Posted on 05/08/2005 4:08:21 AM PDT by txradioguy
Statement of the day award nominee. ;)
Thanks!
I suppose that the teacher was trying to say that communists take pride in their work, but us evil capitalists don't. Hey she lives in this capitalist society, she must be a capitalist, ie she doesn't take pride in her work.
1. Moses Austin had a contract with the Mexican government to bring settlers into the Texas province (which included New Mexico, Oklahoma and part of Colorado and Wyoming). He died. His son, Stephen F. Austin took up the immigration scheme per his dying father's request. However, he brought in more than he was supposed to (he was making a good deal of money on the venture -- go figure). When the numbers reached around 35,000 Texans vs. the approximately 7,000 Mexicans living in the territory, Mexico said "That's enough, now stop." By decree Mexico closed the border. Austin and his companions didn't stop and more people continued to flood in...they were illegal immigrants.
2. Some of the settlers were bringing slaves with them. That is a fact. Mexico had abolished slavery. The indians in Mexico had been enslaved by the Spaniards for 300 years and were treated FAR worse than the blacks up here in the U.S. To some degree that was part of the source of the conflict.
3. Texans abhorred the taxation and rules of the Mexican government along with the requirement that settlers practice Catholicism. Any people when dominant to a 4:1 ratio is going to want independence, so...
The Texans decided they wanted autonomy. Spanish-based ideology in Mexico was not about to tolerate that idea. Thus, conflict began.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna marched into Texas and attacked the Alamo. He executed prisoners who surrendered (bad mistake). Then Urrea took Fannin's men near Goliad. Santa Anna ordered them executed (342 men). This was his worst mistake, causing Texans in general rage and garnering support from the rest of the U.S.
Texans took revenge at the Battle of San Jacinto, catching the Mexicans off-guard around 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Santa Anna was allegedly with a woman at the moment of the attack. One officer, Manuel Castrillon, tried to rally his troops, but they fled in terror. Castrillon, facing the advancing Texans, crossed his arms and said, "I've been in over 40 battles and I've never turned my back. I'm not going to do it today." Although a Texan officer tried to stop his men from killing him, they shot him dead and proceeded to mutilate the body. They also slaughtered other Mexicans who had thrown down their weapons and were trying to surrender. Both sides were dirty in this entire war.
Now, the exact reverse is happening. Uncontrolled immigration is building a reverse ratio and the Hispanic population is calling for more autonomy and self-governance. In both instances, the cause of the conflict is the government failure to control immigration. Have a nice day, folks. The first casualty of war ... is truth (isn't that the old saying?).
Correct. When I took Texas history (in grade school, it was required in those days), slavery was mentioned. The lack of governmental representation in Texas (small things, like registering deeds and marriages had to be done in Monterrey) was a proximate cause though.
Knowing that the Alamo defenders were imperfect doesn't in any way detract from the heroism.
Absolutely. Context is a huge obstacle when it comes to history, but at the same time it gives a lot of relevancy to what goes on today. Trying to explain why men would stand in line fifty yards away from the enemy and exchange volleys during 18th and early 19th century warfare gives insight into why soldiers today expose themselves to incredible dangers to cover or rescue their comrades.
I believe it is more dangerous to try to ignore inconvenient facts and to perpetuate mythology, than to expose and discuss even the flaws and ulterior motives. That way we send kids out with solid understanding, and when the PC crowd comes by with their spin, it's already been heard and dealt with.
Remember the Alamo. Brave men who fought for a cause they believed in.
Amen.
Americans have sacrificed their lives for liberty since 1775. In the Revolution, the sacrifice was for independence and basic liberties. In 1812, the sacrifice was free trade and to stop our sailors from being shanghaied into the British navy. In the Texas Revolution, it was to be free of a brutal dictator (yes, that same Santa Ana). In the Mexican War, we fought for the safety of a new state, Texas, and set our borders with Mexico (the ones our *ahem* "Texan" president seems to think are just a suggestion). In the Civil War, we had our biggest fight over freedom: Are all Americans born to be free, or just a few? Does that freedom include dissolving the country, or does it mean we act like adults and try to work it out? Does it mean that one part of the country can impose its will on another, or do we live our lives in the way we want to?
Americans have died for other people's freedom, as well. In the Spanish-American War, our sensibilities were provoked by Spanish cruelty in Cuba, and we put an end to that brutality. When we entered World War One, we were provoked by German blandishments to Mexico that if Mexico attacked us, the Mexicans would get Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado in return. WWI was not just a war to "make the world safe for democracy," but a war to show the Germans you DON'T SCREW WITH AMERICA!
We fought for our survival in World War Two, but gave the Philippines the independence they had been promised by us in 1941, and we brought freedom to Japan and the bigger portion of Germany. In Korea, Americans defended and died for a weak country that was brutally attacked by a stronger one. In Vietnam, Americans sacrificed their lives for people we didn't even know....and the men who shed their blood in those jungles and on those hills were reviled for their trouble by the very same fools who want our kids to think the Alamo was about slavery.
We fought for the freedom of the people of Grenada, Panama, Kuwait and Iraq. We don't enslave. We don't conquer. We do what we must, and come home. And we are cursed by other countries, and condemned by our own elites. Why? Because we aren't perfect. Because we started out imperfect, and continue to be imperfect.
I never hide the imperfections from my students, but as God is my witness, I make sure they know that the United States is the greatest country on Earth and that while we have some mighty high ideals to live up to, we try....and more often than not, we succeed.
I guess to some, being so strong a patriot might make me a bad teacher, it might mean I'm there to push pro-American propaganda on my students. Far from it. I've read the founding documents. I keep a copy of The Federalist and the Constitution in my books, ready to be used in class. I post the Declaration of Independence in my classes, and have my students memorize the Gettysburg Address.....but more than that, I teach them what it means, and get them to think about it! I want my students to appreciate what it means to be an American, and how lucky they are that they live here.
What Nickelodeon and Disney have done is insult the brave men who died at the Alamo, as well as insult every American who has put on a uniform or shouldered a rifle to protect what this nation stands for. Not only should we register our displeasure by ignoring what Disney and Viacom produce or put on screen, we should inundate them with mail demanding they tell the facts about history, and if they don't, then we should make them feel it financially and boycott them COMPLETELY! No loss for me, I already avoid Disney....and Nickelodeon doesn't interest me in the least. Bluntly, we should stand up against this slander, and let the elites know that we refuse to have our country stolen by them anymore!
It's amazing how a Reactionary Catholic Despot (Santa Anna) has been transformed into a barefoot revolutionary simply because popular imagination pictures "Mexicans" as non-whites. But if Japanese Fascism can be defended as a victim of "Western imperialist aggression" then anything goes!
Haven't got Mrs. Lurkin to sew me mine yet but I'll keep whining. . . ;>)
I like that flag. Mebbe I can find one.
Didn't a FReeper notice this the other day and post a vanity on it?
I am a historian also, but not a teacher. I applaud you for teaching REAL history to your students.
To be expected though. Most Americans now have been indoctrinated to think that the Civil War was over slavery as well.
the "gubmint pubic screwl sistim" is teaching FICTION & HATRED of our honorable ancestors!
free dixie,sw
Turn off the TV. There's nothing for you there. Open a book instead. Try the Bible, it's good for the soul. TV is a mind, body and soul killer.
Bump
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