what makes an american?

Nothing makes an American. That is what is so great about our country. We are a country completely full of immigrants. Other than Native Americans, nobody has true American heritage. There is no specific way to live or act as an American. There are no guidelines to follow, there is no ethnicity requirement. Anybody who believes in freedom and equality is an American. But America is so open minded that it will even support those who appose freedom and equality. Our country is so great because it is a collaboration of all the other countries throughout the world.

where do you see government?

I see the government everywhere. I see it in a liquer store when I see a sign that says no persons under 21 allowed. Or simply when driving down the street, all of the roads and street signs are products of our government. My school is part of the government. It is funded by the government. When I see political ads, that is government. It is everywhere around us.

would you vote if you were 18?

I would have totally voted in this election if I could. It is extremely historic. I think that it would have been awesome to say, yea the first time I voted it was to elect our country's first black president. That would be so awesome. I also really wanted to vote because I really didn't want prop 8 to pass, which unfortunately did. If only I could have voted...

rock the vote

I really didn't like this PSA. I know that using celebrities appeals to a large audience. But Pharell really has nothing to do with politics. Sometimes you know that famous people are involved with things like that, but I know that Pharell isn't. He sounded extremely insincere, he might as well have been reading off a teleprompter. It just wasn't effective at all. That is what was so striking.

rock the vote

high speed rail PSA

which party would I register for?

I would most likely register democrat because I share most of their beliefs. But I really dont like being tied down by a party. I like to be able to believe whatever I want to believe and not be influenced to think a certain way because my party tells me to. My ideal party would be somewhat of a democrat/libertarian party. I believe that people should have a lot of personal freedoms. I believe that women should be allowed to have abortions, gay people should be allowed to marry, etc. I believe that people should have more freedoms than they do today. I think that people should be allowed to do drugs, it should be a personal choice, not something decided by the government. I do believe in a drinking age, but I would like it to be lowered. I would like our country to focus more on our own affairs rather than other countries. I would like to have a strong military prepared for a strong defense. But I think that the military we have today is unnecessary. These are my basic ideals behind my own platform.

Federalist 10

I really did not understand this reading at all. The words used in it were so big. I knew that they were talking about factions, and the ways to limit the damage caused by them. But I really didn't even understand what the factions were. It was hard to get through, and I didn't understand what I read. But I did try. It was interesting to look at the language used back in the old days. But it is also interesting to think that although the words were so hard to comprehend, its still about as clear as any legal document these days.

ideology quiz

In the ideology quiz I was a libertarian. Libertarians basically believe in no government. They think that people should be free to do whatever they want to do. They believe in a completely open market. People should be free to live their lives however they please as long as they do not restrict others from doing so, and as long as they don't hurt other people. Libertarianism comes from French anarchists in the 1800's.

political platform

If I could create my own political platform it would be very similar to the democratic platform. I believe that people should have a lot of personal freedoms. I believe that women should be allowed to have abortions, gay people should be allowed to marry, etc. These are the same views as Democrats. But I go a bit farther, leaning more to libertarians, I believe that people should have more freedoms than they do today. I think that people should be allowed to do drugs, it should be a personal choice, not something decided by the government. I do believe in a drinking age, but I would like it to be lowered. I would like our country to focus more on our own affairs rather than other countries. I would like to have a strong military prepared for a strong defense. But I think that the military we have today is unnecessary. These are my basic ideals behind my own platform.

why vote

If I were able to vote this year I definetly would. It is really important to vote. Especially the way things have been going the past 8 years it is extremely important to vote. We really need to turn things around in our government. It has been republican for way too long and we really need to turn things around this year. The only way to do that is by voting. Voting is one of the great things about our country. It allows us to have a say in what happens in our government. So if I were able to vote I know that I definetly would vote.

what it means to be an american

An American enjoysall the benifets of living in America. Freedom! Freedom defines America We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. Americans have heritage from all around the world. Unless you are an Indian, nobody's family goes back way in time to still live in America. We are a nation of Imigrants. I myself am Spanish, Indian, Mexican, Irish, and English. But I am still a true American. I have a friend who is African-American, Hawiian, and Filipino. He is also a true American. Americans are diverse people who are all free to think, do, and believe whatever they want.

musical theatre

Musical theater traces its roots back to Ancient Greeks, who included music in their stage comedies. However, modern musical theater is an offshoot of the operetta, a type of French theater that became popular in the 19th century. Operettas were like operas, except they included speaking in-between songs and tended to stay away from darker subjects. The 1866 musical comedy The Black Crook is generally considered the first modern musical that included dancing and the use of music to continue the story. The period spanning the early 1940s to the late 1960s is considered the golden age of musical theater, with the introduction of such plays as Camelot, West Side Story, Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, Cabaret, and Guys and Dolls, but musical theater is still going strong today.

American Musical Theater has a set of distinct characteristics that set it apart from other theatrical art forms. Unlike a ballet or an opera, a musical uses song, dialogue, and dance to further a story.

Some different categories of musicals include:

Musical Comedy: "The modern conception of a musical". Musical comedy is a family friendly art form that stars high quality singers.

