SEAN

SEMESTER I

Government If I were to start my own country, I would have a democratic government where the supreme power is held by the people. They would have free electoral system with equal representation. The representation will be based on the population of the cities or states. I believe that a government should be fair to its people and give them the power to change the government if necessary.

What rights do you believe should be guaranteed by the government? The government should control the states and their powers. The states should have their own rights and powers but the government has to look over those powers and limit them if necessary. Some of the powers that the government should protect from individuals are right to vote, right to speak, property rights, women's rights, etc. Also, individuals should have freedom to express their ideas. Individuals can believe in the religion they want and express their ideas freely. Since people are free individuals, they should be given these rights and these rights should be protected by the government.

With the increased steel and oil production, the American railroad network had significant improvements. This improved network of railroads brought economic growth and made transportation much faster and easier. The railroad provided jobs for many people. Also, because the railroads made it possible to move things faster, it helped other industries grow. The transcontinental railroad went across from the east of the United States to the west.

Pg. 493-496 opportunities Many immigrants have been tricked by the often false railroad and steamship promoters. The false advertisements portrayed the United States as a land of unlimited opportunity. They were able to buy land and send money back home. They could escape poverty and persecution by coming to the United States. Through benevolent societies, they were able to get education, health care, and jobs. They could also join religious groups. Many immigrants hoped to live a better life in the United States.

hardships These immigrants had hardships in their travels to the United States and upon arriving. They suffered through difficult journeys, often traveling in steerage, which was the space below the deck. The steerage was cramped and had poor ventilation. Upon arriving, many had to go through physical examinations. If they did not pass or had criminal records, they were sent back. Most lived in crowded cities where they could only find low-paying and unskilled jobs. With low-paying jobs, they could only afford poor houses in crowed neighborhoods and slums. Many immigrants, did the dirty work of the country. They worked in construction, mines, or sweatshops, which were wearying jobs. The workers received poor payment for their long hours of work.

Describe and evaluate the rise of Big Business in the mid to late 1800’s. How was business able to advance? What were the positive and negative results of the new business model? 1) Evaluate this essay. On a scale of one to ten how would your rate the quality of this essay? 2) Think about the information given a. Did the student answer the entire question? b. How thorough was the description? c. Did the student make a case and defend his/her argument with examples 3) Quality of examples a. Did the student provide detailed examples that demonstrate knowledge of the issue? 4) Was the information given in the essay accurate? a. If so was it too vague? 5) How well is the essay written over all? Does it address all parts of the question? Is it repetitive?
 * On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the essay a 3 or 4.
 * The student did answer the questions, but his/her explanation was very ambiguous and unclear.
 * The essay was not very descriptive. The use of too many pronouns and words like stuff and things, made the explanation very vague.
 * The student did not make a case, he/she just wrote the facts.
 * The examples were not detailed nor contained enough explanation to show his/her knowledge of the issue. The ambiguous wording could have meant anything.
 * The information was accurate but extremely vague. He/she didn't clarify who, what, how, where, or when.
 * The essay is very poorly written with the bad word choice and the inadequate explanation. It addresses some parts of the questions with 1 or 2 examples but the answers are not repetitive.

__**Read the list of primary sources, pick two of which are the most compelling reasons for war. Defend your position in a one paragraph wiki post.**__ I believe the two most compelling reasons for the U.S. to enter World War I was because of constant attacks that they suffered (1. Because the U.S. was under attack despite its neutrality) and because of economic reasons (3. Because we would have faced economic collapse if the Allies could not pay back all the loans made to them by American Bankers). Despite the United States' policy for neutrality, they were not untouched by the war. British navies searched U.S. ships for the possibility of finding goods bound for Germany. Along with this violation of neutrality, they also suffered many attacks from German U-boats. Some of the major attacks, such as the sinking of Lusitania and Arabic, angered the Americans. Also, during U.S. neutrality, the United States was like the financier of the war for the Allies. If the Allies did not do well in war, they would not be able to pay back all the loans made to them by American Bankers. To ensure that the allies will be victorious, the U.S. needed to enter the war. If the Allies were to lose, all the money would be lost, resulting in the economic collapse of the U.S.

