Historical Events and Personalities - Essay Example

 HISTORY 12 FINAL 1. Dwight Eisenhower's environmental record was considered one of the worst of all presidents. A more expeditious and cleaner transport scheme was mostly ignored. His government instead oversaw the development of the massive interstate highway system bringing about the nations dependence on oil. In 1961 he warned about the dangers of growth of the military industrial complex, describing it as a necessary evil to counter the Soviet Union. Although Eisenhower said that the communist threat was the reason for the 1953 US intervention in Iran it was later admitted to be a “smoke screen “ and that oil was the reason for the British and US coup. In 1954 President Jacobo Arbenz Gusman was considered a communist threat bringing about the US intervention in Guatemala. CIA Director Dulles owned capital stock with the United Fruit Company which had contracts with Guatemala causing a conflict of interest with the governments intervention. The French previously ruled over Vietnam in a fashion that was considered cruel. In 1946 the French went back on their assurance that Vietnam would gain independence, forcably reentering it's capital, Hanoi bringing about the civil war. 2. During the 1940's to 1950's religion was believed to be decreasing at an alarming rate in the United States. The quality of the American highway/freeway system compared with the rest of the world is considered poor. The quality of the American public transport system is also considered poor and only 23rd in the world. Higher education grew during the 1950's partially because of the GI Bill and partly because of the increase in the standard of living reducing the cost of college fees. Churches believed rock and roll to be the devil's music because it was loud and caused teenagers to become rebellious. Television was introduced to the general public on march 25, 1925 by John Logie Baird Television has effected American health in the areas of weight gain and obesity. 3. The 1960 Presidential election was contested between the Republican Richard Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy. John F Kennedy was hard line on the cold war. He said “He will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty." John F Kennedy ordered a total withdrawal from Vietnam by the end of 1965. Prior to 1959 Cuba's economic regulations were huge casing major problems with the economy. Unemployment became very high and the population became dissatisfied with political persecution. The Bay of Pigs incident was an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. Backed by The United states it was a failure. The CIA planned to deal with Fidel Castro by assassination. The thirteen day confrontation between the United States and a combined Cuba and Soviet was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October, 1962. It ended when Kennedy an Khrushchev reached an agreement that the weapons in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the Soviet. 4. John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 There is much controversy over John F Kennedy's death because of talks of conspiracy theories. There are many theories on who plotted his assassination. The official integration of baseball occurred when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson in 1947. On May 17,1954 it was ruled that laws establishing separate schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. The governor of Arkansas called the state national guard to block entry of blacks into Little Rock High School. The Federal Government in reply deployed sections of the 101st Airborne Division and federalized the National Guard. Emmett Till was a 14 year old African-American, murdered for allegedly flirting with a white women. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a mass protest lasting 13 months in 1955, following the arrest of African-American women Rosa Parks for not giving up her seat on a bus for a white women. Martin Luther King Jr. became famous following the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 5. A sit is was a non violent protest were protesters sat in important sites in a collective protester until they were evicted, commonly by the police. In 1961, seven black and seven white Americans rode buses into states were segregation and discrimination were rife. These were known as the Freedom Rides. Those against segregation retaliated with violence, attacking the Freedom Riders and destroying a bus they rode on by slashing tires and burning it. Martin Luther King used the violence of the Birmingham confrontation to force negotiations for segregation. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act made public racial discrimination illegal. It also gave blacks the right to vote. The Cold War helped to diminished opposition to the Civil Rights Movement postulations. During the cold war, America often stomped all over peoples civil rights with their obsession against communism. Civil rights were destroyed with the tapping of private telephone conversions and emails. Malcolm X was a Muslim brought in the ghettos while Martin Luther King was brought up by a wealthy family with a good education. Malcolm X changed his surname from Little to X denoting a rejection of slave names. Malcolm X died on February 21, 1965. Malcolm X , during a public address moved to quell a disturbance in the crowd when when a man fired two shots into his chest from the front row. More shots were fired from other areas of the 400 strong crowd and Martin X was pronounced dead with 21 gunshot wounds to his body. A five day riot in August 1965 that left 34 dead and 1,032 injured in a neighborhood of LA became known as the Watts riots 6. Democratic President, Lyndon B. Johnson and Republican Senator, Barry Goldwater ran for the 1964 Presidency. The Indian Claims Commission was an adjudicating committee set up to oversee relations between the Federal Government and American Indian tribes. The Dakota people were against the carving of Mount Rushmore because they believed it to be sacred. Communism was threatening to expand in Vietnam. The war begun through Eisenhower's fear that it would extend throughout the world and America. Agent Orange was a chemical substance( weed killer) used in herbicidal conflict in Vietnam. Television aided in turning Americans against the Vietnam War. In 1964-65, University students at the University of California protested over a ban on Campus politics actions. This became the Freedom of Speech Movement. The Sexual revolution of the 1960's was a movement that defended the acceptance of sexual activities outside the norm. It include support for homosexuality, contraception and public nudity. A commune is a quantity of people sharing a domicile, possessions and obligations. 7. Mohammed Ali declared himself a “Conscientious Objector” to the Vietnam War and had is World Title Crown stripped when he refused induction into the army. The National Liberation Front (NLF) were also known as the Vietcong. They were the political party of regular and Gorilla units that America fought during the Vietnam War. The FBI considered Martin Luther King to be the “Most Dangerous and effective leader in the Country” Martin Luther King was assassinated on April4, 1968. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the same year. Many people were injured an hospitalized during riots and confrontation with police in front of a world audience during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 1968. The Black Panther Party was an African American, militant administration that was initially set up for the protection of African Americans against police brutality. They later armed there members to monitor the behavior of the police. 8. Cointelpro was a FBI bureau formed to monitor political dissidents. Cointelpro was used against The Black Panther Party, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Tactics used in Cointelpro included infiltration, harassment, wrongful imprisonment and even assassination. Geronimo Pratt was a Black Panther Party leader who was jailed for 26 years for a murder he was framed for by the government. For 71 days in 1973 about 200 Dakota people occupied major buildings in Wounded Knee. Demands were never met by government officials when the siege was ended. The goons were a vigilante group hired to free the Pine Ridge Reservation of “The American Indian Movement.” The FBI supplied intelligence on members of the AIM and turned a blind eye to the crimes that were perpetrated because of their support for the establishment of the AIM. Leonard Peltier was an Indian activist who was wrongfully charged with the murder of FBI Agents in Pine Ridge. Anna Mae Aquash's ( An Indian Activist) body was found on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The FBI autopsy put her death down to exposure. It was later admitted that she had a single gun shot wound to the back of her head. 9. In 1973 The American Psychiatric Association decreed that homosexuality was not a mental illness. Cesar Chevaz was an American farmer and civil right supporter who was to found the National Farm workers association. In 2010 there were 11.2million illegal immigrants in the United States. Violent dissensions from supporters of candidate Eugene Mc-Carthy's antiwar stand greatly aided Richard Nixon's support. Henry Kissinger, a Novel Peace Prize winner, was the American Secretary of State during the 1970s. Henry Kissinger's effect on U.S. Foreign Policy revolved around his belief that it needed to change in line with the threat of the nuclear age. He believed that limited war and not victory at all costs was the only way out of “nuclear stalemates”. Reported as attacks against communism and falsifying records to hide the attack, President Nixon in March 1969, order “Operation Breakfast”. This was the bombing of a defenseless Cambodia to incapacitate Vietnamese and Vie t Cong military units there. The May 4 Massacres happened at The Kent State University. Four unarmed