Crashed was a very powerful film about racism in LA. In the film it addresses many different racial groups and how they interact with these huge bias in racism. My favorite part of the movie was when the father makes his little girl feel better about hearing gun shots by telling her of the "magic cloak" that's kept him safe. It later leads to the girl jumping in front of her father when she thinks he is about to be shot.
American Revolution
The early Americans have set a good foundation for our country to be built on but things are crumbling financially in the past ten years. One of the factors that triggered the revolution was high taxes. America faces similar financial problems today.
On July 4th 1776 the Americans signed the Declaration of Independence separating them from Great Brittan and freeing them from Brittan’s tyranny. A war ensued and many colonists gave their lives for a free America where the working people could prosper and make a living though work. After the revolution however two social classes were formed, the very rich and poor, the poor people many of which had been farmers and soldiers who had fought to free there country on the promise of pay which they never received. The poor facing starvation were forced to revolt to fight for an equal voice as the rich land owners and more importantly money for food.
The US holds trillions of dollars of debt, and it is climbing without any indication of stopping. We spend enough on our military to where if we were to take the spending from just one year of our military funding and use it instead for every single person in the world to have clean water we could bring it about and have money to spare. We are so badly in debt the governor of New Hampshire froze all state funded programs such as Medicare and school funding for the rest of 2011; however he only cut these certain programs when countless others such as military funding or funding from Nasa could receive small cuts making these cuts in New Hampshire unneeded and having less of an effect on the general population.
Is America facing another revolution in its near future? Well if history is any indicator to the future it would suggest some form of change will happen if the problem becomes severe enough which it isn’t far away from doing so. Even in the Declaration of Independence it states, “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”. It is doubtful that a full revolution would arise due only to economic problems sense there are more effective ways of fixing it. If one thing is certain it is that people will rise to institute a change to our government in order to address the problem at hand if the government doesn’t due so.American History Project
JAMES BROWN (Colored) sworn and examined
By the Chairman:
Question: How old are you and what is your relationship with Senator John Smith?
Answer: I am 32 years old as of June 12th this year. My
relationship with Mr. Smith is I am his Gardner.
relationship with Mr. Smith is I am his Gardner.
Question: Did Mr. Smith pay you or were your services voluntary?
Answer: Mr. Smith paid me at the rate of 2 dollars each day plus room in
his estate and food as well.
his estate and food as well.
Question: What were you doing on the night of the 1st of September when the
Smith family’s estate was attacked?
Smith family’s estate was attacked?
Answer: I had spent the evening of that day working on removing rocks from a
patch of dirt on the north east corner of Mr. Smith house so it might be
turned into a flower bed. During the work i stuck the shovel on a buried rock
and bent the head of the shovel I spent the next hours trying to flatten it
back into shape. I was near done when the attack took place.
patch of dirt on the north east corner of Mr. Smith house so it might be
turned into a flower bed. During the work i stuck the shovel on a buried rock
and bent the head of the shovel I spent the next hours trying to flatten it
back into shape. I was near done when the attack took place.
Question: Can you please tell the jury what then happened
Answer: Well as I had said I was in the shed flattening this shovel when I
heard horses coming up the far road. The Smith's rarely had visitors this late
so naturally I went to the east corner of the house to see who might
be visiting at this hour. As I turned the corner I saw five men on horses dressed
in white sheets with holes so they might see out of it and what looked like
some sort of big cone on top of their head also covered by the sheet. They had
long horse whips and torches and two of them carried guns. They then
dismounted and knocked on the door. The butler Abraham answered the door and
they shoot him before entering the house. Fearin they might have seen me I
ducked back behind the house 'ran and took cover in the hedge.
heard horses coming up the far road. The Smith's rarely had visitors this late
so naturally I went to the east corner of the house to see who might
be visiting at this hour. As I turned the corner I saw five men on horses dressed
in white sheets with holes so they might see out of it and what looked like
some sort of big cone on top of their head also covered by the sheet. They had
long horse whips and torches and two of them carried guns. They then
dismounted and knocked on the door. The butler Abraham answered the door and
they shoot him before entering the house. Fearin they might have seen me I
ducked back behind the house 'ran and took cover in the hedge.
Question: What happened then?
Answer: I heard shouts followed by two shots. The screaming and more
shouting then three of the men came back out. They had dragged out Ms. Kate and Ms. Mary Mr.
Smith's two daughters. They proceeded to tie their hands and strung them up to
a tree. They then had their way with the eldest Ms. Kate before whipping her
mightily, I recon they woulda done the same with Ms. Mary had not Mr. Smith
then rode up.
shouting then three of the men came back out. They had dragged out Ms. Kate and Ms. Mary Mr.
Smith's two daughters. They proceeded to tie their hands and strung them up to
a tree. They then had their way with the eldest Ms. Kate before whipping her
mightily, I recon they woulda done the same with Ms. Mary had not Mr. Smith
then rode up.
Question: What did John Smith do?
