The beliefs which made the United States of America the prodigious country it is today, began during it’s early colonization-a time in the life of this great nation which is everlastingly remembered with pride. America 's foundation rested upon the ideals of diversity, innovation, and the ability to exhibit strength in the face of adversity; there are few who have embodied this vision of America more completely than Pocahontas and Benjamin Franklin. Tragic and historical events developed during the lives of Pocahontas and Benjamin Franklin; although their individual situations required very different reactions, both persevered, therefore granting those who came after them the ability to reflect on America’s beginnings with admiration and pride.
During the time of American colonization, tensions between the English and the Native Americans rose exponentially. The New World was newly formed, and both Englishmen and Native Americans found themselves in unfavorable positions while drastic transformations occurred in their relative societies. The land and livelihood which once belonged to the Native Americans, became dominated by these foreign Englishmen. The Englishmen left all that was known to them across the Atlantic and embarked on a journey to establish a New World from nothing, in a land called America. Nevertheless, Pocahontas, a young Native American, and Benjamin Franklin, a young American, found ways to turn their individual hardships into fortune.
As a young child,
For this research paper, I am providing you with the history of the Cherokee Indians. I have Cherokee Indian in my blood. My father’s family is fully Cherokee Indian. Both my Mother and my Father resided in North Carolina. Except on my Mother’s side, she isn’t any Native American of any kind. I am doing my research paper on the Cherokee Indians because it always perks my interest in hearing about my ancestors and what they did.
Pocahontas was born in 1595, with the given name of Matoaka and later got the nickname Pocahontas. She has been known as the favorite daughter of the powerful Powhatan Chief but she is also famous in history for contributing greatly toward the survival of the Jamestown colony. When the English colonists settled in Jamestown in 1607, there became tension between the Colonists and the Powhatan Indians. During the 1600s, the leader of the Colonists, Captain John Smith was caught by the Powhatan’s men. It has been said that Pocahontas saved Smith’s life and has had great influence on early relationships between the colonists and Indians. During Pocahontas’s life, she has faced many tragedies but triumphs have also played a role in her time.
During revolutionary America, Benjamin Franklin, Olaudah Equiano, and Phillis Wheatley all wrote autobiographical works that framed their identities and explored new ideas taking form through the Great Awakening and Enlightenment. Equiano and Wheatley wrote in support of abolition and used their works to exemplify that, while Franklin focused on the “American dream” and how he was able to achieve it. Despite these differences, all three were quick to mention religion in America and the Christian hypocrisy associated with it.
Beginning in the Sixteenth Century, Europeans sought to escape religious and class persecution by engaging on a journey to the New World. However, they were unaware that this “New World” was already inhabited by many groups of Native Americans, who had been established on the continent for thousands of years. At first, the two ethnic groups lived in relative peace. The colonists of Jamestown survived due to Powhatan’s tribe teaching them how to cultivate the land. However, things took a twisted turn as the colonists grew greedy. Due to cultural differences, there was stark tension between the Indian groups and European settlers in New England prior to 1750, which tremendously influenced early political means, social life, and the economy.
[1] Disney’s Pocahontas has understandably received a lot of flak about the historically inaccurate story that is told about the legendary Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. There is a good reason for that. The movie does little that can be construed as historically accurate, yet Disney claims that was never their intent. Disney, in their previous movies, has been attacked for being racist and unsympathetic to racial minorities. Their answer was a movie whose sole purpose, as stated by Disney, was to promote racial tolerance. The question is, then can a movie promote racial tolerance when the issue is built on false history, history that if told accurately would depict the exact opposite?
In order to survive in the New World, you would have to be able to arrive for the farming season. The farming season would’ve provided much more supplies which would’ve helped the colonist last longer in the New World. However, they always arrived too late to plant. When supplies started dropping, a colonist and a crew would head back to England and promise to return quickly with more supplies. However, every time this was attempted they would arrive too late; The colonist would’ve already disappeared, left with someone else, or have died. Although the ships were loaded with supplies, the colonist should’ve thought about who they brought over and who would’ve helped them survive. For example, they should’ve brought over a farmer to provide food or a hunter who knew how to hunt wild animals. Lane was one of the men who created the tension between the Native Americans. The Native Americans could’ve helped the English colonist survive longer by providing food and supplies. However, since Lane constantly threatened them and created tension the Native Americans didn’t want to share. In conclusion, The Englishmen arrived too late to plant, they didn’t bring over enough people and supplies quickly dropped, and they created an emotional strain between themselves and the Native Americans which eventually lead them to
Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop, men with different ideals, present the same notion that America should be presented as a “city upon a hill.” Franklin believed that the American dream should be presented as an ideal where men and women are equal and can both move up in social class on their own, practicing any religion they desired. On the other hand, Winthrop believed that the new world was a religious safe haven only for the Puritans. American Exceptionalism was overall the main focus, guiding America to define itself as a special nation founded upon democratic values and liberty.
