Architect writing assignment

There are many different architects from the turn of the century that did many great things. I chose the ones that stuck out to me and that had influenced my life by their marvelous creations. It is so neat to be able to wright about something that you have either been to or heard great deal about. Architecture fascinates me and thinking of someone being able to create a building such as the Biltmore Estate or the Robie House just blows my mind. I also love learning about people’s favorite style’s of architecture and what their “signature mark” was, if they had one. The architects that I chose are Louis Henri Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, William LeBaron Jenney, and 

Richard Morris Hunt.

Guaranty Building build by Louis Sullivan

When researching famous architects from the turn of the century, I happened upon a man named Louis Henri Sullivan. Sullivan was born on September 3, 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts, according to Louis Henri Sullivan   and became known as the “father of the skyscraper” during his wonderful life. He earned this title by helping redesign the skyscraper by using his well known principle “form follows function”, How Stuff Works: Sullivan and Wright told me. As I continued reading on this detailed website, I soon learned that the majority of Sullivan’s work is located in Chicago, Illinois. This does not include his all time most famous creation; the 10-story WainWright Building which is located in St. Louis, Missouri and was built in 1890. Sullivan believed that extremely tall buildings would be best if they were build in 3 parts, Scholastic Article: Louis Sullivan noted. I then discovered on Scholastic that the base of the building consisted of grand openings of glass that provided light for shopping and various activities. The middle section held lots of office floors while the top level held storage areas for the equipment that ran the building and kept it going. After finding this detailed information on Scholastic Article: Louis Sullivan, I then continued my searching back to How Stuff Works: Sullivan and Wright. Another one of his most famous designs included the 16-story Guaranty Building, located in Buffalo, New York, built in 1894. I learned that Sullivan loved to use geometric shapes as well as organic elements in his creations. That is the reason why he and Frank Lloyd Wright became such good friends and coworkers, in my opinion. Frank Lloyd Wright worked under Louis Henri Sullivan for 6 years, which led to Wright becoming one of the most well-known architects across the United States. Louis Henri Sullivan died on April 14, 1924 in the beautiful city of Chicago, Illinois. His legacy and status in the architecture world continued on after his death and he is still talked about to this day.

Photo taken by me of the Robie House
built by Frank Lloyd Wright

I had heard a lot about Frank Lloyd Wright growing up from my mother and in school. His designs fascinated me so when it was time to do a project with him in it, I just couldn’t pass it up! Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867 In Richland Center, Wisconsin Frank Lloyd Wright: Overview  said, and is known as “the most famous architect of the modern era, if not all of history” according to How Stuff Works: Sullivan and Wright . Wright loved organic architecture which consisted of “using both structure and materials to integrate designs with nature an the surrounding environment”, How Stuff Works: Sullivan and Wright  included. Wright’s favorite style of architecture design was Praire which “emphasized horizontal lines to blend with the landscape”, an example of a structure designed by this would be the Robie House, How Stuff Works: Sullivan and Wright  explained. After reading this I thought the name “Robie House” sounded vaguely familiar. I then thought back to my interim trips with Randolph and remembered that on my freshman trip to Chicago, we not only saw this famous Robie House, but we toured it as well. I then immediately dug through all of my pictures and found one that I took of this unique home. But, my memory, not being as strong as I would like it to be, was not good enough to get my information from on this house. So, I continued my searches and found the wonderful website, Frank Lloyd Wright: Robie House  that gave detailed information on Wright’s famous creation. The Robie House was built in 1910 for Frederick C. Robie and is a prime example of Wright’s “Praire Style”. Every room in the house is connected in some sort of way, which creates a more open, airy feeling about the house. Something that really stuck out to me about this house was the windows. If I remember anything at all about the Robie House, and Frank Lloyd Wright: Robie House helped spark my memory, it is the amount of colorful windows composed of different geometric shapes located inside this great structure. Continuing my research on this helpful site, I discovered that the Robie House “would be the last of Wright’s true Prairie Houses”. According to Frank Lloyd Wright: Overview , Frank Lloyd Wright passed away on April 9, 1959 at 91 years old.

