Woodrow Wilson

8G History Lesson 100 Assignment

This week’s assignment is about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president.

Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856, in Virginia. His father was a Presbyterian minister, and his mother was the daughter of an English Presbyterian minister. He was raised as a Christian. Wilson didn’t learn how to read until he was 10, but he became very interested in literature and politics. He went to Princeton University, then went to the University of Virginia, where he studied law. He became bored and felt like law wasn’t the right career for him, so he studied government at Johns Hopkins University. He is the only president to earn a Ph.D, and he wrote many books on politics.

Woodrow Wilson married Ellen Louise Axon in 1885, and guess what? She was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister! They had three daughters. He started teaching at Princeton in 1890, and quickly became president of the university. This attracted the attention of many politicians, and he decided to resign as president of Princeton to run for governor of New Jersey, where he became very popular as a conservative.

Wilson decided to run for U.S. president in 1912. There were not one, but two rivals he faced in the main race for president. Theodore Roosevelt split from the Republicans to join the Bull Moose party, and William H. Taft ran as a Republican. He won with a huge 435 electoral college votes, compared to Roosevelt’s 88 votes and Taft’s 8.

As president, Woodrow Wilson increased tariffs significantly, and added an income tax. He also helped to start the Federal Reserve. He was troubled by his wife’s death in 1914, and the beginning of WWI didn’t help things. The U.S. stayed neutral at first, but as America’s ally Britain was being attacked by German ships, Wilson was on the verge of declaring war.

He was again successful in the re-election of 1916, barely winning against Charles Hughes. Woodrow made an attempt at peace in January 1917. But the Germans didn’t care, and kept attacking American ships. After that, Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. The American troops helped the Allies out, and Germany begged for peace in November of 1918.

Wilson returned to “normal” presidency, but his health was failing. He had a stroke on October 2, 1919 that made him partly paralyzed on his left side. His wife Edith Galt, who he married in 1915, tried to cover up Wilson’s condition. She made a lot of the decisions instead of Wilson.

In his later years, Wilson remained active in politics for a few years. He died somewhat unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 67.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Woodrow-Wilson

21
Mar, 2025

The Titanic

8G History Week 19 Assignment

For this week’s assignment, I will be writing about the Titanic.

The RMS Titanic was a luxury passenger ship, built in 1912. It was the largest ship at its time, and it was expected to be unsinkable, due to the “advanced safety features” of the ship. The ship had accommodations for 2,453 passengers.

On April 10, 1912, the Titanic set out on its first voyage. It was captained by Edward John Smith. Many wealthy and famous people were aboard, but there were some third-class passengers, too. The ship made a few stops around Europe, before departing from Queenstown, Ireland, its last stop.

The Titanic’s wireless room, where it received messages from other ships, was receiving many iceberg warnings. Despite this, the Titanic experienced smooth waters. On April 14, the Titanic was getting close to an area of the ocean known to have iceberg problems. The captain steered the ship to try to avoid it. In the wireless room, a message had come in from the Californian, another ship, that they had been trapped by ice, and warned the Titanic to be careful.

The lookouts in the crow’s nest were missing their binoculars, so it would be hard for them to spot anything. They did spot an iceberg around 11:40 P.M., and ordered the ship to be turned. But it was too late. The Titanic’s side had already been punctured by the iceberg. The commander realized that 5 of the ship’s “watertight” compartments had been punctured, and that it would spill over into the others and start sinking the ship. He sent out distress signals to the other nearby boats. The Carpathia responded first, but it was 58 miles away, and it would be a while before it would reach the Titanic. Other ships responded, but were not close enough to help.

The lifeboats began to be launched, with the children and the women taking top priority. Panic broke out, with some of the men fighting over whose family should be allowed to escape. The first lifeboat to leave only had 27 people in it, but its capacity was 65. Water was seen at the bottom of the boat at about 1:00 A.M. The Titanic’s bow was sinking into the ocean, and the other end started poking out of the water. Then the lights went out, and the ship finally sunk down to the sea floor.

The survivors in the lifeboats were rescued by the Carpathia, and it landed in New York City on April 18.

