Andrew Jackson: The Settler's President

For the majority of the last few days, our class split up into six small groups and researched different topics to contribute to answering the question: s Andrew Jackson's long-standing reputation as "the people's president" deserved?  As a class, we focused on three of Jackson's largest involvements- the Spoils System, the Bank War, and my topic, the Indian Removal Act.  The Indian Removal Act was Jackson's moving of about 100,000 Southern Native Americans to the western part of the country, or present-day Oklahoma.  Jackson claimed that he was doing the tribes a favor, because he was trying to save them, but in reality, he was dooming them by giving them the choice to either move west to a foreign land with little resources, or stay in their homelands and abide by his rules, which included serving in the militia.  My group carefully analyzed a few sources about the Indian Removal Act and came up with an answer to the question: Jackson cared about his own American people, but did not regard the original Native Americans very much.

U.S. Democracy in the early 1800's

For the majority of last week, we worked in large groups to answer the questions: How should we define democracy and how democratic was the United States in the early 1800s?  Our group defined democracy as a system of government by the whole population or all of the eligible members of a state.  The people that make up a population get to vote on who they want to asssume the leadership role in their society.  After analyzing several sources, we came to the conclusion that the U.S. in the 1800's was not very democratic at all.   

This is the poster that our group created to support our answer to the essential questions.
It features data graphs of different states' voting methods,
quotes from different voters,
and a painting and it's description of an election. 

Racism: < Nineteenth Century-Now

Why is it essential to acknowledge human value regardless of race?  If I were to answer this question using my opinion and not facts, my answer would be simple: because every single person on this earth is a  a human.  However, in a lesson last week, as a class, we learned that in the 1800s, people of Mexico, Brazil and Gran Colombia did not think the same.  Each country took part in their own revolutions, and our class divided into three large groups and closely examined one of the three Latin American revolutions.  In each society, a social structure existed, with Peninsulares at the top only making up 1% of the population, followed by Creoles making up 23%, Mestizos making up 7%, Mulattoes being 8%, Indians being 50% and finally African Slaves making up 11% at the bottom.  

Social Pyramid in Nineteenth-Century Central and South America

Population Makeup of Nineteenth-Century Central and South America

My Group's Mexican Revolution Timeline:

January 1811: Mexican rebellion lead by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was defeated at Calderón. He was captured and executed. 

1820: Liberals took power in Spain and formed a new government that promised reforms to stop Mexican revolutions. Mexican conservatives wanted independence so they could maintain their positions and beliefs. 

Early 1821: Agustín de Iturbide, the leader of the Royalist forces, negotiated the plan of Iguala with Victor Guerrero. It made Mexico an independent and constitutional monarchy.  

August 24, 1822: Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donoju signed the treaty of Córdoba making Mexico officially a constitutional monarchy 

1822: Iturbide was proclaimed the emperor of Mexico

1823: Republican leaders Santa Anna and Guadalupe Victoria deposed Iturbide and set up a republic

Like every revolution, we found two commonalities among the Mexican, Gran Colombian, and Brazilian Revolutions.  All three of the revolutions that we studied took place in Central/South American lands ruled by Europeans.  Spain was ruling both Mexico and Gran Colombia, and Portugal had control of Brazil.  Luckily, another commonality is that all three revolutions were successful, and everyone had been granted the freedom that they sought for and deserved.  At the end of each revolution, the three countries emerged with three different governments.  Mexico was named a constitutional monarchy, although that was later overthrown and changed into a republic.  Gran Colombia became a republic, and Brazil also became a constitutional monarchy.  In each of the revolutions, someone rose to the leadership position, but they were all different people.  Mexican rebels were led by  Miguel Hidalgo i Iturbide, Gran Colombians were led by Bolivar, and the Brazilians followed in the footsteps of Pedro.

