The Wild West
I think our yearbook theme this year should be a wild west theme.One reason I think our yearbook theme should be the wild west is its a uniqe theme, almost nothing like it. The backgrounds for the wild west may be a silhouette of a mountain with a cowboy on a horse or anything like that. Some backgrounds of school events might be square dances or a cowboy kicking soccer ball. We could also incorporate founts that go with the theme we could also use gold background for the gold rush.
After the Civil War, Americans abandoned the sectional emphasis caused by slavery and developed a national focus. During the period from 1865-1890, Americans completed the settlement of the West. For the farmers and ranchers, the American West was a land of opportunity because land was cheap and the Homestead Act provided land to farmers, including immigrants and blacks, in order to grow crops, raise cattle and make a profit. The American West was also seen as a land of opportunity for miners due to the gold and silver rush in the far west which they believed would make them rich. However, both groups faced many challenges and few achieved great wealth.
Based on the Gilded Age, literally meaning a layer of gold is displayed on the outside and once you look deeper past through the top layer of gold, you can identify that the robber barons are the culprit of the corruption in the government who monopolized the corporate America. Although, there is a great transition from the agricultural economy towards the rapid growth of the urban and industrial society, the robber barons created a lot of problems to much of the working class poor in America.
In 1995, Disney released their 33rd animated feature, Pocahontas, another film that featured Native Americans, but this time being the main focus. While generally receiving mixed to positive reviews and being a box office success, the film was harshly criticized for its historical inaccuracies and deemed offensive for seeming to have a bigger focus on the negative treatment of Pocahontas and her tribe by the Englishmen. Many critics argued that the film presents damaging stereotypes of American Indians. One of the native critics, Chief Roy Crazy Horse, claimed that Disney refused his tribe's offers to help create not only a more historically accurate, but also a more cultural film adaptation of the story. The lyrics of the
The Compromise of 1850 is composed of five laws proceeded on September of 1850 that distributed with the matter of slavery. In 1849 California demanded permission or authorization in order to enter the Union as an independent and free state, prospectively upsetting the balance between the free and slave states in the United State Senate. Senator Henry Clay established a series of resolutions on the 29th of January 1850, aiming to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between the North and the South.“South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun prepared his last speech during the course of the great debate over the Compromise of 1850, a controversial set of resolutions sponsored by Senator Henry Clay that moved the slavery question squarely to the
The Mexican-American War - Debate The Mexican-American war began in 1846, but reasons for the war began much earlier when Mexico made the crucial decision to entice settlers to Texas, with the promise of affordable land grants, actions which eventually led to the annexation of Texas by the United States. All they had to do was accept Mexico 's requirements of becoming citizens, speaking Spanish and converting to Catholicism, this to people who were use to a government that people had rights and freedoms, not experienced in Mexico. Mexico wanted them to develop these long uninhibited lands of Texas, in hopes that it would promote development in the area.(Nardo, 1991, p. 16). The selling of land grants started in the 1820s and the Mexican-American James W. Fannin took over the garrison at Goliad manning it with 350 untrained volunteers with guns, who would be considered pirates to Mexico.
Today we live in a world where war never sleeps. War is a term used to explain conflict between two nations, or within a nation. This particular war was between two nations, Mexico and the United States. About a century and a half ago in 1846, on what was thought to be the Mexican-American border, many American and Mexican soldiers lost their lives. The war was an on-going feud, that had and still has many pros and cons. The U.S. was unjustified in going to war with Mexico because many U.S. citizens disagreed and sided with Mexico. Mexico owned and took care of the land first, and the United States deliberately caused this war to occur. As awesome as a
By the late 19th century segregation of black and whites had become an entrenched way of life in the south. In December 1960 another Supreme Court ruling declared segregated restrooms, restaurants, and waiting rooms for interstate bus, train and plane passengers unconstitutional. 5 months later that law would be severely tested by Freedom Riders. The Freedom rides were organized by James Farmer; director of The Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, a civil rights organization rooted in philosophy of non-violence. Farmer, who was arrested with other Freedom Riders, launched the movement to draw attention to the lack of enforcement of recent civil rights court decisions and legislations. As Freedom Riders rode into the south, the campaign gained
Sanitary conditions in the West were practically non-existent. In the cities, horse manure covered the streets. Housewives emptied garbage, dishwater, and chamber pots into the middle of the city streets where free-roaming pigs devoured the waste. The pigs left their urine and feces on the streets. It was not easy to wash clothes. Many people had clothes splattered with manure, mud, sweat, and tobacco juice. Privies, or necessary houses were often to close to the homes with a very noticeable odor on hot and/or windy days. If a family had a kitchen, all the members washed at the sink each day, without soap, rubbing the dirt off with a coarse towel. Eventually, many cold bedrooms had a basin, ewer (pitcher), cup, and cupboard chamber pot. Bed bugs and fleas covered many of the travelers’ beds. “Isaac Weld saw filthy beds swarming with bugs.” These insects followed the travelers, crawling on their clothes and skin.
