Christian And Navajo Creation

Christian And Navajo Creation All places, people, cultures and religions have a beginning; something or someone had to create the land, sea, animals and people. The story of creation varies from culture to culture but in some instances you can find similarities between two cultures that were divided by an ocean and thousands of miles. The two creation myths are those of the Christians and the Navajo peoples. These myths have been passed down from generation to generation and never forgotten. The creation myths for these two cultures are the building blocks for their futures. These two cultures werent only divided by an ocean and thousands of miles but by different languages and the time period in which each creation takes place. Despite the difference between these two myths, the similarities that are found are quite remarkable. The creation myths of the Navajo and Christian people contain specific symbolisms that make each unique, from the different characters, to the presence and development of evil and the flo ods that wiped out life or moved life forward, these show that no matter how great the distance there can be similarities and not just differences. Each creation myth will be assessed individually because it is easier to fully understand the relation between the two myths. The Christian creation myth will be addressed first because it is the most well known of the two. In the Christian creation myth there was one God, The Triune God that consists of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. He was the divine creator in the Christian creation myth that is told in The Book of Genesis. The Lord God of the Christian creation myth has the ability to create anything from nothing. He takes an earth that does not yet have form to it and creates the heavens, the land and all living creatures on it, including man. When God creates the earth it takes him six days to create the world and he rests on the seventh day. He didnt create the earth all at once, he did it in steps. First he created light, then the heavens, then the land and plants, next the sun and moon, then the fish and birds and on the final day he created the animals and man. Th e Lord God, The Divine Creator, is a figure of great power and wisdom that is not always believed to be true later in the bible. If you look past the initial creation of the earth and focus on the sixth day when man was created you will find two characters that started human life on earth. Adam was the first male to be created. He was created from dust and the breathe of god that gave him life and breathe of his own. God created Adam to rule over all the animals and to tend to the Garden of Eden. Adam was also tasked with the job of naming all the birds and animals. God tried to find a helper for Adam so that he didnt have to care for Eden alone, but none of the animals god created was capable of helping Adam. Since God could not find a suitable helper for Adam he put him into a deep sleep and removed one of Adams ribs and used it to create the first woman, Eve. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could eat whatever plants and fruits they wanted, except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating the fruit was forbidden and they both were told that if they ate it, they would die. This is the part of the story where the first instance of evil is introduced. One day when Eve was working in the garden she was approached by a serpent. This serpent was no normal serpent, it was Satan disguised as one of Gods creatures. As the serpent, Satan tricked Eve into eating and sharing with Adam a fruit from the forbidden tree. When Satan is disguised as the snake, he is seen as a trickster who gets his way through tricking and manipulating the helpless. When God found out what Adam and Eve had done he cursed them, as well as the serpent. The serpent was cursed to forever crawl on his belly and eat dust for the rest of his life. Eve was cursed with severe pains when birthing children and that her husband will always rule over her. Whe n God got to Adam he cursed the ground that he will plant his crops and it will produce inedible foods. All of this pain and suffering was all because of a trickster. After Adam and Eve were banished from Eden for eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they made love and Eve got pregnant. The lord had blessed them with their first son and they named him Cain. Eve looks as her son as a blessing and realizes that the lord had given her Cain and also realized that he is the ultimate source of life. Eve also had another son that was named Abel. Cain worked the land and soil and Abel watched and worked the flocks of sheep or other various animals. When these two men went to bring gifts to God, Cain brought gifts of fruit from the soil and Abel brought gifts of fat portions from the younger part of the flock. The lord favored Abels gift over Cains and this made him angry. The Lord God asked Cain why he was so angry and explained to him that if you allow sin to get a grasp on you it will eventually lead to something terrible. After this talk with God, Cain went to find Abel and asked him to go to the field with him. Once there Cain attacked and killed Abel because he was jealous of how God favored Abels offering over his. When he returned from the field God asked Cain where his brother is and he told him that he didnt know where he was. God knew what had happened to Abel and cursed Cain and told him that the ground will never yield crops to him again. Cain left his home and became a wanderer and said that whoever finds him