Thematic Question Part One: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Has the United States of America failed in its treatment of Native American culture?

Before the Europeans arrived and invaded America, the Native Americans lived in peace. They believed in living one with the earth. They had a culture that was their own that differed in so many ways from the Europeans. Ever since arriving in America we tore apart their homes, their culture and their lives. Even since then Native American culture has been disappearing. Less of them practice it and their minority is going down in population. Even though we have tried to help them since the wars we can still say we are the cause of their culture failure. The United States has failed in the treatment of Native American culture.


In 1842 Christopher Columbus discovered America. Along with discovering this new land he also discovered humans living there. Shortly after those two discoveries we took over this new land, and the new people living there. Christopher Columbus went back to his home land after this new discovery, and the next time he returned to America, all of the Europeans came with him and they invaded. They brought over ships and ships of goods and soldiers. They camped in the Indians land after the Native Americans shared their homes and food with Columbus. Right from the start the Native Americans culture was being mistreated. Their land, lives, families, crops and homes were being invaded.

After the Europeans took over the Native Americans land they started shipping materials, food and other goods over to America from Europe. The Europeans started stealing more and more land to grow crops on and they would sell and export the products grown from that land for their own source of money. They would encourage the Native Americans to buy and use their machines and their products but the Indians refused to go under the Europeans way of life. The Europeans would insult their culture and burn their houses and their land so they would have no choice but to surrender to their way of life. Once disease hit America the Native Americans and the Europeans suffered in population. They Europeans after the epidemic suffered in growing crops and harvesting. They had to ask the Indians to teach them how to provide their own food. So the Europeans made a peace treaty with the Indians. Of course however, after they were taught how to grow crops, make and sell crafts and clothing they started exporting and selling again. They started forcing the Native Americans to buy and use their products again, and finally the Indians had no choice. Most of the Indians lived under European life, and the ones who didn't suffered or they were killed.

Soon after Native Americans succumbed to Europeans life, the Europeans started forcing Indians onto reservations. They told them that it would be a place where they could practice their culture but they had to stay on the land that they gave them. This was a way for Europeans to gather and have the Indians living in one place where they could control their culture and their economy. This was a place where the Indians really in all eyes but the invading Europeans had no freedom.

Attacks on the Indians were made. Europeans started a war and wanted to tear down every Indian home and tribe. They said "their is no better Indian than a dead one." Indians exclaimed, "the white men are foxes and peace cannot be brought about with them; the only thing the Indians can do is fight." The Europeans had no heart and showed no mercy. They killed everyone everywhere. They killed the men, the women, the children and even the infants. "I have come to kill Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians." Said by Colonel Chivington from the Colorado Cavalry. The European soldiers would even fake an agreement. Tell the Indian chiefs that they were not here to hurt them. The Indians would come outside after hearing this to make peace, and the soldiers would open fire and leave not one Indian standing.


The way that the Europeans treated the Native Americans when they arrived in America only got worse. It gradually wore them down and then turned into war and extinction. They took their ways of growing crops and producing goods for their own economy. They stole their land and forced Indians to live on reservations. Europeans forced Indians to use their powered machines and power tools. The English didn't just force their culture upon the Indians, they murdered them, burned down their houses, killed their animals; the Europeans were brutal. Indian tribes didn't know what to think. These people invaded their land and started to bring down their population. The Indians just wanted to live in peace. After a while Indians started to rebel. That didn't sit well with the Europeans, and they started wars. Black Kettle from the Cheyenne tribe once said "It is not my intention or wish to fight the whites, I want to be friendly and peaceable and keep my tribe so. I am not able to fight the whites. I want to live in peace." If all the Indians wanted was peace, why couldn't the Europeans work with the Indians and live in peace? Instead, they brought the Native American culture and population to almost extinction.

As the United States started to grow and become a working country and economy. Americans decided we wanted to make it up to the Native American culture. So now their are benefits for them and plans to keep there culture alive and practiced. However, that does not make up for all of the bad that was done to them. There civilization and lifestyle was completely devoured. All of the rights and peaceful living they get should have been given a long time ago. The Europeans left no survivors in the attacks against the Indians. The Native American culture is now dying out with every year that passes. Nothing that has been done or is done today can make up for all of the harm and devastation that was brought upon the Native Americans when the Europeans came to America. The ancestors of America now failed in the treatment of Native Americans. The United States of America has failed in the treatment of Native American culture.

