The Civil War

Civil War

The Pain and the pressure

The gunshots the wounds

All because of the field

The people that were killed

the innocent lives taken from us

family friends taken

children women taken

Holes duggan names inscribed

tears, scream

I feel sorrow in my heart  

songs written down about those who have lost

everyone has lost but i because it have nothing

Music and crying sing a sorrow tune

The mountain rises high above our head

The rain falls beneath our feet

Our wet shirts can be ringed out

My shoes sloshing with every step

The American flag  rides upon our back

we are proud Americans

Fighting for our rights.

The Storming of the Bastille and the Estates

Everybody has, at some point in their lifetime, heard of the Battle of Waterloo, and the fight at Gettysburg during the Civil War. Have you, however, heard of the Storming of the Bastille, and of all of the brave citizens who dared defy the higher classes? Of the unfair system of social rank, or the Third Estate? To know more about these answers, we must first go back and learn what the Estates are.

The estates were sort of like social classes, with the third being the lowest, and the first the highest. The Third Estate was by far the majority, it was 95% of the population. If France were our middle school, out of the roughly 200 students, only about ten would be in the upper two classes. Servants, skilled and unskilled workers, serfs, storekeepers, and laborers were all part of the Third Estate. However, it didn't only consist of slaves and serfs, also doctors, lawyers, and teachers. These people were the very backbone of the nation. They payed the biggest share of the taxes, even though they had few privileges and almost no say in governmental decisions. It wasn't until the Estates-General was formed that the Third Estate began to have a voice in the government, but even then, they would lose by vote of two to one.

The First Estate is mainly made up of members of the Church, and religious leaders. People believed that God gave a hierarchy to them, and a luxurious life to religious men who lived under God. They represent a minuscule 1% of the people of France, or two people out of the 200 in our middle school. This small minority owns one-tenth of the land, however! These people enjoyed many privileges, including not having to pay taxes. Nevertheless, most of the people of the First Estate weren't corrupt and rich, but relatively poor and well meaning. Many also knew they had unfair privileges. 


The Second Estate consisted of nobility and royalty, other than the monarch, who stood outside of the estates system. Owning from 25-30% of all the land of France, they had no shortage of places to live. They enjoyed many of the same privileges as the First Estate, and collected rent from the peasants who lived on their land, allowing them to live a very lavish lifestyle. Often, people from this estate joined the Church and moved up to the First Estate. Women were also born into either the Second or Third Estates, but were also labeled with the 'feminine estates': either a virgin, a widow, or a wife. 

Bernard René de Launay

The people of the Third Estate felt like they were being treated unfairly, and their lives were being controlled by the government. A very iconic building of the government was the Bastille. The Bastille was a fortress, serving as a prison located in Paris. Around 30,000 pounds of gunpowder were stored in there, in order to prevent citizens from acquiring arms. A very secure place, the Bastille was very important, and seen by many every day, reminding them of the power of the government. At the time, the governor of the Bastille, proving to be a very important character in the later invasion, was named Bernard René de Launay, son of the previous governor. He was actually born inside Bastille walls, and died protecting them.

During the reign of Louis XVI, France fell upon a major economic crisis, partially because of France's intervention in the American revolution. France attempted to solve its money problems by severely taxing the citizens of the Third Estate. This caused the Third Estate to get extremely angry, only worsening conditions. The government got nervous and posted extra guards to the eighty-four guards already at the Bastille. Eventually, a small group of demonstrators from the twenty-four million strong Third Estate decided to attack the Bastille in Paris.

On July 14, 1789, hundreds and hundreds of peasants, doctors, writers, shopkeepers, and other unified near the Bastille. They had previously stormed the Hôtel des Invalides to gather 31,000 muskets, yet without powder or shot, and now were trying to acquire the 30,000 pounds of gunpowder in the Bastille. There were only seven prisoners there at the time, but the taking of this fortress would be a huge step. The 954 people gathered outside the gates, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the cannons stationed on the wall, and the release of the prisoners and the gunpowder. Anticipating a response, the crowd's hopes rocketed when the governor admitted two negotiators. They stayed inside until noon, and then the people began to get restless and frustrated. Another half an hour later, the now furious mob charged the fortress. 

