The main idea of American History will be debated as long as people can remember the United States. For this web log, and the cover letter to the resume of your portfolio, you will write about the metaphoric character of American History.
1. Do any of these authors appear to disagree with each other? Explain.
2. Which statement about US history comes closest to your own beliefs? Explain by using three significant events from American History to support your belief.
3. In your own words, what’s a central theme in American History?
The genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges, or churches, or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors, but always most in the common people.
– Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist
America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.
– Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH (April 14, 1889 – October 22, 1975) was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline, which examined history from a global perspective.
The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows... If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.
– Frederick Douglass (February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer.
You can't say civilization don't advance... in every war they kill you in a new way.
– Will Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor.
It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it.
– Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist.
I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.
– John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American politician and the second President of the United States (1797–1801), after being the first Vice President (1789–1797) for two terms
I am more and more convinced that Man is a dangerous creature, and that power whether vested in many or a few is ever grasping, and like the grave cries give, give. The great fish swallow up the small, and he who is most strenuous for the Rights of the people, when vested with power, is as eager after the prerogatives of Government. You tell me of degrees of perfection to which Humane Nature is capable of arriving, and I believe it, but at the same time lament that our admiration should arise from the scarcity of the instances.
– Abigail Adams (née Smith) (November 11, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
– George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.
I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
– Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States.
We meet no Stranger, but Ourself
– Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830– May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life
In Memoriam: John Hope Franklin, January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009. May he rest in peace.
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23 comments:
Frederick Douglass and Will Rogers disagree. Frederick Douglass says that if there is no struggle, there is no progress. He means a power struggle, war. Will Rogers is saying that America is advancing, but in the wrong direction, towards war.
I agree with Samuel Longhorne Clemens. When we discovered America, it was a beautiful, natural place. But the Europeans enslaved the natives and forced them to give them their gold and valuables. They pushed them off their land, forcing them to walk the trail of tears. They took America and tore down a lot of it's natural beauty.
"America is like a cobra, it strikes for offense and for defense."
Yes, two of these authors disagree. Thomas Jefferson is a influential Founding Father and he is believing that the future will be much birghter than the past. He is trying to say that the past will be considered to him a dark time period. Which means that the history of the past wont be as bright as America's future. Will Roger is trying to say something diffent than Thomas Jefferson. Will is saying that civilization advances faster in other countries. Civilaization is advancing in the wrong way. This is leading to wars and terriost attacks.He is saying that America will advance... but not as quickly.
I believe the Thomas
Jefferson quote becuase is related to me opinion about American
History. The past wasn't bright becuase many people suffered and it was a terrible time for most people. The history of the past is like everyone's yesterday, and the future is everyone's tommorow but you will never know what is in store for you. The history of the past will never be forgotten. Also, if you made a mistake yesterday{or in the past}, you always get a second chance to fix it tommorow{or in the long run}.
This quote is what i think most people should live by " What ever happened in the past will effect what is to come in the future" I deeply believe in this quote.
Every author displays alike thoughts. Of course, each quote is different and might talk about same topics, but they all seem to think that America [in the 1700s] was somewhat destructive and they wanted a new America in the future [now].
The statement that comes closest to my beliefs is by Will Rogers which says " You can't say civilization don't advance....in every war they kill you a new way" because it's true. Three significant events are Civil War: slavery, Revolutionary War: Boston Massacre and the war of 1812.
"America's clumsiness gave us the balance we needed"
These authors don't disagree with each because they each believe America is a dangerous place. For example, Arnold Joseph Toynbee said America is a large friendly dog in a very small room. Everything it's tail it knocks something over and Will Rogers.
The one that comes closet to my beliefs is by "Mark Twain" because he is, by my beleifs right. It would have been better because a lot of bad events would noy happen such as the many wars or the triangular trade.
Thge quote is: If i had a penny for evry problem America has i would be a millionaire.
No. None of these authors seem to disagree with each other. All of them are basically agreeing with fact that America sucks... They say that America is always doing something wrong. Amreica is at war alot, and if America does something good---or attempts to, they end up doing something bad.
The statement made by Will Rogers is closest to my beliefs. He says, "You can't say civilization don't advance...in every war they kill you in a new way." This is true since back then, knives, swords, spears and arrows were used at first. Then they started advancing as the Chinese created firepowder which led to guns and cannons as well as bombs. First it was old colts and rifles for guns. As time passed, automatic guns called machine guns were made. Then nuclear bombs, and snipers with a scope or lasre. They even made high armored tanks and subs.