Operetta- A form of musical theater with positive and light subject matter.

We chose “Chim Chim Cheree” from the musical Mary Poppins mainly because it was a good memorable piece that a lot of people knew from the classic movie. As for our cover, we did a musical summary of the movie 300, which was an epic look at the Battle of Thermopylae. We chose this because each of us liked the movie and knew the story and characters well. The most challenging part of writing a musical was writing the lyrics. We pretty much wrote a poem and so the tricky part was making the syllables in each stanza match up with each other so the rhythm of the song wouldn’t be ruined. As for highlights, all of us would agree that our performances of Chim Chim Cheree were the most fun. We rehearsed well and were able to get our parts memorized easily. It wasn’t long before we actually sounded good.

101 year old driver

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/05/29/gordon.101.yo.driver.wctv


A woman named Lilian Cox has been driving since she was 8. She is now one hundred and one years old and still driving. She just recently had her drivers liscence renewed and it will last her until 2011.

I think 101 is just too old to be driving. She is a threat to society. She could easily die at any moment while on the road. Sure she may be able to drive alright, but would she be able to react to someone else's mistakes at the same rate as someone like me. I think that old people driving is just not a good idea in general.

non profit website

my website is on Zoli's DP

laboriously

laboriously- something that requires a lot of work

it takes a ton of work to build a patio.

bibliography for research paper

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html#INTRO

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/BestEffortGlobalWarmingTrajectories/

http://www.pewclimate.org/

current event

news paper
new york times

a new study has been started that has turned out to be a cure to alzshimers. They descovered this when testing mice. Basically they found how to prevent it before it even happens. This will be similar to the polio vaccination. It basically blocks something in your brain from being produced that causes alzhimers.

I think that this is a great advancement in science. Alzhimers affects so many americans each year, and if they are able to create a vaccination that can eliminate it that would be great for society.

intuit

intuit-to know by intuition.

She knows things by intuition.

interminable

interminable-incapable of being terminated.

article response

This is my response to the article :Classrooms have become unnecessarily high tech
By Matt Baxter found on http://www.mercurynews.com/community/ci_9034769?nclick_check=1&forced=true.


I do understand some of the points that he makes in the article. But for the most part I completely disagree. Computers are a completely necessary part of our education system. All schools should be able to supply its students with computers. The world we live in today is using less and less paper, and more and more computers. We do not write letters, we send emails. We do not write out our papers in nice hand writing, we type them. We do not look through text books and encyclopedias to access our information. We simply find it on the internet. High tech high is the model for what schools should look like, in terms of technology. Every person in our school has access to a laptop any time of day. We have projectors in all of our classrooms for the teachers to display what is on their computer without the use of old annoying overheads. The author of the article does make a good point about the high cost of buying books for schools, and that they constantly need to be updated. I completely agree with this statement. But it is basically an argument for why computers are the perfect solution for replacing textbooks. The internet automatically updates its information without the government having to pay the 30,000 dollars that he said it costs to replace the books. I believe that computers are the perfect solution to this problem. Here at our school we do not need books, because we have all the information we need right in front of us on the computer. Schools do need to have computers in order to keep up with the technological world. High Tech High is a perfect school to model that thinking around.

current event

A sixteen year old girl who calls herself Crystal on youtube pleas for help. She decided to post a video on youtube telling people that she was raped. She desided to do this after the district attourny dismissed her case. She has gotten lots of media attention after posting this video on the internet. The man who had raped her is now being charged with rape.

I think that it is really good that she did this. She felt alone and hopeless before she posted this video. But after she recieved support from so many people. The other good thing about this is that many other people who have been victims of rape, have also posted similar videos on youtube. So this girl helped herself, but she also inspired other victims to tell their stories on the internet.







http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/148260

book report

Paulsen, Gary. Brians Hunt. New York, NY. sen Wendy Lamb Books: December 23, 2003.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. I really liked reading Hatchet, Brians winter, and The River. But I was eager to get back in to the story of Brian Robeson after finding out that there was yet another story in this excellent series. This book is similar to hatchet but many variables have changed. He is in a different place with lots of wilderness. Also this time he is very prepared this time, also he is there by choice. This book is a survival story.

Plot: Basically there is a boy named Brian Robeson. He is pretty much a survival expert now. He has been living a normal life in New York and has realized that he belongs in nature. So he decides to return to where he belongs for yet another summer. He brings with him a large amount of supplies including a canoe, and bow and arrow, tent, sleeping bag, pots, lighters, etc. He travels along the river by day and makes camp at the shore every night. During his travels he encounters an injured dog that he cares for. The dogs injury has a horrific story tied behind it.

Character: Brian Robeson. He is a now a 17 year old boy. I really don't know what he looks like. I know that in the start of Hatchet he was slightly chubby. But by the end of that book he had become very lean and mean, so i guess that is what he looks like now. He is a very determined person. He is dedicated to survival. I chose him because he is the only character. He is very interesting because he is able to handle problems so well. He can take new situations and adapt to them very easily. I think that It would be extremely hard to survive in the conditions that Brian does. But like always Brian handles it very well and gets out in the end still alive.