With whatever weapons the group could find, like a seething, unstoppable wave, they advanced, venting all their rage into this moment. Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities describes this scene immaculately. "With a roar that sounded as if all the breath in France had been shaped into the detested word, the living sea, wave on wave, depth on depth, and overflowed the city to the point. Alarm-bells ringing, drums beating, the sea raging and thundering on its new beach, the attack began. Deep ditches, double drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight great towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. Through the fire and through the smoke-in the fire and in the smoke, for the sea cast him up against a cannon, and on the instant he became a cannonier..." By 3:00, new reinforcements came to the brave attackers; “gardes françaises,” who came along with two cannons, making the guards not the only ones with weapons.

Meanwhile, a substantial force of Royal Army troops were camped very nearby on the Champs de Mars, yet they didn't intervene. The fighting continued, a desperate reach for freedom, 954 courageous humans attacking an enormous fortress, the Bastille. 

Finally, at 5:30, July 14, 1789, Governor de Launay surrenders and opens the gates to the very inner courtyard, and the victorious mob swept into the core of the Bastille, concluding a successful yet hard-fought battle. 98 attackers died, and only one guard during the battle, but afterwards the people of the Third Estate took their revenge upon the guards, and killed many more. 

De Launay was dragged onto the streets from the fortress, and into a nearby tailor shop, where discussions about his fate began. Finally, he exclaimed, "Enough, let me die," but not before kicking an angry pastry chef named Dulait in the groin. Governor de Launay was repeatedly stabbed, shot, and kicked by the frothing, rabid, and furious mob, not yet satisfied with their victory. Finally, Bernard René de Launay's head was sawed off viciously, and triumphally set on a pike. The mob marched throughout the streets of Paris, showing off the beheaded face of the Governor, as well as the other dead guards.

Although this ending may seem unnecessarily violent, imagine a single man controlling your entire life, living above you, living with money and privileges, living a luxurious life while you starve on the streets. Living back then, you would have done the same! After the battle, the 954 heroes who stormed the Bastille would be forever remembered with the creation of an important holiday in France. Called Le Quatorze Juillet (14th of July), formally known as the Fête de la Fédération (Federation Holiday), and called Bastille Day in English, it celebrates the storming of the Bastille and the act of the Third Estate against the higher government for a greater, overall good.

Monet's depiction of Bastille Day

My family and I traveled to France this year before our annual visit to Hungary. We first stayed in Paris for a couple of nights - I mean, if you go to France, who doesn't stop in Paris - and then traveled to Corsica (incidentally where Napoleon Bonaparte was born). We were in Paris from July 12 to July 16, so we had the luck of being there for Bastille Day. It's treated similarly to the Fourth of July here in the U.S., what with fireworks, parties, and dancing. Bastille Day is also celebrated in many countries, such as Hungary, New Zealand, Belgium, England, and even here in Portland! On Champs Élysées, thousands of seats are set up along the street, for the citizens to view the soldiers marching, and the long military parade. Also on Champs-Élysées, hundreds of flags are raised to celebrate the event, accompanied by spectacular fireworks by the Eiffel Tower. We didn't get to go see the parade, the crowds must have been overwhelming, but at home we lit some fireworks with our host family, which was also a lot of fun!

While we were in France, I learned how much France's history affects every-day life, yet how different living in Paris must have been from how it is now. No matter which estate you were or are in, no matter whether you were there for the storming of the Bastille or not, whether you live in France or in Uruguay, everyone can reflect and be amazed and affected by the French history in 1789; everybody can continue to be inspired by what drove those attackers, the same inspiration many of us draw from every single day.

Works Cited:

"Estates of the Realm." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

"The Estates." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

Dickens, Charles, Hablot Knight Browne, and Frederick Barnard. A Tale of Two Cities,. New York: Dodd, Mead &, 1942. Print.

"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

"How Do You Pronounce Bastille?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

Karpiel, Frank, Kathleen Krull, and Grant P. Wiggins. MyWorld History. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012.

My mom

My camera (the pictures at the end are mine)

"Storming of the Bastille." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

"The Three Estates." The Three Estates. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

Some pictures from our visit to France: 

The beach in Corsica

The view from our little house in Corsica

Paris as seen from the Eiffel Tower (The line is so long!)

