LAD #10

1.  What did the issuing of the Monroe Doctrine express from an American perspective post War of 1812?

• The American perspective post war of 1812 was pretty much that they felt on top of the world, they had high patriotism and confidence in their country and its' abilities, since they did not lose to Britain in their "Second War of Independence". It was a shout in the European faces that America could not be colonized.

2.  What was Secretary of State Adams' hope when he wrote the Monroe Doctrine?

• When Adams wrote the Monroe Doctrine, he wanted to show that the States were not open to colonization, and never again would be. He also said that the powerful Europeans were limited to the Eastern Hemisphere, and that the United States' could, in essence, gain more land to establish itself as a superpower nation.

3.  What is the key phrase in the entire document that you need to remember as the cornerstone or American Foreign Policy?

• The cornerstone for the American Foreign Policy is found in the phrase, "Our policy in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting in all instances the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none". This pretty much sums up the neutral policy that America planned on trying to preserve.

Columbus Blog

      We all get a day off on October 12th. But have we ever stopped to wonder about the man behind the day? Have we ever stopped to wonder about Christopher Columbus? Christopher Columbus, the man who "sailed the ocean blue in 1492" and started the colonizing of the Americas was seen as both a hero and a villain. Many people see him as both, but, to a greater extent, he was seen as a villain because of what he did to the many natives that he encountered.
       Columbus, the man who gives his name to the October 12th day off; treated the natives in his area harshly. As he boarded the ship set for Asia, promising the King and Queen of Spain to bring back lots of gold. The way a wealthy nation was defined during that time period. The first place that Columbus landed was on the Bahama Island where he met the Arawak Indians. They gave him the gifts that they had to offer, but all he was looking for was gold. But, they had no gold to offer, he took some of them aboard as prisoners to lead him to the source of gold, as he saw some of the gold in the Indians' ears. He then sailed to Hispaniola, where he found small bits of gold in the river, but; the problem was that the gold was nowhere near enough to give to the King and Queen and the many people that financed his journey. Then, in 1495, one thousand five hundred Arawak Indians were rounded up, the five hundred best were taken to Spain and only three hundred of those lived. The cruelty that the Indians faced when Columbus landed from traveling the great ocean blue was indescribable.
       The cruelty didn't stop there either, during the two years that Columbus was in Haiti, his "home base" through murder, bleeding out to death, and suicide, only one-half of the original 250,000 inhabitants remained. After there was no more gold to be taken from  the area, Columbus helped create encomiendas. A fancy way of saying areas of slavery. The number of slaves kept decreasing, by 1515, there were only 50,000 slaves and by 1550, only five hundred remained. By 1650, none of the Indians were left on the island.
       Of course, Columbus had some good attributes as well, without him, the Americas as we know them, probably wouldn't have been discovered for another couple of years, shifting history as we know it. It was common practice during that time period to own slaves, even Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Constitution, and George Washington owned slaves. This was common practice, and Columbus, like everyone else followed this practice.  So, really, we cant blame just Columbus for his inhumane treatment of the Natives.
       Columbus can be seen as both a hero and a villain, some seen him as more of a hero; and yet many others will see him as a villain. The truth of the matter is that he is both. He is hero and villain, it just depends on which way he is seen more of by a particular person. As one wise person once said, "It all depends on your Historiography, people will interpret history differently, and its based on their religion, environment, race, socioeconomic standing, and demography".


Source: Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins,
     1999. Print.

LAD #9

On March 14th, Thomas Jefferson gave his First Inaugural Address, in it he says;

•  He coveys that he is humbled by the fact that he was chosen to be president and he is unsure of how good he will be, but that by the people's help he will do good 
• He will make errors sometimes, and that people shouldn't think that he does them intentionally
• He wants to be instrumental in giving all people the freedoms they deserve
• That he will abide by the laws and help enforce them from the Constitution
•  He asks the citizens to unite together as one nation
• He says that the citizens of this country have the right to have different opinions on their governments
•  He conveys the meaning of losing the attachments of British values that they once had, and making new values based on their like-minded ideals of unity and republicanism when he says "Republican principles, our attachment to union...  Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the [other] quarter of the globe"
•  He then goes on to say that he will ensure and protect the following rights of people:
• "Equal and exact justice to all men"
• peaceful relations with all nations
• foreign isolation
• Election by the people (majority)
• freedom of religion
• a disciplined militia
• increase in trade and commerce
• freedom of the press
• trail by jury
• protection under habeas corpus