november 16, 2006 10:59pm
Soo... I'm home now.... and strangeness...... so, I called my folks and asked if they could come pick me up- lo and behold, they were in bed!! how's that work?! Well, Scott had somehow thought that I did have a ride home, when we really hadn't talked about that at all... in fact, I'm not sure why he thought I had a ride home.... so, I'm thinking, anyone here left that I know and feel comfortable getting a ride home from? nope.
so I call and scott's grumpy "i thought you had a ride... alright... i'll come pick you up...." and then i see john-o. "hi john-o!"
"hi" (by the way, the setting is outside of the PAC on the sidewalk)
"could i get a ride home from you?" I said it extremely quickly and proubly rather quietly 'cuz I'm feeling rather embarrased at this point, and i'm pretty sure i had my hands clasped togethor (or very nearly since I had stuff in 'em) in some sort of pleading supplication
"what?" he looked confused
"i'm sorry- could i-uhm.... possibly... get a... ride-home-from-you?" I'm nervous here... the most i ever say to him is "hey john-o! what's my name?" and "how are you?" and "haven't seen you in awhile!" and "well, see ya later! have a nice day!" pretty generic... however, since he's a member of the church (even if he is inactive... what a silly-billy....) i guess i feel more comfortable going out of my acquaintance comfort zone thingie.... did any of that make sense to you? well, anyhow... back to our regularly scheduled conversation...
john-o responds slowly, giving me a quizzical look "uhm... if you really need one"
i wince- why did i wince?? probably because i was embarrassed (it didn't help that when i was having difficulties in the restroom after the play i heard john-o come up to christine in the foyer and then a few seconds later hear her say "IBS... I-B-S... I..B...S...!!" and I can just imagine her fingerspelling it as she says it to Davy Jones knows who, hopefully not John-o 'cuz I don't know him well enough to have him know that... or maybe I do, and it's just different to have someone else tell someone that I've got Irritable Bowel Syndrome... well anyhow, I was embarrased enough from that, so putting myself in an embarrasing situation just maximized my embarrasment... ugh!) "yeah... I really do... need a ride" i feel like i'm apologizing
he looks at me slowly and narrows his eyes like he's thinking- gad-dungit! why do you have to take so long to answer! if you're gonna gimme a ride i need to call my step-dad and tell him that!! "where do you live?"
"about five minutes from here?"
..."which way?"
"that way" I point
"uhm... okay"
i apologize for asking and explain (not very well) that my step-dad didn't know he was supposed to pick me up and... i'm not sure i made sense.... so i quickly call scott back, "i'm just about to leave right now, cassanndre" he says
"no no no- i have a ride! you don't need to..... from who- from john-o.... John-O!... he's... a guy in the stake. yeah- i'm sure. yeah. okay. thanks. you're welcome. okay. bye" john-o's just watching me, and I'm praying that he doesn't think i'm some sort of crazy person who randomly asks people she doesn't know very well for rides and likes to take advantage of their driving skills...
I sigh in relief as we walk towards his car... wait as he unlocks it and climb in, moving a receipt on the passenger seat out onto the floor with its kindred reciepts.
"sorry, my car's a mess" everyone says that when there's just stuff lying around like that
"oh no- it's like my mom's"
silence. he backs up and turns in the direction to get out of the parking lot.
i tell him, as i had a few minutes earlier, that "i really enjoyed the play. it was pretty cool"
"it was stressful"
i look at him- "oh yeah- you had to learn it pretty quick didn't you?"
John-O nods. "yeah, in a week, on top of school and everything..." and he kind of mumbles there, or maybe my brain just short circuited 'cuz I could have sworn he said internet and classes or something... I directed him to the Savana neighborhood, and then tried to clarify his classes- online at greenriver? is that what you said? no? oh, highline, cool. yeah, that sounds like it would be hard to memorize all that with your classes. It was, he says. Silence. Again. I shift in my seat. This is sooo uncomfortable! I barely even know this guy- most of what I know from him is second-hand, like an older sibling that handed down their used clothes, friends have handed down information about him to me. How else would I know he's been inactive for a year? I didn't until tonight when Christine told me... ugh. I feel slow. And John-O is driving just how I feel- slow. And hesitant. I realze that I haven't told him what to do after turning into the neighborhood. I instruct him on where to turn next and that it's not for a little bit. "oh okay" he says and speeds up to a more steady pace.
in retrospect, i could have said many things to ease the tension. i could have pointed out that he got a goatee since the last time i saw him (i think he looks better w/ it that he did w/out it, actually... i always thought he looked kinda funny, but with the goatee thingie he looks... good-looking), I could have talked about how during the play I wondered if some of the pretend mess-ups were real ones. About how I missed a bit after the intermission (leaving out the fact that I was in the bathroom and my stomach hurt really really bad at that time) and what happened during the very beginning of act two? I could have commented on the British accents and confessed that I am hopeless when it comes to imitating accents... or that my brother is hopeless as well, except for he doesn't quite know it yet.
And to any of these, John-O would have responded with something rather funny to say, and I would have laughed and felt more at ease.
