Prof. Garcia | ENG1101-HD57 | Fall 2022

Discussion: Layli Long Soldier Inspired Topics

Please add a comment responding to the following discussion question:

To continue brainstorming and developing ideas for the Unit 2 assignment, think about the history that Layli Long Soldier covers in her poem “38.” Are there any incidents or chapters in US history (or the history of another country that is of interest to you) that you think are not as visible as they should be, and that you think are important for people to learn about? Are there contemporary incidents that you think should be included in historical accounts of our era so people in the future can learn from them?

28 Comments

  1. Gabriel Antigua

    During world war 1 & 2 sending messages was important information that couldn’t be found. Those messages could contain anything from there is a change of plans or if they are gonna retreat. The problem was that during both wars the Germans excelled in cracking codes sent between the allies. So to stop this American used the Choctaw a native American tribe; they were one of the 26 tribes the United States used. Cause their language was so unique and hard to understand they used them as code talkers. With that advantage, the Americans and their allies were able to win both wars. 

    • Ruth Garcia

      Great topic!

      You might research how this helped Americans win the war. Or, if there is a lot of information, you might focus on the role this code played in a particular event of the war.

  2. ryan83

    I wanted to do the roles of black soldiers during the Revolutionary War because its not very spoken about or taught. Their bravery and service were priceless. It came at a time when the new United States needed it the most and they stepped up and they took their place in the ranks. Because they undoubtedly contributed to securing not only their own but also our freedom, we owe it to them to ensure that their contributions are included in our histories if they were previously left out. We must never forget that they were fighting for both their own and the nation’s freedom.

    • Ruth Garcia

      Love this topic! I don’t know if it needs narrowing down. It may not. But, if you decide to pursue this topic, we can check in together as you progress with your research and see if you need to narrow down.

  3. Zeina Abdelsalam

    The role of the Egyptian Warriors in world war 2. As, Egypt was drawn in the war because it was British colony.it served as camp for the British and the allies, thanks to the strategic location and Suez Canal. The Egyptian warriors scrafied to defend their land. Funerals were held for the soldiers who went and did not come back, and thousands of wounded were admitted to the hospitals.This was the situation in Egypt. So It is important to reveal the neglected aspects of ww2 in Egypt.

    • Ruth Garcia

      Yes! I love this. Egypt is not one of the countries we hear about when we hear about WWII.

  4. saidlembrouk

    I feel like in history the only thing that we can talk about is different types of battles but I feel like we should mention things loosely connected to the battles. Such as messages , secret agents/spies all that type of stuff. For sure those happened but now that we are in present time its ok to talk about it. I would like to go more in to detail about it. Where One thing that everyone can agree on that will be in the history books of the future would be the storming of the capital. This was all because Trump and his supporters both believe that the election was “stolen” and that Trump should still be in the oval office. Also mentioning how the president almost got impeached and the current law suit against him involving the capital invasion.

    • Ruth Garcia

      The storming of the capital is a very timely topic. Do you have a specific question or element of this day that you would like to research?

  5. Tori

    I wanted to write about how the black codes limited African American Progress after the Civil War. Because the black codes effectively continued enslavement for African Americans by restricting their rights and exploiting their labor. This topic is not taught in school or spoken out, Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished during the Civil War. Though the Union victory had given some 4 million enslaved people their freedom, the question of freed Black people’s status in the postwar South was still very much unresolved. Under black codes, many states required Black people to sign yearly labor contracts; if they refused, they risked being arrested, fined, and forced into unpaid labor. Outrage over black codes helped undermine support for President Andrew Johnson and the Republican Party. 

    • Ruth Garcia

      Love this topic. As I said to Ryan, if you make this your topic, I don’t know if you would need to narrow this down. But we can discuss together as you progress with your research.

  6. Giovanni

    I think that in United States history and history as a whole wars are not talked about as much besides like WW2. Others wars have a big impact on society and history as well, different wars change different moments in history. I think it’s important for people to learn about the impact of the First World War, the Vietnam war and the wars going on as we live our daily lives. Another reason why these wars and times in history need to be spoken more about is to prevent them for happening in the future. Instead of just talking about facts, people should be taught the real in-depth reason of the war and the impact it had on the people after the war.

