Dear Mr. President,
Let me remind you of the condition that Europe was in after years of conflict during World War II. Millions of people were killed or severely wounded and industrial and residential centers in England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium, and everywhere else was in ruins. The majority of Europe was near famine because agricultural production was disrupted by the war. Transportation infrastructure was in pieces and the only major power in the world that was not significantly damaged was the United States.
During 1945 through 1947, the United States was assisting European economic recovery with financial aid. The military was assisting Greece and Turkey and the newly made United Nations was providing some humanitarian assistance as well. President Harry Truman appointed George Marshall to be Secretary of State in January 1947.
“Marshall is the greatest man of World War II. He managed to get along with Roosevelt, the Congress, Churchill, the Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and he made a grand record in China. When I asked him to [be] my special envoy to China, he merely said, ‘Yes, Mr. President I'll go.’ No argument only patriotic action. And if any man was entitled to balk and ask for a rest, he was. We'll have a real State Department now.”
Officially known as the European Recovery Program (ERP), the Marshall Plan was meant to rebuild the economies and spirits of western Europe. Marshall was convinced that the key to restoration of political stability was in the revitalization of national economies.
European nations received nearly $13 billion in aid, which resulted in shipments of food, staples, fuel and machinery from the United States and later resulted in investment in industrial capacity in Europe. Marshall Plan funding ended in 1951.
I believe that we need to follow this again in order to help rebuild the government and economy in the Middle East areas. They will not be able to rebuilt themselves and would look up to us if we give them a hand at "normal" life again. Personally I feel that it would be the right thing to do if we helped these countries out. We've done some damage to them, the least we could do is clean up the mess that we made.
Sincerely,
Ally Moder
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Semester 2 Blog #11
My grandfather, Ted Moder served in World War 2. He was a captain in the army and he served in Europe and was part of the force that went into France in Normandy. He went though France and into German and liberated some of the concentration camps. He was gone from 1943-1945. He didn't get wounded or anything.
Infantry Officer. He fought on the ground, not in tanks.
Infantry Officer. He fought on the ground, not in tanks.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Semester 2 Blog #10
1942
Mom,
It’s been about two years since I was put into this camp called Manzanar and let me tell you, it isn’t a fun place to be. I was told that there are about ten different camps and all together they are called “America’s Concentration Camps”. They are doing the exact same thing as the Nazi’s in Germany.
The camp site is on 6,200 acres leased from the City of Los Angeles. The residential area is about one square mile, and has 36 blocks of 20-foot by 100-foot tarpaper barracks. Each family lives in a single 20-foot by 25-foot “apartment” in the barracks. These apartments have partitions with no ceilings, eliminating any chance of privacy. Lack of privacy is a major problem for us, especially since the camp had communal men's and women's bathrooms.
Each residential block also has a communal mess hall, a laundry room, a recreation hall, an ironing room, and a heating oil storage tank, although Block 33 doesn’t have a recreation hall. In addition to the residential blocks, Manzanar has 34 additional blocks that has staff housing, camp administration offices, two warehouses, a garage, a camp hospital, and 24 firebreaks. The camp also has school facilities, a high school auditorium, chicken and hog farms, churches, a cemetery, a post office, a cooperative store, other shops, a camp newspaper, and other things that you could find in most American cities.
We also have a camouflage net factory which is an experimental plantation for making natural rubber from the Guayule plant. There is also an orphanage called Children’s Village where about 101 orphans live.
Around the camp there are eight watchtowers manned by armed Military Police and it is enclosed by five-strand barbed wire.
The weather at Manzanar causes a lot of pain and suffering for us. Not many of us are accustom to the extremes of the area's climate. We are located right by Owens Valley. During the summer the temperatures usually exceed 100 degrees and winters bring snowfall and during the day the temperature often drops to the 40 degree range. It gets even colder at night sometimes getting as low as 25-30 degrees lower than the daytime highs. With the high winds that are very common we might get hit with a sand storm ever so often causing us to wake up in the morning with a nice layer of dust on ourselves. We rarely get any kind of rain here, maybe about 5 inches a year.
We have to wait in one line after another for meals, at bathrooms, and at the laundry room. Each camp is intended to be self-sufficient, and Manzanar was no exception. Cooperatives operate various services, such as the camp newspaper, beauty and barber shops, shoe repair, and more. In addition, some of us raise chickens, hogs, and vegetables, and cultivate the existing orchards for fruit. Sometimes we even make their own soy sauce and tofu.
Food at Manzanar is based on military requirements. Meals usually consist of hot rice and vegetables, since meat is scarce due to rationing. Just recently, a chicken ranch began operation and the camp opened a hog farm. Because of this, we now can have meat added to our diet.
