EssayMart Library

• Causes
• German military
  advise encirclement and starve policy - deny resources
• Use pill-boxes
• Manned road blocks
• Supposedly to resist
  Japanese
• Nature
• Encompassed
• 6,000 Miles
  (Equivalent to marching from London to Lagos)
• 15 Battles
• 24 Rivers
• Effects
• Brotherhood,
  Suffering, Selflessness, Determination inculcated into Communist Party
  members.
• Mao rises
• Exposes urban
  communists as abandoning successful guerrilla tactics.
• Position weak
  before
• Voted in as
  chairman Politburo session
• Zhang Guoato
  chooses westward route (as it is nearer Russia). Fails, and rejoins Mao.
  Mao strengthened.
• CCP Survive and
  grow
• New Strategy
• United Front
  against Japan almost universally popular
• "Chinese
  don’t fight Chinese"
• Abandon Class
  warfare

Warren G. Harding was born on November 2, 1865, on a farm near Blooming grove,
Ohio. Harding wasn’t always into politics. He started in teaching and selling insurance before
becoming a lawyer. In 1884 Harding borrowed three hundred dollars to buy a struggling
newspaper, the Marion Ohio Star. (Anthony, Carl. American Heritage pg. 2) He was editor
and business manager. Under his guidance the paper began to prosper. Harding got to know
local community leaders and political bosses. Harding’s life took a dramatic change when he
met Florence Kling DeWolfe.
In 1891, Harding married her. Since Florence Harding was the daughter of the richest
man in Marion, she was able to pull some strings making him an important figure in the
community. Because of his wives urging he decided to embark upon a political career. He was
soon elected to the state senate in 1900 and also became lieutenant governor in 1903.(Anthony,
Carl. American Heritage pg. 4) After he lost an election for governor in 1910 he was soon
going to meet the next important person in his life.
He soon met Harry M. Daughterty, a lobbyist and political strategist. Along with Mrs.
Harding , the two worked as a team to boast Harding’s political career. Finally in 1914 with
Daughterty as his campaign manager, Harding successfully ran for a seat in the United Sates
Senate.(Groiler Online - American Presidency pg. 3)
Although he was against high taxes and federal regulation of business, Harding made no
memorable speeches in the senate nor did he sponsor any important legislation. He spent a
good deal of his time seeking government jobs for his friends, soon known as the “Ohio Gang”.
Early in 1920, when Republicans began to seek a presidential candidate Harding’s name was
brought up a couple of times. Harding didn’t want such recognition. All he wanted was to
remain in the senate, where he was enjoying himself. But, like before, his ambitious wife
convinced him that he should have higher goals for himself.(Sullivan, George. Unsolved! II pg.
54)
Harding was soon nominated to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. Then in
November of that year, Harding easily defeated James Cox, the Democrats candidate. All was
going well for the new president, he cut high taxes and removed controls that had been place on
some business that had been in effect since World War I.(Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange
Deaths pg. 36) His campaign headed by his “Back to Normalcy” slogan was soon in danger
after some of his “Ohio Gang” betrayed the president in their quest for money and position.
Fear and suspicion spread like an epidemic.
Two words will be forever linked to Harding’s administration : Teapot Dome, the name
of the Wyoming naval oil reserve that secretary of Interior Albert Fall secretly leased to the oil
tycoons Edward Doheny and Harry Sinclair in return for more than 400,000$ in bribes. When
Harding learned of the influence peddling, bootlegging, and other nefarious activities of Jess
Smith the Attorney General and Harry Daugherty, he immediately removed smith from his inner
circle. The most damaging scandal of all, though a less colorful one, involved the exorbitant,
profiteering of Charlie Forbes, the head of the Veterans Bureau. He had resold medical supplies
and hospital building site contracts.(Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange Deaths pg. 78)
Fearing that word of these scandals would get out, he started out on the “Voyage of
Understanding”(), where he would travel across the United States, into Canada, and to the
territory of Alaska. He stopped to talk to them for support and about trying to gain a new state,
Alaska. His theory was why would they impeach someone who had all of them supporting him.
About a week after his visit to Alaska he suddenly died. “ stroke of apoplexy” was given as the
cause of death. The Newspapers called it a “Death Stroke”.

