Monday, April 28

Discussed in class on Monday, April 28 was movies of the 1930's.  On the last day of class each individual had to present a movie from the 1920's or 1930's.  Such movies that were shown were I'm a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Wings, and The Jazz Singer.  In class another movie was shown, Sullivan's Travels which I thoroughly enjoyed, though I have never seen Joel McCrea in anything but a Western genre role.  Veronica Lake was, of course very cute as the love interest in the movie.  These movies and much more were revolutionary for their time.  Censorship had taken over the movie industry by the 1930's due in part to the fact that at the start of the Great Depression ticket sales at movie theatres had dropped dramatically due in part to the nation having no movie for recreation.  In order to bring up flagging ticket sales Hollywood went on a mission to "sex up" their movies.  Creating more and more riskier movies than any movies before in order to bring people back to the movies.  Gangster films as a genre really hit a high note at this time too, including such pictures as Scarface, Little Caesar, and Scarface.  These films introduced a wide range of violence, crime, and good vs. evil themes.  Also introducing such lasting film stars as Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney.  Thanks in part to Hollywood's efforts to showcase gritter themes audiences returned to the movies but unfortunately these movies also created censorship that had not been in Hollywood before this time.

Wed., April 23

Discussed on Wednesday, April 23 was Charles Lindbergh.  Lindbergh during the 1920's in America was a well known celebrity.  He achieved the cult of celebrity that only that actors and actresses in Hollywood had achieved.  Lindbergh's fame sky-rocketed from virtual obscurity to instantaneous world fame as the result of his solo non-stop flight on May 20–21, 1927, made from Roosevelt Field in Garden City on New York's Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, a distance of nearly 3,600 statute miles, in the single-seat, single-engine purpose-built Spirit of St. Louis. As a result of this flight, Lindbergh was the first person in history to be in New York one day and Paris the next. Lindbergh, a U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve officer, was also awarded the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his historic exploit.
Lindbergh will always be remembered for this act of heroism and this accomplishment however Lindbergh had a darker side to his nature.  On the evening of March 1, 1932, 20-month-old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was abducted by an intruder from his crib in the second-story nursery of his family's rural home in East Amwell, New Jersey near the town of Hopewell.  The search for the missing child would consume the American public from that point on.  Becoming the biggest headline of the 1930's aside from the Great Depression.  Although a man was caught and charged with the crime of kidnapping conspiracy theories have popped up throughout the decades citing Lindbergh as involved in the kidnapping plot.
Lindbergh, "often saw his children for only a couple of months a year. He kept track of each child’s infractions, which included such activities as gum-chewing. He insisted that his wife Anne track all her household expenditures, including even 15 cents spent for rubber bands, in account books.
According to a Biography Channel profile on Lindbergh, she was the only woman who he had ever asked out on a date. In Lindbergh's autobiography, he derides womanizing pilots he met as "barnstormers," and Army cadets for their "facile" approach to relationships. Lindbergh wrote that the ideal romance was stable and long term, with a woman with keen intellect, good health, and strong genes. Lindbergh said his experience in breeding animals on our farm had taught me the importance of good heredity."  Landler, Mark. "A Newspaper Reports Lindbergh Fathered 3 Children in Germany" The New York Times August 2, 2003.
Several authors have suggested that Charles Lindbergh was responsible for the kidnapping of his first born child. In 2010, Jim Bahm, author of the book Beneath the Winter Sycamores wrote about the Lindbergh Kidnapping, implied that the baby was physically disabled and Charles Lindbergh wanted to have someone else raise the child in Germany. In Bahm's book, after 10 days, the baby died of pneumonia, and the kidnapping plot blew up in Lindbergh's face.  Other theories exist pointing to different explanations in the kidnapping case.  However many agree that someone close to the Lindbergh family was involved in the kidnapping plot.

Monday, April 14

Discussed in class on Monday, April 14 was a continuation of the Great Depression.  This time I want to focus on the material aspect of the Great Depression, because all throughout the 1920's Americans, who could afford it were buying products, thus fueling the consumer durables revolution.  In other words before the decade of the 1920's Americans paid for products in full with cash, generally, rarely, though it did exist, did Americans put things on credit.  Credit was kind of a shameful thing, it meant that you weren't making enough money and therefore could not afford basic products like food.  However during the 1920's people couldn't afford luxuries like washing machines, dishwashers, air conditioning and believe me if air conditioning was invented at this time I would get a credit card and put this on credit and not suffer another sweltering Illinois summer.

During the 1920's all the fancy items that were bought and coveted were worthless by the start of the Great Depression.  China and crystal were some of these items, for example depression glass, "clear or colored translucent glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States  around the time of the Great Depression. The Quaker Oats Company and other food manufacturers and distributors, put a piece of glassware in boxes of food, as an incentive to purchase. Movie theaters and businesses would hand out a piece simply for coming in the door."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_glass

Seen as cheap novelties at the time in today's market these rare pieces of colored glass can sell for up to hundred of dollars.

