Final Blog Response: John Kerry

In this excerpt about John Kerry we learn that not only did this war have an impact on the soldiers serving in it, but it also impacting the lives of the citizens at the home front and the rest of the people around the world. It was hard for many Americans to have a positive attitude about this war because many of them strongly did not support the war, but knew that they needed to help out their soldiers in some way if they wanted it to end sooner and so they could have a victorious outcome. However, the U.S. did the opposite of supporting their country and they acted out on the enemy when events such as the My Lai Massacre occurred and the U.S. military destroyed Vietnamese villages and killed many innocent civilians living in the are. One of America's goals in fighting all of these wars is to find a way to create peace with other countries and this event completely swayed these Vietnam areas in the opposite direction. Commander Calley ordered his soldiers to attack these areas even though there was no signs of attacks from the enemy side. He claimed that these tactics were fought because they were trying to find Vietcong, but in reality it just ended up destroying the villages and killing these innocent civilians. John Kerry states. “Each day to facilitate the process by which the United States washes her hands of Vietnam someone has to give up his life so that the United States doesn’t have to admit something that the entire world already knows, so that we can’t say that we have made a mistake”. This quote displays that it seems as if the U.S. has lost its drive to spread Democracy around the world and stopping the spread of Communism, but they are rather more interested in keeping their legacy in combat by having the reputation of a feared military. President Nixon finally realized that the soldiers were being completely worn out and didn't have the energy to fight anymore. He took action and started to withdraw thousands of troops which was known as Vietnamization. It was so crazy that this battle for being fought for eleven years and was not even declared as a war. This taught a lesson to America and the rest of the countries around the world that if they are going to get involved in a battle like this one, a war should be declared first because it may result in a disaster of a long war like the one that occurred in Vietnam. I think that this war has helped America learn more about the country as a whole in terms of its government, and fighting tactics. America must stick to their goals that they had at the beginning of the battle like promoting Democracy and stopping the spread of Communism rather than ignoring the countries morals and goals in order to become successful in the future battles. 

 

After wrapping up the year with learning about the Vietnam War I realized that I really did not know much about this war before learning about it this year. I was able to see the different fighting tactics both countries had against each other and the grueling years fought to push towards peace and improvement of the governments. I really enjoyed learning about the artifacts of the war and many of the images that I saw have stuck with me. When watching the videos in class I remembered seeing the lives of innocent children being torn apart in the My Lai Massacre. These images really stuck with me because it reminded me of the Holocaust when people were being brutally murdered for no reason and were left helpless around their loved ones. I think that America must maintain the legacy of spreading Democracy around the world and doing whatever they can to promote freedom and equal rights to all the countries in the world. Though the country wants to maintain the legacy of being victorious in all of their battles, I do not think having a good reputation is the most important part of the legacy, rather promoting peace around the world and spreading their morals to the other countries. I hope the U.S. can maintain these morals because it is essential to the lives of many including myself. I have learned so much this year in U.S. history about many events that occurred in America and the impact on others and I want to leave this year taking pride in being an American citizen.

 

Lessons of Vietnam

I believe lesson I is an important lesson because when working with a vast number of people there needs to be ways for everybody to work together. This lesson talks about how if players are arguing with their coaches and not executing the plays then they cannot not be successful in achieving their goals of winning. This goes along with the government as well because as there are different branches, the separation of powers may cause some discrepancy to the ideas of these people dealing with important problems like war.This can relate to the Vietnam war because the people and leaders of the country needed to be somewhat supportive of the war and corporate in different ways. The soldiers that are drafted to the war, but don't support need to have a positive attitude and execute what is asked by their leaders if they want to be able to work their ways towards peace and end the war earlier. The rest of the country must corporate as well along with the soldiers because they must find ways to be supportive to make progress in ending the war. Citizens at the home front need to participate in helping these soldiers by taking over jobs that the soldiers previously had to increase production in order to supply the soldiers with enough materials. A lot of the American citizens may not agree with the war, but the lesson here is that in order for the war to end earlier and have success in creating peace, others need to work together to help the entire country as a whole.

Studs Terkel #8

In this last Terkel reading I read about Dolores Dante and Phil Stallings. Both of them wanted to be noticed as hardworking employees who could relate to the everyday lives of other citizens in the society. They wanted to focus on the fact that the goal of work was not all about making the most money, however it was to be remembered for the hard work and their love for their jobs. I believe these two employees were definitely right about this. People want to find purpose and meaning in what they do. The happiest people are not always the highest paid men in a law firm, but they are the artists barley being able to pay for their rent but doing so by spending everyday doing what makes them happy. People change their jobs to make themselves sound more important to feel a need to impress society with their responsibilities in the workforce, but this is not what gives their work meaning. To enjoy their lives they need to be passionate about their jobs. One man was comparing the work of a banker with the work of a fireman and he really makes it clear that what people want most of a job is something to make their lives fulfilling. He said, "I worked in a bank. You know, it's just paper. It's not real. Nine to five and it's shit. You're lookin' at numbers. But I can look back and say, 'I helped put out a fire. I helped save somebody.' It shows something I did on this earth." What people need is a sense of purpose. What good does it do to waste our time here on earth doing a job that makes us miserable and does nothing to really help society or the people around us? Dolores Dante added great insight into this idea of fining joy in your work no matter what it is you do. She had been working as a waitress for the last twenty five years and she was well aware that people did not think of this job as anything too impressive or fulfilling. She thought differently. She gives her opinion to her customers on whatever they may be discussing, from politics to her own personal philosophies. She said, "I just can't keep quiet. I have an opinion on every single subject there is. In the beginning it was theology, and my bosses didn't like it. Now I am a political and my bosses don't like it. I speak sotto voce. But if I get heated, then I don't give a damn. I speak like an Italian speaks. I can't e servile. I give service. There is a difference." I found it fascinating to hear her talk about her job this way. She really put thought into everything she did and said. She is not concerned so much with tips, but with the personal enjoyment she can bring herself out of her day. That's all she needs. She actually cares about the people she serves food to, sometimes going as far as mixing their salads herself because she knows how they like it and what will satisfy them better by putting her own twist on it. It is an exhausting job to her but she loves it. She does not see herself as 'just a waitress' but as a loyal friend to her customers and finds true joy and entertainment out of her job. The times now are a lot better for everyone in the workforce because now more minorities are getting involved in the workforce. Back in the Civil Rights Movement the blacks were not even allowed to work anywhere, besides of being slaves. Now in the modern day society women and blacks are given these opportunities to strive in work and it proves that they have the same ability as the dominant race. For example, Barack Obama became the first African-American President in the history of the United States, making a statement to the country that anything can be done if you put your mind to it. I am very satisfied with this change because I know that I will be able to work later in my career with a more diversified group then it was in the earlier age.

A very different interview on the subject of working in ordinary jobs was done with a man named Phil Stallings. He had a very different perspective on his job than Dolores Dante. He worked in an assembly line at a factory and did not find his job fulfilling in the slightest bit. He did not love his job at all. In fact, he found it to be almost painful, saying "repetition is such that if you were to think about the job itself, you'd slowly go out of your mind." But he found the solution. He believed that "if you involve yourself by yourself, you overcome this." He knows that as a worker in the factory he is not really treated with respect or valued by his employers. It cannot be easy to look at lifeless, mechanical systems and know that your bosses value these more than they value you. He said that "If the machine breaks down, there's somebody out there to fix it right away. If I break down, I'm just pushed over to the other side till another man takes my place. The only thing they have in their mind is to keep that line running." Stallings knew that he was mistreated at work and he hated the way employers abused him and the other factory workers. He knew that he could get a job somewhere else, but the pay was best where he was. The most surprising part of it all was that although he hated working in the factories, he actually really enjoyed the job itself. He said, "Funny thing is, I don't mind working at body construction. To a great degree, I enjoy it. I love using my hands- more than I do my mind." He knows that he does good work and he tries to find ways to make the best of his situation at the factory. Dolores Dante loved the job that she did. She knew people did not think of it as a very fulfilling job, but she found her own joy in it, and so did Stallings. Even though he hated the way his employers treated him at his job, he found ways to enjoy the job itself and loved that it allowed him to use his skills to accomplish something. Work goes further than just the money you are receiving for it, but it is also about finding a good balance of joy with the work because many jobs are tied into having them for the rest of peoples lives. I know that in my future I want to go into business. Yes, I understand that some of the stuff may be boring and hard with jobs like accounting and other jobs in this area, but I know that these things will pop up in the business world. I very much enjoy all these things in business and understand that I may have to go through some very hard work to eventually reach my full potential of success and complete happiness in my job.

Terkel #7 Florence Scala & Tom Kearney

   In the reading of Florence Scala this gave me a better perspective of Chicago, the city I was born in. She talked about how she loved the city because there was always excitement going on around the area. Her farther was a tailor who did not make a lot of money off of his job, and did not have enough money to send his kids to school. They spent a majority of their childhood at the Hull House and she became involved in the city planning.  More opportunities were displayed in her life as she encountered and advocated for change. Those who were immigrants understood the delicate balance of change. Change seemed to be disruptive at times to the people living through it.  As Florence said in her story, “ You cannot have the nice rich people at the top passing on a program for the poor, because they simply don’t understand, they can’t understand” (230).  Florence saw lives destroyed like Eric Hulbert, Jane Addams’ nephew, who tried to get his ideas across to an audience and they ignored him.  In 1965, society was still struggling for equality.  Communities were divided and Scala felt the need tocampaign for the preservation in her neighborhood.  She was campaigning for the past and the present.  Her father who was a tailor trying to make a life for his family reflected the hopes of a better life for his family in Chicago. Places like the Hull House led reform movements for improvements to cities, the creation of child labor laws, workers' rights, and other Progressive reforms. Florence Scala later volunteered at the Hull House and represented the advancement of the voice of a woman during this time. This can connect to the Civil Rights Movement because the minorities such as the African-Americans were fighting for their rights in order to have a voice in the decision made by others. Not only were they trying to make a change for themselves at the time, but they were advocating for everyone in the future to have the same equal rights. She may have run and lost for political office, but she courageously made her voice heard to save her neighborhood and the efforts of all those who worked hard to rebuild a better life. Though I am not really a minority in the community I can still relate to Scala and her experience. Since I am a young inexperienced kid, it will be hard for me to have a voice in several things that I want to have an opinion on. If I want to move up in the work society I will have to prove myself first to have a voice in my work.

              Tom Kearney was a policeman for twenty-three years and was born in Chicago. His father was also born in Chicago and worked as a fireman. Though his family was sacrificing their lives in these dangerous jobs they still did not have a lot of money. The hours were grueling and the pay was not very great. He came from an Irish Catholic family where there was a balance between change and the preservation of tradition.  He grew up in an Irish neighborhood where he said, “The streets, the names were Irish” (264).  Chicago seemed to be divided by neighborhoods made up of people with similar backgrounds.  How can people have greater tolerance and understanding of others if they are not exposed to lifestyles other than their own?  It seems that Tom did not have a lot of diversity in his life which may have made it hard when change came to his life. I can directly relate to this because in Deerfield the town that I live in, there is almost no diversity as a majority of the citizens are white, and a lot are Jewish. I wish there was more diversity in this town because it would create a different society and change the ways of this environment. When I visited my brother at college in Peoria, Illinois I was able to experience some diversity when I interacted with some other races such as African-American and Asian. It was nice to see some change to the area of the population and I enjoyed being around these people. This can relate to times in history such as WWII because during this time at the home front the neighborhoods were split up by people's race. The Japanese-Americans were segregated in neighborhoods with their similar backgrounds. The same thing was going on during the Civil Rights Movement when all the neighborhoods were separated by race as there were white neighborhoods and blacks ones. The lack of diversity still exists in many neighborhoods today and it seems like a large amount of change will not occur. Tom was raised in a family where children were excluded when the parent’s entertained. He didn't want his kids to experience the same thing so he exposed his son to adult ideas and conversation.  The hope for change and tolerance comes from exposure to an exchange of ideas and information.  Kearney’s experience of living a more isolated life than his children, allowed him to recognize what needed to be done to affect change. He believed the younger generation fought less because they communicated more.  Communication leads to the new ideas and information and from this exchange, comes change.

