Wilson’s Vision of a Democratic Peace

Visions of peace are not always easy to conceive especially during times of a large-scale conflict such as a war, or even a total war. Considering the suffering and other horrific aspects World War I brought to Europe and to a lesser extent also the American people, makes it even more remarkable that the American president of that time – Woodrow Wilson – developed such an optimistic and idealistic view of peace for a European continent that was tied up in a war for hegemony and occupied with power struggles. In his vision for peace, Wilson was convinced that Europe could leave this struggle for preeminence behind and instead focus on reconciliation and cooperation.
Wilson envisioned a new era of international relations. This era would be characterized by freedom of the sees, disarmament, the rule of international law, the right of self-determination of every nation, and a new form of cooperation to be achieved under the creation of an international organization under the name of the “League of Nations.” This organization would provide the powers of the world a forum for the peaceful settlement of their conflicts, therefore replacing fighting with diplomacy. In addition, Wilson denounced the aggrandizement of territory as a legitimate rationale for war. Instead increasing their power through expansion, he believed that states should benefit and become wealthier through open, free trade and cooperation on a number of other international matters. In addition, Wilson’s ideology of peace depicted US entry into World War I as a fight for democracy. He believed that fighting for the cause of freedom and spreading democracy around the globe would make the world a safer place.
Of great importance to his philosophy was also his vision of a “peace without victory.” Wilson believed that in order to achieve long lasting peace in Europe in particular, but in the world in general, nations needed to ensure an equality of combatants. That would mean neither celebrating a victor nor humiliating the losing party to the war. He already pursued this policy at an early stage of the First World War, sending notes to the belligerent governments in 1916. He asked them to consider peace and negotiations. To facilitate the latter, he even dispatched Colonel House to London in 1916.
Wilson’s vision as expressed in his famous speech of the Fourteen Points was not entirely successful immediately following World War I, as for example he was unable to see his vision of a “peace without victory” come true or failed to rally US support for the League of Nations. Nevertheless, Wilson’s ideology can be called a great success in that it has given rise to the liberal theory of international relations, further instituting the thinking that cooperation is in state’s best interest. In addition, Wilson established the “democratic peace theory” a fundamental theory of international relations that continues to be seen in the world today. Central to this theory is the assumption that democratic nations will not fight other nations and therefore it is beneficial for peace to spread democracy around the globe. Looking back in the past decades, we can see the US spreading democracy in the former Soviet Union areas after the Cold War, and more recently, spreading democratic institutions to Iraq. Wilson therefore played a great role in world affairs, making an impact that spread far beyond his presidency and continues to influence our thinking today.

Links between USA and Africa

I attend the Perspectives on the African Experience for extra credit this past Thursday evening. During this presentation, there were two global peace films shown. These films were very interesting especially the second one. After the films, Jennifer from the International Studies Office gave a presentation about study abroad opportunities in Africa. To be honest, I have never considered studying abroad in Africa. South Africa, Egypt and an African Safari are on my list of places to see and things to do before I die; however, due to the media’s interpretation of African issues and crime I would probably never spend more than a week in any African country. I believe that the places that I want to visit in Africa and the length of time are shared by the majority of Americans. This presentation provided me information that Africa is not as bad as the media portrays it, but my personal view of Africa will not be changed until I have my own experience of Africa through my visit there.
During the lecture I began to realize that the main issue with the lack of understanding of Africa is because there are very few links from United States to African countries; however, there are lots of links from Africa to the United States. The visiting Disney workers from Africa knew a lot more about America then the Rollins students knew about Africa. I believe that the steps that Rollins College is making to increase these connections between through classes, lectures and study abroad will begin to increase links between Rollins students and African culture and countries.

Africa and Some

It was interesting to attend the Forum on Africa the other night. My friend at the University of Florida is planning on studying abroad in Africa this summer and it was really awesome to hear that Rollins is looking to start an Africa Study Abroad Program as well. I think a lot of students would be interested in taking a trip with a great deal of adventure due to the lack of understanding Americans have of African lifestyle.
The people from Disney made a point to critique the American way of life. They implied that Americans are very self-centered with little hopes of learning about other people. Personally, I took this very offensively because I do not see myself as fitting that stereotype. I enjoyed being able to share my experience on my trip to Morocco. It is always great to get a chance to share stories so people can get an idea of what to expect. Of course, I did not want to present the whole story because I did not want to offend anyone. My trip is one I will never forget because it left an imprint in my mind.
The United States takes pride in making a dominant world presence throughout history. In the earlier part of the 20th century, Americans were no longer content with defined boundaries. The Imperial Era was a time to branch out across seas and oceans. It all started with a great push by Protestant missionaries to spread Christianity throughout the world. Meanwhile, from a more economic and political standpoint, businessmen wanted to venture abroad to gain fortunes. These businessmen went to great extents to make money; there was even efforts to push wheat products into Asian countries. Who needs rice when you can have bread instead? In some regards, these expansions were taken a little too far. Maybe people in these Asian countries preferred a rice-based diet and did not want to be overwhelmed by the great deal of wheat being brought into their territory.

Imperialism: then and now

Many people do not look back on the past and see it as something that can change our future. Yet trends tend to rise and fall through the ages so what might have happened in the past is likely to happen in the future. A great example of this would be the Iraq war and the War on Terror happening today. While often our country has looked back and compared it to Vietnam, I think that similarities can be compared even more closely to the Imperialist age of American history. Like now, we sought to protect our interests over seas. This caused expansion in many places. The war in Iraq could be compared to the Spanish-American war, where while we fought for others freedom. Yet in the end, America became dominant over the countries which it fought to free. Like wise we can see now where America all but controls Iraq, wishing for American-like ideals to be pressed into the people. Like in the Philippines the people have fought back against our American troops, and hatred has become infested in those who we seek to help. While we do not seek control over the Iraqi people like we during our days or Imperialism, still the similarities are there.

