RACISM

It is said that America was built as a haven for equality and freedom. In the 1620s, many Puritans and Catholics fleeing persecutions, traveled to The New World in hope of practicing their believes. Many on the other hand suffered economic failures in their home countries, mainly England, came to America to create a society where power of the royalties could not reach. Yes, they even won their freedom from the ties of England in 1783.

 However, deep within the beauty that is the American society, a sinister part still lingers on today.

RACISM

Racism is the prejudice and discrimination of a group of people based on their biological attributes and sometimes, religious believes. Since the colonization of American, the southern states, such as the Carolinas and Georgia, were the perfect place for plantations for cash crops - Tobacco, rice, etc. The original source of labor was indenture servants, who in exchange for passage to the New World worked for plantation owners until the debts were paid. However, with their own rights for firearms, the exploited laborers became frustrated and stood up to their employers on many occasions, such as the Bacon Rebellion. Fearful of another episode, a new source of labor was needed and the white population of planters found blacks to be the perfect substitutes. 
Over 1 million black slaves were transported to America as part of the Triangle Trade. Conditions on slaves ships were horrifying. Blacks were clamped under decks, forced to lie close very close to each other. These slaves experienced rampant abused and terrible working conditions as soon as they stepped foot of the ships.


In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe revealed the terrible conditions of black slaves, aiding the spark of the Civil War. Under the moral cause of liberating the black slaves, the Union defeated the Confederate and took measure to enforce the 13th Amendment which prohibited harboring, trading, and selling slaves. From then on African American received several victories such as the 14th and 15th Amendments.
Though the war was over, many still carried the discriminating beliefs from the Antebellum period. The belief that African American, inferior to whites, were destined to serve them. One such extreme group of believers was the Ku Klux Klan. Started in 1860, the Klan was known to commit horrifying deeds, including lynching over 300 African slaves. They held marches on streets with their white masks and racist slogans. These tactics were employed to force African American into social and economical submission. It took the authority 9 years to shut the Klan down.


In 1892, American society took a step backward on the Supreme Court decision of Plessy vs. Ferguson where segregation in schools and other public properties were legal. "Separate but Equal". Soon, racism began to surface again when African Americans were forced to use separate bathrooms or to sit in assign seats on public transportation and restaurants. Not until October 14th 1955 that something tremendous happened. A woman, who was fed up with the humiliation and inequality African Americans were coerced into, refused to give up her seat for a white man. That woman was Rosa Parks. She paved the way for the rise of the voice for African American equality, Dr. Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King led his "people" under a peaceful campaign for equality, practicing sit-ins and boycotts. John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy were supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. Even after the assassination of MLK in 1968, the fight for equality went on until today. MLK's vision are still being fulfilled today. Even the NAACP started in the 1920s is still in operation of eliminating racism all over America.

After looking at the struggles of a race to defeat racism, one can't help but to feel empathy toward their righteous cause. Therefore, let's lend  our helping hands to a better future, a future where racism does not exist.

Corruption

CORRUPTION:

Corruption is a dishonest act or fraudulent conduct of those in power, usually involves bribery.  In United States politic, corruption is seen on many occasions. However, in my opinion, if one wishes to examine the issue of corruption, the Gilded Age (from 1860s to 1900) has a lot to offer. By looking at events during this age and making connection with today issues, maybe one can recognize the pattern of corruption.


In the 1870s, America was the promised land of opportunities. Millions of immigrant poured into the country seeking jobs to support their families. Italians to Germans to Chinese, many wanted better lives. If one had skills, they would be able to find jobs and with a little investment, maybe even start their own businesses.

However, most immigrants are unskilled workers. They ended up in the fancy urban life of America without much support. Therefore, populations with similar cultures and languages binded together and created little cities inside cities. These people, because they can not afford public transportations, had to live close to their places of employment. Many industrial factories offered shelters and payments in exchange for a surplus of labor.

