Earth Day Video

     The film, "A Green Fierce Fire" was about how we have changed our habits and turned our environment into a greener and more environmentally friendly state today. There were two men who saw a whaling boat kill sperm whales. Is was tragic because of how it affected them emotionally, not just because of the killing. There were mass parts of land being taken down by the government. People didn't like this because of the nature the people had right in their own backyard. They wanted clean water as well, because pollution screwed up the water with chemicals in it. It caused a deforming of genes and a lot of people were having genetic mutations forced on their kids which caused an outrage. Eventually they got help, but it took a long time for the government to act.

Some things that I think are wrong with our environment are:

     There is a lot of pollution in Urban America and we can't just lie around letting it take over our water and ruin the future of America. Using filters for water and getting extra help from the government to make sure the food and water we're digesting is good for us can help with pollution.

     Global Warming is still very much a problem and there are many things we can do to help but we really aren't making the grade. There is a lot to be done to save this planet and we need to step it up to make sure we don't have to leave in the future.

Sources:

"Watch Film: A Fierce Green Fire." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. ,

 Whyte, Talia. "Top 10 Environmental Issues Affecting Urban America." The GRIO. 

     MSNBC, 22 Apr. 2010. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://thegrio.com/2010/04/22/ 
     the-top-ten-environmental-issues-affecting-america/ 
     #s:earth-day-at-40-top-ten-environmental-threats-to-black-america-jpg>. , 

NRDC. National Resources Defense Council, n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. 

     <http://www.nrdc.org/issues/>. 

Summary of The Big Short by Michael Lewis

     The Big Short by Michael Lewis is a description of the scandalous crisis' and banking failures of the stock market in 2008. Michael watches the events unfold as an inexperienced and mostly clueless member of business in the stock market. He takes part in a financial free-for-all as he foresees the inevitable. The subprime mortgage bond market that had been created in the 1990's began to form into a much more complicated debt monster. These packages were meant to support the hold system and create easier financial pathways; But these were not assessed or managed properly, leading to the largest economical disaster since the Depression of 1929.

     Despite the seemingly unpreventable doom, the players of Wall Street soon learned the game. Selling bonds to unknowing victims as safe bets when unbeknownst to them, they were investing in the money makers' traps. The big problem with the banks, etc in '08 and long before was their investment in subprime mortgages. He knew that, but what he didn't know is that one clever fellow took a whole mess of those mortgages, no one knows how many or from what source, bundled them up, called them Collateralized Debt Obligations and sold them on the bond market. In effect, they were betting on a recession and against the banks and their credit laundering services.
   

Greasers in the 50's

     Throughout the 1950's and 60's Greasers were known as a youth created subculture among teenagers in the Northeastern and Southern regions of the United States. Inspired by Rock and Roll, this genre of music was one of the major parts of the culture, and popular styles were influenced by singers such as Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. The two main figures of the look and fashion of Greasers were Marlon Brando and James Dean. 

     The name "greaser" came from their greased-back hairstyle, which involved combing back hair using large amounts of hair gel. North American greasers were known more for their love of souped up hot rods, Doo Wop, Rockabilly, and Rock and Roll music. Even though the greaser subculture was mostly known as a North American phenomenon, there were similar subcultures throughout the world; The UK, Australia, Italy, Germany, Japan, and even South Africa. They had an intimidating reputation in society. Often seen as juveniles and young criminals. 
      Cars and souped up vehicles gave teenagers a new kind of freedom. Also, the large amount of cash flow after the war made this the most fortunate generation. This also gave teenagers a sense of freedom and entitlement.

                                      

     During the 1950s, surprisingly, women also became a part of greaser culture. Similar to men, they joined in motorcycle gangs and wore jackets displaying the group they were in or gang’s name. But, women were often depicted as the property of male motorcycle gang members.

They say that the Greaser era died when Doo Wop and President John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963, but there was an underground Greaser culture that existed in big cities around the country like Chicago, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Philadelphia, and the New Jersey Shore (Jersey City, Newark, and Perth Amboy). It wasn't uncommon to find Chicago Greaser gang members in the mid 1970s Doo Woping on their corners. Some of the Greasers evolved into the motorcycle clubs of the 60s and the Punk scene in the 1980s. The Greaser era never really died out. Today, the garage group Rockabilly crews on the East Coast have brought the Greaser style back to the shore, though Greasers have always existed in New Jersey.