will kill him. God said that that is not so for whom ever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over. This is because he wants Cain to live as long as he can so that he will always have the burden of knowing that he killed his brother. Cain and his wife lived in the land of Nod which was east of Eden. Cain eventually married a nd his wife had a child named Enoch. Cain built a city here and named it after his son. Enoch eventually has sons who had sons that. Down the lineage one of the family members of Cain had murdered a young man and he was also cursed like Cain. Adam and Eve were blessed again with another child in place of the slain Abel, his name was Seth. Seth also had a son, he called him Enosh. After Enosh was born the people of the land started to call to the lord and pray to him. The conclusive symbolic event that happens in the Christian creation myth is the flood that destroys all living creatures below the heavens. The flood is brought on by God because he was disgusted by how corrupt and violent life on earth had become. God spoke to a man that he felt would bring balance back to earth after the flood; this mans name was Noah. God instructed Noah to build an Ark made from cypress wood to his exact dimensions. After the Ark was built Noah was told to gather two animals of every kind, one male and one female and put them on the ark to save them from the flood. He was also told to bring seven pair of the clean animals onto the ark. The clean animals were to be used for sacrifice once the flood waters had receded. God also instructed him to bring his wife, all three of his sons and his sons wives onto the ark as well. Noah was given seven days to complete all this before the rain started. Once the rain started it would not stop for 40 days and 40 nights. The water from the rain rose so high that they covered the highest mountains on earth. Eventually the rain stopped, but the water did not recede for one hundred and fifty days, the God sent a wind that started lowering the flood waters. As the flood waters receded the ark found a resting place on the Mountains of Ararat. Noah sent a raven to see if it could find dry land and it returned with nothing. Later he sent a dove out to do the same thing and it too returned with nothing. Seven days after the first dove returned, Noah sent out the dove again and this time it returned with an olive branch. In another seven days he would send the dove out again and this time it would not return. This told Noah that the flood waters receded and it was now safe to leave the ark. After Noah, his family and all the living creatures left the ark; God came to Noah and told him and his family to repopulate the earth. After the flood God vowed never to curse the ground again because of humans, he originally cursed the ground because of Adam and Eves betrayal and it led to the death and de struction of all life on earth. From these symbols, its easy to see how they all, in their own way, affected the creation of earth. Of the different themes in this creation myth the one that defines God as the Divine Creator is the most extensive one because he has the ability to create anything from nothing. At the beginning of the creation myth there is only one being, the divine creator, God. His power of creation is never rivaled during the telling of the Christian creation myth. As he creates the earth and all the creatures, man is created in his likeness. When Adam is living in Eden with Eve another meme is introduced; the division of good by evil. This takes place when Eve is tempted by Satan, as the form of a serpent, to eat an apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She does so and also shares some of it with Adam. When this happens, it divides Adam and Eve from God and he curses them and the serpent. Satan, as the serpent, is pleased because he successfully divided God from man. Eating that apple leads to corruption and violence on Earth. This is when God purges the earth with the flood. It seems that, with the creation of land, water, creatures, or man, evil will be present in some form. You have read about different symbols and themes in the Christian creation myth but the form in which it was originally to be important as well. The story was passed down from person to person through speech. It was an oral tradition for quite a while. It was not recorded in written form until God gave it to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The source of the story is in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible in the Book of Genesis. The book of Genesis is one of five books that comprise the bible. It is felt by many scholars that the language in the Christian creation myth was formally recorded. The bible as it is known today in the United States is a translation of the original bible that was recorded thousands of years ago. When the bible was originally translated from Hebrew to English, it is said that they translated it word for word instead of translated phrases or whole sentences or thought for thought. The story that is heard today is the translation of Hebrew text that was passed down from God. The Christians believed this story of creation when it was first written and they still believe in it and all its characters today. The people to which the Christian creation myth came to was the Hebrew people. The role of women in their culture can be seen as being below man all through the bible. Its starts pretty early when God is cursing Eve for eating the apple and he tells her that she will forever be ruled over by man. This lack of respect for women is found in almost