part 1 I fairly enjoyed pieces from "The American Revolution" because of the fact that it was real in-depth with the text of the American Revolution. It reeled me in sort of in a way at certain parts, and led me afar on others. It really enticed me. As i read part one (TLH) i thought that the British really punched themselves in the face by letting the colonist sell their own goods to Europe. i felt that if i was in the British shoes i would've monopolized all their goods and sold it for themselves. Although that would be corrupt, the British did want to control the Americas as an supreme ruler. The British lost money and had to tax the colonist more especially after the French and Indian war. Boston went practically bankrupt and there were more poor people than rich and they were getting poorer. If the British held a tighter grip they wouldn't have had to raise taxes on tea or stamps which led to two riots. Led by Ebenezer Mackintosh (stamp act) and George Robert Twelve Hewes (tea act), but nonetheless without these riots there were not be as much of a dramatic revolution. Another thought would be that major heads like Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Sir William Johnson were called "The Refinement of America." They were what sharpened the blade of America to this day. Except for a simple question i have in my head, Why didn't they get more attention from British? i feel that they were saw as mere tools used by the British. The British had no need for them really, and because of the fact that they didn't get wealth and power from Britain there wouldn't be such a big revolution would be my conclusion, but i'm certain there would've still been one with or without.
Lindsey Bartnik I agree with you about the fact that the British should have held a tighter grip to avoid the higher taxing, there are many things that the British could have done instead of raising taxes. I also agree that the French and Indian War turned everyone into a poor person in Boston because of the governments spending problem, which in turn raised taxes as you said. Maybe if a different approach was taken then the riots wouldn't have occurred at all.
-Evaluation- When the townspeople dumped the tea in to the Boston Harbor (Boston Tea Party) they showed that they were upset that both the Stamp Act and Sugar Act passed. Both acts made the colonists pay taxes on imports to America (Sugar Act) and also pay taxes on all documents, such as newspapers, magazines, and legal documents (Stamp Act).
-Connections- A connection to today is protests, or outbreaks to Shay’s Rebellion. Today people show that they disapprove or disagree with something through protest. Shay’s Rebellion was a protest brought on by money problems from the war, the Rebellion was formed by outraged farmers. Today there are still protests but they are nothing like Shay’s Rebellion, usually the protest takes form of a sit-in or a rally not a huge rebellion that uses large amounts of violence.
Reading Like a Historian:
-Through Their Eyes- The colonists viewed their life as the Government was not being fair to them by raising taxes to pay for the mess that they created. The Government raised taxes on the colonists to try to get out of debt, this was not fair to the colonists because they would no longer have money to spend on their needs. This changed their view of their choices/actions because they began to rebel to try to get the government to stop taxing them so highly.
-Differing Perspectives- Edward Countryman is a non-bias author, he doesn’t take one side or the other but gives the whole picture to the reader instead by showing what was going on both sides, the townspeople and the government. The other perspectives that exist on this are the townspeople, and the government. The perspective I agree with is the townspeople because it was not fair for the government to be taxing them so high and not treating them fairly. The governments actions caused the townspeople many problems in daily life.
I completely agree with your connections and differing perspectives sections. If you read my posts, those two sections are actually similar! You make a good point by saying that even though there are still disagreements in modern-day society, we have learned from the consequences that the colonists received by using violence and have come up with better ways to express our opinions in peaceful and safe ways.
(Sorry if there are multiple posts, the site has been messing up my posts. Also, please disregard the post that reads the following: ^^the above post was to Lindsey from Megan Shorey^^. Thank you and sorry for the confusion.)
-Big Idea- When the Constitution was first being wrote there were many different conventions working on the document, this was ineffective and inefficient. Communication between all of the different conventions had to be hard and most likely done by a messenger on a horse, by the time all of the conventions are on the same page another idea could have replaced the one that was just told to the conventions. The idea of closing down all of the conventions but one was a good idea to make communication easier, this is still true today, and working all together in one location is a lot easier. This way ideas were shared easily and the document would be done faster.
