Lethal Tools of Our Past-
Weapons of The Frontier
A starving man paves his own highway with the calloused soles of his hunger. Out on the untamed wastelands, forests, and prairies it was the way of the gun, the knife, and the axe for all that managed to survive. And survive these brave men and women did with a sheer will of endurance that the pampered of today’s world has not come to know even the shadow of. In our modern comfort we live in what legacy these bold souls carved out of this nation, and much of the thanks we must give is passed to the sweat-hewned implements of their survival, the weapons of the frontier.
Scourging the countryside for this evening’s meal or simply keeping wary of impending danger, one often felt naked without a trustworthy gun at their side. A firearm often made one feel invincible, for the power of a bullet could protect the weakest and cowardly from even the strongest and fiercest of animals and people. In it’s use it proved to be an action that spoke louder than words, many a quarrel has been put to rest through this instrument, whose music is often not one of good cheer.
The rifle and the coveted shotgun, literally brought home the bacon. With sleek models such as the Winchester .44 in 1873, accurate targeting sights increased a hunter’s ability to take down his prey, even from large distances, often exceeding 200 yards. The other weapon of choice, the shotgun, did not boast a straight, clean shot, but had the capacity to tear anything to shreds in a single blast. A short barrel provided the advantage of a wider blast range and easier handling (Trachtman et al 50). In many battles, the shotguns were often preferred for their simplifying features.
In the frequently lawless country that the United States had become, a quicker solution for combat was deemed necessary. It did not take long for such handguns as the 1873 Colt Peacemaker to emerge as the weapon of choice for gunfighter, cowboy, sheriff or civilian. Fighting men everywhere considered the peacemaker’s balance and durability superior to that of other revolvers of the day, and they expressed their appreciation by clamoring for a variety of versions – some decorative or modified for a fast draw, others were plain, but all were lethal (Trachtman et al 43). With a growing consideration of violence, many Americans rushed to buy them in large quantities, often through the mail.
In 1938, the Chavez family lost their farm due to the Great Depression. They were forced to relocate to California and become migrant workers. Chavez was distressed by the poor treatment that migrant farmworkers endured on a daily basis. His powerful religious convictions, dedication to change, and a skill at non violent organizing cultivated the establishment of the United Farmworkers (UFW). It was also referred to as “La Causa” by supporters and eventually became a vital movement for self-determination in the lives of California's farmworkers. The astounding nationwide lettuce and grape boycotts along with public support revealed the atrocities of California agribusiness and resulted in the first union hiring halls and collective bargaining for migrant workers. The details of the childhood of Cesar Chavez and how they would later shape his actions are a vital aspect of this book and the establishment of the farm workers movement.
Chávez’s leadership was based on an unshakable commitment to nonviolence, personal sacrifice and a strict work ethic. He emphasized the necessity of adhering to nonviolence, even when faced with violence from employers and growers, because he knew if the strikers used violence to further their goals, the growers and police would not hesitate to respond with even greater vehemence. Despite his commitment to nonviolence, many of the movement’s ‘enemies’, so to speak, made efforts to paint the mo...
By using diction and repetition, Cesar Chavez emphases the need to use nonviolence during moments of injustice. The rhetorical choices made in this argument draw forth feelings of understanding and cause the readers to think deeper into Chaves' point of view. The purpose is to carry a message that shows the power of nonviolence and what it brings to the world. People quickly follow the straight, bloody path of force and violence, rather than thinking deeper in search for the winding yet cleaner path. As human beings, we crave the freedom and power we believe was bestowed upon us by God. We will fight tooth and nail, even threw the deaths of many, in order to achieve these trivial things.
Even though, this is a fictional book, it tells a true story about the struggle of the farm worker to obtain a better life for themselves and their families. There are two main themes in this book, non-violence, and the fight for dignity. Cesar Chavez was a non-violent man who would do anything to not get in a fight while they where boycotting the growers. One, incident in the story was when a grower pulled out a gun, and he pointed it at the strikers, Chavez said, “He has a harder decision to make, we are just standing here in peace…” The picketer were beaten and put in jail before they would fight back and that is what why all farm workers look up to Cesar Chavez , along with his good friend Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violence is the only way to solve anything. The growers in that time did not care about their workers, if people were striking, the growers would go to Mexico and bring in Braceros, mean that they would not have to sign the union contract and not take union workers, who were willing to work if the grower would sign the contract.
It is crucial to have an awareness of the early beginnings of his life in order to understand Cesar Chavez’s development into becoming the celebrated leader he is known as today. One of the noteworthy aspects of his life is that he was not what some would consider a “natural-born” leader, meaning that he was not born into a family of great wealth or power. Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 near the town of Yuma, Arizona to a humble, hardworking Mexican immigrant family. His grandfather, Cesario Chavez, for whom he was named after, had worked hard to save enough money to be able to buy land in Arizona and raise his thirteen children, which included Cesar’s father. His father, Librado Chavez, grew up, got married, and opened up a couple of small businesses to help provide for his family and build a better life for his own children. According to biographical accounts about Cesar, this is when and where he began to learn and...
