Semester Speech

Zoey Davis

History Speech

I Pledge

From learning the cruel truths of slavery in the United States, to the “Age Of The City,” I have learned more in this first semester of US history than I thought was even possible. From learning the disgusting truth of the way slaves were treated through pictures and films, I learned the truth in a way that was heartbreaking. Learning this truth about the cruelty of slavery, was an unpleasant truth to learn about the US, but it helped me better understand the history of the US. I learned about slavery in a way that intrigued me, and it will be a topic I will remember far from now. Watching the films 12 Years a Slave and Glory, helped me visualize the harshness of slavery, and I never thought I could learn so much from a movie but I was pleasantly surprised that I could learn more from a movie than from a lecture in my past history classes. During the first few weeks of school, I thought Mrs. Lawson was crazy letting us watch movies so early on in the year, but now I understand the method to her madness and the topic of the cruelty of slavery is something I will be able to hold conversations about in the future.

The topic of reconstruction was also a topic I was eager to learn more about. Learning that the Civil War was devastating to south was a sad truth, but learning of the variety of ways they reconstructed homes and towns in the south, was a cool topic to learn about. Hearing of gutted towns, burned plantations, neglected fields, bridges and railroads destroyed, was a sad circumstance for the South in post civil war times. After the abolishment of slavery, there were many problems in creating peace between old slaves and their former masters. When slave masters lost their slaves through emancipation, they lost virtually all of their property in which they had invested almost all of their wealth. Although slavery is among the worst parts of US history, slave masters and their families experienced a world of hurt through losing their wealth. White southern families faced starvation and homelessness after the war, and they were as low on the social food chain as former slaves were. Although slavery was abolished, I learned that prejudice continued, throughout the commencement of the KKK and the harassment colored people experienced. Although white southern families had it pretty hard after the civil war, former slaves had it much worse. Former slaves were without families, and without any source of wealth to try to find their long lost family members. Former slaves had never experienced freedom, but after slavery was abolished, former slaves may have had freedom but they still lived with the injustice, harassment and prejudice that continued from white southerners. In the past, the United States has struggled with equality through all races, and I believe that is something that the US still faces today. One of my favorite topics to learn about this semester was about the Freedman’s Bureau and their goal to give the basic essential needs to freed slaves. This was a promising thing to learn about, a beginning to a more peaceful and normal life for freed slaves.

            If I could rename history from 1865-1920, I would name this time period the “Age of Progression” because throughout this time period America was progressing to become an equal work place for colored people, as well as fighting for equal rights for women. Throughout this era, fighting for equality was a major theme, as well as progression from a young country to a more established place to live for US citizens.

What I learned from Articles

All major retailers have a different approach to becoming successful
 The three biggest retailers have different styles (Uniqlo, Zara & H&M)
all three of these major retailers have a deep understanding as to knowing what their buyers want and need as well as being able to tell what consumers prefer over other things. Zara uses consumer desires as a huge advantage to stay competitive with other major retailers. The main thing to know in a retailing business is to know how consumers are going to react before they launch a new clothing line. Uniqlo is famous for choosing long term appeal instead of the current trend for consumers, giving them an advantage in the long term process of consuming their retail. Being able to think ahead and come up with new innovative trends is a way to appeal to consumers.

Test Post

Dear Mom,

     Life here in America is a busy life, but its a life I am proud that I chose. I work long hours in the day, and I rarely have time off of work. It is hard to adapt to living life here, because I barely speak their language, English but I am catching on. My boss is hard on myself and my fellow foreign employees because we struggle with speaking his language, but we are working hard to please him. Its the only way to make a profit here in this busy city. Life here in America is fast paces, with busy streets and factories on every corner, but inside those factories and throughout the narrow streets are a new life of opportunities for people coming from over seas.

    So many different walks of life are represented her in New York where I am working, there are people from all over the world. I work in a factory, in which we manufacture clothing. I found others just like me from home in Russia. I have established myself with the other workers around like me from Russia because that is all I have ever known. Stepping off the boat into this foreign land was a terrifying but incredible experience for me as a young Russian woman. As I stepped off the boat I looked for others that looked familiar to me, or looked as if they were from my native land, and I found them. And I am proud to be taking on this new life in America with them. Finding them has kept me grounded in my native land and kept me proud of where and who I come from, but they also push me to adapt to living a successful life here in America.

    Adjusting here, like I said is a difficult thing because of the multiple ethnicities represented throughout the nation, and is a constant competition of who can learn english the fastest. Being pushed to speak english is an every day occurrence because all jobs, teachers, and store work people speak english. Adjusting to feel at home here will take me time, but to feel comfort I think of home and my native country where I feel most at home. Coming to America was the right choice for me because it has opened a new window of opportunities to my future, and my family I will raise in the future.
   
