Great White Fleet Day 2

Today I found some great templates for my postcard. For example, I found a picture of the crew jumping off the bow into the water in the Red Sea. It shows the story of the Great White Fleet from the crews perspective and how they joined to go on adventure. I also found the path of the Great White Fleet around the world and where they went. http://www.greatwhitefleet.info/

Great White Fleet

There was no lack of fun on the USS Connecticut as they received their own kangaroo from the city of Sydney, Australia. http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=4&hid=11&sid=09085775-285f-4997-83f5-64d06ba60744%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=khh&AN=27523189
When in Egypt, there was an earthquake in Sicily, thus giving the USA a chance to help them out and spread good will to the world. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq42-1.htm
Parties were no small occasion as the arrival of 12 ships brought a 2 mile party into Seattle. http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=4&hid=18&sid=09085775-285f-4997-83f5-64d06ba60744%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=nfh&AN=2W62W61038004795

Theodore Roosevelt and College Football

One of America’s favorite pastimes, college football, became a very controversial sport in the early 1900’s and was being considered to be too dangerous to be played. College football was in serious talk of being discontinued and faced much criticism over player safety. A big supporter of college football (especially Harvard), Theodore Roosevelt wanted football to continue being played at Harvard. Roosevelt went behind the scenes to bring reform to the sport and ensure its continuation. Theodore Roosevelt is considered as a savior of college football and annually the NCAA gives the “Theodore Roosevelt Award” to a collegiate athlete and a distinguished citizen in the community. Former winners include Dwight D. Eisenhower, Arnold Palmer, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Cosby.

           

            Roosevelt decided that the “carnage” of college football around the turn of the century needed to be changed so he met with representative from Northeastern schools at the White House and address the issue. At least twenty schools at this time were considering dropping the sport all together until Roosevelt felt that reformation was crucial for the survival of the sport. In 1905, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was created, an ancestor to the NCAA, to group the teams together under a higher government with new rules unlike the former running of the sport when students ran the team and collected the tickets for the game. The IAAUS worked to eliminate the bad reputation of the sport and make it safe for athletes to play.

            Many new rules were established to make football safer and different from rugby. In 1906, the first forward pass was thrown and was a twenty yard toss. Although this revolutionary concept was used, there were still many critics who thought the forward pass wasn’t manly enough. By 1912, the six-point touchdown was created, instead of five. Next, the field goal was decreased to three points instead of two, which is still true today. President Roosevelt’s need for reform of college football impacted the game dramatically making it the game we know today.

            The impact of Roosevelt’s change on college football still exists today and will be present of years to come. The former “grudge match” between the teams, where punching and kicking was accepted, no longer seemed to exist in the sport. With the reforms, new found popularity came too as new stadiums were being built and the sport gained nationwide acceptance. If it were not for Roosevelt’s love of the game, it is possible that college and professional football might cease to exist.

            With the reforms came rules that are still used today, like the line of scrimmage and the ten-yard first down. Theodore Roosevelt's impact on football is omnipresent for almost every rule on the field and changed the game from rugby to what we now know as football. Some actually say that his deep concern for safety came from his concern for his son, who was a freshman on the football team at Harvard, but we will never know the real reason. In my opinion, Teddy Roosevelt is the savior of college football.

Bibliography 

http://www.ajc.com/sports/theodore-roosevelt-college-footballs-602137.html

http://en.wikipedia.orghttp://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/how-theodore-roosevelt-changed-football_593503.html/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt_Award_(NCAA)

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27551467?seq=2

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/RV-AE185_FOOTBA_G_20110909030118.jpg

Project Progress Report

I am currently researching the history of the NCAA and the means for its creation. I have learned that players were being severely injured and sometimes killed during practices before the NCAA was created and that Theodore Roosevelt was one supporter of college football reformation.

Industrial Supremacy - Question #1

What were the methods Labor used to fight back against working conditions?
Labor attempted to fight back against such conditions by adopting some of the same tactics their employers had used so effectively: creating large combinations, or unions.

Nation of Immigrants

At one point in American history, 25% of the US citizens were born in a different country. This shows the impact of immigration on America. Many people risked their lives to escape poverty or government persecution to make a living in a foreign country. They must have been very brave to travel to a different world sometimes by themselves to live the American dream. With all the different cultures that infused into America, it really created a mosh pit of American culture which anyone can feel welcomed into. I do not really know a lot about my older ancestors but I know for many generations on my mom's side that we have lived in Alabama, mostly on farms. My dad has moved around a lot but came from Germany.

Faces of America

The film, Faces of America, showed many celebrities learning about their ancestors who immigrated to America. It showed people like Dr. Oz, Eva Longoria, Stephan Colbert, and other celebrities getting introduced to their ancenstors who made it possible for them to succeed in life. It showed us that even the most American people all came from a different country at one point in time.

I believe people will take away from this video that everyone has an equal chance to succeed in America and the American dream is not a false advertisement, but is true in every sense. These celebrities, who American citizens idolize for their American lifestyle did too once come from another country, like Stephen Colbert, whose ancestors originated from Ireland.