Modern Monopolies: The Sprint and T-Mobile Merger

The Progressive Era was defined by Teddy Roosevelt's trust-busting. Under the Sherman Antitrust Act, Roosevelt broke up the American Tobacco Company, along with Rockefeller's oil company. To this day, the remnants of Standard Oil dominate the oil industry through ExxonMobile and Chevron. Despite Teddy Roosevelt's legacy and precedent, monopolies still continue to invade the American laissez faire economy.

Comparison of modern monopolies to Standard Oil

With the dominance of monopolies and without competition, capitalism will ultimately fail, as consumer choice is eliminated. In order to protect capitalism and consumer choice, numerous American companies have been brought to court, not just within US Courts, but also abroad. Bill Gates had to testify in defense of his company Microsoft and recently, Google was fined by the European Commission for €2.42 billion (~$2.73BN) for antitrust violations.

As of this week, the monopoly on everyone's mind is T-Mobile and Sprint. Currently, four companies dominate the cell phone and data industry: T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. AT&T has already dealt with monopoly lawsuits throughout its 100+ year history; in 1949, President Harry S. Truman, sought to break apart Western Electric and the Bell System’s manufacturing arm. Truman's administration argued that Western Electric was overcharging AT&T, who in turn was increasing prices for telephone customers. The pressure on these companies has fluctuated during the late 20th century, but each time they have tried to merge, the public and governmental scrutiny increased exponentially. Previous attempts to merge between these four companies have all failed. For example, in 2011, AT&T sought to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion. However, after facing strong opposition by federal regulators, the deal was abandoned.
However, scrutiny and criticism may not be enough to prevent T-Mobile and Sprint's proposed merger. That minuscule number of four competitive companies is set to be reduced to just three.

Ironically, the merger was proposed to increase competition -- just the competition between the four companies, rather than for newer companies to be allowed into the game. T-Mobile and Sprint hope to better compete against Verizon and AT&T by combining and using the same customer base.

Additionally, the companies hope that by joining forces they will beat others to commercializing 5G "Fifth Generation" Internet (faster and more secure Internet access via cellphones). Comparatively, this merger is cheaper than AT&T's 2011 proposal; T-Mobile offered to merge with Sprint for only $26 billion. This merger also raises an argument in favor of American monopolies; T-Mobile argues that if US companies are to out-compete the Chinese tech industry for 5G, this mobile is necessary. Chris Lane, an analyst in Hong Kong summarizes, “It’s hard to argue that 5G is not key to the next five to 10 years. Strategically, if you’re the U.S. and you’re trying to plan industrial policy, this deal makes sense.”

Sites
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-antitrust-case-against-facebook-google-amazon-and-apple-1516121561

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/business/atts-run-ins-with-the-government.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/04/30/what-the-t-mobile-and-sprint-merger-means-for-you/?utm_term=.6cc148e400c8

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/technology/tmobile-sprint-china-5g.html

How World War 2 Gave Birth to Godzilla

      Godzilla, a revered reptilian villain widely known across all cultures, was first born on screen in the film Gojira, categorized in a genre of film known as Hibakusha Cinema, which was introduced in post-war Japan. Hibakusha is translated to "bomb affected person," which too this day is still taboo in Japan, and alludes to the strange and dangerous effects of radiation. The onslaught of apocalyptic, atomic monster films were rooted in the fear of radiation and nuclear bombs, which were first introduced in the world, and even used against Japan during the Second World War. 

      The idea for Godzilla was reminiscent of the effects of radiation sickness, which was seen in the effect of fallout of fishing boats on Marshall Islands, where bewildered sailors saw a blinding flash, and were later reduced to vomiting and strange burns hours later. In the same way, Godzilla was the first radioactive superhero, a blown-up hypothetical world where the power of radiation eventually gives birth to a radioactive reptilian giant. 

      However, while the monster is known for the frightening and exhilarating scenes on the big screen, Godzilla resembles much, much more than entertainment. Godzilla was a product of the radioactive environment around him, but as a franchise, he was also a product of the political environment in the world, at the time. He was a symbol of prejudice, destruction, and arrogance, and resembled the dangerous repercussions of international conflict, as seen in World War 2. He was a punishment for the abuse of technology and advanced weaponry in the film, making a blatant political reminder to the rest of the world to be responsible with technological progress. 

Works Cited:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-lankes/godzillas-secret-history_b_5192284.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10788996/Godzilla-why-the-Japanese-original-is-no-joke.html

file:///Users/andrewmo/Downloads/1096-5783-1-PB.pdf

Martin Cooper (not that one, a different one)

Martin Cooper is known as the father of the cellular phone. His work in the mobile industry gave birth to the movement that led to what we know as cell phones. Without him, the iPhones and Androids would not exist, and the world would not be as connected as it is today. Cooper is an inventor and engineer who worked in the nascent field of mobile phones several decades ago. He is still alive at 89 years old and remains a legend in the field of mobile electronics.

Cooper was born in 1928 and grew up amidst the Great Depression. His parents were immigrants, and they had meager incomes and experienced difficulty adjusting to life in America. However, they wanted their children to succeed, and as a result, much emphasis was put on education. Young Cooper was very bright and curious, with a predisposition towards science and the understanding of how things work. His fascination with science and math led him to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a degree in engineering. To afford his education Cooper had to join the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and because of this he served in the Korean War. He served in the Navy, and later joined a submarine crew only to retire 3 years later. It was after the war that Cooper did most of his work in the field that he is famous for. After leaving the Navy, Cooper joined AT&T, the sole giant in the field of communications at the time. AT&T had, at that point, already introduced the idea of cellular phones, however, these phones required heavy batteries and so could only function in cars. Because of this, they were not truly mobile, and the methods by which they connected people were inefficient and slow.

Cooper left AT&T over disagreements over the cellular phone as well as with their company philosophy. He would go on to work at Motorola, a smaller and more relaxed competitor to the communications giant. After some time, AT&T proposed a system of communication based on the car phone, and requested the FTC give them a full monopoly over the channels in the US. Cooper and Motorola objected, understanding that the move would kill them and also that the future was not in car phones, but in hand-held cellular phones. Cooper convinced Motorola that such a venture was worth the investment, and so the whole company focused on developing this device in order to beat AT&T. They eventually succeeded, creating a large, heavy box that could perform basic functions such as calling and answering. This was the world’s first mobile phone, and in a act of gloating, Cooper used the phone to call his competitors at AT&T and announce Motorola’s victory. That was the first mobile phone call in history, and at the moment Martin Cooper had sealed himself in history as the father of the cellular phone.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Cooper

http://simplyknowledge.com/popular/biography/martin-cooper
https://cdn.britannica.com/93/172793-004-8C9FE0E4.jpg

Hollywood and Its Impact on American Society

Hollywood and Its Impact on American Society         

          Hollywood, and the film industry in general, has significantly impacted the United States of America. Through movies, many historical and social changes have occurred alongside. This is especially the case in regards to the gradual acceptance of African-American individuals in society.
          To kick off the respect towards African-Americans in the film industry, Hattie McDaniel was the first nominated and award-winning supporting actress for role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind in 1939. For Gone with the Wind's premiere, all black individuals were not allowed to see the film. This included Hattie McDaniel and other black actresses in the film, like Butterfly McQueen. A similar dilemma occurred at the actual Academy Awards where Hattie McDaniel had to receive special permission and an escort to enter the event. Fay Bainter, the previous winner of the award, makes sure to express how historically significant the presentation of the award to Hattie McDaniel is as you can watch in the following short video of McDaniel's humble acceptance.
         

 

McDaniel's acceptance (left), McDaniel's award-winning role: "Mammy" (right)

          The next official nomination wouldn't come until 1954 with the first nomination of an African-American woman in a leading role. Dorothy Dandridge played the leading role of Carmen Jones in the film of the same name. The movie was exclusively all African-American actors which was something rather unheard of for a successful film across an expansive audience. Unfortunately, Dandridge did not win the Oscar for her performance in Carmen Jones. However, she was regarded to be a respected and successful Hollywood actresses during her career. Dandridge even ended up on the cover of Life magazine as seen below.

          A black actress winning the award of Best Actress in a Leading Role has only been done once in 2002 by Halle Berry in Monster's Ball.

          Alas, Carmen Jones and Gone with the Wind were both selected to be preserved for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" according to the Library of Congress. How such nominations and winning of awards impacted the American public is up for speculation. It is interesting to look back at history from such a specific perspective as the film industry which has arguably aided in the shaping of what the United States of America is today.


https://www.biography.com/people/hattie-mcdaniel-38433
https://www.biography.com/people/dorothy-dandridge-9542081

Chinese Railroad Workers: The Oppressed Minorities of San Francisco

      After migrating to the "Gold Mountain," or San Francisco in the 1850s in search of fortunes and easily attained riches, Chinese immigrants found themselves working in grueling, low paying jobs in the gold mines and railroads. The work needed to complete the Transcontinental Railroad was put on the shoulders of these new Chinese immigrants, as they were generally smaller and thinner than indigenous people, and could fit into smaller areas to dynamite mountains. The work was incredibly dangerous and many times outright unjust, but the injustice did not stop at the physical labor, as the Supreme Court showed no mercy on these newly settled minorities.

      In the lesser known trial known as People v. Hall, the local San Francisco court had convicted a man of murder. This was an ordinary occurrence on face, but what stood out about this case in particular, was that the victim was a Chinese miner, and the perpetrator was a white man. The initial decision resulted in the conviction and death sentence of the white man, named George Hall, but he attempted to appeal the decision and eventually took the case to Supreme Court. Consequently, the appeal was won, and Hall was freed from his conviction and sentence, but the reason for decision was purely based on the fact that the three witnesses testifying in court were, in fact, Chinese. The case and decision were described as "containing some of the most offensive racial rhetoric to be found in the annals of California appellate jurisprudence," and demonstrated the casual racism that still existed in the United States. It was a blatant statement that while the Chinese workers worked hard at building one of the nation's landmark achievements, fighting to survive in their "promised land," they were inferior and were less than whites on every level. 

      This decision eventually led to the creation of a KKK-like environment in the Chinese community, in which whites freely attacked Chinese workers, knowing that they would not suffer the consequences for their actions as long as only Chinese witnesses were around. The violence included but was not limited to beatings, lynchings, murders, and other abuses, leaving the Chinese powerless and speechless, unable to fight for their rights. 

Works Cited:

http://meloukhia.net/2011/12/laying_some_history_on_you_people_v_hall/

https://www.cschs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2017-Newsletter-Spring-People-v.-Hall.pdf

http://www.cetel.org/1854_hall.html

The Reagan Revolution

Taking office directly after Nixon's impeachment and Carter's questionably effective presidency, Ronald Reagan was immediately faced with a mounting economic crisis, stagflation, and growing instability in the Middle East. Before winning the presidency, he had been a well-known actor and a spokesperson against the McCarthyism era during the 1950s. He held the belief that the government was the creator of the people’s problems, not that the government held the solution to solving social issues.

A New Conservatism
Many of his supporters were a part of the "New Right," a wave of conservatism that spread due to the emergence of evangelical Christians and neoconservatives during the 1960s. They were conservative in that they were against the legalization of abortion, sex education in schools, and tax hikes. Not only did they bring a Republican back into the White House, they helped Republicans claim the majority of the seats in the Senate as well.

This trend of conservatism began with the ideas of Barry Goldwater in the 1960s, that the government was growing too big and had too much power. Prior to and during Reagan's presidency, the Republican party (which had previously been a mix of liberals and conservatives) was leaning increasingly to the right. It began with the programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies in which the government took action against dropping unemployment rates and poverty. They believed that the government was doing too much and thus caused deficits, unemployment, and inflation.

With the wave of social movements and reforms during these few decades, these conservatives felt that America was turning away from its original values and goals. They saw the "new conservatism" as a way to restore the country to what they believed was its original form.

Reaganomics
Reagan's solution to the rising inflation and stagnant economy was to cut government bills and spending on programs. He decided to cut back on taxes for the top 30%, which many felt was counterproductive. His belief was that if the rich had to pay fewer taxes, they would invest more in companies and contribute more money into the economy. Then, this money would "trickle-down" into the lower classes, creating more jobs and a growing economy. This was based on a theory called "supply-side economics," where the economy would improve if the government stopped interfering and regulating industries.

While the plan seemed like a good idea in theory, data actually showed less investment, slower growth, and a decline in wages for the lower classes. While he was able to lessen the rate of inflation, he pushed the country into further economic recession and decreased investment as a whole. While unemployment dropped, our national debt rose to new heights.

Foreign Policy and the Iran-Contra Scandal
As a president during the Cold War era, Reagan was involved in fighting communism. One particular radical group in Nicaragua, the Contras, were actively trying to overthrow the communist dictatorship in their country and needed Reagan's help. He also had the goal maintain peaceful relations with the Middle East, as America had relied on that region for oil.

In 1985, the war between Iran and Iraq had escalated, with the United States being forced to get involved. A terrorist group in Lebanon had taken some Americans hostage, and demanded weapons in exchange for the release of the prisoners, as they were funded by the Iranian government. However, due to an embargo with Iran, President Reagan knew that he couldn't legally sell them the weaponry. In the end, he decided to sell weapons to Iran in exchange for the hostages.

When the events first appeared int he press, he denied contact with Iran and that there had been any exchange of sorts. However, word got out about the shipments of weapons to Iran, and he admitted that there was a sale but that it wasn't part of an arms-for-hostages deal. The scandal quickly escalated when it was found that only $12 million of the $30 million in sales had actually reached the federal government, and that the remaining $18 million had gone towards funding the Contras in Nicaragua.


The investigation on the Iran-Contra was conducted for the next eight years, with fourteen people charged with "cover-up" crimes. In the end, because Reagan couldn't be tied directly to the scandal, his image suffered but he was able to rebound.

Sources:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ushistory2os2xmaster/chapter/the-reagan-revolution/
https://magoosh.com/hs/apush/2017/new-conservatism-apush-topics/

Shay's Rebellion

Back during the 18th century Shay's Rebellion proved to be both a successful and unsuccessful protest against local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. It started with farmer Daniel Shay, a former captain int he Continental Army, fought against high taxes and stringent economic conditions. It was brought about by a monetary debt crisis at the end of the Revolutionary War. The government did not respond to the economic crisis, like forgiving debt and printing more greenbacks.

Although it was known as an unsuccessful protest, it was a successful boost as it paved the road for what would later be known as the new Constitution, previously known as the Article of Confederation. Shays Rebellion is the most extreme response during an economic crisis and since it was dangerous to let American citizens run rampage causing more trouble with the addition of the economic crisis, national leaders felt compelled to act. Although Shay's Rebellion was not particularly big in terms of death ratios, but it does serve as a strong argument that the government should be strong enough to support the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays%27_Rebellion

Transcendentalism

In the first half of the 1800s, American artistic expression was dominated by the Transcendentalism movement. Originally inspired by German Enlightenment philosophers like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Immanuel Kant, Transcendentalism took ideas from mysticism and Romanticism. Other forerunners of the intellectual movement in America took inspiration from the spiritual landscape painting of German romantics. Transcendentalism was a mode of thought that focused on, in the words of Kant, “not with objects but with out mode of knowing objects”. In America, this started in Massachusetts and took on the form of a belief in the inherent goodness of men and nature. Transcendentalists believed that society and its political individuals corrupted this purity. As such, they preached independence and a withdrawal from society until individuals were enlightened enough of this. For example, Henry David Thoreau, a writer of the time, submersed himself in nature for two years and isolated himself from others. This experience would go on to be recorded in his book Walden and become documented as a spiritual quest.

Transcendentalism was a response to the tensions in American society of that time. Many artists and writers critiqued American society for being too reliant on God and becoming to conforming in their thinking. They practiced religious skepticism and believed more in a Deistic figurehead. Transcendentalists, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, also wished for each individual to find “an original relation to the universe”. Just like Thoreau, Emerson also sought isolation in nature. They believed that in doing so, they would be able to develop an individual connection with nature, uncorrupted by the institutions of society. Originally a way to critique uniformity in Americans’ thinking, gradually, transcendentalists grew to critique American society as a whole, especially of their relation to slavery. Many transcendentalists were against slavery because of its immorality and how it dehumanized slaves and treated them as inhuman. In fact, Thoreau, an outspoken abolitionist, would refuse to pay his poll tax during the Mexican War because he did not want his money to go into acquiring territory that could potentially be used to expand slavery.  Clearly, many American transcendentalists were concerned with the morality of their society and how freedom worked.

One way that Transcendentalism manifested itself in American culture was through poetry. Transcendentalist poets believed that the source of their writing should come from their intuition and own spirit, and not from empirical facts. As such, transcendentalist poetry was more expressive and understanding than other previous types. Their writing reflected their belief that all individuals are connected to the universe, and drew connections between moods and weather or landscapes. Because of a non-conformity focus, all transcendentalist poetry is unique and individualistic. Additionally, the beauty of nature provided the subject material of many of these poets. This would inspire them to go on to fight to establish national parks and protected areas.

Sources

• http://hrs-art.com/hudson-river-school-influences/transcendentalism/
• https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/amtrans.htm
• http://www.annhuang.com/blog/2016/06/22/5-things-to-know-about-transcendentalist-poetry/

Articles of Confederation Recap

So what exactly is the Article of Confederation and what role does it have on history itself? Well for starters the Articles of Confederation was made in 1777-1781, in response to the original 13 colonies declaring themselves to be independent and sovereignty. It was an important piece in history that defined what America is today, but how come it is not as memorable as the Declaration of Independence?

The downfall of the Article of Confederation was simply due to it's low confidence which also resulted in a weak government that could barely enforce their laws. To be more accurate the government was feared by the states and was thought that Congress and the government should not have too much authority on matters especially with the Revolution rolling right around the corner. However that proved to be a fatal mistake on the colony's part as the Revolution needed a strong government that could make decisions and act without too much hesitation. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress has borrowed money to continue to fight yet after the war had ended, they could not repay their debt.

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-articles-confederation-fail-216807

https://study.com/academy/.../articles-of-confederation-strengths-weaknesses-quiz.html

The Emergence of Social Media

             Besides chat rooms that were a product of the early age of the Internet during the early nineties, the first modern social media website known as SixDegrees, entered the market in 1997. It featured friends lists, and instant messaging. However, the website was shut down in 2001, simply explained by the fact that there were not enough people on the Internet yet, and that it was a concept ahead of its time. In 1997, under two percent of the world's population was on the internet, compared to today's fifty one percent.
             Friendster, launched in 2002, quickly gained popularity and a following. It showed users how they were connected to others, with sleeker presentation. While Friendster gained a user base of over three million people. However, competition quickly arrived in the form of MySpace, still remembered my most nineties kids. MySpace was similar to Friendster, however, the owners of MySpace already owned a company called eUniverse which allowed them to have connections and advertising to their social media site. MySpace had quicker development team. However, MySpace was quickly overtaken by a social media site still well known today.
             Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard drop-out. Initially Facebook was a social media page directed at Harvard Students strictly, and then expanded to nearly all colleges. It had a wall for every user, and had an emphasis on used background. In 2006 Facebook was opened up to the public. Facebook was much more focused on user generated content, while MySpace focused on unnecessary useless featured as wells as tons of ads. Facebook was considered a cleaner more sleek look that attracted more users.
             Twitter came out in late 2006, and quickly became popular because it was considered to be a new and unique idea. Much simpler than the previous, Twitter only required 140 characters to express a thought or experience. It was less involved thinking and interaction, and more or a modernized chat room. Twitter was the first social media website to truly use and embrace hashtags, using them as a form of polling data on trending topics and determining what people are most interested in at a particular time frame.
             Other social media websites follow these previously discussed forms, either more simplified (like Instagram is to Twitter) or more complicated (like LinkedIn is to Facebook).