I am saddened to admit that race is still a problem to some people, especially people in the society I live in.  Recently, most of the country has been up in arms because of the tragic killing of Michael Brown.  In the small St. Louis, Missouri suburb of Ferguson, the 18-year old black man was fatally shot by a 28-year old white police officer, Darren Wilson.  Brown was walking down the street with another black friend, and it is said that Wilson asked them to stop, out of suspicion and without probable cause.  Brown and his friend both fled in opposite directions with hopes of avoiding the police, while Wilson continued to pursue Brown.  Some witnesses say that Brown had his hands above his head like he was asked to, but others say he did not cooperate with Wilson.  Nevertheless, Wilson fired twelve rounds of his handgun, seven of which struck Brown and ultimately killed him.  Within the last month, the Grand Jury pronounced Officer Darren Wilson not guilty, which sent Missouri into a state of emergency, and sparked hundreds of riots throughout the country.  A question still stands: Should the issue of race still be considered in our lives today?  The answer is clearly yes, but I think that race should not be observed as a big difference between people, but the fact that people have issues with different races than their own definitely needs to be addressed and stopped. 

Toussaint Louverture DBQ

Since the beginning of time, leaders have emerged in every situation and society.  The greatest and most memorable leaders have all had similar qualities such as moral leadership and toughness.  In the late 1700s and early 1800s in what is modern-day Haiti, Toussaint Louverture stepped forward and acted as the leader of the most successful slave revolution in world history.  Louverture was born in the 1740s in Haiti, which was then the French colony of Saint Domingue.  As a young man, he served as a slave, being a herder, a coachmen, and eventually, an overseer of his fellow slaves working in the fields.  Louverture was taught to read and write, and was later granted freedom by his owner.  Louverture then bought his own coffee plantation and acquired about a dozen slaves of his own.  By 1789, the news of the French Revolution reached Saint Domingue, and slaves became interested in the revolutionaries’ ideas of “Liberty, Fraternity and Equality”, for themselves.  Since the white population of Saint Domingue refused to end slavery, slaves rebelled by burning thousands of plantations and killing hundreds of their white and mixed-race owners.  It was then that Louverture decided to work behind the scenes with his former fellow slaves, to lead them to freedom.  Louverture’s hard work paid off, and slavery was abolished in Saint Domingue.  After he had got what he wanted, he pledged allegiance to the mother country of France, and was named the commander-in-chief of the army in Saint Domingue.  When Napoleon Bonaparte took power of France, he sent an army of 21,000 troops to Saint Domingue, threatening to reinstate slavery.  Louverture’s skilled army fought hard against the French, but Louverture ended up being captured and taken back to France.  Louverture’s army kept fighting without him, and Napoleon and his army eventually gave up and retreated to France, ultimately allowing Saint Domingue to declare itself as the independent country of Haiti in January of 1804.  Unfortunately, Louverture died of pneumonia before that, but his legacy still lives on in Haiti today.  Out of Louverture’s many important successes, he should be remembered the most as a liberator of slaves, a military commander, and the ruler of Saint Domingue.

Louverture’s most admirable accomplishment was being a liberator of slaves.  In a document created from various sources(A), it states that in 1791, when the slaves first rebellion took place, Louverture was a free man, but decided to join the rebellion against the slave owners, and served as a doctor and a small commander of a group of slave soldiers.  The leader of France, Robespierre, was dealing with both the revolution in his country of Haiti, and the slave revolution in his colony of Saint Domingue, so he decided to abolish slavery in Saint Domingue so he could have less on his plate.  In 1797, Louverture  wrote a letter to the French Directory(B).  The French Directory was the government that replaced Robespierre’s government that had abolished slavery in Saint Domingue, so many former slaves, including Louverture, feared that slavery would be restored.  In his letter, Louverture states that his men had a thousand lives, “they would sacrifice them all rather than be subjected again to slavery”.  He also mentions that his troops know how to fight for their freedom already, and are not scared to lose their lives or kill their enemies, thus threatening the French Directory.  In 1801, The Constitution of Saint Domingue was established, and was signed by its ruler, Louverture.  In section II, titled “The Inhabitants”, it states that “There cannot exist slaves in this territory, servitude is therein forever abolished.  All men are born, live and die free and French”.  In section VI, titled “Of Culture and Commerce”, it states that each cultivator and each worker in the essential agricultural industry is entitled to share the revenues.  Louverture was not only a leader, but was the liberator of the slaves that took part in the most successful slave revolution.

