The Pendleton Panther

Click here to see the online version of your school newspaper.  It is written, edited and published by Pendleton students.  Content is updated 24/7.

http://pendletonpanther.wordpress.com

Project List

– design a web page     — draw a political cartoon     – develop an exhibit     – develop a solution to a community problem     — write a book     – design a game     — write & circulate a petition     — write a musical     – write a letter from another person’s viewpoint     — lead a symposium     – conduct a series of interviews     — develop a collection     — submit an article to a journal, magazine or newspaper     — design a structure     – plan a journey or trip     — make an etching or woodcut     –  make a plan     – write a letter to the editor     — formulate & defend a theory     – design & teach a class     — do a demonstration     — present a news report     – write a new law & plan for its passage     — present a mock trial     – make a learning center    — create & prepare an authentic recipe     – choreograph a dance     — write a song    — design a simulation     – be a mentor     — write and produce a play     — compile a newspaper     – conduct an ethnography     — write a biography     — present a photo-essay     – develop & use a questionnaire     — conduct a debate     — write a poem     – make a video documentary     — create a series of illustrations     – design or create a musical instrument     — do a puppet show     — create a series of wall hangings     — present a radio program     – draw a set of blueprints     –  design & make costumes     — present a monologue    — generate charts or diagrams to explain ideas     – develop tools     — compile & organize a set of internet resources     — draw a page from a comic book   –  make a cake?   –   design the front & back cover of a graphic novel

Do you have any ideas we can add to this list?    Please write them in the comments.

Blog Professionalism

All students, I will be doing an overall check of your blogs this weekend looking for the “professionalism” of your work.   What does professionalism mean, you ask?   Basically, you want the product that you publish to be free of errors, organized in a coherent way and looks appealing to the reader.

I will be looking at the following aspects:

1.  Your Title and Tagline - come up with something creative and unique to you.  Not the wordpress defaults.

2.  Photos – all of your photos appear sharp and clear on the page.  And no parts of the photo are off the viewable area of your page.   General rule:  your photo should NOT be wider than your text.

3.  Categories – all blog posts are in a category that makes logical sense.  Remove ”uncategorized” from any blog post that displays this.  To fix this quickly, click on the “uncategorized” link on your blogroll (if you have a blogroll, not all themes do).  

4.  Links – do the links in your blogroll (”links” under “manage” in the dashboard) work and are they in a category?   At minimum, you should have at least 7 links organized in 3 link categories – school, sport & personal.  Also, make sure you have a link to the assignment page for your class AND a link to the  Panther in your blogroll.

5.  Profile Photo – add this through “my account” (top left on the dashboard bar), then “edit profile”.   Adding a profile photo is on the right of that page.

6.  Spellcheck – this is the “abc + a check mark” button on the top toolbar in the text editor.  It will fix most problems, but will not correct “i” (where “I” should be used when referring to yourself).  Also, always be sure to re-read before publishing since, like all spellcheckers, it doesn’t catch words that are spelled right but used in the wrong context.   (e.g.   “I went to the storm to buy groceries.”)

7.  ”Remove formatting” command – the text for all posts should be the uniform, default wordpress font.   This can be an issue when you bring text from MS-Word or other sources.  The “remove formatting” command (in the lower toolbar of the text editor) will make your text look uniform.  Highlight the text you want to format, and click the eraser in the lower toolbar.

Have a friend or one of your team members (Current Events class) take a look at your overall body of work just to check for small things you might have missed.  Two pairs of eyes are always better than one.

"Yes! My blog looks awesome!"

9/11/01

Please post a comment about 9/11.  Share a story, give your opinion, tell us about someone you know who was effected…..whatever you feel like saying.

Welcome back to school

It’s year 2 of the paperless classroom experiment – 2008-2009.  I’m looking forward to another great year of seeing your creativity on display, interesting discussions during class and all the great activities and events we’ll be taking part in during the school year.

This year I’ll be teaching US History and Current Events.  There is a tab for each class at the top of the page under the title header.   (Hint:  look for “USH” and “CE”.)  Those pages will be your check-in place for assignments and announcements.   See the “about” tab for my contact info and school schedule.

I hope you’ve all had a great summer and are energized for another school year.  See you in class.

We all need to dance more.

A great video that can’t help but make you smile.  Is your country represented here?

Click here for the video –> Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Hotel Rwanda

Thanks to all 37 of you! who came to watch the movie.
To receive your extra credit (+2.5% on 4Q) you must answer at least 5 of the 8 questions correctly.  Take your time, use any source to find the answers.

Hotel Rwanda quiz link–>   http://www.quia.com/quiz/1406494.html

Paul receiving the Medal of Freedom n 2005.

USH 1973-2008

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The 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo

Aside from the Watergate Scandal back home, we were facing problems on an international level. Americans rely on oil so much because we are very industrial, and it is a threat to national security if the prices of oil are high. This is because our economy will not be able to function as productively if the oil prices are high. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is mostly Arab countries, decided to use their control of oil as leverage against other countries.  The 1973 Yom Kippur War was an attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria.  OPEC decided to place an embargo on any country that had an affiliation with Israel. This was very unfortunate for the U.S. because they sided with Israel. OPEC raised prices by 70% and then by 130% which was too expensive for the U.S. This would have cause the U.S. to have its first oil shortage since WWII. This would cause the America to go into its first economic stagflation – a combination of rising prices due to inflation along with stagnating economic growth. To solve the problem, President Ford decided to cut government spending, urge the nation to cut back on oil consumption, as well as taking energy-conserving measures. Unfortunately all of these measures would fail and would lead to the election of 39th president, Jimmy Carter. — Ross Frankenberg

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The Carter Administration

Carter was a Democrat who beat Ford and became the 39th president. He was a strong advocate for human rights. His main focus towards the economy was the energy crisis that was going on during that time. Carter felt the biggest problem that America had to deal with was its independence on foreign oil. Carter created the Department of Energy and asked the people to conserve oil and promoted using coal and other renewable energy sources. While many Americans followed the request of Carter, domestic oil companies asked him to deregulate the industry in order for them to compete with OPEC and are able to make money to invest in new sources of oil. As carter agreed to the domestic oil companies’ requests he imposed some taxes so that the prices for the public would not be high. The turn out was not good. In 1979 instability in the Middle East caused another oil shortage in the United States of America. Carter was the one responsible for signing the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.  — Josh Cabrera

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American Hostages Held in Iran

The American hostage crisis involved 150 Americans, who were employees at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran. In 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) organized a coup d’etat so the Shah of Iran could come to power. The Shah supported the U.S. and wanted to prevent the nationalization of Iran’s oil.  Nationalization means the oil would belong to the nation (the people of Iran), not a private corporation. The Shah was a friend of the U.S. and was given support by 8 American Presidents. In November 1979, while the Shah was in the U.S. for cancer treatments, a student led Iranian Revolution too place and a group of students entered the U.S. Embassy complex and took 53 hostages. A new leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and was supportive of the student revolution. Khomeini called the U.S. “the Great Satan” and an “Enemy of Islam”. President Carter sent a small military team into Iran to try to free the hostages but their mission was a complete failure and 8 Special Forces soldiers were killed. A bad economy and the hostage crisis are blamed for Carter’s loss to Ronald Reagan. Ironically, the hostages were finally freed after 444 days just moments after Reagan took the Presidential Oath of Office.  — Patrick Waugh

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Liberal vs. Conservative

Liberal people believe that the government is responsible to resolve the economic problems and equality by: 1. The government should regulate the economy in order to protect the people form the power of the large companies and wealthy leaders, 2. The government should actively encourage the welfare of all the people, including the poor through social programs, 3. The government should pay for social programs, and in order to do this they should tax the people who can afford it, which would be the wealthy people and the large companies.  On the other hand the conservatives do not believe that the government should be responsible to resolve the economic problems and inequalities.

