America Throughout the 1950s

The 1950s were a great era for the United States. The U.S. was the worlds greatest military power, the economy was booming, and consumer goods such as new cars, televisions, and microwaves were being sold all over. The 1950s were a period of conflict, too, with the cold war and the civil rights movement taking place.

The word “boom” is used often by Historians to describe a lot of things about the 1950s. The economy boomed, the suburbs boomed, and, most of all, the babies boomed. The ‘baby boom” began in 1946 when 3.4 million babies were born in the United States that year. Approx. 4 million babies were born every year throughout the 50s. When the boom finally died of in 1964, there were nearly 77 million ‘baby boomers’.

This boom came about right after the end of World War II. When the war ended, many wanted to have children because they were optimistic about the future, believing it held peace and prosperity for the new generation. They seemed to be right. The gross national product grew from $200 billion to over $500 billion; much of the increase arose from government spending, such as the construction of interstate highways and schools, increased distribution of veteran benefits and increased military spending. Unemployment was low, wages were high, the middle class had more money than ever before and because variety and availability spread with the economy, they had things to spend that money on.

The baby boom and the suburban were like peanut butter and jelly. Developers bought land and built cheap, simple tract houses. These often were accompanied by low cost mortgages for the soldiers returning home, making it cheaper to live in one of these homes versus an apartment in the city. These homes were built so to be perfect for young families, with open floor plans, family rooms, and backyards, but there was conflict regarding the women and their roles. Books of advice and magazines of the time made it seem like it was the only right a proper thing for a woman to stay at home, cook, clean, and raise babies. The idea that a woman’s only important role is to stay at home and have children isn’t a new one at all, but it caused dissatisfaction among women of the time who dreamt of doing more with themselves. This dissatisfaction and unrest resulted in a rebirth of the feminist movement in the 60s.

The 50s marked the beginning of the African American Civil Rights Movement as well. They spoke out against the inequality, discrimination, prejudice, and injustice that was going on. The struggle against racism and segregation was a huge part of American life in the 1950s, exemplified by the 1954 Brown vs. Board of education case, in which the Supreme Court stated that “separate educational facilities” for black children were “inherently unequal”. Many whites from the South resisted this ruling, pulling their children out of school and enrolling them in all-white ‘segregation academies”, and exerted violence to prevent blacks from asserting their rights. In 56, over 100 Southern Congressmen signed a “Southern Manifesto”, saying that they would defend segregation with all they had. Despite these efforts, a movement was born.

In December 1955, an activist named Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on a city bus up to a white person. She was arrested, and this set off a 13 month boycott of the city buses by the blacks, ending only when the bus companies stopped discriminating against black citizens. Many other instances of ‘nonviolent resistance’, such as sit-ins at diners, helped to shape the next decades civil rights movement.

The Cold War, a period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, was another defining element of the 50s. After WWII, Western leaders began to believe that the spread of Communism anywhere (namely the USSR) was a threat to everywhere. They thought communism needed to be contained, by threats, diplomacy, force, whatever it took. This idea shaped American foreign policy for decades. It shaped domestic policy as well. Over a seven year period (45-52), Congress held 84 hearings in the attempt to put an end to “un-American activities”, ranging from the federal government to universities to the movie industry. These hearings hardly ever uncovered treasonous doings, in fact, there was most often never any evidence against those being accused, but thousands of Americans lost their jobs, family, and friends in the Red Scare of the 1950s.

The booms of the 50s helped pave the way to a widespread sense of stability, contentment, and uniformity in the States. This uniformity was fragile though, and busted up into the uproarious 60s.

The Civil War

“He hates what he believes and loves it at the same time,” -Kitchen Sink by TOP

This week I’ve been studying the American Civil War. From the Battle of Bull Run to the Battle of Cold Harbor, to the Siege of Petersburg, and many bloody battles in between, the whole thing was a viscous mess.

The prompt says to tell what my favorite part about this weeks’ lessons. I quite liked the fact that I didn’t have a PDF worksheet. I like the map, I think mostly for the fact that I used sharpies, which I love.

