Great Depression: A Difficult Decade

For this week's blog, you are going to write two 200 word responses. This blog is the final one of the semester and is worth 100 points.

#1-Google "Dorothea Lange photography" and look at images she took during the Great Depression. Write 200 words on which photograph(s) made the greatest impact on you and why.

#2-Google "causes of the Great Depression". Write a 200 word response on at least THREE different events/causes that led to the Great Depression.

A Monumental Decision: The Construction of Mount Rushmore

One of the most overwhelming public art projects taken on by our country is Mount Rushmore.

This project began during our current decade of study, the 1920s.

For this week's blog, read this article from the Smithsonian Institute about the creation of Mount Rushmore. Be sure to read all six sections (click "next" at the bottom of each page until the article is finished).

Of course, a blog about Mount Rushmore wouldn't be complete without addressing the differing views of this site. Read this article and this article to see a different side of the story.

For the comments, discuss what you learned about this impressive monument. Also consider...as cool as Mount Rushmore is, does it seem necessary to you or a waste of time and resources?

The Roaring Twenties: A Decade of Decadence

With World War One coming to a close, the 1920s were seen as a decade to "return to normalcy". As it would turn out, that decade would be anything but normal!

For this week's blog, visit this website. Notice this site gives you information about significant events from each year of the decade. Also, as you scroll down on the main page, you will find interesting info about the culture (music, sports, fashion etc) of the decade.

Spend some time perusing this site and finding items of interest.

For the comment section...

1) Create a "Top 10 List" of the 10 most interesting things you learned from this site about this decade. (100 words at least)

2) Write a paragraph as to why the 1920s was "anything but normal" for Americans. (100 words at least).

World War One: Eyewitness Accounts

We are looking at World War One this week during class.

For this blog assignment, select a story from this website.

In the comment section, write a 200 word post describing your story and what you learned about WW1 from what you read.

As with last week's blog, you cannot post about the same story someone else read. So, the sooner you post your blog, the better!

Progressive Era: Political Cartoons

We're going to revisit a blog idea we've already done this year.

For this week's blog, please Google "Progressive Era Political Cartoons" and find an interesting one. Research what the cartoon is depicting, who drew it etc and write your 200 words about it. Be sure to paste a link so I can find the cartoon myself.

This blog is first-come-first-served, so once a cartoon has been blogged about, it is off limits to the rest of the class.

Progressive Era: Not All Progress Is Good

No one can debate that government, and society in general, stepping in to help the downtrodden in society is a good thing. The Progressive Era saw a lot of good done for a lot of people.

But...a nasty downside of this era was population control. In a movement known as "eugenics" some groups in America took it upon themselves to determine who among us should be allowed to have children. Essentially...if we take away certain people's abilities to have children we can get rid of undesirable traits in our society.

Of course, "playing God" in that way is a dangerous proposition.

Take a look at these sources on the eugenics movement. For the comments, write 200 words detailing your reaction to this movement? Did you know about this part of our history? What do you think about the eugenics movement?

1-https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/07/469478098/the-supreme-court-ruling-that-led-to-70-000-forced-sterilizations

2-https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2011/06/01/136849387/found-in-the-archives-americas-unsettling-early-eugenics-movement

Turn of the Century: Isolationism vs. Interventionism

This week you are going to study the ideological differences between isolationism and interventionism.

Use these resources:

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP3fhzJ6LjE (watch the first ten minutes)

2) https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3617.html

After reading and watching, write 200 words on your position on this issue. What do you think America's role should be?

Gilded Age: Political Cartoons

In the late 19th century, the most effective way to reach people was in newspapers and magazines. One of the most creative ways to critique the government and point out issues in America was using cartoons.

For this week's blog, do a Google search on "Gilded Age Political Cartoons". Find one you think is interesting and do some research on it. Figure out who drew it, when it was drawn and what it means.

For the comment section, answer the following prompts.

1-Who drew your cartoon?
2-Which magazine/newspaper published it?
3-When was it published?
4-Which Gilded Age issue did it address? (Business, Immigration, Politics etc.)
5-Describe what is in the cartoon and what it mean.

You need to post the image in your comments OR paste a link so I can look up the cartoon.

Remember to reach at least 200 words as you are answering the prompts.

How The Other Half Lives: Photos from Jacob Riis

This week you are going to study photographs of the slum-life in New York City at the end of the 19th century.

Visit these two websites, read the article and look at the photographs.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/new-york-immigrants-photos

https://allthatsinteresting.com/jacob-riis-photographs-how-the-other-half-lives

For the comment section, write 200 words on your reaction to the things you saw this week. (Questions to consider: What would life have been like? How could it have been solved? What emotions bubbled up when looking at the photographs? Etc.)

America Industrializes: Robber Barons

One fascinating aspect of this industrial age is the men who rose to great power and wealth, often at the expense of their workers.

