Mormon Trail

into my trek, completely soaked from a downpour earlier in the day, a blanket of thick fog descended upon me. I do not use these words lightly: what I experienced that night can only be described as mortal dread. I could not see my feet to find the trail, and if I stopped moving hypothermia would have rapidly set in. I stumbled my way over a bald mountain covering a distance in 4 hours which I would normally cross in less than thirty minutes. It was moments like these, coupling terror and…

misunderstanding.” Take President Andrew Jackson, who served from 1829-1837, as an example. Many people look up to him as a founding father and stalwart of America, but they also associate him with racism, specifically that of the Native Americans and the Trail of Tears (when thousands of Cherokee men, woman, and children were forced to move across the country, resulting in many deaths), and African Americans. They think of him as a cruel bigot who was only interested in serving the white…

The Mound Builders are a group of people, who pseudoarchaeologists claim, are another species or life form from the Native Americans. For years, Europeans that came to the New World claimed that they were some other life form because they didn’t believe that the Native Americans were capable of that kind of culture and mental capacity. These pseudoarchaeological claims stem from the racism of the Europeans. The Mound Builders were Native Americans who, during time periods between 2,200 and 1,600…

Journeys for Fame Competitiveness is like a wild animal. Once aroused, it can’t be controlled. In the year 1911, Roald Amundsen, a figure in polar exploration, began his long journey to the South Pole, in Antarctica. He became the first person to ever succeed this dangerous objective. Only 16 years later, in 1927, a pilot named Charles Lindbergh prepared to fly from New York all the way to Paris. A $25,000 award was set up by a hotel owner in New York City for whoever could accomplish this…

birthright did not protect them from the wishes of their American neighbors. Through the Indian Removal Act, Natives were forced to take part in a deadly journey which came to be known as the Trail of Tears. The results of the Trail were catastrophic to Natives, Cherokees alone lost 4000 people on the Trail(Document D); overall, one in four people who relocated died on the way(Document J). Initially, Americans wished for the Natives to adopt the American culture and quit their “savage” and…

Kill the Indian, and Save the Man” with this view the project of boarding schools started in 1870. In that time, and while Americans were still at war with the native population, The Indian boarding schools were a war plan to kill the Indian “spirit” on the native American’s new generations. What ensures the survival of any nation, is the transmission of the element of its specific cultural identity, tradition, and moeurs from generation to another. Boarding schools were implemented to achieve…

Like many cultures, the American Indians passed down their own beliefs which describe the creations of Earth and people. Depending on the tribe, location, history, lifestyle and external influences each story contained its own unique variation. The following will compare and contrast the Cherokee and Navajo belief in creation as well as delve into the viewpoints of each tribe and their relationship with the earth, animals and other people. It is hard for a person to understand why particular…

The United States in the 19th Century was at the finest moment in their history as they entered into a new political, economic, and social movement that would build America to what it is today. In the early parts of the century, we had purchased incredible amounts of vast land, won a war against the most powerful country in the world, and started an early landmark movement called the Industrial Revolution, the start to what would be known as manifest destiny later in the century. Andrew…

Throughout history Native Americans have had problems with the American government and land. Andrew Jackson was not a big fan of letting the Indians keep land that interfered with the American expansion plan. The Natives thought that nobody could own land and were surprised it was being taken and they were moved. Although the Native Americans believed nobody could own land they seemed to be very angry when they were moved away from it. The natives claimed that land was sacred and cannot be…

Chris McCandless died, starving and alone in the Alaskan wilderness. His death sent shockwaves through the country, inspiring the book Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer. Readers of Krakauer’s stirring novel have raised the question: was Chris McCandless unprepared for his escapade or did he merely suffer a cruel hand of fate? When the romance and mythology is removed from his story, it becomes clear that McCandless was in over his head from day one. Though he had enough confidence for 10 people and…