Wed., April 9

Discussed in class on Wednesday, April 9 was the Great Depression.  The class discussion focused mostly on the economic theories at the time.  Hoover's goals for his administration, economic wise was to balance the budget, raise taxes for the wealthy, keep the gold standard, and integrate the Hawley-Smoot tariff for over-seas trade.

John Maynard Keynes was a British economist whose ideas fundamentally affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, and formed the economic policies of many governments in the world.  Keynes was instrumental in forming his Keynesian economic theory which is a theory of, "total spending in the economy (called aggregate demand) and its effects on output and  inflation. Although the term has been used (and abused) to describe many things over the years, six principal tenets seem central to Keynesianism." http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html 

Keynes' A Treatise on Money was published in 1930 the theory of this work being that if the amount of money being saved exceeds the the amount being invested unemployment will rise.  In other words if money earned is not spent and stimulating the economy but is instead being saved people will lose their jobs.  The problem during the Great Depression was that people were spending money they did not have as credit and credit cards were introduced into the economy and there was a consumer limit, for example what do companies do if everyone in America has a dishwasher or washing machine?

In 1933, Keynes published The Means to Prosperity, "which contained specific policy recommendations for tackling unemployment in a global recession, chiefly counter public spending. A copy was sent to the newly elected President Roosevelt and other world leaders. The work was taken seriously by both the American and British governments, and helped pave the way for the later acceptance of Keynesian ideas, though it had little immediate practical influence during the Great Depression that affected the world. In the 1933 London Economic Conference opinions remained too diverse for a unified course of action to be agreed upon." Skidelsky, Robert (2003). John Maynard Keynes: 1883–1946: Economist, Philosopher, Statesman. Pan MacMillan Ltd. pp. 494–500, 504, 509–510. 

Overall the theories that Keynes wrote about were beneficial to understanding how the economy can function and how unemployment can be avoided but whether they were relevant to the time when he wrote remains debatable.  

Monday, April 7

Discussed in class on Monday, April 7 was Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression.  Hoover entered the presidency in the year 1929.  Though this was the year the stock market fell Hoover did not know this at the time of entering office for I'm sure he wouldn't have taken on the task of the presidency had he known.  Hoover just had the unfortunate bad luck and timing to take on the highest publicly viewed politician job at a time of great turmoil.  His job was to either rise above the occasion and take immediate action and embody the policies of Lincoln's presidency, but instead Hoover was reluctant to take drastic measures.  There have however been men of action who have been president and there have been some less than stellar men as president.  For Hoover I think he should have never taken the job.  Not to say that he wasn't eminently qualified he did have an extensive record involving the U.S. Food Administration, his work for the food relief in Belgium, and he was Secretary of Commerce.  He was too much like his predecessors who favored limited government intervention and a balanced budget.  When the Great Depression did hit the economy and its effects were felt all throughout the United States and across every income level Hoover emphasized no government handouts and a lassiez fair approach.  He did this to focus on balancing the budget which was a goal of his administration.  Hoover did eventually help out the economy through the federal farm board and agricultural adjustment act, but it was too late by than to do much good.  The economy and the people had soured and any good will felt toward Hoover had since been tossed out the window.  Hoover continued to bumble his way through his administration never getting equal footing and never again would he get back a good reputation.  He eventually raised taxes for the wealthy, increased the tariff, and dressed and ate as if life would be back to normal any day.

Wed., April 2

Discussed in class Wednesday, April 2 was the history of American Sexuality, part 2 or the sexual revolution.  For me I feel that this is a difficult topic to talk about.  For one thing the homosexual history of American is not something that is discussed in most high school history classes.  It is hard to separate what is historically correct to talk about and what is just down right wrong to talk about.  It is, however, a fact of history that homosexual men and women existed.  For as much as the church and conservative historians have tried to dispel their existence the "painted queens" and "street fairies" existed.  Of course the reading points out that these men and women largely co-habit ed in large cities and that it would have been impossible for the more flamboyant to live their lifestyle choice in small towns and in the country.  It was a sad point in history that nice men and women were discriminated against simply because of their biological makeup or for many their temporary lifestyle choice.  Sometimes this was a time of experiment because some men and women decided to like the same sex but never had any intention of making this their lifestyle.  As pointed out in the document on lesbian African-American women, these ladies would throw together rent parties or when someone got sick they would bring over dinner and many of them at some point in time would have girlfriends but maybe later in life they would get married so that they might have children.  A historical example of this "temporary gayness" would be Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, younger brother to France's Sun King Louis XIV.  As a young man, "Philippe would dress up and attend balls and parties in female attire, for example, dressed as a shepherdess. His inclination toward homosexuality was not discouraged in the hope of reducing any threat he may have posed to his older brother. Reportedly, Cardinal Mazarin even arranged for Philippe's first homosexual contacts with his own nephew,  Philip Julian Mancini.  Even once married, he reportedly carried on open romantic affairs with German nobles, with no regard to either of his two wives,"(P. Salazar in Who's who in Gay and Lesbian History, London, 1990 (Ed Wotherspoon and Aldrich).  Although he was gay his whole life Philippe was still pressured to marry and beget heirs a source of deep contention his whole life.  Just as in America whether rich or poor the choice to be gay, permanent or temporary was a difficult decision, it meant hiding their identity, keeping secrets from their families, and ultimately hiding in limbo.

