US History Research Project

Uncle Sam Symbolic Character

Uncle Sam Takes a Stand

                      The Iran Hostage Crisis

     On November 4th 1979, the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran was stormed by Iranian militants. Fifty-two workers were seized and held captive for a total of 444 days. In order to understand the reasoning behind this attack we must first analyze Iran's growing animosity towards the United States.

      Animosity had been brewing between the United States and Iran ever since the 1950's. The year 1951 marked the beginning of the Iranian Oil Nationalization Crisis. By nationalizing Anglo-Iranian oil, Mohammad Mossadegh crippled Britain's economy and began to worry the US. Since Britain had been reliant on Iran's oil for quite some while, they were furious and turned to the United States for help. The American Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) and the Secret Intelligence Service (S.I.S) in Britain combined efforts to overthrow Mossadegh, the leader of Iran. This coup or operation became known as Operation AJAX. The link will take you to the actual C.I.A. document composed in 1952. 

Handpicked by both the US and Britain, General Fazlollah Zahedi replaced Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953.  Upon becoming the new shah of Iran, Zahedi began trying to westernize





Sources:
BBC
White House History
"Huffington Post's Howard Fineman talks politics and the internet"- University of Pennsylvania 
America Held Hostage- Don Lawson
New York Times
The Cold War Period- Leora Maltz
Fox News Reporting: Americans Held Hostage in Iran
VCE- "General Zahedi"

The First Red Scare

In November 1917  a revolution was taking place in Russia.  This revolution was known as the Bolshevik Revolution and was a very controversial topic during the time. The "Reds" or people who encouraged communism were against The "Whites", those who opposed communism. The Whites believed that it was wrong to own everything communally and stressed that it would decrease not only peoples pride, but their ambition. The Reds believed that all people should be equal politically, economically,  and socially. By tossing social classes and concern for individual possession out of the equation Russia could transform itself. Russian's believed that communism could help them rebuild from the destruction of WWI and rejuvenate their infrastructure. Russia soon became a communist country and was then on refereed to as the Soviet Union. 

It was this ideology that scared Americans. People feared that the Soviet Union would try to spread their ways of communism throughout the world. In history this became known as The First Red Scare. Following WWI(1919-1920) American's were concerned for their futures as well as their country's. Most of this fear was spurred from the unknown: how many communists are in America, are anarchist a threat, is my security being compromised? Patrick Floyd, a teacher at San Antonio said, "If communists can take over Russia, than they can take over the United States as well."

People had reason to be frightened.Mitchell Palmer, the Attorney General of the United States had a bomb go off in front of his house. In response, he was moved to write "The Case Against the Reds". In his writing he discusses his position on communism. He said,"It [comunism] is eating its way into the homes of the American workmen.."  as well as, "...the American Government must prevent crime...". The bomb that was set off at his home was traced back to Italian anarchists. Another incident that happened during this time also was associated with expolosives. Thirty eight bombs were discovered in the post office in April of 1919. These bombs were in the process of being sent to American politician and capitalists  These event further scared the citizens of America.

People didn't know who to trust, so they turned to the government.The Government produced two major acts during this time: The Espionage Act and the Sedition Act. Both of these acts provided the same affects. Suspected communists, along with Southern and Eastern Europeans were prosecuted for doing little to nothing. Civil rights and liberties were violated in the process of protecting American citizens. In November of 1919 10,000 people were arrested and 245 were deported. Along with these people were: Emma Goldman, Joseph Yenowsky, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetli.

Emma Goldman was a feminist and anarchist who was deported back to the Soviet Union. Joseph Yenowsky was a Connecticut clothing salesman of Russian decent. He was pinned with six months in jail because he said, "Lenin is the greatest, the most brainiest man on the earth today." Although that does sound alarming, as Americans we do have the freedom of speech  Many Americans were prejudice against immigrants and saw them as a threat to the stability and security of America. In 1921 the Johnson Act was created for that sole purpose. It reduced the quota of immigrants. The case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti is sometimes seen as one of the most controversial trails of the time. Both of these men were accused of robbing a bank and murdering someone in the process. Several American thought that they were innocent, but in the end, the were executed in August 23, 1927.

Nicola Sacco

Bartolomeo Vanzetti

Emma Goldman

             

Espionage and Sedition Acts

Sources:

Ohio History Center- This source helped me to define communism                                

Lockout by Michele Wucker- I used this source to get information about trials and cases of deportation

The Red Scare by Paul Burnett-This site helped me understand how the Bolshevik revolution affected theUS

The First Red Scare By Michael J. O'Neal- This source helped me understand the opposition immigrants faced

Between The War-This source provided quotations and the story about Joseph Yenowsky

AVL- This is a link to my avl source

The Case Against The Reds- Primary Source written by Mitchell Palmer

The Red Scare- This website informed me about the bombing by anarchists

Great White Fleet Source

Naval History & Heritage Command
AVL
-The Eagle and the Kangaroo: The Great White Fleet's Visit to Australia. Naval History. David Stevens
-How We Enjoyed The Sails of the Century. Daily Telegraph
-The Great White Fleet Returns Home. Sea Power. David F Winkler
Naval Historical Center
Library of Congress- Chronicling America
-Bisbee Daily Review
-The Commoner

Great White Fleet

Meet my gnomie! So far, I've figured out where my six stops will be, the dates, and found loads of newspaper articles(especially containing the Navy Department). I've made rough drafts of three postcards and come up with some ideas for the artwork. I need to find information on actually places that the sailors went when they arrived in Brazil, Australia,and Hawaii. I also need to find more information on the purpose of the fleet, because all the sources I have found contradict each other.