The Final Moments of Warren G. Harding’s life started to go downhill two months
before his death. On June 20, 1923, the President, his wife, and some 63 officials, aids, and
reporters boarded the train that would take his accorded the continent on his “Voyage of
Understanding”.() After boarding the U.S.S. Henderson, a navy transport, the presidential party
sailed for Metlakahla, Alaska. While there he gave a speech to the Alaskan territory saying that
“One Day you too will be able to call yourself part of the United States.”(Sullivan, George.
Unsolved! II pg. 62)
During his stay in Alaska, Harding received a message in code from Washington DC
about the Senate investigating into oil leases.(Sullivan, George. Unsolved! II pg. 70) The
message had a stunning effect on him. For the rest of the day, he seemed wary and dazed. He
also had asked newspapermen who where accompanying the party what a president should do
when his friends betrayed his trust.(Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange pg. 123) The following day
in Seattle, which was very hot and humid, he had made a speech to the people in Seattle. He
told them about Alaska one day becoming part of the U.S. Several Times in his speech, the
president stumbled over words and toward the end of his address he appeared weak and
hesitant.(Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange pg. 143) This was his last public appearance.
The next day the presidents personal physician announced that the president had a case
of indigestion and “Food Poisoning”.(Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange pg. 152) The condition
did not seem serious and they said that the president only needed a few days rest. Two of his
speeches were canceled and he stayed aboard his special train headed for San Francisco.
When his train arrived he was checked into the Palace Hotel, General Sawyer had reported that
the presidents condition had worsened, saying that he was suffering from stomach cramps and
diarrhea and he had become feverish. The following day his condition had become even more
serious, according to Sawyer, Harding had developed pneumonia. Also stating that food
poisoning and pneumonia had put a strain on his heart.
Over the next two days President Harding’s condition had seemed to greatly improve.
But after he had consumed two hard boiled eggs he was said to have some stomach problems.
The president seemed to be on the road to recovery, however, that evening the nation was
shocked when the news came that the president had died suddenly, apparently of a “Stroke of
Apoplexy”.
According to general Sawyer this is what happened on the night of his death. He was
sitting beside the president holding his hand, not for the purpose of taking his pulse or any other
professional reason, but simply out of his affection for him. The president was propped up in
bed, enjoying an article his wife was reading, “That’s good, read some more,” Harding said.
Those were his last words, then suddenly, the presidents body shook violently and then became
still, almost instantly. Sawyer then said, “The Presidents dead!”(Means, Gaston. The Strange
pg. 72)
Almost right after his death questions started coming up about the presidents death,
those that served to deepen the mystery. For example, when the president first became ill,
General Sawyer said that he suffering from acute indigestion caused by eating crab meat. But it
was later discovered that the president hadn’t consumed any crab meat because there was non
on the presidential menu.(Means, Gaston. The Strange pg. 86)
The course of action of the two months before his death seem to show that the
presidents death was not a natural one. Could he have been poisoned, or did he actually die
from a stroke.

Harding’s death looks all the more suspicious because of his wives actions. An autopsy,
an inspection of the presidents body, was suggested as means of determining the cause of death.
Mrs. Harding would not permit an autopsy. Mrs. Harding also destroyed most of her husband’s
official papers.(Sullivan, George. Unsolved! II pg. 98)
There was another curious matter. It was the custom in those days to permit a sculptor
to make a death mask of the deceased, so his features might be preserved. But his wife would
not permit a death mask to be made of the president.(Means, Gaston. The Strange pg. 103)
One year after the presidents passing, General Sawyer died a death very similar to
president Harding’s death, almost identical. There were some rumors going around that maybe
he died because he “knew too much” and “he had to be shut up”.(Means, Gaston. The Strange
pg. 114) Several weeks later Mrs. Harding died, she fell victim to a kidney disease and heart
failure. The New York Times had noted that of the nationally prominent men and women who
had made the “Voyage of Understanding” to Alaska the year before, Mrs. Harding was the fifth
to die.(Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange pg. 152)
Evidence that Mrs. Harding may have poisoned her husband out of fear of what the
Congressional Investigation might reveal was offered by Gaston Means. He was a former
investigator for the department of justice. He often carried out special investigations for
President Harding. He also happened to be a member of the “Ohio Gang”. He had found no
problem in pointing all of the blame at Mrs. Harding. He recalled what she had said on the
evening she was interrogated about the presidents death.

“I was alone with the president… only about ten minutes,” Mrs. Harding Began. “It was time for
his medication. I gave it to him; he drank it.”
“He lay back on the pillow. His eyes were closed. He was resting. Then suddenly he opened his
eyes wide and looked straight into my face.”
“Do you think he knew”, means asked.
“Yes, he knew,” Mrs. Harding replied.
“Then he sighed and turned his head away-over-on the pillow.”
“After a few minutes, I called for help. The papers told the rest.”(Means, Gaston. The Strange
pg. 103)

Her reoccurrence of that night were very different from general Sawyers. She had a
good motive for wanting him to die the way he did. She helped to get him into office. She didn’t
want him to throw away everything, including his dignity. Means also recalled a conversation
between the president and his wife.

“Warren, I can feel it coming,” said Mrs. Harding.
“What?”
“Complete exposure.” The president seemed to go to pieces, said Means.
He said, “Let it come! Let it come! God, I’ll be glad to have it come and get it
over with!”
“You will be impeached,” said Mrs. Harding.
“I will tell the truth.”
“You will be disgraced.”
“I will tell the truth.”
“You may be imprisoned.”
“I will tell the truth, the exact truth. There can be no jury of twelve American
men and women who would send me to jail. But even in a jail, a prison, would be peace
compared to this. I am not a criminal. Let them impeach me. God knows, I’m sick and
tired of it all. I’ll be glad to have it over.”
Mrs. Harding stared at her husband and gasped, “Are you crazy?”
“No, I am not crazy. But that, too, would be a relief, to go crazy.”(Means,
Gaston. The Strange pg. 83)

They knew that the secretes f the scandals were soon going to surface. It was only a
matter of time before it happened. And to save his good name Mrs. Harding might have done
something to be sure that it would happen that way.

Mrs. Harding was trying to hide something, but what? Maybe she was responsible for
some part in his death. There were too many suspicious Happening’s that were reported about
President Harding’s death. He had gotten a case of food poisoning. The cause was said to be
crab meat that wasn’t even on the presidential menu. So what was the real factor that had made
him sick.
Another suspicious event was that the President was in great shape for a man in his age
up until the week of his death. It is very odd for some person to start getting violently ill from be
in great heath. He must have consumed something foreign to his body; either drug or even a
food.
The two days that he started felling better is the time that seemed the most suspicious to
means. “Someone could have tried it twice, and failed on the first try. The president could have
survived the first poisoning, started showing signs of survival. So the murderer then doubled or
tripled the amount that was given the first time to ensure that he wouldn’t survive the next
time.”(Means, Gaston. The Strange pg. 196) Mrs. Harding could have easily done it. She
even said that she gave the president his “medication” just before his death.
The presidents death is defiantly an example of a drug over dose. The sudden violent
shaking is a typical reaction to an overdose of types of heart depressants.(Sullivan, George.
Unsolved! II pg. 122) When Mrs. Harding refused an autopsy, that brought up even more
suspicious to Means. This just made him think even more that his poison theory was
correct.(Means, Gaston. The Strange pg. 199)
If president Harding was poisoned, how come they did not investigate on this matter
even more then they did. Perhaps, maybe parts of the government also knew of this to help
keep their friends name a good one.

Bibliography

Work Cited

Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange Deaths of President Harding. Columbia: University of
Missouri Pres, 1996

Sullivan, George. Unsolved! II More Famous Real-Life Mysteries. New York:
Scholasatic, 1995

Means, Gaston. The Strange Death of President Harding. New York: American Heritage
Company, 1930

Anthony, Carl. American Heritage - The Most Scandalous President.

Groiler Online - American Presidency.

International borders have always been centers of conflict, and the U.S.-Mexican border is no exception. With the European colonizing the New World, it was a matter of time before the powers collided. The Spanish settled what is today Mexico, while the English settled what is to day the United States. When the two colonial powers did meet what is today the United States’ Southwest, it was not England and Spain. Rather the two powers were the United States and Mexico. Both Counties had broken off from their mother countries. The conflict that erupted between the two countries where a direct result of different nation policies. The United States had a policy of westward expansion, while Mexico had a policy of self protection. The Americans never had a written policy of expansion. What they had was the idea of “Manifest Destiny.” Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States had the right to expand westward to the Pacific ocean. On the other hand, Mexico was a new country wanting to protect itself from outside powers. Evidence of U.S. expansion is seen with the independence of Texas from Mexico. The strongest evidence of U.S. expansion goals is with the Mexican-American War. From the beginning, the war was conceived as an opportunity for land expansion. Mexico feared the United States expansion goals.

