15-125 Mexico 2 Spanish Conquest and Rule amomentintimetv 2010-02-13 | For almost 300 years after 1521, Mexico was a colony of Spain and known as La Nueva España or New Spain. It was the crown jewel in Spains holdings in the New World. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: After the Spanish conquered the Aztecs in 1521, Mexico grew to include most of present day Central America and the southwestern United States. The colonial period lasted until the revolt of 1810 which was led by a priest, Miguel Hidalgo, known today as the father of Mexicos independence. Under the Spanish administration, the indigenous population did not fare well. The main political, economic, and military power was held firmly in Spanish hands, and most indigenous people were kept in poverty. Eventually the vast majority of the native population was killed off by European diseases from which it had no immunity such as small pox and measles. It is estimated that the native population shrunk from ten to twelve million at the time of the conquest to approximately one million by the mid-seventeenth century. This meant a terrific labor shortage, which was rectified through the importation of 200,000 or more African slaves. The Spanish capitalized on the colonys natural resources and developed trade based on agricultural products, textiles, and on mining, particularly silver.One of the most important aspects of the colonial period was the introduction of Roman Catholicism. During colonial times, missionary friars often came into conflict with secular authority and vigorously objected to the treatment of the native population, thus earning the respect of indigenous peoples who in turn were converted to Catholicism. Across colonial Mexico twelve thousand churches were built and today almost ninety percent of Mexicos population is Roman Catholic.
15-124 Mexico I: Chichen Itza amomentintimetv 2010-02-13 | The ancient Mayan civilization was indigenous to present day Central America and southern Mexico. Its chief city for nearly a millennium and a major Mayan archeological site is located on the Yucatan Peninsula it is Chichen Itza.Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: It is believed that Mayan culture existed in Mesoamerica from about 2600 B.C.E. Spread throughout northern Central America and southern Mexico, the Maya were a highly developed civilization with advanced understanding of astronomy, mathematics, agriculture and architecture. They developed a sophisticated form of hieroglyphic writing and maintained accurate yearly calendars. During the so-called classic period, 250 to 900 C.E., the Mayan Kingdom was highly structured, and many cities were established each with a single ruler. For reasons that are not completely clear, the southern lowland Maya cities were abandoned, and many Maya migrated to the highlands of present day southern Guatemala and to the Yucatan Peninsula. In the arid climate of central Yucatan, a clan or group of Mayans who were called the Itza founded a settlement by two large natural wells sometime in the 500s C.E. The city of Chichen Itza, or mouth of the wells of the Itza became the power center of Maya civilization. It is believed that Chichen Itza with its pyramids, observatory and massive ball court was heavily influenced in design by the Toltec of Central Mexico, who either integrated with or dominated the Maya beginning in the 11th century. By the mid 1500s, Chichen Itza as well as most of the Maya settlements had been conquered by the Spanish, thus beginning the decline and near extinction of Mayan civilization.
03-011 Juliette Low and the Girl Scouts amomentintimetv 2010-02-13 | Born Juliette Gordon in Civil War Savannah, Georgia, the founder of the world's largest voluntary organization of young women, at last discovered an outlet for her restless energy.Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: Juliette's father was a wealthy Savannah cotton broker who left his young bride in 1861 to fight for the Confederacy. Her mother grew up in a pioneer Chicago home and was torn by those conflicting loyalties that beset so many families during that time. Two of her brothers died fighting for the Union and she entertained General Sherman after his famous march to the sea. It is said that little Juliette now known as "Daisy" sat on the General's lap during his visit.In 1886 she married William Low, son of a wealthy British cotton merchant. Their troubled and unhappy marriage lasted until his death left her a wealthy widow with great resources and boundless energy but little direction. In 1911 she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, hero of the Boer War and founder of the Boy Scouts. In this fascinating man and the movement he started Daisy Low found her cause. After assisting with Baden-Powell's female group called Girl Guides, she returned to Savannah in 1912. On the first night home she called a cousin and declared she wanted to discuss something "for all the girls of Savannah and all America and all the world...."In contrast to Baden-Powell's dictate that girls should be only taught "home-making and mother-craft," Daisy's first troop, organized March 12, 1912 at an old Savannah tennis court, was taught camping and outdoor skills as well. The next summer the girls went on a five-day camping trip and just as their male counterparts learned to deal with sand fleas, mosquitoes and camp food. Re-named Girl Scouts in 1913 the organization had a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. and over 40,000 participants by 1920. Juliette Low died in 1927 and was buried wearing full uniform of the first and best Girl Scout.
