Ethnic Studies Week 2 Blog....

During this period in time slavery was a vital part of the economy in America. Without it, it could be argued, that the United State would not have thrived as much as it did. Plantations, especially in the south were massive. In the early years of the United States it would have been impossible and not as economically feasible to be harvested without slaves. Even though slavery was completely wrong the conditions it brought should have never been put into place, it was seen as the only way things could get done on these massive plantations. To end slavery, the United State would have needed to make huge changes in more than just the way they farmed. And these changes would eventually come.

Slave holders saw slavery as something that was overly efficient in many ways. Slave holders could own as many slaves as they could afford, and as mentioned in the reading, children born from a slave were automatically under the ownership of the slave owner. If slavery had not existed it would have been impossible to harvest the massive plantations. This could have made huge changes to our history. Without slaves plantation owners would have to have smaller fields, or worse in there minds, pay to have them harvested. Who knows what this could have done to the agricultural economy of the time.  At the time slavery was such a vital part, at least in the eyes of the supporters, escaped slaves could have been found and returned from anyone who found them. 

Slavery has been ingrained in countries well before the United States. Early empires would conquer areas and force them into slavery or to fight for them in upcoming conflicts. This difference here is that most of these people were taking from Africa and sold like property. How people could morally do this I don't know. But it was the way of times. It wasn't only African-Americans who were sold into slavery, many poor Europeans were as well. Although, as we found out in our reading the work these people had to do was completely different, and in most cases was much easier and working conditions were not as bad. Also, most Europeans could actually have a chance to buy they freedom as working as an indentured servant, African-Americans did not have this ability. But what strikes me most about this society is how they could treat these slaves the way they did, especially since many slaves fought in the Revolutionary War where we fought for equality and freedom. Without these slaves fighting for the United State some people may argue that we would have never won the war. 

For slavery to come to an end its obvious it would have taken drastic changes and a visionary to stand up for equal rights. I think we can all agree that there were many people out there who were against slavery and voiced the opinions, but they didn't have the influence. In steps Abraham Lincoln. It took for the president of the United States, and the Civil War to finally end slavery. For some people it pretty easy to see why such a terrible thing as slavery, that it took so much for it end when it shouldnt have been in place in the first place. But even after the war when all the slaves were freed they still had to suffer years of oppression. It just doesnt seem fare. 

We can see social control like this all over the world. People are still working in terrible conditions for minimal pay in places like China, Thailand, and Indonesia. We hear about it all the time, so called "sweat shops" pumping out massive quantities of product and making huge profits for their usually north american owned companies. It's hard to believe that companies like Nike can manufacture a pair of shoes over seas for under $5, and we pay over $100 here in the US. And on top of it, the workers who make these products make less than $5 a day and in some cases are children. 

Ethnic Studies Week 1 Blog....

Well all the know the story about the first Thanksgiving when the pilgrims came over to what is now known as the United States, but what is not as well known is the way the Native Americans were actually treated. If I think back to my earlier days of school I can easily remember the talk of the "savage" Native American culture but I can only recall a very few number of circumstances when the discussion turned to negative affects of the English settlers.  

When the English settled this land they encountered many new things, one of which being the Native American culture. They saw this culture as strange and barbaric, mainly because it was nothing like their own. So, in true English ideals of the time they tried to changed these peoples way of life; just like they did in Ireland years before. The English settlers in both of these instances felt that if they had their way, and made these changes it would better suit the existing cultures chance of survival. The irony is, that both these cultures survived for hundreds of years before the English even interceded. 

Going back to the aforementioned statement about early education on the topic it wasn't until much later that I was taught about what truly happened.  I think this is a huge problem. We start teaching younger generations this notion of Americans have always done what they want, when they want. And, they are not filled in on the consequences of decisions made. For instance, I was unaware of Thomas Jefferson's stance and attitude toward the Native Americans until i read about it in this class. Which is strange since I have always been into American History, but mainly that which centers around war and international conflict. But I think I should have at least heard a blip about Jefferson's thoughts toward Native Americans. We harold this man as an icon of our country, as a founding father. His ideals of freedom and equality are some of which we center our government around today. Where were these ideals when it came to the natives?

One way I like to think about this when ever the topic is brought up is to put myself in the shoes of both parties and try and see how I would have felt. If I were an English settler who brought over change, sickness, and death I think it would have given the Native Americans a pretty good reason to become a bit aggressive toward me. I know today if someone came into my house and tried to change things there would definitely be some issues. Also, what if the rolls were reversed? If someone else decided to come into England and colonize them, change there way of life, I find it very hard to believe that the English would sit by and let it happen. Much like the Native Americans weren't going to just let their way of life be changed. We all obviously now know what happens from here. The English move in and annihilate  entire Native American populations with violence and disease. The natives are forced from there lands and made to change the way they live. 

In today's society we can see this happening between the United States and the Middle East. Although it has not gone as far as colonization, both sides are trying to implement there way of life onto the other. The prime example here is the United States' take over and governmental change of Iraq. These actions were taken because of terrorist attacks on the US. After which the people of the US began to stereotype all Middle Eastern people as terrorists. There were instances where it didn't matter if they were from Persia, India, or any other country dominated by Muslim or Islam. They were considered a terrorist by some. Even if they had lived in the US all there lives. 

In conclusion it is no wonder why some countries find the United States as the "big bully." Ever since we came over to this continent we've tried to implement our ways, and try and prove they are so much better than what is already in place. Don't get me wrong, a lot if not most of the time we try and make changes for the better. It's the manner we go about making those changes that can sometimes be suspect.