We are...Conservation of Resources and Alternative Energies

My group, consisting of me, Dane, Michael, and Bayley, did our project on the conservation of resources and alternative energies, or the "green" movement. This movement really started in the early 70's and has only gotten more relevant since then. One of the first events to raise awareness was the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. This alerted politicians of the danger of polluting the earth and started what is now a worldwide movement to lessen our footprint on the Earth we live.

We included a variety of items on our box that all have to do with the common theme. Just a few things that we found were a "green" brochure from Patagonia, some cardboard boxes with "Made in California" written on them, a Piazzas reusable grocery bag, and a bird that we covered in black paint to represent oil. Michael found the brochure while shopping in Seattle, which confirms that anything can be found anywhere and that you must keep your eyes peeled at all times for anything related to your topic. This is especially true with our topic because earth-friendly products are so plentiful. For example, Dane and I just found the two cardboard boxes with "made in California" written on them while walking through Piazzas shopping for organic cereal. We only had to ask the nice clerks if we could take them, and they agreed when we told them it was for a project. Lastly, Dane found the parrot at Diddums, a store with a great variety of party and miscellaneous items. We figured that we could use the bird to represent the 500,000 birds and various other sea creatures that died in the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The black paint shows how the birds' movement would be restricted if fully covered in oil.

I learned a lot about the green movement and alternative energies through the course of this project. I would never have guessed that Earth Day has been going since 1970 or that the Exxon Valdez is still in service over 30 after the tragic incident. My group agreed that a good piece of advice for the next generation of students is to start looking and finding items as soon as possible because it is not possible to find specific items with only one week left until the due date. However, if you know what you are supposed to be looking for then you can just find items during your daily life which makes this project infinitely easier.

-Greg

We are in fear of nuclear disaster by Brent

The theme of our project was basically about the nuclear scare that happened during the Cold War but we focused in during the time period from 1970 to 1990. We explored the fears that the people felt during the time period and also the technology that made these fears a grim reality. Our theme made it crystal clear that nuclear power and technology can pose fatal risks if the reactor sites malfunction like what happened at 3 Mile Island. Our theme was crafted to instill fear within the viewer to draw their attention to our barrel and then give them information about our topic and what we learned about it.

We had many items ranging from a book to a model rocket (which someone stole from our barrel when it was on display in the library). We also had movie posters from the time period such as Silkwood, which were depictions of how Hollywood showed the fears of the American people. When looking around to see what items I contributed to the group I asked my mom if she had anything to do with the nuclear threat. It turns out she had a great book called Missile Envy written by Helen Caldicott who had great insight on the risks of developing nuclear power. When I was flipping through the book a old piece of paper fell out of it, which I made a copy and attached to our barrel. The paper was a bunch of dots each representing a certain amount of nuclear bombs and it put into perspective to the viewer how much nuclear warheads were being built up and how devastating they could be during the world.

We obtained most of our items through the help of the Internet. David braved a scrap yard to find a huge barrel, which he painted yellow and used a stencil Joe made to paint the radioactive symbol on it. The barrel really stands out and can be tapped by the viewer of the project to discover its the real deal. You can see the rings of the barrel too and an imaginative viewer might fear the high frequency electromagnetic waves that could be coming out of the waste barrel. I found the book and other artifacts from my mom who had some things she could contribute from her bookshelf. Also, we replicated artifacts like the nuclear blanket and the nuclear warhead. In addition, Joe made a 3-d model of 3 Mile Island. We obtained our items by just looking around our houses and asking people to help us achieve our goals.

In the future, I think we should have chosen our items first and then the topic of our project. This would have made the project a lot easier since we could have a topic that we had easy access to awesome items too. Also, I think it might of been helpful to ask around on facebook by changing your status to something like "Does anyone have any nuclear warhead replicas we could borrow for a project in exchange for a gourmet batch of cookies?" We could trade other students for items and give them baked goods to persuade them into helping us out. We could also invite them too see their lent items in the finished project in the library when we finished. In addition, it would have been optimal if I did not go down with a high fever the day of our assembly and project presentation but our group pulled through and was able to extract some artifacts from my locker because I got in touch with them when I was sick.

