Friday, April 13, 2012
In response to a comment
Recently I toured the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. The tour guide and the ambassador of Israel to the United States are very biased and conceited in their position towards the Palestinians. It was pure politics. A smart and analytically inclined historian would begin by analyzing the situation starting in 1945 with the partition of Palestine. We would begin by looking at the primary documents that tell us what the Palestinians did and what the Israelis did because both sides have had done something wrong.
Day 4 Washington Seminar Trip Capitol Steps
Capitol steps is a hilarious satire. This type of satire is about the politics and the bureaucratic system of the united states federal government. From the current republican candidates to the do nothing congress, they have skits for everything that happened in Washington d.c in the last few years.
Capitol Steps is a must see show that only happens in the Ronald Reagan building. Across the street, you can see the Occupy movement going strong in Washington d.c, but don't get too close because they might carry disease and other nasty things.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Chapter 27 Study Guide for AP US History
Chapter 27 Study Guide
By Henggao Cai
You will be taking an
exam consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions each worth two points.
You should be well versed in the following topics:
1)
Soviet concerns at the
end of World War II
a)
The Soviet Union was
afraid of another Western invasion. First, Neapolitan’s France invaded Russia.
Then Hitler’s Germany invaded the Soviet Union or formerly Russia.
b)
Stalin led the Soviet
Union to rebuild for security; therefore, they demanded defensible borders and
political stability in the regions closest to them.
2)
American fears at the
end of World War II
a)
America came out of
World War 2 as the world’s greatest nation and was afraid of the growing
communist threat because it wanted to spread equality, liberty, and democracy.
The United States viewed communism, socialism, dictatorship as threats to
America’s democracy and liberty.
b)
One of America’s fears
came true when Josef Stalin possessed almost absolute powers.
3)
Issues that arose
between the US and Soviet Union immediately following WWII
a)
The United States and the
Soviet Union relations soured when the public officials and the media pointed
out that Germany and Russia had similarities. Such similarities include total
control over communications and the ability to eliminate political opposition.
They also pointed out that both nations used terror to silence protesters.
b)
Both the Soviet Union
and Nazi Germany created inhumane camps.
c)
The United States
believed Capitalism, a type of ideology, would prevail over Communism. Stalin,
dictator of the Soviet Union, said that Communist system would prevail over
Capitalism.
d)
Then Winston Churchill
said that a Iron curtain has been covered all of Europe and it is the duty of
English Speaking Nations to contain the Soviet Union.
4)
Poland
a)
The Soviet Union
wanted Poland to be under the communist influence and system.
b)
The United States
wanted Poland to have its own self-governing government.
5)
Yalta
a)
This conference
decided how to deal with Germany after the war.
b)
FDR, Churchill, and
Stalin attended the conference.
At this conference , FDR tries to appease Stalin by mentioning rifts between FDR and Churchill. Stalin also got what he wanted when the Red Troops went into Czechoslovakia and Poland.
At this conference , FDR tries to appease Stalin by mentioning rifts between FDR and Churchill. Stalin also got what he wanted when the Red Troops went into Czechoslovakia and Poland.
6)
Potsdam
a)
A post war conference
i)
Issued a warning to
Japan to surrender unconditionally
ii)
To hold war crime
trials of Nazi Leaders
(1)
Nuremburg Trials
Since two big leaders were switched out, the relationship between the Ally leaders were beginning to deteriorate. Truman also tells Stalin that he will no recognize some of the new governments that had been set up. As a result , the ideological rift began to pry open.
7) Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
Since two big leaders were switched out, the relationship between the Ally leaders were beginning to deteriorate. Truman also tells Stalin that he will no recognize some of the new governments that had been set up. As a result , the ideological rift began to pry open.
7) Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
a)
Churchill said that
Europe has been split into two ideological halves. One half is Democratic and
free and the other half is heavily controlled and Communist.
b)
He said it was the
duty of the English speaking peoples to stop the Communist threat.
8)
Kennan
a)
He was responsible for
coining the concept of America’s containment policy toward the Soviet Union’s
ideological belief known as Communism.
9)
Truman Doctrine
a)
The Truman Doctrine
said that it was the United States’ goal to support free peoples resisting
subjugating by armed minorities. Congress passed the Truman foreign aid bill
that appropriated $400 million for military and economic aid to Turkey and
Greece.
10)
Containment
a)
The Truman
administration adopted this policy because they want to stop the spread of the
Soviet Union’s Communist ideologies. The first test of this policy was in
Korea. The North Korean forces under Kim il Sung had almost took control of the
entire peninsula, but the United States led the United Nations to push the
North Korean army back. This was successful because it showed containment had
worked.
11)
The Marshall Plan
a)
This plan called for
the United States to pour billions of dollars into the recovery in Europe
because the United States want to prevent more countries from turning
communist.
b)
Secretary of State
Marshall developed this plan.
