For Friday, 9/21: Read 52-65
1.
What distinguishing characteristics did 2. How was
3. What was the Dominion of New England and why might it be important to the long-term history of the colonies and the American revolution?
Know the significance of the following:
William
Penn; Holy
Experiment; Society
of Friends (Quakers); Peter
Stuyvesant; Iroquois; Benjamin
Franklin.
For Friday, 9/21:
From time to time I will post parts of the documentary New York by Ken Burns so that you can see the correlatiosn between what we are studying in class and the great city you live in. Below is the first part (1/8) of Episode 1. I ask that you watch the first three parts of Episode 1 by Friday. I think it will give you some real insight into colonial life in your city. After watching the episodes please post your reactions to teh film in the comments section of the blog.
I think that it's interesting how the founding of New York has shaped the way that New York is today, like with the drive for success and wealth. It's also great how different and diverse New York has become since its founding.
ReplyDeleteJohn Cappabianca
ReplyDeleteWhile watching these videos, I realized how New York became so cultural diverse and how it floursihed in economic wealth and prosperity. I found it interesting how New York is described as being the foundation for cultural and governmental excellence in the New World. I also found it interesting that even though New York was founded on toleration and freedom, it still had a huge number of slaves, which led to many deaths and rebellions. I liked how it described the true origins of what it means to be a New Yorker and how we thrive in the New Wolrd and the years to follow.
It's interesting to see the parallels between New York then and New York now (the "bustling city", striving for economic gains, a very diverse community, etc.) but what I found most interesting was the willingness the Dutch people were to surrender the English and then the conflict that came after that.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see how New York began to flourish and how culturally diverse it became. I thought the Dutch would of put up a bigger fight against the English. I enjoyed how it described the origins of New York and how the New Yorker characteristic developed.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video, I understood the textbook reading much better. I thought that the diversity factor was very interesting and did not realize it played such a huge part in the origin of New York. Prior to watching this video, I thought that diversity only had a major impact during and around the 19th century of New York.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little upset our city was established at the expense of Indian relocation, which was the case with all North American settlements. New York is interesting because from the very beginning, it already was a very diverse town, much like it is today. English, Dutch, French, Native American, and African Slaves all gathered in Manhattan.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that the culture existing in new york today was there since Manhattan's foundation. Certain things like great ethnic and cultural diversity, an excess of bars and a drive to attain wealth has transcended through the ages to the modern day. We're living a legacy that the dutch started by in the 17th century, and that's pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteKevin Fitzpatrick
ReplyDeleteAfter watching these videos, I was shocked with the fact that new york's success was based on the different ethnicities and work. I was also surprised after seeing how easily the English took over the port from the Dutch. It appeared as if Peter Stuyvesant was the only one who cared about his port, which he built up from its depths.
James Bruzzese
ReplyDeleteThese videos were very interesting to me. I did not know what an important role Peter Styvesant played in cleaning up the city and controlling it. I also did not know how much trouble occurred in the city because of its diversity. The most shocking thing to me, however, was the horrible treatment of black slaves in New York. I had not known the terrible ways they were punished and pushed to do work, and I had no idea that they played an important part in the colony as far as labor goes since its beginning.
Christian Park
ReplyDeleteI thought tha the videos did an effective job of highlighting all of NYC's great points; its' capitalism, entrepreneurship, and diversity make it one of the greatest experimental cities of its' time.
One thing that I would have liked to see more though, was an explanation of the negative sides of capitalism (as there are a few). For instance, at 7:14, Mike Wallace only gives a one liner about the consequences which is really vague. I think that it's important to explain such faults because it would be helpful to correcting capitalism in the future. People should not carelessly glance over certain aspects of history (like Samuel Morrison briefly mentioning Columbus' genocide of the Indians).
But I did enjoy the interesting facts and perspective that the video brought to the table. They'll be pretty useful later on.
After watching the documentary, I had a more clear understanding of the textbook reading. I did not realize how diversity has been around since the origins of New York and how it continues to affect society today. A more interesting point to me was the way the English were capable of seizing New York from the Dutch in such rapid way. Overall, I found the documentary very beneficial to understanding the Middle Colonies better.
ReplyDeleteDemetri Sofides
ReplyDeleteMy favorite bit about the video was discovering all the etymological roots and sources of the names of New York's places and neighborhoods. Most unexpected of all to me were, in particular, the Bronx and Wall Street. (I mean, who'd have guessed that there'd been an actual WALL?)
But I did enjoy these segments as a whole. It did a good job of connecting the history of the colony to the New York we know today, which of course is an invaluable tool for forcing information to register in people's heads.
James Gallagher
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed these two videos and I especially thought of our talks about "good history" and I certainly believe these qualify. The thing I liked most about them was the way they were able to trace seemingly unimportant bits from the past and point out their significance in present day NY. Also, diversity was a major theme in these segments and I really hadn't previously realized how far back the "melting pot" of New York City went.
I found it interesting that New York has always been a very busy city ever since its beginning. Also since its beginning, it was the most diverse city in the world while being the fastest city in the world. I liked how New York, though it wasn't the first American city, it still was the first 'American city" by being the city where everything was tested before being used in the rest of the country such as industrialization and immigration. Best part was the buying of Manhattan for less than $600. Slave conspiracies with whites was intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI was very interested in the part at the beginning when Mr. Doctorow says that New York has its own universe, how everyone thinks in their mind how to improve their business, and it is unbelievable how this individuality comp one the unity of America. Thinking about this issue, it made me understand that this diversity, and individualism compose the melting pot that is New York City.
ReplyDeleteEliot Kaufmann
ReplyDeleteI found these videos to be very interesting. I had no idea the Dutch influence on the city was so large. They also really stressed the diversity factor which is still a huge part of the city's identity today. The culture and driving force of the city was materialism and capitalism and that is still very much the same today. New York City is about striving to be the best you can be and this attitude has its roots in the 1600s.
Frank Melonik
ReplyDeleteThe video segments were very intriguing as they explained the vast diversities of New York City. Even when New York City was just established and beginning to grow, it gave a home to a plethora of ethnicities and languages (at least 18). Not only do we see this today, but we also see New York as being a very tolerant colony when speaking about religion. Based on its geography, New York City had a great harbor for trade, and thus became a place where people would go in order to make some money to support themselves and their families (rather secular compared to New England). It's great to see that our city, although changed by technological and scientific progress, still preserves some qualities dating back to when the dutch were here some 400 years ago.
I agree that this movie was very well made, and professonal. However, I must make the point that there is a tendency among people and the media to glorify New York. You must say, as I think, that New York does have very many problems.
ReplyDeleteBut Ken Burns movies are almost always very well made.