The U-Boats: Terror Of The Seas

The navy expanded during the war in order to respond to increasing threat of the German U boats*

History is the framework of every nation. It describes what life was like in a nation, hundreds perhaps thousands of years previously. With history, many citizens are able to examine what lead to a crisis in a nation such as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 or the Civil War in the 1800s in the United States of America. Likewise, the moments of growth and economic success are looked at. From these past endeavors, the people can examine what went wrong and what went right and determine how they can stop themselves from making similar mistakes or act in a way that has been proven to work. In Eve Kornfeld’s “Creating an American Culture 1775-1800,” many different areas of national identity are discussed, including the beginnings of documenting the history of America as an independent nation. This was especially hard for Americans to create a singular national identity because there was bias in the early works, the different colonies or states were extremely diverse, and many intellectuals had different perspectives on the American identity.

Charles Murray’s American Exceptionalism invokes ideas I had not considered before. The way he describes America in its early life is unrecognizable to me. Murray discusses the geographic setting, American ideology, the traits of the American people, and the operation of the American political system. Now, centuries later than the time he described, it is like America had gone on a rapidly fast down torrent. I agree with Murray’s ideas of the exceptional traits America exuded, however, the traits I observe now, and as Murray talks about later on in the book, have taken on a different meaning. It is almost as if the once amazing concepts have been reduced to nearly half their worth. I am in no way stating America is no longer exceptional, but

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

The first tanks came with the internal combustion engine and caterpillar tracks. These, however, were quite unreliable and broke down very frequently. The naval force devised bigger, stronger ships with bigger guns. Their new and improved submarines were imperative in this war. They aided in the strategy of war of attrition, or breaking the enemy down by attacking its personnel and supplies.[viii]

In 1917 America was pulled into the first world war. The war started in 1914 and America was trying there best to keep from having to enter the war. But in 1917 Germany shot a torpedo at a US ship for no reason, so America had no choice they had to enter the war. When America entered the war they were a little behind on all they new types of weapons and war fair. So America started building new advanced weapons and preparing to show how dominate America can be. They started making things like tanks, machine guns, and submarines. This helped the US get the upper hand on all of there enemies and pout them in more of a position to win the war. When the US started doing this it gave them the edge over the people who they are fighting since both sides where using trench war far these new weapons helped them to just have to sit in one spot and not have to loose that many soldiers.

Although “historians no longer use the word “discovery” to describe the European exploration, conquest and colonization of a hemisphere already home to millions of people”, it was one of the greatest and most important discoveries ever in our history that changed the lives of millions of people. (Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty: An American History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), pg 1.) For some the “discovery”of America would mean an opportunity for a better life, for others the “discovery” brought misery and death.

"The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod is the story told from the perspective of university teacher looking back on his life. The narrator relates the first memories of his life until his father's death. The story focuses on the conflicting relation between the mother and the father, and their different perspectives on how their children should lead their lives. MacLeod uses features of setting to present the tension between tradition and freedom.

World War One, one of the most deadliest wars in history, caused massive damage to countries in Europe. During World War One, the technology advanced, with many creations were created, that caused a high amount of death and destruction. The U-Boat, also known as a submarine, is a underwater boat that the Germans used during World War One. The Tank was developed in World War One to help make crossing no man’s land easier. Poison gas was used in World War One as a new tactic to kill people in the trenches

Notwithstanding questions about how the Pulitzer judges and juries understood what they were doing, Fenn's remarkable and remarkably well-written book richly deserves the Pulitzer Prize. United States history cannot be understood apart from its entanglement with the Indigenous Peoples of the land. In "Encounters at the Heart of the World," Mandan history illuminates American history, from at least the 17th century to the present.

The history and foundation of America was forged through the blood, sweat, and the tenacity of the colonists in the mid- 1700s. During this time of new hope and perspective, the colonists felt stifled by Britain’s tight hold on their country. They insisted on independence for their colonies and were enraged by their original land’s refusal to acknowledge their rights. Britain ignores the colonists’ natural rights and took advantage of America’s reliance on their finances and support. Britain’s government terrorized the colonists by denying their natural rights and abusing their power, leading to revolutions that would further shape the history of America.

Zinn, Howard (2005). A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-083865-2. OCLC

Keene, J., Cornell, S., & O'Donnell, E. (2013). Visions of America: A history of the United States. (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson.

The definition of what America is, and furthermore what an American is, has been eternally elusive. However, it can be reasonably said that the vision of America rests upon freedom of expression, the right to property, and self-determination. These ideas are explored in one European’s examination of American agricultural society in the late 18th century. Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur illustrates the gilded nature of the early vision of America; one that appears to be simplistic and based in freedom, but lies on a foundation of oppression and greed.

Since the day when the fleet of Columbus sailed into the waters of the New World, America has been another name for opportunity, and the people of the United States have taken their tone from the incessant expansion which has not only been open but has even been forced upon them. (100)