Chapter 37, 23 - 29

Postwar Baby Boom 23. The most dramatic upheaval in postwar America was the huge leap in birthrate. The result of this by the end of the 1950s was 50 million new babies.

24. In 1957 birthrate crested and was followed by a "deepening birth dearth," fertility rates dropped below the rate necessary to maintain the existing population figures in 1973, the only thing to lift U.S. population above the 1996 level of 264 million was immigration.

25. The "pig passing through the python" was the wave of baby boomers straining and distorting many aspects of American life as they passed through the stages. In the 1950s canned food and baby products had a big market, 1960s it was clothes and rock music, and the 1970s fuller jeans were popular because they were getting fatter, 1980s they jostled the job market, in the 1990s they had their own children, and now they put strain on social security as they start to retire.

Truman: The "Gutty" Man from Missouri

26. Truman's personality: He was called "average man's average man", first president in many years to not have a college education, had humility, no one thought he could handle the job, "shrinking pipsqueak"

President he turned out to be: "scrappy little cuss", confident to the point of cockiness, loyal to his bad "Missouri gang", trying to show decisiveness and power of command but ending up sticking to wrongheaded notions, had down-home authenticity, few pretensions, rock solid probity, and moxie

Famous sign on his desk: "The buck stops here."

Shaping the Postwar World

27. U.S behavior before WWII was very isolationist, after WWII the U.S. became more international with the development of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which encouraged world trade by regulating currency rates with Western allies and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) which promotes economic growth. U.S. took lead in creating these and supplied funding.

28. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the United Nations charter on July 28, 1945. The U.S., Britain, USSR, France, and China were on the Security Council.

29. The "priceless opportunity" to "tame the nuclear monster in its infancy" was lost in this era.

Jacob

Ch.33 (numbers 52 - 62)

The Three-Way Race for the White House in 1924

52. The Democrats were divided into the "wets" and "drys", urbanites and farmers, Fundamentalists and Modernists, Northern liberals and Southern stand-patters, and immigrants and old-stock.

53. The conventioneers, by just one vote, failed to pass a resolution condemning the Ku Klux Klan.

54. After being put to the vote 102 times, John W. Davis was the Democratic candidate, and he was really no different from Coolidge.

55. Liberal candidate Senator La Follette from Wisconsin emerged at the head of the Progressive party. This presidential ticket was a "head without a body" because there were no candidates for local office. It's platform was supporting of government ownership of railroads and relief for farmers, it was against monopoly and antilabor injunctions, also urged a constitutional amendment to limit the Supreme Court's power to invalidate laws passed by Congress

56. Coolidge won the election.

Foreign-Policy Flounderings

57. The "glaring exception" to U.S. isolationism in the ear was the armed interventionism in the Caribbean and Central America.

58. During 1914 to 1934 American troops remained in Haiti and from 1907 - 1933 in Nicaragua.

59. Coolidge avoided in 1962 a Mexican Oil crisis with skillful diplomatic negotiating, yet Americans weren't liked in Mexico and elsewhere throughout Latin America

60. The issue of international debt (which overshadowed all other foreign policy issues of the era) was a complicated tangle of private loans, Allied war debts, and German reparations payments.

61. WWI resulted in a change to America's status in the world because before it had been a debtor nation but after the war it became a creditor nation.

62. The allies wanted the U.S. to write off as war costs the $10 billion it was "owed" due to wartime "loans," aside from the "wall of flesh and bone" the allies (unlike the U.S.) had contributed to the war effort the allies also said the real effect of their money had been to fuel the boom in the roaring wartime economy of America where purchases had been made, also America post war tariff walls made it almost impossible for them to sell the goods to earn the dollars to pay their debts.

Now to Victoria . . .

The Prohibition "Experiment"

Prohibition was authorized in 1919 by the 18th Amendment and it was implemented by the Volstead Act. It got a lot of support from women as well as churches.

It was popular in both the South and the West:

- South: the whites were eager to keep drinks away from blacks (in case they burst out of "their place")

- West: the people saw it as an attack on all vices associated with the Western saloon (public drunkenness, prostitution, corruption, and crime)

Not so popular in big eastern cities:

- the immigrants were influenced by the Old World styles of sociability ("wet" foreign-born people)

People were convinced the Prohibition was there to stay so they had last wild flings before the "alcoholiday."

