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Title: The Year That Signaled America's Rise to a World Power
Observe:

1908 marked what is believed to be America’s transition into modern life

America began to play a more dominant role in war affairs

The country was continuously gaining confidence

America had entered a time period of fast paced technological development

Roosevelt’s journey with the Great White Fleet left a lasting imprint on America and how other countries viewed the U.S.

People constantly pondered what the future would appear to be a century later

The Wright brothers had run a successful test run of their plane

People had first resented cars for their appeal to the rich

Ford had manufactured affordable cars and became a success with the Model T

The term melting pot was coined

A black wrestler had defeated a long standing white champion in Australia

Reflect: With the rapid increase in American nationalism and global participation, America was on its way to becoming a world power. The U.S. began to make an imprint on other countries and changing our reputation. Teddy's fleet of white battleships had a negative impact instead of a positive one. People had actually begun to despise the U.S. The U.S. also rose in heavy competition with the development in flight with France. The Wright brothers beat several records set by the French and continued to progress America's journey into the modern world even faster. Henry Ford's cars also modernized the country with how popular the Model T became and how much of the country's population had come to use the car. Beforehand, cars were despised and his developments took the country for a u-turn (pun was totally intended). Racially America still struggled with acceptance of African Americans and continued in lynchings, while other blacks accomplished milestones across the globe.
Question: Were other countries completely intimidated and overwhelmed by America's rapid progression into the modern life?

https://pts.schoology.com/attachment/1004308135/docviewer

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Title: Platt Amendment
Observe:

The amendment stated that Spain would remove all military and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters

The U.S. would involve themselves however necessary to make sure that happened

Cuba would be independent and under its own rule unless a conflict with the U.S. occurred

Cuba could not enter any foreign arrangements that would interfere with the independence of Cuba

Cuba cannot make any unreasonable financial decisions

The U.S. can interfere in order to aid Cuba

United States acts are ratified in Cuba

Cuba will maintain the agreements or laws necessary to keep disease at bay

Cuba must sell lands to the U.S. that the U.S. may need economically

This treaty is permanent

Reflect: Looking at this document with an unbiased eye, it is quite clear most decisions in the amendment were made to favor the U.S. While the amendment may claim to be in the best interest of the Cuban peoples, the U.S. clearly wanted to maintain Cuba as a resource and place of economic expansion in several ways. Most laws were made to preserve the best interests of the U.S. while also preserving the things that were most useful to the U.S. in Cuba. Things like sanitation in harbors were mainly for preserving imports and exports and economic health than anything.
Question: Did Cuba attempt to retaliate this amendment, or did they feel silenced because of the favor the U.S. did for them?

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3939

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Title: Leon Czolgosz

Observe:

Leon was an anarchist who shot William McKinley

He had emigrated from Poland

He believed that William was an enemy of working people

He was a radical anarchist

He had always been known to have a criminal past and a strong hatred for the U.S.

He was constantly under careful watch and banned from groups of people

McKinley was visiting close to his home in Buffalo and decided to kill him

He had absolutely no remorse for his actions and was sentenced to death

Reflect: I believe that although Leon had always been known to be bitter, the environment of the U.S. may have had influence on his actions. Even if the shunning of other anarchists truly didn't bother him, he had to face the poor life in a suffering country for the working class. In his position, it was easy to misinterpret every action taken by the wealthy as to attack the poor and discredit the labor and torture of the working class. They were a class that were constantly ignored. Anarchists were encouraged to become increasingly radical as they were seen as criminals. His assassination to the president was the third in the last 36 years. Roosevelt had to face a mourning and fearful country as he came into office.
Question: Would Leon's hatred have been turned into something else if he hadn't been raised in a poor household? Would he hate something else, as if he were meant to be hateful in life?

https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Biographies&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&searchType=PersonSearchForm&currentPosition=3&docId=GALE%7CK2425100090&docType=Biography&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAM-MOD1&prodId=BIC&contentSet=GALE%7CK2425100090&searchId=R3&userGroupName=inspire&inPS=true

