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| | :The Americans saw the frontier as a mystery, alluring and attractive, all that land just out there for the taking! The frontier encouraged them to go out and start up a farm, building communities and towns and expanding America. It was the opportunity for them to seize and make use of the freedom granted to them by their citizenship. In a nutshell, it was the American Dream. ... (Katie B.) | | :The Americans saw the frontier as a mystery, alluring and attractive, all that land just out there for the taking! The frontier encouraged them to go out and start up a farm, building communities and towns and expanding America. It was the opportunity for them to seize and make use of the freedom granted to them by their citizenship. In a nutshell, it was the American Dream. ... (Katie B.) |
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| | + | :I agree with Frederick Jackson Turner, who in 1893 wrote ''The Significance of the Frontier in American History''. He believed that the frontier experience had promoted individualistic democracy. The people who settled the frontier were forced to think for themselves and to be resourceful. This influenced the views of a good portion of Americans. Many enjoyed this independence and did not want a government that controlled everything. (Mark DeJ.) |
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| | 4. What do you think is special about the United States that has made it the world leader in inventions? | | 4. What do you think is special about the United States that has made it the world leader in inventions? |
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| | :The United States was the first country in the world where the inventor of something had a period where only he could produce the item—called a patent. Without this, no one has an incentive to make something new—other people simply take it. This is why few inventions come out of communist countries. (Duncan B.) | | :The United States was the first country in the world where the inventor of something had a period where only he could produce the item—called a patent. Without this, no one has an incentive to make something new—other people simply take it. This is why few inventions come out of communist countries. (Duncan B.) |
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| | + | : ... The U.S. Constitution has a clause that allows people who invent something to obtain a patent, which means that person has special rights of ownership for a specific number of years. Patents exclude other people from making, using, selling or importing the invention so the patent holder can make it, sell it, and reap the profit. (Mark DeJ.) |
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| | :I think the huge amount of freedom (freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of pretty much any BELIEF or idea!) that American's have encouraged and still encourages people everywhere to invent new things! ... (Deborah B.) | | :I think the huge amount of freedom (freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of pretty much any BELIEF or idea!) that American's have encouraged and still encourages people everywhere to invent new things! ... (Deborah B.) |
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| | :Other than Thomas Edison, I see Alexander Graham Bell as being the most influential person during that time period in history. Bell is the inventor of the famous device, the telephone. This invention was inspired mainly by his mother and wife who both suffered from loss of hearing. He decided to experiment with hearing devices which soon led to him inventing the telephone and receiving the first U.S. patent award in 1876 due to his invention. Upon Bells death all telephones in America stilled their ringing for a silent minute in tribute to the man whose yearning to communicate made them possible. (Amanda S.) | | :Other than Thomas Edison, I see Alexander Graham Bell as being the most influential person during that time period in history. Bell is the inventor of the famous device, the telephone. This invention was inspired mainly by his mother and wife who both suffered from loss of hearing. He decided to experiment with hearing devices which soon led to him inventing the telephone and receiving the first U.S. patent award in 1876 due to his invention. Upon Bells death all telephones in America stilled their ringing for a silent minute in tribute to the man whose yearning to communicate made them possible. (Amanda S.) |
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| | + | :I think one of the most influential people between 1877 and 1896 was Thomas Nast, a German immigrant who is famous for his political cartoons. Thomas Nast was very influential through his cartoons ... [and] created many cartoons about the corrupt New York politician, “Boss” Tweed. “Boss” Tweed’s actions were brought out in the open and angered many citizens of New York. Tweed was eventually brought to justice and thrown in jail. Lastly, Nast also used his cartoons to illustrate his strong Anti-Catholic views. This widely appealed to fellow Catholic-hating Americans and caused problems between Catholics and Protestants. (Mark DeJ.) |
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| | 7. Please interpret the above cartoon, with special emphasis on explaining the images used and including a description of the point of view of the cartoonist. | | 7. Please interpret the above cartoon, with special emphasis on explaining the images used and including a description of the point of view of the cartoonist. |
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| | H1. Do you agree that the Democrat Grover Cleveland was a conservative, and why? | | H1. Do you agree that the Democrat Grover Cleveland was a conservative, and why? |
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| | + | :I believe that Grover Cleveland was a conservative. Many of his ideas are in line with those of conservatives. For example, he had an extreme dislike of paternalism, a system under which an authority figure treats those under his control paternally by regulating their conduct and taking care of their needs. Because of this belief, he opposed the idea of a social service state. He felt that Americans should have economy, purity and justice in their government, but nothing else. |
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| | + | :Also, like conservatives, Grover Cleveland was fiscally frugal. He opposed tariff favors for businesses, pensions for Civil War veterans, land favors for railroads, and “pork barrel spending” by the government. |
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| | + | :Lastly, conservatives oppose high taxes. So did Grover Cleveland. Here is one of his most famous quotes: “When more of the people's substance is exacted through the form of taxation than is necessary to meet the just obligations of the Government and the expense of its economical administration, such exaction becomes ruthless extortion and a violation of the fundamental principles of a free government." (Mark DeJ.) |
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| | H2. The Blaine Amendments: good, bad, or bigoted? Your view, please. | | H2. The Blaine Amendments: good, bad, or bigoted? Your view, please. |