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Genesis 1:1-19

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Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 11:1-9 - New International Version

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The Tower of Babel - Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said,…

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Interesting Fact: There were already an estimated 50 million Native Americans before any Europeans ventured over to the Americas.

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The Arctic

The Arctic culture area, a cold, flat, treeless region (actually a frozen desert) near the Arctic Circle in present-day Alaska, Canada and Greenland, was home to the Inuit and the Aleut. Both groups spoke, and continue to speak, dialects descended from what scholars call the Eskimo-Aleut language family.

Because it is such an inhospitable landscape, the Arctic's population was comparatively small and scattered. Some of its peoples, especially the Inuit in the northern part of the region, were nomads, following seals, polar bears and other game as they migrated across the tundra. In the southern part of the region, the Aleut were a bit more settled, living in small fishing villages along the shore.

Did you know? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 4.5 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the United States today. That's about 1.5 percent of the population.

The Inuit and Aleut had a great deal in common. Many lived in dome-shaped houses made of sod or timber (or, in the North, ice blocks). They used seal and otter skins to make warm, weatherproof clothing, aerodynamic dogsleds and long, open fishing boats (kayaks in Inuit; baidarkas in Aleut).

By the time the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, decades of oppression and exposure to European diseases had taken their toll: The native population had dropped to just 2,500; the descendants of these survivors still make their homes in the area today.

The Subarctic

The Subarctic culture area, mostly composed of swampy, piney forests (taiga) and waterlogged tundra, stretched across much of inland Alaska and Canada. Scholars have divided the region's people into two language groups: the Athabaskan speakers at its western end, among them the Tsattine (Beaver), Gwich'in (or Kuchin) and the Deg Xinag (formerly-and pejoratively-known as the Ingalik), and the Algonquian speakers at its eastern end, including the Cree, the Ojibwa and the Naskapi.

In the Subarctic, travel was difficult-toboggans, snowshoes and lightweight canoes were the primary means of transportation-and population was sparse. In general, the peoples of the Subarctic did not form large permanent settlements; instead, small family groups stuck together as they traipsed after herds of caribou. They lived in small, easy-to-move tents and lean-tos, and when it grew too cold to hunt they hunkered into underground dugouts.

The growth of the fur trade in the 17th and 18th centuries disrupted the Subarctic way of life-now, instead of hunting and gathering for subsistence, the Indians focused on supplying pelts to the European traders-and eventually led to the displacement and extermination of many of the region's native communities.

The Northeast

The Northeast culture area, one of the first to have sustained contact with Europeans, stretched from present-day Canada's Atlantic coast to North Carolina and inland to the Mississippi River valley. Its inhabitants were members of two main groups: Iroquoian speakers (these included the Cayuga, Oneida, Erie, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora), most of whom lived along inland rivers and lakes in fortified, politically stable villages, and the more numerous Algonquian speakers (these included the Pequot, Fox, Shawnee, Wampanoag, Delaware and Menominee) who lived in small farming and fishing villages along the ocean. There, they grew crops like corn, beans and vegetables.

Life in the Northeast culture area was already fraught with conflict-the Iroquoian groups tended to be rather aggressive and warlike, and bands and villages outside of their allied confederacies were never safe from their raids-and it grew more complicated when European colonizers arrived. Colonial wars repeatedly forced the region's Indigenous people to take sides, pitting the Iroquois groups against their Algonquian neighbors. Meanwhile, as white settlement pressed westward, it eventually displaced both sets of Indigenous people from their lands.

The Southeast

The Southeast culture area, north of the Gulf of Mexico and south of the Northeast, was a humid, fertile agricultural region. Many of its natives were expert farmers-they grew staple crops like maize, beans, squash, tobacco and sunflower-who organized their lives around small ceremonial and market villages known as hamlets. Perhaps the most familiar of the Southeastern Indigenous peoples are the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, sometimes called the Five Civilized Tribes, some of whom spoke a variant of the Muskogean language.

By the time the U.S. had won its independence from Britain, the Southeast culture area had already lost many of its native people to disease and displacement. In 1830, the federal Indian Removal Act compelled the relocation of what remained of the Five Civilized Tribes so that white settlers could have their land. Between 1830 and 1838, federal officials forced nearly 100,000 Indigenous people out of the southern states and into "Indian Territory" (later Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi. The Cherokee called this frequently deadly trek the Trail of Tears.

The Plains

The Plains culture area comprises the vast prairie region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, from present-day Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Before the arrival of European traders and explorers, its inhabitants-speakers of Siouan, Algonquian, Caddoan, Uto-Aztecan and Athabaskan languages-were relatively settled hunters and farmers. After European contact, and especially after Spanish colonists brought horses to the region in the 18th century, the peoples of the Great Plains became much more nomadic.

Groups like the Crow, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Comanche and Arapaho used horses to pursue great herds of buffalo across the prairie. The most common dwelling for these hunters was the cone-shaped teepee, a bison-skin tent that could be folded up and carried anywhere. Plains Indians are also known for their elaborately feathered war bonnets.

As white traders and settlers moved west across the Plains region, they brought many damaging things with them: commercial goods, like knives and kettles, which Indigenous people came to depend on; guns; and disease. By the end of the 19th century, white sport hunters had nearly exterminated the area's buffalo herds. With settlers encroaching on their lands and no way to make money, the Plains natives were forced onto government reservations.

The Southwest

The peoples of the Southwest culture area, a huge desert region in present-day Arizona and New Mexico (along with parts of Colorado, Utah, Texas and Mexico) developed two distinct ways of life.

Sedentary farmers such as the Hopi, the Zuni, the Yaqui and the Yuma grew crops like corn, beans and squash. Many lived in permanent settlements, known as pueblos, built of stone and adobe. These pueblos featured great multistory dwellings that resembled apartment houses. At their centers, many of these villages also had large ceremonial pit houses, or kivas.

Other Southwestern peoples, such as the Navajo and the Apache, were more nomadic. They survived by hunting, gathering and raiding their more established neighbors for their crops. Because these groups were always on the move, their homes were much less permanent than the pueblos. For instance, the Navajo fashioned their iconic eastward-facing round houses, known as hogans, out of materials like mud and bark.

By the time the southwestern territories became a part of the United States after the Mexican War, many of the region's native people had already been killed. (Spanish colonists and missionaries had enslaved many of the Pueblo Indians, for example, working them to death on vast Spanish ranches known as encomiendas.) During the second half of the 19th century, the federal government resettled most of the region's remaining natives onto reservations.