Becoming a World Power

The later part of the 19th century marked a time when The United States would begin to re-evaluate it's position in the world. More and more Americans shared the feeling that the US needed to enhance it's status in the world to gain economic and military power, along with ideas that it was our duty to save the helpless people of the world.
One of the groups that supported the expansion of the US's powers were the Protestant Missionaries. These people were convinced that the Anglo race was superior to all others and it was their duty to save the souls of the ignorant barbarians, especially the Chinese and Asians. They believed that through the spread of Christianity these people would no longer be doomed to their racial destiny and they would become civilized.
During this period businessmen also began to look abroad for opportunities to enhance their fortunes. Amoung these businessmen were traders, industrialists, and investors who saw the expansion of US power as a way to enter new markets. These feelings intensified when Fredrick Jackson Turner published his "frontier thesis." It basically stated that the US had completed it's domestic westward expansion and the frontier had dissapeared. He also stated that the frontier was essential to economic growth and democracy. Now that it was gone European immigrants would no longer be "Americanized," making it difficult for America to continue to grow and prosper. None the less American businessmen took advantage of these new opportunities and were able to enter foreign markets. One example is James Duke and his cigarettes. He was able to sell over 1 billion cigarettes in China per year, this generated a whole new stream of profits.
One other group of Americans that encouraged US expansion were the Imperialists. Unlike the other groups, their motives were to control lands and territories outside US borders in order to increase military power. The believed that the rightful place of the US belonged alongside and even above countries like France, Germany, and Russia. A large amount of these imperialists were Social Dawinists who saw America's destiny to be the master of the "lesser" people of the world. In order to achieve their goal it was obvious that the US need to improve it's naval power and flex it's muscle to the other nations.
All of these movements along with an increasing sense of Nationalism amoungst Americans pushed the policy makers of the US to move beyond traditional realms. This period was marked by the colonization of islands like Hawaii and the Philipines, along with the Spanish American war, which was intended to "liberate" the people of Cuba. All of these efforts succeeded in expanding the power and influence of the US, forcing other nations to acknowledge and respect our power.

Africa!!!!

I went to the Africa Extra Credit last thursday night! This was educational, but a pain for me to sit through. There were a couple of very interesting speakers, like the Scottish girl and another one of the girls who has been to Africa. There was an extreme amount of stereotyping taking place when discussing these peoples opinions and this really got under my skin.  It was nice learning a couple new facts, but overall it was pretty painful. Two hours is tough for me to sit through and keep my attention focused on what was being spoken about. For 5 points this was not worth it.

Chicago Fire

The great chicago fire was a fire that started on October 10, 1871. The origins of the fire are not know however the popular explanation is that a cow kicked over a lantern at the farm of the O'Learys and started it. It burned for 2 days and destroyed about four miles of downtown Chicago. At the time, Chicago's structures were made out of wood which aided the spread of the fire. IT also didn't help that firefighters were tired from fighting a fire that taken place just the day before only a few miles from the blaze. Although the fire destroyed both structures and lives alike, it caused the rebuild of the city. " The New City" of Chicago adopted new buildings with safer buildings. These buildings still stand today and helped Chicago become one of the most successful cities in the United States.

Scanners

We had the great oppurtunity to learn how to use the scanners in the library for our digital history report. The lady that ran the informational session was very kind and willing to help us. I was sitting at a computer where a scanner was located so while she was talking i could follow along interactively. After she gave her overview of the scanners and how we use them she wanted us to individually try and use the scanner. It was really easy because you could just look at the scanner and read and follow the directions taped on the scanner. I successfully copied and scanned a bunch of pictures and text from a magazine. It really helped especially knowing that i would need to know how to do this for my project. It makes me a little more at ease knowing that i know how to work the scanner.

On the Course Towards Becoming a World Power

In the course of history, becoming a world power has often been associated with some form of territorial expansion since in the past holding a significant part of global power and being able to influence the course of world affairs was generally associated with having an extensive sphere of influence. A large sphere of influence generally manifested itself in large territorial holdings or claims, often also referred to as colonies. While this may no longer hold true in today’s globalized world, it certainly influenced the ideology of nineteenth century imperialism.

The most successful in implementing this strategy was Great Britain, who had an empire so large that “the sun never set” on it. British territorial expansion in far away parts of the world sparked a general wave of imperialism among other European nations as well as the United States. Having been a country that focused inward rather than outward, the United States now looked abroad, particularly in the Western hemisphere. The desire to limit British global influence, as well as the desire to guard national security by preventing other powers to establish spheres of influence too close to the United States, coincided with “the end of the frontier,” a development that created a further drive for American imperialism. Firmly rooted in the belief that the frontier had been essential to the realization of the American dream of a self-made man, many people feared that the end to the availability of new territory endangered American economic growth and democracy. Adherents of this theory therefore openly advocated and welcomed American expansion into the Latin American hemisphere, where they believed America could find new frontiers.

The American imperialist push into Latin America began in the 1890s with the Spanish-American War. The United States intervened on behalf of Cuba, which they saw as oppressed by Spanish colonial rule. By intervening on behalf of Cuban rebel forces, the United States’ aim was to push Spain out of Latin America. Its goal of ousting Spain from Latin America would further be realized by the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Spain’s last territorial holding in the region. The US would also come to control Guam and the Philippines. While initially some of these expansionist policies were disguised under the fight for global democracy (such as in the case of Cuba), United States policies such as the Platt Amendment of US support for non-democratic leaders showed that imperialist ideals triumphed over democratic or idealistic goals. The Platt Amendment could serve as an example of an overt US imperialist policy, since it placed rigid conditions on Cuban independence and secured continued US control over Cuban foreign policy and military bases.