Evaluation:

I definitely liked the novel. It was very interesting and entertaining. This story taught me a lot about surviving on the water. Before he had been surviving with a shelter to go home to every night. Now he is living on a canoe basically. He had to make his fires on the shore at night, he had to survive rapids, he had to fish in a moving canoe. So it definitely taught me a lot of new things about survival.

This book is real life. It reminds me that some people in the world today actually have to live like this. Live in caves. Hunt for food. Make your own raft from trees and vines. Make tools themselves. Most people in this situation aren't even lucky enough to have a knife like Brian does. It is important to read. You appreciate the life that you live more after reading this book.

I think that I would have done everything the same. I think that I, like Brian, would have been very skeptical at first of taking in the dog. The dog could potentially be very dangerous. But what I've learned from reading Gary Paulsens books is that living in the wilderness can become extremely lonely, and that having a dog along could provide excellent company.

Author, Context and Trivia:

Gary Paulsen writes a lot of survival books. I have read two about Brian Robeson being a survivor from a plane crash in Canada and another about a boy who fights in the civil war. All of these stories were really good. This book is similar but very different. But I would definetley say that they were all very good. I would definitely read this author again, he is becoming one of my new favorites. If I find anymore in this series I will read them.

non profit

Splash is an environmental organization that seeks to raise awareness
of the environmental impact of car washing and to promote alternate
methods that leave smaller ecological footprints.

conversely

conversely- something opposite or contrary

acquiesce

acquiesce-to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest

amorous

amorous- showing or expressing love

aroma

aroma- an odor arising from spices, plants, cooking

awkward

awkward - lacking grace or ease in movement


this man is 7 feet 9 inches tall. he is probably a very awkward person

ecstasy

ecstasy-an overpowering emotion.

My girlfriend overwhelms me with extremely happy emotions.

book report

Paulsen, Gary. Brians Return. New York, NY. Mass Market Paperback: May 8 2001.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. I really liked reading Hatchet, Brians winter, and The River. But I was eager to get back in to the story of Brian Robeson after finding out that there was yet another story in this excellent series. This book is similar to hatchet but many variables have changed. He is in a different place with lots of wilderness. Also this time he is very prepared this time, also he is there by choice. This book is a survival story.

Plot: Basically there is a boy named Brian Robeson. He is pretty much a survival expert now. He has been living a normal life in New York and has realized that he belongs in nature. So he decides to return to where he belongs 4 the summer. He brings with him a large amount of supplies including a canoe, and bow and arrow, tent, sleeping bag, pots, lighters, etc. He travels along the river by day and makes camp at the shore every night. It is a very exciting story with lots of enteresting problems along the way.

Character: Brian Robeson. He is a now a 17 year old boy. I really don't know what he looks like. I know that in the start of Hatchet he was slightly chubby. But by the end of that book he had become very lean and mean, so i guess that is what he looks like now. He is a very determined person. He is dedicated to survival. I chose him because he is the only character. He is very interesting because he is able to handle problems so well. He can take new situations and adapt to them very easily. I think that It would be extremely hard to survive in the conditions that Brian does. But like always Brian handles it very well and gets out in the end still alive.

Evaluation:

I definitely liked the novel. It was very interesting and entertaining. This story taught me a lot about surviving on the water. Before he had been surviving with a shelter to go home to every night. Now he is living on a canoe basically. He had to make his fires on the shore at night, he had to survive rapids, he had to fish in a moving canoe. So it definitely taught me a lot of new things about survival.

This book is real life. It reminds me that some people in the world today actually have to live like this. Live in caves. Hunt for food. Make your own raft from trees and vines. Make tools themselves. Most people in this situation aren't even lucky enough to have a knife like brian does. It is important to read. You appreciate the life that you live more after reading this book.

I think that I would have done everything the same. Well actually I probably wouldnt have been as smart as Brian. For example, every night brian puts all of his food together and ties it up very high in a tree away from his camp to A) keep the bears away from his campsite. And B) so that the bears cant reach his food. That is very smart, and I never would have thought to do that. I would have had to learn the hard way by having a bear eat all my food.

Author, Context and Trivia:

Gary Paulsen writes a lot of survival books. I have read two about Brian Robeson being a survivor from a plane crash in Canada and another about a boy who fights in the civil war. All of these stories were really good. This book is similar but very different. But I would definetley say that they were all very good. I would definitely read this author again, he is becoming one of my new favorites. If I find anymore in this series I will read them.

current event

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6949149.stm

So these scientists have been using supercomputers to figure out how to solve the rubiks cube in the fewest number of moves. With an average cube, using the normal method it takes over a hundred moves. These scientists managed to create a computer code paired with a supercomputer that could solve the cube in about 26 moves.