-Preview/Predict- I predict that the Indians chose to fight with the British in hopes that they could get land out of their help in the war. The land would be used so the Indians could live the way they wanted to and not be ruled by the government. This however was not entirely correct, the British gave the Indians land but then left them and did not help them and then took away some of the land until the Indians only had a small amount left.
Reading Like a Historian:
-Through Their Eyes- The women in the past had to turn over any property they owed to their husbands when they got married and then the women had to blend in to their husbands lives, this is what the Common-Law Doctrine stated. The women basically lost everything they could do when they married, they became housewives who catered to their husbands every need and want, they also had to blend in with their husbands personalities. The women thought this was unfair so they decided to act out (Seneca Falls) and try to get some rights. In 1862 when the Homestead Act was passed women could get public land for themselves without their husbands. This was the start of women’s fight to get the same rights as men.
-Using the Past- In the past women did not have any rights, now in the present women have all of the same rights as men. To get those same rights took a lot of work but it was done. We can learn from the past because it shows that women can do anything men can do, it took some time and effort to get there though. The past also shows that if a group of people or even just one person believes in something they can make it happen. Now we can also learn from the past by looking at the mistakes made and improving upon them.
Megan Shorey-Part 1 (2 of 2) Thinking Like A Historian:
~Differing Perspectives~ In Countryman’s writing, he did not clearly take a side, making him a non-bias author. However, he provided multiple perspectives for the reader to analyze, such as the loyalists, the patriots, the British, the Native Americans, etc... The loyalists wanted to stay loyal to King George III while living in the colonies, while the patriots wanted to gain their freedom from Britain and live in a sovereign country. The British wanted to keep ruling the colonies so that they could continue to gain financially from the taxes that they imposed upon them. The Native Americans sided with the British only to secure their land; they were in fear of the “land-hungry” whites taking their territory. The perspective that I agreed with in whole was the colonists because I think it was unfair for the British government to enforce multiple taxes on the already financially struggling colonists.
~Turning Points~ Throughout the many smaller battles during the American Revolution there were many minor turning points. In my opinion, the biggest turning point during the Revolution for the colonists was the Boston Tea Party. Although this was not the first time that the colonists had rebelled against Britain after the massacre, it was the first time that the colonists had taken a big step in showing that they could make decisions for themselves and that they could deal with the consequences. As Countryman states, “By no means is this all that crowds did during the crisis. By no means were Boston and New York the only places where uprisings broke out. But these are among the most striking events, and they show us the range of what happened.” (p. 84) What Countryman means in this section of his book is that there were many more uprisings throughout the colonies, but these were the most severe of the instances, and they portrayed how the colonists really felt about the unfair taxations forced on them by the British.
Megan, i completely agree with you that the Boston Tea Party was a huge turning point for the revolution. Yes, the Colonist took that giant leap for themselves. It was like a moment when a baby learns how to take its first steps. although it was not the first turning point it was one of the bigger ones. False taxation without representation was also a big major player in the Revolution. It gave the Colonist reasons to stand up and say "This is not what i want to live in." great point.
~Big Idea/Generalizations~ On the surface, the American Revolution may appear to be a simple decision for the thirteen colonies to declare independence. In reality, it arose from the strains of war, as Britain struggled unsuccessfully to retain them while it lied in the replacement of monarchy by republican government. Although it was brought about by people with a common goal, it highlighted the differentiating views of the colonists, making the revolution more than just battles against Britain, but also against the colonists themselves. It took place in a world of social and political relationships, making the goals of each side clear and concise. Despite all of these points, in simpler words, the Revolution was a grand transformation, binding many separate changes together in order to create a sovereign government and a country full of freedom.
