(1) Realizing Life- (reread Lucinda Matlock) What does it take to "realize life?" How do you realize life? Do you think anyone, ever, really CAN realize life? What kind of events might help us to realize life?
I believe this may be one of those things were you have to lose it to truly appreciate it. Although this may sound morbid, it may be true. One may have to lose what their idea of life to reality, or even have a near death experience to know what living truly is. I believe that it is possible to realize life, but only when you’ve passed on to Heaven will you really understand the true meaning of why we are here and what the grand scheme of the universe is. We may be able to get a small glimpse of it while we are still alive.
(2) "There's something way down deep about every person" How would you define that thing that makes us uniquely human, that connects us as humans, that makes us a part of "the circle of life?"
I would define it as being a soul, but that my religious take on it. Some people do not believe in religion and are strongly opposed to any idea of it. I believe what separates us from most animals is the fact that we have a soul. The truth is that each and every one of us is different and created specially and uniquely. We are part of the circle of life not only because we can be created, live, and then pass on (almost like the cycle of a butterfly), but that our bodies are practically the same material as everything else in the universe. It may be arranged in different sequences, but essentially it is all the same. When our bodies die, it decomposes and provides for other living creatures in the future, even other humans.
(3) "This is the way we were" What things (referring specifically to the list we made for the bulletin board items) do you think were handled the same or differently in the past as compared to now? (example: you will find that with regard to birth, things are far more open than even in the recent past. Dads come into the delivery room, with video cameras for goodness sake!)
Things that were regarded as improper or taboo back then are now acceptable. Just as with any culture what is acceptable and what is not is constantly changing. Before women would be seen as promiscuous if they left the house without five petticoats on underneath their corset and gown. Women now leave the house wearing shorts with a three inch inseam and tube tops that barely cover their breasts. Children are not longer expected to stand at the dinner table, and are in general more spoiled. I’m not saying that children should stand at a dinner table, but a hundred years ago an orange was a wonderful Christmas present, and now children want Power wheels and Barbies and electric scooters.
Out of the virtues in the book I chose to do Resolution. It just seems to fit well with what I wanted to write about, so here goes -
Thursday, July 24th
This summer I decided I wanted to start working out and try to get in better shape. I've never been completely happy with the way I look and my weight. I was really over weight when I was around 10, and it really made a big impact on my life and how I viewed things. Every year I've gotten smaller, but never been exactly happy. The last winter I basically just sat on my butt and did nothing (the cafeteria food didn't help either) and I ended up gaining 30 pounds. I know its common for teenage girls to not be happy with their body, but I truly do not want a supermodel skinny body; I just want to be completely happy with how I am. I guess that was what made me even more irritated. So, every morning (and sometimes evening too) I either go for a jog or a bike ride. Its been really hard to get up every morning and go. Sometimes you just have to think about what you want and picture it in your head and then just get up and go. Jogging is really difficult at first, but gets easier as your lung adapt to needing more air and your muscles grow in the legs. Anyway, I don't have much to say about today. I got up at 9ish and went for a ride, even though if I'd done what I wanted I would have stayed in bed. In the end, I felt really good because I did it, and working out just makes you feel good, even if its painful during it.
Friday & Saturday July 25th & 26th
Man, its really hard to remember yesterday. That's sad, I know. Ohh, I remember now! Well, my mom stayed up until 11 pm making noise (she hasn't stayed up that late in 20 years XD) but she did, and I didn't get to sleep until 12ish. Usually if I don't get to bed around 9 I can't get up early at all the next morning. But, somehow I dragged myself out of bed at 8 and went for a bike ride.
Today I woke up kind of late too... I was irritated from the start of the day because everyone's been arguing and I had to watch our puppy so I didn't get to go anywhere. But, I did go home and thoroughly clean my room for 2 hours, and went swimming, so I think that makes up for it.
Sunday July 27th & Monday 28th
I kind of slacked off yesterday, which makes me feel kind of guilty. Casey was over, so I spent all day with him. However, I did go swimming for a while with him and still ate right... I just didn't go like I usually do.
