Fast Food

     Many people say fast food is one of the best inventions to this day. It's quick, easy, and of course delicious. But as people grab this decedent treat they don't seem to pay attention to what they are putting in their body. In fact now Americans eat over 13 billion burgers a year. Overtime fast food has effected America in a positive light but with some negatives. But where did it all start? And how did it effect us Americans?

     Fast food had a slow start in the 1920s but after World War II, the fast food instudry sky rocketed. After the war there was an economic boom that brought upon other inventions that helped the fast food industry. The main effect was the car. With the federal government creating highway systems, and the easier purchase of cars fast food became an easy convience. There were more suburban communities and many middle class families fled to these places. It was an easy option for big  families, it was a fun environment that middle class could afford.They had this option instead of a nice sitdown restaurant.  For people in big cities, and for those on the way to work it was an easy stop that did not take long.Women now found an easier way to get jobs, they entered the work force in high numbers and gender roles were viewed in a different light.

      But how did this all begin? During WWII there were food stands that sold food on the side of the road. They had to close down but after war improvements began such as car shelters to protect the automobile. Brothers Dick and Maurice McDonald realized that families need a cheap and faster way to eat, with that in mind they created the first McDonalds in 1950. Their burgers sold for 15 cents, half the price of a normal restaurant. A family of four could buy a full dinner for $1.50 Like other places, McDonalds had car hops. Girls dressed in fun outfits such as cowgirls, and cheerleaders but were only paid in tips. Because of this people kept quitting their jobs. These car ports were also the "cool" place where all the teens would hang out, eat food, and show off their cars. The brothers decided they needed a new idea. After reconstruction almost all of their food was cooked on a grill and could be eaten by hand. This became especially easy when people were driving. By mid 1950's eight McDonalds were open. Other Americans saw this franchise idea and took on the project. Soon many other restaurants,still famous today, opened such as KFC, Wendys, and Burger King. These men usually did not go to college, they were true entrepreneurs.

   After WWII there was also a baby boom. The number of children in the US increased 50%. Resteraunts such as McDonalds market their resteraunt as a safe, fun place for children to be. Kids would nag their parents to go the restaurants just so they could receive the toy in the kiddie meal. One of the most famous toys was the beanie baby in the 70s. Another marketing technique people used was wrapping their food in individual packaging. Researchers say that people find joy in opening different packages.

     In 1970 American's spent $6 billion on fast food and now in 2000 it has raised up to $110 billion. As you can tell the fast food industry brought upon change. One of the major effects of fast food is obesity. Now nearly one out of 3 children is overweight. Many restaurants serve items in large portions, this encourages overeating, espcially because you bought it. Many fast food resteraunts ,make their cheaper meals, bigger. For example the "big mac" or "quarter pounder" can all be found on the dollar menu at McDonalds. Because fast food is cheaper and convient most of the time people do not realize what they are putting in their body. It is full of sugar, salt, calories and saturated fat.

    As the industries start to realize what is happening they have taken alternate routes. Many fast food have started to offer apples instead of fries, and milk instead of sodas. Many have looked into purchasing fruit juices to sell. It is important for people to know what their eating, espcecially those with heart problems and diabetes. Places like Subway, McDonalds and Chickfila  have put a number of calories by the food on the menu so the costomers are more aware. In some cases in stops people from ordering a certain item. In New York City, city Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed to ban all large sugary drinks in the city. 58% of New York children and adults are overweight and 40% of students in public schools are as well. The ban has not been approved yet, but is a step towards fixing the obesity in the United States.

  As I have done my research I have realized how unhealthy I truly am. When I first started the project I was only looking at how fast food was started, as I continued I realized how much is effected because of how much fast food is eaten. Because of  this, I started to research more of the effects and how they could be stopped. During my research I found many websites that gave tips to the healthier option. Some of those being, choosing vegetables and fruits as a side or just getting water. This topic interested me because I have an adoration for fast food. I wanted to know how it all came to be and why it did.

Example of menus now showing calorie intake

First McDonalds in 1954

a "healthier" kids meal with a toy

One of the food stands on the side of the road

Example of car ports

Sources:

http://www.globaled.org/curriculum/ffood7.html- This source told me a little about the history of fast food and how it evolved.

http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/life_16.html- this source really hilighted the begining of cars and why fast food become so easy and popular.

http://www.uvm.edu/~eandre/Landscape_Change_Program/Roadside_Architecture/Fast_food.htm- This source taught me about the first fast food resteraunts and how they competed with others.

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/fast-foods/ - This newspaper gave me tips on ways to choose healthier options but also talked about the side effects and outcome of fast food.