Most of the people here are employed to keep the camp running. Some of the unskilled workers will earn about $8 a month, semi-skilled workers will earn $12 a month, skilled workers make $16 a month and professionals will earn $19 a month. Everyone gets $3.60 a month as a clothing allowance.
We try to make Manzanar more livable through recreation. We love to participate in sports, including baseball and football, and martial arts. We also personalize our surroundings by building elaborate gardens, which often include pools, waterfalls, and rock ornaments. There is even a nine-hole golf course.
While there are many things to do here at this camp I often find myself thinking about home and the family. I really miss you all and I hope to see you again someday. Say hello to the rest of the family for me and let them know that I am doing well. I’ll write to you again soon letting you know how everything is going. I love you all and miss you. Talk to you soon.
Love,
Sue
Helpful Resources:
http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/worldwarii/a/internment.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese-American_internment#Conditions_in_the_camps
http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/internment/more.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312008/bhjic.html
Mom,
It’s been about two years since I was put into this camp called Manzanar and let me tell you, it isn’t a fun place to be. I was told that there are about ten different camps and all together they are called “America’s Concentration Camps”. They are doing the exact same thing as the Nazi’s in Germany.
The camp site is on 6,200 acres leased from the City of Los Angeles. The residential area is about one square mile, and has 36 blocks of 20-foot by 100-foot tarpaper barracks. Each family lives in a single 20-foot by 25-foot “apartment” in the barracks. These apartments have partitions with no ceilings, eliminating any chance of privacy. Lack of privacy is a major problem for us, especially since the camp had communal men's and women's bathrooms.
Each residential block also has a communal mess hall, a laundry room, a recreation hall, an ironing room, and a heating oil storage tank, although Block 33 doesn’t have a recreation hall. In addition to the residential blocks, Manzanar has 34 additional blocks that has staff housing, camp administration offices, two warehouses, a garage, a camp hospital, and 24 firebreaks. The camp also has school facilities, a high school auditorium, chicken and hog farms, churches, a cemetery, a post office, a cooperative store, other shops, a camp newspaper, and other things that you could find in most American cities.
We also have a camouflage net factory which is an experimental plantation for making natural rubber from the Guayule plant. There is also an orphanage called Children’s Village where about 101 orphans live.
Around the camp there are eight watchtowers manned by armed Military Police and it is enclosed by five-strand barbed wire.
The weather at Manzanar causes a lot of pain and suffering for us. Not many of us are accustom to the extremes of the area's climate. We are located right by Owens Valley. During the summer the temperatures usually exceed 100 degrees and winters bring snowfall and during the day the temperature often drops to the 40 degree range. It gets even colder at night sometimes getting as low as 25-30 degrees lower than the daytime highs. With the high winds that are very common we might get hit with a sand storm ever so often causing us to wake up in the morning with a nice layer of dust on ourselves. We rarely get any kind of rain here, maybe about 5 inches a year.
We have to wait in one line after another for meals, at bathrooms, and at the laundry room. Each camp is intended to be self-sufficient, and Manzanar was no exception. Cooperatives operate various services, such as the camp newspaper, beauty and barber shops, shoe repair, and more. In addition, some of us raise chickens, hogs, and vegetables, and cultivate the existing orchards for fruit. Sometimes we even make their own soy sauce and tofu.
Food at Manzanar is based on military requirements. Meals usually consist of hot rice and vegetables, since meat is scarce due to rationing. Just recently, a chicken ranch began operation and the camp opened a hog farm. Because of this, we now can have meat added to our diet.
Most of the people here are employed to keep the camp running. Some of the unskilled workers will earn about $8 a month, semi-skilled workers will earn $12 a month, skilled workers make $16 a month and professionals will earn $19 a month. Everyone gets $3.60 a month as a clothing allowance.
We try to make Manzanar more livable through recreation. We love to participate in sports, including baseball and football, and martial arts. We also personalize our surroundings by building elaborate gardens, which often include pools, waterfalls, and rock ornaments. There is even a nine-hole golf course.
While there are many things to do here at this camp I often find myself thinking about home and the family. I really miss you all and I hope to see you again someday. Say hello to the rest of the family for me and let them know that I am doing well. I’ll write to you again soon letting you know how everything is going. I love you all and miss you. Talk to you soon.
