...The Invisible Empire of the South At the time of Ulysses S Grants’ election to the presidency, white supremacists were conducting a reign of terror throughout the south in outright defiance of the Republican-led federal government. The most violent organization to rise, during this time, was the Ku Klux Klan, otherwise known as the KKK. Formed in Pulaski, Tennessee ; the Ku Klux Klan was originally a social club, but then grew violent as they felt violated by the federal government. The Ku Klux Klan grew into a hooded terrorist organization and included all classes of society. At the Klan’s peak, the membership exceeded four million people . Abram Colby, a former slave, reported being beaten violently by a lawyer, a doctor, and several farmers...
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...The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan Jeannine Evans HIST101 American History to 1877 Instructor: Kathleen Davis June 15, 2013 When the civil war ended, the Republican Party developed the Reconstruction program, which threatened to turn the south upside down. The Reconstruction was developed with the intention of giving blacks the chance for a new and better life. Upon being freed some blacks stayed with their old masters, yet many left in search of opportunities in education and land ownership. There were many things that stood in their way of these tasks. There were the “black codes” which required black to carry identification and even have a curfew. Labor contracts even bounded the “freed” slaves to their respective plantations. There was even the Jim Crow Laws which directly undermined the status of black by placing them under unfair restrictions. In 1866, six veterans of the confederate army formed a secret society named the Ku Klux Klan, from the Greek word Kuklos, meaning circle. When the Ku Klux Klan was in its infancy, they were organized like a social group. They would help citizens, one of whom was reported in the Franklin View, a Nashville paper as follows: “The Franklin Review of yesterday related that the Ku Klux a few nights since visited the home of a poor widow whose two sons had fallen in the Confederate service, leaving on her doorstep a package containing one hundred dollars and a quantity of domestics, calicoes and other dry goods. A widow lady of Williamson...
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...When watching “The Burning Mississippi” we saw that when the Ku Klux Klan would do something to the African American people they would leave a burning cross as their marker. When watching the movie I wondered what this meant to the Klan, so I decided to research that topic. When thinking about the cross I assume it is a bad thing and the burning cross is something of terror for the people. The burning of the cross shows that Christ is still alive, and that they are “burning away evil”. A leader of the Klan described the burning of the cross not as a desecration of the cross, but as showing their respect for Christ and their mission. When the Klan was at its height in the South, the Supreme Court had to make the decision if burning crosses was illegal or if it was covered as freedom of speech by the first amendment. Justice Clarence Thomas said a burning cross symbolizes only the Ku Klux Klan’s century-long “reign of terror” against the black communities. As an expression that’s intended only to cause fear, he reasoned, it’s a form of speech that deserves no Constitutional protection. How did a religious symbol become the ultimate from of hate-speech? (Burek, 2002) Diane Roberts English a professor from University of Alabama says that Klan cross burning came from Scottish influences, “founded in 1866 in...
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...Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror POL 201: American National Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror Habeas Corpus is a term unlikely known to many detainees in Guantanamo Bay. The war on terror has gone from protecting our country from terrorist, to slowly but surely doing onto these detainees what other tyrants were doing before us. Habeas Corpus is a law that was placed in the constitution in order for guarantee that no one would be held prisoner without a trial. According to the constitution the writ to Habeas Corpus is implemented to prevent tyranny and false imprisonments. In the length that our nation has been around there has only been three instances in which the habeas corpus writ was suspended. The first was after the civil war (during the reconstruction) and most recently during the War on Terror. The War on Terror has brought the Habeas Corpus writ into different perspective when it was approved that the writ be suspended for prisoners in Guantanamo Bay (GITMO). The Bush administration went under severe scrutiny after choosing GITMO as a detention center for “enemy combatants/illegal combatants” and suspending the Habeas Corpus writ to them. There had been no legal aid provided so that the detainees could attempt to prove innocence. In the over zealous need to prevent further terrorist attacks in a way we condoned terrorist like ideals. In 2008, the verdict in Boumediene v. Bush the Supreme Court ruled against the Bush administration...
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...master. Collectively, there was little difference to be found between slave and sharecropper when comparing the Old and supposed “New” South. Despite Radical attempts at creating a utopia where blacks had equal opportunity with whites, the reluctance of Southern government leaders to help blacks in the search for The most destructive force in the post-Civil War South was the rise of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist group that formed in 1866 that used fear tactics to keep African Americans below whites. The main goal of these hooded terrorists was to maintain a Democratic majority in Southern governments by keeping blacks out of the polls. To accomplish this, the Klan members used lynching, burning of crosses, and public beatings to instill fear in any African American that attempted to create a Radical style of government. Radicals aimed at ending the reign of terror of the Klan by searching the South for Klan members and arresting them, the Klan achieved its ultimate goal and the South continued its tradition of a Democratic majority in local and state governments. The Klan continued its destructive and violent acts against African Americans and still remains in existence today, however at a much less prevalent and violent position. ...
