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Welcome to season 2 of the classroom.

In this season we will be discussing Plato’s Dialogues and trying to understand the mind of Socrates. 

Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought, whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy. Socrates never wrote a word, all we know about him is through his student/follower Plato. 

Plato was a philosopher during the 5th century BC. He was a student of Socrates and later taught Aristotle. He founded the Academy, an academic program that many consider being the first Western university.

In this episode professor, Ron Cline gives us a little bit of introduction to 5th century Ancient Greece, Plato, and Socrates. 

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In this final episode of the US Constitution, Erick Nganyange and Professor Ron Cline are discussing the Bill of Rights,  and Amendments 11 - 27 of the US Constitution.

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In this episode, Erick Nganyange and Professor Ron Cline continue their discussion of the US Constitution. The discussion is on  Articles 2-7.

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In this episode, Erick Nganyange and Professor Ron Cline discusses preamble and article one of the US constitution.

Article 1 of the constitution is clear in terms of the power and functions of the congress and how should congress behave.   

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In late 1786, a total of 77 delegates were invited to gather in Philadelphia in May 1787. These delegates were authorized by the Continental Congress and had a singular objective: to revise the Articles of Confederation. The designated date for the meeting was May 14th, 1787. However, due to transportation challenges, only two delegates had arrived in Philadelphia on that day, while the remaining delegates gradually arrived between May 15th and May 24th. By May 24th, a sufficient number of delegates were present to commence the task of revising the Articles of Confederation.

James Madison considered the leading figure, initiated the meeting on May 25th, 1787. The gathering took place in a small room now known as Independence Hall, located in Philadelphia.

After the agenda of the meeting was fully known, only 55 delegates remained in Philadelphia. 22 delegates decided not to participate. Some left as soon as they realized that the task changed from revising the Articles of Confederation to completely writing a new constitution, which was overthrowing the government. The State of Rhode Island refused to send any delegates to Philadelphia.   

The meeting was highly secretive, the public didn't know what those men were up to until it was all done. Some consider what those 55 men did in Philadelphia in 1787 was treason. 

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John Stuart Mill was born on May 20th, 1806, in London. His father James Mill was determined to mold John into a well‐​educated leader. John was given an extremely rigorous education from a young age. He learned Greek at the age of three, Latin at eight, and read Plato’s dialogues in the original language before his tenth birthday.

His book "On Liberty"; Published  in 1859, is a plea to find a balance between the state and individual. John Stuart Mill believed individual freedom has to be protected  at all cost and should never be restrained unless there is a threat of a physical harm. He states that “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

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In January 1776 Thomas Paine anonymously released a pamphlet called common sense. Common sense was a radical and impassioned call for America to free itself from British rule and to set up an independent republican government.  Paine's pamphlet was in plain language and it spoke directly to the common people and mass audience in the American colonies.

In this episode Professor Ron Cline and Erick Nganyange are discussing common sense pamphlet and the life of Thomas Paine. 

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In 1789  French people overthrew their monarchy and took control of the government. The French revolution was no different than any other revolutions. French people wanted to completely change their social and political system and to create a new system.  Through it all they killed each other at the highest rate and destroyed their way of living.

An Englishman, and a political thinker Edmund Burke, was watching the French revolution unfold from a distance. His friend from France wrote  to him inquiring his opinion on the situation. In 1790 Burke gave his opinion on the matter by releasing the book  "Reflection on the revolution in France". 

Professor Ron Cline and Erick Nganyange are discussing the French Revolution and Edmund Burke.

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On June 11, 1776, the second continental congress appointed a five-guy committee to draft the declaration of independence. The men were Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingstone, and John Adams. Eventually, it was a one-man job and Thomas Jefferson ended up being the main author of the document. It took Jefferson less than 30 days to complete and submit the final draft to the continental congress. Jefferson was only 33yrs old. 

In this episode, professor Ron Cline and Erick Nganyange are discussing the key parts of the declaration of independence. 

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The Declaration of Independence is the most iconic/controversial document in the American history.  Penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, the document didn't just declare what America was about at the time of independence, it also declared what America posterity will be about.  In order to understand this document, we want to understand how America came to be America. 

In this episode of the birth of a Nation, professor Ron Cline and Erick Nganyange are discussing the status of America from 1730 - 1774. What was America like and how was the relationship between America colonies and Great Britain at that time? And what was the tipping point for the colonies? 

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