Carl Sandburg

       Born on January 6, 1878, Carl August Sandburg was a three time Pulitzer Prize winner in 1919, 1940 and 1951. Nicknamed "Charles" or "Charlie" during elementary years, Sandburg was born to a man and woman both of Swedish ancestry, Clara Mathilda and August Sandburg. His birthplace was in a three-room cottage located at 313 East Third Street in Galesburg, Illinois. At thirteens years young Sandburg dropped school and began driving a milk wagon. Once reaching the age of fourteen Sandburg started working as a porter at the Union Hotel barbershop in Galesburg until he was about seventeen or eighteen. Proceeding that job he worked on the milk route for another eighteen months. He then became a bricklayer and a farm laborer on the wheat plains of Kansas. The start of his writing career was being a journalist for Chicago Dailey News. At a later date he wrote  poetry, history, biographies, novels, children's literature, and film reviews. Sandburg also had a collection of books of ballards and folklore, in which he would edit.
        In later years, Sandburg met Lilian Steichen at the Social Democratic Party office in 1907. The following year they were united in marriage. Lilian's brother was the photographer Edward Steichen. Sandburg raised three daughters with his wife, whom he called Paula. Sandburg composed three children's books in Elmhurst, Rootabaga Stories, in 1922, followed by Rootabaga Pigeons (1923), and Potato Face (1930). Sandburg also wrote a literally composition named Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years, a two-volume biography in 1926, The American Songbag (1927), and a book containing poems called Good Morning, America (1928). In 1919 Sandburg became victorious by recieveing his first Pulitzer Prize "made possible by a special grant from The Poetry Society" for his collection Corn Huskers. 1940 was the year he won his second Pulitzer Prize of History for The War Years, the second volume of his Abraham Lincoln, and a second Poetry Pulitzer in 1951 for Complete Poems. 
         On February 12, 1959, in commemorations of the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Congress attended a joint session to hear actor Fredric March preform a dramatic reading of the Gettysburg Address, followed by an address by Sandburg. As of the year 2013, Sandburg is the only famous poet to have ever been invited and to have attended a joint sessions out on by Congress.
          On July 22, 1967 Carl "Charlie" August Sandburg died of natural causes in his North Carolina home. His ashes were returned by request of Sandurg to his birthplace. His finally resting place is under the Rememberance Rock, a largely colored granite boulder, in the Sandburg Park behind his birth house. 10 years following his death, his wife's remains were placed upon side of Carl Sandburg's.

Source: http://carl-sandburg.com/biography.htm

World War I M.A.I.N Causes

Describe and define the four MAIN causes of WWI.

 Militarism: The theory of a government or people that a country should preserve the strength and capability of the military and should be open minded to the concept of using aggression to promote nationalist interests. Militarism lead to World War I because of the time due to strengthen a nations military in order to be ready for a major war.

Alliances: A union created to formulate mutual relationships. This lead to World War I because of the secret alliances created by the in-between countries. Austria-Hungary were alliances of Germany, and when they invaded Serbia, Germany decided to attack France, and invaded Belgium to finish their plans. This caused France and Russia to declare war against Germany. Britain was an alliance of Belgium, therefore they also declared war against Germany for the invasion of Belgium.

Imperialism: An extension of a country's dominance and influence through diplomacy or force. Before the war began the British Empire had great strength. Germany's determination to increase their economy was being interrupted by British policies of exclusion. 

Nationalism: Excessive pride for one's country. Countries built up their armies, added more weapons for more power, to show that they were better or deserved respect from the other countries. This made countries break from other countries or empires and become independent.

List, and define, and link to the start of the war.

What was the spark of war?

The spark that started World War I was the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The assassination occurred on June 28, 1914 while Ferdinand was visiting the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Put in order, and explain, each of the following; include the date.

Lusitania: May 7, 1915

The British ocean liner was sunk on May 7, 1915, killing 1,198 out of the 1,959, 128 of which where Americans. The ocean liner was hit and sunk by the German U-boats. This enraged Americans, leading them to enter the war.

Sussex Pledge: May 4, 1916

The German government undertook the Sussex Pledge, saying that they would give warning before the sinking of a merchant an/or passenger ship to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew.

Zimmerman Note: January 16, 1917

The Zimmerman Note was a secretive telegram sent to Mexico saying the they should enter the war in order to reclaim their loss land from the Mexican-American War, and that Germany would assist Mexico in the war.This disturbed the United States, causing anger towards Germany because they wanted to hurt the U.S, so they declared war on Germany.

