This Summer

This past week I mailed in my application to a program called MS². MS² is a math and science program in Andover, Massachusetts. This program provides educational benefits for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors for six weeks during the summer. I’m hoping that I get accepted into this program, because I want to improve in mathematics and science.

If I don’t get accepted I won’t be too mad, because I know that I tried my best getting into the program. If I don’t get accepted I will try to become a Junior Counselor again at my neighborhood's local park district. It was fun working with little kids and other Junior Counselor’s, but I want to try something else this summer. I know that I am not, and my parents won’t let me sit in the house the entire summer. Most likely I will apply to another educational program during the summer, like Colligate Scholars.

The home-schooled boy

A 13-year-old boy named Ryan Morgan might have gotten expelled from school after bring charged with gun-possession. Ryan heard a rumor about a gun being in the boys-restroom. Unfortunately, Ryan found the gun but didn’t turn it in right away. Ryan showed the gun to his friends then turned it in into the assistant principal. Luckily Ryan was only forced to be home-schooled and not expelled.

The boy who brought the gun to school was expelled. I know that Ryan didn’t turn in the gun
or get an adult immediately, but he probably wasn’t conscious of what he was doing. I know for a fact that when something amazing/dangerous comes along and you’re unprepared you don’t know what to do. He was probably excited and scared that he had a gun.

I glad that Ryan didn’t get expelled, but he made a bad decision by picking up the gun. I would have suspended the boy for carrying the gun. If I found a gun at his age I would have been scared. However, I know that I would not have touched the gun, because I would have never known what that gun was used for. The gun could have been used to kill someone.

Radio

The radio was talking to the boy

The radio measured four by six inches

The radio was talking to the boy

The numbers changed in a blink of an eye

The radio was talking to the boy

The boy loved the radio

The radio was talking to the boy

He went everywhere with the shining, black metallic radio

The radio was talking to the boy

One day another boy saw the radio and he didn’t like the radio

The radio was talking to the boy

The next day the radio was broken

The radio was talking to the boy, in his mind

Moon

Great thing to look at

Moving around and around

Dances around Earth

Wolf howls at it at nighttime

See it’s beauty at nighttime

Water

See water flowing

Water moving like traffic

Tasteless but helpful

Birds

Soaring up higher

Flapping their wings in the air

Beating eyes that stare

Trees

Limbs that are reaching

Reaching towards the heavens

Then they start falling

Night

Darkness is everywhere
Sleeping is everywhere
Darkness is everywhere
Like babies animals cry
Darkness is everywhere
People start shutting their eyes
Darkness is everywhere
Like eyes the moon shines

Thanksgiving fiasco

At 2:00 a.m. November 23, 2006 a man named Lance Johnson broke into his neighbor's house after hearing a noisy child. Then he broke into Tasha Cooks’ apartment and took Tasha hostage. At 1:00 a.m. on Friday, November 24, 2006 Johnson shot and killed Tasha Cooks, then he committed suicide. Johnson suffered from mental illness and was emotionally unstable. That is probably why he did what he did.

I would like to give my condolences to both families. This was an unfortunate accident. I think that Johnson should not have been in an apartment building all alone. People should have known that he had some mental problems. He should have been supervised by another person. If that was not possible then Mr. Johnson’ doctors should have put him in a place that could take care of him.

Apocalypto

An ancient civilization known as the Mayan civilization was in control of Meso America between 300-1600 AD. The Mayans were great architects who built elegant temples. They built temples to perform human sacrifices to offer to the Gods. In addition, the Mayans were great warriors. They dominated almost all of Meso-America until something mysteriously wiped out the entire civilization.

A new movie, Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson is about the Mayan civilization. The setting takes place around the downfall of the nation. During this time the Mayan king claims the key to prosperity is to start increasing the number of human sacrifices. A man named, Jaguar Paw is selected to be sacrificed, however Jaguar Paw has no intention of being captured. Jaguar Paw ends up trying to out run the Mayan warriors so that he won’t be sacrificed.

I am going to see this movie the weekend that it comes out. I love everything regarding the Mayans, Aztecs, or Incas. I would like to know more about the Mayans. Hopefully the story is somewhat relevant to what actually happened to the Mayans. After A.P. US History I would like to take A.P. World History so that I can learn more about the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas.