Again, I'm a little sick today. I haven't gone yet, and I figure I should pretty soon before it starts thunderstorming out. Its so hard to keep on track after you've been doing it more than a month!
Tuesday July 29th
Today I went exploring for a longer bike route. There is a fork in Camp Benson, and I've been taking the one that goes to the left. Today I went the opposite way and I found out the hard way there was a really big hill. I did make myself ride mostly up it, though I had to stop close to the top because my legs wouldn't go anymore.
Wednesday July 30th
I got up to the end of (I forget the road name, the left fork off Camp Benson) and decided I wanted to see what Williams Road was like on a bike. It was a bit nerve wracking with the big tankers rolling past you (especially the one hat left the scent of manure trailing after it). I stopped by at Casey's house for a few minutes, but I had already been gone around an hour so I couldn't stay long.
Thursday July 31st
I got up this morning and saw the storm clouds rolling in and decided not to go then. I've been kind of busy the rest of the day so I haven't gone yet. My mom wants me to go to Riley's puppy obedience class with her, but I also need to go out and exercise.
Note: Sorry I haven't posted in a while, we've been having a slight problem with whats going on in our family and I've been too distracted to think straight.
Unfarmiliar Terms:
Tlingit Indians
Southeast Alaska
Ketchikan
Circle Justice
Youth Crime Statistics
First Nation
Devil's Club
At.oow
Plants, berries, and mushrooms of Alaska (edible)
Dangers in Alaskan Wilderness
Spirit Bears
Devil's Club::
This plant, found in South Eastern Alaska is a staple in the medicine cabinets of the Tlingit tribe for many different reasons. It is said to cure such serious ailments as tuberculosis and hypoglycemia, yet is also capable of curing cough, stomach ulcers, and common colds. This plant can be eaten in a variety of different ways - steeped, chewed, and brewed. Ginseng is a close relative to Devil's Club, which explains the diverse ways in which it can be used.
Although Devil's Club is found mostly in Alaska, it can be found as far south as Oregon. It is easy to spot, for it has wide frond like leaves, with a stalk armed with thousands of dagger like thorns. It also bears read berries, which are hightly attractive to bears and other forms of herbivorous wildlife. Devil's Club also possesses a spiritual aspect - members of the Tlingit tribe believe that this plant has the power to ward off evil.
Sources:
http://www.naturalstandard.com/index-abstract.asp?create-abstract=/monographs/herbssupplements/devilsclub.asp
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3607496
The idea of a revolution is capable of being produced by one man alone, yet the commencement and completion of a revolution simply cannot be done in singularity, no matter how spectacular his intelligence, or how incredible his reason. A revolution must be in the minds of the entire Nation or group of peoples in which the revolution is brought about. Just as in a war, one man may wish to declare it, yet he will need an entire army behind him to be able to succeed. Just as a war is fought, so is a revolution - only without manpower and weapons, but with propaganda, will power and reason. In the case of the American Revolution, there were only a few masterminds behind this plot, yet behind them stood more people, and even though their intelligence was no where near their leader's genius, they found their strength in numbers. To look at these few elite leaders from a different more obscure perspective, imagine them to all be one person, or one machine. They were the driving force of the Revolution, all their skills and qualities added up to create a very affective machine. While not always working together, the different pieces and parts of the machine (the leaders as individuals) always did their job in one way or another - for although this machine was not perfect, the strange ways it fit together and entwined talent, eventually ended up with the success and end of the American Revolution. In effect, it takes many different personalities, view points, and thoughts to successfully aid the drive an entire revolution forward.
To begin, leadership comprised of mostly these attributes; a strong combination of personality, stature, energy, determination, strong opinion, optimism, grace, style of manner, a strong will, intellect, modesty, wisdom, experience, an bravery. After reading the novel Founding Brothers, by John Ellis, it is clear that the founding brothers must have possessed these qualities. Even though sometimes personality quirks and disagreements took place, these were all attributes that added up to the machine that aided, and by some views was the revolution.
and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest
as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man."