Love,
Sue
Helpful Resources:
http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/worldwarii/a/internment.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese-American_internment#Conditions_in_the_camps
http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/internment/more.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312008/bhjic.html
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Semester 2 Blog #9
Above is a page of an antisemitic coloring book that would have been distributed to children. It shows a portrait of a Jew drawn by the German caricaturist known as Fips. In the upper left corner there is a logo known as the Der Stürmer logo showing a Star of David over a caricature of a Jewish face. Under the star there is a caption that reads: "Without a solution to the Jewish question, there will be no salvation for mankind"
When I first saw this I was a little shocked. Not because of the image itself but because this was a children's coloring book. It amazes me that they think that they can corrupt a child into thinking horrible things by giving them a coloring book full of antisemitic drawings.
"A truck load of bodies of prisoners of the Nazis, in the Buchenwald concentration camp at Weimar, Germany. The bodies were about to be disposed of by burning when the camp was captured by troops of the 3rd U.S. Army." Pfc. W. Chichersky, April 14, 1945
To me, any picture with a pile of dead bodies is striking. I could only imagine what it was like for the photographer. There isn't much to say about this photo. It's very sad and eye opening about what happened during the Holocaust and that's about all I could say about this picture.
J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" image is commonly referred to as Rosie the Riveter. She is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories during World War II. In 1942, Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller was hired by the Westinghouse Company’s War Production Coordinating Committee to create a series of posters for the war effort.
I chose this image because I have seen it a lot in my life and I never knew that it was a WWII picture. I have always really liked this picture because of how strong it looks but now that I know the history of it I can like it and appreciate it even more.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Semester 2 Blog #8
The biggest symbol in this book would have to be the "fog machines". While reading this book you get to see the different routines and treatments that Ratched makes all the patients do. The fog could very easily represent the feelings and mindsets that Ratched causes the patients to have. The fog could also stand for the lack of having any kind of insight as well as an escape from reality and everything around oneself. Bromden, a patient in the mental institution would constantly start to slip away from the world around him, due to his medication or just out of fear, causing him to envision a think layer of fog enter the ward. He is convinced that the staff have hidden fog machines in all of the vents and the fog is controlled by the staff themselves. Bromden finds the fog to be a comforting and safe place where he can ignore reality.
Page 7
"They start the fog machine again and it's snowing down cold and white all over me like skim milk, so think I might even be able to hide in it if they didn't have a hold on me."
"I can't see six inches in front of me through the fog and the only thing I can hear over the wail I'm making is the Big Nurse whoop and charge up the hall while she crashes patients outta her way with that wicker bag."
Page 8
"It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it [the fog]. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen."
The above quotes are talking about a time at the beginning of the book where Chief Bromden has a hallucination about the fog coming into the ward. It gives you a good feeling on how think and real the fog may seem to Bromden by him letting you know that he can't see very far in front of him or that he could hide within the fog. The last quote lets you know that he knows that some of his hallucinations aren't completely real.
Page 7
"They start the fog machine again and it's snowing down cold and white all over me like skim milk, so think I might even be able to hide in it if they didn't have a hold on me."
"I can't see six inches in front of me through the fog and the only thing I can hear over the wail I'm making is the Big Nurse whoop and charge up the hall while she crashes patients outta her way with that wicker bag."
Page 8
"It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it [the fog]. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen."
The above quotes are talking about a time at the beginning of the book where Chief Bromden has a hallucination about the fog coming into the ward. It gives you a good feeling on how think and real the fog may seem to Bromden by him letting you know that he can't see very far in front of him or that he could hide within the fog. The last quote lets you know that he knows that some of his hallucinations aren't completely real.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Semester 2 Blog #7
Life had always been so simple. Racism was born in a time of struggle to his adoring parents, Hate and Ignorance. The two soon moved with their young son to a small town in hopes of a more promising future for him. When young Racism was playing in his front yard, he met his lifelong friend Bigotry. The world was a rapidly changing place while the two friends were growing up together as people started to worry about money and their social status.
The boys got their first paying job in the slave trade when they were teenagers. Much to the joy of his parents, Racism was well liked in the business and very talented at his work. As the company grew so did his popularity. Racism was soon promoted to a public position and worked on writing policies that would rub off on society. At one of his meetings, Racism met his first opponent. Rebellion seemed cocky to Racism; he was never one to like a know-it-all. As Racism suggested Black Codes and pushed propaganda, Rebellion fought back long and hard challenging everything Racism wrote, said, or did. But Racism was smart and knew how powerful he could be, so he decided his life would take a different approach.
As the slave trade went under, Racism and Bigotry looked for a new opportunity. They soon found themselves rooming together in a city in the American South. When they were out looking for a job, Racism saw a beautiful young woman sitting at a bus stop. Relying on his charisma, he chatted with her and they soon dated. After a short dating period, Racism soon married the young Stubbornness. The newlyweds worked together to find a job for Racism and Bigotry. Bigotry landed work in the police force, and Racism became a politician.
