American History Homework Eleven Answers - Student 33

Mark DeJ American History Homework Eleven

1. Learning history is valuable because you can read how various countries began and what the people in those countries did to mold what their countries are today. I think having an understanding of past decisions/mistakes does help you make decisions in the present. For instance, I think many people in the U.S. today are leery about the bailouts because they have seen our taxes and national debt rise so much because of the many social programs we have, many of which started with the New Deal.

Excellent!

2. A decision like whether or not the United States should have entered World War II or whether the U.S.A. should have entered it sooner or later is much easier to make many years after the fact because we can now analyze the events that led to the decision. That being said, I believe that the United States had to get involved. Some people think the war would have ended quicker had we gotten involved sooner, but can one really make that statement with certainty? I do think, however, that while a policy of maintaining neutrality in foreign affairs is not necessarily a bad thing, Hitler and the Third Reich had to be stopped. I also think the attack on Pearl Harbor needed to be answered.

Superb.

3. In 1924, during the Coolidge Administration, The National Origins Act or The Immigration Act of 1924 was enacted. This law set the quota for immigrants entering the United States of America at 2% of the total of any given nation’s residents in the United States as of 1890. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia. While this law was very discriminatory, I do understand the need to regulate the number of people entering the country and even regulating the number of people from various nations. For instance, I believe that we have so many illegal aliens in this country from Mexico that we need to “shut the border” to Mexico. I also think that with the War on Terror, we need to halt the people entering America from Islamic nations. Many people will say that this is racist, but I think we really need to get a handle on the people who are here and try to prevent putting our nation at risk.

Terrific analysis, good enough for the model answers.

4. Charles Lindbergh was an aviator who became very famous for his non-stop flight from New York to Paris. On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew his plane, “The Spirit of Saint Louis”, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island to Paris, France in 33½ hours, through miles of snow and sleet. This act awed and inspired many. In fact, Lindbergh received so much publicity that many people believe the media was largely responsible for the kidnapping and death of his son 1932.

Very interesting to blame the media for the kidnapping. That's probably right.

5. “Throwing money” at a problem does not always fix it. Just look at the public educational system in this country. We spend so much money and yet many students leave high school with very little. The New Deal spent a lot of taxpayers’ money and yet, it did not end the Depression. While I do understand why some of the programs under the New Deal were put into effect, and I do think they were needed, it just seems to me that when the government takes on these programs, the result is usually inefficiency. I am not sure what I would have done to bring an end to the Great Depression, I know that I would not have raised taxes on hard working Americans and on businesses. When you tax individuals, their purchasing power is reduced. When you tax businesses, their hiring power is reduced. It is a vicious circle.

Superb economic analysis, again good enough for the model answers.

6. I think that the atomic bomb was a horrible invention because it can kill many people and has horrible lasting effects, but I believe that dropping the bomb on Japan brought an end to the war and saved many American and Japanese lives in the long run. The Japanese were fanatics and were not going to surrender easily. The war could have gone on for years.

Terrific, and will use as a model answer.

7. This cartoon depicts Theodore Roosevelt as an angry spirit that thinks his fifth cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt has assumed a dictatorial rule helped by the fact that the members of the Senate and House were predominately Democrats. Theodore Roosevelt is well known for saying “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. However, the sticks carried by the two Congressmen in the cartoon are absurdly huge. I believe that this cartoon was created around 1933, after FDR’s first 100 days in office and was drawn by a Republican whose point of view is different from that of FDR.

Fantastic: you describe this perfectly. Will use as a model.

H1. I do not think you can make a blanket statement as to whether or not there is a trend in the presidency towards becoming more of a “leader” or a “follower” because I think it depends on the person as an individual. If the person is strong willed and does not waiver in his convictions, he will be more of a leader. If he just wants to make everyone happy, he will be a follower. I believe that President Bush was more of a leader when he first became president, especially after 9/11, and now I think he has become more of a follower, probably due to the harsh criticism of him.

Superb.

H2. I think General George S. Patton was an astounding military commander and the best general America ever had. Nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts”, he was the most feared general by the Germans because of his ferocious aggression and brilliant military tactics. The United States Army pitted Patton against one of Germany’s best field commanders, Erwin Rommel, who specialized in desert warfare and Patton completely decimated Rommel’s army! It is completely fascinating to me that historians estimate that Patton’s Third Army was responsible for 55% of all German casualties and yet his army only suffered 9% of the casualties on the American side.

That is remarkable and you describe it well.

H3. Debate: Do you think we are entering another depression now?

No, I do not think we are entering another depression. I believe that the economy goes up and down in cycles. I do believe that we are headed for some difficult times. I also fear that our new president, Barack Obama, and his Democratic Congress, will try to enact even more social programs than FDR did under the New Deal. To pay for these programs, I believe that they will raise taxes on people earning $125,000 or more per year. (For some reason they believe these people are wealthy.) However, those people are the ones that stimulate the economy. They are the ones who are more likely to purchase large ticket items, go on vacations, and attempt to start up businesses.

Right. Terrific answer again.

One of the best homework in the entire class all year. 100/100. Congratulations!--Aschlafly 22:03, 6 December 2008 (EST)