   Your Daughter

Sand Creek Massacre

Illustration of the Sand Creek Massacre

                                       

                                 

                                Memorial of the battle grounds of the Sand Creek massacre

                                                

                            Colonel John Chivington who led the US men in the battle of Sandcreek

                                                   

                       A map of the territory where the Sand Creek massacre was fought

                                                   

   Black Kettle who was a leader and chief of the Southern Cheyenne during the attacks on Sand Creek.

Sources

History- Sand Creek Massacre; Wild West Expansion

On this source I found background information and general information about the massacre at Sand Creek, and the people involved.

Digital Newspaper- LOC Baxter Springs news

On this digital newspaper I was able to find reliable primary source information about the Sand Creek massacre, such as how it was viewed by fellow Americans.

 Digital Newspaper- LOC The Donaldson Chief

For this digital newspaper I was able to find information pertaining to the background of the massacre but also able to find names and dates that the massacre occurred on and also names of the people involved.

The History Channel- Sand Creek Massacre

I was able to find information about the background and story line of the massacre but I also find useful information that surrounded the massacre in the United States at this time.

Book- Struggling Over the Memory of Sand Creek

In this book, I was able to find opinion made my many americans pertaining to the massacre and their opinion and view on the massacre, including why is was called a massacre instead of a battle.

Digital Newspaper- Barton County Democrat

On this digital newspaper I also found many bits and pieces building up the background and story line of the massacre, and used this primary source as a check point to compare my past research with. 

National Park Service- Sand Creek History & Culture

On the National Park Service website I was able to find pictures of the grounds where the massacre took place, helping me visualize the circumstances and scenery of the massacre.

Blood at Sand Creek: The Massacre Revisited

This source was very helpful in understanding why the Sand Creek Massacre was referred to as a massacre, and revisited the massacre and built opinions on it to this day.

            The Sand Creek Massacre is known as a massacre because of the cruelty of the events that happened on November 29, 1864.  On that day in November 1864, Colonel John M. Chivington led 700 members of Colorado territory militia to attack the Cheyenne and Apraho Indian villages in Sand Creek, Colorado. Colonel Chivington led his militia to attack after a heavy night of drinking to attack and massacre the Indians. Two-thirds of the Native Americans slaughtered that day were women and children. History net; Sand Creek massacre, Westward expansion from the Wild West claims, “For years, US has been engaged in conflict with several Indian tribes over territory.”

            In the previous year of 1851, the Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed by the United States which gave Indians extensive territory in the west, but the Pikes Peak gold rush in 1858 made the United States renegotiate territory terms. Because of the United States wanting to renegotiate the terms of Indians land, the Treaty of Fort Wise was proposed in 1861. The Treaty of Fort Wise took away land from the Indian people that had previously been given to them by the United States. To end turmoil with a large and up and coming country, the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs signed to the treaty. The sizes of Indian tribe lands were one-thirteenth their original size. Although the Treaty of Fort Wise was signed as a peace treaty, not all surrounding Indian tribes were happy with the terms.  To rebel from this treaty robbing them of their land, the Cheyenne and Lakota tribes created the “Dog Soldiers.” The Dog Soldiers consisted of men and women from tribes that were opposed to having white settlers on what they considered their land. Before the attacks of the Sand Creek massacre on November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington, with consent from the Colorado governor John Evans, began attacks on several Cheyenne camps with his militia. These first attacks on the Cheyenne camps, initiated many other breakouts of attacks in surrounding areas, such as in Kansas under watch of Lieutenant George S. Eayre. The US believed that these tribes would surrender and cease the rebellion, but they were wrong. The Cheyenne tribes retaliated and made the US angry.

            The United States did not act very heroic in the act of handling Indian Territory land disagreements. According to a post from the Library of Congress: Baxter Springs news, it is noted that “The massacre is agreed by all the have been one of the most foul and dastardly on record.” Americans viewed these attacks on the Indian tribes as terrible, and ridiculous within itself. Colonel John Chivington’s attack in Sand Creek is known as a massacre because of the drunkenness and sloppiness of a US Colonel and Militia. The 700 member of the Colorado militia killed 1,200 Indians of all ages and sexes, as well as scalped and bodies mutilated by white men on that November day in 1864. The Baxter News also claims, “Evidence of this investigation showed that Indians were nearly defenseless, women and children, as well as men killed and scalped, their ears and noses cut off; children shot at their mothers breast and the bodies mutilated in the most horrible manner.” This quotation from the Baxter News proves that the massacre was not only referred to as a massacre, but was truly a mutilation of the human race.