~Evaluate~ From what I have read so far in the first 132 pages of Edward Countryman’s novel, The American Revolution, one must think to fully understand the concepts and terminology that is used. In doing research, one can find the answers to their confusion, as I did to mine. The following includes explanations of terms and concepts that primarily seemed unclear to me: The Albany Congress, Loyalists, Patriots, Mercantilism, and the First and Second Continental Congress. The Albany Congress was a congress that was convened by British officials in 1754 promoting a unification of British colonies in North America for security and defense against the French. Loyalists were colonists that wished to remain loyal to Parliament; there were higher concentrations of loyalists in the southern parts of the thirteen colonies. Patriots were just the opposite of loyalists; those who wished to rule themselves and have a separate government from Britain. Mercantilism was an economic theory that specified that nations should accumulate wealth in order to increase their power. The First Continental Congress was a meeting convened in late 1774 that brought together delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies in order to protest the Intolerable Acts. The Second Continental Congress was a meeting convened in 1775 by colonial leaders to discuss how to proceed after the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
Reading Thoughts: ~Connections~ In modern times, Americans value their freedom as much as anything. In the colonial era, the colonists fought literally to their death to gain the freedom that we have today. Until I read this book, when I thought of freedom, I thought of all of the rights that it gives me. But after I finished this book I realized that although we would probably still be a sovereign country, we may not have the elite government that we do, or made the immense progress in human rights that we have if it weren’t for the colonists. Many of the rights that they fought for are still in effect today, giving modern-day Americans a connection to the past.
~Questions~ While I was reading The American Revolution I had many questions about the content, but after finishing the book, taking notes, and doing some outside research, I understand the content of this book fairly well. In talking to other students, I know that a lot of people got confused on what was where geographically. While Countryman was describing different battles and their locations, I sometimes had to look at a map to get a better sense of location.
Thinking Like A Historian: ~Through Their Eyes~ In the colonial era, there were many different views on the events that were occurring. The patriots viewed the taxations as an unfair use of Britain’s ruling over the colonies. The loyalists paid the taxes willingly in order to avoid friction between themselves and their home country. The British are relishing in their own intelligence and are taking advantage of their power, using the colonists to gain financially. The Native Americans sided with the British and helped supply soldiers for their troops in fear of the colonists taking over their territory.
~Using The Past~ In many instances, the past can help us make sense of the future, and we can also learn from the past. During the American Revolution, there were many acts of outrage and violence to show the British that the colonists did not agree with the taxes that had been placed on them. This caused more consequences for the colonists and in the end, just delayed the time that the colonists had to gain their freedom. Today, many Americans take the route of peaceful protesting instead of violence to avoid serious consequences, because it is a safer and more respectful way to get a point across.
Megan, I strongly agree with many of your points that you stated above. We thought a lot a like while reading this book. In your second post under "Using the Past" I really like how you mentioned the peaceful protest. I agree with the idea that Americans have learned that violence was not the answer. An example of this would be the Boston Massacre. Very good points, Megan!
Melanie Nuthals Blog 1 Connections: A connection from this story to now would be the idea of protesting. The colonists did not have a necessarily peaceful protest when they dumped the tea into the harbor because they caused damage to property and angered the British a lot. Today’s day in age, people that wish to protest have a right to and will not be punished unless it is violent or breaks a different law. Questions: As I read through the first section of this story I noticed that the first whole chapter was just naming people and their jobs/roles in the revolution. There was a lot about the Indians and for a while I was confused as to why the author felt it necessary to go into so much detail about it. Later on in about chapter 2-3 I realized that chapter 1 was pretty much just facts and cluing the reader in on what was going on in the time period. Now that I realize that it was just a quick glance at the history behind the war it makes a lot more sense, however, for a while, I was extremely confused. TLH Through their eyes: Looking at things from the colonists’ point of view seems like a simple thing for the British Parliament to have done, but obviously they did not try to understand their point of view. The colonists felt that it was unfair that they were being taxed unfairly just for Britain’s gain. They had no say in the matter because they were not fairly represented and the enormous amount of space between Britain and the colonies did not help the lack of communication. Had the British stepped back and tried to figure out why the colonists were so unhappy with them, maybe they would have saved a lot of time, lives, and resources that they wasted in the war. Because they did not try to communicate with the colonists, the colonists were outraged and began to protest and eventually had a war because of it. Turning Points: A major turning point for the American Revolution was obviously the Boston Tea Party. This was the first time the colonists were so outraged that they damaged property and angered a lot of other people. They needed to do something to get England’s attention and this was the way they chose. Although, this got them into a lot of trouble and cost them a lot of money, it was still a major turning point in the war because it was the first time they really let England know how unhappy they were and England actually realized it.
