Roswell

The Roswell Incident The Roswell Incident, which enlightened our minds to the capacity of excepting all, has remained one of the most controversial issues today. In Roswell, New Mexico, 1947, a strange occurrence arises. An alien craft from outer space crashed in an open field. The issue lay still for almost thirty years, until the thought of a government cover-up arose. SocietyÆs opinions have changed over the years. Previous to the 1990Æs, people have despised the thought of sharing the universe with other intelligent life forms. Now people are interested in this mysterious phenomenon. People think it is the blame of the movies and television. By watching this, people are at a level at which they understand. Not only do these movies entertain, they inform people about the little information we obtained from the government. The thought of government cover-ups have been long discussed. The government has always, in the past, tried to keep any sign of aliens, whether it be pictures from space, to crashes on earth, to a low or nonexistent level. Just recently has the government been harassed to the point where they actually gave us clues to alien existence. It has in some ways been believed that the government has worked in partnership with popular movie directors, to produce alien movies to ease the thought that we may not be alone. Such movies as ôThe Arrivalö and the ever popular ôIndependence Dayö are very good examples of well convincing alien movies. If this is true, they did a good job, because statistics state that 75% of people today believe that there is some kind of intelligent life forms besides ourselves in the universe. That is very convincing compared to the 20% whom believed 25 years ago. ô New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.ö (MacGowan 261) A local New Mexico rancher, MacBrazel, while riding out in the morning to check his sheep after a long night of thunderstorms, discovered a considerable amount of debris. It created a gouge several hundred feet long and was scattered over a large area. Some of the debris had strange physical properties. He took some debris to show his neighbors then his son. Soon after that he notified the sheriff. The sheriff then contacted the authorities at Roswell Army Air Field Base. The are was closed off and the debris was eventually flown by B-29 and C-54 aircraft to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. A New York Daily News article says ô...either conclusive proof extraterrestrials have indeed visited earth, or one of the most elaborate hoaxes ever perpetuated on the public.....ö (Dominquez). Besides the wreckage that was found, there were three objects which were highly debated about. Three bodies, two found dead, the other to die in a couple of weeks. Whether or not the bodies were actually found, is only determined by the few witnesses who claim to have seen the bodies. A few of these people turned out to be very highly respected military officers. Some people say that the bodies were human which have been exposed to the radiation. This radiation could have been caused, due to nuclear weapons that Roswell Army Air Base had been testing, since they were at the time the only squadron which had authorization to nuclear weapons. This theory was discounted by most, saying that this kind of deformation would have caused a human being to die before such damage could occur. Albert Einstein once said: ô....I am convinced that, there is an absolute truth. If there canÆt be absolute truth, there cannot be a relative truth.ö (MacGowan 289) The government has been blamed with covering up this whole event. They have been claimed to have shipped off the wreckage to Dayton, Ohio, to avoid publicity. Which is normal, to prevent a worldwide panic. The bodies however, were not as lucky to have not become public, yet. The government has, and will always say that the wreckage found was a secret spy balloon. The people who have seen the wreckage, and believe that's what it was, describe it as a bundle of tinfoil, broken wood, beams , and rubber remnants of a balloon. Most discount this because, why would the government be messing around with balloons, if they were exploring the characteristics of jet fighters. Yes, the wreckage did seem like tin foil, at first, until you held the material, which if you bent, twisted, and did anything you dreamed up of, would still return to its original shape. They have tried to burn and shoot through it and had unsuccessfully destroyed it. It is thought that the government has used this to theyÆre benefit, and discovered its properties to use on future planes, but this has not yet been yet proven, since no planes known are this indestructible. Glenn Davis, a respected business man in Roswell, was called by a friend, General Exon, asked how to seal and preserve bodies that have been exposed to the alien materials. Davis did not know the answer to this question, since he did not know much of the incident. Later that night he made a trip to the base hospital, outside the back entrance he spotted two military vans with the rear doors open, from which large pieces of wreckage protruded. Once inside he encountered a young nurse whom which he knew, at the same instance, he was noticed by military police which escorted him from the building. The next day he met up with the nurse at a coffee shop. She explained that she had been called upon to help two doctors disect to small bodies, which she thought to be alien. She drew a diagram on a napkin showing an outline of thier features. That meeting was to be thier last; as she was transferred to England a few days later. Today the nurse would be sixty-nine years old. Investigators are trying to locate her. Five nurses are pictured in the 1947 Roswell Air Field yearbook. The files of all five are strangely missing from military records. A couple of years ago a report on Fox television network broadcasted a show called ôAlien Autopsyö. This show was mainly about what happened to the bodies which were recovered from the Roswell crash site. Bodies were showed being dissected on video tape. The whole process of the dissection is like this: One of the two people first examined the body. He then with a surgical knife, cut open the neck down to the belly, and took out the organs. As for the head, he found that the eyes of this body were covered with two black membranes, which were easily removed with tweezers. Lastly, he cut open the scull and took out the brain. The other person seemed to be responsible for recording the whole process. People at first thought this whole movie was a joke until they opened the bodies up. Steven Speilberg even stated : ô There is no way these bodies could be fake , due to the high complexity of the inner organs, not only would it have been impossible then, it also practically impossible to replicate them now, and if it were possible it would cost us millions of dollars to replicate, or even try to replicate them.ö Kodak film company has done their own testing on the actual film on which the footage had been filmed. They had verified that the film was made in the 1940Æs. In the film, when it zoomed up on the bodies, blurred. This was thought to purposely done to hide detail, but in fact cameras in the 1940Æs had no focus on objects that were to close to it. There were even people who are claimed to be eyewitnesses of the crash of the UFO in Roswell, and strongly believed that the body appeared in this film, was one of the three found in this incident. Even though there is a lot of information which points to the program being real, there is a lot which point to its falsehood. The government wanted to keep this at a very low-key. They still insisted that the crash in Roswell was still a military balloon. However, a congressman wanted the government to open all the document related to the Roswell Incident, the reply was that all of documents were destroyed! What did the government want to cover? If they wanted to cover the fact that aliens came to earth, why did they let the show air to the public? Of course, if the film is false, it doesn't matter. There also some differences in the body in the broadcast, and the descriptions from the witnesses. The most obvious is of which the fingers in the movie have six fingers and toes, while the witnesses from Roswell said they had only four. It is said that the UFO had exploded in the air, if that were the case, then the bodies would have been severely burned. In ô Alien Autopsyö, the only injury on the body, was the cut on the right leg. The dissection room in which it was taken was much too simple. The people in the movie are wearing normal dissection clothes, if it were a true alien, then why not try to prevent yourselves from catching some out of this world disease. Lastly , people say that the bodies are to similar to human bodies, and that the bodies just might be abnormal humans. Like many people do, we think aliens may look similar to us. By chance there may be aliens that resemble us, or we may resemble them. For obvious reasons, it is necessary that the military services and the intelligence agencies impose a certain amount of secrecy. In recent decades, however, many observers say: ôthat the use of government secrecy has become excessive. Secrecy tantamount to power and, like power, lends itself to abuse. Behind the shield of secrecy, it is possible for an agency or service to avoid scrutiny and essentially operate outside the law. Accountability to the taxpayers, and to the Congress, can be conveniently avoided.ö Perhaps this is a major reason the U.S. annual ôblack budgetö has climbed to a staggering $25 billion a year. ô Secrecy, like power, is not readily relinquished. As we all know we will never know the true story of which happened in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, but it is up to us to decide for ourselves.

Words: 1749

Light And The Glory

The Light and the Glory The United States Constitution has been the bedrock for the longest lasting government in all history. Why is it that our constitution still exists after more than two hundred years? Is it the incredible minds of those that framed it, or is it something else? In 1620, the Pilgrims departed from Holland and set out for America. Ten years later, they were followed by the Puritans. The Puritans and the Pilgrims experienced incredible hardships, which forced their reliance on God. There was little to eat, and shelter was no more than an uninsulated log cabin. As new generations grew up, they began to learn how to grow and harvest crops, which supplied them with plenty to eat, and comfortable lives. They did not have to depend on God for their survival. Gradually, as the people strayed further away from God, there began to be witchcraft and many people with no moral standards at all. These once godly people had forgotten how God had miraculously provided for their grandparents. By the mid 1700’s, America was in desperate need of a revival. This burden was laid on a man’s heart whose name was Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards, a graduate of Yale at seventeen, began and sustained a revival that changed the course of American history. Along with George Whitefield and countless other circuit riding preachers, Jonathan Edwards brought America down on her knees before God in repentance. America was indeed a new nation. It was about this time that America began to view itself as one nation, not just a handful of independent colonies. The only problem was that the Americans were not the only ones who had settled in the New World. They were bordered on the north and west by the French and on the south by the Spanish. If anyone attempted to settle on the west side of the Appalachian Mountains, chances of survival were slim because of hostile Indians and cruel French trappers. America was far from having enough manpower to take on the French all by themselves. When King George III realized that his prized possession, the American colonies, was in danger of being taken over by the French, he sent troops to push the French- American boundary line deeper into the interior of the continent. This turned into an all out war known as the French and Indian War. Although the beginning of the war favored the French, the British eventually became successful in setting the French-American boundary well past the Appalachian Mountains. Along with the “Great Awakening,” the French and Indian War would be another turning point in American history because the colonists now realized that they were capable of building an army. The war also unveiled future heroes such as George Washington. Most of all, it brought the colonies together in unity. Relations were now beginning to change between the colonies and England. The colonists “were beginning to regard themselves as Americans rather than Englishmen.” The colonies were now on a much higher spiritual level than England. King George again realized that his prize possession was in danger of being lost. However, this time it was the colonists themselves that were the threat. To stop the growing rebellion in America, George III appointed a new prime minister George Grenville. Grenville decided to tighten England’s control of the colonial settlement past the Appalachian Mountains. This would result in the “Proclamation of 1763” which canceled all the land grants given to the colonies in the past by other kings and parliaments. He also laid new taxes on the colonists that violated their rights because the colonists had no representatives in the English parliament. The “Stamp Act” and the “Quartering Act” were just a few of the burdens that Grenville laid on the colonists. William Pitt and Edmund Burke were two men in the English parliament who encouraged Grenville to lift the tariffs and taxes. When Grenville arrogantly refused to lift any of the tariffs or taxes, it was one of the most costly mistakes he would ever make. Burdensome taxes were enraging the colonists. They did owe England a war debt of 37,000,000 dollars, but the “Quartering Act” had nothing to do with paying money to the English. Still, even if there was no “Quartering Act,” the colonists still had no representatives in the English parliament for the other taxes! In Boston, Massachusetts, the anger that the colonists had against England was beginning to turn into hatred. British regulars, roaming the streets of Boston and lodging in the homes of the people, only made matters worse. There was always taunting and teasing between the colonists and the soldiers, but on March 5,1770, taunting and teasing turned into something much more serious. Children began throwing snowballs at some British soldiers standing in the street. Soon, adults joined in that were carrying pitch forks and other farm-tools. As the soldiers became angry, someone yelled “Fire!” and the soldiers fired into the crowd killing five colonists. This was later known as the “Boston Massacre”. When George Grenville heard of the tragedy in Boston, he repealed all of the taxes and tariffs except a tax on tea. England later shut down Boston’s port because some the colonists threw a shipload of tea into the Boston harbor so that they would not have to pay the tax on it. Because the port was closed, Boston had no way of providing food for itself. Instead of Boston starving to death and crying out for mercy like the British thought they would, something extraordinary happened. Other colonies such as South Carolina and Virginia sent a bountiful food supply to Boston and would send more if needed. England now found out something else: the colonies were not just a bunch of separate colonies, they were a nation! In 1774, when the first Continental Congress met, a war with England was now coming into sight. In the Congress, there was much debate over whether the colonists should go to war with England or succumb to England’s authority. Although there were English loyalists at the convention, Patrick Henry summed up the majority’s opinion with the end of an incredible speech which stated, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” As 1775, came, a war with England was almost certain. Minutemen were already training, drilling, and storing ammunition. Finally, on April 18, 1775, the English commander, General Gage, prepared seven hundred troops to capture the patriot leaders and crush the rebellion. Early the next morning, a handful of untrained minute men set up at the Lexington green to stall the British so that the main American force in Concord would have time to get organized for a fight. As the long line of British regulars began arriving at the green, the Americans realized that they were vastly outnumbered, but they stood their ground anyway. The British Commander said, “Disperse you rebels or die.” However, the Americans tenaciously held their ground. As the British commanders continued to threaten the “rebels,” the Americans began to part from the green. Just as the Americans were leaving, a shot was fired which resulted in a powerful volley from the British into the fleeing “rebels.” The volley killed twelve Americans. When the Americans returned fire, it did little to the British. Although the first confrontation in the war had been a crushing defeat, the American War for Independence had begun! When the British were on their way to Concord, the tide began to turn. The minutemen began to fight like Indians instead of the traditional way. Assaulting the British from behind rocks and trees was a very effective way to fight. By the end of the day, the British had more casualties and losses than the Americans did. The British agonizingly realized that this was much more than just a small rebellion. The next two months were filled with a lot of fighting. At Bunker Hill, the Americans presented the British with a stunning blow, which gained more respect for the Continental army. Although the Americans were forced to retreat at Bunker Hill, they still had far less casualties than the British. A patriot band led by Ethan Allen seized Fort Ticonderoga, which was a major British stronghold. However, the war was still not official. Most of the Americans still wanted to avoid war and resort to something else. The Continental Congress had this same desire, and sent the Olive Branch Petition to George III which asked him to come to “reasonable terms” and promised loyalty in return. King George rejected the Congress’s requests and decided to bring the colonies into total servitude under the British. Any hope for peace was gone; the war was now official. King George hired Germans and Prussians to fight called Hessians. On July 4, 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which declared the nation’s independence from England or any other nation. Although the American morale was high, they were still no match for the combined forces of the Hessians and the British. The colonists suffered many defeats during the early part of the war. The Americans did fight hard, but all their efforts did not seem to be enough to put any kind of a blow to the British. Late one Christmas night in 1776, Washington found himself stationed by the Delaware River. He was in great need of a victory and decided to take a big chance. On the other side of the river was the town of Trenton where the Hessians had celebrated Christmas. This was an ideal time for an attack because the Hessian Army had been drinking and partying all night long and would not be expecting an attack. The problem was that the army would have to cross the Delaware River to get to the Hessians. If any man fell into the river, it would mean certain death. Also, they could easily be spotted by the enemy guards, for it was a clear night. This was a chance that Washington would have to take. As he began sending his troops across the river, a supernatural phenomanon took place. As the army began crossing the river, a blinding snowstorm came that made visibility very low. No Hessian centry would spot them now. The surprise attack on the camp turned out perfect. The Continental army overthrew the camp without any effort at all. This victory was a gigantic blow to the British. A similar event occurred later in the war when a fog obscured a retreat that saved 8000 of Washington’s men from certain death. By the time the winter of 1777, came, the Continental army’s morale had reached an all time low. They had given all of their energy and it seemed like nothing good had happened. General George Washington decided to make winter camp at Valley Forge fifteen miles west of Philadelphia. The majority of his soldiers did not have any shoes, and some had barely any clothes. Being the commander of the army, George Washington could have easily spent the winter in some local mansion. Instead, he chose to stay with his men at the camp. This act alone would lift the morale of his men. Washington also hired a Prussian named Baron von Steuben to drill his men every morning. This also lifted the morale of the army. It was a habit of Washington’s to go a ways from the camp every morning and pray for the army’s needs and other things. One morning, when Washington was praying, one of his assistants came to tell him of something that the British were doing. As he came near to the General, he stopped and observed. The assistant noticed that the snow had melted all around Washington as he prayed! By the time spring came, America was a well-trained army. Although the Americans did not win many battles for a shortly after Valley Forge, they still gained much respect from the British because they held their ground well. A year later, the Americans began to win many battles. Although there were a many victories, the Continental army still needed a major victory. After being beaten around by the Americans, the British decided to take refuge on a peninsula off Williamsburg, Virginia, called Yorktown. The British planned to escape the trap by having their ships pick them up. The plan was good, but the French navy blockaded the bay and prevented the English ships to get through and save the British troops on land. With the help of Alexander Hamilton, George Washington’s army forced the British to surrender. Although there would be fighting between the British and Americans for two more years, both sides new that America had won after the Battle of Yorktown. After the war, America ratified the Articles of Confederation as its government. The articles had many weaknesses which resulted in anarchy. Because America had been under tyranny for so long, they resorted to a government that was too loose and unstable. In the Articles of Confederation, the government had no power to tax, which resulted in a lack of money to supply for national defense. Although there were many people who were for the Articles, men like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton knew that if America was to survive as a nation, they would need a more solid and central form of government. In the summer of 1787, representatives from all over the country came to Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Their goal was to change the Articles of Confederation so that it would be a more solid form of government. Soon, the purpose of this meeting was no longer to revise the Articles of Confederation, but to design a whole new form of government. After studying different government structures from the past in other countries, the delegates at the convention began to see what kind of government America needed. There needed to be a government with three branches, not just one. The major problem was how the states should be represented. If the states were represented according to their population, it would be unfair to the smaller, less populated states. However, if every state had the same number of representatives, the larger, populated states would not be represented properly. The solution to this problem was found after studying the English government. The delegates decided to have two houses; one according to the population of the states and one that had the same number of representatives per state. These two houses were the House of Representatives and the Senate. The incredible document that these men wrote became known as the Constitution. Today, America still has the same government that was formed at the Constitutional Convention in Independence Hall over two hundred years ago. Although there have been amendments to the Constitution, it has provided the longest lasting and most successful government in all history. The reason that it has lasted so long is not the brilliance of those who wrote it. The one and only reason that our government has had such an incredible duration is that it was founded by great men of God who believed the Bible and had great moral standards. Although there were some non-Christians that helped write the Constitution, all the delegates believed that there was a God who had helped win the War for Independence and inspired men like Washington and Madison to form the Constitution. The average American today may look at America’s history and believe that all of the miraculous and supernatural events that took place were just coincidences. That however is false. It was God who provided food for the Puritans and Pilgrims. It was God who created the blinding snowstorm over the Delaware River that night and kept the American army together at Valley Forge. It was God who inspired men like Washington, Adams, and Madison at the Constitutional Convention. There is no doubt that without the incredible providence of God, there would be no America today!

Words: 2669

Kemble Knight

Sarah Kemble Knight. Journal. Group A: Our group found passages to support the idea that Knight was courageous. On the first day of their journey they encountered a thick swamp On the second day they crossed a river which greatly terrified knight. She goes on to say I now ralyed all the courage I was mistress of ... (now would seem like a good time for a woman from the city to call it quits!) On day three Knight can not cross the river because the water is too high at present so she stays at a little cottage. Knight says, this little Hutt was one of the wretchedest I ever saw a habitation for human creatures. Also on day three Knight says an Indian-like Animal come to the door. If knight is concerned about her safety she doesn't write about it. On December 21 they encounter a great storm of wind and snow. Winter probably wasn't a good time to take a road trip! Group B: By taking her journey, Sarah Kemble Knight proved her self-reliance and independence. Here are a few dates and instances that really stood out in our minds. Oct. 2nd- Knight bribes John to leave with her. Oct. 3rd- She begins to conquer her fear of drowning by crossing the water in a canoe. Oct. 4th- Knight survived the cruel treatment by Mr. Devills and his daughters. Dec. 21st- Knight makes it through illness without much distress. March 3rd- Knight shows her inner strength in that she could be away from her child for so long.


