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Essay on the mountain meadows massacre
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Brigham Young University and The Mountain Meadows Massacre by Juanita Brooks
The Mountain Meadows Massacre by Juanita Brooks recounts a tragic historical event in a manner that can teach important lessons. The book is well researched and well written and reflects the great historical significance of the massacre. In addition, students learn religious lessons studying the book and its subject. Although some members of the Church and a few of Brigham Young University's faculty doubt the wisdom of teaching The Mountain Meadows Massacre, this book should be taught at BYU.
The Mountain Meadows Massacre is an important book written by an important author. Some justifiably argue that Brooks's book is invalid because she is excessively defensive of John D. Lee-thus, they reason, the book is too subjective to take seriously as a historical work. Despite this shortcoming, the book is, overall, an excellent piece of critical writing. Brooks bases her book on primary sources displaying various opinions about the massacre. Even if the book is not completely objective, students can learn from bad examples as well as good ones. Studying The Mountain Meadows Massacre, especially under the direction of a competent teacher, can teach students to think critically about literature and avoid errors in their own writing. In addition to its literary merits, the book is a prime example of how authors can have a significant influence on the public. After Brooks's book was published, members of the Church began to research and discuss the Massacre more openly. One Mormon historian states: "Beginning with the landmark work of Juanita Brooks and proceeding at an increased pace during the past dozen years a spirit of openness, reconciliation, and hea...
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...ssence, BYU students are bright, spiritually experienced, and ready for the challenge of studying The Mountain Meadows Massacre. By studying Brooks's book, students will learn to correctly address perplexing gospel issues. They will hone their critical reading and writing skills and become familiar with a crucial part of their history. If the administrators of BYU want their students to go forth as effective representatives of the Church, they must recognize the benefits of teaching Juanita Brooks's The Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Works Cited
Bushman, Richard L. Personal Interview. 19 November 2002.
Leonard, Glenn M. "In Pursuit of Answers to Difficult Questions." The Journal of Mormon History, 28 (Fall 2002): 14.
Snyder, Eric. "True Confession: I love BYU." Why Write? Provo: Brigham Young University Department of Undergraduate Education, 2002. 244.
The book opens "Nous sommes tours Sauvages," which translates to "We are all Savages." It's a fitting way to begin a book chronicling the story of Major Robert Rogers and his rangers journey, Native American slaughter, and return home. In White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America, author Stephen Brumwell depicts a well researched, unbiased image of: war, hardship, courage, savagery, vengeance, and survival. Brumwell wants to show his readers an image of the true nature of war and all the trimmings that goes along with it. There has never been a war where atrocities were not committed. Further more, there has never been a war where the atrocities were not committed by all sides, to one extent or another. This war was no different. This compelling read draws from a broad range of primary sources, including Rogers' Journals, contemporary newspaper accounts, the letters and remembrances of Rogers' surviving Rangers, and several generations of Abenaki oral history.
“California is a story. California is many stories.” But whose story is heard? What stories are forgotten? In the memoir, Bad Indians, Native American writer and poet Deborah A. Miranda constructs meaning about the untold experiences of indigenous people under the colonial period of American history. Her memoir disrupts a “coherent narrative” and takes us on a detour that deviates from the alleged facts presented in our high school history books. Despite her emphasis on the brutalization of the Indigenous people in California during the colonization period, Miranda’s use of the Christian Novena, “Novena to Bad Indians,” illustrates an ‘absurd’ ironic stance amidst cruelty and violence. The elocution of the Novena itself, and the Christian
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
This essay will study the Central Intelligence Agency’s intervention in Guatemala, and how they assisted Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas in the coup d’état against Jacobo Arbenz. It will describe the reasons of the intervention, the United States’ interest in Guatemala, and how it affected Guatemalans. Such events help explain much about the role that the United States has in their own migration. The paper argues that the United States’ political interest in Guatemala played a fundamental role in the migration of Guatemalans to its borders. As a result of this intervention, Guatemala suffered one of its worse political periods in their history. Guatemala experienced a period of political instability that led the country into social chaos, where many Guatemalans opted to migrate to the United States.
