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American history – section A & B
9 AM – assemble in the PAC with the typewritten responses to 4 questions on the take home final
9 – 11 AM everyone should be prepared to join in and discuss the 9 questions on the exam.
Please return vol. II of the American history textbook between June 1 (Tues) & June 4 (Fri.)
Portrait of America vol. II
chapter 15 “Flappers, Freudians, and All that Jazz”
Read pages 175 – 190
answer 3 of the 6 questions on pgs. 190 – 191
Read Classroom Handout: “Black Soldiers”
a.) Explain WHY it appeared to Lincoln and others that it was a good idea to recruit black soldiers into the Union Army. 2.) Explain WHY it appeared to Lincoln and others that it was a bad idea to recruit black soldiers into the Union Army. 3.) Describe three ways in which the presence of black soldiers in the Union Army after 1863 changed the nature, character and significance of the Civil War.
Portrait of America
“Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation” – pgs. 373 – 383
answer questions: #4, #5
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American history – Trimester I – Date due: Dec.’09 – finals week
(Check the final week schedule for American history finals day)
Document I. John Winthrop’s City upon a Hill, 1630
questions: a.) In John Winthrop’s famous sermon City upon a Hill he describes the ideals realized by a truly “godly” City ( a City up0n a Hill, the eies of all people are upon us…). Paraphrase those moral ideals and the rewards expected of a City that lives up to them.
b.) In his sermon Winthrop warns his fellow Puritans that “there is now set before us life, and goode, deathe and evill…” and that if they choose the later rather than the former (the ungodly rather than the godly) they will reap a wholly different fate? Describe Wintrhop’s opinion concerning the historical destiny of an “ungodly” community.
c.) American “exceptionalism” is now a phrase commonly used by those who believe that history documents how the American nation has lived up to the moral ideals put forth by the Puritans. What evidence do they cite to prove that America is as President Ronald Reagan stated a “shining City upon a Hill.” Do you agree with the proponents of American exceptionalism? Do you disagree? Present your point of view.
Document II. William Bradford on Samoset, Squanto, Massasoit, and the Pilgrims, 1620
questions: a.) Who is Squanto? Explain how and why we all owe to Squanto America’s most favored and popular holiday Thanksgiving. b.) The Pilgrims and the Native Americans allied together and produced a peace treaty that lasted until King Philip’s War. (Philip is Massosoit’s son). Read the treaty. Explain the terms of the treaty that served the interests of both the Pilgrims and the Native Americans and lasted for an entire generation.
Document III. Suzan Harjo (Cheyenne) Testifies Before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, 1988
questions: a.) Read the document. Using the material presented in the document explain what Suzan Harjo meant in 1988 by the statement: “Everyone has that same old movie running through their heads, and Indians are identified as an era, not as a people.” Cite the evidence that substantiates her claim. Do you agree with her? Disagree?
b.) Do most American’s today (2009) perceive Native American’s as an “era” or as a people? Give examples of how Native Americans are represented in 2009 in popular culture.
Document IV. Benjamin Franklin: “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker”
questions: a.) Why does Ms. Baker humbly beseech and reason with the court’s judges that they should appeal to the state governor and request that he rescind the heavy fine imposed on her for giving birth for the fifth time to an illegitimate child?
b.) Why does Ms. Baker believe firmly and absolutely that the legal system should reward and compensate mothers who give birth out of wedlock and not criminalize and fine them?
c.) Ms. Baker argues before her judges that God is on her side. In Ms. Baker’s humble opinion “instead of a Whipping,” she should have “a Statue erected to my Memory.” Explain Ms. Baker’s reasoning. Do you agree with her? Disagree? How do you view illegitimate birth then and now. Does the l8th century differ in this respect from the 21st century? Explain your point of view.
