Book Report

   Unlike many nonfiction books set during the Civil Rights movement, Warriors Don't Cry is not told through the eyes of predominant Civil Rights' leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks. Instead, although it is expressed by an ordinary heroine, it has an equally important view on '50s life for black high school students during the integration period. Written by Melba Pattillo Beals comes an autobiography that expresses the feelings of the author herself, as a high school student during the integration at Central High School. Innocent, naivë, and eager to attend one of the country's top schools, Melba signs up to be considered in the new school's enrollment. The situation does not go as planned. Not knowing then how her life would change in an instant, neighbors turn away from her, afraid of supporting integration. White men raid her house and the school entrance. Melba's house is swarmed with crushing phone calls from anti-integrationalists. Her parents forbid her to leave to leave her own house. To add to the tension, the governor of her state refuses to cooperate with the integration laws established by the federal government after the Brown vs Education case. Unable to ask for help from the police, Melba has to deal with problems that most girls her age today could not even comprehend. While trying to focus on her studies, students spit in her face and try to beat her. She is treated like dirt, and on some days, she is advised not to go to school. This continues on for years, and Central High School closes to the African American students multiple times. Luckily, the U.S. Airborne Division summoned by Eisenhower, the NAACP, and Melba's local church group created a mission to protect Melba and her fellow classmates. Over time, Melba and her friends gain the respect they deserve, and the school board passes a successful integration.

   This was an interesting book... I mean, to be honest, I probably wouldn't choose to read this book, but it gave me an insight on what was really going on during this time. We've come such a long way in public education over the past 50 some years. I can't even imagine what it would be like to live in a segregated school, as well as an isolated world, or to have people treat me the way they treated Melba. I have faced discrimination because of my race, but NOTHING compared to the way blacks were treated during the Civil Rights movement. I'm fortunate that we are more racially accepting today... A person's skin color does not, in any way, define who they really are.

American History Research Project- The Vietnam War

 

Sparked in the late 1950s, the Vietnam War was a terrible battle that dealt with the struggles of communism versus mankind. It began by the division of Vietnam into two parts- the north, and the south. The south fought against communism, while the north fought for it. The ultimate goal of the United States at the time was to stop communism from spreading, so they firmly stood by on the south side and got involved. Unfortunately, the north side was intelligent and ruthless, and the Viet Cong was known for using guerilla warfare that severely destroyed American troops. Also, during the Tet Offensive, innocent women and children were victims of bombings in South Vietnam. Due to these ongoing, horrific events, the South hardly stood a chance against the Viet Cong and the northern communist government, and remains to this day, a poverty-stricken country that will never know the word "democracy".


The War didn't just affect soldiers- innocent children's homes were bombed, their lives devastated



Young boys serve as soldiers for the Viet Cong government

     I knew a little bit about the Vietnam War, but not a whole lot, since I've never studied it in school history before, However, it has interested me ever since I traveled to Vietnam with my mom two years ago. I feel that it's important that I learn not only about a significant moment in the United States, but also in my birth country's history, as well.
    
     I remember attending a war memorial museum in one of the country's northern provinces with a guide who had been raised in the north. He had a very different perspective on the War than one of our other guides from the south had- he had strong communism ideals because it was all he had ever known and grown up with, and he held resentment toward American involvement during the War.

     While there, everyone was clearly able to tell that I was American, but with a Vietnamese ethnicity. Never really having crossed my mind before, the same question sometimes comes up today: "What would it be like to be a true Vietnamese?" And in that I mean a person that actually lives in the country, not an American that appears to be Vietnamese. I'm not entirely sure what it even means to be a Communist, but I know for sure that if I lived in Vietnam, it would be a very different life from the one I have now.


Sources:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar_2.htm

http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628478/Vietnam-War

Video:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2166430461/

 

Chapter 12 Section 5 Notes

Allied Plan- French democracy = German surrender
- goal met- Paris liberated

Battle of the Bulge
- Germans attack Belgium (want to restrict trade w/ Allies), Bastogne (hope to advance over Allies)
- U.S. significantly weakens German power
- cut off fuel, strong army

- Germans
- kicked out of Russia
- attacked by strong Russian, U.S. forces in east and west
- Berlin invasion = V-E Day

- Truman- faced w/ cruel situations

- B-29s have rough times, Iwo Jima solves
- bloody battle, Japan used to the severe land

- napalm bombs help Allied forces, Japan intensely weakened
- fires, asphyxiation

- Okinawa more convenient than Iwo Jima, serves as American naval base
- atomic bomb the answer?
- Japan- now want peace, but emperor, too
- Manhattan Project- atomic bomb project
   -many object to a.b.
- Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombings = V-J Day
- UN keep peace, solve international disputes/problems
- Japanese, Germans punished by IMT

Earth Day assignment

The film "A Fierce Green Fire" recognizes the many harmful effects that humans have made on the environment in the late 20th century. It describes the Sierra Club's movement to keep water resources in a healthy, natural environment, by stopping dams from being built in the Grand Canyon. Other protests occurred elsewhere, in the Love Canal neighborhood. Fearful and angry feelings of many people living in Love Canal experienced oil and chemical leakages, and the deaths of many children sparked the battle even further. Russian animal killing in the ice caps also became prevalent during this time- whales and seal pups were slaughtered because their oils completed the manufacturing of weapons. Finally, protests were also made by the seringuieros to protect forest life in the deep Amazon jungle. Global warming became a big issue, due to increased CO2 awareness during the late '90s.

