Historical Fiction: 4 - World War 2

May. 4, 1939

Good morning. It is a beautiful sunny Saturday today so my mother can't believe I'm not already out with my friends, but I couldn't wait to write in this thing. She told me this journal used to belong to my grandfather during World War One, so I'm going to make an entree about, what my Dad calls, the next big war. 

I've seen many news clippings in the theater lately about what's been going on back in Europe, and many people figure these rising tensions will soon result in open conflict. Not that the conflict in the Pacific wasn't terrible enough between Japan stealing territory from China and the League of Nations stepping in to stop it in 1937, but to me Germany just seems to be more dangerous than Japan.

For one thing, Germany's new supreme dictator Adolf Hitler has changed a lot about the country. Even before he was named dictator in 1933, Hitler had gained political power by exploiting Germany's hate for the Treaty of Versalles and The League of Nations. Both were responsible for Germany's post-war debts of 33 billion dollars, extreme inflation, and crumpled economy and government. Hitler also blamed all of country's economic woes on the Jews as he joined the Nazis political party in 1919. There he gave the Nazis the swastika, and formed his own private army. 

But the most disturbing thing that's happened, is that Hitler didn't stop there when building an army. After he became the dictator he began to secretly rearm Germany and created alliances with Italy, Russia, and Japan. This allowed him to attack and conquer Rhineland. However neither Britain nor France have done anything about it. My Dad tells me they probably think Germany will stop there and not take any more territory, but we don't believe that this is the end. Now that Germany is a fascist state with full government control over the politics, economy, and culture it seems like Hitler will continue to use military force in the future. 

But all of this speculation of a new war has been years in the making. Many parents in my neighborhood have been suspicious of foreign crusades since World War One, making their kids paranoid and constantly reminding me how the war was a mistake. I also personally know three men in my neighborhood who are members of the Veterans of Future Wars, and have demanded for 1,000 dollar bonuses since 1936 thinking they will fight in a future war. My mom is  even a member of the Future Gold Star Mothers, who demand government pensions to visit their son's graves who would die in a future war. This makes me scared of what will happen to my older brother Chris if a war broke out; my mom would probably force him to go for the pensions. 

Talking about my mom, she just said my friends came over to look for me. But I'll keep this book under my bedside so I can write in it again, that is if my mother doesn't find out I stole it from her closet to make an entree. See you tomorrow!

Chapter 12: Mexican Emigration in the early 20s

1. Thousands of Mexicans in the early 1900s came to America because of multiple push and pull factors. One factor leading to their emigration was the fighting currently transporting in the Mexico from the Mexican Revolution. Making families wish to the leave the more dangerous conditions in Mexico. A pull factor was the increase of pay and the possibility to start a new life in the States. To help with the emigration, the finished construction of the Mexican railroad leading to America brought more Mexicans more easily to the states than ever before. Jobs were also much more plentiful, and with American-working Mexican representatives urging Mexican men to come work up north, there was a lot of opportunity seen for those who eventually immigrated. These jobs ranged from working on farms to the railroads and even in car factories, however were all manual labor occupations. And with time, allowed many men to bring their families up north as well. 

1920s Film and Entertainment:

This is a link to the video:
https://vimeo.com/160892434


Works Cited:

"HISTORY and OU." HISTORY and OU. History Channel. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

Dirks, Tim. "Film History of the 1920s." Film History of the 1920s. AMC Filmsite. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

"MACHINE." Movies, America in the 1920s, Primary Sources for Teachers, America in Class, National Humanities Center. America in Class. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

"Changes in American Culture and Society." BBC. BBC. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. 

"Radio Fever." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.


Music;

Me and the Man In the Moon by Ambassadors 

You Tell Her-I Stutter by The Georgians

The Great Migration: panel 19 - "There had Always been Discrimination"

     In Jacob Lawrence's collection, the Great Migration Series, I thought the picture "There had Always been Discrimination" was particularly impactful. The image of a river separating a black woman, with her child drinking from a water fountain, and a white woman, drinking at a different fountain, was largely based upon actual segregation present in public facilities in the 1930s. During this time, the wish for racial purity among whites led to the segregation of not only water fountains but also beaches and pools. A specific event that was created by this paranoia led to the death of a black teenager in the summer of 1919, and can show how serious the segregation of public facilities was. The painting also shows the white woman above the river, which could represent the North, with plentiful grass and blue skies, and the black mother and child below, with little greenery. This describes north of the river as a plentiful and beautiful place, and allows the viewer to see why blacks would want to migrate there eventhough there was racial segregation. 

Historical Fiction: 3 - WWI and the Progressive Era

March 2, 1918

Hello, I am Henry Schmidt, and am writing in this very old journal that I found in the attic of my childhood house because my lovely wife used the last few sheets of paper we have to finish her report for the local paper. It is almost scary how much paper she has actually gone through in the past few years. 

Thinking back to it, I now truly regret loosing my job at our local bakery, thus forcing my wife into her current occupation. It wasn't my fault; one day it just closed down. I really didn't know why for a wile until I made the connection between its closing and the current German Immigrant mistreatment in the States. Not only a year ago did our German Breads store close, but manny other German institutions were closed as well. A month later, I was walking down Frankfort street to find work when I noticed its name was changed to Charleston on a street sign. Perplexed I walked around a few more blocks to find multiple other streets' names had been altered; all of them used to be German names. 