Words: 261

Kapital

American Gov. Kapital When one gets down to the roots of capitalism you find that it is a form of government that allows the rich to get richer, the poor, poorer and the middle class to stay the same. Karl Marx wrote a book, Kapital about the what capitalism does to the people in a society, how it takes the humainty out of being and replaces it with x. Not only does it do that but it creates a chain of commodities, fetishisis, and alienation within a society. Commodities are at the top of this chain. A commodity is anything that is produced for exchange. They have two parts to them, the use of the commodity and its value. With women, and men the use of the human body is humanity, doing whatever it is that pleases you, whether it be riding your bike, reading, dancing, whatever, it comes down to your humanity. Their humanity is turned into a value when women have to sell their use to obtain different forms of commodities, to then exchange those commodities for more commodities. In capitalism women are defined by their bodies, and judged by what their bodies can do, and look like. Women have to sell their humanity because in capitalism that’s the only thing people have to sell. In capitalism it doesn’t matter who or what you are, as long as you’re producing something that will make money. Women sell their humanity in different ways, there seems to be a same scale in place with women’s jobs, modeling (which is at the far right), stripping (somewhere in between), and prostitution (which is at the far left). Most wouldn’t connect these three with having any basic ground (maybe stripping & prostitution), but their basic ground is that women are all selling there use for some form of a commodity, which most of the time is money. The outcome that that has is profound. Not only does it effect women, and girls, it effects boys and men. Their images of women become so distorted that they begin to believe them. Women become fetishes for both men and women. With any commodity it will become a fetish. “Society divides its labor between a multitude of private producers who relate to each other by exchanging their products,” (Marx’s Kapital For Beginners, page 60) when that happens it gives the use value this imaginary power, which is an fetish. Fetisizing women limits what a woman is, could be, or wants to be, because the fetish with women is sex. A large part of society that puts that and more standards on women are men. Men fetishsize women as sex objects, by supporting prostitution, and strippers, and putting standards on what is beautiful (models). Women become nothing more than sex, and bodies. For men and woman. Not only do they view themselves as sex objects (models, strippers, etc.), but as mothers, and housewives, and anything else society imposes on them. Right now the world is much more open to women being in the work place than it was 50 years ago. It’s not so much the housewife anymore, but the images of women you see on television, in movies, magazines, on the street. The problems that woman are having now being alienated from their bodies is something that was just slowly beginning years ago. The real value of what a woman is is lost somewhere in between her use and exchange. Alienation is what use value, and fetishism, all lead to. Men become alienated from who, and what a woman really is. They begin to believe in their fetishes, that women are supposed to be tall, super thin, long legs, large breasts, long hair, and what have you, so that when they are faced with what really is there they won’t accept it. Not accepting the reality of it, men become alienated from the real thing. They don’t know what a woman really is, just what society tells them a women is. The effects of alienation are much greater on women themselves. Women begin to see themselves in unhealthy ways if they feel they’re not living up to that standard of beauty. Not seeing themselves for themselves begins a whole unhealthy chain of eating disorders, over exercising; industries have been created to cater to that feeling. Plastic surgery is something that was around at first to fix scarring and disfigurements, but became a tool that could alter their body to whatever women felt a need to fix. If a woman looks to old, she can get a face-lift. Too large? Get liposuction. Breasts are too small? Get implants. Whatever you feel the need to fix about yourself you can fix it if you have the necessary means. Cosmetics and clothing also fix the problem. It’s not as extreme as plastic surgery, but it’s still there to cover up, or show whatever you want. Makeup literally covers up whatever you don’t want seen; it alters your face. Clothing can make an outward change to whatever you don’t want to be seen. It can enhance your assets or hide everything about you. The clothing industry makes tons of money off of people’s insecurities. If you want to look like a model, here’s what the models are wearing. Your breasts are not the size you want and you don’t want implants, this miracle bra will help. You can waste tons of money on diet pills/shakes, become bulimic/anorexic, get surgery done, put on ½ a ton of makeup, or buy ½ a ton of clothes. Whatever you feel need to be fixed, altered, or hidden, there seems to be a commodity out there for you. If this is what is going on now for women I would hate to think about what’s going to be happening in the next 10 to 20 years. It’s almost as if we take three steps forward and to steps backward. Yes, we are gaining professional status, and there are more opportunities out there for us, but look at where we are doing with our bodies. It’s sad when people like Marilyn Monroe would now be considered someone over weight. If the standards of beauty keep going down this scale, what would a beautiful person look like in 2020? Something needs to be changed, this society we live in needs to be changed. Acceptance of others and self are key. Once that is accomplished problems will begin to disappear, as if never existence. Bibliographynone


Words: 1078

Johnathan Edwards And Benjamin Franklin

Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin both wrote simply, directly and without aristocratic pretense. They felt writing was not an end in itself, but a work done in the service of something greater whether it be God or mankind. In his Personal Narrative, Edwards focuses on the ecclesiastical whereas Franklin, in The Way to Wealth appeals to the individual. Edwards wrote to understand what was happening around him and admits, I made seeking my salvation the main business of my life,. Franklin, rather, wrote on self improvement, similarly to an author of a modern day self-help book. He wrote to inform and would represent himself attractively with numerous aphorisms such as Lost time is never found and The sleeping fox catches no poultry. Edwards, in Personal Narrative, crystallized into language of permanent beauty one of the great mystical experiences of the race. His conversion at age 17, demonstrates his awareness of a meaningful world: I often used to sit and view the Moon, for a long time; and so in the daytime spent much time in viewing the clouds and sky, to behold glory of God in these things. . . Franklin would not sit quietly and view the moon for he reminds his audience that there will be sleeping enough in the grave. He encourages independence saying God helps them that help themselves. Franklin tried that strategy: I used to be continually examining myself, and studying and contriving for likely ways and means, how I should live holily, with far greater diligence and earnestness, than ever I pursued any thing in my life and he writes of his failure: but yet with too great a dependence on my own strength; which afterwards proved a great damage to me. To undue the damage, Edward later viewed that God should govern the world, and order all things according to his own pleasure; and I rejoiced in it, that God reigned, and that his will was done. BibliographyThe Norton Anthology of American Literature. 5th ed. Vol. 1. Eds Bayme, et al. New York: W.W. Norton. 1998 Words: 331

