The Slave Community Write Up

I did a Write Up on The Slave Community by John W. Blassingame For my U.S. History Course through BYU Independent study. Here it is:

Slavery was a harsh and morally wrong system, with white masters denying slaves very basic human rights and exploiting their labor with the bare minimum requirements for survival in most instances.

A field hand's life consisted of waking up before dawn, preparing a meal, eating, feeding livestock and then getting out to the fields a bit before dawn. They were whipped if they were late. Then they worked until dusk in a variety of labors, depending on the season and the type of crop.

For instance they could be planting the crops, preparing the fields, clearing the land, getting rid of pests, or harvesting the crop.

Then after sunset they put away livestock, and made their meal before going to bed, but sometimes they worked till nine or later if they were ginning cotton or boiling sugar.

The domestic slave ate better food and wore better clothes than the field hands, but they still had negatives like being under the constant watch of the whites, absorbing white anger in the form of punching or whipping, and being at their beck and call day and night.

According to Nathaniel Ware, a slave could be sustained by $20 (in 1844, around $645 today) a year, while a free laborer needed $100 (~3,225 today) for food and clothing alone for him and his family.

This meant that slaves sometimes did not have enough food, and when this happened they stole food. They also had wretched, crude, one room, and often crowed cabins with holes and hard dirt floors. Basically the bare minimum.

Many masters attempted to assure their authority over their slaves and that of all whites’ superiority over all blacks (very much against natural law). Most planters also worked to make "their" slaves submissive and non-rebellious.

Planters forced slaves to act happy about slavery and their exhausting labors, while truly and inside they did barely felt any joy about these things.

Black overseers had really strenuous lives because they were caught in the middle between the slaves and the master. When they worked the slaves too hard, the master was happy with them, while the slaves were not. On the other hand when they let the slaves slack off and not really work that much, the master got mad and usually whipped the overseer.

Domestic servants acted as the secret police of the planter, they spied on the other slaves and reported back to him. Masters were sometime very cruel to the slaves in punishment, with extensive flogging and iron shackles to the slaves’ limbs.

Planters also physically abused and even mutilated their slaves. Masters sometimes killed slaves under punishment, whether accidentally or intentionally. But while it was illegal for masters to kill their slaves, they were not usually held accountable for any crimes by the white government if one died under punishment.

There were also some masters who were generally kind like Dr. Carson. Some of the things kind masters did was that they abstained from flogging, giving enough food and shelter, and leaving slave families together.

Some kind masters became cruel when they were angry, but overall most of masters were neither kind nor exceptionally cruel with the treatment of slaves.

While planters extracted all the labor from their slaves that they could, they also tried to act humanely and were forced to recognize the humanity of their slaves.

Planters were kinder to their slaves sometimes because they were worried about public opinion and/or they tried to apply Christian principles in their relations with slaves.

Many slaves limited their work so to try to speed up the work planters gave prize’s to the best cotton pickers.

Slaves coped with this oppressive system in different ways. One of the biggest ways slaves coped with it was through their culture which came largely the oral traditions from West Africa.

Regional Storytelling in West Africa included acting, and singing that was a favorite evening entertainment. West African Folk tale culture was largely transplanted to the South and the slaves’ culture. Patterns and symbols/symbolism of the folktales can tell us a lot about the slaves’ thoughts and views.

These attempted to explain natural phenomena and had heroes and morals. Often the audience responded to questions and the tales were accompanied by drums.

West African tales show us that they valued Families and knowledge. There were a lot of Animal storied and Trickster figures- like the Nigerian Tortoise and the Ghanaian spider and rabbit-are all over them. They are weaker than the other animals but through cunning they outwit them and triumph over evil.

Folk tales were not only an entertainment they were also a concentration of folk wisdom, a manifestation of a slave’s dreams, hopes and personal experiences. They were also used as instructional devices to teach young slaves how to live.

Folk Tales were an area which was out of the whites’ control, and they allowed the slave to convey hostility at his master and explain the plantation system.

In animal tales the slaves identified themselves with the weaker animals, and were fascinated with weakness overcoming strength. This could be a symbol of the weak unarmed slaves overcoming the whites including their masters.

Sometimes there were not just symbols of masters, overseers and slaves but direct references, like with the John series. This series is a very accurate and specific depiction of slavery in the folk tales, where John longs for freedom, runs away, gets beaten, desires revenge for his suffering and often defies his master.  

John symbolized the discontent of slaves, the many options for the slaves, a set of survival techniques, and was a means of increasing self-worth.

Folk tales prove that the hardships and cruelties of slavery were not enough to demolish the creativity of the slaves and folk tales allowed the slave to view himself symbolically and to find patience and hope when he talked about his fortune. 

Folk tales helped the slave cope with the hardships of slavery because they were mental tools that helped channel emotions allowing them to talk about their resentment of their masters and white people in ways that had little or no physical threat and provided leisure, fun and creativity.

Slaves also coped with their hardships through religion where he found hope of escape of the brutalities of slavery.

Protestant missionaries had taught thousands of slaves Christian doctrines, and slaves believed God promoted freedom interpreting the freedom from bondage of Israel to mean that they had a hope for freedom too.

The Religious faith of the slave often conquered the slave’s fear of their master. When slaves were whipped for going to church they continued because they determined that their master could only harm their physical body and not their soul.

Religious services and activities also provided the slave with welcome rest from constant, hard labor and gave him joy and companionship.  By engaging in these activities the slave could take his mind of his/or her hopeless condition and focus on the happy future that awaited him.

The Slave’s life was hard, and would have been practically unbearable had there not been a black plantation culture separate from and out of the control of the white people.

It also helped the slaves form an appreciation for group protection and unity. Finally the slave’s culture boosted his self-worth and joys, helping him have enthusiasm in what was otherwise a very difficult and unpleasant life.  

Constitution Write-up and Common Sense discussion response

I did a Constitution write-up for my Course HIST-220 American History to 1877, about a modern - day issue and how the Constitution addresses or doesn't address it. Here it is:

One challenge currently facing American society today is the expansion of Federal and Presidential power. It is an issue because it threatens individual liberty and rights, which are protected when the Federal government has less power and has to “compete “with state Governments. Another Reason that it is an Issue is that when the Federal Government expands so much that it  goes against Natural  Law  (Law that is higher than manmade law, including God’s Law and Scientific/Mathematical Laws) it brings decline to the Nation.