Home Insurance Company Building William LeBaron Jenney

Next in line on my list of architects from the turn of the century to research was William LeBaron Jenney. He was born on September 25, 1832 in Massachussetts and became known as the man who designed the Home Insurance Company Building in Chicago. The building of this large structure only took from 1884 to 1885 and was some what considered to be “the world’s first tall building supported by an internal frame.. of ion and steel rather than by load-bearing walls and the first to incorporate steel as a structural material” according to Britannica: Wiliam LeBaron Jenney. Jenney studied architecture in the grand city of Paris, France from 1859 to 1861 which is where he got his talent from. Daniel Burnham, born on September 4, 1846 in Henderson, New York, worked together alongside the Chicago Architecture Firm with Jenney and together they created some masterpeices, according to Jstor: Daniel Burnham. William also designed the Leiter Building located in Chicago in 1879. The front of this building held a very complex, glass curtain wall. Reading that on Britannica: Wiliam LeBaron Jenney, it reminded me of the Robie House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the vast windows held there. Another one of the many creations done by William LeBaron Jenney in Chicago includes the Manhattan Building. The construction of this building was started in 1889 and finished just a year later in 1890. The Manhattan Building was known as the first 16-story building in the whole entire world, Britannica: Wiliam LeBaron Jenney stated. How neat is that! I would love to have the title as the person who created the first 16-story building in the world! The Fair Stone, was included on the list of buildings designed by Jenney, was remodeled as the Loop Store of Montgomery Ward. And lastly on my list of structures Jenney created is The Second Leiter Building that later became the Sears, Roebuck and Co’s loop store. William LeBaron Jenney, in my opinion, seems like he would have been a very complex and intelligent guy. The amount of structures that he completed in only a few short years just blows my mind. William LeBaron Jenney died on June 15, 1907 in Los Angeles, California. He left a great mark on not only the United States, but the whole world.

The Biltmore Estate

Last, but certainly not least, Richard Morris Hunt is, to me, the greatest architect from the turn of the century. Born in Vermont on October 31, 1827, Hunt’s favorite styles of architecture included “chateau style, Romanesque Revival and Tudor Revival” according to NC Architects: North Carolina State University- Richard Morris Hunt . Now here is my most favorite part about him, he, alongside Frederick Law Olmstead, designed the famous Biltmore Estate for George Washing Vanderbilt himself. This magnificent mansion is located just outside the unique city of Asheville, North Carolina. The time it took to build this castle, if you will, was from 1889 to 1895, you do the math. In my opinion, that isn't such a long time to construct such a detailed, massive home. The mansion, including it’s vast gardens, soon reached a whooping 125,000 acres! You might be wondering as to why I got so excited when I happened upon this… The reason being that my family and I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina for an entire week over this past summer. Although we weren’t big fans of the city, we went CRAZY over the spectacular Biltmore Estate and it easily was the best part of our trip. We, being the tourists that we are, took the Servants Quarter’s tour and got to go all throughout the gigantic house and learned about secret places where the servants went. After this tour, we then toured all of the main rooms and by about room 25, we were exhausted! A room that really still sticks out in my mind was the indoor pool. Basically you walk in the door and you’re in a pool! Cool, huh? After the long tours of the home, we grabbed some lunch and my dad and brother got to go shoot sporting clays on the enormous property while my mom, sister and I did some shopping. The visit to the Biltmore kept getting better and better when we were driving down the road from picking my dad and brother up and we saw a momma bear and two baby bears in a tree together! That was something I will always remember and cherish. Richard Morris Hunt died on July 31, 1895 leaving behind his wonderful creation for the whole world to enjoy.

Beginning this project, I was so excited that I was able to wright about something that I actually knew a little bit about. I loved researching these wonderful architects and loved learning more about the places that I had visited. Louis Henri Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, William LeBaron Jenney, and Richard Morris Hunt are all equally great architects and legacy’s for the structures that they created. I envy every single one of them for their hard work and determination to make a mark on the world.

Sources

Scholastic Article: Louis Sullivan yellow cards Louis Sullivan (combine with white notecards on Louis Henri Sullivan)

This website was very helpful to me by introducing me to the great architect, Louis Sullivan. It gave me detailed information on the style of architecture he preferred and told me about one of the many buildings that he designed. It also gave me good information on Frank Lloyd Wright and his style of architecture as well.

