Historical Inquiry Paper Revised

8/2/2019 Historical Inquiry Paper Revised

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JennaPrice

Mrs.Caruso

ENGL1102

15February2012

Sinking of the Titanic: Behind the Scenes

The well-known story of the Titanic is one preserved through the years, and for good

reason. Most memories of the Titanic are those of sorrow, pain and remorse.1

The “unsinkable”

ship was much more than a cruise across the vast waters, but an opportunity for many to start a

new life in America.2 The main focus of this story is the people on board in order to show how

exactly the families were treated and how the children dealt with the tragedy. The ship carried

multiple classes consisting of the poorest to the richest and all in between. The upper class

stayed in the most luxury suite where as the lower class was barely provided a bed. The ship

carried many families’ rich in culture and those with enough potential to establish a new

beginning.

The most important person pertaining to the Sinking of the Titanic is the captain, Edward

John Smith.3

Edward was born in England and came from a middle class background. He was

part of the Royal Navy Reserve and had captained many ships before he took on the Titanic.

Edward, also know as E.J., became well liked throughout the crew of the Titanic. Edward

planned to retire after his journey on the Titanic but didn’t quite make it that far. Little did

Edward know, he would no longer have the opportunity to captain anymore of these famous

cruise ships. (Titanic-Titanic)

On the night of April 14, Edward attended a dinner party that was specifically for him

rather then eating a small mean within his own facility.4

He had heard word that the ship was

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entering an ice zone so he excused himself from the dinner party, early. Edward retired to bed

after he was told everything was under control. He was then awakened by a collision. The

incident with the iceberg had begun and the sinking was now underway. (Metelko) Many people

blame Edward for the sinking of the Titanic. They say Edward should have been more aware of

the iceberg. No one is really to blame. A ship’s crew consists of not just a captain, but also an

entire crew who come together to help each other ensure a safe journey. Similar to a team of any

sport, each individual contributes to one another for the overall success.

The departure of the Titanic started off badly.5

The propeller was not working properly

and was spinning in the wrong direction. The Titanic was inches away from colliding with

another cruise ship, the New York. Passengers on board saw this to be bad luck and soon they

would realize that they couldn’t have been more right.

A well-known company, the White Star Line built the “unsinkable ship”.6

It was known

as the “unsinkable ship” because it was so large and heavy in weight that no one thought it was

capable of ever sinking. An American tycoon, J.P. Morgan, was the owner of the Titanic. The

cost to build the Titanic was outrageous, especially back during those times. Nearly 7.5 million

dollars were contributed to making the Titanic magnificent and a first-class ticket was nearly

impossible to afford.7

In today’s economy, a first-class ticket would range up to $50,000. That

should let everyone know just how expensive the Titanic was. It took a couple of years to build

the Titanic and approximately 3,000 men to do so. The Titanic was quite large for her day. It

was the largest man-made object that was afloat during that time. (the titanic page)

April 10, 1912 the Titanic departed from Southampton UK in great desire to dock in New

York City in just a few short days. Come the morning of April 14, the Titanic would soon make

history. Before the horrible sinking, the trip was unusually smooth. The water was barely


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moving and everything seemed too perfect. If the water had not been so smooth, then the

iceberg would have been easier to locate due to the breaks in the water surrounding the iceberg.

The Titanic received six different warnings before it actually collided with the iceberg.8

The

operating manager ignored all of the warnings and no one seems to know why. (the titanic page)

Surprisingly, the iceberg that the Titanic struck was not very large, though it still proceeded to do

a lot of damage to the ship.9

The iceberg was only 1/10 out of the water with 9/10 of the iceberg

left under the water.10

Therefore, the iceberg was not going to budge even with a massive ship,

like the Titanic, colliding with it. The iceberg was an unusual one. It was not white, but known

as a “blackberg” (black ice found on icy roads) which made the iceberg rather hard to locate.11

(the titanic page)

On a cold Sunday night, April 14,1912 the Titanic crashed into the iceberg at 11:40 P.M.

The ship was traveling a bit faster than normal.12

The speed of the Titanic was 22.5 knots while

cruising through the icy waters, which is only .5 knots from its maximum speed. The iceberg

immediately cut a deep gash into the side of the Titanic.13

The gash was nearly 882 feet long

with no way of recovery. Unfortunately, five compartments in the Titanic became flooded. If

only four of the compartments had flooded, the Titanic would have been able to stay afloat. (the

titanic page)

There were many errors in operation to begin with.14

When the ship began sailing from

Southampton, there was a bunker fire that was distinguished many hours later. (Titanic FAQ)

This could have very well affected the ship when it began to sink.15

No safety drill was given on

board for the passengers.16

They had no clue what to do or where to go when the ship began to

sink. This was a major fail concerning the Titanic crew. The number one error of operation

involved the chairman of line, Bruce Ismay. He was given a radio message stating that ice was

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in the path of the ship. Bruce proceeded to tell the captain, but it slipped his mind after he

pushed the letter into his pocket.