12)
Berlin Airlift
a)
The Soviet Union has
cut off Berlin from West Germany. Therefore, America and Great Britain decides
to fly supplies in and out of Berlin because Berlin is within Soviet controlled
East Germany.
The Berlin Airlift broke down the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union. This allowed West Berlin to be connected to the rest of West Germany.
The Berlin Airlift broke down the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union. This allowed West Berlin to be connected to the rest of West Germany.
13)
NSC-68
a)
Explains that the
Truman Administration intends on stopping the Soviet Union at all costs
b)
It also explains that
the United States has the military capabilities of stopping the Soviet Union in
case it invades the Western Hemisphere.
c)
It also justifies
United States involvement by saying that America is the defender of the free
world including its principles of freedom, liberty, and democracy.
14)
Communism in China
a)
After the Second World
War, the Communists and the Nationalists continued its Civil War that started
in 1925. However, the Soviet Union assisted Mao Zedong and the Communists by
supplying them with weapons and military expertise. The United States supplied
Chiang-Kai Shek and the Nationalists with military expertise and weapons.
b)
Chiang Kai Shek lost
and led the Nationalists to Taiwan where he continued to run the Republic of
China. The United States continued to recognize the government under Chiang Kai
Shek as the government running all of China until 1972.
15)
Korean War and Truman
a)
Truman did not use a
Declaration of War because the war was a ‘police action’ to enforce a UN Security
Council resolution.
i)
They could only pass
this resolution because the Soviet delegation temporarily boycotted the
Security Council.
b)
On July 25, 1950, the
North Korean Army launched a surprise attack on South Korea.
i)
However, the US led
army pushed the North Korean army as far back as the Yalu River. Then the
People’s Liberation army led by Mao Zedong pushed the UN troops back. They
reached a near stalemate near the 38th Parallel.
c)
Even though the Korean
War stalemated, the United States was the ultimate winner because it proved
that containment worked. In addition, the United States also stopped an entire
communist takeover of Korea.
16)
Ho Chi Minh and
Vietnam during the early cold war
a)
After the Suez Canal
Crisis, the United States replaced Britain and France as a major power in world
affairs. President Eisenhower announced that the United States pledged to
provide economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country that was under
threat from Communism.
i)
In 1958, Eisenhower
pledged to help Lebanon by breaking up a conflict between Christians and
Muslims.
17)
Truman and
Eisenhower’s administrations and dealings with the Middle east
a)
Both President Truman
and Eisenhower worked hard to maintain access to petroleum resources, access to
military bases, and lines communication in the Middle East. They maintained all
these connections and attempted to deny the Soviet Union from these assets.
18)
American involvement
in Latin America
a)
Cuba
i)
Fidel Castro
confiscated all US property.
(1)
As a result, President
Eisenhower cut off all exports and severed economic ties.
(a)
Because of Eisenhower’s
response, Castro turned to the Soviet Union.
19)
Eisenhower Doctrine
a)
President Eisenhower
pledged military and economic aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by
Communism.
i)
His first test of this
doctrine was in Lebanon.
(1)
There was a civil war
in Lebanon.
(a)
The fighting was between
Christians and Muslims.
(i)
President Eisenhower
sent 14000 marines to Lebanon to prevent such a war.
1.
These 14000 marines
propped up a right wing government because there is a huge vacuum in the Middle
East. The United States must fill it first before the Russians do.
20)
Policy of Massive
Retaliation – what it was and who did it
a)
Secretary of State
Dulles advocated for a greater reliance on nuclear weapons and air power and
spending less on the conventional army and navy. This was a idea would save
money and balance the federal budget and increase pressure on potential
enemies. In 1953, the United States developed the Hydrogen bomb. Then the
Soviets also developed the Hydrogen bomb. This plan was more like mutual
extinction. Even though this plan prevented all-out war between two big
superpowers, the plan could not prevent the small brushfires from occurring in
Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
21)
Truman’s loyalty
program
a)
On March 21, 1947,
President Truman signed an executive order that set up a program to check the
loyalty of Federal Employees. He wanted Federal Employees to demonstrate “Unswerving
loyalty”.
i)
As a result loyalty
boards were set up in every Federal department. These Loyalty boards depended
on the investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. If there existed
reasonable grounds, then the employee will be dismissed.
ii)
An employee can appeal
to the Loyalties appeal board set up by the Civil Service Commission.
(1)
As a result, this
quieted many criticisms from the Republican Party that Truman was too soft on
the Communists.
22)
HUAC – Members and
accusations
a)
The House Committee on
Un American Activities questioned members of the screen actors guild in
Hollywood because they felt that the screen writers and directors were able to
brain wash the American people easier if they had been communist spies.
