Ch17- Revolution

Feminist Beginnings

From the beginning of time women have had it more difficult then men. The rights that women have today had to be fought for, they were not just handed to us like it was for most men. Europe and North America are known for having started the feminist movement, because those were the two places where the movement really developed. Even thought it took years for people to start focusing on the rights of women, at least it was becoming apparent that the treatment towards women was unfair. As the middle class began to grow so did the amount of women who were becoming educated. Also, women began to “step out of the house” more, joining in such things as temperance movements, charities, abolitionism, missionary work, and socialist and pacifist organizations.  Many women liked that women were finally starting to get a say in their own life, they were making choices that affected them outside of the household. Although, on the other hand some women still believed that they were on the earth for one main thing, motherhood. I know that raising children is an important aspect of life, but so is being independent, and having rights. So thanks to many women who suffered and stood up to the oppression they faced, women today have the same rights as men, the way it should have been from the very beginning. As time went on, more and more women joined the forces of the women’s movement, especially those women in the middle class. Feminist movements began to really impact daily lives of many, and causing attention to the realities of the tough life of women. Some women even went to extremes, for example, a women by the name of Emily Davidson, was trampled to death after she threw herself in front of her kings horse during a race in Britain in 1913. It is crazy to think that women actually had to go to these extremes in order to gain some sort of attention. Also, to think of the date 1913, that was only 98 years ago! Wow that’s just amazing, to think that women barely just got out rights. But oh well, at least we have them now, and are just as equal to men. 

Ch 18- The Industrial Revolution

The next sentence might sound like the biggest cliché ever, but it holds a lot of truth. The Industrial Revolution was literally the start of something new. I think that before the Revolution life was generally a lot slower and more relaxed. Once the Industrial Revolution began life began to pick up at pace that people were waiting for. Countries went from Agricultural societies to Industrials one's. Life went from small farming cultures, which were very family oriented, to fast pace factory, city life.  I think the Revolution had its benefits but at the same time it had many drawbacks. For starters, some of the positives that came out of the revolution would be that everyday items became easier to attain. Through inventions like the assembly line, and mass production, Items like cars became more affordable. People also had a better chance at living a more fulfilling life. Rather then spending their days working in the fields, people were able to find jobs in an easier manner, because many jobs were available and needed filling. Through working outside the family farms, people were becoming more independent. With independence come many responsibilities, another clichéd sentence, though nonetheless proven true during the industrial revolution. When people left the confines of their home, they had to find work, a place to live, food, and the basic essentials of life on their own. If something to were to go wrong they did not have their family right by their side in order to help and support them. Other drawbacks were more serious to one’s health. The factories didn’t have health and safety codes at this time, and factory owners did not care about the safety of their workers, since they were easy jobs to fill, and many were willing to take over these jobs. Factory owners did not know the concept of excessive work, some people worked for 10-14 hours. These terrible working conditions were in no way healthy or safe. Reports have even proven that some women would have go through labor in the factories, because they would not want to miss work and lose their jobs. Also, once these children were able to start working, they would. Another very concerning situation to many, young children working in these unsafe conditions is just heartbreaking. Its one thing for adults to go through this, but to think of children having to go through all of these terrible things is just depressing. Luckily, people came to their senses and made health and safety codes, and legal working ages. 

Ch 16

Well, since most people were not doing their blogs on time, we got assigned a distinct section to blog about, and that is the Conversion and Adaption in Spanish America.  As I began reading this section, it kind of depressed me because of the way that Europeans forced Christianity on the Native Americans. Honestly, whether the Native Americans were reluctant to follow Christianity or easily accepted the new culture, I strongly believe that it was not the Europeans choice to make. Forcing a religion on people is just outright wrong, and to think that Europeans thought that they could just convert people in any way is just disgusting. The Native Americans had their own beliefs and faiths before the Americas were discovered. They were living in peace and harmony. Its funny how at first people took their land, like that is not bad enough, next let’s just convert them to Christianity. That is just ridiculous that people can actually do things like this. The idea of blending two religions together makes a lot more sense to me. I mean it is still bad that people did not get to simply keep their own religions. But, at least when you blend two religions together it is sort of a meeting point, which in life seems more like a compromise then being forced to follow a certain religion. One quote in the textbook on page 469 is “ In Mexico as well, an immigrant Christianity was assimilated into patterns of local cultures”. Now reading that made me a lot happier. At least some people had the decency to accept that people had local cultures and beliefs before the arrival of the invaders. I’m sure that this kept the local people much happier as well. Assimilating two cultures and religions gives people the ability to make more choices.