What I found most interesting about studying the Civil War was the fact that I’m human, that they were human. Me and you and them and us, as a species, we did that. Even though we weren’t alive then, and we had nothing to do with it, we did that. And life as we know it now is a product of what people did then.

Can you imagine it? Not being a specific person or anything, but just being there, apart of it? Fighting for what you believe in, sometimes to the death, fighting for your rights and your freedom. Killing people. That’s the bit that gets me; people killed people. I mean it’s completely downplayed from what it was, made softer for the public’s consumption, but it was brutal and bloody and violent. And that’s the thing. Violence is sick. Its freaking disgusting. BUT at the same time, I get it because I’ve got some freakish, violent fantasies, and I’ll cheer when someone gets a popped in the face, and I love horror movies and oh my gosh. And then I guess that’s human nature, right? We are violent and murderous, but at the same time loving and caring and sweet. I can’t think about any of this without twisting it into a pressing psychological matter, which I find disturbing in myself, and along with the fact that apparently “everyone goes through stuff like this”, I find people in general disturbing. After this thought process, I go back to the matter at hand, the Civil War, and basically I decide that everyone involved just cared so much about what they believed and what they thought was right, that they would defend it with everything they had, crossing psychological lines and mental borders and moral boundaries, killing and maiming and destroying those who stood in the way.

Slavery was one of the baseline causes of the Civil War. You could say it was THE cause, but that wouldn’t be necessarily true. The area the Southern states occupied were more equipped with the natural resources and good soil and such to grow crops such as cotton and tobacco, so they grew and developed and a great many plantations popped up, and as they used slaves for laborers on plantations, slaves were more employed in the Southern area rather than the Northern area, and Southerners relied more heavily upon slaves for their income. The boss-men of the country tried to tell the states what they could do and what they couldn’t slave-wise, saying that this state or the other would be a slave state or a non-slave state, which freaked the Southerners out because a lot of them had became prissy gentlemen who couldn’t work like the slaves had done. They wished to secede, to make their own country were slavery was perfectly legal and they couldn’t be told they could own slaves. Now, Abraham Lincoln thought that secession was illegal, although he didn’t really have a position on slavery at the beginning; he said he wouldn’t get into that because it wasn’t his business. But he did think secession was wrong, as I said, and that was what the fight was about. These states had every right to secede, even if they had shoddy reasons for wanting to do so. And the people believed that they did have this right, even those against slavery. It doesn’t make sense for them to not have it. Lincoln was going against what the people believed, and he realized it. He changed his stance. He changed it from anti-secession to anti-slavery, and this grabbed the people. Many thought slavery was wrong, possibly a by-product of not relying on the slaves to keep food on the table, possibly pity, possibly its just they thought it was wrong to treat other humans like defecation. Lincoln gained a following with this new stance, enough so that the Union side was able to beat the rebel side. There was no secession, slavery was abolished, the war officially ended.

This is the Civil War to my understanding. Battles took place that were bloody and vicious, and things were gained that aren’t so much material as emotional… And people became free. The notion that a human could own another human was abrogated.

The War of 1812

The war of 1812 was America’s first war as a nation. They fought hard in many battles, and although they war ended in a “status quo antebellum” (state existing before war) , meaning that all territory won in battles was given back and it was as if the war didn’t happen, America still considered it a victory because it showed Britain that they were serious and could stand their ground.

This war decided how much pull America would have in foreign affairs and trade. President Jefferson wanted to find a way to keep shipping goods to foreign countries, but not be involved in foreign wars. As Britain and France were at war with eachother, neither wanted American ships to bring goods to the other country, and both sides would stop American cargo ships to search them. These encounters could get violent, so in 1807 Jefferson issued the Embargo Act, restricting American goods to America only. Goods weren’t to be sent to any foreign country at all. This was done in an effort to make Britain and France realize that they needed American shipments and that they couldn’t just seize cargo ships and attack sailors.

