Brianna's US History Blog

In many cases, movies do tend to misrepresent real historical facts and conditions but movies also provide a different perspective on history. It is very much possible to learn about history from watching a movie. With a movie, new opinions can be formed that may not have been found by reading a book. Movies allow for viewers to form new and different opinions by accurately representing important historical facts but by also forming a different kind of emotional connection that a book otherwise could not. In the movie, 12 Years a Slave directed by Steve McQueen, Solomon Northrup's slave narrative is brought to life. In a movie review, "The Blood and Tears, Not the Magnolias," by The New York Times, movie critic Manohla Dargis explains that Mr. McQueen is found putting the already fabricated ideas of American history used in films into perspective through his insightful tactics which draws on the allurement of films. Although 12 Years a Slave is an adaption of Solomon...

I read Harriet Ann Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl . I read several different parts of her story that I thought were interesting. First I read about her childhood in Chapter I. Harriet begins by talking about how she was born a slave but her parents neglected to tell her until she was six years old. She mentions how her grandmother, a free black woman, was kidnapped during the Revolutionary War and sold as a slave. Harriet talks very highly of her grandmother and of her experiences and how she was born as a slave. The next chapter I read was Chapter V "Trials of Girlhood." Harriet talks of her experience as a female slave. Here, like in the first chapter, Harriet talks highly of her grandmother and how she wished she could share what was happening to her with someone else who would understand. She struggles with the idea of how her master treated her once she started to become an "adult," " both pride and fear kept me silent.”(47). The last c...

During my short time in US History, I have developed my critical reading skills and engaging with the text. The various reading assignments that we have been assigned to read and take quizzes on during the next class period really helped me to understand and improve my reading comprehension of different types of texts. I have also developed my personal blogging skills to make posts about the things we do in class as a digital collection of my improvement through the year. Moving forward, I think I still need to work on my reading comprehension and critical reading skills for the concept quizzes to come about those readings. I also anticipate that I will need to distribute the amount of time and effort needed for each of my classes this year not primarily focused just on my APs. For example: I need to make sure that I am on top of my work so that I have enough time to prepare for class and complete the tasks I need in order to succeed.

During this process of practicing paraphrasing, I learned how to properly paraphrase without summarizing. I also learned how to use a "pithy" quote within my own writing and how to demonstrate my understanding of what the author actually meant. It has become more clear to me how to use each of these within my own writing and in the appropriate context. This is what I learned today Only use direct quote when it adds power and style to my writing Always make it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote Whether I quote or paraphrase, I must always be transparent about the source and how I'm using it If I use another author's exact  words or phrases, to any extent, I have to use quotation marks and give credit If I use another author's presentation of facts or ideas, but put their ideas in my own words,(paraphrase) I better have a good reason for doing so, and I MUST give credit Hyperlinking is so easy, there is no excuse for not b...

I believe Spielberg does a great job with "Lincoln" in showing his viewers what kind of man Lincoln really was. In The New York Times , A. O. Scott writes, "We carry him around in our pockets every day, and yet we still argue and wonder about who he was." He brings our attention to the lack of knowledge we have about such an omnipresent and important man as well as the differing ideas of his leadership during the Civil War.

Excerpt The question facing Lincoln is stark: Should he abolish slavery, once and for all, even if it means prolonging the war? The full weight and scale of this dilemma are the central lesson "Lincoln" asks up to grasp. The film places slavery at the center of the story, emphatically countering the revisionist tendency to see some other, more abstract thing -- states' rights, Southern culture, industrial capitalism -- as the real cause of the Civil War. Though most of the characters are white (two notable and vital exceptions are Stephen Henderson and Gloria Reuben, as the Lincolns' household servants), this is finally a movie about how difficult and costly it has been for the United States to recognize the full and equal humanity of black people. A.O. Scott,  The New York Times ,  "A President Engaged in a Great Civil War" Paraphrase From the article publishe d in the New York Times, critic A. O. Scott informs the reader of the distinct question fa...

This collection of letters written by Frederick Douglass to a variety of different people, some close friends and others are acquaintances. In each of the letters written between 1846 and 1868, Frederick shares his view on slavery with a unique point of view. Frederick Douglass is a former slave who ran away just before the Civil War. Throughout each of the letter, Frederick shares with the reader his unwavering stance on slavery and the future of America. He recounts his time as a slave and the hardships he endured to effectively illustrate what it was like to be a slave and the instant feeling of freedom. How do our own experiences shape our views today? How do we decide what is right and wrong in such a diverse century with blurred lines? Frederick Douglass Letter 1 is written by Frederick Douglass on April 16, 1846 to William Lloyd Garrison. In this letter, Frederick describes to his dear friend his desire to be at home, not to be with friends or family, but to be workin...