“Iowa- An American Portrait”
The film “Iowa- An American Portrait” was narrated by Tom Brokaw. It described the land, people, education, work, religion, and family life of Iowa. One of the main topics of the film was the general view of Iowa- the Farm State. Iowa has more than two- hundred- thousand farms; ninety- eight percent of Iowa’s total land is used for production; with ninety percent of total land being used for the production of food.
Reverence for the great land and rich soil of Iowa began with the Native Americans. Many years later, European immigrants settled the land of Iowa. They first settled near the Mississippi River and spread through out Iowa in the short time span of forty years. They soon began farming the land and found that one family could make a good living on eighty acres. Work was a necessity to Iowans. It gave meaning and pride to life, and farming was a business that could be passed on from generation to generation.
Corn soon became the crop of choice to Iowa farmers. They found that it was more resistant to disease than the other crops they were growing, such as barley, oats, wheat, and apples. With this newfound “wonder crop”, Iowans found that farming had become the ideal way of life. Working on the farm involved all of the members of the family, which brought them together and made them stronger through hardships and great opportunities.
Draft horses used for plowing later became a luxury and farming soon lost its fun and joyful qualities. It was a time of greater hardship than ever before, but the freedom Iowa farmers had to work, worship, live, and play in their own way made it worth the despairing times.
Towns of all sizes began growing throughout Iowa. With them came churches, schools, businesses, and co-ops. The various institutions and businesses of the towns were flourishing. The children of Iowa were attending school regularly and doing well. The literacy rate of Iowa soon became the highest in the nation.
Farms weren’t the only means of earning a living in Iowa. Saw and lumber mills were abundant along the upper Mississippi River, but the lumber supply being harvested was exhausted quickly, putting the mills out of business.
After the Civil War, Americans abandoned the sectional emphasis caused by slavery and developed a national focus. During the period from 1865-1890, Americans completed the settlement of the West. For the farmers and ranchers, the American West was a land of opportunity because land was cheap and the Homestead Act provided land to farmers, including immigrants and blacks, in order to grow crops, raise cattle and make a profit. The American West was also seen as a land of opportunity for miners due to the gold and silver rush in the far west which they believed would make them rich. However, both groups faced many challenges and few achieved great wealth.
Farm life of the 1930s was really hard for all the farmers. They did lots to get through the 1930s without starving. In York county they didn’t indoor bathrooms, light or, heat unlike the people who lived in the towns of the 1930s.(Reinhardt n. pag.) to feed there family’s many raised their own food like chicken which gave them eggs, cows which also gave them beef and milk to drink. They grew vegetables for there from there garden. (Reinhardt n. pag.)Which families didn’t do it alone they had help from there neighbors to help them along the way.
Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the sustenance of the agriculture industry, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them. Furthermore, improvements in transportation allowed foreign competition to materialize, making it harder for American farmers to dispose of surplus crops. Mother Nature was also showing no mercy with grasshoppers, floods, and major droughts that led to a downward spiral of business that devastated many of the nation’s farmers. As a result of the agricultural depression, numerous farms groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what the farmers saw as the reasons for the decline in agriculture. During the final twenty years of the nineteenth century, many farmers in the United States saw monopolies and trusts, railroads, and money shortages and the loss in value of silver as threats to their way of life, all of which could be recognized as valid complaints.
Another problem lawmakers face in their attempt to lower the harm caused by drunk drivers is that simply lowering the blood alcohol content for a ...
“Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third. The speedway ends at the cemetery” (Rockne). Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol related crashes totals more than 51 billion. In Recent discussions of drunk driving, a controversial issue has been whether the driving while intoxicated laws should be increased due to the amount tax payers are paying for drunk driving crashes. On the one hand. Some argue that the driving laws for driving drunk should remain the same and not change. From this perspective the laws about driving under the influence should greatly increase to be stricter, this will help decrease the death rate per year in the United States. On the other hand, however others argue that the laws about driving while drunk are already too strict and should remain unchanged. In sum, then, the issue is whether the laws about driving drunk should be greatly increased to be more effective, or remain unchanged. Because drunk driving can result in unnecessary and premature deaths, unsafe roadways, billions of dollars spent on taxpayers due to DUI’S, and losing a loved one. Drunk driving laws should be altered to be more efficient.
According to MADD, in 2012 30% of traffic deaths were a result of drunken driving fatalities. There were over 1200 accidents caused by drunk driving, with over 700 injuries. It’s not always the person drinking that is affected by these accidents. Innocent people are seriously injured and even killed every day as a result of other people drinking and driving. Why should they or their families pay for this bad judgment? The worst part is these accidents are preventable. If you are going to drink be responsible enough not to drive. It’s not just your life that could be
The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.
Farmer’s had difficulties making a living because the rates of being a farmer was high. “Nothing has done more to injure the western region than these freight rates.” (Quoted from Document F) The high rates of being a farmer made it very difficult to make payments on the lands. Some farmers couldn’t even sell their produce for a reasonable profit. They worked long, hard hours and the government wasn’t on their side about paying them a decent income. Along with farm prices failing, railroad prices were increasing. Railroads were important very to farmers because they took farmers out to their lands, carried their produce to markets, and brought them the manufactured goods that they needed. Many farm settlements were made around railroads just because of this reason. Railroad managers were forced to charge very high rates and because of it, farmers would have to pay more money to use railroads.
Given the highly disproportionate role that these people play in drunk driving incidents, injuries, and fatalities, it would be wise to put our focus on them. The chronic drunk drivers comprise only a small percentage of all the drivers, yet they cause the most accidents.
Drinking and driving is a big issue throughout the world causing many accidents. Intoxicated drivers go behind the wheel all the time causing harm to not just themselves but to innocent people on the roads. The question is to stay sober or to find a designated driver. People need to understand how important it is to not drink and drive. There are many things that could occur due to drinking and driving. Individuals can cause accidents and many face legal repercussions. These legal repercussions can even affect your life later on, if not right away.
Most of the reasons concerning agrarian discontent in the late nineteenth century stem from supposed threats posed by monopolies and trusts, railroads, money shortages and the demonetization of silver, though in many cases their complaints were not valid. The American farmer at this time already had his fair share of problems, perhaps even perceived as unfair in regards to the success industrialized businessmen were experiencing. Nevertheless, crops such as cotton and wheat, which were once the staples of an agricultural society, were selling at such low prices that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them, especially since some had invested a great deal of money in modern equipment that would allow them to produce twice as many goods. Furthermore, improvements in transportation allowed foreign competition to emerge, making it harder for American Farmers to not only dispose of surplus crop, but to transport crops period. Finally, years of drought in the Midwest and the degeneration of business in the 1890's devastated many of the nation's farmers, and as a result of this agricultural depression' many farm groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what farmers saw as the reasons for the decline of agriculture.
Driving under the influence is one of the most common and dangerous situations in which anyone can be or be placed. Drinking and driving is a serious offence that can cause someone to be physically harm or even killed. Not only are you putting yourself at risk but you are also risking the lives of passengers in the car as well as any other car and occupants sharing the road with you. Many people believe that increasing fines for drunk driving offenders will play a compelling role in cutting down the occurrences of driving under the influence. However, while harsher DUI laws will look effective on paper, they will not make a significant step in the fight against drunk driving. Although there is a law enforced for drinking and driving in the
“Every year, in the United States about 600,000 and ten percent-of all motor vehicle crashes recorded by police department are all due to consumption of alcohol.” In 2003; 42,643 fatalities were caused by vehicle crashes. Of those, 17,013 (40 percent) were alcohol related. The majority people with DUI’s are not alcoholics. “Beer drinking causes about 80 percent of alcohol-related fatalities.” A crash is alcohol related if any driver, pedestrian or passenger involved has any trace of alcohol or there is suspicion of alcohol usage. As the cases of drunk driving quickly increase over a period of time as one of the fast developing public problem, more definite and stricter regulations should be emphasized on books and in the academic world to control such recurring drunk driving offenses.
Drinking and driving is a serious and dangerous problem around the world for many people. Many people every year are killed or injured because of drunk drivers. When a person’s blood alcohol content, known as BAC, is over the legal limit he becomes much more impaired and are at a higher risk of hurting himself or others while driving on the road. The majority of people who drive when under the influence of drugs or alcohol do not believe that their skills are affected until after they face a challenging or dangerous situation. It is then they realize their coordination and ability to think and respond according to the certain situation is affected. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs make people drowsy, causes problems with focusing
They will be required to pay a fee of 300.00-1000.00 and a reinstatement fee of 210.00. They will also have to attend the DUI program. They will be required to serve forty hours of community service. They could probably get incarcerated up to a year. They may even get limited driving permit based off of the level of their blood alcohol level and if they have an administrative suspended license. A second offense will consist of license suspended for eighteen months to three years, pay a 600-1000 fee, attend the DUI program, get clinical evaluation a maybe treatment, thirty days of community service, license reinstatement fee of 210.00, 48 hours in jail and maybe will be required to spend 90 days- 1 year in jail, they will probably get an interlock ignition device, limited driving permit based off the blood alcohol level and if they have an administrative suspended license. The third offense will consist of 1,000-5,000 fine, a 410.00 reinstatement fee, will have to attend the DUI program, 15 days in jail, thirty days of community service, clinical evaluation and treatment, maybe interlock ignition device and get limited driving permit after two years, and your name, address, and photo placed in the newspaper and you will be required to pay for it. If someone is caught with drugs on them then they will get their license suspended for