students were killed and nine injured when the Ohio National Guard fired upon them while protesting over the U.S. Attack on Cambodia. The Vietnam war ended when the South Vietnam government were defeated after North Vietnam took Saigon. U.S. Forces began to withdraw after a truce was formulated. In March 16, 1968, U.S. Troupes massacred 500 unarmed men, women and children in My Lai, Vietnam. An event that was attempted to be covered up. 10. Seemingly non conservative policies supported by Richard Nixon were is support of the American youth to withdraw from Vietnam and his opening of diplomatic ties with Communist China. He also established the Environmental Protection Agency by executive order. The United States-Vietnam Relations (The Pentagon Papers) was a top secret Department of Defense document outlining the United States involvement in Vietnam from 1945-1967. In 1973 a inhumane, military dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew a democratically elected government led by Salvador Allende. Richard Nixon feared that Chile would become “another Cuba” and cut of all aide and supported Pinochet. Nixon and Kissinger sought to assassinate Allenede and put in place a military government. In 1972 the Nixon administration orchestrated a break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate offices. The ensuing political scandal was to be known as Watergate, Richard Nixon was forced to resign his presidency as a result of 'The Watergate Scandal” Gerald Ford who had assumed the vice presidency after the resignation of Spiro Agnew was dropped from the presidential race. Conservatives thought that, although he played no part in Watergate his candidacy had been tainted. Many conservative Christians believe, because of his teachings about wealth that he would almost certainly not be a Conservative. Although the Conservatives argue against big government they have supported large government projects such as laser warfare, nuclear weapons and biological warfare. This makes the statement only half true. 11. The split in the conservative movement is in regards to the success of diplomacy and sanctions in ceasing Iran's Nuclear program. Abortion in all states of the U.S. Has been legal in all states since 1973 Anti abortion violence has become widespread against individuals providing abortion services including four doctors. Television Evangelist and 1988 Presidential candidate Pat Robertson said “ Feminists encourage women to leave their husbands, kill the children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians”. About 1.3million or 21.1% of all people incarcerated are in prison for non-violent drug crimes. It is impossible to produce an exact number for the number of polices working full time on the war on drugs however, A good guide is 100 agents, 4 directors and 30 agents per 10000 of population. These figures may increase in more drug prone areas The U.S. Spends $42million a year on the war on marijuana. In the 2012 budget, $10,338.545.000 was put aside for Coast Guard protection of American Ports. 12. George Bush supported strict abstinence for national and international sex education programs as he believed it to be “ the only sure method of preventing out-of-wedlock pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections” Murder, abortion and teenage pregnancy is higher in high religiosity areas. The 1973 Oil Crisis eventuated through the OPEC nations in the Middle East banning exports to the U.S. Gerald Ford become President of The United states following Richard Nixon's resignation. President Carter's support of El Salvador was not entirely supported by the his government because of it's revolutionary government. Jimmy Carter (Democrat), Ronald Reagan (Republican) and John Anderson(Independent) were the candidates for the 1980 Presidential Election. In 1979, Iranians attacked the U.S. In Tehran taking 66 hostages after the Shah of Iran entered the U.S. For medial attention. They claimed that he took millions of dollars with him which they wanted returned. The Iran hostage crisis was the 444 days that followed the taking of 66 American hostages in Tehran. Ronald Reagan opposed all important civil rights initiatives. He was against civil rights for blacks and wished to donate money to a society against inter racial dating. Under Reagan the national debt went from $900million to $2.8trillion, almost tripling the U.S. Debt. 13. An amendment to the defense act in 1983, proposed by Edward Boland prevented the U.S. Government from providing money to overthrow the Nicaraguan Government. This was known as the Boland Amendment. The Iran Contra Affair pertained to Ronald Reagan's attempts to supply Contra rebels in Nicaragua, money obtained from the sale of weapons to Iran. Oliver North was a staff member of the National Security Council who was active in the surreptitious sale of weapons to Iran. He was charged with several crimes that were later dropped. “Plausible Denial” pertains to the concealment of operations from senior