Historical Contexts

Historical Contexts

            The Lusitania was a liner belonging to the British, which was sunk in the year 1915 by the Germans. A German U boat had used a torpedo to attack the massive ship and an explosion from within followed shortly due to the weaponry carried on board. The liner was on its way to England from New York, and more than 1100 passengers who were on board lost their lives. Germans defended their selves on the ground that the Lusitania was armed and posed a potential threat to them.

Versailles Treaty was the agreement that settled on to end World War 1. It was agreed upon in 1919 during the period within January and June. In the treaty, French wanted to disjoint Germany to deter it from starting another war with the Americans, British and France. The treaty had several parts which constituted of polices which would prevent the war from happening again.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was a politician who later became the 32^nd President of the United States in the year 1932. Roosevelt was successfully re-elected in office three times. He greatly helped the US in winning over the Germans during World War 2. FDR played a major role in the formation of the wartime union between the US, Soviet Union and Britain which later on formed the foundation of the United Nations.

Harlem Renaissance refers to the development of Harlem in New York during the 20^th Century. The period lasted from 1910 to 1930 and was considered as a golden era in the African and the American culture. This is because of the intellectual and cultural movement that took place in the town. The movement was known as the “New Negro Movement”. It attracted a lot of Caribbean and African intellectuals.

Ku Klux Klan was a group in the US that victimized slaves who had been freed. It was made up of White leaders who practised policies which were oppressive to the Blacks. The group was present in 3 phases, with the recent phase being in existence to date. Among the method used to oppress black leaders were murdering and causing physical assault on the victims. Members of the Ku Klux Clan were often in secret and were not publicly known.

The Hundred Days refers to the era between Emperor Napoleon’s return from expatriation in Elba then to Paris, in 1815 and restoration of King Louis XVIII. After his abdication, he went back to Cannes to and led 1500 soldiers against Louis XVIII who escaped to Ghent. Napoleon then made liberal changes in a bid to support his cause. Russia, Prussia and Britain made an alliance against Napoleon, which led to the Battle of Waterloo.

Herbert Hoover was the 31^st president of the US form the year 1929 and 1933. He was a member of the Republican, and before being chosen as President, he had previously held a number of leadership positions that propelled his influence to resume office in 1929. He had held the position of leader of the commission of Relief was appointed as Secretary of Commerce by President Warren G. Harding and was also a very active member of the cabinet. After he took office and the stock market crashed and followed by the great depression.

Civilian Conservation Corps was a program that offered the youth job opportunities during the Great Depression era and was among one of Roosevelt’s successful programs. The program lasted for nine years and saw the planting of trees and shelters all over the country. Roosevelt had established CCC in 1933 in a bid to fight unemployment during the Great Depression period.

D Day refers to the Battle of Normandy that took place in 1944 June to August the same year and was nicknamed as Operation Overlord. The operation involved American, Canadian and British forces who invaded France’s region. The aim of the attack was to mislead Germans about the intended target. Countries involved were allies, and the objective was to join forces and liberate Northern France.

Hiroshima is a city in Japan. On 1945, an American warplane bombed the city using an atomic bomb. The explosion killed almost 90% of the population, with 80,000 dying instantly and others who later died of effects of the bomb. After three days, the plane dropped another bomb and killed another 40,000 individuals. Japan surrendered from World War out of fear of the atomic bomb.

Containment refers to a policy used by the United States. The policy was used as a way to prevent spreading of communism after WWII. This is because the Soviet Union wanted to increase the influence of communist in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Marshall Plan was an American project started in 1948 to offer Western Europe economic assistance to rebuild, after the destruction caused in WWII. The amount given by the US was equivalent to 100 billion dollars in the current market value. The money was to be used in rebuilding regions that had been affected by war.

Harry Truman was the 33^rd of the US after the death of Roosevelt. He was responsible for making the decision of using the atomic bombs in Japan and the rebuild of postwar Europe. During his era, he led the US into the Korean War, rebuilding of the postwar and greatly helped in containing communism.

John F. Kennedy was the 35^th president of the US from 1961 and was assassinated in the year 1963. His rule was at a time when the Cold War was at its peak. Before becoming President, he a member of the US House representatives while representing Massachusetts. During World War II, he was the commander of the US patrol torpedo boat.

Brown v. Board of Education refers to a case in the US Supreme Court in which the judge ruled against the segregation of kids in public schools. The judgment aimed to address the problem of racial segregation in schools in the US. It was influenced by the event that the Public District School refused to enrol Oliver Brown’s daughter, who was black. It is after this that the locals filed a case in the US Federal court.

Martin Luther King was an activist who was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He was born on 1957-1968 in Georgia Atlanta. He advocated for the black American civil rights through non-violent methods as he was a strong Christian believer. In 1955 he was responsible for leading the Montgomery boycott and later on successfully became the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He successfully won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for greatly fighting for equal rights using peaceful methods. As he planned on the Poor Peoples Campaign, he was assassinated as most of the rivals noticed he was becoming very strong.

Cuban Missile Crisis refers to the conflict between the United States, Cuba and the Soviet Union in 1962. USSR was constructing missile locations in Cuba. After a coup in Cuba by Fidel Castrol, his government took over American businesses in the country. This brought enmity among the US and Cuba and feared that it would be attacked by USSR form Cuba. USSR and Cuba came into agreement to take their missiles on a condition that America did not attack them.

Korean War was a war between North and South Korea which started in 1950. North Korea was responsible for the start of the war after it invaded South Korea. .America joined the war being in support of South Korea on the basis of supporting their allies. While the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The war ended in 1953.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution it was an authorization made to give President Lyndon Johnson power to use the powers accorded to him by the Congress, to protect the US forces in 1964 after two US naval destroyers were attacked at the Gulf Tonkin. This led to the US to actively join the Vietnam War and greatly supported by its House of Representatives.