Melanie Nuthals Blog 2 Big Idea/Generalizations: Looking at the war from start to finish it is clear how much the colonists risked in making many of the choices they did. They risked a lot to get the freedom they received. The colonists started a new trend by wanting rights for each person and actually making that possible with the way the government was set up. The war was more than just fighting the taxes or unfair representation, it was fighting for their rights that they felt they should have and ultimately deserved. Looking back on it now, people see how brave the colonists were in making that decision to fight against one of the most powerful countries all because they wanted freedom. Without their bravery and fabulous ideas of freedom we would not be the country we are today. Visualize: Reading chapter 7 made me realize how much thought went into creating the documents that hold up our government to this day. I can see the men standing around the tables tossing out many ideas to be written on the sheets of paper that would later become so important to our country. Visualizing what must have been going on in the country at that time is astounding. The panic people must have felt not knowing what their new government had in store. Or the excitement about being free and knowing they had just won. It is a lot to think about and a large turning point for the United States of America. TLH Change and Continuity: Obviously after the war ended the colonies did not belong the England anymore. Besides that they had to stir up a whole new way to run a country. They didn’t want the same problems that they had with England so the colonists had to make the changes they wanted and keep the things they liked. The biggest changes/additions that they made were the unalienable rights. These rights are what make people “free”. America would soon benefit greatly from these new ideas, as well as other countries. Many would look at the USA and use it as an example of what can be done if you try. Cause and Effect: There were many examples of cause and effect throughout the revolution. The most important example was that when the Colonies were with England they had very limited freedom and representation, the effect was that now that they were free they planned to make everyone as free as possible. They wanted people to have the representation and rights they deserved. This was the biggest change that America faced.
Blog #2 -Reading thoughts- Big idea: Congress, House of Representatives, and the President. Are we not the same as we were under the British rule? WRONG! We are not the same. The President may have great power, but he can not make people do his bidding (maybe he can), but to pass any law it must go through the poeple (HoR, and Congress). The people risked everything they had to have a voice in this country. The colonist (mere pawns) to the British stood up for themselves such as a bully victim stands up and talks to a counselor or maybe lands a few on the bully. It was the bravery of this country that could have let the people of this modern day and age and even back then to have a voice may it be a mouse squeak or a lions roar. it was a voice. That is our freedom. Predict: Indians who had gotten their land stolen already for the most part and their only protection from getting more stolen away is helping the British. Really they had no choice. Two situations were they lost their land to the colonist or they fought by the side of the British and kept their land if the British won at least. although rather there was a third situation which was to get stabbed in the back by the British. It was a real rough scenario for the Indians. They were going to lose in many ways. -TLH- Cause and Effect: False taxation without representation, which is the cause that had effected the colonist to act in many different ways. There was the Stamp Act which was to pay for soldiers stationed in the Americas after the Seven year war. After the Seven year war the soldiers were not needed, and the Colonist could have held their own yet Britain was making money off of the stamp act. To counter that the Colonist had sent petitions and the Sons of Liberty came to life. That Taxation without representation led to big things for the rebellious colonist. it was a switch sort to speak. Through their eyes: If the British had thought about their plans a little more thoroughly and cared for their colonies a little more they could of had something big going for them. The America was like a giant stock that the British held and made very good profit out of, but if you see through the eyes of the colonist it would be agonizing. To have to pay taxes that the people in British didn't have to because of soldiers they didn't need were stocked up in the Americas was pretty wrong. If the British had known it sooner maybe they would've stopped or maybe they would've taxed harder, but through the colonist's eyes it was probably some of the most unjust things the British could have done.
Fengmeng Lo
ReplyDeletepart 1
I fairly enjoyed pieces from "The American Revolution" because of the fact that it was real in-depth with the text of the American Revolution. It reeled me in sort of in a way at certain parts, and led me afar on others. It really enticed me.
