Thursday, June 12, 2008
Modern Marvels - Money
In 1789, there was no unified system for money in our country. Each colony had its own currency. Thomas Jefferson recommended a decimal coin system and that we create a Mint to manufacture the coins. His rival Hamilton, believed in bank notes. In 1793 production of the first Mint was started. Paul Revere's manufacturing company was used for some of the first copper coins. Back then, all coins were made by hand. It took three years to make the first million coins in the United States. Congress was not happy about the slow pace. Also, the Gold Rush complicated the countries currency problems. The rich in Georgia and the Carolinas had wealth from gold dust, but there was no simple way to turn it into coins. A gentleman named Templeton Reed actually built his own Mint and he bought the gold dust. He was the first of forty private individuals to make money from coins. The government then opened up more Mints around the country as gold rushes occurred. As coins got stronger, the paper currency was getting weaker. At that time, there were 1600 different banks using 7000 varieties of bills. There was no central point to issue the currency. It was a simple process and it was all done by hand. The ink was put into a metal dye and it filled the recessed dots of the image. They would rub it lightly rub to take away the excess ink and then buff it. Finally, a press would print the bank note. Some of these steps are still used today. Now, the paper for bank money is made from discarded scraps of denim. It is sold by the ton. This material makes stronger paper that stays crisp. The cotton denim material cooks for two hours in a vat with chemicals to break down the smaller fibers. It is then bleached and stacked in sheets. It is given a watermark along with red and blue security threads for security reasons. The dyes then put a 3-dimensional image on the paper. It takes many small steps until the bank notes are finished and ready for printing. Some of the steps today are kept private to prevent counterfeiting of the money, so these steps were not shown in this program. The thread and the watermark on the bank note paper is what makes it different from other paper. Abraham Lincoln's image is on every note and in a low light, you can see his image. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing then finishes the process.
The Fed creates money and has 12 districts nationwide that monitor the money supply around the country. Today, notes require craftsmanship and cutting edge technology. Each day, 35,000,000 pieces of currency are produced at a value of $635,000,000.00 Skilled engravers are used to work against the sophisticated counterfeiters. Counterfeit $100.00 bills called 'super notes' were at one time the highest level of counterfeit bills. The Feds found out North Korea had a big operation that was producing these 'super notes'. It was difficult to shut down the operation because their government was involved.
With the invention of the ATM machine and everyone using credit cards and debit cards, transactions with paper can be a burden, but the it is believed that our money expresses our national identity and values - 'In God We Trust' and' Liberty and Freedom'.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Lincoln Assasination
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Bud, Not Buddy
Bud finally meets Herman E. Calloway, the man he thinks is his father. It turns out that they are related, but Herman E. Calloway is actually an 80 year old man and he is Bud's grandfather. He is the father of Bud's mother. Herman E. Calloway is not a very pleasant man and in some way, Bud is relieved that he is not his father, although he is happy to have found a true family member. Herman E. Calloway is also a musician. He is the lead musician in a band. Bud ends up living with Herman E. Calloway and his band at Calloway Station. One of the band members gives Bud a saxophone as a gift and Bud really enjoys playing the saxophone. It becomes one of his favorite things to do. At home, Herman E. Calloway is interested in hearing about what happened to Bud's mother, his daughter, because she ran away many years ago and he never knew of her fate. Bud had to tell his grandfather that his mother had died and Herman E. Calloway was very saddened by that news.
CHARACTERS: The main character in my book is Bud. Bud is a 10 year old African American orphan. He is very nice and polite. Many of the band members were surprised at how good Bud's manners are. I think that Bud is a very brave for walking all the way to the Grand Rapids at night. I would not be comfortable doing that
YOUR THOUGHTS: I thought that this book was great. I would recommend this book to anybody, and I think that you would enjoy it as much as I did.
