#1) he was a revolutionary during the mexican revolution which. based

[drapeau-rouge]

Message from the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador on the 85th anniversary of the expropriation of the country’s oil industry.

Rally held on Saturday, March 18, in Mexico City’s Zócalo square.

PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Friends:

 This is a commemoration of the expropriation of the oil industry and it is a national event. Participating here today are residents of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Jalisco, Chiapas, Chiapas, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán, and Zacatecas.

 Long live Mexico!

 Friends:

 Unlike Francisco I. Madero, who, in order to realize his beautiful democratic ideal could not or did not consider it indispensable to strengthen his ties with the people, especially with the Zapatista peasants, General Lázaro Cárdenas did not hesitate to rely on those from below to make his transformation a reality.

 The general's strategy can be summarized in three important and consecutive actions:

 First, he distributed land to the peasant farmers and helped the workers.

 Then, he helped them organize.

 And, finally, with this social base he was able to carry out the expropriation of the oil industry and other national assets that Porfirio Díaz had handed over to private interests, mainly foreigners.

 The top priority of the Cardenista strategy was to attend to the economic and social demands of peasant farmers and workers. The president knew that the only way to gain the backing of the people was to act decisively in favor of their demands. Consequently, from the beginning of his government, a program of land distribution was launched; the peasant farmers mobilized throughout the country requesting that they be given land through the expropriation of large estates or providing them with deeds for state land.

 In a short time, the distribution of land to peasant farmers transformed the structure of Mexican agriculture. The revolutionary importance of the Cardenista land distribution policies can be measured with a key piece of data. In the first three years of his administration, 9,764,000 hectares were given to 565,216 peasants, which vastly surpassed the amount of land that had been distributed since the Revolution.

 By the end of Cardenas’ administration, 10,651 ejidos (1) had been established, comprising a total of more than 18 million hectares and benefiting more than one million indigenous families, impoverished peasant farmers, and rural day laborers.

 The peasants unquestionably saw Cárdenas to be a faithful representative of the revolutionary cause. The agrarian reform ensured the loyalty of many people to the Cardenista government and from that point the alliance between peasant farmers and the State was established.

 At the same time, during the Cárdenas years, workers felt that their labor rights were guaranteed. With strict adherence to the law, Cárdenas respected the economic struggle of workers for better wages and working conditions. His measures in this field consisted of making the formal content of Constitutional Article 123 (2) a reality.

 From the beginning of his government, the labor movement began engaging in intense activity aimed at winning its demands; it was even able to freely exercise the right to strike.

 By the middle of the president’s six-year term in office, peasant farmers and workers identified Cárdenas as the defender of their interests. The first part of Cardenas' strategy had been successful; the President's approach and solidarity with the most vulnerable social groups resulted in the support and adhesion of the majority to the government's policies.

 The political organization of workers and peasant farmers as a second link in the Cardenista strategy also developed with intensity and enthusiasm.

 First, most of the national industrial unions were established. The Mexican Workers’ Confederation, the CTM, was founded on February 24, 1936. Although the organization's declaration of principles stated, and I quote, that 'the Mexican proletariat will fundamentally fight for the total abolition of the capitalist system,' its leaders accepted the president's proposal and agreed on the need to first achieve the country’s political and economic liberation. In accordance with these principles, the workers' movement resolutely supported the government in its struggle for national sovereignty.

 On July 9, 1935, President Cárdenas recommended that the organization of Mexico's peasant farmers take place. With this in mind, the agrarian community leagues were created in all states of the country and their integration with the unions of rural wage earners resulted in the establishment of the National Peasant Confederation, the CNC.

 The organization and political mobilization of the masses made it possible to advance in the aim of asserting our country’s economic independence, and thus with the expropriation of the oil companies, national assets and resources that had been in the hands of foreigners since the Porfiriato (3) began to be returned to the nation.

 This strategy could not have succeeded without the exceptional qualities of a noble and just man such as General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río.

 Politics is not only rationality, but also, like other activities in life, requires mystique and convictions. Political processes are more complex than what rationalist intellectuals assume; political processes also involve factors such as luck, the brilliance of leaders and the sentiments of the people.

 General Cárdenas, unlike careerist or elite politicians, professed a sincere and deep love for the people. Just as there is no one with the democratic aspiration of Madero, neither has there ever existed in Mexico a president as close to the downtrodden or as convinced of the cause of social justice as General Cárdenas.

For example, in 1935, when he was already president, already in power, Cárdenas wrote the following in his notes:

 'To put an end to the miseries experienced by the people is above all other interests'.

 And he maintained: 'Living amid the needs and anguish of the people, one will easily find the way to remedy them'.

 Although he also confessed that he had been able to see the true moral background of many public servants. 'When I observe in their faces the disgust sparked by the poor peoples’ demand for assistance or justice, then I think more,' he lamented, 'of the endless tragedy of our own people.’

 For young people who want to devote themselves to the noble profession of politics, what is most important is love for the people.

 In addition to being a true humanist and possessing other virtues, General Cárdenas knew how to navigate his times with precision. Politics, among other things, is time management, a question that is usually essential and defining.

 A few days before announcing the expropriation of the oil industry, he wrote in his notes that, on the highway near Cuernavaca, he’d walked and talked for more than an hour with his teacher, friend and compañero, General Francisco J. Múgica. I’d like to quote General Cárdenas when he says:

 'We considered the circumstances that could arise if governments such as those of England and the United States, interested in backing the oil companies, pressured the Mexican government with violent measures. But we also took into account that the threat of a new world war is already present due to the provocations of Nazi-fascist imperialism, and that this would stop them from attacking Mexico in the event that the expropriation was decreed.'

 Among other reasons, and taking advantage of this circumstance, on March 18, 1938, the oil industry expropriation was launched. At eight o'clock in the evening, General Cárdenas informed his cabinet of this historic decision and, two hours later, in a radio address to the nation he announced the step taken by the government in defense of Mexico’s sovereignty, returning to the nation the oil wealth that, as the General himself wrote, 'imperialist capital had been utilizing to keep the country humiliated.'

 In four articles, the expropriation decree establishes that the following assets would become assets of the nation: machinery, installations and other fixtures and property of the foreign oil companies, for which compensation would be paid in accordance with Article 27 of the Constitution and the corresponding law.

 The oil expropriation was supported by the majority of the people. Photos of the time show the presence of predominantly humble people, indigenous men and women, peasant farmers, workers, teachers, employees, and members of the lower middle class.

 It was the common people who supported and cooperated with the government to raise the compensation due to the foreign oil companies. How could we forget that so many poor women donated goats and turkeys for this purpose and even got rid of the meager jewelry they owned!

 In those days, from the city of Oakland, California, migrant worker Cástulo Prado composed the lyrics and music of the Corrido del Petróleo and sent it to the president with the instruction that the government allocate any royalties from the work to the compensation fund. One of its verses reads as follows:

 'Lázaro Cárdenas says, serene and carefree: in the course of 10 years, everything will be paid, I have the Mexican people of which I have no doubt. From the youngest to the oldest, they all offer me their help. In the Mexican woman there is patriotism and pride, she gives up her jewelry to offer them for coins.'

 In addition to this massive and overwhelming popular support, the Cárdenas government had another favorable circumstance. At that time Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a great statesman and one of the finest presidents that country has ever had in its history, was governing the United States. Let’s recall that when Roosevelt entered the White House on March 4, 1933, the United States was experiencing one of the worst crises in its history and that, as president, Roosevelt knew how to deal with that crisis successfully and very soon restored hope to his people, which made him one of the greatest politicians of the 20th century.

 As for his foreign policy, let’s recall that, in a memorable speech, which is the antecedent of the principles of the UN, on January 6, 1941, Roosevelt laid out four basic freedoms for the world: the right to freedom of speech, the right to freedom of worship, the right to live free from want, and the right to live free from fear.

 Roosevelt's presidency applied the ‘good neighbor policy’ with the countries of the Western Hemisphere. At that moment, the principles of economic and political cooperation were defined, the sovereignty of Cuba and Panama was recognized, and the U.S. military withdrawal from Nicaragua and Haiti was ordered. It is not by chance that the great poet Pablo Neruda called Roosevelt a titan of the struggles for freedoms, a tremendous president.

 The authenticity of his good neighbor policy was most clearly demonstrated in the respect for the sovereignty of our country. During Roosevelt's three presidential terms, relations between Mexico and the United States were exceptionally good.

 In the days following the oil industry expropriation, General Cárdenas acknowledged Roosevelt’s role in a letter:

 'My government’ -wrote the general- ‘feels that the attitude assumed by the United States of America, in the case of the expropriation of the oil companies, once again affirms the sovereignty of the peoples of this hemisphere that the statesman of the most powerful country in the Americas, the most esteemed President Roosevelt, has been supporting with such effort'.

 Cástulo Prado, the poet we have already quoted, a people’s poet, also left testimony of the upright attitude, the grandeur, and the respect shown by the president of the neighboring country. Cástulo's verses read:

 'The millionaires asked for intervention. They went to the United States to lodge their complaint  -it looks to us, it looks to us, it looks to us- they went to the United States to lodge their complaint so that from there they would move to protect their companies. Roosevelt told them: 'Gentlemen, I can do nothing about it, the Mexican government has fulfilled its duty.'

 The good results of this policy had much to do with the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Joseph Daniels, who acted with wisdom and skill in the most difficult years of relations between the two countries. His position on the oil conflict is summarized when he maintained that President Cárdenas was right in promoting the policy that the wealth of the subsoil should become part of the Mexican economy and that the oil crisis was due to the systematic refusal of foreign companies to modify their vision, since, Daniels pointed out, they felt that Mexicans were born to enrich foreigners and that God placed important natural resources in Mexico to increase the fortunes found in the coffers of the exploiters and concession holders.

 But the companies were not as conscientious and respectful as U.S. politicians. The nationalization process had to confront the boycott, pressures, and acts of sabotage promoted and financed by the foreign oil companies.

 In Mexico, the oil industry expropriation caused deep uneasiness among a minority, especially among the wealthy of the time, in middle-class sectors, and in most of the media.

 It is interesting, and this is a lesson, to point out that historically the right wing always regroups when a democratic change is sought and becomes intolerant and even violent when it comes to social demands in favor of the people and the nation asserting its control.

 Let us remember that the overthrow of President Madero, our Apostle of Democracy, was backed by the intervention of the U.S. Ambassador, but was carried out by domestic right-wing groups which had previously promoted a campaign of hate and discredit consisting of ridiculing the President, President Madero, in the newspapers to the point of treating him as a madman and a spiritualist.

 The same thing happened when the expropriation, although it did not directly affect national private interests, served to bring together all the discontent of conservative groups opposed to the agrarian, labor, and educational policies of General Cárdenas.

 In this climate, on September 17, 1939, the National Action Party was founded. It was founded as a reaction to the oil industry expropriation. I say this here in the Zócalo because I am not lying, I am speaking the truth.

 In 1940, all these reactionary trends manifested themselves very strongly in the presidential election. The right-wing opposition was such that General Cárdenas had to act cautiously, and possibly that influenced him to support the candidacy of Manuel Ávila Camacho and not that of General Francisco J. Múgica, with whom he had more ideological affinity and who represented a greater certainty of continuity and deepening of the social and nationalist policy.

 It has always been said that the general did not choose Múgica because of the risk of foreign intervention. However, as we have seen, at that time Roosevelt, who had demonstrated his respect for national sovereignty, was governing and World War II was about to break out, a situation that contributed to dissipating the threat of a U.S. intervention.

 In my opinion, what most influenced the decision was the internal political circumstances, that is, the belligerence of the right-wing groups. Remember that, even though he’d decided in favor of the candidacy of Manuel Avila Camacho, who held moderate positions, the presidential election was complicated and violent.

 The opposition candidate, Juan Andreu Almazán, had the support of important right-wing groups and a sector of the Army. Even the PAN, which did not run a candidate for the presidency, openly supported him.

 At the end of the day, 30 dead and 127 wounded were reported. However, shortly after, Almazán gave in and his supporters, businessmen and right-wing politicians came to an understanding and made a pact for concessions and benefits with the new Ávila Camacho administration.

 From then on, the authentic revolutionary ideal and actions for the benefit of the people began to be abandoned, although it must be acknowledged that this alliance between political and economic power perhaps avoided civil war and maintained social peace.

 If under Porfirio Díaz, the peace of the graveyard prevailed, after President Cárdenas’ government, the peace of compromises and corruption was established.

 In this brief history there are major lessons, the main one being that only with the people, only with the support of the majority, can a popular transformation be carried out to enforce justice and confront the reactionaries who oppose the loss of privileges.

 For this reason, today we once again declare, we exclaim from the rooftops: no zigzagging, let us remain anchored in our principles, let us reaffirm the decision and the course we have taken since the administration began. No half measures: we in Mexico will never allow a minority to impose itself at the expense of the humiliation and impoverishment of the majority.

 That is why, in our government, corruption is being fought. There is an austere government, without luxuries, and all the savings are used to finance well-being programs, such as pensions for the elderly, support for people with disabilities, single mothers, peasant farmers and fishermen, scholarships for students from poor families, Internet for All, housing improvement and construction programs, collateral-free loans, fertilizer, and guaranteed prices for the country's small producers, the Bank of Well-Being, the promotion of education and universal and free public health care.

 This year more than 25 million people will receive direct support totaling 600 billion pesos (4). In other words, out of 35 million households in the country, 71 percent will receive the benefits of at least one of the social programs.

 With this policy of attention to the neediest, the most vulnerable, and especially to young people, we have also been able to reduce federal crimes by 33 percent, homicides by 10 percent, vehicle theft by 38 percent, general robberies by 20 percent, huachicol (5) by 92 percent, femicides by 28 percent, and kidnappings by 76 percent.

 By the same token, the savings from not allowing corruption or budgetary waste have enabled us to avoid contracting more debt. We have not requested additional debt since we have been in office.

 And at the same time, without increasing the public debt in real terms, taxes have not been increased, the price of gasoline, diesel, gas, and electricity have not risen. There has even been a decrease in the price of these energy resources.

 There has also been an increase in public investment, as has not occurred in many years. This year we will spend more than one trillion pesos (6) on public work projects. That is, we will continue building highways, bridges, trains, airports, hospitals, universities, markets, sports facilities, seawalls, and natural, recreational, and ecological parks.

 And we are carrying out something very important: an extensive project to recover and restore historical and archeological sites of our ancient and splendid cultures and civilizations.

 Public finances are strong, the national economy is booming. Last year the Mexican economy grew even more than the economies of China and the United States.

 There are an unprecedented 21,747,000 workers enrolled in the health system. This figure of 21,747,000 workers in the formal economy has never been reached before.

 In addition, an average wage of 525 pesos (7) per day has been achieved for these workers in the formal economy, something that had never occurred before.

 The unemployment rate last January was 2.9 percent, the lowest since 2005.

 We are carrying out public work projects. Right here we are refurbishing the Metro line that collapsed.

 We are, of course, building the Toluca-Mexico City train line, the Maya Train, the Transisthmic Train and many, many other public works projects.

 What is happening?

 After many years, we managed to get the United States to offer temporary work visas. Canada was already doing this and the United States did not accept it. Now with President Biden’s change of policy it was achieved, but they are taking skilled workers, ironworkers, welders, who are needed here for the works projects. We are going to make a small modification, because Mexico comes first and then foreign countries, but this shows how much demand there is for jobs in the country.

 During the time we have been in office, the minimum wage has increased by 90 percent in real terms, and on the border it has more than doubled.

 Do you remember what the lying technocrats used to say? That if wages were increased, there would be inflation. That's all a bunch of nonsense. That is not true. Of course, we have to improve wages responsibly, to strengthen the domestic market, as we are doing, and thus achieve well-being for our people.

 The stock market, corporate and bank profits are posting good numbers.

 The Banco de México’s reserves have increased by 15 percent, 200 billion dollars in bank reserves.

 Foreign investment has climbed to previously unseen figures.

 This has also occurred with remittances from our migrant countrymen and women. Thank you very much, fellow countrymen and women. Last year these remittances practically reached 60 billion dollars; this year they are going to exceed 60 billion dollars.

 This is very important, because this money gets to the most remote communities, to 10 million families who benefit from them, and with this money the regional economy, commerce and other economic activities are reactivated.

 It is also important to emphasize that the peso is the currency that has most appreciated in the world in relation to the dollar, something that has not occurred for more than 50 years.

 We have also directed our resources and efforts to achieve food self-sufficiency and energy self-sufficiency. In the latter, as reported here by the Ministry of Energy and the Director of Pemex, we can be certain that oil sovereignty is being guaranteed. Next year we will not be buying gasoline, diesel or other oil products abroad; we will be processing all of our raw materials.

 The Federal Electricity Commission, the public company in charge of managing the electricity industry, has been strengthened.

 And recently lithium, a strategic mineral used in manufacturing batteries for electric cars and storage systems for clean energy, was nationalized.

 It fills me with pride to be able to recall -I apologize for taking so long, but I am about to finish- it fills me with pride to be able to recall today, March 18, that, despite the policy of granting concessions that prevailed before we came into office, we were able to remove a long chapter from the Free Trade Agreement that compromised our oil and put in its place a small paragraph, which I am going to read to you.

 It says: 'The United States and Canada recognize that Mexico reserves its sovereign right to reform its Constitution and domestic legislation, and Mexico has the direct, inalienable, and imprescriptible ownership of all hydrocarbons in the subsoil of the national territory.'

 My friends:

 I am convinced that we will continue to receive the support of the people to consolidate the first stage in the transformation of our country.

 I am also convinced that whichever candidate wins the poll to become the candidate of our movement will apply the same policy in favor of the people and in favor of the nation.

 Continuity with change is assured. There is nothing to fear. Of course, we have to remain united, always looking towards the future and the happiness of our fellow men and women. This means working from below and with the people, and without neglecting the strategy that we rightly call the revolution of consciences to keep advancing in the change of mentality so as to continue politicizing our people and thus have an increasingly aware population. In this we have made considerable progress, as Mexico is one of the countries with the least political illiteracy in the world.

 With that awareness we will continue, with that collective consciousness we will continue to counteract the dirty war, the slander campaigns and the attempts at manipulation that will continue to be waged, because our adversaries and their media, sold out, rented or in the hands of the members of the conservative and corrupt block, have no other choice. But at the same time we must have faith in the wisdom and loyalty of the people, the people do not betray.

 Let’s recall that the victory of the reactionaries, as Juarez said, is morally impossible. We are finding that the idea and practice of exalting Mexican humanism is electrifying and is reaching the consciousness of millions of people. I base my optimism on this.

