The Scarlet Letter 10

The Scarlet Letter

Entry Ten

While I read the chapters, I noticed that every important character has its own color, besides Mr. Dimmesdale.

To Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, the color black is connected. He stands for “the real sin”, the mysterious person appearing and disappearing in the nowhere, using the invisibility to seek revenge.

Hester Prynne has the color red. Her person unifies passion, love, sin, but also joie de vivre, strength and will power: These are all characteristics of the color red.

When she is walking somewhere in the night, Hawthorne describes the “A” as “red-hot with infernal fire”, and it “could be seen glowing all alight”. So it leaves like a red “shadow” behind, marking every step she takes. This “shadow” could be interpreted as the hell fire shining right out of the “A”, but you could also say that it has something celestial. Both views are be justifiable: The hell fire is the burning sin that she committed. The person living in hell is the devil, in this book: Her husband. Maybe he is the one pulling the strings above everyone’s head, giving her an eternal mark for cheating on him.

But at another passage in the book, she is considered as saint-like because she carries all her guilt so toughly. Although she is banned from the rest of the society, she still goes on with living her life, she neither gives up nor she tries to flee from her punishment.

Pearls name itself is a color: A shiny, beautiful and gleaming one. Her whole nature seems precious and pretty.

(I am going to explain more about her in the next post)

In my opinion Arthur Dimmesdale doesn't have a color because he does not have a real identity so far. He has to hide it (his love to Hester Prynne, their daughter) behind his job as a clergyman for the Boston church.
So he is an undefined character so far, which would mean in "color-language": Either a cloudy color like gray or no color.

The Scarlet Letter 9

The Scarlet Letter

Entry Nine

 One of the most often used symbols in “The Scarlet Letter” is the light / the darkness.

The light coming from the sun is mostly appearing when Hester steps out of somewhere, with the big letter A on her chest.

In the second chapter, before Hester is brought out to the market place from the prison, Hawthorne mentions “the bright morning sun” shining down on the gossiping crowd. When she comes out, her baby “winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of the day” because all she had seen before was “the gray twilight of a dungeon.”

So Hester had been imprisoned before Pearl was born, looked away from the society and hidden from bad voices talking about her. Thus the darkness represents safety, in a good way (being safe from people gossiping) but later in the book also in a bad way (sins are easily hidden).

Now that she steps out into the sunlight, Hester is exposed to men and women pointing their fingers at her. She isn’t safe anymore, everyone can watch her.

So in this book, sunlight stands for having no shelter, one’s mind and soul being exposed to everyone, being “naked”.

Essay English - The Song Of The Sky Loom

Essay

Song of the sky loom

A poem by the Tewa Tribe

Climate changing. Global warming. Environmental pollution. Melting polar caps. Rain forest dying - The headings of news papers from all over the world, from Tokyo to Las Vegas, from Sydney to Rome.

The journals inform us about the earth’s situation, directing our attention to the world problems caused by people. And unconsciously, they divide the world into two parts:

The bigger part consists of the ones that don’t pay attention to any of these headlines and instead blame everyone else but theirselves, along the lines of: It wasn’t me.

The smaller crowd of people are the helping and caring ones. Some are members of environmental organizations taking active part in saving endangered species, for instance. Others have their own helping stragedies, sorting their waste or using a bike instead of a car, which is a good start to contribute.

But did it really have to come to that?

As a matter of fact, people didn’t always act as unconcerned as they do now.

Hundreds of years ago, before the Puritans came to North America longing for religious freedom, a tribe from the Southwest of what is now called the U.S. lived in peace with nature and environment: The Tewa people.

To express their feelings, the tribe created poems and songs, mostly about what was going through the members’ minds and what seemed important enough to them to think about.

Their written poem “Song of the sky loom” deals with their relationship to planet Earth.

In the following section I am going to explain why we can learn a lesson from the “Song of the sky loom.”

The poem begins and also ends with the line “O our Mother the earth, O our Father the sky,” showing which close relationship the Tewa people have to the nature. The tribe is connected to it like children are connected to their parents.
The earth holds them like a mother holds her children and lets them grow on her with a motherly protective instinct.

The sky is watching them from above, holding doom off his “children.”

With using this line as the first and also as the last verse, the poem builds a completed circle, representing the circle of life we are living in.

In the next verse, they write about bringing with tired backs the gifts they (Mother earth and Father sky) love. It does not go in detail what is meant with “gifts they love”, so we can only imagine what they intented. Due to the fact that in this time, having enough to eat was the most important element for surviving in a tribe’s continued existence, they probably hint at a rich harvest. When people had a good yield on their fields in the summer, it meant that they could have a happy and fulfilled year, so having a good harvest was the biggest gift you could have made for them. By offering this (the greatest present they have) to their gods, they show how serious they are with worshipping them and how important it seems to them that their gods are happy too.

In the text development the poem uses the term “garment of brightness” as a synonym for a good, happy and fulfilled life. Its respective clothing parts symbolize the nature: “May the warp be the white light of morning, may the weft be the red light of evening, may the fringes be the falling rain, may the border be the standing rainbow.”

These weaving terms are found in the entire poem as the central theme. It might emblematize the cosmogony because looms create garments, and in this poem, the garment stands for the human’s life.

                       

The “Song of the sky loom” shows us that the Tewa people put the nature on a par with gods. Instead of worshipping animals or figures like many other Native American tribes did, they prayed to the environment.

We can learn very much from this poem although it doesn’t mean that we should deify our world. But we can learn from it that having an intact nature is essential for having a good life and only if we live in harmony with our surroundings we are able to live in joy.

What we cannot do is expecting our world to be perfect without doing something in return. As the Tewa people bring with tired backs the gifts they love, we have to take care of what is given to us. Like the old Native American tribe, we have to think about what our planet wants to have from us, and again like them: We have to do something for a good environment. The Tewa people brought with tired backs their gifts, which means that they put a lot of effort in their work. If we transfer that in our today’s life it means that it does take some time and endeavor to sort our waste, and yes, it is more exhausting to ride a bike instead of a comforting and fast car. But it is definitely worth it. Because only with commitment we are able to receive the good life our Earth is offering to us.

So maybe, after eventually everyone realized that, why shouldn’t the future newspapers’ headings go as following:

Thanks for letting us have this beautiful world.

The Scarlet Letter 8

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Four

Entry Eight

The husband of Hester Prynne introduces himself as “Roger Chillingworth”. We don’t know if it’s his right name so far, but this name has a lot of meaning in it:
”Roger” stands for revenge, and “Chillingworth” for chilly (cruel, inhumane) and worth (he makes Arthut Dimmesdale speak out his own sin).

Chapter four shows the true colors of Roger Chillingworth.

He forces Hester to agree to his wish: She lets him stay anonymous in the town.

His whole appearance makes her ask:

“Are thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us?”

The black man (Roger Chillingworth) is a synonym for the devil himself, appearing disguised in black. Black is always the color of something bad and evil, and also something secret and myterious. Someone who is weaing black wants to stay undercover. This is exactly Roger’s plan: Staying in disguise to identify the man his wife had an affair with.

In my opinion he plays the “ruler of the world”, he wants to decide about what’s right and wrong and he won’t stop seeking the man until he found him to demand justice (his own “kind of justice”).

The Scarlet Letter 7

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Four

Entry Seven

The fourth chapter contains one of the most important scenes in the book.

Hester’s husband, he introduces himself as Roger Chillingworth, comes to her prison cell as a doctor. He was called because of the baby that was agitated by all the flurry around her.
While Chillingworth was looking after her, he is talking to Hester about her sin.

During they are talking it comes clear that all he is interested in is taking revenge on the man Hester was cheating with on him. Though she still refuses to reveal the secret name, he seems to be sure about finding out who the man is (“with a smile of dark  and self-relying intelligence”).

He seems nearly obsesses by the thought of retaliating upon him for “stealing” his wife. He emphasizes it so clearly that Hester is literally afraid of revealing it by letting him look at her (“Hester Prynne clasped her hands over her heart, dreading lest he should the secret there at once”)

Before he leaves her alone in the prison, he brings her to make a pact with him: She won’t tell anybody about his existence in Boston and leaves everyone thinking he died in the sea. By this promise Hester is helping him to find the man he’s looking for. She might not realize it in this moment or she is intimidated by his threatening (“Shouldst you fail me in this, beware! His fame, his position, his life, will be in my hands. Beware!”), but she eases his search very much. When he is anonymous in the town, and noone knows he is in search of this one person, he can go into hiding between all the inhabitants of Boston without attracting attention.

Before he is about to close the door, he smiles at her darkly which makes her ask if she sold her soul by promising it to him. Now she saw that this probably was a big mistake she did. His answer: “Not thy soul. No, not  thine!”

Now he has the power about the man’s soul.

