Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine was a Foreign Policy that the US created in 1823. It was created after all the South American/Central American countries started having revolutions. In it, it states that you can not come into other regions, and can not intervene with other countries.  It was created for peace.

When the movie “the Interview” starring Seth Rogen and James Franco first appeared, everyone wondered how North Korea would respond. The films plot, is that Rogen is an interviewer, and is asked to do an interview with Kim Jong Un. The government tells them to kill him while interviewing him. Eventually they do kill him. A couple weeks ago, Kim Jong Un threatened to create war with the United States if they released the movie. Well the movie is released on Christmas, only a couple weeks until then. Then something weird happened. Sony, who is producing and releasing the movie, has been hacked. 1000’s of files have been leaked, including salary wages of all employees. Well isn’t that a coincidence. Reports came in that the hackings were actually from North Korea. How does this help represent the Monroe Doctrine?

Well, if the Monroe Doctrine were still to be in place on a global scale, America would have to not release the movie. The Doctrine states that there are separate spheres of influence, meaning if you stay in your area, we will stay in ours; It also states that you should not intervene directly. which the movie does because in some ways it is a threat.

America should release the movie because the Monroe Document is not still around today. It seems as if Kim Jong Un is overreacting. If America is going for peace, then do not release the movie.

Draper, Lucy. "North Korea Training Secretive Elite Hacker Unit,." Newsweek.com. Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. .

Race

In the Gran Columbian revolution, race played a huge part. The revolution was led by Simon Bolivar. Bolivar began as an officer in Caracas, Venezuela in 1810.  Once the Spanish authorities took control, he fled to nearby Colombia. He is taken in, and by 1816 Bolivar takes political power with dictatorial powers. His first mission is Bogota. He takes it but it is soon recaptured by the Spanish. He soon exiles back to Venezuela. His new plan, is to not gain control of Caracas, but New Granada. After a long journey over the Andes, he fights the unexpected Spanish with only 2500 men. They surrendered on August 7^th 1819. Bolivar’s mission was not a unified country, but freedom. His need for race freedom led to his takeover and ultimately the revolution.

My article is called “Was a New York police officer's chokehold on Eric Garner necessary?”

By Greg Botelho.  It is about the current case of Eric Gardner. A viral video went around when 2-3 cops surrounded him, and one got him in a chokehold. He would not let go. In the video, you can hear his final screams “I can’t breathe”. In the past weeks, between Ferguson and this, we can now assume that race continues to affect national identity and politics. In our society, a kid can be shot for carrying a toy airsoft gun. In our society a kid can be shot for wearing a hood and drinking ice tea. This is not what the people over sea’s fight for, and most certainly not what our forefathers wanted out of America.

Botelho, Greg. "Was a New York Police Officer's Chokehold on Eric Garner Necessary?" CNN. Cable News Network, 04 Dec. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Toussaint Louverture

Toussaint Louverture Austin Counihan

It is January 2nd, 1804, the day after Saint Domingue declared independence from France. Now called Haiti, the natives have just completed the most successful slave rebellion.  Leader of the rebellion is Toussaint Louverture forced to take the leadership role that his people need. As a leader, he also fought for the slaves of Haiti and also was a military commander.  For our radio show, we should use the 30 minute segment as a liberator of slaves and the 20 minute segment is about him being  the ruler of st. Domingue. For the 10 minute segment, I want to use for his achievements as a military commander.

For the 30 minute time slot, we should do what Toussaint was most famous for. This was his work as a liberator of slaves. His work first started in 1791, where he would work as a doctor to the troops and commanded a small group of soldiers. (Doc A) When Haiti received its independence from France in 1801, Toussaint wrote the Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801.

In this constitution, he proclaims in article 3 that slavery is abolished and “all men are born, live and die free” Even though they were independent, they still remained a colony of France. That was the main purpose of Toussaint. Not to disband, but to ban slavery; So once slavery  was abolished, Toussaint was cool with France. It was not until Napoleon came and tried to take over Haiti that Toussaint went after France. IN 1797, Toussaint wrote to the french directory. He wrote about the horrors of slavery. He said “ They bore their chains when they knew no condition of life better than that of slavery.” By this he means that the slaves in Haiti knew nothing else other than being slaves. Being a liberator of slaves was the most important part of Toussaint louverture's most important role and deserves the 30 minute time slot.