    • Ruth Garcia

      War is very broad. If you decide to pursue this topic, you can narrow down. Gabriel’s, Ryan’s, and Tori’s comments above are excellent examples of focused topics related to war. Like them you can find a particular war and an issue or element of that war that you want to pursue.

  7. Jessica Jaipersaud

    I wished we learned more about events leading up to the amendments. How congress lead to making the decision of making the amendments. In addition to that how one person’s decision or approval of one thing could’ve made a whole change to certain amendments not being in the bill of rights. Certain decisions being made has made an impact on us today. Even a slight difference could have made a big of a change in the document, which I wish was emphasized more in learning. Every action to what may seem small to us can make a big of a difference in history.

  8. Jessica Jaipersaud

    I wished we learned more about events leading up to the amendments. How congress lead to making the decision of making the amendments. In addition to that how one person’s decision or approval of one thing could’ve made a whole change to certain amendments not being in the bill of rights. Certain decisions being made has made an impact on us today. Even a slight difference could have made a big of a change in the document, which I wish was emphasized more in learning. Every action to what may seem small to us can make a big of a difference in history.

    • Ruth Garcia

      Is there a particular amendment that interests you? If you decide to purse this topic, you can pick a particular amendment and research what lead to that particular amendment.

  9. Giselle Garcia

    Most of history in every country is bias. Information is manipulated in a way that citizens will love their country and leaders and show the patriotism. Throughout the information transfer there is a lot of details left out. History books are written to glorify big symbols of the country and tell us about their accomplishments during war, for example. Recently, historians have digged deep to be able to bring light to very important hidden information. I believe that allowing people to see how bad the country was before, with all the racism and exploitation, the country can recognize their errors and learn from them, and become more powerful. All it takes is for the country to understand where the mistakes were done so be able to prosper.

    • Ruth Garcia

      Is there a particular moment or occurrence in history that you feel is misrepresented in history books? If so, you can make that your research topic.

  10. Awais

    One historical event that I feel should be touched on more is the Japanese internment camp. Established during WW2 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The reason I choose this point in history is because I think it depicts the values of the Japense people during this time wonderfully. Although they were absolutely wronged and did not deserve what took place the way they carried themselves is absolutely honorable and truly reveals the true feelings of the Japanese Americans.

    One contemporary event that I feel should be included in historical accounts of our era is the time period of 2020-2022. The reason I say this is because this time period contains intense international tensions along with a virus running rampant across the world. I believe that this time period has completely shifted the mindsets of so many Americans and has really set a tone for years to follow and will probably affect generations to come. I also believe that the affects that this pandemic had on people mentally should be looked at very closely and I feel it will give great insight on the human psyche.

  11. Shahriyar Kabir

    In regards to U.S. History, one topic which I learned of which is especially overlooked in today’s time is President George Washington’s farewell address before he stepped down from the presidency. Within it was his warning about associating with political parties and that doing so would cause conflict and division in the nation, leading to sectionalism. We see this today from the conflicting ideologies between America’s top political parties which are the Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans. These clashes take the form of states being marked as either democrat or republican depending on the majority of the population within, as well as the quarrels and sometimes violent altercations between those of differing political parties. The point of the farewell letter was to let readers of the current and future generations know not to let one’s identity affiliate with a political party and to strive for the true unity of the people within the nation, not a fake one that hides under the nation’s name with civil distrust towards itself.

    • Shahriyar Kabir

      There are more things that occur which result from these ideologies, what is written above is only a few.

    • Ruth Garcia

      Is there a particular issue or question related to the party system in our country that you would like to research?

  12. Matheus

    United States History had good moments, and some darkest moments as well. One notable issue That the United States faced over the years, and still facing today is Racism, especially against African Americans. The Reason why the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s was the Biggest moment in US history it’s because blacks are sick and tired of being treated poorly just because of the color of the skin, and also not have the same rights as the Whites, including the right to vote, and as a result, people are standing up for their rights. Back then, The Jim Crow laws were there, which prohibits blacks from mixing with whites and lost the same rights as them. As time went on following the Civil Rights Era, The racial era begins to relax, especially when Barack Obama becomes the 44th US President and the First African-American US president. It seems to show the Racism is a problem to this day, due to Black Lives matter protests in 2014, and 2020 respectively.