This is pretty awesome. I cant even imagine being able to solve the cube in 26 moves. Its like a breakthrough in rubiks cubing. I wish that I could learn the method in solving the cube in the fewest moves, but im sure that the code would be impossible for a human to do.

concision

Concision-something very brief
Something brief is a mission statement of a non-profit.

slander

slander means a malicious, false, and defamatory statement. So tabloids typically slander celebrities.

punitive

punitive basically means inflicting punishment.
the ultimate punishment would be this:

Vertigo

Vertigo - a dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings or of being in tilting or spinning surroundings. This sensation reminds me somewhat of being on a roller coaster.

revere

I revere Chuck Norris more than any other.

current event

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/04/03/demars.woman.bites.dog.kare

okay so there was this lady from Minneapolis was walking her dog. She has a yellow lab. Apparently this dog must be this lady's entire life. anyway, shes walking her dog and all of the sudden a viscous pit bull comes out of nowhere and pins her dog on the ground. It had the dog by the neck and would not let go. The lady tried everything she could to separate them. Eventually she ended up biting the pit bull on the nose so hard that it bled, and ended up letting go her dog. Animal control then took over from there.

I think this is kind of dumb. Well just dumb that CNN would have this as a headline story. I mean a lady bit a dog on the nose. Big deal. I mean sure thats cool and all, she must really love her dog. But i mean thats really dangerous to do that. To bite a pit bull, which is an extremely powerful animal isnt really the smartest thing in the world. but hey If thats true love, then thats true love.

book report

Author Last, First Name. Title of the book. Place of Publication. Company: Date.

Paulsen, Gary. The River. New York, NY. Dell Laurel-Leaf: November 2004.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. I really liked reading Hatchet, brians winter, and soldiers heart. But i was eager to get back in to the story of Brian Robeson after reading the book for my war documentary. This book is similar to hatchet but many variables have changed. He is in a different place with lots of wilderness. It is still a survival story.

Plot: Basically there is a boy named Brian Robeson. He is pretty much a survival expert now. He gets offered a job to teach a guy how to do the same survival things he did when he had been stranded on the lake. Only now he is only supplied with a small knife, also he has the task of looking out for someone else. This becomes extremely burdoning when in a storm the man is put in a coma from a falling tree branch. This forces Brian to build a raft and travel down the river until he finds help.

Character: Brian Robeson. He is a now a 17 year old boy. I really don't know what he looks like. I know that in the start of Hatchet he was slightly chubby. But by the end of that book he had become very lean and mean, so i guess that is what he looks like now. He is a very determined person. He is dedicated to survival. He is pretty much the only character because the other guy is in it for a little bit, but for the majority of the book he is just in a coma. So I chose him pretty much because he is the only character. He is very interesting because he is in such a crazy situation that would be so hard to survive in. This situation turned out to be much different than the one before at the lake. But like always Brian handles it very well and gets out in the end with both of them still alive.

Evaluation:

I definitely liked the novel. It was very interesting and entertaining. This story taught me a lot about surviving on the water. Before he had been surviving with a shelter to go home to every night. Now he is living on a raft. He had to make his fires on the raft, he had to survive rapids, he had to fish in a moving raft. So it definitely taught me a lot of new things about survival.

This book is real life. It reminds me that some people in the world today actually have to live like this. Live in caves. Hunt for food. Make your own raft from trees and vines. Make tools themselves. Most people in this situation aren't even lucky enough to have a knife like brian does. It is important to read. You appreciate the life that you live more after reading this book.

I think that I would have done everything the same. It would have been very hard, but I would have done the work necessary to survive. I also would have taken on the challenge of keeping the other guy alive. Even though it would suck its just one of those moral things. Like you do it because you know that if it were the other way that guy would do the same for you. I have actually always thought that it would be really cool to be in a situation like this. But I definitely wouldnt enjoy having to take care of someone in a coma. I would not enjoy that.

Author, Context and Trivia:

Gary Paulsen writes a lot of survival books. I have read two about Brian Robeson being a survivor from a plane crash in Canada and another about a boy who fights in the civil war. All of these stories were really good. This book is similar but very different. But I would definetley say that they were all very good. I would definitely read this author again, he is becoming one of my new favorites. If I find anymore in this series i will read them.

war book report

Author Last, First Name. Title of the book. Place of Publication. Company: Date.

Paulsen, Gary. Soldiers Heart. New York, NY. Dell Laurel-Leaf: October 1998.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. I really liked reading Hatchet, and Brians Winter. Because I am really liking this author I thought it would be perfect to read soldiers heart when i found out that it was on the war I was researching. The book is a war book. It takes place in the Civil War.

Plot: Basically there is a boy named Charley Goddard. He leaves his family's farm at the age of fifteen to enlist in the first Minnesota Volunteers. He was too young to enlist, like many boys of that time. But, like many boys of that time he lied about his age and said he was eighteen. This is a fictional story but Gary Paulsen makes sure to involve Charley in most of the main battles of the civil war. Charley was extremely lucky to survive by the end. Each battle he is in he nearly escapes death.

Character: Charley. At the beginning of the book Charley is only a fifteen year old boy. He wants to join the army to be part of the adventure. To follow with what everybody else was doing at the time. To become a man. By the end of the story he is nineteen. He has been through a lot by then. He has received multiple bullet injuries by this point. He has seen some pretty horrific things from war. By the end of the story he has what is called, a soldiers heart.

