History

Introduction

Richard 1 – commonly referred to as Richard the Lionheart, was born on September 8, 1157. He was the third lawful son of King Henry II of England. According to West and Gaff (2005), Richard was the third son of King Henry II and therefore was never expected to rise to the throne of power. But due to his strong-willed nature, Richard ascended the ladder to become the King of England from July 6 1189 until April 6, 1199. According to West and Gaff (2005), Richard also ruled as the duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Lord of Ireland, Count of Nantes, Count of Anjou, and Overlord of Brittany.

Richard was reputed as a great military leader and warrior in his lifetime, hence the name Richard the Lionheart. For example, Richard was commanding his own army at the age of 16, which helped him to quell rebellions against his own father, King Henry II in Pointou. Richard is greatly remembered for his role in the Third Crusade, where he led a campaign to defeat his Muslim counterpart, Saladin. This was a crucial victory as it helped in earnest to mold up the Christianity history. He is also remembered also for spending little time in his Kingdom, favoring to use the time he had as a source of income to support his troops. He will be remembered forever for his enduring, iconic figure and for his epithet (glorified nickname). According to Hilliam and Hancock (2004), Richard spoke very little English due to his French background.

Life and Family

According to Folda (2005), Richard was the legitimate third son of King Henry II; younger brother of Henry the young king, William the Count of Pointers, and Matilda of England; and an older brother of Leonora of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, John Plantagenet, and John, Count of Mortain. John succeeded Richard as king. Richard was also the younger maternal half-brother of Alix of France and Marie de Champagne. His mother’s name was Eleanor of Aquitaine. According to West and Gaff (2005), Richard, like many other Plantagenets, was born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England. When his parents separated, he was left with his mother. According to Folda (2005), Richard’s elder brother was crowned the king of England in 1170 in line with traditions.

According to Hilliam and Hancock (2004), Richard married Berengaria, the first-born offspring of King Sancho VI of Navarre, at the chapel of St. George, Limassol on May 12 1191. This was before he left for Cyprus. The wedding was attended by his sister Joan from Sicily. In reality, Richard was officially engaged to Alys. But having an extremely bright mind, he chose to marry Berengaria in order to obtain Navarre for his father. His marriage with Berengaria was also sanctioned by his mother Eleanor, who desired to secure her ancestral lands’ borders to the south. This was because Navarre bordered on Aquitaine. They went for a brief episode of the third crusade but returned separately because Berengaria found much difficulty in making the journey back home to England (Hilliam & Hancock 2004).

Richard was an extremely well-informed man. Much of his time was used in composing poetry in Limousin and French. The former was an Occitan language spoken and understood by about 402, 000 people in a location of southern France known as Limousin. According to Setton, Wolf, and Hazard (2005), Richard was a very gorgeous man, light-eyed with a pale complexion, and having hair that bordered between blond and red. Even in his childhood, Richard was extremely gifted as he exhibited significant military and political abilities. His courage and chivalry was exhibited from a very tender age in his fights to manage the insubordinate nobles of his own territory (Hilliam 2004).

Revolt against King Henry II

In the company of his brothers, Richard frequently challenged his father’s authority. Richard joined his brothers Geoffrey and Henry to revolt against their father with the aim of dethroning him at the age of 16. After some confrontation, Henry II was successful in crushing the rebellion. According to West and Gaff (2005), Richard concentrated on quelling internal revolts by the nobles of Aquitaine after he failed to overthrow his father. This was particularly done in the territory of Gascony. In 1179, a major revolt was held there in response to what was perceived as Richard’s increasing cruelty. In the hope of dethroning Richard, the rebels sought the help of Richard’s brothers, Geoffrey and Henry. According to Hilliam and Hancock (2004), Richard fought off the rebellion by destroying and looting the lands and farms surrounding the fortress of Taillebourg, Charente Valley in the spring of 1179. This left the rebels with no where to retreat to. The rebels’ reinforcements were also greatly hampered. In a fight that lasted for two days, Richard was able to effectively subdue the opponent’s army. This forced many barons to shelve any arrangements they had for rebelling and declared their loyalty to Richard.

From 1180 to 1183, Richard challenged his father for the throne again. Richard had refused to pay homage to his brothers Geoffrey and Henry the young King. This necessitated the duke of Brittany to invade Aquitaine in the hope of subduing Richard. But Richard, with the help of his armies, was able to fight off the rebellion. After the death of Henry the young king, Richard became the eldest son of King Henry II and heir to the clown. But he still continued to fight his father. Richard allied himself with Philip II, the son of Eleanor’s ex-husband Louis VII in 1187. The two established a strong relationship, which some historians say was most probably a homosexual relationship. According to the treaty, Richard was to concede to Philip his rights to both Anjou and Normandy if Philip helped him to overthrow his father. Richard was named the heir to the throne after the combined forces defeated the King’s army at the Balkans on July 4 1189. Dethroned, Henry II died two days later, and Richard effectively replaced him as King of England, Count of Anjou, and Duke of Normandy (Folda 2005).

His contribution to Christian history

During the third crusade, Richard was a central Christian commander. He took the mantle after the departure of Philip Augustus and won several conquests against Saladin, his Muslim counterpart. It was around 1188 when word went out that Jerusalem – the holy city in the holy land had fallen to Saladin, also known as Salahuddin Ayyubi. This sultan of Syria and Egypt lived from 1138 to 1193 and was crucial in leading the Islamic opposition to the third crusade. Saladin was a strict practitioner of Sunni Islam who conventionally led the Muslim resistance to the European crusaders. He was instrumental in recapturing the Palestine from the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. He was very different from Richard and other Christian crusaders in that he never maimed, killed, or retaliated against those whom he defeated with the exception of a few instances (West & Gaff 2005).

With the exception of Tyre and Jerusalem, nearly all the other crusader cities had been captured by Saladin and his Muslim forces. Due to the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims, Saladin chose to capture it instead of capturing Tyre which was more strategically placed. The fall of Jerusalem prompted the third crusade, which was basically financed by England. According to Herrin (1989), Richard I of England led the siege, surmounted the city, and executed over 3000 Muslim prisoners, including children and women. Continued occupation of Jerusalem by Muslim forces under the leadership of Saladin could have brought negative effects to Christianity. Jerusalem is the spiritual centre of the Jews as well as the holiest city in Judaism. It contains a number of important ancient Christian sites and therefore taking it away from the crusaders amounted to taking the origins of Christianity from them. However, Muslims consider it as their third holiest city (Folda 2005).

The army of Saladin was defeated at the Battle of Arsuf on September 7, 1191. However, Richard the Lionheart attempts to re-take Jerusalem failed. But Richard and Saladin mutually respected one another. This was exhibited by the fact that Saladin offered the services of his personal physician when Richard got ill with a fever and also sent him fresh fruit and snow to chill the drink. It is under this mutual affection that the two men reached an agreement in 1192 in the treaty of Ramla. It was agreed that while Jerusalem remained in Muslim hands, it would be open to Christian pilgrimages due to its historical importance to Christianity. In essence, Christians were to be allowed admission to the consecrated places of Jerusalem (Herrin 1989).