The slave soldiers conquered some of the world’s most tough armies to get what they wanted and deserved, and were lead by the military commander, Louverture.  In a recent biography written by Madison Smartt Bell, titled Toussaint Louverture: A Biography(E), it tells the story of the feud between Louverture and his nephew, Hyacinthe Moyse.  Moyse considered Louverture’s labor policy to be wrong and cruel, and was also suspicious of the friendliness between Louverture and the white planter class.  Moyse challenged Louverture’s agricultural policies, and ordered a rebellion against him.  This was after slavery was abolished, but Moyse and his men went to the Northern Plains of Saint Domingue, and killed many whites.  Moyse’s ideas began to influence other former slaves, and enraged Louverture.  Louverture entered the rebel zone, and summoned many rebels to step forth and commit suicide, and later brought his own nephew, Moyse, in front of a firing squad, and made Moyse give them the order to shoot.  Although Louverture’s execution of his nephew seems harsh, he needed to make it clear to all of the people of Saint Domingue that rebellions are not acceptable, and he can’t have his own soldiers going against him.  In 1863, a man named William Wells Brown wrote “A Description of Toussaint Louverture”(F).  Brown says that Louverture possessed many traits that enabled his soldiers to trust and respect him, like his superior knowledge of his race, his humanity, courage and generosity.  In 1801, Louverture believed that Napoleon and his troops were coming back to Saint Domingue to reinstate slavery, so Louverture and his troops burned down the city of Samana on the Spanish part of the larger island, where the French would be landing.  Louverture and his troops then fled into the mountains, where they could use their skillful guerilla tactics, and where the French were unfamiliar with.  Louverture also gave a speech to his men as the French landed in their territory, speaking eloquently about the courage that all members of their African race possess.  The slave rebellion of Saint Domingue would have been the opposite of successful if Louverture had not been the commander of the military.

Louverture’s role of the ruler of Saint Domingue eventually lead to the independence of the colony, because of all of his impressive accomplishments.  In the Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801(C), Louverture established many rules that helped Saint Domingue maintain the qualities of an orderly land.  In section VI, titled “Of Culture and Commerce”, article 14, it is stated that the colony could not suffer the least disruption in cultivation, since the colony’s biggest industry was the agricultural harvesting of 40% of the world’s sugar, and more than half of the world’s coffee. The next article stated that each plantation was to be considered as a constant family, in which the owner would be the father, and all of the revenue was to be shared.  In section VIII, titled “Of the Government”, article 28 states that Louverture was nominated as the ruler of Saint Domingue and the chief general of the army for the duration of his life.  Article 28 of section VIII was a risk, because the policy promised the rule of Louverture to continue until the day he died, which would’ve been a great disadvantage if Louverture proved to be a horrible leader, which luckily, he turned out to be the polar opposite.  In a proclamation made by Louverture to his people of Saint Domingue on November 25th, 1801(D), he established a law that enforced the agricultural work previously stated in the constitution to be done.  The law was that any worker that refused to work was to be arrested by the plantation police, and then brought before a court martial and punished.  In just four months after the constitution, Louverture had to make this proclamation because workers were rebelling against his fair working provisions.  Louverture had to make hard choices as the ruler of Saint Domingue, like this law, because his land had to make money by farming without slavery.  With Louverture as the ruler of Saint Domingue, the colony was more stable than it had ever been with different rulers.

Although Toussaint Louverture’s legacy included being both an extremely tough military commander and incredible ruler of Saint Domingue, his most impressive and important role was being the liberator of slaves in the most successful slave revolution of all time.

Scaling Failing

Last week, we learned about many European Revolutions, including the Revolutions of 1830 & 1848.  The essential question was: Were the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 really a failure as historians have said?  Many governments made changes following the Congress of Vienna, and many people did not approve or agree with them, so they revolted.  In an activator, we were presented with a map and a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville that read "We are sleeping on a volcano. Do you not see that the earth trembles anew? A wind of revolution blows, the storm is on the horizon."  As a class, we concluded that his quote meant that there were many revolutions, especially more than there was independence, and Europe could've erupted in chaos at any time.   Once the ideas had spread, revolutions would spread too and they would not be ignored, and that the eruption started in France.  We seperated into 5 different groups, and each group was assigned a revolution and a task to make a surveymonkey for our classmates to take and learn from.

