Self Reflection

I was initially suppose to take European History for my senior year, but conflict with scheduling did not allow me to do that. So when I found out that I was taking AP History, I was kinda disappointed in a sense because I wanted my senior year to be freed up. I knew that I was up for a challenge. My counselor told me that It would look really good on my report card whether it would transfer over to a college credit or not. It won't in my case because I will be majoring in Nursing and I don't have any history classes. (Just the sciences) But I felt that God ordained this for a reason. I was willing to accept the challenge and to do my very best. I'm a go-getter and I always finish what I start, no matter what. I feel that this course was challenging in a good way. It helped me to realize what the college life and work atmosphere would be like. This course also pushed me with out a doubt to do the very best work that was capable of me doing.
I feel that my strengths in this class was me doing my work at all times, taking good notes, doing good project work, and just doing my very best in all. My weakness would have to be that i could have studied harder at times to improve my test grades. But not even that, I think the issue was that i would study too hard and when it came time to test at some points, my mind would freeze up, or better yet, it would be test anxiety. But now i know what to do and how to better plan my study time so that when things like that come up, I am more prepared.
I think the skill that was most beneficial to me by taking this course was my note taking. I learned how to shorthand my notes and not write down every little detail. I used to do this a lot, and then I would miss out on what the teacher was trying to teach us. In all I really enjoyed this course and I know it will benefit me when I go to college this August and in the real world!

Meeting of the Minds Preperation

For the Meeting of the Minds, I will be personifying the personality of Maria Theresa of Austria. She is apart of the Hapsburg Dynasty, and was a well respected leader of her country. I chose her because she was one of the central figures in the wars and politics of Europe. Also, she was very strong and used a lot of wisdom when leading her people. It was stated by her that..." I would always put the general welfare of my lands first because I am the foremost and universal mother of all my subjects." (pg. 17 of Maria Theresa looks at the World)

Some Meeting of the Mind questions that will be asked are? (answers included)
1. If you were to run, or be appointed as the leader of your country or homeland in contemporary society, what issues would you address?
Answer: As an Empress of Austria and having experience with leading a dynasty, I would adress the war in Iraq. A plan or some type of reform like the one I used in 1748 needs to be established to strengthen and make the government more efficient.

2. Would you consider the United States to be an imperialist country?
Answer: I personally feel that the U.S. is imperialist because this country has such a strong system of running the government. The U.S. may have declined slightly in their imperialist ways but it still show signs of imperialism. The U.S. uses its economic, political, and military powers to dictate policies to other competitors and the countries that it may oppress. In all, the U.S. is more economically sound than other countries which gives us a bigger step ahead of things.

3. Who do you feel is the greatest of the worlds superpowers and why? Has this changed from your historical period?
Answer: Adolph Hitler seems to be the greatest of the worlds superpowers. I feel that he is the greatest because he had very strong beliefs in Nazism and extreme Nationalism. He was also racist and he did everything in his power to destroy & kill as many Jews as possible. His Nazi dictatorship took over most independent organizations, mobilized the economy, & violently persuaded the Jewish population.

4. What is the most important message that you could send to the world today?
Answer: To trust in God because he will make you worthy of your deeds, principles and intentions. Also have confidence, faith and tranquility. Realize that everything is not about you! Have a support team to help you make decisions.(whether you are a queen, king, chancellor, prince, president, or a regular person because you can not always depend on your own understanding) Finally, set goals and try your very best to maintain them!




In all, I plan to wear my hair pinned up like Maria Theresa did and wear some pearls and a very poofy dress if i can find one :) I am truly looking forward to doing the meeting of the minds. After all, This counts as a MAJOR grade for the last marking period!

