19th Century Social Reform Post

The Recorder, Women's Rights, Recorder, August 3, 1848, accessed December 20, 2013, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr040.html.

Although the exact author of the comment is unknown, the article appears to be written from the point of the newspaper as a whole. They appear to believe that the womens movement of the time was "excessively silly", indirectly stating that they do not treat the document written by women to aid in the womens revolution, as a real document by placing such words as declaration in quotations. This implies they do not treat the document as a real declaration, rather as a silly waste of time done by people of lesser stature than themselves. The author also, however, devotes the rest of the article to including the whole of the document in question for the readers to decide whether or not they agree with the points brought up in it or not. This is very important as the argument over whether women should be allowed more rights has reached a very important point in history, and allowing the readers of the newspaper be informed on the subject is important so they are able to make their own decision. There are some limits to this document because it only provides one group of peoples opinions and does not allow the opposing group to give their own reaction to the document. 

Andrew Jackson Cartoon

picture link s picture cannot be displayed in blogger:http://www.pbs.org/kcet/andrewjackson/features/galleries/cartoons/gallery.html?id=portraits&KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true
choose picture #008

The relations between the Americans and the Indians were quite unstable starting all the way back when the Europeans first settled in America. The two groups had major land disputes starting when the settlers tried to expand their land further west into territory the Indians believed belonged to them. This tentative relation continued until Andrew Jackson became president. Jackson thought it to be beneficial to both parties if he were to relocate the Indians to specifically labeled reservations and giving the land they used to own to the American people to help their expansion. Many Indians resented this idea and refused to go along with Jackson's plan, so Jackson decided to forcefully evict the Indians from their homes and march them to their new land. This march became known as the trail of tears and killed thousands of Indians during its existence. The cartoon above can be viewed as satirical because it portrays Jackson as the father of the Indians, which he obviously wasn't because he didn't care for them at all. Due to these events, Jackson should not be considered the peoples president if he forcibly relocates his own people without their consent.

19th Century American Democracy Assignment

America has been labelled a democracy ever since it gained its independence from England. However, early America and it population were not very democratic at all. A democracy can be defined as a government that is ruled by the people, where the majority are able to decide what are the right and wrong courses of action for their country. In America, the citizens demonstrated this power by voting for which person would represent their interests in the government. The only problem being that, at the time, the way these people were elected were not exactly democratic. For one thing, not every member of the population was allowed to vote for their representatives. In the early 19th century, a voter must be a white man who also must own a minimum amount of land to be allowed to vote. This rules out women, the poor and other races entirely from voting. This would completely rule out America from being a democratic system of government. However, as the century wore on conditions began to change and many of the voting restrictions were lifted. The tax that kept the poor from voting was either lifted or lowered and more and more states allowed the people to vote for who they wanted to rule over them. Also, all men were soon allowed to vote regardless of their income thanks to the Dorr wars which led to states adopting new laws on who was allowed to vote. However, women were still not allowed to vote which makes it hard for this period of America to be called a democracy. From these points historians are able to draw a conclusion that America at the beginning of the 19th century was certainly not a democracy, but as the century wore on, more and more democratic laws and regulations were passed so as to create a system of government fairly close to a democracy.

picture link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_election_campaigns_in_the_19th_century

Romanticism Assignment

Romanticism was one of the more important movements of the 19th century. Romanticism can be defined as a movement that effected art, literature and music as a response to the enlightenment ideals that were imposed at the time. In the piece above, Culmins Ghost appears to his mother, there are many different examples of how romanticism influenced art of this time. First, The grotesque looks on both the dogs and the woman's face convey both a feeling of horror and emotion. Also The importance of the individual is crucial to this piece as the artist wants the viewers eyes to be directed to the lone woman in the picture as she is the only living being shown. Finally, the piece itself is irrational in nature because of the fact that ghosts defy the laws of reality and are seen as something fake. These traits all tie in together to create a typical romantic piece of art and the themes that re generally displayed in such pieces.