John Quincy Adams

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts on July 11th, 1767. His ancestry lineage was English. Adams’ religion was Unitarian. His father, John Adams, was born in Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts on October 19th, 1735. He died in Quincy, Massachusetts on July 4th, 1826. He had three major occupations. He was a lawyer, a statesman, and the President of the United States. His mother, Abigail Smith Adams, was born in Weymouth Massachusetts on November 11th, 1744. She died in Quincy, Massachusetts on October 28th, 1818. John Quincy Adams had two brothers: Charles Adams who lived between the years 1770 and 1800, and Thomas Boylston Adams who lived between the years 1772 and 1832. He also had two sisters: Abigail Amelia Adams who lived between the years 1765 and 1813, and Susanna Adams who lived between the years 1768 and 1770. Louisa Catherine Johnson was born in London, England on February 12th, 1775 and she died in Washington DC on May 14th, 1852. Louisa was the second daughter of Joshua and Catherine Johnson. John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson were married before eleven a.m. on July 26th, 1767 in London, England at the All Hollows Barking Church. They were married by Mr. Hewlett. The portrait on the next page is of Louisa Catherine Adams at age 43. It was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1818. John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams had four children. Their children were George Washington Adams (1801-1812), John Adams (1803-1834), Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), and Louisa Catherine Adams (1811-1812). John Quincy Adams had plenty of education, which helped him in his election as President. He studied in Paris, Amsterdam, Leyden, and The Hugue. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1787 from Harvard and studied law from 1788 to 1790 with Theophilus Parsons. His Pre-presidency occupations consisted of being a lawyer and a professor. These jobs helped Adams to have the confidence he needed to become President. His Pre-Presidential offices consisted of being a Minister to the Netherlands, a Minister to Prussia, a Member of Massachusetts Senate, a Member of United States Senate, a Minister to Russia, a Minister to Great Britain, and a Secretary of State for Massachusetts. Adams’ Political Party was Federalist, to 1808; Democratic-Republican, to 1825; National Republican (Whig) thereafter. He was 57 years of age when he was inaugurated as President. Adams was a Congressman and a writer after his presidency. In the election of 1824 Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay ran against John Quincy Adams for president. Although Jackson received more votes than Adams, no candidate had a majority, so the election was submitted to the House of Representatives which, after careful examination of each party, chose Adams. He was and still is the only president ever to be the son of a president. Adams’ Inauguration was held on March 4th, 1825 at the Hall of the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. His vice-president was John Calhoun; Secretary of State: Henry Clay; Secretary of Treasury: Richard Rush; Secretary of War: James Barbour, Peter Buell Porter (from June 21st, 1828); Attorney General: John McLean; Secretary of the Navy: Samuel Lewis Southard; Supreme Court Appointment: Robert Trimble (1826). John Quincy Adams’ unexpected success as minister to Russia saved him from a political scrap heap to which he had been relegated by those who deplored his disregard for party lines. He had already represented the United States at The Hague and in Prussia, where he had seen the rise of tensions which upset Europe in the early 1800’s. His mission in Russia was to urge freedom of the seas, to seek favorable treatment for American shipping in Russian waters, and to reaffirm the desire of the United States to avoid entanglement in continental policies. The Adams’s arrived in Saint Petersburg late in 1809 and soon were a part of the capital’s social whirl. When fifty-two American ships were seized by Danish privateers, Adams appealed to Alexander the 1st (who was eager for American friendship) to intercede. Through the Czar’s efforts, the ships were released. By late 1810, Adams had convinced the Czar to discontinue the capture and detainment of American ships in Russian Ports. The Czar’s decision was in defiance of Napoleon’s system of trade restrictions, and marked the beginning of the rapid deterioration of the Franco-Russian Alliance. Open warfare between France and Russia began in 1812, one week after the outbreak of the Anglo-American conflict, which the Czar offered to mediate. Adams, who was later commended for his alacrity, immediately accepted the chance to end the useless war. England refused the Czar’s offer, because England was winning the war and was deaf to offers of mediation on maritime issues. Peace would have to be negotiated directly, at Ghent. The American delegation at Ghent faced many problems in addition to the demand of Britain’s representatives. The war news during the summer of 1814 was depressing and the growing threat of secession by New England Federalists weakened the American position at the conference table. There were personality clashes within the United States delegation. John Quincy Adams found Henry Clay irritating, “dogmatically, over bearing,” and lost to late hours and gambling. With typical candor, Adams acknowledged his own irascibility. He was annoyed when his drafts for the treaty were revised by his countrymen, but he admired James Bayard’s “real self-command,” and worked well with Albert Gallatin. At first, the British demanded that an Indian barrier territory be established between the United States and Canada, and that the United States not fortify its northern boundary, and also that English navigation be permitted on the Mississippi. By the end of 1814, England was increasingly concerned with European affairs and alarmed by American victories. England offered peace which deferred many of the essential questions to further negotiation, but which would at least end the fighting. On December 24th, (Christmas Eve) the Treaty of Ghent was signed. John Quincy Adams brought the office of Secretary of State to full bloom under James Monroe. His firmness prevailed over the chicanery of the Spanish minister Onis, and Spain gave up Florida and all claims to the Pacific Northwest which was a great victory for the United States and a big step forward in claiming lands for America. In dealing with Russia over Pacific Coast claims, Adams said in July of 1823, “…the American continents are no longer subjects for new European’s colonial establishments.” Five months later Monroe took the position of doctrinaire of policy. Adams watched with grave distaste as men began to succeed Monroe; he hated political manipulating and remained disinterested: “I had neither talent nor inclination for intrigue.” He was a man of old-fashioned ideals caught in a wave of new, crafty, and seamy methods of competition for offices. The virulence of the attacks on him during the close election of 1824 and following his appointment of Henry Clay as Secretary of State was only a prelude to what has been called Adams’ “four years’ martyrdom.” Adams long had acknowledged that he was not a “popular man”; his personal and governmental ethics were in somber and stoical contrast to the Jacksonian democracy that was sweeping the nation. A solidly antiadministration Congress viciously scrapped President Adams’ vast domestic program, and he was ousted in the election of 1828. The acrimonious campaign left him feeling bitter yet hopeful: “The cause of Union and of improvement will remain,” Adams wrote in 1829. “… I have duties to it and to my country yet to discharge.” John Quincy Adams, this man that had accomplished so much, was the boy who saw the Battle of Bunker Hill (from a hilltop near his home) and lived long enough to be photographed. The daguerreotype (picture) on the previous page was taken in 1947 when Adams was seventy-nine, the year before he died. In 1848, Adams collapsed on the floor of the House and was carried to the Speaker’s Room to be tended to in private. Two days later, on February 23rd, in Washington, DC, he painfully died of a stoke. Like his parents and kin before him, he was buried at the First Unitarian Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. “This is the end of Earth, but I am composed.” These were the last words of John Quincy Adams. BibliographyBennis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Union Knopf, ©1969. Greenwood, ©1980. Nevins, Allan, ed. The Diary of John Quincy Adams, 1794-1845. Ungar, ©1969. Leish, Kenneth, ed. The American Heritage Pictorial History of the Presidents of the United States. American Heritage Publishing Co. Inc., ©1968 John Quincy Adams “Sixth President 1825-1829” http://www.whitehouse.gov/wh/glimpse/presidents/html/ga6.html Cook, Denys. Presidents of the United States of America. “John Quincy Adams 1767-1848” David & Charles, ©1981.


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John F. Kennedy Jr.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He was the youngest president ever to be elected, the first Roman Catholic president, and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Although, he didn't get the chance to live out his term and possible another one, he impacted the entire world. No other president was so popular, especially with the young people. John F. Kennedy was born May 29th, 1917, child of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy. John had eight brothers and sisters: Joseph P. Jr. (1915), Rosemary (1918), Kathleen (1920), Eunice (1921), Patricia (1924), Robert F. (1925), Jean (1928) and Edward M. (1932). All of the children were born in Brookline, Massachusetts. They were all very competitive due to their parents. The only thing that was important to them was winning. John grew up in the nineteen twenties and thirties at his birth place of Brookline, Massachusetts. John had once stated, life is unfair,1 yet for him the statement was definitely not true. His childhood consisted of many things. Coming from a wealthy family let him have the freedom to do what most kids couldn't. That still didn't keep him from behaving like other kids. He and his brothers and sisters all participated in things such as sailboat races, tennis matches, or even just a simple game of touch football. All family members were always encouraged to get involved with government issues. Small talk wasn't allowed at the Kennedy dinner table2. They discussed world and national issues. The impact of these discussions wouldn't be seen until later. Joseph and Rose were trying to prepare their sons for public life and prepare their daughters for marriages to distinguished young men. In 1937, the Kennedy family moved to Great Britain so that John's father could become the American ambassador there for three years. John stayed in the United States for an education at Harvard University. John was a very good student at Harvard, yet he didn't make the high grades that his brother had. So, John joined two clubs and spent most of his time working on a newspaper published at Harvard, Crimson3. When he had finished his school term his father decided to let him tour Europe. When he was there he started to become interested in wars and politics, after noticing Hitler's actions. John went back there the following summer and saw how Hitler never gave up and continued to strengthen his army. He knew of the war that was soon coming. The United States had sided with Great Britain, so he knew he would have to go into the war. So, he went to enter the Air Corps, but was turned away because of his back problems. Instead he went for the position on naval officer and passes the health analysis. He was assigned to the intelligence division, he thought it was very boring. Shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked, John was sent for motor torpedo (PT boat) training4. Officer Kennedy soon became Lieutenant Kennedy. In Tulagi, John was assigned to a dirty old looking boat that had already been through nine months of combat. John experienced his first real combat when his boat was attacked by a Japanese fighter plane. Only two men were injured that time. They continued to stay there until one night when a full size Japanese ship came full speed at Kennedy's boat. The boat was demolished and the Japanese thought that all of the men had been killed. All of the men were forced to swim to Plum Pudding Island , three and one half miles away, with Kennedy leading them. After his triumph he was promoted to Full Lieutenant and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for saving his crew. He also received a Purple Heart for the severe back injury he suffered from the collision. After that, he took command of another PT boat and took part in many more missions. For John one particularly bad thing happened in this war, his brother died. Which impacted his life so greatly. The family had expected his brother Joe to run for public office. Now that he was gone, John was now the eldest son and it was now his responsibility. In 1946, he had the chance to run for Congress. Though he was still weak from his war injuries, he campaigned aggressively. He won that election that November, he was only 295. He served three terms as a Democratic Congressman, from 1947 until1953. In 1952 he ran for U.S. senate against Henry Cabot Lodge. He won that election and less than a year later he enhanced his appeal to the people. He married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on September 12, 1953. He was a very popular and successful Senator. He had almost become Stevenson's vice presidential running mate in 1956. His speech on concession brought him into over 40 million homes in America. He quickly became one of the most famous political figures in the country. Already his campaign for 1960 nomination had begun. Kennedy had to make extreme efforts toward this campaign. People were saying that no Roman Catholic man could ever become president. His mission was to prove them wrong. The press loved him, he and his wife appeared on magazine covers, photographers followed them everywhere. He had to do a number of speeches and appearances. So, to transport him and his staff around the country, his father bought him a forty passenger Convair aircraft6. In January 1960, Kennedy formally announced his presidential candidacy. His rivals were Senators Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota and Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Kennedy knocked Humphrey out of the way and was still battling the rumors of a catholic president. He dealt with that by winning the primary in West Virginia, which is primarily Protestant. He was nominated on the first ballot, and chose Johnson as his running mate. Kennedy narrowly won the general election against Nixon. He was inaugurated on January 20, 1961. At the inauguration is where he made his famous speech. The speech was about America's revolutionary heritage. Which is when he made this famous quote, Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.7 Kennedy's first year in office brought him considerable success. Congress passed a bill increasing minimum wage, and Congress passed his bill to create the Peace Corps. Which was an agency to perform social and humanitarian services overseas. The program's goal was to create peace and friendship with nations. Within two years the Peace Corps were working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Kennedy ran into some problems after the conservative Republicans joined with the Southern Democrats to stop legislation they didn't like. A Medicare bill, a civil rights bill, and a bill to create a Cabinet-level Department of Urban Affairs were all defeated8. Kennedy didn't lose all of his approval because he get some of his bills passed. Congress passed a bill to lower tariffs, authorized a purchase of over $100 million in United Nations bonds, and Congress appropriated more than $1 billion dollars to send a man to the moon. Kennedy began to lose popularity after he started forcing universities in the south to accept black students. People thought that he was limiting their rights as citizens. He continued to speak out against segregation and lost even more populairty. In 1959, after several attempts, a revolution led by Fidel Castro finally overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar. During the next two years Castro became very hostile towards the United States. After some problems with $1 billion dollars in properties and companies owned by the U.S., Castro began to proclaim his belief in Communism. Cuba then became part of the cold war. Kennedy approved an invasion of Cuba by CIA trained Cuban exiles. In April 1961, more then 1000 exiles landed in Cuba at a place called Bay of Pigs. Their plan was to move inland and join with anti-Castro forces to stage a revolt. Castro's forces were there to meet the invaders, and the revolt didn't happen. The CIA promised air support, but that never came. The exiles were taken as prisoners. The prisoners were released in exchange for food and medical supplies valued at $53 million. In March 1961, Kennedy introduced the Alliance for Progress, which would strengthen democratic institution in the Latin American nation to prevent them from doing what Cuba did. In August in was established by the charter of Punte del Este. This would be a Latin American version of the Marshall Plan. All Latin American nations except Cuba joined , pledging to bring our people accelerated economic progress and broader social justice within the framework of personal dignity and individual liberty.9 This brought the U.S popularity in Latin America. On June 3, 1961, in Vienna, Autstria, Kennedy and Khrushchev met and reviewed the relationship between the U.S and the U.S.S.R. . There was a lot of hostility, considering that there was a shooting down of a U.S spy plane in Soviet air space. The Bay of Pigs invasion created hostility too. NO agreements were reached on any important issues. The Soviet premier actually made it clear that the policies toward the Untied States would be even more strict. In August 1961, the Communists ordered that there be a wall put up between East and West Berlin. West Germany was under the control of the US, France and Britain. Those countries protested the wall, but since East Germany was Communist, it was done anyway. Allied forced weren't even allowed to travel through Berlin. This was the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was the closest the world's ever been to nuclear war. Khrushchev decided to supply Cuba with nuclear missiles that would be in range of the Eastern United States. He denied it when asked if he was supplying Cuba with missiles, but in the summer or 1962 there a US spy plane photographed a construction site managed by the Soviets and then spotted a missile on October 14th. For seven days Kennedy met with advisors on how to handle and respond to this, while the administration carried on as if nothing was wrong. On October 22nd, Kennedy told the nation about the missiles, demanded that the USSR remove the missiles and declared the water around Cuba a quarantine zone. Kennedy warned the USSR that if Cuba attacked the US it would be considered an attack on the US by USSR itself. Troops were sent to Florida to prepare for invading Cuba and air units were alerted. American vessels blockaded any Soviet ships that looked suspicious and searched them. For several days Soviet ships avoided the quarantine zone while Kennedy and Khrushchev discussed this. On October 26th Khrushchev agreed to remove all of the missiles. Before the US could respond to that note, Krushchev sent another trying to negotiate other terms. The USSR removed and dismantled all of the mistled and offered the US an on-site inspection. Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey. Cuba, angry at the Soviet submission refused the promised inspection. US spy planes revealed that the missile bases were being dismantled. Kennedy was a hero, he had avoided nuclear war and possibly World War III. As a result of him displaying courage and strength. On November 22, 1963, President and Mrs. Kennedy were in Dallas, Texas. They were trying to win support from the state that Kennedy had barely carried in 1960. AS the motorcade approached an underpass, two shots were fired in rapid succession. One bullet passed through Kennedy's neck and struck Governor Connally in the back. The other bullet hit the president in the head. His car sped to Parkland Hospital. At 1:00PM he was pronounced dead, he had never regained consciousness. Less then 2 hours after the shooting, on the residential plane, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. That afternoon, Lee Harvey Oswald, who was employed in the warehouse, was arrested in a movie theatre and charged with murder. On November 24 the body of President Kennedy was carried on a horse drawn carriage from the White House to the Rotunda of the Capitol.10 Hundreds of thousands of people filed passed the coffin of the president. The grave was marked by an eternal flame that was lit by his wife and his brothers.