Document V. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, “What is an American?”1782
questions: a.) According to de Crevecoeur: “The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas and form new opinions.” Which people does Crevecoeur define as American? Which people does he fail to include? Paraphrase examples from Crevecoeur’s text which document the many ways in which the average 18th century American differed from the average l8th century European.
b.) Are Crevecoeur’s ideas concerning the American as “a new man, who acts upon new principles,” true in your experience in the 21st century? Untrue? Cite examples to document your point of view.
Document VI. Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia” Customs and Manners, 1781
questions: a.) Read the document. List all the reasons Jefferson believed in 1781 that the institution of slavery was a.) destructive to white people b.) destructive for black people c.) destructive to the nation itself.
b.) Was Thomas Jefferson a total hypocrite when he wrote the words “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence? Was he simply a practical politician who in an ideal sense did his best to include everyone, even though in a practical sense he never did anything to advance the cause of anti-slavery.
c.) Does Jefferson’s life long love affair with Sally Hemming’s tell us more about his moral turpitude and hypocrisy or the mores of the American nation in the late l8th century. Give your point of view.
Document VII. Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852
questions: a.) Just as Winthrop in 1630 appeals to the Puritan people to create a new City that exemplifies the highest ethical and religious ideals, Frederick Douglass admonishes the American nation for its failure to live in accord with its own ideals and values. Indeed, for Douglass “there is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking…” What are those “shocking” practices? Paraphrase both the image and the practices of the American people as described in Douglass’s July 4, Oration.
b.) Cite examples in your own experience today of how either the media or American’s in their everyday lives fail to live up to the legal “ideal” of a wholly just, fair and egalitarian American legal and political system.
Document VIII. Abigail and John Adams’s “Remember the Ladies” Letters, 1776
questions: a.) In 1776 Abigail Adams writes a letter to her husband John Adams – a Massachusetts representative to the newly formed Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia. In this letter Abigail pleads with John to “Remember the Ladies” as the Continental Congress engages in the monumental task of compiling a New Code of Laws for the new nation. Explain why Abigail fears that an all male Continental Congress will not put together a truly egalitarian and just American legal code. Were Abigail’s fears rooted in fact or fantasy? Explain
b.) John responds to Abigail by cavalierly pushing aside her fears and asserting that “We know better than to repeal our masculine system.” Explain why John Adams advises Abigail that he believes even “General Washington… would fight” to save representative government from the “Despotism of the Petticoat.”
c. According to Abigail what will inevitably happen if America’s republican system does not include American women in the body politic.
Document IX. Alexander Hamilton Versus Thomas Jefferson on Popular Rule (1780’s – 1820’s)
questions: a.) According to Hamilton all communities divide themselves into “the few and the many.” (The Haves & the Have-Nots). Who does Hamilton favor and why as the leadership class in a republican form of government. Explain Hamilton’s reasoning.
b.) Who does Thomas Jefferson favor and why as the leadership class in a republican government. Explain Jefferson’s reasoning.
c.) Are you a Hamiltonian, a Jeffersonian or an Independent? What do you perceive as the major political and social issues of our day? In your view who should take primary responsibility for tackling those “major” issues: the State, the Federal Government or individuals themselves. Explain your answer.
Document X. Elizabeth Kolbert, “The Parable of the Horseshit”
questions: a.) Paraphrase the parable of the horseshit
b.) Will the 21st century problem of greenhouse gases polluting each day the global atmosphere (rather than the 19th century problem of mountains of horseshit dumped each day on New York City streets) resolve itself one day with a relatively simple and effective new technological fix? Yes. No. Maybe. Substantiate and explain your answer.
Assignment: Read: “Meet Dr. Franklin,” Richard B. Morris
Read the first part of Morris’s essay. The concluding sentence is: “Abruptly at the age of 42, Franklin retired from his active participation in his printing business.”