Revolts of 1830 and 1848 Assignment

Many historians have stated that the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 were failures, and to an extent, they are right. Most of the revolutions of the time had mixed results, which meant that some of the goals the revolutionaries laid out were met, but others were left unfulfilled or were denied completely. This can be shown in the French revolution of 1830 in which the liberal and radical citizens of France were unhappy with the current monarch, Charles the tenth. The difference being that the liberals wanted to just implement a constitutional monarchy in place of the current system of monarchy, whilst the radicals wanted to completely get rid of the monarchy all together. This culminated in an outcome that could be interpreted as either a success or failure because the liberals gained the constitutional monarchy they desired, but the radicals failed to oust the monarchy all together. There were also some revolutions that were perceived as successes at first, but the conditions that the revolutionaries fought for were revoked soon after gaining them. An example of a revolution that had an outcome similar to this was the polish revolution of 1830. This revolution was headed by a group of nationalist poles who wanted Poland to become independent from Russia, who currently controlled Poland. They also wanted to implement a resounding nationalist ideal throughout the nation. Although the polish were able to gain independence from Russia for a short time, Russia was able to regain control of the country shortly after Independence was gained, re implementing the same laws that the polish wanted to escape. This outcome is most likely why the revolution was branded a failure, although success was achieved for a short time. Finally, there were some revolutions that were legitimate failures because none of the goals that the revolutionaries set were ever met. An example that meets these conditions would be the Decembrist revolt of 1825. This revolution was poorly timed and poorly executed, lead by a small group of liberal military officers who wanted to unseat the current tsar and demand a constitution. The revolution was ended as abruptly as it began, with the revolutionaries being ripped to shreds by canon fire. Conditions for the citizens also grew worse after the revolution, which much harsher punishments being handed down to anyone who opposed the tsar. This was the true definition of a complete failure. Although few revolutions of the time actually completely achieved their goals, they should not be branded as complete failures because many of the revolutions were able to bring about change in the governments they rebelled against.

picture link: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/

decembrist revolt video link: http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/decembrist-revolt-of-1825/13391064/?s=qz3Oh7&ref=app

Monroe Doctrine Assignment

The United States of America, lead by the capable president James Monroe, was able to outlast the demands of one of the most dominant forces mankind had seen, the quintuple or "Holy" alliance. The quintuple alliance was made up of European countries that had all attended the congress of Vienna and discussed and implemented new laws and changes throughout Europe. The five countries that made up the alliance was Great Britain, Russia, France, Spain and Austria, the host country. The leaders who attended these meetings and represented their countries were all resoundingly conservative and their ideals showed in every decision they made. Monroe was able to guide the US through times of unease as the great European Juggernaut loomed over them, making demands of the nation. Some major demands that were made by the holy alliance were that Russia be allowed to settle along the wast coast of the US and allowing Spain to march into Latin America and reclaim its colonies that had just gained their independence from Spain. "  Our policy, in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for us;..." This quote states how the US would handle the quintuple alliance as a whole, to treat it with respect and to stay out of its internal affairs. However, the US would not tolerate the infringement of the alliance into either their territory nor the Latin American colonies territory.


The picture above illustrates how Monroe cared what his congress would think of his decisions. The US congress in general agreed with Monroe's ideals, such as protecting the Latin American Countries and their western land claim. They also wished the US could have held a more powerful alliance with GB when they offered to ally with the US against the Holy alliance  The Latin American colonists would have felt relatively the same about Monroe's decisions, especially with his decision to protect the Latin American countries. The Russians, however, would not be as pleased with the US's decisions to not let them settle on the west coast of the US, nor the fact that the US was protecting the Latin American colonies. The only thing the Russians would have been somewhat pleased with would have been the fact that the US refused to create a strong alliance with Great Britain. 