How Stuff Works: Sullivan and Wright white cards Louis Henri Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright

This awesome website gave me a lot of awesome facts about Louis Henri Sullivan such as; where the majority of the buildings he designed were located, the Guaranty Building and his relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright. This website also gave me info on Frank Lloyd Wright's work and a little bit about "organic architecture" that Wright loved to use in his designs.

Frank Lloyd Wright: Overview  orange cards Frank Lloyd Wright (combine with white note card on Frank Lloyd Wright)

This website, which was all based on Frank Lloyd Wright, gave me a good amount of information about Wright's life, and his love of using nature in his designs. 

Britannica: Wiliam LeBaron Jenney pink cards William LeBaron Jenney (include info from Daniel Burnham green card)
This extremely helpful website was perfect for my project and gave me all the information I needed on William LeBaron Jenney. It told about his life, and several buildings that he designed. 

Jstor: Daniel Burnham  green cards Daniel Burnham (combine with paragraph about William LeBaron Jenney)
This website was not as helpful but still gave me some key points on Daniel Burnham and his relationship with William LeBaron Jenney.

NC Architects: North Carolina State University- Richard Morris Hunt orange cards Richard Morris Hunt
This website was amazing! It held everything I could possibly need to know about Richard Morris Hunt including; info about his life, the styles he preferred, and his masterpiece; The Biltmore Estate. 

Frank Lloyd Wright: Robie House  white notecard (combine with other FLW info)
This website gave me a lot of good, clear information on Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. It explained when it was built, the style Wright used to design it, and gave detailed information on some of the rooms in the unique house,

Louis Henri Sullivan  white notecard
I used this website to get some basic facts about when and where Sullivan was born as well as when and where he died.

Carnegie group work

 Carnegie seemed to have believed that the best way to improve the lives of other people was by promoting international and local peace, spreading education to groups of people that would then go out and educate others. I can tell by his charitable works and large donations of money to start organizations that helped the community. I think this approach was very effective and showed how much he cared for his community and the world. A counter argument would be that he should have kept the money for himself and not have worried about the world. He could have been selfish and thought to just leave the world as it is but he decided not to.Also, instead of worrying about the whole world, he could have just focused on his hometown which might have been more beneficial. He knew that he could make a difference so he decided to act upon this and to spread his wealth to communities that needed it more than he did. If I had hundreds of millions of dollars to give away, I would donate it to an organization in Huntsville such as Girls Inc, Boys and Girls Club or Mana House. These organizations would benefit from it because they could put it to good use for buying new materials or even opening up another location. I would also donate some to the Public Library because before you know it there won't be a need for a library anymore. I think places in our hometowns would be more beneficial rather than starting an organization in a city where one has no connection to. 

What does Carnegie seem to have believed would be the best way to improve the lives of other people, and how can you tell? 

What is your opinion of this approach?  What is a counter argument? 

If you had hundreds of millions of dollars to give away, what would you do?

Sitting Bull and the Sioux Indian's

Sitting Bull was one of the Sioux Indian's greatest leaders of all time. He had all the qualities that made him a great leader and role model to all of his tribe members. He showed courage, strength and perseverance throughout his entire life until the day he died.  

