Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Blog #1 - Pick one and write about it!

Welcome U.S. History students to our class's blog. Usually once a week, you'll be asked to come here and write down your thoughts about what we're learning. Sometimes, I'll give you questions; other times, I'll let you sound off on the topics. Here's your first blog due by Monday, Sept. 10.


Blog #1: Pick one of the following quotes and tell me what you think the speaker means by it and what the speaker is saying about history specifically.


"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." Henry Ford



“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." Napoleon Bonaparte





“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Winston Churchill








Your blog should be a minimum of 150 words. Also, remember just to put your first name on it and your hour. Thanks.

Mr. W.

60 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marin Haffey
5th hour

For this blog I am doing the first quote. "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." Henry Ford. What I think this quote means is that history is tradition. Also it means every day can be part of some history in some way. The writer thinks history in the making is important. He also thinks that history is tradition or all the same. Some parts of History are very different from other parts of history. In the quote he uses the word bunk to describe history. Bunk means nonsense so Henry Ford thinks history is nonsense. I however do not think so.

Anonymous said...

I believe that the quote by Henry Ford is trying to say that history is in the past. Stop worrying about the past because it will not change what has already been done and said. So begin to start worrying about the present day and how to make it a good part of the past. You don’t want to live everyday the same, you don’t want to make the same decisions, and talk about the same issues.. History is history and is in the past. People don’t want to follow the same path as people in the past, they want to follow their own. Maybe they’ll get an idea from the past, yet they improve it with their own imagination and ideas. Humans by nature have to learn from their own mistakes, they don’t want to avoid what other people avoided in the past. Although, humans learn from their own mistake, they also can benefit from history and learn from what didn’t work and wasn’t successful and improve it.


Casey Harrelson

Anonymous said...

I think believe what Henry Ford is saying is that since he makes cars and everything he related history to making cars. He can't live in the past when he makes cars, he must look to the present and future to make money. If he looked in the past he won't do well. He uses this logic to explain history. I also believe that he isn't the world's biggest fan when it comes to history either. That's okay though because like I told you, he doesn't have to know about it, to make cars. All he cares about is the money that he's making off the cars.

I also think that Gerald Ford is wrong when it comes to this history buisness. If we didn't have history on our side, how could we learn from it. History is interesting if you just know what to look for. Gerald Ford could learn a lot if he looked for buisnesses that failed. He could learn why they failed and learn from their mistakes. Gerald does not know what he is missing.

Whitney S.
1st hour

Anonymous said...

"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon"
-Napolean Bonaparte

I think that Napolean is stating an unreasonble quote. He remarked that everyone agrees on the past or our history and that's false. Most people tend to disagree than agree. Napolean probably agrees with history, therefore he made that comment.


Mary Mc Keon
3rd hr

Anonymous said...

I understand that since Henry Ford was a car maker, he had to keep up with the newer times. If he had lived in the past, then the Ford Motor Company would still be making Model-T's. His competition would soon catch up and destroy him. So, in his perspective his quote was accurate. The only history that was important to him was the history (or newer ideas) that he made, or thought of in his times. However, in my perspective, history is very important. You can’t forget about what happened in the past, because if you do, then history can easily repeat itself. This is why you have to remember and learn from your mistakes. A good example of this would be the Holocaust. It is amazing that some people don’t believe that it ever happened. When everyone turns against one certain group of people, they can do anything. Since America was too preoccupied with World War II, they didn’t send many troops to help except for when it was all over. Henry Ford is correct in part of this quote when he said that we have to live in the present. We have to live in the present, but we cannot forget about the past.

Sam C.
1st Hr.

Anonymous said...

I have chose to comment on the 1st Quote by Henry Ford. First off I think he wasn't a history buff so he didn't care about it. But I on the other hand think history is a guide line for our lives and is worth a tinker's damn. If we don't look to the past then what are we suposed to look at. Thats just my opinion.
So Henry says that history is just mindless mumbo jumbo that should mean nothing to us now. We shouldn't look to the past we should just look to the present. and care about the history we are making.
Think about the field of work hes in he took three good ideas and made them work together. He didn't need to look at history for that. And look at him now he made history just like he said he did. By the way if anyones confused bunk means useless.
Carter K.

Anonymous said...

