The Story of America

Nikos Stathopoulos US History Final Exam Mr. Getzlaff

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Final Exam Project

Written in a diary/journal style passed down through the generations. Each new post is the next generation of a family, living through American history and giving personal accounts of major events. 

The upper left of each post shows which learning target is answered in it. LT1, LT2, LT3, etc. in red. 

Because of how tumblr works, first post is at the bottom.

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Protests and Distrust

The Vietnam involvement turned into a full-on war. My father still sends letters home, but what he says differs from what official government reports say. Our leaders seem to want us to think that everything is okay, we’re having no trouble at all over in Vietnam, and we’re the good guys. What they don’t know is we have other connections. Almost everyone has a TV or radio. Almost everyone has a relative over in Vietnam. We know what’s going on. Why would they lie to us? There have been many anti-war movements, which is a first for our nation...but i’m starting to wonder if the lying isn’t. What really happened in all the wars in our nation’s history? Have we been learning accurate information? Reports show that a year ago, our troops massacred a village of innocent civilians, including women and children. A year ago. And we just found out now. The government kept this secret from us, and I don’t even want to imagine what else. For the first time ever, I can feel that society doesn’t trust what the government says. Some even fear the government. When protests break out, police force is used to calm them down, often with violence. This nation is becoming a scary place to live...

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Vietnam

I know, I’d never heard of it either. But Vietnam is a nation in Southeast Asia fighting for independence from the French. The French have asked for aid from the United States, and we agreed. It may seem like its not our business, but our nation learned one crucial thing in the World Wars: communism cannot be allowed to spread, and should even be removed from where it already exists. Northern Vietnam was largely communist, while the south was a Republic. America fears a repeat of the situation with Japan and Germany just decades ago, and decided to intervene. The goal is to make a base in the South and, mostly through peaceful communications, set up an election to unite Vietnam and get the people to choose democracy for themselves. We stop the spread of communism that way, and let the people advocate for themselves. Who would pass up the chance for a democratic nation over a communist nation? We set out tomorrow to set this election up, and I hope to be back home within a year. 

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Fight for your Rights

War may be over for now, but that doesn’t mean all conflict is gone. There is still extreme racism in the United States, and it’s time to change that. African Americans deserve the same rights as Caucasian Americans, and that’s exactly what was fought for. 

It all started with something as simple as transportation. Black citizens were the majority of bus passengers, but white citizens still got the seats in front, which were much nicer and more comfortable and humane. The Montgomery Bus Boycott involved a 382 day boycott on bus use by any civil rights supporters, black or white. The bus companies would’ve gone bankrupt if they didn’t desegregate, forcing equality of public transportation. 

To expand the movement, civil rights activists organized sit-ins. These involved harsh practice routines, physically and verbally abusing black diners to prepare for the real thing. All we did was sit in white-only sections of diners and refuse to leave until served. Completely non-violent...but only on our side. The practice payed off, and we all stayed completely unresponsive to the physical and verbal abuse we received at the diners. This expanded the movement significantly and desegregated most food services. 

Out of all things, why segregate education? There shouldn’t be designated black and white schools if we have the same education curriculum. Linda Brown was the figurehead of this part of the movement, bringing a case to court. She had to cross a dangerous railroad yard to get to the bus to get close to her school to walk the rest of the way for an all-black school, when there was a perfectly good, safe to get to school right in her neighbourhood. The nation took her as an example and began to integrate their schools at last. 

There were heavy restriction on voting as well, not specifically preventing blacks from voting, but that was the goal. The Voting Rights Act was passed, after much hard work, to eliminate restrictions on blacks trying to vote, such as the literacy test, which, with there unequal education, many could not pass. Once black members of communities had a say in who they elected, it would be much easier to gain support and make a difference in what they needed changed. 

Finally, the civil rights movement needed full national awareness, especially from the government. The saying “Jail, no bail” came about when protesters would be thrown in jail, and would remain there to show the lack of enforcement of legislation preventing segregation. Non-violent protests were also used to provoke those against civil rights, getting their violent responses broadcasted on media. Children were also involved on the activist’s side, showing that those against it would use violence on children. Once this spread through the media, the movement rapidly gained support and JFK had to get involved. 

