Book Portfolio #1 Flags Of Our Fathers

"When you go home, tell them for us and say, for tomorrow we gave ours today." This is a quote from Flags Of Our Fathers, by James Bradley and Ron Powers. It is a historical non-fiction that was based on the war that our ancestors fought and died for. With six men who gave the United States hope with one photograph, John Bradley, Harlon Block, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Mike Strank and Franklin Sousley. This event changed many men especially the lives of those six men, and their historic part left a mark in history forever. The defeat of Iwo Jima, and the flag raising set their mark in history forever. The perspective was from an American Author, about an American event with a one sided perspective of heroes only on one side, ours. This is shown over the fact that the other side had soldiers who died for their country which made them heroes. It was not shown to us as them being heroes for what they did against us as a heroic act
to them.


The theme, is a hero is not described by his morals, but by his actions and choices he makes in the situation he is given. John Bradley said that he was not a hero, the soldiers who never left Iwo Jima are the heroes, he aslo said that he made the choice to help raise the flag as a simple helping hand not an act of heroism. A statement from Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey " There are no great men. Just great challenges which ordinary men, out of necessity, are forced by circumstances to meet". In a battle, your morals don't have a say in what you do, it's the situation your in were your actions and choices define you. like when two soldiers went down into one of the Japanese underground holes, they were face to face with a Japanese soldier, one soldier was killed, the other reacted and shot and killed the Japanese soldier. He felt bad but he had to do what he had to do or he would have died. In one part, a grenade was thrown, a young man named Jack Lucas, to save his buddys shoved it into the ashed layered ground as another one rolled in, he threw himself onto both, blowing himself up. He survived the blast and lived to tell about it fifty three years later. You have a choice in actions, choose them wisely and no matter what, if its the right choice someone will look up to you as a hero.



Once America saw the photo of the six men raising the United States Flag and heard about the war on Iwo Jima, they all felt Patriotic and gave bonds to help their country in the war they were fighting. This was their choice to make, being a hero to themselves by helping there fellow soldiers in their time of need. Everyone who has made a choice of great magnitude some how has had an effect on history. Martin Luther King Jr. made a choice to protest the problem of racism peacefully and chose to make a speech that in history became one of the most famous speeches of them all. He was considered a hero to his people. When Abe Lincoln made the choice to abolish slavery with the emancipation proclamation, he set the beginning to the end of slavery by a simple act of choice, to slaves he was a hero. If the choices that effected us were never made things could be different, slavery could still be here, Someone's buddys might have died from a grenade, Martin Luther King Jr might not be a holiday or even known if it weren't for him making his speech.



The Author's perspective never focused on the Japanese soldiers who fought for Iwo Jima, who gave their lives for their country and are considered heroes in their eyes. The Author only showed our soldiers as heroes, the Americans who fought for us. No one even considered the fact that the men they were fighting, were fighting for the same reason. That the very man they we were killing were just like them in a way. When the Japanese came at night to kill the Marines they knew they would die, they would be in plain sight for the soldiers to shoot them down. The Japanese came out of there safe zones to try and fight us back and died for their country believing in what they were fighting for. The killing and the fighting was mentioned but never once was it said that they were heroes for what they were doing for their country. In the perspective of the United States and the Author they weren't heroes they were just our enemy that we needed to destroy to win. Perspective is a big part of heros as we may not see someone as a hero because of their actions due to their culture, but that culture may see them as a hero, even a dynasty for their actions. Every one has there own perspectives of what a hero is and does.



A hero is not described by his morals, but by his actions and choices he makes in the situation he is given. If the choices that effected us were never made things could be different, slavery could still be here, Someone's buddys might have died from a grenade, Martin Luther King Jr, might not be a holiday or even known if it weren't for him making his speech. Every one has there own perspective of what a hero is and does. So the next time you need to make a choice, make sure it's the right one and that maybe you could be looked up to as a hero, especially if that choice saves someones life.

Sept. 11. NRC Urges Increased Sercurity

This Article says that the U.S NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Committee) as a precaution that all nuclear plants, non-power reactors, nuclear fuel facilities and gaseous diffusion plants go to the highest level of security. The reason why they have done this is classified. Even though there were no threats of attacking these places they were still concerned that they could be targeted for the highly flammable contents they have. The recommendation was consider prudent because the attacks were on New York and in Washington DC.

I believe that this was a smart precaution, we don't know what they would attack or what they could attack, some of the Power Plants and such could be a good target because they would make a massive explosion. At the time nobody knew what else would be hit so anything that could be targeted should be on alert.

Essay #2

Washington was not a member of any political party, and hoped that they would not be formed. However, one of his friends formed two sections. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton had plans to build a financially powerful nation, and formed the Federalist Party/Republican. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republicans, opposed Hamilton's agenda, but Washington favored Hamilton over Jefferson. So these two people started the two parties because both had different ideas.

The first significant parties are Republican, Democratic-Republican. The Democrats- stood for the poor class with low income, They taxed the poor people less and the rich people more who could afford it. Republicans stood for the upper class rich people, taxing the poor people and cutting taxes from the rich. They also tend to have better skills with the crises of war while the democrats have better economic values.

Essay #1

The Articles of Confederation failed because it lacked the properties of what a constitution needs. The federalist felt that the Articles did not have what it needed to become a sufficiently effective government. The Biggest part was those who favored a more powerful central state, was the government lacked taxing authority. It had to ask for funds from the states. Another problem of the Articles was that they did not have the right balance between large and small states in the legislative decision making process. Mainly the Articles just lacked too many important processes and power issues to really be a document that would run our country so they had to make the Constitution.

The goal of our founding fathers during the constitutional convention was to create a document that would give us the bases of our government, with laws, rules, and rights that would make us all equal. This document also set out to have the republican gov. which allot of the farmers who had nothing to do with it didn't like it, that they would have to pay taxes and follow these laws and regulations, so some of them that didn't believe this gov. rebelled against it.

This is why they made the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights Restricts the powers of the Federal Government of the U.S., protecting the rights of all people in the United States, Basically giving the rights of the common people/farmers so they don't fell completely controlled by the Gov.