Gorbachev's Early Years

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, son of Sergei and Maria, was born on March 2, 1931.  In 1952, he joined the communist party in 1952, influencing his ideas for the next 20+ years.  Gorbachev  married his wife Raisa.  1955 was a big year for Gorbachev.  He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Moscow State University.  He was also appointed to first secretary of the communist party which he would remain in for the next 3 years.  The next year, in 1956, Mikhail and Raisa said hello to their first born daughter, Irena.  He graduated from the Faculty of Economy at Stravropol Agricultural Institute, preparing his in his education fully for his rein as leader of the Party and all of the Soviet Union.

1980s- AIDS

To think I knew a lot of information on the 1980s.   So much interesting occurred during the 1980s that I often found myself wanting 4th period to come as soon as possible.  As we learned more and more each day, I wanted to explore even further into the depths of this intriguing decade.  I found the topic of AIDS to be one of the most interesting to hear about in class.  Back then, AIDS had created a very strong stigma around it as well as provoked fear into the lives of a good percentage of the population.  AIDS was a killer and the process of receiving it was unknown.  Originally it was thought that only homosexual males could obtain AIDs as some sort of punishment form God.  Soon after the disease spread to a significant portion of the population, regardless of background or gender. Today we know the cause of this terrible disease and have treatments to fight its effects before it's too late.

War in Vietnam

The United States needed to get involved in the chaos in Vietnam.  Originally after World War II, the French had returned to Vietnam but had a difficult time.  An independence movement was being held by the Communists, under the lead of Ho Chi Minh.  The French were unable to contain the country, representing an end to there Imperialism Era.  Vietnam was then split into two.  The north of Vietnam was controlled by a communist government and was favored by the majority of the country.  The south of Vietnam was under a government run by Buddhists.  Although both sides treated their people poorly, the United States sided with the South due to the fact   they were "Not Communist".  Without a large country like France overseeing the governments, a civil war broke out between the North and the South.  To aid South Vietnam, the United States sent troops and soon found out that their South Vietnam allies were poor fighters.  This resulted in most of the fighting done by the United States.  We were unwilling to invade North Vietnam as the fear of the Soviet Union or the Chinese getting involved was too high.  The United States would remain supporting the South until 1975, with the end of the war.

The Problem with No Name

The Feminine Mystique was written by Betty Friedan in 1963.  This book was written mainly from personal experience.  Women were suffering from the problem that has no name.  This gave a vague sense of dissatisfaction.   The social norm of the time period has women run the household, not holding a “man’s” occupation.  The idea was that women will run the home and have children, nothing else.  This created an unequal relationship between the wife and the husband.  “Woman had not gotten enough out of life”.  Helen Gurley Brown was another author in the era who stated that men and women had different standards regarding intercourse before marriage.  

The King Falls yet the Movement moves on.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a reverend residing Ebenezer Baptist Church, taking upon his family's line of pastors.  After receiving his B.A. degree from Morehouse College, a segregated university in Atlanta, Georgia.  Later, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama, becoming a Pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.  He always had strong opinions regarding equality of civil rights between races.  His most famous speech was the well-known, "I have a Dream", given on August 28th, 1963 around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  His "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" illustrated the reasons why Negros shouldn't be denied the right to vote.  At age 35, King received his Nobel Piece Prize, making him the youngest man to ever receive the award.  In the Mason Temple in Memphis Tennessee, King gave his "I've been to the Mountain Top" speech, saying he had seen the Promise Land and he ensured that the people would reach it, however not necessarily with him leading the way.  This speech about predicted the event that could occur the following day.  On the following day, April 4th, 1963, King was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee.  Although the leader of the movement was no more, the movement would continue on, as it still does today.

