Letters of WWI and WWII

1. Who you are and how did you decide?

A woman at work in America. I decided this because we have learned a lot about soldiers in war. It was definitely tough and many were probably tired. For me, being a soldier looked like something I would be so I took the opposite role. During this time, there was this huge switch from a housewife to a employee. Back then, I'm sure that was an abrupt change for most women. I thought it would be interesting to research about that change because women are being brought into a completely new environment. I know I would be confused, it's like starting a new educational level. There was a bit of a shock when I had to move from Middle School to High School. It's also interesting to know how women were treated even though they were doing a majority of the behind-the-scenes work while men were away.

2. Research! Including specific links and the major topics, people, & info in your letter.
Links are in sources.
- Women were a bit patriotic
- War heavily relied on women
- Women were busy with a lot more duties
- Jobs included: Medical, clerical, and manual labor

3. An overview of the tone & ideas of your letter.
Tone:
- Exhausted. A bit bombarded with home and work at the same time.
- Worried that her husband is fighting a dangerous war
- Dependent on her kids to be independent (A bit unsure)
Ideas:
- Eager about the war (Use flashback and say it was great but then it progressed to being hard work,)

4. Sources:

Different women in World War One: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/women-in-world-war-one.html
Names and stories of different women: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWwomen.htm

Info about working women during WWI: http://www.warandgender.com/wgwomwwi.htm
Letters to a woman: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rstaley/wwlettr1.htm
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/personal/large/ww1_letters/ww1_letters.htm

Blog #15

* Technology (like nuclear energy)

I think technology was interesting because it leads to a lot of other topics. I mean, not technology individually, but many things relating to it. For example, I liked the whole rational theory that since we have good technology and dangerous bombs, rational people wouldn't attack us. It sort of shows how important technology is. If we had bad weapons that weren't very intimidating, I suppose the method we're using now wouldn't work because there would be no leverage. Some of the things I know now was that the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was the first use of nuclear weapons. It wiped out like... 150 thousand people and left thousands more with radiation poisoning. It's amazing how something with that much destructive power actually exists.

Some things I would like to learn about technology is how is turned on the creator or the user. For example, I remember learning about Chlorine Gas used in the war, but sometimes, if the wind was towards the allied side, the people who let loose the gas would be the ones inflicted. I'm more interested in how these weapons are set up and what circumstances they must be in to be affective. What sort of weather? What kind of task are they best used for? Things like that, I think, would be interesting to now on a case by case basis.

Blog #14

1. What are the most interesting aspects of World Wars 1 and 2?
Haha, actually, one of the most interesting aspects of World War I that I remembered was how Franz Ferdinand died. The people who killed him were a bunch of newbies and amateurs. I find it interesting how they still managed to kill him even with all their slip-ups and mistakes. I also find it interesting how The Netherlands managed to stay neutral during World War I. They were in a great deal of action and they still remained neutral. It was unfortunate that they chose to participate in World War II.

This is just a personal observation, but I find it interesting and almost sad at how people were mostly used as test subjects. For example, when war planes were sent out to shoot targets, sometimes the mechanisms would be hard to navigate and make the success rate of a hit go down. In a way, human beings tested the effectiveness of a prototype plane in battle. They talked about aerial battle like it was common to find mistakes back then, mistakes that costed people their lives. One of the quotes I found describing the whole aerial battles was, "You were either an ace or a target. "

2. What do you hope to learn about these wars?
I hope to learn the reasoning behind wars. I mean, killing mass amounts of people is a pretty drastic measure. Killing one person seems like a last resort, but it sounds like people these days are mostly worried about how to kill people as a last resort. Shooting them seems first nature and now bombing seems to be question. I find it difficult to grasp the thought that people have to use that much force for what they want.

3. How/Why are these wars important today? How do they impact and/or inform our world today? Hint: Think about alliances, democracies around the world, cultures, international institutions, nuclear (and other) technologies, etc.

Wars are important today because of their impact. First of all, they impact lives. The casualty numbers keep going up. It's a number that never goes down. For all of those people who don't make it out fo the warzone, they have families. The death of a loved one is obviously something that would impact the lives of their family.

Technology also advances and brings forth new ideas and new tools to work with. This can work both positively and negatively. A good example of an advance would be tanks. Before, they were heavy, slow, and sank into soft ground. Due to the war, improvements were needed. With more investigation about tanks, they became more effective, faster, and overall useful on the battlefield.

Citations:

"www.funtrivia.com/en/History/World-War-I-779.html"

"First World War.com - Weapons of War." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. "http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/"

"11 Interesting Facts: World War II | Socyberty."Socyberty | Society on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. "http://socyberty.com/history/11-interesting-facts-world-war-ii/"