every book of the bible in various ways. Women are treated like lesser beings. This is even true in the Christian religion today. Men are considered the ruler of the house and of the church. In the modern church women dont play any major roles. Women cannot be priests, bishops, cardinals or even the pope. I dont think that will ever change due to the strict beliefs and history towards women in the Christian church. The Navajo creation myth compared to the Christian creation myth is a bit more complicated. The story of the Navajo creation begins in a dark world, on a piece of land that is surrounded on four sides by water. Each side represented a direction and color; white for the East, blue for the South, yellow for the West, and black for the North. On this piece of land were the insect people. No actual god is present at this point but someone or something has to be with the insect people because they are expelled from the first world for arguing too much. Unlike the Christian creation myth, no god or creator is visible at the beginning of the Navajo creation myth. After the insect people leave the first world, they go to the second world where they meet the bird people and not long after are asked to leave because they continued to argue. When they emerged into the third world, they meet the grasshopper people and got along with them for awhile. Eventually, however, they were asked to leave this world, too. They left this world and emerged with four grasshopper people; each colored the same color as one of the directions. In this world there were for mountains, each facing a specific direction. The insect people searched for people to the south, east, and west, and they found nothing. Then they traveled north and came across farming community. Its people, the Pueblos, taught the insect people to farm, along with other necessary skills for survival. At this point in the creation story, the first god appears to the insect people, sometime during the first autumn. The gods name was talking god and with him appeared four other gods called: White Body, Blue Body, Yellow Body, and Black body. The Black Body God spoke and told the insect people to be more god-like or human and less like insects. They were also told to do a thorough self-cleanse and the Gods would return in twelve days. The Gods returned in twelve days with the Blue Body and the Black Body gods each carrying holy buckskins and the White Body and Yellow Body gods each carrying an ear of similarly colored corn. One buckskin was laid down facing east and the ears of corn were placed with eagle feathers on the buckskins and then covered with the other buckskin. By the request of the gods, wind blew between the buckskins, one from the east and one from the west. While the winds were blowing, eight mirage people encircled the mirage four times. When the top skin was removed, a man was where the white corn had been placed and a woman was where the yellow corn had been placed. They were known as the first man and first woman, or the holy people. The men and women did not always get along. Much like in the Christian creation myth there seemed to be a divide between the men and the women. The Navajo people had an argument about the true reason that men hunt. This reason is that the sexual power of the women makes them hunt. The men became angry at this notion. The women felt that men and their abilities were not needed and they left the men. They traveled to the other side of the river where they lived for four years. During this time each side had performed unclean sexual acts. The women masturbated and the men would have sex with dead animal parts such as the liver of a slain deer. These unclean acts lead to the creation of monsters that will later devour and plague the people for some time. Once instance where this happened was during a river crossing with a man, woman and their two young daughters. The man and woman got across but realized their daughters did not. This is when the two people and coyote went in to the river to find the girls and they eventually did in the lair of the water monster. The water monster did not resist when the parents came to take their children back. During this time when everyone was distracted, Coyote stole the water monsters two babies and hid them under his robe. One of the symbols that keep repeating throughout the Navajo creation story is the number four, along with multiples of four. This may be because there are four main directions in the world. However, this is not made clear. Eight years after man was created a archetypal trickster appears in the creation myth. The trickster is a coyote, much like the serpent in the Christian myth. The coyote is a trouble maker and, although he is mischievous, he is not an evil being like the serpent was in the Christian myth. Coyote secretly stole the children of the water monster. This act of thievery is actually helpful in the long run. More than anything, he seemed to make bad situations worse and never seemed to be helpful. In the Navajo creation myth, there is a flood as well. However, it differs from the Christian myth because the Navajo gods did not cause the flood in order to destroy all life on earth. The people were noticing that animals were starting to leave and realized the flood was approaching. They carried with them soil from the sacred mountains and, in that soil; they planted four reeds that combined into one with a hole in the east side. All the people climbed the reed as the flood waters came. The climbed up the reed and emerged into the fifth and final world. They soon realized, however, that water