Senior Portfolio LEE copy

Dakota Lee
History 400 Senior Portfolio
Fall 2015

Dakota Lee
dlee6@wvstateu.edu
PO BOX 17 OTTAWA, WV 25149 – (304) 785-7743
Profile
High achieving graduate seeking employment as a substitute teacher. Excellent time
management and writing skills. Passionate interest in European history and tracing local
community members’ heritage.
Education
West Virginia State University – Institute, WV
B.A. in History GPA: 3.4 December 2015
RelevantEducation Courses
Human Development Foundations of Ed. Children and Families
Educational Psychology Tech. in the Classroom 50+ Observation Hours
Skills and Interests
 Strong customer service relations
 Gained knowledge of teaching with over 50 hours of student observations and
tutoring
 Regular participant in community service
 Eager to sponsor organizations to bring awareness to history
 Interested in international studies
Work Experience
 Little General Stores – Clothier, WV April 2010 – current
 McDonald’s – Madison, WV April 2009 – October 2009
Awards and Activities
 Current historian for C.E. Jones Historical Society at West Virginia State
University
 Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority Member at Marshall University

Section II: Representative Scholarly Work

“Rocket Boys” Book Review
Homer Hickam’s novel Rocket Boys tells a tale about himself, Sonny, and his
aspirations to better himself from the rest of his town—Coalwood, West Virginia. The
first few chapters of this book gives an insight to the background of Coalwood—the
geography, people, and most of all, mining. The United States is battling what is now
called the Cold War, which was nothing more than a battle between the US and Russia to
see who was better. Russia launches the first satellite, “Sputnik,” and Sonny’s obsession
with rockets then begins.
Sonny gathers a team consisting of his friends; Quinten, Roy Lee, O’Dell,
Sherman, and Billy. Soon enough they start working on their first rocket, which was
ultimately a disaster. The rocket exploded without lifting an inch off of the ground.
However, this only taunted them to work harder and create better rockets.
The trouble with Sonny and his rocket building is that his father doesn’t approve.
His father was a harsh man that felt Homer’s only option was to go into the coal mines
because no one makes it out of Coalwood doing anything better than what a miner does.
Despite the feelings Homer’s father gave him, he set out to keep following his dream.
Rocket building is now a serious matter for the group of friends. It’s taken on a
more serious note, and things even get scientific once they find out their rockets are
getting better and more consistent. They weren’t perfect for the longest time—hitting
buildings, causing fires, and of course, getting them in to a lot of trouble. Along with
trouble comes attention, and along with attention comes support. The town becomes in
favor of these boys and their rocket building, along with the mine, too. Workers at the

mine, such as mechanics and welders, helped as much as possible with advice and giving
them tools to build their rockets.
The rocket boys’ teacher, Ms. Riley, gives them a gift that would change their
lives. Not only is it a book, (books were expensive in this time period) but it was a book
on rocket building. With thorough studying on trigonometry and calculus, the boys were
on their way to building a rocket that would make history for Coalwood.
At this point, the rockets are doing better than they had ever hoped. They were
flying on course at ridiculous lengths (miles). With success, the rocket boys then entered
the county science fair. Not only do they win the county science fair, but they also win
the state level and national science fair. Big Creek High School along with Coalwood,
WV has now made history.
The book ends with the boys gathering up to launch one last rocket together. The
whole town shows up in support, along with Sonny’s father, which was a surprise. As the
last rocket it shot off, Homer’s dad is in awe of what his son has done, and is filled of joy.
He is proud beyond belief, which is really what Sonny wanted all along.
What is so great about this book is that it tells us about the trials and tribulations
of a southern West Virginia mining town. Coalwood was ran by the coal mines to say the
least. Sonny himself felt like it was a trap:
"Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my hometown was at
war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of
bloodless combat over how my brother and I would live our lives. I didn't know
that if a girl broke your heart, another girl, virtuous at least in spirit, could mend it
on the same night. And I didn't know that the enthalpy decrease in a converging

passage could be transformed into jet kinetic energy if a divergent passage was
added. The other boys discovered their own truths when we built our rockets, but
those were mine."
The book is clearly not all about rockets, which is endeavoring to read. Although the
book as a whole is great, Homer isn’t the perfect author. He gets many of his sayings
from other authors and tends to go off subject frequently. This didn’t deter me from the
book in any way though. His courage is what brought me through the whole novel and
kept me interested, along with relating to living in a latter-day coal town.
We all have dreams, just as Sonny did. If Sonny can do it in a small, corrupted
town, then we all can. Not only did he succeed in rocket building, but also his dream
came true to work for NASA, where he became an engineer. Sadly, he was never able to
go in to space, but he did escape the chains of Coalwood. With that being said, I would
highly recommend this book to anyone. One reason is because we all have our own
aspirations and need a little inspiration to achieve them, which is what Rocket Boys will
do. Everyone should love a novel on a mixture of nerds, football players, dysfunctional
families, coal, and regular day citizens. It’s a hard fought life and a great, true story to
read for every one of all book genre lovers.

