Society in the 1950s: Teammates

Fidencio: "Unconventional War"
As the new president of the United States, Eisenhower attempted to help the nation during the Cold War. Meanwhile, Shah became the ruler of Iran. This led to the tension between Iranians and Americans when some Iranians were held hostage after they invaded the American embassy.

Alexis: "A Nation in Debt"
During the 1950s, many Americans were enticed to use the "buy now, pay later" concept, which would inevitably lead to the economy's debt problem. While credit card purchases helped the economy, private debt doubled from $104.8 billion to $263.3 billion. President Eisenhower attempted to help the economy, but it failed to benefit lower class whites and blacks who lived in urban areas.

The Impact of the Auto

"The Impact of the Auto" described the advantages and disadvantages of the invention of the automobile. Many Americans wanted to escape the cities and live in the surrounding suburbs, and cars made this dream achievable. Unfortunately for cities, 11 out of the 12 largest cities in the United States lost population during the 1950s. Buses and mass transports also saw a decrease. By 1965, only 5% of urban people were taking a bus and/or subway as a mode of transportation. Businesses that catered to car owners benefited greatly during this time period. These businesses included, drive-in movie theaters and motels like Holiday Inn.

McCarthyism

A. List three things the author said that you think are important:
"A state department spokesman recently denied this and claimed that there is not a single communist in the department."
"Your board did a pains-taking job. And named hundreds which it listed as "dangerous to the security of the nation", because of communistic connections."
"...You signed an order forbidding the state departments giving to the congress any information in regard to the disloyalty or the communistic connections of anyone in that department..."

B. Why do you think this document was written?
I think it was a threat to President Truman that Sen. McCarthy had evidence of communists in the State Department.

C. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? Quote from the document.
"I believe the following is the minimum which can be expected of you in this case... Failure on your part will label the democratic party of being the bed-fellow of inter-national communism."

D. List two things the document tells you about life in the United States at the time it was written:
There seems to be distrust and secrets between the U.S. citizens and the government.
At the time, there were "hundreds of thousands of loyal American democrats throughout the nation"

E. Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document:
Why did you type out the document in pink paper?
Why are there so many typos? You're a senator for goodness sakes.
How did you originally get the information that there were people in the State Department that were members of the Communist Party?
F. Date of document: February 11, 1950

G. Author: Senator Joseph McCarthy

H. Purpose of document
I think that the purpose of the document was to threaten President Truman and to say that Sen. McCarthy was in possession of evidence which proved that more than 200 employees in the State Department were members of the Communist Party.

Saving Private Ryan

The overall plot of the movie is a group of U.S. soldiers' duty to retrieve Private Ryan, a stranger to the soldiers but nonetheless a mission they had to see through. The men endure hardships in German territory among World War II; almost all the men of the troop are killed in action. The troop does find Ryan, who ends up being one of the survivors from the war.
A) A soldier's day would include fighting for survival and being alert 24/7. A soldier was to believe that an enemy, if seen, must be killed in order to save the life of one or one-hundred other people. Death lingered everywhere, from the bodies of fallen soldiers to the looming peril a soldier feared on a daily basis. Conditions were extremely difficult and travel was inevitable and often.
B) Private Richard Reiben, played by Edward Burns, was a soldier who had survived the difficult attack on Omaha Beach. He is seen as a rough, strong man who symbolizes a typical soldier's tough persona. While searching for Private Ryan, Private Reiben almost aborts mission after Tom Hanks' character lets go of a German who had killed a comrade of Reiben. Although he is tempted to leave the band of brothers, he sees the error of his stubborn ways and follows through the mission. Unlike many members of his troop, he manages to survive throughout the entire movie.
C) In a war, I would have not done well. If I were to be fighting in the war, I would probably not survive long. I'm more of a peace-maker and would feel that killing another individual would not be ethical, in any circumstance. I would be frozen in shock and fear in battle. In short, I would not be helpful at all to the war effort if I were a part of the WWII.

The U.S. Enters World War I

This political cartoon is about President Woodrow Wilson calling Congress to convene on an earlier date (from April 16 to April 2) due to the sinking of American ships by U Boats, which were German ships, infamous for sinking enemy ships without warning. This article also shows the influence that news had on people in the U.S.

There were several reasons why the U.S. entered the war. Initially, President Wilson was hesitant to enter the country into the war. Taking sides was dangerous, no matter which countries you chose to alliance with. When Germans started sinking enemy ships using U-Boats, American civilians found it very uncivilized. When the U.S. found out about the Zimmerman telegraph, which was Germany's secret attempt to ally with Mexico and reclaim some U.S. states, America was even more outraged. The sinking of the Lusitania was also a contributing factor because the attack led to innocent civilian deaths. Other factors include the Sussex pledge, which prohibited Germany from sinking any other passenger ships; the Russian Revolution, which resulted in the fall of the czar, whom the U.S. did not want to ally with; the Transatlantic cable being cut, America had to get information/news through London, which was biased in the war; and the "straw that broke the camel's back" was the sinking of three American ships, the Vigilancia, Illinois, and The City of Memphis. Due to all of these combined factors, the U.S. entered the war.

American Imperialism

1. This political cartoon about imperialism shows that, with America's help, the Philippines was gonna get out of oppression and through the doors of self government. The cartoon shows Uncle Sam leading a boy with tattered clothes up steps in order to obtain self government. In order for the Philippines to achieve it, the first step is education, then efficiency. Eager to achieve self government, the Philippines wants to jump over both, but Uncle Sam is telling the Philippines to take it a "step at a time".
2. The U.S. decided to become an Imperialistic country in the last part of the 1800s in order to:
-Spread Christianity to other countries, especially to those who did not believe in it
-Have new markets for trade between the U.S. and other countries
-Get a stronger U.S. military for defense and (if necessary) offense
-Renew the American spirit

New Jersey vs. T.L.O. (1985)

1. The search of T.L.O.'s purse was a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights because she has the right under the Constitution "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures". Her purse was her personal property and under this amendment it cannot be violated.

2. The Fourth Amendment does not apply to students in public school because school officials are allowed  to search a student if that official has a "reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is in the process of being committed, or reasonable cause to believe that the search is necessary to maintain school discipline or enforce school policies."

3. The search of T.L.O.'s purse seems reasonable to me because T.L.O. and her friend were caught smoking by a teacher, then she denied that she ever smoked at all. The principal had good intentions when he searched her purse. It was just a purse and under these circumstances, it was understandable that he should search for evidence, if any. The search was necessary for the safety of the students and to maintain the school policies.

4. Regarding school governing searches of students in my school, a teacher should have reasonable suspicions for searching through a student's personal belongings. If what the student has could be harmful to others and/or goes against school policies, the search is allowed. I think a search like T.L.O.'s case can happen in my school with parental consent.

5. The Supreme Court would probably side with the school if a student may have illegal/dangerous objects in their possession. The school should have the right to search if they have good reason to suspect a student may be in possession of anything harmful. The safety of students is a priority.