Module 7: Generation's of Ideology

I think ideology changes with every generation. A word that somes up ideology to me is, common sense. But what is common sense? Frankly that is another question to be answered, but for the short of it, common sense is the average persons way of thinking. Ideology goes back to the French Revolution and the early days of the U.S. President Jefferson was a philosopher of political ideology. His philosophy was to set morals, princibles, ethics, and ideals to how he believed society should be governed. His thoughts were that people of American society should talk, walk, dress, act, look and behave all the same. Indians could have their hair cut, taught english and given decent clothes to wear. Morals of slavery was ideology, people were either for slavery or against slavery, no in betweens. But like I said at the beginning, I think ideology changes in every generations. Go back to the 1950's were women were "suppose" to be proper, wear a skirt, leg stalkings, and keep their hair in a bun. They worked in the house, cleaned and cooked. Up until the mid 1970's, that ideology was engrained in Americans head of how women should keep themselves. Now look at today. Society has changed so much that both men and women work full-time and usually until the age of 65-ish. We rely on some much goods just to get through one single day. Coffee shops are on every corner; dont forget you $3.00 cup of coffee. Yet we drive by the gas station and complain how expensive it is, after we just paid $3.00 for a cup of coffee while at the same time, we are forced to pay such and such amount for gas because thats how we get our coffee, get to work, go to the gym, stop by trader joes, and eventually land back at home just to go to bed and get up the next day to do it all over again. I've have never been to Europe, but a few of m friends have, and they say that European culture is way relaxed than our in the U.S. Marketing and manufacturing have us Americans by the arm...we consume and complain so much, but our society is always willing to follow the leader instead of standing up to it.

Module 6: Was there just one slavery in British North America and the United States?

Slavery is slavery. If a human being is bought, sold and considered owned, than that make the person a slave. The use of a slave is always different though. In the South, most slaves worked on plantations and in the fields picking and planting crops. However, as some people do not know, the North had it's numbers of slaves as well.

Generally, however, as the numbers of slaves were fewer in the North than in the South, the controls and tactics were less severe. African slavery is so much the outstanding feature of the South, in the unthinking view of it, that people often forget there had been slaves in all the old colonies. Slaves were auctioned openly in the Market House of Philadelphia; in the shadow of Congregational churches in Rhode Island; in Boston taverns and warehouses; and weekly, sometimes daily, in Merchant's Coffee House of New York. Such Northern heroes of the American Revolution as John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin bought, sold, and owned black people. William Henry Seward, Lincoln's anti-slavery Secretary of State during the Civil War, born in 1801, grew up in Orange County, New York, in a slave-owning family and amid neighbors who owned slaves if they could afford them. The family of Abraham Lincoln himself, when it lived in Pennsylvania in colonial times, owned slaves(1).

People of the colonial times didnt know any better. Society in that era approved the ownership of black slaves and frankly didn't see anything wrong with it. It's a reflief to know that not only the South owned slaves, but so did the great northern colonies as well as some famous historical characters.

-(1) Slavery in the North. Douglas Harper, 2003. www.slavenorth.com.

Module 5

Was the Revolution, "revolutionary?"

A revolution is defined as a fundamental change in politcal organization; especially the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed. By the defination of a revolution and the outcome of the Revolutionary War, my answer would be yes, the war was revolutionary. America wanted seperation from the British Empire and to become an indepentant country of its own without the rule of the Parliment. America's view's were different of those established by Britian and American colonists lead and marched in many protests and boycotts. The cause was to create independence for America, govern themselves and to have a direct say in what they were governed. By this victory, the thirteen colonies distingusihed themselves and the United State of America. They also wrote a Declaration of Indenpendence which defined their rule over their mother country. With this defeat, I feel that the Revolutionary War was definatley a revolution for this country and it people then and now.

Module 4

Who benefits from a strong nation government? in what ways?

-In the early days of this countries upbringing, the only people that really benefited from a strong national government were the wealthy. They are the one's who could afford to pay taxes, who's voted was counted or even considered. The rich were looked at as powerful people in that time period and the society in which they were classified. For the poorer people of the colonial times, even having a strong government didnt matter or help them in any ways. The poor whites people to the captivated slaves were given no assistance and relief toward good direction in aid to get on track.

In todays soceity i believe everyone benefits from a strong national government. Programs to assists the homeless and poverty stricken people are available to lend helping hands. The rich still benefited as they did in the early colonial times.

Examine the conflicts in Greece and that there shows you what happens when your countries government structure is collapsing. However, the U.S. is always there to assist. I used to always wonder why the U.S was so involved with other countries problems while we have are own here. But without U.S. assistance, or country would suffer from other countries problems from trading to stock markets, a lot would suffer in which could cause us to collapse. Im proud to be from the United States and an American. We may be going through hard times at this current time, but we always manage to rebound, pick ourselves up and continue being the greatest country in the world.