CONCLUSION PARAGRAH

All in all, the Ghost dance was given many interpretations some good and some bad. While to one group of people the Ghost dance was seen as a last ray of hope in dark times and to another group it was a sign of war that needed to be taken care of. However, in reality the Ghost Dance was nothing more than a strong religious belief that should have brought peaceful times. Despite what took places during the dancing ceremony the main belief of the religion was to not fight and be peaceful until the return of the Messiah.

 

OUTLINE

Thesis Statement:

            Even though American’s interpreted the Ghost Dance to be a threat, it was a religion to the Indians and one they strongly believed in. 
 

Outline:

I.                   Introduction

II.                 Origin of Ghost Dance

III.              Ceremony

IV.             American’s Perspective

V.                Indians Perspective

VI.             Conclusion

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, Dee.  BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.  New York:  Henry Holt and Company, 1970.

Jensen, Richard E., R. Eli Paul, and John E. Carter.  Eyewitness at Wounded Knee.  United States of America:  University of Nebraska Press,  1992.

Mooney, James. “The ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890.”  Washington:  Government Printing Office,  1896.  http://books.google.com/books?id=0wUWAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=james+mooney&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SC2cUa3EF8fW0QHYyoDYDA&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=james%20mooney&f=false.

Parker, Mrs. Z. A. “The Ghost Dance Among the Lakota.” PBS The New Perspectives on the West.  Last modified 2001 and accessed 10 May, 2013.

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/gddescrp.htm.

Pratt, Scott L. “Wounded Knee and the Prospect of Pluralism.”Journal of Speculative Philosophy 19,  no.2: 150-166.

Warren, Louis S. “Wounded Knee and the Ghost Dance: Christian Prayer, American Politics, and Indian Protest.”  Reviews in American History 39,  no. 4   (2011):  665-672.  doi:  10.1353/rah.2011.0135.

THE WINNER!

 

  

The topic I decided to write my research paper on is the Wounded Knee Massacre. My new research question is “What caused Wounded Knee?” My sentence description is “I would be writing about the role of Americans and Native Americans in Wounded Knee during the late 1800’s-1900."

          I choose this topic because I did not know much about it. After researching, I found it very interesting. It was interesting that not many people actually know why this massacre started in the first place. There are speculations and theories about how it started but no definite answer. Also I choose this topic because it had a great impact on Native Americans. I want people to know about this important event in history and how influential it was.

          As stated earlier I knew very little about this topic before I started my research. The only information I knew about Wounded Knee was what I had heard in my American History class. I knew that Wounded Knee involved Americans and Native Americans and that it was the last Indian removal. Also that over 200 Indians were massacred and that this event greatly influenced Native Americans. I do not believe that I am heavily influenced about what I already knew because I only learned this information a couple days before I started researching. So it was almost like the information I learned in class was confirming what I found through my research. I think diminishing any bias that I have against my topic from previous information will be a challenge because it involves Americans and Native Americans. Just hearing those two names together and I already start thinking that the Americans once again did something terrible to Native Americans. Also the history between those two ethnicities has never been that good. However, I do plan on attempting to see the American’s point of view during this event. Also I plan on talking about both sides in my paper. This will add a more natural tone to it.  

RESEARCH

While researching Women in World War 2 I found a good amount of information. Surprisingly, I did not find very many books about this topic. I don’t know if I was just looking incorrectly but I was unable to find any. Fortunately, I found academic journals and websites that provide me with adequate information. I found 5 academic journals and 3 websites (.edu). Each of these sources talk about what women did during World War 2 such as factory work and farm work and how the war affected women’s role in society.  After reading my sources I concluded that I would be able to use all of my academic journals for my paper because they all talk about what women did during World War 2. Even though each of them tend to overlap in information I believe that they each give different perspectives while focusing on certain aspects of women’s jobs. As for my websites I think I will only be able to use 2 of them. One of the websites does not give new information. One of the websites talks about what influenced women to start working and what men thought about women working. I found two primary sources. One was a diary about two women working in a factory during World War 2 and the other one was a museum website of World War 2. I believe that my sources respond to my questions about whether women played an important role and how that role changed. The only tweaking my questions need is more focus. My questions were originally broad because it just asked about all women but after researching I would narrow that focus to average women staying at home. My new sentence description is, Iwill be writing about the changing role of average women in America during World War 2.