Conservatives believe in the free enterprise system, and that the economic booms and depressions are part of the normal cycle of capitalism, and that the government has no power or control over it. They also think that government intervention should be limited in order to stabilize and prevent severe depressions and runaway inflation. Some of the conservative polices included: 1. cutting taxes in times of depression to stimulate the economy 2. fiscal responsibility (balanced budgets & no deficit spending) 3. limited government intervention in the lives of citizens.  — Joana De Sa Pereira

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Ronald Reagan becomes president

Ronald Reagan, before he ran for president, was a movie actor and TV host. Reagan’s film and TV career gained him public-name recognition and his “good-guy” reputation which is sure to have helped him win some votes when running for the White House. Reagan also kept his conservative agenda no mystery to the public, people knew what his plan of action was and so they knew what they were voting for, there were no secrets. He made it quite clear that he planned to cut taxes to energize the floundering market even though he knew that these cuts would cost the government substantial amounts of money and their welfare programs would lose out.  Many social liberals and African-Americans were against Reagan as he had opposed many Civil Rights legislation in the 1960’s, President Carter even went as far to say he was a racist in his campaign. In the 1980 presidential election, however, Reagan won by a land-slide over Carter indicating a change in attitudes of American’s towards conservatism. Reagan was very anti-Communist, which appealed to people who were afraid America might follow a socialist economic policy.  — Sally Watson

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Reaganomics

Reaganomics is a portmanteau of “Reagan” and “economics”. It was the term for U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s economic agenda. The pillars of his economic policy were: reducing the growth of government spending, reducing marginal tax rates on income from labor and capital, reducing government regulation of the economy, and controlling the money supply to reduce inflation. These were totally new ideas. When he took office in 1981, the U.S. was in a period of high inflation and unemployment, which had largely lessened by the time he left office in 1989. By cutting domestic welfare spending, he had money for increases in military buildup. His first main objective was to restore military pride and confidence after the devastating outcomes if Vietnam and the Iranian hostage debacle. His second was to drive the depressed Soviet economy into bankruptcy and win the Cold War. He succeeded in achieving these objectives and the economy enjoyed one of the largest booms in its history during his presidency.  — Frizzi Bschorer

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The End of the Cold War

It is said that President Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy was one of the major factors in the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union. Reagan’s policy was targeted to weaken the already struggling Soviet economy in the 1980s. Reagan focused on increasing government spending on the military to surpass the Soviets in the arms race. Because of the struggling economy, the Soviet Union was unable to keep up to the United States. Prime minister Mikhail Gorbachev tried economic reforms, but his efforts were unsuccessful. In December of 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed by Reagan and Gorbachev, marking the begining of the end of the Cold War. After this, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States improved as well as the economic growth. – Nikko Close

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HIV/AIDS appears in the U.S. While Reagan’s presidency was characterized The United States had been increasing in drug abuse, homelessness and especially crimes. In 1981 AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was discovered in the United States, the first case were identified among gay men in the United States. However, scientists later found evidence that the disease had already existed in the world for some years. There was a Bantu man who died from an unidentified illness in the Belgian Congo in 1959, which was later found out to be AIDS. After 1981 AIDS started spreading out very quickly. Today around 33.2 million people live with AIDS and 2.1 million persons have died from AIDS, which includes 330.000 children. About three quarters of these deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa.

AIDS can be transmitted through sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between a mother and her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Today there is know cure for AIDS although there are treatments for AIDS and HIV that can slow the disease, but these drugs are expensive and access to them is not available in all countries. – Petur Freyr

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Apple computers   L2

Apple Computer was founded in 1976 by Stephen Wozniak and Steve Jobs. That same year Steve Wozniak hand-built the Apple I which became Apple’s first product. At the time, Apple I was sold for $666.66 and around 200 of them were made. Apple II followed Apple I becoming the first mass produced computer by Apple. Apple II was far more advanced than Apple I, adding both sound and graphic capabilities. In 1980, Apple went public with the company generating more money than any initial public offering (IPO) since Ford Motor Company. The rise of Apple led to competition between IBM who its own PC in response to the Apple II. In 1984, Apple created the Macintosh which was a new computer model with an easy operating system and mouse. Apple is now a multi-billion dollar company and with the development of personal computers, portable media devices, the iPhone and computer software, Apple has become the king of consumer electronics. — Justin Nguonly

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Microsoft / Bill Gates

William Henry Gates the third is a world famous American Businessman and software architect. He is the Chairman of Microsoft and is one of the world’s richest men. Gates got a 1590/1600 on his SAT and was enrolled at Harvard. However, he did not complete his education at Harvard due to the creation of his software company. Gates co-founded the company Microsoft to design software for personal computers. Apple and IBM had created home computers and were competing with each other in the market. IBM hired Microsoft to develop and operating system for their PC. Gates bought the rights to a software from a programmer in Seattle for the price of fifty thousand dollars. Gates made some changes to this software and produced an operating system known as MS-DOS. In the year 1985, Microsoft produced the Windows operating system which was quite similar to Macintosh. Computers then became an essential part of business and every day life making Gates a billionaire at the age of thirty one. Today, Microsoft is the biggest producer of operating systems and software for personal computers. Also, Apple still remains their rival in the software market. – Dirk Ramdial

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Human Genome Project

The next breakthrough of the 80’s and 90’s was in biotechnology, or the managing of biological systems to improve human life.  Computers made it possible to manipulate genes and cells at the molecular levels. The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003. The project was a 13-year project coordinated by the United States Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. Besides Japan, France, Germany, China and others, The Wellcome Trust also became a major partner of the project. The Human Genome Project’s main goals were the following:

* identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA
* determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA
* store this information in databases
* improve tools for data analysis
* transfer related technologies to the private sector, and
* address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.
Although the Human Genome Project is finished, analyses of the data will continue for many years. By 2001, the HGP completed the first map of the human genome or genetic makeup. – Debbie De Villa

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President George H.W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Massachusetts on June 12^th, 1924. He was the 41^st President of the United States. Before becoming president he held many political positions such as the Vice President of the United States under Ronald Reagan. He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, which had done quite well.  He succeeded Ronald Reagan as president of the United States.  He entered office at a period of change in the world such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union came early in his presidency.  He faced problems of debt after taking over from Reagan. The debt had tripled since 1980.  Many people may say that they do not like George Bush for some of his decisions but I have a lot of respect for him as a person.  I think he has exceeded expectations and did all that he could to help the United States.  Everyone makes mistakes and there will never be a perfect presidency that everyone agrees on.  — Ben Martin

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Gulf War 1 / Operation Desert Storm

Even the Cold War came to an end, the US was not able to achieve peace for their own; a new problem emerged in the Middle East. In the Middle East oil is the main natural resource, so countries in there move around oil, their relationships are based on oil treaties and when Iraq decided to invade Kuwait the US did not like the idea. They also feared that they would invade more countries. Kuwait is a small country in the Middle East but they have a lot of oil, so Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, invaded Kuwait in 1990. President Bush persuaded the United Nations to stop Iraq’s movements, but Saddam Hussein refused.

