James K Polk: Napoleon of the Stump

What Is America's Place On The World Stage?

I am currently working through research material and notes for my upcoming lecture on American Exceptionalism vs the World Context. As I do this a looming question relentlessly agitates me. What is America's place on the world stage? Is America supposed to be a police force of all nations? Does it have a place at all outside of its own borders? Perhaps America's place is to be something of an influence diplomatically.

In the beginning of American policy non-interventionism reigned supreme. This was tested during the French Revolution when George Washington refused to get the U.S. involved even after France assisted the Colonials in winning the Revolution. Later the Monroe Doctrine would arise reinforcing these old tenets. In the meantime, the United States did often venture out into the world in trade which led to conflicts like the Barbary Wars. This was due to U.S. merchant ships coming under attack and not due to American intervention abroad. However foreign intervention did eventually take place.

The concept of Manifest Destiny helped to expand the United States beyond its Atlantic Coastal colonies through the Ohio River Valley and eventually to the West Coast. Mass land acquisitions lead to the expansion of U.S. territory: the Louisiana Purchase, annexation of Texas, and the Mexican-American War brought not only new territories but also new conflicts with other nations. Though this does not seem like a typical international affair because of its isolation to North America, it is undeniable that the U.S. in the early to mid 19th century began active expansion across national set boundaries by invading other countries, namely Mexico.  The Civil War brought with it strong internal problems to say the least for the United States but after its conclusion the U.S. ventured out into the world. With that being said I would like you to read over Theodore Roosevelt's "Navel War College Address" in June of 1897." You can also see it altered but artistically presented below by Tom Berenger in the movie "Rough Riders."

It is obvious that the United States made the decision after the Civil War and perhaps even before that the time for an emergence on the 'World Stage' was imminent. So I ask, why was that emergence necessary and why was it deemed necessary at the time? Finally, what roll does the U.S. have in the world today if it should have any at all?

The Historic Struggle Hits the Classroom

Next month I will be giving a lecture at North Georgia College and State University on the concepts of American Exceptionalism vs The World Context. This will be a co-lead lecture between myself and Brad Campbell. In the next couple of weeks I will be presenting pieces on here for review in order to fine tune the lecture. More soon to come.  

What Does the Battle Flag Mean?

For weeks I carried on with an intriguing task of observing, engaging and debating points of view with certain people belonging to the Facebook group Southern Heritage Preservation Group (SHPG). One thing I learned is that this group is in actuality a Confederate Heritage group as they overlook the other two hundred plus years of Southern History (only counting since independence). Then one day, much to my displeasure, I found that I could no longer access their fine group. I had been blocked. Blocked by the very group that expresses rage and claims censorship when their comments are removed from certain sites. In simple  terms, as Historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot would say, I had been silenced. Thankfully and mainly because of the internet's usage as a playground, I worked my way back to a point of observation once more. Keep in mind that I cannot engage or debate anymore, I only have the ability to observe. Tonight is my first look at SHPG since my hiatus and I found some statements and materials right off the bat.

I would agree with Connie's statement. Not wholeheartedly of course. The flag does have a Confederate and American South history behind it. What that history is interpreted as is another matter.  I have seen the flag in photos across the globe. It is heavily recognized as more than just "A symbol of the Confederacy and the American South" but also  one of secession and disunion. This can be observed in Italy even today.  There is however much more to the flag. Something that Connie ignores in her own context and explains that this other outlook is merely rednecks and bigots taking over the flag and using it for personal gain. Nonetheless, this other interpretation exists and deserves to be studied and recognized as having a history with the Confederate Battle Flag.

It needs to be realized that the Confederate Battle Flag (CBF) is also very much associated with the Ku Klux Klan. It can be, and has in the past been seen as a symbol of racism. I realize that might not have been the intent just as much as I realize the American flag can bee seen in that context. 

The Ku Klux Klan did use the American flag as their symbol for years until about 1940 when they began heavy use of the CBF.  Confederate Heritage advocates will also be the first to deflect the issue of slavery under the CBF by stating that slavery existed forever under the American flag. This is also true. No one denies or doubts this at all. So the real question is why does the American flag not carry the image of "racism" or the image of "slavery" in the manner that the CBF does.

Well, to take a shot as to why, my guess would be that the United States government under the American Flag at one point or another was proactive is doing away with these absurdities.

Emancipation Proclamation - Freed slaves in the South, allowed Blacks to fight for the Union

13th Amendment - Abolished Slavery

The Force Acts of 1870 - In this act, the government banned the use of terror, force or bribery to prevent people from voting because of their race 

Civil Rights Act 1964 - outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public ("public accommodations").

That's not the Confederate Guard

Now I will say, because I am sure that I will hear the argument or statement, that the United States has had its fair share of bigotry. With that bigotry though, came the responsibility to do right and right it did on several occasions. I think we can put the United States Flag argument to rest but I would like to turn back to the CBF for a moment. Though advocates will outright deny slavery's HUGE involvement in starting the Civil War, it is a fair argument that the CBF is less associated with that institution. It was the soldier's flag, not the Confederate Nation's flag. It was also certain groups that used the CBF to promote racism and not the Confederacy (Though the large portion of those groups resided in the former Confederacy). It is important to remember that symbols carry with them multiple meanings and the addition of more people can mean even more interpretations. 