 And even though it is more dangerous to underestimate the strength of one’s adversaries than to overestimate it in politics, I maintain that no matter what they do, the oligarchs will not return to power; an authentic and true democracy will continue to prevail in our beloved Mexico.

Friends:

 I cannot fail to mention that in the past few days some U.S. legislators, accustomed to seeing the mote in their brother's eye, but not seeing the beam in their own, in a propaganda ploy -we would say here in colloquial language grilla or intrigue- and for electoral, politicking purposes, argued that, if we did not stop the trafficking of fentanyl to the northern border, that they were going to propose to the Congress of their country that U.S. soldiers occupy our territory to confront organized crime.

 First, I want to make it clear that this is no longer the time of Calderón or García Luna, that this is no longer the time of shady links between the Mexican government and U.S. government agencies. Now there is no simulation, organized and white-collar crime is truly being fought, because there is no corruption, no impunity, and there are no complicit relationships with anyone.

 But what is most important is that from here, from this Zócalo square, the political and cultural heart of Mexico, we remind those hypocritical and irresponsible politicians that Mexico is an independent and free country, not a colony or a protectorate of the United States, and that they can threaten to perpetrate any offense, but we will never, ever allow them to violate our sovereignty and trample on the dignity of our homeland.

 Cooperation yes, submission no; interventionism no.

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR:   Oligarchy!

 Crowd response: No!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Corruption!

 Crowd response: No!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Racism!

 Crowd response: No!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Freedom!

 Crowd response: Yes!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Democracy!

 Crowd response: Yes!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Honesty!

 Crowd response: Yes!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Social justice!

 Crowd response: Yes!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Equality!

 Crowd response: Yes!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Sovereignty!

 Crowd response: Yes!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Long live the expropriation of the oil industry!

 Crowd response: Viva!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Long live the workers and technicians of the national oil industry of yesterday and today!

 Crowd response: Viva!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Long live General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río!

 Crowd response: Viva!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Viva Mexico!

 Crowd response: Viva!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Viva México!

 Crowd response: Viva!

 PRESIDENT ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Viva México!

 Crowd response: Viva!

 Translator’s Notes:

 1)     Ejidos  – semi-communal farmland

2)     Constitutional Article 123 enshrines labor rights

3)     Porfiriato -  The period of Porfirio Díaz's presidency of Mexico (1876–80; 1884–1911), an era of dictatorial rule

4)     US$31.89 billion

5)     Huachicol – the massive theft of fuel from pipelines and refineries

6)     US$53.16 billion

7)     US$27.91

 Translated by Pedro Gellert

México City, March 18, 2023

#amlo #mexico #ciudad de méxico #lopez obrador

[hondoohnakasrankings]

Inspiration behind the first trilogy

An important aspect of this franchise is that it has many references and inspiration from both real events and other movies and series of the genre.

Firstly I will get into its cinematographic inspirations and influences. The more famous ones are Flash Gordon (photo 1) and Buck Rogers (photo 2) which were famous science fiction and space opera television series of the time. Originally, the idea that became A New Hope was a remake of the 1930's Flash Gordon as a movie. As you can see in the second series, the costumes are reminiscent of many attires of Leia mostly and Padme as well in all white. He was inspired as well by the science fiction movies that were running in his youth, but he wanted to do something different, aimed at younger people, less dark but still as entertaining.

Another source of inspiration are the works of Japanese director Akire Kurosawe, and most specifically the 1958 movie The Hidden Fortress, which inspired the plot and some character. Even Darth Vader's helmet resembles that of a samurai.

If you want to read more on the topic there are some great articles on Wookipedia. There is probably much more to mention about inspiration but those were the major ones.

Secondly, there is the historical inspirations and allusions. First off this is one of my favorite fun facts, Leia's iconic buns are inspired by Pancho Villa "soldaderas" from Mexico. Carrie Fisher had to wanting to portray a strong independent heroine and these revolutionary ladies were a perfect choice. Although it was not a practical hairstyle and not used during the Mexican Revolution it was the inspiration from the phots that were taken, and I believe the message is the all that matters.

On a grimmer note however, the rest of the story is mainly based on conflicts that have happened in history. Like mentioned in a previous post, the dyad of Empire and Rebels mirrors the American forces against Vietnam forces from the 1950s-80s conflict. The USA have also a similar path to that of the empire; they started as a revolution for separation from a colonial group or alliance of sort (Dooku's Separatists and England), then they ruled themselves, but the political system is a bit off and less democratic then they would like it to seem. Then they go to war with states or planets that do not agree with their doctrines ( Like the Cold War or the Vietnam War compared to the bombing of Leia's planet Alderaan).

there are other aspects that are more visual. For instance we have the Jedi, which can be compared to the a mix of samurai and Shaolin monks but also Templar Knights both are warrior monks that wear simple robes, that want peace to thrive. Although they are supposed to not take a side like the shaolin monks, they end up inevitably taking sides with the Republics against the Separatist and the Sith. Like the Templar they originally took vows of austerity, devotion and moral purity and were eventually purged by a ruler who saw them as a threat.

Another visual and historical reference is in this next scene. Overall the Empire has a lot of Nazi symbolism, from the rise of Palpatine, the frustration of the separatist, the implementation of a new armed force (stormtroopers) when it was not really allowed. The costumes of the Stormtroopers and most importantly the hate and authoritarianism of the two regimes.

This scene, also mirrors massive Nazi rallies in Nuremberg with the troops at attention watching their leaders.

If you want to read more on the topic there is this articlehttps://www.history.com/news/the-real-history-that-inspired-star-wars

Overall Star Wars takes a lot of inspiration from real world conflicts and peoples in order to offer a critique of authoritarian orders. Although some fans misread this critique more often then one would think, it is still a very important message, even if the Empire might look impressive.

#star wars #george lucas #history #wookieepedia #leia #darth vader

[dnds]

sometimes trans history is funny. like this bitch just straight up lied to the king of france abt being afab i love it

#greer rambles #sorry trans history is so often just. awful to learn about (because so many historical trans people's stories end with 'they examined them #after they died + found out they were trans + subsequently broader society lost all respect for them #so i really like to relish in just the. fun parts sometimes #thats also not to say all trans representation in history - which is kind of contentious anyways bc as society evolves what it means to be #trans changes with it and the modern idea of being trans #might not always fit 1:1 with the experiences of those in the past #due to a variety of factors #including but not limited to how difficult it was (and is) to exist as a trans person #- anyways not all trans history os depressing #or even ambiguous; #amelio robles ávila is one of my favorite trans historical figures bc #1) he was a revolutionary during the mexican revolution which. based #2) he was unequivocally trans #and #most importantly #3) his decision to live as a man was completely respected by his family and community #and this was the 1910s - holy shit #also apparently if anyone referred to him as a woman he would threaten them with a pistol #he also lived a long ass time bc he died in 1984 at the age of 95. king.

[enchi-elm]

This is a summary of some of the historical research I did for Chapter 4: WWCD? of my Turn:Washington's Spies fanfic, You've Caught Me Between Wind and Water.

Disclaimer: my information is the result of only two weeks extensive googling. I have focused on Oneida sources for the Oneida material. This is meant as an overview, and I heavily recommend looking into the events and subjects described to supplement your own understanding.

I'm not going to talk about the dozens of articles I read about supply problems the Continental Army endured during Valley Forge because enough is enough. The information is easy to find. It's practically an origin myth.

In this post:

Native/Indigenous Involvement in the American Revolution

Oneida Language

Tehawenkaragwen, or Han Yerry (Hanyery, Honyery, Han Ury)

Sea Shanties

Sackett's Cryptography

Native/Indigenous Involvement in the American Revolution

I cannot overstate the importance of Indigenous contributions to the American fight for independence and the British attempts to quell it. 

By the 18th Century, the many Indigenous nations were a powerful political force in their own right. They were vital trade partners and it behooved both the colonists and the colonizers to make important and life-saving trade and political alliances with them.

For the start of the American Revolution, the Indigenous tribes (loosely comprising here the Six Nations (Oneida, Mohawk, Tuscarora, Seneca, Onondaga and Cayuga) along the other tribes, such as the Algonquin, the Mikmak, etc.) were neutral--and this was a lot of political pressure they wielded, because they could often threaten to side with the others if trade agreements were unfavourable. Eventually though, and I'll be narrowing in on the Six Nations, cause that's kind of what I understand the best from my research, sides were taken.

The Six Nations overwhelmingly sided with the British: Cayuga, Onondaga, Tuscarora, Seneca and Mohawk, often making up almost half the fighting force on the field. The Oneida, due to where they were living, i.e. in closer proximity to and having stronger trade ties with the Continentals, sided with the Patriots. Now--this was not clear cut. Individuals within the tribes could lean either way. And often, this provided a means to parlay formally between the British and the Americans, for example, through Mohawk-Oneida connections.

The Battle of Oriskany featured such a pre-battle parlay, between the Oneida teenager Paulus and the Mohawk chief Joseph Brant. This link provides some great information on the Oneida-Mohawk relationships in the Revolution, particularly leading up to the Battle of Oriskany.

You really get the sense that, despite how contemporary portrayals brush it under the rug, political ties within the Six Nations and other Indigenous tribes hugely affected allegiances and outcomes of the war. 

This quote really says it best:

During the Revolutionary War, Oneidas bound themselves “to hold the Covenant Chain with the United States, and with them to be buried in the same, or to enjoy the fruits of victory and peace” (Duane, 1778). Choosing to ally with the young United States, the Oneida Nation served the American cause with fidelity, effectiveness, and at terrible cost.

The Oneida also famously arrived at Valley Forge in May 1778 with, it is said, anywhere between 60 and 600 bushels of corn for the army. It was a relief mission.

In my story, I’ve massaged events a little (mostly because I completely messed up the timeline while I was researching, mea culpa) and the Oneida will save the day much earlier. I figure a little gratitude is overdue, so I’m not fussed with this detail.

Oneida Language

The two phrases used in the story were chosen after looking through an Oneida language source (useful, but beyond what I needed) and then consulting an Oneida-made youtube video. Languages evolve with time, and it is worth noting that Oneida now likely sounded different than Oneida in 1777.

Tehawenkaragwen, or Han Yerry (Hanyery, Honyery, Han Ury)

I had the toughest time researching this man. Considering he was a chief warrior in one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution, not to mention an important political ally, the fact that he is memorialized as an "Indian guide” is... deeply unsatisfying and undignified. 

There's also very little known, or at least available to read, about things a fiction author would value: his demeanor, his appearance, his values.

His characterization in my story I have based mostly on this account, see "Hanyery at Oriskany." He's described as being in his fifties, fearless, competent and evidently much admired. His wife, Tyonajanegen, and his son fought with him at Oriskany. When Han Yerry was shot through his wrist, on horseback, his wife would load his gun for him so he could still shoot.

There is only one other specific account of Han Yerry in his role as a chief and interlocutor. It is... horribly biased, awfully phrased, and reads like... *flaps hands, shakes head* Forget it. All I took from it is that Han Yerry is referred to as the "leading chief of the Confederacy" and interfaced with Patriot magistrates. My description of him is deliberately light, as there are no paintings or accounts I could find that suggest what dress or ceremonial/practical items he would keep on him in his capacity as a chief, or as a warrior. (And frankly, I'm not sure that I would trust a Western portrait.)

I also wanted him to speak words that were spoken through Oneida oral tradition:

As the Oneidas expressed it: “In the late war with the people on the other side of the great water and at a period when thick darkness overspread this country, your brothers the Oneidas stepped forth, and uninvited took up the hatchet in your defense. We fought by your side, our blood flowed together, and the bones of our warriors mingled with yours” (Hough 1861 1:124).

In 2x01, Caleb calls him Han Yerry, and he is credited as such, so I used this version of his name.

Sea Shanties

To start with, please behold this glorious master post by @gerrydelano​. 

There is no reason for Caleb to be singing "Santiana" other than that it is currently my favourite shanty. "Santiana" describes events that take place during the Mexican-American War in 1846-1848. So, you know, a good seventy years after this story is set. I was going to look up era-appropriate songs, then ran into this baffling article that declares that sea shanties were a thing that had fallen into disuse by 1777. Given the highly romanticized and very lucrative economy of whaling and seafaring in the 18th Century, I find that hard to believe. And at any point, I remembered that this is fanfic and I can do what I want, so, Santiana it is.

Sackett's Cryptography

In 1x06 "Mr. Culpeper", Sackett discusses his favourite methods of encryption, including Rossignol, Trithemius, and Dumas then promptly roasts Ben for not using any encryption at all. These are all single substitution ciphers, where individual letters, syllables or words are substituted by numbers.

The Spartan scytale, which I name-dropped, is a transposition cipher, where the text itself is unaltered but the letters are put out of order. It indeed, as the name suggests, dates back to fifth century B.C.E.

A polyalphabetic cipher like the Vigenère cipher, a very complicated substitution cipher, had already been invented by the 18th Century, and wouldn't be cracked until 1863. A downside of this cipher is its complexity and the time it takes to compose a message (though I'm not sure it's less secure than keeping copies of codebooks with multiple agents).

#fanfiction #history things #Apfelessig #Han Yerry #Oneida #American Revolution #Polly Cooper #Sackett #Turn amc #sea shanties

[xtruss]

Argentine Soccer Hero Lived a Life of Extremes!

AT THE PINNACLEDiego Armando Maradona holds the World Cup trophy in triumph in 1986 after Argentina defeated West Germany, 3-2, to claim the championship. (Carlo Fumagalli Associated Press)

— By Hector Tobar | L.A. Times | November 26, 2020

A mop-haired boy from a Buenos Aires slum, Diego Armando Maradona dribbled and dazzled his way to world fame, becoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time and achieving a godlike status in his homeland when he led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup.

But he also was one of the most self-destructive, a volatile man of prodigious appetites whose excesses landed him in the hospital again and again.

Never far from the spotlight he chased with such fury, Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack, the Associated Press confirmed. He was 60.

Maradona had been plagued by health issues in recent years and was recently released from a Buenos Aires hospital after suffering a subdural hematoma, which required brain surgery.

As the news of Maradona’s death circulated around the world Wednesday, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez called for three days of national mourning, while UEFA, soccer’s governing body in Europe, announced there would be a minute of silence before its Champions League and Europa League games this week.

Soccer stars past and present took to social media to say goodbye.

Pele, the Brazilian legend and perhaps the greatest player of all time, wrote on Twitter that he “lost a great friend and the world lost a legend.... One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time world player of the year from Portugal who currently stars for Italy’s Juventus, tweeted, “Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius.”

Like that other famous Argentine export, the tango, Maradona brought flair, passion and an undeniable sense of darkness to his sport and his life. On the field, few could match his artistry, skill and creativity.

During a professional career that began on a Buenos Aires field when he was 15, Maradona scored hundreds of goals, many of them the stuff of legend, including two in a single match against England in the 1986 World Cup. The first is considered by many the most notorious goal in the history of the sport, and the second is among the most celebrated.

He went on to lead Argentina’s national team to the World Cup title that year, marking the summit of his career. But drug abuse and other acts of self-destruction tainted his final years as a player, and he retired in 1997 just a whisper of his former self.

Maradona played 91 games for the Argentine national team and was a star for teams in Italy and Spain. He played his last World Cup game in Foxboro, Mass., in 1994, escorted off the field for a drug test he would fail.

One of eight children of a laborer who had migrated to the city from rural Corrientes province, Maradona was born Oct. 30, 1960, in a villa miseria, or slum, in the suburban Buenos Aires community of Villa Fiorito. The family lived in abject poverty.

In his autobiography, “I Am El Diego,” he recalled walking to school kicking a ball along streets, up stairs and along railroad tracks. He spent hours playing pickup games in a nearby horse pasture.

When he was 9, a friend invited him to a tryout at Argentinos Juniors, an adult professional soccer team. He impressed enough to earn a spot on the Cebollitas, or Little Onions, a feeder club for the team. The Little Onions would go on to win 136 games without defeat, with young Diego often scoring three or more goals a game.

By the time he was 12, he was working at professional games as a ball boy, becoming a favorite of the crowds for his halftime juggling skills. A television variety show invited him to show off his talents and in soccer-mad Argentina, he became a minor celebrity.

Just a few days before his 16th birthday, the coach of Argentinos Juniors brought him onto the first team. He first stepped onto the field as a substitute, with the coach telling him, “Go, Diego, and play like you know how to play. And if you can, dribble through someone’s legs.” Minutes later, the young Maradona did just that.

“That day,” he said later in his autobiography, “I felt like I touched heaven with my hands.”

Leading Argentine teams began a bidding war for Maradona’s services. He moved his family out of Villa Fiorito to an apartment. Eventually, he joined the famed Boca Juniors team.

He was first named to Argentina’s national team in 1977, when he was 16. But coach Cesar Luis Menotti did not name him to the squad that won the 1978 World Cup, which Argentina hosted. Maradona was crushed.

“I knew he was a great player, who was going to have the chance to play in many more World Cups,” Menotti would say years afterward.

In 1982, after leading Boca Juniors to a league championship, Maradona signed with the Spanish club Barcelona. It was there, friends say, that he got his first taste of cocaine.

“I was, I am now, and I have always been, a drug addict,” he would acknowledge years later.

But on the field, his powers seemed only to grow. After fighting repeatedly with Barcelona management, he moved to the Italian club Napoli, scoring a series of remarkable goals that quickly endeared him to the notoriously fickle Italian fans.

In the 1986 World Cup, played in Mexico, the full range of his skills was on display. During the tournament he scored five goals in leading Argentina to its second World Cup victory, but he will always be remembered for the two he scored in a quarterfinal match against England. Passions were high for the game, played just four years after Britain defeated Argentina in the Falklands War.

With the game scoreless, Maradona challenged English goalkeeper Peter Shilton for a high pass. Maradona punched the ball with his fist into the goal, a blatant violation of the rules seen by nearly everyone but the referee. Asked afterward if he had used his hand, Maradona said the goal had been scored “By the Hand of God.”

Five minutes later, Maradona scored another, the decisive goal in what would be a 2-1 victory over England. Taking the ball in his own half of the field, he dribbled and weaved past most of the English team, then tumbled to the ground as he fired a shot that beat Shilton. In a poll conducted two decades later by soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, it was selected the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup.

“Today he scored one of the most brilliant goals you will ever see,” English coach Bobby Robson said after the game. “The first goal was dubious. The second goal was a miracle.”

“It was as if we had beaten a country, more than just a soccer team,” Maradona would recall in his autobiography.

When Argentina defeated West Germany, 3-2, in the championship game a week later, he stormed off the field and into the locker room shouting obscenities; for Maradona, victory was always tinged with the lingering anger he felt for his rivals and detractors.

