Dr. Shrout – Page 15 – Atlantic History

“Friendly Insight”-Jefferson to Lafayette Letter: Week 11

November 2, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

Thomas Jefferson Letter to Marquis de Lafayette

Reviewing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to Marquis de Lafayette was very intriguing. Being able to see this primary source, especially by one of our great founding fathers was from a historical aspect very enlightening. The content within this letter consisted as an update regarding the colonies to Lafayette was off at war. Jefferson takes notice to the English supporters still trying to infiltrate the newly formed American legislature. His fear is that while the people are still trying to find their voice that they will lose the seats within the legislature to those who still pledge to England and not their revolution. It was however also those who originally supporting the revolution also turning to back to English idealism and wanting to make America in the likes of England.

In the later part of his letter, Jefferson addresses the topic of African slaves within the colonies and what he believes America should do with them. As Viktoriya stated, I to believe that Jefferson realized that there was no way to rid america of the blacks and that it would be a process of learning to accept their presence.

Thomas Jefferson Letter to Marquis de Lafayette

This primary source offers an insight into not only politics but also slavery, foreign relations of the day. Without letters such as Jefferson’s to Lafayette, it would not be as easy to historical piece together the context of the 18th century and all that transpired on the Atlantic coast.

Paul Revere’s Boston Massacre Print

November 2, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

When thinking about the Boston Massacre, this print definitely comes to mind. This iconic print by Paul Revere helped push more of an anti-British public opinion among the colonists who were already fed up with the constant bombardment of taxes being issued from Great Britain. On a cold evening on March 5, 1770, sailors began to throw rocks and snowballs at British soldiers. Many British soldiers were in Boston in 1770 due to high tension between the Great Britain and the colonists. Shots were fired resulting in five sailor deaths, including Crispus Attucks, an African American who would be remembered for his bravery.

Paul Revere’s print is an example of American propaganda, trying to persuade colonists that it was time to stand up to the suffocating British. By looking at his print, one thing that I noticed was that I could not find Crispus Attucks. While he was in the print, he was not painted African-American. Another interesting aspect of Revere’s print was that he had the British soldiers in a line pointing their guns at the defenseless colonists. History says that the British were not the aggressors, rather it was the snowball-throwing colonists. Adding to that point, there is no snow on the ground for the colonists to pick up in Revere’s print.

The Boston Massacre played a huge role that led to the American Revolution. Paul Revere took a chance and it added fuel to the Patriot cause. While war did not start right after, revolt was in the Boston air. The Boston Massacre showed that British and colonist cooperation could no longer exist. I agree with my classmate Andre Escalante that cultural distinctions between the British and the colonists continued to grow. I believe there was an evident growing difference on how to run the colonies. Lastly, I found it interesting that this event was labeled as a massacre when only five men died. I believe that by using the term massacre, it was more propaganda to show how horrible the British treated colonists and it was finally time to kick them out of Boston and the rest of the colonies.

Embedding images or webpages

November 2, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

You can embed an image using the “add media” button in WordPress, or using a thing called an iframe, which basically lets you embed one website within another.

To read more about iframes, look here.

To add images that exist on the web (where the url ends in .jpg) look here.

Thomas Jefferson to the Marquis de Lafayette

November 2, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Thomas Jefferson seemed to be writing the concerns he had for the future of American to his friend. He states his annoyance at those trying to bring unwanted aspects of England into America. Such as commons, kings, and lords. He considers them to be puffed up and have no place in American politics. He seems to have a lot of faith in the American people and their ability to choose what they want saying these people will be cleansed from their seats in the next election. So while he is concerned it also seems like he has a lot of hope for the future of America. This is similar to Viktoriya’s post in which she discusses similar things about this primary source. I agree that Jefferson seems to be updating an old friend on America’s current status and is also annoyed with the idea of resorting back to British ways but is also optimistic about an American future.

