Chapter 9 : The Transformation of American Society

Reading about the changes in past reminds me a lot of the struggle that we have going on and the battles that we have won. Women are still fighting for equality among men, the homosexuals just won their right to get married, and the inequality between the rich and the poor is still alive. Reading this chapter really made me think about how the past is really reflected in the future. I know that we have come along way and that there are still plenty of more changes to come but its tiring to know that every time we come to term with something, there will always be another war to battle. A controversy that really made me think about how the U.S still have some work to do is when the new Miss America was crowned. There are many backlashes because Miss America was Indian. I would assume that since so many races participated in the race, it wouldn’t have come to a shock when another race won. When Miss America was crowned it shocked a few but for the Indians it was a landmark for them, it represented that the U.S is a country that has unlimited opportunities. It’s amazing to think how in another 50 years we will have solved the inequalities that are happening now and we will be facing new equalities. It’s a never ending cycle.

Chapter 8: America at War and Peace

           My focus of the night was the War of 1812 and how the war influenced American domestic politics. While reading about the War of 1812 I was sort of surprised that the United States attempted to take over Canada. At this point in time British had control of Canada and their armed forces were a lot stronger than that of the United States. Therefore I would have assumed that the America would have tried to avoid any confrontation with the British. If the United States really wanted to expand they could’ve have tried to take over the land from the weaker countries like France and Spain. I found it humorous when I read about how the British offense arrived at Bladensburg, Maryland expecting a battle but instead found that the American troop had just fled. If the United States really wanted to show the Britain that our military is up to par then we shouldn’t be running away when they come to battle us. The only good thing about the United States not putting up a fight was that they got a treaty out of it and nothing was gain or loss.

            While reading the rest of the chapters, I did find it interesting how much treachery there was going on during Jefferson’s time in office. I did not realize how crazy politics were back in the days. Reading about the politics back in the early 1800’s makes me think about how much better politics has gotten. In our society if any of our political figures are involve in any type of scandals, they can kiss their futures goodbye. The citizen of the United States wants to be represented with dignity and strength, so any type of scandal or treachery would be deemed unforgivable. Being the voice and face of the United States is a job that requires dedication and great thinking.

Chapter 6: Toward a New Constitution

Reading about the struggle of the Constitution reminds me of the backlash that Obama is receiving due to the events in Syria. As the President I know that Obama wants to keep peace in other countries; he wants to make sure that if another country needs help we could lend a helping hand, but in doing so he might displease our own country. While watching congress and senate debate back and forth with John Kerry about the attack on Syria, I couldn’t help but think about the tension that Obama must have been feeling. Obama not only need to win over the approval of congress; he must also win over the help of Russia, with support from our Congress and from Russia, Obama would feel that the citizen’s voice is being heard.

The writing of the Constitution relates to the even that is going on in Congress because the founding fathers had to make sure that each state was being represented. Everybody had to be happy with what they come up with because the founding fathers did not want any backlash to happen, because it could lead to another rebellion.  I thought it was interesting how not everybody came on board to ratify the states. I would assume that being free from British rules would be motivation enough for the states to agree on the terms of the Constitution. It really is interesting to see the Congress volley back and forth with John Kerry because it gives me a visual idea of what went on back when the Constitution was being written.

Thomas Payne

Looking through the quotes from Common Sense by Thomas Payne, the quote “An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot" really stuck out to me. It made me think back to all the past wars that we have fought and it really made me think about how violence in these wars has brought more problems than solutions. It made me think about what is going on in Syria right now, President Bashar Assad ordered a chemical attack on the citizens of Syria, which resulted in the death of over 1400 people. The attack on innocent people makes no sense, his attack not only caused the U.S to intervene but it could have resulted into something bigger. If Assad were to think about his actions, Syria, the U.S, and Russia, wouldn’t be in the situation we are right now. We shouldn’t have to negotiated and bribe other countries from killing their own people. The U.S can try and force Assad to back down, but the result wouldn’t be any better, a lot of innocent soldiers and citizens may die because of our army intervening. The massacre that is going on in Syria really makes me question what kind of principle Assad and other ringleaders carry? Violence will never solve anything, if they want the best for their country they must learn how to be civilized and they need to learn how to control their greed, because as Thomas Payne stated “an army of soldiers” will not solve anything.

Chapter 4

After reading the first hand accounts of slavery in class and then going back to the history book’s version of slavery, it really made me think about how differently people thought. In tonight’s reading there was mention that some slave owners feared their slaves. They worried that their slaves would overpower them and that is the main reason why the slave owners didn’t really care about the state of the slave’s health. The slave owners only wanted the slaves to be healthy enough to work but not healthy enough to try and fight back. The slave owners beat their slaves because they want to strike fear into the slaves because if they knew they were stronger than their owners, they could easily take them down.

On the other hand the slaves feared their owners. They feared that if they didn’t do their job then they wouldn’t be properly fed; their family wouldn’t have a place to stay. The slaves feared that they could be beaten to death, and after reading what happen to the slaves I realized that they did have a reason to fear for their lives, but the slave owners didn’t really have a legitimate reason to fear their slaves. In one part of the reading the authors wrote about how the slaves did try to revolt, and in their little fight they killed 20 white people and they destroyed a lot of land. I understand that the slave owners feared this day but they quickly put this revolt down, and instead of just punishing the slaves they made those slaves into a lesson. The military would cut off a head of a slave, they would hang the bodies of the dead slaves, they would torture and torment slaves that they assume would start a revolt, all to teach a lesson to other slaves. The slaves really had a reason to fear their owners, but why did their owners fear them?

Slavery

          Tonight’s reading about slavery was probably one of the hardest readings I have been assigned. The reason why I felt that it was difficult to read was because of the accents that the slaves spoke in and because of the feelings I felt during the reading. Right before we left class on Friday, Professor Andrews told us to read the passages with feeling, to get into character, to try and understand the slaves, so I did my reading differently tonight. Tonight I read the passages out loud, I got into character, and in doing so I felt like I was connected to the slaves. While I was reading their pain out loud, I felt like I was going through it with them. The passage that stuck out to me the most was Frannie Moore. Frannie witnessed her mom going through the tough times of being a slave, and she may not have understood why her mom had to work so hard. But as she grew up I’m pretty sure she knew her role in life, and it’s hard to imagine an innocent child growing up with such negativity.  In our society now, the adults are the ones that encourages the younger generation to dream big and make something out of their lives. But when you think back to the old society, it’s hard to see adults bring down a child. It must have been especially hard for the parents of Frannie to know that their child was born to continue their jobs as slaves.