As i read part one (TLH) i thought that the British really punched themselves in the face by letting the colonist sell their own goods to Europe. i felt that if i was in the British shoes i would've monopolized all their goods and sold it for themselves. Although that would be corrupt, the British did want to control the Americas as an supreme ruler. The British lost money and had to tax the colonist more especially after the French and Indian war. Boston went practically bankrupt and there were more poor people than rich and they were getting poorer. If the British held a tighter grip they wouldn't have had to raise taxes on tea or stamps which led to two riots. Led by Ebenezer Mackintosh (stamp act) and George Robert Twelve Hewes (tea act), but nonetheless without these riots there were not be as much of a dramatic revolution. Another thought would be that major heads like Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Sir William Johnson were called "The Refinement of America." They were what sharpened the blade of America to this day. Except for a simple question i have in my head, Why didn't they get more attention from British? i feel that they were saw as mere tools used by the British. The British had no need for them really, and because of the fact that they didn't get wealth and power from Britain there wouldn't be such a big revolution would be my conclusion, but i'm certain there would've still been one with or without.
Lindsey Bartnik
DeleteI agree with you about the fact that the British should have held a tighter grip to avoid the higher taxing, there are many things that the British could have done instead of raising taxes. I also agree that the French and Indian War turned everyone into a poor person in Boston because of the governments spending problem, which in turn raised taxes as you said. Maybe if a different approach was taken then the riots wouldn't have occurred at all.
Lindsey Bartnik
ReplyDeleteChapter 1-4 pgs. 1-132
Reading Thoughts:
-Evaluation- When the townspeople dumped the tea in to the Boston Harbor (Boston Tea Party) they showed that they were upset that both the Stamp Act and Sugar Act passed. Both acts made the colonists pay taxes on imports to America (Sugar Act) and also pay taxes on all documents, such as newspapers, magazines, and legal documents (Stamp Act).
-Connections- A connection to today is protests, or outbreaks to Shay’s Rebellion. Today people show that they disapprove or disagree with something through protest. Shay’s Rebellion was a protest brought on by money problems from the war, the Rebellion was formed by outraged farmers. Today there are still protests but they are nothing like Shay’s Rebellion, usually the protest takes form of a sit-in or a rally not a huge rebellion that uses large amounts of violence.
Reading Like a Historian:
-Through Their Eyes- The colonists viewed their life as the Government was not being fair to them by raising taxes to pay for the mess that they created. The Government raised taxes on the colonists to try to get out of debt, this was not fair to the colonists because they would no longer have money to spend on their needs. This changed their view of their choices/actions because they began to rebel to try to get the government to stop taxing them so highly.
-Differing Perspectives- Edward Countryman is a non-bias author, he doesn’t take one side or the other but gives the whole picture to the reader instead by showing what was going on both sides, the townspeople and the government. The other perspectives that exist on this are the townspeople, and the government. The perspective I agree with is the townspeople because it was not fair for the government to be taxing them so high and not treating them fairly. The governments actions caused the townspeople many problems in daily life.
^^the above post was to Lindsey from Megan Shorey^^
DeleteMegan Shorey-Part 3 Reply
DeleteLindsey-
I completely agree with your connections and differing perspectives sections. If you read my posts, those two sections are actually similar! You make a good point by saying that even though there are still disagreements in modern-day society, we have learned from the consequences that the colonists received by using violence and have come up with better ways to express our opinions in peaceful and safe ways.
(Sorry if there are multiple posts, the site has been messing up my posts. Also, please disregard the post that reads the following: ^^the above post was to Lindsey from Megan Shorey^^. Thank you and sorry for the confusion.)
Lindsey Bartnik
ReplyDeleteChapter 5-7 pgs. 124-236
Reading Thoughts:
-Big Idea- When the Constitution was first being wrote there were many different conventions working on the document, this was ineffective and inefficient. Communication between all of the different conventions had to be hard and most likely done by a messenger on a horse, by the time all of the conventions are on the same page another idea could have replaced the one that was just told to the conventions. The idea of closing down all of the conventions but one was a good idea to make communication easier, this is still true today, and working all together in one location is a lot easier. This way ideas were shared easily and the document would be done faster.