But of course, that didn't happen, because I was preoccupied at how peculiar it was to be getting a ride home from him. I felt slightly awkward when I was alone in the car with Blake once, and he's one of my really good friends. And plus, my mind was in a flurry and I really wasn't thinking clearly.
It ended just fine, John-O got confused and remarked on figuring out how to get to my house- "that's tricky" and pulled in. I thanked him much for the ride and told him I really appreciated it. "no problem" he says easily, and I began to believe it and have my anxiety alleviated.
Having typed that all out now, I am reasonably sure that when I asked for a ride home John-O didn't think I was some crazy person. I think he was just surprised. I mean, really, it's not like he was expecting it or anything. And my abrupt, anxious manner- yeah, that probably didn't help at all with clarifying things, it probably just surprised and confused him more. So I need not fear that he thinks I'm a freak, I think once he figured out what was going on, I was a normal, fairly unconfusing, person again. Oh goody.
That goatee thing works pretty well for him.
16 November 2006
in progress... a special community (??)
So, I currently am not enjoying how my community essay is going along (the one about greenriver and seminary), so I am going to see what will happen if I change my subject entirely. I am toying with the idea of writing about the community in the developmentally disabled section of the special education division of my high school. I will edit this post as I come along with my writing, so just be aware that what you see now may not be what it'll look like in a day or two (until I tell you that I'm done writing it and have moved on to another draft). Also, I have initialized the names for privacy purposes, and I have changed details here and there (and will change more along the way) for the same reason as well.
~Cassanndre
"No hitting, no kicking.... No hitting, no kicking!!" I look over at M. as he leans forward in his chair, looking assertively into F.'s eyes.
"Good job?" F. asks, his voice low and garbled as if he were a human sublifer underwater.
"No, not a good job." M. states firmly. Not with malice, but with a stern and clear voice. M. points to the small room to his right, "go bounce", he says as he stands up and positions his body as a wall between F. and the rest of the room, so F. has nowhere to go from his chair at his desk but to the small room with the large blue ball on which to bounce.
A strange sight, I always think when M. works on correcting F.'s inappropriate behavior. F. is on the tall side of average, while M. is on the rather short side, being no more than two inches taller than my 5 foot 2 inch self. Very strange that someone as small as M. can so effectively head off aggressive behavior from F. I wonder what F. was trying to do this time. And how did M. spot it? Was it F.'s body language and hand moving forward ever so slightly, as if testing the water, that got M.'s attention? How does stay so constantly aware of every little motion of F.'s all day long? That must be exhausting... Is it rewarding to him? How does he know what to do?
Those thoughts are ones I wonder every day as I hear the well known phrase of, "no hitting, no kicking". I am used to this phrase, though it does not cease to set me wondering.
What is F. thinking when he tries to assualt someone? [note- by "assualt", I mean behave in a way that could cause himself or someone else physical harm.] Is he aware that his behavior will cause another person (or himself) pain? What is he thinking? F.'s behavior is so different from behaviors that I normally exhibit or see exhibited in my family and friends- so much so that I can barely even fathom what his thought processes are. The one thing I am reasonably sure of is that when F. behaves in whatever manner he behaves in, it makes sense to him. It may not make any sense to me or M. why F. is more prone to assualting when M. drinks something in front of him, but I am quite positive that hitting and kicking are perfectly reasonable reactions to whatever stimuli it is that F. is reacting to- at least, they are perfectly reasonable to F. To M. however, F.'s behavioral specialist, and to every other employee in the special education department, it just doesn't make sense.
burp!
"T.! Did you just burp?" I ask, my eyebrows raised in suprise, chin tucked in, and lips pursed in a playful but persistant smile.
"I-oh-oh," T. slurs, his voice dipping and rising as most peoples' do as he lifts his shoulders with his palms raised up.
"You do too know, T." I give my best imitation of my mother's reproving look.
"Oh-oooooooo!!" T. swings his arm in a disappointed surrender, as if saying "dang it! you caught me!".
"what do you do when you burp, T.?" I suppress a smile, trying to be serious and also patient as T. processes.
"I-oh-oh." T. smiles. I love his smile. It's one of those smiles that I'm sure at first sight makes mothers light up with joy and pride for their child.
"You do too know." Pause. T. looks at me. Nothing. "Excuse me," I say and model the sign with my hands. "Say it or sign it, please."
"Oh-oooooo!" Just as I expected- the one word he should use the most, he usually refuses to use.
"Oh-oooooo!" I mimic, eyes and mouth wide open as I play along. I then sign EXCUSE-ME very clearly for T. "Do that, please, and then I'll stop bugging you about it."
T. stays in his seat, hands folded on his lap. He shakes his head briefly.
I sigh. "You know I'm not gonna leave you alone about it until you say 'Excuse me', so you should just say it now and you can go back to your snack."
A blank stare. Then, a few minutes later, after some coaxing, I see some movement. I almost missed it, but there it is, half-hidden beneath his desk, T. is signing EXUSE-ME.
"Is that 'excuse me', T.?" I ask in surprise and extreme interest, leaning forward in my seat.
T. shrugs, and smiles.
"That was, wasn't it?" I nod my head in approval.
T. hesitates, and then nods briefly.
"Yay!! Thank you, T. for saying EXCUSE-ME!! Good job! Hi-five!" T. sticks his hand up like a tree, and I reach forward and give him a hi-five.
16 November 2006
Today I worked with D. on the concepts of empty and not-empty. I know that he understands the concepts, because when he walks up to a bin to recycle that turns out being empty, he turns around and walks away. However, the fact that many thoughts, or concepts, like that can be expressed with things called words, I don't think he realizes. Oh, he knows that if I point to me he says "Cassy" and point to him is "D." and point to the teacher is "R." and to that one student, "I." "T." "S." etc. Although he usually needs some prodding along with that, as well.
I point to the recycling bin full with papers before D. picks it up.
"What's in there?"
D. looks up at me. "Doo-ga-doo-ga-doo-ga!" He mumbles; his pitch wavering like a broken stereo. I remember what Mrs. B. told me- that reaction can mean that he is confused and doesn't know what to do.
"You know this. Look in. What's in there?" D. looks in. "Something, right?" I show him the sign.
"suh-ding" D. repeats.
"Something, good! Show me with your hands; say it with your hands." I repeat the sign. D. repeats me.
GOOD-JOB I sign. "goo jah" D. says in response.
"Yes, good job!" We repeat the exercize. "Go ahead and empty it now." D. grabs the bin and empties it into the four foot high, round recycling receptacle. He then sets the bin down.
"What's in there, D.?"
He looks at me. "suh-ding." He's repeating what I told him before, exhibiting that he doesn't understand the meaning of the word.
Patiently I explain. "No, nothing. Nothing." And I show him the sign. "What's in there? D., look. What's in there? Nothing."
"nuh-ting"
"Good! Sign it with me, please." I show him the sign. "What's in there, D.?"
"nuh-ting!"
"Good job. Sign it please." He signs NOTHING.
"Good job! Hi-five!" D. smiles faintly and gives me a high-five.
I look around and spot a piece of paper. I grab it and stick it in the bin. D. makes a move to remove it to his receptacle. I sign, NO. STOP. WAIT. He stops and stands in front of me, looking at me, then the bin, then back at me. I point to the bin. "Look at it. What's in there?"
"nuh-ting" He's repeating what I said before again.
"No." I grab the piece of paper, show him, shake it around and drop it back in. "Something" I stress as I show him the sign.
"suh-ting" he says, and SOMETHING, he signs.
"Good! Good Job!" The inside part of my fingertips of my right hand touch my mouth and then my hand moves down until the back side lands flat in my left hand. GOOD JOB.
I take the paper out. "What's in there, D.?"
"suh-ting" He's still repeating.
"No, nothing." He says it. I sign it. D. signs it. I put the paper back in. "What's in there, now?"
"nuh-ting"
We work on this for a few minutes, until a magical moment. The paper is in the bin. "What's in there, D.?"
"suh-ting" he says. I take the paper out quickly.
"What's in there now?"
"nuh-ting!" D. says.
"Yes!!!!! Good job! Nothing's in there! Good!" And I give him a double high five. Progress.
However, I find ten minutes later when we work on the concept again, I have to repeat teaching it to him just as before. Except for one small detail. He gets it more quickly this time.
~Cassanndre
"No hitting, no kicking.... No hitting, no kicking!!" I look over at M. as he leans forward in his chair, looking assertively into F.'s eyes.
"Good job?" F. asks, his voice low and garbled as if he were a human sublifer underwater.
"No, not a good job." M. states firmly. Not with malice, but with a stern and clear voice. M. points to the small room to his right, "go bounce", he says as he stands up and positions his body as a wall between F. and the rest of the room, so F. has nowhere to go from his chair at his desk but to the small room with the large blue ball on which to bounce.
A strange sight, I always think when M. works on correcting F.'s inappropriate behavior. F. is on the tall side of average, while M. is on the rather short side, being no more than two inches taller than my 5 foot 2 inch self. Very strange that someone as small as M. can so effectively head off aggressive behavior from F. I wonder what F. was trying to do this time. And how did M. spot it? Was it F.'s body language and hand moving forward ever so slightly, as if testing the water, that got M.'s attention? How does stay so constantly aware of every little motion of F.'s all day long? That must be exhausting... Is it rewarding to him? How does he know what to do?
Those thoughts are ones I wonder every day as I hear the well known phrase of, "no hitting, no kicking". I am used to this phrase, though it does not cease to set me wondering.
What is F. thinking when he tries to assualt someone? [note- by "assualt", I mean behave in a way that could cause himself or someone else physical harm.] Is he aware that his behavior will cause another person (or himself) pain? What is he thinking? F.'s behavior is so different from behaviors that I normally exhibit or see exhibited in my family and friends- so much so that I can barely even fathom what his thought processes are. The one thing I am reasonably sure of is that when F. behaves in whatever manner he behaves in, it makes sense to him. It may not make any sense to me or M. why F. is more prone to assualting when M. drinks something in front of him, but I am quite positive that hitting and kicking are perfectly reasonable reactions to whatever stimuli it is that F. is reacting to- at least, they are perfectly reasonable to F. To M. however, F.'s behavioral specialist, and to every other employee in the special education department, it just doesn't make sense.
burp!
"T.! Did you just burp?" I ask, my eyebrows raised in suprise, chin tucked in, and lips pursed in a playful but persistant smile.
"I-oh-oh," T. slurs, his voice dipping and rising as most peoples' do as he lifts his shoulders with his palms raised up.
"You do too know, T." I give my best imitation of my mother's reproving look.
"Oh-oooooooo!!" T. swings his arm in a disappointed surrender, as if saying "dang it! you caught me!".
"what do you do when you burp, T.?" I suppress a smile, trying to be serious and also patient as T. processes.
"I-oh-oh." T. smiles. I love his smile. It's one of those smiles that I'm sure at first sight makes mothers light up with joy and pride for their child.
"You do too know." Pause. T. looks at me. Nothing. "Excuse me," I say and model the sign with my hands. "Say it or sign it, please."
"Oh-oooooo!" Just as I expected- the one word he should use the most, he usually refuses to use.
"Oh-oooooo!" I mimic, eyes and mouth wide open as I play along. I then sign EXCUSE-ME very clearly for T. "Do that, please, and then I'll stop bugging you about it."
T. stays in his seat, hands folded on his lap. He shakes his head briefly.
I sigh. "You know I'm not gonna leave you alone about it until you say 'Excuse me', so you should just say it now and you can go back to your snack."
A blank stare. Then, a few minutes later, after some coaxing, I see some movement. I almost missed it, but there it is, half-hidden beneath his desk, T. is signing EXUSE-ME.
"Is that 'excuse me', T.?" I ask in surprise and extreme interest, leaning forward in my seat.
T. shrugs, and smiles.
"That was, wasn't it?" I nod my head in approval.
T. hesitates, and then nods briefly.
"Yay!! Thank you, T. for saying EXCUSE-ME!! Good job! Hi-five!" T. sticks his hand up like a tree, and I reach forward and give him a hi-five.
16 November 2006
Today I worked with D. on the concepts of empty and not-empty. I know that he understands the concepts, because when he walks up to a bin to recycle that turns out being empty, he turns around and walks away. However, the fact that many thoughts, or concepts, like that can be expressed with things called words, I don't think he realizes. Oh, he knows that if I point to me he says "Cassy" and point to him is "D." and point to the teacher is "R." and to that one student, "I." "T." "S." etc. Although he usually needs some prodding along with that, as well.
I point to the recycling bin full with papers before D. picks it up.
"What's in there?"
D. looks up at me. "Doo-ga-doo-ga-doo-ga!" He mumbles; his pitch wavering like a broken stereo. I remember what Mrs. B. told me- that reaction can mean that he is confused and doesn't know what to do.
"You know this. Look in. What's in there?" D. looks in. "Something, right?" I show him the sign.
"suh-ding" D. repeats.
"Something, good! Show me with your hands; say it with your hands." I repeat the sign. D. repeats me.
GOOD-JOB I sign. "goo jah" D. says in response.
"Yes, good job!" We repeat the exercize. "Go ahead and empty it now." D. grabs the bin and empties it into the four foot high, round recycling receptacle. He then sets the bin down.
"What's in there, D.?"
He looks at me. "suh-ding." He's repeating what I told him before, exhibiting that he doesn't understand the meaning of the word.
Patiently I explain. "No, nothing. Nothing." And I show him the sign. "What's in there? D., look. What's in there? Nothing."
"nuh-ting"
"Good! Sign it with me, please." I show him the sign. "What's in there, D.?"
"nuh-ting!"
"Good job. Sign it please." He signs NOTHING.
"Good job! Hi-five!" D. smiles faintly and gives me a high-five.
I look around and spot a piece of paper. I grab it and stick it in the bin. D. makes a move to remove it to his receptacle. I sign, NO. STOP. WAIT. He stops and stands in front of me, looking at me, then the bin, then back at me. I point to the bin. "Look at it. What's in there?"
"nuh-ting" He's repeating what I said before again.
"No." I grab the piece of paper, show him, shake it around and drop it back in. "Something" I stress as I show him the sign.
"suh-ting" he says, and SOMETHING, he signs.
"Good! Good Job!" The inside part of my fingertips of my right hand touch my mouth and then my hand moves down until the back side lands flat in my left hand. GOOD JOB.
I take the paper out. "What's in there, D.?"
"suh-ting" He's still repeating.
"No, nothing." He says it. I sign it. D. signs it. I put the paper back in. "What's in there, now?"
"nuh-ting"
We work on this for a few minutes, until a magical moment. The paper is in the bin. "What's in there, D.?"
"suh-ting" he says. I take the paper out quickly.
"What's in there now?"
"nuh-ting!" D. says.
"Yes!!!!! Good job! Nothing's in there! Good!" And I give him a double high five. Progress.
However, I find ten minutes later when we work on the concept again, I have to repeat teaching it to him just as before. Except for one small detail. He gets it more quickly this time.
15 November 2006
native americans post civil war history mid-term essay
Cassanndre Sager
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Native American tribes after the Civil War
At the beginning of the Civil War the Native American Indians were still in possession of one half of the current United States territory. 10 years later the Native Americans were placed on reservations and it was government policy to get rid of the Native American culture in favor of having the Native Americans integrated into the American society.
