Fall of the Berlin Wall - Report Example

Chris Holloway Ms. Morris U.S. History 4th 14/12/2008 Fall of the Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall, erected in 1961, was a tangible representation of the political and emotional separation of Germany. The Wall was constructed due to a long enduring lack of trust between the Soviet Union on one side and Western Europe and the United States on the other (Buckley 5). Germany was divided after the Second World War between the major powers that had conquered the Nazi rule of Adolf Hitler. The Berlin Wall was built by the Soviet-controlled German Democratic Republic to impede its own citizens from escaping to the free market zone of capitalist West Berlin. The Berlin Wall became a representation of the bipolar politics of the Cold War that separated the worldwide community throughout most of the second half of the twentieth century. During the Cold War, the United States commanded a circle of capitalist polities while the Soviet Union stood at the center of a number of competing states whose governments supported Marxist principles of proletarian internationalism (Buckley 11). In 1989, a wave of widespread opposition in Eastern Europe against the persisting domination of communist authoritarianism led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall turned out to be an introduction to the dissolution of the Soviet Union two years later. The construction, maintenance and collapse of the Berlin Wall have represented trends of history whose global influence goes beyond the local politics of a single city. The collapse of the Wall became the catalyst to achieve German reunification, finally established in 1990. The First Earth Day 1970 April 22nd In the last months of the 1960s, environmental problems in the United States were growing rapidly. Uncontrolled air pollution was associated to illnesses and death in New York, Los Angeles, and other cities, as poisonous fumes, ejected by cars and factories, made city life less and less endurable. In a move fittingly responding to the problem, an estimated 20 million Americans assembled together on April 22, 1970, in the largest organized demonstration in the history of the nation, to take part in a remarkably well-publicized environmental event known as Earth Day (Marriot 1). The anti-pollution position of these groups, after influencing the climate of political opinion at the state and local level, swiftly spread throughout editorials and editorial cartoons featured in the nations leading newspapers. Media coverage of the large youth rallies of 1969 served to influence on the American public that the United States had become an urban country with intricate problems worsened by large numbers of people (Marriott 2). The term "environment" came into popular use only at the end of this decade. By then, dedicated activists saw and realized that urban environments would be the combat zone for many years to come, and they sought to impress that on the American public and American political leaders as well. Public opinion polls suggested that a lasting change in national priorities followed the Earth Day on 1970. Presently, almost every State possesses one or more agencies responsible for protecting its environment and natural resources. Hence, the ideals advocated on April 22, 1970, however naive, have left an enduring legacy. April 22nd 1970 proved that citizens could call on public support, their energy, and commitment to save the environment. Assassination of John F. Kennedy On November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dealey Plaza while on a motorcade around the city in his open-roof limousine. After the shots were fired, police began looking for suspects. An hour after the shooting incident, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for killing a police officer. Another hour after that, he was accused of killing the President. Speculations have arisen whether Lee Harvey Oswald was the real assassin, or if he was merely the scapegoat hired by an agency outside of the United States (Sturdivan 53). To this day, there are still many known and unknown facts about the assassination. Many people believe that there were more people other than Lee Harvey Oswald shooting a firearm, although the Warren Commission denied any likelihood that there was more than one killer. Until now, different historians have taken different approaches in analyzing the case of JFKs assassination and the explanations. Even though, many historians have arrived at different theories and answers, there has still been no certain answer to the assassination of JFK. The assassination of John F. Kennedy crippled the entire country of the United States during the years 1960s and years after. Kennedy had been a symbol of an innocent and optimistic America at a time of political uncertainty. The loss of the John F. Kennedy not only paralyzed the nation but has also been regarded as an unfortunate loss of an influential leader because of his charisma and connections with the mass media. John Kennedy was important more for his symbolic reputation than his legislative achievements. His many inspirational speeches are often repeated. His youthful energy and stylish First Lady were regarded as American royalty. His assassination has taken on a legendary quality, leading many to theorize regarding probable motives. And his ethical leadership of Civil Rights was a significant part of the movements subsequent success. Invention of the Internet The Internet is a global network of thousands of computers and computer networks. It is a public, autonomous, and joint effort between the related institutions and is not owned or controlled by any single organization.  The Internet and Transmission Control Protocols were first constructed in 1973 by American computer scientist Vinton Cerf as part of a project patronized by the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and directed by American engineer Robert Kahn (Ulmer 23). Internets are produced by linking local networks through distinctive computers in every network called gateways. Gateway interconnections are constructed through different communication ways, including telephone lines, optical fibers, and radio links. Internet is an interconnection of computer networks that allows linked devices to communicate straightaway. The term is famously ascribed to a specific global interconnection of government, education, and business computer networks that is accessible to the public (Ulmer 58). Even though computer interaction is in its early years of discovery, it has significantly influenced the world, linking the barriers of time and distance, enabling people to communicate information and work collectively. Growth and development toward the Information Superhighway will persist at an increasing speed. Available materials will be added swiftly, allowing simpler ways to search for any information on the Internet. Improved applications will offer stable business transactions and fresh opportunities for commerce. Advanced technologies will raise the speed of information transfer, enabling straight and direct transfer of entertainment-on-demand. The Columbine shooting The Columbine High School massacre took place on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, in the United States. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two teenage students, went on a shooting rampage inside the school, murdering twelve co-students and a teacher, as well as injuring twenty-four others, before committing suicide. It is regarded as the bloodiest school shooting, and the second most lethal attack on a school in US History (Tuchman 1). The shooting stirred up heated debate regarding gun control laws and the accessibility of firearms in the United States. Many arguments also revolved on the character of high school cliques and bullying, as well as the function of violent television shows and video games in American society. Many of the victims who were believed to have been murdered because of their religious beliefs became an origin of inspiration to others, notably Christians, and led some to regret the decline of religion in public education and society as a whole. The massacre likewise caused a heightened attention on school security, and an ethical panic focused on goth culture, heavy metal music, social pariahs, the use of pharmaceutical anti-depressants by teenagers, violent movies and violent video games. The massacre likewise brought about requests for more gun control measures. In 2000, federal and state legislations were initiated that would necessitate safety locks on firearms and ban the import of high-capacity ammunition magazines. Despite laws that passed made it a crime to purchase guns for criminals and children, there was significant controversy over legislation relating to background checks at gun shows. Specifically, there was anxiety among the gun lobby over the further deterioration of Second Amendment rights in the U.S (Tuchman). Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba that occurred amid the Cold War. It is called the "Caribbean Crisis" in the Soviet Union, while in Cuba it is referred to as the "October Crisis." The crisis stands with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major conflicts of the Cold War, and is many times considered as the moment in which the Cold War came nearest to a nuclear war. Less than two months after the crisis started, on November 21, President Kennedy cancelled the quarantine since Khrushchev finally retracted the Soviet nuclear bombers from Cuba. On the 30th anniversary of the Crisis, it was exposed that Soviet mobile tactical weapons and over forty thousand Soviet Troops were in Cuba, prepared to be deployed in the event of an American invasion (Kennedy 56). Towards the conclusion of the 1960s, the Soviet Union had reached strategic equality with the Americans. In general military capacity, the United States could no longer be regarded superior. Thus, in situations of arms control, the USSR had gained the power to negotiate from positions of parity. Due to the Cuban Missile Crisis, there emerged a coordinated exertion from both parties for arms control, effecting the signing of many bilateral agreements. The Cuban Missile Crisis featured the significance of a distinct and direct system of communication between Moscow and Washington. Amid the crisis, the two involved leaders communicated with each other through letter writing, which was demonstrated to be a very inefficient form of communication, specifically in an urgently tense situation. Thus, in 1963, an agreement was agreed, the Hot-line Treaty, in the beginning employing teletype, and radio-telegraph communication links (Brugioni 87). With the development of new technologies, these communication links have been upgraded. Woodstock Counter Culture Movement With a nation disorganized, as a consequence of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men and women held out their position through rallies, protests, and concerts during the late 1960s. A big number of young Americans were against the war in Vietnam. With the usual feeling of anti-war, the thousands of youths united as one. The emergent culture of opposition stretched out like wild fire with alternative lifestyles developing, people coming together and revitalizing their communal efforts, demonstrated in the Woodstock Art and Music Festival (Hopkins 15). In agreement in their antiwar feelings, thousands of young people got together in their formation of the "counterculture."  This new culture, which promoted the principles of rebellion, pervaded swiftly during the late 1960s. It gave attention to an alternative lifestyle represented by drugs, sex, and antiwar protest. Even though dissimilar in its basic motivation, the development of the new youth cultures open antagonism to the values of the middle-class society opened the doors to the formation of the counterculture. Through protests and anti-war demonstrations, the counterculture objected the governmental institutions of American society and the youth was able to speak out for what they believed in. The United States became more acquainted with its young generation following Woodstock. The counterculture stood against the conventional values of middle-class society, and exhibited its rebellion in many ways: long hair, rock music as exhibited at Woodstock, dye, free sex, drugs, and riots (Hopkins 35).  Woodstock has an impact even up to today, as fashion still mirrors the trends formed in Woodstock. Although many trends were not harmful, there were also others that were. For instance, the prolonged use of marijuana, and the hallucinogen, LSD, are still widespread with the present day youth. Works Cited Buckley, William F., Jr.. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2004. Marriott, Alexander. "This Earth Day Celebrate Vladimir Lenins Birthday!" 2004 Capitalism Magazine. 12 December 2008 . Sturdivan, Larry. The JFK Myths: A Scientific Investigation of the Kennedy Assassination. MN: Paragon House, 2005. Ulmer, Gregory. Internet Invention: From Literacy to Electracy. London: Longman, 2002 Tuchman, Gary. “Drills, New security Measures mark return to Schools.” 1999. CNN.com. 11 December 2008 < http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/16/school.safety/> Brugioni, Dino A.. Eyeball to Eyeball: The Inside Story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Random House, 1993. Kennedy, Robert. Thirteen Days: A memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. Hopkins, Jerry. Festival! The Book of American Music Celebrations. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1970. Read More