This I Believe

For as long as I can remember, competitive swimming has influenced my life. It gave me self-confidence, taught me discipline and provided countless hours of fun. When I turned thirteen and became old enough to volunteer as a swim coach, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to share my love of swimming with young swimmers and have them experience the same thrill I did when I was their age. More importantly, it was my first opportunity to give back to my community while doing something I felt passionate about. So, for the last four years and counting, I get into the pool every Sunday for two hours to teach young swimmers new concepts and work to improve their existing abilities.

Volunteering as a swim coach is an unbelievably rewarding and gratifying experience. It makes me a better swimmer because having to teach the swimming basics gives me an awareness of the nuances of concepts I previously took for granted. I now better appreciate what it takes to teach – patience, flexibility and creativity – as well as the personal challenge that goes into working one-on-one with a student who is having difficulty mastering a particular concept. Most of all, there is no better feeling than getting the “high fives” or seeing the triumphant, smiling faces of my students after their mastery of the new skills that we have worked on. 

Excellent Thinking and Writing

Under Pressure

Colleen Wenke states in Too Much Pressure that schools need to focus more on education instead of grades or else students will cheat to achieve high grades. The schools’ emphasis on GPA rather than the students’ education is horrifying; so much depends on the GPA that students are willing to risk their integrity and cheat to improve their grades. In an environment where cheaters often get the best GPA in the school, cheating becomes an accepted practice. It does not matter if the students understand the material at all; the ultimate measure is their final grade. This heavy emphasis on grades over education compromises the students’ ability to work independently and to rely on their own capabilities. To maintain high grades, many students will often resort to copying other students’ work rather than risking a lower GPA. Cheating under pressure becomes the norm for many students.  However, if the emphasis on GPA is removed, there is no reason for students to cheat. Rather, they can focus on learning and developing instead of concentrating on just getting high grades.  Cheating is a dishonorable aspect of a student’s life, but the amount of pressure on students to get extraordinary grades is so immense that many of them are willing to take that risk.

SKILL: Persuasion

Persuasion is very hard, but can be easy. By utilizing a topic that everybody can relate to, it becomes easier for the reader to have an emotional attachment to the essay. Making that connection between the argument and reader is important because without it, the writer would have a very hard time persuading the reader their argument. Furthermore, the usages of strong diction like cheat, horrifying, final, etc. grab the reader’s attention thus keeping them interested in the topic. By following those rules, writers can write an excellent persuasion essay.

 

America’s Hardships: Providing Opportunities to Grow

A quick look at newspaper headlines today reveals the state of America and the sentiments of her people. Headlines such as “Severe Hardships, Dashed Hopes” and “Facing Hardship, Jobless Go Without” are bolded on the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post, highlighting the troubling conditions in which Americans are currently living. Hardship seems to be a theme of this era, but distressing events and challenging adversities are not new; in fact, Americans have endured hardships throughout their history. The reality is that Americans have always faced privations.

 In discussing the impact of these adversities on America, people disagree about whether America has been helped or harmed from these experiences. While some conclude that the nation has been irreversibly harmed by them, others remain convinced that many of America’s most prominent accomplishments have their genesis in her darkest tragedies, such as the Great Depression and the 9/11 Attacks in New York City. Regardless of the degree to which America has been altered, most can agree that some of these hardships have irrevocably affected Americans and offered opportunities to learn from the challenges, transform from the lessons, and emerge as a stronger, more unified nation.

From her beginning, America was divided. Due to their different political and religious beliefs, the colonies were disconnected from each other, seldom cooperating to find collective solutions to common problems. The conflict between the colonies was so pronounced that, despite the common threat of attacks from the French and Native Americans, they were unable to unite to defend themselves, resulting in heavy casualties and property losses (Kennedy 117). Great Britain capitalized on this disunity to assert its power over the colonies and continued to refuse them direct government representation.  In 1774, in a show of absolute power, the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws designed to punish the colonists who resisted paying British taxes, reaffirm British rule over the colonies, and crush colonial resistance to British rule (”The Intolerable Acts”). The British intended to use these laws to finally and conclusively subdue the colonists.

However, these laws were so punitive that instead of intimidating the colonists, they made apparent how little power or representation the colonists had and thus brought them together. Although many of the Intolerable Acts were aimed at punishing Massachusetts, other colonists viewed them as threats to their own liberties and rights (Kennedy 136-137). This perceived threat galvanized the colonists to put aside their differences and unite to fight for their independence. Using Benjamin Franklin’s cartoon, “Join, or Die,” which showed a snake cut into eight pieces, each labeled with the initial of a colony, the Patriots urged colonial unity against the British (Franklin). This image appealed to the colonial belief that a dismembered snake would come back to life if the pieces were put together (Franklin). Its message to the colonies was clear: the colonies as separate, divided entities had little or no power against the British unless they united to form a more powerful whole. Failure to do so meant the colonies would forever remain helpless in the face of Great Britain’s demands or worse, fail to survive.

