Thursday, February 7, 2013

Progressives vs big business (ME) Jade Kramer


Progressives thought that large companies needed regulation and that the government should break them up to restore competition. However, others argued that big companies were efficient way to organize the economy and would prevent the companies from abusing their power.  The progressives even advocated socialism. Socialism was the idea that the government should own and operate industry for the community. The progressives wanted the government to buy large companies that people relied on 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

J. Edgar Hoover (KI) Nick Attkisson



            Hoover was a founding leader of the F.B.I, he was admitted into the special group after Palmer declared a “blaze of revolution, was burning up the foundations of society”. Because of that created a special group within the justice department, the General Intelligence division. Hoover was accounted for making the FBI into a large known crime fighting agency. He also helped today’s modern technologies, such as the finger print file and forensic laboratories. Edgar took advantage of his powers, harassing political parties to gain a amass file on political leaders.

President Woodrow Wilson (KI) Nick Attkisson


Woodrow Wilson was the president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. He was a big role in the progressive movement during his first term. After his re-election he had the control of the entry of America in WW1. In this entire second term he focused on WW1 and the peace treaty in Paris.in the late stages of war Wilson took personal control of negotiations with Germany, especially with the armistice. He ended up making the 14 points, his view of post war. He went to Paris and achieved the creation of the League of Nations, and created the Treaty of Versailles. The League paid special attention to the idea of taking defunct empires and making new nations out of them. The senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles due to Wilson having a stroke leaving his wife in control until 1921.  

The Airplane’s First Flight (ME) Shania Campbell


In 1903 Orville and Wilber Wright (later famously known as the Wright Brothers), successfully had their first flight. The plane ascended to a height of 10 feet, and could travel 120 feet. It was only in the air for 12 seconds. The brothers actually observed birds while they were in flight, and noticed how the birds flew into the wind, with the air flowing over the bent exterior of their wings, which created a lift.
They thought that they could use and manipulate these ideas to create a craft that could fly. They studied propellers, and how they worked, which allowed them to design a motor. The new aircraft should be sturdy enough to hold up the motor’s heaviness and vibrations. With this aircraft, they were prosperous with the first motorized, conducted flight in history.

The Discovery of the Rabies Vaccine (KI) Shania Campbell


Rabies is not only contagious and fatal, but it drove the host of the disease to insanity. And in fact, before around 1885, almost always ended in the person’s death. It’s a viral disease found in dogs and other mammals that causes madness and convulsions. It’s transmissible through the saliva to humans. In other words, a human can contract the disease from a dog bite, if that dog has it.
Louis Pasteur worked at finding the first rabies vaccination. He found the vaccine by harvesting samples of the virus from rabbits that had it. He weakened the Virus by letting it dry out. He tested his vaccine on dogs, but the first human test was July 6th of 1885. Joseph Meister had been badly mauled by a rabid dog, but the vaccine successfully prevented him from getting the disease.

The Prohibition of Alcohol (ME) Jade Kramer


            The Progressives believed that hard earned wages were mostly spent on alcohol, they also believed that it was the cause to sickness, abuse and that it caused the work that employees did to be less efficient. Progressives blamed alcohol for society’s problems; this created the temperance movement; which encouraged citizens to spend less money on alcohol. In the begging of the 20th century there were temperance organizations in nearly every state. Over half the U.S had already had statues that prohibited alcohol by 1916. In 1919 the U.S constitution added a new amendment that prohibited the sale of alcohol. 

Friday, February 1, 2013

Monopoly (ME) Shania Campbell




               Think of the popular board game Monopoly. What is the purpose of the game? Buy properties, and earn a profit. By the end of the game, whoever has the most money, wins. This is how real life Monopolies work. It’s an exclusive possession or complete control of the supply or trade in a product or service.
                It is possible for a Monopoly to be illegal. Some examples include Price Fixing, Price Discrimination, Exclusive Dealings, Group Boycotts, and Tying Contracts. Price fixing is where competitors settle with buying or selling products or services at a fixed price, not to be confused with Price discrimination, which is just where you sell similar products to buyers at altered prices. Exclusive Dealings is requiring a buyer or seller to purchase or sell most, or all of a certain product from a single supplier.  Group Boycotts are competitors agreeing to reject a certain entity. And lastly, tying contracts are selling products or services on the condition that the buyer comes to an agreement to also buy a different product or service as well. 

Morrill Tariff (ME) Shania Campbell


               What started the Civil War? There’s much debate on whether or not it was the Morrill Tariff. Or if it had something to do with starting it. ‘What is the Morrill Tariff?’ You may ask. Well in short, it was a law for protection. It was passed in 1859 which made tariffs on the South spike from 15% to almost 50%. Tariffs are taxes, or a duty that has to be paid on a certain class of imports or exports. When the Morrill Tariff was signed into law, it only took one month to start taking effect. Other than setting tariff rates, the bill also limited the Warehousing Act of 1846.
                The Warehousing Act of 1846 was a law that just let traders and suppliers to warehouse their  imported goods into the United States, which initially allowed the tariff payments on those goods to be delayed until the buyer was actually found. The Morrill Tariff was passed before the Civil War was even expected, and passed through the Senate with almost no changes.

Watch the video here:

Entrepreneur (ME) Shania Campbell



            When you see the word ‘entrepreneur’ what comes to mind? It’s a complex word that has a complex meaning. But you’d be wrong. Entrepreneurs are people who risk all they have to organize and run businesses. What they believe will happen is that they make a ton of money that will make up for everything they’ve risked. Which many people have accomplished. There have been people making millions of dollars doing this. A lot of times, these people make the little things we don’t think about. Name brand things like Heinz ketchup or Levi jeans.

Gary Goldberg is a good example. He is now a millionaire for selling bedding. This bedding, though, is an allergy barrier. He found that his son got sick and hospitalized all the time because of dust mites, which are on all bedding and that a lot of people suffer allergies because of them. He risked all of his money making and selling this product so that his son, and everyone else with dust mite allergies, can have better, healthier lives.

Europeans Flood into America (ME) Eric Carmona


            When the Civil War ended nearly about 15 million European immigrated to the United States between 1865 and 1914.  More than half of the European immigrants from the eastern and southern moved to the United States.  The countries from Europe were Italy, Greece, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Serbia.  There were two periods of immigration the “new” immigration and the “old” immigration and the “old” immigration was before 1890 and the “new” immigration was during 1890. 
70 Percent of the immigrants were men and they would be working to be able to afford to buy land in Europe or to be able to bring their families to the United States.  Many of the immigrants came to the United States because they had enough jobs available for them.  They came to find jobs in the United States because they wanted to find a better job that would let them escape the poverty and restrictions of social class in Europe.   
            

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Child Labor (ME) Jade Kramer


          Child labor was one of the most emotional progressive issues. Children had always worked on family farms, which was understandable. But some children were working in mines and factories, and this was hazardous to their health. A muckraker John Spargo exposed the harsh working conditions of children in a book called The Bitter Cry of the Children. Children that were the ages of 9 or 10 we working in coal mines, they picked slag out of coal. They worked for 60 cents an hour for ten hours a day. The way he described it was it bent their back permanently and crippled their hands. Articles like these convinced states to make a minimum age for employment and established limits on childhood labor. 

Women Suffrage (ME) Jade Kramer



Women's Suffrage

Women didn't have rights at one point and time; they had to fight for them. It is now an amendment, it is called Women’s suffrage. It was a slow start, but at least we got there. Some people thought it was unfeminine and immoral and threatened women suffragists. This was around the time that the Civil War had just ended and that slavery was abolished.  Also, this gave the African American males the right to vote. There were debates over the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments; this split the suffrage movements in two. There were organizations that were made to support women’s suffrage. One of the organizations was National Woman Suffrage Association; this association was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. One group wanted to focus on making this a constitutional amendment. Later on it because an amendment.
    

William “Boss” Tweed (KI) Eric Carmona


He was the leader of the most infamous organization called the New York City’s corrupt Tammany Hall political during the 1860s and 1870s.  In the 1850s he became a powerful figure in the Tammany Hall. During the 1860s he risen to the top of the position and formed the Tweed ring, it encouraged judicial corruption.  He was sent to prison for forgery and larceny and other charges but in 1875 he escaped from prison and traveled to Cuba and Spain.  In 1876 the Spanish police arrested him because they recognized him from a picture and was sent back to the United State, returned to prison that’s where he died in 1878.   

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

John J. Pershing (KI) Nick Attkisson


John Pershing was a commander of American Expeditionary force (AEF). Him and his group of soldiers went to Paris on July 4th, 1917. They went to Picpus cemetery where Lafayette was buried. France helped the United States gain their freedom now they were going to help preserve theirs. British and French commanders wanted to be in command over the American soldiers and Pershing didn’t approve. President Wilson backed him up on that. French and British needed Americans to replace their losses; Pershing held his ground but made one change. The 93rd infantry, an African American division, was transferred to the French. They became the first unit of Americans to go into war.

Treaty of Versailles (ME) Nick Attkisson


    
 
Fight had stopped for a while in November 1918, but World War 1 was not over. A treaty had to be made and signed by every party. In 1919, delegates from 27 countries came to France to talk and negotiate the treaty. The conference took place at the palace of Versailles, near Paris. The treaty with Germany became known as the treaty Versailles. The treaty of Saint Germain was also negotiated, ending the war with Austria-Hungary.
The negotiations of Versailles lasted for 5 months. The most important participants were the “Big Four” of the allies. President Wilson of the U.S, David Lloyd George, a Prime Minister from Britain, Itialian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando, and French Premier Georges Clemenceau. Russia wasn’t invited because majority of the people didn’t recognize them as legitimate.

Zimmerman Telegram (ME) Nick Attkisson


    
After Wilson was re-elected everything brought the country to the brink of war. In January of 1917, Andrew Zimmerman, a German official sent a telegram. It contained a message to the German ambassador in Mexico asking him to offer a deal to the Mexican government. The deal was if Mexico allied with Germany in a war against the United States, Mexico would regain all its lost territory after the war. The land included areas in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The letter was intercepted by the British and leaked to the American newspaper. America concluded they would definitely be going to war against Germany.
On February 1st, 1917, Germany resumed submarine warfare. Believing they could starve Britain into submission in four to six months, if they could sink all the boats in sight. By doing this it raised concerns that the Americans would try to gather an army and send them, but Germany believed they wouldn’t get there in time. Between February 3rd and March 21st German boats sank 6 American ships. Wilson then asked Congress to declare war on Germany. 