- John Adams
It is true, that while commanding a party such as a small team, one will need a lot of personality. Now imagine that person in the later 1700's, trying to control an unruly mob of citizens tired of oppression, a tired, hungry and sore army of soldiers about to give up on your cause, and most of all the other men of high rank an intelligence that you must collaborate with. To be a leader in this time period, and of this stature, you were required to have a great amount of personality. If you were a bleak, uninteresting man, most likely you were either to be completely ignored or degraded for lack of intelligence and then ignored. All of these men; George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton possessed some form of personality, whether it be conflicting with his brother or not. It was simply an attribute that a man must have in order to be a leader. Secondly, a strong opinion and determination play a large role in being a leader,especially in this turbulent and troubled time. John Adams is a specific example of this. Having a Harvard education, Adams was a political leader, in fact, one of the most outspoken and biased men in the whole Continental Congress. While others cringed at the thought of stepping forward, Adams stepped forward bravely, (and sometimes in rage) to express his opinion. Once put into office as Vice President to General George Washington in 1789, Adams was still not satisfied. He felt insignificant, and expressed this so to his wife Abigail. He stated "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." However, this did not thwart his attempts at creating the America he dreamed of. Finally in the year 1792, he beat General George Washington by fifty five votes and was elected the second president of the United States. John Adams's presidency was the end of the Revolution, something he had dreamed of for most of his life. In truth, a revolution if never completely over until the power of the General who had usurped the power to begin with was successfully transferred to a new president without dissension.
"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem
your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."
- General George Washington
Also needed for the intense role of leadership is bravery and stature. Although General George Washington may not have been the most intelligent man in the room, he certainly was a stately man. He towered above all the other men of intellect, at about six foot three and a half. His appearance was enough to make any man stop and listen to anything he had to say. He was not just a lengthy man, he was also broad. This image has continued to be the image of leadership and strength ever since this man came into the picture. He was a very virtuous man, and often quoted things as to diverge the true meaning behind his heart. "Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience." George Washington. It could have been bravery that made General Washington stand at the top of hill in the fog while bullets where whizzing past his head, or vigor and commitment. Yet, it could have been stupidity and irrational behavior. Yet, in the winter of 1777, he was also the commander of the troops in the miserable condition residing at Valley Forge. They were starving, weary, angry, tired, and hurt. Washington wrote in his journal that some of the men even had traces of blood on this feet from worn down shoes and walking in the bitter condition. Since an army marches on its stomach, and General Washington's army had so little, it is a spectacular feat indeed that they continued to fight.
may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."
-Benjamin Franklin
To conclude, these were only a few of the men who contributed their daily lives to the cause of an American Revolution. They each possessed an array of the social and mental qualities that was and is needed to be a great leader. Working as one well oiled, machine (yet sometimes in conflict), these men have come together to create a spectrum of personalities and attributes. These men possessed personality, stature, energy, determination, strong opinion, optimism, grace, style of manner, a strong will, intellect, modesty, wisdom, experience, an bravery. Add these together with a catalyst of emotion, disagreement and war, you have the beginnings of the American Revolution . Subtract any of of these variables (men) and the outcome consequently would not have been the same. In effect, all parts of a well working machine must work together. If onepiece fails, the rest of the contraption cannot complete its duty. This is how the founding Brothers achieved such works of greatness. Leadership is not one quality, it is the combination of many fair ones; just as a revolution cannot be commenced without the support or acknowledgement of an entire Nation.