Other respected colonists also urged colonial unity against British rule. Patrick Henry, a lawyer, appealed to his fellow colonists in March 1775 to arm in defense against the British by stating:

“There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight!” (Henry)

Henry passionately reminded the colonists that the British had disregarded their petitions requesting basic rights, leaving them with only one stark way - war - to escape the tyranny of Great Britain. His exhortation, “we must fight!” not only underscored the oppression under British rule with its arbitrary laws, but also the political and diplomatic impotence of the colonists. 

Colonial resistance to the Intolerable Acts led to the American Revolution and ultimately America’s independence from Great Britain. Although America won the war, some historians believe that in the break from British rule, the colonists incurred a big loss, giving up the British military and

economic protections. However, the sacrifices that were made in America’s fight for independence were ultimately beneficial and, at the very least, mitigated by the perceived loss because the colonists gained autonomy over both their government and economy, giving rise to a self-reliant national character. Furthermore, the colonists formed a united, democratic nation, bound together by the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution that they collectively wrote. These documents, which continue to be the bedrock of American government and law today, illustrate America’s initial and continued commitment to personal liberties and a unified democratic government.

Although the Constitution formed the basis for democracy and civil liberties in America, they protected only white males. While America remained a physically united nation, it hosted separate political strata for men and women. Nearly a century after the American Revolution, women, unlike “every male, native or foreign born, white or black, ignorant or otherwise, drunk or sober, self-supporting or a pauper” (Ketcham), were not allowed to vote, despite the 14^th Amendment, which provided equal rights to former slaves, and the 15^th Amendment, which furthered the voting rights of men. This disenfranchisement denied women a political identity and voice, essentially making them non-citizens with no power to determine their political, economic and social standings. Furthermore, it meant that women did not enjoy the basic protections and personal freedoms promised by the Constitution.  

In 1873, Susan B. Anthony, a prominent suffragist, used Constitutional principles to argue that “women deserved the same rights and responsibilities as men because women and men were ‘created equal’" (“The Fight for Women's Suffrage”). As she noted, “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed this Union” (“Women's Suffrage in America”). Anthony’s use of democratic principles as compelling justifications for women’s suffrage showed that continuing to deny women the same basic right to vote solely on the basis of their gender was to perpetuate an unjust and exclusionary system which denied women the very rights of citizenship the Constitution guaranteed. Although Anthony’s argument did not change the law at the time, her use of, “We, the people” stirred public support and appealed to ordinary Americans.

Nearly fifty years later in 1920, after a long and hard-won struggle by the suffragists and their supporters, Congress ratified the 19^th Amendment allowing women the right to vote. Although, as critics of the Amendment argued, this newfound power of women increased divorce rates and dysfunctional families and loosened the strict moral standards of that time (Kennedy 788), it played a greater positive role in society. Women’s suffrage forced the country to re-examine the role of women in society and to address the morality of denying a class of citizens the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In response, the country united to ensure that women were finally enfranchised into the political and economic systems, empowering them with greater autonomy over their lives and enabling true political representation.

Less than a decade after the 19^th Amendment was passed, America suffered one of the most catastrophic events in her history. The Great Depression plunged the country into a devastating economic crisis, causing huge inflation. Life savings vanished as banks failed; mass unemployment was rampant as businesses and factories closed; and people lost their homes as they became unable to pay their mortgages (“Year of Hardship”). Even farmers were hard hit as the price of crops fell and droughts persisted, resulting in many farmers losing their only means of livelihood.

As a result of the economic catastrophe, people were financially and psychologically devastated. Despair was widespread, and Americans lost confidence in the government due to its inability to stabilize the economy. America fell apart in the face of adversity. After the election of President Franklin Roosevelt and the introduction of the New Deal, his social, economic and regulatory programs to combat the effects of the Great Depression, Americans became optimistic once again. They responded to Roosevelt’s confident leadership, regular radio broadcasts to the nation known as “fireside chats” (Kennedy 829), and assurance that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" (Kennedy 832). Roosevelt’s short and long term action plans demonstrated that the government had regained control of the crisis, giving the nation the impetus it needed to renew its confidence in America and her ability to

improve her future. The nation finally came together to end the cycle of psychological paralysis and anxiety that had infected America.

