New Wesbite

   Here is a link to my new website. 

Welcome to my website

  This website is intended to be one of your resources during the school year.  The site is used in two basic ways.

1.    Help to Improve Communication:

•  Announcements for upcoming assignments, quizzes, projects, and other assessments will be   posted here as well as in the classroom.
• If you check the site it will help give you a better understanding of what is happening in class.

    2. As a Resource:

• H.W. assignments, presentations, and some documents will be posted on my site.  It is a good habit to check the webpage when you come home from school or if you are absent.
• Helpful links related to our topics will be posted

I am very excited about the upcoming school year.

Thank you for a great year and enjoy your summer.

       Today I came back to the Middle School for a Faculty Meeting and I was struck with how different the school is without the students being there.  The school was lacking energy there was no laughter in the hallways no buzz, it does not feel like a school.  Typically I leave my end of the year farewells for the Completion Ceremony or for my final day talk with you but this year, after being in the empty school I want to do something different.

  To My Students,

     Sometimes in life you do not know how fortunate you are until you lose something and I feel that way right now. Today I started the process of cleaning my classroom and kept thinking about how truly amazing my year was and it was all made possible because of you.  

   Thanks to you I have a job where I laugh every single day, I do not know who else can say that.  I have an opportunity to hear new and fresh ideas from some incredibly talented students. I saw your talents shine through your essays, art work, quizzes, and reflections.  Some of you have more skills as an 8th grader than some high school students.  I would look out into my classroom and see my students who are going to have greater accomplishments than I could every imagine. 

    I loved when you shared your ideas, opinions, thoughts, and stories with me.  It showed growth, both personal and intellectual when you were brave enough to express yourself in front of your peers. Some of my favorite memories of being a teacher come from these moments. Whether it is about a subject or each other, we learn through stories.  Hearing your stories I learned a great deal.

   No matter where you end up next year you are always welcome to visit me.

  

Enjoy your rest this summer.

Best of Luck,

Mr. Mullady

   

   

   

Milgram Experiment

In  1961, Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was placed on trial for his role during the Holocaust.  Eichmann's defense, like many other Nazis was that he was simply following orders.
    Yale Psychologist Stanley Milgram developed an intricate test called "The Behavioral Study of Obedience" to test how far people would obey authority.  His experiments were conducted in New Haven Connecticut under the guise that this was was study on learning habits and not obedience.  Milgram's experiments shocked the scientific community and helped inspire other scientists to continue to study obedience and conformity.

Milgram's Experiment

Updated version of Milgram's Experiment from the BBC.

So Close...

  As the school year begins to wind down there are a couple of housekeeping activities that we need to do: locker clean up, returning textbooks, preparing for the Completion Ceremony.  There is one more task I need you to complete for this week, the Social Studies End of the Year Survey.

The survey should only take a few minutes and the data collected is very useful to myself as well as the History Department. I really appreciate you taking the time to complete the survey in a thoughtful manner.

Thank you

Mr. Mullady

Schindler's List Reflection

  "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."
                      ~ The Talmud



    You will be selecting three of the ten questions from today's handout to answer.  I expect your answers to be typed and double spaced, try and have each response be roughly one page in length.  This assessment for watching Schindler's List and your response will be graded for quality, evidence, and thoughtfulness. Your work will be collected on Friday and count for one quiz grade.

To help you with the homework feel free to use some of the following websites.

Link to important quotes from the movie.  This should be helpful with answering #9.

Holocaust Survivor Stories  This site has links to stories about the Schindler Jews and others.

Biography link of Oskar Schindler 

Righteous Among the Nations also has links to Bystanders, Upstanders, and the Little Girl in the Red Coat

Little Steps

      I hope that you enjoyed hearing Reena's story from yesterday.  I would like to apologize that we have not had the opportunity to watch Schindler's List prior to her talk which may have helped you understand her talk a little more.  Next week we will be watching the film in class and I will point out the events that Reena mentioned that are in the film.

   Below is a reading that I would like to read and print out about Germany violating the Treaty of Versailles repeatedly without any punishment from the Allies.  Between 1935 and 1938 there were several opportunities where Hitler tests the resolve of Britain, France, and the United States.  In other words, how much can he get away with before he is challenged.