For next years groups the most important thing to a group is a strong form of communication. Everyone needs to have each other group members phone numbers, address, facebook, twitter, email, and AIM to make communication go smoothly. Actually one of the best ways to get the ideas flowing is starting a private group message on facebook in which each group member can post links, ideas, and scan in and post pictures of potential artifacts. Then, the group could come to a group consensus on which items should be used and which should be left in a remote dust filled crevice of someone's attic. Also, its very important to get things done ahead of schedule. In situations were time is running short things our bound to go wrong. Not only that but it is important to realize that you are probably brainwashed by Hollywood film writers. One hardly ever sees a movie where technology fails, computers always work smoothly and the users can manipulate various electronic forms of communication without fail. This of course is all fantasy hodge podge. We all know that if its the worst time for a computer to crash it will crash. Don't save printing out items in the AC during the morning because most likely 50 other kids in the AC will try to print out things too and you will find the situation to be highly stressful and not successful. To sum it up, the crucial concepts that future groups should comprehend are communication, organization, and getting work done in a timely manner. A cohesive group will lead to an outstanding project. Individual items might be perceived as junk but when they are assembled into a logical and flowing presentation they mold into the form of an idea that will give the viewer a message with a profound meaning.

Special thanks to group members Joe, David and Kuleen for their determined work ethic and unprecedented brainstorming capabilities.

We Are...Project

We are interpreters of culture through music. Our theme was all based around music from the 70's and 80's. We learned about the impact on culture and the importance of music to the American people in the 70's and 80's. We learned about 4 different sub topics: Influence on different Genres of the 70s and 80s, influence of different famous People and Artists of the 70s and 80s, influence on basic music and technology, and influence on clothing and accessories. Through these four topics, we learned about the impact of music on the American people. We learned about the importance and cultural significance of different styles of music.

We picked different items for each of the sides of the box, with each side representing a different topic of interest. The first side had influence on different genres of the 70s and 80s. We found an old record and a slightly newer CD from the 70s and 80s respectively. The record and CD had completely different genres. One was rock while the other was jazz. There was also a pair of drumsticks, symbolizing the change of genres. The People and Artists of the 70s and 80s had 3 Record Cases which three famous people, including Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. There were also short biographies on each artist. The third side, with basic music and technology, had pictures of a record player, mini-records (a newer invention for shorter singles). The fourth side, with the clothing and accessories, had a tape recorder as well as two "stylish" shirts from the 70s and 80s.

We obtained the items mostly through old clothing, records, and CDs that my group members and I had at our houses. We also took a look through Goodwill to see if we could find anything, but we only found one item.

The project went really smoothly. The only problem we encountered was the size of our box. Our box was very, very large and was difficult to transport. If we were to do this project again, we may use mulitple smaller boxes. We could also use a stack of boxes, so the transportation would be easier.

For next years class, I would advise them to look forward the project and just have fun with it. I would tell them not to think of it as work and just have fun. Also, I would tell them that they should make sure the topic they pick is something they are genuinely interested in, or else it would be difficult to have fun doing it.

by Vivek S.
Group members: Rainier, Crystal, Brett

Aquatic Environmentalists

"We are... America's Aquatic Environmentalists."

My group choose a theme on America's environmentalist movement during 1970s to 1990s, but more specifically, we focused on ocean pollution by oil spills. We took a close look at the environmentalists who were siginifcant, and environmental organizations between 1970s to 1990s.

To represent our ideas, my group put plastic bottle with trash and water in it, and oil bottle on top of the box. The plastic bottle represents the trash and pollution in the ocean, specially plastic materials. The oil bottle on top of the box represent the pollutino caused by oil, it is located on the top because when there is an oil spill in the ocean, the thick layer of oil stays on the surface of the ocean, which can only be cleaned by clothes or any absorbing materials.

My part of this project was to search the organizations that had formed and participated in the environmental movement during the time and to find the photos of the wildlife suffering from the pollution. My part was mostly done by researching on the web, and it wasnt' too difficult. The plastic bottle was found inside a trashcan in campus and the oil bottle was brought to school by a group memeber.

My advice to next year's class about this project is to plan ahead and be ready because I was rushed because i did not plan ahead.

Deukkwon Yoon

Project - Protecting our Water

My group did a project on environmental issues regarding bodies of water, such as lakes and oceans. We discussed several key environmentalists such as Margaret Mead and efforts such as Earth Day. Our focus was on the coasts and the Great Lakes. Perhaps the most important problem surrounding these bodies of water is the issue of oil spills. We listed several historic oil spills and, through pictures, showed their effects on marine wildlife.

