Week Four - The Origins of Empire: The US in the World
Share an idea or two from this week's reading. What was most interesting to you? What was most strange? How does the reading this week fit into issues and discussions we have had in this class?
The most interesting reading to me was Aguinaldo's case as he speaks for Filipinos and the treatment they received in the United States. The Filipinos group were exploited to discrimination and racism. They received unfair treatment and judgement upon arrival in the US. The most intriguing part was the quote the speaker mentioned in the beginning of the excerpt. The quote explains the importance of kindness as it is more essential than winning a battle. This was intriguing as the Filipinos believed that respect was more important than alliances. They believed that the US should be more accepting of the Filipinos as the US seek their help for beneficial reasoning. This connects to the discussion from class about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Both topics are similar as they are different ethic groups that benefit the US economically; although they are not treated with the decency of respect. They both receive unfair judgement and treatment from the US.
There was a quote in Aguinaldo Case that to me is recent to what we have been talking about in class and one of the main points we go over in class right now. " 'Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood' " What this is trying to say is that it is better to be at least a decent human being to give than to have power and riches. Just like the railroads. When they became successful everyone had to pay money if they wanted to transport items on them. Cornelious was making a ton of money with the railroad. When he died he had over $100 million and he left it to his son. At least Cornelious left it to his son, so he was a good person for that but he could of left some with charity an his son. There were some people who had millions of dollars that died and they thought the money would stay with them. I think this is telling you to always remember to be a good person, and not a stubborn, rich, in power one.
I found the most interesting reading to be Aguinaldo's case. "Did you lay down your arms when you, too, were rebels, and the English under good King George demanded your submission? How in the name of all that is serious do you demand that we shall do what you, being rebels, refused to do?" Throughout the reading there were multiple attempts at the author drawing parallels between, at the time, present day Philippines and the founding and beginning of the United States. While they are completely separate events of different areas of the world and circumstances, they are at the very least similar in the way of of aspiration. The Filipino people wanted the right and opportunity to rule themselves. The author's attempt at finding common ground was both admirable and an interesting read. This fits with what we've previously discussed in class in the way of exclusion. Unfortunate for the Filipino people and for many other races and cultures of the time; they were not Anglo-Saxons.
In the article Aguinaldo’s Case I found the comparison of the Philippines to America at the time of the war of independence to be quite compelling. The author poses a rhetorical question; "did you lay down your arms when you, too, were rebels, and the English under good King George demanded your submission?” Which is compelling since Americans viewed the war of independence as a battle they would not loose and pride themselves on winning and becoming an independent nation. By comparing the two countries it evokes the emotion and creates a better understanding of the emotional value placed on America controlling the Philippines.
I found the other three articles that showed the American perspective on international relations to be quite different from the readings from last week. When learning about the struggles in new industrialized America we heard little about religion; workers joined unions and political parties not churches. Hearing how much emphasis the articles put on Christianity was shocking, it was as if religion had be re inserted in government affairs and was use to determine actions made by the U.S government.
I found the First Open Door note from John Hay to be interesting. I enjoyed the idea that the United States tried to bring equality within the commerce of China for all other nations that had spheres of influence in China. I found it a little strange though that some nations were reluctant to take part in this Open Door policy. Many nations were hesitant for taking part in this policy and were waiting to see if other nations were willing to take part in it. It was sad to see that "subsequent events lead to the failure of the Open Door principle." I think this has to do with our class discussions because it talks about another step the United States took as it progressed. Discrimination was around on many occasions during this time and many people didn't like it. The United States tried to remove international discrimination in commerce with the Open Door Policy, but it unfortunately failed.
