"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird." This is a quote by Miss Maudie, a character in To Kill a Mockingbird. In this quote, the author Harper Lee explains that mockingbirds are innocent, as they do nothing to conflict with others. Because of this, these birds shouldn’t be shot. However, they still are by those with abusive power. In this analogy, the mockingbirds represent the innocent people in society that are often victimized due to an injustice use of power. To prevent limitless power among the government and the citizens, America has put checks on …show more content…
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the treatment towards the American Indians from the beginning of the settlers’ history proved abusive power is inhumane, vicious, and cruel. According to the book Cherokee Nation v. Georgia by Victoria Sherrow, when the settlers first arrived and became a more established society, they passed treaties with the American Indians. These treaties allowed the American Indians to keep their own lands, and to stay an independent nation. However, as the years passed, the United States broke these treaties. For example, Georgia refused to respect the treaties and the American Indians as an independent nation. They forced the American Indians to follow their state laws since they lived within the state boundaries. Because of this, the Cherokees believed they were being denied their basic human rights listed under the United States Constitution, which led to conflicts. President Andrew Jackson stated that the solution to these conflicts was for the American Indians to move or become a part of the states. Andrew Jackson insisted that Congress pass the Indian …show more content…
In the case of Worchester v. Georgia, presented in 1832, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokees. As the Chief Justice said, the states’ actions towards the Cherokees were “repugnant to the Constitution, law, and treaties of the United States.” However, Andrew Jackson and the states ignored the ruling. As a result, in 1838 the American Indians were forced out of their homes and shoved into diseased stockades. After years of fighting and struggling for their rights, the Cherokees lost everything due to a misuse of power. This misuse of power is only one example of what happens when there aren’t any checks on power. This abusive power from the states and Andrew Jackson caused the American Indians to suffer greatly. To illustrate, the American Indians did nothing to negatively influence the settlers, but they were still punished. This is because there were no checks on power to prevent Andrew Jackson and the states from abusing their power over the American Indians. This resulted in the United States lying to these innocent
Harper Lee uses this to unravel the title of her novel. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). In this novel, mockingbirds symbolize the good, innocent people.
2.2 In Andrew Jackson’s argument, Jackson addresses his opinions about the treaty and Cherokees that let us know the main purpose of this treaty, “[i]t seems now to be an established fact that [Cherokees] can not live in contact with a civilized community and prosper.” And he also explains the new settlements and those people’s lives, “…the Indians are removed at the expense of the United States, and with certain supplies of clothing, arms, ammunition, and other indispensable articles; they are also furnished gratuitously with provisions for the period of a year after their arrival at their new
They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us (Lee page 90).” This quote reveals that mockingbirds are innocent, and that it would be unfair to target them, because they do not do one thing that would give a person reason too. Later in the story when the trial is going on, during Toms testimony he states,” she reached up and kissed me on the side of my face (Lee page 194).”
A chameleon blends into its surroundings, just like Miss Maudie Atkinson in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Scout, a young six-year-old girl, and Jem, her older brother, are living in Maycomb County during the Great Depression. Atticus, Scout’s father who is a well-respected lawyer, is defending a black person named Tom Robinson. The negro is charged with rape accusations from whites. Scout and her family receive a lot of negative comments about this trial.
Would you disregard the lives of thousands of people for wealth and power? That is what Andrew Jackson did when he endorsed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. This act resulted in the forced migration of several tribes from the southeastern region of the United States. Jackson believed that this was the best way to protect the indians from being scattered and destroyed. He claimed that gaining more land for the white settlers would increase economic progress.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, there are three characters who symbolize mockingbirds by their outgoing qualities. These characters try to make peace between races in Maycomb County and stop the prejudice and hate between each race. A mockingbird is a song bird that displays peace and creates wonderful music for the world to enjoy, therefore like Miss Maudie stated, "Mockingbirds do not do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They do not eat up people's gardens, do not nest in corncribs, they do not do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That is why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird" (90).
In 1829, when President Andrew Jackson took office, one of his main goals were to move the Native Americans to the west of the Mississippi River. Jackson's purpose for their movement was to give the white settlers the land that the Native's had resided on and Jackson also had a strong belief that a good Indian was a dead Indian. When the Native Americans were ordered to move, the Cherokees went to the Supreme Court to challenge the removal order. In the case of Worester vs. Georgia, the verdict stated that the Cherokees had the right to keep their land, but Jackson refused to recognize the Court's decision. Jackson's Native American policy resulted in the removal of the Cherokee from their homeland to settlements across the Mississippi River,
Andrew Jackson’s policy of Indian Removal was not justified because the Indians had rights to own the lands and the U.S. did not follow their democratic ways towards the natives. One example from the text is, “the state of Georgia, in her attempt to extend her laws over us…in direction opposition to the treaties” (The Cherokees Appeal to Congress). Based on this information, I realized the U.S. government was disobeying the “supreme law of the land” or treaties, as of John Marshall (Chief Justice of Supreme Court) had stated and was no different on how Britain had unfairly treated the Americans before. Also, the text supports this idea by stating “This is the land of our nativity, and the land of our...birth. We cannot consent to abandon
Mockingbirds are pure, harmless creatures that embody innocence. Miss. Maudie, the neighborhood gossip explains, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up
From 1814-1824, Jackson was instrumental in negotiating nine out of eleven treaties which divested the Southern tribes. In 1823 the Supreme Court handed down a decision which stated that Indians could occupy lands within the United States, but could not hold title to those lands. In 1827 the Cherokee adopted a written constitution declaring themselves to be a sovereign nation. Jackson’s attitude towards Native Americans was paternalistic and patronizing. December 28, 1835, a group of African-Americans joined the Seminole in an ambush against the U.S. Army and physically battled for relocation; sugar plantations were
On July 17, 1830, the Cherokee nation published an appeal to all of the American people. United States government paid little thought to the Native Americans’ previous letters of their concerns. It came to the point where they turned to the everyday people to help them. They were desperate. Their withdrawal of their homeland was being caused by Andrew Jackson signing the Indian Removal Act into law on May 28, 1830.
Race, class, and gender are all things that made an impact on early society. If your race class and gender were all were right, you were bound to become a powerful person. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how class, race, and gender all come together to rule society. Mayella Ewell demonstrates power because of her race, but shows no power in other aspects.
Prejudice and discrimination had a major impact on societies, all around the world in the 1930's. Throughout Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird there is evidence that Maycomb citizens are morally blinded and are callously indifferent due to the social setting of the town. Lee uses the voice of a young girl names Scout Finch, to highlight the racist and judgmental perspectives of the white community towards the black, during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the innocent girl matures she starts to learn of the reality around her through, race, gender discrimination, and social prejudice. Gender discrimination is a large issue in the plot of the book, especially when it came to people such as Scout.
“‘Your father’s right, she said. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”’ (Lee 119).
Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less than respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history, and the US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. This precedent of mistreatment of minorities began with Andrew Jackson’s indian removal policies to the tribes of Oklahoma (specifically the Cherokee indians) in 1829 because of the lack of respect given to the indians during the removal laws.