Chapter 3

         The chapter 3 of the book is related to the rise of colonial America and the expansion and diversity which the American society faced when English expanded in the lands of North America. It was very important for me to learn how colonies at Chesapeake established themselves while relying on the basis of one single cash crop of tobacco. It was interesting to analyze that how the cultivation of tobacco helped and shaped up the Chesapeake region in a big plantation system along with their dependence on the institution of slavery where African slaves worked for them under harshly intense living conditions.

            The establishment of a ‘city upon a hill’ in Massachusetts Bay by the Puritans in order to serve as a model to the world is something that raised my level of interest in reading of the chapter. Their religious society of New England was threatened and challenged by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. The expansion of the White people steadily affected the existence of the Native Americans which led to the conflicts like the Pequot War and King Philips War. Both wars proved to be bitter and costly. The establishment of the Half Way Covenant relaxed the standards that were related to the church membership.  This resulted in the end of New England way and the Salem witchcraft trials served as an event which made visible the deep existing divisions within the society.

            It was also very knowledgeable for me to read about how the agriculture and plantation resulted in the shaping up of slavery in both the Caribbean and Carolina. The Caribbean colonies which were largely dependent on the cultivation of the crop of sugar cane evolved a very harsh version of plantation slavery. Similar was the case in Carolina where planation of rice crops and the existence of severe form of slavery emerged. In my view it was unfortunate for the black majority of population who had to face cruel situations in the form of slavery. The enslavement of tens of thousands of Indians by the Carolinians is something that visibly reveals the cruelty of the White American population of the era.

            The reading of the chapter also provided me with much information about the Middle Colonies where the New Netherland Colony which was conquered by the English gave rise to an historic religious and ethnic diversity and how by the end of seventeenth century, the Middle Colonies emerged as the fastest growing region of America. The analysis and learning about the development of the French and Spanish empires in seventeenth century and their dependence on trade and sharing of good relations with Native Americans was also an informative read for me. The efforts of Spanish for their presence in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico and the resistance they faced because of Pueblo Revolt have been really revealing. The outnumbering of English rivals in early eighteenth century by the non-native population of England’s North American colonies has been a source of much information for me as well. 

Chapter 5

The reading of the chapter 5 has enlightened me on various significant events of the mid eighteenth century. I learned a lot about the time when most of the Anglo Americans considered it as their duty to assist Great Britain against its enemies. I was not aware that French people were also one of the ones who could threaten the American colonies because of their stronghold in Canada. The victory of Great Britain in Seven Years War and France ceded a larger part of its empire to British is an important event about which now I realize  became a major work of friction between Britain and its colonies.

I also learned a great deal about how Britain took up steps for its imperial reorganization. The way Britain attempted to increase revenues from colonies during 1760’s through Sugar and Stamp Acts was surely something that could raise hatred for the British by the Native Americans. I believe the open resistance which the colonists showed after the crisis of Stamp Act was a major move by them and proved to be a stepping stone to make British aware of the hatred that was present for them among the colonists. The increasing of tensions between both British and the colonists became more visible after the Quartering and the Townshend Acts. I was not aware about the creation of British board of Customs Commissioners and the corruption of the commissioners. The reading of the chapter really gave me a clear insight that how dishonest activities in the board became the target of the growing anger of the colonists.

The major event like that of Boston Massacre added much to the conflict. The British attempt to aid East India Company with regard to merchandising of tea led colonists to examine the imperial relationship and alarmed the Americans on a much wider level. The colonists who defied Britain’s continuous steps for raising revenue on behalf of imposed taxes showed their strong opposition through Boston Tea Party. It was interesting for me to see how colonists showed their anger towards British Parliamentary acts and how the Coercive Acts that were approved by Parliament in their response to Tea Party, triggered the action of  First Continental Congress which revealed the final coordinated start of action against the continuous colonial resistance. I also understood well that how the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 transformed the conflict on both sides into a big armed resistance. The convening of the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the efforts of Americans for reconciliation with King George III raised my interest to learn more. I discovered that the Battle of Bunker Hill and the establishment of the Continental Army was enough to convince British that Americans do not want any reconciliation. The “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine was a direct attack on the British dominion. I believe the Declaration of Independence in July really came as a significant turning point for the future of American generations to come.