Art Review – Nazi Propaganda
During World War II (approx. 1938-1945), an event happened that a single person
will never forget, even if they didn’t live during that time—The Holocaust. The
Holocaust was brought on in Nazi Germany when the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler arose and
demanded a change to bring Germany to its natural born state. He was anti-Semitic, thus,
being the reason millions of Jews, Poles, Gypsies, etc. were killed, sending them to the
ghettos and concentration/death camps.
Art played a major role in Hitler’s quest to get the Germans to dislike the Jews
even more. The biggest contribution of all was propaganda. Posters and pieces of art
were displayed all throughout Europe depicting what a Jew “looked like.” Not only was
there art of the Jews, but there was also propaganda of the perfect Aryan race. The
posters of the Aryans showed half-naked women on the beach, pictured so beautifully.
What teenage girl or mother wouldn’t want to look like that? One also shows what an
Aryan family looks like. The father is blonde haired, blue eyed, and muscular, while the
mother is beautiful, and thin with many children. Many illustration books were given to
children, such as The Poisonous Mushroom in which a Jewish man is depicted as a child
molester attempted to lure children in with candy, as shown on the cover. Another
popular piece of work was the original painting for the film The Eternal Jew. One of the
major persuasions was Der Sturmur, a newspaper for the public of Nazi Germany. Not
only did they have their own illustrations daily of Jews, but they also accepted pictures of
artwork to be shown in the newspaper. Children would draw swastikas, or mothers
would paint hideous paintings of a Jew.

By looking at any of these propaganda posters or artworks, it’s understandable
why the German’s were afraid. The art was put together so well that it made you believe
anything. It had a major effect on children, because no matter what country you are in,
children will be children. They believe anything they hear and see.
To understand the Holocaust, you must understand the propaganda. To
understand propaganda, you must understand that it is art. Without the propaganda, this
turn of the war may have not ended up as bad as it did. Hitler would have not succeeded
as greatly as he did without the support of the public, and although the public was very
persuaded by his famous speeches, they were also persuaded greatly by the propaganda.
It is simple that a person does not learn the history of the Holocaust without relating it to
art. Propaganda lead to Kristallnacht, or which most remember as “The Night of Broken
Glass” that happened on November 9-10, 1938. Citizens and pogroms destroyed Jewish
stores, synagogues and homes. Most historians class this night as the beginning of the
Holocaust.
Bytwerk, Randall. “Nazi Posters 1933-1939.” http://www.bytwerk.com/gpa/posters2.htm.
University of Michigan. “Remembering Nazism: Nazi Propaganda.”
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/rememberingnazism/nazi_propaganda
Mickens, Leah. 2008. “Nazi Antisemitic Propaganda.”
http://www.thebreman.org/exhibitions/online/1000kids/propaganda.html
Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida. 1997-2013. “A
Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust.” http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/art2.HTM

Death Camps of the Holocaust
“In the concentration camps, we discovered this whole universe where everyone
had his place. The killer came to kill, and the victims came to die.” Ellie Wiesel could
have not described in simpler terms what the killing centers under Nazi Germany power
were like. Ellie and his father were deported to a concentration/extermination camp
known as Auschwitz. It was by far the most merciless camp as some would say, and also
the most well-known. Most know of Auschwitz—its name and “Holocaust” go hand in
hand. However, some haven’t had the opportunity to be educated on the fact that there
was more than one extermination camp for the genocidal killing of Jews. Besides
Auschwitz-Birkenau, there was Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, and Majdanek.
Chelmno was a camp located approximately 37 miles from Lodz on the Ner
River. It took in mainly Jews from Warthegau, Gypsies from Lodz, and then 7,000 Jews
from the Lodz ghetto. Those that remained in the ghetto were later sent to Auschwitz
concentration camp.
Chelmno was the first camp to use the method of gas chambers with Zyklon B to
kill the Jews. This was the first step in the Final Solution. The camp was divided in two
sections. Schlosslager (manor house) was the camp used for arrival, while Waldlager had
the crematorium and burial sites. Waldlager was located 2.5 miles away from Schloss in
the forest so it couldn’t be detected. The manor house consisted of offices, which
included rooms for undressing and keeping valuables. The killings began on December
8, 1941. It started when the SS officials wore white coats to seem like a doctor or
physician, and would order Jews to remove clothing to take showers. They were told
they needed to clean up so they could be sent to Germany as laborers. They were instead

