Sean Wilentz Reflection, Fahad Saleem

In American Slavery and ā€˜the Relentless Unforeseenā€™ analyzed byĀ Sean Wilentz. I can see that he no longer solely sees Americans as these who contributed to the speech of different slaves. Talk about why society was onceso merciless and hypocritical in permitting all these abuses toward humanswho couldnā€™t protect themselves how they had that coronary heart to use them that way to mistreat them like that. He talks about slavery in Europe is crucial to a European contract in the New World. He connects with Hannah Jones due to the fact like her he expresses that the European slaves additionally helped to improve the united states of america with their effort and work. In the identical way, they have been humiliated and belittled when they did all the heavy lifting. The writer talks about what the brutal slave exchange was once like in the Atlantic for the reason that there used to beno political activity in this. My query is why governments allowed that. What used to be the motive of mistreating people? They have been unscrupulous human beings who had no household or who did no longer sense nicelyinside. Having that tough coronary heart of no longer taking significancetoward the struggling of others. Does cash make humans tough and barringfeelings? Everything looks to alternate many years later the place anti-slavery activists appear. Where they elevate out a range of sorts of reforms the place they blame that slavery is regarded pure evil. These activists had been humans with energy or slaves? How they managed to attain so many human beings and make a trade for the slaves. What prompted them to favorto make a change. Back then there had been nonetheless true humans who did no longer desire to do any damage to negative and defenseless people. Not due to the fact they had cash they despised slaves, alternatively they used their cash and energy to persuade different politicians to eradicate the degradation of property. The slaves fought difficult to supply the new world a symbolic that means which was once that of rebirth, the total fight, the transformation on their phase made all this trade possible.

Slavery helps the basis of the state due to the fact of the beliefs of the revolution. All of this prompted a want for freedom for all. There used to bea time when the southern United States grew to become the worldā€™s most formidable slavery regime. Slavery in the United States had now notabsolutely disappeared till emancipation arrived the place a ā€œnew beginningof freedomā€ used to be developed that used to be made via Lincoln in 1863. Slavery grew extraordinarily after the Revolution, the place they dominated country wide politics due to a very properly prepared slave power. Americans justified racism as an factor of life. To this day, many Americans agree that human beings now not born right here can’t have the identicalprivilege that they do. But the hassle is that these beliefs that they have come from the previous are humans who have now not suffered and have no longerhad a tough life, they are human beings who come from top families. Families with cash that have all the possibilities so they do now not see the effort that undocumented humans make to get here, many of them leaving the whole lot in the united states of america of origin. Many human beings are raped, outraged or even overwhelmed for having the dream of a higher life. If these humans had precise possibilities in their personal nations they would now not hazard as much, however they did no longer have the equalpossibilities as the Americans to develop up in a household with cash and opportunities. Many Americans seem to be down on immigrant humans for now not analyzing or now not understanding English. But that is some thingthat have to change. I hope that in time these matters enhance and this united states of america continues to provide greater possibilities to the least needy.

Hannah Jones Reflection – Fahad Saleem

o the fact the instances and activities that had been introduced in the article had been in truth challenging to examine ranging from lynchings to beatings. The writer states how she is only pressured about how her father is proud of such a u . s . a . after all that hate that used to be introduced to the afro-americans. That is when a key factor pops up and it is that the afro-americans took section in constructing current day America and this need tobe why they ought to sense proud and honor their flag. After analyzing the 1619 article I went and study the reality checking article and the ā€œAfter all, didnā€™t the united states invent slavery?ā€ article and these articles introducedup many points. I associated to the ā€œAfter all, didnā€™t the us invent slavery?ā€ article due to the fact when slavery would be delivered up I would factor the fingers to the United States and would more often than not relate slavery to America however after studying this I can see that slavery has existed earlier than it took location in America. Besides this, the reality checking article reality exams the primary notion that America desired to achieveindependence in order to maintain slavery and the articles refutes the two activities that took region which have been the Somerset v. Stewart and the 1775 proclamation.

