Entry of World War I

The entry of the U.S. into World War I can be regarded as an extension of Progressivism into the realm of foreign policy. When the United States entered World War I it worried some people but raised hopes of others. The war helped reformers finally gain the rights they had been fighting for: national prohibition and woman suffrage. Many believed war would improve the quality of American life and free Europe from its tyranny. Many workers left their jobs when they entered the military leaving job openings for women. Wartime agencies abounded. The companies worked to together, and many believed the war promoted harmony between business and labor. Industrial leaders discovered that wartime agencies contributed to the tripled corporate profits. Mobilization indicated high prices for farmers and a lot of jobs in the war industries. The National War Labor Policies Board granted the eight-hour workday, a living minimum wage, and other things. The war also encouraged the stalled moral crusade to ban alcohol. They persuaded nineteen states to go dry. The war provided Americans with opportunities at home, and it would get them in good with the needed foreign countries to further progress the century. It also promoted an attack on American’s civil liberties. Hyper-patriotism would bring intolerance, repression, and violence. There were only a few reformers who didn’t agree with the war. The Women’s Peace Party and its foreign affiliates persuaded governments to make peace. Another disadvantage to the war was making enemies with its allies or the possibility of losing. America going to war strayed away from its progressive state by violating some of progressive’s main beliefs.

What was the progressive era?

Progressivism was a way of proposing reform or changes in American society. Progressive reformers developed a theory in which they would substitute social Darwinism with reform Darwinism. Progressivism was a general spirit of reform with certain goals in mind. Progressives hoped to make government more responsive to the direct voice of Americans. They believed that through democracy, efficiency, regulation of large corporations and monopolies, and social justice they could achieve their goals to change America. Progressivism was most important from the 1890s to World War I. The kinds of people that formed the core of Progressive reform effects were urban and suburban, and mostly middle class Americans. Women played major roles in Progressive reforms. Jane Addam’s who wished to do things with, not just for the poor, expanded the Hull House offering nurseries and kindergarten for neighborhood children, classes, lectures, musical instruction, and many other things for Chicago’s poor. Along with Jane Addams, Julia Lathrop and others launched campaigns to better neighborhood housing, end child labor, and make laws to protect workers. Lillian Wald and others she convinced left medical school and moved to New York City’s lower east side to live in the neighborhood as nurses, and contribute their citizenship to the lower-class neighborhoods. Producing a new profession for women, social work, women formed the skeleton of the settlement house movement.

Final Exams

You know I know I may bitch alot, but it seems these teachers forget some students, such as myself have five finals this week. The teachers always try to make it as hard as possible. For example, my history teacher gives us a homework assignment over a 226 page book on the same week as our final exams, what a heartless asshole. Then Mrs. Aiken, now you know them were some hard final exam topics, you could have made them a little bit easier, we are having to write the essay in class. I could've seen if it was a take home essay and we had more than two hours to work on it. I guess going to school full time isn't for me, because I have developed ulcers this semester, which is why I stayed sick half of the time. Some people handle stress better than others, while others don't. I am extremely stressed I guess because I am paying for it instead of a parent or HOPE. It makes a big difference when the money comes out of your pocket. I am only taking one class this summer, and four classes in the fall, and then I can apply to be in the nursing program. I hope that I do well enough in all my classes to get into the actual nursing program the first time, but with my previous scores from five years ago because then I didn't care, may hurt me. I am busting my butt to bring my GPA up, and it just seems like the more I try, the harder the professors make it. It's okay though they are just doing their job, nobody is supposed to like their professors I guess. It would be alot easier if you were able to though.

Trip to Palm Beach

This weekend by boyfriend is taking me to Palm Beach, woo hoo! After a stressful semester, this is exactly what I need. The bad thing about this is I have gained fifteen pounds since I started school, and I am not looking foward to wearing a bathing suit. I am going to try to forget my rolls and have fun though. At Palm Beach, it's like a miniture beach. It has the white sand, water slides, and a camping area. I've never beed big on camping, but I think I might like it once I try it again. It's been a long time since I went camping and I was to young to do anything fun. This time we can take a little alcohol and have a good old time. He's going to take his grill, and we're going to spend some quality time without the son this weekend, thank god. Don't get me wrong I love his son, but damn his mama never wants him on weekends. I mean I don't understand why he pays child support and he keeps him EVERY weekend. I guess that's the problems you face in getting involved with someone who already has a child. I love children don't get me wrong, but I hate mothers who have children they don't want and don't take care of. In my opinion, that's why they make abortion clinics. Ooops, I kind of got off track about my trip this weekend, I was venting. Can't you tell this trip is well needed.