Philippe, Duke d'Orleans

Monday, March 31

Discussed in class on Monday, March 31 was the sexual revolution part 1.  This particular chapter for the reading due for this day mainly focused on women and the immediate needs for women's birth control.  The lecture, however for that day went into great depth about men's birth control needs.  Condoms, a good form if not a popular form of birth control was something that was available to men during the late 19th-20th century, but it was not widely used, why because well for one if its not on your grocery store's shelves where they can easily walk by and grab a pack men won't get them.  One stigma that was also attached at this time was that condoms were used on prostitutes not your wife.  But honestly this was a rough time.  Women were essentially popping out babies at an alarming rate and when women have this many children it takes a toll on their mental and physical health why else would they write to Margaret Sanger, a leader in the fight for birth control. 
Sanger was very influential during the crusade for birth control she personally say what too many children will do to the health of the mother as she saw her own mother go through multiple births only to die of TB or some other disease of the time.  As a trained nurse Sanger went to the slums of the city and saw first-hand the helpless mothers of so many children.  A need was going on in America and it was a need to have greater understanding and through historical narrative we now understand that Margaret Sanger sought to give help to the thousands of under-educated women by opening clinics, handing out pamphlets, distributing information that was vitally needed.
Many lower-class immigrant women were scared to rebel but they knew that they could not afford most if not all of their children.  They were stuck in a rock and a hard place because they could not leave their husband because he provided financially for his wife and family.  Also she did not have much time for leisure so maybe she did not have the time for friendships or the comfort of women to talk to and listen to.  But at least women were asking these all important questions at least they demanded information.  They could no longer afford to let poverty and ignorance keep them in the dark coroners of the tenements.

The Immigrant

Wednesday, March 26

Discussed in class on Wednesday, March 28 was the New Woman.  The new woman was an idea or social construct that society used to describe the emerging new women.  Education was very important to distinguishing the new woman.  As we know in the past woman, men of color, and people depending on their religious affiliation did not always receive the best education.  By the turn of the twentieth century women in large numbers were earning the right to go to college, although lets be clear women of affluent means were able to attend and study in universities.  Even some were able earn degrees in medicine, law, and education though these numbers were small and were limited to women only working with women.
The new women also strove for greater understanding in the private sphere, namely understanding their role as wife and mother.  Many questioned whether it was right to get married so young and thrown into bed that first night at the mercy of a licentious, sex-starved husband whom you hoped would be gentle.  Many women wanted to discuss the female anatomy in greater depth.  It was discussed in a later reader that a girl when she got her period thought that she was dying because no one had told her of the changes that occur in her body. 
 Divorce law also changed during the late nineteenth, early twentieth century and gave rise to a new woman who could survive a divorce with her economic independence intact, and an increasing number of divorced women were also allowed to remarry without incurring the discrimination that might have previously been attached to the women in question and they could maintain social respectability while exercising legal rights, some of the time but not always.
Does this term, the new women suddenly mean that women as a whole were free of the restraints that men had worked hard place on them?  By all means no, the new women was biased in that it really only applied to women of means with liberal minded ideals.  And as there was not a really good defined middle class at this time I would argue that women of the lower classes were wholly ignorant of the growing ideals of this new idea of women-hood.  Mostly because they didn't have time, money, or energy to confront the bias of the male dominated colleges, to demand that their mother's explain more to them in terms of the expectations of marriage and mother-hood, or to go against the very husband's that support them financially because they lack the skills to support themselves.

Monday, March 24

Discussed in class on March 24 was the Great Depression.  Most notably the days leading up to the Great Depression ultimately culminating into the day of infamy known as Black Tuesday.  Black Tuesday was the day that marked the beginning of the long ten years of the Great Depression, when the stock market could no longer be saved.  The Federal Reserve Banking System of the time had twelve banks spread out across the country.    Black Tuesday was the day when Wall Street realized that the stocks could no longer be saved and that money was quickly leaving the stock market floor and a few days later the banks lost their money too and re-discount which is defined as a way of providing financing to a bank or other financial institution.  The Federal Reserve of the United States which had at the time of the Great Depression had twelve branches all of which lost some if not most of their funds and therefore could not loan money to the smaller banks.  The Consumer Durables Revolution that occurred before the Great Depression was a time that Americans were buying and stocking up on electronics and appliances for their homes, such as telephones, refrigerators, cars, etc.