America in a sentence for me to describe it would be-"America is like a donkey. It just carries things made by other countries on its back."
----This is Blog is for Brian Ng---
George Santayana seems ti disagree with Thomas Jefferson. Thomas says he likes the future better than the past. George states that "whoever can't remember the past are condemned to repeat it." If he likes the future better than the past, then that means he forgot about it and likes to see what happens next. Since he doesn't remember it, he is condemned to repeat it.
I agree with Will Rogers. He says "You can't say civilization don't advance...in every war they kill you in a new way." In every war they will find a plan to kill you. If the opposing team keeps using the same idea, then the other side will know and counter.
The quote is "Don't doubt anybody else, but yourself."
Arnold Joseph Toynbee and Abigail Adams seem to disagree with each other. Arnold Toynbee's quote is saying how America is trying to help, but in the end it unintentionally ends up causing more damage than good. Abigail Adams' quote is saying how America is just trying to get more power and trying to rule over smaller places.
"You can't say civilization don't advance...in every war they kill you in a new way" by Will Rogers is the statement that comes closest to my own beliefs. An example is whoever invented the sword. The sword is a weapon that was used in the ancient civilizations to take over other people and lands. Another example is whips. Whips have been used to torture and hurt slaves for ages. Nuclear weapons have been used for war such as when a nuclear bomb was dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
The quote is "America would be a better place if we tried to help each other instead of trying to get our own personal gain."
Frederick Douglass and Will Rogers disagree wit each other. Fredrick Douglass sais that if we dont struggle, we dont succeed. In many cases "struggle" meens war. Will Rogersis saying that war is the only way USA is advensing in.
I agree with Emily Dickinson. I think that by the word "meet" she means "better". If so, he quote means that we must better ourself as a country first and then try to help others. I argree with that quote because it not only refers to politics but also to every other living and breathing thing in the world.
"America is only vulnerable to Americans"
No, none of these authors appear to disagree with each other. All of them seem to lead to one conclusion, America is not a good place. Something "good" always leads to something bad.
The statement that comes closest to my beliefs is the one by Will Rogers. "You can't say civilization don't advance... in every war they kill you in a new way." First there were sticks and stones used as weapons. Then bows and arrows to shoot. After bows and arrows there were pistols, rifles, automatics, tanks, planes, etc.
"Whatever you do, give it to America to make it worse."
Alvin Fung's Comment:
Out of all 10 quotes in the paper, there is 1 person who I disagree with. Arnold Joseph Tony bee says America is like a dog and whenever it wags its tail, it falls because they are in a small room. I disagree because America helped them to create freedom from England so the chair doesn’t always fall down.
The quote by Will Rogers says you can’t say civilization don’t advance…in every war they kill you in a new way. It means that in every war we have, we find a new way to destroy our enemy like the battle of the Wounded Knee. It was the American against the Native Americans. The second significant is the Revolutionary war where Americans were against the British. The last significant is the French and Indians war where the Indians were against the French for their land.
America is like a dog. When it helps it gets a treat.
Yes, there are authors that appear to disagree with each other. Arnold Joseph Toynbee and Abigail Adams seems to disagree with each other. Arnold is trying to say that everytime America try to be helpful in a situation, the result became worst. We cause more trouble than trying to resolve it. In Abigail statement she said that America is the the good natured, freedom friend that we imagine. America conquer or take over small and weak land. America is using all the good thing people think it is as a mask to hide its true identify and evil plans.
THe statementabout US history that comes closest to my own believes is by Fredrick Douglass. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows... If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. TO me is means that with out problems our country will never learn from our problem. Also working for a master WILL bring us no where. It will be stack with all the other problems.
My theme in life is to never look back but ahead no matter how uneasy the feeling is.
I think all the authors agree. Even though they have different statements they have the same opinion about America. They all either say America is horrible or America messes up. For example, Joseph Tonybee said “America is like a dog and when it wags its tail it knocks over a chair”. That means when America is over excited or tries to do something they end up causing something bad.
My favorite statement is “it was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it” my Mark Twain. I think this means America was a mistake and a troublemaking country when it was found. I agree because:
1) When new settlers and pilgrims came to America, many innocent Indians were killed for the land and wealth. Most of the battles were fought for greed.
2) In the Westward expansion, new settlers moved west and had battles with the Indians over religion and land.
3) In the 18th Century African Americans were imported to America as slaves and had a corruption in the South for the Cotton Gin.
America is like a monkey, when it gets a banana, it wants more.
