Project 1
There are many stories that are important to our history, stories that truly define what our culture is and was. California as a culture is very unique, and there is no better story that defines our culture than, "A Frontier Lady" by Sarah Eleanor Royce. This story is important for a few reasons, that is that it could be considered an artifact of history, it teaches us several things about history, and it contains information about California and the gold rush time period of California that a history textbook just couldn't. The reason it is better than most text books is because it is a first hand account, it is the hardship this Frontier Lady has to face, along with her family. The cold snow, and the long travels, all told from her point of view.
The first important thing about this story I want to talk about is the fact that it could be considered an artifact of history. I first think it is important that I define what an artifact of history is meant to be. An artifact of history is a object or piece that is from history that holds a important meaning or message. The piece "A Frontier Lady" could be considered an artifact of history because it accounts a first hand perspective of what it was like traveling to California during the gold rush. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school we learn about the gold rush, and how it shaped California. We hear of people who become rich, and those who do not. We hear of those who drop everything to pursue their dream of being rich of gold, however, we never hear what it is like first hand. This is where this story is important. The story first starts with their decent to California. They speak of the times they sleep ravines covered in snow, and of the times they are being hunted by Native Americans who are mad that their land is being trespassed on. In the story, before coming into California, they describe their sleep as so, "That night we slept within a few yards of snow, which lay in a ravine; and water froze in our pans not very far from the fire, which, however, was rather low the past part of the night. But the morning was bright and sunny" (Royce). This quote does a fantastic job of describing the weather of California during this time. At night, it was so cold that they in fact could not have water in a pan of they were not within a few feet of a fire, or else it would freeze. It was so cold for them once they were staying here that water could easily freeze without being properly taken care of. However, once morning came, it was bright and sunny. This sounds like typical California weather, which is interesting because it shows that even in this time of history, the weather would still go from cold to warm.
The next important thing to be discussed is what this teaches us about history. I think one of the biggest things this teaches us about history is the life of a miner, which comes with the dangers of being one too. The main danger of traveling in California, and being a miner, is the angry Native Americans. As they were moving to a camp called "Pleasant Valley Gold Miners" they had to stay with a group of other people in fear of being attacked. One night when they were camping out, one of the camp members were attacked by Native Americans. As they were keeping watch, they heard a loud scream from a man. He was shot in between the rib cage by an arrow shot from afar. This really teaches us how those in California were in fear for their lives at certain areas. Another thing this teaches us about history is the fight Native Americans put up for their land. They lived hear long before we did, and they tried at all costs to not let us take their land.
This story teaches us a lot about California during the Gold Rush. It talks about how people attempted to make money, feared for their lives from Native Americans, and fought harsh climate to stay alive. These are all things that are not talked about in a text book. First is their way of making money Royce and her family met someone who was willing to put gold towards making a shop. This shop sold several things, one of which was meat. During this time they tried the best they could to survive, and part of surviving is making money at any point possible. This even means finding random people or people they already know to start a business, and sell what they can. As I previously talked about, it also teaches us about their fear of Native Americans, and the pressure they put on the new Californians. The last is the harsh climates they were faced with. The book then highlights what it was like for those who thought they could become rich quick. It speaks of how there were many people who came to California in hopes to become rich quick, however, it never truly happened that way. There were a lot of people who were given nothing, or hardly anything. However, that is not how it was for everyone. There were people who were making twice what they made per day than they ever have before, which is amazing. They would soon realize that there were other prospects that were even more profitable and keep working up the ladder. They would then become wealthier than they could imagine. It really depended on the time and place of where you were at the time. Some struck gold and made fortunes, others came to old gold mines and came up dry. This was one of the greatest stories to read, for it truly highlighted the history of California. It hightlighted the lives of people who shaped our state, and the lives of people who were in search of riches, and those who couldn't find some.