The Seine River as seen from the Eiffel Tower

The Revolutions Project and The Battle of Bunker Hill

When we first had this assigned to us I thought that it wasn't too much to ask, until the next day when I found out that there were 43 different individual assignments we had to do. Still, at this time I didn't do much work for the project, a week later I started turning in more things like movie notes and stain glass work. It was not until around 3 weeks into the project that I started to get worried, at this point some people were very far in some people had even done there "teach a class". I soon after turned in my lit packet and started working on the Shepard Software and my "Do-Make". Now that we are coming up on the end of the project I have many assignments to still turn in, but I have just enough time to finish the rest of the project.
Now for the interesting part, the battle of Bunker Hill. The battle of Bunker Hill was one of the later battles in the revolutionary war, waged between the British and the Americans. The battle of bunker hill was mainly focused around Breeds hill and some of the nearby hills caught in the crossfire. Charlestown  was hit before the first attack by the british allowing general Robert Pigot to lead a group of infantry soldiers to bombard and flank the americans, but there was a brick wall and when the infantry tried to maneuver the wall they were struck by a barrage of bullets rendering the attempt a failure.
In the second attack the british tried a slightly different route and used their boats to send their men around the hills to possibly reinforce the other attacks on the hill. Sadly they failed and were driven farther back with heavy losses.

In the final attack the Americans on the mainland refused to reinforce the army on the hills which were almost out of ammunition from the other attacks, which allowed the British to attack Breeds Hill with full force. The British attacked with their forces and 400 more men that came late in the battle. The battle of Bunker Hill was great because even though the British won it shows that low ranking people with low military training could fight off the forces of armies of highly trained soldiers.

Gettysburg

            The battle of Gettysburg was one of the most substantial accidental battles. Both the confederate and union armies weren’t planning on fighting in Gettysburg. All the roads around Gettysburg go through Gettysburg. On a map it looks like a bicycle with the roads as the spokes. When the North ran into the South, the only option was to fight.

            Coming into the battle, the South was dominating their way up the south, and into the north. With the North on the run they were in hot pursuit. Following the roads, they ran into the North a little west of Gettysburg. After pushing the North into town, and then out into the mountain range, the South was unstoppable. Although they had a great chance of beating Meade and the North, they lost their chance and were crimpled. They were fighting for slavery and states rights, for the South. They were a group of states built on nothing but farming. To the South, The North was a bunch of snooty rich people afraid to get their hands dirty, but did they get that one wrong.

Day 3 of the Battle of Gettysburg

            After suffering many defeats in the south, the North was on the run. They were trying to make it back home, but ran into the South. They were outgunned and outmanned, which resulted in a hasty retreat. After they made their hook formation on the ridges, the North, under command of George Meade, knew that they couldn’t let the South into their homes. After some poor decisions from the North sergeants, the North almost lost, but just barely got by. They held off Picket’s charge, and kicked the South
right out of the North. After this slim victory, the North, who hadn’t been too engaged in the war, woke up. With help from president Lincoln, they came together and started to really turn the war.

            Gettysburg was a real turning point in the civil war. As one of the two battles fought in the North, the Union fought hard and strong and eventually claimed victory over their former brothers. With an end to the war, came changes. Three new amendments were instated: the outlaw of slavery, the establishment of citizenship and due process, and the right to vote for all male citizens. Only a short while after the war, president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Also post war the North was hardly touched, but after the charge to the sea, the South was a disaster. All the land and farms were destroyed. The South still has never forgiven the North for that.

            The Civil war really changed America into its current form. If it weren’t for president Lincoln, there would never had been the emancipation declaration, and without that there might still be slavery today. The Civil war was made up of many battles, but out of them the entire one that turned the tide the most, was the battle of Gettysburg.

           

            http://www.history.com/videos/the-battle-of-gettysburg#the-battle-of-gettysburg
Short Summery video of Gettysburg

Lost Stories of The French and Indian War

                           There are many things that are forgotten about the French and Indian war. Not because they're unimportant, but because focusing on them would take a whole other blog to talk about, this is that blog. This is also the blog which does not include the things that you can find on any random website, such as causes, battles, etc.

                            It is interesting why the French and Indian war was named so.In those times, wars in the new world were named after the monarch. So why wasn't this war not named King George's war after the monarch King George II, because there already was a King George's war ten years prior. The King George's war began after the War of Austrian Succession, a diplomatic war during which Britain's hostility with France grew, and these hostilities would soon lead to war. This was the first step to the French and Indian war, Britain besieged and captured Louisbourg, a big city in New France, and France replied by destroying the British city of Saratoga, New York and Capturing the British colony of Madras, India. The War would end when a treaty was signed to trade Louisbourg for Madras, and there was peace between the countries, until the French and Indian war started.

