...Multiple Protagonists and No Concise Antagonist Result in a Heartfelt Film The 1997 Steven Spielberg film, Amistad, the Hollywood strategy of having multiple protagonists in one film is exercised to perfection. This situation happens many of times in movies. But the fact that it happens in Amistad is noteworthy due to the fact this movie, a movie about the happenings of the trial after a slave mutiny aboard a Spanish transatlantic slave ship, contains a protagonist that was neither aboard the ship, nor is he black. The other protagonist in the movie was a slave on the ship, and a good portion of the movie depicted his plight both during the mutiny and during the trial that made the audience want to be on his side throughout the film. There is no clear cut antagonist in this film. Is it the nation of Spain who wants its “property” back? Could it be the two Spaniards that were the only surviving “victims” of the mutiny? Or better yet could it be the finders of the ship La Amistad? No, in fact the antagonist is actually an establishment. The first thirty minutes or so of Amistad starts out with the mutiny that takes place aboard the ship La Amistad. This dramatic scene shows vivid detail in attempt to bring the audience into the realm of the ship. Here the audience is introduced to Cinque, the leader of his tribe, who in the opening moments of the film uses his bloody hands to meticulously pick the lock to his shackles during a mid-ocean storm. It starts with...
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...U.S. in 1839. It was carrying Africans who were sold into slavery in Cuba, which was physical captivity as they were caught against their freewill and also subjected to harsh conditions on the ship. They were then taken on board and chained in the cargo hold of the ship. As the ship was crossing from Cuba to the U.S., Cinque, who was a tribal leader in Africa, led a conspiracy amongst the slaves to overthrow the ship’s captain and he took over the ship. They used physical liberation as they had to fight with their captors to take over the ship. When they took over the ship, Cinque saved two of the ship’s officers, Ruiz and Montez, whom he believed would sail them back to Africa, little did he know that they would sail them straight to the U.S. The two sailors were able to do this as they knew more than the slave that is the geographical ways around the area. After some weeks, the ship was running out of food and fresh water, a group of African men took one of the small ships to go look for food. While there, La Amistad was found by a military vessel bearing an American flag- the Spanish men had tricked them by sailing them straight to the U.S. They were then captured and thrown into jail and charged with insurrection on the high seas. Two other men, by the names of Theodore Joadson and Mr. Tappan volunteered to help them as they heard of their plight and they ought the help of the former president, john Quincy Adams, who refused to help them. They were to help them liberate...
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...Louisa Adams Being First Lady of the United States is quite possibly one of the highest, most stressful jobs in America. To feel outcasted, unwelcomed, and foreign from a country you love is a different feeling of stress. For Louisa Adams, feeling outcasted was a lifetime feeling, and begin First Lady was not the cure. As an overlooked prize, a foreigner, a woman who would suffer through her lifetime, Louisa Adams pushed through and made her mark on history. Louisa changed history starting from her childhood, her marriage, her influence on her husband, and her role within the White House. Louisa’s childhood was unlike those of almost every other First Lady. She was the first First Lady to be born outside of the United States. She was born on February 12, 1775 and grew up in a large family with a sister and seven brothers in London, England. Her whole childhood she was taught to worship and practice the Roman Catholic...
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...Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862. It stipulated that if the Southern states did not cease their rebellion by January 1st, 1863, then Proclamation would go into effect. When the Confederacy did not yield, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. Lincoln declared in the Proclamation that African-Americans of “suitable condition would be received into the armed service of the United States.” Five months after the Proclamation took effect; the War Department of the United States issued General Orders No. 143, establishing the United States Colored Troops (USCT). By the end of the war, over 200,000 African-Americans would serve in the Union army and navy. With...
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...APUSH Study Guide 8 A weak Confederacy and the Constitution, 1776-1790 Themes/Constructs: The federal Constitution represented a moderately conservative reaction against the democratilizing effects of the Revolution and the Articles of Confederation. The American Revolution was not a radical transformation like the French or Russian revolutions, but it produced political innovations and some social change in the direction of greater equality and democracy. The American Revolution did not overturn the social order, but it did produce substantial changes in social customs, political institutions, and ideas about society and government. Among the changes were the separation of church and state in some places, the abolition of slavery in the North, written political constitutions, and a shift in political power from the eastern seaboard toward the frontier. The first weak government, the Articles of Confederation, was unable to exercise real authority, although it did successfully deal with the western lands issue. The Confederation’s weakness in handling foreign policy, commerce and the Shays Rebellion spurred the movement to alter the Articles. Instead of revising the Articles, the well-off delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a charter for a whole new government. In a series of compromises, the convention produced a plan that provided for a vigorous central government, a strong executive, the protection for property, while still upholding republican...