Significance of Jerusalem to Christians today

Giving the Christians a chance to access Jerusalem and leaving the pilgrims’ route to Mecca open for Muslims was an idea whose ramifications are still felt today. Today, many Christians all over the world converge to Jerusalem every year to view the origins of their faith and doctrine. Jerusalem contains very many Christian historic sites. In fact, Jerusalem is a sacred city for three monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Jerusalem exclusive nature of holiness bestows it with a special vocation of calling for harmony and reconciliation among pilgrims, visitors, or citizens. Jerusalem has been a hotbed of religious fundamentalism because of its emotive and symbolic value (Memorandum 1994). This explains why the city has been a source of disharmony and conflict even in modern times. Israel and Palestine continue to fight over the ownership of the city. While the mystical nature of the city draws believers, its present undesirable condition scandalizes many people.

It is all because of King Richard I of Britain that Christians lay claim to Jerusalem city, the epicenter of their faith and doctrine. Christians recognize in their belief and faith that the long history of God’s people, with Jerusalem as its hub, is the salvation history which accomplishes God’s design in and through Jesus Christ. The Bible, which is the backbone of Christianity, says that God had already chosen Jerusalem to be the city where His name only will reside in the midst of His followers so that they grant to him acceptable worship (Memorandum, 1994). There are many more verses in the bible which expounds on the importance of the city of Jerusalem to Christians. To Christians, Jerusalem represents the image of the new conception and the ambitions of all people.

Without the city of Jerusalem, Christians would be having no grounds of basing their faith. It should be remembered that during the first centuries of the gospel, the liturgy of Jerusalem became the base for all the other liturgies in the world. The Jerusalem liturgy later intensely influenced the development of varied liturgical traditions basically because of the symbolic meaning of the holy city and the many pilgrimages that visited Jerusalem. Were it not because of King Richard I and the 1192 treaty of Ramla, the Christian faith could be like a fairy tale. There would be no Christian pilgrimages going to view the holy sites in Jerusalem. It is right to point out that if the 1192 treaty was not agreed upon, Christians today would be finding it quite difficult to explain the origins of their faith. The bible could also be contradicting itself if Richard the Lionheart did not lead a third crusade onslaught which bore the treaty (Herrin 1989).

Conclusion

Jerusalem continues to occupy a huge place in the hearts of Christians everywhere. It is my take that that was precisely the reason why King Richard I of Britain collected huge sums of money and resources from Britain in its defense. He delegated his powers of leading Britain to other people, including his mother, to lead the onslaught of ensuring that Jerusalem returned to Christendom. Though his objectives were not met, the treaty he signed with the Muslim leader has been influential in making Christianity retain its focus and direction. Pilgrims can now go to Jerusalem to view the historic sites that has continued to make Christianity faith and doctrine even more popular (Herrin 1989).

Christians can amicably relate what they read in the bible to what is already in the ground. If Jerusalem could have been made out of bounds for Christian crusaders, like it was before Richard Lionheart got involved, Christianity would be very weak. This is because Jerusalem is the centre of its faith and teachings. Before Jesus was crucified, he entered Jerusalem on a Sunday riding on a donkey. This occasion continues to be revered by many Christians around the world today as they celebrate the Palm Sunday. What if Jerusalem was kept out of bounds to Christians? Such occasions would seem frivolous. The Christian doctrine would lack any form of justification whatsoever.

Though many scholars have tarnished King Richard I as a self seeker who wanted to torment people more than to lead, Christians owe it to him that they are still able to access the holy city of Jerusalem. Was it not for the Richard the Lionheart and others who led the third crusade onslaught, Christianity would be lacking in its origins and practice. But thanks to the good King; Christians are now able to relate what they read in the bible to what they see on the ground after paying homage to the city of Jerusalem.

References

Folda, J 2005. Crusader Art in the Holy Land, from the Third Crusade to the fall of Acre, Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0521835836.

Herrin, J 1989. The Formation of Christendom, Princeton University Press. ISBN: 0691008310.

Williams, D., & Hancock, L 2004. Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade: The English King Confronts Saladin, AD 1191, Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN: 0823942139. Web.

Memorandum of their Beatitudes the Patriarchs and of Heads of the Christian Communities in Jerusalem on the Significance of Jerusalem for Christians 1994. 2008. Web.

Setton, K.M., Wolf, R.L., & Hazard, H.W 2005. A history of the Crusaders: The Later Crusades of 1189-1311, University of Wisconsin Press. Web.

West, D., & Gaff, J 2005. Richard the Lionheart: The life of a King and Crusader, Rosen Classroom Publishers. ISBN 1404251685. Web.

The White House

Author – This is a section of the White House Web site dedicated to all forty-four presidents of the Union.

Objective versus Subjective Slant – As the nerve center of the Executive is the only remaining superpower, the White House has to maintain credibility. Hence, this single long page about JFK, as the President was familiarly known then, limits itself to highlighting the signal accomplishments of the Kennedy presidency: forging ahead on both domestic issues and foreign relations. This is material written with an eye to posterity and history books. The source can only be House records.

Consistency with Information Elsewhere – Since all the information given is factual, this Web page is consistent with material about John Kennedy anywhere else.

Rationale for Choice of Subject and Web Site – Other than the JFK Library site (see below), the White House must be presumed to be the most authoritative site about past Presidents. Even with the comparatively sparse material presented here, it is clear that the all-too-short Kennedy administration was a launching pad for the nation’s prosperity, a step forward for civil rights, a vigorous inspiration for American volunteerism, the start of a crash effort to match the Soviets in the space race and an audacious defense against the spread of Communist tyranny.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Author – The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (www.nara.gov) created the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

Objective versus Subjective Slant – Having responsibility for all presidential libraries from Herbert Hoover onward, Federal records, regional archives, the Federal Register, and the National Archives in Washington DC, NARA has very high standards of integrity to maintain about culling and preserving factual records.

Consistency with Information Elsewhere – The JFK Library is both consistent and more complete than any other information source about the Kennedy years in the White House if only because it houses under one roof all official documents about those years.

Rationale for Choice of Subject and Web Site – Besides the aforementioned points about why Kennedy was a titan among modern American presidents, the Library and Museum enables historians and researchers to delve into the minutiae of the Kennedy presidency. According, the site gives online access to the Presidential Diary (a day-by-record of what went on in the Oval Office), a timeline, historical resources, education and public programs aimed at different audiences, and information about the Profiles in Courage” and “New Frontiers” awards. Far from being a stroll through shelves, the Library endeavors to stay with the times by making full use of interactive tours, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and podcasts to deliver its product: information.

The War Years and Early Political Career (Wallechinsky and Wallace, 1981)

Author –David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace helped produce this extract from “The People’s Almanac” for TriviaLibrary.com.

Objective versus Subjective Slant – No special interests are evident in this site save for the evident goal of serving up “bite-size, two-minutes to read factoids”. Adapting material from an authoritative Almanac and editing the information to be concise, the authors show no inclination to bias for or against JFK.

Consistency with Information Elsewhere – The information matches what Kennedy wrote of his World War II exploit in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage”.

