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Monday, June 29, 2015

Equality Wins!

 
Oh my goodness!  I was with my family when I heard the news!  We all started cheering, and even began crying!  This makes my heart so happy!  Gay marriage has not been an issue of morality, but an issue of rights being denied!  American Citizens were being denied their rights!  And that made me so mad!  I always knew the Supreme Court would have to decide!  They are the Supreme Law of the land!  We have to accept their decision no matter what!  This is HISTORY!!!
 
I love Harvey Milk!  I know he is dancing in Heaven!  He was an early champion for Gay Rights!  But ultimately he was an activist for all!  He wanted all to have their rights!
 
Here is the Real Milk, and I LOVE this speech!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Protestant Reformation

 
During the Renaissance Europeans started doing something they have never done before!  They started to question the Catholic Church!  The Catholic Church controlled Europe!  They were not only the faith, but the government!  They told you how to believe, and made you tithe!  It was a tax expected from everybody!  During this time if you lived in Europe you HAD to be a Christian!  If you weren't the Church KILLED you!  That always boggles my mind!
 
All of sudden people got the strength to question the church!  This had never happened before up to this point.  The Church had so much power and might no one was brave enough to question them!  Then in 1517 Martin Luther did a huge thing that will affect the world! 
 
He had big problems with the Catholic Church!  Now he did not want to create new sects of the Christian faith.  Martin Luther wanted to reform the Church.  His biggest problem was Indulgencies!  They were a piece of paper that you could buy that would guarantee you a place in heaven.
 
An Indulgency
 
Martin Luther believed this was a scam!  The Church would come into a town square, and put on a show.  They would try to put fear into people, and scare them into buying an Indulgence.  They would sell them for pennies because they wanted the peasants of Europe to buy them, and they did!  With the money the Church would build the great Cathedrals of Europe!  Below is a great scene from a movie about Martin Luther and Indulgencies.  It is called Luther.
 
 
So Martin Luther did something about his feelings towards Indulgencies.  We all are upset about stuff, and complain about it.  But do we do anything about it?  Most of the time no!  Martin Luther did something about his feelings.  He wrote out his 95 problems with the Catholic Church, and posted them on the Wittenberg Church door.  He chose the Church door because it would have been the center of town, and everyone would have seen them.  Now historians call his 95 problems - the 95 Theses.  This one action caused a wave of reaction.
 
 
The Church freaked out!  Because Luther questioned the Church.  Luther was arrested, and was tried as a heretic!  He was found guilty, but not killed.  He was exiled because he would not recant.  After he was exiled - he was done with the movement.  But others wanted to keep going.  Many believed Luther did not go far enough.
 
Ultimately a break is going to happen.  People will begin Protestant churches.  Before  this moment the only option was the Catholic Church.  Now there is options, and I always think Americans should be so grateful for Martin Luther.  We would not have all of our churches if it was not for Martin Luther and the action he took!  This is a huge moment in World History!
 
There are Puritans because of the Protestant Reformation!  They were in England, and formed because of the Protestant Reformation.
 
 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Equality


I love this question!  Maybe I am unrealistic, but I would hope it means that we all have our freedoms, and get a fair shot no matter our race, gender, or age!  As a country we do not like to admit it, but some of us lucky few get born on "third base!"  I am not one of those lucky few, but I was born to a good family who told me all the time anything is possible!

Sadly there are people who do not get a fair shot!  The odds are already stacked against them, and that makes me sad!  I wish there was more equality in this world!

One word that always comes to mind when talking about Equality is Freedom.  Recently I saw this trailer again for the 100th time, and it got be thinking.


At the end of the trailer Mandela says Freedom is an idea he is prepared to die for!  I sometimes think that word, freedom, is overlooked by Americans.  We take that word for granted!  Then I am watch America:The Story of Us.  They were discussing the American Revolution, and how General Washington inspired the Patriots.  He told them America and our freedoms are an idea you have to be willing to die for!  It is a sacrifice! 

What does Equality mean to you?

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Bacon's Rebellion

 
Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 is a very important moment in American History!  Interesting many historians say this was the first time Colonists showed upset and revolutionary resistance!  And thr revolution starts exactly 100 years later! 
 
Surprisingly you do not even need to know what happened at Bacon's Rebellion.  You need to know what came from it!  Plantation Owners began to distrust their Indentured Servants, and wanted a more reliable labor force. 
 
 
Starting in 1607 - the establishment of England's first settlement in the New World, Jamestown - plantation owners used indentured servants for labor.  The Spanish began enslaving the Natives right away, but the European diseases were killing them off by the millions!  So each European power had to figure out their labor force.  England went with Indentured Servants first.  Even though the first African slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619.
 
