The Triple Wall of Privilege

When Wilson ran against Roosevelt in the election of 1912, the two men were both running on a Progressive reform platform. Roosevelt pushed for a New Nationalism, accepting the power of trusts and proposing some new reforms to widen the power of the federal government's control over them. Wilson, however, pushed for a New Freedom. He wanted to dismantle monopolies and unfair policies that neglected small farmers and business owners. Wilson wanted to restore free enterprise and create a competitive market. Wilson's New Freedom campaign won the election. 

Woodrow Wilson attacked the tariff, banks, and trusts. He saw these three entities as the "triple wall of privilege." 

Tariffs hurt the small farmer while expanding the wealth of prominent industrialists. Wilson created the Underwood-Simmons Act in 1913 to reduce tariffs. It decreased the rate from 40% to 26% and lead to the creation of an income tax under the sixteenth amendment. He also signed the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, banning price discrimination. Wilson's efforts to help the average American lead to the inclusion of Federal-aid and Social Welfare reforms. 

The public had a diminishing confidence in the small banks due to their collapses during various periods of depression. Wilson recognized this and also saw banks as a threat to small farmers and small businesses. The Gold Standard Act, passed by President McKinley, made gold the only standard for redeeming paper money. This made loans too expensive for the average American to take advantage of them. When Wilson became president, he created the Federal Reserve which allowed the countries currency to be more flexible. 

Wilson wanted to break up the monopolies and trusts which made it difficult for small businesses to be successful. He passed the 1914 Federal Trade Commission Act that monitored American business practices. The government would be able to intervene when unfair trade practices were being used or when competition was hindered.

German Immigrants in America

During World War One as any wartime in American history, Nativism reared its ugly head. When the US declared war on Germany anti-German sentiment soared. This caused perhaps one of the largest assimilations in US history as Germans assimilated into the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ethnic group.

German immigrants made up and still do make up the largest ethnic minority in the US. In the 1910 census, there were 8 million first and second generation German immigrants. About one in four students studied German as a second language and some classes in major Midwestern cities offered classes in English or German. However, just a few short years later in 1915, only about 1 percent of schools offered German as a secondary language.

Even Wilson himself denounced German Immigrants, “Any man who carries a hyphen [carring a hyphen means being a German] about with him, carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic when he gets ready.” During the War years and afterward many Germans anglized their names and adopted Anglo-Saxon traditions. This pushing for assimilation was only continued during the second world war. Although prejudice was not quite as high in part due to the assimilation of Germans into American culture the revealing of the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities gave German Americans further reason to distance themselves from their European counterparts. The German assimilation has been so successful that a whopping 97 percent of German Americans speak only English at home.

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2015/02/05/the-silent-minority

https://www.npr.org/2017/04/07/523044253/during-world-war-i-u-s-government-propaganda-erased-german-culture

Mao's Early Writings and Trump Tweets

   In Chapter 19 of Voices of Freedom, there were a few passages written by Mao Zedong describing his opinions on foreign affairs post-WWI.  The late dictator was known for his authoritarian regime that is largely credited for bringing communism to China.  Mao was still young while writing these passages and was likely just learning about Marxism-Leninism.  However, there are still some striking similarities between his early writings and Trump's tweets.

       It's no secret that Donald Trump's twitter account is his main form of communicating his opinions to American citizens.  He is infamous for criticizing world leaders, brushing his administration's ego, and releasing contradictory statements.  However, the main similarity between him and Mao's writings is the subject matter and the formatting.  As described in an article by Billy Pratt, the formatting of Trump's tweets seem to follow a basic set of guidelines.  They consist of a "plain statement posing as fact with a brief reactionary conclusion intended to serve at the author’s opinion."  One example of this is a tweet posted by the president on October 29, 2018.  It reads - "CNN and others in the Fake News Business keep purposely and inaccurately reporting that I said the “Media is the Enemy of the People.” Wrong! I said that the “Fake News (Media) is the Enemy of the People,” a very big difference. When you give out false information - not good!" This tweet accurately follows the guidelines - complete with a reactionary statement at the end.