Congress of Vienna Assignment

The Congress of Vienna was one of the largest gatherings of power the world had ever seen. It gathered diplomats from European powers which included Britain, Russia, France, Spain and Austria, the host. The delegate for the host country Austria, Klemens von Metternich, was one of the most influential, and most conservative, members of said congress. These men were known for their extravagance and ideals that drove nations and were able to solve many of the problems that currently plagued not only Europe, but other major parts of the world as well. One of such problems that the congress faced was trying to return a balance of power to a struggling European continent. They did this by creating rules that stated that the borders of European countries be redrawn to how they were before Napoleon ravaged the continent with war. Also, The members of the congress of Vienna were prohibited from declaring war upon one and other, lest they wish the other 4 nations to march into their own territory. This kept peace ongoing between the five countries in the quintuple alliance. Metternich was in favor of these changes because he wanted to retain tradition within Europe and resetting the borders to how they were before was the most efficient way to do so. Also, it made so the monarchs who were in power at the time would be kept in power because the revolutions that might happen in these nations could be easily and swiftly dealt with by the other members of the quintuple alliance. These policies were somewhat effective because there were no wars between the quintuple alliance leading up to 1853 and most of the revolutions that occurred in these countries were easily crushed.
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19th Century Ideals

As you can see from our groups vine, we used the seven seconds to portray the ideology of Liberalism in simple stop motion. It shows what the average liberal in the 19th century would want their society to be like. They mainly wanted to oust the ways of the absolute monarchy and introduce more constitutional monarchy's, which is represented by the tipping scale that produces a balance of monarchy and constitutional rights.  One way they could do this was to reduce the amount of power that the monarchs were able to hold over their people, thus the shrinking crown. The liberals also believed that tradition was better off replaced with innovation and new ideas. They saw little to no benefit holding on to old methods of doing things if they could be done easier with more modern approaches. This is represented by the tearing up of the word tradition. Finally, they also believed in god-given right and talent so almost anyone could move up in the classes of the time if they had enough talent. Liberals influenced many great pieces of literature, some of which led to creation of entire political systems like Adam Smith and his creation of Capitalism.

The other two ideals had both similar and very different beliefs. Conservatives of the time believed that tradition was a cornerstone of society that could not be overlooked or forgotten. They thought that since traditions were tested by the rigors of time, they could hold up in any social and political era. They also believed that absolutist monarchs and a hierarchical class system were the only ways to have order in society and highly supported both. Conservatives of the time used many examples from the French revolution as to why they thought monarchy was the only safe way to rule. Nationalists of the time believed that a nation was to be treated as a bond, a sort of brotherhood that tied its citizens together through bonds of language, custom and heritage. They were strongly against having foreign rule in nations they called home and fought against them whenever and however they could. Italy and Germany were the major nationalist nations of the time and allowed no foreign government to rule them without resisting first.

Latin American Revolutions Assignment

In the comparative history essay concerning racial imbalance, it can be proved that the United States was more prepared for independence than those of Latin America. One reason for this was the ratio of slaves to whites in the Latin American colonies was much higher than it was in the British colonies. The British colonies, in fact, never let the slave population eclipse that of the whites in the colonies. The pie chart at the bottom of this paragraph shows how imbalanced the population of the Latin American colonies were. Also, the whites in the British colonies actually shared the labor between the slaves and the whites, not completely equally, but still shared nonetheless. This can be shown in the quote that says, "North America was, by contrast, neither a conquest society, nor a slave society. In its origins, it was a colony of farmers, a predominantly white society of European immigrants who established a relatively egalitarian system of social and economic organization..." The whites in the Latin Americas did little work and usually forced the slaves to do everything for them. Finally, Once the slaves were actually freed in the Latin Americas, they did not want to return to work. This led to a collapse of the economy after Independence was earned. Quoted in the essay, it was said “Wanting to travel and to see the Africans for myself, with my own eyes, to determine whether it was possible to get them back to work after they had been so suddenly emancipated...".the Africans he refers to in this quote are the slaves.

 

In the document set that covers national literacy, it can be proven that the English colonists had the upper hand in independence once again. This can be proven by the fact that literacy itself was a very important tool used to shape nations after they gained their independence. The Spanish colonies in Latin America had only a ten percent literacy rate, and the literate population only lived in the cities, proven in this quote, “At a guess (there is no hard data that I know of) the literacy rate in New Spain in 1810 could not have been much higher than 10 percent overall, with much of the literate population compressed spatially into the cities, and socially into the upper reaches of the social hierarchy". Comparatively, The British colonies had a literacy rate of sixty percent but grew to an astonishing one hundred percent soon after. Also Spanish colonies had to deal with language barriers in their colonies which made it harder to educate the whole nation, which can be seen on the pie chart at the bottom of this paragraph. Finally, Literacy was treated as more of an important skill by the Europeans that moved into the British colonies. 

