Mitchell Berven-Stotz and I created an infographinc detailing the negative aspects of the Vietnam war, such as the herbicide Agent Orange and the civilian casualties. I was interested in exploring the Vietnam war because it was a topic that I did not know a great deal about and I wanted to explore an instance of U.S. involvement that ended poorly for the U.S.

I anted to focus on U.S. interactions with a South American country. When I did research I found out that the United States had several interaction with Nicaragua. I focused on the years 1909 to 1933 because there was a U.S. military presence in Nicaragua during all those years. The U.S. interacted with Nicaragua because it wanted to help control who was president, and wether the liberal or conservative party was in control of the Nicaraguan Government.

During the years of 1950 through 1953, North and South Korea struggled to agree to a government that can unite the two Koreas together. However, North Korea already joined the Soviet Union and agreed to become a communist nation. Therefore, when North Korea invaded South Korea to take South Korea under control, the U.S. got involved. The U.S. wanted to contain communism. 

Javier and I chose to study and research the Laotian War because we wanted to investigate an event involving U.S. foreign policy that we hadn't heard about. When researching the Vietnam War, we came across the Laotian Civil War. As we looked more deeply into the subject, we learned that the U.S. had formed an alliance with Laos. They had formed an alliance because Vietnam is right next to Laos, and therefore the U.S. had a military advantage in the Vietnam War. 

Our topic focusses on the relationship between the U.S. and China. It gives background on the history of trading with them and it covers the current state we are in. Through the years, China has been the owner of more and more debt from the United States. We also connect the growing population to the trillions of dollars of debt the United States owes China. We decided to focus on this topic because we wanted to research the U.S. economy and we knew that the U.S. was thoroughly involved with China so we just put it together!

Our topic of US occupation was the Berlin Airlift, or Allied occupation of Germany after World War II. We decided to focus on this topic because I'm interested in WWII history and this aspect of it was something I hadn't learned about before.

My infographic covers three major events in the history of Iran-U.S. relations: the coup of Mohammad Mossadegh, the Iran-Contra Affair, and the use of Stuxnet to delay the Iran's development of fully-enriched uranium. The United States has taken many covert actions against Iran in pursuit of our own economic and political interests. The U.S. involvement in all three of the aforementioned events is very interesting and often hard to believe. Learning about Iran-U.S. relations gives a new perspective on what the U.S. is capable of. 

INVENTIONS OF THE YEAR

Recently, people have been paving the road for innovation through their brilliant inventions that are sure to make a difference in the world. However, three very important inventions stand out as the "Inventions of the Year" in the 1839 edition of this newspaper. William Otis was born on September 20, 1813 in Pelham, Massachusetts. He received a patent for the steam shovel in February. This invention will aid in the moving of rocks, soil, and debris. This will also facilitate building, moving, and creating. Later in the year, Thaddeus Fairbanks, another American inventor born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, invented the platform scale. This invention can and will be used to measure the weight of more massive objects with greater accuracy. This technology is crucial to the future, and will possibly be put to fantastic use in households. Charles Goodyear, born in New Haven, Connecticut, was perhaps the greatest inventor of the year. He created a process to vulcanize rubber, which will be useful and essential in future inventions. Perhaps it will be used for small household objects or large locomotives. These inventors are working to make a more convenient world for Americans, and are improving the efficiency of society.

With these inventions, Americans will be seeing a lot more efficiency in the coming year, 1840. When these items reach the market, they will be the most popular things to buy. Americans everywhere will be wanting to get their hands on these up-and-coming products. Keep an eye out for these items so you or your company can become the most efficient around!

Caption for First Photo: William Otis' invention, the steam shovel, digs in piles of soil

Caption for Second Photo: Thaddeus Fairbanks' invention, the platform scale, sits on green grass.

Caption for Third Photo: Charles Goodyear stands in his workshop, holding rubber.

OBITUARIES

Feb 10, 1839

Josiah Collins II, owner and operator of Somerset Place died and will be buried in St. Paul's Churchyard. Before his death, he prepared Somerset Place for his son to take over.

April 1, 1839

Benjamin Pierce, an American politician and the ex-Governor of New Hampshire, died in a car derailing. His funeral will take place in Old North Cemetery in Merrimack County, New Hampshire.

June 10, 1839

Nathaniel Pryor, the Sergeant in charge of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, died. Pryor was previously recommended to President Andrew Jackson as an Indian agent.

1839

Major Ridge, a Cherokee leader and alliance to President Andrew Jackson, died in White Rock Creek in Dallas, Texas.

WORKS CITED:

"America's Best History - U.S. History Timeline: The 1830's." America's Best History - U.S. History Timeline: The 1830's. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1830.html>.

"Benjamin Pierce (1841 - 1853) - Find A Grave Memorial." Benjamin Pierce (1841 - 1853) - Find A Grave Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6659809>.

"Famous Deaths for Year 1839." HistoryOrb.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <http://www.historyorb.com/deaths/date/1839>.

"Josiah Collins II (1763-1839)." North Carolina History Project :. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/905/entry>.

"Major Ridge (ca. 1771-1839)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/major-ridge-ca-1771-1839>.

"Obituaries - 1839 - Nashville City Cemetery." Obituaries - 1839 - Nashville City Cemetery. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/1839.htm>.

IMAGES:

"Goodyear Corporate." Charles Goodyear. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. <http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/history/history_story.html>.

"Popular Items for Platform Scale." Etsy. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. <https://www.etsy.com/market/platform_scale>.

"Steam Shovel Working at Mount Morgan Mine." Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StateLibQld_2_290983_Steam_shovel_workng_at_Mount_Morgan_Mine,_1905.jpg>.