Saturday, January 10, 2009

Movie Night Extra Credit

1. British General - “God has endowed the British race with a worldwide empire that they may execute His sovereign purpose in the world. The victories you will have over the heathens are the victories of the nobler soul in man.”
- This quote says that the British viewed their role as colonizers as helping the less-educated. However, I believe their perception was not valid because the Africans were happy without the help of the British. They fight back, which shows that they do not want their help. However, the British feel it is their job to help them, even if they do not want the help.

2. Harry - “I sometimes wonder what a godforsaken desert in the middle of nowhere has to do with Her Majesty the queen.”
- Harry is questioning the idea of colonization because he starts to think about the native people living in Africa and feels bad for them. He is looking at it differently than everyone else because he believes it is not right to take over their land, and he does not see how this "has to do with Her Majesty the queen." This belief forces Harry to leave the army and go and be apart of the native's tribe.

3. British Soldier - "Avoid drinking local water and spirits "avoid local barrooms and brothels and, above all, remember, you're a Christian soldier."
- This says that the lands that the British were colonizing were unhealthy and therefore they should not drink the water. Also, they should avoid the bathrooms because they are unsanitary. The British soldiers looked forward to making the queen happy, even though, by doing that they will have to face tough, harsh conditions in Africa. Their religious beliefs are brought into question because they believe it is their job to help the less-educated and if they do not, then they are not following their religion.

4. Desert Trader - “They're like children. They have no concept of gratitude or loyalty. That's something you British don't understand. You come here, trying to civilize them with your Christian values.”
- This quote suggests that the people in the colonized areas do not have manners. They have not learned to be grateful or have loyalty. Some drawbacks dealing with these people are that they do not obey and do not show gratitude. The British felt they could and had the right to change the people, who were already set in their ways, because they truly believed that they were helping them become civilized in western ways. They did not take the time to realize that they are people with feelings, just like themselves, who have different believes.


5. Abu Fatma - “You English walk too proudly on the earth.”
- Abu means by this statement that the British have a really high opinion of themselves and are conceded. The British believe that only their religion is right and that the native's religions are wrong. I do not think he looks at Harry as a typical Englishman because Harry is trying to help the Africans and does not believe in what the British are doing. I definitely do not think that Abu agrees with what the British are doing in Africa. He believes that the British are hurting the Africans more than they are helping them.


Critical Thinking:
Jack shoots the young boy during their first encounter in Africa because the boy did not put down the gun. The boy did not follow Jack's orders because he was willing to die for what he believed in. He knew he would die if he continued loading the gun, but he would rather die than have to give up what he believed was right.The boy did not believe that the British were helping him. He did not want to give up his religion and ways of life in exchange for what the British had. Jack was justified with shooting the boy because the boy was going to shoot at them if he did not shoot him. However, I would not have done the same thing because everyone has a right to believe in what they want to believe in. Jack felt remorse after shooting the boy because the boy was just standing up for what he believed in and Jack felt bad for taking that away from him. I would have felt remorse too if I shot at the boy and killed him. When the people started throwing stones at the soldiers, I do not think it was because Jack killed the boy. I believe it was because the soldiers were taking away their freedom and rights as human beings.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Motives for British Imperialism

1. According to Halstead, Slavery was in decline during the 1800's because "Britain sought to abolish slavery not from considerations of morality, but because slavery did not pay, slavery was not commercially beneficial after the decline of mercantilism and the rise of laissez-faire, free trade capitalism." This means that slavery was not helping Britain make money and therefore they wanted to get rid of it. This effected British Imperialism because now they could focus on expanding their land and resources rather than worrying about the capturing and taking care of slaves.


2. According to Halstead, Britain's power did not have an influence on Britain's Imperialism. Their power did not have an influence because they already had enough power. Instead, Britain was influenced by philanthropy. Also, they "sought to establish models of its own government". I agree with this because Britain did have a lot of power at the time however they wanted to expand their land and get more valuable resources.


3. Halstead's belief differs from that of Richard Coben and other's economic reasons. Seeley thought of imperialism as " the apotheosis of all British history, the culmination of Britain's destiny," while Halstead thought of imperialism as "an appendage of British foreign policy". Gallagher and Robinson thought that the imperialism of Africa "was motivated by concerns over security and nothing else while MacKenzie pointed out that Britain had created an elaborate image making apparatus, a widespread propaganda, that extolled militarism, monarchism, and Social Darwinism." There is a wide spread of different views on imperialism.


