Freedom of Religion

(https://youtu.be/fp9lSHTepLA)

At first, I thought that this video was just controversial clickbait.
However, after watching it, I believe that this news story brings up some good points regarding the right to Freedom of Religion in America today.
When discussing Freedom of Religion, I would naturally think of either the majority, the well known religions which are still prevalent in America today, such as Catholicism,  Protestantism, Judaism etc. Otherwise, I would be inclined to think about the controversy over extreme religious freedom, shown through the likes of the KKK, and its presence in America today, as well as prejudice and stereotypes which are directed towards those of a Muslim faith.
Therefore, one of the last religions which I would consider would be Rastafarian. I found this video very interesting, therefore, as it looks at the core beliefs of Rastafarian faith, particularly in relation to marijuana, and how these beliefs are often trivialised and mocked, with viewers often bringing up the issue of "Christian privilege" in relation to Freedom of Religion, in comparison to less popular religions, such as this. This video also explores how the Freedom of Religion can conflict with current laws,  particularly drug laws, in America.

The presidential election campaign of 1964 saw the Republican candidate Ronald Reagan give the infamous speech; "A Time for Choosing". This is a highly patriotic and very American video which follows the speech of Reagan by showing how his call for courage and defending American "God-given and inalienable rights for freedom" was successful. Throughout the video, militaristic power is shown at an extreme extent which perhaps reflects the strong belief of defending American Liberty. This power is shown through the various clips of weaponary including US fight jets, assault rifles and even the infamous atomic bomb. The fundamental theme in this video is defending American Liberty which is shown through the different pictures portraying elements of history. For example, Reagan states that those who helped defeat Nazi Germany should not die in vain thus the nation must carry on defending their freedom from any other threats. The pictures shown which follows this part of the speech is Hitler at one of his rallies whilst he was a dictator. 

History shows that American values were upheld and fought for through numerous campaigns, battles and World wars such as democracy, capitalism, economic liberalism and freedom. Moreover, Reagan calls the nation to continue to fight for these values, particularly the fight against Communism which pursued to spread the ideologies the majority of Americans disagreed with considerably such as Communism, state monopoly Capitalism, imperialism and a general lack of freedom. Reagan returns back to traditional values of protestantism and religion, something that was fundamental to the founding principles of liberty which the Soviet Union wanted to abolish.

Is the KKK movement still alive in the US?

This video shows the complexities of the concept of freedom of speech in America. Members of the KKK are free to practice their ideas due to this, ideas such as 'white power' which insinuate hatred towards other races and ethnicities. They are thus protected from prosecution as inciting racial hatred is not a crime. People in America cannot be arrested for racial hatred due to the 'freedom to express yourself' and 'civil liberty groups protect their rights to exist'.

A town in Arkansas even have a sign stating 'anti-racist is a code word for anti-white'. There are thought to be 650 different white supremacy groups currently in America. A right designed to protect and allow freedom to its citizens also takes away the freedom and protection of others.

Samuel Adams biography page

http://www.biography.com/people/samuel-adams-9176129#political-career

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was one of the American Founding Fathers who represented Virginia  during the American Revolution in Continental Congress.

Jefferson strongly supported ideologies of individuality, democracy, and republicanism all of which are still strongly upheld by modern day Americans. He started off as a farmer in a very isolated region which taught him the values of self-help thus learning how people can govern themselves.

It was clear from an early age Jefferson was destined to be an intellect as at just 24 he became a circuit lawyer for an agency of the supreme court of Virginia. He worked on a number of law suits to help the fight for freedom upon enslavement and also help reform slavery anyway he could. In one particular case he argued that, "everyone comes into the world with a right to his own person and using it at his own will... this is what is called personal liberty, and is given him by the author of nature, because it is necessary for his own sustenance". This statement shows the exact qualities that a moral American should have, and also depicts a different identity; one of kindness and care to other human beings by doing right by man. Furthermore, this argument is in fact added into the Declaration of Independence, something that he in the end became a principle author of. 

Although Jefferson was never directly fighting in the war he was very much a thinker and used his words as a fight for independence and clearly stated the only reason the colonists are still with England is due to their discretionary allegiance with the crown. Moreover, he focused increasingly on creating a better country and making the most of this 'new world' by continuing to campaign for democratic reform and religious freedoms in the new state government. 