A typical Western would usually be set in the late 19th century in the mid-west of America in a remote town. The town is usually small, lonely and unwelcoming. Typically a western set looks like it is in the middle of a desert with sand, cacti and tumbleweed which gives a desert look, there are usually never any lakes or rivers around these features make the place look really hot and deserted. The buildings are generally timber board houses with swinging doors and outside the buildings are places to keep their horses, there is also always a General Store and a Saloon. Horses and carriages and cattle are used to give a western feel. The cowboys are typically dressed in western style clothing for example they wear simple shirts and jeans they may also wear ponchos, waist coats, hats, boots with spurs, guns and a belt to hold the gun and bullets, Hero's tend to wear lighter clothing and the villain’s tend to wear darker clothing.
The story of the American West is still being told today even though most of historic events of the Wild West happened over more than a century ago. In movies, novels, television, and more ways stories of the old west are still being retold, reenacted, and replayed to relive the events of the once so wild and untamed land of the west that so many now fantasize about. After reading about the old west and watching early westerns it is amazing how much Hollywood still glorifies the history and myth of the old west. It may not be directly obvious to every one, but if you look closely there is always a hint of the Western mentality such as honor, justice, romance, drama, and violence. The most interesting thing about the Old West is the fact that history and myth have a very close relationship together in telling the story of the West.
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
The Manifest Destiny took place in the 19th century, and during this time, America expanded the size of the country dramatically. This was a result of various different wars that occurred. One of the most significant one was the Mexican-American War. This war was the first war the Americans had to fight on foreign land. During the war, there was continuous bloodshed due to the determined soldiers on both sides of the country. In the end, the war officially ended in 1848 and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which it officially gives up California and New Mexico for a cost of 15 million dollars. After the war, the Native Americans were displaced, the size of the country increased, and the country’s economy boosted.
Many pros and cons influenced the domestic and international developments during the early part of the 20th century. Which contributes to the idea of progress being a zero sum game. From families including men women and children living in abandoned homes and tents due to the breakdown of the economy during the 1920s, or the red scare of socialists uprising and coming to ruin the Democratic America. These all contribute positives and negatives that greatly impact and grow the American identity of ambition, through innovation and imperialism for the American people.
“Barbarism is a subjective term used to oppose whatever is different from one’s own culture.” No matter how much people try not to judge others, doing so is almost impossible. The real struggle arises when a person comes across something different from their cultural beliefs. On page 355 Volume C, Montaigne states, “each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in.” Growing up a person tends to be raised in understanding only one cultural practice and the practice they are taught is the one that applies to their culture. With that in mind, you are then capable of understanding why people
Britain had an empire entrenched on commerce, sea power and naval supremacy and had developed herself as the first trading nation of the world. Britain’s colonial empire began with the global maritime explorations of Portugal and Spain in the 15th century. Britain used its naval power to rule the seas and by the late 19th century, had gained control of territories on every continent which included more than a quarter of the world’s population. Scottish writer John Wilson devised the axiom “The sun never sets on the British Empire” due to it being daytime in at least one of her colonies at some point of the day. However Britain’s colonial reign was not as smooth as she would have hoped, challenges soon emerged from other nations. Threatening