According to Fredric Bastiat’s famous essay The Law, this overreach brings about the following consequences: People won’t truly respect the Law because it privileges the federal or central government above the rights of the individual. This leads to less respect for the Government and more lawbreaking. Which in turn leads people to have less respect for each other and to believe that everyone is dishonest and that they in turn should act dishonestly. Ultimately this leads to widespread distrust and a decrease of freedom, equality and opportunity.                                                                                                                   

The United States Constitution seeks to address this issue by limiting the power of the Federal Government and the President.  It limits the power of the Federal Government in multiple ways. One of the biggest is the 10^th amendment, which states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

This means that the Federal government only has the powers delegated to it in the constitution and all other powers (as long as they aren’t prohibited to the states, like ex post facto laws or bills of attainder) go to the states.

Some examples are education, setting up schools and determining if abortion and LBGT marriage is allowed or prohibited.  The U.S. Constitution also limits the Federal government by dividing the powers of government among the 3 Branches of the Federal Government:

·         The Legislative Branch which is further divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives, who each have unique powers like the origination of all revenue bills in the House and the sole power to judge impeachment cases for the Senate. But overall the Congress deals with the lawmaking of the country.

·         The Executive Branch:  the President and The VP which are elected by another body, the Electoral College which in turn was instituted to protect the office of the president from the majority “mob” rule of the people. The Executive branch deals with enforcing the Law and it has a huge Federal Bureaucracy to help do this.

·         The Judicial Branch which has the power of interpreting  the law of the Land, and deciding disputes.

The three branches have checks and balances procedures and powers that enable each branch to limit the power of the other branches and force a compromise between all three. This prevents any one branch from getting too much power, and prevents tyranny. 

Congress, for example, is given the power to impeach and convict Federal officials including Judges, SCOTUS Justices and the President and VP. The President has the power to veto a law passed by Congress. Congress on the other hand can override a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote. Congress has the power to declare war, but the President has the power to command the Military. The President nominates Supreme Court Justices and Congress holds the power to confirm or reject them.  

Presently however, the Federal Government has overstepped these limits in multiple instances and thus it has gone against the Law of the Land, and Natural Law.  Some of the instances include the Roe v. Wade and Oberfell v. Hodge SCOTUS Cases where the SCOTUS went against the the 10th amendment of Constitution and Natural Law or the idea that “all powers delegated to the government must be entrusted to the lowest level of government that can effectively accomplish the desired goal*” and the commandments of God in the Family a Proclamation to the World.

The Federal Government has also expanded its power by creating laws to “legally plundering” its people with the redistribution of wealth. This also goes against Natural Law

The Powers of the POTUS and the oval office are also expanding more than the Constitution gave it power to do as well. The Constitution essentially gave the President 12 powers in Article II-2 & 3: **

1.       He is the commander in chief of the military.

2.       He may require written opinions from anyone serving as head of a department in the executive branch.

3.       He can grant reprieves and pardons.

4.       He can make treaties, as long as two-thirds of the Senate agrees.

5.       He can appoint ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court, and other federal officials, as long as two-thirds of the Senate agrees.

6.       He can fill vacancies in federal offices during recesses of the Senate.

7.       He shall from time to time give a report and recommendations to the Congress.

8.       He may, in a time of extraordinary circumstances, convene Congress and/or adjourn it (this was defined by the framers mainly as a time when a declaration of war was needed).

9.       He can meet with foreign diplomats.

10.   He shall take care that all the laws are faithfully executed.

11.   He shall commission all the officers of the United States.

12.   He can veto Laws passed by Congress (Article I-7)

Anything more than this goes against the Constitution and takes away the freedom of people.

Examples include the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare which force people to get insurance or pay a fee. The refusal of giving a treaty by the President to the Senate to be Ratified also goes against the Constitution (Article II Section II: “He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur“). This has happened the Framework Convention on Climate Change Agreement***. Also an Executive order that forces a state to stop transporting Illegal Immigrants out of the Country is unconstitutional because the President can’t make laws, he can only enforce them.

Another Example of the President going against the constitution is the Executive Order issued by Franklin Delano Roosevelt that transported Japanese-Americans to Internment Camps. This affected tens of thousands completely innocent people and had nothing to do with the Japanese Fascists attacks on the U.S.A.

One final example of bending the constitution is the use of Executive Agreements between the POTUS and a head of a foreign country. Unlike treaties these are not sent to the Senate for ratification, these are not binding to future Presidents and Presidents tend to use them a lot to bypass Congress.  They are Unconstitutional however and are another example of Presidential expansion of power from that which is in the Constitution. 

As explained in this quote by Dallin H. Oaks  “For checks and balances to work properly, and for the fundamental principle of separation of powers to be honored and perform its proper function, each branch of government must fulfill its duties fully, and each must refrain from attempting to exercise the functions of the others” the Judicial Branch and the Executive Branch should not make Laws just as the Legislative Branch should not enforce the Law they made. 

It may seem that the Federal Government is still expanding notwithstanding the Constitution’s limits made to prevent tyranny, but the Framers instituted a deciding check on Federal power. This limit is the power of the people to elect their representatives, which forces the Federal Government to follow public opinion closely enough to stay in office.

So to fix these problems that lead to Decline we need to educate the People that we need to follow our constitution and Natural law and so they can apply the necessary public pressure to the Government to follow these things.  

*We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident  Oliver DeMille

**http://oliverdemille.com/2016/02/parties-cant-cooperate/

*** http://dailysignal.com/2016/04/22/obamas-violating-the-constitution-by-not-submitting-climate-treaty-to-senate/

I also did a Common-Sense discussion board Response here it is:

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in the 1776 to argue the case for independence from Britain to the American People. It appealed to the common people and not just the elites because

Paine argues that the King of England and Parliament had used their power oppressively against the people of America and that they have the right to discard them: In the Introduction on page 1: “a long and violent abuse of power…the King of England… Parliament…as the good people of this country [America] are grievously oppressed by the combination, they have an undoubted privilege to inquire into the pretensions of both, and equally to reject the usurpation of either”. This appealed to the common people and not just the elites because they, the common people, had been oppressed by the abuse of the King’s and Parliament’s power, and they liked the idea that they had the right to reject them, because that would ease their suffering.

The common people didn’t want another mortal person to be placed above them with power to control and oppress them without their consent, it being against their unalienable right to liberty. That is what a monarch is and there are multiple instances in Common Sensewhere Paine writes against monarchy and the king such as:

"the king…he hath shewn himself such an inveterate enemy to liberty”.

and

 “ the crown…hath…eaten out the virtue of the house of commons…it is the Republican and not the Monarchical part of the Constitution of England which Englishmen glory in…choosing a House of Commons …when Republican virtues fail, slavery ensues...the Crown hath engrossed the Commons.”

Since the common people like choosing a House of Commons and the House of Commons itself, and the king had corrupted the House of Commons this frustrated the common people.

Paine argues the case for actual, equal and large representation: “the elected might never form to themselves an interest separate from the electors , the necessity of a large and equal representation ”.

The common people preferred actual representation (representatives serving the interest of the specific people who elected them, and not necessarily the common good of the whole nation), because it was what most colonists believed in.

Common people in the border country/frontier especially liked equal representation, where each district/area gets the same number of electors compared to the population of the area (like if the ratio was 1 representative to 2,000 people, then that ratio is equal for all districts), because they had a larger population than many eastern places in the colony but got a lower number of representatives in the colony legislature.

Common Sense also goes against hereditary succession which the common people didn’t like because, among other reasons, it gave them less opportunity than “high-born” people and maintained a caste system with less economic, social and political mobility.

The common people of the colonies wanted to prosper in commerce and economy, and Paine makes the case that if they stayed part of the British Empire, then they would prosper less in economy and commerce than they could have if they had become an independent separate people. Independence would allow them to conduct commerce with other nations besides the British Empire and they would not be limited in their economy by a king who wanted them to prosper less.

Common Sense appealed to the common people of the colonies through many means and it convinced countless colonists that separation of the colonies from Britain into a separate and independent Nation was necessary and expedient for them arguing that cause of America is the cause of all mankind.  

Year in Review

So this year I did a physics course online through Coursera and then I started to focus a lot on Government and History.

After finishing a BYU Independent Study World History Course in November, I studied for and took the AP US Government exam at Triton in May. It was a lot of hard work and fun as I got to learn things about the our Federal Government all through the year. I got a 5 with Heavenly Father's wonderful help on the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam.

My AP Scores

I also attended a town hall meeting, visited the local courthouse, created campaign signs and went canvassing during the primary elections. I only wish I wasn't still 5 years away from voting. My 18th birthday will be just a month after the 2020 election cycle (wretched). I found out what my AP score was on Saturday.

I am now taking a U.S. History Course also through BYU I.S. and I love it that I  live in a place where I can visit a lot of the places I'm learning about. We went to Plymouth a few weeks back and I got to go to Plimoth plantation and talk with the Governor about the colony.

I also took an art class at Triton and got to do a lot of creative projects. My pencil portrait of the Prophet Lorenzo Snow won a prize at the Budding Artist Competition at the NAA. One of my favorite art projects this year was a driftwood Nativity I made for Christmas. I also did a 3D animation in blender through a Youth Digital class that was really interesting.

For math besides the Physics algebra I finished Trigonometry and I started working on Pre-Calculus on Khan Academy.

I am still playing soccer with the 7th and 8th graders and with my brother pretty much every day.

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is eating really good food every day. We grow a lot of kale every summer and I have been mixing it into green smoothies and all sorts of other meals as one of my favorite foods.

I've read a lot of classic books this year with our family as well as a lot about freedom and government like The Law by Bastiat and We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident. I've also found some time for fun reading and got through all of Sherlock Holmes and recenlty got into the Wizard of Earthsea series this year. I can't wait til Brandon Mull publishes his new Dragonwatch series.

American history.