However, not all American imperialist policies during the era were as overt as the case of Cuba. Some policies fared very well in hiding the United States’ desire to enlarge its sphere of influence. One such example was the “open door notes” to China. These notes asked the world powers holding territory in China to open their respective spheres of influence to American trade and grant merchants reasonable harbor fees and railroad rates. While these diplomatic do not openly express an American desire to intervene in the Asian region, they represent an expansionist and imperialist desire to open other parts of the world to American business and United States economic expansion.

Nonetheless, the United States course to becoming a world power could not have been completed by territorial and economic expansion only. As one of the best-known imperialists of the era, Alfred Thayer Mahan, noted, any world power depended on its capacity to control the seas. The United States complemented its imperialist policies by building up a navy that would be suitable for a world power. It would soon become a strong naval power able to rival other nations. Striving to project this naval power around the globe, Roosevelt send the “great white fleet” on a world tour. Combining territorial expansion with wise military spending on a strong navy allowed the United States to become a dominant world power in the first half of the twentieth century.

FIRE

Chicago was growing into one of the nation's largest and most prosperous cities. Among many problems, it still had a potentially dangerous one: Fire. Chicago was almost entirely built of wood. Whether it be the frames of the downtown's many buildings, the walkways on which Chicagoans traversed, or the bridges that covered the only true containment point, Chicago was primarily lumber. If that wasn't enough, many locations throughout Chicago were covered in hay. In 1871, it is alleged that Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern in her barn outside of the city, quickly setting her property ablaze. With the aid of the wind, it did not take long or this violent conflagration to reach the downtown area. Buildings were quickly engulfed in flames as the fire fighters, tired from another incident the previous night, scrambled to douse them. After it was all said and done, Chicago was almost completely destroyed, and its residents began the reconstruction.
Many people, of course, saw this disaster as a potential end for the once great city. But once the construction efforts began, they soon came to realize that the fire may have been just what they needed. Before, downtown Chicago was a mess of commercial buildings, shanty's, and slums. After the rebuilding, the downtown area would be almost solely commercial buildings, building up rather than out. A fire aid society was also established, although they favored Anglos who had jobs, naturally leaving the poor, immigrant population out In just 2 years Chicago was completely rebuilt, and natives declared that it was a phoenix reborn.

Learning to use the scanners

In our last class, we were taken through the process of using the library scanners to copy the photographs for our assignment. We learnt about the proper techniques that are necessary in order to ensure that the photographs are not damaged in the scanning process. Obviously you have to be careful handling the photographs, as they are originals and some are quite old. We were shown how to use the scanner itself, which it ends up is pretty straight forward. We were also reminded that we have to be careful where we save our copies, as the library's computers will not keep things for very long. 

So the assignment for the fire department seems easy enough, I just hope I don't damage any pictures.

Scanning

This week we went to the library to learn how to scan documents into the computer. The librarian showed us how the program worked from how to use the scanners and using the program on which it ran. She explained that in order to get good quality it is usually best to scan using color even if the picture is in black and white. She also explained that documents with both writing and pictures often do not go through well.
The Progressive Era began at the beginning of the 20th century. This period was marked by drastic changes in American society. There were many reformers during this era who worked to change America. This was mainly focused on the working classes working conditions and living conditions. At this time many reporters made it their goal to travel around the country and document the horrendous conditions these people lived under. While they were often looked down upon by the upper classes, they worked tirelessly to display the working conditions of these people to the general public. At the same time other reformers worked to improve the poor living conditions of the working class. There were also other changes such as the referendum, where the people could vote down legislation passed by their state congress, and Woman's Suffrage, where women in some states gained the right to vote.
I feel that this time was a turning point in American society. It took a turn away from big businesses and began helping the people. People began looking at the many problems America faced after the event of Industrialization and began to take steps to safeguard the American people. We can see the effects of this time period through such things as the 40 hour work week, the banning of child labor and the many safety regulations put in place to protect workers.

Friday morning we had the opportunity to visit the library and learn the basics of digitally scanning pictures and articles for our WPFD project. The tutorial was definitely helpful for me, because I consider myself technologically challenged. We learned that there were two different options we could choose to execute this task and it all depended on what we aimed to do. Also, I learned how to handle old archival documents in a way that does not damage them. Basically, you're supposed to wear white gloves but if you don't have a pair of those lying around you can hold the document by the edges so as not to get any oil on them from your hands. The entire process seemed easy enough and I am confident that I'll be able execute what I learned when it is needed.
The Progressive Era began right at the turn of the century between 1899-1901. In a nutshell, the progressive era strived to reform the state in which our country had evolved into and reinstate a set of morals amongst the American people. Investigative reporters who were notorious for digging up corrupt material about social figures were nicknamed "muckrakers," which was not a compliment. However these reporters turned the negative term into a positive one, and took the label as a symbol of accurate journalism. The Hull House movement was also monumental in the advancement of women in the current society. They were established to take in those without the means to live and instruct them both in educational curriculum and social issues. Settlement houses began springing up all over America and became a pivotal aspect of the Progressive Era.

