Most_Significant_Events

Most Significant Events Melissa Lehman Most Significant Events Melissa Lehman September 11, 2010 Karen Rogers 1950’s The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement On December 1, 1955, after a long hard day of work Rosa Parks got on a bus. Little did she know she was about to make history. She found a seat in the middle of the bus and sat down. The whole time knowing this was not allowed. During this time in our history minorities had to sit at the back of the bus. After a while a White man got on the bus and told her and the other African Americans to move to the back. Everyone complied with his request except Rosa. The bus driver became upset at her unwillingness to comply and threatened to call the police. Rosa told the bus driver to go ahead and call them. Many other African Americans had been arrested for this crime, but Rosa Parks had once been the secretary for the president of the National Association of thee Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was well known in the community. After her arrest she was allowed to make one phone call and she chose to call a NAACP lawyer. The lawyer was able to get her released on bail. Because of this brave African American woman standing up to society and demanding equal rights, she was able to help in the start of the civil rights movement. This helped in obtaining the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that made sure “All African Americans must be given equal rights and treatment under the law.” Rosa Parks has been called “the mother of the civil rights movement.” 1960’s The Vietnam Conflict The Vietnam War was one of the nation’s longest wars, as well as one of the most costly in the United States history. Only the two World Wars and the Civil War can compare with the loss of life. The Vietnam War cost 58,000 American lives and much more during the decade that the United States military occupied Vietnam. The United States military began it occupation in 1964. The amount spent on this war effort was over $140 billion, a truly large amount. Despite these enormous costs in dollars and American lives, the United States was unsuccessful in its efforts to stop communism in Vietnam. This was the first time in history that the United States was unable to achieve their goal. The goal the United States was trying to achieve was to keep a noncommunist, democratic government in South Vietnam. This became impossible after the Democratic Republic of Vietnam took over rule of the entire nation in April 1975. The United States was forced to leave and was unable to achieve their goal. The reasons for the United States involvement in Vietnam seemed to be a good idea to the leaders of the nation, especially following its success in World War II. The United States looked at the future with a moral obligation to help other countries. From the nation’s leader’s point of view, the major threat to the United States security and to the peace of the world was communism coming out of the Soviet Union. The United States felt that communism coming from anywhere in the world was a threat to world peace. Going on the knowledge the United States had gained during World War II, the Nation’s leaders felt it necessary to deal with any kind of threat of communism quickly and by force if necessary. The United States and its allies wanted to put an end to communism, this policy would be known as containment. 1970’s New Federalism, New hope On a daily basis many important decisions are made by our national government that has a major impact on our lives. As well there are many issues that must be dealt with in which the American people can have varied opinions. That is why in our system of government, the states may have much of the responsibility for making decisions concerning policies that involve economical, moral, or on family issues. This may be one of the most important parts of our governments system. Not having the government at the center of things will allow for the needs and wants of the people to be addressed and fulfilled on a local level. Ohioans differ in many ways from residents of Michigan, who differ greatly from Texans. Different types of cultures and lifestyles create a need for different political policies and views in order to satisfy the needs of all the people. A large, single-minded government would be incapable of making the best social policies that could be agreed upon by the majority of the United States many diverse groups. But the national government retains enough power to stop local policies that may not be good for the human rights of the little people. Federalism is not, of course, without its downfalls. The more levels of government we have makes for a larger amount of deceit, because there are many people involved in the process of making decisions. As well a more complex tax system must exist in order for federalism to work. This is because levels of government, federal, states, and local, receive funds for the people in their community in order to make new laws and policies. It is because there are so many people involved in the decision making, that it may take longer to get thing accomplished. It is hard to please all the people some believe the federal government has to power, while others feel that the states may have too much power. But we do need a strong government for the survival of the United States. Our current government has worked for 200 years that is proof that the United States is doing something right. 1980’s Reaganomics Impact President Reagan did deliver on each of his four major policies, even though it was not exactly what he and his supporter would have liked. There was a yearly increase in federal spending of 4.0 percent during the Carter administration to a decline of 2.5 percent during the Reagan administration. This was possible even though there was an increase in real defense spending. Reagan did not make any changes to the major programs such as Medicare and Social Security, and he also proposed there to be no substantial reductions in other domestic programs after his first budget. Changes made to the federal tax code were much larger. The top marginal tax rate went from 70 percent down 28 percent on individual income tax, which is a 42 percent reduction. Another tax rate that decreased was corporate income tax rate; it was reduced from 48 percent to 34 percent, making it a 12 percent reduction in tax. Exempted from the individual income tax were the poor. 1990’s The Persian Gulf War The Gulf War started on January 16, 1991. This war began because Saddam Hussein decided to send armies into Kuwait and tried to take it over. When Saddam Hussein was fighting with the Iranians the United States supplied him with weapons and helped to train his massive army. Because of this his military was one of the most lethal in the world. Many also worried about the types of weapons he may have. The United States feared that Saddam Hussein may have chemical weapons and he might try to start a biological war. He was given an ultimatum to pull out of Kuwait, but he refused. Congress then voted for the use of force in order to remove Saddam Hussein’s army. Because of the large amount of oil in Kuwait was the reason behind Saddam Hussein’s invasion. But it was still in the minds of many people the war in Vietnam and how that did not fare so well. But the ultimatum was still given and Saddam Hussein was to leave Kuwait by January 15, 1991. When he did not leave United Nations forces along with the United States used whatever means necessary to drive his armies out. Within three days Kuwait was liberated. Even though Saddam Hussein was not removed from power then, he later was and paid for his crimes against humanity. 2000’s Terrorism It was September 11, 2001 when two planes flew into the World Trade center towers, while another plane hit the Pentagon, and still another plan went down in a field in Pennsylvania. This was the first attack on United States soil in decades. The President made a speech stating we would get who was behind this and he termed the event evil. The President reassured the people of the United States that a higher power will help us through the difficult situation. The President tried to instill a strong sense of pride and patriotism in the people of the United States. He was laying the ground work for things to come. Because of this many things began to change in the United States and even around the world. Security at airports was increased dramatically, which made for getting in and out of countries harder for the terrorist. Plus there was a worldwide manhunt for the man the authorities felt was behind this horrible ordeal, Bin Laden, a Taliban and terrorist leader. We also went to war with Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein as leader because he was an ally to the terrorist and a supporter of the Taliban. Most of the goals were accomplished except the bringing of Bin Laden to justice. All of the topics covered in the paper are important structure of the United States. Think of what life might be like had Rosa Parks given up her seat. We may have never had a civil rights movement. Vietnam was necessary to try to save a country from communism. Federalism was needed because of so many diverse groups in the United States. It is better to have states in some control because they can look out for the little guy better. Reaganomics did a lot for the welfare of the United States. Perhaps there might have been another depression had it not been for President Reagan and his policy changes. The Gulf War was needed to stop Saddam Hussein at the time. Had he been left to his own devices we may have had a biological war. Terrorism is a constant threat, but the more we know the better, because knowledge is power. References Ed. Waldo E. Martin, Jr. and Patricia Sullivan, (2000), "Rosa Louise McCauley Parks." Civil Rights in the United States. 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Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abcamerecon/reaganomics Terrorism. (2008). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columency/terrorism Terrorism. (2006). In Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/cupsoc/terrorism