Mutually Assured Destruction

Lucy Lastovic
May 12, 2015
Mrs. Lawson- H Block
Exam

Mutually Assured Destruction

US vs. USSR

DEFCON Map

Political Cartoon

Robert McNamara

Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet)

      Mutual assured destruction or MAD, is a doctrine of military strategy and National security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both sides. In Layman’s terms, each side threatens to annihilate the other side if the opposing side threatens to bomb them. According to the Center for Naval Analyses, “When Soviets accepted ‘Mutual Assured Destruction’ as a reality in present-day conditions, the soviet debate on the viability of nuclear war as an instrument of policy was resolved by a consensus: nuclear war is so unpromising and dangerous that it remains an instrument of politics only in theory, an instrument of politics that can not be used” (Fitzgerald). There is still much controversy about if we should should still keep the policy of mutual assured destruction. Does it keep us safe? Is it dangerous for so many countries to be in possession of thousands of nuclear weapons? In this essay, I will discuss the benefits or lack there of in regards to mutual assured destruction, while also focusing on how this military tactic has affected society and the outcomes of wars against our enemies.

Mutual assured destruction was created on the principle or fear of communism, and the unknown possibility of an enemy "lurking in the shadows" ready to attack (Parrington). Past U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, argued for a flexible nuclear response, which meant stockpiling a huge nuclear arsenal (Castella). In the event of a Soviet attack on the U.S., the U.S. would have enough nuclear firepower to survive the first nuclear attack and also be able to strike back full force (Castella). For most of the 1960’s, McNamara argued that as long as the two superpowers—the U.S. and the U.S.S.R— had confidence in their capacity for mutual assured destruction—an ability to impose “unacceptable damage”— the relationship between the two would be stable (Freeman). Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, explained that by stockpiling ample amounts of nuclear weapons, neither side would have anything to gain by initiating a first strike because of the "retaliatory capability" of both to send the other pack to the Paleolithic (Shermer). According to Teller, this tactic would prove effective in any military crisis (Shermer). “The Soviets developed their arsenal in response to the United States; the Chinese in response to the Soviets; the Indians, the Chinese; the Pakistanis, the Indians; and so on” (Parrington). MAD spread like wildfire, one country felt the need to build a nuclear stockpile in response to their enemies and so forth. Although mutual assured destruction has never been used, it caused quite an emotional effect on society.

The age of mutual assured destruction brought forth a new fear amongst society, with citizens fearing for their lives, knowing that they could be annihilated within minutes with just a touch of a button. According to Dr. Christopher Lauct, one of the main fears was that the public had no control whatsoever. “ You were at the mercy of political decision makers. Apart from the fear that one side would so something stupid, there was also the fear of technology and the question of ‘what if an accident happened” (Castella). In the 1980s, fear of an impending attack became part of everyday conversation. It even became a frequent discussion amongst children, who would speculate what the first signs of nuclear attack were. In 1983, there were numbers of false alarms in Russia: the Soviet Union’s early warning system mistakingly picked up a U.S. missile coming into the U.S.S.R (Castella). Fear became widespread across the globe, despite the authorities efforts to offer reassurance. In the U.K., officials promoted a “Protect and Survive” campaign which gave tips on how to build a nuclear shelter (Castella). In today’s society, the fear of nuclear warfare is minimal, almost nonexistent. With 21st-century technology and highly skilled military branches, it is the belief among most Americans that nuclear war could never happen because both sides, no matter who the “opponent”, were in possession of large and protected forces and nuclear stockpiles. Nick Bostrom, the Director of Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University agrees with this claim by stating, “ ‘The fear of nuclear war has diminished partly because the risk has receded significantly with the end of the cold war’” (Castella). Although American society today fears the possibility of nuclear warfare much less than America in the late 1900s, there still is the question as to if mutually assured destruction keeps us safer or more at risk?