      After World War I, in order to create a buffer zone between Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the Allies ordered that the Rhineland become a demilitarized zone.  In the Rhineland were many important German cities, Cologne, Aachen, Frankfurt, and Dusseldorf as well as Germany's industrial center.   In October of 1935, French intelligence became aware that the Germans were moving troops towards the Rhineland in direct opposition to the Versailles Treaty.  The French government contacted the British government of the situation, but the British remained silent on the issue.  On March 7, 1936, German troops crossed into the Rhineland while the global community sat largely silent on the issue.  Hitler's invasion of the Rhineland made him a hero to many Germans.  He was seen as a leader who was willing and able to stand up to the Allies.




   
       The foreign policy of many nations during the 1930s was appeasement or giving in to the demands of an aggressor in order to avoid future conflict. With the memories of World War I still fresh in the minds of many people the governments of Britain, France, and the United States were hesitant to resisting Hitler's actions and risking another war.   Some Europeans and Americans believed that a strong Germany was good for the world because it would keep the Soviet Union at bay.
   
       Following his success in the Rhineland Hitler began to prepare for his next test for the Allies, Austria.  Austria and Germany had fought together during World War I.  Fearing a large and powerful Germany, the Treaty of Versailles had forbidden Germany and Austria from ever joining together under one government.  For years the Nazi party had worked on creating a formidable presence in Germany and worked tirelessly to spread Nazi propaganda.

      Citing unrest and crisis that was occurring in Austria, in 1938, Hitler called for an Anschluss or union between Germany and Austria. Struggling with Nazi sympathizers in their government, the Prime Minister of Austria attempted to restore diplomatic relations with Germany and prevent a war.  In his hopes of preventing any loss of life, the Prime Minister resigned from his position paving the way for a German invasion of his country.  As Hitler and the Nazis invaded Austria, several Catholic and Lutheran bishops praised the Nazis for peacefully uniting the two countries and encouraged members of their church to work with the Nazi leadership.

     Hitler set his sights on the Sudetenland an area controlled by Czechoslovakia that has a large German population that had settled in the region centuries before.  The Nazi party had a presence in these provinces and had worked with Germany in helping to create a crisis that would ultimately end with the Germans seizing the land.   Hitler claimed that the Germans living in the Sudetenland were being persecuted by the Czech government.  He argued that Germany needed to take drastic actions to ensure the safety and well being of their fellow Germans living in Czechoslovakia.
   
        Hitler believed that the Czechs and Slovaks who made up a majority of the Czechoslovakian population were racially inferior to the Germans and were subhuman.  He hoped to prove his theories of racial supremacy by taking over the entire nation. In March of 1938, Hitler ordered Sudeten Nazis to create a crisis in the country. Violence broke out across the Sudetenland and Hitler mobilized his army to the Czech border hoping to intimidate the Czechoslovakian government.  The Czechoslovakian government awaited help from their allies the British and the French.

   On September 29th, British, French, German and Italian leaders met in Munich to discuss the growing conflict over the Sudetenland.  Neither the Czechs or their allies the Soviet Union were invited to attend the conference.  During the meetings Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be placed under German control. He promised that if Germany was given the Sudetenland, then he would leave the rest of Czechoslovakia alone. Fearing the possibility of war, the French and the British agree to Hitler's demands hoping that they just secured peace for all of Europe.



   
     When the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to London he brought with him a treaty that Hitler  signed pledging to never attack Great Britain. The British public celebrated Chamberlain's accomplishment of securing peace for Europe believing that Hitler would not longer be a threat.  Shortly after Chamberlain's return to Britain, Hitler invaded the Sudetenland and shortly took over the rest of Czechoslovakia.

 
 

 

Tonight for Homework

 Please read pages 36 and 37 in the Facing History Packet.
   Afterwards I want you to choose three specific events from either the timeline or your notes that played a significant role in Hitler's rise to power.  For each of the events I want you to create an image that details the event.

Hitler's Rise to Power

          In 1919, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NAZI) was founded by nationalist Germans who were angry over Germany's defeat in World War I.  Nazis believed that Germany's defeat was caused by the betrayal of German military commanders as well as a Jewish conspiracy to ruin Germany.  Nazis sought to exterminate groups that they labeled "degenerate" in order to preserve the integrity of the German master race.
      Hitler became the 55th member of the Nazi party after meeting some party members who were in the military. Early party officials were drawn to Hitler's speaking abilities and believed that he could help the party recruit new membership.  In the early1920s, Nazi membership was small and the political party was viewed as being more obscure and too right wing for most Germans. Inspired by a political coup in Italy, Hitler believed that in order to take over Germany there needed to be a violent sudden uprising.  On November 8, 1923, Hitler launched his attempted coup in Munich with disastrous results.
         With Hitler's arrest after the Beer Hall Putsch it appeared that the Nazis would become obsolete over the coming years.  Following his release from prison, Hitler reorganized the Nazi Party and began to focus more attention on upcoming political elections.  Within ten years the Nazis would rise from a fringe political group to the most powerful political party in all of Germany.