Haitian Revolution Assignment

Haiti was Frances most profitable colony in the western hemisphere. At the time of it being a colony to France, however, it was known as San Domingue. France inherited the colony after events of both the thirty years war and the nine years war that led to France laying claim to the land and protecting it from the Spanish. Two huge luxury resources ruled the land at the time, sugar and coffee, both of which were plentiful on the island nation. As a result of the booming industry there, thousands upon thousands of slaves were imported from Africa to work on plantations. This single-handedly shifted the population so that it was now a majority of black slaves on the island. Rigid class systems were established so as to keep what little whites were on the island nation, in power over the blacks. Soon, however, the blacks became fed up with the segregation and started a revolt that would last 12 years, securing their freedom from France and Slavery. Once Haiti was declared as a sovereign nation, however, another new nation made clear that it was not to accept Haiti as a real nation. Thomas Jefferson and the United States were quite skeptical of the new nation and its political stances. As quoted from an article written by Edwidge Danticat, "The fact that the U.S. was not more supportive of its smaller, slightly younger neighbor had a great deal to do with Louverture's roots, which were African and which were now planted in America's backyard.". Jefferson was afraid that the slaves he kept in his own nation may be persuaded by the actions taken in Haiti, and may plant dangerous ideas in their heads. On top of this, France also made its displeasure known by forcibly extorting money from Haiti, threatening military action if not complied with. This debt was not to be halted until 1947, an astonishing 140 years after Haiti was declared independent.

These effects piled on to the new nation of Haiti, which was woefully unprepared to handle such a response from such powerful adversaries. This led to Haiti falling into extreme poverty that extends to this day and age. Some argue that it is Frances responsibility to reimburse Haiti for the wrongful taxation of their nation, however, no such deal has yet to be made between the two nations. Haiti was never able to become a prosperous nation because of these sanctions put on them by France and the US, which must have been quite disheartening for the people who fought so hard for its independence.

picture link:http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/haitian-revolution.htm

Napoleon Blog Post

Napoleon was one of the most successful rulers in French History. His military might allowed him to conquer a majority of Europe at one time, Creating a kingdom that reached from Paris to Moscow. He was only able to achieve these great feats through a rigorous military campaign where Napoleon stole the hearts and minds of his followers who were, for the most part, devoted to following in his footsteps. This was somewhat surprising as Napoleon ruled ruthlessly and used fear and threat to help drive his empire forward. Politically speaking, his following allowed him to climb to the highest positions in the French government, eventually culminating in him crowning himself emperor. In The Lost Voices of Napoleonic History, it is said Napoleon had the "peculiar combination of military genius, civilian disinterestedness and domineering will, which were just what France wanted". He struck fear in the hearts of men that opposed him, yet they admired his mind as well. Socially, Napoleon was in favor of Human advancement, and cared little for the class based system that had existed in France before him. J.T. Headley was quoted as saying that "Napoleon's moral character was indifferent enough; yet as a friend of human liberty, and eager to promote the advancement of the race, by opening the field to talent and genius, however low their birth...". This also lead to him being revered by the bourgeoisie in France, but held in contempt by the nobility. One such Nobility was Madame de Stael, the daughter of a previous french financial adviser to King Louis XVI. She believed Napoleon was nothing more than a tyrant who used brute force to control people and get what he wanted. She also thought he quote "found contempt for all the intellectual riches of human nature...". Economically, Napoleon helped to raise France to one of the most economically sound countries of the time. He did this by collecting wealth and treasures from the nations he conquered, as well as having them pay hefty taxes to France while conquered. He also conducted public works projects, such as roads, which helped to create more effective trade routes throughout the French empire. In short, Napoleon was one of the most powerful rulers in the History of France, and the world and had a huge
impact on Europe at the time.

