Muhammad Ali Resisting the Draft

Muhammad Ali Resisting the Draft


Muhammad Ali immortalized his legacy outside the ring by refusing to be eligible to participate in the draft. During the Vietnam War, young Americans were being drafted into the military to satisfy the demand for a fighting force. It was during this time that draft evasion and resistance was at an all time high.

As a Muslim, Ali objected against killing others. He used this as his reasoning to forgo military service. He also famously questioned why he would put his life on the line for a country that discriminated against him.

In 1976, Ali was scheduled to appear for an induction into the U.S. military. He symbolically refused to step forward to accept his induction, so he was arrested and convicted. In addition, his boxing license and titles were stripped away from him. Ali was already a controversial figure for converting to Islam, but his refusal to serve made him a hated figure by many.

While the case was being appealed, Ali was allowed to stay out of prison. As a result, he ended up being a prominent speaker in refusing to enlist from the draft. Ali was able to finally get his boxing license back and knocked out Jerry Quarry in his comeback to the ring. The Supreme Court also overturned his conviction.

In the end, this whole process took a toll on Ali. His prime boxing years were taken away from him, but he was able to stand up for his own beliefs.




Sites:

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/muhammad-ali-vietnam/485717/

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/muhammad-ali-refuses-army-induction

http://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/vietnam_draft.shtml

Nazi Involvement in the American Space Program

Nazi Involvement in the American Space Program
Zachary Murphy

During World War II, German scientists unleashed a duo of devasting weapons known as the V1 and V2 rockets. The technology behind these weapons was revolutionary, so both the U.S. and the Soviet Union wanted to procure that technology for themselves.

In a covert operation known as Operation Overcast, later renamed Operation Paperclip, approximately 1,600 German scientists (and their families) were brought to the United States. Their job was to help lead the development of new technology. The military did their best to justify the pasts of these scientists but some of them certainly were involved in the atrocities committed during the war. President Truman, who approved the project, had actually stood against any Nazi members or active Nazi supporters coming into the country. However, Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency and Office of Strategic Services sidestepped this order.

The project was still kept secret, for the government was hesitant in making it known that the masterminds behind the weapons that killed many were now working for the U.S.  Perhaps the most controversial of them all was Wernher von Braun, a member of the S.S. He was the head of development behind the sophisticated V2 rocket, the first long-range ballistic missile ever created, and was instrumental in developing the Jupiter C rocket, the very rocket used to launch America's first satellite.

Many of these scientists ended up becoming the directors of various departments at NASA. Though controversial, these men were undoubtedly valuable in the progression of the American space program.










Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/nazi-scientists-space-program-2014-2

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-us-government-brought-nazi-scientists-america-after-world-war-ii-180961110/

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-operation-paperclip

The Y2K Problem

While the majority of the country was partying for the turn of the millennium, some were worried about a programming flaw that would make all computers fail on January 1, 2000.

The Y2K (Year 2000) problem, also known as the "Millennium Bug," came to exist because there was fear that the clocks in computers would not update to January 1, 2000, and instead shut down from confusion. This was because computers were initially programmed to assume the date of the year began with "19." Thus when the year 2000 came, computers would not be able to interpret it.

Banks, the power grid, and airports, all of which relied on computers, were all threatened to crash.
As a result, the public was prepared for the worst by storing cash and food. However, computer scientists by 1997 were working toward the solution. The British Standards Institute developed a new computer standard to define conformity requirements for the Year 2000. Certain countries like the United States and Australia invested millions of dollars in order to prevent any form of catastrophe while others did nothing to prepare.

When the new year came, world disaster luckily did not come as computers updated to January 1, 2000, with few issues.





Sources:

http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/Y2K-bug/

http://time.com/3645828/y2k-look-back/

The 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings

On August 7, 1998, a truck bomb was detonated outside the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. At almost the same time, another truck bomb was set off outside the U.S. embassy in the capital of Tanzania. This coordinated terrorist attack killed 224 and wounded 4,500.

After his suspected role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and his declaration that Muslims should kill all Americans in 1998, the United States promptly accused Osama bin Laden as the mastermind behind this devasting attack on foreign soil. As a response, President Clinton ordered 70 cruise missiles to be launched at suspected terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Sudan.

With the presence of U.S. troops in Saudia Arabia during the Persian Gulf War starting his hatred for the United States, bin Laden coordinated the bombings to take place on the eighth anniversary of their deployment. The embassy in Nairobi was located in the more busy downtown area, so the truck loaded with 2,000 pounds of TNT did substantial damage in comparison to the attack in Dar es Salaam. Not only was the embassy destroyed but the nearby Ufundi Coop House and the 17-story Cooperative Bank were also demolished.

