Bellow makes the claim of Americans caught up in their pursuit of wealth, "We are not a happy people.  And it is true."  If this is an accurate statement of this country at the time, I was wondering if this, perhaps, was a confounding variable in the tensions between the North and South that were starting to build.  '''Can we argue that America was a country so overworked and stressed out that it needed its civil war to release those tensions, as well as provide a break from the everyday monotony of commodities exchange?'''   

Bellow makes the claim of Americans caught up in their pursuit of wealth, "We are not a happy people.  And it is true."  If this is an accurate statement of this country at the time, I was wondering if this, perhaps, was a confounding variable in the tensions between the North and South that were starting to build.  '''Can we argue that America was a country so overworked and stressed out that it needed its civil war to release those tensions, as well as provide a break from the everyday monotony of commodities exchange?'''   

-Adam Shlossman

-Adam Shlossman

== Walter Colton’s California Diary, 1849-1850 ==

== Walter Colton’s California Diary, 1849-1850 ==

in Eliza Farnham's conversation with a farmer, I basically had the same question as Kristina. '''Was this common among farmers, or did some actually love their wife for who she is?''' And I also didnt get the "built a cage and went back for your bird" part, what does that mean??- Taylor Warner

in Eliza Farnham's conversation with a farmer, I basically had the same question as Kristina. '''Was this common among farmers, or did some actually love their wife for who she is?''' And I also didnt get the "built a cage and went back for your bird" part, what does that mean??- Taylor Warner

So I am completely ammused with the language they use in this passage.  First off, their "small" talk is quite lame when compared to that which we use today.  "A few words about the height of the water, the timber, and the prairies..." is not exactly the conversation that would win a spouse.  '''And also, how did we make a new meaning out of "crapped" that once meant "planted with crops?" Just a thought...''' -Ally Campo

So I am completely ammused with the language they use in this passage.  First off, their "small" talk is quite lame when compared to that which we use today.  "A few words about the height of the water, the timber, and the prairies..." is not exactly the conversation that would win a spouse.  And also, how did we make a new meaning out of "crapped" that once meant "planted with crops?" Just a thought... -Ally Campo

In A Farmer's View of His Wife, I was puzzled by the reaction of the farmer when asked why he had a wife.  '''The statement, "I reckon women are some like horses and oxen, the biggest can do the most work, and that's what I want one for"(pg. 229).  Is this how the majority of men felt about their wives who lived on farms?  Also, how did these men go about choosing their wives?  Were their certain restrictions on who they could marry?'''  Quincey Garcia

In A Farmer's View of His Wife, I was puzzled by the reaction of the farmer when asked why he had a wife.  '''The statement, "I reckon women are some like horses and oxen, the biggest can do the most work, and that's what I want one for"(pg. 229).  Is this how the majority of men felt about their wives who lived on farms?  Also, how did these men go about choosing their wives?  Were their certain restrictions on who they could marry?'''  Quincey Garcia

== David Crockett Hunts Bear, 1834 ==

== David Crockett Hunts Bear, 1834 ==