In Austria in 1848, nationalists and liberals fought to have an independent government, to have serfdom abolished, and to have a constitution that protected their basic rights.  Their biggest opponent was Klemens von Metternich, and his Austrian government.  The result of the entire revolution was neutral, a partial success but also a partial failure.  In a revolutionary song called "DECLARATION RELATIVE TO THE SEPARATION OF HUNGARY FROM AUSTRIA", revolutionaries sang about how they wanted to seperate their country of Hungary from Austria, and to defeat Metternich.  One of the lines of the song is "We truly swear the tyrant's yoke No more to bear!", talking about Metternich and his unfair ruling.  In the photo below from the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it shows how the Austrian government joined forces with the Russians, and defeated the revolutionaries.  Lucky for the revolutionaries, Metternich fled, and they were able to take control of Vienna, but that all came to an end when they were defeated by Russia and Austria.  Our group distributed the same information that we learned about the Hungarian Revolution from to the rest of our class, and quizzed them on their learning with our Survey Monkey.  After viewing our classmate's results, they proved that they learned pretty well.  In the second photo below, it shows that 93% of the class got the answer to "What were the main goals of the revolution?" correct, which is good because that is one of the most important things to take away from the revolution.

"The Austrian Emperor 

and Russian Czar 

overwhelming the 

Hydra of Revolution"

Most of the revolutions that we learned about had some aspects of success and failure to them, aside from the horrible failure of the Decembrist Revolution.  Decembrist revolutionaries trusted Tsar Alexander to make a constitutional monarchy, end serfdom, and give Russia a constitution, but he nearly did the opposite.  He did not use his power for good, and gave Poland a constitution instead of Russia, and severely mistreated the lower class.  We also learned about the French Revolution of 1848, which turned out to be neutral because they accomplished getting rid of their king, Louis Philippe, but also ended up being ruled by a republic of radicals, liberals, and socialists.    The French Revolution o 1830 proved to have a fairly positive outcome, because revolutionaries were able to overthrow Charles X, but then Louis Philippe became king, which lead to a downfall 18 years later.  In my opinion, the answer to the essential question would be no, because the Decembrist Revolution was the only revolution that appeared to me as a complete and utter failure.

Conservatives and Congress

Last week after our History Class finished learning about Napoleon, we learned about what Europe did after he was defeated.  The former rulers around Europe convened at a meeting known as the Congress of Vienna.  We studied how Europe recovered and restructured after Napoleon, especially Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria.

Klemens von Metternich of Austria
"Conservative, Sophisticate, Skilled Democrat"
http://www.emersonkent.com/history_notes/klemens_von_metternich.htm

The Congress of Vienna made many important decisions within those long 9 months spent debating and discussing, and one was called The Principle of Intervention.  The Principle of Intervention stated that if a revolution needed to be stopped, the greater powers had the right to send in troops to take down the revolutionaries, and restore the monarchy.  In 1820, Italian Nationals rose up against the Austrian government because they wanted a strong country itself, instead of separate states, but Austrian troops were able to defeat them.  King Louis XVIII also used The Principle of Intervention in his favor when he sent troops into Spain to defeat Spanish Revolutionaries.

I think that the idea of intervention was not the best choice.  It was beneficial to suspend a revolution, but only temporarily.  There was no way to officially stop a revolution from occurring all together, because there was not enough trust.  A better way of going about stopping revolutions might have been coming up with a negotiation system.

Ideologies

Last week in Honors History, we learned about the major political ideologies, or systems of ideas that help people what to decide in a given economical, social, or government situation. The 3 ideologies are conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism. The class split up into 6 different groups, and were assigned 1 of the 3 ideologies. Each group researched their specific ideology, and created a 1-minute presentation.

We used Adam Smith, who is considered to be the father of Liberalism, to "narrate" our haiku video. In only 41 syllables, we explained how laws could be discerned by use of reason, individual liberty was important, and that Liberals wanted to get rid of most traditions. Liberalism also promoted constitutional rights, and meritocracy. Liberalism mostly supported the middle class, but not so much the upper and lower classes.

After listening and watching my classmate's 1-minute projects, I learned about the other 2 ideologies- conservatism and nationalism. Conservatism sought to keep the monarchy and traditions alive, including the aristocracy and the role of the Roman Catholic Church. Nationalism was many individual groups with the same beliefs and language coming together to fight against a sole higher power, uniting to better themselves.