President Reagan once said, “ ‘ […] to look down to an endless future with both of us sitting here with these horrible missiles aimed at each other and the only thing preventing a holocaust is just so long as no one pulls this trigger—this is unthinkable,’” (Jervis). President Reagan was one of the biggest enemies against mutual assured destruction. Like a majority of the population, he viewed it as a policy that involved destroying the would if war broke out: “ ‘totally irrational, totally inhumane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization,’” (Shermer) No U.S president since Jimmy Carter has been willing to renounce this defense (Jervis). The White House altogether has rejected the central precepts of mutual assured destruction which is that nuclear weapons are good for deterrence only (Jervis). The only military uses that they deem appropriate for using nuclear weapons would be in destroying an adversary’s WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) sites that are buried deep underground (Jervis). To answer the question, “does MAD keep us safer”, the answer would be no. Mutual assured destruction or the use of nuclear weapons did not keep the peace in Korea, Afghanistan, Vietnam, the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa, or Latin America (Parrington). Even though one side in the war often had “the bomb” and theoretically coerced the other side into submission, nuclear weapons have gotten us no where (Parrington). Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world views nuclear warfare as "civilian annihilation" (Sokolski). Donald Brennan, a specialist in arms control from the US Hudson institute who coined the term or acronym “MAD”, used this acronym to ridicule the idea that in a nuclear war each side should be prepared to destroy each others societies. How could we be safer with this policy with just a push of a button  our country would be eliminated? In the U.S. Government’s eyes, mutual assured destruction is our “fail safe”. However, political scientist Jacek Kuger disagrees. His reasons for this claim are that: “ One, some states that have nukes, such as North Korea, are unpredictable. Two, rogue states want nukes. Three, states waging conventional wars might escalate to using nukes. Four, if terrorists get nukes, they'll use them. Five, the taboo against using nuclear weapons has not yet expanded into a taboo against owning them, and so the danger of accidents or unhinged leaders remains. And six, the nuclear genie of how to make an atomic bomb is out of the bottle, which means other nations or terrorists can obtain them and destabilize deterrence” (Shermer). In closing, mutual assured destruction does not keep us safe. In reality, mutual assured destruction is an empty threat to declare nuclear warfare, yet everyone is too afraid to take that risk.

In October 1962, eight months after the mutual assured destruction policy was announced, it was almost put to the test during the 13 day ordeal of the Cuban Missile Crisis (Castella). In response to the Bay of Pigs invasion and other American discrepancies agains Cuba, as well as the build-up of U.S. strategic nuclear forces with "first-strike capability" directed at the Soviets, the U.S.S.R increased their support of Fidel Castro’s Cuban Regime. Nikita Krushchev—became head of the Communist Party (after the death of Stalin) and one of the most powerful people in the USSR—secretly installed nuclear-armed ballistic missiles in Cuba. When the U.S. government discovered this intel, President Kennedy publicly denounced the Soviet’s actions. In response to the Soviet’s actions, Kennedy placed a Naval blockade on Cuba and declared that any missile launched from Cuba would warrant full-scale attack by the U.S. on the Soviet Union. On October 24 1962, Russian ships bringing missiles to Cuba turned around and Krushcher agreed to withdraw missiles and dismantle missile sites. November 20, 1962, the U.S. ended the blockade placed on Cuba, and in return, the missiles and bombers were removed from Cuba. The U.S. pledged not to invade Cuba and also removed ballistic missiles placed in Turkey, per orders of Krushcher (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). The Cuban Missile crisis was one of the closest calls in American history where we have come close to acting upon mutual assured destruction. 

At the beginning of this project when we were selecting our topics, I was first drawn to the science-based topics concerning where our food comes from and whether or not it is safe to eat. However, I decided to branch out from my go-to topics and research something I knew absolutely nothing about, mutual assured destruction. Seeing as I had no knowledge beforehand, my focus did not change throughout my research process. The biggest obstacle throughout this paper was sifting through all of the data and only taking notes on what pertained to my topic. In order to do so, I narrowed my search questions into more specific and focused topics where I would find more in-depth information. By writing this paper and researching about mutual assured destruction, I learned that our government along with every country who participates in mutual assured destruction, are extremely idiotic. The whole policy itself is ridiculous, but the outcome of this policy would be detrimental to the entire human race! Altogether, I really enjoyed researching this topic because I learned lots of information about the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Soviet Union that I had never known before.