Using the information presented in the first part of the essay paraphrase examples of Franklin’s wit, ingenuity and cleverness. First, as a child and teen-age rebel against the limitations imposed on him by his father ( a candle-maker) and his older brother ( a newspaper publisher.) Second, as an adult rebel who defended in his writings on gender relations both a “liberal sexual code” ( Speech of Polly Baker) and a “bawdy sense of humor.”
Do you admire Benjamin Franklin as a teen-age run-away? Explain why? Why not?
Do you admire Benjamin Franklin as a printer and book publisher who poked fun at conventional l8th century morals, values and stereotypes? Explain why. Why not.
Does Franklin’s 18th century humorous and rebellious nature and temperament survive still today in our 21st century American character and temperament? Give examples. Describe either a contemporary author or media personality who you believe reflects Franklin like qualities. Explain why.
Portrait of America – Read pages 101 – 113
Thomas Jefferson and the Meaning of Liberty by Douglas Wilson
I. Write a page long description of question #2 on the relationship between Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson. Answer each of the several questions described in #2. i.e. Describe the various ways the Hemmings / Jefferson relationship has been described in different periods in American history. What is the Brodie explanation of this relationship? What does Wilson conclude concerning why he does not believe Jefferson had both a long and “secret” affair and several children with a “slave” mistress – Sally Hemmings? Explain how the idea of “presentism” inserts itself into historical interpretations of the biographies of great men.
( DNA testing proved in the 1990’s that Sally Hemmings children were fathered by Thomas Jefferson. ) – Google Sally Hemmings and Jefferson for more information.
II. Write a page long description of question # 3. Answer each of the “questions to consider” in # 3. The problem is that if Jefferson was philosophically opposed to slavery as he implied in the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that “all men are created equal,” why then did he remain his entire life one of the most prominent slave owners in Virginia? Explain the role of the idea “presentism” in this debate over the difference between a historical figures philosophic positions and his or her political ones.
Assignment: “Portrait of America,” vol. I
I. Read: Ch. 10: The Greatness of George Washington
Gordon S. Wood, pages 132 – 144.
II. Pages 143 – 144: Questions To Consider
Choose any four out of the six questions and answer them.
Answer questions on 11 documents relating to Native American culture and history
(documents will be handed out in class)
Doc. I. Andrew Jackson My White and Red Children
1. President Andrew Jackson (1828 – 1836) defended his “Bill for Indian Removal” (1830) as a question of security. Explain Jackson’s arguments concerning why the five Eastern tribes inhabiting the state lands ceded to them by the American government posed in Jackson’s view a “security threat” to the safety of the American nation. Was Jackson’s argument reasonable? Unreasonable? Give your view.
2. Describe the moral arguments put forth by Senator Frelinghuysen a firm opponent of Jackson’s Bill for Indian Removal.
3. The author believes that concerning the question of Indian Removal “Jackson was neither a humanitarian nor a blind bigot. He thought 0f himself as practical.” Do you agree with the author? Explain why. Disagree? Explain why.
Doc. II. Chief’s Seattle Oration (1854)
4. Chief Seattle tells the territorial governor in the Pacific Northwest and a 1000 Indian listeners that “Your God is not our God! Your God loves your people and hates mine. He folds his strong protecting arms lovingly abut the pale face and leads him by the hand as a father leads his infant son — but He has forsaken His red children -if they really are his. Our God the Great Spirit seems also to have forsaken us.” Read the document and summarize the experiences and perspectives that inspired Chief Seattle to reach the above stated point of view.
5. According to Chief Seattle the native American beliefs concerning their dead and the white American beliefs are radically different. Explain the difference.
6. Ultimately, Chief Seattle arrives at the awareness that native Americans and European Americans “may be brothers after all. We will see.” Paraphrase what Chief Seattle tells us in the final two paragraphs of his Oration what he believes with the passage of time “We will (all) see.”
Doc. III. A White Man’s Rationale for Killing Indians on the Overland Trail. 18491.
