1. Assignment 1 By: Killian Metzger

2. The Americas in the 19 th Century 1 I found it fascinating but all the bit annoying the ways that immigrants, namely Chinese in this case, made their way to America. The Chinese were poor at that time, and when they heard of the promise of gold in California, they leaped on the chance. But the way they got there was a whole different story. The Chinese men usually left their wives and children to fend for themselves while they went gallivanting off to find their fortune. Many of these abandoned families died when their main source of income left for California. When these “brave' men arrived at America, after a very long journey packed under decks with dozens of other sea sick passengers, they found almost no gold. Some of them found their fortune their, but very rarely. Usually these Chinese men opened restaurants or other supply stores and got more gold then the gold miners. Then they made their way back the China where they were greeted by their half-starved families, but they would not stay there long. They could never forget the adventure of America.

4. The Little Ice Age The little ice age had many effects on the world we know today. It was a period in time where the weather was freezing and the people of Earth had to adapt in many ways. There are many ideas on when the Little Ice Age was, but one of the most believable is that is lasted from the 16 th -19 th century, immediately after the Medieval Warm Period. The Little Ice Age inspired many things in our time period, such as the French Revolution, but it also killed millions of people by famine and starvation. Scientists today determine age of the this time via the organisms in the soil which live in the sea. The Little Ice Age was good in some ways, such as it inspired the American to drink more beer and it also helped bring along many symphonies, but we have to remember the people who lost their lives to this Big Chill.

5. Frontiers of the Americas 1 One of my favorite parts of this whole lesson was the story of the German prince and the Swedish artist. Prince Maximilian zu Wied, a German aristocrat, and Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, made a journey to the West Americas to document the animals, plants, land sculptures, and most importantly, the Native Americans. These brave men took a trip to the wild side of our nation, risked their lives, and accomplished much, I can only imagine how they could have felt arriving back in civilization after weeks in the wilderness. The artist Karl Bodmer made numerous paintings of the landscape while the German Prince documented the entire adventure. I know this sounds child-like but when I grow up I hope to have such experiences in my life as well.

7. Crossroads of Freedom 1 The book The Crossroads of Freedom shocked me in many ways, it showed the cruelty of our nation, and the desperation of our troops. Parts of the book though were good such as the descriptions of the generals of the Civil War, and the in-depth time line of the events in question. The Crossroads of Freedom was very informative of the generals of the Civil War, their lives, their families, and their victories and losses in the war. Such as when it described the general who made the ironclad ships to protect against the attackers bullets and cannons from their ships. I found it very interesting that the British were almost involved in the Civil War and would have provided the South with men and supplies. The course of history would have been drastically changed if the English had joined the fight because we would have probably lost the war and the South would rule the nation now. Next I’ll talk about the English’s involvement or almost involvement in the Civil War.