           

            The Library of Congress; Donaldson chief post referred to the Sand Creek massacre as, “One of the bloodiest tragedies in the history of Indian warfare in the west.” One question constantly asked by American people to this day is, “Was slaughter justified?” I believe that in no way were the atrocities committed in Sand Creek on that day justified, because of the drunkenness and the irresponsibly of one of our American leaders. Chivington, a leader of the American country, committed an atrocious act all for the selfishness of wanting to gain more land. The National Park Service labeled the historic grounds of the Sand Creek Massacre as the first unit/ event in which federal troops killed Native Americans, and referred to it as a “massacre.”

Zoey's US History Film Essay

Zoey Davis

Film Essay

H Block

I Pledge

            Learning about slavery has always been an interesting topic for me, but I never truly understood the visuals of slavery until my US History teacher showed my class two, very historically accurate films representing the reality of slavery.  To show us visuals of historically accurate slavery remakes, she played “Glory (1989)” directed by Edward Zwick and “12 years a Slave” directed by Steve McQueen. These two films have proven to me the harshness and reality that was slavery, and these films in no way, “sugarcoated” slavery. These two films show the harsh reality of what slavery truly was in America, which caused me to rethink my position on slavery.

            When telling a historic story through a film, the filmmaker comes across a problem. Filmmakers have to do research to make their films historically accurate and true. “12 Years a Slave” follows a story of a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. According to History Extra, Steve McQueen, the director of “12 Years a Slave” said, “People want this realism […] It’s not about sugarcoating it. We’re here to do something we feel is necessary.” Steve McQueen’s wife introduced him to the memoir of Solomon Northrup, and something internally struck him, that he needed to tell Solomon Northrup’s story to the world.” According to the New York Times review of “12 Years a Slave,” McQueen wanted to immerse people into the visuals of slavery. McQueen wanted to tell the story as accurately and efficiently as possible to honor Solomon Northrup and his family. Chiewetel Ejiofor, who played Solomon Northrup in Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave,” said “To not show it as explicitly as we can would, I think, be a disservice to Northrup and his family. What’s the point in telling the story if we couldn’t tell the story?” Not only did McQueen want to convey the story of Solomon Northrup as accurately as possible, so did the cast. Dr. Emily West, a critic for the New York Times stated, “I have never seen a film represent slavery so accurately.” In the story of “12 years a Slave,” historical accuracy is represented all the way down to the minor details such as, the scars on the backs of most enslaved people in a tree formation from being whipped, all the way to the harsh reality of being sold into slavery. In this film, a scene that primarily stuck out to me, was a scene where they were auctioning off their new slaves, and had them stripped naked so slave owners could check for the “quality” of their new piece of property.

            The film “Glory (1989)” follows the story of the black regiment of the Massachusetts 54^th fighting in the battle of Antietam and their journey along the way. I believe this film taught me a lot about slavery because it showed the harsh realities of the dangers in racism. This film showed me that black regiments were treated unfairly and not given good conditions to thrive in. According to history online, the director of the film “Glory (1989),” Edward Zwick said “The story appealed to me, and I was lucky to do it. I did it because I felt it needed to be told.” As well as the story of “12 Years a Slave” the film “Glory (1989)” told the story in the most efficient way possible by “acknowledging the sorrow” rather than sugarcoating history. The film “Glory (1989)” focused on the complexity of racism and the distinct characteristics of the black regiment. In my opinion, this film was also successful because of the compassion shown by colonel Shaw. In fact, according to the New York Times, this film used actual letters from the colonel and were read verbatim. I believe “Glory” was as successful as it was, because it acknowledged the colored soldiers as people, and told us their story. By letting the audience engaged in the lives of this black regiment, Edward Zwick made the film mean so much more to me. The New York Times review of “Glory (1989)” claimed, “Glory is historical fiction, but all claims made are accurate.”

            The historical accuracy of both films my old US History teacher showed me, helps me not only learn about slavery but I am now able to visualize the sorrows of slavery. These two films have made me reach a new level on which I sympathize for slavery in the United States. Before I came across these two films, slavery was just another piece of history I had to memorize, but now it has become personal. Although these films do not have the actual characters that went through these events, it conveys the information to me in a way that I will obtain and memorize, but also in a way that entertains me. Both directors of these films faced challenged in conveying their stories in an accurate way, but both pulled it off phenomenally. I think it is important to learn through films that are historically accurate, because films help students understand topics in a deeper way. By watching films on history topics, as a student, I am able to visualize the topic I am studying which keeps me interested and more invested in what I am studying.  

Sources, Film Research- Glory & 12 Years a Slave

IMDb 12 Years a Slave

IMDb 12 Years a Slave- Awards

NYT 12 Years a Slave- Not the Magnolias

History Extra- Historian at the Movies

Guardian- Steve McQueen’s Intentions

IMDb Glory- Awards

History- Edward Zwick Q&A

NTY Glory Review