Felicia

Blog Assignment #1 — Fenn

1. Elizabeth A. Fenn addresses whether or not the “smallpox blanket” incident at Fort Pitt in 1763 was intentional or coincidental while claiming biological warfare was used fairly frequently throughout the 18^th century.
2. Fenn uses a variety of sources to support her claims. She uses several diaries, journals, collections of notes and letters as well as papers and reports from individuals present or involved in the effected areas during the eighteenth century. Some examples of these documents include William Trent’s Journal at Fort Pitt 1763 and The Papers of Col. Henry Bouquet. She also uses other texts written after the eighteenth century containing secondary accounts of the events in question. Some of these documents include Smallpox and it’s Eradication and Epidemics in Colonial America.
3. Her main arguments concerning the Fort Pitt incident include the fact that Henry Bouquet wrote his letter to British Commander in Chief Jeffery Amherst just one day before the blanket and handkerchief exchange took place suggests that although Amherst may have supported exposing the Indian to the disease, he did not order the action. She also argues the disease was spread very easily through the air and exposure to contaminated body fluids of an infected individual, therefore the exposure that initiated the epidemic could have occurred at another time or place. She also argues that biological warfare was not an isolated occurrence, but it was very difficult to assign blame. Her main conclusion is, although circumstantial evidence points towards the British being responsible for the exposure to small pox that started the epidemic, there is no way to prove that they were the cause for the reasons previously mentioned.
4. I think she did prove her argument. When first presented with the facts, the responsible party seems obvious, but her ideas bring up important points to consider. She suggests, “it is possible and perhaps likely that the epidemic stemmed from multiple sources of infection” (Fenn, 3). These ideas create doubt in the readers mind, and as long as there are other possible sources of exposure, full blame cannot be placed on the British. However, it is this reason biological warfare was fairly common in the eighteenth century. The British were aware they could “rarely prove culpability beyond refute in a suspicious outbreak of disease” (Fenn, 6).
5. The answer is important as we study the history of the United States because biological warfare is still used today, and although technology has changed drastically, perhaps studying how diseases were used as weapons in the past will help us be better prepared in the future

Blog Assignment # 2 – Breen                                                                            Felicia McKenna

1. In the article, Narrative of Commercial Life: Consumption, Ideology, and Community on the Eve of the American Revolution, T. H. Breen examines the “illustrations of a dependant culture struggling to control change by giving it plausible local meaning” (Breen 471). He looks at how the colonists’ changing role in the marketplace may have contributed to the political changes they experienced.  Their appearance of great wealth lead Great Britain to believe the colonists should help repay some of he national debt.
2. The main points that Breen addresses in the article the colonist’s view of themselves in the trading empire, how specific styles of resistance related to commerce became popular during the political crisis and how a boycott movement allowed colonists to reach out and see themselves as part of an independent commercial empire.  His conclusion is that with commerce being such a strong shaping force, colonists were forced to see themselves as part of a larger whole, opened political instruments to persons of a ranks, follow the concept of virtue illustrated by economic restraint, and formed new communities based on shared interests and values.
3. Some of the most important primary sources in this article are essays and articles printed in colonial newspapers or pamphlets in response to the taxation by the British. These sources include the pamphlet Considerations Upon the Act of Parliament, The Late Regulations, and The Power and Grandeur of Great Britain.
4. The textbook suggests the sense of national community that arose in the colonies resulted from necessity rather than voluntarily. The colonists became united for survival. Breen agrees that there was a strong sense of national community present in the colonies, but he suggests it was voluntary. The nonimportation movement that united the colonies and intensified the feelings of national community depended on consumers voluntarily deciding to become nonconsumers for the time being.
5. I found the article well argues and persuasive. It examined a point of view I had not previously considered, and effectively explained the reasoning behind the views.  Ideas such as the fact that the “British visitors failed to appreciate just how much the social dynamics of America differed from those in England” (Breen 476) describe how the wealth displayed by the colonists was misinterpreted by the British, and then contributed to the heavy taxation. It enhanced my understanding of the time period because it examines the fact that there were legitimate reasons the British felt the colonists should be taxed to help repay the national debt. The British did not simply decide to tax the colonists for no reason, they had good reason to believe they could pay the taxes imposed. The article also discusses why commercial resistance was the most effective way for the colonists to get their opinions heard.

Blog Assignment #3- Campbell

1. In the article, Jacqueline G. Campbell “examines the concept of female honor and elite southern women’s relationship to the confederate nation” (Campbell 53). She looks at the role women played in the south on the home front during the civil war, while the men were away fighting on the battlefield.
2. The main points made by Campbell to support her thesis are that the interactions between civilians and soldiers were complex and often differed from the rumors during the war, although women lacked the physical strength of men, they were able to use other weapons such as their moral authority (female honor) to defend their homes and families. Also, the southern females saw a “direct link between the survival of their families and the nation” (Campbell 63). Campbell concludes that “confronting the enemy fact to face allowed these women to share in a sense of responsibility for actively defending the Confederacy, with a consequent upsurge in patriotism” (Campbell 66). The women were proud of their contribution to the war effort, and they played an important role in the unity and the morale of the Confederacy. After the war, women became icons of sacrifice that men felt the need to protect. This protection highlighted the bravery of southern men as well as reclaimed their authority in the south.
3. Campbell uses diary entries and letters of women living in Columbia during the Civil War such as Mary Chesnet, Emma LaConte, and Lilly Logan. She also uses accounts of union soldiers form the Fifteenth Corps.
4. Campbell challenges the idea of “true womanhood” in the south. “True womanhood” is often portrayed as women running the household and caring for all family members including slaves, but the men held all the authority. Women were expected to be dependant and obedient, so the balance within the slave/master relationship would not be disrupted. Campbell describes southern women as strong and independent, even capable of intimidating union soldiers. The idea that all southern women opposed the war because of the increased struggles on the home front while the men were away is also challenged. Campbell suggests the women supported the war because they no longer had to be subordinate, and they were offered many opportunities not previously available to them.  Campbell also challenges the idea that “Sherman’s March to the Sea” left communities lying in ruins, defeated and isolated. The article claims the opposite, while Sherman’s forces were destructive, the suffering of the southern citizens actually increased unity, patriotism, and rededication to the Confederate cause.
5. Southern white women responded to the pillaging and burning of their city with weapons such as their moral authority. “True womanhood” described women as morally superior and responsible for sheltering their families from the outside world. They used the belief of moral superiority to assert their “inflexible endurance” when faced with union soldiers. Women defended their “female honor, ” including dignity and property, with extreme intensity. “Female honor” and “true womanhood” helped some women “assume and aggressive posture without suffering dire consequences” (Campbell 58). In the south, “true womanhood” included the idea that women “chose to restrain their inner strength for the benefit of social harmony” and it was “permissible for southern women to display passion and proficiency provided it was in support of the family” (Campbell 59). Campbell disagrees with the ideas of Drew Gilpin Faust that women’s disillusionment and resistance to the war played a significant role in the Confederacy’s defeat. Campbell argues that especially after Sherman’s march, they women played a significant role in the new bonds of unification and rededication to the Confederate cause. Sherman’s march did not constitute “total war” as we know it today. Although it was very destructive, they mainly destroyed property and supplies while leaving the civilians alone. They did not usually physically harm the women and children and often, the union soldiers to protect them. The idea of broadening the war to affect civilians was not new. Indians defending their territory previously used the idea. They often killed innocent women and children during conflicts with the colonists.