The plan backfired. America lost money, and goods rotted in ships on the docks. Before Jefferson left the office, he signed a bill that canceled the Embargo Act. James Madison, Jefferson’s successor in Presidency, tried to continue shipments to Britain and France without being involved in the war, but the encounters on the ships became more and more violent, and the American people got angrier and angrier. Something had to be done.

War Hawks were those in favor of engaging in the war. The War Hawks were the new, younger generation of America, wanting to fight for their freedom like their forefathers did in the Revolutionary War. This group was led by people such as Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, who persuaded Madison to ask Congress for a Declaration of War in June 1812.

In 1813, the majority of battles won were won by America, until August when the British stormed DC and burned the White House, The War Office, And the Treasury. They retreated soon after.

In September, there were two American victories. One at Lake Champlain, which cut British interference off to North, and the other in Baltimore at Fort McHenry, which was bombed and attacked for a whole 25 hours, and which also was what inspired Francis Scott Henry to write what is now our country’s national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.”

It is now 1814. Talk of peace begins around August in Europe, as American victories at Plattsburg and in Baltimore had convinced Britain that peace was best. On Christmas Eve, 1814, The Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war. Except the war didn’t end.

People had to sail across the ocean to get word to both American and British troops in America that a treaty had been signed, and that the war was over. This took weeks, weeks during which the unofficial last battle of the war was going on.

This last battle was The Battle of New Orleans, in which American troops were led by Andrew Jackson. They were led well, with British casualties amounting to 2,000 compared to America’s 13 dead.

While the war was officially over, it was still tense between America and Britain. But America had established that it was a force to be reckoned with, and that they won’t back down.

The Declaration of Independance

“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” The first paragraph of The Declaration of Independence. It basically states that when it comes to people severing political bonds, as they had come to, they must tell the whys of it in the name of decency.

After the Olive Branch petition failed and King George III declared them to be in full rebellion, the colonists continued to look for a way to be free of taxes the didn’t agree to pay and no representation in Parliament. Most wanted to avoid war, but the King was openly hostile to them, acting as if they had no rights, passing laws that affected them without even an attempt to get their consent, refusing their petitions without reading them, and assembling armies to attack them, so looking for another way out, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense.

Common Sense summarized the abuse the King had inflicted upon them, and stated that the colonists had an absolute right to throw British rule off or secede because of Britain’s dictatorial rule. Even Abigail Adams, John Adams wife, thought they should secede. After she heard the King’s refusal, she wrote a letter to her husband saying, “Let us separate, they are unworthy to be our Brethren. Let us renounce them and instead of supplications as formerly for their prosperity and happiness, Let us beseech the almighty to blast their councils and bring to nought all their devices.” (Read the full letter here: http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/abigail-adams-letter-to-john-adams-november-12-1775.html )

Influential people and writings such as I just mentioned convinced the colonists that a war and declaring independence was justified. But, a little known fact is that Congress sent one last letter to the King on December 4^th, 1775. In it they reaffirm their loyalty to the King, their wish to avoid war, and their belief that it was the kings ministers that are doing them wrong and it wasn’t the King himself. They sent it to their courier in England, but of course it accomplished nothing and the King retaliated with an act on December 23^rd that would end all trade to the colonies, starting March 1^st, 1776.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was a young and not a very connected member of the Continental Congress in 1775, but he became good friends with the very important John Adams. John made sure Thomas was made part of the committee that wrote the Declaration, and tasked him with writing the first draft. Benjamin Franklin and the others changed a few words, and Congress deleted about a quarter of it, but the majority of it is Jefferson’s original work.

The Declaration is made up of multiple parts, the first of which called the preamble. This is basically introducing the Declaration and giving a prologue to their grievances. Next is the body, which lists all the grievances the colonists have with the King (Not Parliament). Last, the conclusion, a summary afterwhich the delegates signed their names. (Here you can see all their signatures: http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/declaration-of-independence-signatures.html )

The Declaration was officially passed by the Continental Congress on July 2^nd, 1776. It was a long process, as people didn’t think they were ready to make such a large step, but the majority vote by the Continental Congress was in favor of it. The document was made public on the 4^th, now nationally known as Independence Day.