From the "Aguinaldo Case", I found this quote to be quite interesting: "'Lay down your arms', you say. Did you lay down your arms when you, too, were rebels, and the English under good King George demanded your submission? How in the name of all that is serious do you demand that we shall do what you, being rebels, refused to do?" I think that Aguinaldo makes a pretty good point. The United States was not being fair to the Filipino at all. The U.S. was keeping them from having their own liberty. We treated them poorly and accused them of being savages. We said that they were not fit to run their own government. We wouldn't even give them the opportunity to form their own government. Even though, we had been given the opportunity by the English government to form our own government. I really think we should have treated them better than we did. This has to do with what we have discussed in class about the discrimination against different people groups that came to our country, such as with the Chinese Exclusion Act.
I enjoyed reading The Women and Temperance, because I used to believe women in this time danced around their arguments or polished their speech in order not to offend too badly, but I was shocked to read such a strong argument. It interested me how smart these women are. They notice the effects of drinking-- loss of money and abuse-- and they speak out against it. They do not simply take their beatings and disrespect, they band together, just as the men were constantly doing at this time, and they fight for a solution. We haven't discussed much about women yet, but their anger and frustration is brewing and very soon we will see their uprising coming along.
The most interesting reading this week, in my opinion was the “Our Country” reading. I found this one most fascinating and also relatable to what we have been discussing in class. There is one quote throughout the reading that really stood out to me, “wealth behind it-the representative, let us hope, of the largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest civilization-having developed peculiarly aggressive traits calculated to impress its institutions upon mankind, will spread itself over the earth” this quote to me was very meaningful and powerful to what the writer was talking about. In class, we talked about the farmers revolt and also the farmers alliance and how they both came together with money to allow them the farmers to buy the needed equipment, impressing its institutions to the government by finding a way to fix a problem of wealth that the government wouldn't fix.
What I thought was most interesting in the reading "Aguinaldo's Case" was that the Filipinos were a very respectful nation that would accept those from the United States in. As they stated, they would be at their feet and would obey their rules. Their biggest purpose towards all of it was liberty and equality The strange part about the reading was that even though they respected the men of the United States, the U.S. continued to show off their forceful nature and bring along warfare. It brings back the discussion about how the Chinese were treated so horribly, even though they worked on the creation of the railroad. They were not even seen as humans, from what was said in class
The reading I found most interesting was "Women and Temperance" by Fances Willard. In class, we discussed how women during the 19th century were denied privileges such as the right to vote and were rarely given a voice. Founded in 1874, the Women's Christian Temperance Union became one of the largest and most influential women's group, with almost 150,000 members. These women fought for the right to vote, and spoke out in favor of prohibition, claiming that drinking led to abusive husbands. I loved that during a time when women were given little to no power, there were still groups fighting to give women a voice and throw out the idea that women are weak and cannot bring about social reform.
I found the section in class about women during the 19th/20th century highly interesting. It seems to repeat itself in today's society. In 1874, the Women's Christian Temperance Union became the largest and most influencing women's group. They fought for equal rights, social reform, and against discrimination. Today, women are basically fighting for the same thing. They fight for no wage gaps, equal rights, and discrimination against women. They are repeating what the women of the late 19th/early 20th century did to change lives for the better, which I found highly intriguing.
Aguinaldo's Case Against the United States was the most interesting reading to me. It shows the hypocrisy that the United States had when it came to there own ideas about liberty and freedom but still subjugated and oppressed other nations one example being the Philippines.Not only that but it shows how much potential the United States has in helping and influencing a country but yet never truly takes the initiative to do so properly which happens still today in modern times.
When reading "Aguinaldo's Case", I found it shocking how similar the Philippine situation was to the American struggle for freedom. We were both under the rule of another nation, and wanted nothing more than to govern ourselves as we see fit. The Filipinos had faith in the U.S., however they were only greeted with warfare. The U.S. has a tendency to do this with all people it encounters: Chinese, African Americans, Japanese, Native Americans and many others. I believe this is the reason that we are still experiencing racial and cultural disputes today.
