IS-APPARTS+Method+Primary+Source+Resources

-Hernán Cortés Conquers Mexico (1519-1526) A: Hernán Cortés- a Spanish conquistador P/T: Mexico; letter was written October 30, 1520, to the King of Spain; letter was sent from Segura de la Frontera P/K: Cortés led an expedition into Mexico to claim new lands for Spain, discovered highly civilized cultures, Aztecs in particular; believed by Aztecs to be a god (armor, guns, and horses brought a legend to life); Aztecs disclosed the imposter and rebelled, lost much of their gold; Aztec population declined due to disease A: the King of Spain; Cortés R: letter written by Cortés to describe the Aztec ruler and culture; essentially written to retain financial support by assuring the King that his investments amounted to success T: Cortés intends to convey that the Aztec culture is civilized and prosperous, yet he focuses primarily on the destruction of Aztec idols and the spread of Catholicism in the Aztec capital S: This source is significant in that it is a firsthand account of the initial encounter between Cortés and Moctezuma; additionally, the letter provides a description of the Aztec capital, as well as of the Aztec culture itself; it is significant that Cortés readily accepted the role of a god and that his greed and desire for cultural supremacy led to the eradication of the Aztec culture

-Aztec Chroniclers Describe the Spanish Conquest of Mexico (1519) A: an Aztec witness to the initial encounter between Moctezuma and Cortés P/T: source was produced in Mexico, 1529; the account was produced a decade after the described events occurred P/K: the Aztec culture was highly civilized, possessed knowledge of mining and agriculture and rich in gold; Aztecs welcomed Hernán Cortés as a god (armor, guns and horses brought a legend to life); Aztecs lost much of their gold, and perished due to disease A: Bernardino de Sahagún, a Spanish Franciscan friar gathering a history of the Aztec civilization R: describes the encounter between Moctezuma and Cortés from the Aztec perspective; manifests that the Spanish were brutally violent and unjust in slaying the Aztecs T: The Aztec conveys that the Spanish desire for control led to the enslavement of the Aztec ruler; additionally, such desire led to the violent slaughter of the celebrants of an Aztec festival; Aztecs could not justify the manner of such cruelty S: This source is significant in that it provides a manifestation that the Spanish were villainous murderers who strived to eradicate the Aztec culture; it is significant in providing a counterargument to the Spaniards’ portrayal of their noble actions taken to promote Catholicism

The two sources depict identical events, yet they differ in viewpoints. Cortés justifies his actions as honorable in that he strived to spread Catholicism and to eliminate the savage rituals and customs of the Aztecs. Contrarily, the Aztec provides a gruesome account of a festival turned massacre in which he manifests that the Aztecs take great pride in their cultural practices. The Aztec account asserts that such people possessed no desire to abandon their ways, yet Cortés’s account claims that the Aztecs willingly destroyed their idols and readily accepted Catholicism. The Aztecs, in fact, viewed the Spaniards as uncivilized, owing to the barbaric outbreak of violence; likewise, the Spanish viewed the Aztecs as uncivilized due to their savage cultural rituals.

8/31/09

-A Young African Boy is Taken into Slavery (c. 1735) As a young boy living in West Africa, Venture Smith subjected to a violent removal from his homeland and family. He was forced to embark on the journey alone, on account of his father’s strength and integrity. The most disconcerting feature of Smith’s forced removal from Africa must have come as he watched his father die, tortured because he refused to submit to the will of his captors. Venture was captured and brought to New England at a very young age; this ultimately helped him to adjust to life in his new world. The boy’s youthful innocence rendered him obedient and faithful; nevertheless, Venture retained his dignity as he developed into a man. He married at the age of twenty-two and by thirty-six had paid for his freedom, liberated from a master once and for all.

-The Intolerant Act of Toleration (1649) In 17th century England, it was illegal to practice Catholicism. Catholics believed the Pope to be the head of the church, while the English King declared himself to be its head. The colony of Maryland in the New World was intended as a refuge for Catholics, where they could have the same rights as Protestants. “An Act Concerning Religion” was passed, stating that any Christian could worship freely in the colony. The colony was built on the idea of toleration; a colony composed solely of Catholics would have failed, assuming the King would have permitted the formation of such a colony. The law protected both Catholics and Protestants, although no specific protection for Catholics is mentioned. However, the law did not protect everyone, and has it been strictly enforced, all Jews and atheists would have been persecuted.

-Framing the Mayflower Compact (1620) The basis of the Mayflower Compact was simple, but it was, in fact, the first American constitution. The Compact established that a government was to be formed by consensus. Leaders would be selected by a majority vote, foreshadowing the development of democratic institutions. Members of a “body politic” were to govern their own colony and to select their own governor. This general court was to be made up of all freemen, and these men were accredited with the tasks of formulating and passing laws for the general good of the colony. By establishing self-government based on majority rule in Plymouth, the Mayflower Compact acted as the first American constitution, and the foundation remained intact as the colony grew.

-Anne Hutchinson is Banished (1637) The Puritan orthodoxy was threatened by Anne Hutchinson, and the injustice of the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay colony resulted in her banishment. While ministers were threatened by her religious ideas, Anne challenged Puritan society’s traditional role of a woman by speaking and teaching men in public. Ironically, the Puritans left England in pursuance of religious freedom, yet the record of Anne Hutchinson’s hearing reveals that Puritan society was rigid and Puritan leaders were strict. Deviations from the Puritan ways were not tolerated; heretics were punished. The charges against Anne, however, are unclear. She was convicted because clergymen feared a religious rebellion, condemned to suffer a dreadful fate even before her trail began.

-The Blue Laws of Connecticut (1672) While the Blue Laws of Connecticut were particularly designed to enforce the observance of Sunday as a day of rest and worship, the genuine laws of the colony were also excerpted directly from the Bible. Criminal offenses ranged in severity; however punishments remained standard: he shall be put to death. The nature of a crime was insignificant; the punishment was not designed to fit the crime. Legitimately, the penalty ensured that perpetrators would commit no second offense. The death penalty is still enforced today; however, it is seldom used. It is highly unlikely that any crime of colonial Connecticut would result in a death sentence today. Likewise, some offenses would not be regarded as criminal. Regarding the valid laws of the colony, and offence resulting in the physical harm or death of another would be considered felonious in present-day American society.