Blog entry #8 - Maaz Mateen 1B

The past week we focused a lot on how America got involved with International problems. I want to focus a lot on Spain and how America dealt with them, along with the path America took for movement during the Indian Wars. First off the whole thing with the men in California either having to sail all the way across south America, or having to cross panama. To me, it seemed highly unnecessary. I wondered why they didn't go through Canada, Mr. Hoffman said something like " there were no roads, and it was pretty much empty". I mean I understand why someone might have not wanted to go through there for the transfer of gold. However I still believe it is a much easier route then going all the way around south america or even crossing Panama. I'm sure it would have been much more convenient to be involved with Canada rather than Panama. What do you think might have happened if we found a way to transfer gold through Canada? The second topic is the whole thing with Spain. I really found it kind of sudden how America started to war with the Philippines right after they "helped" free them. I also found it a little odd that America proposed their own governor, then allowed only people who would vote for him to vote in Cuba. In general I felt that the way America treated their first few international businesses was a little odd and controlling.

Blog entry #7 - Maaz Mateen 1B

This week we focused almost completely on the Native Americans. We learned of the three forms of Americanization that the Indians were put through. However the most interesting topic for me were the schools. I was intrigued by what these young children endured for their tribes. Both of the children that we read about had agreed to go to these schools for the sake of courage. Why do you think "courage" was such a big deal for these children? The second most interesting thing that shocked me was how brutal the Indian wars were. Mr. Hoffman mentioned that American soldiers fired on Indians even though they were holding white flags. This confused me, because America had abolished slavery, hinting that America wants peace. However the Indians were brutally murdered. The least important act of Americanization were the treaties. From the beginning I had already guessed that the treaties would not work for many reasons. One of the reasons was that the treaty was only for the Sioux tribe. This must have caused some trouble for the other tribes. Which of the three acts of Americanization was the most interesting to you?

Blog entry #6 - Maaz Mateen 1B

Our class these past few weeks mainly focused around these three images, and I felt that the image overhead was the most important as it held all the persuasive appeals. What do you think was the most important/interesting image, and why? For the people in Communications or speech class, we are familiar with these 3 techniques and have gone quite in depth. For this image specifically there is a lot of Logos going on. There are many words, which mostly contain facts and other such logical appeals. However what I think is the most persuasive role in the image is most certainly the black man just sitting there doing nothing. I feel that this paper is trying to make emotional appeal through this man. At that people were used to seeing the opposite of this happening. Never was the black man not working or being put into unpaid labor. Now they have literally reversed the conditions making the people of America feel emotion. The emotion of desire. To desire equality after all of this hardship we put ourselves through. We fought through slavery and now all we want is equality, even if the black man should deserve more at this time. I KNOW that equality for all is better.
What do you think about the in-fighting of the republicans?

Blog week #5 - Maaz Mateen 1B

The civil war has ended. But at what cost? This past week focused on the completion of the civil war along with the Unit test of course. But even though we barely discussed the ending of the civil war. I feel it is a very important role in American history. How do you think the civil war played a role in the Great Depression?  We learned about the promises that Abraham Lincoln could not keep to the United States of America due to his unfortunate death. How do you think Lincoln's death played a role in the Great depression? Lincoln's death allowed his vice president, Andrew Johnson to take office. Fun Fact: President Johnson was actually a slave holder. Now that you know that Andrew Johnson was a slave holder, we also need to understand that when he came into office, he was resented by the North because he could not completely fulfill the reconstruction of the union. And the south also hated him because they thought he was a traitor to the south. He stuck with the Union during the civil war so this resentment might not be so misplaced after all. Due to all this plus the pressure he got from trying to fulfill Lincoln's footstep. I personally applaud him for standing his ground and having his own ideals.

