Letters/Diary Entries WWI Blog

June 17, 1917

I never imagined I would be drafted and be stationed in France. When I am sleeping in the dugout i can feel the huge rats brush up against my leg and the sound of them is terrifying. They have stolen the little food I have out of my pockets, but I would rather have that than them feasting upon myself. I feel as if I am going insane with the thoughts of these beasts.

When I do try to sleep it is awfully difficult because of the stench of dead, rotting corpses. The rats feast upon these even when they aren't even all the way dead. There seem to be an endless amount of rats. I have never smelled anything so terrible as when I am in the trench. Nothing can compare to it. I need to try and get some sleep, so until tomorrow, goodnight.

Johnny Manion

March 21, 1916

My Dear Family,

The other nurses and I are now at a hospital in France. I have become friends with the other girls. I have been doing fine, I just wish the war to be over as quickly as possible so that all of us can come home. The terrible wounds from battle are not nearly as many as those who come in with their poor feet needing to be amputated or in need of care.

I have heard many stories from the men. They talk of the endless days of going without removing their soaking wet boots and socks. It is very similar to frost bite and has caused many men to come to the hospital for it. Sometimes the men went and took socks from the other dead soldiers to include as part of the rationing. I wish they could be supplied with endless amounts of socks and boots. I will keep working hard here and I hope that all the family is well. I love you all.

Love Always,

Mary Chapman

November 23, 1915

Mother & Father,

How are you? I miss you and the whole family. I am doing all right, but i recently discovered that i have chatts. It is such an unpleasant thing. I have blotches all over my skin from them and had to cut my hair to the skull. I dreaded having this done, but someone told me that if i did not, i would get money taken from my pay.

The chatts make all of us so itchy. I don't know how somebody in our battalion first got them, but they were spread very quickly to all of us. I try not to itch because I see the ugly marks it leaves on some of the other men. I have been stationed here in Germany for quite a few months now, but I want to come home.

Love,

Charles Ericson

President Obama

As President Obama implied in his speech, there has been more change in his first thirty six days of presidency than there has been in awhile. The health care situation has improved and we are on our way to improving the financial crisis the United States has been in. He approved a stimulus package not too long ago which will help our country rebuild, recover, and emerge stronger than we were before the crisis occured. This time will hopefully be the time that is remembered as a great time of change.

Did William M. Tweed Corrupt Post-Civil War New York

I believe that Alexander B. Callow, Jr., is correct in saying that "Boss" Tweed and the ring corrupted the city and state governments. By controlling the key legislative and financial agencies that gave out charters and franchises, the Tweed Ring extracted what could be up to a couple million dollars. There were many men who made up the Ring and helped to take the money in different ways. One person especially stands out to me, Dick Connolly. He spent the money collected from taxes. Some of this money was spent legitimitly but a good share of it was embezzled or many other things. The Tweed Ring obviously was a corrupt political machine that exploited New York.

New Years Resolution

My New Years Resolution for APUSH is that I will listen more in class and read the Amsco book chapters. I have had trouble when I have not listened in class before because there is important information that I miss. During a couple of the chapters, i read the Amsco book, and it helped my test score very much. So I think reading it will help more of the tests we take have improved scores.

Black Hawk War Summary

A treaty between William Henry Harrison and two Sauk Indians was believed to be an opening for the Americans into all Sauk lands for only $2500. The Sauk chiefs back in Illinois and Wisconsin said that the two Sauks involved in the treaty did not have the authority to speak for the nation, so it was null. Due to the chiefs reasoning, the Indians continued to live where they had since the 1750's.
Twenty-five years later, settlers started flocking to the region of Rock River because the lead industry was very profitable. They were taking over the Sauk land, but the Indians agreed to a deal with the government: If they moved across the Mississippi, the government would supply them with enough corn to last the winter. The government did not keep their end of the deal, so about 1200 Sauk returned to the other side of the river. Lead by Black Hawk, they hoped to regain their land and harvest their corn.
Black Hawk believed he could get help from his neighbors and the British, but he was wrong. The U.S. troops and militia were out to get the Sauks. It came at the Battle of Stillman's Run in May of 1832. A few men were sent out under a white flag to surrender; however, to this the Americans paid no attention to. The Indian barely escaped.
The warriors kept trying to make their way back across the Mississippi throughout the summer of 1832. During this time many very young and elderly Indians died of hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. On August 2, the Indians were caught and held up a white flag again, but the Americans refused to recognize this. The Sauks tried to retreat by swimming across the river, but the Americans shot at them, making the Mississippi a bloody red. Many of the people who made it across were killed by Sioux Warriors. Little groups that made it, hid in the wilderness or in the hunting camps of their old neighbors. Black Hawk surrendered himself at Fort Crawford. Only about 150 Sauks survived out of the 1200 who originally came to get their land back.

Newsweek Articles

How did this election connect with Jackson?
During Andrew Jackson's presidency he promoted the inclusion of all people...if you were a white male. Although Jackson thought slavery was okay, the election of other presidents has stopped slavery. The connection of this election with Jackson is that we are ready to include. Women and blacks have come very far, and people are accepting that they can lead the nation.

Why was Jackson a change agent?
Andrew Jackson was the first presidential nominee to put the citizens at the center of politics. Jackson set a standard for all presidents after him by listening to the voices of those who were thought of as the "little people". If Jackson had not put his foot down and said aloud that we would not fight eachother within our own country, the United States might not even be here because there would have been so much of a difference between the North and South that we would not be able to recooperate. Jackson changed our country for the better by setting a good example for all those who follow in his footsteps.

Electoral College Should Go

I agree with Matthew Spearman, in that the direct popular vote should be how the president is elected. We should have a pure democracy so that when we vote, it will be counted towards the person we want to be in office, as opposed to voting for the people who will represent your vote in your state. People would feel that they are actually making a difference in voting because their vote would be directly affecting the person elected so more people would. As witnesses to the crisis in 2000, I am sure none of us would want to see the failure of the electoral college again. Using the electoral college is a 200 year old process that needs to be adapted to fit the wants and needs of us-the United States citizens.