officials to protect them from any reprisals. Something Oliver North was involved in. The cold war ended with the advent of Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in Russia and the signing of the “Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty” with Ronald Reagan in 1987. George H.W. Bush won the 1988 U.S. Presidential election. The first Iraq war was waged between 2nd August 1990 and 28th February 1991. The United Nations sanctioned the war against Iraq in response to it's invasion of Kuwait. Saddam Hussain was not removed from power as it was believed that sanctions bringing about a complete trade and financial censor would force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait and pay compensation for the war damage perpetrated. Bill Clinton (Democrat) and President George Bush (Republican) were the candidates in the 1992 presidential election. On average, 54% of eligible Americans vote in Presidential elections. Improvements in computer hardware, software and communications through the proliferation of new technology has become the driving force in the ease of the process of globalization. The L.A. Riots came about following the verdict in the trial of four LAPD officers involved in the beating of Rodney King. 14. The Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995 was the most devastating terrorist attack in U.S. until the September 11 attacks when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building was bombed. Perpetrator Timothy McVeigh was executed while Terry Nichols received life imprisonment. Michael Fortier received 12 years imprisonment while Lori Fortier received immunity for her testimony over the Oklahoma bombings. Bill Clinton fired his Surgeon General after she suggested that masturbation be taught in schools. It was under Bill Clinton’s regime that the greatest increase in the number of marijuana arrests occurred. The 1994 House of Representative election saw the Republicans gain a majority for the first time in 40 years. All but four of the previous 64 years held a democratic majority. President Bill Clinton, Bob Dole and Ross Perot were the candidates in the 1996 Residential election. Monica Lewinsky is a women who President Bill Clinton first denied and then admitted to having an “Improper relationship” with. The reverberations and President Clinton's subsequent impeachment is known as “The Monica Lewinsky Scandal” George W. Bush (Republican) and Al A . Gore were the candidates in the 2000 Presidential election. Controversy surrounded the 2000 Presidential election with the allocation of Florida's 25 electoral votes and the ensuant recount. The Supreme Court ruled that the methods that Florida was enacting the recount was a “Violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment” and was halted. The 25 electoral votes going to Clinton consequently stood. 15. Jared Diamond argued that countries with a strong environmental policy enjoyed a important advantage over other countries. By favoring the diffusion of domesticated plants and animals there would be greater development in farming, metallurgy and other related industry than in other countries. Exposure to diseases would appear earlier and so, build immunities sooner. Bush altered the the clean air act, making huge changes to the types and amounts of emissions allowable. This permitted thousand of old factories to reopen without the installation pollution preventing tools. The United states produces 36% of the worlds resources. The U.S. uses approximately 30% of the worlds resources. In 2003 a report by the department of defense said that “the growing threat of global warming be fully integrated into our defense planning”. George Bush along with Australia, refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol. He claimed it would harm the economy. Dependence on oil as a source of energy is problematic because of it's heightening limitations, events such as Chernobyl and Fukushima have shown that energy security is a problem and climate change is also having a large impact. General Motors, by conspiring to bring down the trolley car system contributed to LA's dependance on cars. 16. On September 11, 2001, terrorist hi-jacked four passenger planes. Two were flown into New York's twin towers and one into The pentagon. A fourth crashed into a nearby field. Islamic militants, AL-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden were responsible for the attacks. Bin Laden claimed that it was an “response to injustice”. It purpose was to cease America's support of Israel. The war on terror, waged against AL-Qaeda in Afghanistan was the aftermath of 9/11. The war against terror was to resist any future attacks against the U.S. targets. In 1924 the Turkish Government declared a new statute deposing the Caliph (Islam's first form of Government) and abolished it's dignity. AL-Qaeda’s ideology was formed through this action. A cold war is fought on the ideological fields while Islamic Fundamentalism is completely reactionary. For this reason a cold war would be impossible. Sympathy began to wain following U.S. attacks on Afghanistan with reports of “civilian casualties, mass graves and human rights violations”.It was replaced by resent for it's arrogance and polices of revenge. The war on terror took all political and pubic attention and focus away from the war on drugs, oil dependency and the second Iraq war. Christian Fundamentalists or Dominionists believe that the Rapture has a not to attractive role for the Jews. They say that Israel rule the “biblical land”before Christ can return. Those Jews who do not convert to Christianity will be destroyed. This is ironic as Israeli Jews have always been looked upon as God's chosen. They would be protected until the Armageddon. 