Western Culture?

      The term "western culture," is a package deal of a phrase. It not only represents the culture that I am used to here in American, but also the culture across the sea in Europe. Before conducting my research on these two cultures in depth, if someone had asked me what the difference is, I would have had to think about it for a while and in the end would have mumbled something about their accents being different.

American Head to Head with Europe

       On my initial search of looking for the differences between Europe and America, I found a strange yet interesting meme that, depending on the sometimes less than appropriate images, made me avert my eyes quite quickly and exit out of the webpage. This meme touched on subjects like American obesity, European hair, and even compared some famous people, but that was not at all what I was looking for. I wanted to go much deeper into considering the important cultural differences and not waste my time looking at posts that people make in their free time. No that there is anything wrong with that.

An "All-American Family" as portrayed by the artist Michael S.

      After recovering from my initial attempt to find information on my subject, I decided to focus on specific values that people could relate to. A big one that immediately came to my mind was family! All cultures have some sort of family values so I decided that that would be a good starting place. Tim Stanley correctly stated that the concept of the American family has been changing into a much broader concept for the past few decades now. This is most likely due to the changes in the ways people think which has been occurring  This fact makes it slightly hard to compare without making it a generalization so I decided to use another term to start off  with, "The All-American Family." This type of family has a married couple and as many children as they can handle. The father's role is to support the family while the mother stays home to raise the children. This seems like a popular model for a family, though it gender roles are changing steadily. Nowadays, these traditional ideals are being blurred out and the family runs however works best for it since no family is truly that much alike.

Illustration of Different Types of Families

     What I found about modern European family life actually resembled traditional American family life more than it did our changing system. Elizabeth Fox, Gillian Pascall, and Tracey Warren all collaborated to discuss European families. They discussed how many European fathers have the right to not be a part of their child's life at all in a sort of "parental leave." They also discussed certain gender roles in the United Kingdom specifically and how whether the father wanted to participate or not was completely up to their discretion yet mothers usually were supposed to take time off if they worked to focus on raising the child. The things I discussed can be considered big generalizations since family values stem off of more than just where someone lives, but they must be good representations since cultural researchers found enough cases of these lifestyles to be able to claim its prevalence.

A Bottle of Beaucastel Wine

     Another thing I enjoy personally is purchasing things, which is why I decided to delve into consumer culture next. Everyone has to buy things, whether it be food or designer clothing. Jeffrey Overby, Sarah Fisher Gardial, and Robert Woodruff all discussed the differences between French and American consumer using wine as their main example. They made the claim that the French buy what they buy because it is what they have always bought and that Americans buy what they buy depending on what it represents in our society. The example they used really highlighted this, "The diners in Lyon are drinking Beaucastel because it represents consistency and security, whereas the diners in Atlanta are drinking Beaucastel because it signifies European sophistication, luxury, and status.

     I personally believe these differences are a direct result of the fact that Europe has been around quite a bit longer than American has. Their cultures have had extra time to fully develop compared to America's since America was basically a place where a bunch of different cultures had to be mesh
ed into one to make a single centralized culture. This is highlighted by how, though some of our cultural values seem to be the same as those in Europe, they can be slightly different and in the years to come, they may change much much more depending on what the future holds.

American and European Fla

    Doing all of this in depth research about cultures made me realize how hard it is to categorize a culture in just one country and yet the term "Western Culture" includes so many different places! The term culture is so general in itself since people can be so different no matter where they live. Though the term is not exactly accurate, when it is used, people do realize what it's talking about so I do not think this blog post is going to destroy that phrase, but I think it's helpful to know at least some of the differences between European and American culture.

Introduction: Love and Romance in American Culture- I used this source to learn about some details about exactly what family life means in American Culture.

The Changing Face of the American Family- This source was helpful in talking about how the American family is in fact changing.

Materialism, Gender, and Family Values in Europe- This source talked a lot about many different values in Europe which was really helpful since it was a lot of information in one place about a variety of subjects.

Work-family Policies, Participation, and Practices: Fathers and Childcare in Europe- This talked a lot about the father's role in raising a child in Europe which was a big point I mentioned in this blog post. It was very helpful in understanding their life.

How Britishness Can Be Remade- Talked a lot about British culture in general which was helped me learn a little about a certain culture in general.

Value Priorities in American and British Female and Male University Students- this gave a good general comparison of American versus British students. Though I did not use it much, it was something I read over

that gave me somewhat of an idea about the reasons America is different from Europe.

French Versus American Consumers’ Attachment of Value to a Product in a Common Consumption Context: A Cross National Comparison- This was my main source looking into the differences between consumer culture in America and France. Though France is not all of Europe, I found this source very helpful.

Conscientious Objectors in WWI



      A group of COs



                  A conscientious objector was someone who refused to fight due to either their personal moral values or due to religious beliefs. Some of the people who refused included Jehova's Witnesses, Menonites, or Quakers. They were not forced to participate in any of the fighting the occured during the war but the government did not just leave them alone either. I originally thought they would just be given a free-pass to just be able to go on with their normal lives but sadly many of them were not allowed to!

