Yay! My first social studies post! I'm so excited!!! Oh...right...the assignment! Ha ha! Anyway, so my question to answer was What did you think about as you read the women's stories in the book?
Well as I read Judith's, it really made me think a little. Especially after Mr. Venable explained it. You know, I never realized HOW much we take things for granted. I think EVERY mom has told their children(Especially when they waste food...Of course I wouldn't do that! Lol. GUILTY!) about the starving children in Africa and EVERY time(doo doo doo. What? I'm not guilty! Hee hee!), we block her out and groan to ourselves. Well, not just the people in Africa were starving, people in America were, and ARE STILL, hungry. Judith said, "I have been six months without tasting bread." And that's not just because the market was all out! She worked SO hard to get what little food she had, but we barely work and we get all the food we can eat. It's hard to imagine, but we're all use to having food in fridge or pantry just whenever we're hungry or feel like eating!
Now, on to Affra. As Mr. Venable said, "You know if it's going to be interesting if her name's Affra!" Our whole class laughed of course, but he was right. Affra's father had lost everything by siding with the King of England against Cromwell.(And how well did that work out? I have to say, he had it coming :o) !) She and her brother had set sail on the Port Royal expediton, so they could mend their family fortune. Her ship, Carolina, finally crashed into the island of Nevis.(that shows how well the sailor steered the ship!)
So as you can tell at this point, her situation is a little like Judith's. She's poor and she's trying to earn a little money in America. I love how it talks about how she takes her bible with her.(I'm a Christian, so it was really cool to hear that) Another very sweet part of the story was when Affra willed seventeen acres of land to the church. I thought that was really neat that even though she was poor at first, she still gave away the land. I don't know one person who would do something like that! And it wasn't just a measly piece of land either, NO! It was SEVENTEEN acres of land!(Do you notice I like to get my point across?p Sorry if I bore you. I might do that sometimes! Sorry!)
Well, I guess that's about it! I can't wait to post again, and to see your comment! :o) I'll post soon! Bye!
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteWe're having some difficulties posting to your blog, so this is just a test post to figure out what's going on!
I think that Henrietta helped us understand South Carolina history better because it lets us know a little bit about early art. She was the first woman pastelist, and because I love art so much, I thought that was really neat to know! Her husband was a clergyman and was completely against her art which shows how unpopular art or her work must have been in that time if he didn't think it was work her time.
ReplyDeleteHannah English Williams was a little different from Henrietta. Hannah showed a love for biology.(which I don't see how that's possible because biology bores me to death! But that's just my opinion!) She is writing a letter about how she is sending different reptiles to James Petiver. Hannah is the FIRST WOMAN biologist! Her selection helped me better understand SC history because it shows that there are obviously lots of different types of reptiles, plant, and animals that were undiscovered. I loved reading about both women, but because of my love for art, I would have to say I enjoyed Henrietta's section was DEFINITELY my favorite!
Hey hannah I feel like I finally got this thing figured out. Sorry it took so long, but since it did I will get right to it.
ReplyDeleteI Love how you picked up on what I think is the most important part of Judith's story. Too often many people forget we have always had and still have people in this country with not enough to eat. I have so much respect for her since she was able to work on an empty stomach. Especially when I know I can be grouchy if I miss eating breakfast! I also think it is cool that her children and grandchildren became such prominent members of society. It is too bad she did not live to see this happen, however. what do you think she would have thought if she were able to live to see all this happen?
I also agree with you 100% on Affra. Her name is the bomb! My roommates and I are thinking of getting a dog and if we do I am definitely naming her Affra! Just as with Judith, I have a lot of respect for Affra. I love how she was willing to risk everything by getting on a boat with virtually no money to help her family. Since you said you didnt know how the whole Cromwell thing turned out I suggest you look it up. Its an AWESOME story that has some pretty cool twists in it. Let me know what you think. I also found it cool that she married that John man who was her sponsor. And she will land to the church. I feel like this was unusual.... what do you think? Do you think maybe the author was trying to make sure we picked up on this?
Let me know what you think and I will post again soon!
I think Judith would have been really proud to see what she had created. I know I would be! It's hard enough starting out in a new place with barely any money to eat, but to be able to work and keep up hope is totally amazing!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how the author added that part about the church in. I think he/she was hinting a little about it too because, even though he/she was somewhat subtle about it, you could tell that it was a big deal because they said it was seventeen acres and that was a lot!
I agree totally with your depiction of Henrietta Johnston. I like the fact that she followed her passion of painting and pastels even though her husband honestly did not approve. I feel like it proves just how passionate she was about her love of painting. I also have a lot of respect for Henrietta because she was able to look after herself after the death of her husband (is it just me or have like half of these ladies husbands died in freak accidents??). This was very hard for a women to do back then, and the fact that she was able to make money doing something she loves is even sweeter. Don't you think so?
ReplyDeleteWow! The section on Hannah English Williams was super short. I feel like her name was longer than the synopsis that was given about her. I wonder why only one or two sentences was given about her? I totally agree with you! I LOATHE biology. I think terrible things about the subject of biology haha. I didnt know we had some of those animals in our state. I had no idea we had vipers and scorpions and things like that, but that is quite alright with me. I am terrified of snakes. Reptiles are not my most favorite animals. I do think its cool that she is the first woman biologist, however. I do not know if you know it or not, but women are significantly under-represented in math and science fields today, so just imagine that statistic in the early 1700's. I feel like it would be pretty much hard for women to be in science fields. What do you think?
I thought that how Henrietta could make money and take care of herself was really cool too! I know? Why do all their husbands die?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on Hannah's section too.(Hee hee! That's my name!) I really think that she'd get discouraged by a lot of people! How hard must that have been back then? To be pretty much the only woman(I'm not quite sure if she was the only woman or not) to be a biologist and to be sending back different species of things. Her husband probably disproved of her being a biologist just like Henrietta's(But she painted). Unless of course he died too...Surprise surprise right? Ha! Anyway, thanks for commenting! :o)
I think Eliza Lucas Pickeney was a remarkable woman. I respect the fact that she followed her fathers order. I love how she was able to take care of her mother, her younger siblings, three plantations, and three households full of slaves. I think it is very neat that she stepped up to the plate and did the work of what was normally considered a man's job. I respect her even more for essentially starting the indigo crop in South Carolina, because indigo became a huge cash crop for all of the Carolinas. It is so cool that she was able to do all this as a single woman as well. I love that she was capable of doing all this because she set her mind to it and did not give up. She truly was a remarkable woman.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for doing this project with me Hannah. i had so much fun getting your insight on certain aspects of the book. Although the time working on this was brief. It truly was a fun project! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
ReplyDelete