US History DB1 Name Class Date Professor Age of Enlightenment Part One The Age of Enlightenment was a period in European and American history where people in society began to apply reason to their thought process and began to investigate alternative modes of thinking. During the Enlightenment social institutions, political and economic processes, and just about every aspect of society was approach applying reasoning, this resulted in a great deal of reform. The Age of Enlightenment heavily influenced a whole new approach to government and the treatment of citizens in a free society. The new way of thinking that developed out of the age of enlightenment influenced great American thinkers resulting in important documents, such as the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The Enlightenment influenced the development of a new world inspired by important figures, such as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to name a few. For example Benjamin Franklin believed citizens should have the right to pursue wealth or their own self interest (Ralston, 2013). Due to this thinking Jefferson embraced the right of Americans to pursue happiness and the right to liberty. Part Two The thinking that developed out of the Age of Enlightenment is still important and significant in American society. Americans are still afforded natural rights, originally suggested by Locke, and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Sage, 2012). The ideas of Thomas Jefferson concerning the rights that should be afforded the citizen are still fiercely guarded and still shape how laws and policies are made in the country. Thanks to the Age of Enlightenment citizens in America are afforded due process rights in legal proceedings and reason is applied to the development of new laws. The ideas developed out of the Age of enlightenment are still relevant to modern society because reason is the norm in the way influential people in the country make decisions. Thanks to the enlightenment scientific methods are applied to research and laws are created designed to protect the people not the government. Every aspect of American society has been influenced by this new way of thinking. The focus is on creating a better society that ensures everyone in society has the same opportunities instead of the focus being on a religious society and worshipping some monarch. References Ralston, S. (2013). American Enlightenment Thought. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved February 11, 2014 from http://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH3a Sage, H. (2012). The Enlightenment in America. Retrieve February 11, 2014 from http://resources.saylor.org.s3.amazonaws.com/HIST/HIST211/HIST211-1.4.1 Federal Government US Federal Government Expansion of Authority Name Class HIST105 Professor US Federal Government Expansion of Authority The following essa ...

1. US History DB1
Name
Class
Date
Professor
Age of Enlightenment
Part One
The Age of Enlightenment was a period in European and
American history where people in society began to apply reason
to their thought process and began to investigate alternative
modes of thinking. During the Enlightenment social institutions,
political and economic processes, and just about every aspect of
society was approach applying reasoning, this resulted in a
great deal of reform. The Age of Enlightenment heavily

2. influenced a whole new approach to government and the
treatment of citizens in a free society.
The new way of thinking that developed out of the age of
enlightenment influenced great American thinkers resulting in
important documents, such as the United States Constitution and
Declaration of Independence. The Enlightenment influenced the
development of a new world inspired by important figures, such
as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to
name a few. For example Benjamin Franklin believed citizens
should have the right to pursue wealth or their own self interest
(Ralston, 2013). Due to this thinking Jefferson embraced the
right of Americans to pursue happiness and the right to liberty.
Part Two
The thinking that developed out of the Age of
Enlightenment is still important and significant in American
society. Americans are still afforded natural rights, originally
suggested by Locke, and have the right to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness (Sage, 2012). The ideas of Thomas
Jefferson concerning the rights that should be afforded the
citizen are still fiercely guarded and still shape how laws and
policies are made in the country. Thanks to the Age of
Enlightenment citizens in America are afforded due process
rights in legal proceedings and reason is applied to the
development of new laws.
The ideas developed out of the Age of enlightenment are
still relevant to modern society because reason is the norm in
the way influential people in the country make decisions.
Thanks to the enlightenment scientific methods are applied to
research and laws are created designed to protect the people not
the government. Every aspect of American society has been
influenced by this new way of thinking. The focus is on creating
a better society that ensures everyone in society has the same
opportunities instead of the focus being on a religious society
and worshipping some monarch.

3. References
Ralston, S. (2013). American Enlightenment Thought. Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Retrieved February 11, 2014 from
http://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH3a
Sage, H. (2012). The Enlightenment in America. Retrieve
February 11, 2014 from
http://resources.saylor.org.s3.amazonaws.com/HIST/HIST211/H
IST211-1.4.1
Federal Government
US Federal Government Expansion of Authority
Name
Class
HIST105
Professor

4. US Federal Government Expansion of Authority
The following essay will discuss tow examples of U.S.
federal government expansion of authority. These examples will
include a discussion of the Federal Reserve and its influences in
expanding federal power as well as the Social Security Act.
These expansion in power occurred between the U.S. Civil War
and the end of the Civil Rights Era.
US Federal Government Expansion of Authority
The original goal of the American government was to
establish independent states supported by a federal government.
At this time there was absolutely no goal for the federal
government to ever be more powerful than the states and in fact

5. the federal government was created for the sole purpose of
establishing a military. Once the Civil War was sparked the
federal government required major funding to win the war. As a
result the federal government began imposing taxes on the
people. Prior to the Civil War citizens only had to answer to the
authority of their state and paid very little taxes to the federal
government.
Prior to the Civil War the government did not need major
funding from the American people in which to operate but once
the war started the only way to fund a military to stop the
secession of the south was to tax the people. Despite the limited
power of the government prior to the Civil War they
emancipated the slaves displaying a great deal of power for the
first time. The people in the South owned the slaves and they
were considered valuable property but despite hundred of years
of slavery the federal government forbid their ownership
sparking the Civil War.
The origins of federal growth are in the Constitutional
Convention but the act of emancipating the slaves was the first
act of total authority perpetuated by the federal government
(Holcombe, 1997). After the North one the war and the states
were united back into one country the federal government
continued to expand their power. Modern growth of the federal
government began with the ratification of the 16th Amendment
in 1913. The 16th amendment permitted the government to
establish a federal income tax. This required citizens to pay
taxes to the federal government on the money they earned or
face potential the loss of property or even jail.
Federal Reserve Act
In 1913 the 16th Amendment became a part of
constitutional law but the Federal Reserve was also created. The
Federal Reserve Act created the Federal Reserve System,
comprising twelve public-private regional Federal Reserve
banks (Alessi, 2013). When the Federal Reserve Act was signed
into law by President Woodrow Wilson a federal bank was
created tasked with stabling prices, keeping reasonable interest

6. rates, and maximizing employment rates. The Federal Reserve
has a dual mandate which is first create the nation’s monetary
policies and regulating banking institutions.
Over time this dual mandate has expanded and the Federal
Reserve has gained untold power. The Federal Reserve currently
plays a powerful role over the American economy and in fact
the decisions made by the fed impact the global economy. The
power of the Federal Reserve started with the “discount
window” which was a main tool (Adams, 2013). When
commercial banks in the Fed system fell short of money, they
could borrow from one of 12 regional Fed banks (Adams, 2013).
This made the fed the last resort lender for banks in the United
States and American banks in foreign countries.
The Federal Reserve is responsible for establishing the
interest rate and in fact can influence the federal interest rate by
buying and selling Treasury bonds banks hold in reserves. The
Federal Reserve can lower the short term interest rate to assist
the economy when banks or financial institutes are struggling or
it can increase the interest rate. In current society the interest
rate is low due to the recent economic depression but if the
economy experiences inflation this rate will automatically go
up.
Over the years Congress has passed different acts that have
strengthened the power and authority of the Federal Reserve.
For example the Glass Seagull Act increased the regulatory
power of the Federal Reserve over commercial banks. This act
came about after the Great Depression because banks were
blamed for improper investments and a lack of accountability in
how customer’s money was invested. In order to control the
actions of the commercial bank this act was created in 1933
(Adams, 2013).
Another act increase the authority of the Federal Reserve
was the Bank Holding Company Act which gave the Federal
Reserve authority over bank acquisitions. The Dodd-Frank Act
was enacted in order to increase the transparency of the banking
industry but the Federal Reserve was given the authority to

7. establish the rules that will regulate this new accountability.
The Federal Reserve is an independent agency with great power
but many decisions are first run by Congress or the President.
The problem with the Federal Reserve is the federal government
has total control over the planning and controlling the America
n economy through the banking system.
Social Security Act
The Social Security Act was another way the federal
government increased their power through holding onto the
retirement funds of citizens and deciding how this money will
distributed. Social Security is not an optional retirement fund
but one every American is required to pay tax money into the
Social Security commission. The Social Security Act was
created in 1935 in order to ensure when citizens retire they will
have money to survive after they retire. The problem is the act
further increased the power an authority of the federal
government. It required another tax to be paid and gave the
federal government total control over the retired citizens in
America.
Not only did the social Security Act increase the power of
the federal government it raised a constitutional question over
the right of the federal government to take control of the states
right under the 10th Amendment (DeWitt, 1999). In other words
the reserve clause reserves power not specifically expressed in
the constitution to the state. Since the constitution never
discussed who had power over the retirement funds of the
citizen then this right should have fallen to the state. This was
not the case and even after being reviewed by the Supreme
Court (appointed by the President) the Social Security Act was
deemed constitutional.
Despite ruling the social Security Act was constitutional in
the same year the Supreme Court ruled the Agricultural
Adjustment Act (AAA) was unconstitutional. This act would
impose a tax on all agricultural products but the high court
ruled this was the right of the state. Despite the goal of the
Social Security Act to create an old age reserve account the

8. money has been used by the federal government for other
purposes. Not only has the federal government expanded its
power though this act it abused the power by taking this money
and not preserving for the retirement of the citizen.
Conclusion
The federal government was originally created in order to
create a military but overtime has become far more powerful
than the states despite the fact this was not the intention of our
forefathers. The federal government now has the power to
mandate the retirement fund of the citizens in the entire nation
but other expansion of their power includes areas of commerce,
taxation, and infringing upon the individual liberties of the
citizen. The creation of a centralized government ended u in an
all powerful federal government.
References
Adam, B. (2013). It’s the Federal Reserve’s 100th Birthday:
Here Are 5 Ways It Has Expanded
Its Influence over a Century. Retrieved February 13, 2014
from
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/23/its-the-federal-
reserves-100th-birthday
Alessi, C. & Sergie, M. (2013). The Role of the US Federal
Reserve. Retrieved February 13,
2014 from http://www.cfr.org/international-finance/role-us-
federal-reserve/p21020
Dewitt, L. (1999). The 1937 Supreme Court Rulings on the
Social Security Act. Retrieved
February 13, 2014 from
http://www.ssa.gov/history/court.html
Holcombe, R. (1997). Federal Government Growth Before the
New Deal. Retrieved February
13, 2014 from
http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=360