National Museum of American Indian

     "That initial explosion of death is one the greatest tragedies in human history because it was unintended and unavoidable, and even inevitable. But what happened in its wake was not." These words written next to a map of the America that changes through the years, filling with blood counting the Native American deaths that occurred as the settlers came to America.
     Everyone knows the story how the new settlers came to the Americas bringing with them new ideas, new technology, and new diseases. These diseases brought from Europe by the Europeans who had become immune to them over the years, killed so many native Americans. Small bacterias that these "new people" didn't even realize existed killed millions of the lands native people. "Despaired so much that the lost confidence in their gods and the priests destroyed the sacred objects of the tribe." The Native Americans found new gods these people who came on the boats who do not die from disease. These new "gods" ended up killing off more Native Americans through war, trial, and starvation.
     Most people believe that the Holocaust was the worst genocide in the history of our world. Six million people died in the Holocaust, it is thought that around 100 million Native Americas died as a direct result of the Europeans coming to the Americas. When considering our nation history nobody thinks about this, they think about; our fight against the British to gain our freedom, they think of the Land of the Free. But in reality our land was taken with blood, sweat, and death.

Sarah Vowell

      Sarah Vowell has a very particular style of writing, one that you must really be a fan of to enjoy her work. She follows historical fact with quirky pieces of her own little humor. It's like she is trying to be annoying and sarcastic about serious stuff. While reading her book I felt as though Vowell despite talking about a very serious subject did not really consider speak of it as seriously as she should. She introduces the characters of people as important as Winthrop as if no one has ever heard of them. She treats an important piece of American history as her independent study.

     After all these smart ass remarks you realize she isn't even a good writer, she can't even stay in the same tense throughout the entire book. Switching between past, and present. She is a good writer but too spastic and confusing for my liking, her work didn't flow the way I like things to.
      I read the New York Times review of her and they seemed to be in the same mindset as me that Vowell, is somewhat a spastic writer which I definitely do not like. I myself am a sarcastic kid but she just doesn't seem to take anything seriously it could be she is arrogant it is something that makes her write the way she does.

The Idea of a city on a hill

        John Winthrop had a vision for him and the other puritans  who fled England for the Americas. It was the idea of creating a perfect city on a hill, with the eyes of all upon them, they must create a great society. For this would be the puritan president for all of the new colonies in the Americas. Sarah Vowell believes in this idea of Winthrop creating "a city upon a hill", however instead of becoming a model for what the American society should be like, it became somewhere to dump all the idea that American leaders have. Vowell is particularly down on Ronald Reagan who adapted Winthrop's idea of the city on the hill as his own sound bit during his campaign.
        Reagan came back to this idea throughout his campaign and his time in office. Despite taking the countries Housing and Development Department  from 32 billion in 1981 to 7.5 billion in 1988, by 1989 2 million Americans were homeless. Reagan however did not see this considering the fact that he was more obsessed with the details of the "cold war" with the Soviets for the Department of Defense had been increased during this time. "A shining city is perhaps all the president sees from the portico of the White House and the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well," Cuomo supposed. "But there's another city; there's another part to the shining city." He spoke directly Reagan. Winthrop's idea of being a city that all could look up became an idea that slowly changed over time until it became an idea of the American politicians to talk about their country being looked up to by the world. But at some point it was not looked up to by any.
       Our country has changed from the shining beacon of hope that Winthrop hoped it would once be and has become something less than that. Something different, with the debt crisis looming large, wars in more countries than we can count on one hand, America has become something of the worlds black sheep. Still one of the most powerful nations in the world. But also something that people look at over their nose and frown upon because of our actions.