08-104 Battle of the Bulge II amomentintimetv 2010-02-13 | Lead: It was not if they had not done it before. Each time, 1914, 1940 and 1944 the allies were unprepared for an attack through the Ardennes Forest. This time the Bulge almost burst.Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: In May 1940 Winston Churchill in mistaken optimism asserted that Anglo-French armies were holding against the huge German strategic bulge that had emerged through the Ardennes Forest in southern Belgium. His prediction just preceded the allied collapse. When Hitler tried it again in December 1944, Churchills vivid description returned with a vengeance. The trick almost worked again primarily because allied lines were stretched 600 miles from Switzerland to the North Sea and the Germans hit the soft spot, manned with American units either weary from battle or fresh from the states, right in the middle at the Ardennes.This time, however, the Germans did not reckon with the flexibility of General Eisenhowers team. In fact, Third Army commander George Patton, in that remarkable intuition that made him one of historys best tactical field generals, had already anticipated the attack. His knowledge of military history, plus disturbing intelligence reports of German unit shifts away from his front, let him on December 12th to instruct his staff to prepare for an immediate change of direction north and when on December 19th General Eisenhower asked him when he could move, he said, now. You mean today? Eisenhower continued. I mean as soon as you have finished with me here. In three days Third Army units had moved 100 miles north and were engaged in the relief of surrounded U.S. units in the Bulge. Within a week, Hitlers gamble had failed and Germanys last offensive in the west was over.At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.
08-103 Battle of the Bulge I amomentintimetv 2010-02-13 | Lead: Determined to take back the initiative, Adolf Hitler and his generals launched a surprise counterattack against allied forces through the Ardennes forest in the winter of 1944. The Bulge had appeared once again.Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: After a shaky start in the weeks following the D-Day invasion, allied armies had broken out of the Normandy hedgerows and for most of fall 1944 had battered German armies into retreat. As winter deepened, however, General Eisenhowers 48 divisions were stretched thinly along a 600 mile front from Switzerland to the North Sea. In that disposition opportunity beckoned and the German High Command was quick to seize it. To do so they returned to an old friend, the Ardennes Forest in southern Belgium. In 1914 and in the 1930s the French mistakenly assumed that no effective attack could be mounted through that densely packed hilly and forested region. They were wrong both times as were the allied staff planners in 1944. Eisenhowers men were so confident the Germans were beaten that in the eighty-five mile line that fronted the forest they positioned mostly exhausted, battle weary troops and rookie, untested units. The so-called ghost front was an open invitation which Hitler accepted. Into it he poured what was left of his western reserve.Just before dawn on December 16, with allied air forces grounded by snow and fog, three German Panzer armies, nearly 24 divisions attacked the American lines all along the Ardennes front. Within 48 hours allied command recognized this as no feint. Already U.S. units were being forced back and some, such as parts of the 101st Airborne Division at the market crossroad village of Bastogne, were surrounded and cut off. Next time: The tactical intuition of George Patton.At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.