Still at the peak of his powers, he inspired Napoli to its first Italian league titles in 1987 and 1990. He married childhood sweetheart Claudia Villafañe in 1989, but would admit later to being unfaithful to her. In 1991 he was again suspended for 15 months after testing positive for cocaine.

Noticeably overweight, he went on a crash diet before the 1994 World Cup, hosted by the United States. But after scoring two goals in three games, he failed a drug test for ephedrine, a performance-enhancing drug. He was kicked out of the World Cup and banned from the sport for 15 months.

“My soul is broken,” Maradona said. But he blamed FIFA officials more than himself. “They cut my legs out from me just as I was trying to come back.”

Maradona eventually returned to play for his old Argentine club team, Boca Juniors, from which he retired in 1997.

Away from the field, Maradona seemed a sad, rotund figure. He traveled to Cuba to seek treatment for drug abuse in 2002 and eventually struck up a friendship with Fidel Castro. When he returned to Argentina, he sported a prominent tattoo of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, one of Castro’s top lieutenants during the Cuban revolution, on one arm.

Shortly after his 2004 divorce, Maradona began another downward spiral and was hospitalized after a drug overdose and then again for alcohol poisoning. His family had him hospitalized in a psychiatric facility after he threatened to leave the intensive care unit where he had been receiving treatment. He was released but returned a few days later after a bout of overeating.

His death seemed so imminent that daily newspapers in Buenos Aires prepared special sections to run with his obituary.

But after a few weeks he was released and went on to host a popular variety show on Argentine television, “Night With No. 10.” And throughout his career, he never seemed to forget where he came from, lending his name and profile to dozens of charitable endeavors that raised millions, mostly for children’s causes.

He coached briefly, and erratically, for two teams in the Argentine league and then, in a move that stunned and delighted the nation, in 2008 was handed the reins of the country’s national team, which was struggling to right itself before the World Cup. The team advanced to the quarterfinals, hoping that new superstar Lionel Messi’s sublime soccer skills would overcome the confounding coaching decisions made by Maradona. He was dismissed in 2010.

In 2018, Maradona — whose gait had now turned to a shuffle and once-crisp voice to a mumble — was hired to coach the Dorados, a professional team based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, in the heart of drug country. The only person more famous than Maradona in Sinaloa was Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the legendary drug kingpin.

“Taking Maradona to Sinaloa is like taking a kid to Disneyland,” sportswriter Rafael Martinez wrote on Twitter.

But Maradona, silencing critics again, made it work. Hobbled by knee injuries and using a cane as he shuffled about, he managed to take a young team buried deep in Mexico’s second division to the playoff final, where it lost by a goal in overtime.

“He is very happy, very satisfied with his work,” Fox Deportes analyst Daniel Brailovsky, a former teammate, said. “It’s his passion, it’s his life. It’s everything for him.

“Maradona can’t live without football, and football can’t live without Maradona.”

Six months later, Maradona left Mexico, quickly resurfacing in Argentina as manager for the Gimnasia de la Plata club.

His story was told in the 2019 HBO documentary “Diego Maradona,” with filmmaker Asif Kapadia combing through 500 hours of never-before-seen footage. The result portrays Maradona as he was: a man both tortured and talented, a superhero, antihero and villain, brilliantly gifted on the field and maddeningly flawed away from it.

“Maradona is the synthesis of Argentina,” suggested Guillermo Oliveta, president of the Argentina Marketing Assn. “He came from dire poverty and went up so quickly in social status. And then he crashed, just like the country.”

Tobar is a former Times staff writer. Times staff writers Kevin Baxter and Steve Marble contributed to this report.

#Youtube

[margdarsanme]

NCERT Class 12 Political Science (India) Chapter 2 Era of One Party Dominance

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (India Since Independence)

Chapter 2 Era of One Party Dominance

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED : Q 1. Choose the correct option to fill in the blanks.

(a) The First General Elections in 1952 involved simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and…………. (The President of India/State Assemblies/Rajya Sabha/The Prime Minister)

(b) The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first elections was the ………… (Praja Socialist Party/Bharatiya Jana Sangh/Communist Party of India/Bharatiya Janata Party)

(c) One of the guiding principles of the ideology of the Swatantra Party was……… (Working class interest/protection of Princely States/Economy free from State control/Autonomy of States within the Union)

Answer: (a) State Assemblies (b) Communist Party of India (c) Economy free from state control. Q 2. Match the following

Answer: (a)—(iv), (b)-(i), (c)-(w), (d)-(iii) Q 3. Four statements regarding one-party dominance are given below. Mark each of them as true or false: (a) One-party dominance is rooted in the absence of strong alternative political parties (b) One-party dominance occurs because of weak public opinion. (c) One-party dominance is linked to the nation’s colonial past. (d) One-party dominance reflects the absence of democratic ideals in a country.

Answer: (a) True, (b) False, (c) True, (d) False Q 4. If Bharatiya Jana Sangh of the Communist Party of India had formed the government after the first election, in which respects would the policies of the government have been different? Specify three differences each for both the parties.

Answer: 1. Bharatiya Jana Sangh: The policies of Bharatiya Jana Sangh were based on the principles as follows: (a) It replaced secular concept by the ideology of one country, one culture and one nation. (b) No cultural and educational rights as this party opposed the granting of concessions to religious and cultural minorities. (c) It focused on the reunity of India and Pakistan under the concept of Akhand Bharat. 2. Communist Party of India: Communist Party of India would have been different on the principles as follows: (а) It worked for proportional representation in the govern-ment. (б) This party followed communist ideology in various policies. (c) It emphasised on a control over electronic mass media by an autonomous body or corporation. Q 5. In what sense was the Congress an ideological coalition? Mention the various ideological currents present within the Congress.

Answer: The Congress Party became a social and ideological coalition for it merged different social groups alongwith their identity holding different beliefs: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary, conservative, pacifist, radical, extremist and moderates and the rights and the left with all other shades of the centre. 2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in the national movement. Ideological currents present within the Congress: (a) In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the Congress. (b) Some of these like “Congress Socialist Party” later seperated from the Congress and became on opposition party. Q 6. Did the prevalence of a ‘one-party dominant system’ affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics?

Answer: No, the prevalence of one party dominance system did not affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics because: 1. The key role of Congress in the freedom struggle gave it a head start over others. 2. The Congress accommodated diversified interests, religion, beliefs and aspirations to strengthen democracy. 3. Despite being taken place of free and fair elections, Congress won elections in the same manner again and again. 4. Congress party consisted of various factions inside itself, based on ideological considerations who never taught together or went out of Congress. 5. Hence, on the basis of above mentioned criterion, it can be concluded that Congress strengthened ideals of democracy and held unity and integrity of the country. Q 7. Bring out three differences each between Socialist Parties and the Communist Party and between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party.

Answer: 1. Differences between Socialist Parties and Communist Party:

2. Differences between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party:

Q 8. What would you consider as the main differences between Mexico and India under one party domination?

Answer: There was a difference between one party domination in India and Mexico. In Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because: 1. In India, the Congress party dominated on behalf of popular consensus but Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (in Spanish) ruled on behalf of perfect dictatorship. 2. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing of election was also fair but it Mexico, elections were based on malpractices, dominated by PRI. Q 9. Take a political map of India (with State outlines) and mark: (a) Two states where Congress was not in poiver at some point during 1952-67. (b) Two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.

Answer. Map is attached and marked as: (a) 1. Kerala (Travancore-Cochin) 2. Madras (Travancore-Cochin) (b) 1. Punjab or U.P. 2. Rajasthan or West Bengal. Q 10. Read the following passage: “Patel, the organisational man of the Congress, wanted to purge the Congress of other political groups and sought to make of it a cohesive and disciplined political party. He … sought to take the Congress away from its all-embracing character and turn it into a close-knit party of disciplined cadres. Being a ‘ r list he looked more for discipline than for took too romantic a view of “eariging on the movement,” Patel’s idea of transforming the Congress into strictly political party with a single ideology and tight discipline showed an equal lack of understanding of the eclectic role that the Congress, as a government, was to be called upon to perform in the decades to follow.”—Rnjni Kotl c – 1 (а) Why does the author think that Congress should not have been a cohesive and disciplined party? (b) Give some examples of the eclectic role of the Congress party in the early years. (c) Why does the author say that Gandhi’s view about Congress future was romantic?

Answer: (a) Because she wanted to take the Congress away from its all embracing character and turn it into a close knit party of disciplined caders. (b) These examples are in the form of social and ideological coalition of Congress: (i) It provided a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to participate in national movement. (ii) Congress party represented a rainbow like social coalition representing diversity of India including various castes, religions and languages. (c) Because Gandhiji believed in hand- in-hand characteristic of national movement led by Congress which attracted various sections groups and society to form a social and ideological coalition in Congress.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Q 1. Which political party laid emphasis on the idea of one party, one culture and one nation?

Answer: Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Q 2. Which political party of India had leaders like A.K. Gopalan, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, and S.A. Dange?

Answer: Communist Party of India. Q 3. Who was the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh?

Answer: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951. Q 4. In which year was the Election Commission of India set up and who was the first chief Election Commissioner of India?

Answer: 25 January 1950, Sukumar Sen. Q 5. Name the founder president of the Congress Socialist Party. What name was given to this party after 1948?

Answer: The founder president of the Congress Socialist Party was Acharya Narendra Dev and after 1955 it came to be known as Socialist Party. Q 6. Differentiate between one party dominance and one party system.

Answer: One party dominance refer to representation on behalf of popular consensus alongwith free and fair elections i.e. Congress in India whereas one party system refers representation based on malpractice, fraud etc. to ensure winning of a particular party. Q 7. When and why was the electronic voting machine used in India for the first time?

Answer: The electronic voting machine was used in India in 1990 for first time for more accuracy and fair dealing while counting as well as it helps to check Booth capturing and other malpractices. Q 8. How did socialist party origin?

Answer: The founder president of the Congress socialist party was Acharya Narendra Dev and after 1955 it came to be known as Socialist Party. Q 9. Define faction.

Answer: Faction are the groups formed inside the party i.e. coalitions made in Congress created various factions which were based on either ideological considerations or personal ambitions. Q 10. When and by whom PRI was founded?

Answer: The ‘Institutional Revolutionary Party’ (PRI) was founded in 1929 by Plutareo Elias Calles in Mexico which represented the legacy of Mexican Revolution.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

Q 1. How did the dominance of Congress Party in the first three general elections help in establishing a democratic set-up in India?

Answer: The first general election was the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate country. Till then democracy had existed only in the prosperous countries. By that time many countries in Europe had not given voting rights to all women. In this context India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky. India’s general election of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. It was no longer possible to argue that domocratic elections could not be held on conditions of poverty or lack of education. It proved that democracy could be practised anywhere in the world. The next two general elections strengthened democratic set-up in India. Q 2. Highlight any two features of ideology of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Answer: 1. Bharatiya Jana Sangh laid emphasis on ideology of one country, one culture and one nation. 2. Bharatiya Jana Sangh called for reunity of India and Pakistan in Akhand Bharat. Q 3. Explain the major difference of ideology between that of Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Answer: The major difference of ideology between Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was that Bharatiya Jana Sangh emphasised on one party country. One culture, one nation i.e. a Hindu nation or Hindutva whereas Congress formed ideological and social coalitions accommodating social diversities. Q 4. State any two ideologies of the Swatantra Party.

Answer: Swatantra Party was founded by Senior Congress leader C. Rajgopalachari in August 1959: 1. The party believed that prosperity could come only through individual freedom. 2. This party was against land ceilings in agriculture and opposed to cooperative farming. Q 5. How has the method of voting changed from the first General Election of 1952 to the General Election of 2004?

Answer: 1. In the first General Election a box was placed inside each polling booth for each candidate with the election symbol of the candidate. Each voter was given a blank ballot paper to drop into the box, they wanted to vote for. 2. After first two elections, this method was changed. Now ballot paper carried the names and symbols of candidates and the voter stamped against the name of candidate to vote for. 3. In 2004, Electronic Voting Machine were introduced to press the button according to choice of the voter containing the name of candidate and symbol of political party. Q 6. When was Communist Party emerged?

Answer: The Communist Party emerged in 1920 in different parts of India. It took the inspiration from Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The important leaders of CPI were A.K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh etc. Q 7. “India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky”. Justify the statement.

Answer: Because: 1. Country’s vast size and electorates made these elections unusual. 2. The year 1952, it was a big test for poor and illiterate country. 3. Till then, democracy had been existed only in the prosperous countries mainly in Europe and North America where everyone was almost literate. Q 8. Mention the aims and goals of Socialist Party of India. Why the party could not prove itself as an effective alternative to the Congress?

Answer: Aims and goals of socialist party of India: 1. The Socialist Party believed in the ideology of democratic socialism to be distinguished from Congress and Communists both. 2. It criticised Congress for ignoring the workers and peasants. It became difficult for socialist party to prove itself as an effective alternative to Congress because Congress Party declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society in 1955. Q 9. What were the reasons for dominance of one party system in India?

Answer: The dominance of Congress in India was due to following reasons: 1. Congress was identified with the freedom struggle for building national unity and solidarity. 2. Congress was associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s name. 3. It had a broad based manifesto to include the various section of society. 4. Congress bore a popular appeal of charismatic leader like Mahatma Gandhi, J.L. Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi etc. 5. Congress focused on building role of the party. Q 10. How did India’s first general elections of 1952 become a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world?

Answer: Because: 1. These elections were competitive among various parties. 2. The participation of people was encouraging also. 3. The results were declared in a very fair manner, even to be accepted by the losers in a fair manner. 4. This experiment of India, proved the critics wrong also.

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]

Q 1. Describe the organisation of Congress Party as a social and ideological coalitions. Or “For a long time Congress Party had been a social and ideological coalition”. Justify the statement. 

Answer: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary conservative, extremist and moderates with all other shades of the centre.

Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in national movement.

In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties were allowed to co-exist within the Congress. Some of these like ‘Congress Socialist Party’ later separated from the Congress and became an opposition party. 

Q 2. How was one party dominance of India different from the other examples of one party dominance in the world?  Or Examine the comparative analysis of nature of Congress dominance.

Answer: India is not the only country to have dominance of one party but we have some other examples also for the same. But the dominance of one party in India does not compromise democratic spirit of constitution whereas other nations have compromised it: 1. In countries like China, Cuba and Syria are permitted to be ruled by one party only by the constitutional provisions. 2. Myanmar, Belarus, Egypt also experience one party system due to legal and military measurer. 3. In India, Congress dominates on behalf of free and fair elections based on democracy where the losing of other party is also fair. Q 3. “In India, hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country But in politics, hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship”.Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Analyse the statement.

Ans: The above mentioned statement speaks of accommodating diversities by the leader of India which was a challenging path to democracy. Our leaders wanted to represent politics as a way of solution of problems in place of making politics a problem. Q 4. Examine the dominance of Congress in the first three General Elections.

Answer: I. In the first election Congress won 364/489 seats as per expectations. 2. The Communist Party next to Congress won only 16 seats. 3. Congress scored higher in state elections also except Travancore- Cochin (Kerala), Madras and Orissa. 4. Hence, country ruled at national and state level both by declaring Pt. J.L. Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India. 5. In second and third elections also, Congress maintained the same position in Loksabha by winning of three fourth seats in the years 1957 and 1962 respectively.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]

1. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions: This coalition-like character of the Congress gave it an unusual strength. Firstly, a coalition accommodates all those who join it. Therefore, it has to avoid any extreme position and strike a balance on almost all issues. Compromise and inclusiveness are the hallmarks of a coalition. This strategy put the opposition in a difficulty. Anything that the opposition wanted to say, would also find a place in the programme and ideology of the Congress. Secondly, in a party that has the nature of a coalition, there is a greater tolerance of internal differences and ambitions of various groups and leaders are accommodated. The Congress did both these things during the freedom struggle and continued doing this even after Independence. That is why, even if a group was not happy with the position of the party or with its share of power, it would remain inside the party and fight the other groups rather than leaving the party and becoming an ‘opposition’. Questions 1. What do you mean by a faction? 2. How did coalition-like character affect the nature of Congress Party? 3. How did Congress avoided to increase number of ‘opposition’?

Answer: 1. Factions are the groups formed inside the party based on either ideological considerations or on personal ambitions and rivalries. 2. Coalition-like character of Congress accommodated all social diversities and maintained a balance on almost all issues. Even a proper space for the programmes and ideology of opposite parties was also given. In such a way Congress showed greater tolerance towards internal differences. 3. Alongwith its coalition-like character, Congress did not let the groups to leave the party to become an opposition. 2. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions: The socialists believed in the ideology of democratic socialism which distinguished them both from the Congress as well as from the Communists. They criticised the Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords and for ignoring the workers and the peasants. But the socialists faced a dilemma when in 1955 the Congress declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society. Thus it became difficult for the socialists to present themselves as an effective alternative to the Congress. Some of them, led by Rammanohar Lohia, increased their distance from and criticism of the Congress party. Some others like Asoka Mehta advocated a limited cooperation with the Congress. Questions 1. Mention the ideology of Socialists. 2. Name some leaders of the Socialist Party. 3. Why did it become difficult for socialists to present themselves as an effective alternative to the Congress?

Answer: 1. Socialists believed in the ideology of democratic socialism to be distinguished from Congress as well as from Communists. 2. Ram Manohar Lohia, Ashok Mehta and Acharya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan etc. 3. Because in 1955, Congress declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society.

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]

Q 1. Describe the various steps taken to hold the first general elections in India. How far these elections were successful?

Answer: The first general elections had to be postponed twice and finally held from October 1951 to February 1952: 1. These elections were referred to as 1952 elections because most parts of country voted in January 1952. 2. It took six months for campaigning, polling and counting to be completed. 3. Elections were competitive because there were on an average more than four candidates for each seat. 4. The level of participation was en-couraging to vote out in the election. 5. The results were declared and accepted as fair even by losers to prove critics wrong. These elections were successful: 1. The losing of the parties was also accepted as fair. 2. These elections became a landmark in the history of democracy. 3. It was no longer possible to argue that democratic elections could not be held in conditions of poverty or lack of education. Instead, it can be practised anywhere in the world. Q 2. Why was Congress considered as a social and ideological coalition in independence days? Explain.

Answer: The Congress Party became a social and ideological coalition for it merged different social groups alongwith their identity holding different beliefs: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary, conservative, pacifist, radical, extremist and moderates and the right and the left with all other shades of the centre. 2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interacts and even political parties to take part in the national movement. Ideological currents present within the Congress: (а) In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the Congress. (b) Some of these like ‘Congress Socialist Party”, later separated from the Congress and became an opposition party. Q 3. How was the one party dominance in India different from the one party system in Mexico? In your opinion which of the two political systems is better and why?

Answer: There was a difference between one party domination in India and Mexico. In Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because: 1. In India, the Congress Party dominated on behalf of popular consensus but Institutional Revolu-tionary Party (PRI) (in Spanish) ruled on behalf of perfect dictatorship. 2. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing of election was also fair but in Mexico, elections were based on malpractices, dominated by PRI. In our opinion one party dominance¬like India is better because this sort of dominance: 1. Accommodates social diversities. 2. Encourage large number of parti-cipation. 3. Ensures democratic spirit as well as maintains the same. 4. Bear respect even for opposition. Q 4. How did opposition parties emerge in India? What was their importance?

Answer: Some of the diverse opposition parties had come into existence before the first general elections in 1952 as non-Congress parties which succeeded to gain only a taken of representation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. These parties maintained a democratic character of the system: 1. These offered a criticism based on principles to keep ruling party under check. 2. These parties groomed the leaders also to play a crucial role in shaping the country. 3. In the early years, these was a lot of respect between leaders of Congress and opposition parties i.e. interim government included even opposition leaders like Dr. Ambedkar, Jayaprakash Narayan, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee into the cabinet.

Picture/Map Based Questions [5 Marks]

A. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

Questions 1. What does the cartoon represent? 2. What does the term ‘Tug of war’ refer to? 3. Who has been shown on the branches of tree?

Answer: 1. Cartoon represents dominance of Congress which is being tug by opposition parties to throw Congress out of power. 2. ‘Tug of war’ refer to pulling out the Congress by criticism and mentioning its weaknesses in an honest and justified manner. 3. Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru alongwith his colleagues in the cabinet. B l. In the outline political map of India given below, five States have been marked as A, B, C, D and E. With the help of the information given below, identify them and write their correct names in your answer book along with the serial number of the information used and the related alphabet in the map.

Questions (i) The State to which C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor-General of India, belonged. (ii) The State where the first non-Congress Government was formed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. (iii) The State to which Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the Union Minister for Food and Agriculture (1952-54) belonged. (iv) The State which faced the most acute food crisis in 1965-1967. (v) The State which led the country to White Revolution through Dairy Cooperative Movement.

Answer: A — (iv) Bihar B — (iii) Uttar Pradesh C — (v) Gujarat D — (i) Tamil Nadu C — (a) Kerala 2. On a political outline map of India locate and label the following and symbolise them as indicated:

Questions 1. Two states where Congress was not in power at some point during 1952-67. 2. Two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.

Answer: 1. (i) Jammu & Kashmir (ii) Kerala 2. (i) Uttar Pradesh (ii) Maharashtra

from Blogger http://www.margdarsan.com/2020/08/ncert-class-12-political-science-india_13.html

#NCERT Class 12 Political Science

[thehandmaidstalehulu]

Margaret Atwood’s rule for herself when writing “The Handmaid’s Tale” was that everything had to be based on some real-world antecedent. And she was able to combine disparate historical events in plausible — and horrific — ways.

Hulu’s TV adaptation of her novel does the same; even when the show expands the world established in the novel and adds scenes that weren’t in the original material, they “could have been, because they have precedents,” Atwood said in a phone interview. Ahead of the Season 1 finale on Wednesday, Atwood explained the historical basis of the book and the show’s most disconcerting elements.

Episode 1: Color-Coordinated Clothing

The women of Gilead all wear clothing and colors prescribed by their status in this society: red for handmaids, blue for wives, green for Marthas, brown for aunts. “Organizing people according to what they’re wearing — who should wear what and when, who has to cover up what — is a very, very, very, very old human vocation,” Atwood said. It dates back to the first known legal code, the Code of Hammurabi, one part of which stated that “only aristocratic ladies were allowed to wear veils,” she added.

“If you were caught wearing a veil, and if you were in fact a slave, the penalty was execution,” Atwood continued. “It meant that you were pretending to be someone that you were not.”

The handmaid’s garb comes from a variety of sources (mid-Victorian bonnets and veils, nun wimples). Atwood’s trip to Afghanistan in 1978 — where she wore a chador — was also an influence. “They weren’t imposing it on everybody, at that point,” she said. “They did later.” All of these codes of attire — including the Third Reich’s yellow stars for Jews and pink triangles for gays — were ways of “identifying people, controlling people,” she said. “It’s easy to see at once who this person is.” The handmaid’s assigned color, red, was used by Canada for its prisoners of war, Atwood added, “who had the privilege to wear because it shows up so very well in the snow.”

The red is also borrowed from Christian iconography of the late-medieval, early Renaissance period, she said, in which “the Virgin Mary would inevitably wear blue or blue-green, and Mary Magdalene would inevitably wear red.”

Episode 1: Mob Justice

Gilead likes its ceremonies, and it has one to punish political enemies or disruptive elements that also acts as a release for the otherwise tightly controlled handmaids. The women stand in a circle and collectively participate in an execution, in some cases by tearing the accused apart with their bare hands. In the novel, it is called a “particicution,” a portmanteau of the words participation and execution. “When the mob takes over, no one person is responsible,” Atwood said. And this kind of frenzied murder party has a very old precedent, she added, citing “the Dionysian revels of ancient Greece,” in which Maenads tore apart sacrificial victims for the god Dionysus.

The mob will sometimes demand justice. “During the French Revolution, Princesse de Lamballe was torn apart and had her head put on a pike, which was paraded under the window of Marie Antoinette,” Atwood said. “And in Émile Zola’s novel ‘Germinal,’ which is based on real-life 19th century coal-mining enterprises, the guy who runs the company store is exacting sex from the wives and daughters of the coal miners in order to sell them goods because they didn’t have any money. So when the women get the chance, they tear him apart, and put not his head but his genitalia on a pike, and parade it around.”

Episode 2: Forced Childbearing

We get an early peek at how ends justify means in Gilead when Janine gives birth and can’t accept the reality that she will not get to keep the child. “There are a lot of utopias and dystopias based on economics, but this is one that goes to the absolute root, which is how many people are you going to have?” Atwood said. “And how are you going to get them? In some cultures, you don’t have to make special laws about it. But in other cultures, you have to bring in oppression to get the results that you want.”

Tyrants and dictators like Adolf Hitler and Nicolae Ceausescu have often dictated the terms of fertility and criminalized those who did not comply. “It’s no accident that Napoleon banned abortion,” Atwood said. “He said exactly why he wanted offspring — for cannon fodder. Lovely!”

An added wrinkle, of course, is that the handmaids aren’t just being forced to give birth, they’re being forced to be surrogates, and the children they bear are then forcibly taken from them and placed with high-ranking officials. After a military junta took power in Argentina in 1976, as many as 500 young children and newborns were “disappeared,” only to be adopted by military and police couples. Hundreds of thousands of children of indigenous populations in Canada and Australia were separated from their families. “It must have been public in that it wasn’t a secret, but it also wasn’t known at the time,” Atwood said. “Nobody registered that this was happening. And it was probably presented like, ‘Oh, we’re giving these children a wonderful opportunity. We’re sending them to school.’ You see how that could sound?”

Episode 4: Declaring Women Barren

It’s not initially questioned in the show why women would be used to solve the fertility woes of the period — until Offred visits a doctor who offers to help her out. Turns out, the Republic of Gilead has never considered the other half of the equation: men.

“There’s some confusion about this, because here you have Aunt Lydia saying it’s the wives who are barren,” Atwood said. “And for centuries and centuries, that’s what people thought. They thought it was the woman’s fault.” King Henry VIII kept changing wives (and the state religion), Atwood noted, adding: “That’s why Anne Boleyn knew she was doomed when she had that miscarriage. The idea was that the child was fully formed inside the seed of the man, and his seed was simply planted in the woman, the way you’d plant a seed in a field.”

A book titled “Eve’s Seed: Biology, the Sexes, and the Course of History” by Robert S. McElvaine is illuminating on this front, she said. “You said a piece of land was barren, you said a woman was barren. You said a piece of land was fertile, you said a woman was fertile.”

In the show, the doctor knows otherwise. As does Serena Joy when she decides that Offred should use Nick. “That’s one of the things Anne Boleyn was accused of — having sex with her brother in order to produce a child,” Atwood said.

Episode 5: Why Ofglen Does What She Does

Ofglen has very few options once the resistance can no longer make use of her, and she opts for a last, desperate act of resistance, taking out a few guards with a stolen vehicle. It’s a departure from the book, but Atwood said she approved. “Do you remember the Buddhist monk who set himself on fire?” she asked. “José Martí, during the war with the Spanish, went into battle knowing he wouldn’t come out,” she continued, referring to the Cuban revolutionary who died in the Cuban War of Independence. “I think people do these things because otherwise they’ve been totally defeated. They know it’s not going to work in the present moment, but down the line, they are an example to others.”

Episode 6: The Mexican Ambassador

“The Hulu team made their Offred more active than my Offred,” Atwood said. “Partly because it’s a television series, and partly because it’s an American television series.” Offred would never have been able to stand up for herself or ask for help from a foreign emissary in the novel. The Mexican trade delegation visit doesn’t happen in the book. There is a scene in the novel in which Offred encounters some Japanese tourists, who she assumes are trade delegates, but she can’t honestly answer their pointed question, “Are you happy?” In the show, however, Offred speaks up to Ambassador Castillo when she has the opportunity — and she finds a way to get a note out to the outside world.

Atwood said ambassadors of neutral countries have often acted as conduits. In World War II, an Italian journalist named Curzio Malaparte reported from the Eastern Front, and he found a way to get out the news of what the Germans were really up to. “He was keeping these papers sewn into his coat and in the soles of his shoes and he smuggled them out through the diplomats of neutral countries,” Atwood said. “You have to trust people a lot to do that!”

Episode 8: The Black Market Club

Offred reunites with Moira at Jezebel’s, a brothel where powerful men go to conduct business and indulge in illicit sex and other escapades. It’s also a thriving black market for commoners and, more to the point, the Mayday resistance. Atwood said she was rereading a book by Norman Lewis, “Naples ’44,” which describes the black market that was tolerated by the Allies in Naples, Italy, during World War II “because they were helping to run it!”

“All of this stuff is so old,” she continued, “black markets, special clubs with items you can’t get elsewhere, information exchanged through subterranean conduits.”

In the Audible special edition of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” listeners learn that there is actually a chain of Jezebel brothels, some with golf courses. “Because of course women could no longer play golf,” Atwood said. “This has actually been a complaint of female politicians, that all these special deals and secret conversations and understandings are reached at golf clubs, and if you don’t play golf, you’re just out of it.”

Episode 9: The Mayday Resistance

Atwood did a huge amount of research on the resistance movements in various countries during World War II. One of her old friends, now deceased, was a member of the French Resistance, and he parachuted behind enemy lines to help funnel downed British airmen out of France. “His job was to interview them, to make sure they were really British, not Germans pretending to be British in order to reveal the underground lines of communication,” she said. “So they would ask about where they came from, football scores and such, and if you figured out that they were really German, they were shot. Just like that.”

She also met members of the Polish and Dutch resistance movements. “The people I met, of course, were the people who made it through,” she said. “Many others did not.” As evidence, she cited the members of the White Rose, who were caught distributing anti-Nazi papers and executed, and the female British spies who sometimes doubled as assassins. Using female agents, Atwood said, has been a tactic employed by resistance movements and Islamic extremists, and the handmaids’ outfits make them especially well suited for keeping secrets. “Just look at all the places where you could hide things!” she said, laughing. “Big sleeves! Tuck it in your stocking. Nobody’s going to look.”

#the handmaid's tale #handmaid's tale #tht #margaret atwood #article #season one #ny times

[lilbouvier]

A brief history of the United States by President

Revolutionary

1. George Washington (1789-1797) -Founding Father; served as Commander in Continental Army during the American Revolution. -Established system of taxation & National Bank. -First term largely preoccupied with capturing Ohio Country through irregular (ranger) warfare.

2. John Adams (1797-1801) -Another Founding Father; Leader in the movement for American Independence. -Fierce criticism from Jeffersonian Republicans; rivals with Alexander Hamilton. -Passed Alien & Sedition Acts making it harder for immigrants to become citizens.

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) -Founding Father; Principle author of the Declaration of Independence. -Louisiana Purchase doubling country’s territory - involved Indian Removal policy. -Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves in 1807 (but owned hundreds); domestic slave trade still allowed, and slaves also continued to be imported in limited numbers. -Lewis & Clark expedition to explore Louisiana Territory and gain intelligence on Indigenous nations; Pike Expedition to present-day Colorado to gain intelligence on Mexico. -Invasion of Barber nation in North Africa against pirate attacks on US merchant ships.

4. James Madison (1809-1817) -Founding Father hailed as “Father of the Constitution” and Bill of Rights (drafted first 10 amendments). -Led US into War of 1812 over British trade restrictions - peace in 1815 with no boundary changes. -Ohio Country war still waging, along with war against Muskogee Nation in South 1813-14, culminating in elimination of Indigenous powers east of the Mississippi.

5. James Monroe (Era of Good Feelings) (1817-1825) -Last President who was a Founding Father. -Sent Jackson to Florida to fight in first Seminole War and retrieve runaway slaves (1818). -Ratified Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, buying Florida from Spain and extending US to the Pacific (with Southern border running through Sabine River/Rocky Mountains). -Monroe Doctrine policy of opposing European colonialism & intervention in the Americas. -Office of Indigenous Affairs established in 1824 (within the Department of War for the first 25 years).

6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) -With high tariffs got rid of most national debt, pushed for road & canal construction. -Easy foreign policy because of his eight proceeding years as Secretary of State. -Semi-tried to defend Native Americans on the frontier.

Jacksonian

7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) -Beginning of spoils system in US politics. -Fought against Muskogees and in Seminole Wars (an Everglade-area nation born of resistance to colonizers) before administration - as president, waged Second Seminole war in attempt to get Seminoles to leave FL altogether. -Indian Removal Act 1830 (Trail of Tears) forcibly relocated many tribes from the South to Oklahoma. -86 treaties with 26 Indigenous nations between New York and Mississippi forcing land sessions and removals during Jacksonian era. -Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cherokees keeping their land in Georgia; Jackson ignored them. -Collaborated with South to keep abolitionist literature out of the mail.

8. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) -Blamed at the time for the Panic (depression) of 1837. -1838 US Army’s forced march of Cherokee Nation from Georgia/Alabama to northern Oklahoma during the dead of winter; half of the entire Cherokee population died - originating term Trail of Tears. -Denied the application of Texas for admission to the Union - didn’t want to upset balance of slave versus free states; didn’t want to upset Mexico (who still need not recognize TX independence). -Increasingly abolitionist later in life post-presidency.

9. William Henry Harrison (31 days in 1841) -Elected president largely based on success in battle of Tippecanoe, stealing Indigenous land in Indiana in 1811. -Died of pneumonia, running mate John Tyler took his place (first president to die in office).

10. John Tyler (1841-1845) -Firm believer in Manifest Destiny, territorial expansion included negotiating the annexation of the independent Republic of Texas (final process carried out by his successor Polk). -Originally chosen as Whig VP to increase voter base; did not have support of either Democratic or Whig parties; presidency viewed in low consequence/esteem by historians.

11. James K. Polk (1845-1849) -Acquired land in Oregon territory (from British occupiers) and finalized process of annexation of Texas (increasing tensions with Mexico). -As direct consequence, began the Mexican-American War 1846-1848, ending in Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and establishing current US-Mexico border. Gold rush to California began directly following.

12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) -Working to establish statehood and borders of California, Utah, New Mexico and Texas - which also involved disputes over slavery. -Died after falling ill from eating excessive raw fruit & ice milk at a presidential event for Fourth of July.

13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) -As Taylor’s VP assumed position when he died. -Compromise of 1850 admitted California as new state, decided borders between Utah, NM, TX, and which of those would be allowed slaves, included Fugitive Slave Act which required escaped slaves even in free states to be turned in to their masters if found out; temporarily eased tensions between North & South.

Civil War & Reconstruction

14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) -Kansas-Nebraska Act created new official territories, leading to new disputes between pro- and anti-slavery forces. Settlers from both sides flooded the areas to influence politics. -Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act angered Free Staters and set stage for Southern secession and Civil War. -Third Seminole War (1855-58) ended with most of remaining Seminoles forcibly relocated to Oklahoma.

15. James Buchanan (1857-1861) -Introduced Kansas as a slave state. -Unable to stop the Civil War from coming to a head. -Before his inauguration, pressured Supreme Court on Dred Scott case of 1857, to decide black people could not be considered citizens.

16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) -Lincoln’s nomination prompted the Confederate States formation and secession before he even took office. -Led US through Civil War to preserve the Union; at the same time, US army militias fighting wars against Indigenous nations in the West including the forced 300-mile Long Walk of the Navajo in 1864. -1862: Homestead Act opened up land West of Mississippi to small independent ownership by any white settler who hadn’t taken up arms against the government; Morril Act land grants to form Agricultural/trade colleges in each state; Pacific RR Act land grants directly to corporations to start building RR from MI River to Sacramento, CA - breaking multiple treaties with Indigenous Nations. -Abolished slavery in 10 seceded states with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863; all slaves declared free with the 13th Amendment which soon followed in 1864 (thus allowing freed slaves to fight in the Union Army as well as in the West). -Re-elected to a second term but assassinated in 1865, five days after Confederate surrender.

17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) -Quick Reconstruction efforts, lenient toward South, no protection for former slaves, no support for black suffrage (allowed Southern states to enact Black Codes, almost same as slave conditions). -Would not sign Civil Rights Bill of 1866 - to grant citizenship to all persons born in US - but Congress overrode his veto. -Impeached by an angry House of Representatives on the grounds of violating Tenure of Office Act (which he did to purposefully challenge them) - though acquitted in the Senate by one vote. -14th Amendment in 1868 repudiated Dred Scott decision, declaring all people born in US citizens.

18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) -Continued Reconstruction, readmitting Southern states but doing better to ensure rights for black citizens. -15th Amendment secured black vote in 1870. -US entered period retrospectively called Gilded Age, with economic growth and industrialization ahead of Britain (factories, railroads, coal mines). -War to Win West: US Army (largely blacks and recent immigrants) sent to kill buffalo to near extinction in order to destroy Plains Nations food supply. -In 1871 Congress halted all further formal treaty-making with Indigenous Nations, no longer recognizing them as sovereign. -Advocate of citizenship and government participation for Native Americans (Indian removal had been policy up until then); Boarding School model started under Grant presidency to assimilate Indigenous folks. -Great Sioux War of 1876 fought over gold in the Black Hills - seized land where Mount Rushmore would be built; still fighting to get it back (Sioux won’t accept money). -Established first National Park at Yellowstone (1872). -Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteeing equal treatment in public accommodations.

