Dear Scottie...

I have chosen to work on the "growth and impact of centralized state power" theme. Rather than take four of the themes you set out I've decided to research all the laws that increased centralized state power between WWII and the Reagan administration. I will be using chapters 24-33 to do so. I plan on setting up Centralized state power as a whole as a time graph. I hope to look at the graph and see if I can pick up on an impending pattern in terms of centralized state power.

East africa current events summary #2:

There has been one major development in east africa economically. This devlopment is the guerrila war being fought between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the rapidly deteriorating country of Somalia. This war has made it very difficult to pick up other bits on East African economy. I have managed to learn that Kenya is getting another gigantic loan from the World Bank, which will be used for water purification. I have also learned that Ethiopia, amid its war, has allowed peace workers to bring food into its Ogaden region. The really interesting stuff, however, has been in Somalia. Right now the best job one can finde in Somalia is body guarding. There have also been mass pirate attacks across the Somalian coast. In Somalia the economy, instead of just not moving, is rapidly deteriorating.

Chapter 23-5 Question #3

Do you think that Roosevelt's new deal was anti capitalist?

A: I am totally divided on this question. Many of Roosevelt's ideas were to stabilize the economy, and to set up a system that will not crash so easily. One can argue that these ideas have ties to Socialism because the Soviet Union was the only country in the world to not be effected by the Great Depression. However, the soviet union could have not crashed simply because it was isolationist at the time. Roosevelt's ideas on recovery, making programs for work were not socialist, because it was a distribution of cash simply to help the economy. Roosevelt's work on social security wasn't really Socialist, just restricting. The government simply saves money for workers in the economy. Ultimately, Roosevelt's policies were there because of desperate times. Our country needed uplifting both economically and spiritually. Besides no country can be totally capitalist (Commonwealth of Massachusetts). Roosevelt was just trying to strike a balance.

Chapter 23-5 question #4

Was F.D.R a good president?

I personally think that F.D.R was one of the most successful presidents of all time. F.D.R worked our country through the greatest economic depression in U.S. history, at the same time setting up assurance that another economic bust of that proportion wouldn't happen again. He did this not only be reform, but by leadership. People trusted Roosevelt to get out of the depression, that's why he was successful. He also set a precedent for how the president and congress should interact: the president throws his ideas at congress as fast as he can, and congress stops what it can and what it wants to. These precedents and assurances are why Roosevelt was such a successful and popular president.

23-4 Question #3

If the new deal had supported movie making, what sort of movies do you think would have been made during the 30's?

A: I think, first of all, That it made more sense for the new deal to support artists because artists needed the money more and helped out the cause of the new deal with their work more often. If the government had supported movies, they probably would have given heavy endorsements to Frank Kapra, who enjoyed making movies concerning the new deal. They also would have made movies that started off focusing on the dust bowl, then showing what life was like because of the new deal. Alot of fairly typical movie propaganda would have been made.

Chapter 23-1 question #3

What do you feel was the most important new deal program?

I feel that the ivilian Conservation Corps was the most influential new deal program for many reasons. First, it gave jobs to Civilians, which helped our country psychologically. Second, the dams built by this group helped jumpstart our economy. Last, the conservation efforts made by this group on the great plain helped our country avoid a second dust bowl, which would be a disaster today.

Chapter 22-2 question #3

Conditions for men, women and children during the great depression varied greatly. Men had trouble psychologically with the depression because of the lack of work: this humiliated many men. Men were prone to abandon their families out of fear or shame caused by unemployment. Women suffered just as much, but would never leave their children. They were also less likely to ask for help, more likely to simply starve. Children would often give up their education. Many teenage boys also left their families for adventure and a different sort of life somewhere else.

Chapter 22-3 question #3

Hoover believed that hard times economically would bring out the best in people and cause them to work for themselves until they were better off. One reason why he believed this was because he came from a poor background himself. As such, hoover tried to have the government interfere as little as possible with the depression. In some cases hoovers idea may have worked: in this case it didn't. The reason why was that people were too discouraged to work themselves out of depression, and without government intervention it would be impossible to anyway. An example of this would be New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where people were to discouraged to work, and decided to wait on the government instead.

East Africa economy summary #1

East Africa is struggling economically. Very little real progress has been made by East African governments economically. Projects are put up here and there: Kenya fixes up a prominent railroad. But most projects are fueled by loans from non third world countries. Kenya, for example, recently took a 200+ million loan. These lateral moves will not really help third world countries in east Africa in the long term. What I found most disturbing though was the surplus violence and corruption. East Africa bank robberies are common, and weapons are considered as necessary as food itself. Corruption is common. I know this is expectable, but it bugs me, because we are trained as a society to be surprised when poverty creates greed. This might just be me, but I have always been taught that rich people are never content, and poor people are. I personally think that this is so people will be loose with their money, since you can never be happy with it, and so that we wont help poor people. This way we buy junk we don't really need. This might be me being cynical though. Anyway, despite these difficulties, private, non government touched businesses do well, so there is hope for east Africa. Altogether though I think east Africa will be stuck in its depression for a long time to come.

22-1 #4

How important to the economy is the confidence of the participators as shown by the great depression?

A: i think that the confidence of an economies participators is important, but not as important as how aware people are of the economies condition. Before the great depression, people were taking out loans and using credit without thought to what this did to the economy: confidence was too high. Now at least I am very aware of the use of imaginary money, and my lack of use of it will help the economy. My trust in it doesnt matter. Ultimately I think the trouble with the great depression was that everyone felt the economy could not be fixed, so their trust in it went down. Confidence or lack of confidence is simply the result of prior knowledge, therefore knowledge of the economy is more important than confidence in it.

21-1

5: Do you think the scopes trial and Volstead act were genuine triumphs of traditional values?

A: I think that the roaring twenties reform acts were not triumphs for traditional values because Traditional values were being challenged at all. Unlike earlier generations, the twenties generation tried to get as close as possible to crossing the line socially. Whether or not prohibition or the scopes trial rulings held up was irrelevant. The fact that such ideas were being challenged at all was an incredible change in moral values in in the culture of the united states.

21-4

How did the Harlem renaissance change society?

A: The Harlem renaissance changed society in two major ways. The first and most important way it changed American society is that it gave African Americans pride, identity, and a voice. A culture withing a culture emerged just as Harlem was a city withing a city. New musical styles, such as jazz, emerged. The Harlen renaissance also inspired future African Americans to fight for their civil rights in the future.

Were americans justified in their post WWI nativism?

A: I ultimately think that Americans were not justified in their nativism. The russian revolution was not a realistic goal. The capitalist system was thriving, and was not about to be overthrown. I could see why one would fear a german takeover after WWI: many today fear muslims and those of arabic descent because of 9/11. But ultimately any form of racism or nativism is living in fear, and to me that ultimately seems like a waste of energy.

Why was the U.S. closer to the Allies than the Central powers?

A: The U.S. had many ties with the allies. First, the U.S. had history. Whether friends or foes, the U.S was familiar with France Britain and Russia. The U.S also shared heritage with Britain. On the other hand, Germany was an arriving power that the U.S was not yet accustomed to dealing with. America also felt obligated to protect the democracies on the side of the allies, while there was not a single democracy on the central powers' side. Germanies unorthodox style of invasion also stirred sympathy in the U.S for the allies.

Why did Germany spike its U-boat attacks during 1917?

A:Germany increased its U-boat attacks for several reasons. One main one was militarism. The Germans had spent the last few years building and refining its U-boats in order to secretly attack the British to compete with the British navy. In order to move along this supremacy, Germany began attacking ally ships left and right.Germany also did U-boat raids as an act of desperation. The British blockade was destroying the German economy and causing thousands of German deaths by starvation. The U-boats allowed Germany to use guerrilla warfare in order to get back at the British. In this way Naval WWI warfare became a war of attrition.

How did WWI represent a new mentally scarring kind of warfare?

A: World War one was unlike any war before it because of the new technology involved. War became a calloused, gruesome affair that left men numbed. The introduction of the machine gun allowed the killing of other men without a second thought. The use of chemical weapons also tortured men in mass. Few men left the great war unscathed. One reason was the appearance of shell shock, an emotional collapse caused by war in which men sometimes never recovered. Mass amounts of disfigured men also never let soldiers forget the horrors of war.

How did the war affect government power?

A: The war caused government power and control to soar. The government soon had control over private businesses, and geared them towards mass production and the building of supplies needed for war. The president could now regulate and control prices in the economy, and to nationalize certain war related companies. The president could also send any man who spoke against the war or slowed the war effort to jail. Such massive spikes in power set precedents for wars afterward.

Did the war have a positive or negative affect on American society?

I think that ultimately, for the time and place, the changes in American society were good for the World War One effort. If such changes remained however, it would have been a serious blow to human rights and liberty. Suspicion of recent immigrants and laws that increased government power and decreased human liberty work for supporting a war effort. Had such trends continued though, the very freedom of the United States would have possibly been put in Jeopardy over time.

How did the treaty of Versailles fail to provide lasting peace?

A: The treaty of Versailles failed to provide peace because it failed to create any accomodations for the Non-Allied Europeans. All of Austria Hungary was cut into tiny pieces, regardless of those living there, and was expected to rebuild itself. Germany was allowed to continue to exist only if it claimed responsibility for the war, gave up its army, and paid off all of the war debt of the other countries. These unfair terms set the stage for the equally large and bloody WWII.

Predict Germanys reaction to the treaty of Versailles.

