landon

Post #12 Telling Your Story

On the day September 11, 2001, I was in school roaming the hallways after science class when I heard people talking about how there was a bombing. I didn’t believe it at first, since it came from those types of kids who would tell any store to get some attention. Later on, though, the principle came on the announcements and told the school what had happened, and not to panic. I came home from school watching the footage on my television just in awe of what I was seeing. I saw footage after "American Airlines Flight 77 veered from its path and crashed into the Pentagon"[1] and heard the stories of how the passengers of Flight 93 stormed the cockpit. Though I knew no one who had died in the terrorist attacks, the attacks greatly impacted my life.

                                                                                                                                                   

On September 11, 2001, I had soccer practice scheduled. I loved to play soccer, but I had no urge to go that night. I wanted to stay inside of my safe home and watch the news instead. We had soccer practice anyways, which turned out to be a gloomy one instead of the playful happy ones we usually have. It only struck me later that I was fearful to go outside that day. Common sense would have told me that soccer fields were not a target of a terrorist attack, but after what I had seen on the television, what was true?

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The following months brought America together. Patriotism was seen everywhere like it had never been seen before. Every car held a mini American flag magnet, which was always sold out at stores. American flags were raised at houses who had not had one before. Shirts with the American flag on it became a part of regular attire. Americans wanted to do anything they could to help. Blood donation lines became so long they had to turn people down.

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

"The World Trade Center attack pushed the nation into a recession."[2] Most of the internet companies were loosing the profitability they saw in the 1990’s. Hit hard most of all were programmers like my father. My father worked for Phillip Morris during 2001. Around March 2002, my father was laid off after his contract had run its course. He spent the next six months looking for a new job, eventually having to settle for one that paid half the salary he used to have. I remember Christmas that year was the best one I've had with my family, even though a lot of the presents were from discount stores.

                                                                                                                                                                                           

The effects of 9/11 can still be seen today in our "War on Terrorism" in the Middle East. Each day soldiers die from guerilla attacks by groups in Iraq and Afghanistan while America tries to set up a government that can hold its own. The world countries that sympathized with America after the terrorist attacks, turned away when we called for help in the War in the Middle East. The World Trade Center attack brought the country together, but the effects pushed us farther way from the rest of the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                        

[1] Nation of Nations, pg 992
[2] Nation of Nations, pg. 993

Post #11 Wall Street

When Reagan became President in 1980, one of his largest goals was to decrease the “high taxes and government regulation” which, “stifled enterprising businesses and economic expansion.”[1] He developed a supply-side economic program, often called Reaganomics, with these ideals to strengthen our economy. Though there was some success after 1982, striking differences in the way the money was proportioned appeared in American society. The movie “Wall Street” gives insight into the economic differences in the 1980’s though the “Greed is Good” speech.

The scene in the movie “Wall Street” that stood out was the “Greed is Good” scene. Gordon Gekko gives a speech to other stockholders of a paper company called Teldar. Gekko is a powerful speaker that persuades the audience by shedding some light on the truth that the stockholders are the ones that own the company. But, instead of following Darwin’s law it seems that the ones that are unfit are the ones that gain the most benefit. The vice presidents and managers of the firm owned less than 5% of the stocks yet made the most money out of it. Greed is good, because it can fuel a company.

Racial differences were seen among the 1980’s, “By the end of Reagan’s second term, more than 14.5 million jobs had been created for Americans. Yet these jobs were spread unevenly by region, class, and gender.”[1] During this time, different ethnic races migrated to various places across the nation. Separations among racial groups were present as most people stuck with their own race. By doing so, this resulted an up rise of segregation throughout racial groups. The movie “Wall Street” showed the segregation of pay in the lack of African Americans working the stock market, “more than 70 percent went to white males, only 2 percent to African Americans.