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US and Great Britain Comparison

The industrial revolution was a powerful force in both Great Britain and the United States. However, Industrialists were more likely to succeed in Great Britain for some select reasons. For one, there was a labor shortage that occurred in the United States, who were a critical part of the industrial machine. One quote that signifies this would be in the comparative essay that read "Another challenge in the United States was a relative shortage of labor. Much more than in continental Europe or in Britain, labor was in chronically short supply in the United States." (P.3). With little labor to be found, resources would have to spent by the company to try and recruit workers to work in the factories. In Great Britain, however, labor was plentiful, as well as having plentiful resources and a good transportation system. Finally, Industrialists had it better in Great Britain because the accepted that people could move up on the social ladder through hard work and having a gift at whatever craft they may have chosen. This kept the economy booming and allowed industrialists to let their investments grow and work for them. All these factors combined to made Great Britain a veritable cornucopia of opportunities for industrialists.

Although both the US and Great Britain each had their fair share of undesirable traits that went along with working in the factories of that time, the US had slightly better working conditions and offered better benefits to the workers. Harriet Robinson also explains in her autobiography how the wages that some of the mill girls earned during this period in history were revolutionary for womens labor at the time. "We can hardly realize what a change the cotton factory made in the status of the working women. Hitherto woman had always been a money saving rather than a money earning, member of the community." (paragraph 7). Also, although child labor was common in both parts of the world, the work was not as demanding in the US as it was in Great Britain. Another quote from Harriet's Autobiography that signifies this would be "These mites worked about fifteen minutes every hour and the rest of the time was their own. When the overseer was kind they were allowed to read, knit, or go outside the mill­yard to play." (paragraph 4). Finally, mill workers in the US were able to demand higher wages because of the labor shortage at the time. These factors combined to create a more opportune working environment in the US than in Great Britain.

picture link: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/textile.html

Mary Paul Letters Response

Mary Paul was a young girl who was born on a small farm in New Hampshire. She had correspondence with a cousin who had moved to Lowell to work in the newly erected cotton mills. She decided she wanted to do the same, and begged her father to let her go. After much persuasion, her father let her go off into the large city of Lowell to work. While there, she wrote letters to her family explaining her job and how she was being treated in the new environment. The first letter was to her father, asking his permission to attend the mills and work full time, seeing it as a great opportunity to earn her own way in the world. You can tell that she is anxious to go as she lists off many of the benefits she would gain by working in the mills. Her second letter is her first from Lowell and states what she will be working on during her stay. She also explains how the pay is going to be handled, stating how much she will be earning and how much she will have to pay for room and board. She also hints at how she wants to be written to, telling her father he must “write as soon as you receive this”. The third letter takes a darker turn in it, as she tells of how some of the girls had accidents during work, some of them actually dying on the job. This shows how she might be scared of how dangerous the work can be. The letter than turns to a better light as she tells of how she received her pay and used some of it to buy some clothes for herself. In the fourth letter, she tells of how she is one of the hardest workers in the mill room, however she is told by others that she is “growing very poor”, which means she is growing sick because of the work load. This is also explained later in the letter when she tells of her schedule in its fullest detail. She also appears to be growing lonelier as she once again asks for people to, not only write to her, but visit her as well. In letter five, she makes it very obvious that the work load she has is way too much for her. She states in the letter that she actually lost her old job and had to scrounge for a new one that wouldn't pay as much. She also complains about how the wages she already earns, which are meager at best, will be reduced even further. The final letter is very short and states that her condition as deteriorated even further. She had actually become so sick that she was “obliged to be out of the mill four days”. She also had not been paid, and didn't expect to be paid much if at all. That was her final latter before she left the mill and traveled back to Vermont. These letters are a very credible account of the impact the Lowell experiment had on the girls who participated in it. These letters show that show both success and failure in the Lowell experiment. It was a success because Mary was able to make some money working in the mills, and also was a very hard worker for the company. It was also, however, a failure because she became ill due to the increasingly bad working conditions and was also neglected in terms of pay, which led to her quitting and moving away from the mills. 