With many jobs occupied by unskilled workers, many old middle class moved to the suburbs, taking with them expertise and knowledge. The cities, left with unskilled and often uneducated populations, were forced to be led by less experience leaders.
This trend opened up a door of opportunities for a new race of politicians, the association leaders called bosses. Rather than aligning themselves with the government posts or any particular party, these leaders placed their loyalty to the associations from which they had risen to power or to whom they owed their success.
A new political trend known as the machine politic rose where electors were able to call out votes like a machine to sponsor any political agenda. These machines sprang up to provide service to to those who had no other resources, the new immigrants.
One example of such corruption was Boss William Marcy Tweed of Tamany Hall, New York. Boss Tweed bribed the Judge of New York Court to give the new Irish immigrants the right to vote. He then promised them employments in exchange for votes. Many funds of the city were poured into the pockets of private contractors for constructions of lavish and fancy buildings. These contractors then had to give kickbacks to the bosses in order to stay in business. Fortunes were made by these bosses, including Tweed.


On a national level, General Ulysses Grants, though a superb soldier, was ill-equiped for the presidential office. The secretary of War accepted bribes for trading of Indian lands to merchants. The Treasury Department demanded bribes for international goods flowing into America.



One such devastating scandal was the Credit Mobilier Scandal. This company had its fair share of shady contacts with the Union Pacific Railroad which then was under the scrutiny of the government. Thanks to the Vice President Schuyler Colfax, the investigation was disbanded. Of course bribery was the incentive for the Vice President. In this case particularly, he was given the right to buy stocks from the company for "free".

About the issues of corruption today, it is difficult to examine how corruption works. With the non stop advancement of technology, the government is able to cover up any scandal as devastating as the Tamany Hall incident or the Credit Mobilier Scandal. Though there are many arguments for the purity of the American Government, one should always keep in mind that there are always two sides to any issue.



BIBLIOGRAPHY:
http://www.shmoop.com/gilded-age/politics.html
http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/gilded-age-scandal-and-corruption/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/books/review/zephyr-teachouts-corruption-in-america.html?_r=0

Black Death as Natural Disaster

When anyone thinks of a natural disaster, he or she often imagines events such as earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes, and avalanches, etc. Well, I'm here to tell you about a particular natural disaster that struck Europe from the 1300s to 1700s. Historians today call this the Black Death.

THE BLACK DEATH
One of the most devastating pandemics in human history, the bubonic plague was estimated to have taken more lives than any other natural disaster has.

Origin: 

In 2010, medical geneticists, after examining bodies from mass graves dating back to 1330s, suggest that all 3 waves of the bubonic plague originated from China. During this period, a list of natural disasters and plagues led to widespread famine, and not soon after the Bubonic Plague in 1331. Many speculates that the plague traveled down the silk road along with the Mongols armies.

It was recorded in Caffa, Crimea in 1947, that symptoms of the plague first appeared in Europe. The Mongol army, while seiging the city, was infected with the disease. They catapulted the infected dead bodies over the walls of the city, infecting its inhabitants. There may have been 12 Genoese ships from traders that fled the city, bringing the plague to Sicily and Southern Europe.

Contraction:

A bacteria named Yersinia Pestis was found to be the cause of the bubonic plague. Usually carried in rat fleas, humans became infected after contacts with rats. Fleas, under the effects of Yersinia Pestis, became starved, causing an increase in feeding behaviors. They often moved to humans to find a new food sources. Biting sites were entry points where thousands of Yersinia Pestis were flooded into the hosts.

                                           

                                              Symptoms: 

After 3 days of contraction, the host become ills. The bacteria attacks the lymph nodes first. The patient develops flu-like symptoms such as headaches, chills, and muscle weakness. Within 3 to 7 days, buboes or swollen lymph glands appear on necks, armpits, and thighs. Death usually comes within 12 days of exposure to the bacteria.

Death Toll: 

Data varied widely from regions. Phillip Daileader, a Medieval historian, in 2007 wrote that in southern europe areas such as Italy and Southern France had 75-80% of their population wiped out by the disease where as only 20% were wiped out in England and other northern countries. However, the estimated range of lives taken is from 75 to 200 million alone in Eurasia.

Disappearance: 

Since the start of the 18th century, ideas of personal hygiene and public sanitation was being developed. Rat infestations decreased. This is one of the many explanations of the plague disappearance in Europe. The last epidemic in Europe was recorded at port Marseille, France in 1720. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
http://www.historytoday.com/ole-j-benedictow/black-death-greatest-catastrophe-ever
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=141316
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plague/basics/symptoms/con-20021610