lead to trucks that could hold about 70 people. A tube was then connected to the exhaust
pipe, leading back into the van. This would kill them, and so conveniently for the SS, the
dead bodies would already be in a vehicle for them to take to Waldlager where they
would be buried. Later in the fall of 1942, the Sonderkommando Jewish group was
forced to dig up the mass graves and burn the bodies because the stench was too great.
The killings at Chelmno lasted from December 8, 1941 until March 1943, and
then again between June-July 1944 for the cleanup of the mass graves. 320,000 lives
were taken in Chelmno, and only seven escaped. (About)
Treblinka II’s killing center was located 50 miles northeast of Warsaw, and a mile
from Treblinka I, the labor camp. The majority of the deportations came from the
Warsaw and Radom districts. While Treblinka II did not produce the most deaths, it
most definitely produced the most gruesome camp. Those who were sent to Treblinka
were only sent there to die—no work, or no selection processes. Unlike being selected at
other camps, everyone was selected to die within six weeks (six weeks was the general
time frame from life to death). It consisted of approximately 150 men that was made up
of German SS and police officials, and a police auxiliary guard unit.
The main train transporting the Jews would first stop at the Malkinia station, and
then it would detach and bring twenty-something odd cars to Treblinka’s killing center.
As soon as everyone arrived, they were separated between men and women/children, and
forced to hand over their belongings. They then had to strip of their clothes and were
lead to a misleading room that said “shower,” which of course was not a shower. It was
the gas chamber that could kills hundreds of Jews at a time (how convenient). Once the
doors were sealed, the Sonderkommando (Jewish prisoners forced to work in the killing

area) allowed the carbon monoxide to travel into the room. After their death, the
Sonderkommando would then have to remove the bodies and take them to their final
resting place—a mass grave. (USHMM)
Treblinka was ordered by the Germans to be dismantled in 1943. Approximately
870,000 to 925,000 Jews perished at the killing center. During the last days of the camp,
the camp authorities were hearing of the Soviet’s moving closer so they killed the
remaining Jews that were still alive. The Soviet troops finally arrived at both the labor
and death camp in July of 1944.
The Sobibor death camp was located three miles west of the Bug River and five
miles south of Wlodawa. It was constructed in 1942 specifically to have mass-murders
of Jews. They were deported from the ghettos of the Lublin district and Germany,
Austria, Slovakia, Bohemia and Moravia. Just like Treblinka, the staff consisted of
German SS and police officials, along with a police auxiliary guard unit that were former
Soviet prisoners of war. The victims were ordered to hand over their belongings, and go
“shower” after being told to undress. While they were sent down a “tube” that connected
to the gas chambers. While going through the tube, women’s hair was shaved off (it
would later be used for flak jackets, mattresses, pillows, etc.). Things are all too familiar
with Treblinka, because in Sobibor the Sonderkommando also had a part in taking the
dead bodies to the mass graves.
In 1942, the German SS was ordered to decease all traces of murder. The bodies
in the mass graves were burned in ovens made from rail track. In addition, they made a
contraption that would completely crush bones and turn it into powder.

Sobibor did produce a successful uprising by the prisoners. With help of military
training in the past, the last 600 victims revolted and killed nearly a dozen camp officials
on October 14, 1943. 300 prisoners managed to escape, but sadly, 100 were caught later
and more than half didn’t live until the end of the war. The camp was torn apart after this
uprising in 1943 and the last of the prisoners were shot. The Soviets liberated the camp,
but nearly 250,000 had already died. (About)
Only two people survived at Belzec. One man was killed in Poland in 1945, and
the other, Rudolf Reder, lived to tell his story:
“About noon the train arrived at Belzec. It was a very small station
surrounded by small houses. . . Dozens of SS men would open the wagons
yelling “Los!” [Get out]. With whips and their rifle butts they pushed
people out. The doors of the wagon were a meter or more above the
ground. Driven out by whips the people had to jump down: everybody,
old and young, many broke their arms and legs falling down. . . The sick,
the old and the tiny children—those who could not walk on their own—
were put on stretchers and dumped at the edge of huge dug out pits—their
graves. . . Irrman talked loud and clear: “You are going now to bathe.
Later you will be sent to work. That’s all.” Everybody was glad, happy
that, after all, they will be working. They even applauded. The men went
straight ahead to a building with a sign “bath and inhalation rooms.” The
woman proceeded 20 meters more to a large barrack about 30 by 15
meters to have their head shaved. They entered quietly not knowing what
to expect. Everyone was silent. . . When eight Jewish barbers entered and

silently automated figures started to shave off hair completely to the skin
with shaving machines, that’s when they realized the truth. They had no
doubts then. . . Suddenly, without even a transition from hope to despair—
came the realization that there was no hope. People began to scream—
women became hysterical, crazed. . . While the women were rounded up
naked and shaved, whipped like cattle into a slaughter house, the men
were already dying in the gas chambers. It took two hours to shave the
women and two hours to murder them. . . I heard the noise of sliding
doors, moaning and screaming, desperate calls in Polish, Yiddish—blood-
curdling screams. . . All that lasted fifteen minutes. . . We began our
assignment. We dragged bodies of people who minutes ago were alive.
We dragged them—using leather straps, to huge prepared mass graves. . .
The storeroom for hair, underwear and clothing of the victims of the gas
chamber was located in a separate rather small barracks. Hair was
collected for ten days. Baskets filled with gold teeth. . . We just
mechanically worked through our horrible existence. Every day we died a
little bit together with the transports of people, who for a small moment
lived and suffering with delusions.” (Berenbaum p. 121-22)
Belzec is located in southeastern Poland between Zamosc and Lvov, along the
Bug River. There is no definite number as to how many died at Belzec. There were
434,508 killed from the districts of Galicia, Lublin, and Cracow. (Berenbaum p.120)
Besides Jews, there were also hundreds of Poles and Gypsies who were murdered. It was

finally overran by the Soviet Union in July of 1944. By this time, not much was left. It
was made completely into a farm land to cover up the mass murders.
Majdanek was located in Lublin along that main highway that connected Lublin,
Chelm, and Zamosc. Its beginning purpose in 1941 was to be a labor camp. The first to
arrive were Soviet prisoners of war. Heinrich Himmler adjusted the camp, which now
implemented Operation Reinhard. It had four purposes: 1) mass murder of Jews residing
in the Generalgouvernement; 2) exploitation of labor of a minority of Jews permitted to
survive temporarily; 3) seizure, evaluation, and recycling for use all personal property
taken from the murdered Jews; and 4) identification and securing of all so-called hidden
assets of the Jewish population. (USHMM) The gas chambers were built between
October 1942 and September of 1943. Both carbon monoxide and Zyklon B were used in
the killing process within the two gas chambers. On November 3, 1943, Operation
Erntefest was in effect; to kill all remaining Jews in Majdanek. This was brought about
because of the Jewish uprising in Sobibor. Himmler was fearing the worst for the rest of
the camps. The shootings on this day received the largest number of one-day-killings.
There were about 42,000 who died.
Soviet forces were arriving so the prisoners of Majdanek were evacuated to other
camps in the west. The Soviet forces liberated Majdanek in July of 1944, finding only
approximately 500 prisoners left. In Majdanek’s three years of operation, between
95,000 and 130,000 died in the system; between 80,000 and 110,000 were killed in the
main camp alone. Many perished from starvation, exhaustion, disease, and beatings.
Auschwitz II, or Auschwitz-Birkenau began in Brzezinka in October of 1941. It
was the largest of Auschwitz I and III, and was also a killing center. Transportations

began to arrive in 1942. Here are the numbers that were deported: Hungary: 426,000;
Poland: 300,000; France: 69,000; Netherlands: 60,000; Greece: 55,000; Bohemia and
Moravia: 46,000; Slovakia: 27,000; Belgium: 25,000; Yugoslavia: 10,000; Italy: 7,500;
Norway: 690. Those numbers do not include the uncounted for, such as other
concentration camps, at a large number of 34,000. Also, 140,000 non-Jewish Poles,
23,000 Gypsies, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and 25,000 others were sent to Birkenau.
(USHMM)
On October 7, 1944, about 700 prisoners who were working the crematorium
caused an uprising because of word they were going to be killed. The prisoners killed
three guards and successfully destroyed the crematorium and the gas chamber near.
Women Jewish workers smuggled all explosives in. The Germans ended up killed almost
all of the prisoners, and the women who supplied the explosives were publicly hanged.
The gassing continued after this, but the camp was later dismantled in 1944 because of
the Soviet forces arriving. All the while, the remaining prisoners were made to move
west to other camps. If a person were to fall behind, complain, or anything that got in the
way of moving onward, they were shot. They suffered from starvation, exposure, and
cold weather during the marches. 3,000 died just during the marches.
Auschwitz I, II, and III were liberated on January 27, 1945 by Soviet forces.
They found 7,000 prisoners that were practically dead, yet alive. Between 1940 and
1945, 1.1 million died at Auschwitz—the largest concentration/death camp in the history
of the Holocaust. (USHMM)
Between the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor,
Belzec, and Majdanek, nearly two-thirds of the whole Jewish population was murdered

during the Holocaust; about 11 million (six million were Jews) in total. 1.1 million
children died. (About) The majority didn’t live to tell their story of the struggles while
being in the death camps like Ellie Wiesel did. He was able to let us in on the terrible
acts of the gas chambers, smell from the crematorium, medical experiments, and their
rations of food, which caused starvation, the cold weather, the shootings, and the torture.
Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know. Washington, D.C.: United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, 1993, 2006.
"Concentration and Death Camps Chart." Concentration and Death Camps Chart. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blchart.htm.
"Holocaust Facts." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005189.
http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/collections-
highlights/who-was-this-woman/belzec.