Thematic Question: Fredrick Douglass

How is it possible that slavery could exist in the United States until the Civil War?

Back in the 1800s when slavery existed white men felt that they needed slaves to do work without payment. Men slaves did field work and the hard manual labor, as did some other woman slaves. The young woman mostly were housekeepers and sewed and took care of their masters home. Older woman were in charge of taking care of children. Slaves were black people. The whites were the masters. This is how it was. Whites felt that all black people should be put to work. They were punishable for whatever the master felt was disrespectful or bad behavior. The punishment was often very severe, like being whipped or cutting off a body part. If you learn to read or are trying to gain any type of knowledge some masters would cut off your tongue. Back in the 1800s, most people felt this was right, the others who didn't were freeing slaves and protesting against slavery. However their wasn't enough who felt that way.

When we first started to get our new country running we had slaves. It became sort of an unspoken hierarchy and slaves were at the bottom. Everyone knew it was there, but nobody spoke of it. People became so used to slavery that it was just a way of life. George Washington had slaves, so didn't most of the men who got our country up and running. Having a slave was a new way to show your power. Before that it was how much land you had or how many crops you grow. Owning slaves was another way to show that.

Also in a growing country, what is the easiest way to get up and running and move ahead of other countries like England. To have lots of quick and not only "cheap", a word that is used today, but this labor was free. The white men didn't have to do anything themselves, and it got done a lot faster depending on the amount of slaves you own. If you can use free labor in making a ton of tobacco and cotton, and then export it and sell it. Your going to be a rich white man. This is how it was in the south.

Abraham Lincoln was a very important figure to the reason that slavery was abolished. In order to get slavery abolished is to first, have enough people against slavery. Eventually the whole north was. Nobody in the north owned slaves. The north was where all of the free slaves went. The south was a whole different story. This split up our country, we had the people who believed in owning slaves, and the people who didn't.

Protests and rallies were made but it was never enough to make a movement. James Buchanan was the fifteenth president of the United States. He felt that states grouping together and going against each other was illegal. What he also thought was illegal was going to war to stop such a problem. So while he was doing nothing about it, there was nothing that could be done about the slavery. All the north could do was get as many slaves free as they could. They created the underground railroad which brought hundreds of slaves from the south to be free in the north. They gave these slaves a home and a new life.

The saying "one man can make a difference" is true. He might not be able to do it all by himself, but with the help of others, and that one man gaining some very high authority, that can make a difference. That can put an end to slavery. March 4Th, 1861 Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth president of the United States. Also in the year of 1861 was the beginning of the Civil War. This was a war between the south and the north. The north won and the emancipation of proclamation was signed and that ended slavery.

Even though slavery was ended though however, it was still hard for blacks to find jobs. Their was a lot of racism. Blacks couldn't use the same transportation, they would have to sit on the floor and be below the whites, they couldn't drink from the same fountain. Blacks couldn't go to school with white children. After slavery was abolished there was still a lot of work that had to be done. Even though a lot of that today is gone from movements and anti-slavery protests and just giving it time. Racism is still a factor in our world today. We still have groups everywhere that try and fix the racism problems that our country has. Hopefully someday the work that our ancestors did to abolish slavery will truly be finished. Hopefully someday there will be no more racism and skin color wont matter.

For all of these reasons above is why we continued to have slavery in the United States until the civil war. Whites liked the power they felt owning slaves, whites felt that they needed them for labor, the fifteenth president didn't encourage slavery or do anything to stop it and finally the abolitionists needed more people to join them and needed someone with power to make a movement and start a war. When that last part finally happened is when slavery finally ended.

This book is about a boy who grew up watching and living all of the torture and hardships in the slave world. This is a narrative of a life that was battled through, and overcome by a man named Frederick Douglass. The life that was written about in this story is a life that everyone should know and learn about. Frederick Douglass tells us his tale of not only his life, but of our United States awful history, and the terrible things that some had to go through and the wrongs of the people putting them through it.