The prohibitionists were a bit naive:

- forgot the American tradition (strong drink, weak central government)

- the federal authorities had never successfully enforced a law that the majority opposed

- couldn't make a crime out of something the people didn't consider to be a crime in the first place

There were certain conditions that hampered the enforcement of prohibition:

- slaking thirst became a cherished personal liberty (some people came to believe that repeal could be accomplished by a large enough violation)

- legislators voted "dry" but drank "wet"

-soldiers returning from France were angry

- workers were angry about the loss of their cheap beer while the rich could buy all the illicit drinks they wanted

- youth thought it "smart" to swill bootleg liquor

- the old engaged in "bar hunts"

Prohibition may have worked better if there had been a larger army of enforcement officials (they were understaffed and underpaid), people (even innocent bystanders) were killed by dry agents

Prohibition didn't prohibit too well:

- saloons replaced by "speakeasies"

- hard liquor drunk by the cocktail (because of difficulties transporting/concealing bottles drinks with high alcoholic content were popular)

- foreign rumrunners from West Indies and Canada (which would sometimes strain American relations)

"Home brew" and "bath tub gin" became popular

- worst of the homemade "rotgut" could cause blindness, even death

But, prohibition wasn't an entire failure:

- bank savings increased

- absenteeism in industry decreased

- there was probably less alcohol consumed then before Prohibition although strong drink was still available

Next is Andrew

Ch. 31 Study Guide 52 - 60

The Domestic Parade of Prejudice

52. The members of each of the following groups found something objectionable about the Treaty of Versialles that Wilson helped to forge

a. Isolationists - didn't like the League of Nations and wanted no part of "entangling alliance"

b. "hun-haters" - thought the pact wasn't harsh enough on the Germans

c. other hyphenated Americans - it wasn't favorable to their native lands

d. Irish-Americans - denounced the League because they thought it gave Britian too much influence which could be used to force the U.S. to crush a rising for Irish independence.

Wilson's Tour and Collapse

53. The effort to amend the Treaty of Versailles was led by Senator Lodge, he and Wilson were enemies that hated each other.

54. Wilson, in order to secure passage of the Treaty that included the League of Nations, decided to go on a speech making tour, it affected him by making him ill (he fainted and then was paralzyed on half his body) and didn't see his cabinet for 7 months afterward

55. Lodge's objectons to the League were mostly Article X that morally bound the U.S. to aid any memeber victimized by external aggression

56. Wilson kept sending orders to the Senate democrats to vote against ratification of the treaty because he thought the ratifications "emasculated" the entire pact

57. The treaty was defeated by the Lodge-Wilson personal feud, traditionalism, isolationism, disillusionment, and partisanship, and Wilson himself when he asked for all or nothing (and got nothing).

The Solemn Referendum of 1920

58. Warren G. Harding (Republican) won the election of 1920, the democrats lost because their attempts to make campaigning a referendum on the League were thwarted by Senator Harding.

The Betrayl of Great Expectations

59. The U.S. would have been well advised to assume its war-born responsibilities and embraced its role of global leader

60. The three principles of Wilsonianism that have "largely defined the character of America foreign policy ever since - for better or worse" were: 1. the era of American isolation from world affaris has ended 2. the U.S. must infuse own founding political and economic ideas (democracy, rule of law, free trade, and national self-determination/anti-clolonialsim) nto the international order 3. American influence can eventually steer the world away from rivalry and warfare and towards cooperative and peaceful international system through the League of Nations (later United Nations).

Progressive Era Foreign Policy Acts

Panama Canal Tolls Act 1912

This is Taft's act that had exempted Ameican coastwise shipping from tolls which had provoked protests from Britian, and in 1914 Wilson persuaded Congress to repeal it.

Jones Act of 1916

This act was passed by Wilson and was anti-imperial. It granted the Philippines territorial status and promised independence as soon as "stable government" was reached (which came 30 years later July 4, 1946).

Progressive Era Conservation/Land Use Acts

Desert Land Act 1877

The federal government sold land cheap if the buyer would irrigate the soil within three years.

Forest Reserve Act 1891

This authorized the president to be able to set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves. This saved some 46 million acres of trees in the 1890s.

Carey Act of 1894

This act distributed federal land to the states under the condition that it would be irrigated and settled.

Newlands Act of 1902

This authorized Washington to take the money it made on the sale of public lands and use it for the development of better irrigation projects. It ended up being a revolving fund to help finance more of these projects. Dozens of dams on the major western rivers were created because of this.

How Progressives tended to view conservation...

