The periodical assemblies of which I have already spoken are designed to prevent or postpone this calamity, above all when they need no formal summoning; for in that case, the prince cannot stop them without openly declaring himself a law-breaker and an enemy of the State.

The opening of these assemblies, whose sole object is the maintenance of the social treaty, should always take the form of putting two propositions that may not be suppressed, which should be voted on separately.

The first is: “Does it please the Sovereign to preserve the present form of government?”

The second is: “Does it please the people to leave its administration in the hands of those who are actually [currently] in charge of it?”

Assessment

1. Determine Meaning What does the underlined pronoun refer to in this excerpt, and what effect does this usage have on Rousseau's message? “What we have just said confirms … that the depositaries of [people who are entrusted with] the executive power are not the people's masters, but its officers; that it can set them up and pull them down when it likes ….”
2. Determine Author's Purpose In Paragraph 3 of the excerpt, what does the phrase “this calamity” refer to, and how does it affect Rousseau's overall purpose?
3. Compare and Contrast According to Rousseau, how is the government like the military?
4. Assess an Argument The assemblies Rousseau mentions are periodic meetings of all the citizens of a State in which various matters are voted upon. Do you think this is a good idea? Explain your reasoning.

[ The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano ]

Introduction

In the first several chapters of his narrative, Olaudah Equiano describes how slave traders kidnapped him and his sister from their home in West Africa and transported them to the African coast. During this six- or seven-month journey, Equiano was separated from his sister and held at a series of way stations. After reaching the coast, Equiano was shipped with other slaves to North America. The following account describes this horrifying journey.

Primary Source

At last when the ship we were in, had got in all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful noises, and we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the vessel. But this disappointment was the least of my sorrow. The stench of the hold [the cargo area of a ship, often below deck] while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the whole ship's cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential [deadly; disease-ridden]. The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us.

This produced copious [plentiful; abundant] perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died–thus falling victims to the improvident [reckless, rash] avarice [greediness], as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched [deeply distressing; miserable] situation was again aggravated by the galling [chafing] of the chains, now become insupportable, and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps, for myself, I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almost always on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters [chains]. In this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep much more happy than myself.

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