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John Dalton

John Dalton was born on September 6, 1766, in Eaglesfield, England. He was the son of a weaver and received his early education from his father also at a Quaker school in his hometown, where he began teaching at the age of twelve. In 1781 he moved to Kendal, where he conducted a school with his cousin and older brother. He moved to Manchester in 1793, and lived there the rest of his life as a teacher, fist at New College and later as a tutor. He died on July 27, 1844. Dalton began a series of meteorological observations in 1787, that he continued for fifty-seven years. Altogether in the time he spent it added up to 200,000 observations and measurements on the weather in the Manchester region. His interest in meteorology led him to study a variety of phenomena as well as the instruments used to measure them. He was the first to prove the validity of the concept that the rain is precipitated by a decrease in temperature. Not by a change in temperature. His first work, “Meteorological Observations and Essays”(1793), attracted little attention. In the next year he presented a paper on color blindness to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Dalton himself suffered from color blindness. This paper was the earliest description of vision, known as “Daltonism.”

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Jimmy Carter

The President of Peace Jimmy Carter was born October 1, 1924, in the small farming town of Plains, Georgia, and grew up in the nearby community of Archery. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr., was a farmer and businessman; his mother, Lillian Gordy, a registered nurse. He was educated in the Plains public schools, attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. On July 7, 1946, he married Rosalynn Smith. When his father died in 1953, he resigned a naval commission and returned to Plains. He became involved in the affairs of the community, serving as chairman of the county school board and the first president of the Georgia Planning Association. In 1962 he won election to the Georgia Senate. He lost his first gubernatorial campaign in 1966, but won the next election, becoming Georgia’s 76th governor on January 12, 1971. He was the Democratic National Committee campaign chairman for the 1974 congressional elections (Hochman html). After only serving one term as governor of Georgia he announced his candidacy for president of the United States on December 12, 1974. He won his party’s nomination on the first ballot at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, and was elected the 39th president of the United States on November 2, 1976. During his presidency, Jimmy Carter made many important foreign policy accomplishments, including the Panama Canal treaties, the Diplomatic relations with China, and the Salt II treaty with the Soviet Union. Jimmy Carter’s first foreign policy accomplishment, and by the United States citizens, the most popular, were the Panama Canal treaties. After more than eighty years after the first official ocean-to-ocean transit of the Panama Canal, the United States and Panama embarked on a partnership for the management, operation and defense of the Panama Canal. Under two treaties signed in a ceremony at the OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, the canal would be operated by the United States until the turn of the century under arrangements designed to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. The treaties were approved by Panama in a plebiscite on October 23, 1977, and the United States Senate gave its advice and consent to their ratification in March and April 1978. The new treaties went into effect October 1, 1979 (Yahoo.com). The new treaties, passed under the Carter administration and Panama’s head of state Omar Torrijos would give Panama full control of the canal on December 31, 1999, at 12:00 midnight. All of the canal’s assets would also be turned over to Panama (Lycos.com). The ratification of the Panama Canal treaties was an important step involving a decrease in Third World hostility toward the United States (Dumbrell 212). Carter and his advisors agreed even before the inauguration that the canal negotiations should be an immediate priority. If the United States did not successfully complete negotiations, which had been going on since the Johnson administration, the government of Panama might create conflict in the zone that would require drastic American action (Hargrove 123). Another of President Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy accomplishments was his normalizing relations with the People’s Republic of China. Over the winter of 1977-1978 Carter cultivated relations with Chinese officials in Washington, and solicited an official invitation to visit China himself. However the president pulled back after his advisor Mondale stated that it was too much to ask the senate to handle the Panama Canal treaties and any new agreements with China at the same time. President Carter was thus told not to be explicit about normalization, and that his visit to China was inconclusive. In the Spring of 1978 president Carter decided that the Secretary of State Vance would visit China. Vance would visit China but would not be authorized to negotiate about normalization because Carter was afraid it might hurt developing relations with Russia and Japan. The United States and the Soviet Union were beginning to negotiate a S.A.L.T. (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) treaty, and President Carter was determined not to delay any SALT negotiations. Vance was not authorized to negotiate in China, but did a good job of laying the groundwork for future agreements. In the summer and Fall of 1978 president Carter negotiated the terms of normalization directly with the Chinese through the United States ambassador to China, Leonard Woodcock. Jimmy Carter believed that having better relations and stronger ties with China would help bring negotiations with the Soviet Union to a successful end. Directly after normalization terms concluded with China, president Carter pushed for a SALT treaty. By January 1979, Vance had met with China’s Andrei Gromyko in Geneva to put the finishing touches to SALT (130, 131). By the later part of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, relations with the Soviet Union began to arise. The United States and the Soviet Union were working together on general terms for a SALT II treaty. Ceilings were set on the number of total strategic nuclear launch vehicles along with a subceiling for vehicles with multiple warheads that each country could hold. The Soviets could keep their total number of missiles and continue to add multiple warheads to them. The United States could increase their number of missiles and warheads up to the ceilings. The two unresolved issues were whether a new Soviet plane, the Backfire, was an offensive bomber (if so it would be included in the agreement) and whether the American Cruise missile, which was not mentioned to the Soviets for some time, would be considered a missile in terms of the Vladivostok agreement. Assuming the possibility of agreement on Backfire and the Cruise, a SALT II treaty based on the Vladivostok meeting would have stabilized the arms race but not reduced weapons arsenals. Limits were set on future development with the goal of parity. Soviet leader Brezhnev made it clear that the Soviets wanted a quick SALT agreement based on Vladivostok, with the Cruise missile included and the Backfire excluded. President Carter in turn suggested that the SALT II could be concluded without Cruise or Backfire but that it might be possible to move toward SALT III with deep reductions in existing forces. The Soviet leaders were uneasy about President Carter’s proposal to conclude SALT II, and were also concerned about sharp reductions in their existing weapons. The Soviet Union later accepted constraints on both Soviet Backfire and the American Cruise missile as part of the SALT II agreement. Basic agreement between the two nations on SALT II negotiations were achieved in April 1979, but an official SALT II treaty was never ratified. Final differences rounded out at the Carter-Brezhnev summit meeting in June of 1979 (134, 135). The Panama Canal treaties, the normalizing relations with China, and the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union were among Jimmy Carter’s important foreign policy accomplishments during his presidency. The two broad foreign policy perspectives Jimmy Carter brought to his presidency was a determination to attack and resolve a number of difficult and outstanding problems. Ratification of the Panama Canal treaties was an important step in that direction. It signaled Jimmy Carter’s willingness to take on issues that Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford had considered too tricky (Dumbrell 212). Some saw losing the canal as a major loss to the United States because estimated construction costs were around $387 million and the United States had invested about $3 billion in the enterprise since 1903. The majority of the United States citizens had overlooked the money spent on the canal and saw it as a great opportunity to improve relations with Panama. The relations president Carter set with China was also an important step in resolving world peace matters. By giving China full diplomatic recognition, it gave the United States a more neutral stance throughout the world. President Jimmy Carter’s last great foreign policy achievement before his presidency was over, were the Strategic Arms Limitation negotiations with the Soviet Union. Despite failure of the SALT II treaty being ratified, it set an agreement for the heavy cut back of nuclear weapons for both the United States and the Soviet Union. This was a relief to the citizens of the United States in a sense that the nuclear arms race was coming to a halt. Jimmy Carter was a man who made the most of his opportunities and did what was best, in his mind, for the general public of all United States. The puzzle about the Carter presidency which may never be fully answered is why Jimmy Carter became so unpopular with the media, politicians and the general public, and stayed unpopular during the presidency of his successor. With more political skill, and a good bit more luck, Jimmy Carter might have been a second term president. BibliographyDumbrell, John. The Carter Presidency: A Re-Evaluation. 2nd ed. Manchester UP, 1995. Hargrove, Erwin C. “Jimmy Carter as President”: Leadership and the Politics of the Public Good. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1998. Hochman, Steven H. Metacrawler.com: October 1, 1997. . Lycos.com: September 21, 1997. http:/www.simulations.com/panamacanal/index.htm>. Yahoo.com: March 1, 1998. http:/www.pancanal.com/ctransition/>.

