Group H's Blog

The attack on Pearl harbor was an unannounced military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States’ naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941. This attack would eventually lead to the United States involvement in the Second World War The attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships and damaged four more. The Japanese also sank/damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer, destroyed 188 aircrafts, and caused personnel losses of 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded. Although Kansas is a long distance from Pearl Harbor many Kansans were affected by this historic event. Kansans were able to contribute to the war effort in various ways. The main way to contribute was to enlist, but this wasn’t the only way Kansans contributed. Other ways Kansans contributed was through various industries such as the Aeronautics industry and the Coleman company, they also contributed through agriculture practices and rationing. Rationing was a way of working together to contribute and share in a time of need.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor was such a significant event in our nation’s history that affected many people. Although Kansas was not directly affected, many people who lived here were, they had loved ones who would soon be involved in a war and did what they could to help. After the attack16 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Crosses, four Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one Distinguished Flying Cross, four Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars were awarded to the American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat at Pearl Harbor.

http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/18arizona/18arizona.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Boyhood home is just a reminder that great things do come out of Kansas. Many people would never have guessed that Abilene, KS was the home of Dwight D. Eisenhower, but those who have traveled to Abilene know that the people of Abilene and Kansas are very proud. Dedicated on Veterans Day, 1954, the Museum was built to house the materials and objects related to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s life. The Museum is divided into five major areas consisting of the Introductory Gallery, Temporary Gallery, Mamie Eisenhower Gallery, Military Gallery, and Presidential Gallery. On the same site as the museum also sits Eisenhower’s boyhood home. The two-story home is fully furnished and most of the belongings are as they were, except for those that were moved to make the home easier to tour. There are actually a lot of things to see when visiting because not only can one go see artifacts and things that Eisenhower collected but you can also visit the library, Eisenhower statue and finally the final resting place of the former President himself.  

            I think this museum is not only a really great reference for those doing research but also just a great place to learn more about Kansas history, Presidential history and history of the war. I have actually visited this site many times and it is really neat to see all of the artifacts and different galleries throughout the museum. Nothing is ever really the same when you go; they are always putting out different galleries to keep people interested. I think that having such a great museum is really beneficial to the people of Kansas, because the Eisenhower museum encompasses a lot of history. We haven’t really talked about Eisenhower all the much but the museum did a good job of giving background about his achievements and life which in turn will help understand what he was about as a president. Overall the experience of the visiting the museum is really great but I think the best thing is that that is where the president was actually laid to rest. I think that it’s really cool that after being a president and a famous figure in history he actually made it back to where it all started in Kansas.

http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Museum/Museum.html

I decide to research Annie Diggs a bit farther after this week’s lecture. I thought that she was a very influential Kansan, and wanted to know more about her contributions to not only Kansas but politics and political parties.

Annie Diggs was a political inspiration during the heyday of Kansas Populism. Born in 1848, Diggs moved to Kansas in the early 1870s. She married a postal clerk from Lawrence in 1873, where the couple pursued a Midwestern, middle-class, small-town lifestyle. The Diggs were early supporters of the Kansas Farmers’ Alliance, a network of Populist farmers in the late 1880s. Annie published a weekly column in the Lawrence Journal, where she gained notoriety and respect as a woman journalist. A Populist advocate, Diggs toured the nation with the People’s Party in 1892, served on the Populist National Committee, and was president of the Kansas Women’s Free Silver League and of the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association. She played a central role in transforming the Kansas Farmers’ Alliance into a political body, the People’s (later Populist) Party, and became one of its most effective speakers and organizers. She was a principal figure in Populist election campaigns in Kansas in 1894 and 1896. By the turn of the century she was appointed Kansas State Librarian and elected president of Kansas Press Women. After the end of her political career Diggs published two books, The Story of Jerry Simpson (1908), on her fellow Kansas Populist, and Bedrock (1912). Diggs later died on September 7, 1916 in Detroit, Michigan.

http://www.kshs.org/portraits/diggs_annie.htm

http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/explore/exhibits/suffrage/anniediggs_full.html

Before the first settlement on the prairie, buffalo ruled the open plains with an estimated 60 to 70 million bison roaming North America. For Native Americans and eventually new settlers, the buffalo was a source of food, shelter, clothing and tools. At first the Europeans hunted the bison merely for food then, soon realized they could profit by selling bison meat and the skins for clothes and rugs.

Railways also became an enemy of the buffalo because with the growth of railroads, bison were hunted because they got in the way of the tracks that were being laid across the country. The Increased settlement into Kansas Between 1860 and 1880 lead to the massive herds that had formerly populated the prairies to be brutally exterminated in a mass slaughter that can hardly be imagined in today’s society. By the turn of the century, less than 1,000 buffalo remained.

With a diminishing population of buffalo in Kansas came increased resentment from Native Americans towards the newly settled whites, thus causing conflict between groups. Eventually with the overwhelming need for the buffalo as a main source of survival has diminished, the buffalo has remained a significant symbol not only in the history of the American west but, has become an important symbol in Kansas. In 1955 The American buffalo became the state mammal of Kansas. The Buffalo is one of the most recognizable figures of the American west, whether it be for its size, massive herds reaching over 4,000 buffalo, or the gruesome scene of bison remains scattering the prairie,  one cannot talk history of Kansas and the plains without its presence.