17. The U.S. Government backed Saddam Hussein during the war against Iran. They also supplied him with biological weapons. During the time when The Soviet invaded Afghanistan the U.S. supplied hundreds of millions of dollars to the Afghan Arabs. The best known of them was Osama bin Laden. The reason for the second Iraq war was because of alleged “weapons of mass destruction “ being developed by Saddam Hussein were are a threat to U.S. and Britain. Many believe it to be a lie as no evidence of such weapons were ever found. The second war in Iraq began on March 20, 2003. An alliance between Saddam Hussein and AL-Qaeda was never proven, in fact Hussein held a distinct distrust of them. A conflict of interest existed with the non- contested awarding of contracts to the firm Kellogg, Brown and Root for reconstruction work in Iran before the second Iraq war had even begun. The worldwide image of U.S. dropped considerable in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Favorable attitudes plummeted in most countries. President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry were the 2004 Presidential candidates. 18. Thaddeus Russell took his accounts of history from the viewpoint of the “the common people” rather than from politicians and other leaders. Russell says that “Lower-class Taverns.” were the initial places in the U.S. were racial integration took place. Thaddeus Russell wrote that “prostitutes and pirates were the true heroes of the American Revolution.” Russell's connection to piracy and homosexuals is in regards to one of his books “Gay Piracy” Russel believed that democracy was the enemy of personal freedom. He claims that personal freedom was taken away during the revolution by drunks and renegades. In 1970 a uniform marriage and divorce act was enacted. It provided for a no fault divorce system with stricter guidelines. It provided a more consistent system across American, avoided the bitterness involved in divorce and dealt with the need to cross borders to end marriages. 19. The free market is friendly with the renegades however an enemy of the moral guardians. Russell said that blackface minstrelsy was performed by people with no work ethic, sexual subjugation and “Unable to engage in public merriment without Fear or shame” Russell believed that slavery wasn't bad because it was better than freedom. They had more leisure time than a working free man. The treatment of free whites, as far as punishment is concerned , was no different to the treatment of slaves. As abolitionists were opposed to slaves sexual freedom and therefore they were then opposed to freedom. Some blacks were apposed to Freedman's Bureau as once the obtained their freedom they were to “Service the American Flag”. Prostitutes and madams some of the wealthiest people in America's West. They were successful entrepreneurs and fierce freedom fighters through which they became pioneers of women's rights. Oral and anal sex was considered sodomy. In 1950, all American states had forms of law criminalizing sodomy. 20. Puritans opposed dancing because it was considered promiscuous and sinful. Early Irish immigrants were portrayed as being “dirty, stupid, alcoholic, and violent” Their image was changed by the way they were cast in movies. The oppression, slavery and exile that both African Americans and Jews endured made them allies in Civil rights Movements and caused comparisons to be made. Although the jazz roots came from African Americans, Italians have dominated the jazz scene for most of the twentieth century. Russell argues that gangsters made American a better place by featuring Jazz in many of their establishments. He says that if it wasn’t for the mob Louis Armstrong would have never got his first job. Russell concludes that both the New Deal and Fascism fight for ideas, values or lifestyle but moreover they “both fight their brothers for control of the world family.” Music, Movies and books were all effected by the cold war. American culture has been dominated by espionage and nuclear war. Many movies depict fictitious conflicts between America and Russia with many songs written on the same subjects. Leaders of civil rights and black nationalists both believe in agitation, while not believing in physical violence. Read More