R e s e a r c h
The Civil Rights Era
(The Ku Klux Klan and Mohandas Gandhi)
In the Civil Rights era, the Ku Klux Klan was a supremacist group who rose against Martin
Luther King Jr during the black movement. The white supremacists believed african americans
shouldn't be allowed to vote or become citizens and the KKK would torture and kill black americans
and sympathetic white people in retaliation. The Ku Klux Klan is believed to have been an
organization started in 1868 against the Republican party and after World War I, the KKK furthered
their vengeance upon jews, catholics, and all colored people. It's been said that each member of
the KKK furnishes himself with a pistol, a Ku Klux gown and a signal instrument. Most members of
the KKK were never convicted in the South for most of their inhumane crimes either. Nowadays,
most racist organizations cease to exist anymore or have at least reduced in numbers since the
Civil Rights era.
1893, the Indian Rights movement began similar to how the Civil Rights era started. Mohandas
Gandhi was working as an attorney for an Indian Lawfirm in South Africa. When he was first going
to South Africa, Gandhi caught a train with first class tickets and as the white ticket master made his
rounds, he ordered Gandhi to go to the lower class seating because he was colored skinned.
Gandhi refused and he was thrown off the train and ended up waiting for the next train all night in
the station. For the next 13 years he developed a protest against British Rule. Petitions and
propaganda caught the attention of many Indians, especially when Gandhi produced a weekly
magazine called, "Indian Opinion" that read all about freedom and rights. The government
retaliated and made laws that required Indians to have identity cards at all times. After the laws
were made, Gandhi held a mass meeting with the people and they vowed to resist British Rule
during the protest despite the predicted consequences and violent response. They created their first
resistance known as, "Satyagrapha" or non-violent resistance. After Gandhi's arrest during the
following protest, British repression began to increase after World War I and the resistance was at a
halt. When Gandhi was released, another campaign went on in 1920 causing the arrest of
thousands of Indians for disobedience, including Mohanda Gandhi. As the movement came to
another stand-still, the government made laws to over tax salt which to Indians is a necessity, not a
luxury. Once Gandhi was released again, he led a 200 mile march for 24 days at the age of 61.
Catching the attention of the world, the government still resisted. So Indians began to manufacture
their own salt illegally. Much police brutality came out of the resistance and eventually Gandhi then
held another raid at a British salt mine but was arrested before carrying out the protest himself.
Despite his conviction, the raid continued on. The world began to pressure the British government
to release Gandhi from his imprisonment. They released him and signed a treaty to make peace of
the situation. That if the Indian disobedience ends, the government would allow Indians to legally
produce salt.
.................................Vietname
(My Lai Massacre, Bombing of Cambodia and Laos, The Fall of Saigon)
...
During the decade of 1960, America undertook revolutionary change across
the nation as the people began to rebel against the currency of sexism, racism,
inequality, and war. As liberation began to consume America, mass genocide
flourished throughout South Vietnam with only the vietnamese blood spilled over
''democratic" hands held beneath our corrupt government. Our nations greatest
fault of the time, the My Lai Massacre.
March 16th, 1968. Second lieutenant William Calley and his crew the "Charlie
Company" mapped out an undercover plan to invade the hamlets of My Lai and
My Khe in an attempt to find and kill any vietnamese soldiers taking refuge within
the villages. However, William and his following troops arriving began to raid the
village of civilians, beginning with a fire. For the next two days, rage became the
sin of Charlie Company. My Lai and My Khe had a toll of 504 people dead. Nearly
every villager was killed including babies, elders, women, and men. Only 4 actual
vietnamese troops were discovered. A majority of the dead were found to be
mutilated, raped, and tortured. None of Charlie Company were killed for their
victims happened to be unarmed. In the company of chaos, a pilot from the aero-
scout team known as Hugh Thompson Jr. flew through the My Lai village during
the massacre. Appalled as he looked into a ditch of mutilated bodies piled up with
some survivors, he landed on the scene. Confused as he asks William and his
crew for helping to save the survivors, William fires his weapon upon the ditch of
bodies. Thompson alerts his air force as he began to fly out the remaining
survivors to safety. Later he reports the massacre to the military's high authorities
and is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross metal for his courageous acts
which he then threw away and then was later again awarded the Soldiers Metal in
which he refused unless him and his team were honored in the public's eye. Once
the news of the massacre reached the White House, president Lyndon B. Johnson
decided to cover up the massacre for a year to the public in fear of throwing the
nation into a riot. Officials told the country that only 22 civilians and 128 vietcong
were killed. Eventually the people knew the truth from many veterans who wrote to
the White House and Congress about the massacre, despite these letters being
ignored by most of the political party. The country became outraged and only 26
soldiers and lieutenant William Calley were convicted and charged for murder.
