Smallpox affected every aspect of life in the 18th century. What was most interesting to me is how it even affected laws and our relationship with the government. For example, Washington having to decide if the troops should get inoculated, and ports in South Carolina closing business due to outbreaks. It also affected society, too, with people both being in favor of inoculation and those opposed to it as well.

Diseases are incredibly fascinating to study and I think a huge benefit is that diseases in general have always existed. Whether you're talking about smallpox or covid, people can relate to it. It was interesting to see how people back in the 18th century rejected inoculation just as we have many people against the covid vaccine today. I think there's also the benefit though of seeing how medicine has grown and changed over time; where we've come from to how we're able to do things today. I'm not sure that I can think of a drawback. Perhaps that some diseases can be seen as "old fashioned" and therefore not relevant by some? I honestly think studying diseases over history and connecting to today is incredibly valuable/

The dishwasher itself it but one piece of machinery. As this module discussed, machines and their production have changed over the years. Going into WWII, companies had to switch to war production, and then back to civilian goods when the war ended. The war did change the role of women as well. Women were often the ones making the machines while the men were fighting, then later using these other machines when the men came back from war. Machines in general have always been a part of human life.

I teach the Cold War so I am fortunate to already have a decent understanding about it. What I really enjoy about these modules is the use of primary sources. I love the photographs, and in this one, I especially loved the Kitchen Debate. One interesting thing of note about machines and the Cold War is that while the Russians were more technologically more advanced in some ways (like space exploration), machines like the dishwasher were would have remained luxuries in the Soviet Union for a while after they had become common place in the U.S. Even to this day Russia is a little behind the U.S. in development. I also thought it was interesting to see how the U.S. was producing goods being sent to Europe after WWII as well. It's just interesting to think about machines connecting us across countries as well, which, of course, happens even more today!

While this is but one teacup (or one cup of tea), tea became a focal point of a whole revolutionary movement. It wasn't just about the tea; it was about the taxes, the relationship between a mother country and her colonies, and feelings of or on political representation. Today we drink tea whenever we want, but it's fascinating to think back to when eschewing something so simple was the same as staging a small protest and being patriotic.

I want to know more about the acts that were in place even before the French and Indian War happened. I know that they were, I've heard of the Navigation Acts, but I don't know the specifics behind them.

The boundary stone shows us how different political events, or at least we see them initially as separate events, can converge. In this case, slavery and boundaries of the states/DC. It is incredibly fascinating to look at how and where boundaries have changed in this country over the years; especially what caused it.

Something that comes to my mind immediately is in relation to how the U.S. gained so much land in the Southwest, which used to belong to Mexico. This is just one example but students can explore the Spanish-American War. This event has a lot to do with the Hispanic culture that is more predominant in that area of the country today. However, students could also look at boundaries along rivers, and see how they don't really make sense sometimes now. Why is a tiny little piece of this state over on the other side of the river now? Well, years ago, the river was different and the boundary did make sense. This can sometimes be caused by human activity, such as building dams, so geography can get thrown in there, too.