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| | {{HS_American_History}} | | {{HS_American_History}} |
| | [[American History Lecture Thirteen|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Thirteen|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Thirteen Answers|Student Answers]] | | [[American History Lecture Thirteen|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Thirteen|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Thirteen Answers|Student Answers]] |
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| | + | This is the final lecture of the course, and takes us through the [[9/11]] terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. |
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| | + | Why study history? To avoid repeating mistakes of the past. Also, history is fun. History can give us vision about what we should be doing. It is useful and enriches our experiences. Learning history provides insight into the future. Studying history is one of the best hobbies that one can develop. Much of the Bible is history, and many study it constantly. History can also be inspirational, providing motivation for us to do more after learning how others sacrificed so much to accomplish things. |
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| | + | What is the most important event in America in the current decade 2000-2010? The terrorist attack of 9/11? President Bush’s elections? Change at the Supreme Court? Or this class? Do not think that history is something that involves only other people. You shape history too. |
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| | + | Consider the history of the United States to be like a child who grows into an adult. At what age would you expect a baseball player to hit his first home run? At what age would you expect a country to be old enough to have a prolonged Civil War? At what age would you expect a country to be able to lead the world? Put things in perspective and realize that we had to be 180 years old before we could write a Constitution, and over 300 years old before we could become the most powerful nation in the world. But once our country grew old enough, our enemies began to grow from within (e.g., infiltration by anarchists, communists and, more recently, terrorists). |
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| | + | Be able to identify overall trends in our history. One trend is ever-increasing federal power. Another trend is inflation. A third trend is increased democracy. A fourth trend is increasing power in the world. A fifth trend is the Supreme Court pushing us away from our religious roots. In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools. Many consider this to be one of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions ever. |
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| | + | Also understand history as a struggle between two sides. It is like two wrestlers combating each other on a mat. The wrestlers rotate on the map as each one tries to gain an advantage on the other. Same for the two political parties: they rotate their regional support over the years. At the time of the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated in the North and the Democratic Party dominated in the South. Now it is the opposite. |
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| | + | We have seen several important figures who were Quakers: William Penn, Susan Anthony (who favored women’s right to vote), Whittaker Chambers and Richard Nixon. What was the Quaker religion really about? It was Protestant against Protestantism. Every Quaker is his own pastor; every Quaker is his own church using the Bible and his “inner light.” This led to a fierce independence in the character of Quakers, including a pacifism (opposition to war) by the Quakers in the eastern United States. |
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| | + | What “drives” or “leads” or “causes” history? Do politicians lead or follow? Do writers of books lead or follow? What’s the real cause of history? |
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| | + | Many would say “culture” is what drives history. In other words, what is considered “cool” to people. What is considered to be fun, enjoyable, fashionable, acceptable, etc. The movies we watch, the books we read, the activities we pursue, the styles, the festivals, the communication, etc. |
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| | + | == President Ronald Reagan == |
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