William should've received a life-sentence in prison, but instead got 3 1/2 years
under house arrest and after 4 decades since the massacre in August of 2009, he
made his first public apology.
Only months later into 1969, the U.S. military planned to bomb NLF bases on
the border of Cambodia and Laos to cut-off the main vietcong supply lines, except
president Lyndon B. Johnson didn't want to undermine the anti-communist
governor Prince Sihanouk and decided it wasn't a good tactic. However, once
Richard Nixon was elected for presidency he sent orders to proceed with the
delayed bombing. The NLF was bombed with B52s as America began to invade
Cambodia. By the time it was taken over a communist movement had begun
known as "The Khmer Rouge" and within a year it grew rapidly where by 1973,
Laos and Cambodia was being controlled by communists. Many vietnamese had
only joined the Khmer Rouge because of the U.S. invasion. An estimated 700,000
to 800,000 vietnamese died between 1968-1975 and the bodies are still being
counted because it's still unclear how many people really died when most people
were completely vaporized during the bomb raids. Vietnam has therefore suffered
more within a single year as opposed to America within a decade of war. After the
bombing of Cambodia though, officials had yet again tried to hide it from the public
for a majority of the country was in retaliation and their protests were more people
to rebel but once the people knew, 450 colleges were closed down due to
uncontrollable riots across the nation as America was infuriated.
Northern vietnamese soon took over South Vietnam occupying Saigon, the
capital of South Vietnam and renamed the city "Ho Chi Minh City" after their
communist leader. As they invaded, all American civilians, military personal, and
vietnamese civilians were evacuated. The evacuation was controlled under
"Operation Frequent Wind" which was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.
1,373 Americans and 5,595 vietnamese were part of Operation Frequent Wind
and then 50,493 others were evacuated including 2,678 of them being vietnamese
orphans without being flown out. The Fall of Saigon had finally marked the end of
the Vietnam War, the 30th of April, 1975.
..
the nation as the people began to rebel against the currency of sexism, racism,
inequality, and war. As liberation began to consume America, mass genocide
flourished throughout South Vietnam with only the vietnamese blood spilled over
''democratic" hands held beneath our corrupt government. Our nations greatest
fault of the time, the My Lai Massacre.
March 16th, 1968. Second lieutenant William Calley and his crew the "Charlie
Company" mapped out an undercover plan to invade the hamlets of My Lai and
My Khe in an attempt to find and kill any vietnamese soldiers taking refuge within
the villages. However, William and his following troops arriving began to raid the
village of civilians, beginning with a fire. For the next two days, rage became the
sin of Charlie Company. My Lai and My Khe had a toll of 504 people dead. Nearly
every villager was killed including babies, elders, women, and men. Only 4 actual
vietnamese troops were discovered. A majority of the dead were found to be
mutilated, raped, and tortured. None of Charlie Company were killed for their
victims happened to be unarmed. In the company of chaos, a pilot from the aero-
scout team known as Hugh Thompson Jr. flew through the My Lai village during
the massacre. Appalled as he looked into a ditch of mutilated bodies piled up with
some survivors, he landed on the scene. Confused as he asks William and his
crew for helping to save the survivors, William fires his weapon upon the ditch of
bodies. Thompson alerts his air force as he began to fly out the remaining
survivors to safety. Later he reports the massacre to the military's high authorities
and is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross metal for his courageous acts
which he then threw away and then was later again awarded the Soldiers Metal in
which he refused unless him and his team were honored in the public's eye. Once
the news of the massacre reached the White House, president Lyndon B. Johnson
decided to cover up the massacre for a year to the public in fear of throwing the
nation into a riot. Officials told the country that only 22 civilians and 128 vietcong
were killed. Eventually the people knew the truth from many veterans who wrote to
the White House and Congress about the massacre, despite these letters being
ignored by most of the political party. The country became outraged and only 26
soldiers and lieutenant William Calley were convicted and charged for murder.
William should've received a life-sentence in prison, but instead got 3 1/2 years
under house arrest and after 4 decades since the massacre in August of 2009, he
made his first public apology.
Only months later into 1969, the U.S. military planned to bomb NLF bases on
the border of Cambodia and Laos to cut-off the main vietcong supply lines, except
president Lyndon B. Johnson didn't want to undermine the anti-communist
governor Prince Sihanouk and decided it wasn't a good tactic. However, once
Richard Nixon was elected for presidency he sent orders to proceed with the
delayed bombing. The NLF was bombed with B52s as America began to invade
Cambodia. By the time it was taken over a communist movement had begun
known as "The Khmer Rouge" and within a year it grew rapidly where by 1973,
Laos and Cambodia was being controlled by communists. Many vietnamese had
only joined the Khmer Rouge because of the U.S. invasion. An estimated 700,000
to 800,000 vietnamese died between 1968-1975 and the bodies are still being
counted because it's still unclear how many people really died when most people
were completely vaporized during the bomb raids. Vietnam has therefore suffered
more within a single year as opposed to America within a decade of war. After the
bombing of Cambodia though, officials had yet again tried to hide it from the public
for a majority of the country was in retaliation and their protests were more people
to rebel but once the people knew, 450 colleges were closed down due to
uncontrollable riots across the nation as America was infuriated.
