Taylor's Thoughts

#12 9/11 Memories

When I woke up on September 11, 2001l; I thought it was going to be just another regular day.  Get up, go to school, come home and do homework; then start it all over again.  When I arrived at school I did my normal things; talked to my friends, dreaded the walk to first period, and wanting that final bell to ring, signaling that it was time to go home.  However, something happened in my third period class that changed that whole outlook on that particular day.

While in band, the class was busy trying to master a new song when an announcement came over the PA that stunned us all.  The Principle stated that there had been a terrorist attack on the Two Towers.  After having that blow sink in a little, another announcement came stating there had been a terrorist attack on the Pentagon as well.  A call came through to my band instructor's office asking for one of my friends in my band class.  The person on the line was a friend of her mom's and they wanted to let my friend Sam know that they were pretty sure her mother was OK, her mother was a flight attendant on her way to NYC.  After hearing that call, she broke down crying, as well as the rest of the class.  Yet the only thing I could think about was my dad.  My dad works in Rossyln, right across from DC and goes over to the Pentagon almost everyday; and every part of me was hoping he had not gone there on this day.  I had to wait two whole periods to get word from my mother that my father was in fact OK and had stayed at his office in Rossyln that day.  When we were let out of school, my brother and I raced home and ran down to the basement to watch the news, since they would not let us in school.  When my father came home I ran into his arms and would not let go of him for what seemed like ages! I was so grateful that he was OK and I was not one of the thousands who would be grieving over that day's events. 

Ever since that day, I have been wondering why the terrorists decided to  cause so much harm to such innocent people who really did not have anything to do with what they were mad about.  So much chaos and destruction just because some people did not agree with how we run our country or were jealous of our well-being. I guess no one can be entirely sure on why the attacks on September 11th happened, however we can learn from it and be prepared for a possible repeat.  September 11, 2001 shook the entire country, whether you were in the East, West, North, or South, you were effected by the sudden blow on our homeland. 

#11) Group Post Top 10 movies of the 1970s

1970 was a year in which America was in an uproar over issues both abroad and domestic.  Richard Nixon was in office, and the liberal movement in America was in full bloom.  The Vietnam War was in its final stages due to its unpopularity and inevitable failure.  Due to conflicting social and governmental actions during the 1970s, the music and entertainment released that year portrayed many different themes and emotions that defined the rest of the decade.

The top grossing movie in 1970 was Love Story [2], a romantic movie based on a novel about a rich athlete who married an underprivileged girl.  Their decision resulted in a major disagreement between the main character and his family which was never resolved, and ended with him being cut off.  This sudden loss of money forces the new couple to start from rock bottom. [1]  Love was a reoccurring theme found within the top ten movies of the year as well as the songs.  Songs like “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” and “Thank You,” all convey messages advocating friendship and love.  Although the “flower power” movement was more of a late 60s trend, it carried over into 1970 in combination with the anti-war position.

As competition with the Soviet Union and the space race became more intense, it attracted a lot of international attention. The movie Chariots of the Gods [3] exemplified the high amount of public interest by talking about unexplained phenomena and the desire to search the stars for answers. [1]

As a result of the Great Society movements by Lyndon B. Johnson, society was allowed more freedom governmentally as well as socially and liberalism skyrocketed. Popular films Myra Breckinridge [4], Beyond the Valley of the Dolls [5], and Anne and Eve [6] were movies that broke the socially accepted mold and exploited the new trend of liberalism by including strong lesbian sex scenes, sex changes, and women exploring the boundaries of drug use, explicit music, and promiscuous sex.  “Venus” by the Shocking Blue was popular due to its message of women’s sexual advancement and their continual rise on the social ladder.  Similarly, the unforeseen newfound social freedom made people more opinionated and resulted in more frequent protests against the government.  The movie Woodstock [7] which was a documentary on the biggest music festival to date, was such a success because of its anti-war tone and music.  These large festivals, however, encouraged many to experiment with drugs and the hippie lifestyle emerged on a large scale into American culture.  As the craze gained popularity, drug use in the United States reached an all time high; sadly, though, the lack of knowledge of various substances’ health effects and their abuse led to the deaths of many great musicians such as Jimmie Hendrix and Janice Joplin.  The conservative isolationist America had seemingly disappeared with the release of some of the most outrageous, rebellious entertainment ever created, and the American public soaked it up like a sponge. [1]

