Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Views of Native Americans in Old Textbooks

Write a fully developed 5-7 sentence paragraph describing attitudes that early 19th century students would develop toward Native Americans if their knowledge of native cultures was based upon information imparted by the text you read.  Be sure to back up your ideas with evidence and quotes.

8 comments:

  1. There were probably a mix of negative and positive attitudes that students created about Native Americans in the early 19th century. From what they read and were taught in school, they probably thought they were barbaric, totally different than the Americans and Europeans, and weird since "Their hair [was] long, straight and black... Cruel and implacable to their enemies... Much addicted to intoxication...And [lived] in low, miserable huts." The Native Americans physical appearances and culture was a lot different than the Americans and Europeans. There were many people who were racist towards them and did not think that they "belonged" in the United States. While others thought that the Native Americans were "Faithful to their friends... Averse to labour and study... Capable of great speed... And remarkably hospitable to strangers." The students' sources (teachers, books, etc...) most likely had an impact on what they personally thought about the Indians. Nowadays, people have a different look on the Native Americans than what people thought in the 19th century.

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  2. The author of the book Indian land and Ancient Civilizations did not include a positive attitude towards the Native Americans. This book notified that Indians are savages and is implying that they don’t deserve the land that they live on. The author also hinted that the Euro-Americans don’t think much of the Native Americans because of the tribe before them that was made up of a huge civilisation. Since the Euro-Americans don't think much of the Indians they keep pushing them back into the land that nobody wants. From this one could understand the if a school gives this book to the students they would think that the Indians are bad people and the attitude that the student would develop would be a mix between scared and hatred. The students belief what they read so student now need to be able to look past what they read and to research to find that they really are not the savages that people think.

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    1. This book depicted Indians as savages NOT notified that Indians ....

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  3. In the first sentence of this reading, the writer explains that indians were on the land before the Europeans. The reader might first think that they are trying to be thankful for the Indians for giving them land. When you keep reading you soon realize the opposite. In just the next sentence they refer to the Indians as savages and that it has became natural that the Indians are getting moved farther and farther into the land where the Whites have not settled yet. The whites will soon settle most of the land but they explain about the and that they have preserved for the Indians and why that is ok for them to do. They are slowly decreasing in population and so they need less land which the Whites take from them. They are un-wanted by the settlers and are pushed away. A 19th century student would automatically get the impression that the whites and superior to the Indians and they should not respect the Indian tribes. They would be aught to hunt on their land and take what wasn't rightfully theirs as it was in an indian territory. That would not matter to them because they would think that they were better than the Indians. They would learn from their parents and this reading that they were more important and should be respected as an upperclassman.

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  4. The attitudes of early 19th century children are different from how we look at Native Americans now. For an example, students back then considered that the Indians were cruel, uncivilized, and raised from another primitive and wild world. Some people quoted that the "Native Americans are savages, who only care about war, and hunting." The differences between 19th century children and 21st century children is that now we think of Indians as normal people just trying to survive and have families just like us; however, 19th century children think of them as people to watch out for and they have to be scared of them. The 19th century children haven't had the experience of meeting the Indians just being able to read from books or being told by elders what to expect. This is why the Indians have been judged by people for many years because they haven't had the chance to bond or understand what they are like.

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  5. The attitudes that early 19th century students would develop toward Native Americans are superior because they thought that "without arts, riches, luxury, the great instruments of subjection in polish societies" are not possible in the Indian community. This basically means that they can not have a running society or a government. The indians valued the wisdom of there elderly to lead them; however, the Americans valued electing the best leader based on if they were qualified. This does mean that the Americans hated indians, its just they have different values, alternate lifestyles that were incompatible. Presently, we understand and except the ways that the Indians live by putting aside our differences.

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  6. 19th century students would get from this document that the Indians may be uncivilized, but they do not "[despise] all sort[s] of authority." They had a very simple government, but it may be better than what the Europeans had. "Their government, under the influence of this sentiment, is, perhaps, better secured than by the wisest political regulations" clearly states this. Every had the same education and were pretty much equal. They did not have positions of powers accept for the elders and the chief. The elders were the other form of government, but they had no more power than the chief. The chief had "no guards, no prisons, [and] no officers of justice." The Indian government was much less complicated than the Europeans'; however, that is how they lived and survived.

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  7. Students from the 19th century would develop mixed emotions toward the Native Americans. These opinions would depend on several things including how their parents viewed them and how their teacher viewed them. If their parents viewed them as "[ignorant], [superstitious], and [barbaric], then it is fair to say that their impressions would rub off on their children. The same applies to the teacher. If the teacher had faith that "the time will come, when all mankind will be good Christians, and live together in love and peace," then the students will come to believe the same. Also, the information from the texts would only have as much meaning to the students as it did to the teacher. If the teacher believed differently than the reading, he or she could twist it to their own opinion. Overall, there would be many mixed emotions towards those times, just as there are now.

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