Protestants help Jewish People Article

I think it's really cool how the protestants, who knew that if they helped the jews they'd be killed, did it anyways. It really shows their christianity towards a group of people who back then were thought of as rats and nasty bugs. These poor people just randomly one day were forced out of their houses and taken away to unimaginable places filled with disease and starving people. It's really cool to hear that there was indeed some good people who helped. I haven't gotten to watch the part about protestants hiding the jewish people yet, but hopefully it's coming up soon. That movie is just really real and I would'nt be able to image the horror of the scenes back in the world war II times. Events like the Holocaust help the people of the future avoid messing up again.

Did Communism Threaten America's Internal Security After World War II?

After evaluating the essays on this topic, I was convinced that communism did in fact threaten America's Internal Security After World War II. The Soviet Union was sending secret coded messages places that were fairly hard to figure out. When they were finally decoded, the war was over and there was really no need to decypher them to see if they were planning on something terrible. The disturbing thing about these messages was the fact that many U.S. government officials conciously maintained a relationship with the Sovite intelligence agencies and passed on information to the Sovite Union that had damaged American interests. With that scare, there was also the scare of the if the Soviet Union was going to use nuclear powers. And there were atomic spies. They betrayed the American atomic secrets to the Soviets and allowed the Soviet Union to develop atomic weapons several years sooner and at a very much lower cost than it otherwise would have been. Stalin knew about this espionage and it assured the Soviet Union of quickly breaking the American "atomic monopoly." The Soviet's possession of an atomic bomb had a psychological consequence. When the Soviets launched this weapon, America realized Stalin had more power. These things and more cause my opinion to support the fact that communism threatened America's internal security.

Should the U.S. have dropped the bomb on Hiroshima?

On August 6th, 1945, under the authoration of Harry Truman, the United States dropped an Nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb killed 140,000 people, some instantly, while others suffered hours to try to survive. Thousands more died later on in the year from radiation poisoning. Was dropping the bomb really the best way to solve issues with the Empire of Japan? I believe it was the right thing to do. Out of no where, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They killed thousands of American soldiers and injured many more. Japan started the attacks and the United States had to finish it. Obviously, there was a lot of concideration in whether the bomb would be dropped or not, and the President must have decided it was the only way to end the war. They didn't really want to kill the innocent people as much as the Japanese soldiers, but sometimes those things happen. After the attack, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender, ending the Pacific war and in turn WWII. Japan also had to sign the Three Non-Nuclear principles, saying it would not use nuclear weapons for armament. The bombing of Hiroshima was a terrbile thing and hopefully the U.S. will never have to make such a decision as that again. As our dear friend Jackie DeShannon once sang "What the world needs now, it love, sweet love."

World War I Blog Project

So, the exerpts from the books Eye Deep in Hell and Trench Warfare in World War I were very sad and depressing. They talked about how the men of the trenches had a life of primitive instincts, including fear, hunger, thirst and even physical extremities like loud noises and sudden flashes. It describes the trenches as very muddy with hard conditions to live in at long periods of time. Men actually drowned in this mud because it was so abundant. There wasn't much that the soldiers could do about the conditions; all they could do was hope for the best. In these conditions, some men caught was was called "trench foot." It came after spending a long time with their feet in the muddy water. It was almost like a frostbite. Later on the in the years, advancements like undercoats and sleeveless leather jerkins were made to help protect the soldiers.

The conditions worsened with nature. Rats were amoung one of the many of natures wonders that posed a threat to the soldiers. They're come from everywhere, eating dead corpses and contaminating the little food the troops had left. Other little buggers that infested the area were lice and nits. They got in the men's hair, so the barbars had to shave them bald. The conditions these men had to live in were just awful. Other things that threatened these men were the man-made weapons, like gas. It was discharged from cylinders, though it made the wind direction a particularly crucial consideration. Gas was first used in the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22nd, 1915, and the victims were a fegiment of French colonial troops. One common gas used was mustard gas.

All of these things the soldiers experienced would obviously make them have psychological problems in the end, and in most cases that is what happened. There is one recorded case that talked about a soldier who was "convulsed with a dreadful rigor like a man in epilepsy, and clawed at his mouth, moaning horribly, with blind terror in his eyes. He had to be strapped to a stretcher before he could be carried away." Many of these cases were reguarded as "shell-shock" cases. These brave men endured many terrors all for the protection of our country. They are, and always will be remembered for their outstanding courage and patriatism now and for many years to come.

Diary Entries

January 1st, 1915, 8:15 AM

Dearest Mother,
Hello from Georgia. I just arrived here by train and there is so much to see! I bought a couple of oranges for you and the kids, I'll send them in the crate today as a belated Christmas present, but it may take a while for them to make it all the way back to Maine. I've met some really fun and interesting people here in the service. Of course there are a couple of "bad apples" as you call them, but most of the guys here are friendly. One of the men in particular, Johnny Bishop, is very interesting to talk to. He lives in Portland, Maine too! And to think all this time I've never met him before and we were practically neighbors! We talked about our families and our old jobs and even about some memories from old Portland. Do you remember that little girl who used to live across the street 10 years back? Mable Arnsteen? Well I guess she is Johnny fiance. He said he is going to marry her when he gets back but he still has to ask the folks. I told him all can is good luck!
I miss you all so much and I love you very much. Please send my love to Jerry, Jefy and Martha. I will see you all later!

With Love,
Stanley



July 11th, 1915, 11:16 PM

Mother I have terrible news. Today we were attacked by a troop, and I injured my leg. It's ok, but they have to watch me for gangrene, some bad disease. But that's not the worst news. My friend, Johnny was killed in the attack. He was loading his rifle, and one of those yellow bellies came up right behind us and shot him from the back. The last thing he whispered in my ear was to write to Mable, saying "If I woulda survived this here attack, I would down right marry you! Cuz I loved ya." It was saddest thing I've ever witnessed. Today I met a nice nurse who helped me with my injured leg. She's a pretty one, and honestly I love her. She said she's engaged to be married, and I said "good, its not too late." Well, I hope all is well with everyone there. I miss you all and I hope to see you again soon.

Love,

Stanley

AUGUST 29, 1915

TO MRS. HOPKINS:

WE REGRETABLY ANNOUNCE THAT YOUR SON, STANLEY HOPKINS HAS DIED FROM GANGRENE IN THE LEG. HE WAS A GOOD SOLDIER AND DIED WITH HONOR. WHILE GETTING HIS BELONGINGS TOGETHER, WE DISCOVERED THIS FINAL NOTE.

August 27th, 1915

Mother,

Today I was thinking how much I miss you all and my srgt. Campbell told me I was going to come home! I was very excited and sad at the same time because I don't want to leave all of my new friends. But coming home is more important to me and that is what I will do. My leg is still pretty sore. Nothing is wrong with it though, so you have no need to worry. I'm going to pack my things now so tell everyone the good news! Your boy is coming home! I love you and I'll see you in a little bit!

Your, little boy,

Stanley

Was Reconstuction a "Splendid Failure?"

I agree with Eric Foner's opinion on whether the Reconstruction of the South was a "Splendid Failure." He said that Reconstruction was a failure because it told Southern blacks that there would be a free society (temporarily of course.) The traditional portrait of Reconstruction easily identified a set of heroes and villans, it enjoyed the imprimatur of the nation's leading scholars, and it accorded with the political and social realities of the first half of this century. The "revising" history of Reconstruction began in the documents from the survivors of the era, like John R. Lynch, a blac Congressman from MI. But in the 1960's, the full force of the revisionist wave came out. Then, all of the traditional values of Reconstruction was lost. The new version took it's place. The advent of the Radical Reconstruction in 1867 let freedmen enjoy political power. But, many blacks only held a small political position. There were also corruptions, like moral standards in the government adn private enterprise, that were at low ebb throught the nation in the post-war years.
So, in conclusion, there were many things that went wrong in the era of Reconstruction, and it was obviously a failure. But it was splendid for it's animating vision, that society in which social advancement would be open all on the basis of individual merit, not inherited caste distinctions. The vision is very old and remains are still to this day relevent to a nation still unresolved in the legacy of emancipation.

Was the Mexican War an Exercise in American Imperialism?

I believe that the Mexican War was an exercise of American Imperialism. Imperialism is when a country uses its force to rule over another country, which is exactly what happened with the American settlers and Mexico. Mexico emphasized the immigration of American settlers to Texas, part of Mexico at the time, along with their slaves to create a greater population of Americans. Slavery was not outlawed at that time. Later on, the Mexican government banned slavery, which caused a dilemma amongst the American settlers, who believed they had the right to keep their slaves. There was a rebellion, and the settlers overthrough the Mexican government, therefore proving the fact that the Mexican War was a exercise of American Imperialism.

Did the Election of 1828 Represent a Democratic Revolt of the People?

I do believe that the 1828 election represented a democratice revolt from the people. Many things were going on that would support this statement. For instance, the supporters started to get into the political technique of slander, which they thought would help out Jackson. But in reality, democracy is not about winning by calling people names, it is about fairness and justness. There were also many things that Jackson had done in his past life that would not look good on a resume, especially for the Presidency of the United States. After Jackson gained Presidency, he was more overwhelmed than happy. He didn't really know where to start and it didn't help at all that his wife died quite previously. Jackson had a hard time, and the supporters probably realized that and without knowing it, they strayed away from the Democractic ways a smidge.