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Soviet Russia was a change in government from Tzarist Russia, which was already a Big Deal in the world, not a 0 to Super Power transition. And I wasn't sugges

by count 16y ago

Soviet Russia was a change in government from Tzarist Russia, which was already a Big Deal in the world, not a 0 to Super Power transition. And I wasn't suggesting it was a reason to read the constitution, I was suggesting that the United States is, in fact, special. I believe the OP was referencing the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. Maybe it's my jaded, indoctrinated US education, but is the US Declaration of Independence not a unique document, and special on it's own? At least in our (admittedly biased) educational curriculum, it ranks up there with the Magna Carta as an important political document.

eru 16y ago
We did not talk about the Magna Carta at all in school (as far as I remember), but then, I have a biased German education. The founding of the US paralleled the earlier founding of the Netherlands. Both fought for independence from a foreign monarchy and were founded at republics. The Dutch also embraced capitalism and a pursuit of happiness. They might not have been as individualistic as the Americans are usually seen as, but the Americans had a very community-minded side to them, too. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Republic#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Republic#History: "From an economic perspective, the Republic of the United Provinces completely outperformed all expectations; it was a surprise to many that a nation not based on the church or on a single royal leader could be so successful. This period is known in the Netherlands as the Golden Age. The Dutch dominated world trade in the 17th century, conquering a vast colonial empire and operating the largest fleet of merchantmen of all western nations. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region of Europe."
- count 16y ago
  Interesting - I don't think we covered even a tiny bit of Dutch Independence in school. They were just 'there', rocking out with their international trade and huge market place.

by count 16y ago

eru 16y ago

We did not talk about the Magna Carta at all in school (as far as I remember), but then, I have a biased German education. The founding of the US paralleled the earlier founding of the Netherlands. Both fought for independence from a foreign monarchy and were founded at republics. The Dutch also embraced capitalism and a pursuit of happiness. They might not have been as individualistic as the Americans are usually seen as, but the Americans had a very community-minded side to them, too. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Republic#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Republic#History: "From an economic perspective, the Republic of the United Provinces completely outperformed all expectations; it was a surprise to many that a nation not based on the church or on a single royal leader could be so successful. This period is known in the Netherlands as the Golden Age. The Dutch dominated world trade in the 17th century, conquering a vast colonial empire and operating the largest fleet of merchantmen of all western nations. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region of Europe."

count 16y ago
Interesting - I don't think we covered even a tiny bit of Dutch Independence in school. They were just 'there', rocking out with their international trade and huge market place.