"Long before America was even an idea, this land of plenty was home to many peoples. The British and French, the Dutch and Spanish, to Mexicans, to countless Indian tribes. We all shared the same land," President Obama told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810. It was recognized on September 27, 1821.
The United States of America declared its independence in 1776.
Combine this with his "57 states" remark, and I'm beginning to wonder how much American history they teach in Kenya :-)
Hope you're joking, but I can't be sure sadly :(
ReplyDeleteBiphob???
ReplyDeleteYou forgot unenlightened, non-intellectual, wealthy elitist, right-wing republican!!
Isn't Hillary second in charge?? Oh, wait a minute, she just thinks she is!
Bwaaahaahaahaa!!!
Wealthy? I'm a teacher, remember?!
ReplyDeleteSo, I take it there were no Americans before July 4th, 1776? (Or September 3, 1783, if you prefer). A state and a nation are two very different things.
ReplyDeleteDid they refer to themselves as "Americans", or were they "colonists" or, more likely, "Virginians" and "New Yorkers", etc.?
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter; would you consider them Americans?
ReplyDeleteDarren: "Did they refer to themselves as 'Americans', or were they 'colonists' or, more likely, 'Virginians' and 'New Yorkers', etc.?"
ReplyDeleteThey would have *thought* of themselves as citizens of their colonies/states. In fact this state oriented identity continued on until at least the Civil War. Note that Robert E. Lee, for example, felt primary allegiance to Virginia, not to the USA.
Having said this, it is quite possible that the Spanish subjects in Mexico thought of themselves as Mexicans for much the same reason.
But I highly doubt that this nuance is what the president was getting at.
-Mark Roulo
Darren,
ReplyDeleteFirst let me say, I enjoy your blog. Keep it up. I would like to point out another thing from that same speech. Obama while quoting the Declaration of Independance decided not to include "by our Creator" when describing our origins of our Rights. Many people are pointing our that he might be an Atheist, but I don't see that way. I think it just how the left see our Rights, they believe that Rights are granted by governments and it is not own by the individual. When you understand how they view Rights it becomes clear that they see things.
I have found a great video (set of videos if you want) to show your students that will understand their Rights and inspire them to become Great Individuals.
P1 The Nature and Origin of Human Rights
"Many people are pointing our that he might be an Atheist, but I don't see that way."
ReplyDeleteAnother explanation is that a lot of his hard-core base is either atheist, or very uncomfortable with religion. No point in upsetting them. Certainly not this close to an election.
-Mark Roulo