Korean War Memorial

http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/be6a9829-d002-4e92-8df9-3f917d157d62.jpg

That is a picture of the Korean War Memorial in Overland Park, Kansas.  I have visited it multiple times and I would suggest anyone from the local area to check it out.  A lot of people from the war are still alive today, including my grandfather, Richard Morris.  He fought in this conflict at the young age of 19.  Not a lot of people recognize the Korean War as a major war for the USA because it is officially a police action.  However many people still died and it affected the lives of many Americans.

As was stated in class, America felt that it was our duty to stop the spread of Communism.  We did that in the Koreas and South Korea is still thankful today.  This memorial commemorates the veterans of the Korean War and it is free to enter.  It is very beautiful and it also thanks Kansans in particular.  It has a list of the Medal of Honor winning Kansans.

This memorial shows that the Korean War is indeed important and should be held in a high regard.  Going into it I knew quite a bit about the War from my grandpa and after leaving it gave me an even greater appreciation for our veterans.  Any time you can visit and honor people that have given their lives for us is a huge emotion swing.  This is one of the few memorials to the Korean War in comparison to the amounts of memorials for other wars in our countries history.

Taylor Curry

The above link is to a photo of the memorial.

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2TB0. Dec 1, 2009.

I-70

“Kansas Turnpike”

First in Kansas, Kansas was the first state to have completed its interstate highway running west to Topeka on November 14, 1956. This first piece of completed highway was a tremendous accomplishment to the state and the nation.  The highway represented more than opening up the nation, it represented the will and power we had as a nation to pull together to insure our way of life.  The highway stretched from Kansas City to Topeka as the initial part of the plan, it was not till 1970 was the entirety of the highway completed making it one of the largest interstates ever built by any state.  During this time: Kansas, Missouri, and Pennsylvania were the only other states with multiple lanes on their interstate.   The average cost to build the interstate was about 420,000 dollars per mile, using different material throughout the project.  Completing interstate I-70 was not just an accomplishment to the state but an accomplishment to the nation, knowing that the power of our great nation.

http://www.ksdot.org/interstate50th/KsStory_I70.asp

John J. Ingalls

John James Ingalls (1833 – 1900)

John Ingalls is a well known Kansan who greatly contributed to Kansas history through his political involvement and personal writings. Though Ingalls did not grow up in Kansas, he adopted Kansas as his home. Ingalls was born in Massachusetts in 1833. He moved to Kansas in the 1850s to practice law. Upon arriving, he helped found the town of Sumner in 1858. He soon joined in the local politics holding various offices throughout the years. He was elected to the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention in 1859. It was at that convention that the constitution to which Kansas operates today was drafted. He served as the Secretary of State Senate beginning in 1861 and in 1873 he was elected into the Senate. He served 18 years in the Senate representing Kansas.

During his early years in Kansas politics he helped to establish our state symbols we have all learned to recognize. Ad Astra Per Aspera – “To The Stars through Difficulties”, our State motto refers to the hard times that Kansas endured before joining the Union. These words were a fitting summary of how Kansas overcame so much to get where it is today. This motto was officially adopted May 22, 1861. John Ingalls was most accredited for the use of the motto.

John Ingalls also helped design the state’s seal. Though the design was changed considerably before it was adopted, it was his original idea of the rising star that remained prominent. Ingalls idea of the rising star was to symbolize Kansas joining the Union after a stormy struggle. Ingalls helped construct these key state symbols by looking to Kansas history as not to forget where we came from.

Ingalls legislative interests included opposition to women’s suffrage and support of African American civil rights. He believed that money should not benefit a select few but rather that the working class should benefit from their hard work as well. Ingalls wrote that Kansas “has been the testing ground for every experiment in morals, politics, and social life…every political fallacy nurtured by misfortune, poverty, and failure… has here found tolerance and advocacy…something startling has always happened, or has been constantly anticipated.’”. (KSHS) Ingalls recognized Kansas’ potential to be a great state. He believed in Kansas from the moment he arrived. That belief drove him to make great contributions in the beginning of our state’s history and pave the way for the future of Kansas.

Growing up I learned the state mottos and seals, but I had never heard about the history behind them or the meaning that each state had in their designs. I found it really interesting to see how Ingalls used Kansas history to pave the way for the future.

