The First Amendment

The First Amendment of the United States constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. This amendment states that there is freedom of speech, press, religion, and petition. The establishment of the First Amendment had been interpreted by the Supreme Court as a separation of church and state. Originally, the First Amendment was only applied to laws established by Congress but because of the Fourteenth amendment it applies to each state. The First Amendment was sent to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789 and it was adopted on December 15, 1791.

The first amendment exactly states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." This amendment is important to the people in the United States of America because in order to be able to speak your mind and be able to share ideas with other people. The first amendment gives the rights of free speech and discourse. If you did not have this right there would be no free discussions and with no discussion, there would be no exchange of new ideas.

The first amendment give us freedoms, without those freedoms we wouldn't be able to protest, or express our religious views, or speak up against an injustice, or speak out against the government. In the United States of America, we have freedom but there has to be limitations because if there were no limitations to our freedom then there would be chaos. This is one of the many reasons why the First Amendment is vital to the constitution.

The First Amendment needs to be in play because it's vital to all the people who want a freedom of speech, press, religion, and petition. As a Christian, the First Amendment is important to me because it gives me the freedom to express my religion. In our world today though, these freedoms seem to be disappear when it comes to religion, and more specifically Christianity. The First Amendment is vital because we the people have no rights or freedoms to state our ideas or what we believe if this amendment was not in play.

My point of view on Proposition 20

The main point of Proposition is that someone will be put in place who decides who moves the boundaries . The Legislature is usually the person that is the decision maker when it comes to moving the boundaries. Basically this proposition just puts a middle man between the legislature and the people voting. This proposition is adding another step in the process of moving districts when it comes to voting.

Voting yes for this proposition would give power to a middle man to be able to manipulate the situation that has to do with moving districts. Voting no on this proposition means that there will be no change and the legislature would still make the overall decision. A yes vote would determine the boundaries of California's districts, and would be given to the Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is someone who would be placed above U.S citizens. A no vote means that the boundaries of California's district would remain with the Legislature.

A pro to the proposition would be that having a redistricting commission would draw more fair districts for the legislature and congress. A con to it is that it would cost a lot of money. I think that the con far outweighs the pro in this situation. If this proposition is going to cost us more money in the long run then Im not sure its a smart way to go.

My point of view on proposition 20 is that it's not a smart path to take especially since there is already debt to pay off. If proposition 20 is going to cost us lots of money just to place a middle man between us and the legislature then I do not agree with it and I would vote no. It all comes down to what is best for California and my vote would be based on that idea.

Funding for my future education

In order to pay for college I found some scholarships that I hope I will get to help me out. The sources that I used to look for these scholarships came from many different sites. THis project has not only made me look for scholarships, its encouraged me to keep looking for and possible way to earn money for college. My plan is to continue to look for more scholarships the rest of the year. The method I am using is to apply for as many scholarships I can up until graduation. My goal is to at least earn a minimum of 10,000 dollars for college. I would love to earn more then 10,000 dollars, so that is why I am going to keep applying to many throughout the year.

The websites that I used for this project were collegeboard.com,zinch.com, and scholarships.com. Each site had tons of scholarships that I could choose from. I applied for about eight scholarships so far. Two of the eight scholarships required me to write an essay. One of the scholarships was strictly for students who were planning on going into a nursing program in college. The nursing scholarship said it would give 1000 dollars if I got picked for it. I am hoping that out of all the scholarships I applied for, that I will at least get one. The scholarships ranged from about 1000 dollars up to 20,000 dollars.

My method to earning money for college is to apply for one scholarship each week. I am also planning on saving any money I get or earn towards college. It may not be a lot of money by the end of the year, but every dollar counts. Another part to my method is to continue to look for more scholarships, that I will be more likely to win. I know that the Blood Drive gives away scholarships each year to students, and this is something I am going to look into. During the beginning stages of looking for scholarships, I plan on applying for any type of scholarship and as the year goes on I plan on narrowing it down and looking for specific scholarships. I am going to look more into my options when it comes to scholarships and I am hoping by the end to have some money for college.

Pearl Harbor in 1941

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This event caused the United States to enter into World War II. It has been considered one of the largest loss of lives during an attack on U.S. soil until September 11Th. I would disagree with this because Hawaii is not part of U.S soil, but it was a place where we had our naval bases at.

