Thomas Jefferson: Slave Owner and Abolitionist

Well, Young Scholars, we have gotten to one of the more "messy" issues in American history. Thomas Jefferson was an AMAZING American- he founded the University of Virginia, started the Library of Congress (in his will, he left his personal library to the government to start it), and even brought agricultural improvements like peas! That doesn't mean he was perfect. There has been debate going on for centuries (literally!) about his position on slavery. He worked publicly to have the institution of slavery ended, but privately held over 200 slaves, and DNA tests have proven recently that he fathered at least one of the seven children that a slave named Sally Hemmings gave birth to at Jefferson's home, Montecello. I want you to read the following article and ask thes following questions in your reply (all of them).

The link:

http://shs.westport.k12.ct.us/schager/Hon%20US/2008/thomas_jefferson.htm


Questions:

1) Can a person fight for one thing publicly and then do the oppposite privately? Is that American?
2) Can we really judge Thomas Jefferson? That was over 200 years ago, and he was just as much a part of his society, where slavery was normal (I know it's weird to think it), he never knew the great African American thinkers we do.


Good luck, and good reading!

Mrs. H

Chrisitanity and the Founding of Our Country

Happy Monday young scholars!

This week's article is meant to show you exactly how not "Puritan" our Founding Fathers were (I know, last week I was telling you how Puritan Americans ARE, and today, I'm telling you we're not). This article is meant to demonstrate the varied Christian influences on our country's founding. Read it. DIgest it. Then write a GOOD paragraph about whether or not our country is still living according to Christian values (please don't give me the boring answer of "no, because we are a meltng pot". Give me real answers that examine how our American society works, from the government to the small things people do each day.

http://congressionalcompass.org/content/rod-gragg

Brandons..the first blog

I do agree with the authers statement that recognizes the God given right to each man and woman to the pursuit of happiness, because as Americans we do have that right to be able to say what we want.

Puritan Culture

Hello Youg Scholars,

    Hopefully you enjoyed youe Labor Day weekend without much labor! This week's article is from a HISTORY textbook (you can stop cheering now). I know that most of the time reading a textbook article is boring, but the information in this article is really interesting. We have been talking about how Puritans resemble contamporary Americans, and now we learn some surprising things about how Puritans really behaved. So read the article and discuss with me things you find surprising, shocking, or funny. How are the Puritans different than what you originally believed? Remember, we are developing our writing skills, so be thoughtful and go beyond the "I like this because". Remember, I don't cre if you like it, I just care thast you know it :)

Love y'all!

Mrs. H
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=674

To an extent I think that ethnic lables matter. People born in the United States are all Americans, but ethnicity is not the same. We are all humans but our backgrounds and ancestors are different.We continue to label ourselves because of what someone has or doesn't have. We label based upon the outward appearance and not the real person. Lables can cause bad feelings between people. I believe they should be called what they choose. If the Indians don't like the term Native then they should decide what they want to be called. I feel like the terms American Indian and Native American sound like two different things. I agree with the majority of the Indians who don't want to be called American Indians because they are Americans.