The fact that after the stocks failed many were in fear for the money that they had invested into the market.  A giant rush to the banks began as everyone was scrambling to pull their money out of the bank.  Rediscount, a term which means a way of providing financing to a  bank or other financial institution, became non-existent during the years of the Great Depression.  The problem was that naively people were investing money in paper, essentially they were stocks but with nothing to show for their purchase but a piece of paper millions of shares, stocks, and money promises became worthless. 

Below is a clip from the stage version of the popular story Auntie Mame starring Bea Arthur.  It is brief but shows the reaction of some to the day the stock market crashed.

Auntie Mame

Monday, March 17

Discussed in class on March 17 was the Scopes Trial.  The Scopes Trial to give a brief description was a famous American legal case in 1925 in which a high school teacher,  John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's  Butler Act, a law which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school in Tennessee. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Though a "monkey trial" this case proved to be one of the most exciting of the twentieth century next to Sacco and Vanzetti.  In some cases the trials of the earl twentieth century demonstrated hegemony.  Hegemony means that through an indirect form of government, and/or of imperial dominance the leader state rules geopolitically to subordinate states by the implied means of power, the threat of force, rather than by direct military force.  What does this have to do with the Scopes Trial though is important.  As the South at this time ruled their towns with an iron fist even going so far as to dictate what can and cannot be taught in public schools, i.e. Darwin's theory of evolution could not be taught.  Wanting their young people to grow up as good Christians often meant that they must keep a closed mind to much of history and scientist's theories.  A good quote I got from the reading by Andrew Nolan entitled Making Modern Men goes, "he attacked the preacher, in fact, for failing in his duties as a Christian gentleman, because his virtue did not give him the flexibility to adapt to a changing world."  This quote best describes the real trial that was going on during the Scopes Trial that of virtue vs. changing views of human life.  It is often an unwillingness to change or accept others views that stops many from moving forward in their thinking.

Wedensday, March 12

Discussed in class on March 12 was the Mexican "problem" that plagued much of the southern states of the United States during the 1920's.  A quick timeline for the early part of the twentieth century for Mexican migration to America starts in 1911-1913 when the Mexican Revolution was going on.  The Mexican Revolution or Mexican Civil War, "was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Diaz and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920.  Over time the Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war with frequently shifting power struggles. This armed conflict is often categorized as the most important sociopolitical event in Mexico and one of the greatest upheavals of the 20th century, which saw important experimentation and reformation in social organization." (William Weber Johnson, Heroic Mexico: The violent emergence of a modern nation, Doubleday 1968, p. 69).  After the Mexican Revolution a "boom time" of Mexican migration to the United States happened during the years of 1917-1929 when almost every working class, able-bodied Mexican male was guaranteed a job working for low wages in the fields of the south particularly Texas.  Than during the years of 1930-1938 Mexican labor faced a slump due to the Great Depression and the lack of jobs for everyone of all ethnicity and classes and repatriation, the process of returning a person to their place of origin or citizenship was popular though contested during this time, because of the simple fact that during these years Mexican migrates and laborers were having children legally born in the United States and carrying American citizenship were shipped back to a country they might know nothing about.  During the years of 1938-1945 Bracceros or contracted Mexican labor became popular as many men went off to fight in World War II overseas.  
Some terms that were also brought up during class were Communism, the overthrow of the capitalistic government that was embraced by Russia at this time.  Socialism, soon to be embraced by Germany at this time.  Syndicalism, where company is owned by the company.  Anarcho-Syndicalism, which was revolutionary unionism.  Through all this time and changing ideas of how government should be run many constituted themselves as the "lost generation." 
This term the lost generation originated with Gertrude Stein who, "after being unimpressed by the skills of a young car mechanic, asked the garage owner where the young man had been trained. The garage owner told her that while young men were easy to train, it was those in their mid-twenties to thirties, the men who had been through World War I, whom he considered a "lost generation"—une génération perdue.
The 1926 publication of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises popularized the term, as Hemingway used it as an epigraph. The novel serves to epitomize the post-war expatriate generation. However, Hemingway himself later wrote to his editor Max Perkins that the "point of the book" was not so much about a generation being lost, but that "the earth abide forever"; he believed the characters in The Sun Also Rises may have been "battered" but were not lost,"Fitch, Noel Riley, Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation:  A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties.  Norton, 1985.