                Now we understand why they called it the French and Indian war. it was named after their enemies because there already was a war name after the monarch, but were the Indians their enemies. In fact, The Iroquois Indians were allies to the British, and the Colonists. While the french were aided by the Huron and the Algonquin Tribes. In the Queen Anne war, which was also a predecessor of the French and Indians war. During that time the Iroquois signed a peace treaty with France, but would take sides with the British and help them lead attacks at the French. After Queen Anne's war, the Iroquois hoped to keep peace with Britain. Soon, though, colonists would expand beyond the agreed land between the Iroquois and the British. Since the British did not have the military to forbid expansion, the Iroquois would be forced to keep selling their land until they were pushed back to the Tennessee river. The Iroquois joined the British when the Iroquois' enemy of The Algonquins joined the French, but it was also because they hoped to keep the British as an ally going forward. Later, during the American Revolution, the Iroquois would split up and join sides between the Colonists and the British, both of whom they fought with in the French and Indian war.

             After the French and Indian War, the main thing people focus on is Britain's expansion without having to worry about the French, but something might be even more important in history is the state of poverty France was left in after the war. France was bankrupt, it had no resources, and their population growing. Combine no money, no resources, and more people... not good. Above all that, the royal family was misusing their money which they didn't have. This started the French Revolution, which began an era of math, science, and blood. Unfortunately this is not the blog that talks about the french revolution. This is the blog about the lost stories of The French and Indian war, which I hope are not lost anymore.

     

The Battle of Yorktown

              
    As many people in the world know, the United States was not always its own country. The Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the United States Revolutionary War.

                  The United States Revolutionary War started when the British military received word that the colonists were collecting weapons in Concord to use against Britain. They were gathering weapons because the crown was taxing them, going against the British law of “no taxation without representation.” The colonists had no representation in the British government, therefore, by British law; it was illegal for the colonists to be taxed. The Parliament insisted that they had the right to tax colonists because their land was not part of the British mainland.

                  General Thomas Gage sent troops to the colonies to confiscate the weapons. The colonist fired at the troops, starting the Revolutionary War. The first battle was called the battle of Lexington and Concord.

                  The battle that I am focusing on is the last major battle of the war, the battle of Yorktown. Prior to the battle of Yorktown, 5,550 French soldiers landed in Rhode Island to assist the Patriots in recapturing New York City, which was under British occupation. The fate of the United States depended on the soldiers arriving. If the French soldiers had been unable to arrive, for reasons such as weather, then the Patriots may have lost the Revolutionary War, and there would be no US.

"Siege of Yorktown." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown>.

                  The French commander, Comte de Rochambeau, convinced George Washington that an attack on New York City would be a bad idea, and recommended that they attack the 9,000 men army of Lord Cornwallis. This army was stationed in Yorktown, Virginia. Rochambeau recommended that attack because he had Comte de Grasse’s navy fleet in Yorktown, which could assist in the attack.

                  De Grasse defeated a British fleet in Yorktown, which blocked all sea escape for Cornwallis. Washington dispatched French General Lafayette to hold Cornwallis in Yorktown. Here again we can see that the fate of the United States really rested on a few very important things that happened in the battle. If Lafayette had been unable to hold Cornwallis in Yorktown, Cornwallis would have met up with more soldiers and attacked the American forces again. The American forces had been prepared for government, and were now ready to make the final attack. On October 14, 1781, Washington sent two columns to attack the remaining outer British forces. On October 17, Cornwallis asked for capitulation terms. The surrender ceremony was held on the 19^th. Cornwallis claimed to be ill and was not present. The United States began bargaining with Britain, resulting in the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty was signed in 1783.


Image Sources
 

"American Revolution : The Battle of Yorktown." British Battles - Analysing and Documenting British Battles from the Previous Centuries. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-yorktown.htm>.

"Battle Pics." Mercer Island School District. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://blogs.misd.k12.wa.us/rcimprich/2011/04/26/the-battle-of-yorktown-diary-entry-5-due-427/>.

"Siege of Yorktown." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown>. 

Further Reading
 

Wikipedia on The Battle of Yorktown

Another Good Website

Weapons Information For The Battle of Yorktown

My Website on The Battle of Yorktown (For my Do/Make)