Who Speaks The Voice Of History
The facts of history in the eyes of Americans have been viewed in many lights. The Smithsonian exhibit entitled, “American Encounters'; is no exception. This multimedia exhibit focuses on American Indians, Hispanics and Anglo-Americans in New Mexico. Although the exhibit contains many noteworthy facts about the culture and lifestyle of the Indians, in my opinion, many other aspects of Native American history were left in the shadows. The Smithsonian did not clearly illuminate the struggle and oppression which the Indians endured during the European settlement. This obscured information raises the issue of which historical facts are selected as notable. E.H. Carr, an historian, explains this argument with a very prominent quote from the first chapter of his book What is History. The quote states, “The facts speak only when the historian calls on them: it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor and in what order or context'; (Carr 9).
As stated above, Carr believes that “facts only speak when the historian calls on them. . .'; (Carr 9). In the “American Encounters'; exhibit, the facts concerning Indian tribulation and European domination could not be heard. By all means I believe that their situation was more than just an encounter. From the statement on the plaque, one could interpret that the Europeans were given the land, or that the Europeans established forts, trading posts, and colonies to live as one with the Indeginous peoples; however, that was not the case.
Consequently, Carr’s statement holds true. The authors of the exhibit choose how to present this portion of history. They decide in what context to display the facts. Obviously the authors feel that a blurb on the wall is enough to express years of struggle and strife. If visitors to the Smithsonian had no previous knowledge about the conflict between Native Americans and the Spaniards, does this excerpt explain the real situation?
From this plaque I am taught nothing of the hardships that the Natives endured. I do not learn that thousands of Indigenous lives were taken at the hands of the Spaniards simply to acquire land that wasn’t theirs. I do not learn that families and tribes were broken up in order to teach the Europeans how to survive. To my dismay no artifacts, pictures or any other type of visual display told this side of the story. It is the responsibility of the authors of this exhibit to accurately convey the facts and clearly elaborate on them.
When the Europeans first migrated to America, they didn’t know much about the ancestral background of the different types of the Indian tribes that were settled in Virginia and along the East Coast. Many of the Indian tribes became hostile towards the colonist because the colonists were interfering with their way of life. This lead the natives to attempt to destroy the frontier settlements. Many forts in this area were erected to protect the settlers and their families. One the historical land...
...d Native Americas in a negative light, such as Carl Wimer’s Abduction of Daniel Boone’s Daughter, George Caleb Bingham’s Concealed Enemy, and Horatio Greenough’s The Rescue. These two paintings and statue in particular should be included because they depict the views of people in that era. The view of Native Americans was that of savagery. In the painting by Wimer the woman is depicted a fair skinned maiden, due to the white dress who is being brutishly taken away. The statue by Greenough, which depicts a man protecting his family from a savage Native American, was outside of the United States Capital for nearly a hundred years before it was taken down. These views of indigenous people during the 19th century have lasting impacts on our country. It is our job to tell the real story of what happened to the Native Americans as victims of our view of manifest destiny.
Cortez, who we learned about last week, enslaved natives and millions of the indigenous Americans died as a result of diseases which they had no immunity, as they were not present. However, despite the Spaniards attempts of turning the new world into a copy of itself and portraying Catholicism, New World culture did not disappear. Rather, it merged. In fact, parts of Mexico still portray indigenous culture down to language, and
...due to the external forces such as other settlers e.g. the Navajos, new settlers along with the Spanish conquerors entered their world. As a result the Pueblo Indians were imposed by these external forces especially through military power that changed their ways completely; having minimal cultural practices of their ancestors before them. The museum may seem like it’s very limited to what’s on exhibit mostly because not all of the building is in use. However the few exhibits they have is substantial in sparking an interest or even beginning to understand the cultures of Native Americans.
Due process is a legal obligation that the state should adhere to the legal rights which are normally owned by the individuals who may be facing criminal or civil dealings. In every due process is very essential to one always questions whether the government has denied one party’s life, freedom, or property as they pursue their pleasure. The due process does integrate certain protections which consist of bill of rights such as the right to
...s of the Americas, what was their life like, and how did it change when Columbus arrived ,’ wrote a student of mine in 1991. ‘However, back then everything was presented as if it were the full picture,’ she continued, ‘so I never thought to doubt that it was.’” Most students after high school, fail to analyze controversial issues in our society. What citizens know about our past is what they have learned in high school history courses.
Particular attention is usually focused on the interactions between humans, that can be from different social, economic, or cultural institutions. This method is sometimes referred to viewing “history from below” as social history brought attention to ordinary groups and how they shaped history. Walter Johnson provides an excellent example of how social history is useful in his book, Soul by Soul. Within his book, Johnson approaches his documents as if they are filled with lies, and he seeks to find the truth within those lies. A social historian would approach the report Hidalgo sent to the Viceroy with much caution, as Johnson did with the docket records. Several lies could be within the report; the level of the French threat from the East, the characterization of the Native Americans in contact with the Spanish, as well as the level of urgency to gain more territory within Texas [Tejas]. Hidalgo makes several claims that the French are the most vital threat to Spanish establishment. To combat this issue, he suggests expanding current settlements and alliances with friendly Indians. Hidalgo shifts the reward to the Viceroy, by claiming if he makes moves to protect Spanish territory, he could be relieved of embarrassments and controversies (Hidalgo, 7). Processing this information as a social historian requires a level of doubt in the validity of
American Studies can be a variety of different meanings to a lot of different authors. They are all pretty much on the same note, but with different alterations. For me, I believe that it is to make connections between the past and how it will impact the future. American Studies has transformed overtime. Each individual has their own beliefs and feelings of what it really means. In Gene Wise’s article he states how he is interested in how the field of American Studies has transformed overtime, what American Studies methodology is, and the types of questions that American Studies practitioners ask. I believe that there is no one way to understand America. For Gene, he begins to understand America by looking into the past. On the other hand, there was also the Linda Kerber essay that we had also read at the beginning of the semester.