Next I researched the Wounded Knee Massacre. I was able to find a large amount of information about this topic. While there was a large amount of information some of it did overlap. I found 5 academic journals, 4 books, and 7 website (.edu/.com/.org).  These sources talk about what happened during the Wounded Knee Massacre. There are different interpretations about how the actual massacre occurred. Some people believe that it started because one of the Indians did not surrender their gun or a medicine man was performing the ghost dance. Either way most of my sources talked about how the massacre was unjustifiable and it was unnecessary to kill the women and children. Also I was able to find a couple primary sources. They include letters, eye witness accounts, and, interviews from both sides. The books I found give a more detailed account of events that lead up to the massacre and the aftermath. Out of my 5 academic journals I would use 3 of them. The there two overlap in information and gave a perspective that I was not interested in. Out of my 4 books I would use two of them, “The Winter of 1890” by Dan Huls and “The Road to Wounded Knee” by Robert Burnette because they tell me in the most detail about the events that took place and what events took place that lead to the massacre occurring. From my websites I would use only 3 out of the 7 and one of those is my primary source. The other website did not tell me anything new. I found the same information in my academic journals and books. I believe that my sources answered my questions. They told me what happened, why and the effects. After researching my sentence description needs to be tweaked. My new sentence description is, I will be writing about the role of what caused the Wounded Knee Massacre to occur in America during the late 1800-1900’s.

        Finally, my last topic to research was the 13^th Amendment. Again I was about to find a good amount of information. I found two books, 6 academic journals, and 2 websites (.com/.gov). These sources told about what the 13^th Amendment was, how it was created, and how Lincoln got it approved. My primary source includes two websites. One website tells about the creation of the 13^th Amendment in detail and the other website is a newspaper article from that time period about the 13^th Amendment being ratified.  I believe that my sources answered most of my questions, especially the questions about the creation of the 13^th Amendment. I would use 3 of my academic journals, all my websites and books. My questions would not really need to be tweaked just cut down. My sentence description needs to be tweaked in a more narrow focus. My new sentence description is, I will be writing about the struggles to ratify the 13^th Amendment during the Civil War.

 

 

TOPIC IDEAS

·         Women in WW2

o   How did the average women’s life change during WW2?

o   I am writing about the role of women changing in America during World War 2

 

 

·         Wounded Knee Massacre

o   What happened during the Wounded Knee Massacre? Why?

o   What were the effects of this massacre?

o   I am writing about the role of Wounded Knee Massacre in America during the late 1800’s.

 

·         Abraham and the 13^th Amendment

o   How did Lincoln convince the Northern soldiers and people to lay aside their personal interests and make sacrifices to free slaves?

o   I am writing about the role of Abraham Lincoln in the signing of the 13^th Amendment during the civil war.

 

INTERPRETATION OF THE BURNING OF WASHINGTON, DC

After reading my primary source my interpretation is that the primary source gives us information from a British perspective of the burning of Washington, DC.  It tells us a little about how the British were feeling during this event, and what buildings they burned. The most important historical information given to us is the information about the capitol building, and the surrounding buildings related to government, being burned. Moreover, I believe that my primary source is creditable because of the information similar information found in my secondary source.

My thesis agrees with the secondary source, because the information found in it backs up the information found in my primary source. They both state that the same buildings were burned. The British burned the capitol building and several other surrounding buildings relating to government. Furthermore, the secondary source proves that I was right about the creditability of the primary source. One of my secondary sources, a book titled, “The Dawn’s Early Light” by Walter Lord, mentions that the British soldiers offered parley to the Americans but no one answered, and shortly afterward they were ambushed from a house. Therefore, they fired at the house and burned it. Also, my primary source is a journal entry from a British soldier, thus I find it hard to believe that he would writing in his journal. Plus, he was not writing his account for anyone else but himself.

Evidence that I found in my secondary source was that the information was similar to my primary source. Both sources talk about how the attack occurred in the evening on August 24, 1814. It was mentioned that the city was pretty much deserted and that most of the people including the president’s wife had fled before troops arrived.  Both sources describe how they found food spread out on the table at the president’s house and that the soldiers ate the meal before burning the house. They also set fire to the Capitol, the Senate House, the Treasury building, the War Department building, Navy building, and other buildings. Additionally, I believe that my thesis is correct, because both sources mainly talk about how the British burned the capitol building and other surrounding government buildings.

Source:

          Lord, Walter. The Dawn's Early Light. New York: Norton, 1972. Print.

          Greenblatt, Miriam. The War of 1812. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2003. Print.