1920s Slang Narrative Example

 This past weekend was grand, and also very divine. Saturday morning I had to get up early to go to my little brother’s football game. Waking up early was horsefeathers. I couldn’t sleep in and get the extra sleep that I was waiting for all week. At eight o’clock we all jumped in the struggle buggy and drove down the main drag. The weather was absolutely lousy because it was so cold. It felt so cold, you would have to be blotto to even go outside. Although the weather wasn’t so darb, the game was. It was the bee’s knees. The team my brother was playing were the berries. They were undefeated and very hotsie-totsie. The game went swell for the first-half, and my brother’s team was the cat’s meow. However, in the second-half, they went down lickety-split. Towards the end of the game, the team was between a rock and a hard place. Their coach had just been ejected for not wising up by arguing with the referee. They were also down by a touchdown with very little time on the clock. Everybody on the team was playing sloppy because they were trying to hurry. They ended up losing, but the game was still the cat’s pajamas. All throughout the game, my mom was complaining about her cheaters. She said she was having trouble seeing through them, so I had to be the blind dragon home. On the way home, we stopped at a gas station to get some candy. When we were pulling out of the parking lot, I almost got into a crash with another struggle buggy. The people in the other struggle buggy looked as if they had a chopper pointed at them. My mom thought my driving was lousy and I felt like a nitwit for not seeing the other car. Besides the first mistake I made while driving, I thought my driving was darb. Later that night I watched a flick with the rest of my family. I thought the movie was raspberries, but everyone else found it to be divine. Overall, my weekend was grand.

U-2 Spy Plane Research Paper Works Cited

Works Cited

“Bomber Gap.” Coldwar.org. Web. 18 January 2011.

“Cuban Missile Crisis.” Globalsecurity.org. Web. 13 January 2011.

Elton, Charles. “Lockheed U-2.” Encyclopedia of Aircraft. Eds. Michael J. H., and John W. R. Taylor. New York: G. P. Putnam’s, 1978: 149-50. Print.

Foner, Eric, and John A Garraty. “U-2 Affair.” The Reader’s Companion to American History. 01 December 1991: n. p. SIRS Researcher, Web. 17 January 2011.

Grant, R. G. Flight: 100 Years of Aviation. New York: DK, 2002. Print.

Holloway, Don. “Mayday for the U-2.” Aviation. January 1994: 22-29. SIRS Researcher. Web. 17 January 2011.

Larson, George A. “Cold War Shoot Downs: Part Two.” Air Classics. 01 January 2001. eLibrary. Web. 12 January 2011.

Pocock, Christopher. “The U-2 Spyplane: Toward the Unknown, A New History of the Early Years.” Review. Cia.gov. 17 January 2011.

Roberson, Gary. “The U-2 Incident.” Coldwar.org. Web. 17 January 2011.

“S-75 (SA-2 Guideline).” Missilethreat.com. Web. 13 January 2011.

Taubman, Philip. Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the hidden story of America’s Space Espionage. New York: Simon. 2003. Print.

Yanak, Ted, and Pam Cornelison. “U-2 Incident.” The Great American History Fact-Finder. December 01, 1993: n. p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 17 January 2011.

How the U-2 Spy Plane Affected the Cold War Research Paper

A Spy in the Sky: How the U-2 Affected the Cold War

            Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, a race on the international level takes place. Two world superpowers go all out against each other to claim victory. Cold War tensions skyrocketed between the U. S. and Soviet Union during this time frame and the driving force behind this struggle was to see who could develop the best technology. Basically anything was fair game and even if it was considered unfair by either side, it was most definitely done by both sides. Although it was illegal, a major factor that determined the U. S.’s success was the creation of a plane that could spy on the Soviets. Without the involvement of the U-2 during the Cold War, it is certain that important historical events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as the Bomber Gap would have had different outcomes, which most likely would not have been as successful from the U. S.’s standpoint. Where would the U. S. be today if the nuclear missile bases in Cuba were never spotted?
            The U-2 was the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft of its time, mainly because nothing similar to it existed. Mounted on its underside, was a massive camera system that was a technological breakthrough itself (Taubman 177). The resolution of the camera is six times greater than that of the human eye (Holloway 2). Lockheed had even incorporated a unique method that allowed the U-2 to create its own fuel:

            ...its kerosene fuel mixture was “cold-soaked” in the wing tanks, and when the fuel heated and expanded as it passed through the fuel-oil exchanger, it actually produced 20 to 30 more gallons of useable fuel (Pocock 1). 