The Great Basin

The Great Basin culture area, an expansive bowl formed by the Rocky Mountains to the east, the Sierra Nevadas to the west, the Columbia Plateau to the north, and the Colorado Plateau to the south, was a barren wasteland of deserts, salt flats and brackish lakes. Its people, most of whom spoke Shoshonean or Uto-Aztecan dialects (the Bannock, Paiute and Ute, for example), foraged for roots, seeds and nuts and hunted snakes, lizards and small mammals. Because they were always on the move, they lived in compact, easy-to-build wikiups made of willow poles or saplings, leaves and brush. Their settlements and social groups were impermanent, and communal leadership (what little there was) was informal.

After European contact, some Great Basin groups got horses and formed equestrian hunting and raiding bands that were similar to the ones we associate with the Great Plains natives. After white prospectors discovered gold and silver in the region in the mid-19th century, most of the Great Basin's people lost their land and, frequently, their lives.

California

Before European contact, the temperate California area had more people than any other North American landscape at the time, with approximately 300,000 people in the mid-16th century. It's estimated that 100 different tribes and groups spoke more than 200 dialects. These languages were derived from the Penutian (the Maidu, Miwok and Yokuts), the Hokan (the Chumash, Pomo, Salinas and Shasta), the Uto-Aztecan (the Tubabulabal, Serrano and Kinatemuk) and the Athapaskan (the Hupa, among others). Many of the "Mission Indians" who were driven out of the Southwest by Spanish colonization also spoke Uto-Aztecan dialects.

Despite this great diversity, many native Californians lived very similar lives. They did not practice much agriculture. Instead, they organized themselves into small, family-based bands of hunter-gatherers known as tribelets. Inter-tribelet relationships, based on well-established systems of trade and common rights, were generally peaceful.

Spanish explorers infiltrated the California region in the middle of the 16th century. In 1769, the cleric Junipero Serra established a mission at San Diego, inaugurating a particularly brutal period in which forced labor, disease and assimilation nearly exterminated the culture area's native population.

The Northwest Coast

The Northwest Coast culture area, along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to the top of Northern California, has a mild climate and an abundance of natural resources. In particular, the ocean and the region's rivers provided almost everything its people needed-salmon, especially, but also whales, sea otters, seals and fish and shellfish of all kinds. As a result, unlike many other hunter-gatherers who struggled to eke out a living and were forced to follow animal herds from place to place, the Indians of the Pacific Northwest were secure enough to build permanent villages that housed hundreds of people apiece.

Those villages operated according to a rigidly stratified social structure, more sophisticated than any outside of Mexico and Central America. A person's status was determined by his closeness to the village's chief and reinforced by the number of possessions-blankets, shells and skins, canoes and even slaves-he had at his disposal. (Goods like these played an important role in the potlatch, an elaborate gift-giving ceremony designed to affirm these class divisions.)

Prominent groups in the region included the Athapaskan Haida and Tlingit; the Penutian Chinook, Tsimshian and Coos; the Wakashan Kwakiutl and Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka); and the Salishan Coast Salish.

The Plateau

The Plateau culture area sat in the Columbia and Fraser River basins at the intersection of the Subarctic, the Plains, the Great Basin, California and the Northwest Coast (present-day Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon and Washington). Most of its people lived in small, peaceful villages along streams and riverbanks and survived by fishing for salmon and trout, hunting and gathering wild berries, roots and nuts.

In the southern Plateau region, the great majority spoke languages derived from the Penutian (the Klamath, Klikitat, Modoc, Nez Perce, Walla Walla and Yakima or Yakama). North of the Columbia River, most (the Skitswish (Coeur d'Alene), Salish (Flathead), Spokane and Columbia) spoke Salishan dialects.

In the 18th century, other native groups brought horses to the Plateau. The region's inhabitants quickly integrated the animals into their economy, expanding the radius of their hunts and acting as traders and emissaries between the Northwest and the Plains.

In 1805, the explorers Lewis and Clark passed through the area, followed by increasing numbers of white settlers. By the end of the 19th century, most of the remaining members of Plateau tribes had been cleared from their lands and resettled in government reservations.

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Native American Cultures - Facts, Regions & Tribes

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Native Americans, also known as American Indians and Indigenous Americans, are the indigenous peoples of the United States. By the time European adventurers arrived in the 15th century A.D., scholars estimate that more than 50 million Native Americans were already living in the Americas - 10 million in the area that would become the United States.

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ARRIVED: 40,000 BC - 20,000 BC

Characteristics:
1. oral literature: epic narratives, creation myths, stories, poems,  songs
2. use stories to teach moral lessons and convey practical information about the natural world
3. deep respect for nature and animals
4. cyclical world view
5. figurative language/parallelism

Interesting Fact: The transition between written and oral literature occurred between the 18th and 19th century.

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The early Native writers had to work within a political environment that was hostile to their success and within a literary tradition of the One of the primary genres that Native Americans borrowed from the writers in the dominant society of the time was the autobiography, , A Native of the Forest written in 1829, William Apess describes The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (1854) is considered to be the first Jaskoski, H. Early Native American Writing: New Critical Essays. 1996. Native American Writers

day that condoned and sentimentalized the death of Indians. Somehow they were able to engage their detractors and author their own
which they used to address their own experiences and concerns. These autobiographies mostly involved experiences concerning their
conversion to Christianity and their education in the mission schools.
his escape from an abusive childhood by being converted to Christianity. Through his involvement in the Church he was provided
access to the same freedom and position with God that white society enjoys. Yet, his ongoing experiences of discrimination within the
Church as a minister in a white world reminded him that this ideal was elusive.

In his writing, Apess rejects the stereotyping of Indians and he does this by documenting his own accomplishments related to the
activities that white society values. Ahead of his time, Apess advocated a balance between accepting Christianity and retaining pride in
novel written in California, as well as the first written by an American Indian. The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta was extremely
Littlefield, D. F. Native American writing in the Southeast : an anthology, 1875-1935.1995.
Swann, B. On the translation of Native American literatures. 1992.
Walker, C. Indian Nation: Native American Literature and Nineteenth-Century Nationalisms. 1997.
Questions? Comments?
popular and was widely pirated. Versions appeared as books, were serialized in periodicals, and were translated into foreign
languages. Adaptations appeared in verse, and at least one motion picture was based on Ridge's story. Although many versions were
produced in the nineteenth century, others have appeared more recently, including Pablo Neruda's 1967 drama Fulgor y Muerta de
Joaquín Murieta.