The Korean and Vietnam Wars had a hugely significant effect on the lives of America’s youth.  Several different approaches at portraying the war in the entertainment industry were used; movies such as M*A*S*H [8]depicted a more comical side to War, and Chisum, a western movie about battling good versus evil, were popular.  Patton [9], an academy award winner for best picture in 1970, portrayed the deeper, more serious side of war.  Airport [10] was a thriller about a bomb on a plane, and although it was popular, it fed into the paranoia of war at home.  Songs such as “Let it Be,” “Long and Winding Road,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” related to loneliness, isolation, and overcoming trouble which was associated with the war.  Lyrics from “Long and Winding Road” signified the concept of a typical American family waiting at their doorstep for a family member to come home from the war, only to have someone tell them they are dead.  The long and windy road” represents the long path the person took until they died, as well as the road up to their family’s house to deliver the bad news.

“The wild and windy night the rain washed away,
Has left a pool of tears crying for the day.
Why leave me standing here, let me know the way
Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried
Anyway you'll never know the many ways I've tried, but
Still they lead me back to the long and winding road
You left me standing here a long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to you door”

The top ten movies and songs of 1970 represented growing trends such as social independence, women’s freedom, anti-war movements, and a closer family unit.  The lyrics of songs and messages of the movies were clearly indicative of the general public opinion of the time.  Movies and music today also reflect the time period such as 9/11 triggered many albums to decry the war (i.e. NOFX’s album “The War on Terrorism”) and help the public with expression in non-violent forms.

[1] http:// us.imdb.com

[2] Arthur Hiller, Love Story, 1970

[3] Harald Reinl, Chariots of the Gods, 1970

[4] Michael Sarne, Myra Brekinridge, 1970

[5] Russ Meyer, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, 1970

[6] Arne Mattsson, Anne and Eve, 1970

[7] Michael Wadleigh, Woodstock, 1970

[8] Robert Altman, M*A*S*H, 1970

[9] Franklin J. Shaffner, Patton, 1970

[10] George Seaton, Airport, 1970

Group Report:

The leader of this blog was Jamison who basically wrote the blog.  Lauren, Candi, Estefanie all contributed to the research and revision of the blog, and Taylor wrote the group report.  I do no believe every single person contributed equally to this blog, however in the end it worked out and we were able to complete the essay.

#10 Photo Album

This photo album was a collaboration with me and Lauren Whitmore. It is on the left column.

#9 Just Another Comment...

The lucky people I commented on haha:

Samem, Ana Alvarez , Whitney

#8 State of Montana vs. Rehberg and societies impact on the outcome

In the 1885 case of the State of Montana vs. Edward Rehberg, the eleven-year-old daughter, Clara, sustained sever physical injuries that led to her death on August 5, 1885. Her father, Edward Rehberg, is on trial as the aggressor who inflicted these injuries upon his daughter, resulting in her death (State vs. Rehberg). We as a group feel that if the state of Montana vs. Rehberg was held in the 20th century instead of the 19th; society’s current views on gender and social status would be different enough to change the verdict in the case.
    Unfortunately, during the 19th century, there were no tests that could be performed to determine exactly what means of brutality caused the wounds on a body. This being the unfortunate situation, the items could not have been found and tested for the child’s and fathers DNA. So, the only evidence that could be used to defend Mr. Rehberg were the testimonies by his family. The only family member who was, and gave an eyewitness testimony, was Clara right before she died. Since she was a young girl who seemed to be angry at the fact that she was dying, her death bed testimonies did not hold any weight in court, deeming her testimony inadmissible. Joe Tieblow, the hired farm hand, and all the other children who testified, confirm the fact that Rehberg was not near Clara Rehberg, nor did he leave Tieblow's side all day. Emma Rehberg, in her testimony, stated that Clara was inside with their stepmother almost the entire day. Despite these testimonies, this knowledge led the jury to convict the father because of societies opinion on men and poor families (State v. Rehberg).
    During the 19th century, society’s views of men and women were skewed to the roles they undertook within a family. Women are thought to always be nurturing and loving to their children. While men are thought to already be aggressive in nature, as well as the parent to discipline the children more so then the mother. So, the accusations that it was Rehberg’s wife was the one who harmed the child were considered preposterous.  Beside the stereotypes set inside the juries head, the accusations that Rehberg’s wife was the guilty party were stricken from the record due to an objection on the grounds of improper cross-examination. Plus, society’s view of the poor and their families are not ones filled with love. Poor families are stereotyped as trashy and uncivilized; as seen in the second picture which displays a farm family eating dinner. This would give reason to Rehberg abusing his daughter if this type of behavior “always” occurs within this social class. This is why our group believes that due to the social norms of this time period, the original verdict in this case was guilty.
    In contrast, having the same case occur in the 20th century, we as a group believe that Edward Rehberg’s innocence could easily have been proven. The United States courts have seen many cases since the State vs. Rehberg that show abuse on children, more importantly cases in which the abuse was performed by the child’s mother. Andrea Yates who killed her five children as well as the case where Lashaun Harris killed her three children, are some of the most publicized. Since society is now aware that mothers are capable of horrible acts of violence upon their children, the investigators and jury would not as easily dismiss the possibility of Rehberg’s wife being guilty. Although some stereotypes remain in current day society, the prevalence of finding the truth in all cases remains the main goal of the U.S. courts. Today, lawyers, prosecutors and defense lawyers have been better equipped with knowledge needed to debate a case in its truest form. We also believe that all the testimonies proving the father’s lack of contact with the girl and his crippling arthritis would have been solid evidence for his innocence. It is our belief that if the case were to be tried again in the 20th century, the jury would find Mr. Rehberg innocent.
    It’s amazing that the verdict in a case with as serious of a charge like murder or manslaughter could be swayed depending on the time period in which it occurred.  We as a group feel that this is exactly what could have happened. The view of a poor family was one lacking sophistication and basic human actions. During this time period it was thought impossible for women to harm an innocent child due to their maternal instincts and lack of physical strength. Women today are viewed equally to men in most aspects, and could easily be a suspect for murder as any man.

[1] Science & Society Picture Library. [Time-lapse photographs of a woman and child, 1872-1885]. In Photography of Motion, Muybridge in Cinematography & Film in ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA from Science Museum Library. [Online]: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10437727&wwwflag=2&imagepos=120. [November 11, 2005].

[2] Science & Society Picture Library. [Farmer Giles’ Establishment, Christmas Day, 1830]. In Families in People & Personal Life in SOCIETY & WARS from Science Museum Pictorial. [Online]. http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10422272&wwwflag=2&imagepos=22. [November 11, 2005].

Group Report:

This group blog was good, besides a few small kinks.  Candice and Taylor wrote out the outline for the paper and Candice ended up writing up the main paper.  Lauren and Estefanie added very useful research for the group; and Jamison revised the paper.  After a rocky start, the group worked well together to admiss this product.

State vs. Rehberg, Reader, History 120, Fall 2005 

Location of the first picture: [1]
Location of the second picture: [2]   

#7 Photo Album

My photo album is in the left side column.

Here are my comments: Ana Alvarez Flores #4 An Image of Modified Native Americans , Danica Pantoja #4 Native Americans- Incapabilites of Adapation , Samem #4 An Image of Modified Native Americans

#5 Utopia

                                                    

                                                   

Industrial America was flourishing with technological advancements, but a number of failures left what would usually suffice for the happiness of its citizens, kept it open for scrutiny. During an age of reform, American Romanticism produced a group called American Transcendentalists who were the first to condemn these new advancements. Due to this, many activists sought to make utopian societies in the shadow of industrialism that loomed and circled around them. Robert Owen’s second community experiment in America, Socialville, was entirely based on socialist ideals of science and reason; this community had the potential to enforce the weak economy during America’s everlasting quest for perfectionism. No other groups attempted to solely embrace economic ideals in order to make a successful community expect for Robert Owen.