My wife has concluded that this quite sudden dislike of Germans is most likely due to the war, but even more so due to the war propaganda circling the U.S.. Starting in 1917, the new Comity on Public Information has been increasingly promoting the war. You can't go one day without coming across advertisements, newspaper articles, posters, or Four Minute Men giving speeches and drawing attention to the war. My wife says that there are close to 75,000 volunteers currently acting as Four Minute Men in the U.S. She also told me I should join sense I have so much free time and can't get a local job now due to my nationality, but I refuse to do so if the war is what started all this maddened sentiment towards Germans. 

The problem is, no one is able to say anything against the war or government right now. After the creation of the Espionage and Sedition Acts less than a year ago, people have been jailed for openly criticizing the U.S. and the draft. I can't believe the government would restrict civil liberties so severely, especially when the U.S. is characterized by the freedoms of its citizens and the peoples' power to manage the government. My wife believes the Acts are unconstitutional and violate our freedom of speech, but I'm not sure how they were passed if that's so. 

It's funny I keep paraphrasing my wife, who has not even made an entry in this journal yet. It makes me seem so inferior, which is true in knowledge of politics, but I don't think it will be the ruin of my reputation as I will never share this journal to keep the confidentiality of my anti-war views hidden. However it is late, and I am ending this entry tonight before my wife scolds me with more talk of current affairs.     

Progressive Era Interview: NAACP

Below is a link to our video:

https://vimeo.com/157245128

Slogan:
"Need justice? Call the NAACP- trust us."

Script:
What problems of the Gilded Age did the NAACP feel needed to be addressed and reformed?
There was inequality between whites and blacks socially and politically, and not all whites knew about racial inequality. Southern blacks were at a great disadvantage in politics, as many could not vote due to restricting voters' laws implemented to keep blacks from influencing the government. Socially, blacks were seen as inferior to whites, and with the introduction of Jim Crow laws, didn't receive equal public facilities as those of whites.

What solutions were developed to combat these problems?
The reformers of NAACP focused on bringing racial inequality to the public's eye. They did this by creating a program to publicize the issue. Through this program they also created public speeches and lobbied for equality.
They also started a magazine the Crisis to talk about inequality, which was for many years edited by W. E. B. Du Bois.
The NAACP also went to court a number of times to fight for equality on a political field. In 1915 they won the Supreme Court decision against the grandfather clause, and in 1927 they won the decision against all-white primary. In 1954 they also won the Supreme Court decision for segregated public schools being unconstitutional as they fought against the southern Jim Crow laws of the time.

How successful do you believe these solutions were?
When the NAACP won over the grandfather clause and white primaries they allowed blacks a greater chance to vote in the south. NAACP led to building stronger African American community by providing health care, housing and educational services. Magazines like the Crisis and other mainstream newspapers published articles and brought people’s attentions to this issue.

Do you feel that these changes were revolutionary or radically changed society?
The reformers of the NAACP in the Progressive Era marked a radical transformation of American society, economy, and politics. In bringing these issues out to public view, it encouraged more people to become activists and many of the attempted reforms were successful. The NAACP did not simply ‘maintain the status quo’ because it is responsible for great improvement in the lives of many people and is still improving underrepresented people today.

If the people in the Progressive Era of the NAACP were here today, who would you employ to solve problems in the contemporary United States?
W.E.B DuBois was one of the reformers who focused on social and political equality for African Americans. He went to Fisk University and also received phd at Harvard University. He earned fame when he published The Souls of Black Folk which consists of several essays on race and the African-American experience. In 1905, Dubois and other black leaders had a meeting at Niagara Falls, Canada, called the Niagara Movement. There, they gathered and drafted resolutions to the racial discrimination. Four years later, together they founded National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). W. E. B. DuBois also helped to promote civil rights and equality while he pursued social justice and challenged the society. In 1934, DuBois resigned from NAACP because his approach was to help African Americans to control institutions, schools, and economic cooperatives and opposed the NAACP’s commitment. He then started writing for the Crisis where he published essays on African American culture and accomplishments. He was also concerned with the conditions of African American descent. In 1900, he attended the First Pan-African Conference. The Niagara Movement which included a pan-african department. Some disparities still exist in today’s society. Unemployment rates for the black community is twice of the national employment rate, yet African Americans are only 14 percent of US population.

Work Cited: 

“NAACP History: W.E.B. Dubois.” NAACP. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016

“The Legacy: Then and Now.” NAACP. N.p., 20 Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2016

“W.E.B. DuBois.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. 

"NAACP." History.com. Ed. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty. A&E Television Networks. Web. 08

 Feb. 2016.

Jealous, Benjamin Todd. "We Are NAACP." Vital Speeches Of The Day 75.9 (2009): 426-431. 

 History Reference Center. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.

Colorado Resolution on Native American Genocide:

The definition of genocide, as presented in the document, is the purposeful murder or damage of members of a group or affiliation. It is for this reason that I believe the use of the word "genocide" is accurate for this resolution. There are multiple examples of intentional murder in the document. One example is that many Indians' deaths were intentionally caused by the breaking of treaties between themselves and the U.S. Government, as seen in the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. Another example is that European immigrants created a myth to separate Native Indians from the idea of humanity, and thus alienate them. This is also an element of genocide. A third example is the forced removal of the vast majority of the Cherokee Nation from their homelands in the middle of winter, forcefully killing those 4,00 who didn't live through the harsh relocation. For all the tragedies to befall the Native American Indians, it is accurate to describe their suffering as genocide as much of it was caused by the American Government and was intentional.