His interpretation costs 20k CLICK HERE

So the question is why should they be ashamed? Well, you shouldn't be. If you are a particular person that has ancestry which does not include slavery but merely fighting for your home, there is no reason to be ashamed. Keep in mind however, that some find your symbol offensive.

As the above shows, the Nazis totally ripped off the Hindus. The difference is, you don't see many Hindus flying their symbol as 60ft banners near the interstate or putting them on t-shirts. It might have something to do with 6 million people dying but that's just a guess. Perhaps the key is consideration. Several hundred thousand people were in bondage, and perhaps view that flag as a chain holding them down. So many were hurt, killed, and not allowed freedoms in the 20th century; and most of them recognize the flag as a reminder of that. Consideration is the key word of the day.

Remembering 9/11

            It has been a decade since four separate but connected plane crashes immortalized themselves in American memory as 9/11. Since that fateful day Americans saw the rise in security and government intervention in many aspects of their lives. The effects of the attacks would not be isolated in the United States but abroad. Not long after these events, the Bush administration would announce a “War on Terror,” with the initial objective being to capture Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the attacks, and to neutralize the al-Qaeda terrorist network.  As we approach the ten year anniversary of 9/11, a lot of attention will be paid to how we memorialize this event. It is no doubt “a day which will live in infamy,” much as the attack at Pearl Harbor which President Roosevelt correctly predicted would live on in American memory. But as we approach this historic event, let us not only realize that immortal day and its results, but how we got to that point in history as well. 

            It is important to look at an event such as 9/11 and realize what we as Americans can learn from it. There are events in history which warranted the same attention, but received little. This led to misunderstandings about events that plagued the general understanding of that event. Take for example the Civil War. Due to the hardships of Reconstruction, and the idea of Reconciliation, the United States went into the twentieth century blinded by fabrications as to why the war was actually fought. It was not until around 1950 – 1960, as the Civil War was approaching its centennial celebration that the focus began to center on slavery. One hundred years is far too long to maintain negligence. To this day, many people continue a pseudo-historical view of the causes of the Civil War. This is a trap that we must avoid now instead of September 11^th, 2101.  

            What can be learned from 9/11? I can remember that day, watching the events unfurl before my eyes on television in my eighth grade classroom. I can even remember seeing the second collision. More specifically than the fragments of visual memory that I retain, are the emotions that I harbored, and the ones I witness. “Why did this happen to us?” was a general statement I remember being spoken. Soon after the events an enemy was recognized as Osama bin Laden. It was instantly connected that he was behind the plots and through that connection many found their answer “why.” Those reasons could vary for some from bin Laden’s hatred of America to a religious ‘jihad’ but some took solace in their identification and redirected sorrow into the retribution for those fallen in 9/11. No one ever took into consideration that bin Laden had a specific reason for his attack. Nor that his indication was well documented years before in his “Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places.” bin Laden would point to America’s foreign policy and occupation of certain Middle Eastern countries as reasons for hostility. Overlooking these reasons of attack, the United States engaged in an overseas war that would take America into Afghanistan and Iraq initially, and then into Yemen, Libya and Somalia. These overseas exhibitions led the U.S. to over 50,000 in total combat casualties.  Looking back on the events a decade past, perhaps ‘why’ was never answered thoroughly.  

            It is important to remember not just that fateful morning in September but the complexities that brought us to that point. Would Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor have happened if the U.S. had not placed oil restrictions on them? Would the Civil War been fought if Slavery had never seen America? These are questions we must ask ourselves in order to learn from our past. Let us think about these things on this decade remembrance of 9/11. For if we do not learn from our past, we will be doomed to repeat it.

The People vs Leo Frank

Leo Frank

Leo Frank's Hanging

I am currently watching the new Georgia Public Broadcasting's PBS docu-drama "The People vs Leo Frank" I really do applaud the state's educational efforts to take such black marks in the history of the state of Georgia and create terrific narrations of that history. Every specific horrifying detail is intricately played out using historians, those that have personal family connections to the events, and others that have spent countless hours studying the case. They trace the events surrounding the death of Mary Phagan, the following "Knights of Mary Phagan" and how that small gathering eventually turned into the new Ku Klux Klan. I really cannot do justice on this post but to say check out the trailer here. Following the film, is a roundtable presented by the Georgia Historical Society. The GHS seem to be the driving force behind this documentary, and I have to specifically applaud their efforts.

Teachers I suggest you use this as supplemental material when covering the early 1900's and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Just imagine the interpretation and analyzations you can help foster.  PBS has issued teacher's aid guides and supplemental materials to along with the video which can be found here.

http://www.pbs.org/thepeoplevleofrank/