I think that Winston Churchill's quote means that he is going to create history by doing great things as the prime minister of Britin. Winston was the prime mimister from 1949 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.As prime minister he was active in the war aginst the Nazis. During his army career he saw some combat. Winston served many political positions in his life time. Because of all these things he has done, he is stating in his quote that he will known in history.

Alex Gilbert
4th hour

Anonymous said...

The quote I have chosen to do is Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon states that people have to decide to agree upon. What I think he is trying to say is that history happens when people agree to take certain actions. Such as if Lincoln and General Sherman hadn't agreed to capture Atlanta, Lincoln would have most likely not have been reelected. It there were no slaves in the south or north there would have probably not have been a civil war that killed hundreds of people. If Abraham Lincoln and his wife decided not to go the play Lincoln probably would have not been shot that night. People do not know if they're causing something to happen in history. People also decide to agree on what makes it into your history book, such as the signing of the Constitution. History is the events that happen and are only determined by people's decisions and actions.

Emily C.
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

The quote that I am going to write about is the Winston Churchill quote. Winston Churchill says "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." Winston Churchill was the prime minister of Britain in May 1940. At that time World War 2 was going on and the Nazis were beginning there assaults on their enemies. When Winston Churchill says this quote he means that whoever wins this war will be writing history. Churchill intended to win this war and then history will be written around him and his country. He says that history will be kind to him because it will congratulate him as prime minister for helping win battles and eventually the war. Churchill is specifically saying that history will be made by me and the way that my army and their allies fight this war. Churchill also was a great speaker and that also helped him encourage people to unite during the hardships of the war.

Ryan Feist
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

The quote by Henry Ford “History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we made today.” Means to me that history is nonsense, and it will always happen. He says that we should live in the present because history doesn’t change and that we can only write history. He is saying that history is the same, and that the only history that matters is the history that we make today. Henry Ford lived in the present by creating cars, he didn’t look back into history he looked ahead. Though looking back into the past is also good because people don’t want to repeat some things from the past, but they can improve things from the past. When Henry Ford made cars people later on looked back and improved on cars and made them better. So looking back in history is good and sometimes bad.

Stefanos T.
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

I chose Napoleon’s quote because for such as short quote it is very complex. History is the ongoing process of explaination and research of past events that have impacted the world immensely. Sometimes the history that we learn in class and the history that actually occurred are different. A lot of the information in history books is biased no matter how you look at it. Certain people such as presidents and other historical figures have been known to not reveal certain information to the public to “protect us”.
It is possible that in this quote Napoleon is being sarcastic and saying that history was not created by itself, but by a collection of people who decided what happened. Or maybe he was being dead serious in that history can only be agreed upon because not everyone was there at the time of history. Someone had to agree on what happened right? I personally think that history is told differently in each region of the world, but when it comes down to the cold hard facts you can’t lie. History cannot be rewritten no matter how hard some people try.
Barbara Moore
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

For my blog I am writing about the third quote "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." William Churchill was England's greatest weapon as they faced the Nazis because of his leadership. He had a personality of a born fighter. In 1940 William Churchill was elected as prime minister of England. Churchill got people to unite to fight the Germans. William Churchill changed the world for the better. He knew he saved the world from a german threat. Churchill knew that what he accomplished in the war would be written in history as one of the world's greatest accomplishments. He knew as the leader of England he would be making history, and controlling what was written.
Justin L
5th hour

Anonymous said...

The Quote I am going to use is "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." By Henry Ford.

I think it means that he doesn't care what happened in the past because what only matters is now. People have to start worrying how to make it better now so that in the future there will be a good past to talk about. People can't worry on how we could've tried to make the past better because it is over and there is nothing to do. Ford is saying about the history is when he says it's tradition he means the same thing keeps happening.

Fran Wanetick
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

I think what Henery Ford is saying is that you can't afford to live in the past and think that you are going to be able to keep up with everything. So every once in a while you will need to upgrade if you want to stay up to flow and keep producing. For example like with cars you cant expect to not make a new car for 5 years and expect to stay on top. You have to keep producing new cars and competing with all of the other companies out there that are trying to take your spot. So basically I thnk that is is just like a refreshing of the old trends and the creating of all the new trends. This is why you have got to live in the present instead of living in the past so that you or your company does not become something of the past. Because if you do not upgrade you will not stay in our history for long.

Andrew K.
1st

Anonymous said...

