All For the Gram 

In 2010, the social media world was changed forever. It all started when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger joined forces and came up with the idea for a free photography app. Systrom was already working on an app called Burbn which would allow people to check in on their mobile phones. He was able to meet with venture capitalists firms to secure funding, and after 2 weeks he quit his job and raised $500,000. Systrom then decided he needed a partner and that is when he found Mike Krieger. They both focused on the main point of Instagram which is to post, comment, and like pictures and developed what we know as one of the most popular cell phone apps. 

The two got the name for "Instagram" by combining Instant Camera and Telegram. The app was launched in October of 2010 and by the end of the year it had over 1 million users. The main feature of Instagram is that it lets you share pictures for all of your friends and family to see while editing them in trendy ways with filters. During the next two years, Instagram developed more features such as hashtags, new filters, photo maps, and more. 2012 was a big year for the app as the founders decided to launch it for Android phones users and eventually Facebook bought the company for $1 billion. By the end of 2013, Instagram was wildly successful with over 150 million users and with another new feature of private direct messaging on the app. In 2014, the creators chose to update the Android version of Instagram as well as new software that allows people to use the app without Internet connections. The following year, 2015, Instagram underwent multiple change such as layout, picture sizes, and changing the profile picture from a square to a circle. The app continued to grow at a fast speed with 500 million users by mid-2016 and currently has over 1 billion users. 

In recent years, Instagram has gone above and beyond with promotional ads, stories, and their own version of TV called IGTV. Near the end of 2018, both Kevin Systrom, CEO, and Mike Krieger, Chief Technology Officer, parted with the company to explore new adventures. Instagram has changed the way people communicate with each other for almost 10 years now. We are able to upload a picture with the touch on a phone screen for millions of people to see. We can share videos, comment on a picture that was posted halfway across the world, and be involved in the social media community. People are able to promote their businesses or connect in a professional way on the app. Systrom and Krieger created one of the most innovative apps in existance and forever changed the way that people connect with each other.

Sources:

https://thenextweb.com/magazine/2013/06/21/instagram-a-brief-history/

https://internetbusiness-howto.com/brief-history-of-instagram

https://medium.com/@obtaineudaimonia/how-instagram-started-8b907b98a767

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/24/technology/founders-of-instagram-resign/index.html

The Crash of the 20th Century

We all know about the Great Depression and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, but what was it really? Some people just assume that it randomly happened one day in October but it started before that. It began in March 1929 when Herbert Hoover became president and lowered the top income tax rate from 25% to 24%. Then, in August of 1929, the energy from the Roaring 20s hit its peak and started to fizzle out, and the Federal Reserve raised the discount rate from 5% to 6%. These lead up to a day called Black Thursday where the market fell 11% right off the bat. The market that day ended at only 2% loss but then Black Monday hit. The market fell again at 13% and people started to panic. The third wave of the crash was Black Tuesday and the market lost another 12% and sold a record of 16 million shares. 

After the crash, the entire country was devastated. People lost their businesses, houses, savings, and more. More than 600 banks failed at this time leaving people with no way to get their money. Due to the failure of banks, money supply decreased dramatically and the value of the dollar increased. Matters only got worse in 1930 when Hoover signed a tariff act into effect to help people, but it ultimately backfired and international trade began to fall apart. In addition, a drought hit 23 states which has become known as the Dust Bowl. The drought kept farmers from being able to produce enough food to feed themselves and others. On top of all these things in the country happening, unemployment was rising to 15% by 1931 and the economy continued to shrink. By the end of 1932, the Dow hit a bottom number of 41.22, dust storms destroyed the Mid-West, unemployment reached 23%, and the economy shrunk by 27% since August of 1929. 

Things started to get better when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected into office. He started with the New Deal which basically saved the country and economy. This New Deal cut government spending on things, ended Prohibition, and created millions of jobs. While Roosevelt was saving the economy, natural disasters were still hitting the country. 1934 had the worst dust storm on record, 29 days with record high temperatures of 100+ degrees Fahrenheit, and the national debt hit $27 billion. From 1934 to 1938, the United States experienced the worst crisis imaginable. No money, no jobs, no economy. Heat waves and dust bowls hit the country and debt was sky high reaching $37 billion. However, Roosevelt launched so many acts during the New Deal that the economy began to turn around. Franklin Roosevelt even went into a third term as president when World War 2 started. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression were historical events in the 20th century that effected this country for many generations.