In 1997, American intelligence already knew that there were active bin Laden operatives in East Africa, but their efforts to break up the terrorist cells were not enough before the attack. They had even had knowledge of a possible plot to bomb the embassy in Nairobi and no precautions were taken. The State Department was also at fault because the U.S. ambassador to Kenya had previously asked the Nairobi embassy to not be in such an exposed location. With these facts later revealed, there were many concerns about our security at home and abroad.

On November 1998, the U.S. charged bin Laden and 21 others for the bombings and conspiring to commit other acts of terrorism. In February 2001, four of these suspects were on trial and all of them were convicted. However, this did not stop bin Laden's terrorism toward the United States as the September 11 attacks sadly proved otherwise.





Sources:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-embassies-in-east-africa-bombed

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/bombings/summary.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/20/africa-embassy-bombings-osama-bin-laden-kenya-tanzania-al-qaida

The Trial of the Century

The Trial of the Century

With a Heisman trophy, a place in the NFL Hall of Fame, and being known as a television and film personality, O.J. Simpson was the epitome of a celebrity. However, his fame came crashing down on June 12, 1994, when Nicole Simpson, his ex-wife, and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman were found brutally murdered outside their home.

O.J. was ordered to surrender to the police as a possible suspect but instead fled. He was found on a freeway in L.A. being driven by a close friend A.C. Cowlings. After a nationally televised pursuit of the white Bronco that Simpson was riding in, he surrendered himself at his home.

In the People v. O.J. Simpson, the prosecutors had strong evidence painting O.J. as the murderer. Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark had worked out that his alibi didn't check out, he had a history of abusing Nicole, the same glove found in O.J's estate was identical to the one left at the crime scene, and the blood found at the crime scene matched his DNA. With the evidence stacked against O.J, one could assume that case would be a "slam dunk." However, race relations made the trial much more complicated. In the aftermath of the Rodney King riots, black Americans were very distrustful towards the LAPD. In addition to this, many black Americans saw Simpson as someone who represented the black community. This ended up being an important factor in the trial as many African Americans thought that O.J. while a majority of white Americans believed he was the culprit. O.J's defense team, known as the "Dream Team," used this to their advantage by raising doubts about how the evidence was gathered. Their job was to just sway the jury, who were picked to consist of more minorities, to believe their version of the truth.  n his iconic closing statement, Simpson's lead attorney Johnnie Cochran demonstrated that the gloves found did not fit O.J. and said "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."

The highly publicized nature of the trial made it seem like a reality show. When the verdict was announced, 91% of the nation watching television at the time were watching the reveal.  Some criticism has gone back to Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the case, for his part in allowing cameras to publicize the trial, for the public did play a hand in the momentum of the case.

In the end, the jury found O.J. Simpson innocent. This concluded the official trial of the century, but O.J.'s legal troubles would not escape him. He was called back into court for a civil trial. In February 1997, he was found liable for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman and was required to pay $33.5 million dollars in damages. To this day, he has not paid the money.

























Sources:


http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/13/us/oj-simpson-trial/

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-oj-simpson-stories-storygallery.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/25/black-and-white-americans-can-now-agree-o-j-was-guilty/?utm_term=.654a70aeb82f

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Don't Ask Don't Tell

During his first term, Clinton questioned whether or not the military would strike down its discriminatory policy of barring those of the homosexual community from the military. After all, he campaigned with the message that all citizens could serve. However, his Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed him. Colin Powell, the president's chief military advisor, argued that there was already no sense of privacy in the miltiary. He raised that this was no civil rights issue comparable to previously segregated and discriminated Africans Americans because homosexuality was believed not to be a "benign characteristic." Despite his opposition to Clinton, he did propose that the government could just "stop asking" whether or not recruits were homosexual. During the 1980s, the military spent millions to investigate and remove 17,000 homosexuals from their ranks.

With backlash from both sides of the political aisle, Clinton's answer for the controversy was a compromise known as DADT. Proposed on July 19, 1993,  "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) mandated that closeted members were allowed to serve, but those who were openly homosexual would be barred from service. The distinct progress made was that Clinton was hoping to halt aggressive efforts to root homosexuals out of the military. However, gay rights groups were not satisfied as people could still not freely and openly serve.

President Clinton himself admitted that it wasn't what he fully wanted. He called it "an honorable compromise." After all, Clinton believed that he did end a witchhunt of sorts in the armed forces. Commanders now couldn't ask if a soldier was homosexual or not. There was still protocol for one to be discharged from the military if he/ she was found to have partaken in any form of homosexual conduct found (on base or off).

