Month: February 2011

02/11/11

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

On February 4, 1887, the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is passed by the Congress to prevent unfair practices in the railroad industry such as railroad monopolies. Before the Interstate Commerce Act was passed, railroads were privately owned and unregulated thus letting railroad companies take advantage of their power of charging high fees in places they enforced monopoly control. These monopolies were harmful to farmers who either lacked the shipment volume or money. Railroads back then greatly influenced people and businesses because it was an important form of transportation for people and goods.

The Interstate Commerce of 1887 targeted problems of railroad monopolies by setting guidelines for railroads and stopping railroad abuse. The law required railroad rates to be reasonable.

02/10/11

Fifteenth Amendment: Voting Rights(1870)

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=44

                     Above picture is the primary document of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, in which it prohibits any state and federal governments from denying any citizen the right to vote based on their “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” According to the textbook “Give Me Liberty”, this amendment was first approved  in February 1869.  It was ratified on February 3, 1870. Fifteenth Amendment not only gives every citizen in the United States a right to vote but also it ended the segregation of blacks. “With the Fifteenth Amendment, the American Anti-Slavery Society disbanded, its work, its members believed, now complete.” (Give Me Liberty: 540)

                        However, this amendment did not give the voting rights to women, it only granted African American the right to vote. Fifteenth Amendment is the third of the Reconstruction Amendments. It contains two sections:

Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude–

Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 Sources:

http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html

02/9/11

Jack Kennedy

To me, John F. Kennedy represents the ideal American President. A man loved by all, who achieved what everyone said was not possible at the age that he did it. A man who had the ability to not only persuade people to do what he needed, but to influence them to his way of thinking; and he did it all with style, class, and true charisma.
02/9/11

Ford Introduces the Model T

The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile became popular. It is considered  as the first affordable automobile and  enter into the common middle-class American’s family.The Unite States has becomes a “nation on wheels”.

02/9/11

Assignment due 2/14

1) Read Foner, chapter 16
2) Locate a UNIQUE (to the blog) primary document (text or image) online that relates to the reading of chapter 15 or 16.  Write a post describing the document.  Write 2-3 paragraphs explaining any information about the document that helps contextualize it (who, what, where, when).  For help finding primary documents online, I recommend consulting http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/content.php?pid=88593&sid=662703
3) Include an image if possible and a link to the document
4) If you haven’t already, add tags and categories on all previous posts
02/9/11

Propaganda loves history

The  “Race and Reunion” by D. Blight  does seem quite interesting to me for several reasons. Firstly, it would be very informative, as not much do I know about the Civil War, and, according to Foner, this is “is the most comprehensive and insightful study of the memory of the Civil War”. Secondly, the book is touching upon the subject that is very relevant to me. As a person who grew up in Russia and now lives in the US, the two opposite poles of the Cold War World, I have been exposed to the two interpretations of history, at times completely different. So I am particularly interested in the subject of information wars, as I have witnessed and felt its consequences.  One great example would be the World War II and the controversy over the question “who won the war?”, or who contributed the most to the victory over Hitler. Most Americans think that undoubtedly U.S.A did, and every single Russian believes it was the USSR, including myself. I also think that the memories about the WWII in the US have undergone similar “treatment” to which the reconciliationists subjected the memories about the Civil War. In particular omissions and underplays of important facts and events. And off course informational wars in one way or another are always tied up to the political battle for electorate, and the first and foremost subject of any propaganda is history.

02/9/11

Obese We Stand

In recnet years, Americans have been engulfed in another  ‘Battle of The Bulge.’  School’s cafeteria menus have changed along with new laws being passed to take out excessive fats and salts from processed  foods.  US First Lady Michelle Obama has just had her first year anniversary of her own Anit-Obesity campain.

02/9/11

Capitalist Vs. Communist

After the World War II, the world entered a period of peace.  However, wars has never stopped since the end of WWII.  Cold War between United States and Soviet Unions leads to many mini wars around the global.  The Korean War is one of the example of Capitalist Vs. Communist war.  After the WWII, Korea is divided into two parts with two different political system.  North Korea is a communist country while South Korea follows democratic ideology.  After suffering great causality, the war ends three years after the first battle.