The Persian Gulf War

        The origins of the Persian Gulf War began with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's invasion of neighboring country Kuwait in August 1990. Iraq, having just finished a long-running war with Iraq, accused Kuwait and Saudi Arabia of artificially lowering oil prices, accusing them of being under the control of Western oil-buying nations. Hussein started gathering troops on Kuwait's border, and much to the rest of the world's surprise, he declared Kuwait an "artificial state" that was carved out of Iraq by colonialists. After a failed attempt by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to negotiate peace between the two, on August 2, 1990, Hussein ordered the officially ordered the invasion of Kuwait.

        This move shocked Iraq's neighboring Middle Eastern countries, and, opposite to what Hussein thought would happen, they asked the United States and other Western powers to intervene and stop him. The United Nations Security Council responded by demanding Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, and the United States sent fighter planes to Saudi Arabia as a safeguard against any possible further Iraqi expansion under Operation Desert Shield. 

        Despite this, Iraq increased its troop count in Kuwait to 300,000. Hussein tried to garner support for his invasion from the rest of the Muslim world, but his efforts mostly failed. Thus, in order to maximize his troop count, he signed a hasty treaty with Iran, a longtime rival. 

        By January of 1990, the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of "all necessary means" to be used against Iraq in order to push it out of Kuwait, creating a coalition force of personnel most from the United States but as well as Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. On the other side, Iraq had the support of Jordan, Algeria, the Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The United Nations coalition effort, known as Operation Desert Storm, used the latest military technology to quickly establish air superiority in the region.

        In February, the coalition shifted its focus to the ground, launching a massive allied ground offensive, called Operation Desert Sabre, on February 24. In the following days, the coalition troops were quickly encircled and defeated and were forced out of Kuwait and back into Iraq. Following this victory, President George H. W. Bush declared a ceasefire on February 29, officially ending the Persian Gulf War. The peace treaty signed forced Iraq to recognize Kuwait's sovereignty and to get rid of all its "weapons of mass destruction", which included nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. This vague terminology would later resurface in the Iraq War under George W. Bush, who would initiate a war with Iraq under the accusations that Hussein still harbored "weapons of mass destruction". The second Persian Gulf War, more often dubbed the Iraq War, began on March 20, 2003.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/persian-gulf-war

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-9/apush-1990s-america/a/the-gulf-war

A Not so Gentlemenly Agreement

Nativism spread its roots throughout the early twenty-first century, posing a problem for the immigrants of the time. One group that was hit hard was the Japanese, who had been assured free immigration in 1894. However, with the surge of Japanese immigrants into California, people became disgruntled. There were simply too many coming into the state and racial tensions and nativist sentiments were further exasperated. 

Some attempts were made to lessen the issues as in 1900, Japan agreed to stop issuing passports to workers that were attempting to enter the United States. Even with this policy in place, Japanese immigrants continued to come to America via other countries. This caused tensions to rise even further until in 1906, Asian children in the San Francisco school board were segregated.

This caused the Japanese American relationship to worsen as Japan was deeply offended by the action taken against their people. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt tried to extend an olive branch as it was essential to maintain Japan as an ally to counter Russian expansion. President Roosevelt set up a meeting with the mayor of San Francisco and the school board of the district, persuading them to repeal the decision for segregation. He assured them that the federal government would address the issue and that a solution would be found.

Within a year in 1907, the federal government took the matter into their hands with the Gentlemen's Agreement. It stated that Japan would continue denying passports to laborers set on entering the United States and that the United States could reject Japanese immigrants coming from other countries. The school board withdrew the order and in 1908, the Gentlemen's Agreement went into action.

These restrictions on Japanese immigration and the response to the influx of immigrants goes to show how strong nativism was in the United States and how extreme measures, such as segregation, were taken. The Gentlemen's Agreement, while done to benefit both parties in the situation, serves as a reminder how hard it is to combat preconceived notions and how strong public opinion can be even if its decisions are immoral.


SOURCE : https://www.history.com/topics/gentlemens-agreement

Pop Art

The 50’s were a time of continued American economic growth following World War II. Although many remained constrained by their fear of the Cold War, many Americans also achieved unprecedented levels of success and security. Many families moved out of the cities into the suburbs and their cookie cutter houses, and manufacturing industries were at an all time high. This inspired a culture of consumerism, where in many people’s eyes, status was all based on what you had better than your neighbor. This, in turn, would inspire a movement among the artists: pop art.

Developed in the mid-50’s and rooted in the Dada movement, pop art was art that responded to trends in everyday life. Artists took inspiration from the conflict with the Soviet Union, consumerism, and the beginnings of the counterculture that would take hold during the 60’s. Many artists directly used materials and images from mass goods and media. For example, Andy Warhol’s famous prints include depictions of Marilyn Monroe, Campbell’s soup cans, and dollar signs. Artistic style was mostly characterized by realism with bold colors and using printmaking to produce multiple copies of their artwork. This was a reflection of the commercialism of the time, and how mass production was so easy to do that artistic originality was basically dead. Many artists began to use different types of mixed media in order to better connect history, culture, and art with each other.

Pop art first displayed in New York, and really took off during the 60’s in Los Angeles. Pop art was not limited to just America, many British artists took the style as well and began producing artworks in the same vein. However, American pop art tended to be more disillusioned with the incessant marketing of society, and tones tended to be more dramatic. As an example, Roy Lichtenstein, an American artist, had a style that was heavily influenced by comic books, which were a popular form of mass production of the time. Since Britain was still recovering from World War II at the time, their society tended to be less commercialized, as did their art.  

Pop art did not necessarily criticize popular culture, it merely explored and took from it. In previous decades, American art had been heavily influenced by nature and religion, like the Transcendentalism of Henry David Thoreau. In the 50’s, however, mass media made it so that American artists were more exposed to it. Pop art reflected the mass population’s own feelings, and was less avant garde in the way that a wider audience was already more connected to it. Clearly, the pop art movement was a response to the culture that had developed during the 50’s.

Sources

• https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/pop-art
• http://www.poparthistory.com/american.html
• https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/movement/pop-art

The Severity of the Civil Rights Movement and Viola Liuzzo

The Severity of the Civil Rights Movement and Viola Liuzzo
       
          In mid-March of 1965, the Selma to Montgomery marches, including "Bloody Sunday," occurred to demonstrate the severe want for true voting rights. However, the outcome was one that was filled with danger and hostility. For example, state troopers attacked the marchers and demonstrators. To be more specific, eighty men, women, and children were hospitalized. The demonstrations and hostility were televised which was a significant factor in the American public's perception of the ordeal and wish to support voting rights for African-Americans. It allowed many across the country to fully realize the true racial conflict in the United States. A chain of emotion, disgust, and aggression was set off at this time. In response, President Lyndon B. Johnson connected this to Civil War times and wished for progress or an eventual end to this conflict. Of course, an unsettling amount of injuries and deaths of black individuals resulted from these marches and the Civil Rights Movement in general. However, the hostility was so strong during this time that this even resulted in the death of a white woman, Viola Liuzzo. Liuzzo was the only white woman killed in connection to the Civil Rights Movement. The story that surrounds her death simply goes to show the true tension that surrounded the Civil Rights Movement and how increasingly chaotic it got.

          Viola Liuzzo was one of the many Americans who viewed the disgusting acts of "Bloody Sunday" on television. She was already socially active by being part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Detroit. In response, to the televised images of "Bloody Sunday," Liuzzo wished to help and effort in the cause herself. Liuzzo participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery which began on March 21, 1965. Liuzzo, in addition, helping many of the demonstrators by being a driver for individuals traveling back and forth between Selma and Montgomery. Finally, on March 25, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. performed a speech at the Montgomery capitol building. During the night that followed, the only white woman's death in connection to the Civil Rights Movement would occur. Liuzzo was driving a teenaged black man, Leroy Moton to Selma via Highway 80. During this trip, someone in a passing vehicle shot and killed her. The passenger, Moton, apparently survived only due to him pretending to be dead after the car drifted into a ditch on the side of the highway. It was later televised who the culprits were and it was revealed that one of four individuals in the passing car was an FBI informant, Gary Thomas Rowe. Strikingly, all four of the individuals were affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.
          Following Viola Liuzzo's death, much false information began to surface regarding the woman's character. Most intriguing about this was that the FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, was supposedly the one instigating such spilling of false information. Such information included how she was supposedly a terrible mother, a horrendous housewife, and in a relationship with the African-American she was driving. A court case still continued to occur which resulted in all the culprits excluding the FBI informant to be sentenced to ten years in prison. However, one of the three men died of unrelated issues before he was sentenced. Rowe, the FBI informant, received immunity from the prosecution. However, the remaining two men both later revealed that Rowe was the individual who actually shot Viola Liuzzo. Due to Rowe's gained immunity, these murder charges did not affect him.
          A bizarre and eerie feel results from learning about the death of Viola Liuzzo. Her death truly shows the severe place that the United States of America was in during this controversial time in the 1960s. With such a shady example filled with the FBI, a sharpshooter, and an attack on a dead white woman's reputation, one can truly see how chaotic the Civil Rights Movement was.

Check out President Johnson's address on Liuzzo: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-26-1965-statement-arrests-violo-liuzzo-murder
https://www.biography.com/people/viola-gregg-liuzzo-370152
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/12/15/a-white-mother-went-to-alabama-to-fight-for-civil-rights-the-klan-killed-her-for-it/?utm_term=.1f0018956e0b
Image: http://spartacus-educational.com/USAliuzzo.htm

Spain, France, and England: treating the Natives

As we know, England was not the only colonizer of the Americas. Spain claimed the South, covering vast amounts of modern day Mexico and parts of the US, and France claimed the North, now Canada. This begs the question, how did each colonizing nation treat the Native Americans?

Spain:

The Spanish were brutal and exploitive of the natives. They established a hierarchical system with Spaniards at the top and natives at the bottom. Under Spanish rule, Native Americans were essentially enslaved to the fields, the mines, and as servants; plus, they had to pay tribute, where every month or so each Indian was forced to pay a certain sum of gold, and if they didn't, they would be executed. Catholicism was also imposed on the tribes and empires. Also, the encomienda system was established, where, when the Spanish government granted land, that grant included any native inhabitants as their slaves. As a result, many Natives fled, and those who were caught were treated as prisoners of war. Finally, there was the mission system, where priests actually bothered to learn the local language and then convert people in village communities. This was fairly successful. The Spanish mistreated the Natives, but as a result of all their close affairs with them, they intermarried and created the mestizo class.

England:

While the Spanish were true settlers, mostly men of rank, the English colonizers were mostly families wanting to start a new life. There was some effort to enslave and convert the Indians, but they were much weaker and mostly failed. The relationship between the English and the Natives was founded on trade and land. In both cases, the Indians lost after white hunters killed all their fur prey, and then attempted to buy their land. The pattern to notice was that there was trade, attempts to secure land, misunderstanding, and conflict with each westward movement. One of the most important contrasts with the Spanish settlers was the absence of intermarriage -- Americans saw themselves as above intermarriage with the "savages".

France:

The French presence in North America was exceptional, as they actually had good relations with the Natives. They came mainly to trade furs, not settle land. They worked together with the Indians in hunting, and even learned the languages! When they settled their first city of Quebec, they kept these ties. They had the highest intermarriage rate of all. Of course, the French weren't so righteous. In the West Indies, alongside Britain and Spain, they held slave societies where treatment was so harsh that the death rate exceeded the birth rate, thus the constant importations of new slaves was necessary. Abolition in the 1820's allowed for these colonies to rebel and liberate themselves.

Each empire criticized the others' treatment of the Natives and used that criticism as evidence that their own ways were best.

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-did-spain-france-england-treat-native-496372
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/native-americans-treatment-spain-vs-england-issue
https://ancestralfindings.com/the-french-and-native-american-relations/
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Slavery_in_the_British_and_French_Caribbean#/Abolition

The Immigration Act of 1965

The Immigration Act of 1965 was issued to establish a new form of immigration policy that abolished national quotas set during the 1920's. This countered the idea of nativism, which was prominent in the early 20th century. The Emergency Quota Act in 1921 severely reduced the number of people that could migrate to the United States every year, and the quota system wasn't changed much since then.

As nativism started to die down towards the mid 20th century, there began to be increasing opposition against the quota systems. Foreigners who wanted to come over to the United States largely believed that the quotas discriminated against them. Even President Kennedy stated that the immigration policy could not be tolerated and gave a speech for immigration reform in 1963. Although Kennedy wasn't able to enforce a legislation to abolish the immigration quotas due to his assassination, his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, was able to sign the bill in October 1965.

While the legislation was able to abolish quotas, it "did place caps on per-country and total immigration, as well as caps on each category." However, these caps were very large, and it did not inhibit many immigrants from coming over. The caps were also completely different from the former immigration policy as the quotas from 1929 gave over 1/3 of the annual immigration slots to Germans. It "banned discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas based on 'race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence.'"

One major change that the legislation brought about was the support for family unification and skilled labor. If someone had a family members living in the United States, he/she could also immigrate over and join the rest of his/her family. Additionally, people who were adept and seeking jobs in the United States were also preferred. As a result of these two preferences, there was the prevalence of chain immigration, which was the idea that one person migrating to the United States would lead to more family members coming over.

The Immigration Act of 1965 has led to a significant impact in terms of the diverse population in the United States today. Prior to the legislation, immigrants primarily came in from Southern and Eastern Europe. However, after it was enforced, people started to come from a variety of regions, primarily Asia and Latin America. At the beginning, many immigrants fled to the United States due to conflicts such as the Vietnam War. Afterwards, most people came over in seek of new opportunities. While the immigration policy has led to an increase of migration to the United States, there is also debate concerning illegal immigration, which is still an important topic today.

Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/geopolitical-origins-us-immigration-act-1965

The First Red Scare

While America had a widespread fear of communism throughout the Cold War, this fear was instilled long ago. The First Red Scare started in 1917 and was an anti-communist movement in response to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The Bolshevik Revolution led to the change towards a communist government in Russia, and this was during a time when the First World War was still going on. Americans were afraid that Russia would let down its allies, and they feared the spread of communism.

Additionally, during this period, many immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe were coming to America. As there was a strong sentiment towards nativism, many Americans disliked immigrants because they believed that the foreigners were taking over their jobs and increasing competition. They created the fear that the mass immigration could result in the spread of communism in the United States.

During the war, the government issued the Espionage Act in 1917 and later the Sedition Act in 1918, which "made it a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the U.S. armed forces prosecution of the war effort or to promote the success of the country’s enemies." While this was intended mostly to suppress anti-war activists, these acts were also used to prosecute suspected communists during the First Red Scare.

The fear of communism grew even larger in the autumn of 1919 when there were a series of race riots and strikes known as Red Summer. The strikes also involved anarchist violence as there were bombs being exploded in cities. Americans referenced the assassination of President McKinley as he was also killed by an anarchist. Americans believed that things were getting out of hand, and they mostly blamed this on communists, who were associated with anarchists.

In response to the public fear, Attorney General Palmer led the Palmer Raids. On New Year's Day of 1920, over 6,000 foreigners were arrested under the accusation that they were supporting communism. This event led to a significant opposition from the American public as they saw civil liberties being violated. The Palmer Raids led to the end of the First Red Scare, but there was still some fear of communism throughout the 1920's and 1930's until the Second World War when Russia had a common goal with the United States to take down Germany. Obviously, after World War II, the widespread fear of communism known as the Second Red Scare came back again and led to further tensions in the Cold War.

Overall, the First Red Scare can be seen to be an important event in American history. It highlights how there were irrational fears of communism from the public before the Cold War and how a culmination of events together (Bolshevik Revolution, mass immigration and nativism, assassination of President McKinley, and Red Summer) can influence such a widespread fear from Americans.

Sources
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/First_Red_Scare
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/america-1918-1939/the-red-scare-in-the-1920/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-congress-passes-espionage-act

Discrimination in Los Altos (and the 1960s)

"No person other than those of the White or Caucasian race shall use or occupy any premise or building theron except that such persons may be employed and housed in the capacity of a servant or domestic of resident."

Such is written by William D. Wasson about the stipulations that had to be kept in order for him to sell his property. This clause was not added during the Gilded Age or the 1800s, neither was it written in the deep South. This contract between Mr. Wasson and the property's purchaser was written in September of 1943 in Los Altos, California. To be more exact, the property William D. Wasson was selling was a plot of land on the Jordan Tract (currently Jordan Avenue) where my house currently stands.

Ku Klux Klan parade on East Main Street in Ashland, Ore., in the 1920s. (Oregon Historical Society)

While many assume that the South was the region where racism was legally enforced following the Civil War, many Northern states also had extreme prejudice. In addition to individuals like Wasson preventing housing opportunities by legally preventing buyers from renting property to non-White people, White supreme organizations were able to gain more direct control over state governments.
The KKK saw a rise in membership during the 1920s as nationalism swept the country under the idea of "America for Americans" (foreshadowing the Japanese idea of "Asia for Asians"). This growth was not limited to the South as the KKK gained control in Oregon and 6 other states. In fact, the largest KKK membership West of the Mississippi River was in Oregon. Seemingly liberal states such as Oregon and California have surprisingly --and disturbingly-- racist pasts. When Oregon entered the Union in 1859 it did so as a “whites-only” state; the state constitution excluded nonwhites from living there. Oregon's racist beginnings continued to impact the state into the 1920s. In 1922, Walter Pierce, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was elected governor of Oregon and later served for 10 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Acts of racism strengthened in the Bay Area during the 1930s. The Watsonville riots began after the opening of a dance club where Filipino men could allegedly pay to dance with white girls. Violent riots lasted roughly for five days in San Francisco, Stockton, San Jose and Salinas, culminating in the death of 22-year-old Fermin Tobera. In 1965, the oppressed Filipino farmers would begin organizing to protest their harsh working conditions and joining forces with the newly emerging Latino rights organization lead by Cesar Chavez. 

The oppression of minorities and immigrants was widespread in America. Just because we live in California, we cannot believe that the North and West held morally superior and equal views of all people. White supremacy and the idea that minority races are nothing more than "servants" lasted far past Reconstruction and was far wider than the South.

Sites
"The 1920s" Worksheet
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/07/when-portland-banned-blacks-oregons-shameful-history-as-an-all-white-state/
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/ZZ/20110904/NEWS/110908006
Contract between William D. Wasson and purchaser of plot (passed down from previous owners of our house)

President William McKinley

On January 29, 1843 in Niles, Ohio, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born. In his early life, William McKinley served in the Union Army, starting as a private and eventually working his way up to brevet major. Years later, in 1877,  he was elected to Congress, where he acted as a Republican representative for Ohio and the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. He supported high tariffs on imported goods and was later blamed for raising prices and moved back to Ohio after 14 years in the House, where he ran for and won the position of governor. He served two terms as the governor of Ohio and in 1896 decided to run for the presidency.

During the election, the issue of free silver was large in the minds of many Americans, causing dissent in both the Democratic and Republican parties. McKinley decided to follow the gold standard, going against the Democratic nominee, William Jennings Bryan, who supported free silver and attacked the gold standard. McKinley was able to win the popular vote by the biggest popular vote margin in 25 years (7.1 to 6.1 million votes) and also won handily in the electoral college.

McKinley’s presidency is often-times classified as mediocre, however, he did much to change America’s standing in the world. For example, in 1898 McKinley declared war against Spain after conflicts in Cuba, starting the first American-foreign major conflict since the War of 1812. The Spanish-American War lasted just a few months and resulted in the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines and a new viewpoint on America’s ability to intervene in foreign affairs. McKinley adopted the “Open Door Policy” which allowed for all nations to freely trade with China, and supported this policy when he sent 5000 American troops to shut down the Boxer Rebellion when American missionaries were threatened.

In the election of 1900, McKinley, increasingly popular due to his success in the Spanish-American War, once again beet Bryan by a huge margin. Following his inauguration, McKinley took a tour of the nation, meeting with the public and making speechings. During the tour on September 6, 1901, while McKinley was meeting the public, Leon Czolgosz approached the president with a gun concealed in his handkerchief, and when he reached the front of the crowd, shot the president twice in the stomach.

