Dane

1. Fenn attempts to address whether or not the use biological warfare was necessary in the battles with the americans.
2. Fenn uses many different sources to investigate the question, which vary from notes,  diaries, letters, papers, and journals.
3. One of Fenn’s main arguments is that  the British couldn’t be held responsible for the small pox plague due to the incidents at Fort Pitt, such as the letters written to General Amherst. Also that biological warfare can’t be assigned blame.
4. I do think that Fenn proved her point. She had said,  “It is likely that Amherst knew of the situation by the end of June. But it was not Amherst, apparently, who first proposed the use of smallpox against the Delaware, Shawnee, and Mingo Indians surrounding Fort Pitt. Nor was it Amherst who executed the scheme” (Fenn ¾). Other evidence to back up her argument is when she states “Unbeknownst to both Bouquet and his commander in chief, their subordinates at Fort Pitt had already conceived and executed the very plan proposed” (Fenn 5).
5. This is important for us to look at how we reacted to biological warfare back then in the past and relate it to our present. Now that we can see the harm in it we might think of other ways of warfare. Hopefully looking back at the situation and being able to see the affects on the other side, we can be delighted on how we are managing other ways to to handle wars.

Blog Assignment #2 — Bouton

1. Why rural people severed lines of communications and willfully jeopardize their ability to supply their communities? The pennselvanians blockaded roads to make sure that they wouldn’t have to be connected to the bad state the economy was in bringing in the revolution.
2. His main points are the reasons why farmers want to refuse the revolution from happening. He talks about how although the farmers can use the resources and goods that come in, they just don’t want it because doing so will bring the revolution. In the conclusions though, the farmers do not have enough power to keep the revolutions from happening. The government find ways to get around the blockage of roads by making laws and other such things.
3. He used a lot of good sources. The use of the maps helped me understand the layout of the counties. Also, his references to the Whiskey and Fries Rebellions of 1796 and 1799. The sources show me reasons why the people would want to prevent the revolution from happening. The taxes they paid and other things would only increase the prices they would have to pay.
4. According to the textbook, Shay’s rebellion was about the conflicts between the poor and rich. In Bouton’s article, he addresses conflict but the conflict is not between poor and rich. It is more a conflict of the farmers having a conflict of accepting a revolution. They just wanted to have a voice. Also, in the textbook as well as in the article, the economic crisis rooted back to rural insurgency.
5. I found his article well argued, however it was very repetitive. I was tired of hearing “rural insurgency” and I felt that even though it was the main idea of the article it was really overused. He was very successful in using the rebellions to support his arguments.