Plantation Home Essay

As David Blight says in his novel, Race and Reunion, after the Civil War and emancipation, Americans were faced with the overwhelming task of trying to understand the relationship between “two profound ideas—healing and justice.” While he admits that both had to occur on some level, healing from the war was not the same “proposition” for many whites, especially veterans, as doing justice for the millions of emancipated slaves and their descendants (Blight 3). Blight claims that African Americans did not want an apology for slavery, but instead a helping hand. Thus, after the Civil War, two visions of Civil War memory arose and combined: the reconciliationist vison, which focused on the issue of dealing with the dead from the battlefields, hospitals, and prisons, and the emancipationist vision, which focused on African Americans’ remembrance of their own freedom and in conceptions of the war as the “liberation of [African Americans] to citizenship and Constitutional equality” (Blight 2).

No matter what a person’s race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is, everyone should enjoy equality. In the speech Speech Upon the Removal of Confederate Monuments by Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, the removal of the Confederate monuments in New Orleans is discussed. The speech emphasises the fact that the Confederacy was wrong pertaining to their treatment of African Americans, and instead of teaching history, the Confederate monuments convey an image of inequality and violence. Mitch Landrieu argues for the deconstruction of historic Confederate monuments through his allusions to past historic events to contrast the modern shift of equality, so he can call the people to action to deconstruct the monuments. Through the

A recent hot-button subject in the media has been what to do with Confederate monuments in the South. After the removal of a statue honoring Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederate Army considered by many to be a hero for the part he played in the American Civil War, a clear divide has formed over whether it was the right thing to do. Some agree with this choice, calling the statues remnants from a time of racial oppression in the United States. Others are outraged, considering it desecration of their proud history. Still others don't understand either side of the issue, and see it as a pointless feud. It is imperative to understand that to many people, these are more than just statues. Whether their impression is positive or negative, this issue goes beyond physical monuments.

The majority of the book focuses on the idea of truth and what that means at Colonial Williamsburg. Handler and Gable note that “in the culture of Colonial Williamsburg, talk about facts displaces talk about what particular histories mean” (Handler & Gable 93). Additionally, Handler and Gable structure their argument by focusing on the behind-the-scenes of Colonial Williamsburg. The authors use Colonial Williamsburg as an example to examine “ethnographic

Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University. September 2000. Web. 15 February 2011.

Although both A Description of New England and Of Plymouth Plantation are both significant accounts of New England’s history, John Smith’s and William Bradford’s backgrounds and views of religion differ drastically from each other, and these differences are seen through the entirety of both histories. While John Smith makes reference to God only once in A Description of New England in order to motivate the religious supporters of the time to travel to the New World, Smith’s motivation for writing A Description of New England was not to promote God’s providence in this New World; however, William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation is filled with allusions to the Bible and is told from a perspective that points to his faith in God and his Pilgrim beliefs.

Another Friday afternoon, and my sister and I are traveling on Highway 70. We are heading to my Grandfather’s house for the weekend, and my mind is sifting through memories of him telling me about his childhood. “Back when I was a boy...”, he would start, and I, or my cousins, would playfully respond with, ”Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, Pa?”. That is how our time machine starts to the past, and by the end of our conversation we are left with a fascinating story of how some mundane building we have driven past a million times was once a place that fueled my Grandfather’s hometown in Mcminnville, Tennessee. My Grandfather’s stories are more than stories though, they are history. His memories are mental books from the past that only make my own life seem mundane. My grandfather drawing water from a well as I turn on the sink, or him walking next door just to use a phone while I send text messages by the minute. My Pa comes from a long line of farmers and handymen, and although he scoffs at some technology, it has been a major part of his life, and has grown up with him almost like a sibling.

Hartman went on this journey in order to find her own connection to her African heritage. As a graduate student doing research on slavery, she stumbled upon a reference to her great-great grandmother. Hartman was only served disappointment as she read further. When her kin was asked what she remembered about being a slave, her answer was simple: “Not a thing.” As she reaches out to family to learn more about their history with slavery, she is thwarted and discouraged at every attempt. This is what leads Hartman to “fill in the blank spaces of the historical record and to represent the lives of those deemed unworthy of remembering” (16).

