Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856-February 3, 1924) was born in Staunton, Virginia, to parents of a predominantly Scottish heritage. Since his father was a Presbyterian minister and his mother the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Wilson was raised in a pious and academic household. He spent a year at Davidson College in North Carolina and three at Princeton University where he received a baccalaureate degree in 1879. A scholar, Wilson would go on to earn his PHD, becoming the first and only President to do so. Following College Wilson enlisted in the Navy and becomes marooned on an island in the South Pacific. Far away from home, his girlfriend, and any human contact, he engaged in a battle of wits with himself as he is tested mentally, physically and emotionally in order to survive. These survival skills would serve him well in politics when he miraculously returns home. Wilson won the presidential election of 1912 when William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt split the Republican vote. Upon taking office he set about instituting the reforms he had outlined in his book The New Freedom, including the changing of the tariff, the revising of the banking system, the checking of monopolies and fraudulent advertising, the prohibiting of unfair business practices, and the like.
But the attention of this man of peace was forced to turn to war. In the early days of World War I, Wilson was determined to maintain neutrality. He protested British as well as German acts; he offered mediation to both sides but was rebuffed. The American electorate in 1916, reacting to the slogan «He kept us out of war», reelected Wilson to the presidency. However, in 1917 the issue of freedom of the seas compelled a decisive change. On January 31 Germany announced that 'unrestricted submarine warfare' was already started; on March 27, after four American ships had been sunk, Wilson decided to ask for a declaration of war; on April 2 he made the formal request to Congress; and on April 6 the Congress granted it.
Woodrow Wilson was one of America's greatest Presidents. His domestic program expanded the role of the federal government in managing the economy and protecting the interests of citizens. His foreign policy established a new vision of America's role in the world. And he helped to make the White House the center of power in Washington. Most historians rank him among the five most important American Presidents, along with Washington, Lincoln, and the two Roosevelts.
But their was another side of Wilson. He was a vicious racist, a warmonger and an authoritarian who crushed civil liberties. We are still living with the consequences of World War I, and though he didn’t start it, he supercharged it by getting the United States involved (after pledging he wouldn’t) and grossly mishandling the peace talks.
The Chicago World's Fair produced a number of firsts besides Ferris’ 264-foot-tall wheel. Among the well-loved commercial products that made their debut at the Chicago World’s Fair were Cracker Jack, Cream of Wheat, Juicy Fruit gum, and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Technological products that would soon find their way into homes nationwide, such as the dishwasher and fluorescent light bulbs, had early prototype versions on display in Chicago as well. The U.S. government also got in on the act, issuing the country’s first postcards and commemorative stamps and two new commemorative coins: a quarter and half dollar. The half-dollar featured Christopher Columbus, in whose honor the fair had been staged, while the quarter depicted Queen Isabella of Spain, who had funded Columbus’ voyages—making it the first U.S. coin to honor a woman.
Perhaps the most famous first wasn't advertised in the fair literature: America's First Serial Killer! Unbeknownst to festival goers, there was a mass murderer in their midst. For several years before and during the exposition, Dr. Henry Howard Holmes was busily luring victims (including a number of fairgoers) to a three-story, block-long building called the “Castle,” where they were tortured, mutilated, and killed. Although H. H. Holmes’ heinous crimes weren’t discovered until after the fair ended, it’s believed that he was responsible for dozens of deaths in Chicago.
In his best-selling book The Devil in the White City Author Erik Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.
Daniel Burnham (Architect) HH Holmes (Killer)
"Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this story is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow"
1) In what ways does the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 change America? What lasting
inventions and ideas did it introduce into American culture?
2) How did the 'White City' compare with Chicago, the 'Black City' or any other American City of the time?
3) How did Holmes' hotel contrast with the buildings of the World's Fair? Can architecture reflect goodness or evil, or are buildings neutral until used?
4) How was Holmes able to get away with so many murders without becoming a suspect? Were
you surprised by how easy it was for him to commit crimes without being caught?
5) What does the story reveal about the “conflict between good and evil"? What is the essential difference between men like Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes? Are they alike in any way?
6) After the Fair ended, Ray Stannard Baker noted "What a human downfall after the
magnificence and prodigality of the World's Fair which has so recently closed its doors!
Heights of splendor, pride, exaltation in one month: depths of wretchedness, suffering,
hunger, cold, in the next" [p. 334]. What is the relationship between the opulence and
grandeur of the Fair and the poverty and degradation that surrounded it? In what ways does
the Fair bring into focus the extreme contrasts of the Gilded Age?
7) At the end of The Devil in the White City, Larson writes "The thing that entranced me about
Chicago in the Gilded Age was the city's willingness to take on the impossible in the name of
civic honor, a concept so removed from the modern psyche that two wise readers of early
drafts of this book wondered why Chicago was so avid to win the world's fair in the first
place" [p. 393]. What motives, in addition to "civic honor," drove Chicago to build the Fair? In
what ways might the desire to "out-Eiffel Eiffel" and to show New York that Chicago was
more than a meat-packing backwater be seen as American? In what ways were they problematic?
