Cinderella Man

Jordan Loftin
Prompt 1- Agree 

Biography 

History 

Food Lines 

 Fighting for Work

            Throughout the movie Cinderella Man, I was able to feel empathy towards men and women during the Great Depression. Not only was this movie historically accurate, but hearing and seeing actions happen made it much easier for me to understand what occurred. For example, this movie conveyed reasons women and men experienced stress differently, and strategies available for survival.

            One of the many accuracies of this movie had to do with the unemployment of 1.5 million Americans during this time. Knowing how many people we have in this world, it does not seem like too many people to say 1.5 million. Shock hit me when I saw men waking up every day and begging to be able to work on the dock. Only about ten men were chosen each day, can you imagine? Men were not able to support their families. A quote from the movie I remember directly was, “Women have to wait for men to fix every thing and men feeling like they have failed them every day.” This statement was very true for this time, women had to sit at home with the children and try and make every thing seem okay, when it was far from being okay.

            Some people depended on others during this time, but some hated the thought of getting help. The movie showed this by placing Jim Braddock in line at the government relief office asking for money with a sad look on his face, showing the viewers the struggles people had with being poor. I saw starving kids asking their parent if they could have more food, and drunken men stumbling down the street who did not know what to do with their lives.

            Religion is big during any time of struggle. For example, Jim and his wife prayed every day hoping they would be okay. When they lost electricity and heat, they prayed. But not only did some people rely on religion, they denied it. People wondered to themselves why they are stuck here in this miserable life if they have the almighty God. And that made some people give up.

            In conclusion, I agree Cinderella Man showed historical accuracy and helped me learn more about the Great Depression. They were dramatic about Max Baer’s character, making him seem like a mean man, and less dramatic about the fact that Braddock’s family in real life had five boys and two girls. In the movie they only had two boys and one girl. But does that not help you realize how much harder it was for them? Taking care of nine people? Sometimes you have to be more dramatic or less dramatic to convey what the true meaning of a time like this was. Women were hopeless, and men were hopeless, the Great Depression was heart breaking. 

Jordan's Fun Day in Birmingham!!!!!

Never Give Up 

            To be honest, I have never really looked into The Children's March or thought about the Civil Rights Institute and the 16th Baptist Church. In class we watched a very powerful video before the trip to Birmingham to visit these cool places, and I expected the video was going to be boring but it only caused me to become more interested in the subject. I have never been able to wrap my mind around how racist people can be in this day and age, much less back then. Killing four little girls? Throwing police dogs on people, even little kids? The people of this time showed no mercy.
            As we arrived to 16th Baptist Church where the four little girls were bombed and killed, I felt a sudden sadness in my heart. This is where many families will never be able to look at the building the same. The wonderful man who filled us in on stuff "you can't find on google" had a sense of humor, and that shocked me. It shocked me because I would think this would be such a serious moment or place, therefore it wasn't a joking matter. But his thoughts were, all glory to God. He had such things as urine thrown on him, just for being a black person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can you imagine?
            Walking through the Civil Rights Institute made me cringe. Seeing that KKK uniform made me think I would see that thing in my nightmares. Seeing the little that blacks had, but how big they made it out to be, it made me happy. The blacks simply new people were ignorant but made the best of the situation. Yes, some were violent but when Martin Luther King jr. asked for them to tone it down and to prove a point, they quit. Those children marched into that police car proudly, they knew it would all be over soon.
            If anyone ever argues that the Civil Rights Field Trip is a waste of time, they are wrong. The difference between hearing about these events and seeing the artifacts was something you need to experience. I try to have as much empathy as I can, and it is much easier to do when you SEE it. My opinion of the Civil Rights' Issues remains the same, it never should have existed.

Questions about World War I

When and Why did it start

World War 1 timeline 

The US entering the War 

Treaty of Versailles

Casualty Rates 

1) The immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria Hungary on June 28th, 1914 and the war began one month later on July 28, 1914 when Austria declared war on Serbia. Not too many days later Germany declared war on Russia, then France, and then invaded Belgium which lead to Britain declaring war on Germany. Britain, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy comprised the Triple Alliance. 

