Chapter 11

I think the technological improvements that happened during 1840 to 1860, were extremely important and necessary for the United States to move further economically. For example, the steam engine, the cotton gin, the reaper, the sewing machine, and the telegraph all helped to make life for Americans easier. It also helped them to be more efficient in their work. This also increased production, which raised the standard of living. This was also the time when more efficient cultivation and fertilization methods improved. This was important because it meant that less repetition was necessary and that more work could be done at a faster pace. This meant that there was more money that could be made as well.

Not to mention the railroad; the railroad changed everything. It changed the way people traveled and it was much faster than taking a horse. People living in both the east and the west were now connected because of the rail lines. This had not been possible before and I’m sure it was a lot more difficult to travel far distances by horse. Even though the railroad was not even close to perfection in its’ earliest stages, it was a major upgrade nonetheless from horse buggies. This also changed the import and export system. The ways in which products were brought into or left the United States, changed a great deal because now there was a reduction in the use of canals. Railroads helped cities thrive and become quite prosperous because of the influx of people coming and going. This also increased the population, as well as the value of farmland.

Another reason why this chapter was so important is because technology helped improve people’s lives by lowering prices and increasing workers’ incomes. Although some areas noticed greater increases than others, everything was affected as a result. Women and children were now being given opportunities to work for money and could help contribute to their household income. Men were no longer the sole breadwinners of the family.

Machine-made furniture made living at home more comfortable and stoves helped speed the process of cooking, as well as attaining different tastes and types of foods. More people had access to luxuries that only the rich had been able to afford. But at the same time, the poor only got poorer. Their situation only worsened and their counterparts became richer. There was an improvement in houses, where they became larger and more elaborate.

What worried me was when I read that some people barely took even one bath in a whole year. No wonder they had so many diseases and health problems. It was because of uncleanliness and how dirty their living situation was. I was somewhat shocked to hear how the transportation revolution increases the danger of diseases. I understand now, how quickly this could happen especially when so many people used to live in such tight spaces, in addition to the filth everywhere.

Although the discovery of anesthesia was a major benefit, the fact that surgeons and doctors didn’t wash their hands defeated the whole purpose of anesthesia. This was also the time when they realized that eating healthy played a major role in your health and well-being. Although I don’t think that everyone caught on because people today, still don’t even understand how important it is to eat healthy and exercise.

Americans could now spend time enjoying themselves by playing games and sports, instead of doing the mundane activities in their life. Theaters were now very popular, but they had a very bad reputation; not at all how things are today.

The American Renaissance was the movement that got Americans more interested in books and literary works. This was a time when people started to create stories and try to understand the human mind, instead of just focusing on social relationships. Poetry started to bloom at this time as well.   

Chapter 8 - The War of 1812

The War of 1812 began in the summer of 1812, when the Americans launched a series of unsuccessful attacks on Canada and ended in the spring of 1814. In July of 1812, General William Hull led an American army from Detroit into Canada, but quickly returned when Tecumseh cut his supply line. He surrendered Detroit and 2,000 men to 1,300 British and Indian troops.

         At the fall of 1812, the Battle of Queenston, the 2^nd battle by Americans turned out to be unsuccessful. The 3^rd attack fell apart when the Americans again refused to enter into Canada, at Montreal. Americans realized they could not retake Detroit while the British still had control of Lake Erie.

On September 10th, 1813, a homemade American fleet destroyed British aircrafts near Lake Erie. The British then pulled out of Detroit, but American forces under General William Henry Harrison overtook and defeated a combined British-Indian force at the Battle of the Thames on October 5^th. 

British received reinforcements from Europe in the summer of 1814. 10,000 British soldiers were led by General Sir George Prevost in an attempt to split New England from the rest of the country. The British met American forces at Plattsburgh on September 11th and were defeated.

On August 24th, 1814, the British army met a larger American force at Bladensburg, Maryland. American troops fled and the British went into Washington. British troops burned the presidential mansion and other public buildings in the capital. A few weeks later, the British tried to attack Baltimore, but failed to get through its defenses and gave up as a result.

The Treaty of Ghent on Christmas Eve in 1814, ended the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States. It restored the status quo, the existing state of affairs, so the United States neither gained nor lost territory. 2 weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed, Andrew Jackson’s troops defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, not knowing that a peace treaty had already been signed. The Federalists wanted to secede from the Union, but not all of them agreed on this. The Hartford Convention was seen as unpatriotic and led to an end to Federalists.