These authors don't seem to disagree.All the authors talk about America and our civilizations but from different perspectives.Tho each of them agree that America is a strong civilizations even throught the hard times.
I agree with Frederick Douglas.He basically said without the struggle there's no progress.This is very true if there was no struggle in America we would always stay the same and never progress into a better civilization.For example war.With war you have struggle and death but in the end if you win, it was worth the struggle.
The theme is "“We veneer civilization by doing unkind things in a kind way"
I believe that George Santayana and Thomas Jefferson have different ways of thinking. Santayana wrote “Those who cannot remember the past is condemned to repeat it." George is saying how he thinks the past needs to be remembered so the same mistakes that happened back then won’t occur again in the future. Jefferson, on the other hand wrote “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."Thomas Jefferson is saying how he rather forget every bad memory of the past rather than remembering every war and battle that occurred back then in the past.
The quote that comes closest to my belief is by Thomas Jefferson. The past wasn't bright because many wars and battles occurred back then. Slavery also took place at that time. It was a terrible time for people back then and many people suffered. During slavery, the slaves had to work hard day and night just so they can please their masters. They wanted freedom. So they dream that one day, they will gain the freedom they deserve. They won’t want to look back at the times when they were slaves. They want to forget about the awful memories that it brings back and look toward the future. They always hope that it will always be better than the past and they will enjoy it. The past was just like a dark path for people and the future is like the bright path they are looking forward to. When the wars occurred back then, it was the time of hardship and the time for the soldiers to risk their own lives to help the country. It was really unfortunate. During the Wounded Knee Massacre, America lost many soldiers at that time and it was terrible. Also, during the westward expansion, while the settlers were moving west, many died during the journey. Some were ill and some couldn’t hang on. Some even got killed by road passers. You now see that no one would want to remember the past, it just leads to unhappiness. We rather dream about the future. You never know what will happen in the future but you always dream that it will be better than the past.
"We always want to walk a brighter and easier path than a hard and dark one"
-elaine chan
1.Yes, two of these authors seem to disagree with each other. George Santayana and Thomas Jefferson seem to disagree with each other. George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” By writing this, George Santayana clearly means that if we don’t remember anything that had taken place in the past, we will make the same mistake by repeating it in the future. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” By writing this, Thomas Jefferson means that dreaming about the upcoming future is more important than the events that had taken place in the history of the past. They disagree with each other because George Santayana says that remembering the history of the past will help us with not making the same mistake in the future, but Thomas Jefferson disagrees with that and says that having dreams of the future is more important than remembering events that have to do with the history of the past and that we should just continue dreaming about the future. They both clearly have a different reaction about U.S. history of the past.
2.George Santayana’s statement about US history comes closest to my own beliefs. George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This means that if we don’t remember the past, we will repeat the same mistake in the future. One significant event that can be repeated in the future is the 1800’s slavery. Slavery was a cruel and unusual punishment for all African Americans. The African Americans were sold as if they were cattle. They have been criticized because of only the color of their skin. They were torn from their roots and transplanted to America to work against their will. If we don’t remember this event of slavery, we will, in the future, make the same mistake. Another event that had happened in U.S. history was the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This event was a congressional act that authorized the Removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River. This act had been done against the will of Native Americans. This was a brutal removal; and if we don’t remember this event, we will repeat it. Finally another significant fact was the Wounded Knee Massacre. This event took place when the U.S. had went against the cultural dance of Indians called the “Ghost Dance” fearing it was a war dance: and because of this mistake there was the Wounded Knee Massacre that has killed many Indians and was known as their last war. So, if we make the same mistake of fearing something that is harmless, we will make a mistake in the future.
3.A central theme in American History is, “America is like a pen, when it writes something down it’s hard for it to be erased.” This means that when America sticks with an idea, it takes a hard work for someone to change it.
Another central theme in American History is, “America is like a small fire, it takes one hose to turn it down” This means that America is weak; it takes one person to take control and tare it down.
Finally, another central theme in American History is, “America is like a cat, when it sees a mouse it want stop until it catches it.” This means that America never rests; it’ll go after something it wants until it gets it.
1. Yes, the statement “America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.
– Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH (April 14, 1889 – October 22, 1975) was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, was a synthesis of world history, a met history based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline, which examined history from a global perspective.” and “You can't say civilization don't advance... in every war they kill you in a new way.
– Will Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor.” One says that America is friendly but clumsy and the other one says they are powerful and strong but they do mean things. As in America wants to help other countries but ends up hurting either themselves or the ones they are helping. The other statement states that America has evolved quickly and much over the past years but indeed it hurts the people in so many ways by evolving quickly.