Ancient Americas from the start -200 A.D. 
Who really was first to America? Well I will tell you it was not the vikings , Columbus or some people from Siberia. The first Person to set foot in America was Adam. After him the first people to really settle down and make a Civilization in the Americas were the Jaredites (  as I write below, the record of the Jaredites was discovered by the people of Limhi, and was abridged by Moroni. Moroni was a righteous nephite prophet. He writes that he saw Jesus and writes about how great faith is. The record of the Jaredites, abridged by Moroni, was translated by Joshep Smith with the held of God ). The Jaredites were descended from Jared and his relatives.  Jared and his family lived in Babel. When the inhabitants of Babel ( I do not think this included Jared or his relatives ) started to make a tower to try to get to heaven, they were stopped by Heavenly Father. He made everyone speak different languages, so the could not understand each other and build the tower. Jared asked his brother to pray to The Lord and ask him to let the Brother of Jared, his family and friends keep their language. The Lord let them keep their language so they could understand each other. Jared then asked his brother to ask where they should go and if they should go. The Lord answered: " Go and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and thy families ; and also Jared thy brother and his family;  and also thy friends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families. And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth ". The Lord goes on to say that he would bless them in that land and make them a great nation. After this the Brother of Jared and their families and their friends, and their friends families, went to the valley. The name of this valley was Nimrod, they brought much food. Like flocks, fish, birds , bees ( which would give them honey) , and many seeds. When they came to the valley The Lord spoke to the brother of Jared from a cloud. The Lord told them to go into the wilderness , he went " before them " and gave them directions where to go in the wildernesses. Then they came to the sea, there they built 8 barges with the Lord guiding them. The Lord wanted them to go across the sea to the land of promise. The land of choice for righteous people. This land was and is America. The barges were completely airtight so no water would get in. The inside was completely black though and the air could run out . These were problems, the brother of Jared asked heavenly father what to do, the lord told them to make a hole in the tops and bottoms of the barges. The Lord said they should put a stopper in the holes. This stopper could be taken away to let air in and closed to keep water out. As for the problem of light the Lord told the Brother of Jared if he could come up with an Idea. Fire would not work, it would burn the barges, windows would not work because they would break. The brother of Jared went to a mountain ( which they had called Shelem ) and made 16 small stones. They were white and transparent almost like glass. Mahonri Moriancumer ( this is the actual name of the brother of Jared ) went to the top of a mountain and asked the Lord to touch the stones and make them glow with light. Because of his great faith he saw the finger of The Lord when he touched each stone. They glowed with light, then Mahonri Moriancumer saw the Lord and talked with him. The lord showed him many great things and it was wonderful ( " and blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken . Amen. " The Lord ). Then Mahonri Moriancumer went down the mountain and put the stones in the barges, they filled the barges with light. Then they filled the barges with food, and got into the barges themselves. They set forth into the sea with The Lord guiding them. The Lord caused great winds to blow them toward the promise land ( the new world ). There were many storms and the Barges were submerged under the water many times. The Lord guided them and they sang praises to him. They were protected from whales and " monsters of the sea ", and were continuously driven toward the new world. They were driven forward for 344 days on the water. And then they landed in the promised land/new world. This was around the mid-third millennium B.C. When they got there they " bowed themselves down upon the face of the land , and did humbles themselves before The Lord, and did shed tears of joy before The Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them ". After this they went into the land and started to farm it. They multiplied in the land and became known as Jaredites. Jared had four sons called Jacom, Gilgah, Mahah and Orihah. Mahonri Moriancumer had sons and daughters and so did their friends and rest of their family. They were taught in the way of The Lord and the land became filled with them. They probably settled in Mexico or a bit North of it. In a nutshell the history of the Jaredites in America: It started out with righteous people and ended with very wicked people. The Jaredites experienced wars, Famine, murder, secret combinations, riches and more. There were many kings , some righteous , some wicked. Their Record was discovered by the people of Limhi and abridged by Moroni. After a while the Jaredites wanted a king ( Mahonri Moriancumer warned them that a king would lead to captivity put they still wanted one ), they first chose Pagag the firstborn of Mahonri Moriancumer. But Pagag would not become king. So the people asked the brothers of Pagag, but they did not want to be king either. So they went onto Jareds sons. All but one refused to be king, this one was Orihah. Orihah became king over the Jaredites, and his people prospered. Then Jared and his brother died, but Orihah kept being righteous. Orihah's rule was righteous and prosperous. In his old age ha asked his son KIb to be the next king, and Kib did become the next king. Kib had a son called Corihor, and when Corihor was 32  he rebelled against his dad. He went away into another place and drew up any army. He then he marched his army towards the land where his dad lived, and took him captive ( this fulfilled Mahonri Moriancumer warning). Kib lived as a captive as Corihor ruled over the people. But another of Kib's sons, Shule drew an army to fight Corihor. Shule and his army overthrew Corihor and restored his father on the throne. Shule became the next king and he reigned in righteousness. He expanded his kingdom because it was getting to populated. Corihor repented and Shule gave him power. Sule and Corihor had many sons, and one of Corihor's sons was named Noah. Noah rebelled against his father and Shule, his uncle, the King. He drew a large army and had many supporters. He went to battle against Shule and took over some of the kingdom of the Jaredites. Then Noah fought the king again and captured him. But then the Shule's sons sneaked into Noah's house and killed him. They also freed their father and but him back on his throne. The son of Noah Cohor became the king of Noah's land and Shule kept his land. The land was divided into the kingdom of Shule and the kingdom of Cohor. The people under Shule were prosperous. When Cohor fought against Shule,  Shules army beat them and killed Cohor. Cohors son Nimrod did not try to keep his kingdom, he gave it to Shule. This made Shule like Nimrod, and he gave Nimrod power. Prophets of the Lord were sent to the Jaredites to tell them to repent of their wickedness. The Prophets said that if they did not repent there would be a curse and they would be destroyed. Some people mocked the prophets, but Shule arrested them and judged them. Shule mad a law that let the prophets go wherever they wanted. The people repented and were saved, and Shule reigned in righteousness all his days. The next king of the Jaredites was Omer. Omer had a son called Jared. And -like many other Jaredite princes- Jared rebelled against his father and went away to live in another place. He used his cunning and flattery to gain half the kingdom. Then he went to war with Omer ( again like many others  ) and captured him. Two of Omer's sons, Esrom and Coriantumr, were angry that Omer's kingdom had been taken from him. They raised an army and beat Jared, and they restored Omer to throne. But they did not kill Jared beacuse he had given his kingdom for his life ( he was about to be killed anyway, rather lose only your kingdom instead of your life and kingdom ). Jared became sad about his