Thursday, December 2, 2010

Planning Oral Presentation

    I'm going to start my presentation by introducing my country and the time period I'm doing. I'm going to discuss the imperialist relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines. I'm going to start discussing the reasons that contributed the U.S. to attacked the Philippines. During 1898 the U.S. was producing more goods than what was demanded by the consumers. It was affecting businesses, since people were not buying a lot. The U.S. had to look for ways in order to help the economy and by taking over the Philippines the trading relationships with Asia countries will increase, but also increase the economy of the U.S.
     When the Spanish American-War took place the U.S. revolted against Spain by attacking Manila the capital of the Philippines. The Filipinos saw the U.S. goverment as an ally that was going to help them acquire their independence. The U.S. made Filipinos believe they were helping them in order to get help of the Filipinos to fight against Spain. At the end the U.S. bought the Philippines from Spain by the Treaty of Paris, this action shows that the U.S. had no interest in helping the Filipinos obtain their independence. The U.S. wanted to take over the Philippines for imperialistic reasons and saw it was a good opportunity to help the economy of the U.S.
  For my visual presentation I'm going to use a power point presentation, that will include images a short clip and quotes to support my argument.

Friday, November 5, 2010

ideologies of the vietnam war the finish draft

                                                        The ideologies of the Vietnam War



       
The Vietnam War that took place from 1958-1974 sparked to the largest anti-war movement in

U.S. history, the ideology of patriotism was developed among soldiers since soldiers felt they

had to fight in representation of their country. The government had to do a lot with the ideology

developed among soldiers. Since the government convinced a lot of soldiers that they were

fighting for the prevention of communism, making soldiers believe that they were fighting for

freedom that couldn’t be obtain under the rule of communism. There were also soldiers that

didn’t know what the cause of the war was. Since a lot of speculations were created about the

war that many soldiers felt lost. Soldiers just knew they had to contribute in doing their job.
 
Some of them felt pride in doing their job, as the film Hearts and Minds showed towards the end
 
of the film the interview of a pilot that was part of the Vietnam War in which he mentions that he
 
felt pride in dropping the bombs because he was doing his job. Even though he recognized that
 
the results of the bombs had negative effects; he couldn’t deny the feeling of pride he felt
 
because he was doing what he liked.
    
Even though there were soldiers that felt pride in contributing to the war, many other soldiers
 
were not especially the ones that were being drafted to the war. Some soldiers felt pressure in
 
going to war because they felt that by not going they were being cowards, betraying their country
 
and disappointing their families.
 
  On the Rainy River by Tim O’ Brien the author is able to support my argument by providing
 
his personal experience about being drafted to the war. O’ Brien didn’t want to be part of the
 
war and he was considering in escaping to Canada. Even thought O’ Brien was considering in
 
doing this he was not able to do it. “I couldn’t endure the disgrace or the patriotic disgrace;
 
embarrassment that’s all it was”(pg59). As O’Brien many other soldiers that were drafted to the
 
war felt they had the obligation to go to war because their reputation was being played. The
 
ideology of reputation was also taken place since a lot of soldiers were worried about what their
 
families and the people of their country will believe of them. The group Vietnam Veterans
 
Against The War was created to manifest their perception against the war. By sharing their
 
experiences the soldiers were able to change the ideology of the war being a good cause war
 
that was fighting for freedom; instead it showed that the war was about violence, killing
 
innocent people and destroying their houses and resources. In The Impossible Victory: Vietnam
 
by Howard Zinn (Winter Soldier Hearings) is able to support my argument by indicating that in

“December 1970, hundreds of them went to Detroit to testify publicly about atrocities they had

participated in or seen in Vietnam”. pg 238. Having the testimonies of soldiers that were part of

the war gave them a more persuasive influence. Among the people by showing the negative

results that were occurring in Vietnam and how the civilians were being hurt.
       
The anti-war act that took place in April 1971in the capital of Washington, D.C.
 
According to Zinn “They went up to a wire fence around the capital, threw over the fence the
 
medals they won in Vietnam”. This actions indicates how some soldiers didn’t feel proud in
 
being part of the war; it also shows the indignation that they felt that the war was still going on.
     
  The civil rights leader Martin Luther King J.R. also took part in the Vietnam War by
 
declaring that the war is related to the civil rights movement because African Americans were

being asked to fight in the War; when their rights were being violated as not being treated the

same way as white people in the U.S.
 
  King J.R. ideology was that in order for the U.S. to be fighting for the freedom and

independence of other countries in this case Vietnam. The U.S should first worry on solving the

problems happening in the country.  King J.R. used the African Americans civil rights movement

as an example on what the U.S. should focus on. In Beyond Vietnam: A time to Break Silence by

Martin Luther King he mentions the segregation that African Americans were experiencing

“Watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has

been unable to seat them together in the same schools” The ideology of patriotism is being

denied by the ideology of Martin Luther King; by  indicating that the U.S. is not focusing on

solving the problems happening in their home country. King wants to show that a country that is

not giving freedom to their citizens can’t make a productive change in another country with out

solving the problems of their country first.    

