Women in Combat

Much has changed since World War I. During WWI, African Americans were assigned to segregated units and women could not serve. Today the Armed Forces are integrated and women can serve, however women are still prevented from serving in certain direct combat positions. Your debate topic: Is this policy outdated? Read the articles below and take a stand. Post by Tuesday, October 12th for full credit.
Check out the following sites:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/us/16women.html
http://www.cdi.org/issues/women/combat.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14960494

Puerto Rican Independence

Puerto Rico statehood plebiscites

Since the United States gained possession of Puerto Rico after the defeat of the Spanish in the Spanish-American War, Puerto Ricans have had different movements for statehood or independence. Those movements have resulted in three plebiscites on the political status of the island.

Puerto Rico is a self-governing and incorporated commonwealth state of the United States. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were given U.S. citizenship but were not allowed to participate in government. In 1922, the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was established to support independence and to that end, instigated uprisings in 1930 and 1950. In 1947, international anti-colonial pressure helped gain Puerto Ricans the right to elect their own governor. In 1950, Congress passed an act to make Puerto Rico a commonwealth, and in 1952, Puerto Rico adopted its own constitution. Puerto Rico then formally became the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with the status of a free associate state.

During the 1960s, agitation for independence in Puerto Rico increased, and the first status plebiscite was held in 1967. Commonwealth status received 60.4% of the vote, statehood received 39%, and independence received 0.6%. During the 1970s and 1980s, support for statehood grew, and another plebiscite was held. On November 14, 1993, Puerto Ricans voted for the retention of commonwealth status as a free associate state with 48.6% of the vote; statehood received 46.3%, and independence received 4.4%. On December 14, 1994 and again on January 23, 1997, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico petitioned Congress to sponsor a referendum on the future political status of Puerto Rico under the U.S. Constitution (1787). In February 1998, President Bill Clinton openly supported another plebiscite for Puerto Rico.

On March 4, 1998, the House of Representatives approved the United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act, which sponsored a referendum on Puerto Rico's political status. The legislation was approved by a one-vote margin, and a requirement to make English the official language of Puerto Rico was defeated by Republicans. On September 17, 1998, the Senate passed a resolution that supported self-determination for Puerto Rico and confirmed congressional authority to decide Puerto Rico's status. Both President Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich supported the referendum.

On December 13, 1998, Puerto Rico was able to hold a status vote under local election laws. However, the 1998 plebiscite was different from the votes of 1967 and 1993. The Popular Democratic Party, which traditionally supported commonwealth status, disagreed with the definition of commonwealth on the ballot and supported an alternative definition that was rejected by the House Committee on Resources. The Popular Democratic Party then called for its members to vote for "none of the above," which was added to the ballot; it received 50.3% of the vote, while statehood received 46.5%, independence received 2.5%, free association received 0.3%, and "territorial" commonwealth received 0.1% of the votes cast.

The results were more confusing than helpful, and it was agreed that future plebiscites were needed to ascertain the meaning of the 1998 vote. Puerto Rico will hold a status plebiscite every 10 years until independence or statehood wins a majority.

Today, Puerto Rico retains its commonwealth status, which gives the local government authority to maintain order under its own constitution. However, U.S. laws prevail, and Congress has the ultimate authority over Puerto Rico. That status defers foreign policy, defense, and financial matters to the U.S. government. Puerto Ricans have U.S. citizenship, use U.S. currency, and are free to travel in and out of the United States.


"Puerto Rico statehood plebiscites." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 19 Sept.

2010.

Check out the following sites and answer this question, Should Puerto Rico become a state? Yes or no? (no maybes) Refer to at least one document and agree/disagree with your classmates. Post for full credit by Saturday 9-25.

Check out:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,591683,00.html

http://www.essortment.com/all/puertoricansta_rdla.htm

http://www.prstatehood.com/home/index.asp

9-11 Portraits of Grief

Go to the link below and read several portraits and comment on something you found memorable. Do not repeat persons viewed/commented on by previous students. For full credit post by Monday June 7.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/newyorkandregion/series/portraits_of_grief/index.html

Roe v. Wade

What's in a name? How would you identify your position on the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion? Would you classify yourself as Pro-Choice, Pro-Abortion, Pro-Life or Anti-Abortion and why? Plese be respectful of others' opinions. Class 7 Post by Monday 5-17 for full credit. Class 3 by Tuesday 5-18 for full credit.

Birth control in schools

Should students be able to obtain birth control (e.g. condoms)at the nurse's office in a [public] high school? Why or why not? Read the article at the site below to assist you in your post.
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/03/5/gr030505.html

Class 7 Post by Thursday 9am (5-13 for full credit)
Class 3 Post by Friday 7:35am (5-14 for full credit)

Censorship during war

Censorship!

Myron Fox is vice president of the Military Postal History Society , a group that studies the mail that is sent to and from soldiers. He is an expert on United States military and civilian censorship in World War I and World War II. In this interview, he describes how wartime letters were censored.

When were the first soldiers' letters censored in the United States?
We do not believe it was done in an overt manner before the Civil War. It might be that most of the troops before then were illiterate and officers were largely trusted, so they didn't bother.

There was some censoring in the Civil War because letters sometimes had to cross enemy lines. Most of the censoring comes from the prisoner-of-war camps. For example, if someone was writing a letter from Andersonville [a Confederate prison camp where many Union soldiers starved] those at the camp didn't want people to know what was happening, so the prisoners wouldn't be allowed to say anything bad about a camp. The first heavy censorship of U.S. soldiers took place during World War I.

What were the censors looking for?
The censors were looking out for two things in World War I and World War II. They didn't want the soldier to say anything that would be of value to the enemy, such as where they were. They always wanted to camouflage how strong the troops were. "Loose lips sink ships" was the phrase that was very prevalent in WW II and that was the theory in WW I as well.

Officers also were looking to see any weakening of desire among the troops. It's very important in wartime for officers to know about morale issues.

Were the letters ever censored for moral reasons?
One of our researchers recently found over 500 confiscated and condemned letters at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. They included letters that used graphic language dealing with sex. Our member also found that in some cases the same writer would keep having his letters confiscated and apparently didn't get the message. These letters were never delivered and apparently the sender was never sent a notice of the offense.

Were other types of letters confiscated?
Letters that were sent in foreign languages were also intercepted. Many members of the armed forces were immigrants or the children of immigrants and they were more comfortable communicating home in their native language. A letter written in Polish or Italian usually wasn't delivered because the typical censor didn't know what it said.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/warletters/sfeature/sf_censorship.html

To respond:
What types of censorship during times of war would you agree to and what types would you disagree with? Respond to previous posts. Post by Sunday May 2, 2010 for full credit.

Depression Photo Narratives

What struck you most from your research of the Great Depression in the United States and which of your classmates' presentations made the biggest impression on you? You are encouraged to ask questions of your classmates and check back for additional questions. Final posts complete by Thursday, April 15 for full credit.