            The rapid expansion of Industrialism caused the development of huge cities, built around the factories the kept the economy a-float. Technological advancements like the cotton gin, steamboats, railroads, and canals pushed the U.S.into being a self-sufficient urban machine (Davidson 259-269). These advancements were positive for America’s economy, but were scrutinized and associated with political weakness or according to Josiah Warren, the American individualist anarchism brought on by free market and strong advocacy for private property (Wikipedia Foundation 4).  Both left the possibly successful American economy always on the edge of disaster. Many economic problems pushed Americans into the unemployment and poverty that made the government vulnerable to criticism. One disaster that rattled the everyday life of many Americans was The National Bank Panic of 1819 that led to an economic depression. As stated in Nation of Nations, this break down “made the 20s a time of soul-searching, during which many uneasy farmers and workers came to view the hard times as punishment for having lost sight of the old virtues of simplicity, frugality, and hard work. For these Americans, banks were a symbol of the commercialization of American society and the rapid passing of a simpler way of life” (Davidson 303). The economic downfalls would not end there, as the next depression was much larger and hit a broader range of people. The Panic of 1837 during Martin Van Buren’s presidency left the economy in shambles as the international cotton market collapsed (Davidson 306).

American Transcendentalists identified the problem with America’s market economy, no matter how successful, and would ultimately destroy the nature of human beings and of the land our country was founded upon (Davidson 323). Transcendentalists could be called the first group of hippies because of their identification with perfectionism only through peace of mind within nature. Unlike hippies, the Transcendentalists in the early 1800s displayed most of their influence through the literature world having followers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Fennimore, and Bronson Alcott (Davidson 332-333). Due to the massive wave of Romanticism and Transcendentalism thinking, the individual quest for perfectionism sparked the idea to make utopian communities away from this economic monster.

Thanks to the Romanticism infiltration of living in close connection with nature; religious groups sought to totally isolate themselves from the outside world in order to achieve perfectionism (Davidson 324). The two main religions that made the most communities were Christianity and the Mormons (Davidson 326). These communities made up rules and regulations specific to their religion’s ideals along with a focus on agriculture being a pure means of community survival (Davidson 325-326).  Since government interference was limited, these societies, at the time, were ideal.  No other groups attempted to solely embrace economic ideals in order to make a successful community expect for Robert Owen.

Robert Owen was a Scottish industrialist that drew up the plans for Socialville. His belief was “that the character of individuals was shaped by their surroundings and that by changing those surroundings, one could change human character” (Davidson 327). Also, the weakness in America’s economy was it’s frailty in authority, individual need for material goods, and cause for mass impoverished people (Wikipedia Foundation 2-3). His planned community, Socialville, was a socialist run community with a classless society. Owen recommended that Socialville contain about 1200 people, “all living in one large building in the form of a square, with public kitchen and mess-rooms. Each family has its own private apartments, and the entire care of the children till the age of three, after which they should be brought up by the community, their parents having access to them at meals and all other proper times… Work, and the enjoyment of its results, should be in common” (Wikipedia Foundation 3).

Ultimately, Socialville did not last due to a lack of individual sovereignty and property ownership in a time of expansion and freedom on a newly discovered land.  The ideals of a perfect society were there, but the time, place, and greed would not handle such a task.  This was not the first attempted society based on a utopia, but one of the many that failed.  Utopian societies continually evolved into different ideologies such as Techno-Communism, which believes that digital development will advance society, and Nazi Germany had utopian-led ideals during their massacres in World War II.

The Socialist Utopian belief was one of many attempts to expand and create a society for a group of people, just as the original settlers had done.  The involvement of major thinkers and writers helped its cause to be recognized by the American government, and attempted to be elected into office on multiple occasions.  Although the Socialist movement was not successful in America, many countries have relished under a socialist rule for many years.

