New Beginnings

As you walk into the school, cue all the stares. People whisper and point. Okay, I'm making that up, but, have you ever been the new kid at a school? Not knowing where to go, who anyone is, or what is expected of you. When you finally figure out where your first class is, you sit in your seat very quietly, waiting for some familiar faces. Well, maybe that's not what other people do, but I know that's what I've done. 

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings." Yup, I can agree with that. The first time my mom decided to move; mind you this was across the country, I was in 2nd grade. And just let me say, I was not expecting to move another four times in the next three years. Anyway when I first heard that I was going to move I thought I was the coolest 2nd grader EVER!!! I also never thought that other kids move whatsoever, especially not from Boston , to Portland. Then before I knew it I was in a whole new place, looking for a house.  I had no idea who anyone was, and where to go. And yet there is something special about being in a place that is brand new, with only my mom. When this happened it made my mom and I rely on each other, which brought us together.

Fast forward five years of moving to different houses, meeting new people, going to new schools, and my mom becoming a record box packer. Fast forward all the way to my first day at Catlin Gabel. I know it may seem a little cliche to be writing about being new to a school. The thing is being new to this school was very different then being new to any other school. Everyone is so kind, and you end up having friends on the first day of school, which helps since it is sorta awkward to be in a class with no idea who anyone is.
Another unique thing about Catlin is the campus. Our campus has many trees/greenery. The amount of trees on our campus could put the Congo tropical forest to shame.  Whenever I see the dimpled light underneath a tree, I can't help but smile. Something about broken up light shinning on leaves has a bewitching, and magical look.
 

Overall, being new may have hard parts, but it always will become better. You must survive the darkest part, to get to the light.

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If you play board games you must know mumblety-peg...right?

In recent days, I find video games to be a very big time passer. But, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there was no Halo or Black Ops, so what was to be played? Back then board games were a popular way to spend time for soldiers and peasants alike with games from backgammon in 1645 that we still play (at that time called tables), to games that nobody plays anymore like mumblety-peg and.

There are many games we still play that are from the 1600s and 1700s such as solitaire, backgammon, chess and cribbage. We may play these games differently, but the concepts are the same: You try to take out the opponent's king in chess, you try to get card combos in cribbage, and you try to line up all the cards into the sides in a specific order in solitaire.

These games have all been played since at least AD 1700 and were often played by people in the American, French and industrial revolutions for fun. On top of the many still played and remembered games, there are a few from the revolutions we don't still remember. mumblety-peg was a game where both players would have a pocket knife and throw it into the ground as close to their feet as possible and the person who loses each round had to pull a peg out of the ground with their teeth (hence the name, mumblety-peg)
I personally love to play board games, even classic ones like solitaire. As you can see, in the 1700s board games were how people spent a lot of their time.

Backgammon board
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backgammon

-JewelsArePrecious

Sources: Wikipedia, Slate.com, 

Food Now Vs Food in the American Revolution

Food in American Revolution vs Food Now

Everyday, we might take going to the grocery store for granted. It’s only a 15 minute drive, and it has everything you would need. A seemingly endless supply of basic necessities. You can pretty much buy anything you would want. Fruits, veggies, bread, and much more. The people of the American Revolution were rationed to very little per day and per week. Imagine if you had to share molasses and other food with 99 other men, well that’s what people in the American Revolution had to endure. Many other basic needs were cut down to very little for soldiers, and for other people who weren’t on the war. It was very far from gourmet.

There certainly weren’t an McDonald's or any restaurants for that matter. Most people ate things they hunted or grew. Milk, fruits, veggies, eggs, and grains were common to trade and eat. Most people at a lot of stews of meat and vegetables. Woman spent a lot of their day cooking because they had to milk the cow, build a fire for cooking, bring water from the well, and get the meat ready to eat. There was a big meal each day that was served around 2pm.

