4th quarter project

As the 2016 presidential election draws near the candidates will begin to come forward on their political ideas and stances on issues. One of the most controversial issues that they will talk about is abortion. Abortion is a very old medical practice, it appears in one of the oldest known medical texts dating between 2737 BC and 2696 BC (Joffe). Obviously abortion is not the only issue that will be a deciding factor for voters, but it is considered “non-negotiable” by many and can greatly affect who someone will support.

In the landmark case Roe v. Wade, 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was legal under any circumstance during the first trimester. This ruling was based on the 14th amendment and was recognized in the Griswold v. Connecticut case. The Roe v. Wade case also set rules for limiting abortion in the second and third trimesters based on state interest (Oyez).

Until the late 60’s to early 70’s abortion was not a major political issue because most people just didn’t talk about it. It was a private matter that should be resolved with your family at home. Even though abortion wasn’t a big political issue until relatively recently, birthcontrol, its older brother, has been a major political issue for over 100 years. The birth control issues date back to 1916 with Margaret Sanger’s birth control clinic and her movement to educate women about birth control. However, her distribution of information about contraceptives was banned under the Comstock Laws (NPR). This eventually led to legal battles and the ruling that it was legal for doctors to talk to patients about birth control.

Since Roe v. Wade people have begun to push back against the ruling. There has been a growing movement for “pro-life”, people wanting to put more limits on abortions or even ban them all together. There has also been a push in the other direction, “pro-choice”, people wanting to restrict abortion less and people who want to make sure the government doesn’t limit abortion even more.

I would say that I am pro-choice, this is America, if a women wants an abortion than she should have access to safe and legal options. Just like with drugs, making something illegal doesn’t mean that it goes away. It just means that women who have no where else to go are at risk for going to jail. It also means that women who want abortions will be forced to either go out of the country, or get an illegal abortion which is much more dangerous than a properly performed medical procedure.

Polls about abortion in the US show that since 1975, on average 26.3% of people think that abortion should be legal under any circumstance, on average 53.6% of people think that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, on average 17.7% of people think that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances, and on average 2.5% of people had no opinion (chart 1+2 and gif 1). They also show that since 1996 the “pro-choice” “pro-life” divide is almost 50/50 (chart 3). Clearly abortion has become a major political issue in the US and there is a lot of data on it. The frequency of the polls has also risen (chart 1 and gif 1). Finally, we see that “the number of restrictions enacted between 2011-2013 was higher than in the entire previous decade” (chart 4)

Chart 1 Gallup poll

Chart 2 Gallup poll

 Chart 3 Gallup poll

Chart 4 Guttmacher.org 

Gif 1 (data from chart 1)

Bibliography

“Abortion.” Abortion. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/1576/abortion.aspx>

“Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2010.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6208a1.htm?s_cid=ss6208a1_w>

“How Birth Control And Abortion Became Politicized.” NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.npr.org/2011/11/09/142097521/how-birth-control-and-abortion-became-politicized>

Joffe, Carole. “Abortion And Medicine: A Sociopolitical History.” Management of Unintended and Abnormal Pregnancy (2009): 1–9. Web. <http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/62/14051769/1405176962.pdf>

“ROE v. WADE.” Roe v. Wade. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_70_18>

“Thirteen Charts That Explain How Roe v. Wade Changed Abortion Rights.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/22/thirteen-charts-that-explain-how-roe-v-wade-changed-abortion-rights/>

Cinderella Man

Despite being a great movie with a moving story about the remarkable return of the boxer James Braddock, Cinderella Man is not a viable way to learn about the Great Depression. The film does show several points of view, we see not only Braddock’s life but we also see glimpses into the lives of Joe and Mike, but this is not an accurate way to learn about the important parts of the Depression, why it happened and how people really reacted to it. Although it isn't a good way to learn about the Depression itself it does give details about what was happening and how people were living.

We see that life is hard for Braddock and that despite showing up everyday to get work assignments it is still hard to get a job. We also see that even after working many days he still doesn't have enough money to pay his bills. Being unable to pay his bills James has his power cut, they make an effort to keep the house warm with the stove, we see them taking parts of wood off a billboard because they can't afford to buy wood. Even with his best effort to keep his kids at his home he is eventually forced to send them to live with their aunt since they are getting sick from not being warm at night. 

Joe also has had a hard time making it through the Depression but unlike James he was able to keep his apartment. He sold all his furniture and his living room was decorated with a card table and small wooden chairs. Being the manager for boxers Joe had a higher income than James, his income also wasn't dependent on him winning fights.