Example of Greasers Vs. Soc.:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WpHEcDSYtiA
Music they listened to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0Rz-uP4Mk

Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture) , http://theoutsiderstory.pbworks.com/w/page/22121292/The%20Greasers

Chapter 12 Section 2

Ch.12 Sec.2
Nimitz- US navy commander, planned against Japanese navy. Won against Japanese.
MacArthur- American General in the Philippines, managed to keep troops safe for three months. "Dugout Doug". He snuck off in a PT boat and forced his men to fight to the death.
Bataan- Where they held out. Bataan death march, where prisoners were forced to walk 68 miles to camp.
Doolittle raid
Coral sea
Midway
Afrika Korps- German forces near the Suez Canal that were going to attack or seize the canal so Britain would lose resources and it's allies would lose export money.
Erwin Rommel
El Alamein
Casablanca- City captured by a American troops.
Kassarine pass- Battle where Americans nearly lost against Germans.
Convoy system- Cargo ships travelled in groups and were escorted by navy warships. Made it much harder for a submarine to torpedo a cargo ship and escape without being attacked.
George Patton- Led the American forces in Morocco, captured Casablanca, Britain and America trapped the Germans and they finally surrendered.
Stalingrad- Hitler attacked a city in Russia called Stalingrad to ruin the soviets resources. Didn't really work, put German on defense.

Radio Show Link

http://www.ryanus.blogspot.com/2014/02/radio.html

Enola Gay

     On August 6, 1945, an airship named Enola Gay dropped the first atomic weapon that had been used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar, another aircraft, dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. That day, Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft to make sure that the mission would go smoothly.     
     The Enola Gay was named by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Tibbets, after his mother, Enola. Tibbets led the first atomic attack mission against Japan. Enola Gay was built at what is now known as Offutt Air Force Base under the program name "Silverplate" which were bombers that were produced specially made for atomic bombing missions.
      The 100 foot long aircraft was eventually transferred by the U. S. Air Force to the Smithsonian Museum on July 4, 1949. The Enola Gay was then disassembled and stored indoors at the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland where it underwent restoration from 1984 to 1995. It was displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in a war exhibit in May 1995. It was finally moved to its permanent location at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center where its assembly was officially completed on August 18, 2003.

Study Guide

I Intro        
     
II Causes-The causes of the great depression were the stock market crash, overproduction, and deficit spending.
     A overspeculation (Define, how important) 
       Investment by nearly all in the stock market caused mass loss of money when stock market crashed. Workers invested their hard earned money into stocks.

     B Govt. Policy

The New Deal from TDR, helped unemployed people get jobs during the tough times of the great depression.

     C Unstable Econ. 

Americas banks were closing, food production was too high causing inflation, businesses were failing without proper investment. 

          1 uneven prosperity- Some were extremely rich and the rest were really poor, jobless, or homeless.

          2 overproduction- Too many products were being made causing inflation in prices, mostly applied to farmers; having to throw out their products so there was less inflation so they'd eventually be worth more.

          3 worker issues / farm issues

Workers- few jobs meant homeless people, hobos, Hoovervilles and hungry, angry protestors; bonus army- veterans asking for food/money/jobs.

Farmers- inflation in product prices, throwing away products to decrease inflation, or losing job as farmer. Also dust bowl causing huge farming setbacks.

III Effects

     A Poverty-Soup kitchens became a common crutch for the lower class. Offered by churches and priests, shows lack of government involvement.The lines would stretch on, and kitchens often ran out of food. Nobody really bought or could afford their own homes or if they did then they owed money. Life was poor and standard of living was low. Hoovervilles and hobos were common sights during the depression.

     B Society- The effects of the Depression caused social strife among American citizens. Because of the increase in unemployment, families could not afford housing and were forced to live in communities on public lands called shantytowns, or Hoovervilles.  Citizens also had to attend soup kitchens for food because of their lack of ability to pay. Many were barely surviving, and certainly not living. 

     C World- Although most of the world was unaffected and even rebuilding from past wars, America was hit hard and to escape the Depression, people began to look to media. The movie and radio industry became quite popular worldwide because of their attractive story lines and escape from reality. Art also began to reflect the Depression.

IV Solutions

     A Hoover- President, unsuccessfully tried to "involve" government and provide equal distribution of wealth.

        1 Volunteerism- Hoover called on charity organizations, churches, and local governments to alleviate suffering and distribute relief. Still not considered legit government involvement.

        2 Public Works- Construction projects for society from government to help create jobs. ex: Hoover dam. 

        3 Hawley Smoot- This tariff raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record setting levels. It was an Act created to provide revenue, to regulate commerce with foreign countries, to encourage the industries of the United States, and to protect American labor.