Ridge, whose Cherokee name was Yellow Bird, wrote poetry which deals with nature and the poet's reaction to the natural environment.
Ridge's experiences with nature seem transcendental, which is frequently seen in writing by early Native Americans.
Like Boudinot, Ridge argued in his journalism that giving up ones Indian culture and adapting to white man's ways was the only path
Native Americans could take if they wanted to survive. This was a common theme among missionary educated Native American authors.

ones Indian identity. After the publication of his autobiography, Apess became more militant, helping to organize the Mashpee Revolt of
1833, to help the Mashpee regain lost freedoms.

At times they adopted the voice of the "authentic" Native American who had the knowledge of the practices and traditions of the tribe,
but at the same time, they were educated and Christianized by into the mainstream society.

For instance, in A Son of the Forest: The Experience of
accounts of Native Americans which challenged the stereotypical images and showed that they would not remain silent nor were they
going to disappear.

William Apess George Copway Early Native American literature was preoccupied with trying to change the political and social status of their people. Elias Boudinot

sons of the forest, now scattered over this vast continent. We have seen every where the poor aborigines melt away population. I merely state the fact, without at all referring to the cause. We have seen, I say, one family after another, nation after nation, pass away; until only a few solitary creatures are left to tell the sad story of Shall this precedent be followed? I ask you, shall red men live, or shall they be swept from the earth? With you and this public at decision chiefly rests. Must they perish? Must they all, like the unfortunate Creeks, (victims of the unchristian policy of
"There is, in Indian history, something very melancholy, and which seems to establish a mournful precedent for the future events

before the white
another, one tribe after
extinction.
certain persons,) go
down in sorrow to their grave? They hang upon your mercy as to a garment. Will you push them from you, or will you save them? Let humanity answer."
John Rollin Ridge's

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Witches: Their Persecution, History and Costumes

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The early Native writers had to work within a political environment that was hostile to their success and within a literary tradition of the One of the primary genres that Native Americans borrowed from the writers in the dominant society of the time was the autobiography, , A Native of the Forest written in 1829, William Apess describes The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (1854) is considered to be the first Jaskoski, H.

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1. Wrote mostly diaries and histories, which expressed the connections between God and their everyday lives.
2. Sought to "purify" the Church of England by reforming to the simpler forms of worship and church organization described in the New Testament
3. Saw religion as a personal, inner experience
4. Believed in original sin and "elect" who would be saved
5. Used a plain style of writing

Interesting Fact: Interestingly enough, there is strong evidence that the Catholics were persecuted at least a little bit in colonial America, from the Puritans.

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Colonial America was characterized instead by a vicious and bitter anti-Catholicism - toward both clergy and lay faithful alike - effectively limiting their rights and freedoms. Various penal codes discriminated against Catholics in all but three of the 13 original colonies. Maryland prohibited Catholics from holding office, practicing certain professions like law, inheriting and purchasing land and educating their children abroad as Catholics.

Catholics were the minority in the original colonies; the Catholic population was around 25,000, less than one percent of almost 4 million people living in the colonies. Figures estimate that Catholics numbered near 16,000 in Maryland, 7,000 in Pennsylvania and 1,500 in New York.

Anti-Catholicism in the colonies though was the direct result of the anti-Catholicism prevalent in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries.

King Henry VIII's separation from the Catholic Church and subsequent founding of the Church of England resulted in much violence and bloodshed. Most Catholics, including archbishops, bishops and abbots of monasteries, accepted Henry's Oath of Supremacy, which required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as the supreme governor of the Church of England.

However, those who opposed the oath were imprisoned, tried and killed like Sir Thomas More and John Fisher. These recusant Catholics who steadfastly adhered to the Faith of old and refused to subject themselves to the practices and beliefs of state-imposed Anglicanism were the target of scorn and hatred by the English Protestants.

This English fear of Catholics carried over to the New World. For some English Protestants, the Anglican Church still retained too many Catholic practices, rituals and beliefs. A major sweep of Puritans arrived at Plymouth Colony in 1620 and within a decade close to 20,000 men and women settled in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Evidence of anti-Catholicism transcended the law, including public worship and formation of priests. In the first 20 years of Massachusetts Bay, the Puritan government passed an anti-priest law in May 1647, threatening death for "all and every Jesuit, seminary priest, missionary or other spiritual or ecclesiastical person made or ordained by any authority, power or jurisdiction, derived, challenged or pretended, from the Pope or See of Rome."

Owen Stanwood's book The Protestant Interest: New England after Puritanism reveals the anti-popery in early English America and how it was replaced with the "Protestant interest" after the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689, in which Catholic King James II was overthrown in favor of Protestant monarchs William and Mary.

Early Puritan settlers were skeptical of English imperial control partly due to the Anglican Church and its retention of Catholic theology. Puritans afterwards sought alliances with Protestants whose earthly enemy was Roman Catholicism.

Most penal restrictions against Catholics in the colonies lasted until after the American Revolution. For varied reasons, the achievement of independence from England forced Protestant Americans to legally loosen penal measures against Catholics. Catholics, nevertheless, instead of maintaining a life of prayer and virtue consistent with the Faith adopted a pragmatic life in accord with the morals of Protestant America. Many stayed silent on the evils of the Protestant heresy in order to achieve social and economic prosperity.

This liberal Catholic attitude and gradual indifferentism towards the Faith lent itself toward harmful ecumenism, where the clear differences and stark contrasts between Protestantism and Catholicism were smoothed over. Instead, the emotional satisfaction of being Catholic in a predominantly Protestant country was overemphasized.

Tolerance and accommodation resulted in the democratic ideal and revolutionary idea of the separation of Church and State in the United States. American civil and religious leaders sought to eliminate the old and "medieval positions" of Catholic Europe in favor of democratic politics and conditions.

American Catholics' concession toward Protestantism and adoption of democracy prompted Pope Leo XIII to warn against Americanism in his letter, Testem benevolentiae ("Concerning New Opinions, Virtue, Nature and Grace, With Regard to Americanism") to Cdl. James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, January 22, 1889.

Americanism has pervaded the modern consciences of most Catholics today. In Protestant America, truth and goodness is relativized and often lessened in favor of satisfying the masses.

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Puritan Persecution of Catholics: Law and Religion

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You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! Colonial America was characterized instead by a vicious and bitter anti-Catholicism - toward both clergy and lay faithful alike - effectively limiting their rights and freedoms. Various penal codes discriminated against Catholics in all but three of the 13 original colonies.

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1. Patrick Henry
2. Anne Bradstreet (poetry)
3. Edward Taylor ("Huswifery")

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1651 - "Of Plymouth Plantation"- William Bradford

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1651 - "Of Plymouth Plantation"- William Bradford

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Interesting Fact #1: Bewitchment was considered an illness and and was diagnosed by an actual doctor.