-Preview/Predict- I predict that the Indians chose to fight with the British in hopes that they could get land out of their help in the war. The land would be used so the Indians could live the way they wanted to and not be ruled by the government. This however was not entirely correct, the British gave the Indians land but then left them and did not help them and then took away some of the land until the Indians only had a small amount left.
Reading Like a Historian:
-Through Their Eyes- The women in the past had to turn over any property they owed to their husbands when they got married and then the women had to blend in to their husbands lives, this is what the Common-Law Doctrine stated. The women basically lost everything they could do when they married, they became housewives who catered to their husbands every need and want, they also had to blend in with their husbands personalities. The women thought this was unfair so they decided to act out (Seneca Falls) and try to get some rights. In 1862 when the Homestead Act was passed women could get public land for themselves without their husbands. This was the start of women’s fight to get the same rights as men.
-Using the Past- In the past women did not have any rights, now in the present women have all of the same rights as men. To get those same rights took a lot of work but it was done. We can learn from the past because it shows that women can do anything men can do, it took some time and effort to get there though. The past also shows that if a group of people or even just one person believes in something they can make it happen. Now we can also learn from the past by looking at the mistakes made and improving upon them.
Megan Shorey-Part 1
ReplyDelete(2 of 2)
Thinking Like A Historian:
~Differing Perspectives~
In Countryman’s writing, he did not clearly take a side, making him a non-bias author. However, he provided multiple perspectives for the reader to analyze, such as the loyalists, the patriots, the British, the Native Americans, etc... The loyalists wanted to stay loyal to King George III while living in the colonies, while the patriots wanted to gain their freedom from Britain and live in a sovereign country. The British wanted to keep ruling the colonies so that they could continue to gain financially from the taxes that they imposed upon them. The Native Americans sided with the British only to secure their land; they were in fear of the “land-hungry” whites taking their territory. The perspective that I agreed with in whole was the colonists because I think it was unfair for the British government to enforce multiple taxes on the already financially struggling colonists.
~Turning Points~
Throughout the many smaller battles during the American Revolution there were many minor turning points. In my opinion, the biggest turning point during the Revolution for the colonists was the Boston Tea Party. Although this was not the first time that the colonists had rebelled against Britain after the massacre, it was the first time that the colonists had taken a big step in showing that they could make decisions for themselves and that they could deal with the consequences. As Countryman states, “By no means is this all that crowds did during the crisis. By no means were Boston and New York the only places where uprisings broke out. But these are among the most striking events, and they show us the range of what happened.” (p. 84) What Countryman means in this section of his book is that there were many more uprisings throughout the colonies, but these were the most severe of the instances, and they portrayed how the colonists really felt about the unfair taxations forced on them by the British.
Megan,
Deletei completely agree with you that the Boston Tea Party was a huge turning point for the revolution. Yes, the Colonist took that giant leap for themselves. It was like a moment when a baby learns how to take its first steps. although it was not the first turning point it was one of the bigger ones. False taxation without representation was also a big major player in the Revolution. It gave the Colonist reasons to stand up and say "This is not what i want to live in." great point.
Megan Shorey-Part 1
ReplyDelete(1 of 2)
Reading Thoughts:
~Big Idea/Generalizations~
On the surface, the American Revolution may appear to be a simple decision for the thirteen colonies to declare independence. In reality, it arose from the strains of war, as Britain struggled unsuccessfully to retain them while it lied in the replacement of monarchy by republican government. Although it was brought about by people with a common goal, it highlighted the differentiating views of the colonists, making the revolution more than just battles against Britain, but also against the colonists themselves. It took place in a world of social and political relationships, making the goals of each side clear and concise. Despite all of these points, in simpler words, the Revolution was a grand transformation, binding many separate changes together in order to create a sovereign government and a country full of freedom.