Even though the U-2s were jam-packed with new sophisticated technology, Lockheed had managed to exclude fuel gauges from the cockpit, so pilots were relieved to have this useful fuel-generating technique. A massive 80 ft. wing span, which was nearly twice as long as the plane itself, gave the U-2 the ability to glide long distances while the engines were idling, preserving fuel (“Bomber” 1). Adding to all of these impressive characteristics, the U-2 operated at around 70,000 ft., 20,000 ft. higher than what any Soviet fighter jet or missile could reach (Roberson 1). This made the plane nearly invincible, giving the U. S. a much needed advantage over the Soviets.
            With the creation of the ultra-secret Project Aquatone, the CIA was confident they had a solution to most of Eisenhower’s worries (Holloway 2). The pressing issue at hand was that the U. S. lacked intelligence of Soviet activities, so the untouchable U-2 spy plane seemed ideal. Several different names for the plane were proposed during the development, but U-2 or “Utility-2" became its official name (Larson 1). Project supervisors also referred to the plane as the “Idealist,” while Lockheed, the plane’s creators, referred to it as the “Angel” (Holloway 1). Eisenhower had confidence in the project; however, he still had a few doubts and decided to pass Project Genetrix before Aquatone on December 27, 1955. The other project sent out 516 air balloons equipped with cameras into the jet stream over Europe, hoping that they would be carried over Eastern Europe (Taubman 179). Once the CIA could gain Eisenhower’s approval, the team could move on from test flights to actual missions, but gaining his trust was the most challenging part of the project.
            An immovable wall was preventing the Aquatone team from gaining more progress, for they had to win Eisenhower’s approval of the project. This proved to be more difficult than it needed to be when Eisenhower had an intestinal attack on June 7, 1954, causing him to postpone his review of the plans (Taubman 180). Richard Bissell, one of the top supervisors of the project, impatiently authorized a flight over East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland on June 20 without Eisenhower’s consent (Taubman 181). Upon the presidents recovery, he finally reviewed the plan and was presented with very strong evidence of the U-2s capabilities. He was shown photographs of some American cities which contained extremely great detail, even from altitudes exceeding 70,000 ft. Eisenhower said, “On these we could easily count the automobiles on the streets and even the lines marking the parking areas for individual cars... There was no doubt about the quality of the information to be obtained.” Eisenhower was impressed with the photographs, especially when he was shown pictures of his Gettysburg farm and some from the unauthorized flight from June 20 (Taubman 177). The CIA assured him that the project was safe and Eisenhower gave them the green light, so the team prepared for flights over the Soviet Union.
            With the new high-tech U-2 spy plane in use, the United States government could easily retrieve information from any part of Europe quickly. The cameras on the U-2 captured countless numbers of photographs taken from above the Soviet Union, which would later be analyzed. In 1958, the CIA created PIC (Photographic Intelligence Center), which was assigned to analyze the photographs and determine if there were any object of interest or anything that imposed a threat to the United States. By 1961, PIC was replaced by the NPIC (National Photographic Intelligence Center) and was made up of around 1200 analysts and recorders (Larson 2). The U-2 demonstrated it usefulness when over 600 S-75 missile-launch sites were discovered in the Soviet Union between the years 1958-1964 (“S-75" 1). This was crucial information for the U. S. and only the U-2 was capable of providing this information that Eisenhower was desperately craving.
            On August 28, 1962, the U-2 discovered perhaps one of its most important findings during a flight: Soviet nuclear missile bases positioned in Cuba. This discovery was a preliminary event of what was to become the Cuban Missile Crisis, also referred to as the “sixteen days in October.” The U. S. had previously known that the Soviet Union was providing assistance to Cuba based on previously obtained evidence, and they knew it was most likely military-related assistance. However, the U. S. did not expect the Soviets to assemble nuclear missile bases in Cuba since it was such a bold move. Mass hysteria began to develop among the American people after President Kennedy publically announced that Soviet nuclear missile bases were in Cuba because people feared a nuclear attack. Tensions between the U. S. and Soviets were steadily rising and without the U-2, the U. S. may not have found out about the nuclear missiles until a threat was posed. Because Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union, the U. S. could not have simply invaded Cuba to search for nuclear missiles, so the spy plane was the only option for gathering information. As a result of the secretly found information, the Kennedy-Krushchev “agreement” was formed on October 28, 1962 without anything catastrophic occurring (“Cuban” 1).
