Final blog - NDNU History cass - Summer 2011

I wanted to start this blog off, by saying that I have really enjoyed this class. Although it seemed tough at times to meet the deadlines for the assignments and read all the chapters – which by the way I am grateful we got a break on – it was a very enjoyable class to be a part of. I have learned an immense amount being in the class. I enjoyed the teaching style as well, and really appreciate the many exercises that Patti did in class to ensure that we learned what we needed to learn to be successful, not only in the class but in our knowledge of important historical events that took place in the past centuries. Although I feel I have a lot more to learn, this class really did set a foundation for me in understanding the history of the world.

II have said it before and I will say again, that many people have perhaps criticized Strayer’s way of writing, I would say that he seems to have  been a little more repetitive than he maybe needed to be at some points in the chapters. Even though he could have been less repetitive, I would say that it has helped me to retain a lot of the information that was taught in the chapters. Strayer did a good job of having a balance between, sharing the facts and his opinions. It makes it very difficult when you are trying to learn something and it is all coming from one point of view. He seemed to lay out the facts based on his viewpoint and back them up with information that he thought was pertinent to the events.

I did also enjoy his somewhat poetic style of writing, this is mostly what I think helped me to stay engaged and enjoying the chapters.

Some of the points that stood out to me and where I felt he was writing with a poetic style in a couple of the sections in Chapter 23, were the following:

§         “In 1900, European colonial empires in Africa and Asia appeared as permanent features o the world’s political landscape.” (Page 692)

§         In 1940’s India, Pakistan, Burma, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan and Israel were among the first to break free of the colonial rule and structure of those who governed them during this time.

§         “Never before had the end of empire been so associated with the mobilization of the masses around a nationalist ideology; nor has these earlier cases generated a plethora of nation-states, each claiming a place in the world of nation-states.”

§         These decolonization, were comparable to European colonies in the Americas threw off the British, French, Spanish.

§         “The 20^th century witnessed the demise of many empires.” (Page 693)

§         “WWII ended the Japanese and German empires.”

§         “Empires without territory, such as the United-States, in Latin America, came under attack from highly nationalist governments.”

§         “As the twentieth century closed, the end of the European empires seemed an almost “natural” phenomenon, for colonial rule has lost any credibility as a form of political order.”

§         “Explaining the end of colonial empires focuses attention on fundamental contradictions in the entire colonial enterprise that arguably rendered its demise more or less inevitable. The rhetoric of both Christianity and material progress sat awkwardly with the realities of colonial racism, exploitation and poverty.” (Page 694)

§         “At the same time, social and economic circumstances within the colonies themselves generated the human raw material for anticolonial movement.” (Page 695)

§         “Veterans of the world wars; young people with some education but no jobs commensurate with their expectations; a small class of urban workers who were increasingly aware of their exploitation….all of these groups had reason to be believe that independence held great promise.”

§         “These reforms and, ultimately, independence itself occurred only under considerable pressure from mounting nationalist movements.”

§         “The most prominent among them became the “fathers” of their new countries as independence dawned.” (Page 695-696)

As I read the final few chapters that were assigned I found myself very interested in the process of India and South Africa becoming independent and in some of the differences between the two, and in the two major leaders of both countries.

It is so amazing to me how one person can make an impact in such ways that can change the course of the current times and essentially changing the course of history itself. People like Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, Mohammad, Christopher Columbus, Martin Luther, Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and many more, over time have had such an impact in their communities and really throughout the world. Even though not all of these individuals made an impact for the better or the good of the people and the world, I have a respect for them for stepping out into the unknown world and doing whatever it was that they wanted to do to make their mark on the world.

The unfortunate thing for me with the so-called world leaders, is that many of them – Hitler especially in my opinion – may have used their power for the greed and evil of the world. I always wonder about Hitler type people who have such a massive impact on the world, what would have happened if they had done good with the power that they so readily thought was theirs. And then there are people like Nelson Mandela, who’s goal was to bring people into a state of equality and peace. It was nice to read that there was a decolonization and movement of equality that was less violent and less separated in the end than some of the other like in India for example.

After learning more about these people and the wars, the takeovers, the empires and even the early settlers, I really hope that one day our world will come to more peace. I see more now than ever that perhaps we may never truly have extreme world peace, but I do believe that if people let down their pride and greed and truly looked out for the interest of their neighbor as they did their own; we may be able to paint a colorful future without a much of the color red and the repercussion of pain and hatred.

Oral History Presentation -

Since I can't be at the last night of class, I have attached a video of my presentation of my oral history project.

Albert and Beth Vanderhurst in Normandy France for 40th D-day reunion



Picture that Albert Took of the beaches of Normandy many years after the blood shed




Beaches of Normandy - provided a silent healing to the young soldier within Albert




Original Sketch of the Outsen Mill in San Francisco



The Great Depression

The great depression was a rough time for many Americans, as well as many people in the world to where the depression spread. October 1929 marked the beginning of the great depression, where close to one in four Americans were unemployed. Many lost their homes, banks and businesses were crumbling, and the stock market was not at all what is had been in the past. Farming and agriculture was not what it was either; it was said to have dropped by 50 percent by 1932. During this time one of the main issues with agriculture, was that there was not a balance between what the country was producing, and what it was consuming. Innovations that were born out of the first world war, made it difficult and almost impossible for the regular wage earners, and the typical US farmers to survive the times financially. While the lower middle class and lower class were getting poorer, some of the rich were getting richer. Some of the rich and upper middle class also lost a lot of money, if they had invested in the stock market at the time. However, there were still many families that survived this time, such as the Outsen family. Many believed that the depression was caused by poor choices of the American government. An argument was that the economy was stable, but that it has been shaken by the repercussions of a worldwide depression. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt, won the race for president by more than seven million votes. Americans were ready for change and at the time excited for what President Roosevelt had in store for the country, which was called "the new deal".

In 1933 bread lines were normal to see across the country, since so many millions of Americans were out of work. Thousands of people travelled the country searching for food. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was formed during this time, to help with the unemployment issue. It primarily affected men who were 18-25, who would be sent to work in camps across the country to work for a wage. They would plant trees, maintain national forests, help eliminate stream pollution; they created fish, game and bird sanctuaries, and they worked to conserve coal and other natural resources. Unemployment programs such as these, seemed to be favored by the government over welfare. In 1933, the Agriculture Adjustment Act (AAA) was also formed to help farmers, and the farming industry get back on its feet. The idea was to raise crop prices, by providing farmers with a subsidy to account for cutbacks. From the time the AAA was put into place until 1935, the farming industry was back up by 50 percent, and federal programs were partially to thank for this. After the AAA was dissolved in 1936, another act was created which made a mandatory regulation for farmers to implement soil erosion prevention techniques, and were also paid to follow specific farming practices. The increase in farming income helped many citizens across the country, to become more confident in the economic landscape, and future of the nation.

Beth Vanderhurst was born in San Francisco California, to proud parents Pearl and James Outsen, on February 24, 1926. Beth is my husband Jeff’s grandmother, on his mother’s side. Beth’s grandmother and grandfather Outsen met in San Francisco, after immigrating with their parents from Norway and Denmark respectively. Hans Outsen, Beth’s grandfather, started the Outsen Brothers Milling Company in 1874. When Hans passed away, Beth’s father James Outsen and his brother inherited the milling company. They owned the company until 1968 when her father sold the company, before he died a few years later. Their story is quite different than that of most local San Franciscans, and Americans really during the great depression.

Because Beth's father owned the mill during the depression, Beth and her family never felt the negative effects of the depression, unlike millions of others. The mill was the only one in San Francisco, and it provided grain to Honolulu, Hawaii. It also provided barley for beer to several breweries across the country. During the depression, even though people could barely feed themselves at the time, Beth said that people never let their animals go hungry. They were the main provider of grain for the local horse stables, and animal feed stores. James was the buyer and seller for the mill, during the time he owned it. This was an interesting twist on the time during the great depression; I was not expecting her to share this type of story, when I asked her about the first historical event that she lived through. Beth was an only child, and grew up like few other wealthy children of her time. When she was older she wanted her father to pass the mill onto her, rather than selling it. Her father would not let her take over the mill, even though she was confident she could run it. He would not pass it on to her at the time because, women were forbidden to go on the grain exchange, or work in the mill in any way. It was especially not allowed for women to be in management.  In 1933, there was a strike at the Outsen mill; the mill lost a lot of money during this time, mostly because they lost grain that spoiled, since they were forbidden to work the grain lines and ship to their customers. Beth's father had to be escorted to and from the mill, since people were very aggressive toward him at times. It amazed me after all the country was going through during the great depression and people scrounging for food and resources, Beth's family were among the few elite in the country during one of the worst economic times the United states had ever experienced. Beth’s mother’s father, Phillip Stolz, immigrated to the United States from Germany; he owned one of the first butcher and vegetable markets in San Francisco, on Grant and Sutter Street. He didn’t make it to the depression since his market was completely destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, and he died shortly after in 1914.

Blog #6

Along with this World History class I am also taking a French culture, USA vs France at NDNU. We have learned so much about France, the culture, business and personal and we have also talked a lot about the history of France which has set the foundation for the way the French live and operate their country today. This beng said I was particularly interested in the section in Chapter 17 about the French Revolution. The only real exposure I remember about the French Revoution in high school was the movie and book "Animal Farm", which is the negative side of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution. Of course there are positives and negatives to every change that happens. Especially when it comes to something as big as a revolution and war. Being from Canada and living in a province that was previously under the Brittish rule, it makes sense to me now that this was the picture that was panted for us about the french Revolution under Napoleon. However this revolution was painted it did have its ups and downs. Come to know now that the French as a whole tend to be very proud and grateful of this time in French and European history. The French Revolution of 1799 - 1815 put into place many of the systems that the French still have today. The revolutions marked the beginning in the separation of Church and state for France, which is sill true today. France is considered a country with no defined religion as a culture or a stated power, and some even consider an atheist nation. One of the major things that this particular revolution brought to France was the education system that France has today.

Per Strayer, the French Revolution was similar to that of the American Revolution in the way that it was fought and the tactics used since some of the French fought alongside the American colonists. They also differed in the ways that they wanted to spread a influence other regions and countries.While the Americans were working to build upo the past and grow, the French revolutionists wanted to begin from square one and redifine things by starting over and making the time of the revolution year one. The French revolution created one of the worlds largest army's at the time and all adult men were required to serve. It definitely was not a time of freedom in the same way that Americans view freedom. From what I have learned of France, the general population doesn't seem to mind the way the country is run as a whole and the systems that have been put in place in the country, many of which were born of the French Revolution. The French have a deep respect and pride for their country and support the way it is run. This may be due to the fact that they know nothing different in their own country or they really do believe that it is the best way to run a country.

Blog #5

While I was reading about slavery in this weeks reading, it reminded me how sad and twisted our society has been and still is. There have been so many wins and changes over the years, mostly due to the revolutions and awareness of the issues at at. Even though our world has made many strides in the direction to help ed slavery, even still slavery is still a major problem everywhere in the world. I was already interesting to me how Strayer chose to add slavery to a chapter that was discussing trading. Interesting and at the same time discouraging. Discouraging since slavery is not trad but it was and in a lot of ways still is seen that way. Reading the information about slavery back then, and knowing about what goes on today, made me wonder if we will ever really be rid of "people trading". My hope is that we will and that more people like William Wilberforce, Martin Luther king and many more who have helped to bring slavery or opression in some way to some sort of stop. I wish I could say they brought it to an end, but this is just not the reality unfortunately.

