...The battle of Gettysburg is considered as a critical turning point in the American Civil wars. The term describes a three-day battle fought between the armies of General Robert Lee and George Gordon’s army. The battle was fought around Gettysburg on July 1863. It is considered the bloodiest moment in the history of American Civil war, which led to the deaths of 50,000 men from either side. The two factions engaged in a full-blown war for the first time at Chancellorsville, which was dominated by Lee’s army. This compelled Lee to engage in a second campaign in the war-torn Northern Virginia. In the second day of the battle, the union army under the command of General Gordon held defensive positions while Lee’s army advanced towards the North....
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...20 November 2011 Recreating History The American Civil War, fought between the years of 1861 and 1865 is one of the most famous and remembered events in the history of our country and perhaps the World. It is also the deadliest war ever fought in the Western Hemisphere with over 600,000 Americans killed over both sides, military and civilian. The War is so well documented, studied and recreated that it is surprising that there is still debate to this day over the causes and reasons for this bloody conflict (“American Civil War”). One of the most popular ways of remembering this critical event is through Reenactments. While many wars from throughout history are reenacted, the American Civil War is by far the most re-enacted war in the US and possibly the world today. This war has been reenacted since before the war ended, but did not become very popular until the second half of the 20th century, with the success of a few large scale commemorative events on important anniversaries starting in the 1960s, such as the reenactment of the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run on its 125th anniversary in 1986(“American Civil War Reenactment”). These reenactment events are usually open to the public and generally involve fairly large numbers of reenactors organized into reenactor units which spend time in authentically recreated camps if they are not engaged in combat. Most people reenact as a part time hobby for a variety of reasons, such as historical interest or having had...
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...Jackson 29 January 2012 Critical Response: Deloria In this excerpt from We Talk, You Listen, Deloria campaigns on behalf of the rights of all minorities, but namely Native Americans. The unorthodox way he went about it, however, was the most interesting. Unlike most advocates for this cause, Deloria suggests that rather than attempting to join in on white history, minorities should remember and celebrate their own. He downplays the importance of a national sense of unity in order to promote togetherness between racial groups. Thinking back in history to the most well-known battles fought by minorities, the Civil Rights’ Movement definitely stands out. However, it seems that in this instance African Americans wished to fit in to a “white man’s world”. Of course this is understandable, simply because of what we believe of human nature. As Mark Twain said, “If [a man] would prosper, he must train with the majority; in matters of large moment, like politics and religion, he must think and feel with the bulk of his neighbors” (717-718). This desire to be apart of what others are, to join the majority is, in a sense, refuted by Deloria in this excerpt. He gives specific examples in which it seems the truth has been stretched in order to include minorities into white history. This supporters of this theory think that, “Crispus Attucks, a black, almost single-handedly started the Revolutionary War, while Eli Parker, the Seneca Indian general, won the Civil War…” (731). Deloria says...
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...What effect did the Emancipation Proclamation have on the overall outcome of the American Civil War? Emancipation Proclamation “The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, holds a critical moment in American history and the American Civil War” (Nix, E). The proclamation led thousands of black men to enlist in the army. It was supposed to go to people in the Confederates, but not the ones that were loyal to the state’s borders. Even black women helped with the war by being spies, nurses and also cooking for the army. As the battles were being fought near the south, the Confederates would kill the weaker black soldiers and would send the stronger ones back to slavery. “An astounding 78 percent of free...
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...to African-American males and mass incarceration in the United States, though Alexander notes that the discrimination faced by African-American males is also prevalent among other minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged populations. Alexander's central premise, from which the book derives its title, is that "mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow keeping company with the final chapter of the New Jim Crow, “The Fire this Time,” this section is devoted to the question of where we go from here. Michelle Alexander argues that we, as a nation, have reached a fork in the road. Likewise, here at the end of our journey with her book, we find ourselves at a critical point of decision. What is required of us at this moment in history, a time when millions are cycling in and out of our nation’s prisons and jails trapped in a parallel social universe in which discrimination is perfectly legal? How do we show care and concern for the children who are born into communities where the majority of men and growing numbers of women can expect to spend time behind bars? What must we do, now that we know that the usual justifications do not hold water, and that a human rights nightmare is occurring on our watch? The New Jim Crow begins and ends with the assertion that nothing short of a major social movement holds any hope of ending mass incarceration in the United States. If we were to return to the rates of incarceration we had in the 1970s—before the drug war and get tough...
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...far considering race relations. African american in the past have been treated with extreme cruelty. The white people of America always considered themselves superior to any other race until thing began to change starting with the Civil rights movement. While society has maintained some levels of discrimination towards African Americans and continual African American culture, race relations such as segregation being legally abolished and societies views of African americans in politics and civil rights have significantly changed between 1940’s-2000’s. Throughout American history, African Americans made many sacrifices to get rid of segregation. During the 1950’s segregation was at its peak and African Americans began fight for their rights. During this process they...