A: I think that the German reaction to the treaty of Versailles would be negative, and would soon lead to conflict. The unfair terms of the treaty lost Germany pride, land, and money. Many German war veterans, such as Adolf Hitler, felt that the treaty was one sided, and felt that they were punished for putting their life on the line for their country. The result of these treaty terms would set the stage for WWII.

chapter 18 critical thinking

18-1

3:How did the idea of manifest destiny effect the growth of imperialism in america?

A: Manifest destiny was an Idea that came about in the early 19th century that stated that America was to grow until it stretched from sea to shining sea. This idea was interrupted by the civil war. After the war, time changed the idea of the U.S. being totally isolated, so it was only natural for manifest destiny to allow the U.S. to create colonies in areas other than North America

5:How does Senator Beveridges' quote (see book) explain the U.S. need to acquire territories.

A: Beveridge argued that the U.S. needed colonies for economic and philosophical reasons. The economic reason explained how the U.S. would set up its colonies: By establishing trading posts that would allow an area to trade with the U.S. and eventually become a colony. The philosophical justifications were the spread of democracy and freedom.

18-2

3: What were the unsaid rules of yellow journalism?

The unsaid rule of yellow journalism was to write whatever would sell. anything that would help a company sell more than another would be published. An example of this is when Hearst hired a painter to paint something that would inspire war and sell papers. When the paper couldn't find anything, Hearst told the painter to make something up. This backhandedness is what made up the foundation of yellow journalism.

18-3

3: How did America help or harm the Puerto Ricans? Did the good outweigh the bad?

America harmed Puerto Rico by disallowing it liberty, but helped it by offering security. In the immediate, the bad outweighed the good because Puerto Rico was in effect under military rule, but as time went on, the U.S. gave Puerto Rico enough wealth and freedom to make the Good outweigh the bad.

current events summary no. 3

Recently, the common theme I've seen in the culture of North Africa is the longing for its own Identity. Generally, North African countries have been struggling with countries that used to colonize them. For the most part, radical groups such as Al-Queida are pressuring North African countries to cleanse themselves of other nations. There is alot of conflict in this area. Almost all North Africans want to be rid of western civilization control, some want to be rid of all western influence, such as democracy. Racist Nationalists also want to be red of all westerners in general. Alot of self improvement has been going on in North Africa as well. One example is egypt attempting irrigation projects in order to be able to grow fruits and vegetables in the desert. While unrealistic, dangerous, and expensive, this project shows a desire to altogether better countries in North Africa.

chapter 17 critical thinking

17-1

3. How did Illinois, Wisconsin, and Oregon lead the way during the progressive era?

A: During the progressive era, several states led the way as models to other states. Illinois, for example, hired Florence Kelly to inspect factories’ working conditions. Other states soon followed suit. Wisconsin’s’ governor Robert M. La Follette. Also set an example to other states by limiting the power of trusts through anti-trust acts. Lastly, Oregon became a leader in progressivism by setting up a ten hour workday for women.

4. does this cartoon have a favorable or unfavorable view of Carry Nation and the prohibitionists? (see book)

A:I feel that this cartoon is against prohibition because of the way it shows fear to be the main tactic for prohibitionists. You see the bar tender crouched behind his shop in fear. You also see people in the background looking afraid. The wide spread destruction also distills fear of prohibitionists to the viewer.

17-2

5:If you were a woman during the progressive era, how would you get women to support you on issues of civil rights?

A: If I were a woman during the progressive era, I probably would push for education and the right to vote, because the winning of those to umbrella issues would lead to the rest being resolved. I would probably try to win support for these issues by sending out reports on how educated women earn more money, and often get jobs with more humane working conditions. I would also say that educated an educated women’s children are less likely to have to work. For suffrage I would probably say that the right for women to vote would give all women a say on what goes on in their community indirectly.

17-3

5. Why did W.E.B. Du Bois disagree with Booker T. Washington?

A: W.E.B. Du Bois agreed with Booker Washington as far as the idea of urging African Americans to work hard in the economy in order to get ahead. He disagreed, however, when it came to the idea of accepting their plight and dealing with discrimination. Du Bois wrote a book called The Souls Of Black Folk, which argued that blacks had the same ideals, hopes dreams, feelings and emotions as whites, and should therefore be given equal opportunities and rights as whites. Washington saying that blacks should deal with discrimination was sending the message that the discrimination was earned, which led Du Bois to oppose Washington on these points.

17-5

Q: Why did Wilson fail to provide for African Americans during the progressive era?

A: wilson failed to provide for African Americans for multiple reasons. One was that Wilson did not want to set this precedent. Not one progressive president had managed to provide for African Americans. Also, progressivism was largely targeted toward middle class whites anyway. Lastly, Wilson was a Southerner, and therefore most likey was prejudice against African Americans.