"The fact that the peoples of the Colonies even must question as to the pertinence that we should declare war against these mongrels is absolutely atrocious! Have we not been oppressed in every single aspect of our daily lives, even to the point where we are not served with the right to elect what they may drink for breakfast. In my very own opinion, this should not be conceded! I, as a Citizen of the North, will not concede it! And as a Citizen, I must profess the desire that each and every one of you may join me in this Cause. Let me remind you, Gentle Folk, that our daily lives have been impacted by these unpleasant peoples. The lives of all around you; your neighbors, shop keepers, bankers, ship men, butchers have been affected. If you let these actions become commonplace, your children must pay the price for your torpid behavior. Must I go on?
In the year 1763, all Colonies were prohibited to cross the crest in the Appellation Mountains. We have come to this Country to maintain freedom! I ask you, tell me how this conveys our Colonial freedom? If we may not be allowed to live where we wish, what shall be next, I beg you? Will we be conserved to our homes and our very towns? If we allow Britain to dictate where we shall live, then what is stopping them from dictating other aspects of our lives?
Also, may I remind you, that in the year 1764 the Grenville Acts were presented, raising the direct tax of our very important commodities. We are now living in a world where we are not even permitted to send a letter without being taxed nearly half to death by the Crown. We cannot have wine to sweeten our tongues at dinner, nor molasses to disperse the bitterness of cooking. British troops are living in our very homes, the dwellings that we have worked so hard to maintain! Why must we feed and quarter these mongrels, when they are a threat to our safety and family! I, being a very devoted father of three young girls, am very concerned about their safety. Have you never experienced a drunken fool to wander into your home around the latest hour imaginable, making chaos and floundering about in a stupor? Let me tell you, it is a monstrous sight indeed! Many a night I have awoken in fear, and sought after the safety of my dear wife and children. I must work twice as hard to pay for their well-being, when I am barely able to pay for my family!
If this is not atrocious enough, consider this my brothers; the Townsend Acts! Can we not even enjoy the simple pleasure of morning tea? This expense is so loathsome that I have not even the though in my mind that I am able to pay for it!
And yet, I am not finished! Most horrid of all are these Intolerable Acts, which are consequently governed our lives in the most despicable of ways! The red coats have shut down our port of Boston, shut down our town governments, and appointed bloody Brit leaders instead of our own. Thomas Gage is not my leader, nor is the Crown! We Colonists cannot receive merchandise, not export it. Our source of income is dwindling by the very moment, and yet why do we not rebel? We have incredibly little, may I remind you. All of our belongings have been taken away from us, our food, our money, our homes, and even the lives of our fellow colonists!
Do you not remember the Boston Massacre? Does this not enrage you so that you would be willing to give your lives for the Cause of one Nation, and your liberty you have fought so hard to maintain? That gruesome day, March Fifth, yes -- I do recall it. I was there, in the crowd. Defenseless, for the most part (omitting only a few snowballs - and I do say, I would hope an army not be too frightened of a little water), we were fired upon, so unexpectedly that our Countrymen were shot and wounded by the impudence of the British troops to hold off a riot!
Now, I ask you, my friends, my brothers. Is this not intolerable in the most extreme? Is this not against what we have fought for so hard? We have made it this far, why should we even imagine giving up now? Will you not allow the Crown to violate your daily lives and rights so, because I tell you now - if you do not put up your first and rebel, then there will be no new land; there will be no United Country, nor even a Colony left under our own rule. It is plain to me, and should be plain to you -- this war will not be fought on a distant battlefield, it will be fought amongst us, containing every one of us. But if we do not fight, our way of life will simply cease to exist."
(note: my blogger isn't working well right now, so I cannot change anything italics, quotes, or pictures. I'll add them later.)
Did the process of the Industrial Revolution represent primarily a mental or a material revolution?
It is easy to argue that the Industrial Revolution was influenced by both mental and psychical aspects. However, the point of this essay is to establish that one or the other is the most prevalent. This, after considering both sides, must be that this Revolution was a landslide of mainly physical aspects, set off by thoughts and mindset - but nonetheless, a physical revolution.