Although America was able to turn the economy around largely due to the economic boom resulting from its entry into World War II, the effects of the Great Depression had changed America as a nation. Though its critics contend that the New Deal programs steered America towards socialism and created a culture of entitlement, most people agree that, as a result of these programs, the government assumed greater responsibility for regulating the economic systems and providing social and economic assistance to its neediest citizens (Kennedy pp. 847-849). This, in turn, led to less emphasis on the individual and more on community and collaboration. This change in the role of government in the lives of the American people - and the resulting change in society’s attitude - indelibly altered America, changes that are experienced even today in social programs like Medicare and Social Security. However, by coming together to address one of its biggest challenges, America once again demonstrated that, by uniting as a nation, she could adapt to meet and overcome great adversity.

After World War II ended in 1945, America competed for global power against the Soviet Union.  Due to the rapid rise of communism in Europe and Asia, Americans believed it was their duty to protect democracy (Kennedy 931-934). “The attitude toward the Communist ranges all the way from the fanatic witch hunters down to the statement made by Mr. Stassen last Monday night when he said flatly that there was no place on any public payroll for a Communist” (Nathanson). A national paranoia, known as the Red Scare, soon ensued in America when Senator Joseph McCarthy declared that over two hundred communists had infiltrated the U.S. government, increasing fears that the American way of life was threatened.  This growing paranoia heightened people’s suspicions of each other and destroyed relationships as people accused family members, neighbors and friends of being communists, often with little or no evidence. “Two teaching assistants, Eugene Bluestein and Jules Chametzky, were accused of being Communists in 1954. A university board of inquiry cleared them of these charges but a cloud of suspicion continued to hover over them” (Nathanson). Like Bluestein and Chametzky, the accused often suffered devastating personal and professional outcomes as many of them lost their jobs and reputations.

Although McCarthy’s accusations were later proved untrue, Americans’ fear of communism and the Soviet Union persisted. Moreover, this fear was intensified by the reality that the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons and was willing to use them against the United States. The Cuban Missile Crisis, which became one of the defining moments of the Cold War, occurred after the Soviet Union began building nuclear missile bases in Cuba that were able to strike most of the United States (Weeks). Although the resulting standoff ended diplomatically, it became a part of everyday American life to prepare for a Soviet nuclear attack. The fear of a nuclear attack was so great that many people often spent their days in lead-lined suits and masks designed to prevent radiation leakage. Schools and communities instituted regular drills called “Duck and cover” to practice nuclear attack responses (Weeks). Americans were convinced that they would experience a nuclear attack; these practices gave them a sense of control.

The American fear of communism and Soviet nuclear attacks led to psychological and emotional stress for many Americans. Like Bluestein and Chametzky, many Americans were wrongly accused of being communists and shunned from society, resulting in the destruction or stagnation of their careers. Despite the on-going debate around who was responsible for the Cold War, most people agree that America benefitted as the ensuing research and development resulted in the creation of better medical technologies such as life support bags and medical imaging technology and the establishment of a national standard for safety drills that included nuclear warnings and alarms. More importantly, the Cuban Missile Crisis promoted and demonstrated the power of diplomacy as the Soviet Union and America were able to negotiate through an extremely tense nuclear standoff without going to war, creating an era of American diplomacy as a political power to be exhausted before military intervention. Although the Red Scare had turned Americans against each other, in the face of the greater threat of nuclear war, they were, once again, able to rise above their fears and come together to form a unified plan of action and response. 

This peace did not last long. On September 11, 2001 (9/11), America was attacked by Al Qaeda on its home soil at the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, DC. “The images of mangled planes, buildings and bodies slowly faded from the news coverage...But the concrete reality - and enormous silence - of that empty sky broke through the façade” (Cameron).  9/11 was so dramatic, unexpected, and shockingly real that America was both physically and emotionally devastated, shattered and shocked. The sense of security that Americans had always taken for granted was irretrievably gone. Everyone was a potential target, and “a substantial number of Americans suffered a lost sense of personal safety and security” (Traugott). Americans lived in daily fear of their vulnerability – that they could be attacked anywhere, anytime – at school, at work, at home.

Addressing the security challenges presented by 9/11 was particularly difficult as America needed to find a balance between its desire for greater security and upholding its laws and civil liberties. In October 2001, America passed the Patriot Act to strengthen domestic security and “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and other purposes” (“USA Patriot Act”). While many believed that the Patriot Act violated the individual freedoms of the Constitution, others dismissed those concerns in favor of the potential protection that the Patriot Act offered. After much debate, Congress amended the Patriot Act to include certain civil liberties safeguards, resulting in a better balance between national security and personal rights (“USA Patriot Act”). Although the dialogue still continues about how best to defend America against another terrorist attack, most Americans agree that, even during times of adversity such as these, it is critical not to lose sight of who we are as a nation and the principles we represent. Although 9/11 instilled an immense sense of helplessness and psychological stress on the American psyche, Americans proved, once again, to be resilient under adversity as they worked together to strike a balance between defending themselves and protecting the principles America is based on.