Interesting Fact #2: In January 1692, the momentum was set by a doctor's diagnosis of bewitchment in Reverend Paris's daughter and niece, but the first trial and convicted was Bridget Bishop on June 10, 1692.

link: https://www.salem.org/salem-witch-trials/

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In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of 19 men and women. In addition one man was pressed to death; several others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed.

Time Period Of The Salem Witch Trials

To understand the events of the Salem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village families and rivalry with nearby Salem Town combined with a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Soon, prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem; their names had been "cried out" by tormented young girls as the cause of their pain. All would await trial for a crime punishable by death in 17th-century New England - the practice of witchcraft.

Historical Background of the Witch Trials

In June of 1692, the special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft. Presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton, the court was made up of magistrates and jurors. The first to be tried was Bridget Bishop of Salem who was found guilty and was hanged on June 10. Thirteen women and five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows on three successive hanging days before the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the "witchcraft" court, did not allow spectral evidence. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The new court released those awaiting trial and pardoned those awaiting execution. In effect, the Salem Witch Trials were over.

As years passed, apologies were offered and restitution was made to the victims' families. Historians and sociologists have examined this most complex episode in our history so that we may understand the issues of that era and view subsequent events with heightened awareness. The parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and more modem examples of "witch hunting" like the McCarthy hearings of the 1950's, are remarkable.

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Salem Witch Trials Of 1692 | Landmarks, Events, & More

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Find information about local museums, historical events, happenings, and attractions in Salem related to the Witch Trials of 1692

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1741- Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

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1741- Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

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Rationalism, "The Age of Reason", "The Enlightenment"; 1750-1800-Revolutionary War

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Rationalism, "The Age of Reason", "The Enlightenment"; 1750-1800-Revolutionary War

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Important Literature: The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and The Declaration of Independence

1. Mostly comprised of philosophers, scientists, writing speeches and pamphlets
2. Human beings can arrive at truth (God's rules) by using deductive reasoning, rather than relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or intuition.

Interesting Fact: This also occurred in Europe about a century earlier.

Interesting Fact #2: In Eastern Europe, the leaders of Prussia, Russia, and Austria implemented and attempted to follow some of the principles of this era. (https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-age-of-enlightenment-overview-and-analysis/)

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Enlightenment Period: Thinkers & Ideas | HISTORY

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Enlightenment was a movement of politics, philosophy, science and communications in Europe during the 19th century.

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Benjamin Franklin - autobiography

Patrick Henry - "Speech to the Virginia Convention"

Thomas Paine - "The Crisis"

Phyllis Wheatley - poetry

Interesting Fact: In addition to writing an autobiography, Benjamin Franklin also worked on newspapers and published almanacs.

Interesting Fact #2: The first African American woman (and second woman) to publish a book of poetry is Phyllis Wheatley. (https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phillis-wheatley)

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Benjamin Franklin - Biography and Literary Works of Benjamin Franklin

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Benjamin Franklin’s life, Benjamin Franklin’s works, Benjamin Franklin’s style and popular poems, more about him

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Benjamin Franklin

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Romanticism [a.k.a. Industrialization] 1800 - 1860

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Romanticism [a.k.a. Industrialization] 1800 - 1860

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1. Valued feeling, intuition, idealism, and inductive reasoning.

2. Placed faith in inner experience and the power of the imagination.

3. Shunned the artificiality of civilization and sought unspoiled nature as a path to spirituality.

4. Championed individual freedom and the worth of the individual

5. Saw poetry as the highest expression of the imagination

6. Dark Romantics: used dark and supernatural themes/settings (Gothic style)

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Washington Irving
—"Rip van Winkle"

Emily Dickinson
—poetry

Walt Whitman
—Leaves of Grass

Edgar Allan Poe
—"The Raven"

Nathaniel Hawthorne
—The Scarlet Letter

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Interesting Fact: Many battlefields still exist today, but they will most likely be destroyed due to new development prospects unfortunately.

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Fact #1: The war was fought between Great Britain and the United States from 1812-1815.

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain backed by their Canadian colonies and Native American allies. Only 29 years after the American War for Independence, Great Britain, and the United States again found themselves embroiled in conflict. On June 1, 1812, American President James Madison sent a list of grievances to Congress, and four days later they granted a declaration of war. Madison signed the declaration on June 18, 1812, officially initiating the war. The war spanned two years and eight months, ending in February of 1815

Fact #2: There were many reasons Great Britain and the United States went to war.

The War of 1812 was the result of mounting tensions and global political conflict. The American merchant marine had doubled over the first decade of the 19th century, and British citizens genuinely feared the possibility of being surpassed by American merchant shipping. In 1807, as part of their war with France, Britain introduced trade restrictions prohibiting neutral countries to trade with France. The United States saw this as a blatant violation of international trade law, specifically targeting America's growing economy. Along with restricting American trade, the British were actively seizing American ships and sailors. For years Britain had been capturing American soldiers and forcing them into serving in the royal navy, this practice was known as impressment. The British government justified this practice by arguing that British citizens could not become naturalized American citizens and therefore took many American ships hostage, seizing British-born American citizens hostage forcing them into the royal navy.

The origins of conflict did not just exist among the maritime practices of both countries; it was also a conflict of manifest destiny. The British supported Native American tribes in the Northwest Territory, at the same time many Americans wanted to expand westward. Madison's predecessor, Thomas Jefferson, had instilled within the American populous that the continent was theirs for the taking.

Fact #3: Neither side was prepared for war.

Although many Americans and Congress had petitioned for war against the British, America was unprepared for conflict. The entirety of the United States military at the time consisted of only around 12,000 men. Despite Congress authorizing the expansion of the military, harsh disciplinary conditions and low pay created a lack of growth within the United States military.

The British were similarly underprepared. The British were already embroiled in a war with Napoleon, with many soldiers fighting in Spain and Portugal. As a result of the war with France, the vast majority of their navy was held up in the blockade of France. While Britain had 6,034 troops stationed in Canada, the British could not spare many more from their war with France.

Fact #4: President James Madison believed the United States could easily capture Canada.

Madison's first goal in the war was to take Canada. Madison, along with many Americans, assumed capturing Canada would not be difficult. Thomas Jefferson had once remarked, "[The] [a]cquisition of Canada will be a mere matter of marching." However, the situation Americans found in Canada was not what was expected. The 7,000 American soldiers involved in the invasion were untrained, poorly led, and self-serving. The invasion was a complete failure. Within only a few months, the British pushed the Americans back and taken all of what was then the Michigan territory.