He hoped to improve troop cohesion in the armed forces and also establish some right to privacy. In the end, his policy was limited in scope and had loopholes. The policy was officially repealed by President Obama in September of 2011, finally allowing those who were openly homosexual to serve our country.




Sources:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/10/the-awkward-clinton-era-debate-over-dont-ask-dont-tell/381374/

https://cmrlink.org/content/article/34488

http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1598653,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/20/news/20iht-gay_1.html

The Lewinsky Scandal

The Lewinsky Scandal

The iconic phrase "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" is one that is etched into many Americans' memories. The scandal between President Clinton and his sexual affair with Ms. Lewinsky was not only troubling to the nation but also led to him almost being impeached from office.

Their relationship began in 1995 and in the summer of 1996 Lewinsky told an employee by the name of Linda Tripp about her relationship with President Clinton. On December 17, 1997, Lewinsky was subpoenaed for a case by Paula Jones, someone else suing President Clinton for sexual harassment charges. She denied ever having a relationship with the president. However, her colleague Ms. Tripp made recordings of Lewinsky talking about the affair, and the tape was given to Ken Starr, the head of the investigation team. During this time, Lewinsky was contacted by the FBI and U.S. attorneys and offered immunity in exchange for cooperation the investigation.

The news of the possible affair broke in January of 1998, and President Clinton responded with his iconic line to the American people over television. Later that year, Lewinsky testified in front of a grand jury. Contradicting his denial of his actions in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, President Clinton admitted to having an affair. He ended up being the first sitting president to ever testify before a jury that was investigating his conduct. In that same evening, he admitted to the American public that he had previously lied that he indeed had an affair. Shortly thereafter, Starr submitted his evidence to the House of Representatives. With the evidence, there was a potential impeachment case against the president in regards to perjury, obstruction of justice, etc. In October, Congress called for an impeachment inquiry. Congress followed in December by actually impeaching President Clinton. At the start of 1999, the trial of President Clinton was underway in the Senate. On February 12th, the Senate voted if he should be removed from office. Both articles of impeachment that Clinton was acquitted did not receive enough votes to warrant a conviction.

In the aftermath, Clinton's license to practice law was suspended and he was disbarred from presenting cases to the Supreme Court. He expressed his regret to the American people. Despite it all, Clinton was still able to finish his term, but Ms. Lewinsky's reputation was destroyed as a result of the publicity.








Sources:


http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/resources/lewinsky/timeline/

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-impeached

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/clinton081898.htm

The Rodney King riots

The Rodney King riots

The Rodney King riots, also known as the 1992 L.A. riots, decimated the city and led to the costliest form of civil unrest the country had ever seen. The LAPD historically had a reputation of being corrupt and carrying an unwarranted racial bias against African Americans. This played a part in people's distrust toward the police. However, what is regarded as the spark for the protests and riots was the verdict of the Rodney King beating.

On March 3rd of 1991,  George Holliday filmed a video of a group of police officers vigorously beating an unarmed black man by the name of Rodney King. The four main officers involved were acquitted, but the predominately white jury that oversaw their trial ruled that these officers were innocent.

In perhaps the most infamous retaliation against police brutality in the United States, protesters began to organize themselves almost immediately after the verdict in South Central. With the protests growing into a chaotic riot, a white truck driver by the name of Reginald Denny was pulled out of his car and brutally beaten. A news helicopter captured the whole incident. At the same time, the riots led to many people looting business and setting other things ablaze. As a response, Korean store owners in Koreatown became involved as they began defending their business with weapons.

On the same day, the mayor called a state of emergency, and the governor ordered the National Guard to be mobilized. Curfews were also implemented, but the police, in general, were very slow to respond. The National Guard was finally deployed on April 30th On May 1st, President Bush ordered military troops to keep things under the control. Rodney King also appeared on television to ask for peace. On May 2nd, the Marines arrived and order was shortly restored after that.

In the aftermath, there were 7,000 arrests, 55 killed, 2,000 injured, and almost 1 billion in damages. The four officers were once again prosecuted but now under federal law. With this trial, two of them were found guilty of violating King's rights. Though some of the officers involved were punished to an extent, the riots and the beating itself reinforced the public's distrust in the LAPD. Their questionable credibility led their work to be questioned and had direct ramifications in cases like the O.J. Simpson murder trial.











Sources:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/riots-erupt-in-los-angeles
https://www.thenation.com/article/want-understand-1992-la-riots-start-1984-la-olympics/
http://timelines.latimes.com/los-angeles-riots/