loss, and by evil secret combinations he overthrew omer again. But The Lord warned Omer and Omer left before he could be killed. But then a man named Akish had ordered him murdered , Akish was his son-in-law and became king after him. Akish and Jared were both wicked. Akish was jealous of his son and starved him to death. The dead son's brother ( the brother was called Nimrah )was mad at his father for killing his brother. So he and some other men went to live with Omer. Akish had other sons, these sons bribed people to follow them, and they started a war with their father. They were both evil and there was no real " good guy ". The war beetween them was long and killed everyone expect Omer, the people who had fled with him and 30 other people. Omer beacame king again, he was old and in 2 years he died. Emer beacame the next king , he was righteous and there was peace in the land. The Lord slowly took away the curse on the land, and the people became very rich. They had: " all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of other precious things. And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man. And they also had horses, and " donkeys", and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which are useful to man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms. " . These animals ( the Cureloms and cumoms ) have not been identified yet, but they must have been large to go along with the elephant. As it says they had horses , so Native Americans once had horses, but by the time the spainards and other Europeans came, the horses must have been erased from America. The Lord gave many blessings to the land beacuse it was righteous. Emer saw peace in the land and appointed Coriantum to be the next king.  Coriantum was righteous and there peace, he lived to be very old without having children, but finally he had a son called Com. Com became king and ruled for 49 years, he had a son called Heth. Wickedness was spreading again and Heth became wicked. He killed his own father and became king in his place. Prophets of The Lord preached that the people should repent or a great famine would come upon them, but they did not listen and some even tried to kill the prophets. The king Heth told them to do this, he was quite the opposite of Shule. The words of the prophets cam to pass when The Lord sent a famine in the land. He also sent also poisonous snakes that poisoned animals and humans alike. Many people died, and some fled southward  ( probably to northern south america or southern central america ). The people began to pray to The Lord and asked for the famine to stop and they humbled themselves and started to stop being wicked. The Lord stopped the famine and made it rain. Shez became king because he was the only relative of Heth that had not died in the Famine. Shez became righteous and ruled better than Heth. During his reign his oldest son ( also named Shez ) rebelled against him. But because Shez ( rebel ) was so rich he was killed by a robber, and that ended that trouble. The king Shez built many cites and extended his hold over the land. After he died his son , Riplakish , became king. Riplakish siined and was not a good king, and after 42 year of his reign the people rebelled. He was killed and his family driven from the land. After many year a descendant of Riplakish , Morianton, got an army of outcasts and attacked the kingdom. He took many cities and after many years of war he gained control of the kingdom. He became king, and the people liked him, but he was not righteous. The next king was Kim , he was not righteous either. His brother rebelled against him and captured him, in captivity Kim had a son called Levi. Levi rebelled against the king and beat him taking the kingdom. Levi was righteous and his people prospered. He had a son called Corom and Corom became the next king. Corom was also righteous, the next king was Kish, after Kish was Lib. Lib was righteous and during his reign the poisonous snakes were destroyed. The Jaredites built a " great city by the narrow neck of land "( this was probably near or in Panama, although it could have been near the great lakes ) The Jaredites went south and hunted in the forest ( probably the Amazon or somewhere north of it  ).  The land northward was heavily populated while the land southward was a wilderness, used for hunting. The Jaredites were productive, they traded and " they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and Iron, and brass, and all manner of metals.....and they did work in all manner of fine work. And they did have silks, and fine-twined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth....and they did make all manner of tools to till the earth...and they did make all manner of weapons of war.....and never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of The Lord ". The king after Lib was Hearthom. Hearthom reigned for 24 years and then his kingdom was taken from him. He lived in captivity the rest of his life and had a son who lived in captivity all his days. After 3 generations of living in captivity all their days a descendant of Hearthom named Com took half the kingdom. After 42 years he fought with Amgid the present king for the other half. In the war he beat him and Com became king over the land. During his reign there were evil robbers in the land , and prophets came to tell the people to repent ( or they would be destroyed ). The people rejected them and tried to kill them. The next king was Shiblom, during his reign his brother rebelled and there was a civil war in the land. The people became wicked and there was famine in the land. After much hardship they began to repent and The Lord had mercy on them. Shiblom was killed and his son Seth, got captured. Seth had a Son called Ahah , and after Seth died in captivity Ahah took the kingdom and became king. He was wicked , after him Ethem became king and was also wicked. During Ethem's reign there were prophets that prophesied that The Lord would destroy the people unless they repented. The people did not listen and the prophets were sad. After Ethem the king was Moron , he was also wicked . Then a rebellion against Moron happened. The rebellion was wicked , a powerful man ( probably the leader of rebellion ) fought against Moron. This man took half the kingdom, and he kept it for many years. Then Moron overthrew him and got all his kingdom again. Then another powerful man , a descendant of Mahonri Moriancumer , overthrew Moron. Moron lived in captivity the rest of his life, and he had a son called Coriantor. During Coriantors lifetime there were many prophets of The Lord. They prophesied that unless the people repent , they would be destroyed. And that The Lord God would bring other people to dwell in the land ( these were the descendants of Lehi ). The people though kept being wicked and rejected the prophets. Coriantor had a son call Ether , and Coriantor lived the rest of his life in captivity. During Ethers lifetime the king of the land was Coriantumr. Ether was a Prophet of The Lord God, and he preached unto the people. He told them to believe in The Lord God and repent, or they would be destroyed. He said "by faith all thing are fulfilled, wherefore whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men , which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. " . Faith is extremely  important , many great things are done by faith, The Lord gives men weaknesses that they may be humble, faith hope and charity are essential to salvation . Ether spoke about a New Jerusalem, and that the seed of Joseph would build it. He said that you would need to repent and be clean before God and then you would be numbered as the seed of Joseph. Ether prophesied many things, but , sadly, the people did not believe him. They threw him out, and he hid in a " cavity of a rock "  during the day. But during the night he went back to civilization and discovered the things that happened during the day among the Jaredites. While he hid in the cave he wrote his record of the Jaredites. (This record was later discovered by the people of Limhi, abridged by Moroni, and translated by Joseph Smith) The same year he was thrown out a war started among the Jaredites. Many men wanted to kill Coriantumur and obtain the throne. Everyone was wicked except Ether. There was a lot of fighting in the land, and The Lord told Ether to go talk to Coriantumr and tell him and his family to repent. And if they repented The Lord would not destroy them. 

