How America Changed The World

 

 

Over the course of history, America, in comparison to other nation states, and far in inventions and technological advancements. Americans have been responsible for numerous inventions that have permanently altered the world, having over 2.1 million patents on inventions.

 

 

1. Machine Gun 

In 1861, Richard Jordan Gatling engineered the world’s first successful machine gun as a more effective combat weapon that could fire multiple rounds within seconds. The “Gatling Gun” was developed for the American Civil War, although it never saw action in actual combat until the various wars in the Western United States against hostile Amerindian tribes. In 1911, the Gatling gun was declared obsolete by the United States Army, partly due to its outdated features.

 

2.  Airplane 

In December of 1903, two Americans from the state of Ohio, achieved the first successful flight of an aircraft. Although the philosophical idea of flight is traced back to time of Leonardo de Vinci, Orville and Wilbur Wright succeeded in making into a reality. In addition, the aircraft allowed for new business to emerge as the number of people needed for flight training increased.

 

3.  Electric Traffic Light 

An encountered phenomenon in everyday life, the electric traffic light trances its origins back to its inventor, detective Lester Wire. Wire’s intention was to have a easier way to control traffic, an alternative to having patrol men stand in the streets for long hours in various conditions. Wire utilized a steam train smokestack for the skeletal structure, but only included a red and green light. Electric traffic light was never patented by Wire.

 

4.  Rocketry 

In 1926, Robert H. Goddard (the father of modern rocketry) pioneered the world’s first liquid propellant rocket. The rocket achieved height of 41 feet within the span two seconds, and speed of sixty miles per hour. Goddard’s work laid the foundation for the development of the V-2 missiles and the ability for a rocket to reach the lunar surface.

 

 

5. Digital Computer 

George Stabitz, a research for Bell Labs, invented the first digital computer (refereed to as Model K) in 1937. In the following years, Stabitz’s constructed the Complex Number Computer (with the sole purpose of solving “complex” mathematical equation), it became the first computer to relay messages across telegraph lines. Stabitz’s digital computer built the foundation of worldwide interconnection.

 

6. Nuclear weaponry 

The Weapon of Mass Destruction trances its beginnings to Manhattan Project, and theoretical physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer, through the process of separating atoms, created the fission bomb, later dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The development of atomic and later thermonuclear weaponry altered the idea of how war was played.

 

7. Kevlar

Created by Stephanie Kowak in 1965, Kevlar, originally intended to be a replacement for racing tires, became widely known for personnel protection (bullet prof vests, suits, shirts etc.) Kevlar draws on its attributions from its stronger internal structure, made up of closely knitted molecules. The manufacturing of Kevlar is only done by the DuPoint.

 

8. Mobile Cell Phone

In 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper while working for Motorola, invented the first mobile cell phone (Dyna TAC) as an alternative to the car phone, and to allow for more personnel cellular freedom. Cooper manged to bring his device to market by 1983 and solidified the foundation for smartphone.

 

9.  Global Positioning System 

The Global Positioning System or GPS was developed to overcome issues with previous navigation network by the USAF. The system itself became fully operationally in 1995, and was released by private sources into the civilian market afterward. As a result, GPS provides military, civilian, and private operators with positioning capabilities across the globe. GPS has been fitted into multiple different versions, from a car based navigation system to an app on a smartphone.

Most important songs of the 1990’s, in no particular order.

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (1991)

The songs lyrics are purely nonsensical to represent the freedom and non-conforming nature of teenagers. If the song is to have a meaning, it would probably about taking drugs like heroin, as the lyrics can be taken as reference to the stuff.

For example:

“Load up on guns; bring your friends” – Guns= needles friends= encase of fallout

“It’s fun to lose and to pretend” – Euphoric feelings
“She’s over-bored and self-assured” – there is no going back, and she knows it
“Oh no, I know a dirty word” – Heroin

The song was a critical and commercial success and was often used as the anthem of the “Why Ask Why” generation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYxkezUr8MQ

       2. Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio (1995)

This song is about the volatile environments of poor neighborhoods and the feelings of abandonment and despair and people trapped in something they can’t escape, despite knowing how bad it is and that it will probably be their demise. In the United States, the single spent twelve weeks in the top two of the Billboard Hot 100, of which three were spent at #1 and nine at #2, meaning that it was quite a popular song, obviously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsoQCTp9L44

