The Trail of Tears essays

The Trail of Tears essays More than 150 years ago, in 1839, the United States forced the Cherokee Nation West of the Mississippi River into what later would become the state of Oklahoma. The weather was unusually harsh that winter and the cold, the disease and the hunger cost the Cherokee Nation the lives of at least four thousand of the fifteen thousand people who traveled the thousand miles West (Perdue 93). Not only was the journey a very cruel and dangerous one for the Native Americans, but it also upset their tribal lives, particularly the tribal lives of the Cherokee women. This essay will focus on the position of the Cherokee woman in her tribe before and during the relocation West. Native American woman, particularly the Cherokee, lived and thrived in a matrilineal society long before the Europeans immigrated to North America. Traditionally Cherokee women had a voice in Cherokee government. They spoke freely in council, and the War Woman (or Beloved Woman) decided to the fate of captives (Perdue 94). The Cherokee men would live in houses that belonged to their wives and to their wifes family. Many tribal members believed that marriage gives no right to the husband over the property of his wife; and when they part she keeps the children and property belonging to them (Perdue 95). Even the fresh produce and other belongings of a Cherokee belonged to the women because they were the primary farmers. The Cherokee women owned their own fields and tended their own crops. The Cherokee women were also very adamant and vocal peacekeepers. In 1787, Benjamin Franklin received a letter from a Cherokee woman telling him that she had told her people to maintain peace with the white settlers. She had filled the peace pipe for the warriors and she enclosed some of the same tobacco for the United States Congress in order to unite symbolically her people and his in peace. She conti...

Craniates - Crainata - the Animal Encyclopedia

Craniates - Crainata - the Animal Encyclopedia Craniates (Craniata) are a group of chordates that includes hagfish, lampreys, and jawed vertebrates such as amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals, and fishes. Craniates are best described as chordates that have a braincase (also called a cranium or a skull), mandible (jawbone) and other facial bones. Craniates do not include simpler chordates such as lancelets and tunicates. Some craniates are aquatic and have gill slits, unlike the more primitive lancelets which have pharyngeal slits instead. Hagfishes Are the Most Primitive Among craniates, the most primitive is the hagfishes. Hagfishes do not have a bony skull. Instead, their skull is made up of cartilage, a strong but flexible substance that consists of the protein keratin. Hagfishes are the only living animal that has a skull but lack a backbone or vertebral column. First Evolved Around 480 Million Years Ago The first known craniates were marine animals that evolved about 480 million years ago. These early craniates are thought to have diverged from lancelets. As embryos, craniates have a unique tissue called the neural crest. The neural crest develops into a variety of structures in the adult animal such as nerve cells, ganglia, some endocrine glands, skeletal tissue, and connective tissue of the skull. Craniates, like all chordates, develop a notochord that is present in hagfishes and lampreys but which disappears in most vertebrates where it is replaced by the vertebral column. All Have an Internal Skeleton All craniates have an internal skeleton, also called an endoskeleton. The endoskeleton is made up of either cartilage or calcified bone. All craniates have a circulatory system that consists of arteries, capillaries, and veins. They also have a chambered heart (in vertebrates the circulatory system is closed) and a pancreas and paired kidneys. In craniates, the digestive tract consists of a mouth, pharynx, esophagus, intestine, rectum, and anus.   The Craniate Skull In the craniate skull, the olfactory organ is located anterior to the other structures, followed by paired eyes, paired ears. Also within the skull is the brain which is made up of five parts, the romencephalon, metencephalon, mesencephalon, diencephalon, and telencepahlon. Also present in the craniate skull are a collection of nerves such as the olfactory, optic, trigeninal, facial, accoustic, glossopharygeal, and vagus cranial nerve.   Most craniates have distinct male and female sexes, although some species are hemaphroditic. Most fish and amphibians undergo external fertilization and lay eggs when reproducing while other craniates (such as mammals) bear live young. Classification Craniates are classified within the following taxonomic hierarchy: Animals Chordates Craniates Craniates are divided into the following taxonomic groups: Hagfishes (Myxini) - There are six species of hagfishes alive today. Members of this group have been the subject of much debate about how they should be placed within the classification of chordates. Currently, hagfishes are considered to be most closely related to lampreys.Lampreys (Hyperoartia) - There are about 40 species of lampreys alive today. Members of this group include northern lampreys, southern topeyed lampreys, and pouched lampreys. Lampreys have a long, slender body and a skeleton made of cartilage.Jawed vertebrates (Gnathostomata) - There are about 53,000 species of jawed vertebrates alive today. Jawed vertebrates include bony fishes, cartilaginous fishes, and tetrapods.