Blog week #4 - Maaz Mateen 1B

This last week we mainly focused on the Civil war. We had two different ways of understanding this war. First we observed and understood the importance of the maps leading up to the war. We used to maps to get a better understanding of the division between north and south. The second method was through the battle of Gettysburg and also through the battle of Cold Harbor. These two battles were decisive and important regarding the fate between the victor and the loser in the Civil War.
That maps gave us some background info on Abraham Lincoln and David Lee. It taught about the split between the Union and the Confederacy. We learned about the two sides of the war. Unions and confederacy, republics and democrats, North and South. this split really interested me when I realized that America could have split. What is your perspective on America splitting?
The battle of Gettysburg was probably the most decisive battle in the Civil war. Mr. Hoffman mentioned how the battle of Gettysburg was a proud and honorable battle when historians view it, what do you think about that? This battle was started when Lee tried to sneak up on Gettysburg so he could have an easy route to the Capital. The Union anticipated this and set up a defense. The Union won. The battle of Cold harbor seemed to be a one-sided massacre by the Confederate. This was the war with the most casualties in American history, and this battle was the bloodiest.

Blog week #3 - Maaz Mateen 1B

This past week had one obvious central topic, the abolition of slavery. This week was not only about the abolition of slavery for American Studies but also for American Literature. In American studies we learned about the abolition through the PBS documentary "slavery and the making of America", along with the lectures on the maps of America. In American Lit. we learned about the abolition through two close readings. One on Lincoln's Inaugural address and one on the "middle passage" by Robert Hayden. In the Studies portion on the abolition of slavery we had a more direct focus on slavery. However in Lit. we had a much more moral and biblical perspective on the Abolition of slavery.

The Maps of slavery were very straightforward and to the point. They were used to show the separation of states between North and South. They were also used to show the evolution of America through the 17th and 18th century. Why do you think the North and South split in such a clear way? The Documentary was more of a collection of stories rather than a general perspective. There was also a lot of focus on writing/literature along with Churches. The different tragedies that occurred due to slavery shocked me.

The unique and magnificent way that Abraham Lincoln wrote his Inaugural address was very pleasing. Why do you think he connected his address to the bible so much? The Middle passage was a painstaking and complicated text.However, through the close reading I felt much more comfortable and knowledgeable on it.

Blog week #2 - Maaz Mateen 1B

This past week was mainly focused on one very long and intriguing video on the biography on John Adams. This biography revolved around a few themes. The abolition of slaver, Declaration of independence, and the liberties that varied among the Americans present at congress and Americans present otherwise at home. There were two central perspectives in the biography, John Adams (congress) and Abigail Adams (commoner).

The discussions between the congress back and forth was very engaging. These debates that decided the liberation of Americans whose answers were already known to the audience. This dramatic irony gripped me and caused me to enjoy the biography even more. There were also multiple discussion on whether the Declaration of independence should be carried out. Obviously after the king rejected their plea for peace, Independence seemed the most efficient choice. However another important value that this video gives to us is the personality of Thomas Jefferson. I personally feel that his true personality is a quiet and shy one, yet his experiments seem awful. There is a saying that the quiet ones are the craziest on the inside. How do feel about Thomas Jefferson as a person?

Another stimulating theme of the Biography was the well thought out interactions between Husband and wife, partner and partner, general public and congressman, John Adams and Abigail Adams. This interaction was a metaphor for all the above which seemed as if though the Biography had two different perspectives on the situation of the liberty of America. Abigail fueled John Adams relentless argument for war and independence. It was almost as if the citizens of America were commanding John Adams actions. How important do you think Abigail Adams was towards the strive for women's Rights? How do you think she connects and doesn't connect with the mill girls?

Blog week #1 - Maaz Mateen 1B

Week #1- Blog 1

This past week had two major events to reflect upon. We had a very interesting and contradicting reading about Thomas Jefferson's notes on Virginia  and the declaration of independence. Along with the dark and treacherous voyage and journey of Equiano.

 Both of the texts by Jefferson revolved around Jefferson's ideas and his thoughts on slavery. The declaration of Independence mostly tried to state that all men are equal and should be free from the oppression coming from the British. This idea contradicts with what he states in the notes of Virginia. In the notes of Virginia he continuously demotes the Africans and treats them so differently to the point of experimenting on them to see if anything different would happen to them compared to the  white man. This level of hate towards the Africans was surprising and detestable.

Equiano contained a much more evil and dark story behind it. The treatment of the Slaves by the white was absolutely horrifying especially for such a young boy like Equiano. He was subjected to such hardships and treachery and without even having anything to hold on to. His true culture would definitely be debatable among a classroom, but the much clearer answer is that he is African. Although he was only in Africa for 12 years that should not make his alliance to Europe closer. He is an African not only due to skin color, language and character but also because from his heart he is truly African.