The first important thing about this story I want to talk about is the fact that it could be considered an artifact of history. I first think it is important that I define what an artifact of history is meant to be. An artifact of history is a object or piece that is from history that holds a important meaning or message. The piece "A Frontier Lady" could be considered an artifact of history because it accounts a first hand perspective of what it was like traveling to California during the gold rush. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school we learn about the gold rush, and how it shaped California. We hear of people who become rich, and those who do not. We hear of those who drop everything to pursue their dream of being rich of gold, however, we never hear what it is like first hand. This is where this story is important. The story first starts with their decent to California. They speak of the times they sleep ravines covered in snow, and of the times they are being hunted by Native Americans who are mad that their land is being trespassed on. In the story, before coming into California, they describe their sleep as so, "That night we slept within a few yards of snow, which lay in a ravine; and water froze in our pans not very far from the fire, which, however, was rather low the past part of the night. But the morning was bright and sunny" (Royce). This quote does a fantastic job of describing the weather of California during this time. At night, it was so cold that they in fact could not have water in a pan of they were not within a few feet of a fire, or else it would freeze. It was so cold for them once they were staying here that water could easily freeze without being properly taken care of. However, once morning came, it was bright and sunny. This sounds like typical California weather, which is interesting because it shows that even in this time of history, the weather would still go from cold to warm.
The next important thing to be discussed is what this teaches us about history. I think one of the biggest things this teaches us about history is the life of a miner, which comes with the dangers of being one too. The main danger of traveling in California, and being a miner, is the angry Native Americans. As they were moving to a camp called "Pleasant Valley Gold Miners" they had to stay with a group of other people in fear of being attacked. One night when they were camping out, one of the camp members were attacked by Native Americans. As they were keeping watch, they heard a loud scream from a man. He was shot in between the rib cage by an arrow shot from afar. This really teaches us how those in California were in fear for their lives at certain areas. Another thing this teaches us about history is the fight Native Americans put up for their land. They lived hear long before we did, and they tried at all costs to not let us take their land.
This story teaches us a lot about California during the Gold Rush. It talks about how people attempted to make money, feared for their lives from Native Americans, and fought harsh climate to stay alive. These are all things that are not talked about in a text book. First is their way of making money Royce and her family met someone who was willing to put gold towards making a shop. This shop sold several things, one of which was meat. During this time they tried the best they could to survive, and part of surviving is making money at any point possible. This even means finding random people or people they already know to start a business, and sell what they can. As I previously talked about, it also teaches us about their fear of Native Americans, and the pressure they put on the new Californians. The last is the harsh climates they were faced with. The book then highlights what it was like for those who thought they could become rich quick. It speaks of how there were many people who came to California in hopes to become rich quick, however, it never truly happened that way. There were a lot of people who were given nothing, or hardly anything. However, that is not how it was for everyone. There were people who were making twice what they made per day than they ever have before, which is amazing. They would soon realize that there were other prospects that were even more profitable and keep working up the ladder. They would then become wealthier than they could imagine. It really depended on the time and place of where you were at the time. Some struck gold and made fortunes, others came to old gold mines and came up dry. This was one of the greatest stories to read, for it truly highlighted the history of California. It hightlighted the lives of people who shaped our state, and the lives of people who were in search of riches, and those who couldn't find some.
Hello Evan, Good project. I have gathered that you are comparing a story to history and how it can be a part of history. A few things I can think of to improve your writing may try some better transitions, from both one paragraph to the next and from one sentence to another. You have done a good job discussing how the writing can be counted as a part of history and how it discusses history. In addition, I liked how you also discussed the importance of history and what it can teach us. Overall, you talked and pointed out a lot of facts of history and what happened in the text I wonder how this history impacts us more so and what we can learn from it.
ReplyDeleteHello Evan, you have yourself here a pretty solid project. I really enjoyed how you decided to compare the story that you read to history to see which was a more accurate representation, a textbook or this story. I think that your main points are very detailed, however, I think they could do with a little more elaboration especially with the historical context. It would also be really cool to see some citations from some history books about the gold rush and use that to really show the differences that the story and the history book have. Anyways, I really enjoyed reading this project great job!
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday Evan!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your project. I agree, in school when we were younger, we learned the history, but it really didn’t have any personal experiences. As a child, history wasn’t very important to me and I found it hard to retain the information given. I have recently been thinking about the information I missed out on and think if more stories were given to us to read with personal experiences, maybe it would have sparked my interest and I could have had a better experience.
I think you choose important things to focus on in your project and gave excellent examples.
You’re last paragraph was a little hard for me to follow, I think it could have been broken up into two paragraphs, or the order could have followed the order in your project. You did a great job and I really enjoyed reading your project.