Discussion on Essay # 2

*We decided to do essay format( Letter).
* David- New England Merchant
Vicky- Royal Governor

AOD # 4

Celebration and appreciation - expressing joy and appreciation for what we learn as well as what we achieve.

Today is 10/26/07, Ramila and her sister ,and my brother and I volunteered in Key Club for concession stand in a football game. It was F. W. High School vs. T.J. High School. I don't really know the score, all I know is that Federal Way High School won the game, because I was so busy with making hot dogs and hot cocoa. And when I took out my cellphone it was 9:30 pm already, i cam there at 6:25pm. I didn't know it had already been 3 hours. And then we started to clean up to close the store. After all it was total four hours if volunteering, also the longest one to me too.

The customers kept coming for 3 hours, and I learned that it is not easy to ran a business by yourself. One of seniors who was in charge said " It's hard to find somebody to help because it's volunteering work." And i answered him, " Well, we are here. We are willing and happy to help you." So i did learn how to make good looking hot dogs and earned 4 hours of community service for PSEC requirement. So I learned as well as what I achived.

MIDTERM PRACTICE

I believe the writer is trying to say in this passage is that the God created a new world for the colonists from Europe in America and they tried to be a better model to show others how a wonderful place they have created and kept. Those colonists tried to form a good government and society in the New England but to kept knowning that they were still English.

The main reason why those colonists left England and wanted to create the New England was to have freedom of religion. Back in the old centuries, English government forced all people to to church and follow the same religion as the king did. The king or government often to ask colonists to do some sacrifices the God or give money to the church. At this time, most of people did not have any good educations, all they knew and learned was about their religions, so religion meant a lot to them during this time.

Since more and more Europeans moved to another place, those English people tried to run away from the society they lived in. Most of them moved to America to get freedom of religion of what they believed in. As more and more new colonists moved to America, they started and tried to form a colony like England but with different rules and society. So the writer said, “[W]hen he shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding [colonies], ‘the Lord make it like that of New England.’ For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us[.]”. Because what they knew better was religion and God, so they thought the God created a new world for them to live and take a good control of it. They tried to make it as good as possible and be ones that willing to change to show others and follow them.

In my position, I am really impressive of what those colonists tried to create and do for their new socirty. If I was one tem them who lived in England and had to follow whatever the king or church said, I would moved to a better place to live. Just like the reason why my mom chose to to moved to America four years ago. She said that in Taiwan, there is less chance to find a good job, even the people who had high education. So my family moved to America like those colonists to find more chances and miracles in a new place or society. It always hard to form or get use to a new place, but as long as I am willing to give a try and word hard, I know i will be succeeful in the future as what those colonist did a good job on creating a New England for a better life with freedom.

Essay #1 Reflection

1. How do you think you did?
I think I did not do very well on this essay. I did not focus on my topic. It was my first essay that I worked hard to try to understand how to write a good one and spent a long time on it but I still did not get the point of how to write it.

2. What have you learned about your
A) Writing Process?
The outline did helped when I am out of the track or stuck on the essay sometime. It helped me to organize my paper. For example, it reminded me what direction am I going from second paragraph and what am I arguing in each paragraph.

B) Writing Philosophy?
I learned that I should have start my essay by giving my agreement/disagreement or arugment for the topic sentence to show what am I going to aruge or focus in my essay. I should not put a question that didn't represent my point of argument fot the first sentence. I should have wrote that "the lower classes had less power and rights than the higher classes which caused many equality problems and rebellion in this history," instead of putting "have anyone think about how society classes and slavery were like in the past and how does it look like in the modern society?" for the topic sentence.

3. What have you learned about college writing vs. high school writing?
For the college writing, we don't want an informational paper, we want your thoughts and arugements.
For the high school writing, what I wrote before was givng main ideas or facts of the event in the reading, we didn't really put our arguements in the essay. It was more like an informational essay of what I read.

4. What changes will you make for next time?
I will change the way of the order in my writing and find more good sources to use. And show my point of agreement/ disagreement or direction of where the paper will go in the introduction. Also keep in truck of what I should be focusing on.

AOD # 3

It was a busy week for me because the first hisotry essay was due this Friday. I had retyped my essay for many times, just because I didn't really get what do I need to put down in this essay. I have been in America for 4 years, and all my English classes were ESL classes, so I needed a lot of help to write this essay. And thanks to my teachers, they were willing to help and gave me a lot opinions of what i should put down in my essay. So from this essay, I learned what level I am in and what I need to work on my writting skills.