    



Preparing to Work



            

 If one was a conscientious objectors, their faith would be decided by a tribunal. Some were even forced to go to combat zones to partake in many non-combat jobs including being a medic or a cook. They were not neccesarily respected by the fighters but they had to do these jobs anyway. If they refused to do what the tribunal told them to, there were actually big time consequences for them. Other jobs they were coerced into doing actually did allow them to stay at home but they were forced to do many labor intense jobs including farming and mining to make up for the people that actually left their jobs to fight. Some of the jobs they had were quite creative!



   Conscientious Objectors



           If an objector refused to do what the tribunal asked them to, they ran the risk of being sent to jail. I read a single article from a newspaper and it described how 45 Menonites who could not bear arms were sent to prison for life for refusing their position. Their sentence was reduced to 25 later but I still think that is a crazy ammount of time! This happened in San Antonio but miles and miles away in Brooklyn, seven Russelites were sentenced to a mere 20 years. These people followed the teachings of the Pastor Russel and apparently could not take part in combat either. Another thing they could have gone through was public shaming or being sent away to difference specialized camps for the objectors only. Oh and I forgot to mention, not following the Selective Service Act was just a misdemeanor.

          The general opinion on these objectors varied! Many though of them as spineless as selfish people who would not help their own country out. I read a lot about the hatred they would recieve from others and was surprised to hear that some people actually respected them. In the same article I mentioned earlier I founed a little quote that I thought was nice, "A man who is willing to die or go to prisoin for his conscience has some respect from Anglo-Saxons." I thought this was quite a nice gesture to the group getting so much hate from everywhere they turned.

 Group Picture from a camp

          I even found a few President's opinions on these people and was quite surprised. It seems like neither Roosevelt nor Truman was a big fan of them. Truman claimed that the majority of the ones that he met were big cowards and some could say that Roosevelt's reaction was worse. Roosevelt literally bullied many objectors during his speeches. He said he would rather them be forced to the front of enemy lines to dig trenches and such and then "watch what his conscience would do." I personally thought that that was crazy harsh. Maybe if he put himself in their shoes he would have been able to understand more. It was important to them and what they believe and I am quite surprised he did not accept that.

Ebsco- Harry Truman and the Issue of Amnesty for Conscinetious Objectors - Though this journal was more about WWII, it had a few points about WWI. I also got a little bit of Truman's opinion on conscientious objectors due to his experience with them in WWI. 

 First World War- This was an article all about conscientious objectors on a website dedicated to World War One. It only gave basic information about them really but I still found some useful infomation on there. 

 Liberty Magazine- This article provided a lot of good information on some of the groups and how they were looked due to their objection of participating in the war. I found some good quotes from people, including Roosevelt, and it told about how many people percieved this group of people.

Swarthmore Library- Conscientious Objectors- This article is where I found two of my pictures. It was full of good information and though it had just a little section about World War I,  I still found it quite useful.

New York Tribune - Library Of Congress- This was a primary source I found. Since it was a newspaper, it had information about the court martials and arrests of some of the conscientious objectors that was happening right then. This was a great source.

USDA- This is an article by the USDA on one of the jobs they could have been forced to do. It's quite interesting and I found a picture from here as well!

Sources - Great White Fleet

Naval History and Heritage - This source was helpful in finding an itinerary of the trip to help figure out the order of the places the fleet went. It was a good place to start to figure out what trips to research.

Cruise of the Great White Fleet - This site was helpful in figuring out some details about where the fleet went and some of the things they did while in those places. I used it mainly as a guide to search elsewhere.

Library Of Congress - I used this source to find a primary source newspaper telling about the Great White Fleet. I also found the names of all of the ships, their special features, and the Captains of each from this source.

The Eagle and the Kangaroo: The Great White Fleet's Visit to Australia by David Stevens (from AVL) - I used this source to get a few details about the Great White Fleet's visit to Australia. It helped me set a date for my post card and helped set up a story for the arrival in Sydney.

Naval History - This website gave a lot of important details and helped me with dates.

Great White Fleet Progress!

I have been working hard looking for more information to create accurate postcards which I am finding a little difficult. I have almost all of my sources but since I missed school on Friday I still need to figure out how to use AVL. I plan on asking Mrs. Lawson about that soon. I have not found all of my pictures yet but I have made good progress today, though I did find out the newspaper article I planned to use was actually an advertisement for cruises reusing the boats from the Great White Fleet. Luckily I did quickly find a new article and am back on track.

The Gibson Girl

                 The Gibson Girl was probably one of the most influential drawings in America ever. She was a character created by the satiric artist Charles Dana Gibson in the late 1890's. Nothing more than a series of pen and ink drawings, this iconic character weaseled her way into to the lives into many of the Americans who lived during that time periods. Though she was popular in other places as well, the Gibson Girl mainly affected the lives of those Americans who lived in the city.

                 In this time period, women's places in society was already set in stone. Women were meant to stay at home, maybe have a simple job, but for the most part they were meant to stay prim and proper. The Gibson Girl, however, pushed the boundaries on these kinds of stereotypes. She made women seem strong and independent, and even like they could do what men were doing. Some drawings of her depict her playing sports without even a crinkle in her clothing. She really showed the evolution of women's roles in society.
     

Eyewitness History

                 The phrase, "the woman every girl wants to be and every boy wants to be with," easily summarizes what the Gibson Girl was to the people of the city. She governed women's fashion so much that the Charles Dana Gibson, the male author who considered himself nothing more than a satire artist, was considered a rival to some of the popular fashion designers including Butterwick Dress Patterns. An interesting quote from the World newspaper from that time period was, "As soon as the world saw Gibson's ideal it bowed down in adoration saying: 'Lo' at last the typical American girl.'" One man from this time period was quoted to have said, "You can always tell when a girl is taking the 'Gibson Cure' by the way she fixes her hair." This man was probably also just as obsessed with the Gibson Girl as the woman were. The fictional suitors of this woman were always clean cut men so what did the men in this time period do? They shaved their beards all due to a few drawings. Merchandise for both men and women were made with the images of the Gibson Girl on them including wallpaper china plates, silverware, dresser sets, pillows, whisks, broom holders, shoes, spoons, tiles, and more.

                  The Gibson Girl also dictated manners and opinions of those who followed her life. She had an air of aristocracy about her. She weaved her way through social layers and showed a new way of thinking for everyone. Popular images of the Gibson Girl show her branching out into new hobbies and talents including the violin or even rough "manly" sports. She was not a woman to be ignored as she charmed the men that happened to cross her path. She was quite the character.

Gibson Girl with a Violin

                  The author Charles Dana Gibson himself was shocked as to how many people followed tried to emulate his drawings in real life. He even created the perfect man to go with the Gibson Girl, the Gibson Man, but he never reached the popularity of the wonderful Gibson Girl. And although so many Americans copied her look and her attitude, they may sometimes forget, she was never given a name.

Eyewitness History

     PBS      American Beauties     This Fabulous Century 1900-1910    Smithsonian Library 

     Gibson Girl Her America

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Immigration to the US

          Watching Faces of America has really taught me about the family history's of some very important people. It also has shown me how a lot of famous people actually knew very little about some of their family members. It was really interesting when the host made them turn the page of their family book to a page with pictures of family members who may not have had the oppurtunity to get to the states. The main thing, I think, the show is trying to get across is how it is possible for more recent immigrants, or the families of these immigrants, to be very successful in the United States. I really enjoyed watching the show and will definitely watch it in the future. 

        

     Being a "nation of immigrants" can mean a lot of different things depending on who you would ask but I believe it's a phrase describing how the USA has been shaped by all sorts of cultures because it's a country where large groups of "immigrants" have come to to start anew or for oppurunities. These people have brought not just brought themselves to this country but their cultures and beliefs  I can sort of relate to the people from the film since my parents migrated here when they were in their 20s but it's not like I have any ancestors that came to this country. Oh and my parents story actually is quite boring, the way they tell it is at least, so my family story is a lot less interesting then the ones from the show.

Andrew Carnegie

         Andrew Carnegie's life was full of the oppurtunity and success that people dream of when they come this country. He was born in Dunfernlime, Scotland to a linen weaver and a shoemaker, both of whom were big on civil rights. His family emigrated to the the US, more specifically Pennsylvania, in 1848 and that is where his life in business began, sort of. He got his first job at the age of 13 working as a bobbin boy at a cotton factory. He gained most of his education from reading which he enjoyed doing. A local man had opened up his library to the boys in that area, I thought that was quite fascinating considering later in life, Carnegie actually donated many many libraries to communities using the wealth that he had obtained. From being a Western Union messenger boy to a telegraph operator, and many other small positions along the way, Carnegie slowly went up the ladder until he found himself as the superintendent of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Though all of these jobs here and there played a part in his carreer, I'd like to think that this last one was truly one of the most influential.
 
       Carnegie's first big venture into a company was when he invested in a company that wanted to manufacture sleeping cars for railways. He then ventured out even further into the world of building bridges, locomotives, and rails. After all of this investing he decided to make his own company and in 1865 he finally did, the Keystone Bridge Company. Though I'm sure his bridge company was quite successful, most people know him for his successes in the world of steel which he started about eight years later in 1873. His companies were always formed as partnerships and never stocks corporation which I thought was pretty fascinating. He did end up selling his super successful steel company to JP Morgan in 1901, his company was valued at 400+ million dollars at the time. He did not just sit down in a big house and endlessly count his money though, he ended up becoming a philanthropist donating libraries and institutions to help the future business leaders. He wrote a book in 1889 and officially retired from business in 1901. By the end of his life, he had built up a huge legacy of generosity and had donated or given away 350 million dollars of his own wealth. What an inspirational life he had.

Carnegie's About Our Founder