Government Blog

The 19th Amendment

2010-11-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to believe that if it were not for the 19th Amendment I would not have to chance to vote next year purely because I am a woman. It is hard to imagine a world where women do not have the freedoms that I have had or seen women have in my mere 17 years of life. I have witnessed many elections come, and have watched my mother drive off to go vote at the polls. The 19th Amendment has allowed women take part in the voting process and has had a huge affect on our country since it was put in place.

Prior to 1920, women were not allowed to participate in voting. From around 1848 to 1920 a movement had been progressively growing known as the Women Suffrage Movement. The women behind the movement were incredibly brave and strong. They knew exactly what they wanted, the right to vote. They gained this right in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was put into place. The process of gaining this right took over 7 decades and was fought for by hundreds of women. (Bausum) (Mass8-9)

The 19th Amendment reads, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." Now both men and women can participating in voting. Women do not take this right for granted.

The amount of women voting has increased greatly over time. In past presidential elections, more women vote than men. For example, in 1964 39.2 million women and 37.5 million men voted. A difference of 1.7 million which is a large amount. However, in 1996 56.1 million women and 48.9 million men voted. A difference of 7.2 million! In 2004, even more voted. 67.3 million women and 58.5 million men voted. That was a difference of 8.8 million. The amount of women that vote is incredible, and 100 years ago they would not be able to based solely upon their sex.

( Lowen)

Our country has come so far since 1848. When the Women Suffrage Movement began, I do not think that they could have for seen how many women would vote. When the 19th Amendment was put into place it allowed tens of millions of more votes to be counted. This is so significant. The ability of women to be allowed to vote has greatly changed our nation for the better.

Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote. New York: National Geographic Children's, 2004. Print.

Mass, Wendy. Women's Rights. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1998. Print

2010-10-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Should marijuana be legalized? A question debated throughout many places right now, particularly in California as voting approaches, was a question I had to tackle these past weeks. For our project, my group studied Proposition 19. I really enjoyed learning about this proposition as it was one that if passed would greatly affect me right now. There were many pros and cons to the proposition but I finally came to the conclusion that, if I could, I would vote no on Proposition 19.

While reading Proposition 19 it was very easy to me to see the amount of positive things that would come out of it being passed. If I had not discussed with my group and found other outside sources it would have been very tempting to vote yes right away. I say that because everything was phrased in a way, obviously, that would make me want to vote yes. Here are a list that I found to be the greatest pros; passing this proposition would put dangerous street dealers out of business, it would make billions of dollars per year in taxes which would fund more important things like jobs and schools, and the money wasted each year in marijuana offenses would be used to fight against violent crimes and gangs.

Seeing these pros would make one eager to vote yes on Prop 19. However, then I began to look to other sources. The major cons that I found while looking to other sources are one, marijuana negatively affects drivers’ judgment, motor skills, and reaction time, therefore, it stands to reason that legalizing marijuana would lead to more accidents and fatalities involving drivers under the influence. Two, marijuana is known as the ‘gateway drug,’ so legalizing it could, in time, lead to the use of more dangerous drugs, such as speed, heroine, methamphetamine, etc…Lastly, California would be the first state to legalize marijuana, this could lead to many more marijuana users coming to California to live for so that they may buy and use marijuana legally.

After looking at both the pros and the cons, the cons for me outweighed the pros. The fact that California would be the first state to legalize marijuana made me leery. I do not think that it would be wise to legalize marijuana because California would have an influx of marijuana users who would come to marijuana to buy their marijuana. Some people might say that this would be a good thing because we would have more people to get our economy going. I think however, that to have all marijuana users move to California would lead to more under the influence drivers. Those who drive under the influence of marijuana have difficulty with judgment, motor skills, and reaction time. This would lead to even more fatalities and accident related injuries.

To conclude I would vote no on Proposition 19 if I could vote. For me all the pros to passing the proposition were not enough to outweigh all of the cons. The many cons to passing proposition 19 would lead to many things for California that I do not think Californian’s want.

How I Will Pay For College

2010-09-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I do not have many ways to pay for college, which I will be entering into in the fall of 2011. I do not qualify for either of the Cal Grants, or the Pell Grant. However, I can apply for scholarships including a scholarship from whatever college I decide to enter into. In this essay I will be showing the list of scholarships I have and will be applying for. I will lay out my estimated expenses along with what I hope to earn.

I plan to attend a private Christian four-year college in the Fall 2011 semester. The average cost per year of a Christian college can range between $22'000 per year to $38'000 per year. Obviously, I need financial aid. My GPA is high enough that if I do very well on my SAT's there is a chance that I will receive a good scholarship from the college I choose to go to. So, the first step in my process of paying for college is to keep my grades high and do well on my SAT's, much higher than the last time I took them.

The second part of the process for me is to be continually looking for and applying to different scholarships. The first thing that I did was sign up for fastweb.com, scholarships.com, and zinch.com. All these sites give a list of scholarships that I am eligible for. Many are essay based scholarships and some do not require an essay. Zinch.com even has a weekly scholarship that only requires 2 to 3 sentences.

Here is a list of the scholarships that I have applied for:

ScholarshipPoints.com-$10'000,

Cappex "A GPA isn't Everything" Scholarship-$1'000,

Zinch Weekly Scholarship-$1'000(once weekly),

College Prowler No Essay Scholarship-$2'000,

Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarship-$60'000,

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Four Year Award For Seniors Scholarship-$20'000,

Scholarchips.com "Tell A Friend" Scholarship=$1'000

Here is a list that I will be applying for after this project is due:

Third Annual Freedom in Academia Contest-$5'000

AXA Achievement Scholarship-$10'000-25'000

NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund-$1'000

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay-$10'000

Annual Create a Greeting Card Scholarship-$10'000

Sam Walton Community Scholarship-$3'000

The California Association of Collectors Educational Scholarship Foundation-$2'500

Best Buy Scholarship-$1'000

Bank of America Student Leaders-varies

National Italian American Foundation Scholarship-$10'000

Southern California Association of Governments Scholarship-$3'000

McDonald's of Southern California Ronald McDonald House Charities/Scholarship-$2'000

Friends of California State Fair Scholarship-$5'000

Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year Award-$7'500

Frame My Future Scholarship Contest-$1'000

The "Save Me A Spot In College" Scholarship-2'500

The "Do Something" Award-$10'000-$100'000!

The Mary J. Szczepanski "Never Give Up" Scholarship-$500

A Patrick Charnon Scholarship-$6'000

NEWWA Francis X. Crowley Scholarship-$3'000

Healthy Choice Academic Scholarship-2'500

Essay Competition for Children of Public Employees-$500

The Scholastic Art Awards-10'000

The scholarships that I plan to apply for are in order of application deadline date. I will be working on them as they approach. I am looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish as well as if it pays off. Looking at all I have to do some of these may not be accomplished but I will be doing the best I can with the time I have. I am prepared mentally to accept the fact that all of my schooling may not be payed for and I may have to take out student loans. This will not be my first choice obviously, but I am prepared to do what I have to.

2010-05-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

In this essay we will be looking into the life and assassination of John F. Kennedy. We will look into his life prior to being elected President of the United States and from there we will look at his life and policies as President. The main portion of this essay will be focused specifically on his assassination and the many theories that go along with it. The purpose of this essay is to look at the life and assassination of John F. Kennedy.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born May 29th, 1917 in Brookline Massachusetts.
He was the second son of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald out of a total of nine children. As a child, John was continuously sick. He contracted things such as the whooping cough, measles, chicken pox, and scarlet fever. Growing up he enjoyed much of the products of the hard work of his father and grandfathers. John attended Choate, a boarding school for adolescent boys, located in Connecticut.

John graduated Choate and entered Harvard in 1936, where his older brother Joe already attended. He played on the football team and one day while playing he ruptured a disc in his spine which never really recovered. While still attending Harvard John’s father was appointed the United States Ambassador to England in 1937. The whole family moved to England except for John and Joe who remained at Harvard. After a summer visit to England and other places in Europe, John returned back to school wanting to know even more about government and current events.
John’s father wrote home many times about what was going on over seas. He spoke of Hitler and Mussolini.

World War Two began in 1939 and that next year John Kennedy graduated Harvard. Soon after graduating John joined the Navy in 1941 where he was an intelligence officer. Soon after World War Two began John was sent to the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron where he was given command of a PT boat. In 1943 Kennedy was sent to the South Pacific. One day his boat was hit by a Japanese Destroyer. Two of his crew was killed while six others hung onto what was left of the ship. For five hours Kennedy and the men hung on until they managed to get to an island five miles from where there ship went down.

Due to the attack in 1943 Kennedy suffered a terrible back injury so he was sent back to the United States. Kennedy was promoted and sent to Florida after he returned to the U.S. He returned to civilian life in 1945 after another operation on his back. For the next twelve months he worked as a journalist covering the United Nations Conference in San Francisco and the 1945 General Election in Britain.
In 1946 Kennedy won election of the House of Representatives as a democrat.
Kennedy traveled many places. In 1951 he took a large interest in foreign policy and he traveled to Europe visiting many countries. Later that year he visited the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Indochina, Malaya and Korea. In 1952 Kennedy was elected into the Senate and in 1953 he married Jacqueline Bouvier, the daughter of a New York City financer. They had four children over the couple of years following but only two of the four survived infancy. Their names were Caroline and John.(source)

Kennedy had a couple more back surgeries and while recovering in hospital he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning Profiles in Courage in 1956. In 1960 Kennedy entered the race to become the Democratic Party presidential candidate. He won Democratic primaries in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Oregon, Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia. In July of 1960, at the national convention, Kennedy was nominated on the first ballot. For his running mate he selected Lyndon B. Johnson. The Republican candidate was Richard M. Nixon. Many watched their debates unfold on the television screen.(source)

Kennedy won the popular vote and was the first Roman Catholic President.
The well known quote by Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you…but ask what you can do for your country.” was spoken during his Inaugural Address in 1961. As president his goal was to get America back into motion. His goal was to expand America. It was going to be the biggest expansion since World War Two. Kennedy had a huge desire to put a dent into poverty. (source)

As president his goal was to get America back into motion. He responded to the growing need of action to the issue of equal rights. He called for new civil rights legislation. His plans for our country were put on hold for a couple years as he aided other countries and confronted others.

He was trying to aid other countries in their progress and did so with the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress. The hard reality of the Communist challenge in the Soviet Union still remained however. Shortly after Kennedy’s election he permitted a band of armed and trained exiles to invade their homeland in the attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. This attempt had been underway through the CIA and was a failure. Soon after that the Soviet Union began its campaign against West Berlin again. Kennedy reacted by reinforcing Berlin and increasing our Nation's military strength. This even included new efforts in outer space. (source)

After this and the completion of the Berlin Wall the Soviet Union backed off of central Europe. Their focus was now on Cuba. The Soviet Union planned to install nuclear weapons in Cuba. When Kennedy found this out in 1962 he imposed quarantine on all weapons headed toward Cuba. Thankfully before the world entered into nuclear war the Russians backed down and agreed to take the nuclear bombs away.

In 1963 Kennedy was able to refocus his goals for the country back on civil and equal rights which was his real passion. He did not get far though. On November 22, 1963 Kennedy arrived in Dallas with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Governor John Connally and Senator Ralph Yarborough. They would travel in a procession of cars through the business district of Dallas. A pilot car and several motorcycles rode ahead of the limousine that held Kennedy, his wife, John Conally and his wife, the head of Secret Service at the White House- Roy Kellerman, and the driver William Greer. The car following the presidential limousine held eight Secret Service Agents. This was followed by a car containing Vice President Lyndon Johnson and Senator Ralph Yarborough.(source)

At around 12.30 in the afternoon the presidential limousine began driving on Elm Street. Not long after shots rang out. President John Kennedy was hit by two bullets that hit him in the left shoulder then in the head. Another bullet hit John Connally in the back. Ten seconds after the first shots had been fired the president's car sped off quickly towards Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Both Kennedy and Conally were carried into separate emergency rooms. Connally had wounds to his thigh, chest, wrist, and back. Kennedy's injuries were far worse. At 1 in the afternoon Kennedy was declared dead due to the massive head shot he received.

Two hours after the assassination of President Kennedy a suspect was arrested. His name was Lee Harvey Oswald. What led to the incarceration of Oswald? At the scene of the assassination witnesses claimed that they had seen shots being fired from behind a wooden fence on the Grassy Knoll and from the Texas School Book Depository. The police investigated the witness’s claims and during a search of the Texas School Book Depository they discovered three empty cartridge cases on the floor by one of the large windows. They also found a rifle hidden beneath some boxes during there search. source)

Oswald was seen in the Texas School Book Depository before 11.55 a.m. and 12:31 pm, just after the shooting of John F. Kennedy. Oswald was then seen at 12.33 leaving the building and by 1.00 P.M. arrived at his apartment. His landlady, Earlene Roberts, testified that Oswald stayed only a few minutes. However while he was in there a Dallas Police Department car was parked in front of the house. In the car were two uniformed policemen whom, according to Roberts, sounded the horn twice before driving off. Soon afterwards Oswald left the house. A Dallas police man by the name of J. D. Tippet, approached a man later identified as Oswald, walking along East 10th Street at 1.16 p.m. A witness later testified that after a short conversation Oswald pulled out a gun and shot a number of shots at Tippet then Oswald ran off leaving the Tippet dying on the ground. (source)

After hearing a news flash that J.D. Tippit had been shot nearby John Brewer who was the manager of Hardy's Shoe Store in Oak Cliff saw a man acting strangely outside the shop: "The police cars were racing up and down Jefferson with their sirens blasting and it appeared to me that this guy was hiding from them. He waited until there was a break in the activity and then he headed west until he got to the Texas Theatre." Brewer went into the theatre and spoke to the assistant manager Warren Burroughs. Burroughs had seen the man enter the balcony of the theatre. When the police arrived Brewer accompanied the officers into the cinema where he pointed out the man he had seen acting in a suspicious manner. After a brief struggle Oswald was arrested. (source)

Soon after his arrest the police found out that Oswald worked at the Texas School Book Depository. They also found his palm print on the rifle that was discovered earlier that day. Oswald's hand prints were found on the book cartons and the brown paper bag. A fellow worker Charles Givens, testified that he saw Oswald on the sixth floor at 11.55 a.m. Howard Brennan, another witness, claimed he saw Oswald holding a rifle at the sixth floor window. The police also discovered that the rifle was purchased under the name A. Hiddell. Which at first was confusing however when Oswald was arrested the police found that he was carrying a forged I.D. card with the name Alek Hiddell. The rifle had been sent by the mail order company from Chicago to P.O. Box 2915, Dallas, Texas. The Post Office box belonged to Oswald.