92 year old woman

Early this evening a 92 year old woman was shot to death. In the neighborhood that this woman lived in everyone owned a concealed weapon. This woman was one of those people. Police showed up her house with a search warrant looking for drugs. The woman open fired striking three officers. The other officers shot the woman without knowing she was a senior citizen

It was an unfortunate situation. If I was one of the police officers I would have felt bad about killing a elderly lady. However, she shot first and I would not have known she was that old until I got in there. It’s was sad to have found out that a 92 year old woman had to carry around a gun in order to live. It was sad and a shame that this happened. What is the world coming to? The entire world neds help when a 92 year old woman is forced to carry a gun.

Opportunities

One of the things that I would like to do is go to MS². MS² isn’t the only available educational program this summer. I want to apply to Colligate Scolars, and my A.P. US History teacher recommended me to a medicine forum. I greatly appreciate the recommendation, however it cost more for the medicine forum than MS². I’d prefer going to MS², but the medicine forum is shorter and is in Chicago.

MS² stand for Math and Science squared. MS² is in Andover, Massachusetts. This program is during the summer for five weeks. It provides accelerated math and science classes for it’s students. They offer math classes such as: Algebra 1 & 2, Pre-calculus, and Calculus. In addition, the program offers biology, chemistry, and physics. They also present extracurricular activities.

I would like to get accepted into this program. It seems like an interesting and helpful program. In addition, I believe that I would benefit from this opportunity. When I come back to school in the fall I will have a head start on some of my classes. I would play baseball, and I would swim for my extracurricular activities. This would build up my strength for the upcoming swim year.

Music

I love music and everything about it. I can’t play any instrument, or make a poem. However, I enjoy listening and evaluating it. I have been listening to jazz more. It is calming and soothing. Whenever I feel as if I’m going to explode I put on any jazz cd and breathe in deeply while listening to it. This will work for anyone no matter how much they like another genre of music. I’ve been doing this lately because a lot of things has been going on.

Interview

This interview is about a phenomenal man. He initially worked as at a gas company, but then he became an entrepreneur. He owns three different buildings that have three different purposes. He opened a self-owned barbershop and Photoshop. In addition, he owns a building which he rents out. This is incredible, because he did all of this immediately after his retirement.

1. Scorpios-Why did you become a barber?
   MR. R-Becoming a barber was a second intern for me. My first job was working for a gas company.
   
2. Scorpios-How long have you been a barber? in this current barbershop?
   MR. R-I got my barbers license when I was sixteen(16) in nineteen-sixty-six(1966). Which was forty years ago. I’ve own and worked in this barbershop for ten(10) years.
   
3. Scorpios-Do you like owning a smaller barbershops? why?
   MR. R-I like medium sized, because there isn’t a lot of competition with other barbers.
   
4. Scorpios-Have you considered moving the barbershop to a place with more space? why?
   MR. R-No, because when I retired I planned on having a small barbershop. I wanted two maybe three people including myself to work at the barbershop.
   
5. Scorpios-Do you like the neighborhood surrounding the barbershop? why?
   MR. R-Yes, because most of the people are middle-class people, and there hardly isn’t any trouble around here.
   
6. Scorpios-How many buildings do you own?
   MR. R-I own three buildings. On is a barbershop, another is a Photoshop, and another is a three-floor flat.
   
7. Scorpios-What type of things did you expect to do with each building?
   MR. R-First of all I am an artist. That is why I made the bought the Photoshop and the barbershop in order to express myself. I opened bought the last building so that I can have some extra money.
   
8. Scorpios-Did you decide where you wanted your buildings to be located?
   MR. R-I tried to get them within a close range of each other, but that didn’thappen. The barbershop and the Photoshop are close together, but the three-flat is far from either one. I couldn’t help this from happening. It just happened.
   
9. Scorpios-Were you ever forced to move anywhere?
   MR. R-No, I was able to stay in Chicago.
   
10. Scorpios-Did you ever considered moving to some place other than Chicago?
    MR. R-Yes, I thought about California, Nevada, and Mississippi because I have family in all of those places. But I didn’t move because this(Chicago) is where my children is at.

Friday

Unfortunately, today I listened to music. I couldn’t stop myself from listening. I thought I could go the whole week without listening to it, but that was harder than I thought. Once someone is addicted to something to it extremely hard to resist the temptation. It starts as a craving then eventually feels like a necessity. Now I know how people feel when they try to stop smoking or drinking. A person needs motivation to stop their addiction.