Fast fact


Medieval Americas 200 A.D. - 1600

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Fast fact

Pre-revolution Americas 1600-1775

• Comparing French, Dutch, and English colonies, which ones attracted the most settlers, and which the fewest? How did these differences in emigration affect the various colonies’ development? What factors determined the kinds of relations the different groups of colonists had with the Indians?

(a) The English Colonies Attracted the most settlers, while the Dutch and French colonies attracted the fewest settlers.

(b) The low amount of emigration to French and Dutch colonies  made them develop into smaller colonies than the English colonies, where more emigration happened and a higher population was a result of it. The development of higher populated English colonies than the Dutch colonies led England to conquer the Dutch colonies, ending their Development as Dutch colonies. 

(c) The factors that determined the kinds of relations groups of colonists had with the Indians are: the economy of the Colony ( does it rely on a staple crop ? if so what is that crop? ) ( like in the Caribbean the economy of the colonies was sugar , and to "grow it effectively" to get "enough money " they "needed" a lot of laborers. At first they used the Natives as slaves to do the laborus work, but later on they used African slaves. (sad) But the economy of the French and Dutch colonies was fur trading, which required the colonists to form alliances and trade partnerships with the Native Americans, not too oppress them into slavery ), the Religion of the colony( Jesuit Missionaries preaching in Canada ), the leader of the Colony ( Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam antagonized Susquehannock Indians along the Delaware river by seizing a small Swedish colony where the Susquehannocks had traded. William Penn's plans required the colonists of Pennsylvania to live as "Neighbors and friends" with the Indians... as Long as Penn controlled the colony relations between the Indians and settlers were relatively peaceful ),  & the alliances of the Colony ( the alliance of the Pilgrims with the Wampanoags affected there relations with the Wampanoags positively and harmoniously , but it affected their relationship with the Wampanoag's enemies- the Narragansetts- negatively).

• Which English settlements were proprietary colonies? Did they share any common characteristics? What plans did the various proprietors have for their colonies?

(a)Maryland, Carolina, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were are Proprietary colonies.

(b) Yes they did they all had a proprietor, Carolina and Maryland both had staple crops and many laborers to work in the Plantations. All but Maryland were restoration ( after the restoration of Charles II to the throne ) colonies. 

(c) In Maryland the Proprietor wanted Maryland to be a catholic refuge, and to give Catholics a lot of Political and economic power. In Carolina one of the Proprietors ( Anthony Cooper) wanted to organize Carolina according to a Plan that he helped make called Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. The Fundamental Constitutions linked property ownership and political rights/power to hierarchical social order, with a colonial Aristocracy that had a lot of Land and enormous political power , below them a large class of freeholders who each would own small amounts of land and elect representatives to an assembly and at the very bottom would be slaves. The Proprietor of New York and New Jersey ( James, Duke of York ) kept New York for himself and granted New Jersey to his supporters, encouraged Dutch colonists to remain and promoted immigration from England to strengthen the colony, and was very reluctant to give New York an elected representative assembly. The Proprietor of Pennsylvania, William Penn, wanted the colony to be a model of Justice and peace, a refuge for Quakers, a harmonious society governed by brotherly love, a society of religious freedom, but also a society with a weak legislature and a strong executive ( him with most of the power ) as outlined in the Frame of Government William Penn's plan for the Government of Pennsylvania (1682) . 

• Religion played a major role as a motive for settlement in most English colonies. What were the religious beliefs of the settlers in each colony, and how did those beliefs help shape each colony’s development? Analyze the ways in which the various American colonies supported and restricted religious freedom.

(a)The Religious beliefs of each colony are in the chart below

Colony                                Established Religious Beliefs

Virginia                                          Anglican

Plymouth                              Puritan

St.Christopher                       Anglican

Barbados                                     Anglican

Nevis                                             Anglican

Massachusetts                           Puritan

New Hampshire                    Puritan

Antigua                                    Anglican

Montserrat                            Anglican

Maryland                                    None(Anglican after 1692) 

Rhode Island                               No Established religion

Connecticut                                  Puritan

New Haven                                 Puritan

Jamaica                                                    Anglican

Carolina                                                      Anglican 

New York                                                none

New Jersey                                               None

Pennsylvania                                No Established Religion( had Quakers, Anglicans and Puritans )

The Religious beliefs shaped each colonies development  by excluding many people that were not part of the Religion of the colony, and it caused disputes as in the example of the Maryland colony. Maryland was a Proprietary colony and was given too Calvert, lord Baltimore in 1632. Calvert was a Catholic and envisioned his colony as a refuge for Catholics who were a disadvantaged minority in England. He wanted the Catholic colonists to enjoy riches and political power in the colony, he would give Manors to Catholics and have people of other faiths as their tenant farmers, the manorial lords would also hold the most important government offices. But the Majority of colonists were Protestant and refused to work as tenants under Catholic lords, they claimed land of their own. In 1642 civil war broke out in England and in Maryland Protestants took advantage of the upheaval to contest Calvert's hold on the colony. To pacify them Calvert made a Legislature where the Protestants would dominate the lower house and est. the Act for Religious toleration , which gave freedom to worship for all Christians. Theses did not stop the Protestants from continuing to resist the Catholics political power. 

(b) The colony of Rhode Island founded by Roger Williams supported religious freedom because Williams advocated for the separation of church and state. The colony of Pennsylvania supported religious freedom by having the Frame of Government ( the plan for the Government of Pennsylvania written by William Penn ) which had a provision for religious freedom  in it.The Massachusetts Bay colony restricted Religious freedom by insisting on covenants, conformity ( of non-separatist  Puritans ), intolerance and having strict Church Membership ( and voting rights ) requirements in line with the Puritan religion .  The American Colony of New France restricted Religious freedom by requiring settlers to be Catholic and basically not allowing other religions in New France very much . 

• The Chesapeake, the West Indies, and Carolina were all colonies dependent upon staple crops. What were those staple crops? In what ways did staple crop agriculture shape society in each region? How was agriculture in New England different from agriculture in the South?

(a)The staple Crops are outlined in the table below

Colony                              Staple Crop

Chesapeake                      Tobacco ( sinful ) 

the West Indies                 Sugar Cane (unhealthy )

Carolina                            Rice

(b) In the West Indies and Carolina the Staple crop agriculture shaped society into Biracial colonies where Staple crop Farming required heavy/substantial investment in land, slaves, equipment and Mills , both were shaped into racially divided societies founded on the oppression of a black majority and permeated by fear.  

Staple crop agriculture shaped society in the Chesapeake by making the population overwhelmingly young and male ( because of the "need" for indentured servants to farm the staple crop ), making marriage much less frequent, also the Unhealthy region had a lot of disease which increased early death rates a lot disrupting the real and usual family patterns. The staple crop agriculture made settlers settle in separate plantations, compete with their neighbors for profit ( hindering a sense of community ), invest every penny of profit in land and labor, postponing investment in goods that would make them more comfortable ( like furniture and better food ). 

(c) Agriculture in New England was different from Agriculture in the South by not having a staple crop, but rather having a diversified economy, in New England the goal was to achieve a competency ( enough property to ensure the families economic independence, in New England they had family labor rather than indentured servants or slaves, they regular traded goods and services with their neighbors, making their life more comfortable, they sent livestock, lumber, fish and crops to places that needed it like the West Indies, they also became skilled shipbuilders and seafarers.