The Native American tribes of the high plains were some of the most important tribes. They included the Blackfoot, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Comanche tribes. The culture of these tribes was overall the same- it had a strong basis in buffalo. These Native Americans lived by hunting the many buffalo that roamed the high plains. Buffalo provided the High Plains Native Americans with food, clothing, shelter, and fuel (for those tribes that didn’t have many trees around). The buffalo was also a religious symbol for these Native Americans.
The integration of “white” technology into the Native American culture had devastating effects. From the white men, Native Americans received horses, swords, and rifles. The horses and weapons enabled easier hunting of the buffalo for the Native Americans, which caused the amount of buffalo on the High Plains to decrease, thus endangering the Native American culture, independence, and even existence. (It should also be noted that with the white people came illnesses that the Native Americans had no immunity for, causing many deaths among the Native American tribes that interacted with white people.)
The United States army also contributed to the decrease of buffalo in the high plains. The army had no qualms about shooting buffalo for fun, and thusly killed many buffalo and leaving the carcasses behind, unused, and wasted. Without knowing it, the United States soldiers had engaged in the most expeditious manner of removing the Native Americans of the High Plains. Getting rid of the buffalo in the high plains would later show an obvious correlation to the decline of the Native American population and way of life.
The Nez Perce Indian tribe became well-known for its leader Chief Joseph and his outmaneuvering the US Army. Chief Joseph managed to lead his tribe over 1,000 miles of land without being captured by the United States army. This struggle, however, ended in 1877 when Chief Joseph surrendered in October. The Nez Perce Indian tribe was then moved to Oklahoma, where they became afflicted with malaria.
In the 1880s “whites” began to move in mass numbers to the plains. Many were greedy and wanted to solve what they called the “Indian problem”. The necessary solution which they saw was to get the Native Americans to be “civilized”. Native Americans were pushed to work on family farms to support themselves in the plains.
In 1887, the Dawes-Severalty Act was passed. It split up the Native American land into smaller “allotments”. This Act was considered to be a humanitarian-centered one, though its effects were opposite of those hoped for. The government tried to make certain that the Native Americans wouldn’t be tricked into selling their lands for low prices by enforcing a limit as to when they could sell their lands- after receiving an allotment, and Indian had to wait at least 25 years to sell it. The Severalty Act also allowed for government funding of Native American schooling and training. If the Native Americans lived “separate from any tribe” and “adopted the habits of civilized life”, the Dawes-Severalty Act gave them citizenship in the United States.
In the end, all of these factors successfully removed a large portion of Native American culture, thereby leaving them without a culture for support while trying to be assimilated into the American way of life. The Indians were ticked into giving up land for little money (despite the Dawes-Severalty Act). If they did keep their lands, they were taxed at unfair rates for them.
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Native American tribes after the Civil War
At the beginning of the Civil War the Native American Indians were still in possession of one half of the current United States territory. 10 years later the Native Americans were placed on reservations and it was government policy to get rid of the Native American culture in favor of having the Native Americans integrated into the American society.
The Native American tribes of the high plains were some of the most important tribes. They included the Blackfoot, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Comanche tribes. The culture of these tribes was overall the same- it had a strong basis in buffalo. These Native Americans lived by hunting the many buffalo that roamed the high plains. Buffalo provided the High Plains Native Americans with food, clothing, shelter, and fuel (for those tribes that didn’t have many trees around). The buffalo was also a religious symbol for these Native Americans.
The integration of “white” technology into the Native American culture had devastating effects. From the white men, Native Americans received horses, swords, and rifles. The horses and weapons enabled easier hunting of the buffalo for the Native Americans, which caused the amount of buffalo on the High Plains to decrease, thus endangering the Native American culture, independence, and even existence. (It should also be noted that with the white people came illnesses that the Native Americans had no immunity for, causing many deaths among the Native American tribes that interacted with white people.)
The United States army also contributed to the decrease of buffalo in the high plains. The army had no qualms about shooting buffalo for fun, and thusly killed many buffalo and leaving the carcasses behind, unused, and wasted. Without knowing it, the United States soldiers had engaged in the most expeditious manner of removing the Native Americans of the High Plains. Getting rid of the buffalo in the high plains would later show an obvious correlation to the decline of the Native American population and way of life.
The Nez Perce Indian tribe became well-known for its leader Chief Joseph and his outmaneuvering the US Army. Chief Joseph managed to lead his tribe over 1,000 miles of land without being captured by the United States army. This struggle, however, ended in 1877 when Chief Joseph surrendered in October. The Nez Perce Indian tribe was then moved to Oklahoma, where they became afflicted with malaria.
In the 1880s “whites” began to move in mass numbers to the plains. Many were greedy and wanted to solve what they called the “Indian problem”. The necessary solution which they saw was to get the Native Americans to be “civilized”. Native Americans were pushed to work on family farms to support themselves in the plains.