Evaluation:

I definitely liked the novel. It was very interesting and entertaining. It also taught me a lot about the civil war. How nobody really knew what they were fighting for. How brutal it was. How dumb and simple the war was. To simply line up in rows on both sides and just fire. It was a very sad story, this fifteen year old boy goes through some pretty traumatic life changing experiences in a matter of four years.

This book is completely real life. Everything from this story happened for the most part. Not actually this exact story, but many like it. All of the battles actually happened. Paulsen was also very descriptive and informative about each battle. I received a very clear idea of the differences between all the battles.

Had I been in his situation I may have acted differently. During that time if I were fifteen, I probably would have joined the army. I would have liked the adventure and all that. But the difference for me would have been after the first battle. After the first battle I would realize the horrific bloodiness of the war and realize how dangerous it was. After that I would still take part in the war, yet I would be as cautious as possible, also I would get out of fighting whenever possible. I would do this by taking advantage of an injury by becoming hospitalized for as long as possible, something like that.

Author, Context and Trivia:

Gary Paulsen writes a lot of survival books. I have read two about Brian Robeson being a survivor from a plane crash in Canada and another about a boy who lost from his family on the Oregon trail. All of these stories were really good. This book is similar but very different. But I would definetley they were all very good. I would definitely read this author again, he is becoming one of my new favorites.

hubris

hubris- full of self pride, arrogance

hubris

hubris- full of self pride, arrogance

bulwark

bulwark-a solid wall of earth

scuttlebutt

scuttlebutt-an open thing of water, or drinking fountain.

mimic

mimic- to copy or reinact.

dearth

dearth-lack of food.

what is art

i dont really know how to define art. I think that art is very subjective. It is also very personal. to me I could look at an amazing painting and say, there, that is art! Someone else could look at it and say no, its just some paint on a canvas. Technically he is more correct. But are either of us wrong. I dont have a definition for art. But i do have somewhat of an understanding. I can see things and know, from my opinion if they are art or not. That's what art is about, the interpretation of the viewer. When an artist is creating art they are creating it with the intention of someone to see it and have a certain reaction. For someone to look at their art and find personal meaning within. If it is that they see it and it makes them cry, or even if it as simple as looking at it and thinking that it looks cool.
The question of is grafiti art. In my opinion sometimes yes, and sometimes no. So when you are driving up to LA and you see huge murals of gang names on the sides of the freeway, that is art. It is elaborate and beautiful. So in that sense, that grafiti is definitley art. But when someone just paints a few letters of their gang on a trash can, that is not art.

current event

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/29/son.charged/index.html

In Atlanta Georgia a 17 year old boy was charged for the murder of his mother and two younger sisters. His mother was a deputy in Atlana. The motive behind this murder is still under investigation. They are not sure if it was his mothers weapon that was used in the murder or if it was a weapon that he had gotten on his own.

I think that this is pretty sad. This is an entire family that has now been destroyed. The mother and two daughters are dead. There was no word on the father, and now this 17 year old will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison. I wonder though why he would kill his mother and daughters.

civil war

Mason Newstead

Elika Dadsetan

Humanities

Per 1/2

1/07/08

The Civil war lasted for four years , it went from April 12 , 1861 to April 9 , 1865. It was Americas most deadly war. The roughly 620 ,000 casualties were all American deaths. This war changed a lot of things in America. It was the war that ended slavery. Basically the South wanted to succeed and the North wanted to end slavery which created very high tensions between the two. The war was a very horrible one because it really broke down America. Every casualty in the war was that of an American citizen. Every building destroyed was an American building that would later need to be rebuilt regardless of the winner. Although there were many bad things about it , it did happen for a reason. Had the south succeeded , or had the outcome of the war been different , our country could be much different then the one we are accustomed to today in everyday life here in America.