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...Reconstruction will continue to be one of the most hotly contested periods of time in US history. It is a time the still young country was trying to slowly mend the wounds torn open by the War of the Rebellion, or the Civil War. It was these moments that would determine the fate of the freedman in the south, and all over. The article “The New View of Reconstruction” by Eric Foner sheds brilliant new light on an age-old opinion. It was a commonly held belief that Reconstruction was the time when the radical northerners, or the Vindictives, enforced black supremacy upon the helpless south, while the carpetbaggers made a fortune amid the chaos. Eric Foner’s article highlights that this interpretation of Reconstruction was fostered by anti-Reconstruction propaganda and adopted academically by William Dunning around the turn of the century. He further brings out that films like Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind spread the myth-like idea of the years after the Civil War. Foner explains that this view of Reconstruction was widely accepted because it fit with the political and social mentalities of the time that allowed white southerners to vehemently oppose integration and true black suffrage. Despite the convenience of the traditional view of Reconstruction it would soon lose prominence. The original opinion was that Lincoln was ready to accept the South with little reprimands and that Johnson tried to fulfill Lincoln’s policies, the current opinion, as stated by Foner, is “President...
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...The year is 1965, a pivotal moment in US history. This year, the law reshaped the nation’s moral and legal landscape. On February 1, 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed the thirteenth amendment, effectively abolishing the legal practice of slavery in the United States. Just two months after came the union’s victory in the Civil War on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee signed their surrender at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. This war has devastated the south, despite draining the nation’s resources and heavily dividing the nation’s people; the war also concluded with the hope of unity and restoration for the future. President Lincoln’s victory came to a quick end, though. Just six days after the end of the war, an event...
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...Garcia Marquez takes the definition of Magical Realism to a whole new level. Under his pen, Garcia Marquez uses Magical Realism as a tool to show readers the multi-layered side of his motherland, Colombia. To be more precise, Garcia Marquez tends to reveal mostly politics in his writings. Garcia Marquez was born in 1928 in the town of Aracataca, Colombia. Colombia is a unitary constitutional republic comprised of thirty-two departments. In the past, the intense battle over sovereignty between the conservatives and liberals never stopped; the continuing conflicts between political parties even initiated civil wars, which played a big role in the formation of Colombia. The unstable and chaotic political situation partly influenced Garcia Marquez’s writings. As a Colombian who was born during such turbulent times, Garcia Marquez witnessed and experienced various historical events. The history of Colombia and his personal experiences played a huge part in inspiring Garcia Marquez’s writing. Here comes the question, why would Garcia Marquez write about politics through Magical Realism? What is his intention? Since Garcia Marquez’s childhood, Colombia’s political situation had been unstable and chaotic. For many years, dictatorship, imperialism and feudalism, had restricted people from revealing the genuine side of Colombia. In an interview with Paris Review, Garcia Marquez disclosed his feelings when he decided to write One Hundred Years of Solitude. “I decided that writing about the village...
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...John Nix Kevin Thomas Harrel His 105 Section 28 8 December 2009 The Formation of the Confederacy: An Inevitable Occurrence When looking at the history of the United States it is necessary to look at our past in two separate halves: the first half being everything before the Civil War and the second half being everything after the Civil War. With this being said, it can be reasonably argued that the Civil War is one of the most critical events to every happen in our country’s rich history. The devastating war took over half a million American lives in just a little over four years. This tragic event in history, up until Vietnam, claimed more American lives than any other war (Rubin 11). In hindsight it is clear that this war should have been avoided at all cost but during the late 1800’s the tension was so high and hostile that the war was inevitable. Sectionalism had increased so much during that period that even citizens thought of their country divided into two halves, being the North and the South. Each section considered themselves as right and proper while the other as ridiculous and wrong. These tensions kept building until the thought of secession became not a question of if but rather a question of when. According to Cole C. Kingseed, author of The American Civil War, the seeds of the Civil War can be planted as early as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. By the time of the convention five states had already abolished slavery, which made the southern states...
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...dawn of the nation, the armed forces have included black Americans. As early as 1652, leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony mandated that all Indians and people of African descent residing in "settled" areas enlist in a local militia. Prince Duplex, Sr. was one of nearly 300 men of African descent to enlist in the Connecticut militia during the Revolutionary War, and Oscar Marion, a slave on the South Carolina plantation of war hero General Francis Marion, fought side by side with his master, also serving as "personal assistant, bodyguard, sous-chef, bugler, courier, confidant, and oarsman." When the Medal of Honor—the nation's highest award for military valor—was established in 1861, African Americans were not excluded. In time, however, conferral of the award began to mirror the status of black Americans in general, embodying a tumultuous history that has not always been so honorable. The origins of the award lie with the Civil War. On 21 December 1861—exactly a year and a day after the secession of South Carolina—President Abraham Lincoln signed Senate Bill 82 into law. The measure, created to honor "non-commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities," was at first an honor exclusively for Navy sailors, but by the following year was expanded to include the Army. Though originally intended to cover only the length of the Civil War, the Medal of Honor was made a permanent decoration in...