Extra Credit Chapter 19

      The reading of Chapter 19 of the book has been very helpful for providing me a clear understanding of how the effects of Immigration during the late 19^th century confronted the Native Americans with the ethnic and class differences. I was not very much aware about how a flood of immigrants crowded in ghettos was not appreciated by the local Americans. It was interesting for me to learn that the wealthy and class conscious Americans created fashionable enclaves and the middle class shifted to suburbs branding the immigrants as people who were racially inferior.  The native born Americans stress for their commitment to the  Victorian moral ideals, applying new standards of living within the society by developing  lavish departmental stores and aesthetically designed houses has been something that made clear to me the general sense of the separation between two classes existing in the society of the times. The creation of new educational institutions and expansion of number of high schools is something that truly reflected for me the prevalent Victorian morality which emphasized in manners and decorum.

            In addition to that, I noticed a sharp contrast among the newly immigrated people who developed their own political machines for their acquisition of work. The efforts of the corrupt political bosses who handed out jobs to the immigrants were outshined by the reformers blaming the immigrants for their own problems. I noticed that efforts of people like Jacob Riss, Jane Adamms who worked for the improvement of the urban conditions were attacked by Anthony Comstock who tried to attack the immigrant cultures and values in their effort to Americanize them.

            While reading the chapter I also observed a stark difference of class conflict in each and everything. There is an element of controversy in sports which became a big business and a significant part of the consumerism. The Upper and Middle American class fought what they perceived as indecent lower class recreation and mostly held an upper hand in these clashes. I was amazed to learn that despite the fact of having superior hand significant conflicts emerged among their own ranks concerning the moral standards.

            The partial resolution in 1900 as a result of the contest between the large immigrant working class and the elite is something that I deem significant. The erosion of Victorian morality and emergence of new standards that resulted in blending of new rules and regulations like behavior and approach in boxing ring and on the field of baseball has been a vital thing for me to study. It was important for me to discover as well that how sports became a lucrative business where mostly the working class immigrants were raised to the levels of being as heroes. I also discovered that the same kind of compromises also occurred in other fields of theaters and music and also the women struggled to escape the bonds of Victorian styles. In my view the disgraceful reputation associated with the working class culture gave rise to the ideas related to the 20^th century mass culture.

Perceptions about the U.S

For much of the 20^th and early twentieth century, United States has been facing many challenges with regard to its strategic relations with other nations of the world. The article explains that how United States has been perceived as a symbol of “Western vision of modernity”. But the changes with the political system in the late 20^th and the early 21^st century have brought America an increased focus on its political life where a growing gap between presidency and electorate is very much evident. In addition to that the credibility of American policies has not only been affected within United States but all across the globe various perceptions of people have also been formed. America’s military misadventures since 1960 and its own financial weaknesses at home have emerged as a fundamental challenge for the nation. The events in the form of 9/11 have changed the ideas of people belonging to other nations and they perceive America in various lights. They are increasingly concerned and overwhelmed at the uncertainty with which America political polarization is shaping up. The weaker societies like that of in Asia are more fearful regarding their future economic and security disparities as America has been facing its own political challenges since the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries which are affecting the global socio economic system at its extremes.  

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/2577:an-unending-crisis-america-in-the-21st-century

Chapter 30

The reading of Chapter 30 of the book has been significant for me in giving me a better understanding about how the social activism in the society of 1960’s gave rise to new changes in the political trends. It was imperative for me to discover that the economic policies of President Reagan led to steep deficits and the strategy of deregulation made the Reagan administration lose sight of the business giving out varied results. I was surprised to learn that besides Reagan’s intense military spending and his second term scandals like Iran –contra, Reagan maintained a high popularity level among the public. I also learned a great deal about how President Reagan met Mikhail Gorbachev of Russia as the Cold War ended, and the situations in the Middle East started to decline with an emerging intense conflict and violence between Palestine and Israel along with an increase over the attacks involving both America and other Western nations.

