Speech

Hello, my name is Jake Teachey, and I am very pleased to speak to you on this fine Tuesday morning. Through out this semester in our History class I have learned about a variety of topics. One topic in particular I was pleasantly surprised to learn about was how the people of the 19th century spent their downtime, this is the first time in American History where “leisure time” was acceptable in society, it is also interesting that the divide between the choice of leisure time from the different social classes. The working class would often go to amusement parks such as Coney Island, and the wealthy would go to central park.

One thing I was unpleasantly surprised with was the unit on the west & Native Americans. I did not find this unit interesting at all. Nothing about it really caught my attention, I think part of this “hatred” or “dislike” I have for this unit is due to the way modern day movies portray the “Old Western” to be. The unit was not interesting to me because I want to believe what the movies say rather than how it really was; Hollywood makes The Old West much more enticing than it truthfully was.

If you were to ask me what I would be able to remember and discuss ten years from now it would be the movie 12 years a slave. I say this because I am a very visual learner and I tend to remember things for a much longer period of time if I hear and see them. I also found this movie much more intriguing and memorable than Glory due to the quality of production. What I mean by this is since 12 Years a Slave was made in more modern times so the producers had access to better special effects, and film quality than the producers of Glory.

            In the past Americans struggled with people going on strike and protests, from the Pullman strike to the Homestead Strikes. In more modern times this relates to the protest in Ferguson. The protest back in the 1900’s also sometimes resulted to violence, just like the Ferguson protest where storefronts were broken, and police had to use tear gas to calm the crowds down much like in the Pullman strike where 2,000 US troops were called into the Chicago area to break the strike up.

            If I had to give a name for the time period between 1865 and 1920 I would call it the “The Age of Unions”. I would deem this name appropriate because of the great amount of unions formed over the working conditions and labor laws. Two of the main unions that were formed were the Knights of Labor, and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Both of these unions were fighting for different things but did have one thing in common and that was better working conditions. Both of these unions helped aid in the dubious amount of strikes that occurred in this time period, and for this reason I would gladly announce this time period as the “The Age of Unions”.

Success 

There are many factors that determine success, such as luck, hard work, skill and opportunity. The most important of these four factors is hard work. You can not have anything in life without having to being open to work for it. Many of the worlds most economically successful had to work extremely hard to obtain the fortune they now have. The rapper 50 cent is a great example for someone who has worked hard to get where they are now in life. There is a story that 50 cent was on the set of his movie and at the same time,  he was recording the soundtrack for the movie. So one day a reporter came up to 50 cent and asked him "So when do you sleep 50?" he boldly replied “Sleep, sleep is for those people who are broke. I don’t sleep, I might miss the opportunity to make a dream become a reality.” So this shows that success and handwork go hand and hand. The second factor that I would say is important is opportunity. If you are willing to work hard and seize the opportunity that you have then you will be successful 99% of the time. I feel as if the other two factors do not have as much to do with success. 

Today I learned about the "Made in the U.S.A." crisis that is going on in the Marianas Islands. There is a good amount of well-known brands of clothing that are taking advantage of the labor laws in this United States Pacific Island territory. For many years these companies such as GAP, Banana Republic, Geoffrey Beene, and Levi all were taking Chinese immigrants and shipping them onto this island and shoving them into poor living conditions and into a dark labor filled slave like life. There are many sweatshops scattered over the main island, Saipan, with huge american flags flying over them. Many people are against this and are trying to stop the "slave-like" labor that is going on in these islands.


NY Times Article

Dear Susan,

                      I have now been in the united states for 3 weeks now. It is a whole new world over here, I knew this from the moment I sailed into the harbor and saw the huge statue of liberty. How are things back in Ireland? It has been incredibly difficult for me to find a well paying job over here. There is such a large influx of people coming over from over seas that the job market is flooded. I read in the paper the other day that the urban population of Chicago is now 84% Immigrants. I have listened to your advice as far as giving up all of the cultures and traditions that we had back home. I am trying my best to live the most American life I can.
                      My main complaint about this new life overseas is my living conditions. My house is currently shared with 10-15 other irish immigrants just like me. We are all shoved into one small room with a few beds and no windows. The stench in these houses they put us in is nothing that I can describe with words. Although I moved it still feels a little like home here since there is so many young Irish immigrants here it seems remarkably close to home. I know I have spoken a lot of negativity about this new land but I do see hope and promise, I know this was the right choice for me, and out family.
Love,
          Jake

Soruces

Sante Fe Museum

This source gave me good information on the on the different specific examples of different museums that are facing problems with repartition.

Jstor

This shows that the repartition movement is unfair and protest against it.

Bone Plots

This source is against to pro-reparation, and about the SAA, and AAA.

Artic Bare Bones

This source is focused on the legality of Repartition.

UC and Native Americans

This gives more info about Berkeley's findings in 1974.

LA Times

This source gives info about the indians that were found underneath the gymnasium at Berkeley

The Indian Bone Wars Essay

Jake Teachey

October 28, 2014

In Class Essay

Repartition

I pledge

                                                            The Indian Bone Wars

For many years there have been ongoing debates on whether or not is morally correct for museums to be able to dig up, and display, Native American skeletons and remains. There have been many different cases where Native American skeletons have been found, and then put on display for everyone to see. The act of showing the Native American ancestral skeletons is just plain wrong, and unfair. It is against all moral laws, and is extremely insulting, and disrespectful to the Native Americans to display their ancestors in such a way that the whole world can see.

