Letter Home

Dear Mama and Papa,

How are you? How is little Molly doing? From your last letter she seemed very sick. I have been moved to a place near Paris. They have prepared all the nurses for what is going to happen when Germany attacks.  the weather here has treated us nicely. Its been sunny and warm but the evenings are always cold and dark. It gets dark here much quicker than it does back home.


Every day it is the same monotonous activity. Dirty and dying men come rolling in with the ambulances. You can hear the gun shots off in the distance. There are six other nurses and myself who tend to soldiers in our ward. There was a soldier who came in on Monday and the doctor had given him three days to live. He was very confident that he was going to get better. He kept repeating that he was going to live and go home to his wife and child. On the second day the pain came. He would twist and contort his body just to get rid of it. He still said that he was going to live to see another day.I didn't think so mama. The pain looked unbearable and there was nothing that I could do. He passed away  on the third day and finally he was free of the pain. Is the same thing over and over again mama. I don't know if I can handle much more. I know I'm doing good by being out here and doing my part but I'm homesick and I want to see you and Papa and little Molly. It really is hard out here and with all the deaths I don't know how we are going to be able to keep fighting this war. A lot of the time the ward smells of blood and dirt. All of the beds are taken up and there are soldiers against the wall on stretchers. Some are getting better but unless they can fight again soon I don't think this war will last much longer. I hope to receive a letter from you soon and I send my love and prayers your way.

Sincerely,

Emily Miller

The MAIN Causes of World War 1

 Maddie Williams

M- Militarism

Militarism is the belief that a nation should have a strong military. Due to this Navies and Armies  began to grow cause Europe to feel threatened. This then helped cause the war through the feeling that each army was better than the other and leaders of different nations wanted to prove it.

A- Alliance

Alliance is and agreement or bond made by two countries that creates and equal benefit for both. Alliances began forming all throughout Europe. Due to this if someone attacked a country you had an alliance with you would then have to help. This then caused almost all of Europe and America to fight in a large World War.

I- Imperialism

Imperialism is invading and taking over the political and economic aspects of a country. Due to the imperialism that was happening at the time it caused conflict between multiple different nations of raw materials and natural resources. Due to these conflicts and The Alliance System it lead to everyone fighting over land and resources.

N- Nationalism

Nationalism is the strong belief that you nation or country is better than any other nation. This intense pride caused a fight for independence. Each nation saw the other as a competitor  and was willing to go to war to expand their nation at the expense of others.

What was the spark of war?

The spark of the war was when Franz-Ferdinand, the Archduke to the Austrian-Hungarian throne, was assasinated in the Bosnian capital. The Austrian- Hungary empire blamed the Serbs and found it as the perfect time to declare war and stop the Slavic nationalism from undermining their empire

Timeline

Lusitania  May 7, 1915
The British ocean liner was sunk causing the death of 1,198 people. 128 of them were Americans. The ship was sunk by fire from German U- boats. Thus causing America to become enraged and join the war.

Sussex pledge May 4, 1916
The German government took the Sussex pledge which states that they would give warning before firing on merchant ships from their U-boats.
Zimmerman Note January 16, 1917
The Zimmerman note was a secret telegram sent to Mexico encouraging them to join the war to reclaim the land they had lost in the Mexican-American war. The Germans said that would assist Mexico in the war. This caused anger in America and soon enough the U.S. Declared war on Germany.
Unrestricted Sub Warfare Febuary 1, 1917
This is a type of warfare where subs fire on ships without warning. This includes firing on merchant ships, tankers and freighters.

Christmas Truce

Christmas Truce

Maddie Williams

per:2

The Christmas Truce occurred on the western front of the fight on December 24th 1914. Men from both sides began singing carols and songs. Soon after they ceased fire and met each other in between trenches to exchange gifts and talk. Thousands of men experienced this change of heart for one day. To this day it is viewed as a glimpse of sanity during the war.

The story above is not the complete true story but only what people chose to believe and spread. At the beginning men and raced to sign up for war in the spirit of holiday. Once they were out on the battlefield all of that spirit changed. They were still confident in their nation but they lost the spirit of the holidays. As men on the front stood in their trenches they could what was still standing of civilization. Men had spent weeks on end in a muddy wasteland with decaying bodies. As their desires to rise from the trenches and also to see their enemy up close rose the Christmas Truce became possible. Since the trenches were quite close together it was easy to either fire an insult or come to an agreement to stop fire. These were temporary truces but truces nonetheless. As men agreed to stop their fire they climbed out of the trenches and exchanged cigarettes.

The war had only been raging on for four months and it was already one of the bloodiest wars the soldiers had seen. At a time like this the soldiers needed to know that even though they were fighting a war the holiday spirit was spread throughout the world.