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JFK Life And Death

His Life and Legacy On November 22, 1963, while being driven through the streets of Dallas, Texas, in his open car, President John F. Kennedy was shot dead, allegedly by the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States, the youngest person ever to be elected President, the first Roman Catholic and the first to be born in the 20th century. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as President therefore his achievements were limited. Nevertheless, his influence was worldwide, and his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis may have prevented the United States from entering into another world war. The world had not only lost a common man, but a great leader of men. From his heroic actions in World War II to his presidency, making the decisions to avert possible nuclear conflict with world superpowers, greatness can be seen. Kennedy also found the time to author several best-selling novels from his experiences. His symbolic figure represented all the charm, vigor and optimism of youth as he led a nation into a new era of prosperity. From his birth into the powerful and influential Kennedy clan, much was to be expected of him. Kennedy was born on May 29,1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, Joe, Sr., was a successful businessman with many political connections. Appointed by President Roosevelt, Joe, Sr., was given the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and later the prestigious position of United States ambassador to Great Britain (Anderson 98). His mother, Rose, was a loving housewife and took young John on frequent trips around historic Boston learning about American Revolutionary history. Both parents impressed on their children that their country had been good to the Kennedys. Performing some service for the country must return whatever benefits the family received from the country they were told. (Anderson 12). The Kennedy clan included Joe, Jr., Bobby, Ted and their sisters, Eunice, Jean, Patricia, Rosemary, and Kathleen. Joe, Jr., was a significant figure in young John's life as he was the figure for most of John's admiration. His older brother was much bigger and stronger than John and took it upon himself to be John's coach and protector. John's childhood was full of sports, fun and activity. This all ended when John grew old enough to leave for school. At the age of thirteen, John left home to attend an away school for the first time. Canterbury School, a boarding school in New Milford, Connecticut and Choate Preparatory in Wallingford, Connecticut completed his elementary education (JFK 98). John graduated in 1934 and was promised a trip to London as a graduation gift. Soon after, John became ill with jaundice and would have to go to the hospital. He spent the rest of the summer trying to recover. He was not entirely well when he started Princeton, several weeks later in the fall of 1935. Around Christmas the jaundice returned and John had to drop out of school. Before the next school year began, he told his father he wanted to go to Harvard (JFK 98). On campus, young people took interest in politics, social changes, and events in Europe. The United States was pulling out of the Great Depression. Hitler's Nazi Germany followed aggressive territorial expansion in Europe. It was at this time that John first became aware of the vast social and economic differences in the United States. In June 1940, John graduated cum laude (with praise or distinction) from Harvard. His thesis earned a magna cum laude (great praise) ( JFK 98). After graduation, John began to send his paper to publishers, and it was accepted on his second try. Wilfrid Funk published it under the title Why England Slept. It became a bestseller. John, at twenty-five, became a literary sensation. In the spring of 1941, both John and Joe, Jr., decided to enroll in the armed services. Joe was accepted as a naval air cadet but John was turned down by both the army and navy because of his back trouble and history of illness (JFK 98). After months of training and conditioning, John reapplied and on September 19, John was accepted into the navy as a desk clerk in Washington. He was disgusted and applied for a transfer. In June 1941, Kennedy was sent to Naval Officers Training School at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and then for additional training at the Motor Torpedo Boat Center at Melville, Rhode Island. In late April 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy was put in command of a PT 109, a fast, light, attack craft in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Kennedy saw action in the form of night patrols and participated in enemy bombings. On August 1, 1943, during a routine night patrol, a Japanese destroyer collided in the darkness with Kennedy's craft and the PT 109 was sunk. Through superhuman effort, the injured Kennedy heroically swam back and forth rescuing his wounded crew. Two were killed in the crash. The injury had once again aggravated his back. Still, Kennedy pushed on swimming from island to island in the South Pacific hoping for a patrol to come by. The lieutenant had no idea he had been in the water for eight hours. Finally, an island was spotted that could have provided cover from Japanese planes. With no edible plants or water, Kennedy realized that he and the crew must move on. The next day, he once again attempted to search for rescue. After treading water for hours, the lieutenant was forced to admit no patrol boats were coming. He turned back for the island but was swept away by a powerful current. Kennedy collapsed on an island and slept. He recovered enough energy to return to the island and gathered the crew to move to another island in search of food. JFK was now desperate enough to seek help from natives on a Japanese controlled island. After making contact with the natives, Kennedy persuaded the natives to deliver a message written on the back of a coconut shell to allied forces. The coconut fell into the hands of allied scouts and a patrol was sent. The coconut would appear again on the desk of an American President (Anderson 35). The crew of the PT 109 was given a hero's welcome when they returned to base, but Kennedy would have none of it. He refused home leave and was given another boat. In constant pain from the back injury, JFK soon contracted malaria, became very ill, and lost twenty-five pounds. He was forced to give up command and was sent home to Chelsea Naval Hospital near Hyannis Port. The lieutenant received the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, and a citation from Admiral W. F. Halsey. John's back failed to recover was an operation was performed on his spine in the summer of 1944. During recovery, Kennedy received word that his brother Joe, Jr. had been killed in action. Joe had been eligible for home leave, but had volunteered for a special bombing mission. The bombs had detonated early and Joe and his copilot were caught in the explosion. Kennedy put his feelings onto paper and a second book was published for the family and close friends. He called it As We Remember Joe. The family- particularly JFK's father- had assumed that Joe, Jr. would carry on the family tradition and go into politics. Both of his grandfathers had been active in politics (Anderson 41). Now, suddenly, JFK was the oldest Kennedy of his generation. Kennedy's first chance in politics came when Congressman James Curley from the 11th District of Massachusetts decided to retire in 1946 (Gadney 42). JFK won his first Congressional seat by a margin of more than two to one. At the age if twenty-nine, JFK was placed on the front page of the New York Times and in Time Magazine. He was often mistaken in Congress as a Senate page or an elevator operator. It was during this time period in which Kennedy met and fell in love with Jacqueline Bouvier. Jackie, as she was known, came from a wealthy Catholic background as prestigious as the Kennedys. She attended Vassar College and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. She spoke French, Italian, and Spanish fluently. They were wed on September 12,1953, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island. All seemed well, yet after three two-year terms as a Congressman, Kennedy became frustrated with House rules and customs and decided to run for Senate. In 1952, Kennedy ran for Senate against Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Fifteen years older than Kennedy, Lodge was the incumbent of two terms in the Senate. JFK prevailed in the victory but was soon stricken with Addison's disease during his first year in the Senate and had to operate on a fifty-fifty chance for survival procedure (Gadney 52). While recovering, Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage, a bestseller on examples of moral courage in the lives of eight senators who risked their careers for a great cause or a belief. Kennedy returned to Senate and participated in the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was also chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor. JFK believed strongly in education, equal job opportunity, and the civil rights movement. His biggest success came in the form of his Labor Reform Bill, which passed by a margin of 90 to 1 in Senate debate. Kennedy's first child, Caroline, was born during this time. Due to his enormous success in Congress, the Democratic Party nominated him for the presidential ticket in 1960. Lyndon Johnson was chosen as the running mate with Kennedy to secure and build upon the democratic bases in the southern states while the Kennedys sought out the younger voters, the factory workers, and the liberals (Gadney 61). During the Kennedy Administration, a great deal of events was going on. Jackie had given birth to JFK, Jr., while all over the south, the civil rights movement was going in full force with incidents breaking out. Specific attention gathered around a black air force veteran, James Meredith, applied for admission to the University of Mississippi. In Cuba both the Bay of Pigs occurred, in which U.S. supported rebels revolted in a poorly laid out plan of events that fell out beneath them, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in which the Soviet Republic were building missile silos in Cuba, 100 miles away from Florida. The blame for the failure of the operation falls directly in the lap of the Central Intelligence Agency and a young president and his advisors. The fall out from the invasion caused a rise in tension between the two great superpowers and ironically 34 years after the event, the person that the invasion meant to topple, Fidel Castro, is still in power. The Space Race was in full force with both Russia and the U.S. in competition to reach the moon. U.S. involvement in Vietnam was in the latter stages with plans to withdraw after the 1964 election. On a trip to Dallas to stir up support for the re-election, the President's autos were coming down Elm Street when three shots rang out. The first projectile entered at the base of Kennedy's neck and exited through the back of his head. The second bullet hit Texas Governor John Connally. Seconds later there was another shot and the back of the president's head was torn away. The assassin Lee Harvey Oswald with a mail-order rifle, fired from the Texas School Book Depository (Warren 5). He then promptly and calmly exited the building approximately three minutes after the first shot was fired. He was picked up later at a Texas movie theatre with little resistance. Oswald had recently applied for a passport to Communist Russia, which led to a series of private meetings between Oswald and the Russian Government (Warren 614). Oswald protested his innocence. President Johnson set up what quickly became known as the Warren Commission headed by Chief Justice Warren to find the motive behind the assassination; The Commission finds the lone, depressed, mentally unstable, anti-social nut kills an American president. On the Morning of November 22, 1963 at approximately 12:25 the presidential motorcade turned right from Houston St. on to Elm St. Their speed was approximately 11 miles per hour. President Kennedy had ordered the Secret Service to ride on the car boards on the car behind him. He made this decision so that the public would be able to see him better and show that he trusted the public. At exactly 12:30 while Kennedy waved to the crowd a shot fired out. He was hit in his neck, a shot that was fired approximately five seconds after the first struck him in his head and tore a piece of his skull off. Governor Connally who rode in the same car in front of the president sustained wounds on his back, right side of his chest, right wrist and left thigh. Orders were then given for the limousine to speed up to the hospital. President Kennedy was pronounced dead at approximately 1:00 pm. Now the question remained. What were the reasons for the president's assassination? The assassination plot could have been organized by one of many factions, such as the Cubans or the Russians, the Mob, someone upset with his civil rights policies, or maybe an inside job by a special agency. The plot was a deep and complex issue that involved many factions. More theories were offered when Oswald's ties to the CIA and his ties to Russian special agencies were exposed. Around October 1959, Oswald applied for Russian citizenship. While in Russia he went to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow where he denounced the United States, Praised the Soviet Union, and stated that he wanted to renounce his U.S. citizenship. He also made another very dramatic announcement: he stated that he had offered to give the Soviets radar secrets that he had learned in the Marines. He told them ominously that he might know something of special interest, an obvious reference to the U-2 spy plane which he had observed while in the service (Melanson 13). It was later noted that Oswald was working under an operative program for the CIA and was a double agent against the KGB. After his assignment was completed he was given $435 by the state department to get home. Whatever Oswald's reason for pulling one of the triggers against President Kennedy, it certainly involved a political agenda behind it. Other theories have evolved over time such as the Grassy Knoll theory. Witnesses say that a man in black was present and fired simultaneously with Oswald and doubled considerable connections and plotted revenge. On Nov. 24, 1963 as Oswald was being escorted from the city jail, nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot Oswald with a single shot from a Colt .38 revolver. Ruby was arrested and stood trial in Dallas. He was found guilty and was sentenced to hang. He died in jail of cancer, on January 3,1968. Kennedy was the first President to be born in the twentieth century and was very much a man of his time. He was restless, seeking, with a thirst of knowledge, and he had a feeling of deep commitment, not only to the people of the United States, but also to the peoples of the world. Many of the causes he fought for exist today because of what he did for the rights of minorities, the poor, the very old and the very young. He never took anything for granted and worked for everything he owned. Perhaps Kennedy summed up his life best in his own inaugural speech: Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. BibliographyMy Paper might not be 100% original but whose is?

