False Flag

 

1) Would we have gone to war even if the Maine had not been sunk?  Why/ why not?

2) Is there a good reason to go to war?  If so what is it?

3) What is a 'False Flag' theory?

4) What other 'False Flag's' in history might have been used to start war?

5) Was the attack on 9/11 a 'False Flag?'  Why or why not?

6) How do conspiracy theories work?  Create your own 'conspiracy theory' and describe it.

Haunting History

 

There were many failures on part of the factory owners and management that led up to the deadliest workplace disaster of the 20th century. Join Dominique Dibbell as she uncovers the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the events leading up to the tragedy, the aftermath and the fight for better conditions that followed.

Black Wall Street

 

In 1921, at the height of ‘Jim Crow’ America, rioters destroyed a beacon of Black prosperity and security: The Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma also known as ‘Black Wall Street.’

They killed hundreds of black Tulsans, left thousands homeless, and ransacked an entire neighborhood.

At the time, there were no prosecutions of the instigators. Almost a century later, there have been no reparations.

In fact, I had never even heard of it until I saw it on HBO’s ‘The Watchmen’

100 - 300 Greenwood residents were killed. 9,000 Greenwood residents were left homeless. 1,200 Greenwood buildings destroyed $50-100 million in property damage.

NOT ONE sentence in our US history book! Why?

Read the story for yourself and then answer these questions:

1) Was Reconstruction a success or a failure? Give examples.
2) What happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921? Why?
3) How did this incident test our nation's commitment to its founding ideals?
4) Why do you suppose this event is not in our History Textbook?
5) How is our nation still healing more than 150 years after the Civil War?

Star Wars

If anything defined the 20th century as the age of anxiety, it's the cold war with its ultimate no-win nuclear endgame.  Reagan's 1983 Evil Empire speech sets the tone for a more aggressive US posture against the Soviet Union, and the costly arms race it renewed.  

1) How did the 'Death Star' reflect the very real fear of the atomic bomb during the Cold War 70's & 80's?

2) Why is the post-Soviet world so obsessed with Star Wars?

3) Who would Darth Vadar & the Empire represent in Cold War history? The Rebel Alliance? Explain?

4) What was Reagan's ' Star Wars' program and how did it bring about an end of the Cold War?

5) How will you be celebrating Star Wars Day?

Red Scare

1) Who were the Body Snatchers?!

In the 1950's the fear that communists both outside and inside America were working to destroy our way of life created a reaction known as the Red Scare. Pop culture reflected this fear of communists invading and taking over Americans minds.

Then a little known senator from Wisconsin, Joseph R. McCarthy charged that more than 200 communist agents had infiltrated the highest levels of our government. The charge provoked a furor and a witch hunt that quickly spread to all levels of American life.

2) How can you tell if someone is a 'witch?'

"The Crucible", a play written by Arthur Miller centers on the similar events in colonial Salem and the subsequent trials. Those who demanded their innocence were executed, those who would not name names were incarcerated and tortured, and those who admitted their guilt were immediately set free.

3) Compare and Contrast the Salem Witch Hunts to the McCarthy Era.

4)  Who was persecuted and what was the evidence? What recourse did the accused have?

5)Which was more dangerous: the accusation or the actual witches?

6) Who was Edward R. Murrow and how did he respond to McCarthy's allegations?

7) What predictions did Mr. Murrow make about the future of Media in America?


 Play the game.  Listen: Must be the season of the Witch

Tear Down This Wall....

President Reagan's remarks on East-West relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987.

1) How does Reagan support his statement "Freedom is the victor?"

2) How does Reagan challenge Gorbachev to prove that his reforms are not just 'token gestures?'

3) What is the tone of this speech?

4) How persuasive was this speech? Why? Give reasons.

Everything I learned about Cold War History I learned from watching 'Family Guy.'

WWII: Origins

In 1936, German troops occupied the Rhineland, a German region bordering France. Although the Versailles Treaty had banned military activity in this region, the League of Nations did nothing in response to Germany’s occupation. Two years later, Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia, be surrendered to Germany. Many Europeans feared that Hitler was provoking Europe into war.

France and Britain distrusted Hitler, but they had already agreed on a policy of appeasement—yielding to an enemy’s demands in order to maintain peace. Germany would obtain the Sudetenland, despite Czechoslovakia’s objections. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain explained to the British people that it was illogical to declare war over such a small territory, saying, “If we have to fight, it must be on larger issues than that.”

Could WWII have been prevented?  What do you think?

If you could go back in time and stop Hitler before he started the war, would you do it?  Why/ not?