Hollywood's Flimland Fantasies

Once upon a time, there was an idea. He was a good idea, and his name was Movie. He was born in 1903, and his first Work of Consequence was The Great Train Robbery. This is Movie on his first birthday:

Clearly, he is very handsome. Lots of girls liked him but... well, lots of boys did too. Everyone loved Movie. But, as usual, there were some bad people who wanted to use movies for their purposes of weirdness. The obsession with vampires is not new people! Here's an early Bella.

This woman is called a "vamp." The ominous pile of bones in front of her is called a "victim."

Given the picture, you may not be surprised to learn that the movies started out as a means for people to... look at women. This incited public outcry, and Movie was forced to censor himself.

Movie's big break, however, came when he met a young man named George Creel. 

"Movie," said Creel, "I like your style. Will you become a powerful instrument for me to pluck skillfully as I sing songs of hatred for Germans?"

Movie replied with an emphatic yes! He helped to get Americans fired up about the war and aided with the "volunteerism" effort. How nice of him.

Movie did not learn how to talk until he turned 24 years old in 1927, and the first thing he said was this. Historic words: "You ain't heard nothin' yet." And indeed the world hadn't. If only they could see today's movie abominations. In any case, the first movie ever made with talking was The Jazz Singer, which is about a Jew who pretends to be a black man. My, how the times have changed.

As is the natural way with people, they quickly became attached to Movie's well-paid friends: movie stars! They were wildly attractive and most people knew more about them than they knew about their country's leaders, which should come as a surprise to no one, since nice looking people are a great deal easier on the eyes than politics are on the brain.

Look! Its a magazine in the grocery store checkout!

This is 1930s TMZ!

Anyyyway, movies had an especially big effect on immigrant children. Because they allowed children to hear and see American culture, they aided with assimilation and helped the population move one step closer to a more ethnically harmonious society.

A note about being in the hall...

The hall is a great place (note, it is the Great Hall). When you don't have to do anything, you don't want to sit down, and you want to benignly assert your independence as an excellent individual (or Walter and Perry team, as the case may be), the hall is a wonderful place to be. You also might want to enjoy a delicious and refreshing glass of pumpkin juice.

The hall is a place for good, not evil. After all, isn't it where Voldemort finally died? Evil dies in the hall, but only when there are good people there to monitor the evil while it shoots a killing curse that will (fortunately for our heroes) rebound and actually kill itself.

That is why we spend time in the hall. We are protecting you from Voldemort. Be thankful, not critical.

Besides, the so called "Hall Time" and "Hall Poet" never spend time in the hall during classes that warrant their attention. For example, here are all the classes we hardly ever leave at all, even for the bathroom:

Physics

APUSH

AP Comp

French

Pre-Calculus

Religion

and here are the two classes during which we wander:

Study Hall

Drama

As you can see, we are usually doing what we are supposed to.

Remember: we are the last line of defense between you and the Death Eaters.

America Helps Hammer the "Hun"

Welcome to your next stepping stone to study guide completion! My name is Anna, and I will be your guide through some sections that I picked because they had funny names. This way, please. Yes, right down this hall here.

Do you get the irony?

39. The Meuse-Argonne offensive was the largest battle so far in American history. The American army, under General John J. ("Black Jack") Pershing, confronted German troops from September 26 to November 11, 1918. 1.2 million American men took part in this battle and 10% of them were killed or wounded. Machine guns and bayonets caused many casualties, and the "open-field tactics" were perhaps too daring. The going in this battle was slow, but the root cause of many of its problems was poor training.

40. Sergent York was "a member of an anti-war religious sect" who "became a hero when he single-handedly killed 20 Germans and captured 132 more."

to a single thing I "learned" in Church.

Making Plowboys into Doughboys

Oh my, would you look at that-- 

Yes, well, I thought I had better go ahead and get that out of the way. You knew that joke was coming.

In any case, despite obvious and rather uninspired jests relating to the author's language, some things that you need to know actually did occur in this section. For example:

38. Once it became obvious that the US would have to send not only supplies, but men, to the Allies, Congress grudgingly and belatedly (six weeks after the declaration of war) implemented a draft. Troops arrived in Europe poorly trained. They were supposed to train for six months in country and two more in Europe, but the need for men usurped their usual training period.

Ah yes, perhaps it might be useful if you learned what "doughboys" actually meant. "Doughboy" was a slang term for American soldiers during WWI, but the nickname fell out of use during WWII.Thank you, Wikipedia.

If you would all now turn your attention to Shane, we can continue on this Luxury Study Guide Cruise.

Progressive Era Foreign Policy Acts

Panama Canal Tolls Act of 1912

· Before the Wilson administration had Congress repeal it, this act allowed American shippers to use the Panama Canal without paying the tolls required of other nations.

· It was making Britain angry, and Wilson was an anti-imperialist, so the act was repealed in 1914.

Jones Act of 1916

· Finally, the US does something reasonable in the Philippines!

· Philippines granted territorial status

· Independence will be given when a “stable government” is set up. This happened 30 years after this act was passed on July 4, 1946.

The Wilson Administration is behind the repeal of the Tolls Act and the passage of the Jones Act as Wilson was an anti-imperialist (for the most part, but hey, who’s perfect? Excepting Chuck Norris.)