In order for someone to get over an addiction they need motivation. My mom smoked before she had me. When my mother was pregnant with me she stopped smoking entirely. She was and still is a Registered Nurse so she knew what could happen to me if she smoked. After I was born, she resumed smoking. When my mother was pregnant with my little sister she stopped smoking again because of the possible affect it would have on my sister. My mom needed some type of motivation to stop smoking. Whenever she smoked around me I coughed, and she didn’t want me to keep going through that so she stopped.

Next week, I am going to try and go the whole week without listening to any music. This time I know what I can do differently. I am going to give my radio, my alarm clock, and my ipod to my parents. I am going to tell them that no matter how much I beg don’t give any of it back until the entire week has passed. I am going to prove to myself that I can abstain from listening to music for at least one week.

Thursday

Day four of the fast was extremely painful. Especially since I was out of school the entire day. I tried doing things that wouldn’t allow me to listen to music. For example, I read my American Literature book. No matter how hard I try, I can not listen to music and read at the same time. I can’t seem to comprehend what I am reading. Whether it is my radio or another radio I can’t read and comprehend and listen to music at the same time. I get absolutely distracted.

Later that day I had to rake the leaves in the front and along the side of my house. On my way out of the door, I had my ipod in my hands. As soon as I stepped out of the door, I remembered my fast. Then I put it back. I was tempted not to put it back, but I knew that that would prove I couldn’t do it. I wanted to prove to everyone, and most importantly myself that I could go a week without music.

Wednesday

My prediction from yesterday was absolutely correct. The third day of the fast wasn’t as easy. Initially it was easy not to listen to music, but then it became difficult. I didn’t break down and say, “I have to listen to music or I‘ll die.” I was able to control it, but I was tempted. My wanting to prove myself helped me not listen to music.

Tuesday

The second day of the fast was almost as easy as the first day. I was able to go the entire day without listening to music. I wasn’t tempted at all to listen to music. It seemed easy, but from what I’ve witnessed in the past what seemed to be easy was quickly hard. On that day I thought the rest of the week would be easy. However, my predictions were wrong.

Monday

On Monday our class was told to fast from one thing that we constantly do. The people who watch TV everyday had to fast from it. While others who listen to the radio all day had to fast from that. Usually people who do a certain thing everyday are addicted to that certain thing. Most of the time an addiction is something that is not necessary in order to live life. I am addicted to music.

Some people are addicted to smoking, drinking etc. I am addicted to listening to music. It is something about music that excites me. Smoking and drinking are nasty in my eyes. I know that I would never smoke, because I am an asthmatic and my lungs can’t handle it. In addition, cigarettes and cigars have an offensive odor. I’ll never drink beer, because it kills brain cells. Basically, whenever a person drinks beer they're causing them to become less intelligent. It doesn’t seem proper to drink something that kills your brain cells. That is a lose-lose situation.

I love music. I love all types of music. The only two kinds of music that I don’t like are classical music and dusties from the 60’s. Recently, whenever I become angry, I listen to jazz. It is soothing, relaxing, and calming. The first day of fasting was easy. I hoped the rest would have the same effect.

Difficult Classes

When I started the school year I thought I would do great in all of my classes. However, I soon found out that school wasn’t as easy as it was before. My two most difficult classes are A.P. US History and Advanced Algebra 2 with Trigonometry. I am passing Algebra 2 with Trigonometry with a c. In addition, I think I am passing A.P. US History with a high c. I didn’t expect to do this bad when I started school. However, now I realize what I need to improve to be successful in those two classes and the rest of classes.

George Washington's party

President-George Washington
Vice President-John Adams
Secretary of State-Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of the Treasury-Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of War-Henry Knox

In March of 1789, George Washington and John Adams were elected the first president and vice president of the thirteen colonies. After they were inaugurated into office the thirteen colonies officially became the United States of America. Former-President George Washington expanded the executive branch. He did this by adding the positions of Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of War. The men who filled the positions were Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Henry Knox. In addition, a man named John Jay was appointed Chief Justice by President George Washington himself.

Former-President George Washington resolved Foreign and domestic problems by the Jay Treaty and Pinckney Treaty. The Jay Treaty forced the British to remove forts on American soil. The Pinckney Treaty allowed American merchants to trade through the city of New Orleans without paying a tax. These were incredible treaties, because they allowed more people to trade for less. In addition, this reduced debt in America.

