Hoedown Throw Down

     The past three days my History class prepared for a throw down!!! (Not the Hannah Montana version) It was actually a very silent Throw down because it was a Monday, but it was still effective. The Throw Down was basically a face-off between two groups with the same ideology.  Ideologies are ideas and ideals that form the basis of economic and political authorities. Our class was split into 6 groups and we had Liberalism, Conservatism, or Nationalism. My group had Liberalism.  Our goal was to create an effective video explaining Liberalism.  We then competed against the other team that had Liberalism and the class picked who was the best.  Our videos helped answer the essential question: What were the major political ideologies of the 19th century and how did they influence social and political action? Before creating our video, we learned more about Liberalism using an article to gather information. 

     We created our video using an app called Chatter Pix. In our video, Adam Smith and John Locke explain to their "audience" about Liberalism. Liberal’s believed in freedom and equality for humans.  Socially, Liberalism fought against the aristocracy and monarchies.  They wanted to end the social hierarchy.  Politically, Liberals favored meritocracy.  Meritocracy was the system in which everyone should be rewarded for their hard work, not because of their position on a triangle.  Adam Smith came up with the invisible hand.  The invisible hand lowered prices so that the poor could afford necessities.  It regulates the economy by raising the quality of products and lowering the prices through competition.  John Locke me the argument for the existence of god given natural rights and believed in the promotion of liberty.  

     The other groups with Conservatism and Nationalism had their own throw downs.  Conservatives wanted to keep a traditional monarchy with social classes.  They believed change wasn't a good idea because it resulted in a chaos.  They used the French Revolution as an example.  Without a monarchy, things would pretty much be a blood bath.  They wanted to keep aristocracy and the social hierarchy.  They believed this was the best route for a society.  Nationalists believed in independent nations and unification.  People were unified because shared culture, language and history.  They didn’t want foreign rulers and they called for natural boundaries.  

Brautigam, Jeffrey. “The Rise of New Ideologies in the Nineteenth Century for AP European History.” Education.com. March 4, 2011. http://www.education.com/study-help/article/rise-ideologies- nineteenth-century/ (Accessed October 21, 2013).

Perspectives

     The majority of class last week was spent on learning about the great Napoleon Bonaparte.  Our primary focus was answering the essential question: What was Napoleon’s impact on the social, economic, and political systems of Europe?  To answer this question, we watched a few videos and read primary sources inside and outside of class.  The video we watched, All You need to know about Napoleon Bonaparte, gave a brief overview of Napoleon’s life and things he changed during his time.  We also read primary sources from The Lost Voices of Napoleonic Historians by Thomas J. Vance and two different points of views of Napoleon from Madame de Stael and Marshall Michael Ney. 

Madame de Stael

     Madame de Stael was a member of the nobility and a daughter of King Louis XVI’s former financial advisor.  She most likely grew up near Versailles and lived a comfortable life before the reign of Napoleon.  Madame believed that Napoleon had contempt for values of human nature and saw values such as virtue and dignity as “enemies of the continent”.  She didn’t think that he had any sort of plan to govern the country.  She saw his system as one in which France’s independence and liberty increased at the cost of the rest of Europe’s freedom. George Gordon Andrews believed that Napoleon was a reckless and an uncontrollable tyrant who pretty much wreaked havoc across Europe.  Marjorie Johnston author Domination: Some Napoleonic Episodes refers to Napoleon as “[a] usurper, a tyrant, and a greedy, egotistical and ambitious ruler.”

Marshall Michael Ney

     In contrast, Marshall Michael Ney had a completely different perspective of Napoleon.  Marshall Michael Nay was an officer who served closely to Napoleon.  Marshall Michael Nay strongly believed that Napoleon had the right to rule France.  He states how “The times are gone when the people were governed by suppressing their rights.  Liberty triumphs in the end, and Napoleon, out August Emperor, comes to confirm it.”  John C. Ropes, author of The First Napoleon: A Sketch, Political and Military praises Napoleon for “his untiring industry, his devotion to the public service, his enlightened views of government and legislation [and] his humanity.”  Marjorie Johnston also describes the era full of “splendid elements” and calls Napoleon a great soldier, liberator, reformer and lawgiver.   

Napoleon Bonaparte

     There is no one way to look at Napoleon’s rule; only perspectives.  Looking at everything that Napoleon has done in his life time, I think he’s got some real guts.  I do think he made a lot of positive impacts for France.  He overthrew the French directory.  He also controlled prices of products, encouraged new industry balanced budgets and started the bank of France.  He undertook massive work programs such as building roads and canals and removing trade barriers.  During his reign, more citizens had rights to property and education.  Napoleon established a meritocracy in which people were rewarded based on skill rather than class.  He said adios to titles such as nobility and serfdom.  The lives of many people went from horrible to manageable.  He is a daring military strategist and a charismatic leader who had a very significant impact in the world.  There is no denying the negative impacts he had in the numerous countries he conquered, but there is no way he should go unrecognized for the amazing things he did for his country.  

The Lost Voices of Napoleonic Historians by Thomas J. Vance Napoleon Review Worksheet

Images:  

"Madame De Stael." Madame De Stael. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

"Marshal Michel Ney." Michel Ney. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

"Napoleon Bonaparte." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.

