Journal # 9

America experienced great changes from 1865 to 1914. This time after the Civil War was even called the "loss of innocence" for America, and even after that brutal war America continued to have problems such as the Mexican War, the Chinese Exclusionary rule, and uniting the North and South. However, this was a time where America greatly expanded not only population wise, but in technology, marketing, and innovations too. America's industrialization boomed during this time period; Abraham Lincoln created the Pacific Railway stretching across the country, and people such as Rockafeller helped the oil industry prosper. And reading increased throughout the country through newspapers, magazines, poetry but most of all short stories. These innovations assisted in creating the country we know America as today.

The the main connection I saw between the present day and this time period was entertainment.  Back then, entertainment applied to novels, magazines, and newspapers printed in the country. It was a huge business that grew rapidly making publishing a big business. Fiction was popular at this time and short stories were people's favorite literary feature. Although today's entertainment is a little different due to television and movies, we still have thousands of books in America that people read. Reading has always been and will always be a prime source of entertainment for people.

Another strong connection I found between today and 1865 to 1914 was the political aspect. In the past, the North and South had extremely different views and did not get along, but after Abraham's death, they started to unite, but this was not the end of conflict for America. The Americans fought in the Mexican War and also had conflict with too many immigrants coming in from China and Europe. I believe America will always have its political conflicts with other countries no matter what because today just like in the past, we are in another war, the war with Iraq.

America has grown so much from its past, reading this introduction I found it interesting that people were still fighting for their rights. African Americans were fighting for the 14th amendment which established equality and their right to vote, and women fighting for the 19th amendment for equality too. But today we have our first African American president, Obama. I think this conveys how much of a progress we have made and I am blessed to call this country my home.