With the slave owning South and the anti slavery North tensions began to escalate. During the the 1850's Abraham Lincoln was the president. He had the difficult task of deciding whether or not to allow slavery any longer. He made the effort to stop it by banning it in the new states that America was acquiring , this was during a time when we were expanding quite rapidly. He figured that the states that didn't believe in slavery would do their own thing , and slavery would end up being abolished their on its own. He figured that If he did not allow it in the new states then slavery would be contained enough to the point where the southern states that did own slaves would eventually become non slave owning states. The problem was that the south also saw this coming and they did not want to loose their power. During this time The south had a lot of control of the federal government. The North's fears were that the slave powers of the South already controlled the government. While the South was afraid that the anti-slave North was a threat to their power in the federal government. Tensions continued to escalate in America. The North evaluated the morality of slavery more and more and a general consensus formed in the North that slavery was wrong. Many people gathered in their political parties at that time. Although many thought that slavery was right and many people thought that slavery was wrong , they still had different ideas about what the government should be doing. First there were the republicans who were completely antislavery. Then there was the free soil party who wanted to prevent the spread of slavery , like Lincoln , although by 1854 they were pretty much absorbed by republican party. Then there were the democrats who were entirely pro slavery. Lastly there was the constitutional union. They were pro slavery , but their approach to it was to simply not do anything and leave things how they were. So their were four parties , an extreme and a mild approach from both sides. What is kind of funny about this is that today democrats are regarded more as the party that cares about human issues like gay rights or immigrant rights , things along that line. Also the republicans today are the ones that are more interested in money and doing the more profitable thing. So if the views of the modern day republican and democratic party were given the issue of slavery in the 1850's they would have been the exact opposite from that which they actually back in that time. The democrats of today would be antislavery , while the republicans of today would be proslavery. But , that isn't a completely valid argument. The republicans really didn't view slavery as a big human rights violation that needed to be stopped. It was more that they wanted to slow down the moment of the south to keep them from taking over. The reason that the South was doing so well was because of slavery and the massive amount of free labor that was because of it. So if the North were to cut out slavery in the South , then they would in turn loose all of their free work force in turn weakening the South to the extent that the North would gain political power over the United States. Over time tensions continued to grow between the North and South. Their main problem with each other was simply slavery. Having a war was pretty much inevitable. Up until the point of the civil war the North and South had been making simple compromises when dealing with the issue of slavery. Such as the gag rule , which restricted the discussion in congress of petitions for ending slavery between 1835 and 1844. Or the compromise of 1850 which decided which states that were gained after the Mexican American war would become slave states or not. Although the North and South were attempting compromise it really wasn't doing much. The North and South were being rapidly torn apart. War or succession was right around the corner. Congress did nothing but fight about the issues of slavery. The economy was at a standstill because trade became very limited between the North and South. When the proposition of a railroad to be put in across the United States , too much controversy arrived simply because members from the North and South in government simply could not agree on anything by now. The North and South were basically hanging together by a thread in 1860. That thread was severed when republican Abraham Lincoln was elected in to office. Regional leaders of the South agreed that Abraham Lincoln would be the one that would put an end to slavery and they could not have that. They decided that the only thing to do would be to succeed. This was the start of the war.

The deep Southern states that were the most prevalent for having the larger amount of slavery were the states that seceded first. Following their secession four more Southern states joined in after the Battle of Fort Sumter joined with Lincoln's call for each remaining state to provide troops to retake forts and fight back the secession. The upper South states said that they refused send troops to fight against their fellow neighbors in what they thought to be an invasion. The Secession of these states took place during February of 1861. The 7 states that seceded were South Carolina , Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , and Texas. These seven states formed the Confederate States of America on February 4 , 1861. Their president was a man by the name of Jefferson Davis. Their governmental structure was pretty much identical to that of the United States Constitution. As mentioned previously , two months following the battle of Fort Sumter four more slave states had now joined the Confederacy. These states were; Virginia , Arkansas , North Carolina , and Tennessee. The northwestern part of Virginia Seceded from Virginia and joined the Union in turn creating the state which remains to this day , West Virginia.

The Union had a much larger support of states. The Union consisted of: California , Connecticut , Delaware , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , Vermont , Wisconsin , Nevada and West Virginia. The Union also received support from territories such as: Colorado , Dakota , Nebraska , Nevada , New Mexico , Utah , and Washington. So it was pretty obvious that the Union had a lot more manpower. But, they did not have as much motivation as the South. It could have been just like the revolutionary war. Although Britain was much stronger that America, America prevailed because it was either win the war or die. They had no alternative. Same with the South In this case. They were going out on a limb. They were risking it all to remain a powerful slave state. So, you know that a country like this is not going to give up without a fight.

Because the two country's were bordering each other there were many battles that occurred throughout the war. The number of battles comes close to 10,000 in the few years that the civil war lasted for. Also because they created strong bases on either side of the border, the battles didn't usually take place too deep in to either country. 40% of all the battles in the Civil war were fought in Virginia and Tennessee, both of which where bordering states to the United States, and the Confederacy. From Lincoln's standpoint he was not looking to go invade the South. He said he was not going to try to end slavery end slavery where it existed. But he did say that he would use whatever force necessary, no matter how big or small, to maintain the possession of federal property.

Winfield Scott, who was the commanding general of the United States army during that time devised a plan called the anaconda plan. His plan to win the war was called the anaconda plan. He said that this plan would end the war with as little bloodshed as possible. that a Union blockade of the main ports would be very successful at weakening the Confederate economy. Then they would capture the Mississippi River which would split the South. Above is a cartoon sketch from the time of the civil war of Winfield Scotts anaconda plan. Lincoln adopted the plan, but overruled Scotts warnings against an attack on Richmond. This anaconda plan would prove very successful at ending the war without much fighting if all went well. They wouldn't need to fight the South, they would just need to wear them down. Lincoln cut off all ports along the South. This brought all international trade with the South to stop. The longer Lincoln delayed the South from fighting, the longer they would simply run low on racecourses. The longer they ran low on racecourses the sooner they would agree to ending slavery and joining again with the North to Bring back the strong America. But of course that isn't the case. If it was we could have actually ended up saving hundreds of thousands of American lives. But of course it wasn't as simple as most people had expected it to turn out.