When Winston Churchill said "History will be kind for me for i intend to write it." i think that he means he wants to be known for making a positive impact on history. Winston Churchill wanted to make history but he also wrote it. In 1953 he won the Nobel prize in literature. When he says he intends to write history he means he is creating history in the present. Everybody thinks of history as being in the past, what Churchill is saying is history is also in the present it is going on right now. When Churchill said he wanted history to be kind to him i think it was kind to him because he is remembered for leading Britain in World War 2. Winston was also in the British Army. Churchill served as an officer in it. I like this quote because i would also like to be remembered in history for something i did good.

Pat R.
5th Hour

Anonymous said...

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." Henry Ford

This quote has a great meaning to it. People in the past have focused on the future and we should be doing the same thing. A lot of important things have occurred in the past and have changed our world to what it is today. We dont need to worry about that anymore, it has already happened and is behind us. We cannot change the past and so we want to fucus on making the future better. It is not important to look into the past and see what has happened, it is just a tradition. The only thing that is important now is the present and the future. Henry Ford wanted to make the future better and he did. He didnt care about the past, all he cared about was the future and making life easier for people in the future. He wants to let us know that it is not important to know what he did for us, all we should do is focus on the future.

Richard W.
1st hour

Anonymous said...

"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon"
-Napolean Bonaparte

The qoute that i chose was from Napoleon Bonaparte. I believe what Napoleon was trying to say was that all people agree on past history. Which i believe that is a false statement. I don't think that Napoleon was tryin to make a fact i just believe that he was forming is own opinion. There's nothing wrong with that i just don't believe his opinion. He is basically putting words in alot of people's mouth's An example would be that not all people believed that slavery should have started. So I would have to disagree with Napoleon statement.

Tommy Syrkett 3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

The quote I chose was the quote by Winston Churchill. “History will be kind to me for
I intend to write it”. Churchill, best known for being Prime Minister of the UK in the 40’s
and 50’s was seen as a great leader. He was in big roles during both World Wars, but
Prime Minister during WW2 and lead the UK against Hitler and the Nazi’s. And since he
saw himself as a great leader he said that history will be kind to him. Which means he
knew he that he would beat Hitler and in doing so he would have created history. And history would be kind to him for beating the Nazi’s and being a great leader. He wrote history in many other ways, he told great speeches in his life. He also joined the army when he was young, while in the army he did great things. So he wrote history in many ways, and it was kind to him as well.

Maher Abou-Rass
1st Hour

Anonymous said...

The Quote
"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." Henry Ford.
I believe that this quote means that people shouldnt live in the past. I think that he is saying that what happened in the past can't be changed, although people should still know about it.He is also saying that people are the ones who determine history and if you keep looking back , history will only repeat its self.When he says that the only history that matters is the present he is saying just live and worry about each day and the future.

Symonne Smith
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

The quote i am using is “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."
by Napoleon Bonaparte. I think Napoleon is saying that no one is one hundred percent sure what happened in the past and that people say what they think happened. Most things in the past were not seen by everyone but most likely was hear by others, but we dont know if someone exaggerted there stories as someone wrote it down. We dont know if everything that has been writen down is one hundred percent true.

Michael T.
5th hour

Anonymous said...

Emma Schwartz
5th Hour

I chose the quote ““History will be kind to me for I intend to write it” by Winston Churchill. What Winston is trying to say is that he has some kind of control over history because he intends to writes it. So history better be kind to him because he has that control on telling people how it went. That history also should have the same beliefs that he has because of this power he has. Winston gives history life like characteristics making it sound almost human like. On May 10, 1940, he became Prime Minister, became friends with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. World War 2 was happening at this time. Winston was a very educated man Nobel Prize in literature in 1953 for all of his writings. So when Winston Churchill says “history will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” He means that history should be on his side and should help him achieve his goals. Seeing he was such an educated man and had a lot of power. The way he says it makes him sound very conceited and that he is so important. Winston is saying that history is controlled by people and their actions. That we have control on how it starts and ends. But on this occasion history should follow his thoughts and actions.

Unknown said...

I think that Winston Churchill meant that history will be nice to him because we will write it any he will write what he wants people to remember. He is saying that if he does something spectacular that the only history people will want to remember is what he did and it will be in his favor. If he didn't do the history that is wrote down then it could be looking down on him or he might not even be remembered, but if he writes it he can make himself whatever he wants. This is an excellent quote because it is saying that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. If you want to be remembered you have to write the history or else you will be forgotten.

