Saturday, July 7, 2007

Strong Womanhood

I thought that the Declaration of Sentiments was a very encouraging thing for woman at this time. With that being said I also feel that more of the woman should have stood up for themselves. We discussed in class how at one point in time before all of this woman did vote because the constitution said nothing against that, but when it was changed the woman did nothing about it. What if they would have made a commation then? Would the woman's rights movement started earlier?

This is something that could have really changed the course of history if woman would have stood up for themselves. It really goes to show how far woman have come since then and how feminisim has developed out of all this, but would things have been different if this were somehow changed?

Friday, July 6, 2007

A shout-out to Susan. B Anthony, holla!

It's truly sad how it has taken nearly 160 years for the principle rights set forth by the writers of the Declaration of Sentiments to become realized in American society. As we have discussed, the importance of women throughout colonial America and especially through the American Revolution should have been recognized. What a slap in the face when Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution without including women's suffrage.
Coming from a matriarchal family and culture, I have always appreciated the role women have played in my life. The recent appointments to congressional and executive seats for women over the last decade, including but not limited to Madeline Albright, Ruth Ginsberg, Condoleeza Rice and Nancy Pelosi, give me hope that women's rights might truly soon see the light of day. Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled! If Hillary Clinton is elected to represent the Democratic Party in the 208 Presidential campaign, i believe America will take a turn for the better, win or lose. Voter participation was it's highest in the last election since 1968 and there is no reason to think if a woman is on the ballot, that number wont increase.
Since i first realized I had political tendencies and thoughts in high school, i have sided with the right, a view shared by few of my Mexican peers, but those conservative beliefs are quickly being aired out and I hope women continue to push for equal treatment in America. They have my support.

The Shift to Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution is an extremely interesting section of America's history, because, like anything we've studied it seems, it has multiple causes. Some would suggest that Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin popularized the notion of a "repeatable task" in the world of manufacturing. Others would say that America was just mimicking the success of European Industry. Nonetheless, the entire structure of our economy was changed.

At this time, the central government of the United States is powerful, but surely not as powerful as the Federalists had hoped. Like we talked about in class, this gave the government little power to intervene when it came to investors (capitalists) spending money on labor and capital. So the rich get richer--but they get richer faster than any other time in American history preceding the Industrial Revolution.

At this point, America's economy is growing rapidly. While generally a very good thing, but the millions of factory workers are being exploited, seen as gears rather than people. What comes out of this is the emergence of unions, who still remain major political powers today. But before these unions are popular and fully developed, a great many Americans are feeling alienated and insignificant. A new class division has begun.

So I guess the question is, in a democracy, is it necessary to sacrifice the individual for the whole? Does the individual lose his/her voice in the sea of other alienated, frustrated laborers? Will these workers unite and overturn the government?

While many are suffering, some good things do happen. The Romanticism movement becomes popular in America (carrying over the Atlantic from the European Industrial Revolution), particularly the works of Irving and Poe that emphasize the importance of emotion and intuition against the "ration" or "reason" of science and industry. Also, the laborers find their voice in unions.

However, it's going to get a lot worse before it's going to get better.

Republican Motherhood

Republican motherhood was the concept that women should educate themselves in the principles of liberty, independence, and democracy so as to inculcate the coming generation with these republican values. This was one sign that women were becoming more respected as intellectually capable. I have never hear of this political philosophy of republican motherhood in any previous history class; however it seems to be an important part of women history. Due to republican motherhood women started realizing their important roles in society which had never before been recognized. During and after the revolution women's roles changed drastically. Republican motherhood gave them a sensible excuse to become educated in order to educate and raise this patriotic boys. While researching women's roles in society after the revolution and republican motherhood I found an interesting fact; in 1790 women's literacy was 1/2 that of men in and in 1850 men and women literacy was equal. As a result of the increase in education of women their roles in and out of the home changed. In schools between 1834-1860 female teachers went up from 56.35 to 77.8%; however they were paid 40% of a male teacher in the same position. This is only the beginning of women changing their roles and place in society. It would take many years after the American Revolution till women had equal rights as men and republican motherhood played a key part in this change.

Malaria

We have briefly discussed the effects of malaria on populations in the New World. However, it was not until I recently read an article by National Geographic that I realized how serious the disease is. (It should be noted that study done by the magazine was in Africa, but there has to be some level of similarity in the Caribbean and the extreme south east of North America during times of settlement.) The article reported that malaria kills over 1 million people a year currently, and is the single biggest killer of children under 5 in Sub-Sahara Africa. This is devastating to the peoples who encounter the disease because it devastates the body leaving them virtually incapacitated for weeks at a time if it does not kill them. For adults the encounter the disease it puts a financial burden on the family because they cannot work, and for the children it is usually deadly leaving the family without continuing lineage.