After studying the article, we can relate the subject matter of slavery to the current day bearing on it to the subject of immigration. Lately, in the U.S we have viewed a large variety of immigrants coming into the U.S illegally and legally and the deportation of these immigrants as well. We have consideredtwo facets to this fundamental theme and they are that most of these immigrants are criminals and are taking away many possibilities for peopleand come right here for no exact whilst the different factor is that immigrants come to this united states of america to grant a higher lifestylesfor their household as nicely as for themselves and they are escaping their u . s . a . due to many troubles arising. I guide the 2d argument due to the factmany human beings come to the U.S in order to stabilize themselves and to help themselves financially by using getting a job or even to get an education. Besides this, I can take a factor from the 1619 article and say that simply like afro-americans, immigrants are essential in constructing current day America and we see this from all over beginning with jogging the financial system by way of both working in their careers and contributing to the U.S through paying their taxes and even war for their personal country. There are many rebuttals in which discuss about how they have had a terrible have an impact on on the united states due to the fact of their crook pastimehowever they additionally forget about that immigrants arenā€™t the solelyhumans that commit these type of crimes, native born american additionallytake section in this growing crook recreation in the United States. We need to be proud due to the fact immigrants are the engine to the United States as their tough work propels the United States to be triumphant even more.

Frederick Douglass Reflection

From reading the article ā€œLearning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglassā€ we see the point of view of Federick Douglass an African American who was the first slave to get education and gain freedom. In this specific writing we get to see his earlier years of being a slave before he runs away from his owners. We see how in his early year his mistress would show him how to read. But once she saw how much power she had over him she would deny him reading in the house. So Federick would ask the homeless white kids to help him read and in return he would give them bread. What got me thinking was when he wrote ā€œYou will be free as soon as you turn twenty-one, but I am a slave for life! Haven’t I as good a right to be free as you have?ā€ These words used to trouble them; they would express for me the liveliest sympathy, and console me with the hope that something would occur by which I might be free.ā€ What shocked me about this was these white kids felt like they couldnā€™t relate to Douglass. In this context they make it seem like these kids believe that African Americans werenā€™t even human. As Douglass finally learned how to read fluently he was confronted by reality and as he read even more books he saw how freedom looked even farther than it was at the beginning. He even wrote that he envied his fellow slaves for their stupidity. Douglass then soon decided to learn how to write before running away. He would go to a shipyard and would see how the ship carpenters would write letters on a piece of timber for abbreviations. He would then copy them on a board fence and would use chalk as a writing utensil. This article is in the same category as Hannah-Jones and Sean Wilentz because all these three articles are trying to show how African Americans help build this country but also the hardships that they faced and how they too had dreams. They all just focused on expressing different points. For example Hannah-Jones solemnly focuses on how African Americans were more involved in making this country and how some politicians at the time like Thomas Jefferson who said ā€œevery man is created equalā€ still had a child slave. Sean Wiltenz focuses more on arguing with an audience that believes that slavery was destined to end.

Reflection on Bill Gates “The next outbreak? We’re not ready” Ted Talk

I agree with about every statement Bill Gates made in this video. I highly recommend everyone to take some time to watch this Ted Talk from 2015, of Bill Gates telling us that the world is not ready for the next viral outbreak that will occur. He happened to be right in his statement. In my own knowledge I know that pandemics have happened before today, and I know they will happen again. It should be about being ready for them. In our case today, the Coronavirus or COVID-19, we apparently were not.

Gates states

“If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus than a war. Now a part of the reason for this is that we’ve invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents. But we’ve actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic.”

Now, of course protection from nuclear weapons is extremely important, and I bet if we did go into a nuclear war with North Korea we’d all be very grateful at the moment for our multi-billion dollar military and protection. I’m not saying the nuclear deterrents should be completely cut off. The White House should have had a pandemic response team ready to cut off the Coronavirus. According to a Time article, Presidents Trump’s administration cut the critical global health staffing. The President claims the team could’ve been cut for money purposes and could be restored very quickly since they had the money and could pay for it. There have been people in his administration saying that cutting the team in no way affected what’s happening now ( https://time.com/5806558/administration-officials-fight-criticism/ ). I’m not blaming Trump or his administration, just questioning what would’ve been if this team was still together before the outbreak happened? Could they have detected it and eased the spread even more? Who knows. This is also made more clear in Gates’ next statement:

“We didn’t have a group of epidemiologists ready to go, who would have gone, seen what the disease was, seen how far it had spread [In this case talking about Ebola]. The case reports came in on paper. It was very delayed before they were put online and they were extremely inaccurate. We didn’t have a medical team ready to go. We didn’t have a way of preparing people.”

This also seems to be the issue we’re facing today. “China alerted W.H.O. on several unusual cases of pneumonia on December 31st (Time).” Could a response team from the United States went over there to see what was going on and gotten better numbers and to research whatever was happening? This is something we don’t know but should still be prepared for in the future.