Officers Moving Casualties 

Nick Rotondo's: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

During the 1910’s New York City was a major producer of the nation’s clothing industry. New York City alone made 70% of the nation’s garments. The major factories that contributed to this were all located in downtown Manhattan. Within close proximity, and similar in function business owners were willing to cut corners. By cutting corners, they created unsafe environments for workers. One of these companies was the Triangle Waist Company. It was located on the northern corner of Washington Sq. and was a nine story building. On March 25, 1911 a fire struck inside of the building. Along with the numerous fire hazards, locked door caused the company to instantaneous go into flames; causing one of the worst disasters since the beginning of the industrial revolution

There were approximately 500 people that made up the working staff at the Triangle Waist Fire. Out of those 500 employees, 146 lost their lives to the fire of 1911. People were trapped inside the building with nowhere to turn. The fire escapes were collapsed, the doors were locked, and the firefighter’s ladders only reached the 6^th floor. People had to choose between being encompassed by the fire altogether, or taking a leap of faith. The fire fighters set up nets to catch jumpers. Ultimately, they failed and many more lost their lives. Most of the people who lost their lives were young, Jewish immigrants who came to the United States searching for a better life. Most of them found one similar or even worse.

Blanck and Harris, the owners of the Triangle Waist Company hired a subcontractor who ran the building. It is believed that they had no idea as to what the pay or conditions of their building were. They entrusted in a subcontractor because it meant two things: less stress and more leisure time. The company in turn was full of chaos. In a literal sense The Triangle Waist Company was a “sweatshop”. Women worked in close quarter and long hours only to receive little pay. They were treated less than human and ordered around by their supervisors. One of the reasons the doors inside of the building were locked was to keep workers in line. The business men were afraid that they would be distracted by others and dilly dally in the stair wells. Ultimately, locking the door caused the building to erupt in flames and destroy the building beyond repair.

After the fire, Blanck and Harris were indicted. They faced trial but never received any punishment because the building was approved by the Department of Buildings prior to the fire. Although charges were dropped they faced 23 civil suits and had to pay $75 dollars per life lost. In 1913 Max Blanck was charged with locking the doors again. This time he had to pay $25 dollars and apologize to the people.

The Triangle Waist Fire sparked the nation’s labor movement and improved the rights of the workers. Women workers especially began to be acknowledged for their skill and education. The Factory Investigating Commission (FIC) issued a series of reports to reform the modern labor conditions. NYC legislation also passed 8 new bills. Brue Raynor, President of Workers United said in regards to the fire, “It was an incredibly galvanizing event for the nations labor movement and the rights of workers. After Triangle, people were so shocked, not only by the terrible disaster, but by the drama of these young immigrant women who were treated as less than human by their boss.’

Women Workers

Working Space 

Mourning Their Lost Ones

 Links:

New York Times Upfront

My Jewish Learning

Cornell University "Remebering The 1911 Triangle Fire"

Cornell University ILR School

"Leap For Life, Leap of Death

Faces of America

Recently our class finished watching the first episode of Faces of America. In this video Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores and researches the history of twelve outstanding individuals. A few people seen throughout the video are: Yo-Yo Ma, Eva Longoria, and Meryl Steep. With the help of Henry, these celebrities trace their family history and become enlightened with facts that they never knew. For example, Yo-Yo Ma who know little going into his meeting with Mr. Gates, came out with completely new knowledge about his family lineage. One of his cousins had hidden the Ma family's genealogy tracing back to the year 1217. Watching this particular video made me realize how narrow minded we are as humans. Sometimes we get caught up in dealing with our own agendas and forget where we came from. Its spectacular to think about all the people that came before us in history and in our individual families. If one relationship was altered along my family tree I might not be here right now. In retrospect, this video does a great job of showing how important it is for everyone to learn more about their family lineage. With a little digging, you'll never know what you could find.

America is a country built off of pride, success, and opportunities. As Americans we pride ourselves with being apart of one of the best countries of the world. But how did we get here? How did we become as successful as we are present day? The ones that came before us are accredited with moving along the nation and growing into a success story. Our ancestors, especially immigrant ancestors played a major role in the rise of our nation. They came from all parts of the world with hope and ambition. Many of them had to say goodbye to loved ones, knowing that they'd never be reunited. Others dropped their lives on their cozy farms and moved into industrial parts of the country. They weren't afraid of facing change or starting a new life as long as it would better the lives of their children or next generation. That is why it is important for everyone to take care of our nation now. We have to eliminate debt, build our country up, and vote for whoever we believe will further our nation and preserve it for the ones following us.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford 

(1863-1947)

      Henry Ford was born on June 30th of 1863 in present-day Dearborn, Michigan. As Henry grew up he turned his focus towards becoming a machinist. At age seventeen began pursuing his career in mechanics. Ford was an apprentice for three years and in 1891 became an engineer of Edison Illuminating Company Ford soon became the Chief Engineer of the E.I.C. and started preforming experiments and creating internal combustion engines. His first success was the Quadricycle, a two-speed fully functioning automobile. From there, Henry went on to create the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and later produced the Model T. By 1918 half of the car on the road were Ford's, showing that his hard work was finally paying off. His goal was to produce "reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient cars" for the public. Today he is known as one of America's leading business men

    I admire Henry Ford for his accomplishments and his strive for success. Although he is a controversial figure  in history I feel like everything he did was to better his company. One thing Ford did involved his social department, they would look into prospective employees actives outside of work. By determining their habits such as drinking or gambling issues Henry was able to weed out those that didn't fit his company. Some people might think this was a drastic way to figure out who was suitable, but I believe Ford was very protective of his company. Afterall, he spent many years building his company up and didn't want to risk all of his hard work. As far as employees went, Ford wanted serious, focused individuals that would better his company. 

links:  

http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/hf/default.asp#childhood

http://www.biography.com/people/henry-ford-9298747