Gambling our Sweet, Sweet Souls

     Last Friday, we gambled our souls in History class.  I am referring to Hershey Kisses as our souls.  In the beginning of the lesson, our teacher distributed some Hershey Kisses to everyone.  The teacher gave most people 3 Hershey Kisses and some people ten.  Ten!!!  It was quiet unfair.  After the (unfair) distribution of candy, we began to gamble.  We played rock paper scissors with our classmates.  If we lost, we gave up a Hershey Kiss.  If we won, we get one of theirs.  It was q

uiet nerve racking and if we ran out of candy, we lost the game.  We were out.  Fortunately, luck was on my side.  I started with 3 and ended up with 13.  I went back to my seat pretty happy, but all my risk taking flew away in the wind in a matter of few seconds.  Our teacher collected all of our candy and redistributed it equally to everyone.  Everyone got three.  I wasn’t exactly mad because I started with three and ended up with three, but I was annoyed that the risks I took were for nothing since I ended up with what I started.  Everyone had what I did.  No one had more and no one had less.  This little activity wasn’t just a fun Friday game; it got into depth about Capitalism, Socialism and Communism.  The Industrial Revolution changed more than technology and the way work is done.  It changed the way money and goods were distributed and how people looked at the rich and poor class.  Karl Marx and Adam Smith believe in two systems in society. 

     Karl Marx's Theory of communism starts with capitalism.  Capitalism describes a society where people have private ownership of industry and the freedom of competition.  This results in an economic class with poor, middle class, and rich people.  He states that poor people will revolt because they will realize that their life is unfair and will want more for themselves.  In order to make

Karl Marx

things fair, Marx said that people would create a government system of socialism.  In socialism the government owned the industry.  The poor would share a goal to bring economic equality and aim for a classless society.  Socialism is the final step in the path to communism.  Marx believed that the people would create communism by any means, even violence, to escape the divisions between rich and poor. Communism describes a classless society where there is no government and everyone has an equal income.  This system, the path to communism, would benefit the poor because the poor don’t live beneath anyone anymore.  They have an equal amount of money as the rich and have a fair chance at life. 

     An alternative system was created by Adam Smith who is considered an enlightenment thinker.  He based his fantasy society on capitalism and created the invisible hand.  Smith believed that people will always want more.  He said that people will find always look for the most for the least amount; the products with more quality that cost less.  This will force businesses to improve their business plans to stay competitive.  The businesses that have high quality products for low prices will stay in business.  Slowly, economy will regulate itself.  Although this would take a really long time, this would benefit the poor because they will be able to afford products for a cheaper price. 

     I believe that Adam Smith’s theory is a better solution, but it isn’t the best.  Smith’s theory is much more realistic than Marx’s.  Marx’s theory is a dive into a Utopian Society.  It’s like living in The Giver and that isn’t bound to happen any time soon.  Human beings will always be human beings and will always want more than what they have.  Even if that sounds mean, we will always want to be better than others.  Smith’s theory is kind of like what we have now.  For instance, in many towns, there is more than one Supermarket.  Both companies have similar products and different prices and qualities.  The people will go to the market that has cheaper products at lower prices.  The downside to this theory is that regulation of economy will happen very slowly.  There will need to be some government regulation if the people would not want to face mass unemployment during the wait. 

     Neither theories are the best; both have flaws.  I think a great society should be aware of the differences taxes and insurance.  In our society, depending on jobs, people have different insurances.  Some people have insurance’s that cover essential things like medical issues and some other don’t.  This isn’t fair to the people who sometimes have to pay a lot more.  Also, some states have taxes and others don’t.  People who live in NH don’t have to pay taxes while people in MA do.  

"HERSHEY'S KISSES | Chocolate Candy Products." Hersheys.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. 

 "Karl Marx." The History Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.

Two Different Worlds

     The Industrial Revolution had a very significant effect on the lives of workers and their families in both America and Great Britain.  To put it straight, the working conditions in Great Britain were harsher and much crueler.  There were factory accidents, deformities, bad food and severe punishments. 

     In England working conditions were brutal and harsh.  Accidents were inevitable.  Children suffered loss of limbs and death. If one hundred kids worked in the factories, then at least half, if not more got injured. The children didn’t get enough sleep either, so their drowsiness made them less attentive.  Children had their arms caught in the machines, lost fingers, had skin ripped off, etc.  There were also many deformities due to the physical work. The bones of children from age 1-13

  A child while the mill is moving.  

would bend and snap.  Pregnant women would have pelvis’s that pressed inwards making child birth dangerous for the child and the mother.  Many people were knock-kneed and because of the lack of nutrition, there was no marrow in the bones.  Only a small portion of food was given to the workers.  There was no variety in the food; it was usually water porridge with oatcakes and potato with boiled bacon.  The food was unhealthy because a lot of cotton got in the food and the workers had to work and eat at the same time.  The children and women were constantly beaten by sticks for things that weren’t their fault.  If they worked too slow and if there was something wrong with the machine that they couldn’t control, then they were beaten.  Girls were flogged in front of everyone and children wished they were dead. 

Mill Workers

     In America, things weren’t nearly as bad as Great Britain.  America didn’t have an abundant supply of cheap labor like England.  The land was plentiful and most families could move west to purchase more.  The lack of workers in mills made the Industrialists change the perceptions of manufacturing that was brewing in England.  Industrialists began the Lowell Experiment to try to avoid the negative aspects of Industrialization in England.  This was an experiment to convince parents to let their girls come to the mills in Lowell where they will maintain morality and dignity of temporary workers.  It was emphasized that the women would be protected and taken care of as if they were a part of a family.  The father of the family was the corporation.  He set the rules and made sure the girls went to church no Sunday and maintained a code of behavior.  The mother of the family was the boarding house figure who regulated behavior and maintained a home.  

     It is quiet easy to see who had it best; America.  If I had the choice to either work in the mills in England or America, I would choose to work at the Lowell mills.  I would be taken care of, grow with the right values and live in a protected environment.  I wouldn’t want to go to a place where I would be beaten, given bad food and treated like a slave.  Despite Great Britain and America to be only an ocean apart, they are completely different worlds. 

"Living and Working Conditions." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesiz

"the mill." the mill. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2014. <http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/jackson/mil