Sources:

https://www.thebalance.com/stock-market-crash-of-1929-causes-effects-and-facts-3305891 

https://www.thebalance.com/great-depression-timeline-1929-1941-4048064

The Women Behind the Vote

1920 is a famous year in American History. It was the first year in which all women were allowed to exercise their right to vote. It was a 100 year fight that the women finally won. In the beginning, around 1820-1830, many reform groups were being created where women were able to voice their opinion. One of the first largest movements was the Seneca Falls Convention in New York in 1848. After the Civil War ended and many amendments were added to the Constitution such as giving black men the right to vote, women across America were enraged. Near the end of the 19th century, 2 groups called the National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association were combined making the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Through activist movement, protests, hunger strikes, and more, women were finally granted the right to vote on August 18, 1920 when the 19th Amendment in the Constitution was ratified. But who was behind this entire movement?

Some of the most famous women associated with the Women's Suffrage movements are Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Ida B. Wells. Susan B. Anthony was born to a Quaker family and became a teacher before becoming a famous activist and leader of the NAWSA. In the 1850's, Anthony started campaigning for women's rights and against slavery. She was a firm believer that no right should granted unless it is granted to both men and women. Susan B. Anthony actually worked with Elizabeth Stanton and established the Women's New York State Temperance Society, the New York State Women's Rights Committee, and the American Equal Rights Association in 1866. Susan B. Anthony passed away before she was able to legally vote but is remembered as one the most famous women's suffrage activists. 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a famous activist who worked with Anthony. She was born in New York in the early 1800's. She was exposed to the inequality between men and women when she was turned away from an abolitionist convention for being female. Stanton then joined the suffrage movement and worked with other activists and helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention in New York. Stanton voiced her opinion that laws for marriage and divorce should be reformed, women should have more access to education, and there should be less restrictions on clothing. Elizabeth Cady Stanton also passed away before the ratification of the 19th Amendment but is a famous women's suffrage figure in history. 

Alice Paul is another important figure and is known for leading the "militant wing" of the suffrage movement. Paul was born to a Quaker family in New Jersey and got her feet into the movement quickly. After 2 years with the NAWSA, she helped co-found the Congressional Union and eventually founded the National Women's Party. Paul endured the pain of imprisonment, hunger strikes, and force feedings to gain publicity for the movement. Alice Paul was a huge driving force in ratifying the 19th Amendment.

Lucy Stone is another famous women's suffrage activist and abolitionist. She was a rebel at an early age by going to college against her parents' wishes. In 1847 she actually became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a Bachelor's degree. Stone started working with the American Anti-Slavery Society which led her to her passion for public speaking. Later in 1868 she cofounded the State Women's Suffrage Association of New Jersey and eventually became the president of the organization. One thing Stone is famous for is refusing to take her husband's last name after getting married. Lucy Stone was an incredible activist who portrayed equal rights in her own life as well as her work.

Lastly, Ida B. Wells was a woman born into slavery but freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Wells and her family faced lots of discrimination and prejudice in their lives but they rose above it. Wells' father was on the board of trustees at a university and this is where she received early schooling. She soon began writing for news paper about race issues and politics in the South. Ida Wells launched a crusade for anti-lynching laws and worked to expose the harsh life as an African American in the South. She fought hard for her cause until she died in 1931. These 5 brave and courageous women helped America get to where we are today. Although we still have a lot more to do, we must remember the women who started this cause.

Sources:

https://www.biography.com/activist/susan-b-anthony

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/alice-paul

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/women-who-fought-for-the-vote-1

https://www.biography.com/activist/lucy-stone

https://www.biography.com/activist/ida-b-wells

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage

Who Rules the Court?

In 1789, the Supreme Court was established and the court system of America was changed forever. The Supreme Court is known as the most powerful judicial body on planet Earth. Nine justices make up the Supreme Court and to get here you must be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. An average term for a justice is 16 years but typically lasts longer. Since the establishment of the Supreme Court, there have been over 100 justices. 

What makes this court so powerful is that they have the ability to the tell the President, Congress, and the States what they can and cannot do. The Supreme Court also has what is called original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction. Original jurisdiction states that the Supreme Court is the first and only court to hear cases. However, the Constitution limits this jurisdiction to matters between states, or regarding ambassadors/high-ranking ministers. Appellate jurisdiction is the authority the Supreme Court is granted to review the decisions of lower courts.

Around 7,000 cases arrive at the Supreme Court each year and only about 100-150 cases are accepted. Most of these cases arrive as petitions for "certiorari" meaning written arguments to persuade the Supreme Court that a ruling in a lower court was incorrect. Justices and their law clerks will sit down and review cases then decide which ones to accept. The case then has to be voted on by all 9 justices. Four out of nine votes are needed to accept a case, and five out of nine votes are needed to grant a stay. The inner workings of the Supreme Court have been built over the last 200 years. This court protects citizens against federal and state power and will continue to do so. 

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8qSuWxcG8&t=622s

https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/supreme-1