The Progressives looked at nature in a certain way. They knew that it shouldn't be abused as it had been previously, but they didn't see it as John Muir or Hetch Hetchy did as a "temple". They wanted nature to be used, but used correctly. For example, Teddy Roosevelt would preserve a forest so he could hunt the deer.

New Federal Agencies

Women's Bureau (1920)

This was part of the Department of Labor and a way for female activists to get the word out. They saw it as a "wedge" into the federal bureaucracy and gave them a stage for social investigation and advocacy.

Children's Bureau (1912)

Created by the women activists who were always drawn to "moral" issues like protecting the children from dirty, hard labor in sweatshops and winning pensions for mothers with dependent children.

Federal Trade Commission (1914)

It was a presidentially appointed commission who would keep an eye on industries engaged in interstate commerce. Their goal was to crush the monopolies by catching unfair trade practices (included unlawful competition), false advertising, mislabeling, adulteration, and bribery.

Federal Reserve (1913)

Very important piece of economic legislation. The Board was appointed by the president (Wilson) and oversaw a nationwide system of twelve regional reserve districts, each with its own central bank. This ended up guaranteeing a substantial measure of public control. It also had the power to issue paper money (Federal Reserve Notes) backed by commercial paper.

Federal Farm Loan Act (1916)

This made credit available to farmers at low rates of interest.

Amendments to the Constitutions

Sixteenth Amendment 1913

This amendment enacted a graduated income tax staring with a levy on incomes over $3000 (which at this time was above what most families made). And by 1917, the revenue from the income tax greatly exceeded that from the tariff.

Seventeenth Amendment 1913

This amendment established popular election of senators, even though most of the guys actually in the Senate opposed this because they liked the old ways. They only gave in from the pressure of the people.

Eighteenth Amendment 1919

Prohibition Amendment. It forbid the "sale or manufacture of intoxicating liquors." It was part of the progressive reform movement and promoted greatly by women who knew that drunk men were not getting work and pulling their families apart.

Nineteenth Amendment 1920

This amendment guaranteed women the right to vote . . . finally and partly because of the war mobilization. More and more states had began to allow suffrage at the state level so soon Congress followed.

Protecting Workers

La Folette Seaman's Act of 1915

It required better treatment of sailors plus a living wage to be paid to those on American merchant ships. Even though this act meant well, it ened up cripping the merchant marine because freight weights went up as the wages did. The progressives made this act possible.

Worker's Compesation Act of 1916

This act offered assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability.

Anti-Trust

Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890

This forbade combinations in restraint of trade but without distinction of the "good" and "bad" trusts. It was ineffective because of its legal loopholes (for example only forbade combinations that "unreasonably" restrained trade), but was effective in its use to curb labor unions or labor combinations that were deemed to be restraining trade.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914

This act lengthened the Sherman Act's list of business practices that were deemed objectionable (like price discrimination and interlocking directorates) and benefited labor in that it sought to exempt labor and agricultural organizations from anti-trust prosecution, while still legalizing strikes and peaceful protest.

Food Safety: Meat Inspection Act of 1906; Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

Meat Inspection Act of 1906

This act stated that preparation of meat shipped over state line was subject to inspection. The largest meat packers resisted certain measures of the act, but at the same time they accepted it as a use to get rid of their smaller competition.

Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

This act was designed to prevent the adulteration (an example of that is adding something to the substance to make it look like there is more of it than there really is) and mislabeling of foods and pharmaceuticals

.

Railroads - Elkins Act 1903 & Hepburn Act 1906

The Elkins Act 1903

President Theodore Roosevelt spurred Congeess to pass some more effective railroad legislation, starting with this act.

It said that heavy fines could be imposed on railroads that gave rebates and on the shippers that accepted them.

The Hepburn Act 1906

This act severly restricted free passes to use the railroad.

The Interstate Commerce Commission was also expanded to include express companies, sleeping-car companies, and pipelines, as well as it was authorized to nullify existing rates and stipulate maximum rates.

There's that Hepburn Act
and there's....

That Hepburn!