Great adversity tests a nation’s fortitude, ultimately revealing the true character of its people. Beginning with Britain’s 1774 Intolerable Acts and continuing through Women’s Suffrage, the Great Depression, the Red Scare and into the 9/11 attacks of the 21st century, Americans have endured great emotional, physical and economic suffering. With each adversity, Americans have been presented with the unavoidable choice of either allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by the challenge or uniting to find a collective solution. Over the centuries, their resiliency was revealed through the repeated triumph in the face of adversities - exemplified by the creation of a Constitution guaranteeing the right of individual freedoms and rights as well as the heated debates and ensuing revisions to the Patriot Act protecting civil liberties. It is true that America has been greatly injured by its adversities, as demonstrated by the considerable ethical wavering revealed at the time of the Red Scare. Yet, these injuries, although great, have been demonstrated by history to be both surmountable and recoverable. Although the dialogue continues about the extent to which America has been transformed, most Americans concur that the challenges faced have provided invaluable opportunities for her to learn, adapt and grow. From its earliest existence, America has learned the benefits of facing each challenge as a unified nation. As such, America has continued to evolve with each adversity, using lessons learned to develop into the country of hope and promise we share today.

Works Cited

Cameron, Scott. “When the Distant Tragedy of Sept. 11 Became Personal.” Blog of the Nation. NPR, 4 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. <http://www.npr.org>.

“Feminism and Women’s Rights.” Women’s Suffrage in America. HubPages, n.d. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://oldskool903.hubpages.com>.

“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage.” History.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://www.history.com//‌the-fight-for-womens-suffrage>.

Franklin, Benjamin. “Join or Die!” Cartoon. Archiving Early America. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. <http://www.earlyamerica.com>.

Henry, Patrick. “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death.” American History. ABC-CLIO, 23 Mar. 1775. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. <http://abc-clio.com>.

“The Intolerable Acts.” ushistory. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://www.ushistory.org///.htm>.

Kennedy, David M, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A Baily. The American Pageant. 14th ed. 2006. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

Ketcham, Emily Burton. “ARE WOMEN CITIZENS AND PEOPLE?” A Celebration of Women Writers. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://digital.library.upenn.edu////‌ketcham.html>.

Nathanson, Iric. “The Oppenheimer Affair: Red Scare in Minnesota.” Minnesota History. By Iric Nathanson. 172-186. JSTOR. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org>.

Traugott, Michael, et al. “How Americans Responded: A Study of Public Reactions to 9/‌11.” N.d. PDF file.

 “USA PATRIOT Act.” FinCEN. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and United States Dept of the Treasury, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.fincen.gov>.

Weeks, Linton. “Living In The Atomic Age: Remember These Images?” The Picture Show. NPR, 17 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. <http://www.npr.org>.

     TYPE: Research

The American Experience research paper is an example of excellent research because it utilizes all different kinds of research and is well integrated into the essay. The sources range from websites to textbooks and blogs to PDF’s. Furthermore, the structure helps balance the paper. In the body paragraphs, the direct quote gives the paper credit while the analysis, which directly follows the quote, argues the writers point of view while using the quote as support. The usage of different sources supporting the writer’s analysis only furthers the many different credits promoting the writers argument.

                                                      My Writing Over Time

Over the course of four quarters, my writing has improved greatly. In the beginning, I could dish out a decent essay that could support my argument. However, what I truly lacked was the finishing touches to a five star entrée, context and organization. I would have amazing examples in my essays but the essay would either not flow properly or my analysis was insufficient. Currently, my writing is more analytical. I learned how to think the “So What” and am having fewer problems writing my introduction by using SOAPSTONE. Also, by knowing how to incorporate different types of rhetoric, my writing is more interesting and less formulaic.

American Experience Research Paper

America’s Hardship

Even a quick look at newspaper headlines today reveals the state of America and the sentiments of her people. Titles such as “Severe Hardships, Dashed Hopes” and “Facing Hardship, Jobless Go Without” are bolded on the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post, highlighting the troubling and worrisome conditions in which Americans are currently living. This seems to be a modern theme of this time period, but distressing events and challenging adversities are not new to Americans; in fact, Americans have endured hardships throughout their history back to the 16th Century. The reality is that America and her people have always faced privations.

 In discussing the impact of these adversities on America, people disagree about whether America has benefited or been harmed from these experiences. While some conclude that the nation has been irreversibly harmed by them, others remain convinced that all of America’s most prominent accomplishments have their genesis in her darkest tragedies, such as the Civil War and the 9/11 Attacks in New York City. Regardless of the degree to which America has been altered, most can agree that some of these hardships have affected Americans and that they have offered opportunities to learn from the challenges, transform from the lessons, and emerge as a stronger, more unified nation.

From her birth, America was divided. Due to their different political and religious beliefs, the American colonies were very disconnected from each other and rarely cooperated or worked together to find collective solutions to common problems.  In fact, the conflict between the colonies was so pronounced that, despite the common threat to their existence posed by attacks from the French, Spanish, and Native Americans, they refused to unite to defend themselves, resulting in heavy casualties and property losses. [Kennedy] Great Britain capitalized on this disunity to assert its power over the colonies and to continue to refuse them direct government representation.  In 1774, in a show of absolute power, the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws designed to punish the colonists for resisting paying taxes levied by the British Parliament, reaffirm British rule over the colonies, and crush colonial resistance to British rule. [Kennedy] However, these laws were so punitive that, instead of intimidating the colonists, brought them together and made them feel not fully represented in Parliament.

Although many of the Intolerable Acts were aimed at punishing Massachusetts, many colonists around America viewed them as threats to their own liberties and rights. [Kennedy]  This perceived threat galvanized the colonists to put aside their differences and unite to fight for their independence from Great Britain.  Using a cartoon entitled, “Join, or Die,” created by Benjamin Franklin which showed a snake cut into eight pieces, with each labeled with the initial of a colony, the colonial Patriots exhorted colonial unity against the British. [Franklin] This image was particularly effective given the superstition at the time that a snake that had been cut up would come back to life if the pieces were put together before sunset. [Franklin] Moreover, the call against British rule was also being urged by respected colonists. Patrick Henry, in March 1775, appealed to his fellow colonists to arm in self-defense against the British by stating, "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." [Henry] Henry’s argument that he had only two options available to him - liberty or death – passionately shows how oppressive life was in the colonies under British rule and how desperate Henry was to stop it.

Colonial resistance to the Intolerable Acts led to the American Revolution and ultimately America’s independence from Great Britain. Although America did win the war, some historians are convinced that by breaking away from British rule, the colonists incurred a big loss by giving up the military and economic protections the British Empire offered. [Kennedy] Moreover, the break led to a split of loyalties between family members, neighbors, and friends. However, the sacrifices that were made in America’s fight for independence were worthwhile because the colonists gained respect from other European Empires for defeating the British. Furthermore, the colonists were united and formed a united nation, bound together by the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

Over the course of a few centuries, America has remained united as a nation, but was separated socially. Men and women lived under the same government, paid the same taxes, and worked together. However, unlike the men, “women could neither fight nor vote; they were not sustained even by those of their own sex; and, while they incurred no physical risk, they imperiled their reputation and subjected themselves to mental and spiritual crucifixion.” (Anthony) When America was writing her Constitution in 1776, she did not “guarantee women the same rights as men” (Ireland). Women were again forgotten when the 14^th Amendment passed in 1868, allowing equal rights to former slaves, and the 15^th Amendment in 1870, furthering the voting rights of men.  

Eventually, in 1920, Congress ratified the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution, allowing women to have the right to vote. Although this new found freedom of power in women did increase divorce rates and dysfunctional families, it played a greater role in society. It introduced complete equality among genders as women represent half of the population. Moreover, women could now control their own lives. Before, women were considered ornamental dolls and were supposed to “look to men for protection”, but with the new laws, could own a job with equal pay, expect an unbiased and fair trial, and take action about the treatment of their families (Ireland). As Susan B. Anthony sums up the importance of equality, “To set women back into the limited sphere of fifty years ago would be to arrest the progress of the whole race.” (Anthony)

Furthermore, many laws and programs were originated to help further America’s protection of her citizens. One major problem during the 20^th century was meat safety. Meat packers could get away with putting unsanitary meat and other suspicious foods in the meat products. Also, “suits could not be begun against packers and manufactures of bad meat products, seizures could not be made and there were no course saves to proceed criminally under the Meat Inspection act, which made it uniformly difficult to frame a case.” (“Pure Food Act”) The Meat Inspection Act set a standard for meat process and many people could now eat meat without worrying about any food poisoning or other side effects that may apply. Even though America was able to significantly raise health standards and improve social equality, the Great Depression caused universal suffrage throughout America.

Less than a decade after the 19^th Amendment was passed, America suffered one of the most catastrophic events in her history. Going from a booming economy to a deteriorating one, the Great Depression caused huge inflation as well as high unemployment rates. Most historians agree that the fall of the economy started with the stock market crash and bank failures, as “products stood at the lowest ebb in three decades, and efforts to hold grain for possible better markets seriously reduced debt-paying and buying power, affecting every industry” (“Year of Hardship”). Furthermore, the American economy relied on supply and demand. With the sudden economic inflation, Americans lost faith in their government due to their inefficiency of securing the economy.