Terkel #6

Peter Ota, Nisei lives in Los Angeles and his father is a leader of the Japanese chamber of commerce. Unfortunately, while they were living fine in the United States they were forced to evacuate their area and were shipped to Santa Anita where their future was uncertain. They were forced to lie in these small barracks that were not very nice and did not allow for privacy. This had really change the thoughts of Peter and his family, especially his father as Peter explained his father, "Had put all his faith in this country."(207) After they were sent to these internment camps Peter's father had lost some of his faith that he previously had for America. These camps can relate to what was going on during the Holocaust because when Hitler was in power he was forcing the Jews out of their areas and made them go into these concentration camps. These camps are similar because both minorities were forced to leave their homes and go to these horrible camps with bad conditions.Though Peter and his family were stuck on these camps, there was one way to leave them. Peter decided to take this route in which he would work on sugar beet farms.  Though the pay was very low and the conditions were not great, Peter felt it was a better alternative than staying in the camps. When he was old enough, Peter was drafted into the army. This was a little ironic because when he was fighting in the war, his family was at the camp waiting for the war to end. Peter suffered a tragedy when he was entering the army as his mother passed away. After his service was finished Peter wanted to be able to blend into the community and become a part of "white America". Later in life when Peter was married and had a daughter, his daughter questioned him about these internment camps and it was very difficult for him and others to talk about the terrible experiences they had with them. This can relate to my grandfather because even though he served in the Army he did not really want to talk about it ever because of some of the bad memories that were involved with it.

Betty Basye Hutchinson was a nurse that helped many young men in the war. At first it was hard for her because they made the nurses pay for rent for the places that they were staying in when serving as nurses even though Betty did not have any money to pay for it. Luckily for her the government helped these nurses and paid for their homes. She became a very popular nurse as many people would take pictures of her and she was even given a nickname as the "twirl girl". Many of the nurses dropped out of this job in order to join the army. She got the accomadation of being an official nurse when she said, "The day President Roosevelt died I was an official Army nurse"(213). Though Betty really liked working as a nurse it was very hard as she had to go through seeing some very disgusting images. She was working in the orthapedic field were some of the soldiers were severly wounded and had many body parts that were distorted. One of the soldiers that she worked on was Bill and he claimed he would not leave the room until his face was put back to normal. Betty knew that it was not going to be possible to fix these battle wounds, but she did her best work to replace his face. After the war Betty was with Bill and it was very hard to go out in public as the wounds of Bill's face were still very visible. Others would give them bad looks and feel disgusted when around them, but they knew that they would have to go through some of this disrespect from others by the looks they got from others. This can relate to my life because my grandmother suffered a fire which has left burned parts all over her body. When I am with her some people may look at her differently, but by now our family has become suceptible to this and know that others may look at her in this way. Anyways Betty was still disappointed because she didn't understand why these soldiers were fighthing because there was always going to be some conlfict before, during, and after the war is fought. This can relate to the past and present because though many wars were fought, many problems have still not been solved. We still have many soldiers all over the world today because there seems like there will always be conflicts with other countries.    

Studs Terkel #5

Peggy Terry worked in a factory with her sister and mother loading shells, ammunition, and other materials to help in the production for necessities for World War II. Unlike others Peggy actually enjoyed going to work because it gave her something to do and she knew that the money she could collect could help towards create a better life for herself and her family. Though she was not very knowledgeable about what she was making at work she just found joy in going to work. She was not very connected to what was going on with the world as she was not very aware of the war that was going on, and this could be due to the fact that she didn't have a radio like many others who received their news from. She stated that the radios were mostly a part of the rich people's lives as she said, "having a radio was a luxury." This can relate back to the Great Depression that we learned about earlier in the year because it shows that a majority of the citizens in the country were still recovering from this economic downfall and that a radio was not a necessity for the middle class citizens at the time. Though she had a job along with her mother they did not allow for any flexibility in the job. Peggy's grandmother was very sick and on the verge of death and Peggy's mother wanted to take a leave of absence to help her out, but instead the company fired her because they did not give anybody any time off. In Peggy's time working in the factory she had built up a hate for the Japanese even though she did not have any personal interactions with them. All she knew was that the American soldiers were fighting against them and that was enough for her to create a hate for them. Along with not knowing much about the war, Peggy did not realize the meanings of human rights and had no idea of the cruelty going on in the concentration camps. This puts Peggy in a bad position because if she is ever in trouble she would not know how to fight for her rights and would be at a disadvantage. Many people in the workforce most likely built up a similar dislike to the Japanese citizens as they knew that their American soldiers were fighting their lives against them.

E.B. Sledge was in a different situation that Peggy as he was a soldier on the Pacific area of the battlefield. Sledge was only 19 years old when he had to enter the war. This can relate to the recent Terkel reading about Bob Rasmus because he was only 14 years old when he entered the war as a soldier. Both of these kids were very young and brave men to have the courage to serve for the country at such a young age. It just amazes me that so many of these soldiers that had to serve in the war were teenagers my age that were fighting for their lives everyday trying to help out the country. Being at such a young age these soldiers needed to gain friendships with each other in order to have trust. These close relationships among the soldiers helped the boys deal with their low points and carry on with their efforts. As sledge describes one of his stories he talks about a Japanese soldier. The soldier was already captured and instead of accepting defeat he tried to kill himself along with another American soldier in a suicide bombing attack. This was just the way that the Japanese soldiers were trained and they had to do anything to help out their country in the war. Sledge learned from this that he had to be able to have courage and be aware of the things going on around him. He had to cope with the terrible images of the dead bodies around him and carry on with his attacks. Just from watching the clip today in class from Saving Private Ryan shows me that this must have been extremely difficult to deal with the images surrounding them as bodies were blowing up all over the place. Close companions were dying left and right and they had to move on from these hardships and keep on fighting. It was hard to even see the images on the film so I could imagine how hard it must be to fight in the war and be seeing people getting killed all over the place.

An Oral History of World War II

After reading the introduction of the oral history of WWII I realized that this war really changed the United States as a whole. This gave me a great background on information leading into the story of Bob Rasmus the rifleman. In this introduction they described how this war changed the psyche and the face of the world as it gave them a different outlook to the rest of the world. In this war there were many negative aspects of it as many citizens struggled to survive everyday. In the introduction it said, "First thing you talked about is what you wanted in your stomach."(165) This shows that many of the citizens at the time were uncertain of their meals everyday which can directly relate to the Great Depression that we learned about early in the Stud Terkel readings as many families were poor and did not know the food that they would eat for the day. Though there were many negatives from this war it created many openings for others as it gave women and minorities a better chance at getting a good job in a good enviroment. As many of the many were serving in the army it opened up plenty oppurtunities for others and these companies were finally willing to hire these people in order to keep their company in business. The New Deal that was passed created many jobs for all citizens and gave many people a good chance at becomming succesful. This relates to World War I because when this war was declared it caused total war to occur and in both situations minorites took over many of the jobs that the men occupied before the war. Though this opened up many oppurtunites for the women the war create some horrible images for the men serving in it. As they would walk past stacks and piles of their dead enemies it created a unforgettable image in these soldiers minds as they look at their enemies in the eyes. Overall this war was good for the country because it opened up chances for others and help bring the country together as they all had a common goal to win the war. In the story of Bob Rasmus he faced a hard situation as he had to serve in the army when he was only 14 years old. I can relate to this because I cannot imagine having to serve in the army when I was only 14 years old. To be honest I cannot even imagine serving in the army at 17 years old, so Bob needed to have a lot of courage to risk his life to serve for his country. He wanted to prove to others his manhood by entering this war, but he did not realize the images that he would be faced with. He had only thought about the positive parts of war and did not yet really think about having to actually kill others. As he grows throughout the story we realize that Bob's mindset changes and he has the integrity to kill his enemies. He turned into a completely new person by the end of the war from the beginning as he realized that he needed to change his mindset in order to survive this war. Not only did the mindset of Bob change from before the war to after, but the mindset of the entire country because America knew that it needed to do anything possible in order to win this war.

Oral History of the Great Depression

Jane Yoder grew up in a middle class family in Evanston, Illinois as her family struggled to have success in the hard times of the Great Depression. Her father  was a very intelligent man, but struggled through the difficulties of schizophrenia. I found this story very interesting because Jane had a personality in which she did not really care about how others thought about her and the actions that she made. As many other kids had different clothes, Jane did not have the luxury that the other kids did and was sometimes judged because of the clothes that she wore. Her father did everything in his power to provide for his family, but in the times of the Great Depression it was very hard to make a living and Jane lived everyday with the uncertainty if she would get to eat food each day. Her Father went through a lot of physchological abuse in these hard times, however he was able to move past them as he was employed by the WPA. Once again kids judged Jane because her father was working for the WPA, but she didn't care what they thought because this was the best option for her family as it was able to get money to supply food for his family. Many other kids had parents who were doctors, nurses, and other successful jobs but it wasn't that way for Jane's family. Jane said, "Well, how nice. They had respectable employment, In my family, there was no respectable employment. I thought, you don't know what it's like"(129). This shows that her family was not able to get high class jobs like being a doctor, and shows that they would take any job possible that provided a good opportunity at provided enough money to supply for their families. This can relate to immigration that we learned about in the last unit because Jane and her family struggled to find ways to success as they were in a poor environment and like many immigrants they came to America with nothing and had difficulties getting a successful job and being able to provide food for their families every night. Her son Tom thought about the way that Jane lived in her life and described how he could not imagine having to live the difficulties everyday of not knowing if there will be food on the table. In the time that Tom grew up in many things have changed and the rate of poverty has decreased. As Tom described he would never be able to go through what his mother had to go through shows that today's society is more demanding than it was back then as not as many citizens have the food uncertainty that Jane had. After reading this it made me think about my life and how fortunate I am to be living in the house that I am with having food everyday throughout my whole life. I never have experienced this torture that some of these people suffered through the Great Depression and I applaud these people because they really showed that they had a high character of courage throughout their lives.

Peggy Terry was known as a spokeswomen for the southern whites and she lived in a time similar to Jane where the unemployment rate was very high. People did anything in their willpower to find shelter to live in and many citizens had to resort to areas such as: cardboard boxes, tents, and even holes in the ground. Many of these areas were destroyed by terrible dust storms that destroyed many of these homes and caused physical and mental damage to these people. This led to many suicides to the citizens and Peggy described it as she said, "They went flat broke and they committed suicide on the strength of it, nothing else"(139). This proves that many people could not handle to struggles no longer of this grueling life and figured they had nothing else to live for. Many people resorted to blaming President Hoover for all of the problems that led to the Great Depression, but this economic downfall cannot be blamed solely on one man because it was several other factors that led to this. This can relate to WWI that we just learned about because just as Hoover was the only person blamed for the Great Depression, Germany was the only country that was responsible for the war and they had to take sole responsibility for it. One place or person cannot be blamed for huge events like these because the other side had to have some participation in these events in order for them to occur. Peggy and her family struggled like Jane to have food everyday as the only thing that they had in their house was mustard. She had to go to the soup kitchen everyday looking for a meal for the day. Peggy got married at 15 and she and her husband traveled a lot by hitchhiking. Many people were generous and drove them to destinations and gave them food as they felt bad for the poverty that they were living in. I can connect to this story because a few years back I volunteered to serve food at the soup kitchen in the city. It was a great experience because being able to serve food to these people was great as they were very appreciative of us and was very nice to us. I now realize what these people have had to go through and these soup kitchens are a really nice piece of society to help out people in poverty.     

Struggles of Journey

Ed Paulsen was a freight train rider who struggled finding a good job because he went through many uncertain days where he would not know if he would even receive any money for his work. I find this story interesting because it was the way of life that many Americans had experienced in these harsh times. These jobs were very competitive as many of these men woke up very early in the morning in order to get ready for the day of work and prove to others that they should be chosen to work for these people. There were thousands of men competing to get a pay check for the day and Paulsen described the men who picked them as he said "They were the most vicious enemies of this drifting, reckless, hungry crowd of people"(95). This shows that as these owners of many of the companies looking for workers for them felt the need to be cruel to their customers because they believed that their power could make them do anything. They knew the crowd of these people were desperate for jobs in order to get food and money to help support them, but they felt the need to treat them horribly. Luckily for Paulsen as many were very negatively affected by the stock market crash, he was not because he working punching cattle and felt the market would not interfere with this job. This is very different from jobs in today's society because when getting a job most people know how much money they will be making for the amount of hours that they work. Many people questioned how the economy would be able to come back in a positive way after this stock market crash and many citizens questions if their jobs would be affected by this. This crash lead to the Great Depression and this reminds me of the recent fall of the economy in our recession. During the recession a few years ago the unemployment rate was very high and the market was in a very bad situation. This connects because in both situations many citizens were uncertain of their future in work.

Arthur Robertson was able to explain in his story the business he worked with in the stock market and how the crash impacted many Americans in these times. Robertson described how many people had trouble in controlling their money and did not know how to be smart in investing their money in the stock market. This relates directly to the article that we just read in class because it explained all of the different strategies in buying stocks and the different ways that the market trends in success and through downfalls. It explained the impacts of the Great Depression and how the stock market was a huge contribution to it. When investing money into the stock market the success is always uncertain because nobody really knows the exact direction of where the economy will go. Before the Great Depression many Americans thought the economy was headed into a pretty good direction and when the market crashed many questioned the reasons for it and questioned if it would ever be able to recover in the future. As many citizens expected success to continue Robertson explained their thoughts as he said "everybody in those days expected the sun to shine forever"(101). This shows that this stock market crash was very unexpected as many people thought the economy was headed in a good direction. This can relate to populism because in their movement they wanted to get rid of the debts on the farmers because it was very hard for these farmers to get out of their debts and in this stock market crash it was very hard to get out of all of the loss money in the market. This can relate to my life because I am actually very involved in the stock market. I set up an account online with my dad and I own 4 stocks. I check how the market is doing everyday and watch CNBC to see where the market will be going next. I love following the market and different stocks because it gives me a good idea of the future of the economy and allows me to learn more about different events happening around the world that are impacting the stock market.