Millions of children today are take captive against their will and forced to work in sweat shops and or forced into the sex trade. Even in the US, or maybe I should say especially in the US, since we do have one of the highest rates of human import and export in the slave trade, people are sold and bought every day against their will. Craigs list, a resource that so many know and trust and rely on, is involved in this trade. People are conned into come to interview for a "nanny" job, only to never return.

Parents who feel they cannot upport their children are also conned into believeing that their children will be given a good future if they "sell" them to these people who seem so caring. This happens most prevalently in some of the poorer Asian countries but also happens in many other affluent countries.The whole thing just sickens me really, and the worst part to me is that high powered officials, politicians, service agents such as police, fire, school teachers, and even the FBI and CIA, to name a few are involved in this type of thing. It is sad to know that our country and really this world is party run by these people. We are supposed to look up to those of some of those professions and do as they do in society, follow the rules and laws. To see the enforcers of the law doing something so against everything they stand for is really sick.

In so many ways our world and societies have evolved in many different ways and made many wonderful discoveries, like the discoveries of the solar system and the earth being round. I hope that one day the slave trade will be abolished. what would you call that kind of era if not Modern as we discussed in class. Perhaps the Sexual Perversion Era?

Some good news though, here is an email that I just ironically received from IJM - International Justice Mission.
Just this week, a powerful front for trafficking in the Philippines was shut down permanently, as the government forced the closure of a popular bar where girls as young as 15 were sold to customers for sex.
The closure order is a direct result of a recent operation in which IJM and the National Bureau of Investigation (the Philippines’ equivalent of the FBI) secured the rescue of 14 girls trafficked to the bar for sex.
Charges have been filed before the Department of Justice against 27 suspected perpetrators, from the floor managers and pimps to the owners and incorporators of the bar.
The rescued girls continue to receive counseling and medical care. IJM attorneys will fight for justice for these survivors. And the lock on this bar’s doors means the abuse will no longer continue.

--------
This is a sign of hope after discouragement.

Bolg #4

I know that some people critcize the way that Strayer portrays the historical events. This is the first real in depth experince I have had with some of the history we are learning and I am actually enjoying the way that he writes and the analogies he uses to describe the people and the events.
It was really interesting to learn about the mongols while doing this weeks readings. I have never learned about them in this way before, nor have I heard much about them in general. They were a very intriguing culture. They were sorta revolutionary I would say in building an empire even though they were a nomadic society. At that time it was not very common for a nomadic community to be so organized and have such resources as the mongols did. They re-invented the wheel a little when in came to agriculture. Some may calling it stealing but others would call it innovation and efficiency. One of the ways that they sustained themselves as they were travelling from oe place to another was to take from other communities that were settled. They also were known for their amazing horse back riding skills, they had many horses and really changed the idea of what it meant to ride horseback and really took it to the next level for their time. They were able to heard other animals since they had horses which allowed them even more food supply along with the agriculture they grew themselves as well as took from others. They allowed women to ride horses as well, which enables them to be an even stronger army due to having mmore resources. They were able to mobile since they had built their community that way and were able to move from place to place while still sustaining themselves and their peoples. They had lots of skilled craftsmen, educated people and missionaries which made them a very diverse community.

They helped to bring the two ends of Eurasia together more than everr before. They helped make it safe for travellers ad tradesmen to travel on the roads, probably since they were the ones stealing or bargaining from people, and making sure others were not. But none the less, they did help make it safe, in whatever the definition of safe was in that day. They were considered a Eurasian network to trade, travel and many other things.They had relay stations which better enables commuication amoung communities.

There was a dark side to the mongols however, while they were revolutionizing the silk roads and building a one of a kind nomadic empire they were also stealing and pillaging and killing, ans waging war for mor ad more power and resources. With power and more "stuff" also comes greed and the need more more power and more "stuff". This has not changed even today in the world, wars are still wage over land power and titles and even poeple. Even though the mongols were not the first to fight for what they wanted they sure helped to set the stage and build on the foundation for many years and societies to come since they had such an impact on the Eurasian world at the time.