To begin to prove this point, one must consider the opposite view. The Industrial Revolution, by definition is “ a period of rapid industrial growth causing a radical shift in focus from agriculture to industry during the late 1700's and early 1800's,” (as quoted from www.business2000.ie/html/resources/glossary/i.htm). This radical shift in focus is the mental section of this revolution. Without the masterminds behind such inventions as Division of Labor, the steam engine, and advancement in the textile industry, the Revolution, simply, would not exist. The people in this situation are what brought about the Industrial Revolution - the sudden burst in population brought out a need for better and more efficient ways to produce, transport and manufacture. This is where the people come into play. Human beings, in nature are competitive. They commonly strive to advance through each generation; their fathers and mothers expect them to be more, as their fathers and mothers had of them. This linear time frame is what pushes us to improve. As the demand shot up with the growing population, the demand for efficiency and numbers grew as well. The English needed a bigger and better way to amend their way of living. So, stating this it is clear that without the human factor (and the thoughts behind it), this revolution would be nonexistent.
To state simply, the Industrial Revolution carries an implication that it was physical. The word ‘Industrial’ conveys the thought that it has something to do with business, machinery. manufacturing, and trade. These are all very physical things. This Revolution was based around the fact that objects were being invented and improved upon. Some of the events that took place during this period of time are such; the British Atlantic Slave trade was completely annihilated, which brought about the end of plantations and farms reliant directly on slave labor. Europe lost formal control over the countries they had possessed overseas, but gained “wider economic dominance”. The Colombian exchange took place as well, bringing fourth the English discoveries of the food and animals brought from the New World. Foods such as potatoes, maize, cocoa, and tobacco became a large staple in many European diets. The potato and sweet potato replaced bread in places such as Ireland. Rubber and useful hardwoods were also imported to the European countries, changing building techniques. Animals such as new breeds of dog, horses, horned cattle, and sheep were also introduced to Europe. However, with these improvements there also came an epidemic of smallpox, measles, yellow fever, malaria, typhus fever, and tuberculosis, which broadly affected the "Amerindians", but not as dramatically in Britain and throughout Europe. “Oceanic migrations then, voluntary and involuntary slaves brought much death into the world and much woe,” - Wealth and Poverty of Nations.
Spain, on the other hand, was also incredibly wealthy, yet they squandered their money on war. “Spain chose to spend -on luxury and war. War is the most wasteful of uses: it destroys rather than builds,” - The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Also, the quote “A fool and his money soon are parted,” comes into play with Spain in this particular period of time. Consider them the fool, thinking themselves the most important, incredibly pompous, and still believing that they had enough money to waste on things like war and extravagant items. In fact, a Spaniard of such pomp said just this: “Let London Manufacture those fabrics, of hers to her heart’s content. Let Holland her chambrays; Florence her cloth; the Indies the beaver and vicuna; Milan her brocades; Italy and Flanders their linens, so long as our capital can enjoy them. The only thing it proves is that all nations train journeymen for Madrid and that Madrid is the queen of Parliaments, for all the world serves her and she serves nobody.” - The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Surely, this is a narcissistic statement. At the end of this crisis, Spain was deeply in debt. “Easy money is bad for you It represents short run gain that will be paid for in immediate distortions and later regrets.” - The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.
All of these transgressions point to the fact that for the most part, the Industrial Revolution was a physical one. The inventions, the laboring, the imports, the war, the money - they are all signs that lead to the answer that this was a physical event. It was set off by a series of thoughts centered around the demand and improvement of mankind (or their own peoples.) The inventions created during this period of time have brought America to be what America is; brought Britain to be what Britain is, and the same for the rest of Europe.
To even begin to compare and contrast the involvement and relationships of the Plymouth Colonies, versus the Jamestown Colonies and their view on Native Americans, we must first understand how they interacted individually.
