Elizabeth's US History Blog

Guns and Bombs    In an article written by CNN on this day (March 8, 2018) they say " There has been, on average, 1 school shooting every week this year" which is obviously a problem. But guns aren't the only weapons being used for mass murders. On May 22, 2017, a bomber outside the Manchester arena not only took his own life but took 22 others along with him. While the main debate today is on gun control, guns aren't our only problem. The bomb this man used was hand made, proving that taking away our weapons won't stop the attackers in these events. To be perfectly honest I don't know what our options are when it comes to stopping the violence our world is currently facing. We could start this debate in many ways whether its blaming the event on a mental illness or saying we should just take away weapons in general, either way its nearly impossible for one side to get their way. The problem with this debate is the ...

The History of the Circus           In this essay I would like to tell the story of the first circus and its leaders and growth overtime. The first circus was created by Philip Astley, who is now known as “The Father of the Modern Circus”. Astley was a horse-breaker and trainer in the war so his knowledge with animals came to be very useful with his new show. The building he used for his performances was a circular arena that he titled “The Circle”, which later was called the ring. “The circle” in latin is the circus, foreshadowing the name of his show. (source 1).   On January 9, 1768 Astley staged the first modern circus in London. He drew up a ring and invited the public to see him wave his sword in the air while he rode with one foot on the saddle and one on the horse’s head. His trick riding received such a favorable response that he  hired acrobats, rope-dancers, jugglers, and later added clowns. In 1770 Astley built a roof over his ring ...