Monday, March 10

Discussed in class on March 10 were a number of different topics, most notably on prohibition.  Prohibition, as talked about in previous blogs was a time of secrets, indulgence, and broken laws.  The "noble experiment" that swept the nation during the 1920's and early 1930's was crusaded by the well-meaning if not naive men and women of America.  The Volstead Act was a success, yes, if you happened to campaign for the dry side than yes prohibition was a success that passed through the Senate and House.  However actions speak louder than words and while on paper it was illegal to manufacture, package, and sell alcohol over a certain percentage, was it enforced?  Yes and no.  There were field Marshall's out on the streets scouring the back alleys, searching for a whiff of that illegal booze but was it enough, no.  For every speakeasy, for every party that was discovered selling these illegal wares, and shut down, five more opened p down the street.  There is a movie that I know shows how easy it was to make alcoholic drinks with very little ingredients and materials.  The Great Escape, though it takes place during the second world war easily highlights the prohibition laws and rules enforced on the prisoners of war in the German POW camp.  Much like those laws and rules similary enforced on the everyday citizens of the United States during prohibition.

Potato Moonshine Vodka

Harlem Renaissance, February 26

The problem with the Harlem Renaissance is the problem of source material.  Why is it that this topic is not more celebrated in school?  Why does America celebrate the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. more than they celebrate the accomplishments of the artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance?  Again this period in time produced limited source material and had a relatively small audience.  The last great Renaissance to take place was arguably in Europe after the Dark Ages.  This was a time of massive accomplishments in the areas of science, philosophy, literature, and art and everybody knew about these great things being done even if they couldn't read or write, they heard it in church were the priest were lambasting the new inventions and philosophies.  Much of the Harlem Renaissance was run by a very few well-educated, upper-class African American men and women, including the famous author W.E.B. Du Bois and influential black film director Oscar Micheaux and very few towns followed the theme of the Renaissance with Harlem and Greenwich Village, New York at the forefront with Chicago and Detroit following behind.  Another problem was money.  Many of the great artists of the Renaissance lacked the financial backing to pursue their dreams and goals.  With the backing of wealthy white patrons, particularly Jewish patrons and with the creation of the Urban League which helped assimilate African Americans, many were able to get off on a good start, but the struggles of living in the big city took its toll on many.  Rents were high for African Americans, space was limited, and jobs were scare all combining to create a less than inspiring muse needed to keep the Harlem Renaissance going.

February 24

Discussed in class on February 24 was the double consciousness.  American author W.E.B. Du Bois highlighted on this concept of two-ness, an idea were the individual is always looking at his or herself through the eyes of others.  This was a particularly poignant message for the African American crowd in the early years of the twentieth century as their idea of how they were suppose to look, act, and behave was often challenged by just about everyone.  For example there was the struggle of the segregation.  "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line," The Souls of Black Folk, 1903.  Many whites were unable to cope with the sight of a black person let alone communicate with them.  Seen as an inferior race due to their background of slavery and enforced subordination blacks were never taken seriously by many of the white population.  It didn't help that men like Marcus Garvey were walking around the streets of major cities touting their ideas that the whole African American population was going to have a mass exodus of people moving back to Africa and that the problem of the race problem would be solved when born and raised American citizens were going to move back to Africa.
There was also the problem of class within the African American community.  Educated individuals such as W.E.B Du Bois himself, who was considered a very well-versed, educated, and well-groomed individual, often struggled uniting the African American population as a whole.  Du Bois views the history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, or in other words this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.  The problem of two-ness was very evident in this situation.  There was a small population of black educated writers and other artists living in major northern cities.  Often they prided themselves on their good manners and education as they sought to improve the African American social standing.  When uneducated southern blacks moved from the south to the north seeking a better life and better pay they often overcrowded the cities and clashed with other blacks already well established in those neighborhoods.

Wedensday, February 19

Discussed in class on Feb. 19 was big business during the 1920s.  This was the time of big spending.  When America discovered that purchases could be bought on credit and no longer did many scrimp and save to buy these big expenditures.  A mentalite developed in the American mind to have the best and to have the most, but many were not confident in themselves or their purchases.  Giant catalogs were delivered to homes hoping to entice the average consumer, the housewife, with its wares.  Many of these advertisements highlighted on the lack of confidence.  As seen below for this 1920's advertisement for weight gain or loss.  Was this lack of confidence showcased in public or was it a private affair?
 