~Evaluate~
From what I have read so far in the first 132 pages of Edward Countryman’s novel, The American Revolution, one must think to fully understand the concepts and terminology that is used. In doing research, one can find the answers to their confusion, as I did to mine. The following includes explanations of terms and concepts that primarily seemed unclear to me: The Albany Congress, Loyalists, Patriots, Mercantilism, and the First and Second Continental Congress. The Albany Congress was a congress that was convened by British officials in 1754 promoting a unification of British colonies in North America for security and defense against the French. Loyalists were colonists that wished to remain loyal to Parliament; there were higher concentrations of loyalists in the southern parts of the thirteen colonies. Patriots were just the opposite of loyalists; those who wished to rule themselves and have a separate government from Britain. Mercantilism was an economic theory that specified that nations should accumulate wealth in order to increase their power. The First Continental Congress was a meeting convened in late 1774 that brought together delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies in order to protest the Intolerable Acts. The Second Continental Congress was a meeting convened in 1775 by colonial leaders to discuss how to proceed after the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
Megan Shorey-Part 2
ReplyDeleteReading Thoughts:
~Connections~
In modern times, Americans value their freedom as much as anything. In the colonial era, the colonists fought literally to their death to gain the freedom that we have today. Until I read this book, when I thought of freedom, I thought of all of the rights that it gives me. But after I finished this book I realized that although we would probably still be a sovereign country, we may not have the elite government that we do, or made the immense progress in human rights that we have if it weren’t for the colonists. Many of the rights that they fought for are still in effect today, giving modern-day Americans a connection to the past.
~Questions~
While I was reading The American Revolution I had many questions about the content, but after finishing the book, taking notes, and doing some outside research, I understand the content of this book fairly well. In talking to other students, I know that a lot of people got confused on what was where geographically. While Countryman was describing different battles and their locations, I sometimes had to look at a map to get a better sense of location.
Thinking Like A Historian:
~Through Their Eyes~
In the colonial era, there were many different views on the events that were occurring. The patriots viewed the taxations as an unfair use of Britain’s ruling over the colonies. The loyalists paid the taxes willingly in order to avoid friction between themselves and their home country. The British are relishing in their own intelligence and are taking advantage of their power, using the colonists to gain financially. The Native Americans sided with the British and helped supply soldiers for their troops in fear of the colonists taking over their territory.
~Using The Past~
In many instances, the past can help us make sense of the future, and we can also learn from the past. During the American Revolution, there were many acts of outrage and violence to show the British that the colonists did not agree with the taxes that had been placed on them. This caused more consequences for the colonists and in the end, just delayed the time that the colonists had to gain their freedom. Today, many Americans take the route of peaceful protesting instead of violence to avoid serious consequences, because it is a safer and more respectful way to get a point across.
Megan,
DeleteI strongly agree with many of your points that you stated above. We thought a lot a like while reading this book. In your second post under "Using the Past" I really like how you mentioned the peaceful protest. I agree with the idea that Americans have learned that violence was not the answer. An example of this would be the Boston Massacre. Very good points, Megan!
Melanie Nuthals Blog 1
ReplyDeleteConnections: A connection from this story to now would be the idea of protesting. The colonists did not have a necessarily peaceful protest when they dumped the tea into the harbor because they caused damage to property and angered the British a lot. Today’s day in age, people that wish to protest have a right to and will not be punished unless it is violent or breaks a different law.
Questions: As I read through the first section of this story I noticed that the first whole chapter was just naming people and their jobs/roles in the revolution. There was a lot about the Indians and for a while I was confused as to why the author felt it necessary to go into so much detail about it. Later on in about chapter 2-3 I realized that chapter 1 was pretty much just facts and cluing the reader in on what was going on in the time period. Now that I realize that it was just a quick glance at the history behind the war it makes a lot more sense, however, for a while, I was extremely confused.
TLH Through their eyes: Looking at things from the colonists’ point of view seems like a simple thing for the British Parliament to have done, but obviously they did not try to understand their point of view. The colonists felt that it was unfair that they were being taxed unfairly just for Britain’s gain. They had no say in the matter because they were not fairly represented and the enormous amount of space between Britain and the colonies did not help the lack of communication. Had the British stepped back and tried to figure out why the colonists were so unhappy with them, maybe they would have saved a lot of time, lives, and resources that they wasted in the war. Because they did not try to communicate with the colonists, the colonists were outraged and began to protest and eventually had a war because of it.
Turning Points: A major turning point for the American Revolution was obviously the Boston Tea Party. This was the first time the colonists were so outraged that they damaged property and angered a lot of other people. They needed to do something to get England’s attention and this was the way they chose. Although, this got them into a lot of trouble and cost them a lot of money, it was still a major turning point in the war because it was the first time they really let England know how unhappy they were and England actually realized it.
Melanie Nuthals Blog 2
ReplyDeleteBig Idea/Generalizations: Looking at the war from start to finish it is clear how much the colonists risked in making many of the choices they did. They risked a lot to get the freedom they received. The colonists started a new trend by wanting rights for each person and actually making that possible with the way the government was set up. The war was more than just fighting the taxes or unfair representation, it was fighting for their rights that they felt they should have and ultimately deserved. Looking back on it now, people see how brave the colonists were in making that decision to fight against one of the most powerful countries all because they wanted freedom. Without their bravery and fabulous ideas of freedom we would not be the country we are today.
Visualize: Reading chapter 7 made me realize how much thought went into creating the documents that hold up our government to this day. I can see the men standing around the tables tossing out many ideas to be written on the sheets of paper that would later become so important to our country. Visualizing what must have been going on in the country at that time is astounding. The panic people must have felt not knowing what their new government had in store. Or the excitement about being free and knowing they had just won. It is a lot to think about and a large turning point for the United States of America.
TLH Change and Continuity: Obviously after the war ended the colonies did not belong the England anymore. Besides that they had to stir up a whole new way to run a country. They didn’t want the same problems that they had with England so the colonists had to make the changes they wanted and keep the things they liked. The biggest changes/additions that they made were the unalienable rights. These rights are what make people “free”. America would soon benefit greatly from these new ideas, as well as other countries. Many would look at the USA and use it as an example of what can be done if you try.
Cause and Effect: There were many examples of cause and effect throughout the revolution. The most important example was that when the Colonies were with England they had very limited freedom and representation, the effect was that now that they were free they planned to make everyone as free as possible. They wanted people to have the representation and rights they deserved. This was the biggest change that America faced.
Blog #2
ReplyDelete-Reading thoughts-
Big idea:
Congress, House of Representatives, and the President. Are we not the same as we were under the British rule? WRONG! We are not the same. The President may have great power, but he can not make people do his bidding (maybe he can), but to pass any law it must go through the poeple (HoR, and Congress). The people risked everything they had to have a voice in this country. The colonist (mere pawns) to the British stood up for themselves such as a bully victim stands up and talks to a counselor or maybe lands a few on the bully. It was the bravery of this country that could have let the people of this modern day and age and even back then to have a voice may it be a mouse squeak or a lions roar. it was a voice. That is our freedom.
Predict:
Indians who had gotten their land stolen already for the most part and their only protection from getting more stolen away is helping the British. Really they had no choice. Two situations were they lost their land to the colonist or they fought by the side of the British and kept their land if the British won at least. although rather there was a third situation which was to get stabbed in the back by the British. It was a real rough scenario for the Indians. They were going to lose in many ways.
-TLH-
Cause and Effect:
False taxation without representation, which is the cause that had effected the colonist to act in many different ways. There was the Stamp Act which was to pay for soldiers stationed in the Americas after the Seven year war. After the Seven year war the soldiers were not needed, and the Colonist could have held their own yet Britain was making money off of the stamp act. To counter that the Colonist had sent petitions and the Sons of Liberty came to life. That Taxation without representation led to big things for the rebellious colonist. it was a switch sort to speak.
Through their eyes:
If the British had thought about their plans a little more thoroughly and cared for their colonies a little more they could of had something big going for them. The America was like a giant stock that the British held and made very good profit out of, but if you see through the eyes of the colonist it would be agonizing. To have to pay taxes that the people in British didn't have to because of soldiers they didn't need were stocked up in the Americas was pretty wrong. If the British had known it sooner maybe they would've stopped or maybe they would've taxed harder, but through the colonist's eyes it was probably some of the most unjust things the British could have done.