was following them through the hole and they used the stolen water monster children to plug the whole. When everyone emerged into the fifth world, an argument broke out between the Navajo people and the Pueblo people. This causes the Navajo and the Pueblo people to move apart from each other at this time. Later in history, they would meet again and teach each other different skills. After this split between Pueblo and Navajo, the first man and the first woman remade the four mountains with help from the gods; using the soil from the mountains in the fourth world. All the symbols found in the Navajo creation story have a specific role or purpose. The theme of the Navajo creation myth is not a story of a divine creator, such as in the Christian myth, but it is a story of emergence through four worlds that each has their own difficulties. The Navajo emergence story is called the Dine Bahane and is one of the most complex stories to be originally presented orally. It is eventually written down, but for many years it was simply passed on from person to person verbally. It was not until much later that the oral rendition was translated and taken to written form. It is said that when Navajo people want to feel reborn or renewed as a culture, they perform a special ceremony. During this ceremony, they reenact the emergence creation myth. This story is just one of many ways that the creation myth is still remembered today. In conclusion, when comparing the Navajo and Christian creation myths, the symbolism that arise between the two is quite similar considering the distance between these two cultures. The research shows similar archetypes, symbols, and how the myth was first presented and passed down to its audience. The two cultures represented within these distinct creation myths lived thousands of miles apart, and yet still had a few striking similarities within their myths. However, although they had their striking similarities, they also had many dramatic differences between the two that clearly distinguishes one creation story from the other. No matter what creation myth you believe to be true, no one knows for certain how humans came to inhabit the earth.

Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture.Feminist Archeology Essay

This refers to a feminist perspective used in interpreting the past societies. The main focus is on gender in relation to class, race or sexuality. This archeology was critiquing the very uncritical modern, western values applications that were being used to look at the area of archeology. Feminist anthropology has three waves with the first wave occurring between1850 and 1920, the second wave was between 1920 and 1980 and the third wave which still exists to now started in 1980’s. The first wave The main concern coming from the first wave was the need to ensure women voices are taken into account in area of Ethnography. They wanted any little information that women contributed to Ethnography to be included in all records of data that are available or have recognized men who participated in the same field. Margaret Conkey together with Janet Spector wrote a paper entitled ‘Archaeology and the study of Gender’ in 1992 which was critiquing the way the then archeologists were overlaying the modern Western Gender values and norms on past societies like on matters of division of labor based on Gender, of which all the contexts or artifacts only attributed to tasks done by men and all the characters related to the discipline were attributed to only masculine values. Women on the other hand were asked to take professions relating to laboratory studies rather than field work (Clea, 13). Clifford believes that during the second wave, the female archeologists started focusing on academic sphere separating sex and gender notions, which had been used interchangeably during previous periods. Gender had been used to refer to the male and the female, their cultural construction and the relationship that existed between the two. Even though gender definitions vary from one culture to another, the feminist anthropologists were against the broad generalizations that were being done. The female archeologist in the second phase also rejected the concept of inherent dichotomies like whom between a man and a woman was to remain home or go to work. Research done during this second wave was developed in a materialistic perspective. Theories touching on social relations researched on women, production and reproduction factors associated with them. Many scholars that follow this Marxist theory focus on gender and how it relates to changes in production modes, power social relations a nd class (23). According to Clea (12), the third wave that occurred in 1980’s expanded their focus beyond gender, to include archeology and physical anthropology. They focus on the difference existing between women rather than between the males and females. They focus on differences that come as a result of race, class, and even ethnicity. They also encouraged consideration in other categories like religion, age, status and occupation, what they mean and how they relate with each other, moving away from the male and female concept. Power was a crucial factor during the third wave as it gave the females an opportunity to construct their identity, hence the need for a ‘fragmented theoretical approach’ that focuses on a particular fragmented subject. The point’s female theories were reacting to. According to Clea (41), first wave feminist anthropologists were reacting to the fact that discussion on women only focused on areas of marriage and family, with little regard