The film, “The Wall Street,” also depicts the economic boom in the 1980’s during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Though the tax cuts and increased federal spending helped the industry, the poor never saw the money trickle down to them.[1] Instead, the poor saw programs like, “food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Medicaid, school lunches, housing assistance,.... Social Security, and Medicare”[1] get the axe to pay for the tax cuts and federal spending. Though there was a large increase in jobs through Reaganomics, the gap widened between the high-paying jobs of the rich and the, “minimum-wage, part-time, dead-end, jobs”[1] of the poor. The “Greed is Good” speech points this out in a reference to the information that, “The top 1 percent commanded a greater share of the nations wealth than any time since 1929.”[1]

“Wall Street” says that greed is good, but is it really? It is if your a rich white man like Gekko, but there it is a different story for other races and genders. In the 1980’s African Americans and women didn’t have the jobs nor the income that the white males had. That isn’t good for the American economy, and it showed by the time President Bush Sr. got into office. Yet, the greediness of the 1980s is still in our society. All people care about is the almighty dollar, and will do anything to get it. Greed even affects our government policy. The reason for the war in Iraq was not to get rid of Hussain, but to get the oil from over there and to make the oil business owners even richer. Yes, “Wall Street” tells us that greed is good, but in reality greed makes people money hungry and kills soldiers who believe they are fighting for their country.

[1] Nation of Nations, pg 950

Post #10 Group Essay, Top Ten in the 1970's

In the dawn of the 1970's America was in a state of great turmoil.  Our society was slowly being fractured by internal conflict over the Vietnam War. To escape from this conflict, America absorbed themselves in pop culture due to the "uneasiness of the late 1970’s"[1]. The music and movies of the 1970's reflected this "uneasiness" of Americans at the time by the themes they held.

                                                                                                                                                                        

Typically, the movies during the 1970's were based upon many themes. Most of the movies were made to restore faith within the nation. The war-based movies illustrated the soldiers' courage and bravery. The romance movies, one being the top movie Love Story, illustrated how loving people could be toward each other. At times, comedy would also be a part of the movie itself. For example, in M*A*S*H, army pranksters show a wide range of comedy skits that ridicule the war. Many people felt distressed at the time, but with movies, they would be able to turn their heads. The movies were meant to distract watchers from the socially distressed surroundings among them. With movies based on comedy and romance, viewers had the opportunity to lift their spirits, as well as others, with humor and the fact that there will always be loving people around them.[2]

The music of 1970 had three very distinct themes. The first theme was a dark and gloomy theme that can be heard in the songs "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It Be." The songs represent the Vietnam War. "The Long and Winding Road" basically tells the story of Vietnam War and how long and tiresome it was to the American public. "Let It Be" says just let the war happen and everything will be fine in the end. The second theme was someone watching over you represented in the song "Bridge Over Trouble Water." In "Bridge" Simon and Garfunkel let the American public know there was a higher power is taking care of us, and also that the Vietnam war will eventually be over and the world will return back to normal. The last theme and the one America really wanted to listen to were songs that made you feel great about love, how life is beautiful, and even the ABCs. America wanted to hear the songs to take their minds off the traumatic 1960's and the Vietnam War. [2]

                                                                                                                                                                                          

Throughout modern history, the citizens of the United States have used pop culture as a diversion from problems that occur both at home and abroad.  The influence of these icons remain to this very day, with songs like "The Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head" still receiving a significant amount of attention in movies and more.  This decade was truly a unique decade, a shining example of the creative achievement of the American people.

                                                                                                                                             
[1] Nation of Nations, pg 938

                                                                                                                                                          

[2]Here are the top Ten Songs of 1970:

1. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" - B.J. Thomas (Pop)
2. "I Want You Back" - The Jackson Five (Bubblegum pop/ Soul)
3. "Venus" - The Shocking Blue" (Pop/ Rock)
4. "Thank You (For Lettin Me Be Myself Again)" - Sly & the Family Stone (Funk/ Rock)
5. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon and Garfunkel (Folk-rock)
6. "Let It Be" - The Beatles (Rock)
7. "ABC" - The Jackson 5 (Bubblegum pop/ Soul)
8. "American Woman" - The Guess Who (Rock)
9. "Everything is Beautiful" - Ray Stevens (Pop)
10. "The Long and Winding Road" - Beatles (Pop ballad)

                                                                                                                                                                                          

Here are the top 10 movies of 1970 by box office:
1. Love Story (Romance)
2. Airport (Disaster Movie)
3. M*A*S*H (Comedy/War/Drama)
4. Chariots Of The Gods? (Documentary)
5. Joe (Drama)
6. Anne And Eve (Drama)
7. Woodstock (Documentary/History/Music)
8. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (Comedy/Music)
9. Chisum (Western)
10. Myra Breckinridge (Comedy)

