To begin, the “Atlantic Slave Trade” TED-ed video was a very educational video that gave information about the collection of African men, women, and children to be used for hard labor. It was interesting that African men of authority would sell their own kind to foreigners in exchange for rum and money. Another great video was Crash Course video named “Quakers, Dutch, and Women”, which was focused on the development of the colonies in North America. It was jam-packed full-of information, especially on the topics of land acquisition and evolving policy. Dr. Joanne Freeman’s lecture titles “Outraged Colonials” was my favorite video of the six. It explained the changes in the colonies and the reasonings and reactions of the intolerable acts perfectly. Robert Morris’s “Money” explained the colonists need for money in order to lead a revolution. An interesting part of this video was the part about how money should be obtained through the economy, not taxes. The video titles “1st bank of the US” was important in understanding the financial situation of the colonies, it explained Alexander Hamilton’s idea, the arguments for and against it, and its eventual reality. Finally, the TED-ed video titled “Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin” was not only about how the cotton gin came to be, but also the impact it had on the slavery situation in North America.
Overall, these videos showed a few truths about the 18th century. Firstly, the British had no regard for any people but their own, which only included people actually living in Britain. Considering how they created war across Africa by making Africans round up their own kind and sell them off for rum and money, and their treatment of the colonials, its no wonder the colonies revolted. Secondly, the early colonies were a mess financially. They were passing around worthless paper money to the point that no one was accepting it anymore, Rhode Island being the worst. It was not until the First Nation Bank came to be that this began to be resolved. Finally, I was not aware the impact that the cotton gin had on slavery. It is baffling how much the slave market grew due to this deseeding machine, even after slavery was banned.
History and development of the US economy by Gianmarco importuna 