7. In 1849 the white pioneers traveling West on the Overland Trail were absolutely convinced that the men, women, and children in their wagon trains all agreed that the only good Indian was a dead Indian, and that “gunpowder not prayer was their only civilizer.” What experiences does the pioneer cite that inspired him to reach this militant and violent (even genocidal) conclusion. Is this conclusion Just? Unjust? Explain your answer.
8. Describe the similarities and differences between the American pioneers’ “stereotype” of Native Americans and present-day “stereotypes” of Middle Eastern Muslims. Explain why “stereotypes” of any people are both commonplace and dangerous, both instinctive and very destructive.
Doc. IV. Spotted Tail (Brule Sioux) 1866
9. If the American pioneer describes the Native American as wild, ferocious, savage,vicious etc., how does Spotted Tail a Sioux warrior describe the hordes of American pioneers who are crossing in wagon trains over Sioux lands. Paraphrase
Doc. V. Kicking Bear (Ogala Sioux) 1890
10. In the passage Kicking Bear described the vision of the Ghost Dance prophesized by the Messiah. Read the vision and decribe in some detail the fundamental promise inherent in the vision.
11. Give your opinion concerning why native Americans throughout the West in the l880’s flocked to the idea that if they sang, danced, fasted and put on white shirts the bullets of the white men could no longer kill them. Explain why this vision captivated the minds and hearts of Native Americans from many varied and different tribes in the West.
Doc. VI. Account of the Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890
12. What happened at Wounded Knee in l890? Explain why the American Marines were so willing and able to murder the native Americans (men, women and children) and why the native Americans were caught off-guard – without an adequate defense.
Doc. VII. Declaration of Indian Purpose – Concluding Statement
13. “What we ask of America is not charity, not paternalism, even when benevolent. We ask only that the nature of our situation be recognized and made the basis of policy and action.” Read the document. Paraphrase how the Native Americans’ view the “nature of their situation” in 1961. How can the American government truly help Native Americans “… in the America of the Space Age?”
Doc. VIII. A Program for Indian Citizens – January, 1961
14. Two traditional values of Native Americans were Unity and a Spiritual Attachment to Nature. Describe these values. Are these values applicable and relevant to our current day American life and culture. Explain.
15. Aside from Unity and Spiritual Attachment to Nature, describe other Indian values that are both fundamental within the American Indian heritage and useful and functional within contemporary American life. Describe how the skills of the Iroquois, the Apache, the Pueblo and the Navajos have benefited the American economy in the 20th century.
Doc. IX. David Courchene, Leading Thunderbird 1969
16. According to David Courchene “We know we can’t turn back the clock.” Explain why Courchene believes it is very difficult for Native Americans (more difficult than for most foreign immigrants ) both to fit in and adjust to modern day urban American life.
Doc. X. Russell Means (Ogala Sioux) 1973
17. In 1924 Native Americans were deemed by the Federal Government as American citizens. Native Americans participated heroically and courageously in World War I and World War II. Nevertheless, in the 1970’s (inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement) many Native Americans who had assimilated successfully into urban American life chose to return to their tribal lands and heritage. Read this passage by Russell Means and explain why you believe Means decided in the 70’s to shed his American self and to readapt to his Native American heritage and traditions.
Doc. XI. Oren Lyons (Onondaga ) Sovereignty and the Natural World Economy 1991
18. Lyons describes in some detail the “common sense that comes from the long experience of Indian Nations being in one place.” Lyon is convinced (as many, if not most Americans are convinced) that the Americans’ today have one and only one choice. Embrace sincerely and wholeheartedly this traditional Native American common sense. a.) Describe Native American common sense b.) Many Americans’ believe today that they have one choice: integrate Native American common sense into today’s economy and their own way of life. Do you agree? Disagree? Present your own point of view.
Text: “Portrait of America”
Essay: The Trail of Tears, Dee Brown
Pages: 300 – 309
Questions to Consider: page 309
Respond in writing to three or the four questions on pg. 309