“Finally, then, I saw England, the real England, not a picture, not a painting, not through a story in a book, but England land, for the first time.”. This passage dragged me into her personal journey of reflection and realization. It made me realize the reality of when she hated England and understood the concept of the text especially when she talks about how she finally felt about England when she moved on to live there with her husband and two kids. This time she saw England in real life. “In me, the space between the idea of it and its reality had become filled with hatred” this sentence represents the result of not having a clear version about England and now her heart is filled with hatred. She illustrates the reality of England and all her thoughts about it was wrong and how she feels toward England. “so when I at last saw it I wanted to take it into my hands and tear it into little pieces and then crumble it up as if it were clay, child’s clay” she said these words as a revenge action when she was disappointed when she knew the truth.
One common theme throughout every Native American display is the portrayal that Indians are only present in the past and do not exist in the present day world. In the end of the 19th century, it was widely believed that Native Americans would disappear. To the public, and the unsuccessful way museums have been exhibiting native cultures materials, represents these cultures in only one dimension, in the past and illustrates that real Indians are gone. In the past, museum displays including works of art such as pottery, basket weaving, or spears never included the names of the people who made them. They rarely listed and identified the makers. This added another negative notch to the presentation of art or crafts made by anonymous, no name, background, or meaning to object thus the culture itself. It displays an object with a simple description with no place in the current world.18 The Indian culture, by the way, the materials and exhibits have been laid out in museums for years, demonstrates Indians do not live among us, they have all disappeared, their materials are less meaningful and non-existent, and no progression or evolution in the American Indian history. Museums have had to work to meet expectations along with providing new interpretations and perspectives on objects even if it isn’t the popular outlook that has been portrayed from past years and
Seler, Eduard, Ernst Wilhelm Förstemann, Paul Schellhas, Karl Sapper, E. P. Dieseldorff, and Charles P. Bowditch. Mexican and Central American Antiquities, Calendar Systems, and History: Twenty-four Papers. Washington: G.P.O., 1904. Print.
With over three hundred million Americans and over six billion people worldwide parenting skills are essential to maintain a healthy society. Parenting involves many aspects and requires many skills. It is a time to nurture, instruct, and correct to develop fundamental skills children will need to be mature, responsible, and contributing adults to a society. There are four commonly identified parenting styles; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved parenting. Of the four parenting styles, two remain on opposite ends of the parenting spectrum. These two styles; authoritarian, and permissive both have deleterious results that are often visible throughout different developmental stages, such as rebellious behavior. As well each style has its own advantages such as; acceptance by peers with commonality. Child rearing for most parents is an evolving set of skills. It could be said that, with any style of parenting, there is no explicit set of rules for every situation, and what works for one child may not be effective for another.
...rical facts, it was important however, to acknowledge the fact that history does not only search for the truth, it also dwells into the lives of individuals, looking at what each event ‘meant’ to them.
...ttention and focus to reduce the negative impacts on development of children. Research suggests that technology use and especially computers enhances development of children when properly used. On the other hand, the uncontrolled use of technology in childhood education may produce negative effects and impair development in children. Uses of technology in childhood education range from enhancing social interactions, language development to initial computer use skills. It is important to note that, technology use in children education is a matter of how it can be harnessed for the purposes of learning in children. Research by health professionals argues that technology use in children education can produce detrimental health effects especially obesity. Thus, children exposure to technological gadgets like computers and tablets among others should be greatly checked.
Women’s subordination within the labour market is seen by Marxist feminists as suiting the needs of capitalism as women are considered a ‘reserve army of labour’ as they are a more disposable part of the workforce. According to Beechey (1986) women are a cheap ‘reserve army of labour’ that are brought in during economic booms but then thrown out during slumps. Women are often not members of trade unions and are prepared to work for less money as their wage could be a second income. This benefits capitalism as a group of unemployed people looking for work creates competition and exploitation. Employers are given an advantage which allows them to reduce wages and increase the rate of exploitation. Benston (1972) supports this as women are used to benefitting the operation of the capitalist economy by carrying out unprepared work in the home. This proves that patriarchy dominates women which leads to women’s subordination. Hartmann (1981) believes that patriarchy and the economy both play a crucial role in explaining and understanding gender inequality. Historically, men have controlled women especially by control of labour power. This can come through legislation that operates economically to the benefit of men, for example Maternity and Paternity Rights. This proves that patriarchy and economics together explains gender inequality. However, Walby (1986) argues that women staying at home can actually harm capitalism because if women were to compete for jobs with men this would lower wages and increase profits. Women who earn also have superior spending power which would boost the economy and benefit