Identity and the Declaration of Independence INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN STUDIES ¡Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (1983) ¡National identity §What is it based on? § § ¡Which of these hold for the United States? LANGUAGE? ¡What is the national language of the United States? ¡ ¡Pennsylvania Dutch (Amish/Mennonites) §1736, 225,00 ¡ ¡Cajun French (Louisiana) §1760s, 400,000 ¡ amish_map Acadiana_and_Cajun_Heartland_USA_Louisiana_region_map Lost_Bayou_Ramblers amish ¡Spanish §1598, N. New Mexico §San Miguel Chapel–1610 ¡Chinese §1849, initially California §Chinatown, San Francisco ¡ NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, 2016 LEADING LANGUAGES SPOKEN AT HOME leading_non_eng_lang STATES WITH ENGLISH-ONLY LAWS ¡What other languages is the written or audio test available in? ¡ ¡Besides English, the basic Class C written driver license exam (written and audio versions) is also available in the following languages: ¡Amharic Arabic Armenian Cambodian ¡Chinese Croatian French German ¡Greek Hebrew Hindi Hmong ¡Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese ¡Korean Laotian Farsi Polish ¡Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian ¡Samoan Spanish Tagalog Thai ¡Tongan Turkish Vietnamese INFORMATION ON DRIVER’S LICENSE EXAMS IN CALIFORNIA (WWW.DMV.CA.GOV) REGISTERING TO VOTE IN CALIFORNIA FOOD? ¡Regional diversity that reflects local history and immigration §South: cornbread, grits, biscuits and gravy, barbeque §Midwest: German, Polish (kielbasa), Greek §Northeast: Jewish (bagels), Italian §West: Mexican (tamales, tacos, burritos, enchiladas), Asian food kielbasa southernfood bagels mexican ¡New York Times, October 7, 2013 ¡The kolache (pronounced ko-LAH-chee) entered the American repertory in the mid-1800s, soon after immigrants from Central Europe settled in the hills and prairies of central and south-central Texas. The region was once home to more than 200 Czech-dominant communities. Today, the Czech Belt remains a stronghold of traditional culture, where polka bands led by accordion cowboys play church bazaars, and descendants contribute to civic organizations like the Katolicka Jednota Texaska [sic] and the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas. ¡Yet kolaches — once considered a svacina (pronounced sfah-CHEE-nah), or midday snack, in Central Europe — are being quickly adopted and just as quickly transformed by all sorts of audiences. “CZECH-TEX ROAD FOOD THE KOLACHE: CZECH, TEXAN OR ALL-AMERICAN? (ALL THREE)” ¡At the Revival Market in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, sweet and savory pastries called kolaches are sold. Some artisans and entrepreneurs around the country are calling these Czech pastries the next-generation doughnut. ¡Here, kolaches in two flavors: Texas peach with bourbon and bacon, and local blackberry with basil and ricotta. ETHNIC ENCLAVES IN THE U.S. F09-04 THANKSGIVING ¡Tradition goes back to the seventeenth century §“Pilgrims” ¡Fourth Thursday in November ¡Dated fixed by Abraham Lincoln during Civil War ¡ ¡ New_England_Thanksgiving_Dinner Tuřín thanksgiving_dinner_asian students thanksgiving_dinner_asian students_2 THANKSGIVING DINNER ORGANIZED BY ASIAN STUDENTS ¡So if these other things don’t seem to work, what is American identity based on? ¡Flag §“Patriotism” ¡“Charters of Freedom” §Declaration of Independence §Constitution §Bill of Rights [USEMAP] AMERICAN NATIONAL IDENTITY Mvc-005s NO PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAIT(S) IN US CLASSROOMS ¡ I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ¡ ¡Originally written by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931) in 1892 §He was a Christian socialist minister born in New York ¡Words “under God” added in 1954 THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ¡In 1943, Marie and Gathie Barnett, practicing Jehovah’s Witnesses were told by their father not to say the pledge and not to salute the flag as doing so would violate their religious beliefs. They were then expelled. ¡Their parents sued the school district for violating their 1st amendment rights http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cXiZ8urO2P8/TyBQu7MlWUI/AAAAAAAAA6M/rL8q6HWS1e4/s1600/Marie+i+Gathie+Barn ett.bmp ¡In a 6-3 decision, in a decision written by Robert H. Jackson, the Supreme Court ruled that “[t]he Free Speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits public schools from forcing students to salute the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance.” ¡It is considered the most important defense of the Bill of Rights §The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections. WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION V. BARNETTE (1943) ¡On August 26, 2016, San Francisco 49’ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sits during the pre-game playing of the national anthem (for the third time). ¡He gives his reasoning as follows: §“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color…To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” ¡His protest is met by anger from the general public, but more athletes begin to join in his protest §A timeline of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest and the athletes who joined him COLIN KAEPERNICK ¡Trump attacks ‘disgraceful’ National Anthem protester Colin Kaepernick: ‘What he is doing is very bad for the spirit of the country’ (Daily Mail, 29/09) ¡Descendant of national anthem songwriter rips Colin Kaepernick (USA Today, 15/09) ¡Chargers Fans Boo Colin Kaepernick as He Kneels During National Anthem in San Diego (The Wrap, 01/09) ¡Colin Kaepernick Is Getting Killed Online For Snubbing The National Anthem (Elite Daily, 27/08) A SAMPLING OF 2016 HEADLINES ¡Medal ceremony for the 200 meter dash §L-R: Peter Norman (AUS), Tommie Smith, John Carlos ¡All three are wearing Olympic Project for Human Rights badges OLYMPIC GAMES, MEXICO CITY 1968 Flag - School AN ILLINOIS PRIMARY SCHOOL 050204_tribtower MICHIGAN AVENUE BRIDGE IN CHICAGO flagontreet_minneapolis ORDINARY HOUSES 122003_chinatown05 OUTSIDE A CONFUCIAN TEMPLE IN CHICAGO 122003_chinatown13 A CHINESE GROCERY IN CHICAGO st-patricks-cathedral Saks_Fifth_Avenue NEW YORK: ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL & SAK’S FIFTH AVENUE DEPT. STORE RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES: CATHOLIC, PROTESTANT, JEWISH AND MUSLIM ¡ flag_synagogue flag2 [USEMAP] NationalArchives WHAT IS THIS BUILDING? THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ARE LOCATED ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE national_archives_location ¡Copy of the original kept at the National Archives §Visited by more 1 million annually §Building built in 1952 specifically to house these documents ¡Together with the Constitution and Bill of Rights they form the “Charters of Freedom” ¡The next slide contains more images of the National Archives’ interior and the specially designed storage case holding the Charters of Freedom DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE visit_reopening_panorama_750 PRESIDENT & MRS. BUSH AT THE REOPENING OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES case-fullimage rotunda42 national-archives-rotunda-large THE ORIGINAL PARCHMENT COPY FROM 1776: TOP HALF Declaration_Pg1of1_AC_top THE ORIGINAL PARCHMENT COPY FROM 1776: BOTTOM HALF Declaration_Pg1of1_AC_bottom Declaration ¡The 1823 facsimile of the parchment (engrossed) copy THE CON-STITUTION ¡IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. ¡The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, ¡ When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: INTRODUCTION ¡ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: PREAMBLE (1) ¡ Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.– THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: PREAMBLE (2) ¡ Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. ¡ He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. … THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: INDICTMENT OF GEORGE III (1) ¡ He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. — He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: INDICTMENT (2) ¡He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. — He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. ¡ In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. ¡ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: INDICTMENT (3) ¡In the original draft this last complaint is followed by one further charge leveled against George III. ¡ ¡Here it can be seen in the original draft in Jefferson’s own hand: THE MISSING INDICTMENT uc004218_detail JEFFERSON’S ORIGINAL DRAFT: Cursive AMERICAN HANDWRITING (CURSIVE) ¡ he has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it's most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incure miserable