Like Joe, Mike also had a better income before the Depression, he was a stockbroker but the Depression forced Mike to take whatever work he could find, much like Jim. Unlike Joe and James, Mike turned to alcohol, he was angry and wanted someone to blame, so he blamed the government. Though there were people like Mike, who wanted someone to blame, most people just put their heads down and did the best they could to stay afloat. 

Despite not being able to accurately learn about what caused the Depression and what people did the movie does still offer accurate knowledge about the period. For instance, the movie places radios very prominently, which they were during the time. Nearly everyone had a radio or had access to a radio. The film shows men in a bar “watching the radio” in the same way men in a bar would watch football on tv. We also see Braddock going to get relief money at the New Jersey relief agency, this was also a very common thing during the time. What was uncommon about James’ visit to the relief agency is that after winning his fight he returned to pay back the money he had been given.  

I think that by watching Cinderella Man you can get a general idea about what was happening during the Great Depression, but there are going to be things that are left out or are just a little wrong, so as with most things, it has to be taken with a grain of salt.

A Hooverville in Seatle

http://www.boxingscene.com/-biggest-thing-cinderella-man-got-wrong--1317

http://depts.washington.edu/depress/everyday_life.shtml

http://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/depression.htm

Birmingham trip

I learned that conditions during segregation were much worse than you can imagine. Seeing the conditions of the schools the black kids went to and the way they lived. There is a big difference between just reading about this time or even watching a video about it and actually being able to go and see examples of it. It also offers a way of experiencing it and being able to interact with it and learn from it.

These experiences I had did not change my perspective on the civil rights' issues. I knew that it was a real struggle for black people to gain the independence and freedom they wanted and deserved. I think that this trip was a valuable learning experience that most of us would never have if it weren't for this field trip. Being able to go visit a place that has such historic importance to our country is a very special thing. I think this trip can be justified because it is important for us to take advantage of the opportunity we have to visit such an important place. Being on a trip like this where you leave school for the entire day also means that when you are on the trip you can learn more and focus on the information and not have to worry about what homework you may have missed or your other classes. Going some where like this leaves a much stronger impression than just watching it on a screen.

This bomb is a bomb!

Eugenics

Eugenics is the concept of selective breeding that is based on Mendel’s genetic research and was started in 1883 with Charles Darwin’s brother Francis Galton, a British scientist. Eugenics literally means “good birth”. Eugenics in the US started out with the best of intentions, to improve the human race by encouraging only the healthiest people to reproduce. Eugenics in the US was a very racist pseudoscience that arise from two ideas, that of Gregor Mendel and selective breeding, and the popular idea that adding immigrants to the US population was polluting the nation’s genetic pool. It also aimed to end certain diseases and genetic flaws by removing the unhealthy from the gene pool. Eugenics was even persuasive enough that families would enter themselves or their children in fairs, similar to how a farmer might enter a large pumpkin in a county fair. 

This ultimately led to the growth of negative eugenics encouraged the forced sterilization of those deemed unhealthy including people who were “poor, insane, unintelligent, alcoholic” and more. Many of the negative traits were behavioral, like criminality, which is not genetic. The people leading the eugenics charge also didn't know that the science that they were using to justify the movement was not complete, “Mendel also observed many other traits in his plants that simply did not fit into defined categories and were therefore omitted”. This is why many of “traits” that were used to classify fit from unfit were so vague, many were so broad that entire  families were classified as unfit. Despite this the eugenics movement in the US was so popular that national laws were made that forced sterilization, added segregation, and marriage restrictions.

The idea of the human master race, white people with blond hair and blue eyes didn't begin with Hitler, rather it started in the US with eugenics. The idea was popularized decades before Hitler even came to power. Unfortunately eugenics got a bad reputation because of Hitler as it was used in Nazi Germany to not only justify concentration camps but to promote concentration camps, medical experiments, and mass exterminations. 

The Eugenics craze in the US didn't last that long though, as it was fading out when it was discovered that it was being used in Nazi Germany to justify such horrific actions. This discovery caused it to completely disappear from the US. 

Despite the negative connotations that we might associate eugenics with now, it was wildly popular in the progressive era in the US. One of the reasons behind this was the massive success the leaders of the eugenics movement had with communication, this allowed it to spread and become popular. Eugenics also began as a way to better the human race by removing those that were unhealthy, mentally ill, or otherwise unfit. Unfortunately what started out as a well intentioned idea was executed poorly and popularized to such a degree that it spread to Europe where it eventually came to Hitlers attention, and was used to justify the worst part of WWII.  

 

Eugenics propganda poster 

Another poster

Poster advocating eugenics

Sources:

Stanford University Eugenics - Academic source that offers a broad yet very in depth overview as well as more specific topics of eugenics 

Merriam Webster Dictionary - Used for definition of the word "Eugenics"

History News Network - More broad than the Stanford source, less in depth and slightly simpler. Offers a second source and different point of view.

PBS Eugenics - Quick and simple article from a new source, offers another source for comparison. 

Text Book - Basic primary source, very brief and simple overview of Eugenics in the US. 

Nature.com Artical on Eugenics - Offers another artical for compairison as well as another point of view. Contains some information that had not been used as well as reinforcing information that had been previously stated. 

How do you analyze a political cartoon?

In order to analyze or understand a political cartoon you can't take it too literally. It is very easy to overthink a political cartoon. Some of the things that you should look at first are the artist, the publication, the date, and the political issues present at the time of publication.

In the future I will analyze political cartoons by looking for the use of Analogies, irony, symbolism, and exaggeration.

This cartoon shows Emilio Aguinaldo trying to fend off the Americans who are depicted as a very large person. This symbolizes how big and powerful the US is and how weak the Philippines were. It also illustrates the US stepping all over the Philippines. Source

This cartoon was published in the Spanish publication La Campana de Gràcia. The cartoon depicts Uncle Sam standing on the US and pulling in Cuba. This is Spains interpretation of the US's actions in Cuba. Source

This third picture is focused on the Philippines. Source. This picture shows Uncle Sam welcoming in US big business. This shows how unfair the US takeover of the Philippines was. 

End of year speech

As the year quickly draws closer to an end we reflect on the year. At the beginning of the year I was skeptical of the class since I have never been the biggest fan of history classes. I was also a bit skeptical of Ms. Lawson because she seemed a bit crazy. 

I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the immigration of Scandinavian people to the United States. This was a surprise because I had no idea that so many people had immigrated from Northern Europe. I was also interested to learn that most of them settled in the Midwest. In contrast I was unhappily surprised to learn about how terrible working conditions were for workers in late 1800s and early 1900s. I was also surprised that people at the time didn't think that it was strange at all for a young child to be working on a factory floor.

In ten years I think I will still be able to have a very informed discussion about the causes for the rapid expansion of cities and how hard life was for people in the time period. I will also remember that life was so difficult in part because companies paid workers as little as they possible could. I will remember this because it is genuinely interesting to me that businesses were allowed to pay people so little to work in such harsh conditions and ridiculous hours. 

In the past Americans have struggled with race, I think Americans still struggle with race and will continue with race for many years to come. I think this problem is something that is deeply rooted in the South. I think the problems with race began with the debate between the North and south over slavery. This is a problem that we still see today and is a problem that we will probably always see in America. 

If had to choose a name for the time period between 1865 and 1920 I would probably call it the growth period. I would call it the growth period due to the massive amount of growth across the country. There was growth of cities, population, technology, manufacturing, and poverty. This period of growth was a really good thing for most people and launched the country to where we are today. Alternatively this period of growth also sparked many controversial arguments about labor laws. Including child labor, minimum wages, working conditions, and working laws for women and children. This also led to the implementation of building codes because of building fires and many unnecessary deaths. The biggest example of all of these is the triangle  shirtwaist factory. The site of many deaths of young working girls who were unable to escape a massive factory fire because there were so many girls in the building since the fire escape peeled off the building. 

This has been my favorite history class I've ever been in and have enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to coming back after christmas to see what we are learning next.

Thinking About Success

Skill
Hard Work
Opportunity
Luck

I think skill is the most important factor for economic success. Skill is the most important because without skill many companies would not exist. For example, Apple would not exist, or at least not the way we know it, if Steve Jobs had not been skilled with electronics. Hard work is the second most important factor. Mainly because without hard work, even with skill, a person or company cannot succeed in a competitive marketplace. Opportunity also plays a large role in the success of a person or company. Again, Apple would not be the same as it is now if people hadnt bought into the ideas and products that they were selling in the beginning. Luck is the final factor for success in the economy. Apple was also formed by sheer luck. Many of the companies we know today would not be the same, or even exist without luck. For many companies luck is what got them off the ground. For these companies luck was having the opportunity to see or meet the right person at the right time. This kind of luck brings us back to opportunity as many times this "right person" is someone who is interested in buying or investing in the company.

"I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance." - Steve Jobs