Fact #5: The War of 1812 inspired the Star-Spangled Banner.

While negotiating the exchange of prisoners, Francis Scott Key was held on a British ship for the entirety of the Battle of Baltimore. From his place on the ship, he could see the American Fort McHenry, which became the center of the British's attacks. Key nervously watched hoping to see the American flag flying at the end of the bombardment, signifying that American troops still held the fort. When the attack concluded, the sight of the large American flag flying above the fort inspired Key, and on the back of a letter, he composed the first draft of a poem titled "Defence of Fort M'Henry." Following the war, the poem was set to music by John Stafford Smith. In 1931, President Woodrow Wilson officially acknowledged "The Star-Spangled Banner" as America's national anthem.

Fact #6: Many famous Americans fought and served during the War of 1812.

Many prominent leaders in the war later became prominent Americans. William Henry Harrison, the famous hero of Tippecanoe in 1811, gained more fame from the War of 1812, leading successful campaigns against the British and Native Americans in the Northwest. The Whigs used his reputation as a rugged general and frontiersman, despite actually being from the elite Virginia aristocracy, to secure a presidential bid in 1841, but after only a month in office, he died of pneumonia.

General Winfield Scott would first gain military experience in the War of 1812, fighting in the Niagara frontier. After experiencing the ill-trained citizen militias of the War of 1812, he worked to establish a permanent trained American army. In 1821 Scott wrote General Regulations for the Army, the first American set of systematic military bylaws. He later commanded the campaign to take Mexico City during the Mexican American War, along with designing the Anaconda plan for the Civil War.

Perhaps the American who gained the most fame from the war was Andrew Jackson. Jackson served as a major general of the Tennessee militia during the War of 1812, first fighting in the Creek War. After accepting the Creek surrender in 1814, he was given command of New Orleans and promoted to General. At the Battle of New Orleans in January of 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, Jackson decisively stopped the British. This victory made Jackson a national hero; he became known as the savior of New Orleans. His national recognition and military record helped him win the contested presidential election of 1828.

Fact #7: The United States Capitol, Washington D.C., was burned during the war.

After the Battle of Bladensburg, British General Robert Ross captured the nation's capital and burned down essential centers of American government. Specifically targeting the Executive Mansion (the White House) and the Capitol Building, British soldiers set the city ablaze. The fires were put out by a massive thunderstorm less than a day later, and the British evacuated the city. The British held D.C. for only 26 hours; however, it is the only time a foreign enemy has captured Washington D.C.

Fact #8: The Treaty of Ghent officially ended the war.

The Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, although not officially ratified until February 17, 1815, officially ending the war. Despite Britain making clear gains during the war, many within the British government and military, including the prime minister and the Duke of Wellington, argued for a peace treaty without demands for territory. The Duke of Wellington argued that while they could gain territory eventually, the current "state of [our] military operations, however creditable, does not entitle [us] to demand any." The Americans similarly wanted a conclusion to the war, as the conflict had placed America in massive amounts of foreign debt. Both sides agreed to an essentially status quo ante bellum agreement, restoring borders to how they were before the war. While America did not secure its maritime rights, after the British war with Napoleon concluded, the Royal Navy did not require the sheer amount of human resources they did during the war, and the practice of impressment came to an unofficial end.

Fact #9: Nearly every group involved left the war victorious.

In the wake of the war, both American and British officials and civilians were satisfied with the end of the war. Americans had won the final battle of the war, the Battle of New Orleans, and saw it as a decisive defeat cementing America as a truly independent nation. While, many in Great Britain saw this war as a part of the more significant wars with the French, which the British decisively won at Waterloo. Canadians also found a sense of pride in the war. Having survived the American invasion, it created a renewed sense of Canadian pride. The only group who genuinely lost the war was Native Americans, who lost their powerful British allies and would soon be overwhelmed by American settlers.

Fact #10: Many of the battlefields from the War of 1812 still exist today.

The War of 1812 has been called "America's Forgotten War." It is studied much less than the American Revolution or the Civil War, as a result, many of its battlefields are ignored for development. In 2007 the National Parks Service identified 214 battlefields and other important sites to the War of 1812. However, development has placed these sites in danger, the National Parks service identified that 50% are destroyed or fragmented and 25% of these sites would be destroyed in the next decade.

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Fact #1: The war was fought between Great Britain and the United States from 1812-1815. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain backed by their Canadian colonies and Native American allies. Only 29 years after the American War for Independence, Great Britain, and the United States again found themselves embroiled in conflict.

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Fact #1: Throughout his life, unfortunately, he relied on alcohol heavily and eventually became an alcoholic.

Fact #2: His most famous poem was "The Raven", which gave him national fame.

Fact #3: Poe was given a classical education in childhood and started university but never quite finished due to a number of things, with one being gambling problems.

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Life

Poe was the son of the English-born actress Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr., an actor from Baltimore. After his mother died in Richmond, Virginia, in 1811, he was taken into the home of John Allan, a Richmond merchant (presumably his godfather), and of his childless wife. He was later taken to Scotland and England (1815-20), where he was given a classical education that was continued in Richmond. For 11 months in 1826 he attended the University of Virginia, but his gambling losses at the university so incensed his guardian that he refused to let him continue, and Poe returned to Richmond to find his sweetheart, (Sarah) Elmira Royster, engaged. He went to Boston, where in 1827 he published a pamphlet of youthful Byronic poems, Tamerlane, and Other Poems. Poverty forced him to join the army under the name of Edgar A. Perry, but, on the death of Poe's foster mother, John Allan purchased his release from the army and helped him get an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Before going, Poe published a new volume at Baltimore, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems (1829). He successfully sought expulsion from the academy, where he was absent from all drills and classes for a week. He proceeded to New York City and brought out a volume of Poems, containing several masterpieces, some showing the influence of John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He then returned to Baltimore, where he began to write stories. In 1833 his " MS. Found in a Bottle" won $50 from a Baltimore weekly, and by 1835 he was in Richmond as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. There he made a name as a critical reviewer and married his young cousin Virginia Clemm, who was only 13. Poe seems to have been an affectionate husband and son-in-law.

