ipl-logo

Summary Of We Could Have Been Canada By Adam Gopnik

975 Words4 Pages

Gopnik creates an argument about the problems of American history and its truthfulness. Specifically the Revolutionary War, he enlightens the truths of the violence and gore of the time period. Using characters like the Whigs and the Patriots he sheds light on the true story. As America moves forward throughout history he argues the importance of stop glorifying what truly was a horror. Contrasting Gopnik’s argument the American Revolutionary War is one of great pride all Americans should take part in. Casting away from his insights the true American patriotic behavior is one that outshines many because it can never be taken from them. Adam Gopnik writes an article for The New Yorker titled “We Could Have Been Canada”. In his work he argues the many reasons why he believes that the Revolutionary War was a terrible misinterpreted idea of many Americans. He creates the idea of how America has been taught to defend ourselves with patriotism. This is contrary to Canada always trying to work …show more content…

Can anyone truly believe this tho? What is exhilarating about fearing for one’s life? These leaders had their right to not sacrifice their lives. They may not be as brave as those many men who did, but it is not to say in a way of unpatriotic actions. It is not that those rebels didn’t care, but rather chose to preserve themselves for better use. One of the best points Gopnik makes focuses on the education of the Revolution. It is true, the education system does sugar coat the gore and violence. Not that it is a tragedy, but it does need to be elaborated as what it was. Yes, the Revolution was a gory, bloody, and rageful. This needs to be shown in its true form to all ages of American education. No, this does not mean the Revolution was terrible because it was gory, most wars are. Yet, having education of this matter is better than non at

Show More
Related
1042 Words | 5 Pages

In 1776, one of the most popular and well known founding fathers led the fight for independence in the royal colonies. In David Hackett Fischer’s book, “Washington’s Crossing”, he describes the troubles and even the unknowns of Washington’s experiences during the Revolutionary War. Fischer goes into detail about the first approach of the British as their massive naval fleet surrounds the state of New York all the way up to the point when the British became the defensive force rather than the offensive. “Washington’s Crossing” illustrates how the American Revolution wasn’t just pure success as at the beginning of the war, the Americans took many losses that almost completely crushed the revolution entirely. However, eventually the tides would

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

A little after the Seven Years War, the people of Canada wanted to get their independence from Britain since the British were the ones controlling them. Canada was also afraid of the United States attacking or invading them and the British had been pushed out of the United States after the Revolutionary War. Canada did not want to become a part of the United States, they saw the United States moving west and they thought they were going to move north into Canada. To get the independence they wanted from the British they had to go through rebellions and they had tomake resolutions. Canada’s road to become an independent country can be considered evolutionary and/or revolutionary through the resolutions and the rebellions leading up to Canada becoming independent.

Read More
137 Words | 1 Pages

Gordon S. Wood, “the preeminent historian of the Revolution”, is a well known American historian who has received several awards such as the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prize for his historical books. In his book, The American Revolution: A History, he breaks down the key events based on his experiences and knowledge on the Revolutionary period. Wood was born in Concord, Massachusetts on November 27,1933. Wood teaches at many liberal renowned universities such as Brown, Cambridge, Northwestern , and Harvard. Now being eighty one years old, he recently retired from Brown University and lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

Joe Rosenthal is a photographer whose photo, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, has become one of the most recognizable photos in American history. It became so famous that it won a Pulitzer Prize the same year it was taken, used to create the Marine Corps War Memorial, and used as the photo for a war-bond poster in 1945 which raised $26 billion (Pulitizer). As such, I argue that this photo illustrates the brutality of the fighting that occurred on not only Iwo Jima, but throughout World War II, and also makes a strong argument for the theory of liberalism. However, first it is important to identify what exactly makes this photo so revered and why it was selected.

Read More
857 Words | 4 Pages

America’s battle for independence was a long, hard-fought war that began even before the American Revolution. Since the Sugar Act of 1764, America had shown signs of rebellion, each outburst getting worse as tensions rose between the Colonies and Britain. The novel 1776, by David McCullough, takes off in 1775, just after the Revolutionary War has begun. Closely following Washington, the novel takes the reader to the trenches to experience their losses, retreats, stalemates, and glorious victories. McCullough covers a wide variety of themes, ranging from military tactics, to the core government behind British Society.

Read More
1031 Words | 5 Pages

In “A Revolutionary People at War”, Charles Royster has developed a complex and in-depth thesis regarding the American Revolution. The book dives into the minds of the American people as it conveys the American character displayed throughout the Revolution. His book is multi-faceted, focusing on a number of themes that are beautifully intertwined. He discusses the prevailing American character during the American Revolution. The book studies the ideals of the American people during the revolution and how those ideals impacted the way the Continental Army was organized and how the Revolution was fought.