Sources:

Kansas Historical Society. Ingalls Papers. November 30, 2009 http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/personalpapers/findingaids/ingalls_john.htm
Kansas Historical Society. John James Ingalls: A Kansas Portrait. November 30, 2009 http://www.kshs.org/portraits/ingalls_john.htm
Netstate: Kansas State Motto. November 30, 2009

http://www.netstate.com/states/mottoes/ks_motto.htm

          During our lecture on Tuesday we learned a little bit about the flooding of the Kansas River in 1951. I was interested in this event so I thought I would research this historical event a little further. As many native Kansans know, we are usually worried about the drought during the summer months; however, in the year of 1951 Kansans were faced with the opposite. Kansas received a record amount of rainfall. By May 1951, Kansas and Missouri had received a 200 percent increase in the average rainfall. The city of Hays, Kansas was damaged greatly due to this large amount of rainfall. Six people were killed and every basement in town was flooded. For Hays, 1951 was the wettest month ever recorded even to this day. Heavy rains reached their peak July 9th through the 12th. Some reports stated that the rainfall reached 17-19 inches unofficially. These large storms soon moved into eastern Kansas bringing the powerful rainfall with them. For some eastern Kansas towns the rain total reached 30 inches. In total, 1,074,00 acres of land were flooded in Kansas. It was reported in Manhattan that some water stood eight feet deep in the business district. The city of Topeka knew they were going to face this rush of rainfall as well and evacuated 24,000 people. The rush of water also hit Lawrence where today many businesses still show watermarks. The Kansas River crested at 18 feet above the flood stage in Bonner Springs, Kansas on July 13, 1951. The flood damages in Kansas City were estimated to be $425 million. The flood was said to have displaced half a million people during the three month rampage. Twenty-eight deaths were linked to the flood directly.

          I have lived in Kansas my entire life and not once did I learn about this historical even during any of my previous history classes. I am very intrigued by natural disasters and with Kansas being in the middle of Tornado Alley there are usually other events that follow tornadoes. I would be interested to see if this flood was a result of another natural disaster or if it happened on its own.

Sources:
“NOAA News Online (Story 678).” NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
     Ed. Patrick Slattery. Web. 01 Dec. 2009.

Extra Credit

 

 

 

 

 

 

I visited the Dwight Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas over break, it was a wonderful experience.  I am a native Kansan so I have a lot of respect for him and I had never been to Abilene so I thought this would be a great time to learn a lot about Ike.  He is the only president that is from the great state of Kansas and his home and library provided a lot of information, some of which I will pass on in this blog.

The museum has a lot of things from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  There is an awesome exhibit up right now at the museum that goes into detail about his upbringing and how he made it to where he got.  He was not born in Abilene but he moved there in 1892.  He excelled in sports and learned a lot that would help him later in his life.  He is one of, if not the most famous person that calls Abilene, Kansas home.  A well-known quote from Eisenhower is this “The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene.”  That is a big deal to a small Kansas town that raised a wonderful American soldier and President.

After leaving for West Point Ike was not in Abilene for extended periods of time, but he still claims Abilene as home. He graduated from West Point in 1915. From there he travelled the world as a military man.  Many people saw a bright future for him in the military and it seems as though if there was ever a major problem to be dealt with Eisenhower was called upon.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor Ike was put in charge of the War in the Pacific.  From there he would lead many men and end up as an American hero.

During his presidency the USA made many advances in space and in the world.  Among other things Ike ended the Korean war during his time as president.  My time in Abilene was very fun and interesting.  The museum and library were both gorgeous and factual.  It has made me respect President Eisenhower even more, if any of you get the chance to go to Abilene I would definitely suggest it.

 

Taylor Curry

 

Extra Credit

Walk of Honor

Museum

View from the Tower

On Sunday I visited the WW1 museum located in Kansas City, Missouri. Until our class, I never knew the museum was in Kansas City. I really enjoyed my trip and have already told a bunch of friends about how they should visit. The museum had very moving displays and was very educational. Growing up I was surrounded by the military as my dad is an officer in the Army. I have always loved going to museums and learning about different periods of the military. I always find myself comparing/reflecting on situations of the military today to times then… For example relating what my family has experienced having my dad gone in Saudi and Iraq and what families back then experienced etc.