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Title: General Map of Africa
Observe: Africa was largely overpopulated with treaties and shares of land.
Reflect: This splitting of land is an example of empires spreading spheres of influence and using separate land to create allies and collect resources. Countries outreaching to other continents meant they would have more of an advantage when in need. Competition is also very well displayed on the map with how the land is sporadically separated and the land seems to be taken over by greed.
Question: Did this land experience a similar event as the annexation of Hawaii? Did the people have any say?
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8200m.gct00004/?sp=1&r=-0.683,-0.124,2.367,1.211,0

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Title: "A Tragedy of Disappointment"
Observe:

Although Wilson encouraged and held the peace conference in France, he did not feel the need to join it

His presidency had a reputation of contradictions, like keeping the U.S. neutral until he put the country into the war

He was convinced he had been doing what was truly right for the world

He previously acted as a lawyer and then a teacher in writing

Lincoln was one of his heroes

Raised in a Christian household

He made the school he worked at a well functioning university and became a well-known figure in the democratic party

He spoke for the poor and those without much to live off of economically

He had a trail of enemies and depressions throughout his career

He had never believed he could be wrong

Wilson’s selection of commissioners outraged the country

He did not like or trust republicans, which undercut his position in Paris

The decision to go to war had been agony for him

He was usually easy going but lost his temper at the peace conference

He quickly married after the passing of his previous wife and was infuriated by rumors

Vienna wanted explanation of the term but Washington and Paris never replied

America tended to see their way of living as a model for others

Before disillusionment many people were willing to listen to Wilson

The US and France had a great love for Wilson

Wilson had a stubborn opinion on the Treaty of Versailles as the country began to agree with its reservations

Wilson’s health was also depleting

Wilson had won the Nobel Peace Prize, even while stuck in his sickroom

Reflect: Wilson represents the struggles of a president that is fighting between his own views, the country's views, and the world's views. He did what he always felt was right and never believed that he could be wrong. He showcased the American mindset that we believed we were an example of how the whole world should want to live and that we are exemplary when it comes to a state of living. Once disillusionment had hit the nation, many people were willing to go against him and pushed for the Treaty of Versailles. His stubbornness proved his passion for peace when it came to relations with other countries and showed credibility as to why he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. This stubbornness also led to the questioning of what would have happened if the U.S. was more powerful after the first World War and what could have been changed in our actions. He was the American ideal. He was extremely passionate for the existence of peace between countries but was not willing to enforce that.
Question: In the end, did the country agree with his rewarding of the Nobel Peace Prize?

https://pts.schoology.com/attachment/1004308143/docviewer

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Title: Declaration of Neutrality
Observe:

Woodrow Wilson had the nation’s best interest in mind and wanted to continue our pattern of isolationism

He acknowledges the people who had come here from different nations

There will be many passionate opinions of the war

The war for America may possibly reside in the opinions of the war itself

This may disrupt the nation’s current state of peace and that’s was Woodrow Wilson warned America of

He wants to maintain a peace inside the U.S. as well and taking sides will do the exact opposite

Reflect: Woodrow Wilson does an excellent job expressing how important it is to him that the U.S. may declare neutrality, but that also means we will have a neutral state of mind as well. He knows one of the most dangerous parts of neutrality for the U.S. is how passionately people can feel and debate. This acknowledges the sympathies that immigrants in the country and how they feel and how they want to root for their own country's involvement in the war. Those who wanted to maintain isolationism did not feel passionately about who was in the war, but if we were to get involved, and that clashed with those who felt very strongly and felt a personal connection to it. It was important to Woodrow that even through these hard times America recognize each other as brothers.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3889

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Title: Louis Armstrong
Observe:

Louis’s father had abandoned him and his mother, while his mother then neglected him

He was left in the care of his grandmother

Music had surrounded him ever since he was a young child, and he followed it wherever it went

He was arrested for supposedly aiming a gun at another boy, and was taken into a disciplinary living center