Frederick Douglass tells his story of hardship and hurt; his thirst for knowledge and freedom. He relived the pain and tough memories to tell the world a story that will tear at your heart, and give you knowledge of all the wrong doings of that time. He does not want pity or sorrow, just to give the world a taste of his life and thousands of other lives very similar to his own. He wants to share his hurts and to mourn those who died and did not make it. Frederick Douglass just wants to share a story of perseverance, strong-will, and determination. To show that even what you thought was impossible is within your reach and can be done. He tells his story of his dream coming true. Freedom becoming his; his dream coming true. Frederick Douglass's dreams were possible, and others can be too.

Douglas was an abolitionist. He didn't want racism and also believed in woman's rights. He wanted peace. Many however doubted him and didn't believe that he was ever a slave. So it is said that Douglas felt he needed to write the narrative to prove he really was a slave. When his narrative came out his story hit people hard. Everyone read it and not only did it prove that he was a slave but people then knew the tyranny and torture that he lived and survived through. People then knew the life of Frederick Douglass.

However, even though it is said that Douglass wrote the narrative to prove he was a slave. The story has a deeper meaning. It's not just a story of a slave and simply what he went through. The story as emotion. As a boy he had dreams and he reached them. He tells us a story of a life that is hard to imagine. For people to read this story now and be able to feel as he felt; to know what he went through, its impossible. Nobody can compare their life to what Frederick Douglass or others like him to their lives. To feel the lose, the hurt and the empty feeling that they had not only in their stomachs but in their heart. This story brings out an emotional story of survival and to show that when all is lost, their is still hope. It's a story that gives us inspiration and would turn even the coldest heart warm again.

Benjamin Frankin

The virtue that I chose to do was industry. Franklin's definition of industry is "lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions. I chose this virtue because I am always busy and usually doing useful things and not wasting my time. I like Franklin's definition of industry because he is saying to spend your time on things that matter and that will benefit others or yourself. It's to prevent a person from sitting around all day and doing nothing. To master this virtue I plan on keeping my normal schedule and maybe cut down on the whole 1 hour of TV time I have time for and other things similar to watching TV and do something more productive with my time.

Monday: I woke up at 6 today and went to work. It was hot and tiring but it's okay because it gets you money. I left work at around 12 o'clock to go home and babysit my little brother. While I was home I did chores for my mom and did a little bit of reading. At about 3 o'clock I left to drop my brother off at a friends house and went to pick up Mary and headed over to Nokomis for our soccer game. We practiced and then we played Charleston and won. After the game I went back home, read a little bit and went to sleep.

Tuesday: Today I woke up at 6 again and went to work. It was still hot and tiring just like everyday out in the field picking those lovely vegetables. Today I got out of work around 1, picked up Heidi and headed over to the rope swing in Hartland. I suppose that is an unnecessary action but a kid has to have a little fun in their life! After the rope swing Heidi and I went to softball in Brewer and then after softball headed over to our basketball game Bangor. After the the game I went to Heidi's house and went to bed because it was 9 0'clock and that's my bedtime.

Wednesday: Today I woke up early again except today I didn't go to work. I left Heidi's to go get my little brother and then went back to Heidi's to go to the beach. I did a bad job at spending my time wisely today because I should have gone to work and done some reading but I didn't I went to the beach instead. After getting back to Heidi's from the beach I got my brother ready and headed home. When we got home my mother wanted us to do some chores and then we went out to eat. Going out to eat and doing chores was a waste of precious time to but I didn't have a choice. When I got home I went to bed.

Thursday: Today I woke up at 6 and went to work. Came home around 1 to babysit my brother. It's pretty much my daily schedule. Being home all day I was actually able to get some summer work done so that is what I did all day. After that I had a basketball game in Bangor at 6. When I got home from that I ate supper and went to bed. Friday: I woke up at 6 again and went to work. I also got my check so that was a plus. Didn't have to babysit my brother today because

Fridays my dad is home from New York. I spend the day with him, my mom and my brother. At 5 o'clock I went to Nokomis for basketball practice and from there I went to Heidi's to go to sleep and get ready for our games in the morning.

Saturday: Today I woke up early once again to go to Brewer for a basketball tournament. Our first game was 9 and our second was at 2. After that I went home to do some chores and do some reading. Later that night I spent more wonderful time with my family before my dad left again. Then I went to bed.

During this week I feel like I did a fairly good job at practicing industry. I am usually a very busy person doing lots of things so I don't feel like I wasted much time doing unnecessary things. I suppose you could say doing all the sports I do is an unnecessary action but it's not to me. I feel that sports make me a happier person because I stay in shape and I love to play. Also always playing and practicing makes me a better player.