Industrial Revolution & Gilded Age

19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) -Elected in Compromise of 1877; deal forced him to end reconstruction (army support) in Southern states. -Great Railroad Strike of 1877 - the first nationwide work stoppage - lasted 45 days and was put down by federal troops; army often siding on the side of big business as economy industrialized. -Congress passed Burlingame-Seward Treaty limiting number of immigrants allowed to come to US from China. -Assimilationist/land seizure policy towards Native Americans; removal of Ponca tribe from Nebraska to Oklahoma.

20. James A. Garfield (1881) -Assassinated by Charles Guiteau, who was offended by Garfield’s rejections on various job applications.

21. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885) -Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act establishing that position within government should be granted on basis of merit rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. -Congress passed Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning new immigrants and denying citizenship to those already arrived.

22. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) -Expanded upon Chinese Exclusion Act with the Scott Act, banning return of immigrants if they left. -Dawes Act of 1887 authorizing the President to survey American Indian lands and divide it into allotments for individual Indians - those who accepted the allotments were to be granted US citizenship. Designed to make Indigenous folks competitive against one another in the “healthy” capitalist manner - in the process reduced Indian territories by half. Also triggered “Oklahoma Run” of 1889.

23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) -Passed McKinley tariff to protect against foreign competition (overturned by Cleveland) -Passed Sherman Antitrust Act to prevent artificial price raising through monopolies or cartels. -Facilitated creation of National Forests. -By 1890s most Indigenous refugees were confined to reservations. Wounded Knee massacre of Sioux in 1890 is considered to mark end of armed Indigenous resistance. -Annexation of Hawaii during last days in office (overturned by Cleveland’s administration which followed)

24. Grover Cleveland (term 2, 1893-1897) -Acute economic depression right after he took office - “Panic of 1893” -Used military action to end Pullman Railroad Strike in Chicago and other rail centers around the country.

Overseas Imperialism

25. William McKinley (1897-1901) -Intervention in Cuban independence from Spain - USS Maine explosion as impetus for war. -Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in US acquisition of PR, Guam, and the Philippines. -More protective tariff policies as during Harrison’s presidency. -Assassinated by Polish-American anarchist Leon Czolgosz.

Progressivism

26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) -Dedicated conservationist - 200 million acres to national forests, reserves, and wildlife refuges. -“Speak softly and carry a big stick” - believed in American responsibility as a world power. -Roosevelt Corollary meant US would serve as an international police power of sorts… -Helped Panama gain independence from Colombia in order to spearhead construction of Panama Canal. -Nobel Prize for negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05.

27. William Howard Taft (1909-1913) -More than 300lbs - rumored to have gotten stuck in the White House bathtub. -Chief Justice of Supreme Court after presidency (only president to have held the position) -Constitutional amendments mandating a federal income tax (16th) and the direct election of senators by the people, two per state (17th).

World War I

28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) -World War I, 1914-1918 - tried to keep US neutral but ultimately declared war on Germany in 1917. -Immigration Act of 1917 with literacy requirements and Asiatic Barred Zone (Wilson tried to veto). -After war, helped to negotiate a peace treaty including plan for League of Nations (peacekeeping intergovernmental organization which lasted until WWII). -Established Federal Reserve (regulation of banks) and Federal Trade Commission (investigation of unfair business practices) -Child Labor outlawed, institution of 8-hour work day for railroad workers. -Ordered US occupation of Dominican Republic when the country was unable to come to political stability (1916-1922) -19th Amendment ratified in 1920, granting women the right to vote. -First Red Scare at height in 1919-1920 - in the wake of WWI hyper-nationalism, labor movements, and the Russian Revolution.

Roaring Twenties

29. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) -Supported trade with Soviet Russia (USSR established in 1922) -Ended US occupation of Dominican Republic, also withdrew troops in Cuba. -Limited immigration with Per Centum Act of 1921, quota system for non-Western European immigrants. No limits yet on Latin American immigrants. -Pro-business policies - taxes reduced for corporations and the wealthy. -Federal Highway Act of 1921 - program to develop immense national highway system. -Died from heart attack while in office.

30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) -Roaring 20s of materialism and excess. -Laissez-faire policies (minimum government interference) contributing to Great Depression to come. -Charles Lindbergh made first solo airplane flight across Atlantic in 1927; by now most people owned automobiles and purchased mass-produced goods such as canned food. -Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granting US citizenship to all Indigenous people - assimilationist at a time when Indigenous populations were already very small, threatening to dissolve the races entirely.

Depression

31. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) -Great Depression stock market crash seven months after taking office, and economy kept getting worse. -Construction of Hoover Dam started in 1931 (project authorized by Coolidge and dedicated by Roosevelt). -Belief in limited role of government and against federal intervention meant he avoided offering any direct relief to Americans - became deeply unpopular for this.

World War II

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) -13 million unemployed when he entered office. -Open press conferences and national radio addresses directly to the American people - “Fireside chats.” -New Deal programs and reforms: Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Public Works Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, Tennessee Valley Authority. -FDIC to protect bank depositors’ accounts; Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate stock market. -Second New Deal programs: Social Security Act (unemployment, disability, pensions), Works Progress Administration giving public works jobs to the unemployed until WWII. -Indian Reorganization Act/Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934 reversing goal of assimilation and reestablishing some sovereignty for Indigenous nations. -Entered World War II after Japan bombed US Naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1941. -Bracero Mexican guest worker Program initiated in 1942. -Elected four times and died in office in 1945.

Cold War

33. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) -Indigenous Claims Court established 1946 (with deadline of 1951) - but could take 15 years to get a tiny percentage of a claim. -Germany surrendered during first few months in office; Japan refused, so Truman made the decision to use atomic bombs in August 1945. -Deteriorating U.S.-Soviet relations led to start of Cold War (1946-1991) - efforts to constrain Communism included Truman Doctrine aid to Greece & Turkey; and Marshall Plan, giving billions of dollars in aid to rebuild postwar Europe. -CIA first formed in 1947 (to be expanded under Eisenhower). -Second Red Scare gaining momentum also in 1947, with Truman requiring all federal employees to be screened for “loyalty.” -Fair Deal policies including Housing Act of 1949, giving money for public housing and urban renewal/slum clearance. -Supported creation of NATO North Atlantic Treaty Org. military alliance between US, Canada, France, UK, and others. -Led US into Korean War (1950-53) when communist North Koreans invaded South Korea.

Cold War - Vietnam War

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) -Termination Act in 1953 terminated government recognition of more than 100 tribes, much land trust taken, also terminated funding for social welfare programs (civil rights organizing caused government to cease this policy in 1961, though only officially repealed in 1988). -Indian Relocation Act in 1956 to encourage individuals to leave reservations and assimilate. -Ended Korean War in 1953; managed Cold War tensions with covert CIA operations around the world (leading to government overthrows in Iran, Guatemala with PBSUCCESS, Indonesia, Congo, Chile, Greece). -Trade and Military alliance with Franco administration in Spain. -Strengthened Social Security, created Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. -Massive new Interstate Highway System (wide enough for jet landings). -Operation Wetback in early 1954, border patrol locating and quickly deporting Mexicans with and without legal status - Border Patrol agents doubled by 1962. -Senator McCarthy crusade culminated in 1954 - Eisenhower worked privately to discredit him. -Brown v. Board of Ed. school desegregation mandate by Supreme Court in 1954, though not fully enforced; did pass civil rights legislation (first since Reconstruction) to help protect black voters in 1957 & 1960. The 1957 legislation also secured the vote for Indigenous Americans. -Support for anti-Communist government in South Vietnam sowed the seeds for future Vietnam War (official beginning in 1955 training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam). -Coined the term military-industrial complex in his farewell address.

35. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) -Failed Bay of Pigs 1961 mission to send CIA-trained Cuban exiles to overthrow Cuba’s Castro government. -Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 US naval blockade of Cuba in response to rumored Soviet weapon build-up in Cuba, ended in both countries backing down with nuclear weapons. -Launched the Peace Corps. -Sent troops to support desegregation at University of Mississippi and endorsed 1963 March on Washington (MLK’s I Have A Dream speech). -Assassinated in November 1963 in Dallas, TX by Lee Harvey Oswald.

36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) -Introduced programs including Medicare/Medicaid and Head Start. -Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending segregation in public places and banning employment discrimination, and Voting Rights Act of 1965. -Occupation of Chagos island for US military base began in 1968 and concluded in 1973. -Steadily escalated US military involvement in Vietnam War (16k to 500k troops). -Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969 by pan-national Indigenous organizers, lasting 19 months.

37. Richard Nixon (1969-1974) -Formation of Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Air Act of 1970, OSHA (for workplace health and safety). -First land restitution to any Indigenous nation in 1970, Blue Lake returned to Taos Pueblo. -Worked closely with National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger in covert resistance - eg. assassination of Allende in Chile, leading to Pinochet assuming power in 1973. -Gradually withdrew troops (increasing air strikes instead); signed Paris Peace Accords ending Vietnam War in 1973. -1973 oil crisis due to OPEC embargo, cause by US support for Israel. -Resigned in 1974 rather than facing impeachment over Watergate scandal (administration broke into DNC headquarters during 1972 bid for re-election).

Cold War - Contemporary

38. Gerald Ford (1974-1977) -Pardoned Nixon in 1974. -Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which established special education throughout the United States.

39. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) -Unconditional amnesty for Vietnam War-era draft evaders. -Handed over Panama Canal to Panama authority. -1979 (second) oil crisis following Iranian Revolution - greatly exacerbated by widespread consumer panic. -Presided over 1977 Camp David Accords ending war between Israel and Egypt since Israel’s creation in 1948.

40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) -Tax Cuts for wealthy intended to spur growth (known as Reaganomics, “trickle-down economics”), meanwhile freezing minimum wage; increased military spending and reductions in social programs; deregulation of business. -Appointed Sandra Day O’Connor, first woman to serve on US Supreme Court. -Escalation of Cold War through massive buildup of weapons and troops; Reagan Doctrine provided aid to anticommunist movements in Africa, Asia, Latin America; diplomatic talks with Gorbachev ultimately leading to (unofficial) end of Cold War just after he left office. -Invaded Grenada after Marxists took power of the government. -Announced the War on Drugs in 1982 in response to increased concerns around the crack epidemic; reinforcement bill in 1986 with mandatory minimum sentences. -Largely ignored the AIDS epidemic - 36k diagnosed and 21k died before he acknowledged. -Signed Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, making it illegal to knowingly hire undocumented people. -Illegally funded Contra rebels fighting against Sandinista government in Nicaragua in 1986.

Contemporary

41. George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) -Fall of Berlin Wall and collapse of Soviet Union came early in his presidency. -Ordered military operations in Panama (Operation Just Cause against Noriega government) and Gulf War (in response to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait). -Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibiting discrimination. -Immigration Act of 1990 increasing available visas, esp. in skilled workforce. -Spearheaded negotiations for NAFTA, eliminating tariffs between US/Mexico/Canada.

42. Bill Clinton (1993-2001) -Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 for pregnancy or serious medical conditions. -Brady Bill mandating federal checks on firearm purchases. -Don’t Ask Don’t Tell allowing gay men and women to serve in armed forces if they kept sexuality a secret. -Signed NAFTA into effect in 1994. -Operation Gatekeeper in 1994 - large buildup of policing on the border, especially in heavily trafficked crossing points; started building border wall barriers in 1994 in California, Texas, and Arizona. -Expansion of death penalty to include large-scale crime such as large drug enterprises in Omnibus Crime Bill. -Defense of Marriage Act 1996 reiterating marriage as between a man and a woman. -In 1998 impeached by House for perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Lewinsky scandal but acquitted by Senate. -Assassination attempt by Osama Bin Laden - several unsuccessful military missions to capture him followed. -1998 State of the Union Address warned Congress that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was building an arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

43. George W. Bush (2001-2009) -Sept 11 2001 terrorist attacks - launched War on Terror invading Afghanistan, then Iraq searching for weapons of mass destruction. -Huge spending and tax cuts. -No Child Left Behind Act 2001 - education reform with great emphasis on testing. -Hurricane Katrina devastation to New Orleans with little federal action in response.

44. Barack Obama (2009-2017) -First Black president. -Repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; Supreme Court 2015 decision affirming same-sex marriage. -Health care reform through Obamacare. -Scaled back forces in Iraq, Afghanistan; captured and killed Osama BinLaden.

45. Donald Trump (2017)

#us history #american history #presidents of the united states #america #nerdy #knowledge share

[kansascityhappenings]

Learn more about Kansas City’s sister cities and possible travel destinations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With a dozen sister city affiliations, Kansas City residents have the chance to learn more about other cultures, travel destinations, and to help build stronger connections globally. The City of Fountains recognizes at least 12 sister cities on four different continents.

A twin town program came into fruition under President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. He partnered with civic leaders, such as Kansas City’s own Joyce Hall, to create stronger bonds with people in the U.S. and abroad. He intended these connections to lay the groundwork for world peace. The twin town program is a citizen diplomacy initiative. Sister Cities International was originally part of the National League of Cities, but it became a separate entity in 1967 after the program’s numbers grew rapidly.

Twin town cultural events include the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., which honors the capital city’s twin relationship with Tokyo. Back in 1912, the mayor of Tokyo City gifted D.C. with Japanese cherry trees.

A sister city, county, or state relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in two separate countries. A relationship is officially recognized after elected officials from both communities sign off on an agreement to be twin cities.

There is no limit to how many partnerships a city may accept. Volunteers help keep the connection between the sister cities alive. In addition to volunteers, sister city organizations include representatives from nonprofits, municipal governments, the private sector, and other civic groups.

Each sister city organization is independent. Each group pursues the activities and thematic areas that seem the most appropriate to helping build bridges for business, trade, education, cultural exchanges, research, or other projects.

Seville, Spain

The Spanish city was the first to establish a sister city relationship with Kansas City in 1967. Seville is the capital of southern Spain’s Andalusia region. It was home to the Expo ’92 World’s Fair. Seville only invited Kansas City to represent the U.S. for that expo. Kansas City and Seville celebrated its 50th anniversary of its sisterhood in 2017.

Plaza de España, panoramic view. | Wikipedia, Seville

Seville is the fourth largest city in Spain. Thousands of years ago, it was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis. The city changed names following Muslim and Christian takeovers of the city. Seville is about 2,200 years old. People from a wide range of beliefs and creeds have migrated to the city over the past thousand years, leaving the city as one of Europe’s historical heartbeats. It has a wide range of ancient sites including Gothic cathedrals, shrines of Greek gods and goddesses, battle sites, and sculptures.  Around 2.5 million travelers stayed at a tourist accommodation in Seville in 2018. This placed it third in Spain’s tourism industry behind Madrid and Barcelona. Seville has several museums, parks, gardens, vineyards, and other trendy spots for tourists. The region has several hills, rivers, and farmlands for the nature-lover to explore.

Fun fact:  in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan departed from Seville for the first circumnavigation of Earth.

Kurashiki, Japan

The coastal city extends along Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. It has centuries-old buildings and shops located in the Bikan Historical Quarter. Kurashiki donated a Japanese Tea Room to Kansas City’s Loose Park in 2006. The Tea Room is set in a traditional Japanese garden. The green space includes a fountain, boulders, brush, and a path leading to the Tea Room. The space gives Kansas Citians a place to rest and meditate quietly.

Great Seto Bridge (Seto-Ohashi Bridge) seen from Shimotsui, Kurashiki | Wikipedia

The cities celebrated their 45th anniversary of sisterhood in 2017. The partnership began in 1972.

Modern Kurashiki was founded on April 1, 1928. It was the site of clan clashes during the Heian period (794-1185). Over the centuries, it developed as a river port. During the Edo period (1603-1868), the shogunate took control of the city. Japan’s Industrial Revolution introduced Kurashiki to a wide range of factories, including the Ohara Spinning Mill, which now operates as a tourist attraction in Ivy Square. Kurashiki is the home of Japan’s first museum of Western art, the Ohara Museum. It also includes Asian and contemporary art. The city is home to a late 7th century castle, Buddhist temples, museums, an aquarium, beaches, and plenty of folklore.

Morelia, Mexico

The city is the capital of Michoacán State. The historic downtown is a UN World Heritage site. Morelia has sponsored language and culture training for KCPD officers. Kansas City established a sisterhood with Morelia in 1973.

Eastern facade | Wikipedia, Morelia Cathedral

Morelia is located in the Guayangareo Valley. The Spanish took control of the area in the 1520s. Following the Mexican War of Independence in September 1821, the city was officially named Morelia in honor of José María Morelos. He was a Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the independence movement.

The city is rich with history dating back hundreds of years. The heart of the historic center is the Morelia Cathedral, a Catholic site made of pink stone. Tourists often explore the surrounding plazas near the church. Some of the highlights of the city include an orchid museum, a popular rose garden, a zoo with a train ride, and a history museum in a Baroque palace.

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Kansas City’s first sister city partnership with an African city was established in 1974. Freetown, Sierra Leone is the largest city in the nation with over one million residents calling it home.

A view of Freetown from the harbor | Wikipedia

The Western African nation is known for its white-sand beaches. Freetown is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean. The city’s economy revolves around its harbor, which occupies part of the Sierra Leone River. Freetown was founded on March 11, 1792 by Lieutenant John Clarkson, by Black Britons, and with the help of the Nova Scotian Settlers. Freetown is the oldest capital to be founded by African Americans. It was founded thirty years before Monrovia, Liberia. The city stands out with its unique Creole architecture, which has hints of American and Caribbean influences.

The city has a chimpanzee sanctuary, spots for diving and exploring shipwrecks, plenty of recreational beaches, and historical museums and markers on the end of the Transatlantic slave trade.  The Cotton Tree landmark and King’s Yard Gate were both known as refuge sites for returned slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Freetown is a diverse and religiously tolerant city. It is home to a large population of Muslims and Christians. Sierra Leone is also a hot-spot for soccer. Eight of the fifteen clubs in the Sierra Leone National Premier League are from Freetown; this includes two of Sierra Leone’s largest and highest-achieving football clubs.

Tainan, Taiwan

The ancient capital of Taiwan is home to centuries-old fortresses and temples. Several companies have moved operations to the city turning it into a business hub.  One of the most popular tourist destinations is Chihkan Tower. It is an 18th-century Chinese complex with gardens, intricately carved towers, and a temple. It originally was a Dutch outpost in the mid 17th century. The sisterhood with Kansas City was established in 1978.

Jieguanting (接官亭) in Go-tiau-kang, Tainan gateway to the sea during Qing dynasty | Wikipedia

Tainan is famous for selling fireworks, particularly bottle rockets. At the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, people hope to be bombarded by those rockets, expecting it will bring them good luck for the following year. The event is held 15 days into the Chinese lunar calendar year.