Alexander Hamilton created major restoration in the United States. He thought of brilliant ideas in order to get the country out of debt. His method’s on doing this actually worked. He got the country out of debt by raising to prices on foreign commodities, giving businesses credit(loans), and a National Bank. These were all beneficial for the United States. The United States would have gotten out of debt sooner if Alexander was not shot. The third president of the United States was Thomas Jefferson. Under his first term the United States made a purchase from the French know as the Louisiana Purchase.

I believe that the first and third presidents had the best political and economical stance that ever happened to America. I don’t think that any other president was as successful as they were. I think that this can happen again. This could happen if voters elect a man wjo is passionate about politics and is honest. In addition, the man needs to have an economical mind similar to Alexander Hamilton.

Scolar Programs

There are three summer programs that I would like to go this summer. These programs are: Math and Science²(MS²), Colligate Scholars, and The Medicine Forum. I would like to attend all three of these programs, however I can only attend one. All three programs have a lot to offer. All three have a outcome that I will greatly benefit from.

MS² allows me to get more advanced in both math and science. This fact attracts me to this program, because I am good in math, and I want to get better in science. In addition, they allow students to have an extracurricular activity such as: basketball, baseball, swimming, hiking, running etc. A downside to MS² is that I would have to move to Andover, Maryland for five weeks.

Colligate Scholars is a scholarship program that is offered in the city of Chicago. The program is actually held at the University of Chicago. This program lets its students take college courses. These courses will be taught by college professors who are one of the best in their field. In addition, students and parents get more experienced in the college selection process and evaluating colleges. Unfortunately, I don’t know that much about the Medicine Forum. All I know is that can get experience with medicine from professional physicians.

College/Universities

I researched various colleges, but many didn’t suite what I was looking for. Sometimes I think about applying to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc, but I always end up saying, “No.” Sometimes I think to myself that I might not get into such prestige schools. However, I don’t want to put myself down or make myself think that I’m dumb. I know I am not dumb, because I wouldn’t be taking the classes that I am now.

After careful consideration I have narrowed my search to ten(10) colleges/universities. I based most of my decisions on the location, the curriculum, and the programs that they offer. My top five choices offer major programs in either engineering, business, and/or medicine. I have listed all the following colleges/universities in order from greatest to least. They are:

1. Stanford University
2. Michigan State University
3. Howard University
4. University of Illinois Champagne Urbana
5. Ohio State University
6. Northwestern University
7. University of Southern California (USC)
8. University of California in Los Angles (UCLA)
9. Hampton University
10. University of Texas

My valued goals

I divided my goals into three sections. They are: education, career, and desires. Most of my goals involve my education and are long-term goals. I am most concerned about achieving present goals. What I do now will determine what will happen to me in the future. The more goals I achieve the more successful I will be in life.

On October 21st, 2006 I will be taking the PSAT. I am hoping that I pass this major exam. This will determine how well I do on it when I have to take the real thing. If I do well on that exam it will skyrocket my confidence level. I will be comfortable taking any quiz or exam if I pass the PSAT. Even if I don’t pass at least I know that it was only practice, and I’m a freshmen taking a junior/senior level test.

When I’m about twenty-two years old I want to have a bachelors degree in engineering. By the time I am twenty-five I want to have a masters degree in engineering. I want to have a decent job, a nice car, and an apartment or condo. In addition, I want to be able to have completed what I planned on completing. However, I still want to complete more goals after receiving those degrees.

Once I’m around 40-45 years old I want to have a large and beautiful house. In addition to having a house, I want to have a building of some sort. I would rent it to some people that I know. I wouldn’t rent it to complete strangers or extremely close friends of the family. Close friends could take advantage of me, and I wouldn’t know a thing about the complete strangers that I’m renting the space to. I want to have a beautiful wife. In addition, I want two children, a boy and a girl.

Once I am a senior citizen I want to be able to look back on the wonderful life that I had. I want to think back and say, “I can‘t believe I accomplished that.” I want to tell my grandchildren stories about myself. I want to tell them that I was able to do things that very few people in the world can do. I know conquering these goals will be difficult, however I have faith in myself that I can accomplish all of my goals.