Following World War II, America was thrown into a war for global power against the Soviet Union.  Due to the rapid rise of Communism in Europe and Asia, Americans felt it was their duty to protect democracy (Kennedy). “The attitude toward the Communist ranges all the way from the fanatic witch hunters down to the statement made by Mr. Stassen last Monday night when he said flatly that there was no place on any public payroll for a Communist.” (Nathanson) A panic soon ensued in America when Senator Joseph McCarthy issued a proclamation that Soviet spies have infiltrated the U.S. government. “Two teaching assistants, Eugene Bluestein and Jules Chametzky, were accused of being Communists in 1954. A university board of inquiry cleared them of these charges but a cloud of suspicion continued to hover over them.” (Nathanson) This idea of McCarthyism led to people distrusting their neighbors and friends and furthered the segregation of America.

Moreover, the cold war reached its peak when Cuba, an island off of Florida, signed a treaty with the Soviet Union and began obtaining nuclear missiles. This incident became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis and lasted for thirteen days. It ended with President Kennedy and Khrushchev signing a treaty, both removing nuclear missiles from Cuba and Turkey (Weeks). Due to the nuclear bomb threat from Cuba, Americans were to survive an atomic blast (Weeks). The fear of the actual bombing was so great that people would go to school, drive, and live in suits and masks lined with lead to stop the radiation from affecting them as well as have school drills demonstrating what to do during a nuclear explosion.

The American fear of communism overtaking democracy led to emotional and psychological damage of American citizens. People were wrongly accused of being communists and were shunned from society during the Red Scare. Like Eugene Bluestein and Jules Chametzky, many other Americans were wrongly accused and were often prevented enhancing their careers. However, this uncertainty and cold war caused the creation of life support bags and better equipment and technology as it also set a standard for safety drills with nuclear warnings and alarms. More importantly, the Cuban Missile Crisis promoted the power of diplomacy as the Soviet Union and America were able to negotiate without going to war.

After cold war, America was the top nation, globally. On September 11, 2001 (9/11), America was attacked with the bombing in the Twin Towers and Pentagon. “The images of mangled planes, buildings and bodies slowly faded from the news coverage...But the concrete reality - and enormous silence - of that empty sky broke through the façade” (Cameron).  9/11 was so dramatic, unexpected, and real that America was shattered and shocked.  “This is the place where the world seemed to end in a single morning” (Cameron) and the people never knew if there was going to be another attack. America made the world conscious of terrorism as this new fighting style installs fear and uncertainty in its victims, making it psychosocially straining. Due to 9/11, America was able to increase her security and tighter restrictions and laws were enforced.

The attack on 9/11 prompted the U.S. Government to take drastic measures of spying on the public, going against the first amendment of the Constitution.  Also known as the Patriot Act, it gave the government “the ability to watch over the public and trace any weird transaction and suspect it to be criminal abuse” (“USA Patriot Act”). Due to this, Americans are scared because the government might suspect them for crime and what the government might do to those people suspected of the crime. Americans are always being watched and because they are being monitored, they are always careful what they say and do. Most notably, the Patriot Act furthered segregation against Muslims and Middle Easterners. The Patriot Act was designed to keep a watchful eye on all Americans, especially the immigrants, because the government does not want to repeat what happened on 9/11. Through this thinking, people are very suspicious of their surroundings and this will eventually create divisions and discrimination.

Hardship is seen everywhere in America and throughout her life. Dating back to her infancy, colonists were able to unite and fight for their independence; eventually declaring a Bill of Rights and creating a Constitution. Overtime, America was able to overcome her trials and mistakes by ratifying the 19^th Amendment and passing the Meat Inspection Act. She enhanced her citizens’ life style with health programs, like Social Security, and was able to utilize diplomacy to stop a nuclear war. Lastly, America conquered her short comings by creating tighter security and brought awareness to terrorism.  Though her hardships were detrimental, America’s ability to respond and adapt from them had made her who she is today.
Works Cited

Anthony, Susan B. “Women’s Half-Century of Evolution.” The North American Review Dec. 1902: 800-810. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://jstor.org/stable/25150960>.

Blackwell, Alice Stone. “Objections Answered .” American History. ABC-CLIO, 1915. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com>.

Cameron, Scott. “When the Distant Tragedy of Sept. 11 Became Personal.” Blog of the Nation. NPR, 4 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. <http://www.npr.org>.

Franklin, Benjamin. “Join or Die!” Cartoon. Archiving Early America. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. <http://www.earlyamerica.com>.

