Introduction

Slavery is a system whereby an existing law allows individuals to buy, sell and own other individuals and make them their property. A slave is the legal property of another person and is forced to work for them and obey them. Slavery can be referred to as a person working for another person unwillingly and deprived most of their rights. It is the lack of freedom and public liberty.

According to Northup (2018), slavery started by being kidnapped and being taken to a mysterious place. The whipping followed whereby it was to be done until you could not utter a word about being kidnapped or being a freeman. It included torturing until you adhere to their commands or else kill you. There would be a person in charge who would receive the slaves, oversee the whipping, make sure they are fed and tortured enough. There was a slave pen where all the torture could take place and was done with no clothes on. They would torture you until they could not speak anymore and make sure that you are soar enough to even move. Their goal was to ensure that you never utter the words of freedom entitlement again. Slaves included children who were given away by parents to settle debts. They included families, a mother and her children who could be separated once the trade was done.

The slaves could be transported for long distances, day and night and through oceans, and sold to different masters at different prices. Then the trade could continue to other masters making it a slave market. The masters kept reminding the slaves not to talk of their freedom or else they would be killed. They did not find any wrong in selling a free man to slavery. They did not seem to think of the act as a crime. When the slaves had a chance to communicate they would share their personal lives and some were born free and others as slaves. The process of changing masters happened more often. Some of the slaves could get lucky and escape but this rarely happened. Northup (2018) states that most of the masters were slave traders that bought slaves at low prices and sold them at an advance. This trade would continue on and on to other different masters.

According to Northup (2018) slaves were fed twice a day with the same type of food and the same portions. They were fed at ten and five o’clock. Their names could be changed and each one of them given a different name. Some of the masters would groom the slaves awaiting the trade exchange. They would be told to shave, clean up and even given new clothes. The customers would inspect every slave thoroughly. Some would take the women to the rooms, ask them to strip naked and if scars were seen on the back it meant that the slave was rebellious meaning the sale would not go well. If the slaves fell sick, the masters would call in physicians to treat them so as not to lose any sales. Immediately they got better they could again be paraded for other customers. Slaves could catch diseases for example smallpox and eventually die. For slaves who were families, it was a sad experience for them during the trading because the buyers would not buy them all. It was the end of seeing each other again since the buyers came from different places. The separation was a very emotional one.

Some masters were good to their slaves and in return, their jobs would be done exceeding expectations. Some were never satisfied with the slave’s work, and never uttered kind words to them. Masters would whip their slaves if whatever they wanted to be done is not done to their expectations. Northup (2018) explains that they would make the slaves strip naked when being whipped. The masters were white men and the slaves were blacks often referred to as niggers by their masters. A master was capable of stabbing a slave even in front of a hundred slaves and according to the laws of Louisiana, none of them could give evidence against him. Masters threatened, used harsh and mean words to their slaves, however how hard they worked. Slaves would be whipped and left soar and expected to continue with their duties. If the slaves would try to run away the master would follow them with dogs and do not care if you would be caught alive or dead.  A slave could run away because of a disagreement with the master. Some of the masters were so stubborn and could not listen to any good idea the slaves had. If a master would dislike a slave, he would constantly insult and whip them. When a master owns a slave, he could hire or sell them to whoever he wanted at any time.

The living conditions of the slaves were different depending on which master they were working for. They slept in cabins and were given bacon and corn which they cooked for themselves. Northup (2018) states that some of the slaves were allowed to live with their children, and some were even married. The duties they performed included, taking care of plantations, milking, trimming the fences and mostly for women they would perform house chores. Other duties were repairs done through carpentry, working in cotton fields, plowing with oxen and mules. The plantations were large so it meant working on them every day.  They would work in the fields during the day, sometimes they would feed the animals and cut wood after coming from the fields and go to sleep very tired. Some masters showed appreciation of good work and dedication of slaves and even offered promises. For example, a slave would be granted permission to go visit their friends from a previous master if they showed commitment to the work that they were given.

According to Northup (2018), some of the masters were religious. Every Sabbath day they could gather their slaves together and read the bible to them. The masters would go to church after teaching his slaves the word of God and punishment was given to the slaves who refused to follow the Sabbath’s rules. Most of the masters who were religious and believed in God were kind to their slaves, unlike the rest who used unkind words. For example, some masters gave their slaves bibles that they read during their free time. In cane plantations, every slave had to work even on the Sabbath day.

 Some of the masters were cruel and unjust, for example, they could just lash the slaves in the yard with a long whip and for no reason, just to hear them scream. Northup (2018) adds that they would not give attention or medicine to their slaves even when they can no longer work in the fields and have to stay in their cabins. Some would make their slaves dance even when feeling weary and tired and they were not allowed to delay or stop movements. In cotton picking, each of the slaves was tasked according to their capabilities. The more skilled a slave was the higher the expectations and if they produced lower than they are capable of, they were beaten for it. If the slaves bring too much, the other day’s work will be measured by their last product. Meaning that too much or too little a slave has to suffer the consequences. During cotton picking, slaves lived in fear of oversleeping, of not picking enough cotton and fear of not keeping up with the rest. Some masters were so cruel that they kept women’s back sore through whipping and boasted about it. Some just wanted to make money and did not care about human life.  They could send their slaves to other plantations so that he could get paid. Normally if a slave would utter any word opposing his master, they would be whipped and made to obey.

The only thing a slave was given after being kidnapped was a blanket. No plate to put his food, no cup, and no luxuries. In Louisiana, the custom was the slave to be allowed to keep whatever compensation he got on Sunday and that would cater to whatever luxury they needed. Some masters were taught from early childhood by seeing and hearing that the rod belongs to slaves back and even when he matured it would be hard for him to change that. Slavery brutalized humans and their feelings. There were witnesses of daily human suffering when you heard the slaves screaming over merciless lashes given by their masters. Some were bitten by dogs, some died and buried with no coffins. As Northup (2018) puts it, there were humane masters as there was also the existence of inhumane ones. There were well fed, well clothed and happy slaves and likewise there were miserable and starved ones.

The only time the slaves were not working was during the Christmas holidays where they could be given three to six days according to their masters to rest. Every other day throughout the year was spent working. This is the only time they were given restricted freedom. It is at this time of the year that they were permitted to go anywhere they wanted but within a limited distance. It was a time for them to be happy, free of fear and the constant lashes. There were three to six days of happiness and freedom. The rest of the days in the year were full of fear, suffering and continuous labor. Northup (2018) explains that slaves who had gifts for example like playing the violin had opportunities to meet great people since they could be hired to play on occasions. They could more often be relieved of their labor when those chances arose. Marriages between slaves could frequently happen during the holidays. If the slaves were not from the same plantations, they were permitted to visit each other during the weekend.

In larger plantations, there had to be an overseer. The qualifications of an overseer were cruelty and mercilessness. They would ride on horses carrying whips, pistols, a knife and be accompanied by dogs inspecting the slave's work. It was his duty to make large productions of crops and for that to be achieved he had to make the slaves suffer. The dogs were used to haul and ran after a slave who tries to run off maybe because he can no longer endure the whips. The pistol was preserved for emergencies, for example, sometimes the slave could turn against their oppressor. Northup (2018) gives an example of a slave who was executed for killing his overseer. This happened when the overseer sent the slave for an errand and could not complete his duties for the day. The overseer punished him by whipping to the extent that he could not take it anymore. The slave took an ax and cut the overseer into pieces and therefore sentenced to death. Other than the overseer, there were drivers under him who were black and were supposed to whip certain people. They walked with whips on their neck and if they do not use the whip, they would be whipped themselves. When a slave would fall due to lack of strength and weariness, it was the driver’s duty to put them under a shade and pour buckets of water on them. When they finally wake up they would be forced to return to work immediately.

Slaves could get tired of the whipping, laboring, and the animosity they were treated with and decide to run away. It was their master’s duty to go after them. Some were lucky to escape but others could be brought back even after several weeks. This would subject the slave to inhuman floggings by their masters. According to Northup (2018), most of the slaves contemplated running for their freedom though it was risky and very hard for them because they were always being watched. For the slaves who tried to escape and came back, they would forever live with scars from the whipping they got.