Many well-known Taiwanese food dishes originated in the city. Tainan city officials claim this is because of a sugar surplus. The food there tends to be sweeter than in other parts of Taiwan. Common foods include: danzai noodles, shrimp rolls, savory rice pudding, Taiwanese meatballs, milkfish, eel noodles, and coffin bread. Coffin bread was invented in the 1940s. It includes a thick piece of toast, seafood chowder with pork, mushrooms, pea, and carrots. It got its name because it looks like a coffin.

The city has more than 1,600 registered temples, which is more than any other municipality, city, or county in Taiwan.

Xi’an, China

Previously one of the Four Ancient Capitals of China, Xi’an now reigns as the capital of Shaanxi Province in central China. The Kansas City and Xi’an sisterhood was established in 1989. The Xi’an Sister City Committee helped create the annual dragon boat racing tradition on Brush Creek.

The Great Mosque of Xi’an | Wikipedia

Xi’an is one of China’s oldest cities. It is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Since the 1990s, the city has emerged as an industrial, educational, and cultural center. It has facilities for research, national security, and space exploration. More than 12 million people live in the city making it the most populous city in Northwest China. In 2012, it was named as one of the 13 emerging mega-cities of China.

Guadalajara, Mexico

Birthplace of mariachi bands and charreada rodeos, Guadalajara is a tropical wonderland with plenty of activities for the restless wanderer. The city is the capital of the State of Jalisco and the 2nd largest city in Mexico. The historic center is dotted with colonial plazas, landmarks, and gardens.

Puerta de Hierro business district | Wikipedia

Tequila, authentic Mexican food, clubs, beaches, and fire dancers make up the night life. Catholicism is alive and well in the city with a plethora of spots setup for worshipers. The city is also a hot spot for writers, painters, actors, film directors, and musicians.

One of the main local dishes is birria: a goat or lamb meat cooked in a spicy sauce seasoned with chili peppers, ginger, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and cloves.

There are several thousand indigenous language speakers in Guadalajara. Most of them also speak Spanish.

Kansas City and Guadalajara established a sisterhood in 1991.

Hannover, Germany

Founded in medieval times on the east bank of the river Leine, Hannover started as a small fishing village. Kansas City and Hannover both have a love for jazz and host annual festivals celebrating the music style. An exchange between engineering schools has also strengthened the global partnership. The sisterhood was established in 1993.

Market Church in Hanover | Wikipedia

Volunteers with the sisterhood help promote German themed events in Kansas City. The sisterhood Facebook page lists German themed film festivals and music shows.

Hannover has the largest fairground in the world for holding trade fairs, music festivals, and expos. The IAA Commercial Vehicles show takes place every two years. It is the world’s leading trade show for transport, logistics, and mobility.

The city has a wide range of activities for night life from theater, cabaret, musicals, clubs, bars, and galleries.

Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Port Harcourt is the chief oil refining city of Nigeria.  Royal, Dutch, Shell, and Chevron all have oil firms in the city. Port Harcourt is the capital and largest city of Rivers State, Nigeria. The sisterhood with Kansas City has helped create partnerships with medical professionals and has aided in strengthening medical institutions.  Port Harcourt is the leading hub for medical services in Rivers State. Several hospitals and research facilities are located there.

A street scene in Port Harcourt | Wikipedia

The city is predominately made up of Christians. Roman Catholics make up a significant portion of the population. On the other hand, party life is active in the city. Port Harcourt is home to a wide range of public houses, lounges, dance bars, clubs, and brothels.

The two cities entered a sisterhood in 1993.

Arusha, Tanzania

The East African city is home to safari destinations and to Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro — it’s 16,100 ft. above sea level. To the west of Arusha lies the Serengeti National Park, which is home to a wide range of wildlife.

Mount Meru in the background of the city of Arusha | Wikipedia

Kansas City and Arusha established a sisterhood in 1995.

The Tanzanian city is a major international diplomatic hub. The city hosted an international court from 1994-2015 to determine cases revolving around the Rwandan genocides. Arusha is a multicultural city home to mostly Tanzanians but also Arabs, Indians, and a smaller portion of Europeans and Americans. Religion is just as diverse with places of worship for Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus.

Cuisine is also varied with local favorites and foods from aboard. Ugali is a stiff maize meal polenta; it is popular in Eastern African countries. Tanzania is known for barbecue dishes and for its roasted meat cuts of cow, lamb, and goat. Cold beer is also a staple.

Ramla, Israel

The Ramala Committee helped create the “Let the Children Play” program. It encourages Jewish and Muslim Kansas Citians to collect toys to be distributed to children of all faiths in Ramla. The two cities established a sisterhood in 1998.

Ramla | Wikipedia

Ramla is located in central Israel. 80% of the residents are Jewish and 20% are Arab Muslims or Arab Christians. Ramla has a long history dating back to the 8th century. That history is dotted with crusades, the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, and now the more recent time of Israel as its own nation.

The Ayalon Cave in Ramla has eluded scientists and archaeologists. Bacteria thrives there without any light or organic food coming in from the surface. The cave’s isolation led to the evolution of a whole separate food chain, including previously unknown invertebrates. Researchers came across eyeless scorpions, but all 10 of the specimen were dead. The scorpions likely died years ago from overpumping of groundwater leading to a shrinking of the underground lake. It is the third largest limestone cave in Israel.

Yan’an, China

The Long March military retreat, undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party, ended near Yan’an in 1935. The city saw the birth of the Chinese Community Party — Kansas City journalist Edgar Snow was the first western journalist to give an account of the developments happening there.

The Hukou Waterfall in 2008 | Wikipedia

Snow briefly studied at the University of Missouri before  he decided to travel around the world in 1928. He intended to write about his overseas travels. He made it to Shanghai that summer, and stayed in China for thirteen years.

Shortly before the United States entered World War II, Snow toured Japanese-occupied areas of Asia and wrote his book, “Battle for Asia” in which he detailed his observations. Overtime he became concerned about growing fascism in China’s rural areas. He died before President Richard Nixon traveled to China to meet with Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Communists continue to celebrate Yan’an as the birthplace of its revolution.

The city is home to the second largest waterfall in China, Hukou Waterfall. Several burial sites of legendary figures rest in Yan’an.

Kansas City established a sisterhood with Yan’an in 2017.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/07/28/learn-more-about-kansas-citys-sister-cities-and-possible-travel-destinations/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/07/28/learn-more-about-kansas-citys-sister-cities-and-possible-travel-destinations/

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.23

30 BC – After the successful invasion of Egypt, Octavian executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus, eldest son of Mark Antony, and Caesarion, the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and only child of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. 20 BC – Ludi Volcanalici are held within the temple precinct of Vulcan, and used by Augustus to mark the treaty with Parthia and the return of the legionary standards that had been lost at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. AD 79 – Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. 406 – Gothic king Radagaisus is executed after he is defeated by Roman general Stilicho and 12,000 "barbarians" are incorporated into the Roman army or sold as slaves. 476 – Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic - Scirian foederati), is proclaimed rex Italiae ("King of Italy") by his troops. 634 – Abu Bakr dies at Medina and is succeeded by Umar I who becomes the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. 1244 – Siege of Jerusalem: The city's citadel, the Tower of David, surrenders to Khwarezmian Empire. 1268 – Battle of Tagliacozzo: The army of Charles of Anjou defeats the Ghibellines supporters of Conradin of Hohenstaufen marking the fall of the Hohenstaufen family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, and leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy. 1305 – Sir William Wallace is executed for high treason at Smithfield, London. 1328 – Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers. 1382 – Siege of Moscow: The Golden Horde led by Tokhtamysh lays siege to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. 1514 – The Battle of Chaldiran ends with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I, Ottoman Empire, over the Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. 1521 – Christian II of Denmark is deposed as king of Sweden and Gustav Vasa is elected regent. 1541 – French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada. 1572 – French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. 1595 – Long Turkish War: Wallachian prince Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory. 1600 – Battle of Gifu Castle: The eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara. 1614 – Fettmilch Uprising: Jews are expelled from Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire, following the plundering of the Judengasse. 1628 – George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton. 1650 – Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards. 1655 – Battle of Sobota: The Swedish Empire led by Charles X Gustav defeats the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1703 – Edirne event: Sultan Mustafa II of the Ottoman Empire is dethroned. 1775 – American Revolutionary War: King George III delivers his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion. 1784 – Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years. 1799 – Napoleon I of France leaves Egypt for France en route to seizing power. 1813 – At the Battle of Großbeeren, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army. 1831 – Nat Turner's slave rebellion is suppressed. 1839 – The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing three-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War. 1864 – American Civil War: The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico except Galveston, Texas. 1866 – Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague. 1873 – Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London opens. 1898 – The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London. 1904 – The automobile tire chain is patented. 1914 – World War I: The British Expeditionary Force and the French Fifth Army begin their Great Retreat before the German Army. 1914 – World War I: Japan declares war on Germany. 1921 – British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the Humber Estuary. Of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive. 1923 – Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter performed the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours. 1927 – Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after a lengthy, controversial trial. 1929 – Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65–68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city. 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations. 1942 – World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad. 1943 – World War II: Kharkiv is liberated after the Battle of Kursk. 1944 – World War II: Marseille is liberated by the Allies. 1944 – World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of Marshal Antonescu, who is arrested. Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies. 1944 – Freckleton Air Disaster: A United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England, killing 61 people. 1945 – World War II: Soviet–Japanese War: The USSR State Defense Committee issues Decree no. 9898cc "About Receiving, Accommodation, and Labor Utilization of the Japanese Army Prisoners of War". 1946 – Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German Länder (states) of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein. 1948 – World Council of Churches is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries. 1954 – First flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft. 1958 – Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy. 1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon. 1970 – Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins. 1973 – A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term "Stockholm syndrome". 1975 – The Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan has opened. It is 30 miles south of Detroit, Michigan 1985 – Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany. 1989 – Singing Revolution: Two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius–Tallinn road, holding hands. 1990 – Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War. 1990 – Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union. 1990 – West and East Germany announce that they will reunite on October 3. 1991 – The World Wide Web is opened to the public. 1994 – Eugene Bullard, the only African American pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. 2000 – Gulf Air Flight 072 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143. 2006 – Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten, escapes from her captor Wolfgang Přiklopil, after eight years of captivity. 2007 – The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia. 2011 – A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at $200 million–$300 million USD. 2011 – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War. 2012 – A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing six people and injuring 28 others. 2013 – A riot at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people.

#Events

[dragnews]

RIP PRI? Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was one of the most successful brands in 20th-century politics, but a record defeat in Sunday’s presidential election has left its future hanging in the balance.

FILE PHOTO: A union worker waves a flag during an event to nominate Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso /File Photo

Pushed into third place with its worst-ever showing, the PRI candidate Jose Antonio Meade won just over 16 percent of the vote, less than a third of that garnered by the winner, veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, according to preliminary results.

The wipeout swept the country, shattering the centrist PRI in many traditional strongholds, including Atlacomulco, the hometown of the party’s outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto, about 55 miles (89 km) from Mexico City.

“I never thought we could end up so low, and finish with such poor results,” said Enrique Jackson, a PRI lawmaker and former Senate leader. “It’s really upsetting.”

The PRI, which governed Mexico continuously from 1929 to 2000, and again from 2012, also lost all nine gubernatorial races on the ballot. Until 1989, the PRI had never lost a governor’s race.

Sunday’s results mean that Mexico’s 31 states are set to be governed by five different parties and one independent.

The PRI’s precipitous decline leaves a void in the fractured political landscape, which Lopez Obrador and his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party look set to fill.

Rampant gang violence, patchy economic growth and a slew of corruption scandals have battered the PRI’s standing. Pena Nieto had the lowest approval rating of any president in Mexico’s 21st century history.

“The new PRI, whether it’s called the PRI, or it changes its name, has to get rid of all the rubbish, all the parasites who have done so much damage to the party,” said Heriberto Galindo, a party veteran and former lawmaker.

LACK OF TRUST

The PRI knew long before the July 1 vote that it was in trouble.

Hoping to remove the stain of graft, the party passed over internal heavyweights to run with Meade, a cabinet minister with a reputation for honesty who is not even a member of the party.

One PRI election banner painted in towns across the Gulf state of Veracruz, which the party lost in 2016, spoke volumes about the PRI’s low standing with voters.

“We are working hard to regain your trust,” it said.

But it was not enough to change people’s minds.

“If he hadn’t been running for the PRI, if he’d been in any other party, I’d have voted for Meade,” said Ruben Moreno, a 52-year-old security worker in Mexico City.

Founded to consolidate political control after the bloodshed of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution, the PRI was, in part, a reaction against the excessive concentration of power in one man under the long rule of dictator Porfirio Diaz.

FILE PHOTO: Workers of the Mexican state oil company Pemex hold up a banner during an event to support the nomination of ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

Governing through a mix of corporatism, political patronage and corruption, the party initially had notable successes.

Poverty fell steadily from the end of World War II during a period of rapid economic growth known as the “Mexican Miracle.” But eventually, currency devaluations and overspending took their toll, and Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt in 1982.

The PRI held on, but its image was tarnished. Another major financial crisis in 1994-95 helped pave the way for the party’s first presidential election loss in 2000.

Rising drug-cartel violence under its conservative successors opened the door to a PRI comeback in 2012, though with its power and prestige diminished. Now only a rump of the current PRI will remain in the next Congress.

Under Pena Nieto, the PRI and its allies had a slim majority in the lower house. But projections by Mexico’s federal electoral authority suggest it lost over three-quarters of its seats on Sunday as MORENA and its allies dominated.

Like many in the ranks of MORENA, which was only formally constituted as a party in 2014, Lopez Obrador cut his teeth in the PRI. By the late 1980s, he had had enough, and split.

Yet one of his political heroes remains Lazaro Cardenas, a key figure in PRI history who nationalized the oil industry in 1938 during the party’s early, more socialist days.

Like Cardenas, Lopez Obrador traversed the remotest provinces to create a base of support among Mexico’s neediest – a sector of the population some in the party believe its technocratic leaders of recent years have lost touch with.

“We need to look toward the left again,” said Maria de los Angeles Moreno, a former national leader of the PRI, pointing to the personal rapport Lopez Obrador established with voters.

She and fellow PRI members Jackson and Galindo said there is a way back for the party if it is well-led, cleans up its image and can craft intelligent policies.

It will hold 12 state governorships after the election – fewer than ever before, but still as many as any other party.

‘INTENSIVE CARE’

Dubbed the “perfect dictatorship” by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, the PRI stood apart from peers in Latin America for the degree of stability it maintained during political volatility that roiled the region in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brutal crackdowns on civil protests, such as Mexico’s 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, which saw security forces open fire on student demonstrators, earned the PRI a reputation for authoritarianism. Its popularity began to suffer.

But though the PRI’s early leaders had been generals, Mexico never descended into military dictatorship, as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other Latin American countries did. Nor did it succumb to protracted guerrilla conflict like Colombia.

“It was a very ingenious system that combined a hegemonic party and an omnipotent president every six years. It was a kind of hereditary monarchy,” said Mexican historian Enrique Krauze.

Yet having failed to grasp the damage that corruption could do to its name once back in power in 2012, the PRI had landed itself in “intensive care” after Sunday’s losses, he said.

Into the void steps Lopez Obrador, who Krauze worries could rule as a “caudillo” or strongman after his landslide win.

“This is a country that abhors a power vacuum,” Krauze said. “In part, the election was about voting for a strong leader and so (the country) is feeling relieved. But obviously I’m concerned there’s such enormous power invested in one person.”

Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Marla Dickerson

The post RIP PRI? Mexico appeared first on World The News.

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[cleopatrarps]

RIP PRI? Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was one of the most successful brands in 20th-century politics, but a record defeat in Sunday’s presidential election has left its future hanging in the balance.

FILE PHOTO: A union worker waves a flag during an event to nominate Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso /File Photo

Pushed into third place with its worst-ever showing, the PRI candidate Jose Antonio Meade won just over 16 percent of the vote, less than a third of that garnered by the winner, veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, according to preliminary results.

The wipeout swept the country, shattering the centrist PRI in many traditional strongholds, including Atlacomulco, the hometown of the party’s outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto, about 55 miles (89 km) from Mexico City.

“I never thought we could end up so low, and finish with such poor results,” said Enrique Jackson, a PRI lawmaker and former Senate leader. “It’s really upsetting.”

The PRI, which governed Mexico continuously from 1929 to 2000, and again from 2012, also lost all nine gubernatorial races on the ballot. Until 1989, the PRI had never lost a governor’s race.

Sunday’s results mean that Mexico’s 31 states are set to be governed by five different parties and one independent.

The PRI’s precipitous decline leaves a void in the fractured political landscape, which Lopez Obrador and his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party look set to fill.

Rampant gang violence, patchy economic growth and a slew of corruption scandals have battered the PRI’s standing. Pena Nieto had the lowest approval rating of any president in Mexico’s 21st century history.

“The new PRI, whether it’s called the PRI, or it changes its name, has to get rid of all the rubbish, all the parasites who have done so much damage to the party,” said Heriberto Galindo, a party veteran and former lawmaker.

LACK OF TRUST

The PRI knew long before the July 1 vote that it was in trouble.

Hoping to remove the stain of graft, the party passed over internal heavyweights to run with Meade, a cabinet minister with a reputation for honesty who is not even a member of the party.

One PRI election banner painted in towns across the Gulf state of Veracruz, which the party lost in 2016, spoke volumes about the PRI’s low standing with voters.

“We are working hard to regain your trust,” it said.

But it was not enough to change people’s minds.

“If he hadn’t been running for the PRI, if he’d been in any other party, I’d have voted for Meade,” said Ruben Moreno, a 52-year-old security worker in Mexico City.

Founded to consolidate political control after the bloodshed of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution, the PRI was, in part, a reaction against the excessive concentration of power in one man under the long rule of dictator Porfirio Diaz.

FILE PHOTO: Workers of the Mexican state oil company Pemex hold up a banner during an event to support the nomination of ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

Governing through a mix of corporatism, political patronage and corruption, the party initially had notable successes.

Poverty fell steadily from the end of World War II during a period of rapid economic growth known as the “Mexican Miracle.” But eventually, currency devaluations and overspending took their toll, and Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt in 1982.

The PRI held on, but its image was tarnished. Another major financial crisis in 1994-95 helped pave the way for the party’s first presidential election loss in 2000.

Rising drug-cartel violence under its conservative successors opened the door to a PRI comeback in 2012, though with its power and prestige diminished. Now only a rump of the current PRI will remain in the next Congress.