In reading the case put for by Aguinaldo, I see how the American people were not at all fair with how they treated the Filipino people and their nation. Said people were willing to lay themselves at the feet of their "American Saviors" who then tread upon the people they were meant to save. This is somewhat similar to how Britain treated America, with the Americans being seen as lesser people. And this turn of events could have been avoided with a bit more thought and not jumping into action
From this week’s readings, I found that the most interesting reading was “Aguinaldo’s Case Against the United States”. What I found most intriguing was that this excerpt gave insight into the views and opinions of a Filipino and I’m assuming that the individual who wrote this piece represented most of the Filipino community too. “Give us the chance; treat us exactly as you demanded to be treated at the hands of England, when you rebelled against her autocratic methods…” (Aguinaldo, 2). The Filipino community wants the chance to prove that they can govern themselves and are able to stand on their own. They compare themselves to Japan by saying that Japan didn’t seem as though they could govern themselves many years ago but they proved themselves. This relates to a lot of what we are discussing in class as we witness many different groups or institutions fighting for power and independence.
The reading I found most interesting was "Our Country". It is very different to read the way this man was thinking in 1885. He basically talks about every race representing its own great idea. Apparently he believes that the Anglo-Saxons represent civil liberty and the purest form of christianity. Basically stating that the Anglo-Saxon race is the superior race. He even brings up Darwin to infer that in a survival of the fittest between the races, the Anglo-Saxons would come out on top. I think that this relates to everything we have been talking about and current events. A belief of superiority in any race, is a road to pain and conflict.
The 'Open Door Note' was really laughable because while America was striving for equality for themselves within a leased Chinese port, the Asian-Americans were treated horribly within their own country. While I'm not sure how much of a factor this was towards the note being applied, I believe that Hay was doing the right thing. In another twist of irony, they wanted to make sure that they weren't charged more than other countries for usage of railroads and the lines of the railroads, while the farmers of AMERICA had that very same issue being forced upon them. Yet another example of the people in the political atmosphere not being aware of whats going on below them on earth.
The reading that I found the most interesting this week was "Women and Temperance" since we discussed a great deal about how women were wanting to move towards temperance since they believed that no alcohol would make for a better home life for their families. Since the men in those families would take most in not all of their wages and spend it on alcohol instead of necessities like food and clothes to provide their family. I also found it interesting how in the introduction to this piece it says that "Women, insisted Francis Willard, the groups president, must abandon the idea that "weakness" and dependence were their nature" which means that even the president of this women's organization still believed that women should still be submissive when they stand up for what they believed in.
The reading that I found really interesting was "Aguinaldo Case against the United States". The reason for this is because it shows how the views of the Filipino matter. It shows how they are being treated different how the want Americans to wake up and notice this. America fought for its freedom yet there are some people who can still not achieve this. Just like Americans proved that they can govern their selves Filipinos want to prove the same thing and finally be free. We were just being hipocrits we had something and yet we could not offer it back to those who needed it. What's strange to me is that Americans were not willing to give them their freedom but yet we understood how hard it was to not have freedom. This all relates to the class disscussions we have we talk about the iniequality that America was facing with work.
The reading that I found most interesting was, "Steong our Country." It said, "Every race which has deeply impressed itself on the human family has been the representative of some great idea-one or more-which had given direction to the nation's life and form to its civilization." I strongly agree with this statement. The reading covers how America would of not been shaped if it wasn't for all the different cultures from Greeks to Hebrews involving their diversity and ideas to all be adopted within every race. It was interesting how it pointed out that the Anglo-Saxons have always been and more than likely, always will be the most powerful; however, that with time things will slowly change. Which is exactly what is happening today in 2017.
The Women and Temperance reading particularly resonated with me. In a time where women did not have a strong voice in the community, they formed their own outlet to speak on issues that mattered to them and affected them. It's interesting to see how the women were able to come together over similar views and experiences. Although I did not agree with their platform as it allows religious influence into the government which is a violation of our constitution, I am amazed that they were actually successful despite that fact. Their entire platform was based off what is and isn't deemed "Godly," and as history shows, there was eventually a prohibition on alcohol. I'm also slightly intrigued how they were not an all inclusive group and did not allow people of color into their organization. One would think given the circumstances they would have accepted any and all voices of women to come together on this issue. In one section of the reading, Willard quotes "There is neither male nor female in Jesus Christ." which I believe is touching on the beginning of feminist ideals, though they are not entirely there, yet.
Jane Addams was most interesting to me. Even though we only talked on what she did briefly, she must have been well before her time. she must have faced scrutiny for opening a hull house and took in immigrant families, those that society deemed unworthy and undesirable. Im sure she must have changed many of those immigrants lives and futures.
The "women and temperance" reading was the most interesting to me. It showed me the power of women in a time when women's opinions weren't always cared about or looked at. They still stood up for what they believed and took a stand. Their entire movement was centered around what the deemed to be "godly". They knew that alcohol would only have negative affects on their families. Just like we talked about in class, they could have been protecting their families against men spending too much money on alcohol or against potential domestic violence. More than anything, it was enlightening to me to see women standing up for themselves and starting this movement. Before this past week in class and in reading this text, I never knew women had a substantial movement like this. - Connor Hawkins
Out of all the readings given, i found the reading by Josiah Strong, " Our Country" to be the most interesting. During that time, the world was built on religion, and it is understandable that strong views the world to function as he says. But I find it strange that he is so committed into believing that. He does not even consider that civilization could be built and sustained without religion, which seems very ignorant of him to do so. If I was in his position making the writing he wrote, I would have covered the possibility of civilization functioning without religion (whether or not it is possible), which would have improved his writing
I was most interesting in the reading "Women and Temperance". Women did not have the right to vote during that time and their opinions about the laws were unimportant. I am impressed that the women decided to come together and establish the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) despite how people felt about their voices being heard. WCTU were consisted of christian women who did not believe in the use of alcohol because, like we talked about in class, it causes violence and abuse in the household. Men also spent money at bars to drink which results in less income for the household. Its amazing how much things has changed from then to today. Women can now be heard because their voices matter too.
The most interesting reading to me was Aguinaldo's case as he speaks for Filipinos and the treatment they received in the United States. The Filipinos group were exploited to discrimination and racism. They received unfair treatment and judgement upon arrival in the US. The most intriguing part was the quote the speaker mentioned in the beginning of the excerpt. The quote explains the importance of kindness as it is more essential than winning a battle. This was intriguing as the Filipinos believed that respect was more important than alliances. They believed that the US should be more accepting of the Filipinos as the US seek their help for beneficial reasoning. This connects to the discussion from class about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Both topics are similar as they are different ethic groups that benefit the US economically; although they are not treated with the decency of respect. They both receive unfair judgement and treatment from the US.
ReplyDeleteThere was a quote in Aguinaldo Case that to me is recent to what we have been talking about in class and one of the main points we go over in class right now. " 'Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood' " What this is trying to say is that it is better to be at least a decent human being to give than to have power and riches. Just like the railroads. When they became successful everyone had to pay money if they wanted to transport items on them. Cornelious was making a ton of money with the railroad. When he died he had over $100 million and he left it to his son. At least Cornelious left it to his son, so he was a good person for that but he could of left some with charity an his son. There were some people who had millions of dollars that died and they thought the money would stay with them. I think this is telling you to always remember to be a good person, and not a stubborn, rich, in power one.
ReplyDeleteI found the most interesting reading to be Aguinaldo's case. "Did you lay down your arms when you, too, were rebels, and the English under good King George demanded your submission? How in the name of all that is serious do you demand that we shall do what you, being rebels, refused to do?" Throughout the reading there were multiple attempts at the author drawing parallels between, at the time, present day Philippines and the founding and beginning of the United States. While they are completely separate events of different areas of the world and circumstances, they are at the very least similar in the way of of aspiration. The Filipino people wanted the right and opportunity to rule themselves. The author's attempt at finding common ground was both admirable and an interesting read. This fits with what we've previously discussed in class in the way of exclusion. Unfortunate for the Filipino people and for many other races and cultures of the time; they were not Anglo-Saxons.