Throughout this essay, I have discussed the pros and cons in regards to mutual assured destruction, how this particular military tactic has affected our society, and the outcomes of wars against our enemies that were greatly influenced by this policy. Mutual assured destruction was a product of the U.S. Doctrine of Massive Retaliation, and despite the attempts to redefine or reevaluate it into contemporary terms like flexible response and nuclear deterrence, it has remained the central theme of American defense planning for over three decades (Parrington). A constant theme throughout my research is that worldwide many view mutual assured destruction as a tactic that will end up killing states, countries, or even nations. MAD does not keep us safer, it just keeps 9 countries in possession of 17,300 nuclear weapons (Shermer). In closing I will leave you with a question: If mutual assured destruction has been shown not to make us any safer, then why are we still in possession of enough nuclear weapons to annihilate the earth five times over? 

 Mutually Assured Destruction Revisited
I used a lot of information from this source, which was written by Alan J. Parrington. It provided a lot of insight on how MAD came to exist, and for that matter, why it came to exist. Throughout my essay I used many quotes from this paper. This source provided me with a majority of my data and information, and it was easy for me to understand what the author was saying.

 Getting MAD: A Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice

This source included information on the nuclear development of MAD and how different countries began to stockpile their weapons. Other than that, I did not find much use out of this source. It was hard for me to pick out what was and what was not important to my paper because there was so much information clumped together that it became overwhelming to read. However, this source was extremely consistent with their information and it seemed that everything was accurate and credible.

The Dustbin of History: Mutual Assured Destruction.

This was probably the source I used the most because it included a lot of information about how this policy affected people and what people thought about it. It talked a lot about the concept of how no one dared to even bomb someone else because the outcome would be so devastating to both sides that it wasn't even worth it to declare nuclear warfare. 

Mutual Assured Destruction

I did not find much information from this source except for McNamara's argument for how MAD was beneficial to military actions because it would create a stability between the two opposing sides. It also included views of the critics or people who saw what MAD for what it really was: a disaster waiting to happen.

How Did We Forget About Mutually Assured Destruction?

This source provided a lot of information about how this policy affected people worldwide. It stated that the age of MAD brought forth a new fear because citizens knew that they could be annihilated at any moment with just a push of a button. I used a lot of quotes from this source to help back up my claims and argument. 

 Marshal Ogarkov And The New Revolution In Soviet Military Affairs
This was my primary source which contained documents from the Center for Naval Analyses. I did not find much in this site except for a quote which was about how the Soviets viewed mutual assured destruction. The site was very long so I was unable to read through all of the material. However, the information was easy to understand and the author supported all of her claims with plenty of evidence.

 Will Mutual Assured Destruction Continue to Deter Nuclear War?

In this source it included the perspective from Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb. He explained the effectiveness of this policy by saying that,"by stockpiling many weapons neither side has anything to gain by initiating a first strike because of the retaliatory capability of both to send the other back to the Paleolithic." It also included quotes about President Reagan's view of this policy and how he planned to get rid of it.

 Cuban Missile Crisis
This source was extremely straight forward and did a great job of summarizing the cuban missile crisis to where it didn't include unnecessary details. I knew nothing about the cuban missile crisis and this source was really easy to follow and it helped me to understand the policy of MAD so much more. 
 Nikita Khrushchev

This source was used just to find out what Khrushchev did during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis because his name appeared a lot throughout my research. The information was really easy to follow and did not include a crazy amount of details. Although I only used a snippet amount of information from this source, I really liked the way they put all of the information together.