Under Pena Nieto, the PRI and its allies had a slim majority in the lower house. But projections by Mexico’s federal electoral authority suggest it lost over three-quarters of its seats on Sunday as MORENA and its allies dominated.

Like many in the ranks of MORENA, which was only formally constituted as a party in 2014, Lopez Obrador cut his teeth in the PRI. By the late 1980s, he had had enough, and split.

Yet one of his political heroes remains Lazaro Cardenas, a key figure in PRI history who nationalized the oil industry in 1938 during the party’s early, more socialist days.

Like Cardenas, Lopez Obrador traversed the remotest provinces to create a base of support among Mexico’s neediest – a sector of the population some in the party believe its technocratic leaders of recent years have lost touch with.

“We need to look toward the left again,” said Maria de los Angeles Moreno, a former national leader of the PRI, pointing to the personal rapport Lopez Obrador established with voters.

She and fellow PRI members Jackson and Galindo said there is a way back for the party if it is well-led, cleans up its image and can craft intelligent policies.

It will hold 12 state governorships after the election – fewer than ever before, but still as many as any other party.

‘INTENSIVE CARE’

Dubbed the “perfect dictatorship” by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, the PRI stood apart from peers in Latin America for the degree of stability it maintained during political volatility that roiled the region in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brutal crackdowns on civil protests, such as Mexico’s 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, which saw security forces open fire on student demonstrators, earned the PRI a reputation for authoritarianism. Its popularity began to suffer.

But though the PRI’s early leaders had been generals, Mexico never descended into military dictatorship, as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other Latin American countries did. Nor did it succumb to protracted guerrilla conflict like Colombia.

“It was a very ingenious system that combined a hegemonic party and an omnipotent president every six years. It was a kind of hereditary monarchy,” said Mexican historian Enrique Krauze.

Yet having failed to grasp the damage that corruption could do to its name once back in power in 2012, the PRI had landed itself in “intensive care” after Sunday’s losses, he said.

Into the void steps Lopez Obrador, who Krauze worries could rule as a “caudillo” or strongman after his landslide win.

“This is a country that abhors a power vacuum,” Krauze said. “In part, the election was about voting for a strong leader and so (the country) is feeling relieved. But obviously I’m concerned there’s such enormous power invested in one person.”

Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Marla Dickerson

The post RIP PRI? Mexico appeared first on World The News.

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[newestbalance]

RIP PRI? Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was one of the most successful brands in 20th-century politics, but a record defeat in Sunday’s presidential election has left its future hanging in the balance.

FILE PHOTO: A union worker waves a flag during an event to nominate Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso /File Photo

Pushed into third place with its worst-ever showing, the PRI candidate Jose Antonio Meade won just over 16 percent of the vote, less than a third of that garnered by the winner, veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, according to preliminary results.

The wipeout swept the country, shattering the centrist PRI in many traditional strongholds, including Atlacomulco, the hometown of the party’s outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto, about 55 miles (89 km) from Mexico City.

“I never thought we could end up so low, and finish with such poor results,” said Enrique Jackson, a PRI lawmaker and former Senate leader. “It’s really upsetting.”

The PRI, which governed Mexico continuously from 1929 to 2000, and again from 2012, also lost all nine gubernatorial races on the ballot. Until 1989, the PRI had never lost a governor’s race.

Sunday’s results mean that Mexico’s 31 states are set to be governed by five different parties and one independent.

The PRI’s precipitous decline leaves a void in the fractured political landscape, which Lopez Obrador and his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party look set to fill.

Rampant gang violence, patchy economic growth and a slew of corruption scandals have battered the PRI’s standing. Pena Nieto had the lowest approval rating of any president in Mexico’s 21st century history.

“The new PRI, whether it’s called the PRI, or it changes its name, has to get rid of all the rubbish, all the parasites who have done so much damage to the party,” said Heriberto Galindo, a party veteran and former lawmaker.

LACK OF TRUST

The PRI knew long before the July 1 vote that it was in trouble.

Hoping to remove the stain of graft, the party passed over internal heavyweights to run with Meade, a cabinet minister with a reputation for honesty who is not even a member of the party.

One PRI election banner painted in towns across the Gulf state of Veracruz, which the party lost in 2016, spoke volumes about the PRI’s low standing with voters.

“We are working hard to regain your trust,” it said.

But it was not enough to change people’s minds.

“If he hadn’t been running for the PRI, if he’d been in any other party, I’d have voted for Meade,” said Ruben Moreno, a 52-year-old security worker in Mexico City.

Founded to consolidate political control after the bloodshed of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution, the PRI was, in part, a reaction against the excessive concentration of power in one man under the long rule of dictator Porfirio Diaz.

FILE PHOTO: Workers of the Mexican state oil company Pemex hold up a banner during an event to support the nomination of ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Jose Antonio Meade as presidential candidate at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

Governing through a mix of corporatism, political patronage and corruption, the party initially had notable successes.

Poverty fell steadily from the end of World War II during a period of rapid economic growth known as the “Mexican Miracle.” But eventually, currency devaluations and overspending took their toll, and Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt in 1982.

The PRI held on, but its image was tarnished. Another major financial crisis in 1994-95 helped pave the way for the party’s first presidential election loss in 2000.

Rising drug-cartel violence under its conservative successors opened the door to a PRI comeback in 2012, though with its power and prestige diminished. Now only a rump of the current PRI will remain in the next Congress.

Under Pena Nieto, the PRI and its allies had a slim majority in the lower house. But projections by Mexico’s federal electoral authority suggest it lost over three-quarters of its seats on Sunday as MORENA and its allies dominated.

Like many in the ranks of MORENA, which was only formally constituted as a party in 2014, Lopez Obrador cut his teeth in the PRI. By the late 1980s, he had had enough, and split.

Yet one of his political heroes remains Lazaro Cardenas, a key figure in PRI history who nationalized the oil industry in 1938 during the party’s early, more socialist days.

Like Cardenas, Lopez Obrador traversed the remotest provinces to create a base of support among Mexico’s neediest – a sector of the population some in the party believe its technocratic leaders of recent years have lost touch with.

“We need to look toward the left again,” said Maria de los Angeles Moreno, a former national leader of the PRI, pointing to the personal rapport Lopez Obrador established with voters.

She and fellow PRI members Jackson and Galindo said there is a way back for the party if it is well-led, cleans up its image and can craft intelligent policies.

It will hold 12 state governorships after the election – fewer than ever before, but still as many as any other party.

‘INTENSIVE CARE’

Dubbed the “perfect dictatorship” by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, the PRI stood apart from peers in Latin America for the degree of stability it maintained during political volatility that roiled the region in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brutal crackdowns on civil protests, such as Mexico’s 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, which saw security forces open fire on student demonstrators, earned the PRI a reputation for authoritarianism. Its popularity began to suffer.

But though the PRI’s early leaders had been generals, Mexico never descended into military dictatorship, as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other Latin American countries did. Nor did it succumb to protracted guerrilla conflict like Colombia.

“It was a very ingenious system that combined a hegemonic party and an omnipotent president every six years. It was a kind of hereditary monarchy,” said Mexican historian Enrique Krauze.

Yet having failed to grasp the damage that corruption could do to its name once back in power in 2012, the PRI had landed itself in “intensive care” after Sunday’s losses, he said.

Into the void steps Lopez Obrador, who Krauze worries could rule as a “caudillo” or strongman after his landslide win.

“This is a country that abhors a power vacuum,” Krauze said. “In part, the election was about voting for a strong leader and so (the country) is feeling relieved. But obviously I’m concerned there’s such enormous power invested in one person.”

Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Marla Dickerson

The post RIP PRI? Mexico appeared first on World The News.

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[margdarsanme]

NCERT Class 12 Political Science (India) Chapter 2 Era of One Party Dominance

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (India Since Independence)

Chapter 2 Era of One Party Dominance

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED : Q 1. Choose the correct option to fill in the blanks.

(a) The First General Elections in 1952 involved simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and…………. (The President of India/State Assemblies/Rajya Sabha/The Prime Minister)

(b) The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first elections was the ………… (Praja Socialist Party/Bharatiya Jana Sangh/Communist Party of India/Bharatiya Janata Party)

(c) One of the guiding principles of the ideology of the Swatantra Party was……… (Working class interest/protection of Princely States/Economy free from State control/Autonomy of States within the Union)

Answer: (a) State Assemblies (b) Communist Party of India (c) Economy free from state control. Q 2. Match the following

Answer: (a)—(iv), (b)-(i), (c)-(w), (d)-(iii) Q 3. Four statements regarding one-party dominance are given below. Mark each of them as true or false: (a) One-party dominance is rooted in the absence of strong alternative political parties (b) One-party dominance occurs because of weak public opinion. (c) One-party dominance is linked to the nation’s colonial past. (d) One-party dominance reflects the absence of democratic ideals in a country.

Answer: (a) True, (b) False, (c) True, (d) False Q 4. If Bharatiya Jana Sangh of the Communist Party of India had formed the government after the first election, in which respects would the policies of the government have been different? Specify three differences each for both the parties.

Answer: 1. Bharatiya Jana Sangh: The policies of Bharatiya Jana Sangh were based on the principles as follows: (a) It replaced secular concept by the ideology of one country, one culture and one nation. (b) No cultural and educational rights as this party opposed the granting of concessions to religious and cultural minorities. (c) It focused on the reunity of India and Pakistan under the concept of Akhand Bharat. 2. Communist Party of India: Communist Party of India would have been different on the principles as follows: (а) It worked for proportional representation in the govern-ment. (б) This party followed communist ideology in various policies. (c) It emphasised on a control over electronic mass media by an autonomous body or corporation. Q 5. In what sense was the Congress an ideological coalition? Mention the various ideological currents present within the Congress.

Answer: The Congress Party became a social and ideological coalition for it merged different social groups alongwith their identity holding different beliefs: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary, conservative, pacifist, radical, extremist and moderates and the rights and the left with all other shades of the centre. 2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in the national movement. Ideological currents present within the Congress: (a) In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the Congress. (b) Some of these like “Congress Socialist Party” later seperated from the Congress and became on opposition party. Q 6. Did the prevalence of a ‘one-party dominant system’ affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics?

Answer: No, the prevalence of one party dominance system did not affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics because: 1. The key role of Congress in the freedom struggle gave it a head start over others. 2. The Congress accommodated diversified interests, religion, beliefs and aspirations to strengthen democracy. 3. Despite being taken place of free and fair elections, Congress won elections in the same manner again and again. 4. Congress party consisted of various factions inside itself, based on ideological considerations who never taught together or went out of Congress. 5. Hence, on the basis of above mentioned criterion, it can be concluded that Congress strengthened ideals of democracy and held unity and integrity of the country. Q 7. Bring out three differences each between Socialist Parties and the Communist Party and between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party.

Answer: 1. Differences between Socialist Parties and Communist Party:

2. Differences between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party:

Q 8. What would you consider as the main differences between Mexico and India under one party domination?

Answer: There was a difference between one party domination in India and Mexico. In Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because: 1. In India, the Congress party dominated on behalf of popular consensus but Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (in Spanish) ruled on behalf of perfect dictatorship. 2. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing of election was also fair but it Mexico, elections were based on malpractices, dominated by PRI. Q 9. Take a political map of India (with State outlines) and mark: (a) Two states where Congress was not in poiver at some point during 1952-67. (b) Two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.

Answer. Map is attached and marked as: (a) 1. Kerala (Travancore-Cochin) 2. Madras (Travancore-Cochin) (b) 1. Punjab or U.P. 2. Rajasthan or West Bengal. Q 10. Read the following passage: “Patel, the organisational man of the Congress, wanted to purge the Congress of other political groups and sought to make of it a cohesive and disciplined political party. He … sought to take the Congress away from its all-embracing character and turn it into a close-knit party of disciplined cadres. Being a ‘ r list he looked more for discipline than for took too romantic a view of “eariging on the movement,” Patel’s idea of transforming the Congress into strictly political party with a single ideology and tight discipline showed an equal lack of understanding of the eclectic role that the Congress, as a government, was to be called upon to perform in the decades to follow.”—Rnjni Kotl c – 1 (а) Why does the author think that Congress should not have been a cohesive and disciplined party? (b) Give some examples of the eclectic role of the Congress party in the early years. (c) Why does the author say that Gandhi’s view about Congress future was romantic?

Answer: (a) Because she wanted to take the Congress away from its all embracing character and turn it into a close knit party of disciplined caders. (b) These examples are in the form of social and ideological coalition of Congress: (i) It provided a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to participate in national movement. (ii) Congress party represented a rainbow like social coalition representing diversity of India including various castes, religions and languages. (c) Because Gandhiji believed in hand- in-hand characteristic of national movement led by Congress which attracted various sections groups and society to form a social and ideological coalition in Congress.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Q 1. Which political party laid emphasis on the idea of one party, one culture and one nation?

Answer: Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Q 2. Which political party of India had leaders like A.K. Gopalan, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, and S.A. Dange?

Answer: Communist Party of India. Q 3. Who was the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh?

Answer: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951. Q 4. In which year was the Election Commission of India set up and who was the first chief Election Commissioner of India?

Answer: 25 January 1950, Sukumar Sen. Q 5. Name the founder president of the Congress Socialist Party. What name was given to this party after 1948?

Answer: The founder president of the Congress Socialist Party was Acharya Narendra Dev and after 1955 it came to be known as Socialist Party. Q 6. Differentiate between one party dominance and one party system.

Answer: One party dominance refer to representation on behalf of popular consensus alongwith free and fair elections i.e. Congress in India whereas one party system refers representation based on malpractice, fraud etc. to ensure winning of a particular party. Q 7. When and why was the electronic voting machine used in India for the first time?

Answer: The electronic voting machine was used in India in 1990 for first time for more accuracy and fair dealing while counting as well as it helps to check Booth capturing and other malpractices. Q 8. How did socialist party origin?

Answer: The founder president of the Congress socialist party was Acharya Narendra Dev and after 1955 it came to be known as Socialist Party. Q 9. Define faction.

Answer: Faction are the groups formed inside the party i.e. coalitions made in Congress created various factions which were based on either ideological considerations or personal ambitions. Q 10. When and by whom PRI was founded?

Answer: The ‘Institutional Revolutionary Party’ (PRI) was founded in 1929 by Plutareo Elias Calles in Mexico which represented the legacy of Mexican Revolution.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

Q 1. How did the dominance of Congress Party in the first three general elections help in establishing a democratic set-up in India?

Answer: The first general election was the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate country. Till then democracy had existed only in the prosperous countries. By that time many countries in Europe had not given voting rights to all women. In this context India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky. India’s general election of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. It was no longer possible to argue that domocratic elections could not be held on conditions of poverty or lack of education. It proved that democracy could be practised anywhere in the world. The next two general elections strengthened democratic set-up in India. Q 2. Highlight any two features of ideology of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Answer: 1. Bharatiya Jana Sangh laid emphasis on ideology of one country, one culture and one nation. 2. Bharatiya Jana Sangh called for reunity of India and Pakistan in Akhand Bharat. Q 3. Explain the major difference of ideology between that of Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Answer: The major difference of ideology between Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was that Bharatiya Jana Sangh emphasised on one party country. One culture, one nation i.e. a Hindu nation or Hindutva whereas Congress formed ideological and social coalitions accommodating social diversities. Q 4. State any two ideologies of the Swatantra Party.

Answer: Swatantra Party was founded by Senior Congress leader C. Rajgopalachari in August 1959: 1. The party believed that prosperity could come only through individual freedom. 2. This party was against land ceilings in agriculture and opposed to cooperative farming. Q 5. How has the method of voting changed from the first General Election of 1952 to the General Election of 2004?

Answer: 1. In the first General Election a box was placed inside each polling booth for each candidate with the election symbol of the candidate. Each voter was given a blank ballot paper to drop into the box, they wanted to vote for. 2. After first two elections, this method was changed. Now ballot paper carried the names and symbols of candidates and the voter stamped against the name of candidate to vote for. 3. In 2004, Electronic Voting Machine were introduced to press the button according to choice of the voter containing the name of candidate and symbol of political party. Q 6. When was Communist Party emerged?

Answer: The Communist Party emerged in 1920 in different parts of India. It took the inspiration from Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The important leaders of CPI were A.K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh etc. Q 7. “India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky”. Justify the statement.

Answer: Because: 1. Country’s vast size and electorates made these elections unusual. 2. The year 1952, it was a big test for poor and illiterate country. 3. Till then, democracy had been existed only in the prosperous countries mainly in Europe and North America where everyone was almost literate. Q 8. Mention the aims and goals of Socialist Party of India. Why the party could not prove itself as an effective alternative to the Congress?

Answer: Aims and goals of socialist party of India: 1. The Socialist Party believed in the ideology of democratic socialism to be distinguished from Congress and Communists both. 2. It criticised Congress for ignoring the workers and peasants. It became difficult for socialist party to prove itself as an effective alternative to Congress because Congress Party declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society in 1955. Q 9. What were the reasons for dominance of one party system in India?

Answer: The dominance of Congress in India was due to following reasons: 1. Congress was identified with the freedom struggle for building national unity and solidarity. 2. Congress was associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s name. 3. It had a broad based manifesto to include the various section of society. 4. Congress bore a popular appeal of charismatic leader like Mahatma Gandhi, J.L. Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi etc. 5. Congress focused on building role of the party. Q 10. How did India’s first general elections of 1952 become a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world?

Answer: Because: 1. These elections were competitive among various parties. 2. The participation of people was encouraging also. 3. The results were declared in a very fair manner, even to be accepted by the losers in a fair manner. 4. This experiment of India, proved the critics wrong also.

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]

Q 1. Describe the organisation of Congress Party as a social and ideological coalitions. Or “For a long time Congress Party had been a social and ideological coalition”. Justify the statement. 

Answer: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary conservative, extremist and moderates with all other shades of the centre.

Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in national movement.

In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties were allowed to co-exist within the Congress. Some of these like ‘Congress Socialist Party’ later separated from the Congress and became an opposition party. 

Q 2. How was one party dominance of India different from the other examples of one party dominance in the world?  Or Examine the comparative analysis of nature of Congress dominance.

Answer: India is not the only country to have dominance of one party but we have some other examples also for the same. But the dominance of one party in India does not compromise democratic spirit of constitution whereas other nations have compromised it: 1. In countries like China, Cuba and Syria are permitted to be ruled by one party only by the constitutional provisions. 2. Myanmar, Belarus, Egypt also experience one party system due to legal and military measurer. 3. In India, Congress dominates on behalf of free and fair elections based on democracy where the losing of other party is also fair. Q 3. “In India, hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country But in politics, hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship”.Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Analyse the statement.