Library Learning and the Progressive Era

We went to the library on friday and were shown how to use the different equipment. Learning how to use the scanners and different programs was very beneficiary and is going to make our project with the fire station much easier. I was very tired during all of this friday morning, but I definitely understood all that she was telling us. I didn't have any problems doing it myself when she was done speaking. I am not looking forward to this project at all, walking back and forth from the fire station and the library sounds like it is going to be a real pain. I hope it is easier and more enjoyable than it sounds. We will see how it goes.

The progressive era started around the year 1900. Many small groups of people were impacting our country in big ways during this time. One small group was called the muckrakers, which were very opinionated investigative journalist. The nickname muckrakers was given to them by Theodore Roosevelt. It was not meant to be a compliment, but they definitively wear it as a badge of honor. There were many significant changes during this time such as income tax, women's suffrage, and with senators. All brought about by the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth amendments during this time.

The Progressive Era

The year 1900 is considered to be the begining of the era in U.S. history that we know as the Progressive era. Individuals from this movement were not confined to one small disctinct group, but rather several groups with different motives and goals that we able to influence the laws and standards of that time.

One of these groups were called "muckrakers;" which was used to define what we know now as investigative journalists. This nickname was given to these people by Theodore Roosevelt and originally it had a negative connotation; he was refering to the journalists who focused on topics of no substance or purpose other than to make money. However, as time moved on journalists become more focused on social injustices and kept the nickname "muckraker."

One example is Ida Tarbell who revealed the corrupt practices of monopolyst John D. Rockafeller and his company Standard Oil. One of the most recognized of these examples is Upton Sinclair's book "The Jungle," which revealed the unregulated disgusting events that were taking place in the meat packing factories. His book led to the establishing of Food and Safety laws which were devised to protect the American Public.

Another group that was involved in the Progressive Era was composed mostly of women who felt obligated to help others as they became more educated and aware of injustices around them. They were the first to create "Hull Houses." These houses were intended on helping immigrants adjust to the harshness of American life and work practices. The two main activists who initiated this movement were Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr; they established the first of hundreds of Hull Houses in Chicago during 1889. These activists were not as influential as the muckrakers but they did inspire the growing movement of social activism amoungst educated women. However one thing that did irritate me was that although these people saught out to improve the lifes of many, they stuck to the ideology the African Americans were second class citizens and that only educated people deserved the right to vote. This leads me to conclude that although great progress took place the United States during this period, the American people had a long way to go.

WPFD

Wednesdays trip to the fire department was fun and educational. Although it was very cold outside and took me a long time to get out of bed, i went anyways. When i got there i was surpried at how nice the inside of the fire department and police station was. THe fire chief that talked to us was very nice. He talked to us about Rollins and how he has a daughter in college who plays softball. It was interesting hearing about how we developed the fire rescue safety initiative. You wouldnt think that ambulances would need seat belts. However, they are like every other vehicle out there and sometimes, accidents happen. I couldn't believe that many EMTs get hurt and some even die from a car accident. After talking about that and the history and Winter Park, it was nice to look at the photos. Most of the photos that i looked at were of sinkholes in Winter Park. I couldn't believe the size of some of them! Overall, it was a nice experience. Meeting the people that keep Winter park and Rollins College safe was awesome. I appreciate them more and hope to stay associated with them. However not in the form of them coming here to stop a fire. THat would not be good.

Progressive Era

The Progressive Era started in 1900 and ended in roughly 1917.  There were hopes that American society would advance through political and social movements.  Dr. Chambliss put it best in class when he said that the "Gilden Age" was the party and the "Progressive Era" was the hangover.  Essentially, the Progressive Era was the product of middle-class idealism.  A huge edition during the Progressive Era was the rise of journalism.  These journalists were pointing out the flaws of society, which was not well accepted by Theodore Roosevelt.  Roosevelt labeled these journalists as muckrakers, which ended up becoming a word of praise rather than an insult.   To counter the progressives, there was also a rise of socialists.  Rather than catering to the middle-class, socialists represented the lower classes.  In other words, socialists were not huge fans of capitalism, which is still the case today.  On the other hand, the Progressive Era was a time to get the country to seem more like a democratic state.  There were efforts made to give American citizens more say in government legislature through initiatives and referendums.  The Australian ballot provided voters some privacy, which encourages people to vote with confidence (hopefully).  It was time for Americans to start standing up for themselves.  This period sparked women and African Americans to establish movements to gain rights and respect nationwide.  For instance, this was the period of women suffrage and the establishment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.  Booker T. Washington took an interesting approach by implying that African Americans should accept their position in society rather than making havoc of the situation.  

Meanwhile, reading about the development of Chicago has been very interesting.  Who would have thought that Chicago mirrored the development of American growth throughout history?  These were times of White Stockings baseball fans and enthusiastic horse racing spectators.  Immigrants were swarming the city streets but of course, the streets were segregated depending on ethnic backgrounds.  It was popular to blame the Irish Catholics for the rise of drinking problems.  It seems unreasonable to point fingers at any one ethnic group.  The country was developing into a mature state so there are going to be bumpy roads at times.  

Fire

Last weeks field trip  to the Winter Park fire department was very interesting.  We learned not only about the Winter Park fire department history but also the history of fire departments all over the world.  The Winter Park fire department was organized in 1900.  The department stated out slow in the beginning years due to little technology and resources in the department.  It wasn't until 1916 when the department got their first fire truck, or at least it was a motorized car that could carry hoses and ladders.  In 1973 the fire department took on the responsibility providing medical services.  The medical services tested out many types of transportation and it wasn't until recently a new ambulance was created with state of the art technology and highest of safety standards.  A lot of these new technologies can be credited to the Winter Park fire department and these new technologies are now being shared around the world with other departments.

