HIST 100: Engineering The Past

Water Woes

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If I had the opportunity to travel back in time to consult with the middle eastern leaders of Turkey, Iraq and Syria. I would take back proof that what they are doing (or not doing) with their water supplies will lead to a pending global catastrophe.  If I could, I would also take back the current technological plans for desalination and solar power. If the countries involved could further that current technology, then it would beneficial to the whole world. While it is expensive, if you could mediate a joint deal between multiple countries that would be beneficial to all parties involved.  I would inform on the pending drought to the region, and if they don’t start a water management program then it would lead to wars and thousands dead. I also believe that they should start metering the populace, meaning everybody gets charged for their usage. This act would lower consumption greatly because there would not be excessive use. It would allow for possible economic growth, with jobs being generated for installs and maintenance of the whole system overall. I believe that the leaders i spoke with would listen to me. If i had good proof that was irrefutable and that if they did not listen then they would be signing the death warrants of thousands.

 

Info needed:

I would need as much information about the leaders of Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

 

I would also need as much information as possible about the conflicts currently happening during the time traveling back to.

 

I would also want more information about the state of their infrastructure, and what techniques they have tried and failed at.

 

Im sure i could find this information available from the Albertson’s library and also internet research. I would make sure that I get as much primary information as possible. Secondary information would be easier to find but also helpful. As with all research if I were to use the Internet for research purposes I would have to verify and substantiate that the information is accurate.

Hagia Sopia

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Religious Sanctuary

 

Religious sanctuary or right of asylum has been around in some shape or another for thousands of years.  Around 600 AD king Æthelberht of Kent made the first laws regarding sanctuary. The person seeking asylum had to confess their crimes, surrender any weapons and be placed under the supervision of the head of the church or abbey. They were then given 40 days to make a choice: surrender to the authorities and stand trial; or confess there guilt and be exiled from the land. There were also two levels of sanctuary the lower level type, which all churches received, the individual was restricted to the confines of the church. And then the churches that got licensed by the king could offer much larger areas, in some cases up to 1 mile around the church. This boundary was set up with 4 markers, usually made of stone creating a square area around the church. Because the Hagia Sophia was commissioned by Justinian I as a place of worship for Christianity, it fell under these laws. I am unsure of what parts of the Hagia Sophia were considered “safe zones”, but if the whole building was one, then the criminal would have a lot of space to roam around. These laws are not in effect anymore. The churches still offer sanctuary but it carries no legal recourse and is only respected if the officers want to.  In the modern age you hear very little of religious sanctuary anymore, but you do hear about political refugees. This term is just a new spin on an old tradition. Instead of churches, it is countries giving the sanctuary.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_asylum

Interpretation of Thanksgiving

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Step 1

I would say that the third article is the closet to what i learned about Thanksgiving. A lot of the terms spurred thoughts of my childhood. Names like John Smith and Governor Bradford sounded very familiar. I remember hearing about the Mayflower Compact but never being told what it really pertained to. My understanding of the first Thanksgiving has never really been challenged because i have never looked into the history of it.  I find it very interesting that Thanksgiving wasn’t even made a national holiday until 200+ years later by Lincoln.

 

Step 2

I found these articles very compelling. They have not completely changed how i view the “pilgrims”. These articles don’t really explain the interactions between the Native Americans and the settlers. They are based heavily around the fact that socialism or a commonwealth idea, doesn’t work.  I do find that as primary source, Bradford himself, states this almost 400 years ago, but still to this day we have presidential candidates trying to legitimize socialism as a good idea.  I feel author of the third article “Pilgrims, Socialism and Thanksgiving” is not as credible as some of the other authors. He doesn’t use direct quotes or paraphrase from any sources. His article feels like it is just his opinion of how it all went down. The first article written by Richard J. Maybury is much more backed in research. After researching about Maybury he has a degree in economics. He also taught economics as a public school teacher for many years. Based on this research i feel that his viewpoint is sound and not too biased. I also feel the last article “The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving…” to be very accurate. After researching about AIER and learning that they are a nonprofit who only cares about providing accurate information.

 

Step 3

I found this set of articles interesting but they did not change my view of Thanksgiving either. The story that every child is told is not completely wrong or right. It has been washed down to a happy story about prosperity and giving thanks. I felt that these articles were more built around how to be more politically correct during the Thanksgiving time. There was only 1 article that actually helped understand Thanksgiving from the Native American’s viewpoint. That was the “The Suppressed Speech of Wamsutta”. The “The Pilgrims were…Socialists?” by Kate Zernike was a great article to counteract the previous section of articles. After reading up about the author and her previous works. She sets herself apart by being fair and unbiased even though she speaks from a Liberal agenda.

 

Step 4

In order to be a truly objective historian, you would need to put your opinions and previous understandings of the situation aside and research every side as thoroughly as possible.  To be as accurate as possible you would need to kind of stitch together all the information into a bigger picture to fully understand it. I felt that the second and some of the third set of articles were to politically biased, right against left type stuff. In order to build the big picture you need to separate the chaff from the grain. While it is interesting that the Pilgrims lived under a kind of socialist system, it doesn’t really bear any weight to “the first Thanksgiving”. I would start with the original telling of the first thanksgiving and build from there, trying to see if that information was accurate. If i were to look for primary sources i would start with Bradford’s journal/diary. Does Governor Bradford’s diary tell more about the first thanksgiving or is it just about the economic systems they used in those times? Were there other journals from Pilgrims that could fill in some holes? Did the Native Americans keep any journals as well?  Looking into secondary sources should be fairly easy, making sure they are accurate and reliable would be more difficult. I would look into Wamsutta more to find a starting point and work my way backwards. Also any museum exhibits and books would be a decent source to start looking into.