Developement of Zoos

For our second quarter final project, we got to pick an area of impact on urban life from around 1880-1920. I picked the development of zoos. According to National Geographic, "a zoo is a place where animals live in captivity and are put on display for people to view. The word “zoo” is short for “zoological park.” Zoos contain wide varieties of animals that are native to all parts of the Earth." 

Throughout the past few weeks we have been studying migration and the affects it had and is having on the United States. If it wasn't for immigration, zoos might not have become as popular as they are or might not have opened in the U.S. at all. The first ever zoo was opened in Austria in 1752. It is still open today and was opened a little over 100 years before the first one in the U.S. Some of the largest groups of immigrants were from Austria and known as Austrian-Americans. It is thought that this is one of the reasons for the development of zoos, especially because of when they opened. Keeping this in mind, it doesn't come as a shock to see that the largest groups of these people could be found in New York, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, New Jersey, and Ohio considering a majority of the first zoos opened in these areas.

The first zoo to open in the United States was the Philadelphia Zoo. The zoo was originally planning to open on March 21, 1859 but the outbreak of the Civil War put a pause to this idea. As a result, the gates did not officially open to the public until July 1, 1874. Under the care of Dr. William Camac, a founding father of the zoo and a local physician at the zoo, 813 animals came to call the Philadelphia Zoo home. Within the first year of opening, the zoo had around 228,000 visitors. 

So, you are probably asking yourself, why did it take a hundred years to build a zoo? The answer, it didn't. Before the 1850's people had very little leisure time. Most people spent from sun up to sun down working and if they weren't working, they were sleeping. With the technological advances made in the early nineteenth century, the amount of physical bodies needed in a workspace was greatly reduced and thus, people had time to actually fill. 

After the first zoos were so successful, people began to see the importance behind them. They provided a fun activity to do during free-time and time to spend with their families but it actually went farther than that. The zoos provided another source of education to the public, helped to promote and encourage advances in the scientific field, and helped increase the awareness and protection of the animals and their habitats. 

In 1924, the United States formed the AZA. AZA is an organization known as American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. AZA is just the shorthand way of saying American Zoos and Aquariums. The mission of AZA was to advance the conservation of these animals and their natural habitats, provide a new form of and advance education, advance the sciences, and increase the amount of recreation at zoos. 

The development of zoos also helped out the cities surrounding them. Most zoos were extensions of existing cities or suburban parks but there were also some that were built from scratch. Because of the location of most of the zoos, the cities were "put on the map" or, if they're name was already fairly popular, the city became the talk of the time. This also means that local businesses also became places that tourists attended, such as restaurants, and helped to keep the city thriving. A few other zoos that opened around the time of the Philadelphia Zoo are the Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens that opened in Chicago, IL in 1868 and Rodger Williams Park Zoo that opened in Providence, RI in 1872.

Each of the  animals was obtained in its own unique way. Once the zoos became extremely popular to the people, the public began to donate some of them. This was done either by donations of money, donation of the animal itself, or just the money that the people paid to get into the zoo. Some animals also came from commercial animal trades or zoo-sponsored collecting expeditions. This not only changed what types of animals could see at the different zoos but it also shaped the way the animals were seen through the eyes of the pubic. 

original zoo in austria

original cages at first zoos

National AZA logo

map of zoos in US

entrance sign to the Philadelphia Zoo

American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums

• I used this website to get information on the AZA organization. 

National Geographic

• I used this website to get the definition of a zoo to set up my paper and to clarify it for myself.

University of Pennsylvania

• I used this website to find out where animals came from and why zoos had such an impact on the urban societies. 

Philadelphia Zoo

• I used this website to gather additional information on the opening of the Philadelphia Zoo.

The Philadelphia Zoo

• I used this website to get information on the Philadelphia Zoo from the idea of building a zoo to after the zoo's opening. 

Information on Early Zoos

• I used this website to find where early zoos were located in cities as well as the locations of other zoos. 

Austrian-Americans

• I used this website to get information on the immigration of people from Austria into the U.S. 

Zoo in Austria

• I used this website to get information about the first zoo in Austria. 

Migration, Race, & Genetics

Today in class we completed researched about migration worldwide. To me, it was interesting to see how we automatically assume peoples' race by the way they look and more than half the time are completely wrong. On a page published by pbs, you were given a group of 20 people with 5 categories containing 4 slots. You then had to determine what race the person was based on their looks. I was shocked at how different my answers were than the actual ones. On the same website, that same group of 20 people where then shown divided by fingerprint type, blood type, and even darkness/lightness of their skin tones. There was also a page on the website that showed how the views of race have changed over the years and how the idea of "race" didn't develop until recent years. It talked about how when slavery existed, the concept of race did not exist. On a second website there was an interactive map of the world. As I began to click on country to country it showed me where the majority of the immigrants came from to the country and how many immigrants there were. I was shocked to see how some of the least expected places provided the largest amount of people to a country. For example, India, followed closely by Poland, provide the greatest number of immigrants to the United Kingdom. I think the biggest thing that stood out to me though, is that you really never know a person's story till you ask.