Wikimedia Foundation Inc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen 

Wikimedia Foundation Inc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_individualist_anarchism

Davidson, James W., Gienapp, William E., Heyrman, Christine L., Lytle, Mark H., Stoff, Michael B. Nation of Nations. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006

This group project went extremely smoothly. After class on Tuesday the group got together to work out the final details and get the map together. In this group project the mapmakers were Taylor and Estefanie. To follow that job Jamison took on the researching to back up our map. After researching Candi completed the job of writing the draft and changing anything in it that the proofreader and editor, Lauren, made to the document. Lauren was also the reporter for this group. This project was different from the others and the group worked extremely well on it. More like this would be great!

# 4 How Native Americans Changed in the 19th Century

                                                                                                         Taylor Bray

                                                                                                        10/05/2005

                                                                                                        US History 120

                                                                                                             

                                                            

                             How Native Americans Changed in the 19^th Century

In the middle of the 19^th century, the North American society was dramatically changing and affecting everyone involved.  The new immigrants from Europe were taking control of everything they saw, in particular, the Native American’s lives.  Certain aspects that affected the Native Americans were: The Second Great Awakening; temperance; and the change of opinion of education.  Because the Americans had so much influence on the Native Americans, they had no choice but to change into Americans.  In George Catlin’s painting, Pigeon’s Egg Head, his view of Native Americans in the time frame of 1830 and 1850 was that they were as easily influenced as children and sacrificed their culture for the American way of life.

            After the Europeans settled by the coast, they decided they wanted to move west towards the Native American’s territory.  In the “Trail of Tears,” the Americans forced the Seminole, Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and the Chickasaw to move to reservations farther west so they could settle more land (Nation of Nations, p. 295-6).  The government assured the Native Americans that they would be taken care of and not to worry about having to move.  The “Indians, however, knew the bitter truth of the matter.  Without effective political power, they were at the mercy of the pressures of the marketplace and the hardening racial attitudes of white Americans” (p. 297).  The Indians were aware from the beginning that the Americans were trouble and when they had to move, they knew things were going to change.

The Second Great Awakening was a widespread change of religion throughout Northern America.  “The dominant form of Christianity in America became evangelical Protestantism.  Its emphasis on the ability of everyone to bring about his or her salvation upheld the American belief in individualism” (p. 319).  The Native Americans at first were very skeptical and stubborn to change their religions that they had been practicing for so long, however because of its great success in spreading so well, the Indians eventually gave up and acquired a new religion.

            Catlin was aware of all the changes in society going on at the time he created this painting and how they were affecting the Native Americans.  By just looking at the painting, one can see all of the different characteristics that the Native Americans adopted from the Americans. For one, Pigeon Egg Head is wearing American military clothing instead of the traditional decorated leggings and robes. Two interesting objects inside his back pockets are two bottles of whiskey.  In the time this painting was created, there was a movement going on to stop the overuse of alcohol in America.  “…by 1830 the average American consumed four gallons of absolute alcohol a year, the highest level in American history and nearly triple present-day levels” (p. 327).  This awful habit did not just stay within the American culture, no; it extended out towards the Indians and corrupted their life style too. 

            Another big point that helped change the Native American way of life was the new found respect for education that the Americans obtained.  “Nevertheless, by the 1850s the number of schools, attendance figures, and school budgets had all increased sharply.  School reformers enjoyed their greatest success in the Northeast and the least in the South,” (p. 329).  They were unable to be successful in the South because the elite land owners did not want to waste their time educating those who did not have a chance of rising in the social ladder.  However, education as a whole did spread pretty wildly, even to the lands of the Native Americans.  The Americans wanted to educate the Indians in order to transform them into sophisticated and cultured people just like themselves.

            There were many things going on in such a short amount of time that changed the Native American’s way of life forever.  The change of religions, abuse of alcohol, and the new found importance for education molded the Indians into the very people they were trying to fight against becoming.  George Catlin caught this change to the very detail in his painting, Pigeon’s Egg Head, with the before and after picture of a Native American chief.  Even though the Indians resisted as much as they could against certain things, it was eventually inevitable to convert as easily as children. 

Bibliography

Davidson, James W., Gienapp, William E., Heyrman, Christine L., Lytle, Mark H., Stoff, Michael B. Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY, 2006

#3 Comments

Here are the links to the comments that I did. Whitney Howell #1 individual post, Ana Alveres-Flores #2 Group Post