7 READING STRATEGIES: One of the 7 reading strategies that I used is inferring. I infered that Bud would find Herman E. Calloway. When Bud found out Herman E. Calloway was an old man I also predicted that Herman E. Calloway was Bud's grandfather
AUTHOR INFORMATION: The author of Bud, Not Buddy is Christopher Paul Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy won the Coretta Scott King Award, given each year to a black writer for an inspirational and educational contribution to literature and the Newberry Metal, the most prestigious award in children's literature.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Secrets of Jamestown
Archaeologists extract from the core of the tree rings to learn about climate in Jamestown. Colonists reported horrible weather, so these archaeologists are just making sure that the colonists were checking to see if they were telling the truth. The analysis was that from 1606-1613 there was a severe drought which would effect the growth of corn and trading with the Indians. When Captain John Smith went back to Europe the Indians starved the colonists. During the starvation the colonists started to eat human flesh, horses and rats. Archaeologists preserved Jamestown full time. It took 10 years to vision what Jamestown looked like. Now they even know where some houses stood. APVA preservation Virginia's goal was to preserve Jamestown full time. In 1994 they dug and uncovered the foundation of three buildings. They were made out of mud and stud. They found many artifacts from life in Jamestown. They found a well outside the old fort. The colonists used this well for fresh water. While digging up the well, archaeologists found tools, armor, pottery, and more. All of the artifacts are analyzed and cataloged. To preserve iron artifacts they use a process called air abrasion. There has been half a million artifacts excavated so far. Archaeologists proved that colonists were busy, unlike Captain John Smith had said. In Captain John Smith's writings he had said that they were lazy They were busy digging ditches and building houses.
Archaeologists discovered a gravestone with skeleton remains. The archaeologists can learn the skeleton's sex, age and ancestry. They even can find out that one skeleton was killed by a musket. Forensic scientists can recreate a face. The face may take up to 100 hours to finish.
Archaeologists are always finding new things at the excavation site.
CHARACTERS: Captain John Smith was a character in Secrets of Jamestown. He was a lazy man, but he was a good leader. He made up lies about the colonist being lazy, but he was the real lazy one.
YOUR THOUGHTS: I thought the show was interesting, but too long. I thought it was interesting that the archaeologists could tell that there was a big drought in Jamestown just by extracting the core of an old tree. I thought that they added in too much un-needed infornmation also so at times it was boring.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Classroom: Ben Franklin - Part 2
Franklin was described as cold and aloof (distant) with his family. He had one son named William who was an illegitimate son. He also had another son named Francis, but they called him Frankie. Frankie died at 4 years old from the small pox and Franklin felt guilt for the death because he had not been there to support his son. Franklin also had a daughter named Sarah or Sally. Franklin was hardly ever with his family. He was away from his wife, Debbie, for 20 years of their marriage. The main area where Franklin failed in life was his family. One day when Franklin was away in France, Debbie, Franklin's wife, had a stroke. Debbie wanted Franklin to come home, but he did not want to go back home and so he stays in France. At that time Franklin had not seen his wife in 7 years. Franklin was not as distant with his son William. He actually had a strong relationship with William. They were even business partners. After working together for many years, there was a big conflict between the two. William decided to stay loyal to the England crown, but Ben Franklin wanted to fight for the American rebels. William's son, Temple, sides with his grandfather, Ben Franklin, and the rebels. Franklin cannot forgive his son, William, for not siding with him. Neither of them will apologize and the relationship was ruined. Franklin felt abandoned by his son. Now he lives with his daughter, Sarah.
When Ben Franklin was about 84 he started getting sick and he died. There were many people at his funeral. Ben Franklin was a big part America. He made the first political cartoon, was involved in the separation of church and state, reviewed and edited Thomas Jefferson's words for the Articles of Confederation, and arranged the Senate and House of Representatives.
CHARACTER: Ben Franklin was a very selfish man. It seemed as if he didn't care about anyone except for himself. He was a very self absorbed man. He was away from his wife for 20 years of their marriage and did not seem to really care about what his wife or children thought about him being away from them. When his wife got sick and had a stroke, he did not go home then to see how she was doing even though she asked him to come home.
YOUR THOUGHTS: I thought that Ben Franklin was stupid and smart at the same time. He was stupid with his family because he barely ever got to see them and he made no effort to be a good father or husband . He was smart because he was an intelligent man. He invented many things and structured much of the modern day America.