My Goals

Short-Term Goals:

1. Pass the A.P. US History test
2. Pass my Algebra 2 with Trigonometry class
3. Get at least C on every quiz in every class from now on
4. Get as many A’s as possible
5. Make the baseball team
   

Mid-Term Goals:

1. Going to an excellent college/university
2. Graduating near the top of my class
3. Receive many scholarships
4. Get accepted into either MS² and/or Colligate Scholars
5. Get better at cutting so I can make a little money on the side for college
   

Long-Term Goals:

1. Get a high paying job
2. Receive a masters in engineering
3. Receive a masters in business
4. Own a well-profited business
5. Become a recognized African-American in society
6. Own a large house, in addition to renting out a two-flat building
7. Have three nice cars
8. Have a long and happy marriage

The beginning of United States of America

The first president and vice president of the United States of America was George Washington and John Adams. They won by a unanimous vote from the electoral college. After they were inducted into office the executive branch was expanded. Three new positions became available which were: Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Treasury. They were taken by Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, and Alexander Hamilton.

The United States was fortunate to have these five men to help develop the newly found United States of America. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were extremely involved in the countries politics before they received their positions. Alexander Hamilton helped dramatically change the nation’s amount of debt. The policies that he created worked as an advantage for everyone, including other countries. This was beneficial, because the quicker they got out of debt the quicker they could trade. Once they started to trade the population and the economy increased.

Fahrenheit 9/11

Some of the facts from the movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 were unbelievable. I would not have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. Some of the things that happened changed my view of certain people. For example, initially everyone thought Al Gore won the state of Florida. Many news station such as: NBC, CNN, and ABC believed that Al Gore won Florida. However, the news station known as Fox News believed that George W. Bush won Florida. Once Fox News announced that all information, the other news station followed.

The man who was running Fox news station at that time had a close relationship with George W. Bush. He could determine what he wanted to be said on the news station. Technically, he determined the outcome of the election. No one actually knows who won the presidential election of 2000. I have a problem with the fact that the other news stations followed what Fox news said.

Even though Fox is a major news station the other news stations should not have gone along with what they said. A major news station that could have been followed would be ABC News. In my opinion, the most accurate political news station would be CNN. Ninety-five percent of the segments that are shown on CNN are political. CNN rarely reports on anything that has to do with something other then politics.

Convictions (part 2)

There are many superstitions that people believe in. Some of these superstitions reflect bad luck and some good luck. Superstitions such as: walking under a ladder, a black cat walking in front of you, breaking a mirror, splitting a pole, and Friday the 13th is supposedly bad luck . Superstitions such as: a four leaf clover, a horseshoe, and a rabbit’s foot are supposedly good luck. The only superstition that I believe in is splitting a pole.

For some reason, every time I’m walking with someone and I split a pole something bad happens. One time I split a pole with my friend, and less than two minutes later my friend ended up fighting someone. In another situation I split a pole before my Algebra 2 class, and that day I received a 50% out of 100% on my Algebra 2 test. That is why whenever someone that I am walking with happens to split a pole I force then to come back and go in the right direction. To my surprise there are many people who don’t believe in splitting poles. Other people that I know intentionally split a pole just to make me angry.

Convictions (part 1)

Convictions are a part of people’s daily lives. Convictions are beliefs and/or pet-peeves that usually control people’s lives. My beliefs always control my daily life. Many people have an endless amount of convictions. I happen to one be of those people. Some of my beliefs are good and some are bad. One conviction that I have is washing my hands.

I wash my hands with every opportunity that I get. Not washing my hands is extremely nasty. I cannot stand when I ask someone if they washed their hands after using the restroom and they respond, “Oh, no I didn’t.” People don’t realize that they spread numerous germs by doing that. In addition, I strongly believe in karma. I think that if I help someone out then I will be rewarded for my actions. In addition, I believe if I harm someone then I will be equally harmed.

North Korea

Last night I was informed that North Korea discovered how to build a nuclear bomb. Supposedly they were planning on selling their technology to other nations. However, there is a slight problem. The North Koreans have to test the bomb to determine if it works. They were intending on dropping the bomb in Japan. Japan and other nations are not going to allow this to happen. President George W. Bush stated that he was not going to take any action until other countries become involved.