The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is a 48-mile (77.1 km) ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade; the 10 hour crossing shaving 2 weeks off a dangerous trip around the tip of South America. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake (85 feet (26 m) above sea-level). The Gatun Lake was used to reduce the amount of work required for a sea-level connection. The current locks are 110 feet (33.5 m) wide.
What was the strategic importance militarily and economically of the Panama Canal?
The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was an event of immense cultural importance to America and the World nearing the turn of the century. From May 1 to October 31, 1893, Chicago and the Exposition were host to 27 million visitors--nearly one quarter of the country's population at the time. Fairs encompassed the spectrum of experience and interest of the 1800s--from sport to entertainment to high culture. To understand their importance and draw in modern terms, they could be seen as a combination of the Olympics, DisneyWorld, the Superbowl, and the National Gallery--an international entertainment and cultural event with lasting social importance.
Particularly amazing was the fact that this futuristic view of what urban life could be grew out of the ashes of the Chicago fire just 22 years before. The fair produced a number of firsts. Among the well-loved commercial products that made their debut at the Chicago World’s Fair were Cream of Wheat, Juicy Fruit gum and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Technological products that would soon find their way into homes nationwide, such as the dishwasher and fluorescent light bulbs, had early prototype versions on display in Chicago as well. The U.S. government also got in on the act, issuing the country’s first postcards and commemorative stamps and two new commemorative coins: a quarter and half dollar. The half dollar featured Christopher Columbus, in whose honor the fair had been staged, while the quarter depicted Queen Isabella of Spain, who had funded Columbus’ voyages—making it the first U.S. coin to honor a woman.A Ferris wheel saved the fair from financial ruin.
Like the 'Gilded Age' the Columbian Exposition suspended reality. It was a fantasy. None of it was real. The buildings of the fair were designed to be temporary and unfortunately, most of them were destroyed. The exceptions being the replica Statue of the Republic (above) and the old Palace of Fine Arts. It's since been converted into the city of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The rest of the Columbian Exposition is long gone. So what happened to all the other buildings you ask?
Like most World’s Fairs, the storied “White City” of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition was mostly destroyed after the end of the Fair, and little evidence remains today. I’ve often wondered what it would have been like to experience the fairgrounds in person. Thanks to the Urban Simulation Team at UCLA, and through the wonders of technology we can, however, still take a 'virtual' stroll through the grounds by clicking here.
The Buffalo Soldiers were a segregated regiment of black cavalry fighters during the American campaign to rid the West of "Indians" so that "civilized" white people could gain the lands used by Native Americans. They were given their name by the Native Americans who called them Buffalo Soldiers because their short & curly hair was like the hair on the back of a buffalo's neck. They were compared with the buffalo's strength and tenacity. Duties were settling railroad disputes, building telegraph lines, repairing and building forts, helping settlers find a place to live and protecting the settlers from Indian attacks.
… I mean it, when I analyze the stench
To me, it makes a lot of sense
How the Dreadlock Rasta was the Buffalo Soldier
And he was taken from Africa, brought to America
Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival3…
The song is about some of the black regiments that served in the United States Army, specifically the 9th, 10th, 24th, and 25th regiments. The ninth and tenth cavalries spent their time in the west, providing protection against the Native Americans. The twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth infantries were part of a fighting Corp that went to Cuba under Theodore Roosevelt to fight an uprising on San Juan Hill.
The Buffalo Soldiers fought to help with the expansion of our country. They were inspirational figures to other African Americans. They provided protection for settlers, spurring the western movement. If it weren’t for their bravery, we probably wouldn’t have our fifty states. However, they were also involved in what was one of the most immoral acts of ethnic cleansing ever.
The song speaks about the fourteen Buffalo Soldiers who received the Medals of Honor. This was an attempt by the United States government to "justify and glorify" the killing of Native Americans, underlining the United States government’s policy of manifest destiny. The Buffalo Soldiers were used as a tool for the white man’s greed.
The black soldiers were once Africans, and they had been plucked from their homeland only to work on the white man’s behalf. They needed to fight to survive. What Bob Marley is trying to say is that often the black man gets the bad wrap. The white men used the Buffalo Soldiers as a way to cover up the genocide of the Native American people.
The charge up an obscure Cuban hill on July, 1 1898 was a pivotal point in Theodore Roosevelt's political career. When war broke with Spain in April of that year, Roosevelt was serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He immediately quit his position and helped form a regiment of volunteers. The "Rough Riders" enlisted cowboys and college men led by Roosevelt under the command of Leonard Wood. They arrived in Cuba in time to take part in the Battle of San Juan Hill.
Teddy Roosevelt charging up the San Juan Heights, the Rough Riders and the sinking of the battleship, the U.S.S. Maine---these are what people commonly know about the United States' war with Spain in 1898. What they may not remember is that this was the war that steered the United States to center stage as a world power. Victorious over Spain in Cuba and the Philippines, the United States, a nation founded in opposition to imperialism, grappled with its new role as an imperial power. Read more...
Welcome to the home page of Mr. Kelly's American History class, Talawanda High School, Oxford, Ohio, USA. Here you will find assignments, links to lessons, your grades, and online discussions. Please remember that this site is an online extension of our classroom and to treat each other with respect. Thanks and BE BRAVE!