            Another display of the U-2s usefulness was during a time called the “Bomber Gap.” In July of 1957, a suspicion that the Soviets were mass producing intercontinental bombers arose, and the U. S. government became worried because it meant that the Soviets could transport nuclear weapons to the U. S. Two different bombers were supposedly being produced: the Bear and Bison Bombers, but both were capable of intercontinental flight. The Soviets had even flown them nearby major cities along the east coast just to showcase their bombers and put fear into the American people (“Bomber” 1). President Eisenhower needed information about the status of the intercontinental bombers production immediately. His best and basically only option was to employ the U-2 spy plane, so flights were conducted over the Soviet Union in hopes to detect the facilities producing the bombers. Many photographs were taken over a several months span and eventually Dino Brugioni, a CIA photo analyst, reported to Eisenhower, “...we could positively produce facts that the bomber gap didn’t exist” (“Bomber” 2). Although the Soviets had been bluffing the entire time, because we had the U-2, we did not have to directly confront the Soviets which saved a lot of trouble and prevented Cold War tensions from increasing even more.
            The most famous and well-known story of the U-2 spy plane is the one of the pilot Francis Gary Powers being shot over the Soviet Union. During a routine flight over Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, an S-A-M (Surface-to-air missile) exploded near the rear of Powers plane, causing him to fall to around 34,000 ft. before ejecting (Pocock 2). Powers drifted to the ground, surviving the crash, and surprisingly his plane remained intact to a degree that it could be identified, even though the CIA had assured Eisenhower that “...it was almost certain that the plane would disintegrate and that we could take it as a certainty that no pilot would survive...” (Taubman 178).
            Upon landing on the ground, Powers was instantly swarmed by curious citizens and then taken prisoner by the Soviets. The CIA fitted all of their U-2 pilots with suicide pills, labeled “L-Pills,” incase they would need them in an emergency, but Powers decided not to use his (Taubman 178). Several items were recovered from the plane wreckage, such as “...flight maps, a Department of Defense/Department of the Air Force ID card, Russian rubles, gold francs, a hunting knife, a silenced .22 pistol, and a seemingly innocuous pin found in the prisoner’s pocket” (Holloway 1). After recovering all of this evidence, the Soviets did not believe the CIA’s explanation that the plane was just a weather plane that had diverted from its flight plan; therefore, Eisenhower was forced to reveal the truth but he refused to apologize because the Soviets knew of the secret flights for years (Foner 1). Francis Gary Powers was traded for the Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, in 1962 and the role of the U-2 in the Cold War would be forever changed after the Gary Powers incident (Yanak 1).
            The fact that the Soviets had acquired the SA-2, a transportable surface-to-air missile, ultimately led to the demise of the U-2 (Grant 288). The SA-2 was capable of reaching altitudes equivalent to what the U-2 operated at, so the government considered the flights to no longer be safe (Larson 4). Even flights over territories of Soviet Union allies were unsafe because the Soviets sold SA-2s to them and the missiles could be used against us (“S-75" 1). The CIA now had the motivation to build better faster planes such as the Blackbird.
            Even though the U-2 spy plane was forced to be decommissioned from the governments use during its prime, a legacy has been established. If it weren’t for the U-2, events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bomber Gap would have never been solved as effectively or safely; furthermore, all of the United States’ questions of the Soviets’ secret activities would not have been answered. The U-2 was the very first of its kind and no other plane during that time could match its capabilities. The “cloak and dagger” portion of the spectrum of aeronautics was redefined by the U-2 and it set a pathway for more advanced planes to come about, such as the SR-71 Blackbird (Elton 149). The U-2 was also a precursor of new inventions to come about during the space age. A machine similar to the high-altitude flying spy plane is the satellite in the sense that they are both used for reconnaissance purposes. The YAK and the M-17 were the Soviets’ attempts to create a plane of their own with similar cloak and dagger characteristics; however, they were unsuccessful in their replications (Pocock 1). Some U-2s are still in use by the USAF while many others are displays in museums such as the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum (Elton 149). Utility-2 was the American governments secret eye in the sky.