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Battles of WWII

My father never made it back from Normandy during WWII, but his memoirs allowed me to get an idea of what it was like. The 3 most major battles in my opinion (and my father’s) were Stalingrad, Operation Torch, and D-Day. 

Stalingrad was, by our standards, the largest and bloodiest battle in all of history. It was a giant battle between German and Soviet forces over the city of Stalingrad, lasting 5 months. It started out well for the Germans, with an offensive attack pushing Soviet forces back in the first 3 months, but quickly turned around. Germany suffered heavy losses, and Soviet forces came out in a victory. This was considered to be the turning point in the war for Europe, as it ended German Eastern advancements and took a good amount of their resources in the war effort. 

Operation Torch was started by British Winston Churchill, and supported by American Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Operation targeted North Africa, with various locations to take over along the Mediterranean Coast for military operations. Once these bases were established, it would allow entrance to Europe through the “soft underbelly” of Italy. The goal was to have mainland European invasions on Germany from all sides: French from the West, Soviets from the East, and now Americans from the South. 

The battles that took place on the beaches of Normandy, France are referred to as D-Day. The goal was to reclaim Allied territory on mainland Europe with British and American forces. A distraction was made to lessen German forces, but it was still largely a suicide mission. American and British forces had to land on the beaches of Normandy and charge uphill straight at German forces in pillboxes with heavy firepower. The Allies knew that the first few waves of soldiers would die, but it was a necessary sacrifice to stop German expansion. My father was in the first wave to storm the beaches, and thought he never returned, it is him we have to thank for the world we have now. Without D-Day, Germany never would’ve been stopped. 

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Neverending War

We are in the middle of the Second World War. Before the first, nobody could’ve ever imagined this large of a scale of war, and how destructive it can be. Now it seems to be all that we know. We’ve had decades of conflict worldwide at this point, and while I hope it ends, part of me feels like this is just how life will be from now on. It’s a long ride over to Normandy, so I’m journaling how it all began. Chances of living to show this to anyone are slim, as I’m the first to storm the beaches, but if all else fails, my wife and children will receive it after my death. 

The initial, overall cause of WWII was WWI. Every nation and leader on earth wanted to spread their culture, resulting in MAIN; militarism: large, expensive militaries to overpower others, alliances: forming truces with other nations to bond together and sometimes oppress others, imperialism: the creation of empires and expansion of nations, and nationalism: strong pride in one’s nation and a willingness to fight to the death for it. 

Events foreshadowing the war were all connected to Imperialist leaders. Tojo in Japan, Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, and Stalin in Russia. All were expanding, conquering anywhere they could. Close and easy at first, gaining momentum until they could reach the final goal of another major nation. 

Nobody wanted to confront Hitler and Germany for breaking the Treaty of Versailles (limits set on the country and it’s military at the end of WWI) for fear of a repeat of WWI. This was called appeasement, and basically caused the war. Eventually German forces invaded Poland, and the second world war broke out it Europe. America finally joined when the Japanese bombed Hawaiian Pearl Harbor. The whole world was involved with military technologies never seen before. 

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New Deal

Well, my father thought the prosperity would last forever. But let me tell you one thing: you can’t build an economy on credit. It WILL fail. Having nobody pay the full price of an item leads to bankrupt companies and taking loans with no backup system just leads to bank failures. Life did sound pretty great, but it basically screwed over my generation. Now we’re recovering from the Great Depression (thanks Dad) and FDR is taking some pretty big risks to fix our economy. 

To fix the economy, the first step is fixing banks. The FDIC was a crucial addition to the banking system. Sums of money up to $2,500 in banks were insured, so if the bank were to give it away or lose it for any reason, the person wouldn’t lose the money. It may take a while to get it back, but it would happen, even if it had to come from government reserves. This brought trust back to banks, and fixed its own problem in a way. 