http://home.comcast.net/~zebrec/imgs/Chiefs_of_sioux_group_1.jpg

When our class was first exposed to this project I had honestly no idea who or what topic I would choose to right about. After a few minutes I decided to just choose one of the people listed on the sheet Mrs. Lawson handed out. So, I, thinking that he had a cool name, choose Sitting Bull to do my research and essay on. While researching him, I never thought I would become so interested in his life and everything that he did. I also did not think he would be as interesting as he turned out to be. Sitting Bull, also known as Tatanka- Iyotanka, according to PBS, was born in 1831 on the Grand River in which in today's time is located in South Dakota. Tatanka- Iyontanka stands for a "wild buffalo bull sitting up on it's haunches", PBS informed me. Sitting Bull was born in a place that the Lakota tribe knew as "Many Catches" due to the number of food storage pits they had. As I kept on reading on the PBS website, I then discovered that Sitting Bull's leadership skills started at an early age when he became the leader of Strong Heart Warrior Society. Not much later, PBS stated, Sitting Bull was found going to his first battle at just the age of FOURTEEN. That really threw me for a loop, I could not imagine going to battle at such a young age, let alone now! PBS also stated that he had his first encounter with real American soldiers in June of 1863. He must have been terrified! My research on PBS continued on leading me to find that he led a siege against the US soldiers at Fort Rice in 1865 and just 3 years later he was crowned head chief of the Lakota. With just the little research I had done, I realized that this man must have been an amazing leader. Later, while still on the PBS website, it informed me that in March of 1876 Sitting Bull led the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in a sun dance. This famous sun dance, PBS explained, was a way for the people to offer prayers to their great spirit Wakan Tanka. According to PBS, during the sun dance the tribal members slashed Sitting Bull's arms one hundred times as a way to show sacrifice. After reading that I was in complete and utter shock. Having your arms slashed one hundred times does not sound very fun to me! Within the next few sentences, PBS told about the vision that Sitting Bull had after the Sundance; "soldiers falling into the Lakota camp as if grasshoppers were falling from the sky" was what PBS said Sitting Bull saw in his dream. Lastly, in May 1877 he led his tribe into Canada to escape the US soldiers, PBS described. With only have looked at one website, I already knew loads of information about a man I had never heard of until my US History class this year. 

After I thought I had received enough information from PBS, I continued on my search of Sitting Bull and all the great things he accomplished in his lifetime. My search led me to Sitting Bull  which gave me the facts that I had been looking for. Sitting Bull gave me background information on Sitting Bull's father and mother whom were named Jumping Bull and Her-Holy-Door. This website also told me something I never expected, Sitting Bull had children. He had two daughters named Many Horses and Walks looking, a son named Crow Foot and an adopted son named One Bull. This really caught me off guard because I had assumed that he had no children nor much of a family. Reading on, I found more facts that led to my thoughts about him being a great and powerful leader. "Tatanka- Iyotaka was a man of clear vision and pure motivation", according to Sitting Bull . He was said to have given money to white, hungry people whom he didn't even know. Seeing that most of the white, US people hated Indians at that time, it took a lot of pure goodness for him to do something nice for people that might not respect him. 

http://northdakotacowboy.com/image/cache/ndchf.great_westerner.sitting_bull.3.jpg

When I felt satisfied with the information I had on Sitting Bull himself, I thought it might be a good idea for me to research and find out about the tribes he came from and what he did for them. This led me to Big Orrin which was by far one of the most helpful websites I had visited and clearly stated that Sitting Bull was a member of the Sioux Indians. Big Orrin answered all of the questions I had been longing to know the answers to. They are as follows; women wore long, deerskin and elk skin dresses while men wore breed cloths, leggings as well as buckskin shirts. Both men and women wore moccasins and buffalo-hide robes, but only when the weather got bad. Within the Sioux Indians, the women were in charge of the home in which they cooked, cleaned and even BUILT their families homes all by themselves. Next, Big Orrin went on about how the Sioux men were in charge of hunting, feeding and defending their families, which was very important. They also talked about how only men could become chiefs of the Sioux Indians but both genders led story telling, music, artwork and medicine. Most of the Sioux, according to Big Orrin,  lived in large tents made of buffalo which were known as teepees. A whole entire Sioux Vinnage could be packed up and ready to move to a different spot within one hour due to the fact that the teepees were so easy to take down and put back up. 

The definition of a leader is the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. This being exactly what Sitting Bull did in the years that he was alive. According to History , Sitting Bull is remembered for his resistance against white domination. Also, according to Sitting Bull,  when he was alive he was "considered to be one of the most influential leaders on the prairie". Sitting Bull  also said how in today's time, Sitting Bull is highly recognizable in the Indian world. Sitting Bull died December 15, 1890 when he was shot by an Indian police. He is buried in Mobridge, South Dakota, stated Sitting Bull.  Lastly, my Google search led me to Sioux Me. This website also said that Sitting Bull was said to be the last Sioux that surrendered to the US government. 

http://jamesayers.com/wp-content/uploads/546N-TATANKA-IYOTAKE-SITTING-BULL-HUNKPAPA-LAKOTA-OIL-ON-BOARD-2010-34X24.jpg

PBS

• Found info on Sitting Bull's life and introduced me to his accomplishments. This was one of the best sites that I used and was extremely helpful. 

