| Product: |
History |
| Date: |
19/12/02 (1090 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: fun learning, spreading your knowledge
Disadvantages: you can only learn so much at school
History, well what is it? It says here (Chambers Family Dictionary) "the knowledge of past events." Well, of course it is the knowledge of past events but it's so much more. I think history is the most fascinating subject I have ever studied. In fact it is my favourite subject.
I'm currently studying hard (:p) for my A level history. I got an A* at GCSE and an A at AS level. At GCSE we studied superpower relations and the racial problems of America after WW2 up to about 1970.
In the superpower relations course we studied things such as the problems, which remained after WW2 such as the relative strength of Germany despite losing, communism in Russia and foreign policy (a real favourite of mine!).
We learnt that Star Wars wasn't just a film made by Steven Spielberg but was a policy used by Ronald Reagan in the early 1980's in which he provided money for American scientists to investigate the possibilities of America having the technology to be able to shoot down missiles or rockets in mid air, actually quite like what GBJr is doing at the moment.
I learnt that the Bay of Pigs isn't just a silly name but a name of a place in Cuba where the American backed forces landed in 1962 to try to overthrow Castro leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I learnt that "start" wasn't just the word we use for the beginning of a race but that START is actually a treaty signed by America and Russia to stop building ICBM's, which are actually inter continental ballistic missiles for those of you who didn't study history!!
How many of you know that Jimmy Carter (in my class he was known as cheesy, due to his smile, it'd blind you) was a PEANUT farmer, yes a peanut farmer from the South. Did you know that Stalin?s regime continued up until 1953 when he died.
Of course the American race wars weren?t as interesting as real wars but we learnt about Rosa Parks, a black girl who
refused to give up her seat on a bus which created riots in Montgomery, Georgia.
The NAACP was a group which was set up which gained a huge following after WW1 because blacks weren't allowed to be officers or even pilots!! The NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. Ahhhhha, just found my history exercise book
America 1940-81
The growth and influence of the economy
Social and cultural Divisions and their importance
Political Attitudes and divisions in the USA
There you go but back to ad lib!!
Did you know that Martin Luther King once said, "they'd set them (black) free, but they didn't give him his busfare to get him into town"
Did you know that not all Americans were racist, some like Truman believed "separate but equal" was the best way.
GCSE was probably my favourite year due to the courses, which were so good.
For AS level we studied dictatorships in Europe in the twentieth century. We studied Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler, all bad men of course. Stalin is possibly the harshest man I?ve ever studied, Hitler one of the cleverest, despite what everyone thinks and Mussolini, just plain stupid, In fact I can?t emphasise how stupid Mussolini actually was. For example, In the run up to WW2 he refused to build any aircraft carriers because h thought, and I quote, "Italy doesn?t need any aircraft carriers as Italy is a natural one!!!!!!!!!!? haha, loser!
Hitler was able to exploit the problems, which lay in Germany after WW1 to win power in 1932. There are a huge amount of factors but the Nazi (national workers socialist party). In 1928 the Nazi party had 12 seats by 1933 Hitler had become the Chancellor and then in 1934, after the death of Hindenburg, Hitler made himself into the Chancellor and Reichs Fuhrer having absolute and complete power in Germany, making it into a totalitarian state. He then went
on to
star
t the war and of course to lose, yeoooooo.
Stalin, many people know that he was a tyrant, but why, well basically he enjoyed a good purge. In fact a mate of mine made up a diary for Stalin for one day.
Breakfast
Morning Purge
Lunch
Afternoon Purge
Dinner
Evening Purge
Bed
Dream about tomorrows Purges
Stalin was one of the bad guys in history. He purged (killed) 15% of his officer core, because he thought they were plotting against him. He was a maniac and a tyrant. He sent people to gulags (the first concentration camp of its kind) mostly in Siberia. He even forced people to address him as the ?shining sun of humanity? which is quite rich coming from a man who is said according to the historian Robert Conquest about 20 million people either directly or indirectly.
We also did a bit on Lenin, who is one of these people I had heard of but didn?t know who he was or what he did. I had the idea of Lenin that he was a maniac like Stalin who killed people. Contrary to my beliefs Lenin was a man of principle unlike Stalin. He believed wholeheartedly in communism. He led the revolt in 1917 in which Czar Nicholas and his family were rounded up and later shot. He was a very clever man and wrote many books whereas Stalin was a hard worker who was his own man. Lenin was a one of the party and although he killed directly or indirectly a huge amount of Russians, he did it because he had to if the revolution was to succeed whereas Stalin killed for the fun of killing it seemed.
Mussolini, the joy that man brought to our history classes. What an idiot. Another example of his stupidity is: Mussolini the Duce of Italy would not look at women in the face because he believed their stare could make his TESTICLES, yes his TESTICLES drop off. You can only imagine the fun and laughter that caused in a class full of 17 year olds. Basically this course was a huge slabber at Italy, Italy lost to Ab
yssinia in
a war in
1898 and in revenge Mussolini invaded Ethiopia (as it is now called) in 1936. We learnt about how Mussolini, due to shortages, made house fronts out of wood, machine guns out of wood and repainted houses on the route Hitler took. on a tour threw Rome to impress him. I could talk on about a lot of really boring things about Mussolini but the rest of it?s quite boring, it is Italy after all.
This year my A Level year we?re doing Hitler and Germany between WW1 and WW2 again. It?s really starting to bore me. I know it already and as I?ve explained it to you already, I don?t think you need to know about it again.
The other course for this year is Irish History (excuse me while I?m sick). Most of you will probably know very little about Irish history, especially, I?m sorry to say you English, being ¼ English I think I can get away with saying that. But count yourself lucky you don?t need to study it. Whereas coming from Belfast predictably we do and we all hate it, not just me. It?s so boring and uneventful, it?s all this politics rubbish.
I hope you have enjoyed this little story and I hope it has enlightened you about history at school.
My only regret is that I can?t learn more. I mean, we?ve never studied the French revolution or Napoleon, American Revolution, Ancient Greece or even other history that you?d never dream of studying.
However if i'm stuck i suppose i can read books!
So, that takes us up to the present day, Irish history and yes, I?m still slogging it out. I got a C at the Christmas exams, but who cares, roll on the A level exams and then freedom and university.
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