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...• Robert Livingston • War of 1812- Military conflict between US and Britain following revolution about unresolved issues: trade restrictions, etc. • Tecumseh- Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy; opposed US in war of 1812. • John Quincy Adams- sixth president; whig. • Empire of Liberty- theme developed first by Thomas Jefferson to identify America's world responsibility to spread freedom across the globe. Jefferson saw America's mission in terms of setting an example, expansion into the west, and by intervention abroad. • Transportation Revolution- early 1800s, development of steamboats, canals, and railroads. Faster transport of people, products, and knowledge. • National Road- First major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Connection between the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and a gateway to the West for thousands of settlers. • Communication Revolution- Samuel Morse invented telegraph. • The Market Revolution- improvements in how goods were processed and fabricated as well as by a transformation of how labor was organized to process trade goods for consumption. • Porkopolis- Cincinnati was the country's chief hog packing center, and herds of pigs traveled the streets. • Labor theory of value- The value of a commodity is only related to the labor needed to produce or obtain that commodity and not to other factors of production • Second Party System- 2 party system • Democrats-...
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...Our Real Roots (America) For those of you who failed to get this information in school, or whose kids and/or grandkids never saw these things because they were eliminated from their textbooks, here it is!!! OUR REAL ROOTS: Did you know that 52 of the 55 signers of The Declaration of Independence wereorthodox, deeply committed Christians? The other three all believed in the Bible as the divine truth, the God of scripture, and His personal intervention. It is the same congress that formed the American Bible Society. Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence , the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of scripture for the people of this nation. Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, 'Give me liberty or give me death. But in current textbooks the context of these words is deleted. Here is what he said: “An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.” These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. Was Patrick Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this 'It cannot...
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...created the Constitution of the United States which included article V. Article V of the United States Constitution states that whenever two thirds of both houses decides an amendment is necessary they can propose it. A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution after it is ratified by three fourths of the 50 states. An amendment means a change, addition, correction or alteration to the current Constitution. The reason our Constitution has amendments is because our country is constantly being change. Without amendment would be stuck to the same rules and regulations as our forefathers. Amendments were made to the Constitution in order to improve it. The Constitution was created by our forefathers to create better government. They did not want to live by the articles of Confederation so they created the Bill of Rights and...
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...pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf) o Christianity • Evangelical Protestant • Mainline Protestant • Historically Black Churches • Roman Catholic • Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) • Jehovah’s Witnesses • Orthodox (Greek, Eastern) o Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform) o Buddhism (Theravada or Mahayana) o Islam (Sunni, Shia, Sufism) o Hinduism • Ethnic groups (based on divisions in U.S. Census Bureau documents) o Asian (Asian descent) o Black (African descent) o Hispanic and Latino (South or Central American descent) o Pacific Islander (Polynesian descent) o White (European descent) Part III Answer the following questions in 150 to 250 words each about the religious group you selected: • How does your selected religious group differ from other religious groups (such as in their beliefs, worship practices, or values)? • I picked Judaism out of the Religious groups. The beliefs of Jewish People and Judaism differ from those who are Christian. Here are some beliefs that differ, Judaism - has no...
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...The French did not enslave nor convert Native Americans to Christianity. The French focused mainly on trade with the Native Americans and used trade alliances to secure the French’s fur trading rights. They found a permanent settlement in 1608 at Quebec, founded by Samuel de Champlain, and the Spanish found metals. C: Unlike Britain, there was no aristocracy in the colonies. The colonies had wealthy landowners and merchants, but had a narrower class system that was based on economies. The social ranking was changing. C: The North American manufacturing was limited. Also, there were more exports than imports, which increased jobs in England. Colonists were expected to purchase goods only from Britain in order to help the mother country, and goods from other European nations had to be...
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...gave me the intelligent insight on how Africans-Americans were able to succeed through the tough times of learning even when they could die from learning how to read. It was a sacrifice the slaves had to do that the time. When I read more articles and watched more movies, it showed determination, courage, heart, and attitude. When reading, it switched to a period of slavery to a period of the Civil War. After that I came to an author named Jared Diamond that gave his view on the world of slavery. In the article “How Africa Became Black” by Jared Diamond he argues that diversity resulted from the geography of Africa. Africa is home to five major human groups, blacks, whites, African Pygmies, Khoisan, and Asians. Thirty percent of the world’s language is in Africa. But as the years goes on were losing about 2 per week. Soon as the world gets older there wouldn’t be any languages in Africa. As race continues to grow in Africa there will be different types of languages being made and the previous groups (ethnic groups of language) wouldn’t exist anymore. As said in paragraph 8 of “How Africa Became Black” races are stereotyping, from Black to White, to putting the Zulu, Masai, and Ibo into a black category and Africa's Egyptians and Berbers with each other and with Europe's Swedes with the whites. The question that pertains to this is why are people being judgmental of other races and confusing blacks to whites even though we are all the same? In “How Africa Became Black,” there was...