8-113 The Social Impact of Martin Luther III amomentintimetv 2010-01-29 | Lead: In 1525 the suffering peasants of Germany revolted. They expected the support of another rebel against authority, theologian Martin Luther. They would be disappointed.Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan RobertsContent: At first Luther was sympathetic with the peasants' cause. In his tract "An Admonition to Peace" (1525) he condemned aristocrats with stinging words, "...you do nothing but flay and rob your subjects in order that you may lead a life of splendor, until the poor common folk can bear it no longer." But when massive riots broke out across Germany, Luther was horrified. He felt his writings on Christian freedom had been misinterpreted. He meant spiritual freedom and warned the peasants that armed rebellion was contrary to God's word: "The fact that rulers are unjust and wicked does not excuse tumult and rebellion." In reality, Luther needed the support of the rulers of Germany in his battle with the Roman Catholic Church, and he felt the peasants' revolt was an unwarranted distraction from his much more important religious campaign. Convinced the peasants threatened the survival of society, he wrote a tract, "Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants," in which he said, "Let everyone who can smite, slay, and stab [the peasants] secretly and openly. Remember that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful or devilish than a rebel." For all its attachment to the establishment, Roman Catholicism had always at least claimed to be a power separate and aloof from the state, able to speak independently. The new conservative Luther welcomed state support for Protestantism and once it had been achieved he became an ardent devotee of the status quo.
15-119 Osiris Cult amomentintimetv 2010-01-29 | Lead: From ancient times to the Roman Empire, the sect of Osiris, the god of the afterlife, dominated Egyptian religious thinking. In many ways Osiris was a cultic improvement, transforming moral behavior and expanding religious experience.Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: Osiris is the Greek word for the Egyptian god Wsjr. He may have been an Egyptian ruler in the Old Kingdom which is measured from about 2700 BCE to 2200 BCE. The cultic lore described his transformation into a god after his brother, Seth, murdered him. Isis, the sister-wife of Osiris, tried to hide the body so that Seth could not find it and mutilate it. Seth found it and hacked it to pieces throwing the severed remains into the Nile. Isis recovered the various parts of Osiris body and, with the help of Osiris other sister Nephthys and other gods, tried to sew it back together. This revivification failed and Osiris was banished to the underworld and became the god of the afterlife..and Osiris cult was born. Prior to this time only the wealthy and highborn had access to the afterlife by means of devotion to the sun-god Ra. Osiris offered burial and passage to all, wealthy and poor; thus his cult grew in popularity and began to transform Egyptian cultic life. The leaders of this cult, speaking for Osiris, proscribed a strict moral code which offered to the obedient the promise of eternal life. Osiris was the gatekeeper, and to meet him the penitent would have to be mummified. His or her body had to be placed in a tomb with the name inscribed on it and with various burial equipment and materials, which included food and drink for the journey into death. After these preparations, the deceased would proceed to the Hall of Judgment where, under Osiris supervision, a panel of judges would evaluate the persons life and his or her heart--preserved outside the mummy--would be weighed. If it were the same weight as an ostrich feather, the deceased would be admitted to perpetual happiness.
8-111 The Social Impact of Martin Luther I amomentintimetv 2010-01-29 | Lead: Without a doubt the Protestant Reformation had a profound impact on religion, but Martin Luther's rebellion of faith also inspired a social revolution. Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan RobertsContent: Ernst Treoltsch, the German religious sociologist, wrote that Martin Luther and other early Protestants asked the same three basic theological questions as their Catholic contemporaries; they just supplied a different set of answers. For instance, how is one saved? Roman Catholicism said by faith and works. Protestants said by faith alone. Or, what is the source of religious authority? Catholics said the Bible and church tradition. Luther said the Bible and the individual's interpretive conscience are the only guides to faith and life. Or, what is the church? Roman Catholicism tended to identify the church with the clergy, and it elevated religious life and vocation over all others. Protestants said every believer was a priest and that, while clergy was important in church affairs, no man or organization was required to bridge the gap between a believer and God. Yet in history's view perhaps the greatest impact of the Lutheran revolt was not in matters of belief, but rather it was in the way it transformed the social and political face of Europe. For well over 1000 years, Roman Catholicism had been the defining institution in western Europe. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, Catholicism nurtured the flame of civilization, preserved some semblance of order, and was intimately--though not always happily--involved in the creation of today's great nation-states: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and England. The church was joined hip to thigh with the social and political establishment. At base, Protestantism represented a massive challenge to that status quo. Luther's survival--indeed the popularity of his approach to religion--broke the grip of Rome on matters religious, and that destroyed the comfortable structure of European unity. From that point on, all sorts of challenges to the established order were not only possible, but also predictable.