Henry, Patrick. “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death.” American History. ABC-CLIO, 23 Mar. 1775. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. <http://abc-clio.com>.

Ireland, Patricia. “Women’s Less Than Full Equality Under the U.S. Constitution.” now. N.p., 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 May 2012. <http://www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/ireland.html>.

Kennedy, David M, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A Baily. The Amerian Pageant. 14th ed. 2006. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

Loader, Jayne, Kevin Rafferty, and Pierce Rafferty. The Atomic Cafe. Jayne Loader and Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty. Libra Films and Journeyman Pictures, 1982. Top Documentary Films. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://topdocumentaryfilms.com>.

Nathanson, Iric. “The Oppenheimer Affair: Red Scare in Minnesota.” Minnesota History. By Iric Nathanson. 172-186. JSTOR. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org>.

“Pure Food Act is Applied to Meats: Government Wipes out the Execption Roosevelt Granted to the Packers.” New York Times 18 June 1913: 11. ProQuest Newspapers. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://proquest.com>.

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American Experience

Since the beginning of first quarter, I’ve been convinced that immigration is the American Experience. Throughout its history, America has always been seen as the land to build a better life and of new opportunities. From the Pilgrims to the most recent group of immigrants, people come here from all over the world to escape from something in their native countries and strive for better lives. We even coined a term, the “melting pot”, as a metaphor for the benefits we derive from being a heterogeneous society created from the assimilation of immigrants to the United States. Recently, Time Magazine featured a picture of the “new face” of America which was represented by an ethnically mixed woman, physically demonstrating how American society has been impacted by immigration. Whether we like it or not, immigration has always been and will continue to be a part of American history and a major influence on our culture. Frankly, I believe that is what makes us a unique and enduring society, and thus so central to the American Experience.

#5 Raise Your Voice

You use your voice every day, from talking on the phone to singing in the shower. However, when it comes to school assignments, if you’re like me, you probably prefer getting a root canal to raising your hand and participating in class. However, I am here to tell you that you probably won't get much out of AP Lang if you do just that. Actively participating in AP Lang is critical to your success because, by contributing to the class discussion, not only do you demonstrate you are interested in the topic, but that you also understand what is being discussed.

As posted in #4, the AP Lang class structure includes seminars, which means that you have to speak and share your thoughts.  Don’t panic; you won’t have to wax on endlessly. These seminars are more like having a lively discussion amongst friends.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you can offer interesting observations that are relevant to the topic being discussed. Besides, if you don’t think you have anything particularly salient to add, you can always ask questions instead.

You will also create class notes, although not your typical class notes. “What?”, you may ask yourself, “Is this person talking about?”  Well, in AP Lang, the notes you take come from the discussions you create with other students in class. This way, you get the benefit of everyone’s contribution to the subject and they get the benefit of you speaking up.

           

#4 Thinking Quickly

Everybody thinks, even if it’s unconsciously. When is your brain not active? Never, just agree with me on this. However, I am not talking about just thinking, I am talking about quick thinking, thinking on the fly, thinking off the cuff. Picture it like this, it is like driving, you have to see, think about, and react to everything that happens on the road. So hey, don’t panic - you do this all the time.

Let’s say you are planning a surprise party for your friend. The friend sees you carrying a huge birthday cake, which has the friend’s name on it, and you think “!*#$”. Even though you may have less than 10 seconds to come up with a plausible reason, I’m pretty sure you’d be able to come up with a good reason to allay your friend’s suspicions. You Can Think On Your Feet!!

For in-class essays, you will need to think and think fast because, for timed writings, you only have 45 minutes to think about the prompt and respond. It might seem tough – and it is - but the AP Lang teachers will give you lots of practice, so take advantage of that and practice away.  C’mon – don’t be daunted. You can do this.

In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to boost your grade through the seminars which are open-ended debates about pieces of literature, such as The Great Gatsby. Anyhow, you will need to quickly assess your views on the topic and support them with evidence from the supplied text (you will always have text to use). Just think of this as a verbal essay. You have two minutes of the class’s attention to explain why Daisy Buchannan is a horrible person.

In order to get through life, you need to think quickly, period. For many of us, this is a skill that takes time to acquire and patience to build to its maximum potential. Especially since some of the college classes you will take are seminars. So might as well get started training now.

#2 Understand and Use Rhetorical Devices

Understanding and using rhetoric will most likely be new to you. Rhetoric or rhetorical devices is a certain way the author tries to convey his or her argument. You already know a few: allusion, imagery, metaphor, and alliteration. Before, you were expected to explain or summarize a text and write commentary about the text. Now, you will be expected to integrate and distinguish rhetoric or rhetorical devices into your own writing and identify them in the writing of others. I know, you ACTUALLY have to work in this class. But let me tell a secret: from now on, you will be working hard in all of your classes. Junior year is just the start of it; the need for effort will follow you into college and beyond!