The Titanic was a major tragedy. Many more lives could have been saved if they had enough lifeboats. This was the main problem on the Titanic. The sinking of the Titanic has inspired many books and films. After the Titanic, laws were put into place that stated that all ships must have enough lifeboats for all the passengers and crew.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic

18
Mar, 2025
raindrops on black toyota corolla

The Right Car for Me

Personal Finance Week 20 Assignment

This week’s assignment was a little different than the normal writing assignment. I was to find a particular car make and model that would be the most practical for me. I will cover the total cost of the car, the monthly payment I would have to make, and create an estimate of the gas, insurance, repair, and maintenance costs assuming I would drive 12,000 miles a year.

The car I chose: The Toyota Corolla. Here’s why:

The Toyota Corolla is one of the best-selling cars in the world, and for good reason! Corollas are known for reliability, cheap maintenance, and low price.

Here is the total cost for a used 2006 Toyota Corolla S with 90,000 miles. (All prices are approximate!)

List Price: $7,995

Tax: $480

Registration and documentation fees: $200

Insurance: $5,000 per year

Gas: $500 per year

Annual maintenance cost: $500

Total cost for the first year: $14,675

Cost for 2nd year and later: $6,000

Phew, glad that’s over! I had no idea how expensive insurance is!

Loan rate:

For a 4 year loan with a 25% down payment, and a good credit score, the loan will cost $144 per month.

Even though I won’t be driving for another 2 or 3 years, this assignment was still very helpful. I realized how expensive owning a car can be!

My Priorities on Buying a Car

Personal Finance Week 19 Assignment

This week, I was to write 200 words on my priories when buying a car. I won’t be able to drive for another 2 years, but it is still important to think ahead.

Here are some of the things I value most in a car:

Price: This is one of the biggest considerations for me. I don’t really want to blow a bunch of unnessesary money on a new car, when a used one would be almost as good, for a lot less cash. Some used cars may even be more reliable than cheap new cars, because cars are becoming very cheaply made.

Reliability: This is also a very important one to consider. If the car initially costs 4 thousand, it may not seem like much. But you have to realize that it may not be very durable, and you may end up paying another 4 thousand (or more!) in repairs!

Gas efficiency: Another consideration that is not to be overlooked! In my situation, it would not make sense at all to buy a gas-guzzling SUV. I’m thinking about a hybrid, as they are much more gas-efficient.

Price Depreciation: A small but still important thing to consider. Price depreciation is when the price of a car goes down over time. Now, I’m not thinking I’m going to get some supercar that keeps its value well. All cars go down in value dramatically, but some more than others. SUVs and electric cars often have higher depreciation than other ones.

Conclusion

My priority is to find a gas-efficient used car that is reliable yet low in price. All I really need in a car is something that can drive me around without costing too much or needing lots of repairs. In next week’s assignment, I will find out what car make and model would be best for me.

Taxes Taxes Taxes!

Personal Finance Week 18 Assignment

Well you can probably guess at what this assignment is about! *sigh* Yep, taxes! I’ll be writing my 200 words this week on: What method of preparing my taxes would I choose and why.

There are a few different methods, and I’ll cover the pros and cons of each one and then pick which one I would prefer.

1. IRS Paper Form

Pros:

If you choose to file your taxes the old-fashioned way, you have more control over your results. It is also more secure. It also can be cheaper than hiring a professional.

Cons:

It can be time consuming and tedious!

2. Tax Software (example: TurboTax):

Pros:

It is more simple than the other options.

Cons:

Depending on the tax software you are using, it may not offer all of the options you are looking for. It also may not be as private or secure.

3. Hiring a Tax Professional

Pros:

You have someone who does taxes for a living, so they have lots of experience. They are more time-saving than filing your taxes alone.

Cons:

More expensive than the other options.

Okay, I’ve listed the 3 main ways you can do taxes, and I have to go with the first one. Why? Simply because I don’t have much taxes to file! At my age and income level, the tax form will be very simple for me to fill out. It wouldn’t make sense to hire a professional just to do a very simple form. So when that time does come for me to do those taxes(and I’m guessing it will be sooner than I think 🙁), I’ll be ready!