I learned about this war when i was back in China.  In Chinese Government’s perspective, Korean War was a defense war to repel the Capitalism aggression.  Chinese Military’s involvement of Korean War was to aid North Korean in war to stop United States’ Capitalism influence in Asia.  On the other hand, I also learned about the war in United States and the story is different.  In US text book, the war is view as Communist aggression.  North Korea invaded South Korea and attempted to unify Korea under Communist rule.  United States send troops to fight the war under the name of preserving democracy.  The War ended without any significant benefit for neither sides.  The border line was restored and mini battles continuous even until modern days.

02/9/11

Black Sister Sit Down and Rest Your Weary Legs and Heart!

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a turning point in history. Rosa Parks was a Black Woman and she was standing up for her rights (or rather sititng down). I feel like that she  empowered other black women to continue fighting for their rights during the Civil Rights Movement.

02/9/11

“Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin. “

The David Blight book sound very interesting because it sound like a different book that’s not only expressing different views but also questioning them. Its a book about the story behind a story. I think that anyone reading the book will benefit from it because they might learn something new and change their perspective on what really happened during the Civil war. From the reading the book review I realized that memory is a very important part of history. For example, before books history was passed down from generation to generation through stories that were  told from memory.

I believe that all shared experiences are remembered in different ways. For example, the war in Vietnam. Some people might say that the war was justified but others will say that it was  not only a waste of money and time but many lives were lost unnecessarily. Also, one can say that the war in Vietnam was worth it because it showed that the US was not a force to be reckoned with.  The war in Vietnam was politically motivated because it was during the time of the Cold War. During that time there was a lot of political tension between the communist and democratic countries.

Afterthoughts:One of the main points of the book review is there are different memories of the Civil War. In these memories some facts were suppressed and others facts were turned simply into something that couldn’t be further from the truth. Since “memory is a product of history” is history just simply a figment of our imagination since its building blocks are made up?

Citations:
Title is a quote from Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams.

02/9/11

Roe vs Wade

Roe vs Wade (1973) was a controversial case on the issue of abortion in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman’s decision to have an abortion. This was one of the many steps towards women’s rights.

02/9/11

Fall of Berlin Wall

Erected in 1961, the Berlin wall seperated eastern and western Berlin. The main purpose of the wall was to prevent any radical idea’s from entering and corrupting the socialist society that dominated the easern side of Berlin. After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, the Berlin fell as well, marking the end of the cold war.

02/9/11

THE Scandal: Watergate Scandal

The Watergate Scandal left a new impression of government, government officials and in specific President Nixon. This was an eye opener for both Americans and political elites that no one, including the President is allowed to breach laws. This event marked the beginning of new laws which made it important to disclose finances by government officials.

02/8/11

The Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and is the central banking system of the United States.  It is a private institution run by Ben Bernanke, who is responsible to monitor the nation’s monetary policy, maintain the stability of the US financial system, regulate banks, and provide financial services to banks, the U.S. government, and foreign Governments and banks when required.

The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and is the central banking system of the United States.  It is a private institution run by Ben Bernanke, who is responsible to monitor the nation’s monetary policy, maintain the stability of the US financial system, regulate banks, and provide financial services to banks, the U.S. government, and foreign Governments and banks when required.The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and is the central banking system of the United States.  It is a private institution run by Ben Bernanke, who is responsible to monitor the nation’s monetary policy, maintain the stability of the US financial system, regulate banks, and provide financial services to banks, the U.S. government, and foreign Governments and banks when required.
02/8/11

A Web of Connection We’ve All Been Caught In!

Connecting the world and making it smaller then it really is!

Whether you are looking to make a purchase; speak to your best friend who is studying abroad in Finland;  Watch Netflix;  Skype your boss; read about current events in Egypt, or send pictures to your granddaughter.  The internet has made this all possible. It has redefined almost everything we do from entertainment to stock portfolios.  We are more connected then ever before.  It serves a historical purpose about how we view history because so much information is available to us.  It’s so amazing to see how far we have come in this Age of Technology.