death in their transportation hither. this piratical warfare, the opprobrium* of infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian king of Great Britain, determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he had deprived them, by murdering the people upon whom he also obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another. ¡ *Opprobrium -- something that brings disgrace, public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious ¡ TEXT OF THE MISSING INDICTMENT ¡Thomas Jefferson, quintessential Enlightenment figure §Author of Declaration of Independence §Founder of University of Virginia (1825) §Author of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom §Designed and ran Monticello §Notes on the State of Virginia §A comprehensive natural history and ¡The Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. (1943) WHO WAS THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743-1826)? jefferson_1791 thomas-jefferson-tombstone JEFFERSON PORTRAIT AND TOMBSTONE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ¡Jefferson even designed some of the buildings, including this Rotunda rotundaSketch UVa_Rotunda MONTICELLO ¡Jefferson not only designed all the buildings but ran the estate as a model farm ¡Estate covered more than 5000 acres (2000 hectares) Monticello je_monticello-wark jf_notesonthestateofvirgini notes_virginia_TOC NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA (1781) ¡Inherited more than 2,000 hectares and between 20-40 slaves in 1757 from his father §This land included the Monticello estate ¡Owned more than 600 individuals over the course of his life ¡Inherited first at the age of 14 ¡Sold more than 110 slaves during his life and gave a further 85 as gifts THOMAS JEFFERSON, SLAVE OWNER ¡Jefferson’s “Memorandum Book” for 1773: ¡ ¡January 29.: sold Sandy to Colo [Colonel] Chas [Charles] Lewis for £100 paiable [sic] in June. From which deduct £9.4.8. my present debt with him; leaves £90.15.4. to be sec’d [secured] jefferson_memobook 1845_Isaac_Jefferson ISAAC JEFFERSON (1775-1850) IN 1845 ¡Sally Hemmings ¡As early as 1802 rumors existed that Jefferson had fathered children by one or more of his slaves §In 1802, the journalist James Thomson Callender wrote in the newspaper The Richmond Recorder, “The PRESIDENT AGAIN. It is well known that the man, whom it delighteth the people to honor, keeps, and for many years past has kept, as his concubine, one of his own slaves. Her name is SALLY. The name of her eldest son is TOM. His features are said to bear a striking although sable resemblance to those of the president himself. The boy is ten or twelve years of age…We hear that our young MULLATO PRESIDENT begins to give himself a great number of airs of importance in Charlottesville, and the neighbourhood…By this wench, Sally, our president has had several children. There is not an individual in the neighborhood of Charlottesville who does not believe the story, and not a few who know it…The AFRICAN VENUS is said to officiate, as housekeeper at Monticello.” THOMAS JEFFERSON, FATHER OF SLAVES ‘A PHILOSOPHIC COCK’ ¡Attributed to James Akin, Newburyport, Massachusetts, ca. 1804. ¡“Tis not a set of features or complexion or tincture of a Skin that I admire” §Joseph Addison (1672-1719), Cato, Act 1 ¡1873 memoirs of Sally’s son Madison claimed that Jefferson was the father of at least three of her children ¡Sally Hemmings children were light-skinned, and three of them (daughter Harriet and sons Beverly and Eaton) lived as members of white society as adults (passing). ¡According to contemporary accounts, some of Sally Hemmings children strongly resembled Thomas Jefferson. ¡Thomas Jefferson freed all of Sally Hemmings children: Beverly and Harriet were allowed to leave Monticello in 1822; Madison and Eaton were released in Jefferson’s 1826 will. Jefferson gave freedom to no other nuclear slave family. ¡DNA analysis has shown that Thomas Jefferson and one of Sally’s children (Eaton) share their Y-chromosome §A male Jefferson other than Thomas (e.g. his brother Randolph) could also have been the father WHO WERE HIS SLAVE CHILDREN? jefferson_hemmings_descendants THE DESCENDENTS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON AND SALLY HEMMINGS ¡Jefferson discussing the Missouri question and slavery to John Holmes April 22, 1820: ¡“But as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.” JEFFERSON’S OWN RECOGNITION OF THE PROBLEM