Vietnam and Japan

I read the following in a 2010 non-fiction work by H.W. Brands.

"A principal reason the Truman and Eisenhower admins worried about SE Asia-to the point of committing the US to the defense of Vietnam-was that access to SW Asia was considered essential to the economic revival of Japan".

Was this the basic underlining objective behind our war there? Is this the reason 60,000 US soldiers died there? For a former enemy's economic well-being?

(Source: American Dreams: The US Since 1945 by H. W. Brands. The Penguin Press/NY 2010. Brands of the U of Texas professor and author of six other American History books.)

Secession and Civil War

We have all read of the pro-southern actions in the north during the Civil War; they are in just about every US History text. The NYC draft riots and the murder of black residents in that city, and the fact that Lincoln needed an armed escort to get through Baltimore on his way to DC. But why have those same texts omitted any reference to pro-union actions taken in the states of the CSA? One example of those actions that texts could have noted was the effort by Winston County, Alabama to secede from the CSA. The hill people of Appalachia did not benefit from slavery and might not have wanted to defend it. On July 4, 1861 a group established the "Free State of Winston". Many men of this area resisted conscription into the armies of the CSA and hid out in the hills for the duration of the war. Eastern Tennessee (the poorest section of that state) and northwest Georgia were also part of a "plan" to form a new state-much like West Virginia formed from Virginia-called "Nickajack". The plan to form a new state failed for the lack of a strong leader and died by the end of 1861.

(Source" Lost States by Michael J. Trinklein. Quirk Books of Philadelphia. 2010)

Supreme Court Ruling 2012

In Hosanna-Tabor Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decided this month the court ruled that religious groups are allowed to discriminate in hiring and firing of personnel. They ruled that the First Amendment's "establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" trumps the federal anti-discrimination laws. This newspaper believes the ruling is correct while saying that it may give fringe churches a chance to "spread bigotry and hatred". The ruling is believed to be the most important religion case in decades. More research is needed.

(Source: "Permission to Discriminate" editorial in The Virginian Pilot on 1/13/12)

Medical Marijuana Laws

This may not be a history oriented issue but it most likely will come up in a class discussion at some time, so I include it here. The issue is the legalization of marijuana use for medical purposes how that it is being received by the states. 17 states have medical marijuana laws on their books with California being the most "permissive" and New Jersey being the most "restrictive". However, in California, regardless of the state law, 185 communities have "banned pot dispensaries" from opening. Towns in Colorado and Maine have also banned dispensaries. A representative of the National League of Cities says that local governments are "within their rights to restrict or keep out pot businesses". In NJ have made pot legal for patients "with certain conditions" back in January of 2010 "but there is still no place where they can get it legally". Six groups in NJ have been given permits to grow and sell cannabis but so far only one site in Montclair has indicated it might open.

(Source: "Pot dispensaries face roadblocks" by Geoff Mulvihill of the AP. In The Record on 1/10/12).

Md

Concession Speech

I came across this quote just recently-one that I have heard numerous times in the past-and I thought it worth posting here. On November 5, 1952 Adlai Stevenson conceded defeat to Dwight Eisenhower in the presidential race that year. Stevenson recalled a story that was popular in his native Illinois that came from Abraham Lincoln. When Lincoln was asked how he felt after losing an election his response was "...he felt like the little boy who had stubbed his toe in the dark. He said that he was too old to cry, but it hurt too much to laugh".

(Source: Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History edited by William Safire. W.W. Norton and Company 1992. Page 805).

Jim Crow America

Another example of racial segregation that I came across while reading an article by William Styron who wrote "Confession of Nat Turner" was one I had not heard of before. On ferryboats, white passengers took the starboard side of the boat while black passengers took the portside.

(Source: I did not record the source other than to know it was from American Heritage magazine).