Final Blog

My favorite topic we learned in this class was The Civil War. It was fun, because of the book project, which was different from our other assignments. The book I chose was really good and helped me understand more about the Civil War and how it happened and how people reacted to it. But the topic I found least interesting was World War I. It was confusing of all the countries involved, all the different opinion, alliences and agreements between these countries. And also all the problems after the war. We could've done some activity including the whole class, something like a scene. Each person would be a country and we would debate to see who won or who was right. We also coud've done more projects like the one to change song lyrics, because it was a lot of fun. I learned and reviewed many topics during that assignment. I had a lot of fun in this class. (:

The USS Indianapolis

I really liked listening to what he had to say. It was very interesting how everything happened so fast. The Indianapolis, that was carrying the world's first atomic bomb, was hit by two torpedoes and started sinking, and then suddenly all men jumped into the water. It's really scary to think that you're in the middle of the ocean and there's nothing you can do besides try to sruvive without food, good water and sharks swimming and attaking everyone around you. It was even worst when he started to talk about how he felt the sharks touch his legs. And it was also frightening to think about the days they spent by themselves trying to get someone to rescue them but failing and his paycheck was so little comparing to everything he had gone through and eerything he had to do every day. I noticed how he didn't really want to talk much about if he ever felt and thought that he was going to die, and I understand, because it must be a really bad feeling. I felt like I was the one in the middle of nothing going through all the things those men went through. And then the Doyle began rescuing almost dead men and that was when I realized that even if these lost men were enemies, the crew inside Doyle, would've rescued them anyway. And that shows that the war couldn't stop men from helping each other.

The Movie Event of the Millenium

I really liked this song from Paramore called Sunday Bloody Sunday (it's a cover from U2), because it talks about how people are sick of war and wish it could just end. They think about all those innocent soldiers that died and the families that were torn apart. It also says how the war hurt people and how they want to have peace now. People don't know what to do when there's a war going on, they don't know what side to pick, they don't know if they can express their opinions. And with the war it's like they can't move with fear, important people don't care if someone dies, they only care if they're winning or losing, but who really wins when 50 people die in a minute ?

Poets of World War I

1. Wilfred Gibson (1878-1962)"Back"
They ask me where I've been,
And what I've done and seen.
But what can I reply
Who know it wasn't I,
But someone just like me,
Who went across the sea
And with my head and hands
Killed men in foreign lands...
Though I must bear the blame,
Because he bore my name.

2. This poem talks about how there are many people that never did anything wrong and go to other countries to fight and kill people and many other innocent men die because of one or two people that began to fight. No one is recognized and no one cares what happened to these men, because all they care is winning or losing, these generals or officers don't care that the life of these people's families will never be the same and they'll have to live without that person that fought in the war forever. The author of the poem explains that all soldiers are considered the same when they are different people, because they think that no one is going to notice if they are heroes or if they die.

3. Wilfrid Gibson was born in October 1878, the son of a Northumberland pharmacist. Gibson found a voice that was very much his own. Gibson joined the British Army but remained in England. Unlike most other poets who were officers, Gibson wrote poetry from the point of view of the ordinary foot soldier. After the First World War Gibson continued to write poetry and plays. Gibson's work was particularly concerned with the poverty of industrial workers and village labourers. Sympathetically portraying the struggles and miseries of ordinary working-class people, they engage with unemployment, poverty, illness, illegitimate birth, bereavement, and domestic violence.

World War I in Pictures

This poster shows that every man is free to choose if they want to go to war or not. It also shows that the best choice would be going to war, because every man contributes a little to help the country succed, even if it mean sacrifying something. Because later, they will be proud of themselves, and be able to say what they achieved for themselves and for the country.

The Age of Imperialism

1. 1)Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii.

2) Queen Liliuokalani

3)The Hawaiian monarchy ended in a day of bloodless revolution. Queen Liliuokalani reigned for just two years and was then overthrown in 1893 by a group led by Sanford Dole. This effort was backed with the threat of force from combined forces of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The American minister in Hawaii, John L. Stevens, had troops take over Iolani Palace, the Honolulu residence of the Queen, as well as other governmental buildings and in 1894, the Queen was deposed, ending centuries of monarchial rule and establishing the Republic of Hawaii with Sanford Dole as its first president.

2.This article about the weekly New York World, talks about how Pulitzer got the attention of the public who waited excitedly for Sunday mornings, when they would get the newspaper. The writer tells us that Pulitzer put fascinating pictures that led the readers to the stories and the headlines with different interesting fonts. He separated each column, so every person, every age, could enjoy reading his newspaper. Pulitzer was also the first one to hire female journalists. And most of his resources came from the idea of experiencing each one of them and then adapting it to go on the paper.

3.William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were charged in getting America involved in the Spanish-American War, because they grabbed attention of the public into the matter. Both exaggerated and even invented part of the whole story, practicing the yellow journalism. They used to say that the Spanish were way more brutal than they really were, causing the public to side with the rebels. Cubans, who wanted to be independent, took advantage of this and emphasized even more their problems and how they were treated. The Spanish were balmed for everything that hurt the Cuban. So the government took action and fought with Spain to free Cuba. Even though the war only lasted a couple of months, it still killed many people that could have lived if it wasn't those exaggerated articles.

http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter13section2.rhtml

http://www.humboldt.edu/~jcb10/spanwar.shtml

Pieces of The Past

1. http://www.nps.gov/thro/historyculture/maltese-cross-cabin.htm Roosevelt's first home was the Maltese Cross Cabin.
   
   
2. Women were given the right to vote in 1919, when Roosevelt died.




3. The picture shows William Howard Taft. He held the position of Chief Justice of the USA after he was president. While he lived in the White House, he got stuck in a bathtub.



4. Picture of John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt in Yosemite Park.


5. First Division Monument