During the 16th century, the Spanish began to settle the region. The Spanish had all ready conquered and settled Central Mexico. Now they wanted to expand their land holdings north. The first expedition into the region, that is today the United States Southwest, was with Corando. Corando reported a region rich in resources, soon after people started to settle the region. The driving force behind the settlement was silver in the region.

The Spanish settled the region through three major corridors; central, western and eastern. The first settlements were mainly through the central corridor. The Spanish went thorough what is now the modern Mexican state of Chihuahua into the U.S. state of New Mexico. Eventually the Spanish established the city of Santa Fe in 1689. The eastern corridor was through modern day Texas and led to the establishment of San Antonio. The eastern expansion was caused by the French expansion into modern day Louisiana.

The Spanish crown wanted a buffer between the French in Louisiana and central Mexico. The last corridor of expansion was in the west, through the sea, which led to the establishment of San Diego in 1769 and Los Angles in 1781.

The Spanish were not the only European power to colonize the new world; French, English and the Dutch also settled North and South America. The Spanish and the French settled what is present day U.S.-Mexico border region. The French settled modern day U.S. midwest, while the Spanish settled present day Mexico and U.S. southwest. As time went on, European influence in the region diminished.. The French sold there claims to the United States, in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase. Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. Once the United States bought the Louisiana Purchase, western expansion began. This set the stage for major conflict in the region.

The United States gained independence from England in 1775. After 1775, the Americans started to expand west. By the time Mexico gained independence, the United States had reached the Mexican frontier. Mexico needed to protect its northern borders. To protect the border region, Mexico needed to populate the area. Mexico continued the policy started by Spain of allowing Americans to settle Texas. The Americans had to follow Mexican law, religion and customs. The settlement of Texas played into the United States’ expansion plans.

Eventually Mexico City closed Texas from more Americans from entering. This angered the Americans wanting to enter and Americans already living in Texas. Texas revolted from Mexico in 1833. Mexicans did live in Texas, and fought for the independence of Texas. The majority of Texans were Americans and fought for their independence. After the war the Americans intentionally or non-intentionally forced most Mexicans out of Texas. The ones that stayed faced racial tensions that continue to today.

After gaining independence from Mexico, Texas wanted to join the United States immediately. The U.S. Congress voted against Texas from joining the Union. Congress was worried that annexation of Texas would anger Mexico. Mexico had never officially recognized Texas as independent. Congress was concerned that annexation would start a war with Mexico. Mexico’s repose to American annexation was not the only factor in deciding against annexation. If Texas was to become a state, it would be a slave state. At the time, the United States an even balance between slave and non-slave states. Texas entering the Union would disrupt the balance, giving slave states an advantage in the U.S. House and Senate. Since the United States was not ready to annex Texas, Texas declared itself a sovereign country. In 1837 President Andrew Jackson formally recognized Texas a country.

Texas wanted to be part of the United States. It needed the protection of the Untied States. President Tyler could not get the 2/3 majority needed to admit Texas.

Instead, he changed the law to require only a simple majority. It was not until 1845 and two Presidents later that Texas was annexed into the United States. Mexico protested the admission of Texas into the United States. The United States saw Mexico’s protest as a excuse to spend troops into Texas

The annexation of Texas was a represented the United States expansion goals. The United States wanted to settle in Texas, but Mexico owned the land. That did not matter to the United States, they settled in the region regardless. The Americans that settled the region agreed to Mexican law and customs, but still considered themselves Americans. After the annexation of Texas, Texas also wanted to expand. Texas claimed that New Mexico and California were part of Texas. The boundary with Mexico was also disputed. The United States claimed that the Texas border was at the Rio Grande. Mexico disagreed, Mexico stated the border was at Nueces River. The United States did try to settle matters diplomatically. The United States sent inexperienced diplomat John Slidell. Slidell tried to buy area known as the U.S. Southwest. Slidell, being an inexperienced diplomat, was rejected. Not only was he not successful in buying the land, he aroused Mexican fears. This set the stage for the Mexican-American War.

