Blog 8

Harry Lamin was a soldier in World War I. He is a brother to Kate, Mary, Annie, and Jack. He served in the 9th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment seeing front line action in Flanders and Northern Italy from the end of 1916 to January 1920. He wrote letters during his time in his Battalion about his war experiences, conditions during the war, and keeps in touch on family affairs. His letters allude to many of the rough conditions we know were prevalent in World War I. For example, the short trousers that they had for the summer months, may make sense when thinking it is hot outside, but when you learn what was in the trenches and what they were standing in, often water, mud, remains, long pants would have surely been welcomed. Also,the letter mentions the trenches being a cramped place where bullets were flying and enemies were constantly bombarding. The secondary source about the battle of  Passchendaele talks of mud so deep they had to take six men to carry wounded or dead soldiers off of the battlefield. This specific battle had approximately 250,000 deaths because of the atrocious living conditions. The men were forced to live like barbarians because they were short of food, shelter and had to deal with over three feet deep mud. The summer that year was the rainiest one on record in years which was why the battle was so drawn out. The mud made for impossible battle conditions and it was the most the soldiers could do to stay alive. Harry seems to avoid going into great detail about these moments. I can understand why this particular battle might have been one he would most happily forget, to see such destruction and to be living in such a horrible environment must have been life altering. Therefore he chose to leave out many of the details for the letters he wrote back home about. He shares the simple things that happen more openly and tries to cover sad moments with a nonchalant response. Specifically when talking about his CO dying he called him a good man and did not elaborate more. I would assume that these letters were Harry’s way of keeping a connection to reality and a grip on his sanity. It seemed in his letters when he would ask for news on such trivial things, it was a way for him to have some peace of mind, that not everyone lived as he was at the time, that there was life happening “normally” even in the midst of the war. His style is shirt, friendly and as positive as any soldier could muster I am sure.

One of the picutre of the muddy battle of Passchendaele

Labor Leader

"When people ask me why are the immigrant families so poor?" I wonder if they are blind or just that naive. They are poor because of the outrageous hours and pay the industry owners pay them. They work until they are hurt or sick, they work hours no sane human would choose to work, and they get paid hardly enough to survive on. I feel sorry for those with families to take care of, they are having to put their children into the sweatshops and are living just to work. THese immigrants all came over to this country in hopes for a better future. They were under the impression anyone could make in America. They did not realize they would be the ones working in factories with little to no guidelines or standards for wages and treatment Therefore, poverty being a part of the immigrant life was almost not a question. They went where they could get work and then were taken advantage of because they were seen as basically expendable. I for one feel that labor unions are a undoubtable art of the future. Once you treat someone as an animal for long enough they start to lose their desire to work for such a leader. No one wants to be poor, everyone just wants a fair chance to make it.

Blog #6 Free laobor

The expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans of the time including myself. Some pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean. Well I have to say once we all heard Independence had been won in the Revolution and reaffirmed in the War of 1812 we felt pretty good about spreading our boundaries west. The spirit of nationalism that swept the nation and I was no stranger to it. It was partially the "every man is equal" mentality that fueled many of up northerners to follow west and dream of conquering all the way to the Pacific ocean. Me and my family may fall on some hard times in the travel, not really knowing what to expect but planning to make a life for ourselves in a new land. We agree that free labor is the best route to bring over to this new land.We want to have a chance to farm this land and make some money out of it, to support our family and have a booming economy. I would tell my none too wise southern brethren that slave labor is not the best choice because it takes away the jobs for hard working white men. We want to have plenty of options for the men who settle in the new territory and get involved in farming, we want then to know they can get hard working men that are not slaves.

Manifest Destiny

Blog 5 Federalist

The federalist most basic quality is that they support the Constitution. They believed that in levels of government and separation of powers as being vital to their governmental positions. The separation of powers into three independent branches protected the rights of the people. Each branch represents a different aspect of the people, and because all three branches are equal, no one group can assume control over another. A listing of rights can be a dangerous thing. If the national government were to protect specific listed rights, what would stop it from violating rights other than the listed ones? Since we can't list all the rights, the Federalists argued that it's better to list none at all. The country would prosper with the Constitution because the Federalists were much more organized and had a greater following of "important" states. If the country decided on using the articles of confederation it would prove to be weak and ineffective. Overall the Articles of Confederation would cause to country to be held back from growth and would create a land of disorder. The best choice for America to take at this point in time would undoubtedly be the Constitution because it would later include a Bill of Rights, one they had time to draft it and would protect the rights of the individual.

Blog #4 Stamp Act

Stamp Act Project

Why did the British believe it was necessary to tax the colonists?

They realized that they were still "under their control" and they did not want to let them off easily. The British used this as a way to keep the new world in check and maintain control over the general wealth and prosperity. The tax came from the monarchy as a reminder that Great Britain was still their mother country and they still had to pay their dues. They found it excessive to be taxed on every piece of paper they needed, in cases such as marriage invitations they had to pay outrageous and “unjust” tax on a very simple product. They believed that Great Britain should not have such control over their prosperity. The colonists actually began to protest this act before it was even officially put into effect. These protests began as positions and refusal to pay the tax but eventually caused property damage.

What was the Stamp Act and what was taxed?

It is “an act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America”. In other words it was an act created by Great Britain to put a tax on any form of “paper” whether it be parchment or animal skin, if it is written on, copied or used in books, the tax was placed per sheet of paper. The papers had to be stamped and them the tax was collected in America and sent to Great Britain.

Franklin said external tax is a duty laid on commodities imported which is added to the first cost. People usually like external taxes because if they do not like it they can choose not to pay it. However an internal tax is forced from the people without their consent, if not laid by their own representatives. It is difficult to find a way to use internal taxes without creating unrest in the people being taxed. He believes that parliament would continue this Stamp act even though Franklin thought that Americans would be much happier with parliament if the Stamp Act was repealed.