Source URL: http://mason.gmu.edu/~bwu2/hist120/TopTenMovies.htm

Post #9 Photo Essay, Day the Music Died

Day the Music Died

Post #8 Comments

Post #5 Barrow's Plantation Anastasia Poliakova

Post #6 We, The Jury Anastasia Poliakova

post #7 Photo Essay, 20th Maine Regiment, Jamie Miner

Post #7 We, The Jury

The State v. Rehberg trial gives a representation of the view of children and women in the 19th century. In this case, Edward Rehberg is on trial for beating his young daughter, Clara. Most of the evidence points toward Clara’s stepmother to have beat her to death; however, Clara’s deathbed testimony is the only strong evidence to this conclusion. The 19th and 20th century juries would have found Edward Rehberg guilty because of society’s views on children and women in these centuries.

The views of children in society during this time were untrustworthy and hard to comprehend. Upon Clara’s deathbed confession, she stated that her stepmother was the one who abused her, not her father. People thought that the views and opinions of children could be easily swayed toward a certain direction. Also, they thought that the mind of a young child would not take into account the actual rational truth instead of what is set forth to them. Therefore, the jury had a difficult time believing the words of Clara.

Child abuse was common in the 19th century where it was used as the main source of discipline. Edward admitted that he did whip his children on several occasions, claiming that it was never hard for him to do it. The doctors in their reports both deduct that the large wounds were dealt by a large instrument, a strap, or by kicking. There were also blows to the head and evidence showing that the child was strangled at the neck. By the amount of strength and aggression involved, most juries would agree that it was a man who abused the child, not a woman. By the 20th century, child abuse had become wrong socially and in the courts. More people became aware of what occurred and that both genders abuse children.

Women in the 19th century held a lower social role than men. “Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, squeamish, and unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development.”[1] In short, women were considered inferior to men. “A man’s sexual infidelity, while hardly condoned, brought no lasting shame. But a woman who engaged in sexual relations before marriage or was unfaithful afterward was threatened with everlasting disgrace. Under this double standard, women were to be passive and submerge their identities in those of their husbands.”[2] The roles of women were simple, the work women did was strictly in the household and childbearing. Traditionally, girls were taught at a young age, by their mothers, the different tasks that would be expected of them as they got older. With the lack of women’s rights, their social standings in society could not rise. Men, on the other hand, were viewed as aggressive and more physical. On Saturday nights, men would drink and become violent, “it was never considered safe for a lady to go down on the streets on Saturdays.”[3] As time proceeded into the 20th century, women began to receive more legal rights from the federal government. Women were more respected in society as they began to work outside of the household and earn respectable levels of education.

In the courts, reverse discrimination caused men to be charged more than women for the same crime. In the 19th century, this was due mainly to all male juries and judges. The chivalry effect occurred, in which women would not be convicted for the death sentence just due to male sympathy toward women. Though females have been admitted into juries and few have become judges, there is still a striking amount of gender bias. “One study, published in Justice Quarterly in 1986, examined 181,197 felonies in California and found that, for the same crime, being male increased the chance of incarceration by 165 percent.”[4]

Though significant change occurred between the 19th and 20th centuries, certain biases cannot be erased. Both all male and mixed gender juries showed some sort of bias toward men in courts. Men are still simply seen as more aggressive and women as more passive. The views on deathbed confessions and of child abuse are the few aspects of this trial that have changed over the years. Though it is a horrible occurrence in American courts, juries will be swayed more by their own opinions than evidence; in effect, causing Edward to be found guilty in both centuries.

[1] Women’s History in America
http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

[2] Nation of Nations, pg 320

[3] Nation of Nations, pg. 495

[4] Angeles Dailey Journal, Marc Angelucci
http://www.dvmen.org/dv-63.htm#sentances

Post #6 The 54th Massechusetts Regiment Photo Essay

http://chickenfingers.typepad.com/photos/the_54th_massachusetts_as/index.html

Post #5 Barrow's Plantation

Throughout many history books, the map of Barrow's Plantation includes an error that has been disregarded for many years. The two maps show how the area changed after the Reconstruction era. One map was dated as 1860 while the other was as 1881. The major production material gathered at the plantation was cotton. After Reconstruction, it was easily seen that tenant farmers' houses appeared throughout Oglethorpe County, "each man feeling the very natural desire to be his own "boss", and to farm to himself."[7] The error is still present today; it was our job as a group to find out what it was. After much research and analysis, it became evident that the major error in Barrow's Plantation was the orientation.