Napoleon was Dynamite

Last week in Honors History, we learned about Napoleon Bonaparte by reading two different articles about him from people with different perspectives.  Napoleon definitely impacted the social, economical, and political systems of Europe, but many people disagree on whether his impact was beneficial or harmful.  One of the two articles we read was by Madame de Stael, who did not admire Napoleon at all, because she was wealthy, and he did what he could to help the poor.  She claimed that Napoleon viewed the intellectual riches of human nature as "the eternal enemies of the continent".  On the other hand, Marshal Michael Ney, a soldier of Napoleon's, looked up to him.  He calls Napoleon their "august emperor", and believes that Napoleon is a great leader of their beautiful country.

Madame de Stael vs. Marshal Michael Key on Napoleon

Whether or not Napoleon's impact was beneficial or harmful, he certainly left his mark on Europe forever.  Napoleon created a meritocracy, which was positive for the poor people because it created an equal playing field in politics.  The nobles and the church were not very happy about this because they had to obey the Napoleonic Code.  In the economy, Napoleon controlled prices, and encouraged the new industry.  He also established the Bank of France, and built roads and canals for trade.  At one point, about 2/3 of Europe was under Napoleon's French control, and he gave his citizens the right to own property and gave them access to education.  He also abolished serfdom and nobility, which made the poor happy and the rich angry.
                                             

(Hershey's) Kisses to Marx and Smith

Last week in Honors History, we had a very exciting lesson on capitalism, socialism and communism.  To begin class, each student received two Hersey's Kisses, but were not allowed to eat them.  Two lucky students were randomly given eight chocolates.  Since most teenagers are chocoholics like myself, we were all pretty upset at the unfair amount of candy being given.  This represented capitalism, then Mrs.Gallagher asked us each to play rock-paper-scissors with one another, and the winner got to take a chocolate from the other.  Representing socialism, many of the "poor" students that only started with two chocolates became the "richest" in the class, while one of the "richer" students ended up being broke.  This left only the "rich" students happy, so Mrs.Gallagher collected all of the chocolates, and tortured us by representing the government, and eating all of the chocolates she desired.  After watching a video and learning about the Invisible Hand, a theory created by Adam Smith to represent a self-regulating market, we learned about communism when Mrs.Gallagher distributed 2 chocolates back to each student.  I really enjoyed this lesson because it was a fun and interactive way to learn about a more complicated subject.

In socialism, a government had ownership of industry, so they regulated distribution and production of products.  The goal of socialism was to create a classless society, but it did not work because the rich people were still very rich, and the poor people were very poor, and could not do anything to change that.  Karl Marx wanted to create a system of capitalism, which would've provided the opportunity for freedom of competition, and private ownership of industry.  The poor people liked the idea of being able to take control of their situations, but the rich did not.  Many of the rich that inherited money were not prepared to have to work, which compromised their wealth, and pushed them to exile Marx.  Adam Smith came up with the idea of the Invisible Hand, a system in which the government did not intervene, and marketeers had the chance to make profit according to the demand of the people.  The biggest benefit of the Invisible Hand was that high quality products and services were able to be sold for less money, but producers would still profit.  The biggest hindrance of Smith's theory was that it took a very long time to fall into place, which could leave a country in a depression for some time.

I support the Invisible Hand the most because it is fair for everyone that wants to be successful, and also for consumers.  I like the fact that people that want and need to make money have the opportunity to, if they get through the tough times, for a great reward.  I also like that the idea of a self-regulating market makes people work together to sell and buy fair products.

Lowell Mills Pay Bills

(Option 2)
This week in History, we learned about The Lowell Experiment, and watched a short film, Daughters of Free Men.

The Lowell Experiment was an industrial project to avoid the negative aspects of industrialization, and to make the mills more appealing.  In the film, a young girl named Lucy was sent, by choice, to work in Lowell.  Lucy was recruited by a mill owner who promised that she would get fair pay, proper education, and the ability to become a nice young lady.  She made the decision to go so she could make her own money, have her own clothes, and experience more freedom and independence from her parents.  Lucy felt very comfortable in her boardinghouse and was able to make friends, and got to have some free time.  Her family liked the opportunity because they wanted Lucy to send home money, and have their daughter taken care of.  Unfortunately, when Lucy was working, her coworkers went on strike twice, because they felt they weren't being paid or treated fairly.  Their first strike did not work, but the second one did and they got what they wanted.