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand (KI) Nick Attkisson


 
On June 28th, 1914 a Serbian assassin had his target marked. He was going to take out Archduke Franz Ferdinand.  While Ferdinand and his wife visited Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, the Serbian revolutionist rushed their chariot. The assassin open fired on both of them, killing them both. Later the shooter was caught and put in jail. Gavrillo Princip was the assassin, a member of the Serbian nationalist group, also known as the “Black Hand”. Serbian officials had knowledge of the assassination taking place and hoped it would start a war to bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
If the Austro-Hungary Empire was to fall the Serbian’s would be able to take control. Instead of letting that happen, the Austro-Hungarian government asked their German allies to crush the Serbian’s. By attacking Serbia, Russia got involved and mobilized its army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That’s where Germany steps in and declares war on Russia. World War 1 had begun.

Mark Twain (KI) Eric Carmona


                His real name is Samuel Clemens and was an incomparable American genius.  He published his masterpiece called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884.  Most of his work was novels, travel narratives, short stories, sketches, and essays. Twain's first published story was "The Celebrated Jumping frog". 

Chinese Exclusion Act (ME) Eric Carmona


            The Congress passed the Act and 1882 and it barred the Chinese immigration for 10 years and it prevented the already in the United States to become citizens.  The Congress renewed the law in 1892 and made it permanent in 1902.  In 1906 the San Francisco Board of Education ordered all the Chinese, Japanese and Korean children to attend a racially school in the Chinatown neighborhood.  Chinese children have been forced to attend racially schools since 1859. 
            Japan took great offense to the treatment they were giving to their people.  In that response Roosevelt invited the school board leaders to the White House.  He made them a deal that he would limit Japanese immigration if the school board would cancel their segregation order.  After that he began talks to Japan and negotiated an agreement and Japan agreed to reduce the emigration of Japanese to the United States.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Jane Addams (KI) Eric Carmona



            In 1889 Addams visited a settlement house in London and when she saw it she decided to open Hull House.  She opened it to assist poor immigrants fin Chicago, it many forms as in day care, kindergartens, libraries, an art gallery and employment agency.  While in the Hull House she wrote books about her experience in it.  She served as the first president of the organization that became the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.  In 1931 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her activeness in the Peace movement.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Who Were the Progressives (ME) Jade Kramer



Progressivism was a reaction against laissez-faire. For those who don’t know what that means “laissez-faire” is French for let the people do what they want. Progressives believed that industrialization and urbanization had created social problems. After seeing problems with poverty of the working class reformers started doubting the free market’s ability to solve those problems. Progressives belonged to major political parties; most of them were urban educated, middle class Americans. The leaders were journalists, social workers, educators, politicians and members of a clergy. They agreed that the governments should take charge and be more active role in solving the problems that the society faced. They also doubted that government being the way it was would be able to fix the problems. They came to the conclusion that the government needed to be fixed in order to fix the problems we faced as a nation. 

Ellis Island (ME) Eric Carmona



          Ellis Island is a tiny island in New York Harbor.  There is a three-story building and many of the immigrants that arrived from Europe go through this building in 1892.  Many immigrants pass through Ellis Island about one day.  About Every hour ships loads of immigrants hurry through the Island.  There were about 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.
          The Island is usually crowded by immigrants from all over the world; every language on the earth would go there.  When they get there they would have to see a doctor to see if they pass the inspection.  About one out of five people would be marked with letters telling what kind of problems they would have as in heart problems, hernias, scalp problems and mental disability.  New people that fail the inspection might get separated from their families even get sent back were they came from.

Christopher Sholes (KI) Shania Campbell









We as living beings need to communicate. In 1867, Christopher Sholes, with the help of Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule, aided the human race by inventing the very first practical mechanical typewriter machine. It not only helped us communicate better, but influenced future inventors and their ideas to assisted the people around them and make a profit off of it. The typewriter started with the idea of applying a similar concept of the printing press. They molded the idea into a machine for individual uses. In 1714, something similar to a typewriter was invented by Henry Mill in England, but none of these inventions survived.
In 1829, from Detroit, Michigan a man, William Burt, had patented his ‘typographer’. It had characters on a rotating frame, but much like many of the similar inventions after it, it was very heavy, unreliable, hard to use, and more times than not, it took longer to produce a letter than writing it by hand. The typewriter Sholes, with the assistance of Glidden and Soule, had invented was the most reliable to date. They patented their invention, and licensed it to Remington & Sons of Ilion, New York. By 1867, the Remington Model one was placed on the market. It was the first useful, commercial typewriter. It wasn’t until 1978, though, that the first electronic typewriter that was capable of storing text first appeared. It was developed by the Olivetti Company in Italy and the Casio Company in Japan.