Essay:
Some historians claim Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst "started" the Spanish-American War. Write a short essay for homework to support or refute this argument. Be sure that your response includes an answer to the Focus Question: How did yellow journalism contribute to the Spanish-American War?
In the late 1800s the Cubans were revolting against Spain. The US felt "obligated" to help out a revolutionary cause because of their successful history with revolutions. However, their practice of isolationism prevented them from justifying further involvement in the revolution. The bags of sand that tipped the iceberg were the "muckrakers" of the time. The yellow journalists provoked a war to enhance the popularity of their newspapers. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst were the two people at the top of the muckraking ladder. They were the two most popular newspaper owners of the time; and also the most competitive. When the Maine was exploded just off the coast of Cuba, the muckrakers, a nickname given to melodramatic journalists by Theodore Roosevelt, publicized that it was Spain that exploded the American ship. Of course, a few months after the war was over, it turned out to just be some bad placement of the boiler room and the ammunition room which happened to be located right next to each other. The yellow journalists could have further investigated this and told what had really happened and prevented a war, but instead, to get more publicity and demand for their newspapers, they insisted it was the slimy Spaniards that exploded the American ship and that the US could not sit idly by and wait for Spain to attack home. This incident of slander of Spain provoked a war.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Water Balloon WWI
Today I learned that trench warfare is kind of a bad way to end a war quickly. I also learned that the side with the most ammunition is the winner. I learned why the war didn't really start to move until the Americans got there. I learned that water balloons don't explode if you don't fill balloons enough.
I think that next year you should divide the sides prior to the day that the war is fought; that way the teams can be organized in making enough water balloons.
I think that next year you should divide the sides prior to the day that the war is fought; that way the teams can be organized in making enough water balloons.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Devil in the White City Questions
1. Before reading this book, what did you think the expression “The Windy City” meant?
I thought it meant that Chicago was rather chilly with a strong wind factor.
2. Could this many murders and/or disappearances have gone undetected in a different city?
Yes, it is all in the size and excitement.
3. Do you think Holmes was born with an evil inclination or were there events that drove him
to evil?
I think that he was born an evil psychopath. You simply can't create an evil that strong.
4. There are two different producers that have optioned this for a movie - who do you think
will be cast as the main characters?
Holmes: Hayden Frye
Burnham: Alex Purut
Root: Jackson
Mrs. Holton: Kyndall Wells
Julia: Lillian LeQuire
Numerous women: Melissa Early, Ana Neville, Jared Nava
5. What surprised you most about this book?
How easy it was for Holmes to get away with all of the evil that he did unnoticed for as long as he did.
6. If you had a young daughter in the late 1800s, how would you have felt about her traveling alone or
moving to Chicago?
I would not want her to go there. If she insisted on going I would make sure that she was married or had a companion with her at all times.
7. Who was more powerful – Burnham or Holmes?
Holmes was more powerful because if you have the ability to sway people from the truth with sly words and an intense gaze, you can do anything.
8. What did Holmes look for in women and why?
Vulnerability and trust because those are the kind of women that can easily fall into the trap of his cruel lies and pure evil.
9. What did it mean to be a doctor or a pharmacist in this era?
It meant that you give people meds. It doesn't require any real skill because everyone just wants an answer...it didn't have to be the right one.
10. On page 62, Holmes suggests that “women as a class were so wonderfully vulnerable”.
To what extent, if any, does this hold true today?
I think that this definitely holds true today. I think that women are always vulnerable because of, first and foremost, the size difference. And also the underlying desire to look for good in someone.
I thought it meant that Chicago was rather chilly with a strong wind factor.
2. Could this many murders and/or disappearances have gone undetected in a different city?
Yes, it is all in the size and excitement.
3. Do you think Holmes was born with an evil inclination or were there events that drove him
to evil?
I think that he was born an evil psychopath. You simply can't create an evil that strong.
4. There are two different producers that have optioned this for a movie - who do you think
will be cast as the main characters?
Holmes: Hayden Frye
Burnham: Alex Purut
Root: Jackson
Mrs. Holton: Kyndall Wells
Julia: Lillian LeQuire
Numerous women: Melissa Early, Ana Neville, Jared Nava
5. What surprised you most about this book?
How easy it was for Holmes to get away with all of the evil that he did unnoticed for as long as he did.
6. If you had a young daughter in the late 1800s, how would you have felt about her traveling alone or
moving to Chicago?
I would not want her to go there. If she insisted on going I would make sure that she was married or had a companion with her at all times.
7. Who was more powerful – Burnham or Holmes?
Holmes was more powerful because if you have the ability to sway people from the truth with sly words and an intense gaze, you can do anything.
8. What did Holmes look for in women and why?
Vulnerability and trust because those are the kind of women that can easily fall into the trap of his cruel lies and pure evil.
9. What did it mean to be a doctor or a pharmacist in this era?
It meant that you give people meds. It doesn't require any real skill because everyone just wants an answer...it didn't have to be the right one.
10. On page 62, Holmes suggests that “women as a class were so wonderfully vulnerable”.
To what extent, if any, does this hold true today?
I think that this definitely holds true today. I think that women are always vulnerable because of, first and foremost, the size difference. And also the underlying desire to look for good in someone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)