Imagine these circumstances 300 years ago in the New World. There was no DDT to control the disease carrying mosquito population. (The World Health organization is considering lifting the ban on DDT.) Indentured servants and slaves alike worked in damp rice paddies which attracted the insects. There was no escaping the disease for many that were not immune due to sickle cell anemia or prior contact. For those servants that contracted the parasite their was limited health care due to the cost and availability which made recovery difficult if not impossible. Because of the limited amount of control early settlers have over the disease it had to play a large role in mortality rates in the Americas.

The Erie Canal and Industrialization

In class we learned about the beginnings of industrialization in America. The Erie Canal helped greatly with this industrial development. The Erie Canal enabled the transport of commodities and people from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions with New York City and the Atlantic coastal trade. This canal formed a more efficient method of transportation and in doing so, drove down the cost of hauling goods. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote that “the water of this canal must be the most fertilizing of all fluids; for it causes towns – with their masses of brick and stone, their churches and theatres, their business and hubbub, their luxury and refinement, their gay dames and polished citizens – to spring up…” It is interesting to know that the Erie Canal had such a large impact on industrialization in the northern regions of America.

However, the Erie Canal was not completely beneficial to everyone. Even though industry was rising and expanding with the result of merchants becoming wealthier, this produced a wider gap between the rich and the poor. According to Hawthorne, there was a lot of diversity along the banks of the Erie Canal. He mentions that “on the verge of the canal, might be seen a log-cottage, and a sallow-faced woman at the window. Lean and aguish, she looked like poverty personified, half clothed, half fed, and dwelling in a desert, while a tide of wealth was sweeping by her door.” The Erie Canal enabled the expansion of transportation and industrialization which created more distinction between the social classes, and as a result, produced class consciousness.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Hero? Don't count me in.

This week of class, we mentioned Andrew Jackson. He was considered a hero after the War of 1812 and won the popular vote for President in 1828. Many Native Americans' today are upset on the treatment that our ancestors received by him and his Government. In 1814 he commanded the U.S. military that defeated the Creek nation, which the Creeks lost 22 million acres of land in southern Georgia and central Alabama. From 1814 to 1824, Jackson negotiated nine out of eleven treaties which devestated the southern tribes of their eastern lands in exchange for lands in the west.
In 1830, just a year after taking office, Jackson pushed a new piece of legislation called the "Indian Removal Act". Jackson's attitude toward Native Americans was paternalistic and patronizing -- he described them as children in need of guidance.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html The Cherokee were given two years to move west, if they didn't, it would be forced. By 1838 only 2,000 had migrated; 16,000 remained on their land. The U.S. government sent in 7,000 troops, who forced the Cherokees into stockades at bayonet point. They were not allowed time to gather their belongings, and as they left, whites looted their homes. Then began the march known as the Trail of Tears, in which 4,000 Cherokee people died of cold, hunger, and disease.
By 1837, the Jackson administration had removed 46,000 Native American people from their land opening 25 million acres of land to white settlement and to slavery.
I found a writing by Tecmuseh that I would like to share.
A TESTIMONY TO THE SURVIVAL OF ORIGINAL PEOPLES DISPLACED INTO EXILE, WHO OVERCAME AND FLOURISHED IN A BARREN LAND
"The way, the only way, to stop this evil is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided.
We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave.
Brothers -- My people wish for peace; the red men all wish for peace; but where the white people are, there is no peace for them, except it be on the bosom of our mother. Where today are the Pequot?
Where today are the Narrangansett, the Mohican, the Pakanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people?
They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow before a summer sun."
-- Tecumseh

Andrew Jackson and Regulation

There is a lot of undeserved talk these days about who is the worst President is United States history. The more I read about the 7th President of the United States Andrew Jackson the more I dislike him, despite my past notion that he was a war hero during the War of 1812. Here is some food for thought as to why I think Jackson was the worst President in the United States. 1.) Upon orders to quell an Indian rebellion in Florida, he attacked a Seminole village and burned it down, then took the city of Pensacola, deposed the Spanish governor, and found two British subjects who were advising the Seminoles. He illegally tried and executed them which became one of the first international incidents in US history. 2.) By taking this action in Florida he forced Spain to cede their power in the colonies to the US and overextended his original orders which were to simply address the Seminole rebellion. 3.) His policy known simply as “Indian Removal” is a scar in US history. Jackson openly stated in his 1st address to Congress in 1829 that moving all Indians to territory west of the Mississippi was the only way to save them. The trail of tears was the result.

In class this week we used the term “class consciousness” to define the rise of the middle class in the United States following the era of Industrialization. I really like this term because what happened is that individuals with the same social status banded together to demand improved working conditions. This movement which the elite owners attempted to stifle with the temperance movement was not initially coordinated very well. The idea of unions and coming together for workers rights started in the unlikely place of saloons. “Saloon Culture” took more of a role than simply a place to drink. Regulating alcohol was used as a method by the elite to get more work done and to keep the people divided. The moral of the story is that people should always be suspicious when the government or the elite in society want to “regulate” anything (Guns, Alcohol, the Media, etc.).