American History Homework Nine Answers - Model

Lecture - Questions - Student Answers

1. In your opinion, the 2008 election that concluded on Tuesday is most similar to which election in history, and why?

I think the 2008 election is very similar to the Jackson election of 1824. His landslide victory in the presidential election of 1828 is similar to the landslide that Obama won over McCain. Also, the middle and lower class voters loved Jackson as much as the upper class disliked him. This is very similar, as many lower class, uneducated, and young people support Obama, while those who are educated and know what he really is strongly dislike him. (Natalie D.)

The recent election between Barack Obama and John McCain is, in my opinion, most similar to the election of 1932 between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover. I know we haven’t learned about this one yet, but I think it fits very well. This election was during the Depression, and the economy was bad, and FDR was elected a lot in part because he promised to fix the economy. Our economy is doing bad now as well, and Obama promised to fix it. As you’ve said, when the economy is bad, the incumbent usually isn’t reelected, and that is the case in 1932. Now, McCain wasn’t the incumbent, but he was associated a lot with Bush, and that might be a reason for why he wasn’t elected. (Sarah W.)

2. Imperialism: a good or bad thing?

Imperialism was a good thing because by controlling other territories surrounded by water the Americans could have better control over the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. If America did not reach out and use this power Europe would start taking possession of the many islands near America, which would have given them an advantage against the American Navy if they went into battle. The USA was right to help Cuba gain independence from Spain, which drove Spain back to Europe where they belonged. Later on, America gave Cuba their independence with some consequences. America became even more dominant in the world when they obtained Hawaii and Cuba. (Veronika F.)

I think that imperialism has its positives and negatives. It can be used irresponsibly and illegitimately and the country’s only excuse is ‘because we can’ but it also can be a positive thing. If a big country is picking on a smaller, less powerful country, a larger country’s duty is to step in and ‘speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves’ (Proverbs 31:8-9) like we did for Cuba and the Philippines. (Danielle R.)

3. Your thoughts on the progressive movement, please.

In the 1800s the progressive movement was very effective. However, today the progressive movement will not be influential in American politics. As President Reagan strongly emphasized, we need less government. This is what will help lower taxes and pick our economy back up. (Jenna N.)

The Progressive Movement is a good idea in theory. However, some in government will see progressivism as an excuse to expand government. The only better government is less government. (Zach C.)

I don’t agree with many of the goals of the progressive movement. Many of them sound good on paper, but in reality will just lead to higher taxes. For example giving aid to farmers and protecting labor unions’ rights. (Ruth L.)

4. Please explain the cartoon in the Minnesota Tribune, having the caption at top, "WHAT WILL HE DO!" and the caption at the bottom, "The eyes of the world are upon him." Include your description of the point of view of the cartoonist.

The cartoon depicts President McKinley's choice about what to do with the Philippines, after America won the Spanish-American war. American newspapers opposed the return of the Philippines to Spain, because they feared the mistreatment of the Filipino people. It shows a man with earth as his head watching. This depicts the phrase, 'wht whole world is watching.' Whether from peer pressure or personal opinion, McKinley decided to keep the Philippines as an American territory. I believe the cartoonist believed that McKinley would give the Philippines back to Spain. I draw this conclusion from the way McKinley appears: with a frown and a tight grip on the Filipino child's neck. He appears especially sinister next to the child's terrified face. He is also standing next to a cliff with a sign that says, to Spain. If the cartoonist viewpoint was that McKinley would shield the Filipino people, he probably would not have drawn the cartoon in this manner. Perhaps he would have shown a 'kind' McKinley shielding the child and leading the child away from the cliff. (Bethany S.)

The man in this cartoon is President McKinley, and the child is a Filipino boy, presumably representing the Filipino people as a whole. This cartoon was draw after the fighting in the Philippians between the Unites States and Spain (during the Spanish-American War of the early 20th century) had ceased and President McKinley had to decide whether to keep the Philippians as a US territory or to return them to Spain. Like most all of the media at this time, this cartoonist supported keeping the Philippians as a US territory. This is demonstrated in that Spain is portrayed as in the same “direction” as a cliff. This was meant to communicate that McKinley giving the Philippians to Spain would be like him throwing them off a cliff. This reflected the popular view that the Spanish would mistreat the Filipinos. The world was watching to see what McKinley would decide in this matter as Spain and America were both world powers, so hence the man with a globe as a head looking on in the background. (Rachel N.)

Honors (pick 2 out of 3)

H1. Do you agree with how the United States finally ended the fighting in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War?

There is really no other way to end insurgency in an area than to simply kill or capture all rebels. Insurgents are not dependent on things which regular troops need: a structured command, logistics, and expensive equipment. In fact, with the support of the population, it is virtually impossible to conquer them. In the words of one American soldier in Vietnam, “... [I]t became necessary to destroy the town to capture it.” The Americans took the only way out: kill all the insurgents in the Philippines. (Duncan B.)

H2. How do you think the role of newspapers in the recent election compares with the "yellow journalism" of the 1890s?

H3. Write about any issue you like relating to 1896-1920, or the recent election.