2) The US entered World War 1 on April 6, 1917. Unrestricted submarine warfare was the main reason President Wilson asked to declare war on Germany on April the 2nd. 4 days later, the US joined their allies (Britain, France, and Russia). 


3) On November 11, 1918, World War I came to an end due to the peace treaty named The Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. 

4) "The main terms of the Versailles Treaty were:

(1) the surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates;

(2) the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France;

(3) cession of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, the Hultschin district to Czechoslovakia,

(4) Poznania, parts of East Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland;

(5) Danzig to become a free city;

(6) plebiscites to be held in northern Schleswig to settle the Danish-German frontier;

(7) occupation and special status for the Saar under French control; (8) demilitarization and a fifteen-year occupation of the Rhineland;

(9) German reparations of £6,600 million;

(10) a ban on the union of Germany and Austria;

(11) an acceptance of Germany's guilt in causing the war;

(11) provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders;

(12) limitation of Germany's army to 100,000 men with no conscription, no tanks, no heavy artillery, no poison-gas supplies, no aircraft and no airships;

(13) the limitation of the German Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with no submarines" (The Terms) 

The United States did not sign the Treaty of Versailles because they disagreed with its terms, specifically, the high price that Germany was to pay for its role as aggressor. Instead, the U.S. negotiated its own settlement with Germany in 1921. 

5) Did Gavrilo Princip regret the assassination of Franz Ferdinand? Was it worth all the deaths? 

Prohibition 

Prohibition 

Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition: The Noble Experiment 

I learned how violent people became throughout prohibition. It was a really valuable source.

USH Text Book: Prohibition Article

I learned how most middle class started out supporting prohibition and it began to reduce drinking in the area but in others it produced violence. It was a really valuable source. 

18th Amendment 

I learned what the 18th amendment actually said. It was a really valuable source. 

The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Documents

I learned there were such things as speakeasy  clubs, so many ways to sneak around prohibition. This was a really valuable source. 

Why Prohibition?

I learned who started prohibition and why they believed drinking was bad. It was a really valuable source. 

Anti-Saloon League  

I learned about them and the christians teamed up and were the persuasion of prohibition all together. This was a really valuable source. 

                    In January of 1920, the 18th Amendment was approved. The 18th Amendment hoped to take away the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. It all began with the persuasion of the Anti-Saloon League and went down hill from there. 

                    Anti-Saloon League was a powerful, religious national organization. The campaign was a national effort of collaboration, communication, and persuasion. The League focused single handedly on the issue of prohibition and worked with many churches during the process. The leaders of this program were alarmed at the drinking behavior of Americans, and were concerned it was spreading within the immigrants coming from Europe. During 1913, in Columbus, Ohio, they announced the campaign to later persuade Congress to initiate what became the 18th amendment. 

                    Within the beginning of the 18th Amendment, it did not take long for violence and rebellion to strike. The 18th Amendment reduced drinking in some areas by 30% but those who did not agree became very violent and disobedient towards the law. For example, in New York city alone there were up to 100,000 "speakeasy" clubs, meaning they secretly sold alcohol. Rebellion was everywhere. People of America even did such things as hide alcohol in books. 

                     Have you ever heard of bootleggers? Seller of illegal alcohol? Well, people of the government during this time acted as if they were bootleggers and poisoned the alcohol. They knew several hundred thousand Americans would die, but figured people dying was okay if they were removing rebellious people who drink alcohol, bad people. One thing I found shocking was people who supported prohibition suggested such things as: those who drank should be hung by the tongue beneath and airplane and flown over the country, excluded from all churches, tortured, branded, whipped, etc. 

                      People who called themselves Christians were huge on hypocrisy and ironic judgement during this time. The year the 18th Amendment was passed, John Barleycorn died. John Barleycorn was the representation of alcohol and people celebrated his death. How crazy is that? Celebrating death? I feel the religious were motivated because they loved the opportunity to preach and persuade Americans that drinking was bad, drinking was a sin, but how religious is it to exclude people from church? 