Unrestricted Sub Warfare: February 1, 1917

Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare where submarines target and sink vessels. including freighters and tankers with no warning.

Unterwasser Boote Deutschland

                                                               U-Boats of Germany

                    

               In February of 1915, the German government proposed the idea of unrestricted submarine warfare as the solution to the problems circulation around World War I. The Germans devised a plan in order to sink merchant ships, instead of capturing them. A war zone around the British Isles was obtained by Germany, sinking any merchant ship that crossed. 50 ships were struck between the months of February and September, including the liner Lusitania. President Wilson feared the idea that America may enter the war, despite the lack of enough submarines, causing Wilson to protest against Germany. For a measured amount of time, Germany postponed their campaign.

                                      

             In February 1917, Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine war far took action against allied and neutral ships, those of the United States. German's minded the idea that their plan would eventually cause America to enter the war, and on the side decided that they could firstly starve off the British. In April, at the time America declared war, Britain was on the edge of expiration. Over 1000 merchant ships had been sunk and Britain was only weeks away before perishing from starvation. When escorted convoy came to mind, the amount of ship loss declined rapidly, and the route for supply between America and Britain began to motion.

 Source-http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/sub.htm

Interesting US History Websites

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/

Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008
http://dsl.richmond.edu/voting/index.html

Have Fun with History
http://www.havefunwithhistory.com

US History Timeline: 1800 - 1900
http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1800_1900_timeline.htm

Great History Sites - AcesWebWorld.com - Ace's Web World
http://www.edu.aceswebworld.com/best_history_sites.html

A Book to Read: 1776, written by David McCullough

American Literature from The Jungle: Questions

1) What qualities did Sinclair believe a person must have to succeed in Packingtown?
Sinclair believed that if a person wanted to succeed in their career they would have to work hard and "rise".



2)According to the passage, what is the plant owner's main goal.
The plant owner's main goal was to do his job and do it well. He wanted all his workers to proceed in their work and do as told in order to get the job done.

3) What does Sinclair mean when he says, "...there was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar....?"
This quote means that all the employees at the meatpacking plant cared not for their work but for the pay they would receive after the job is complete.

4)  Using the internet, research an area that our government regulates now (meat packing, environment, pharmaceuticals) and report how this is enforced today.
There are many reports of contaminated meat in the nation today. Many believe that the government needs to regulate meat packing companies to ensure the complete sanitation of meat. Every year hundreds of Americans die from food poisoning due to unsanitary meat. 

Eyewitness to History: Imperialism

     Imperialism is the extension of authority of a nation or an empire over foreign countries. William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate, ran against President William McKinley in the 1900 election. If elected, William Jennings Bryan promised to admit direct independence for the Philippines. In Bryan's speech, delivered in Chicago 1899, Bryan states, "We are told that the Filipinos are not capable of self-government; that has a familiar ring…The Filipinos are not far enough advanced to share in government of the people of the United States, but they competent to govern themselves." Bryan believes that even though the people of the Philippines are not highly educated, like the Americans, that they have the necessary ability to run their country.
     However, Theodore Roosevelt had other ideas. Roosevelt delivered a speech in Chicago during the year of 1899. In his speech he refers to the Filipinos as " utterly unfit for self-government and show no signs of becoming fit." Roosevelt also mentions that some of the Filipinos May become eligible in self-government as time progresses, " but at present can only take part in self-government under a wise supervision at once firm and beneficent." In other words Roosevelt strongly recommends the idea of imperialism over the Philippines.
     Proceeding after the Spanish-American War, President McKinley and other fellow Americans had their doubts about Cuba and the ability to self-government, but the United States still admitted independence to Cuba. In order to keep their independence Cuba had to follow the list of conditions that Senator Orville H. Platt of Connecticut designed in 1901. Listed in the conditions the United States president was given official permission of approval to "leave the government and control of the island of Cuba to it's people." In the first listing in the Platt Amendment it states that the Cuban government " shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba…"In other rules of the Platt Amendment they all refer to the independence and self-government of Cuba.
      During the 1900's, my thoughts of the United States becoming and imperialist country are both for it and against it. The United States should only have become an imperialist country in order to help and protect weaker foreign countries. If the United States became an imperialist country only to rule foreign land and conquer the people, than I would be against that action.

Source: The American Vision 2006. Page 318-319 Chapter 4 (Becoming a World Power) Primary Sources, Eyewitness to History.