History Homework PG 113 09/26

History  Homework

PG 113

#1

England more had to sell its goods to other countries (to export) than it bought from abroad (to import) to make money.

A charter colony was a colony that had a charter to be settled. It granted rights and privileges and the colonists were able to elect their own government. Rhode Island and Connecticut were such colonies.

When a colony was owned by someone (a proprietor), it was called a Proprietary colony. Its owners were able to rule freely. Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

An apprentice is someone who learns a certain task while he is helping in a factory.

Literacy means being able to read and write.

#2

The family was very important to the colonial life. Women worked in the household as well as on the farm. They cooked for the men and children, and also spun yarn, made clothes, tended chickens and cows. Sometimes they also helped on the fields side to side with the working men.

Women still didn’t have any political rights like voting, but they were able to attend chuch meetings.

#3

The Navigation Act was enacted from England to make sure that the only one profitted from the trade between England and the North America colonies was them. The colonies felt offended because they did not use ships from other countries than Great Britain.

This made the colonies less powerful.

#4

Joh Peter Zenger’s wrote an article that was critical against the royal governor of New York. Due to the fact that in that time there wasn’t any freedom for the press, his case had to be judged by a jury. Andrew Hamilton was the man who defended Zenger’s request. He was of the opinion that if something is true, it should be allowed to be printed. The jury should not decide on whether it is offensive or not because free speech was a basic right for English people.

#5

The Great Awakening

The religions were spread all over America;
it was areligious revival;
many new churches were formed   
          

The people of the world are all equal in front of God

People began to become educated;
New England and Pennsylvania set up school systems to make sure that everyone was able to read

#6

Stephen Daye established the first press in the American colonies in 1639.

Before printed material was widely used, the people spread news verbally.

The Scarlet Letter 6

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Three

Entry Six

After Hester and her husband saw each other, the trial began. Prynne, still caught in her thoughts about him, was called by John Wilson, the “eldest clergyman of Boston.” He stood on a balcony hanging over Hester’s platform, next to him a pale young man. While he spoke he introduced this man as Brother Dimmesdale.

He is one of the most important and at the same time puzzling characters in the story.

He is described as a “young clergyman, who had come from one of the great English universities, bringing all the learning of the age into our wild forest-land.” He had a white, lofty, and impending brow, large, brown, melancholy eyes, and a mouth which often trembled if he didn’t press his lips together.

All in all, he seemed to be an insecure person, feeling comportfable only in loneliness, but his freshness and purity of thought affected many people like the speech of an angel.

It was up to this man to make Hester reveal the secret name of her affair.

Durig the proceedings, the evidence is that Arthur Dimmesdale is the father of Hester Prynne’s daughter.

First, he is announced by John Wilson as a man who didn’t want to force Hester Prynne to tell the man’s name. He didn’t want her “to lay open her heart’s secret in such broad daylight, and in presence of so great a multitude.” Why should he care about an alien woman in a time where adultery was on of the greatest sins in life, when he didn’t have a personal relationship to this person?

Furthermore, his body tries to resist Wilson’s request to speak in front of Hester and the staring crowd: “The trying nature of his position drove the blood from his cheek, and made his lips tremulous.”

Also, before he starts to speak, he “bents his head, in silent prayer, as it seemed.” We don’t know what he is praying for, but it is likely that he begs for mercy from heaven when he pretends to be against the woman he loves.

Furthermore, after Mr. Wilson weighs in to threathen her with the “limits of Heaven’s mercy,” Hester looks instead of the reverend’s eyes into Dimmesdale’s while she is replying “Never!” To the reader it seems like an oath she is making to him.

In the end, Hawthorne’s choice of names looms large. “Arthur Dimmesdale” contains “Adam, Adultery” and “Dim and Dale = to hide one’s sin”

All this reasons make me think that his name is the wanted one.

History Homework PG 106 09/26

History Homework

PG 106

#1

While the population of America was growing and growing, farming became the most important economic activity in the colonies. Though New England was a very good place to live (babies didn’t die because of diseases of childhood as often as they did in other places, and the adults became older then anywhere else) , their farms were smaller than in southern America. The owners of the farms practiced subsistence farming which means that they only produced as much food as they needed for their families.

As the trade expanded, the eastern colonies’ cities became the center for trade in America. From there, the traders were able to ship goods to other colonies and the West Indies.

The Americans discovered different sea routes for trading with England: Some went straight from the West Indies to Europe and back, others used routes called the triangular trade. These routes were triangle shaped, for example: One leg of it was from the Caribbean Sea to the New Englands’ colonies, carrying sugar and molasses. The next ships sailed with rum (made out of the brought molasses), iron and tools to West Africa. There, the goods were exchanged for gold and pepper, but mainly for African slaves, which were shipped back to the West Indies.

As the opposite of the New England’s colonies where the climate and thin, rocky soil made it hard to farm efficiently, the Middle colonies had better conditions. Their weather was milder and they enjoyed a fertile soil, so the famers were able to use large areas of land for their harvests.

In Pennsylvania and New York, the farmers delevoped the principle of cash crops, wheat and other crops that were easy to sell in the colonies and overseas.

#2

The middle colonies grew cash crops, they made home-based crafts (e.g. carpentry, flour making), but also larger businesses (e.g. lumbering, mining, small-scale manufacturing).

#3

The colonies in New England had some natural resources they used for their economy. colonies in New England had some natural resources they used for their economy.

To run mills for grinding grain and sawing lumber, waterpower from streams had been used. Furthermore, if women produced to many of their goods (clothes, garments, soaps, candles etc.), they sold or traded with them. In larger towns, people that were skilled enough could get a job such as a shoemaker, metalsmith or printer.

In areas where ships were built, the New England’s forest woods were used as lumber for the ships. Moreover, fishing was important to the economy. Due to the big variety of goods, the colonies were able to trade with other colonies or the West Indies, so they were able to make money.

#4

                                                Similarities                             Differences

New England                          Economic acti-                       long winters; thin, rocky soil

                                                vities

Southern Colonies                                                               rich soil; warm climate; used slaves  

#5

Most of the plantation owners in Southern America had slaves working on their fields. To make sure they were working hard, the farmers had oversees (bosses) watching the Africans. Most of them lived in cruel conditions on the plantations.

The owners probably justified their owning of persons with the argument of economic success. They used the slaves for the common good.

#6

Goods from British colonies to Great Britain:

Rice, tobacco, indigo, furs

Goods from the West Indies to the British colonies:

Goods, molasses

The Scarlet Letter 5

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Three

Entry Five

The third chapter deals with the first meeting of Hester Prynne and her husband while she is standing on the scaffold.

Long before Hester sees him, he already recognized her. When he arrived at the place in front of the prison, his eyes lay on her. First, his glance was careless, seeming not to realize who he is looking at. As soon as he does realize it, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne described it as following:

“His look became keen and penetrative. A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snakegliding swiftly over them, and making only little pause, with all its wreathed intervolutions in open sight.”

In this first recognition, the husband reveales his real face, his naked soul. The penetrating feature in his glance fits to further descriptions of him (someone who is able to look in someone’s soul). The horror that appeared on his expression seemed like a snake slithering over his face.

Again, Hawthorne refers to the bible (Hester was described as Virgin Mary). The snake made Eve eat the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil although she was not allowed to. This makes snakes seem evil to us even now, they have a bad and sinister-misleading attitude. Furthermore they are agile and able to disappear at lightning speed.

All in all, a snake always stands for an evil element, something that you better not trust.

So Hawthorne wants the reader to see the dark side of the husband’s soul.

He won’t let engage the reader’s sympathy for him right from the beginning.

After that, he fastly controlled his facial expressions and the convulsion “grew almost impectible, and finally subsided into the depths of his nature.” This also emphasizes that this evilness is a part of his being, unable to be removed.

As soon as he realizes she recognizes him standing in the crowd, “he slowly and calmly raised his his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips.”

Hawthorne does not go into detail what exactly he is doing with his hands, but when you normally lay your finger on your lips, you want to show someone to keep silent. Maybe this gesture should show Hester that he knows they both recognize each other, but that neither he nor she should reveal the fact that they know each other.

This part of the chapter might be the most important one because it is called “The Recognition.” Although the jury is talking and judging on her later in the chapter and they try to figure out who the father of Hester’s baby is, it does not seem as important as the first glance in each other’s eyes.

The Scarlet Letter 4

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Two

Entry Four

After Hester Prynne steps out of the prison door, the staring crowd saw a woman trying to be strong, neither to seem intimitaded by the tension coming from the gossiping people, nor to seem desperate about the punishment. Hawthorne describes her egression of the jail as “an action marked with natural dignity” and “force of character” (ll 35).

But as the young woman stops in front of all the inhabitants of Boston, “it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceil a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress” (ll 4-7). This is the moment, where the “A” is mentioned for the first time.

But in my opinion, her action is more important than the letter A.