The Dallas police interrogated Lee Harvey Oswald for over 13 hours. However no tapes or any transcripts were made of the interrogations. Oswald denied he had been involved in the killing of Kennedy during all of his interrogation. He also told newsmen on the night of the assassination he was a "patsy". A “pasty” was a term used by the Mafia to describe someone set up to take the punishment for a crime they did not commit. n the 24th of November Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby while being transported from the city to the county jail.

The day that Kennedy was assassinated is one of the most remembered days in history. All those alive during that time still remember that day. The assassination of President Kennedy is not an event in history studied enough in my opinion. Many people of my generation are not aware of all that was involved in his assassination.

Most Important Thing I learned

2010-03-13T08:26:00.001-08:00

In this quarter the most important thing that I learned would be learning all about the first World War. I think that this is the most important because it is a huge piece of our country's history. I think that many Americans know very little about World War 1 and to me it is something everyone should know very much about. In this short essay I will discuss why I think learning about World War One is the most important thing I have learned thus far this quarter.

I think that World War One is so important for many reasons. First of all, it was an extremely bloody and deadly war. It was not what many thought it would be. Many stated that it would end in a couple months and it would be easy to end. I think that this is why its so important to know wars like this. It did not go as they expected as many wars usually do, it lasted for years rather than the predicted months, and an extreme amount of people were killed. It is important to understand that basically an entire generation of young men were wiped out in this war.

This is why I think that World War One is so important. I think that to look back and understand the wars our country has endured is one of the most prosperous things that our country can do. Why? Wars always happen, they are something that will most likely never go away. To understand World War One is so important because it teaches us so many lessons. This is why I think that learning about World War One is the most important thing I have learned this quarter.

Women's Suffrage

2010-02-16T19:54:00.001-08:00

In this essay I am going to discuss the Women Suffrage Movement specifically in America. The Women Suffrage Movement began around the year of 1848 and came to an end with the addition of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. During this essay we will look at how this movement began, and what occurred prior to the movement. We will look at important dates and events that occurred within the movement as a whole, and also focusing in on key persons as the essay unfolds. The main purpose of this essay is to view what the Women Suffrage Movement was, and how it lead to the 19th Amendment.

Prior to the movement, women’s roles in society were very specific. They were to get married, raise a family, and take care of the household. Few women did work outside the home, mainly if they were very poor, but were not allowed to keep their wages for themselves. If they were married their money went toward their husbands, and if not married the money went to their fathers. In the rare occurrence of divorce, women gave up their custody of their children. The highest level of education women were allowed to have was the primary level, which is about the age of 11 now, and most women could neither buy nor sell property. Lastly, women had no right to vote on any issues, they could not sit on juries, defend themselves in a courtroom, or run for political office, which is what will be focused on in this essay specifically. (Mass 8-9)

Women were basically property of men, whether it was there husbands or their fathers, they were only property. However beginning in 1848, women wanted to change all of this. Five women are credited for the beginning of the Women Suffrage Movement. The first women’s rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York in the year of 1848. Here they drafted a “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments.” It was written to outline the equality of rights they desired. The beginning was written in the same style as the Declaration of Independence and added “and women” to the phrase “…all men are created equal…” so it read “…all men and women are created equal…” This document included 12 ways to create the equality for women in the areas such as education, law, labor, morality, and religion. (Bausum 18-19)

The 9th specifically called for women to vote. It read, “Resolved, that it is the duty of women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective suffrage.” One definition I would like to make clear is the meaning of suffrage. Suffrage is another word voting. It comes from the Latin word suffrage, meaning “approval” and
“the right to vote”. Someone who works to gain voting rights is most often called a suffragist. Another word that describes voting comes from the French word meaning “freedom”, a person that has voting rights in enfranchised. (Bausum)

Some of the first women who began fighting in the 19th century were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone. Women held multiple women’s voting rights conventions. The very first National Women’s Rights convention was held in 1850 in Worcester, Massachusetts. In fact, the convention held in 1852 is where Susan B. Anthony decided to join the movement. Here she stated, “the right women needed above every other...was the right of suffrage.” Her joining the movement was so important to the movement’s history. A national convention was held every year after 1850 until 1860, other than the year 1857. Women petitioned state legislators to change laws unfair to women, made speeches, wrote multiple letters, published news stories, and argued their beliefs wherever they were. At first the majority of women participating in the movement were white; however there were few African Americans, for example Sojourner Truth. (Bausum)

When the civil war broke out in 1861, women decided to put their fight on hold and supported the men in the war. However, they did hope that when the war ended they would be granted some rights along with the black population. In the end they were not correct at all. Though they did not accomplish what they had hoped, they did not give up. They tried even harder to pursue what they believed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony organized their work into the national woman suffrage Association, NWSA, or shortly known as the National is May of 1869. Later that year, one of their former friends Lucy Stone, founded the American Women Suffrage Association, AWSA, or shortly known as the American. (Bausum)

These two groups were very different. The National was much more radical and militant in their actions. Men were not allowed to join their Association. They founded a weekly newspaper called “The Revolution” with their motto being, “Men, their rights and nothing more, women their rights and nothing less!” The American was much less radical, in fact men and women of any color were allowed to join their association, which in turn was much larger. Both groups did agree on one thing however, the only way women were going to gain votes was with new laws. Beyond that they disagreed. (Bausum)

The National decided they would go to a federal level. In 1878 they managed to have a women suffrage amendment introduced for consideration by the U.S. Senate. Nine years passed before the measure came to a vote and it was not a success. Only about 16 out of 76 senators supported it, all being from the north. 337 were opposed to it and 26 members abstained from voting. The House of Representatives did not even consider women’s suffrage until past the end of the 19th century. (Bausum)
Although things were not going very well on a federal level. Several areas in the U.S offered women the right to vote in the 19th century. Two of the states that offered women suffrage had allowed it since their admission into statehood, Wyoming in 1890, and Utah in 1896. A few places allowed women partial suffrage in matters concerning only education. Other places, namely southern states did not give consideration to women suffrage at all. (Bausum)

The time frame between 1896 and 1910 came to be known as the “doldrums” because not one state adopted women suffrage. In 1890 the NWSA and the AWSA merged into the NAWSA. This organization survived until the end of the suffrage fight 30 years later. Sadly, Stone died in 1893, Stanton in 1902, and Anthony in 1906. So the true beginners of the movement did not live to see the beginning of nationwide suffrage. (Bausum)

However, miles away in Europe, women were taking a more rebellious stand. They would use “civil disobedience” to try to further their movement. They would do such things as shout at government speakers, threw stones into office windows, set fire in mailboxes, cut telephone wires, vandalized train cars, and burnt down buildings. The police would fight back with just as much brutality. The women would be arrested and would go on hunger strikes while they were in jail. More than 1000 women, suffragettes as they were more commonly known, spent time in jail. (Bausum)

The youngest daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriot Stanton Blanch, was very familiar with the British suffrage movement. She had lived in Britain for around 20 years. When she moved back home to the United States she brought many ideas with her. She also brought encouragement. By this point in time, many more southern women were joining the movement as well, all basically wanting suffrage for only white women only. On the other hand, northern women basically wanted suffrage for all women because they wanted all the support they could have. However, if it would hurt their chances of reaching suffrage, they would completely downplay the idea of universal suffrage. Black suffragists worked along side white women when allowed to. Sometimes however, they overstepped their boundaries and insisted in working with the white women. In other areas, black women were organizing segregated clubs to gain support from other African Americans. (Bausum)

Harriot Blatch’s work helped end the U.S. doldrums. The state of Washington gave women the right to vote in 1910; which was the first state to do so in 14 years. In 1911 California did the same. By 1912 a total of 9 states allowed women suffrage including Kansas, Oregon, and Arizona. One year later Illinois lawmakers authorized women to vote in the presidential election. In this way women could influence 84 of the 483 members. (Bausum)

All of this brought on a new generation of suffragists, one women by the name of Alice Paul. Paul had been studying in Britain during the radical suffrage movement there. There she was put in prison seven different times. In jail she met a woman by the name of Lucy Burns. These two women became very close friends, and close suffragists. A year after they met Paul returned to the United States, Burns stayed and devoted herself to the movement there. However a few years passed and Burns returned to the United States in 1912, and the two women took up right where they left off. (Bausum)

The two women worked perfectly together very much like the team of Stanton and Anthony decades before. Both joined the NAWSA and were set to work. In the beginning of 1913 they were given the job of putting together the giant parade that was to take place a day before the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson. This day was chosen for one main reason, publicity. The women knew that many more people would be in town around the inauguration day than any other day of the year. They wanted a lot of people to see what they believed; the parade even followed the same route as the inaugural procession. Around 8’000 women participated in the parade and there were around 500’000 spectators. (Bausum 11-12 &28-29)

The banners read, “We demand an amendment to the Constitution of the United States enfranchising women.” African Americans were encouraged to walk in the parade as well; however they were placed in the back of the parade. There were exceptions though, like Ida B. Wells, who demanded to walk alongside her white suffrage friends. The women looked like something the people of Washington D.C. had never seen before. They were described to look like an army. However, the crowd grew to not like what they saw. Men were crowding the street, as to block the parade. This amazing parade soon turned into what looked like a riot. During all of the chaos the police stood by not doing a thing. Instead of lasting around the scheduled two hours, the parade lasted until nightfall. The suffragists looked at the disaster as a positive and just counted on it being more publicity for their movement. (Bausum 13-15)

The parade was only one of Paul and Burns’ accomplishments. They did much work for the suffragist movement. They put together groups of suffragists to go visit the president. They raised thousands of dollars for the suffragist cause; and even started a weekly newspaper called “The Suffragist”. After identifying the thousands of supporters throughout the country they separated them into state chapters, so there movement would have a solid team in each and every state. Their efforts were hard to miss, and the leaders of the NAWSA began to wonder what Paul and Burns would do next. History did repeat itself again and Paul and Burns broke away from the NAWSA and started there own more radical group known as the National Woman’s Party. (Bausum 32-33)

In 1914 U.S. Senators held their first vote for women suffrage in 27 years. However there the vote was no success. More than one third abstained from voting and out of the 64 votes needed they received 35. Ten months later the House of Representatives held its first ever vote on women suffrage. They were around 100 votes shy of gaining a victory; 174 were in favor and 204 were opposed. From 1914-1916 only two more states granted women suffrage, Montana and Nevada. (Bausum 33)

Why did the momentum slow so much yet again? By 1914 the Anti Women Suffrage group had grown tremendously. They organized the National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage. The group had over 200’000 members and state divisions in more than half of the U.S. Paul’s group would not give up so easy; however the members of NAWSA desired a new leader due to their many defeats. They turned to Carrie Chapman Catt, a former leader of their organization who had led them to multiple victories in the prior years. (Bausum)

In the autumn of 1916, Catt offered her Winning Plan to the NAWSA for gaining winning suffrage. Its first step was to divide the 48 states; all of 50 states did not exist yet, into four sections. She assigned each one with one task in what she said would be a “red hot, never ceasing campaign.” The four groups were divided as states with full suffrage, states with the hope of full suffrage, states with no suffrage, and southern states where even partial suffrage seamed unrealistic. The states with full suffrage were to really press for a federal amendment. The states with the soon hope of full suffrage were to proceed with those fights. The states with no suffrage were to fight for partial suffrage, and those in the South were to seek for at least the right to vote in presidential primaries. (Bausum 35)

Catt wanted the suffragists to make a lot of noise; to make their point well known. She wanted to raise at least one million dollars to fund this winning plan of hers. She raised most of it when she first unveiled her plan in a private NAWSA meeting. An extra 2 million was donated by a local newspaper publisher. Finally, the NAWSA had a well financed and organized plan in place. President Wilson was not as impressed. The women knew they had to make a different approach. Paul’s group decided to move locations and move their headquarters to nearby the White House. The NAWSA found themselves not far away due to another part of Catt’s winning plan. She established a 26 room mansion and called it Suffrage House, just six blocks from the White House. These two groups may have had different battle plans, but they shared the same goal. (Bausum 38)

Women were beginning to do something so unheard of. They began to picket the White House. At first President Wilson was patient with the women and even offered them coffee. Soon however his attitude changed. With the first World War occurring, the president had many things on his mind, like whether or not the U.S was to begin fighting in the war. When the U.S. did enter into the war, many women felt it was necessary to set aside their work toward suffrage. Alice Paul did not want to cease. Her National Woman’s Party took on the “votes for women first” policy. Paul decided to publish more and more banners, and less and less yelling. The banners became more and more embarrassing towards the president; but Alice Paul was not going to stop fighting.(Bausum)

Paul’s group was now picketing both the White House and the U.S. Capitol. However, now there was a shift in the way the picketers were being treated. The women were beginning to be arrested. More and more women were being attacked by mobs, and yet only the women were being arrested. The men in the mobs were not being punished for their actions at all. Eventually even Alice Paul found herself in jail for around 5 weeks. This imprisonment was the first the American women had seen. Due to the fact that women were not being physical or obstructing justice in any way they were technically not receiving their right to free speech. Now many were beginning to question Wilson’s actions. They wondered how the nation could claim to fight for democracy overseas when it could not even treat the people at home democratically. (Bausum 47)

Women in jail were being treated incredibly bad. They were kept in uncomfortable clothes and shoes that did not fit properly. There one blanket was washed one time a year. They did not have access to the bathroom nor were they allowed to speak at meal times, where they were being forced to eat food filled with worms and maggots. Alice Paul and another woman in jail both went on hunger strikes. They were the first women to do so in America at this point in time. The two women were put into the psychiatric ward in the hospital and were force fed. When the other women heard of this they all joined in. (Bausum)

Eventually the women all departed the prison. Some because their sentences were complete, others were bailed out by worried family members. Convinced that they had been placed in jail for no reason, the women sued the government for damages and demanded their records be cleared. They figured this because they had not broken any laws. After time the Appeals Court agreed and all their arrests and convictions were overturned. All of this was also all over newspapers and things of that such so the women were getting even more publicity about their cause and for that they were excited. They figured that although they had to endure what they did in jail, it would hopefully soon be well worth it. (Bausum)

On January 9th President Wilson gave the suffragists his support. What changed him mind, he stated, was the work women had done during World War One. This was really exciting for the suffragists because he had finally come to agree with them and they could finally see that voting for them could soon become a reality. The two different plans of Catt and Paul were coming together to be an ultimate success. The House of Representatives held another vote for a federal amendment for woman suffrage. This time it was a success; 274 voted for the movement and 136 were opposed. Next was the Senate. Congress was adjourned to meet 14 months later which gave both organizations time to celebrate and enjoy their short success. They were sure that with the support of the president that they would indeed get what they hope for easily, however they were wrong. (Bausum)

Both groups had much recruiting to do. They needed to be sure that their request would pass. Senate support did grow but by mid summer the results were showing that they were two votes short. Paul’s group resorted back to their old friends, the protest banners. They protested around Lafayette square. Some women were sent to jail again on the grounds of holding a meeting in public ground and climbing on a statue. This time their sentences were only a max of 2 weeks. The senators did agree to vote on the issue after all however the amendment was not passed due to the already predicted, two votes. (Bausum)

The two women, Paul and Catt, came together for the first time since Paul left the NAWSA. With election day only a couple weeks away they decided they were going to support pro suffrage candidates, and defeat those who were opposed. At the same time Paul and her followers picketed Capitol Hill for 6 weeks. All attempts failed however, and the women were in the same boat as when they began. (Bausum)

In November of 1918 World War One ended and by the end of the year women in 15 of the 48 states had full suffrage rights. In 6 other states women had some suffrage but not full suffrage. Paul’s group was not going to settle. They began a new form of protest; they lit a fire in front of the White House where everyone could see. She and many others were arrested for “building a bonfire on public grounds between sunrise and sun set. They were sent to jail. Virtually everyone went on hunger strikes while they were in jail. (Bausum)

Things were looking better though due to one of the two needed senators announcing to the world that he now supports women suffrage. The Senate voted again on February 10th and as expected it came up short by one man. Once again many women were arrested when the president was expected to come home at their protest. This sentencing to jail was the last of the women during the women’s suffrage movement. However, jail was not the worst part for many women; some lost their jobs or homes and others their family members or their husbands. (Bausum)

It was now March 3, 1919 and congress came into session again. They were not considering the women’s suffrage issue at this meeting. Also, the House’s support in 1918 was now void. Now the women were going to have to win both bodies of Congress before the amendment would be passed. Paul’s group decided to plan their last protest, and it was going to be a violent one. A huge riot broke out, some men even broke into the women’s suffrage headquarters, where they destroyed banners and broke windows. (Bausum)

While the President was in Europe two months later he was trying to swing the last needed vote for women suffrage. The vote was from Georgia. Then he called a meeting for Congress to go into special session. The house had a total of 42 extra yes votes, and the Senate even had two votes to spare. The “Anthony” amendment, named after Susan B. Anthony, had passed. It had taken from 1878 till 1919 for the Anthony amendment to be approved by congress. Now all the women had to do was to get states to ratify it. (Bausum)

Many knew that this was not going to be an easy task however. Three fourths of the states needed to ratify it for it to be passed as an amendment. So a total of 36 states were needed to ratify it. All the women were ready to fight. However so were the antis, there power was mostly in the southern states. The states where the vote could swing either way was Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Catt and Paul started their campaign by telegraphing state governors. In the fall there was a total of only 14 yes votes. By the end of 1919 there was now 22 states that ratified the amendment. In March of 1920 there was a total of 34 states that had ratified the amendment. (Bausum)

As the suffragists had known, gaining two more states was not going to be easy. However Washington state had been one of the two later that month. This was basically up to Tennessee. On August 9th, 1920 the Senate had approved of the amendment, the rest was up to the house. In the end Tennessee ended up being 49 in favor and 47 opposed. The Antis tried to overturn the vote but eventually the Tennessee governor signed the “certificate of ratification”, which proved the states vote. The certificate reached Washington D.C. and the secretary of state was wakened from his sleep as he had requested someone to do. Late in the night of August 26th 1920, he signed the papers for the completed ratification of the 19th Amendment. Woman suffrage was now promised to all. (Bausum)

In conclusion, we have discussed the Women’s suffrage movement. We have looked at important people and dates that helped us understand the very important issues of this movement. The main purpose of this essay was to look at what the Women’s Suffrage Movement was and how it lead to the 19th Amendment. The purpose of this essay has been achieved.

Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote. New York: National Geographic Children's, 2004. Print.

Mass, Wendy. Women's rights. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1998. Print

Theodore Roosevelt

2009-10-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

The life of Theodore Roosevelt is a very interesting life to talk about. I love his story because it shows a man who knows he has health problems that are hindering his life and still fights to prosper. The purpose of this entry is to show how Theodore Roosevelt came to be President of the United States.

Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City to a wealthy family. He grew up surrounded by the love of his family. Theodore had asthma throughout his life and was always a very sick child. He however did not let this illness affect his mindset. He was determined to be a strong individual. He took up gymnastics and weight lifting which helped him become strong. From then on he always found time for exercise and for Theodore exercise became a daily occurrence, from hiking and riding horses to swimming.

In 1884 Theodore experienced an extremely rough day. His wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt gave birth to a baby girl. Two days later, Theodore’s mother passed away due to kidney failure and within a couple hours Alice passed away also. Both died on the same day, in the same house. He knew he had to get out so he left his daughter with his sister and left for the Dakota Badlands, where he bought a couple ranches and lived on the frontier, taking a break from politics.

In 1886 Roosevelt heads back to New York and remarries, diving back into politics. Roosevelt was appointed as a member of the Civil Service Commission of which he later became president. In 1897 he joined the administration of President McKinley as the secretary of the Navy. He saw that the Cuban War was approaching, so while he was in office he began preparing for it. When this was broke out in 1898 he went to Cuba as lieutenant colonel of a regiment of volunteer cavalry. Also in this year Theodore was elected governor of New York.

He would have sought to be reelected for another term but the Republicans choose him as their candidate for the second office of the Union. He served as vice president for less than a year and became president after the assassination of President McKinley on September 14, 1901. This is how he became president.

His life leading up to his presidency was hard but he fought through it. His health didn’t stop him from becoming what he wanted to become. This is the reason I love his story so much, he fought through his problems and the outcome was fantastic.

Trans-Continental Railroad

2009-09-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

The Trans-Continental Railroad was a great and infamous milestone in our country’s history when it comes to transportation. Congress thought long and hard to find a transcontinental plan that would work for the country. Congress finally passed an effective trans-continental plan known as the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, right after the south seceded and the Civil War began, and happily signed by President Abraham Lincoln. In this essay we will look into detail of what the Trans-Continental railroad was and its construction, along with why it was so important and such a big issue.

The four men that really brought this idea to life, known as the “Big Four”, were Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins. These men were the driving force behind the railroad, also placing there own money into the construction. These four men came together, all being merchants, and formed the Central Pacific Railroad Company.

The plans for construction are as follows. The law stated that two railroads, coming form opposite sides, would work their way towards each other until they met. Both of these railroad lines were given a lot of financial support, not only monetary but, they were given areas of land as well. For instance, for every mile of track laid, each company was given 6,400 acres of land. Two years later these figures were changed, each railroad was now granted twice as much land as before. Also, America’s railroad tracks would now have a standard setting of 4 feet 8.5 inches in width.

“The greatest historical event in transportation on the continent occurred at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, as the Union Pacific tracks joined those of the Central Pacific Railroad” This quotes shows how really important the railroad really was to our country linking the California to the rest of the country. It formed the basis of the huge Southern Pacific system. This was the foundation of transportation that we have used for centuries and in some form still use today.

In conclusion, the Trans-Continental Railroad was extremely important to the development of our country. It linked our country together for the first real effective time in history. Without the great men and ideas behind it, it would have taken our country a lot longer to see the railroad track come together. This time in history we really see a great development in transportation and a great development in the making of America’s history.

The World's Fair of 1863

2009-09-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

The 1893 Worlds Fair was such a grand example of the Gilded Age because the Gilded Age was an era of reform. This took place only a decade or so after the end of the civil war and the country was just beginning to enter a state of reform. By far I think that the most important thing debuted at the fair was the Ferris wheel because it brought and still brings much joy to many people and I think that with all the hardship the country endured it was good for citizens to relax.

“The World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, was a landmark event in American history and culture. Named in honor of Christopher Columbus, the Fair was a means of celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World and promoting the progress of man in science, industry, and culture since that historic event.” After the dedication ceremony in 1892, construction continued on until 1893, but due to the harsh winter found in Illinois it made progress very slow. Surprising everyone and against many odds, the World’s Fair opened up to the public on May 1, 1893. Two years and 19 million dollars were put into the amazing exposition.

Opening day was a sight to see. Never in American history do we see that many people travel anywhere to attend an event. The exposition was opened by President Grover Cleveland. Within only that first day nearly 129,000 people paid to enter into the fair. Although somewhat pricey for the time, people paid the fifty cents for adults and twenty five cents for children to gladly enter.

In my opinion the most important thing debuted at the World’s Fair in 1893 is the Ferris wheel. It was the most visited attraction there and was invented by George W. Ferris. He spent roughly 275,000 dollars constructing the enormous attraction. “The Ferris Wheel offered unparalleled views of the Exposition and surrounding city. The electric lights of the Fair made the Wheel one of the most popular after-dark activities. Over 1.5 million people boarded the Ferris Wheel during its five months of operation.” I think that it was the most important thing debuted at the fair because it was put to great use and brought so much joy to those who needed to be reminded of our great country.

In conclusion the 1893 Worlds Fair was such a grand example of the Gilded Age because the Gilded Age was an era of reform. It reminded the American people of what America is. By far the Ferris wheel was the most important thing debuted there at the fair and was another great example of how far country has come and will go.

2009-09-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

With the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, our country fell into the hands of Andrew Johnson. With his presidency continuing on until William McKinley, we will view their choices and historical facts during each of their terms. We will see how many made choices that led to multiple oppositions, while others did little to make an impact on our country.

Beginning with Johnson, we see that the Radical Republicans had no shame walking all over his ideas and passing legislation over his veto. He was impeached in 1867 due to him breaking one of the restricting laws placed over him by the Radicals. U.S. Grant was one of the presidents that did little to make an impact on our country, in my opinion. Yes, he was a key general in the war, but did little serving his terms, other than the couple of scandals. Now we mover onto Rutherford B. Hayes,

“Beneficiary of the most fiercely disputed election in American history, Rutherford B. Hayes brought to the Executive Mansion dignity, honesty, and moderate reform.”

“As the last of the log cabin Presidents, James A. Garfield attacked political corruption and won back for the Presidency a measure of prestige it had lost during the Reconstruction period.”

Garfield was not able to make an incredible legacy during his presidency, he was shot and killed the year he became president. He was succeeded by Chester A. Arthur. Under Arthur’s presidency two major acts were passed, the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Pendleton Civil Service Act. The Pendleton Civil Service Act led to a permanent federal civil service system. Grover Cleveland was the president following Arthur. Cleveland vetoed many bills and many acts. When he was elected again he faced a small depression.

“The First Democrat elected after the Civil War, Grover Cleveland was the only President to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later.”

Under Benjamin Harrison many acts were passed, allowing higher duties to be paid on most imports. By looking at the research I have, it seems that many presidents did not pass very many acts or bills at all but Harrison was not one of them. He passed three substantial acts all during one year. Many historians consider his term to be productive. Following Benjamin Harrison was Cleveland who was the first and only president elected in nonconsecutive terms. To end the era known to Mr. Lockwood as “poor politicking” we conclude with the term of William McKinley.

“When McKinley became President, the depression of 1893 had almost run its course and with it the extreme agitation over silver. Deferring action on the money question, he called Congress into special session to enact the highest tariff in history.”

This tariff is known as the McKinley Tariff. McKinley became the third president to be assassinated.

In conclusion I have seen that during this era I could see why Mr. Lockwood calls this era the era of “poor politicking”. It seems to me that this era of presidencies did not really make an impact on our country, some presidents were faced with many opponents while others either didn’t get a chance to make change or did little to make a change.

Radical Reconstruction

2009-09-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Radical Reconstruction was met by a lot of resistance. Many disagreed with the policy because it was more of a punishment to get back at the south, rather than mend the country. Many against the policy being pushed by the Radical Republicans argued against it. The purpose of this essay is to look at what the Radical Reconstruction was, who the Radical Republicans were, why people were opposed to them and their policy, and whether or not they were the reason for the failure of their policy.

"Radical Reconstruction, also known as Congressional Reconstruction, was the time when congressional Republicans, moderates and Radicals, controlled Reconstruction in the South."

The Radical Republicans were motivated by three main factors as to why they issued their reconstruction plan. For one they had revenge. They desperately wanted to get back at the South for causing the war. Two, they were concerned for the freedmen. Third,they were politically concerned. They wanted to make sure that their political party stayed in power in both the north and the south.

This is why so many disagreed with the Radical Reconstruction. The Radical Republicans were political terrors and would stop at nothing to get to what they wanted. They went over the presidents wishes and passed laws that they created. Yes the Radical Republicans had a good reason to fight, in my opinion, for black and white integration, but they went about it the entirely wrong way.

President Johnson was in complete disagreement with the Radical Republicans when it came to their Freedmen’s Bureau Bill. He vetoed it along with the Civil Rights Bill as well. This angered moderate Republicans and Radical Republicans as well. They together undid his veto of the two bills. This was the first time that this has ever occurred in history. The Republicans hoped that the Civil Rights Act would lead to a branch with right enforcing courts.

Amending the Constitution was the focus of Congress in Congress then focused on 1867. The Fourteenth Amendment was approved, which prohibited "states from abridging equality before the law." The second part of the Amendment basically gave the South a choice, they were either to accept black men and women as freed people or they would loose representation in congress.

The Radical Republicans faced so much opposition for a couple issues. For one, they stepped on many people’s toes and crossed too many lines to try to achieve their goals. The other reason that they were opposed was because this issue was rather controversial during this time, being that it was just after the war had ended. I think that the Radical Republicans were only part of the failure of this policy not sure if I think they were the whole reason for this failure but I think they were at least partially responsible because they were the ones who went way too far in pushing they’re beliefs.

American people creating a nation and a society. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. Print.

Abraham Lincoln Part Two

2009-08-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

In this entry based on Abraham Lincolns life we will see, in more depth, how his childhood, education, and upbringing influenced the way he handled his presidency and the prosecution of the Civil War. In the previous entry we saw how he had only a combined total of one year of formal education and the rest of his younger years were filled by the dedication of his spirit to teaching himself. This driveness and determination, I believe, carried him through his presidency and the Civil War.

"President Abraham Lincoln had quite a bit to deal with: within the first four months of him becoming President seven states had already seceded from the Union, letting him know that he was not wanted as President. But Lincoln had a job to do: his main interest at this point was keeping the Union together, and he did not have any real concerns about abolishing slavery."

Abraham Lincoln entered into a very tough position. He knew that he was not particularly wanted by the south as President but he was not going to let that stop him, his determination shining through. It was guaranteed that they would try their best to pull away from the Union once he had been elected, the main reason being that they new his position of slavery.

"Lincoln's parents belonged to a faction of the Baptist church that disapproved of slavery, and this affiliation may account for Abraham's later statement that he was "naturally anti-slavery" and could not remember when he "did not so think, and feel."

This however was not President Lincoln's goal for the Civil War. Lincoln new that as the President his job was to keep the Union whole. He was not elected to lead half the country and not lead the rest of it. He would do anything he needed to in order to keep the Union whole and cohesive. As it says in the above quote, Lincoln did not originally plan on abolishing slavery, he did not want any states that were behind him in the war to pull away from him. He however did feel that slavery was wrong, so knowing that it was the right thing to do, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The proclamation declared, "all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free."

"As early as 1849, Abraham Lincoln believed that slaves should be emancipated, advocating a program in which they would be freed gradually. Early in his presidency, still convinced that gradual emancipation was the best course, he tried to win over legislators. To gain support, he proposed that slave owners be compensated for giving up their "property." Support was not forthcoming."

Basically, President Lincoln new deep down that slavery was wrong. He knew it from his childhood on until he died. He new that the best way to enforce emancipation was to gradually force the country to abide to it. Slowly but surely his plans worked and the Emancipation Proclamation was put into motion.

In this entry based on Abraham Lincolns life, we have seen how his upbringing and childhood really shaped his view on slavery. He developed a view that really put him in a tough position with the country but he followed his gut and new what was truly right. I completely admire Abraham Lincoln for his courage and above all his determination.

Abraham Lincoln

2009-08-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Abraham Lincolns backround, education, and upringing shaped who he was and how he led our nation as the 16th president. His education was restricted to one year of formal teaching because he was brought up in poverty, but that did not stop him from learning. The purpose of this blog is to view how Lincoln's upbringing, childhood, and education shaped who he was, what he believed, and how he led.

Abraham Lincoln was born on Febuary 12, 1809. He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky to his father, Thomas Lincoln and his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Thomas was brought up in poverty as well but taught himself to be a carpenter and had owned three farms in Kentucky prior to the Lincolns moving out of the state. This must be where Abraham got his drivenness and dedication from. Little is known about his mother.

The letters written by Abraham Lincoln show how impacted he was by his early life. They show how his childhood and upbringing molded the man he grew up to be. "Lincoln seemed to be painly impressed with the extreme poverty of is early surroundings, and the utter absence of all romantic and heroic elements." (Herndon, 2)

Abraham Lincolns inability to go to school and recieve a full multiple year education did not stop him from trying to learn with all his heart. He would walk miles to borrow a book from a neighbor or friend, and would walk that many miles to return it. He did not have an arithmetic book available to him so he scrounged up a couple pieces of paper, which were not easy at all to come by, tyed them together with some string, and made his own. "Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington", "Robinson Crusoe", "Pilgrim's Progress", and "Aesop's Fables", were all some of Lincolns favorite books to get his hands on.

Lincoln basically taught himself all the knowledge he had. The one year of formal teaching somewhat layed the groundwork for his thinking, but his driveness and determination did not let him wallow in his poverty. He went out and made a great man of himself and his legacy is forever remembered. In a following blog we will continue on in seeing how President Lincoln became the man he was.

Most Important Thing We Learned All Year

2009-05-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Its hard to say what I think the most important thing was that we learned about this year. If I have to choose I think it would have to be the importance of the Crusades and their failures. This is very important to what is going on in our world today along with very important to our faith.

The only crusade to really accomplish anything at all was the Ist crusade. The First Crusade was first launched by Pope Urban in 1096 when Alexius called on him for help. The Crusade was created in order to regain Jerusalem from the infidels, or the Muslims, who had captured it from the Eastern Christians. The idea was to free the Eastern Christians from Islamic rule, but it turned into much more.

The Second Crusade began to recapture the city of Edessa in 1147. It was called for by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and led by two kings. Louis VII, King of France, and Conrad III, the German Emperor, led this crusade. They so poorly managed this crusade that nothing at all was accomplished.

During the Third Crusade Saladin, the Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem. This led to the German Emperor Frederick I, called "Barbarossa" {Red Beard}; Philip Augustus, King of France; and King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England to become leaders of the Third Crusade. This Crusade also ended in failure.

So I guess one could say another event that showed the failures was the fact that more than one crusade was needed. The First Crusade was the only Crusade that actually succeeded. After that there were only failures and this led to even more failures and many more deaths.In conclusion, one of the biggest events, that led to failures, was the fact that they had recapture city's so many times. After the First Crusade failures were unstoppable. Nothing truly was accomplished after this and many lives were lost.

This is important in my opinion because it just shows how absolutely no one can say that the Christians were persecuting the Muslims. The crusades were a failure, something I would have never found out unless we had studied it in class. I guess the reason I think this is so important is that it just shows how without really looking into something we can just believe it, I believed for the longest time that the Crusades were grand and glorious and much was accomplished...little did I know.

The English Bill of Rights and Its Impact

2009-04-20T19:12:00.001-07:00

The English Bill of Rights came to being in 1688 during the Revolution. The Bill was written up by Parliament after the fleeing of King James II. His successors were presented the Bill in 1689. The English Bill of Rights was a very important step for England and it has impacted many Declaration of Rights today, including the very important American Constitution. The purpose of this blog is the view how the English Bill of Rights came into being and how it has affected so many civilizations.

"William of Orange led an invasion of England that is sometimes called the Glorious Revolution. William and Mary served as joint monarchs."(Blashfield, 53) William and Mary were asked to invade England to remove James II from the monarchy. This led King James to flee from England which in turn led to the Bill of Rights.

Due to the fleeing of King James II, and his abuse of power that led to his desertion, the Bill of Rights was drawn up between Parliament and William of Orange for him to agree to when he would accept the crown. When William and Mary, his wife, were crowned in 1689 they swore an oath to reign based on "statutes in Parliament agreed upon, and the laws and customs of the same." John Locke was a major contributor to the Bill of Rights. (Mc Nall 467)

The English Bill of Rights played a huge role in the making of the Constitution of the United States of America. Most of our rights found in the Constitution have some from the English Bill of Rights. We need to keep in mind all the people who fought so hard for our rights in our country and in England.

In conclusion, the English Bill of Rights was drawn up in 1688 after the fleeing of James II from England. It is easy to see how the Bill impacted many others, including the grand Constitution of America. The purpose of this blog was achieved and we viewed how the English Bill of Rights came into being and how it has affected so many civilizations.

Blashfield, Jean F. England. New York: Children's P, 2006.

Mc Nall. Civilization Past and Present. Scott Foresman and Company, 1969.

The

2009-04-12T13:14:00.001-07:00

How Music was Changed During the Renaissance

2009-02-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

The Renaissance is known for being a time for rebirth of knowledge, art, and music. The printing press allowed most of the renewing to occur along with some well known characters. Music during the Renaissance was used for dancing and mainly pure enjoyment. During the 1400's through the 1600's we see the most changes "in styles of composing, methods of disseminating music, new musical genres, and the development of musical instruments" The purpose of this blog is to look at how music was changed during the Renaissance and how it affects us in our world today.

A major change during the Renaissance within the area of music was the amount of support. music during the Renaissance was extremely supported, more so than it had been in almost any other era. One of the reasons for this was the amount of wealth within many dynasties and families.

A huge advancement in music during the Renaissance was the Printing Press. Along with this, came many well known composers. Josquin Desprez was one of the most important composers during this period. Giovanni Perlugi de Palestrina was another well known composer who wrote simpler melodies for the church so the music didn't over power the text.

Many instruments came to familiarity during the Renaissance. The instrumental music brought about many changes. The instruments included the lute, viol, crumhorn, rackett, sackbut (early trombone) and the trumpet. Up until the 16Th century the voices were considered much more important than the instruments, the Renaissance changed that. Composers were more eager to write music for the instruments rather than the voices.

In conclusion the Renaissance brought about many changes to the arts, many in music. The changes made during that era affects us in our era now. Many familiar and not so familiar names are still known today along with many improvements.

Events Leading to the Reformation

2008-12-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

Their were three main causes for the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation. The fallen Church, Martin Luther's teachings and influence, and the building of Saint Peters by the purchase of indulgences all led to Reformation. These three causes greatly affected the Catholic Church and will be visited in this post.

The fallen Church played a huge role in the eruption of the Reformation. The Church had fallen in many aspects, one was the area of corruption. They were selling Church positions to whoever would pay the most, even to Popes. You could buy your family member out of Purgatory, pay to see Holy relics, or buy a statue of your favorite saint. The focus was taken off God and was put on taking people's money. The focus for most Priests or Popes was their social status.

Martin Luther was the most well known "leader" of the Reformation. He was a priest within a monastery who definitely doubted his faith. He was sent to Rome to be in the Holy city and this is where he sees all of the problems within the Catholic Church. Pope Julius was ruling during Luther's journey. Luther sees how corrupted the Church is and is sent to the University of Wittenburg to be a priest and a Professor, as well as a student in order to receive his Doctorate in Theology. Prince Frederick of Saxony was the Patron of the University and did not like Luther's teachings on the problems with the Church. Martin Luther soon posts his 95 theses on the door of the Church after he finds out about the works of the new pope.
He is definitely one of the most remembered of his time.(Booth, Chapter 2;24-55)

The new pope is Pope Leo X. He is from a very wealthy family who built Florence. Pope Leo has a huge goal that he must reach. He wants to build one of the biggest, if not the most ornate, churches known to man. St. Peters was to be built and funded by the selling of indulgences. Indulgences were bought so that the consumer would be rid of past, present, and future sins. A passport to heaven was a hot item back then and people believed the sellers, mainly Letsul. This is the third and final main reason for the outburst of the Protestant reformation.
(Thopson, 55-56)

In conclusion the fallen Church, Martin Luther's teachings and influence, and the building of Saint Peters by the purchase of indulgences all led to Reformation. These three influences' forever changed the Church. Martin Luther is one of the most remembered men of his time, if not all times.

Thompson, Stephen, ed. The Reformation. New York: Greenhaven P, Incorporated, 1999.

Booth, Edwin. Martin Luther : The Courage to Seek. Grand Rapids: Barbour, Incorporated, 2004.

Louis XIV

2008-11-22T21:07:00.001-08:00

Louis XIV of France is a very interesting man. He is known as the sun king and took to his thrown at the age of four. He ruled France and Navarre for many years, the longest European rule known. He ruled for 72 years, 3 months, and 18 days.

During his extremely long reign he established a court at Versailles, and brought absolute monarchy to its height in Europe. He was also known for fighting most of the other European contries in only four wars. At the begging of his rule the empire was led mainly by the chief minister Cardinal Mazarin. Louis was too young to rule by himself so the chief minister led the empire with the four year old at his side.

The middle of his rule he led by himself, effectively and without trouble. His last years, though were full of problems. The nick name "Sun King", came from a role he led on stage in Versailles. Versailles was one of his greatest achievements, and was even open to the public most of the week.

King Louis was also know for the building and blossoming of the theatre, music, architecture, painting, sculpture, and all the sciences. All of these accomplishments were shown on the cieling of the Hall of Mirrors. What an exremely effective man!

In conclusion, Louis XIV had many things to show for his extremly long reign. He showed his side of the arts and how talented he was. He also fought many wars and was also effective in the area of military.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001

The Real Story of Saint Nicholas

2008-11-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

Many people have grown to learn that Santa Claus is not real, but what they do not realize that "Good ol' Saint Nick" was a real man. Saint Nicholas was born during the third century, in a Greek city known as Patara. Which now lies on the coast of Turkey. He was raised a Christian by his parents who died when he was still a child. Nicholas followed Jesus' teachings and gave all of his inheritance to those who needed it. He gave all that he owned.

Saint Nicholas became the Bishop of Myra and dedicated all of his life to serving God. Bishop Nicholas was known all over for his love for children, being generous to all who need, and his concern for ships and sailors. Nicholas was alive during the rule of Diocletian, the Roman Empire, and for being a Christian was punished. He was exiled and sent to prison.

These prison were so full of the clergy and the church workers that there was absolutely no room for the actual criminals. He was released from the prisons and soon attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Less than twenty years later Saint Nicholas died in Myra on December 6, 343 A.D. He was buried in his church. December 6Th is known as Saint Nicholas Day and is a day of celebration.

Many can see the resemblance of this real Saint, and the made up character during Christmas season. One can see how the love of children turned into the giving of toys and how much care was given to all. It is interesting to learn how such a great Saint was turned into a mythological man.

In conclusion, Saint Nicholas was an extraordinary man. He followed the teachings of Jesus and gave all he owned to those in need. His death is still remembered today and he is a very well looked up to man. I can see why, however it happened, his life turned into a fairytale man who gives toys to kids for Christmas.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

The Bubonic Plague

2008-11-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

During the Ancient and Medieval world plague was one of the most feared diseases. The biggest epidemic of the Bubonic Plague was during the 1300's in France, England, Germany, and Italy. One out of every three people were killed. People back then did not know how it was spread which, in turn was a contributing factor to the rate at which it spread.

The Bubonic Plague first began with aching limbs, and vomiting of blood. Then the lymph nodes would begin to swell, found within your armpits, neck, and groin. The lymph nodes would swell for three to four more days until they burst. How quick the disease spread, the excruciating pain, and the awful appearances of the people, all made the plague even worse.

The plague was also known as the "Black Death" because the skin of the infected people would turn a dark gray color. It began in China’s Gobi Desert, and it killed about 35 million people living there. When sailors traveled to Asia infected rats returned with them and were back inside Europe. Fleas living on the infected blood would then carry it to the European people.

Merchant ships traveled from Asia on the Black Sea. They arrived in port at Messina, Italy. The disease spread as far as England within a year. The reason it spread so quickly was due to the fact many did not know why it was spreading. The people thought that if they all gathered together to pray they would find healing. They were in fact completely wrong.

By being so close to each other for so many amounts of time the disease spread much more rapidly. If people had avoided contact with each other the death count would have been much lower. Now we have a cure but death still exist due to the Bubonic Plague.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Tudor Dynasty

2008-11-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Tudor Dynasty occurred in England from around 1485-1603. Many people know this dynasty by two very important monarchs who were members of the Tudor Dynasty. Both King Henry VII and his daughter Elizabeth I played a key role within this dynasty. During the Tudor Dynasty, England survived a great number of economic, religious, social, and political reforms that drastically changed the country and the people.

The founder of the Tudor Dynasty was Henry VII, who reigned from 1485-1509. In 1485 a great civil war within England took place titled the War of the Roses. Henry Tudor took the crown away from Richard III and then married Elizabeth of Your, establishing the Tudor Dynasty.

Henry VII was succeeded by his son Henry the VIII, who reigned from 1509-1547. Henry the VIII was a significant figure in History and certainly made his mark. He is commonly known for having many wives and killing them, along with proclaiming himself the Head of the Church of England. Henry VIII was followed by his son Edward VI in 1547, who ruled until 1553. He was a very young hing who didn't hold the thrown for long.

Lady Jane Grey held the thrown for a very short while and was soon followed by Mary I. Mary I is more commonly known as "Bloody Mary" and was the daughter of Henry VIII. She reigned from 1553 to 1558. Her main goal during her reign was to reestablish a Catholic England, which was newly a protestant country. This failed miserably.

Elizabeth I followed her sister in ruling the Dynasty from 1558-1603. During her reign many great changes occurred in England. They became an economic power and prospered commercially. Her 44 year reign led England to be a great naval power and trade was booming. After the death of Elizabeth the Tudor Dynasty ended and the Stuart Monarch began.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Failures of the Crusades

2008-10-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest failures of the Crusades was very obvious in my opinion. If you have to recapture a city, or try to, shoots up a giant warning of failures to come. After the First Crusade, the Second Crusade began to recapture the city of Edessa. This is just one of the failures shown throughout the Crusades.

The Second Crusade began to recapture the city of Edessa in 1147. It was called for by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and led by two kings. Louis VII, King of France, and Conrad III, the German Emperor, led this crusade. They so poorly managed this crusade that nothing at all was accomplished.

During the Third Crusade Saladin, the Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem. This led to the German Emperor Frederick I, called "Barbarossa" {Red Beard}; Philip Augustus, King of France; and King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England to become leaders of the Third Crusade. This Crusade also ended in failure.

So I guess one could say another event that showed the failures was the fact that more than one crusade was needed. The First Crusade was the only Crusade that actually succeeded. After that there were only failures and this led to even more failures and many more deaths.

In conclusion, one of the biggest events, that led to failures, was the fact that they had recapture city's so many times. After the First Crusade failures were unstoppable. Nothing truly was accomplished after this and many lives were lost.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the Second Crusade

2008-10-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was born in the year 1090 and died August 20 1153. He was a French monk during the Crusades who's father was a knight and his mother was a daughter of nobility. Bernard sought to reform Cistercian monastic order.

Saint Bernard was the main force for the Second Crusade. He was a Cistercian monk who had a great passion for the Second Crusade which was ultimately a failure. In 1115 he founded a new Cistercian Abbey at Clairvaux, which at its largest, had 700 monks. 68 other houses had become due to this Abbey at Clairvaux.

Bernard preached of the Second Crusade and many, thousands, of men became crusaders. Due to the loss of Edessa, to the Muslims, Bernard was very enthusiastic about the Second Crusade. His enthusiasm caught on and for the first time western Monarchs, including King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany came to the east to see for themselves.

King Louis and King Conrad led the Second Crusade after hearing of Saint Bernard. Nothing was accomplished in this Crusade although many still went on into Asia Minor. Although nothing was achieved during this Crusade, many things came from Saint Bernard's success.

Saint Bernard died August 20, 1153, in Clairvaux, Champagne, France. He was a remarkable speaker and a very driven Monk. The Second Crusade was mainly a result of his perseverance. Saint Bernard made a great impact upon Cistercian Monasticism.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

The First Crusade

2008-09-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

The First Crusade was first launched by Pope Urban in 1096 when Alexius called on him for help. The Crusade was created in order to regain Jerusalem from the infidels, or the Muslims, who had captured it from the Eastern Christians. The idea was to free the Eastern Christians from Islamic rule, but it turned into much more.

In 1095 Pope Urban made a very convincing speech at Clermont, France. He urged the common people to join them in theCrusade and to fight to regain their holy city. He obviously made a very convincing speech because almost everyone left for the crusade right away. One of the reasons for this was that the Pope told them that they would be given immunization for any past, present, and future sins if they fought for the Lord.

One issue came into play. The Crusaders were killing people who they thought were the infidel but really Christians whop spoke different language. They stopped in Nicaea and decided they were going to try to capture it. This presented a problem. Some of the Crusaders went off on their own and ended up getting themselves killed. Most of the commoners were killed in this part of the Crusade and one would think the crusade was over but not yet.

After this people's part of the Crusade the knights were finally arriving. These Crusaders had 3 main goals, the first was to conquer Nicaea, the next was to conquer Antioch, and last was their final and most important goal, Jerusalem. Nicaea fell easily to the Crusaders, but what was ahead took a lot longer to accomplish. Antioch took seven months to fall, but the next target was what was going to take the longest of all.

They finally reached Jerusalem,and the attack began in the summer of 1099. Jerusalem was very well defended by very tall walls and fortresses. They Crusaders were short many materials, but when the materials arrived they were very ready to siege the city. Some of the crusaders got inside the city and let the rest of them in. They killed whoever they wished and the Muslims that were spared had to dispose of the dead bodies because of the smell. The Muslims later claimed that 70'000 were killed and the Crusaders took whatever they pleased from the Dome of the Rock.

In conclusion ,the First crusade was successful in regaining Jerusalem from the Muslims. They created the kingdom of Jerusalem and the first King they crowned was
Godfrey of Bouillon. He passed away in 1100 and his brother succeeded him. This gain led the Crusaders to want more and that led to many more crusades in the future, but this crusade was very successful.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

William the Conqueror

2008-09-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

William 1 of England (better known as William the Conqueror) led a very interesting life. He was born the only son of Robert 1, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva of Falaise. He was an illegitimate son due to the fact that his parents were never married. He was also known as William the Bastard due to the fact that his parents were never married. When his father passed, William inherited his father's name but none of his riches because he was and illegitimate son.

William was born 1028 in Falaise. William was given the title of Duke of Normady in 1035 at the very young age of 7 years. In 1052 William married Matlida of Flanders. They had 10 children together, 6 daughters and 4 sons.

In 1066 many important events occured. In the spring of 1066 the Normans went to Rome to ask for papal support during the Norman invasion. In July William prepares his fleet and in september the invasion begins against King Harold of the Saxons. During September and October many fights occur during the Norman invasion. On December 25 William is finally crowned king of england in the Westminster Abbey in London.(Guy, 25)

On September 19, 1087, 21 years after he was crowned King of England, William died in France. His reign was magnificent and glorious. Even though he was not able to inherit his fathers riches he still became very rich and was a great leader. "William of Normandy conquered England with warriors from all over Northern France." (Mc Kitterick, 122)

In conclusion, King William conquered King Harold of the Saxons, and many other groups. He was eventually crowned king of England and was a great leader. He was a good husband and a great leader. He got far in his career and even though he was an
illegitimate son he was a great leader.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

No blog

2008-09-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

There is no blog this week

Charlemagne

2008-08-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Charlemagne was born in 742 into a already imperial family. His father was Pepin the Short who at the time was a great controller of most of the European land. His brother also controlled a large chunk of land. With the death of both his family members Charlemagne was left a large land to rule. This is how we came to know him as emperor. "The empire created by Charlemagne extended over most of what is not regarded as western Europe."(McKitterick 38)

Charlemagne begins his imperial role with many accomplishments. In 722 Charlemagne begins many conquests against the Saxons. This drags on for a little more than 30 years, and finally thirty years later the were conquered. In 774 he conquers the Lombards of Italy.

In 778 Charlemagne moves into attack Pamplona through Spain.
In 782 Charlemagne was attacked by the Saxons in a surprise attempt against his men. In response Charlemagne killed 4'500 Saxon prisoners. In 800 A.D. a "first time in history" moment occurs.

Pope Leo crowns Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, this is the only time in papal history where a pope bows to a king that's not Jesus. In 802 Charlemagne establishes his court at Aachen and attempts to create a non-discriminate school for students in his empire. The problem with this is the fact that his empire was far to large. His dream was never accomplished. (Guy 8)

The Byzantine empire began with Charlemagne and he ruled for a total of 13 years. He had such an amazing empire thanks to the help of his father and brother. He accomplished many things and attacked and conquered territories. Charlemagne was truly one of the greats.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Justinian I

2008-08-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

Justinian was emperor from 527 A.D. until he died. The time period of his rule is known as the golden age of Byzantium. He was a ruthless ruler and was known for doing whatever it took for him to succeed. During his rule the plague struck his empire and his body.

Justinian I was born in Tauresium in Illyria 482 A.D. He was born a Slavic peasant and the nephew of Justin I. Justinian studied in Byzantium and when his uncle died he was crowned the new emperor of Byzantium along with his wife Theodora.

During his rule he accomplished the Byzantine Reconquest. This was due to the fact that in 532 A.D. he made peace with Khusrho of the Sassanids. This allowed him to to take back Italy from the Ostrogoths, Africa from the Vandals, and Spain from the Visigoths. After he passed the land he had reconquered was slowly lost to invaders.

Another great accomplishment during his reign was the building of the Hagia Sophia. This magnificent church was built in Byzantium and means Church of the Holy wisdom. It is dome structured but far taller and wider then the dome shaped buildings during this time. This is clearly one of the most beautiful churches of the time period.(Hallam 82)

During Justinian's time period the first introduction to the bubonic plague. This is one of the most deadliest types of plagues, known to kill 40 to 70 percent of its victims. Not only did the plague strike them but so did earthquakes and floods. Justinian's great empire came crumbling down due to these three disasters.(Guy 19)

Justinian is most interesting to me because he dealt with so many things. He dealt with the plague and many destruction's to his empire. He was so interesting in the way that he dealt with things so extremely. He was a very extreme leader and many will remember him in years to come.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Hallam, Henry. The Middle Ages:History of Europe. New York: Colonial press, 1900.

Class Evaluation-9th History

2008-05-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

My overall impression of the class this year was good. I enjoyed the movies that we watched and how we took time to understand the materials provided. There would only be one thing that I think did not work. Other than that I learned a lot.

I really enjoyed how the movies we watched that corresponded with what we were learning in the book. One thing that sometimes confused me is when we would be watching a movie but in the book we were learning something else. Sometimes this would confuse me when it came to quizzes and tests. Other than that the movies really enforced what we were learning, it was nice to get information besides just what the text book supplies.

I also enjoyed how this year we took time to understand what we were going to be quizzed on. This really helped me when it came to quizzes. This was a change that began during the middle of the year and I think it really helped me. After being told what to study I could really understand what concepts i needed to grasp.

One thing that I think did not work was towards the beginning of the year. We weren't told when quizzes were going to be and what we were to study. It seemed very unorganized and all were confused. This is the only thing that I think did not work.

In conclusion, Many things in the class worked. The fact that we watched movies to reinforce what we learned was really good and so was quiz and test preparation. One thing that did not work was the un organization. This was my overall impression of the class.

Islam and Christianity

2008-05-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

The religions of Christianity and Islam have many things in common and many differences. The belief in only one God is the largest aspect that they have in common. One huge difference is the fact that they view Mohammad as just a prophet and also Jesus. As Christians we believe that Jesus is not just a prophet, he is part of the trinity, he is divine. These main points will be visited later on in this essay. (Wilkinson 13)

The biggest similarity between the two religions is that they are monotheistic. They both have a belief in one God. As Christians we believe in God as Yahweh and Muslims believe in Allah. They believe that Allah is the only supreme God as we view our God. They believe that one is to surrender all things to God and much more. We as Christians believe the same. Both religions believe in the creation of all things by God and believe in the power of prayer.

The biggest difference is the viewing of Jesus. We as Christians believe that Jesus was a prophet but also much more. We believe he is "God in a bod". He is part of the Trinity. We believe that God sent his son Jesus to come and give us the word of God. With Islam they believe that Jesus was just a prophet bringing Allah's message. They don't believe that he is the Messiah or that he is part of the Trinity. This is one of the biggest differences between the two religions.(Gordon 15)

Another difference between the two religions is the viewing of War. No where in the Bible does it say that we as followers of Christ should slaughter people because they do not believe in what we believe. We are told to show them the love of God and show the Character of Christ through us. Muslims believe in Jihad. Jihadis believed to mean, "Struggle in the way of God." Or it is also known as holy war. If one looks at 9-11 they can see the difference.

In conclusion, we have view to of the worlds largest religions. They are both very similar and very different in many ways. We have viewed these two religions with their similarities and differences. The biggest similarity would have to be the fact that they are both Monotheistic religions. The biggest difference is the viewing of Jesus.

Gordon, Matthew S. Islam:World Religions. New York: Facts on File Inc, 1991.

Wilkinson, Philip. Islam. New York: DK, 2002

Muslim Conquest of Byzantium

2008-05-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Byzantines were one of the first peoples to feel the wrath of the Arabs. The Battle of Yarmuk is one of the most well known battles where the Arabs defeat the Byzantines. The Muslims take over the Byzantines and establish a new Dynasty. (Wilkinson 22)

The Byzantine Empire was established with the center being Constantinople. The Byzantines began to worry because the Turks had just become Muslim. They did not want the Islamic religion to overpower the Christian religion. This is the beginning of the Crusades.

In 639 the Muslim army conquered part of Byzantium. They conquered Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. The Byzantines though, were able to keep Constantinople safe when the Muslims tried to capture it.(Gordon 46-47)

The Muslims conquered the Byzantines. They used their knowledge and their might. At the time they may have been the only superpower. Within a forty year time period the Muslims had the birth of their faith and became a superpower. This is amazing.

In conclusion, the Muslims wanted to take over Byzantium and change the religion from Christianity to Islam. The Byzantines became afraid of the Turks because they had recently became a Islamic nation. This is how the Crusades began. Crusades means "wars of the cross"

Gordon, Matthew S. Islam:World Religions. New York: Facts on File Inc, 1991.

Wilkinson, Philip. Islam. New York: DK, 2002

Two Sects of Islam

2008-05-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

There are two main sects of Islamic beliefs. One is the Sunni and the other is the Shi'a. These two sects make up the Islamic culture. The branch of Sunni Islam is the largest sect in most countries, but in some it is the minority.The split between the Shi'a and the Sunni Muslims is mainly over Caliphs.

When Muhammed died in 632 he left no clear successor. When this was known the Muslims came together to elect a leader, this is called a Caliph. The Caliph was the head of the Muslim throughout the world. They were to lead the army and gave authority to Muslim leaders. Caliph means "successor." (Gordon 32)

They elected Abu Bakr, Mohammed's father in law. Many thought that the next successor should be 'Ali, Mohammed's cousin, who married Fatima, Mohammed's daughter. Those who followed 'Ali were known as the Shi'a Muslims. In 656 'Ali ruled as Caliph, but the Muslims were still separated when it came to how a Caliph should be chosen. Sunni Muslims believe that they should be chosen by election. Shi'a Muslims believed that the Caliphs should be of the 'Ali of Fatima bloodline. (Wilkinson 20)

Now lets understand what the Shiites are all about. The Shi'a Muslims are a sect of Muslims who were the supporters of 'Ali. They wanted many Arabs to be followers too. One thing that many do not know is that Shi'a sect revolts only against the upper Arab class, not all Arabs in general.

The Sunni Muslims are the largest sect of Muslims. They are the followers of Abu Bak'r. Sunni means the "way" or the "example" referring to the example of Mohammad. Abu Bak'r was one of the first to embrace Islam so he is highly revered.

Gordon, Matthew S. Islam:World Religions. New York: Facts on File Inc, 1991.

Wilkinson, Philip. Islam. New York: DK, 2002

Five Pillars of Islam

2008-04-23T15:36:00.001-07:00

The Muslim life is framed by the Five Pillars of Islam. They consist of obviously five key parts to their religion. The first is testimony of faith, second prayer, giving to the needy, fasting, and a pilgrimage. Some of these things are done on a daily basis, some monthly, some annually, and one is to be completed only once during a persons lifetime.Source 1

The first Pillar of Islam is called Shahadah. It is the worship of Allah(god)alone.
"There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." This is the declaration of the faith that the Muslims speak. It is stating that the only purpose in life is to serve and obey Allah. This is achieved by reading the teachings of Muhammed. (Wilkinson, 12)

The second Pillar of Islam is called the Salah. This is the worship of five times a day to Allah. The prayers are prayed at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and nightfall. These prayers are spoken in Arabic and contain many scriptures from the Qur'an. Each prayer is done facing Mecca and the Ka'bah. Source 2 (Gordon, 74)

The third Pillar of Islam is called Zakah. This is the action of giving regularly to the poor. The cutting back of a persons wealth is encouraging in new growth and it balances. Each person calculates their owns Zakah. It is a fortieth of a person's wealth. This includes everything except professional tools and automobiles. Source 2

The fourth Pillar of Islam is called Sawm. This is the fasting during the month of Ramadan for thirty days. During this month all Muslims fast from drink, food, and from sexual relations with their spouses. This is a time for self purification. If someone has to many health problems during this month they can make up the days that they break the fast later in the year if their health allows them to.

The fifth and final Pillar of Islam is called Hajj. The hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a Muslim's lifetime. The pilgrimage is to the Ka'bah and other place including the hills of Safa and Marwa, then Arafa. "The rites of the Hajj include circling the Kaaba seven times and going seven times between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa, as Hagar did during her search for water. Then the pilgrims stand together in Arafa5 and ask God for what they wish and for His forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Day of Judgment."

Gordon, Matthew S. Islam:World Religions. New York: Facts on File Inc, 1991.

Wilkinson, Philip. Islam. New York: DK, 2002

Fall of Rome with an insight on Gibbon

2008-03-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

Rome fell for many reasons. Each one had something to do with each other. Much later in time a man named Edward Gibbon stated his opinion on the topic. In this essay we will cover the many reasons for the fall of Rome and see if Gibbon was correct with his assumptions.

The first reason was the decline in the moral values and the second is the public health. With a decline in the moral values in the citizens they could not keep the Roman legions together and the empire was hard to keep control toward the end. The public health was also declining. Disease was more and more prone to spread, through all the gladiatorial games and the wealthy was also dying due to the led pipes containing their water supply.

The third and forth reasons for the fall of Rome is the Political corruption and the unemployment of many of the citizens. Without a smooth system of choosing a new emperor the city went through turmoil. Many emperors were assassinated which also weakened the empire. With the unemployment in the city, crime went up tremendously. With people loosing their farms more and more ended up on the streets.Source

The last reason that some state for the fall of Rome is the spreading of Christianity. This is the reason Gibbon states for the fall. Many believe that the Romans were made into pacifists and made it harder for the city to attack against barbarians. Also many believe that the money used to build churches could have been used to fund the empire. But the true final reason for the fall of Rome still remains. (Barnett 77)

The true final end to the Roman empire was the when the Romans troops were pulled from defending from the Germans and was told to fight a civil war in Italy. Gradually the Germans began to take over the city. Then in 476 A. D. General form Germany Odovacar took over the empire by getting rid of the last Roman Emperor, Augustulus Romulus. Then Rome no longer existed. (Hadas 146)

Now we have exposed the true reasons for the fall of Rome. Christianity as said by Gibbon was the leading cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. I believe that it was because of the final capture by the Germans. They could see that the country was weakening and the ceased the opportunity. Sadly Rome did fall and the great city of Italy came to a bitter end.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: The Archaeology and Mythology of AncientPeoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

Roman Roads

2008-03-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

The Roman roads were built for very specific reasons. One reason was for army's behalf. The other reason was for the fact of speed and trade. These roads help advance the Roman culture far ahead of its time.

The Roman army had a hard time getting around Britain because of all of the mud and grass tracks. It was a pain for the army to travel in this matter especially when the roads went in ways no one could figure out. It took a lot of extra time to follow the paths laid out by the British. This is one of the reasons for the building of the Roman roads. (Hadas 56)

Another reason for the building of the roads was the fact that trade and easy moving about the country wasn't so easy. Trade took a lot more time than it should have and
the emperor was greatly affected by speed as well. More trade and the faster it went the more taxing the emperor could do. This was very important to the emperor.

The Roman roads were built in a certain way too, like the way our roads are built only a little bit more old fashioned. There was a ditch for drainage and the roads were tri leveled. The first level was large stones or tiles, the second level was small stones, and the top level was gravel or cobbles. Over the tri leveled road was a curved surface called a camber. The large stones provide support for the travelers and the curved arch of the road helped with drainage. The small stones provided a hard enough surface for the travelers above and all of their belongings.Source

In conclusion the Roman roads had two main purposes. The helped with trade but more importantly the helped with the transporting of the Roman soldiers. These roads paved the way for the roads of our time. (Barnett 89)

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: The Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient
Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

Daily Life in Ancient Rome

2008-02-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

The Romans had a life like ours. They ate food and wore clothes. They lived in houses and had ceremonies. The Romans had a society and a government much like ours. In this essay we will visit the daily life of ancient Rome.

First we will start with the living conditions of Rome. The Romans lived in homes the stretched from the smallest apartment to the biggest mansion. There was a home called a domus which is like a town home. This was a single family home built around a big hall. The size of the home showed others how wealthy or not the owners were. The bigger homes would have a living room, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and a reception room. The even wealthier would have a bathtub or a library. There were also apartments. These apartment would reach a few floors off the ground. These came around in the 1st century B.C. There were more apartments then town homes and the apartments stayed the main type of home for Romans until the end of the century.

Next we have the Romans style of clothing. There are three different types of clothing that we will observe today. The men's clothing, women's clothing, and shoes. The toga is what the men usually wore. It was an expensive piece of clothing that was worn especially in public places. The women of Rome wore what are called tunics. The women wore makeup and did their hair how they pleased. As for children they wore miniature clothing of what the adults wore. The shoes of the Romans were different styles of leather shoes. Sandals and boots were worn as well.

There were two types of very important Roman ceremonies. They were the naming of a baby and marriage. The naming of a baby was very important to the Romans. This was the day where they could hand down a name that was in their family to their child. This was a very joyous ceremony. Marriage was another very important ceremony. The man and woman had to be Roman citizens to wed and they had to make their marriage known in order for the children to be legalized.

The Romans had a very well balanced diet. The meals for most Romans was centered around, grain, oil, and wine. If you were richer than you ate better. Fish and oysters were on a high demand. The Romans obviously loved wine but when they drank it they watered it down and heated it. They also put spice in it.

In conclusion the Romans led a life like ours. They just didn't have a lot of the modern conveniences like we do. Our daily life is a lot like the Romans daily life.

Roman Art and Architecture

2008-02-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

The Roman art and architecture was derived from two different types of people during their time. The art was derived mostly from the Etruscans, a people in Rome before them. The Architecture was derived mostly from the Greeks, but they put their own twist on it. These two different races helped develope the Romans art and architecture in many different ways. (Hadas 11)

Roman Art was originally derived from the Etruscans. The first Roman art looks alot like the Etruscans and partly the Greeks. Around 500 B.C. is when we start to see the Romans art start to look like its own type. There are many famous Roman Artists known to us today. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and Giotto di Bondone. The Artists help Roman art flourish.

The Romans truely believed that a statue should look like the real person. This is called portraiture. The Greeks were more interested in the idealistic perspective of the statue. The Romans liked to keep it realistic. They also liked to keep a sculpture of the head of a person after they died. They thought it would keep whoever the person was happy, that way the dead would not haunt you.

The Roman architecture is what has given Rome the most fame. The three very important things that the Romans brought to the Architectural world is the baked brick, use of cement and concrete, and also the arch. The Romans were taught most of their Architecture from the Etruscans. During the Republican period temples and aquaducts were built, along with sewers and basilicas. Ampitheaters were also built.
Some of the most famous pieces of Architecture made by the Romans still exist today. This includes the Colloseum, Pantheon, Arch of Titus, and later the Arch of Constantine. (Barnett 100)

In conclusion the Romans are very famous for many pieces of art and architecture. Their time brought us some of the greatest artists including Michelangelo and Leinardo di Vinci. They also brought us some of the greatest pieces of Architecture our world has ever seen. Including the Pantheon and the Coloseum. These pieces truely define Rome.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient

Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

The Importance of Caesar Augustus

2008-02-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

The date was the 23 of September in 63 B.C. and one of the most legendary emperors of Rome was born. His name was Octavian. He ruled form 23 B.C. to 14 A.D. He was adopted by his uncle Julius Caesar but his father's real name was Gaius Octavias and his mothers name was Atia. He had a daughter, 3 sons and two wives. All three sons were adopted. His wives were named Scribonia and Livia. His daughter was with Scribonia. The three sons were adopted with Livia.

Octavian was chosen to be the heir to the throne by his uncle Julius Caesar. Augustus began his ruling when the first triumvarate came to an end. After Crassus died and Julius Caesar was murdered and the death of Pompey brought the end of the first triumvurate. The second triumvirate was formed with Octavian,whose name was later changed to Augustus, Lepitus and Mark Antony.

With the death of Marc Antony, Agustus became the one and only ruler of the Rome. The first thing that he accomplished was letting soldiers return to their lands until needed. He also accomplished the building of public bridges and roads, along with public baths and government buildings. The civil wars during this time were also ended by him. He also brought a time of peace for Rome which was called the Pax Romana.

Octavian was later named Agustus. Agustus means respected one. Many Romans treated him like a god.

Agusustus was a well respected leader, the first sole emperor of Rome. He made many great improvements of Rome and the lives of Romans. He has created a great legacy for himself to be remembered forever.

Government of Rome

2008-01-31T18:55:00.001-08:00

Rome began by the annihilation of the Etruscans. When Rome began it started as a Republic between 500 B.C. and 1500 A.D the system was unchanged except for some minor changes. The Roman republic was first set up in 500 B.C.

The Roman republic was originally set ip to have two consuls that were in charge of the army and making laws. The consuls were given advice from the Senate which was made up of only rich men. The consuls could veto anything that the Senate said but the two consuls had to both agree on something before it could be passed. In the end the consuls usually listened to what the Senate said. After the two men were consuls they usually end up being part of the senate.

Later in the Republic around 146 B.C. the republic started to fall apart. The Romans realized that they could no longer rely on the senate to run the empire. The Romans looked forward to their next general to see what he could accomplish.

Instead of just one man, three men formed what is called a triumvirate. These three men were Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caeser. Pompey and Crassus fade and Caeser had an affair with Cleopatra. This then leads up to his murder.

After this the second triumvirate came into play. This consisted of Octavian, Caeser's nephew, Ledipus, and Mark Antony. Ledipus was eventually forced out of power and Octavian and Antony got into a civil war. Octavian won and Mark Antony commited suicide. (Hadas 44)(Barnett 14-15)

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

(p.s. Mr. Lockwood, for some reason the titles of my book sources would not underline and the spell check was not working so if i missed some spelling i apologize.)

Aeneid vs Odyssey

2008-01-26T17:35:00.000-08:00

The Greeks and the Romans produced two very well known poets. Virgil was a very famous Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid. The Aeneid is one of the very well known foundational myths of Rome. Virgil was born on October 15, 70 B.C. Homer was a very well known greek poet who is mostly known for his well known epic poems the Iliad and the Odessey. These two epics were to have been taught to children in Greece during the time of Homer and they are still being taught today in America. (Barnett 19)

The Odessey is an Epic poem written by Homer to tell the story of a famous war hero. After the great Trojan War the great war hero Odysseus travels back to his home Island of Ithica to meet his wife Penelope. With a mistake on Odysseus part the god of the sea Poseidon unleashes his fury on Odysseus. The goddess Athena will not allow Poseidon to kill Odysseus, therefore, Odysseus must face terroble trials in order to reach his home land. (Hadas 14)

The Aeneid was written by Virgil around 19 B.C. The story of Aeneas starts off with our main character Aeneas traveling away from his homeland to start a new empire because his homeland was being taken over. The goddess Juno stirs up the seas so that Aeneas looses his men but is then reunited. He and his men end up on the shores of Carthage. There Aeneas meats Queen Dido and fall in love but has to leave her. Carthage soon hate Aeneas for leaving their Queen. Aeneas must go to the underworld and there he meets many that he knows. The Aeneid is basicly showing the seven years Aeneas spend finding his new home after the Trojan War. The gods send him on a wild goose chase to found Rome, his new empire.

The Aeneid and the Odyssey have many things in common and many things that are different. One major sililarity is that both Odesseus and Aeneas both have to leave and go face trials to get to what they want. They both are led by the gods with help and with hatred.

The difference in the two poems is that Aeneas has to leave his home to find another. Odysseus has to leave where he is to get home. Another difference is that the gods in the Odyssey are Greek and the gods in the Aeneid are Roman. These differences make the two stories very different.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

Roman Foundation Myths

2008-01-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

There are two myths that tell of the foundation of Ancient Rome. These two myths include the myth of Romulus and Remus, the twin boys raised by a wolf, and the myth of Aeneas, son of the goddess Aphrodite. These two myths show the founding of Rome in two very different ways. ( Barnett 28)

The myth of Aeneas is about how a young man begins the founding of Rome. Aeneas was born to a very attractive man named Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father, Anchises, can trace his ancestors back to the son of Zeus, Dardanus. (Marks and Tingay 5)

The legend begins with the Greeks laying siege to Troy and killed almost all of the people in the city. One prince of Troy escaped by boat and sailed all the way to Italy. His name was Aeneas. Aeneas landed on the west coast of Italy at Laurentum. The king of the Latins, Latinus, had a daughter named Lavinia. Aeneas and Latinus formed an alliance and Aeneas married Lavinia. Aeneas and his wife Lavinia had a son named Ascanius. Alba Longa was the city founded by Ascanius. Ascanius was the first of a 400 year rule of kings to follow. This is where Rome was founded. (Marks and Tingay 5)

The second myth of the founding of Rome is the legend of the twin boys named Romulus and Remus. Romulus and Remus are the twin boys that were born to the god Mars and the mortal Rhea Silvia. When the twins were born they were placed in a basket to float down the Tiber River and to die. They were placed there by their great uncle because he did not want them to be a threat to his power. The twins were found by a she-wolf and the wolf raised them.

The she-wolf raised them until one day a shepherd named Faustulus and his wife found the boys. They then raised the twins as if they were their own. Years later when the twins were old enough they decided to found their own city. Romulus and Remus looked to the sky and to the birds. After seeing the signs they saw that Romulus' section of the city would be twice the size of Remus'. The twins quarreled and Remus was either killed by Romulus or just disappeared. Romulus did continue to build up his city, which was named Rome.

In conclusion there are two very different myths about the founding of Rome. One to do with a Trojan Prince and the other to do with wolf raised twin boys. Both of these myths have survived throughout the centuries to be very well known.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Marks, Anthony, and Graham Tingay. The Romans. Usborne. London. 1990.

Philosophy of Epicurus

2007-12-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

Epicurus was born in Samos Greece in 341 B.C. He was born there but lived in Athens for most of his life. Epicurus was the founder of the Epicurean School that he named The Garden. His followers, the Epicureanists, were instructed under rational living."Many aspects of his thought are still highly relevant some twenty-three centuries after they were first taught in his school in Athens..." Source 1 Source 2

Epicurus' main belief is that pleasure is the end of life. By pleasure he meant absence of pain. He believed that pleasure is the soul being freed from confusion and the body being freed from pain. He also taught that self denial, independence, and self control should be at a moderate level. He also believed that no person should take on large and heavy responsibilities or have serios involvement. He believed that the pleasures that are sought out and looked for will endure a life-time. Also, if your life escaped other people's notice than Epicurus praised it.
Source 3 (Nardo 84)

Epicurus also believed that a troubled soul lacks pleasure. Epicurus believed that every pain is evil and ever pleasure is good. Therefore by following Epicurean thought then you will reach a calm and peaceful life. He always taught to avoid the extreme pleasures and that a lasting pleasure will not and will never be a bodily sensation. Source 3

Epicurus went farther into his study of pleasures. He distinguished between "higher" and "lower" pleasures. The higher pleasures included intellectual pleasures, pleasures of intellect. Lower pleasures were those that were bodily pleasures including food, sex, and drink. Source 3 (Nardo 125)

Epicurus sought virtue. He also believed in reason and reasoning our lives. He also believed in prudence and natural science. Source 3

There are two main downfalls of Epicurus. The first one is that the absence of pain is a pleasure in his view. Epicureanism is incomplete in his ethics. How should we rview virtues such as good in societies view, pleasure for others, and justice. Source 3

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004

Biography of Plato

2007-11-23T10:38:00.001-08:00

The great Greek philosopher Plato was born in Athens Greece in 428 B.C. Plato's mother was Pericitone and his father was a named Ariston. Both of his parents came from important families. When Ariston died his mother married again and his step father was very interested in politics.source

Many family members tried to get Plato to join the Athens oligarchy. Plato choose to be a student of Socrates along with his two brothers instead. Socrates, being the type of man that he was, challenged Plato to examine his life. Socrates is all the education that Plato got, and all that he truly needed. source

Plato had many accomplishments including being the founder of the Academy in Athens, he wrote 26 dialogues, one of them being The Republic. When Socrates was executed Plato created the Academy to join other leaders of philosophy He founded his Academy in Athens in 387 B.C. The Academy was devoted to researching science and philosophy. Plato ran the academy for forty years.source (Grant, 93)(Nardo 14)

Plato had great significance. Plato recorded most of what Socrates did and thought and Socrates' discussions. Plato was also the founder of most of the thoughts of today in the areas of politics,logic,psychology, and philosophy. He came up with the theory of forms which some say was one of the most influential ideas of the philosophy of today. Not only did he record Socrates and have great influence on us he also influenced and taught Aristotle. source

In conclusion Plato led an extraordinary life. He was taught by Socrates and influenced the thinkers of today plus he was the teacher of Aristotle. Plato founded an Academy in Athens and researched philosophy and science. Plato died in 347 B.C. and was buried right on the grounds of his Academy.source

Grant, Michael. The Founders of the Western World: A history of Greece and Rome. New York: Macmillan Publishing company, 1991

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004

Plato's Meno

2007-11-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

Plato was born in the 5th century B.C. and was executed in 399 B.C. He was born in what is known as the golden age of Greece. "Socrates wrote nothing because he felt that knowledge was a living, interactive thing." The only writings about Socrates were written by the man that he mentored, Plato, and Xenophon. Socrates was the mentor of Plato and Plato was the mentor of Aristotle, it is kind of interesting how that all plays out. (Class Podcast)(Nardo, 55)

Socrates has many methods that he is known for. He is known for his method of Know Thyself. He also believes that a bad man could never really harm or hurt a good man. He also believes that if you remove ignorance you remove evil. According to Socrates the difference between man and animals is that we have a concious and animals do not. Socrates is always trying to find out more and question more things. He always asks why and this is known as the Socratic method. (Class Podcast)

One of Plato's works is called "Meno". Meno is a diolouge between Meno and Socrates and a few other characters including one of Meno's servants and Anytus. Plato used a diolouge between characters most frequently to format his writings. Meno is about defining virtue. In this diolouge virtue is a result of trial but these men are trying to define it. (Nardo 35) (Class Podcast)

Meno starts off with Meno asking if virtue can be taught and what virtue is. In the first phase of "Meno" Socrates keeps asking for a general definition of virtue. Socrates says that you can't find out if virtue can be taught unless you known the definition. Socrates wants to know the definition and not just examples of virtue.

The second phase of the dialogue starts with the challenge of Meno to Socrates saying that if you dont know what virtue is already then even if you were to look you would not know when you have found it. The second phase of this diologue is where Socrates says that knowing is a kind of remembering. During this phase of Meno we have"reached a new understanding of the nature of knowledge." (source)

The third phase of Meno starts when Socrates agrees to look further into whether virtue can be taught. Socrates explains the way he wants to examine the idea. First they are to determine if virtue is a kind of knowledge. If it is a kind of knowledge we can conclude to say that it can be taught. If it is not a type of knowledge than we can conclude that it can not be taught. (Source)

At the end of "Meno" we can see that none of the questions asked earlier were answered. We never get the answer to whether virtue is knowledge or what virtue is. We do reach the conclusion that knowledge is important. Also that knowledge is explained and supported by true belief. (source)

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004

Kreeft, Peter. What Would Socrates Do?: The History of Moral Thought and Ethics (CD 2, Lecture 3-Being Good and Being Wise:Can Virtue Be Taught). New York, NY: Barnes and Noble, 2004.

Architectural Advances of the Greeks

2007-11-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

There were many different aspects of Greek architecture that set it apart from many others. Take the different types of marvelous columns that illuminate Greece into consideration. Also think of the magnificent building in Greece known as the Parthenon. These aspects advanced the Greek architecture far ahead of its time.

The Archaic Greeks were the people who launched the development of monumental architecture. This was around 550-500 B.C. Different types of architecture were created during this magnificent time period. There were the Greek temples, which truly are the only architecture of Greece that stand in numbers, amphitheatres, and homes.(Nardo, 28)

One major aspect that set apart Greek architecture from all the others is the styles of their columns. There are three major styles of Greek columns, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The Doric is the most plain out of the three styles. It is more sturdy and is used throughout mainland Greece and colonies in Italy. The Ionic style is thinner and more elegant and the top has a scroll like design and is used throughout eastern Greece and the islands. The Corinthian is used the least in the Greek architecture and is usually seen on Roman temples. It is very elaborate and decorated with leaves. An example from the Ionic style is the Erechtheum. An example of the Doric is the Parthenon.

Many of the Greek architectures are still intact. One of them being the Parthenon. The Parthenon was an Athenian temple devoted to the Greek god Athena. It is located on the acropolis in Athens. This temple served as a treasury for Athens along with spiritual aspects. Around 430 B.C. the statue of Athena was taken out of the Parthenon because it was being put to use for Christian purposes. An explosion destroyed the Parthenon's roof on September 26, 1687. (Nardo, 10)

The Parthenon is a great explanation of Greece's architectural achievements. So are the three different types of columns. These advances catapulted Greek architecture ahead of it's time and showed what could be accomplished with stone.

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004

Homer's Influence

2007-10-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Homer was born around 800 B.C. He was born somewhere in Greece, not much is known about him that is exact. He died around 750 B.C. and is best known for being the writer of the Iliad and the Odyssey. His writings had great influences on literature and people in general because of very many reasons. One of them being because literature was studied and Homers writings were some that was very deeply studied. (Nardo 117)

One reason why Homers writings are so influential is because the Greeks thought of his two epics as the highest cultural achievement of the Greeks. These two epics are what we think of as for Greek world view and for Greek values. Everything that occurred in Greek history was compared to his two epics.

Another reason why Homers writings are so influential is because of the way he portrays things within his writings. There are two very important words that are used throughout his writings. Arete and Kleos. Arete is honor reached when you earn it. Kleos is honor that is given to you at birth. Dying without honor or fame is called akleos. Homers writings also portray men and women.

"As portrayed in Homers works, society was male dominated and generally characterized by a competitive spirit, the desire to be recognized as "best" (aristos) and there by to aquire honor and respect.(time')" (Nardo 26)

In conclusion Homers writing was so influential because of the way he portrays honor and people. He is also influential because he led the way for what people think of the Greeks due to his two epics. Homers influence has affected the Greeks in so many ways.

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004

New Kingdom

2007-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

The New Kingdom began with the 18th dynasty in 1550 B.C. The New Kingdom consists of the 18th through 20th dynasty. This Kingdom began with the end of 2nd Intermediate Period. The New Kingdom is commonly known for the leadership of Hatshepsut.(Romer 216)

"About 1675 BC a foreign people called the Hyksos poured into Egypt, overwhelmed the land, and took the throne without a battle. For the next two hundred years Egypt would chafe under Hyksos rulers who pillaged the land and destroyed much of the grandeur of Egypt." (Lasseur 58)

Ahmose became the first king in the New Kingdom. He starts off the 18th dynasty by defeating the Hyksos , reuniting the torn apart Egypt. The 18th dynasty had 13 kings and 1 outstanding Queen. Some of the well known kings are Ahmose 1, Thutmose 3, Amenhotep 3, Akenaten and his wife Nefertiti. This outstanding Queen was named Hatshepsut.

"Hatshepsut was an 18th-dynasty pharaoh who was one of the handful of female rulers in Ancient Egypt. Her reign was the longest of all the female pharaohs, and her funerary temple still stands as a tribute to her incredible rise to power."Source

As this quote says, Hatshepsut was an amazing Pharaoh with extraordinary talents of ruling under incredible pressure. During her reign she accomplished many things including building her own Burial Chamber and many Obelisques. Hatshepsut was the first and only successful woman pharoah.

The first King of the 19th dynasty was Ramasese I. He moved the capital from Thebes to Memphis. There was 7 other Pharoahs after Ramases I dies. Ramases restored numerous monuments and he built himself a beautiful temple. Ramases II, his son, was the most well known king of this dynasty though.

Ramases III was the last great king of the New Kingdom. He was the greatest king of the 20th dynasty as well. He built a temple for himself in a large royal area. The 20th dynasty withheld one of the greatest Pharaohs of all time.

In conclusion, the New Kingdom began after the Hyksos invasion and finished with a marvelous leader. During the New Kingdom the only successful woman Pharaoh rules. The New Kingdom was a very interesting and successful time period of Egyptian History.

Lassieur, Allison. The Ancient Egyptians. San Diego, Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Romer, John. People of the Nile. New York: Crown Publishers, 1982.

The Middle Kingdom

2007-09-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

The Middle Kingdom is the kingdom that follows the First Intermediate Period. One hundred years after the Old kingdom fell the Middle Kingdom arose. During the Middle Kingdom they had 2 different dynasties. Also during the Middle Kingdom, kings accomplished many things including the repairing of irrigation projects and the writing of texts.(Romer 216)

The Middle Kingdom began with the 11th dynasty, when Mentuhotep Nebhepetre II reunited upper and lower Egypt. The great monument of this time was Mentuhotep's mortuary complex. It was built against the mountains of Thebes, the capital of the time. Mentuhotep's mortuary was centered on a terraced temple with pillared porticoes. Mentuhotep ruled for 51 years. During this time he made Egypt a very strong country again but do to some family problems their dynasty fell and a new dynasty began.

During the time of the Middle Kingdom trade picked up by a dramatic incline. Mines that produce gold, and quarries, were now dug up for projects. Another change was the fact that now pyramids were being built like they were during the Old Kingdom. They built them for burial purposes. Many projects were constructed during the Middle Kingdom. Amenemhet built the Wall of the Princes. Senusret I built a 13 fortresses from the Second Cataract up along the Nile to protect them against invaders. (Lassieur 50)

The 12th Dynasty started with Amenemhet I's rule. Amenemhet moved the capital from Thebes to a new city called Itj-tawi. The Climax of the 12th Dynasty was when Sesostris III brought political, economical and cultural climax to the Country.

The Middle Kingdom was the first Kingdom after a very destructive Intermediate Period. It was a very accomplished Kingdom and many things were improved during this time. After the Middle Kingdom came the Second Intermediate Period.

Lassieur, Allison. The Ancient Egyptians. San Diego, Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Romer, John. People of the Nile. New York: Crown Publishers, 1982.

The Old Kingdom

2007-09-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Old Kingdom took place between 2650 and 2150 B.C. There were four dynasties that took place during the Old Kingdom. The biggest events during the Old Kingdom were the making of the Pyramids. The Old Kingdom was the time of the highest point of Egyptian civilization occurs. It is commonly reffered to as the Golden Age of Egypt.(Lassieur, 34)

In total there were four dynasties to exist during the Old Kingdom. The third dynasty was the first dynasty in the Old Kingdom. It took place from 2650-2575 B.C. The rulers of the third dynasty created the amazing step Pyramid at Saqqara. The fourth dynasty,2575-2465, had six rulers. They accomplished a strong centralized government and they also accomplished the pyramids at Giza and Dahshur. The five rulers of the fifth dynasty accomplished pyramids aswell. They also accomplished temples at Abu Sir and Saqqara during 2465-2325 B.C. The last dynasty,2325-2150, during the Old Kingdom was the sixth dynasty. It's four rulers accomplished pyramids at Saqqara.(Romer, 216)

"The Old Kingdom is known as the golden age of the Pyramids because this era saw the construction of the first pyramids ever built."(Lassieur 34) The Old Kingdom was full of the contrusction of many pyramids. Many well known pyramids were built during this time aswell. Some of them are the Great Pyramids at Giza, The Bent Pyramid, and Zosers Monument, which was the first stone pyramid.

"During this remarkable period of 300 years, the Egyptians learned by trial and error to create the massive structures that remaine to this day."

This quote explains how the Egyptians created the pyramids that still stand today.
The Pyramids during the Old Kingdom are the main events that took place during this period of time. The pyramids built during this time also include the pyramids at Saqqara, a pyramid at Abu Sir, and the Meidum Pyramid.

The Old Kingdom is full of architecture wonder. The pyramids are a wonderful way to remember the Old Kingdom by. The reason the Old Kingdom fell is because of drought but the Pyramids trully keep the Pyramids alive.

Lassieur, Allison. The Ancient Egyptians. San Diego, Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Romer, John. People of the Nile. New York: Crown Publishers, 1982.

King Khufu

2007-09-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

Khufu was the second king of the fourth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled during the Old Kingdom. His father was King Senefru, his mother was Queen Hetep-Heres 1. He was maried to Maritates, and Henutsen, and two unknown Queens. Khufu was the father of six sons and three daughters. He was also known and Cheops. (Clayton, 42) (Stalcup 118)

Khufu's father, King Senefru was remembered as a gentle and beneficient person and ruler. Khufu was seen to be more cruel and violent. He was said to like to listen to mystical stories and enjoyed magic. Khufu's father also built pyramids so Khufu had the joy and benefit of watching pyramids be built.

Khufu's greatest accomplishment was his Great Pyramid at Giza. It was built around 2560 B.C. There are two other pyramids at Giza, but of them his is the largest and the one with the greatest detail. His Pyramid is now one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This pyramid was said to have taken twenty years to build. When it was built it was 146 Meters tall, but now it is 137 Meters tall. It was covered with stones so it would be smooth. The base was 230.38 Meters in width. The only remaining Ancient Wonder that is still standing today is The Great Pyramid at Giza.

A large discovery was made in the pit of the base of the Great Pyramid. A large ancient wooden boat was found. The boat was found in pieces but since then they restored and now it is reassembled. Also found in the Pyramid was a nine centimeter statue of the great ruler, Khufu.

King Khufu was buried in his Great Pyramid when he died. Khufu was a cruel leader but he changed History in a big way with his pyramid. Many tales were told about Khufu and he was remembered throughout the history of Pharoahs, and will be remembered for his accomplishments.

Clayton, A. Peter. Chronicle of the Pharaohs. New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1994.

Stalcup, Brenda. Ancient Egyptian Civilizations. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, 2001.

Code of Hammurabi

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The Code of Hammurabi was written in 1760 B.C. It was created by Hammurabi, the King of Babylon, to set a standard for a way of living. It is the earliest sets of laws, and one that is preserved the best, of ancient Babylon.

Hammurabi thought that he was chosen by the gods to bring standards to the people he ruled over. He says, in the code, that two gods came to him and told him to bring the law to his people. So, in return, he wrote the Code of Hammurabi. The reason Hammurabi created the laws was because he felt instructed to by the gods. That is the history of the creation of the Code of Hammurabi.

The code consists of 282 laws that cover all the areas of life of that time period. The areas it covered were divided into sections. "The Code of Hammurabi makes a legal distinction between people based on their status as free or not free."(Leick, 186) Also the punishment was given depending on the social class you were in. The Code is written in Semitic language. One of the sections was written on economic problems. It included trade, prices, commerce, and tariffs. Another section was written on the family. It included divorce and marriage. Criminal Law was another section. This included theft and assault. Civil law is the last section and it covers debt and slavery. The two classes that existed were the nobles and the commoners. The nobles were the upper class and the commoners were the lower class. It was also very obvious that men had more privileges than women. One thing that is also seen very common throughout the Code is the use of lex talionis.

Hammurabi wanted his set of laws to be used forever and for justice to be administered under his rules. He says, "To the end of days, forever, may the king who happens to be in the land observe the words of justice which i have inscribed on my stele."(Nemet-Nejat, 226) Hammurabi implicated that this is the way he felt the law should be set up. This is also how he believed wrong doers should be punished. He felt that the whole world should be run like this forever, as he says. These were the first set of written laws so it really did have an effect on the world. Some of the things he includes in the Code are still used in our society. The Code of Hammurabi had a very large effect on the world and History would have been entirely different if he had not written his code.

As one can see the Code of Hammurabi has a very interesting creation. As the first law code ever written down, it contains a great importance. Hammurabi wanted his law code to continue for ever and still today we use some of the concepts throughout the world. Without the Code of Hammurabi the history continuing after it could have changed the world. The Code of Hammurabi has had a great effect on our world.

Leick, Gwendolyn. Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City. England: Penguin Group, 2001.

Nemet-Nejat, Karen. Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 1998.