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...Summary What was its influence on the Constitution? Magna Carta Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an English charter, originally issued in Latin in the year 1215, translated into vernacular-French as early as 1219,[1] and reissued later in the 13th century in changed versions. The later versions excluded the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority that had been present in the 1215 charter. The charter first passed into law in 1225; the 1297 version, with the long title (originally in Latin) "The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest," still remains on the statute books of England and Wales. The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties, and accept that his will was not arbitrary, for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today. Magna Carta was the principal document forced onto an English King by a group of his matters, the feudal barons, in an effort to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was followed and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers have a limit. The influence of Magna Carta can be clearly seen in the United States Bill of Rights, which enumerates various rights of the people...
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...Constitutional Convention, the Articles of Confederation, and the emergence of a democratic nation. SLO5. Explain the U.S. Constitution as it related to the separation of powers, checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the major principles of democracy. SLO6. Evaluate the Jeffersonian dream of expansion and its effect on Native Americans SLO7. Describe Jacksonian democracy and the creation of a two party system SLO8. Explain slavery and associated issues that led to the Civil War and its aftermath. Module Titles Module 1—Early American exploration and colonization (SLO1) Module 2—British colonies (SLO2) Module 3—Road to the Revolution and the American Revolution (SLO3) Module 4—Early Republic (SLO4 and SLO5) Module 5—Jacksonian America (SLO 6 and SLO7) Module 6—Road to the Civil War (SLO8) Module 7—Civil War (SLO8) Module 8—Shaping American history: Signature Assignment (all SLOs) Module 1 Early Exploration and Contact with Native Americans Welcome to HIS 120: U.S. History and the Constitution How to be Successful in the Course Each module has a lecture homepage, reading assignments, required videos, and two threaded discussions. You should can find your required reading articles through the internet and TUW library databases to learn more about the subject matter pertinent to the module. Although there are no textbooks, you are provided with links...
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...the North was in an uproar. 2. Birth of the Republican Party- Made up of former Free Soilers, Conscience Whigs, and “Anti-Nebraska” Democrats. Presented themselves as the party of freedom though they were not abolitionist, but they believed that slavery be kept out of the territories. The Republican Party appealed too many to voters who not only disagreed with slavery but also wanted to keep slavery out of their states. 3. Stephan A. Douglas- Known as the “Little Giant,” he was the most prominent spokesman of the Young American movement. He held a series of state offices before being elected for the United States Senate at the age of 29. Douglas wanted to get on with the development of the nation; to build railroads, acquire new territory, and expand trade. This made him suggest and push for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. 4. Popular Sovereignty- Also known as “squatter sovereignty,” the doctrine that says the people of a new territory, under the Constitution, have the right to decide the status of slavery. Congress officials liked it because it let them escape from making the decisions themselves. 5. Thirty-Six------Thirty-One- the area the Mexican Cession consisted of, some wanted it to allow slavery and others wanted slavery to spread no...
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...When will we see Change? A Critical look at Barack Obama and the democratic party. Charles Kerber POLS 202 9AM American Government Livingston This paper will take a critical look at the history of the democratic party, its most recent 2012 election, its current presidential candidate Barack Obama, and the latest platform. While the paper may read as being highly critical of President Obama, it should be caveated by the fact that this is an extremely trying time in the history of the United States, and the government is under considerable pressures from outside terrorism threats and international relations, to severe recession and domestic economic concerns. Nevertheless, one must look critically at President Obama, and answer has he really given us “change we can believe in”? Biography & history The Democratic party went through a number of iterations before it became the current democratic party. The party began as the anti federalists under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Thomas Jefferson a former secretary of state under George Washington's administration who had resigned to protest the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton. These two rivals would become the basis of the first two political parties of the United States. Alexander Hamilton favored the constitution, the creation of a national bank and repayment of the revolutionary war debt with federal funds. Under this philosophy they would name themselves Federalists, for their leaders support of ratifying the constitution...
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