1800s Textbook

I used this textbook archive

Savage-  (of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled.
Savagery-  the quality of being fierce or cruel.
In this blog I am looking at a textbook from the 1800s, and I am looking at how they depicted the Indians.
  
 If I was a student and I read these textbooks, I would have a pretty bad opinions about Indians, one of the words that the author uses to talk about the Indians is "savages." Calling someone a savage is like calling someone a wild animal. The only times that Indians are even mentioned are when they have caused conflict, there is only things said about them that would help you develop a bad opinion about Indians. It seems like the only reason they are calling them savages is so they can be easily separated from the white people that they talk about. If I was a student in the 1800s reading this, there would be no other opinion but a bad opinion that I could develop about Indians.

Indian Newspaper

Many people say that the Indians and whites can live in perfect harmony in Navajo Springs, but after last Sunday many people think that we aren't safe in our community with the Indians. First off, the Indians who committed this crime had liquor they weren't supposed to have. Second off they were intoxicated and gambling. The white man that was killed, Landreth, had also been drinking, and he was dealing for the Indians while they were gambling. When the Indian men began to get hostile with Landreth he ran, but they chased him down and brutally assaulted him and killed him. If these Indian men who did this did not get caught, I would not have felt safe in our community. I hope that this doesn't set off anything between the rest of the 200 Indians that are employed in Navajo Springs with the other whites in the community. Next time when people decide to start drinking after their big pay day, they need to watch who they are hanging around with.


I used this newspaper

Newspapers and Social media

What is a newspaper? A printed publication consisting of folded/unstapled sheets and containing news and articles.

When and where did newspapers first come into existence? First newspaper was 59 BC called the "Acta Diurna", it was published in Rome.

What were some of the very oldest newspapers in the US? Boston: 1690 "Publick Occurences, both Foreign and Domestick"

Find a newspaper today and see what is gaining the attention? I looked up the NY Times, leading stories were Lamar Odom, debate scores, and "Trump calls Bernie Sanders a Communist."

What is a "newspaper of record?" What was first designated newspaper of record in the US? What are some other newspapers of record? Newspaper of record is a major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional. Newspapers of record are LA Times, Washington Post, and the NY Times. NY Times was one of the first newspapers of record in 1913.

How is looking at a newspaper different than using social media? When you look at a newspaper in person, it feels more personal. You also feel more like a community when you and your neighbors are all getting the same newspaper and read the same news. And you can read a newspaper wherever you are!!

This picture shows how social media is now the main source of where we get our news, instead of reading the newspaper we just look it up online.












Our use of social media is selective and intentional so that we tend to remain interested in only things we've already been interested in, where as newspapers expose readers to information on a broad range of topics. This can connect communities by providing information about what others mat be interested in. It may raise question I never thought to ask.





 

Native Americans in Pro Sports

After researching for a few minutes I found an interesting website that talked about Native Americans who played professional sports.

Jim Thorpe- Nicknamed "The Greatest Athlete," won 2 gold metals during 1912 Olympics. He also played professional football, baseball, and basketball.

Billy Mills- In 1964 he became the 2nd Native American to win a gold metal in the Olympics and was also the only American to win gold for the 10,000 meter run.

Charles Albert Bender- Nicknamed "Chief," had 16 successful years in the MLB, he threw a good slider, threw a no hitter, and pitched in 5 World Series.

Ellison Brown- Nicknames "Tarzan," won the Boston Marathon 2 times (1936, 1939) and was in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Joe Kapp- An NFL Hall of Famer who was the QB for the Vikings and the Bears and played for a team in the CFL too. Joe Kapp is the only athlete to play in the Superbowl, Grey Cup, and Rose Bowl.

Sam Bradford- Played D1 college football for Oklahoma and won the Heisman in 2008, he was drafted no. 1 by the Rams in the 2010 NFL draft and now plays for the Eagles.


       Before I did this research on Native American athletes, I didn't realize how much of a role they played and still play in professional sports. Native American athletes go all the way back to the 1912 Olympics to being a current QB for the Eagles. Sports fans have no idea how many of the athletes that we watch are Native American.

      Native Americans stretch from the MLB to the Boston Marathon. I had no idea that Sam Bradford was Native American, I have been watching him all the way from his early years at OU to his seasons of him sitting on the sidelines in the NFL because of a torn ACL. Over the summer I went to a Yankees game in New York, and had no idea that the center fielder for the Yankees I was watching play was Jacoby Ellsbury, a Native American. Native Americans are spread all across professional sports, and until I actually did research, I had no idea that a lot of the athletes I was watching were Native American.

This is a picture of Jacoby Ellsbury batting for the NY Yankees

1st Quarter Reflection

          

             The first quarter is coming to an end, but it still seems like the beginning of the school year started yesterday. This year so far in US History with Mrs. Lawson, we have covered a few topics that I have benefited and learned a lot from. We learned a lot about empathy and sympathy this quarter, and that taught me how to look at things in a different perspective. Now that I understand the difference between empathy and sympathy, I can put myself into other peoples shoes and understand their situations better. Being able to empathize with people is a valuable skill that I have learned these past few weeks that is going to benefit me the rest of my life.

              At the beginning of the quarter Mrs. Lawson made a point to make sure that we understand how to cite, paraphrase, and hyperlink our work. At Randolph, we have focused on making sure that when we use sources that we give them the credit they deserve. Now that we are in US history and are actually using complex sources, we really have to be prepared to be able to correctly cite and paraphrase our work. I feel like I have been properly prepared for this and now it is one of my strengths. I don't think I will have any issues with this topic this year because our previous teachers have been making sure we were prepared for this our whole career at Randolph, and now that Mrs. Lawson has taught us even more about it, there is no way that I will come across any problems with this during the rest of the school year.

             During the rest of the year I have a few areas that I want to grow in. One of the areas I want to grow in is my essay writing. I have always been able to put together a solid essay, but I've never really blown anyone away with my work. This year I want to work on being able to write a strong essay and have the facts to back up my argument. My main issue is that I make a good argument, but I don't back it up with any info. Being able to write and impressive essay is something that I would like to be able to do by the end of the year.