On the first day of
class, one of my peers argued that the Americans and British were unlikely to
go to war. I beg to differ because after recently taking a U.S. History course,
I know that as a result of the stamp act crisis, for the first time Americans
used the argument "No taxation without representation" which led to
illegal riots that nullified the system and as a result was the repeal of 1766.
At first the colonies were reluctant to revolt against England but eventually
they changed their minds. In one of Benjamin Franklin's testimonies, he exposed
that the Colonists might not have been willing to rebel against England because
of the simple fact that they respected, admired Great Britain and grew fond of
their culture which greatly increased commerce. Franklin made a strong
statement that if they did not repeal the act it would only trouble England's
commerce. Great Britain only used the Colonies for their own economic
advancements and Franklin saw that this taxation would hurt the American
economy so it only made sense to revolt. As a result they burned stamps, chased
stamp collectors out, ransacked homes of the Royal and burned the coaches of
the British. The Stamp act crisis was only one of many reasons why the colonies
revolted against England and soon came into war. We engaged in battles such as
Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Brooklyn. We outsmarted the British
through guerrilla warfare tactics. At the end of war we then gained our
independence and land. We were no longer colonies and then became states. In
short I know violence plays a very imperative role in American history.
Personally I have my
very own opinions on the contradictions and hypocrisy that America was built
on. Since day one we've celebrated Christopher Columbus' voyage to America. The
deep truth remains, the Europeans brainwashed the Native Americans, manipulated
them and tried to convert their religion to the Faith of Christianity not for a
good cause but for their own selfish greed driven reasons. They wanted gold,
they wanted to take over their land, gain all their crops, wipe out the Native
American population by however means necessary. They killed and slaughtered
innocent Native American men, women, fathers, mothers and even children,
sparing no life. Violence again plays an important role during this time in
history. After the Native Americans, Black people were the next to be oppressed
under slavery. Even white underclass men such as Indentured Servants were
mistreated. Nothing has changed. The rich is still rich and the poor is still
poor. In present times we still live under a social structure defined by class.
Thomas Jefferson who
was the father of democracy can be considered a flawed hero. He authored an
Anti-Slavery paragraph in the Declaration of Independence, he was responsible
for the Northwest Ordinance and believed in Gradual abolition but he never
truly enforced abolishing slavery at large. Instead he had this radical
proposal advocating total emancipation but thought that slavery will
voluntarily be extinct. He acknowledged prejudice of the Whites and presented
his own prejudice, artificial distinctions where he stretches his own opinions
of blacks in order to justify slavery. Yet he himself was a slave owner of 600
slaves and engaged in a secret relationship with Sally Hemings. I can go on and
on and ramble about how hypocritical Americans were but I would be here
forever.
The only person I
could consider a real American Hero would be Abraham Lincoln. One of his famous
quotes stated "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This
expresses my idea of Democracy." In the most simplest and direct terms,
Lincoln makes this solid statement that he would not be a slave owner as it
would be hypocritical to all that he stands for. What I found most interesting
during our first class, was when Professor Roger-Coopers made the comparison
and relation between the Declaration of Independence and Terrorism. It provided
me with a different frame of reference because I never thought of it this way.
I love history and I am ready to take on and unveil the violence that occurred
not only in America but all across the world at large.
Although I do have
to say I'm a little disappointed because I thought this class was going to
emphasize violence in ART. I am a Fine Arts & design major and I took this
class in hopes of learning more about brutal events and upheaval that occurred
in art history. None the less I am still eager to learn.
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