Sources: Google Images, http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/christmastruce.htm, http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm

Sinking of The Maine

 Sinking of The Maine
Maddie Williams
Per: 2

 From an interview in 1898 between Commander Marix and Commander Converse it is said that the damage done was not of an explosion inside the ship but from an underwater mine. This gives verbal evidence that it is correct to think that the Spanish blew up the Maine. In 1976 Admiral Rickover looked at the ship and came to the conclusion that it was an internal explosion. The mines produced in 1898 were believed to have been incapable of igniting the Maine. The most likely cause was from a fire in the coal bunker adjacent to the 6 inch magazine. (H.G Rickover team conclusion)
 Before The Maine exploded president McKinley made it clear to public that he did not want to intervene with the war against Spain. If involved, the war would cost too many lives and hurt the nation's economy. Earlier on McKinley had been called " weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd". This was said by the Spanish Ambassador. The ship blew up near Cuba. The Spanish were fighting to keep Cuba. The Maine exploded in the Havana harbor and as the public was erupted in fury the blame automatically flew towards Spain. Due to this America intervened in the war and helped Cuba fight for their independence. Along the way the U.S also fought to give the Philippines their freedom and then they used them as a source of money just as they did Cuba until The Philippines rebelled and
 won their freedom.

Sources: Pg. 303 of US History textbook, Pg. 308 of US History textbook and Google Images

The Jungle

 The Jungle
Maddie Williams
Per:2

1) What qualities did Sinclair believe a person must have to succeed in Packingtown?
To rise in rank in Packingtown you had to be able to tell tales and spy on your fellow workers. You also had to be tough and willing to do anything that kept you in a job. In short you had to be a knave.

2)According to the passage, what is the plant owner's main goal.
 The plant owner's main goal is to make as much money out of the plant as possible. They didn't care how.

3) What does Sinclair mean when he says, "...there was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar....?"
Sinclair means that in Packingtown the men did not matter compared to the money that was being made. All that mattered to the owners was the amount of money that was being made from the men who worked to earn them that money.

When it was published, The Jungle was so shocking that it launched a government investigation of the meatpacking industry.  The investigation eventually led to the establishment of laws regulating the industry.  Using the internet, research an area that our government enforces now (meat packing, environment, pharmaceuticals) and report how this is enforced today.  The meat packing industry has the highest rate of repetitive motion injuries. To work in the meat packing business is extremely dangerous and labor intensive. The animals involved are mistreated and the working conditions are very hazardous. The government recently took action by placing inspectors in each section to approve the facilities frequently and without disrupting production. To help with the industries injuries labor laws have been set and medical care and health care is given to the workers.

The Airplane

 Maddie Williams
Per:2

 The Airplane

Before the airplane could even be attempted, evidence of flying needed to be found.  Before the Wright brothers the Hot Air Balloon was invented along with Sir Cayley's  glider. The first airplane to be flown was a glider. This glider was built by Sir George Cayley and was pushed off of a high cliff. Later on Wilbur and Orville Wright came into the picture. They started building and testing gliders near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Their first success was a 59 second flight taken by Wilbur. As they kept experimenting they found a way to allow the pilot to steer and control the height. by adding an engine and making the glider two winged, the pilot was now able to steer the plane. By 1908 the Wright Brothers had created a plane that could fly for over an hour and a half. As time passed many different flyers from the the Wright Brothers were demonstrated. As people watched other inventors who were trying to expand on the Wright brothers idea realized a lot of the technology that the Wright Brothers had developed. After the great invention of the motored airplane people went on to expand on that idea and  many great improvements were made such as being able to land safely without crash landing each time.

Sir George Cayley was born on December 27, 1773 and died on December 15, 1857.

Sir Cayley's Glider

Orville and Wilbur Wright Born in 1867 (wilbur) and 1871 (orville).

                                                               The Wright Brother's Flyer

sources:http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112389/airplanes.htm,
  http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro.htm

The Effects of the Transcontinental Rail Road

 The Effects of the Transcontinental Railroad
Maddie Williams

After the railroad was built America was able to move people and goods from San Francisco to New York in one week. After the first ten years 50 million dollars worth of trade had been shipped from coast to coast. The railroad opened up the pathway for eastern goods to be available to the populace that was spreading beyond the Mississippi. The middle land was explored for ways of production and manufacturing.Springing off of the railroad was a web of other railroads that were shorter and extended to the north and south. These allowed transportation from state to state and town to town.  The transformation that came along with the railroad was not accepted by all. Native Americans were then forced onto reservations in the years to come. Buffalo were hunted in mass and their hides were shipped back to the east. The buffalo population was opened up to the public and as it diminished the animal was easier for a hunter to spot.This depleted the Native American's source of food and clothing. The Transcontinental Railroad was manifest destiny that was wrought in iron and moving from coast to coast. 

Being a business owner in the 1800's had its pros and cons. Since the train had to make stops the shop owners who had a business forefront near the train station had a large amount of business coming from the load of people on the train. The only problem with this was that the large amounts of business only came in shifts and sometimes there weren't large amounts of people on the train. Sometimes it was freight that passed through the towns. Business owners could not get any profit of of a train carrying freight.

source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tcrr-impact/