8G History Lesson 130 Assignment

In this assignment, I will be summarizing the events and culture in America during the 1950’s.

Civil Rights Movement

The 50’s saw increased awareness of the civil rights movement. This was a time when America was segregated. Schools, restaurants, pools, parks, and even water fountains were segregated, separating the Black and White facilities. This was extremely unfair, and people had been against it for a long time, but the movement was brought to light in the 50’s. One of the significant events was the Montgomery bus boycott. This started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person that got on the bus. Black Americans at the time were expected to give up their seats anytime a white person got onto the bus. This sparked a full-on boycott of the bus system in Montgomery, with Martin Luther King Jr. as the leader. It lasted almost a whole year.

There were also many other acts of protest, including marches. A famous one was the Selma march. Tragically, many people that peacefully protested during the marches were brutally hurt and sometimes killed by the police force, as in the Bloody Sunday event during the Selma march. The issues of racial equality are still prominent today, and movements such as Black Lives Matter have gained popularity.

Television and Music

Television became very common in American households during the 1950’s. In 1950, only about 9 percent of Americans owned a television set, but by the end of the 50’s it was nearing 90 percent. Popular shows included I Love Lucy, Leave It to Beaver, and many others. Quiz shows also became popular. Today, over 96 percent of Americans have a TV.

A new type of music became popular in the 50’s. Called rock and roll, it was a hybrid of many different styles. One of the first and most famous rock and roll artist was none other than the great Elvis Presley. Rock and roll remains one of the most (if not the most) popular genres of music today.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement

https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/The-late-Golden-Age

https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States/Popular-music

8G History Lesson 125 Assignment

Today I will be writing about 2 great authors of the 20th century, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. He lived in South Africa until he was 4, when he moved to England because his father had passed away. Sadly, his mother also died in 1904, leaving Tolkien and his younger brother orphans. They were taken into the care of a Catholic priest. Tolkien attended Exeter College in Oxford, and after graduating he became a teacher. He was an English professor for most of his life. Tolkien met C.S. Lewis at school, and they became friends. They started going to a writing group called the Inklings.

Tolkien wrote many books, but by far his most well-known and best-selling is The Lord of the Rings. It is a fantastical epic, with creatures such as dwarves, elves, ogres, etc. It is usually published in three separate volumes, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. There is also an immensely popular prequel, The Hobbit, (published before LOTR) which sets a background for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The books remain very popular today, and all of the books have movie adaptations, which are very popular. Tolkien has also published a few other books relating to Middle Earth, the fictional world he created, but they are not as popular as the main series.

Tolkien died on September 3, 1973. Some of his works were published after his death.

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was born on November 29, 1898. He was interested in writing even at an early age, encouraged by his parents. He attended many boarding schools, and later studied at Oxford college. He was an atheist until fellow writer and friend J.R.R. Tolkien encouraged Lewis to pursue faith.

His first successful work was Out of the Silent Planet, a science fiction book. He followed this up with two others that completed the trilogy. They were reviewed in the Inklings group.

C.S. Lewis’ most famous work is the Narnia series. The first book, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950. The books have Christian symbolism woven into them.

Lewis died on November 22, 1963.

Both of these authors were very influential, and their books are still wildly popular today.

References:

www.britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien

www.britannica.com/biography/C-S-Lewis

8G History Lesson 120 Assignment

Overview

World War II, also called the Second World War, was an international conflict that involved almost the whole world. There were two main sides, the Axis, which was made up of the Italian, German, and Japanese forces, and the Allies, which were the French, British, Russian, and later American forces.

History of WWII

The war was mostly caused by the German invasion of Poland. This led Great Britain and the U.S. to declare war on Germany. Hitler made a pact with Russia and split up Poland with them.

Germany attacked France and the Netherlands, occupying both countries. Hitler also authorized massive bombing raids of Britain. By this time, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania had joined the Axis powers. Germany broke its agreement with Russia, and launched a surprise attack on the Russian forces. The Germans were stopped by the winter weather, and were forced to abandon the mission.

Japan played a major role in the war, attacking European colonial bases in China. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American military base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The U.S. made the decision to enter the war. Japan went on to conquer almost all of southeast Asia.

The Allies steadily pushed back against the Axis powers, and were able to take back the countries that Germany had claimed. They eventually defeated the Germans and split up the country between France, Britain, Russia, and the U.S.

But the war continued to rage in the Pacific. The U.S. retaliated on the Japanese attacks by dropping not one, but two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in the loss of more than 150,000 lives, but it forced the Japanese to surrender.

World War II was another tragic war, and it is estimated that over 40 million people died as a result. But there were some positive developments and inventions that saved people’s lives, like penicillin, radar, and duct tape. Still, I hope you have learned (if you haven’t already) that war is never a good idea!

Reference:

https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II

8G History Lesson 115 Assignment

This week’s school assignment was on the Great Depression and its effects on America.

Overview

The Great Depression was a time period from 1929 until about 1939, where countries around the world, mostly the U.S. experienced crashes in their economy. People suffered and the workforces crashed.

Causes

There were many factors that contributed to starting the Great Depression. One of them was the stock market crash. On October 24, 1929, the U.S. stock prices crashed. Investors everywhere panicked, and this led to mass selling of stocks. Another factor was the banking panics. People were beginning to lose trust in the banks, due to some of the new government policies. This led people to withdraw large sums of money from banks, and by 1933 1/5 of the banks that were there in 1930 went bankrupt.

Additionally, a number of government policies played a role in bringing the great depression. Tariffs were raised significantly by Herbert Hoover.

Culture and Society

The culture of the 1930’s was different than the so-called Roaring 20’s. Many families who were doing just fine before the depression were now struggling to get by. Families that were struggling before were now in a very bad position. Many women started working during the depression to help their families out. Children had more responsibilities and jobs than they did before, and some of them contributed in the work force.

The 1930s saw the rise of swing music, and jazz was popular too. The board game Monopoly was very popular during this time.

Conclusion

The Great Depression is remembered as one of the most difficult times in America’s history. People struggled to recover for many years after the depression was over. Hopefully we will never have such a devastating crash ever again.

Reference:

https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression