Very Niiiiice! So, today we did the following: 1) Reviewed the Imperialism Political Cartoons from yesterday; 2) Learned what Imperialism means by doing a whole-class "skit."
So, follow along below to see how these 3 things panned out...!
1) Reviewed the Imperialism Political Cartoons from yesterday:
Please scroll down to yesterday's blog and click on the LINK there to see the cartoons again.
We separated into 3 parts --- 1 student was a business owner, 1 student was president of the USA, and the rest of us (including me) were American citizen workers.
The business owner made hella money because they paid us about 10cents per hour (5cents if you were a woman) and then the president was rich because the business owner paid them a lot of taxes. However, eventually, we got really mad and began to protest. The president, having studied history in school, knew that many angry citizens will eventually have a revolution. So, he created a new law stating that businesses should pay minimum wage of $1 per hour.
The business owner was now making LESS money, so he/she had to fire some of us and make the rest of us work harder. Because we were fewer and working harder, our work suffered, so the business started to suffer. So, the business owner closed the factory and moved it to a poor country in Asia (we used the Philippines as our example.) There the business owner made a lot of money because he/she paid the workers 3cents per hour. But, business was not as great as in the USA because the Philippines has dirt roads, poor electricity coverage, and a bad port for ships to come in for shipping.
Back in the USA, the president is upset because he is not getting the taxes from that business anymore. ALSO, the people are upset because they are now out of work. The president decides to go to the Philippines and see what he/she can do. He/she meets with the business owner and the Philippine president to make a deal. The USA will build roads, railroads, power stations, and a nice port FOR FREE to help both the Philippines and the American businesses moving there. In return, the business will pay taxes to the USA.
The Philippinos and their president are happy with this at first, but they they get caught up in the capitalist system and find that they are caught in a cycle of making little money with no way to get out. So, the Philippine president decides to put minimum wage, but the USA tells him that if he does, they will remove the roads, electricity, ports, and everything else they gave them. On top of that, the USA tells him that, because they are stronger, they will share power with him and essentially "take over" or "IMPERIALIZE" his country. Does this make sense?? If not, see me! :O)
2) Learned what Imperialism means by doing a whole-class "skit":
The business owner made hella money because they paid us about 10cents per hour (5cents if you were a woman) and then the president was rich because the business owner paid them a lot of taxes. However, eventually, we got really mad and began to protest. The president, having studied history in school, knew that many angry citizens will eventually have a revolution. So, he created a new law stating that businesses should pay minimum wage of $1 per hour.
The business owner was now making LESS money, so he/she had to fire some of us and make the rest of us work harder. Because we were fewer and working harder, our work suffered, so the business started to suffer. So, the business owner closed the factory and moved it to a poor country in Asia (we used the Philippines as our example.) There the business owner made a lot of money because he/she paid the workers 3cents per hour. But, business was not as great as in the USA because the Philippines has dirt roads, poor electricity coverage, and a bad port for ships to come in for shipping.
Back in the USA, the president is upset because he is not getting the taxes from that business anymore. ALSO, the people are upset because they are now out of work. The president decides to go to the Philippines and see what he/she can do. He/she meets with the business owner and the Philippine president to make a deal. The USA will build roads, railroads, power stations, and a nice port FOR FREE to help both the Philippines and the American businesses moving there. In return, the business will pay taxes to the USA.
The Philippinos and their president are happy with this at first, but they they get caught up in the capitalist system and find that they are caught in a cycle of making little money with no way to get out. So, the Philippine president decides to put minimum wage, but the USA tells him that if he does, they will remove the roads, electricity, ports, and everything else they gave them. On top of that, the USA tells him that, because they are stronger, they will share power with him and essentially "take over" or "IMPERIALIZE" his country. Does this make sense?? If not, see me! :O)