On December 6, 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt made his a final request to Japan for peace. He received no reply back, but instead late the same day, the U.S. code-breaking service began to intercept a Japanese message. They passed the message on to the President and Secretary of State and they came to believe a Japanese attack was likely to happen, somewhere in Southeast Asia. The last part of the message was delivered at 9 am and it stated that the relations with the U.S. were to be broken off. About an hour later, another Japanese message was intercepted. It instructed that the Japanese embassy was to deliver the message to the Americans at 1 p.m, the U.S code service realized this time had corresponded with morning time in Pearl Harbor, because of the time difference. The U.S. War Department immediately sent out an alert to warn the naval bases of the attack but the radio contact with Hawaii had been temporarily broken. Delays caused the message to not be delivered until noontime (Hawaii time) four hours after the attack.

Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time. The surprise attack on Pearl harbor was complete. The attacking planes came in two different waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 am and the second at 8:55. By 9:55 am it was all over. The Japanese surprise attack left 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and they had damaged 8 and destroyed some battleships. The USS Arizona was struck by a torpedo, and went down in 9 minutes, killing 1,177 aboard. The USS Oklahoma was hot and rolled over on its side, trapping many men inside and underwater. Out of the crew of 1,301, 429 drowned and died. The USS West Virginia was struck by bombs and torpedoes many times and the ship sank.

Here's a bit of a story of man who survived the attack: "I made my way to the quay and started to remove my shoes when I suddenly found myself in the water. I think the concussion of a bomb threw me in. I started swimming for the pipe line which was about one hundred and fifty feet away. I was about half way when my strength gave out entirely. The USS Shaw explodes condition sapped my strength, and I was about to go under when Major Shapley started to swim by, and seeing my distress, grasped my shirt and told me to hang to his shoulders while he swam in. We were perhaps twenty-five feet from the pipe line when the Major's strength gave out and I saw he was floundering, so I loosened my grip on him and told him to make it alone. He stopped and grabbed me by the shirt and refused to let go. I would have drowned but for the Major. We finally reached the beach where a marine directed us to a bomb shelter, where I was given dry clothes and a place to rest."

In about than two hours, the Japanese had sunk 21 ships and killed about 2,000 Americans and though it was a devastating blow, it was not a crushing blow, instead it gave Americans the strength till the end of the war. That day the American aircraft carriers were not in port, but out at sea. As the results would prove, the carriers were what dominated the navy and what helped us win the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan and the answer was a yes. So on December 8 1941, the day after the surprise attack, the U.S. declared war on Japan.

Prohibition

One of the most influential temperance movements was the women's Christian Temperance union. It was a group of women who wanted a ban on alcohol. These women convinced congress to pass the Volstead Act to enforce the new prohibition on alcohol. In the United States, Prohibition was also known as the Noble Experiment. This time period was from 1920 to around 1933. It was the time when the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol were banned nationally and the Eighteenth amendment was created in order to stop this. Under pressure from temperance movement, the senate proposed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 18, 1917. It was approved by 36 states, and was ratified on January 16, 1919 and came into play on January 16, 1920. ( book source )

The Eighteenth Amendment took away license to do business from the brewers, distillers, and the wholesale sellers of alcoholic beverages. The leaders of the prohibition movement were shocked at the drinking behavior of people, and they were concerned that the drinking among sectors of the population would cause more immigration to the U.S from Europe.

Many Americans hoped the ban on alcohol would improve American life. Alcoholism in fact did decline during the noble experiment but in the end it did not work. There were many reasons why prohibition failed. One of the main reasons that people were trying to get across was that they thought prohibition would be good for mankind. Many hoped that Prohibition would eliminate all corruptions instead; Prohibition itself became a source of corruption. A reason why it failed was because many politicians and even policemen took bribes from people in order to get away with smuggling alcohol. Everyone had to get their alcohol and because of this it caused corruption everywhere.

Some people manufactured their own alcohol and others smuggled it in from other places. It was said that some smugglers were called bootleggers because they hid the alcohol in their boots. Illegal bars called speak- easies opened in almost every city and town. To enforce the ban, the government sent out men to shut down the bars and to stop smugglers. Speakeasies provided an entertaining atmosphere. People ate and drank and this was said to be the first time that men and women drank together. They called them speakies because you needed to speak the password to enter.( book source )


Many people during the prohibition time weren’t able to resist a drink of whiskey or wine. If someone had been caught smuggling a drink in public, they would have to pay a major fine. If they were unable to pay the price of what they did, then they would be taken to a jail cell for six months or until they could pay the fine. There became so many prohibition cases in court that it became chaotic. The results of prohibition were that innocent people suffered, organized crime grew, the police, courts, and politicians became corrupt and disrespect for the law increased dramatically.

