Civil Rights Movement

Nearly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern states still inhabited a starkly unequal world of disenfranchisement, segregation and various forms of oppression, including race-inspired violence. “Jim Crow” laws at the local and state levels barred them from classrooms and bathrooms, from theaters and train cars, from juries and legislatures. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination, drawing national and international attention to African Americans’ plight. In the turbulent decade and a half that followed, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change, and the federal government made legislative headway with initiatives such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Many leaders from within the African American community and beyond rose to prominence during the Civil Rights era, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Andrew Goodman and others. They risked—and sometimes lost—their lives in the name of freedom and equality.

Explore the articles, speeches and videos from the following link.  http://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement  Be sure to pay attention to the explore more at the bottom of the page for specific events and people.

Post a comment with a top list of the most significant events and /or people of the civil rights movement.  These can be positive or negative events that brought attention or advanced the civil rights movement.  Be sure to explain your rationale for choosing each one.

Inside Hitler's Head

One of the interesting things about Hitler is how open he was about his prejudices, his plans to take power and his goals once in power. However, despite openly writing about the superiority of the Aryan race, the inability of the masses to think for themselves, the need for Germany to annex its neighbors and the dehumanization of Jews people continued to misjudge and underestimate Hitler.

SO the question becomes if Hitler was open about his intentions, aggressive in his language and rascist in his beliefs why did people follow him?


Task:
Imagine you are an employer and Adolf Hitler has applied to work for your company. During your reference check process you have discovered the following websites http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERmein.htm and http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Adolf_Hiter_Mein_Kampf.htm

Explore these sites and construct a fictional letter to Mr. Hitler regarding his application citing some of the reasons he may or may not be suitable for a position within your organization. Post your letter as a comment on this blog (be sure to put your intials at the end).

Life Under Mussolini

Mussolini believe that the people were there to serve the state and therefore himself. Through a systematic plan of restricting civil liberties, intimidation, violence, political manipulation and brainwashing he was able to gain control over Italy and exert complete control over the nation for nearly twenty years.

While Mussolini's control may have appeared absolute we know that not everyone was a believer in his methods life did not get bad enough for most people to rebel against him until World War II. The question then becomes what was life like under Mussolini.

Task: Explore the following website on what Italian life was like under Fascist rule. Then leave a comment on this site from the point of view of an Italian citizen in the 1930's discussing how Mussolini's rule has affected your life. (Imagine writing a letter to the editor or to a relative) Be sure to leave your initials on your post so I can give you credit for it.

http://specialcollections.library.wisc.edu/exhibits/Fascism/Intro.html
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/life_in_fascist_italy.htm

The Blitz

Nighttime air raids. Crowded bomb shelters. Burned-out houses. Loved ones killed. That was everyday life for the Britons during the Blitz.

The Blitz, Germany's terror-bombing campaign against Britain in 1940-41, was a horrifying experience. More than 43,000 civilians died during the bombing; one million homes were destroyed or damaged.

The Blitz shook Britons to their very core. They were scared and depressed; their homes and neighborhoods lay in ruins. But their spirit was never broken. Somehow, they found a way to get through it all and show Hitler that the best he could throw at them wasn't good enough.

To Mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, the BBC invited Britons to relive their wartime experiences for a unique online archive titled WW@ People's War Included among the archives thousands of colorful recollections are firsthand accounts from those who survived the Blitz. They depict both perilously close calls and the indomitable fortitude that enabled the British people to persevere.

Task: Visit the following link and explore some of the accounts from the Blitz. Then leave a comment on this blog in the form of your own fictional account of a Londoner during the Blitz. Be sure to include enough factual information to make the accounts seem real while capturing the despair and resolve of the British people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c1161/

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War of 1936 was an opportunity for Hitler to test out his new Nazi War machine in action. Hitler tested weapons and military strategies while also seeing how the rest of the world powers would react to fascist aggression.

Despite most countries refusing to send aid to the Spanish Government many volunteers went over to fight in what they saw as a just cause. This included many celebrity artists and writers such as Earnest Hemingway and George Orwell. As a result there is a rich artistic record of the Spanish Civil War.

Visit the following site http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/scw/scw.htm and explore some of the images and writings. What warnings are there in these artifacts? Make a comment giving specific examples of things the world should have payed attention to as the world began on the road to the Second World War.

Welcome to History 12

Welcome to History 12 and the companion blog to this course? Here we will have a chance to pose questions, share opinions, engage in discussion and discuss course topics or items of interest that relate to our classwork. A reminder that this is an open forum and it is expected that responses be appropriate. Think of this as an extension of the classroom, if you wouldn't say it in the classroom please don't type it here. As well, please ensure you add your initials and the period of your socials class to the end of your comments so I know who to give credit to. For example if I was in the period 1 class I would end my comments with RL P-1.

Entry #1

We have looked at how the Paris Peace Conference did little in the way of establishing any type of peace and instead lead to economic and political instability throughout Europe.

Using the information you have gained on the Treaty of Versailles and take on the role of a citizen from your assigned country and write a response indicating how you feel about the Treaty of Versailles. Be sure to include:

What the Treaty does to/for your country.
The job your leader did in negotiating the terms of the treaty.
What your feelings are about the treaty and why.
What else you think should have been included in the treaty.
What the treaty means for the future.

Kim Jong-il

The recent missle launch by North Korea has once again put Kim Jon-il at the centre of the world stage (read more here). As the United Nations and world leaders try and figure out how to "handle" the Dear Leader we pause to take examine the "eccentric" leader.

Your challenge is to search and post the strangest published fact regarding Kim Jong-il.