What it Means to be an American

May 24

Lately we've been talking a lot about rich people and how they became so rich, and the types of societies. We learned a lot about Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller. They became rich because they created a monopoly, which means their businesses soon became primarily the only business of their kind. It was smart of them to do this, but not fair to everyone else because they only had one choice as to where to purchase, in these cases, oil and steel.
Today we talked about the types of societies. Mr Boyle said that America is actually very socialist in some ways, but that Americans thought the healthcare Plan was socialist and therefore a threat to our capitalistic society. I personally don't understand what is so bad about being socialist, in my opinion it's probably better than being capitalist. In our capitalistic society, so many people and families are struggling to put food on the table, meanwhile a percent of Americans are rolling in money. I don't understand how this is fair at all. Most of the time, the poor actually work harder at their low-income jobs then the wealthy heirs do. A socialistic society would eliminate all injustice in that field, and I think that people would begin to pursue careers according to their true talents and interests, as opposed to becoming lawyers and doctors simply for the high income.

Wednesday May 4

Today we talked a lot about whether or not it is ever justifiable to go to war. There were many views in the class, some thought that no one should die no matter what they did, some thought it was natural to go to war as long as you didnt start it. Personally, I think that the only reason a country should go to war is to protect their own people against harm. I dont think wars should be fought over land, money, leadership, religion, etc-though, unfortunatly, that is how it is most of the time.
We talked about the Nez Perce tribe and how they tried to remain in their land even though the whites were attempting to force them out. The class was trying to decide whether or not the tribe should leave or defend their point of view. I dont even think we came to a conclusion. But, I think that because the white forces were significantly greater than the tribe's forces, it was in the best interest of the tribe to migrate to a reservation. I dont think it is worth the risk of harm to the tribe just to stand up for their beliefs.

Tuesday April 26th

Today we inspected a post-Civil War painting by Winslow Homer of a veteran in a field, cutting down the grass. Mr Boyle said that Homer originally painted the tool the man was using with a basket-like attachment on top, but painted over it. Homer left the man holding a grim reaper blade, which symbolizes that, while the man is an innocent man in a calm assuring painting, he was at one point a killer.
We listened to people from the Metropolitan Museum talk about the painting in depth. And, before I knew it, class was over.
It was kind of an off day because the chairs werent in their normal position. I have to say that I liked it much better the old way, it was easier to concentrate.

April Fools Day

I sort of expected Mr Boyle to do something April Fools related, but he didnt, not that I'm complaining. We learned about Lincoln's assassination, which actually was really bizarre. I always thought he was shot walking off a train, but it turns out he was shot by a famous actor while watching a play. I guess it was karma when Lincoln's murder actually made things worse for the South in the long run, as Reconstruction wasnt fully carried out. Booth probably didnt think through the lasting downsides of killing the President of the United States too much, which is no surprise because he obviously was a little stupid. By assassinating Lincoln, Booth got himself killed, and worsened the South's wellbeing.

Tuesday

I had to stay home sick today, and I think I might have missed a lot in history because we had to do the packet over the weekend. I hope I didnt miss too much work!

March 21st

Today we talked for the whole class about our end of the year project. We each have to make a 8-10 minute long documentary on what it means to be an American. I think that the project itself isn't hard, just time-consuming. But,thankfully we have a schedule and so we'll be forced to not procrastinate.