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...How American History Influenced The Movie Industry? The period of 1960’s is known as one of the most creative periods in the history of the Hollywood filmmaking. It was prominent due to usage of new narrative and style techniques in presenting changes in American values in the film industry at that time. The period of 60’s is known as a period of change, which was carrying an idea that the goal American society sets, can be successfully achieved. The most common topic in the movies of that period was America’s role in the World, as well as it’s controversial position. President of the US at that time, John Kennedy was promising that before the end of the decade men will step on the moon. He also lobbied for the civil right movement and the Civil Rights Act, which emphasized the end of the period of long segregation in the South. The latter finally gave the same amount of equality to Whites and Blacks. However, the decade ended with the Watts riots. All of these occasions summarized gave a clear sign that there was something wrong happening in America. The movies of 60’s were a way to respond to social movements, which were connected with the issues of civil rights, poverty, and feminism. Films were not only the representation of public view on the issues taking place in America, but also presented the favorable outcomes of values and institutions. Movies produced during the 60’s exposed the new figures to the audience. In addition, they presented the ways of thinking and suggested...
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...control, when no thoughtful American opened his morning paper without dreading to find that he had no longer a country to love and honor. Whatever the result of the convulsion whose first shocks were beginning to be felt, there would still be enough square miles of earth for elbow-room; but that ineffable sentiment made up of memory and hope, of instinct and tradition, which swells every man's heart and shapes his thought, though perhaps never present to his consciousness, would be gone from it, leaving it common earth and nothing more. Men might gather rich crops from it, but that ideal harvest of priceless associations would be reaped no longer; that fine virtue which sent up messages of courage and security from every sod of it would have evaporated beyond recall. We should be irrevocably cut off from our past, and be forced to splice the ragged ends of our lives upon whatever new conditions chance might leave dangling for us. We confess that we had our doubts at first whether the patriotism of our people were not too narrowly provincial to embrace the proportions of national peril. We felt an only too natural distrust of immense public meetings and enthusiastic cheers. That a reaction should follow the holiday enthusiasm with which the war was entered on, that it should follow soon, and that the slackening of public spirit should be proportionate to the previous over-tension, might well be foreseen by all who had studied human nature or history. Men acting gregariously are...
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...the globe who was suspected of helping to aid in the planning of the attacks on the United States was now subject to the policing of the United States government (Jackson, 2010). This resolution and vow by President Bush and Congress to take on the war against terrorism resulted in massive military, law enforcement, and intelligence missions being launched in the Middle East and around other parts of the globe. These military and policing efforts resulted in thousands of detentions of citizens and non-citizens as potential suspects, however, in many cases, individuals being detained did not have formal charges placed against them, and they were merely being held on "suspicion" (Jackson, 2010). The most prominent example of indefinite detention of individuals is seen at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba (GITMO). This pattern of indefinite detention of individuals who in many cases have never been charged with a crime has led to a multitude of legal challenges as prisoners have attempted to evoke their rights of habeas corpus in an attempt to get U.S. Federal Courts to hear their cases (Jackson, 2010). The general meaning of the right of habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution and its relationship to the protection of other civil liberties: In today's legal definitions, habeas corpus is the right of an individual who is incarcerated to question their dentition before a judge to validate the legitimacy of their being detained (Primus, 2010). Habeas corpus provisions are found...
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...the globe who was suspected of helping to aid in the planning of the attacks on the United States was now subject to the policing of the United States government (Jackson, 2010). This resolution and vow by President Bush and Congress to take on the war against terrorism resulted in massive military, law enforcement, and intelligence missions being launched in the Middle East and around other parts of the globe. These military and policing efforts resulted in thousands of detentions of citizens and non-citizens as potential suspects, however, in many cases, individuals being detained did not have formal charges placed against them, and they were merely being held on "suspicion" (Jackson, 2010). The most prominent example of indefinite detention of individuals is seen at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba (GITMO). This pattern of indefinite detention of individuals who in many cases have never been charged with a crime has led to a multitude of legal challenges as prisoners have attempted to evoke their rights of habeas corpus in an attempt to get U.S. Federal Courts to hear their cases (Jackson, 2010). The general meaning of the right of habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution and its relationship to the protection of other civil liberties: In today's legal definitions, habeas corpus is the right of an individual who is incarcerated to question their dentition before a judge to validate the legitimacy of their being detained (Primus, 2010). Habeas corpus provisions are found...
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