on women issues and gender leading to a very deficient understanding on general human experience. The female archeologists also criticized the language that was being used in the discipline, especially the word ‘man’ which was in a way very ambiguous, because at one point it referred to all homo sapiens and sometimes it was referring to the male population in general. According to Clifford (39), second wave feminists on the other hand were criticizing Durkheim’s notion which recognized having a static system, which can easily be broken down in inherent dichotomies. The female anthropologists argued that the social system is very dynamic as the social relations at the end of they come down on practice. Feminist Anthropologists who emerged during the post-structuralist time criticized cultural feminism theory which was opposed by Mary Daly together with Adrienne Rich. The theory believed in the existence of a male or female essence which validated traditional roles performed by the male or female folks. The theorists focused on women’s tenderness, sentimental and her subjectivity as her main self awareness. Those opposing the theory claimed that it ignored the oppressive nature of the traditional values on the women population. Clea asserts that further criticisms were from the African-American archeologists together with other people from ethnics, who represented the minority population, who questioned the power of questions that were being asked by earlier feminist anthropologists. Audrey Lorde wrote to Mary Daly questioning her view that the oppression women faced were identical in women of all races. It views that the early female anthropologists like Zora Neale were excluded from matters Anthropology, not because she did not have a PHD but because of her race. The African-female anthropologists believe that black anthropologists continue to be ignored or marginalized despite their great contribution to archeology (23). Globalization is a major force in redefining society today. Discuss the effects of migration on the nation-state. Also, what does it mean to be a trans-border citizen? Joseph defines Globalization as set of processes that embodies transformation of social relations or transactions which have been expressed in transcontinental and interregional networks of activities power and interactions. It has been categorized in four kinds of changes with the first focusing on stretching of economic, social and political processes across regions, continents and frontiers. The second kind involves the intensification of interconnectedness and smooth flow of investment, trade, finances, culture and migration (2). Nicole explains that while the third is linked to speeding of global processes and interaction procedures, as there is development of global transport systems and communication platforms which increases the rate at which people share ideas, capital, information and capital. The fourth focuses on the fast rate global interactions which show the effects of distant activities can have a great significance elsewhere and how specific local development in one country can affect global development. All these four kinds of globalization shows us that boundaries that exist between local issues and global matters have become increasingly fluid, hence it is widening, growing, intensifying and increasing the impact of global interconnectedness (21). Effects of migrating on a nation-state According to Joseph (28), migrating on a nation state reduces the sovereignty of a country due to the acceptance by the nation to use international law and abide by the human rights principle which legitimizes the international community to intervene if a country is not treating the immigrants well. In addition due to globalization effects, migration among nation states reduces a nation’s Autonomy by transnational corporation powers and supranational bodies which reduce a nation’s capacity to create and implement policies and decisions that are touching on economical, social and political issues. Held &McGrew believe that a country’s authority on border control is undermined by migration due to burgeoning cross-border frequent flows of capital, ideas, migrants and commodities. If elected officials of different nations no longer have the power to make national decisions due to supranational level, democracy reduces a lot due to lack of popular representation. This migration also undermines the important link between states and their nations, due to diverse and huge mobile populations with affiliations in various states, reducing space for individual races. It will also see a decline in welfare state because of huge corporations and international markets having authority to restrict intervention by affected nations, as they demand deregulation and privatization (34). Nicole believes that Western states have predominated; the global stage in organizing politics, identity, culture and economic development of many nations especially developing countries. Globalization has led to the proliferation of many transnational communities leading to increased mobility across borders of populations, as they increase the possibility of maintaining very close links between their homeland and co-ethnics happening elsewhere (18). According to Held & McGrew, (12) trans-border citizens are also given the opportunity to erode border-control protocols as they decline the link existing between the citizen and his nation. In addition, they undermine the territorial sovereignty of a nation, as a result of creating cross-border links that are very durable, divided loyalties and many multiple