Ponting 12 - The Weight of Numbers

• Europe – period of dramatic growth in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries… followed by a period of much slower growth
o period of rapid growth in population after the mid-eighteenth century largely the result of a decline in mortality levels
o subsequent slackening in growth was result of a fall in birth rates, altering a pattern that had been established for hundreds of generations

• Asia and Africa – story has same start but different ending: period that has seen the highest rates of growth = the twentieth century

• in the Third World – 20th century growth rates on average over 2% a year (far higher than in 19th century Europe)
o fertility higher due to young age and high rate of marriage

• Americas and Oceania – more complex… result of a different series of developments
o sharp rise due to immigration from Europe (especially in 19th century) then by natural increase

• unprecedented rise in human numbers – profound consequences for environment
o increase in number and size of human settlements
o more resources consumed… pollution increased

• until about 1800, traditional limits on food supply set by amount of suitable land available, level of agricultural productivity, amount of trade, social and political factors, and climate

• agriculture of the industrialized world was transformed by increases in productivity

• period after 1850: mechanization of agriculture and the adoption of high input farming

• during 20th century – animal rearing systems more intensive (rather than traditional methods of raising domesticated animals)

• much of large increase in agricultural output in the industrialized world in the last 50 years has come about as a consequence of government intervention

• Third World countries: increasing amounts of land devoted to growing cash crops for export (due to European political control), cultivation more intensive

• “Green Revolution” – ‘solution to the problem of growing enough food to support the expanding population of the Third World’
o not the solution. (has since become apparent)
o combined effect of the extension of the cultivated area and use of more artificial inputs was to increase food production
o gains have been unevenly spread and inadequate to cope with a rapidly increasing population… worst affected area = Africa

• all these changes in food production, trade, and population growth  created an unbalanced world agricultural system

• estimated that a quarter of all the food produced in the United States goes to waste at some point in the production, distribution, and consumption chain

• about half the world’s population are undernourished

• massive loss of natural ecosystems in last two centuries because… huge increase in the amount of land under cultivation, the extension of pasture land into new areas, and the intensification of agriculture

• much of the destruction concentrated on the easiest way of obtaining new agricultural land – clearing the natural forests

• scale of forest destruction has been growing since the Second World War as population in the Third World has risen sharply and the demand for more land has similarly increased

• destruction of tropical forests only offers a short-term solution to the problem of finding more land for agriculture… can alter climate

• in every part of the world, modern agriculture has led to severe soil erosion in the wake of deforestation, ploughing up of grasslands, and the cultivation of steep slopes

• intensification of food production has led to a vast increase in the amount of irrigated land in the world

• Agriculture has always meant disrupting natural ecosystems, but the growing weight of numbers has in many areas turned it into a positively destructive force, threatening ever more marginal and delicate ecosystems with increasingly damaging environmental effects.

HG - Culture Vocabulary Word List - Stanley

1. acculturation
2. artifact
3. carrying capacity
4. contagious diffusion
5. cultural convergence
6. cultural divergence
7. cultural ecology
8. cultural integration
9. cultural lag
10. cultural landscape
11. culture
12. culture complex
13. culture hearth
14. culture realm
15. culture region
16. culture trait
17. diffusion barrier
18. environmental determinism
19. expansion diffusion
20. hierarchical diffusion
21. hunter-gatherer
22. ideological subsystem
23. independent invention
24. innovation
25. mentifact
26. multilinear evolution
27. possiblism
28. relocation diffusion
29. sociofact
30. sociological subsystem
31. spatial diffusion
32. syncretism
33. technological subsystem
34. cultural geography
35. cultural imperialism
36. denomination
37. diaspora
38. ethnic cleansing
39. ethnic neighborhood
40. evangelical religions
41. fundamentalism
42. genocide
43. global religion
44. Indo-European family
45. language group
46. literacy
47. local religion
48. minority
49. missionary
50. animism
51. Buddhism
52. caste
53. Christianity
54. Confucianism
55. Creole
56. dialect
57. ethnic religion
58. geographic (regional) dialect
59. Hinduism
60. Judaism
61. language
62. language family
63. lingua franca
64. linguistic geography
65. monotheism
66. multilingualism
67. official language
68. pidgin language
69. polytheism
70. protolanguage
71. religion
72. Secularism
73. Shamanism
74. Shinto
75. social dialect
76. speech community
77. standard language
78. syncretism
79. Taoism
80. toponym
81. toponymy
82. tribal (traditional) religion
83. universalizing religion
84. vernacular
85. Islam
86. isogloss
87. Romance languages
88. Sino-Tibetan family
89. tradition
90. build environment
91. folk culture
92. folkways
93. nonmaterial culture
94. popular region
95. custom
96. folklore
97. material culture
98. pilgrimage
99. acculturation
100. amalgamation theory
101. assimilation
102. behavioral assimilation
103. chain migration
104. charter group
105. cluster migration
106. colony
107. culture rebound
108. ethnic enclave
109. ethnic geography
110. ethnic group
111. ethnic island
112. ethnic province
113. ethnicity
114. ethnocentrism
115. first effective settlement
116. genetic drift
117. ghetto
118. host society
119. race
120. segregation
121. social distance
122. structural assimilation
123. adaptation
124. popular culture
125. multicultural
126. core
127. domain
128. Ecological Trilogy
129. formal region
130. functional region
131. perceptual region
132. region
133. vernacular region
134. regional identity
135. sphere
136. barriers to diffusion
137. biased innovations
138. contagious effects
139. urban hierarchy
140. cultural extinction
141. cultural imperialism
142. local religion
143. Shaman
144. tipping point
145. vernacular house
146. language extinction
147. hearths
148. relocation diffusion
149. British Received Pronunciation (BRP)
150. Ebonics
151. ideograms
152. oral tradition
153. fundamentalism
154. global religions
155. centrifugal forces
156. province
157. irredenta
158. irredentism
159. shatterbelt
160. custom
161. habit
162. taboo
163. terroir
164. extinct language
165. Franglais
166. isolated language
167. language branch
168. literary tradition
169. Spanglish
170. Vulgar Latin
171. autonomous religion
172. cosmogony
173. diocese
174. hierarchical religion
175. sect
176. solstice
177. apartheid
178. balkanization
179. blockbusting
180. centripetal force
181. multi-ethnic state
182. multinational state
183. nationalism
184. nationality
185. nation-state
186. racism
187. racist
188. self-determination
189. sharecropper
190. triangular slave trade

VA - So You Want to Write a Letter to Your Member of Congress...

So You Want to Write a Letter to Your Member of Congress?


Writing letters to your representative or senator can influence how that person will vote on a particular issue. Although many political organizations do rely on sending out mass form letters, personalized letters get the attention of the politician’s staff much more often. Here are some tips for writing such letters.


• Make sure to include your address. In the top right corner of the page, print your full address, and phone number, so that you can be contacted if necessary. This is especially important if you are asking for a reply from this member of Congress. You can also include the date below your phone number. It’s important to always date the letter when you write it..

• After writing your address, write the address of the person to whom you are sending the letter. First write his or her full name (including title, ex. “The Hon….”), followed by his or her full address.

• Use proper salutations. (“The Honorable” for judges and representatives, etc.).

• It is often a good idea to start off with “I am writing as a constituent..."(or some similar phrase). Writing to your senators/representatives is significantly more effective than writing to other members… if you’re not in their district, your opinion on an issue won’t matter to them.

• Present the issue – the reason you’re writing this letter – at the very beginning of the letter.

• Focus only on one issue in a letter. If there are multiple issues you would like to bring to this representative or senator’s attention, you can send additional letters.

• Be specific about what action you want him or her to take. Express your concern, but make sure that it is a simple request – voting for a particular bill, co-sponsoring a bill, etc. Don’t just say that you want them to “do something.”

• The second paragraph should give some brief background of the issue, and tell why it is important to you that he or she acts on the matter in a particular way.

• Next, your third paragraph should reiterate your request. If you want him or her to vote for/against an issue, remember to say that again here.

• Accountability is important! Here at the end is a good place to put something along the lines of “I would appreciate it if you would let me know your action on this matter” or something similar.

• Finally, make sure that you end your letter correctly, with a phrase such as “Sincerely.” It’s also important to note that you should type your name, but also make sure to sign the letter as well.

• Make the letter brief and to the point. Avoid excess information and comments. A letter should be no more than one printed page.

• Send your letter as soon as it is finished – don’t put off mailing it!

• Be polite!! Use respectful language. Never make any threats or insults. Don’t use profanity.

• Make sure that it is readable! The letter should be legible and neat in appearance. There should be no spelling or grammatical issues. If possible, try to re-read the letter aloud several times (not all in a row), to make sure that it sounds appropriate and understandable.


In addition to letters, you can always send an e-mail, fax, postcard, etc. If you would like to make a telephone call to a member of Congress, you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 1 (202) 224 – 3121 to get his or her telephone number.

HG - Reading Assignments - Stanley

The formatting won't work here at all, but I have the reading assignments on a chart with the dates and all the books listed so it's easy to see what is "due" on what parts of each book we're reading. I have this as a nice chart on Microsoft Word, if anyone wants me to send it to them.



Also, this is for her B day class, but A day would be the first day before that mentioned that we have school.

AaP - Basic Chemistry - Wise

Basic Chemistry

• Acid/Base Chemistry
o Acids are proton donors. They release hydrogen into a solution.
o Acids are hydrogen donors. They release protons into a solution.
o Bases are hydrogen acceptors.
o Bases are proton acceptors.
o as the pH increases, a substance becomes more basic

• pH scale
o the pH scale is an inverse log scale
- pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration
- the greater the pH, the fewer H+
- the Richter and decibel scales are also log scales
o each whole number represents the number of hydrogen ions divided by 10 (H+ / 10)
- for example…a substance with a pH of 1 has 10x more H+ than pH 2
- for example…pH 1 has 100x more H+ than pH 3
- for example… a substance with a pH of 12 has a H+ concentration that is 100x that of a substance with a pH of 14
- pH 0 = 1 [H+]
- pH 1 =1 / 10 [H+]
- pH 2 = 1 / 100[H+]
- pH 5 = 1 / 100000[H+]
- pH 14 = 1 / 100000000000000[H+]
- pH of saliva = 6.5
- pH of blood = 7.4
- most foods we eat are neutral or acidic. Why? Stomach is acidic… thus the food is in balance with stomach physiology. Basic substances often have an unpleasant taste.

• enzymes
o enzymes lower the activation energy of a reaction

• organic compounds
o protein
o carbohydrates
o lipids
o nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, ATP…)

HG - Introduction Vocabulary - Stanley

AP Human Geography Vocabulary Words – Introduction

• anthropogenic
o human-induced changes on the natural environment

• cartography
o the production of maps, including construction of projections, design, compilation, drafting, and reproduction.

• cultural ecology
o the study of the interactions between societies and the natural environments
they occupy

• cultural landscape
o the natural landscape as modified by human activities and bearing the imprint of a culture group or society
o the built environment

• earth system science
o systematic approach to physical geography that looks at the interaction between the earth’s physical systems and processes on a global scale

• environmental geography
o the intersection between human and physical geography, which explores the spatial impacts humans have on the physical environment and vice versa

• Eratosthenes
o the head librarian at Alexandria during the third century BC
o one of the first cartographers
o performed a remarkably accurate computation of the earth’s circumference
o credited with coining the term “geography”

• Fertile Crescent
o name given to crescent-shaped area of fertile land stretching from the lower Nile valley, along the east Mediterranean coast, and into Syria and present-day Iraq where agriculture and early civilization first began about 8000 BC

• Geographical Information Systems
o integrated computer programs for handling, processing, and analyzing data specifically referenced to the surface of the earth
o (GIS)

• Global Positioning System
o a set of satellites used to help determine location anywhere on the earth’s surface with a portable electronic device

• idiographic
o pertaining to the unique facts or characteristics of a particular place

• George Perkins Marsh
o inventor, diplomat, politician, and scholar
o his classic work, Man and Nature, or Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action, provided the first description of the extent to which natural systems had been impacted by human actions

• natural landscape
o the physical environment unaffected by human activities
o the duration and near totality of human occupation of the earth’s surface assure that little or no “natural landscape” so defined remains intact
o opposed to cultural landscape

• nomothetic
o concepts or rules that can be applied universally

• W.D. Pattison
o claimed that geography drew from four distinct traditions: the earth-science tradition, the culture-environment tradition, the locational tradition, and the area-analysis tradition

• physical geography
o the study of the structures, processes, distribution, and change through time of the natural phenomena of the earth’s surface that are significant to human life
o one of the two major divisions (the other is human geography) of systematic geography

• Ptolemy
o Roman geographer-astronomer
o author of Guide to Geography which included maps containing a grid system of latitude and longitude

• qualitative data
o data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interview, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives

• quantitative data
o data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyze spatial location and association

• quantitative revolution
o a period in human geography associated with the widespread adoption of mathematical models and statistical techniques

• region
o any earth area with distinctive and unifying physical or cultural characteristics that set it off and make it substantially different from surrounding areas
o may be defined on the basis of its homogeneity or its functional integration as a single organizational unit
o regions and their boundaries are devices of areal generalization, intellectual concepts rather than visible landscape entities

• regional geography
o the study of geographic regions
o the study of areal differentiation

• remote sensing
o observation and mathematical measurement of the earth’s surface using aircraft satellites
o the sensors include both photographic images, thermal images, multispectral scanners, and radar images

• Carl Saucer
o geographer from the University of California at Berkeley
o defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental unit of geographical analysis
o this landscape results from interaction between humans and the physical environment
o he argued that virtually no landscape as escaped alteration by human activities

• sense of place
o feelings evoked by people as a result of certain experiences and memories associated with a particular place

• spatial perspective
o an intellectual framework that looks at the particular locations of specific phenomena, how and why that phenomena is where it is, and, finally, how it is spatially related to phenomena in other places

• sustainability
o the concept of using the earth’s resources in such a way that they provide for people’s needs in the present without diminishing the earth’s ability to provide for future generations

• systematic geography
o a division of geography that selects a particular aspect of the physical or cultural environment for detailed study of its areal differentiation and interrelationships
o branches are labeled according to the topic studied (e.g., recreational geography) or the related science with which the branch is associated (e.g., economic geography)

• thematic layers
o individual maps of specific features that are overlaid on one another in a Geographical Information System to understand and analyze a spatial relationship

• absolute distance
o the shortest-path separation between two places measured on a standard unit of length (miles or kilometers, usually)
o a.k.a. real distance

• absolute location
o the exact position of an object or place stated in spatial coordinates of a grid system designed for locational purposes
o in geography, the reference system is the globe grid of parallels of latitude north or south of the equator and of meridians of longitude east or west of a prime meridian
o absolute globe locations are cited in degrees, minutes, and (for greater precision) seconds of latitude and longitude north or south and east or west of the equatorial and prime meridian base lines

• accessibility
o the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from other locations
o the relative opportunity for spatial interaction
o may be measured in geometric, social, or economic terms

• Azimuthal projection
o (planar projection)
o a map projection employing a plane as the presumed developable surface

• breaking point
o the outer edge of a city’s sphere of influence
o used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the area of a city’s hinterlands that depend on that city for it’s retail supply

• cartogram
o a map that has been simplified to present a single idea in a diagrammatic way
o the base is not normally true to scale

• choropleth map
o a thematic map presenting spatial data as average values per unit area

• cognitive map
o (mental map)
o the maplike image of the world, country, region, city, or neighborhood a person carries in mind
o the representation is therefore subjective
o it includes knowledge of actual locations and spatial relationships and is colored by personal perceptions and preferences related to a place

• complementarity
o the actual or potential relationship of two places or regions that each produce different goods or services for which the other has an effective demand, resulting in a n exchange between the locales

• connectivity
o the directness of routes linking pairs of places
o an indication of the degree of internal connection in a transport network
o more generally, all of the tangible and intangible means of connection and communication between places

• contagious diffusion
o a form of expansion diffusion that depends on direct contact
o the process of dispersion is centrifugal, strongly influenced by stance and dependent on interaction between actual and potential adopters of the innovation

• coordinate system
o a standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on the earth’s surface

• distance decay effect
o the declining intensity of any activity, process, or function with increasing distance from its point of origin

• dot maps
o thematic maps that use points to show the precise locations of specific observations or occurrences, such as crimes, car accidents, or births

• expansion diffusion
o the spread of ideas, behaviors, or articles through a culture area or from one culture to neighboring areas through contact and exchange of information
o the dispersion leaves the phenomenon in tact or intensified in its area of origin

• friction of distance
o a measure of the retarding or restricting effect of distance on spatial interaction
o generally, the greater the distance, the greater the “friction” and the less the interaction or exchange, or the greater the cost of achieving the exchange

• Fuller projection
o a type of map projection that maintains the accurate size and shape of landmasses but completely rearranges direction such that the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west – no longer have any meaning

• geoid
o the actual shape of the earth, which is rough and oblate, or slightly squashed
o the earth’s circumference is longer around the equator then it is along the meridians, from north-south circumference

• Gravity model
o a mathematical prediction of the interaction between two bodies (places) as a function of their size and o the distance separating them
o attraction (interaction) is proportional to the product of the masses (population sizes) of two bodies (places) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them

• hazards
o anything in the landscape, real or perceived, that is potentially threatening
o usually avoided in spatial behavior

• hierarchical diffusion
o a form of diffusion in which the spread of an innovation can proceed either upward or downward through a hierarchy

• International Date Line
o by international agreement, the designated line where each new day begins, generally following the 180th meridian
o compensates for accumulated 1-hour time changes for each 15 degrees of longitude by adding (from east to west) or subtracting (from west to east) 24 hours for travelers crossing the line

• intervening opportunity
o the concept that closer opportunities will materially reduce the attractiveness of interaction with more distant – even slightly better – alternatives
o a closer alternative source of supply between a demand point and the original source of supply

• isoline
o a map line connecting points of equal value

• large-scale
o a relatively small ration between map units and ground units
o these maps usually have higher resolution and cover much smaller regions than small-scale maps

• latitude
o angular distance north or south of the equator
o measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds

• law of retail gravitation
o law that states that people will be drawn to larger cities to conduct their business because larger cities have a wider influence on the hinterlands that surround them

• location charts
o on a map, a chart or graph that gives specific statistical information of a particular political unit or jurisdiction

• longitude
o angular distance of a location in degrees , minutes, and seconds measured east or west of a designated prime meridian given the value of 0

• map projections
o a systematic method of transferring the globe grid system from the earth’s curved surface to the flat surface of a map
o automatically incurs error, but an attempt is usually made to preserve one or more (though never all) of the characteristics of the spherical surface: equal area, correct distance, true direction, proper shape

• Mercator projection
o a true conformal cylindrical projection first published in 1569
o useful for navigation

• meridian
o a north-south line of longitude
o on the globe grid, all meridians are of equal length and converge at the poles

• parallel
o an east-west line of latitude indicating distance north or south of the equator

• preference map
o a map that displays individual preferences for certain places

• Prime Meridian
o an imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, serving by agreement as the 0 line of longitude

• proportional symbols map
o a thematic map in which the size of a chosen symbol – such as a circle or triangle – indicates the relative magnitude of some statistical value for a given geographic region

• reference map
o a map type that shows reference information for a particular place, making it useful for finding landmarks and for navigating

• relative distance
o a transformation of absolute distance into such relative measures as time or monetary costs
o such measures yield different explanations of human spatial behavior than do linear distances alone
o distances between places are constant by absolute terms, but relative distances may vary with improvements in transportation or communication technology or with different psychological perceptions of space

• relative location
o the position of a place or activity in relation to other places or activities
o implies spatial relationships and usually suggests the relative advantages or disadvantages of a location with respect to all competing locations

• relocation diffusion
o the transfer of ideas, behaviors, or articles from one place to another through the migration of those possessing the feature transported
o spatial relocation in which a phenomenon leaves an area of origin as it is transported to a new location

• resolution
o a map’s smallest discernable unit
o if, for example, an object has to be one kilometer long in order to show up on a map, then that map’s resolution is one kilometer

• Robinson projection
o projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors
o it does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each

• scale
o in cartography, the ratio between the size of area on a map and the actual size of that same area on the earth’s surface
o in more general terms, scale refers to the size of the area studied, from local to global

• site
o the absolute location of a place or activity described by local relief, landform, and other physical (or sometimes cultural) characteristics

• situation
o the relative location of a place or activity in relation to the physical and cultural characteristics of the larger regional or spatial system of which it is a part
o implies spatial interconnection and interdependence

• small-scale
o map scale ration in which the ration of units on the mpa to units on the earth is qute small
o usually depict large areas

• spatial diffusion
o (diffusion)
o the spread or movement of a phenomenon over space or through time
o the dispersion of a culture trait or characteristic or new ideas and practices from an origin area
o recognized types include relocation, expansion, contagious, and hierarchical diffusion

• thematic map
o a map depicting a specific spatial distribution or statistical variation of abstract objects (e.g., unemployment) in space

• time-space convergence
o the idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction between those places

• topographic maps
o maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations
o if you took a topographic map out into the field and walked exactly along the path of an isoline on your map, you would always stay at the same elevation

• topological space
o the amount of connectivity between places, regardless of the absolute distance separating them

• transferability
o acceptable costs of a spatial exchange
o the cost of moving a commodity relative to the ability of the commodity to bear that cost

• visualization
o use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are three-dimensional or interactive

• aggregation *
o the process by which data values are collected with the intent to manage the collection as a single unit

• geographic information *
o any information that can be geographically referenced
o i.e., describing a location or any information that can be linked to a location
o (a.k.a. spatial information)

• human/environmental interaction *
o all the effects (positive and negative) that occur when people interact with their surroundings

• Human Geography
o the spatial analysis of human populations, their cultures, their activities and behaviors, and their relationship with and impact on the physical landscapes they occupy
o one of two major divisions (the other is physical geography) of systematic geography

• isolines map *
o a map with continuous lines joining points of the same value
o used to interpret the information on some thematic maps

• legend *
o a key to what the symbols or pictures in a map mean

• location *
o deals with the relative and absolute spatial position of natural and human-made phenomena

• map *
o a graphic representation of the earth’s surface

• movement *
o deals with the migration, transport, communication, and interaction of natural and human-made phenomena across the spatial dimension

• place *
o describes the factors that make the location of natural and human-made phenomena unique

• primary data *
o data that was collected specifically for the purpose of a researcher’s particular study

• secondary data *
o data that was not specifically collected for the purpose of a researcher’s particular study

• simplification * *
o make a geographical map less complicated and complex

• spatial data *
o the data or information that identifies the geographic location of features and boundaries on Earth
o usually stored as coordinates and topology
o is data that can be mapped
o often accessed, manipulated, or analyzed through Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• absolute direction
o direction with respect to cardinal east, west, north, and south reference points

• concentration
o in spatial distributions, the clustering of a phenomenon around a central location

• density
o the quantity of anything (people, buildings, animals, traffic, etc.) per unit area

• dispersion
o in spatial distributions, a statement of the amount of spread of a phenomenon over area or around a central location
o dispersion in this sense represents a continuum from clustered, concentrated, or agglomerated (at one end) to dispersed or scattered (at the other)

• formal region
o a region distinguished by a uniformity of one or more characteristics that an serve as the basis for areal generalization and of contrast with adjacent areas

• functional region
o a region differentiated by what occurs within it rather than by a homogeneity of physical or cultural phenomena
o an earth area recognized as an operational unit based upon defined organization criteria
o the concept of unity is based on interaction and interdependence between different points within the area

• mental map
o (cognitive map)
o the maplike image of the world, country, region, city, or neighborhood a person carries in mind
o the representation is therefore subjective
o it includes knowledge of actual locations and spatial relationships and is colored by personal perceptions and preferences related to a place

• model
o an idealized representation, abstraction, or simulation of reality
o designed to simplify real-world complexity and eliminate extraneous phenomena in order to isolate for detailed study causal factor and interrelationships of spatial systems

• nodal region
o (functional region)
o a region differentiated by what occurs within it rather than by a homogeneity of physical or cultural phenomena
o an earth area recognized as an operational unit based upon defined organization criteria
o the concept of unity is based on interaction and interdependence between different points within the area

• pattern
o the design or arrangement of phenomena in earth space

• perceptual region
o a region perceived to exist by its inhabitants or the general populace
o has reality as an element of popular culture or folk culture represented in the mental maps of average people

• projection
o (map projection)
o a systematic method of transferring the globe grid system from the earth’s curved surface to the flat surface of a map
o automatically incurs error, but an attempt is usually made to preserve one or more (though never all) of the characteristics of the spherical surface: equal area, correct distance, true direction, proper shape

• regional concept
o the view that physical and cultural phenomena on the surface of the earth are rationally arranged by complex, diverse, but comprehensible interrelated spatial processes

• relative direction
o a culturally based locational reference, as the Far West, the Old South, or the Middle East

• spatial distribution
o the arrangement of things ion the earth’s surface
o the descriptive elements of spatial distribution are density, dispersion, and pattern

• spatial interaction
o the movement (e.g., of people, goods, information) between different places
o an indication of interdependence between different geographic locations or areas

• spatial system
o the arrangement and integrated operation of phenomena produced by or responding to spatial processes on the earth’s surface

• uniform region
o (formal region)
o a region distinguished by a uniformity of one or more characteristics that an serve as the basis for areal generalization and of contrast with adjacent areas

HG - Geographical Themes - Stanley

GEOGRAPHICAL THEMES

There are 5 themes that geographers use to organize space:
1. location (where?)
2. places (what is it like?)
3. human and environment interaction (relationship?)
4. movement (of ideas, people, goods)
5. regions (how/why an area is similar to another)




3 important questions about a space:
1. Where is it?
2. Why is it there?
3. What are the consequences of it being there?




Location
• absolute location – latitude/longitude – coordinates?
• relative location – in relation to other areas – how is this location relative to other places?
• How does the importance of this location change over time?




Place
• characteristics of this place that make it different from other places

• physical characteristics
o the natural environment
o examples…
- green areas
- creek
- large body of water (river)
- animals (indigenous, usually)
- vegetation

• human characteristic
o ideas (naming something) and actions (building something)
o examples…
- baseball field, football field
- parking lot, bridges, roads
- language, religion, political ideas
- architecture
- population density
- named both the physical and human characteristics

• man’s names = political (can be changed)
- “no human characteristics”… is a characteristic
• How would you describe it physically?
• What are some of the human characteristics that describe the place?




Human/Environment Interaction
• environment: all living and nonliving things
• humans weaker than the environment
• the environment provides everything
• How has man interacted with the land he’s decided to live on?
• examples…
o added important facilities…
- hospital, school
- church, cemetery = some kind of established religion
- factories
- shopping center = big enough area, money-wise
- tried to even out areas (not all clumped on one part of the land)
o farming – near water
o reservoir
- power?
- steady water supply
o neighborhoods
- organized enough – some kind of town plan

• man can deal with the environment in 3 ways:
o depend on it
- for food, shelter, clothing
o modify it
- for their needs
- example – damming the river to make a reservoir; bridges on creek
o adapt to it
- example – heavy coat for cold weather; lighter or darker cars; air conditioning or heating; how they build their homes (chimney inside or outside, etc.)




Movement
• How/why places are connected
o roads, railroads, airports
o power lines, satellite dishes, radio towers
o creeks, rivers
• people, goods, ideas
• constant!
• a place without good movement will not survive
• Examples of movement in the area?
• Forms of transportation in the space?
• How does the movement affect immigration?




Regions
• no definition until located around something else
• different types/examples…
o town, part of a town
o type of housing, education
o industrial areas
o “Rocky Mountains”
o “Bible Belt”
• can be named by human characteristics
o “Big Apple”
- skyscrapers, tourist areas, Broadway, the subway, taxis, shopping, museums, sports, etc.
• boundaries are usually vague… moveable
• a place can be in multiple regions at one time (has to be in at least one… but can be in many, many more): every area is in a region

Sp6 - Mi Caballo Mago text - Calvar

Probably accurate?

Mi caballo mago
por Sabine R. Ulibarrí


Era blanco. Blanco como el olvido. Era libre. Libre como la alegría. Era la ilusión, la libertad y la emoción. Poblaba y dominaba las serranías y las llanuras de las cercanías. Era un caballo blanco que llenó mi juventud de fantasía y poesía.

Alrededor de las fogatas del campo y en las resolanas del pueblo los vaqueros de esas tierras hablaban de él con entusiasmo y admiración. Y la mirada se volvía turbia y borrosa de ensueño. La animada charla se apagaba. Todos atentos a la visión evocada. Mito del reino animal. Poema del mundo viril.

Blanco y arcano. Paseaba su harén por el bosque de verano en regocijo imperial. El invierno decretaba el llano y la ladera para sus hembras. Veraneaba como rey de oriente en su jardín silvestre. Invernaba como guerrero ilustre que celebra la victoria ganada.

Era leyenda. Eran sin fin las historias que se contaban del caballo brujo. Unas verdad, otras invención. Tantas trampas, tantas redes, tantas expediciones. Todas venidas a menos. El caballo siempre se escapaba, siempre se burlaba, siempre se alzaba por encima del dominio de los hombres. ¡Cuánto valedor no juró ponerle su jáquima y su marca para confesar después que el brujo había sido más hombre que él!

Yo tenía quince años. Y sin haberlo visto nunca el brujo me llenaba ya la imaginación y la esperanza. Escuchaba embobado a mi padre y a sus vaqueros hablar del caballo fantasma que al atraparlo se volvía espuma y aire y nada. Participaba de la obsesión de todos, ambición de lotería, de algún día ponerle yo mi lazo, de hacerlo mío, y lucirlo los domingos por la tarde cuando las muchachas salen a paseo por la calle.

Pleno el verano. Los bosques verdes, frescos y alegres. Las reses lentas, gordas y luminosas en la sombra y en el sol de agosto. Dormitaba yo en un caballo brioso, lánguido y sutil en el sopor del atardecer. Era hora ya de acercarse a la majada, al buen pan y al rancho del rodeo. Ya los compañeros estarían alrededor de la hoguera agitando la guitarra, contando cuentos del pasado o de hoy o entregándose al cansancio de la tarde. El sol se ponía ya, detrás de mí, en escándalos de rayo y color. Silencio orgánico y denso.

Sigo insensible a las reses al abra. De pronto el bosque se calla. El silencio enmudece. La tarde se detiene. La brisa deja de respirar, pero tiembla. El sol se excita. El planeta, la vida y el tiempo se han detenido de una manera inexplicable. Por un instante no sé lo que pasa.

Luego mis ojos aciertan. ¡Allí está! ¡El caballo mago! Al extremo del abra, en un promontorio, rodeado de verde. Hecho estatua, hecho estampa. Línea y forma y mancha blanca en fondo verde. Orgullo, fama y arte en carne animal. Cuadro de belleza encendida y libertad varonil. Ideal invicto y limpio de la eterna ilusión humana. Hoy palpito todo aún al recordarlo.

Silbido. Reto trascendental que sube y rompe la tela virginal de las nubes rojas. Orejas lanzas. Ojos rayos. Cola viva y ondulante, desafío movedizo. Pezuña tersa y destructiva. Arrogante majestad de los campos.

El momento es eterno. La eternidad momentánea. Ya no está, pero siempre estará. Debió de haber yeguas. Yo no las vi. Las reses siguen indiferentes. Mi caballo las sigue y yo vuelvo lentamente del mundo del sueño a la tierra del sudor. Pero ya la vida no volverá a ser lo que antes fue.

Aquella noche bajo las estrellas no dormí. Soñé. Cuánto soñé despierto y cuánto soñé dormido yo no sé. Sólo sé que un caballo blanco pobló mis sueños y los llenó de resonancia y de luz y de violencia.

Pasó el verano y entró el invierno. El verde pasto dio lugar a la blanca nieve. Las manadas bajaron de las sierras a los valles y cañadas. Y en el pueblo se comentaba que el brujo andaba por este o aquel rincón. Yo indagaba por todas partes su paradero. Cada día se me hacía más ideal, más imagen, más misterio.

Domingo. Apenas rayaba el sol de la sierra nevada. Aliento vaporoso. Caballo tembloroso de frío y de ansias. Como yo. Salí sin ir a misa. Sin desayunarme siquiera. Sin pan y sardinas en las alforjas. Había dormido mal y velado bien. Iba en busca de la blanca luz que galopaba en mis sueños.

Al salir del pueblo al campo libre desaparecen los caminos. No hay rastro humano o animal. Silencio blanco, hondo y rutilante. Mi caballo corta el camino con el pecho y deja estela eterna, grieta abierta, en la mar cana. La mirada diestra y atenta puebla el paisaje hasta cada horizonte buscando el noble perfil del caballo místico.

Sería mediodía. No sé. El tiempo había perdido su rigor. Di con él. En una ladera contaminada de sol. Nos vimos al mismo tiempo. Juntos nos hicimos piedra. Inmóvil, absorto y jadeante contemplé su belleza, su arrogancia, su nobleza. Esculpido en mármol, se dejó admirar.

Silbido violento que rompe el silencio. Guante arrojado a la cara. Desafío y decreto a la vez. Asombro nuevo. El caballo que en verano se coloca entre la amenaza y la manada, oscilando a distancia de diestra a siniestra, ahora se lanza a la nieve. Más fuerte que ellas, abre la vereda a las yeguas. y ellas lo siguen. Su fuga es lenta para conservar sus fuerzas.

Sigo. Despacio. Palpitante. Pensando en su inteligencia. Admirando su valentía. Apreciando su cortesía. La tarde se alarga. Mi caballo cebado a sus anchas.

Una a una las yeguas se van cansando. Una a una se van quedando a un lado. ¡Solos! El y yo. La agitación interna reboza a los labios. Le hablo. Me escucha y calla.

El abre el camino y yo sigo por la vereda que me deja. Detrás de nosotros una larga y honda zanja blanca que cruza la llanura. El caballo que ha comido grano y buen pasto sigue fuerte. A él, mal nutrido, se la han agotado las fuerzas. Pero sigue porque es él y porque no sabe ceder.

Encuentro negro y manchas negras por el cuerpo. La nieve y el sudor han revelado la piel negra bajo el pelo. Mecheros violentos de vapor rompen el aire. Espumarajos blancos sobre la blanca nieve. Sudor, espuma y vapor. Ansia.

Me sentí verdugo. Pero ya no había retorno. La distancia entre nosotros se acortaba implacablemente. Dios y la naturaleza indiferentes.

Me siento seguro. Desato el cabestro. Abro el lazo. Las riendas tirantes. Cada nervio, cada músculo alerta y el alma en la boca. Espuelas tensas en ijares temblorosos. Arranca el caballo. Remolineo el cabestro y lanzo el lazo obediente.

Vértigo de furia y rabia. Remolinos de luz y abanicos de transparente nieve. Cabestro que silba y quema en la teja de la silla. Guantes violentos que humean. Ojos ardientes en sus pozos. Boca seca. Frente caliente. Y el mundo se sacude y se estremece. Y se acaba la larga zanja blanca en un ancho charco blanco.

Sosiego jadeante y denso. El caballo mago es mío. Temblorosos ambos, nos miramos de hito en hito por un largo rato. Inteligente y realista, deja de forcejar y hasta toma un paso hacia mí. Yo le hablo. Hablándole me acerco. Primero recula. Luego me espera. Hasta que los dos caballos se saludan a la manera suya. Y por fin llego a alisarle la crin. Le digo muchas cosas, y parece que me entiende.

Por delante y por las huellas de antes lo dirigí hacia el pueblo. Triunfante. Exaltado. Una risa infantil me brotaba. Yo, varonil, la dominaba. Quería cantar y pronto me olvidaba. Quería gritar pero callaba. Era un manojo de alegría. Era el orgullo del hombre adolescente. Me sentí conquistador.

El Mago ensayaba la libertad una y otra vez, arrancándome de mis meditaciones abruptamente. Por unos instantes se armaba la lucha otra vez. Luego seguíamos.

Fue necesario pasar por el pueblo. No había remedio. Sol poniente. Calles de hielo y gente en los portales. El Mago lleno de terror y pánico por la primera vez. Huía y mi caballo herrado lo detenía. Se resbalaba y caía de costalazo. Yo lloré por él. La indignidad. La humillación. La alteza venida a menos. Le rogaba que no forcejara, que se dejara llevar. ¡Cómo me dolió que lo vieran así los otros!