He actually loved the consistent meals and discipline

Armstrong joined a band while in the living, and was highly practiced once released

Over time he worked random jobs to support his family and listened to bands at night

He bought a used cornet and gained a regular spot in a band

He slowly moved up north and made a personality of his won on stage

Armstrong was loved by the audience, as he added different things like dancing and singing to his shows

By the 1920’s, he was known as the foremost living jazz musician

He was known as a “star” as he and his group began to do tours and radio talk shows

By the end of the 1920’s his career fell apart because of his peers and manager taking advantage of him and his success

He then came back on track by getting over his “white men are superior” attitude and hired a new manager

He appeared on film and was the first African American to have his own radio show

Unfortunately following WWII he was not so interested in producing great jazz but making money, and he was no longer a star in jazz

He made a return to jazz and returned to the spotlight, but later passed away of a heart attack

Reflect: Louis's story was truly inspiring, the way he managed to triumph over his racial challenges in his career. He was raised to believe his manager was his "boss" as a white man, who he gained the courage to fire and take control of his own career, even through the racial expectations. Jazz had begun to blossom in the U.S. after the tragedy of the war and that's exactly what Louis had grown up around. He was one of the stars that had begun to influence America and set a principle as an American icon. His African American roots inspired America and even white audiences had begun to listen to his music. Radio had also become very popular and he had gained his very own radio show, developing an even more personal connection with his audience. The deceit he had faced from his previous manager also represented the downfall of the economy after the 1920's, as they had been aiming for the money and fame. Louis also represents this when he falls into great debt and goes back to performing only for the fame.
Question: Did Louis make a change and go back to jazz at the end of his career to stay dedicated to his fans, or was it still for the money? Was his death a product of karma or just a sign of the end of his career in fame?

https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?resultListType=RELATED_DOCUMENT&searchType=ts&userGroupName=inspire&inPS=true&contentSegment=&prodId=BIC&docId=GALE|K1607000014&it=r

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Title:

[Map of World War I battle positions in the Bruges region, Belgium].

Observe: There are hundreds of intertwined lines across the map, and a bold red one indicating what I’m guessing is the bridge between the enemy territories in Belgium. These lines (trenches and positions) are spread across every inch of land, indicating that the battle did not stay in one area for long and there had to be areas to retreat to for a fail safe.

Reflect: This map heavily represents the usage of trench warfare in WWI between the allies and central powers. It also represents the occasions where enemies would head further and further into enemy territory throughout the war and not just battle in the same consistent spot. Each side had the plan to fully weaken the other and keep going until there was a dead end. The way the positions spread across so much land also reminds me of the way that machine guns, tanks, and mustard gas were used to take out as many mass numbers as possible.

Question: Had every town been turned into a place for war in these areas, was there no safe place for citizens to reside? How many innocent people had been killed?

https://www.loc.gov/item/80691199/

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Title: Chapter 24: World War II
Observe:
Reflect:
Question:

http://www.americanyawp.com/text/24-world-war-ii/

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Title: Pearl Harbor Speech: Day of Infamy
Observe:
Reflect:
Question:

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1082

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Title: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Observe:
Reflect:
Question:

https://go.gale.com/ps/searchTopic?inPS=true&searchType=TopicSearchForm&userGroupName=inspire&prodId=BIC&topicId=00000000MS6B

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Title: Estimated damage report against surface ships on the air attack of Pearl Harbor, December 8th, 1941

Observe: The Japanese's plan was clearly thorough and effective against America's current expectations. Every large ship had been individually targeted and provided more than enough weaponry to take out the ships and any people present.
Reflect: Even if the plan was truly quite simple in the end, America's attention was placed elsewhere, and they underestimated the Japanese's war tactics. A simple plan such as this was made so effective because fo the timing and thought process they had put into it against America. With the element of surprise, America was vulnerable; but just as the quote goes, they had awaken a sleeping giant.
Question: Was this a devastating yet necessary wake up call to America in some ways?

https://www.loc.gov/item/2018588193/