Transcontinental Railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad stretched from Missouri to California. The railroad was built by two companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. It took them three years to finish the Transcontinental Railroad. Book source.

The idea of building a transcontinental railroad was first proposed by the transcontinental Railroad was built by the Cental Pacific and Union companies. The Transcontinental Railroad began to undergo construction in Omaha, Nebraska (Book source) and, when finished, ran from Missouri to California. The railroad was finished at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.

Many of the people who worked on the railroad were Chinese. Book Source. "The first Chinese were hired in 1865 at approximately $28 per month to do the very dangerous work of blasting and laying ties over the Sierras." Source. By 1868, a year before the railroads were finished, two thirds of the workers hired were Chinese.

The Transcontinental Railroads aided people in transportation across America. This would normally take somebody around six months to accomplish. However, the Chinese-Americans would still have to face hardships, even though they had worked willingly for lower pay. The railroads also, "created the skeletal structure of the Western transportation system." Source.


The Transcontinental Railroad ran from Missouri to California. The railroads were finished on May 10, 1869. A great effort was put into this project by the Chinese, although they were discriminated against while working on the railroad and after it was finished.

1893 World's Faire and the Guilded Age

During the Gilded Age, industry was at its peak. During the World's Fair in 1893, over half a billion dollars was spent to build a magnificent white city that covered six hundred eighty six acres.

During the Gilded Age industry skyrocketed. "Between 1872 and1880, for example, the Singer Sewing Machine Company increased production from 220,000 to 500,000 units annually." (Book Source). The transportation in this age improved do to the increase of the production of iron and steel.

The World's Fair took place in Chicago in 1893, and was called the White City. The buildings of this fair was amazing. The World's Fair was a very grand example of the Gilded Age because the Gilded Age was a time of industrial greatness, and the World's Fair was a time of great architecture.


The World's Fair in Chicago was called the White City because of the buildings' color, not by the purity of the people in it. There is some irony to the White City, because of all the crime that took place during its time. (Book source). I think this idea of rabid crime within this city is important for people to see so that they may grasp the idea that when people inhabit cities in large numbers it is more likely for people to get killed because it's so easy to hide in a big city.


The World fair is such a grand example of the Gilded Age, which was a time of great industry, because of the amazing buildings that were built and the architecture of that time. However, there was a massive amount of crime during the World Fair, and in the White City, which is somewhat ironic. (Book source).

Radical Reconstruction

The Radical Reconstruction plan was made by president Andrew Johnson. The Radical Reconstruction was Johnson's attempt to carry on and finish what the former President Lincoln had started.


President Andrew Johnson's Radical Reconstruction plan was meant to excuse those who took the oath of loyalty. If a wealthy Southerner or an important Confederate official wanted a pardon, they would have to personally request it from the president. If a state wanted to reenter the Union they would have to give their consent to the thirteenth amendment and then deny their war debts. However, not everybody agreed to Johnson's Radical Reconstruction plan. The Radical Republicans and a few Northerners strongly disagreed with Johnson's plan.

It is not surprising that the Radical Republicans didn't want the Confederate states to be able to be so easily pardoned. It makes sense that they would want some sort of punishment to be brought upon the Confederates because most of them, if not all, supported the Confederate troops, who were killing the soldiers belonging to the Union side, during the war. There is also the feeling that justice needed to be served when another person does wrong to you, that the Radical Republicans most likely felt. The Radical Republicans were very much against slavery.
(to be continued)

The most Important Thing I've Learned this Year

I have learned many things this year. However, the most important thing that I have learned about this year would have to be Martin Luther.


When studying Luther I learned that he was practicing law before he became a monk and that he was struck by lightning before becoming a monk. He struggled with the fact that he had to buy his way into heaven and new there was something more. He went to school at Whittenburg and became a professor there. He read the Bible and discovered that into was only through grace that we are saved, and not through the selling of indulgences.

I also learned that Luther began the Protestant reformation, and revealed to people that you couldn't buy your way into heaven. He revealed to the scriptures to the common man and the peasants by writing a translation of the Bible in the German language so that they could read the Bible and find the truth out for themselves. Luther stood up for the truth even though it put a price on his head and cost him his reputation.


Martin Luther was the most important person I have learned about this year because he was very influential. His life's story showed me that God changes the course of history through unlikely individuals, who are willing to pursue and teach the truth no matter what it may cost them. Luther's life also shows what an impact one person can have on the world.


Luther was the most important person I have learned about this year because he was such an influential person. He taught the truth even though doing so put a price on his head, and changed the course of history.

The Englishmen's Bill of Rights

The English Bill of Rights was a document that gave the Englishmen their rights (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 340).


The English Bill of Rights was agreed to be put in place by Parliament, and when William III and Queen Mary came to the throne, they agreed to abide by the laws within the bill. The idea of the divine right of kings was outlawed by the English Bill of Rights. It limited the power of the ruling family and increased Parliament's power. It made clear that the king would held under the law and that the Parliament would set the laws in place. The bill also gave the citizens of England their own rights(Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 340).


The Bill of Rights was issued because the kings of England were abusing their power. James II had to flee for fear of losing his life due to the fact that there was a rumor that he would force England to become Catholic (Nicolson 281).When William III took over England, he and his wife, Mary, had to swear that they would consult Parliament before making a tax. They were also unable to form their own courts (Nicolson 182).

England's Bill of Rights was very influential in the first eight amendments of the United States Constitution. A few of the people who had lived during the Enlightenment were useful in making sure that parts of the English Bill of Rights were in the Constitution. The rights that the Bill of Rights gave to Englishmen when it was first issued are still in place today.


The English Bill of Rights, was a document that liberated England from the idea of the divine right of kings. It put limits on the power of the ruling family and granted more power to the Parliament. It was also influential to the United States Constitution.

Blum, Jerome, Rondo Cameron, Thomas G. Barnes. The European World: A History. Boston/Toronto; Little, Brown and Company, 1966.

Nicolson Harold. Kings, Courts And Monarchy. New York; Simon and Schuster inc., 1962.

The Thirty Years War

The Thirty Years' War began in 1618 (Davis 563). This war began with politics and religion, which, when combined over war, result in a bloody outcome.


Religion was a major reason for the Thirty Years' War. The Peace of Augsburg was an important factor in starting the war. Ever since it was issued in 1555, the arguments over religion raged even though peace had been brought to the land. In the Peace of Augsburg it declared that Lutheranism was the only Protestant religion that would be allowed to be practiced (Davis 504).

The Thirty Years' War mostly took place in the area we now know as Germany. obviously sparked by political means as well as religious. The Peace of Augsburg allowed the rulers to choose which religion would be practiced in their state. If a Protestant Lutheran lived in a Catholic state they could leave and go to a Protestant state. However, Lutheranism was not the only branch of Protestantism.


The Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia after Ferdinand the First, who was Catholic, was made king of Bohemia and Hungary. The majority of Bohemia was Protestant and all the residents of Bohemia held pride in their independence (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 207). It was in May 1618 when a few of the Bohemian nobles rebelled against Ferdinand by throwing three Catholic officials out of a window in the Hradschin Castle. The drop was around fifty feet. The Catholics were claiming that angels had saved them from dying. However, the Protestant party had said that they had landed in a pile of poop that just happened to be right outside the window (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 207-8).


The war began in 1618 (Davies 563) and ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia, which was a victory for the Protestants in Germany an a defeat for the Catholics. This peace allowed both Lutheranism and Calvinism to be legal religions and supported the Peace of Augsburg (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 212).


Religion and politics were the two major factors in the Thirty Years' War, which began in Bohemia and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 (Jerome Blum, Cameron, Barnes 211). One reason the Thirty Years' War can be considered religious as well as political is because The Peace of Augsburg was very important in the Thirty Years' War.

Blum, Jerome, Rondo Cameron and Thomas G. Barnes. The European World a History. Boston; Little, Brown and Company, 1996.

Davies, Norman. Europe a History. New York: NY; Oxford University Press, Inc., 1996.

Renaissance Music

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance music were very different. Most of the people of the Renaissance preferred vocal music. However, there were many instruments during the Renaissance period.


The music of the Renaissance was very different from that of the Middle Ages. Music also changed during the Renaissance, because it had become more blended. Unlike the composers of the Middle Ages, who would have a variety of notes within their music, the writers in the Renaissance began to write music so that it would flow together and harmonize.


The most popular music in the Renaissance was vocal music. This kind of music was used in the church and in secular music as well. The music writers of the Renaissance wrote music in a way that the notes in the music would work in harmony with each other.


Ottaviano de'Petrucci came up with the idea that the printing press could be used for music, and because of this idea everyone could have music. This was a big impact on society because if everyone could buy music all classes could have it and those who had an education were required to learn to sing, dance and play an instrument. A few instruments used in the Renaissance were the recorder, the flute, the fife, and the tabor pipe, which is very much like a recorder, however, it only has three holes. Reed instruments, such as the shawm, rackett, dulcian and the crumhorn, were also used. A few of the Renaissance dances were the branle, a dance that is performed by a group of people who form either a circle or a chain, and the pavan is a dance that is to be danced to with instruments.


The music of the Renaissance was very different from that of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance music flowed more easily than the music of the Middle Ages. Even though vocal music was very popular during the Renaissance, instruments were also played during this time, to which certain dances could be performed.