In Arts of Democracy Class, I learned how to negotiation with each other by listening to my group. I don't use to talk a lot, so I don't really know how to have a conversation about something with others. As what I have learned, i really want to thank to the people in my group because I didn't really get what do I have to do for this class, but they are very nice and willing to help me. So this week, I really learned a lot from my teacher and my group mates, and know that they are always be there for me when i need help.

Final Essay #1

Bacon’s Rellbellion - System of Society Class Have anyone think about how society classes and slavery were like in the past and how does it look like in the modern society? Well, I did think about it when I was studying about slavery during Bacon’s Rebellion which happened in 1676. In the past, how people turned into slaves were by losing in the war, born in a poor or slave family or people who were brought from Africa. And the violence between Virginia colonists and Native Americans was one of the reason that made up Bacon‘s Rebellion so strongly. At sixteenth century in America, the population was made up by White Europeans , Native Americans and Africans, and religion was most powerful thing that gave people knowledge instead of getting professional educations in technology. Because of the religion, most of people in the past thought black represented evil, and became the reason why Africans were brought to America and treated as slaves. In the modern society, slavery is not that popular as it was in the past. Most of examples still happening in this world are children that were sold as laborers in Africa, and women that were kidnapped from China, Thailand or Vietnam sold as sexual slaves and sent to Taiwan secretly. As more and more Europeans moved into America in sixteenth century, they wanted more lands from Native Americans and more people to work for them to make profits. At this time, the government in Virginia had already signed a treaty with Native Americans that Europeans will not cross or take over more lands from them. Plant tobacco fields was the main economy to those high class rich people, which made a big difference between classes and slavery became prevailed, and caused a lot arguments and rebellions in the past. There were many unfair things like, people who had more money meant more power, which meant less money less power and rights but more work to do. Also with many other reasons that made Bacon’s Rebellion as a very strong rebellion that impacted and changed the life of society classes and relationship with Native Americans in America.

In 1676, Bacon’s Rebellion stared as a dispute over Virginia’s Indian Policy. Right after Columbus explored America for Spain, more and more Europeans started to came to America, and for those poor Europeans they had to sign a contract with some wealthy people to brought them to America. The contract was they have to work for the owner who brought them to America for seven years, and they will be free after seven years. Some of them were able to be free after seven years, but some of them had children or tried to ran away during their service year, the owner would add more years on the contract as a punishment. But it was the only way that poor Europeans can move to America without money. A letter that was posted on Rocky Mountain News on Saturday, October 8. 2004 from the AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT of Colorado and Our Allies, the letter was about we should not have a holiday which is a celebration for Columbus explored America after what he done with those Native Americans. As we study in the history, Columbus and his men tortured Native Americans and took over their lands. So there were many fights between Europeans and Native American for many years. Since the Virginia government signed a treaty with Native Americans about the lands, many Virginia colonists were unhappy about it, especially the poor servants and freemen. They did not have that much money to buy lands and also there were not enough lands for them to have when there is a treaty between Native Americans and Europeans. These were the two main reasons that Bacon led his men to against Virginia government and Native Americans.

During this time, more Africans were kidnapped and sent to America and sold as slaves. In the text book, “THE AMERICAN PROMISE” written by historians Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Lawson and Hartmann, Africans were brought to America by ships. Europeans sent and sold around 1,341,000 Africans in sixteenth century. And it was only because Africans has black skin which meant evil to the European‘s religion, but it was also an excuse to have cheap slaves to work for them. They placed Africans under the deck side by side , even laid on top of others with a long foot chain. Africans did not have fresh air, light or bathrooms. Almost half of them died on the way to America. There was a research about pH of the Atlantic Ocean went high which was because European threw the died Africans into the ocean. It caused illness and changes of sea creatures.

An article posted in the website of National Center for History in the Schools of University of California, that Nathaniel Bacon was the son of a wealthy English gentleman. Bacon was sent to America to plant a large tobacco field. At first he was welcomed by the Governor of Virginia, but not till Bacon started a rebellion against government and Native Americans. Bacon was really a good leader that stood up for those poor freemen. He knew that it was wrong that government and rich people charged a heavy taxes on lower classes. No wonder those people in lower classes could not get rich and for those poor freemen was almost barely to making a living. A travel report written by Sara McClure, a student of the College of William and Mary, when servants and lower class people came to visit a higher class they would have to stay in the main hall. This did create a feeling of intimidation and separated the upper class from the lower classes. And the fact that wealthy people were able to put so much money and effort into their house brings to light an important difference in priorities between the classes. Most of small or poor planters would put all their money back into their tobacco crop while people who were wealthier could afford to use money for their homes.