The Guillotine Essay

            Halifax Gibbet- the earliest account of a guillotine used in history. It was a huge wooden structure made of two 15 ft. tall uprights connected by a horizontal beam. An ax head attached to a 4 ½ ft. block that slid on grooves up and down the uprights would be raised to the top and dropped. It may date back to around 1066, but the record of it being used was during the 1280’s. Executions were public and took place in the town’s market place on Saturdays.
            The enlightenment thinkers Locke and Voltaire opposed the use of guillotines. Dr. Guillotin proposed the idea of the guillotine because it was a quick method of execution and involved no torture. He also proposed that executions should be private but his idea was rejected by the Assembly. His plan for the guillotine never gained the Assemblies approval.
            Tobias Schmidt, a German engineer, built and tested the first actual guillotine. The first execution by guillotine occurred on April 25, 1792 when Nicholas-Jacques Pelletier, a highwayman, was killed. It was going to be called the ‘Louisette’ or ‘Louison’ after Dr. Louis but the name guillotine was decided upon since Dr. Guillotin proposed the idea earlier.
            The guillotine would be used on virtually anybody: both males and females of any age, rich or poor. Equal treatment of the guillotine’s victims was expressed because of the new ideas of the Enlightenment period. The guillotine remained in use until April 30, 1650.

Advantages of Nuclear Energy Speech Outline

End Goal: By the end of my speech, I want my audience to be aware of how much more efficient nuclear energy is compared to coal plants or several other types of energy. _________________________________________________________________________________.

WHAT GOES IN YOUR OUTLINE? Although there are many variations that you can make to your outline, these are some basics that should be covered in your speech.

1. Attention (Introduction)
   1. Attention getter: Which seems more efficient: a waste product the size of a coke-can which supplies a person with a lifetime of electricity or 68 tons of solid waste accompanied by 77 tons of carbon emissions which also supplies a person with a lifetime of electricity.
   2. Establish credibility and relationship to audience (ETHOS): We all use renewable energy for just about every daily task we do; therefore, it is imperative we are knowledgeable of all the different types.
   3. Introduce topic (thesis statement): Nuclear energy is much more practical than other major forms of energy such as wind, solar, and coal, so a larger scale incorporation of it seems reasonable in the future.
   4. We have become completely dependent on renewable energy, so it is reasonable that the people using it are aware of the cheapest, most efficient type of renewable energy.

2. Need (Problem)
   1. More Nuclear power plants need to be used as our energy producers because nuclear energy is more efficient than its current competitors.
   2. Demonstrate the significance of the problem with evidence. I’ve already mentioned the fact of the difference in waste products. Another fact supporting nuclear power plants is their small footprint. A nuclear power plant that produces 1000 megawatts occupies 1/3 of a square mile. A wind farm generating the same amount of electricity would need 200 square miles and a solar farm would need 50 square miles. Those are just a few benefits of nuclear power.
   3. Relate problem to the audience
      
      
3. Satisfaction (Solution)
   1. Mention solutions that have failed and opposing solutions. We have all heard of Chernobyl, and the recent disasters Japan encountered with their nuclear plants, but those were because of design flaws. People who oppose nuclear plants question their safety, cost, waste storage, and proliferation; however, there are several pros that balance out the cons.
   2. Tell us your solution to the problem. People need to be educated about Nuclear energy
   3. Go into details of the solution: Once people know of the capabilities of nuclear energy, they can vote for politicians who are for nuclear energy and will take the actions needed to implement it in our society.
      