SEMESTER II

__**1) Explain what containment theory and the Truman Doctrine are. Briefly summarize the Korean War. In detail explain how it is an example of containment. Choose one other event from the textbook, briefly summarize it and explain how it is an example of containment.**__ The containment theory was the use of military, economic, diplomatic, and other strategically methods to stop any further spread of communism in the world after WWII. The Truman Doctrine was a set of principles set by President Truman that addressed the congress to lend $400 million to Turkey and Greece. The US aided Turkey and Greece to keep them from falling under the control of USSR. The Truman Doctrine was a form of containment since its purpose was to stop the spread of communism into Turkey and Greece. An example of containment in Asia is from the Korean War. The United States built up the army of economically unstable South Korea. When the North Koreans nearly took over South Korea, MacArthur launched a counterattack and pushed the communist forces back.

3/5 __**1)Compare CIA intervention in Guatemala and Iran to Eisenhower's handling of the Suez Crisis? Did the US act justly and according to its values? What were the motivations in each case? Which one do you think was handled better and why?**__ With the help of CIA Eisenhower was able to over throw Jacob Arbenz Guzmán, the president of Guatemala. The way he wanted to collect all the land and distribute them equally among the peasants resembled communism. With Eisenhower's order, the CIA bombed the capital of Guatemala to stop the growing communism. The CIA intervened Iran for similar reasons. A military coup was organized to overthrow the Iranian leader. However, in the case of the Suez Crisis, Eisenhower used diplomacy rather than force to deal with the problem. The US offered financial aid to any Middle Eastern country that would prevent the spread of communism. In all these cases, the US wanted to stop the spread of communism. In my opinion, the Suez Crisis was handled the best because there was no direct force involved with the US. In other cases, the US had to use violence to overthrow the leaders. __**2) What was the significance of the Gary Powers incident on page 850?**__ The significance of the Gary Powers incident is that it shattered hopes of thawing the cold war. Eisenhower and Khrushchev met at a summit conference to discuss arms reductions during the Cold War. This would have made Soviet-US relations better but soon after, a US playing going on a spying mission had been shot down over Russia. Khrushchev refused to continue the summit unless the US promised to stop spying missions and apologize. The US promised that there would be no more spying missions but did not apologize. The brief thaw in the Cold War came to an immediate end.

3/30/09 Is it ever justifiable to treat people differently based on race, religion, gender, handicaps, and etc.? Prejudice against people based on race, religion, gender, handicaps, and others should never be justified in any society. Discrimination of any kind may result in violence and negative feelings towards each other. The law should protect the rights to equal treatment for all people. For example, the fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution secures the rights of African Americans.

4/3/09 __**Journal: Read quote on page 929. What does this tell you about the risks and resistance Black activists faced in working to get the vote. Is it worth it? What would you do in this situation?**__ The quote tells us that it was very risky and dangerous to be a black activist working to get voting rights. Even family members of black activists were scared of what the white people would do to them just because they were related. He had to risk job opportunities for fighting for voting rights. Black activists faced resistance from the police as well as violence from angry mobs. I don't think it was worth risking their lives, relationships, and job opportunities to fight for voting rights and desegregation.

4/8/09 - How does the US justify escalation? The US justifies escalation by stating that the Communist regime in Vietnam violated the principles of the Charter of the United Nations by repeatedly attacking US naval vessels, thus, creating a serious threat to international peace. -What are the stated US goals? The stated goals of the US was to assist the peoples of southeast Asia to protect their freedom so that they can be left alone to "work out their destinies in their own way." -What does it authorize the President to do? It authorized the President to take necessary measures to fight back against any attack that would lead to more aggression. -Does the resolution have a firm expiration date? The resolution does not have a firm expiration date because it is stated that it shall expire when the president declares that peace and security of the area is assured. It may be terminated by the Congress earlier.

4/10/09 Why did they go? The Volunteer The author of "The Volunteer" W.D. Erhart, first considered joining the army in 1965 when he was a senior in high school. While applying for colleges, he couldn't help but think about delaying college long enough so he could serve his country. Growing up, Erhart had watched the Soviet Union and developed strong anti-communist feelings. After president Johnson was elected, Erhart wasn't happy but he started to fully support the president when he began the systematic bombing of Vietnam. Inspired by Johnson's willingness to stop communism, Erhart had made up his mind to delay college and join the army.