       3. All star by Smash mouth (1999)

The song is not about Shrek, but is is about those who excel at their endeavors by thinking outside the box. The people who go out and do new things and succeed because of it. The song makes references to global warming, which was first seen as the problem it was during the 1900’s. The song suggest that the people who think outside the box and in difference to what the world says to thin are the ones whole will face and fix our world’s problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZYgIrqELFw

        4. Enter Sandman by Metallica (1991)

This song implies that fear is something like a sin. The Sandman, in this song, is portrayed as the embodiment of the acceptance that you and all your fears will one day fade to nothing. It is not the knowledge that saves us, but the acceptance. Once we have that, fearlessness will soon follow. This song is critically acclaimed and claimed to be one of Metallica’s greatest songs and received many accolades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kap-d_VW92I

         5. The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring (1998)

This song portrays the dreams we had when we were children. We all had dreams of the stars when we were kids, but when we grew up to be teenagers, we start to see the world as the harsh place it is. This leads to some people making poor decisions, ending up in dead-end lives, and looking back on their simpler childhoods with sadness. The title of the song is an allusion to the title of the song “The Kids Are Alright” by The Who, and while it was not as successful as that song, it is considered to be the most successful song in The Offspring’s arsenal, and was even used for the opening scene of the film “The
Faculty”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxkZBlTYeds

          6. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve (1997)

This song is about the feeling of being trapped and powerless to change your behavior or your life due to circumstances beyond your control. It is about the desperation one feels as their life passes before their eyes and they struggle unsuccessfully to control and shape it. It is about the perpetual conflict between the path people want to follow and the path they are compelled to follow. Regarded as the bands signature song and was a defining track of the Brit-pop era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyP3g6oiQck

            7. Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden (1992)

This song tells the story of a man walking alone through the night fearing that someone, or something, is stalking him, only for him to find out there is nothing there. The symbolism of this story is that darkness is often misunderstood as its nature is intertwined with the unknown. So its perfectly understandable that the darkness and the shadows would be considered evil, scary, or sinister and the light would be considered good since they can represent what is unknown and what is known respectivly. However, the point that Iron Maiden is trying to get across is that this “fear of the dark” is just something that is in people’s heads and that the darkness can hold just as much good as it can bad, just as the light can hold just as much bad as it can good. It wasn’t recieved very well thought because it was part of the 90’s rock and roll which was often seen as inferior to the explosive success of 80’s rock and roll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSkk-P2Zbqs

               8. Baby One More Time by Britney Spears (1998)

The lyrics of this song suggests forms of abuse or even kinky S&M activities, but i reality it is not about either of these at all. At the time, the song writer, Max Martin, had the misunderstanding that “hit me” was used in American slang for “call me”, meaning that the line “hit me baby one more time” was supposed to mean “call me baby one more time”. This gives the overall song the meaning of obsession over a lover instead of something like S&M. The music video for this song is rated as the best music video of the 1990’s and the third most influential music video in the history of pop music. The song tapped into the mind set of young teenagers and pre-teens in the same way the Spice Girls did. The song also made the school girl outfit and pink pom-pom hair-ties trendy again, as it was worn by every female teen in the succeeding years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBq3Cjpt2YM

                 9. Hero by Mariah Carey (1993)

This song is about people who don’t trust themselves.  The people who have no faith and self-confidence, This song tells those people that they can search themselves and find that there’s a “hero” inside them, whether that is a hidden talent, a good behavioral aspect, or whatever. The song received mixed reviews from music critics for its lyrical content, while Carey’s vocal performance was praised by nearly everyone. The song is widely regarded as one of Carey’s most inspirational and personal songs. Fans of Carey constantly request her to sing the song, making it her most performed song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLFfXTwdVbY

                10.  Macarena by Los del Rio (1996)

Everyone in America knows this song, It was often played in our elementary school and the dance is well known. What many don’t know is that this song is actually quite jaw-dropping. the song is about the girl named Macarena who is cheating on her boyfriend with his two friends while he is being drafted into the army. Despite this,  it was an international hit when it came out and continues to be a popular dance at weddings, parties, and sporting events. It is undeniably one of the most iconic examples of 1990’s dance music. Even Vice-President Al Gore acknowledged it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HPrQkS9-qY

Political Cartoons for future Americans

Political cartoons for future Americans

By James Ferguson

Twenty Sixteen

The United States Presidential Election of 2016 was a historic controversial election spawning heated ideological and social strife across America over the qualification of seizing the oval office. The 2016 election towards the end, came down to the Washingtonian Establishment versus the American Anti-Establishment movement. 2016 also shined light on the Republican and Democratic parties, separating members of both into establishment and anti-establishment (outsider) camps.