The president collapsed and the crowd engulfed Czolgosz, stopping his escape. McKinley was taken off the premises and doctors were unable to locate the second bullet which had lodged itself in McKinley’s abdomen. In the days following the attack, McKinley was showing signs of recovery; however, unbeknownst to his doctors, gangrene had spread and poisoned his blood, and would eventually kill him. Czolgosz was sentenced to death by electric shock 7 weeks later. McKinley currently rests in the McKinley National Memorial in Canton, Ohio.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-mckinley/

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/william-mckinley

https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-president-william-mckinley

https://millercenter.org/president/mckinley/life-in-brief

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McKinley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Czolgosz

The B-2 Spirit

Starting under the Carter Administration the Defense establishment began to look for a new bomber to replace the aging and outdated B-52 Stratofortresstress. The Administration created the ATB- Advance Technology Bomber program. The hope was to create a bomber that could defeat not only current but any future anti-bomber systems that would be produced by the Soviet Union. 

The program continued into the Reagan years. Due to the high level of investment and development that had to be done to build such an advanced bomber, programs costs ballooned. Each aircraft went from an average $737 million to $2.1 billion by the end of the program. The reason behind this was the sophistication of the bomber. The bomber was incorporating the most advanced stealth technology that money could buy. The plane also was incorporating an advanced version of the flying wing. The technological advancements to figure that plane shape was strenuous and cost the program months of time. Finally, this was one of the first aircraft in the world to use the fly-by-wire technology. This technology is comparable to power steering in a car and helped the plane move smoother and faster. 

Soon enough though the plane was rolled out in 1988 at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The Air Force intended to buy 165 of the bombers. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned ballooning costs, the Air Force was only able to purchase 21 bombers, 20 of which are operational today. The bomber saw its first action in the 1999 Kosovo War where the plane was estimated to have destroyed 33% of the selected targets. In the plane's first combat flight a squadron of MiG-29s, one of the most advanced bombers the Soviets ever produced, flew right below the bombers and never noticed a thing. To military officals, this was a testament to the ultra-advanced technology of the bomber. Moving forward the bomber would see service in the Afgan and Iraq wars and play a major role in the Libya bombing operation. Wherever the United States needs to penetrate enemy airspace, the B-2 is there to answer the call. However, the B-2 is going to be phased out by 2032. The Air Force is currently developing an even more sophisticated bomber: the B-21 Radier. 

https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/b2/

The American School of Economic Thought

Many modern economists recognize two economic schools: Keynesian and the Austrian School. Throughout the year we have studied both extensively and analyzed their pros and cons. However, I want to bring you a third economic school that this less recognize: the American School of Economics. 

The American School gets its origins from Alexander Hamilton who created the system with the goal of speeding up the development of the United States as a major world economy. The plan has three distinct parts. First, protecting domestic industry through high selective tariffs. The idea here is to have high tariffs so you force American consumers to buy American products because it is more profitable. The Second Part is government investments involving infrastructure. The creation and building new and improved infrastructure lead to greater commercial commerce and economic growth. The final point is a centralized national bank which can lend for investments and help to stimulate economic investment. The hope was to make America economically independent and nationally self-sufficient 

Although Hamilton was the mastermind behind the idea, the plan never really got fully implemented until Henry Clay who coined it with the American System. Clay followed the plan through almost to perfection and was able to significantly industrialize the nation. Although the Nation did have several economic downturns following this macroeconomic philosophy, it set the nation up for success and by the end of the 19th century, America was worlds most powerful industrial economy. 

Moving forward, although many people believe that FDR and other 20th century presidents followed the Keynesian economic school, they also incorporated a series of elements from the American School. FDR did promote high tariffs to protect America's manufacturing base and to help to stimulate economic circulation throughout the nation. Eisenhower, through his highway investments, greatly enhanced the infrasturce of the nation would lead to an increase of interstate trade and capital moving throughout the nation. Later Presidents would promote the use of the national bank, now called the Federal Reserve, to control inflation and help to promote economic and commercial development. 

The Trump administration, most significantly, follows the American System. The administration has called for increased use of the central bank to control the economy and has implemented a high series of tariffs. The most notable of these has been the tariffs on steel and aluminum which Trump hopes will cause Americans to only buy America steel and American aluminum. Also, the administration has called for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to revitalize the American economy. The hope is that by following this plan the nation will once again see high levels of economic growth. (Around the 3-5% GDP per quarter range). This notion though is still up in the air since the American School has even been tested in an interconnected economic age that is today. 

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Speeches_ClayAmericanSystem.htm 

Theodore Rosevelt

        Theodore Rosevelt became president in 1901, after the assassination of William McKinley. His policy, both foreign and domestic, were regarded as progressive at the time and are a good review for the period.
         One of his most well known domestic policies was the Sherman Anti-trust Act. This act prevented people like J.P. Morgan from building trusts too large for a fair economy. This gave Rosevelt the nickname "trust buster" yet this may not have been his greatest contribution to America.
          Rosevelt was an avid conservationist, and throughout his presidency, he reserved around 200 million acres of land for national parks that could never be touched. He created five national parks and even added more land for Yosemite National Park. One of his strategies was to declare a portion of land a national monument, which was easier to achieve than a park. This let him achieve in creating 18 national monuments including the Grand Canyon and Mount Olympus.
           In foreign policy, Rosevelt was a very strong leader. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for his mediations on the Russo-Japanese War and even began the dealings to create the Panama Canal. He continued on the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine and ensured that America would police the Hemisphere, intervening when European countries demanding their debts be paid from South American countries.
            Unfortunately, Rosevelt ran for a third term and lost to William Howard Taft, who was a tad different from Rosevelt. However, Rosevelt's legacy and policy still remain impactful today, especially with his setting up of national parks.

History of Artificial Intelligence

     Between the 1930s and now, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has gone from fantastical science fiction to reality.

     The concept of artificial intelligence began with 1930s science fiction in the cinema. The Wizard of Oz featured the “heartless” Tin Man, while Metropolis featured a humanoid robot that impersonated the character of Maria. Through these movies, the idea of AI was planted in the next generation’s minds. One of these movie watchers was Alan Turing, who authored the paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" in 1950. However, Turing’s theories could not yet be put to work due to the inability of computers to store commands and the exorbitant cost of computing.

     Some progress was finally made when Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw, and Herbert Simon created a proof-of-concept called the Logic Theorist, which was a program that mimicked the problem-solving skills of a human. John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky hosted a presentation of the Logic Theorist at the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence in 1956. While the conference did not succeed in starting an organized effort to develop AI technology, it still resulted in the consensus that AI was achievable, catalyzing the next two decades of research in the field.

    Between 1957 and 1974, AI advanced at rocket speed. Computer costs went down while their efficiencies went up, machine learning algorithms were developed and improved, and programs such as General Problem Solver and ELIZA made huge initial steps toward the goals of machine problem solving and machine interpretation of human language. Government agencies such as DARPA were incentivized to fund AI research, and the government had high expectations for a machine translation agent to be developed.

