Write multiple diary entries (2-3 min.) during
colonial American times. First, create a
fictitious identity and then choose a living area (New England, Chesapeake, West Indies, Atlantic Coast). Be creative and weave your understanding of the labor systems into your entries. The entries should
be based upon your fictious person visiting another colony and describing
differences between the two. Use your imaginations as well as historical knowledge when creating your entry. SPICE (social, political, intellectual, cultural, economic) it up as you look to enlighten us about the differences between areas. Do not forget to incorporate labor systems, that should be primary focus first, then SPICE it up! Have fun.
Dear Diary,
ReplyDeleteLife is so different in the North, especially in the settlement Boston, Massachusetts. I'm up here doing picking up supplies for my farm in the Chesapeake bay. There are many factories up here, not many farms but a few. Many of the factories are used to make ships and other supplies in order to make life easier. The south has ton of farms used to grow tobacco and cotton in order to generate tons of money. The Boston citizens are very intellectual, they use large words that I do not understand witch makes me feel not that smart. They are very political people, they have many court houses and town halls meetings where they converse in order to solve problems. The south has these things but are not as important to us them then. The north is full of very wealthy people and many of the products were expensive to buy. They live in luxurious houses and have very nice clothes as well. They also go to school and usually each family had 2 to 3 kids. There were also not many slaves witch was shocking to see because the south is full of them. The north is so much different than the south it scary to see, I think i'll stay in the south for now on.
Dear Diary,
I'm in the charleston area for next couple days in order to participate in slave auction in order to get a couple of slaves for my small farm up in New Haven, Connecticut. My indentured servants fulfilled their contracts and left to be independent, I can not do all the work by myself. The south if full of farms growing tons of tobacco and cotton in order to create tons of profit. The north has few farms near mine but not as many this place. Each farms has about 10 slaves on it I learned while talking to a southern farmer. The north has only a slave or two per farm and in general there is not that many slaves, some are even free african american men and women to live their lives. The south is not focused on politics as much as the north is witch is awesome because politics give me a headache. The southern people live a simple life then the north, the north is so focused on religion and politics and the south is so laid back. The south is based on farming and plantations, majority of people live and run a farm in order to live there life. The south jobs are farming, plantation owner, sailor, and even slaver handler. The north are more factories workers, ministers, and lawyers in order to make money. I might move to the south in order to keep farming and get away from all the nonsense.
I like your thorough comparisons of the colonies and their economy.
DeleteNice job Swany!!!
DeleteDear Diary,
ReplyDeleteMy day was a rather exciting one. I'm staying in a small tavern in Connecticut.I've just arrived off the ship from the west indies. The weather here in Connecticut is much cooler in the summer time, than the heat of back home. Father brought me along because he wanted to check how his sugar markets were doing in new england. The demand of sugar in England, and the colonies was at an all time high. Business was booming for Father. In the north there were less plantations, mostly buildings and factories.COurthouses that are so huge and spectacular. I was not allowed in a courtroom. Father says that no place for a women. Father was looking to open another market so he could sell sugar, and tea. Honestly that idea sounds splendid! Oh my candles burning low.
Goodnight Diary.
Goodmorning Diary,
I awoke to the noises of the city,very different than the quiet countryside in the west indies. People shouted in the streets, and the sound of carriages being pulled would honestly wake anyone. Father had business partners over for breakfast. They talked of England, and how trade was going. An they talked of the south, and how the profit for slaves has increased. I told them that people should not be enslaved. An father hushed me up, and excused me from the table. As i was leaving he said I haven't been feeling well thus explaining why i was speaking such nonsense. One of his business partners goes on to say " we had no business discussing politics in front of a woman.
Father is calling me have to go again diary.
Well thought out narrative pieces. I like the historical perspectives you have shown
DeleteI like the use of detail to describe you travels, good use of your knowledge and correct info.
DeleteI like how you used detail and really described the life in the two places you chose.
DeleteDear diary,
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though we have traveled a short distance in such a long amount of time, especially considering father has a good carriage, newer, with strong horses at the front. Each day I see more and more fields pass by. More and more crop, extending as far as I can see. Virginia truly is far different than home. Massachusetts is far more rural compared to this. However, I find that there is much more beauty here, in the nature of it all, in comparison to back home. I find it unusual that not a single white man is working in the fields. It is clear to me just by looking, that these negroes are being treated horribly, especially in comparison to how we treat our slaves. Why do these colonists choose to pursue field work over the far easier factory work? We should be stopping sometime tonight, I shall be writing more tomorrow.