On January 16th, 1991 the war begun, the United Nations sent a huge coalition to Kuwait. The US was the leader of this coalition. They called this operation  “Operation Desert Storm”. The main goal was to free Kuwait. The coalition was superior in the air and on the ground and the results came really fast. Five weeks after the war began Iraq decided to put an end to it, negotiating for peace. Americans did not suffer a lot of casualties and they reached their goal – Iraq was driven out of Kuwait. – Luis Ocejo Medrano

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Deficit spending and the National Debt

Deficit spending is when Congress deals out more money than the government actually has, thus the country begins to become in debt. When Bill Clinton was elected into office he pushed for bold economic agenda that went against previous ideas. When the Reagan and Bush administration tried to jump-start our economy by cutting taxes and increasing spending it put our country in debt, which is when we borrow money and in return must pay an extra fee for borrowing the money. Throughout Clinton’s time in office his main goal was balancing the budget, which is when the government spends only what the amount of money it takes in from tax revenue. The Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 increased the income tax for the richest 1.2% of Americans,  created a new tax on fuel for all Americans and it gave tax-relief to the working class Americans. This act hardly made it through Congress, with zero votes from the Republican Party and even some Democrats didn’t like it, but in the end it turned out to be pretty successful. – Jeff Morse

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The Monica Lewinsky Scandal

President Clinton was one of the most popular presidents throughout American history. He was well liked because he was very successful at his domestic and foreign policies and his economic boom. When people think of Bill Clinton they think of the personal scandal that involved an intern in the White house named Monica Lewinsky. This led The House of Representatives to question him in 1998. Clinton initially denied the fact of having a inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky. But he was later forced to confess when the prosecution produced irrefutable evidence. President Clinton was impeached by the U.S. Senate but was not convicted of any charges and finished him term in office.  However, this affair cost him is reputation with many Americans. No one will ever find out the truth of what really happened between the two, but many people think they knew what happened between them, I guess we will just never find out. – Paul Mastronardi

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Globalization

Globalization is the process of transformation of some things or phenomena into global ones. In short, it is the process by the people unified into single society sharing all the goods and services. Over the last years the American economy had become the leader. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war many nations that were Communist or follow that system changed and adapted to the democratic system. Globalization can be good or bad. In one hand it helps large companies which generate huge profits and simulates economic growth around the world, but in the other hand the introduction of other economies or countries can affect the effectiveness or competition of some US companies. Globalization will be good for large economies, but for third world countries Globalization can be devastating.  –Mikhail Meyreles

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Kyoto Protocols

The Kyoto Protocol was agreed on December 11 of 1997 and came into force 9 years later in February of 2006. This protocol was drafted to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases which change the climate.  Many countries have agreed to this treaty which sets how much greenhouse gases can be emitted by the country.  Among these countries is the European Union which includes all the leading countries from Europe. The United States have not yet ratified this treaty even though they emit more carbon dioxide than any other country in the world. It has been determined by the studies of the creators of this protocol that the highest amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere come from developed countries and that undeveloped countries are slower in producing it and emit less which is contrary to popular belief. People who oppose this protocol and are skeptical to global warming argue that this document was drafted so that the leading countries could give way for the smaller economies of undeveloped countries to grow with an equal level of competition. Thus putting developed countries at a disadvantage.  –Anthony Sasso

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September 11, 2001

On the morning of September 11, 2001 terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four planes and crashed two of them into the two World Trade Centers.  This resulted in the collapse of both buildings soon after the planes flew into the side of the two buildings.  The third plane crashed into the Pentagon.  This was very scary for me because my uncle works less then a block from the Pentagon.  He felt the ground shake and ran for his life.  He was covered in debris and had to hide underneath a car to save his life.  He waited there for forty-five minutes before everything settled!  Without counting the highjackers, almost 3,000 people died because of these attacks.  This day will be remembered forever in United States history.  This is a huge deal and there just keep being more and more ironic things that pop up about this day.  The most memorable for me is that it is my mom’s birthday on that day so I will never forget it.  This was a tragic event and I can only pray that something like this does not happen again. – JR Murphy

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The War in Afghanistan

Al Qaeda, a terrorist group, which can be located in Afghanistan, claimed that they were heavily involved in the September 11 attacks. The United States Of America immediately invaded, which wasn’t surprising. Al Qaeda is led by Osama Bid Laden, who is one of the most wanted men in the world. The Taliban, a completely different terrorist organization, were essentially in command of Afghanistan before The United States Of America invaded in an attempt to restore order. The Taliban refused to surrender Al Qaeda staff so they were overthrown. After this task was complete a democratic political and government system was implemented, although these actions took place, the government situation is still pretty sketchy and unstable to this very day. Sporadically Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda organization release videos, which have updates of there current thoughts, location, plans and surprisingly a lot of information, but it’s been proven that the videos are mostly lies and heavily edited and not as realistic as their appearance. – Marc Richard Culmer

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The War in Iraq

After the attacks of September 11, President George W. Bush declared a sweeping war on terror. Many Americans agreed with this as national pride and patriotism rose sky high. At first, American soldiers invaded Afghanistan. However, the attention quickly turned to the other major campaign, Iraq. After having failed to cooperate with the weapons inspectors of the U.N, Saddam Hussein brought suspicion upon himself. This led the United States government to believe that Iraq was supplying Al-Qaeda, the group responsible for 9-11, with weapons of mass destruction. The invasion was a quick success. On April 9, 2003, Baghdad fell to the victorious Americans. About one month later, President Bush declared that all major combat operations had ended. This was just a false saying though for as of today, numerous American troops (up to 165,000) are still stuck in combat.  Ironically, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found, leaving Bush stumbling upon justifications for his actions.  –Alex Ilic

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The Election of 2008

The Presidential election will finally happen on November 4^th, 2008. For the first time in election history, you can watch the presidential debates on YouTube. Actually, the Republican and Democratic parties held debates aired on You Tube, where most of the questions came from YouTube viewers.  Aside from YouTube, what is also unique to this campaign is that candidates are also using MySpace and Facebook to campaign. The Democrats seem to have a race that won’t end.  The Democrats will choose a minority between an African American and a white woman.  It is May and both candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are still fighting it out. Barack Obama is leading the race.  There are more young voters that in any other election.  The young voters favor Obama over Clinton.  The winner of the Democratic primary needs 2,025 delegates to win the nomination.  Obama needs a little over 100 more delegates and Hillary needs over 300 to clinch the nomination.  –Brad Doliner

USH 1960-1972

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The Election of 1960
The Election of 1960 was between the Democratic candidate, John F. Kennedy and the Vice President, Republican candidate Richard Nixon. The main points of their campaign were based on the economy and the Cold War. Kennedy also focused on higher domestic reforms program which was known as the “New Frontier”. The election of 1960 was one of the closest ever seen in the history of the United States. However, Kennedy earned his victory with 100,000 additional votes. It’s believed that Kennedy won these elections due to the battle he put up in the debates against Nixon, which were being transmitted through television all around the country. The media was an important factor for both candidates during the elections, considering it was the first electoral campaign where 90% of the country’s population possessed a television in their homes.  However, John F. Kennedy became the 35^th president of the United States on January 20^th 1961 until November 22^nd 1963. — Isaline Wethli

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John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest man ever to be elected to the nation’s highest office; he served as a United States Naval officer in the South Pacific during World War two. In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President. Four years later he was the first-ballot nominee for President. Millions of people watched his television debates against Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon. He won by a narrow margin in the popular. Kennedy and his wife were created for the media. Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President. He took strong action in the cause of equal rights and called for new civil rights legislation. President Kennedy had a vision of America being extended to the quality of the national culture and central role of the arts of a essential society. He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the human rights revolution. — Abdul Sihag

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The New Frontier / The Kennedy Administration
John F. Kennedy created the term “New Frontier” to develop programs that he wanted to push through Congress. The term was first used in his acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention as the Democratic nominee, but his intentions on using this term was originally just a slogan to inspire Americans to stand behind him. His plans were to increase aid to education, provide health insurance to the elderly, create a Department of Urban Affairs, and help migrant workers. Although his programs were beneficial, many legislators thought that it was too costly. Kennedy was very popular, but that did not help him win the support in Congress. Somehow, though, Congress was convinced when Kennedy increased spending for defense and space exploration. He also convinced Congress to increase business production and efficiency, raise the minimum wage to $1.25 per hour, cut taxes, and he created thousands of construction jobs through the Housing Act. Under the Kennedy administration, the Housing Act also created many home-building and slum clearance programs.  — Connie Pitenis

