Blog #3 - Pick one to answer and dig DEEEEEEEP!

This past week or so, we have been revisiting a sad chapter in American history - the settling of the American frontier and the costs to the Native Americans. Many questions came up in our discussions. One of them was:

1. When it looked hopeless for the Indians, would you go down fighting and sacrifice your tribe, family and beliefs? Or, would you agree to go to the reservation knowing that there's a possibility that your tribe might be giving up their way of life, religion, language etc.? Why?

2. Another question was posed after we measured out the interior of a typical modest sod house. Would you be able to handle it? Why or why not? Don't forget the animals, the pleasant smells, the crowded conditions and all that fun stuff.

Here's a couple of stanzas from a song called "The Little Old Sod Shanty of the Claim":

'I am looking rather seedy now, while holding down my claim,
And my
victuals are not always served the best;
And the mice play shyly 'round me
as I nestle down to sleep,
In my little old sod shanty on the claim.



But when I left my Eastern home, a bachelor so gay,
To try to win my way to wealth and fame,
I little thought that I'd come
down to burning twisted hay,
In my little old sod shanty on the claim.

3. What makes America unique? Was it the frontier like Turner said so in 1893? Or is it our reliance on democracy and capitalism? Or is it our stress on the rights of the individual? Or, are we just fooling ourselves and making ourselves out to bigger and better than any other nation in the world, in fact, history b/c we happen to be the most powerful economic and military force in the world at the moment?

Here's an article written by Dinesh D'Souza called "What Makes America Unique". http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/whaat.htm

Sources:

Nez Perce Pics - http://www.nativeamericans.com/NativeAmericanImages5.htm

Sod House pic and song source - http://www.rootsweb.com/~kscomanc/diamond_jubilee.html

Blog #2 - Pick one of the following and dig deeply!

We brought up some really interesting things in our discussions of the Civil War and Reconstruction last week and this week. For instance, was the policy of total war waged by Sherman in Georgia (burning houses, killing livestock and destroying railroads in their march towards Savannah from Atlanta in the fall of 1864) justified against the Southern people? In other words, should the Southern people be stopped from helping the Confederates by providing food, clothes, and other material that could prolong the war? Why or why not? And how much is too much? Do you start killing civilians?

Another burning question we ran into was one about whether or not the South should be forgiven or punished for rebelling? What do you think?


A third question we examined is: who is really to blame in the Hurricane Katrina debacle? The federal, state or city government? All three? The people who stayed? What about the people who couldn't leave? Why did it take so long for help to get to the Gulf Coast region when FEMA got help to Florida rather quickly in 2004 after their four huge hurricanes?

Lastly, what about the N-word? Should it ever be used? By whom? When and why? Consider the history of the word and the power behind it. Even though the NAACP held a burial for it this summer, does that mean it's really dead?


Pic 1 - a "Sherman necktie" - a railroad tie superheated and then bent out of shape by Union soldiers in 1864, usually wrapped around trees.

Pic 2 - Flooded New Orleans from BBS News - http://bbsnews.net/bbsn_photos/topics/hurricane_katrina/uscg_new_orleans_under_water20050829.jpg
Pic 3 - NAACP funeral in Detroit for the N-Word - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19680493/

Pick one of the three questions to answer and dig deeply. I think you'll need at least 200 words to answer this one. Due Wednesday, Sept. 19.