They believed that their approaches to making changes for the workers would work if they continued practicing the same method. Oftentimes their very own methods worked, and would result in the desired way. Sometimes however these methods would lead to quite a bit of anger from those that they opposed. The opposition would call on the courts to attempt to get the union leaders to stop whatever their union was doing. When the leaders did not do this, they were imprisoned. This was the main reason for Chavez's imprisonment. While this possibly partially led to Hoffa's imprisonment, his involvement with the mafia was most likely the main reason for his arrest.
In chronicling how the family structure has changed in America, it is important to understanding how family was actually defined. When referencing Leave it to Beaver (further referred to as LITB) times, family took on a substantive definition, or the idea that family was equivalent to relative, or related by blood or law. While this definition of family served the time period, it failed to evolve with society. For that reason, sociologists set out to determine a “more inclusive functionalist definition,” that focuses on what families do. “A functionalist definition of families focuses on how families provide for the physical, social, and emotional needs of individuals and of society as a whole” (Witt). With that, the functionalist perspective identifies six primary functions, which include reproduction, socialization, protection, regulation of sexual behavior, affection and companionship, and...
Americans today tend to believe that guns are dangerous and they should not be in the place of anyone’s hands. There is much debate over who should have one and who should not. What is not commonly conversed is how to properly use one. David Shipley, the author of the article The Rare ‘Good Guy with a Gun’, acknowledges this understated issue. Being a “good guy with a gun” is not enough to stop a bad guy with a gun. You do not only need a gun but also experience, knowledge, and adequacy.
Nowadays, this concept of using nonviolence is hard to achieve. This is because people think that peaceful protest aren’t effective compared to taking action with their hands. One example is the Blacks Lives Matter Movement. Although there are peaceful protest, there are times when people turn violent against police. This can be counterintuitive since watching these harsh actions by protestors, people start forming negative views about the organization. This leads to people not supporting the cause anymore. Without the support of the public, an organization can’t
Cesar Chavez was an activist for the farm workers movement and had an article published in the magazine of a religious organization on nonviolence on the tenth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in the 60’s at the height of the civil rights movement. Many people wanted to turn to violence but Chavez leads them away from that course through his uses of the causes and effects of violence and nonviolence with the appeal to historical events, compelling diction, and his appeals to basic moral beliefs of his reader to achieve his overall purpose of calling the farm workers to unify and to gain direction to stand up to the manipulative rich.
...s, he knew that the best way to get the farm workers invested was to embrace the collective identity that the Mexicans cherished. He first made a flag to symbolize his cause. He then used religion to encourage more people to join. However, the main reason Mexicans joined his cause was because they trusted him; he was one of them. He spoke Spanish, was uneducated and most importantly, he was a farm worker just like them. Chávez used these to encourage people to join his cause and consequently he succeeded. Growers signed contracts with farm workers for fair wages and working conditions. César Chávez devoted his life to improving the lives to countless Mexicans Americans. He did not give up until all Mexicans Americans received the same rights as white workers. People remember today Chávez today as the man who orchestrated the most successful farm workers revolution.
Cesar Chavez set a message a multitude of people support: it was about farm workers' rights. In the 1960s, hard working farmers were paid low salaries and were often mistreated by their leaders. Chavez was one of the many who were brutalized; however, unlike others, he stood up for the workers' rights. All his efforts of eliminating this misery was reflected in his powerful speech "We Shall Overcome".
Various historical figures throughout time have advocated for beliefs, such as world peace, through nonviolent protest. Cesar Chavez was one individual who practiced nonviolence as a labor union organizer and Civil Rights leader. He strongly believed in resistance without violence and expresses his ideas in an article of a religious organization to promote his views on poverty and the workforce through moral. According to Chavez, victory and violence does not correlate in American society. Cesar speaks to his audience by using strategies like motivational anecdote and tearful emotional appeal to promote nonviolent protesting.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy described him as “one of the heroic figures of our time” (Cesar Chavez Foundation). This shows that Cesar Chavez made a difference in people’s lives, including Senator Robert’s. Some people may say that immigrants are bad people but Cesar Chavez was an immigrant himself yet, also a hero to the country. Experts say he was an American farm worker, labor leader, and a civil rights activist. This shows that he fought for what he believed in. Being a farm worker wasn’t something he planned on doing but he had no choice because he was an immigrant. He saw how cruel Americans were treating immigrants so he fought for their rights. He spoke for all the immigrants everywhere. The Cesar Chavez Foundation mentioned that at age 11, his family lost their farm during the great depression and became migrant farm workers. This shows how and why Cesar Chavez fought for farmworkers rights. He grew up not having the best childhood but he took others lives into consideration and fought for them to have a better and brighter
Carter, Gregg. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.