Myth Cowboys vs. Reality Cowboys

Ever since the United States started trying to get eastern settlers to move out west, there have been myths. One of the most romanticized myths was about the Cowboy. There we beliefs which were used to fuel perple's intrest, and what came out to be obsession, with the west. Cowboys were portrayed as usually white men who rode around on horeses all day, shooting up Indians, carrying lots of guns, being extremly tough, always saving the day, getting the girls, and live out under the stars everyday. While some may be true, mostof it is not. Cowboys in fact were multi-cultural. There were

Black as well as Mexican Cowboys and they never went around shooting up Indians. They were just hired hands, used to take care of cattle. Most of the time they spent their days out working herding cattle or rangling them in for the night. They werent the big heroes that we would see saving the day. They might of gotten women because of the name people gave them but for the most part they were only people doing their jobs.

I had the experience of watching the movie Wild Wild West. Even though it had a black cowboy, it still portrayed them as always saving the day and being big heroes. At the end of the movie they saved the day and all order was restored. They didntget the girl but they both rode off into the sun set to fight another day.

Cival War Postcards

DAY ONE:
This photo shows the day my people became free from slavery. We were now able to freely enlist in the war so I enlisted because I had nationalism for the country who enslaved me. I still wanted to fight for honor and for the Union because i felt they were on my side. Even though i never grew up in the south, I still felt i was a slave trapped in the south so I joined a worthy cause and entered the Union's 54 Massachusetts infantry.






DAY TWO:
This picture signifies the day that I entered the Union's 54 Massachusetts infantry. It would later become the most know black infantry in history. I was really happy when they let me join but i was also burdened because I knew it was going to be some time before they actually let blacks fight in the battles.

DAY THREE:

This picture marks the day I met my commander. His name is Robert Gould Shaw. Even though he was a member of a aristocratic Boston family, he still was down to earth and could help the blacks. I am thankful to have a commander like him, because he was the only one courageous enough to become the commander of a all black infantry. This was my first day with a commander and my first day in training.

DAY FOUR:

Day four and my training is still going on. I wonder if we are ever going to be able to fight. Some captains told us we were only going to be able to do menial tasks like digging trenches or transporting water. Even though I haven't fought yet, i still have seen hundreds of dead bodies. Many of us have died from diseases. More whites have died in total but because you see the blacks dropping off like flies, we have a higher mortality rate. I really hope I get to fight soon.

DAY FIVE:

This will be my last postcard for awhile...... I need some time to think because I finally went into combat. Half my infantry was slaughtered near Charleston, SC. It was at summer in 1863 that half of my buddies and my commander were killed. It was a suicide mission, one that needed a infantry to go in first and make a way for later infantries to go in and win the battle. Me and my fellow soldiers fought with bravery, but I am still traumatized from seeing so many bodies. I am sad to say that my best friend will never get to see his new baby boy. Why can't we just end the war......

Utopian Experiments

The Utopian experiments expressed both optimistic and pessimistic views of human nature and society. This statement is valid because the new Utopian experiments expressed the new ideals of a perfect society. In these societies the people would all take roles in labor and leisure. Not only would the men work, but the women would do so also. This made more optimistic views for the society because it needed no slaves. It gave everyone something to do and nobody would be left of anything. The Utopian society also created pessimistic views because now that women were working, the men had less control over their households. Women felt they should be included in political arguments and other issues, things that were though that only men should worry about. The men in these societies felt like they were losing the power that they had because the people they reigned over, were no longer there for them to govern. American reform movements between 1820 and 1860 had both optimistic and pessimistic views, but in the end the Utopian experiments failed due to the pessimistic views and because of the men nature to dominate over the women and children.

Cotton, Slavery, and the Old South

Slavery was the dominating reality of all southern life because it built the south and was the reason why it thrived. Even though slaves were the ones building the south up, no the whites, socially slaves were inferior to whites. No matter what kind of life style the whites led, they were still superior to slaves because of the social system involving race. Slavers were at the bottom and the plantation owners were at the top. Slavery also afected the economy because it provided the labor source need for the south's expanding agricultural society. The the new cottom crop and other rising crops like rice and tabacco the increasing demands couldn't equal the production. In order for them to make more money the south used slaves as a labor source to produce crops. This in turn boosted the south's economy and made them the agricultural power house in the Americas. Thanks in part to slavery the southern life thrived and was set apart from the rest of the country because of their unique systems and way of life.

Common Man or King Andrew

The Common Man

Andrew Jackson was a firm believer in the theory of democracy. He pushed for a equalization of all people under his presidential term. He opened up voting to all white males instead of just white males who owned land and represented those who wanted to make the government responsive to the will of the people rather than to the power of special interest. The Jacksonian democracy was the effort to control the power of the capitalist groups for the benefit of non-capitalist groups, farmers, and labouring men. Even Robert V. Remini, a leading Jackson biographer of the post war era., noted that " Jackson was a genuine man of the people." His goals were to relieve the entrenched officeholders, and permanent officeholders and give other people a chance. He also realized the government was about special intrest and removed 1/5 the federal officeholders during his 8 years in office. He wanted to get rid of the National bank because he believed that it was ran by the entrenched officeholders and they were hurting the country. Even though he wanted to get rid of indians he did it so that he could help his country expand because he believed it was in their best intrest. He also believed in nullification which helped him write and grant alot of new laws. Overall Andrew Jackson was a common man who used his place in society to benefit others. He democratic and government reforms helped and hurt society but it all was for the overall good of the country. Andrew Jackson was indeed a genuine common man.