Connection across time for Chap. 29

The dictatorship that took place during WWII was very powerful and at times very out of hand. With the Holocaust that took place, I felt that that was the most horrible thing anyone could do to a race of people, and people in general. So many innocent lives were lost. Even with Hitler being in power, he was one of the most powerful, but outrageous and evil leaders of all time. His motives were very negative and it showed. Furthermore, with the atomic bomb being dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I felt that it was not a good motive to do. Their should have been another method used instead of bombing these places, and killing innocent Japanese civilians. They should have targeted areas such as their capital, or important government buildings. If the Japanese wouldn't have surrendered, (which they had no choice anyways because we were a threat to them) What would we have done? Would we have kept on dropping more bombs (since we had more) until they surrendered? This would have caused more deaths instead of saving our people and the Japanese, and in the long run, sickness and death would occur even the more with the deadly gases that protruded from the atomic bombs. In all, we have learned our lesson to not do such things because it produces negative results. If we don't go through such things, how can we learn from our mistakes?

Spineless Leaders of Democracy (Chap.29)

Spineless Leaders of Democracy by David Low

I find this cartoon to be very amusing. It simply showed that Hitler is the "head honcho" and that he is the one who makes all the rules and regulations. The men that are bowing before him are leaders of democracy who are being used as "stepping stones." Hitler is marching with his nose held high, very arrogant, and is aiming towards his goal of appeasement. some of the men before him look confused, and some look as if they really don't want to be their, but most of them are bowed down to do whatever Hitler prepares them to do because in the end, they have no power! Hitler has it all!

The Holocaust (Chap. 29)

The Holocaust Memorial In Miami, Florida

This is just one part of the Holocaust Memorial in Miami, Florida. It shows how helpless the Jewish people were during that time. As you can see, the people looked as if they suffered from serious accounts of malnutrition. All you see is bones on their skin. The sculpture shows that these people were scared, hungry, fearful, and unsure about what was to come in the future. What really caught my eye was the statute part of the two people holding hands. If you look at their eyes, it looks as if they are telling each other that their is hope, and that their is a way out, if only they can believe and have faith. Their strength and courage is all that they have left to survive. The Germans took all of their material things away, but one of the things that they could never take from these people is their faith, and dignity!

Nazism (Chap. 29)

This picture seems to be very throwed off and demonic looking. Its very dark, gloomy, and kind of frightening in a sense. Hitler is in the front of the line with his horn, and is directing everyone else. The rest of the people may be supporters of his Nazism, and his ways of leading Germany. The Image next to Hitler that seems as if it should be the moon, is really the Nazi symbol. It almost makes me think of the north star in which the slaves used to direct their pathway to freedom. In this case, they are looking at the Nazi symbol as a way of leading and guiding them into what they should do with Germany, the Jews, and everything else. The people in this picture and walking upside down, which may symbolize that Nazism and Hitlers beliefs were not right at all. In the back of the picture, their is a skeleton present with a drum attached to him that he is beating. I find that to be very disturbing! Their is even a bird in the shape of the Nazi symbol. So everything in this picture represents the belief in Nazism, which involved extreme enationalism and racism. Even little creatures are coming up from out of the earth to support Hitler. I find this very sickening, because Hitler caused so much destruction, death, and disaster for So many innocent lives. This portrait illustrates his motives and his beliefs very well!

Response to the Holocaust Powerpoint (Chap.29)

I felt that the Holocaust PowerPoint that was presented by Miss Burnell was very well done. Many of us students have heard about the holocaust, and have done some studies about it, but it was not in depth. I felt that I learned so much more about this horrid time in American History. The Jews were treated with cruelty beyond measure! Words cant express how i felt for these group of innocent people. The were forced to surrender to the German authorities. Such horrors that occurred that caught my attention was that victims were taken to deserted to dig their graves. They were then shot at and killed, so when they died, they would fall right into the grave that they dug for themselves. How cruel and evil can you get? They were treated like worthless pigs, in which they were not. Jews were sent to Auschwitz, which was the biggest extermination camp. They were then split up in what was called "selection," which seperated the strong from the weak. What really caught my attention was the gas chambers. These people would go into the chambers, not knowing was was instored. When all the Jews were packed into this, the Germans would release a gas called "Zykoon B" that killed them within minutes. I could almost cry from hearing such things. In my opinion, I think that If i had to choose between slavery(african american slavery) and the treatment that took place with the Jews during the Holocaust, I would choose to be a slave anyday! What we must do is to never forget this tragic time of history. The Holocaust happened and so many people suffered and died who were simply, Innocent!