These men, for better or worse, have been dubbed "Robber Barons".

For this week's blog, do a Google search on the phrase "American robber barons". Choose one person to study further.

In the comment section, write one paragraph (50 words) detailing positive contributions of that person and another paragraph (50 words) detailing their negative contributions. To conclude your response, write 100 words on whether you think the term "robber baron" is a fair label for the person you chose.

America Industrializes: We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Perhaps the single greatest change to American life in the 19th century, besides the ending of slavery, was the growth of business. We used to be a largely agrarian (farming) society, but that slowly began to change.

When factories and machines began to produce steel and mine coal at record speeds, cities became more modern and jobs became more plentiful.

With more jobs came a need to fill those jobs. Where would the workers come from?

Well...often these jobs were filled with immigrants from Europe. Most of those immigrants entered America through a processing station in New York harbor called Ellis Island.

This week, take some time to explore this fun website. There is a lot of great info and old pictures from this immigration age. Click "start the tour" to begin and follow it all the way to the end.

For the comments....

1) Create a list of the 10 most interesting things you learned from this "Ellis Island Tour".

2) Write a paragraph detailing what you think was the most difficult part of being an immigrant at Ellis Island.

Each part should be at least 100 words.

"The Old West": America Moves Onward

This week we are looking in depth at America's experience as it progressed westward across the nation. There were technological innovations that proved how far we had come (i.e. Transcontinental Railroad) but also many terrible social interactions (natives vs. army).

Take a look at this website this week. Choose any story, beginning with the Pony Express story, and explain in the comment section what it taught you about the "old west".

Make sure your post is at least 200 words and the word count is included.

Reconstruction: A Time Of Change & Regression

Last week we took some time to examine what was happening in America after the Civil War ended. The chaos of Lincoln's assassination foreshadowed what would be a tumultuous decade of "reconstructing" the nation.

As we saw in the Crash Course video, some great gains were made in the name of racial and civil equality but were not sustained. Congress and the office of the President (Johnson, Grant and Hayes) found themselves at odds which did not help the situation at all.

Eventually, in 1877, federal troops were removed from the south and the region essentially reverted back to its pre-Civil War ways (which was good for most whites and bad for most African Americans).

For this week's blog, please visit this website and choose any ONE of the links that say "reading" in the green box. Note, there are several pages to choose from at the bottom of the site.

Read whichever article seems the most interesting to you.

In the comment section, write 200 words summarizing what you learned about the Reconstruction Era from the article you selected.

Remember, posts without a word count will receive a 0.

Final Blog: Hot Button Issues

For the final blog of the year (Yay!!), please choose ONE of the following contemporary "hot button issues" and address BOTH SIDES in your post. Use 100 words to describe the case "for" this issue and then 100 words to describe the case "against" this issue. Then, write 100 words detailing your personal thoughts.  That's 300 words total.

You must have two websites cited as resources for your arguments.

Choices:
Abortion
Gay Marriage
Universal Healthcare (Obamacare)
Gun Control

2000s: Politics & Culture

This will be our final decade-centric blog for the semester. Any topic/event from 2000-Present will work for this assignment.

As you know, please write 100 words on a political event in this time frame and another 100 words on a cultural event from this time frame.

1990s: Politics & Popular Culture

I hope you are enjoying the freedom to research these recent blogs have given you. I know I am enjoying reading your cultural decade discoveries!

For this week, write 100 words on a political event and 100 words on a cultural event from the 1990s.

1980s: Politics & Popular Culture

We continue our look through the decades of the 20th Century this week with an examination of 1980-1989.

As with previous blogs of this ilk, please research ONE political event and ONE cultural event from this decade and write a 100 word response for each.

There is no extra credit component this week.

1970s: Politics & Popular Culture

Continuing with our theme from last week, please research ONE political event and ONE cultural event from the 1970s.

For extra credit (which I've never done before on the blog), I'll give +5 points if you include an image/picture that goes along with each of your entries this week.

1960s: Politics & Culture

It is time for another "decades" blog.

Just like you did for the 1950s, research ONE political event and ONE cultural event (movies, sports, music, celebrities, tv, radio etc.) from the 1960s. Write a 100 word summary for each event.

Vietnam War: Songs From The Era

One of the most interesting ways to get a feel for "what was really going on" during a specific era of American history is to examine the popular culture of that time. What were books, movies, television and music saying about the events of that time?

For this week's blog, use this website to read about a selection of pro- and anti- Vietnam War songs. Choose one from each list (so, one pro- and one anti-) and listed to it. You might even want to do some extra reading about the songs you choose.

For the comments section, write 100 words on each selection. What is the feel of the song? The message? How can you tell it is pro- or anti- the war?

Civil Rights: Are Things What They Seem?