The first popularly noted explorer of the modern 'New England' went by the name of Captain John Smith. In the year 1614, he claimed this new world as his very own 'discovery.' At this time, European nations (Dutch, French, and English) were beginning to arrive in the land, looking for land, and other trades such as foods, or trades of wampum furs and beads. Captain Smith observed the land which he had discovered, and felt a sense of awe. The people were so peaceful, and close to the land in which they lived. The 'virgin' landscape – which he named it, was dotted with farms and small villages. What was once forest had been burned into vast open meadows, used for hunting wildlife. Yet, Smith did not understand; could not conceive that this land had actually been established. He did not see that a culture different from his own could even be viewed as a culture at all."Given a country so planted with corne fields, and so well inhabited with a goodly, strong and well proportioned people... who can but approve this most excellent place, both for health and fertility?... Of all the four parts of the World I have yet seene not inhabited could I heave but meanes to transport a colonie, I would rather live there than anywhere,” quoted Smith.
This is a very ironic situation, however, because the new settlers felt very free to consume and usurp Native produce, but yet they could not even admit that they had established a community, or that they had farmed the very food they were relying on.
A few years after the first settlers arrived, there came to be a great pandemic of smallpox and chickenpox, which swept across the Native Nations, killing up to (on average) ninety percent of tribes. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, one of Smith's common men saw this devastation, and seemed almost cheerful about it. He reasoned that such a large disaster that wiped out most of the Native population had to be a good thing. This was so because, now instead of having thousands of Native Americans to contend with, all they had to do was announce their control, and the Natives would have to comply, due to their lack in numbers. This came to be true: the settlements Salem, New Amsterdam, Providence, Boston, Plymouth and Jamestown were all built on desolate Native villages. They simply did not 'settle' the land, but 'resettled' it. Before they could build, they had to tear the land away from its people.
By the spring of 1621, more than half the English settlers had died of starvation. Thankfully, a local tribe by the name of Wampanoag came to the rescue, if only for a while. Understanding the danger of this action, the Wampanoags saw that, instead of holding a grudge on the colonist's for invading, they would try to make peace. They felt an urgent need to re-establish the equilibrium of their past world. Possibly a treaty with these new people would give them some peace at heart. Later, however, the Natives were tricked into accepting a new policy. Eager to become friends, they accepted although the deal was nowhere fair. Nearly every statute that the English applied to the Natives, they broke themselves. Meanwhile, the Native Wampanoags were supplying their colony with maize and other produce. When the Natives came to visit the Pilgrims, they panicked; eager to keep their seperatist lives in check. Banishing all but the Sanchem from their colonies, they alienated themselves from their suppliers. By the year 1633, after the Natives and Colonists had suffered a drought, the Natives had almost had enough. Their land had become increasingly scarce; their attributions had done little to make the new people accept them, and their population was dwindling dangerously low. Through the following years Native tribes began to fight with each other, and with the Dutch over trading goods. This resulted in a sort of anarchy within the Mohegan tribe, until a new Sanchem was anointed. The stability of the tribes steadily disintegrated, with the Puritans on one side pushing for all non-followers of their God to be exterminated, and the Pilgrims still pushing for land. Around the year 1637 was the great massacre of Mystic, which was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Natives were mostly annihilated from New England, and any that were left were under strict jurisdiction of the state.
The Jamestown settlers arrived on the coast of Virginia in the year 1607. This was a particularly bad time for them to arrive: the Natives were already suspicious of any newcomers, as well as the fact that the Powhatans and Chesapeakes were having an all out war. The first few weeks of settlement, the colonists were attacked several times by the surrounding native tribes. During the summer of 1607, more than half the settlers were infected, and died of disease. They had no experience with the land, and no experience of how to use the land to supply themselves with food. They realized that their only option was to look to the Powhatans for help. The Virginia Company assumed that they would require help from the Natives for the first year or so, but never dreamed that they would need their help for years, and eventually end up relying on them. “Have great care not to offend the Naturals... buy Corne and all other lasting victuals... before that they perceive you mean to plant among them.”
