What I do between political posts

[Larry P.]

AMERICAN IMMIGRANT SOLDIERS IN WORLD WAR I

BY
LAWRENCE L. PASCIUTTI

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the
B.A. requirements for the degree of
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN HISTORY

St. Joseph's College, Patchogue, New York
Spring 2004

Introduction

Generally historians describe the contribution of American's military to the Great War similar to those of Canada, honorable but not decisive. America's late entry into the war came at a time when the outcome was nearly decided. Germany had been nearly defeated militarily ultimate victory was no a question of if but rather when.
In fact, American military contributions were vital to the allied victory. The German army was by no means a defeated force and was more than capable of defeating the allies. Throughout the War by use of superior arms and tactics the Germans had conducted multiple offensive operations and inflicted of greater casualties than they suffered. German military success was ended when American forces were moved to the frontlines. Acting against the wishes of the British and French military commanders. Gen. Pershing used the AEF as an independent American army commanded by American officers and defeated German forces.
At the beginning of the War the American military was a less than formidable one. The regular Army consisted of a force of less than 200,000 men. To raise the manpower need for the European conflict the Federal government instituted a military draft, the first one since the Civil War. Many of these draftees were newly immigrated to America or at most were the sons of new immigrants. Despite this these men were to prove more than a match for the professional soldiers of Germany. These "new American" would fight with a esprit de corps that proved to be both surprising and at times disturbing to their German enemies. they would become a vital and decisive factor in the allied victory over the Central powers.

Go ahead gentlemen tear it apart. All comments are welcome.

Go ahead gentlemen tear it apart. All comments are welcome.

[ 04-03-2004, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Larry P. ]

[JayBoat95]

Oh come on now, are you asking us to edit your homework assignment for you?

[NormMessinger]

It must be pretty good if all we can critique is the spelling. They missed a capital T, too.

My quickly formed impression is favorable. I'd read more.

[Larry P.]

Ok Donn I ran it through word's spell check. I found one.

And no I'm not asking for you guys to edit, well maybe I am oh well any comments are optional but apreciated.

[Larry P.]

Thanks Norm, if no one objects I'll post chapters as I complete them. I'm working on the first chapter now.

[ 04-03-2004, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: Larry P. ]

[Bruce G]

Generally, historians describe the contribution of American's military to the Great War similar to those of Canada, honorable but not decisive. America's late entry into the war came at a time when the outcome was nearly decided. Germany had been nearly defeated militarily ultimate victory was not a question of if, but rather when.
In fact, American military contributions were vital to the allied victory. The German army was by no means a defeated force and was more than capable of defeating the allies. Throughout the War by use of superior arms and tactics, the Germans had conducted multiple offensive operations and inflicted greater casualties than they suffered. German military success was ended when American forces were moved to the frontlines. Acting against the wishes of the British and French military commanders. Gen. Pershing used the AEF as an independent American army commanded by American officers and defeated German forces.
At the beginning of the War, the American military was a less than formidable one; the regular Army consisted of a force of less than 200,000 men. To raise the manpower need for the European conflict the Federal government instituted a military draft; the first one since the Civil War. Many of these draftees were newly immigrated to America or at most were the sons of new immigrants. Despite this, these men were to prove more than a match for the professional soldiers of Germany. These "new American" would fight with a esprit de corps that proved to be both surprising and at times disturbing to their German enemies. They would become a vital and decisive factor in the allied victory over the Central powers.

I hope you don't mind the changes in your introduction. I added some comas and combined a few sentences.

6% passive voice- very good

My only concern is the sentence that is highlighted. This statement does not flow with the rest of the context of your introduction. It is as if the items you state in your thesis do not matter, for it was a forgone conclusion. That statement may need to revised or taken out completely if you are wanting to place the emphasis on the items that follow.

It is written on a higher scale and should be complemented. If you would like for me to read over any more of it just email me.

Bruce G.

[buhmkin]

It leaves me wondering where it's going to go next. I can think of a few places it might.

I always take that as a good sign in the early drafts of a thesis.

And spelling, well , it's quite a while from the end result yet to be worried about that, naturally.

[Larry P.]

Thank's Donn, I think that one was a forest for the trees situation. [img]redface.gif[/img]

The punctuation is a work in progress.

OK Bruce I see what you mean. The context is that the general belief is that America's late entry into the war is the reason that America's effort was less than decisive when it fact the opposite is true.

I need to rework that.

[ 04-03-2004, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: Larry P. ]

[JimD]

The Great War is often regarded as Canada's ordeal by fire that was our passage into independent nationhood. Although our contribution was modest compared to the larger beligerents it was, relative to our population and industrial capability at the time quite a mighty effort for a country of limited resources.

[Larry P.]

Jim this paper is not intended nor should it be construed in any way to detract from the services of Canadian forces. The staement mad in the introduction summarizes the work of other historians and their views and state my dis agreement as far as American forces (more accuratly US forces).

The Canadian troops were remarkable in their service especially in actions such as Vimy Ridge but that's another thesis.

[JimD]

Jim this paper is not intended nor should it be construed in any way to detract from the services of Canadian forces

I didn't take it that way, Larry [img]smile.gif[/img]

[J. Dillon]

Larry,

I'd be very intrerested in your publication.

My dad served in the great war with the 27th Infantry division from NY which was activited. I still have his honorable discharge papers which lists the outfits he served with. He was the son of an Irish imigrant. I also got a piece of aluminumn that my dad swore came from Red Baron.s plane after it was shot down. I don't know how my dad got it. Maybe some Aussie traded or sold it to him.