Northern vietnamese soon took over South Vietnam occupying Saigon, the
capital of South Vietnam and renamed the city "Ho Chi Minh City" after their
communist leader. As they invaded, all American civilians, military personal, and
vietnamese civilians were evacuated. The evacuation was controlled under
"Operation Frequent Wind" which was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.
1,373 Americans and 5,595 vietnamese were part of Operation Frequent Wind
and then 50,493 others were evacuated including 2,678 of them being vietnamese
orphans without being flown out. The Fall of Saigon had finally marked the end of
the Vietnam War, the 30th of April, 1975.
..
For my third trimester of the school year I was finishing up my Western Civilization class
and put together a small video project about French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte from
the seventeenth century. Enjoy.(:
and put together a small video project about French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte from
the seventeenth century. Enjoy.(:
Final Project for Western Civilization:
.
................................................The failure of America's Educational System:
.After World War II had ended in the 1940's, high schools became universal and colleges were more available. Though this gave every citizen a chance for higher education to better their lives, people began to take advantage in abusing their right to education by simply wasting it. In the 1960's, education in America began a significant decline that still effects students and teachers decades later. At that time, society was rebelling for revolution. The 60's were a decade of war and civil rights, for women and many other people who were out-casted from society for who they were. This doesn't explain why our standards are still continuously declining though. So is it to blame the people, or the economy?
In just the past year of 2011, half of America's high schools failed to meet the government set standards. That's almost over 43,000 schools combined. Recent statistics report that on average, 40% of teachers in k-12 quit teaching after only 5 years or less. These results compared to the last 3 decades are truly astounding. People have been pointing fingers towards present technology. The federal budget only provides 4% to the funding for education, compared to the 26% that's going towards our military, which is around $680 billion dollars. Most of the funding for education goes to technology though, which may be the cause for the present decline. Computers, though convenient and make information more accessible are taken for granted. The ability to have the answers in the click of a button, quick and simple, refrain students from using critical thinking skills to truly understand and comprehend what it is they are learning. Compare a student’s knowledge absorbed from the Internet to the knowledge received out of books. If a students looks up information through the Internet, they get a basic outline of their subject with few points to explain the "who, what, when, where, and whys." When a student must read through many books to find their information, they tend to more accurately understand their subject more fully and will actually remember it as opposed to the many students who graduate high school and remember nothing they had learned about as though it doesn't apply to their daily lives. It's clear to say that it's the people, not the economy to blame. The country has the funding for education, but it's the people who are not using it to it's full advantage, and it's the fact that our society is no more educated than we were 100 years ago that supports this theory. Government involvement with the Board of Education is a complicated debate. Are the standards the government set just too high to reach for every school? Or would our educational system better itself if schools were allowed to work the way they feel would help students? Many schools believe that government involvement is the major cause for the decline. Since the 1960's, our government has taken creativity and morality out of the classrooms, and has exchanged them with socialism, humanism, and evolutionism. Now schools revolve around difficult assignments, inadequate resources, and isolation and role conflict in students. Statistics prove that home schooling and alternative schools produce higher test scores than public schools, but not enough to alter the nations overall rank in the world which is the 48th in mathematics and sciences. There are not enough available opportunities for individual learning. Students retain more knowledge when taught individually in specific ways that allow them to learn more accurately as opposed to a single student in a class of 30 or more other individuals being taught the same exact way. It's obvious everyone learns differently at a separate pace. Once a student is stuck in a system they cannot grow within, then they just do not simply grow. What seems unfair is when schools that don't meet the yearly government set standards are punished with Unfunded Mandates. Unfunded Mandates are when schools don't follow government law so therefore their funding towards resources and scholarships is cut and the school themselves must pay for it. This is why many alternative schools with great potential are eventually shut down because they face a greater challenge of re-teaching students who never brought up the best test scores in public school, so when the scores are low in the overall school, they loose their funding which only makes it harder for the school to stand as one function. The solution is simple and worthy, but will take years to see significant outcomes. States across America have recently been signing waivers for the government to have more flexibility with standardized testing and determining alternative ways that dictate a pass or fail student. States also think the less government control there is, the easier it'll be to teach their students more efficiently. Also, if we use our federal budget correctly, schools should improve their education within the following decade.
Today’s youth is the future of this country. For all the glory and pride of our nation, it only seems right to leave it in the hands of our youth's future potential and abilities to better themselves and the world around them so that America and possibly the world could fall into a prosperous phase of infinite possibilities.
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