Chicago

As a growing city, in late 1800's Chicago was like the rest of North America, a place of many different cultures and races. But a difference of Chicago from the rest of the country was that all of the different cultures had their own distinct communities within the bigger community. They didn't just all meld together, but kept their differences. This was very apparent in the different newspapers around the city, such as the Chicago Tribune that was no doubt written by Anglo-Americans.

The city went through mayors who were for reform, and those were not so. A major item that the Catholics wanted reformed was the accessibility and hours of sale of alcohol. The Germans and Irish were the two groups who were the most heavily involved with alcohol. They owned many taverns and saloons, not to say that others didn't. In 1855 the 'Know Nothing Party', a prohibition party in America, won elections and began making laws again alcohol. Boone was elected, a reformer. Such as raising the price of a liquor license and requiring that all saloons be closed on Sundays. Not only did they do this, but they hired many more Anglo-Americans to make sure that these new laws were enforced. This angered the saloon and tavern owners so much that the Lager Beer Riot of 1885 occurred. After Boone, was a man totally the opposite, a man named Thomas Dyer. He was so totally the opposite of reform, that by the end of his term people were begging for a reformer to be back in office. Following Dyer, was "Long John" Wentworth. 

The biggest recreational activity in Chicago was horse racing. This was very popular. But a growing pastime was baseball. At this time football wasn't popular yet. Chicago got it's first team, the White Stockings. This team drew a lot of attention. So much that a new coach came in to town and took over creating a new baseball team but naming it the same thing: 'The White Stockings". This upset the existing team so much that they disbanded for years, but finally recuperated the team and came back, naming themselves the Cubs. 

This sport was a great way for all of the different classes and groups to come together and bond over the same thing. They all could come to the games and root for the teams. 

Progressivism in Chicago

Reading both the textbook and “The City of Big Shoulders” offered an interesting comparison on the Progressive era in the nation, but in particular in Chicago. While both books generally conveyed the same or similar information, there were nevertheless some aspects in which the two books differed.
The textbook pinpoints the beginning of the Progressive Era to 1900. It describes how early progressivism was mainly an Anglo-Saxon protestant movement, often accompanied by the temperance movement and generally driven by the desire to “rid the society from moral wrong”. Reading in “The City of Big Shoulders” left me with the impression that much of the reform movements and social improvements that are associated with the progressive era actually took place in Chicago well before 1990.
The temperance or prohibition aspect for example was discernible in Chicago as early as in the 1850s, when the city contemplated banning alcohol consumption on Sundays and raised the prices of liquor licenses to immensurable costs that drove many little immigrant-run taverns out of existence. In addition, the Know-Nothing Party, running on a nativist and temperance platform, gained recognition in Chicago in the 1850s and 1860s. The resulting Lager Beer Riot of 1855, protesting the city’s attempt to restrict alcohol consumption showed that the prohibition movement was not very successful in Chicago, and explains why the rest of the Progressive Era focused more on issues of municipal reform and city beautification.
In addition, I think that “The City of Big Shoulders” does a good job showing how ethnic tensions were reflected in time period of the Progressive Era. Temperance and prohibition were largely attempts of the Anglo-Saxon protestant class to get control over the immigrant population, particularly over Catholic immigrants, Irish immigrants and German immigrants. Other progressive reforms such as the development of assistance and public housing for foreign born immigrants, such as for example Chicago’s Hull House (opened in 1889), shows a much more conciliatory attempt to integrate and “Americanize” immigrants, but nevertheless shares the common desire of temperance progressives to regulate the behavior of these immigrants, which they often considered the cause for the perceived “moral decay” of society.
Chicago was not only a “forerunner” in regards to immigrant reform and temperance, but also very active concerning the urban improvement and municipal reform aspect of the Progressive Era. In 1894 Chicago established a free public bath for urban dwellers living in housing that did not provide them with such options. This placed Chicago quite ahead of some other major US cities. In addition, Chicago was one of the first cities to establish a sewer system as early as 1856.
Reading in “The City of Big Shoulders” was very enjoyable because it allowed me to connect of the Progressive Era I had read about in the textbook to the events in Chicago during the time period. Comparing the timeframe of events in the textbook and events in Chicago also showed me that Chicago was a quite innovative and progressive city, establishing many reforms far before 1900.

Progressive Movement?

The Progressive Movement in the United States during 1900 to 1917 was a contradictive movement focus on social and economic reforms. What amazed me during this era are the steps forward and backwards the United States took. Progressive leaders, like Theodor Roosevelt, promoted and passed legislation that increase democratic activity as well as decrease democracy.
Progressive leaders wanted to increase democracy in the United States by passing initiative, referendum and the 17th Amendment but did want only certain people to be able to vote. African Americans during this period became disenfranchised in the electoral process. There were major improvements in the treatment of African Americans during Reconstruction including the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendment. Even though African Americans still faced discrimination and Jim Crow Laws the period was an overall improvement of African American status.
The Progressive Era did not have the same overall increase in standard of living. The establishment of literacy test and poll tax striped African Americans their right to vote (15th Amendment). Based on the name “Progressive Era”, it would seem that the entire community would progress or benefit by this movement. For example, during this era the 19th Amendment passed granting women the right to vote; however, not everyone did social, political and economic progress via this movement.
During this period, Black leaders, for example Du Bois, took the lead to trying to grant African Americans the rights and liberties that they deserve. Du Bois countered Booker T. Washington’s stance of self improvement to raise African American status by saying that African Americans deserve the rights that whites had immediately.
Today, it is very easy to know that there are major disagreements within political parties, movements and leaders; however, sometimes when I am studying past political events I am amazed of how much disagreement there is between parties, movements and leaders. The progressive era is a perfect example of grouping together events that happened around the same period even though the events are very different and might not fit into that movement. There were major disagreements between leaders of the movement as well as the reforms they pushed for.