It seemed as if there was no limit for Racism’s talent. His Jim Crow laws were widely accepted and his support from Bigotry only added to his power. This was when the pair met Civil Rights, a very bright woman brimming with confidence. The two men didn’t know with to think of her at first, she was very inexperienced and wasn’t well known. However it soon became clear that Civil Rights made up for her inexperience with powerful public speaking and a likableness that rivaled even that of Racism. Word of her ideas soon spread across the country, and even though Racism and Bigotry fought to the bitter end they were forced to step out of the public eye.
Life now seems so complicated for Racism, his wife Stubbornness, and his best friend Bigotry. Subtlety had never been one of his skills, and now it has become his lifeline. Banned from holding a public office and refused to be acknowledged, Racism still somehow holds on to some loyal believers. It’s a quiet life his little family leads now and more complicated than it used to be, but it is stable. Racism knows that he can always find some kind of work, no matter how understated it has to be.
The boys got their first paying job in the slave trade when they were teenagers. Much to the joy of his parents, Racism was well liked in the business and very talented at his work. As the company grew so did his popularity. Racism was soon promoted to a public position and worked on writing policies that would rub off on society. At one of his meetings, Racism met his first opponent. Rebellion seemed cocky to Racism; he was never one to like a know-it-all. As Racism suggested Black Codes and pushed propaganda, Rebellion fought back long and hard challenging everything Racism wrote, said, or did. But Racism was smart and knew how powerful he could be, so he decided his life would take a different approach.
As the slave trade went under, Racism and Bigotry looked for a new opportunity. They soon found themselves rooming together in a city in the American South. When they were out looking for a job, Racism saw a beautiful young woman sitting at a bus stop. Relying on his charisma, he chatted with her and they soon dated. After a short dating period, Racism soon married the young Stubbornness. The newlyweds worked together to find a job for Racism and Bigotry. Bigotry landed work in the police force, and Racism became a politician.
It seemed as if there was no limit for Racism’s talent. His Jim Crow laws were widely accepted and his support from Bigotry only added to his power. This was when the pair met Civil Rights, a very bright woman brimming with confidence. The two men didn’t know with to think of her at first, she was very inexperienced and wasn’t well known. However it soon became clear that Civil Rights made up for her inexperience with powerful public speaking and a likableness that rivaled even that of Racism. Word of her ideas soon spread across the country, and even though Racism and Bigotry fought to the bitter end they were forced to step out of the public eye.
Life now seems so complicated for Racism, his wife Stubbornness, and his best friend Bigotry. Subtlety had never been one of his skills, and now it has become his lifeline. Banned from holding a public office and refused to be acknowledged, Racism still somehow holds on to some loyal believers. It’s a quiet life his little family leads now and more complicated than it used to be, but it is stable. Racism knows that he can always find some kind of work, no matter how understated it has to be.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Semester 2 Blog #6
http://malias11thgradehumanities.blogspot.com/
One of the ampersand article pitches that stood out to me was Malia's first one. She said that she could write about one of the coworkers that were at her internship and how she would alway wear a cat clothing. I feel that this could either be really fun to read about or it could be really boring. However, I think that Malia has the writing skills needed to make a topic like this one interesting and really fun to read about. Also, it's something different which will bring variety to the book.
http://hannahmorrishumanities.tumblr.com/
One of Hannah's article ideas was to write about how people interact with animals and the difference between children and adults. I feel that this could be a good thing to write about because it really shows what she learned during her time at internship but its not directly related in the way that she is only talking about horses and what they do.
http://blogger.kurappuindustries.info/
The history of entomology is one of Austin's ampersand ideas. I think that this would be something interesting to write about because, once again, it is something different. Not many people, at least that I know of, know a lot about entomology. It would also add variety to the book like Malia's would.
One of the ampersand article pitches that stood out to me was Malia's first one. She said that she could write about one of the coworkers that were at her internship and how she would alway wear a cat clothing. I feel that this could either be really fun to read about or it could be really boring. However, I think that Malia has the writing skills needed to make a topic like this one interesting and really fun to read about. Also, it's something different which will bring variety to the book.
http://hannahmorrishumanities.tumblr.com/
One of Hannah's article ideas was to write about how people interact with animals and the difference between children and adults. I feel that this could be a good thing to write about because it really shows what she learned during her time at internship but its not directly related in the way that she is only talking about horses and what they do.
http://blogger.kurappuindustries.info/
The history of entomology is one of Austin's ampersand ideas. I think that this would be something interesting to write about because, once again, it is something different. Not many people, at least that I know of, know a lot about entomology. It would also add variety to the book like Malia's would.
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