Native American Astronomy Essays - Meteor Showers, Leonids

Native American Astronomy Essays - Meteor Showers, Leonids Native American Astronomy For many years astronomers and people alike have constantly heard about the observations and records of the Chinese and Europeans. No other culture can provide as much information as that gathered by the Chinese and Europeans, but there are many other cultures that observed and recorded the night sky, one of those being the Native Americans. During the last fifteen to twenty years archaeoastronomers have uncovered much concerning the beliefs and records of Native Americans. Unfortunately, the methods of keeping records of astronomical events were not as straight forward as the Chinese and Europeans. The Native Americans had to use what they could to record what they observed. Their records were found on rock and cave drawings, stick notching, beadwork, pictures on animal skins and story telling. One of the few dateable events among the various records of Native Americans was the 1833 appearance of the Leonid meteor shower. The most obvious accounts of the Leonid storm appear among the various bands of the Sioux of the North American plains. The Sioux kept records called winter counts, which were a chronological pictographic account of each year painted on animal skin. In 1984 Von Del Chamberlain listed the astronomical references for 50 Sioux, forty five out of fifty referred to an intense meteor shower during 1833/1834. He also listed nineteen winter counts kept by other plains Indian tribes, fourteen of which referred to the Leonid storm. The Leonids also appear among the Maricopa, who used calendar sticks with notches to represent the passage of a year, with the owner of the stick remembering the events. The owner of one stick claimed records had been kept that way since the stars fell. The first notch on the stick represented 1833. A member of the Papago, named Kutox, was born around 1847 or 1848. He claimed that 14 years prior to his birth the stars rained all over the sky. A less obvious Leonid reference was found in a journal kept by Alexander M. Stephen, which detailed his visit with the Hopi Indians and mentions a talk he had With Old Djasjini on December 11, 1892. That Hopi Indian said, How old am I? Fifty, maybe a hundred years, I cannot tell. When I was a young boy eight or ten years there was a great comet in the sky and at night all the above was full of shooting stars. (Stephen 37). During the lifetime of Old Djasini there was never a great comet and a sky full of meteors in the same year, but he might be referring to the comet in 1843 and the Leonid storm in 1833. The Pawnee have a story about a person named Pahokatawa, who was killed by an enemy and eaten by animals, and then brought back to life by the Gods. The legend goes that he fell to earth as a meteor and told the people that when meteors were seen falling in great numbers it was not a sign that the world would end. When the pawnee tribe witnessed the time the stars fell upon the earth, which was in 1833, there was a panic, but the leader said, remember the words of Pahokatawa and the people were no longer afraid. This shows how powerful a role astronomy played in the Native American culture. Although the Pawnee learned not to be afraid there were Native Americans who feared meteors. The Blackfeet of Montana believed a meteor was a sign that sickness would come to the tribe in the winter the Kawaiisu thought a meteor started high and fell to the horizon was an omen of death. The Cahuilla thought a meteor was the spirit of their first shaman, takwich, who was disliked his people. Takwich wandered the sky at night looking for people far from their tribe. If he found a lost person he steal their spirit and the person home and eat them. The Shawnee believed meteors were beings fleeing from the wrath of some adversary, or from some anticipated danger.(Howard 178) Many Native Americans saw the stars as heavenly and mystical. The Wintu explained meteors as the spirits of shamans traveling to the after life. The Chumash referred to meteors as a shooting star.

Henry Clays American System Economic Plan

Henry Clay's American System Economic Plan The American System was a program for economic development championed in the era following the War of 1812 by Henry Clay, one of the most influential members of Congress in the early 19th century. Clays idea was that the federal government should implement protective tariffs and internal improvements and a national bank should help develop the nations economy. Clays basic argument for the program was that by protecting American manufacturers from foreign competition, ever increasing internal markets would spur American industries to grow.  For example, companies in the Pittsburgh region could sell iron to manufacturers on the East Coast, replacing iron imported from Great Britain. Various other regions of the country sought protection from imports that could undercut them in the marketplace. Agriculture and Manufacturing Clay envisioned a diversified American economy in which agricultural interests and manufacturers would exist side by side. Essentially, he saw beyond the argument of whether the United States would be an industrial or agricultural nation. It could be both, he insisted. When he advocated for his American System, Clay focused on the need to build growing home markets for American goods. He contended that blocking cheap imported goods would ultimately benefit all Americans. Nationalist Appeal His program  had strong nationalist appeal. Developing home markets would protect the United States from uncertain foreign events. Self-reliance could ensure that the nation was protected from shortages of goods caused by distant conflicts. That argument resonated strongly, especially in the period following the War of 1812 and Europes Napoleonic Wars. During those years of conflict, American businesses suffered from disruptions. The ideas put into practice included building the National Road, Americas first major highway; chartering the Second Bank of the United States, a new national bank, in 1816; and passing the first protective tariff the same year. Clays American System was essentially in practice during the Era of Good Feelings, which corresponded with the presidency of James Monroe from 1817 to 1825. Controversy Arises Clay, who had served as a representative and senator from Kentucky, ran for president in 1824 and 1832, advocating extending the American System. But by that time sectional and partisan disputes made aspects of his plans controversial. Clays arguments for high tariffs persisted for decades in various forms but often met with stiff opposition. In the late 1820s tensions over the role the federal government should play in economic development escalated to the point that South Carolina threatened to withdraw from the Union over a tariff in what became known as the Nullification Crisis. Clays American System was perhaps ahead of its time. The general concepts of tariffs and internal improvements became standard government policy in the late 1800s. Clay ran for president in 1844 and remained a potent force in American politics until his death in 1852. He, along with Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, became known as the Great Triumvirate of the U.S. Senate.