Answer: Once he saw what was happening he rode up shoutin somthin I couldnt understand. The men went up to him and a heated argument started till one of them pulled a pistol an shot Mr. Smith right in the chest two three times.
Question : Was John Smith killed by the gun shot?
Answer: No, but I reckon that it would have killed him if he had stayed alive long enough.
Question: What did kill John Smith?
Answer: The man who didn’t have the pistol started tauntin him calling him “nigger lover” and
“White trash” then they took a knife and stuck it right in his neck.
“White trash” then they took a knife and stuck it right in his neck.
Question: What happened then?
Answer: After they killed Mr. Smith they continued there whipping of Ms.
Kate and Ms. Mary. Once they finished they shot Ms. Kate and left Ms. Mary tied to the tree and dragged Ms. Kate's body’s next to her fathers. They stuck a sign next to them saying “This is
what happens to people who stand in the way of the confederacy”. Then rode off.
Kate and Ms. Mary. Once they finished they shot Ms. Kate and left Ms. Mary tied to the tree and dragged Ms. Kate's body’s next to her fathers. They stuck a sign next to them saying “This is
what happens to people who stand in the way of the confederacy”. Then rode off.
Chair: Thank you. You may now be excused.
Chair: I now call Ms. Mary Brown to the stand.
By the Chair:
Answer: Yes Sir
Question: You are also of the age of 16 correct?
Answer: Yes Sir
Question: Can you please tell me what happened the
night of September the 1st?
night of September the 1st?
Answer: Well my sister Kate and I had just retired to our night quarters when we hear horses ride up. We did not often have visitors at that time of night so naturally Kate went to the window. She stood
there for a few minutes then we heard a loud bang from down stairs followed by a
scream from what I thought to be our cook Esther. Scared we both shoved our
night stand in front of the door and hid in our behind our dressing curtain. We
stayed there for the Lord knows how long before we heard the door knob trying
to turn, when they couldn’t they kicked down the door and started searching our
room. We remained unnoticed but then Kate sneezed and they found us. The
dragged us out to the yard where they tied our hands to a tree. They rapped Kate and removed our
shirts and whipped us. Pa then rode up and tried to reason with them but they wouldn't listen so they shot him. After they shot him they proceeded to shoot Kate and they started to shoot me but seemed to decide against it and left me tied there.
there for a few minutes then we heard a loud bang from down stairs followed by a
scream from what I thought to be our cook Esther. Scared we both shoved our
night stand in front of the door and hid in our behind our dressing curtain. We
stayed there for the Lord knows how long before we heard the door knob trying
to turn, when they couldn’t they kicked down the door and started searching our
room. We remained unnoticed but then Kate sneezed and they found us. The
dragged us out to the yard where they tied our hands to a tree. They rapped Kate and removed our
shirts and whipped us. Pa then rode up and tried to reason with them but they wouldn't listen so they shot him. After they shot him they proceeded to shoot Kate and they started to shoot me but seemed to decide against it and left me tied there.
Question: Did the men who attacked you mention why they left you alive?
Answer: No Sir they said something but there words were muffled by the masks and I could not hear them.
Chair: Thank you you are now excused.
Chair: I now call to the stand Ralph Moore
By the Chair
Question: Is it true you rode to the house of John Smith on the night of the 1st of September?
Answer: Yes
Question: Did you then proceed to attack John Smiths daughters and servants?
Answer: That's not how I recall it.
Question: How do you recall it then Mr Moore?
Answer: Way I remember it we went to the Smiths to share our, congratulations on the new piece of legislation passing John has been working so very hard on.
Question: So you arrive at his house to express congratulations?
Answer: Yes
Question: Then can you tell me how that proceeded into three people being murdered?
Answer: It wasn't murder Sir.
Question: How is that?
Answer: Well sir we went to the Smiths house where we proceeded to have a conversation with John Smith in which an argument started from. John Smith got very agitated and pulled a gun on me and my friends. We agreed to leave but as we were leaving he fired off a shot right next to my head. I proceeded to spin around and grab the gun, in which a tussle ensued. Unfortunately during the fight the gun went off twice hitting the poor young girl and the slave. So really it was just an accident which Mr. Smith shot himself over in guilt. Then the rest of them tried to pin it on us so there fathers reputation wouldn't be trashed.
Question: Is that all that happened?
Answer: Yes
Chair: Thank you, you are dismissed.
Project Reflection
I connected to this project alot because i am interested in working in law enforcement so looking at the un justice caused by the KKK was interesting to me and inspiring to go out and help stop things like that happening. I learned something interesting when i turned this history into narrative and that to me was how easily just obvious injustices were passed off as normal in there society. It makes me wonder in a hundred years when people look back at our culture what injustices they will see.
Project Reflection
I connected to this project alot because i am interested in working in law enforcement so looking at the un justice caused by the KKK was interesting to me and inspiring to go out and help stop things like that happening. I learned something interesting when i turned this history into narrative and that to me was how easily just obvious injustices were passed off as normal in there society. It makes me wonder in a hundred years when people look back at our culture what injustices they will see.