I think that the US soldiers should be invading North Korea, instead of Iraq and Afghanistan. President George W. Bush assumed that the Iraqis had weapons of mass destruction. President George W. Bush and the rest of the world knows for a fact that the North Koreans have a nuclear bomb! This is a reason why the United States should invade another country. Most importantly, if the North Koreans drop a bomb in Japan the world will be in chaos. The Americans primarily trade with the Japanese. If a bomb is dropped in Japan, our international market will drastically decrease.

Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:

• too much power
  
• no order amongst society
  
• bad relationship between states and federal government
  
• one vote in Congress for each state
  
• no national currency
  
• nine out of thirteen states had to approve passage of certain legislation
  
• no authority for Congress to regulate either interstate or foreign commerce

The Articles of Confederation (AOC) was a form of government that was similar to the Constitution. It was originated by the American delegates in 1777, but was acknowledged by all states in 1781. There were several weaknesses that came into effect after the AOC was created. These weaknesses were mainly economical or political. Most of these problems were not resolved.

A critical flaw was that the delegates couldn’t determine how to equally share power. The delegates thought that if they gave the central government too much power that they citizens would rebel again. However, if they gave the states too much power there would be no order amongst society. Those two statements were true, because it could have happened. The bad thing was that no one knew how to deal with it.

American Government Today

America’s government today is not the same as it was when it first began. The government seems to have a different focus now then in the past. I think that this has happened, because the government has shifted their primary focus form the people to economics. Wealth has taken on a new meaning in society today. That is why older people try to teach younger people finances at an early age.

The Amendments

Currently there are twenty-seven amendments. People must obey all of these amendments. The amendments were setup to accommodate issues that were going on in society during that time period. I think that some amendments should be revised to fit the current life style of most Americans. Amendments number two and twenty-seven are examples of amendments that I feel should be revised.

The second amendment gives an individual the right to bear arms. This allows practically anyone to own a gun. I don’t think that everyone should be allowed to carry a gun. I feel that only police officers should be able to own a gun. This should happen, because many accidents have taken place involving the use of guns. One example of this would be when the Vice President, Richard Cheney, shot another hunter. It was accidental, however it would not have occurred if they did not own guns.

Amendment number twenty-seven should be revised also. This amendment allows Congress to raise their own salaries. This is unfair, because they can raise their salaries so that each of them can receive one million dollars each. If that were to happen, tax payers taxes would increase significantly. I think that this amendment should require that there be a salary cap. If not, this amendment probably should be eradicated.

American Economics

American economics have been profitable for about three centuries. Americans have been successful because Americans have a great marketing strategy. This allows practically everyone an opportunity to become wealthy. There is a vast amount of job opportunities in America. This allows people to make money constantly. In addition, Americans make things that are primarily made in America. Then they trade with countries that make high quality items at a low price. However, once those items get to America, the prices increase greatly. An example of this would be all products made by the famous Michael Jordan.

I am impressed with the marketing strategies used by Americans, because it always has a favorable outcome for Americans. One thing that does concern me is that Americans are starting to import more than they export. America is still one of the leading economical countries. However, their primary focus does not revolve around agriculture anymore. Presently, the main source of economical exportation is entertainment. I don't fully support the idea of Ameircans concentrating on entertainment.

American Society

Years ago when people thought about American citizens they thought about George Washington, Tomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. Basically, they mainly thought about politicians. Presently, when people think about American citizens they probably think about Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, or Donald Trump. Over a period of time people have become attached to entertainers rather than politicians.

Back in the 1800's people generally thought either about politics or agriculture. Now-a-days people are more interested in entertainment rather than politics. I think this has happened, because politics have become less interesting. I think politics are less interesting, because people have shifted their focus to other things. These are things such as technology, education, and finances.

American History

Many nations have been involved with the history of the United States of America. Nations such as: Great Britain, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Japan, Russia, Iraq, etc. have all been connected with the U.S. The U.S. adopted many cultures and customs from other countries. Our U.S. politicians borrowed some political ideas from Great Britain. Other countries have monuments recognizing people who were important in the country’s history. U.S. citizens honor people who were deeply involved with the establishment of present-day America. Mount Rushmore is an example of this.

I’m not as interested in politics as other people. For example, when President George W. Bush addresses American citizens I don’t pay any attention. I only pay attention to politics when it comes to elections, and I pay close attention when they're responding to a disaster that has occurred. I am mainly interested in the laws that they create. I pay attention to that the most, because I need to abide by every law. I don’t want to go to jail for breaking a law that I wasn't aware of. That is why I’m going to start paying attention a little more to politics then I had before.