ReplyDeleteIn the article Aguinaldo’s Case I found the comparison of the Philippines to America at the time of the war of independence to be quite compelling. The author poses a rhetorical question; "did you lay down your arms when you, too, were rebels, and the English under good King George demanded your submission?” Which is compelling since Americans viewed the war of independence as a battle they would not loose and pride themselves on winning and becoming an independent nation. By comparing the two countries it evokes the emotion and creates a better understanding of the emotional value placed on America controlling the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteI found the other three articles that showed the American perspective on international relations to be quite different from the readings from last week. When learning about the struggles in new industrialized America we heard little about religion; workers joined unions and political parties not churches. Hearing how much emphasis the articles put on Christianity was shocking, it was as if religion had be re inserted in government affairs and was use to determine actions made by the U.S government.
I found the First Open Door note from John Hay to be interesting. I enjoyed the idea that the United States tried to bring equality within the commerce of China for all other nations that had spheres of influence in China. I found it a little strange though that some nations were reluctant to take part in this Open Door policy. Many nations were hesitant for taking part in this policy and were waiting to see if other nations were willing to take part in it. It was sad to see that "subsequent events lead to the failure of the Open Door principle." I think this has to do with our class discussions because it talks about another step the United States took as it progressed. Discrimination was around on many occasions during this time and many people didn't like it. The United States tried to remove international discrimination in commerce with the Open Door Policy, but it unfortunately failed.
ReplyDeleteFrom the "Aguinaldo Case", I found this quote to be quite interesting: "'Lay down your arms', you say. Did you lay down your arms when you, too, were rebels, and the English under good King George demanded your submission? How in the name of all that is serious do you demand that we shall do what you, being rebels, refused to do?" I think that Aguinaldo makes a pretty good point. The United States was not being fair to the Filipino at all. The U.S. was keeping them from having their own liberty. We treated them poorly and accused them of being savages. We said that they were not fit to run their own government. We wouldn't even give them the opportunity to form their own government. Even though, we had been given the opportunity by the English government to form our own government. I really think we should have treated them better than we did. This has to do with what we have discussed in class about the discrimination against different people groups that came to our country, such as with the Chinese Exclusion Act.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading The Women and Temperance, because I used to believe women in this time danced around their arguments or polished their speech in order not to offend too badly, but I was shocked to read such a strong argument. It interested me how smart these women are. They notice the effects of drinking-- loss of money and abuse-- and they speak out against it. They do not simply take their beatings and disrespect, they band together, just as the men were constantly doing at this time, and they fight for a solution. We haven't discussed much about women yet, but their anger and frustration is brewing and very soon we will see their uprising coming along.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting reading this week, in my opinion was the “Our Country” reading. I found this one most fascinating and also relatable to what we have been discussing in class. There is one quote throughout the reading that really stood out to me, “wealth behind it-the representative, let us hope, of the largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest civilization-having developed peculiarly aggressive traits calculated to impress its institutions upon mankind, will spread itself over the earth” this quote to me was very meaningful and powerful to what the writer was talking about. In class, we talked about the farmers revolt and also the farmers alliance and how they both came together with money to allow them the farmers to buy the needed equipment, impressing its institutions to the government by finding a way to fix a problem of wealth that the government wouldn't fix.
ReplyDeleteWhat I thought was most interesting in the reading "Aguinaldo's Case" was that the Filipinos were a very respectful nation that would accept those from the United States in. As they stated, they would be at their feet and would obey their rules. Their biggest purpose towards all of it was liberty and equality The strange part about the reading was that even though they respected the men of the United States, the U.S. continued to show off their forceful nature and bring along warfare. It brings back the discussion about how the Chinese were treated so horribly, even though they worked on the creation of the railroad. They were not even seen as humans, from what was said in class
ReplyDeleteThe reading I found most interesting was "Women and Temperance" by Fances Willard. In class, we discussed how women during the 19th century were denied privileges such as the right to vote and were rarely given a voice. Founded in 1874, the Women's Christian Temperance Union became one of the largest and most influential women's group, with almost 150,000 members. These women fought for the right to vote, and spoke out in favor of prohibition, claiming that drinking led to abusive husbands. I loved that during a time when women were given little to no power, there were still groups fighting to give women a voice and throw out the idea that women are weak and cannot bring about social reform.