Next was to give people jobs. Having the majority of the nation unemployed makes it basically impossible to recover. The CCC, PWA, and WPA were all part of solving the unemployment issue. All had to do with public building projects, servicing the nation while providing jobs to individuals. The CCC focused on national parks, creating many of the trails and structures in them. The PWA focused on public works and existed until the start of the preparation for WWII. The WPA was the largest new deal agency, and employed millions of Americans across the entire nation. Buildings, roads, bridges, and other public structures were built in even the most remote locations, acting as a service to future American life and a jump-start to the economy. 

With the new jobs and all, people wanted to be sure that they could live comfortable in their old age, when they could no longer work. The SSA provided what we call “social security” for that, preventing poverty among the elderly. A percentage of all money made by an individual was taken away from each paycheck, to be locked in a private account that can only be accessed from age 65 and up. I can look forward to this in my old age, knowing I won’t have to depend on you, my children, to provide for me.

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Prosperity and Comfortable Lives

My ancestors left behind only letters about war and hardship, but right now...Life is good. The United States is as United as ever, and war is nowhere in the foreseeable future. Business is booming, and the establishment of Credit and the Stock Market make it easy to get all the money and goods you need! Women are even gaining a role in society OUTSIDE of the household. This would all sound crazy to our grandfathers, but everything is affordable and women are good for more than just housekeeping and raising kids. The new credit system allowed us to buy fancy new equipment that makes our lives easier...without really paying money for it. All I have to do is pay for 10% of a would-be unreasonably expensive item now, and pay for the rest when I can afford it. One of the great inventions I (as well as many other families) purchased was the washing machine. It washes clothes by itself, giving women much more time to leave the house and just go have fun with us men. Men also have more time, thanks to the Assembly Line. We work less time and get payed more, allowing more fun at night. Some women also call themselves “flappers.” They play sports, wear shorter, tighter clothing, and many have this cool new hairstyle called the “bob” which is much shorter as well. More free time, more money, better technology, and more female involvement in society? How could it get any better than this? I couldn’t imagine a greater way of living, and I hope it stays like this forever. 

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Violence from Start to Finish

My father always warned me about the possibility of war with the South, but I never thought it would be as bad as it was. It’s all over now, but we lived through years of non-stop violence. There had been tension for quite a while before my time, but when I was a child war broke out at the battle at Fort Sumter. 

As you can see, it was a Confederate attack on the relatively unarmed Union. This was the first major battle of the war, but definitely not the last, or even the most destructive. All it meant was more death to come. And it did just that: Gettysburg, around mid-way in the war, was one of the bloodiest battles in our history so far. 

Gettysburg ended as a sort of stalemate, but with major losses on both sides. The Union had previously been losing, and saw this stalemate as a sign of hope. Maybe we can finally put an end to the war...

Then came Sherman’s March at the end. The Union had already won, but wanted to prove a point. General Sherman led a march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia: about a 285-mile march, and destroyed everything in his path. Villages, farms, innocent lives, military forts, everything was destroyed. The Union did this as a way of saying “don’t mess with us again,” demonstrating their power and what would happen in any future conflict. 

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War

It couldn’t be prevented. My father warned us it may happen, and sure enough, the South wants to secede. But I really can’t blame them, there was a general mentality that the North and South were different anyway, and many events to prove it, mostly over Slavery. 

Let’s start with the Acts. Kansas-Nebraska and the Compromise of 1850 (back in my father’s day, but still relevant). The Kansas-Nebraska Act caused the first violent conflict. The two territories of Kansas and Nebraska were added, but at the same time, it was decided that the legality of slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty - the population got to choose. What should’ve been expected happened: southerners and northerners alike flocked to the two territories to try to establish the two territories as either a slave or free state, respectively. The compromise of 1850 didn’t help either, as it killed the Missouri compromise, which would’ve stated the Nebraska would be free and Kansas would be a slave state because of geographical location. Now any state anywhere could be either, causing much conflict and debates over what the majority opinion was. Along with these we had the Dred Scott case. A slave, Dred Scott, escaped and was found in the North. Now slaves were technically private property. So the owners of Scott were able to claim him. They’d found a loophole. Slavery was technically legal in the North, so long as they were bought in the south. The government became aware that two sets of laws can’t exist in the same country.  Two major violent conflicts were Harper’s Ferry and, the tipping point, Fort Sumter. Harper’s Ferry was a military base with an armory. A man named John Brown stormed the armory, using the weapons to help free the slaves through violence. Robert E. Lee of the South then killed Brown, and realized northerners would never accept slavery. The split had happened, but wasn’t official yet. Fort Sumter changed that. A Fort in the South, owned by the North, was continued to be used for trading. Confederates ordered evacuation of Northern Troops, who refused, but didn’t use any military force. This left the decision of war up to the South, and they chose to have it. An attack was made and war broke out. This is not a good time to be alive. I hope, for your sake, the two nations remain separate and find peace soon. 