“Ambiguous Adventure” Book Review
In the beautifully written and almost poetic novel “Ambiguous Adventure,”
author Cheikh Hamidou Kane tells a story of Samba Diallo, a boy living in the Diallobé
country of Senegal, and how his culture, religion, and heritage are all challenged due to
foreign colonists from the West looking to make a change to Diallo’s homeland. In this
book, Kane shows impact of East versus West and religion versus science and what it can
do to a person.
The novel starts out with Diallo being punished by the teacher for not reading the
Word right:
“Now he was holding him by the ear and, cutting through the cartilage of the lobe,
his nails met. Although the little boy had often submitted to this punishment, he
could not hold back a slight groan.”
In his early years, Samba Diallo was a boy of Muslim faith attending a Koranic school. In
the heart of the school was the teacher, who (as stated in the quote above) was a very
stern and strict man. Despite the abuse imposed upon Diallo, the boy was emotionally
attached to the teacher and clung to his every word. The teacher could also say the same
about Diallo, repeating, “Truly, this child is a gift from God.” Something was very
special about the boy, but Kane does not speak much of why this is true besides him
being smart.
Amidst faith and God being the number one priority in the Diallobé’s lives, the
people are faced with trouble. The French colonists want a change of order for the
Diallobé people and education is one. They are given an option to attend a university in
Paris. Diallo’s cousin, the Royal Lady, thinks that it is a good idea for the children to

learn the ways of those that conquered them. However, she is not shy on the fact of what
may happen to them:
“The school in which I will place our children will kill in them what today we
love and rightly conserve with care. Perhaps the very memory of us will die in
them. When they return from the school, there may be those who will not
recognize us.”
How right she ended up being.
While attending the university, Diallo is faced with many upheavals and battles.
At first, his faith is strong and he takes up for his God and beliefs when given the chance;
drinking no alcohol, prays, and speaks the Word. As his stay goes on, things start to
change. He is now challenged with religious nature and secular nature. At this point in
time, the West has started to declare that “God is dead” and that science is alive. Diallo
hears the ways of secularization and witnesses it every day by simply walking the streets
and seeing those that “aren’t alive.” Eventually, Diallo grows old of his faith because of
the constant tear between the cultures, but never fully ignores it until his father writes him
a letter wishing for him to come home. Diallo’s father is aware of the faith he is losing.
When returned home, the teacher eventually dies, and the fool proposes that
Diallo is now the teacher. Diallo denies this, and also denies praying with him at the
teacher’s grave at sunset (which is mandatory). He admits that he does not wish to pray to
God anymore and does not want His presence. The fool then brings out a “weapon” and
everything turns black with Diallo having a conversation with a voice. One can assume
that this is death taking him—something he has wished so long for—out of the
materialistic world that he has been susceptible to for some time.

Overall, I feel that the book was beautifully written, but lacked many features that
create a good book. The first issue is the lack of historical background on the Muslim
faith. Because of this, it was extremely difficult to understand and grasp ahold of. On top
of it being difficult to understand, topics were long and drawn out. What could take six
exchanges of dialogue eventually took four pages. However, some may have found this
necessary to get a better sense of the cultures.
Part I was also a long process. Unfortunately, I wished for the book to end. It
almost felt like the author had a minimum page requirement and eventually ran out of
things to say. Nevertheless, part II of the book was superb. It did not focus on religion as
much and began to show the divide of the western world and the world that Diallo was
used to in Diallobé.
The thing that interests myself is the emphasis on philosophy. It was quite hard to
understand a lot that was being said in the dialogue, but that is only because I am not
familiar with the massive amounts of metaphors and when they were used in terms of a
religion I did not understand. Regardless, the philosophy is what makes it all poetic.
In conclusion to the analysis, “Ambiguous Adventure” can teach many people
(and did teach myself) the struggles of East versus West and religion versus science. It is
good every once in a while to go outside of the [Westernized] box and reveal truth
through those that still feel that nature, religion and traditions come first. Kane deserves
to be applauded for writing such a novel to educate others.

“Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First Century” – Book
Review
Orville Schell and John Delury are both specialists in China’s history. Together
they produced their book, “Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First
Century,” which gives us a closer look at how China rose from being one of the most
humiliated country to one of the most powerful. How can one nation rise while being put
through the worst? Schell and Delury answer this question by going through the powerful
leaders that ruled—starting from Wei Yuan and ending with the communist leaders.
Wei Yuan was the first to be curious about the wealth and power that the West
had. In his first major work, Wei chose to use pragmatic efforts to help China’s issues.
While he did not want to drop Confucian thinking, he understood that these ways were
not fully helping China rise. He then turned to a legalist perspective the focused on
wealth and a strong army.
After Lin Zexu’s efforts to stop the British and their trade of opium, the First
Opium War began. It ultimately resulted in the Treaty of Nanjing, which was the first of
other unequal treaties. This started China’s period of humiliation. Lessons were learned
from this loss, so Wei continued his research and writings. Although he had a major lack
of resources, he left the idea of following in the footsteps of the West. Many after him
would follow this notion.
Feng Guifen found himself in Shanghai to escape the Taiping Rebellion. He took
advantage of being able to speak with those from the West. He learned that China lacked
education, economic development, political legitimacy, and intellectual inquiry. This