Most of our items were pictures, all taken during the era between 1970 and 1990. Some were of demonstrations during Earth Day, some were maps of the Great Lakes, and some focused on general topics such as oil spills and trash on the beach. On top is the most noticeable item, a Pennzoil bottle. This represents the oil spills. We have also included a dirty water bottle stuffed with trash, found around the Gunn campus. This symbolizes the water with trash in it.

If I could do this project over, I would probably come up with more unique found art items rather than just pictures to make it more creative. Also, my group would help assemble it at home rather than assemble everything on one day.

My advice to next year's class: Take this project seriously; don't wait until the last minute!

Bite Me

My group's theme was Apple computers and how they have influenced society since the 1960s. Our project was organized onto three boxes, where each box represented a different Apple computer.
The first box was the Apple 1, the first Apple personal computer. The Apple I looked very simple, much like a big brown box with a keyboard; it didn't even have a screen. On this box, we put information about the Apple I, along with information about how the early years of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
The second box we modeled after the Apple II. It was one of the first highly successful mass produced home computers on the market. On this box we made a black and white screen, and put black and white articles of Jobs and Wozniak along with information about the computer and ads for Apple.
On the final box, we made it look like the Apple III, a more business orientated personal computer. It was one of the first computers to have colors, so we put color articles and ads on this box.
If I were to do this project again, I would try to pick a topic that wasn't as hard to find non-expensive objects for. For 2 of our objects, we had to build/model the object we wanted because we couldn't find it anywhere.
Overall this was a fun project and a great way to present information we found about our topic.

By Jeannette

We Are Children Of The Apple Generation

We chose "personal computer" as our theme to show the development of computers, especially of Apple computers, between 1970 and 1990.

Our choice of items were several articles and photos from this time period, floppies, earphones, a CD-ROM, stickers with the Apple icon, and a keyboard. We took three boxes and painted them, so that they would look like the Apple I, Apple II, and Apple III models. Since the Apple II model only had a black-and-white screen we put only black and white photos on it, whereas the Apple III model had a screen in color, so we put photos in color on it. Apple III was also the first computer to plug in earphones, so we attached a pair of them to the back side of the box.

We probably could have found more items from that time period that were not only articles and photos, but Overall I think our project looks fine.

One advice for next year's class is to meet at least once to prepare the boxes before you assemble them in class. If we had not done that, we could not have finished assembling the project.  

By Rabea 

Final Project Debrief

The theme for our project was, "The Nuclear Scare," in the time frame of 1970 to 1990. The goal in mind was to highlight the different factors of the nuclear scare such as, the threat to the environment, nuclear fallout, doomsday, or the total destruction of the planet. We have different groups of items to represent the theme. The whole project is mounted on a oil barrel that we painted yellow to represent a radioactive waste barrel. All around the barrel are different sections, movies, written compositions, and pictures relating to nuclear power, and weapons. We did a lot of brainstorming to determine which items we could obtain and use. We went to a scrap metal yard to request our fifty gallon oil barrel. We represented harder items to obtain, with more available items to represent. Printing information and researching on the computer was most helpful. More coordination with group members would have led to an even more fantastic project. Our caution yellow barrel stands out amongst the other boxes. Make your project stand out, and make it unique. Don't stray from the topic and stay in the time frame.

Found Art Project: Being Nuclear

The theme we chose for he Found Art Project was the theme of Nuclear Technology during the 1970s and 1980s. This theme included exploring the people, written works, movies, and main events that involved nuclear technology during that time period. As a result, our artwork reflected all those elements of nuclear technology, mainly the fear of nuclear warfare. The specific items we chose highlight this. The most thematic and obvious item is our Nuclear Waste Barrel that we used instead of the normal boxes for the Found Art Project. The nuclear waste barrel reflects the fear of Nuclear waste piling up in the US. The Ronald Reagan quote on our barrel also addresses the issue of fear of nuclear waste because Reagan said all the waste from a barrel could be stored under a desk per year. We also had a number of items, movie posters, that displayed the nuclear fear during the time. Movies such as Silkwood and The Day After, all capitalized on fear of nuclear war to establish their plots. We also showed numerous written works about nuclear warfare during the time. The watchmen cover, the book "Missile Envy", and the article about jobs in the Nuclear industry all showed different aspects of written works regarding nukes during the target era.

We obtained these items through numerous methods. The barrel, book cover, article, and sample missile were all obtained through actual searching and a certain element of luck. For example, we obtained our barrel by going to the scrap metal yard, and requesting a 55 gallon oil barrel to use for our project. We also obtained a book written during the era (Missile Envy) by asking one of our parents to help us out with any old antiques. We also found the newspaper article, and the nuclear chart using the same asking method.
If I had to do this again, I would certainly try and expand my potential sources of found art. We would also have attempted to find experts on the topic to aid us in understanding the topic of choice. I would advise next year's class to definitely start early. Also, picking a manageable topic, with many found art pieces available makes life significantly easier. Furthermore, I would recommend having a plan B if team members go missing, and encourage very effective communication between group members to aid the project.

Found Art Project

My theme is conservation of energy and protection of the environment. The environmental movement really started in the 70's and has continued to exist since then. Through the found art project my group and I wanted to show some of the key events and facets of the environmental movement. We also wanted to show that with just a little effort, much can be accomplished to help protect the environment.
There are several items on our box, but to name a few there is a solar panel, recyclables, organic food boxes, a bird covered in oil, and a windmill. The solar panel and the windmill represent renewable energy sources that are crucial in saving the environment. The recyclables show represent literally the idea of recycling. The organic food boxes are present to show that organic food are better for the environment because they are not exposed to pesticides that disrupt the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. The oil covered bird represents the Exxon Valdez incident with the huge oil spill that affects hundreds of birds.
The main way the we got our items was simply by coming upon them. I found the brochure while I was in Seattle, and the organic food boxes were just lying around. We did construct the solar panel and the windmill but they are made of household items.
If I were to do this project again, I would start earlier and always be on the lookout for relevant items. The more time you give yourself to find items, the more items you will get and the better the items will be. My group started early enough, but you could always start earlier. For this reason, my advice to next year's class is to start early.

Michael Starr

Blog Posting #2 Mrshall Plan (make-up)

The Marshall Plan was a pretty simple conduct. Keeping communism out of America, and help to create a strong foundation for countries in West Europe. The plan, otherwise known as the European recovery plan. Marshall simply asked that the US find out Europes economic needs, and help meet them, to restore europe. One of the biggest goals was economic cooperation between the 2. Conveniently, shortly after in 1948 Truman signed the ECA, economic cooroperation act. The act signed over $5,300,000,000 of US dollars. In 1951 the plan came to an end when the US spent more than half that money on restoring Europe. The overall goal was to help Europe recover from WWII, which happened. Marshall actually recieved a Nobel Peace Prize for his plan later on.

project

The theme for our found art project was conservation of energy, goiong green, enviorment safety etc. The items we have are either handmade, or boxes of organic grown foods, recycleable materials, or replicas of realy life enviornment tools. Most of the items found were obtained in oretty much everyday life, seeing almost everything now has a recycle sign on it, even things used back in the 70's such as coke bottles, can now be recycled. Others such as the solar panel were made by hand, to replicate the same models used in the 70's and 80's, and most even today. to next years class, I would say to stay on top of things, and know what your peers are doing with the project. It is easy to fall behind when you are not in good communication with your partners.

.:We are...Technological:.

We Are...Technological

Group:
Alana VanZanten
Aleena (A.J.) Chaudhry
Athena Phan
Kazzie Hill

Theme: Our theme was the advancements in technology through the 1970's-1990. It was the developments of the nation during this time period, as well as the beginnings of great products, even "necessities" of which we have today. Everyday uses of technology.

Item Choice: Our choice of items encompassed the idea of items invented throughout 1970 to 1990 of which we had advanced upon recently. Pretty much the "ancestors" of technology we use today. An example would be the picture of Steve Jobs, with one of the first Apple Macintosh computers. Macintosh computers have advanced quite a distance farther than the time of invention - showing what potential we had, and how much we could push forward in technology in only a matter of 10-30 years.

Obtaining Items: How we obtained items was significantly from items we had already owned, mainly objects our parents had owned that were invented and used in the 70's through 80's. I, personally, discovered that my dad had a great load of the top-notch technology of the time.We also received items from teachers.