Henry Clays American System Economic Plan

Henry Clay's American System Economic Plan The American System was a program for economic development championed in the era following the War of 1812 by Henry Clay, one of the most influential members of Congress in the early 19th century. Clays idea was that the federal government should implement protective tariffs and internal improvements and a national bank should help develop the nations economy. Clays basic argument for the program was that by protecting American manufacturers from foreign competition, ever increasing internal markets would spur American industries to grow.  For example, companies in the Pittsburgh region could sell iron to manufacturers on the East Coast, replacing iron imported from Great Britain. Various other regions of the country sought protection from imports that could undercut them in the marketplace. Agriculture and Manufacturing Clay envisioned a diversified American economy in which agricultural interests and manufacturers would exist side by side. Essentially, he saw beyond the argument of whether the United States would be an industrial or agricultural nation. It could be both, he insisted. When he advocated for his American System, Clay focused on the need to build growing home markets for American goods. He contended that blocking cheap imported goods would ultimately benefit all Americans. Nationalist Appeal His program  had strong nationalist appeal. Developing home markets would protect the United States from uncertain foreign events. Self-reliance could ensure that the nation was protected from shortages of goods caused by distant conflicts. That argument resonated strongly, especially in the period following the War of 1812 and Europes Napoleonic Wars. During those years of conflict, American businesses suffered from disruptions. The ideas put into practice included building the National Road, Americas first major highway; chartering the Second Bank of the United States, a new national bank, in 1816; and passing the first protective tariff the same year. Clays American System was essentially in practice during the Era of Good Feelings, which corresponded with the presidency of James Monroe from 1817 to 1825. Controversy Arises Clay, who had served as a representative and senator from Kentucky, ran for president in 1824 and 1832, advocating extending the American System. But by that time sectional and partisan disputes made aspects of his plans controversial. Clays arguments for high tariffs persisted for decades in various forms but often met with stiff opposition. In the late 1820s tensions over the role the federal government should play in economic development escalated to the point that South Carolina threatened to withdraw from the Union over a tariff in what became known as the Nullification Crisis. Clays American System was perhaps ahead of its time. The general concepts of tariffs and internal improvements became standard government policy in the late 1800s. Clay ran for president in 1844 and remained a potent force in American politics until his death in 1852. He, along with Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, became known as the Great Triumvirate of the U.S. Senate.

Henry Clays American System Economic Plan

Henry Clay's American System Economic Plan The American System was a program for economic development championed in the era following the War of 1812 by Henry Clay, one of the most influential members of Congress in the early 19th century. Clays idea was that the federal government should implement protective tariffs and internal improvements and a national bank should help develop the nations economy. Clays basic argument for the program was that by protecting American manufacturers from foreign competition, ever increasing internal markets would spur American industries to grow.  For example, companies in the Pittsburgh region could sell iron to manufacturers on the East Coast, replacing iron imported from Great Britain. Various other regions of the country sought protection from imports that could undercut them in the marketplace. Agriculture and Manufacturing Clay envisioned a diversified American economy in which agricultural interests and manufacturers would exist side by side. Essentially, he saw beyond the argument of whether the United States would be an industrial or agricultural nation. It could be both, he insisted. When he advocated for his American System, Clay focused on the need to build growing home markets for American goods. He contended that blocking cheap imported goods would ultimately benefit all Americans. Nationalist Appeal His program  had strong nationalist appeal. Developing home markets would protect the United States from uncertain foreign events. Self-reliance could ensure that the nation was protected from shortages of goods caused by distant conflicts. That argument resonated strongly, especially in the period following the War of 1812 and Europes Napoleonic Wars. During those years of conflict, American businesses suffered from disruptions. The ideas put into practice included building the National Road, Americas first major highway; chartering the Second Bank of the United States, a new national bank, in 1816; and passing the first protective tariff the same year. Clays American System was essentially in practice during the Era of Good Feelings, which corresponded with the presidency of James Monroe from 1817 to 1825. Controversy Arises Clay, who had served as a representative and senator from Kentucky, ran for president in 1824 and 1832, advocating extending the American System. But by that time sectional and partisan disputes made aspects of his plans controversial. Clays arguments for high tariffs persisted for decades in various forms but often met with stiff opposition. In the late 1820s tensions over the role the federal government should play in economic development escalated to the point that South Carolina threatened to withdraw from the Union over a tariff in what became known as the Nullification Crisis. Clays American System was perhaps ahead of its time. The general concepts of tariffs and internal improvements became standard government policy in the late 1800s. Clay ran for president in 1844 and remained a potent force in American politics until his death in 1852. He, along with Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, became known as the Great Triumvirate of the U.S. Senate.