Ana Gabriela Garzon
HIST 1301. 22201
Exam Two Responses
13 August 2015
Ana G. Garzon
HIST 1301
Exam 2
08 August 2015
1) What relationships of power are featured in “Virginian Luxuries” (Document 1)? How are unequal power relationships reflected in Tocqueville’s distinctions between the three races (Document 2)? What future does Tocqueville predict for these groups of people and why? Based upon your own knowledge, how accurate do you believe Tocqueville’s observations and predictions were?
In the painting, Virginian Luxuries (Unknown, 1800), it is possible to observe and describe the roles of those two man races in America of the time. First of all, the painting is related to the time of slavery (1619-1865) and the unequally of positions between the Negros and whites. Second, we can appreciate the gender role. For instance, the Black men who worked in crop fields is being used and deprived of his human rights by the land owner. In the case of the woman, as an object she is used as well to satisfying her owner. Finally, we can observed that the unknown painter detailed the whites’ men face very well, yet the black men and woman’s face appears faceless or without identification. This a representation of the European view towards Negros as a uniform object or animal.
Alexis Toqueville in his publication the “Democracy in America” categorized three races predominated in the 1835 America and advocated the future for those two races. The first race is the
In this context, Audry Smedley’s Race in North America provides the reader with a chronological approach to the concept of race that explores its evolution and their implications in the configuration of societies among the world.
The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.
The slave is compositionally arranged in front of the Mistress in a predominant position, however as noted in our text this week, most of the slaves placed in the foreground of a painting in this era were done so in humor, to tease or to make them look immature (Pohl 278). As the title suggests, this slave has been dressed up by her Mistress in her Mistress’s clothing as a way for the Mistress to make fun of the slave, teasing her with a taste of wealth and upper class. Cany Peale’s previous career in fancy-goods gave her the understanding of what was in fashion
For example, the authors used, among other materials, the minutes of Council and General Court of colonial Virginia, which reveals laws passed such as one relating to the “punishment of runaway servants”, where following a multi-racial escape, the law drew little distinction between co-conspirators of different races (McIlwaine, 466). It is a very effective research strategy. The authors imply strongly that if we were to look at this culture objectively, without our presupposed notions of race relations in 17th century Virginia, we would assume that wealth, mainly property, was the dividing social characteristic, and not race, as it would be for the next couple centuries. Breen’s and Innes’ research strategy is compelling. By relying more on original source materials, as opposed to others’ summaries and compilations, they are able to achieve that objectivity. Any attempt to find facts or narratives counter to the most recognized ones can only hope to do so by using original sources.
Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville includes Tocqueville’s observations on what American society and culture was like during the 1830’s. Throughout his analysis of America, he draws many outlandish and interesting conclusions regarding what life was like during this time period. For example, in Chapter 18, Tocqueville remarks that citizens in democratic societies are independent, which makes them weak and subsequently uninfluential in society. He goes on to say that in order to combat this, associations must be established to combat individualism and to circulate new thoughts and ideas. All in all, Tocqueville’s claim is certainly valid, but only up to a certain point because there were a select few of individuals that were able to make an influence on society without the help from any associations.
Relationships of power that featured in “Virginian Luxuries” (Document 1) include the relation between white power and African American slaves. On the left side of the portrait, their seems to be a white male kissing an enslave women, which is very ironic during this time period. On the left side of the portrait, it seems to be a white slave
The Virginian Luxuries shown a relationships between slaves and their master. This illustrates the power in gender and race that a whites males had over African American women and man. The left of the picture have a wealthy plantation owner who used his female’s slaves as a temporary companion for his sexual pleasures, and if there is any resistance physical beating usually
After the geographical location in context of America is explored, Tocqueville begins his exploration of the origins of Anglo-American people in society.
The relationship of power featured in “Virginian Luxuries” is merely a master/slave relationship. The picture is self-explanatory. It only shows how the black people no matter of sexes are exploited by their master. Black slaves were the victims of coerced labor, overwork, abuse, and mistreatment. However, male black slave were to work out in the field assisting the farming business while female were usually limited inside the house doing
The limitation of this book is that this book could only dedicate about 10 pages in the slavery in Virginia. Since it covered so much time period, some details were overlooked.
n Colonial Virginia, members of minority communities (such as the African Americans) were often seen as disparate to their European contemporaries (Watkins 2013:600-601). The slave-owners would force them into various skilled and unskilled labor positions, such as cotton and tobacco production (Neiman 2008:165). Decisions about these individuals were based on degradation and profit – the amount of labor achieved with least profit lost; a commodity to be purchased or spent with no moral obligation to give them the benefit of education or payment (Shackel 2003:139). Their identities were stripped, creating intense emotional dilemma and carelessness for their own lives (Snyder 2010:48), and the slave quarters were sparsely decorated and designed
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America arose out of the desire to understand the underlying reasons behind the difference between French and American democracies. While both societies have had moved towards democracy, New England, which Tocqueville defines as America, seems to be much more successful in organising a stable democratic society. As such, Democracy in America was written with the motive of mapping out how American society was
Tocqueville’s argument that there is an unreconciled tension between liberty and equality is relatively simple to grasp—the exercise of freedom can ultimately distribute wealth, opportunities, and goods in unequal ways; and vice versa, maintaining equality over time among people can ultimately come to having to limit the freedom of others by redistributing the same wealth, opportunities, and goods. One critical manifestation of this tension between liberty and equality is what Tocqueville calls the “tyranny” or “despotism of the majority.” If all men are equal, then no one person or group of people can rule over any other person or people, meaning that the only choice Americans have is to live according to the will of the largest number of people—tyranny of the majority becomes a harsh reality when that power goes unchecked. While it seems that if “equality” in its most perfect sense were what was being used as a measure, minority opinion could certainly be taken into account to the same degree as the opinion of any other group of people; however, this
America has been a world power for as long as anyone can remember. But how did it become what it is today? Through decades of racism and greed! Our country is one of the most racist country’s there has ever been! But without it America would be nothing like it is today. Slavery made America and racism made it grow. America has proven itself to be a selfish, greedy, and racist country.
This movie tells the story of a young man, from Southern California, that is the product of several unfortunate incidents, and his misguided search trying to answer the question why his life is the way it is.