Penn was given 45,000 acres on the Delaware River and named it Pennsylvania, or “Penn’s Woods” after his father. Penn then migrated to the new land with a group of Quakers and started to build a community. One of the many issues that early settlers like William Penn had to face was interactions with the Natives of the New World. The differences between the Native Americans and the settling Europeans were plentiful and great—examples are conflicting religious views, social life, family values, and sense of ownership. In fact, it was the latter that sparked multiple problems between the colonizers and the native population. Though the European settlers would try to obtain land through trade, the concept would be completely lost to the Native Americans, who had no sense of ownership. Because of these differences in cultures, the groups soon clashed resulting in sorrow on both sides.
I was born in Boston in 1706 and was given the name Benjamin Franklin. It is interesting that as a kid I had little constructive education but I started a printing business in Philadelphia and began making an income. In 1754 I created the Albany Plan and despite it not being accepted it helped with the framework for the articles of confederation. After the American Revolution started I was chosen to serve in the Second Continental Congress.
Benjamin Franklin and Henry David Thoreau have been thought of as two powerful philosophers in history. Both men were alive centuries ago, but their unique ways of life and ideas still exist in some of history’s most admirable figures. Each man had a judgment that went beyond the era they existed in, but is still obvious in today’s culture. Even though both men are credited for their wise principles, their beliefs do not always coincide with one another. However, one thing they do have in common is that they both revolutionized America through their thoughts, actions, and distinctive opinions on how to improve the world around them.
Pocahontas is a hero who was a Powhatan Native American woman who provided safety to her tribe and assisted people in need. She is the daughter of Chief Powhatan, Indian Chief of over thirty tribes in Virginia. As a young child, Pocahontas was taught to fight, capture food, and how to be a mother. She lived up to her duties as daughter of Chief and did her best to lead the tribe to safety. The things she was taught stayed with her throughout her life and lived as a hero to many people.
From all of these relationships, Pocahontas is shown to be very oppressed due to the voices that are heard. She is equal to Grandmother Willow and Nakoma but because John Smith, Kocoum and Powhatan think she is childish and naive, she has no power. Her ideas are dismissed, she is not needed at the tribe and she can not make decisions for herself, let alone anyone else. Not only is her power omitted, but her appearance is provocative. Pocahontas is dressed in very revealing clothing compared to any of the other colonizers or men in the tribe. She is in a tube top that reveals her stomach, and wears a very short skirt that reveals all of her legs. It is not only Pocahontas, but all
Have I ever heard the wolf cry out to the new born moon? Why no, Pocahontas I have not. Why is that? Two reasons. Number one I have never seen a wolf in my life. Number 2 I’m deaf so I haven’t heard much of anything.
In 1616, Pocahontas and her family traveled to England, where she visited the family or John Rolfe. “They spent time in both London and Norfolk, where the extended Rolfe family lived, and Pocahontas dressed in the Elizabethan style that is pictured on the stamp. She was granted an audience with King James I and the royal family”(Pocahontas (1595 - 1617), p.4). She was treated loyalty since she was an Native American princess. Also the people there including the royalty respected her, since she helped keep peace between the indians and the englishmen, including her contribution to help Jamestown to survive in “ starving time,” “She played a vital role in the survival of the young colony, and deserved her credit when John Smith labeled her
United States, 2006: a nation with a history of a mere 230 years, yet it stands as one of the most powerful nations in the world. Yet many of us know little about the history and cultural changes that led to the birth of this nation. We only know the bits and pieces that are taught as we sit daydreaming in our fifth grade classroom. The Puritans, the Pilgrims, Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, we know about these people and things, yet what aspects of their lives created the change in America? The answer to this question can be found by observing the changes in religion, women's role, and colonial law as it brought about the change in the Puritan's cultural values.