proposed Feng’s idea of self-strengthening to better his country. Feng Guifen’s major
contribution was boosting the education system.
One powerful leader was Empress Dowager Cixi. She was mainly known for her
corrupt ways, but she managed to hold her throne for approximately fifty years. She was
there to witness the Sino-Japanese War and the upheaval of the Boxer Rebellion (Cixi
sided with the boxers). Another unequal treaty was signed, the Treaty of Shimoneski,
which added onto the humiliation for China and Empress Dowager herself. After the
devastating loss to the Japanese and the outcome of the Boxer Rebellion, she proposed
western thoughts—abolishing imperial examinations, allowing foreigners inside the
Forbidden City, and used Western reforms for China’s ministries. Unfortunately, she left
China in shambles, as it was fifty years earlier.
Liang Qichao wished to cast China’s old ways of thinking aside and begin
thinking in the ways of the West. After fleeing China to Japan, his journal “New Citizen”
was a hit that gave philosophical views on to why China’s old system needed to be torn
down in order to build a powerful nation. However, his writings went back from
Republican views, to Democratic, to despotism. Although he wasn’t taken that seriously,
future leader Mao Zedong could appreciate his views.
Sun Yat-sen was not a great thinker or writer, but his views were passed on. He
solely believed that China needed Democracy (after spending time in the US), but
understands they could not accomplish it without destruction first. He developed his
“Three Peoples’ Principles” which is what he was widely known for besides creating the
GMD (Nationalist Party).

Chen Duxiu, like Sun, understood that China needed destruction and a whole new
way of thinking. However, he wanted to accomplish this by luring in the youth, so he
wrote “New Youth.” Democracy was his main idea, but he eventually turned to
communism after seeing the Soviets had it made with wealth and power. Chen was the
founder of the Chinese Communist Party—China’s ruling system today.
Chiang Kai-shek was the new leader of the Nationalist party. His goal was to
unify China, which meant taking out the communists. After forming the First United
Front, a civil war eventually broke out. After the Rape of Nanjing and World War II,
Chiang couldn’t be believed. Did he want Democracy? Fascism? Nazism? He was at
times violent and his buttons were pushed easily. We wished for anything that could “fix”
China. Fortunately, his son and Chiang Ching-kuo baffled everyone when they lifted
martial law, allowing opposing parties to come forth, and created free-elections. Chiang
Kai-shek did not impose this firsthand, but if it were not for him, none of this would have
happened. It was the first time China was looked at as a powerful nation.
Mao Zedong was the leader of the CCP that fought against Chiang Kai-shek. He
taught Maoism and the importance of the peasants. In 1949, Mao announced the founding
of the People’s Republic of China. He definitely left a mark on Chinese history, putting
numerous things in to action: the land confiscation and reform, marriage law reform,
joining the Korean War against the US, the agricultural and cooperative movement, the
Hundred Flowers Movement, the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Cultural Revolution, and
the Great Leap Forward that killed nearly 30 million people. Mao finally put China on the
map in political terms when he tied knots with the United States.

Deng Xiaoping, Zhu Rongji, and Liu Xiaobo were all predecessors of Mao
Zedong who brought light to China more than any. Deng launched the first major
economic boom, Zhu added onto the economic boom with a growing economy, and Liu
was China’s first Nobel Peace Prize winner. China finally has wealth and power.
A brief summary has been given on the details of China’s history. For some, it
may not be completely obvious as to how the wealth and power arrived. It almost seems
as though it magically appeared before our eyes. Before, China was looking at other
countries as a means to better themselves. They studied Confucian-scholars and
democratic theories of the West endlessly. As of today, China still has its culture and
managed to step up in the economic and political world with communism. It is
interesting, more importantly ironic, that Western countries are now looking at China to
see how they can be better and step up their game.
Jason Delury and Orville Schell are both accredited men when it comes to this
magnificent book. Schell spent many years in the Far East studying China and its people,
along with studying the war in Indochina. He is also the author of The People’s Republic
and co-author of The China Reader. Delury teaches modern Chinese history and East
Asian relations at Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies and
Underwood International College. He has a BA, MA, and PhD in Chinese History from
Yale University. He is actively involved in foreign relations dealing with China.
Both authors’ intentions for this book are to educate others on how China got to
where it is now. They make a point in the conclusion to justify their humiliation period
with a triumph of power. Without that humiliation, China would more than likely not be
where it is now. Another intention for this book, in my opinion, is to praise China on their

