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Author Archives: Alfaro
Posts: 6 (archived below)
Comments: 7
Four Gold Pens
The title of my documentary refers to the signing of the Federal Reserve Act by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. He used four gold pens to sign the document as reported by the New York Times. My documentary consists of real footage and recreated scenes accompanied with great music like the song “Money Makes the World go Round” from the movie Cabaret and “Money” by Pink Floyd. It covers relevant economic history beginning with the Panic of 1907 and ending with the establishment of the FDIC Act in 1933.
The image above shows J. P. Morgan (middle) and his daughter arriving in Washington DC. for the Pujo Hearings. The purpose of the hearings was to investigate the “Money Trust” or the connections between Wall Street bankers who had and still have powerful control over the Nation’s finances. Scenes from the hearings play an important part in my documentary since they show a strong opposition against the financial elite at that time. The hearings took place from May 1912 to January 1913.
Posted in 1900-1916, 1916-1920, 1920-1932, 1932-1940, Economic History, Final Exam Component
Tagged FDIC, Federal Reserve Act, J. P. Morgan, Money Trust, Panic of 1907, Wall Street
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Federal Reserve Act of 1913
Between 1836 and 1913, the United States banking system was not regulated by a central system. During this period, the United States economy experienced few financial panics. That happened because banks usually lent more money than they had in their reserves to cover sudden massive withdrawals. The signing of the Federal Reserve Act on December 23, 1913 was an important step taken by President Woodrow Wilson to make the financial system more stable. However, few years later, despite the creation of the Federal Reserve System, the United States experienced the Great Depression after the crash of the stock market in 1929.
http://www.llsdc.org/attachments/files/105/FRA-LH-PL63-43.pdf
Posted in 1900-1916, Economic History, June 29 assignment
Tagged Federal Reserve Act, Woodrow Wilson
6 Comments
Kyoto Treaty
The Kyoto treaty or Kyoto protocol is a set of rules that have the intention to fight global warming. The Protocol was initially adopted in Kyoto, Japan on December 1997 and entered into force on February 2005. While many countries have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the Bush administration withdrew the United States from the Kyoto Treaty in 2001. Ratification means that a nation agreed to cap (limit) emissions in accordance with the Protocol.
Posted in 1989-2000, Economic History, June 21 assignment, Political history
Tagged global warming, Kyoto Protocol, Kyoto Treaty
2 Comments
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
In June 11, 1963, during a national television address about civil rights, John F. Kennedy stated: “We preach freedom around the world…, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other, that this is a land of the free except for Negroes?” (Foner 921) Kennedy was killed few months after this presentation without enacting his civil rights bill, in which, among other points, he proposes the right to vote to blacks. One hundred years before Kennedy’s speech about civil rights, Abraham Lincoln expressed in his last public address his support to black suffrage. Like Kennedy, Lincoln was assassinated few days later.
After many years of struggle and opposition to the idea of giving blacks the same rights that whites enjoyed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a major conquest that black people needed in order to fortify their participation in political life. Therefore, from my point of view, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most important legislation of that time. Not only presidents or politicians like Robert Kennedy were assassinated, but also popular African American civil rights activists like Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King Jr. were killed.
Israeli-Palestinian Agreement September 13, 1993
On September 13, 1993, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signed a peace agreement sponsored by United States.
This event was important because it showed United States leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the agreement generated a lot of hope, time has showed that the conflict is still not resolved.
Posted in 1989-2000, June 8 assignment, Political history, Social History
Tagged 1993, Arafat, Bill Clinton, Israel, Palestine, peace agreement, Rabin
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The crash of 1929
This image is from Time.com, and it belongs to the Bettmann-Corbis archive. The picture was taken during the Great Depression that began on October 29, 1929, which is also known as Black Tuesday.
The first time I saw this picture was during a recent visit to the MoMA. At first, the image makes me smile because it shows a humorous aspect in a tragic time. During the Great depression approximately 25% of population was unemployed and affected every segment of society. The picture is important to me because it reminds me that history is repeating itself. Like in the Great depression, the world is now experiencing a huge economic downturn due to the failure of the traditional financial system.
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1677033_1474476,00.html
Posted in 1920-1932, Economic History, June 7 assignment, Social History
Tagged 1929, economics, finance, Great depression, stock market, unemployment
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