Chapter 7

It was very unfortunate and sad to read about how the Native Americans, the Cherokees, kept getting their land taken away from them and how their population continued to decrease. If I was alive in the 1780’s, I probably would have been afraid of the president having too much power as well. Now I have a better understanding of why there is a Senate and Congress, which is separate from the President.

I also learned about the Bill of Rights, which gives people the most basic and necessary freedoms. I think we are very lucky and fortunate to have the Bill of Rights in this country so that we can do as we please, more or less, without being afraid of what might happen to us. I think 1790 was the beginning of when the United States started to accumulate debt, but little could they have predicted that it would still exist today, but to a much greater degree.

This sentence was particularly interesting to me, “Hamilton advocated a perpetual debt as a lasting means of uniting the economic fortunes of the nation’s creditors to the United States. This meant that there would continuously be debt and that it would never really get paid off. I thought this was very strange because I would want to get any debt paid off as soon as possible.

I agree with this sentence, “Madison and others maintained that to allow residents of the laggard states to escape heavy taxes was to reward irresponsibility.” I agree because it’s not fair to let states that owe money, get off easy without having to pay what they owe. Their irresponsibility is rewarded, which would make them think that it’s okay to be dishonest.

I was so shocked when I read that Americans drank “an average of six gallons of hard liquor per adult per year.” This is a lot of alcohol. I don’t know how people could function properly if they were drinking this much. Then I read about the Whiskey Rebellion, where people didn’t want to be taxed on their liquor so they burned buildings and attacked tax collectors.

This sentence made me feel somewhat upset and angry, ”Elected officials, they maintained, should rule in the people’s name but be independent of direct popular influence.” My understanding of this sentence is that Federalists believed that elected officials should not be affected by how popular they were among the general public. Why would you want someone to represent you or your city or state, if you don’t feel like they’re doing a good job in advocating for what you want?

I think that the Alien and Sedition Acts were very important because it meant that you had to “respect the rights of enemy citizens.” But this makes me think of Guantanamo Bay, which is very controversial. I think it’s could to keep enemies in a place separate from their homeland, if it is too dangerous for them to stay there. However, I don’t think that anybody should be tortured no matter what crime they may have committed. I do believe they should receive their fair punishment, but it should be humane and it’s important to not commit the same crimes that they may have committed otherwise, you are equal to them.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 was a very informative chapter for me because I never knew about the Articles of Confederation and what it meant.  It was good for me to learn how a government is created, from the very early stages because it takes a lot of time and energy to try to make as many people happy as possible. I also didn’t know what the original 13 colonies were, but now I understand what it means.

I was sad to hear that the Revolution neither ended slavery nor brought equality to free blacks. I know more and more people were opposing slavery so I assumed that at least one of those would have happened as a result. I was reading about Phillis Wheatley and her poems. I think she made a very good connection between the freedoms that White Americans wanted and the liberty of slaves.

I was reading about the Native Americans and I didn’t like how in the chapter, they said, “Thus, Native Americans did not hold stubbornly to traditional ways, but they did insist on retaining control of their communities and ways of life. “ (pg.133) When they say stubborn, that is more of an opinion. Why would someone want to leave their traditional ways if that’s what they’ve been doing for a very long time? The author makes it seem like it was bad for them to want to hold on to their traditions and their people.

I also think that because of slavery, African Americans were not able to learn some of the things that White Americans did because they weren’t given the opportunity. This is quite unfortunate because I know that multi racial groups today, are the ones that are most affected in the educational system. I was wondering if there is a correlation between this and any other discrimination that people may have faced in the past, not just during the Revolution.

Thomas Paine Quote

“Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer...”

― Thomas Paine, Common Sense

 

I felt like this quote best represents Chapter 6 because this was the time when the Constitution was being created from the Articles of Confederation. The original 13 colonies wanted a government, but they all had different ideas of what they had wanted. It is because they went through so many trials and errors, that the United States has its’ government today. It took a long time to get this far, but even though it is still not perfect, I’m sure it is much better than what is was back then.

This new government brought war and people were dying, which is why it is evil, according to Thomas Paine’s quote above. This quote to me, is saying that the countries that don’t have a government have the same problems as countries that do have a government. I think that all countries start at the same place. No single country is ahead of any other country. We all want the same thing. We all want to be happy and live in peace. By fighting and going to war, we are doing harm to ourselves. That is what the last part of the quote is trying to help us to understand.

I also learned that more and more people started to oppose slavery. I think the creation of a new government is what was mainly responsible for the antislavery movement being so successful. If the original 13 colonies hadn’t fought and tried to create a government, what would have happened to the slaves? I always think that everything happens for a reason.

Yay-I`m done :D