Por fin llegamos a la casa. “¿Qué hacer contigo, Mago? Si te meto en el establo o en el corral, de seguro te haces daño. Además sería un insulto. No eres esclavo. No eres criado. Ni siquiera eres animal.” Decidí soltarlo en el potrero. Allí podría el Mago irse acostumbrando poco a poco a mi amistad y compañía. De ese potrero no se había escapado nunca un animal.

Mi padre me vio llegar y me esperó sin hablar. En la cara le jugaba una sonrisa y en los ojos le bailaba una chispa. Me vio quitarle el cabestro al Mago y los dos lo vimos alejarse, pensativos. Me estrechó la mano un poco más fuerte que de ordinario y me dijo: “Esos son hombres.” Nada más. Ni hacía falta. Nos entendíamos mi padre y yo muy bien. Yo hacía el papel de muy hombre pero aquella risa infantil y aquel grito que me andaban por dentro por poco estropean la impresión que yo quería dar.

Aquella noche casi no dormí y cuando dormí no supe que dormía. Pues el soñar es igual, cuando se sueña de veras, dormido o despierto. Al amanecer yo ya estaba de pie. Tenía que ir a ver al Mago. En cuanto aclaró salí al frío a buscarlo.

El potrero era grande. Tenía un bosque y una cañada. No se veía el Mago en ninguna parte pero yo me sentía seguro. Caminaba despacio, la cabeza toda llena de los acontecimientos de ayer y de los proyectos de mañana. De pronto me di cuenta que había andado mucho. Aprieto el paso. Miro aprensivo a todos lados. Empieza a entrarme el miedo. Sin saber voy corriendo. Cada vez más rápido.

No está. El Mago se ha escapado. Recorro cada rincón donde pudiera haberse agazapado. Sigo la huella. Veo que durante toda la noche el Mago anduvo sin cesar buscando, olfateando, una salida. No la encontró. La inventó.

Seguí la huella que se dirigía directamente a la cerca. Y vi como el rastro no se detenía sino continuaba del otro lado. El alambre era de púa. Y había pelos blancos en el alambre. Había sangre en las púas. Había manchas rojas en la nieve y gotitas rojas en las huellas del otro lado de la cerca.

Allí me detuve. No fui más allá. Sol rayante en la cara. Ojos nublados y llenos de luz. Lágrimas infantiles en mejillas varoniles. Grito hecho nudo en la garganta. Sollozos despacio y silenciosos.

Allí me quedé y me olvidé de mí y del mundo y del tiempo. No sé cómo estuvo, pero mi tristeza era gusto. Lloraba de alegría. Estaba celebrando, por mucho que me dolía, la fuga y la libertad del Mago, la transcendencia de ese espíritu indomable. Ahora seguiría siendo el ideal, la ilusión y la emoción. El Mago era un absoluto. A mí me había enriquecido la vida para siempre.

Allí me halló mi padre. Se acercó sin decir nada y me puso el brazo sobre el hombro. Nos quedamos mirando la zanja blanca con flecos de rojo que se dirigía al sol rayante.

Sp6 - Mi Caballo Mago questions - Calvar

“Mi Caballo Mago” – Sabine R. Ulibarrí – QUESTIONS from “Abriendo Puertas”

1. Describe en tus propias palabras el proceso de cambio que sufre el joven protagonista desde el comienzo hasta el fin de la historia.

2. El padre del protagonista, al ver que éste ha traído al potrero al caballo Mago, lo ve llegar y lo espera sin hablar. Sólo le dice, “Esos son hombres”. ¿Qué quiere decir con esto?

3. Justifica, dentro del contexto del cuento, la alegría que siente el protagonista al final del cuento, al decir, “mi tristeza era gusto”.

4. Comenta tus impresiones de la técnica narrativa de Ulibarrí, en este cuento. ¿Qué encuentras de notable o de diferente en la forma de Ulibarrí de labrar sus frases? ¿Qué efecto surte esta técnica estilística?

Sp6 - Mi Caballo Mago footnotes - Calvar

Footnotes from our textbook. (Useful if you're using a printed version of the text and still want to have the information from the book).

“Mi Caballo Mago” – Sabine R. Ulibarrí – footnotes from “Abriendo Puertas”

• resolanas – lugares protegidos del viento, donde se puede tomar el sol
• turbia – revuelta; no transparente
• arcano – remoto; difícil de alcanzar o entender
• regocijo – gran alegría; júbilo
• jáquima – cabezada o correaje de un cabalo, hecha con cordel
• lucirlo – ostentarlo; exhibirlo
• reses (f.) – Ganado; toros y vacas
• majada – cobijo; cobertura nocturna para el ganado
• invicto – triunfante; victorioso; que no ha sido vencido
• yeguas – hembras del caballo
• pasto – hierba; zacate
• manadas – agrupaciones de ganado
• indagaba – investigaba; preguntaba; inquiría; averiguaba
• paradero – sitio donde se encuentra una persona o un animal
• rastro – indicio; señal
• rutilante – brillante; resplandeciente
• desafío – reto; guante arrojado a la cara
• cebado – alimentado
• a sus anchas – a su gusto; sin impedimento
• ceder – darse por vencido; rendirse
• verdugo – el que ejecuta la pena de muerte
• cabestro – cuerda que se ata a la cabeza o al cuello de un caballo para llevarlo
• ijares (m.) – parte del cuerpo situada entre las costillas y la cadera
• forcejar – forcejear; esforzarse por escapar; luchar
• crin (f.) – pelo largo que crece en la parte superior del pescuezo del caballo
• exaltado – muy emocionado
• alteza – orgullo; soberbia; arrogancia
• potrero – lugar de pasto para los caballos
• chispa – partícula encendida que salta de la lumbre
• estropean – dañan
• acontecimientos – sucesos de cierta importancia; cosas importantes que ocurren
• agazapado – escondido; ocultado

Sp6 - El Hijo questions - Calvar

“El Hijo” – Horacio Quiroga – QUESTIONS from “Abriendo Puertas”

1. El bosque tropical es omnipresente en los cuentos de Horacio Quiroga. Comenta la relación que llevan entre sí la vida de padre e hijo y el medio ambiente que los rodea.

2. El narrador nos informa que el padre sufre desde hace un tiempo de alucinaciones. Las alucinaciones de antes eran pesadillas que tuvieron que ver con los peligros que corre la vida del hijo en este medio ambiente. ¿Cómo se diferencia de éstas la alucinación final del padre, cuando lo vemos sonriendo “de alucinada felicidad”?

3. ¿Qué efecto narrativo crees que surte el hecho de que Quiroga relata esta historia en tiempo presente?

Sp6 - El Hijo footnotes - Calvar

Footnotes from our textbook. (Useful if you're using a printed version of the text and still want to have the information from the book).

“El Hijo” – Horacio Quiroga – footnotes from “Abriendo Puertas”

• Misiones – provincia argentina, escasamente poblada, en la frontera con Brasil y Paraguay
• deparar – brindar; ofrecer; poner delante de uno
• escopeta – arma de fuego, para cazar aves o animales; (rifle)
• cartuchos – municiones sueltas
• fusil (m.) – arma de fuego de cañón largo
• picada – senda estrecha en el bosque; (pathway)
• abra (f.) – sitio despejado de árboles; claro en el bosque
• cachorro – hijo, metafóricamente; (literally: puppy)
• bañado – terreno bajo e inundable cuando llueve
• casal (m.) – pareja; macho y hembra
• esboza – ensaya, inicia
• cinegética – perteneciente a la caza
• yacútoro – ave grande de color negro
• surucuá (m.) – ave grande, parecida al quetzal
• amengua – disminuye
• concretados – hechos realidad
• se recluyó – se encerró; se aisló
• percutía – golpeaba
• morsa – prensa pequeña para sujetar algo
• bala de parabellum – tipo de munición, calibre de 9 milímetros
• limar – alisar; poner liso
• estampido – detonación; ruido producido cuando se dispara un arma de fuego; (gunshot)
• nimio – insignificante; (insignificant - in regards to amount, generally)
• de sienes plateadas – con canas; con cabello gris o blanco
• meridiana – clara; luminosa; del mediodía
• a compás de – de acuerdo con
• pedregullo – piedras pequeñas
• vera – borde
• ahuyentar – alejar; poner en fuga; hacer huir
• hallan cabida – logran entrar
• alambrado – barrera de alambre
• desgracia – calamidad
• rastro – indicio; señal
• consumada – hecha
• sofoca – reprime
• angustia – sufrimiento emocional
• clama – da voces
• dicha – felicidad
• sombrío – oscuro
• centellos – reflejos brillantes
• pique – picada, senda pequeña
• albeante – blanco
• ceñida – abrazada
• emprenden – empiezan
• piapiá – forma familiar y cariñosa de papá o de papi
• candente(s) – muy caluroso; de gran calor
• a la descubierta – sin sombra; al sol
• empapado – completamente mojado
• quebrantado – afligido; descorazonado

Sp6 - El Hijo text - Calvar

I found this text on a website... somewhere. Any who, it's our first story. (I noticed some stories were different, and this one seems to be identical to the one in our book, as far as I'm aware).