Advice to next year's students: PLAN AHEAD. Dedicate yourself to getting the project done, even before it's due. Procrastination is the biggest folly, make sure you have things planned ahead of time so by the time you will need to display your project, you only need to touch it up a little, or not at all. Also, make sure every person in the group has equal input - this is important because the more input from various people will end up in a better, more diverse and creative project.

US History Final Project May 2009

Our group's theme for our final project was the conservation of the planet which the United States really recognized as a major issue starting in the 70s. Our main items are a model bird covered in black paint which symbolizes the quarter of a million birds that died from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. We also have a 3D solar panel and windmill which symbolize the transition from reliance on gasoline for energy to less harmful ones such as solar and wind power. We also have a placard found on a box of fruit that says "Premium California Citrus", this symbolizes the desire that started in the 70s to be self sufficient and not rely so heavily on other nations for means of energy as well as other products. Lastly we have 3 plastic bottles on the top of our box to show the start of recycling instead of creating more plastic. We obtained these items by searching in supermarkets that sell organic and healthy foods as well as Diddams to find the bird. Others were found online such as pictures printed out and quotes. If I were to do this project again, I would have found more physical items and placed them on the box and not used as many print-outs from online. My advice for next year's class is to make sure to get started on this project early and not wait until the last minute. 

.:Korean War:.

.:The Korean War:.

June 25, 1950 marked the day. The day that North Korean forces ambushed South Korea with a surprise-attack on the 38th parallel.

This action launched the beginning of what we call The Korean War.

In only a matter if days, North Koreans had sunken deep into the nation of South Korea. In need of help, South Korea called upon the United Nations to stop the North Korean invasion.

The UN, who lacked the presence of the Soviet Union representatives, passed the vote to assist South Korea.

June 27, 1960 - U.S. troops stationed in Japan were ordered by U.S. president Harry S. Truman to support the North Koreans. Between China and Taiwan, an American fleet was positioned within the waters.

In total, 16 nations sent 520,000 troops to aid South Korea. The majority, over 90%, of these were American troops. These were numbered along with the additional 590,000 troops of South Korea.

These forces were placed under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.

On September 15, 1950 - MacArthur's troops made a surprise landing between enemy lines. Around half of the North Koreans troops surrendered.

Crisis over the Berlin Wall and the Bay of Pigs

Two weeks before JFK took office, Eisenhower cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba due to the revolutionary leader named Fidel Castro who was a declared Communist and welcomed help from the Soviet Union. In March 1960, Eisenhower allowed to CIA to secretly train Cuban exiles to create a rebellion to overthrow Castro. Kennedy although doubting the outcome, allowed the operation to continue. On April 17, 1961, 1500 Cuban exiles with the help of the United States military landed on Cubas southern coast called the Bay of Pigs. The main commando unit landed and faced 25,000 Cuban troops supported by Soviet tanks and jet aircraft. Some of the Cuban exiles were killed and the others were taken prisoner. The entire operation was a complete disaster and looked bad upon the Kennedy administration. Kennedy soon after admitted the whole thing to be his fault to the media and gained trust by the U.S. citizens.

After WWII, the city of Berlin was split into four sections then eventually into two, West Berlin and East Berlin. East Berlin was under Communist control by the Soviets whereas West Berlin was under Democratic control by the United States, France, and the UK. In the 11 years since the Berlin Airlift, 3 million East Germans crossed the border into West Berlin in order to escape Communism. Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union threatened Kennedy in a summit meeting in Vienna, Austria, to close all roads to West Berlin from the east. During this time, the US and the Soviet Union were under great stress and were at the brink of a nuclear war. Khrushchev, on August 13, 1961 started to create the Berlin Wall which separated West Germany and West Berlin from the east. This construction ended the crisis but aggravated even further Cold War tensions. The US and Soviet Union eventually signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty which prevented nuclear testing in the atmosphere and the crisis died down.  

The Other America

Michael Harrington first exposed the public to the poverty of many Americans through his book The Other America: Poverty in the United States. Many had been previously unaware of the harsh conditions that some had to face, while some who knew chose to ignore them. The Other America showed the Americans that those in poverty were just as human and could feel the suffering that they had to endure. Harrington’s book was powerful enough to bring about attempts to increase the living standards in America, especially in crowded urban areas.

Although the 1950s was a time of prosperity for many, some simply could not escape poverty. During this time, poor farmers moved into the cities to find better work, while the urban areas spread out as suburbs developed. Due to overcrowding, cities lost money, and businesses could not pay their employees.

