• WWI began on July 28, 1914, and lasted until November 11, 1918.

  
  

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated on June 28, 1914

• He was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist and member of the Black Hand group

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, triggering alliances that led to WWI

  
  

• WWI is important because it ended old empires and created new countries. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany pay for the war, leading to anger that helped start WWII. The war changed the world and still affects global politics today.

  
  

• The photo of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand shows the event that started WWI by triggering a chain of wars.

Primary source: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/message-neutrality

Author

• Woodrow Wilson, U.S. President during WWI.

• He aimed to keep the U.S. neutral but later entered the war in 1917.

Main Idea

• Wilson urged the U.S. to remain neutral and not take sides.

• He warned that the war might create conflict within the U.S. because of immigrants’ ties to Europe.

• He stressed that the U.S. should promote peace.

I learned

• Wilson wanted to keep the U.S. neutral but eventually had to join the global war.

  
  

• Jeanette Rankin was elected to Congress in 1916, becoming the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Jeanette Rankin was elected in Montana, where women won the right to vote in 1914.

• Her election happened when women across the U.S. were fighting for voting rights.

• She was a strong believer in peace and was the only person in Congress to vote against joining World War I.

• Jeanette Rankin’s election showed that women could be leaders in government. She helped support the fight for women’s rights, like voting. Today, she still inspires more women to take leadership roles.

• The photo shows Jeanette Rankin as the only woman in Congress, proving she paved the way for others.

Primary source: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/jeannette-rankin-one-woman-one-vote.htm

Author

• The author is Winifred Conkling, a writer known for books about history and social issues.

• She focuses on women's rights, activism, and important historical events in her work.

Main Ideas

• The article highlights Jeanette Rankin’s historic role as the first woman in Congress.

• It explains her fight for women’s right to vote and her strong anti-war beliefs.

• She was the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. entry into both World Wars.

I learned

• Jeanette Rankin was a bold leader who stood for women’s rights and peace, despite opposition.

  
  

• The Open Door Policy started in 1899 and was confirmed in 1900.

• The U.S. wanted to make sure that all countries could trade with China equally, without any one country taking control.

• This policy stopped foreign countries from taking too much power in China’s trade.

• The Open Door Policy was important because it helped the U.S. have a stronger role in world trade and kept China from being controlled by one country. It also helped shape U.S. relations with China in the future.

• The photo shows how the U.S. wanted to make sure China wasn’t controlled by one country, which is what the Open Door Policy was all about.

Primary source: https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=4068#:~:text=In%201899%2C%20Secretary%20of%20State,State%20Washington%2C%20September%206%2C%201899

Author

• The author is John Hay, the U.S. Secretary of State.

• He helped shape U.S. foreign policy and was important in managing relations with other countries.

Main Idea

• The main idea is that John Hay wanted all countries to have equal trading rights in China.

• He also wanted to stop any one country from controlling China’s trade and land.

I learned

• The Open Door Policy was the U.S. plan to keep China’s trade fair for everyone.

The author

• The author is Du Bois who was part of the NAACP.

• Du Bois was an African American Historian and activist

Main idea

• Some key details that stand out are that the article provided a lot of needed correctives to the racial stereotypes.

• Another key detail was that the article discussed every detail of life for African Americans, from women's suffrage to education

What I learned

• Du Bois published many articles which brought to light many problems of the African community

• The event happened on March 25, 1911

• On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out, but the workers were trapped on the ninth floor because the door was locked

• This led to people either burning to death or falling off of the 9th floor to their death

• This was an important event because it resulted in many reforms in workplaces

• It is also important to remember as a mark of our country's dark history

Primary Source (https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/survivorInterviews/MaryDomskyAbrams.html)

Author

• The author who is being interviewed is Mary Domsky-Abrams

• This person was a blouse operator on the ninth floor of the building where the fire broke out

Main idea

• The main idea of this primary source was the recollection of her experience in the workplace

• One key detail I noticed was that the buckets that were supposed to be full of water were empty

What I learned

• There were many reasons that led up to the fire which was a terrible disaster.

• This is the Spanish-American War from the view of the Americans.

When:

• The Spanish-American War began on April 21, 1898, and ended on December 10, 1898

What:

• The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. (Feb. 1895)

• The war was waged largely against property.

• The Cuban conflict was harmful to the U.S. investments in the island, estimated at $50 million, and almost ended Cuban ports that normally valued at $100 million annually

Why:

• It ended the Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in the U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.

• Marked the U.S. as an emerging major world power.

Primary Source:

• Yale Law Avalon Project: Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain: December 10, 1898 (https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/sp1898.asp)

• This Source is attributed to no single author but instead to two representatives from each country, William R. Day (America) and Don Eugenio Montero Rios (Spain)

• William R. Day - appointed Secretary of State in President William Mckinley's cabinet, elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1886) then three years later was appointed to be the judge for the northern district of Ohio, only took the position of Secretary of State until the end of the war where he resigned.

• Don Eugenio Montero Rios - a Spanish Politician, whose career began with the foundation in Santiago of La Opinion Publica (a journal designed to reunite the progressive), was the president of a section of the General Codification Cabinet.

• Main Idea - The Treaty of Paris officially ended the Spanish-American War which resulted in Spain surrendering Cuba and giving Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.

• Key Details - Article VI states that both Spain and the U.S. would have to release all prisoners of war. And in Article XVII it says that the treaty has 6 months to be approved by the President of the United States.

• I learned that the United States could gain more strategic and power across the world.

• The people in this image are part of a secret society called the Society of Righteousness and Harmonious Fists (Boxers) and they are walking and watching for foreigners.