• Why did English colonists experience more frequent, and more violent, conflicts with the Native Americans than with the settlers of New France?

• Why were Catholic missionaries more successful than Protestants in converting Native Americans to Christianity in early America? Analyze the different attempts at conversion made by Protestants and Catholics in the New World. Which group was more successful and why? 
• Describe how and why most slaves were brought to America. When did Chesapeake planters switch from servants to slaves? Why did they make this change? How were the lives of slaves and indentured servants similar? Different? Was indentured servitude beneficial to those who entered into that servitude? Describe how the lives of slaves differed with respect to where they lived.

Most slaves were brought to America from Africa through the middle passage, most slaves were brought to america because the colonists needed a high amount of cheap labor for staple crops, like rice sugar and tobacco. 

Chesapeake planters switched from servants to slaves in the late 1600s ( 1680s and 1690s )Because in the late 1600s the availability of indentured servants decreased as the economy of England increased, and slaves became more easily obtainable because England's Royal African Company began shipping slaves directly to English buyers. Also Chesapeake planters found other reasons besides availability to switch to slaves, among them are : Slaves are a better long term investment ( self reproducing labor force because slave status passed onto slave's children and slaves were slaves for life ), they were easier to recapture if they ran away, and they were slaves for life , never to have a chance of being economic competitors with planters( or pose a threat like Nathaniel Bacon ). 

They both had to work for no wages, they both were unfree in a sense and they were both Human Beings  They were different by: slaves worked for life with no opportunity for prosperity even for their children , while Indentured servants worked for a set amount of years ( usually 4-7 yrs ) and then were free after that , so they had much more opportunity for prosperity  than slaves.Slaves came to the New World in a terribly fatal cramped area in the middle passage where up to 20% died, in contrast  Indentured servants came to the New World in much healthier conditions and had a lower death rate on the way to the New World. Indentured servants usually came to the New World seeking a better life and a chance at prosperity, on the other hand Slaves came to the New World against their will subjugated and imprisoned by slave traders and treated as property. 

Yes and No. Most of time indentured servants who had worked out their contract failed to receive prosperity especially in the Chesapeake colonies where established planters collaborated against freed indentured servants and sold them lousy land trying to stop them from becoming economic competitors, also in the Chesapeake colonies the men to women ratio was very high with an overwhelming majority of men , so the prospect of marriage in the early Chesapeake colonies was also very low. But some former-indentured servants did archive prosperity, and had their own indentured servants. 

The Life of slaves was worse in the southern colonies  and west indies than the northern ones ( slaves in the southern colonies and the west indies were mostly field hands and they were treated badly and forced to work under harsh conditions, while in the North slaves were more likely to be house hold slaves who though still having bad conditions were generally treated better in the north than in the south ) , and worse in the New World then in Africa ( in Africa slaves were slaves in name only , where thy were subject to little coercion, slavery was not necessarily permanent and it did not automatically pass onto slave's children, but in the New World slaves were treated with much more force and much harsher, also slavery was basically always permanent and slavery passed onto slave's children slavery was hereditary).

• By about 1750, more slaves in the mainland British colonies were creoles (American-born) than African-born. What effects did this have on the formation of African-American communities in America? Analyze the evolution of the black family unit in America.

it increased the formation of the African American family unit and encouraged it because creoles lived longer and had more children then African born slaves increasing the chance of having a regular family. It also increased African American community formation by increasing African American family formation and diminishing the importance of African ethnic differences ( increasing the allowance and chance of  different ethnic groups of African American slaves forming communities ) because creoles had no personal memories of Africa as they grew up. 

The black family unit in America was not as common in the 1600s as in the 1700s because they needed more slaves, ethnic and linguistic differences to deteriorate,  and enough slave women as well as men. The increasing number of creoles increased the number of black families because creoles lived longer and had more children then African born slaves increasing the chance of having a regular family. By the late eighteenth century more than half of Chesapeake and Carolina slaves lived in family groups but they were fragile and could be broken up easily by white masters. 

• Many European immigrants came to America in the eighteenth century, but they tended to settle only in certain colonial regions. What regions did they favor and why?

European immigrants favored regions where land was cheap and labor was most in demand ( the foothills of the Appalachian mountains/the western areas of middle and southern states ), because that would give them the most prosperity and opportunity for prosperity. 

• Compare and contrast the institutions of slavery that emerged in Virginia and the Caribbean. Though both colonial regions were under British control, how were they distinctive from one another? How were they the same?

The Institution of slavery in Virginia was much less harsh to the slaves than the Institution of slavery in the Caribbean. Virginia                  the  Caribbean

    staple crop tobbacco                  sugar`

   

Fast fact

Revolution and early United states Americas 1774-1850

Fast fact

Modern Americas 1850-Present























sources: Brainpop, Khan academy, Wikipedia and https://www.lds.org/scriptures/, Book of Mormon readers edition

World History Prep

Homo erectus
homo erectus are a species of the genus homo, and are early humans. The walked upright and made tools. They also had larger brains, and were one of the few species of Homo to survive until the Homo sapiens.
more than 200,000 yrs ago. 

Neolithic
This is a period in time when the agricultural revolution happened , and the first agricultural cites were established, It means new stone age, and there were many new stone tools for farming instead of hunting. The Neolithic period happened all over the world. more than 10000 yrs ago

Cuneiform
cuneiform is a type of writing used by the Sumerians and other people in Mesopotamia . It was first used to record trade exchanges, and looks like a lot of slashes. It was written on clay tablets. The writing is important, because it was one of the EARLIEST forms of writing and helped people record things.
start: 3200 BC , fully done : 2500 BC.  

