VIEWFINDER Teaching Multiple Perspectives, Context and Change Over Time Anthony Fitzpatrick Changing Views from the same person.! Often seen as a complex figure relative to politics and slavery; it is often hard for students to reconcile the wonderful ideas of the Declaration of Independence with the more difficult issue of slavery. Let s Begin:! 1770 April. "Under the law of nature, all men are born free, every one comes into the world with a right to his own person, which includes the liberty of moving and using it at his own. This is what is called personal liberty, and is given him by the author of nature, because necessary for his own sustenance."! 1787 July 14. (to Edward Rutledge). "I congratulate you, my dear friend, on the law of your state [South Carolina] for suspending the importalon of slaves, and for the glory you have justly acquired by endeavoring to prevent it for ever. This abominalon must have an end, and there is a superior bench reserved in heaven for those who hasten it."! 1789 January 26. (to Edward BancroS). "As far as I can judge from the experiments which have been made, to give liberty to, or rather, to abandon persons whose habits have been formed in slavery is like abandoning children. 1
Let s Examine Mr. Jefferson! 1793 July 14. (to James Monroe). "I become daily more and more convinced that all the West India Islands will remain in the hands of the people of colour, and a total expulsion of the whites sooner or later take place. It is high time we should foresee the bloody scenes which our children certainly, and possibly ourselves (south of the Patowmac) have to wade through, and try to avert them."! 1797 August 28. (to St. George Tucker). "You know my subscription to it's [Tucker's pamphlet] doctrines, and as to the mode of emancipation, I am satisfied that that must be a matter of compromise between the passions the prejudices, and the real difficulties which will each have their weight in that operation. Perhaps the first chapter of this history, which has begun in St. Domingo, and the next succeeding ones which will recount how all the whites were driven from all the other islands, may prepare our minds for a peaceable accomodation [sic] between justice, policy and necessity, and furnish an answer to the difficult question Whither shall the coloured emigrants go? And the sooner we put some plan under way, the greater hope there is that it may be permitted to proceed peaceably to it's ultimate effect. But if something is not done, and soon done, we shall be the murderers of our own children. Two Final Quotes:! 1805 January 28. (to William A. Burwell). "I have long since given up the expectation of any early provision for the extinguishment of slavery among us. There are many virtuous men who would make any sacrifices to affect it, many equally virtuous who persuade themselves either that the thing is not wrong, or that it cannot be remedied, and very many with whom interest is morality. The older we grow, the larger we are disposed to believe the last party to be. But interest is really going over to the side of morality. The value of the slave is every day lessening; his burden on his master daily increasing. Interest is therefore preparing the disposition to be just; and this will be goaded from time to time by the insurrectionary spirit of the slaves. This is easily quelled in it's first efforts; but from being local it will become general, and whenever it does it will rise more formidable after every defeat, until we shall be forced, after dreadful scenes and sufferings to release them in their own way, which, without such sufferings we might now model after our own convenience."! 1820 December 26. (to Marquis de Lafayette). "All know that permitting the slaves of the south to spread into the west will not add one being to that unfortunate condition, that it will increase the happiness of those existing, and by spreading them over a larger surface, will dilute the evil everywhere, and facilitate the means of getting finally rid of it, an event more anxiously wished by those on whom it presses than by the noisy pretenders to exclusive humanity. In the mean time it is a ladder for rivals climbing to power." What are the circumstances and the major historical markers?! What incidents and events could have challenged the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and led him to be such a controversial figure with regard to the history of slavery? 2
Let s examine Ronald Reagan and the Cold War! It is vital to understand how certain events challenged the Reagan Administration. Let s take a look at a small timeline and see how it challenges our views and makes us search for different answers. The Hot Autumn of 1983 September 1: The Downing of KAL 007. October 23: Bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut. October 25: U.S. invades Grenada. October 31: U.S. deploys GLCMs in England. November 2: Able Archer. November 18: Congress approves aid to Contras. November 20: Screening of The Day After. December 8: Soviets walk out of arms talks. How a concept is weaved through History.! Very similar to a culminating activity we will cover tomorrow: We can take a look at various approaches to concepts over time. Why is it important to impart this skill to our students? 3
Let s Examine the Essential Question! Practice: What were the causes and effects of the US's increased and assumed responsibility of defending democracy throughout the world? (in five documents.) Woodrow Wilson April 2, 1917 Argument for War! We are now about to accept gauge of battle with this natural foe to liberty and shall, if necessary, spend the whole force of the nation to check and nullify its pretensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretence about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included: for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience.! The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt December 8, 1941! Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation.As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.but always will our whole Nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.no matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.with confidence in our armed forces with the unbounding determination of our people we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God. 4
Harry Truman August 6, 1945! Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British "Grand Slam" which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare.! The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. And the end is not yet. With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces. In their present form these bombs are now in production and even more powerful forms are in development. Our Nation has always been a land of great opportunities for those people of the world who sought to become part of us. Now we have become a land of great responsibilities to all the people of all the world. We must squarely recognize and face the fact of those responsibilities. Advances in science, in communication, in transportation, have compressed the world into a community. The economic and political health of each member of the world community bears directly on the economic and political health of each other member. January 21, 1946 John F Kennedy 1/20/61 The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge -- and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom -- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. 5
Ronald Reagan: In the Philippines, in South and Central America, democracy has been given a rebirth. Throughout the Pacific, free markets are working miracle after miracle of economic growth. In the industrialized nations, a technological revolution is taking place a revolution marked by rapid, dramatic advances in computers and telecommunications. In Europe, only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom. Yet in this age of redoubled economic growth, of information and innovation, the Soviet Union faces a choice: It must make fundamental changes, or it will become obsolete. Today thus represents a moment of hope. We in the West stand ready to cooperate with the East to promote true openness, to break down barriers that separate people, to create a safer, freer world. 10:58 6
Given these few entry points: How are the tone, approach, defined goals similar and different between these iconic figures of Modern American History? 7