Many people were on board the Titanic and it was a journey that everyone was looking

forward to. There were a total of 2,223 people on the Titanic and only 706 were rescued to

safety, which was due to the lack of lifeboats. A good number of famous people were traveling

on the Titanic, mainly multimillionaires.17

Many different classes of people were sailing on the

Titanic and some believe that the upper class passengers were offered safety first.18

Between

first class, middle class, and lower class, there were more lower class people then any other class.

Yet, more upper class passengers still managed to be saved. The Titanic’s crew made up 899

people of the passengers on board and only 214 of them were rescued. (Titanic FAQ) The first

lifeboat that left the Titanic had a capacity of sixty-four people while it only carried out twenty-

four passengers. The Titanic was sinking rapidly and not everyone was ensured safety.

Everyone was in such a panic that the lifeboat operators were too impatient to wait for any other

passengers to board the lifeboat. As expected, women and children were given first choice to

safety. The men were provided a lifejacket and had no choice but to stay behind. (the titanic

page)

Today, the Sinking of the Titanic is known about worldwide.19

It is known for good

reasons as well as bad. This is one of the most interesting yet horrifying events that have ever

taken place in history. The Sinking of the Titanic has bettered the operation of cruise ships,

today. The Titanic ship is now 2.33 miles below water, lying on the bottom of the Atlantic

Ocean. When the Titanic sank, it split in two. The two parts are nearly 1,970 feet apart from

each other. The Titanic was discovered on July 14, 1986, seventy-four years after she sank on

that cold April night. Most memories of the Titanic will never be forgotten.


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Citations

. "A site to remember." the titanic page. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012.

. "A Titanic FAQ." The Titanic FAQ. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012.

. "Captain Edward John Smith of the Titanic." Titanic-Titanic. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb

2012.

Metelko, karl. "Titanic's Captain." WebTitanic. Encyclopedia Titanica, n.d. Web. 22 Feb

2012.

1ManyfamilymemberswereseparatedduringthesinkingoftheTitanic.Therewasalot

ofconfusionandheartache.2TheTitanicwasknownastheunsinkableship.TheTitanicwassolargeandheavythatno

oneeverimaginedthatsomethingthatsizecouldsinktothebottomoftheocean.

3Edwardwasaveryexperiencedcaptain.Hehascaptainedmanyshipsbeforeandgainedhislicenseataveryearlyage.4AmultimillionaireonboardtheshipplannedaspecialdinnerinhonorofEdwardbeingthecaptainofthefamousTitanic.5SomethingwasboundtohappentotheTitanicduringitstravel.Whetheritwasthe

actualsinkingorsomethingsimilar.ThereweretoomanythingstogowrongwiththeTitanicbeforeitevenleftthedockSouthampton.6Thiswasaveryfamousbusiness.TheWhiteStarLinebuiltmanyothercruiseships.“The

Twins”werebuiltbytheWhiteStarLineandweresomewhatsimilartothefeaturesoftheTitanic.



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7Afirstclassticketwouldnotbesohardtoaffordduringtodayseconomy.Backthen,thatmuchmoneywassoexpensivetothepassengersoftheTitanic.8Noonementionedthewarningsthatwerereceived.Itwaslikethecrewdidnotbelievethatsomethingwasactuallygoingtogothatwrong.9Anicebergisalotmorepowerfulthensomeonemaythink.Anobjectsurroundedbythat

muchwaterisveryunlikelytobudgenomatterwhatcomesitsway.10Iftheiceberghadbeenmoreoutofthewater,thentherewouldhavebeenmoreofa

chancethattheshipwouldnothavehitit.Thefactthatalmostthewholeicebergwasunderwatermadeitimpossibletomiss.11Thesetypesoficebergsareveryrare.TheTitanichadnoluckwhenapproachingthis

iceberg.12Normally,cruiseshipstaketheirtimewhentravelingthewaters.TheTitanicwasgoing

almostitsmaximumspeed.Iftheshipwasgoingslowerthentheymightwouldhavehada

changetomisstheicebergalltogether.13Theactualholewasnotthatbig.Thegashwasmassive,butwateronlytraveledthrough

aholeaboutthesizeofarefrigerator.14TheTitanicwasnotverywellputtogethertobeginwith.Thewholeprocesstoensuresafetywasnotthoughtoutbythecrewlikeitshouldhavebeen.15Theshipcouldhavepossiblenotsunksofastifthefirewasputoutassoonasitwasrecognized.16Intoday’stime,itisillegaltonotcoverallofthesafetydrillsonacruiseship.17Thetitanicwasverypopular.Itincludedalotoffamouspeople.EveryonewasanxioustotouchdowninAmerica.18ThereweremorelowerclasspeopleaboardtheTitanic.Theupperclasspeopleweretreatedwithextremecare.19Thetitanicwillgodowninhistoryandneverbeforgotten.Itisknownaboutworldwide

anditwillcontinuetobetalkedaboutthroughouttheyears.

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Historical Inquiry Paper Revised