Horacio Quiroga
(1879-1937)
EL HIJO

ES UN PODEROSO día de verano en Misiones, con todo el sol, el calor y la calma que puede deparar la estación. La naturaleza plenamente abierta, se siente satisfecha de sí.

Como el sol, el calor y la calma ambiente, el padre abre también su corazón a la naturaleza.

—Ten cuidado, chiquito —dice a su hijo; abreviando en esa frase todas las observaciones del caso y que su hijo comprende perfectamente.

—Si, papá —responde la criatura mientras coge la escopeta y carga de cartuchos los bolsillos de su camisa, que cierra con cuidado.

—Vuelve a la hora de almorzar —observa aún el padre.

—Sí, papá —repite el chico.

Equilibra la escopeta en la mano, sonríe a su padre, lo besa en la cabeza y parte.

Su padre lo sigue un rato con los ojos y vuelve a su quehacer de ese día, feliz con la alegría de su pequeño.

Sabe que su hijo es educado desde su más tierna infancia en el hábito y la precaución del peligro, puede manejar un fusil y cazar no importa qué. Aunque es muy alto para su edad, no tiene sino trece años. Y parecía tener menos, a juzgar por la pureza de sus ojos azules, frescos aún de sorpresa infantil.

No necesita el padre levantar los ojos de su quehacer para seguir con la mente la marcha de su hijo.

Ha cruzado la picada roja y se encamina rectamente al monte a través del abra de espartillo.

Para cazar en el monte —caza de pelo— se requiere más paciencia de la que su cachorro puede rendir. Después de atravesar esa isla de monte, su hijo costeará la linde de cactus hasta el bañado, en procura de palomas, tucanes o tal cual casal de garzas, como las que su amigo Juan ha descubierto días anteriores.

Sólo ahora, el padre esboza una sonrisa al recuerdo de la pasión cinegética de las dos criaturas.

Cazan sólo a veces un yacútoro, un surucuá —menos aún— y regresan triunfales, Juan a su rancho con el fusil de nueve milímetros que él le ha regalado, y su hijo a la meseta con la gran escopeta Saint-Étienne, calibre 16, cuádruple cierre y pólvora blanca.

Él fue lo mismo. A los trece años hubiera dado la vida por poseer una escopeta. Su hijo, de aquella edad, la posee ahora y el padre sonríe...

No es fácil, sin embargo, para un padre viudo, sin otra fe ni esperanza que la vida de su hijo, educarlo como lo ha hecho él, libre en su corto radio de acción, seguro de sus pequeños pies y manos desde que tenía cuatro años, consciente de la inmensidad de ciertos peligros y de la escasez de sus propias fuerzas.

Ese padre ha debido luchar fuertemente contra lo que él considera su egoísmo. ¡Tan fácilmente una criatura calcula mal, sienta un pie en el vacío y se pierde un hijo!

El peligro subsiste siempre para el hombre en cualquier edad; pero su amenaza amengua si desde pequeño se acostumbra a no contar sino con sus propias fuerzas.

De este modo ha educado el padre a su hijo. Y para conseguirlo ha debido resistir no sólo a su corazón, sino a sus tormentos morales; porque ese padre, de estómago y vista débiles, sufre desde hace un tiempo de alucinaciones.

Ha visto, concretados en dolorosísima ilusión, recuerdos de una felicidad que no debía surgir más de la nada en que se recluyó. La imagen de su propio hijo no ha escapado a este tormento. Lo ha visto una vez rodar envuelto en sangre cuando el chico percutía en la morsa del taller una bala de parabellum, siendo así que lo que hacía era limar la hebilla de su cinturón de caza.

Horrible caso... Pero hoy, con el ardiente y vital día de verano, cuyo amor a su hijo parece haber heredado, el padre se siente feliz, tranquilo, y seguro del porvenir.

En ese instante, no muy lejos suena un estampido.

—La Saint-Étienne... —piensa el padre al reconocer la detonación. Dos palomas de menos en el monte...

Sin prestar más atención al nimio acontecimiento, el hombre se abstrae de nuevo en su tarea.

El sol, ya muy alto, continúa ascendiendo. Adónde quiera que se mire —piedras, tierra, árboles—, el aire enrarecido como en un horno, vibra con el calor. Un profundo zumbido que llena el ser entero e impregna el ámbito hasta donde la vista alcanza, concentra a esa hora toda la vida tropical.

El padre echa una ojeada a su muñeca: las doce. Y levanta los ojos al monte.

Su hijo debía estar ya de vuelta. En la mutua confianza que depositan el uno en el otro —el padre de sienes plateadas y la criatura de trece años—, no se engañan jamás. Cuando su hijo responde: “Sí, papá”, hará lo que dice. Dijo que volvería antes de las doce, y el padre ha sonreído al verlo partir.

Y no ha vuelto.

El hombre torna a su quehacer, esforzándose en concentrar la atención en su tarea. ¿Es tan fácil, tan fácil perder la noción de la hora dentro del monte, y sentarse un rato en el suelo mientras se descansa inmóvil...?

Bruscamente, la luz meridiana, el zumbido tropical y el corazón del padre se detienen a compass de lo que acaba de pensar: su hijo descansa inmóvil…
El tiempo ha pasado; son las doce y media. El padre sale de su taller, y al apoyar la mano en el banco de mecánica sube del fondo de su memoria el estallido de una bala de parabellum, e instantáneamente, por primera vez en las tres transcurridas, piensa que tras el estampido de la Saint-Étienne no ha oído nada más. No ha oído rodar el pedregullo bajo un paso conocido. Su hijo no ha vuelto y la naturaleza se halla detenida a la vera del bosque, esperándolo.

¡Oh! no son suficientes un carácter templado y una ciega confianza en la educación de un hijo para ahuyentar el espectro de la fatalidad que un padre de vista enferma ve alzarse desde la línea del monte. Distracción, olvido, demora fortuita: ninguno de estos nimios motivos que pueden retardar la llegada de su hijo halla cabida en aquel corazón.

Un tiro, un solo tiro ha sonado, y hace mucho. Tras él, el padre no ha oído un ruido, no ha visto un pájaro, no ha cruzado el abra una sola persona a anunciarle que al cruzar un alambrado, una gran desgracia...

La cabeza al aire y sin machete, el padre va. Corta el abra de espartillo, entra en el monte, costea la línea de cactus sin hallar el menor rastro de su hijo.

Pero la naturaleza prosigue detenida. Y cuando el padre ha recorrido las sendas de caza conocidas y ha explorado el bañado en vano, adquiere la seguridad de que cada paso que da en adelante lo lleva, fatal e inexorablemente, al cadáver de su hijo.

Ni un reproche que hacerse, es lamentable. Sólo la realidad fría terrible y consumada: ha muerto su hijo al cruzar un...

¡Pero dónde, en qué parte! ¡Hay tantos alambrados allí, y es tan, tan sucio el monte! ¡Oh, muy sucio Por poco que no se tenga cuidado al cruzar los hilos con la escopeta en la mano...

El padre sofoca un grito. Ha visto levantarse en el aire... ¡Oh, no es su hijo, no! Y vuelve a otro lado, y a otro y a otro...

Nada se ganaría con ver el color de su tez y la angustia de sus ojos. Ese hombre aún no ha llamado a su hijo. Aunque su corazón clama par él a gritos, su boca continúa muda. Sabe bien que el solo acto de pronunciar su nombre, de llamarlo en voz alta, será la confesión de su muerte.

—¡Chiquito! —se le escapa de pronto. Y si la voz de un hombre de carácter es capaz de llorar, tapémonos de misericordia los oídos ante la angustia que clama en aquella voz.

Nadie ni nada ha respondido. Por las picadas rojas de sol, envejecido en diez años, va el padre buscando a su hijo que acaba de morir.

—¡Hijito mío..! ¡Chiquito mío..! —clama en un diminutivo que se alza del fondo de sus entrañas.

Ya antes, en plena dicha y paz, ese padre ha sufrido la alucinación de su hijo rodando con la frente abierta por una bala al cromo níquel. Ahora, en cada rincón sombrío del bosque ve centellos de alambre; y al pie de un poste, con la escopeta descargada al lado, ve a su...

—¡Chiquito..! ¡Mi hijo!

Las fuerzas que permiten entregar un pobre padre alucinado a la mas atroz pesadilla tienen también un límite. Y el nuestro siente que las suyas se le escapan, cuando ve bruscamente desembocar de un pique lateral a su hijo.

A un chico de trece años bástale ver desde cincuenta metros la expresión de su padre sin machete dentro del monte para apresurar el paso con los ojos húmedos.

—Chiquito... —murmura el hombre. Y, exhausto se deja caer sentado en la arena albeante, rodeando con los brazos las piernas de su hijo.

La criatura, así ceñida, queda de pie; y como comprende el dolor de su padre, le acaricia despacio la cabeza:

—Pobre papá...

En fin, el tiempo ha pasado. Ya van a ser las tres...

Juntos ahora, padre e hijo emprenden el regreso a la casa.

—¿Cómo no te fijaste en el sol para saber la hora..? —murmura aún el primero.

—Me fijé, papá... Pero cuando iba a volver vi las garzas de Juan y las seguí...

—¡Lo que me has hecho pasar, chiquito!

—Piapiá... —murmura también el chico.