Cuba

Cuba began going downhill when Fidel Castro came into power as the President of Cuba.  Fidel Castro was a strong believer in Communism.  Being a complete dictator, Fidel Castro was hostile towards his men.  He then got oil from Russia.  In response to the United States refusal to refine the oil, all United States companies in Cuba such as Shell, were destroyed.  The going back and forth of non-combat "attacks" continued between the United States and Cuba.  President Eisenhower then cut the Sugar cane imports by 95%, destroying Cuban farmers.  To take matters further, he hired Cuban exiles to destroy the remaining fields in Cuba.  The competition between the US and Russia regarding nuclear missiles also grew.  Cuba was armed with Russian Missiles.  The key to winning a nuclear war was to have the First Strike.  With the new Russian missiles stationed in Cuba, the US was at a disadvantage as the travel time for the Russian missiles was now much less than the US's.  The options to rid the missiles in Cuba included Air strike, Invasion of Cuba, Diplomacy negotiations, or a quarantine, all with their own pros and cons.

Chapter 11-15 Test

The block day this week tested our knowledge on the pre war, World War II, and the early Cold War.  I found the best and most effective way to study for this test in particular was in studying the practice tests provided on Edmodo under the "Practice Tests" folder.  The test, at least the beginning portion, consisted mainly of questions identical to those from the 11-15 Practice test itself.  Although there were a few questions thrown in the bunch made to trick you, like using the phrase "all of the following except" and "which of the following were not...", which would guarantee a missed question if not playing close attention to the question given.  In the end, I definitely feel confident that the combination of studying the practice tests like the back of your hand and paying close attention in class to political cartoons specifically, ensure a successful, non stressful testing experience.

No Bad Chicks Allowed

Schechter vs US (1935)

Schechter Poultry Corp. vs United States was a Supreme Court Case involving conflicts with New Deal.

President Franklin Roosevelt, due to the need for reform, worked with Congress, solidly consisting of Democrats, to create economic reform bills for the New Deal.

The Live Poultry Code was a part of the NIRA, or National Industrial Recovery Act.  This bill gave Presidential power for determining norms in businesses such as minimum wages and the maximum hours allowed to work.

The Schechter Poultry Corporation bought live chickens and other poultry from nearby states.  They sold individual, slaughtered poultry that were said to be "bad" or "sick",  bypassing the Poultry acts.

The Supreme Court deemed this act unconstitutional as it was a violation of "separation of powers" as the President's actions were never approved by another branch of the government.

There existed a rumor that in order to get his way, Roosevelt was going to increase the number of Supreme Court members so the vote would go his way.  Understanding the President was infuriated, the 2 swing voters who were the deciding factors voted in favor of President Roosevelt and his New Deal.

Garbage and dumbing involving highways.

My partners Jack, Lucas and I chose our muckraking project to be centered around the problem of dumbing on highways.  We chose to create a website as we saw a website being the most beneficial and effective way to get information to our projected audience.

We focused around effects including how dumping can effect plants, animals, as well as us humans.
We included a bunch of ways that individuals can contribute to helping diminish the problem.
Interviews my group conducted included highly educated individuals with the subject.  Members of Acterra, a group that organizes trash cleanups and other events, as well as a local, highly involved individual with the community.

We felt our presentation went smoothly and we can't wait to hear what other groups did their projects on.

A link to our website can be found HERE.

Friday Workday

Today, Mr. Stewart was very generous and gave us another work day to work on our Muckraking Projects.   A lot of work was accomplished in the short amount of time that a normal Friday schedule offers.  Jack, Lucas, and I found all of our possible experts that we would like to include in our website.  We emailed a few of them and are currently waiting for a response.  I, myself, am a little bit skeptical to whether the people we emailed will actually take their time to get back to us.  I plan to send emails to an excessive number of possible expects to ensure that we have enough, solid experts. We will continue to work this weekend in preparation for the start of presentations on Tuesday.

Block Day

Today on the block day, we were supplied with an entire period to work on our Muckraking Project.  This included researching our project topic to gain more information and knowledge, as well as discussing the plan with my group. Our specific group is focusing our project around highway dumping and the problems associated with it.  We created a google survey that we sent our to the majority of the junior class to receive input and opinions from fellow classmates.  Much was achieved in this class period and we look forward to Friday for more work time.  