At first, the location of Barrow's Plantation did not stand out to our eyes besides it being in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Now, where the plantation was exactly located was still a mystery. We began by searching on Google using keywords, "oglethorpe county, georgia maps" and chose the first link. Then what appealed to our eyes was the Oglethorpe County Historical Maps link since we are dealing with history. Following that link, we chose the 1894 map [1] since it was the most spread out and detailed out of all the others. This was the critical piece of evidence to help us solve the question. It was to our surprise that the map included a tiny label titled, "D.C. Barrow Pl." near the bottom of the map near Little River. At that point, we found out that Barrow's Plantation is located North of Little River , Southeast of the Woodstock District and two miles Southwest of Philomath.

Comparing the two maps of Barrow's Plantation made us realize that something was indeed wrong. On the one hand, illustrated in the 1881 map, Little River lies East to the plantation. On the other hand, looking to the newly found 1894 map, Little River is located to the South of Barrow's Plantation. It was easily seen that the orientation of the two maps were contradicting. This was the major error that the textbooks have not noticed for years. Clearly, the orientation of the maps shown in textbooks should be rotated 90 degrees clockwise in order to resemble the true orientation of the plantation.

Places that have not been touched in years usually disappear. However, with Barrow's Plantation, that is not the case. According to the satellite photo [2] that was obtained, it seems as though Barrow's Plantation has maintained its size for all those years with some growth. Searching up "Philomath, Georgia" at Yahoo Maps made it possible to find the satellite photo. By clicking on Get a New Map, we used Yahoo's beta version of their satellite photos and so on. Choosing the "Hybrid" view showed both the roads and terrain of the area. By looking hard enough, we soon found Barrow's Plantation by comparing the maps from the GDOT road and highway maps. What astonished us was that after all these years, the area surrounding the plantation did not overcome the whole area, but rather the area kept its size.

In search of evidence on Barrow's Plantation, we first used google and searched the two big rivers, Little River and Syll's Fork. We then came up with the following website, JSTOR [3]. This journal gives some information about the area and a source to check the date of the map at the bottom of page 9. An "I'm Feeling Lucky" Google search of: "a georgia plantation scribner's monthly vol 21", found in the journal itself gave us a link to the book that David C. Barrow Jr. wrote with the original map. The map of Barrow’s Plantation first appeared in: A Georgia Plantation. A Scribner’s Month, Vol. 21 Issue 5 (March 1881).

There are several other pictures associated with Barrow's Plantation. By reading more about the Barrow family, it was easy to find pictures that related to the plantation. Because we are looking for historical images, we searched "historical images georgia" in Google. As Professor Petrik has mentioned, it would be best to use a source that included ".edu" at the end. With luck, the first link that came up was one. By choosing the link, "Digital Library of Georgia", it redirected the browser to the actual site affiliated with the link. Now, at the beginning of the assignment, we were left with little to start off with besides the county name. What a coincidence, there is an option that lets you search for different images according to county. Obviously, "Oglethorpe County" was what we began with, so we will make it come to use now. This led to another page where it had yet another link to historical images. By viewing the images, there was one actual picture of Barrow's Plantation labeled "Pope House" [4]. Also, by going back a page and clicking on "Vanishing Georgia", there was yet another picture associated with Pope Barrow [5].

There are many other ways to interpret the information gathered by Barrow’s Plantation. The land used to be owned by Native American’s before the Barrow’s moved in. The Barrow’s, like most Americans, wanted the land the Native Americans had because it was great fertile land. A satellite picture shows that the plantation is still around today, and maybe has even grown. Few plantations could have lasted this long without good land to support it. Another reason for its unusually long life is for the workers who followed soon after. After the Civil War ended, many of the newly freed slaves moved back to plantations to work as tenant farmers. They separated out into their own homes instead of living in a single large home as was the purpose of the first two maps by David C. Barrow Jr. contradictory to the book written by David C. Barrow Jr., the freed black slaves were skilled farmers and produced even more crop than before. The increased production was not due to environmental factors as believed by most racist southerners, but the African Americans being motivated by their freedom to work harder, "Their success demonstrated what African Americans given a fair chance, might accomplish." [6]

[1] Oglethorpe County 1894 Map

http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/histcountymaps/oglethorpe1894map2.htm

[2] Yahoo Maps Screenshot

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/phanomenon/barrows2.jpg

[3] JSTOR.org Site

http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/logon?S1=cce44062.11612120240&T=1&config=jstor

[4] Pope's House

http://dbs.galib.uga.edu/larc/photos/hbo0559.jpg

[5] Pope's House 2

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/vanga/photos/ogl/jpg/ogl007b.jpg

[6] Nation of Nations pg. 460

[7] A Georgia Plantation. A Scribner’s Month, Vol. 21 Issue 5 (March 1881). Pg. 831

Post #4 Individual Post #2 Pigeon's Egg Head

The Native Americans at the time of 1830 to 1850 were being pressured by the Americans to change their outdated ways our get out of the land. The Cherokee attempt at government shows that the changes were destroying Native American culture, "Cherokee society became more stratified and unequal, just as white society had, and economic elites dominated the tribal government."[1] Caitlin's painting of Pigeon's Egg Head shows us his view of how the transformation of Native Americans to the white culture was destructive.

            Caitlin’s picture shows us how a Native American, Pigeon’s Egg Head, was dressed before he left his homeland to negotiate with the Whitehouse and upon his arrival back. The Native American on the left is dressed in full ceremonial uniform that is beaded and well-fit. Those characteristics show not its value, but that it took a long time. He is wearing a full feather headpiece and holding a pipe commonly used in ceremonies. The look on his face is one of sadness or loss but stands proud despite it. Pigeon’s Egg Head on the right, upon arrival back, is wearing an expensive outfit including gloves, high heeled shoes, and an umbrella. He is wearing a top hat with a feather on it instead of the full headpiece he left with. In his back pockets there are two bottles of alcohol. His expression and stance express a certain egotistical character that doesn’t care what anyone thinks. It seems that the version on the left is shunning the other, who does not seem to care that he has left his culture behind. In the background you can see the Whitehouse on the left above bright grass, compared to the tipi above dark barren grass on the right. The ground alone seems to show a bright and hopeful past to as Pigeon’s Egg Head travels to the Whitehouse, to a dark future where the culture has faded away from the Native American.

            The story of Pigeon’s Egg Head gives us the point of view from the Native Americans. Caitlin caught perfectly the view of the first impressions by the Native Americans. They viewed his outfit as a joke, laughing at the feather upon his beaver hat and his military dress. Once Pigeon’s Egg Head started to tell his people of what he had seen, they called him a liar, “He has been, (they said,) among the whites, who are great liars, and all he has learned is to come home and tell lies.” [2] After telling enough stories between his ‘white’ drinks, he became known as a medicine man; however, only one who could invent stories of wonder and amusement. A few years later he was murdered after being considered a wizard for his great medicine.

            It is evident that Pigeon’s Egg Head’s story can give insight into why the Native Americans could not assimilate into the white culture. The dress of Pigeon’s Egg Head was enough of a laughing stock to cause a distance between the cultures. They viewed the dress as we would a clown, and the fact that he was drunk all the time did not help. The Native Americans could not even begin to believe anything that Pigeon’s Egg Head spoke of. Their towns, number of people, vehicles, warships, and bridges were a fictional tale to them that they would never believe. In order for the Americans to get the land, since the Native Americans did not want to look like buffoons, the Americans had to use force.

[1] Nation of Nations pg. 295

[2] Letter #55, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of North American Indians, London:1844

Post #3, Comments #1

Najla Bayram, Individual Post #1 creation stories

http://najb.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/09/creation_storie.html

Thanouphet Souvannavong, Group Post #1 Women of Edenton

http://hist120.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/09/women_of_edento.html

Samuel Klemz, Individual Post #1 Creation

http://touchoverrated.typepad.com/sam_klemzs_history_120_bl/2006/09/1_where_the_sky.html