. The United States also had no written policy of expansion, but the government quietly supported it. The United States has always had troops the region, even though they held no land in the region The United States kept ships off the coast of California. In 1842 the U.S. commander in the region, Commodore Thomas Jones, attacked and took the city of Monterrey in California. He falsely believed that Texas and Mexico were at war. Once he realized his mistake he withdrew his forces and apologized to the Mexian government for his action and claimed that he did not act with orders from the U.S. government.

Although Jones claimed that he did not act with orders from the U.S. government, clearly the government did not stop the practice. Another example of the United State’s expansion goals was the Mexican-American War. This is the first time America has fought a war with land expansion as its main goal. The war started on April 25 1846 with the attack from Mexican troops and the counter attack from General Taylor of the U.S. Army. Taylor sent a message to President Polk that hostilities have started. President Polk, with a pre-drafted declaration of war, asked Congress to declare war against Mexico. President Polk knew that Mexico would lose the war and would gain new lands in the end.

The Mexican-American war lasted two years, and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadeloupe on February 2 1848. The United States had succeeded in winning the war. With the Treaty of Guadeloupe the United States had succeeded in completing its Manifest Destiny. The Treaty itself represented the United States expansion goals. The United States wanted to settle on were the international border was to be. Mexico wanted the border to north of the Rio Grande river, but finally decided upon the middle of the Rio Grande river. Mexico having been bankrupt from the war, agreed to take the 15 million as payment for the vast land. In addition, the United States agreed to pay off all Mexican debts owed to the United States. This amount was small in comparison to what the United States gained in territory. The United States took advantage of a weak country of obtained its expansion goals.

Another example of the United States taking advantage of Mexico is the Gasden Purchase. The Gasden Purchase was ratified in 1854 for the selling price of 10 million. Mexico was going through rough economical time and desperately needed the money. The United States seeing an opportunity to build a railroad through the region brought the land at a cheap price. The selling of the Gasden Purchase was the down fall of President Santa Ana, and led to his replacement.

The conflicts along the border region were a direct result of U.S. expansion policies and Mexican fear for the United States. The Americans saw Manifest Destiny, westward expansion, as there God given right. The United States proved often that it supported policy of expansion. With the Mexican-American war, the United States completed it’s Manifest Destiny. The United States completed Manifest Destiny at the cost of the Mexican government and its people.