Because of racism and segregation, African-Americans and Mexican-Americans lived in unsanitary slums in the cities. A policy of urban renewal began when the National Housing Act of 1949 constructed inexpensive new housing and formed the Housing and Urban Development cabinet position. Despite these efforts, they were not adequate to meet the needs of those living in slums. Also, some existing living spaces were torn down to make room for new ones, displacing some who had homes.

Many poor Americans demanded employment, especially African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Native Americans, who wanted equal opportunities and demonstrated though civil rights movements and organizations. This unrest continued, exposing an unstable country and economy that was not as secure as many had initially believed. Although some believed the Americans were in a time of plenty, they had not seen that there was a gap between the visible America and the Other America.

.:The Other America:.

The Urban Poor

By 1962, almost one out of every four Americans were living in conditions under poverty level. By this time "The American Dream" was out of the question for most Americans. The majority of the poor consisted of: the elderly, single women with their children, and minority groups (such as African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans).

White Flight

During the 1950's, millions of middle-class white Americans fled the cities to live in the suburbs - dividing them from other races, as well as classes.

Reversely, about 5 million African Americans abandoned the rural South for urban areas.

Due to this "migration" of middle-class whites to suburban areas, the urban poor whites, as well as non-whites, were greatly impacted. They had lost a huge part of their businesses, tax-payers, and property. The cities could no longer support facilities such as school improvements and transportation.

The Inner Cities

The majority of suburban residents were not even aware of the poverty within the cities. Many refused to believe that poverty could exist in such a powerful nation as the USA.

Michael Harrington had lived amongst the poor in the urban areas and had later published a novel that stunned the rest of America. The Other America: Poverty in the United States (1962). He released the shocking and harsh realities of the urban poor to the rest of America. He also showed how widespread it had become.








Urban Renewal

The majority of minorities such as African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans lived in unkempt, overpopulated slums.

Miranda v. Arizona

One of the countries largest and most well known cases still in use today is the case of Miranda v. Arizona. In 1963 a man named Ernesto Miranda was arrested in his home and convicted of rape and kidnap. The police questioned him for two and a half hours before he finally gave up, and signed a confession. Later, when he was convicted he revealed that he was unaware of his right to an attorney, or his right to avoid self-incrimination, because the police never informed him. Miranda brought his case to the court and eventually got his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court in 1966. Chief Justice, Earl Warren argued that police were violating the 5th amendment which states that nobody can be a witness to themselves. Warren also stated that in the situation that Miranda was in, it was intimidating, and he felt forced. After the decision, they could no longer use his confession as evidence in the case.  The decision was 5-4, a landmark case in American history, changing the way that the legal system works today. Now, when a police officer is taking someone into custody, they are obliged to read the person their rights,  known as the Miranda warning. 

 

Election of 1960 and the Camelot Years by Brent

The Election of 1960 was a close race between Democratic senator from Massachusetts, John Kennedy and the Republican Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Both candidates had similar stances on issues but John Kennedy was better prepared for the new source of media, the television. During a televised debate on September 26, 1960 about 70 million Americans watched the two candidates duke it out on the big screen. Kennedy was only 43 years old and Nixon hoped to use his knowledge on foreign policy to make Kennedy look bad, but Kennedy was coached prior to the debate by television producers. Kennedy learned how to look at ease and confident and also spoke better than Nixon. Another event that put Kennedy over the top of Nixon was that Kennedy was his stance on civil rights. When Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sentenced to several months of hard labor, Kennedy used his influence to get MLK released on bail, pending appeal. This gained support of the African American community. After the votes were counted, Kennedy had won by more than just 100,000 votes.
The Camelot Years were the years of Kennedy's presidency. His family, with his beautiful wife Jacqueline and their cute children, represented the ideal American family. Many Americans began to copy the trends of the family living in the White House. Women looked to Jacqueline for fashion advice while a great deal of other Americans had hopes of becoming a speed reader like Kennedy. Kennedy could read 1600 words per minute which is quite amazing and must have helped him out as president. In addition, Kennedy surrounded himself by the "best and brightest" people to help him out as president. One of these people was his brother, Robert Kennedy who was appointed attorney general. His inauguration included many skilled writers, artists, and scientists which was a humble prelude to the beginnings of the Camelot Years.
Images courtesy of www.nydailynews.com