The blockade continued to go on. It was working rather well. The south's number one export was cotton. The problem was that now they had nowhere to export it. So they had thousands of slaves harvesting massive amounts of cotton that could now not be sold to anybody. During this time hyperinflation occurred. The value of money in the South dropped very rapidly, while at the same time the price of goods went way up. People were starving, there were bread riots. The anaconda plan was working. It was obvious that the confederacy was going to fight back soon. On March 8, 1862 the Confederate and Union Navys had a big battle on the water. This battle was started by the confederacy when their ironclad ship called the CSS Virginia attacked the blockade. After a day of tearing down the blockade the CSS Virginia now had to face the union ship called the USS Monitor. This battle was named the Battle of Ironclads. The battle ended in a draw, which was really a victory for the Union because after the battle they were still able to rebuild the blockade. Also, it was a huge loss to the Confederacy because they lost the CSS Virginia in this battle and that really took a toll on their limited naval racecourses. Also there was another naval battle that resulted in a Union victory that ultimately securred the entire blockade and ended all outside racecourses. from even secretly coming in.

Although the south was being weakened economically they were still maintaining very tight borders. When Union troops would try to attack the Souths Borders in a state like Virginia they were welcomed with vast numbers of confederate troops. The Union hadn't been expecting to be up against such a strong army. The confederacy was also equipped with a very powerful military leader. His name was Thomas Jackson, and his nickname which is still very well known to this day was Stonewall Jackson. He was given the name because he stood like a stone wall up against the Union troops. As the war waged on the confederacy was doing surprisingly well with battles. They were winning a lot, which wasn't very expected. But all of these battles being fought were all advancements from the North going South. Finally there was a major battle where the south were the ones advancing to the North. During this time warfare was quite simple. You would find an open field. Stand in a row across from each other. A line would fire once the opposing side would fire once. The next line would fire while the previous line was reloading. This would just knock out thousands and thousands of troops. Eventually they would charge at each other and engage in hand to hand, sword to sword combat. So the more people in a battle the longer you're starting line, the more people that die. This battle in particular was called the battle of Antitam. From the confederacy it was led by General Lee, who had an army 45,000 strong. He was apposed to Union General Magellan who also had an army about that size. The battle took place on September 17, 1862. It was the bloodiest single day in the United States military history. Eventually Lees army decided to return back to Virginia. Both sides lost an equally vast number of troops but it was considered a Union win because it was Lee that eventually retreated. This battle gave Lincoln the chance to issue his emancipation proclamation which basically freed any slave currently in the Confederacy and allowed them to come to the Union and be free. This was mainly for the already escaped slaves that were already in the union to not be anyone's property anymore.

Along with Antitam there was one other major battle during the civil war. It is referred to by some as the turning point of the war. It was started when General Lee realized that his men were in dire need for shoes. He realized that the majority of his troops were fighting barefoot. So what he decided to do was to cross the border in to Northern territory to break in to a shoe factory to get his men shoes. On their way to the shoe factory they run in to General Meades massive army at Gettysburg and they are instantly engaged in battle. The two sides had vast numbers of men fighting. The Union with about 90,000 men against the Confederacy who had about 70,000 men. It was an extremely bloody battle. It had the majority of the soldiers from both sides of the war fighting there. The battle of Gettysburg lasted for 3 days. There were 23,000 killed from both sides, Equalling out to be 46,000 American deaths in three days. Eventually Lee retreated, Following this battle the Confederacy lost the war. They Union slowly closed in from all sides on the confederacy and inevitably forced them to surrender. General Lee's surrender took place in Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865 at the Appomattox Court house. After the war Lincoln was re-elected. Although they had won now they were simply back together again. Except now slaves were free, 600,000 Americans were dead, and the country was left in pieces. But the country was rebuilt, and it was rebuilt even stronger than it had been originally. The rebuilding of America really brought the North and South back together. It was something that they had to agree on, and unify to make this country strong.

Had there never been a civil war and the south would have seceded America would be a much different country than the one it is today. Most likely we wouldn't not have progressed as fast. We would have been limited by being forced to trade between the Union and the confederacy, two separate countries. Instead of it being how it is today where America thrives off of the advancements made from all states. Had there never been a civil war we most likely wouldn't have expanded as much. Most likely the North would have stayed with what they had, while the South would stay with what they had, instead of expanding all the way to Washington state like we did. We can also wonder, what would have happened if the South had won the war. Most historians believe that it would have been impossible. That no matter what the North had more manpower and racecourses. But had the South won things would be very different. They of course would have had their independence. Slavery also would have continued for who knows how long. Neither the North nor the South would have been able to advance the way we did. They would have attempted to become self sufficient, which would have proved to be really ineffective. The country of America is a great one because Americans come together for the better of our country. We unify and we progress. That is what makes our country great.

Bibliography

Dr Marjorie Bloy. “The battles.” Historyhome. 2005. 28. Feb. 2008

http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9355164

Otto H. Olsen . “slaves.” Southernhistory. 2008. 28. Feb. 2008

http://www.southernhistory.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9406

Don E. Fehrenbacher. “civil war.” Historycooperative. 2007. 28. Feb. 2008

http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/9/fehrenbacher.html

Taut

Taut-kept in proper order or condition. like a collector car.