Chew on This by Charles Wilson, Eric Schlosser

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Reuters

Anna Coleman Ladd's WWI Masks

   Anna Coleman Ladd was born in Penselvaynia and started sculpting with simple things like puddy  at a young age. She has always had amazing talent. Her works were found in many papers. She recieved many awards and even spent a summer sculpting in Rome. Once World War 1 started Ladd knew she could do something more with her work.
  One major disturbance that was occuring during the war was the soldiers faces getting desctructed. Parts of their face were being blown off by gun shots, bombs, etc. Surgeons were skeptical of how much they could actually help, or if they were able to fix that much. This is were Ladd stepped in.What doctors couldn't do she could. She hosted a house in France for wounded soldiers. She wanted to make them feel as comfortable and at home as she could. While they were waiting she gave them checkers, games, wine,paper and many other things to keep them occupied. What did Ladd do? She made masks for these soldiers to make them feel human again. "These patients found relief in the artistry of a woman who had previously sculpted only the faces of lifeless statues" (worker at Red Cross)
 "Hideous is the only word to describe these smashed faces." said a British Soldier. Ladd found joy in fixing the faces. She really sat down and got to know them before making their mask. She really wanted  to make the mask "part if the man himself". Ladd made over 100 masks. From watching a video on YouTube. She spends much detail and time on them. She used copper, foil, paint and anything else she could to make it perfect. She molded the face and meausured different attachments. Next she adjusted the attachment to the mold and face and makes it perfect. With many different mediums, she makes the attachments look as real as possible. Many people were skeptical of what she was doing. But after showing off her work to the service de Sante (France militray medical service) everyone was very impressed. She ended up spending a year and a half volenteering at Red Cross.
 But what did Ladd do after the war? The French gave Ladd the "cross of chevalier of the legion of honor." This was the highest honor she could recieve. She opened a summer studio in Manchester and didn't do as much with Red Cross. She trained some of her assistants to continue the studios work. She created sculptures reflecting on everything she saw in France, much of it was sufferering.
  "We laughed and helped them to forget. This is what they longed deeply for and appreciated." Ladd wrote many papers to her family and friends. These papers talked about everything she saw and helped with. It had pictures, annotations, clippings, and filed Red Cross information. Did other people do these types of things during the war? Many people helped in the usual ways such as donating supplies, money, helping with medecine. But no one was as genuine as Anna with her work. She was loved because she wanted to make the soldiers feel like a new person again. Like a loved human. That is why Ladd was so highly praised for her work.

A soldier after war



The same soldier with one of Ladd's masks

Some of Ladd's masks hanging at Red Cross

Ladd working on a mask

Sources:

History Channel- I used this souce to get the basic background info of Anna Ladd, that she was an artist, and what she did during the WWI.

Maker Of Masks, Restorer of Dreams by: Jacquie Sewell - I used this source to get a deeper meaning behind what she did during the war and how the masks affected the people and what she did after the war.

Archives of American Art - This site told me about the letters she sent to her family and friends about what she was doing and the reward she felt afterwards.

Chronicling America- I sued this source to get more of a background about her art before. She was very popular because a lot of her work apperead in newspapers.
Youtube-This youtube video showed me Anna doing her work. It was very interesting to watch all the detail she puts into her work and how she does it.

Post Card Resources

Sources:
1)Millitary
2) Great White Fleet Info
3) Chroniciling America 
4)The U.S. Navy's Great White Fleet served a foreign policy purpose in 1907.  by: Thomas Lohr
5) Online Library

Pictures:
1) Great White Fleet Info

Postcard project

So far, I have found research for 3 of the counties and areas that the great white fleet has reached. I have also found my primary source and my newspaper article. I have 3 sources and lots of pictures I can't wait to choose from! Tonight I will most likely create one of my notecards and look for my index cards. This is a cute picture me and all my work so far.

Human Zoos: 100 Years Ago

  100 years ago, urban cities were starting to devolp. As the cities started to devolp, people had more leisure time. With this newfound leisure time people would go out and look around for enterainment at movies, watching sports games, amusenment parks, zoos, and much more. One thing that people found very entertaining was the idea  of seeing people locked up behind cages, people different than the "normal white American." This idea was so interesting to Americans that  they would go to zoos to see people on display to watch how people that don't look like them act and behave. These places were called human zoos. They put different types of people on display, such as Native Americans, midgets, pygmy, anyone different than the white American. Most zoos put this idea into action to show something different and to increase the number of visitors in their zoo.
 
  One source of entertainment for Americans was Coney Island in New York. It feautred many rides and fun activities but one of the most popular attractions was in Dreamland. It was called Midget Village. This attraction was for pure entertainment. The man who had an idea behind it was very fond of clowns, but knew that they are everywhere. He wanted to change it up and give the people watching a different variety of things to see. Midget Village is exactly what it sounds like. Over 300 midgets inhabited a little town with everything a city would have. It had a circus, theatre, beach, stables, fire department, they even had their own parliment. "Giants", people of a normal size, would occaisonally walk through and pretend to scare the little people to add more entertainment value. People found this very amusing.
 
  Eventually, the idea was taken a little further. In Chicago world's fair another human zoo attraction was taken in, called Eskimo Village.Twelve Inuit families from Labrador were brought to Chicago. This was also a staple attraction at the time. The Inuit's only agreed to this because they were going to recieve a "free home" There were many rebellions by Eskimo tribes demanding that their freedom was taken away. The workers would not listen to this because it brought many new visitors to the fair. Many inuits escaped and started a tribe in another location saying "the contractor had taken them away from their home." This was just the opposite of what they had agreed to do. Though locked up, some were able to be successful. Esther Eneuseak found her career in the Eskimo Village. Born in the village, she worked in circuses and even was the first Inuit to star in Hollywood films. This was not always the normal situtation because the Inuits were not always treated how they should be. This exhibit was interesting to Americans but in a different way than Midget Village.

  Lastly the exhibit in Bronx zoo, was not only for entertainment but almost seen as an experiment. Ota Benga was a human Pygmy locked behind bars with an ape. He was discovered by the African explorer Samuel Verner and first brought into St. Louis. He was described as  and "embematic savage. Americans at this time, believed in Social Darwinism. They thought the whites were the highest power and dominmant than all of the others. The African American comitee protested against something this wrong but Mayor McClellan said he was "too busy" to speak to them. He made his secartary write a note saying it was not his business and to take it up with the Zoological Gardens. The mayor was not happy when people brought up the idea of taking Ota out of the because he attracted over 40,000 visitors a day. All over the news priests and negro ministers protested because this form of entertainment was taken too far. A Jew named Franz Boa opposed and protested as well because he did not believe in this idea. In newspapers they were trying to get rid of him. In New York, "Zoo has pygmy too many...he does not bite, his manners are variuous." The way they describes this 4ft man was like an animal. That was also how he was treated. After being taken in by a host family he borrowed a gun and killed him self in a forrest, because his life was so miserable.
 
  It started with entertainment and led to Social Darwinism. Many contended that "races" like biological species struggled for existance. Americans thought they were the strongest, imperical nation and could take over the world. One man said "Some races, (namely) white, left the ape far behind, while other races, pygmy hardly matured at all." "This idea required "darkest blacks" to set off against "dominant whites" and members of lowest known culture to contrast with it's highest culminatation." Americans liked to visit other "races" and "species" to show off how much higher they live. Human zoos were not only used for entertainment purposes but to show off white American's power.



Ota Benga, the human pygmy





This baby, Nancy, was born in Eskimo Village in 1893



People looking at midget village







Sources:

Creation Research

West Land 

Columbus 

Chronciling America at the Library of Congress 

Buy Books on the Web

NPR







Faces of America

 In class we watched the documentary, "Faces of America." In this I learned a lot about famous people's pasts. Not only did I learn that but I discovered that we are built as a "nation of immigrants." I thought it was very interesting that you could be a different color but come from a background. For example, the narrator was African American but he came from Irish descent. Another interesting fact, was the work and discrimination the immigrants had to face. Their journeys were far from easy. They started a new life in America for many different reasons, most just looking for new opportunities. 

   To me being a "nation of immigrants" means that we have a diverse culture with interesting backgrounds. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be for people to drop everything they had to move to America. These immigrants had to learn a whole new culture and become new people.  Their future generation wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for them. These traits have shaped America because we have brought not only different cultures but respect for other cultures and what they had to do to reach the United States. I feel close to my ancestors in different ways. Some family traditions revolve around the past. My family always has the best spaghetti because my great grandparents were Italian. I don't necessarily feel like they have shaped the way I am living today but I know that is the case for many. 

Andrew Carnegie

  Andrew Caregie had truly an amazing story. He grew up in a very poor family in Scotland. "I began to learn what poverty meant it was a burn into my heart that my father had to beg for work." Carnigie wrote. This was not how he wanted to live his life. His mother was scared of their poverty and borrowed 20 lbs so they could travel to America. When they first arrived Andrew was a bobbin boy but would take whatever job he could get. Eventually people started realizing how hard of a worker he was. Soon Carnigie worked on replacing a wood bridge into a steel bridge and earned more money than he could have imagined. After that his career really took off. He worked with Bessemer on converting iron to steel. In 1873 he invested in devolpment of the 1st steel mill in America. By 1900, Carnigie steel produced more metal than Great Britain.
  Andrew Carnigie's story was inspiring. After he lived such a hard life and watch his father struggle. He knew he could do something better. I thought it was amazing how hard he worked on what he did, not even dreaming he could get that much money. He didn't follow his fathers career but went on a path of his own. Most all sources say he went from "rags to riches", but I agree with this completley.


Andrew Carnigie

Sources PBS 1
New World Encyclopedia
PBS 2