Ans: The above mentioned statement speaks of accommodating diversities by the leader of India which was a challenging path to democracy. Our leaders wanted to represent politics as a way of solution of problems in place of making politics a problem. Q 4. Examine the dominance of Congress in the first three General Elections.

Answer: I. In the first election Congress won 364/489 seats as per expectations. 2. The Communist Party next to Congress won only 16 seats. 3. Congress scored higher in state elections also except Travancore- Cochin (Kerala), Madras and Orissa. 4. Hence, country ruled at national and state level both by declaring Pt. J.L. Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India. 5. In second and third elections also, Congress maintained the same position in Loksabha by winning of three fourth seats in the years 1957 and 1962 respectively.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]

1. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions: This coalition-like character of the Congress gave it an unusual strength. Firstly, a coalition accommodates all those who join it. Therefore, it has to avoid any extreme position and strike a balance on almost all issues. Compromise and inclusiveness are the hallmarks of a coalition. This strategy put the opposition in a difficulty. Anything that the opposition wanted to say, would also find a place in the programme and ideology of the Congress. Secondly, in a party that has the nature of a coalition, there is a greater tolerance of internal differences and ambitions of various groups and leaders are accommodated. The Congress did both these things during the freedom struggle and continued doing this even after Independence. That is why, even if a group was not happy with the position of the party or with its share of power, it would remain inside the party and fight the other groups rather than leaving the party and becoming an ‘opposition’. Questions 1. What do you mean by a faction? 2. How did coalition-like character affect the nature of Congress Party? 3. How did Congress avoided to increase number of ‘opposition’?

Answer: 1. Factions are the groups formed inside the party based on either ideological considerations or on personal ambitions and rivalries. 2. Coalition-like character of Congress accommodated all social diversities and maintained a balance on almost all issues. Even a proper space for the programmes and ideology of opposite parties was also given. In such a way Congress showed greater tolerance towards internal differences. 3. Alongwith its coalition-like character, Congress did not let the groups to leave the party to become an opposition. 2. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions: The socialists believed in the ideology of democratic socialism which distinguished them both from the Congress as well as from the Communists. They criticised the Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords and for ignoring the workers and the peasants. But the socialists faced a dilemma when in 1955 the Congress declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society. Thus it became difficult for the socialists to present themselves as an effective alternative to the Congress. Some of them, led by Rammanohar Lohia, increased their distance from and criticism of the Congress party. Some others like Asoka Mehta advocated a limited cooperation with the Congress. Questions 1. Mention the ideology of Socialists. 2. Name some leaders of the Socialist Party. 3. Why did it become difficult for socialists to present themselves as an effective alternative to the Congress?

Answer: 1. Socialists believed in the ideology of democratic socialism to be distinguished from Congress as well as from Communists. 2. Ram Manohar Lohia, Ashok Mehta and Acharya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan etc. 3. Because in 1955, Congress declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society.

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]

Q 1. Describe the various steps taken to hold the first general elections in India. How far these elections were successful?

Answer: The first general elections had to be postponed twice and finally held from October 1951 to February 1952: 1. These elections were referred to as 1952 elections because most parts of country voted in January 1952. 2. It took six months for campaigning, polling and counting to be completed. 3. Elections were competitive because there were on an average more than four candidates for each seat. 4. The level of participation was en-couraging to vote out in the election. 5. The results were declared and accepted as fair even by losers to prove critics wrong. These elections were successful: 1. The losing of the parties was also accepted as fair. 2. These elections became a landmark in the history of democracy. 3. It was no longer possible to argue that democratic elections could not be held in conditions of poverty or lack of education. Instead, it can be practised anywhere in the world. Q 2. Why was Congress considered as a social and ideological coalition in independence days? Explain.

Answer: The Congress Party became a social and ideological coalition for it merged different social groups alongwith their identity holding different beliefs: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary, conservative, pacifist, radical, extremist and moderates and the right and the left with all other shades of the centre. 2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interacts and even political parties to take part in the national movement. Ideological currents present within the Congress: (а) In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the Congress. (b) Some of these like ‘Congress Socialist Party”, later separated from the Congress and became an opposition party. Q 3. How was the one party dominance in India different from the one party system in Mexico? In your opinion which of the two political systems is better and why?

Answer: There was a difference between one party domination in India and Mexico. In Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because: 1. In India, the Congress Party dominated on behalf of popular consensus but Institutional Revolu-tionary Party (PRI) (in Spanish) ruled on behalf of perfect dictatorship. 2. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing of election was also fair but in Mexico, elections were based on malpractices, dominated by PRI. In our opinion one party dominance¬like India is better because this sort of dominance: 1. Accommodates social diversities. 2. Encourage large number of parti-cipation. 3. Ensures democratic spirit as well as maintains the same. 4. Bear respect even for opposition. Q 4. How did opposition parties emerge in India? What was their importance?

Answer: Some of the diverse opposition parties had come into existence before the first general elections in 1952 as non-Congress parties which succeeded to gain only a taken of representation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. These parties maintained a democratic character of the system: 1. These offered a criticism based on principles to keep ruling party under check. 2. These parties groomed the leaders also to play a crucial role in shaping the country. 3. In the early years, these was a lot of respect between leaders of Congress and opposition parties i.e. interim government included even opposition leaders like Dr. Ambedkar, Jayaprakash Narayan, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee into the cabinet.

Picture/Map Based Questions [5 Marks]

A. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

Questions 1. What does the cartoon represent? 2. What does the term ‘Tug of war’ refer to? 3. Who has been shown on the branches of tree?

Answer: 1. Cartoon represents dominance of Congress which is being tug by opposition parties to throw Congress out of power. 2. ‘Tug of war’ refer to pulling out the Congress by criticism and mentioning its weaknesses in an honest and justified manner. 3. Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru alongwith his colleagues in the cabinet. B l. In the outline political map of India given below, five States have been marked as A, B, C, D and E. With the help of the information given below, identify them and write their correct names in your answer book along with the serial number of the information used and the related alphabet in the map.

Questions (i) The State to which C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor-General of India, belonged. (ii) The State where the first non-Congress Government was formed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. (iii) The State to which Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the Union Minister for Food and Agriculture (1952-54) belonged. (iv) The State which faced the most acute food crisis in 1965-1967. (v) The State which led the country to White Revolution through Dairy Cooperative Movement.

Answer: A — (iv) Bihar B — (iii) Uttar Pradesh C — (v) Gujarat D — (i) Tamil Nadu C — (a) Kerala 2. On a political outline map of India locate and label the following and symbolise them as indicated:

Questions 1. Two states where Congress was not in power at some point during 1952-67. 2. Two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.

Answer: 1. (i) Jammu & Kashmir (ii) Kerala 2. (i) Uttar Pradesh (ii) Maharashtra

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THE UNITED STATES TODAY may seem oblivious to the relentless global military activity carried out in its name, but, as Ken Burns’s recent documentary on the Vietnam War reminds us, that wasn’t always the case. Half a century ago, you would have had a hard time finding Americans unaware of our foreign wars and a very easy time finding people who objected to them — vociferously. Fifty years further back, President Woodrow Wilson’s call for the first large-scale dispatch of American troops abroad also provoked serious opposition — and preoccupied the lives of four of the five principals of Jeremy McCarter’s new book, Young Radicals. At the time, as McCarter points out, the United States had only the 17th largest army in the world, whereas now, a century of foreign interventions later, the American military budget is larger than that of the next eight or 10 runner-up nations combined.

McCarter starts his story on January 1, 1912, Walter Lippmann’s first day as executive secretary to George Lunn, the newly elected Socialist Party mayor of Schenectady, New York. The 22-year-old Lippmann has arrived with great expectations: he came recommended by Socialist Party founder and leader Morris Hillquit; the philosopher William James had once dropped by his dorm room to praise an article he wrote for a campus publication positing a brighter socialist-oriented future; in short, he was, according to McCarter, “the boy wonder of socialism.” Lippmann promptly produced a glowing account of the new Lunn administration for The Masses, the New York City socialist monthly started the previous year. But by the beginning of May (page seven of the book), he was out, now characterizing the Schenectady venture as “timid benevolence” and concluding that, while “[r]eform under the fire of radicalism is an educative thing[,] reform pretending to be radicalism is deadening.” By the next year, Lippmann, now “souring on socialism in all its forms,” had joined the staff of another new magazine, the New Republic, which its publisher called “radical without being socialistic.” It would rapidly become a leading voice for war preparedness, and Lippmann himself would soon take a job with the War Department (as the Defense Department was more appropriately called at the time), mobilizing for the war effort, his days as a radical effectively at an end — almost.

Lippmann knew John Reed at Harvard College when he was an officer in the Intercollegiate Socialist Society and Reed was a cheerleader and student actor. Their political trajectories subsequently crossed, with Reed first drawing public notice for his sympathetic, on-the-spot coverage of Pancho Villa’s Mexican revolutionary forces in 1913. Lippmann, who published his first book that same year, would have the more prominent career, being viewed as one of the nation’s most influential journalists for much of the next six decades. But it is Reed whose considerably shorter story seems to have retained the greater cachet as an embodiment of the zeitgeist: Warren Beatty played him in the 1981 Oscar-winning movie Reds.

Earlier in 1913, Reed had worked in support of 25,000 mostly immigrant silk industry laborers, who organized with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in a strike for better wages and working conditions in Paterson, New Jersey. When the New York press refused to report on the strike, hampering the union’s ability to take their story to a larger regional working class audience, someone came up with the idea of ferrying 1,000 laborers across the Hudson River to Madison Square Garden to tell the story themselves. Crossing the river in the other direction to check out the scene, Reed was arrested at the picket line and thrown in jail for four days; he subsequently assisted with the Madison Square Garden event. (Lippmann also helped, while grousing, McCarter tells us, about Reed’s “inordinate desire to be arrested.”) In addition to the speeches, the event featured an Italian folk song backed by a German chorus, IWW chants adapted to college football tunes, and the entire crowd of 15,000 rising to their feet for a finale of the “Internationale.” All in all, it was perhaps the greatest show the American labor movement ever produced.

Three years later, Reed joined a group of bohemian friends hoping to develop a new type of American theater in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Among their number was Eugene O’Neill, who would go on to become the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize, but who at that point had never had a play actually performed. In 1917, Reed and wife Louise Bryant, a writer, activist, and feminist of some note, went off to cover the Russian Revolution, an experience Reed described in Ten Days That Shook the World (1919), one of the best and most influential firsthand accounts of a social revolution ever written. Reed and Bryant both, it should be added, were far from being “objective” observers or “disinterested” journalists. McCarter tells us that Reed had been obsessed with Russia ever since his mentor, renowned muckraker journalist Lincoln Steffens, “told him the new world was being born there.” In January 1918, Reed addressed the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and not long after, Leon Trotsky appointed him the Soviet consul in New York. Even though the appointment didn’t work out, he came to be regarded as the “foremost American communist in the world,” sitting on the Executive Committee of the Communist International before resigning in frustration at the Russians’ heavy-handed role in the organization.

In late 1920, after Reed had died in Moscow of typhus five days short of his 33rd birthday, the American journalist and author Max Eastman delivered the eulogy at his funeral. The service was held in New York, but Reed’s body stayed in Moscow, one of three Americans whose remains are interred at the Kremlin wall. The editor-in-chief of The Masses, Eastman once referred to Reed as the publication’s “jail editor.” McCarter describes the New Republic as a “prematurely middle-aged magazine,” but no one ever said anything like that about The Masses. Based in Greenwich Village, the publication was, according to a manifesto co-authored by Eastman and Reed, “a revolutionary and not a reform magazine; a magazine with a sense of humor and no respect for the respectable.” But while The Masses may have been “conspicuously merry,” its politics were never frivolous. When The Masses accused the Associated Press of suppressing news about West Virginia mines and miners, Eastman was indicted for libel, along with cartoonist Art Young. Those charges were eventually dropped, but more would soon follow.

In many ways, this was a more genteel era than our own (Eastman once actually discussed the war with President Wilson), yet it is also true that, in some respects, the government’s repression of war opponents surpassed anything the 1960s antiwar movement encountered. The Masses would soon find itself running afoul of the newly passed Espionage Act, which allowed the Postmaster General to bar from the mail publications deemed to hamper the war effort. A ban was soon issued on all of the major socialist publications, starting with The Masses. Eastman, McCarter writes, “marvel[ed] that the American government has suppressed the socialist press more quickly and completely than the Germans did.” And that wasn’t the half of it: Socialist Party offices were raided by the authorities and vandalized by vigilantes, IWW members were arrested, peace marches were broken up. Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs, who had won six percent of the 1912 vote, had to conduct his 1920 campaign from the Atlanta Penitentiary, where his opposition to the war had landed him with a 10-year sentence under the Espionage Act.

With the Bernie Sanders campaign having brought the ideals of socialism some of their most positive public exposure in decades, Young Radicals suggests that a reconsideration may be in order as to the root cause of the “public relations” problems socialism has experienced during the past century. As McCarter shows, even before the Bolshevik Revolution and the birth and degeneration of Russian Communism (events generally considered decisive in souring many Americans on socialism), the jingoistic pro-war right was already pushing the idea that there was something “un-American” about the movement. After all, the American Socialist Party had actually stuck to the Socialist International’s antiwar principles and opposed the nation’s war effort, unlike the socialist parties in most of the other belligerent nations (the Russians being a notable exception).

Eastman himself subsequently moved hard left during the 1920s, embracing the Twenty-one Conditions for membership in the new Communist International that were rejected by many of the United States’s most prominent socialists, including Debs and Hillquit. Later he would tack to the right, regarding his prior positions as “half-fanatical glassy-mindedness” and dismissing socialism as “a dangerous fairy tale.” By 1955, he was serving on the editorial board of William F. Buckley Jr.’s conservative publication, National Review. His life was often held up as a caution to the 1960s New Leftists, purportedly illustrating the foolishness of their youthful radicalism.

Eastman, who lived to be 86, was in 1918 the only one of this book’s five central characters not to be affected by the worldwide influenza outbreak that killed more people than the war had itself. One of the epidemic’s casualties was Randolph Bourne, the first of the book’s characters to die, at age 32. Bourne’s personal life was dominated by his physical condition: a childhood illness had stunted his growth and twisted his spine, leaving him hunch-backed and short. A college classmate who heard him play the piano marveled at “how beautifully this strange misshapen gnome could make a piano sing and talk.” McCarter reports that, after publishing Bourne’s first essay and inviting him to a club lunch, the editor of The Atlantic cancelled “shortly after Bourne arrived, as he couldn’t bear to be seen with one so deformed.” (The reader’s inevitable curiosity as to his appearance is frustrated by the book’s lack of illustrations.)

The last years of Bourne’s political life were dominated by the war. After the New Republic declared that it was the intellectuals who had brought the nation into the conflict, and that this was to their credit, Bourne wrote that “[o]nly in a world where irony was dead could an intellectual class enter war at the head of such illiberal cohorts in the avowed cause of world liberalism.” Like a lot of Bourne’s writing, this essay would stand up equally well 50 years later as an indictment of the Kennedy Era’s “best and brightest” who did so much to bring us the disaster in Vietnam. American critic Lewis Mumford considered Bourne “perhaps the only writer who gauged” the “virulence of the animus” set loose by the world war “at its full worth.” As McCarter writes, “Bourne had predicted that leaders stupid enough to start a world war would be too stupid to end it.” It is not hard for contemporary readers to see that judgment as a critique of the state of affairs once called the global War on Terror but now known as everyday reality.

Alice Paul, the one female among McCarter’s five youthful radicals, was also the only one for whom the war always remained a secondary concern. Nothing would divert her attention from the suffrage issue until women actually had won the right to vote. Raised amid progressive ideas in a Quaker family and educated in them at Swarthmore, Paul found her life’s calling at age 22 when she saw crusading suffragette Christabel Pankhurst in action in Great Britain. Quickly enrolled in the movement led by Christabel’s mother Emmeline, Paul was arrested numerous times for disruption of public events. Suffragette strategy was to seek political prisoner status and then engage in hunger strikes; during her last prison stay, Paul was force-fed 55 times.

After this experience, which harmed her health permanently, Paul returned to the United States to recuperate and apply herself further to the cause. She made her mark nationally by helping to mount a march of 8,000 suffragists along Pennsylvania Avenue the day before Woodrow Wilson’s 1913 inauguration. After a congressional resolution was deemed necessary to secure the route, a half million people came to witness the colorful parade, whose way had to be cleared by the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts national guards, the local police having failed to do so. Paul herself soon met with Wilson, taking the new president aback by asking if he did “not understand that the Administration has no right to legislate for currency, tariff, and any other reform without first getting the consent of women to these reforms.”

Four years later, when Russian diplomats from the short-lived Kerensky government arrived at the White House for a meeting on the war effort, two suffragettes unfurled a banner declaring that “America is not a democracy” because “[t]wenty million American women are denied the right to vote.” After suffragists had stood outside the White House for over a year, Wilson endorsed legislation to expand the franchise, which passed the House in early 1918 and the Senate the following year, becoming the 19th Amendment to the Constitution when the requisite number of state legislatures endorsed it in 1920. Of all of McCarter’s subjects, Paul was unquestionably the most successful in achieving her goals, yet he believes that her “absolute single-mindedness” also led her to “evil” compromises with Southern white supremacists who feared that “enfranchising women will create more pressure to enfranchise black people.” In one editorial, Paul even claimed that the “enfranchising of all women will increase the relative power of the white race in a most remarkable way.”

Paul — and the National Woman’s Party she headed — continued the struggle by introducing the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, which finally passed both houses of Congress in 1972 (though it stalled in the state legislatures). When Paul died in 1977 at the age of 92, she was the last of the book’s survivors. Eastman, whose rightward turn had led him to an editorial post at Reader’s Digest (according to McCarter, “the squarest and least radical magazine in America”) had died in 1969. Lippmann, 85 when he departed the planet in 1974, turned out to have one last spark of radicalism left in him. When most establishment liberals lined up behind the “domino theory” that brought us the Vietnam War, Lippmann refused to join in. Lyndon Johnson never forgave him, but Life magazine called him “the embodiment of meaningful opposition.”

With the rise of Donald Trump causing many Americans to scrutinize our politics and history more rigorously than they might otherwise have done, in an earnest search for alternatives to the status quo, McCarter has given us a well-written and compelling introduction to the lives of five young radicals who embarked upon a similar journey of resistance one century ago.

¤

Tom Gallagher is a writer and activist living in San Francisco. He is the author of Sub: My Years Underground in America’s School (2015) and The Primary Route: How the 99 Percent Takes on the Military Industrial Complex (2016).

The post Reform Under the Fire of Radicalism appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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