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...History in The Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith. Leticia Vázquez Soriano Literatura y cine en países de habla inglesa: interrelación semiótica y narrativa 18th January, 2012 Curso 2011-2012 Index Introduction........................................................ pp. 1 Historical filmic context...................................... pp. 3 History in the film............................................... pp. 4 Use of intertitles...................................... pp. 5 Free interpretation of facts..................... pp. 7 Fiction mixed with reality........................ pp. 8 The film as history............................................... pp. 10 An autonomous language........................ pp. 10 Critical reception......................................pp. 14 The cinema: a mass spectacle.................. pp. 15 Bibliography......................................................... pp. 17 Introduction In this essay I am going to talk about history in The Birth of a Nation by David Wark Griffith. By “history” I mean: the historical filmic context of the film, which was released in 1915. I am going to show how history is represented in the film. We can see some facts that may have been changed in some aspects in order to guide our minds to what the director want us to think. We also find, as a method to support this, the introduction of fictional characters in some much known historical events of the United States. To end with, I am going...
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...and Race Relations Abstract This paper explores race relations amongst the people after the Civil War and during the Reconstruction era of the nineteenth century. The Southern whites tried to maintain their status quo of supremacy. The following will describe techniques that the southern whites used in an effort to keep the south as it was in the antebellum. Laws were enacted to protect the civil rights of the freed people and those born in the United States. In some case these laws were stricken down by the Supreme Court. Laws were also created in the south to minimize the freedoms of the newly freed people. These laws were called “Black Codes” and “Jim Crow Laws.” In America’s south was the first domestic terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan which started as a social club in Tennessee. This paper will describe some of the issues that started in the nineteenth century and carry on today. In the south the wealthy and politically connected white people refused to let go of their way of life after the Civil War. The southerners did all they could to maintain a status quo. In their minds the war did not change anything. After the Civil War the white southern power structure used the following techniques to make the exercise of freedom for the former slaves challenging. The first technique I will discuss is a political fashion when the local and state governments in the south instituted Jim Crow Laws and Black Codes. Jim Crow Laws and Black Codes limited black Americans’...
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...Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror U.S. Presidents have been known to assert their presidential prerogative in times of crisis. Their decisions, sometimes haste and irrational, were rarely challenged by the Supreme Court because of extenuating circumstances. Over the years, our nation’s leaders made the tough decisions that raised eyebrows in the Supreme Court and caused confusion among the American public. The latest battle that has our nation in an uproar is terrorism. Since the attack on September 11, 2001, the American government has exercised its powers to detain suspected terrorist or illegal combatants for the sake of national security. Such actions violate the right of habeas corpus which grants detainees due process in court. Is it a question of what is right according to the executive powers of war or the right of habeas corpus? The need to explore the right of habeas corpus is an understatement; during the war on terror, it was simply an afterthought. Habeas Corpus has evolved over the course of history but still holds the same core principles. Unlike the evolution of man, habeas corpus has been subjective to interpretation and uncertainty of its true meaning. The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 was passed during the reign of King Charles II by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of habeas corpus, a procedural device to force the courts to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention...
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...and made strides to end discrimination, when union soldiers helped enforce these amendments. Southern black men began to vote and were elected to the United States Congress and to local offices such as sheriff. Coalitions of white and black Republicans passed bills to establish the first public school systems in most states of the South. Blacks established their own churches, towns and businesses. But with these strides came violence and resentment. An organization like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), spread a reign of terror across the South, targeting African Americans and white Republicans. In Document “C,” they specifically targeted a black republican who was elected Sheriff in Georgia, Davie Jeems. They despised the Republicans and were horrified by the African Americans' newly-gained rights and the government's corruption. They made threats to Davie Jeems such as “We nail all, radicals up in boxes and send them away to the KKK.” With many great social changes brought by reconstruction sadly brought some terror along with it. Politically after the civil war, radical reconstruction emerged to qualify rights for blacks as well as ensure that the union tries not to secede again. They also believed that the Confederate leaders should be punished for their roles in the Civil War. Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner opposed Andrew Johnson’s lenient reconstruction plan. In Document “B,” Sumner wanted to intervene with the federal governments state affairs and wanted to create laws that...
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...HOW WILL A SEVERE TERRORIST ALERT EFFECT TOURISM IN SOUTH CAROLINA Brianne Buckner Dr. BRIAN MCCUE PAD 590 JUNE 21, 2010 STRAYER UNIVERSITY CHARLESTON, SC CAMPUS This Directed Research Project (DRP), was conducted and orally presented By ………………………………………………………………………………. Brianne Buckner, Student We hereby certify that this DRP submitted by Brianne Buckner conforms to acceptable standards, and as such is fully adequate in scope and quality. It is therefore approved as the fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Hospitality and Tourism Management, MBA Approved:_________________________________________ Supervising Faculty__________________________________ Peer Review/Technical Advisor________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page APROVAL PAGE………………………………………………………………………...i ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………ii TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES………………………………………………….….iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY………………………………….….6 Context of the Problem……………………………………………………………6 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………….7 Main Research Question and Sub-questions………………………………………7 Significance of the Study…………………...…………………………….……….8 Research Design and Methodology………...
