AMH 2020-26:Course Introduction/Section1:Primary Source
Reflection
A)
1. Hi, my name is Wenona Etu-Mantey.
2. My major is nursing. I really would like to become a CRNA, and I love to go to
antique stores and browse
3. In the past, I've always really enjoyed taking history classes mainly because to me
it's just a big story, so I've always found it easier than most of my other classes.
4. I'm taking this class to mainly fulfill a prerequisite, but I chose the 2020 American
History class because I believe it will be more interesting for me than the other
one.
5. I expect to dive into current topics happening in today's world, and for that to be
linked to the current period of history we are looking at.
6. I really enjoyed learning about the roaring 20s in the past, so it would be fun to
revisit that as well.
7. I love the TV show Reign. It's based on Mary Queen of Scots' rising to power. It's
always been a top 10 show to me, not even in the historical sense but just in general.
I just love how detailed the show was, and even though it was most likely
exaggerated, it still made for great tv.
B)
Civil War:
The source I chose was Alexander Stephens' 1861 speech because I believe it explains
what the true foundation of the Confederacy is, as the words in this document come from
one of its highest leaders in the government. Instead of talking about how the Civil War
was only about states' rights, Stephens openly declares that slavery and white supremacy
were, as he said, the” cornerstone” of confederacy. The source connects strongly to the
class discussions we had about how historical narratives are shaped and sometimes blurred
over time, allowing people to feel better about a situation that occurred in the past. When
I was reading this speech, it helped me understand how Confederate leaders really did try
to justify slavery by presenting it as moral, natural, and almost painting themselves as the
white savior to the slaves. This was especially present when Stevens blatantly dismissed
equality as a dangerous “error” as he compared his beliefs to true, genuine scientific
discoveries, which only proves how deep racism was to the point it was embedded in
political ideologies, which some can argue is the same today. In today's modern world, you
can still say this source is relevant to the debates about whether Confederate symbols are
being taught in schools today.
Reconstruction Sources:
The Mississippi black code of 1865 really showed that even though the Civil War had
ended, the southern states still tried to make it their mission to make the lives of
formerly enslaved people hard. Although slavery was officially abolished, this specific law
made it seem their freedom was very limited. By labelling unemployed black people as
“vagrants,” the state was allowed to arrest, fine, and even force them into labour
contracts that could be argued to be slavery. This source connects directly to our class
discussions about reconstruction and why in the end it failed because even though black
people weren't physically in chains they were still being treated as if they were to me this
source made it very clear that freedom without any laws of protection is fragile to the
point where it could mean nothing, as even if the freedmen were granted limited rights
such as they could own property and go to court the rights square overshadowed by all of
the restrictions they had. You can even relate this to present day conversations about
unequal policing and mass incarceration.
Westward Expansion:
Laura C. Kellogg, in her speech, really shows the tension Native Americans personally felt
between assimilation and ensuring their culture survives in the early 20th century. What I
believe she was saying was that, rather than just rejecting education, she argued that
Native Americans should gain knowledge from American schools without losing their
identity, traditions, and even their self-respect. What stood out to me the most was her
criticism of boarding schools, particularly the health risk and poor conditions the students
endure. I also noticed that she pointed out how the reservation system started economic
dependence instead of opportunity which ultimately makes it unfair to judge Native
American students by the same standards as white children, her argument can really
connect strongly to today's present day because there is still an ongoing battle about
cultural preservation and the unequal education systems in lower income areas and who
gets to decide what being educated really means and where and how specifically people get
that education.