About 10,000 people died from Ebola that year as Gates says. Within the last three or four months, the cases of COVID-19 are above 870,000. Along with over 43,000 deaths. According to the Washington Post, the White House task force is estimating that 100,000 to 240,000 people will die, just in the United States! So we obviously can’t compare the Ebola outbreak to COVID-19, because what we are facing now isĀ muchĀ more contagious and deadly.

One of the last things Gates says is to not panic. No need to “hoard cans of spaghetti or go down into the basement. But we need to get going, as time is not on our side.” This should serve as a warning. Although, I predict that once this pandemic is over, everyone will go right back into their old unsanitary habits. As Americans and especially New Yorkers, we consider ourselves immortal/immune to problems or threats unless they’re starting down right into our faces. Sometimes not even then do we fear it, but simply ignore it until it goes away.

 

Video: what is a virus? Virus as distinguished from bacteria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_9DXEnEd-Q

This may be useful.Ā  Knowledge is power.

Please reflect upon this information.Ā  Does it change your thought process on the current health crisis?Ā  What other sources of information can you pursue?

Research as inquiry means finding what you need to know to stay healthy and prosper.

Frederick Douglass

The article from Learning to read and write by Frederick Douglass. It is basically that the teaching that Afromericans had was not adequately treated. This closely resembles the articles by Hanna Jones and Wilentz because in one part of the excerpt the author says that the person who gave him had irresponsible power did not teach him how he should be and treated him as a brute. An insult that until that time was still used to marginalize people. The strongest thing is that in the article it is mentioned that being treated as human beings was something considered “bad” and “dangerous” that ideals even white people had of superiority. The prohibition for a black man to read even success. The suffering felt by blacks who could read was very high since their masters expected more from them much more than the others. The pressure consumed them. Learning to write was too difficult for slaves since it was prohibited but the author mentions that he had to make an effort and copy all the words until he learned them and was able to write without problem. Everything is possible slaves were intelligent people as mentioned in Hannah Jones’ article if it had not been for them this country would not be the same.

Coronavirus Reflection

The ongoing coronavirus has affected many countries. Countries such as Italy who have shut down and refused to let anyone come into the country or leave. Here in New York schools have closed down and many people arenā€™t working. A once crowded city looks deserted. Coronavirus did exist before this whole world epidemic, this disease just affected animals instead of humans.This became a worldwide epidemic becauseĀ  a certain person in China ate a bat and they didnā€™t realize that bat had the corona-virus. And due to this the person walking freely they were able to infect other people and it started to escalate. I remember when the corona-virus was just affecting China, I never imagined it to spread to many other countries making it a threat. This whole situation to me is weird. Not seeing as many people outside my block, not hearing the train passing everytime makes me realize how I just want my normal everyday routine to come back. Thereā€™s been 30,000 cases in the United States. This virus affects people 60 and older. Younger people can still be affected but they have more chance in surviving than older people whose immune system is weaker. Many hospitals in New York are full of coronavirus patients and need even more space for new patients. This reminds me of a movie called I am Legend with Will Smith which was shot here in New York where Will Smith plays the only survivor in trying to come up with a cure of a worldwide virus and the people with the virus are walking zombies. This situation reminds me of this movie because everything in the city is so quiet and Iā€™ve been stuck in my house for 3 weeks without going out. Me and my family are taking precautions when we go out only for necessities and wearing masks and gloves when we go out and to wash our hands when we come back.

 

A student writes about Lincoln, Hannah-Jones, and Professor Medford’s lecture:

“After viewing (Professor Medford’s lecture on video), it didnā€™t really change my viewing of Wilentz but it did make me look more closely into Hannah Jonesā€™ writing in the ā€œThe 1619 Projectā€. In her writing, she holds Thomas Jefferson and James Madison accountable for their actions in the wrong treatment of African Americans but she also makes a point about Abraham Lincoln. She finds him guilty because within his proclamation he allowed ex slaves to join the union army and fight against their former owners. In her writing, she states, He believed that free black people were a ā€˜ā€˜troublesome presenceā€™ā€™ incompatible with a democracy intended only for white peopleā€œ. In this section of her writing, she goes into Lincolnā€™s actions to invite these former slaves and inform them that he was able to get congress to acquire funds to ship black people once freed to a whole other country. This doesnā€™t add up. Why would President Lincoln insist they fight in a war for their freedom in America just to be shipped to another country for their efforts? Knowing this, it made me question Professor Medfordā€™s statement when she says that Lincoln did not want to originally include black men in the military because they wouldnā€™t be strong enough to stand up against their former owners on the battlefield. She then states ā€œHe found out very quickly that black men were anything but cowards and that they were spoiling for a fightā€. I think he was very disappointed in what America has become and he knew that even with time African Americans will still be wrongly treated within America but he wanted to ensure that equality was written truthfully within the lines of the constitution.”