Después de un largo silencio:

—Y las garzas, ¿las mataste? —pregunta el padre.

—No.

Nimio detalle, después de todo. Bajo el cielo y el aire candentes, a la descubierta por el abra de espartillo, el hombre devuelve a casa con su hijo, sobre cuyos hombros, casi del alto de los suyos, lleva pasado su feliz brazo de padre. Regresa empapado de sudor, y aunque quebrantado de cuerpo y alma, sonríe de felicidad.


***


Sonríe de alucinada felicidad... Pues ese padre va solo.

A nadie ha encontrado, y su brazo se apoya en el vacío. Porque tras él, al pie de un poste y con las piernas en alto, enredadas en el alambre de púa, su hijo bienamado yace al sol, muerto desde las diez de la mañana.

USH - Brigham Young - Church

Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vermont on June 1, 1801, and died in Salt Lake City (in the Utah Territory) on August 29, 1877 at the age of 76. (An interesting personal note was that he was perhaps the most famous polygamist of the early church – he officially married over 50 women). He was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, and was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 1847 until his death. Young was nicknamed by some the “American Moses” because he, like the Biblical character, led his followers (the Mormon pioneers) in an exodus through a desert, to the “promised land.” His legacy, however, is controversial. Although he did help to organize a large religion, and he did play a role in the United States’ acquisition of the Utah Territory, concerns remain over his role in the Utah War against the United States government and his attitudes toward racial minorities.

Although Young had been converted to Methodist faith in 1823 (age 22), he was drawn to Mormonism after reading the Book of Mormon soon after its publication in 1830. He officially joined the church in 1832 (age 31) and traveled to Canada as a missionary. Following the death of Joseph Smith, he was later chosen to lead the church. Following repeated conflicts, Young decided to relocate his group of Latter-day Saints to a territory in what is now Utah (then part of Mexico). They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, a date now recognized as “Pioneer Day” in Utah.

Although he had many achievements in his life, he considered these “means,” not “ends.” Examples of these achievements include instituting patterns of Church government still present today, issuing detailed instructions on how to get to the Salt Lake Valley (instructions that would be followed by hundreds of companies), directing the organization of several hundred Latter-day Saint settlements, setting up several hundred business enterprises, and initiating the construction of meetinghouses, tabernacles, and temples. “His overriding concern was to build on the foundation begun by Joseph Smith to establish a commonwealth in the desert where his people could live the gospel of Jesus Christ in peace, thereby improving their prospects in this life and in the next.”

USH - Utopian Communities - Church

Utopian Communities (also known as “intentional communities”) are “planned residential communities designed to promote a much higher degree of social interaction than other communities.” These utopian communities were attempting to create an ideal society.

Although utopian communities date to the earliest days of American history, they had become institutionalized in American thought by the 1840s. Many groups challenged the traditional standards and social conventions of the time, their desire for a perfect world often in sharp contradiction to the actual world they lived in, one in which such concepts as capitalism, the Industrial Revolution, immigration, and tension between the individual and the community, ideals that contradicted older forms of living.

The first of the American Utopias was evident in Robert Owen’s creation of the New Harmony Community in western Indiana in 1825. There, the residents established a socialist community in which everyone shared equally in labor and profit. The peace and contentment, however, would not last. Just months after the creation of a constitution in January 1826, the residents (numbered just over a thousand) divided into sub-communities. This division then disintegrated into chaos.

Another community started at this time was a community started by Francis Wright at Nashoba in Tennessee. Wright hoped to show that free labor was more economical than slavery, but the community did not attract settlers and it closed down within a year.

Transcendentalists [see Ralph Waldo Emerson, page 6] believed that an understanding of truth and eternity could only result when humankind abandoned the concrete world of the senses in favor of a more spiritual characterization of nature. They thus, in order to escape the modern world, created many utopian communities in the 1840s. The most important of these was Brook Farm, established in West Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1841. Residents hoped to free themselves from the competition of the capitalist world so as to work as little as possible, all the while enjoying the fruits of high culture.

Although none of these communities would remain a long-lasting settlement, they reflected the personal, social, and religious views of some of the American people at the time, a desire for an equal world free from competition and injustice rampant in the modern world.

USH - Mark Twain - Church

Mark Twain (his pen name) was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835 with the birth name Samuel Clemens. He died on April 21, 1910. He worked as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River from when he was licensed in 1859 (after two years of studying the river) until traffic along the Mississippi was reduced in 1861 when the American Civil War broke out.

Well known for his quotations as well, Mark Twain was an American humanist, humorist, satirist, lecturer, and writer. He enjoyed immense public popularity, and “his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers.” American author William Faulkner even referred to Twain as “the father of American literature.” Twain is most noted for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (has been since called the “first Great American Novel”). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “solidified him as a noteworthy American writer.” This book was an offshoot of Tom Sawyer that had a more serious tone. The main idea of the book is “the young boy’s belief in the right thing to do even though the majority of society believes that it was wrong.” Another of his books, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, was his first big pronouncement of disappointment with politics. “The tone becomes cynical to the point of almost being a rant against the established political system of the day (which would have been in King Arthur’s time), and eventually devolved into madness for the main character.”

He began his writing career with light, humorous verse, but his writing eventually “evolved into a grim, almost profane chronicle of the vanities, hypocrisies and murderous acts of mankind.” Twain was a master at providing colloquial speech in his works, and thus helped to create and popularize a distinctive style of American literature built on American themes and language.

His reputation as a popular author still overshadows his contributions as a social critic, his radicalism neutralized by history. Although he remained neutral during the Civil War, he acknowledged that his view became more radical as he got older. Twain was, among other things, an adamant supporter of abolition and emancipation, in favor of labor unions, and critical of organized religion and certain elements of Christianity.

USH - Harriet Tubman - Church

Harriet Tubman (birth name: Araminta Ross) was born around 1820 (exact date unknown) to slave parents in Dorchester County, Maryland. As a child, Tubman took care of a younger brother and a baby, as her mother was usually busy with her work at “the big house.”

On September 17, 1849, Tubman escaped slavery with her brothers, Ben and Henry. Once they had left, however, her brothers began experiencing second thoughts, and, fearful of the dangers ahead, went back, forcing Tubman to return with them. Soon afterwards, however, she escaped again, this time without her brothers. While no one knows exactly what route Tubman took to go north, it is known that she made use of the extensive network known as the Underground Railroad, an “informal but well-organized system was composed of free blacks, white abolitionists, and Christian activists.”

Although she was an illiterate child, her mother had told her Bible stories, helping her to become deeply religious. The particular variety of her faith is unclear, but it is definite that she “acquired a passionate faith in God.” This religious faith was an important resource to her as she ventured again and again into Maryland. Not only did it give her strength for the journeys she was on, but Tubman also used spirituals as coded messages, warning fellow travelers that there was danger or signaling that the path was clear for travel.

For eleven years, Tubman repeatedly returned to this area of slavery, eventually rescuing about 70 slaves in thirteen different expeditions. She also gave specific instructions on how to escape to about 50 or 60 other fugitives. (Some historians say that she rescued over three hundred slaves both on her journeys and from her support of the Underground Railroad). Her trips back into the land of slavery put her at significant risk. Not only had she illegally escaped from slavery, but she was helping other slaves to do the same. She thus made us of various disguises and ploys to avoid detection.

She also later helped John Brown to recruit men for his (unfortunately unsuccessful) raid on Harpers Ferry, and she struggled in the post-war era for women’s suffrage.

USH - Sojourner Truth - Church

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York around 1797 (exact date unknown) as Isabella Baumfree. (She gave herself the name “Sojourner Truth” in 1843). She died on November 26, 1883 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Although the state of New York began to legislate the abolition of slavery in 1799, but the process wasn’t complete until July 4, 1827. She escaped her master late in 1826 with her infant daughter, Sophia, but she was forced to leave her other four children behind because they were not legally freed in the emancipation order until they had served as bound servants into their twenties.

On June 1, 1843 she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and then left to make her way traveling and preaching about abolition. In 1844, she joined the Northampton Association of education and Industry in Massachusetts, an organization that “supported women’s rights and religious tolerance as well as pacifism.”

In May of 1851, “she attended the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio where she delivered her famous speech Ain’t I a Woman, a slogan she adopted from one of the most famous abolitionist images, that of a kneeling female slave with the caption ‘Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?’” By frequently asking the question “Ain’t I a Woman?”, she placed brought attention that there were U.S. citizens who suffered dual persecutions, both for being black and for being a woman. This speech was also a landmark achievement for a woman who could not read or write. (She had previously secured help from Olive Gilbert to help her write her own autobiography).

Over the next decade, she spoke before dozens, perhaps hundreds, of audiences. She spoke about abolition, women’s rights, prison reform, and preached against capital punishment. “During the Civil war, she spoke on the Union’s behalf, as well as for enlisting black troops for the cause and freeing slaves.” She used humor, biblical references, and controversy to reach the audience and really emphasize her points.

USH - Henry David Thoreau - Church

Henry David Thoreau (birth name: David Henry Thoreau) was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. He died on May 6, 1862. Thoreau studied at Harvard University, but he never technically graduated, allegedly having refused to pay the five-dollar fee for a Harvard diploma. During a leave of absence from Harvard in 1835, Thoreau taught school in Canton, Massachusetts, joining the faculty of Concord Academy following his graduation in 1837. He was soon dismissed, however, for refusing to administer corporal punishment.