Blog #3

“Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower, and you it's only seed” (Bette Midler - “The Rose”). The revolutionary Silk Roads, China’s powerful and innovative dynasty and the spread of Christianity, were formed by just a seed. They all blossomed from one small idea into a majestic flower, all in their own ways. But what does love and hunger and an aching need have to do with those three things? Which is the greater accomplishment? And which if the three; silk roads, china’s dynasty and the spread of Christianity is the most important? I guess that would remain in the eye of the beholder and perhaps in the impact that each one had on the world in its baby phases as well as today.

Strayer described the Silk Roads as “land-based trade routes that linked pastoral and agricultural peoples as well as the large civilization on the continent’s outer rim.” (Page 219) This meant that people could move about as they pleased a lot more efficiently and quickly. Trade between many different cultures and countries made a mark on the world. We could say that the Silk Roads were arguably the most impactful and extensive idea or expansion of a new idea and invention during the years 500-1500. We could say this and people would be satisfied with the argument. However we still have two other very important factors that impacted this particular time frame to consider.

Strayer says that a leading world historian described Tang dynasty as “the best ordered state in the world.” An “economic revolution” that made Song dynasty China “by far the richest, most skilled, and most populous country on earth.” (Page 244) Italian visitor Marco Polo described Hangzhou, China as “beyond dispute the finest and noblest city in the world.” (Page 245) These are pretty amazing observations or opinions about China, especially for their time. China was, and in some ways still is, an undisputed power in the world that helped revolutionize and really grow the trade industry and the exchange between people and cultures. I would also venture to say that they would not have been able to expand and trade as much as they had, if it were not for the roads that had been created to enable that trade. We see here already that the Silk Roads and the success of China are greatly intertwined and I am sure we will see that same concept with Christianity.

Christianity in the classical era took on many shapes and forms, much as it does today. It was adopted by many people and then dropped culturally by some. Different types of practices were created and spread throughout the world as people knew it; Judaism, Islam, Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox to name a few. Unlike any other religious or spiritual practices in the world at the time, Christianity was unique. One rule under one God, contrary to many other practices with multiple Gods, with the son of God Jesus Christ as the center of many of them. Strayer said that “nothing more dramatically revealed the European expansiveness and the religious passions that informed it that the Crusades, a series of “holy wars” that captured the imagination of Western Christendom for more than four centuries. (Page 286) This is a very big statement that urges me to want to stop right there and say that without a doubt the spread of Christianity was the most significant and impactful of its time. To say this however would be saying that the Silk Roads and routes built for travel would have been of no significance, which would not be fair to say. Without the Silk Roads the spread of Christianity would not have been what it was. It spread to more people in the world than any other practice or religion. Even today it is the most widely spread and un-segregated practice in all the world. In the year 500-1500, it was similar to trade and the power of China and it was just as important as the Silk Roads, in fact the Silk Roads created more freedom for the world to hear of the “good news” of Jesus Christ and God the Father since there was a clear path set forth for it to be brought to the masses.

You see, they don’t all necessarily link together in a completely distinct way, but Silk Roads, China’s powerful dynasty and the spread of Christianity are all just as impactful and in my opinion just cannot be compared. Each of the three had a very specific purpose and therefore are all on different playing fields. They each had a very high impact, especially for their time, and each brought a beautiful richness of its own to the culture and peoples in the world at its time. People believed and grew in their faith in the new concepts and innovation that each proved to be and each was just as important in building the foundations of our world today as the other. I can’t argue that one of these three big achievements or events or inventions, or really whatever else they can be called, really all were intertwined and in the powerful and beautiful flowers that they are if it were not for the other. Each one of their inventors or idea makers or believers, hungered for a new way a new life and a new world and made it all possible with the help of other and a little sun and water, and love of course for the seed to blossom in the ways that it did.