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The Warren Court

The history of the Supreme Court is frequently described in terms of the Chief Justices who have presided over the court. When the Chief Justice was Earl Warren the time which he was the Chief Justice was known as the Warren Court. The Warren Court made many very controversial rulings on important issues. The court made a lot of rulings relating to the civil rights movement which took place in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In the case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education it was ruled that all schools across the United States had to be desegregated. Also the court granted equal protection to all minorities under the 14th amendment. Another landmark case was the case between Miranda and Arizona. In this case the court ruled that a person who is being accused of a crime must be informed of their constitutional rights. The Warren Court made many important rulings which helped the civil rights movement. — Ben Murray

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The Peace Corps
On March 1, 1961 President John F. Kennedy established through an executive order the Peace Corps.  It was President Kennedy’s hope to reinvigorate the nation’s stagnant U.S. foreign policy.  The Peace Corps would be comprised of civilian engineers from all walks of life with varied talents and skills.  The volunteers would be sent to underdeveloped nations all over the world.  The intended impact of the United States’ philanthropic assistance in these nations was to deter the spread of communism and ingratiate our own presence and ideals around the globe.

Although the program enrolled “volunteers,” enlisted individuals still required financial assistance for basic sustenance and funds to enable them to provide education and construction programs for the citizens of the underdeveloped nations where they would be deployed.  In September 1961 Congress established the Peace Corps as a permanent organization and has since provided a substantial budget to ensure its continuance.

During the Cold War, the Peace Corps “army” was a valuable weapon against communism, and most nations welcomed the presence and assistance that the U.S. offered.  Today the Peace Corps is still in existence, although its idealistic volunteers are no longer viewed as soldiers against Communism but rather as compassionate and caring individuals who want to make a positive impact on the lives of the underprivileged.  — Sparta Nicholoudis

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The Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by United States and Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Increasing friction between the U.S. government and Castro’s party led President Dwight D. Eisenhower to break off relations with Cuba. Even before that, however, the Central Intelligence Agency had been training anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles for a possible invasion of the island.  The invasion plan was approved by John F. Kennedy. On April 17, 1961 about 1300 exiles, armed with U.S. weapons, landed on the Bay of Pigs, which is on the southern coast of Cuba. The exiles hoped to find support from the local population. However, that support never came. After the first hours of fighting, the exiles looked as if they were likely to lose. President Kennedy had the option of using the U.S. Air Force against the Cubans but decided not to use them. The invasion was then stopped by Castro’s army. By the time the fighting ended on April 19^th of 1961, 90 exiles had been killed and the rest had been taken as prisoners.  — Jack Daru

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The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis happened during the cold war.  It was an ongoing incident between the U.S and the Soviet Union.  This crisis was very close to escalating into nuclear war.  The U.S took some reconnaissance pictures in Cuba.  They found that missile bases were being built there.  The Soviets did not have the technology that the U.S had.  The Soviet missiles could not reach America.  So they established missile bases in Cuba.  This gave them the ability to attack the U.S.  John F. Kennedy was told of these photos the morning after they were taken.  He called his most important advisors to decide how to diffuse the situation.  John F. Kennedy decided that any attack from Cuba would be the same as an attack from the Soviets.  If Cuba did attack America then the Soviets would receive full retaliation from the U.S.  John F. Kennedy made a deal with the Soviets that involved them dismantling the missiles in Cuba.  The U.S also had to give up their missiles in Turkey.  This incident was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. — Tom Mitchell

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President Kennedy is assassinated
President Kennedy was riding in a motorcade in Dallas Texas when he was unexpectedly shot and died on November 22, 1963, making Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson the next President.  Also, the governor of Texas John Connelly was injured from the shooting.  Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, a man who favored Communism, and accused him of shooting the President.  Two days later, Oswald was murdered by an assassin while going to court.  President Johnson released special search parties to examine Kennedy’s assassination and was convinced that Oswald worked alone.  However, there are conspiracy theories that Oswald did not act alone.  For example, there are witnesses that suggest that there were two shooters, one who shot Kennedy and one who shot Connelly because the angles of the shots were different.  Other theories propose that three “tramps” were suspicious in their actions the day of the shooting.  To this day, we still do not have the answer, nor do I think there ever will be.

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Who killed Kennedy?
Theory #1:  Lee Harvey Oswald
The man responsible for our 35^th president’s death was Lee Harvey Oswald.  Lee Harvey Oswald was born in New Orleans on October 18, 1939.  Lee Harvey joined the Marines at age at 16 and he was stationed at the Atsugi Airbase in Japan.  While he was in Japan he ran into some trouble for having a weapon that was not legally registered.  On November 22, 1963 President Kennedy and his political party would ride through the business District of Dallas in limousines.  Soon after the cars entered the Business District, loud gun shots rung out through the air.  A few seconds after the shots were fired the limousines that the president and his family were riding in sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital.  John Connally had received injuries to his back, chest, wrist and thighs while Kennedy’s injuries were a lot more serious.  He had a massive gun shot wound to the head.  Doctors tried to save his life and revive him but at around 1 pm he was pronounced dead.  During the police investigation they found a gun and 3 empty cartridge cases in the Texas School Book Depository.  Different witnesses place Oswald at the seen of the evidence. They said he arrived there at around 11:55 and he left a few minutes after Kennedy was shot.  Later that day a police officer confronted a man who would later be identified as Oswald.  Witness’s say the police officer and the man briefly conversed and then Oswald pulled out a hand gun and shot the officer multiple times.  He immediately ran and hid in the Texas Theater.  Police later found Oswald in the theater acting suspicious and after a brief struggle they arrested him.  He was interrogated and he admitted to assassinating the President.  Two days later on November 24, he was being transferred to a county jail.  While being transferred Oswald was shot in the stomach and killed by a man named Jack Ruby.  — Mike Xirinachs

Theory #2 – Oswald did not act alone
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president on the United States.  He was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.  Kennedy’s assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald, but there has been much controversy over whether Oswald acted alone or if he was part of a conspiracy.  Originally released in 1964, the Warren Commission was an 888 page report released after the president’s death, stating that Lee Harvey Oswald indeed acted alone.  However, this conclusion has been challenged many times over the years.  There are several different theories about what really happened when it comes to Kennedy’s assassination, but they have yet to be proved.  One theory is that there was at least one other gunman in the shooting.  Oswald shot Kennedy from behind, from a distance of more than 300 feet away.  At the same time, another shooter was in front of Kennedy and fired the fatal head shot from the “grassy knoll”.