Businessman and corporate executive, Donald Trump (eventually elected 45th President of the United States of America) was deemed anti-establishment, an outsider, an American nationalist that declared presidential candidacy for alarming concern over the America’s health as a nation, national security, and sovereignty. Trump was not the only outsider in the presidential playing field, Texas Senator Ted Cruz also announced his nomination for the presidency, considered that Cruz was grassroots conservative and constitutionalist, Cruz was also deemed an outsider, gaining support from many members of the anti-establishment movement that had not endorsed Trump at the time. The Republicans were not the only anti-establishment figures on the spectrum. Bernie Sanders of Vermont increased overwhelmingly as an outsider, describing himself as an “democratic” socialist, against the Washington and “economic” establishments, Sanders main support was from college students (Universities at the time were heavily left-wing biased, few shared other points of ideological viewpoint). The Anti-Establishment movement, disregarding its right-wing, left-wing division, had one mindset in common, infiltrate Washington and disrupt the Washingtonian’s regime.

The other camp, known as the Establishment, was compromised of former well known political office initiates. The Republicans had former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the brother of former president George W. Bush (in office 2001-2009), and son of former president George H.W. Bush (in office 1989-1993). The Democratic Party had former Secretary of State, and First Lady to (controversial)  President William “Bill” Clinton (in office 1993-2001), Hillary Clinton (identifying as a “progressive”, a popular term during the Digital Age time period for the Democrats or other leftist (and or “moderate”) politicians). The Establishment was what it implied, keeping the congressional establishment in political control of the Washingtonian Era United States of America.

The campaigns ran by the individuals aiming for the office of President of the United States would be rather in best descriptive terminology, controversial, and fulled by economic strife, “identity politics”, the use of racial cards in the political field. Clinton (sorting down to the more major candidates) used “identity politics” for political advantage over the supposed “ethnic groups”. Sanders, although anti-establishment, used similar tactics although called for socialistic economic attributions (Sanders was an Independent Senator that ran his presidential bid on the Democratic platform). Trump, the Republican candidate, ran a more right-wing populist/conservative platform, appealing to industrial workers, veterans, businessmen, and the anti-political correctness crowd. Cruz (being the last Republican to oppose Trump), was a grassroots conservative having support from evangelicals (later switched to full swing from Trump), constitutionalists, and other traditionalists.

Sanders faced off against Clinton several times over policy, in supposed “debates”, Sanders although supported by the “new young left”, withdrew and endorsed Clinton, angering many of his supporters. Cruz, although a staunch conservative, was forced into a feud with “moderate” Republican, John Kasich (Governor of Ohio), and withdrew, leaving Trump and Clinton. The campaigns sought and gained nominations, Trump accused Clinton with corrupt politics and morality, Clinton sired supposed “true” stories from Trump’s past, attempting to paint him as “unqualified” candidate (see President Bill Clinton and political controversy, pg. 180-195, chapter III). Trump emerged victorious after winning the key battleground states of Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania, getting over 270 electoral votes. Leftists, for years, refused acceptance of Trump’s Presidency and the Rightist triumph.

 

Father Le Loutre’s War Animation

Animation

Sources:

Source 3 (britannica)

Source 2 (new england historal society)

Source 3 (bluepete)

 

Are we living up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence?

Personally, I don’t think the U.S. is living up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. It states that all men are created equal, but the high rates of African-American people being killed by police shows that isn’t the case. For example, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot after police mistook his toy gun for a real one. Neither of the officers involved were charged for his death. Events such as this seriously bring into question whether this country is upholding everyone’s right to life. However, our country is slowly improving. The recent passing of a bill allowing same-sex marraige in all 50 states shows that this country is getting closer to equality for all, as well as protection of the right to the pursuit of happiness.

-Anna George

First blog post

The most interesting event in my life was learning how to ride a horse, a prestigious animal used by humans for thousands of years (through the millennia long process of domestication), used  from anything from war, to trade, to transpiration. It was an accomplishment for myself personally, it benefited my mind greatly at the time.