Why does she rather hide the A on her chest (stands for “Adultery”, her sin and the reason, why she is accused) than her baby?

Shouldn’t the natural maternal instinct automatically make her try to save her child from this scary events?

What does this act reveal about Hester and her personality? Does it mean that she cares more about her own dignity than about the love to her daughter? Does it advert to Hester’s relationship to her child and hence to her relationship to the adultery?

Words of the Day

Obtuse -  annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand (adj)
Adroit - clever or skillful in using the hands or mind (adj)

He is like two persons: On the one side he sometimes acts adroit, and on the other side he sometimes seems very obtuse.

deleterious - causing harm or damage (adj)
Cross Country is deleterious for my sleep because sometimes I work on it til midnight.
 

The Scarlet Letter 3

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter Two

Entry Three

In the second chapter the storyline begins. The plot starts with Hester Prynne stepping out of the prison and the whole citizens staring at her. On her chest sports the big scarlet letter A. It stands for “adultery”, the sin she had comitted.

The letter is described as “so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effort of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore” and that it had “the effect of a spell, taking her out of th ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself.”

The letter has the same color as the rose-bush, mentioned in chapter one. The bush is placed in front of the prison, well visible for every person passing the front door. It has nearly the same effect as the letter does. It catches everyone’s attention and directs it to the sins of the world (the letter directs the attention to Hester’s adultery, the rose-bush directs it to the shameful place of the town (the prison)). 

History - Massacre at Mystic

Massacre at Mystic

#3

The Puritans wanted religious freedom and they were planning to set up colonies.

#4

Land and property:
The Pequots didn’t believe in owning land, they just used it as long as they needed it.
The Puritans believed in owning land when you have settlements on it (you needed to live there)

Division of labor and gender:
The Pequots divided their work in two parts: The women were responsible for food and children; the men went out on the fields to go hunting and practice.
The Puritans thought that the men were lazy and the women were too strong because in their society, the men did all the hard work.

Warfare:
Puritans believed that the idea of total war was the way to get rid of their enemies; they solved their problems by fighting.
The Indians intention was not to commit genocide.

#5

The Dutch’s intention was to trade with the Natives and according to this, they were friendly to the Natives.  They were able to live in peace with the Indians because they needed a good relationship for trading with them.
The British instead, wanted to expand their territory. They did not care about people living on the land because they wanted to settle this area.

#12

The massacre at Mystic made it acceptable for people to attack the Natives and take over their land by massacre.

The Scarlet Letter 2

The Scarlet Letter

Chapter One

Entry Two

In the first chapter, Nathaniel Hawthorne mentiones prison of Boston, symbolized with a ‘black flower of civilizated society’. On the one side of the prison there is a grass-plot with weeds on it. This side of the jailhouse stands for the bad and ugly things of the former society.

But on the other side, ‘rooted almost at the threshold’ (ll 28), Hawthore placed a wild rose-bush covered with ‘delicate gems’.

Again, Hawthorne uses a color. Rose-bushes are normally red, and red is the color of passion, love but also the color of sins.

The author himself gives us the explanation for the reason of the rose-bush: ‘imagined to offer their (the germs’) fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him’ (ll 30 – 1).

That means that tough these people come from a bad society and did evil things in their life, there is still the chance to be ‘cured’, like a ray of hope through all the darkness.

The Scarlet Letter 1

The Scarlet Letter

My Dialectical Journal

Chapter 1

Entry One

In the first chapter of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, describes the location of the story. One of the main pictured objects ‘on the virgin soil’ (ll 9) is a prison. Hawthorne calls it ‘the black flower of civilized society’ (ll 27). 

A prison is a place, where people are sent to when they did something against rules or laws as punishment and mostly, these people have an evil attitude and an sinister charisma. If you’d ask someone to paint convicts only with colors, I am sure, everyone would use the colors gray and black. This is likely to be the reason for the choice of the word ‘Black’ for the description of the flower.

But why did Hawthorne call the jail a flower at all? Maybe he chose this word because the Puritans’ idea of their new colony was a Utopia what is pointed out by the author ironically (‘whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project’ (ll 6-7)). Maybe he compares the new city with a field of flowers (flowers stand for happiness, brightness and beauty). The prison is like a black sheep in that pretended perfect world, the only place in and around Boston, where the founders couldn’t hide the imperfections of their creation.

But another interpretation might be that he chose the flower because it grew from the society. The society is to blame for the fact that the world needs buildings at all, where people are sent to for penalizing them.