From the time of its colonization at the hands of Spanish Conquistadors in the early 1500’s, Guatemala has suffered under the oppression of dictator after dictator. These dictators, who ruled only with the support of the military and only in their own interests, created a form of serfdom; by 1944, two percent of the people owned 70 percent of the usable land.
Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves for classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for their execution of style and the importance of their content.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a court case that had gone viral about a black man who raped a white woman. A white lawyer named Atticus Finch gave his all to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. There was no evidence that showed that Tom raped Mayella Ewell and he was convicted guilty because of his color. When a black folk was accused of something they are immediately accused guilty. To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in American high-schools because it teaches students about segregation/racism, right from wrong, and courage.
"Growth of the Church - LDS Newsroom." LDS News | Mormon News - Official Newsroom of the Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .
Mann’s main motive for producing this work of literature was to inform the reader about what life was like as a Native American before the influence of the Europeans. Some topics Mann
Brooks, Rebecca B. "The Boston Massacre." History of Massachusetts. N.p., 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
I discussed the differences between Captain Thomas Preston’s Account of the Boston Massacre (1770) and Paul Revere, Image of The Bloody Massacre (1770). I then explained both men’s story beginning with Captain Thomas Preston’s vision of the event. I then explained Paul Revere version of the event. I then included my opinion which account I believed was most accurate and explained why.
Throughout the past 60 to 70 years there has been speculation as to the involvement of the United States in the overthrowing of Jacobo Arbenz’ regime. The United States, through the CIA, although not officially confirmed, did participate in overthrowing Arbenz and his government. It was because of Arbenz’ land reforms, including that of United Fruit Co., that the CIA decided to invade Guatemala. They intervened to prevent Guatemala from falling to Communism by invading her to overthrow Arbenz’ government, which they believed was already following Communistic ideals. The main reason the intervention has been criticized is because it makes it confusing for people to know whether the CIA’s intervention actually helped Guatemala. The CIA’s intervention
When a group of children known as the Little Rock Nine stepped onto the campus of Central High School of Arkansas on September 4th, 1957, they changed history forever. By being the first black students to attend a traditionally white high school, the nine students helped move America toward a more fair and constitutional attitude toward colored people. To Kill a Mockingbird was written during this time period and deals with many of the same cultural issues even though it’s story takes place a few decades earlier. If this were not the case and the novel’s characters had grown up during the same time as the Little Rock Nine, there is no doubt that Scout, Atticus, Bob Ewell, and many other characters would have had strong opinions about and may have even taken action for or against the Little Rock Nine or the Civil Rights movement as a whole.
Terry Tempest Williams is fully aware that she is contradicting the church when she writes “women have no outward authority,” yet she still chooses to take part in a ritual of healing that can only be performed by the men. Williams, however, does so in privacy and in the “secrecy of the sisterhood.” The word secrecy hints at the idea of doing something which is not accepted and against certain beliefs of today’s church. She was born and raised in a home of devout Mormons who follow the traditional beliefs of their faith. She acknowledges that the Mormon Church places great importance on obedience. In college she began to question her faith and today would not consider herself an “orthodox Mormon,” although Mormonism still has an impact in her life and work. In her writing, Williams continually contradicts the values of the Mormons.
Jolley writes about her experience using the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to teach students about history and to look at the world from different perspectives. To do this, the author looks at many different pieces of literature that she believed could teach students to look at the world from another’s perspective using the history of the United States. Jolley then states that “Any study of To Kill a Mockingbird should encompass a study of the Civil Rights Movement” (37), and begins to write about different works that helped to do that. Among other works she writes about “Ballad of Birmingham,” and how it “provides rich lessons in irony, imagery, the power of poetry, and the history of our country” (38), through its telling of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Her writing teaches the reader just how important the event “Ballad of Birmingham” is written about really is, while also speaking about the importance of teaching students about history such as