ReplyDeleteI found the section in class about women during the 19th/20th century highly interesting. It seems to repeat itself in today's society. In 1874, the Women's Christian Temperance Union became the largest and most influencing women's group. They fought for equal rights, social reform, and against discrimination. Today, women are basically fighting for the same thing. They fight for no wage gaps, equal rights, and discrimination against women. They are repeating what the women of the late 19th/early 20th century did to change lives for the better, which I found highly intriguing.
ReplyDeleteAguinaldo's Case Against the United States was the most interesting reading to me. It shows the hypocrisy that the United States had when it came to there own ideas about liberty and freedom but still subjugated and oppressed other nations one example being the Philippines.Not only that but it shows how much potential the United States has in helping and influencing a country but yet never truly takes the initiative to do so properly which happens still today in modern times.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading "Aguinaldo's Case", I found it shocking how similar the Philippine situation was to the American struggle for freedom. We were both under the rule of another nation, and wanted nothing more than to govern ourselves as we see fit. The Filipinos had faith in the U.S., however they were only greeted with warfare. The U.S. has a tendency to do this with all people it encounters: Chinese, African Americans, Japanese, Native Americans and many others. I believe this is the reason that we are still experiencing racial and cultural disputes today.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the case put for by Aguinaldo, I see how the American people were not at all fair with how they treated the Filipino people and their nation. Said people were willing to lay themselves at the feet of their "American Saviors" who then tread upon the people they were meant to save. This is somewhat similar to how Britain treated America, with the Americans being seen as lesser people. And this turn of events could have been avoided with a bit more thought and not jumping into action
ReplyDeleteFrom this week’s readings, I found that the most interesting reading was “Aguinaldo’s Case Against the United States”. What I found most intriguing was that this excerpt gave insight into the views and opinions of a Filipino and I’m assuming that the individual who wrote this piece represented most of the Filipino community too. “Give us the chance; treat us exactly as you demanded to be treated at the hands of England, when you rebelled against her autocratic methods…” (Aguinaldo, 2). The Filipino community wants the chance to prove that they can govern themselves and are able to stand on their own. They compare themselves to Japan by saying that Japan didn’t seem as though they could govern themselves many years ago but they proved themselves. This relates to a lot of what we are discussing in class as we witness many different groups or institutions fighting for power and independence.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe reading I found most interesting was "Our Country". It is very different to read the way this man was thinking in 1885. He basically talks about every race representing its own great idea. Apparently he believes that the Anglo-Saxons represent civil liberty and the purest form of christianity. Basically stating that the Anglo-Saxon race is the superior race. He even brings up Darwin to infer that in a survival of the fittest between the races, the Anglo-Saxons would come out on top. I think that this relates to everything we have been talking about and current events. A belief of superiority in any race, is a road to pain and conflict.
ReplyDeleteThe 'Open Door Note' was really laughable because while America was striving for equality for themselves within a leased Chinese port, the Asian-Americans were treated horribly within their own country. While I'm not sure how much of a factor this was towards the note being applied, I believe that Hay was doing the right thing. In another twist of irony, they wanted to make sure that they weren't charged more than other countries for usage of railroads and the lines of the railroads, while the farmers of AMERICA had that very same issue being forced upon them. Yet another example of the people in the political atmosphere not being aware of whats going on below them on earth.
ReplyDeleteThe reading that I found the most interesting this week was "Women and Temperance" since we discussed a great deal about how women were wanting to move towards temperance since they believed that no alcohol would make for a better home life for their families. Since the men in those families would take most in not all of their wages and spend it on alcohol instead of necessities like food and clothes to provide their family. I also found it interesting how in the introduction to this piece it says that "Women, insisted Francis Willard, the groups president, must abandon the idea that "weakness" and dependence were their nature" which means that even the president of this women's organization still believed that women should still be submissive when they stand up for what they believed in.
