Monday, March 14, 2011
Romanticism Free Response
Romanticism came as a result of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. Romantic thinkers rebelled against the neo-classic mindset and the way that scientists and philosophers wanted an answer to everything. The Enlightenment thinkers wanted an explanation as to how everything goes on, while Romantics explored all that cannot be measured or scientifically figured out. Romantic views challenged Enlightenment views of human beings and the natural world by not wanting to seek an answer, rather exploring the unexplainable in the world, and this illustrated changes from Enlightenment to Romantic views of the relationship between God and individuals because poets such a Byron, Shelley, and Keats were able to express their disbelief in God and their personal feelings towards nature and passion.
The Enlightenment thinkers were very much set on fact and the literal meaning and explanations of science and mathematics. Romantic thinkers rebelled against Enlightenment thoughts in order to express individual feelings and opinions and break away from doing things specifically for the Church or state. Enlightenment thinkers were not worried about ideas or abstract things. If they were looking at nature, they wanted to know why and how things were happening. Romantics were not like that. In Literature, one of the first Romantic works was produced by Coleridge and Wordsworth. They set the tone for the writing that could now be done in the Romantic period. Writers, poets, and musicians were able to focus on personal feelings rather than science and mathematics. Poets such as Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Keats were able to become in tune with their lonely and deep side, which made them very popular. One of their most revered attributes was the fact that they talked about the unexplainable: nature, personal feelings, relationships, and love. One poem that displays the ability of poets to honor nature is The Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth. This poem expressed the way that Wordsworth viewed an old abbey, and it did not need to have any explanation or format; he could write it because it was what he was feeling at the moment. This was one of the highlights of the Romantic period, being able to express thoughts and feelings.
The Romantic period was a time when Romantics broke away from the Church and state in the sense that they were writing and producing music for themselves and not for the approval of the Church or state. In this way, some Romantics abandoned God. They were able to become in tune with their dark side, and they were able to question whether or not God existed. Music changed from the Enlightenment to the Romantic period by becoming less strategically planned and instead appealing to one’s emotions. Composers such as Beethoven and Liszt began composing music that expressed emotion and feeling. These pieces did not have to be created a certain way because these composers were only writing these pieces in result of how they personally felt. Because nothing had to be made for the Church, Romantics were able to free themselves from including God in their work. Byron, Keets, and Shelley expressed dark views on life, leading one to believe that they did not find God to be present in their lives. Romantic literature, music, and poetry allowed Romantics to express deeper views on the world, nature, and feelings than they ever could before, and if they were reaching into these deep and dark places, they were leaving God behind.
A dark side of poetry came about during the Romantic period. Gothic views were taken on by writers such as Percy Shelley’s second wife in Frankenstein. Another work where gothic views are seen is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. These books expressed supernatural creatures that would have been unexplainable and unheard of by Enlightenment thinkers. The gothic period during Romanticism suggest that these writers were not focusing on God and his powers, but rather supernatural powers and far-off ideas. These works, Franestein and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, demonstrated the fact that explained ideas were not being utilized during the Romantic age, but rather imagination and abstract thoughts.
The main difference between the Enlightenment and the Romantic age is that Romantics were able to express their own personal feelings and thoughts without having to conform to Church or state standards. They could choose to stay with God or leave God in their writings, and as explained before, many seemed to become dark and serious into a depressing state where faith was not found. Romantics were focused on exploring the unexplainable and personalizing all of the music, art, literature, and poetry they did.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Second Draft of Formal Outline
Thesis:
Investment in Germany was a direct result of US / Soviet relations during the Cold War; in effect, unified Germany could never have become the economic powerhouse of Europe without going through the experience of the Berlin Wall.
Definitions:
East Germany - the former independent nation created in 1949 from the area of Germany occupied by the former Soviet Union after World War II. It was reunited with West Germany after the fall of its communist government in 1990.
West Germany - After being defeated in World War I, Germany was taken over in the 1930s by the Nazi dictatorship that led to a policy of expansionism and eventually to complete defeat in World War II. Germany was occupied for a time by the victorious Allies and was partitioned. The western part (including West Berlin), which was occupied by the US, Britain, and France, became the Federal Republic of Germany or
a fortified and heavily guarded wall built on the boundary between East and West Berlin in 1961 by the communist authorities, chiefly to curb the flow of East Germans to the West. It was opened in November 1989 after the collapse of the communist regime in East Germany and subsequently was dismantled.
USSR - a former federation of communist republics that occupied the northern half of Asia and part of eastern Europe; capital, Moscow. Created from the Russian empire in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union was the largest country in the world. After World War II, it emerged as a superpower that rivaled the US and led to the Cold War. After decades of repression and economic failure, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved in 1991. Some of its constituents joined a looser confederation, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Types of Sources:
Secondary Sources – I have a book specifically on the Berlin Wall that can be used also as a primary source because it had pictures from the years that the Berlin Wall was up. Another book I have to use is A History of Berlin. I have another book about the Berlin Wall that deals with the construction of the wall and what happened after the wall was knocked down. Another book to be used is The Second World War, focusing on WWII that I may use to explain and analyze how Germany was before the Berlin Wall was put up and then knocked down.
The Second World War – John Keegan
The Berlin Wall – Cindy Mur
The Berlin Wall: A World Divided – Frederick Taylor
Faust’s Metropolis: A History of Berlin – Alexandra Richie
Primary Sources: I have photographs to use as primary sources. I am also using primary source websites, one being the Chronology of International Events, which was issued by the Department of State in 1941. I also have many books with direct quotes from people during this time period.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/events/events.html
http://www.bartleby.com/33/21.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/germanunification.html
1. “Berlin’s symbolic significance to capitalist and Communist forces during the Cold War brought about the Berlin crisis” (Craig, 1999).
- Berlin was in the middle of a military and political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- This rivalry continued from the end of World War II until the Berlin Wall was built in 1961.
- The powerful countries in the West refused to abandon West Berlin, and they were supported by the United States who had superior nuclear capabilities (Craig, 1999).
- The occupation of the United States, Britain, France, and Soviet troops in Germany was a constant reminder of the political and military effects of the cold war. (Craig, 1999)
- Berlin was the only place where Russian and American forces could face each other directly.
- “The evolving status of Berlin from 1948 to 1961 represents quite accurately the growth of the Soviet military power to the point of effective thermonuclear parity with the United States (Craig, 1999).
- The Cold War turned the United States, Britain, and France into enemies against the Soviet Union.
2. There were many differences between East and West Germany.
- West Germany was controlled by France, Great Britain, and the United States
- East Germany was controlled by the USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, making it a Communist country.
- West Germany was able to have advanced technology and up-to-date living situations because it was controlled by advanced countries.
- East Germany did not see the advances in technology prevalent in the United States and Great Britain.
- One of the main concerns of President Kennedy was what was going on in East Germany.
- When the Wall was built and the Soviet Union was not going to advance to West Berlin, Kennedy said, “This is the end of the Berlin crisis. They’re not going to overrun Berlin” (Reeves, 1999).
3. The United States Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, suggested Western support for the rebuilding of Europe.
- Marshall thought that food should be supplied, along with other products.
- The United States was supplying money to sustain Western Germany so that it was in competition with Russia who was controlling East Germany.
- President Harry S. Truman agreed that an economically recovered Europe would be more politically stable and would therefore have a less chance of becoming completely Communist.
- West Germany would have to give up money and put forth products to subsidize East Germany’s economy and get them up to par with the rest of the world.
4. East Germany was a “struggling social experiment” (Taylor).
- The West was booming in pursuit of political freedom and a higher standard of living.
- Between 1945 and 1961, around two and a half million people fled to West Germany.
- East Germany was losing educated professionals and skilled workers.
5. The expansion of the Soviet Union into Eastern Germany worried liberal democracies of the west, specifically the United States.
- “By 1947, the Cold War (1945–91) clearly was the most threatening issue dominating international affairs.” (Endangered Berlin)
- There was a battle of social and political ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- John F. Kennedy: "It would be a mistake for others to look upon Berlin, because of its location, as a tempting target. The United States is there; the United Kingdom and France are there; the pledge of NATO is there—and the people of Berlin are there.” (John F. Kennedy: Berlin Crisis)
- There was not a peace treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union even in 1958, and Nikita Khrushchev sent a letter to Western powers. (John F. Kennedy: Berlin Crisis)
- "It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union." (John F. Kennedy: Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba)
- There was much hostility between the Unites States and the Soviet Union.
- The United States was fighting to keep West Germany safe and under control. If the wall was not up and East Germany was not under Communist rule, then the United States would not invest so much into West Germany.
6. “And let us hear at that time from the two and one-half million refugees who have fled the Communist regime in East Germany. (JFK)
- This displayed that the people were voting for Western-type freedom.
7. German people were hesitant about the unification of East and West Germany.
- “Anxiety concerning the possibility of German reunification has been voiced, from time to time”
(http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/324).
- These fears cannot be dismissed because that would be like concentrating too much on
“demarcation” propaganda statements from East Germans.
8. West Germany was not in a good geographical area to be fighting East Germany and its controller.
9. West Germany itself bounced back from an economic decline in 1949. (Taylor, 2009)
- Steal industry was prevalent in West Germany.
- February 1951 – economic policy reached a turning point with the Federal Government’s decision to suspend trade liberalization.
- It was ruled by up-to-date and modern countries, while East Berlin was ruled by Communists who did not have technological advancements, and East Germans were lucky to have clean water.
- The United States was feeding money to West Germany.
10. People were overwhelmed at the fall of the Wall.
- Andres Ramos writes his personal account of experiencing the fall of the Wall.
- “We could hear the sound of heavy machines. With a giant drill, they were punching holes in the wall. Every time a drill poked through, everyone cheered” (Ramos, 1989 p. 92).
Reeves, Richard. (1999). How the wall prevented world war 3.
Craig, Campbell. (1999). Berlin crisis p. 24- 27
Taylor, frederick. (2009). The berlin wall: a world divided. New York:
"Endangered Berlin." Cold War Primary Sources. UXL-GALE, 2005.eNotes.com. 2006. 8 Mar, 2011 http://www.enotes.com/cold-war-primary-sources/
endangered-berlin
"John F. Kennedy: Berlin Crisis." Cold War Primary Sources. UXL-GALE, 2005. eNotes.com. 2006. 8 Mar, 2011 http://www.enotes.com/cold-war-primary-sources/
john-f-kennedy-berlin-crisis
"John F. Kennedy: Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba." Cold War Primary Sources. UXL-GALE, 2005. eNotes.com. 2006. 8 Mar, 2011 http://www.enotes.com/cold-war-primary-sources/
john-f-kennedy-soviet-arms-buildup-cuba
Mur, Cindy. (2004). The berlin wall. Farmington Hills:
Ramos, Andreas. (1989). A personal account of the fall of the berlin wall: the 11th and 12th of november 1989
Friday, March 4, 2011
Industrial Revolution Free Response Essay
Explain how the Industrial Revolution influenced the rise of conservative and liberal philosophies and explain how those philosophies competed with or related to nationalism in Greece and Germany.
The industrial revolution was a historic period in Europe during the time of 1815 to 1848. The major place affected by the industrial revolution was initially England. Other countries, such as France, were not being as industrialized as England was. Factories were allowing workers to work jobs that did not require much skill. Conservatism and liberal ideas, that is, wanting a reign of aristocracy and the idea of doing what is good for the people, prospered because of the Industrial Revolution. Although the Industrial Revolution is thought of as influencing conservatism and nationalism, it influenced the rise of liberal philosophies more than the rise of conservative philosophies; meanwhile nationalism in Greece and Germany contradicted conservative philosophies but was in accordance with liberal ideas.
Liberalism during the time period between 1815 and 1848 was when the people wanted a government like a democracy; they wanted to have a say and they wanted to be kept in mind. Liberal thinkers looked out for the good of the common people. Liberalism was a direct result of the Industrial Revolution because at the end of the industrial revolution, laws were made to protect the rights of workers, and workers were ordered to only work 10 hour shifts. Laws were made on how long children and women could work. Laws also arouse on the amount of money that workers in factories could or should be paid. These laws were made in order to protect all people and maintain their rights. Liberalism is the same idea in that the rights of the people in the state should be a priority. The end of the Industrial Revolution gave leeway to liberal philosophies because people continued to be considered and their opinions continued to matter.
Conservative philosophies were not as much influenced by the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution did give leeway to conservative philosophies, but it did not majorly lead to the idea that the aristocracy should always be the ruling power. It is true that wealthier people owned factories where poor and lower class people worked, but these cotton lords had restrictions because laws were made in order to protect the rights of their workers. They did not maintain complete control over worker’s pay or hours. These conservative philosophies also contradicted nationalism. Conservative believers wanted the aristocracy to rule the state. They believed everything should be done for the aristocracy, and the upper class should be the ones with the power. Nationalism is the want for independent states to rule themselves and have their own government. This is the opposite of conservatism; instead of being rules by the aristocracy, the nationalist thinkers wanted to have an autonomous state that ruled itself and was in control of what happened to their own individual state.
Nationalism was in accordance with liberal philosophies. Liberal thinkers wanted the good of the people to be considered. Nationalist people wanted separate autonomous states that ruled themselves. If there is a state ruling itself, then the good of the people can be the first priority because the ruling forces are making the decisions for their state, and ultimately, for themselves as well. Liberal thinkers would more likely be inclined to want to be ruled by a government of their own state than an aristocracy that has little or no relation to them in order to receive what it is that they deserve. Nationalism is a result of liberal philosophies.
The Industrial Revolution led to nationalism, conservatism, and liberalism, but it did not affect all of these things equally. Liberalism was affected the most, and therefore nationalism was also a result. The period from 1815 to 1848 was a distinct time of change and improvements in Europe. The Industrial Revolution led to changes in Europe and ultimately led to outbreaks and revolutions whose impacts would later cause World War I.
Monday, February 28, 2011
First Draft of Formal Outline
Thesis:
West Germany would have been a stronger country had the Berlin Wall not been knocked down in 1989 because it had to subsidize East Germany's economy.
Definitions:
East Germany - the former independent nation created in 1949 from the area of Germany occupied by the former Soviet Union after World War II. It was reunited with West Germany after the fall of its communist government in 1990.
West Germany - After being defeated in World War I, Germany was taken over in the 1930s by the Nazi dictatorship that led to a policy of expansionism and eventually to complete defeat in World War II. Germany was occupied for a time by the victorious Allies and was partitioned. The western part (including West Berlin), which was occupied by the US, Britain, and France, became the Federal Republic of Germany or .
a fortified and heavily guarded wall built on the boundary between East and West Berlin in 1961 by the communist authorities, chiefly to curb the flow of East Germans to the West. It was opened in November 1989 after the collapse of the communist regime in East Germany and subsequently was dismantled.
USSR - a former federation of communist republics that occupied the northern half of Asia and part of eastern Europe; capital, Moscow. Created from the Russian empire in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union was the largest country in the world. After World War II, it emerged as a superpower that rivaled the US and led to the Cold War. After decades of repression and economic failure, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved in 1991. Some of its constituents joined a looser confederation, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Types of Sources:
Secondary Sources – I have a book specifically on the Berlin Wall that can be used also as a primary source because it had pictures from the years that the Berlin Wall was up. Another book I have to use is A History of Berlin. I have another book about the Berlin Wall that deals with the construction of the wall and what happened after the wall was knocked down. Another book to be used is The Second World War, focusing on WWII that I may use to explain and analyze how Germany was before the Berlin Wall was put up and then knocked down.
The Second World War – John Keegan
The Berlin Wall – Cindy Mur
The Berlin Wall: A World Divided – Frederick Taylor
Primary Sources: I have photographs to use as primary sources. I am also using primary source websites, one being the Chronology of International Events, which was issued by the Department of State in 1941. I also have a speech by John F. Kennedy.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/events/events.html
http://www.bartleby.com/33/21.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/germanunification.html
1. Allied parties agreed to divide Germany and its capital into four separate zones.
- West Germany was controlled by France, Great Britain, and the United States
- East Germany was controlled by the USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, making it a Communist country.
- West Germany was able to have advanced technology and up-to-date living situations because it
was controlled by advanced countries.
- East Germany did not see the advances in technology prevalent in the United States and Great Britain.
2. The United States Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, suggested Western support for the rebuilding of Europe.
- Marshall thought that food should be supplied, along with other products.
- President Harry S. Truman agreed that an economically recovered Europe would be more politically
stable and would therefore have a less chance of becoming completely Communist.
- West Germany would have to give up money and put forth products to subsidize East Germany’s
economy and get them up to par with the rest of the world.
3. East Germany was a “struggling social experiment” (Taylor).
- The West was booming in pursuit of political freedom and a higher standard of living.
- Between 1945 and 1961, around two and a half million people fled to West Germany.
- East Germany was losing educated professionals and skilled workers.
4. East Germany was governed by people wanted to control every aspect of the East German’s lives.
- “The state was all-powerful, determining where people could live, where they could go to school..etc” (Richie).
- These people were unstable and could not fend for themselves, being governed so closely by ruling powers.
- These people were used to being controlled and may not know what to do with freedom that West Germany experiences.
5. “And let us hear at that time from the two and one-half million refugees who have fled the Communist regime in East Germany. (JFK)
- This displayed that the people were voting for Western-type freedom.
6. German people were hesitant about the unification of East and West Germany.
- “Anxiety concerning the possibility of German reunification has been voiced, from time to time”
(http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/324).
- These fears cannot be dismissed because that would be like concentrating too much on
“demarcation” propaganda statements from East Germans.
7. West Germany was not in a good geographical area to be fighting East Germany and its controller.
8. West Germany itself bounced back from an economic decline in 1949.
- Steal industry was prevalent in West Germany.
- February 1951 – economic policy reached a turning point with the Federal Government’s decision
to suspend trade liberalization.
- It was ruled by up-to-date and modern countries, while East Berlin was ruled by Communists who
did not have technological advancements, and East Germans were lucky to have clean water.