Progressive Research

Progressive Research

Urban and Yellow Journalism

Urban and Yellow Journalism

                                                                 Yellow Journalism

                                                         Maine Explosions Newspaper

                                                    Yellow Journalism Political Cartoon

                                                    "The Era of Yellow Journalism"

                                                   Yellow Journalism Political Cartoon

                                            Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst

Sources: History State Gov: Yellow Journalism
JSTOR: Yellow Journalism as a Mode of Urban Behavior

What Happens to Separated Immigrant Families?

What happens to separated immigrant families? 

      Immigration has been an extremely controversial and hot topic in the news recently. A large portion of this debate is about whether illegal immigrant families should be kept together, and how to do this in an efficient way. The topic of separated immigrant families is extremely difficult for the US government to find solutions for because they are struggling to find a humanitarian way to deal with people who have committed an illegal crime but not necessarily with bad intentions. This leads to conflict when having to address the fact that they did do something illegal, but still trying to keep in mind that they too are human and in most cases have illegally crossed the border in search of a better life. So what solutions have the government come up with and how are they seeming to work out?

            Because so many people are now crossing the border illegally, the government is struggling to find solutions to have people deported while also keeping families together. In an article by the Washington Post, they describe how President Trump's new border control is causing young children to be separated from their families, over 500 migrants have been separated from their parents and are now in U.S. custody. Trump's "zero tolerance policy" was created because having a child with you when illegally crossing the border used to allow immigrants to bypass some laws that made it harder for them to be deported. Now that the zero tolerance policy is in place, illegal immigrants are being separated from their families in the process of deportation. The biggest factor in this separation is the Flores Agreement, it is a law that prohibits the government from putting children in immigrant detention with their parents for more than 20 days. Because of the mass amounts of deportation, it is taking long periods of time: weeks even months before children are reunited with their parents. Trump's administration is hoping to put in place plans that will decrease the number of families crossing illegally. One solution that has been mentioned is called binary choice. In this scenario families have two options, they could stay together in detention while their immigration case moves forward (this process can take years) or, they can allow their children to be taken to a shelter where a relative already in the U.S or a suitable adult can gain custody and help them start their life in the United States. However, the problem with this is that it might encourage illegal immigration because it gives families a chance to allow their children a better life.

               In an article by CNBC Trump explains his newest immigration policy. He says that immigrants who cross illegally will not be allowed to seek asylum at all. In a statement by Matthew Whitaker and Homeland Security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen they say: Our asylum is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it. Today we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility." By doing this the government is hoping to limit the number of people who cross the border illegally by ensuring that they won't be granted protection that the binary choice might have given them.

           From a political standpoint, I understand this policy and why it would be put in place. I understand that the government has to prioritize the needs of their own citizens as well as those coming into the United States legally. However, I do wish that the government could find a way to be more careful when it comes to the separation of families because in most cases they are coming in search of a better life, not with ill intentions. Many experts say that the way these children are being separated from their families can cause "permanent emotional harm". I feel like when looking at this from a government point of view, what they are doing makes logistical sense, they are shutting down resources for illegal immigrants in hopes of lowering the number of people coming in illegally. But if you look at it from a humanitarian point of view, many people are coming to the United States because they are in need of a better life. So often in politics, I think we lose the human emotion and connection and focus so largely on logic and justice. While I do think both of those things are so important and completely essential, I think sometimes we need to take a step back and look at it as humans, not politicians, not critics, but as humans. This ability to empathize could maybe help us come up with a solution that still acknowledges that illegal immigration is still illegal, but also doesn't cause emotional harm to children or to their families. 

Immigrant families remain separated after crossing the US-Mexico border                                                Protest against the separation of illegal immigrant families

 

"Separating immigrant families is fundamentally un-American"

          

Sources:

Washington Post: Still Separated: Nearly 500 Migrant Children Taken from Their Parents Remain in U.S. Custody

Washington Post: Trump administration weighs new-family separation effort at border

USA Today: What happens next for undocumented immigrant families? All your questions answered

VOX: Flores Agreement

AP News: Scrutiny, criticism of ICE come with immigration enforcement

CNBC: Trump unveils hard-line immigration policy that limits asylum

2.1 Empathy in Rats

2.1 Empathy in Rats

Empathetic rats help each other over chocolate

Through the two science experiments, I read about I learned that rodents do in some way feel empathy. In one experiment a rodent chose to help save a rat from drowning despite the chocolate they were being offered. In another study between black and white rats, the scientists found that at first, the rats didn't feel inclined to help each other, most likely because of their differences, but after becoming acquainted with each other they were more willing to help the rats in confinement despite their differences. I found it interesting that scientists were able to relate this back to humans and how we interact and empathize with each other. 

Are Rats Born Racist?

Rats Foresake Chocolate to Save a Drowning Companion

2.2 Success Factors

2.2 Success Factors

1. Hard work

2. Opportunity

3. Skill

4. Luck

          In terms of economic success, I think of these 4 words, hard work is the most important. Without a drive to achieve success and the willingness to put in hard work, success is typically not attainable. I think opportunity would be the second most important because often times an opportunity must be presented in order for someone to actually go out and try to achieve their goal, or even set goals for themselves because opportunity gives us something to strive towards. The third most important would be skill, although I do think skill is important in terms of success I do think in some cases it can be overridden by hard work and an awesome opportunity. The least important of these 4 would be lucky when it comes to success luck is probably the last thing we should rely on because it is the most unreliable, it also doesn't cause you to do any work for yourself.

Fashion Evolution in the 20th Century

Fashion Evolution in the 20th Century

          

                 Fergus County Democrat                        The Richmond Palladium

        During the turn of the 19th century into the 20th century, fashion began to change. As society changed to fit a more urbanized and industrialized lifestyle, fashion evolved to accommodate these new changes. These changes led to a new, revolutionized way to get clothing that now catered to more people with more general sizes. 

      During the 1860s, women's fashion was not catered for the everyday urbanized life that was soon to come. Women wore corsets that constricted basic movements, long skirts that reached the ground, shirts with tight sleeves, and infinite amounts of lace. As daily life became more industrialized and urbanized, this style was in no way practical for the changing society. As the early 1900s came around we begin to see a change in women's typical daily wear. Their long skirts began to come off the ground and got progressively shorter as the 20th century continued, It was noted that: "They threw off much of the frill and lace, embraced the new woman look... with tailored suits, blouses, and skirts." Around the1914-1920s there was also a new wave of a military look to reflect that of the soldiers fighting in World War 1. Before the war, the United States had been following Paris fashion, but as the war began and we lost communication with Paris, New York became the leading fashion powerhouse. New designers began to cater more towards femininity and practicality. 

     Industrialization, urbanization, and the war were the 3 main factors that contributed to a completely transformed "normal" daily wear for women. As the city became more urbanized, it also became more polluted, this largely contributed to women's skirts coming off the ground. As society became more industrialized, the frilly, lacy look of the late 1800s was no longer practical for the new industrialized jobs that women were now taking part in, this contributed to the simpler more practical wear that we see in the early to mid-1900s. Because of the war, women were now taking over jobs that men had previously held, this not only caused a new sense of empowerment in women that would later push them to fight for greater movements but also the change to a more "manly" style. In an ad from the Richmond Palladium in 1912, a store called Nasbums published this: "It would pay you to make a special trip downtown tomorrow to see our display of Suits, all the very latest materials and colors are among them. High-grade man-tailored models, faultlessly finished, handsomely lined throughout." This ad shows the idealized more manly style that was so popular. In another ad published by the Richmond Palladium in the same issue, they discuss the shoes of the upcoming season and they remark that: "Very few lace shoes are being shown, except those in the more mannish cuts, intended for athletic or street use"..."Smart and sensible is the season's footwear" Through advertising published at the time we get a better understanding that these fashions were not only idealized for the way they looked but also the sensible practicality of it. 

   Not only were these fashions affected by the society around them, but they also helped to change different aspects of society. As these new clothes began to come "ready to wear" as opposed to when previously women had to go to seamstresses to get clothing made, these clothing items could now be mass produced. This ability of mass production led to the development of department stores that now made it even easier for women to go, pick out a size, and take it home. This new way also developed consumer culture. This new availability of clothes being right at your fingertips shaped consumer culture because these things are now ready to be bought when they're wanted, whenever they're wanted. Because these clothes were being mass produced, they are also made to fit more general sizes as opposed to when they would have been previously made to fit you exactly. 