        4 RFCThis agency gave $2 billion in to aid state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations and other businesses. The goal of the RFC was to boost the country’s confidence and help banks return to performing daily functions. The loans were nearly all paid off.

     B Roosevelt

        1 new deal

           a alphabet soup
               example-AAA: The Agricultural Adjustment Administration was used to encourage and pay those who were still left in farming to grow fewer crops. Therefore, there would be less produce on the market and crop prices would rise thus benefiting the farmers, but not the consumers.

               example-TVA: The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity and economic development in the Tennessee Valley.

               example-SEC: The Securities and Exchange Commission was an agency that held primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, and the nation's stock and options exchanges. The main reason for the creation of the SEC was to regulate the stock market of 1940.

               example-CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that paid unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25 as part of the New Deal.

          b Criticism? Many people criticized Roosevelt and his ideas because they felt that he was on his way to becoming a dictator and trying to run America as a dictatorship. (Later reinforced by the court-packing incident.)

      2 2nd new deal- Roosevelt was reelected
          a WPA: The Works Progress Administration held huge construction projects and public works to give people jobs.
          b

          c SSA: Social Security Acts, Provided security for the elderly and for unemployed workers.
V Criticism

     A Political Criticism (ex. Came from both the left and right.)

     B Conservatives- Right, typically Republican, supportive of big business. 


     C Liberals- Left, typically Democrat, Wanted more equality for workers and business, more government involvement.

        Ex: More freedom for individual states.

        ex: More restriction on business and more involved government.

VI Effectiveness

     A Changes in US

     B Unions-There was the Unemployed Workers Movement, and the Hunger Strikes, which caused Unions in a lot of areas to be created to help workers.

     C Culture-Brought everyone closer together through radio shows, entertainment, movies/films, etc. Because everyone had lost something during these times, they all had something to relate to and became stronger as a cultur

VII Conclusion

Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's

The Ku Klux Klan, or the "Hooded Order", was founded during the year of 1866 by men who opposed Blacks' rights after the Civil War. After Reconstruction started to die off the Klan disbanded. Almost 50 years later, "Colonel" William Joseph Simmons, revived the Klan in 1915. Simmons made a living by selling memberships in fraternal organizations such as the Woodmen of the World, and looked to the Klan as a new source of personal income and memberships. In his first act as a leader, he climbed to the top of a nearby mountain and set a cross on fire to mark the rebirth of the Klan.

At its peak in the 1920's, the membership rate was estimated at 4-5 million people. Although the actual numbers were probably much smaller, the Klan had grown rapidly to about 30,000 by 1930. Its eventual collapse was mostly due to state laws that forbid masks and eliminated the secret element, to the bad publicity the organization received through its thugs and swindlers, and apparently from the declining interest of the members. With the depression in the 1930s, dues from paying for a membership of the Klan shrank to almost nothing.

During its second return, the KKK moved beyond just targeting blacks, and broadened its message of hate and terror to include Catholics, Jews and foreigners. The Klan mostly supported fundamentalism along with promoting white supremacy. They wanted to get rid of bootleggers, motion pictures and preached a return to "clean" living. Appealing to the people who were uncomfortable with the "destruction" of America from a rural agricultural society to an urban industrial nation. They attacked the elite, urbanites and intellectuals who threatened their simple and clean life.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/flood-klan/

http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/hist409/klan.html

Letter Home, WW1

My dearest Josephine,

     Words cannot describe how much I miss home. Just being here has been one of the most difficult trials in my life. Being drafted was unlike anything I could have ever imagined. Men aren't treated well, here in the trenches. It's difficult to get a good nights sleep, if you sleep at all. It seems like constant warfare and nothing like the short war we had predicted. Bombs are flying, the smell of death and decay surround you. The trenches we dig for barricades begin to feel like graves. We fear the unknown, attacks that are nearly impossible to predict the outcome of. Running into no-mans land(the area between opposing trenches), is equivalent to suicide. 

     Our offensive tactics are starting to feel powerless, even with our amount of supplies. Blindly aiming bombs, spraying tear gas, rapidly firing into smoky air with our machine guns. The bodies are piling up and I never know if the man beside me, or myself, may be gone in an instant. Although are artillery has improved, I'm afraid, and bravery is a necessity when you're a soldier. I'm not sure if I'm cut out to fight for America, but I know I must. 

