In Part One of American Colonies, author Alan Taylor accentuates the natural disharmonies that transpired due to humanity, throughout the colonization of the New World. Taylor attributes humans as the most endangering species to the environment, both Native Americans and the settlers. Prior to and during the settlement of the North American colonies, all of humanity’s survival depended on the environment and how they used it. If the Natives or the settlers did not use their surrounding to the fullest advantage, themselves or others potentially could die. The first example of environmental demise that Taylor illustrated was the “…the extinction [of] two-thirds of all New World species…including the giant beaver, mammoth…” and others,” (Taylor 8).
In 1746, an 8.5 earthquake struck about 50 miles north of Lima Peru, devastating the city. The earthquake then caused a tsunami that would destroy the port city Callao half an hour later. Many lives were lost, some to being crushed under the rubble of adobe buildings they lived in, some to the flooding, and some to the subsequent fallout of disease and hazardous living conditions. The loss of life totaled into the thousands. Charles Walker’s Shaky Colonialism, published in 2008, uses these natural disasters to closely examine the socio-political layers of colonial Latin American history.
There have been several noteworthy pieces of architecture from Virginia’s past, all in which were compelling and greatly contributing to the American Revolution. Amidst these are the Governor’s Palace, Gunpowder Magazine, Capitol, and Bruton Parish Church. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will make a commemorative coin honoring one of these historical structures. Among these buildings, the most relevant, historically influential, and the most related to Williamsburg’s vision statement is undoubtedly the Capitol. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation should make a coin commemorating the Capitol.
James Henry Hammond and the Old South A Design for Mastery by Drew Gilpin Faust Southern civilization and society regarded many accomplishments and actions in highly while regarding others lowly. Political success, social status, land tenure, family connections and wealth are the most important and sought after attributes of measuring success among the old southern society. Qualities that are treated negatively among the old southern society included sexual misconduct, family conflicts, unionist political ideals and general disrespect towards other members of the society. James Henry Hammond was an unusual character who embodied both sides of the positives and negatives of the old southern society. James Henry Hammond was a southern man who exhibited both the positive values of success and prestige as well as exhibiting negative values that brought shame and humiliation among his family and the South Carolina society during his lifetime.
In the chapter “Geography Matters”, Thomas C. Foster explains the effect of geography on a story. Geography contributes greatly to themes, symbols, and plot, and most authors prefer to use setting as a general area with a detailed landscape rather than a specific city or landmark. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, he does not reveal the actual region of America that the man and boy are traveling in, but describes the mountains and eventual beaches of their path. McCarthy might not have revealed their location because it might ruin the reader’s interpretation of the setting. For example, the pair come across a generic “gap” between mountains and this is a turning point because it confirms the man’s planned path to the south.
Gall Peters Map In the episode “Cartographers for Social Equality,” from the TV series West Wing, Dr. John Fallow, Dr. Cynthia Sales, and Prof. Donald Huke a group of map makes that work for the Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality are presenting what they believe is the right map to eliminates bias towards 3rd world countries. They are requesting that the President replace the Mercator map with the Peter’s Projection map and make it mandatory map for all U.S. Schools. Their presentation is to convince the White House Press secretary C.J Cregg and White House Deputy Chief of Staff to explain their request on replacing the Mercator map.
I am delighted to recommend Jamestown to Appomattox: Mapping US History with GIS by Bunin and Esposito. This book is a valuable resource to use when applying it to geographic thinking to history. The book consists of GIS lessons that are ready to be used in the classroom. The lesson plans engage and expand the students learning by getting them to think about history while focusing on the geography and movement behind the historical and geographical story. After completing the lesson students can see how things change over time.
Colonial life for early Americans was not what they originally anticipated. For a long time, they had to struggle to survive. When they came to America they were looking to be free from religious persecution. They wanted to be able to start a new life in this New World. They eventually created a thriving group of colonies, but their success did not come easy.
In James W. Loewen’s “The Land of Opportunity,” he states that social class affects the way children are raised. He discusses the inequality in today’s society and how the textbooks in high school do not give any social class information. The students in today’s time are not taught everything they should be taught. He states that your family’s wealth is what makes up your future. Loewen discusses that people with more money can study for the SATs more productively and get a better score than someone who has less money.
Westward Expansion The idea of westward expansion was a pivotal point in our nation’s history. People were looking for something new and exciting. They found it in the form of adventure, excitement, fame, and untold riches! Two key events played a role in the move to push colonists farther into new territory.
John Hope Franklin's Frontier Thesis is one of the most influential works in the history of American historiography. Franklin's thesis argued that the American West was a crucial factor in the development of the United States, and it has had a lasting impact on how historians think about American history. In this essay, I will discuss the significance of John Hope Franklin's Frontier Thesis in American historiography, as well as its legacy in contemporary scholarship. The thesis by B Bynum in The Lancet in 2008 introduced the concept of evidence-based healthcare, which is now a widely accepted core principle of healthcare. Bynum argued medical decisions should be based on the best evidence, which could come from a variety of sources.
There are other abolitionist elements included in Walker’s appeal, especially in his stance against the popular colonizing plan that would have the entire African American population boarded onto ships and sent to Africa. Walker is vehemently against any such plan, no matter how the idea is pitched since “this country is as much ours as it is the whites, whether they will admit it now or not.” He immediately picks out one of the more obvious fallacies with the colonization plan to hone in on: that the people on that ship will not have been directly from Africa, rather they were born and raised in the United States. Walker is staking a claim and ownership in the country, something that as he mentions, is not a popular, or common, view. This
Ian Lawson’s (Lawson) Bastard Territory conveys difficult subject matters through the use of enriched dramatic elements, conventions and skills however the audience is still able to remain engaged and entertained throughout with such humour and amusing interplay. This is portrayed through three significant moments during the play. The first being in Act One ‘Play Within the Play’ followed by ‘Lois’ Exit’ in Act Two and finally ‘Neville’s Heart’ in Act Three. Throughout these moments in the play, the difficult subject matters and issues that are portrayed are, discrimination of class, dysfunctional families and dealing with loss. Lawson clearly utilizes the dramatic elements, conventions and skills though difficult subject matters with entertaining
Henry the Navigator dreamed of gaining new people to convert to Christianity in lands unexplored by Europeans. In 1415 he payed for and planned expeditions from Lisbon that sailed further and further down the western coast of Africa. In 1444 Hennery and his men Arrived to what is now Mauritania and began carrying slaves back to Lisbon for conversion and sale.
Book Review How to lie with Maps, Mark Monmonier (Second Eddition, 1996) Mark Monmonier’s book titled how to lie with maps is a short, concise, informative but humorous guide to how map makers influence a map readers perspective on the world through subtle as well as obvious manipulation of the map itself and the input of elements. He discusses his points through thirteen short chapters in which he effectively conveys his argument for why he believes ‘an accurate map must tell white lies’ in order to present a ‘useful picture.’ At the start of each chapter he outlines his points of discussion he then goes on to suggests the basic principals before supporting his idea through the use of interesting case studies and simple illustrations. With a title as striking as Monmonier’s it would be difficult to argue that his book is anything except an in-depth explanation as to how maps lie through distortion.
