Renewing Our National Parks

http://www.npca.org/about-us/2016film/

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office, he kept throwing out new ideas trying to see what would help the citizens of the US get back on track during the Great Depression. One of Roosevelt's ideas was to create a public works program called the CCC. The CCC was the Civilian Conservation Corps that operated from 1933-1942 in the US and it provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. The men who worked for the CCC were unemployed or unmarried men from relief families that were 18-25 years old. FDR created the CCC because it was designed to provide employment for young men in relief families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression while at the same time implementing a natural resource conservation program in every state and territory. As soon as men were hired, the CCC started to make the country a better place for the environment and its people. The CCC worked on projects that dealt with structural improvements, transportation, erosion/flood control, forest culture/protection, landscape and wildlife. During the time of the CCC, the young men across the US managed to plant nearly 3 billion trees to help reforest America, constructed more than 800 parks nationwide and upgraded most state parks, updated forest fire fighting methods and built a network of service buildings and public roadways in remote areas. Since then, The United States national parks are still preserved and show off the true beauty that America has to offer. Without the idea President FDR had instituted in the first place, the US would probably not be the same as it is to this day. Every state in the country had CCC camps that helped to create our environment and national parks that still stand today and FDR went down in history as one of the best presidents that changed America because of what he had accomplished and that part of his program still has a lasting effect on the US.

Prohibiton

During the early 1800's, alcohol consumption was increasing and people who didn't drink were looked upon with suspicion. Eventually, the consumption of alcohol was so bad that states started to ban alcohol. This lead to the start of anti-alcohol school education programs and the danger of alcohol abuse started to educate the younger people. By the early 1900's, the US government started to promote prohibiton and stop the abuse of alcohol. The 18th amendment was passed on August 1,1917 and the Volstead Act enforced the amendment which prohibited the manufacture, distribution or sale of alcohol in the US after January 16, 1920. Although the crime rate increased when alcohol was banned, it lowered absenteeism ,alcoholism and birth defects. This cartoon helps explain prohibiton because it shows a man sitting in a chair with a newpaper stating that 34 people died from alcohol and it shows what kind of affects alcohol presented. Also, this cartoon explains why the US government promoted prohibiton because the abuse of alochol started to take a toll on the US people and the consumption of alcohol was starting to get out of control.

Modern Day Comparison of Imperialism

During Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, the US imperialized the Panama Canal. This means that the US took control of the land by force of means which would eventually be turned into the Panama Canal. The people of Panama didn't have a say in the land but it happened anyway. The US got Panama to sign a treaty to accept the offer they had made proclaiming the land. After this, President Roosevelt started immediately on building the Panama Canal and this would eventually boom the US's economy because the trade market opens up.
The only problem with this is the fact that the US annexed Hawaii. So basically we are doing the exact same thing we did a couple decades ago. When the US annexed Hawaii, the country was taken over by 10 American businessman and an entrie fleet of Marines. Hawaii didn't have a say either just like how Panama didn't have a say in their land when the US was taking it over. Even though the annexation of Hawaii promoted the economy for the US too, we still didn't let Hawaii have a say in their territory and eventually this could lead to more enemies if we keep trying to take over other countries.

It is a Duty and a Pleasure to Vote

During the Gilded Age, voting was a major concern for people concerned in politics. The majority of the voting was corrupt and most of the elections were rigged. This cartoon is a good example of how elections were run by corrupt people and how they loved to vote. Most of the elections had ballet votes of people who were deceased or didn't even exist. The title "It is a Duty and a Pleasure to Vote", fits this cartoon because the men in the cartoon look to be doing something suspicious. In the background, the teller at the desk seems to be yelling at the men because they are doing something wrong and in this case they might be adding more votes than their own.