efforts. After many unequal treaties, they still did not give up dreaming of a powerful
nation. I think that other countries would have not put that much effort into such a thing.
Although they pushed their old-time beliefs aside and never stuck with the same plan
between leaders, they managed to rise.
Evidence was clear as ever throughout the book. The authors done a great job at
citing and giving references to go by. Not only did they have many resources to go by,
but the usage of quotations from the Chinese people mentioned brought the evidence to
life. Without these quotations, I could have personally not been able to understand the
book as well. Getting in the minds of the people you read about humbles you and helps
significantly.
I felt as though the authors neglected putting it straightforward on how China rose
to power economically and politically. For someone that cannot read between the lines, it
may be hard to connect the dots. For me, it was a little easier considering I used YouTube
videos to search for what Delury and Schell had to say about their book. The facts are
clear all throughout and they are straightforward, but the main theme of the book is not.
The authors seem to have put a lot of personal opinion into the writing. For
example, when the Communist Party started in China, opinions started to flare. Since
Delury and Schell are both American, it is understandable that they would not side of
communism. However, they admit that communism itself was the deciding factor for the
fate of their country. It’s obvious that the party was a good thing for China! If they
disagreed, they could have at least given more concrete evidence for their belief.
The organization of the book is terrific. It could have not been done any other way
than to organize it by major characters in timeline manner. If it were to be put in any

other way, well, that would be terrible. Each chapter was laid out great and was easy to
read. Frequently, in other books, I will have to reread a sentence or two to completely
grasp what is going on. Thankfully, that wasn’t needed in Wealth and Power.
The contribution of this book is not extraordinary compared to others. Many
historical books include only facts of a certain time period. Wealth and Power on the
other hand includes factual evidence along with answering questions that some would not
think to ask. One great example is the question of what China wants. Schell and Delury
both made it crystal clear what China wanted generations ago—obviously, to be powerful
and looked up to as Britain or Russia was. A lot of other books do not focus on the future.
We’re also able to view what China currently wants in present time and what they want
in the future. They are one of the wealthiest countries now. Will they ever stop climbing
the ladder? The answer is no, unless something horrific happens with their political or
economic system. China is still growing. I thought it was very informative and thoughtful
for Schell and Delury to take the present and future into consideration.
China is currently a booming country, but there is one issue that strikes me.
Should China not have more international responsibilities? I understand that they are still
a “developing country” (they developed for over 300 years—their time is up). However,
they are in the running for one of the richest countries in the world. All power-status
countries contribute to Third World countries. We see it every day living in the US—
constantly seeing on the news where we are sticking our nose into other peoples’
business, or simply helping one of these non-power-status countries. The reason being is
that the US has international responsibilities. China is up there, almost surpassing, the
United States, so they should be taking responsibility too.

Power-status is another concern for the PRC in itself. Many are worried that
China is becoming a threat because of their power-status. One can look back at the
collapse of the Soviet Union when they were always competing with the United States.
China is on the verge of competing. However, it’s not the citizens of the United States
worried about this; the Chinese are. They recognize that their country is in an arm’s race
with the US and its military. They understand that the US is a major superpower that does
not need to be looking at China as a rival, because they could be put in the same position
as the Soviet Union was.
In my own personal opinion, I think that China has a chance at becoming
democratic. When looking at the many other countries that have went from authoritarian
rule to a democracy, China isn’t that different. Their one-party regime will eventually
fade away like the rest. China is also a poor country when it comes to the people. A one-
party regime can easily rule a poor country, but there is a demand in technology, rising
literacy, and rising incomes. This will make it clear that a democracy is the only form of
government to rule a richer country. In other thoughts, China could always have a “happy
ending” to the ruling system and peacefully transition to a democracy.
In conclusion, I would recommend Wealth and Power to anyone and everyone
that wants to know information about China’s rise to power. The book is not only for
lovers of history like myself. Everyone can thoroughly enjoy it. Orville Schell and John
Delury are credible in every aspect. The organization is phenomenal in the way that they
focused on scholars and those at power. If you want to know how China rose to its glory
from the worst depths, or are interested in the future of China, Wealth and Power is a
must.

Reflection of Chosen Work
“Rocket Boys” Book Review:
The book review on “Rocket Boys” was one of the first book reviews I had done as a
history major at West Virginia State University. The paper is free of grammar and
spelling mistakes, and is also in good format. However, there are many areas that could
have shown improvement. At this point as a student, I was unaware of what a book
review actually contained. I also did not analyze it very well. The summary of the book
could have also been more in-depth.
I also took notice to how short the review was. If I remember correctly, the review only
had to be three pages. It is obvious that I did not go above and beyond (more than likely
done only what was necessary). Today, as a senior history major, I have learned that
minimum page limits do not exist when you truly love history.
Art Review – Nazi Propaganda:
Although this assignment was done in an art appreciation class, I feel like it was a
breakthrough for my writing and critical thinking skills. It is very short, but I received
great feedback from my professor on the piece. It is straightforward and to the point with
no errors (to my knowledge). I did not get the opportunity to research anything for the
assignment because I knew what there was to know on the subject of propaganda during
World War II in Germany.