            There are many groups that are pro-repartition such as the Society of American Archeology, and American Anthropologist Association. These two groups argue that with the technology we have in present day unlocks a whole new level of research, and scientific endeavors.  They say that if we study these bones then we will be able to know much more about dieses and the undocumented past of the Native American lifestyle. On the contrary a modern day Native American, Carl Bryant Rogers brings up a very true point. “Why single out the Indians, why not dig up everyone else’s ancestors” this statement brings up a great point in which why do the bones on display have to be from the Native Americans. Why not just go to a cemetery and dig up other skeletons? The main reason they are choosing to use Native Americans is because there is a hint of racism in there.

            As previously stated there is Racism all through out the Repartition Act, and the “Indian Bone Wars”.  The Pawnee Burial pits in Salina Kansas show the Racism in all of this. These Burial Pits were finally covered in 2010 largely thanks to Walter Hawk who is a Pawnee himself and a leading lobbyist for repartition movement. He also brings up a very sad but true statement. He states “if you desecrate a white grave you go to jail for 10 years, but if you desecrate a Indian grave you earn your self a P.H.D.” This shows the underlying tone of Racism, because even though the Indian bones and skeletons may be old they are still no different from any other skeleton, so why is it just the Indians which are being dug up? The way Hawk looks at it is it should not be difficult to understand that their Ancestors should rest in peace, and that scientist should respect there religious beliefs of life after death. The Native Americans feel as if it unfair that they are being singled out. For example, remains of hundreds of thousands of Indians lay in drawers and on shelf’s in museums. The Smithsonian alone had an estimated 19,000 Native Americans skeletons in their museums.

            One final example of why the bones should all be returned and reburied properly is the Dickson Mounds in Southern Illinois. Many Native Americans protest on a daily basis that the museum should be shut down, and that their ancestors should be able to rest in peace. The museum states they should not have to close down because never have they made the bones a “sideshow” or a “carnival act”, and have never made any profit off of showing the bones, they are just their to enrich the tourist with ancient artifacts of the surrounding area. The Museum says that the skeletal remains are over 900 years old, and cannot be traced in anyway to a specific tribe. The Native Americans did not take that statement lightly, and they feel as if they need to respect any ancestral remains of whatever tribe the skeletons belong too no matter how old. The Indians are destined to wander restlessly, protesting daily, until the bones are properly reburied. They intend to picket, file complaints, and protest until the bones are removed.

            The main point that needs to be addressed in the Repartition movement is Equality. It would be a completely different story if everyone’s ancestors were getting dug up and shoved in glass cases for everyone to look at. It is important to respect the beliefs of different cultures, and if one culture believes after you are buried you should be able to rest in peace then so be it.  The problem is for the most part the Native Americans have been singled out in this situation; they have been left on the side of the road so everyone can stop and look. For the most part the Museums that choose to display remains of Native Americans are being nothing but inconsiderate, and disrespectful. The Native Americans deserve to be treated no differently then any other group, equality is key in this situation.

Jake Teachey

US History

Works Cited

Sources, Film Research -  Glory & 12 Years a Slave

IMBD- 12 Years a Slave

Rotten Tomatoes- 12 Years a Slave

IMBD- Glory

Rotten Tomatoes- Glory

Historical Accuracy 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave Critique

12 Years a Slave Steve Mqueen Youtube

Glory Ed Zwick Inteview

Jake Teachey

September 12, 2014

History Essay

I pledge

For years high schools across the country have been showing movies during class as a way to enhance your understanding of a topic. Many people have opposing views on movies being part of the educational curriculum. There are many reasons why I see movies as a beneficial factor to my learning experience. Movies are a easy and informative way to learn about a subject because they bring in a new point of view to the classroom, and make you understand a topic in a more relatable way rather than reading from a textbook.

            In my US History class we have watched two very famous films. These films have helped me understand about slavery in the USA. I have drawn a deeper understanding about what it was really like to be a slave back in the 1800’s. One of the movies we watched during class was 12 Years a Slave this movie was incredibly moving and heart wrenching. Having won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year before watching it in class I already had high expectations for the film. Needless to say this film was an incredible story. The director Steve McQueen could not of done a better job on depicting the troublesome times of slavery in the United States. One part that really struck me while watching this was Masters, and owners of the plantations. The first master that the main character Solomon was sold off to work for was portrayed as a very reasonable and caring man, but doesn’t this make him the worst out of all of them? If he was such a kind man behind closed doors to Solomon, but such a cruel man out in the open it makes him no better than any of the other slave owners if not worse because of his hypocritical qualities.

            The second movie we watched was called Glory. Although this movie also won many academy awards much like 12 Years a Slave did, it didn’t intrigue me as much. I think one thing I need to take into consideration is when both of these movies were filmed. 12 years a Slave was filmed in 2012 making it an extremely recent film meaning the production quality was much higher. One of Glory’s down falls was the fact that it was filmed almost 30 years ago making the production quality much lower. I feel as if Glory were to be filmed in more recent times the movie would be much more appealing to me. Both of the movies had relatively the same budget for film production.  Glory came weighing in at 18,000,000 and 12 years a slave coming in at 20,000,000 US dollars. So I do not think it was a matter of money that made one movie less appealing to me than the other I think it was simply the time period they were produced in.

            Besides the fact that Glory is such an older film there still was some incredible sceneces in the movie. I think this movie really helped show how much the slaves/ freed black men helped out during the civil war. This movie also shows and proves that the blacks are no different than the whites are. I think one of the main points this movie brings up is equality. The producer of this movie Ed Zwick puts in better words than I could “There was a untold side of the war that I felt needed to be shared with the American population, a side that shows equality in warfare”.

            In conclusuion I feel as if movies are actually extremely benifiaical to my learing experience. I think that I have gotten more out of watching those two movies than I could ever gotten from taking notes and listening to lectures (no offense).