    • Ruth Garcia

      You seem really interested in the Jim Crow era and laws–you have mentioned them serval times in class. Is there a question, or event, or person related to this era that you would like to research for Unit 2?

  13. Aqil Ahmed

    Government surveillance of Muslims in Muslim communities. Last year I researched about a Supreme Court case I have never heard about called Fazaga v. FBI. It was about how the FBI had sent an informant to a Muslim community in California to befriend the people in it and spy on them to find incriminating evidence on them. The informant gained the trust of lots of Muslims and manipulated them into saying things that made them sound like terrorists. Eventually the actions and behaviors of the informant eventually brought up red flags and that is when an Iman at a Mosque was alarmed and uncovered the plot. I was surprised I never heard about such an event that broke whatever trust the entirety of the Muslim community had with the US government. I was even more surprised to find out that similar events happed in the very city we all live in. The NYPD did a similar thing to Muslims in NYC. It is scary how many people don’t know about it, and everyone especially American Muslims should be aware of these tactics because it isn’t the first time it happened. Anti-Muslim acts are being committed by the government too many times and not enough light has been brought up on it.

    • Shahriyar Kabir

      Assalamu Alaikum brother, man that’s wild. But I cannot say I am surprised considering how not long after 9/11, there were cops who disguised themselves as Muslims, befriended Muslim youth, and eventually had them arrested for the reasons you stated earlier. It is our job to stand for ourselves as part of the Ummah. Do you know what happened in Dearborn, Michigan? That place is the only city in America with the majority of the population being Muslim, the school board was allowing children to have access to “LGBT” based books, and one such book talked about how Gay sex was done. Many parents (of Muslim and Christian faith)of those students confronted the school board about this, demanding these books be removed and that they should stop trying to establish new moral standards. It is the parents’ job to establish their children’s morals(as they said), not the education system’s. What will happen Inn Sha Allah is that the books will be removed. Because if they do not, the parents will retaliate, and the school board will know what is coming for them.

  14. lesli s

    The United States has a complex history which goes about how this country was made but never how it was found and what the government did in order to gain control .And what I mean by they never speak on how this country was found is because they gave credit to Christopher for finding the US but in reality native americas were living in this country before any building was made .They forced native Americans out of their homes and land . The trail of tears is one of many examples of a history subject that isn’t talked about more than usual . Yes you learn about the first president ,declaration of independence but do you learn of blood shed that was thrown to obtain this country. This country land was stolen and nobody talks about . The US continues to have many flaws and rewriting history its self now in modern society. The whole concept of freedom rights are being swept from us slowly and shortly. History is going backwards . Racism is one of our major social issues that has to change . Women rights are being controlled and limited etc.History is important and everyone should learn the bad things this country did in order to get where we are .These fancy buildings that are more than 10 years old were builded from the backs of colored people. People need to acknowledge how history has its dark moments and how its all coming back.People need to learn from history and not make the same mistake.

  15. LiloGS

    History is a complex subject .Us history was taught in way how this country became the way it is ,but never who was affected in the process.One of many examples is the trails of tears while US history classes are teaching students that a so called Christopher was the one who found this country when indeed this country belong to native Americans which they forced out . Or how this country builded farm ,stores ,building out of the labor of colored people . The us gives us a glimpse of these but its always shadowed from learning about presidents and their scandals when peoples sacrifices aren’t being honored . This country in modern society still continues to have racism being spread and taught . A social issue would be racism and that’s because history is repeating itself . If you come to realize one of biggest social issues isn’t acknowledge as much by our government .

  16. Ishrat Jahan

    There are many incidents that happened in US history. One of them that I learned about was civil war. Civil war gave people freedom. Over 4 millions of people got freedom. Till this days, Muslim people face problems and get called as terrorist. Many people judge by the way Muslim women stays cover, the way Muslim women cover their head. Many issues got solved but there are many issues that needs to solve. After reading about Dakota 38. I understood more about the dark side of US history that were unknown for me. Something that happened by Abraham Lincoln. He did a lot to help people, but his dark side was unknown. 

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