Nowadays, there are restaurants, grocery stores, and farmers markets that you can get food without working very hard. Many women now have jobs, and don’t spend half their day cooking. You can go to grocery store and get all the things you need to cook a meal, or to make it easier you can go to a restaurant and order a dish, without doing any work; it’s prepared for you. We normally eat three meals a day with snacks in between. For most families, dinner is probably the biggest meal. Most families don't have huge gardens, I know for sure that my family doesn't really know how to garden. We have a couple strawberry plants, but that's about it.

The reason it’s easier to get food now, is because it’s more accessible. We don't have to slaughter our own food. When I was three, I certainly didn't help kill the chickens for dinner. Technology has also played a role in making it more accessible. We now have cars, planes, and boats that help food get transported from around the world into one place. In the American Revolution they didn’t have those privileges of having foods get transported from around the world, right to them.

Even in the last 100 years, things have changed dramatically. In 1900, a small child would know how to kill a chicken, and older kids would know how to grow their own food. Today, in kindergarten, I'm pretty sure most kids grew their own little pea plant or a small vegetable. Most people would agree that eating your food that you grew, was awesome; however, you probably don't want to know how your chicken, that you're eating for dinner, was killed.

In conclusion, food now has gotten much more complicated. We can go to a grocery store and get food from right here, Japan, or Morocco. Food has become more accessible and because of that, the food and dishes that you can make have changed.

The Small Difference of a Daily Routine Can Make a Big Difference

By Julia Druker

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine,” Mike Murdock. No matter what we do in the morning, we always try to have some sort of pattern. It can get chaotic if we don’t stick to a routine. Everyone’s daily routines are different. Try as we might, we can’t completely copy someone else’s routine. Everyone’s routines are different, and they don’t define us, but they are a big part of us.

It’s the time of the American Revolutionary war. Imagine a ten year old boy, named Jim, living in Alabama. Jim’s family is living on a wealthy family’s land. His parents work everyday for food. Jim wakes up at 4 am from sleeping in the barn. He rubs his eyes to see his to-do list. Thirty things on his list, and only eighteen hours to do it. He gets up, because he knows he has to get moving. He grabs the food he can find. It’s a race to finish his work in time, everyday. A never ending community service project. He wishes he could join the army to at least be a message carrier, but he knows he can’t. Even though he dreams about leaving, he wants to be obedient and loyal. After he has finished his work, it is very late. Off to the barn he goes to sleep, and dread the next day to come.

Now, go into the present time. I wake up to my mom bringing in my cat. I hold him till I feel ready to get up. I tell my mom what I’m feeling like for breakfast, and start getting ready. After figuring out my outfit, I go downstairs to find a hot breakfast waiting for me. Eating my delicious breakfast gives me strength for the day. Hopefully by then, my brother is out of the shower. If he is not, I yell at him. If he is, I go in and brush my teeth. I fix up my hair, and get my phone. If I have time, I’ll do a quick check of my notifications. Otherwise, I just get my socks, jacket, and shoes on. It depends if my mom or dad is taking me if I leave now. If my mom is taking me, we have a good ten more minutes left. If my dad is taking me, chances are, he’s probably already in the car. Even though, I have school starting soon, I try to rest on the car ride. I put in my headphones and tune out the sound of cars at rush hour.

Once at school, I talk to my friends. I dread the moment that Chris Bell puts on her headphones and walks to the enormous bell. After five classes, my school day is done. I either go to one of my activities or go home. Eventually I come home, and start my homework. Usually, it doesn’t take me very long, so I’m done before dinner. After dinner, I just relax and enjoy the fact that my day is done. I watch tv and go to bed.

As you can probably tell, our lives are very different today. We still deal with controversies. With the internet, we can see what is going on in the world, by a push of a button. Children, in our world, are in general more lazy than children in the Revolutionary War. Boys joined the army as soldiers at 16 and boys at the age of 7, could be message carriers or drummers. Even though we have a better education system now, children worked harder. What would you rather do? Spend a day in different classrooms and getting breaks or eighteen hours of work in the hot sun?

Sources:

"American Revolution." For Kids: Daily Life During the Revolutionary War. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2016.

Photos: 

"A Point of View: Why Gardening Is Really about Digging Your Own Grave - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2016.

"Alarm Clock." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2016.

From Horses To Cars

From Horses To Cars

I'm sure you have ridden in a Car before or definitely seen a car? Why did we change from horses to cars, planes, boats etc? When did we change? Transportation helped a civilization thrive and succeed.

Horses were used in up to the 18 century  to get to a destination from another destination

What happened prior to the American Revolution?

Two powerful events that happened prior to the American revolution are the Boston Massacre, and the Boston tea party. The Boston Massacre happened first. During the boston Massacre, five unarmed colonists were killed by the British military. This was a huge deal because there is no reason for for the British, who had the most powerful army in the world at the time, to kill unarmed civilians. This was considered considered one of the most important events that turned colonial sentiment against King George III and British Parliamentary authority.  
The boston tea party happened only a few years later. It all started with the tea act. In the tea act, the british made it so you can only buy british tea, which was taxed. Colonists weren’t very happy, because they didn’t agree with taxation. They wanted to stop all taxation. That started the boston tea party. In the Boston Tea Party Colonists, who were disguised as native Americans attacked 3 ships and destroyed all of the tea. It took nearly three hours for more than colonists to empty the tea into Boston Harbor. The chests held more than 90,000 lbs. (45 tons) of tea, which would cost nearly $1,000,000 dollars today. Both these events were significant to the American revolution, because showed that the relationship between Britain and its colonies was disappearing.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party

https://docs.google.com/a/catlin.edu/document/d/1iKqqpObsrsLgwdIqKgjVb_1v79I_yP4jMgq3bu7Nwcs/edit?usp=sharing

A Soldier's Best Friend, Then and Now

By: Emma

I have always loved dogs, but while I have a dog just for companionship hundreds of soldiers around the world today use dogs not just as loyal friends, but also as brave animals that fight in war. Right now there are many dogs that fight in wars all around the world, but it turns out that more than 200 years ago, in the American Revolution, dogs played a huge part in that war as well. A lot has changed since the American Revolution, but It seems that the loyalty and bravery of dogs in battle have not.

The Revolutionary War started in 1775 and ended in 1783. When most people think of the Revolutionary War they think of battles like Valley Forge, The Boston Tea Party, and brave determined soldiers. I think that everyone should start remembering and honoring the brave dogs that fought tirelessly and selflessly  by the side of soldiers in the Revolutionary War. One of the first soldiers to use dogs in the Revolutionary War was  General George Washington. You may be surprised to learn that Washington was a prolific dog owner. Our first president and commander of the Revolutionaries was a lifelong dog owner, so when Washington went off to fight the Revolutionary War he brought along his beloved hound Sweetlips. George Washington was not the only one who was accompanied by his dog in war, many of Washington’s men also had dogs. Dogs were a very important part of a soldier’s life as they provided companionship in battle, protection against wild animals, and they could also help to hunt food.

The Continental Army was not the only army with dogs. Across the battlefield from the Revolutionaries the British Army also had dogs. At the Siege of Yorktown their was a large British Bulldog that chased the British cannonballs fired over the American trenches. One Soldier on the Continental army wrote “Our officers wished to catch him and oblige him to carry a message from them into the town to his masters, but he looked too formidable for any of us to encounter.” The bulldog might have done it’s job in scaring the rebels but eventually The Americans were victorious at Yorktown and ended the war.

Nowadays, dogs continue to be used  in wars. These war dogs have roles in the army that are nearly are varied as their ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War, but these dogs usually aren’t used in front-line formations. In 2011, 600 U.S. Military dogs were actively participating in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because these war dogs are not used on the front lines, the army has found other uses for them. Some of these dogs are used for law enforcement; they can inspect baggage, track and capture suspects, and viciously protect their handler. Other dogs are trained to detect drugs even if they are heavily concealed. Military dogs will continue to serve as trackers, search and rescue, scouts, and inspectors. After their time in the war many retired working dogs are often adopted as pets or therapy dogs.

