A tragic event occurred on July 17, 1944 that shocked the United States Navy and led to major problems with mutiny and civil rights. These problems are shown in Port Chicago 50, the book discussed in this paper, and are shown through different viewpoints. Even though this story is based at a naval base for the United States military, the problem with civil rights is not only show in military but is shown as a national problem as well since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had not been passed yet. This paper will be showing the story of Port Chicago 50, what points the author Steve Sheinkin was trying to get across, and how these components connect to American Government. Port Chicago 50 is a book that shows the struggles of 50 African American men as they fight for equal rights in a naval base located in the San Francisco Bay.
In 1932 we get the bullets and gas of the police, as we did in Washington, and the troops, which Hoover called put against us. Because we were demanding the Bonus so that we and our families could have something to eat, the President of the United States orders the army to gas and bayonet us, to burn our meagre belongings and to drive our wives and children into the dark of the night,” (Veteran’s 3). Even soldiers who had to dissolve the protest were discontent with evacuation of protestors. George S. Patton, a senior Army officer, reflected on the elimination of the Bonus Army, calling it, “a messy affair for everyone,” and, “[a] most distasteful form of service,”
The Detroit Race Riot of June-July 1943 always had the question mark as to what the cause was for the riots. It has also been known as the “biggest and bloodiest race riots in the history of the United States” of America. A review that was completed by Welfred Holmes reveals some information from the book with the title: The Detroit Race Riot: A Study in Violence by Robert Shogan, and Tom Craig. The information that came to the fore was that the book explained the build-up to the riots as it occurred at least one year before the event. It was revealed that the morale of the Black people (Negroes as the book calls them) was very low.
U.S. soldiers are trained to follow orders, which is exactly what they did as hundreds of villagers were indiscriminately killed in the My Lai Massacre. Even if the soldiers were acting under confusing orders, that is a failure of the chain of command, and even if the killings were orchestrated by a few incompetent officers, those officers never should have been placed in leadership roles. The real tragedy of My Lai represents an entire system of willful negligence and lack of accountability on the part of the military. Thus the responsibility for the massacre lies with the men involved, but also with the military chain of command that gave the order and then tried to cover it up.
A Professor of History and American Studies at Dickinson College, much of Rogers research was centred on African American communities in the American South. She was the author of numerous oral history related books and her reputation was that of a renowned and influential expert on the subject. Rogers outlines the difficulties of chronicling all of the facets of protest movements into the narrative framework of American history. The sheer volume of individuals engaged in protest as well as what she describes as
In recent months, the nation has faced a myriad of ubiquitous shootings, the most well-known of which being the Parkland school incident. No longer feeling comfortable in their learning environment, many students, inspired by the East LA walkouts of 1968, held walkouts of their own to protest gun violence. For example, student organizers from Belmont High School in Los Angeles “...were advocating for a national assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and an end to random searches in LAUSD schools, among other things” (Wick) last month after the Parkland shootings. This was just as similar to the Chicano demands of 1968 as it revealed that characteristics of the East LA walkouts were still present. Moreover, Bobby Verdugo, a student organizer from the 1968 walkout, explained that “Chicano history was not separate from American history, it was a part of American history” (Arango).
To urge the arrogant politicians to pass the women’s suffrage amendment to the Constitution, Chapman Catt not only induces fear and culpability in them, but the language she employs also establishes herself as a credible individual by aligning with respected figures and emulating the politicians’ style of speech. Chapman Catt establishes herself as a credible individual by aligning with respected figures. Premising from the beginning of her address, she alludes to the cause of the American revolution, and the government’s power coming “from the consent” of the people as the two “fundamental principles” that “anchor” the liberty of the United States (39-40). This aligns her with the American ideals that founded the country. Building on that premise, she continues by
I believe the jury did the right decision in the case of the boston Massacre, I think Captain Preston was innocent and did not order his men to fire, but individuals soldiers may be guilty of murder. The Boston Massacre started in March 5th 1770 in boston and 5 men and boys died. It started in front of a Government office with a crowd of american colonists who were propagandising the british soldiers they were in a riot fighting against the soldiers who were acting in malice. The incident started when the crowd was provoking the soldiers, they threw snowballs and clubs at the soldiers. One of the soldiers named Montgomery was hit on the head with ice and fell to the ground after he got up and fired into the crowd.
She presented a strong position in that her goal was to overturn a system that was “built upon the broken hearts and prostate bodies of her countrymen in chains” all while appealing to duty and responsibilities of the men who stood before
The Chicago Race Riots of 1919 was a major conflict that began in Chicago Illinois because of racial tension between black and whites because of cultural differences. The Chicago race riots is also referred to as the “Red Summer” because of all the bloodshed that took place the summer after World war 1. The race riots began on July 27th, 1919 and ended August 3rd, 1919. On the first day of the riots thirty eight people died, 23 were black, 15 were white and 537 people. The race riots are a part of Chicago’s history that had a major affect on racial, political and social problems.
The commotion alerted nearby citizens who flocked to the scene, and the built up tensions of many years of discrimination escalated into a riot. It took a combined effort of almost seventeen thousand law enforcement officers to be suppressed (Sugrue 259). Conflict flared throughout the city streets during the summer of 1967 as a Detroit was once again torn by a period of cataclysmic violence (Sugrue 260). Detroit has really fully recovered from the events of the past, evident through ongoing economic struggles and recently a declaration of bankruptcy, and creates a controversial situation in regards to the origins of this urban crisis. De-industrialization and white flight were not merely the result of the 1967 riot as they also inspired the feelings of hatred and frustration among black Detroiters in the previous years.
The Haymarket affair is one most important events in Chicago’s labor protest is questionably still unknown to many of high school kids and down. At this mark in Chicago history several horrifying, and great events happened. Industrial workers were getting fed up with the intense hours and wanted change from their shady bosses. People associated with all the industrial works started to arrange private meeting to talk about what’s wrong within the industries. Soon several of the bosses found out about these meeting and paid the police to eliminate these meetings.
She conveys the basic victims, or in this case values, that are being affected due to social
The Tulsa Race Riot was the destruction of Black Wall Street in 1921, which was caused by an allegation of a white woman accusing a black man of rape. It lasted from May 31st to June 1st. The Tulsa Race Riot caused plenty of damage from “dozens of deaths [and] hundreds of injuries” to the destruction of Black Wall Street leading to unemployment of the black community (Hoberock n. pag.). An estimated property loss was over $2.3 million. This was an important event in our Nation’s history because “it teaches how far hatred [and violence] can go” (Hoberock n. pag.).
This obviously shows she is on the side of women's rights in her argument and again, quoting the Declaration of Independence, gives her the quality of formality using lines from a piece that dear to American