Chris E.
1st hour

Anonymous said...

The quote “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." from Napoleon Bonaparte could be a reflection on what his goals were in life. history is something that must be recorded throughout history and passed on from one generation to the next and if there is something that the people of that generation wants the world to forget, then it will be erased from history. but if it is agreed upon by the people it will be passed down like the most famous peoples names, such as George Washington and Michael Jordan. Napoleon was a great conquerer and many of people know his name to this day so you could say that it has been accomplished that people have decided to agree on remembering who he was as a part of our history.

Anonymous said...

When Winston Churchill says: "History will be kind to me for i intend to write it." He is pretty much saying that there will be nothing written about him that is not true. Mainly because if he won World War 2 during his reign of prime minister of Great Britain he would be written down in history with all of the other war veterans and heroes. When he was fighting this war he and his allies are going down in history for the continued help in the war! Although many people believe that he is a war hero, i have 2 unanswered questions: did he mean that he wrote the parts of the history that we know about him in documents? and also did he have friends that also wrote information in documents that added to his continuously growing history time line? I think that the historians need to go into greater depth of the knowledge that is already there!

Bryan M.
3rd

Anonymous said...

Winston Churchill’s quote was “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it”. This quote is very important because it shows what Winston Churchill’s plans are to do. From the quote, I think that Churchill believes who ever wins the wars, had more power, or is liked by their people ‘writes history’ in their own version of what happened. After World War II Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of England. In this quote when he says that he intends to write history that shows that he wants to do his best while he is the Prime Minister of England so that he will be a part of history. If he is written in history then what is ‘written’ about him will be good and people may view him as a good leader in the present and future.

Allison K.
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Winston Churchill
I belive that Winston Churchill was trying to say that History will be kind to him because he is making history and it is what he makes of it. Also when he says "I intend to write it" he isn't saying he is literally going to write it but people will eventually write about what he is doing. Also what other people of his time are doing and how it has effected hemself and other people later on down the line. Also I think by him saying history will be kind to him he is saying he is going to do things so later when people look at what he's did he won't regret it.
Amber S.
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." - Winston Churchill


I believe that Winston Churchill means that he will do great things that are viewed as positive or good when he says history will be kind to him, and when he says he intends to write it, it means he is going to do things that will make history, and he will become a big part of it. He is saying about history specifcally, that it will involve him, and welcome him into it. He is saying that making history isn't the easiest thing, but he is going to make it anyways. He is also saying that lots of things he will do will be important, and that other people will read about him and think of him as a great man, or that he accomplished alot of great things in his life.


Ben Goddard
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

Winston Churchill was prime minister of Britain in 1940. Winston said "History will be kind to me, for i intend to write it" which means that he will be doing great things like winning battles and the war. So he will be making history. He will be known for what he did for Britain, and he was. He won the war and he was written around/about him and his country. History will be kind to him because if he does something good for his country he will be congratulated by being written about. He is basically saying i will be making history because my men and i will be fighting in this war and will be winning it. He has been known for something amazing he did in history.


Lauren O'Shaughnessy
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." When history is said to be more or less bunk, Henry Ford is saying that it is noncense, or not important. Though history can be a valuble thing, he is saying that it does not help communtities, countries, or peoples ideas to move forward, and evolve. Being a bussiness man, Henry Ford beleived that the only history that will help us today, was made today. Yesterdays history should not impact how our ideas work. If we want to stay with tradition then we will never move forward, and before we know it we will be stuck in the past.

Anonymous said...

What I think the quote "history will be kind to me for i intend to write it" by Winston Churchill meant was that what he plans to do is going to make it easy for people to write good history about him. Since he was the prime minister of the United Kingdom during both world wars he probably planned to do all these good things during the wars to help the world and put him down in history. He made some great speeches hoping to inspire the soldiers on his side and succeeded. He also helped command an army. By doing these things intentionally, he was written down in history like he had planned. So pretty much what he is saying is what i'm about to do will be put down in history in a good point of view.

Katie R.
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

I am doing the quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. He said, "History is a version if past events that people have agreed upon." I think that Napoleon is saying that not all history is totally true, that somethings are exaggerated and somethings are hidden. He says that if enough people say something happened a certain way and enough poeple agree, then it will be recorded as history. People might intentionally leave out something they don't want to be remembered.

Phil Bolton-5th hour

Anonymous said...

I think Henry Ford is making a good statement. What happens in the past and our tradition is only the past. We can't change what happens in the past or how it happens. We should be more concerned about what is going on in the world today then what happened a hundreds of years ago. We have to worry about our lives in the present instead of the lives of those in the past in order to be successful. Henry Ford believes that we
should be more worried about making our lives better even if it means breaking past traditions. Traditions are just not very important to today's outcome. So just don't worry about them if you have something important going on in the present. This is what Henry Ford was trying to say and it is good advice.

Robert 5th

Anonymous said...

The qoute that I am choosing to write about is the one written by Henry Ford. "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live int he present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." Is this quote, I believe Ford is saying that he really dosen't care about history, or how things were done and the events that happened in history. When he says that it's tradition, he is saying that it that a certain event has already happened a certain way, and he is saying that that's not what he wants. He dosen't care what has happened int he past. He dosen' need to know about history to be sussesful at what he does. He says the only t ting that matters is the history that each induvudual creates to make a difference int he world. To do this, you don't need to know how things were done in the past.
Sara Dziubek
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

I am doing the quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. He said, "History is a version of past events that people have agreed upon." I think that Napoleon is saying that not everything written down as history is totally true and can be biased. He is saying some parts of history can be left out and others can be exaggerated. This can happen if certain people want to say something happened a certain way and enough people agree with them and what they are saying. And when these people all agree about this, it gets recorded down the way people intended it to and not the exact way it happened. Most people don’t even know that what they are agreeing with is not one-hundred percent accurate; that there could be something left out or something exaggerated that is not true. This is what I think Napoleon means when he says his quote.

Phil Bolton-5th Hour

Anonymous said...

In this comment made during the American industrial revolution, Henry Ford is expressing his view on the future and not so much his view on the past. When Ford says,”history is bunk” he means that it is not important to look at tradition or things that have happened in the past. He’s also saying that tradition allows the past to repeat itself. Essentially we should live in the present looking toward the future, because what we do today influences the future. Henry Ford made an impact on history and the future through his original ideas and actions regarding mass assembling automobiles.

Marta Elia 3rd hour

Anonymous said...

"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon"
-Napolean Bonaparte

I think that this statement is very true to the type of history we are taught today in school. What Napolean is saying here is that history is very oppinionated and based on what side of the war or event the recorder was on. I think that this is mostly because few people recorded history in early America and when they did it had a lot to do with opinions. This is shown in what we are taught about Christopher Colombus. All through elementary school we were taught he was an amazing explorer who was the first person to discover America. However last year, we learned a lot more about the darker side of him. He killed and stole from many of the native people. Healso actually thought he was in India when he landed. The reality is he was glorified due to the agreed upon version. The version people wanted to hear. This happens a lot and the majority of the time people do nothing to correct it.
I think that this was very forward thinking of Napolean. In his time there wasn't much recorded history anyway. This also makes me think that he experience this being done. In that case there is no doubt what he said was true and although it isn't good or correct, it's the way we are. People choose to remember things as the want to and that obviously transfers into a lot of our history.

Anonymous said...

The quote that i chose to write about is the quote stated by Henry Ford saying: "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinkers damn is the history we made today". He is saying that history is basically more or less nonsense and that it repeats itself. He is hoping to set a new standard for Ford Motors and make new history by creating something new and original that appeals to many people. Henry Ford should also be careful not to create something that has already been created and that has failed in the past because if he did create something that has already failed then he would not be creating new successful history. Some examples of how he tried to create history was by creating the assembly line and opening is to blacks who were migrating to the North, and were looking for job oppurtunities.

Ian Perfitt
1st Hour

Anonymous said...

I have chosen to write about the second quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. I think that Napoleon is trying to say that history is not always correct. What I mean by this is that history may tell us a different story than what actually happened. Historians may not always be truthful. They might stretch the truth or make up a completely different story all together. For example, the battle of Thermopylae, which is the story of the 300 Spartans that fought against Persia’s vast army, could be an exaggeration of the truth. The Spartans could have had thousands of soldiers and the Persians could have had less than history claims they did. All that I think Napoleon is trying to say is that history is not all true, it is simply a series of events that people have agreed upon that have occurred over the thousands of years of human civilizations. Through the rise and fall of numerous empires, history is not about what really happened but about how people record it.

Matt Merrifield
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

I think what Henry Ford means by that quote is that he doesn't think people should worry about things that have happened in the past. Whats done is done and there is not much you can do about it. The only thing you can think or worry about is what is happening in the present. You can't worry about the past because then it would just make you regret a majority of the things you once did, and thats not worth the stress. Sometimes looking back into history can have its benefits because people don't want to have to repeat and go through the same situations that they know on what the outcome is. Since Henry Ford was the creator of Ford Motor Company he had to worry about improving his cars to make them better from what they used to be and not thinking about the little parts that went wrong about it but the parts that make it its best. Also, making them better than his competition of other car companys.


Melanie Shaw
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." Napoleon Bonaparte

When reading this quote it occured to me that Napolean may have been a sardonic man in his time. This modern translation of this quote is
that the only thing "history" is, is things that happened a long time ago that many people decided happened and that it was true. To me, Napoleon seems to think that agreeing on events that happened and calling them history wasn't the best idea. How can a few people determine something that happened in the past is true and be able to label it as history? This may have been the thoughts of Napolean when he spoke these words.
He may be implying that the history we know of today are quotes and events that people want us to know about, and not the truest of information. All being said, most of what history tells us has some significant meaning and normally does involve a piece of truth. Although, perhaps Napolean felt that history wasn't so importat. He comes across as being skeptic when refering to past events as history. In the end after reading this quote, I think Napolean may have been unmistaken whatever his intentions were when saying it.

Julia Henning 5th hout

Anonymous said...

The quote im going to write about is "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." -Henry Ford.I think that the speaker means that we should not stay the same. He's saying that we should keep progressing in the world and make it better and better all the time.
josh l
5th hour

Anonymous said...

When Napoleon Bonaparte said "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon" he is trying to say that everything that has occurred in the past, we all have agreed that those events have actually happened that particular way. Evey single day events happen in which we can neither stop or change. When a day has gone by you cant go back to fix what went wrong. Once a day is gone its in the midst of history. Everyone has different perspectives and opinions about certain events but history gives these opinions one voice. History is done for a reason. It lets us learn from our past mistakes. These experiences help us to move forward to become better people overall in our society and country. it also lets us examine what has worked and what has not worked in the past. History helps us make the future.

Brooke, 1st hour

Anonymous said...

I have chosen to write about the quote by Napolean Bonaparte. When he says "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." I think that he is saying many different things. One point that he is trying to get across is that when something happens, as it is happening people choose to argue and disagree on it. After it happens people start to understand it clearer and the facts get straightened out. After this people start to agree on the event and tell the facts instead of making their own opinions on it. Events like these are shared with other generations to come and they are told the facts which were agreed upon.

Matt B.
5th hour

Anonymous said...

I think that in this quote Napoleon is saying that there are so many accounts of historical events, that people are forced to choose which one they like the most and document it. For example, there were not many accurate historians in the time of the battle of Thermopylae. Yet we have an account for that very battle, mainly because there were ordinary people who decided to write about it. The problem is that there are so many different accounts for that period; we have to decide which one of those makes the most sense, and then document it as history.


TJ
5th Hour

Anonymous said...

I think that Napoleon is trying to say,nothing is a proven fact. Just because it is in a history book or someone says this is what happen...Doesnt really mean that is what happen and where it took place at. Also I believe he was saying to leave the past in the past,because it is now behind you and you knowing will not change the fact only prepare you for the present,so to live in the present not the past. Napoleon also stated 'people have decided to agree upon' and what he ment by that was,no one can be 100% sure of themselves wen they say such and such happen unless they were there. So when he says'people decided to 'agree upon' like thats just the story that they tell you!!!
Alyssa T.
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

Jumi Cadmus
3rd hour

"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."(Napoleon Bonaparte) Napoleon Bonaparte means that history is based on certain individual’s opinions on what happened in past. Since people have decided to agree upon it, he also means that it may have been altered or changed a little.

