Month: June 2010

Why We Celebrate Independence Day on July 4th

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In 1776 John Adams wrote to his wife: “The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.” As we know, Adams was a couple of days off in his prediction that American independence would be celebrated on July 2nd. He did have reason to believe his prediction would come true, however. On July 2, 1776, the members of the Continental Congress first voted to declare independence from Britain.

Their decision was based on the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately for Jefferson, the next two days were spent listening to Congress’ objections to certain aspects of the Declaration. Like a writer being criticized by a room full of editors, Jefferson sulked but said little as Congress chipped away at his writing. Among the passages it eliminated was one on the evils of the slave trade and another on the crimes the British people in general had committed against Americans. The most famous passage of all, however, remained untouched except for the substitution of one word:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

On July 4, 1776, Congress approved their revised version of the Declaration. No one in Congress at the time seemed to particularly note the occasion; Adams left no record of his thoughts on that date and Jefferson only wrote that he went shopping. The next day, however, broadside editions of the Declaration were available to the public and on July 6, the Pennsylvania Evening Post printed the full text on its front page. That first year that the Declaration came out American patriots celebrated on July 8th because that is when most heard the news of the break from Britain. Since then, however, Americans have celebrated the day the revised Declaration was passed, with all the pomp and parade that Adams had hoped.   

 

 

 

Tocqueville’s Criticism of American Democracy

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Americans who write about their country are rarely objective since they are often influenced by their feelings of patriotism for their homeland. Alexis de Tocqueville’s report Democracy in America provides an unbiased view of American society. Tocqueville is a member of the French aristocracy, yet he admires the social equality and improvements in women’s education which our democracy creates. His objectivity, however, also allows him to criticize those aspects of American society which he disapproves of, such as racial hatred. 

 

America is often considered to be the land of opportunity, a place where anyone can rise up and achieve success. Tocqueville benefits from his country’s class system, but he views the social equality of Americans as wondrous. He states that “men are there seen on a greater equality in point of fortune and intellect, or, in other words, more equal in their strength, than in any other country in the world…” The idea of a classless society amazes Tocqueville. Americans do not inherit power or influence so instead they must earn it. He is in awe of a society in which even the poor do not defer to anyone.

 

Although the education of American women in the nineteenth century seems unjust by today’s standards since women could not attend college or hold a political office, Tocqueville reminds us that European women in the 1800s were even less fortunate. He argues that in France women receive a much more sheltered education and are rarely even taught to recognize evil.  Americans, on the other hand, “far from hiding the corruptions of the world from her [woman], they prefer that she should see them at once and train herself to shun them.” Americans recognize that even women will encounter evil in their lives and must know how to avoid it.  Since they are told they have the ability to reason, American women achieve a confidence in themselves which European women cannot. They express their own opinions during conversation and think independently. Through an education which emphasizes reason, American women are allowed to reap the rewards of democracy.

 

The praise which Tocqueville gives for the education of women is absent, however, from his discussion of the injustices committed towards African Americans. The respect which he feels for American democracy is evident, but he indicates that this same democratic spirit will prevent black equality. He explains that as white individuals attain more rights, they develop racial pride. “The white citizen of the United States is proud of his race, and proud of himself.” Pride in one’s heritage is not evil, but the feeling of racial superiority which white Americans share promotes racial inequality. African Americans in the North are often treated more poorly than those in the South because whites fear their loss of authority. Tocqueville describes treatment of African Americans in the North: “The negro is free, but he can share neither the rights, nor the pleasures, nor the labor, nor the afflictions, nor the tomb of him whose equal he has been declared to be.” According to Tocqueville, until America resolves its issues of racial inequality it can never be a true democracy.  

 

American society in the nineteenth century is neither completely good nor completely evil. The country’s democracy provides class equality and education for women, yet contradicts itself by promoting racial hatred. Similarly, American society today deals with undemocratic problems such as hate crimes.

 

The History of the Ice Cream Sundae

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During summer many of us will be enjoying cool, sweet treats like ice cream sundaes. But did you ever wonder who created the first ice cream sundae? Several different towns claim the honor, but Ithaca, New York seems to have the best documentation to call itself the home of the ice cream sundae.

The story is that Reverend John Scott walked into the Platt and Colt Pharmacy in Ithaca after Sunday services on April 3, 1892. The shop’s owner, Chester Platt, decided instead of serving the minister plain vanilla ice cream, he would ask his fountain clerk to top it with cherry syrup and a candy cherry. His new creation tasted so good that the minister declared that it should be named for the day on which it was created. That is how the Cherry Sunday got its name. The name would be altered somewhat later—apparently some people thought it was inappropriate to name a decadent treat after the Sabbath—so it was eventually spelled sundae.