 
Indentured Servants were Europeans who could not afford the payment to the New World.  So a wealthy plantation owner in the New World would pay their way.  In return they would work 3 to 5 years for the owner.  Once this system started going owners figured out this was a good system.  They had free labor!  So they instantly made it more difficult to get out of the Indentured Servant.  They made it ridiculously hard to gain their freedom. 
 
One good thing that came out of this was a large population came to the New World.  Many people took advantage of this opportunity.  But was this really an opportunity?   
 
 
After Bacon's Rebellion, Plantation Owners began to look at their Indentured Servants differently.  They did not trust them.  They wanted a more reliable and controllable labor force.  What was happening at this time in full force?  The Atlantic Slave Trade.  This was a negative effect of the Columbian Exchange.  So the owners made the switch, and stopped using their Indentured Servants and started using African Slaves!
 
In APUSH you need to know 3 Rebellions, and they happened in alphabetical order:
Bacon's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion
Whiskey Rebellion
 
 
 

Monday, June 8, 2015

Structure of the New Exam

 
I am so honored that I get to be your APUSH Teacher!  I want nothing more than for you to pass the Exam in May!  I have worked hard all summer to prepare you for the Exam!  Everything we do in class is to help prepare you!  The first thing you need to know is the actual test!  Don't be surprised! 
 
In Fall of 2014 College Board completely restructured their course.  College Board knows and understand that your phone holds all the answers.  So they want you to be able to analyze and talk about US History!  If you cannot discuss these historical events you are in trouble!  College Board wants you to think like a Historian!  The Thinking Skills are important!
 
 
The Exam is 3 Hours and 15 Minutes.  There are two sections, and here is how it breaks down:
 
Section 1
Part A: Multiple Choice Questions/55 questions/55 minutes
Each Multiple Choice question is going to be a stimuli question.  Where you will be given a quote, chart, map, or image to help you answer the questions.
Part B; Short Answer Questions/4 questions/45 minutes
You do not have to write a Thesis, but you do have to write in complete sentences.  You will have limited space, and there will be 3 parts to answer.
 
 
Section 2
Part A: Document Based Question/1 Question/60 minutes
We will go over how to write this, and there is a specific rubric to follow.  They call it a Core Rubric.
Part B; Long Essay Question/1Question (You will choose from a pair)/35 minutes
Same as DBQ
 
Many were nervous about these new changes, but I think it is wonderful!  Before College Board would say know everything about US History.  Now it is more specific, and point blank.  You get to know specifically what you need to know!  I find that comforting!
 
 

Friday, June 5, 2015

Keep Calm and Carry On

 
This historical quote needs explanation.  Yesterday I was out shopping with my sister, and we saw this on a shirt.  She just casually said who created that?  So I answered her - Winston Churchill.  She did not believe me.  And she said really like 5 times.  She had never heard the story behind this quote, and said I need to tell the story on my blog.  So here I go!
 
During WW2 Hitler wanted England, but it was very hard to get.  In 1941 the Nazis started the London Blitz where every night they bombed London.  This continued for a while.  It got so bad the people of London began sleeping in the subway, and sent their children to Northern England
 
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This is one of my favorite London Blitz scenes from a movie, and you see Londoners sending their kids away
 
So people were nervous!  Nervous the Nazis would get them!  They had the right to be nervous - Hitler had taken France, Belgium, and Austria.  To calm people's fears Winston Churchill, prime minister of England, created the slogan Keep Calm and Carry On.  It told the citizens of England if the Nazis do take over don't freak out!  Go about your normal routine!  Luckily the Nazis never got them, but they were prepared if it did happen.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

TED Talk

This is a GREAT TED Talk that supports my viewpoint on life!  I truly believe your thoughts create your world, and what you put into the world comes back to you!  So I am a positive person!  Even after getting diagnosed with MS I am happy!  I always look for the silver lining!  Even in the worse moments - there is good!  You just have to look for it!

This speaker argues to be successful you first must be happy.  I would agree with that, and my life has proven that to be true!  When your happy you have an advantage!  Watch this, and find out to put this advantage to use!

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

What I Wish I Would've Known

This is my 1st Birthday, and today is my 33rd Birthday!  Where does time go?
 
 
I saw this, and wanted to post this today!  On my birthday this is a FUN thing to think about.  If I only had two words I would tell myself No Regrets!  I only have one regret in my life - I didn't study abroad!  I was terrified of the idea, but now I kick myself!  So to you I will say Don't Be Afraid!  Don't let fear stop you! 
 
That is another thing I would tell myself - Don't Worry!  There are things that I would worry about when I was younger, and it has all worked out!  You have to trust the process!  Also know things don't work out on your time - so be patient!
 
Finally I would tell myself continue being happy, positive, and compassionate!  These qualities have taken me far in life! 
 

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