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Dear Chicago – Daniel Burnham

June 19, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

This week’s song/ video is on Daniel Burnham, the great architect/ city planner of Chicago Illinois.

My cousin Bill Higgins who graduated from the University of Illinois in City Planning and Policy, suggested doing a post on Daniel Burnham a few weeks back. After reading about him I was extremely interested/ enlightened and I decided to write a song about him.

Daniel Burnham was born in Henderson New York and was raised in Chicago Illinois. After a stint in politics Daniel took an apprenticeship under William LeBaron Jenney. He quickly caught on and began designing some of the most famous buildings in Chicago. Today his work is studied at universities and can be seen not only in Chicago but in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, New York and even overseas. He and his partner John Wellborn Root are known for building the tallest building of their time; the Masonic Temple Building reaching 22 stories in 1892.

He was an author and helped draft the “Plan of Chicago” which was the first comprehensive plan for the “City Beautiful” movement in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

I will be the first to admit, this is not my best song… For some reason the creative juices were not flowing this week but I hope you will still be able to learn a little bit about this incredible man.

Let me know what you think by adding your comments below.

Thanks for stopping by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com!

Posted in City Beautiful | Tagged Chicago, City Beautiful, City Planning, Daniel Burnham,John Wellborn Root, Masonic Temple, New York, Pittsburgh, Plan of Chicago, Washington DC | Leave a Comment »

The Great Depression – Women Go To Work

June 10, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

I have exciting news!  I convinced my wife Laurie Stilwell to sing with me on this week’s song entitled “Who am I”.  Also, all the songs are now available to download by clicking on the “BandCamp” link on the right hand side of this page.

This week’s song is written from the perspective of a man and wife struggling through “The Great Depression”.

The twenties were a time of wealth and excess for most middle and upper class families. They bought what they wanted (no matter what the price was) and lived where they wanted. Buying a house was hard and people were taking out massive loans that were sometimes worth more than they would make in their life time (sound familiar?).  Nobody thought anything of it. They claimed that since the population and the industry was growing, so should house prices. This was not the case…

On October 29th 1929 (“Black Tuesday”), the New York Stock Exchange crashed. Prices continued to drop for a month thanks to nervous traders’ panic- driven trades. Businesses lost investors and had to shut down. Factories were closed because now their products would not sell at high enough prices for them to make a profit. People couldn’t afford the high prices of food and clothing so these industries also came close to shutting down. Everything stopped.

At this time men were the primary bread winners. The woman would do all of the domestic work (shopping, cleaning, cooking, sowing, gardening etc.), and the men would bring home the money to pay the bills. The women’s role as a wife/mother was way more demanding in those times. Imagine having to feed a family of 5, 3 meals a day without the luxuries of a car or a refrigerator. They had to go the market almost every day because they didn’t have a big 4X4 Suburban to take the groceries home in and they didn’t have anything to keep the food fresh once it got home. Not to mention having to wash their families clothes by hand and take care of the kids. While some people did have ice boxes and cars, most people didn’t have these luxuries.

After Black Tuesday, most men who at one time were able to provide for their family, no longer could do so. This meant that they could either send their children to work or send their wives to work. Before this time, only 3% of women worked outside of the house. The ones that did were usually some kind of servants for a more wealthy family or preformed some type of sowing out of their own houses at night after all the chores were finished.  Most of these jobs were filled by black women and young immigrant girls. In these times it was looked down upon if your wife had to work outside of the house.

In this song the man is asking “Who am I to send my wife to work?” and the wife is encouraging him that she will “pick up some kind of trade, woman are working more everyday”.

I chose this topic because I know a lot of people can relate to it. While woman in the work place may be more acceptable these days, it is becoming more and more of a requirement to live the life that most middle and upper class families are accustomed to.  I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Obviously, technology such as washing machines, refrigerators and cars, has allowed women to spend more time out of the house but what has this done to the modern family? Is it a good thing or a bad thing that both the man and the woman spend most of their days away from their family and their home?

In my opinion, I think it is all circumstantial. If somebody needs to stay home to take care of little Jimmy, then the woman should do it. I say the woman because I think women are more nurturing then men for the most part and are better at raising kids… Actually I think they are better at everything that comes with running a household. I am thoroughly impressed by all my wife does for our house and we don’t even have kids yet… I can’t imagine how amazing she is going to be then.

Anyways, please enjoy the song and thanks for stopping by!

P.S,

If you like this blog or the songs please tell your friends via Facebook or email. Thanks guys!