Adam Smith PSA

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations (Excerpts). Modified from the Modern History Internet Sourcebook. 1776. Fordham University. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/adamsmith-summary.asp (accessed September 18, 2013).

   Adam Smith was a philosopher who lived in eighteenth century Great Britain. He was born in Scotland in 1723, a very intelligent and inquisitive child who was quite prodigal in school. He attended the University of Glasgow where he rose above his other students in many fields. He won a scholarship to Oxford University where he completed six years of schooling, after which he moved to Edinburgh. It was at this time Smith became fascinated with the studies of society and what it is constituted of. He took his interests a step further and became a professor at Glasgow university where he became legendary for his fascinating lectures. These lectures led him to to pen his first book, which went on to grab fame for its revolutionary views on society in general. This fame brought him to the attention of a rising politician who offered him a job as a tutor for his young son. This job allowed Smith to travel around Europe and met with many enlightenment thinkers, such as Voltaire. These experiences combined allowed Smith to pen his most successful book Wealth of Nations. This work was one of the first to actually outline a capitalist system and how it operates. This makes a Smith a credible source as he is the first person to even suggest a socio-economic system like capitalism that was widely accepted. This leads to why Smith wrote the book which is to try and create a system that would depend on society and its progression. Also, Smith wanted to convince others that his system is the best and that the reader should follow his philosophies towards success. This excerpt was focused mainly on how the division of labor, breaking larger tasks into smaller, more manageable ones, is able to create a more productive work environment. This is exemplified in the quote "The division of labor, so far as it can be introduced, occasions, in every art, a proportionable increase of the productive powers of labor". The document can be cited so far as it is taken into account that it is extremely biased, due to the fact he was the only one who wrote and derived the theories mentioned in the text. Smith also used nothing but glowing appraisal for his theories, using only examples that painted capitalism in a positive light. Smith truly wanted the public to adopt capitalism, and uses persuasive examples and an extensive history studying the topic to back up his opinions.

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Luddite RAFT Assignment

The Luddites are a group that helped to shape the industrial revolution. But, as the term Luddite has been muddled over the decades, the term is sometimes misinterpreted by the people who use it. While many people thought that a Luddite was someone who couldn’t handle technology, they were actually a group of skilled weavers, mechanics and other artisans. They knew how to use the technology of the time and were not protesting over technology itself but instead protested over how technology was used, especially during the industrial revolution. They loved using the machines that were created to advance production; they just wanted to do it in a way that earned them a working wage. Another objection the Luddites had towards technology was when it was used excessively. The way they pretested these issues were also quite interesting, as many of the luddite protests were non-violent, with only one recorded death tied to the luddites during a protests. Also, their protests were very unique in the fact that many of the luddites cross-dressed during the protests. These two facts made Luddite protests very interesting to many people, and helped the luddites gain attention for their movement without having to resort to violence, gaining them a lot of respect from people of the time. Accompanied with this article will also be a letter written by a British soldier sent to the city to protect factories from Luddite riots.

My Dearest Cousin,

            How has your experience in America been so far? I know it must be a huge change for you and your sister to travel so far for a life so uncertain. But I feel safer just because you are safe from the filthy Luddite riots that still occur daily in the city. The way they try to destroy the machines that shape our way of life just because they are unhappy with their wages is egregious. The revolution they are fighting against has brought nothing but prosperity to our country and I am so happy I can be a part of protecting its progress. However, there is not much else to complain about, as their protests are not violent so there is not much danger in watching over them. I pray that you stay safe in America and prosper as I have.

Sincerely

James Hawethorne

Museum Curating: the Industrial Revolution

The curating process is a long, but very interesting, process that is done in museums around the world. It has many different parts that all need to be done well. One of the most important parts of the curating process is the analysis. The analysis is where the objects that are to be displayed are observed and described so that a summerization of the object can be written later in the form of a well written caption. This is important because it allows your exhibit to be fully informative to whoever views it.  The exhibit pictured above is comprised of photos and articles that show what life was like in London before and after the industrial revolution occurred. Through the previous explanation, our group was able to come up with the title Before and After which gives a simple introduction to what the exhibit will be. My hopes are that having the contrast of life before and after the revolution will teach people just how much of an impact it had on daily life of the people during that time.

