Robert

Blog Assignment #1 — Fenn

“Unjust Warfare”

1. The author attempts to express the dangers of small pox and the affects it had being used as a weapon on the colonists and Natives during the 18^th century. She explains how smallpox was a troubling variable in the struggle between both parties.

2. The author uses several sources through out the text to help intensify her main point about the dangers of smallpox. Her first source comes from the confines of fort Pitt in 1763, a British post in Pennsylvania. There, one of the commanding officers explain that small pox has broken out, and what needs to be done to contain it. The source also describes the fears soldiers have of obtaining the disease. The author also uses several facts that the world heath organization put out around the 1980’s to show the total destruction smallpox had throughout its existence. Last of all she uses several excerpts from doctors and citizens that show in their own words the problems smallpox presents.

3. Ms. Fenn’s main points of her article are the affects of smallpox in general, the affects it had on the Indian population and the difference between the ethics of the 18^th century and today’s ethics. Fenn winds down her informative article by rhetorically asking her audience how astonishing it was that releasing smallpox on human beings could release small pox on an entire race and not feel regrets.

4.The Author definitely proves her point well about the dangers of smallpox and the effects it had as a weapon and as a natural disease on the colonists and Indians. She releases so many facts and disturbing events into her article that it makes one think who could have the soul to do such a thing. In 1763 William Trent from Fort Pitt write “’we gave them two blankets and a handkerchief out of the small pox hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect”’ (Fenn 9). I don’t understand how one could purposely hand another a disease knowing it would bring destruction, even to an enemy. Also, Fenn does a great job explaining how hard it was to protect from small pox. She takes a quote from doctor William Douglas who describes how “’’no condition of the air can produce the smallpox”’ (Fenn, 17), meaning there is no bad place for smallpox to thrive.

5. The answer to her argument is very important in my opinion because as learners of history it is crucial to know how humans acted to certain situations in the past compared to now. Knowing the catastrophic effects of a particular disease may help us realize today that releasing a biological weapon may not be the smartest way about going about warfare today. Also, when we see the causes of the event from both sides its clear exactly how brutal a particular act may have been, and from that account we can learn.

Blog Assignment #2

The Colonies Breaking Away

1. In T.H Breen’s article “Narrative Commercial Life”, he examines how the Colonist’s responded to the British’s attempt to curtail the abundance of prosperity coming out of the colonies. He argues that after to the Seven years war when British soldiers noted back to England how “rich” the colonies were living, England’s attempt to tax the Colonies only hurt themselves because it unified the colonies like never before and caused severe separation between the two. In the beginning, the idea between the colonies and the motherland was reciprocity meaning that colonies provide goods but in return for assistance from Britain when needed. But after the taxes, all colonies decided upon a “non-importation” act, which cut off trade from Britain. To come to this conclusion several polls were taken throughout the colonies in which persons of all ranks participated in declaring that the Americas were pro boycotting British goods.

2. First T.H. Breen states that the colonists mislead the British troops to believe that the colonies showed themselves to be wealthier than they actually were. Breen uses a quote from John Dickenson who said “’ We are informed that an opinion has been industriously propagated in Great Britain that the colonies are wallowing in wealth and luxury”’ From there “he insisted, represented a pernicious misreading of colonial culture” (473).  England Then decided to tax the colonies, which would keep the colonies wealth in check and make them more money on the side. Breen then described the emotions that the colonists shows when they decided to boycott British goods. One man from Carolina in 1774 expressed himself, ‘“…. And the Man who would not refuse himself a fine Coat, to save his country deserves to be hanged”’ (500).  This quote is a great example that shows how men and women truly were committed to staying independent from England.

3. John Dickenson made some very noteworthy claims in his work from “Late Regulations” that support Breen’s argument that the colonies and England were beginning to separate. Because of the taxes imposed by the British, the colonists now longer saw reciprocity but began seeing the power within themselves. Dickenson actually claimed “That the foundation of the power and glory of Great Britain are laid in America” (Late Regulations 31). This is a very bold statement but one can see that the taxes imposed by the British have caused a serious uprising in the colonies. Also, the South Carolina Gazette is another important primary source in describing how many people actually united and took part in protest against Britain. It reported, “The scene of the People was taken by subscription, and near 800 names got, about 300 of the People was taken without a single shilling property” (South Carolina Gazette). From this its clear that both men and women colonists wanted to speak out and show their disapproval towards England.

4. Breen’s article goes hand in hand in describing “Out of Many’s” presentation of the war for independence. In our textbook the authors describes the national pride that took place at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777. The authors state that men women, lovers, and cooks all supported the men during that tough winter. Unity was at it finest during the winter, which kept moral high much like the colonists during the early years on the 1770’s. In Breen’s article colonists were looking for ways trying to inspire other colonists to join the revolution. In some cases colonists would march in the streets carrying signs proclaiming “Liberty and Non-importation” in support of the boycott. (494). With acts like these colonists were able to unite and form a strong patriotic bond.

5. Overall I found Breen’s article very persuasive because he used an abundant amount of sources, all that helped support the idea that with England’s levying taxes, the colonies became more united while tension increased between the two. Breen states, “For Americans, trade implied reciprocity” (482), and along with new taxes imposed by the British, came tension and a loss of reciprocity. Also, Breen’s article changed my understanding of the Revolution by teaching me that during this time period was one of the first times that colonists of all ranks unified. In the Boston Gazette a saying, “Save your money and save your country” (496) was directed to all colonists in hope of unifying and proclaiming non-importation.

Blog #3- Campbell

1) In Jacqueline G. Campbell’s “The Most Diabolical Act of all the Barbarous War’s”, she describes in detail the passion of the women who stayed behind showed to save their southern ways of life in Columbia, South Carolina during the February in 1865. The women were thought to be pushovers by the Northern soldiers, but then the Union soldiers realized that the women had no intentions to budge from their southern ways.  Campbell states in her selection that even though the women of Columbia feared Sherman’s men they were determined to not let the Yankee’s impose their ways on the south. But over the course of the time, Campbell notes that although the soldiers and women were enemies, they found ways to coexist and in some situations help each other out.

2) Campbell had several main points throughout her selection. First she claims that fear was initially a major issue in Colombia when the Unions soldiers took position just outside of the city. Men, women, and children all cramped into trains in order to escape the terror. Many could no longer fit but in order to get on would squeeze through windows and have limbs sticking outside the cars (Campbell 55). Those that stayed would send their slaves to gather what information they could find in fear of leaving the town themselves and being killed. Second, Campbell states that, “ Whites refused to recognize either the cultural or military superiority of the North and expressed astonishment at the intensity with which Confederate women fought to maintain both their dignity and property” (Campbell 58). Although women rarely fought back with force towards the Union soldiers, the women would express their feeling towards the soldiers through words. Last of all, through out all of the chaos, “many soldiers touched each other on a human level” (Campbell 59).  In once instance a Yankee soldier offered a Lilly Logan (a young southern lady) a ride on horseback with some of her belongings when she was in danger. Campbell concludes that men and women could be defined with similar characteristics, all of which help define the patriotism of the south. The Union soldiers thought of their actions as not women like, but in the end their sacrifices and dedication saved the lifestyle of the south.

3) Emma LeConte is one of Campbell’s most important sources in her entire selection. She claimed, “The burning of Columbia to be the most diabolical act of all the barbarous war, carried out by men whose name had become a synonym for all that is mean, despicable and abhorrent” (Campbell 63).  She was one of the women that looked into Lee’s army and asked that God be with them throughout victory, then shattered once they were defeated (Campbell 65). Overall she is such an important asset to Campbell’s work because she claims how the lifestyle of the south could not be over powered by the Yankee’s, which is one of Campbell’s main points. Also, James McPherson brings up an interesting question about why the war was fought so long between the North and South, which definitely affected the way the women acted towards the soldiers. One important fact Campbell used form McPherson was the women’s desire and will to fight for hatred and revenge due to all the terrorizing the Union soldiers had incurred on Columbia.

4) In many ways Campbell’s article about women compliments the description of women in “Out of Many”. Although women had very little power during the time period when they supervised on the plantations, by the mid nineteenth century big decision were more so a joint effort by the husband and wife. Out of Many states that they still worked in their  “women’s spheres” at home, but now made several morale decisions for the family. Many women learned these new ways of life from Catharine Beecher’s ‘Treatise on Domestic Economy”. In Campbell’s article she explains that once the men left to fight they put the women in charge of the house and family. Since women already began to make decisions regarding they family before the men left for war this task was relatively obtainable. Also in Campbell’s article she describes the initial hatred the southern women had for these Union soldiers because they were burning down their city. By this time women were making more decisions with their husbands, which gave them the ability to make fierce statements by the time the Union soldiers occupied Columbia.

5) In response to the burning of Columbia, women of the south found an easy reason to despise Sherman and his men. In all of the chaos the women showed signs of being tough. They stayed strong even if that meant dying for their rights. In one response in Campbell’s article an unknown source stated, “Just as soldiers took pride in their battlefield performance, many white women in Columbia took pride in the fact that they had faced Sherman’s army…. and earned a reputation as virulent rebels” (Campbell 64). Also, in response to Faust’s argument, Campbell does explain in her article that women were ready to die together for their southern heritage, and in doing so women like LeConte extended her criticism towards Yankee men. In some cases this may have triggered Union soldiers to go out of their way to crush all types of southern resistance. Once Sherman put his “tigers” or Fifteenth Corps out on the front line, it became clear that he wanted to wipe Columbia off the map. A union soldier, told Grace Elmore that “when these men were put in front, “’we know it means fire and pillage”’ (Campbell 57). Here the union soldier is vividly describing total war. Looking backwards this act of total war can be compared to early conflicts between colonists and Indians were British soldiers used the spread of small pox to try to eliminate entire Indian tribes.