Conclusion

Slavery in Louisiana creates two pictures, one of inhumane, cruel and mean white masters. Another one of kind, caring, understanding and God-fearing white masters. The cruel masters used more whipping, whether necessary or not they just whipped. They did not care if a slave is sick, weary or needed a break, they just wanted to see them work. The slaves were not fed enough but were expected to complete their tasks. The kind masters understood, appreciated and motivated their slaves.

References

Northup S. (2018), Twelve years a slave, Madison & Adam’s Press

MEXICAN AMERICANS STRUGGLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN TEXAS

Introduction

            Civil rights movements in Texas generally involved two of the state’s most prominent minorities the African Americans and the Mexican Americans.  These two groups were not only separated from the whites but also from one another and to get back power from the whites these groups were forced to work against each other. The leaders of these two minorities were on the opposite sides but were both fighting to regain their power from one common enemy.  The relationship between these two groups during the civil rights movement’s era can be regarded as tense.  From the 1940s to the 1970s both of these two groups were forced to fight numerous battles in the schools, in the ballot boxes and in the streets in efforts to eradicate the state-imposed racism and prejudice.  Despite the many calls for cooperation between these two minorities and the many examples of interethnic alliance they separately choose to fight their battles and as a result two separate civil rights struggles occurred simultaneously in the state, the African American struggle for civil rights and the Mexican American struggle for civil rights.  However, this paper examines the Mexican Americans struggle for civil rights in Texas and their organization as a group as they tackled obstacles that hindered their paths to political, social and economic uplift.

The early and mid-20^th century was defined by the continuous struggle for civil rights by minority groups and among these groups the Mexican Americans of Texas (Kaplowitz, 2007).  During the period between 1900 to 1930 these minorities continued to bring down racial barriers. It is 1911 that Mexican American civil rights leaders gathered at the Congreso Mexicanista in Laredo to address the common issues they were facing and among these issues were loss of land, lynching and ethnic subordination. Action was taken in 1919 when the Brownsville legislator J. T. Canales reduced the size of the Texas Ranger force as a result of the various atrocities the rangers had committed against the Mexican Americans and various minorities in the preceding decade (Behnken, 2011). In 1921 the La Agrupacion Protectora Mexicana was founded with the intentions of protecting farm renters and laborers that were facing expulsion by their landlords.

The Mexican Americans were fighting for their civil rights long before the existence of the civil rights movements. Just like their counterpart’s the Mexican American civil rights activists used military service and lawsuits to challenge the segregation Mexicans were facing (Behnken, 2011).  The Mexican American served in great numbers in the World War II with great hopes that their services will help them win their rights at home but their hopes had been misplaced and segregation continued long after the world war II was over and as a result Mexican Americans begun pushing more hard and forcefully for their rights (Behnken, 2011).  The first form of segregation that they had to fight against was the Jim Crow rule. They won several court battles against this rule including the Mendez v. Westminster in 1947 and Delgado V. Bastrop in 1949 and after this ruling the process of school integration begun. In 1954 Mexican Americans won the Pete Hernandez v. Texas which for a long time had prevented Mexican Americans from being members of the jury in the US.  The next decade that followed brought with it changes in the Mexican American society.  They were engaged in a great deal of political activities, ranging from creating the group Viva Kennedy and the political association of the Spanish Speaking people (PASO) (Behnken, 2011). This association was instrumental in assisting the Mexican Americans to be elected to local, state and national offices as seen later as the years proceed.  

In addition to the Jim Crow Rule Americans regarded Mexican Americans as racially inferior and degenerate. This perception of white superiority and Mexican inferiority gave the whites a chance to foster racial segregation since they understood racial difference as genetic and natural.  The whites had well distributed racial, social and moral beliefs about the inferiority of Mexican American (Martinez, 2015). In addition to fighting racial segregation brought about by the Jim Crow rules they were forced to confront these arrays of racial assumptions.  The Mexicans tried to eradicate the Lone Star State’s entrenched system of racial segregation. Initially Mexican Americans wanted recognition as whites.  The challenged the wide spread discrimination and insisted that the racial segregation should not apply to them since they were white compared to their minority counterparts the African Americans. It is in the late 1960s and during the era of the Chicano movement that Mexican Americas started to distance themselves from whiteness and acknowledged that they were brown not white (Yosso, 2013). With the realization that they were a distinct minority they could utilize the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US constitution.

Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association which in return increased the momentum of the labor movement. The association conducted strikes all over the nation and this pushed the Mexican American struggle into other states and territories. Much of the efforts of the Mexican Americans focused on pushing for legal and political recognition similar to that of the whites. The Mexican Struggle for civil rights gave rise to the Chicano Movement (Yosso, 2013). This term was used to mean the sons and daughter of Mexican Migrants. In the 1960s this movement was embraced and accepted as a symbol of self determination and ethnic pride. This movement was also used to address Mexican Americans discrimination in public and private places and also campaigned against discrimination and racism (Yosso, 2013).  After the end of World War II, the movement gained momentum following the founding of groups such as the American G. I Forum (AGIF) founded by Mexican American veterans of WWII who had met in Corpus Christ, in Texas to protest the discrimination and the poor services that were being offered in the veteran’s administration hospitals in the city. This forum was under the leadership of Dr. Hector Perez Garcia who was a WWII combat surgeon (Behnken, 2011). 

In the 1950s the LULAC forum became the foremost Mexican American group that was effectively and efficiently utilizing the legal system to remove racial segregation that had brought with it education inequalities and various discriminatory practices.  In 1961 PASO joined forces with LULAC and the G.I forum with a focus on mobilizing the Texas-Mexican electorate in an effort to push politicians to heed to the needs of the Hispanics. During this same period the federal government pushed an agenda designed to achieve racial equality and the Texas Mexicans benefited from this agenda.  The Twenty-Fourth Amendment that was ratified in 1964 barred the use of poll tax during federal elections, it is still in the same year that the congress outlawed the Jim Crow law (Behnken, 2015).  Texas was next in following suit by eliminating the local restrictions to voting and instead instituted the federal Marshal to monitor the proceedings of elections and ten years later there was a request to eliminate at large elections in the state.

After 1960 various organizations that were pushing for equality joined forces with the LULAC and the G.I forum.  The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund that was founded in 1968 was the most successful organization campaigning for Mexican American civil rights by the late 20^th century. This organization mainly focused on inequitable systems of financing schools and redistricting (Behnken, 2015). Also, in 1961 DR. Antonio in close liaison with the Puerto Rican educators and professionals founded ASPIRA to help push education reforms that would cater for the needs of the children of Mexican American decent. In 1961 Henry B Gonzales became the first Mexican American ever to be elected to the house of US representatives from Texas (Ortiz, 2012). During the late 1960s the Chicano student movement spread all through the southwest with the students holding demonstrations and rallies that demanded improved education for Mexican students and finally in 1968 after three years of lobbying efforts by NEA, the congress passed a bilingual education act that mandated all school districts with sizable populations of Spanish speaking students to offer special programs for those students education.

The struggle for civil rights by the Mexican Americas was at its peak during the 1960s, this period was responsible for shaping the social, political and economic landscape of Texas.  The Mexican Americans took part in national movements that were intended to bring down racial barriers.  They held demonstrations in the states to protest their endurance of segregated conditions and additionally boycotted racist merchants (MacLean, 2007). I963 the Mexican Americans were among the large crowd of 900 protestants that marched in the state capital.  This large crowd also constituted of African Americans and a few Whites. The protesters complained of the slow desegregation in the state and attacked Governor John Connally for being on the opposition of the pending civil rights bill in Washington.  This was also the era of the Chicano movement for the Mexicans as mentioned above (MacLean, 2007). The Raza Unida party led the movement during the 1970s as a political party and offered solutions to the inequalities that were addressed by reformist groups such as LULAC and the G. I Forum.