Winter Park Fire and Rescue

The talk with the Fire Chief at the Winter Park Fire Department taught me new information about the work of fire fighters and presented a look at how the responsibilities and opinion of the job has transitioned over the decades. According to the Fire Chief, the fire department used to be restricted to responding to fires, however over the years other duties have been added to the position of fire fighter. Fire fighters now respond not only to fires but also chemical spills, terrorist threats, and health emergencies. During the war a shortage of emergency medical technicians forced the government to train fire fighters to perform emergency medical services. This was very interesting to me because I am from the Virgin Islands where the fire department solely responds to fires, while ambulances respond to medical emergencies. It was good to have the fire chief explain how the transition took place in the mainland, while it was not necessary where i am from. Another important thing that we discussed was the responce of the American people towards firefighters after 9-11 and in light of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The chief beemed with pride as he discussed the positive reassurance and support the WPFD recieved from the community directly following 9-11 where many fire fighters risked their lives and valiently saved droves of people from the attacks. Additionally, they worked to recover bodies and survivors from the reckage. Not only did the duties of fire fighters transition, but also public view of the fire fighters also changed.
One last bit of information that i found intriguing was that fire trucks a decade ago did not have seat belts in the back where the patients are attended therefore many fire fighters were injured when the ambulance came to a sudden stop. The harnesses that stretch were placed in the back of the fire truck in order to allow fire fighters to strech and treat the patient while still being strapped in.
After attending the session at the department i finally understood the importance and necessity of our class project. Digitalizing pictures, documents and articles are important in helping the fire department to become even more efficient and allow the public to access information about the impecable work of the firemen.

Fire Department Field Trip

 Going to the Winter Park fire department was a real treat. The people representing the Fired Department, seemed very interesting and full of knowledge. We got to meet some amazing people and learn about some very interesting things. I am really looking forward to working further with them this semester. I couldn't believe that the people here are the ones who create and design the safety belts for ambulances. The 5-point safety harness we were introduced to seemed like a great creation. It will definitely save lives and make a couple peoples jobs much easier. It was hard for me to believe that such a small town Fire Station could be up to so much. This seemed to be a very big deal to me and really sparked my interest. I also found it interesting that the Fire Station in Winter Park has been around for over a hundred years. I liked how he spoke about 911 and how brave these firefighter were, but I thought it was great how because of that, many people donated and helped the Winter Park Fire Station along with many others all over the country.   Sometimes it is easy to overlook the job of a fire fighter and others in the same such field, but what they do is truly amazing. They risk their lives everyday to save others, and work for the town on Winter Park. I really admired and look up to these fire fighters and I am looking forward to working with them and learning things from them along the way. Firemen are of extreme importance to our country and are much appreciated.

Fire!

Listening to the fire chief this Wednesday, I learned a lot about Fire fighting, and how much these people are expected to do. While I knew that they were the ones expected to put out fires and run ambulances, I was surprised to find out that they were also supposed to clean up chemical spills and keep an eye out for suspicious behavior. I also learned some history about the fire stations, such as that Benjamin Franklin was the first person to start a group of fire fighters in the U.S. The fire chief continued to ramble on about the history of the fire department in Winter Park, when he finally reached a subject of which he was particularly proud. It was the new design of the ambulance that the fire department helped create. The reason behind it was that most of the paramedics who sat in the back of the ambulance did not wear their seat belts because it stopped them from being able to help the injured. This resulted in deaths as they would be slammed into the sides of the ambulance when it made a quick stop. This surprised me as I didn't think of being paramedic as being a dangerous job at all. Finally when the fire chief was done with his spiel, we were able to look at the scrap books. It looks like a lot of work, as I thought that it would be more recent stuff instead of stuff that went back to decades ago. I am not looking forward to going back to the fire station in order to get some of the pictures and newspaper clippings to work on, as it was a long walk over there this morning.

fire!

Fireman play a vital role in the safety of our country. This week we were privileged to be able to view the inside of the Winter Park Fire Station/ Police Department. In the fire department, there are many old scrap books full of old history, including pictures and articles, of the development of the fire department. These are available to anyone who wants to look at them. The only problem is that not very many people know about them because they are hidden away in the fire department.

The Winter Park fire department is responsible for engineering new ways to wear the seatbelt in a moving ambulance. Each year more and more fireman were dying in car accidents because they were not able to wear their seatbelt and help a patient at the same time. Now, because of the innovations made by the Winter Park fire department, fireman have harness seat belts that they can wear in the ride from the sight of the accident to the hospital, and still be able to help the person who is in need. This has helped fireman all over the country, and saved many lives.

The Winter Park Fire Department also explained about how after 911, after the brave fireman went into the towers to sacrifice their lives in order to save others, people all over the country were so grateful, that those people in Winter Park gave things to the Winter Park Fire Department. 

Fireman are very important to our country and save many lives every year. 

The Fire Department

Last Wednesday we went to the Winter Park Fire Rescue Department where we briefly learned about the history of firefighting in the Orlando area, and although we didn't get to slide down the fire pole the experience was very informative. An interesting part that the class learned from this field trip was that the Winter Park F.D. was actually the catalyst for major changes in the design of ambulances that rendered many rescuers helpless and unrestanrained when they were trying to work on the victims on the way to the hospital. This department was instrumental in inniating a nationwide change in designing and creating ambulances created a safer and restrained environment for the rescuer who was working on the victim in the back of a moving ambulance. In addition to this we were also shown old newspapers and documents on the history of the department and heralded stories about past firefighters throughout the past century or so and their many contributions to the safety of Winetr Park and the Orlando area. Seeing these articles was helpful as we will have to similar types of documentation in our future projects and papers in class. Overall, was a informative field trip.

