Last semester I took a US history course. It was one of my core requirements for my degree. I really wasn't looking forward to it too much after taking two rather reading intensive world civilization courses. I felt like they really cram an awful lot of history down your throat these days. My main interests are the social sciences. I was in for a pleasant surprise because I really enjoyed this course. I have to admit I did not remember a great deal of my high school lessons except for the old basics. You know, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in fourteen hundred ninety-two. It seems historians over the years have made a great many discoveries about the founding fathers of our country making it all the more interesting a topic. Well, either that or since I am becoming more a part of history myself I can relate more to it. LOL You know, the baby boom era. I learned a lot more about Christopher Columbus than they ever taught us in high school. It turns out he wasn't such a good guy after all. He did his share of exploiting the Native Americans and killing. I always realized the slave trade was terrible, but this course really pointed out how horrendous and inhumane it all was. The idea of slavery was not new to many of these African Americans who were shipped over here because they were used as slaves by their own societies and people. What was so horrendous was the way they were torn from their families and homes, force marched for miles tied together at the neck until they reached the ocean. They were then packed on top of each other in chains at the bottom of ships for months. Left to urinate and defecate upon each other, with little food and water or ventilation. These were men, women and children, even babies. Dead bodies where thrown overboard and there were many, many deaths from diseases and filth. After arriving in the US it was the auction blocks where these poor people were sold like livestock to the highest bidder. They then usually worked outside on Southern tobacco or cotton plantations being sold at their master's will. Some became house servant which could be a better life. Many were whipped and beaten. If they tried to escape they were often hunted down by slave hunters with vicious packs of attack dogs.
I really enjoyed learning the about George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and many of the other founding fathers. The studies about the Revolutionary and the Civil War eras were so interesting. I've become interested in learning more about some of their personal and family lives. Right now John and I are watching the new 2008 DVD mini-series that HBO has out on the life of John Adams. It's really good. We've joined Netflix and the first DVD we ordered was the first disc in that series. We just received the second disc yesterday. I also have two books checked out of the library right now about Abigail Adams. One is a biography by Phyllis Lee Levin which is pretty good so far. The other is titled, Dearest Friend. In the biography, the author references letters that were written back and forth between President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, constantly throughout the book as well as letters that she writes while she corresponds to many others such as her sisters and other relatives, friends, as well as some surprisingly well known characters of her day during the mid 1700's. She dined with Ben Franklin and George Washington on occasions, and her wisdom and advice was often sought by her husband as well as others. She was an extremely intelligent woman even though she did not receive a formal education as it was just not done in her day. Abigail often beseeched her husband to remember the weaker sex in his dealings in Congress. She and John Adams maintained an enduring as well as an endearing friendship throughout their marriage that lasted through many trials, tribulations and necessary separations so that he could take care of Presidential business.
So I thought I would be reading all my knitting magazines and my nonacademic books I have had set aside for the past 2 1/2 years that I never have time to read. Now what am I doing? Reading books about history! At least it is by choice.