"Watch Film: A Fierce Green Fire." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

     Since the '70s, the Endangered Species Act has helped many animals from becoming fatally "doomed". The Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marines Fisheries Service regulate animals in the ecosystem based on a variety of factors to determine if they need to be protected by the government.
http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Endangered-Species-Act.aspx

     The Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act in the mid '60s, reduced the production of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in cars, in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, by the National Air Pollution Control Administration.
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/154696/

In order to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide from electricity, I think that motion-sensored lights should be installed, so that when a person walks out of the room, the lights automatically go off!

Chapter 12 Section 4 Notes

Main Idea- Allied powers grow more determined as they plan to attack Italy, France, Japan, and the Philippines.

Casablanca Conference-
U.S. and Great Britain meeting
- plan to destroy entire Germany
- attack on Italy

Strategic Bombing-
- German losses
- railroad
- oil shortage
- significantly weakened air force

- Dwight D Eisenhower
- leads Allied invasion of Sicily
- Allied victory

- DUKW- hauls supplies to Allied troops

- Cassino- Germans bombard Italian city
- Anzio- Allies go around German forces

- Tehran- "Big Three" meet
- plan German attack/break-up, Japan attack, world peace

- Overlord- Allied planned attack on France

-Pas de Calais- Allies trick Germans during invasion of France, attack on Normandy instead

-D-Day- Conditions were supposed to be ideal for France invasion

-Omaha Beach- Turning point, Allies eventually rise to the top against Germans

-Plan in the Pacific- Island-hopping and Philippines attack

 

-Island Hopping- Planned way to force Japan to surrender

 

-Tarawa- Unsuccessful island invasion. Boats sink, many die in battle/in water

 

-LVT- Armed boat, carried some U.S. soldiers to Tarawa, more successful in Marshall Islands

 

-Guadalcanal- First American invasion of southwest Pacific. Afterwards, U.S. victories until Leyte Gulf

 

-Leyte Gulf- Americans attack Eastern Philippines. Japan surrounds other areas of the island, causing American losses

 

-Kamikaze- Japanese used this severe method of killing to inflict damage on U.S. Navy

Chapter 12 Section 2 Notes

Nimitz- commander of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. Plans to atttack Japan.

MacArthur- Phillipines' commander, works to fight off Japanese.

Bataan- Thousands of American soldiers sent to Japanese prison camp. Showed how strong Japanese forces were.

Doolittle Raid- B-25 long-range bombers attack Japan.

Coral Sea- Japan attacks south coast of New Guinea to get Australia to stop their trading line with the U.S.

Midway- Americans defend Midway base. American victory in Pacific.

Afrika Korps- Germans in Egypt fighting British to cut off Britain's trade around Suez Canal.

Erwin Rommel- Powerful Afrika Korps general (Germany).

El Alamein- British victory causes German forces to retreat from around the Suez Canal.

George Patton- Leads American forces into Morocco, captures Casablanca.

Casablanca- City captured in Morocco by U.S. troops.

Kassarine Pass- Huge losses for the U.S.

Convoy System- U.S. cargo ships escorted by warships. This caused less cargo ship losses caused by the U-boats.

Stalingrad- Germany vs. Soviet Union. Germans attack Stalingrad to try to cut off war resources. Led to Soviet victory. All in all, Germany's and Japan's forces had now been significantly weakened.

'20s Radio Show

     Good afternoon, fellow New Yorkers. This is Jamie McNeil, reporting on The New York Daily. Today is October 3, 1927, and we have some exciting news to cover today. Let's get started, shall we?

     The release of The Jazz Singer on the 6th of this month has been eagerly awaited for. Lines all over movie theaters in the United States have been backed all the way out the door, and into city streets! As you may have heard, The Jazz Singer will be the first talking movie, something that I have neve thought I would ever live to see! How did filmakers ever accomplish such a thing? Identifying an American Dream and the personal struggles met along the way, this movie has music and a plot that is not one to miss! Beat the rush and be sure to get in line early.

     Meanwhile, the "flapper dress" style continues to grow in popularity. This risque style has been seen on women all over New York. It certainly is different to see women with short hair and short skirts, flapping their arms like chickens....Men, what do you think of this new clothing style revolution?

     Across the U.S., baseball player, Babe Ruth continues to keep swingin' the bat. Having marked sports history by hitting 60 home runs last month, we should expect 100 more next season!

     That's all for now. Thank you for listening to the news portion of today. Tune into The New York Daily tomorrow at 5:00 pm for more news in New York and beyond! Next up we'll have a little music by Frank Sinatra.