Posted in Disaster in America | Tagged America, Crash, History, New York, NYSE, Stock Market, The Great Depression | Leave a Comment »

Dirty Thirties- The Dust Bowl

June 3, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

When states like Texas and Kansas started sending  posters to the North-Eastern states with pictures of watermelon and cabbages as big as human beings, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. They claimed to have the most fertile soil in the country and promised success to anybody willing to come farm.

After World War 1 (1918), wheat was in high demand. Farmers on the plains could grow wheat, throw it on a train and make enough money to live better lives than they could when they lived up North.

Northerners  flooded the plains and started farming everywhere. Since the soil was so fertile and the North was paying big bucks for their wheat, farmers beat the crap out of the land and took everything they could from it. With the help of new machinery and modernized farming equipment, they over plowed, over planted and in a sense, gave up all of the standard farming “rules” they followed in the North. But who could blame them? Most of us would probably do the same thing right?

The problem with all of this was that nobody planned on a drought…  When the rain stopped coming, the crops died and their was nothing to eat. The roots from the grass (that the farmers dug up to plant their crops) were gone and there was nothing to keep the dirt from kicking up.  At first, there were just a few dust devils but eventually, they grew and grew. On Sunday April 14, 1835 the dust was so bad that people could hardly see 5 feet in front of them. They called it “Black Sunday“.

No matter how tight you sealed up your house, dust always got in. People were dying from starvation, disease and suffocation. Sometimes people couldn’t even leave their houses for days because the  wind was so bad that the dust would wound their skin.

This song is written from a farmers point of view. I have been reading a lot of stories recently about farmers moving their families from the Northern states to the plains in hopes of a better life. Most of the stories end in devastation. In the song the man is asking God (most of the farmers where devout Christians of some sort or another) for help and expressing his heart ache after watching his families dreams crushed.

How does this relate to our generation? I mentioned earlier that I believe most of us would have kept planting if we were in the farmers shoes. We love to take all we can get from the land. Sure, the “Go Green” movement is growing but I feel like we still do this kind of thing everyday.  We still drive big SUV’s,  waste water, build big factories, bury our trash in the ground and do tons of other things because they are convenient for us (at the time). What have we learned from the “Dust Bowl“? Nothing?

Posted in Disaster in America | Tagged America, American History, Dust Bowl, Gulf of Mexico, History, Oil Spill | Leave a Comment »

First Video/Music

May 29, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

Read the post below before watching the video!


This first “video blog” is based on the life of Fred Harvey.

For those of you who don’t know who Fred Harvey is, you will be surprised to hear how much his work has affected your life.

In 1850, at the age of 15, Fred Harvey immigrated to the United States from Liverpool England. He landed a job as a pot scrubber and bus boy at “Smith and McNewell Café” in New York. This was his first experience in the restaurant business and he loved it. From there, Fred went on to work almost every position in the restaurant/ hospitality world. He eventually opened tons of restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the Gulf Coast and Santa Fe Railway, the Kansas Pacific Railway, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. At his peak, he had opened a total of 84 “Harvey Houses”.

The owners of the rail road admired his hard work so much that they started giving him more and more restaurants and allowing him to build his own hospitality empire along the all of the routs to the west. He built, lunch houses, dinning rooms, spas, resorts, golf courses, swimming pools and souvenir shops.

Fred Harvey is credited with building the first restaurant chain. Starbucks CEO, Howard Shultz considers Fred Harvey one of his biggest influences. He is not alone, other big players in the food service industry have studied Fred Harvey’s career in hopes of learning Harvey’s secrets.

This site (www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com) is supposed to help people relate to American history. For most of us, it is a little hard to relate to the career side of Fred Harvey’s life. That is why I am going to tell you about his personal life as a husband and as a father. Keep in mind; this is not going to be extremely detailed… I’m skipping a lot but I hope you still get an idea of this man’s life and his drive to succeed.

Fred’s first wife died at the age of 26 shortly after giving birth to their second son. Fred quickly re-married a woman named Barbara Sarah Mattas who bore him 6 children.

Fred was constantly on the train tracks managing his restaurants and hotels. He wrote in his journal that he was upset with himself for “missing birthdays, holidays and anniversaries because of his work load”. One summer he took a week of to take his family (who he had been away from for over a month) on a vacation. While on vacation two of his sons became very sick and eventually died.

Now he has had a wife and 3 children die. In his journal Fred would write how he wished he “could have done something or been there” with is family during these times. On top of all this he was constantly love sick for his wife Barbara. He would write her letters professing his love for her but he felt it was not enough. When he would come home from his business trips he would take her on shopping sprees and to very nice restaurants. He wanted his family to have everything, which in his mind meant that he had to be the best and work the hardest at his career.