Rationale for Choice of Subject and Web Site – None of these is to denigrate what the authors selected for their entry about the war years and Jack Kennedy’s first dozen-odd years in politics. This short, one-page site asserts that Kennedy wanted to be a writer but the combination of military honors for his heroism in saving the crew of PT-109 and his father’s insistence he had to stand in for elder brother Joseph who had been shot down over Europe paved the way for landslide wins representing the Cambridge district in Congress. Of course, all sites about Kennedy never fail to mention that the clan patriarch was a political wheeler-dealer adept at manipulating Boston politics. But that does not detract from the fact that JFK was eloquent and exuded the kind of stellar appeal that made him a household name all over the world when he ascended to the White House. This was a feat unmatched in the post-World War II era.

Jacqueline Kennedy (The Field Museum)

Author – Chicago’s Field Museum.

Objective versus Subjective Slant – The Web site of the Field Museum is a service portal that normally gives prominence to the scientific and natural attractions that normally comprise the range of exhibits. For six months beginning November 2004, however, the museum displayed the fashion, art, and culture that Jackie as First Lady of the land brought to an unmatched level. There is no question about the facts and the artifacts since all these were on loan from the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

Consistency with Information Elsewhere – Far from conflicting in any way with whatever other chroniclers of JFK had to say about his presidency, the several pages put up by the Field Museum amplify the undeniable: the First Lady was a huge factor in the popularity of John Kennedy.

The rationale for Choice of Subject and Web Site – Those who yearn for glory days inevitably gush that John and Jacqueline Kennedy made Camelot come alive in the American ethos. From the days when she graced her husband’s campaign for the presidency and the all-too-brief time they resided in the White House, Jacqueline was the epitome of beauty, intelligence, grace, culture, and, yes, American motherhood. Heads of state were just as pleased to meet her as her charismatic husband. And when tragedy struck – losing a premature baby in 1963 and the assassination of the President later that year – the world shared her grief and admired her courage.

The facts, still photos, and the film kept by the JFK Presidential Library and Museum are no embellishment of the historical record. Rather, they are a vibrant record of charisma, intelligence, popularity, geopolitical clout, awakening the American spirit of volunteerism, peace and prosperity as the nation neared its second Bicentennial. Camelot did shine briefly but never before nor since.

References

Field Museum, The (2007). Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House years. Web.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (2010). Presidential library and historical museum. Web.

Wallechinsky, D. & Wallace, I. (1981). President John F. Kennedy: World War II and early political life. Web.

White House (n.d.). John F. Kennedy, 1961-1963. Web.

Nakae Chomin, the author of A Discourse of Three Drunkards on Government, was born in 1847. His book was published in1887. This was at a time when Japan had prioritized modernization under the leadership of the Samurai (Meiji Government). Chomin’s book consists of a conversation amongst three people on the different views and directions that Japan ought to take. The debaters included “The Gentleman of Western Learning”, “The Champion and Nankai, acting as a mediator (Chomin 19).

The Gentleman believes in defense idealism and thus suggests the abolishment of the Military and the use of moral approaches to national security. These ideas are clearly impractical. On the other hand, the Champion advocates for the conquering of a nation, specifically in Asia or Africa, in order to strengthen Japan so that she may be able to avoid being subjected to Western powers. This suggestion is both practical and harmful as evidenced in post-war Japan. As the name suggests, the Gentleman has been greatly influenced by the western ideologies, and his ideas are about safeguarding the interests of the Western powers. At the time of writing the book, the Western powers were suggesting pacifism and diplomacy in Japan. This was however impractical given the prevailing unstable conditions. Nations were conquering other nations to strengthen themselves. Here, Chomin may be seen to have used a touch of irony since the French believed in bloodshed at the time. They were advocating for pacifism and yet their national anthem praised the martial art, indicating a possible support for war (Chomin 23).

The champion advocates for the identification of a strategic country to conquer. He represents the military ideas of Japan. The idea to conquer Japan’s neighbors is a reasonable one, considering his advocacy for military action that was paramount at the time. However, the champion ignores the possibility of intervention by other countries. His suggestion is harmful. This is confirmed when Japan wins the 1895 war against China and goes ahead to impose terms in their favor. The attempt to impose the terms leads to an intervention by Russia, Prussia and France limiting the power of Japan over China (Chomin 48).

Nankai talks about forming a trade agreement with China instead of conquering it. He is of the opinion that the Champion and the Gentlemen are excessively concerned about the acquisition of colonies. Nankai was right since Japan was far from being a potential colony. The Gentleman’s suggestion of pacifism could be seen as an expression of fear of the military potential of Japan or the protection of colonial targets of the Western powers. On the other hand, the Champion’s suggestion of military action could be seen as move to protect Japan from subordination and empower her for acquisition of colonies. Therefore, Nankai’s work satirizes the conquest contest of the Western powers and Eastern countries. Nankai sees the destructive potential of the territorial conquest of these two regions. The value of his work is increased by a confirmation of his fears. Two decades after his work, the First World War started, with Germany’s territorial greed being a substantial trigger. The Second World War also followed as a result of the conflicts of the First World War and power contests by nations. The Meiji Constitution followed in 1889, two years after Nakae’s book (Chomin 34).

The Meiji constitution was made in disagreement with the ideas of the Gentleman. The establishment of the Emperor in the Meiji constitution was in disagreement with the gentleman’s ideas of liberty and equality. Article 20 of Chapter II requires Japanese subjects to comply with military duties assigned to them. This is the opposite of the Gentleman’s suggestion about Pacifism. The above stated Meiji Constitution issues are in conformance with the ideas of the Champion. This is actually what Chomin expected. He chose the Character of the Champion to represent the Japanese ideas of military power and acquisition of more subjects. It can thus be concluded that the constitution embodied the ideas of Chomin’s book. This is because is description of the intention of the Japanese was portrayed in the Meiji Constitution. The military choice of Japan had many repercussions during the twentieth century. Although Japan was victorious in the First World War, she was valued during the treaty of Versailles. The main participants were the U.S., France, the U.K. and Japan but Japan was looked down upon (Gordon 118). Japan also failed to secure a racial equity clause in the League of Nations that resulted in the 1924 declaration by the U.S. that barred Japanese immigration. These hard feelings between Japan and the U.S. continued until the 1940’s when Japanese Military attacked U.S. navy in Port Harbor. This led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that affected Japan adversely (“Constitution of The Empire of Japan, 1889,” 1- 3)

Chomin’s analysis of the political status of Japan and the forces to which the political environment was subjected was perfect. This is evidenced by the fact that Japan chose the “Champions” choice over the “Gentleman’s” choice in the Meiji constitution and the fact that Chomin’s opinion, that the Western power and Japan were being overly concerned about acquisition of subjects, was confirmed by the repercussions of the fight over colonies.

Works Cited

Chomin, Nakae. A Discourse By Three Drunkards on Government. New York: Weatherhill, 1984. Print.

Gordon, Andrew. A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.

The Meiji Constitution. “Constitution of The Empire of Japan, 1889,” Web.

Martin Luther King Jr was born on January 15th 1929 in Atlanta Georgia and served as a co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta from 1914 to 1931. He later attained his first B.A degree in 1948 from Morehouse College. Having served in the church ministry, martin later joined Crozer Theological Seminary where he was awarded B.D in 1951 before later enrolling at Boston University in 1953 where he pursued his doctorate degree. This paper seeks to analyze some of the civil rights activities which Martin Luther King Jr. undertook during his lifetime as well as addressing his key participation in the Vietnam War.

It was during the WWII period that the man became active in the civil rights movements. For instance, he led his first great Negro nonviolent demonstration in 1955, a demonstration that was involved bus boycott that lasted for 382 days. The participants advocated for the unconstitutional declaration of the law requiring segregation on buses. During the same period, King was arrested, abused and his home was bombed. Nevertheless, the man was ranked as the first Negro leader (Jackson & King (Jr.), 2007, p.329).

Martin Luther King Jr was elected the president of the southern Christian leadership conference in 1957. Indeed, the1957-1968 period was characterized by a lot of traveling across the region. He delivered powerful speeches which were meant to stop the social and economic injustices to the black Americans. In 1965 King vividly opposed the US military involvement in the Vietnam War and as the Blacks spokesman, he pointed out that the US government was exploiting the poverty conditions of the black people by sending them into the war.

The best trait in the King’s behavior was that he always insisted on peaceful demonstration, an indication that shows that he was a diplomatic leader. He was nevertheless frustrated by the opposition which always countered his moves by use of violence. King was courageous and strong activist who stood for what was considered right without fear of his personal security as many activists do. His courageous moves were observed in 1967 when he openly opposed the government stand on the Vietnam War. His persistent nature to pursue what was right was seen during this period as many civil rights leaders criticized this move. For instance, on April 4th 1967, King delivered a powerful speech in the New York City entitled “Beyond Vietnam: the time to break the silence”. He clearly denounced the US move against the Vietnam where, according to him, the country needed a big moral change. He never considered violence a solution to any problem instead it fueled the soar relationship between the conflicting parties. He greatly believed in dialogue power and always emphasized negotiations between the warring nations.

The fact that the US government took the advantage of poverty level in the black American communities to subject them to the risky war environment heightened his opposition. King believed that it wasn’t effective at all to invest huge sums of money in the war while people were still hardly surviving in the region due to the increased poverty level (Ling, 2002, p.242). He emphasized that the government should learn to prioritize its budget by considering the American issues first and let the others follow. Martin Luther King Jr is and will still remain a hero as he stands out for the best interest of the American people and more so for the poor communities. His integrity therefore went beyond what many will sacrifice for their fellow colleagues. His true character can also be observed by how he was assassinated. King was shot in Memphis, Tennessee where he had gone to further his civil rights activities for the sanitation workers.

Whenever one initiates a move in such justice and truth, nothing should come in between as the dream and own initiative should be the driving force. There may be very many discouragements and frustrations along the way, but this should not deter you from reaching out to your dream. Martin Luther King Jr was a role model whose death was not only an American loss but a worldwide loss.

References

Jackson, T. F & King (Jr.), M. L. (2007). From civil rights to human rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the struggle for economic justice. Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Press.p.329. Web.

Ling, P.J. (2002). Martin Luther King, Jr. New York, Routledge. P.242. Web.

Introduction

The Tonkin Gulf resolution was made in 1964 by President Johnson in response to what Johnson term as an attack from the North Vietnamese in an international water body. In response to the attack, Johnson sought to acquire power from Congress to repel any further attack from Vietnam. In his address to the Congress, Johnson accused North Vietnamese naval ship of firing into the US’s ship which was off the coast of Vietnam in an international water body in the Gulf of Tonkin. Consequently, he asked for extra powers from Congress to respond to the attack which was granted unanimously by Congress. As a result, the resolution was passed and Johnson acquired powers to take any kind of action against any attack on the US naval ships. According to Johnson, the resolution was to promote international peace and justice and to protect the existence of the US naval ships in the international water body from attacks by the Vietnam Communists¹.

Though this resolution was made to promote international peace, its constitutionality was highly in doubt. Was the resolution arrived at according to the requirements of the US constitution? Many scholars have argued that the resolution was not done constitutionally and that it was done with a sinister motive since it has been argued out that North Vietnamese had not attacked any naval ships belonging to the US and that the resolution had already been drafted six months before the alleged attack. This research paper will examine the constitutionality of the 1964 Toxin Gulf Resolution and what would have happened to incase the resolution would not have been repelled. In discussing the resolution, it would be essential to discuss the events leading to the resolution.

Events leading to the resolution

In July 1964, the US launched an investigation into the North Vietnamese defense forces hence deployed their naval ship in the Gulf of Tonkin. In addition to these investigations, they were supporting the southern Vietnamese to fight the northern Vietnamese. On 1st August, the northern Vietnamese mistakenly fired into the Maddox naval ship of the US presuming it was a southern Vietnamese ship. The Maddox managed to destroy one of the attacking boats and returned safely to the waters of the southern. On 4^th August the same year, the Maddox and another warship known as Turner Joy launched a patrol in the water body². In the process of patrolling, the ships sense a radar signal which they believed came from the Torpedo boats and as a result, started firing into the radar target. However, it was not an attack as they had initially presumed. According to General Vo Nguyen Giap who was the commander in charge of the Northern Vietnamese army, there was no attack from the Vietnamese on August 4. Therefore, this was just an illusion by the US naval forces that were looking for a way to attack the northern Vietnamese³.

The Constitutionality of the Resolution

According to the US constitution, Congress is bestowed with the power to declare war while the President has been bestowed with the powers to finance the war. The 1964 Toxin resolution gave the President extraordinary powers to deploy troops at any moment the president felt the country was under threat from outside forces. To a large extent, the resolution overturned the constitution requirement from Congress to declare war since President Johnson used the powers bestowed to him by the resolution to enter and finance the Vietnamese war without the declaration of war by Congress. This was unconstitutional since the constitutional requirement of the country state that the President can only wage war against a given country after the declaration of war by Congress⁴.

The Repel of the Resolution

Over time, US participation in the Vietnamese war had been left without a lot of scrutiny from both the public and Congress. By the year 1967, the participation of the US in the Vietnam War became costly and thus led bureaucrats to question the legal existence of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. Consequently, the call for repeal of the resolution began⁵. In an investigation carried out on Maddox by the Senate Committee on foreign affairs, the investigation revealed that Maddox was an investigation ship that intended to dig out information from the North Vietnamese forces. In addition, the report indicated that there was not real second attack as claimed by the US naval army from the Northern Vietnamese.

This was done by checking the messages received and communicated during the alleged second attack in the US naval base located in the Philippines. Therefore, according to the report, there was a need for US participation in the war since there was no actual threat of the Vietnamese army on US naval ships. The committee, therefore, suggested a repeal of the resolution which was in the first instance rejected. However, after further consideration, Nixon’s administration decided to reconsider their view on the repeal. Consequently, in 1971, President Nixon signed a bill that intended to rescind the resolution and therefore limit the powers of the President to wage war against any country without the approval of Congress.