This week's blog will deal with a very famous incident from the Civil Rights Era. In fact, have you seen this photograph before?

What about this statue?

At face value, this young African American teenager was being attacked by a police dog while marching for his rights during the famous Children's March of 1963.

But...is that really the whole story? Is there another perspective?

This week's blog is worth 100 points because it requires you to listen to a podcast. The title is "Foot soldier of Birmingham". Click here.

Please be sure to listen to the entire episode before posting on the blog.

For the comment section, answer these two questions (100 words each):

1) What information was surprising to you in the podcast?

2) Do you think it is wrong to alter history (for example, the photograph vs. the statue) in order to prove a larger point?

Camelot Comes To D.C.: The Presidency of JFK

JFK took the nation by storm in the late 1950s and early 60s.

He was a brand new type of president. Handsome, young, wealthy and glamorous (both he and his wife), Kennedy was the "president of America's youth".

This website is a remarkable resource for his time as president. Take some time to look through the interactive timeline. Click the events that seem interesting to learn more about the key details of his administration.

For the comment section, write 200 words regarding what you learned about JFK from this website.

***THIS BLOG IS DUE BY THURSDAY PM (11:59) BECAUSE THE QUARTER ENDS THIS WEEK***

1950s: Major Events

We will be discussing the impact of decades from now until May. Each decade in the 20th century is known for its political, social and cultural impact.

For this week's blog, independently research the decade of the 1950s.

Choose ONE 1950s political event (presidential, law, Supreme Court case, Cold War related event, Space Race event, war etc.) and ONE 1950s cultural event (movies, music, sports, comic books, tv, radio, books, plays etc.) that interests you.

Write 100 words for each choice. Explain what you learned about the 1950s from the two topics you chose.

Cold War Preparations: "Duck & Cover"

With the constant threat of nuclear war always around the corner during the Cold War, the United States needed a way to prepare the people in case of an attack.

Thus, the birth of the "nuclear attack drill"...better known as "duck & cover".

Rather than me trying to explain it, use these two resources to gain a better understanding of this Cold War tactic.

One: Article

Two: Video

After you have completed each resource, answer the following two questions (100 words each).

1) What was "duck and cover"?

2) It seems fairly clear that this method would not protect anyone, yet people bought into it. Schools ran these drills for years. Why?

The Forgotten War: Korea

Many people skip directly over Korea and move into Vietnam when they think of global conflicts after World War II. In fact, the Korean Conflict (so-called because America never officially declared war on North Korea) is often called the "Forgotten War".

For this week's blog, you are going to watch this video which gives the basic details of the Korean Conflict.

For the comment section, create a Top-10 List of the ten most important facts you learned about this global event.

Then, write a 100 word summary answering this question: If the Korean Conflict is so important to the history of the U.S., why is it a "forgotten" war? 

****THIS BLOG IS DUE WEDNESDAY 2/14 BY 11:59 PM******

Post-War Presidents: Truman vs. Eisenhower

As we close the book on World War Two, we look ahead to the two men who would lead us during the pivotal post-war years into the turbulent 1960s.

Truman had to deal with the decision to use nuclear weapons, plummeting approval ratings and the Korean War.

Eisenhower, in stark contrast, was the conquering hero of Europe. The leader of D-Day, he enjoyed a fairly popular and prosperous presidency.

Using this website, read up on both of these men. Use the tools the website provides to compare their two presidencies.

For the comments, write 200 words on which president you think had the more successful administration. Be sure to back up your thoughts with evidence.

World War Two: Eyewitness Accounts

We'll spend two weeks on the blog looking at World War Two.

So much of World War Two seems larger-than-life (Hitler, Pearl Harbor, FDR, Stalin, Rosie the Riveter, D-Day etc.) but we need to remember normal people lived through those events.

While grateful we won this war and thankful for the sacrifices made, we should be careful to romanticize or glamorize those awful times.

For this week's blog, visit this website. Select any of the World War Two stories that intrigues you and read it carefully.

For the comment section, write 200 words on what your selection was about and what it taught you about this war.

The Holocaust: We Must Remember

For this week's blog, you will visit this website.

Here you will find accounts of various groups affected by the Holocaust.

For the comment section, please read at least two different sections. Summarize each section with at least 100 words each and be sure to include your reaction to what you read.

Steps Towards War: Events Leading to World War 2

Welcome back!

We begin this semester with an examination of how, exactly, did World War Two begin? Wasn't World War One supposed to be the "war to end all wars"?

For this week's blog, do some independent research on the beginnings of World War Two. Answer the following four questions, with at least 50 words each.

1) How did Hitler rise to power in Germany?
2) How did Germany, Italy and Japan become what we call the "Axis Powers"?
3) Why did America side with the Soviet Union, even though their leader (Stalin) was an evil dictator?
4) Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor and what did we do in response?