The Oregon Trail

     Gaming can potentially connect with learning because as I played Oregon trail for the first time, I saw that I learned the many different aspects of life that people had to go through during 1848. This type of gaming demonstrates the different situations that people would be in if the game was real. The game obviously shows the decisions that people have to make. You have to know what to buy, like the food to get, and what to do during the trip to distract you. It also depends on who you were at the time if you were a farmer or a banker and the number of people you had in the family and it was hard because it was a trip on wagon all the way to Oregon. The game connects you to history and makes you understand the hardships that the pioneers were going through at that time. Eventually, you learn that it was hard to survive because of the many diseases that were around at the time. Understanding what people have gotten through and what they had to do to improve their lives is something that needs to be seen visually. This is a first experience, but learning and playing at the same time is even a greater experience. 

Treatment of African-Americans

          In history there has been mistreatment of African Americans everywhere around the world. As said before history repeats itself many times. During the Reconstruction in the 1800's and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

         The Reconstruction was when the government and states were trying to rebuild from a devastating war. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed by the Congress after the Civil War had ended. Then, afterwords it let the African Americans to have some freedom. But whites were against this and they stood up until the blacks were looked as inferior. Many African Americans were treated horribly . It was described as brutal, inhuman, and sickening. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) were feared very much in the south by many African Americans. This group beat and killed slaves. They also passed the Emancipation Proclamation which helped out the slaves to be freed from the whites as property.The Amendments have been changed therefore to fit the African Americans as citizens, and also to be free and be somewhat equal.

           When the Emancipation Proclamation came out in 1863, it issued that that the slaves were free in the southern states at war with the north. This was the beginning of what became the freedom of African Americans. In 1865, it was when all the laws started to change in the U.S., the 13th amendment had been ratified, it outlawed slavery in the United States of America.  The 14th amendment was ratified three years after 1865. Which said that African American Americans were granted citizenship. In 1870, the 15th amendment was granted, it allowed blacks to vote and therefore be involved in politics. Laws are granted and ratified to give African Americans freedom. 

      The Civil Rights Movement was around the 1950's and 1960's, which is around Martin Luther King Jr's era. During this time African Americans were not being treated fairly at all. It became such a racist era after all. As said, before history repeats itself African Americans are not treated respectfully. It was also a point where there was desegregation in the United States. African American where still brutally beaten by anybody even by the police. At this time Blacks were understood to be more educated and as people of the American Society. And many organizations also helped like the U.S. military, they tried to integrate the African Americans into society more. Many activities around the U.S. helped African Americans defend themselves and present them as an American. Many great leaders and activist came to lead the way to the Civil rights like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. They all believed in liberty and freedom which brings us to what America has become today. 

        African Americans changed much in the years after the Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. From better education and technology. To freedom, equality, and rights to be the same. They have been a great accomplishment in the American Society.

Image Source:

photo1:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Racistcampaignposter1.jpg/250px-Racistcampaignposter1.jpg    

photo 2: http://blogs.davenport.edu/studentnews/files/2010/07/martin-luther-king-jr.jpg

Reconstruction

          What effect did Reconstruction have on former slaves? Where they better off after Reconstruction than they were before the Civil War?

          The Reconstruction had a lot of effect on former slaves because they began to see that with the Reconstruction they were potentially going to be treated equally as other Americans would be treated. The Reconstrution told the former slaves and African Americans to step up, and defend themselves and their rights. It also brought many views that they should not be able to be enslaved and eventually develop to have their own rights. Consequently, it changed the former slaves lives forever. For some slaves it was really all they had to supply their family, and so earn money for their freedom.

           Many taught that laws that would be passed during the Reconstruction like the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were passed at that time to help slaves to be treated more properly. The amendments purpose was to try to end slavery, but no one was going to change the way Americans thinking of slavery. Americans still thought blacks as outsiders, immigrants and foreigners.

           The former slaves lives were so much better off as the Reconstruction came to an end. The views of African American citizenship became equally important. They eventually exercised their freedom. Maybe the lives of the slaves were not as easy because the whites would enclose them back and not let them be free but as the government began to see that the whites were some what dictating the African Americans than they took over, and acted upon this. So laws never restrict people from judgment and attitude.