Link to notes

For H.W. tonight

Read pages 27-32 in the Facing History Packet

  Then answer  4 of the following questions on a separate piece of paper.


1. Jews lived under Assyrian, Roman,  Persian, Egyptian, and Greek rulers.  How did Jewish religious beliefs differ from their rulers? How did this help contribute to the Jews becoming a "they" group?


2. Using the reading, describe two examples of anti-semitism that led to violence against Jews.


3. How did Thomas Monmouth helped spread anti-semtism in Europe?


4. Why do you think some people in England believed the story of William's murder?


5. Making a connection to today.  Has advancement in technology helped more in spreading rumors or helped more in people discovering the truth?


6. What are some methods or strategies do you feel are successful in combatting rumors?

The Weimar Republic

  After Germany's surrender to the Allied Powers during World War I, Germany was forced to form a brand new government.  After centuries of living under the rule of monarchs, German citizens were now living under democratic rule.  The new German government referred to as the Weimar Republic, was faced with severe problems:
   1. Anger and unrest amongst the German population
 
   2. wide spread unemployment

   3.  a war time debt towards the Allied Powers worth over $2 Billion.

          From 1919-1924, life in the Weimar Republic was harsh. Prices of food began to rise due to shortages that were caused by the war.  Inflation became part of the daily struggle for everyday Germans.  As the economic woes continued to mount, the German government sought to relieve some of pressure by printing out more money to lower prices.  As more German money entered circulation the value of German currency began to decline.  Soon Germany entered a stage of hyperinflation.



   When Germany was unable to pay back France its war reparations France invaded the Ruhr Valley in 1924.  The Ruhr Valley was one of the most industrialized parts of Germany.  The French army occupied several mines and factories and informer the Germans that they would be working for the French and not be paid for their labor.
   Many Germans living in the Ruhr Valley protested the seizure of German property and protested the actions taken by the French.  To assist the workers and in hoped of stimulating the economy, the German government began to issue more money leading to further hyper inflation.  It appeared that war would soon break out between Germany and France over the crisis.
    Hoping to secure the fragile European economy, the United States offered a solution.  The Dawes Plan would provide Germany with a series of loans to help pay off their debt to the Allied Powers. Since the Allies owed the United States money from World War I, the Dawes Plan would help the U.s. regain its previous investment faster.  
    Once the Dawes Plan was enacted and the effects began to be felt in Germany the German economy began to stabilize.  The German Banking system was reorganized and soon prices returned to normal.
 


  Beginning in 1925 and lasting until 1929 the Weimar Republic enjoyed a period of enoncomic success and stability.

Here are the Weimar Republic Notes

For Tonight

    Today in class we reviewed last night's homework questions comparing the works of Wilfred Owen and Alfred Lord Tennyson.  We discussed how Tennyson's description of war glorified the fighting and while Owen's poem depicted war in a more horrific manner. Generations of Europeans grew up knowing only the romanticized version of war where the battlefield was filled with heroics and death was described valiantly.  World War I changed that.  Dying in battle was no longer depicted as a heroic and many men and women began to question their culture's values and traditions.
       After reviewing the homework we continued with our notes on W.W. I and the end of the fighting.

Today for H.W.

please answer pages 24 and 25 in your Facing History Book.    Here is a link for the World War I notes

Dulce et Decorum es pro patri mori

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori or

      ~ Horace

     The Roman poet Horace published a collection of poems that glorified Roman culture and values. He encouraged citizens of Rome to become a military power to frighten and defeat their enemies. Horace proclaimed that "It is sweet and right to die for your country." 

   Thousands of years later students across the world have studied Horace's work and teachers have used his poetry to teach lessons of nationalism.  Glorifying the military and sacrificing one's life for their country were considered one's duty to their country. As nations became more nationalistic more and more students were taught in school about the importance of sacrifice.

    In 1854, Alfred Lord Tennyson published his poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" based on reports from the Crimean War.  Tennyson was the poet laureate of Great Britain and regarded as a celebrity in the U.K. After reading a newspaper report on a British defeat, Tennyson was inspired to write a poem glorifying the actions and heroics of British soldiers. His poem was an immediate success and copies were distributed to soldiers on the front lines as well as to the Royal Family.

   Wilfred Owen was a  talented college student when World War I broke out.  He studied Theology and English and at one point was working a private tutor.  In 1915, Owen enlisted in the Officer's Training Corps and achieved the rank of Lieutenant in 1916.  While recovering from wounds he received from a mortar shell Owen became friends with poet Siegfried Sassoon.  Owen began to write poems about his war time experiences while recovering and after he returned to the front.  Owen died during the final week of the war and his poems were published by his family afterwards.

For H.W. tonight:

Part I.

Read "Charge of the Light Brigade"  and then answer the following questions.

1. What images does Tennyson used to describe the battle?

2. Briefly explain what occurred during the battle? What was the goal of the Light Brigade?  Explain outcome?  

3.  Explain why this poem is an example of militarism or an example of nationalism.

Part II.

Read Dulce et decorum Est

1. What are images that Owen used to describe the soldiers? 

2. Both Tennyson and Owen are writing about the hardships of war.  How is the fighting  depicted differently in Owen's poem?

3.  Explain why Owen titled the poem Dulce et Decorum est. 

Little Things are Big

  In 1917, sixteen year old Jesus Colon moved from Puerto Rico to live with his brother in New York City.  Colon found work as a waiter, postal clerk, and a dishwasher to survive.  It was during this time that he developed a sense of empathy for the working class and experienced discrimination first hand.  The combination of Colon's dark skin and his struggles learning English made it challenging for him to advance his career.
      During the 1920s and 1930s Colon became involved in various organizations that support Puerto Ricans and Latinos living in New York  City.  His political associations helped him get involved in the labor movement and he became involved in the Communist Party. In the 1950s, he became a featured columnist in The Daily Worker a communist newspaper.
   Later in his life Jesus Colon wrote the short story Little Things are Big, reminiscing about an experience he had on a New York subway in the 1950s.


Here is a link to the Colon Reading

For H.W.

Read "We and They" by Rudyard Kipling and answer the questions on the back of the handout.

Masks and Camouflage

     I really enjoyed our class discussions on Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Nolte. Some of you agreed with the message that Nolte was conveying.  I really appreciated hearing from those of you that disagreed with certain parts of the poem and were open to explain your opinions.  Understanding how others can impact our sense of identity is an essential lesson from Facing History.
    In class we looked at some images of camouflage that certain animals have developed in order to survive in nature.  Camouflage helps hide some creatures from dangerous predators like this fish     or it can be used to hide a predator from its prey like this lion. 

    People are capable of camouflaging themselves as well.  In certain situations, in order to fit in, people will sometimes put on a "mask".  Like camouflage, a mask is a survival mechanism that some people use.  Wearing a mask can range from laughing at a joke that you do not think is funny to fit in to pretending you like a certain type of music to impress somebody.  Sometimes you put on a mask to protect people, by not showing you are afraid to try and calm other people down.
    Today a student today talked about that in a certain class he wears a mask so it will look like he knows what the teacher is talking about because he does not want to ask any questions in front of the teacher.
   

For Friday, I would like to read the poem on page 12 and answer the questions on page 13 in your Facing History Book.

Best of Luck with MCAS

The Bear that Wasn't

   Our first topic of Facing History is Identity where we examine how we identify ourselves and how we believe others identify us.  Last Thursday in class we discussed the roles that the media, family, and peers play in helping to shape our identity.  All of these agents of socialization play a significant role in the development of our identity.
     At a young age boys and girls learn what colors are considered "boys colors" and "girl colors" and what toys are "boy toys" and which ones are "girl toys".  Children learn these lessons from watching commercials on T.V. and the lessons are often enforced by their peers.
   On Friday you read The Bear that Wasn't, a book that offers an excellent lesson on how someone's identity can be changed because of the influence of others. When we study the history of Germany during the 1920s and 1930s, that lesson will be important to remember in helping to explain the rise of anti-Semitism and the rise of the Nazi Party.
    This week we will continue our conversations on Identity as well as the concept that sometimes people put on a "mask' in certain situations for protection.

On Friday your Paper Bag Assignment is due.  If you have any questions please contact me or see me during school.