Conclusion

            The Mexican American struggle for civil rights begun long before the 20^th century and continued long after the end of WWII. The Mexican Americans and African Americans were the largest minority groups in Texas. However, each group struggles for civil rights separately.  The Mexican Americans of Texas struggle for civil rights continued throughout the 20^th century. This movement was defined by reformist groups such as the PASO, LULAC, the G.I forum and the Chicano movement. These groups were led by Mexican Americans that fought the racial segregation this minority were facing in the State and in America at large. The civil rights struggle of the Mexican Americans was one that shaped the political, economic and social landscape of the Texas.

Bibliography

Behnken, Brian D. "Comparative Civil Rights: Notes on the Field of Black-Brown            Relations and Multiethnic Freedom Struggles." Journal of Civil and Human Rights 1, no.            2 (2015): 212-230.

Behnken, Brian D. 2011. Fighting their own battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, and           the struggle for civil rights in Texas. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Kaplowitz, Craig A. "Citizens, stakeholders, and civil rights." Berkeley La Raza LJ 18 (2007): 97.

MacLean, Nancy. "The Civil Rights Act and the Transformation of Mexican American Identity   and Politics." Berkeley La Raza LJ 18 (2007): 123.

Martinez, Nydia. "The Struggles of Solidarity: Chicana/o-Mexican Networks, 1960s–1970s."       Social Sciences 4, no. 3 (2015): 520-532.

Ortiz, Vilma, and Edward Telles. "Racial identity and racial treatment of Mexican Americans."    Race and social problems 4, no. 1 (2012): 41-56.

Yosso, Tara J. Critical race counterstories along the Chicana/Chicano educational pipeline.          Routledge, 2013.

Compare and contrast essay

 Booker T. Washington and W.E.B.Dubois were black African leaders who focused on social and economic progress. However, they had contrasting views and competing visions on how to address issues facing the African Americans, and how to pursue assimilation. First, it is important to understand that reconstruction, which was initiated to address the inequities of slavery and restore the union in the Southern states failed. The white society treated blacks as separate and unequal, and African American leaders applied different approaches to end the racial segregation (Blight et al, 547). In response to sexual and sexual discrimination, Booker T. Washington used a strategy of ‘self-help' and accommodation approach, whereas Dubois used the strategy of ‘the politics of culture.' Washington argued that the only way Blacks could solve their social problems, end segregation, and integrate into the white society is through working hard and acquiring the property (Blight et al, 547). This would enable the African American to gain economic independence and become productive members and as a result, achieve real social and political equality, and civil rights. He wanted African Americans to remain separate but access equal resources. In other words, he wanted the black society to express Black Nationalism and have control over their properties. Generally, Washington was influenced by an economic strategy, and he concentrated much on economic advancement and argued that if Negros worked hard, they would achieve their full citizenship rights (Blight et al, 548). On the other hand, Du Bois used the approach of developing a system of education in the African American community to provide men with intelligence and knowledge of the world.  He introduced the term ‘Talented Tenth' and argued that the college-educated individuals should save black society from death and uplift them. He was interested in recognizing black history and culture (Blight et al, 548). He was influenced by political approach and argued that college-educated black men should fight for blacks' political rights and achieve equality and justice.

 In general, Booker T. Washington employed a conservative approach since he focused on economic and financial development in both South and North. He believed that for African Americans to achieve social equality, they must gain economic power. He believed that the social and political subjugation were brought by lack of economic progress. Thus, he urged black individuals to gain technical education and urged White employers to employ blacks in the industries (Blight et al, 547). On the other hand, Dubois disagreed with this approach and used a radical perspective and idealistic goals to argue that to achieve social and political equality, and suppress class conflict, the college-educated elite should engage in liberal arts training (Blight et al, 547). Despite the fact that both leaders wanted the blacks to achieve first-class citizenship, Dubois believed in liberal arts, whereas Washington believed in accepting the position of inferiority and tolerate racial segregation.

Blacks and American Indians comparison and contrast is based on slavery-related issues. Both minority groups were slaves in Latin America, and both were subjected to dozens of labels. However, the differences that existed during the precolonial era is that American Indians were treated as ‘natural slaves.' This means that they had no freedom, and they faced terrible brutality (Wade, 28). For black, they had individual freedom, and their input in slavery was valued. The different occurred due to the difference in cultural elements. Indians suffered abuse and discrimination, and they as the Blacks received citizenship during Reconstruction, American Indians were excluded.

Work cited

Blight, David W, Howard P. Chudacoff, Mary B. Norton, Carol Sheriff, and Jane Kamensky. A

People and a Nation: A History of the United States. , 2014. Internet resource

Wade, Peter. Race and Ethnicity in Latin America. London: Pluto Press, 1997. Print

Archival Record

Collection:  Women and Gender in Latin America in the 21^st Century

Author or source: Elizabeth Quay Hutchison

Title:  Women in Modern Latin American History

Inclusive dates:  This source was last Modified on 28^th October 2011 and Last Reviewed on 05 May 2017.

Place of Origin: Oxford Bibliographies

Forms:  The source is an essay

Series: The document is unique and not part of any series

Language: The document was originally composed in English.

 Holding location:  The source was retrieved from a website, Oxford Bibliographies;  https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0045.xml

Date accessed:  1 August 2019

Subjects:  The influence of female Latin scholars, participation of modern Latin women in religion, politics, economy, family and the origin of gender inequalities.

Abstract:  This document builds on the rapid and diverse historical developments that have taken place in the lives of women and their role since independence up to the 21^st century.  This document incorporates women as historical subjects and emphasizes the relationship of gender to broader topics.  This source is divided into parts the first one is, foundational work which explores gender and Latin women before 21^st century based on sources and articles that were written before.  It brings to light historical scholars who have explored the place of Latin American women. The second part provides sources that describe changes in the 21^st century concerning women and gender in Latin America.

Author Bio:  The source was written by Elizabeth Quay Hutchison, there is not much on  her but she is the author of Labor Appropriate to Their sex: Gender, Labor, and Politics in Urban Chile, 1900-1930- Latin American Otherwise. In conjunction with other editors she helped edit; Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics- the Latin American Reader. She is also an associate professor in history in the University of New Mexico.  She has a B.A in Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard and Radcliffe Collages, M.A in Latin American Studies from the University of California and a PhD in history from the university of California. 

            Her research interests lie in Latin American Labor History, Twentieth –Century Chile, Gender and sexuality, Southern Cone, Human Rights, Religion and  Cold War.  Recently in 2014 she worked hand in hand with Dr.Kimberly Gauderman on a project called Practicing Asylum. This project aims to build a comprehensive network of witnesses who are experts and can testify on behalf of Latin Americans that were victims of domestic violence.  She is also the co founder of Faculty for Sexual Assault-Free Environment at UNM, using this Faculty she advocates and promotes policy change and carry advance research on campus sexual violence  at UNM and nationally.  She also advises history graduate students who work on Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Cuba and Mexico, Indigenous movements and disability history in the 20^th century Latin America.

Historical note:

            The intended audience of this source is mostly history students and any one with interest in the history of Latin Women and how their place in society has changed.  This source has been greatly shaped by historical circumstances in the sense that Latin American societies are people who have a rich and broad history that stretches from the pre colonial period to the post colonial period.  From the source, historical circumstances such as the Cold War which made scholars to shift their attention to the presence of feminist and the struggle for gender equality and the fact that Latin American Women figures were involved in shaping politics and the economy. 

             The text very much relates to the time it was composed. It was composed in 2011 when the place of women in Latin America had evolved and undergone some changes. This text also relates to the time it was written since it was meant to explore women and Gender in Latin American in the 21^st century.   This text very much relates to the information provided on the author. This document is on Latin American history and she has specialized on the history of Latin America and also helps students who are exploring or researching history in the 20^th century on Latin America.

Scope and Content:  This source shows that the study of gender and women in Latin America has grown rapidly in the late 20^th century and the 21^st century. This source also show the reason study of Latin American has grown is as a result of movements that have been fueled by women and the wide presence of female in Humanities and social science in the 1960s.  This source also elaborates on what early research on Latin American Women focused on. This source also focuses its attention on why during the Cold war scholars focused their attention on females and among them Latin American females.

