American History Homework Nine Answers - Student 36

Mark DeJ

1\. I think the 2008 election is most similar to the 1980 election when Jimmy Carter ran against Ronald Reagan. I think these elections are similar because Jimmy Carter faced many problems similar to the ones faced under the Bush Administration. Carter had to deal with an energy crisis, a poor economy, and problems in the Mideast. Many Americans felt that Jimmy Carter did not deal with these problems effectively. They wanted a change. In the recent presidential election, I believe that Barack Obama won the presidency because a larger percentage of Americans did not want to vote for another Republican president. They hoped that voting for a Democrat would help correct some of the problems that America is facing.

Please note that there are differences in the two elections. Jimmy Carter was an incumbent, John McCain was not. Also, Ronald Reagan won the election by a huge margin: 489 electoral votes to 49. Obama did not win by such a large margin.

Excellent analysis!

2\. Imperialism is when a large, developed country exerts power and influence over a smaller, foreign country. Most people consider imperialism a bad thing, and relate it to America, only. They seem to forget that Great Britain, Spain, the USSR, and others have all practiced imperialism at one time or another. I believe that imperialism can be a good thing. The Panama Canal was constructed during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. This canal allows passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, replacing the long and dangerous route of going through the Drake Passage and Cape Horn, located at the southernmost tip of South America. Great Britain used imperialism to bring an end to the world slave trade.

Superb point about the Panama Canal.

3\. I believe that the Progressive Movement was a positive thing. People who were considered to be “Progressives” came from all political parties. Progressives wanted “better government”; not “less government”, not “more government”. The years from 1900 to 1920 are considered the “Progressive Era”. Some writers of articles on the Internet claim that the Progressive Movement ended with World War I, but some state that it continues up to this day.

I think many of the goals of this movement, such as breaking up monopolies and the protection of American workers labor were good. I think that progressives have been able to get laws passed that brought about some needed changes in this country, such as building code laws. However, I think that while this country needs “better government”, it also needs “less government”.

Terrific.

4\. This cartoon, which appeared in the "Minnesota Tribune", is a cartoon in reaction to the possible return of the Philippines by American to Spain. The man in the cartoon is President William McKinley. He is shown holding a young Filipino, who is depicted as a savage. The world is standing by watching him make his decision. The cartoonist shows that McKinley, has two choices: to keep the Philippines as an American territory, which is clearly the choice of the cartoonist; or to return the Philippines to Spain, which is represented by the cartoonist as throwing the boy off the cliff. However, the third option available to McKinley, which would be to grant the Philippines independence, is not an option to this cartoonist. I think this is shown by the cartoonist because the boy is depicted as a savage, not yet ready to take care of himself.

Excellent point about the third option, and I'll use that as a model!

H2. “Yellow journalism”, which began in the 1890’s, was when a newspaper increased their circulation (and profits) by creating fantastic headlines. Two people associated with yellow journalism are Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Many historians charge these two men with irresponsible reporting.

Many of the newspapers of today are biased against Republicans. I believe journalists should report the news, not their opinions, except on the editorial page. I think many journalists displayed irresponsible reporting during this past presidential election.

I think newspapers in the recent election played an important role in the outcome of the election. First of all, I believe that many newspapers pushed for Obama from the start, even at the expense of Hillary Clinton! I think they made Obama look like a man who was going to change everything and improve the country, possibly the world! I think many journalists made McCain look like an old man who would probably die in office, leaving his vice president, Sarah Palin, who was portrayed as an ignorant and vain woman, to become the president. For example, one AP headline was: "'PALIN TELLS KIDS THE VICE PRESIDENT RUNS THE SENATE. Many people today believe everything they read. They do so, either out of laziness to verify the information or because they just do not care.

Excellent analysis!

H3. What caused the USS Maine to explode? The USS Maine was a second-class armored battleship that was destroyed in Havana Harbor, Cuba in February of 1898. After an investigation by a US naval court it was determined that a mine had exploded under the ship killing 260 men and injuring 6 others. The newspapers sensationalized this event and reported that Spain was responsible for the explosion. Many people believed this report to be true. This event contributed to the decision of the United States Congress to declare war on Spain. War was declared at the end of April.

In 1910, the Army Corps of Engineers raised the USS Maine. The ship was believed to be a hazard to navigating the waters. She needed to be moved. Before the ship was moved to the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico, another court convened to examine (the remains of) the vessel. This court determined that the explosion was from the ship’s magazines, which were triggered by an external blast.

In 1976 Admiral Hyman Rickover and a group of naval officers reviewed the evidence from the previous investigations. They concluded that a coal fire started aboard the Maine and caused the magazine explosion. They found no support for the “mine theory”.

More recently, in 1999, National Geographic did an analysis of the explosion based on computer modeling. They concluded that an inward bend to the hole in the bottom of the hull pointed to an eternal explosion.

The exact cause of the explosion still remains a mystery to this day.

Superb analysis, and will use as a model answer!

Perfect paper! Score: 60/60. Congratulations!