Some people believe that if others were involved, it could have possibly been angry supporters of the Vietnam War, since Kennedy was trying to pull out of the war.  Another theory is that certain Mafia groups were involved because Kennedy’s brother (who was attorney general) fought organized crime.  Theories have even been formed that the conspiracy went as high as the Central Intelligence Agency – and a group of agents angry at Kennedy for his actions during the Bay of Pigs invasion – plotted the murder.  Others believe that the “military-industrial complex” had Kennedy killed because was “getting in the way of their plans”.  Those plans being the invasion of Vietnam, which would mean high profits for defense and war-related industries.  With as many theories as there are however, the question still remains; who killed Kennedy?  — Alexa Rancourt

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Lyndon B. Johnson / Civil Rights
Lyndon B. Johnson became president after President Kennedy was assassinated. In 1964 he had to run for presidency and won by proclaiming himself as Kennedy’s successor. Johnson’s years as the Senate Majority leader really gave him an edge with lawmakers and because of this he was able to pass a program called The Great Society. This program sought to end inequality among people in the US. Some Great Society legislation includes: Medicare and Medicaid, Water Quality Act and Clean Air acts, The Head Start program and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. Johnson was a good president for civil rights but because of the unpopularity of The Vietnam War he did not try and go for re-election. The most memorable thing about the 1960’s was the Civil Rights Movement because it paved a path for equal rights among all people. It started with Rosa Parks not wanting to get off a bus because she was black. After that, black students in Greensboro, North Carolina protested by “sitting in” at a lunch center. Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated his protest by making largely influential speeches to all people. After all that was done by people pushing for equal rights they were rewarded in 1964 with the Civil Rights Act. — Stephen Kimsey

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The Great Society
After the Assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, the vice president immediately became the president. Mr. Johnson continued to push the proposal of President Kennedy. Jonson had served the country as the leader of the majority party in the U.S. Senate. This influence enabled him to push the legislation to the congress. The rush of legislation proposed by Johnson, and negotiated through Congress, included programs for consumer protection, environmental protection, education and training, civil rights (including voting rights), health care, urban development, employment programs and, income supplements. All of these programs were meant to create what Johnson viewed as the “Great Society.” To illustrate, this legislation included:

Health and Welfare
Medicare and Medicaid
Education with the Primary, Secondary and Higher Education Act
The Head Start Program
The War on Poverty with the Office of Economic Opportunity
Housing and Urban Development Act
Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act
The Consumer and Environmental Protection Act
Water Quality Act and Clean Air Acts
The Highway Safety Act
Fair Packaging and Labeling Act  — Mint Karuchit
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King who started a series of nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama.  This city was filled with segregation.  In addition, on August 28, 1963 Dr. King organized a “March on Washington” for jobs and freedom.  At the end of the march between 200,000 and 500,000 people gathered in front of Lincoln Memorial to listen to Martin Luther King, Jr.  He then gave one of his most famous speeches, the “I Have A Dream” speech.  Martin Luther King was one of the most influential persons in the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Act stopped the Jim Crows laws, state laws in the South which allowed discrimination and separate schools and public facilities for black and whites.  Martin Luther King was the youngest person to get a Nobel Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination.  Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee. – Ambry Moss

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James Meredith

Meredith was of Native American and African American heritage. He entered the U.S. Air Force when he graduated from high school. He served 9 nines – from 1951 to 1960. He then attended Jackson State College for two years. But was denied admission to the University of Mississippi twice, only because he was black.   On October 1, 1962 James Meredith walked onto the campus of the University of Mississippi – after having been denied entrance 10 days earlier on September 20.  The governor of Mississippi, who was a segregationist, was very opposed to Meredith’s actions.  Riots broke out on the Oxford, MS campus and President Kennedy sent federal troops and U.S. Marshalls.  Two people were killed and and many soldiers were injured also.  Meredith’s courageous stand in Oxford is look at as a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Meredith graduated in 1963 with a degree in Political Science.  He continued to be active in the civil rights marches of the 1960’s.

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Black Power

After Martin Luther King, Jr. did a non-violent demonstration in 1965 in Selma, Alabama, demanding the right of black people to register to vote, African-Americans achieved some legal rights. However, there were almost no economic improvements.  A lot of young African-Americans called for “Black Power.” This term had different meanings for different people. For most part of the population, the term meant that African-Americans should take control of their economic, social and political struggle. For some people, it meant to defend the African-American population’s freedom using violence. Black power brought a lot of pride in the African-American culture. Although the term could have many different meanings, in general “black power” was a move away from interracial cooperation and society and an approximation to an increased awareness of racial distinctiveness. It stimulated racial pride in African-Americans, who lived in a society where the black people were inferior to white people. The Black Panther Party organized paramilitary lines and carried weapons proudly. They promised to defend black rights at any cost, even if violence would be needed. — Leo Gomez

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The Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is an organization which tries to improve the spiritual and social aspects of African-Americans. This organization helped blacks with managing their lives. It also showed them how to be more responsible. The most famous “Black Muslim“ was named Malcolm Little (Malcolm X). He used the letter ”X” for his last name because of his African heritage. He was told to do this from the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He committed some crimes and had to spend time in prison, but after joining the Nation of Islam he changed his life. He encouraged many people to join the organization, and changed their lives.  He became very popular and many people loved him.   However, he was assassinated in New York after a pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca made up end his association with the Nation of Islam.  – Jakub Mikulik

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Malcolm X
Malcolm X was born in 1925. He was African-American who believed in Islam. After getting out of prison for several crimes such as theft, drug dealing and pimping, Malcolm went to Muhammad, in order to learn more about Islam.  Muhammad taught him that white Americans always kept African-Americans from success.  After that, Malcolm went back to the United States and encouraged thousands of African-American people to get in Islamic religion.  He spread his news everywhere, including newspapers, radio and television.  In 1960, there were high racial tensions.  Malcolm had some problems with FBI and Muhammad.  He was silenced for 90 days.  Since then, Malcolm X realized that all races are equal. He started to talk to all people and not only African-Americans. Eventually, relations with Muhammad had become bad.  One day, there was a plan to bomb his car.  Another attempt to kill him was in the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom.  In 1965 he was shot fifteen times and was dead. Malcolm X was buried in Hartsdale, New York.  –Max Shishkin

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MLK assassination

Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on April 4, 1968.  He was an important figure in American history as he helped many African-Americans gain their deserved rights. On April 4, Martin Luther King was standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel. He was in Memphis, Tennessee. He was unexpectedly shot in the head and died immediately on his balcony. This is ironic because he had spent so much of his life seeking peace, yet he died, shot in cold blood at age 34. After his death, many blacks began rioting all over the country. Eventually the FBI did arrest someone, James Earl Ray, however many believe the man arrested was innocent.  New York senator, Robert Kennedy, gave a speech in honor of King the day of his death. Kennedy was the first to inform his audience of King’s death. Below is a picture of the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. — Tyler Currence

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La Raza Unida
The “Partido La Raza Unida” was a third party that was created by Chicanos, which was a term used to call Americans with Mexican descent. This party was organized in order to help social, political and economic conditions for the Chicanos. These groups were formed mostly in Texas, Colorado and California. In Texas, much of it’s help came from Jose Angel Gutierrez who was a student and an open borders advocate that founded La Raza Unida. In 1972, this party held their first commission. According to the statement, the mission stated that their goal was to “Re-Commit, Re-Direct, Re-Organize and Re-Claim” their Mexican American ancestry. This group supports the open borders policy, which basically gives rights to the undocumented (”illegal”) Mexicans in the United States. It also helped to get people jobs. The party also claimed that the Americans stole their ancestral land. – Stephie Ritchey

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Vietnam War / The Domino Effect Theory
The domino theory was a foreign policy theory, promoted by the government of the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence of Communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. The domino effect suggests that some change, even a small one, will cause a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. Like a falling row of dominoes standing on end. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify American intervention around the world.  President Eisenhower was the first to refer to countries in danger of Communist takeover as dominoes. The United States intervened in Vietnam because they believed in rebuilding that country into a Democracy, but if you think about it, in the end they withdrew from Vietnam having failed to achieve their objectives. — Phil Lea

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Vietnam War / The Gulf of Tonkin incident

The Vietnam war was the most populated war in the US History. 58,000 U.S. soldiers were killed and another 153,000 were wounded. So many people on both sides were killed, including over 2 million civilians. North Vietnam believed in the expansion of Communism, the U.S. did not.  The American wanted to stop the spread of Communism, and the Gulf of Tokin incident was a major escalation that happened in August 1964. The U.S. Navy claimed that torpedo boats from North Vietnam fired on American ships in international waters. Congress made the fast decision to pass the gulf of Tonkin Resolution, this gave permission to the president to take all necessary measures to protect American forces and prevent future aggression in southeast Asia. By the 1965 American pilots were bombing North Vietnam. Many troops were sent to South Vietnam into the Viet Cong. There were 3,500 American troops in Vietnam on March 8, 1965.  By December of that year, there were 200,000.  – Guilia Molinaro

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Vietnam War / Anti-war protests in the U.S.
During the Vietnam War people came together to protest against the war and to try to convince the government to stop it. This was a mass movement which peaked in 1968 and united mostly college, high school and independent or free thinkers into mass protests. Most of the people were in discord with each others ideas about many things the only thing that united them was the possibility of making a halt to the Vietnam War. This Movement grew as the war kept going in the beginning from 15 to 20 thousand people marched together against the war but in one of the marches as the war developed into its later stages, over 500 thousand people gathered in Washington DC, most of them protested that the cost of the war was too high.

