Questionaire: Civil Rights and Liberties

1. To what extent should freedom of speech be allowed?? Use specific court cases and experiences in your own life to support your answer!

Freedom of speech is a highly subjective political right that is stated within the first amendment. Many people take it as right to say whatever they want, but this should not be in the case in many scenarios because it could be abused in many different cases. In the case of the R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, hate speech and the free clause speech was called unconstitutional after a cross was set up and burned across an African American family’s yard. This sort of occurrence in society is absolutely unacceptable, but at the same time having everyone be allowed to voice their opinion is also important. Recently in the NBA, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers has allegedly been said to have a conversation with his girlfriend, putting minorities (black) as under him. He told his girlfriend after she posted a picture of herself with Magic Johnson that she did not want her to associate herself with African Americans and to not bring them to his basketball games. This issue especially in the NBA where 90% of the league is African American is especially disturbing. Freedom of speech should not let you be able to speak something that will let you disturb society in ways that will cause commotion nationally. In addition, most recently the state college of my state (New Jersey) has had a protest in which 50 students participated in a sit in after the School's Board of Governors voted to invite Condoleezza Rice (former secretary of state under George W. Bush). These students did not want to have someone that was involved in the Iraq War to speak at their commencement because they classified him as a war criminal. This expression of disagreement is totally acceptable, but once it gets out of hand and causes damage it should be taken down. This was exactly what happened as police intervened as the students broke a glass door, leaving one with a cut hand. A disturbance that should have clearly been left in the past, and a harmful protest are just some ways that freedom of speech should be limited.

http://www.anh-usa.org/fsas/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._A._V._v._City_of_St._Paul#Facts_and_procedural_background

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/29/rutgers-students-stage-sit-in-to-protest-condoleezza-rice/

2. Which of the rights of the accused created during this period do you agree or disagree with, and why?

The rights of accused are flawed in several ways because it does not arrest all criminals in a logical way. Sometimes it will leave one wondering why that person was not arrested. The decision that was made in the case of Miranda v Arizona in 1966, advises that all policemen must advise every suspect with their rights, otherwise not admissible in a trial. This simple, yet possibly crucial law will sometimes allow a criminal to be set free. Furthermore, these Miranda Rights, have let criminals become more stubborn even when they are clearly guilty. Their right to have an assistance of a counsel during a trial is very unfair to the lower class as it gives an upper hand to the criminals in the upper echelon of society because they are able to have a counsel of attorneys. This right has actually been used in parodies such as in the movie 21 Jumpstreet when two policemen try to arrest a man within the most wanted list for selling drugs. Although they were able to capture the man, the man was not permissible to enter trial because he was not read his rights. Although these procedures are very useful in the imprisonment of many, common sense should prevail in some regards. 

http://www.mirandawarning.org/mirandawarningfaq.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrlKFmj8bf0

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9208654/Man-guilty-of-robbery-as-friend-walks-free

3. Should praying be allowed in public schools? Base your answer at least partially on your interpretation of the Constitution.

A prayer is done when a person wants to speak to God in order to give thanks or request something from him. If at any point in a time a person may feel it is necessary to pray to his or her God, it is essential to allow that person whether in school or out of school to have access to pray without discrimination as secured in the 14th amendment. 90% of American children attending public schools and within that 90% lies a large number of different religious values. Several religions such as Islam, require you to pray 5 times a day at a certain time and the United States of America should respect their beliefs. Although, public schools are provided by the government and the separation of the church and state was set into place, going out to pray in your own setting should not disturb anyone. Likewise, the freedom of religion should not prohibit or give authorization to enforce a religion upon anyone. This right is directly provided from the First Amendment after the separation from the church and state. I personally do not believe in the decision made by the Supreme Court in the case of Engel v. Vitale, which stated that an official school prayer is unconstitutional. Praying should not be thought of as part of a religion, but more of as a lifestyle that people have to live out on a day to day basis. Thus, praying in schools should be allowed in reasonable setting given.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Worship-monument.jpg 

https://www.aclu.org/religion-belief/constitutional-amendment-school-prayer

https://www.au.org/resources/publications/prayer-and-the-public-schools

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engel_v._Vitale

4. To what extent do you think the court cases reduced gender inequality, and how equal do you think the two genders are today?