Advantages and Disadvantages during the American Revolutionary War

British Advantages

1. Larger army
2. Better fighting technique
3. Financial support
4. Native American allies

British Disadvantages:

1. Fighting technique not equipped for American wilderness
2. Slow communication
3. Shortage of supplies

American Advantages:

1. Excellent military officials
2. Desire of independence
3. Guerrilla warfare
4. Financial support from France

American Disadvantages:

1. smaller army
2. no political authority
3. 1/3 of the Americans supported the war
4. supply shortages

Both armies had advantages and disadvantages during the war. Each army had an equal opportunity to win. However, there were things that made both armies suffer. They each suffered from supply shortages. Both had incredible allies that they could rely on. Basically, I don’t understand why the Native Americans wanted to help the British in the first place.

I think that the Native Americans forgot about the French and Indian War. During the French and Indian War many Native Americans were killed by British soldiers. Now the Native Americans are allies with the army that killed their people. That makes absolutely no sense to me because the British killed their people. I would have expected the Native Americans to become allies with the Americans during the American Revolutionary War.

After the American Revolutionary War

After the American Revolutionary War numerous things started to change. Some things changed because of family relationships. Family relationships controlled most aspects of society. Usually a piece of land was past down from generation to generation between father and son. That changed after the United States expanded it’s border. In addition, the government changed. Government positions weren’t only for members of a certain family. Several people were fortunate enough to obtain positions.

Certain families were in control because of the status of their family. Families of rich decent made decisions on things because they were richer than others. This is why wealthy families controlled many things. For instance, an individual, from a wealthy family (known for a specific thing), would receive a position that they might not have been qualified for. An individual from a somewhat poor family might have been more qualified, however, they weren’t chosen because of their families status. That changed after the American Revolution, because people became more open-minded.

Major Battles

There were three major battles during the American Revolutionary War. They were: the battle of Bunker Hill, the battle of Saratoga, and the battle of Yorktown. The battle of Bunker Hill was the first battle between the colonist and the British. In addition, this battle ignited the War. The battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the war. This was because this specific battle influenced the French to help the colonist. The battle of Yorktown was the final battle. This battle ended the war, because General Cornwallis surrendered his army causing the British’s public to demand that the war come to an end.

I chose those three battles, because they were specific events that changed the relationship between the Americans and the British. Most of the fought battles ended in one side, (mainly the British), surrendering. I think that the battle of Bunker Hill was such a dreadful loss that something sparked in the Americans telling them not to lose. The battle of Saratoga and Yorktown ended in the British army surrendering. These were important battles, because the British proved that they simply couldn’t win, even with a larger army.

Patriots and Loyalist

When the British citizens arrived in North America they began separating into two groups. They were known as the patriots and the loyalist. There was a major difference between the patriots and the loyalist. The patriots were against King Edward III and almost all of the British. The loyalist kept obeying King Edward III even after they entered North America. However, I don't understand why the loyalist were loyal to King Edward III.

I believe that the loyalist should have resisted being loyal to King Edward III. King Edward III was about 1,000 miles away from North America. News from North America wouldn't reach him until a least 5 days after it happened. As a result, he couldn't restore anything quickly. They didn't have the technology we have today. President Bush can be made aware of anything that occurs in the US in a matter of minutes.

Continental Army

The Continental Army was an army containing many world nations. The army was formed to fight against Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Various nations disliked the British. The idea of creating an army was pure genius. King George III wanted to keep fighting, but the prime minister didn’t. The British signed the Treaty of Peace with the United States in the year of 1782. In reality, the real peace resulted from the Treaty of Paris which gave the United States it’s independence.

The British were basically against the world. Nations in this army included: the United States (1775-1783), France (1778-1783), Spain (1779-1783), and Holland (1779-1783). Other nations joined the army, but did not participate in the actual fighting. The Continental army helped the United States “defeat” the British. I think that if this army had not been formed, the United States may have lost the war.

British Acts

After the British won the French and Indian war the Britian's acquired all of their land and resources. The British knew that the colonist would trade the French back their old resources. Then British became greedy and didn't want the colonist to trade back resources. In addition, the British didn't want the colonist to travel further than the Appellation Mountains. If they did they would not have been able to control them.