James Oglethorpe

James Oglethorpe (1696-1785) was the founder of the Georgia Colony in Early America. Oglethorpe was born in England, seventh of nine children, and began to prepare for a military career from a young age.

In later years, he studied at Oxford, served under Prince Eugene of Savoy, and served five months in prison, for killing a man during a brawl when he returned to England.

Oglethorpe supported the rights of the colonists, and was strongly against any kind of slavery. He was noted as a philanthropist and an incredibly benevolent person.

In 1732, King George II granted a charter for creating Georgia, and subsequently named Oglethorpe as one of the 21 Trustees to govern this new colony, due to Oglethorpe’s connections, and service, in Parliament.

Oglethorpe and company landed on the site of present-day Savannah, in January 1733, and the settles arrived on February 1^st, from South Carolina.

As a humanitarian, Oglethorpe hoped to create a place in the New World, in which debtors could be rehabilitated and start a new life. However, these objectives weren't fulfilled, due to restraints on land and the fact that the majority of settlers were poor English tradesmen, and religious refugees from Europe (Catholics were banned, though). The military objectives became the top priority, due to the threat of war with Spain.

During the war, Oglethorpe showed poor military leadership, and failed several sieges, mostly due to the lack of help from South Carolina or his Native allies, despite efforts to gain their support. Despite this, Oglethorpe was considered a national hero in England, and was promoted to brigadier general by King George II.

In 1742, Oglethorpe returned to London, rose steadily through the ranks of the British Army, married Lady Elizabeth Wright, and later died on June 30^th, 1785 (Aged 88) in Essex, England. He had lived to see his infant colony become a free, and independent state.

George Washington

George Washington (1732-99) was the first President of the United States. He also fought during the American Revolutionary War, and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States having been highly involved in the drafting of the Constitution. During his lifetime was called the "father of his country"; thus making him an important colonial figure.

As the first President he established many characteristics and set many precedents of future American leaders which have become part of the American identity such as perseverance, determination and courage that shape modern America's identity as inspirational and as a nation of optimism.

'George Washington was a brave, determined man. He faced many dangers in his life, yet he seldom panicked and never gave up. Instead, he worked his way through each problem as calmly and bravely as possible. […] [H]e had earned a reputation as a man who could deal with anything. […] In the end George Washington became a hero. He was more than just a good general. He had the ability to take command and inspire his soldiers to do the impossible. […] When Americans were looking for their first President, it is no wonder they turned to George Washington.' Garcia, J. R. et al. 1997. Our United States: Social Studies. Parsippany, NJ: Silver, Burdett and Ginn.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire was founded as an English Royal Colony in 1691 and the charter was enacted the year later by King William III. Prior to this New Hampshire was a place of settlement for many as it was one of the closest parts of this 'New World' to Europe. The captain and colonist John Mason found this land in 1629 and was then named after the county he was brought up in which was the original Hampshire in England. Farming was particularly difficult in this colony due to the poor soil which was unsuitable for crops. However, within the towns along the coast, the colonists made a living with shipbuilding, fishing, and whaling. The latter became particularly resourceful and valuable as whales oil could be used in lamps.

New Hampshire had a general lack of government during the early stages of settlement and thus looked for protection in the colony of Massachusetts which resulted in Hew Hampshire being governed from Massachusetts in 1641. Many of John Masons heirs began to seek control of their territory whilst Massachusetts was coming under increasing scrutiny by King Charles II and therefore establishing the Province of New Hampshire under a charter set in 1679.

This colonies relationship with the natives began as almost non-existent due to most of the settlers staying relatively close to the shore of the Atlantic so that they could keep in easy and constant contact with England. Whilst there was minimal contact many exchanges had occurred such as trading the natives learned survival skills for improvements in metal work. However, whilst New Hampshire was not directly involved in The First Indian War many of the resources were going to New England who were a direct belligerent. Ultimately, this resulted in multiple raids and skirmishes and only got worse as time went on. This, in turn increased the amount of slavery in New Hampshire as settlers attempted to control the natives and seek profits in the meantime. Three years before the American Revolution there were up to 674 slaves in New Hampshire.