                     In conclusion, this was an unsuccessful innovation. Those who rebelled got their way. Roosevelt repealed prohibition and in 1933 the 21st Amendment was ratified which allowed the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. 

How do you analyze a political cartoon?

With most political cartoons I think the first and easiest way to analyze a political cartoon is to know your history. Use what you know. If you are not aware of what the cartoon is about, use your imagination.

Cartoon Analysis Guide 

The difference between my answer and the cartoon analysis guide was of course that it was a better explanation. It says to check for symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, irony, etc.

Political Cartoon- This image encourages United States interference in Cuba because of the terrible Spanish ruling. I came to this conclusion because of the website I found this from and also the imagery and symbolism of a Spanish ruler in a frying pan.

Political Cartoon- This image is comparing the Philippines return to Spain to throwing a child off a cliff. I came to this conclusion because of the website I found this from and also this is President Mckinley holding a native child, which symbolizes him throwing a native child off a cliff.

Political Cartoon- President Mckinley was working against the Filipino people and looked down on them, as he was trying to prevent the history of crime. I came to this conclusion because of the website I found this from and because President Mckinley is so much bigger and looking down on the Filipino ruler. 

First Semester Summary Activity

"What's the point in telling a story if we could not actually tell the story?" Chiwetel Ejiofor said after being the main character of Solomon during the movie 12 Years a Slave. This is a quote from my very first sentence of writing a paper in this class, and a quote from my favorite part of the semester. It was really cool to compare the movies to realistic events. For example, sometimes texts often forget to mention there were free black men, and some of those free black men were kidnapped and sold into slavery, which is exactly what happened to Solomon in the movie 12 Years a Slave, and I had no idea similar situations like that happened throughout the world. 

I have to say my least favorite part of the year was in the beginning. When I did not do so well on the quiz we took applying to the rules of the classroom, I had no idea what to expect after that. It wasn't even on material and I got a 70, how did I expect to do well on material we actually had to learn? History has never been the most interesting subject for me but it turns out that quiz was just a scare and I enjoy coming to this class every day. 

Something I will never forget about and always be able to discuss is the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the banning of the Chinese from coming to the United States. People were intimidated and scared of the Chinese taking their jobs. It seems as if no one in history has ever loved competition. 

To this day I believe America still struggles with the issue of women being stereotyped as their only work place being the kitchen. Throughout the 19^th century men were against women working with them and continued to believe they were only made to be a man’s companion. In the history text it claims women were paid equally but people always were trying to get them to seem less attractive to factories.  I understand some jobs are for men, and some jobs are for women but I also believe anyone can do anything they put their mind to.

Many events happened in history throughout 1865 to 1920. If I had to name this period of time I would name it the “Coming of Age Era.” This name applies to this period because the south began to incorporate equality as far as African American’s into society, such as the 15^th amendment that allowed African American men the right to vote. America began to progress the economy in the area of developing department stores and the command for goods. Leisure time was also a very important time throughout history because it allowed people who normally did not have time away from work to have less hours of work and more time to spend with their families and friends. Last but not least, the making of factories and machinery within the factories. The machines were able to speed up the process of making products. I name this time the “Coming of Age Era” because it seems as if America was coming to their senses.

Thinking About Success

1- Hard Work 

2- Skill  

3- Opportunity 

4- Luck  

I believe the ranking of these four qualities are from most important factor to least important factor as shown above. If anyone ever wants something they must first be a hard worker, do you think pro football players just woke up one day and said, "I guess I'll go pro."? No, they worked for days, months, and years to get there. But the problem with a football player going pro is they must have skill, skill is very important. You aren't just going to make the team because they think you're cute, it is simply because you are what they want in a player. Then, once scouts see you are a hard worker and skillful, you may or may not get the opportunity to play for their team. That is when luck comes in, if you're lucky, you will be the next pro football player. 

Michael Oher

I chose him as my example because if you have read his book, he beat the odds. He lived on the streets and was picked up by a family who pushed him through playing football and making the grades he needs. Long story short, he is now playing for the NFL. How many people can say this happened to them?