Fred also had a debilitating “mystery illness” that would cause him to lie in bed for days at a time. He would suffer from horrible migraines and bone aches. Although he consulted some of the best doctors of the time, no one could figure out what it was or how to cure/treat it.

Fred eventually handed his hospitality empire down to his sons in hope of spending more time with his wife and children. I wrote this song from Fred’s point of view while on his business trips. The pictures are of him and his family as well as some of his hotels, his house and some more modern pictures that I felt fit with the theme of the song. I recorded and wrote this song in about 3 hours so the quality is not great…. Make sure to click the “HD -On” button on the top of the video or you will not be able to read the lyrics.

For more information of Fred Harvey, I highly recommend a book called “Appetite for America” by Stephen Fried. It is the only true biography that I have found on Fred. It’s a great read and is only about $15 on Amazon.

Thanks for stopping in! Please subscribe the blog on the top right hand side of the screen and/or leave your comments below. I am anxious to hear what you guys think of the new blog idea (video + music). Also let me know if you guys have any other ideas for the blog.

Thanks again!

Posted in Restaurant Empire | Tagged American History, Fred Harvey, Harvey Girls, History, Restaurants | 2 Comments »

New Idea

May 28, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com


Please watch this video and let me know what you think by commenting bellow… and SUBSCRIBING to the blog!

By the way, I don’t have a lisp… The mic on the camera sucks…

Thanks guys! See you tomorrow (kind of)…

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Affairs, Guns and Hot Tempers- Tombstone, AZ

May 24, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

Affairs, Guns and Hot Tempers- Tombstone, AZSmall Crystal Palace Tombstone, AZ

If you live in Arizona you have probably heard the story about the OK Corral gunfight. Actually you have probably heard about it even if you don’t live here. There have been tons of movies and books written about the fight but the most famous was the movie made in 1993 with Kurt Russell playing Wyatt Earp and Bill Paxton playing Morgan Earp. Most of the movies dramatize the story and confuse the truth about what happen with what Hollywood wished happened. This is said because the real story is already insane…

The Town:

In 1877 a prospector named Ed Schieffelin was looking for silver in southern Arizona about 30 miles from the Mexican border when an American soldier told him that “the only rock he would find in that area was his own tombstone”.  After he found one of the richest Silver mines in Arizona, the town adopted the name “Tombstone”. The town grew from 40 cabins, and a population of 100, when it was organized in 1879 to more than 7,000 two years later.  By the end of 1881, Tombstone had more saloons, more gambling houses, and a larger “boothill” (cemetery)  and “red light”(you probably know what this is…) district than any town in the southwest.

The Main Players:

The main players in the “OK Corral Gunfight” were; Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, James Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday. These were the “good guys”. They were extremely close and would do anything for each other. Although Doc Holiday was not a real brother, they all considered him one of their own.

The brothers came to Tombstone in hopes of striking it rich. They staked mining claims, ran security, guarded stagecoach shipments for Wells Fargo and often acted as deputies and marshals in the town. Wyatt, the second to oldest brother (and the main character in the story) wanted to be Sheriff but a man named Johnny Behan held the position.

Dramarama:

On March 15, 1881 a group of outlaws help up a Wells Fargo Tombstone-Benson stagecoach, making off  with $26,000 and killing the driver and a passenger on the coach. Two posses went out to look for the criminals, one led by the Earps and one led by Behan and his gang. Sure enough, The Earp brothers found a guy that said he was part of the hold up. They turned him into Behan but he eventually escaped from the unlocked jail before his trial… This pissed off the Earps and made them think Behan was in on the whole thing.

Wyatt was a good looking, well respected man and was having an affair with Behan wife, Josephine Marcus this whole time. Behan found out about it but was too much of a sissy to do anything about it head on. He rounded up all of his cowboy friends (who were known as the drunks and hell raisers in town) to get back at Wyatt. They started picking fights and causing havoc in Tombstone while Behan turned a blind eye. Since the Earps were strong believers in the law, this drove them nuts.

Since Wyatt was trying to become Sheriff, he felt that if he caught the rest of the criminals in the stage coach hold up, he would gain popularity and eventually take the position of sheriff from Behan. He turned to his rebel/ alcoholic cowboy friend Ike Clanton for help. Ike Knew all the cowboys and Wyatt knew he could lead him to the stage coach robbers. He told Ike He would give him $6000 (the reward offered by Wells Fargo) if he got him the robbers.

