law, and the politic covenants and constitutions amongst men themselves. This liberty is the proper end and object of authority and cannot subsist without it; and it is a liberty to that only which is good, just, and honest. This liberty you are to stand for, with the hazard (not only of your goods, but) of your lives, if need be. Whatsoever crosseth this is not authority but a distemper thereof. This liberty is maintained and exercised in a way of subjection to authority; it is of the same kind of liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free."

In his speech John Winthrop idetifies two kinds of liberties which are natural and civil. Under natural liberty men do whatever they feel like. They do not consider nor regard the rule or authority over them. people who choose to live this way tend to do bad things. there is too much freedom and this freedom lowers man's dignity.
howver, civil libert makes man live a good life.people under this liberty regard and obey the rules even if they are hard to comply with. by doing this, thier lives becomes better and better.

what i saw in America

Let me begin my American impressions with two impressions I had before i went to America. One was an incident and the other an idea; and when taken togrether they illustrate the atittude I mean. The first principle is that nobody should ashamed of thinking a thing funny because it is foreign; the second is that he should be ashamed of thinking it wrong because it is funny. The reaction of his senses and superficial habits of mind against something new, and to him abnormal, is a perfectly healthy reaction. But the inferiority is very inadequate mind. It is inadequate even in criticising things that may really be inferior to things involveed here. It is far better to laugh than at a negro for having a black face than sneer at him for having a sloping skull. It is proportionaly even more preferably to laugh rather than judge in dealing with highly civilized peoples. Therefore I put at the beginning two working examples of what I felt about America before I saw it; the sort of thing that man a right to enjoy as a joke, and the sort of thing he has a duty to understand and respect, because it is the explanation of the joke.

I totally agree with what the author said. More often, we tend to make fun of things we do not understand and we never border to know the meaning of the thing we laughed at. For instance, so many Languages spoken may sound funny to people who do not speak them. I remember some few months ago, I was having a conversation my cousin on the phone. we were actually speaking my native language. I had my American friend beside me and all of a sudden, she giggled and imitated every word I said whiles i was on the phone. But though the language sounded funny to her, the conversation itselt was not funny at all. I was embarrassed but realised that I do the same to others. so this behavoir is one thing that we cannot do away with. All the same, we need to try and understand the thing that looked or sounded funny to us.

I chose this quote because it happens in our everyday lives but i've never been conscious about it until i saw it been addressed.