A Distorted History-The Importance of Print

When Columbus first crossed the Atlantic and arrived into the "New World" he reported back to Spain and essentially all of Europe boasting about the magnificent wonders, and opportunities the "New World" would have to offer. Such as raw materials, a labor source, and gold. During the 1500s the technology to mass produce the letter was not yet possible so they wrote handwritten copies and that is how Europe received news. Print played a vital role in fueling the eagerness to discover and claim the "New World." Even after the settlers had made their voyage across and had become more accustomed to the land print still played a vital role in the Revolution, encouraging education and literacy and the "survival or republican values." Print in the late 1700s allowed the colonists to unite and rally under a cause, create a national identity and create the values and principles that we still believe America to stand by. For example after the series of taxes the British had placed upon the colonist to repay the debt of the French and Indian war, Americans were enraged and in order to unite behind "no taxation without representation," people created political pamphlets saying that they would no longer take the abuse from the British. Benjamin Franklin's famous political cartoon of the chopped up snake saying join or die immediately comes to mind. If the colonist had not of united and fought against the British they would have each been severed from one another and easily been concurred, but with print colonist were able to send letters and mass disperse cartoons and pamphlets to make everyone aware of situations. Because communication was so dependent on reading the pamphlets literacy rates in the colonies was significantly higher than their counterparts in Western Europe which in turn made education a goal in the colonies. All in all, print was the start to creating the America we have today.

Who Is an American? Response to Class 8/23/11

             Originally I defined an “American” as someone who has the freedom to determine their destiny, someone who is hopeful of a better tomorrow, someone who is inclusive, a melting pot, and who is equal with every other person in the country. Americans have an unlimited amount of power to chose what they do and do not want in their lives and we have more opportunities than people in other countries could even dream of, and that is why so many people want to come here. After this assignment, my ideas of an “American” have been challenged and essentially changed. First, I never realized how restricted the freedom minorities face. In the past women and blacks did not have rights, but in the twentieth century we have no restrictions or prejudice. In the poem by Langston Hughes “I, Too, Sing America,” he states, “ They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed. I, too, am America.” He wrote this poem as a response to the inequalities that blacks and whites in the ‘40s but it still applies today. He challenges the idea that America is inclusive or a melting pot. This made me think about how even though I thought I was open to new people coming into the country, every time the news says something about how more and more Mexicans cross the border illegally, I cannot help but feel disgusted and upset that they would try to become “Americans”.  Then when I thought about Hughes words “and be ashamed, I, too, am America” I know that I should be ashamed because all they want is to try and create a better life. I know that we cannot be a refuge to all incoming people, but the reason America came to be was to have equality and new opportunity. If we deny the rights of new minorities and the new opportunities to people who want to become an “American” how can we say that our country is founded upon freedom, hope, and equality?