The Consequences that might have occurred had the Resolution not been Revoked

The United States of America has put it upon them to prioritize international peacebuilding. The State has included in its constitution and many treaties which allow it to even resort to military action to achieve this course. Such is the basis that the US founded its military action against Vietnam. The Vietnamese and other Southeastern Asian countries in most cases had deliberately violated the peace resolution and attacked naval and their country’s vessels, hence posing threat to international peace. The Gulf Tonkin Resolution proved to be too costly for Johnson Administration. President Johnson faced both international and internal opposition to his move of authorizing the attacks. Critics argued that the process offered the states a “blank check” and was better done away with. By 1967, the pressure was unbearable⁶. So when Nixon assumed office in 1969, he immediately warned of the dire consequences of the resolution for South-East Asia. Nixon reasoned that there was a possibility that the war would have gone beyond Vietnam into other borders. He, therefore, used his authority as the Commander in Chief of the military force and withdrew U.S forces from Vietnam…under a policy known as “Vietnamization” (Finney, 1968).

Had the resolution not been revoked, many nations would have taken sides in the war and sparked another worldwide revolution. There could have been serious bloodshed and aggression would have spread to completely new heights. To make matters worse, there was a grievous public opposition to the war that was creating tension within the US’s territorial borders. Many fathers and mothers criticized the government’s decision to send their sons to a war that had seemingly no benefit to their nation or its interests. In 1971, President Nixon succeeded in getting Congress to repeal the resolution. He decided to leave the United States out of the South Asian war and let the Asians solve their differences alone. Nixon got the full backing of the House of Representatives and the Senate to repeal armed attacks by US forces and circumvent any auxiliary aggression.

Conclusion

From this research, I will conclude by saying that it was necessary for the US government under the guardianship of President Johnson to pass the Tonkin resolution for the protection of the US forces. However, I do not support the overriding of the constitutional provision to declare by the President as was with the case with Johnson who extended the war on Vietnam with the declaration of war by Congress. This was unconstitutional and it undermined the US democracy. In my view, future involvements in war by the US should be approved fully by congress so that each organ of the government can fully exercise its power.

Bibliographies

Austin, Anthony. The President’s war: the story of the Tonkin Gulf resolution and how the nation was trapped in Vietnam. Michigan: Lippincott. 1971.

Finney, John. Tonkin Inquiry by Fulbright to Call McNamara. The New York Times. 1968-01-31v. 1968.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident. History Mania. Web.

Moise, E E. Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press. 1996.

Peter Dale Scott. Korea (1950), the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and 9/11: Deep Events in Recent American History. The Asia Pacific Journal: Focus. Web.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Novelguide. Web.

Footnotes

1. TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION. Novelguide. Web.
2. Gulf of Tonkin Incident. History Mania. Web.
3. Peter Dale Scott. Korea (1950), the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and 9/11: Deep Events in Recent American History. The Asia Pacific Journal: Focus. Web.
4. Anthony Austin. The President’s war: the story of the Tonkin Gulf resolution and how the nation was trapped in Vietnam. Michigan: Lippincott. 1971.
5. Edwin E. Moise. Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press. 1996.
6. John Finney. Tonkin Inquiry by Fulbright to Call McNamara. The New York Times. 1968-01-31v.

Several factors were behind the development of the Colonial United States of American society (Jack, 170) but of all these factors, the more outstanding one was religion. Religion, in general, was a key factor in the development of the colonial United States since religion and the state governance of that day were tied together and the leadership from American colonization had were known and believed to be inspired by God. The kings’ religion tended to dominate over the American soil during the colonial period in North America, and analysts believe that religion was behind the formation and development of most states of the United States (Coontz, 126). Although religion worked for hand in hand with other factors such as politics and many more other factors in making colonial North America be what it was at that time even up to today.

The legislative context of North America in the colonial time was dominated by religious assumptions (Jon and Harry, 45). Since many people during the colonial era in America stayed in the villages, they were driven by a powerful belief in religion and God, there was a strong sense of social order and the wrongdoers were appropriately punished whenever they went against the social norms which were principally derived from religious values. The aspects of subordination and hierarchy also had a powerful role in that society.

Although politics and the common laws of England played a vital role in shaping the lives of many colonial-era Americans, most of the leaders during this era had a powerful influence on the kind of justice system that existed during that time. Legal customs and law were one of the main factors that guided the leaders and judges in establishing what was good and right to be abided by by the populace of that time and for a very long time, these leaders and many elites of that time were mainly religious leaders. One of the examples of such religious leadership included Quakers in Pennsylvania and Puritans in Massachusetts. Quit outstanding legal cultures were hence formed in the colony and were very distinct in the northern part of America (Coontz, 124).

During the colonial time in America, many of the common people were unreligious but many of their leaders were strong religious people, in this era, many individuals come to the colony in search of opportunities in business and livelihood, and some distinctive aspects of these newcomers was that majority of them who even at one time become leaders, we’re looking for new ways of practicing their religious values and doctrines, some of these newcomers were aspired to creating godly paradise in America, and come up with a society which could be religious.

It is not quite a coincidence when religious leaders and politicians of our time today who occasionally pander to religious precision are claiming that they are focused on the same thing. The colonial American leaders who were looking towards establishing a God-fearing society were the mastermind architects of great America which come later after they were gone.

Religion was behind the shaping and growth of the colonial ways of life in the United States society. It was behind the development of economy in the American British colony, much finances were used to erect church buildings and I initiating church related businesses and programs (Jon and Harry, 66). Religion was behind the development of the unification of majority of the people towards following one belief and value of Christianity and practicing the Christian ways of life and abiding by the doctrines of the religion of Christianity. Hence religion-inspired almost every aspect of the colonial North American individual.

Since the king of England of that moment happened to be a strong Protestant Church attendant. The other religion of that era were forced to practice their worship in secrecy and were even demoralized by the Protestant fraternity (Morgan, 24). Quakers, Puritans, and many more other groups of religion were worried to find a way to unreservedly practice their faith. This populace soon started to move to North America where they then were able to find absolute freedom. As a result of this movement of individuals with their diversities in religious doctrines into North America, there was an accompanying effect on the social, political, and economical status of that time.

Religion subjectively affected the way the American economy grew during the colonial time. Since religion happened to be on the people’s hearts and affected and influenced the movement of immigrants into America. The way these individuals used their money reflected this factor. Much of the development money was used to erect church buildings throughout America. For example, Calvert George who was the founder of Terra colony, which is the current Maryland state, is the place where many Catholics settled, to get religious freedom. Since the whole of the American society had the majority of catholic followers, many catholic churches were established in various parts of America. Another example of how religion played a vital role in the economic growth of American society was through the colonies’ great development of the churches. The Great up rise of the Church aimed at unifying all the people to follow the religious ways of life. Priests, Ministers and religious promoters of all religions, produced books, erected more church buildings, and made programs which were aimed at bringing individuals back to the fellowship of the church. The many books produced and sold created economic growth for the driving of Church business, and enabled them to use more finance to build more churches. This illustrates how religion was so outstanding in America during the colonial era.

