Question 4

What problems were Native Americans facnig ni the 60s? What were some things the American Inidan Movement was fighting for? Be sure to identify the following in your answer: AIM, autonomy, Dennis Banks, George Mitchell

Problems Native Americans Faced- they did not have full citizenship, they were denied suffrage, suffered from poverty and poor living conditions, treaties made with the government had repeatedly been broken

American Indian Movement- leaders: Dennis Banks and George Mitchell, both Banks and Mitchell fought for Native American legal rights, this included autonomy (self government)

JFK Assassination: Conspiracy or Not?

I do not believe there was a conspiracy in the JFK assassination. The likelyhood that the CIA, Mafia, and Oswald teamed up to assassinate the President of the United States are, in my opinion, very unbelievable. Although the CIA and Mafia plotted to assassinate Castro, I do not believe they had the same plot for JFK. Also, almost every theory except one has been proved to be false. There were 53 pieces of evidence proving Oswald's guilt. Each piece of evidence points to Oswald as being the only suspect in the assassination. And, if the did Mafia and CIA did plot to assassinate JFK, out of all the people they could choose, Oswald would probably be pretty low on their list.

The Butter Battle Book

The Butter Battle Book can compare to the Cold War. During the Cold War, there was great tension between the governments of the Soviet Union and the United States. Their governments differed in beliefs like the zooks and the yooks. The zooks and the yooks buttered their bread differently, and this caused conflict between both sides. The yooks would make a weapon to threaten the zooks with, but the zooks would make an even stronger weapon than what the yooks made. Both sides would continue to go back and forth making stronger weapons, and this is very similar to the arms race during the Cold War. America had the atomic bomb, and the Soviets matched it. Then the Americans created the hydrogen bomb, and the Soviets created something just as threatening. In the end, neither the zooks or yooks attack the other with one of their weapons because they wait for the other side to do something first. This is exactly like the Cold War because both the Soviets and Americans waited for each other to drop a bomb, but neither side did.

The Sources of Soviet Conduct

The article is an exerpt taken from the book Foreign Affairs by George "X" Kennan. Kennan states that the U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union must be long-term and patient. He says that the Russian leaders tend to exploit many evidences of weakness, and their expansive tendencies must be contained. Kennan goes on to say that the U.S. cannot expect to enjoy political "intimacy" with the Soviets any time in the future. America's policies are vastly different than the Soviet Union's, and therefore, they must continue to view the Union as a rival in the political field.

Truman and the Atomic Bomb

I feel that the decision made by Truman to drop the atomic bomb was the right one. Japan had several chances to surrender. They were given a clear warning that many more would lose their lives if they continued to refuse. Truman had other choices which would have caused far less harm, but they were far more time consuming and less effective. The dropping of the bomb can also be viewed as revenge for the surprise attacks at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was one of the main reasons that America got involved in the war in the first place. The atomic bomb was a very effective decision to putting an end to the war, and it sent out a message to not only Japan, but other countries as well, that America was still, and is still, the most powerful country in the world.

Another Depression on the Way?

After reading Drake Bennett's article on another possible depression, I really thought about our country's economic crisis. I feel that a depression is near, and I do not see much that can stop it. I think many Americans are in a state of denial because the last thing they want is another depression, but we are in too deep of hole. I do believe that this depression can not be as bad as the last one though. I feel that Bennett's take on unemployed workers watching tv a lot is very believable. I also feel that there are a lot more jobs available now then there were back then. So, I feel that the percentage of unemployed workers in a depression now would greatly differ than the depression back then. Although there is a possibility that we could dig ourselves out of this crisis, it would take a lot of work to get our economy back to a stable point. America is well on its way to another depression, but our country can easily band together to end it quickly.

Civil Liberties

I feel that we, as Americans, should be willing to give up our civil liberites in a time of war. Many of our civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, can produce negative opinions on war. Negativity will not help boost our troops morale. In a time of war, Americans must come together and support one another. Certain civil liberties can prevent Americans from uniting, and that could lead to the dividing of a nation.