            The purpose and reason why the author wrote this text is because of her deep interest and knowledge on Latin American history.  She has also shown interest in gender and sexuality and the cold war. She was also working on witnesses who were experts and would testify on behalf of Latin Americans who were victims of domestic violence and mostly women who are victims of domestic violence.  For the purposes of evidence she has cited several journals and studies that have been carried out on Latin American women.  She has also included pieces of Journals that talk on the changes in gender and social political changes that have taken place in the 21^st century.

Analytical Interruptions:   This piece of evidence comes with a lot of lessons since it explores the history of gender and women in Latin American.  This document presents evidence that feminist started campaigning for gender equality from the time of cold war and has been doing so even in the twenty first century.  This text also presents evidence of research carried out by people such as Lavrin in 1978 on gender and women in the Latin American society.  This text draws on extensive research and has provided evidence on the historical construction of gender inequality.  From the point of view of the source one can learn that so many scholars at various time intervals have shown interest in the history of gender and women in Latin America.  Research on women in education, labor and family has been carried out.

From the research one can learn that the earliest research on women and gender in Latin America was on family and their political rights.  One can learn that Larvin was among the first scholars to introduce some of the earliest research on women that is available in English and the research included a sampling of historical as well as social science approaches to women experience.  One learns that Elizabeth Kuznesof was the first to carry out a study of women’s economic activity and female headed households in Brazil in the early 19^th century.  She also established the importance of Latin America’s distinctive relationship to the economy and helped define the emerging field of Latin American history on women and family.  Molyneux Maxine in 2001 and Guy Donna J in 2000 carried out research separately that focused on Latin women and gender interests.

 This source matters for various reasons. First it matters because it clearly states the author’s perspective on Gender and women in Latin America in the 21^st century. This source matters because it is a credible resource that has been based on research conducted by other scholars. This source matters because it provides insight on Latin American women and how their place in society has continued to change.  This source matters because it is in relation to the topic that was being looked into.  This source matters because it has significant historical content on Latin American women.

 This source tells us a little on women in the contemporary America but has told us a lot on the changes that have influenced the place women hold in American Contemporary society.  Changes such as the role of women and in particular feminist in the cold war period.  This source is historically important because it discusses the places of women in the 19^th century and 20^th century.  This source is also important and historically interesting because it has been backed up by other historical finding from other researches that have been conducted.   This source is very much significant because it has been written in the 21^st century thus every detail that has been included in it has been reviewed and approaved.  This source is historically significant because it has details on the place of women in Latin American even before the pre colonial period.

 American Revolution Ideologies

The Perpetual union that Americans had built by winning their independence was collapsing by 1787, six years earlier, in the Article of Confederation the thirteen governments has given a lot of power to the congress but this was not working and was not enough and something else had to be done. The congress had been denied the power to tax and the power to enforce its decrees and this made it hard for them to restore the credibility of a nation that was already indebt to other foreign power. The Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787 to discuss the additional power that would be given to congress in order to enable it to do its duties more effectively but instead of giving the congress more power it was suggested that they come up with a new government and it was left in the hands of American to decide from state to state whether to pass the new constitution and if nine of the thirteen states agreed then the constitution would be put into operation. The debate surrounding the new constitution had two sides, those who wanted the constitution passed for various reasons and were referred to as the federalists and those who did not want the proposed constitution also referred to as antifederalists (Morgan, 1993).

            These two groups of people were different, the federalist arguments were different from the arguments of the antifederalist. The federalists argued that the inability of the congress to influence matters taking place in the nation and its lack of power to enforce its decrees was a threat to the nation, and if the country waited any further to set up a national government it would result to anarchy, disunion and disaster. The antifederalist who were against the adaptation of a new constitution argued that there was a need to give congress more power but the proposed constitution would bring about tyranny instead of fixing a mere disorder that had been brought about by inconveniences. This debate was heavily dictated by prominent revolutionaries that were antifederalists among them were Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, they projected dire consequences for what was in the proposed constitution if it was to be passed (Morgan, 1993).

This debate was responsible for forming the American government. These two side of the debate agreed on the principle government that they would become familiar with in the preceding years of revolutionizing and making the constitution. They agreed that the one type of government that the Americans would agree on was a republican government where the power was in the hands of the people but it had to be unlike the past where a whole population attended assemblies. Although this government would be faced by problems of its own such as to devise a way to keep the few who have been chosen to represent the people honest, and no constitution would have been capable of offering protection against human corruption the only solution was for it to devise a way to make it difficult to commit such betrayals (Morgan, 1993).

The debate went on for a long time but finally the federalists won and the proposed constitution was passed and a government system that was different from any that America had since the colonial era was put in place and the new government proved to be more effective than the antifederalist had proposed (Morgan, 1993). In some of these debates such as the one that argued for creation of a national government I would take the antifederalists side, since they had both agreed on a republican form of government that was for the people creating a national government would remove any form of local attachment and thus make the people unrepresented and the form of government unrepublican.

References

Morgan, S.E., (1993). Power to the People. Retrieved from;             https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1993/12/02/power-to-the-people/

Introduction

Civil right movement long existed throughout the American history in various forms and via passages that were once authoritative, unsafe and highly competitive. Civil rights principles battled with the south’s universal memorials and confederate history. Exemplary scholars, past literature and participants generated plenty of factual records, which narrate the challenges black Americans faced before attaining voting rights, desegregation from the federal government and the public (Button, 2014). This paper pushes forwards its agenda by stating three arguments. The first argument supports giving voting rights to African Americans for the sake of creating unity and one community Voting fuels unity among black Americans and channels their efforts toward one course, which is voting for the leaders of their choice while gaining political power at the same time. The second argument states that black desegregating the society will create an equal environment for everyone. The third argument rallies around equality, human rights, and humanity in general.

 Voting argument

Socioeconomic concepts have always formed the foundation for political contribution researches. Nevertheless, these ideals may be inadequate and specifically unsuitable for explaining underlying reasons for denying black Americans the right to vote. Even though increment in age and schooling gives relevant skills that facilitates and paves way for easier political participation, if a certain community experiences segregation and racial discrimination, their participation will be in vain and weal compared to other communities.

According to Button, (2014), people cast their votes when the positives of contributing outweigh the negatives. Consequently, a mutual basis revolves around socioeconomic status of the people and if it yields a higher stake for them in the community, hence political participation will have a meaning only if the benefits reflect back to the lives of the citizens. Simply put, lack of voting points to lack of other basic rights such as shelter, food, and clothing.

            In the past, a dreadful, gory civil war set American slaves free. The 14^th amendment of the constitution gave black Americans the citizenship rights in 1868. Nevertheless, this failed to translate into voting rights. Polling station turned away African American voters. To counter this predicament, congress enacted the 15^th amendment in the year 1870. The amendment stated that all people have the right to vote as long as they were Americans (Dierenfield, 2013). Yet, some states still found ways of evading the constitution clauses and prohibited black Americans from casting their votes. Poll taxes and threatens discouraged Black Americans from going to the polls. African Americans took note of the one-sided treatment and people all over discussed the issues in congress, the media, and the streets. Voting equality is vital and denying them the right to was similar to refuting them access to socioeconomic rights. Furthermore, voting gives people a voice through their chosen representative hence a community gets quality education, health care, security and a chance to grow as human beings in their own nation.

As mentioned earlier, coercion, violence, and racial profiling in some states discouraged Americans from voting (Dierenfield, 2013). Black Americans have the right to shape their future through their vote. The power to vote would give people the ability to regulating the manner in which elected leaders utilize their taxes and take of advantage to develop their communities. In the end civil right movement were able to bring to attention the ills black American were facing

 Desegregation

The laws and regulations mostly ignored one vital sociological progress in the last one hundred years, that is, an acute decrease in residential segregation. In the 1970s, an estimated 80% of Black Americans switched localities in order for the even distribution of blacks across urban areas (Andrews, & Gaby, 2015). Desegregation of American society had a ripple effect especially among Black American communities, civil rights institutions, and housing discrimination, voting and university segregation among other areas of the community. Previously, black American communities relied on segregation for many things.