Delaware

Delaware is one of the Middle Colonies of early America, alongside Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
The colony was English in origin, and was founded in 1638, by the New Sweden Company, and Peter Minuit, a Dutch Colonist.
The two main reasons as to why Delaware was founded were trade and agriculture, this was due to the fertile soil, and thriving forests in the area.
Delaware was the first of the original 13 colonies to become a state of the United States, on 7th Dec 1787, almost 150 years after the colony was founded.
Despite the fact that the Dutch insisted on always purchasing land from the Native American's, rather than seizing land by force, this didn't keep the peace between the colonists and the Native Americans. In 1631, there was a massacre of the initial 28 colonists by the Zwaanendael Colony, due to the cultural shock and confusion over the concept of land ownership and payment. Therefore, the relationship between the Native people and the settlers wasn't positive, and the colony wasn't successfully founded until 7 years later, due to the area being deemed too dangerous to settle in.

Pennsylvania

The middle colonies consisted of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Pennsylvania was originally founded in 1681 as the result of a royal land grant to William Penn, after which the state was named. Penn established the colony as a safe haven for Quakers who were persecuted in England. Religious freedom was offered to everyone in the colony.
The middle colonies were the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the original 13 colonies.
 Before the Commonwealth was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehannock, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee, and other American Indian Nations. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their colonial lands in America. The Dutch were the first to take possession. During the Anglo-Dutch war the British took control of former Dutch colonies.The Quaker leader Penn had signed a peace treaty with the leader of the Delaware tribe, beginning a long period of friendly relations between the Quakers and the Indians.Additional treaties between Quakers and other tribes followed. The treaty was never violated.

New York

The colony of New York was first claimed by the Dutch in 1609 as New Netherland, after Englishman Henry Hudson was sent to find a passage to Asia by employ of the Dutch East India Company. This resulted in him setting up the fur trade with local Native American tribes, and consequently the first Dutch settlement, Fort Nassau, was constructed near what is now Albany, New York. 

Hudson reported the Native Americans to be "amicable" people, and Dutch settlers relied on this relationship with surrounding tribes as their interest in the area was primarily for trade purposes. 

In 1664, the British Army conquered the colony of New Netherland. The transfer between Dutch and English possession of the colony was done without the need for war, with the English offering the Dutch "life, estate, and liberty to all who would submit to the king's authority". Peter Stuyvesant, General of the colony of New Netherland, accepted and the colony was surrendered to Colonel Richard Nicholls and renamed New York after James II, the Duke of York.

Demographic conveying information of the US

This is an image portraying an estimation of the number of deaths that have occurred in each state. Accidents, suicides, self-defence as well as cases of murder are included in these statistics. Also, it is perhaps unsurprising to notice that the states with tighter gun control laws tend to be the states that have far less deaths. For example, Arizona has one of the highest death rates which is certainly connected by the fact it is only one of three states that enables its citizens to bear concealed weapons without a permit. In contrast, states such as New York have fairly low figures due to the regulations including the New York SAFE Act. With these figures in mind, recent events of gun shootings would perhaps increase the amount of deaths per 100,000.

True Stereotypes

One shows the highest paid public employee jobs by state whereas the other shows most popular Google auto-complete results; which both exemplify truths behind some stereotypes about America.

The Best and Worst Aspects of Each State

Both of the above diagrams highlight the Best and Worst aspects of each state in the United States, according to statistics. I chose these images as I believe that they highlight the differences between the states well, with some facts being quite surprising. I think the fact which shocked me most was that despite Alaska being named the "Most Equal" State, it still has the highest rates of Suicide. The least surprising would include California being known for Air Pollution, New York being known for the Daily Commute, and Hawaii's high Cost of Living.

Two demographic maps of the US

Here is a .gif map of cannabis reform throughout the US by state. There seems to be a correlation between cannabis reform and the well-being of the state, as well as being able to see the direct democrat's party influence in many of the changes.

Its interesting to look at this map and think about which states have higher incarceration rates, perhaps linked to institutional racism and the cannabis law map above. Also worth thinking about the average salary in the higher population areas too.

Surnames Across the United States

This map of the US shows the 25 most popular surnames in each state as of 2000, with the size of the surname in each state representing the amount of people with the corresponding surname. By far the most frequent is "Smith", with states such as California and Florida containing over 125,000 people using the surname. The map also shows the origin of the surnames, with many of them originating in England and Wales, particularly in the closest area to the UK; the East. The Southern and Western states also contain many surnames of Spanish origin which correlate with their proximity to Mexico.