Doc Holliday (on the Earp side) was an insane drunk and a big dick. So was Ike Clanton. One night they were drinking in the Alhambra when they started to fight. Morgan Earp was working security there and eventually got them to leave. Ike (still drunk as hell) ran into Wyatt on the street and tried to fight him for being connected to Holliday. Wyatt brushed it off and Ike went to another bar to play cards. At his card table was Behan and Virgil Earp. Ike (totally wasted by this time) said he was going to fight Holliday next time he saw him.

After sleeping for a few hours, the Earp brothers and Holliday woke to find out that Ike was STILL DRUNK and STILL TALKING CRAP! They found him on Allen street and dragged him into the court house to be charged with “carrying a firearm”. After paying a $25 fine, Ike was released. Wyatt was so pissed on the way out of the court room that he beat Ike’s friend, Tom McLaury with the butt of his pistol for talking smack.

Soon, Ike Clanton’s brother Billy and Toms Mclaury’s brother Frank came into town so see why their brothers were being treated so bad by the Earps. These are the “bad guys” of the story. By this time the Wyatt believed that Behan had sent these cowboys out to get him in retaliation to the affair with his wife.

Shortly after all this, Billy Clanton and Frank Mclaury walked into a gun shop across from the O.K Corral and started loading their guns and belts with bullets. Then they walked across the street to meet their brothers Ike and Tom at the O.K Corral. Behan showed up and asked them for their weapons. Billy and Frank said they were leaving town so he let them keep theirs and Ike and Frank proved to be unarmed so Behan left.

On his way up the street Behan ran into the Earp posse. They were packing heat and Behan could not get them to surrender their weapons or stop them from heading to the O.K Corral. They kept walking, as if on a mission. As they walked away, Behan yelled “I have disarmed them all” (referring to the Clantons and Mclaurys at the end of the street).

When they got there the two posses faced each other dead on. Virgil Earp said “Boys, throw up your hands, I want your guns.” The Earps waited a few seconds and then started shooting. The entire massacre lasted about 30 seconds. Frank McLaury took a bullet in the head and died. Billy Clanton got shot in the chest and was dying in front of them. Tom Mclaury was killed by one of Holliday’s buckshots. Ike managed to escape to a nearby house. Nobody in the Earp posse was fatally wounded. Some were injured with hip, leg, and shoulder wounds, but nothing life threatening.  Wyatt Earp was the only one from either side that remained unharmed.The OK Corral Deaths

The Aftermath:

This lead to a whole string of trials and more drama. More shootings happened between the cowboys and the Earps including one that involved Virgil being shot in the arm (making it useless for the rest of his life) and Morgan being shot and killed. Wyatt flipped out, tracked down the alleged killers one by one, and ruthlessly killed them. Because of this, Wyatt was wanted by the law and left Tombstone to find safety. He ended up finding it (after trying New Mexico) in Colorado.

Wyatt married Josephine and the two lived an adventurous life together for decades before Wyatt died at age 80 in 1929.

Shortly after all this drama, Tombstone’s silver mines ran dry. The city stayed somewhat alive thanks to the tourists interested in the shooting. Eventually the town died and turned into a complete ghost town.

This is a “brief” account of what happened in Tombstone Arizona. There are a lot of things I am leaving out but these were the main events.

It is interesting to me that almost all of this happened over a girl, an affair and a lust for power. It seems to me that most modern day “gunfights” happen for one of these reasons (or drugs). Actually this is the case for most wars as well… And they are all started by hot tempered men…

Thanks for reading this everyone! I am trying to think of a way to make my passion for history more fun and interesting. Any ideas? Maybe video?

Posted in Wild West | 2 Comments »

Manifest Destiny-

May 15, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

"Manifest Destiny" - John Gast

This is my favorite painting of all time. I have tried to find a copy for my house but I cant find a wall big enough for the size I want…

It’s called “Manifest Destiny” and was painted by John Gast in 1872.  The term manifest destiny refers to the religious belief that the United States was to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the name of God. It was believed that this beautiful land was given to the early settlers by God and it should be used to glorify Him. This was one of the biggest reasons we are what we are today. The strong conviction by our leaders that God was on their side, gave them the strength and motivation to expand and grow as a country.

When Gast painted this historical picture, he wanted to show the numerous different types of expansion that were going on in America at the time. If you look closely you can see the Atlantic ocean on one side and the Pacific on the other. The Union Pacific is heading west with a Pony Express rider, a Wells Fargo wagon, hunters, farmers, wagon trains, beaver hunters (mountain men), and of course and half naked “angel”carrying the telegraph line with a Bible in her hand. As you can see in the left corner of the painting, the Indians and the buffalo are also moving west (and looking quite worried).