Thomas Jefferson to the Marquis de Lafayette

November 1, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

In Jefferson’s letter to Lafayette, Jefferson speaks about the current conflicts in the United States. He discusses that the loyalists to the king of England have infiltrated their legislature. Although he is unhappy about this infiltration, he is not extremely worried about it because he explains that the voices of the people are being heard. Soon the people will cleanse these seats that have been taken by people who do not have America’s best interest at hand, and they will be given to revolutionaries. Lafayette was a French general who fought in the revolution of the United States. Jefferson called him a friend and wished him well on the battlefield. Jefferson held him in very high esteem addressing him first by saying that he is the head of a great army and may good keep him in his favor.

In Robert Deleon’s post on Hamilton’s America he states, Hamilton’s tale is essential in understanding how difficult it was to establish and maintain an American nation during and after the revolutionary war. I think this letter from Jefferson to Lafayette expresses some of the difficulties that Jefferson also faced in attempting to establish and maintain an American nation. Jefferson discusses the Africans and what can be done with them in the colonies. He says that it is not possible to rid America of them so they will have to accept their presence and continue living side by side with them. The letter does not address any large concerns though, it seems more like a letter to send an update to Lafayette, like their correspondence was a common occurrence.

Blood in the Street: The Boston Massacre Painting

November 1, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The Boston Massacre was a knife to the gut for colonists and a tipping point in the course of American History. In 1770, Boston was occupied by the British Royal Navy and its people were hit hard by taxes on stamps, tea and molasses for rum. Tensions between the colonists and Great Britain were already, but then on the cold night of March 5, 1770 it reached a fever pitch when several angry colonists pelted the redcoats with snowballs. Outraged, the redcoats grabbed their muskets and fired upon the crowd of protestors. This painting, illustrated by Paul Revere, a silversmith and Son of liberty, used it as propaganda to end the bloody mess and tension between the colonies and England.

This painting is crucial to understanding what times were like in the colonies, especially with England`s grasp on foreign territory. As you can see, it was anything but a mutual relationship because people fled England due to high taxes and taxation without representation. Much to the dismay of the colonists, Great Britain followed the rebels to New England in order to suck every penny out of them to pay off war debt from the French and Indian War of 1756-1763. This was more of an imperialist approach because Great Britain wanted to conquer the globe, even if it moved a little bit too fast. On the other hand, this massacre could have been a scare tactic on the Americans because Kyle Kelsay’s Post says it might have been used to demonstrate Great Britain’s power over the colonies. It definitely worked, for America, because civilians were killed and angered them into declaring war.

It is considered by many to be the driving force behind America’s fight for freedom because it was a small nation against the mighty British Empire. It was a call to arms like none other before. So much so, the Boston Massacre is as the straw that broke the camels back and brought Americans together to fight off this dastardly empire from pushing them further and further under the tight grip of imperialism and King George’s thumb.

Paul Revere Boston Massacre Print in 1770

November 1, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Paul Revere’s print explains the brutal shooting of the British Soldiers towards the American citizen who were living in Boston under British Rule during the Boston Massacre. Paul Revere explains how violent the British Soldiers were by shooting unarmed American citizens creating one of most famous events in American History known as the Boston Massacre. One of the American civilians started the shooting because he threw an object towards the British Soldiers and hitting one of them which resulted in the massive shooting in Boston. I think the British might have bated the American civilians into fighting them because once own or several objects were thrown towards them, with one object hitting a British Soldier then the shooting started. One of the examples in the image shows the British Soldiers firing their guns straight towards the American civilians and men being shot and laying on the ground while others trying to get away from the shots being fired towards them. I think the Americans wanted to separate from the British because of the high taxes, loss of jobs, and British owning most of their land. In the image, the American civilians charged together as one because this showed a sign of unity of American trying to be united as one. This printed image by Paul Revere gives an American prospective as British Soldiers shooting at unarmed Americans causing one the most brutal and tragic events in Massachusetts and American History. I agree with Matthew Liivoja relating to North America’s Eastern Seaboard being fed up with British rule because they were trying to have a virtual monopoly within the Northeast through production, trade, and communities. Matt brings good points of how the American wanted to be united and start their own identity pulling away from the British. Americans wanted to create their own identity because they did not want to be like the British sibling in North America which resulted in unity within Americans in communities, religion, and economics. By 1776, the United States eventually became an independent nation and creating their own identity through commercial, economics, and colonies.

Paul Revere’s Boston Massacre: Propaganda for Unification

November 1, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Paul Revere’s 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre played a role in uniting colonists against British forces on their land. This piece of propaganda emphasized British soldiers as the enemy, since they are pictured holding a firm stance and smiling upon the colonists as they fire upon them. The colonists are portrayed as victims, looking helpless as chaos and death unfolds before their very eyes. People are packed together as men die among them, with many looking at the situation with horror. The idea of ordinary citizens not reacting against British forces in this artwork frustrated colonists. They were angry at the notion that Britain would eventually take over their country, with no one taking direct action against an oncoming force. In reality, there was already resistance against British soldiers since colonists assaulted them before the shooting began. It can be said that Paul Revere’s engraving was successful in uniting colonists against the British, even when it meant fabricating events of the Boston Massacre.

I agree with Matthew Liivoja that the Boston Massacre led to further conflict between colonists and the British. The majority of colonists were already upset at the British government’s excessive taxation of goods, and civilian deaths at British hands pushed colonists to the breaking point. They realized they had to unite in order to resist British control, fighting for their rights to become an independent country. Ordinary people no longer wanted to be tied to Britain’s legislature or social structure. Whether by force or petition, citizens of the future United States came together to eliminate every trace of British authority from their lands.

Hamilton’s America

October 31, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

I thought watching Hamilton’s America was interested because it gave a historical prospective on how he helped create America who it is today. Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton’s America is singing about his life and his career is very interested. Hamilton’s America in my opinion is compared to Shakespeare. Hamilton’s journey I though was amazing because he grew up in the Caribbean in Nevis and moved to the United States to get an education and become a larger figure more in his career. Nevis dominated in sugar and cotton plantations during the slave trade. The slave trade is related to previous reading we had during class this year. Hamilton help create what America is today because he created budget systems, tax systems, Coast Guard, Customs, Monetary systems, Central Banks. Each of these became significance in America today. Hamilton’s America can better understand Hamilton’s life and career as U.S. Secretary Treasury because all these moves he made during his time eventually landed him as President of the United States. Alexander Hamilton’s life and career which is part of theater is significant because it gives a good prospective of Hamilton’s career in politics, his life story about his life, how he created America what it is today, and how Hamilton’s America can be good research for anybody doing American History. I agree with Matt Everett because the documentary film gave great information on the life of Alexander Hamilton and gave a great amount of research regarding Hamilton’s life and career. Matt gave a good point that Hamilton’s America relating to Hamilton’s contribution to America is a great way to research American History.

Week 11: From “Hamilton’s America” – Political Entertainment

October 31, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

In the PBS documentary “Hamilton’s America,” this documentary talks about the life and struggles of Alexander Hamilton during the pre-production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton: An American Musical.” This documentary, I believe, shows a perspective about Alexander Hamilton that would not necessarily be shown in the form of political entertainment in the vain like Real Time with Bill Maher where every politician like Hamilton would be dissected for political knowledge and for political entertainment.

Before watching this documentary, I had heard about this musical when Lin-Manuel Miranda plugged it on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Before watching this, I had some knowledge to almost the same extent that Matt had, but I knew that he played in huge roles in the formation of the early years of the United States. He is important in American History because he served as the First Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington’s administration, the influence he had in the writing of The Constitution of the United States, and being one of the most important Founding Father of this nation.

This documentary showed the life that Alexander Hamilton had to experience in order to become the figurehead that he is in American History. In a sense, he lived and experienced the American Dream before the concept of the “American Dream” even became a concept that modern day Americans would experience. Hamilton lived the American Dream because he started with almost nothing, got an education, and became an influence in the founding documents of this nation.

Atlantic History – Fall 2016

Author: Dr. Shrout

“Friendly Insight”-Jefferson to Lafayette Letter: Week 11

Paul Revere’s Boston Massacre Print

Embedding images or webpages

Thomas Jefferson to the Marquis de Lafayette

Thomas Jefferson to the Marquis de Lafayette

Blood in the Street: The Boston Massacre Painting

Paul Revere Boston Massacre Print in 1770

Paul Revere’s Boston Massacre: Propaganda for Unification

Hamilton’s America

Week 11: From “Hamilton’s America” – Political Entertainment