Sometimes, it feels like looking for a needle in a hay stack. However, there will be many opportunities to hone this critical skill.

One such opportunity would be the AP multiple choice quizzes and vocabulary quizzes. In first semester, you will have ample opportunities to improve your performance on these types of tests. The AP MC quizzes are just like reading comprehension tests; you get an excerpt and based on that excerpt, you have to answer certain kinds of questions. Some of these questions ask you about the rhetoric found in the text. So it is important to learn them in order to answer the questions.

In addition, AP Lang students take several vocab quizzes, which is a total misnomer as the material tested on these quizzes are not words, but rather rhetorical devices. Further, there are two types of vocab quizzes: definition and identification. Identification is definitely the harder of the two because you need to spot the device used in a given quote. Go to www.virtualsalt.com/rehtoric.htm for definitions or www.google.com for examples.

Enough about exams, let’s move on to the other good stuff. You will learn to write rhetoric alerts and rhetoric lotteries. Rhetoric alerts are really interesting because they require that you find the rhetorical device in any kind of communication ranging from a commercial to a conversation. For example, the alert could be a funny commercial. Rhetoric lotteries are editorials that incorporate several assigned devices chosen randomly. For example, I had to write as Tim Tebow, using ethos, deductive reasoning, taste, slippery slope, straw man, allusion, etc. However, in order to successfully write a rhetoric lottery, you’ll first have to know how to identify and write the devices. Although we may not realize it, we use rhetoric every day; the challenge here is to apply what you learn in class to a specific scenario. These are useful skills you will use in the future whether as a lawyer, trying convince the jury and judge that your argument is correct; as a businessman, writing contracts that have double meanings, or as the President, trying to inspire the people you govern into action.

#1 Effective Writing

You have been writing your entire life. After learning the alphabet, you learned to write words, sentences, then paragraphs, and finally essays. Initially, you were restating the plot of the Clifford the Big Red Dog or the life cycle of caterpillars in your writing. But no more! Now that you are in high school, you have to create, express and defend new and original arguments from your point of view, not the authors’.

 
In AP Lang, you write your argument on the prompt, but you include your own support, analysis and evidence. You will be articulating your own ideas in your writing and then proving them with support from your evidence and analysis. Essentially, the teachers want you to write like college students; this technically is what an AP class is - a college level class.

By second quarter, there are four basic types of essays you should be able to compose: argumentative, synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and compare/contrast. In argumentative essays, you pick an argument and defend or justify it. With synthesis, you are given a prompt to answer and documents with which you have to incorporate into your essay. Rhetorical analysis is the explanation of the author’s argument through analyzing their rhetoric. And compare and contrast is the examining the similarities and differences between two subjects.

When you write, be efficient and succinct. A huge problem for me in my writing was that my ideas would be all over my essay and although they were good, they didn’t make a coherent argument that supported my thesis. That is why it is important to write an outline before every essay. Believe me when I say that you will not only finish more quickly, but your essay will be straightforward and easy to follow. Also when writing, use smart diction. This demonstrates your knowledge of vocabulary. Just make sure you don’t use words that you don’t know or can’t use properly. If you don’t like books, rest assured - there are many online dictionaries just waiting for you to use them.       

            

Now the grading scale for the essays in an AP class is different from non-AP classes in that they are graded on a scale from 1-9, with 9 being the highest grade. My tip for achieving that highly coveted “9” is to carefully structure your argument to make it most effective. Like everything else, writing takes practice and in order to improve and ultimately excel as a writer, you must work at it.

Remember, you will be required to write effectively for the rest of your life and to make arguments and successfully defend them.  The good news is that the skills you learn in AP Lang will always stay with you and help you to excel at effectively communicating.

  

My Top 5 List

Many of you who are here are either thinking of taking AP Lang or are just simply forced to read this blog. The truth is, you will probably be making a blog of your own next year, as you will probably be taking this class because you, like me, want to impress colleges.

When you do, you will probably find out that it is more work than what you bargained for. But you can help yourself now by understanding what is specifically is being asked of you as an AP Language student and spending the rest of your year preparing for it.

At its most basic, the following list is what you will be expected to know and do next year. I know, it seems like a lot and some of the list you probably have never heard of; but trust me, by the end of second quarter, you will know all of it.

1. EFFECTIVELY WRITE

2. UNDERSTAND AND USE different rhetorical devices

3. MAP AND ANNOTATE texts

4. THINK ON THE SPOT

5. USE YOUR VOICE 

In my next post, I will talk more about effective writing.