Anyone can tell the impact of the Douglass speech reverberated through time. The dialogue was like a lens focusing on the future. It can fit in today’s contemporary society without losing its context. The judicial system is one of the settings where the speech can apply. One walk into a courtroom or reading through a police report will confirm the plight of black Americans. Actually, the number of arrests one officer made in a report and one could not conceal my surprise (Biggs, & Andrews, 2015). More than ten black Americans sleep in jail daily. Black Americans are more likely to end up in jail than other races. Justice institutions have policies and processes that harbor racism against blacks. Most of the times, the public finds it hard to detect policies that show bias. In a situation where two men commit the same crime, a black man is more likely to land a heavy sentence than a white man is. What people often tend to forget is that legal systems can perpetuate slavery and discrimination through the law. In other words, slavery and segregation intertwined with present institutions and their policies as seen via the legal system. Hence, the reason Fred’s speech resonates well with my argument. All in all, no one can rubbish the efforts of t civil rights movement as they made tremendous steps in ensuring equality and inclusion of black Americans.

In summary, from an ethical perspective or fairly speaking out against discrimination, discrimination is wrong and morally corrupt. It goes against the standards of equality. The equality norm states that everyone has a right to justice and fair treatment once they step into the confines of a courtroom and in the society (Lawson, 2014) .In addition; everyone is innocent until proven guilty. In fact, race is not a factor when it comes to assessing a court case. Simply put, it is only possible to vindicate racism or treating individuals contrary to the law if there are facts setting ground for such mistreatment. Equality is just an empty term if not put into specific context. In the court system, equality means that people can access communal agencies; receive services and equal treatment as stipulated by the constitution. The bottom line is institutional racism is wrong and not justified any means. Therefore, it can be unfair to argue that the civil right movements were not active they did their best to shed light on the plight of the black American communities of that particular time. Civil rights movement showed the rest of the American societies the need for voting, taking part in the society initiatives pointed out other issues the community was not aware of. Therefore, so  far as  bringing change to the black American communities is a necessity, the civil rights movements did everything in their power  and in the  constitution to  bring about change in the community and their impact will live long after they are death and gone.

Reference

Andrews, K. T., & Gaby, S. (2015, June). Local protest and federal policy: The impact of the civil rights movement on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In Sociological Forum (Vol. 30, pp. 509-527).

Biggs, M., & Andrews, K. T. (2015). Protest campaigns and movement success: Desegregating the US south in the early 1960s. American Sociological Review, 80(2), 416-443.

Button, J. W. (2014). Blacks and social change: Impact of the civil rights movement in southern communities (Vol. 1029). Princeton University Press.

Dierenfield, B. J. (2013). The Civil Rights Movement: Revised Edition. Routledge.

Lawson, S. F. (2014). Running for freedom: Civil rights and black politics in America since 1941. John Wiley & Sons.

At the Edge of the Precipice

In America, compromises are known to be the backbone of the political system. As a historian of the Jacksonian period, Robert V. Remini wrote a mini-biography of Henry Clay, a Kentucky senators, in the book “At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise That Saved the Union”.  The compromise of 1850 reflects the life of Clay during the debate over territorial expansion and slavery in 1850 in the American Congress. Remini takes cautious to criticize and give credit to lay in his successful work to prevent division between the Northern and Southern politician, which consequently adjourned the civil war for ten years. Remini’s excellent narrative technique to historical events is present and brings a clear picture of the events of 1850.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought the territory of Louisiana from France. This was the main cause of the 1850 crisis. This was mean to increase the size of the country. Missouri curved from this territory and demanded to be registered to the Union as a slave state. This move triggered conflict in the congress in 1819. According to Remini (18), Missouri’s registration into the union as a slave state would interfere with the equilibrium between slave states and free groups in the Congress. The Northerners who were against the slave trade got furious. Consequently, Representative, James Tallmadge, proposed an act that would make Missouri a state and, finally, a free state. He ordered for the abolishment of slavery and said slave children above the age of twenty-four should be released.

Fights over territories were common in America. This also contributed to heated arguments over boundaries which resulted to war (Venet 34). Many residents had an interest on the territory of Texas. However, Texas managed to win their land against Mexico and the Mexican president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was forced to sign the treaties of Velasco, which declared Reo Grande as the official boundary of Texas. In 1845, the United States assimilated the republic of Texas making it one of its states. It claimed ownership of Texas territories including Nueces River and Reo Grande. This angered Mexico and it resulted to the war between America and Mexico. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848.

James Tallmadge abolition of slave trade made southerners bitter towards Northerners. The South was in strong support of slavery. Southerners argued for the Congress’ rights to legislate slavery and also the right to abolish slavery in all of Louisiana territory. A discussion concerning the abolition resulted to a serious confrontation between Tallmadge and Representative Thomas Cobb of Georgia, on the floor of Congress (Mitchell 36). Henry Clay, a speaker of the house, condemned Tallmadge amendments on abolition of slavery.  He argued that the amendment violated the constitution terms of property ownership.  Denying Missouri ownership of slaves would be denying them their properties. He was a leader of the American Colonization Organization whose aim was to return African slaves to Africa and colonize them from there. However, Clay presented a report of admission to Missouri on the conditions that black peoples’ rights should be protected.

Although the Missouri compromise helped to evade civil war in 1820, it never solved slavery problems. In 1821, Denmark Vesey, a free mulatto, led a slave’s resistance war which occurred in South Carolina (Venet 32). They had the will to redeem themselves but lacked enough strength. The militia defeated them due to their superior weapons. In 1831, Slaves attacked Southeastern Virginia, where they slaughtered sixty whites. The whites revenged by killing all the black people they encountered, innocent or not (McPherson 45).  In 1833, Abolitionists formed organizations which would meet and plan on the way they could escape. This included building an underground railroad to aid in their safe journey to freedom. In 1846, a war broke out between the Mexicans and American shoulders over the Grande land. America won and 75,000 Mexican citizens were dislocated.

Remini defines Henry Clay as a man of self-controversy. He was against slavery, yet he owned his slaves. Clay argues that slavery violated the human rights and betrayed American free government. Clay was one of the most popular men in the United States, but his attempts to become the president failed. However, having made other compromises in the past, for example, the Missouri Compromise in 1820, Clay believed that he could, also, succeed on the compromise of 1850. People knew him as a great statesman who lacked discipline and could not be trusted (Freehling 32). He had tinted his name when he made a corrupt agreement he had made with John Quincy Adams in 1824, which enabled him to secure the secretarial seat. People were not sure about Clay’s dedication to the concept of the perpetual union of the people.

Although Stephen A. Douglas, Illinois Senator, proposed the passing of the separate bill which became the compromise of 1850, it was Henry Clay who helped to shape the proposals by Northern and southern politicians into acceptable ideas (Foos 26). He then argued courageously on the Senate floor assuring the people of peace and the restoration of harmony in every part of the distracted land. Remini saw it best to break the debate into three pieces for the reader’s better understanding. Henry Clay gave his compromise as a speech but he never put them down on one bill. He was at the verge of death, thus he could not address the congress. He requested Senator Stephen Douglas to divide the bills into smaller parts and pass them separately.

After the Mexican war, the union saw the need to absorb the Mormon territory in Utah, California, and New Mexico. The Northerners advocated for the freedom of the territories. On the other hand, Southerners advocated for slavery extension (Shi 23). The North was composed of the capitalist who saw slavery as a threat to their businesses. Slaves never received any payments, and that meant that they could not buy from them. Many slaves depended on their land produces to sustain their livelihood (Foner 38). Clay came back to the Senate at an old age because he saw the need for an urgent compromise which would help to reduce the tension between the North and South thus preventing war. Clay’s aim was to combine some sovereignty in for the new America. Clay proposed for the payment of Texas’ debt and the Settlement of their territories. Secondly, the District of Colombia was required to abolish the slave trade and to form the Fugitive slave law. The law required officials in American states who support slave trade to assist in the search for slaves who had escaped and return them to their masters. Anyone who let a slave to escape was charged a fine of 1,000 dollars. Suspected slaves were captured and they were not allowed to testify for themselves in court. The southerners’ congress were strong opponents of this bill but they were defeated. Next, the slavery non specification in the newly created Utah territories, and New Mexico.