American Pie – XD – English

So, I had to write a 3 page essay on apple pie, why it’s the most American pie, and such like that. This took (squints from the sandlot voice) for-ev-or. I swear. Now I need someone to make me one. Anyways, it might have some typos, and it might be a bit ramble-y, but so what.

The crust wasn’t always so flaky. It wasn’t always so sweet, crumbly, or rich. Originally, apples pies didn’t contain sugar, and the coffin bit (aka the pastry) wasn’t meant to be eaten. They used the crust to encase the filling so they could store it or transport it easily.

One of the first recorded apple pie recipes is from the cookbook The Forme of Cury (which means the form of cooking), written by Samuel Pegge around 1390 A.D. The recipe was titled For to make Tartys in Applis, part XXIII. It goes:Tak gode Applys and gode Spryeis and Figys and reyfons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed co-lourd wyth Safron wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake well, and as I hope you noticed it is written in Old English, so it’s a tad difficult to understand, and it’s very simple.

Now let’s look at the history of apple pie. In 1545, sugar is more readily available, and the coffins are meant to be eaten. In 1590, Robert Green wrote in his prose (full & grammatically correct sentences, rather than rhythmic and rhyming lines as in traditional poetry) Arcadia, that “They breath is like the steame of apple-pyes,” as he couldn’t think of a greater compliment to describe a beautiful woman.

When the colonists arrived, the only apples to be found were crab apples. Gross, sour crab apples. But praise Jesus, hallelujah, they brought with them tastier varieties of apple. One fact not widely known is that the orchards planted by the colonists didn’t do all that well, as there weren’t honey bees. Bees were shipped from England to the Virginian colony in 1622, and more to Massachusetts around 1630. By the 1640’s, the majority of landowners grew orchards on their property.
One of the most famous apple stories includes a man named John Chapmen. Better known as Johnny Appleseed, this odd man walked the land planting apple seeds. He thought his purpose in life was to heavily plant the country with seeds, so many that when the trees were grown no one would go hungry as there would be such an abundance of apples. It’s estimated that he traveled some 10,000 square miles over 40 years. Also, historians believe that him wearing his pot upon his head is just a legend, as the majority of pots then were handmade of copper or iron, and would be an uncomfortable burden.
Here is an example of an apple pie recipe:

2 9-INCH CRUSTS

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lard
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in lard with pastry blender until small pea-sized particles are obtained. Mix water and vinegar, then sprinkle onto flour mixture. Mix with fork until flour is moist. Press into a ball and turn out onto a floured board. If making a two-crust pie, divide in half.

Roll out with rolling pin. Try not to use too much extra flour because it makes the crust tough. Roll out to desired size—usually about 1 inch bigger around than the pie tin. Fold pastry in half and move to pan. Unfold and put pastry into pan. Try not to stretch the pastry because this causes shrinking in baking.

Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Chill the pastry.

FILLING AND APPLE PIE

3 pounds apples (preferably Granny Smith)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon rosewater
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour the lemon juice into the bottom of a large bowl. Add the lemon zest to the bowl. Peel, halve and core the apples, taking care to remove seeds. Slice them evenly and add to the bowl, coating them with the lemon juice as you go.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and spices. Add them to the apples and mix gently just before baking the pie. Adjust sugar to taste.

Scrape the filling into the bottom crust. Add a lattice top if desired. Trim and crimp the crust, then chill the pie for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator. If desired, sprinkle with sugar or brush the top with egg wash to create a golden sheen when it bakes.

Bake the pie on a baking sheet for 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until the crust looks dry, blistered and blonde. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake for at least 45 minutes more or until the crust is golden brown. Visible juices should bubble slowly through the top crust. Check to see if the bottom crust has darkened. If not, bake a little more and cover the top crust to prevent burning.

Cool the pie before cutting. Store uncovered in a cool place for up to 3 days.