Dear diary,
I have had very interesting interactions with these men. They seem to think that they are extremely smart, in terms of choosing hard labor, and in terms of just being smart. I would happen to disagree. Cash crops are not the thing of the future. Sure they bring good revenue in now, but is it sustainable income? You need to sell more necessary things to truly thrive and survive for as long as is possible. In comparison to back home they think that their slaves are not even human. They were saying that they have the slaves work all day, and if the slaves slack off they end up getting whipped. Horrible. The colonists down here talk a little funny, I guess they are not all from England which explains it, but I still don't like it. I really am excited for the journey home. I miss my family very much. I will write when I get back home.
I love how its like a english essay mixed with historical info, makes sound really good, really well written like a diary, great job overall.
Delete(I was unable to publish this at home due to the same problem)
ReplyDeleteDear Ye Olde Diary,
I am but a humble farmhand working for my daily bread. My life is simple, but I must work to pay my debts. I couldn’t come to Virginia for free. I sold my time in advance to pay for my passage, and prospects are bleak. I still have several years left in my contract and I have nowhere to go afterwards. My Master has asked of me to make the long journey to New England to work for one of his associates for a period of time, and I clearly have no agency to say otherwise. I traveled with others that had claimed to have traveled between the colonies a few time, but their experience did them no good. Two died a couple days back, and the affliction that took their lives I fear may soon take mine. My master knew I would do well in New England. He had such trust in me that he paid for the costs of travel, as he had for my passage from England long ago, and believed I would see it through. But I am weakened. I am told we are soon approaching the heart of Massachusetts Bay, where my time shall be whiled away in a shipyard, but I fear I may not live to see it. If you reading this are able to send word that I am gone, please. My vision fades.
Dear Ye Younger Diary,
It’s harvest time. Father has always said that you have to work hard to succeed. I guess that’s true. For all the work I put in on the farm I am well fed and fulfilled. But my siblings have gone on to make little of themselves. The work they put in has meant nothing for them. It didn’t stop my older brother from never coming back when he left for boston. Never visiting. Never writing. Father says we’ll hear from him again eventually. I keep working so we can eat comfortably and get through winter. But I’m not convinced it will pay off any longer. Mother came from the south. She always talked about how blue the sky was, how big the fields were, how full their bellies were with each harvest and the constant warmth of the southern sun. It’s hard to see beyond our little Connecticut farm sometimes. Maybe one day I’ll go to Boston too, like my brother Thaddeus. I’m not sure I would write back either.
I like how you made the diary feel like it was actually from that time period and it was a historic letter found somewhere in the colonies.
DeleteDear Diary,
ReplyDeleteIt is strange here in the south. The warm weather is a drastic change from the weather at home. I’ve noticed thought that because it is so warm down here that there are many farms. Every couple miles is a new family farm. But most of them are huge plantation owners with hundreds of slaves doing the work for them. I mean we have some slaves up north but it is hard in the frigid winter because nothing is growing. Everything seems to be very spaced out too. No one is on top of each other. Up north we have a family maybe a couple hundred feet away from us. We have shops down the trail and even the harbor a mile away. Here, everything takes longer to get places because of the plantations and land. On the way here we stopped at Charleston to get some food and we were able to see the harbor. It was very different from home. Not many ships were coming in and out and there wasn’t many deck man waiting to unload then reload the ships. I know down here the men are very conservative. They believe in the private life and want everything to be the same. Whereas up north the people are looking to always find something new and revolutionize the way of life.
Dear Diary,
Once we landed at the dock, everything was very tropical. The people were wearing light clothes, food was everywhere and the ocean went on for miles. The native people were very kind to us coming off the boat. They took our luggage and and carried it to the coach waiting for us. The europeans that had been here were a golden color from being out in the sun. Everyone seemed very happy down here, compared to home, where everyone was so concerned about weather and politics. I heard that taking this land was hard for us. We struggled with the natives for a while, but once they got accustomed to us they invited us into their homes and we did the same. The buildings here were run down to say the least. Siding falling off and roofs having holes. But once you got further inland towards the fields is when you saw the mansions. The white owners had built houses for their families and own acres of land. It was almost like the south but they had natives working the fields instead of the africans being shipped over. Although there were some who you could tell came with their masters when they moved down here.