Clay’s compromise helped to maintain peace from 1850 to 1860 when civil war broke. However, this ten years gave the North time to grow financially, technologically, and they had undefeated military strength. The southern economy, on the other hand, was deteriorating despite the expansion of cotton farming (Remini 19). The North had gained more power as compared to Southerners. During those ten years, the North elected a reliable and potential leader, Abraham Lincoln, who courageously led them throughout the war. It is, therefore, believed that if Henry Cray was still alive in 1860, the civil war could not have occurred. The compromise of 1850 opened the door for other discords in the future. In 1854, there emerged a similar demand for a similar compromise for Kansas Territory. Also, the introduction of the Slave Act triggered mixed reactions, because it contributed to strong opposition from antislavery advocates.

Compromises play a prominent role in maintaining law and orders in the society. It ensures maximum utilization of human rights. It is the present day constitution which acts as pillar for political and social cohesion. Having clear land laws and boundary helps to reduce inter-countries war over land ownership.  Leaders, today, should emulate Henry Clay’s leadership qualities to create a just and peaceful society.

Works Cited

Freehling, William W. Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina,

            1816-1836. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Print.

Foos, Paul. A Short, Offhand, Killing Affair: Soldiers and Social Conflict During the Mexican-

            American War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Internet resource.

Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the

            Press, USA, 1995. Internet resource. PRINT.

McPherson, James M. The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro in the Civil War

            and Reconstruction. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1992. PRINT.

Mitchell, Thomas G. Antislavery Politics in Antebellum and Civil War America. Westport, Conn.

            USA: Praeger, 2007. PRINT.

Remini, Robert V. At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise That Saved the

            Union. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Internet resource. PRINT.

Shi, David E, and George B. Tindall. America: A Narrative History. , 2016. PRINT.

Venet, Wendy H. Neither Ballots nor Bullets: Women Abolitionists and the Civil War.

            Charlottesville USA: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1991. PRINT.

             History

The Jackson's presidency marked the era of the ‘Jacksonian democracy.' During his presidency, Jackson was interested in greater rights for all people and public participation in the government. Jackson was selected as the seventh president in 1828 and was inaugurated on March 4, 1829, which was followed by his speech[1]. The 19th-century novelists recognized Jackson, and some named him as a self-made man, a hero and a king who was anointed by God. Even though Jackson lacked education, he used his wealth and military power to bring liberty and democracy to America. He was a charismatic and a dynamic individual whom people perceived as a ‘common man' due to his efforts in creating a democratic system[2]. His presidency presented a break from the past in that he moved America toward democracy where he eliminated the propertied elite rule and emphasized the true majority rule. He was interested in creating a system where the president and other federal officials were responsive to the will of the people. 

Americans experienced massive changed during Jackson's presidency. It is important to understand that during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, the rate of the slave population in America stood at 1.1 million to 2.5 million in 1845[3]. American become a peculiar institution, and the rise of slave population led to economic ramifications especially the southern economy. Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans and led the American forces from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture shows that in 1810, there were many American slaves in Tennessee, Mississippi and the New Orleans[4]. However, by 1840, there were few slaves in these States since they started growing cash crops such as tobacco and sugar and as a result, there was a redistribution of slaves in the south. The Jacksonian era expanded the planters' power and enslaved Americans and, African Americans enjoyed the kin relationship and property ownership. Moreover, Jackson's era established the Cotton Kingdom, and American South witnessed economic and political power. The Cotton Kingdom marked the age of cotton and gave rise to the industrial revolution and international trade networks between the United States and England[5]. Jackson was a great president who led to slave mobility, and slaves gained numerous opportunities to participate in the market economy. Many of the enslaved Americans participated in the southern political economy and the participation brought to new technology such as cotton gin technology that was used to separate seeds from the fiber.  The new technology was associated with high productivity and profitability, and it marked the era of cotton boom. There was also a transportation technology such as railroads that was used to transport bales of cotton and other cash crops like tobacco and sugar[6].

 The era of Andrew Jackson led to the extension of the area freedom. Jackson presidency accomplished many things in America, and the important accomplishment was the westward expansion or what was termed as the manifest destiny[7]. During his presidency, Texas become a slave state, and the president ended the Indian civilization program through supporting the Indian Removal Act of 1830.   In 1824 election, Jackson received a popular vote but he could not become the president since John Quincy Adams had the largest number of popular votes[8]. The supporters of Jackson presented their grievances and showed their interest in the ‘manifest destiny'   which was based on the U.S territorial expansion into Southwest and Northwest. The opponents of democratic views argued that Jackson's presidency would save the world by extending the area of freedom and bring American imperialism[9]. In extending the areas of freedom, Jackson focused on uniting democracy and expansion. Note that during the 18th century, there was no connection between the democracy and the United States government.  The supporters of the manifest density believed that freedom in America could be achieved through the territorial extension[10]. Lack of territorial extension according to the Montesquieu's theory could lead to the disintegration of the large states.  There was a need to develop a balance of power and an American providence where American could equate freedom with Texas and other republic States[11]. 

            Lee Benson states that the concepts of Jacksonian democracy are apparent in voting behaviors especially in the New York.  Jackson promised to bring a spirit of equality, and he achieved his goals in that in 1824 and 1828, those who did not vote the previous elections were allowed to vote[12]. There was a remarkable expansion of suffrage, and by 1840, the number of male voters increased 57.6% to 80%[13]. During 1816 and 1844, President Jackson eliminated the traditional distinctions that existed between the Whig Party and the Democratic Party. Before this period, people who were allowed to vote were the prosperous farmers, people from the business community and landowners[14]. On the other hand, the common men or small businessmen, rising entrepreneurs and poor farmers were not allowed to vote. Jackson believed that his presidency period marked the ‘Age of Egalitarianism' where all people were given the opportunity to participate in the election and political process[15].  

Reference

Miller, N., 1963. The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy: New York as a Test Case. Political Science

quarterly 78(2).

Sean Patrick. 2013. A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-2014111918998.

Ward, John William. 1962. Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age. Oxford University Press, USA.

[1] Sean Patrick. 2013. A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-2014111918998. Chapter 9

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid

[7] Ward, John William. 1962. Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age. Oxford University Press, USA. P. 103

[8] Ibid, 104

[9] Ibid, 104

[10] Ibid, 105

[11] Ibid, 111

[12] Miller, N., 1963. The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy: New York as a Test Case. Political Science quarterly 78(2).P. 140

[13] Ibid, 143

[14] Ibid, 145

[15] Ibid, 164

George Washington

A reputation forms one of the most important parts of a person’s life. This is the important thing that one can have in his or her life. Many people often argue that the way others view them is of little essence and does not affect their lives at any given time. The whole concept is all wrong as reputation plays a major role in affecting a person’s life drastically. Reputation can therefore be regarded as the way other people look a person. This can greatly affect the success of a person’s life as it can work in a person’s favor or rather against them depending on how people perceive the individual. It is important to note that each and every individual aspires to have a good reputation so as to be respected by all of the society members. It is therefore shaped and influenced by an individual’s character and their past can be used in a person’s benefit. Throughout history, George Washington has strived to develop a good reputation that has partly been formed by his own character and his past. This paper will therefore have an in-depth discussion on George Washington’s reputation and how it has been shaped and influenced over time.

George Washington is without a doubt the most popular hero not only in the American history but across the world as well. He is an iconic leader of a lifetime because of his exemplary leadership at the revolutionary army in 1770’s during the American Revolution. He was brought up in a background that had a military atmosphere as one of his eldest brothers was in the military. This shaped his character and contributed to his military experience. This propelled him to greater chances in regards to his career as well as leadership (Hein, 2015, 37). His reputation was also shaped by his great association with brilliant writers, philosophers, and leaders. All of these people had higher levels of education than him and as a result of his relation to them, he was able to acquire sound knowledge from them. His philosophical decency, unselfish nature and self-control along with his good intellect enhanced his capability to surpass all of the other challenges. His personality to be specific was outstandingly inspiring. His presence always increased the success and courage development of his followers and contemplators. His leadership qualities were those of a great leader and they extended to a greater extent.  His charismatic leadership continued all through his leadership as a visionary. He thus was able to maintain his loyalty and affection to all of his citizens even when he became the president. He, therefore, emerged as the most historic leader in the US (Patten, 2009, 222).