Hammurabi
Hammurabi was a Babylonian king , and he wrote a code of laws for Babylon called , not surprisingly , the code of Hammurabi. This is important because it was one of the earliest law codes and kept the nation unified. Hammurabi lived in Mesopotamia.
Reign:1792-1750 BC 

Mastab
Mastabas were ancient Egyptian tombs , and they were important , because they took considerable coordination effort to make them.
during the Archaic or Pre-dynastic period 3100-2686 BC

Mohenjo-Daro
This was a city built near the Indus river in Asia. It had an amazing pipeline, water transfer and drainage system. It also had a fortress at the center of the city , which may have had a temple . The writing of the these river Indus valley people has not been deciphered and almost all we now is from archaeology.
2250-1600ish BC

Vedas
Vedas were the holy texts of the Aryans , In India. They contain the religion , values and wisdom of the Aryans. They help us understand the Aryan culture and people. They were written between 1700 BC and 500 BC.

Oracle bone
Oracle bones were bones used by the Shang Dynasty in eastern Asia to ask questions of the gods, they are important because they show us what the Shang Dynasty were interested about. The Oracle bones were used in the Shang Dynasty which lasted from 1600-1045 BC

Cyrus
Cyrus was the first king of the Persians and changed them from a semi-nomadic shepherd society , to become an empire ( by conquering the Babylonians with the Medes ) . He released the Jews from bondage and let them go back to their homeland and rebuild the temple destroyed by the Babylonians. His empire was around Mesopotamia.
 Founder of the Persian empire ,died 521 BC

Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven wan an idea the the rulers of China had the right to rule from heaven. It was invented by the Zhou Dynasty . When rebels revolted , the Mandate had moved from the rulers to the rebels. The Zhou Dynasty ruled from 1045-771 BC

Confucius
Confucius was a wise Chinese teacher, that promoted the family , and virtue. His idea was, that virtuous and good people would be nice and cooperate.
551-479 BC

Legalism
This was a Chinese idea , that thought that China needed to be unified under a strong government with severe laws. Legalisim did not look into the past for ideas, instead they thought they needed war to unify China and make it a strong state.
Legaliasm grew out of the doctrine of Master Xun 321-237 BC

Upanishad
The Upanishads were a new religious text that succeeded the Vedic religious texts in India. They prized knowledge over ritual, and focused on realizing ultimate reality or Brahman , and escaping existence itself.
800–500 BC

Siddhartha Gautama
Sid was the Buddha or enlightened one. He lived near Nepal, around the 500's BC. He is important as being the founder of Buddhism, and discovering the eight-fold path.
563-483 BC

Polis
A Polis was like a city state, in Greece. A lot were governed by democracy.
By 750 BC , Polis meant what I said it means 

Oligarchy
Oligarchy means rule by a few, though it is similar to democracy. It is a form of government in Greece.
Oligarchy happened during the Lyric Age 800-500 BC

Agricultural Revolution
When nomads settled down and farmed and domesticated animals, the Agricultural revolution took place
more than 10000 yrs ago

Hittites
The Hitties were chariot warrior people in Anatolia. They also went to Syria , Mesopotamia and Egypt. They had a lot of military success.
1800-1200 BC 

Olmec
The Olmecs were Mesoamerican people that built giant head sculptures, and rubber ball game stadiums. They studied the stars, made a calendar and studied nature to understand the supernatural world
start : 1500 BC

Zoroastrianism
This was a religion of the Persians, that was founded by Zoraster after 1000 BC. It taught that there was only one god , Ahura Mazda , and he created all that was good and was capable of only good. His enemy Ahiram, was evil, and the religion shows that the universe is divided into these two forces, who are always battling for control. People could chose between good and evil, and their choices had consequences. Also you could not bury, burn or drown your dead, and had to leave them out for the animals.

who/what: if a person who is the person and what is the person known for; if a thing, what is the thing

where: from what part of the world does the person or thing come; or is it most commonly associate

when: if you know a specific date you would include it, but at the very least you will need to identify it chronologically

why: the reason(s) the person or thing is important

Define what is meant by the term “civilization.” Discuss the attributes of civilization of at least two of the earliest river valley civilizations and explain how they influenced later civilizations in the same area.
A civilization is a complex cultural entity with cites and rulers. The Mesopotamian city states had walls, and ( obliviously cities ) complex division of labor in them. They also had religion , that included their ziggurats. They influenced later civilizations to have religion and to have walled cities and warfare. The river Indus valley had complex water transport systems, and influenced later civilizations to do the same. 

Explain the difference between territorial states and empires. Discuss at least two territorial states and compare/contrast them to at least two later empires. What are the defining characteristics of empires?

Territorial states have less influence than Empires. 

Discuss the role of religion in human development. What was the purpose of creation stories? Describe the development of religion in at least two different areas of the world. What was the role of key individuals in the development of religious beliefs?

Religion has changed how we think, what we build, and what we try to do. To satisfy the question : "where did we come from?". France: First France was inhabited by wild nomadic tribes that had primitive religion. Then the tribes settled down, and after a while the Romans invaded it. The Romans had mythology and were polytheists. Rome ruled Gaul for some time, ( and soon before the fall of Rome, Rome became Christian ) but then the all of Rome came about. Invading tribes then settled Gaul with their religions. After some time , Charlemagne , king of the Franks, was named Holy Roman Emperor. France became Christian again. After Charlemagne's death ( and the death of his son Louis, ho ruled after Charlemagne ), The kingdom was divided between Louis's 3 sons. Soon after barbarians invaded ( including the Norsemen, who settled and owned Normandy ) and the Paganism of the Norse slowly changed to the Christianity of the Normans. I shall stop here for France. Utah: Utah was ( as earliest records say ,  not first ) inhabited by corrupted Lammanites and later became home of Native american tribes with their religion about animals and such. After some while, the Spanish Christians invaded and forced the Utahans to convert. Then the United States took it ( after Mexico did ) and it stayed Christian. After a bit more time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints pioneers settled the land. Utah is still Mormon , but it has other faiths as well.

Discuss the role of migration in early human history. How can scholars trace migratory patterns for the distant past? What effect did migrations have on settled societies?

This lets other lands be settled and explored. Also Migration can bring cultural practices to other lands. With language change , and DNA.
the theory ( that I don't agree with ) is that humans originated in Africa , and then spread across the world, so migration helped colonize the world. Also migration to places where humans already were, led to the exchange of ideas. With Language , written records,  and DNA testing to name a few. As stated above, it could change the ideas and technologies of the settled people.