Annotated Bibliography: Federalist 51

(Hamilton, Alexander, or James Madison. Federalist No. 51: "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments." New York Packet, February 8, 1788.)

Federalist 51 was written by James Madison. Through this document contained inside of the Federalist Papers, Madison explained why it was necessary that we shall maintain the division of powers among the several departments talked about in the Constitution. This way the departments throughout the government would be able to keep each other in their proper positions. In order to keep a national government that controls itself and its citizens, the legislative authority must be divided into different parts by different methods of election and principles of action so their specific functions will be fulfilled. Federalist 51 contests the sources we read in class today, for example Document G: Brutus No. 1, October 18, 1878 states that, "In a republic,the manners, sentiments, and interests of the people should be similar. If this be not the case, there will be a constant clashing of opinions; and the representatives will be constantly striving against those of the other." (PP 2) The Anti-Federalists believed that because of the legislature's large size and way of government will cause all types of tensions and problems, that would neither be successful or self-sufficient. With James Madison's writing, the main reason the legislative department was split up so that each department has the right to check and balance each other. No group of congress inside of the legislature has the entitlement to more power, they must work together peacefully to spread out the opinions of the people to create the right laws and keep their needs in mind.

Federalist 51 provides us a opinion on the Constitution that fully explains why the legislature was split into two, without such a figurative and complex type of writing that keeps it honest and clear. Despite the explanation, it only gives us what one person thought about checks and balances. We need breadth, a variety of opinions on checks and balances to fully understand what the whole of the United States thought about this system at the time.

The American Revolution: The Arts and Entertainment

Example of boycott: The Boston Tea Party

Yankee Doodle

As the American Revolution progressed, society focused around two groups of people: the Patriots and the Loyalists. Each group had their own opinions and political views that created the tension between them, but culture during the American Revolution focused around the idea of Patriotism. Patriotism is where the citizens of a country have a immense feeling of love and willingness to sacrifice towards the land they live on. Now not only was society impacted by the idea of Patriotism, the arts and the entertainment of the era were affected as well. Plenty of songs, poems, and plays were based off of the struggle for freedom such as the song Yankee Doodle written by a British man named Richard Shuckburg that was intentionally made to make fun of the colonists but was soon the depiction of a British Gentleman. Along with another song called Granny Wales which displays the British perspective of the American Revolution economically. There was also a heavy amount of literature created during the era, one of the most respected and famous pieces of literature was a book called Common Sense by Thomas Paine. The document displayed the need for independence and how America will be able to achieve freedom, Common Sense spread the idea of Patriotism amongst the colonies bringing in more support for the American side. During the American Revolution, there were not that many known pass-times, but one of the most important parts of society were the boycotts and the bar-crawling. Many colonists took part in boycotts that raised their spirits and were meant to proudly showcase their views against or along with the British. Also many colonists took part in something that could be known as bar-crawling, colonists would often discuss and argue several opinions and ideas at bars late at night. The Arts and the Entertainment of the American Revolution focused heavily around the idea of Patriotism and it's need for a higher amount of support.

Annotated Bibliography: Common Sense

Hakim, Joy. "From Thomas Paine, Common Sense." A History of US : Sourcebook and Index. Vol. 11. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 31-37. Print.

In this document called Common Sense, the author, Thomas Paine is discussing the reasons why the colonists should join the resistance against Great Britain. He begins a long discussion of the purpose of America, and if the colonists would continue to be "attached" to Great Britain, there would be much larger conflicts. The document supports and extends the Declaration of Independence because Thomas Paine talks about how government does not last quite long and would eventually need to be removed after several abuses by those in charge. Common Sense by Thomas Paine would allow us to see the colonist's perspective in our study of the American Revolution but we would need to see all perspectives to fully grasp the causes of the American Revolution. We as students need to see breadth to have a wide range of knowledge, not just this document as a whole.

