Chapter 8: Awakening of American Nationalism (Section 4)

While I was reading section 4 of Chapter 8, I wondered why Northerners wanted to stop slavery. The fact that words like "civil war" and "disunion" were thrown around because of the use of slavery in Missouri shows how important slaves were in the South. I feel like it is actually reasonable that the South needed slave much more than the North. It seems like there was more people residing in the North than the South. Not because of civil rights, the North no longer needed the slaves to work for them and sold them off to the South. The South not only rely more heavily on their plantations but also needed more people to work on their farm. At first, I was confused about why the North would actually support the discontinuation of slavery but later found the explanation above as a possible reason. Also, the Monroe Doctrine, I thought was one of the smartest things that the US could have said. Although it might not have meant anything to the Europeans at that point, these principles has helped us to remain a neutral country in a time of European upheaval and later successfully extend onto the West.

Ch. 7

    Even though a new president was elected, many citizens still fear the executive branch’s power. Since it was a new government placed by the Constitution, much of the president’s duties and the extent of its powers were unclear. It was not until the Bill of Rights was written up that the powers of the people of America was clearly addressed. If I was a citizen of America back then, I would also doubt the powers of the president. First of all, how different would this president be from the king? I wondered if at the time, even with the Bill of Rights that the people would actually exercise their rights?

    When the text was explaining about Hamilton’s financial plan, I was very confused. I didn't really understand why Hamilton advised no to pay back the loans but only the interest. I did not really know how that would help the US to have so much debt. However, I was very surprised to hear that Americans drank so much whiskey that they had to collect extra tax to buy liquor. Drinking became such a problem that a Whiskey Rebellion occurred, angering farmers who sold whiskey. 

   The subject that interested me the most was about the life of white females. I was surprised at how marital rights were forced as women. They had to become pregnant out of wedlock to force their fathers to approve of their marriage. Even though they could go to school by 1789 in Massachusetts, their education was nearly useless outside of being a mother or an obedient wife. It is sad for me to hear that the women at the time had such little opportunities politically, in terms of ownership, and even marital rights. Although our rights as women has improved,there are still inequality that can be seen in our everyday life.

Chapter 6

       In chapter 6, the thing that made the most impression on me was how the loyalist thought they were obligated to stay loyal to the king. If they did not continue to defend the king, they though they are going to sacrifice their own honor. It was surprising that the issue of separating from Britain could mean that their honor was at stake.  I think it is hard for me to image that this could become a personal thing. Although it does make sense that these loyalists would be hesitant to support something other than what the king has told them to. It is what they have always have known. These colonist always had a monarchy and to diverge away from that scares them. As expected, by 1776, these loyalist are the elites that can not make up their mind about rebelling against whom have given their riches. I think they must of thought: is my way of life going change if all ally with the Whigs? If I ally with the other side, what are people going to think of me back home? Being part of the elites has done me well so far, is it worth fighting for independence?

       Even when the British finally recognized America as a separate country, the price that both sides had to pay was unbelievable. No matter what color they were, 5% of them died while fighting for independence. Thousands of natives, slaves, and even loyalist were even put into exile. However, the biggest question of all, is how the colonist will develop a new government, different from the one that they were freed from.

Chapter 4 / 5

        While I was reading Chapter 4, I was most intrigued by the colonial life of men and women. In the British colonies, everyone was welcomed as an immigrant unless they are Catholics. As a result, many non British found it the best place to practice whatever religion that they pleased. I was really surprised that even criminals and murders from England also can to North America and became slaves. Most people also did not have enough money to actually own land once their parents died. They had to work and become farmers to pay back the mortgage. Only when they become 50 years old do they fully pay back all their debts. It is incredible how long and the tedious process that the next generation had to work just to live debt free. Also, I would not want to live during this time as a women. I basically had no rights as a wife. My only chance of actually gaining something from my husband is for him to die. Once I become a widow will I have the rights to property that we both worked for.
       The process towards Independence is what interested me the most in Chapter 5. At first, the colonist did not want to separate from their homeland. However, after the Boston Tea Party the British government further push for colonial subordination. Although the colonist have established a Continental Congress as a way to diverge away from the British government. It was not surprising to me that some colonist would still want to be associated with Britain. After all, that was there mother land. It was not until Thomas Paine published Common Sense to change everyone's mind about their royalty with King George III. This really signifies how important words can be so powerful to change people's minds.

Chapter 3

In this chapter, the colonies are more developed, some colonies people were even treated better than their counterpart in England. I was most interested in the rights of women at the time. In the Chesapeake Bay and New England, there was an imbalance of  men and women. I thought that it would actually be better as a female to immigrate there instead of staying back in England. They would get property rights once their husband had died, marriage protection, and although they were pressure to remarry, at least their family was not cramped into a tiny living space. Witchcraft was also on the rise in Salem as women were accused of being possessed by the devil and being unfeminine. To me, it just seems like an excuse for the husbands to accuse their wives or any female of disobedience. Although public education was beginning to be made possible by the Old Deluder Act, girls were still not treated the same compared to the boys who gets extra attention in academics.

Chapter 2

       As I read Chapter 2, there were things about the West Africans and Europeans socially that I found interesting and questionable. Unlike today where a marriage is joined by love and personal relationships, Africans married to have more people working in the fields. They did not marry for emotional purposes but for the desire to have a growing population. As a result, children were the biggest work force. I then wonder if the Africans ever felt happy with their extended family since they are not tied by any emotions. While West African women were expected to work alongside the men, Europeans had a more specific role for each family member. The husband's main job would be to work and should be the head of the household while the wives were to bore children and all are expected to have total obedience towards their father figure. In both societies, the children must contribute to the work force. I found it interesting that they did not want their child to go to school as an opportunity to move up the social ladder. However, it might be because education would not be an option for peasants and farmers since education was only available for the rich and influential. Moreover, more knowledge for the lower class would be a threat for the upper class.
      Once Europe expanded into the Atlantic World, slave trade also became more important. I was surprised to read that the African kingdoms were once powerful enough for it to decide base on self interest whether or not to trade with Portugal. In the past, I have always thought that Africa was weak to European rule and subjected by default into slavery. However, according to this text, it seems as though African slavery was a gradual expansion of racial justification. When the Europeans colonized into the New World, it was surprising that disease became the number one killer along the Natives. The  Native Americans did not even have the chance to defend their territory against the Europeans. To me, that seemed like the native people were fighting a losing war. To trade with the Natives, the Europeans had to adapt to Native ways to become successful. Europeans practiced reciprocity with the Native. In exchange for magical beads, the Natives had the help of the French to fight off the other native tribes. Their exchange confused me about how the Indians had allies and killed other Indian groups for territory when in Chapter 1, it talked about how the Indians barely killed each other in battles.