Presidential Assassination: McKinley Killed in 1901

To begin our second quarter in the blog-o-sphere, you are going to examine America's third presidential assassination: William McKinley.

He was Republican who became president in 1896 and was re-elected in 1900. McKinley had successfully led America through the Spanish-American War (it took less than a year to win) and was traveling to Buffalo, New York for the Pan-American Exposition.

That's all the scene-setting I'll do. Watch this video and read this primary source to get a better handle on the events surrounding this murder.

For the comment section...

1) Write 100 words telling the story of what happened to McKinley once he arrived in Buffalo.

2) Write 100 words considering the following...
Should this "Gilded Age" era be remembered most for its successes (industrialization, urbanization, civil service reform etc.) or for its failures (corruption in politics, Native American conflicts, all the negative aspects of the immigration boom, Jim Crow era etc.)?

Gilded Age: Important Court Case

This chapter is full of interesting major and minor events falling into what we call the "Gilded Age".

One of the most important events is a court case, settled in the 1890s, called Plessy v. Ferguson. I do not want to give too much away, so let me just say the decision in this case negatively affected African Americans for the next 70+ years.

For this week's blog, do your own research on Plessy v. Ferguson. In the comment section, answer the following...
1) What is the "basic story" of the case?
2) The phrase "separate but equal" comes from this case. What does this phrase mean? How did it affect African Americans?

What About The Workers?: Employees of the Industrialization Era

Last week you all did an excellent job of profiling those men who amassed prolific wealth during this Second Industrial Revolution. For this week, you will profile the people on the other end of the spectrum.

As you saw in class last week, the fortunes of these industries were built (often) using harsh/unfair businesses practices. Unionizing soon became the best option for workers to have their rights heard. Unions differed in tactics, who they represented, who they allowed to join and how "radical" they were; but, all of these groups essentially wanted the same thing---a fair piece of the pie.

For this week, please profile ONE of the following labor leaders/unions. Write a 100 paragraph to summarize the main points and then a Top Ten List of interesting facts.

Choices
-Mother Jones
-Terrence Powederly
-Samuel Gompers
-Eugene V. Debs
-"Big" Bill Haywood
-American Federation of Labor
-Knights of Labor

Post Civil War Industrialization: A New Class of Americans

This time period is intriguing for two main reasons:
1) Certain men were able to use loopholes in the laws, as well as their own hard work, to make vast fortunes in new industrial areas

AND

2) Oftentimes, these "titans of industry" used shady business dealings and unfair treatment of their employees to make these fortunes.

For this week's blog, we will focus on the first point.

Spend some time doing your own research on ONE of the following people:
John D. Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Leland Stanford, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Cyrus Field, Jay Gould, Andrew Carnegie, John Jacob Astor, Marshall Field, John Warne Gates, Charles Schwab or Andrew Mellon.

For the comment section
A) Write a 100 word paragraph explaining how this man made his fortune.

B) Write a "Top Ten List" of the most interesting facts you learned about him during your research.

Remember, the total word count must be at least 200 words.

***You may choose the same person as another classmate, but I would like to see each guy covered at least once.***

Native American Assimilation: Kill The Indian, Save The Man

As we saw last week, not every armed conflict went the way of the US Army. At Little Bighorn, we are reminded the natives we fought against were as trained as our soldiers...perhaps more so.

As it became clear the "native problem" needed creative solutions, one phrase came to the forefront that changed the game forever.

Kill the Indian...Save The Man.

For this week's blog, read Website A and Website B for context and basic information. Then, watch this clip for more information about the Native American Assimilation program.

For the comment section, give me 50 words each for these four questions:

1) What does the phrase Kill the Indian...Save the Man mean?

2) How did we try to "Americanize" (or..."make the natives more like us") the natives?

3) What was the Carlisle Boarding School in Pennsylvania?

4) Was this system of assimilation better or worse than the wars we fought with the natives?

Western Conflicts: Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of Little Bighorn, in Montana, is one of the most famous "non-Civil War encounters" of the 19th century. In class post-Civil War fashion, the US Army was fighting native groups in an effort to take their land/suppress their resistance movements.

The intriguing part of Little Bighorn is the final result. It is one of the rare cases where the natives prevailed and slaughtered the Americans. Usually it was the other way.

For this week's blog, watch this video and this video. Also, read this Arapaho primary source of the event.

For the comment section...
1) What is the basic story of the Battle of Little Bighorn/Custer's Last Stand?
2) Whose side are you most sympathetic towards...the natives or the US Army? Why?

Reconstruction Stories

Welcome to the first blog post of the year. I hope you will find these weekly assignments enlightening and interesting. As with most things in school/life, you get out what you put in.

The Reconstruction Era, as you know, refers to the ten years of American History after the Civil War ended. I cannot help but note the entire period would have looked much different if Lincoln had not been assassinated in April 1865.

We will cover the main ideas of Reconstruction in class. So, for this blog, I want you to dive into some of the personal accounts of how Reconstruction affected "everyday people".  The study of history is most interesting when seen through the eyes of those who experienced the events first hand.

Please visit this website. Read the account of a first-hand experience with the KKK.

For the comment section, please complete the following tasks.
1) Summarize what you read.
2) Discuss why you think many southern whites resorted to violence against former slaves during the Reconstruction Era?

Remember, your blog must be at least 200 words and include the word count.