2. In my opinion the statement that is closest to our beliefs is “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.– George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.” This is closest to my beliefs because I believe that we learn from our mistakes and our ancestors mistakes, if we cant remember the mistakes made long ago, we are very possibly vulnerable to repeat it. If we have not known the terrors that had happened during world war 2, we may have thought that dictatorship is the way to go. We may have also thought that women rights should never be acknowledged but because of our ancestors belief and strong argument that women should have equal rights as men now every gender is equal. Learning from our mistakes is what makes us smarter and a better evolved nation.
3. The central theme of American history is “America is a high school as hard as people try to control it its still chaotic” which means so many people try to change things, less pollution, no war, etc. But its still chaotic when it comes to GLOBAL WARMING and WAR IN IRAQ. Another central theme or quote that America and people should follow is "A government of laws, and not of men."~John Adams. This basically means that the government should be based on certain types of laws and not certain types of people.
-Miriam Avrutin
I believe that George Santayana and Thomas Jefferson have different ways of thinking. Santayana wrote “Those who cannot remember the past is condemned to repeat it." George is saying how he thinks the past needs to be remembered so the same mistakes that happened back then won’t occur again in the future. Jefferson, on the other hand wrote “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."Thomas Jefferson is saying how he rather forget every bad memory of the past rather than remembering every war and battle that occurred back then in the past.
The quote that comes closest to my belief is by Thomas Jefferson. The past wasn't bright because many wars and battles occurred back then. Slavery also took place at that time. It was a terrible time for people back then and many people suffered. During slavery, the slaves had to work hard day and night just so they can please their masters. They wanted freedom. So they dream that one day, they will gain the freedom they deserve. They won’t want to look back at the times when they were slaves. They want to forget about the awful memories that it brings back and look toward the future. They always hope that it will always be better than the past and they will enjoy it. The past was just like a dark path for people and the future is like the bright path they are looking forward to. When the wars occurred back then, it was the time of hardship and the time for the soldiers to risk their own lives to help the country. It was really unfortunate. During the Wounded Knee Massacre, America lost many soldiers at that time and it was terrible. Also, during the westward expansion, while the settlers were moving west, many died during the journey. Some were ill and some couldn’t hang on. Some even got killed by road passers. You now see that no one would want to remember the past, it just leads to unhappiness. We rather dream about the future. You never know what will happen in the future but you always dream that it will be better than the past.
"We always want to walk a brighter and easier path than a hard and dark one"
Frederick Douglass and Will Rogers disagree wit each other. Fredrick Douglass sais that if we dont struggle, we dont succeed. In many cases "struggle" meens war. Will Rogersis saying that war is the only way USA is advensing in.
I agree with Emily Dickinson. I think that by the word "meet" she means "better". If so, he quote means that we must better ourself as a country first and then try to help others. I argree with that quote because it not only refers to politics but also to every other living and breathing thing in the world.
Of course authors disagreed with each other, for example Frederick Douglass and Will Rogers disagree. Frederick Douglass says that if we do not struggle there is no progress on the other hand Will Rogers says that America is getting stronger but heading in the wrong direction towards war.
I agree with Will Rogers he says that America should not go to war and i dont think that war is the only way to settle our differences.
The central theme of American history is that America has been through its good times and bad times but when you look back on the past we were able to pull through like a strong nation and fight for what we believed in and settle our differences with other countries.
I believe that two authors, George Santayana and Thomas Jefferson seem to disagree. “Those who cannot remember the past is condemned to repeat it." Santayana thinks that those who don't know history and the past should because we can learn from our history to make something better in the future. However, Jefferson stated that “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." Thomas Jefferson would rather think of our future and forget about the past.
I agree with Will Rogers, "You can't say civilization don't advance....in every war they kill you a new way." I think he's made a good point. Throughout history there has always been a war going on and it's always man vs. man. Our race is a destructive race and we as time progresses so does our technology. We find more and more ways of killing each other.
In my opinion I believe that Fredrick Douglass, and Will Rodgers disagree. Will Rodgers says that "u can't say civilization don't advance, because in every war you kill someone in a new way. This means that America is advancing, along with the technology and industry around it. Fredrick Douglass says that if there is no struggle, there is no progress.
I agree with Will Rodgers. Each time we go to battle or war there is always new weapon's to defeat our opponents, but it doesn't mean that we should go to war because we have a stronger offensive side.
My favorite central theme is "America is like a lion, it waits for it's prey then strikes when you least expect it".
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