For the 20 minute time slot, Toussaint Louverture's work as the ruler of Saint Domingue should be on that slot. Although it is not Toussaint’s best work, it is still very important. Toussaint wrote the “Constitution of 1801” when Haiti declared themselves away from France. In article 16, it says “ each cultivator and each worker is a member of the family and is entitled to a share in the revenues” (Doc C) This is Toussaints way of letting his people know that unpaid work was not going to stay, and all workers are entitled to money. It is sad to say that the rest of Toussaints work as a ruler is not as beneficial as this. On November 25, 1801, he wrote “the Proclamation”. In it he states that “ as soon as a child can walk, he should be employed on the plantation according to his strength in some useful work” . He is saying that kids should be working in the fields as soon as they can walk. In the same paper, he goes on and says that the “Vagabond cultivators arrested” which means that if a worker runs away from his work, he is arrested and tried in court. To mirror this rule he also puts a rule on it that restricts the managers of the plantations from refuging the wandering worker. (Doc D) Many natives did not like the rules Toussaint put on them so there was many revolts. His cousin, Hyacinthe Moyse, did not agree with his policies with plantations. Moyse often led the rebellions against his own cousin. One went down on October 29, 1801, which rebels, led by Moyse, were massacring whites on the island. They were chanting “ General Moyse is with us-death to all the whites” Toussaint was so mad, that when he stopped all the rebels, he ordered them all to shoot themselves. He also ordered Moyse to give the orders to fire -- on himself. (Doc E) Although this was very cruel, Toussaint thought it needed to be done. His work as the ruler of Saint Domingue deserves the 20 minute time slot.

For the final 10 minute time slot, Toussaints work as a military commander fits. In a time where France was breathing down the necks of Haiti, they needed a good war general. Toussaint started his work in the military in 1791 when he became a doctor to the troops, and got control of a small group of men. He gets the reputation of running a good camp and teaching his men guerilla warfare. In 1794 France abolished slavery so the slaves could help fight against the British. By 1798, just as he defeated the British, Toussaint became the head of Saint Domingue. He then goes on to take control of Santo Domingo, which was in control of the Spanish. When he got news that France was going to come back to Saint Domingue to reinstate slavery, Toussaint was ready. He had just cleared the land of the Spanish and British, why not the French? In 1802, Toussaint is tricked into negotiating with Napoleon and is captured and sent to a French jail. At the same time, 21,000 troops are sent to fight the people of Haiti.  A total of 31,131 troops all came throughout the whole battle. When the French landed, no one was to be seen. The natives were in the forest, playing on their home ground with guerrilla warfare. After 2 years, there were only 5,000 French troops left. Napoleon took his troops back, and Haiti was free.  Toussaint later died in the French prison. Toussaint’s work as a military commander  is very important, but because he gets captured and is not there for the war, it deserves the 10 minute slot.

Toussaint Louverture was a man of many achievements, including his work as a liberator of slaves, Ruler of Saint Domingue, and his work as a Military Commander. His work as a liberator of slaves is his top priority because revolutionized how slave revolts occurred. Him being the ruler of Saint Domingue is second, because his work is important to Haiti history. His job of Military Commander is last only because he gets captured for the biggest moment, but still enough to talk about.

Congress of Vienna

In the 1800’s, there was a vast amount of revolutions. it all started when the people in power started getting their power challenged. It all started with France, who was the figurative sneeze of the revolutions. It was a sneeze because it was the first symptom of the flu, which was the Revolution.

When people are in high seats of power, people will try to steal their spot, or outshine them. When these leaders are threatened, what should they do? To find out, as a class, we first split into groups. Then we were presented with a problem and as a group had to decide what the best action to do was. we put our choice on a sticky note and put them on the whiteboard and saw what the other groups chose. Then Ms. Bailey showed what actually happened.     

When Napoleon was defeated, Metternich and the other powerful people at the congress of Vienna had to make sure something of that aptitude could never happen again. One idea they had was the Holy Alliance. This idea was that during an uprising, all other states had to help the country where the revolution was. It reemphasized the idea of divine right and the official rule was by “the grace of God”. All acts of treason was against god, and therefore all acts of revolution would crushed. This happened in Italy in the 1820s. There was an uprising that wanted to split Italy into its own individual country, but the Austrian government took action and defeated them.                        

The Congress of Vienna most certainly made the right choice by establishing these rules so nothing like Napoleon could happen again. Although the countries had less freedom, they had to make sure this didn't happen again.  

Napolean's Impact

What was Napoleon's impact in the systems of Europe?

France at the time, had many revolutions and at times Napoleon was exiled from France because of the way people took him in. They did not know what they were doing. They did not know Napoleon would go down in history as one of the best leaders of all time.  

In the time of Napoleon, France controlled most of Europe. Although short in stature, his ideas were enormous. One of his ideas that started in France, was the embellishment of titles of nobility and serfdom. These titles were a sign of conservatism. Napoleon was trying to get away from this and he achieved it. Madame de Staël said " I don't believe that when Bonaparte became head of the government he had yet formulated the plan for a universal monarchy." Becoming the head of government was a huge accomplishment for such a man at the time. When he was head he ran tactics that were ahead of the time he was in. One was " do something new every three months, in order to captivate the imagination of the French people." He also went on to say that anyone who stood still lost.  This changed the political systems in Europe forever. 

