Friday, May 24, 2013

Class Updates 5/23 (with article) and 5/24

Yesterday, May 23rd, we went to the computer lab and did activities on the American intervention in Latin America, Mexico, and Haiti. The USA sent troops into Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Haiti. They also interfered with the Mexican Revolution.

What do many of the Americans in Haiti think of Haitians and how do the Americans treat the Haitians? (2-3 paragraph news article)

The Haitians are viewed as black savages in battle. They are seen as stupid and hungry in the story of King Christophe at Sans Souci.The Haitians are seen as unfit to govern themselves, and "steadily retrograding into barbarism". They are also seen as lazy and dirty. The Haitians are thought to be ignorant and inhospitable. None of these stereotypes were true.

On the contrary, the Haitians are cultured, clean, and well organized. Port-au-Prince is a clean and beautiful city, as are many of the cities and villages in Haiti. The Haitians often sweep their streets until they are cleaner than some places in the US. The Haitians are some of the cleanest people; they import more soap than any other country in the world. Many people work hard, carrying their produce on their heads, and hardly anyone simply sits around. There are no cars, so the people walk. The Haitians are kind and hospitable. There is hardly any crime. The Haitians are intelligent and creative, but illiterate. The Haitians are nearly the opposite that most people believe.

The Americans killed thousands of innocent Haitians. They treated them as hardly even human, and took over every aspect of life. They believed that they made Port-au-prince into the wonderful tropical city that it was, but it was really the Haitians. the only good things that the Americans did were improving the hospitals, enforcing modern sanitation, and building roads. however, hard labor was used to create the great road. The Haitians were taken from home, beaten, and forced to work without going home. The US did not try to improve public education, as they had done in the past with other countries. The Marines treated the Haitians badly, including rape and murder. They hurt and killed many innocents. The American actions and attitude led to fierce prejudice.


Today, May 24th, we continued to work on our Smithsonian Quests.

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