In order to this the British created the Proclamation of 1763. This stated that the colonist could not expand any boundaries westward. In addition, the British created the tea tax and the Intolerable Acts. The tea tax made the prices higher to purchase tea. Luckily a lot of colonist didn't even buy the tea. This was a key sign of rebellion. This caused the tea prices to steadily decrease. The Intolerable Acts caused the colonist to say, "Enough is enough". The colonist refused to listen to the British anymore. This rebellion allowed the colonist to have their freedom form the British.

The ACTS

British created 13 Acts for the American colonies. The British created this over a course of one hundred and six years (106). Most of the following Acts lead up to the American Revolution. The acts were:

1. The Naviagation Act-1660
2. The Wool Act 1699
3. The Hat Act-1732
4. The Molasses Act-1733
5. The Iron Act-1750
6. The Sugar Act-1764
7. The Currency Act-1764
8. The Quartering Act-1765
9. The Stamp Act-1765
10. The Declaratory Act-1766
11. The Towenshend Act-1767
12. The Tea Tax-1772
13. The Intolerable Act-1774

The Navigation Act prevented the colonists from trading outside of the British boundaries. I thought that this was a good idea, because there were a lot of new discoveries in North America that Britan wanted to keep to themselves. The Wool/Hat/Iron Acts were all in regard to the Navigation Act. All the british did was keep the Colonist trade within the British boundaries. In addition, the Molasses Act was connected to the Navigation Act

The Sugar Act and the Quartering Act both rvolve around food. I didn't think that it was a good idea for the British to control the amount of sugar that people could import and use. They were puting a limit on much people can eat. I personally don't think that there is a limit on eating. I don't think that everyone got a chance to buy sugar. The colonist didn't receive money all at the same time. Some colonist didn't have money, because the Gentry didn't buy anything from them. The quartering act was a good idea, because if some soldiers ran out of supplies then they could reload at the nearest town. The Currency Act and the Stamp Act were both extremely good acts in my opinion. These two things proved that a person has paid his or her taxes. This prevented people who were pretending that they paid their taxes to actually pay them.

The Declartory Act allowed Britain to tax the colonist on whatever they wanted to tax them on. This seemed unfair to me because I don't think there should be a tax on every little thing. Certain shouldn't be taxed in a time of need. For example: in present day if someone was about to loose their home the water should stay on, because without water people will die. These companies are voluntrily killing people over a couple hundred dollars. No matter what the situation a price can not be put life. The Intolerable Act was the right name for this act, because of this act is a reason why the American Revolution the the colonist independence.

All of the Acts had the do with the colonist economy. I think what really allowed the colonist to gain their idependence from Britain was their desire for wealth. The colonist were greedy and wanted to get wealthy. They saw North America as a giant gold mine. North America had new natural resources that had never been exposed to the world before. Then once they realized how wealthy they could get from everything here they decided that enough was enough. They knew that the rest of the world would pay for the resources in North America and wanted to expand their economic boundaries even further the the French and Spanish.

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Gentry or everyone else

I think that the Gentry should be able to control some stuff in the common people's (cp) daily life, but not everything. I don't think that the Gentry should control the cp's social life. That is not fair that they can pick and choose who marries who. Those people might not love each other, let alone like each other. The cp should have been able to decide for themselves who they wanted to marry.

In addition, more people should have been able to become a member of the gentry. I understand what Mr. Brush was saying that if that happenend then there would have been a middle class and not all of this would have occurred. However, even today there are cp. That depend on middle/high class people to support their occupation. Either way there is always going to be someone top and someone on the bottom.

Iraq

I was told that the soldier's were there to discover if there were weapons of mass destruction. To my knowledge the soldiers have not found any. Still President Bush wants the soldiers to stay in Iraq. There isn't a purpose for being over there. What was thought to be over there was not there at all. I have heard rumors about President Bush keeping them there so that America can receive a large amount of oil. I am not sure if this is correct or not.

I think the US soldiers should not be in Iraq. Once President Bush discovered that he should have brought the troops home right way. Because of him more and more soldiers are dying each day for being somewhere that they shouldn't. Bush allowing the troops to stay makes one less male or female (predominately male) are dying. This makes one less father or mother to someone. Everyone should be able to grow with both parents. Instead of knowing that one of them died fighting for something that doesn't need to be fought