Author: terry_christi

The assigned reading for this week “Unknown and Unsung” by Steven Biel provided me with a new perception of the Titanic disaster that had little to do with the actual sinking of the luxury liner; but with the social causes of the day related to the Progressive Era movement. While I love a good movie; the fictional stories that have manifested surrounding the sinking of the Titanic have contributed to a distorted understanding (including my own) of the disaster. I’ve previously visited the “Titanic Exhibit” in Buena Park and marveled at the artifacts that survived the sinking, without thinking of the social causes that contributed to the “disaster fascination” that surrounds the sinking of the luxury liner.Passenger distinctions related to gender and class were evident in the early reporting of the sinking; which heralded the sacrifices made by Christian white men of privilege for the explicit benefit of underclass minority women (Biel). The fact that Levi Strauss (a Jewish man) was among the men lost did not change the heroic Christian imagery linked to his death. I also found it quite interesting that the Woman’s Titanic Memorial Fund was criticized for wanting to memorializing the “presumed heroic male images of the Titanic”; who were oblivious to the immediate danger they were in when they gave their seats to women (in their class). The inflammatory language of the wire conveyed admiration for the wealthy men who perished and pity on the surviving women(Biel). The actions of the personnel who worked on the ship and perished while trying to save more lives were removed from the heroic narrations that followed the sinking. I found myself irritated by the “true” media renditions that followed the disaster; which I have bought into by idolizing “Hollywood” renditions of this tragic event. My classmate @ jessica42 emphasized the importance of the history of memory; which in this case would have revealed the true actions of the passengers and crew that occurred that fateful night when the Titanic sank. There were so many misleading assumptions following the disaster that even the cause of equality for women; excluded certain women from their cause based on ethnicity and religion(Biel). African -Americans in the Progressive Era were already experiencing such despairing racial separation that their exclusion from the ship was celebrated as having saved the life of African -American boxer Jack Johnson; who was not allowed to sail on the Titanic because of his ethnicity(Biel)

My history event post is on PSB: American Experience; a television program that I watched on the inventor extraordinaire Thomas Alva Edison. The link for the 2-hour documentary is http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/edison/player/ .I have always been interested in the life, achievements, successes and failures of Thomas Edison (1847-1931), but since I was able to see artifacts that were part of his creative process I have a deeper sense of a connection to him. Despite thousands of failed invention attempts, Edison maintained a resilience that distinctly set him apart as a visionary in the field of creativity and note-worthy inventions that changed the way the world operated. This past summer I had the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian: National History Museum in Washington D.C.; which had an exhibit on Edison called Lighting a Revolution. Information on the exhibit can be found here http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/lighting-a-revolution. I was fascinated by the amount of failed Edison experiments that were on display. Walls of light bulbs, gadgets and experiments that were unsuccessful, but that propelled Edison to continue the processes where he eventually achieved successes. The television program was interesting to me because it provided insight into the life of a man that I have a great respect for. On a personal there is also a Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey (my birth state) that includes his laboratory complex and house (mansion) that Edison and his wife resided in at the time of his death, which I hope to  be able to visit in the future; which can be found at https://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/index.htm . I will end with one of my favorite Edison quotes “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.

The earthquake and subsequent fire that decimated 1906 San Francisco was a disaster perpetuated by the corruption that encompassed the local government, city building infrastructure, and city planning. The assigned reading “Smoke and Mirrors” by Ted Steinberg presented a very interesting argument into the categorization of disasters. I had never thought of this type of disaster distinction prior to this reading. Steinberg described the division in class distinctions almost immediately following the event. Businessmen were concerned with rebuilding the gigantic economic power that San Francisco and her ports had become. A steady influx of international goods, commodities, resources, cheap immigrant labor and economic wealth flowed through the city; and as such was the primary concern for big business. I agree with my classmate @ngojoseph who classified the businessmen as plausible “deniers” of the origin of the disaster to (in essence), protect their own current and more importantly future business interests. Even in 1906, following the most traumatic event the city had ever experienced the first order of business as the fires were extinguished was “getting back to business”. That is at the heart of American determination for those of upper class statuses, for whom the basic necessities of living are not a primary concern following a disaster. For individuals in lower economic classes the primary concern is not what to label the disaster, but how to provide shelter, food, clothing medical in a traumatic time. This was also evident when Hurricane Katrina occurred in New Orleans. The city survived the initial impact of the hurricane, but the disaster ensued when the levees did not work correctly and keep the flood waters out of the city. When the disaster is discussed it is the devastation from Katrina, not the failure of the government infrastructure. In that case it made more “business sense” to focus on the hurricane, which could be controlled in the future and not the inadequacies of the city to protect its interests. The city of San Francisco eventually recovered and prospered, but will the people of New Orleans fair the same?