The Jazz Age

The period after the World War in America mainly consisting of the 1920s was known as the "Jazz Age".

Jazz was a new type of music that was introduced in this time.  Jazz incorporated a swing into its rhythms.  This went against was different than previous types of music which had a concrete pulse.

With the new rhythms and pulses that rose with Jazz, new dances came with it.  The famous Charleston dance was a dance created in Charleston, South Carolina to the well known tune named "The Charleston".

Instruments for jazz include Brass, like trumpets and trombones, percussion, and vocals.

Some of the most famous Jazz Musicians include names such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Kid Ory, and Duke Ellington.  

Moving into the 1920s

At the beginning of the 1920s, Congress passed the 18th Amendment.   

This amendment established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States.  
Congress enforced this by declaring the production, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal.  

This amendment lead to a rise in criminals who wished to sell newly illegal alcoholic beverages to the general public for great profits.  Secret and hidden clubs and pubs began to arise and become popular.  

Gang fights broke up in order to fight for the selling of illegal alcohol.  

The 1920s were also time of movie production.  The early years brought silent movies while sound was added towards the end of the 1920s.  

The movement towards cities also grew fro the end of the world war.  Buildings and skyscrapers were able to be built due to the decease in the price of steel.  
There were many reasons to move out to the city in the 1920s.  

Political Cartoons and Free Response Test

Today on the Block Day we spent a great deal of time discussing Historical Cartoons.   Historical Cartoons provide a better understanding of the subject by offering a new way to view the subject.  These are very helpful as the differing views of the time are clear and put forth.

The next test unlike the previous one will focus on these political cartoons and responding freely to what you take away from each individual image.

With almost every Historical Cartoon provided in the slideshow, there were many different messages that could be taken from each.  While many were straight forward and obvious what the intended message was, others were very vague and could be interpreted in many different ways.  This lead to some very conflicting ideas between classmates as to what the cartoon could portray.  As ideas were put on the table, often I found my take on the cartoon changed from when I initially saw the cartoon to post discussion.

Due to Veteran's day being on 11th, the free response test will be moved to the Tuesday of that week. Wether or not that week will contain block days will be determined soon in the future.  For what we know of now, expect to have 50 minutes to complete the assessment.

October 13, Study for the Test!

Today in class we had a large block of time to study for the Chapter 1-7 test.

A majority of the test will be taken straight from the practice tests posted on Edmodo under the "Practice Tests" folder.  Completing the tests thoroughly and with care will result in mastery of the subject, making about half of the test a breeze.  We should complete the chapters we covered, consisting of chapters 1-7.  The questions on the 7-8 chapters dealing with World War 1 and/or the 1920's should be ignored for this test.

The other half of the test will be analyzing political cartoons for what the artist was intending to reveal about the subject.  Paying attention in class on the discussions and slideshows as well as doing the readings assigned will ensure the best chance of doing well on this test.

This period was very helpful in the sense that confusions regarding the content that would be on the test were cleared up.

Federalists vs Republicans

With the newly written Constitution, there were two main ways to go forth interpreting the document.  This was the very beginning of the United States having political parties with differing ideas and beliefs.

Federalist Party

Alexander Hamilton believed in a loose interpretation of the Constitution.  This meant that the Constitution could be interpreted to have rights not strictly written in writing.  Hamilton and the Federalists believed in a strong central government.  Trading and business within the states and also with foreign countries were strongly favored.  The Federalists were not huge fans of the French Revolution.  With the idea of loose construction of the Constitution, a centralized banking system would be permitted.  

Republican Party

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson believed differently.  This meant that the Constitution said what was written and only what was written were rights given to the government and individuals.  Jefferson and the Republicans liked the idea of focus on agriculture and individual power.  This meant a weaker central government than the Federalists had in mind.  These followers believed in the ideas of the French Revolution and the democratic ideals associated with it.