English Questions to Chapter One

What colony is the setting for the novel?
The story is the Massachusetts colony, Boston

Where in the colony does the opening chapter take place?
The first chapter describes only the setting of the story. It is placed in the vicinity of Cornhill.

For what 2 “practical necessities” did the new colony set aside land?
They set aside land (a portion of the virgin soil) for the prison and the cemetery.

Who is Anne Hutchinson?
In 1638, Anne Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts because she had other religious views than the government had. Then she went to Rhode Island looking for religious freedom.

What 2 possible symbols does the rose have for the reader?
The wild rose bush stands for Anne Hutchinson.  It also means purity in comparison to the black flower (the prison).

Word of the Day

Alacrity - noun
brisk and cheerful readiness

Her alacrity in English earned her an A + in the last quiz

timorous - adjective
showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence

Why are you so timorous? I'm here for you.

US History 09/15/2010 PG 93 #1

PG 93

#1

After 1660, the colonies began to expand more and more, so they needed more workers on their plantations. One option were English, Scottish or Irish prisoners which were brought to North America to work on the fields for a certain period of time (mostly seven years). After that they were released.

Another option were the indentured servants. These people payed the fee to come over to the Americas with work.

3 years later in a colony south of Virginia, King Charles II founded “Carolina”. For Charleston (first Charles Town), an English philospher (John Locke) wrote the constitution. It said that every man had the right to decide on his body and work. Shortly thereafter, Carolina seperated into two independent colonies.

The last of the British colonies (Georgia) was founded to give English debtors and poor people could start all over. Furthermore, Georgia could protect the other British colonies from Spanish attacks.

Besides the British and Spanish settlers, France also founded some colonies in North America. But their settlements didn’t grow as fast as the other colonies did, so the French settlers decided to bring other men to their colonie. These tenant farmers worked for a fixed number of days each year for the estate holders and paid an annual rent.

While France concentrated on the northern part of North America, the Spanish settlers started missions along the Pacific coast. Their intention was not only to convert other people to Christianity, but they also forced Native Americans to work on their land als laborers.

History Homework 09/15/2010 (except PG 93 #1)

History

PG 85

#1

After the Dutch came over to America, they started to trade with the Americas.  Soon, a new colony was founded: New Netherland. The main city was New Amsterdam (now New York). Because the Dutch West Company wanted to expand their territory, they undertook to give every man who brought at least 50 persons to work for them on their lands a large estate. These people were called patroons and were able to rule like a king.
After some years, New Amsterdam was renamed in New York. It now was a proprietary colony, which means that one person (owner) had all power. He owned all land and controlled the government.
In 1680, William Penn came over to settle Pennsylvania. He was a Quaker and he believed in pacifism. Furthermore he didn’t want to take away land from the Natives.

#2

The Charter of Liberties granted the colonists of Pennsylvania the right to elect representatives to the legislative assembly. Furthermore, in 1703, the lower counties were allowed to form their own legislature.

#3

William Penn respected the fact that the land to which the colonists came to belonged to the Native Americans and he was of the opinion that they should pay for it.

#4

The Puritans wanted to reform the Anglican Church because they didn’t agree with the British government. Although they wanted not to be restricted to a certain religion, they didn’t tolerate other religions but their own when they came to America (though they came for religious freedom!). The Quakers in contrast accepted other people’s religions.

#5

Colony    Type of government
New York    The colonists wanted to have a representative government. First they met with a refusal but eventually they achieved a legislature elected by them
New Jersey    In 1702 New Jersey became a royal colony but the colonists were allowed to continue making local laws
Pennsylvania    The settlers in Pennsylvania had a legislative assembly to which they were allowed to elect representatives.
The lower counties were also allowed to form their own legislature

#6

Title: The middle colonies
Items shown in the key: Grain, Cattle, Fish, Lumber, Rum and Iron
Products important to Pennsylvania: Cattle, Lumber, Iron, Grain, Rum

PG 93

#1



#2

The French settlement grew so slowly because their settlement system consisted of estates along the St. Lawrence River. The persons who owned estates only received land when they brought new settlers to the colony.

#3

Margaret Brent was the first female landowner in Maryland (owning land in her own name) and one of the largest owners. But in 1648, she moved away to Virginia because the government of Maryland refused to allow her two votes (one for her as a landowner and one as the legal representative of Lord Baltimore.)

#4

I think that Bacon’s rebellion was definitely a sign of more unrest to come.
The settlers were divided into two groups: One part of them didn’t care about the Native Americans and that they are the rightful owners of the land, but on the other side there was the other part of them. They did care about who’s land they are living on.
This had to end up in conflicts.

#5

Country    Region
Spain    Most of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America
France    They went to North America (Quebec)

#6

Virginia included Norfolk
Main projects of Georgia: Indigo, Rice
South Carolina major city: Charles Town

Words of the Day

Reticent - adjective
not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily

She is so reticent and shy that it almost seems as if she doesn't like us.

Rigor - noun
the quality of being extremely thorough, exhaustive, or accurate

The rigor of my teacher is unbearable. We're not even allowed to go to the restroom!

English Vocabulary (Wrong words !!)

Annul – verb
To invalidate something

Anecdote – noun
A funny or interesting short story about a person or situation

Insolence –noun
A rude and arrogant lack of respect

Churlish – adjective
Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way

Irate – adjective
Feeling or characterized by great anger

Efficacy – noun
The ability to produce a desired or intended result

Dastardly – adjective
Wicked and cruel

Pummel – verb
Strike repeatedly, typically with the fists

Perspicacity – adjective, noun
Having a ready insight into and understanding of things

Quell – verb
Put an end to (a rebellion or other disorder), typically by the use of force

Chagrin – noun
Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated

Assiduously – verb
Showing great care and perseverance

Maliciously – adverb
Characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm

Word Of The Day

1. In World War II Germany had to capitulate because there was no other possibility.
2. Angels are celestial because we believe they live next to god in heaven.

Word Of The Day

1. The catalyst for her happiness was his phone call.
2. One of the caustic substances is salt acid.

Word Of The Day

1. I tried to cajole my best friend into join me for dinner but she didn't have time.
2. In school in Germany we get censures when we write in books.

History - The Virginia Company

History

Pg 73

#1
The Virginia Company was a joint-stock company, which bought charters from King James I to organize a settlement in the North American region called Virginia. After they finally managed this settlement in Virginia, some settlers wanted to have a say in government affairs. So the company allowed 10 cities to sent each 2 burgesses to their assemblies.

#2
The Virginia Company went to North America because they hoped to find some gold and silver there. They relied on the fact that earlier persons deemed it for a good place for establishing a colony.

#3
The winter of 1609-1610 was a hard time for the Jamestown settlers. To get out of this misery, John Rolfe, one of the colonists, grew some special sort of tobacco. For this, he used seeds from the West Indies. It didn’t take long till other settlers began to raise tobacco. Due to this progress Jamestown started to expand and to grow.

#4
Maybe King James I. didn’t abandon his hope to find some gold or silver there because he remembered Sir Walther Raleigh, who was convinced that he had found the perfect place for a settlement in North Carolina.

#5
Jamestown Growth:
-The colonists were able to rent some land to plant their own food crops
-The company members sent 90 women to Jamestown because they were of the opinion that “the plantation can never flourish till families be planted.” If a colonist wanted to marry one of these women, he had to pay 120 pounds of tobacco to the company

#6
30 percent of the settlers were children.

Pg 80

#1
In 1534, England became a Protestant country because King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. But not all inhabitants of England were happy with this movement. Some people were persecuted from the followers of the Anglican Church. Some of them (the Puritans) wanted to reform the Anglican Church. Others (the Separatists) rather formed their own religion. Most of the Separatists were persecuted in England, so they went to the Netherlands. There they agreed to a contract with the Virginia Company. They were shipped to Virginia and would be able to practice their religion freely. Due to the fact that the Separatists had a religious background of settlement, they called themselves Pilgrims.
The ship that they went with to Virginia stopped in Plymouth, but this wasn’t the Virginia Company’s territory.  So the Pilgrims had to sign the Mayflower Compact which declared that they were loyal to England and would obey all their laws.
After England had gotten a new king (Charles I.) many Puritans fled to the other Puritans in North America because of great persecutions. In 1630 already 15,000 Puritans migrated to the US because there they could practice their religious beliefs freely. On the other side they were very strict against other religions. They did non tolerate any other churches in their territory.

#2
The Separatists left England because in their home country they were persecuted by the government. Due to the fact that they did not agree with the English religion (Anglican Church), the Separatists tried to form their own church. But the king didn’t like this trend.

#3
Rhode Island was such an attractive destination because there, nobody was abridged in his or her religious freedom. Everybody was allowed to practice the preferred religion.