Prior to this assignment I had not read any part of the “Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Consequently, I had no preconceived notions or bias associated with the viewpoint of Marx, as a man or political entity. With that being said, I am also well aware that the people of China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam currently live under communist regimes. This reading has provided me with insight into the basic principles of the authoritative nature that govern communist rule, of which I was previously unaware. As a citizen of a democratic nation I have lived my life without much empathy for the difficulties associated with living under communist rule, but that has changed after this reading. The basic premise for the formation of the Communist party seemed honorable (in theory) to me; providing for and meeting the needs of working class people (Marx and Engels). I agree with my classmate @ erodriguez317 that the ideas of Marx seem (at first glance) to reflect a desired equality among the people. After the assigned reading I still did not feel like I had a good understanding of Marxism or Communism so I also read “Demands of the Communist Party in Germany” also written by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. My previous view of the social unification power of Communism quickly eroded as I read the totality of their plan for society. Communism effectively eliminated individuality (religion, thought, desire or purpose) and replaced it with the “god” of government or the state. How is that beneficial for a society? Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religious beliefs and the freedom to live life as you see fit are removed from the lives of individuals under communist authoritative rule. The advent of technology that replaced many craft trades may have seemed overwhelming at that time because it was new, but that fact that communism remains is arcane to me in my limited understanding of political rule.

In the months following the hurricane that struck Galveston in 1900 the insurmountable task of assessing damage and rebuilding a safe, fortified city became the daunting work of city officials and civil engineers as described by Patricia Bellis Bixel in It Must Be Made Safe. Losses were monumental for the surviving city occupants, rebuilding had to be weighed against the threat of future storms. There were no quick fixes available to quickly restore the city to its pre-flood positioning in Texas economics, so the city needed a viable plan to reassure the continuation of profitable business investment into the town. The shadow of death and destruction loomed over previous city officials; whom on numerous occasions had considered, then abandoned building a protective barrier from the sea. (Bixel). Sadly, it took the untimely demise of over 6,000 individuals, millions of dollars in property loss and the complete restructuring of local government (into a commission established by the governor, instead of elected officials) to manifest the idea of a seawall into an actual project that benefited the island of Galveston(Bixel). An interesting point expressed by my classmate @ rhruska is that the actions of changing the government structure can be attributed to themes of “the superiority of white, educated male entitlement” associated with the “Gilded Age”, as well as the “Progressive Era”. It was astonishing to compare the cost that Galveston eventually invested into safe guarding the city, approximately $94 million dollars in modern currency rates; to the losses sustained through the hurricane, over $860 million in modern currency rates (Bixel). Galveston is an example of the great economic cost associated with post disaster recovery verses planned preparation and investment into necessary safety measures prior to the disaster occurring. While disasters continue(earthquakes, floods, fires and hurricanes), the need remains the same; proactive preparation is always better than post tragedy reflection.

What is the driving force behind my personal pursuit of a BA in history? I became a history major because I have always loved peering into the past through artifacts, written and oral traditions. After reading the assignment for this week from the perspective of historian Jeremy Popkin in his book From Herodotus To H-Net: The Story of Historiography, I have developed a new appreciation for historiography and what it means to actively study history from an academic perspective. It is possible to spend a lifetime loving history as a “sponge”; absorbing interesting facts, events and details from the past without ever critically evaluating the sources of the information. Historiography is more than just pursuing a love of history, it is a critically thought out dissection, examination and investigation into the validity of the historical sources that are available regarding an time period, era, or specific event. In fact if you are an individual that would rather view history through romanticized lenses, influenced by a media biased viewpoint of historical events; such as the portrayal of the sinking of the Titanic in the blockbuster Hollywood movie by the same name, then maybe historiography doesn’t seem engaging enough for you. My fellow classmate: @ 2016mgandara made a valid point in their blog post on disasters, which is that people are obsessed with historical events that they seemingly have little or no relation to http://courses.shroutdocs.org/hist300a-fall2016/archives/119. If that is the basis of your interest in history, then historiography may or may not be the field for you because the discipline spends a considerable amount of time questioning and analytically exploring the source of the commentary available on the history being explored. I can say with confidence that I attain to be more than just a mere lover of history. What about you?

Christi Terry