The 'Mill Girl Era' left a lasting impact on the perceptions of women during the 1800s.  The girls worked hard outside of their homes, and made their own money.  They also successfully lived away from their parents, and were educated.  Many women went on to write for the public, and become abolitionists and women's rights activists.

"Daughters of Free Men"
A documentary about a young girl at the Lowell Mills
http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/daughters-of-free-men/

Helpful Hangout with Jamie

This week in Honors History, we got to speak with an expert on the industrial revolution, Jamie, who works at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England.  Before live chatting with him, our class got into smaller groups and did some background research.  We looked around the museum's website, and watched a video.  There were many words that we did not understand, but would need to in order to learn from Jamie.  We found definitions for the terms carding engine, hopper feeder scutcher, draw frame, sliver, speed frame, slubbing, roving, and power loom.  We also thought of interesting questions to ask Jamie about the industrial machines and his work.

The chat with Jamie helped me earn a lot and see a lot of the machines involved in the industrial revolution.  Before the industry, families had to make their own cloth using machines like the hand loom and spinning wheel.  In 1775, Richard Arkwright and John Kay invented the water frame, a machine powered by water that has rollers of different speeds to turn cotton and wool into a sheet for the next process.  We also learned about the power loom, a shuttle that could travel up to 45 mph, which were handled by women.  The machines were extremely loud, so many women ended up going deaf from work.  Women also lost teeth from out of control shuttles and contracted diseases from inhaling cotton dust.  All of the work in English mills was dangerous, and hurt many people.  Over time, conditions got worse with urbanization.  Many people would be living in one house and using the same toilet, so the sanitation deteriorated.  Since our class had just set up our own museum exhibits and acted as curators, we asked Jamie why he chose this profession.  He said that he was brought up in England and went to college there, and decided to further his knowledge on the industrial revolution, since it is a part of his history.

I really enjoyed the google hangout, because I learned a lot more and it was a lot more interesting than reading about something to learn.  I liked being able to see the machines up close,it made me feel like I was actually at the museum.  I also liked being able to ask questions and have them be answered right away, especially when I needed something cleared up.  I would definitely like to do things like this in class more often.

Jamie showing our class one of the many shuttles.

Display of New Skills

This past week in History, we worked in groups of 5 to create an exhibit on a category of the Industrial Revolution.  I learned many things from viewing the other exhibits, and many skills in museum curating.

The other exhibits I visited were on child labor, the revolution's effect on pollution, steam powered transportation, and new machines.  Child labor was when both genders worked together in mines, because they were small enough to fit, and they worked in terrible conditions around dangerous machines until the factory act in 1833.  The revolution's pollution was caused by the new machines and factories.  Streets would be flooded with dirty water, and poor people had to live outside. Steam powered engines connected to cities in some way, and most production of coal is around urban areas.  The steam engine allowed people to travel further distances in shorter time than before. The new machines, mostly textile inventions, there was more work to be done, which required hiring workers. The population of London increased greatly because it was a highly desirable job for women and even children.  

The museum exhibit was a new way of projecting information, and was much more interesting to learn from and create.  After reading the information about the sources we received and answered the sourcing questions, it was easy to piece everything together.  We summed up the most important information into only a few sentences, and tried to keep it interesting.  We set up the exhibit so that people's eyes would travel between information and pictures, and hold their interest.  We tried our best to use bright colors and media, as well as relevant decorations.  We came together to create a unique title, Spinning into Slavery, because it makes people wonder how those two things can possibly connect to each other.  

 

Instructions and Ingredients to the Industrial Revolution

     This past week in Honors History 10, we started our first unit on Industrialization.  Early Industrialization improved life back in the 1750's, and had a great influence on life today.

     The new technology made in Europe made many jobs and many people's lives more efficient.  The flying shuttle invented by John Kay was the first of many inventions that helped the textile industry.  In 1764, James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny, which allowed many threads to be spun at the same time.  These machines were eventually powered by water frames, invented by Richard Arkwright.  Textile factories started to be built next to fast moving streams, which allowed the amount of labor performed in one factory to be equal to the previous amount of labor performed in an entire district.  In another industry, Abraham Darby's experiments led him to produce better quality and less expensive iron, that was smelted by coal to build railroads.  James Watt invented the steam engine, which became the main power source for many things throughout the industrial revolution.

"Spinning Jenny"
http://www.newlanark.org/learningzone/clitp-ageofinvention.php

     The common people who weren't busy inventing world-changing machines were keeping very busy.  Farmers were working more productively so that they could improve the quality and increase the quantity of their products.  Dikes were built in order to shelter farmland that was by the sea, and the seed drill enabled seeds to be grown in rows so that land was not wasted. The mixing of different soils led to having more successful crops, which led to an increase in the population.  Without the constant fear of starvation, women and babies became healthier, along with the death rate declining.  With farming going so well, some peasants got kicked off of farmlands and were forced to find work in cities, and contribute to the labor force of the industrial revolution.  
   
     
     

Searching Our Way to Success

     Last week in Honors History, our class learned how to properly search information on google in order to obtain accurate results for our work.  In small groups, we played the game A Google A Day, then visited the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus website.

     A Google A Day (http://www.agoogleaday.com/#game=started) is an online game made by google, that teaches people how to search efficiently on google.  The game asks a hard question, then makes players fine the answer my effectively searching on google.  Throughout the game, the answers to the questions get harder to find, but google provides helpful searching tips.  Everyone in the class had fun learning new random facts, and competing against the other teams.  Eventually, every group got stumped and we had to put all of our skills together to find the correct answer.  I learned many essential searching skills to find better information.

     When talking about information, accuracy, authenticity, and reliability are crucial.  Accuracy is the state of being precise, which means that the information that someone gathers had to be true.  Authenticity is the quality of being genuine and real, so the information's source has to be valid.  Reliability means that a source is good quality and is able to be trusted.  After discussing these three important terms, we visited the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus website (http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/).  This website definitely could not be used as a source in school.  Although the website lives up to it's title and is about what it says it is, the information is not accurate, authentic, nor reliable.  There is no such thing as a Tree Octopus, so the false information is definitely not accurate.  There is no honest research behind this animal, so it is not authentic. The website is deceiving, because it comes off as a true source, which makes it very unreliable.

"Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus"
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Trying to Make History in History 10

     My name is Kylie Bringola, and I consider myself lucky when talking about my education experience for the past ten years.  I've really liked and enjoyed many of my teachers so far, and I can find similar qualities within them.  My greatest teachers have made it their priority to get to know me personally and academically.  They have also asked for feedback from me and my classmates, and given helpful feedback to us.  As I got older, I loved my teachers that gave real world examples as to how what we were learning matters and makes a difference.  I like teachers that let me be independent, but always remind me that help is available.  This year, I am really excited to try all the new technology in class, because I'm sure it will be helpful and useful.  Most of my past History teachers have made their classes fun and interactive, which made me really appreciate what I was learning, so it would be nice to continue their techniques.  

The Secret Life of Teaching: Smart Board, Dumb Teacher

History News Network

http://hnn.us/article/154996#sthash.Olb9vswZ.dpuf

     I strongly agree with what John Green says about my resposibility as a student to make a difference sometime in the future.  I always hear so much about how my generation is the future of the world, and although it is scary to think about, it is very true.  Education needs to be taken more seriously by people my age, because we all need to make it worthwhile and use it to benefit the world.  I like to start off every school year by making reasonable goals, and hopefully reaching them within the next ten months.  My athletic goal is to get better at my favorite sport- field hockey, by working my hardest during practice and games, and training during the offseason.  My academic goal is the most important to me, and this year it is to learn a lot of new things, achieve honor roll all 4 quarters, and try to get an idea of my future college/career. I've already started to take new and different classes, and I will try my hardest to study more often, put lots of effort into my school work, and pay attention in class. My social goal is always to make new friends, whether it be the new freshman or the upperclassmen on my field hockey team, just anyone who can make my high school experience more enjoyable and memorable.

John Green's Letter to Students Returning to School: