Moving on West

After the War of 1812 majority of Americans went west dreaming of a better life than what they had in the East.  Many factors played a role in leading the people with the dream.  The growing power of federal government, the removal of Indians from the path of white settlements and a boom in the in the prices of agricultural commodities embraced their dream even more.  As they moved towards the West, the migrants brought values and customs peculiar to the regions they had left behind, therefore the West formed a character of its own.  Under the Articles of Confederation several states had given up the lands to the national government.  The government of course didn't help the Indians, and the outcome of the War of 1812 affected the Native Americans.  The British wanted the Indians to live in the Old Northwest, but they eventually got over it and they let the Americans take care of it.  The Expansion brought many problems for the Native Americans.  The tribes in the Southeast and the Old Northwest  were told to move.  This was a time known as the "Trail of Tears" which was the death of one-third or more of the Cherokee tribe upon their removal to the west.  Agricultural boomed when the farmers were able to ship wheat and corn downriver to New Orleans.  Eli Whitney's cotton gin also provided momentum to the Old Southwest.  It combined with rich western lands to create a huge increase in cotton production.

War of 1812

The War of 1812 consisted of many wars that occurred during that were unsuccessful attacked on Canada.  After many fails in 1813 they attempted to take control of Lake Erie because it was being controlled by the British and the Americans wanted to retake Detroit.  Napoleon’s abdication caused many problems as well.  The British took offensive to his abdication, and they burned down the presidential mansion and other public buildings in the capital.  In 1814 the treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Eve and it ended the war of 1812 and restores status quo. The Hartford Convention was meant to proposed a series of constitutional amendments to abolish the three-fifths clause and other matter that would change the way the government. 

CH 7

In Chapter 7 Alexander Hamilton proposed that the federal  government make permanent national and state debt from the revolutionary period.  Hamilton's program sparked the Whiskey Rebellion.  The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest by western farmers that gave Washington and Hamilton the opportunity to assert the power of national government. The law also stipulated that trials for evading the teax would be conducted in federal courts.  The Whiskey Rebellion was a milestone in determining the limits of public opposition to federal policies.

U.S Constitution

The reading in Enduring Vision has come to the point where the colonies are establishing their independence from Britain with the Declaration of Independence. This important document was created for the a certain reason and that was to be no longer in the control of Britain and  be able to form their own government. They made this specific when they stated the following in the Declaration of Independence “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” They made sure that they stated why they no longer wanted to be in the control of Britain.  They were able to get 56 signatures on this petition and send it to King George III. After they gained their Independence from Britain the colonies had to establish a government of their own and that was the start of the U.S Constitution. The U.S Constitution is still a very important document that we use and has created the country in which we live in today.

Changes emerging

Changes were emerging causing a revolution.  Americans fought for equality and justice, yet it was a contradiction when it came to African Americans.  Slavery was still around but some blacks were free.  Free black couldn’t vote, they lived under curfews and lacked equal justice which was given to even the poorest white criminal.  The antislavery movement was started with the Declaration of Independence.  Slavery wasn’t ended completely by the revolution but it did spark a movement in which it could be extinguish.

"Do to others what you would like them to do to you"

“When I was teaching children I began every day writing this on the blackboard: "Do to others what you would like them to do to you", telling them how much better the world would be if everybody lived by this rule.” 

― Common, Common Sense

Growing up we all heard this common quote.  Thomas Paine had a good point in saying that if we could all live by that rule then the world would be a much better place.  I think that the world would be a better place if we could follow it.  If we could all stop thinking about ourselves and instead think about others for once then maybe we wouldn’t have the problems we have today.  The truth is that even though if everyone would say that they would live by this rule it would be impossible.  As human beings we have so many faults, we have different perspectives of things. We weren’t born to be perfect but we can try to do our best. 

Ch 5: Struggle Towards Independence

The Stamp Act caused the colonist to believe that they had to confront parliamentary.  The Stamp Act revenue measure provoked an open opposition by colonists.  This law forced Americans to purchase and use specially marked or stamped paper. The tea act was another movement that caused quite an argument.  The tea act was attempt to bail out the East India Company between Britain and colonists.  It alarmed the Americans because the revenues raised,therefore committees tried to resist the importation of tea by preventing the landing of East India Company cargoes. The colonist faced some trouble times with their government. The colonist were angered at Britain and Britain was angered at its colonists.  Britain was at a standpoint where they were ready to end any insubordination but of course this lead to more disputes and eventually led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 starts off talking about England's attempt to expand overseas trade.  Britain attempted to tighten the control over the colonies, also known as the Dominion of New England.  Slavery became more important economically and socially.  The middle passage brought most Africans from the west coast.  They had to endure filth and brutality, some died of disease. Slaves usually worked for a longer portion of their lives than the whites. Slave children would start working part time from the age of  7 and they would start working full time and early as the age of 11. Slavery became to be a common thing in the New Colonies.

Ch 3

The chapter starts off with talking about the production boom of tobacco.  Colonies on the Chesapeake bay were the first to prosper due to the production of tobacco.  The prices of tobacco raised but it was still profitable as long as it was grown on fertile soil. Although in 1660 Chesapeake tobacco prices plunged causing a depression.  The depression affected many servants, they came hoping for a better life but instead they found disappointment in Chesapeake.  The production of tobacco brought wealth and poverty to the colonies in Chesapeake.

Ch 2: "European Culture and Society"

While reading "The Rise of the Atlantic World" I found the European Culture and Society to be the most interesting to me.  I believe that a major part of it was that I took a European history class in high school and the fact that I've visited a few places in Europe.  I think that the Renaissance was the most interesting era because it led to many prosperous changes.  Scholars rose within many subject such as philosophy and science.  It was an era where Europe was showing their beauty in art and paying close attention to nature and perspective.  European society changed as a whole during this rebirth era.  England's reformation brought the rise of Puritanism and Queen Elizabeth I, where she stayed in the throne by allying herself with the Puritans.  The monarchy struggled with religions upheavals, there was a population boom, and the market economy created new opportunities.  The Renaissance era overall led to many positive and negative changes.

Ch 1

Before reading chapter 1 I thought that it would be similar to things that I read in high school or things that we had been taught in school.  The reading didn't even come close to what I thought it would be.  It was nice to learn new things such as the Bering land bridge that linked Northeast Asia and far Northwest North America during late Ice age. Knowing that their were different types of Indians during different eras such as the Paleo-Indians and Archaic peoples was something new I learned.  It was interesting to read about how they began domesticating wild animals such as sheep,goats, and cattle as early as 8000 but the Americans lacked large animals suitable for domestication they actually found llamas, turkeys and guinea pigs and dogs only suitable for taming.  I found this interesting because they attempted to tame other animals and we've learned from them which animals we can have as pets and which ones we can't.  They hoped that by being able to tame animals they would be able to use them as transportation but they soon found that they would have to rely primarily on human power for carrying goods and dragging loads.  Indian societies had their own political standpoint in how their society would govern.  They demanded cooperation and order from their members.  According to the text  reciprocity dominated political and social relationships among individuals and between leaders and their followers. After reading the text I thought about the stereotypes that people have about Native Americans and how we thought of them to be ignorant, it goes to show that its only a stereotype because after reading the text, that is not proven to be true.