Interestingly, the exhibition did try to showcase ethnic immigrant groups however, used stereotypical depictions of traditional objects (Watkins). Moreover, “the exhibit also attempted to address the thorny issues of slavery and racism, and displayed drawings of slave ships and shackles” (Burns 113). Other than drawings there were no other methods of interpretation used to depict such a complex topic. In not displaying “the crude physicality of actual artifacts, or even replicas, Smithsonian curators avoided possible confrontation and accentuated themes and history believed to unite all immigrant groups, regardless of origin or circumstance” (Burns 113). A Nation of Nations could have pushed more at the boundaries of what was considered

The Puritan’s voyage to the New World in 1620 is one of the most well known pilgrimages throughout history. However, there are two different accounts of the events to be discussed: one by William Bradford himself and another in the form of a documentary. Bradford was one of the 102 people to voyage across the Atlantic in order to start the Plymouth colony in Cape Cod. He would later become a very influential leader. His version of the events, entitled Of Plymouth Plantation, is his first-hand account of his voyage and the settlement of Plymouth. Bradford wrote his chronicle in plain style, a type of writing that is simplistic and very straightforward. History Channel’s A Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower, shows the events from an outside point of view. Bradford’s use of plain style in Of Plymouth Plantation, while historically

During the formulation period of starting my Adult family home I have come up with a name for the company which is called “It’s About You.” Some of my short term goals is to have it open and operating in 2018. My long term goals are to have several adult family homes located in different states. I would like to offer different type of services that will set my business apart from others, and hopefully a place where I can keep dedicated employees.

We fought like siblings, my mother said. We fought like sissies, my uncle said. We fought like the goddamn Irish, my papa yelled. And we did, my cousins and I fought enough to have scrambled eggs for brains. But we always stopped when the loser started to bleed.

A prevalent issue surrounding historic house museum interpretation today includes, “an acknowledgment of enslaved labor, but not the kind of engaged discussion that would help tourists identify with that labor in affective ways” (Modlin, Jr., Alderman, and Gentry 13). Some historic house museums interpret slavery well, others do not, and some choose not to interpret slavery at all. Sites like President Lincoln’s Cottage and the Octagon House Museum in Washington D.C. vary in methods of interpretation, but make the effort to establish slavery as a difficult historical truth in the United States. Examining historic house sites reveal how the absence of comprehensive slavery interpretation furthers structural racism in our society. Reinterpretation of past injustices entails a time consuming and lengthy process for many historic sites due to factors such as staff shortages and financial constraints, but the end result presents an opportunity for museums to reconnect with their community and attempt to stem the tide of racial division in the United States.

A prevalent issue surrounding southern historic house museum interpretation today includes, “an acknowledgment of enslaved labor, but not the kind of engaged discussion that would help tourists identify with that labor in affective ways” (Modlin, Jr., Alderman, and Gentry 13). Some sites are interpreting slavery well, other are not, and some choose not to interpret slavery at all. Sites like President Lincoln’s Cottage and the Octagon House in Washington D.C. vary in methods of interpretation, but make the effort to establish slavery as a difficult historical truth in the United States. Examining historic house sites reveal how the absence of comprehensive slavery interpretation furthers structural racism in our society.

I stood for a second and took a deep breath of fresh air. The crisp, untouched air flowed as I inhaled the new environment. Too much air began to drift towards me because I was the only one there. It seemed as if everything around me was empty yet, I knew there were others around. It was a surreal moment, nothing but my thoughts and my family populated the airport. As we slowly wandered to the car, the quiet and serene area engulfed us. We remained silent the entire journey to the car; we were too shocked about moving to Michigan to talk. Clear droplets slowly began to fall on the window pane. Each one becoming more and more aggressive and mesmerizing. The loop of the pitter-patter was all I could hear even though my parents were making small talk. In Mexico, I would watch all the people on the street, all the stores and billboard signs and tall buildings. My favorite thing to watch were the lights on a car when it was raining, but now no one would stay close enough to see their lights though the backseat window. My dad was excited that we had come “home”, but it wasn’t home anymore. It’s just where we had once lived and where my family was. People always say that your home is your family, but that’s just a cutesy fib they put on cooking shows to make you love your family. The smooth roads and empty streets, are not my home. They are this weird place that feels like a pile of dirt. It’s not very exciting or rare. You can look through it and find a few special gems, but