Poe was dismissed from his job in Richmond, apparently for drinking, and went to New York City. Drinking was in fact to be the bane of his life. To talk well in a large company he needed a slight stimulant, but a glass of sherry might start him on a spree; and, although he rarely succumbed to intoxication, he was often seen in public when he did. This gave rise to the conjecture that Poe was a drug addict, but according to medical testimony he had a brain lesion. While in New York City in 1838 he published a long prose narrative, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, combining (as so often in his tales) much factual material with the wildest fancies. It is considered one inspiration of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. In 1839 he became coeditor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in Philadelphia. There a contract for a monthly feature stimulated him to write "William Wilson" and "The Fall of the House of Usher," stories of supernatural horror. The latter contains a study of a neurotic now known to have been an acquaintance of Poe, not Poe himself.

Later in 1839 Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque appeared (dated 1840). He resigned from Burton's about June 1840 but returned in 1841 to edit its successor, Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, in which he printed "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"-the first detective story. In 1843 his "The Gold Bug" won a prize of $100 from the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper, which gave him great publicity. In 1844 he returned to New York, wrote "The Balloon Hoax" for the Sun, and became subeditor of the New York Mirror under N.P. Willis, thereafter a lifelong friend. In the New York Mirror of January 29, 1845, appeared, from advance sheets of the American Review, his most famous poem, "The Raven," which gave him national fame at once. Poe then became editor of the Broadway Journal, a short-lived weekly, in which he republished most of his short stories, in 1845. During this last year the now-forgotten poet Frances Sargent Locke Osgood pursued Poe. Virginia did not object, but "Fanny's" indiscreet writings about her literary love caused great scandal. His The Raven and Other Poems and a selection of his Tales came out in 1845, and in 1846 Poe moved to a cottage at Fordham (now part of New York City), where he wrote for Godey's Lady's Book (May-October 1846) "The Literati of New York City"-gossipy sketches on personalities of the day, which led to a libel suit.

Poe's wife, Virginia, died in January 1847. The following year he went to Providence, Rhode Island, to woo Sarah Helen Whitman, a poet. There was a brief engagement. Poe had close but platonic entanglements with Annie Richmond and with Sarah Anna Lewis, who helped him financially. He composed poetic tributes to all of them. In 1848 he also published the lecture "Eureka," a transcendental "explanation" of the universe, which has been hailed as a masterpiece by some critics and as nonsense by others. In 1849 he went south, had a wild spree in Philadelphia, but got safely to Richmond, where he finally became engaged to Elmira Royster, by then the widowed Mrs. Shelton, and spent a happy summer with only one or two relapses. He enjoyed the companionship of childhood friends and an unromantic friendship with a young poet, Susan Archer Talley.

Poe had some forebodings of death when he left Richmond for Baltimore late in September. There he died, although whether from drinking, heart failure, or other causes was still uncertain in the 21st century. He was buried in Westminster Presbyterian churchyard in Baltimore.

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Edgar Allan Poe | Biography, Poems, Short Stories, & Facts

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Edgar Allan Poe, the master of macabre literature and pioneer of detective fiction, intrigued readers with his haunting tales that explored the depths of human psychology.

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Interesting Fact: The first gold nugget was discovered on January 24, 1948, by a lone man named James Marshall. Him and his group attempted keeping it a secret, but it was no use, as "gold fever" soon broke out.

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"I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold." - James Marshall, 1848

At a time when restless Americans were already itching to go west, the discovery of gold in California in 1848 was like gasoline on a fire. Within a year of its discovery, emigrants using the California Trail were flooding into the Sierra Nevada Range by the thousands.

John Sutter was a Swiss immigrant who came to California in 1839 with a dream of building an agricultural empire. When he needed lumber in early 1848, he assigned the task to one of his men, James Marshall. Marshall decided to build a sawmill on the South Fork of the American river, about 40 miles from Sutter's home.

Marshall discovered a gold nugget on January 24, 1848, while at the sawmill. He and his men found more gold nearby. Both Marshall and Sutter tried to keep things quiet, but soon word leaked out. Gold fever quickly became an epidemic.

Many who already had arrived in California or Oregon immediately gravitated to the western Sierras. But it wasn't until December of 1848 that President James Polk confirmed the findings to Congress, which meant it was too late to start a trip for easterners. But by the spring of 1849, the largest migration (25,000 that year alone) in American history was already taking place.

Better-than-average conditions on the plains and in the desert that spring and summer helped soften the blow of the wave of emigrants. But conditions were harsh at best and many livestock were lost along the way. Grass and clean water became scarcer as the trip wore on, and diseases like cholera took their toll.

Indians in particular suffered from the "Forty-Niners" who streamed across the land. For centuries, Indians had lived in the West without outside competition for resources. But now the pioneers' lust for wealth was threatening to decimate the Indians through the consumption of foods, lands, water and space.

Many new routes were opened into California as a result of the Gold Rush. With an estimated 140,000 emigrants arriving in California via the California Trail between 1849 and 1854, routes were continually modified, tested or even abandoned.

Central cutoffs and alternate routes include:

1844 Sublette Cutoff

1846 Hastings Cutoff
1848 Salt Lake Cutoff
1849 Hudspeth Cutoff
1850 Childs Cutoff
1850 Kinney Cutoff
1850 Seminoe Cutoff
1850 Slate Creek Cutoff
1852 Baker-Davis Road
1856 Dempsey-Hockadsy Cutoff
1858 Lander Road
1859 Julesburg Cutoff

1859 Western routes include:

1844 Truckee Route

1846 Applegate Trail
1848 Carson Route
1848 Lassen Route
1851 Beckwourth Trail
1852 Nobles Road
1852 Sonora Road

More California Trail History

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The California Gold Rush - California National Historic Trail (U.S. National Park Service)

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"I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold." - James Marshall, 1848 At a time when restless Americans were already itching to go west, the discovery of gold in California in 1848 was like gasoline on a fire.

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1840-1860 Transcendentalism: "The American Renaissance" 

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1840-1860 Transcendentalism: "The American Renaissance" 

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1. Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul.

2. People can use their intuition to behold God's spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls.

3. Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and link conformity to tradition.

4. Important social and political movements include the Abolitionist, Utopian, and Women's Suffrage Movements

Interesting Fact #1: There have been many attempts at a Utopian society in America, including the Mormons, the Oneida Community, The Shaker Movement, New Harmony, and Brooks Farm.

Interesting Fact #2: In 1850, there was the first National Women's Right Convention held in Worcester, Massachusetts, with many figureheads of the movement present including Fredrick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.

(link: https://americansall.org/legacy-story-group/timeline-womens-suffrage-movement-1850-1868)

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In the first part of the 19th century, more than 100,000 individuals formed Utopian communities in an effort to create perfect societies. The idea of a perfect society intertwined with communalism can be traced back to Plato's Republic, the book of Acts in the New Testament, and the works of Sir Thomas More. The years 1820 to 1860 saw the heyday of this movement with the creation of numerous communities. Following is a look at the five major Utopian communities that were created.