      
4. Visualization (The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly)
   1. Demonstrate practicality of plan
   2. Describe a world in which the problem is NOT SOLVED: In the case that nuclear energy is not chosen as the main source of energy, other forms of renewable energy being developed today would be used. It would not be terrible, because the other forms are also healthy for the environment, but the benefits of nuclear energy such as its small footprint and waste product could not be utilized. Massive amounts of land would need to be set aside for plants, which is wasteful. If coal plants are still used carbon levels will keep climbing and eventually reach unsafe levels.
   3. Describe a world in which the problem IS SOLVED: If nuclear energy is used on a large scale the world would probably be better off. The atmosphere would be safer because there would not be as many coal plants spewing carbon into the air. Less land is needed for nuclear power plants which is highly beneficial for areas that have dense populations. The less space the nuclear power plant takes up, the more space we have for other important uses.
      1. Make sure you create a sense of self-actualization and self-esteem in the audience
         
         
5. Action (Conclusion)
   1. Tell the audience what they can do to solve the problem. These should be specific steps that they can take TODAY to solve the problem.
   2. Give a memorable ending: Nuclear energy is the way of the future.

World War 1 Essay

            Germany was an aspiring and newly developing world power leading into World War 1. Because Germany was becoming a world power, a sense of imperialism came along with it. Imperialistic nations venture out of their territories and into others in order to get the necessities they need to thrive. Germany was quickly becoming industrialized; therefore, they needed the resources and materials to supply their industries. An alliance was established with Austria-Hungary, in which Germany gave Austria-Hungary a “blank check” in return for resources.
            Nationalism in Germany went through the roof before World War 1. They were extremely prideful at having bigger and better things than everyone else had. Germany was in an arms race with Britain as the two were competing in building up their navies. Both Germany and Britain competed in stocking up their navies with the devastating Dreadnought battleship, while only Germany built the U-boat, which is a submarine. The two countries used their navies to blockade each other; Britain blockaded Germany, preventing all trade with Germany causing them to basically starve to death. Germany did the same to Britain except with U-boats instead of Dreadnoughts.
            Germany’s great sense of national pride led them to increasing their military, otherwise known as militarism. Germany had known that a war was inevitable, so the logical action would be to improve their military. They even had a predetermined time for when they wanted to start the war so that it would be to their advantage. An example of militarism in Germany was that there was an increase in military control in the civilian government. This can be seen when Germany’s military expenditures from 1870 are compared to those in 1914, the beginning of the war. In 1870, Germany spent $94 million on its military and in 1914, $398 million was spent on the military alone.
            The alliances before World War 1 were a major cause for the start of the war. Enemies were pitted against each other, which gave rise to more reasons for conflict. Two alliance groups were formed, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy who had little to do with the war. In the Triple Entente were France, Britain, Russia, and the U.S.A. after we were dragged in by the Germans. Since Germany had failed to acquire Russia as an ally, they now had to fight a two front war against France and Russia, which is almost impossible to do. This is why the Germans had to have the war begin in the summer of 1914. It was part of the Schlieffen plan and would allow Germany to fight a one front war because Russia was not prepared for war at the time.
            World War 1 had created lots of political turmoil in Europe. Several things were not settled and another World War was the outcome. U. S. President Woodrow Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points before the end of the war in hope that the European powers would follow the policies. The Fourteen Points proposal established about 8 new countries where Austria-Hungary used to be. These new countries really had no idea about how they should operate and they had no true government. This called for trouble and the fact that the governments were printing excessive amounts of money, causing inflation to skyrocket, did not help. These countries were unstable and dangerous, similar to Austria-Hungary before World War 1.
            Another political situation that contributed to the rise of World War 2 was the signing of the war-guilt clause. Germany was forced to sign a war-guilt clause which stated that they were taking full responsibility for starting the war and all of the destruction that occurred because of it. Numerous restrictions were placed upon Germany such as a limit on their army, a restriction on trade with others outside their borders for the next five years, and the forfeit of their colonies. They also had to pay about $33 billion in reparations. The powerful nationalistic spirit of Germany was down and the country was in a slump. It was the ideal time for a natural leader such as Hitler to come to power and cause the next World War.

Medieval Europe Essay

            There is a lot of controversy about the Crusades, or Holy Wars. The majority of people will agree that they had basically no beneficial results. If anything, they made the Catholic Church and the Pope look immoral in the eyes of the people in the Eastern world. Some of the causes of the Crusades were that the Western World wished to unify Christianity because there was little communication with the Eastern World. In the Eastern World, the Byzantine Empire was receiving threats from the Turks, so they requested help from the Western World. The Pope saw this as an opportunity to unify the two different religions and sent knights to help them. Now the first Crusade begins and results in the Christian Knights conquering Jerusalem, which is the center of controversy in the East and is coveted by just about everyone. During the second Crusade the Muslim army, led by Saladin, takes Jerusalem back from the Christians. The third Crusade resulted in a draw and nothing was accomplished. The Christian knights didn’t even make it to Jerusalem on the fourth Crusade, instead they sacked Constantinople and took it over and looted it. The main purpose of unifying the Christian religion ceased to exist by the fourth Crusade.

            During the Middle-Ages in Europe, the feudal system was the type of government being used. The feudal system is based on the ownership of land, so the more land one owned, the wealthier they were. Peasants are at the base of the economic, social, and political systems of feudalism and without them it would not function properly. The economic set-up of Europe’s feudal system was called the Manor system. Nobles and land barons owned land that the peasants, who were tied to the land, would work. Each property had at least three different fields so that two of the fields could be used to grow crops while the remaining one stayed fallow. Every year they would rotate fields so the soil of one field was not overused.

            The King was the head of the political structure. He was in charge of anybody beneath him and anyone that was of a lower social status was required to pay homage to him. Knights of that time could be compared to policemen because they enforced the law, which was the King’s word. The King was also near the top of the social structure. Below him were the nobles and knights, then the freemen who were Merchants, farmers and Craftsmen. Friars and monks would be on about the same social level as these people. After them came the peasants and serfs who are at the very bottom. The feudal system failed in some communities because they were excommunicated from the church and the people revolted or they were wiped out when the plague struck.

            The Church was probably the most powerful during the Middle-Ages of Europe. It had so much power because just about everyone was extremely religious at the time. God was all the peasants had in their lives and other than that, their lives were miserable. Since the feudal system ran was fueled by the peasant’s labor, the kings and nobles that owned the land had to be sure that the Church remained in their community. If the Church were to be removed, the peasants would revolt and be unmotivated to work because God was all the hope they had. The Pope had the power to interdict a community, which means the Church would be pulled out of it. He could also excommunicate whomever he wished. This gave him immense amounts of power and control.

            It seems as though all the Plague caused was millions of deaths and destroyed Europe, along with the rest of the world, but most people don’t see that it was also beneficial. Ironically, the Plague was the most beneficial to the people it affected the most, the Peasants. Although they experienced the highest mortality rate, they were helped by the Black Death because it opened up new opportunities for them. There was a shortage of laborers and the nobles and land barons didn’t know how to farm the land, so they were forced to turn to sharecropping. Now the peasants could own land and technically were no longer called peasants. Many people who experienced the death of loved ones never really started another family out of fear of losing them again. Since families were not being created, the population recovered very slowly.

            The Church was not really affected by the Plague; therefore, it did not benefit. It was actually at a disadvantage afterward because it turned the sick, suffering people away and closed its doors. People lost respect for the Church but did not lose any faith in God.

            The Manor system was no longer used after the Plague because the peasants weren’t tied to the land anymore. Sharecropping became a major economic foundation in place of the Manor system.

            Ultimately, The Church was greatly affected by all of these circumstances. The mistake of initiating the Crusades distorted the Eastern Worlds view of the Western World and they were also a waste of man power. The devastating consequences of the Plague hurt the Churches image when they closed their doors to the people of Europe. The Church and society were becoming corrupt and debauchery became common, even among priests.