Challenges of the American Dream

After reading the excerpt about Vine Deloria and her journey to America, i realized that it was very difficult for her culture because since she was of the Native American descent she was discriminated by others. They had to make changes to their lifestyle as they were forced to convert to religions like Christianity in order to be able to stay in their designated areas. The entire family of Deloria had to convert to this religion because if they did not change they could be in jeopardy if getting kicked out of their region and could risk losing their land. Vine's parents at first thought they would be able to incorporate Christianity into their lives, but over time they realize it was just not part of their culture and that they were better off having no religion at all. This Native American family just wanted to live the life of the American dream, but as they had to make several changes to their lifestyle they realized it was not as good as it was all hyped up to be. Vine described that the whites were clearly in power as they were able to take over the land of the Native Americans and demand many things. For example, in the excerpt she displayed the power of the white community as they demanded,  “you have ten thousand Indians living in an area with animals around.  You get two or three settlers there, and the animals and Indians leave”(37). This shows that the whites were completely superior to the minority's and were able to control the area that they lived in and how much land they got. One of the things that this can connect to from class is the Treat of Fort Laramie. This Treaty was when the United States government overtook the land of Native Americans along the Arkansas and Missouri Rivers. This shows that even though the Native Americans could have been living the dream for a moment it was shortly ruined when whites overpowered them and took their land. This can connect to many things in today's society in terms of things being overtaken by higher powers. For example, once I was waiting in a restaurant to get a table with my family and we were waiting for a long time. Even though we were first a celebrity walked in 40 minutes after us and was able to get a table right away. This shows that power in today's society is still used by others and that it does not really matter about the time of the arrival because the superior can always overpower others.

When reading the section about Andy Johnson it showed my that these immigrants had to go through a lot of difficulties in order to reach their dreams of making it to the United States. When he and his family had to emigrated to America from England they had to pass through Ellis Island which was one of the events that we discussed in class. They were forced to go through many procedure including literacy tests, paperwork, and were forced to wait several hours in order to pass through. For people like Johnson it was very hard to maintain any success in the states as he had come from a poor family. They had to make many changes to their lifestyles and Johnson explained it as he said "Coming to America was like being transferred from one century to another"(40). This shows that his family had to make several adjustments to this lifestyle. It shows that difficulties that they went through as his dad changed his job several times which forced his family to move a lot also.  His father was a miner, carpenter, farmer, and common laborer and he tried to do anything possible in order to supply for his family by getting higher paying jobs. Andy had to take part in this work at a young age as he was picked up by others to go and work with their companies. Many companies wanted young soles investing time in their work because they had better endurance in some areas compared to these older men. This can relate to today's society also because many companies are starting to hire more young citizens to work for their company because they feel that they are more durable compared to older men. This piece really helped me understand that many families had to go through several difficulties in order to make it to America and live a successful life.

Promises and Problems as US Enters World Stage

 

The last unit and the new unit that we are studying now tie into each other because in this new unit the United States is trying to address the rest of the world through their promises and problems. The United States is trying to address the other countries and their problems by promising that their economies will increase in growth if they form alliances with them. For example, America is entering the age of imperialism in which they are trying to influence other counrties in their economic, culturual, and military decisions to create a better government and cause less problems to the country. This can also be a negative aspect because all of this imperialism made lead to an increase in war and conflict around the world because if America is only aiming at certain countries to create alliances it may anger some countries and cause a war to flare up. I believe that America should try to create alliances with these other countries because it can help their economies strive when they have others to trade with and have countries behind them if war is ever entered. I do not beleive that these alliances will cause a big increase in conflict and a rise in wars because enemies are already made and these alliances will not anger these other countries. Also I really think this can help our economy drastically because there will be an increase in trade and as the production rate goes up it will increase the growth of the economy.   

