HIST 104DCE News

The Roaring Twenties bring to mind a wide panorama of images. Good times with plenty of music, , Prohibition, bootleg liquor and beer, and the Gangster wars, Women voting and smoking, general moral decline, but heroes, nonetheless. It is the time of the "Scopes Monkey Trial" which has become more legend than fact, and the time of technological advances and fantasies that have become more fact than legend!

With the Suffrage Amendment, openly lower moral standards for women, and women moving toward more independence in the 20's, we look at what TQ says about American women compared to Europeans.

The link for Quiz 9 is http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz9.asp

This Lecture Episode deals with the Great War... World War I and US involvement. We started out neutral, and remained so until 1917, then joined on the side of the Allies. Some say we should have joined the Central Powers. What do you think about that idea? Woodrow Wilson explained his reasons for the US joining the fight in his famous "Fourteen Points" speech. He also introduced a concept called the League of Nations, a forerunner of the United Nations. It was during WWI that the United States became a world power.

TQ discusses why "democratic nations are desirous of Peace" and then explains why we do so poorly at the beginning of a war while becoming an undefeatable powerhouse later. This description fit 100 years ago, as did his description of our army. How do we stack up now?

The deadline for the 10 point bonus for having 50%+ soft-points is Tuesday, the 30th. Some of you are close. According to the one-per-week soft-points guideline, you can turn one in today, and another before noon Tuesday to apply to the bonus. Be careful and do them right.

The quiz link is http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz8.asp

Happy Father's Day to all of the dad's in our class!

I was disappointed at the response to the Lecture on Imperialsim, though there was some good conversation on the TQ readings from some. Today we begin looking at Progressivism, the idea that government can be an instrument of social engineering (sound familiar?). In some ways Progressivism is an expansion of Populism, but the Progressives focused more on urban areas than rural. They did have some good ideas, such as food and drug inspections, child labor laws, and others, and they popularized the idea of the Social Gospel, putting Christianity into action helping the down-trodden. While The Wizard of Oz was the great novel of the Populist, The Jungle is representative of Progressive literature.

TQ talks about "why revolutions will become more rare." This goes well with the discussion of Populism. We choose to change through movements and the force of law rather than through open rebellion. (That, and the fact that the Civil War exposed the cost of open rebellion.) The discussion should be interesting, especially in light of the social engineering the dominent political party is attempting.

We are almost half-way through the semester. I will try to get all scores updated to Blackboard in the next few days. Are you half-way to the grade you want?

You will find Quiz 7 at http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz7.asp

Some of you seem to be surprised by the pace, but we have to cover 16 weeks of material in 11 weeks. Let's get caught up, this week.

We are on Lecture 6, "The Splendid Little War." This Episode deals with the Spanish-Ameican War of 1898 and our subsequent foray into American-style imperialism. What elements does American imperialism share with Europe's version? how is it different?

TQ talks about American honor and vanity. Could the events Dr. Isern discusses be part of America's "growing pains?" A tempestuous coming of age?

I look forward to your comments. Been pretty good, lately.

Here's the link to Q6 - http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz6.asp

Episode 5 deals with the Populist Movement and short-lived Populist Party. Like most 3rd parties, the Populists had some really good ideas which ended up being adopted by the major parties. There's a lot of good info here, including the little-known "Poison Squad."

TQ talks about the sovereignty of the people of the United States. Considering some of our current issues, this chapter comes close to our time. I look forward to your discussion.

When you are ready you will find Quiz 5 at http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz5.asp

Unit 4 begins today. I am seeing some pretty good comments on the Gap. I would encourage you to keep up with those discussions, and for some of you to get more involved. If you haven't figured out why we use the Gap, yet, it is because that is my only evidence that you are reading TQ, and that is why it comprises 20% of you score.

Dr. Isern discusses the American Dream" in this unit, especially as it relates to immigration. This was a very controversial topic at the time as Americans debated over who to let in and who to restrict. Chinese immigrants were actually prohibited from the late 1880s to the 1940s. Similarly, we are having animated debates in this country regarding Mexican immigration. During the period under study this week, Mexicans could come and go into the US without restriction. That meant they could work here for a farm season then go home. Today's restrictions on Mexicans (first enacted by FDR) are causing these problems.

Other issues in our country today revolve around TQs "Tyranny of the Majority," the concept that the majority can do as it pleases. Does this really exist in America? What does it really mean? I will say this, decisions are not necessarily made by the majority, but rather, by the majority of who shows up!

When you are ready for Q4 you will find it at http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz4.asp

I hope you have begun with this unit by now. Most of the problems with CDs have been corrected. If you still have an issue with CDs, let me know. Quiz 3 is now available at http://users.smartlite.it/historyrfd/quizzes/104quiz3.asp . If you have not done Q1 and/or Q2 don't panic, just get them done as soon as possible. They will remain available for at least another week.

In the meantime, I am disappointed that many of you have not used this time wisely. You could have submitted three soft-points assignments by now and had them out off of your to-do list. You could also have submitted several posts to the Gap. So far, two members of Gap-11 have submitted more than two posts, no one on Gap-12 has done so. We are on the 14th day of the session!

Dr. Isern discusses the effects of industrialization on American society to include the super-rich, the super-poor, and those in between. TQ discusses the Doctrine of Human Perfection. Don't let that one throw you. He is talking about pursuing perfection, not attaining it. And he is talking about human perfection, becoming better people, not the perfection of things humans invent. I look forward to a lively discussion.