Perhaps this is what Wilentz means about the “relentless unforeseen.”Ā  Despite Lincoln’s fear that free African Americans would never get along with whites in the U.S. after the Civil war, because whites would not accept them, once he took the action to free the slaves in the south during the war and at the same time started the African American brigades in the union army, inviting them to join these brigades, even though he didn’t know it at the time, full citizenship for African Americans would be necessary in the U.S. and perhaps he came to recognize this before he was assassinated.

The point is, once you have the African American military troops, the demand for citizenship and equality is unstoppable. No, it didn’t come immediately; there was continued debate before the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments; and after the 1865-1877 reconstruction period, the south reverted to a racist Jim Crow society.Ā  Nevertheless the idea of asking the U.S. army veterans of the African-American brigades to leave the U.S. after the war was obviously untenable and in fact impossible.Ā  Which is what happened.Ā  They had no intention of leaving and stayed and continued to demand equal rights.

We do not know what is going to happen in the future.Ā  But we must fight for our ideals and what we believe is right.

So for Hannah-Jones to just say that Lincoln didn’t believe in equality does not tell the whole story. Perhaps at one point he didn’t.Ā  Professor Medford in her lecture says he changed his view during this time.

Perhaps it isn’t so much what a person or some people believe, but what we do to change the laws to create a more just society.

Relentless Unforeseen Reflection

While reading Sean Wilentzā€™s ā€œAmerican Slavery and ā€˜the Relentless Unforeseenā€™,ā€ I felt enthralled by the idea that, because the history of past events is written as something inevitable, we underestimate the frightening nature of those events as they happened during those times. It was something I had never deeply thought about before because, as Wilentz implied, people like me who had not read this before would initially regard history as a record of inevitable events. Consequently, this idea conflicts with Hannah Jonesā€™s claim that Black people always knew that their efforts would contribute to the ideals of freedom and equality in America. While it is true that Blacks have fought for their rights and ultimately succeeded in history, there was no guarantee during the time of those events that they could have succeeded. This weakens Jonesā€™s idea that racial inequality and the Blacksā€™ indignation at said inequality was the crux of American freedom and equality.Ā 

At the beginning of the article, Wilentz described how despite the popular moral indignation at slavery during the seventeenth century, it was not strong enough to encourage political action against. This raises doubt for the concept that ā€œBlacks succeeding at their rebellion against slavery was an inevitability,ā€ as Jones would suggest in ā€œThe 1619 Project.ā€ One could certainly interpret the definition of the concept as, ā€œthe rebellion against slavery would have succeeded one day, just not now.ā€ In this case, the concept could be treated as an opinion or belief rather than some sort of inevitability or ā€œtruthā€ of history. In light of this, it is interesting to see how the works of Hannah Jones and Sean Wilentz interact with each other; Although they both talk about the concept of slavery and what happened during the times when slavery had been utilized, they contradict each other in how they approach the subject of slavery and its historical impact.

I am also surprised and interested in the amount of descriptive detail that Wilentz provides in his article. For example, I was never aware of how even during the early stages of slavery in the Anglo-American world, there had been actual moral uproar against slavery. Before reading this, I had assumed that the populace during those times would have mostly endorsed slavery since the slaves during those times could be treated as ā€œsubhuman.ā€Ā  In his article, Wilentz also touches upon the modern and pessimistic view that the nation of the United States is rooted in the cruel and proliferating slavery that besmirches the American ideals of freedom and equality amongst all people. Wilentz conflicts with this view by talking about how the modern populace seems to know too little or none at all that the United States was also rooted in the actual conflict against slavery because it contradicted the ideals of freedom that encouraged the American Revolution. Through his descriptive details and analysis of U.S. history in relation to slavery, Wilentz has been able to present a sort of objective and complete view of the interactions between slavery and America as well as the rest of the world.