8-112 The Social Impact of Martin Luther II amomentintimetv 2010-01-29 | Lead: In 1525 the peasants of Germany took Martin Luther's teachings on spiritual equality to their logical conclusion and rebelled against their betters. He was not amused. Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan RobertsContent: Because the Roman Catholic Church was so closely allied with the social and political status quo, Luther's critique, which he considered primarily spiritual and theological, took on a life of its own. Soon people began taking his words and applying to them a meaning he did not intend--or more probably in his early political naiveté, did not anticipate. Once uttered, however, words have power and it is not always easy to govern how they will be used. Since the medieval period, the peasants of Europe had periodically rebelled against the economic and social conditions that condemned them to a life of bitter destitution. The early 1500s noted a marked deterioration of peasant circumstances in Germany; crop failures in 1523-24 made matters even worse. Martin Luther's struggle against church authorities was popular among leaders anxious to diminish the power of the church, but especially in the countryside his teachings struck a responsive chord. When his tract "On Christian Liberty" (1520) was read aloud to a peasant population already on the edge of revolution, the results were predictable. The words, "A Christian man is the most free lord of all and subject to none," became a powerful rallying cry. At first Luther supported the peasants' aspirations, but when armed and bloody revolt swept across Germany, the reformer drew back in horror at the whirlwind he had helped unleash.
03-010 Blackout amomentintimetv 2010-01-19 | Lead: At 5:15 PM on November 9, 1965 most of the northeastern United States went dark. The cause? Not a terrorist attack. Not incompetent workers. Not a huge natural disaster. The great blackout was caused by a small metal relay doing exactly what it was supposed to do.Tag: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.Content: The power grid of a modern industrial nation is a highly complex and intricate creation. Different regions demand power at different levels at different times. As a result power is often consumed at great distances from the place it is generated. One city may have a huge demand at the same time another's requirement is relatively meager. The power network is set up to divert surplus electricity from light demand areas to those where the needs are greater. The Great Blackout of 1965 was caused by a relay that performed perfectly. In order to protect the vast generators that produce power, relays are installed at various locations in the power grid to prevent excessive power demands from burning up the dynamos. The relays are set to permit power to flow at a certain levels based on the needs of its particular service area. Two years before the Great Blackout the line between the Sir Adam Beck power station at Niagara Falls and Toronto had been set at 375 megawatts. In the two years since that setting the level of power demand in Canada had gone up but the relay had not been adjusted accordingly, and on November 5th, the demand for a split second, bumped above that set level, the relay made contact, the overloaded power line was taken out of the system. The power from that line was thrown over into four other northward lines overloading them. Two seconds later, with the power lines to Canada shut down, all that power reversed itself and headed south and east toward New York City. It was rush hour.In twelve minutes one of most densely populated areas in the world was plunged into darkness and chaos. 800,000 people were trapped in the subways. 250 flights had to be diverted from JFK airport alone. Half the hospitals in the city had no backup power. Elevators stopped. Huge traffic jams clogged the city streets. Some parts of the region still had no power after twelve hours. Corrections were made to the system so as to avoid such a mishap in the future but the delicate balance of industrial society and its dependence on technology had been demonstrated beyond doubt. In the meantime, robbed of television, movies, and even streetlights, people turned to more civilized pursuits. There were reports that nine months to the day after the Great Blackout, the birthrate in New York City exploded. However, this was not true. As social scientist J. Richard Udry wrote, It is evidently pleasing to many people to fantasize that when people are trapped by some immobilizing event which deprives them of their usual activities, most will turn to copulation.
