World War 1

Sequence of Events

Sarajevo, June 28, 1914- Serbian terrorist assassinated the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand.
Vienna, July 23- Austrian government issues and ultimatum threatening a war against Serbia.
Berlin, August 1- As Austria’s ally, the German government under Kaiser Wilhelm I declares war against Russia, an ally of Serbia.
Berlin, August 3- Germany declares war on France, an ally of Russia, and begins to invade neutral Belgium because it offered a faster route to Paris.
London, August 4- Great Britain, an ally of France, declares war against Germany.

The United States intervened in the Caribbean and asserted the Open Door Policy in China. President Wilson issued a declaration of United States neutrality. The Triple Alliance or the Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungry, and the Ottoman Empire/ Turkey. The Triple Entente or the Allies included Britain, Russia, France, Italy, and the United States. The British passenger ship the Lusitania was sunk on May 7, 1915, killing one hundred twenty-eight Americans. In 1915, Germany attacked another ship, the Arabic, and President Wilson was told by Germany that no other passenger ship shall be sunk without warning. Germany kept its word until 1916, till the merchant ship Sussex was torpedoed, Wilson threatened to cut off diplomatic relations with Germany. Germany promised not to sink merchant or passenger ships without warning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/

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

Today in AP

Today in AP we learned a little about Woodrow Wilson. We learned that he was a progressive president. Wilson lowered tariffs and felt that graduated income tax was good. He restructured the banking and currency system under the Federal Reserve Act. He expanded the nation’s anti-trust authority and established the Federal Trade Commission.
When we were finished with this we looked pictures that were of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. These pictures were very detailed and they were some what graphic. They showed that women had jumped out of the windows and some that had been burnt. The pictures also showed that some women were being identified and that some were never known.
We also got a test on chapter twenty- one. This test is about thirty- five questions.

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


http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

Roosevelt's Presidency

Today we learned more about President Roosevelt. We learned that Roosevelt viewed the presidency as a “bully pulpit” to promote progressive reforms. He directed the Justice Department to prosecute a number of unpopular monopolies. These actions won him the title the sobriquet “trustbuster.” Roosevelt favored the passing of regulatory laws including: the Hepburn Act, which strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Pure Food and Drug Act, which required that companies to accurately label the ingredients contained in processed food items. The Pure Food and Drug Act also made many drugs illegal to include heroin and cocaine. President Roosevelt wanted stricter regulations that would push smaller businesses out of the market. The American meatpacking industry could now compete with the federal stamp of approval required under the Meat Inspection Act. During Roosevelt’s presidency he founded Forest Service and supported conservation efforts of John Muir, the founder of the modern environmental movement. In his second term Roosevelt announced his Square Deal program as a way to stave off radicalism through progressive reform. In the election of 1912, Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, promoted his New Freedom platform and ended up winning the election. He beat Roosevelt, Taft, and Eugene Debs in this election.

http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/



http://www.eiu.edu/~heroes04/environ/teddyrpic.jpg

Theodore Roosevelt

Today our history teacher told us a story about Teddy Roosevelt. One day while he was out hunting in the woods with some of his dogs, when Roosevelt came across a bear. This bear was wounded and very angry, when Roosevelt’s favorite dog went up to the bear it got hit with the bears’ claw and the dog died. Roosevelt was devastated when he realized that his dog was killed and he went back to the cabin for a long time, until some of his aids came to talk to him and tell him they had a surprise for him. When Roosevelt went out to see the surprise it was the bear, the bear had been shot multiple times and was going to bleed to death. One of the aids handed Roosevelt the rifle and told him to shoot the bear. Roosevelt didn’t felt that it wasn’t right to kill the bear but he also thought that it was inhumane to let the bear bleed to death, so he told one of his aids to shoot it. One day after a man heard the story of the hunting incident, he decided to make the Teddy Bear, named after Theodore Roosevelt.

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

http://www.stuffedark.com/images/beartr.jpg

Progressive Era early 20th century

For the past week in AP United States History, my class has been working on the Progressive Era. This Era is about how people in the early twentieth century led social reform movements to earn better working conditions, fewer hours, and more pay.

New York City had become the center immigrants, many of whom worked at piece-rates in the ready-to-wear garment industry. Garment work was a very seasonal job. Working conditions were generally cramped, dirty, and dark. Workers worked long hours to produce the quota for each day.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York led to laws that protected workers. This fire occurred in a factory of women workers. These women were trapped in the factory when the fire was started. This was because the managers locked the windows and doors, to prevent the women from stealing materials.

http://www.history.com/

http://www.deathreference.com/images/medd_02_img0149.jpg