  Some of the other ways in which activists were showing their opposition to the war was by

 comparing it to other issues that were occurring in the U.S. such as comparing it to the violence

that was being use against African Americans taking actions as their opposition to the war as

they discover that a classmate was killed in the war. According to Zinn in The Impossible

Victory: In Vietnam.  The juveniles started distributing leaflets that had written “No Mississippi

Negroes should be fighting in Vietnam for the Whites man’s freedom, until all the Negro people

are free in Mississippi”. People that were against the war tried to look for different ways to show

how the war had only negative effects; it was not only killing the civilians of Vietnam but many

soldiers as well. What about the families of this soldiers and civilians? They were also suffering

the consequences of this tragical war. They felt the impotence of watching their love ones being

 killed.
   
  The Vietnam War is an important event not only because it contributed to one of the largest
 
wars that seem to have no purpose at all. That killed millions of people, but because it showed
 
that the U.S. consider one of the most powerful countries; in which freedom seems to be the  
 
main concept. It shows that is only an ideology because the citizens of the U.S. were not treated
equally only because they are from a different race or color. Not letting another country decide
 
what they want is not freedom. What if the Vietnamese wanted to be a communist country and
 
have their own government? What role does the U.S. have to play in this event? Every country
 
needs to have the freedom of deciding what they want and is best for them. Without having any
 
other country interfering. The government of the U.S. needs to focus more in the issues in the
 
country because the U.S. haves a lot of issues itself because when the U.S will have an
 
economic problem as we are now in recession who is going to help us.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

The ideologies of the Vietnam War

       
       The Vietnam war that took place around 1958-1974, contributed to the largest anti-war movement. At the beginning of the war many ideologies were manifested as the reasons that contributed to start of the war. The different perceptions about the war developed among different kinds of groups. The government claimed that the main cause of the war was to stop the spread of communism.
   
Despite from the government affirmation that communism is the reason of the war. Many people were not persuaded by this theory; instead they started developing their own ideologies. Among the group of people that were against the war were the veterans soldiers of Vietnam. Also some soldiers fighting in Vietnam. Activists such, as Martin Luther King J.R, Julian Bond and The
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
  
    The veterans formed their own group that was called “Vietnam veterans” to manifest their
perception against the war. In being part of this group veterans were able to give speeches about
their experiences in the war. By sharing their experiences veterans were able to show the violence that the soldiers were performing against the Vietnamese. This information could have served as a way to make some people change their perception about the war; by showing that the war was unjust since a lot of innocent people were being killed. Having the testimonies of soldiers that were part of the war gave them a more persuasive influence among the public. Howard Zinn is able to support my argument by indicating that in “December 1970, hundreds of veterans went to Detroit to testify publicly about atrocities they have participated in or seen in Vietnam”. This was one of the acts that veteran’s soldiers contributed as part of their anti-war movement. The second anti-war act took place in April 1971in the capital of Washington, D.C. According to Zinn “They went up to a wire fence around the capital, threw over the fence the medals they won in Vietnam”. This actions indicates that veteran’s soldiers didn’t feel proud of being part of the war.
       Not only veteran soldiers were against the war, but also soldiers that were fighting currently in the war. Among this group of soldiers many ideologies were formed as their way to not take part in the war.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

The article found in class session

      In the article I was able to find information about the changes that the U.S. had as having control over the philipines. I was able to see that it had a lot of positive effects when it comes to the education. The filipinos were able to obtain sports scholarship that permited the students to play against other countries. This was an interesting information, but it didn't give me that kind of information that I was trying to find. It also obtain information about the U.S involvement in pearl harbor which it kind of confuse me since it relates to Cuba. As I was reading the information further it give me the idea that it contributed with the U.S. attacking manila the capital of the philippines that was under spain rule.
       This information made me realize that pearl harbor is an important event that contributed the U.S. involvement in the philippines.I need to do more research on pearl harbor in order to understand the issue more better. Since it seems an important event  that started the relationship between the U.S. and the philippines. The information seems more as an opinion than an objective information. Since the author
 is sharing some of her personal experience and her opinion about the U.S. rule in the philippines. 
 The only information I found useful is about pearl harbor. Since it actually made me want to find more information about the topic. In order to determine if it will be part of my research information. Which I think it will be since it seems that it contributes to first events that took place.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

My resources

I was able to find this source in Jstor I decided to use this source because as I was reading the introduction I saw it had information about the U.S.A. taking over the philippines. It also show how the philippines reacted towards the invasion of the U.S.A. and how americans felt towards the U.S.A. taking over the philippines.
Glenn A. May “why the United States won the Philippine -American War, 1899-1902: pacific historical review” Vol. 52, No. 4 (Nov., 1983), pp. (353-377) Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3639072

My second source will be the reading from my history class "A nation among empires". I decided to pick this reading as my source because it contains a lot of information in the topic I'm going to write about spanish colonization in the philippines and how the philippines obtain its independence. Also how the U.S.A took over the philippines and how the filipinos reacted toward this situation.This reading also focus how the U.S.A had a positive impact in  the philippines.

