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

Historical Interests

www.sparknotes.com/history/

http://www.timemaps.com

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

1) What qualities did Sinclair believe a person must have to succeed in Packingtown?
In order to succeed in Packingtown, Sinclair believed that a person would have to have a job with no decency, hatred and dishonest competition to be able to hold a life-supporting career.

2)According to the passage, what is the plant owner's main goal.
The plant owners goal was to make money no matter what quality of product and to harness power by controlling workers, unless shadiness was brought under light by law enforcement. 

3) What does Sinclair mean when he says, "...there was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar....?"
He revealed how no person had genuine care or concern for their fellow co-workers, even if it meant risking lives over money.

    Meat packing plants, like many industries in the early 20th century, were known to overwork their employees, failed to maintain adequate safety measures, and actively fought unionization. Public pressure to U.S. Congress led to the passing of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act, both passed in 1906 on the same day to ensure better regulations of the meat packing industry as well as better treatment of its employees working there.
    Mid-century restructuring and renovating by the industry of the stockyards, slaughterhouses and meat packing led to relocating facilities closer to cattle feedlots and swine production facilities, to more rural areas. It has been difficult for labor to organize in such locations. In addition, the number of jobs fell dramatically through technology and other changes.
    Though the meat packing industry has made many improvements since the early 1900s, several changes in the industry since the late 20th century have caused new labor issues to arise. Today, the rate of injury in the meat packing industry is three times that of private industry overall, and meat packing was noted by Human Rights Watch as being "the most dangerous factory job in America". The meatpacking industry continues to employ many immigrant laborers, including some who are undocumented workers. The more isolated areas in which the plants are located put workers at greater risk due to their limited ability to organize and to seek redress for work-related injuries.
 
Work cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_packing_industry

The Sinking of the Maine

    The USS Maine was a US navy battleship that was most famous for its catastrophic sinking in Havana Harbor. On the night of February 15,1898, the ship exploded and 266 American naval volunteers' lives were lost. For loss of factual evidence of the cause, American newspaper and officials claimed Spain responsible. Many papers featured yellow journalism on the subject of Spain's terroristic bombing. The phrase, " "Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!", became a common rallying cry for violence.          

    Determining the cause of the explosion was fiercely opionated. With several different accusations and perspectives on the loss of men, the answer was decided for America. On March 28, 1898, the United States Naval Court of Inquiry found that the Maine was destroyed by a submerged mine. Although there was no direct blame, the implication on the Spanish was clear. 

    By 1976, the case of the USS Maine was reopened by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover who believed modern science was the answer. After consultations of experts and reexamining documents from the first investigation, it was concluded that the damage caused was inconsistent of that of a mine. Rickover claims is was most likely a coal dust fire. Even today, his findings have been disputed and there has been no final solution as to what caused the explosion of the Maine.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1)

www.pbs.org/crucible/tl10.html

Interesting historical websites

http://www.besthistorysites.net

http://www.havefunwithhistory.com

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/thayer/e/gazetteer/topics/history/american_and_military/home.html