American History

» pink101 - Yankee Blood

In response to The Innocent posted by lastword:
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I'm not sure where you're coming from; but, so what?
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"...the early American settlers, for the most part, were Brits..."
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But, we're talking about the flag with the coiled snake that is warning anyone who sees it to keep their distance.
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Perhaps, I should have used the term, Red Coats, to point to the guilty party?
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By Americans I mean the people who were the colonials and by the Brits I meant the Red Coats--those who were loyal to the tyrant George III.
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Does that help you get a feel for my Yankee blood better?
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:)
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-- posted by pink101

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» Brent Sedo - Tangled Web

In response to Tangled Web posted by pink101:
It was Sir Walter Scott. Most famous for the novel Ivanhoe. It's actually: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." As your mother told you, when you lie, you have to come up with a second lie to cover the first. And then a third. And fourth. And so on.

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» Mary Trotter Kion - Yankee Blood

In response to Yankee Blood posted by pink101:

I was making the point that the "Brits" were not the only ones with snake type tendences. So did the Americans, who many were originally "Brits."

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» pink101 - Yankee Blood

In response to Yankee Blood posted by lastword:
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The snake was an old icon used not just by the colonial people; but, it had been used in Europe for at least a couple of hundred years as well.
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Generally, snakes don't go out looking for trouble. They just laze about in the sun's heat and I'm sure they'd be content to just die if no food came their way.
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The colonial Americans were ex-brits who stood up to tyranny. At least, that's what my history books tell me.
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-- posted by pink101

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» pink101 - Why Truth Is Not Taught

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When it comes to American History, the question needs to be answered as to why the truth of is not taught in our public schools.
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I guess I can understand why it isn't taught to pre-high school; but, when a youngster arrives in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades in our American educational system it seems to me they ought to be given the truth of the matter.
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One of the main problems with the Single Force idea of Prime Movers in American History is that the every day and common experiences of war are set aside. The war that won America its political separation from England was a dirty civil war in the worst sense of the idea of war.
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What effect would surface if the truth of the War for Independence were taught in our public high schools?
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-- posted by pink101

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» Brian Tubbs - Why Truth Is Not Taught

In response to Why Truth Is Not Taught posted by pink101:

Not black and white. The truth of history IS taught in our schools. Just not the WHOLE truth. And frankly, it varies from school district to school district. Some tilt right. Others tilt left. Some history teachers use Zinn as their main text and focus almost solely on the common person (or I should say on Zinn's selected common person profiles). While others use the more traditional "Great Man" approach. It varies.

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» pink101 - Tories and Loyalists

In response to Why Truth Is Not Taught posted by BrianTubbs:
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I guess I was thinking about the war fought to separate our sovereignty from England--The American Revolutionary War--and the horrible details of how Americans treated each other during and after the struggle.
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We hear much about the trouble that will come to be after the American Forces pull out of Iraq. I wonder how many people understand the trouble that came after the Brits were sent packing at the end of the War for Independence.
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A good education on American History regarding the War for Independence might help us better understand the Iraqi war.
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How many of today's Canadians are the descendants of Tories and Loyalists that escaped to Canada with their life at the closing of that war?
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-- posted by pink101

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» pink101 - Charles Evans Hughes

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I'm just learning a little something about a name I recall from my childhood, Charles Evans Hughes.
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The implications of the idea of systemic causation regarding the flow of history is too strong to set aside.
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It is too bad that a person has to get to the age of 76 before they take a deep interest in the historical development of society. But, here I am, 76 years old and just beginning to be deeply interested in my societal roots.
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No matter how old or young you are, I think the most important thing you can do is to get deeply interested in history. But, don't do it from the book knowledge perspective; rather, look for yourself in it as you proceed. YOU are there.
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-- posted by pink101

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» Brian Tubbs - Tories and Loyalists

In response to Tories and Loyalists posted by pink101:

Everyone that has any interest in US history has strong opinions about what history teachers should cover in their classes. Few people understand how difficult it is to squeeze all of American history into ONE school year.

One of the other subjects I taught was Geography (9th grade), and I did bring out - during our study of Canada - that many Americans migrated to Canada after the Revolution for the reasons you cited.

It's tough, however, to address all the different angles, nuances, complexities, etc. when you're trying to teach history in one year - especially when your average teenager just wants to be done with it.

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» Roger Saunders - Tories and Loyalists

In response to Tories and Loyalists posted by BrianTubbs:

It is my firm opinion that the average teenager just wants to be done with history because the average teenager's history teacher wants to be done with it just as badly. I believe this is because the average history teacher hasn't really learned anything new since they were in College and because they are too general with the topic.

Sometimes, this is because the typical History teacher is also the football coach who has spent all of his intellectual learning excitement capital on learning new football strategies. Now I know these are pretty broad statements and are not universally applicable but there is just too much interesting stuff that high schoolers will jump at discussing if the pump is primed properly.

Take the topic that started this discussion. There is a myriad of ways to apply this controversial part of the American revolution to today's society and I guarantee I could get at least two weeks of discussion on this topic alone with the most stone cold history hating teenagers.

I think it's all a matter of what excites the teacher and how well he can "sell" his/her own excitement!

Well. My two cents! When I can retire and not worry about how much money I am making anymore I will try to hit the classrooms and test these opinions.

If you are a history teacher out there and you are just DONE with your class, I hope this will inspire you to get back in the saddle. There is no doubt that teaching todays young people is a difficult proposition when you are competing with Nintendo and X-Box BUT, even there you have a window of opportunity with some of the great new WW2 games coming out int he Call of Duty line!

There you go! Your next assignment for WW2. Bring in the X-Box and have your kids get a really good picture of what the "Greatest Generation" did or us!

Sorry, had to wedge in another cents worth!

Roger

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