Religion played an important role in how the American colonial societies developed socially. For example, William Penn led the long-oppressed Puritans from Britain to Pennsylvania, where they created their new settlement (Morgan, 36). The colony was comprised exclusively of Puritans. This greatly influenced the way individuals lived and associated with each other. Since almost all the people belonged to the major religious groups of that time, religion was then a vital component in a person’s life. Traditions were then derived from the religious daily life activities of people. For instance, as it was then during that time, all the individuals who stayed in Plymouth were all Puritans and they submitted their lives to sharing the same beliefs and practices. This kind of closeness and similar associations did not only happen amongst the Puritans but were a similar scenario across America even among those individuals who practiced other doctrines such as the Quakers and so on. Religion was so vital in people’s coexistence and it played a major role in impacting on their social livelihood.

In the past colonial times in the United States of America, the most important aspect that religion influenced was politics, religion had a considerable effect on the way the colonial society developed politically. For example, Winthrop who was the leader of Puritans in Massachusetts Colony was both their political and religious leader, religion and politics were one in the same throughout the colony (Jack Greene, 98). Many religious ways of life and beliefs turned into enacted laws in the American society during the colonial times. For example, when Hutchinson and her colleagues, went against the Puritans’ expectations and traditions, she was immediately told to move out of the colony as a form of punishment. Hutchinson’s followers were then branded as the Antinomians; this simply means that “the people who went against the law.” Her violation of religious viewpoint was hence not honored by the government, since the state and the churches were the same (Jack Greene, 102).

The close relationship that occurred between the state and the church became a mounting problem, and in the long run, lead to Williams Roger’s resolving to the idea of separating the two into disconnected entities. Rhode Island, a colony that Williams took control of, was amongst the very first to aspire for the disconnection of the state’s affairs and the church. Williams’s conceptual ideas of breaking the state and the Church into separate entities made it possible for individuals to start practicing their values and way of life in any other colony, and eventually, this kind of resolution by Williams was later on used in the coming up with the Constitution of the USA. The affiliation of the state to the church elaborates how outstanding religion was in influencing the practice and development of politics in the colonial era American society.

The written law in the colonial American society was used as an enforcement arm of the already established religious accepted beliefs. For this reason, the law itself could not be sufficiently understood without understanding the doctrines of religion which was underlying the law. It was quit evident that the system of justice in the colonial era was specifically designed to realization of a more religious society and the law was almost completely paternalistic. In a protective society, the society is modeled after the ultimate goal of realization of good governance and justice and is supposed to be practiced from the household level. Community influential leaders served as uncompromising parents to the young, this was believed to be a responsibility of the elders from God to the parents to take care of the young. Members of the society were taught the doctrines of religion and were supposed to adhere to good religious practices as a result. This illustration of government and family is not different from what modern times’ church leaders are occasionally teaching.

And while the judges and the religious rulers formed the regulations, the heavy burden was felt among the common people for example the claves and the children. The American colonial society could have been less hierarchical and stratified unlike the English society, but it was evident that it had a very long way to go. Progression opportunities existed, but this was only limited to the white men.

When one violated the norms of the community it also meant that the individual had also refused to adhere to the virtues which were handed down by the almighty God. There was no clear distinction between “crimes” and “sin”. Godliness and religion was a major way of life of many religious leaders, and they in turn subjected the lives of the other colonists. Since religion was the basis of the society, particularly in some areas, it became the responsibility of the ruling to sustain, give confidence and certainly put into effect what was regarded as the, “one true belief and faith”.

The institutions of the government was highly considered as the representation of Gods administration on Earth and the laws were thought not to have been formulated by people but by the almighty God for the good of men on earth.

As the American colonial society concentrated on forming a God-fearing leadership system, the justice system was different from the modern-day experience. Justice in colonial American times especially in the Puritan colony was inquisitorial (Morgan, 48). The personnel who presided over the cases were not autonomous people, but instead, they were supposed to be religious and political leaders also, who were to have a stake in what went on in the society. Although these magistrates were supposed to exercise fairness they were also controlled by political and religious underlying doctrines in the execution of their work, one of their core roles was to ensure discipline and order. The kind of law they formulated and passed of course reflected the above-mentioned underlying values, and hence their decisions in the court followed suit.

The judges strongly had confidence that they had an upper hand over the other people as subjected to them from God to rule over the community and lead the people down the path of religious righteousness. In the courts and the community, they were supposed to be role models to the people which they ruled. The core purpose of the court business was not really to establish the innocent and the guilty, but it happened that the judge who was also a prosecutor always found people guilty of the offense in question.

Court trials in the colonial American society were of great social importance, since the kind of offense that the offender had performed was not merely a legal wrongdoing but sin against the almighty God and therefore the godly order was supposed to be established, hence it was believed that a guilty judgment was not simply a reason for punishment, but also an avenue for repentance. It was a sort of Godly authorized societal theater where the legal system of the community was community affirmed and the wrongdoer also regarded as a sinner was punished to return to the proper ways of the society.

It is quite evident that all this kind of governance and systems which dominated the colonial American society has all changed. There have been drastic reforms in the ways of governance, phenomena such as; urbanization, democracy, globalization, and industrialization have come into play in shaping modern American society. Religious leaders have lost much of their influence on governance and leadership (Gordon, 243). Social order has gradually become less dependent on the religious doctrines but instead on economic stability and what specific groups them as morally right.

Some questions can be asked up to this point, such as do Americans want crimes to be synonymous with sins?, do Americans want a justice system that maintains societal cohesion with a strong basis on religious principles? And also do Americans want the state governance system to be an instrument of the almighty God, which is modeled to ensure God’s will? These questions do not necessarily need to be answered, although they can reflect what colonial American society was like.

In conclusion, it can be seen that although politics played a vital role in the development of the colonial American society, but religion was the most important in establishing and sustaining the American colonial society’s systems (Gordon, pg 36). Considerably efforts were exhibited by many leaders during this era to bring people into the church and in leading godly lives. Socially, religious doctrines influenced the daily lives of American people, and how they related to each other. Religion had such an enormous cause on the intensification of political affairs through the American colonies to an extent where at one particular point the government and religion were the same (Gordon, pg 42). Later on, laws were formulated which changed this kind of attachment between religion and government to keep Americans free in their indulgence as far as religion and government were concerned.

Works Cited

Jon, Butler and Harry, Stout. Religion in Colonial America. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Jack, P. Greene. Pursuits to Happiness: The Social Growth of Early Contemporary British Colonies, North Carolina University Press, 1988.

Jack, Greene. The American History Analysis. USA: McGraw hill, 2000.

Morgan, Edmund. “The Puritan Family.” American Historical journal, 22 (1998): 24- 48.

Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Never Were: The Comprehensive History of America. USA: Macmillan Publishers, 1992.

Gordon, Myron. Assimilation into American Way of Life: The Role of Religion, Race and Origin of Nationality. US: Oxford University Press, 1964.

History of the Cherokees

The Cherokees form the largest Native American tribe in the United States and Canada.

(De Capua, 2006, p. 5). Numbering around three hundred thousand, they once lived in the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains. They were a strong people and owned a large area of land in the 17^th and 18^th centuries (Voelker, 2006). The first Cherokee capital Tanasi gives its name to the state of Tennessee. The aboriginal home of the Cherokees was found in what is today the southern Appalachians of North America (Fox, 2003, p. 256). The main portion of their homeland was Western North Carolina but they also lived further south in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

The history of the Cherokees begins from the times when the ancestors hunted huge beasts in the mountains. Accounts from archaeology vouch for the facts. Mastodon bones with marks of spear points in them of about 11000 years of age have been confirmed. Historians believe that the Cherokees were descended from the Iroquoian people (Fox, 2003, p. 356). They call themselves Ani-Yunwiya which means “principle people”. Others believe that the Cherokee dialect point to the fact that that the Cherokee dialect arose from the pre-Cherokees and that both Iroquoian and Cherokee people descended from them.

