Oakland Ghost Ship Fire

Garrett Barrilleux

2. The Ghost Ship was a warehouse in Oakland filled with art such as wood carvings, mannequins, paintings, furniture, and Indian tapestries. Residences of the warehouse includes musicians, tattooists, clothing designers, and sculptors. Outside people visit to see all the artwork an listen to music.

3. The Ghost Ship was hosting a big dance party of a hundreds or so visitors. The party included many electronics and music, which in turn had a faulty wire that caused a spark and led to a fire throughout the warehouse. The warehouse had no smoke alarms or sprinklers to put out the fire so it filled the second floor quickly. There was only one staircase to escape through so it was difficult for everyone to find it and get out in time before the room was filled with smoke.

4. The fires were similar in the way that the ire flooded the top floors of the buildings n the ire filled the rooms before they could escape through the only exit available. There also weren't any precautions such as sprinklers or ways to put out the ire in time in either of the scenarios.

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/11/oakland-fire-ghost-ship-last-hours/
https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/

Journal Entry on Sitting Bull

Garrett Barrilleaux

     Back around 1875 the Sioux Indians were in heavy conflict with US authorities after the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Because of this, the Sioux left their reservations and bands of warriors gathered in Montana and united under 2 great leaders, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. One year later in 1876, one of the most famous conflicts between Indians and whites occurred. The Battle of the Little Bighorn. In this battle the Seventh Cavalry, led by George A. Custer, of 246 men were caught off guard and surrounded by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse's tribe of 2,500 men, and were massacred. After this event the Indians were not politically organized or properly supplied enough to continue together and they slowly separated overtime.

     After years of being chased by US authorities, Sitting Bull and his tribe were caught in Canada. His tribe was nearly starved to death and Sitting Bull accepted defeat and agreed to go back to reservations. But he was shot and killed by US and Indian agents while being arrested because they feared he would later lead another resistance of Indians.

Online History Textbook
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/sitting-bull

http://www.biography.com/people/sitting-bull-9485326

History Classwork

Garrett Barrilleaux

In class we are reading pages in a history textbook and responding to the question of how reading it would shape my knowledge and views of Native Americans if I were an American student reading this as homework. We also found the definitions of savage and savagery; savage - fierce, ferocious, or cruel; uncivilized, barbarous; savagery - an uncivilized or barbaric state or condition.

If I were an American student reading this textbook for homework I would see Native Americans as uncivilized people living off of bare necessities and the land, and don't have any form of technology compared to Americans. I would believe they are uneducated savages who have no mercy for other people and who only care about survival at any cost.

Letter Response

Garrett Barrilleaux
11/1/2016

1. The letter is about a husband writing to his wife and child about moving to the West. He explains how he's going to buy a new house and more land for them. He describes the house and the improvement of the land from what they have.

2. The fact that the value of money has changed so much since the time these letters were written stood out to me. In the letter he says 160 acres would cost only around $600 whereas now it would cost thousands.

3. Letters were important during this time period because it gave travelers a sense of what they were going to experience in the West. People were able to write friends or relatives that are in or have been to the West in order to find out what life will be like and what to expect when they move.

Glory/12 Years a Slave - Garrett Barrilleaux

     There have been many movies depicting historical events that could be used to study that specific timeline. Glory and 12 Years a Slave are just two great examples of this. These films use the right balance of a majority of accurate depictions and slight variations to improve the quality and enjoyment of the movie.

     By watching Glory I feel that I have learned and really taken in the events it shows with black soldiers during the Civil War. Since students are able to see and visualize the events unfold it is easier to retain and get a better understanding of how things took place and why. By doing some research about the real regiment of black soldiers the movie was based on, I was able to find the many similarities between the film and the true events, such as how the regiment was treated by other white soldiers, and more specific events like the houses that the soldiers were forced to burn down. When comparing my research to what I saw in the film I was able to connect and better understand the reality of the situations I was studying by having that personal and visual aspect of watching a movie to impact the way I took in the information.

     12 Years a Slave was a great film to watch in order to learn what slavery was like during those time periods. The director was able to take the true story of a slave named Solomon Northup and make it easier to visualize the true events that took place. The fact that the director found the novel written by the real Solomon Northup and directly translated it to film gives the impression that students can learn exactly what happened with little doubt of accuracy. The main effect this movie has on someone studying the topic is the film's ability to allow you to experience Solomon life like you never could just by reading about it. Although there are specific details and events that take during the movie that may not have been accurate to the real life events, the overall story and people are enough to give the watcher a good sense of what really took place. Like the fact that Master Ford was portrayed completely accurately, you are still able to see how a slave owner in general might act towards his slaves. By watching the film you can see and really get a better sense of Solomon and the other slave's emotions and struggles during their life. It allows you to think deeper and more critically about the daily life of a slave during those times by using real people and places to convey the lifestyle of the past.



     The contrast between the accuracy and entertainment of historical films is one of the most important aspects of making one. Directors usually will attempt to keep the film as accurate as the original events took place but their will be small moments that are changed or added in order to keep the plot interesting. These two films do a great job in capturing the true events and turning them into something people would want to watch. This is especially apparent in 12 Years a Slave. It was able to keep it's content accurate to the real life story while also being provoking and allowing people to be interested in learning what Solomon's life was like. Using two different techniques of learning and combining them into one gives students a more in depth view of the history they are trying to learn.

The review talks about how 12 Years a Slave is the best and most accurate movie depicting slaves, but there aren't really any other well made movies about slaves. He mentions Django Unchained but says they aren't comparable since Django Unchained ends with the sense of justice but 12 Years a Slave has no happy ending. He likes that 12 Years a Slave doesn't try to make the situation  slavery lighter than it really was.

"But Griffiths’ film has almost no truth in it — and it is monstrously, numbingly racist. Its black characters are drunks and rapists, played by gurning white actors in blackface, while the Ku Klux Klan are shown to be saviour knights of the new republic. Think again of that strange lack of films about American slavery, and wonder how long it will take for cinema to exorcise these demons. In that light, 12 Years a Slave isn’t simply a masterpiece, it’s a milestone. This, at last, really is history written with lightning."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/06/03/12-years-a-slave-review-this-at-last-really-is-history-written-w/

D.W. Griffith's film is completely unrealistic and racist towards African-Americans depicted in the movie. It creates the idea that the Ku Klux Klan were saviors for killing the crude black characters. This movie has helped cause the lack of slavery movies over the years. Because of this, 12 Years a Slave isn't just a great depiction of slavery, it is a breakthrough in cinematic adaptations of slavery and history.