            In conclusion, the reconstruction did change the lives of the slaves very much they began to be treated properly. But it took very long for the intended to be put in to place and for everything to be equal. It was just the beginning of what freed slaves and African Americans. Some exercised the rights, but others thought it was better off to live in the plantation.

Recontruction..Should south be granted amnesty????

         During Reconstruction there was great debate over whether the South should be granted amnesty. What are your thoughts? Defend your argument.

         I think that during the reconstruction the South should have never been granted amnesty because this words just represents a pardon for offenses or crimes. So as saying that back then in the South they were giving a pardon for criminals. Why in the world would the U.S. give pardon to some criminals??? Personally, I think that neither the South or North agreed with granting the amnesty to the South. It obviously brought more conflict and disagreements between both sides. The Reconstruction was just helping the South to be free of slavery but it didn't help out at all and neither did the amnesty. During the Reconstruction it might have been a benefit to the congress and government to grant this amnesties. But I think the government should think about the people when granting this amnesties. After all if the North would have never granted the amnesty there would have never been a war at all. It was wrong to grant that amnesty to the South because the citizens should have a response to what the government is trying to decide on.   

"That Government is best which governs least"

          When Thoreau said, ''that government is best which governs least", what do you think he meant? Do you agree or disagree? Explain

          Thoreau meant to say in this quote that a great government doesnt contol everyones lifes. A government with flaws is constantly checking on what people are doing. Or many governments have political, racial, and economic problems that influence them a lot to have many rules. Like for example, the United States created Homeland Security because of the 9/11 attacks. Afterall just looks at potential terrorists but still times have changed and the lifestyle is becoming more restricted because of the government. The less that a government follows you around, the better life you can have. Many things have been restricted because many things that happen in the government. I believe that the governmet sould trust citizens more, to have better government and life.    

Stereotypes

          Why do you think the stereotypes are so widely known by so many in our society?

      There are stereotypes for every person. Even for every race or ethnicity, and many people know this around the world. No matter if you are black, white, female, male, and there on. People agree with this because they see themselves as better group, race, or ethnicity. Many just agree because they group up that way or educated differently than others. Therefore stereotypes can become very disturbing and racist. Stereotypes can even be assumptions that are totally incorrect about a person. Many stereotypes are passed down along a chain and we are influenced by the people around us. Many people in America stereotype about the races and ethnicity because of the different cultures that are in the United States. Even back in history there was stereotypes, like in the Civil War and Slavery that happened during those times. Such as News and movies present us with the different number of stereotypes seen in our society today. Or maybe even at school we may see stereotypes against students just by the way the look, the religion they are, ethnicity, and race. Stereotypes will still be seen in the future and now we find that stereotypes are widely known by a lot of people.

Countries leaving pieces of their history out..

Countries should not leave pieces of their history out  even though it benefits the person who is documenting the history. It is better for citizens to know the truth about what is happening in the world. About its most recent current events. Countries prefer for students to be educated with lies that only benefit them, to make the country look like a hero or victor to the people being educated, for that reason students don't learn the truth. A truth is always accepted by many. Even though people would protest about lies, the controversies will still go on and there would never be a perfect point of view in a story. If history happens it should all be written down as it concludes. This is why countries shouldn't leave pieces of their history out, even though it is negative.  

History Matters

History matters in different ways, such as that we all are part of history. Everything that we accomplish affects history. Also, history keeps repeating itself over and over again. It shapes, molds, and is constantly a part of us. Without history students will never be able to learn what happened in the past, there wouldn't be books. If students don't learn about history, they won't be able to know what will happen in the future. Every bodies ancestry and background are linked to history, which is why this should be very important in our lives. In all, the issues that are seen today have happened before and continue to happen because history is a cycle that we see anywhere like companies or empires which grow, dominate, and decay. In Conclusion, history does matter because if not humans wouldn't be alive and we wouldn't have the evolving civilization that we have now.