     Despite the numerous advances that occurred, obstacles inevitably sprang up. First, computers did not have enough memory to perform well on artificial intelligence tasks. Any machine learning problem requires that a computer learn from copious amounts of data, and computers at the time did not have the capacity to store all that data. As expectations and funding decreased, research slowed for the next ten years.

     In the 1980s, more funding and more algorithms led to a resurgence in AI research. Researchers such as John Hopfield and David Rumelhart developed and popularized deep learning techniques that allowed computers to learn from experience, and Edward Feigenbaum introduced expert systems that acted as consultants in specialized domains. While the Japanese government-funded Fifth Generation Computer Project expert system was a flop, AI continued to thrive. In 1997, world chess champion Gary Kasparov was defeated by IBM’s Deep Blue machine. Now that we live in the age of big data, innovations such as emotion detection tools, driverless cars, and conversational expert systems may soon become ubiquitous.

     Food for thought: what are some ethical implications of emerging AI technology? Should the AI data learning process be allowed to breach user privacy? How can data be improved to combat algorithmic bias? What do you expect AI to accomplish in the future?

Sources:
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/
https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/csep590/06au/projects/history-ai.pdf

Sun City: The star of Arizona's recent special election

On Tuesday, yet another special election was conducted, this time in Arizona's eighth district, after the retirement of a Republican representative due to a scandal.

The two candidates facing off were Republican Debi Lesko, a state legislator, and Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, a doctor specializing in cancer research. While the race involved many factors and tons of local and national money, the star was Sun City, the retirement community outside of Arizona.

Put up for sale beginning in 1960, Sun City, Arizona, began as the classic image of American suburbanism. Entire blocks of houses were designed the same, wealthy white citizens bought the properties and lived picture perfect lives fit with TVs and cars, and people were pouring in trying to join the lifestyle themselves. Since then, Sun City has evolved into a retirement community for both full time Arizonans and elderly citizens who choose to winter in the sunny state.

Sun City makes up a large portion of Arizona's eighth district, so both candidates spent much of their time campaigning to its elderly citizens, who would end up deciding the race. Debi Lesko had already legalized the driving of golf carts on public roads as a way of pleasing the senior citizens, so she had won the hearts of many living in Sun City. However, Hiral Tipirneni realized that with all of the health issues that come with age, affordable health care would be important to seniors as well, and she made this one of her main campaign points.

In the end, Lesko won the race by a 5% margin, with Tipirneni taking a surprising amount of the vote amount these seniors, who everyone expected to vote conservatively. Overall, though, with Sun City as the centerpiece, this election was a reminder of America's suburban age.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/24/us/elections/results-arizona-house-special-election.html
https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona%27s_8th_Congressional_District_special_election,_2018
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/23/17263138/arizona-special-election-live-results-lesko-tipirneni
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sun-city-comes-of-age/

Missouri: The Bellwether State

You might know Missouri as "The Show Me State", or remember it as "that one state that compromise was named after", and while both of those things are true, one of the most interesting things about Missouri is its politics.

In political spheres, Missouri is referred to as a "bellwether" state. The original definition of bellwether was the first sheep of the flock, which wore a bell around its neck and led the flock, but in politics, this word has come to define something that demonstrates the national trend. In regards to Missouri, being a bellwether means that Missouri has voted for the winner of nearly every presidential election since 1904 (1956, 2008, and 2012 were the exceptions).

In the past, Missouri has been very much a swing state. A coalition of Republican progressives and Republican conservatives and a swarm of conservative Democrats during the 20th century made Missouri fairly balanced between political parties, and that made it a good sample for which candidate was the popular favorite among average Americans. In more recent years, the liberal cities of Kansas City in the West and St. Louis in the East have somewhat balanced out the rest of the state, which is mostly conservative.

Missouri has only broken its trend of being a bellwether state 3 times in 104 years. The first was in 1956, when the state vote for progressive Democrat Adlai Stevenson over a second term of president Eisenhower. Next, in 2008, John McCain won Missouri by a mere 4000 votes over Barack Obama, a difference of .2% of the vote. Finally, in 2012, Romney took the state in a clear victory over Obama.

In the past century, Missouri has had an incredible record of voting for winning presidents. However, some would argue that Missouri's time as a bellwether is coming to an end, as the state grows more conservative. With population increasing in conservative areas of the state but stagnation in St. Louis and Kansas City, the state is growing more solidly conservative, and may not be as good a sign of national trends anymore. One chance to see how much of a swing state Missouri truly is will be when Democratic Senator McCaskill goes up for reelection in November. If she manages to secure another term, it will be a sign that Missouri may still be a bellwether 106 years later.

https://uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/BELLWETHER/bellwether.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_bellwether
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/is-missouri-still-a-bellwether/

Rocket Propultion

Today there are two main types of rocket propulsion, solid and liquid. The first one to be developed was liquid. Liquid propulsion was first thought of by a Soviet school teacher in the 1920s. The idea to use it for rockets was not thought of until world war 2 were Nazi scientists experimented with rocket powered missiles. The idea of liquid rockets was again picked up by both the United States and the Soviet Union after the second world war. That sparked the space race.

In the line of missions to get to the moon, the Apollo missions, the rocket was propelled by a liquid rocket booster. The advantages to this type of fuel is that it can be throttled. This means that the pilot of the rocket can control the amount of thrust the rocket has. They can also turn it off at will if they see fit. A disadvantage of this type of fuel is that it takes up more space and is less energetic. The rocket needs to hold two tanks of liquid, one containing the fuel, and one containing the oxidizer needed for the reaction. Because the rocket used for the Apollo missions did not have any secondary boosters, the ability to adjust thrust is essential. This is why the rocket used only liquid fuel propulsion.

In the later missions like the space shuttle missions, there were a combination of solid and liquid rocket boosters. Solid rocket boosters (SBR) have a couple benefits and drawbacks. One benefit of SBRs is that they produce more thrust per weight. They also require less moving parts, this means that there is less that can go wrong. The biggest downside of SBRs is that there is no way to throttle or modulate the propulsion. Once the solid fuel is ignited, it can’t be stopped. It burns until there is no fuel left to burn. Because they are best for initial thrust to get off of the surface of the earth, all space shuttles had two of them that detaches into the ocean for recovery before the shuttle exited the atmosphere.

A combination of both solid and liquid rocket boosters is the most ideal because of the ability to have an energetic and high thrust to volume ratio to get out of the Earth’s atmosphere and a controllable second stage for finer adjustments later in the flight. From the 1960s to now, American ambition and desire to explore (and beat the Soviets) has expanded our understanding of physics, rocket propulsion, and what is possible.

Sources:

https://science.howstuffworks.com/rocket3.htm

https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/srb.html#srb

http://www.risacher.org/rocket/

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo.html