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The U.S. decision to enter World War II was not one which was hastily made. World War I had been simmering for some time, over two years in fact, prior to the U.S. entrance into this bloody affair. Endless debate had occurred at all levels of our government, and even among the general population, to the appropriate role of the U.S. in this war. As one factor after another combined to make U.S. involvement more of a probability, one factor in particular would prove to be the final straw which would topple the decision making process from one of restraint to one of action. This factor was, of course, the Japanese bombing at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was attacked on the morning of December 7, 1941 and would prove to be Japan’s greatest mistake, a mistake for which the consequences would extend throughout the war and well into Japan’s post-war future. More immediately, however, it would serve to drop the restraint which the U.S. had maintained as the war had raged on in Europe for over two years. The U.S. would have entered WWII even if the Japanese did not attack Pearl Harbor. The axis powers, Germany and Italy, were gaining to much power in Europe and then Japan decided that they were going to join with the axis powers, this was not settling well with the U.S. Read more…

The Vietnam War greatly changed America forever. It was the longest war fought in America’s history, lasting from 1955 to 1973. The Vietnam War tarnished America’s self image by becoming the first time in history the United States failed to accomplish its stated war aims, to preserve a separate, independent, noncommunist government. The war also had great effects on the American people. It was the first war ever broadcast on television. The public was able to see what happened on the battlefield. One of the chief effects of the war was the division it caused among the people. Not since the Civil War had America been so divided. This war would have lasting affects on the United States.

The Vietnam conflict began long before the U.S. became directly involved. Indochina, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, was under French colonial rule. The Vietnam communist-nationalist, also known as the Vietminh, fought for their freedom from the French. The French were being slaughtered, and were doing little to keep the communist North Vietnamese out of South Vietnam. The U.S. sent financial aid to France to help them eliminate the communist threat. At the Geneva Conference in 1954, the major powers tried to come to an agreement on Indochina. There would be a temporary division on the 17th parallel in Vietnam. The Vietminh would control North Vietnam, and South Vietnam would be ruled under the emperor Bao Dai. Read more…

Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706, was an author, diplomat, American printer, philosopher, and scientist. He contributed to two different things. They are the American Revolution and the new form of federal government.

Benjamin grew up in Boston, along with his sixteen other siblings. When he was fifteen years old, he delivered newspapers during the day and wrote articles for the newspapers at night. But, in 1792, James Franklin was imprisoned for writing an ‘offensive article’, and was mistaken under Benjamin Franklin’s name.
In October 1723, Benjamin decided to leave Boston because of James Franklin, and all the disagreements he had with him. He then moved to Philadelphia. He was pretty worried and concerned because when he came there, he only had three cents in his pocket. There, he met the governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, and they became friends. Keith convinced Benjamin to complete his training in becoming a printer, in London. Benjamin listened to what he had to say, and agreed with him. When he was eighteen years old, he worked at two different printing houses. Read more…

George Washington is a man that will never be forgotten in American history. Many Americans see his face just about everyday without even realizing it. His picture is on the One Dollar Bill and the Quarter. His name is just about everywhere, whether it’s schools, towns, counties, states or even the capitol. I think that he deserves this praise because he was a loyal man that helped form America. He was also very brave and intelligent and could stay under control in tough situations. Without him America wouldn’t be what it is today.

George Washington was very loyal. He was loyal to his friends, the American citizens, and even his wife. He was loyal to his friends because even though he was friends with both Jefferson and Hamilton, and no matter how different their thoughts or ideas may have been he never was biased or took sides. He also listened to what the American citizens had to say about certain issues and wasn’t quick to judge people. George Washington was loyal to his wife because when he became president he was even more famous than he was before and no matter how many women were after him he stayed loyal to Martha and didn’t cheat on her.

George Washington was also very brave and intelligent. He had fought in a war before he became President. He was also a good leader when he lead attempted to lead his army against the angry farmers in the Whiskey Rebellion. I believe that it was very brave for him to do this because many people were against him and rebelling and no matter what he still stood up for what he believed in and that the law was right. Read more…

The term genocide was not coined until 1943 when Raphael Lamkin used it to describe the Nazi reign in Europe (ROD notes). Genocide refers to the systematic destruction of a racial or cultural group. Two examples of this are the Holocaust and the Rape of Nanking. The Holocaust deals with the Nazi’s takeover of Europe during World War II, and the Rape of Nanking is the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930’s. These events in history serve a painful reminder of the cruelest depths of human nature, but also of the possibilities that lie within every catastrophe.

Bystanders always play a key role in any event, whether they have a positive or negative effect on the outcome of the situation at hand. Most, if not all, of the bystanders during the Rape of Nanking were western missionaries that happened to be in China at that time. Among them were doctors, a filmmaker, and even a Nazi. The filmmaker was a man named John Magee whose films have helped historians unlock some of the mysteries about that gruesome time. Rabй was another bystander who happened to be a Nazi with connections to Adolf Hitler. He contacted Hitler and told him of the current atrocities in Nanking and asked for assistance in fighting the Japanese; assistance that was later denied. All of the Westerners decided to take action in this situation by setting up the International Safety Zone, which harbored 300,000 Chinese refugees, in the center of Nanking. This assistance helped the people of Nanking to a phenomenal degree. On the contrary, the bystanders during the Holocaust did very little to help the victims. The bystanders during the Holocaust were mainly the Germans who lived in the surrounding areas of the concentration camps. Most of these Germans had an idea of what was going on, yet they did nothing. They had an ignorant mindset; they did not want to know and they did not care. Due to this ignorance many war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in both cases (Horvath). Read more…