Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Last two days of class 4/23 and 4/24

yesterday in class we a little taste of what it was actually like to live back then in the west and in a soddie house. There was a stand, sit and smell station. At the stand, we got to go into a space about as big as the soddies back then and actually experience what it would be like, and how little of space you had to work with. At the sit station, you had to sit for a minute straight without moving while your picture was taken to represent what they had to do back in the early 1900's in order to get a picture, which is probably why most people didn't smile. At the smell station there were two bags full of grass and soil and we each smelled it and wrote what we thought. It was pretty distinct, not necessarily a bad smell, just very strong. Today in class, we worked on our presentations which we will present friday to the entrepreneurs who we will try to sell our product too. My product is the steel plow. I learned that it was very different from the old wooden one, and actually 10,000 of them were sold in a matter of two or three years.

Monday, April 22, 2013

"Founding Father Quest" Reflection

I just finished The "Founding Father" Quest and thought it was pretty straight forward, but did make me think. I always have been interested in messages hidden within paintings, and it was interesting to see how the portrait of George Washington(the painting that the quest focused on) had little meanings and messages all throughout it. In my analysis of the quest that I sent in, I focused on the curtains behind Washington. It was said that the curtains portrayed wealth, and power. Washington wanted to add these to his painting to show that he was an important figure. As you can see in the painting below the curtains are Incorporated into the painting in a way that you don't really notice them, yet they display a casual background for Washington, and at the same time represent his wealth and power. This made me realize that after looking at some other paintings for a while, there are always at least one or two messages or meanings that you wouldn't be able to take away from first glance. The overall impact of the quest did make me more open to analyzing and looking further more into paintings that I see in the future.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Class Skit Reflections and Manifest Destiny Analysis

Today in class we pared up with a partner and answered a few questions on the board about Manifest Destiny. We then looked at a few impressive pieces of art that were drawn based on the movement west. We then had to make skits/dialogues about the Manifest Destiny. Sam and I have not yet presented, which isn't really a big deal but it was funny to see everyone get up in front of the class and present their little "skits". I think that Manifest Destiny was achieved by the U.S. We successfully have made the western part of the United States a place to live and operate. It wasn't easy starting off, because most of the land was just empty prairies and land, but over the years it became a popular destination which is mainly due to the Erie Canal.  The canal brought people to the west, also bringing business and new opportunities. Overall, the best evidence of the success of Manifest Destiny is that currently the west of the U.S. is up and running today.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Overall Impact of the Erie Canal

The impact of the Erie Canal on the U.S was it gave the country a new cheaper, quicker, and more popular form of transportation. The Canal was something nobody had ever seen before, it allowed people to explore the West and start new lives. It also helped grow business and allow businesses to spread all throughout the West, transporting goods at a cheaper cost compared to land. The impact was positive. It did have some down sides, like conveying different diseases or sometimes flooding but overall it gave the U.S. a new way of interacting both socially and economically. This was probably the biggest cause of westward expansion because it was that convenient. Families could literally just hop on the canal and travel west to start a completely new life. They were allowed the chance to start over and because the Erie Canal made transportation so easy, most of the people accepted the offer.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Snap Debate 4/2/13

Today in class we all were split into groups based on what we thought was the most significant event during the lead up of the war of 1812. I was in the group the Chesapeake Affair. The Chesapeake Affair was when 4 of the British's navy soldiers (3 of which were American) had been stolen and impressed by the British. They ended up escaping back to America and the British went as far as shooting at the Chesapeake ship, which was holding the stolen soldiers. I believed this was the most important event because this was the first real violent interaction between the U.S. and the British. It was also the only actually physical attack on the Americans too. The Impressment was similar, it just discussed how Britain was snatching people randomly and forcing them to be apart of their navy, which is what happened in the Chesapeake Affair. The Orders in Council was the discussion of how the English cut off all trade between America and France. This was very significant but not as close to the Chesapeake Affair because again this was the first real physical altercation. Last was the Incitement. This was when Britain was arming and organizing the indians west of the Appalachian Mountains and setting them up to attack the U.S. A lot of people argued this was most significant because it was the most up close and personal attack between the two countries but I think it wasn't something that couldn't have been taken care of. If we really wanted too I'm sure we could've handled the indians where as the ship attack was random and nobody even saw it coming which is why it was more dangerous, and significant.