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Native americans life in colonization of america
Native americans life in colonization of america
Native americans life in colonization of america
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AMERICAN HOLOCAUST The other side of the story to our great American history is not as pretty as they teach us in grade school. The American Holocaust by David Stannard is a novel full of live excerpts from eyewitnesses to the genocide of the American Indians. He goes as far as to describe what life was most likely like before Europeans came to the Americas and obliterated the "Paradise" so described. Columbus even wrote how beautiful the places were in which he committed acts against the Natives so horrific, it was hard to read about, let alone talk about. The Natives were so innocent and naive, that when Columbus would "show them his sword" they would grab the end and in effect slice open their hand. These people had no chance of survival once the Europeans came with their EXTREME religious ideals and power hungry minds. Stannard's strength in his work is how he gives detailed accounts of incidents to back up his theories. The only weakness of his book is that there were times when further description was unnecessary. There are only so many ways to describe babies getting their heads bashed against rocks, and he described every one of them. Perhaps it is more my weakness for reading about it then his weakness for writing it. Overall, this book ranges and compares major genocide throughout history from Nazi Germany to Stalin, and even compares how Europe was before Columbus was sent over. Stannard's wide range of history is well put together in order to give the reader the full effect of how this "American Holocaust" came into effect. The conquest of the America's started with, basically , the pursuit of better trade and possibly more lands. When they found the Natives, friendly and wonderful, word got back about the Paradise which the men had found. However, word spread that such a place could be almost Satanic. Therefore, soon they started to see the Natives as demons which either had to be converted to had to be destroyed. By reading the "Requirmiento" in Spanish to the non-Spanish Indians, basically bypassed the conversion part and went straight to the "destroy" stage. Many of the leaders of these expeditions felt that it was God's will that these people were so easy to kill and take over to make them slaves. Since the American Indians opened their arms to the Europeans, it showed that they were weaker and more naive.
The discovery and conquest of American Indians inspired efforts to develop an ideology that could justify why they needed to enslave the Indians. The Spanish monarch wanted an ideal empire. "A universal empire, of which all their subjects were but servants. Charles V remained for them the dominus mundi, the legitimate and God-ordained lord of the world." (Weckmann, The Transit of Civilization, 23) Gold and religious conversion was the two most important inspirations for conquistadors in conquering America. Father Bartolome De Las Casas was a Dominican priest who came to the New World to convert the Indians to become Christians. He spent forty years on Hispanolia and nearby islands, and saw how the Spaniards brutally treated the Indians and sympathized with them. The Devastation of the Indies was an actual eyewitness account of the genocide by Las Casas, and his group of Dominican friars in which he demonizes the Spanish colonists and praises the Indians. Father Las Casas returned to Seville, where he published his book that caused an on going debate on whether the suppression of the Indians corrupted the Spaniards' values. What Las Casas was trying to achieve was the notion of human rights, that human beings are free and cogent by nature without the interference of others.
Las Casas emphasizes on three main issues throughout his account. First, in almost each chapter, Las Casas writes about the luscious qualities of the land and the different indigenous peoples that inhabit them. Second, he explains and describes in detail how the natives were rapidly being massacred by the invading Christian Europeans. Finally, Las Casas discusses how God had brought justice to the Europeans for their diabolical acts upon the natives. Las Casas, a former slave owner himself, realized that those whom he previously enslaved were just as much human and capable of learning and practicing the Christian faith as he was. As a bishop, he realized he could do little for the Natives except document his experiences (in as much detail as possible) and hope that the royal administration would have sympathy for the Natives and establish laws to protect them from the Europeans.
However, creating a scale of genocides like this with the Holocaust at the top undermines the severity of all other genocides. Some historians have used the term “America’s Holocaust” for the Native American Genocide, but this indirectly invalidates it by inferring that it has to be comparable to the Holocaust to be a legitimate genocide. By considering it the Holocaust of America, it disregards the differences between the two genocides and indirectly erases the Native American Genocide from history. Although equivalent in magnitude and destruction, characterizing the Native American Genocide as “America’s Holocaust” is historically inaccurate and disrespectful.