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Farmers or Businessmen?

As a country, we have remained united under a dependence on European traders. Now this is not the same dependence that we fought to be free from - our economies just revolve around European money and American goods. But recently there has been a sort of split between Southern Farmers and us tradesmen in the north. Up in the North, we’ve started taking over the former European role: business. The southern Farmers now trade their goods to us, and our factories develop what they need. We help each other out, but a sense of superiority can be felt developing in the north…it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Complications over slavery didn’t help either. < br> The Compromise of 1850 established California as a free state, but the national government spent an insane amount of money to bring in Texas as a slave state. It’s good that we added one of each, and the Missouri Compromise was thrown out to prevent strict separation of the North and South. Sadly, these events just made people angrier and increased conflict, as now there was no guarantee of being a slave or free state anywhere.

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Bill of Rights

Thanks to our fathers, we now have our own Independent Nation: America. But what we need is a code of rights to prevent another revolution like this from happening again. First off was the Freedoms. Everyone in the nation will have Freedom of Speech, Religion, and the Press. Voicing beliefs and opinions will have no consequences, which means citizens also have the Right to Assemble and Petition. If the government is doing something wrong, we need to let them know, or else it’ll never change. Citizens have the right to personally own weapons, and keep them in their house. Citizens also are NOT required to house soldiers during war. Search warrants are required before searching any private property, and will need very good reason to be claimed. Pleading the Fifth - the right to stay silent if you want to. Not torturing or anything to force a citizen to speak. Everybody will have the right to bring a case to court for trial, jury, and lawyer. Court cases must involve more than $20 to have a trial. No extra fine or punishment if bail is not payed. A citizen’s rights that are not listed in this constitution still can’t be taken away. National government doesn’t have supreme power. Broken up among states and the people as well.

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The Road to Independence

After overcoming many obstacles, the colonies were finally established, and have been up and running for quite some time now. But we’re sick of our dependence to the British, and get the idea that they’re sick of us too. All these Acts are being made to “help” us. But we’re doing just fine. The Sugar Act was sugar-coated: our British advisors made it look like our taxes were being lowered, when they really began to strictly enforce laws and taxes on the colonies. The Stamp Act taxed all paper and printing heavily, which was our only way to spread news fast enough. More taxes came with the Townshend Acts, taxing even tea. We were fed up with it. All these taxes being applied to the colonies, but not mainland Britain? We’re the poor ones, so why us? Sensing our frustration, the Quartering Act was brought around. Not only were British troops patrolling the colonies, but we were sometimes forced to house and supply them. Another suppressing act was the establishment of Writs of Assistance. Sounds like they’re helping us, right? No. It allowed British officials to search any private colonist property. We literally had no privacy and were being bankrupted by our own advisors. It was time for a rebellion.

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Rough Beginnings

Starting a country sure isn’t easy. A small group of us came to the New World in hopes of establishing a colony. Our original goal was resources, and to basically stay dependent to Britain. Once we arrived, we realized some of our major mistakes. The land was foreign to us, just settling and building a community was nearly impossible. We had an overwhelming shortage of supplies as well, and starvation and sickness quickly took over. Our lack of planning also meant no women. How are we supposed to start a colony with only one generation of men? This whole colony idea seemed to be doomed from the start. Maybe they’ll try again and be more successful in your lifetime, but I don’t think there’s much hope for mine. Good luck, son.