Xandria Wegmann - Seeking Refuge: A Russian Jew Flees the pograms CDL

In the 20th century anti-jewish riots in Russia caused Jewish migrants to immigrate to the United States. Anti-semitic laws caused jewish people to be limited to the area which is now composed of the countries Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Bellarussia. The Russians were very violent toward the jewish calling them Christ-killers, destroying their homes, and even attacked children and women. Once their were further restrictions placed on the jewish and they couldn’t even obtain food and water they began to emigrate to the us. Under the bill of rights their religion would be tolerated and they were able to set up businesses. Many jewish emigrants worked in sweatshops and set up small businesses, but Abraham Bisno worked his way up to the top. He became a labor organizer and worked to improve the conditions for workers.

Why were the Russians so adamant on persecuting the jewish other than for religious reasons?

How do you think the anti-semitic laws affected other ethnic groups that were non Russian?

Rockefellers and His Critics- Text Analysis

1. What is the author arguing?

The author is arguing that Rockefeller illegal tactics are a danger to democracy itself because it undermines equality of the people in itself. In other words the author is trying to prove that Rockefeller gains control over the entire railroad business, including his competitors by the use of illegal rebates.

2. How does the author appeal to logos (logic), pathos (emotional quality), and ethos (the writer’s perceived character) with their argument?

The author appeals to ethos that a man whom donated charity and have money to the poor saw this as a way for his actions to be justified, and that he had already paid his debts.

The author however appeals to pathos for its sympathy of those that were wronged by the system that Rockefeller created with the oil industry.

The logos side of this argument is how illegal the system of rebates on railroads were, and how it was against the law yet Rockefeller got away with it. Since Rockefeller was taking money even from his competitors now through his system it was obvious that it wasn't legal.

3.What is the historical significance/relevance of this document?

This document is so historically relevant because of the overall influence of Rockefeller on the oil and railroad industry. Yet in order to get to the top he kept secrets such as the ones about the oil rates in order to control all of the oil industry. This document shows us how many men whom are deemed as good can even gain mistrust of the American people. Rockefellers political influence in itself over the oil industry is so relevant even to today's time, because of how influential the Rockefellers still are when it comes to politics.

4.Do you find the author’s argument convincing? Why or why not?

Yes I find the authors argument to be convincing.Rockefeller would make certain regions of railroad workers be taxed more. This wasn't democracy at all as he would often choose favorites. He kept the rate a secret which already proves that he knew what he was doing. He did this as a way to be at the head of the oil and railroad industry, and to prosper in riches.

What did the Ku Klux Really Want? CDL response

1. What were the common goals of the Ku Klux Klan?

They wanted to protect and defend their families against ex-slaves and republicans. They wanted to retain white supremacy. The Ku Klux clan killed any black that would try to leave or that tried to receive an education. They went around killing republicans in several states. Their overall goal was to keep things as it was before the civil war.

2. How did the Ku Klux Klan affect the civil liberties of the people?

They would whip any slave that spoked their mind freely or wanted to be payed for the job before doing more work. This was against their freedom of speech and wage labor laws. They would interfere with black citizens right to an education. Harassing, and threatening they used force to get blacks to do what they wanted.

3. Why was the KKK threatened by the idea of higher education for blacks?

If blacks received an education then they wouldn't take the labor jobs. The plantation owners wanted the blacks back so they wouldn't have to do the work. The KKK clan also didn't want blacks to leave. They wanted to keep blacks oppressed and with an education they knew that was gonna be hard to keep them working in their former slave jobs. Black americans needed to stay in their place and not step out of line in the minds of the KKK.

4. Why do you think that the government took so long to try to put an end to the KKK's Power?

Police officers for one were not arresting white men since they killed a black man. So even men who were supposed to be honorable didn't help during the period of their reign. Since it wasn't in such large numbers that the KKK was killing it probably didn't make the government take action until it was on a massive scale. The government also could've been scared to take action at first since the KKK clan were killing members of their government. Once thousands and thousands of people died they were now seen as a national threat not a local one.

5. How do you think the KKK influenced the outcome of the presidential election of 1868?

They killed many republican candidates so they affected it greatly. They would also kill members from legislature. 300 republicans were killed before the election had even began. This turned everything in favor for the democrats. If it were not for the KKK Ulysses S. Grant may have won and gotten votes from black americans if so many political members and officials weren't killed.

Why did so many Soldiers have to die? CDL 5/03

1. Why did more soldiers die in the Civil War than World War I, when they didn’t have as advanced technology during the Civil War as they did during the times of World War I?
In the Civil War more US soldiers died because of disease rather than being killed on the battlefield. Both the union and the confederacy held concentration camps, and this is how most men died from diseases. There were also infections from their stays at hospitals. Doctors knew nothing about sterilizing, and cleanliness  in this era so they often would use their spit on their tools to clean the blood off. Since medicine was not as advanced as it was in world war 1 it didn't matter that world war had better weapons. Since the US was also fighting against one another this also contributes to the fact that more United states soldiers died in this war. When the war first started, they didn't even have any hospitals which would also cause a rise in comparison to world war ones death count.
2. Did the soldiers fear the doctor or the guns more? Why?

The soldiers were more afraid of doctors than guns. During this time physicians were seen as barbarians. Rather than having body parts chopped off on a operation table a death by a bullet on a battlefield would've been much quicker. Most men who legs or arms were amputated also didn't live so this most likely also contributed to the fear.

3. What kind of diseases plagued the camps and how did they treat them?
Dysentry, typhoid,malaria, and pneumonia ran rampant during the civil war. For typhoid they would give the soldiers a medicine called turpentine. They used Quinine as a way to treat malaria. If the soldiers were having any trouble breathing, mustard blastering was used. The physicians also believed that sulphuric acid would attack any intestinal disorder. Nurses around the country promoted cleanliness to avoid such diseases as there were many bugs in these camps.

4. Why were so many Americans during this time surprised by the death tolls that came along with the war?

The citizens were not receiving as much information as they would today. I'm sure the areas of the US that weren't directly in the war would've had trouble understanding just how bad it was on the battlefield. Americans never realized how much of a bloody massacre this war was going to be, and most likely thought there would've been less killing since they were all United states citizens, whether they were from the confederacy or the union. Both sides thought the war was going to come to an end much more quickly. Never did they think that each side would resist one anothers pleas of slavery/anti-slavery.

White Gold: International Empire of Cotton

There were many cotton gins but noone had seen one like this. The wire teeth of this invention would pull out the seeds, and the brush was made to gather the fibers. Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 his cotton gin quickly gained popularity among the south. England was now involved in the cotton industry with a whopping 1/4th involved in the manufacturing and other parts of the business. Generally the slaves in the south were not only picking cotton for North America, but for Europe too. This made the cotton gin the first of its kind, to be able to produce on an international level. Even with the abolition of slavery the cotton industry still expanded at the same rate which can be seen by the fact that 4% of people from Europe and USA wore cotton in 1793 to a whopping 73% in the 20th century.





Questions
1.Why was the production of cotton so important and what was it used for?
2.Compared to then what other ways has america created new inventions that have expanded our economy?