In the article "the lost voices" the author makes a great point when she notices that Bonaparte "lacked the greatest of all props to political power-- legitimacy-- and that only success could assure the stability of his throne". This is a good point because with Bonaparte being took in and out of power, the social classes did not enjoy him. The only way they wouldn't revolt or kick him out is with constant success; and he put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. He continued to make the French empire larger and made the public have a "slightly" better impression of him. 

With more land and a genius of a leader, the system that France impacted Europe the most was the economic system. To start off, Napoleon set up a system where more people could get education. Like John green said" no one wants to live in a country with stupid people" with more smarter people, they got more money. As a to help set up leverage with the extra cash flow, Napoleon set up the bank of France, and while doing that he balanced the budget. This means people could store there money safely, with no worry of robbers or crooks. To top it all off, he tried to stray from the past ways of social classes, and set up a meritocracy; where people were rewarded on there skills, not their  family name. 

With Napoleon's bad reputation, he created a lot of things we still have today and forever changed the way the world is. Marshal Ney calls France an "immortal region" in that they were unstoppable at the time under his reign. May his impact never be forgotten in the political, economic, and social systems of the world. 

Luddites Raft

Luddites were a group of people in the 1800's who did not like the use of technology. They preferred the use of skilled artisans who got paid for it. In order to enforce it they would beat up the machines and ruin them. Why would they do this? With broken machines, the owners have to hire artisans.  What follows is a mock primary source letter and is from the point-of-view from the standpoint of a skilled weaver. 

Dear Austin, 

There is turmoil over here! More technology over here is making us lose jobs. There hiring these stupid little children to do the work that we used to. A few of us have joined a group called the Luddites. As a group, we sneak into the mills and ruin the machines so the children can't do any more work. No machines, then the owners have to re hire us. With Industrialization, these machines are taking over our work. The little kids are doing easier work for money and it leaves us on the street. It negatively impacted my life.  These machines are ruining it. 

From Anne 

In the industrial Revolution, there was a need for cheap labor. Most of the rich men did not want to work in the mills. They were usually the owners. With much need for workers, and not many resources to work with, the mill owners made a decision that would impact history forever. They would reach out to women.

In the 1800’s, mill owners would send others to outside the city, the countryside to find workers. surprisingly, they had absolutely no trouble in finding girls from thr age 5-20 to do the dirty work with poor conditions.  Why would anyone ever agree to this? The men who were cent to recuruit were deceiving in how they explained what the mills were like. What they said were promieses they could not keep such as : turkey for dinner, high pay, peaceful conditions. Also, the girls wanted to move to the big city, or start being independent. By the kid working, the parents would receive some extra money every month. After hearing all this, the girls were heavily motivated to move and start working and so were their parents. After they got their, they would see the truth. Harsh working hours, 4am-7pm, mean bosses, and gross foods such as “oatcakes” were the perilous hardships that were there. After this period, the views on women changed. Women were seen as more independent because of their strikes and uprisings.

With poor wages, terrible food, and harsh conditions, these women have went through hell and most lived to tell the story. They were the toughest bunch of the time, and others saw it and changed how they saw women of the time. Most would not have gone if they knew the true costs and benifits of them going, but most did not quit.

Musueum Cureator

The 1800’s were a very wild time, with so many different things happening around the world. In France, the French revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte’s crusade was taking place. In Britain and America, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, starting with the mills and coal.

 A curator is some who looks after an exhibit.it is important for someone knowledgeable about the subject to curate to make sure the exhibit is correct and is told factually. Our Exhibit title was "Products Of A Dark Time". We named it this because our subject was about the cotton production and how it affected slavery and child working conditions. Cotton was a large piece of American and English economy. One of our sources was a map of the British cotton trade in 1850. This is important to use because the cotton trade was so large and it went all around the world, including the 2 large ports of China and India. I hope the person seeing my exhibit will learn just how large the cotton trade was. Also, they will learn that the cotton produced came with a price, with slaves and child workers.

 The first exhibit I saw was the one about the impact that Industrialization had on the families and how it started. The biggest thing I learned was how big London grew from 1800-1900. The population went from 800,000 to over 6 million. That is crazy. The next exhibit was about steam engines. I saw a map of the canals built at the time and I also saw a timeline of the transportation. I learned that the Steam Engine first started in 1804 and it was called the Middlesex Canal. The next exhibit was all about the filth and overall dirty quality of the streets and towns of Britain. I saw the picture that Dudley drew of all the kids sitting on the ground, covered in dirt. I learned of the magnitude of how many coal mines there were. The final exhibit I saw was about the child labor. The most powerful and thought provoking picture was of the kids underground in the mine tunnels. It is sad just to think about that they had to go down in those conditions. I learned that when the cotton mills first started, the population of workers under 10 was 49%. After the act that made limits on how long the kids could work, that number went down to just under 4%.

 During the curating process I learned more than I would have by just taking notes. It was a perfect time period, the Industrial Revolution, because of just how many things happened and the widespread impact hat it had on today.