Influenza pandemic 1918-1919

From reading the text, I learned that around 63,000 soldiers dies of diseases during World War I, most of which were from the influenza pandemic. I also read that over two years, the flu killed nearly 50 million people worldwide. Around 500,000 of those deaths can be attributed to American civilians.

It is extremely disturbing to think that an epidemic like the flu took out three times more people than a whole war did, but thus is the case. This helps me to understand just how important modern medicine is, as well as how important it is to try and mitigate the consequences of such pandemics. This makes me wonder whether people in that time were told to do some of the things that we are currently being told to do during this current pandemic.(The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.), November 20, 1918, Image 1)

This one is fascinating. It's very funny to me that anybody can pretty much find a way to profit off of a pandemic, from toilet paper and hand sanitizer companies this year, to a laxative company in the 1900s! This makes me wonder about all the different companies who were advertising their miracle solutions to fight the flu.(The Chattanooga news. [volume], October 21, 1918, Page 5, Image 5)

Chapter 20 Study Guide Corrections and Evidence

Added to #4: I added information regarding the superiority of the "Anglo-Saxon" race as well as the fact that new outlets for US civilization were needed.

Added to #7: I added that Britain agreed to settle the dispute with the U.S.

Added to #8: I added the specific thing that yellow journalists focused on, which was atrocities in Cuba.

Added to #14: I added that there were no plans for transport to Cuba.

Added to #15: I added that Spain probably wasn't expecting a war to start in the Philippines.

Added to #17: I added that the annexation of Hawaii was rationalized by Hawaii not actually being a country.

Added to #19: America's Cuban allies also won.

Added to #20: Added Puerto Rico to the list.

Added to #21: Added that there was fear of competition from Filipino workers.

Corrected #22: Corrected my answer to "The fight to suppress Filipino independence fighters involved burning crops and villages, rounding up civilians, atrocities, dislocated civilians, malnutrition, disease – the brutality of the war."

William Randolph Hearst, a prominent figure in the realm of yellow journalism. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

According to LOC, the Spanish-American War started when the battleship Maine was supposedly sunk by Spain.

According to BIOGRAPHY, "McKinley is is best known for being president when the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines."

How do you analyze a political cartoon?

To analyze a political cartoon, one must first understand the political climate of the time when the cartoon was written. One must also know from what perspective the cartoonist is coming. Next, it is important to analyze not only the picture as a whole, but to also inspect the little details which might not come through upon first glance. Finally, piece together what you know and what you think, and you might just understand what's going on.

After looking at a guide on how to analyze a political cartoon, I will be a little more thorough with how I analyze these cartoons. For example, I will write lists of words to describe what is being portrayed rather than purely making sense out of it in my head. For analyzing these cartoons, I will be using a guide from the National Archives.

PBS

After scanning the cartoon, I first noticed the text "Weyler the Butcher" and a large man in ball-and-chain. There is text which says "HE MAY SERVE HIS COUNTRY STILL FURTHER." This man seems to be chiseling at a rock. I have a feeling that the shape of the rock is significant but I can't find any actual evidence to indicate that. Butcher is a name which yellow journalists gave Weyler in order to, I assume, garner hatred toward him and fuel the fire in Americans. Based on all of this, I would say that the cartoonist is trying to instill fear in Americans, thereby garnering support for conquering Cuba and the Philippines.

PBS

Upon first glace, the obviously overdone caricatures of Hawaii, Cuba, and possibly Africa (?) are apparent. They are all holding American flags and seem to be running toward something. The caption along with it says that they are coming to celebrate American independence day as well. Based on all of this, I think that the cartoonist was trying to make Americans feel hatred toward these places as well as the people in them. This is apparent because of the very stereotypical way these people are drawn. After seeing this, I can imagine that Americans had no desire for foreigners to partake in any American culture.


National Archives "Analyze a Cartoon" Guide

H.R.35 Research

I just learned that lynching has finally been made a federal crime. It was a unanimous decision by the House. Apparently the maximum sentencing for those who conspire in the process of lynching is 10 years, which seems much too lenient for such a heinous crime. Or, as I'm rereading it, it seems to be using 10 as an example and saying that co-conspirators may not serve a sentence longer than someone who completed the act of lynching. The main question that this prompted from me is this. Why the heck did it take so long to make lynching a federal crime? Also, who are the people who are in favor of lynching (or don't like the bill in general) and why?

Naval Recruitment Primary Source Analysis

1. As a group, these broadsides could be characterized as excited and pushy. Each of them have very large bold text to show only the most appealing and urgent aspects of Navy recruitment. For example, slide 1 and slide 2 are almost identical, with the aforementioned bold text and smaller text shoved in between. The major differences between the two are that slide 1 has an image on it and is much shorter than slide 2. Slide 3 is a bit different, with a drawing taking up a fair portion. However, it still takes the same bold text approach as the first two slides.
2. If I were creating these broadsides, I would likely assume that my audience is mostly able-bodied men or has a close connection to such a man. I would also assume that they are not in the Army, but might be struggling to choose between the Army and the Navy, as evidenced by the shade thrown by broadsides such as the one on slide 3. 
3. As a group, the PM advertisements are more informative, more appealing, and less pushy than the earlier group of broadsides. Every ad here has a black box surrounding it, which really gives the idea that they are somewhat connected. Ad 1 is very to the point, with no pictures, as opposed to 2 and 3, which both have drawings. They also all have BUREAU OF NAVIGATION in large letters at the bottom.
4. If I were creating these advertisements, I would clearly be under the assumption that my audience wants to quickly know how much they'll be paid, as it is one of the first things mentioned in nearly every advertisements. The opportunity for promotions also must have been appealing to the young men that PM was advertising to.
5. These items seem to convey that the Navy needed to move to more visual advertising than in the past, as evidenced by slides 7-9. Slide 10 seems to indicate that the Navy is trying to spread their ads through word of mouth, as it says to pass the card to someone you know. Slides 7 and 8 look like very standard postcards with information scattered throughout the images in entertaining text. Slide 9 is almost purely an image, with very little text. Slide 10 takes a completely different approach, with two columns of comparative text, which I would have to say might be my favorite of their tactics because it seems very efficient.
6. Slides 7 and 8 indicate that heroic imagery might entice the young men in the audience, while slide 9 suggests that some people out there might enjoy seeing an accurate depiction of their future work. If I were creating slide 10, I would probably think that young men are struggling between civil life and the Navy, possibly not considering the Army. Slide 10 also might appeal to parents more than some of the other ones because it shows a precise comparison between civilian life and the Navy which might put family at ease. 
7. These posters are all very idealistic and portray the heroic side of the Navy. Slides 11 and 12 appeal to men by using women, which was most likely very effective. Almost all of thee posters seem to have something to do with doing your duty to your country or your fellow man. Slide 15 stands out among the rest because it has a lot of information in the form of text on it, while the others mostly utilize images and much less text. 
8. Based on slides 11 and 12, the majority of the audience is clearly thought to be men. It also seems that the creators of the posters assumed that their audience was very patriotic, as evidenced by the type of language used in them. These images are, of course, a lot brighter and more colorful than past images, and also use some different tactics, such as the use of women, as I mentioned before. They still share the same love for large, bold text as previous posters, however.
9. Some of these tactics would still work today, especially the women on posters, you know... because men. The patriotic ones might be a bit hit or miss, however, because patriotism sometimes seems to be at a low point right now. Of course it should be mentioned that the posters with women would almost certainly be protested.

Great White Fleet

On December 16, 1907, 14,000 sailors on 16 ships set out on a voyage. These 16 ships were collectively called the Great White Fleet, for the fairly obvious reason that the boats were painted white. President Roosevelt sent these ships to sail across the world in order to showcase America's naval capacity. And boy did they. According to the Theodore Roosevelt Center, the Great White Fleet "covered 43,000 miles and made twenty port calls on six different continents." The journey was split into two parts, with the first departing from Virginia and stopping at "Trinidad, British West Indies, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Mexico." (TR Center) When some ships had to leave in order to report elsewhere, the Fleet made a port call in San Francisco. The Fleet set sail about two months later, stopping in "Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Ceylon, and Egypt." (TR Center) After hearing of an earthquake in Italy, they changed course to assist in damage control. The final stop before reaching Virginia was Gibraltar, and on February 22, 1909, the Fleet found itself right back where it started, in Hampton Roads. This voyage was an amazing naval achievement, and it wasn't such a bad thing for Roosevelt's reputation either! In fact, it only heightened public perception of him.

                                             USS Connecticut, leading the Atlantic Fleet to Sea                                 

Theodore Roosevelt Center, "Great White Fleet"

Naval History and Heritage Command, "Cruise of the Great White Fleet", JO2 Mike McKinley, September 5, 2017