Obsolete

Obsolete. knowing the way technology is advancing, soon HD will become obsolete.

Emaciate

Emaciate means to grow weak or thin. This makes me think of jews during the holocaust.

Tenacity

Tenacity means to stick to somethng. to be tenacious. like tenacious D!

Embezzle

people embezzle money

steadfast

steadfast means steadily directed. a train is steadily directed

lucidity

lucidity means easy to understand
2+2 is easy to understand

insurrection

insurrection means an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government. so I chose to use the anarchy sign because anarchy is about rebelling against the government

emancipation

emancipate means to free or release
so i chose a picture of a slave
a slave can be emancipated

documentarys

We watched 2 documentarys on the civil war. They were okay. Actually they were pretty boring. It was basically this guy dressed up in a civil war uniform pretending that he had fought in the war. Then he would just explain how the civil war worked. He didnt really explain the reasons behind the war. It was more like how the people lined up for battle, and the weapons that they used. While he talked it just showed a bunch of pictures from the civil war that were being zoomed in and out. I think that for our documentary we are going to give an overall idea behind the reasons of the war. Obviously we are going to need a lot of pictures from the civil war. We arent going to go in to depth about the people or the strategies of the war. More the reasons of the war, the outcome, and the effects of the war.

fidelity

fidelity means exctness or accuracy.

i chose this picture from the movie high fidelity because that is what I think of when I think of fidelity

book report

Author Last, First Name. Title of the book. Place of Publication. Company: Date.

Paulsen, Gary. Brians Winter. New York, NY. Simon Pulse Paperbacks: October 1999.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. I really liked reading Hatchet, and this was the next book in the series so I decided to read it. The book is a survival book. It takes place in the 90's

Plot: Basically there is a boy named Brian. He is in a small airplane heading to canada to see his father. During the flight the pilot has a heart attack. Brian is left of the airplane in the middle of nowhere. In the first book he ends up being rescued at the end. But this book is about what would have happened if he had not been rescued and what it would have been like for him to survive during the winter.

In the winter he faces harsh weather. It is extremely cold and there is snow everywhere. There are many bad things because of this, but some good. First of all he needs to make warmer clothes wich he does not have. Also he needs snow shoes to walk in the snow. But the nice thing about the winter is that it is very easy to track animals because of the prints that they leave in the snow.

Character: Brian. He is a 15 year old boy. I really don't know what he looks like. I know by the end of the story he is very slim but in good shape. He is a very determined person. He is dedicated to survival. Well he is simply the main and only character in the story. I chose him because he is the only character. He is very interesting because he is in such a crazy situation that would be so hard to survive in. He is very changed by the end. He is very independent and extremely good at survival. He also doesn't take things for granted anymore.

Evaluation:

I definitely liked the novel. It was very interesting and entertaining. It also taught me a lot about survival. I liked that tjis one explains surviving in the winter. In the first book I learned how to survive in the summer, so how to avoid mosquitos and how to fish. Then in this book I learned how to make snow shoes and how to make clothing from animal fur. The books point about life is that the life we live is a very easy one and that if we didn't live in the society that we lived in it could potentially be extremely hard to live. I would definitely recommend this book. It is really good and I know that it appeals to a wide variety of people.

This book is real life. It reminds me that some people in the world today actually have to live like this. Live in caves. Hunt for food. Make clothing from animal fur. Make tools themselves. Most people in this situation aren't even lucky enough to have a hatchet. It is important to read. You appreciate the life that you live more after reading this book.

I think that I would have done everything the same. It would have been very hard, but I would have done the work necessary to survive. I have actually always thought that it would be really cool to be in a situation like this. But I definitely wouldnt enjoy the freezing cold winter. I would not enjoy that. It would just be way to cold, and way to hard. There would be too much effort put in to just keeping warm. Another ending could have been that he never discovered the hunting family and that he could live in the wilderness for the rest of his life.

Author, Context and Trivia:

Gary Paulsen writes a lot of survival books. I have read one about a soldier in the revolutionary war and another about a boy lost from his family on the Oregon trail. Both of these stories were really good. This book is similar but very different. Yet they were all very good. I would definitely read this author again.

current event

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oxnard15feb15,0,7663055.story

yesterday in ventura county a 14 year old middle school student was shot in the head during the middle of class by a classmate. the name of the boy that was shot is lawrence king. He was shot by another 14 year old by the name of Brandon Mcinerey. This shooting was thought to be a hate crime. Students at the school reported that the victim was openly gay and that the shooter had had a verbal confrontation with him the day before the shooting. Currently king is on life support, but he was deemed completely braindead. His organs will be donated. Brandon Mcinerey will face 50 years to life in jail.

I think this is pretty sad on both sides. First of all there was a 14 year old that was killed for a really dumb reason. He did nothing wrong, he difinitely did not deserve to die, just for being gay. Brandon Mcinerey should not have shot him, he did a very horrible thing. But, this 14 year old is about to spend at least the next 50 years in jail. Obviously he deserves to be severely punished. But this inncident is pretty much taking away two lives from socioty.