Maize quickly became a staple of the colonists, and after ten years of dependance on trade with the Natives, the English ego was considerably damaged. The Governor of Jamestown gave this speech against reliance on the Natives, “Nothing can be more dishonorable to our nation then to stand in need of supplies of our most necessarie food from these base Savages nor more dangerous, then to have our lives, and the lives of the colony itself, to depend uppon the uncertain hope of trade with them.” It was also a very large blow to the community, when the colonists began to desert Jamestown to live with the 'savages', where food was plentiful, as well as freedom. Instead of seeing the Natives as friendly and willing to help, the English saw them as a treat to their well being .. even as devil worshipers.“All things that were able to do to them hurt beyond their prevention, they adore with their kind of divine worship, as the fire, water lightening, thunder, our ordinance, peeces, horses &c. But their cheife God they worship is the Devil. Him they call Oke & serve him more of fear than love,” commented Captain John Smith.
As the idea of Natives worsened, the people began to hate them. Their need for food was still great, and therefore they began to take the food by 'compulsory purchase'; instead of fairly trading with the Natives, they raided their stocks and surpluses, leaving little but a few trinkets behind. This comforted their conscience, for a good Christian such as themselves would never steal. In the end, the Jamestown colonists just stole what they needed, making enemies with the Natives. Little did the colonists care, however. The Native Americans, at one point offered to teach the settlers how to construct fishing weirs, or how to grow maize, but they declined; they were more happy to grow tobacco and steal what they needed from the Natives.
After a while, the Powhatan tribe realized that no matter what they did for the English, they could never win. “Well perceive and well know you intend to destroy us, that are here to intreat and desire your friendship, and to enjoy our houses and plant our fields, of whose fruit you shall participate, otherwise you will have the worst by our absence, for we can plant anywhere, though with more labour, and we know you cannot live if you want our harvest, and that reliefe wee bring you ; if you promise us peace, we will believe you, if you proceed in revenge, we shall abandon the country.”
As epidemics struck the Natives, their power dwindled evermore, and they were eventually forced out of their own land by the onslaught of new colonists.
When comparing the contrasting these two situations, the first thing to jump out of the epidemics of smallpox and chicken pox. In New England, the first onslaught wiped out almost ninety percent of the local tribes, but did nothing to the English settlers. This made it much easier for them to take over the Native land. In Jamestown, the first epidemic struck the colonists themselves, turning the tables. Later, however, the Powhatan tribe was affected, but not in such a great way as in the North.
Second, is how the Natives were viewed. In New England as well as Jamestown, they were seen as 'savages', as people with no economy or sense of government. This was all completely wrong, of course, yet even though all this was under their very noses, they refused to believe it. The land had been farmed and processed; the very food the Jamestown settlers relied on was grown by the Powhatan tribe; yet they refused to belief that they were farmers and had technology greater than themselves. The Natives were viewed as vile and Devil worshipping creatures, either to be driven away or educated in their own, very correct views on religion.
Also, in New England the way the Natives were exterminated was different than the way they were in Jamestown. The people of New England enraged the native tribes to a point were the began to destroy themselves. Their population was already at a low point after the pox swept in and annihilated their community. The New England colonies were not very quiet about the way they drove the Natives from their nation. The extermination in Jamestown was less sudden. Starving and working the Powhatans to death, they finally drove them away into extinction as more and more settlers arrived and built on their land. The Natives were slowly, but surely wiped out.
All of the tribes in both cases were shocked beyond belief of what was happening to them. To try to re-establish their old equilibrium of peace and harmony, they attempted to become friendly with the English. The settlers in both cases ended up in a bad spell of starvation. The only reason the two colonies survived was because of the Natives themselves. The only difference is, the people of New England did not steal from the Natives as the Jamestown colonists did. Yet, still, in the end of both situations, their land was taken away from them. “The Times are exceedingly altere'd. yea the times have turn'd everything upside down, or rather we have chang'd the good Times, chiefly by the help pf the white people, for in Times Past, our forefathers live in peace, love, and harmony, and had everything in great plenty...but alas, it is not so now...”
*Quotes out of the Earth Shall Weep, James Wilson
