Personal Touch

When I was on vacation in Rome this past summer, my tour guide Alex took us to a church.  In this church was a replica of the Pieta, sculpted by Michelangelo. 

While admiring this sculpture, our tour guide told us a story.  He said that when Michelangelo sculpted this, he was an unknown artist.  He was in a crowd of people who were observing his work, and no one knew that the artist was standing among them. 

These people were critiquing his work, and insulting a lot of his artistic choices.  They kept wondering who sculpted it.  He finally got up and said it was me!  But no one believed him.  He got so angry; he took out some tools and started bashing at it. 

The crowd thought oh no, he is ruining it.  But they were wrong.  He was actually carving his name into.  That was the only time he put his name on one of his pieces of work because from then on he was very well known. 

This relates to class because we talked about Renaissance artists and the style they had.  We talked about how sometimes the artist would add themselves into a painting or put their own personal touch on things.  This is what Michelangelo did with the Pieta.

I like this source.  I think that it is meaningful because it is a story that not a lot of people know.  I also think that it is effective because it gives people a personal story of what Michelangelo was like. 

                                                             (personal picture, no citation)

A Proclamation & An Addition to the Constitution

After watching the movie LINCOLN, directed by Steven Spielberg, my dad bought me the "Companion Book for Young Readers" by Harold Holzer entitled the lengthy; Lincoln: How Abraham Lincoln Ended Slavery in America.

One reason we learn history is so we know not to make the same mistakes as we did in the past. The same is true for the opposite. If we want to learn how to end slavery once and for all it is very helpful to see what worked in the past.

After spending so much time in class talking and learning about illegal modern slavery, it seemed fitting if not necessary to go back in time to see how slavery was first abolished in the United States.

The first gigantic moves against slavery in the United States occurred during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. First there was Abraham Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation which then lead to Abraham Lincoln and the 13th Amendment. Both topics the book goes thoroughly into detail on.

In chapter 9, the book explains what the Emancipation Proclamation was able to achieve, and also what its limits were. This proclamation ordered Union Troops to free slaves wherever they went within the South. African Americans were now welcomed into the Union military. Unfortunately, areas that were once Confederate and captured by the Union would not have to set their slaves free.

Not by accident, chapter 13 is on the topic of the 13th Amendment. This straightforward amendment was officially passed through Congress to truly enforce the message of the Emancipation. This was necessary because the Emancipation Proclamation was only reinforced by Abraham Lincoln, and he knew that it would be impossible to defend and enforce it successfully all by himself, even as the president. Now with this amendment, Congress has the power to reinforce it.

Abraham Lincoln was in no way alone on his endeavor. He had many people who stood by him, which allowed him to do what he did. All the voters, political endorsers, Union Troops, supporting family members, supporting Congress members, Fredrick Douglas, and Grace Bedell, and everyone else I am forgetting all played a part in the ending of legal slavery in the United States.

Using this old knowledge, the way towards ending slavery seems to be getting enough people on board to make an impact, free the slaves and making large acts against slavery. It worked once, so chances are it will work again.

Effect of 13th Amendment: http://ferrantedeanna.edublogs.org/2011/12/15/effect-and-implications/

Cover photo from: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lincoln-harold-holzer/1113013110

History is Repeating

            It has been said that history repeats itself. Evidence of this can be seen all around us. It happens in both good and bad ways, but it happens. We see many of the same successes and mistakes made throughout history, and some of the same happening today. History is an ongoing process. It started much before we were born and will go on long after our deaths. The book 2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson, puts an interesting spin on this topic. The book describes a future where almost everywhere in the Solar System is accessible and most of it has been colonized. It also frequently goes to a smaller view on how things on Earth itself are working.

            This book is written from the perspective of a rather crazy girl who frequently travels the solar system from her home on Mercury. It is an interesting story, but it isn’t really the story I am interested in. Throughout the book the author will explain certain things mentioned in lists or extracts. In one particular extract it describes the periods between the modern day era and when the book takes place. Between 2005 and 2060 there is “The Dithering,” where there are petty wars between countries and otherwise the wasting of time. These are described as “wasted years.” This is sort of like the Dark Ages with very little technological advancement and many wars between empires. Then from 2060 to 2130 there is “The Crisis.” Global warming catches up to humanity and causes many natural disasters and wars for natural resources. This is the same as the period with the Black Death and 100 Year’s War and other such disasters. Then there is “The Turnaround.” This is a 30 year period sort of like a mini Renaissance. Different technological advancements and explorations that turn around the course humanity was taking. Then comes “The Accelerando.” Space exploration really picks up, they start terraforming asteroids and finish terraforming Mars for more resources. This is like the Age of Exploration where Europe starts gaining a profit from crops sold in the Americas. Then the Accelerando slows down and they go into the balkanization, where there is much turmoil throughout the Solar System and people ultimately go back to their former selves with a Cold War between Mars and Earth and there is a coming shortage of goods. The cycle essentially repeats itself, but the period between The Dithering and The Accelerando is a lot like the period between the Dark Ages and the Age of Exploration in Italy, thus history repeating itself in its own endless cycle.

            This was a particularly effective source, as it goes through almost a complete cycle of humanity’s ability to improve waxing and waning. It explains history in a creative and interesting way well attempting to teach us that while repeating history can be good, it ultimately has its side effects.

We're Blogging!

Welcome to our class blog, "History is Happening!"  History is all around us and in contributing to this blog you'll have the opportunity to find and share the numerous ways that the history we study in class is utilized, manipulated, appreciated, and related to today! 

Some of the places to find connections to the history we study in class include:

1) Television

2) Movies

3) Books and Literature

4) Magazines

5) Online Media

6) Music

7) News Sources:  Radio, TV, and Newspapers

8) Comics

9) Museum Visits and Travel

You'll not only have the opportunity to write about historical connections to today but you'll also engage in a dialogue with your classmates about the blog topics that are shared.

We're all looking forward to reading about what you find!

History is Happening!  Happy Blogging!