Wedensday, February 12

Discussed in class on the 12th was historical narrative.  Historical narrative is described as a moment of choice by a communicator.  Narrative cannot exist without the written or oral communication of an individual.  All of history would be lost were it not for the documentation of events as they passed.  Historical narrative can also be described a a moment of performance of the message.  How was that message delivered, did it favor one party over all others?  Historical narrative is also a moment of interaction with the audience.  How will audiences analyze events taking place in the present in the future?  Another way to describe historical narrative is as a moment of effect with communication.  When people tell of events from the past they do so to add effect, to show the seriousness of the situation therefore they communicate with effect.  These descriptions of historical narrative, written above, are also the four types of moments of action.  Action can also be described as a place or places where elements of the story gather causing a unity of action or cohesion or agreement with the characters in the story.  Do the characters or the events of the story make up the manuscript?  Who dictates what? 
In Jane Austen's masterpiece Sense and Sensibility, is a tale of two sisters Elinor and Marianne thorough circumstances which are beyond their own control are put in a reduced-circumstances situation and as the story evolves the reader learns that through their own folly they have made the situation worse. I wondered if the characters of Elinor and Marianne were at fault for their situation or were others at fault.  Did Elinor or Marianne value their choices?  Not at the beginning, no, but eventually they learned through their pattern of choices that many were not practical and that time eventually set to right the situation.
The key for any good author is to concentrate on the becoming not what it became, to provide dynamism, to resist clocks, calendars, and geography, leave readers with experience, not just understanding, and to develop vivid characters.  Why do you think Jane Austen is still popular to this day?

Monday February 10, Harlem Renaissance

How much do I know about the Harlem Renaissance?  Not much.  I always felt that it was one of those topics taught in high school because it was about African Americans, it showed diversity, and it showed them in a good light.  It was a topic that didn't involve slavery but instead highlighted the cultural aspect of the 1920s African American city life.  From readings and research done on my own time it sounded like a fun time.  The Cotton Club that ruled Harlem and other big cities such as Chicago, seemed to be very important to the musical aspect of the Harlem Renaissance.

"The Cotton Club was the most famous of the city's nightclubs in the 1920s and 1930s, attracting an audience that often included the cream of New York society. Its glittering revenues provided a medium for performances by the most prominent jazz musicians of the day, and the club's activities were brought to a wide audience by frequent broadcasts. The house band, Duke Ellington's orchestra, was engaged and its residency became the most celebrated in the club's history, lasting until 1931. Cab Calloway and his Missourians, who had first appeared with great success in 1931, then took over, and Calloway's time as the Cotton Club's bandleader was to make his reputation."
(http://www.pbs.org/jazz/places/spaces_cotton_club.htm)

How is it that all of a sudden beautiful pieces of music, poetry, and novels were pouring forth from from these minority groups?  Were they there but we just didn't hear their voices?  Why in the 1920s all of a sudden  did these groups shine?  It was change.  The shackles and ghosts of slavery's past had kept many from leaving their home towns (mainly located in the south), but as decades past a new generation born from this shame turned to make the 1920s their own.  The great migration from south to north precipitated by the promise of factory jobs brought many African Americans to the northern states.  A need to outset the Victorian standards of old brought forth the new type of music "jazz" and many famous musicians were able to get their big break in the night clubs of the big cities wooing audiences with their original music.  Such as Cab Callowey in this link I've posted below.

Cab Calloway

Wed. February 5

Prohibition, the end result of the passing of the 18th amendment combined with the Volstead Act sought to make America dry.  It was called the "noble experiment" later in its lifetime and that's what it was, an experiment.  If anyone in America in the early 1920's had been told that prohibition would live a short life they might have been surprised or even skeptical.  After all it was an amendment set in stone, not easily erased.  Plus it was fun being bad, if you had the means and money to do it you often went to little back alleys where you'd knock a secret code on some seemingly random door or you might go into a dry restaurant where a few well placed dollars in the right hands and a secret password might get you and your companion into a back room or a speakeasy.
Where liquor and good times flowed freely.  Of course this good time was not without consequences.  Crime skyrocketed as a result of the underground world of illegal booze.  As the criminals and gangsters of the speakeasies and backallys grew more confident and grew more richer they slowly spread their way up and out into the daylight.  Affecting even innocent civilians.  Below is a trailer for a movie that I think really sums up the roaring twenties and how innocent civilians were affected by the crime of the mobsters.

Movie trailer

Monday February 3, Normalcy

Normalcy was the term coined by President Warren Harding.  Its meaning stood for peace and prosperity.  It was to mark the end of an era, the years of Woodrow Wilson and the noble progressivism of the day.  The progressive reform that took place during Wilson's administration had overtures of President Theodore Roosevelt's time.  When reform took place in the food and drug arenas and when conservation was seen as a needed thing and when the government started to take a greater interest in the people's health and well-being.
Tired of caring around the cross of good moral character the people of America after WWI sought relaxation not reformation.  At one end of the spectrum stood, "the urbane cosmopolitans who chafed against what they viewed as the puritanical streak," (Allen).  Warren Harding highlighted in his speeches that he would ensure that America would not be pressured into doing anymore good deeds.
Another topic discussed in class was that of historical narrative or the practice of writing history in a story-based form.  There are two different types of narrative, traditional and modern.  Traditional narrative is the story of a single event in history whereas a modern narrative is a story that switches between chronological history.  Overall a narrative is an account of history or the voice of the past.  What to include in a good narrative is simple it requires a plot which gives the story structure.  There are three different plots:  the quest, the agnostic conflict, and the climax all of which provide context and conflict to the story.  A good historical narrative should have one of these three plot lines.