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In the first part of the 19th century, more than 100,000 individuals formed Utopian communities in an effort to create perfect societies. The idea of a perfect society intertwined with communalism can be traced back to Plato's Republic , the book of Acts in the New Testament, and the works of Sir Thomas More.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson
—Nature
—"Self-Reliance"

Henry David Thoreau
—Walden
—Life in the Woods

Louisa May Alcott
- Little Women

Interesting Fact #1: In addition to writing, Thoreau was a philosopher, specifically in classical Greek and Roman philosophy.

Interesting Fact #2: Several other writers during the American Renaissance include Fredrick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

(link: https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/the-american-renaissance.html)

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Henry David Thoreau (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

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Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American philosopher,
poet, and environmental scientist whose major work, Walden,
draws upon each of these identities in meditating on the concrete
problems of living in the world as a human being. He sought to revive
a conception of philosophy as a way of life…

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What was the Cold War-and are we headed to another one?

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The 45-year standoff between the West and the U.S.S.R. ended when the Soviet Union dissolved. Some say another could be starting as tensions with Russia rise.

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Interesting Fact #1: In 1952, he was appointed to a new chairmanship, allowing him to continue his investigation.

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McCarthyism, name given to the period of time in American history that saw U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin produce a series of investigations and hearings during the 1950s in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of various areas of the U.S. government. The term has since become a byname for defamation of character or reputation by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations, especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges.

McCarthy was elected to the Senate in 1946 and rose to prominence in 1950 when he claimed in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, that 57 communists had infiltrated the State Department, adding:

One thing to remember in discussing the Communists in our government is that we are not dealing with spies who get thirty pieces of silver to steal the blueprints of a new weapon. We are dealing with a far more sinister type of activity because it permits the enemy to guide and shape our policy.

McCarthy's subsequent search for communists in the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department, and elsewhere made him an incredibly polarizing figure. After McCarthy's reelection in 1952, he obtained the chairmanship of the Committee on Government Operations of the Senate and of its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. For the next two years he was constantly in the spotlight, investigating various government departments and questioning innumerable witnesses about their suspected communist affiliations. Although he failed to make a plausible case against anyone, his colourful and cleverly presented accusations drove some persons out of their jobs and brought popular condemnation to others.

McCarthyism both reached its peak and began its decline during the "McCarthy hearings": 36 days of televised investigative hearings led by McCarthy in 1954. After first calling hearings to investigate possible espionage at the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, the junior senator turned his communist-chasing committee's attention to an altogether different matter, the question of whether the Army had promoted a dentist who had refused to answer questions for the Loyalty Security Screening Board. The hearings reached their climax when McCarthy suggested that the Army's lawyer, Joseph Welch, had employed a man who at one time had belonged to a communist front group. Welch's rebuke to the senator-"Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"-discredited McCarthy and helped to turn the tide of public opinion against him. Moreover, McCarthy was also eventually undermined significantly by the incisive and skillful criticism of a journalist, Edward R. Murrow. Murrow's devastating television editorial about McCarthy, carried out on his show, See It Now, cemented him as the premier journalist of the time. McCarthy was censured for his conduct by the Senate, and in 1957 he died. While McCarthyism proper ended with the senator's downfall, the term still has currency in modern political discourse.

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McCarthyism | Definition, History, & Facts

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McCarthyism, name given to the period of time in American history that saw U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin produce a series of investigations and hearings during the 1950s in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of various areas of the U.S. government.

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Fact #1: He was established as a student in Baltimore before his family moved to California, where he got involved with drugs and gang violence on the streets.

Fact #2: His first breakthrough album and solo debut was 2Pacalypse Now.

Fact #3: In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Tupac Shakur, in full Tupac Amaru Shakur, original name Lesane Parish Crooks, bynames 2Pac and Makaveli, (born June 16, 1971, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.-died September 13, 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada), American rapper and actor who was one of the leading names in 1990s gangsta rap.

Lesane Crooks was born to Afeni Shakur (née Alice Faye Williams), a member of the Black Panther Party, and she renamed him Tupac Amaru Shakur-after Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II-when he was a year old. He spent much of his childhood on the move with his family, which in 1986 settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where Shakur attended the elite Baltimore School for the Arts. He distinguished himself as a student, both creatively and academically, but his family relocated to Marin City, California, before he could graduate. There Shakur took to the streets, selling drugs and becoming involved in the gang culture that would one day provide material for his rap lyrics. In 1990 he joined Digital Underground, an Oakland-based rap group that had scored a Billboard Top 40 hit with the novelty single "The Humpty Dance." Shakur performed on two Digital Underground albums in 1991, This Is an EP Release and Sons of the P, before his solo debut, 2Pacalypse Now, later that year.

2Pacalypse Now was a radical break from the dance party sound of Digital Underground, and its tone and content were much closer to the works of Public Enemy and West Coast gangsta rappers N.W.A. The lack of a clear single on the album limited its radio appeal, but it sold well, especially after U.S. Vice Pres. Dan Quayle criticized the song "Soulja's Story" during the 1992 presidential campaign. That same year Shakur joined the ranks of other rappers-turned-actors, such as Ice Cube and Ice-T, when he was cast in the motion picture Juice, an urban crime drama. The following year he appeared in Poetic Justice, opposite Janet Jackson, and he released his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. The album did not stray far from the activist lyricism of his debut, but singles such as "Holler If Ya Hear Me" and "Keep Ya Head Up" made it much more radio-friendly.

With increased fame and success came greater scrutiny of Shakur's gangsta lifestyle. A string of arrests culminated with a conviction for sexual assault in 1994; he was incarcerated when his third album, Me Against the World, was released in 1995. Shakur was paroled after serving eight months in prison, and he signed with Suge Knight's Death Row Records for his next release. That album, All Eyez on Me (1996), was a two-disc paean to the "thug life" that Shakur embodied. It debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and sold more than five million copies within its first year of release. Quick to capitalize on his most recent success, Shakur returned to Hollywood, where he starred in Bullet (1996) and Gridlock'd (1997).

On the evening of September 7, 1996, Shakur was leaving a Las Vegas casino, where he had just attended a prizefight featuring heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, when he was shot by an unknown assailant. The incident, believed by many to be the result of an ongoing rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast rap communities, shocked the entertainment world. Shakur died six days later. In spite of his relatively short recording career, Shakur left an enduring legacy within the hip-hop community. His popularity was undiminished after his death, and a long succession of posthumous releases (many of them were simply repackaged or remixed existing material, and most were of middling quality) ensured that "new" 2Pac albums continued to appear well into the 21st century. Shakur was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

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Tupac Shakur | Biography, Songs, Albums, Movies, & Facts

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Tupac Shakur, the influential rapper and actor, used his raw talent to address social issues and became an enduring symbol of artistic expression in hip-hop culture.