#4
The Mayflower impact indicates that the Pilgrims remained in their loyalty to England and that their intention was to form “a civil body politic” for their better ordering and preservation. Also, they had to sign that they would obey all the laws, which were “for the general good of the colony.”
The thing it had in common with the Fundamental Orders Of Connecticut was that both describe the political order of a country.

#5
The colonists interact with the Native Americans
-Americans helped the colonists with adapting to the land; they traded with each other
-Settlers used the Native’s land without permission or payment
-War broke out between the English settlers and the Pequet people/the Wampanoag tribe

#6
New Hampshire products:
Rum, Lumber, Furs

The Iroquois Constitution

The Iroquois Constitution




Page 90



#1a

Who plants and names the Tree of the Great Peace with Dekanawidah?



Dekanawidah plants this tree with the Five Nations confederate lords. The five Nations were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and the Seneca tribes.



#2a

To whom is Dekanawidah speaking? Who is Adodarhoh?



Dekanawidah speaks to Adodarhoh and his cousin lords. Adodarhoh was the Chief confederate lord of the Onondaga, on whose land the council fire was lit.



#3a

How does a candidate lord show his pledge to the council? What does his offering symbolize?



The candidate lord has to provide four strings of shells, which are bound together at one end. This may mean that he is connected with nature and accepts the laws of the constitution.



#4a

In what ways does this excerpt from the Iroquois Constitution incorporate nature in the rituals it describes?



When the lords come together for an assembly, the Onondaga lords open it by thanking the nature. They start with the earth, go on with trees, the moon, the fruits etc. and end with offering thanks to the Great Creator.



#5a

Are the values and moral code described in the Constitution appropriate for the members and leaders of a government?



The Iroquois Constitution said that all lords must be honest in all things and their people must have respect to their honorable positions and hold them in high estimation. Furthermore it was forbidden to lead a lord into trivial affairs.

In my opinion these instructions are not good for a today’s government. Everyone should be able to voice his or her own opinion, whether it is for or against the parliament. If you are not allowed to criticize the politicians, then they can do whatever they want to and maybe they use this freedom for their own profits.



#1b

What is the purpose of he meeting at which Dekanawidah speaks? Why do you think oratory skills were prized by the Iroquois?



They might assemble for making new affairs between their tribes and vote for or against new laws for their constitution.

Oratory skills might be prized because if you have them, you autoatically seem more edutated which is good for such a great position as the leader (lord) of a constitution.



#2b

Why do you think Dekanawidah refers to the assembld lords as “cousins”?



When Dekanawidah speaked of his “cousins”, he did not mean his real, related cousins. In fact this name makes clear that the leaders of the constitution work close together and form a unit.



#3b

What qualities should a leader have? What qualities should a leader put aside?



The qualities that are required for becoming a lord are that he needs to have a “thick skin” (he has to get along with criticism, anger etc.), but he’s also required to have a good heart. His goal of being the mentor for so many people should be that all his folks can live in peace, harmony and wealth. He also shall be patient with his responsibility. Besides, he should always keep in mind that there are coming generations so that he makes decisions which create a good basis for the future.

The constitution also named the qualities that a lord better not has. He better not dwell in anger or fury, instead, he shall be calm and even-tempered. Furthermore, he’s not allowed to be selfish.



#4b

What does this selection reveal about the relationship the Native Americans had with nature?



The American Natives had a very close relationship to their nature. Both the opening and the introduction contains the nature. In the opening, the Onondaga lord shall thank for all the benfits they got (like the sun, water, animals, winds, sun, etc). When the council is opened and a new lord is to be installed, a speaker of the council holds a shell string in his hands while he’s speaking. This is also an indication to the nature.



#5b

Which elements of this constitution would you include in your own government? Which types of behavior not included in this excerpt would you regulate by law?



If I had the chance to form my own constitution, I would include that the leader must have a look on the future and coming generations. This is one really important thing which is in mostly all today’s countries not to be found. Furthermore, self-interest has to be left aside. Politicians should lead a country responsible, and they should be aware of the fact that their decision take effect on all the people living there.

One more thing that I would include (which is not named here) is that the freedom of the inhabitants of a country ranks first. Neither a leader nor a lord or politician has the right to determine what someone’s religion has to be. And everybody has the right to voice his or her own opinion. In my opinion, this is one of the most important thing of a constitution.

Word of the day

(1. Her carping is really annoying me. She's always complaining about everything.
2. If you meditate the right way, then you feel catharsis.
3. Angels are celestial because they live in heaven.)

1. Don't be so callous against poor people. We should care about each other.
2. I'm getting very capricious when I'm hungry.