Historically, Washington was the utmost commander of his time. Through the many battles, he led his men to victory. This statement is intensely captured and given further details about by many of the United States citizens as well as historians across the globe. Historians have therefore brilliantly written about Washington as a great military leader. Most of the historical interpretation argues that most of his accomplishments at the military were achieved at the famous revolutionary army as he served as the commander. His conquest at the major wars and his drastic ascendance to presidency seat that led him to become the first president of America have made him be affectionately branded to be the “father of the nation” by all generations in history and even up to date (Patten, 2009, 221). Historically, being the first president of the United States is interpreted as the most important achievement of his life thus influencing his reputation more than his military prowess.

The myth surrounding George Washington’s leadership is that he was a Republican. This was however just a myth and not a true depiction of Washington’s reality. He was not affiliated with any political party. Actually, he was completely against the idea of partnering and also warned against this in one of his speech. He argued that “however [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion” ( Kauffman, 1996, 74).

The myth and historical interpretation of George Washington have over time influenced the depiction of Washington as a great leader. Both interpretations repute his as a famous leader who always did the right thing. His reserved life contributed to the myths surrounding his leadership and life in general hence shaping a part of his reputation. However, the linking of the myth and historical arguments, it is quite clear that Washington was reputed as a monument as he was aware of the fact that he had to put the priority of his nation first hence he set aside all of his selfish gains such as affiliating with political parties (Patten, 2009, 222). He is thus viewed as both a mythical and historical hero.

The famous culture’s understanding of Washington has been motivated by myths as well as facts provided for by his core role in US’s infancy. His image has therefore shifted with time. His reputation has transformed from that of a military hero to that of being a moral leader. At the onset of the new America, he was depicted as a virtuous leader who was more interested in fighting for the citizens’ freedom rather than exercising absolute authority (Hein, 2015, 40). He was thus viewed as a savior as he delivered the US nation from the slavery of Great Britain. In two centuries his reputation has been changed into that of an isolated and gentility man as well as a personification of virtue. As America became more democratic, he has been portrayed as an ordinary man with an imperfect nature just like other humans thus everyday people could easily associate with him.

As evidenced above, George Washington is regarded as one of the core founders of the American nation due to his wide range of achievements. One of his most notable achievement is his role as Continental Army commander during the revolutionary war and also his firm efforts to establish a unified and efficient nation. His intelligence, charisma, and experience while at the military made him possibly one of the most iconic and honored generals in the American history. As a result of his heroic military endeavors, his reputation was shaped and influenced resulting in the formation of an excellent Republican and a true soldier reputation.  Apart from all of his outstanding achievements, his achievements went far beyond the war, spreading out to the formation of the American nation and the establishment of the United States Constitution. He, however, restrained himself from affiliating himself with any political party. Him being the first president of US, he was strongly convinced that being a member of any of the political parties would serve as stagnation and would also increase opposition which would hinder his collective ambitions for his nation. Moreover, the outstanding patriotism that he displayed over his time as the military leader illustrated how unique he was.

References

Kauffman, B 1996, 'Farewell George', American Enterprise, 7, 2, p. 74, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 April 2018.

Hein, D 2015, 'GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE PATIENCE OF POWER', Modern Age, 57, 4, pp. 35-43, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 April 2018.

Patten, D 2009, 'George Washington', Vital Speeches Of The Day, 75, 5, pp. 219-222, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 April 2018.

How slavery became less about religion and god’s will, and more about race

 Slavery in American began in 1619 before the American Revolution.  In 17^th and 18^th century, slavery continued in American colonies and during this period slaves boosted the economy in South.  However, slavery debate led to American civil war after the expansion of American Westward and abolition movement in North.  Slavery America expanded in 1619 when 20 Africans were brought in the British colony where they worked in Americans plantation (McCord, 1840).  In 1775-01783 after the American Revolution, North colonies developed the slavery’s abolition. The transformations that occurred before 1740, did not only transform those that were enslaved, but also the slave's treatment and the living culture additionally transformed.  In 1730s and 1740s, Americans were struggling to find nation identity and during this period they were against the forms of Christianity which were introduced during the Great Awakening.  The Great Awakening played a big role in transforming religious beliefs and many Christians become democratic and concentrated much on racial stereotypes (McCord, 1840). During this period of slavery, African Americans introduced their new religious beliefs which had an impact on religion due to the mixture of American and African Americans faith.  Many prominent Americans were compelled by Deism to establish the Declaration of Independence.  During this period, the difference in religious beliefs developed the fight for independence.  In 18^th and 19^th century, slavery in America was primarily founded for the purpose of economic primacy.  During 18^th century, slavery became less about religion and more about race. For this reason, African slaves violated religion and expressed various forms of resistance in struggling to find their identity and strength.

 In 18 century, slaves played a significant role in building America. All skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers performed different tasks on plantation and ensured the survival of colonies in America from 16^th to 19^th century (Browne, 1883).  There was a tremendous religious change within America in 18^th century. Their showed their determination in gaining freedom and in this case, their maintained and followed their African culture. They had different religious views with Christianity and through their cultural beliefs they could challenge the slavery.  In analyzing how  slavery concentrated more on race,  it is important to note that  African American  created  their religious culture  while in American slavery  and the strong culture led to a  strong connection between African Americans and African history,  religious community and  developed of new religious system (Browne, 1883).  During slavery era, some of African Americans   were Muslim while others were Catholic but all had religious beliefs connected with nature and supernatural being.  The traditional religions of Africans led to the development of new religious cultures. During the period of 18^th century, more that 10million Africans   were forced to enter into American slavery.  Due to the own religion from African culture, they had different worldviews which developed while they were in the America slavery (McCord, 1840).   In antebellum America, the religious culture of Africans Americans started to show changes and to differ with religious beliefs of the Africa Diaspora.    

In resisting religion, new Negroes were interested with having original identities. They resisted through self-determination and they were interested in returning back home. They had knowledge about the ancestors which they used in forming social organization where they could create elements of identity.  The important point to note is that in 18^th century, African Americans who were enslaved developed a selfhood and recognized the importance of cultivating culture valued (McCord, 1840).  When focusing on culture of modernity, slavery is defined as anachronistic which means that it is derived from self functioning, human values and self-reflective subjects.  It is also regarded as a form of enlightenment which was created as a result of autonomous and self-reflection.  In European continental tradition, individuals were interested with modern subjects in creating meaning and identity.  Slaves used the idea of enlightenment toward modifying society and freeing from arbitrary authority (McCord, 1840). With the idea of enlightenment, slaves turned away from religion and started to follow scientific principles. They believed that Enlightenment could help them recognize human life. The Enlighten also created a new value system where slaves could understand the universal rule concerning idealistic structure.

In 17^th century, all 13 British colonies legalized the enslavement of African Americans and the legalization led to a higher growth of racial slavery. Slavery boosted the economy and during this period economy played a significant role in bringing colonial prosperity (McCord, 1840). The economic realities were evident in all the American states and therefore the need of legalization of slavery practice was necessary. It is also important to note that in mid -1400s and late 1800s early before the American Revolution, African people were enslaved by transatlantic slaver traders (McCord, 1840). They were bought from African slave traders and they did various task such as transporting human cargo to the New World.  In early 1609, many slaves experienced the ‘starving time’. There was also an Act which was introduced for governing Negroes. In this Act No. 670 states that …’That it shall not be lawful for any slave, unless in the presence of some white person, to carry or make use of fire arms, or any offensive weapons…’ (McCord, 1840). This shows that slaved were restricted in material comfort and they experienced violence and intimidation.  The State law and courts could not recognize their challenges but rather they experienced physical cruelty. However,   the 13^th Amendment was ratified in 1865 and as a result; slavery was abolished during the period. President Lincoln declared that all enslaved people should be freed and his Emancipation Proclamation played a significant role in the abolishment of slavery (McCord, 1840).    