I am in awe of the bravery and tenacity of these amazing military dogs. Dogs played a big part both in the Revolutionary War and wars today in Afghanistan and Iraq. That said,  I do not necessarily believe that war is the answer to conflict. Whenever possible I think that we should try to solve our problems through negotiation rather than violence. Although these war dogs are incredibly heroic in my eyes, I think we need to take these dogs and their soldiers out of the war and let them live peaceful happy lives. We owe that to them.  

The Battle of Saratoga

The Battle of Saratoga was in 1777 in Saratoga, New York. It was a battle part of the American Revolution and was a major turning point for the better. General John Burgoyne was leading the British and his soldier was tired and week from earlier battles. They were 7,200 strong on the first of 2 battles. The Americans lead by Benedict Arnold lead the Americans with the help of Haratio Gates were 9,000. It was a short battle. Burgoyne captured the American base Ticonderoga and forced the Americans out.

            General Burgoyne now owning fort Ticonderoga had a decision for winter. An other British general was moving north for the winter. Burgoyne cold either go south to Albany or stay at north to Ticonderoga. He decided to cross the Hudson River while his forces were still strong and stay at Ticonderoga.

            Benedict and Gates got help from George Washington while the British were hiding in the winter. He Ordered 750 men from the Massachusetts militia as well as 500 specially strained riflemen to join the command of Benedict Then in July the moved to the road 10 miles from Saratoga were the English would go to move to Albany. Now they were 12,000 strong against a now smaller English army only 6,200.

Gates, Arnold, and Lincoln were all assigned small groups that would Arnold took the left Flank while Lincoln and Gates stayed central and Attacked small outpost were the English tried to withdraw the Americans. The battle was long and only lasted what seemed like forever for the British. The English flanked left as planned, but Arnold was ready he and his men intercepted them. Gunfire continued though out the whole day. Also as planned other British tried to withdraw the Americans by attacking bases but it was to late the Americans where already thinning the British out.

The elite group of riflemen called Morgan’s men took out almost every person they could see. The main British forces were all pushed back while the Americans called in more reinforcements. French and Spanish troops were in small numbers but provided lots of ammunition and tactics.

Morgan’s men were so productive even with small numbers (500 men) they worked like 10,000, but then Burgoyne received orders to move his forces to the right, where the Morgan’s men were, now knowing how small the number’s were. But the Americans anticipated this and surrounded them, with the help of the New York Militia that came half way through, marking the end of the two battles.

The Americans only had 90 deaths and 240 wounded. But the British had 440 killed, 695 wounded, and 6,222 captured. This was a major turning point for the Americans with the resupply of weapons, clothes, food, and gunpowder. They were ready for the next winter.

Sources:

http://southwilliamstown.org/category/history/page/2/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Saratoga

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_career_of_Benedict_Arnold,_1777–1779

http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-saratoga.htm

Paul Revere

By Abbey Gregory

Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march

By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar

Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street

Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,

In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,

Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock

When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,

When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,

When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read

How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

In Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the tale of the beginning of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Although, in this story Paul Revere is a patriot in the war, he was not always on the watch of the British military. Up until he took part in the Boston tea party act, he was just a Silversmith. Shortly after the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere served as a courier for the Boston Committee of Public Safety. He traveled from Philadelphia to New York to report on the political happenings in places near Boston.

On April 7, 1775, there was rumor of movement by the British army. Joseph Warren sent Paul Revere to warn the Massachusetts Congress of the possible attack. Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on April 18th, Joseph Warren told Paul Revere that the British army were about to leave Cambridge in Ships. They were bound for Boston, Lexington and Concord. Warren told Revere that the objectives of the British were likely to Capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Adams and Hancock were not aware of any of these happenings, so Paul Revere was sent out to warn them as well as all of the military in nearby towns.

At this point the poem picks up. He said to his friend if the British march to hang a lantern in Belfry Arch. This is a signal between the people leading the counter attack. He said if one by land and two by sea warn all the people they encounter I will do the same on the opposite shore and we will warn all the townspeople to prepare for war. He then silently rode across the Charlestown shore. Just as the moon rose over the bay the Phantom ship of the British sailed its way into shore. Meanwhile, Revere’s friend quietly warned everyone of the oncoming battle. If you listened through the silence you could here the men, the arms, the tramping of feet making there way down to the shore. His friend climbed the tower of the old church to check on all the happenings in the town. What he saw in the churchyard was the dead. Some of townspeople, but mostly British. For a second he thought the battle was won but then he saw more ships coming in.