In 1887, the Dawes-Severalty Act was passed. It split up the Native American land into smaller “allotments”. This Act was considered to be a humanitarian-centered one, though its effects were opposite of those hoped for. The government tried to make certain that the Native Americans wouldn’t be tricked into selling their lands for low prices by enforcing a limit as to when they could sell their lands- after receiving an allotment, and Indian had to wait at least 25 years to sell it. The Severalty Act also allowed for government funding of Native American schooling and training. If the Native Americans lived “separate from any tribe” and “adopted the habits of civilized life”, the Dawes-Severalty Act gave them citizenship in the United States.
In the end, all of these factors successfully removed a large portion of Native American culture, thereby leaving them without a culture for support while trying to be assimilated into the American way of life. The Indians were ticked into giving up land for little money (despite the Dawes-Severalty Act). If they did keep their lands, they were taxed at unfair rates for them.
spanish-american war history mid-term essay
Cassanndre Sager
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Spanish American War essay
In the 1890s the United States public had developed a "soft spot" for the Spanish ruled Cuba. The media in the United States played on that emotion of the public with exaggerated tales of horrible treatment of Cuba from the Spanish. The American public bought into these stories and felt an urge to go into Cuba and free the Cubans from Spanish rule. President Cleveland, however, thought it unwise to go into Cuba and assist the Cubans in attaining independence from Spain. He did, though, recognize the benefits of Cuba being an independent nation, and thusly pressured Spain to release its hold on Cuba. Cleveland offered for the United States to act as a mediator between Cuba and Spain, but Spain was too prideful to let Cuba go.
In 1896 President McKinley came into the office. He had a more lax view of what the United States government should do to aid the Cubans. He warned Spain that Cuba would become even more adamant for independence and cause its governing country trouble, and that it would be best for Spain to act on the Cuban sentiments immediately. Spain ignored McKinley’s advice, and that was that. It should be noted, however, that McKinley did not lack sentiments for the Cubans situation- he donated money to the Red Cross Cuban relief fun anonymously. Despite that, he maintained the opinion that it would be best for all if the United States stayed out of the Spanish-Cuban conflict and hoped that Spain would come to its senses and realize what great things could happen if it would just negotiate with the Cuban nationalists.
Too bad for McKinley- in 1898 there began to riots in Havana. To help the situation, McKinley sent the USS Maine to Havana so that the American citizens there would be safe during this time of rioting. The cause of what happened next has remained a mystery- the Maine exploded. No one really knows the cause of its explosion, but Americans were ready to jump in and blame Spain, and no one checked that finger-pointing. This was where the Spanish American War started. The war was a result of the American public’s pity for the Cubans and growing disdain for the Spanish and their treatment over Cuba. There was very little chance of Spain and Cuba sitting down to talk things out now, and very little chance of the American public approving of such waiting. And so McKinley sent troops to “secure a full and final termination of hostilities in Cuba”. Quickly thereafter, Congress recognized Cuba as an independent country and had troops begin to drive the Spanish out of Cuba. Of course this angered Spain, and war was declared on the United States.
The consequences of the Spanish-American War were these: Cuba gained independence, Spain was still able to maintain some dignity from not just giving up Cuba, and the United States inherited a big problem- The Philippines.
When war had been declared on the United States by the Spanish, Commodore George Dewey of the navy’s Asiatic Squadron destroyed Spain’s fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines. This caused the United States to have to consider seriously what it was going to do with the Philippines, now that it was under US control. Allow the Filipino people to be independent? Or annex the little nation? Eventually the Philippines were annexed into the United States, which caused no little uproar from Filipino nationalists. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo (who had assisted the United States in defeating the Spanish at Manila Bay), the Filipino people opened out in a guerrilla war against the United States that would result in more tragedies than the Spanish-American War. The rules of war were not followed- sneak attacks and abuse of prisoners and other such atrocities were common in this war. Many American soldiers died. A commission sent in 1899 by McKinley to the Philippines expressed its opinion that the reason for the Filipino outrage was the nationalist Filipino leaders wanting independence. This commission told McKinley that it would be in the United States’ and the Philippines’ best interested if the US allowed the Philippines independence. This did not happen, however, because a second commission led by William H. Taft resulted in Taft becoming a governor over the Philippines, and pacifying the Filipino nationalists.
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Spanish American War essay
In the 1890s the United States public had developed a "soft spot" for the Spanish ruled Cuba. The media in the United States played on that emotion of the public with exaggerated tales of horrible treatment of Cuba from the Spanish. The American public bought into these stories and felt an urge to go into Cuba and free the Cubans from Spanish rule. President Cleveland, however, thought it unwise to go into Cuba and assist the Cubans in attaining independence from Spain. He did, though, recognize the benefits of Cuba being an independent nation, and thusly pressured Spain to release its hold on Cuba. Cleveland offered for the United States to act as a mediator between Cuba and Spain, but Spain was too prideful to let Cuba go.
In 1896 President McKinley came into the office. He had a more lax view of what the United States government should do to aid the Cubans. He warned Spain that Cuba would become even more adamant for independence and cause its governing country trouble, and that it would be best for Spain to act on the Cuban sentiments immediately. Spain ignored McKinley’s advice, and that was that. It should be noted, however, that McKinley did not lack sentiments for the Cubans situation- he donated money to the Red Cross Cuban relief fun anonymously. Despite that, he maintained the opinion that it would be best for all if the United States stayed out of the Spanish-Cuban conflict and hoped that Spain would come to its senses and realize what great things could happen if it would just negotiate with the Cuban nationalists.