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The Election of 1968

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U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam
After Nixon won his re-election in 1972, he wanted to make an agreement with North Vietnam to bring all the U.S. troops back from Vietnam. South Vietnam and the United States were allies and were working together. Nixon’s ultimate goal was to restore peace in Vietnam between North and South, and for South Vietnam to “decide their own future.” Although once the American troops left the war, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam. Nixon was shocked and concerned because they went against the terms of the agreement. Nixon tried to help South Vietnam in anyway they could. Though even with the help from Gerald Ford he could not convince Congress to give money to aid South Vietnam. Then soon after, North Vietnam took Saigon from South Vietnam, and later North and South Vietnam were reunited under the communist government and the capital Saigon, was re-named Ho Chi Minh City.  — Sadie Hoaglin

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The Watergate Scandal
Watergate was the political scandal that occurred during President Richard Nixon’s presidency. There were five men working for President Nixon’s re-election committee. President Nixon was a Republican. These men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel complex in Washington, D.C on June 17, 1972. As a result, this scandal became known a Watergate. These men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters to bug the office in an attempt to get the Democratic Election Committee’s strategy. Nixon did not know about this burglary. His mistake was that he took part in the cover up of the burglary because he was running for a second term. In 1973, the Senate established a Committee to investigate the Watergate scandal. In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted and accepted three Articles of Impeachment against President Nixon. President Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. Upon Nixon’s resignation, Vice-President Gerald Ford became our 38^th President.  — Tyler Rubino

USH 1945-1959

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The Post War Baby Boom
After World War 2 ended (1945), families started growing all over the world. This was known as the baby boom. The term ‘baby boom’ was made by Sylvia F. Porter in 1951, referring to the rapid increase of birth rates. In the U.S, more than 79 million children were born during this time period. Because there was economic prosperity and their family incomes tripled, people felt it was a good time to raise children and make a family. Large families were not a problem as middle class women were able to stay home and take care of their children instead of going to work. There were many veterans returning from the war, and they started families right away. Right now, the oldest baby boomers are in their 60s. Two famous U.S presidents, William J. Clinton and George W. Bush are baby boomers. — Elisa Aoki

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The Post War Economic Expansion
After World War II ended, the United States entered a period of economic growth which carried on for many years. During the war, people in America were able to save up a lot of money for there was only a small amount of consumer goods being produced so they didn’t have much to spend on. Also, the people who had lost family members in the war received insurance money which added up to their current years of saving during the war. During the first years after the war consumers goods were once again produced in large quantities and people had money to buy them so the growth was obvious for the industries were earning a lot of money. The big companies that were getting a lot of profit bought other smaller companies which were completely unrelated to them, for example car companies bought insurance companies. This is how the industries grew so much and benefited from each other. Due to this corporate expansion, many new jobs were created and since the companies were earning so much, workers enjoyed a high salary and many benefits. The economic and technological advance during this time was so great that it was named “The Greatest Period of Economic Expansion in American History”. — Anthony Sasso

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The Rise of Suburbia
The development of suburbia began in the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. Due to the high demand for community housing outside of city boundaries, large territories of land were in turn purchased and designated as neighborhood accommodations. Families and returning war veterans hoped to flee from the dangers of the inner-city; resulting in an outward expansion of living space. The first arranged suburb of the United States, “Levittown,” underwent construction on Long Island starting in 1947 and was successfully completed in 1949. 17,500 houses were manufactured within the short, two year span. To decrease production funds, all houses were built in similar styles with like design. Soon after “Levittown,” subsequent housing projects rapidly grew in popularity. Throughout the remainder of the 1950’s, several builders began to model Levitt & Sons’ developmental ideas. The Levitts later constructed two additional suburbs (both titled, “Levittown”); one in close proximity to Philadelphia and the other in New Jersey. — Shay Mlakar

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The Start of Television
The television existed since the late 1920’s but it was developed in late 1940’s. It was mass-produced after World War 2. There were not a lot of people who were using it. It began to blossom in the United States in 1948 and 1949. People started purchasing the televisions and the percentage of the American households who had television increased to 90 percent. The television industry was mostly advertising to appeal to the people who had the most spending power. The advertisements and the programming Americans tended to reinforce the importance of white suburban people.Televisions were also used for political campaign. The Presidential election of 1952 was the first Presidential election that the candidates used television for their advertisements. In 1960, most people blamed Nixon’s loss to Kennedy because of his poor appearance on television that time. — Mia Piccio

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The Cold War – U.S. (Democracy) vs. Soviet Union (Communism)
But the tensions and disputes between the United States and Russia at the time increased, as both countries utilized the new knowledge and the modernized technology to build weapons. The United States with democratic values fought against the Soviet Union and communism in what is known as the Cold War. They got involved in an “arms race” where both countries built powerful, nuclear weapons to be able to be prepared for an attack from the opponent. When the first satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviets in 1957, the Americans feared a huge missile attack. As fear and hatred towards the other side got even bigger, more and larger nuclear weapons were built on both sides. The Russians spent their money into getting a large number of missiles while the United States produced fewer but of better quality. By 1961, there were enough bombs to destroy the world.  – Christina Engelberth

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Jonas Salk / polio vaccine
Jonas Salk was an American biologist and physician who is best known for inventing the Polio Vaccine. Polio was a very devastating disease in the mid 1900s. The polio virus attacks the nervous system and within hours paralysis may occur. Salk believed that in order to become immune to the virus, the virus must be killed, but still enough must be intact to trigger an immune response. Once Basil O’Connor and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis funded the research, testing on monkeys began. The vaccine was thought of as successful, so in 1952 he started testing the vaccine on volunteer parties. On April 12, 1952 the vaccine was announced as safe and effective against polio. Using Salk’s vaccine, the eradication of polio began. In 1916 polio left about 6,000 people dead and 27,000 paralyzed. In 1952, 57,628 cases were recorded, but after the polio vaccine cases dropped 85%-90% in only two years. Thanks to the polio vaccine, the polio virus is very rare in the US today.  — Liz Zimmer

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The First Computers
The UNIVAC was invented by the same peoples as the ENIAC computer. It started of with that the United States Cencus Bureau needed a new computer to help dealing with the huge increase of the U.S. population. There were given money to research in the new computer. The beginning of their research started badly and it was not until 1948 that it actually was finalized. The two inventors went through a tough economic time and they were bailed out of financial trouble by Remington Rand Inc. The Remington tried to re- negotiate the government contract for additional money but they failed. The Remington Rand had the complete the UNIVAC at the original price. It was not until 1951 that Census Bureau accepted delivery of the first computer. The final cost of the computer was near one million dollars.  – Rebecca Graf

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Sputnik & NASA ”the space race”
The Satellite Sputnik was launched in to space on October 4, 1957 by the Soviet Union.  It was launched during a time of great tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.  Before Sputnik, America was believed to have the superior technology, education, culture, and many other things.  Basically, the US had a great deal of pride in themselves, but that changed after the Russians became the first to launch a satellite in to space and have it orbit the earth.  Americans felt like they were falling back and were a step behind the Soviets and their pursuits.  It is this tension that lead to a time called “the space race” (1957-1975).  Four months after Sputnik and many unsuccessful tries at Cape Canaveral, the Americans launched the satellite “Explorer 1″ in to space and it orbited the earth.