            I think after the end of Cold War the emergence of new kind of issues like Saddam Husain invading Kuwait and United States and its allies objective to move him out of Kuwait was a major event in the political history of the world as it visibly changed the political scenarios existing in the Middle East. For United States as well, major changes occurred that came in the form of bad recession days to the increased racial tensions. Consequently President Bush paid a heavy price because of ignoring the domestic issues as the people of America elected Bill Clinton as their President in the year 1992.

            In my view the policies which were introduced by Clinton and his concentration on domestic issues along with his economic reform package played a vital role in bringing back America on a much better footing. Clinton’s stance on dismantling of Cold War nuclear arsenals and the proliferation of nuclear weapons are one of the major moves that I would appreciate by him. The reelection of Clinton and his support for tax cuts and presenting a balanced budget really helped achieve America a budget surplus. But the scandal of Monica Lewinsky proved to be of much harm to the overall reputation of the president resulting in his impeachment. It was also another major turning point for American political history as after Clinton’s impeachment President George W Bush got elected.

It was interesting to learn that during 1990’s America also saw rise in stock market numbers and for the time being the factor of unemployment declined. However I think the increase in income inequality is something which affected America and economic trends of the country. On the other hand it was really important for me to discover the cultural changes that were brought about in the 1990 and the rise of media and internet began as a major technological revolution. In fact to me the 1990’s was a decade where not only America but the overall world saw many significant changes that provided firm base for the innovations concerning the future of the world.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act 1990”

Source: Newspaper Article on “The Americans with Disabilities Act 1990” 

In this particular article from 1994, an employee who had been a subject of discrimination for her disability was interviewed. Staff writer Doug Smith from Los Angeles Times interviewed Linda S. Sirlin who is disabled with multiple sclerosis which restrains her from walking properly and even makes her use the wheel chair in times of need.  The interview was conducted in order to find her perspective on whether the Act of 1990 had changed the working environment for people with disabilities.  She mentioned that she had been discriminated against before and after the implement of this law.  She discusses the fact that she has been called to numerous interviews only to find out that she would not be selected due to her disability.  She did some investigation on her own as well, she insists that a loop hole exists in this law because it does not apply to firms which have less than 25 employees.  Upon further research, this law was altered in 1994 to including companies which had 15 or more employees.  But still the fact remains that companies with less than 15 employees will have their way with discrimination and are allowed to discriminate within this law because they don’t have enough employees to be acting under this particular law.  Linda believes that this law has made it harder for her to find a job because small firm employers are afraid to hire employees which might become a liability for them. 

Violla Luizzo

Violla Luizzo

Civil Rights Movements rings a bell of African Americans fighting for their rights in the 1960s but African Americans weren’t the only ones who were fighting for their justice.  There were some key Caucasians involved in the fight as well, hence I have chosen Violla Luizzo for this piece of writing.  She was involved in the memorable and moving march from Selma to Montgomery, this march was being held because hundreds of voters were not allowed to register at Selma courthouse.  In response to this Martin Luther King called people from across the U.S to march from Selma to Montgomery in order to fight for justice.  Violla answered this call and drove by herself from Michigan to Alabama to be a part of this piece of history.

She would go on to Selma watch Dr. King’s speech and drive people back and forth between Selma and Montgomery.  She had dropped off a load of passengers in Selma and was headed back for another round, it was then that she had been pursued by KKK men, she didn’t stop but kept going singing the songs of freedom and chanting “We Shall Overcome” until the pursuers caught up to her car and shot her twice in the head.  An immediate action was taken President Johnson, calling for the arrest of men who had shot Violla.  This is a significant event because a white woman had been killed by KKK and the arrest for these men and charges were filed.  It was rather significant in my eyes because of the fact that this woman had come all the way from Michigan to Alabama just to help the Civil Rights Movement although she wasn’t black, she felt the need to correct this system and bring justice for everyone.