ReplyDeleteThe reading that I found really interesting was "Aguinaldo Case against the United States". The reason for this is because it shows how the views of the Filipino matter. It shows how they are being treated different how the want Americans to wake up and notice this. America fought for its freedom yet there are some people who can still not achieve this. Just like Americans proved that they can govern their selves Filipinos want to prove the same thing and finally be free. We were just being hipocrits we had something and yet we could not offer it back to those who needed it. What's strange to me is that Americans were not willing to give them their freedom but yet we understood how hard it was to not have freedom. This all relates to the class disscussions we have we talk about the iniequality that America was facing with work.
ReplyDeleteThe reading that I found most interesting was, "Steong our Country." It said, "Every race which has deeply impressed itself on the human family has been the
ReplyDeleterepresentative of some great idea-one or more-which had given direction to the nation's
life and form to its civilization." I strongly agree with this statement. The reading covers how America would of not been shaped if it wasn't for all the different cultures from Greeks to Hebrews involving their diversity and ideas to all be adopted within every race. It was interesting how it pointed out that the Anglo-Saxons have always been and more than likely, always will be the most powerful; however, that with time things will slowly change. Which is exactly what is happening today in 2017.
The Women and Temperance reading particularly resonated with me. In a time where women did not have a strong voice in the community, they formed their own outlet to speak on issues that mattered to them and affected them. It's interesting to see how the women were able to come together over similar views and experiences. Although I did not agree with their platform as it allows religious influence into the government which is a violation of our constitution, I am amazed that they were actually successful despite that fact. Their entire platform was based off what is and isn't deemed "Godly," and as history shows, there was eventually a prohibition on alcohol. I'm also slightly intrigued how they were not an all inclusive group and did not allow people of color into their organization. One would think given the circumstances they would have accepted any and all voices of women to come together on this issue. In one section of the reading, Willard quotes "There is neither male nor female in Jesus Christ." which I believe is touching on the beginning of feminist ideals, though they are not entirely there, yet.
ReplyDeleteJane Addams was most interesting to me. Even though we only talked on what she did briefly, she must have been well before her time. she must have faced scrutiny for opening a hull house and took in immigrant families, those that society deemed unworthy and undesirable. Im sure she must have changed many of those immigrants lives and futures.
ReplyDeleteThe "women and temperance" reading was the most interesting to me. It showed me the power of women in a time when women's opinions weren't always cared about or looked at. They still stood up for what they believed and took a stand. Their entire movement was centered around what the deemed to be "godly". They knew that alcohol would only have negative affects on their families. Just like we talked about in class, they could have been protecting their families against men spending too much money on alcohol or against potential domestic violence. More than anything, it was enlightening to me to see women standing up for themselves and starting this movement. Before this past week in class and in reading this text, I never knew women had a substantial movement like this. - Connor Hawkins
ReplyDeleteOut of all the readings given, i found the reading by Josiah Strong, " Our Country" to be the most interesting. During that time, the world was built on religion, and it is understandable that strong views the world to function as he says. But I find it strange that he is so committed into believing that. He does not even consider that civilization could be built and sustained without religion, which seems very ignorant of him to do so. If I was in his position making the writing he wrote, I would have covered the possibility of civilization functioning without religion (whether or not it is possible), which would have improved his writing
ReplyDeleteI was most interesting in the reading "Women and Temperance". Women did not have the right to vote during that time and their opinions about the laws were unimportant. I am impressed that the women decided to come together and establish the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) despite how people felt about their voices being heard. WCTU were consisted of christian women who did not believe in the use of alcohol because, like we talked about in class, it causes violence and abuse in the household. Men also spent money at bars to drink which results in less income for the household. Its amazing how much things has changed from then to today. Women can now be heard because their voices matter too.
ReplyDelete