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

Paddle to Canada Analysis In the story “Paddle to Canada” by Heather Monley, a happy family self destructs over time. The narrator recalled an adventurous family caught in a storm while canoeing on a lake. After the frightening experience, the parents and children safely made it to shore and were able to find the amusement in the situation. This fond memory changed after the parents divorced.

Read More
805 Words | 4 Pages

1.)Summary- Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 and was considered to be an aristocrat by Tennessee standards though not as educated or cultured. He was enlisted when he was thirteen for the revolution and after losing his family, he received his land in North Carolina. He studied law amongst playing cards and gambling and was admitted to the bar at age twenty. When returning to Tennessee for a visit he found himself a place amongst the new aristocrats, a usual occurrence for the farmer to become upper class. With a bit of an aggressive temperament, when calm he was gentlemanly and graceful.

Read More
1167 Words | 5 Pages

The chapters of our textbook, America: A Narrative History, written by George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi, takes us on a historical yet comparative journey of the road to war and what caused the American Revolution, an insight into the war itself, and a perception to what life was like in America after the war was over. The essays of the book, America Compared: American History in International Perspective, collected by Carl J. Guarneri gives us a global context and a comparison between the North and South Americas in the dividing issues of labor, slavery, taxes, politics, economy, liberty, and equality. Part One These chapters in our textbook Tindall describes; the road to the American Revolution, the road to the surrendering of the British, and the road to the American colonists receiving their independence and developing the government which the people of the United States will be governed by. The road to the American Revolution consisted of several events, which escalated to the war that began April 19, 1775, as the tensions between the American colonies and the British Government advanced towards breaking point.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

“The Father of American History,” William Bradford, in an excerpt, titled “Starving Time,” from his historical book, describes the Separatist’s difficult first winter. Bradford’s purpose is to convey the events of this winter to younger generations and identify the men who got them through it to future generations. He adopts a serious and contemplative tone in order to begin an education on the Separatist’s journey for the future generations. Throughout this excerpt, Bradford uses multiple rhetorical strategies, such as the pathos appeal, imagery and diction, and the ethos appeal, to achieve his purpose of enlightening the younger generations on past events. Bradford emphasizes the situation in his historical text by utilizing a pathos appeal

Read More
887 Words | 4 Pages

“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind” (Paine 1). With the Revolutionary War beginning in 1775, and the publication of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, only a year later, this statement was widely recognized and addressed the issue at hand: the fight for independence. According to Paine’s assertion, America’s desire for peace and freedom is a basic necessity of life; it is what all men desire. Despite this innate thirst for liberty, many residents of America’s thirteen colonies were fearful of Great Britain, and because of this fear, complied with Great Britain’s every whim. Consequently, most colonists were hesitant to fight against the mother country for independence.

Read More
225 Words | 1 Pages

“Why Canada has to beat its Literacy Problem” an essay by June Callwood is about the illiteracy problem that Canada faces. This essay dictates how bad it is for people with the inability to read. “death in life” is what Edwin Newman called illiteracy, who is a U.S broadcaster that writes about language. It is said in the essay that people that are illiterate, lead a life of bluff, anxiety, embarrassment, and isolation. This is very important because they don’t ask for help.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

When Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier stated, “As the 19th century was that of the United States, so I think the 20th century shall be filled by Canada”, the decades that followed provided his statement to be true as Canada became an independent and strong nation. The battlefields in World War One were a defining moment for Canada as their forces fought as one nation for the first time, instead of under British Command. Also, at the end of the war, Canada was recognized at the Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles as an independent country. In addition, Canada joined the League of Nations, playing a major role in world politics. These events in the early 20th century allowed the beginning of a strong nation with a growing national

Read More
427 Words | 2 Pages

In the book Canada continuity and Change, and sources, shows that before 1969 the immigration was not allowed in the country that much, by in the 1970s many Canadians felt the immigration policy needed to be changed. Many Canadians believed that immigration should choose immigration based on the need for workers with specific skills, it does not matter which country people were from. In 1976, the Canadian government created new immigration policy, which is the point system. Immigration who left their country in critical situation the Point System was not fair, for the following reason. Firstly, it’s was not fair, in the point system one of the points that you must had a relative or family member in Canada, but for

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

What might also shock you is that some people think that we were fighting the revolutionary war against the French. Interesting, I guess that is how they teach it in high school these days. Did these adults actually learn anything

Read More

More about Summary Of We Could Have Been Canada By Adam Gopnik

Related Topics

Open Document