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/4kpk2nm

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Progressive Era Conservation/Land Use Acts

Desert Land Act of 1877

· Gave cheap dry land to those who could irrigate it successfully within three years

Forest Reserve Act of 1891

· President is allowed to set aside forests as national parks and the like to preserve them

Carey Act of 1894

· Gave states some federal land if the state promised to water and populate it

Newlands Act of 1902

· Allows the federal government to use money from the sale of western land to fund irrigation projects

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/6848wk6

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A Quick and Clever Guide to Progressive’s Varied Views on Conservation

Alas! Two star-crossed lovers meet! I mean… the progressives were a generally happy family but had two different views about nature conversation. You could even say these views were feuding. Their names were Beauty and Use. Beauty was obsessed with herself. She wanted nature to exist simply because she felt that when she looked into nature’s dreamy eyes (which were not quite so dreamy as a progressive’s eyes) she looked into a mirror. She couldn’t help but bawl her eyes out every time she thought of nature being used for anything but a perfect mirror of her. Use, on the other hand, was a rather more practical fellow. He wanted to keep nature beautiful, of course, but he wasn’t overly concerned with that. Without destroying nature’s loveliness, he hypothesized cleverly, I can exploit its resources for my own good. And thus were the Progressives divided. Many sided with Beauty, many sided with Use, and this division eventually lead to the death of Romeo and Juliet. I mean, a split in the Progressive vote. The End.

New Federal Agencies

Women’s Bureau, 1920 & Children’s Bureau, 1912

· These were “wedge organizations” that gave women a place on the national stage.

· Women could now find somewhere to belong within the federal government, an important step.

Federal Trade Commission, 1914

· President could now appoint a committee to investigate all industries involved in interstate commerce.

· Created as a monopoly strangler, meant to kill “unlawful competition, false advertising, mislabeling, adulteration, and bribery.”

Federal Reserve, 1913

· Decentralized, government controlled bank.

· Nation is divided into 12 districts each with a central bank

· Issued paper money, “Federal Reserve Notes” on commercial paper so that currency could be circulated quickly when need be

Federal Farm Loan Act, 1916

· Farmers get credit at low interest rates

· How populist!

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/6dsjyvz

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Amendments to the Constitution

16th Amendment, 1913

· Allows Congress to levy an income tax

17th Amendment, 1913

· Senators are elected directly

· Arose from progressive pressures that said the “Millionaires’ Club” was controlling the government

· Attempt to give power back to the people

18th Amendment, 1919

· Makes prohibition a national law

· Pushed through by women who believed that alcohol was evil, evidence of women’s growing political influence

19th Amendment, 1920

· Women are given the vote at long last!

· All that campaigning finally paid off

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/49s6rzo

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Protecting Workers

La Folette Seaman’s Act of 1915

· “Required decent treatment and a living wage on American merchant ships” as sailors had traditionally been sorely mistreated.

· Unfortunately raised freight rates because the crew’s pay had to go up.

Worker’s Compensation Act of 1915

· Gave assistance to federal civil-service employees when they were disabled

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/4u3vkgc

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Anti-Trust

Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890

· Did not distinguish between “good” trusts and “bad” trusts with its regulations

· Prohibited “combinations in restraint of trade”

· “Bigness” was what was wrong with the trusts, not “badness”

· Although it didn’t mean to, the loose wording of the law allowed it to “curb labor unions…deemed to be restraining trade.”

Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914

· This was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act on steroids.

· Expanded on the Sherman Act’s list of unacceptable business practices to include “price discrimination and interlocking directorates”

· Fixed the problems in the Sherman Act allowing labor unions to be put down, tried to get labor and agricultural organizations out of the law’s reach

· Specifically allowed strikes and peaceful picketing.

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/4zjxl8e

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Food Safety

Meat Inspection Act of 1906

· Meat that was traveling between states would be inspected by federal agents “from corral to can.”

· Passed after Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published.

· In response to The Jungle Roosevelt sends a commission to inspect Chicago’s meat packing factories, and what was found was so disgusting that the act was a shoe-in.

Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

· This was the Meat Inspection Act’s younger best friend.

· “Designed to prevent the adulteration and mislabeling of foods and pharmaceuticals.”

Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/4ks828e

http://tinyurl.com/meatinspection

Railroads

Elkins Act of 1903

· This act "was aimed primarily at the rebate evil."

· Shippers who accepted rebates and railroads who offered them could now be severely fined

· Passed by Congress during TR's administration.

· First railroad legislation with real power; the Interstate Commerce Commission (created in 1887) was not doing any good because railroad barons took the cases brought against them to federal courts because it could take up to 10 years.

Hepburn Act of 1906

· Cracked down on "free passes" for railroads, often used for bribes.

· Made the Interstate Commerce Commission more powerful and was now legalized to dictate policies of "express companies, sleeping-car companies, and pipelines."

· ICC could now "nullify existing [railroad] rates and stipulate maximum rates."

Pictures:

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State of the Union

I cut some (lots) of text out because the post was so long. I think I hit the bulk of American Exceptionalism, though.

Remarks by the President in State of Union Address

United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.

9:12 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. (Applause.) And as we mark this occasion, we’re also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and we pray for the health of our colleague -- and our friend -– Gabby Giffords. (Applause.)

It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there’s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passion and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater -– something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.

That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation. (Applause.)

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won’t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. (Applause.)

…..

So, yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember -– for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. (Applause.) No workers -- no workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We’re the home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth.

What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -– the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That’s why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

And now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future. (Applause.) And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do -- what America does better than anyone else -- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We’re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living. (Applause.)

Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it’s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout our history, our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That’s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That’s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs -- from manufacturing to retail -- that have come from these breakthroughs.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t even there yet. NASA didn’t exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

…..

Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000-foot hole into the ground, working three- or four-hour -- three or four days at a time without any sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. (Applause.) But because he didn’t want all of the attention, Brandon wasn’t there when the miners emerged. He’d already gone back home, back to work on his next project.

And later, one of his employees said of the rescue, “We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things.” (Applause.)

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That’s how we win the future.

We’re a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company.” “I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree.” “I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try.” “I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.”

We do big things. (Applause.)

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it’s because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

Much thanks to this website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-union-address for the text.