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Philanthropy @ Work

So, lately we've been learning about philanthropy. We tied it into our last unit because most of the people in the 19th century that actually went places in life were philanthropists. At first I didn't really see how it differed from charity but now I know... You can't have philanthropy without the charity. You have to have a place to start (charity) and then you continue to grow awareness of the cause and help make the situation better (philanthropy). As it was so wisely said in class, charity is the now but philanthropy is the vision. If I were ever able to make enough money to consider being a philanthropist I would put a lot of my time and effort into the diabetes field. Being a diabetic myself I realize just how close the cure is but see the areas we are lacking in. I would also put my time into getting the world back to how it once was. When there weren't homeless pets or starving children. A place where everyone felt at home.

Survival of the Fittest?

Today in class we decided to discuss Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection. We were then sent off on our own to use primary sources to investigate these theories in practice. The Bradley Martin Ball provided one of the best examples for this. We were then given a list of links and questions from Mrs. Lawson to go along with the exercise. Just by clicking on the first link I can tell that the ball was a big deal. The entire page is strictly about the ball and let me tell you, the article is long. The editors of the paper have assumed that the readers of this article are of a higher class. Thus, the reader understands the ball's importance and what a grand accomplishment it was/is. The perspective of the paper is just an outside looking in. It discusses the background behind the party up until the point of the party. A second link took me to a completely different article regarding the ball. In this article, the ball is made out to be very lavish and beautiful. We are walked through the event from start to finish and not a bitter word was said regarding the party. From this article we can learn that of those who could "afford" to attend the ball, it was a night to remember. From a third article we get the feeling that maybe the ball wasn't so lovely after all. The article focuses on a clergyman. In the article it is quite obvious that he views elaborate displays like this as inappropriate and against the moral beliefs set by the church. He also states that with parties like this it is easy for drama to be stirred up such as discontent and casting out the votes against the existing of social conditions. This article was most likely published to show those around him that a man of a higher standing doesn't agree with the practices of the higher classes and that "bigger" isn't always perfect.... From a fourth and final article we are given an insiders view on the end of the ball. From this, we can learn that even then, looks were everything. A person had to be just the right size and spend just the right amount of money in preparation for the party in order to fit in. We also learn that people's sense of timing hasn't changed a bit and that they lack in the field of communication just as much as we do today.

Thinking About Success

In class today we were given a challenge, rank the four following words in order of importance to success. The words are: luck, opportunity, skill, and hard work. In my opinion, the order should go as hard work, skill, opportunity, and then luck with hard work being most important and luck being least important. Here's why I put them in that order. Hard work comes first because skills can't be developed overnight. There are plenty of successful people in the world who weren't "great" at their craft originally but stuck with it and then came out more successful than most. Skill comes second because sometimes it takes more than just hard work and determination. Opportunity comes third because sometimes you need that extra boost to get to where you want to be. And finally, luck, because when all else fails you might get lucky and make millions.

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Industry: The Clothing Market

Have you ever stopped to think about how clothes get on the racks in the stores? I'm not talking about how they are made or what sort of transportation is used to get them from the factory to the store. I'm talking about the people behind the clothes. Well, I'm going to be honest.... I don't think it ever really crossed my mind. I guess I knew it took people to get the job done but I didn't realize how big of a role they played. In an article published within the past 5 years I discovered exactly what it meant to work in the fashion industry. There are people designing the clothes, choosing how many of each item to make, how many stores the clothes will go to, making sure the clothes get from place to place, making sure the clothes meet company standards, and keeping track of the "it" clothes to know how to arrange their inventory. On top of all that you have to have the people actually in the factories to produce the clothes and someone to create the business itself. In a second article written about H&M the author discusses how the business has been able to be so successful all these years. It had never occurred to me how much thought or planning went into my shirt or jeans. I guess it just has to do with the fact that I've always had a change of clothes to pick from in the morning and I've never had to worry about what I'm going to wear. It was shocking to me how many warehouses and production offices and buildings there are around the world for just one store. Think about how many different stores there are that have completely different looks for the same time of the year. Okay, now multiply that number by 2 or 3 and thats not even the total number of factories. That's insane! So, my challenge to you is this: next time you go to put on a pair of jeans, shoes, a shirt, socks, or even a scarf, take a minute and just think about all the people it took to get that one article of clothing to you.

http://www.citylab.com/work/2012/03/how-us-companies-decide-where-build-their-chinese-factories/1412/

Perspective of Indians in 1887

So today, 10/27/15, in the U.S. History classroom, we decided to take another look at Indians. This time though, we used an online textbook from 1887 and read a few pages from it. We were also told to find some reliable definitions for two words...

savage- fierce, ferocious, cruel, and untamed

savagery- an uncivilized or barbaric state or condition

At first, we were supposed to just read pages 18-21. After reading this, Indians seem to be majestic and honorable. Of all the things I've ever read about Indians this was definitely the most positive. Then we were told to search for the word savages and read the blurbs that popped up. These blurbs, from the same text, had an entirely different view on Indians. We were then told to talk about how this textbook would've shaped our view on Indians if we were studying during that time. Before I read the blurbs I would've said these men (and women) were people of great character and that we should've just left them alone. After reading the blurbs I still stick with that statement. The whites came in and took over something that rightfully belonged to the Indians and they did nothing to deserve the hatred and the fighting that came with the invasion of the whites.