 

Radical Reconstruction

      Andrew Johnson was Vice-President for six weeks when Abraham Lincoln was murdered.  In an emergency meeting with the Cabinet, Johnson promised to follow through on Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan and asked the Cabinet to work with him during his term.  Many Republicans were skeptical about Andrew Johnson but following his meeting with the Cabinet, they were more confident that the new President would work with them.  They would be proven wrong in less than a year.
    Andrew Johnson believed that the federal government should not be controlling Reconstruction and that the Southern states should be the ones handling Reconstruction.  Like Lincoln, Johnson offered amnesty to Southerners to help reunite the nation.  In addition to offering amnesty, the President officially pardoned 7,000 former Confederate veterans and officials.  By providing these men with a Presidential pardon, Johnson made it possible for former Confederates to return to politics and not suffer any legal repercussions for their actions in the Civil War.  Many Northerners and Republicans were outraged by this and criticized Johnson for being too lenient with the South.
     A faction of Republicans became known as Radical Republicans for their views on Reconstruction. Radical Republicans wanted to completely reshape the South and called for harsher penalties towards former Confederate states.  Led by Senators Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stephens the Radical Republicans grew in influence as it became clear that President Johnson would not cooperate with Congress.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
here are the Battle for Reconstruction Notes. 

Lincoln's Plan for Reconstruction

    Following his reelection in 1864,  President Lincoln had begun planning for Reconstruction or rebuilding of the United States.  He wanted to reunite the nation as quickly as possible and to have the people of the South treated as equals.
    The fate of slavery in the border states and the legal status of African Americans were two important questions that needed to be answered. Lincoln understood that only by changing the Constitution could slavery be eliminated once and for all.  During Lincoln's last few months in office he saw the passage  of the 13th Amendment which made slavery unconstitutional and the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau to assist former slaves.
      To allow for Southern states to rejoin the Union in a speedy manor, Lincoln's advocated a plan known as the 10% plan for Reconstruction.   Since 1860 was the last national election that all the states in the Union took part in, the plan called for 10% of the population of 1860 to take a loyalty oath to the Union.  Once that 10% was established, a former Confederate state could establish a new state constitution and be readmitted into the Union. Lincoln also believed that it was essential to offer amnesty or an official pardon to southerners for participating in a rebellion.
    Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan was not well received by Congress.  They accused the President of overreaching his authority, claiming that he did not have the power to readmit Southern states but that only Congress could.  Many northerners felt that Lincoln was being to lenient on the South and wanted the President to enact harsher penalties on Southern states and former members of the Confederacy.

  Homework for tonight:

   1. Finish today's classwork on the different plans for Reconstruction.

   2. "O Captain My Captain" creative assignment is due on Thursday, May 2nd.

   

Gettysburg Assessment

Tomorrow's in class writing assignment is asking you to explain why the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War and then to explain how the Gettysburg Address reignited the Union's push to victory.
    A turning point is a moment when the course of events are altered, a point where there is a significant  change.  Here is an example,  a  turning point in my life was becoming a dad, I now look at situations from a different perspective than before I became a parent.

   In addition to reviewing your notes and handouts about the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address I am going to post some links that may be useful to you in your preparation.

Battle of Gettysburg from the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns

Gettysburg Address from the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns

An accessible Gettysburg Address explanation.

Before your Test Tomorrow

  Tomorrow is your exam on the Civil War, your last Social Studies test of your Middle School career.  In order to properly mark this occasion I think it is important that you take the following steps in order to have a successful day tomorrow.

   1. Eat Breakfast!  Even if you are not hungry in the morning, bring something to eat in the morning.  It will help fuel you for the day and help you think clearer.

2. Bring a Snack for the Test.  Having a healthy snack will help you focus and clear your head during the exam.  Think about it, we ask you to bring a snack for MCAS why not all of your exams?

3. Read over the Exam before starting it.  Think about what questions you may want to answer and organize your thoughts.

Pre-Test Questions

   Below are some practice questions that you may want to work on prior to tomorrow's review session.


1. Which of the following fought for the Confederacy?

   A. General George Mead                                                 B. General George Pickett
   C. George Armstrong Custer                                            D. George Ryan


2. Which of the following was a Confederate victory?

     A. Gettysburg                                             B. Siege of Atlanta
     C. Bull Run                                                D.  Shiloh


3. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee met with Ulysses S. Grant to discuss his terms of surrender.   Give two reasons why Lee decided to surrender.



4. In the election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln did not win a majority of the popular vote but still won the election.  Explain how this happened.



5. What slave states  did not leave the Union?


6. Why did Lincoln fire McClellan?


7.  The Emancipation Proclamation asked for African Americans to enlist in the Union military.  What else did President Lincoln ask former slaves to do?



8. What were two results of "Sherman's March to the Sea"?



9.  How did the Gettysburg Address help motivate the North to win the Civil War?



10. Define Secede:


Here is a link to the notes on General Sherman and the Surrender at Appomattox