identities. Using Terry Eagleton’s book, Across the Pond, as a starting point, discuss the meaning and symbolic representation of individualism in American culture During the past many Americans have found the British oddness very fascinating, but according to Terry Eagleton, the U.S citizens are the ones who are more strange and individualistic in nature. Through his journey in language, national character of the citizens and the country’s geography, Terry probes the depths of the United States culture with both an academic mind and humor. He answers questions expressed by his fellow compatriots like why the Americans wake up at dawn even during holidays and Sundays. Through this book, the writer Eagleton shows true admiration of the American individualism culture. In the book Eagleton makes broad, debatable generalizations like ‘Americans find it hard to do things by halves’, ‘The British are no enthusiasts of extremes’, and ‘Americans tend to sling things together that Europeans would keep strictly apart’. Even though these observations do not apply to specific individuals, Terry generalizes them to describe how Americans operate, being given the Authority to do so because of poetry. From the beginning of the book, he recognizes the fact that most Americans will not take his sentiments lightly because of their total devotion to personal rights and individualism. He however expresses his point on stereotypes and his sense of humor by making an observation that if truly the Americans hold on to their individuality concept, then they should take his observations as an irony about them. While addressing the issue of obesity Terry (9),believes that is affecting over 60% populations of the Americans, he observes that many of them have no idea that the entire population does not have people like them, or they have not gotten the chance to observe that for they are too fat to fit in the aircraft. This only means that the American population are only concerned with what is happening to them and do not care about what other nations across the world are going through. As much as most of the observations are not insult the Americans, his chapter that focuses on differences between the English and Americans is full of mistakes that are very hilarious in the sense that anyone who has interacted with people from Britain will automatically realize. According to Terry (21), emphasis on the American dream also brings about the individualism that the American citizens possess. He observes that, ‘Americans are great believers in the fraudulent doctrine that you can do anything you want if you try hard enough’. He however does not understand why this dream has not helped them to eradicate poverty, early teenage pregnancies, social exclusion and incarceration. By attacking the American dream, it is clear that he is of the idea we should not be so selfish to the point we cannot realize when it is time to give up and let go rather than making a fool out of ourselves. The American’s political structure as explained by Eagleton shows how individualistic they are by nature. He refers to their politics as having only one party state that of democratic capitalist and republican capitalist, with the diversity of their opinions not even able to rival the varieties of candy bars. He explains that the Americans are capitalists and that is not going away any soon. Even though people view Obama as a capitalist, he believes that the love affair the Americans have with capitalism is not going anywhere. Generally countries that have a capitalism economy are individualistic as they put their concerns first before any other (Terry, 23). Despite being humorous and ironically, the book has underlying meanings that if studied well can help in understanding the American culture. The change in leadership between the democratic and republicans and their style of leadership does not differ much as most of their policies are always focused on protecting their nation against any enemy that wants to kill the country’s sovereignty. From the book it is clear that the country does not care about the needs of other countries as long as their own interests are protected and safeguarded. This can be seen in the way they handle the Arab nations when it comes to fighting terrorism. American government have in the recent past been accused of tapping phone conversations of big government officials in Britain, Germany, France and even the developing countries and the main reason for this is to safeguard their interests. The wiki leaks that occurred some years back are a true reflection of the lengths the country can go to protect their nation without caring about what will happen to other nations hence their individualism. Eagleton has observed that the Americans may not take his writings in a good way and true to his words; many Americans have criticized his writings just because it did not favor them. If the writings supported them, then most probably they would have supported the writings. But as much as it’s touching on the nation’s pride, they definitely oppose it in strong measures. The writer is however very individualistic in a way because he being an English man, only praises the British while criticizing the Americans. Having married an American, he should have at least said one positive thing about the Americans. References Terry Eagleton, â€Å"Across the Pond: An Englishman’s View of America†, London Press, London: 2013. Print. Joseph, Stigltz, â€Å"Making Globalization Work†, Harvard University Press, New York: 2008. Print. Clea, Koff, â€Å"The bone woman†, London Press, London: 2004. Print. Clifford, Geertz, â€Å"Interpretation of cultures† Harvard University Press, New York: 2008. Print. Nicole, Johns, â€Å"Nation-states and migration effects†, Oxford University Press, New York: 2013.Print. Held, Dannies. And McGrew, Andrew, â€Å"Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture†, Polity Press, Cambridge: 2000. Print. Source document