While the Americans were busy at work trying to put a man in space, the Russians beat them to it again when the sent Yuri Gagarin on the Vostok 1 on April 12th, 1961.  23 days later, the Americans sent John Glenn and Alan Shepard in to space and they became the first Americans to orbit the earth.  The Russians added to their victories in 1965 when Alexey Leonov became the first man to do the spacewalk.  With all these losses, the US had their back up against the wall with their eye on one target; being the first to put a human on the surface of the moon.  To give you an idea of how important it was to America, here is what President Kennedy had to say about it.  ”Everything we do ought to really be tied in to getting on to the Moon ahead of the Russians… otherwise we shouldn’t be spending that kind of money, because I’m not interested in space… The only justification (for the cost) is because we hope to beat the Soviet Union to demonstrate that instead of being behind by a couple of years, by God, we passed them.”  They did eventually succeed when Neil Armstrong walked the surface of the moon on July 21, 1969 on the “Apollo 11″ mission. — Clay Tormey

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McCarthyism – fear of Communists in the U.S.
Americans were scared. They thought they were being followed. They were suspicious of everyone and everything. Tired of looking over their shoulders, the American government decided to do something about, and in doing so they looked to McCarthyism.  In 1952 they entrusted Senator Joseph McCarthy to seek out and investigate possible communists, or people sympathetic to communism. Once a man was investigated by McCarthy his whole reputation went up in flames. He wouldn’t be able to work, nobody would hang around him, he would be alienated by the rest of society. Even if this man was found out to be completely innocent, the effects of the investigation would still be the same. Americans started to realize this was happening, but out of fear of being accused of being a sympathizer, they would remain silent. McCarthyism though, was just a small part of a much bigger anti-communist idea. Many movie actors and producers were forced to stop working because they were suspected of being communists. Then McCarthy went after politicians. After this he went on to anti-American books and then to the military. President Eisenhower finally realized that he had to stop McCarthy because he was putting a great number of innocent people in jail. McCarthy was censured and lost his power. With McCarthy’s power gone, so went McCarthyism. — Ethan Hoffman

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The Beat Generation   – writers and poets
The Beat Generation consisted of a group of writers and poets that were not content with American values and culture at the time.  The most famous of these writers are Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.  These writers protested the stereotypical suburban family lifestyle portrayed on TV during the 1950s.  The movement happened during the late 1940s and the 1950s.  The beliefs of the Beat Generation writers consisted of a more relaxed, sort of hippie lifestyle.  They envisioned a return to the artistic and spiritual world.  Usually this meant taking a lot of drugs, having a lot of casual sex, listening to music and even indulging in Zen Buddhism.  This movement later became inspiration for early Rock and Roll artists.  The inspiration for Beat writers came from some 19th century poetry and jazz music of the early to mid 20th century.  One of the most famous works of Beat poetry is a poem entitled “Howl.”  The poem does not rhyme, and talks about American’s worship of material goods.  – Mike Holmes

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R&B / Rock n’ Roll music
The 1950’s was the beginning of a cultural surge that still exists today.  Along with the “Beat Generation” came the rise of the popular music genre called rock ’n’ roll.  Authority figures including parents and ministers scolded listeners of this outrageous music saying that it was not “real” music and sometimes dubbed it sacrilegious.  However, this did not phase the listeners, but rather fueled their fire.  Rock ‘n’ Roll was created through the roots of Rhythm and Blues, a popular style of music mostly among the African American culture.  The first artists to define rock ‘n’ roll were Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and of course Elvis Presley who became known as the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll.”  Television and radio fed on the new style of music because of the high demand for it.  Many music artists often used “payola,” or paying off owners of radio and television stations, to get their music heard by listeners.  Since then, rock ‘n’ roll has greatly changed but its artists and listeners are still one of a kind.  — Nick Mace

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Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi. He was involved in the boycott campaign against white merchants. The operation involved speaking to large groups of African Americans and enlightening them about the current situation and about the future. He would tell them that they needed to stop purchasing goods from these stores if they ever wanted to gain freedoms and rights. Another accomplishment he had was desegregating the University of Mississippi. On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith. There was more than enough evidence to put Beckwith behind bars, such as his gun that was found on the murder scene, but because it was an all white jury they did not convict him. He had another trial, once again with all white jurors and yet again they were dead locked and he was not convicted. Finally, in 1994, thirty one years after the murder of Medgar Evers, Byron De La Beckwith was finally brought to justice. –Max Solow

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Civil Rights / African-Americans
In the 1950’s African Americans were not given the same opportunities that white kids were having. They had to go to separate schools, and the facilities were far inferior between the two. Under the Jim Crows Laws, blacks were not allowed to be in the same area, and the attitude towards them was very different. In 1954, there was a Supreme Court case, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, arguing that the facilities should be equal, and different facilities and opportunities were unconstitutional. The Brown party won the case, but no specific time was given to them on how long the process would take. It took 10 years for the process to go through, and African-Americans were still not given the same qualities as the white people. Hundreds of people across the country formed the “White Citizen’s Board”, which worked against giving African-Americans the same quality of life. It was a struggle for African-Americans to gain the same quality of life, but after a decade they were finally given equal opportunities. — Andrew Gain

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Civil Rights / Native Americans
During the 1940’s, Native Americans had nineteen segregated elementary schools called “Special School” that served the Native American communities.  The Catawba Indian School and the Summerville Indian School were just a few of these “Special Schools.”  In 1944, about one hundred Native Americans met up and created the National Congress of American Indians.  This organization monitored federal policies to secure the rights and benefits that the Native American people are entitled to have.  During the 1950’s more than one hundred Native American tribes were legally terminated.  The Native Americans lost their lands and were relocated to urban slums where they had troubles adapting to the urban life.  This new policy was abandoned by the government in 1963.  In 1961 youth activism rose around the country and the National Indian Youth Council was developed to resurrect a sense of national pride among young Native Americans and to inspire an activist message.  In 1968 urban Native Americans created the American Indian Movement which believed that direct and militant confrontation with the US government was the only way to gain contemporary civil rights.  — Jarrod Czinski

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Civil Rights / Women
Colorado was the first state to grant the amendment giving women the right to vote, many states followed after. In 1919 the federal women’s suffrage amendment written by Susan B. Anthony was sent to the states for ratification. Things seemed to be going a lot better for women, more people were beginning to listen to them and some people even saw that they were not useless. Women were still not treated equally and still had a lot of more hills to get over and laws to get passed so the next big law that was passed was the Equal Pay Act, which made it illegal for employers to pay a women less than what a man would get for the same exact job.  — Megan Fabry

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Civil Rights / Gay & Lesbian
The homosexuals living in the United States during the 1950s had virtually no rights. Their rights were even taken from them in a way. Shortly after the WWII ended the gay community started to develop. Many cities witnessed their first gay bars in the 1940s. This increase in the openly homosexual population upset Dwight D. Eisenhower for some reason and in the 1953 President Eisenhower issued an executive order banning gay men and lesbians from all federal jobs. The military was also involved in throwing gay men and lesbians out of the service. State and local goverments were allowed to make their own laws about homosexuals but the majority of them followed Eisenhower’s lead. The homosexual community even had their constitutional right to privacy taken away when the FBI began a surveillance program against them. The hatred for homosexuals in the 1950s was so strong that local police were even encouraged to harass gay citizens. Gay bars were raided regularly by vice officers and dozens of men and women could be taken to jail on a single night. This public humiliation and hatred led to the formation of advocacy groups for gay rights.  — Christina Miller