Art Spiegelman's Maus is a renowned comic book that won a Pulitzer Prize. The book was published in two parts, Volume I: "My Father Bleeds History," in 1986, and Volume II: "And Here My Troubles Began," in 1991. It was later integrated into one single volume. The book told Spiegelman's desire to write about his father's experiences during the Holocaust, as well as the experiences themselves. There had been numbers of Holocaust books over the decades, but Maus is different among all. After reading numerous Holocaust books, they become repetitive, because most people are aware of the tragic event. Maus offers not only the tale of the Holocaust, but stories about its victims, and the next generation as well. Its distinction was already displayed through Spiegelman's use of animals for nationalities. This method was perhaps Spiegelman's way to show readers the race hierarchy. Also, this comic book is not of a typical Holocaust story, because it is a legacy of the event. The comic has stories within stories, Vladek Spiegelman's (Art's father), and Art's himself. The comic tells how the Holocaust affected Vladek's life after, and as Vladek told his experiences to Art, it showed how their relationship was affected as well. As Art took in everything his father told him throughout the book, he tried to understand his father. What Art had to make of his father was through the stories during the Holocaust, while he tried to relate to him. All these notions that the comic has makes it distinctive among all other Holocaust books.
Genocide refers to the killing of large groups of people, especially among ethnic groups. Throughout the book, Stannard refers to genocide as a holocaust because throughout the history of the United States many ethnic groups were being killed and mistreated. A holocaust is described as a destruction caused by fire and nuclear war. In this case, the American holocaust occurred when Christopher Columbus and many Europeans began to kill Indians because their objective was to take the power of gold. According to Howard Zinn, author of the book “A people’s History of the United States” many Arawak men, children, and women were put on ships and were forced into labor. The Arawak began to form an army and defeat the Spaniards. In his book, Zinn describes the poor treatment that the Arawak were facing. Zinn states that “When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor” (Zinn Chapter 1). The Europeans, Spanish, French, British, and Americans each committed genocide by killing and mistreating the Indians who formed part of the land. Stannard describes what each group treated this minority group and why it was considered genocide. In his book, Stannard quotes Bartolome de las Casas who talks about the treatment. De las Casas says
What does the term “propaganda” say, what does one think of, when approached with this term? Would one think it was of a positive of negative connotation? What about the association it had with the holocaust, would it then be considered negative? Did the Nazis use the role of propaganda overtly?
Dwork, Deborah, and R. J. Van Pelt. Holocaust: a History. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.
6.5 million Jews were sent to concentration camps during the holocaust. Jews were put through a lot during the holocaust, from the time they got picked up to the time they were brutally killed. The holocaust has to be the most horrific and cruel true story known to man. The Nazis had no heart or sympathy for the Jews. The Nazis thought and felt they were better than the Jews and that they were a disgrace to mother earth. Germans put the Jews through Hell and back. The stages of the holocaust was that the Jews would be picked up, then sent to the ghettos, then lastly to the concentration camp to be tortured and/or killed
If the “killers” of the Holocaust were not put in the situations they were in, many of them would not have committed the crimes they did; whether they were killing the Jews or just delivering the Jews to camps, they were part of the extermination of innocent people. Most of them were killing in fear, they didn’t want to be persecuted and murdered so they made it look like they were for the Nazi party. Anne Frank once said, “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” I believe that this quote, which is saying that some people do bad things but that does not mean they are bad people, many are doing things out of fright, hoping it will save their lives, is very true. All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein which is about a Jewish family, mainly on the little girl in the family who goes through the unimaginable during the Holocaust, popped into mind when I heard the quote. Also two short stories called “Tiengen” by Maurice Meier and “Rescuers” by Irene Opdyke came to mind when I read this quote.
back at me." This is said to show that Wiesel was on the verge of death from
Why didn't the non Jewish people fight for their friends, family, and acquaintances? If the non Jews would have collaborated then they would have had capitulate from the Nazis. Were they scared, or were they afraid that they could not do anything? Well, if enough of the non Jews had fought back they could have helped the Jews out of the Concentration camps and all of the torture that they were being put through. One reason that the non Jews should have fought back was if they were in the Jews predicament then they would want help too. The non Jews could have been triumphant. The non Jews should have had an aspiration for saving their friends. Hitler was putting them through the worst possible treatment. I know that I would want help. I would help it is the right thing to do and that the Jews have a right to believe what they want. Everybody has the right to believe what they want.
Ghettos, concentration camps, starvation, and deaths. These people were put through everything during this terrible, grueling time. The Nazi forces were overtaking the people day by day throughout Europe. In the ghettos and concentration camps either killers or starvation took the lives of many innocent people. These people did not deserve the treatment they received in such short notice. During the Holocaust the Jewish people should have fought back against the nasty, intolerable Nazis.
When you think of the holocaust, what do you think about? Is it the millions of Jews lives that were taken? Or is it a great, but wicked speaker named Adolph Hitler? Adolph Hitler, Auschwitz, and American involvement are some key roles in the holocaust.
I've thought, and thought about resistance in the Holocaust and I've come to this realization: No words or poem or detailed description can describe the level of terror and oppression that took place. I am simply going to try my best to understand a fraction of the pain that many people went through, and the lessons we can learn from what happened.