4. Halsteads's final reasonings on motives for British Imperialism are "national security, protecting free trade, protecting commercial routes, competition for markets and spheres of influence, settlement, colonization, diplomacy, and ideology." Imperialism is not simple, but rather "a complex historical phenomenon which we can examine only piecemeal, but eventually from which a fuller picture emerges." Which means, that Imperialism is very complicated and can not be stated simply.

Friday, January 2, 2009

The White Man's Burden

1. It is called "The White Man's Burden" because it is a burden on the white people to have to deal with the less educated. Rudyard Kipling means that non-European countries are childlike and are a bothersome to take care of when he says "Your new-caught sullen peoples, Half devil and half child."

2. Kipling justifies imperialism as "Take up the White Man's burden-- Send forth the best ye breed-- Go, bind your sons to exile To serve your captive's need; To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--" This means that the white people have an obligation to help the less educated people become educated whether they want to or not. He believes it is their moral responsibility to encourage cultural development until they adopt Western ways.

3. This justification might seem so appealing because it makes the white people seem like they are helping the less educated become educated. It seems like everyone would want to become educated... but not everyone feels that way. Therefore, even though the white people think they are helping; the less educated might not feel the same way.

4. Religion was used as a justification over money, capitalism, the greater good, and political strength because their religion was about aiding those less fortunate. By concentrating on religion, it got the people to concentrate more on the people and saving them from the childish behavior they were so used to.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Unit 2 Short Answer Questions

1. The Enclosure Movement gave rise to the growth of cities. The definition of enclosure is the process of rich landowners taking over land of peasant farmers. Landowners wanted to make bigger fields that could be cultivated more easily for their wool. Therefore farm output rose when enclosure did. Small landowners could not compete with the large landowners and therefore they were forced off their land. So as they left, they looked for jobs and work. They went to cities, where they would become the work force.


2. Mass Society switched power to the middle and lower classes in the 19th century. Most of the wealthy upper class moved out of the cities because it was dirty and unsanitary. By moving out, it left all the middle and lower class to be in charge of the government and be in charge. Not to mention that before the wealthy left, middle and lower class were protesting about unfair wages and working conditions. Business owners tried to ignore all these complaints, but after time the middle and lower classes got their way. The middle and lower classes got their way because they were the ones that would effect the upper class's income depending on their work because the nobles would need the money brought by the industrial rich to support their expensive life styles and the lands they owned.


3. Immigration and the decline of the slave trade gave rise to the Labor Unions. Employers did not want to use the slaves and the slaves were only used if they had to be. Therefore, the employers hired the middle class and lower class workmen, who became the labor force. They protested low wages, long hours, and unsafe conditions. They had strikes to demand better working conditions, or other benefits that they wanted to receive. Pressured by all of this, the employers had to give more rights and benefits to the middle and lower class. Because of this, the workers formed labor unions, which are organizations of workers who have banned together to make common goals in working conditions, wages, and hours.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Obama's Cabinet Positions

1. Secretary of State
I think Obama should pick Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. She has done extensive travel to foreign countries and is respected by others. She also has had meetings with different country officials, which makes her perfect for this position.

2. Treasury
I believe that Obama should pick Warren Buffett for this position. He has much experience managing money and he is one of the richest, if not the richest man on earth. He is a great investor, businessman, and philanthropist, which makes him just right for the position.

3. Defense
The person I think Obama should pick for Defense is John McCain. When he was younger, he was in the Vietnam War, and he has much experience in this field. Also, he knows many tactics that would help the United States when it comes to war because of all his years and family background in the military.

4. Energy
Sarah Palin would be a good choice for this position because she has many good ideas when it comes to this topic. She wants to get rid of our dependence upon foreign oil and see our country become independent and self-reliant. Also, she believes in finding renewable energy power, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and natural gas.

