Wrap-up... for now

Reflecting on this class this morning, I realized that I have been fooled into learning more than I thought.  Very sneaky!  The weekly research topics made sure we all read A LOT of periodicals in a short period of time because we all wanted an artifact that captured the American understanding of a topic, or surprised us, or made us laugh.  And, the fact that we all ended up "chasing rabbits" and getting off-track in our research means we learned even more-- usually without knowing it.  For me, it is difficult to settle on the three most helpful artifacts that I found in the periodicals over the last few weeks because it is difficult to connect them with a common realization or new knowledge.  So I have been putting off this blog.  I think that my inability to connect three artifacts points to what I did learn in this class-- the early American periodicals were far more varied in opinion and subject than I expected, more people were allowed to print on more subjects than I thought, and for some reason, though periodical's life expectancy was minute and profit was a joke, people still published more and more periodicals.  Of my three favorite sources, (and all of my sources, I think) each was printed in a different periodical.  Also, each dealt with an external focus-- and not because of the search parameters.  Most of the artifacts I discovered, regardless of the search terms, were pointed to England or distant lands rather than focused on the struggles at home.  The few I found focusing on the United States discussed liberty and slavery, and many were in Christian or Quaker publications.  I discovered what appeared to be a sociological perspective rather than a politically or societal charged atmosphere in publication.  For instance, my search for liberty brought up liberty in fashion, Indians brought up a report of Quaker's assistance to Indians and their education, and Hottentot appearance brought up the story of converted Africans visiting a London church and meeting an English born African.  Each of the articles I found deal with propriety and use religion and freedom as a shared concept-- as if one naturally relates to the other-- though in different ways.  I think each of the artifacts strives to teach tolerance for human life and imperfections or differences and steps outside the boundaries of social expectations.  I guess I was surprised at how often the periodical research surprised me-- how often my assumptions about early American opinions were proved wrong.
 And one more thing: often the most interesting items I found I didn't even talk about in class.  Its amazing the number of things I weeded out as too long and complex to discuss or too odd or too much like other things I found.
I suppose that is all I have for now, but I don't think I am done with American periodicals for long!