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Fact #1: He started spoken word poetry in university, in his last year, to be specific.

Fact #2: His attitude always been about changing the dynamic between people, whether students or teachers, and education.

Fact #3: He never expected to blow up, but when he did, he was just grateful to know that his work was reaching people and having impact.

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While parents and teachers are looking to politicians for the latest on school and education, the young are opening their eyes - and ears - to Suli Breaks, the spoken word poet taking YouTube by storm.

The "twenty something"-year-old is rapidly becoming a voice for young people trapped in a society where success is only measured by exam grades. In his latest viral video, " I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate", Breaks chastises parents, teachers, and the government for focusing on exams - instead of nurturing raw talent.

"I first started spoken word poetry when I was at university in my last year," Breaks tells the Huffington Post UK. "I did it instinctively on a whim and it generated a good response. Even in my last year I found I wasn't engaged in what I was studying and I was distant from it. I found the spoken word is what I enjoyed doing so I decided to pursue that."

Suli Breaks with one of his inspirational mottos

Breaks says he never gave his career much thought; "I just did what I was good at."

"My emphasis is on people changing their attitude towards education - whether they're students or teachers," he explains. "You don't have to reform the whole structure of the curriculum but people need an understanding that just because you're not good at a subject doesn't mean you're not going to succeed.

"Likewise, as in my circumstances, just because you are good at something doesn't mean you should pursue if it's not what you want.

"There's so much potential which people never really realise because they're stuck in the constraints of society's thinking. My emphasis is on the mentality."

Although Breaks says he never expected to be a success, his "Why I Hate School But Love Education" performance has had more than two million views on YouTube.

Under the video, Breaks asks: "What is the value of mainstream schooling? Why is it that some of the most high profile and successful figures within the Western world openly admit to never having completed any form of higher learning?"

"I didn't really put the video out there and expect a response," Breaks continues. "What I did want was to empower the people who hear it. I remember feeling low in myself, working certain jobs such as cleaning, and I had no-one to tell me there was light at the end of the tunnel.

"I'm not saying drop out of school or university but I want them to know there is someone here who knows what you're going through and can help you find another way.

"I've had people message me saying they finally understand why they couldn't do certain things in class and they used to feel dumb but now they realise they're not. Some guy messaged me saying he's never been good at maths and he's always felt bad but he's realised his strong point is english and politics. For me, that sense of empowerment is what I've been looking for."

"One mother messaged me and she said her son has been having so much difficulty in life as he's felt inadequate in school but since he heard my piece he realises he's OK and there's nothing wrong with him. For me, that message really stood out - the fact that I can add value to someone's life just by saying something like that.

"At the end of the day I'm an artist who just likes expressing myself and if someone;s enjoying my work that's enough of a satisfaction."

And so how old is this wised-up young man?

"I always tell people I'm twenty something," Breaks says. "I prefer not to go into my age - I feel like when I do, people base their perspectives on that."

A very wise guy indeed.

Follow Suli on Twitter: @SuliBreaks

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While parents and teachers are looking to politicians for the latest on school and education, the young are opening their eyes - and ears - to Suli Breaks, the spoken word poet taking YouTube by storm. The "twenty something"-year-old is rapidly becoming a voice for young people trapped in a society where success is only measured by exam grades.

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Niko Omilana runs for London Mayor as a way to represent young people

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Niko Omilana runs for London Mayor as a way to represent young people

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He ran as a way to make young people voices more heard in politics. He wanted to see what the young generation could do. It was caught by storm, and he managed to come fifth out of over 20 candidates in the mayorial election. He produced a documentary over it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6OJl42Ntko

Of course, this wasn't very serious. (Keep in mind, the documentary is very silly.) He wanted to push the normal standards and make more politicians aware of the youth.

Here is an article summarizing what happened: https://www.complex.com/life/niko-omilana-london-mayor-elections-2021

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Although many places in the world have lifted restrictions, some places are putting more in. Protests continue around the globe.

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New coronavirus protests are have taken place across Europe as winter restrictions loom.

Some countries are bringing in new restrictions, and many require vaccination or negative test proof.

People gathered in cities like Vienna and Rome, with some protests turning violent.

New coronavirus protests are taking place across Europe in response to winter restrictions.

Major cities across Europe have seen demonstrations against new rules and requirements to prove vaccinations, with some leading to violence and arrests or turning into riots.

Coronavirus protests are not new in Europe. People demonstrated against lockdowns and restrictions in 2020, and protests have continued into this year, as many European countries require proof of vaccination to access certain places.

But protesters are now taking aim at the new restrictions coming in at the onset of winter, as many governments say steps are needed to mitigate a winter surge and strained health systems.

'An orgy of violence'

Hundreds of people rioted in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Friday, Reuters reported, with three people hospitalized after police fired bullets.

Fifty-one people were arrested, Reuters reported, citing local authorities. They were demonstrating against government proposals that would mean people have to show proof they've been vaccinated, have recently recovered from COVID-19, or have a negative test, Reuters reported.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, Rotterdam's mayor, said the protest became "an orgy of violence," according to Reuters.

Fresh violence erupted in another Dutch city, The Hague, on Saturday, as protesters hurled fireworks at and set bicycles on fire and baton-wielding police used horses and dogs to control the unrest, the BBC reported. At least seven people were also arrested.

In Vienna, Austria, tens of thousands of people protested against new restrictions and government plans to make vaccines mandatory in February next year, according to Reuters. The government said the steps were necessary as the country doesn't have a high enough vaccination rate.

Thousands of people protested in Zagreb, Croatia, against plans to make vaccines mandatory for public sector employees, according to the BBC.

In Italy, thousands of people gathered in Milan and thousands more gathered in Rome, Il Messaggero reported. They were protesting the country's "green pass" - a certificate that proves someone has been vaccinated, tested negative, or recovered from COVID-19.

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Unrest and protests are ripping across Europe as anger mounts over new COVID-19 winter restrictions

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New coronavirus protests are have taken place across Europe as winter restrictions loom. Some countries are bringing in new restrictions, and many require vaccination or negative test proof. People gathered in cities like Vienna and Rome, with some protests turning violent. New coronavirus protests are taking place across Europe in response to winter restrictions.