American States With the Highest Teenage Abortion Rates

In a nation where abortion remains legal despite ongoing legal and legislative debate, which states have the highest rates of teenage abortion? A 2010 report by the Guttmacher Institute compiled teenage pregnancy and abortion statistics in the United States. These state by state statistics show a dramatic decrease in some states while others moved up a little on the list. However, as a whole, the U.S. teenage pregnancy and abortion rates have declined dramatically in recent years. 10 States With the Highest Teen Abortion Rates The available 2010 data for abortions among women aged 15 to 19 is ranked by state. The rate reflects the number of abortions per thousand women in this age range.   Rank State Abortion Rate 1 New York 32 2 Delaware 28 3 New Jersey 24 4 Hawaii 23 5 Maryland 22 6 Connecticut 20 7 Nevada 20 8 California 19 9 Florida 19 10 Alaska 17 More Teen Pregnancy  Statistics and Analysis Overall, of the 614,410 teenage pregnancies reported in the U.S. during 2010, 157,450 ended in abortion and 89,280 in miscarriage. From 1988 to 2010, the abortion rate for teens dropped in every state with many seeing a 50 percent reduction or more. In 2010, 23 states reported an abortion rate in the single digits. Its also important to note that the majority of pregnancies and abortions involve 18- and 19-year-old women. The District of Columbia is the only place in the report with more abortions reported in the 15 to 17 range than in the older group. Yet, D.C. does not count in state rankings. The states with the lowest abortion rates in 2010 were South Dakota, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah, Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Texas. Each reported that fewer than 15 percent of teen pregnancies ended in abortion. However, that does not account for state residents who sought an abortion in neighboring states. Only three of the states above rank in the top ten states with the highest teenage pregnancy rates of young women age 15 to 19. They are Nevada (ranked seventh with 68 pregnancies per thousand); Delaware (ranked eighth with 67 pregnancies per thousand); Hawaii (ranked tenth with 65 pregnancies per thousand). The highest pregnancy rate in 2010 was in New Mexico, where 80 in every thousand teens became pregnant. This state ranks fourteenth in the abortion rate. Mississippi had the highest teenage birthrate, with 55 girls for every thousand. The Dramatic Decrease in Teenage Abortions According to this same report, in 2010, the teenage pregnancy rate dropped to a 30 year low (57.4 per thousand). It peaked in 1990 at 51 percent or 116.9 girls for every thousand. This is a significant decrease that has not gone unnoticed.   In a 2014  report also by the Guttmacher Institute, a 32 percent decrease was found in teenage abortions between 2008 and 2014. This follows the 40 percent decline in teenage pregnancies over this same period. There are many influences that are cited as causing this change. One is the fact that fewer teenagers are having sex in general. Among those teens that do have sex, there is an increased use in some form of contraception. The increase in sex education, as well as cultural influences, the media, and even the economy, are considered to have played a role as well. Source U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity. 2010. Guttmacher Institute.

Twelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup - 2534 Words

The novel Twelve Years a Slave was written by Solomon Northup. This novel was turned into a film in 2013, directed by Steven McQueen. The film portrays the memoirs of an African-American male, named Solomon Northup, who was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery for 12 years in the deep south of Louisiana. Northup was born and raised a fee man from New York State where he worked as violinist and lived with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two men had approached Northup offering a job as a violinist for two weeks while traveling with them to Washington DC. One night while celebrating their earnings, the two man drugged Northup and sold him into slavery. Northup had woken up a room, a slave pen where his back was violently beaten to resemble a slave and gave him a new name, Platt. Northup was he was purchased by William Ford, a slave owner who look highly upon him. Williams carpenter, John Tibeats, did not however take to kindly to Northup. One day Tibeats tried to beat Northup, but Northup overthrew Tibeats and beat him. Tibeats and his friends tried hang Northup for revange of Tibeats humiliation. Chapin, Ford s overseer on the property stopped the hanging. However, left Northup in the noose, dangling by his tiptoes. He was left for hours struggling until Ford came rushing to cut him free. Ford knew that Tibeats wouldn t stop till Northup was dead, in order to save his life he sold him to another slaver owner. Northup tried to tell Ford heShow MoreRelatedTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1070 Words   |  5 PagesTwelve Years A Slave (1853) By Solomon Northup Publisher: Miller, Orton Mulligan, 1855 # of pages: 336 Kamila Piloto Mr. Deliard Period 4 Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup is a story about a slave whom was once free but was abducted and was sold into slavery. This story is an explanation of the suffering of slaves in the antebellum period and a demonstration of the inhumane treatment. â€Å"Before I came here I was free, a free man.