Deborah+K.+-+I+am+Levi+Strauss

= = =Levi Strauss=

The "I am..." person I chose is the famous Levi Strauss who was the first man to make jeans. He was born on February 26, 1829 in Germany. His life as a young man had many ups and downs; he was born from his father's second wife so he had to cope with six siblings, him being the last. When both parents died,he immigrated to New York during the gold rush at the age of 18 and received a citizen ship. After settling down, Levi made a family store along with his siblings selling dry goods. One day, a worker in the mime came to Levi and asked if he had any strong long lasting pants, but all Levi had was some canvas fabric used for tents. So Levi made his first pair of jeans through canvas fabric, and that developed into the "blue jeans" that are well known till now. He later opened a store selling jeans and other products; also working with Jacob Davis who put metal rivets at the point of pockets for extra long lasting pants. Levi came to be well known and famous, but he was a philanthropists; giving money that he made away to orphans and supporting money for building new railroads. Even though Levi is famous, there are not enough information about his childhood or education. I am interested in this point because I found it curious how his education or childhood effected his business or his way of treating his cooperators and workers. I would like to look at biographies that can be more trusting and specific as well as books about historical people because internet can sometimes give false information.


 * How did the life of Levi's youth effect him as an adult?**

Timeline
media type="custom" key="613921"

=Primary Source=

Document Audio Video Visual Quotes
 * [|Letters to Levi]
 * [|Letter from J.Davis]
 * [|Levi Strauss quotes]
 * "objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries something really happened among human beings.”
 * "Gifts make slaves"
 * [|Quotes from Levi]
 * " An expert knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions. "
 * " If the composer withholds more than we anticipate, we experience a delicious falling sensation; we feel we have been torn from a stable point on the musical ladder and thrust into the void. "
 * "In the old days, people used to risk their lives in India or in the Americas in order to bring back products which now seem to us to have been of comically little worth. "
 * " Objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries something really happened among human beings. "
 * " We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.' "

**Secondary Sources**
Document Audio Video media type="custom" key="614809" Visual Quotes
 * [|Biography:Levi Strauss & co.]
 * [|History of Denim: Lavi Strauss & co.]
 * [|Biography:Jacob Davis]
 * [|Timeline: How Jeans 501 was created]
 * [|Museum:Levi Strauss]