Ithaca high school students found documentation that proves Ithaca to be the home of the ice cream sundae. The Platt and Colt Ledger Books prove that Platt had the necessary ingredients in his store to create the sundae in the 1890s. In addition, a newspaper ad in the Ithaca Daily Journal dated April 5, 1892 advertised the Cherry Sunday. A few days later, the newspaper announced that the new creation was becoming very popular with the townspeople. Although other towns have claimed the title as the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, they do not have the same supporting documents that Ithaca, New York possesses.

 

The Childhood of Malcolm X

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Malcolm X faced hardships at a very young age. His father died when Malcolm was six, the victim of white hatred for his militant preaching. The killing of his father placed Malcolm’s family at the poverty level, giving them little hope of staying together. Malcolm’s family was separated by the welfare system which decided that Malcolm’s mother was mentally unstable and could not provide for her children. The youngest children were sent to foster homes, and although they kept in touch, the family was never fully reunited.

Due to the effects of racism on his family, Malcolm X never had the opportunity to be educated by his parents. Both parents had the potential to be strong role models for young Malcolm. His father was a preacher, and if he had lived, he might have guided Malcolm at an early age toward his future profession. His mother received a superior education and could have instilled the love of learning he would eventually find in prison. Instead, his parents’ absence left Malcolm without guidance. He eventually turned to crime and gang members became his mentors, teaching him to evade the law. As Malcolm states in his autobiography, “from a Harlem point of view, I couldn’t have been in a more educational situation. Some of the ablest of New York’s black hustlers took a liking to me, and knowing that I was still green by their standards, soon began in a paternal way to ‘straighten Red [Malcolm’s nickname] out.’”

Malcolm’s schooling lasted briefly due to racism in the educational system. While attending a mostly white junior high school, he expressed his dream of becoming a lawyer. His teacher did not encourage him to pursue his ambition. Instead, he told Malcolm to study carpentry because a law degree was considered to be an unrealistic dream for African Americans. This experience made Malcolm bitter and prevented him from continuing his education. Malcolm received no further education until he was encouraged by a prison inmate to take correspondence courses.

Friends did help Malcolm find employment, but they could only give him access to jobs like shoe shining. Although he eventually got a decent job as a waiter on a train, African Americans could not advance much more than that. As a result, he was unable to resist the money he received from stealing and eventually received a prison sentence for burglary as a young man. Years later when he became the leader of the Organization of Afro-American Unity which promoted unity between blacks and whites, he barely made enough money to support his family. Despite Malcolm’s prominence in the African American community, white society still refused to give him the privileges it shared with members of its own race.

 

What Parts of White Culture did the Cherokee Adopt?

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From the time the first explorers came to America, the new arrivals had a great impact on the culture of the native people. For example, they introduced the natives to new crops such as rice, wheat, and coffee which could successfully grow and benefit the natives. Although the immigrant and native cultures influenced each other at first, as the years passed one culture, often referred to as Anglo-Saxon, eventually became dominant. The early native people chose to adopt elements of white culture which complimented their former way of life.  

After coming in contact with whites, the Cherokee gradually adopted some aspects of Christianity. The nineteenth century religious revivals and the government’s plan to make Native Americans more civilized resulted in missionaries being sent to the Cherokee Nation. In 1800 the Cherokees accepted the Christians’ desire to build a school. Apparently satisfied with their own religious beliefs, however, they remained uninterested in Christianity for many years. Missionaries eventually had more success with the younger generations which came to regard the old traditions such as singing and dancing around the fire as “unenlightened.” These later generations believed that this new religion would help them to become more civilized and would make them superior to their elders.

The Cherokee also adopted the American system of government. By 1827 the Native Americans began to centralize their government, dividing it into a bicameral legislature like our Senate and House of Representatives, several chief executives known as head chiefs, and a judiciary. Though the American system does not include more than one chief executive, the Cherokee’s new government is strikingly similar. The Native Americans did not imitate US government just because it was American. They had a specific purpose in mind when they eliminated the village meetings where everyone would argue until an agreement was reached. The Cherokees wanted to centralize their government to protect their nation whose land was in danger of being bought out by the whites. By centralizing the government and giving only officials authority to sell land, Cherokee leaders were attempting to ensure the Nation’s survival.

Native Americans also took advantage of the opportunity to learn how to read and write English through missionary schools. By 1824 Cherokee statesman John Ridge stated that one-third of the Cherokee Nation could read and write in English. Creating a fervent desire in the natives to create their own language, the introduction of the English alphabet led to the invention of the Cherokee written language by Sequoyah during the 1820s. Although the missionaries sought to civilize the Cherokee by using the English language, they unwittingly helped the Cherokee to develop their own language and sense of national pride. This pride was shown in the newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix.  The articles were printed in both English and Cherokee, and served two functions: to inform the people about US plans to relocate the tribe to Oklahoma and to bring the people together in protesting removal.  Throughout the removal crisis, the newspaper became an important factor in uniting both Cherokee and some white people against removal.