The museum is located at Liberty Memorial. Upon driving up to the museum you view the beautiful observation tower that is 217 feet high (From the top you have a view of the entire city) and the Sphinxes. As you walk to the entrance there is a walk of honor that has inscribed bricks laid in memory of soldiers. The main building of the museum takes you through the timeline of the war starting with the European aspects of the war (1914-1917) then moving onto the United States joining the Great War (1917-1919). There is a wide variety of displays of WW1 memorabilia, from giant weapons and uniforms to postcards and pictures. Each display helps you understand the progression of the war as well as the impact it had on the soldiers and families affected. Memory Hall holds maps, murals and a dedication wall that displays 441 Kansas City citizens who died in World War I. There is also an Exhibit Hall that displays flags from the allied countries and murals.

The museum had a display about hunger worldwide. There was a letter quoted that stated that “flour is not to be bought” and that there was a “weak harvest”. As I was reading the food crisis the European countries were facing it brought to mind our class discussion about how Kansans helped to provide food especially wheat to the troops and families in need overseas. It was very moving to see the images of families starving and struggling and think how Kansans touched those families’ lives.

As you walk into the museum was my favorite part, the Paul Sunderland Bridge. As you walk over this class floor, underneath is a field of 9,000 poppies, each one representing 1,000 combatant deaths during WW1 for a total of nine million. As you look at this pretty display, you can’t help but think of how each little flower is representing such a huge amount of deaths. The lives that were sacrificed during the War are more than you can even fathom and that display helped to realize that.

Georgia Neese Clark Gray

In class we have started talking about Women and Women’s rights.  Well I happened to find a certain Kansas woman who made it big and had a few firsts in her day.  Mrs.  Gray was born in Richland, Kansas at the end of the 19th century and she attended washburn college.  She worked for her father’s back and after his death she took over as president.  This was a very big deal to have a women in charge of a State Bank.  She decided to get into politics after taking over the Bank.  She was a part of the Democratic Party and she was elected the National Committee Woman in Kansas in 1936.  She held that post until 1964!!!!

She was an early and obvious supporter of Harry Truman, who is from the midwest as well ( I will not say which state).  That friendship with Truman got her ticket to become the FIRST female Treasurer of the United States.  That is an incredible accomplishment for a woman in the mid 1900′s.  While many advancements had been made by that time, it was still obviously uncommon for a female to hold such a high post.  She led the way for many women to become leaders, now there are multiple women that are in high in politics.  Without her being the first and going through everything she went through it may have taken longer to get women involved.

Mrs. Gray was someone that I had never heard of until I was researching about famous women, and I think she should be recognized for her accomplishments.  Hopefully you guys did not know much about her and gained a new found respect for her.

http://www.kshs.org/portraits/gray_georgia.htm

 

Taylor Cury

Susan B. Anthony

Life has many different aspects that come out of it; one of the most prevalent aspects in modern history is the suffrage for women’s rights.  Women’s rights movement started back in the late 1850’s, a very slow and pain staking ordeal.  One of the most influential women of her time, Susan B. Anthony, was a leading activist for women’s rights.

Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts on February, 15 1820 to a Quaker family. Her family believed that men and women deserved the same rights on education, jobs, and community.  Susan was sent to a private Quaker school for a secondary education with her two brothers.  After she completed her education she sought after helping reform the American Rights for Women.

In1848, Susan B. Anthony, was in New York giving her speech on Women’s Rights at the Second Women’s Rights Convention.  This speech helped pave the way for a reform of women’s rights. Her life was dedicated to the helping women achieve equal rights and opportunities.  She established National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869; here she worked with other women trying to establish equal rights for women across the board.  From 1869-1902 Susan B. Anthony, worked on many platforms that enabled her to create equal opportunities for women across the nation.  Woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, a quote by Susan showing that everything in life is there for the taking. Women should not depend on their partners to ensure their safety, but should rely on themselves for their own doing.

Susan B. Anthony died in March 13, 1906 in Rochester, New York. She died fourteen years before the 19^th amendment was passed, allowing women the right to vote. She is contributed with pushing women’s rights to the front of society thoughts and needs, insuring that all women have the same opportunity in life as her.  With the countless number of speeches, books, meetings, clubs that she established, Susan B. Anthony, achieved what she wanted, equal rights for women.  The impact that Susan B. Anthony had on today’s culture is immense. The struggle and persistence she put forth allowed for future generations of women equal opportunity.