During the Noble experiment there was an increase in crimes. Every speak-easy needed a way to get a hold of alcohol and because of this crime became a big business. As time went on many Americans began to believe that Prohibition was a mistake. The ban may have reduced drinking but it never fully stopped it. As time went on more and more Americans began to realize that Prohibition may have been a mistake. Many people also began to think that prohibition was undermining the respect for the law. Finally in 1933 President, F.D. Roosevelt was elected, and the Congress passed the 21st Amendment, which would repeal the 18Th Amendment. The noble experiment then came to an end.

I think one of the reasons why prohibition got passed was because women wanted their lives to be safer and they wanted to put an end to abuse. I understand what they wanted but I do not agree with the decision because no matter what law you pass or no matter what you say, no one will ever be able to fix major problems like that because not everyone follows the laws. I think that Prohibition didn't help but in fact make things worse. The main problem of prohibition was that those who wanted it passed didn't really think of the implication of it. They only saw the good in it, but they never prepared for the bad things that would come from it. I think people were already freaked out about the economy and the influenza flu that had taken the lives of millions of people, that they wanted to pass a law that would improve life and hopefully save lives.

The Peace Process at Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was a peace agreement signed after WW1. The treaty was signed at the Versailles Palace and it was between Germany and the Allies. The Palace was considered the most appropriate place to have the treaty signed because of its size and because many people were involved in the process and the final signing in the Hall of Mirrors.

The Peace Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919. The treaty consisted 440 Articles and it was first presented to Germany on 7 May 1919. The Allies gave Germany two weeks to accept the treaty and they sent back a list of complaints but finally agreed to accept it. It is often told that the treaty supported the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Germany, which then led to the outbreak of World War II.

"The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it. Jules Hardouin Mansart, the king's principal architect, drew the plans to enlarge what was turning more and more into a palace from A Thousand and One Nights. The terrace that overlooked the gardens was removed to make way for the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, the Galarie de Glaces. It is here from which the king radiated his power and where the destiny of Europe was decided over a century. The French classical architecture was complemented by extensive gardens."

"The main terms of the Versailles Treaty were: the surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates, the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, cession of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, the Hultschin district to Czechoslovakia, Poznania, parts of East Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland; Danzig to become a free city; plebiscites to be held in northern Schleswig to settle the Danish-German frontier; occupation and special status for the Saar under French control; (8) demilitarization and a fifteen-year occupation of the Rhineland; German reparations of £6,600 million; a ban on the union of Germany and Austria; an acceptance of Germany's guilt in causing the war; provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders; 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; the limitation of the German Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with no submarines."

On June 28, two German men signed the treaty. The signing ceremony brought the final act of the Great War to an end. No one knew this would have an effect twenty years later with more terrible consequences."Three contributing factors that lead to the defeat of the Treaty of Versailles were the strength of opposing forces, opposition to the League of Nations, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's discontent from not being involved in the negotiations of the Treaty's terms." book source

The outbreak of WWI

There were many events and circumstances that led to world war one. The events that led to the outbreak of World War I involves a complicated arrangement of allies and enemies, and to really know what happened we must understand the political system of Europe. The problem was that Germany had no ability to get ready for the dangers it was about to face. The plans they made called for a quick invasion of France and in order to defend itself against Russia, they had to use their plans to attack France.

"A sense of security before World War 1.They formed these alliances with eachother for protection and to guarente that other members of the alliance would come to the country's aid if attacked. Although alliances provided protection, the system also created certian dangers. If war came, the alliance system meant that a number of nations would fight, not only the two involved in a duspute. Alliances could force a counry to go to war against a nation it had no quarrel with. In addition, the terms of many alliances were kept secret. The secrecy also increased the chances that a county might guess wrong about the consequeneces of its actions. The Triple Alliance was made up of 3 countries, Germany, Italy, and Austria. They all agreed to go to war if attacked by Russia. Bismarck also brought Austria and Germany into alliance with Russia. The agreement was known as the "Three Emperor's League" and it was formed in 1881. They all agreed to remain neutral if any of them went to war with another country. In 1890 when Bismarck left office it gave a chance for Russia and France to form an alliance. In 1894, France and Russia agreed to call up troops if any naiton in the Triple Alliance mobilized. Russia and France also agreed to help eachother if either were attacked be Germany."

"World War I was the result of leaders' aggression towards other countries which was supported by the rising nationalism of the European nations. Economic and imperial competition and fear of war prompted military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of war."