Authors Intent: A Midwifes Tale

Looking through a diary of a midwife of the late 17th Century and early 18th Century takes a lot of patience and hard work. Not only to look through a diary of such depth and emotion but to analyze it and write a award winning novel takes much much more than just patience and hard work. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, the author of the Pulitzer Prize for her book A Midwife's Tale looked into the story of a woman in Maine and found deep emotion and scandal of the 1700's. In writing this book she gives the readers newly formed images of the early years in Maine. She shows people that life in the early days is much more than what we imagined for a midwife. I believe that Ulrich wanted to give people a new perspective of life now, and to realize how much different life is than what it was when Martha Ballard was writing this diary. She wanted us to remember the life of a wonderful woman and how she lived. Her words make you realize how far we have come, and how far we have fallen. She shows us a world where life does have the same unfortunate events, but it is much more peaceful and caring. Where their is love and religion and neighbors caring for each other everywhere. In taking all the care and attention of writing this book through Martha Ballard's diary she has shown and given readers new ideas and images of life in the late 17th century and has remined readers how peaceful and loving it was even through all the hard times. She makes us crave for that and leaves us with a better understanding of how life used to be not only for a midwife, but for the world she lived in.

Identifies Week 2

John Cabot: Italian explorer and the first European to discover North America in 1497.

Giovanni Verrazano: Italian explorer who explored the American in the service of the king of France.

Jacques Cartier: Explorer who claimed Canada for France.

Jamestown, 1607: 1st permanent English settlement.

Walter Raleigh: Helped in the colonization of Jamestown.

Croatoan: Indian tribe from Croatoan Island.

Indentured Servitude: Immigrants coming to America to work as laborers.

Wahunsonacock: Indian tribe.

Powhatan: Indian tribe.

Ferdinand Magellan: Portuguese explorer who tried to find a westward route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia.

John Rolfe: 1st successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop. Husband of Pocahontas.

Puritans: Religious group wanting more purity.

Mayflower Compact: 1st governing document of Plymouth Colony.

William Bradford: Military commander of the Plymouth forces.

John Winthrop: Led a group of English puritans to the New World.

The Great Migration: 7 million African Americans out of Southern United States to the North, Midwest, and the West.

Anne Hutchinson: Unauthorized puritan minister of a dissident church. Pioneer settler in Massachusetts Bay.

Thematic Question Week 2

What was the role of a Midwife during the late 18th and early 19th century in Maine? What changes did Martha Ballard see in medical practices during her lifetime?

The duties of being a midwife were exhausting, dangerous and daring yet very satisfying. Midwives were skilled to deliver babies and mend and heal the sick. They had to be ready at all times of the day and night to go out and make a journey to either deliver a baby or to save someones life from disease and sickness. However, midwives didn't just do these tasks. When they returned home from a delivery or a house call due to sickness they had to take care of the children and their daily household chores of cooking, cleaning, laundry and all of the tiring tasks it takes to take care of many children and a husband.

Martha Ballard was a midwife of the late 18th century and early 19th century in Hallowel, Maine. She had to always be ready to be called out to another household and sometimes another town. The journeys to other towns were sometimes dangerous and lenghty but this was also a duty of a midwife. Martha sometimes didn't get sleep and would be extremely tired doing all of the things she had to do. These are some of the negative things about being a midwife. However for Martha delivering a new baby into this world or to heal someone that is dying is very satisfying and that overrides the negative.

Being a midwife of this time means that you deliver babies and heal the sick. When the cases are very serious or to much for a midwife to handle that is when a doctor is brought in. A doctor only took over a midwives position during those times. However near the end of Martha's time being a midwife doctors were starting to become more dominant. They started to do more deliveries when the cases weren't serious and were the ones called in for mending when someone was sick. During Martha's lifetime she new her career and what her duties were as a midwife. She new where her place was and where a doctors place was. Towards the end what she new started to change. Her duties of a midwife started to diminish and doctors started to get credit.

The role of a midwife during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was very hard and tiring. Martha put in a lot of time and pain during her years of a midwife to see the career she loved be turned over to doctors. Martha however had a satisfying but very hard career as a midwife and did her job well.