He then opened a grammar school with his brother John in Concord in 1838 (age 21). They introduced several progressive concepts, such as nature walks and visits to local shops and businesses. The school ended, however, when John became fatally ill from tetanus in 1842.

Thoreau was “a philosopher of nature and its relation to the human condition.” In his early years, he followed transcendentalism [see Ralph Waldo Emerson, page 6]. Only July 4, 1845 (age 28), he set out on a two-year experiment in simple living. He moved to a small self-built house on land owned by Emerson (Walden Pond). In 1854, he published Walden (also called Life in the Woods), which was the story of the two years, two months, and two days he spend there. Although it was not popular at the time, it is now regarded as “a classic American book that explores natural simplicity, harmony, and beauty as models for just social and cultural conditions.”
Thoreau also played a large part in persuading the abolitionist movement to accept John Brown as a martyr after his raid at Harpers Ferry. Many prominent voices had distanced themselves from Brown (or even damned him). This disgusted Thoreau, and he thus composed a speech (A Plea for Captain John Brown), “uncompromising in its defense of Brown and his actions.”

An early advocate of recreational hiking and canoeing, of conserving natural resources, and of preserving wilderness, Thoreau was also one of the first American supporters of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. However, he neither rejected civilization nor fully embraced wilderness, instead seeking a middle ground between the two.

USH - Harriet Beecher Stowe - Church

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut, the seventh child of a Protestant preacher. She died on July 1, 1896 in Johnstown, Ohio at the age of 85. She worked as a teacher with her older sister, Catharine, for a time. She helped to support her family financially by writing for local and religious periodicals. During her life, she wrote many poems, travel books, biographical sketches, and children’s books, as well as adult novels. She also “met and corresponded with people as varied as Lady Byron and George Eliot”.

Although she wrote at least ten adult novels, she is predominantly known for her first, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1852. It began as a serial for the Washington anti-slavery Weekly (the National Era), and it focused public interest on the issue of slavery, while being deeply controversial. Attacking the cruelty of slavery, it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential, even overseas in Britain. The book had an amazing effect in the North, attracting thousands of people to the abolitionist movement. The south, however, found that the book was a false account of southern life, “a slanderous accusation.” Banned in many southern states, anyone found possessing the book could be arrested. It made the political issue of slavery concrete to millions of people, and animated anti-slavery forces in the North. In fact, when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe, it’s claimed that he said, “So you’re the little woman that started this great war!” After this book was published, she became a kind of celebrity, speaking against slavery not only in America, but in Europe as well.

However, “the historical significance of Stowe’s antislavery writing has tended to draw attention away from her other work, and from her work’s literary significance.” Admittedly, her work is irregular, sometimes indulging in a “romanticized Christian sensibility” that was popular at the time, but seems to lack credibility with modern readers. At times, though, she was an “early and effective realist,” describing the setting of her works accurately and with great detail. She shows an understanding of the complex social culture of her time through her portraits of local social life, and she had a great ability to portray that culture to others.

USH - Joseph Smith - Church

Joseph Smith (true name: Joseph Smith, Jr.) was born in Sharon, Vermont on December 23, 1805, and died in Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844, at the age of 39. He was the American religious figure who founded the Latter Day Saint movement (also known as Mormonism). His followers declared him to be the first latter-day prophet, whose mission was supposedly to restore the original Christian church that was “said to have been lost soon after the death of Apostles because of an apostasy [“total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.”].”

His family was a farming family that lived in western New York for much of Smith’s young life. This region was an area of intense revivalism and religious diversity during the Second Great Awakening. Smith, during is youth, had little interaction with organized religion, but he still studied the Bible, had religious opinions, and was influenced by the common folk religion of the area. He reported that in 1820 (aged 14) he experienced a theopany [“an appearance of God to man, or a divine disclosure”], commonly referred to as the First Vision (several accounts of this would be recorded later in his life).

He was said to have been concerned as to which church was “correct” for him to join. Supposedly, God and Jesus came to him as “two separate, glorious, resurrected beings” to tell him that “none of the churches established at the time were correct, and so he should join none of them.” Smith purportedly had several additional revelations while the Book of Mormon (translation of ancient Egyptian plates) was published, and he had supposedly begun the work of organizing a new Christian church.

Once established with a congregation of followers, the church was moved to Ohio to avoid the conflict encountered in New York and Pennsylvania. He was eventually killed (over thirteen years later) when a mob broke into the jail where he was being held (under promise of “protection and a fair trial” following an accusation of him violating the freedom of the press) and was killed. (Mormons view his death as martyrdom).

Currently there are between thirteen and fourteen million people that are part of a denomination originating from his teachings. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest, with approximately 13 million members. The second largest is the Community of Christ, with about 250,000 members.

USH - Seneca Falls Convention - Church

The Seneca Falls Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19 and 20, 1848. The first women’s rights convention held in the United States, it is often labeled the birthplace of feminism. A group of American women and men met here to discuss the legal limitations imposed on women during this period. These discussions were influenced by the contributors’ participation in the abolitionist movement, and they eventually used (as many different groups throughout history have) language and structure from the United States Declaration of Independence to formally state their belief that women should be entitled to the rights granted to American citizens in a document known as the Declaration of Sentiments.

At this time in American history, the country was in the middle of cultural and economic change. Since the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention, the geographical boundaries and the population had both more than doubled, the population had begun to shift westward, and the economy was moving from a system of independent farmers to a world built around distant, unknown markets (known as the Market Revolution).

Prior to this convention, there had been no public meeting of such a large scale to discuss this topic, despite the questions raised by such women of the Revolutionary era as Abigail Adams. However, when the men were preoccupied with the war effort, women had to take over many of their responsibilities, thus leading the creation of many new social roles following the end of the war, and women were able to establish a place for themselves in society. Many women began organizing in reform organizations aiming to improve the lives of others and fight for the rights of those who could not speak out for themselves (ex.: schoolchildren, the mentally ill).

As part of their declaration, they listed the grievances that reflected the severe limitation on women’s legal rights (they could not vote, couldn’t participate in the creation of laws they were expected to follow, their property was taxed, rarely got custody of children in a divorce, often couldn’t get higher education, etc.). They proclaimed that “all men and women were created equal.” This helped to open the public’s eyes to ideas like women’s rights and they were, for the first time, willing to question convention.

USH - Edgar Allan Poe - Church

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 and died on October 7, 1849, 40 years old. A poet, short-story writer, editor, and literary critic, Poe was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing along, something that resulted in a financially difficult life and career. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts under the name “Edgar Poe.” His parents died when he was young, and he was taken in (but never formally adopted) by John and Frances Allan (hence the name). After Poe spent a short period at the University of Virginia and briefly attempted a military career, he parted ways with the Allans.

His publishing career began modestly, his first published work being an anonymous collection of poems. Poe then switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for various literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his distinctive style of literary criticism. His work wasn’t steady, though, and he was forced to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835 (aged 26), he married Virginia Clemm (his 13-year-old cousin), but she died of tuberculosis ten years later.

Poe’s best known fiction works deal with questions of death (including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning) and many are generally considered to be part of the dark romanticism genre. Although he is best known for his work in the horror genre, he also wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes, using irony and ludicrous extravagance for comic effect. Much of his work was written using themes specifically catered for mass market tastes.

One of his more well-known works, the poem “The Raven” was published in January 1845 (when he was 36 years old), to instant success. Other famous works include “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “Annabel Lee,” “Lenore,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
His works influenced literature in the United States and around the world. His work appears throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his previous homes are dedicated museums today.

USH - Horace Mann - Church

Horace Mann was born in Franklin, Massachusetts on May 4, 1796 and died on August 2, 1859 at the age of 63. He was an American education reformer and abolitionist (he was also a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives). His childhood and youth were spent in poverty, and he was never fully healthy, the early hard, manual labor taking a toll on his small body. The only way he was able to read as he so avidly loved to do, was to borrow books from the small library in his town that consisted primarily of histories and essays on theology. He did attend Brown University at the age of 20, graduating as the valedictorian of his class after only three years. Following this, he spent time as a tutor (Latin and Greek), a librarian, and a law student.

When he was appointed the head of the newly created board of education of Massachusetts in 1837 (age 41), he then began the work that would soon “place him in the foremost rank of American educationists.” He held teachers’ conventions, delivered lectures and addresses, carried on widespread communication, and introduced numerous reforms. Mann was basically responsible for the normal school system in Massachusetts (created to train high school graduates to be teachers; most now called teachers colleges).

Mann’s reforms included establishing a single school system throughout the state, rather than many separate local school districts. He encouraged the idea of having separate classrooms depending on education level, and discouraged the use of simple memorization (rather than true learning) as a form of learning. More importantly, he “worked effectively for more and better equipped school houses, longer school years (until 16 years old), higher pay for teachers, and a wider curriculum.”

The practical result of his work was a revolution in the approach used in the public school system of Massachusetts. This change then influenced the school system of other states. Although he was met with bitter opposition by those who disagreed with his theories on learning or those who “contended against the exclusion of all sectarian instruction from the schools,” he is often considered “the father of American public education.”