Gender equality is still a large issue in today’s society. However, we are able to see the improvement society has made over the years. Previously, women were not allowed to vote in presidential elections, and for the most part kept as houses wives. However, after World War II, the value of women began to rise. The National Organization for Women was formed in 1966 to continue the movement for civil rights. In the case of Pittsburgh Press v Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, employers were officially not allowed to have sex segregated posts to employ their staff. “Male Help Wanted” and “Female Help Wanted” in columns and newspaper publications were now illegal. Moves and cases like these have helped women propel in todays society., At the same time, we still have never seen a woman President, an equal salary, and an equal role in politics (17 out of the 100 senate seats are women). As women keep progressing in today’s society I believe that women will someday become equal to men in the near future. In that case I won't have to continue asking society why women are continually payed less on average to men, or why they are involved in politics on a lesser scale. 

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/03/12/the-1960s-a-decade-of-change-for-women

http://www.trustwomenpac.org/2012/03/gender-inequality-in-the-u-s-today/

https://www.aclu.org/files/interactive/womensrights_scotus_0303a.html

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1979606305/take-home-lessons-from-stockholm-gender-equality-i

5. To what extent is discrimination against minorities taking place in today's society in comparison to the 1960s in the United States?

In the 1960s, the civil rights movement for minorities (especially for African-Americans) was the turning point in which discrimination was on the downfall. However, the minorities in the United States had to face racialism in every part of society ranging from employment to seatings on the bus.  Discrimination in today’s society is prohibited in many cases as it is enforced by the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). However,  racism and discrimination still do take place and always will take place as there are always people out there who simply think that they are better than others. Recently (stated before), Donald Sterling, the Los Angles Clipper’s owner, was caught saying how he did not want his girlfriend to associate herself with minorities publicly. In previous cases, he was sued because he was discriminating African-Americans and Latinos from purchasing his real estate houses. I  can conclude from this that discrimination does still take place in today’s society, but on a much lower scale because of the severe punishments that do come with it, whether it’s the media portraying you as a bad person or even getting sued.

http://www.humanrightseurope.org/2012/07/russia-report-the-number-of-racially-motivated-crimes-remains-alarming/

http://elcoushistory.tripod.com/society1960.html

http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/

Is College Worth It?

This article has gave me a larger perspective on what college should really be like. College degrees are not a ticket to a high-paying job and it's not important to go to the top universities. However I do believe that getting into better universities do give you a higher percentage of being able to do what you want and getting that job. Personally, I want to major in a college that provides a good education for business and marketing. After doing this, I would like to pursue a job in sports business. Thus, a good college for this would be NYU or UMASS. However, because NYU is very expensive and the business program there is very prestigious, I would look to pursuit for something else if I were to attend that college. Furthermore, if it is possible to get into another college for more reasonable cost and have the same reputable program as NYU, I would like to attend that college.

Who Really Started the Cold War?

Cold War Map

U.S Nuclear Missle

The Soviet Union was the sole reason for why the Cold War commenced approximately in 1947 after the conclusion of World War II. This war however was not a large scale war, but rather a political war between two super powers. The United States and the Soviet Union wanted to express their power over one another through military dominance and even in technological advances. This constant battle for power would lead to a near, full-out nuclear warfare between the two oppositions.

Stalin had always given off bad blood to America. From the times of 1918, Russia was not able to forget the memories of America trying to demolish the Russian Revolution. In addition, they believed that America and Britain were both delayed D-Day during World War II because they wanted Germany to weaken the Soviet Union considerably. This sense of mistrust led to many other conflicts that would just continue to rise higher and higher. 

The selfish nature of the Soviet Union to expand their power was an offensive threat to many countries around them. They refused to abide and cooperate with their former allies and the United Nations. U.S diplomat, George Kennan, sent a “Long Telegram” to explain the reckless nature of the Soviets to take over all of Europe. Kennan would then implement a foreign policy called “Containment”, which would soon be adopted by President Truman and later presidents. Joseph Stalin’s constant military expansion caused the United States to take precaution and build up their own army, which was only a mere act of defense. Furthermore, the use of espionages by the Soviet Union to obtain political and military information was a move that enraged the United States. These missteps that were taken, were in many ways contributions to the start and buildup of the Cold War.