 

“Susan Brownell Anthony.” Women in History. Lakewood Public Library, 09 Mar. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

The Temperance Movement

In this week’s readings, we are discussing the Temperance Movement or the abstention of alcohol. This movement became popular in the early nineteenth century. It started out as a source of religion seeing the consumption of alcohol as being sinful. Many preachers went as far as to call out people of their sinful doings and to make them a source of mockery from other worshipers. “People who drank, they claimed, lost their faith in God and ceased to observe the teachings of Jesus.” But not only had the religious seen alcohol as a source of bad or evil. Many people saw the obstructive things that alcohol did to people, as a source of evil and bad things were bound to happen to those who drank. “According to these activists, the consumption of alcohol was responsible for many personal and societal problems, including unemployment, absenteeism in the workplace, and physical violence.” Alcoholics were usually associated as being abusive towards their families and harmful to the nation in general. But was everyone who consumed alcohol necessarily an “alcoholic?”
At this time during the 19th century, the rate of alcohol consumption was steadily rising. Most of the activists had all good intentions in mind when they were publicly raising concern about alcohol consumption. They wanted to make sure the public safety was at the forefront of people’s minds. The reformers saw the banishment of alcohol not as a punishment for those who chose to consume it, but instead as a necessity for the safety of others. Reformers ran into a problem when there was a rift among them. They had trouble getting everybody to agree on one issue. Ban alcohol in general? Or just hard alcohol? Even though at first reformers couldn’t get things together, they did manage to make some legislative movements. Maine was the first state to enact a law prohibiting liquor consumption. Twelve other states followed, but the law ended up being hard to enforce and soon it was no longer in affect.
Many say that alcohol consumption is once again becoming a large problem in society today. Would the prohibiting of liquor do any good to help or solve this problem? I would have to say no, because just like in the early nineteenth century, although the law was enforced, people still consumed alcohol. In today’s society if you tell someone they can’t do something, they are just going to try harder to do it. Although alcohol is starting to become a larger problem than ever, I am not quite sure what the solution to that problem may be.

Kelsey Hill

http://law.jrank.org/pages/10714/Temperance-Movement.html

Kate Richards O’Hare

On Tuesday in class, Kate Richards O’Hare was mentioned as being the first women to run for senate seat. Although she did not win a senate seat, she did make an incredible impact for the Socialist party and is known as the “First Lady of American Socialism”.
Kate was born in Ada, Kansas in 1877, and learned at a young age what it was to suffer. Her family suffered a drought in 1887 and they were forced to leave their family farm because of increasing debt. She witnessed at an early age what poverty can do to an individual. She described the memory of that cold of winter that year, the poverty and want of the men as something that “can never be erased, never grow less bitter”. (O’Hare) Eventually her father opened a machine shop. When Kate was eighteen, she worked as an apprentice machinist. It was through this job that Kate learned the joy of working at something you love as well as witnessed more suffering of workers within the factory.
In her essay How I Became a Socialist Agitator, Kate wrote “Dimly I began to realize that if we would win we must fight the cause and not the effects, and since poverty was the fundamental cause of the things I abhorred, I began to study poverty, its whys and wherefores, and to try to understand why there should be so much want in such a world of plenty.” (O’Hare) This quote explains exactly what Kate Richards O’Hare set out to do and what led her to join the Socialist Labor Party which later turned into the Socialist Party of America.
As the United States entered into the First World War, Kate began to speak out against it the US’s participation in the war. She traveled around giving passionate speeches against the war. After the Espionage Act of 1917 was passed, Kate was arrested for violating it and sentenced to five years in prison. (She was pardoned in 1920, after only serving 3 years of her sentence) After her release, her focus shifted to prison reform and labor education.
Ms O’Hare is an individual that made a difference in the history of our nation. She studied and addressed tough issues within the society that most politicians did not want to uncover. She laid a foundation of progress for the women of her time. Her passion and dedication to what she believed in can be inspiration to all of us to stand firm for what we believe, no matter what the cost.

Sources:
History Matters. Kate Richards O’Hare’s Life as a Socialist Party Organizer. October 29, 2009 http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/43/
Kansas Historic Society. Kate Richards O’Hare. The First Lady of Socialism. 2009. October 29, 2009 <http://www.kshs.org/teachers/read_kansas/pdfs/m30card04.pdf