To many, the Vietnam War symbolizes controversy, myth and question in America.
There are many events that made Americans wonder what reasons we had for putting
our troops and families in Vietnam. Up till that point, many other Americans had
never questioned the acts of the American government and armed forces. Issues
dealt with in the Vietnam War showed great impact on the American people,
particularly the students. American involvement started off very low key. Two
marine battalions landed in Da Nang on March 8, 1965 (Doyle, Lipsman). They were
not fighting a war yet, though a war was going on in the very country that they
were in. Their job was to merely protect an air field in Da Nang, not look for
trouble or initiate any kind of war tactics. But soon, holding off the enemy was
not so easy for the American soldiers, and more troops were sent in. This
continued on, and when May rolled around there were 46,000 American Troops in
Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). It was at this time when American troops were then
given the "permit to use more active defense," and soon after, the
number soared to 82,000 American troops in Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). From there,
the American defense quickly turned into an offense, and transportation flights
turned in to rescue missions. This was about the time that Americans at home
began to become worried that the war in Vietnam was getting out of hand. Small
protests broke out amongst college students across America, but these began to
become very serious. On April 17, 1965 The Students for a Democratic Society
organized a national protest on the steps of the capitol in Washington D.C.
(Doyle, Lipsman). Television coverage enraged people by misleading facts and
disturbing war images of troops killing women and children. Frustration in
America grew and riots and protests got out of hand as no questions seemed to be
answered. Students protested and gathered, building rage against the war
spurring events like the Kent State Massacre. The Kent State Massacre is named
after a calm protest uprooted when guards killed and wounded students by opening
fire on a mass of students as they gathered on the Kent State campus (Encarta).
Events such as the Kent State Massacre enraged Americans more than ever causing
violent riots and outbreaks. Meanwhile, America’s position in Vietnam worsened.
More and more were sent, and more and more troops were killed. America’s great
offense was tattering down and guerrilla warfare on unfamiliar terrain hampered
soldier performance. The war then quickly switched over and put more weight on
air attacks and bomb raids. Helicopters became America’s best friend as they
were a brand new invention that had not previously seen much use. The helicopter
made landing and exiting in rough terrain easier than any other method seen
before by the United States military. Other weaponry made its debut in the
Vietnam War. Spurred from the second world war, where tanks were introduced, the
anti-tank missile launcher was a key weapon for all countries to develop. The
Vietnam War was the first war that the anti-tank missile launcher was
effectively used. Standard guns also were changing; they become lighter in
weight, more accurate, and able to function better with less maintenance and
malfunction. All of these new, and newly perfected, weapons made the Vietnam War
an unfamiliar territory for everybody as the death toll soared through the roof.
More troops were sent, more black troops. Racism raced through the veins of many
white Americans at this time, and blacks still felt discriminated against by the
government and the people of America. All of this as more black troops were
being put on the battle front to fight. Black gangs erupted and dodged the
draft, became violent, and held to one another very closely. This was the first
sign of gangs in America, as we see gangs today. Many black Americans did not
understand why they were being force to fight and die for a country that hated
them. They felt as if they were being sent in place of whites, but in fact only
12.5% of all troops in Vietnam were black, and it was merle stretched facts and
media influence that caused the black eruptions in America (Westmoreland, VHFCN).
As America boiled, the "photographers war" continued in Vietnam
(Cohen). The Vietnam War has been said on countless occasions to be the most
photographed war in history. The reason for this is the development and
improvement of the camera. The camera had become small enough and agile enough
to be carried almost anywhere. Also, with the fire burning in America, the media
was raping the troops of their dignity as the photographers followed them
everywhere. Disturbing pictures were sent back to the press and media in America
for public coverage, giving the public its first ever visual images of war.
Unable to handle these shocking of images of troops killing ruthlessly, America
continued to rage. The war rolled on through 1972 and Americans wondered if it
would ever end. An end was soon to come, as peace talks began, on January 23,
1973 president Nixon announced the end of U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam
(Cohen). America took a deep breath and let down it’s arms, but the tension was
still there along with the grieving loss of young men. The Vietnam War was very
confusing, especially as it was going on. The American public did not have
answers, and were frustrated with the constant loss of family and friends.
"No event in American history is more misunderstood that the Vietnam War.
It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people
been so wrong about so much. Never have the consequences of their
misunderstanding been so tragic. (Nixon, VHFCN)" This quote by president
Nixon may be one of the most well said statements about the Vietnam War that I
have ever heard. The war was so chaotic that there was no time to give any
answers, or find any answers; this gave the media a big loophole to deceive the
public. Only now can we look back at the facts and correct them as we teach what
is right and give back the pride that we have taken from these veterans. The
most logical way that I can possibly confront the "facts" of the
Vietnam War is to do just that. I am going to end this report with some facts to
help fix what might be misinterpreted or confusing about the Vietnam War.
Because I believe that there are men and women, dead and alive who deserve the
gratitude of the American public to atleast know the truth. I will do this by
addressing what could be defined as myth, confusion, misreporting, and
misinterpreting, and show you the statistics that will prove these embarrassing
thought wrong, and give the veterans the hero image that they deserve. Myth:
American soldiers were addicted to drugs, and feel guilty for their actions and
role in the Vietnam War by using cruel and inhumane acts. This is not true, 91%
of all living Vietnam veterans say that they are proud that they served their
country, 74% would serve again knowing that there would be the same outcome, and
97% of them were discharged under honorable conditions (Westmoreland, VHFCN).
False: Vietnam Veterans resemble the homeless population in American and are
more likely to be in prison. This is an incorrect statement, in fact, Vietnam
veterans are less likely to be jailed and only .5% of them have been jailed for
crimes. 85% of Vietnam veterans have made a successful transition to ordinary
life (Westmoreland, VHFCN). The myth of all American troop is also incorrect.
two-thirds of all men who served in the Vietnam War were volunteers; that’s just
the opposite as W.W.II where two-thirds of the men who served were drafted
(Westmoreland, VHFCN). "Approximately seventy percent of those killed in
Vietnam were volunteers (McCaffrey, VHFCN)." Another myth is that the
suicide rate of Vietnam Veterans is higher than non Vietnam veterans, but in
fact it is not as bad as the media portrays it to be. There have been reports of
50,000 to 100,000 suicides among Vietnam Vets, when 9,000 is a more accurate
number (Houk, VHFCN). The number 100,000 is absurd. Black Americans were not a
target of the American government to be used in place of white troops. In fact,
of 541,000 men and women who served in Vietnam, 86% were Caucasians, 12.5% were
black, and 1.2% were of other races (Westmoreland, VHFCN). These may only be a
few small facts that are a grain of sand when you look at the whole war. But
these issues are those that were the heart of the fire in American youth when
the war was in action. These were the issues and answers that may have prevented
things such as the Kent State Massacre. To all of the Vietnam Veterans, the
country that they supported, their families and friends; to those who died in or
after service, to those who are still alive and carry the memories of war with
them every day, a memorial for them has been created. Its groundbreaking
ceremony was held on March 26, 1982. The memorial has 57,929 names inscribed in
it of those men and women who never came home from Vietnam (Ashabranner). A
diamond after a name means that he/she was accounted for at the end of the war,
a cross after a name means that he/she still is not accounted for. Also, the
right is reserved to put a circle around the cross of any person who becomes
accountable for, but a circle has yet to be put on the wall. The groundbreaking
ceremony was held on March 26, 1982. The memorial has 57,929 names inscribed in
it