January 29, Historical Scale

Discussed on Wednesday January 29 was historical scale or in other words the level in which history is being presented.  The discussion delved into the difference between micro history and macro history.  Micro history is a very detailed account of history or even an event in time.  Macro history is the "big picture" of events that took place in history.  Good micro histories can often tell a larger understanding of macro history, but unless written well they can become long and tedious with its many details.
Macro history is the stuff kids learn in school K-12, the big so what stuff.  The overall picture that teachers tell you is important to learn.  Micro history tells you the why do I have to learn this.  Often micro history gives detailed accounts of individuals living during the time of great events.
So instead of talking about Napoleon's armies moving across Europe as one entity micro history can focus on the one soldier in Napoleon's army maybe using old letters that he and his wife exchanged while he was on campaign this gives an account not of how Napoleon's army fared on campaign but how an individual soldier might have felt.  The key is do the events of this one soldier relate to the army and its campaign?  Did they come out of the same circumstances?  How can writers of history write newsworthy micro histories but tie it into the larger part of macro history so that its not just another story in the annals of history.
Can we understand micro history without knowing our basic macro history?  No.  If written right micro histories add to the overall picture that is macro history.  They have to some how be related.  I as a reader have to understand why I should care about a lonely soldier's life in Napoleon's army and how the circumstances of this micro history tie in with the circumstances of the macro history.

January 22, 2014 Red Scare, Part II

The Red Scare of the years 1918-1920 was the quintessential "big scare" of the beginning of the 20th century.  In the article the class read written by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer states that, "how the Department of Justice discovered upwards of 60,000 of these organized agitators of the Trotsky doctrine in the United States, is the confidential information upon which the Government is now sweeping the nation clean of such alien filth," (Gordon 21).  This statement embodied the times of the first red scare.  Meaning the government really had no justification for the actions it committed.
Even today our country seems, daily, to face bombs and gunmen and while this is tragic we do not as a whole, blame certain different countries and although our relation with Russia are at best strained we do not isolate the many Russians living in the United States.  When 9/11 happened granted the United States immediately went to war with Afghanistan.  A war was started and quickly spread, it seemed, to the many countries making up the Middle East.
Why than in 1919 did not the United States send more troops to Russia than they had already sent to stop the spread of Bolshevism?  Though the war would end shortly at this time the country was still at war with Europe.
The answer is obvious the country was tired and financially drained from fighting in a foreign war.  Maybe they didn't relish fighting a Russian winter.  In any event during the second red scare 2-3 presidents were willing to send and keep troops in Vietnam to stop the spread of Communism, the off-shoot of Bolshevism.
We've already established, in class, that this red scare never would have happened had not the country at this time had a President weakened and crippled by a stroke.  Would a red scare of this magnitude happen again?  I doubt it.  If the President were to get sick nowadays we, the public, would know.  We might no know the extent of the illness but in this day and age I've watched the President so much in the media that I've seen every hair on his head turn gray.
Historical narrative, in regards to this red scare event was compounded by the use of the written word.  The major Supreme Court cases that went on during this time greatly help the historian and illustrate the feelings of the political side of America.

January 15, Red Scare Part I

I could not call it paranoia because for many living during this time it was a real fear.  The Red Scare of the 1920s is but a footnote in American history often overshadowed by the second Red Scare of the 1950s.  The Russian Civil War that encompassed Russia from 1918-1920 had far reaching consequences that traveled from the cold forested areas of rural Russia to the bustling towns of America.  I don't understand how Communism ever became a threat to the people and government of America.  Than again I'm still starching my head over how Prohibition passed at a federal level.
It just proves that people are scared of change and change was happening in post-war America.  The price increase that consumed much of the market was staggering for the many living on the pittance of a paycheck.  Though I still chuckle when I read about complaining that milk was 50 cent a gallon instead of the usual 25 cent.  I see that happening now though, where food, gas, and general living arrangements have gone up.  At my mindless minimum wage job I see people who have worked with the company for 10 years or more and all there paycheck has to show for it is $9.00 and hour.  Illinois minimum wage is, by the way, $8.25.  I can understand why people would form unions, without them we would surely become enslaved by the corporate greed and the executive's need for a fat paycheck.
How Bolshevism came into play during the 1920s and how it affected people's prejudices was interesting to learn about.