:((((

so i just finished typing the entire great awakening post but then it turned out the internet screwed up and saved nothing... here i go typing it again... the first one was better :(

The Great Awakening

The Great Awakening was a major religious revival that occurred mostly during the 1730s and 1740s. It all began with a pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts named Jonathan Edwards. He preached with passion about the fiery depths of hell using shocking metaphors and inspiring great spiritual fervor in his fellow Puritan parishioners in his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". The Puritan people were amazed by this new type of emotion packed sermon. They were used to their "dead dog" pastors who tried in vain to explain the complex Calvinist doctrine to the confused, often bored by the dry language, people. Problems were already existing in the Puritan church. Not enough people were joining the church. The first problem was the complex Calvinist doctrine on predestination and other theological issues. People had begun to interpret these in their own ways and not necessarily in the way the Puritans agreed on. Second, was the fact that from the beginning the Puritan religion was exclusive. But as the so called "heresies" on the doctrine began to take hold and churches became so few they decided that spiritual conversion was no longer necessary for church membership.

Jonathan Edwards's style became popular and was sweeping through the colonies. But another pastor with his own unique sermon style emerged. George Whitefield was an amazing speaker and pastor. He was able to put enormous amounts of emotion into his sermons. He was different from Edwards in that he emphasized how great God was and how you were missing out on not being with him. Whitefield became so popular that he toured the colonies giving sermons. Soon, many other pastors across the colonies began to imitate his emotional appeals. But because it was something new and different there were people who opposed and preferred the old ways of the church, these were the "old lights". The "new lights" disagreed and said this new emotion-filled spirituality was the reason for the revitalizing American religion. But even these splits had good come out of them. Because of the new churches there were now more people attending them, it also encouraged a missionary wave as well as building of higher learning centers. The Great Awakening was significant because it was the first mass movement of the American people. They had a common, shared event that broke down boundaries and led to them as thinking of themselves as more of a single people.

The Great Awakening, although it may not seem like it, influenced the evolution of the ideal of separation of church and state. The people had become fired up about their religion. They knew from experience from the Catholic Church back in Europe that religion and politics was a nasty mess that could only lead to corruption. The people of America were focused on their religion being personal and private. They believed that if you were being forced to pay for a church or go to a church that bored you and you did not necessarily agree with then you really didn't have much of a spirituality. But if you chose to go and worship out of your own free will then your spirituality will be much more authentic and real. Real religion is not something you can make people do. They also hoped to keep religion sacred and have nothing to do with law, therefore making religion not be the business of the state. Also, they knew the government would then end up paying for the church and the people would pay through their taxes. So overall, many effects of the Great Awakening influenced the ideal of separation of church and state as well as Americans today.

America Picture

This is what I think of when I hear America. Purple mountains majesty. It's probably because I grew up with that song. Whenever it was time to respect America or be patriotic it seemed that I was singing America the Beautiful... probably because the Star Spangled Banner is a little too hard for younger children. Also, this does represent our country. It is quite majestic. We do things here that no other country does. And just like mountains the United States started small and grew into something much more impressive. We are still quite rough around the edges, and I am sure there are some dark crevices but in the end the overall picture is pretty stunning.

from:http//bojack.org

Yayy finally doneee with summer reading!

Mayflower Questions: Part 2

9. In the chaotic, atrocity-filled conflict known as King Philip's War, does anyone emerge as heroic? If so, what are the actions and qualities that identify him or her as a hero?

I think that the hero that emerge was really Benjamin Church. He was able to work with both sides while being considerably humane (well as much as you can be during a war) towards the Native Americans. He was able to think outside of the box and negotiate. He recognized the Native Americans strength in fighting with their knowledge of the land, and because he was kind and willing to compromise as well as focus on what the Indians really wanted he was able to use it to his advantage. He wasn't perfect of course. There were times in the book that really made me want to hate him. But he really emerged as a leader to his army. What I think really made him a hero was when he captured Annawon and his people in a completely bloodless manner. One of the qualities of a hero is saving lives... no matter which side they are on. I'm sure there were other heroes (Native American or women) during the war as well. I didn't really see Mary Rowlandson as a hero, more as a survivor.

10. As Mayflower shows, the American Indian tribes of New England were not a monolith, either culturally or politically. However, the English were not consistently able to think of them as separate tribes with different loyalties and desires. How did misconceptions of racial identity complicate the politics of King Philip's War?

The English had begun to think that since one Indian tribe had attacked, it meant that the others were thinking the same way. So the English decided that they would be one step ahead and attack an innocent tribe in fear that they would join the already hostile tribes. This left the tribe no choice but to defend themselves and fight back. An example of this would be the Narragansett's and their fort. They had no intention of attacking because they had made a treaty, but they became worried would fight them and as it turns out they were correct. The English way of doing this cause the Native Americans to become stronger and with more people in the armies and, in the end, made the war last longer.

11. During King Philip's War, significant numbers of Native Americans sided with the English. How do you regard those who took up arms against their fellow natives? Do you see them as treacherous, opportunistic, or merely sensible? If you had been a native, which side would you have taken and why?

At first I was amazed, but it does make sense. The Native Americans had been fighting against each other for years before the English came, so it really wasn't much of anything new. I don't really think of them as treacherous or opportunistic. I think they figured it would be good to keep the English as allies. Maybe they never really believed they would ever be able to completely wipe them off of America and it would be in their best interest to get along. If I was a native I think I would have gone with the Native Americans in the beginning, because I think the English were wrong. But towards the end I would have wanted peace and been in Benjamin Church's group for the English.

12. Philbrick shows that the English, as well as the American Indians, engaged in barbaric practices like torturing and mutilating their captives, as well as taking body parts as souvenirs. Could either side in King Philip's War make any legitimate claim to moral superiority? Why or why not?

There is no way either side in King Philip's War could make a claim to moral superiority. Both succeeded in killing so many innocent lives. The English had no faith in the Native Americans as a people, even the ones that were living with them (the Praying Indians) they confined them on islands. The Native Americans scalped people women and children and many people survived that only to die of blood loss. I suppose I was more angry with the English, especially how, in the end, they executed Annawon, and their unfair trials. The English were conniving and the Native Americans were brutal. I was disgusted with both of them.

15. One reviewer of Mayflower asserted that Nathaniel Philbrick "avoid[ed] the overarching moral issues [of his subject] and [took] no sides." Do you find this to be true? Are there moral lessons Philbrick wants us to learn? If so, what are they?

I don't think Philbrick exactly avoided the moral issues, and I wouldn't exactly say he didn't take a side. I think he leaned a little towards the Native Americans, as I did. But he didn't blatantly pick a side on purpose, he was only trying to record events. I think there are a few moral lessons Philbrick wants us to learn. I took away the power of diplomacy is something that ought to be used rather than violence. I think he also was intending to wipe away any misconceptions about the Native Americans, and in that I think he succeeded.

Mayflower Questions: Part 1

1. What beliefs and character traits that typified the Pilgrims enabled them to survive in the hostile environment that greeted them in the New World? Did some of the same traits that helped them survive limit them in other ways? How so?

The Pilgrims were very religious. They believed the were part of the elect and whatever happened to them happened for a reason. They were able to accept the bad, for example all the deaths, and keep going. Although, this trait could also be considered a downfall because their religion did have this sense of exclusivity and they did have the "Strangers" in their camp, so they were unable to accept them (like during Christmas) which could have led to fighting within Plymouth itself. Also, their time in Leiden was helpful for their survival skills plus they knew how to hunt. But because they were so focused on survival, the Pilgrims didn't think when they stole the Native Americans corn and realize that it could lead to trouble later on. The Pilgrims knew how to be diplomatic. They were able to establish an agreement with Massasoit.

3. Philbrick shows us that many of the classic images that shape our current view of the Pilgrims - from Plymouth Rock to the usual iconography of the first Thanksgiving - have been highly fictionalized. Why has America forsaken the truth about these times for a misleading and often somewhat hokey mythology?

I think it's because it is what people like to hear. They want to believe the people who are considered the founders of America fit our ideals today. People think they were religiously tolerant and became best friends with the Native Americans, leaving their differences behind. But also, the real thing isn't quite as magical. The hokey mythology version is softened, it leaves out the violence and the death. I didn't even know there was such thing as King Philip's War. And then there is the fact that the story really has been told multiple times. Mostly just passed down and taught to young kids. This is the first time I have actually read something about the Pilgrims. All I remember of them from elementary school is making funny hats and being in a play about them around Thanksgiving.

4. The Pilgrims established a tradition of more or less peaceful coexistence with the Native Americans that lasted over fifty years. Why did that tradition collapse in the 1670s and what might have been done to preserve it?

The tradition began to collapse when the original leaders began to die. The new generation of Pilgrims didn't have to work for their survival and no longer had to depend on the Native Americans. They started to believe they didn't really need them anymore. There was also the pressure of land. I think that was one of the big downfalls. The English want more and more land, and land was the thing the Native Americans possesed that the English wanted most so slowly but surely the were pushed into a tinier and tinier spaces. Then the rumors were pretty bad, too. If only both groups had handled their problems with less force and more diplomatic motions, then maybe the ordinary people wouldn't have become so angry with one another. I think both Josiah Winslow and Philip should have treated each other with more respect.

5. Discuss the character of Squanto. How did the strengths and weaknesses of his personality end up influencing history, and why did this one weakness make such a difference?

Squanto was very important to the Pilgrims. Without him Massasoit might have been less likely to make peace, we don't know, although he did do it by lying about the plague being in barrels. He must have been very likeable because he became Bradford's right hand man, to the point where he stood up for him against Massasoit which could have been a disaster. By knowing both the Pilgrim's and the Indian's languages he was able to use that to his advantages. I think the one weakness that made such a difference was his weakness for power. He was almost able to pull off a conspiracy that would have wiped out the Pilgrims and made him the most powerful sachem. He could have joined together powerful tribes and perhaps changed the history of the United States.

6. The children of the Pilgrims were regarded in their own time as "the degenerate plant of a strange vine," unworthy of the legacy and sacrifices of their mothers and fathers (p. 198). Why did they acquire (and largely accept) this reputation? Was it deserved? Were the denunciations of the second generation a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy?

The children of the Pilgrims were largely influenced by all the newcomers to the colony. They started to become quite promiscuous an greedy. I think that they knew that this was happening and accepted it largely in part because they didn't care. They probably thought they were getting along just fine the way they were. Who cares if they weren't as good as their parents. I think this reputation was deserved. You can especially see their ungratefulness in the way that they deal with the Indians. I think that the denunciations of the second generation were a self-fulfilling prophecy. They were probably told this from the start before they started to even act that way, because they never had to really fight for their survival. So in a way they were spoiled rotten and because they were told they always would be they saw no reason to change their ways.

8. Compare Philbrick's portrayals of natives in Mayflower with the ways in which they have been represented in popular culture, for instance, in Hollywood movies. How does Mayflower encourage us to rethink those representations? On the other hand, are there some popular images of Native Americans that seems to be somewhat rooted in what actually happened in the seventeenth century?

Native Americans in movies are usually old. They live out in the wild and always seem very mysterious or spiritual. Sometimes the are very violent and they scalp people. In Mayflower they are living in the wilderness. They are represented as normal people, who have a different culture than Europeans. But they are smart and their culture is very rich and interesting. I think that in movies they can maybe even thought of as uncivilized because they are so different. I guess some people may not even really realize that they are a person just like they are. It is true, as I have learned from this book, that the Indians were violent in war. They scalped people and burned their houses, but that was normal in Indian culture. Unlike Europeans though they didn't attack women and children, and they tried not to wipe out an entire people with one battle. Personally, I think Indians really aren't that misrepresented anymore. I think there has been struggles on the Native Americans side so that they wouldn't be because of the harsh treatment they have endured from the past.

Song 15 "We Didn't Start the Fire"

"We Didn't Start the Fire" was written by Billy Joel in 1989.

This song is a list of things that happened in the second half of the 20th century. The song was trying to say how crazy the world was before Joel's generation (baby boomers). They didn't start the craziness.

The song is more of a story in the way that it just lists the things. You have to look them up if you want to know what they are talking about. Joel did live when everything was happening and the people who were listening to the song knew exactly what he was talking about. In that way it did offer a more current perspective. The language is really just a string of words, but it is quite catchy.

I slightly liked this song. Well, mostly I liked the chorus. The rest of the song is hard to sing along to so I didn't really enjoy that much. It is interesting to look up some of the events Joel mentions and find out what they are about.

This song can help you learn about the 20th century... if you take the time to look them up. You aren't going to learn anything other than a list of words by just listening to the song. It also shows that people then thought that things were getting pretty chaotic. It was an active century and so many things happened.

Song 14 "The Hands That Built America"

"The Hands That Built America" was written by U2 in 2002.

It's about the immigrants from all over the world coming to America who started with nothing and ended up building the country. The verses each point out a different important time in America's history (the last one is describing 9/11).

This song is definitely a story about America and what happened to get where we are now. It's very proud and uplifting. The language is very figurative, and there is a lot of imagery. For example, in the first verse.

This is a very patriotic song. I like how it points out the importance of the immigrants. My ancestors were immigrants, and I'm sure most people's are, too. Other than that, I didn't really like the song. It was a little too slow for me. I still think it was a good song, though.

This song helps remember the importance of the immigrants and the events like 9/11. It also shows that people are proud of our country.