Ian Knauer, author and host of Hungry History on history.com, used this recipe in one of his videos. Here’s the link: http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/as-american-as-apple-pie-video
“As American as apple pie.” Such a well known phrase, but do any of us really know where it originated? Firstly, apples aren’t even truly American. They aren’t native to America, but were brought here by the English. Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to Asia, thought to be the true ancestor of the modern-day apple. These dwarf trees aren’t very valuable in terms of producing large amounts of fruit or being ornamental, but they hold a very important place in history as they practically gave birth to that apple sitting on your kitchen counter.

Alexander the Great is said to have found this dwarf apple, bringing it back to Macedonia in 328 BC, but fossil evidence shows apples as far back as the Iron & Stone Ages in Switzerland. It’s believed that the Romans brought apples to England, and the English brought them to America.
A 1902 newspaper article stated that “No pie-eating people can be permanently vanquished.” American soldiers, when asked what they fought for, replied “For America, for mom, and for apple pie.” Quotes like these anchored apple pie into American history, making it “As American as apple pie.”

If you were to ask someone what the most American dessert is, I bet you 20 bucks they’d say apple pie. They’d be right, too. Apple pie is such a well-known staple in our culture, it’s hard to imagine it not existing. Apples kept many out of starvation’s grasp, kept many healthy, and kept many happy. Johnny Appleseed planted the trees to keep people from going hungry. Apples naturally clean teeth and massage gums, and are wonderful for dieting as they fill you up and digest easily. And they keep people happy by being in those delicious pies so many enjoy on July 4^th , Thanksgiving, Christmas, and whenever they feel the urge.

_ByeNow_

The American Revolutionary War :D

BAHAMMM..! I did gooood xD

Why should they control them? Britain has no real power, isn’t able to reach across the ocean, the King’s steely glare can’t meet their eyes. Still bossed about, taxed, and punished.

What would you do if you were the puppets of people you had never even met, your money was taken unfairly, or you were forced to provide food and shelter to a soldier who you don’t know, with money out of your own pocket, never to be repaid. Would you not be angry?

Wouldn’t you rebel?

On December 16^th, 1773, the Boston Tea Party occurred. In the dead of night, a group of Rebel colonists boarded the British tea ships docked in the harbor. 342 chests of tea were dumped into the water. Expensive tea, I would imagine. But no matter how expensive the tea, the action taken after-wards still seems a bit drastic.

The Intolerable Acts were set upon the colonists at this time to punish them for what they had done. The Boston Port act closed the port of Boston until the colonists of Boston agreed to pay the East India Company for the cargo aboard the ship. The Massachusetts Government Act made it so that members of the legislature were to be appointed by the King instead of being elected. The Administration of Justice Act states that no royal official that had committed a capitol offense could be tried in Massachusetts. The Quartering Act requires the colonists to provide housing and sustenance for British soldiers, should it be demanded. The Quebec Act changed the government in Canada, disbanding the assembly of representatives and taking away the right of trial by jury.

The creation of the Intolerable Acts caused the colonists to found the Continental Congress. This group gathered to discuss the Intolerable Acts, and the best way to retaliate. They decided that their first action would be to send a redress to King George, saying all violence would cease to be if he canceled the Intolerable Acts. This redress was called The Olive Branch Petition. King George thought this was ridiculous, that they deserved to be punished, and declared them to be in full rebellion.

April 19^th of 1775 marked the beginning of the war. The British soldiers left Boston for Lexington, looking for the rebel leaders Samuel Adams & John Hancock, and for Concord after-wards to destroy the Americans weapons and ammunition stores. Fore-warned by the midnight rider Paul Revere, they were prepared. Sam Adams and John Hancock were able to escape to safety, and the militia in Concord was able to hide the majority of their ammo and weapons.

The battle in Lexington was hardly a fight at all. But as it is where the war started, it is very important. Less than 100 militiamen, led by John Parker in the absence of Samuel Adams & John Hancock, against the much larger British army, led by John Pitcairn. Neither thought a fight would actually commence, but someone fired the famous “Shot heard ’round the world”, and this forced the British to attack. Many of the colonists were killed, and those left fled.