Sitting Bull   

• Gave me information on his family and life. Pretty helpful

History    

• Only found a few facts here, not very helpful with my research.

Sioux Me       

• Got information about his death and how it happened from this okay cite.

Big Orrin    

• Extremely helpful with my research, had exactly what I was looking for. Gave me info on the tribe that Sitting Bull belonged to and their background.

Nina and Pinta

The Cowboy in US History

The Western cowboy was often seen as a free, rugged man who didn't have a care in the world for fancy living. Many people thought that the life of a cowboy was great and most men wanted to be one back in that time. But, in reality, a cowboy was just a low paid worker who couldn't afford fancy living and didn't have very much. A cowboy usually just had a horse and water; that was really all he needed to survive.They relied on nature for their food and shelter and that is the reason they are known as nature men. Cowboys have always been mistaken by many people for having a great, adventurous, free life. Although, many cowboys didn't like their lifestyle and longed for a family and home.

Not only was the life of a cowboy depicted different than it actually was, but life in the West was also seen differently from people who didn't live in that world. As an example, I can remember growing up and always seeing movies or books based on cowboys fighting Indians. Honestly, I thought that cowboys and Indians fought each other until I learned otherwise in US History. Cowboys and Indians had no problems with each other and were never seen really "battling" one another in the West. The majority of Americans think they know lots of information on the West based on their view of the cowboys and Indians, but in actuality they are not understanding the real day-to-day life the people in the West had to live because of all the lies they have been told. This includes the Chinese coming into the West and basically taking it over, immigration from all over Europe to the West and the struggles people in the West went through to keep their families going. Speaking for myself, I had never once heard anything about the Chinese ever coming into the West until this class. It makes me feel a whole lot more knowledgeable knowing about what actually went on in the West and America in general.

Most people back then and even some today believe that a cowboy is an untamed, scruffy man that no one wanted their daughter to fall in love with. People also believe that cowboys were dangerous men who wanted to start wars with Indians and other people that lived around them. Is it America's fault for the way people see Cowboys? Yes and no. It is truly no one's fault for many American's wrong impression on Western cowboys. Also, cowboys in a way brought it on themselves by living the lifestyle that they lived. Although many of them couldn't help the low pay job they had to work because that might have been the only job they could have gotten. The cowboys were happy with their way of life for the most part and the way they lived gave people the impression they have of them today.

Chapter 15 Reflection

Before this unit of study in US history, I did not know much at all about the Post-Civil War South. I knew that slavery had been abolished and that it was very hard times for the freed blacks due to their lack of jobs and trying to find a place to live in. After learning more about this topic, I now understand why the South's economy was so bad. Their economy was so bad because of the devastation the war caused on the land and fields. I also knew that the South's economy was based on agriculture so that really explained it for me and showed me why it was not thriving after the war. Another thing I learned about in this unit was about the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. Growing up I have always heard those terms but never really understood what they meant. Now I know that the 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment gave all citizens their natural rights, and the 15th gave people voting rights. I could never have come up with those answers before this unit. I also did not quit realize the horrible struggles the freed blacks faced after the war. I never thought about having to move far away from where they would work long hot days on the plantations. Nor did I think about them having to deal with the bad thoughts and remembering their past lives.

It is very important for people to know and understand the history of the place in which they live in because of how important it is to not be selfish and to realize what people had to go through to get the place they live in to be the way it is now. Also, I think that people should at least know what wars were fought in the place they live in and why they were fought. Knowing what life was like before the war compared to after is also a very important factor as well. Learning and studying about the history of ones home city or state is very beneficial because it might make one appreciate where they live more. I know that after learning all about the Civil War it has made me realize how lucky I am to live in the South and have it be the way it is. Although, there are some things I could have kept the same about it from Pre-Civil War I could not be happier with where I live now.

Animoto

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I made a video showing my view of America. The 30 second video displayed pictures of items I think are important to America. Making the picture video and adding music was so simple! I had no problems at all figuring out how to put it together. My video was a political and personal side of things. I thought this was such a fun assignment that really got me thinking about the US.