FIRE!

Our field trip to the fire department on Wednesday was a very interesting, educational experience. I first was a little concern with this picture project. I thought well what is the point? I believed that Winter Park Fire Station is just any other Fire Department in the United States and why is digitizing their old photos so important. Plus, I can barely type up essays and papers let alone digitize something.
At the firehouse, which was very, very nice and modern, I learned so much about Fire Departments. For example, fire fighters not only fight fires but also are the EMTs and responders to emergency situations like care accidents. The captain continued to explain amazing historical facts about fire departments. Then he said that a lot of fire fighters (EMTs) die due to ambulances crashing and equipment in the back of the truck hitting them.
I could not grasp this idea that before Winter Park Fire Department initiated their Safe Rider Program, no other fire department thought or acted to make the ambulance safer. Winter Park Fire Department in conjunction with a company that mass produces ambulances came up with a design where the fire fighter can safely sit into the vehicle with a seat belt and be able to reach everything in the ambulance. Also, all of the equipment is secured so it will not fall. After I learned this amazing information, I realized that this fire station is not like any other typical fire station in the United States. Lastly, looking through the pictures it would be a very important to show the rest of the Winter Park community this history as well as the other Fire Stations around the United States.

Thanks WPFD

On our field trip to the Winter Park Fire Department, we were given insight into what it means to be a modern day "fire fighter." This job title is actually a little misleading, as there is much more to it than simply putting out fires. The job requires firefighters to have training in various areas, including emergency medical treatment, and Hazmat. We also learned about advances in technology and innovations that have led to the development of safer ambulances. As it turns out, many firefighters are, or were, killed each year in collisions, as they were not properly restrained when traveling in the rear of the ambulance. I found it interesting that the Winter Park Fire Department had a crucial role in the design of these new, safer ambulances, that are now used all over the world. 

We were then introduced to our assignment of digitizing the FD's picture archive, which it seems is a big job. Maybe if I do a good enough job transferring the pictures, I could get a ride in the fire truck. That'd be sweet.

Winter Park Fire Rescue

Our class visit to the Winter Park Fire Department was vary interesting. The cheif of the department gave us an extensive background on the history of the department and how it influenced the nation. The WP Fire Department was founded on April 15th 1900 by prominent figures in the local society at the time. Men like Chase and Morse along with other citizens planned out the city and established many much need institutions. From 1900 - 1950 all of the firefighter were volunteers; it wasn't till 1950 that firemen began recieving wages as employees of the city. The first fire department in the US was started by Benjamin Franklin in Alexandria Virginia during the lare 1800's; Friendly Fire Department was the begining of an essential institution that till this day plays a vital role in our society.

In past years many tragic accidents occured that required for regulations to be put in place in order to protect the general public. For example: All revolving doors require that there be two regular doors on either side in order to ensure a smooth and adequate evacuation in buildings that have been set ablaze by ruthless fires. One other law is the prohibition of indoor pyro-techniques due to one incident in which an entire club was engulfed by flames consuming the people inside.

These days firefighters no longer have the sole task of containing and neutralizing fires. The provide emergency medical services, respond to terrorism issues, and manage major catastrophes like bridge collapses and floods. The Winter Park Fire Deparment therfore renamed itself Winter Park Fire and Rescue. They pretty much respond to any emergency that does not require police intervention; they are also known as first responders.

When the fire deparment began to administer emergency medical services, modes of transportation were limited. Realizing that it was essential for them to provide immediate medical attention to victims on the way to the hospital, they started off by transporting victims in hursts. This was the only vehicle at the time with enough room to perform vital lifesaving services. Can you imagine; as a victim you feel dead before you even get to the hospital?

As time passed the Amblance was created. This allowed for firefighters to become specialized in medical practices that saves lives. They basically do anything that can be done in a trauma center except of course complex surguries and treatments. Althought the ambulance was a great technological break through it was still lacking a system to protect fire rescuers from harm while attending to patients. Many firefighters died through out the years due to a lack of seat belts; the idea of a seat belt in the back of an ambulance didn't seem logical. After all they need to move around the patient in order to attend to them. The Winter Park Fire Rescue realized that this alone was jeapodizing the lives of many heroes and action needed to be taken to stop it. They along with a local ambulance producer worked together to produce the first ambulance with a seat belt capable of protecting EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) while also allowing them to perform their job. This new ambulance is now used all around the country and has becoming more and more popular.

I found it fascinating that our local fire department helped change lives around the entire nation. I look forward to working with the fire department and going through thier historical photos and documents to understand and appreciate their history.

Fire Department

Wednesdays morning's visit to the fire department was an exciting trip. I was surprised at how beautiful the facility was, it looked like a new hotel. After getting settled inside, the knowledge we were given of the history of fire departments was very interesting. The police chief gave us a general back round of the fire department as well as specifics about the Winter Park Fire Department. I not only learned how fire rescue was started but the history of ambulances, which proved to be very interesting. Overall it was a good experience. Looking through the archives of stories from the past decades was nice, seeing the different type of rescues they have done in the past. Digitalizing the archives seems like it will be a fun experience because it not only helps the fire department but we get to learn more about them through reading these articles. 

LKennedy

Field Trip!