Death Camps of the Holocaust – Research Report:
This was my first major assignment as a history major, and also my first upper level
history course. The report was very enjoyable as it is my favorite topic in history. The
report only had to be five pages, but I began to show my interest in history and show that
you simply cannot write a successful report on the death camps in five short pages. I
managed to go much more in depth and do more research than I generally would for a
report.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed writing this paper, I feel as though I rushed through it a
bit in some place. For example, talking about certain aspects of certain death camps, I
was being repetitive. This was the first assignment where I learned afterwards that I
needed to slow down and take my time when writing.
“Ambiguous Adventure” Book Review:
At this point in my writing, I had a better grasp on how to write a book review. Before
this paper, personal book reviews were stretched out and fluffed. However, this one was
much more on point with what a book review actually contains. I wanted to proceed and
write more than three pages, but I managed to stop myself and keep the length where it
needed to be. Sometimes, less is more, and that was the case with “Ambiguous
Adventure.”
“Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First Century” – Book Review:
During this book review, I began to strive as a student in the history program. Not only
did the length become much longer, but also I began to do more research outside of the

book to gather information. I could have written an average book review without getting
outside sources, but I felt that it was necessary that I gain more knowledge of China
before I continued the report. This method helped me tremendously with the content in
the review. Not only did I have a well-written paper, but also it is evident that I fully
understood what was inside of the book.

Section III: Self-Progress Report

My journey as a student in the history program at West Virginia State University
has been nothing but rewarding in my life. I didn’t understand what it was to have a true
passion for a subject until the knowledge of history was engraved in my mind. When I
first arrived at Marshall University, I had a major in sport management. It was soon that I
learned that I only had a passion for sports in general and not the management aspect.
The next step was to transfer to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical
College where one amazing professor taught me all that he could possibly teach in a
fifteen-week class. This is when I developed my passion for history. Starting at West
Virginia State University I was a social studies education major. The education
department has quite a reputation and teaching others the importance of history led me to
it. However, in all honesty, I had difficulties passing the math portion of the ETS Praxis
exam. For the time being, I picked up history as another major. I haven’t looked back at
the education program since.
With each class I have grown a significant amount in my work. Holocaust
Education happened to be my first upper-level history course, and boy, did it ever feel
like it. The amount of passion that came from the professor was almost poetic. She
brought me into the emotional world of history where I now tend to make my focus when
studying.
My knowledge of history has been expanded a tremendous amount since
attending West Virginia State University. Coming from Boone County, you are very
limited on your knowledge of the outside world. Everyone is set in their traditional ways
and do not even consider expanding their knowledge beyond the small coal mining life. I
tend to not fit in anymore since being in the history program. Taking classes on different

social systems, countries, and religions have taught me to go outside of the box. The
program has definitely taught me to not be close-minded. I have also developed the
thinking that knowledge is everything. This is another reason why I have a passion for
history so much; one cannot simply learn it all. There is always something new to be
researched or to learn.
I feel like I have excelled the most in my writing skills. Of course the professors
in the history department have taught me an incredible amount of writing methods.
However, I cannot let my previous English professors be put on the backburner. The
combination of those in the history department and the English department has allowed
me to show such a huge amount of progress in my work. History has helped me develop
writing good content, while English has helped me develop good grammar and format.
Although still lacking, my research skills have matured quite a lot. My initial
problem at previous institutions was not being forced to do research outside of Google.
While in the history program, I have been made to use the library and scholarly articles. I
am still getting the hang of where to find certain materials and how to navigate through
the methods of research. Regardless of my status previously, I have learned a great deal
on researching, and it will only continue to grow as long as I am still being educated or
educating myself.
One would not think that you could learn something from being in a historical
society, but I can thank the C.E. Jones Historical Society for bringing me closer in touch
with local history. As the historian of the society, I help bring ideas to the table on what
we can do to preserve the history in the Kanawha Valley. At one point we participated in
grave cleanups and ever since I have found a new passion for local history. I have done

cemetery restoration in my local stretch of Spruce Fork (Ottawa reaching to Blair
Mountain) and formed research on my findings. The locals in the area are thoroughly
enjoying what I find, and it feels great that they now depend on me to teach them more
about their area.
Throughout my time at West Virginia State University as a history major, I have
grown as a student, educator and an individual in general. I have been given so many
opportunities to learn what I am passionate about and I have taken advantage of every
one of those. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as a history major and I only plan to
expand my knowledge on the aspects of history even more.

Section IV: Career Plans and Goals

After graduation, I plan to attend Marshall University and receive my Master of Arts in
education. While I am attending I will more than likely substitute teach for Boone County
schools. After graduate school, I plan to teach history at the secondary level. Although
my initial plans are to teach, I would love to be given the opportunity to work somewhere
like Washington, D.C. where I could live the “history dream” every day.

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