After defeating the colonists in Lexington, the British moved on to Concord. Resistance from the colonists was little, and so they raided the town, looking for the hidden weapons. The Americans had congregated on the outskirts of town, waiting for reinforcements to come. Once their forces became large enough, they decided to cross the North Bridge into Concord. The British met them at the bridge, and the Americans defeated them easily. The British commander realized the Americans were too many, and ordered a retreat.

The British retreated to Boston, and the Americans surrounded them on land. This is called the siege of Boston. It lasted two months after the battle of Concord, and the America militia grew to 15,000 men. The British were a mere 6,000 compared to them. During the Siege of Boston, George Washington was made commander-in-chief of the militiamen.

On June 13^th, the Americans learned that the British were sending out small groups to occupy the small hills surrounding Boston. The night before they were to go, the colonists took to the hills, building earthworks and preparing to fight. When the British advanced on June 17^th, they were surprised to find the hills occupied and defended by the colonists.

The battles took place on Breeds and Bunker Hills. The Americans were able to wreak havoc on the British, even though the British were trained militiamen and the Americans barely had any training. The Americans were able to hold off the British for the majority of the battle, but they eventually retreated. The British had 1054 casualties, compared to the Americans small 367. The British won this battle, as they completed their mission of capturing the hills, but the colonists also had the victory of a great morale boost, as they just learned they could hold their own in a fight against some of the world’s best trained troops.

On July 4^th, 1776, one of the most important documents in history was produced. The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration stated that the 13 colonies were seceding from Britain, that they were to become their own country. This cut off any sliver of help anyone from Britain may have been providing, but gained the full support of France. France outfitted the Americans with supplies and even soldiers, and they sent the Marquis de Lafayette, a great commander of theirs.

But all great things come with a price, and this certainly did. The British were able to capture the city of New York. Now they control both New York and Boston, a terrible blow to the colonists. The Battles of Long Island and White Plains went badly for the colonists, but gave the upper hand to the British. But, just before the end of the year, Washington did something amazing, raising the colonists spirits greatly. He crossed the quite frozen Delaware River over-night on Christmas. The next day, very early, they attacked the city of Trenton, forcing a British retreat, and capturing this important fort.

There were many great leaders in the American Revolution, including Washington, Nathaniel Greene, and Henry Knox. Washington, one of the most well-known leaders, was a great commander-in-chief as he had the ability to manage his troops well, encourage them to do the best they had the ability to do, and he was a brave man, able to stand by them and fight along their side. Nathaniel Greene was one of Washington’s most trusted associates, and he had a very successful campaign in the South that was very valuable to the cause. The Marquis de Lafayette was a French general who was very beneficial to the Americans because he rallied French support for them. Henry Knox helped the cause because he was very skilled in artillery. He became the first Secretary of War, overseeing the artillery division of the military. Francis Marion, nicknamed the “Swamp Fox”, while considered a hero, could also be called sadistic as the tactics he used against the British were cruel and resulted in far more casualties than needed.

The Battle of Capes secured the freedom of the Americans, even though no Americans fought in it. The French Admiral de Grasse led the French, and the British Admiral Thomas Graves led the British soldiers in this battle. This two hour long battle commenced at about 4:15 p.m., with both side heavily firing their cannons at each others ships. Six British ships were damaged, 90 sailors were killed, and they had over 200 wounded. The French lost over 200 men, but only two of their ships were damaged. They paused the fighting to assess the damages, and floated about, not firing at one another, until September 9^th. The British lost sight of de Grasse, who had begun sailing back to Chesapeake Bay to meet de Barres’ fleet. They now had 36 ships.

The British began sailing back to the bay on the 10^th, arriving on the 13^th. Graves knew they couldn’t take that many ships, so he ordered his ships to New York for repair, so he could ship reinforcements to Cornwallis in Yorktown. They were unable to complete this task, and Cornwallis surrendered on October 19^th. The gain of Chesapeake Bay kept Cornwallis from reinforcements, and established a route for Washington to transport soldiers and supplies. If the French hadn’t triumphed in this battle, American independence may well have been impossible.