Thursday 24 March 2016

Wednesday Quiz: Declaration of Independence

So, as you may have noticed by the fact that the Wednesday Quiz is appearing on a Thursday that it hasn't been a good week for getting things done here at the Leaflocker, where 'things' can be defined as anything other than watching cricket and doing actual work, and includes things like doing the too many of the 'weekly' readings for the Great Conversation. If you'd been reading along with us on that project, dear reader, or happen to be Usonian, you have a considerable advantage this week.



The quiz this week is an 'Is it or isn't it' quiz on the U.S. Declaration of Independence of 1776. Below are listed 10 phrases, some of which are direct quotes from the complaints in the document about the objectionable behaviours of the British, and some of which are sourced from other documents written during other time-periods about different oppressors. You need to identify which are the genuine article and which are the imposters (without looking up the document, obviously). Bonus points will be awarded if by some black magic you manage to identify the source locations from whence came the imposters. Clear as mud? Let's do this.

1) Imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.

2) Refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

3)  Endeavored to weaken our security, to disturb our domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to us in reference to that property.

4) Dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

5) Made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

6) Hampered the prospering of our national bourgeoisie; they have mercilessly exploited our workers.

7) Plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

8) Denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.

9) Excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

10) Transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.

One should also be aware of setting officers to eating out the substance of the people. Classic despot behaviour, that sort of thing.

Happy quizzing, everybody.

4 comments:

The M Cats said...

1) It is
2) It is
3) It isnt
4) It isnt
5) It is
6) It is
7) It isnt
8) It isnt
9) It is
10) It isnt

0 points.

Michael5000 said...

I'm Usonian! I'm very Usonian! But it's been a few generations since Usonians trained up too hard on the phraseology of the declaration past the preamble, so this is still a bit of a dice roll.

1. Yes?
2. Yes.
3. Yes?
4. Yes?
5. Yes?
6. No.
7. Yes!
8. Yes?
9. No?
10. Yes?

UnwiseOwl said...

I thought this one would be right up your alley, Michael. Didn't you teach social science once upon a time or something?
Thanks for taking the time on your vacation to play :)

John said...

1) It's a buzzword part of it, so I'll say it's genuine.
2) I'll say this was part of Cromwell and Parliament's justification for executing Charles I of England. At any rate, not part of the Declaration.
3) Not.
4) Yes, because this is too hilarious not to be.
5) Not.
6) Yes.
7) Not. No idea where it might be from, though.
8) Yes.
9) I'll guess it was part of the declaration of war in the war of 1812.
10) Yes. Well, guessing yes, anyway.