During 17^th and 18^th century, slavers were property who could create investment and labor-intensive goods.  Slave traders and owners incurred a cost for ensuing ownership and maintaining investment. They also used a lot of money on enforcing traders and as a result the slave traders in Great Britain established the slavery abolition (Browne, 1883). European settlers did not view African as indentured servants but rather they treated them as slaves for labor source.  For example, the book ‘The Origin of North-America Slavery and Racims’ states that “They are call’s Slaves in Respect of the Servitude, because it is for Life” (Browne, 1883).  This shows how slaves were treated during slavery era in 1705. However, the colonial laws that were governing slavery changed as slavery become both hereditary and racial. Slaves were able to resist slavery and to bring changes through their cultures, values and practice. They focused on past beliefs and tried to practice them in building a strong community. After 1808, there was no importation of slavery and majority of slaves were Americans from South.  During this period, slaves in New World created a racial identity and used race in revisiting slavery (Browne, 1883). Native Americans who had been captured during the war frontiers, however, were continually enslaved but every aggressive action by the European colonists continues to change the neighboring diplomacy. This enabled the Native Americans to get the opportunities of escaping and returning to their actual tried through the wilderness. In addition, the Native Americans who had been enslaved held a limited number. With the rise of competition from the European investors, the price of labor decreased as the slaves began to get into America in high volumes (Browne, 1883). 

 Conclusion

In those decades prior to 1700, the general number of Africans arriving in American rose, thus resulting in a shaky situation for African Americans.  Even those that were born during the particular period were not spared as they were additionally accounted as slaves. This resulted in the rise of pressured feeling among those that inherited the slavery status, which led to the development of protests.  African captives were dehumanized and used as personal property creating the democracy. Social and political matters led to racial inferiority and a great threat to Negroes. When slavery was defined as an important thing in America, religion was valued for the purpose of eliminating racial divisions. However,   many people become Christians and this led to the modification in slavery. A slave-based economy was developed  and in 19^th century and  there was a natural order  which was called ‘Social Darwinism’ which stated that strong people should exist and weak people must die.  It is also important to say that the enslavement of Africans was not only about economy but also about racism. Initially, it was believed that slaves could change heathen to Christians and bring civilization. However, Whites brought biological absurdities which were based on modification of human race.

Reference

McCord, David J., ed. (1840). The Statutes at Large of South Carolina. Vol. 7, Containing the Acts Relating to Charleston, Courts, Slaves, and Rivers. Columbia, SC: A.S. Johnston, 1840, p. 397.

Browne H. William. (1883). The Origins Of North American Slavery And Racism. Maryland Archives: preceedings and the general assembly of Maryland. 1664. Pp 85.89. Pdf

Artifacts and healing

There are various fetishes, totems and symbols found in the Gilcrease museum describing different cultures of different people. Rainbow horse and superstition are examples of totems used to describe the cultures of Native Americans and Americans respectively.

American culture

Culture include many things for instance the food of the people, dressing code, religion, the way activities are carried out, music, ceremonies, different rules, customs and beliefs just like the woman who is holding a pot in a colored place with a man on the cross signifying religion. The American culture is diverse since it has millions of people who live in different states and from different places of the world (Naylor, 1998). The American culture has been influenced by cultures of other different parts of the world since inhabitants of the US are immigrants from other parts of the world. This culture has been influenced by other different cultures including then Native American, African, Asians and Latin American cultures. American culture has been influenced by other different cultures but currently the American culture is seen to influence other cultures all over the world. There is no specific official language in America since different people speak different other languages such as Germans, French and Spanish. Language is not defined according to the American culture since there is no specific language used in America even though most official businesses are conducted in English (Naylor, 1998).

Religion is also free in American and according to the American culture. The culture does not define specific religion since people are diverse and thus have different religious beliefs. Most of the people are either Muslims or Christians though other religious groups also exist and are not prohibited since freedom of religion is allowed according to this culture. Americans do not have specific dressing codes since it depends on the social status, religion, climate and other factors. American dressing is often influenced by the celebrities and the media personalities (Naylor, 1998). American food has been widely influenced by Europeans and the Native Americans and thus some foods are identified with the Americans such as macaroni, hot dogs and other different foods. Americans are known to be movie and television producers who come up with new production and movies. Thus the American culture is widely influenced by other cultures and influences other cultures as well.

Native American culture

Rainbow horse can be used to describe the Native American culture and thus one can understand the culture better focusing on the painting since the culture is a mixture of other cultures just like the rainbow horse which is a mixture of different colors and two animals. Most of the Native Americans were either nomads, semi nomads while others did not move. The people lived in North American and shared almost similar beliefs and traditions (Pritzker, 2000). The culture was not altered before the Europeans came in the northern part of America and started changing this primitive culture. All the people believed in a religion known as animism where people believed that everything that exists has a soul regardless of the object. Things such as plants and animals also have souls unlike those who believed that it was only human beings who had souls. Thus they believed that even the thunderstorms and other natural resources such as the sun, wind all had souls. They ended up worshipping the animas, sun and other natural phenomenon they believed possessed souls. The Native American culture was not contaminated compared to the American culture and was based mainly on the traditional beliefs and customs since the people were not civilized (Pritzker, 2000). The culture was based on tradition customs, religion, dressing, food and the way they handled their activities in a traditional manner compared to the American culture.

Superstition was an art by Ernest Leonard who was a well known artist and was painted back in 1921 in order to show how the American culture was viewed in those early days.  The painting is about a woman holding a pot with someone on the cross who signifies religion. The object is an oil painting type and is painted in wonderful colors. The woman looks so modern therefore showing that the American culture is a modern culture which has been influenced by a number of other cultures. Rainbow horse too was an art by Woodrow Wilson showing two animals which are colorfully painted and used to signify the Native American culture which is one of the oldest cultures. The painting is oil and was carried out in the mid 20^th century in order to show the originality of the Native American culture. The animals signify how dearly people believed in the animals and even made animals their gods since they believed animals had souls just like human beings have.

Superstition would be used in the healing practice since Americans believed in religion. In this case the religion signified is Christianity where people believed that when they ask their God for anything. The people have medical knowledge and thus attend to diseases through vistimng various hospitals until they get good medical care (Loustaunau & Sobo, 1997). On the other hand, according the Rainbow horse would be used in the healing practice since the native Americans believed that the animals were their gods and would heal them when they called they called out for help. This religion was based on traditional beliefs where people believed the gods would heal them and help them throughout their activities (Spector, 2013).

According to superstition which is mainly based on Christianity, the people believed that their supreme being who was God would heal them. According to this culture, sick people can visit different hospitals and get treated for them to get healed. Most people visit the doctors and pray to their God that He can heal them through the doctors attending to them. The American culture is modern and thus requires people to seek good medical care without depending or relying on traditional herbs (Graham, 1999). Modern medicines have been manufactured which ensure that people are healed once the doctors prescribe prescriptions to be taken by the patients (Fontaine, 2015). Thus modern research has been carried out in the field of medicine so as to ensure all diseases are by the medicines present. On the other hand, Native Americans believed in traditional herbs which healed them. They had traditional herbs and roots which healed them as they prayed to their gods for healing. Traditional medicine men had adequate knowledge on the types of herbs that would treat certain illnesses. People got sick and were healed through use of the herbs and prayers they made to their gods and believed that the gods would hear them. Thus Native Americans had no modern doctors yet they existed and lived for many years through depending on medicine men and traditional herbs.

Work cited

Spector, R.E. (2013) Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness 8th Edition. Appleton & Lange.
Fontaine, K. (2015) Complementary & Alternative Therapies for Nursing Practice, 4rd Edition    Prentice
Graham, H. (1999) Complementary Therapies in Context: The Psychology of Healing. Stanford, Connecticut.
Loustaunau, M. and Sobo, E. (1997) The Cultural Context of Health, Illness and Medicine,          Bergin & Garvey, West Port Connecticut.

Pritzker, B. (2000). A Native American encyclopedia: History, culture, and peoples. Oxford         [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press.

Naylor, L. L. (1998). American culture: Myth and reality of a culture of diversity. Westport,        Conn. [u.a.: Bergin & Garvey.