5. Education
I believe Joel Klein should be chosen for Secretary of Education. He is currently New York City's chancellor and has much experience in the education department. Also, he is on agreement with Obama because he is a big, important role when it comes to charter schools.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Working Conditions During the Industrial Revolution

1. The evidence given before the Sadler Committee helped to establish the Factory Acts or 1833. In the "Benefit of Factory Legislation", it stated that people and kids were working in the dark for at least 13 hour shifts. Also, that the atmosphere in which they were working in, was very bad due to the coal dust. Not to mention that kids were becoming deformed from standing or from sitting too long. In "Physical Deterioration of the Textile Workers", it states that children are developing abnormally because they are not getting enough exercise. Their spine grows irregularly, along with their leg bones growing bent. In addition to this, their growth was stunted because only one set of muscles were used and the others were not being used at all. In "Ashley's Mines Commission Testimony", four people have their testimonies about work in the mines. Part one is about a strapper named Sarah Gooder, who works in the dark for twelve hours and she is only eight years old. Next, is Isabella Reed, who is a coal bearer, and is only twelve years old. Then in part 3 there is Patience. She can't read and write, but she works many long hours. Lastly, there is Ben Miller, who is an undertaker, and along with all the rest of them, works long, hard hours. In the "Sadler Committee Evidence", one person, who started working at eight years old, had to wake up everyday at five in the morning. They were beaten if late to work, did not get breaks, and were working twelve to sixteen hour shifts. Also, the people were expected to work at the fast pace of machines. All these things brought about the Factory Acts of 1833, which were child labor reforms.

2. In my opinion, i think the most influential siting on the working conditions during the Industrial Revolution is the "Ashley's Mines Commission Testimony". I think this is the most influential because the peoples' testimonies in this had to work 12 hours at the least in the dark. For example, Sarah Gooder, was eight and she was working long, hard hours. A man named, Thomas Wilson, who is the owner of three collieries, believes woman shouldn't work in coal mines, and also believes that men should be educated to work effectively. However, woman did work in coal mines, and men were not educated therefore causing more injuries. Also Isabella Reed was only twelve and was working too many hours for that age. Many kids would also get beaten if they showed up late to work. Not to mention that many of them had to walk to work. Patience, another person whose testimony was about their childhood, stated that they did not even get breaks and that she could not even read or write. Lastly, there was Ben Miller, who worked many hours right along side the others, without any breaks. All these things prove that this was the most influential because it showed how hard it truly was to work in these horrible working conditions.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Essay on Population & Wealth of Nations

The 8 main topics covered in Malthus's "Essay on Population" include:

  • The population will not grow if there is not enough food to go around.

  • Plants and animals only care about providing for their offspring, while man cares only about himself.

  • The population will grow at a fast speed due to the basic needs of humans.

  • As the population grows, the work force becomes larger as well, and therefore the boss or person in charge has less money to pay to the labourers. Since he has less money to give out, they have to work much harder to earn the same amount of money as before.

  • When people die in war, the population then adjusts and repopulates.

  • A poor man can not go higher in society without putting a stress on that higher class.

  • The rich gain favor for themselves by making the wages higher in a year with little profit, but when the market gets a high profit year... they make excuses to take the majority of the money.

  • Agriculture has a limit due to land space being taken up, while population has no limit. Therefore, as the population keeps growing and doubling... there will not be enough food to feed everyone.

The 9 main topics covered in Smith's "Wealth of Nations" include:

  • Rotate different crops during each season so more is produced instead of just growing one crop all year round. This is called crop rotation.

  • More is produced when the work is done in one work place because more effort is put into the work consistently.

  • Machine and tools have helped improved productivity also.

  • A free market economy is the best thing for society.

  • Meritocracy is a more beneficial way to run a society because it means that leadership is based on talent instead of social standings or wealth.

  • A "system of perfect liberty" was used in his work to describe what we call today, capitalism. Capitalism is the idea of a market economy where supply and demand is used. Supply and demand is having the price of the items equal the amount wanted by the consumers. Production and distribution was maintained by private individuals or corporations.

  • The amount of supply made yearly is based on two things. First it is based on the skill of the labourers. Secondly, the number of labourers who are employed good workers must be in balance with those who are not employed.

  • There is a limit to division of labour. The limit is based on the extent of the market. This means that if the market grows to a certain limit, the division of labour will grow to be in proportion with it.

  • If one wants to not be wasteful in a time of peace, then when war breaks out... they become in debt. The only money they have for war is the same as they had when they were in "peace". So then the government has to borrow money from other countries and soon that country becomes dependent on other countries.