When:

• The Boxer Rebellion in China occurred at about the start of 1900 and ended in 1901

What:

• By the end of the 19th century, Western nations and Japan forced China's ruling Qing Dynasty to accept wide foreign control over the country's economic affairs.

• China fought to resist foreigners but lacked a modernized military and suffered millions of casualties.

• By the late 1890s, a secret Chinese group, the Society of Righteousness and Harmonious Fist, had begun carrying out regular attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians.

Why:

• As a result of the Boxer Rebellion, the Qing Dynasty was greatly weakened.

• Despite the liberal economic and political reforms afterward, the dynasty was overthrown in 1911.

• Established the Republic of China the year after, bringing the end to the 2000 years of imperial dynastic rule.

Primary Source:

• National Archives Catalog - Boxer Rebellion Observations by Future First Lady, Lou Henry Hoover

• Evelyn Wight Allen Papers - former principal of the Old Girls Commercial High School in Brooklyn and a one-time commissioner of the Brooklyn Girl Scouts

Main Idea:

• The main idea of this primary source was of what she experienced in her expedition in China and how strange it was.

Key Details:

• She says that for one week the Boxers were attacking them without any sort of communication.

• She says that they couldn't do anything but hope that they don't get charged by the Chinese rebels.

• I learned that the Boxer Rebellion was a very ineffective and odd way of protesting.

Primary Source (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27)

Author

• The 17th Amendment was ratified by the Congress of America

• More specifically, Senator Joseph L. Bristow who had much recognition for his reforms in the progressive area

Main idea

• To prevent corruption in the selection process of new U.S. senators

• This can lead to modern-day problems, where senators are dealing with many modern-day issues

What I learned

• This document discusses the ratification of the 17th Amendment and how it dealt with corruption.

Primary source (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27))

Author

• Wayne Wheeler of the anti-saloon League drafted the 18th amendment

• He was the leader of the anti-saloon league and was also an attorney

Main idea

• This amendment basically prohibited anything that had to do with alcohol

• While the prohibition of alcohol may have had good intentions, it ended up with more cons than pros

What I learned

• The purpose of this amendment was to prohibit alcohol, but it ended up being controversial.

• This image of the Iolani Palace during the annexation march. The U.S. flag in this image represents the success of the annexation.

When:

• The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 and was made a territory in 1900. Then by 1959 Hawaii and Alaska officially became states.

What:

• For most of the 1800s, Americans specifically in Washington were concerned about Hawaii becoming a part of the European nation's empire.

• During the 1830s, both Britain and France forced Hawaii to accept treaties that gave them economic privileges.

• In 1849, the United States and Hawaii had a treaty of friendship that served as a basis between them.

Why:

• The annexation of Hawaii extended the U.S. territory into the Pacific and allowed it to rise as a Pacific Power.

• Hawaii was also recognized for its strategic importance of Pearl Harbor, which could serve as a place to store military outposts and a cooling place for merchant ships.

• Could remove the devastating tariff on sugar through the plantations

Primary Source:

• Docsteach.org - Letter for Queen Lili'uokalani to the House of Representatives

• Queen Lili'uokalani was the Queen of Hawaii, a faithful scholar, and an extraordinary musician and composer.

Main Idea:

• The main idea of this primary source is that she is objecting against the United States' attempt to annex Hawaii.

Key Details:

• She says she respectfully protests against the assertion of ownership by the United States and says that the one million acres of land are hers.

• She calls upon the president and the legislative branch to fix this and give her back her islands.

• I learned that the U.S. does not care much for any protest against their mission.

• This is an image of a newspaper talking about the 50-year struggle for women ending with a victory. And that victory is them being able to vote.

When:

• The 19th Amendment was passed through Congress in 1919 of June and was ratified in August of 1920.

What:

• Toward the beginning of the 1800s, women organized petitions that were for the goal of achieving the right to vote.

• Between 1878, the 19th Amendment was first introduced in Congress.

• Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience

Why:

• The 19th Amendment is a significant part of history because it granted women the right to vote.

• Additionally, it also makes it illegal to deny anyone the right to vote based on their gender.

Primary Sources:

• Library of Congress - Letter from Susan B. Anthony to Adelaide Johnson discussing women ministers and Johnson's sculpture memorializing prominent suffragists, 8 February 1896

Susan B. Anthony

• American women's Rights Activist

• Fought for the abolition of Slavery

Main Idea

• In this letter, Adelaide Johnson challenged gender norms through her marriage as well as Susan's supported.

• It also showed tensions within the women's right movement.

Key Ideas

• Both Susan and Adelaide disagreed over whether the statue should be in the capital

• The sculptures created a bust of women rights leader.

• I learned that within the Women's Suffrage Movement had some conflicts within the suffrage movement.

• The Panama Canal was built from 1903 to 1914.

• The U.S. helped Panama break away from Colombia to build the canal.

• Workers faced many problems like deadly diseases, like yellow fever and malaria.

• The canal made travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans much faster.

• The Panama Canal made trade and travel much faster, helping the economy grow. It also gave the U.S. more power in world affairs. Today, the canal is still used a lot, but water shortages make it harder to operate.

• The photo shows how hard the workers' jobs were. They had to deal with heat, disease, and tough conditions while building the canal.

Primary source: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-8-1906-message-regarding-panama-canal

Author

• The author is Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.

• Known for his leadership during the Progressive Era and his role in expanding U.S. influence globally.

Main Idea

• Roosevelt talks about how important the Panama Canal is for trade and military power.

• He defends the U.S. controlling the project and supporting Panama’s independence.

I learned

• Roosevelt believed the Panama Canal was key to U.S. military power, trade, and global influence.