Meanwhile, on the opposite shore Paul Revere watched as all the ships started to come in. A hurry of hooves in the village street. Paul Revere raced to the waters edge. It was 12:00 by the time he crossed the bridge to Medford town. He heard noises around him that told him the whole town was awake. It was 1:00 when he rode into Lexington. He was almost there. It was 2:00 when he rode into Concord. He crossed the bridge that would be first to fall, when it was hit by a british musket ball. The British army fought but surrendered in the end. People all around fought against them and there were just too many for the British to win. So through the night rode Paul Revere and warned many towns to prepare for the British.

Paul Revere’s Ride is a partially fictional story of the great battles of Lexington and Concord. These battles write the story of our country. Many lives and communities were lost but in the end a great country was formed. Paul Revere helped lead the Americans in a tremendous revolution that shaped the United States of America.

Works Cited

"Fast American Revolution Facts." Fast American Revolution Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"History Myths Debunked." History Myths Debunked. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Paul Revere's Ride." Paul Revere's Ride. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

Ben Karp Manifest Destiny

For my blog post, I decided to write about Manifest Destiny because I wanted to learn more about our  history. Manifest destiny was a belief that the Democrats held, and that used it to promote democracy and expansion. The Americans, when taking more western states, used Manifest Destiny as a reason to take over land that belonged to the natives. Manifest Destiny stated that “Americans, with their civilization, had the god given right to expand and teach their religion and culture.” They killed many natives, as well as people of other countries, in order to completely control the USA we know today. However, not all of its work was negative. It did help the Americans to make the USA that we live in today. 

This picture is titled American Progress, and was created to show Manifest Destiny. 

As you can see, the right is very bright and happy looking, while the left is dark and gloomy. On the right are the Americans, and on the left the Native Americans. The right is showcasing the new forms of transportation, trains, and on the right the Native Americans are running away into the gloomy sky. Central in this painting is an angel, who is holding a book and telephone wire. This is to show all of the new advancements in technology, and the book is to show that they were bringing knowledge with them as they went west.

In the 1840's, Manifest Destiny was used to justify the invasion of Mexico, so that the USA could continue to expand to the west. When Texas was annexed in 1845, they claimed their border stretched far past where it actually did, which started a dispute with Mexico. The Texans started invading their own towns and claimed that it was the Mexicans, which created even more tension between these two Country's. The American government knew that most of America did not want a war, so they kept provoking the Mexicans until they made a declaration of war against the US. 

Manifest Destiny was also used in the acquisition of Oregon, as well as the 1844 presidential election. President nominee James Polk used expansion as a major part of his campaign, with the words "fifty-four forty, or fight." He wanted to acquire California, New Mexico, Texas, and Oregon for America. He also established the boundary between America and British Canada on the 49th parallel. 

Overall, Manifest Destiny was not justified in its means by its ends. They slaughtered Native Americans just so that they could expand to the west, claiming that it was their duty to "teach their culture" while they were really just slaughtering Native Americans. They also used it as a reason to start        a war with Mexico, which they neither needed, nor did they have to raid their own towns to start it. The westward expansion was a good thing, but using Manifest Destiny to justify all of the killing that was done to reach what we see as America today was not justified. But I am not the only person out there, and I would also like to see what other people think about this subject. So please, if you read this, think about it and comment your opinions on this. I really appreciate the time that you took out of your day to read this. Thank you.

Sources: 

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny
• http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/manifest_destiny_overview.html
• http://www.shmoop.com/manifest-destiny-mexican-american-war/timeline.html
• http://www.history.com/topics/manifest-destiny
• http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/fairfield/saunders_d/homework/expansion/manifest.pdf
• http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist110/unit3/MexicanAmericanWar.html
• http://www.shmoop.com/manifest-destiny-mexican-american-war/timeline.html