Colonial Societies: Culture in America

The New England Primer

The Chesapeake Tobacco Plantations

Throughout Northern America, most colonists continued the traditional European lifestyle of working the land. Commercial Agriculture mainly took place in the Chesapeake and the Lower-South, where most of the slave plantations were located. Eventually agriculture spread to the north where Pennsylvania became the bread basket of North America. Although agriculture spread to the north, it was not a business that was highly influential in the region as it was in the south; farmers raised their own crops and livestock for their own purposes and needs. Colonial cities became the centers of commerce, where most of the trade was occurring. Most of the people located in New England and Pennsylvania were skilled laborers such as ship-builders, rope-makers, carpenters, and iron-makers. Colonial Culture varied in each area where different colonists resided, such as Pennsylvania, New England, the Back-country, the Chesapeake, and the Lower-South.  For example, in New England mostly Puritans emigrated there; causing a society which was very religious and strict. The people did not tolerate other ways of life nor other ideas that would be potentially dangerous to their society's structure. America at the time, did not include that much theater or musical influences, but colonial societies did have plenty of acclaimed and published works of writing such as newspapers like the New England Primer, captivity narratives, almanacs, and the bible. There were not that many pass-times that were created during this time that were specifically highlighted, but there was plenty of emphasis on kinship, family, the church, and the local community surrounding the colonists.

Annotated Bibliography: "Forgotten Founders" by Johansen

Johansen, Bruce E. Forgotten Founders: Benjamin Franklin, the Iroquois, and the Rationale for the American Revolution. Ipswich, MA: Gambit, 1982. Print.

In this section of "Forgotten Founders"by Johansen, he talks most about the effects of communication of Indian ideas and how those particular ideas affected the foundation of America. He explains all of the great things the Indian peoples gave to the incoming Pilgrims, along with his display of certain bias' and ideas from historians that agree with the topic of interest. But although this piece of text gives you extra information about the Native peoples and how they affected America, it contains a specific bias that eventually overpowers the text making it hard for the reader to gain breadth from other groups from the time period. The source could help us in our study of American Colonization by gaining information about what other things the Indian people gave to the foundation of America but it does contain a bias that effects the amount of new information we could possibly gain and what types of perspectives we could learn and acknowledge from this source.

Annotated Bibliography: "Of the Island of Hispanola" by de Las Casa

De Las Casa, Bartolome. "Of the Island of Hispanola." Very Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. Trans. Nigel Griffen, 1542. Print.


In this particular section of work from the Very Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies, De Las Casa talks about how the Spaniards took over the island of Hispanola. He writes about the cruel actions the invading Spaniards used against the Natives, along with the slaughter that occurred. The document is written with De Las Casa's perspective in mind, it makes the Spaniards seem like heartless murderers who enjoy slaughtering Native populations. There isn't much information we can gain about the Spanish perspective on this particular event, the only information we can gain is from De Las Casa's perspective which doesn't allow that much argument. The document could help us learn one perspective on this event, but we need all perspectives to fully understand and analyze why this had happened. Having only one perspective limits our knowledge about the fall of Hispanola and it's Native peoples.

Annotated Bibliography: Columbus' Diary

In his journal entry, Columbus writes about how his crew were getting restless on the ships but quickly brightened up at the signs of land. He also notes his first encounter with the Natives, who were clever and would make good servants. The entry is written in his perspective, he only notes his ideas and impressions on the Natives. There is not much information we can gain on the Natives besides his own opinions about these peoples. His entry can help us learn more about what his first impression on the Natives, and how it effected the way he treated them later on but with this entry, we can only learn from his opinion which limits our knowledge on the whole encounter.

Pre-Columbian Societies: Different Kinds of Culture

Projectile Points

Pueblos

There were many different kinds of culture in Pre-Columbian Societies. For example, there was something called desert culture which was mostly located in the basin of Utah and Nevada, it was a way of life based on the hunting of small game and foraging of plant foods. These native peoples collected several different kinds of plants such as seeds, fiber, and pears from the yucca based on the season. Their strategy required an extensive amount of skill in handcrafts such as the production of fiber baskets, pitch-lined baskets for cooking, traps, and nets, stones for seed and nut grinding, and stone knifes, hammers, and clubs. Eventually this desert culture spread to the Great Plains and the Southwest, here the foraging of plants supplemented hunting practices. Besides desert culture, there was also a culture that was very influential on the way we develop food today, known as the farming culture. The best known farming culture were the Anasazis. These native peoples come from the Southwest, specifically in the area called the Four Corners; where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado meet. The Anasazis were known for their populated, multistory apartment complexes called "pueblos." (Out of Many, 15) These natives grew different varieties of high-yielded maize in terraced fields irrigated by canals moving from mountain basins. In order to have a supplement to their vegetable diet, they started to hunt animals using the bow and arrow. Not only do Pre-Columbian Societies have different cultures, these cultures have helped us develop the way we live today. These peoples have sculptured and shaped the landscape to best compliment their societies which now has given us a upper-hand on how we grow our food today.