23)
Spies of the time
- Soviet spies had discovered that America developed the Atom bomb, even though America tried to prevent spies. America sent spies to the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union sent more spies to the United States. The United States attempted to smoke out the Soviet Spies by questioning people in front of the House Committee on Un American Activities and a reciprocal Senate Committee led by Joseph McCarthy.
24)
Joseph McCarthy and
McCarthyism
a)
The People of
Wisconsin elected Joseph McCarthy to the United States Senate. In his first
term of Office, McCarthy exacerbated the Red Scare by delivering a speech that
told the American public about two hundred communists within the state
department.
b)
He exacerbated the
problem and created fear and panic. He painted a picture in the American people’s
minds that communism is bad and McCarthyism is Americanism.
c)
Because of Joe
McCarthy’s actions, the Americans started scrutinizing employees and workers.
In New York, Subway workers were laid off because they failed to answer questions
about their political leanings.
25)
Second Red Scare
a)
The Second Red Scare
occurred after World War 2 when the Iron Curtain separated Western Europe and
Eastern Europe.
i)
This second red scare
resulted in many employees laid off by employers because of the suspicion of
communism.
ii)
This was a result of
the Soviet Union testing its first atomic bomb and a fear of communist invasion
by the Soviet Union. This fear was exacerbated when Mao Zedong and Communists
won the Chinese Civil War.
26)
Eisenhower interstate
highway system
a)
Eisenhower wanted to
create an interstate highway system that could evacuate the people from large
cities in case of a nuclear attack. He got this idea from the German interstate
highway system when he was serving as general of the allied forces in Europe.
He saw how convenient it was for the military to travel from one side of the
country to the other side of the country.
b)
Another effect that
came with the Interstate highway system was the fast food industry. McDonalds
spread across the country by using the Interstate highway system.
27)
Vietnam and US attitudes
toward it as well as involvement
a)
As a communist
organizer and a revolutionary, Ho Chi Min sought to expel the Japanese invaders
from Vietnam.
i)
Ho Chi Min established
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam by 1945.
(1)
The French and the
Vietnamese began fighting because France wanted to regain Vietnam as a colony.
(a)
This war was a larger
Cold war battle because of the Democratic ideals of France and the Communist
ideals of Vietnam.
(i)
However, President
Truman recognized the French’s puppet government in Vietnam because he believed
that Ho Chi Min was taking orders from Moscow. Therefore, the United States in
1954 was already taking more than three quarters of the cost of France’s
Indochina war.
1.
July 26,1950
a.
President Truman
authorizes $15 million of aid to France.
(ii)
The United States
involved during the Eisenhower administration when President Eisenhower sent
the CIA spies to assist the French. The United States needed the French to
balance the Soviet Union in Europe.
28)
Suez Canal Crisis
a)
When the United States
refused to finance Egypt’s construction of the Aswan High Dam, the Egyptians
turned to the Soviets. The Soviets provided the Egyptians with limited finances
for construction. Then Nasser sought another place for funds by nationalizing
the British and French owned Suez canal. Loss of the Suez canal threatened
Western Europe’s supply line to Middle Eastern oil. In response, Israel,
Britain, and France carried out a surprise attack on Egypt. Since Eisenhower
had been kept out of the dark on the invasion, he condemned the attack. After
the United States gave Britain and France pressure, Britain and France withdrew
its troops. As a result, they never participated in another role of major
powers in world affairs
29)
Middle East situations
a)
The Soviet Union took
over Afghanistan.
b)
The CIA overthrew the
democratically elected Prime Minister Mosadeggh because the United States
wanted to reap from the Iranian oil wealth and prevented Iran from aligning
with the Soviet Union.
i)
The CIA replaced the
prime minister with the Shah’s son because the prime minister attempted to
nationalize foreign oil companies. When the shah was restored to power in 1953,
he provided the West with favorable oil prices. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution replaced the
shah’s son with a dictator and established the Islamic Republic of Iran.
30)
CIA coups
a)
The National Security
Act of 1947 created the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence
Agency. The CIA employed spies to establish coups around the world. Some of the
CIA coups were in Iran and Guatemala.
31)
Latin America
a)
Guatemala
i)
In Guatemala, the
United Fruit Company owned a lot of land to plant the bananas.
(1)
The elected government
leader nationalized the land.
(2)
The United States
secretary of state Dulles sniffed Communist activities; therefore, he advised
President Eisenhower to send the CIA spies to Guatamala and oust the government
of the reform minded Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. They trained Guatamalans to
overthrow the legitimate regime because they appropriated US property.
(a)
The right wing
takeover succeeded and the United Fruit Company’s land was restored; however,
the right wing government turned into a dictatorship.
(i)
Because of the coup,
Anti-American sentiment was all over Latin America.
32)
Know the chronological
order of major events in the early cold war years
Detente is the easing of strained relations. Both the United States and the Soviet Union strived for Detente. This is one of the reasons that the Eisenhower administration had the policy of Massive Retaliation to scare the Soviets.
When President Eisenhower took office, he slimmed down the military. He slimmed it down by cutting the number of troops, but increasing the number of powerful weapons. As a result, the United States can still compete with the Soviet Union , but still spend within our financial capabilities.
Under President Truman, the United States had the Truman doctrine that pledged money to any country in danger of a communist threat. This was largely aimed at the area known as the Middle East.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Study Vocabulary Unit 11 and 12 | Word Dynamo
Study Vocabulary Unit 11 and 12 | Word Dynamo
Hi my blog readers,
Recently I made Vocabulary Workshop Level H words into Dictionary.com flashcard decks. By playing these games, you will learn the SAT vocabulary words and increase your word score. Good Luck studying 4000 SAT Vocabulary words.
Hi my blog readers,
Recently I made Vocabulary Workshop Level H words into Dictionary.com flashcard decks. By playing these games, you will learn the SAT vocabulary words and increase your word score. Good Luck studying 4000 SAT Vocabulary words.
Unknown
Unknown is a breath-taking action film that will puzzle you. This film is like a puzzle and you want to know more about the story. This identity theft case tells the story about the dangers of internet misuse. I will write a full movie review within the next couple of weeks. So stay tuned.
Link:
http://share.vrs.sohu.com/my/v.swf&autoplay=false&id=15070488&skinNum=1&topBar=1&xuid=
Funny Story at Washington Seminar Trip
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Day 4 Wash. Sem. Jefferson Memorial, Holocaust Museum and the Old Post Office
Day four is also the first day of the national cherry blossom festival. The Cherry blossoms of the tidal basin near the Jefferson memorial kisses the granite monuments of Washington D.C. Cherry blossoms tend to live about fifty years, but some have already survived for one hundred years. Even though this year is the one hundredth year since Japan gave us the cherry blossoms, one hundred original cherry blossoms still exist.
The Jefferson memorial and the cherry blossoms combined with the smooth water of the tidal basin makes the view scenic. I have been to many places including the Canadian rockies. The Canadian Rockies will be the most beautiful place I ever been to , but the cherry blossoms in D.C. makes my top ten list of beautiful places. This place is worth the money and effort.
Even though I had been to the Holocaust museum twice, the museum's provocative layout still captivate me. The museum's lugurious environment elicits visitors' deepest subconcious desires. By grabbing our attention through attention grabbing, the museum should have persuaded some people that the holocaust did occur and another genocide must be prevented. I say this because a republican running for public office openly denounced the holocaust. He said that the holocaust did not exist.
The Old Post Office is a great historic site, but the food is very plain. There's not much interesting food that entice you to eat it. The Old Post Office can only be said as a place of relaxation.
The Criminal Museum has a similar layout compared with the Holocaust museum; however, it did not grab my attention. The presentation of the information was not interesting. All the information can be found with the internet; therefore, most people should put this at the bottom of their lists.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Isreali Embassy in D.C.
Isreal has an embassy in Washington D.C. You can listen to their tour guides speak and they will explain Isreal's political, economic and social positions. Howevever, these so called tour guides have a strong Isreali bias against the Palestinians. They can only think about the Palestinians need to be more cooperative. From the tone of his voice, I could tell he blamed all the Isreal and Palestine conflict on Palestine. This is wrong and we always need to consider an opposing side.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
High school proficiency Test math section
I just took the HSPAs this week, so I know a lot of the real problems. For example, the HSPAs test your common knowledge of trigonometry. It is very simple and easy. They give you a triangle with one angle and one side. You have to use tangent to calculate the height of a flagpole.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
HSPA Day 2 Essay Prompt
Persuasive Writing Prompt for the High School Proficiency Assessment:
Your school has recently implemented a policy of mandatory Before and After School Tutoring for students who cannot maintain a C-Average in school. This new policy has sparked controversy in the local community.
Write a persuasive letter to your principal in support or against the policy. State the reason, Explain, and Analysis the issue
Your school has recently implemented a policy of mandatory Before and After School Tutoring for students who cannot maintain a C-Average in school. This new policy has sparked controversy in the local community.
Write a persuasive letter to your principal in support or against the policy. State the reason, Explain, and Analysis the issue
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
HSPA Essay Prompt One
Some people are leaders. Leadership has some positive qualities that change life for the better. Some of these qualities include justice, persisitance, and etc. If you could add one more quality, what would that quality be? Analysize why you would choose this quality.
HSPA Essay Prompt
JFK said, "The Chinese character for crisis is composed of two characters: one for danger and one for oppurtunity".
Analyze how a situation can be both a crisis and an oppurtunity.
Analyze how a situation can be both a crisis and an oppurtunity.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
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