While you are scanning the painting, notice the colors used…  As I mentioned above, this painting is called “Manifest Destiny”… Where is God in this picture? As the angel floats across the landscape, she is bringing light to the darker part of the country (the west), while leaving the east bright. This is to symbolize all the religious groups moving west with their version of “religion” and bringing “light” to dark places (with the help of technology).

As you know, most religious groups (and non-religious groups) do this today. They believe their religion or lack of religion (which is really just a religion called – atheism or sometimes agnosticism.. look up the definition of religion and tell me if you disagree) is the right way and they love to tell people about it. No wonder we fight so much! When you believe that there is no God, you think every one else that belives there is a God is wrong and should know the truth. Obviously this goes both ways. However you look at it, the idea of  “Manifest Destiny” helped push the United States west.

I love how this painting captures so many aspects of the westward movement. I had a History teacher at Arizona State University that did two whole lectures on this painting alone. It is such an amazing snapshot of where our country was  at in the mid to late 1800′s.

Take a look at the painting and let me know what you think  in the comment section bellow. Should we (America) try to get away from our religious past? What would that look like in government? If Atheism is technically a religion (if you don’t agree tell me why?) , how do we void our government of religion completely?

Posted in | 10 Comments »

Immigration Debat

May 12, 2010 by www.WhatMakesUsAmericans.com

Since I live in Arizona, I have experienced immigration first hand. Because most of the recent press is about illegal immigrants from Mexico, those are the ones I will be referring to unless I state otherwise.  I have worked with illegals side by side, I have been friends with some and I have eaten a TON of food they have prepared for me (delicious I might add).

I am sure all of you have heard somebody say “We are all immigrants aren’t we? I mean weren’t the Indians(*) here first?” While it is true that there were people (Indians) here before the white people showed up, that’s not what this debate is about. The first American settlers took over this land. Whether it was wrong or right, it happened and stuff like it happens all the time. This is how we (humans, not just Americans) function, we are territorial and we will lay down our lives for what we believe in. Don’t believe it? Study History.

In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965. It dramatically changed the method by which immigrants were admitted to America. The significance of this bill was that future immigrants were to be welcomed because of their skills/professions, and not for their countries of origin. This happened partly because of the Civil Right Act and partly to strengthen America with hard working talented, individuals.

Immigrants granted residency in America were considered for admittance based on skill or for family reunification (at the time, this referred to children outside of the U.S born to American citizens). More specifically, immigrants were to be accepted according to following preferences: unmarried adults whose parents are American citizens, spouses and offspring of permanent residents, gifted professionals, scientists, and artists. The last preferences are the following: married offspring of American citizens, siblings of adult citizens, skilled/unskilled individuals of occupations lacking workers in America (examples would be if the food industry in America had no Americans interested in filling the jobs), and refugees from either communist (or communist-controlled) countries, or those from the Middle-East. The Immigration Act of 1965 became law on July 1, 1968.

The Immigration Act of 1990 states that to get a visa the immigrants must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. They must have at least 2 years of work experience along with 2 years of training at that job. The Secretary of State must keep track of the immigrants’ age, occupation, education, and what they consider important characteristics or information. The Secretary of State issues visas to the immigrants who meet all these qualifications using random selection (to promote diversity in America). The children and the spouses of the immigrants that are approved are also granted visas to obtain permanent residency.

I believe we have an Amazing country and I don’t blame people for wanting to come here. But we have rules. There are always reasons for rules. These rules are to strengthen our country and to keep it growing in the right direction. To be honest, Mexico’s economy sucks not because of the land, but because of the way its people have taken care of it (or not taken care of it). I’m not saying that every person in Mexico is to blame. They have had numerous setbacks that were unavoidable and because of the way these set backs were handled by their rulers, their economy sucks.  If all the people in Mexico came here, and treated our economy and country the way they have treated theirs, how would that leave us? Much different than Mexico? Would they still want to come here if America had the same struggles as Mexico? I know this sounds dramatic but think about it…

If you want to come to America, follow the rules and do it right. We would love to experience what you have to offer (and I’m not just talking about your food). I have no problem with our state (Arizona) or even our country becoming predominantly Hispanic. I just don’t want it to become Mexico… America is an amazing country that has accomplished a large amount in a very little amount of time. Immigrants, you are more than welcome here (as far as I’m concerned) as long as you follow our laws, pay your taxes and play by the same rules as everyone else.

*This is now what the Native Americans in Arizona like to be called so don’t send me hate mail about using the word “Indians”… I checked my sources with an Indian Non-Profit in Phoenix. If it offends you, please forgive me.

Posted in Immigration History | 4 Comments »

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