The Loss of a Loved One

Just recently I lost someone very dear to me. My grandmother went into the hospital approximately two and a half weeks ago and never came home. My aunt took her to the hospital because her stomach was real swoll as if she were nine months pregnant, but my aunt said she was probably just impact. She was 85 years old, but got around good for her age and sure didn't look it. However, when she got to the hospital, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, so they began to run tests. Three days later, we found out for sure that she had stage 4 Ovarian Cancer and it was spreading fast. She kept in good spirits though, but she didn't have an appetite and starting getting even weaker. I stayed with her just about every night and she told me things she wanted if anything happened to her. I told her I couldn't promise that it would get done, but that I would let everyone know. On Friday, they called the family in and didn't think she would make it through the night. She held on until Sunday when she passed at 2:05 p.m. This was hard for everyone. We had went to my aunt's house and let all the immediate children be with her. I was in the room when my father died, and I didn't think I could handle seeing that again. At my aunt's house, we were all sitting there talking and a bird flew by the door. This was really wierd because it got real dark outside for a few minutes. My aunt started crying and said grandma had just passed, and five minutes later, the phone rang. She had passed. It's really hard losing a loved one, and i know it's a natural experience in life. I try to think positive things like she's in a better place now, but it doesn't always work. A word to the wise, you never know what's gonna happen so make good with your family while they are here, and get a will made out. Now, my cousin who has lived with my granda and taken care of her all his life might be without a place to live, because him and another aunt of mine didn't get along, and the trailor they stayed in belonged to her.

To what extent was television responsible for the success of the civil rights movement?

The television played a major role in providing success for the civil rights movement. With the television airing all of the marches and court hearings nationally, it helped the civil rights movement progress tremendously. The NAACP’s 1954 court case, Brown vs. Board of Education, along with the murder of Emmet Till and the two white men being acquitted of all charges marked the beginning on the Civil Rights Movement aired nationally. Emmet Till was beaten so badly that you couldn’t even recognize him, and reporters showed that on air nationally. The media coverage of the Till case help expanded the membership of civil right’s organizations nation wide. Civil right’s organizations put together mass boycotts and campaigns to end segregation and inequality, and white supremacist acted violently towards them while the blacks remained nonviolent. The fact that all of this was caught on camera and aired all around the world is what helped the civil rights movement succeed. In Montgomery, Alabama the police arrested Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. When organizations heard about this, they organized a bus boycott in which all black Americans refused to ride the bus for almost a year. While the civil rights organizations were in Birmingham, Alabama, they were abused a lot. The television aired the blacks getting beaten by police, bus loads full of blacks getting thrown in jail, police getting dogs on them, and firefighters shooting them with over a hundred pounds of water. The water was so strong it would knock the bark off of trees, and of course it was knocking blacks down in which most of them were children. Martin Luther King Jr. also went to jail here and it received a lot of media attention. In 1963, African American students requested service at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Mississippi in which only whites were allowed. Here the whites threw students on the floor, poured drink, ketchup, and mustard on them. Also, when nine students were allowed to attend Little Rock, Arkansas, Governor Faubus mobilized units of troops to turn them away. He did remove them, and the whites harassed the black children. Eisenhower had to send in federal troops to protect them, however, they could not go with them everywhere. Last, but definitely not least, was the bombing of the church in Alabama that killed four black little girls. All of these incidents were transmitted all around the world helping lead the civil rights movement to success.

What role did WWII play in setting the stage for the civil rights movement?

World War II played a major role in setting the stage for the civil rights movement. The war raised the black’s hopes for freedom. The African Americans had been called to fight in World War II. Many felt that they were helping fight to defend people’s rights in other countries; however, back home they weren’t given their rights. Therefore, with the economic prosperity the war brought, blacks felt that they should have the same rights as the whites who were benefiting from the new jobs the war produced. In 1941, A. Philip Randolph promised that 100,000 African Americans would march in Washington if the president did not do something to eliminate discrimination in defense industries. Therefore, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802. It allowed a Committee on Fair Employment Practices to investigate and prevent race discrimination in employment. Randolph called off the march. Over five and a half million blacks migrated north and west in search for jobs and better living conditions. There were unskilled jobs available, but many unions and employers banned blacks from skilled trades. Labor shortages and pressure on the government for fair job opportunities opened assembly line jobs for blacks in defense plants, but still the black families’ income only equaled to about half of the whites. This made blacks angrier and resulted in 242 race riots in 47 cities. The NAACP continued to fight court challenges to segregation, while CORE organized sit-ins against Jim Crow restaurants and theaters. The black soldiers that had fought overseas in the war were being dumped out of army trucks in Mississippi and beaten. Here these men were just fought for America and that was the thanks they received. Along with the economic opportunities offered during and after World War II and the first few African Americans to achieve something of importance such as Jackie Robinson winning Rookie of the Year Award was also the anger the blacks had in them. They had took the discrimination long enough and were just finally ready to enjoy the same prosperities and rights as the whites had gained during and after the war.

What role did confederate imagery play in white responses to the civil rights movement?

During the civil rights movement, the confederate flag was used by KKK, which was a white supremist group who lynched blacks. Confederate flags and imagery also accompanied a widespread Southern campaign of "massive resistance" to federal desegregation orders. The X of the Confederate battle flag began appearing on redesigned Southern state banners, and southern whites waved the Dixie standard at anti-integration protests. The confederate flag is not only a symbol of the institution of slavery, but it also stood for the Jim Crow laws that southerners used to keep segregation even after slavery officially ended. Any pictures of protests from the Civil Rights movement show the imagery of the confederate flag clearly invoked by the side fighting to keep segregation, including the Ku Klux Klan. Hate groups such as the KKK have taken the Confederate Battle Flag and used it as part of their symbols and platform show white domination and Southern pride. Just recently, there have been battles on whether or not the confederate flag should be used in representing our country. Many white Americans feel that it represents history and the confederate veterans feel offended by the banning of the confederate flag, whereas many African Americans as well as some whites feel that this flag still represents slavery, racism, and oppression to integration. In my opinion, it all depends on how one uses it. There are some people who try to use the flag as a symbol of racism and you can normally look at these kind and tell. However, this flag is very sentimental to many veterans who fought in the Civil War and represents a big part of their history and accomplishments.

How did president Hoover respond to the Great Depression?

The Great Depression was more than just an economic downfall; it was also America’s faith. During a time like that Americans turned to their president, Herbert Hoover, for help. A president can inspire fear and panic or can promote confidence, which is what sets the public’s mood. Hoover was regarded as a “do-nothing president.” To show his optimism about economic recovery, he kept formal dress and manners in the White House. He insisted no one was starving; however Hoover was in denial. Little towns of American cities filled with mainly shacks began to call their towns Hooverville. Hoover felt that government intervention would weaken people, so instead he made a handful of changes that helped businesses that didn’t need any help. Once the public seen that Hoover didn’t have the political knowledge he needed to pull the world out of this, they began making signs of families in ditches and making jokes about the poverty that he was doing nothing to help solve. Hoover didn’t like speaking to the press, and finally refused to talk to them and hid in the white house. Hoover’s parents died in the depression on 1893, and he was able to pull himself up, which is why he thought that all the people needed to do was pull themselves up. Hoover thought that America was a strong nation and nothing was wrong that a little hard work couldn’t cure. He felt that government convention was not needed, but he felled to realize that 1893 and 1920 were two different time periods. People did not live the same way as they did then therefore Hoover created more suffrage. He got Congress to pass the Agricultural Marketing Act in 1929. This act made a Farm Board that would use its budget to buy up surpluses and hopefully raise prices, but instead they went down. He also enacted the Hawley-Smoot tariff of 1930 to help end the deflated prices. This tariff made the highest rates in history. Congress also authorized money for public work jobs to help the unemployed, however the economy continued to weaken. In 1931, Hoover allowed Red Cross to distribute surpluses to the hungry, and offered small loans to the states to help them with their relief efforts. Hoover was only curing the problem for the moment though, it seemed he lacked the quality he needed to restart the economy and end human suffrage. The public responded to Hoover’s reactions very angrily. They saw agricultural surpluses in the countryside and factories standing still. Many people became homeless or had to share shelters with other families. Americans still would find enough money to be able to go to the movie palaces. They felt that with their own president in denial, this was the only place they could find reality. Hollywood tried to keep Americans on the right side of the law and away from crime, but crime continued to increase. People who had lost their homes and farms to bank foreclosures thought that bank robbers were only getting back the money the banks had took from the poor, this led to an increase in robberies. Unemployed autoworkers stood at Henry Ford’s River Rouge factory and demanded work. When he sent his private security forces out, workers threw rocks at them and they responded with gunfire killing four of them. Farmers also formed the National Farmer’s Holiday Association and all farmers took a holiday from shipping crops to the market. The depression caused a combination of homeless hoboes, strikes, and malnourished sharecroppers, and by 1932, people were actually dying from starvation. Hoover was not a bad person who lacked compassion; he just lacked the political knowledge needed to get America back on track.