Cold War Tanks (U.S)

Within the Truman Doctrine, President Truman acknowledged that he would do everything in his power to protect the people who were under totalitarian regimes. He would do this primarily through economic and financial aid. Thus, we could view this as an action taken by the United States to protect the people of the third world who couldn’t protect themselves. It was the duty of the United States to lead the world to peace and prevent the Soviet Union from spreading their selfish ideology of communism that put the state needs ahead of the rights of humanity. In correlation, the United State’s goal was also to spread their ideology of democracy, which gave people freedom and equality. From this, we could see a more defensive approach by the United States, while the Soviet Union took a more offensive approach.

How could you possibly blame the United States when they were just acting on for the good of this world? The Soviet Union on the other hand was the complete opposite as they were just acting on for the good of themselves. For this very reason, we could see that the Soviet Union instigated the Cold War.

Nuclear Warfare this close

Truman and Stalin

Citations:

- http://www.johndclare.net/cold_war3.htm

- Keynote: Cold War Begins

- Cold War Documents ABCD

- Textbook: American Anthem (Ch. 25)

Images:

http://ocw.nd.edu/physics/nuclear-warfare/images-1/Cold-War-Map.jpg/image_view_fullscreen

http://www.talkandroid.com/52984-the-smartpone-cold-war-is-the-motorola-mobility-acquisition-googles-greatest-move-or-their-worst/cold-war/

http://video.agaclip.com/w=KXISTmNlmpk

http://www.thefeeherytheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Cold-War-Tanks.jpg

http://gajitz.com/u-s-homes-powered-partially-by-russian-nuclear-weapons/

The Sounds of WWII

Rosie the Riveter
Women were of great necessity to the United States during the WWII. The movement of men from the work force to the army changed the United States in ways that would seem unreal. Women went from having minority, low class jobs to crucial roles in the work force in order to keep the industry of the United States going. The outlook of women was going to change radically as the United States brought a large amount of women to new heights in the working industry.

Men did not see women on the same level as other men especially when it came to working. Before WWII, working women were seen as people who took away the jobs from unemployed men. This image transferred when the women actually started to take a larger role in this part of the United States. For this reason, women did not particularly want to join the labor force and instead continued to stay home as house wives. This stagnant approach caused the government to take action and create propaganda to encourage women to start working. Consequently, the fictional character "Rosie the Riveter" was born. This new image of loyal, efficient, patriotic and pretty would then set the foundation for women to start partaking in these jobs.

http://savvyseniorswork.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Rosie-the-Riveter-poster-s.jpg

Theme: Empowerment of Women
Christina Aguilera spoke to us about in her song how women are always suppressed in society and thought about as significantly worse in comparison to men. However she explains to us about how women are just as capable as men. This was evident during the times of World War II because women were clearly capable in handling the jobs men were "supposed" in the working industry.

Germany

Germany was devastated during the first World War. This devastation could be traced as one of the underlying reasons for why the Nazi Germany and their aggression came to be during the second World War. During this process Hitler would rise to power in the National Socialist German Workers Party and take over Germany in 1933. 

The name Hitler places a strong image in our head of a headstrong man with a block of hair placed just right above his mouth. Hitler is known as an infamous, powerful dictator that used his powers for negative causes. His new ideals in the government would mark the start start of radical movements within the newfound Germany. 

Hitler loved war. He thought that Germany should fight wars in order to gain additional land to let their people inhabit the lands. Hitler planned to start from the easiest countries, such as Czechoslovakia and build up to harder countries like France and Britain. Hitler has caused the deaths of many and is most notable for the Holocaust. However, he was later defeated in May 2, 1945 and consequently committed suicide. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/adolf_hitler

Theme: Realization of Power

Hitler virtually came from nothing. but now that he has all the power in the world, he was able to do inexplicable things. Through this power he has received, Hitler planned to start small and then go big in his pursuit to take over the world. This song by Drake, symbolizes both how Hitler came to be and how Hitler planned to carry out his actions.