The first exhibit I viewed after my own was about the transportation, exporting and importing of goods, during the industrial revolution. It focused on how the steam engine was used to provide faster transportation and was able to transport goods further than before as well. Next, an exhibit about how the industrial revolution brought poverty and pollution to England. it focused on how factories that sprung up in cities created mass amounts of both air and water pollution and how workers began to earn such a small amount of money, they could not support their families. The following exhibit was primarily about child labor and how rampant it was during the industrial revolution. It was a very dark exhibit that showed how children were given very dangerous jobs that paid very little. Finally, there was an exhibit on how cotton and slaves were two of the most lucrative business during the industrial revolution. These two trades worked hand in hand, as the cotton trade boomed, so did the slave trade. These exhibits provided a very informative look at the industrial revolution and its effects on life as it was during that time period.

Engels PSA Assignment

Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844, 45, 48-53. London, Swan Sonnenschein and Co, 1892.

Friedrich Engels was a German Born man who lived in Manchester, England in his early twenties. He was sent there by his parents to work for a mill that made sewing threads. Engel was disgusted by what he saw in England during the time of the industrial revolution. During his time in Manchester, Engel wrote the book that this quote is from. His opinions on the matter were skewed against the revolution, not only because of his first-hand experience with working in conditions he described as “Hell on Earth”, but also because of his Marxist views on society. This was due to the fact that Engel was one of the founding fathers of Marxism, working side by side with Karl Marx to create the theory itself.  This excerpt is reliable to the extent of being translated from German to English much later than its original publication. Some of his descriptions make the conditions of that time sound absolutely appalling, telling of polluted waters, stench filled disgusting air quality and people being crammed into small, one room huts for living quarters. He truly despised what the industrial revolution brought, and expresses it well in this excerpt. 

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Syrian Conflict Escalates, Citizens Forced to Take Sides in Civil War

As it stands right now, the situation in Syria has been getting progressively worse and shows no signs of brightening. The civil war between the Assad regime and the general population of Syria has been raging for about two years now. It’s hard to believe it all started because of political protests led by the citizens, who were spurred on by other Arab countries at the time doing similar things, against the Assad regime. The regime then struck back fiercely with mass arrests and military crackdowns, which led to the current war. There may also have been some religious reasons for the war as well, as the government was represented by a minority Arab sect while the citizens were mainly comprised of another Arab sect. This past week, I sat in on a meeting between members of a small Syrian town discussing the options that would be best for the town. The main options that were discussed in this meeting were to rally the town and flee the country, to join in arms, to protest, whether peacefully or not, or stay in the town and protect each other. Fleeing was one of the first options brought up, and many thought it to be a good idea. However, the more it was discussed, the more flaws were seen in the plan. Where would they go? Would they be safe if they relocated? Is it really worth it to start your life over for something so uncertain? The option was soon discarded after these glaring facts were introduced. Next on the docket was to join in arms, which some were for just so they could be a part of the rebirth of their country. Although not a safe option, it certainly was a popular one, and many believed it would be better if foreign aid arrived, which was being discussed by some major countries. Another popular option was to protest, although after seeing how the Syrian government treated protesters in the beginning, it may be too little too late. However, some argued, if they were able to protest quietly by aiding those taking arms, they may be of more assistance than if they actually fought in the war. The final option discussed was to stay put in their town and wait it out. This was received the worst as many thought it to be too risky. The chance of them being hit with mortars or chemical attacks greatly rose if the government zeroed in on their position and they didn't leave. If I were a citizen of this town, I would have to choose to protest by aiding those taking up arms against the government. This way, I would actually be a part of my country’s rebuild and may have more of a say if it gets completely overhauled. One thing is for certain, the tension in Syria will not let up any time soon, so stay tuned for more coverage.