How did women's lives in the 1920s differ from those of earlier generations?

Women’s lives in the 1920s changed tremendously. They differed from earlier generations in that they had a little more freedom. In 1920 the 19th Amendment was ratified and granted women the right to vote. Women began to work for pay and go to college. Magazines began publishing stories about young, educated women who drank cocktails, smoked, wore skimpy dresses, and enjoyed sex. Most women worked as secretaries, stenographers, typists, librarians, nurses, teachers, telephone operators, and salesclerks.
With increased earnings, women had more buying power and became part of the new consumer culture. They began to dress in the latest styles and danced all night to Jazz. The widespread availability of birth control allowed women to postpone marriage, decide when they were ready for children, and pursue careers. While women had gained more freedom than in the earlier decades, the topic of equal rights was still undecided. Women divided into two separate groups. The radical National Woman’s Party argued for an Equal Rights Amendment, while the moderate League of Women Voters fought for special protection, such as barring women from night work. In 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was put before congress. However, they did not pass this amendment. Women therefore were forced to act with private agencies and reform associations to advance the causes of birth control, legal equality for minorities, and the end of child labor. The new women challenged America’s ideas about separate spheres for women and men, the double standard of sexual conduct, and ideas of proper female appearance and behavior.

College

My name is Lori Starr, and I have attended Georgia College and State University, Central Georgia Technical College, and now Macon State College. Never in my life have I seen such a community college try to be like Stanford. I mean it's a freaking community college, and I just can't understand why the teachers make it so hard on the students. Especially, when the teachers don't get paid very good.
I understand teachers have to do their job, but why be hard on the students when they barely make enough to survive. Anybody with any common sense would not do their best performance at a job if their was nothing compensating them for that. Macon State College is the hardest college I've attended yet, and I chose MSC because I thought it would be a little easier that a university, but obviously seem to forget this is a community college for people who have to work and go to school because they can't afford to go to a good college somewhere.
Many people say they teach because they enjoy it, and that's perfectly understandable. However, if a teacher really loved their job, they would not deliberately make things hard on the students. It seems as if teachers forget they once went to college and i can guarantee the classes they took weren't nearly as heard as the ones they teach. I just can't understand people who say they enjoy teaching, but in all honesty love to see people fail.

Should Georgia's sales tax be removed from groceries and other necessities? Discuss.

In my opinion at this time right now, Georgia's sales tax should be removed from groceries and other necessities. People are struggling every day to pay their bills, why should they be punished because they have to eat? I think with the economy the way it is right now, all taxes on items like that should be removed. Now, I understand raising the taxes on beer and tobacco, because it is not a necessity, even though many Americans today treat it as though it is. Today many Americans can scrape enough money to buy cigarettes and a beer, but may be evicted tomorrow. Now that's crazy.
Sales taxes have become outrageously high. With the price of gas up, no jobs available, and the factories closing down because there's no business, I think the sales taxes should be reduced. Gas was up to $4.00 last year, and it finally came down at the beginning of this year. However, it seems to be rising back up. Who can afford their bills, gas, and groceries?
There are no decent jobs available right now. If people have a job, they are more than likely slow and getting their hours cut back due to this economic problem we are facing. There aren't many places hiring except fast food restaurants occasionally and no offense but who in the hell wants to work at McDonald's? With the economy in it's downfall, there just aren't many good places to find a job right now.
For many people who had or still have a job, they are probably going to get laid off or hours cut back. Many factories are shutting down right now. I'm not sure of the chief cause of this is, but I think something needs to be done to help this situation. I hope as well as many others probably do that president Obama actually is able to correct this. I know it takes time, but for the sake of our generation's people, I hope he's got a good head on his shoulders. It will probably take us some year's to get out of the mess Bush put us in, but let's hope Obama can do it.

Should the 55 mph speed limit be retained? Explain.

In my opinion, the 55 mph speed limit is ridiculous. The speed limit should at least be 65 on interstates and roads like that. Maybe throughout town they should retain a 55 mph speed limit, but on interstates on bypasses, its a crock of crap.
The 55 mph speed limit only allows more people to pay the crooked police forces that are always worried about the people who are breaking the stupid laws such as the speed limit. While they are writing you a ticket for going 62 instead of 55, there is probably a bank being robbed or someone getting killed at that time, but the police will never help in situations like that because they stay focused on the wrong things.
Now why in the world would they keep a 55 mph speed limit on the interstate, when rarely does anybody abide by it. Even older people and handicapped people can drive faster than that. I think the minimum speed allowed on the interstate should be 55 in all honesty. I mean if you're going slower than 55 on I-75 in Macon, you are liable to get ran over.
With that being said, I believe grown ups should be allowed to maintain a speed they are comfortable at. If you have been driving for twenty years, I think one knows basically how to drive and at what speed they drive the best at. The 55 mph speed limit is stupid, the police who stops you for going seven miles over are stupid, and whoever came up with it is not very intelligent also.
A 55 mph speed limit is needed in some places, such as through the middle of town, but I think it is just absolutely crazy to have a 55 mph speed limit on interstates and bypasses.

Each year, many teen-agers run away from home. What do you think are the chief causes?

Each year many teenagers run away from home. Teenagers run away from home mainly because of strict parents, friends who are bad influences, and drugs.
One of the chief causes for runaway teens is because their parents are too strict. Often parents try to keep their teenagers away from bad influences by keeping them on a leash. When a child becomes a teenager, there are certain things they should be allowed to do by their selves; however many parents try to keep their children contained so that they don't have the opportunities to mess up. This is a big mistake. Parents who do this to their children normally regret it in the long run because teenagers who aren't able to explore at a young age and learn right from wrong then, usually go wild after they get old enough to leave. When teenagers are given a little freedom, they normally are straightened out by the time they get old enough to go out on their own.
Many teenagers this day in time will do almost anything to fit in with the cool crowd. This is another reason teenagers run away from home. If they are hanging with bad influences, their parents may put them on restriction or try to keep them away from that certain crowd if they get in trouble. Many teenagers reject punishment and have the bad influences to talk them in to running away from home.
The last cause may be drugs. Many teenagers at the age of about fourteen and fifteen began exploring with different drugs if it is available. Many try it once and never again, while others are weak minded and begin to take advantage of them, and before you know it they have a drug problem. Now the drug problem is quite so bad until the parents begin noticing a change and confront them with it, normally the teenager is still in denial or to afraid to ask for help, so they runaway.
There are probably many other reasons why teens runaway, however these are the main causes in my opinion. A word to the wise if you are a parent, do not try to keep your teenagers sheltered, you will only hurt them in the long run.

Do college students benefit from partici- pation in extracurricular activities? Explain.

In my opinion college students do not benefit from extracurricular activities. I don't know about anybody else, but I honestly do not have time. Between major anatomy and physiology exams and crazy poetry analysis along with math and world history homework, I don't see how students this day in time have time to crap, much less be involved in extracurricular activities. However, if I did have time to participate in them it may benefit me; but since I'll never have time to try, I'm assuming not.
Maybe for part time college students extracurricular activities would benefit them. So whether or not extracurricular activities benefit a student depends on the load they are taking, the time they have, and whether or not they work also.
Part time students maybe only taking two classes may actually be able to participate in extra curricular activities. In this case, it could benefit them I guess. But since I don't have time to do what I have now, I will end this with my theory that it doesn't.