Diary Of Westward Travel

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Diary Of Westward Travel

Author

This diary which is a part of the greater work of pentice hall which is my history lab was written by Lydia Allen Rudd. This work is well written and well organized into the different days they were travelling from the Missouri river and in winter they settled in Burlington. Lydia was a writer and she captures everything during their journey and every part of it. The reason they travelled from the Indians is not stated but based on the fact that they wanted un-inhabited land it is clear either Indians filled most of the area where they lived before or they just wanted a new place with no Indian influence.

Even though little is known about Lydia, she was one of the pioneers and her main goal of travelling was in search for improving her life together with the life of the others they travelled with. Her only companions mentioned were harry Rudd who seems like a brother or a partner and the others are Henry and Mary. It is not clear that the authors point of view can be observed or deduced from a diary since she is reporting facts and the way things happened at that time. However, she reports mainly about nature and the different villages they come across. It can be stated that even though she does not necessarily hate the Indians she does not want to interact with them perse.

Place And Time

The source was produced during the travel from Missouri river to Oregon. This was a journey and it came with a lot of different issues at place. Diseases, interaction with different kinds of communities and different views of beauty as the author states that it is during this travel that she saw the most beautiful thing she had seen in the world. The diary and information contained was written in 1852 and this has a great effect in terms of how the author viewed life. This does not significantly affect the source since the source is mainly reporting but it has a lot of issues to do with black men and people of color being segregated and how this is not a noble thing. Therefore, maybe through the travels they encountered the different mistreatments and decided that there had to be a better way.

Prior Knowledge

These travels happened between 1840s and 1850s and this means that the country had already attained independence. These were the early pioneers of the United States and they had a big role to play in the formation of the country. The kind of life they lived was also simple and did not have a lot and they were true to the American spirit.

Audience

The writing seems fit for any person who wants to know about the history of the pioneers of the country. Therefore, it might not have a specific audience but anyone who comes across the diary is enlisted with the secrets and the way of life of the early people who came up with the nation and that is very important to know. Even though the diary does not have a specific audience it is mainly specifically written for those people who want to know about the history of American culture and how it began. The source seems to tell the future people that, even though the black people then were slaves and the Indians were in the process of being assimilate, it is good to look back and see if the things which were did were good or were bad. Therefore, with this information it becomes very easy for the people to understand the history of American life, the mistakes and the successes and how all these can be corrected to make America great again.

Reason

The major reason for the production of this source is to give a view of what America looked like during its formative years and also to come up with a list of the major contributors to the American way of life as it is of today. The source states very important people and very important speeches and with this information it is easy to come up with the people who made America what it is today. One of such is Frances’s Harper who believed that African Americans were supposed to be free and she expressed this in a beautifully made poem. It also gives the Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech which was very important. Mainly the reason for writing this source was to give an eye to the abolition movement and how black people moved away from being slaves to full American citizens and what this history means for them.

The Main Idea

The main thing presented in the work is the manner in which African Americans struggled towards attainment of their independence aside from the independence of the United States. This means that they wanted to be free from the many perils which afflicted them in being black people and slaves at that time. The journey towards freedom is the main idea of the source

Significance

The source is very significant when it comes to understanding American history and specifically the life of the pioneers in relation to the black people who were their slaves. The question can be asked; how comes that the slaves want total freedom to be free people? This is the question that has been asked since that time of slavery and even up to today some white people believe that black people deserve a less place in the society. However, this is not true the source shows how the struggle for freedom has been.

Reference

Pearson education inc. (2009), my history lab, prentice hall