This means that he is saying not all of history is true. Most of it is true, but certain parts of it may be wrong. He is saying that history may have different versions of it depending on what source you get it from. The same information is going to vary from different places. I agree with what Napoleon says and I think what he is saying is true.

Anonymous said...

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." Henry Ford.

First of all, I think that it is very ironic for Henry Ford to say that “history is more or less bunk”, even though he has his own museum. What Henry Ford is saying about tradition, is that it holds us back, and keeps us in the past, instead of keeping us with the present. Also, Henry Ford is saying that we shouldn’t be thinking about tradition, and the history that goes along with it. We should be thinking about “the history we made today”. Henry Ford is saying that the history of the past isn’t worth knowing about, while the things we do in the present are the only ones that are worth noting. I think that Henry Ford’s comment is obviously a negative one towards history, and the comment tells us that we should keep looking to the future, instead of looking back into the past because it deals with tradition. Personally, I feel that I agree with Henry Ford’s point of view.

David Mohan
3rd Hr.

Anonymous said...

For my first blog entry I am choosing the Henry Ford quote, “History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today.” I think that this quote means that history is made up of tradition. It is saying that traditions are what make history what it is; history is events that happened in the past, that we continue to celebrate today. Many family traditions are how you celebrate a special holiday or how you go about celebrating birthdays. Holidays are especially important to certain cultures that perform rituals of praise and have big family parties together to celebrate the holiday and being together, for example, a Jewish family celebrates Hanukah, while Christians and Catholics celebrate Christmas. A tradition can also depend on your religion. So history is not just a bunch of wars, it is the tradition of the United States today.

Matt W.
5th Hour

Anonymous said...

Henry Ford is trying to say that what happened happened. There's nothing you can do about it now. The United States should be more worried about what’s happening now. I think Mr. Ford says that we don’t need tradition because in past traditions there are always mistakes. Why keep those traditions when you could improve on them instead? Why keep on making the same mistakes? History changes the way that we would do certain things and the way that we act. For example, in the future, the U.S. may be more hesitant about going to war because of the war with Iraq. Even if it would be the right decision, important military leaders might second guess themselves. If they weren’t thinking about the Iraq war, they would make the right decision and attack. Without history we would be a complete different country, maybe for the worst, but probably for the better.

Jake B.
5th hour

Anonymous said...

I think that when Henry Ford says, "History is more or less bunk," he means that history is to no use of us. Sometimes that is true but other times it is not. For instance what I did yesterday doesn't really have any effect on what kind of person I am but past wars still have an effect on many people, and it caused them to be the person that they are. Also, when Henry said that history is tradition, I think he meant was that is always the same, like a family tradition you do yearly. When he says we don't want tradition, I think he means that we want to do some in the present to change the tradition of the past. Henry also said that we want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today. This in my opinion means that we can't live in the past about something. We have to concentrate on the present and what we do to make the future's history.

Jason S.
1st hour

Anonymous said...

Henry Ford once quoted that “History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we made today.” I think that Henry Ford is trying to say that history is more or less nonsense and that you can’t always be traditional. When you are in the car industry like Henry Ford was, you need to think in the present and future to make money. Henry Ford didn’t want tradition because when he was making cars, he couldn’t just keep making the same one because people would stop buying it after a while, also other companies would pass their technologies and make newer and better cars. Henry Ford only thought his present which is now our history was important because he was the one in charge of making that history. I don’t think this quote isn’t completely correct in all ways because if we didn’t have history or know of it, then we could make the same mistakes that have happened already, and without tradition then we wouldn’t know of some things that have been invented or discovered. This quote is also correct because some of history is nonsense, and if everything was tradition, then people would start to get sick of the same old thing. All in all, I think that history can be good and bad to look back to, depending on the situation, and being traditional isn’t always the best thing to do.

Derek M.
1st Hour

Anonymous said...

The Quote that I chose to pick was by Napoleon Bonaparte. He said, "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." I think, in this quote, Bonaparte meant that different events that happened in the past can be told from a few different perspectives. Because different countries and groups of people have their own ideas about what happened in the past, the history that we learn could be only the part that people of a certain side of the event thought was important. The people of that century only remembered the most important events and those were the stories that were passed on to the next generations.

I think Napoleon Bonaparte is specifically talking about History as being different for each country because each event in History has more than one side to it, and the ancestors from different countries only remember one side.

Rachael T.
1st hour

Anonymous said...