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JFK Assassinaton

J.F.K. Assassination If Lee Harvey Oswald killed J.F.K. and it wasn’t a conspiracy, then why is the government still withholding reports done on the assassination from the public’s eyes, in the FBI’s possession? President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 on November 22. He was elected president in 1961. First he was a senator. Then he went straight from Capitol Hill to the White House. Robert Kennedy was attorney general and was J. F. K.'s brother. He was head of the investigation of the assassination after Kennedy was killed (3: 1-5). Both Robert and J. F. K. knew that people wanted to kill them. J. F. K. didn’t worry about it. But after John F. Kennedy was killed, his brother Robert Kennedy ordered that the casket was to be kept closed to public viewing. Robert thought it would have been him to get killed first, not his brother (5: 83). Robert encouraged his brother to sign three anti-crime bills. The bills targeted organized crime. They were used to stop gambling or at least crack down on it (7: NP). But even with the bills, the FBI director, Hoover, was afraid to go after the mob before the assassination because he thought his agents would become corrupt, and because Castro knew about the conspiracy against him. Hoover even told his agents that if the Mafia caught them, they would be fired and would be treated as a renegade (5: 84). The government didn’t approve of the crack down on the mob that was in America. Teddy Kennedy loved busting the Mafia. People like Jimmy Hoffa. Even Frank Sinatra became close friends with Teddy, even made trips to the White House (3: 12-18). But just like his brother John, Robert was also killed (3: 105). After the assassination Robert carried on the bills and got killed also (3: 105). In 1962 Cuba was known to have missiles from the Soviet Union in Cuba. They thought Cuba or the Soviet Union would make a nuclear strike. Accused of helping the soviet union wage war on the U.S., enemies and suspects were made (7: NP). Neither the FBI nor the CIA approved of getting into the Vietnam War. They didn’t approve of any of the president’s decisions (3: 105). There were three shots, even a possible four. Some people think that the last shot was one from an agent’s gun going off into J.F.K.’s head after reacting to the shots (5: 84-85). The first shot missed. The second shot hit J.F.K.’s shoulder, back, and throat; and Connally’s shoulder, wrist, and leg (5: 84-85). But how could one bullet travel with that much force to go through all of that flesh? The third shot was fatal to Kennedy but was very far away, very accurate, and deadly efficient (5: 99). Even the FBI’s best couldn’t shot with Oswald’s gun that accurately (5: 84-85). The gun was tested by the FBI and was found to be off centered. Many people coming from the grassy knoll heard the possible fourth shot. Someone was also seen running away from the knoll and was seen lingering there before the shots rang out. Whoever it was seemed to look like a FBI agent. The three shots that rang out on that very famous day can not be done in that same amount of time or with that accuracy even today (5: 84-85). Oswald was a very simple person with many mental problems. He mail ordered the gun that he supposedly shot Kennedy with. It only cost 21 dollars and was bought under a bogus name (5: 90). And after buying the gun Oswald had his wife take a picture of him holding the gun up by his side (3: 1-3). Why would Oswald take a picture of himself and the gun if he was planning to kill the President? You can’t expect a very good shot to come from a mail order gun for 21 dollars and with a mental case handling it. During the middle of the cold war Oswald ran to Russia and came home disillusioned. Oswald tried to get citizenship in Moscow and when they refused him he cut his wrists (5: 71). And soon after Oswald met with Valery Vladimirovich Kostikov, a Russian ambassador, and with out Oswald knowing, he wrote a memo to his superiors asking if Oswald was in or out of the assassination plot (5: 90). Oswald was such a bad shot that once while he was still in the marines he shot himself in the foot while at post in Japan. Oswald wanted to leave the country so bad that he wanted to go to Cuba and even referred to the leader as “Uncle Fidel” (5: 72). Why would an American Marine want to go to Cuba where they were hated? Oswald’s friends said that Oswald admired Kennedy. He didn’t have a motive to kill Kennedy. Even Oswald’s wife had a secret attraction to J.F.K., that even he didn’t know about (5: 71-72). Oswald even tried to get his wife to come with him to Dallas to see the President. When she refused him, she awoke the next morning to find his wedding ring and all that they had saved together plus 170 dollars beside their bed (5: 72). No one even actually saw Oswald shoot Kennedy. All that the people saw was Oswald running away from the scene (5: 94). How could the FBI agents get such an accurate description of Oswald if he was running away from the scene? The description was broadcast over the radio right after the assassination. Oswald worked at the book depositary way before the rote was made for Kennedy to come down (5: 94). How could Oswald have known that Kennedy would have been coming that way that afternoon? Oswald denied shooting J.F.K. after being caught and even denied shooting J.D. Tippit after Tippit spotted him. Tippit was a Dallas police officer that was on the look out for Oswald and spotted him in the book depository, where Oswald shot him (5: 72). Jack Ruby shot Oswald as he was being escorted from his jail in Dallas to another jail elsewhere. The night before Ruby shot Oswald he passed him in his cell (5: 94). Why didn’t Ruby shot Oswald then? After the incident Ruby was questioned why he did it and he answered that he thought he was being a hero (5: 94). The day he shot Oswald, Ruby left his trusted dog in his car. According to his friends he never left his dog in his car (5: 95). The Warren Commission, the FBI group hired to investigate the assassination, found out that Jack Ruby liked to visit Cuba often. He often went to Cuba to visit the mob boss of Florida, Sahtos Trafficante. It is also believed that Ruby and Oswald could have been in Cuba at the same time (5: 99). Ruby even made many furious calls to his mob contacts months before the assassination of Kennedy (5: 95). Lenny Patrick, the Jewish capo (or chief of a crime family) of Chicago, knew Ruby and said that he was not part of the mob and was unstable and unreliable (5: 87). Ruby use to deliver envelopes for Al Capone and he loved playing the big shot (5: 94). It was later found out that Ruby suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, which made him hear voices, so he could have been influenced to do anything. But Ruby was soon put in a mental institution and finally died of cancer in January 1967 (5: 95). The FBI put together the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination after Ruby passed away. The Warren Commission Report was done all by the FBI and filled 27 volumes and was released in September 1964, it states in those volumes that Oswald acted alone (5: 90). The Warren Commission totally denied and wouldn’t even look at the thought of any conspiracies, and just accepts that Oswald killed Kennedy (5: 87,90). It was like each branch of the government was trying to keep something hidden from the other, because even the CIA ignored repeated requests on information about Ruby for six months, but when they did give up information they turned up nothing (5: 94). The CIA for many years covered up its own plots to kill foreign leaders. Plus the government jumped on the theory that Oswald killed Kennedy (5: 95). Hoover, the head of the FBI, seemed to like the fact that Oswald was shot, because he could rap up the case up more quickly and didn’t seem to care if Ruby was a hit man for the mob (5: 84). Hoover blames his agents for not stopping Oswald and then covered it up (5: 87). But even Hoover resisted to print a statement saying that Oswald was a lone gunman, because even he had his doubts (5: 90). The night before Oswald was shot the FBI received an anonymous note that tipped them off that Oswald was going to be shot the next day, but Oswald was under very little security while he was being escorted by the FBI (5: 84,88). Desomond Fitzgerald of the CIA was eating lunch when he heard J.F.K. was shot and turned white as a ghost (5: 68). Fitzgerald even cried later on when he saw Oswald get shot by Jack Ruby and said, “Now we’ll never know.” (5: 82) Later on after the Warren Commission Report was released Washington stated that they didn’t think that Oswald acted alone, but kept it quite to the public until after the reconstruction (5:90). The FBI never did tell the Warren Commission about their plots to kill Castro, but Castro knew and threatened to get the USA back for plotting to assassinate him (5: 90,68). The CIA even hired the Mafia to kill Castro, but their half dozen plots failed (5: 68). They also were known to ask the Chicago Mafia boss Sam Giancana to rub out Castro (5: 62). Castro made the perfect person to blame for the assassination. In a fit of rage to get back at the U.S. he could kill the President. Hosty, a special agent at the FBI and a friend of Oswald, had his phone number found in Oswald’s address book and walked into the FBI weeks before the assassination. Oswald walked into the office and handed them a note to give Hosty, telling them to leave his wife alone (5: 90). Why would the FBI be after Oswald’s wife? After Hosty received the note the director of the FBI ordered Hosty to get rid of the note Oswald left him (5: 84). Hosty was also told by the FBI not to tell the Dallas police anymore than he had already told them (5: 86). Why would the FBI be after Oswald’s wife? His wife was in no way involved in the assassination. The only part Oswald’s wife played in the assassination was she took the famous picture of Oswald holding the mail order gun in his hand. In which Oswald claimed to be a fake. When trailed, Marina Oswald testified that she thought that Lee Harvey Oswald was shooting at John Connally, not J.F.K. Because the former Navy secretary brushed off Oswald’s request to upgrade his Marine Corps discharge. Even a Dallas lawyer overheard Oswald and Jack Ruby plotting the kill of Connally, while they were in the book depository. So why would Oswald, a simple veteran who loved his country but tried to escape it, have no motive, try to kill the President? Castro was the one who was angry with the U.S., because they planed to assassinate him. And why would the Warren Commission be made up of just FBI agents and not the CIA and other branches of the government? And why doesn’t the government make the report available to the public for viewing? Oswald did not kill the President, but was used to take the blame for the assassination. Ruby was brain washed by the Mafia to kill Oswald. And the Mafia was paid off by the government to hire Ruby.