With the warming up of climate, villages appeared. The life of the Cherokees included weapons like the carved fishhook, stone mortars and pestles to grind corn and soon they had agriculture, made their historic handicrafts and lived in towns. Politics and war were rampant as in any ancient tribes. The towns of 500 inhabitants had the houses built around a central plaza where meetings and cultural activities took place. They were ruled in a democratic manner with the involvement of all the elders (Thomas Legion). The towns were blockaded from enemies. Posts were placed six to eight inches apart with saplings and cane filling the spaces. Each village had a council house which was built near the stream to enable the residents’ ceremonial baths following rituals. General meetings and cultural activities were often held in the plaza. There was a peace chief, a war chief, and a spiritual leader.

The Cherokees were mainly farmers and hunters. Their agricultural crops included corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, and tobacco and women looked after them. The men were responsible for providing the meat. It was a matrilineal society (Fox, 2003, p. 356). The household was the landholding unit and the crops were for the household. Joint or extended families were the trend. The man would be living with the wife’s family. In winter they stayed in a conical house called asi which was placed over a pit and which had a hearth. Pursuing ‘duyuktv’, the right way, each person became a ‘real person’. Food was in abundance. They had appropriate shelter, clothes, utensils and herbal treatment for all illnesses they had. Men wore clothes of long deerskin in winter made of turkey feathers or animal fur. Fur cloaks were worn for warmth (De Capua, 2006, p. 22). Women wore deerskin skirts wrapped around their waists. They were mostly barefoot except in winter. Their belongings included prehistoric ceremonial paraphernalia like “atlatl weights, embossed copper plates, rock-art, temple statuary, and other stone figurines, carved shell cups, and gorgets, maskettes, smoking pipes, shell trade beads, shiny raw materials, birdmen, thunderbirds, pileated woodpeckers, turkey cocks, owls, copper and clay bears, underground or underwater panthers, various serpents and snakes, frogs, otters, trees, motifs of military strength and war, representations of mortuary treatment of corpses, symbols of death and the journey to an afterlife, symbols of the four directions and the axis mundi, other beings of the above and below realms of the cosmos, sun signs, floating islands, the weeping eye, and the eye-in-hand motif” (Carr, 2008, p. 503).

The first contact that Cherokees had with Europeans was in 1540 when a Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, arrived with his army (De Capua, 2006, p.7). Then the Juan Pardo expedition reached in 1566-68. The mountains that the Cherokees called their home were named the Appalachians by the Europeans. The arrival of the Spanish was in search of gold where there was none. Cornelius Dougherty, an Irishman from Virginia, was the first White trader who lived among the Cherokees in 1690. More English traders then arrived. The immunity of the Cherokees could not withstand the illnesses that the Europeans brought with them. Their population was stricken and diminished greatly due to epidemics. The Cherokee population came down to the 11000s in 1715. Wars and conflicts did affect the population numbers but it was the disease that diminished it. The population decline was interpreted by the Europeans as a reason for pushing the Cherokees out of their lands (Perdue and Green, 2007, p.11). The Europeans realized that the Cherokees had a right to their land. The fact that they were not Christians appeared to be a sufficient reason for the Cherokees to be denied their right by the Spanish and the French who were on missionary efforts. Other reasons were that the Cherokees were uncivilized and had heathen rituals, lack of proper clothes, different government and war tactics, and family lifestyles.

By the eighteenth century, the English had established norms for considering the level of civilization. They triggered the idea that an uncivilized group of people like the Cherokees had no right to their land, more so now that their numbers had dwindled. The English made the strongest claim for the land. Soon the trade-in deerskins which brought the English to the Cherokee country led them to settle in the villages (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 13). Within a short time, the number of English settlers increased and had taken up residence in most of the Cherokee communities. European manufactured goods and guns were the attractions for the Native Americans. Slave trading also inflicted casualties. Though most of the Cherokees depended on agriculture for their livelihood, they were described as hunters by the whites. In 1780, Thomas Jefferson made a statement to this effect. Though he mentioned agriculture, it was considered of secondary importance as women were in charge of it. The English had started colonization at around this time. They had also started adopting the Cherokee style of agriculture and were interested in acquiring land for sheep rearing (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 14). Slowly the Cherokees were convinced of the opportunities of becoming rich by disposing of their land.

By 1684, the English and Cherokees had started negotiating treaties. These treaties implied that the Native Americans would be able to enjoy the rights of sovereignty or the rights to rule themselves. Alliances were made for traded goods first. In 1730, seven Cherokee headmen were brought to London where they signed a treaty acknowledging the English sovereignty to govern America. The Cherokees agreed to prevent other European powers from having any alliances with them and expose the slaves who sought refuge with them. Though the treaties involved only a few people and the other Cherokees did not consider things the same way and were still resisting, the English twisted things their way. They stressed that the treaties were binding on all Cherokees.

When the Europeans arrived, they had been extended a warm welcome. The Cherokees imbibed the culture of the new people especially the language which they called ‘the talking leaves. They then developed their language through a genius who knew no written language before this, Sequoyah. He introduced this language to the Cherokee National Council in 1821. The people became literate within a short period.

In the next few years, at the behest of the Seventh President of the US, Andrew Jackson, the Cherokees lost their empire to possess finally a quarter of what they had earlier. They also lost their importance as Allies against the French. They had to move to the west of the Mississippi, to Oklahoma. Their lands were eyed by real estate speculators who sold them to cotton owners. Though the Cherokees resisted they were bound by the Indian Removal Act of 1830. In 1838, they were forcibly removed from the East to the West to Indian Territory and the journey was named the “Trail of Tears” (Perdue and Green, 2007). One-fourth of the Cherokees who were moved, about 4000, died from starvation, illnesses, exposure, the tiring march, and the upset caused by exile. Today the Cherokees live in North Carolina and Oklahoma. The Cherokees in North Carolina mainly arise from the 12000 who were exempted from exile. Many had walked back from Oklahoma. In the treaty of the new Echoic of 1835, William Holland Thomas had arranged the exemption from the removal of many Cherokees who remained in North Carolina. The trail of tears has been described not just as a Cherokee tragedy or Indian tragedy but as an American tragedy (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. xvi). Many people were against the removal of the Cherokees and John Ross fought against it in the Supreme Court but this did not produce any favorable results. The promise of democracy was denied them. In 1907, Oklahoma was admitted to the Union to become the 46^th state.

Beliefs

Different clans have been identified and the color of the feathers adorning their headwear would be different depending on the clans: aniwadi (paint clan), anigategewi (wild potato clan), anisahoni (wild cat clan), anigilohi (wind clan), anitsiskwa (bird clan), aniwahiya (wolf clan) and ani-awi (deer clan) (Thomas legion). The Indians (Ojibway) believed that they descended from the moon on a web spun by a giant spider (Kelley, 2005, p. 473). Some others believe they descended from the stars. Others say they came from the Pleiades.