Bender, Thomas " A nation among empires- America's place in world history". pp (219-245)


I was able to find another source in Jstor that talks about the reasons that made the U.S.A take control over the philippines. It also shows a chart that indicates how the U.S.A. took an advantage of filipinos vulnerability to take control over the country by using its power.
Foreign Policy as Social Construction: A Post-Positivist Analysis of U.S. Counterinsurgency Policy in the Philippines
Roxanne Lynn Doty
International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Sep., 1993), pp. 297-320

In this source I was able to find more information about the philippines rule under the spanish. This information will help me better understand the relationship that the philippines had with the spanish and the name of the spanish rulers. This information will help me with the background information I'm going to provide about the philippines relationship with the spanish and the revolutionaries involve.


http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_history/spanish_colonization.html

Thursday, October 7, 2010

my reaction towards the film hearts and minds

       
The film really got my attention because I was able to understand the reasons that the U.S got involve in Vietnam. The interview that really surprise me and I thought was the person that was being the most honest with the people was the men that break down when he started talking about Kennedy’s death. His interview surprise me because he was recognizing and declaring that the political system of the U.S such as the president were lying about the real facts that were occurring and the reasons of the U.S involvement in Vietnam. This made me realize that the U.S was more concern about taking over Vietnam and controlling the territory that will contribute with the U.S ideology of expansion. The other interview that got my attention was of the man that worked with the atomic bombs that was interview towards the end. It got my attention to see his look of repentance when he was saying he was not realizing that he was contributing to an act of cruelty that killed a lot of people. He also mention that he could not imagine his children's being killed by an atomic bomb and that made him realize that he was contributing to an act of killing innocent people by realizing the bombs. This made me realize that most of the military soldiers that are part of wars for the most part are not realizing consciously about the kind of events they are contributing to and the effects of those acts. For the most part soldiers are being brainwash as one of the interviewers was mentioning because they are being display with the ideology that they going to war because they need to fight and win for the pride of their country. This shows that soldiers were being use as puppets because they were fighting for something that they didn't know.
  
The scene that was being use and it can relate to the way that the soldiers were being treated by the government was the footage that display a football team that were being told by their coach that the only thing they need to know is that they are playing to win. This shows that the coach was not giving clear reasons of why they were playing and the effects of winning the game. As the same way U.S soldiers were fighting in Vietnam without having any idea for what they were fighting for.
     

Thursday, September 30, 2010

brainstorming

     
The country that I choose as part of my research paper is going to be the Philippines because I have previous background information about the Philippines as I study in history the Philippines independence from Spain and the United States involvement. The Philippines was part of Spain colony and were fighting for its independence as the United States got involve in order to help the Philippines achieve its independence .The involvement of the U.S.A was more about taking control over the Philippines since after the Philippines obtain its independence the United States wanted to take over the country. The Philippines refuse to be taken over since they wanted to be a free country this contributed with a war with the United States. At the same time the United States had doubts about taking over the Philippines since according to some Americans the Philippines were a racial inferior country and the constitution was going to be involve as well. The constitution was going to take part because if the U.S.A took part of the Philippines the country will have to be consider part of the U.S.A. territory and as being part of the U.S.A it would make the Philippines be consider citizens of the U.S.A. which will make the U.S.A. abandon its racial inferior believes and Americans didn't want this to happen.
        As I was doing my research on Wikipedia I was able to see that this source of information obtains more fact information and didn't provide further information that establishes an argument. The information that I was able to see that could help me in my research paper is the further information that provides how the Philippines obtain its completely independence from the U.S.A and also the positive effects that the U.S.A. had as having control over the Philippines. The positive effects that the United States was able to provide in the Philippines were to create a better education system which is still running today in the country. The economy in the Philippines has progress as well in the merchandise exports but the electronic exports are considered low. For the most part as I read the information in Wikipedia the economy of the Philippines have had a very good improvement. The Philippines is a country that is still under debt with international countries but its debt has decline which is a great improvement for the country.
         The information that I was not able to find about is the relationship that the Philippines have with the United States now and also about how the culture of the United States and the Philippines are similar. I'm looking forward to find out with which other countries is the Philippines involve for the international market.