I must admit I was super excited to go on a field trip! The Fire Department and Police Department are housed in a beautiful building! The Fire Chief knew a lot about the history of the Winter Park Fire Rescue Department, which was very impressive. Even though it was an early morning and I was starving, he really kept my interest because I learned a lot from him just talking to us about everything. I cannot believe that the Winter Park Fire Rescue Department is so advanced due to it being located in a fairly small town. I guess I should never underestimate people's abilities in striving to get what they want. I have definitely told at least 5 people or more about the 5-point harness that is now installed in ambulances.
After making a trip to the firehouse, I am really excited to work on this project and help out in any way. They seem like a great group of people from the couple representatives that we met on Wednesday. Who would have ever thought Ben Franklin had something to do firehouses? That was definitely a fun fact! It was interesting to learn that the firehouse in Winter Park has been around for over a 100 years, which is truly impressive. Apparently, there is a lot more into a being a firefighter than fighting fires, how ironic! These men and women have been given a lot of responsibility.
It is truly fascinating that the men and women in the Winter Park Fire Department have been able to collect and store many news articles and photographs to illustrate their years of success. It will be great to allow the public to have access and be able to recognize all of their accomplishments. Overall, I think this will be a great experience and I am really excited to do something with the Winter Park community, plus I get to learn a valuable skill, which is digitizing photos and articles.

Impressions of the Winter Park Fire Department

Visiting the Winter Park Fire Station was a very interesting field trip. Even though Professor Chambliss had mentioned in class that we should not expect it to look like any other fire department or the fire departments we probably all have seen in different movies, I was surprised by the appearance of the Winter Park Fire Station. It is quite an impressive and big building. The talk of the fire chief was very informative and I think he did a very good job at giving us an overview of the history of firefighting. I had know about certain aspects of the history of fire fighting, for example that it started as somewhat of a grass roots movement and the early firefighters were not full time employees but rather volunteering locals. However, I did not know that Benjamin Franklin was the first person to establish a fire station in Philadelphia. Neither was I aware of the fact that the first ambulances generally were hearses – a fact that honestly freaked me out a little. Knowing much more about the story of the development of emergency response teams (fires, medical emergencies, accidents and so on), I feel much more excited to help them with digitizing their archives than before.

History Research

I learned that when it comes to doing research for a history paper that Bill the resource librarian is who I should talk to. He taught me that I should start off at the Oliin web page, and use either the research guides or article indexes, when look for scholarly material. Foxhunt can also be usefull as well as the advanced catalog search when trying to locate books. He showed us some great reference books that focus on US history; for example: Dictionary of American History, American Decades, and the Encyclopedia of American Urban History, to name a few. These are all found on the main floor of the library. He also gave us come websites like the Library of Congress, Documenting the American South, American Social History Online, and Primary Sources in Chicago. All of the above ways of finding good articles will be useful for our project on the History of Chicago.

Library Day

The session in the library on Wednesday was interesting. I have had sessions in the libaray before, and thought i knew about everything it had to offer me. When we went over all the information on the internet, i knew about JStor and how to access information like that. I thought that the information in the books was really interested. He showed us information we can use on our research paper about Chicago. The book that had towns in the country and the history of it was really cool to look at. I looked at my hometown and Winter Park. It was amazing to see how knowledgeable the instructor was. He mentioned how he had been a co-professor with Dr. Chambliss in a few coarses which was cool to know. It talked about he knew what our professor expected and than showed us how to do it. Overall, although a lot of the information presented i had known from previous sessions there was also a lot i didn't know. Having someone who knows what my professors expect and telling us how to do it is really cool.

Olin Library on friday

We as a class went to the olin library last friday to learn the best ways to research and how to use different types of references. We were shown the best ways to find different material using both the technology and the different books in the library when doing a project or writing a research project, like the one we are going to do in this class about chicago. We were shown how to get through the olin library website and how to use it to our best capabilities and what reference books to use and which ones to avoid. We were also shown and given a handout for what words we should and should not use when looking up material. I have never had a library session at all. Im very glad I went, This library session was very useful and is going to help when it comes to the research paper in this class and other projects in the future.

Research

I have to say, I was surprised by what I had learned on Wednesday. I had expected him to go over the same information I had learned when in my RCC class, and was a little shocked that he brought out the reference books. This is where I learned the most. Besides the obvious encyclopedia I did not know about many of those different types of books, I will definitely have to take a look at them when doing my research for our project. Other then that, most of what he told us I already knew. I already know for a fact that I am first going to go to Jstor to see if there is anything there on my research project before looking elsewhere. But anyway, there was a lot of useful information that he gave us that I plan on using in the future, I guess that day wasn't as big of a waste as I thought it was going to be.

The Library Day...

Last Friday the class had to go to the library where we got educated on how to use different types of references and websites in order obtain more knowledge and legitimate information on the potential subjects we will have to research on in the future. We were taught how to navigate through the Olin Library website and what research engines were the best to use. In addition to the websites we were also shown different types of reference books that explained the history of anything from towns to cities and even about certain court cases that may have taken place.
The class was also given a list about certain words that we shouldn't use when searching for material online which could make our searches more efficient.

Library Research

During our time in the library, I learned (once again) how to do research for a paper. We went over some of the resources the library has to offer, including the different databases available for research. The databases seem to be the easiest way to do research, but I always find it necessary to remind myself that the library offers many books on a wide range of subjects, and that sometimes a book can give you a more complete view on a topic. having said that, I think I will stick with the databases (probably JSTOR) mostly for convenience. I also thought it was good that the person showing us how to use the libraries resources was very knowledgeable in how to do research. 

All in all a good experience, except now I can't use this excuse, "but professor, I didn't know where to find information." Dammit.