The Cherokee were a religious people (De Capua, 2006, p. 27). They believed in one God Unayklanahi who was the creator of all things (Jahtohli Rogers, Cherokee nation). Every living thing had a spirit provided by the Creator. The spirits of birds and animals were used to carry messages to them. Their dreams also carried such messages from the spirits. The creator has been given a name that means “The Elder Fires Above”. The Creator is believed to have three parts which have names which mean “head of all power”, “place of uniting”, and “place below the breast”. The entrance of Christianity and the explanation of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit led the Cherokees to believe that this new religion had some similarities to theirs.

The beliefs of the Cherokees could be simulated to those of most aboriginal tribes all over the world. The world was believed to have been created with the moon and stars by beings that came down from high above (Thomas legion) at the time of a new moon and when fruits were ripe. The sun is worshipped to shower them with the abundance of food and to allay illnesses. The moon was important in religion and festivals were observed with each new moon. The fire was considered a blessing to them and a gift from the sun and moon. The morning star represented a wicked priest who killed people. He had escaped to the skies when a plan was made to kill him. The good would go to a pleasant place with plenty of light while the bad would reach one where they would be tortured. The soul would go back to the place where the person had lived for an equal period and then go to the place where he had earlier been in his other birth and so on till he completed the cycle of all his births and leaves for eternal fate. There are believed to be seven heavens and the Supreme Being is in the first.

The Cherokees have their version of how the Earth was made. Once there was nothing but water, it seems. All animals lived above the Sky Rock or Galunlati in the Cherokee language. As it was crowded, a decision was taken to send one of them to find out what was under the water. A water beetle volunteered but failed to find dry land. It came back with some mud from the bottom of the water and this mud is believed to have grown and spread to form the Earth, floating on water and being held up by four cords attached to the Sky Rock (De Capua, 2006, p. 29). Another belief was that the earth was flat and wet. Next, the birds went in search of dry land. When the Great Buzzard took his turn, he flew and reached Cherokee country where whenever his tired wings failed him, they would flap against the earth to make valleys. Whenever they recovered, the mountains were formed. As the animals realized what was happening, they called him back for fear of more mountains being created. Cherokee is believed to be full of mountains due to this episode. To dry the earth that they had, they got the sun on a track to cross the wetland (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 2). The home of the Cherokees consisted of the mountains, valleys, and the gentle sun.

The first human beings were a brother and sister after the plants and animals. The brother is believed to have struck his sister with a fish causing her to give birth every seven days. This incident is associated with fertility. The large number of people being born gave them a fright that the space on their land would not hold them all if something was not done to stop the “speedy deliveries”. The pattern changed and the women would give birth only once every year (Perdue and Green, 2007, p.2). The first humans, Kanati and Selu had problems similar to Adam and Eve’s. Kanati had sheltered some animals in a cave from where he would secure meat for the population with him. Selu used to make corn edible by rubbing her abdomen and armpit in the storehouse. Their son and another child who had emerged from the river found Kanati’s and Selu’s secrets. They killed Selu thinking she was a witch. Selu instructed them to drag her body around a large circle seven times. They did not bother to do it as she wanted and dragged it around only two times (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 3). This is the reason implied for corn not growing everywhere and hoeing having to be done twice. The two boys spoken about above did one more thing. When people came from afar to get corn for their plantations, the boys gave them seven grains and asked them to plant every evening. They obtained seven ripe ears of corn every night. On the seventh night, they fell asleep and they did not get anything in the morning. It is believed that the Cherokees have had to wait for six months to reap their corn since then.

The Cherokees or Northern Iroquoians have a peculiar but essential element of warfare and prisoner sacrifice: that of taking heads, scalps, and other trophies as a reward for triumph. (Williamson, 2007, p. 190). War was usually raged not for securing land but for avenging the murders of family or friends. Being noticed as a brave warrior is the method to achieve prestige and admiration for young men.

The Cherokees were experts in killing animals and eating them. It is believed that animals decided to make war on humans. The attempt failed. The deer used its spiritual power to afflict humans with rheumatism. Plants helped humans by providing medicines. The Cherokees performed rituals to avoid illnesses caused by animal spirits and emphasized the need to respect all living things (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 4).

The lives of the Cherokees are wrought in spiritual forces. They associated spiritual powers with plants, animals, rivers, mountains, and caves. The mountains are evidence of the great Buzzard’s tale and Kuwahi is believed to be the mountain where the animals met to plot revenge on the humans. The Nantahala river was a place that was frequented by a monster who had the shape of an old woman and ate people (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 5). The Cherokee landscape as it is seen now has many stories behind them including those of moral value.

Religious principles of the Cherokees were not recorded anywhere but handed down by word of mouth and the land was proof of various incidents. They associated the directions with colors. Blue was for the North and meant “trouble and defeat”. White was for the south and meant peace and happiness. Red was for the east and meant success and victory. Black was for the West and meant death. Directions and colors were invoked by conjurors to help their clients achieve things (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 6). The Cherokees were very attached to their land. Forcing them to go west, which was a direction of death, in the Trail of Tears was an action tantamount to leading them to death. Killing animals did not stop but they appeased the spirits by having rituals following the killing. Ceremonies, prayers s and songs filled the atmosphere when the killing was over. Another significant point was that the Cherokees used all parts of the animals killed. Nothing was wasted. The meat was eaten, hides were tanned, tools were made from bones and antlers and sinews as thread. Claws, teeth, and feathers were ceremonial items (Perdue and Green, 2007, p. 7).

The Native Americans have a long journey before they reach the economic status of other populations in America (Duffy and Stubben, 1998, p. 53). Low-paying jobs, seasonal work, and part-time work are what the Native Americans look for. Other statistics are also influenced by the poor economic status.

References

Carr, C. et al. (2008). “The Functions and Meanings of Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Artifacts in Ethnohistorical Perspective” Chapter 11 in The Scioto Hopewell and their neighbours (Eds.) D.Troy Case and Christopher Carr., Springer Science and Business Media

De Capua, S. (2006). “The Cherokee”. Published by Marshall Cavendish.

Duffy, D. and Stubben, J. (1998). “An assessment of Native American economic development’ Studies in comparative international development, Vol 32, No. 4

Fox, M.J.T. (2003). “Cherokee’ in (Eds.) Encyclopaedia of sex and gender” by Charles Ember and Melvin Ember, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York-Boston- Dordrecht –London-Moscow

Kelley, D.H. and Milone, E.F. (2005) “Exploring the ancient skies” Springer Science and Business Media., New York, USA.

Perdue, T and Green, M.D. (2007). “The Cherokee nation and the Trail of Tears” Published by Viking.

Rogers, Jahtlohi “ A people in exodus”. Web.

Thomas Legion. 2009. Web.

Voelker, D.J. (2006). Web.

Williamson, R. (2007). “The History and Archaeology of Northern Iroquoian Trophy Taking”.

Chapter 8 in (Eds.) in “The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by Amerindians” By Richard J.Chacon and David H.Dye, Published by Springer Science and Business Media.