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Racial integration of schools / Brown v. Board of Education
The desegregation of schools was a major goal of the American Civil Rights movement.  In 1896 the United States Supreme Court ruled that as long as separate facilities for each race were equal, then segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.  Fifty eight years later, the Brown vs. Board of Education decision overturned the earlier rulings of Plessy vs. Ferguson, by declaring that state laws that established separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities.  The Court’s unanimous decision specifically stated that ” segregation of students in public schools violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, because separate facilities are inherently unequal.”  Three years after the Brown vs. Board decision, nine black students were denied entrance into Little Rock Central High, disregarding the Supreme Court ruling.  President Eisenhower ordered military escort for these nine students into the school where they faced an angry mob of over 1,000 whites protesting integration.  This was a huge step in the American Civil Rights movement and brought us to where we are today.  Even one of the nine students quoted, ” After three full days inside Central High, I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought.” — Tory Bauman

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Montgomery Bus Boycott / Rosa Parks
It was a time of segregations and the Blacks were put in a very difficult position. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign which opposed the city’s policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. When white people boarded the bus, they took seats in the front rows. However, black people who boarded the bus took seats in the back rows. Once the bus was full, and another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the front had to get up and stand, so that a new row for white people could be created. With no freedom, one black woman decided to take a challenge and as a result she became the woman who changed the nation. With the racism, segregation, and Jim Crow laws of the time, Rosa Parks was exhausted and drained of all the sour treatment that she and the other African-Americans had to deal with when getting onto the bus. She stood up for herself, and all African-Americans, by refusing to move when the bus driver came to the back of the bus and told her she had to get up from her seat and make room for more white riders.  She made a statement to the world saying “Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it”. – Kanhai Patel

***

President Eisenhower / support for civil rights
President Dwight D. Eisenhower served as president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He supported the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement but did not do so in an ostentatious manner. He was quiet about his support and was moderate. However he did fight for what he believed in and was not afraid to ask for the support of the Supreme Court. Especially when dealing with the segregation in the South. When the integration of an all-white school in Arkansas began, Eisenhower insured that part of the 101st Airborne Dviision was there to enforce the new order.  Eisenhower was also careful to appoint people to the southern districts federal judges who were committed to the advancement of equal rights for all. He also helped in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This was the first civil rights law proposed after the Reconstruction and was made to enforce voting rights of disenfranchised African-Americans. He was also the first president to give an executive power to an African-American in the White House.  — Melanie Haschek

***

Poverty in the U.S.
In the 1950s, an image of American prosperity and well being was being portrayed via the television and pop culture. Unfortunately, not all Americans were enjoying the same comforts. In fact, there were many communities that lived in harsh conditions. Minorities were often not financially stable. They suffered because of racial discrimination and were not given the same opportunities as their racial counterparts. There was a vast economic gap between the affluent and the deprived. Single mothers and the elderly were often the groups found at the bottom of the spectrum. The American society lacked a notable middle class and often this big of a disparity between the rich and poor can cause unrest. Change was definitely on the horizon as the African-American community felt more and more oppressed.  – Shaaz Khan

JFK

Your blog post should answer BOTH questions – Tues & Wed.
Title your post “JFK” – please label Tue & Wed clearly - both should be in the SAME post.

Tuesday - Do you believe that Oswald acted alone OR that there was a group of people working together to assassinate Kennedy?    AND what did you see in the movie that makes you hold that opinion?  150+ words.

Wednesday – Garrison’s basic theory on the crime is that a small but powerful group of high-ranking military intelligence personnel, and corporations who do business with the military, arranged the assassination of President Kennedy because he wanted to withdrawal from Vietnam.    Do you agree or disgree with that theory?   Why or why not?

————————
For further reading on the topic:
“Oswald was the lone gunman” theory:
– Case Closed       by Gerald Posner (1993)
– Reclaiming History:  The Assassination of John F. Kennedy      by Vincent Bugliosi (2007)

“CIA/Military-Industrial Complex” theory:
– On the Trail of the Assassins       by Jim Garrison (1988)
– Crossfire:  The Plot That Killed Kennedy       by Jim Marrs (1989)
-or – www.jfkmurdersolved.com

Malcolm X

Thanks to the 19 of you who made it to both nights – I hope you learned some new things and had your eyes opened to another perspective.  Any questions or comments, please stop me anytime, or email, to talk about them.

One more task to complete before you get your extra credit. 

Your blog post for the movie (two parts - one topic from Tue, one topic from Thur) should be a minimum of 300 words.  Please label clearly in your post which topics you are writing about.  I’ll be grading your Malcolm X posts Saturday morning.   You must have it done by then to receive the extra credit.

Tuesday night / Topic 1.  Describe Malcolm’s mother and father.  
Discuss the factors that broke their family apart.

Tuesday night / Topic 2.   Describe the course of Malcolm’s life from the time he was told he could never be a lawyer (grade school) to his release from prison. 

Thursday night / Topic 3.   Malcolm said he went through a “spiritual rebirth” when he made his pilgrimage to Mecca.  Describe what he learned about Islam during that “rebirth” and how it changed him when he returned to the U.S.

Thursday night / Topic 4.   What are the 5 Pillars of Islam?  Describe a scene in the movie when you saw Malcolm carry out two of these tasks.

Frontline: Inside The Teenage Brain

To view the documentary, click here.
Please answer the following questions and copy/paste to my yahoo email.  (This was an in-class assignment on Wed/Thur Apr 9/10) 

                         
1.   What do you see (in any part of the documentary) that reminds you of yourself?

2.   What changes would you make at Pendleton regarding class start times and the length of classes?  Why?

3.   Can you notice a difference in your school/sport performance if you haven’t had enough sleep?  Explain briefly.4.  What can you do to make sure you get more sleep?

 

Frontline: Growing Up Online

PBS Frontline has produced an excellent documentary about you and your generation.

To watch, click here.

As you watch, please answer the following questions.  Submit your answers to my yahoo email – copy and paste, no attachments.
Due date:  Sunday, March 30

Chapter 1: Living Their Lives Essentially Online
How is your life similar or different from what you just saw in Chapter 1?

Chapter 2:  A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life
Q1.  On an average day, how much time do you spend on the following activities each day during your free time (outside of school / your sport)?1.  watching TV / DVDs   2.  Computer games   3.  Facebook / myspace   4.  Chat / msg boards   5.  Homework 
Q2.  Where do you draw the line between legitimate use of online resources and cheating?
Q3.  Why do you think MySpace/Facebook users have no reservations about posting private thoughts and photos online?  

Chapter 3: Self Expression. Trying On New Identities 
Q1.  What percentage of your Facebook “friends” do you actually consider a friend?   
Q2.  Is it acceptable to have an alternate identity on the internet?   Why or why not? 

Chapter 4: The Child Predator Fear 
Q1.  Do you feel confident in your ability to identify a possible predator online?   
Q2.  Would you be willing to give your parents your passwords in a sealed envelope that they could only open if an emergency occurred?  Why or why not? 

Chapter 5:  Private Worlds Outside Parents’ Reach? Should young people be surprised and angry when their parents catch them engaging in unacceptable activities if they post photos and videos online? 

Chapter 6:  Cyberbullying Who do you believe is responsible for Ryan Halligan’s death?

Pendleton Presidential Election

UPDATE:  after 6 days, voting has closed.  88 students voted, thanks for participating.
Final results: 

Bararck Obama  59 votes (67%)
John McCain       29 votes (33%)