Cinderella Man

Lucy Lastovic
April 30, 2015
Mrs. Lawson-H Block
Essay

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is a movie based on the United States during the Great Depression. Throughout the movie, one is able to obtain an inside perspective on what it was like during this time. James J. Braddock, eventually nicknamed “Cinderella Man”, was an American boxer who fought his way to get his family out of poverty. After breaking his hand and losing his Boxing License, Braddock was forced to work the docks and other manual labor jobs in order to provide for his family. In the movie, men would be lined up behind the fences begging for at least one day’s work. By working on the docks, Braddock gains his strength and motivation back making him determined to “fight” his way out of poverty. A person can learn quite a lot about life in America during the Great Depression just from watching Cinderella Man because it shows the obstacles American citizens faced and it also showed what it was like to survive during this time period.

In the United States in 1933, more than 15 million Americans were unemployed, which was around one-fourth of the work force. Men were lined up behind the fences at any chance of getting chosen to work that day. As seen in the movie, only around five or six men would be chosen at a time, leaving hundreds of men without work that day. Even when James Braddock got work, it still was not enough money to pay their bills. Their electrical was shut off, they could not afford food for the whole family, and they had no milk for their family either. The final straw was when Mae sent the children off to stay with a relative so James could earn enough money to pay their bills. Braddock was 1 of 600,000 people in New Jersey to apply for government relief. Braddock, like many men, felt embarrassed and emasculated that he could not support his family financially. What was not shown in the movie is that Braddock did not just paint his cast in order to work, he cut the cast completely off. That shows just how dedicated and desperate he and all of the men in this time period were just to earn some money in order to support their families. The attitude and raw emotion showed in this movie accurately depicts what it was like for people in Great Depression and how hard it was for them to survive on a day-to-day basis. 

After his first fight back in the rings, Braddock started to make more money, but it was not in stable fashion. While he was making far more than he would be working the docks, Braddock and his family still had to be cautious with money because they never knew when his last fight would be. Unlike most Americans, Braddock did pay back every cent of what he borrowed from the Government Relief program. From 1937 to 1939, Braddock earned around $150,000 from his fights, which is equivalent to about $2 million today. Having been a “mediocre” boxer, no one thought Braddock would have made it as far as Heavyweight Champion. Hence the nickname “Cinderella Man”, he went from rags to riches practically overnight. As seen in the movie, Braddock was a beacon of hope to all of the “underdogs” in America who were unemployed and barely had any money to survive. They saw themselves in Braddock, that if he could do it, then maybe they could too. Also shown in the movie, the “extras” in the film rarely smiled and always wore a morose look on their faces. The only time you see them smiling is when they were watching boxing matches or other sporting events. Sporting events provided joy and happiness for people during the Great Depression because it provided a break from reality and allowed them time to just relax and feel alive. By incorporating key events in the Great Depression like the Government Relief program and also depicting what an impact people like James Braddock had on society, helps viewers to learn what it was like for people during this era.

Although Braddock was just like the millions of other Americans suffering from unemployment during the Great Depression, he overcame all of the obstacles that were thrown his way in order to provide for his family. Even with a severely broken hand, Braddock endured hours and hours of hard, physical labor trying to keep his bills paid and food on the table. His “overnight” transformation from rags to riches inspired anyone who knew his story. Not only did he show people that hard work and dedication do pay off, but he showed them that no matter what is thrown in your way, or how many people try to bring you down, that you WILL succeed if you have all of your heart and soul in it.

1) US History in Film Blog
2) Historical Inaccuracies in Film
3) Money

Trip to Birmingham: Civil Rights Museum and 16th Street Baptist Church

Lucy Lastovic
March 12, 2015
Mrs. Lawson- H Block

What did you learn on the field trip?
On this field trip, I learned a lot more about the 16th street baptist church bombing and the Child March. It blew my mind how many children came to the church and to Birmingham just to get arrested. It really shows children are the voices of the future. I liked getting to walk through the museum and see all of the staged buildings like the comparison of the white and black classrooms. It really helps you understand what happened during a time period when you can visualize and see it before your own eyes.
Whats the difference between hearing about these events in a classroom and "experiencing" the places, people, and artifacts?
Hearing about events in a classroom makes me want to fall asleep because I feel like I am getting lectured, so I tune out and start to daydream. However, when I can experience an event, even if it is just watching a film, it helps for me to be able to visualize it in my head and for me to get a "hands on experience" instead of listening to a lecture.
Did this experience in any way change your own perspective on Civil Rights' issues? If so, how?
This experience did not change my perspective on the Civil Rights' issues because we have learned and heard about them for so long that I had already had a perspective for a while. I remember in second grade we were sitting on Mrs. Grey's rug learning about Rosa Parks and she told us that she died that day.
Imagine a conversation with someone who is arguing that the Civil Rights Field Trip is a waste of time. Even if you personally feel that way too, empathize with the teachers, administrators, educational experts, and community members who have decided that the field trip is worth taking. How can this trip for busy Randolph 11th graders be justified? In a time when it is easy to view anything on screens, whats the value of actually going to a historic site?
On behalf of all of the busy Randolph juniors, I can say it was nice to take a break from reading text books and computer screens to actually being at the historical site where so much history took place. Even though we could have easily looked at pictures online and taken virtual tours, you wouldn't have gotten the same experience as actually being there and taking in everything around you. For instance, sure you could pull up a picture of the Grand Canyon and say that you have already SEEN it, but until you have actually been there and EXPERIENCED it, you have seen nor learn nothing.  

Questions About World War I

Lucy Lastovic 

February 24, 2015

Mrs. Lawson- H Block

Questions About WWI

1. WWI began on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. The immediate cause in the starting of World War I  was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria-Hungary. His death at the hands of Gavrilo Princip – a Serbian nationalist with ties to the secretive military group known as the Black Hand – propelled the major European military powers towards war. Many scholars also believe that the gradual emergence of a group of alliances between major powers was partly to blame for the descent into war. The two groups of allies were: Britain, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy comprised the Triple Alliance.                                        http://www.theweek.co.uk/world-news/first-world-war/59782/how-did-the-first-world-war-start#ixzz3Sfx2SgWC
2. On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. On May 7, the British-owned ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed without warning just off the coast of Ireland. Of the nearly 2,000 passengers aboard, 1,201 were killed, including 128 Americans. The German government maintained, correctly, that the Lusitania was carrying munitions, but the U.S. demanded reparations and an end to German attacks on unarmed passenger and merchant ships. In August, Germany pledged to see to the safety of passengers before sinking unarmed vessels, but in November a U-boat sank an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. With these attacks, public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany. United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany; the same day, the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms-appropriations bill intended to ready the United States for war. In late March, Germany sank four more U.S. merchant ships, and on April 2, President Wilson went before Congress to deliver his famous war message. Within four days, both houses of Congress had voted in favor of a declaration of war.  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-enters-world-war-i
3. Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war.                                           http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/jazz/jb_jazz_ww1_3.html
4. The main terms of the Versailles Treaty were:                                                                             (1) the surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates;                                     (2) the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France;                                                                                 (3) cession of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, the Hultschin district to Czechoslovakia                                                                                                                             (4) Poznania, parts of East Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland;                                               (5) Danzig to become a free city;                                                                                                 (6) plebiscites to be held in northern Schleswig to settle the Danish-German frontier;               (7) occupation and special status for the Saar under French control;                                           (8) demilitarization and a fifteen-year occupation of the Rhineland;                                             (9) German reparations of £6,600 million;                                                                                     (10) a ban on the union of Germany and Austria;                                                                     (11) an acceptance of Germany's guilt in causing the war;                                                             (12) provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders;                                         (13) limitation of Germany's army to 100,000 men with no conscription, no tanks, no heavy artillery, no poison-gas supplies, no aircraft and no airships;                                                     (14) the limitation of the German Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with no submarines;Germany signed the Versailles Treaty under protest. The USA Congress refused to ratify the treaty. Many people in France and Britain were angry that there was no trial of the Kaiser or the other war leaders.                                                                                           http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWversailles.htm                                                                    The US did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles because the League of Nations said if another nation was attacked we would automatically send troops to ensure their territorial integrity we did not want to do that.                                                             https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080526211028AAX6LXJ
5. What was Germany's reaction to the Treaty of Versailles? How much did Germany have to pay for the war? What issues from WWI took part in the start of WWII?

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918

Lucy Lastovic

February 18, 2015

Mrs. Lawson- H Block

Research Essay

                                                         Influenza Pandemic of 1918

Every year during the fall, people go to get their annual flu shot to protect themselves from the contagious virus. While many people get infected by influenza, it results in common cold symptoms like sore throat, chills, body aches, sore throat, and fever. However, in 1918-1919, influenza took the world by storm. All over the world, people were becoming infected by this unknown virus. No one knew where it was coming from, how it was being spread, or even what is was for that matter. Later, they would learn that the soldiers fighting in WWI were carrying this virus with them wherever they went. In this essay, I will discuss how this pandemic unfolded, the impact it had on the United States, what strategies the government took for fighting this disease, and how the army was affected by this silent killer.

The influenza pandemic was not one outbreak which lasted for over a year. It was, however, three different waves of the influenza virus, each one more virulent and deadlier than the last. The first wave occurred when a mild strand of influenza broke out in the late spring and summer of 1918. The second wave consisted of an outbreak of severe influenza in the fall of 1918. Lastly, the third wave erupted in the spring of 1919 with the most deadly and contagious strand of influenza than those before it. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ) In a study done by Captain Alan M. Chesney, a medical officer with the AEF in France during WWI, he discovered and documented the "evolution of a more virulent influenza". In his first documented phase, he analyzed the 5th artillery brigade during the time period of June-July 27th. He recorded that there were only 77 "mild cases" of the influenza virus. During his second phase, he followed the 58th artillery brigade from July 27th to August 23rd, and recorded that 200 of the soldiers became ill. Lastly during his third phase, he followed the 6th artillery brigade from August 23rd to November 8th. 1,636 soldiers, which was more than 1/3 of the brigade, contracted influenza and 151 soldiers died.   At the end of his study, Chesney reported, "the frequent changes in the population of the post, brought by the short stay of each brigade, exercised considerable influence upon the course of the epidemic of influenza."(U.S. Military:Influenza Pandemic) That being said, one can see how the influenza virus erupted during three different time frames and coming back deadlier than it was before.

Twenty to forty million people were killed by the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Just to get a mental picture of how many people died in this pandemic, more people died from influenza in ONE year than in FOUR years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague. ( Stanford: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic) In the United States alone, it infected over twenty-five percent of the entire population. In just that one year, the United States average life expectancy dropped by an astounding 12 years.
(National Archives and Records Administration) It is clear that the most obvious impact the United States faced was the dramatic decrease in population. Around 675,000 Americans died from the influenza outbreak. Calculating just the soldiers of the United States, half of the soldiers who died in Europe died from the hands of influenza, not the enemy.( Stanford: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic) The United States lost soldiers, doctors, nurses, servicemen, and citizens all from this virus, so of course we must look at what America did to fight this killer virus.

On September 27th, 1918, influenza officially became a reportable disease. However by that time, the second wave of influenza had already begun. The government sent as many medically trained personnel over to Europe and American camps to aid to the soldiers as best they can. There just weren't enough doctors and nurses to aid to the thousands and thousands of soldiers infected and dying from the flu. When the PHS was able to send more medical aid, they often became ill en route to the camps or when they arrived. For those who got there healthy and uninfected, found themselves unprepared and under-staffed for the task in front of them. In October, Congress gave one million dollars to the PHS, which enabled them to recruit and pay for more medical personnel. (United States Department of Health and Human Services) In a Directive from the Division of Sanitation, they stated many guidelines or rules for people to follow in order to protect citizens from getting infected or spreading the virus. Basically, it stated to stay away from crowded and public places, stay healthy and rested, and stay away from anyone who was coughing or sneezing. Seeing as there was no vaccination or antibiotic to kill the virus, the best the government could do was head warning to the public and send doctors and nurses to help those infected.

What better way to spread a highly contagious virus than to send infected soldiers all over the world with it? Influenza traveled with military personnel from camp to camp, trench to trench, and country to country. In September through November 1918, during the peak of American military involvement, influenza and pneumonia infected over 20-40% of the United States Army and Navy. With all of these casualties, if affected the amount of available soldiers, the induction and training schedules, and it rendered thousands of military personnel non-effective. The War department counted that influenza sickened 26% of the Army, which is over one million men. It also killed 30,000 men before they even reached France. In the Navy, they recorded that out of 600,000 men, there were 5,027 deaths and more than 106,000 soldiers were admitted to the hospital. WWI fostered this diseases by creating conditions in the trenches of France that some epidemiologists believe enabled the flu to evolve into a  world-wide killer. Disease shaped WWI by rendering a majority of the Army and Navy non-effective, and diverting resources and personnel from the military campaign. The military was the biggest factor of this pandemic because not only did it kill and infect a majority of the soldiers, they were unknowingly carrying this lethal killer with them all over the world. (U.S. Military:Influenza Pandemic)

The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 claimed the lives of millions of people. A now particularly harmless virus was once the silent killer of the 1900's. While many people speculate as to what the origin of influenza is, historical and epidemiologic data have been determined inadequate in identifying the geographic origin of the virus. However, one strong possibility is that it developed somewhere in Asia, seeing as before and after the Pandemic of 1918, most influenza pandemics began in Asia and the spread to the rest of the world. (Origin of Influenza) While there were many casualties in WWI, the United States had relatively fewer casualties than other countries- 112,000 dead. Half of these deaths were from influenza, not the enemy. (American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition) Since the influenza pandemic, America has restored its population and found a vaccine and antibiotic to fight against influenza. The world will be prepared if there was ever another Influenza Pandemic, because now we have the tools and manpower to kill it before it kills us.

Army Influenza Ward, Luxembourg, 1918

Infirmary Treating Those Infected by Influenza

Nurse During the Influenza Pandemic 

Letter Carrier in New York during 1918

Directive from Washington, D.C., regarding treatment and procedures

Sources:

United States Department of Health and Human Services This source provided lots of dates which mapped out a "timeline" to see what happened when. It talked about the different waves that the flu traveled in. It also mentions how the pandemic unfolded, how the US was mobilized to fight influenza, communications, and lastly the fading of the pandemic.
National Archives and Records Administration This source provided a brief background on the Pandemic but mostly provided statistical data. However, this source had links to numerous primary sources including personal letters, journals, newspaper articles, pictures, government directives, and more from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.
U.S. Military:Influenza Pandemic This source focused specifically on how the influenza pandemic impacted the Army and Navy. It talked about the three different waves in which influenza occurred and how the war fostered influenza in the crowded conditions of military camps in the U.S. and European trenches.
Stanford: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic This source provided a lot of statistical data in regards to the casualties resulting from the flu, decrease in life span, and how many people were infected by this virus,
Directive from Division of Sanitation Being an actual directive from Washington D.C and written by the Division of Sanitation in 1918, this was by far the best source. It provided me with what knowledge they knew about influenza and what strategies they were taking in order to protect the citizens.
American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition This source contained the least amount of data out of all of my sources, seeing as the text only mentioned the casualties caused by the flu. There was no other data about influenza in regards to how it impacted the U.S. or how it was spread.
Origin of Influenza In this source, I was able to find information concerning the origin of the influenza outbreak. While there is speculation of Europe, Asia, America, or even China, there is no way, as of today, of discovering where this pandemic evolved.

How Do You Analyze a Political Cartoon?

If you were to analyze a political cartoon, you would first need to just look at the whole picture, and not look for detail.

Next, begin to scan over the picture and notice the main focus of the cartoon or what point the cartoonist is trying to convey.

Look for detail. Notice objects, people, and scenery/setting.

Determine the audience or bias for the cartoon. Interpret what the cartoon represents!

Finish!


Guide to Analyzing Political Cartoons
What, if any, words do you see?
What was happening when this cartoon was made?
What methods does the cartoonist use to persuade the audience?
Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Political Cartoon 1:

Taking a first look at this cartoon, you can see McKinley holding on to a Filipino child near the edge of a cliff. While the "world" looks on, the question above (What will he do?) asks will he decide to keep the Philippines or give it back to Spain. A bias is sort of implied by comparing Spain to throwing a child off a cliff, so this cartoon is trying to sway readers opinions into taking the Philippines.

Political Cartoon 2:

Looking at this cartoon, you can see a Hawaiian native, Cuban native, and Filipino native skipping side-by-side holding hands and waving American flags. With big smiles on their faces, it looks like the natives are enthralled by the fact that the United States came in. This cartoon portrays the U.S. as heroes to these people and that they are "over the moon" excited about what the United States has done to them...NOT!!

Political Cartoon 3:

In this picture, you can see dirty, savage looking children from Cuba (also P.R. and Philippines) knocking on Uncle Sam's door, which represents the U.S., to let them in. In other words, this cartoon portrays these countries as begging for the U.S. to take them over and control them and basically do with their land however they please, which we all know is not the case. This, like most political cartoons, portrays a bias that puts the U.S. on a pedestal and makes them look like international heroes who only wants the best for other people.

US History- First Semester Summary Activity

Lucy Lastovic
December 16, 2014
US History-H Block
Speech

From watching historically based films like "Glory" and "12 Years a Slave", to researching how Native Americans are genetically predisposed to obesity and diabetes, I have been presently surprised by the copious amounts of different topics we have learned this semester. Seeing as I want to go into the medical field, I was very interested in my research topic about what marker or gene causes Native Americans to be susceptible to obesity and diabetes. For thousands of years, communities and populations that relied on farming, hunting, and fishing for food experience a great fluctuation of alternation periods in which they endured feast and famine. For their bodies to adapt to these extreme changes in caloric needs, their bodies developed a "Thrifty Gene" that allowed them to store fat during times of plenty so that they would not starve during times of famine. While this gene was extremely helpful in times of famine, these populations have now adopted to the “typical” western lifestyle. Meaning, they endure less physical activity due to automobiles, consumption of a high-fat diet, and access to a constant supply of calories. This Thrifty Gene has begun to work against these communities, continuing to store calories in preparation for famine, causing their high susceptibility of diabetes and obesity. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that by understanding the biology of things like genes, I can get a better insight to American history as a whole.

Having a minimal history in the rise of the industrial workforce and the people that worked in it, I was unpleasantly surprised by the how the children were treated. At least 1.7 million children under the age of 16 years old were employed in factories and fields. Only 38 state legislatures had passed child labor laws in the late 19^th century. Agriculturally employed children worked 12 hour days in the field, and these children were often exempt from the laws. For factory working children, they had to be at least 12 years old and would work a minimum of 10 hours a day. These children were being maimed and even killed in industrial accidents at an alarming rate. Knowing that children were being so poorly mistreated and manipulated by adults just so they could pay cheaper wages is truly sickening.

10 years down the road, I will be able to remember and discuss the effects of Social Darwinism during the Industrial supremacy. More importantly, I will be able to remember Herbert Spencer’s argument in which he states that society benefited from the elimination of the unfit and survival of the strong and talented.

Racism has been an issue that Americans in the past and present have struggled with. 149 years after slavery was abolished, and all men and women of different skin color became equals, we are still having catastrophic issues with racism. Take Michael Brown for example, an 18 year old African-American male who was shot and killed by a white police officer. Everyone jumped to the conclusion that he was shot because he was black, but no one stopped to listen to the fact that he had just tried to rob a store and then physically assaulted the officer, resulting with Brown turning the gun back on the officer. It was self defense, but people who did not even witness the crime, immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was about race.

Looking back at what we have learned in history this past semester from 1865 to 1920, there is a common theme of growth and expansion throughout America. Whether it’s political or technological, America went through a major transformation during this era. Therefore, I would name this era the Age of American Expansion because we have talked about all forms of expansion throughout America. Anywhere from expansion of populations across the nation or the spread of industrial factories, America went through a significant period of growth during this era.