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today." In this quote, history being more or less bunk shows that Henry Ford believed history to be nonsense, or not important. Although history can be good to reflect on, being a business man, Henry Ford realized that history was not necessary in order to progress in car making. For countries, communities, and peoples ideas to move forward and evolve, then we cannot stick with traditional ways. Ford believed that the only history that is worth talking about today was made today. The only way for business and ideas to move onward from someone�s imagination is to live in the present day, and not to refer to history for assistance. If we do not keep moving forward, and being initiative, then before we can create a future we will find ourselves stuck in the past.

Paige Doolin
1st Hour.

Anonymous said...

The quote I choose is the first one said by Henry Ford. I think that he is trying to get across three main points. The first is that he believes that studying history is not a prioty for himself. The reason studying history isn't important to him is because of the second point; he believes that it is more important to live in the present. This then flows into the third point which is, that it is more important to live today and make history rather then looking to the past.
This makes a lot of sense because if everyone in the world strived each day to achieve something important so that one day they would be a part of history then the world would be a much better place. Even if only 1/8 of the population had motives like Ghandi or Mother Tersea, then imagine how much better the world could be.

Amanda B.
1st Hour

Anonymous said...

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Winston Churchill
I particularly liked this quote because it is very inspirational. The message that Churchill is trying to instill is that you the reader are in control of your own destiny. The example you set for those around may leave an impression on them whether it is big or small. The history WILL be kind to me for I intend to write simply means make a difference do something positive , help someone in need you may not be making history book history, but making an impression on that persons life forever. The things you do in life have an affect on you and others around you. So you may think of history as something you read about in Social Studies or English , but anything in the past that has genuinely helped or anything positive is exactly what this quote was about. People may have different opinions of this quote but it will be carried with me, and you ask why? Well, my answer is reading this quote was history and it genuinely had an affect on me making his history kind.

Lauren Babb
1st Hour

Geoff Wickersham said...

The quote I chose is the one from Napoleon Bonaparte that says :“History is
the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon." Napoleon
Bonaparte
I think that Napoleon Bonaparte is trying to say that History is not
necessary what exaclty happened in the past but also what arrange everybody.
What is the easiest thing to understand for everybody.
I also think that history can be changed by the people from differents
country around the world. The culture is not the same and the way people
from around the world explain it is not the same either.

Stephan, 1st Hour

Anonymous said...

The quote that I am going is the one Napoleon Bonaparte said.

“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."

I think what this quote means is that in past history, we made decisions that we all had to agree on and take action for. For an example, the war in Iraq. George W. Bush made the decision to go to War and everyone followed. If September 11th never happened, we would never be at war and millions of our soldiers would not be died. In history, we never know what is going to happen next and when that time comes, we have to make decisions that we all have to agree on and take action.



Annie

5th Hour

Anonymous said...

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Winston Churchill

I assume that when Churchill says “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” I think he means that he will write superior about himself and others that he thinks are worthy to be in books for he writes them. He can chose what stories make it in and what stories don’t. He can also exclude stories that he wants to cover up or thinks that their dire. Winston was a British politician who served his term as the United Kingdom’s prime minister in 1940-45. Winston Churchill could have also meant that he was going to make history and people were going to remember his name. If that is true I think that his statement was right. I think that he wanted to make a positive image of himself by attaining all the major accomplishments that he did in the past. That is what I imagine when Winston Churchill means when he states “ History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

Gabe
5th Hour

Anonymous said...

For the third quote; "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it" Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill means history will be easy for him to understand, remember, enjoy and be more interesting for him. When Churchill says "...for I intend to write it" he wanted to be part of history, and he was part of history. Winston Churchill's part in history was the leader of the British army. He later led the British army to victory in World War two. He was part of the British parliament for roughly 10 years, and during World War one he joined the British army. He was part of the army for about nine years and then again worked in the government. In 1940 Churchill became the Prime Minister. Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, of the United States worked together during World War two. Churchill also made the famous speech about the “iron curtain.” What Winston Churchill is saying about history is his role in history.
Megan
5th

Anonymous said...

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” Winston Churchill

In this quote i think that he is trying to tell us that he wants to achieve something that no one else has acheived and when he does this he is saying that he is the one that will be writing history not other people. He wnats to be big and thats what he did.

Jessie Best
5th hour.