      Because of the new industrialization and urbanization of the early 20th century, women's fashion transformed completely. This new look created a sense of empowerment but also provided a sensible and practical solution for a large majority of working women. These changes were a large step towards what we consider now modern fashion which also largely idealizes a more manly look. Because of the industrialization and urbanization, the change of clothing led to the mass production of clothing, which led to the development of department stores, which led to the evolution of consumer culture that we still see in our modern society today. 

Sources:

Chronicling America

Chronicling America #2

Chronicling America #3

Tudor Links

UVM

Bellatory

GlamourDaze

Thanksgiving Research Article Writing

Thanksgiving and how it has Evolved

The First Thanksgiving

Through doing research on the history of Thanksgiving, I learned interesting information that I hadn’t known before about the very first Thanksgiving and how it has evolved. The first Thanksgiving wa3-day day celebration of a successful harvest in 1621. Although there were Native Americans from the Wampanoag tribe in attendance it is not for certain that they were necessarily invited as we imagine it now. One of the most interesting things I learned was that a large majority of the foods we associate with Thanksgiving now, were not present at the first Thanksgiving. For example, pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving tradition for most families and is largely associated with the holiday, but pumpkin pie was not a part of the first Thanksgiving because they didn’t have the dough or ovens to make it! Historians aren’t even sure if turkey was apart of the first Thanksgiving. Through this research, I learned a lot more about the first Thanksgiving and how it actually happened. However, what i found most interesting was how it evolved into a national holiday.

Thanksgiving wasn’t always a national holiday, despite what we may think because of the fact we associate the first celebration of it in 1621. Although there may have been days that people dedicated to giving thanks,Thanksgiving wasn’t actually established into a national holiday until about 1854. Sarah Josepha Hale was a large contributor to the evolution of Thanksgiving from a celebration to a national holiday. In 1830 after publishing a novel about her family and how they celebrated what later became known as “Thanksgiving” she was hired to a leading position in the American Ladies Magazine. She used this platform not only to promote women’s issues but also to mail a letter to the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln. She wrote about the significance of the holiday and how it should be celebrated. While the president himself as well as others had tried to establish a national holiday revolving around giving thanks, these days were also largely associated with war because they typically marked victories of battles between the north and the south. Sometime after receiving Sarah’s letter, William Seward wrote a proclamation to declare the fourth Thursday of every November, Thanksgiving. President Lincoln signed and the proclamation passed. The government hoped this new holiday would help to “heal the wounds of the nation”. This was most interesting to me because I had always assumed that since the pilgrims Thanksgiving had been celebrated at the same time every year, but it wasn’t actually established until much later.

The part that I found most interesting about all of this is how we now have this almost stereotypical view of how the first Thanksgiving happened. We often think of pilgrims and Indians hand in hand around a large table giving thanks for the wonderful feast of turkey, corn, pie, and whatever other foods we think of when we hear Thanksgiving. However, I learned that this is not necessarily how it happened. Thanksgiving has evolved to fit this stereotypical celebration that we imagine happened at the first feast, and I find it interesting that what we often imagine isn’t what actually happened. I feel like when we as a modern society imagine past events to the best of our abilities, our conception of them often become a little misconstrued because we tend to only think of the most stereotypical version. While doing this can give a simpler, easier to understand version of history, it also causes us to lose some of the value of the events and what actually happened. I found the information that I learned about the first Thanksgiving very interesting because it cancelled out many of the false notions I had about the way it happened. For example, I found it interesting that it is believed that the number of Indians in attendance almost doubled that of the pilgrims. I was also very surprised when I learned that many of the foods that I associate with Thanksgiving, like turkey, weren’t actually apart of the first Thanksgiving meal. I think it is important for us to dive deeper and to learn more about past events to help create a better understanding so we can push past the stereotypical versions, and truly understand past events.

Sources:

New York Times

History

Smithsonian

MSN