Monday, January 13

Discussed on Monday's class was the Treaty of Versailles and the last two years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency.  I give Wilson credit for this monumental undertaking.  It was not an easy task to be charged with, cleaning up the aftermath that was WWI.  I thoroughly enjoyed author Frederick Lewis Allen's description of the the events surrounding before and after the Paris conference.  The reader could almost picture being there.
I find it ironic that Wilson would go to Versailles, the home of the long past French kings.  Though the town might be nice its long history of debauchery and lechery is legendary.  There, crimes were committed, crimes of passion, sin, and sharp wit and gossip.  I imagine Wilson visited the palace, if not at least marveled in its opulence.  Here was the seat of power that decided so many fates over countless centuries.  Here he too would decide the fate of the world.  You can only admire a person who wanted to do right for the world and give his health and life fighting for good causes.
That being said his intentions were often misplaced and too grand for many to grasp.  But nevertheless he kept going.
I recently watched a French movie called Renoir directed by Gilles Bourdos.  Its content described the last few remaining years of the famous impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  In it we see an artist crippled by arthritis and aged a great deal.  He still paints though his hands are noticeably deformed from the arthritis and large knobs are seen growing on his knuckles and knees.  He cannot walk and has trouble holding up a paintbrush.  The doctor visits him at one point during the movie and tells Renoir that he cannot go on his health is deteriorating.  Renoir scoffs at this.  The doctor asks him what will you do when you cannot paint anymore with your hands?  Renoir replies, "I will paint with my dick."  Here the doctor laughs at this but Renoir turns to him and seriously says, "I will paint until I collapse."
Wilson, too, knew that he could never give up and likewise kept working until he collapsed.  Though one of his ultimate masterpieces the Treaty of Versailles never say its true potential during Wilson's lifetime his stubborn manners and unflinching morals showed the world that there could be peace without harsh punishment.  I'm not sure about Wilson's politics during the last two years of his presidency.  After reading Allen's description of Wilson's life during those last few years of his presidency in the book Only Yesterday all I can remember is the bitterness and erratic behavior that overtook our once great president.

Historical Fact

Historical fact, as discussed in class on the 8th are facts based on sources.  Its actions are based on the location, date, and time of the event.  Written and described by individuals who were involved in the matters.  Interpretation or subsequent theories are rightly based on facts.
As a history major I need to rightly choose a period of time in history that I like and then study it.  I have a hard time with that because I'm not so much of a "one period in time" kind of gal.  I like to study the people in the era, because they are so much more interesting than the events that took place.  It's interesting to study individuals interpretation of historical fact.
I recently read a historical fiction novel called Mrs. Poe, by Lynn Cullen.  The title is misleading, the book focuses around Frances Osgood, a prominent poetess and children's stories author, set in the year 1845, the plot line follows Mrs. Osgood's fall from polite, good society as her husband leaves her for other women and she in turn falls in love, with tragic consequences with the infamous Edgar Allen Poe.  Whether in real life the two actually became lovers in somewhat debatable.  The author herself writes that she was interested to know how Frances Osgood might have come to be the lover of Edgar Poe and to bear his love child, a notion that some Poe scholars still deny to this day.
The book seemed to be based off of pure speculation.  So was this love affair historical fact or pure speculation?  I found myself asking that question.
Both were tortured souls to begin with, but the background of Edgar Allen Poe was particularly bleak having been orphaned and abandoned at so young an age and living in continual poverty despite his success as a poet and author.  Frances Osgood likewise struggled emotionally and financially after her husband left.
And Poe never sustained much of a good reputation while he was living and especially garnered extreme criticism after his death.  Mostly the later was contrived by the Reverend Rufus Griswold who venomously slandered Poe's name spreading countless fabrications about Poe's drug addiction and madness until generations after Poe's death came to imagine him as a madman.
But was he a madman?
The author writes, "madness is like a drop of ink in a pool of water it tendrils slowly spread to others," (310).
Another topic discussed in class was Phrenology.  This topic also popped up in the book Mrs. Poe.  The Bartlett's, the couple that housed Frances Osgood after her separation from her husband commented on the Phrenology of Poe's head.  "It's all written upon his skull.  Those swellings at the sides of his frontal bone, just above his temples, combine the severe moral confusion indicated by those bumps with the superior intelligence implied by the extreme breadth and height of his forehead, and you have a very dangerous individual indeed," (111-112).  How popular was Phrenology and could it explain Poe's violent poetry?  Probably not, after all his mother died when Poe was around 2 years old, his father abandoned the family long before that, his only 2 siblings a younger sister and older brother died within his lifetime, his young wife died when she was 24 years old in 1847.  It seems that what he most greatly sought in his lifetime (love) was continually out of his reach.
Frances Osgood, likewise suffered a terrible fate, 7 months after Poe's death in 1849 Osgood died in 1850 of tuberculosis, her love child with Edgar Allen Poe died at 16 months of age in 1847, and Osgood's other 2 children died, respectively, in June and August of 1851 being just 11 and 15 years of age.
Historical fact cannot always account for the psychological reasoning behind the facts.  The world might never know the exact nature of the relationship between Edgar Allen Poe and Frances Osgood but historical fact allows us to use journals, newspapers, place, and dates, coupled with our own interpretation of events to as accurately as possible tell the story that is history.