Japan

Japan, ruled by Hirohito during World War II, signed a Tripartite Pact in September 1940 with Germany and Italy to help each other out when attacked by an opposing country. In that same month, Japan decided to send troops to French Indochina, leading the United States to set up embargos on oil and steel. Consequently again, Japan retaliated and attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 which initated the United States to join the war.

The next seven months, Japan would occupy many regions around Southeast Asia and the Pacific. These areas include Dutch East Indies, Philippines, New Guinea, Singapore and many other areas. Even so, in June 1942, the Battle of Midway turned everything around for Japan. Japan was slowly falling back due to America's naval and air supremacy. As this continued while Japan continually tried to defend using Kamikaze attacks, the U.S finally took over Okinawa. On August 6, 1945 the U.S finally dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and on Nagasaki there days later with Russia swarming ove Manchuria. Japan was surrendered in August 14, 1945.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirohito

Theme: Cumulating Anger
Japan had obvious discontent towards the United States. Starting from small inconveniences, the two countries had building tensions and eventually ended up going to war together. This song talks about how when a fire starts to burn it begins to spread. This is exactly what happened between Japan and the United States.

The United States 
The United States hoped to stay out of the second World War after experiencing the first World War. Nevertheless, the Americans couldn't help but feel supportive towards the Allies. The attack of Pearl Harbor from Japan would prove otherwise. Immediately, FDR called for war against Japan and brought the United States into the Allied power to join the World War. 

The U.S played a key part in supplying the Allies with resources in order to keep them going in the war. This was giving of warms was called the lend-lease and it was a way of getting out of the Neutrality Act that was implemented on them. This also meant that U.S was basically calling war against the Germans. Throughout the course of four years, the U.S would give out 46 billion dollars worth of defense technology, mainly to New England, Russia, France and China. While helping the other Allied countries, U.S managed to get itself out of the Great Depression because of how stimulated the economy became when U.S was required to produce more in factories for the Allied troops.

http://www.lettucedebate.com/debate/Should-the-United-States-have-entered-World-War-II/53

Theme: Helping Others
The United States for most part wanted to stay neutral in WWII. Thus, they resorted to do most of their damage in the war by helping the Allies with substantial amounts of supplies. This would help fuel them to victory in the long run. The United States was the country that was there for all the Allied countries and kept them sheltered from the Axis power.

Russia (Soviet Union) 
In August 39, Russia and Germany signed a non-agreession pact. Originally, Russia belonged to the Axis Powers, but switched to the Allies as they were attacked by Germany. This attack would be the largest land attack in history. Hitler issued Operation Barbarossa in 1941 onto Russia using the Blizkrieg method to devastate Russia. 

The attack on Russia to overtake Moscow was initially extremely successful. However, as soon as Germany reached that point, Russia decided to destroy their own resources in order to prevent Germany from using it. This tactic proved to be crucial in overturning the outcome of the war. Germany's supply line of armies was spread out through a larger area (Poland to Russia) and guerrilla attacks on these supply lines proved to be successful. Furthermore, during the winter the German soldiers were ill-equipped with winter clothing, while the Russian soldiers were amply supplied with winter clothing. These large advantages for the Russians helped fight off the Germans to win the Battle of Stalingrad. This was the turning point in World War II to put the Allies in favor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad

Theme: Overcoming Evil
The Hell Song talks about overcoming all the evils in our lives. Russia was attacked by Germany and things looked bleak when Moscow was almost taken over. However, with careful planning and composure kept them alive and still fighting. 

Holocaust
The Holocaust is remembered today as one of the cruelest, unearthly events in history. There were approximately six million deaths within the Jewish population due to Hitler's plan to annihilate their whole population. This was called the "Final Solution." To gain popularity for this action, Hitler and the Nazi party put up endless amounts of propaganda claiming Jews to be their misfortune. Afterwards, the Nazi party implemented the theory of "Survival of the Fittest" from Charles Darwin to put themselves as the alpha animals while the Jews were down at the bottom. The theory that Jews are bound to become instinct was used to increase their validity to persecute the Jews.

Hitler's two main goals were to have racial purity and spacial expansion for the German population. Hitler's first goal to have racial purity was the foundation that set the course for the Holocaust. Starting in late 1941, Germans began to set up concentration camps, most notably the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp which was the largest of them all. In these camps, Jewish men, women and children were kept in rancid, abysmal conditions. The Jewish prisoners were confined, starved and set to do hard labor. This would not stop until the camps were all taken down by April 1945 through the work of the Allied forces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ebensee_concentration_camp_prisoners_1945.jpg#filehistory

Theme: Race and Crime
Michael Jackson sings about how it doesn't if one person is black or white. In a general sense this means that we should not discriminate anyone of any race because they are "different". The Holocaust has shown how devastating racial crimes could be.

Benito Mussolini 
Benito Mussolini was an Italian dictator that created the ideals of Fascism with Hitler. Before the two allied, Mussolini went through many psychological distresses such as the death of his parents and older brother. Thus, he expected to die young himself, while thinking he was capable in leading his country Italy to prominence.

Mussolini's obsession for power always blinded his common sense to know that he was simply incapable of such feat. His army was simply to poorly led and unprepared for the war. His alliance with Hitler in May 1938 gave more protection to his country. Mussolini was simply a lapdog for Hitler and was rendered useless. In July 1943, Italy's Sicily was invaded and later fell altogether six weeks after while being arrested. Mussolini however was later rescued by German troops. April of 1945, Mussolini was recaptured by Italian Partisans and shot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini

Theme: Unavailing Power
Although it may have seemed like Mussolini was a large part of World War II he was in fact almost useless in the Axis power. He lost virtually every battle he got into against the Allied countries. Thus, this song is sung in Hitler's perspective because he had to have an ally that did almost nothing. "Thanks for Nothing" was a suitable phrase for Hitler to say to Mussolini.

Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was a British politician that was in the Conservative Party. He is known today as one of the best war time leaders of the century through the roles of a officer, a writer, a historian and an artist. At the start of WWII, he was appointed the role of prime minister.

Churchill's many speeches and radio-broadcasts were one of many reasons why the people of Britain were kept in good hopes. Over the years, he was resolved in defeating Nazi Germany and kept up with the war when many would have given up. When Britain was alone against Germany when tensions were high, Churchill proved to be the perfect leader as his adamant personality allowed his country to maintain ground against the Germans. This continued until Germany was completely defeated and no more.

http://activehistory.co.uk/updates/key-stage/year-9-history/winston-churchill-head2head-interactive-interview/

Theme: Seeing the good in bad; Persistency
Shadow of the Day takes place in a setting of war and misfortune as was WWII. Winston Churchill took this setting and gave the people of Britain hope. Linkin Park's lyrics of "Embrace the world in grey" is telling us to persevere through these times in hopes of better days.

D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
The Normandy Invasion or D-Day was an invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces. Approximately 156,000 soldiers from America, Britain and Canada assembled along the coast of Normandy, France. This invasion is known as one of the largest assaults in history and is also one that required deliberate planning and time.

Germany had taken over northwestern France in May 1940. However, Britain and America thought it would be crucial in regaining this area as they were cut off by Germans here during the Battle of France. As this idea started to take full fledge, the foundation for the invasion was beginning to get set. Hitler knew of this attack though and instructed one of his officials to defend France's northern coast. Although he knew of this attack, he did not know exactly where the attack would come from, thus he set up a 2,400 mile barricade of defensive bunkers and mines. The actual attack which was suppose to happen on June 5, 1944 was delayed a full 24 hours because of weather conditions. When the attack finally came, ships, tanks and aircrafts were mobilized all over the coast of Normandy. In part, Germany's failure to hold up the defense was due to Hitler's assumption that this attack was only a hoax for a bigger attack and their confusion in ranks. The invasion was successful and it proved to be the turning point for the course of WWII.

http://blog.lbjoramo.com/?p=169

Theme: All Out
In an effort to take out Germany out once and for all, the Allied powers decided that it was necessary have one all out attack. Thus, this song is appropriate because it talks about how desperate measures were taken in order to achieve their goal.

Japanese Internment
The Pearl Harbor attack by Japan is the main reason for why the United States decided to enter the World War II. For this very reason, the U.S thought it would be appropriate for all inhabitants of Japanese descent to be held in internment camps and isolated from the rest of the country in case they were still loyal to their motherland. 

The internment of Japanese-Americans was incredibly wrong. Japanese people who were born in the United States (NISEI) or contributed in World War I with the United States were all forced to leave their homes. On the other hand, German-Americans were not held to any sort of internment camps when they were in the same situation as the Japanese. This only meant that the executive order by FDR to hold the Japanese-Americans in internment camps was racist as they were not 'white'. Conditions were also not as good as what the U.S government's commercials presented it to be. The propagandas were actually the exact opposite. Lands for farming were arid, foods were rationed at low servings and medical attention was hard to get. The U.S was clearly wrong in the handling of these Japanese-Americans.

https://publicintelligence.net/japanese-internment-camps-war-relocation-authority-photos/

Theme: Unjustified Action
This song by Fort Minor directly sings about the life of a Japanese-American named Ken who had to go through the time of the internment. His life radically changed from the American life to a prisoner of his own country. This particular experience is generally the experience of all Japanese-Americans of this time. 

Citation:

http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/adolf-hitler
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russia.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust
http://worldwar2.org.uk/winston-churchill
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/benito-mussolini
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1661.html
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/hirohito

New Deal: How Effective Was it?

ushistoryclassroom.blogspot.com

Hoover's presidency just wasn't cutting it for the plummeting U.S economy. The Great Depression was going on full fledge and they needed a new president to fix these problems. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected as president of the United States in 1932, promised a New Deal for the people that would consist of many legislative reforms in the first 100 days of his office. His concept of the three R's (Relief, Reform and Recovery) finally brought a sense of initiative to the country. The New Deal was revolutionary for the United States of America.

The New Deal consisted of many reforms and some of them included:

1) Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

2) Emergency Banking Act (EBA)

3) Social Security Act (SSA)

4) Work Progress Administration (WPA)

Emergency Banking Act (EBA): Relief

The Emergency Banking Act came immediately during Roosevelt's induction into presidency in 1933. Two days into his tenure, Roosevelt enacted a 'Bank Holiday' which would suspend all bank transactions from happening and during that period he would implement the Emergency Banking Act. This act would eventually deem which banks were fit to keep running and which banks needed help to get back on their feet.

Banks were divided into four separate categories from best to worst and surprisingly more than half the banks were permitted to go back into business (Category I). These decisions by the government regained the confidence of the U.S citizens to deposit their money into banks because they knew that the ones open were stable and reliable. Therefore, the amount of banks that were closed afterwards significantly decreased.

http://thegreatdepressionamericanstudies.wikispaces.com/Emergency+Banking+Relief+Act

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Reform
The Tennessee Valley was in terrible shape during the Great Depression and was one of the worst regions in the United States. The lands were farmed too much, the crop yields were falling, and this lead to a decrease in income for the farmers. However, when the Tennessee Valley Authority was introduced it fixed all of these problems.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation made in 1935 providing benefits to the Tennessee Valley. These benefits included flood control, electricity generation and fertilizer manufacturing. These benefits proved to be so profound that the government decided to create similar projects in other regions of the country. These projects created many jobs for the unemployed and it helped the United States in one of the most momentous way. To this very day the Tennessee Valley Authority continues to provide these benefits and is also known as U.S's largest public power provider.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TVA_water_supply_Wilder.gif

Social Security Act (SSA): Reform
In 1935, Roosevelt created the Social Security Act. Old age, poverty and unemployment was a big issue during this time in they all began to correlate with each other. This agency was made to insure that the older population would have enough money after they retire in order to carry out their lives without going broke.

Controversy flooded around this act and topics about how it would destroy jobs and how it excluded many women and minorities came about when it was first introduced. Republicans were also criticizing how this act related back to socialism and that it was an approach in the wrong direction for the United States to be heading in. However, this reform in society was proven to actually be very beneficial because of how it addressed the welfare of it's citizens long term. To this very day, Social Security is improving the lives of millions in the United States.

http://www.socialwelfarehistory.com/programs/problems-addressed-by-social-security-1936/

Works Progress Administration (WPA): Recovery
Jobs were of the essence during the Great Depression and it was a hard thing to come by to during that time. Unemployment rates were as high as 22% and people really needed jobs. The Works Progress Administration, a recovery program, addressed this issue by providing government jobs to citizens to create infrastructure throughout the United States.

77,000 bridges, 24,000 miles of sewers, 664,000 miles of road, 285 airports, 122,000 public buildings, 11,000 schools. These were the number of infrastructures created from 1935 to 1941 and it spent a total of $10.5 billion, while employing 3.8 million people. This shot down the unemployment rates down all the way to 10% and we could easily say that this was one of the best legislative reform that Roosevelt carried out during his tenure.

http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=W.P.A._Construction_in_San_Francisco_(1935-1942)

So was it effective? 
With all of these legislative reforms, the U.S economy was beginning to get back on its feet. Franklin D. Roosevelt has proved to all of us with his decisive actions that his leadership was what the country really needed. The New Deal addressed all of the problems of the Great Depression: ranging from the banking issues all the way down the unemployed and impoverished. All in all, this reform changed the outlook of the United States today and should go down in history as one of the most influential moves in history.




Citations:
http://www.nextnewdeal.net/social-security-act
http://www.nextnewdeal.net/works-progress-administration
http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/lesson_86_notes.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/new_deal.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/us/49a.asp
http://www.shmoop.com/fdr-new-deal/summary.html
http://www.apnotes.net/ch34.html

The Great Depression: Why Did it Happen? Hoover's Response.

http://money.howstuffworks.com/trickle-down-in-down-market.htm

Was the Great Depression really caused due to one simple stock market crash? No, it was instead caused by a cumulation of many different factors that eventually resulted in a decade long turmoil. Due to factors such as the Stock Market Crash of 1929, bank failures and the reduction in purchasing items, the economy took such a hit that it caused the unemployment rates up to 25~30% (red-highlighted area below). This period from 1929-1941 was a period that no American will ever forget because of how dramatic the effects were.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

As president of the United States during the first four years of the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover did take actions towards reform. However, his principles were very questionable as he believed that each individual should take their own actions without government interference (free market). In addition, the idea of increasing tariffs (highest in U.S history) on imports, which was named the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 was also proven to be disastrous because it prevented trade from happening between countries. However, we can't blame Hoover for these mistakes as this was far beyond what any average human being could help recover on their own. Even so, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected on the election of 1932, but actually used Hoover's ideals with a few modifications such as putting government regulations on markets to create the New Deal. From the mistakes that Hoover made we are able to learn and prevent disasters like this from ever happening again.

http://www.intercollegiatereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/herbert-hoover-photo2.jpg

Citations:

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/tp/greatdepression.htm

http://tomjacobsen.tripod.com/MyLectures/lecture20depression.htm

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-great-depression-and-hoover-s-response-to-crisis

Chicago Race Riots: The Inevitable?

Many people could blame that one incident of the the black boy getting killed by a rock as the reason why the Chicago Race Riots initiated. However, that incident only outlined and divulged the inevitable. Before the boy got killed, the relations between the black and whites were unhealthy and it caused many conflicts between the two. As society began to become more spread out and the blacks began to move in with the "white" society, job employment  became a major issue. Employment being such a hard thing to come by, whites did not want that black community to come in and take their jobs. In addition to this, the stereotypes of the black community was so strong, that segregation came from the water fountains to the buses. This being said, any event of significance between the two races could have inflicted in a detrimental result. So, I believe that the Chicago Race Riots would have inevitably come, even if it would have been later.

Race Relations in the United States during the 1920s was at its peak. Racism was everywhere and it was impossible to get around it. Whether the boy getting killed was the reason the Chicago Race Riots started, or was just a catalyst to the event does not matter. For a man to throw rocks at an innocent man and kill him is downright unacceptable in society. Thus, I can formidably say that the race relations in the United States during the 1920s was faulty in every single aspect.