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JFK

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the most influential people in history. Many people adored him because of his intelligence and his way with people. On November 22, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was riding in Texas, in his car, when he was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy was a outstanding president, he also served time for his country. Kennedy was a very intelligent man, he His symbolic figure represented all the charm, vigor and optimism of youth as he led a nation into a new era of prosperity. From his birth into the powerful and influential Kennedy clan, much was to be expected of him. Kennedy was born on May 29,1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, Joe, Sr., was a successful businessman with many political connections. Appointed by President Roosevelt, Joe, Sr., was given the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and later the prestigious position of United States ambassador to Great Britain(Anderson 98). His mother, Rose, was a loving housewife and took young John on frequent trips around historic Boston learning about American So 2 revolutionary history. Both parents impressed on their children that their country had been good to the Kennedys. Whatever benefits the family received from the country they were told, must be returned by performing some service for the country(Anderson 12). The Kennedy clan included Joe, Jr., Bobby, Ted and their sisters, Eunice, Jean, Patricia, Rosemary, and Kathleen. Joe, Jr., was a significant figure in young John's life as he was the figure for most of John's admiration. His older brother was much bigger and stronger than John and took it upon himself to be John's coach and protector. John's childhood was full of sports, fun and activity. This all ended when John grew old enough to leave for school. At the age of thirteen, John left home to attend an away school for the first time. Canterbury School, a boarding school in New Milford, Connecticut and Choate Preparatory in Wallingford, Connecticut completed his elementary education(JFK 98). John graduated in 1934 and was promised a trip to London as a graduation gift. Soon after, John became ill with jaundice and would have to go to the hospital. He spent the rest of the summer trying to recover. He was not entirely well when he started Princeton, several weeks later in the fall of 1935. Around Christmas the jaundice returned and John had to drop out of school. Before the next school year began, he told his father he wanted to go to Harvard(JFK 98). On campus, young people took interest in politics, social changes, and events in Europe. The United States was pulling out of the Great Depression. Hitler's So 3 Nazi Germany followed aggressive territorial expansion in Europe. It was at this time that John first became aware of the vast social and economic differences in the United States. In June 1940, John graduated cum laude(with praise or distinction) from Harvard. His thesis earned a magna cum laude(great praise)( JFK 98). After graduation, John began to send his paper to publishers, and it was accepted on his second try. Wilfrid Funk published it under the title Why England Slept. It became a bestseller. John, at twenty-five, became a literary sensation. In the spring of 1941, both John and Joe, Jr., decided to enroll in the armed services. Joe was accepted as a naval air cadet but John was turned down by both the army and navy because of his back trouble and history of illness(JFK 98). After months of training and conditioning, John reapplied and on September 19, John was accepted into the navy as a desk clerk in Washington. He was disgusted and applied for a transfer. In June 1941, Kennedy was sent to Naval Officers Training School at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and then for additional training at the Motor Torpedo Boat Center at Melville, Rhode Island. In late April 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy was put in command of a PT 109, a fast, light, attack craft in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Kennedy saw action in the form of night patrols and participated in enemy bombings. On August 1, 1943, during a routine night patrol, a Japanese destroyer collided in the darkness with Kennedy's craft and the PT 109 was sunk. Through superhuman effort, the injured Kennedy heroically swam back and forth rescuing his wounded crew. Two were killed in the crash. The injury had once again aggravated his back. Still, Kennedy pushed on swimming from island to island in the South Pacific hoping for a patrol to come by. The lieutenant had no idea he had been in the water for eight hours. Finally, an island was spotted that could provided cover from Japanese planes. With no edible plants or water, Kennedy realized that he and the crew must move on. The next day, he once again attempted to search for rescue. After treading water for hours, the lieutenant was forced to admit no patrol boats were coming. He turned back for the island but was swept away by a powerful current. Kennedy collapsed on an island and slept. He recovered enough energy to return to the island and gathered the crew to move to another island in search of food. JFK was now desperate enough to seek help from natives on a Japanese controlled island. After making contact with the natives, Kennedy persuaded the natives to deliver a message written on the back of a coconut shell to allied forces.

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Jefferson's Views On Education

Thomas Jefferson’s Views on Education Thomas Jefferson believed that universal education would have to precede universal suffrage. The ignorant, he argued, were incapable of self-government. But he had profound faith in the reasonableness and teachableness of the masses and in their collective wisdom when taught. He believed that the schools should teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Also, the children should learn about Grecian, roman, English, and American History. Jefferson believed the nation needed public schools scattered around, for all male citizens to receive free education. By 1789, the first law was passed in Massachusetts to reaffirm the colonial laws by which towns were obligated to support a school. This law was ignored. Private schools were opened only to those who could afford to pay them. In the middle states religious groups opened most schools. Not many schools or institutions were opened to the nonwealthy people. The women, blacks, and Indians were not able to go to school. It was not until the early 1900’s that the Nation began making academies for females, because government thought that they needed to be educated mothers to educate their children. Jefferson believed in the “Republican Mother”. Later, many 19th century reformers believed in the power of education to reform and redeem- to release a blame or debt, to buy back- “backward” people. As a result, they generated a growing interest in Indian Education. Jefferson and his followers believed that the Native Americans were “noble savages”, they hoped that schooling the Indians in white culture would “uplift”- to improve the spiritual, social, or intellect condition- the tribes. But the states and local government did little to support education. Unlike the women and Indians, blacks had no support at all. There were no efforts to educate enslaved African Americans, mostly because their owner preferred that they remain ignorant and this presumably less likely to rebel. By 1815 there were 30 secondary private schools in Massachusetts, 37 in New York, and many others scattered all around the nation. They were mostly aristocratic; they were not many that were public. Higher education similarly diverged from Republican ideals. The number of colleges and universities in America grew substantially; they went from nine of the time of the Revolution, to twenty-two in 1800, and after that increased steadily. Scarcely more than one white man in a thousand, had access to any college education, and those few who did attend universities were almost without exception members of prosperous, propertied families. Jefferson strongly believed that the nation’s future depended, in great part, on the nation’s education. He said in 1782, “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree”. He believed that in order for people to trust the people who are in charge of their government, they need to have some kind of education, to be able to make decisions based on their knowledge. Jefferson also believed that there wasn’t any freedom without education. He said, “ If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a civilization, it expects what it never was and never will be”. By this, he means that in order for the people to want a free nation and expect for great things to happen, they need to have some education. If they don’t want an education, then they are just going to always dream and never get anywhere. The Connecticut school master and lawyer Noah Webster, said that the American schoolboy should be educated as a nationalist. “As soon as he opens his lips”, Webster wrote, “ he should rehearse the history of his own country”. Every citizen was to be educated to some degree. For the less wealthy people, to also have some education. Jefferson believed that the nation really needed to have schools. He wanted for the poor and rich to have some kind of Education, not only for themselves, but also for the nation’s future.

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