     Honestly, you're the only thing I can hold on to. Right now, I just want you to know that I'm safe. I'm sure the war will end soon, and America will come out victorious. Germany has no chance against us, and I'm not going down easy. I'm not just fighting for my country, I'm fighting to see you. I know it's been months, and you might worry often, but I'll come home to you. If I don't make it, Josephine, remember me as the man who loved you, not the man who left.

                                                                                                                         Love, 

                                                                                                                               Thomas

WW1 Causes

World War One had four main causes; Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

Militarism: was one of the four major causes of the war. It was an “arms race”, because Britain had a large navy, Germany wanted a large navy too. Germany and France competed to build larger armies. Many nations introduced “universal conscription” (the draft), even in times of peace. For reasons of prestige and self-defense, the nation built up its army and navy, the more other nations felt they had to do the same. The expense of the “arms race” fell on civilian populations in the form of high taxes. Between 1870 and 1914, all of the major powers except Great Britain and the United States, doubled the size of their armies.

Alliances: For twenty years, the nations of Europe had been making alliances. It was thought the alliances would promote peace. Each country would be protected by others in case of war, making it foolish for one country to wage war on another. The danger of these alliances was that an argument between two countries could draw all the other nations allied with them into a fight. This is just what happened when a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia led to World War I. In the summer of 1914 there were two alliances. The Triple Alliance composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, which opposed the Triple Entente made of Britain, France, and Russia.

Imperialism: Another cause of World War I was that European nations ruled smaller countries, called colonies, and competed with each other to conquer more colonies. Gathering colonies is known as Imperialism. The purpose of imperialism was and is to build up national wealth and influence by owning colonies. Both France and Britain had many colonies in Africa and Asia. In the 1880s and 1890s, Germany and Italy decided they wanted a colonial empire too. This global competition for land caused confrontations and conflicts in many places. For example, Great Britain almost went to war with France and the United States during the 1880s over colonies.

Nationalism: In addition to political conflicts, the causes of the war included such forces as nationalism, or pride in one’s country. The belief that one’s own nation or culture is superior to all others, nationalism led European nations to compete to build the largest army and navy. It also gave groups of subject peoples the idea of forming independent nations of their own. Serbians, Czechs, Slovaks, Bosnians and many other peoples living under the rule of the Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian Empires wanted freedom from “foreign” rule.

The Spark of the War: On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife, Sophie, a Duchess, were shot dead in Sarajevo, by Gavrilo Princip, one of the assassins in a group called the "Black Hand".  The point of the assassination was to break apart Austria-Hungary's south-Slav land so they could be combined into a Greater Serbia or a Yugoslavia. Serbian military officers supported the attack. The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary created an ultimatum against Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then declared war, producing the outbreak of the war.

Zimmerman Note, 1917:

Victoriano Huerta

     José Victoriano Huerta Márque, born December 22, 1850 to January 13, 1916, was a Mexican military officer and the thirteenth president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were referred to as Huertistas during the Mexican  Revolution. Huerta is still recognized by modern-day Mexicans, who generally know him as El Chacal. He wanted to become president desperately so he scammed his way in. To appear legitimate, Huerta had foreign minister Pedro Lascuráin assume the presidency. Lascuráin then elected Huerta as interior minister, so he was the fourth in line for the presidency. After less than an hour in office, Lascuráin resigned, and gave the presidency to Huerta. Huerta created a harsh military dictatorship. 

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson became hostile, (because of his opposing peaceful outlook on political leadership), towards the Huerta administration, recalled ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, and demanded Huerta step aside for democratic elections. When Huerta refused, and with the  dangerous situation further escalated by the Tampico Affair, President Wilson decided to land U.S. troops to take over Mexico's most important seaport, Veracruz. Huerta eventually gave in to the to pressure and resigned the presidency on July 15, 1914. Huerta knew his days were numbered after the crushing defeat at Zacatecas. When word of the battle spread, federal troops decided to attack the rebels. Huerta moved around while in exile, living in Spain, England and the United States. He never gave up hope for a return to rule in Mexico, and when Carranza, Villa, Obregón and Zapata were busy with competition, he thought he had his chance. He met up with Orozco in New Mexico in to begin to plan his triumphant return to power. They were caught by US federal agents, and never even cross the border. Huerta was imprisoned for enforcing rebellion. He died in prison in January, 1916, or cirrhosis, although there were many rumors that the Americans had poisoned him.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoriano_Huerta
http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/presidentsofmexico/a/vhuerta.htm