4/14/09 who wrote the doc The People's Revolutionary Party of Vietnam •summarize main points The main points of the doc were to state that the Democratic government of the south will be overthrown and the north will carry out plans to do so. The revolutionary party will also abolish the economic monopoly of the US while promoting its own. Other goals of the party is to prepare for land reform, eliminate US cultural enslavement, abolish the system of American military advisers and close all foreign military bases in Vietnam, establish equality between men and women, pursue a foreign policy of peace, re-establish normal relations between the north and south, and finally, oppose aggressive wars to bring world peace. • what important information does the doc give you The doc basically gives the goals and beliefs of the Northern party of Vietnam. - What is the attitude towards the US in this document? The attitude toward US in this document is resentment. The revolutionary party is strongly against the US and democracy. Basically, the Vietcong wants to kick the US out and have nothing to do with them. - do you see anything "wrong " in this document? Meaning do the goals seem just? The goals seem unjust because it's too biased. They are only considering what they want and not considering the South Vietnamese or the United States. The goals seem to be leaning more towards independence rather than spreading communism. They simply don't want foreign influence in Vietnam and re-establish peace. - who or what country do you think has the right to resist these goals, if anyone? I think the South Vietnamese have the right to resist these goals because they probably don't agree with many of the goals. The South Vietnam is also a part of Vietnam and is affected directly by the document. The United States had no right to interfere.

4/15/09 The pictures from covers of the LIFE magazine show that many lives were lost during the Vietnam War. In the picture labeled "with a brave crew in a deadly fight" there are many dead bodies on ground and one of the solders is calling for help. In another one, labeled "deeper into the Vietnam War" a pair of American soldiers are helping a wounded comrade to safety. Also, there are pictures of wounded and homeless children. Children who are born with disabilities and deformities are also shown in pictures. These pictures would have an effect on public opinion. Just by looking at the pictures, I feel that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and the effect it had on people is devastating. Many American, South Vietnamese, North Vietnamese, and Vietcong soldiers had died in the war. Civilians and children were also affected.

Research Question: What was life like for Japanese Americans in the United States during WWII?

5/12/09 How can you keep authority figures honest? What do you do if an authority figure in your life abuses that power? To keep authority figures honest, you can make the punishments more strict, pay them money, and separate powers (checks and balances). If an authority figure is abusing that power, we could protest to stop that abuse.

I believe that every moment's continuance of the injunctions against these newspapers amounts to a flagrant, indefensible, and continuing violation of the First Amendment. The judge believes that going against the newpapers and not letting the press say what is wants is a violation of the First Amendment by the government.

5/13/09 - Free Press in a Democracy The free press in a democracy is very important but they should have restrictions or limitations to some extent. There should be no restrictions on what they can print but they should be able to site their sources and prove that they are reliable. Sources, such as wikipedia should not be a reliable source since everyone can change the material on the online encyclopedia. It is extremely important that newspapers always reveal and site their sources.

5/14/09 In the first speech, Nixon tries to deny that he did anything wrong. He lies to the public that he is not a crook right after saying that the public has the right to know whether the president is a crook or not. In the second speech, gives his reasons for resignation, saying things such as America should put its interests first. He didn't say what he did at Watergate or talk about his mistakes. By that time, it had been clear that he was a part of the Watergate scandal. He made a organization to ensure his re-election and he got caught. He didn't talk about his mistakes and he never admitted anything.

5/18/09 Feminism Feminism is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual, and economic rights as men. It included political movements, theories, and philosophies concerned with gender equality.

5/27/09 Republicans vs. Democrats What conclusions can you draw about Republicans and Democrats? Based on the answers from question#1, we can conclude that Republicans tend to be more conservative and Democrats have a more realistic way of thinking. Republicans want fiscal conservatism, low taxes, free markets, strict border control, strong national defenses, and etc. Democrats want successful foreign relations. Give a one paragraph summary for each. The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties of the US. Often called the Grand Old Party, it supports a conservative platform as well as social conservatism and personal responsibility. The Democratic Party supports a liberal platform and a center-left platform. Today, the party supports social freedom, affirmative action, balanced budget, and a free enterprise system regulated by government intervention. The party believes that the government should help the poor and collect a lot of taxes. Describe one thing about these interviews that surprised you. Peter W. entered a conservative college and an even more conservative graduate school but he leaned towards the liberal side. This was shocking to me because I thought he would be more conservative after entering a conservative college and graduate school. How does each interviewee fit and Not fit into the typical party member? Dave K. does not fit into the stereotypical Republican because he wants to change fuel power to solar power. Republicans are usually conservative but he wants change. Peter W. also does not fit in with the stereotypical Democrat because he is conservative in fiscal issues.