Too bad for McKinley- in 1898 there began to riots in Havana. To help the situation, McKinley sent the USS Maine to Havana so that the American citizens there would be safe during this time of rioting. The cause of what happened next has remained a mystery- the Maine exploded. No one really knows the cause of its explosion, but Americans were ready to jump in and blame Spain, and no one checked that finger-pointing. This was where the Spanish American War started. The war was a result of the American public’s pity for the Cubans and growing disdain for the Spanish and their treatment over Cuba. There was very little chance of Spain and Cuba sitting down to talk things out now, and very little chance of the American public approving of such waiting. And so McKinley sent troops to “secure a full and final termination of hostilities in Cuba”. Quickly thereafter, Congress recognized Cuba as an independent country and had troops begin to drive the Spanish out of Cuba. Of course this angered Spain, and war was declared on the United States.
The consequences of the Spanish-American War were these: Cuba gained independence, Spain was still able to maintain some dignity from not just giving up Cuba, and the United States inherited a big problem- The Philippines.
When war had been declared on the United States by the Spanish, Commodore George Dewey of the navy’s Asiatic Squadron destroyed Spain’s fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines. This caused the United States to have to consider seriously what it was going to do with the Philippines, now that it was under US control. Allow the Filipino people to be independent? Or annex the little nation? Eventually the Philippines were annexed into the United States, which caused no little uproar from Filipino nationalists. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo (who had assisted the United States in defeating the Spanish at Manila Bay), the Filipino people opened out in a guerrilla war against the United States that would result in more tragedies than the Spanish-American War. The rules of war were not followed- sneak attacks and abuse of prisoners and other such atrocities were common in this war. Many American soldiers died. A commission sent in 1899 by McKinley to the Philippines expressed its opinion that the reason for the Filipino outrage was the nationalist Filipino leaders wanting independence. This commission told McKinley that it would be in the United States’ and the Philippines’ best interested if the US allowed the Philippines independence. This did not happen, however, because a second commission led by William H. Taft resulted in Taft becoming a governor over the Philippines, and pacifying the Filipino nationalists.
populist history mid-term essay
Cassanndre Sager
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Populist Essay
First came the Agricultural Depression, then the Alliance Movement, and from that the Populist, or Peoples', Movement was born. The Populist movement was a direct descendant of the farmers' despair from the agricultural depression. The farmers formed alliances in the hopes of extending their cause to the attention of the public and especially the government, with the goal to have their situations bettered. As these farmers' alliances picked up speed, they joined into a larger group, which- in the search of more support- extended its opinions to other matters in America's society.
The Alliance Movement was born of farmers' alliances- which were basically clubs of farmers that got together to support each other and make their problems known. The Knights of Reliance were a well-known farmer's alliance. It originated in Lampasas County, Texas in the late 1870s. It began to extend its reach to northeastern Texas as the Farmer's Alliance. Bu 1885, the Farmer's Alliance had gained popularity and swept over the cotton states.
The Alliances woul buy farm supplies in mass numbers and then sell the supplies to farmers at reasonable prices. This was a great manuever for saving farmers money in a time when money was tight and prices high.
These Alliance members who were considered socioeconomic radicals by others, had differing ideas of policies that the Alliance should support. However, they all agreed on a few key points. Firstly, agricultural goods did not sell for high enough prices. Secondly, transportation prices were too low. And Thirdly, the United States' financial system was messed up. Also, most every Alliance member recognized the need to have "political action" on their behalf if their cause was to succeed.
In 1890 the Alliances started doing a lot of campaining and got really good results in the elections. People were elected for government positions who were for improving the famers' plight.
In 1892 the Peoples', or Populist, Party was formed at a meeting in St. Louis. A few months laer there was a national convention in Omaha which consisted of farm leaders, representatives from the Knights of Labor, and other proffesional reformers. At this meeting Gerneral James B. Weaver (of Iowa) was nominated the president of the Peoples' Party. General Weaver wrote a platform which stated what the people of the Populist Party desired, and what the goal of the Party was. This platform included:
-having a "graduated income tax"
-national ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones and
-a "subtreasury plan"
The subtreasury plan outlined a plan in which the government would pay greenback loans to farmers, which would be "secured by crops held in storage in federal warehouses" (The American Nation V2 (P). Carnes & Garraty. 2006. Pearson Education Inc.). When prices of crops rose, the farmers would sell their crops and so could pay their loans. The subtreasury plan also desired an unlimited number of silver coins to be released and for the supply of money to be increased to the point where there was at least 50 cents per capita.
The Populist Party needed to get more support in order to have their cause realized. It needed both government and industrial workers' support and black farmers' support. In order to achieve more government response, the Populist Party supported initiative and referandum procedures and also supported the idea of electing senators by popular vote. To get the workers' support, the Party was against Pinkerton detectives being used in labor disputes, and supported the 8-hour day and restricting "undesirable" immigration. The plan to get help from Black Farmers was to support civil rights, which would allow the black farmers to vote, thus giving them a political voice which could be added to the Populist cause. These black farmers were pretty ready to support the Populists. They had had a Colored Alliance for awhile, and had even sent representatives to the Populist meeting in St. Louis.
