So.. I just typed my final reflection, as well as an extra bonus post the Dr. Benson mention. However, when I went to submit it, I forgot to fill in my name and therefore, my post was deleted! In the midst of all of this stress and studying, I am going to try my best to recompose the messages that I wrote..

Following behind the rest of the late reflection posts that I completely forgot about in the middle of all of this studying, I still have yet to post my final reflection!

This course has been unlike any history class that I have taken throughout my academic career. Not only have I stretched my brain to the furthest limit possible, but I have also learned some incredible, and very valuable techniques and resources that will carry me through the rest of life. In stead of memorizing dates and facts and only focusing on key historical figures, we have been able to peek into the mind of some of the most prominent historical thinkers. One of my favorite parts of this course was being able to take extremely different historical issues, like Carried Away by Rachel Bowlby and Our Hearts Fell to the Ground by Colin Calloway, and having the opportunity to pieces together the links between the two that I would have normally never thought about. I also benefited greatly from listening to my classmates through discussions and questions. As I study for this exam now, I realize just how much material we have covered in such a short amount of time. Learning about the several historical eras and the historians that defined them allowed me to critically view history as something that was real and tangible, rather than just data and fact that I spit back out on a test. I just hope that I will be able to remember all of it!

My bonus post!!!

While studying for my exam, I took the time to review each biography that we have covered during this course. After browsing through the backgrounds, accomplishments, failures, and milestones of people like Margaret Sanger, Carl Becker, Charles Beard, and Washington Gladden, I found a whole new personal side to history. All of these people have made incredible an impact on history and democracy today. For example, Margret Sanger was the founder of the birth control movement and even originated the term. A feminist to the core, she persevered through times when women had little respect and came out with a bright, shiny gold star, as well as organizations such as the American Birth Control League in 1928 and Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942. Other major players, such as George Wallace, 1919-1998) had an impact in a different way. This Governor from Alabama was an unwavering segregationist that worked so hard to prevent change. He was so against the civil rights movements that he was actually titled the "fighting judge". I recently found out that one of my friend's friend's mother (sorry, that is a complicated chain) actually had play dates with Wallace's daughter in Alabama. This fact gave me a personal connection to history and made studying about him, as well as other segregationists and civil rights activists, more real and interesting.
After the class review tonight, I realized just how many historians we have covered. In the progressive school, Charles Beard and his wife Mary were definitely a power couple that impacted history. Charles, who emphasised socioeconomic conflicts and changes, was a major leader in the progressive movement. His Economic Interpretation of the Constitution in 1913 expressed his views on how the Constitution was formed by interest groups with personal finance motives. His outspoken and radical views pushed others to explore these different issues and topics.
Ok.. back to studying about these fascinating people!

After skimming back over the syllabus, I realized that I never posted anything for 11/5. So here are my thoughts on Conservationism. The president's report of the National Conservation Commission emphasizes conservation of resources for the public good. This also seemed to be a theme in the lecture on conservationism. There was special emphasis on preserving and managing of natural resources for their use to humans. John Muir's "The American Forests," on the other hand, seems to view the forest as good in their own right, not just because of their potential benefit to people.

My post for 10/24:

While reading through the Patent Medine website, I found it interesting the techniques taken to obtain a patented medicine. Peculiar "cures" were invented to such things as knowledge of Native Americans and patriotism. While browsing the gallery of medicines, I found the cure for nervousness to be interesting. Though this product may have been marketable to those unaware of its worthlessness in actually curing nervousness. However, the cure for the common headache may have attracted much attention to those in search for a remedy. The wide array of medicines is undoubtedly an interesting combination.

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