Good luck in your thesis.

JD

[Bruce G]

Here is but a part of a paper that I finished last weekend:

Supervisor Leadership Analysis
Effective leadership in any environment is an awesome undertaking, for a supervisor needs to understand and utilize an array of leadership strategies in order to be successful. An educational supervisor must obtain the abilities to not only lead the students, but the faculty and staff as well.

Style of Supervision

Mr. Smith, Assistant Principal of Holdland High School exhibits traits from a cross section of administrative thought. Through observations of Mr. Smith’s actions, interactions, and prioritizations one may conclude that multiple instances he utilizes the classical period’s doctrines.

During the Classical Organizational Period, (COP) importance was placed upon the defining roles of individuals in industry. The theorists would have identified with the hackneyed expression ‘Everything has a place and everything in its place,’ for through their defining and categorical efforts they created designated boundaries for the personnel and communication systems within any organization.

The initial theorist of the COP was Fredrick W. Taylor. Taylor proposed a new system in which to categorize administrative thought and expectations. He organized his theory of scientific management into four defining roles/principles of the work atmosphere:

1. Scientific Job Analysis. Through observation, data gathering, and careful measurement, management determines the “one best way” of performing each job. Such job analysis would replace the old rule-of-thumb method of doing things.
2. Selection of Personnel. Once the job was analyzed, the next step was to scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop workers. In the past, workers chose their own work and trained themselves.
3. Management Cooperation. Taylor suggested that managers should cooperate with workers, to ensure that all work being done was in accordance with the principles of the science that had been developed.
4. Functional Supervising. Taylor recognized a division of work between managers and workers. Managers assumed planning, organizing, and decision-making activities, whereas workers performed their jobs. In the past, almost all work and the great part of the responsibility were thrust on the workers (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2003, p. 5-6).

Aspects of Taylor’s theory are revealed in Mr. Smith’s comments about key items in leading a staff. Mr. Smith acknowledges that “Structure is a key as well. You need to have your mind structured in such a way that every decision you make is for the betterment of the student and the district” (personal communication, March 15, 2004).

Taylor’s scientific theory was refined by many other theorists who would add to or modify certain items, such as Henri Fayol, and Luther Gulick.

Fayol wanted an even more precise categorization of managerial duties and created a list of fourteen principles in which managers were to abide.

Luther Gulick later modified Fayol’s work by who formulated Fayol’s fourteen principles into a more palatable theoretical “acronym POSDCoRB, which identified seven functions of management: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting” (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2003, p. 6).

Through observations of Mr. Smith’s actions throughout the year and personal communications, one finds that he focuses on the POSDCoRB function of management as well. Mr. Smith exclaims that it is very important to:

Have a good eye for hiring the correct person, and finding the correct person to do the job. Know how to delegate. If you know how to properly delegate items to your staff, you will find that you are not overloaded with to-do lists; all you will need to do is follow up on items to make sure they are completed not only on time, but also correctly …. The most important is to know your budget and your funds. More people get fired over money issues than anything else. You cannot be an effective leader if you get fired (personal communication, March 15, 2004).

Each of these afore mentioned individuals made a great impact upon the classical period; however, it was Max Weber who was one of the most influential (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2003, p. 7). Weber created the concept of bureaucracy, which is a culmination of his forbearers’ works with strict structural and communication guidelines in place. Every member of the organization knew what they were and were not permitted to do, or what decisions to make. Communication was from the top (administration) down (workers), with impersonality ruling all interactions. Like a well-oiled machine, a bureaucracy, in theory, will create a working environment that runs in harmony and productivity will be increase.

Mr. Smith’s action and comments also reveal his understanding and respect for the bureaucratic approach. Mr. Smith plainly states that an administrator must “Know the chain of command; it does not help you or your career to break the chain of command” (personal communication, March 15, 2004).

Mr. Smith’s style of supervision can also be marked with the humanistic approach. The humanistic approach looked at the likes and dislikes of the people in the companies employ. For example, the Hawthorne studies consisted of many tests and manipulations, two of which were the Relay Assembly Test, and Relay Assembly Group. Both tests gave way to a new train of thought, as stated by Lunenburg and Ornstein (2003, p. 9)

Researchers discovered that the improvement in productivity was due to such human-social factors as morale, a feeling of belongingness, and effective management in which such interpersonal skills as motivating, leading, participative decision making, and effective communication were used.

Multiple times throughout the interview, Smith mentioned that a supervisor must ensure that he/she looks out for the wellbeing of the staff. He believes that “a happy faculty is a productive faculty” (personal communication, March 15, 2004).

Through inclusion techniques, Smith believes that he has the opportunity to unite the districts beliefs, attitudes, and values to those of the teachers. Smith understands the mindset of the people in his employ, so he utilized this inclusion strategy years ago when assisting in the development of a new district vision and mission statement. At no time did he forget “If we would have just handed down a cookie cutter vision and mission statement then no one would have believed in it, they would have had an indifferent attitude towards it, and not valued it at all” (personal communication, March 15, 2004).

Fun stuff huh

[Larry P.]

Ok bruce I wont complain about my thesis any more.

What was your paper for a class or for work purposes.

[Bruce G]

It was for a class- Educational Leadership. This is only about the first 4 pages of the Leadership Analysis--- it sure is a page turner