While rich people were getting richer, those slaves had to work from day to night. Because of the price of an African slave was very cheap, so the did not care about their health or anything, the owner would just buy a new slaves if one of his slave got sick or died. Also rich people was like have more people plant tobacco meant more profit for him to make. It was like living in the hell for the slaves. When Bacon started the rebellion, more and more people became his supporters. Nathaniel Bacon became a hero to many of the poor freeman. The Governor at this time was a man named William Berkeley. Bacon had declared war against Berkeley and other on his side. Berkeley called Bacon as a traitor. There was a castle called Bacon’s Castle. It was built in 1655 by Major Arthur Allen and it actually named as Bacon’s Castle in the nineteenth century, because Bacon was going to use this castle as a stronghold during rebellion, but he may not been in this castle before if he did not get a chance to us it. After Bacon declared a war with Berkeley, Bacon and his crew fought the Indians, sacked the grandees’ plantations, and attacked Jamestown. But Berkeley and his men took revenge by plundering homes and destroying the farms of Bacon’s supporters. Bacon and his supporters continued to fight until one day in October that Bacon was unexpectedly died from a disease in 1676. In “ The American Promise”, it wrote after Bacon’s Rebellion, a governor of Virginia said that it was necessary “ to steer between… either an Indian or a civil war.” It was a hard decision for them to make. But they could have make it easier if they could have give better supports or gain more rights for the lower classes.

The king realized the mess that were made in Jamestown during Bacon’s Rebellion effected the tobacco exports and customs duties, he had some of his royal officials to replace Berkeley. They decided to sell tobacco to more other countries and cut down the taxes by 75 percent between 1660 and 1700. And it was welcomed by all freemen. The number of servants and slaves were reduced. In 1700, only around one-third of free colonists still worked on the lands that were owned by others.

To relate this to my personal experience, it looks more similar to the situation I have in my country Taiwan right now. Taiwan is a small country, we are trying to be an independent country and join the United Nation. Most of Taiwaneses’ ancestors were from China, but it had been 96 years, we had developed new cultures, foods, and style of living. We use a different type of Chinese Writing from China, even they way we speak Chinese is different too. Now we are trying to be independent, and prove we are not part of Chinese’s colony. But China seems to be so negative about it, just like it was hard for rich people to be equal with lower classes. And also because China is not happy about it, it causes many country disagree us to join the United Nation. For the qualifications, we do have enough technologies, especially the medical science. We are working hard to get approve from other countries And I hope it will become succeed as Bacon’s Rebellion that changed and impact the whole society class system. Bacon really did a good job by having a rebellion to help the poor freeman get their rights and making a better living. His rebellion impacted the whole society and changed the slavery system which by reducing a big number of it. And Bacon made king realized that he must make a decision to solve the problem between colonists and Native Americans. It was a important moment in the history in sixteenth century.

Draft # 2 Introduction

Bacon’s Rellbellion - The Differences Between Classes Have anyone ever think about how the people’s lives were like when there were society classes? Well, I did think about that when I was studying about slavery. Slavery had been going on and on for many centuries, and it is still happening in Europe and Asia. And most of them are children who got kidnapped and sold to some factories to work or some girls were sold as sexual slaves. How did the slavery and other low classes’ lives like in the history? Why did people need slaves in the past? Lives of low classes and slaves would look like work, work and work everyday. The main reasons why the wealthy class need slaves was they needed people to plant a lot of tobacco and do things they did not want to do by themselves. How did people turn in to slaves in the past? And were those slaves able to get freedom ad make living after all? Right after Columbus explored America for Spain, more and more Europeans moved into America. When some poor Europeans wanted to come to America, they had to sign a contract with rich people to bring them here ,and then they would work for rich people in order to pay back. And yes, some of slaves were able to be free after they work seven years and it was the end of the contract. There were also had examples of some slaves that had to work longer than seven years just because they had children or tried to run away during the contract years. So most of the owners would add on year in their contracts. Was it a good deal to be a slave in order to pay back to the owner? Well, who knows. We can learn more about it from history documents about Bacon’s Rebellion which involved society classes’ problems and how did it started.