What is this source?

Source: National Humanities Center

PUBLIC PROTESTS AGAINST THE STAMP ACT: NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Gazette, 20 November 1765

Saturday 19th- Describes a meeting of people who hung an Effigy by the neck and then later was consumed by the flames for being in support of the Stamp Act. After they gathered men together and forced them to drink to Liberty, Property and No stamp duty. Thursday 31st- The townspeople had an Effigy of Liberty who was put in a coffin and was set to be buried but they first checked for a pulse, finding on they also set him on the bonfire.Saturday 16th- They approached a distributor of stamps and forced I'm into resigning from his position and gathered him into a chair and marched around the courthouse cheering. They all paraded with LIBERTY stitched into their hats and served the man the best liquors they had. The average towns person was dealing with paying a tax for each and every single piece of parchment that they needed, for any occasion. That put new unexpected money burden on the commoners, which made many turn to violent protests to show their displeasure with the Stamp Act.

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Read page 10 (primary source)

Who is the author of this source and who do you think his intended audience is?

Peter Oliver was the author of this source and from what I gathered from this source, he is writing to the rebels and anyone who is in protest of the stamp act. The author speaks of the betrayal of his brother and all that he has lost through that traumatic experience. Because of those experiences he has hard feelings toward the British parliament and resents the tax, and supports those who go against it. He talks about the mob that broke into the Office of the Register of the Admiralty. They broke in and smuggled things. The author was written in protest of the Stamp act.

Read pages 13 & 14 (primary source)

I think that the targeted audience the colonial assemblies are going for  are those who have been negatively affected by the stamp act. They want their boycotts to target those who are doing the taxing, they want to make the Stamp taxes to be aware of the effects of the tax on the townspeople. The people of Pennsylvania are having trouble with it and the representatives of the  town are complaining that the Stamp act is causing general unhappiness.

Read page 16

Even in today’s world, being so far in the future from this event, we can conclude that this source effected the past as a primary source. Those effects that it had on history make it appear to be a secondary source to us. This source was written during the time period and tells of the happenings of society but also explains the reactions people felt during the time. It is still something regarding history but written in that time so to them it was not the first account of something happening but to us it was a historical document written during the time period the event took place.

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17.

These articles included primary and secondary sources, which I found to be really interesting, I knew what a primary source was but I did not think so much about it being written like the language the people would be speaking in at the time of the newspaper airing. I found that new perspective to be quite enlightening into the thoughts of the people experiencing this time in history. I feel that knowing these accounts of protest and unrest brings to light a whole new perspective on the issue. I was aware that the Stamp act was something that was generally disliked and something that caused distrust between the colonies and British government, however I now understand that this affected families and left scars of betrayal on people.

Blog #3

Colonial State

If I had to choose a colonies to live in Colonial America in the eighteenth century I would choose the Middle Colonies. They were a people of diverse ancestry, with many from German, Scotland and Ireland. The middle colonies were known for being a land of farmers and artisans, thus it provides great opportunity to multitudes of people. This Mecca of industry gave hope for a better tomorrow for the thousands of immigrants coming in through Pennsylvania. The bustling industry of flour mills would provide multiple job opportunities, and the diverse culture would be a fun place to live in a time of cultural differences. The flour industry is what really puts the middle colonies in the spotlight, they provided trading and made the area gain the title of being the "breadbasket" of the colonies. This area provided sustenance for the thousands of people living on the soil of the various colonies. Also the ability to escape the religious persecution, tyranny of landlords, and droughts, made the middle colonies a haven for the immigrants. This area quickly became known as "the best poor Man's Country in the World" and that is partially wonderful because that is still the sort of idea people have for modern America.

Blog #2

Hello sir I would like to start off by reminding you that I am one of the Peninsulares. I have traveled far from Spain where I was born on the Iberian Peninsula. In fact in my lifetime,I have journeyed all the way to the Americas. While some may call me Gachupín, or Chapetón, my people will always be known as the superior group to the criollos because they are not from the mother country. We have been lucky my friend to be honored with the highest social status in New Spain. We value as a race, all things royal and our social status because of the horrible view people have developed of the Spaniards based on gossip of intermarriage and the deep seeded perceptions of origin and race. We view the world as a sort of a mission field and work to maintain status and purity of race. We are a people of great pride therefore dear friend I am sorry to inform you that although you wish me to marry off my daughter I cannot agree, for you are a mestizos and are not suited for one of the white elite. While this may be hard for you to understand I hope that you have been reminded of who the Peninsulares are, what we do, where we came from and what we stand for.

Best wishes,
Senor Yucatan

http://www.nps.gov/saan/historyculture/history3spaniards.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/449909/peninsular

Blog #1

In this first chapter Gilderhus identifies reasons people study history as: a way for people to learn about the past so as not to have to repeat thing, make sense of confusing events; and learn and better understand the nature of humans. He elaborate on the various views different historians have regarding the areas of study and why humans did what they did so long ago. History is something that can always be continued and worked on to gain a more accurate understanding of the past. The past is something that most people would know very little about if that “father of history” from Greece had not decided there needs to be concrete evidence. Some of this first chapter sounded to me like some historians view the search for information like a detective would on a mystery, we must understand the origins of man to understand the actions man takes. I enjoy discovering history because I like learning seemingly useless pieces of information about a time so long ago, yet it holds value and is vital to the development of the story of human progress. I find history to be interesting because we can identify and relate much of the past with what has happened or will happen in the present and the future. History holds so many lessons mankind has already learned from and for myself I can delve into the past and the stories and accounts it holds to learn those same necessary lessons.