Bibliography

Ashabranner, Brent. Always to Remember. New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1989.
Cohen, Steven. Anthology and guide to a television history. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, inc., 1983 Doyle, Edward, and Samual Lipsman. America Takes Over-The
Vietnam Experience. Boston, MA: Boston Publishing Company, 1982. Microsoft
Encarta Complete Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia. Computer software.
Microsoft, 1995. CD-ROM. Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network. www.vhfcn.org.
2000. Westmoreland, General William C. Address. Third Annual Reunion of the
Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. Washington D.C., 5 July 1986. McCaffrey,
Lieutenant General Barry R. Address. Memorial Day. Washington D.C. May 1993.
Houk, Dr. Address. Hearing before the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Unites
States Senate one hundredth Congress second session. 14 July 1988.

Adam Rodney——The coming of the Civil War was a lengthy and tumultuous road based on the economic and political sectionalism of the country’s two main regions, the North, usually referring to the states above the Mason-Dixon line (36′30), and the South (the slaveholding states below the Mason-Dixon line and Maryland). The North, which was chiefly a manufacturing region, found itself in conflict with the agricultural South. The two different regions required different political and economic policies. As the United States became more established and was able to focus its attention on economics rather than simple survival, the two regions increasingly were at odds.

The first conflict between the two regions that signaled the appearance of serious trouble was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This compromise, which bartered the admission of Missouri into the Union as a slave state in return for prohibiting slavery above the 36′30 line, was a signal of sectional problems to come. In 1833, the problem of sectionalism reared its head again with the Nullification Crisis, during which South Carolina first made rumblings about secession from the Union.

During the 1840s, radical abolitionism (anti-slavery) grew as more and more Northerners began worrying about the power of the slaveholding South. Slave rebellions in the South confirmed Northern opinion that slavery was neither a moral nor a humane institution, and abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison led the assaults against proslavery.

The final attempt at healing the Union through peaceful means was Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850, which nullified the Missouri Compromise and left decisions on slavery to individual states. By 1854, sectionalism had progressed to the point wherein neither region of the country was willing to accept the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act. Left to solve the question of slavery by themselves, the people of Kansas broke out in violence that lasted for four years, until it was finally settled that Kansas would be a free state. In 1859, another Kansas resident, John Brown, had his say on the slavery issue by attacking Harper’s Ferry in Virginia. His eventual capture and death crystallized sectionalist opinion on the slavery question: in the South he was vilified, in the North seen as a martyr.
Furious with the outcome of Kansas and aware of their own weakening power in Congress, the South opposed the 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln to no avail. Lincoln was elected without the support of a single Southern state. Shortly after his election, South Carolina issued her declaration of secession, sparking a string of secession declarations by the other states of the deep South.