The Populist Party's overall views was that they were a "victimized majority"- the majority of people agreed with them and suffered as they did, however, they just weren't heard as well as the minorities. They were ambivalent about the free enterprise system, and also believed that socio-economic problems weren't caused by a messed-up system, but rather by people being selfish and messing things up.
Two famous Populist Leaders were Tom Watson and Ignatius Donnelly. Watson was a congressman from Georgia and was known for his temper. Donnelly was known as the "Minnesota Sage" and claimed to be well educated about science, economics, and Shakespeare. Watson ended up loosing his congress seat, and had a basically uneventful Populist political life afterward. Donelly wanted to be elected the governor of Minnesota. He had gained some recognition having written a book called The Golden Bottle, but desired to have an extremely lively campaign to assist his being voted for as governor. In this campaign, he made 150 speeches! (Can you say "overzealous"?) Unfortunately for him, Donnelly ended up loosing the election.
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Populist Essay
First came the Agricultural Depression, then the Alliance Movement, and from that the Populist, or Peoples', Movement was born. The Populist movement was a direct descendant of the farmers' despair from the agricultural depression. The farmers formed alliances in the hopes of extending their cause to the attention of the public and especially the government, with the goal to have their situations bettered. As these farmers' alliances picked up speed, they joined into a larger group, which- in the search of more support- extended its opinions to other matters in America's society.
The Alliance Movement was born of farmers' alliances- which were basically clubs of farmers that got together to support each other and make their problems known. The Knights of Reliance were a well-known farmer's alliance. It originated in Lampasas County, Texas in the late 1870s. It began to extend its reach to northeastern Texas as the Farmer's Alliance. Bu 1885, the Farmer's Alliance had gained popularity and swept over the cotton states.
The Alliances woul buy farm supplies in mass numbers and then sell the supplies to farmers at reasonable prices. This was a great manuever for saving farmers money in a time when money was tight and prices high.
These Alliance members who were considered socioeconomic radicals by others, had differing ideas of policies that the Alliance should support. However, they all agreed on a few key points. Firstly, agricultural goods did not sell for high enough prices. Secondly, transportation prices were too low. And Thirdly, the United States' financial system was messed up. Also, most every Alliance member recognized the need to have "political action" on their behalf if their cause was to succeed.
In 1890 the Alliances started doing a lot of campaining and got really good results in the elections. People were elected for government positions who were for improving the famers' plight.
In 1892 the Peoples', or Populist, Party was formed at a meeting in St. Louis. A few months laer there was a national convention in Omaha which consisted of farm leaders, representatives from the Knights of Labor, and other proffesional reformers. At this meeting Gerneral James B. Weaver (of Iowa) was nominated the president of the Peoples' Party. General Weaver wrote a platform which stated what the people of the Populist Party desired, and what the goal of the Party was. This platform included:
-having a "graduated income tax"
-national ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones and
-a "subtreasury plan"
The subtreasury plan outlined a plan in which the government would pay greenback loans to farmers, which would be "secured by crops held in storage in federal warehouses" (The American Nation V2 (P). Carnes & Garraty. 2006. Pearson Education Inc.). When prices of crops rose, the farmers would sell their crops and so could pay their loans. The subtreasury plan also desired an unlimited number of silver coins to be released and for the supply of money to be increased to the point where there was at least 50 cents per capita.
The Populist Party needed to get more support in order to have their cause realized. It needed both government and industrial workers' support and black farmers' support. In order to achieve more government response, the Populist Party supported initiative and referandum procedures and also supported the idea of electing senators by popular vote. To get the workers' support, the Party was against Pinkerton detectives being used in labor disputes, and supported the 8-hour day and restricting "undesirable" immigration. The plan to get help from Black Farmers was to support civil rights, which would allow the black farmers to vote, thus giving them a political voice which could be added to the Populist cause. These black farmers were pretty ready to support the Populists. They had had a Colored Alliance for awhile, and had even sent representatives to the Populist meeting in St. Louis.
The Populist Party's overall views was that they were a "victimized majority"- the majority of people agreed with them and suffered as they did, however, they just weren't heard as well as the minorities. They were ambivalent about the free enterprise system, and also believed that socio-economic problems weren't caused by a messed-up system, but rather by people being selfish and messing things up.
Two famous Populist Leaders were Tom Watson and Ignatius Donnelly. Watson was a congressman from Georgia and was known for his temper. Donnelly was known as the "Minnesota Sage" and claimed to be well educated about science, economics, and Shakespeare. Watson ended up loosing his congress seat, and had a basically uneventful Populist political life afterward. Donelly wanted to be elected the governor of Minnesota. He had gained some recognition having written a book called The Golden Bottle, but desired to have an extremely lively campaign to assist his being voted for as governor. In this campaign, he made 150 speeches! (Can you say "overzealous"?) Unfortunately for him, Donnelly ended up loosing the election.
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