Legacy of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

The fire that occurred in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory impacted many people at the time and had evolved into a story that has been used in modern day to teach others the difficulties that the women had to face at these times in history. Immigrants and women faced very hard obstacles when joining the workforce as they were stuck in terrible working conditions with very low wages. It shows that these women were put in terrible situations as they were locked in the factory and had no way out once the fire occurred. This story is very important to modern day society because after this incident occurred, it caused more protests and unions to be formed in order to make changes to the working conditions that these minorities were forced into. If these unions and people did not protest to make a change minorities may still be facing similar conditions in today’s society and may have never gotten the chance to strive for success in their careers. The legacy of this fire has opened up opportunities to women and minorities of other races as these labor laws were changed to help prevent people from being in situations like this fire. In conclusion, this fire has had an impact on today’s society as it opened up opportunities to minors that did not have working freedoms and has prevented these terrible situations to flare up in modern day society.

History of Immigration

              

After learning about the history of experiences that the immigrants had to go through to get to America, I have had a mixed review on its contradictions of my values of being an American. I think our that these experiences can partially be a reflection to what our values of an American citizen because it has shown that our country is open minded to others by letting them explore our country to create a better lifestyle for themselves. These people have come to America to start a better life and our country has given them an opportunity to get a job and start their new life. The workforce is where I think that this country has contradicted themselves in the values of the American lifestyle. I believe America acted wrongly when they decided to discriminate against these immigrants by putting them in terrible working conditions, with grueling hours, for very low wages. This nation is suppose to be a country full of freedom and these situations that these immigrants are put in, is not allowing them to live a free life. Even though it was great to open the opportunity for immigrants to come to this country, they should have been more lenient to the terrible situations that they were basically forcing them into. 

When seeing some of the photos of the immigrants I felt very bad for these people as they looked helpless and exhausted with no way to success because even if they worked all day, it would not lead them to a very successful life. The people in the pictures were dirty and tired as they had to go through this type of work everyday of their lives since emigrated to America. They were discriminated against because they were assumed to have no skill and not given the chance to strive in a career. This can relate to modern day society because people are still close minded to others of different races and cultures. After seeing what some of these people had to go through it makes me want to be more open minded to all cultures and races around me today. In this modern day there are still stereotypes for cultures in their job associations and their past ways of success in the country. One of the stereotypes that is still portrayed in today's society is that many people think that these immigrants are taking up their jobs while the unemployment rate is decently high. What people do not realize is that these immigrants are taking many jobs that citizens would not want to do like landscaping, construction, carpeting,etc. These immigrants are actually helping our economy by being willing to take these jobs and help businesses stay succesful. Everyone including myself, needs to be more open minded to all citizens of the country no matter the race or cultural background that they have.  

Through the Gates of Bill

Through his entrepreneurship Bill Gates has become one of the most successful persons in the history of the United States. His genius mind allowed him to become one of the “Captains of the Industry” as he created one of the greatest companies of all time, Microsoft. He is seen as a captain of the technological industry as his Microsoft programs used on computers have become universal as a majority of the technology world falls to using these for many different tasks. He also is one of the leaders in the video game world as the Microsoft Xbox 360 has become one of the most popular consoles of this century. Gates can also fall in the category of a “Robber Baron” because he participates in the monopolist behavior that the United States legislation is trying to prevent. He has made his software’s so popular to the universe that nobody else has a chance to compete against him. At points in his work he had paranoia of his company going out of business he strived for maximum revenue and net income, where he could hike up his prices and knocked out all of his competition. Gates will go down as one of the most intelligent inventors in the history of technology.  

Progression of Populism

            After going through different activities learning about populism I think that Americans can help in making progress with economy and help keep the citizens satisfied. If these people can push towards a more democratic government it can help in reaching the needs of many Americans. I think that if the government can help others by taking input by the society and incorporating it into their policies, it will help the economy overall as it can help in creating success for more middle class citizens. In today’s modern day society, President Obama is trying to help others with populism in trying to create a more democratic government. In his State of the Union speech, he stated that he wanted all Americans to have a fair chance of being able to succeed in the economy. He is trying to take in to account the thoughts of the citizens and change things in the government to help satisfy their needs. Populists are still very active in this society because their voices are being heard of having government involvement because even the President is trying to make changes to create this democratic environment.