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...HISTORY 1500 WINTER 2014 RESEARCH ESSAY TOPICS 1. Select a crusade and discuss the extent to which it accomplished its objectives. Why did it succeed or fail? Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History; Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives; Christopher Tyerman, God’s War: A New History of the Crusades 2. How did anti-Semitism manifest itself in medieval Europe? Kenneth R. Stow, Alienated Minority: The Jews of Medieval Latin Europe; Mark R. Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages; Solomon Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the Thirteenth Century 3. What was the position of prostitutes in medieval society? Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women; Leah Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 4. Why did the French choose to follow Joan of Arc during the the Hundred Years War? Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader; Bonnie Wheeler, ed., Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 5. Discuss the significance of siege warfare during the crusades. You may narrow this question down to a single crusade if you wish. Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege; Randall Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century; John France, Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade 6. Why did the persecution...
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...The History of Terrorism This comprehensive description for the history of terrorism analysis provides insight into the French and Russian revolutions expanding the terrorism knowledge to the Irish revolutionaries for political changes. The change of faces in terrorism activities shows as the left wing extremists slowly faded away with the collapse of the communism. The modern right wing extremist have an old history of using religious aspects as an excuse for killing innocent people to gain the political advantages. The future of terrorism takes a newer turn with the introduction for the weapons of mass destruction causing deaths of millions of innocents for the terrorist's statement, and mission. The development of the Department of Homeland Security and United States Patriot Act helped the Intelligence community, government agencies, and law enforcement departments provide viable information toward modern terrorism tactics. The fight for everlasting freedom becomes a combination of information resources working together toward the same objectives. Terrorism Phenomenon According to Jacqueline Carberry (1999), "the global terrorism phenomenon used for political aspirations, sometimes as freedom from oppression, and changing of governmental politics" (685). This phenomenon affects everyone in any city in the United States, and international world. The term terrorism has no boundaries or respect for the national and international world. Every government across the global community...
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...taken by various organisations and people but not all of them succeed. What exactly is terrorism, how do terrorist organisations work and how to counter terrorist activities? Terrorism by itself has numerous definitions as it is hard to define it precisely. It is said that this phenomenon has over 100 definitions and lack of one, widely recognized, hinders fighting with this danger. When we discuss about terrorism in colloquial conversation, we instinctually know what it is about and what the meaning of this word is. It is otherwise in case of professional and legal discussions where you have to agree on a definition of the term. The concept of terrorism derives from the Greek treo – “to tremble, to fear”, “to coward, to run away” and Latin terror, -oris – “fear, dread, dismay”, or “terrible word, terrible news” and a derivative of the verb Latin terreo – “to induce horror, to scare”. The word “terrorism” means literally “to sow horror, fright”. Dr Krzysztof Karolczak in his book “Terrorism - a new paradigm of war of the 21st century” draws attention to the problems of...
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...Lone Wolf Terrorism Introduction Problem background and significance In the United States terrorism incidents such as the attack in 1995 in Oklahoma by Timothy McVeigh and the September 11th attack in 2001, have led to the realization that lone wolf terrorism posses a grave threat to the safety of the public. Terrorism analysts and law enforcement authorities have insisted that it is hard to spot lone terrorists before they strike and this is of great threat to the security of a nation. From FBI information it is evident that lone terrorism trends indicate that it is an ongoing risk both in side the United States and outside the country (Risen & Johnston, 2003) In 2003 the director of the FBI stated that there was an increased threat from persons who are affiliated or sympathetic with the Al Qaeda and they act without having any conspiracies surrounding them or external support. Scholars in the field of terrorism have in the past concentrated on the how terrorist groups work so as to explain how individuals work. The general view of terrorism is that it is a group activity which is mainly influenced by leaders training, recruitment, obedience and conformity, solidarity and moral disengagement. Due to the imbalance that exists between the focus by scholars on terrorism that is group based on one hand and apparent threat posed by lone wolf terrorist on the other hand, necessitates the empirical and conceptual analysis of lone wolf terrorism so as to establish a good understanding...
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...understanding modern life . . . What is “freakonomics,” anyway? 1. What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? 15 In which we explore the beauty of incentives, as well as their dark side—cheating. Contents Who cheats? Just about everyone . . . How cheaters cheat, and how to catch them . . . Stories from an Israeli day-care center . . . The sudden disappearance of seven million American children . . . Cheating schoolteachers in Chicago . . . Why cheating to lose is worse than cheating to win . . . Could sumo wrestling, the national sport of Japan, be corrupt? . . . What the Bagel Man saw: mankind may be more honest than we think. 2. How Is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents? 49 In which it is argued that nothing is more powerful than information, especially when its power is abused. Spilling the Ku Klux Klan’s secrets . . . Why experts of every kind are in the perfect position to exploit you . . . The antidote to information abuse: the Internet . . . Why a new car is suddenly worth so much less the moment it leaves the lot . . . Breaking the real-estate agent code: what “well maintained” really means . . . Is Trent Lott more racist...
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