History - Personal Statement Example

History and Slavery and making of America Slavery and the Making of America is a four-part, four hour documentary that shows the history of slavery in America from the beginning during the British colonies to the end in the Southern states and the role it played in the nation’s development. It also shows the years of post-civil war reconstruction. The film draws recent scholarships and looks at slavery as an important part of the development of the nation. It also looks at individual slaves by giving new perspective on the experiences of slaves.

It tries to show the active role that African American and African took to survive the bondage. The series producers have tried to break the conventional documentary production approaches by using dramatic re-enactment that helps viewers go back in time to the experience of slave, through the eyes of the enslaved. As seen in the documentary, slavery in America evolved from a simple labour system that gave some protection under the law into a tightly enslavement which concentrated on race. Episode one, “The Downward Spiral” begins in the 1620s introducing people of different ethnicity into slavery working together with white indentured servants.

It shows racial slavery being made as American colonists try to make laws that was meant to codify people as property (Horton J. Oliver and Lois E. Horton 2005, 14). Here we see John Punch who was the first black servant to be sentenced to life for running away with two white servants while the Scotsman and the Dutch men only received sentences that involved additional years on their indentures. This episode shows that a child’s status was based on the status of the mother. This is seen where Frances, the daughter of Emanuel Driggus, a slave from Portuguese successfully fought her owner from selling her as her mother was not black.

This episode ends with a look at the origin of South Carolina in North America and gives a site of the Stono rebellion in the year 1739. It also helps viewers learn the significance of rice that helped make it a commercial success that was achieved through knowledge and ingenuity of Africans who brought in the staple. Episode two, “Liberty in the Air” covers the years 1740s to 1830s where slavery continues supporting development in the economy as they were source of so much wealth. It also shows slave increasing population which ensured that American planters become less dependent on slave trade.

This episode shows mode of slavery resistance which were both violent and subtle. It also shows the contradiction in American history when it comes to race and slavery which can be seen in the film pulls out phrases from petitions demanding for the liberty and rights of back in the wake of the foundation. These petitions where drafted by blacks to state legislatures and the national Congress. Episode three, “Seeds of Destruction” begins in the 1800s with the expansion of slave trade in the Southern United States and the adoption of laws in the Northern states to abolish and phase out slavery.

It also shows the fact that slaves had become the largest economic asset by 1850s with cotton being the most valuable crop in the country. The final episode, “The Challenge of Freedom” takes a look at civil war and reconstruction ((Horton J. Oliver and Lois E. Horton 2005, 32), and shows clearly that war exploded as a result of crisis over the expansion of slavery into the west. In conclusion, this film shows that slavery built America into the powerful nation it is today. It also shows the progression to freedom for slaves as a result of pressure from slaves who demanded freedom.

Racism a history Racism a history is a three part documentary that explores the impact of racism at a global scale. It examines the history of racism by looking at its origins where Africans were enslaved in the sixteenth century to its appearance in the twentieth century (Fredrickson and George 2003, 21). The documentary involves interviews with academics in Europe, America and Africa together with cultural commentators. The documentary shows that racism began as a result of social and economic factors.

The use of race as a way exploiting, abusing, brutalizing and terrorizing people is seen in this documentary with the examples in the late nineteenth century to the twentieth century where colonials ruled the Congo and South Africa. The brutal scenes of mutilated people in the Congo and police Brutality in the South Africa clearly show racial discrimination. However, this documentary does not only look at the suffering by the black community but also looks at black activists who fought against racism in western society.

The documentary ends by looking at the impact of racism in the twentieth century by giving a reminder of the fact that white people in the west still possess most of the world’s wealth which was obtained and maintained through enslavement, while black people barely take part in enjoying this wealth leading to poverty among the black community. Writings of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass wrote three autobiographies; Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, My Bondage and My Freedom and Life and Time of Frederick Douglass (Douglass Frederick and Philip Sheldon Foner 1950, 5).

The narratives argue against slavery which is cruel, unjust, unnatural and immoral and also tries to expose the evil of slavery that aimed at enriching most of the whites in the South. The first narrative shows that Frederick’s first rebellion started when he was a slave with the early recognition among whites and black of the cruelty and injustice as a major element of his argument. He argues that blacks are also human beings and also criticized slavery’s apologists who claimed otherwise.

His writings argue that since blacks are humans, they are entitled to natural rights like any other white individuals, which the United States recognized during the declaration of independence and the Constitution. His writings also show that slavery goes against this natural right and God’s will when they are brutalized and are treated cruelly. Frederick cited biblical passages to show his seriousness in the politicized rhetoric of Christian liberation from sin and also saw how it is intrinsically linked with the liberty from slavery and the national liberation.

Finally, the writings also show the resistance of the slaves and apathy from other Americans that saw the abolition of slavery (Douglass Frederick and Philip Sheldon Foner 200, 23). He did not expect to be treated specially by the whites but believed that the enforcement of the 13th to the 15th constitutional amendments and access to education where enough to give blacks a chance to the American dream. Bibliography Horton J. Oliver and Lois E. Horton: 2005. Slavery and the making of America. Oxford (GB): Oxford university press Fredrickson, George M. 2003. Racism: a short history.

Princeton, NJ [u.a.]: Princeton Univ. Press Douglass Frederick and Philip Sheldon Foner: 1950. The life and writings of Frederick Douglass. New York: International Publishers. Douglass Frederick and Philip Sheldon Foner: 2003. Frederick Douglass on slavery and the Civil War: selections from his writings. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications.