Category Archives: admin only: Featured

03/8/11

History teaches us not to repeat our mistakes. I guess Texas BOE failed history class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubWcr4bxWtM&feature=player_detailpage

In 1925, there was a trial of a Tennessee public school teacher, John Scopes. Scopes was said to have violated the state’s Butler Act which forbade teaching evolution. Scopes was convicted but later appealed and the judgment was overturned due to a technicality. The trial (also known as the Monkey Trial) was actually a publicity stunt in order to gain Dayton, Tennessee some attention. Scopes even convinced students to testify that he taught evolution in class. Regardless of this back story (which was unknown to me) this trial is a very important part in scientific history as well as that of the United States. It indirectly contributed to the National Defense Education Act as well as struck a blow to fundamental theologians. The video posted above is a collection of pictures and recordings from the actual trial as well as scenes from the 1960s movie, Inherit the Wind. Within the video you see and hear every major player in the trial including, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Bryan.

03/8/11

Step Aside for the Flappers!

In the 1920s, a group, known as “flappers,” emerged into society. Flappers were defined as young, single women who strayed away from the traditional identity and role of women in previous generations. The birth of flappers was the result of the success in attaining women’s suffrage through the 19th Amendment. Granted with political rights, women now have more say and power. Therefore, flappers were a representation of change. Flappers typically had bob haircuts, wore short skirts, and smoke and drank in public venues. This is illustrated in the pictures above. On the left, is a picture of a flapper smoking. On the right, shows a flapper holding guns in both hands. These pictures illustrate how women were radically different in terms of fashion and behavior. If these pictures were taken a decade ago, it would have draw massive criticism and disapproval. This comes to show that times have changed, and the definition of a “woman” is evolving.

03/7/11

The Emerging Black Culture


During the 1920s, there was a huge surge of black americans moving into northern urban cities from the south. With a huge spike in population, black culture began to emerge and self expression began to expand. New York’s Harlem was recognized as a “capital” for black americans and their expression through the arts. For the first time there were black actors performing on broadway shows. A few of the greatest writers and poets of all time were from Harlem such as Langston Hughes and Claude Mckay. Harlem boomed with new writers, poets, painters, musicians and entertainers that introduced a whole new perspective in all art fields. The Harlem Renaissance gave birth to many talented people and allowed blacks to create and thrive within their own culture and community separate from whites. The video above displayed a number of paintings, poems, pictures, writers, and songs that depicted the period of the Harlem Renaissance.

03/5/11

Wikileaks of 1916

In January 1916, Arthur Zimmermann, foreign secretary of Germany, send a coded telegram to German’s ambassador to Mexico. This telegraph was intercepted by British agents and decoded, exposing its contents. Within the telegraph Zimmermann wrote to their ambassador to Mexico, that if America looked to join the war, they (Germany) should approach the Mexican government and offer support and reward their support in return for Mexico’s allegiance in the war. This telegraph was exposed to the American public in March, leading to widespread anger, and thus contributed to the declaration of war in April.

Had the telegraph not been intercepted, or had the attempts to decode it failed, there was plenty of other causes that justified America’s entrance into the war. Furthermore, Mexico had analyzed Germany’s proposition and concluded that war with America wouldn’t achieve their goals of recapturing lost territories, nor would it be beneficial.

03/3/11

Nationalism

Nationalism is one of the causes of World War I.  Nationalism is what made people become proud of their country. It also makes them support and fight for their country. Including imperialism and militarism, countries started to increase their armies power. Countries like Italy, Germany, Russia, and France became great powers. Nationalism encourage countries to be independent. Other countries that weren’t a great power like Serbia wanted to be independent because of Nationalism. They wanted to form their own country and be separate.

03/3/11

Imperialism

Imperialism was one of the long-term causes that increased the rivalry in Europe, which influence the start of World War I. European countries started taking over colonies through the world since the fifteenth century. By 1900 the British Empire extended over five continents and France had control of large areas of Africa. With the rise of industrialism, countries (Great Britain, Germany and France) needed new markets. The amount of lands ‘owned’ by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who only had small areas of Africa entering the scramble to acquire colonies. As a consequences, it caused Germany to ally with Austria-Hungary, and Britain to ally with France.

03/2/11

The Cause of a World War- the Alliance System

Map of World with Participants in World War I :

Allies- in green

Central Powers- in orange

Neutral- in grey

The triggering event cause of World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in 1914. The fact that the assassination did not lead to a war of two nations, but a war among many nations around the whole world, has to do with the alliance system in the era. Although the actual causes of the war are complicated, the escalation of the size of the war can be partly attributed to the alliance treaties.

For the readers’ convenience,  some of the entrances of the participants will be listed below:

1. Austria-Hungary- declared war on Serbia due to the assassination.

2. Serbia- became a participant by Austria-Hungary’s war declaration.

3. Russia- allied to Serbia by their treaty

4. Germany- allied to Austria-Hungary by their treaty

5. France- allied to Russia

6. Britain- allied to France. Since Britain has entered the war, her many colonies have became participants, whether with direct military support or financial support.

7. Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa- entered the war because of their ties with Britain

8. Japan- entered the war due to its treaty with Britain.

As we can see, over 10 additional nations were involved because of their alliance treaties with other nations. Although some nations have entered the war with reasons of their own, it is undeniable that the alliance treaties were strong factors for the escalation of the war to a world-wide scale.

03/1/11

Ketchup for my Liberty Sandwich, Please?

In World War I, Germany was considered the main culprit and provacateur of the war. Therefore, it stirred the movement against Germans in United States. Prior to the war, German-Americans were able to express and promote their ethnic culture through the fine arts and language. Once the war began, German-Americans came under public scrutiny and ostracism. To raise support for the war, German culture was belittled to establish the notion of superiority of America. Any traces of German culture was erased in America. For example, instead of saying “hamburger,” which has German roots, it was called “liberty sandwich.”

I thought Foner did a good job in presenting the Anti-German Crusade.  He stated several statistics to demonstrate how the war negatively affected German-Americans and their culture.  However, Foner could have developed and expanded the topic more to illustrate the hardships of German-Americans during the war. The three images above adds depth to the portrayal of how German-Americans were singled out and excluded from mainstream America.

03/1/11

The Espionage Act

Eugene V. Debs, convicted in 1918 under the Espionage Act for delivering an antiwar speech. His sentence was 10 years. Surprisingly, Debs RAN FOR PRESIDENT WHILE STILL IN PRISON in 1920 and received 900,000 votes.

According to Foner, the espionage Act of 1917 prohibited not only spying and interfering with the draft, but also “false statements” that might impede military success. It basically made it illegal to say anything against the government—anything which criticized the government, which brought the government into disrepute, as the law said. Foner also mentions the Sedition Act of 1918 that made it a crime to make spoken or printed statements that intended to cast “contempt, scorn, or disrepute” on the “form of government”, or that advocated interference with war effort. Many people were arrested under these acts. I did more research and found that citizens convicted of these crimes were subject to a fine of up to $10,000 or to imprisonment for not more than 20 years or both. I also found that other groups use these acts as the opportunity to fight old battles against old enemies (employers used these acts to get labor leaders and IWW radical laborites arrested not because of what they said about the war, but because they wanted them out of their factories).

03/1/11

The Brainwashing Committee

In 1917, President Wilson’s administration came up with the CPI, or Committee on Public Information. What this committee did was it tried to manipulate the opinions of the public. They wanted to convince Americans to agree with America’s stance to go into World War 1. They did this by using “posters, newspaper advertisements, and motion pictures” to help spread the governments ideas. They also had Four-Minute Men who would go around trying to help sway the public’s opinions. These men targeted every audience, including most immigrant groups. In the end this committee proved very successful.

Foner covers this topic in less than a page, however he covers it very well. He tellsthe story like it is, and does not praise or admonish the CPI. He rather explains how this was the first time that America had dealt with this sort of mass advertising, and it influenced many people of the future, including advertisers of today. Although they did not know it at the time, this committee shifted the way America ran, and its impacts are still felt today.

02/28/11

Zimmerman Telegram

Zimmerman Telegram is one important reason why the U.S went to World War I. Foner talks about how the Zimmerman Telegram was made public by the British spies in March 1917. He says how the German foreign secretary  Arthur Zimmerman call on Mexico to join the war against the U.S and promised to help recover their territory lost in the Mexican War of 1846-1848. I think that Foner basically covered most of what the Zimmerman Telegram was.
A revolution in Russia overthrew the czar and established a constitutional government making it more plausible to believe that the U.S would be fighting on the side of democracy. The war resolution was passed the Senate 82-6 and House of Representative 373-50.

02/26/11

The Ludlow Massacre

April 20, 1914 dates the horrific incident of the deaths of innocent men, women, and children at Ludlow, Colorado. The coal strike against Rockefeller Colorado Fuel and Iron Company began when workers united together to demand recognition of the United Mine Workers of America (UMCA), wages increases, and an eight hour workday. When their demands were not met, miners and their families moved out of the houses provided by the Coal Company, and moved into tents. In response to the strike Rockefeller sent armed militia units to attack and raid the tents.

02/26/11

Tarzan goes organic

In 1906, Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, which originated as undercover work for a magazine. He described the conditions of meat factories in Chicago, as well as the poverty of workers, their living conditions, lack of social programs and more. Initially, President Theodore Roosevelt  believe Sinclair a “crackpot.” However, after sending his trusted employees he still didn’t want to regulate the industry. Due to public pressure, the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was passed, leading to the founding of the Food and Drug Administration. These actions paved the way for federal inspection of consumer products and expanded the responsibilities and power of the federal government.
02/25/11

Jane addams

Jane Addams was born in 1860, the daughter of an Illinois businessman. In the 1889, she founded Hull House in Chicago, a “settlement house” provided service to the urban poor, such as classes to teach English to immigrants, child care, nursing of the sick, and help in obtaining naturalization. By the 1910, over 400 settlement houses had been established in cities throughout the country.

02/25/11

Fordism

This is a picture of Henry Ford between 1863- 1947. Ford developed the techniques of production and marketing that brought in the reach of ordinary Americans. He established the Ford Motor Company in 1905. The Model T and assembly line innovations revolutionized American society and molded the world we live in today. Henry Ford used the assembly techniques to produce cars so that everyone can afford it.

02/25/11

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911

In the spring of 1911, a small fire broke out in the workshops of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York City. Because of the highly flammable fabrics in the workshops, the fire quickly spread and soon engulfed the upper floors of the Factory. Triangle’s mostly immigrant employees soon found that the doors leading out of the upper floors were locked, and that other safety precautions in the building were faulty or nonexistent. To escape the smoke and flames, many of the Factory’s workers (most of them women) jumped from the 8th and 9th floor windows to the sidewalks below. 146 people died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which made people realize that the government needed to regulate industry, and led to the passage of new factory inspection laws and fire safety codes.

02/23/11

Regulating Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt changed the way Americans lived during the Progressive Era. He created more government regulation, and looked out for the good of the common person. Under him, Congress passes the Hepburn Act, which allowed the ICC to inspect railroad rates and regulate prices. In addition the Pure Food and Drug Act, as well as the Meat Inspection Act, were both passed that year. These laws helped check the quality and labeling of food and drugs. The Meat Inspection Act was passed because of unsanitary slaughterhouses, and the selling of spoiled meat. The idea of such government regulation was a new idea in America. Roosevelt helped the average citizen by making sure there was some level of fairness in business, but he did charge a high tax, which did not sit well with most Americans.

02/23/11

Mother By Choice

The Birth-Control Movement is one of the heated reforms in the 1900s. Since women were gaining power as they participate in the labor force, they were demanding more rights as a human being and as a citizen of the United States. This movement was changing the role of the government because it demanded the government to further interfere with the sexual behaviors of its citizens. It would demand the government to allow people to use contraceptive devices, which were banned during the Progressive Era. Margaret Sanger, one of the birth-control reformers, was arrested and sentenced to prison for distributing contraceptive devices. The issue of birth control was also religious, since having intercourse for the sake of pleasure was considered as a sin by Christians. By allowing the usage of birth control devices, the government would get many hassles from religious organizations.

02/22/11

The Uprising of Immigrants

An English and Yiddish sign asking for people to support the strike, by saying, “Help the garment workers in their fight for bread and freedom,” The Uprising of the 20,000, New York, New York: ca. 1910. From the Kheel Center at Cornell University.

Strikes on the picket line, The Uprising of the 20,000, New York, New York: February 2010. From the Library of Congress.

In the two photographs, it illustrates the dynamics of the Uprising of the 20,000 strike against the New York’s garment factories.  The strike, which began in November 1909, was the result of the incident at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, where workers died because of the failure to  monitor the working environment. Immigrant workers, mostly Jewish women, were employed in the garment factories. In the first photograph from the Kheel Center at Cornell University, a sign in both English and Yiddish asked for people to support the garment workers win the battle in order to have “bread and freedom.” One of the primary concerns that the workers protested against their employers was safer working conditions. This photograph shows that the garment workers needed all the help and support they can get. The fact that the sign is in Yiddish shows how Jewish immigrants are deeply affected by the garment industry. In the second photograph from the Library of Congress, it shows two women on the picket line during the Uprising of the 20,000. These women look proud to be on the picket line as they are seen smiling at the camera. The women are portrayed to be bravely supporting their cause as they wear the signs with pride.

There are several differences in the two photographs. The first photograph was taken in Decemeber 1909, when the strike just begun. It may be an indication that the strike was not generating enough support yet, hence the sign on the shop. However, the second photograph was taken in February 1910, a few months into the strike. By this time, the strike was gaining recognition and respect for their cause. This is the reason for the gloomy mood in the first photograph. In the second photograph, it shows that people were not afraid to stand up for what they believe in as they march and protest for their rights. In addition, the first photograph focuses more of the impact the strike has on immigrants when compared to the second photograph.

02/21/11

Coming to America

This is a picture of the RMS Titanic. It was supposed to bring hundreds of immigrants to America, but sunk right off the American coast in 1912.

Emigrants coming up the board-walk from the barge, which has taken them off the steamship company's docks, and transported them to Ellis Island. The big building in the background is the new hospital just opened. The ferry-boat seen in the middle of the picture, runs from New York to Ellis Island. Taken in 1902.

The biggest differences about the two photographs depicted above is the classes shown. In the first picture, of the RMS Titanic, we see a massive ship that was intended for the upper class. Only the highest class were aboard this ship, and they have a wonderful journey, up until they hit an iceberg. However, if they had not hit an iceberg there travel would have been summed up as luxurious. In the second picture we see middle and lower class people arriving in America. Odds are their journey was much more difficult than the people aboard the Titanic. They look like they just had a hard journey, and they will probably have a hard life here in America as well.

When immigrants came to America it wasn’t easy. Most of them were discriminated against. A few of them came over with a lot of money, but for most it was a hard journey. Many people were even deported back to their home country if America didn’t want to accept them in. This happened if they had diseases, if they were prostitutes, or if they were seen as anarchists.