† The setting of the story was in New YorkRead MoreTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1472 Words   |  6 PagesTwelve Years a Slave is a book which is written by Solomon Northup. He was born in New York. The book retail the author’s life story as a free black man from the North. He lived, got married to Anne Hampton, a woman of mixed (black, white, and Native American) and worked in New York, where is his family stayed. Besides, he was a great laborer and a violin player. In 1841, at the age of 33 a two con men offered him a profitable work with a high-paying job as a musician playing violin in the sierkRead MoreTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1636 Word s   |  7 PagesMarina Ajayby Mrs. Fred Jordan History 2010 30 November 2015 Twelve Years a Slave Twelve Years a Slave is a book which is written by Solomon Northup. He was born in New York. The book retail the author’s life story as a free black man from the North. He lived, got married to Anne Hampton, a woman of mixed (black, white, and Native American) and worked in New York, where is his family stayed. Besides, he was a great laborer and a violin player. In 1841, at the age of 33 a two con men offered himRead MoreTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1284 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve Years a Slave Eric Marek HIST1301 Professor Belt 28 December 2015 In the opening of Twelve Years a Slave, it shows slaves cutting sugar cane with their â€Å"masters† continuously barking out orders for the them to follow. In the next scene, while the slaves are eating their meals in a beat up shack, Solomon Northup distinguishes the dark coloration of the blackberries and attempts to make a quill and ink. Despite solid labor, because of the thinness of the juice, his effortsRead MoreTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1953 Words   |  8 Pagestrading of slaves within the colonies. In the union even though they were known as â€Å"free states† some still did not allow free slaves because of competition for jobs. Although free, black men did not have the same rights as white men such as the right to vote, and did not have the same quality of education as white people. Even though the south did not care for the race they cared for the individual because they used the slaves and they were the base of the slave owners income. Slave owners investedRead MoreTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1629 Words   |  7 PagesTwelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup is a non-fiction story of Northup’s time as a slave. Northup was born in Minerva New York in 1808. At the time New York, along with other northern states were considered Free states. In Free states, slaves were able to become free, meaning they did not have to go into slavery and were able to live like the rest of Americans. In 1841 Northup was tricked into following two white men, Merrill brown and Abram Hamilton, who end up kidnapping Northup and sellingRead MoreSolomon Northup s Twelve Years A Slave1690 Words   |  7 PagesSolomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave Twelve Years a Slave was written by Solomon Northup. The book provides the reader a deeper understanding of the hardest periods in American history â€Å"slavery.† When reading Twelve Years a Slave, people can have a better understanding of how slaves were treated back in the 1800s. Northup discussed in details how slaves were mistreated and cruelly beaten by their masters. Masters were heartless; they would beat their slaves till they were close to take theirRead MoreSummary Of Twelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1227 Words   |  5 Pagesby the name Solomon Northup. He wrote a memoir addressing his oppressors and coming clean with all the unjust actions that had taken place. In his book Twelve Years a Slave, the role of religion was very evident not only in his own life, but the lives of the people who played a role in his captivity in slavery. Religion is portrayed in several different perspectives throughout Twelve Years a Slave. Northup uses this important common g round to cultivate the true relationship between slave and ownerRead MoreAnalysis Of Solomon Northup s Twelve Years A Slave 1840 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Retold by Solomon Northup (and edited by David Wilson), Twelve Years A Slave is a memoir and slave narrative that captured the author s incredible story- he was a free black man from New York who was kidnapped and sold to the Southern of the United States as a subject to slavery from 1841 to 1853 before being rescued by the efforts of his family and friends. Using detailed imagery to recounted Northup s arduous experience as a slave, the book eloquently exposed important controversiesRead MoreDehumanization in Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup1295 Words   |  6 Pages Solomon Northup was born free, in Minerva, New York in 1808. Northup became known in his community as an exceptional fiddle player. When two men approached Northup and offered him good wages to go to Washington DC, to play in a travelling music show, he quickly accepted. Solomon Northup was drugged, kidnapped, captured, and sold into slavery. He served for many masters; some were violent and cruel while others treated him humanely. Solomon Northup experienced shear torture, cruelty, and the loss