American History Homework Ten Answers - Student 33

Mark DeJ Homework 10

1\. I could have been more prepared for the midterm by studying more than I did. I think I took for granted that I would remember a lot more than I did. I think I should prepare my own outline for each unit to help me study for the final.

Great attitude!

2\. I missed both political cartoons. I am angry that I interpreted them incorrectly because I find political cartoons interesting and challenging.

The cartoons are tricky. One key is to keep in mind that the cartoonist is expressing a political view.

3\. What I find interesting about the Scopes trial is that because many books and movies have been written and produced about it, many people believe that Clarence Darrow, the defense attorney, on the side of evolutionism, won the trial, but he did not. The jury found the defendant guilty. The judge imposed a fine of $100. Later it was found that this was an error. According to the Constitution of Tennessee, a fine in excess of $50 had to be assessed by a jury. Therefore, under appeal, the judgment was reversed.

Another interesting thing is that this trial was held in 1920 and the evolution verses creationism argument is still being debated in 2008. However, nowadays public schools are teaching evolutionism instead of creationism, unlike in 1920 when teachers in public schools wanted to teach creationism. I believe that all theories should be taught and students should decide which view they think is best.

Good analysis, with a superb insight about the bias in books and movies. (The date of the trial was actually 1925.)

4\. I do not think we could have avoided entering World War 1. The reason for this is because Germany was attacking unarmed boats, some with Americans on them. This created tension between America and Germany. In addition, President Woodrow Wilson had promised that America would not get involved with the war. The Sussex Pledge was issued by Germany in 1916 promising to stop sinking unarmed boats; but Germany started sinking boats again in 1917. Then, also in 1917, the German foreign minister sent the “Zimmerman Telegram” to Mexico requesting that they invade the U.S. in exchange for the return of the Southwest. This caused President Wilson to ask Congress to declare war with Germany because Germany was threatening our security.

Superb point about Wilson promising not to get America involved in the war.

5\. I think Teddy Roosevelt was a good president. This is shown in his greatest accomplishment - the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903. This was an agreement with Panama which granted the United states a 5-mile wide tract of land to build the Panama Canal for 10 million dollars plus $250,000 per year. Also, I believe Teddy Roosevelt was a peaceful man. He even won a Nobel Peace Prize for helping enable the treaty between Russia and Japan to end the Russo-Japanese war (the Treaty of Portsmouth). Lastly, I think Roosevelt was correct in his beliefs about preserving the English Language in America and opposing immigration.

Excellent points! Good specific examples.

6\. In 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that The Income Tax Act of 1894 was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the income taxes on interest, dividends and rents were direct taxes and direct taxes could only be assessed if the tax was apportioned. Since this tax was not apportioned, it was found to be unconstitutional. To override this Supreme Court decision, a Constitutional Amendment had to proposed and ratified. (An amendment can be proposed by either a 2/3 vote of each house of Congress or by a constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the states. An amendment is ratified by either ¾ of the state legislatures or by ¾ of special ratifying conventions called by the 50 states.)

In 1909, President William Taft proposed a constitutional amendment to permit an income tax. The Sixteenth Amendment was passed by the Sixty-first Congress and submitted to legislatures of the states on July 12, 1909. On February 25, 1913, Secretary of state, Philander Knox, announced that the amendment had been approved and had become part of the U.S. Constitution. Congress then passed the Revenue Act of 1913.

I think that taxes are necessary to gain revenue to run the government. However, I also think that the current tax system is out of control. I recently learned about the Fair Tax. The Fair Tax plan is a proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with a national retail sales tax. Specifically, the Fair Tax plan would abolish all federal personal and corporate income taxes, estate, gift, alternative minimum, capital gains, Social Security, Medicare and self-employment taxes and will put into place one simple retail sales tax. The Fair Tax will tax us only on what we spend on new goods and services, not on what we earn. The Fair Tax would remove the “loopholes” that some of the wealthiest people use to reduce their tax burden. In addition, there are many people who do not file tax returns, people who work “off the books” , and people who earn money through criminal activity. The Fair Tax would also make sure that everyone pays his or her fair share. Lastly, the Fair Tax would abolish the IRS, saving the government a great deal of money because it would no longer have to maintain this agency

Fantastic analysis, with good, in-depth discussion of the impact (and alternative) today. One of the best answers in the class all year. Will use as a model.

7\. This carton shows Theodore Roosevelt acting as the angel of peace getting Russia and Japan together to sign a treaty to end the Russo-Japanese War.

Right. Note the date was 1905.

H1. Roland Garros, a French pre-war aviator wanted to solve the problem of firing a machine gun from within an airplane. On a visit to Paris he met up with Raymond Saulnier, of the Morane-Saulnier Company, the manufacturer of the tractor-powered monoplane he flew. The two joined forces and after a number of failed attempts, in 1915, Garros and Saulnier came up with the idea of attaching steel deflector plates that would deflect any bullet that hit the propeller. They were triangular shaped with the apex pointing to the pilot – the idea was that bullets would be deflected of at an angle, rather than coming back at the pilot. Garros tested this arrangement and it was successful! He shot down a two seater reconnaissance plane on the first pass. Unfortunately, Garros was shot down and the Germans got the plane and improved on Garros and Saulnier’s idea.

Terrific analysis!

H4. I found the midterm exam to be very challenging and required far more studying than I thought. I think that the midterm covered the majority of what had been discussed in class over the last few months and had only a few questions that I thought had little to do with what we discussed. I feel that I learned from this experience. I will be better prepared for tests from now on and not just take any exam expecting an A+.

You have a terrific attitude, and will succeed with it.

H3. Debate: Should government be able to interfere with free enterprise by establishing maximum working hours for men?

I think the government should not be able to interfere with the working hours established by a private company. “Less government”, not “more government”! However, I do believe that an employer should set forth the hours expected of an employee when he or she is hired. My father had a job in CT that never informed him of the many hours of overtime required. Because my dad was salaried, he did not receive any additional pay for these hours. He eventually left that position.

Superb again.

\--MarkDeJ 15:01, 20 November 2008 (EST)

Another perfect paper! Very well done. Congratulations: 100/100.--Aschlafly 14:05, 24 November 2008 (EST)