In Mao's Poor Wilson paragraph, he also states that Wilson behaved like "an ant on a hot skillet". This is posed as a fact due to the formal writing and how it is backed up with 'evidence' throughout the paragraph. It also ends with a reactionary statement meant to serve the author's opinion. Mao finishes the paragraph by saying "I felt very sorry for him for a long time. Poor Wilson!". This is clearly a jab at the late president, and it is also clearly a biased opinion.

       Mao also repeatedly belittles Wilson's tactics with foreign affairs, which is similar to how Trump regularly belittles foreign leaders and/or tactics.  And while I'm not saying that Trump and Chairman Mao are exactly similar, I believe that it is important to point out the similarities in the way they express themselves.

https://killtoparty.com/2016/03/25/how-to-tweet-like-donald-trump-smart/

Mean Girls: American Imperialism Edition

Mean Girls

             I guess it's natural for countries to cry on their counterpart's first try at imperialism.  But, you know, this usually happens when the country is 5.  I'm 100 years old and until today, I was home-based.  I know what you're thinking.  "Non-colonizers are freaks."  Or that we're weirdly religious or something.  But my country's totally normal.

             Except for the fact that both my parent was also a colonizer.  And I've spent the last 100 years doing and undoing and redoing policy.  I had a... life.  But then my country got offered the opportunity to colonize other countries.  So it was goodbye United States and hello Philippines.
             The leader began, "Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that we have a new country joining us.  She just moved here all the way from the U.S.  Welcome."  I don't know if they really wanted to welcome me, but it felt nice.
             The first day of colonization was a blur.  A stressful, surreal blur.  I got in trouble for the most random things.
             - Where are you going?
             - Oh, I have to go use all your resources and force you into buying from our market.
             - You need to ask us.
             - Ok. Can I use all your resources and force you into buying from our market, and maybe even treat you as lessers due to the color of your skin and my own insecurities?
             - Nice try.  Leave.
             I had never lived in a world where my lessers didn't trust me, where they were always trying to fight me.
             - Don't take our culture!
             - Don't call us that!
             I had a lot of friends in America.  But so far, none in Manila.

I chose to write this post from the American perspective, which often in our history sees America as the victim of others' horrific treatment.  The purpose of this is to convey just how ironic American victimization can be and has been when America actively chooses to invade other countries, like the Philippines during imperialism, and strip their cultures and dignity for American benefit.  I used the beginning of the original transcript from the movie and replaced words to make it fit the "mean" American spirit in imperialism.  Enjoy!

Why did Spain not win the Spanish American War?

We all imagine the Spanish empire as powerful and almost God-like in prestige, so it seems almost incomprehensible that America would win so easily. However, Spain had long been a nation in decline. The 19th century was a complete disaster to Spain, Napoleon rebellions and defeats caused Spain to barely survive in one piece. This combined with the fact that Spain had not invested in their navy made them woefully unprepared for the American war machine. Which struck devastating blows at the very beginning of the war. In the end, this is why the Spanish American war was nothing more than "A splendid little war". The US successfully bullied a dying nation and confiscated their lands. One step closer to firmly making this age the age of America

Edith Rooselvents

We all know about Teddy Roosevelt. His wife, however, was a revolutionary in her own right. She changed the white house for the first time in nearly a century by creating the now infamous west wing. At the time Edith was frustrated by the fact that she lives in a quote "Store" because where they lived was also where governmental business was handled. She believed this was highly unhealthy and inefficient for not only her husband but her family as a whole. So she began construction of the west wing. It would serve as the working residence of the president and his cabinet. In order to build this she demolished the old greenhouses in order to build a new building. Edith not only was crucial in the design of the architecture of this new west wing. She also served as the designer. She drew the first blueprints and worked with architects in order to design this new gallery. She also remodeled the white house. greatly expanded the dining room to seat 120 guests. she designed the white house decor to model the European styles of the time. This reflected the art and style at the time and this massive remodeling and expansion of the white house could also be seen as the new found power given to the federal government during this sturring age of imperialism.

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis was an American reporter, social reformer, and photographer who drew attention to the poverty and living conditions of people in the slum of New York City. He was born in on May 3rd, 1849, in Denmark, and came to the US at the age of 21. As an immigrant, he lived in the Lower East Side of New York City, where he saw firsthand many of the horrors of slum life, discovering that the infant death rate was almost 1/10. When he finally found a job as a police reporter, he was determined to reveal these facts to the country. Using early forms of flash photography to take pictures in the dark slums, Riis and his acquaintances first published reports about the slums in newspapers for around 3 years before compiling his photos in his book How the Other Half Lives to draw attention to the crime and poverty in New York City. The book was popular and honest in its gruesome descriptions and photos of the poor. Riis employed melodramatic language, that, paired with actual photos, inspired pity and shame in many of its readers. It even inspired Teddy Roosevelt to contact Riis, telling him “I have read your book, and I have come to help.” The success of the book prompted the New York legislation to address housing issues.The book was also an important step for muckraking journalism. Muckraker journalists observed and detailed the corruption and suffering caused by industry among the poor of America. Riis wrote multiple other books about social hardship and through his works, advocated for reform to housing as well as education for children. The Children of the Poor was written as a sequel to How the Other Half Lives and The Making of An American was Riis’ autobiography, detailing his experiences as an immigrant. Though Riis was sometimes criticized for not actually pushing for government reform and was later called out for his often racist depiction of African Americans in the slums, his work was revolutionary towards journalism, photography, and social reform. Examples of pictures in How the Other Half Lives: Sources: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jacob-riis/reformer.html https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacob-Riis https://www.britannica.com/topic/muckraker https://petapixel.com/2013/06/16/how-the-other-half-lives-photographs-of-nycs-underbelly-in-the-1890s/

Ludlow Massacre

The Ludlow Massacre On April 20, 1914, The Colorado National Guard attacked striking coal miners and their families, resulting in 25 deaths, including 11 children. 11,000 workers who were part of the United Mine Workers of America had been on strike for around 8 months already, having been evicted from company towns owned by Rockefellers’ Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. They set up tent colonies, the largest one housing around 1000 workers. The workers demanded a pay raise, an eight-hour working day, and the right to live and trade outside the company-owned town. Many of these demands were actually required by Colorado law, but were not enforced. The National Guard was sent to deal with the strike after company-hired detectives failed to stop the strike. Though the strikers initially believed the Guard was there to protect them, the Guard opened fire on the the tent colony at Ludlow on the morning of April 20th, prompting the strikers to fight back with pistols and hide in pits. Believing that the strikers had abandoned the colony, the soldiers burned the tents later in the evening. In the morning, the bodies of 11 children and 2 women were found burned and suffocated in a tent. The casualties suffered in the gunfight and the fire became known as the Ludlow Massacre. Initially, many people, especially worker unions were outraged and protested by going on strike and holding public demonstrations. In retaliation, miners attacked town officials and mines, forcing President Wilson to dispatch federal troops to control the miners. The strike and its aftermath officially ended in December 1914. However, there were almost no tangible benefits from the strike. There was no significant changes in working hours or pay, and though trials were held until 1920, none of the soldiers were convicted. The Ludlow Massacre was one of the bloodiest events in the history of American industry. It prompted discussion about labor and striking in Congress, but led to no real change. Though the economy and wealth of America grew as a result of the growth of industry, the common worker suffered terrible working conditions to produce and mine steel and make other products, and were brutally repressed when they did protest. It took many more deaths and strikes like the Ludlow Massacre to help workers gain actual rights and representation. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/event/Ludlow-Massacre https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ludlow-massacre https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/militia-slaughters-strikers-at-ludlow-colorado https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-ludlow-massacre-still-matters https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ludlow-massacre/

Chinese Strike on the Transcontinental Railroad

The transcontinental railroad was one of the largest projects of its time. This project required lots of workers, so the Central Pacific company set out looking for potential workers. When the turnout rates for white workers ended up being low, the company had to look for other workers. Initially, the Central Pacific didn’t want to pay for Chinese workers, due to the hate and prejudices at the time. The railroad eventually overcame this and started hiring the Chinese. However, despite being accepted for the job, the Chinese faced lots of discrimination.

The Chinese workers were always treated inferior to the whites. The Chinese received less pay, had to work longer hours than the whites did, and got the riskier jobs. Jobs like setting explosives and mining in dangerous situations were always reserved for the minority. Eventually, the Chinese reached a breaking point and started to demand better conditions and to be treated equal. When the company owners refused, they decided to go on strike.

This strike however, was very different than the ones that happened with other groups. On June 25, 1867, some 5000 workers from the Central Pacific Railroad company decided to peacefully sit and refuse to work until they got what they wanted. The company directors were scared of all the profits they were losing, so they cut off all supplies to the Chinese until they started to work again. After nearly a month of making little progress on the project without any food, the Chinese started to work again, but without any progress on their status. They were still guaranteed the same pay, same hours, and same rights.

This story hasn’t been talked about much in history, it is often overlooked and ignored. However, nearly 145 years after the incident, one Chinese photographer set out to honor those workers who were never recognized by history. The original golden spike picture was a picture of the two railroads meeting at one point, but only included white workers. Corky Lee decided to create a picture which included the descendants of many workers who were never recognized by history. Even though not many people cared about this back in the 1800s, it’s nice to see that now people do care about the conditions that the Chinese faced.

Sources:
https://www.uscitizenship.info/Chinese-immigration-and-the-Transcontinental-railroad/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/150-years-ago-chinese-railroad-workers-staged-era-s-largest-n774901
http://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/wordpress/faqs/
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/10/311157404/descendants-of-chinese-laborers-reclaim-railroads-history

The Last Indian Resistance

In Fate Grand Order, Geronimo is a true American hero. To summarize a complicated, ridiculous story, in the legendary E Pluribus Unum chapter of this game set in 1783, Geronimo teamed up with various historical figures such as Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Helena Blavatsky, Karna, Nightingale, Rama, Robin Hood, Elizabeth Bathory, Nero, Billy the Kid, and Scathach in order to save America. The enemy was America’s most daunting threat yet - an epic team led by Queen Medb of mythological legends such as Arjuna and Beowulf, along with prominent Celtic heroes such as Cu Chulainn, Fergus Mac Roich, Fionn MacCumhaill, and Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. The game depicts Geronimo making a heroic sacrifice during his failed assassination attempt of Medb, Arjuna, and Cu, after which stuff happened and then somehow America was saved.

In real life, however, history progressed just a little bit differently. Geronimo, born in 1829, was in an Apache tribe. Continuing the Apache tradition of raiding, Geronimo faced tragedy at an early age when his wife and children were killed by Mexicans in 1858. Geronimo was caught between Mexican hostility and American encroachment, as the United States also wanted to restrict Apache movement by cornering them into claustrophobic reservations.

When the United States tried to move the Apaches to a reservation in San Carlos, Geronimo led violent resistances against American authorities. Geronimo was able to constantly evade capture, and American people were terrified as they heard about Geronimo killing both Americans and Mexicans. Geronimo surrendered in 1884 to a U.S. campaign, but then escaped from the San Carlos reservation once again in 1885. He eventually surrendered again in 1886 in the Canyon of the Funnels, only to dash away again. 5000 white and 500 Native American soldiers were sent after him, and he was eventually cornered in the Sonora mountains, ultimately forcing Geronimo to surrender after around a decade of raiding.

Geronimo spent the rest of his life as a U.S. captive, where him and his followers were faced with exile. Geronimo ironically became a celebrity in the very country he so earnestly tried to resist, appearing at various fairs and giving autographs. He was put on display in the St. Louis World Fair (mentioned in a documentary), portrayed as just another attraction in a museum-like exhibit of subjugated people.

The story of Geronimo emphasizes the discriminatory mentality of the United States at this time. Geronimo, the last and one of the most most resilient members of the Native American resistance, was ultimately reduced to nothing more than another interesting exhibit at United States fairs for entertainment. There was no heroic last stand; with the defeat of Geronimo, the Native American resistance was finally over, reduced to a population of second-class citizens in the very country they originated from.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/geronimo

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Geronimo

Upton Sinclair- The Jungle

After hearing about the Muckrakers today in class I was curious to learn more about them. As a whole Muckrakers wrote about, took pictures and used other methods to expose the flaws in American society. Their goals were not only to show the public what was wrong but also to motivate them to stand up and fix the problems. A number of famous Muckrakers are Jacob Riis, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Frank Norris and Upton Sinclair. Each of these Muckrakers each showed the public what they believed were issues that needed to be fixed in their own unique ways. 

Among the many famous Muckrakers, is Upton Sinclair whose book "The Jungle" told gruesome stories about the meat packing industry in Chicago. He was born in Baltimore in 1878 and came from an old Virginia family.  While attending Columbia University he began to sell stories to magazines. He geared his writings towards working class readers. He graduated from Columbia in 1897, got married 3 years later and had one child. He began to start writing novels but struggled to get them published. While struggling to make it as a writer he began to read about socialism. He began to believe in the idea that the government should take control of big business. Then in 1904, the meat-packer's union in Chicago went on strike. They were demanding better wages and working conditions. The strike however was unsuccessful and was broken up by the companies who simply brought in new workers to replace the ones on strike. After the strike the editor of "Appeal To Reason" suggested to Sinclair to write a novel about the strike. Listening to the editor, at the age of 26, Sinclair went to Chicago to learn about the meat packing industry.

While in Chicago, Sinclair went about interviewing workers, their families, doctors, lawyers and social workers. He himself also witnessed the horrifying conditions inside the meat packing plants.  After observing and interviewing Sinclair began to write a fictionalized account of Chicago's Packing town. This book, titled "The Jungle" is what Sinclair has become most famous for. In his novel he writes about a young man named, Jurgis Rudkins. In his novel Jurgis has recently immigrated to Chicago with some friends and family from Lithuania. Filled with hope for a better life Jurgis takes a job as a "shoveler of guts" at a firm named "Durham", which was based on the firm Armour and Co, the leading meat packer at the time. Not too long after starting at this job Jurgis discovered that he as his fellow workers were getting unfair treatment. The company would speed up the assembly line and get more work out of men for the same pay. He also found that the company was not paying the workers anything for working part of an hour. Not only were the wages and hours unfair Jurgis discovers just how dangerous the job is. He sees those working in the pickling room with skin diseases and sees men who work with knives frequently loose fingers. The working conditions were not sanitary. Sick workers got their saliva all over the meats, there were often no toilets and so workers had to go in the corners, and even if there were toilets there was no soap or water. Workers also did not have a lunch room and were forced to eat where they worked. Jurgis experiences many misfortunes while working in this industry  such as becoming injured while working the assembly line. Sadly for Jurgis and others like him there was no worker's compensation and the employer was not responsible for their injured workers. As a result Jurgis, like many other workers, loses everything inclufing his job, house and family.

Along with the working conditions Sinclair slipped in two chapters about the meat itself. Describing how much of the meat was rotten and diseased. He described how the meats were processed and doctored by chemicals and then mislabeled for sale in the public. He wrote about how workers would process mangles, diseased and dead animals after hours when the inspectors weren't around.

This moving fictional story opened the eyes of the public to the horrors of the meat packing industry. However, to Sinclair's dismay, the public cared more about the bad meat they were getting sold that the rights of those who were being forced to process and package it. After the public uproar, President Roosevelt invited Sinclair to the white house to discuss his book. The president appointed a commission to investigate Chigaco's slaughterhouse which confirmed everything that Sinclair had written about. After this a number of laws were passed with the hopes of improving the food industry. Sinclair's novel, along with those of other famous Muckrakers, were able to get a strong enough message to the public to get reforms to be made and change the future of America and its industries.




http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-24-1-b-upton-sinclairs-the-jungle-muckraking-the-meat-packing-industry.html

The Largest Lynching of the US

The largest mass lynching in the United States occurred in Los Angeles on October 24, 1871. Contrary to the expected, the target of this lynching wasn't the blacks, they were actually the Chinese. A ghastly mob of 500 took the lives of 18 men and boys, even including an elderly man and a 14-year-old boy.

It is believed that the massacre sprouted from a rivalry between two Chinese American companies called "Huignan" over the kidnapping of a young Chinese woman. Police discovered the Chinese men fighting and then the Chinese opened fire on the police, killing one civilian who assisted the officers, Robert Thompson. Word that the Chinese were killing "Caucasians" quickly spread. At this time, the Chinese were already not well liked and were considered a threat to the economy.

A mob of 500 or 10 percent of the city's population formed that night and they began to attack the Coronel Building, where the Chinese men hid. 2 Chinese men who tried to run were shot and killed. Another man named Wong Tuck was captured by the mob and hung. The Chinese were forced to makeshift gallows at Tomlinson's corral and Goller's wagon shop, where the wagons were actually used to lynch people. The city marshal Francis off the area, recruited volunteer guards to "shoot any Chinese residents who tried to leave", and then fled the scene. By the end of the night, at least 18 Chinese people had been murdered. Most of the hangings occurred at Tomlinson's corral, including a successful doctor who begged for his life in BOTH English and Spanish, but was still shot in the mouth and had his finger chopped off because he had a ring? Some men were even hanged without their trousers. Additionally, almost every single Chinese occupied building on that block was ransacked and almost every resident was either attacked or robbed.

7 men were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced for 2 to 9 years in prison, but the conviction was eventually overturned based on "technicalities". Additionally, this anti-Chinese mentality eventually led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 188.

I was shocked that I didn't know about this and most Chinese Americans don't even know about this and this was the LARGEST LYNCHING IN US HISTORY! This massacre is often forgotten and not talked about, which really came as a shock to me. For example, even though this is the largest lynching in US history, the site where the lynchings occurred are just across the street from the newly built Federal Office Building and a hall of justice is right near the hanging site.

Has much really changed though?  A lot of people are still killed today based on their race. Some people even still hear things like "they're taking our jobs". The justice system seems to almost malleable when it comes to people of color and that happens even today. However, it's not just the Asian Race, people are often discriminatory to a lot of different races. It's so sad that a lot of crimes and hate result from racial discrimination.

Some pictures from the lynching:

Ida B. Wells

Cathy's back with another post about a prominent woman in history!

Ida B. Wells was an African American journalist who was at the forefront of the antilynching crusade in the US in the 1890s.

Wells was born on July 16, 1862 into slavery. After the Civil War, she enrolled at Rust University, a school for freedmen in her native Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 1878, a yellow fever epidemic hit her hometown and took the lives of her parents and infant brother. Having been left to raise her remaining siblings, she began teaching in a country school in order to support them and continued after moving to Memphis, Tennessee in 1884.

In 1887, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled against Wells in a suit she brought against the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad for being forcibly removed from her seat after she refused to give it up for one in a "colored only" car. This led to her first interaction with journalism. She would write, under the pen name Iola, about issues of race and politics in the South.

After the People's Grocery Store Lynching in which three of her friends were lynched Wells began her campaign against the practice and published multiple pieces condemning it. Locals were enraged and they subsequently destroyed her publication, the Memphis Free Speech. In addition, she was told if she ever set foot in Memphis again she would be killed (she was traveling to New York at the time of the attack). She moved to Chicago and despite the opposition, continued her anti-lynching crusade, first as a staff writer for the New York Age and then as a lecturer and organizer of antilynching societies. She traveled to speak in major US cities and visited the UK twice for the cause. She contributed to the Chicago Conservator, her husband's newspaper, and other local journals.

From 1898 to 1902, Wells served as a secretary of the National Afro-American Council and participated in the founding the NAACP (though she later distanced herself from the organization because she was not content with the white and elite black leadership).

In 1910, she became the first president of the Negro Fellowship League which aided newly arrived migrants from the south. In 1913 she founded what may have been the first black woman suffrage group, Chicago's Alpha Suffrage Club. She also served as a probation officer of the Chicago municipal court. She was militant in her demand for justice for African Americans and in her insistence that it was to be won by their own efforts.

She died on March 25, 1931 at the age of 68 due to kidney disease. To this day she remains a symbol of strength and activism as she worked to reveal the truth and advocate for equality despite countless obstacles.

Sources:
https://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-wells-9527635
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ida-B-Wells-Barnett

Madam C.J. Walker: A Self-Made Millionaire

While watching a documentary in class about Jim Crow laws and discrimination faced by African Americans, a woman named Madam C.J. Walker was briefly mentioned. So, to keep on track with my other posts about important and underrated women in history, I decided to some more research about her.

Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, is generally acknowledged as the first black female millionaire in the United States. Walker was born on December 23, 1867 on the same cotton plantation where her parents, Owen and Minerva Anderson Breedlove were enslaved before the Civil War. She was orphaned at age seven and married at 14 to escape the abuse of her brother-in-law. At age 20, her husband, Moses McWilliams died and she moved with her daughter to St. Louis, where her older brothers were barbers.

In order to support herself and her daughter, Walker worked as a poorly paid washerwoman for more than a decade. She also joined St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Chruch where she sang in the choir and was mentored by members of the National Association of Colored Women. It was at this time that she began experimenting with her own formula to cure scalp infections that caused baldness. For about two years, she was a sales agent for Annie Turnbo, the founder of the Poro Company. After being sent to Denver by Turnbo in 1905, she worked as a cook for a pharmacist, from whom she learned the basic chemistry needed for her to perfect an ointment that healed dandruff and other hygiene-related ailments common during that time given the fact that most Americans lacked indoor plumbing. A year later, she married Charles Joseph Walker and began achieving local success with what would become known as the "Walker Method" or the "Walker System of Beauty Culture."

In 1908, after two years of training Walker agents and "beauty culturists" throughout the southern and eastern United States, Walker and her husband settled in Pittsburgh, where she opened the Lelia College of Beauty Culture, a school named after her daughter. Drawn to the railroad hub of Indianapolis, she relocated the headquarters of the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company there in 1910.

From there, she continued to develop her business by traveling across the US and providing career opportunities and economic independence for thousands of African American women who otherwise would have been consigned to jobs as maids, cooks, laundresses, and farmhands. These women became saleswomen and sold Walker's products door to door. In addition to door-to-door sales, Walker sold via mail order and also demonstrated her products in churches, schools, and other gathering places. She took lessons in public speaking and penmanship, and cultivated a striking public persona, she appeared in fine clothing and a chauffeur-driven electric carriage. In 1913, she expanded internationally when she visited the Caribbean and Central America. Six years later, she had 25,000 active Walker sales agents.

Walker also established herself as a philanthropist, most notably, with her $1,000 gift to the African American Young Men's Christian Association building fund in Indianapolis in 1911 and her $5,000 contributed to the NAACP's anti-lynching fund in 1919. Walker also provided scholarships for students at several black colleges and boarding schools and also contributed financial support to orphanages, retirement homes, and the fund to preserve Frederick Douglass's home. She was also active politically, speaking out against lynching at the Negro Silent Protest Parade and during a visit to the White House in 1917 as well as advocating for the rights of African American soldiers that served in France during WWI.

Madam C.J. Walker died of hypertension on May 25, 1919, at age 51. At the time of her death, Walker was the sole owner of her business that was valued at more than $1 million. Her personal fortune was believed to be between $600,000 and $700,000 In 1927, the Walker Building, an arts center that she had begun working on before her death, was opened in Indianapolis. It is now a registered National Historic Landmark. In 1998, the United States Postal Service created a stamp of Madam C.J. Walker as part of its "Black Heritage" series.

Though her philanthropic efforts are inspiring it is her story of success that makes her a truly remarkable figure in history. Despite all the obstacles set in her way by being both a woman and a person of color, Walker was able to transcend it all and become an entirely self-made millionaire. She believed and preached that black people could lift themselves up by developing skills, working hard, and emphasizing good character. Madam C.J. Walker is a perfect representation of this belief.

Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/walker_hi.html
https://www.biography.com/people/madam-cj-walker-9522174
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Madam-C-J-Walker

The CSS Virginia

The first aquatic tank

The CSS Virginia sometimes referred to as the Merrimack.

It is hard to imagine that the vessel imaged to the left was made and used in the early parts of the 1860's. It looks more like a 20th century submarine, or maybe a strange hybrid between a tank and ship. In fact, the CSS Virginia was the first iron-clad ship of its time.

As the name suggests, an iron-clad warship is a vessel covered in iron or steel plates and powered via a steam engine. Wooden warships often get set on fire and cannot survive heavy artillery. These ships where used for naval battles, coastal attacks and as military cruisers.

When the Civil War was begun, one of the Union forts most in danger from a confederate attack was Gosport Navy Yard. Rather than have the fort be lost, confederate generals chose to destroy the base and burn the ships. One of these ships, the USS Merrimack was burnt and sunk, but the hull and engine where salvaged by the confederate army. It was decided that the intact hull and engine should be converted to an ironclad. A design was made by Lieutenants John Mercer Brooke and John L. Porter. The completed ship was not totally astounding. It had a turning radius of about one mile and it took forty-five minutes for it to turn one full circle. But she was well armed, with fourteen guns pointed in all directions and ten large naval rifles also.

Just as famous as the ship is the battle it was involved in. The Battle of Hampton Roads was a major naval offensive and the first naval conflict involving ironclads. The battle began on the 9th of March, 1862, and lasted two days. The CSS Virginia destroyed to Union ships and almost destroyed a third before it became too dark. The next day CSS Virginia fought a Union ironclad ship named the USS Monitor. Neither inflicted significant damage on the other and the battle was indecisive, however both sides claimed victory.

Mary Elizabeth Lease: Less Corn, More Hell

You may remember Mary E. Lease from her iconic historical quote: “Raise less corn and more hell.”  But who was she really, besides the speaker of this quote?  Let’s find out.

Lease was born on September 11, 1850, in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, as Mary E. Clyens.  She became a schoolteacher, and moved to Kansas at the age of twenty to continue her teaching career.  There she married Charles L. Lease, a had children.  She moved around, from Pennsylvania to Texas to Kansas, but her story is not one connected to a single place.  It’s connected to the politics of the whole country

Lease was not a happy woman.  Why?  The government.  In the rural areas she lived in, particularly in Kansas, she saw farmers in debt and poverty stricken people living on the streets, and wondered how such a rich country had so many poor people.  Her experiences had taught her that her skills in public speaking could help her make a difference.  So she began to speak out, and louder.

Lease was a tall, powerful woman with a booming voice.  She did not back down, she spoke from the heart, and she was a formidable opponent.  The populist party wanted her, as she spoke their same language, that against greedy businessmen and for the poorer and working classes.  During the late 1880s and the 1890s, she spoke in many different places, on the road making speeches at events all over the country.  However, she was still largely involved with Kansas and the farmers revolt there.

Lease, in the end, made over 160 speeches for the populist party.  And she was criticized mercilessly, especially about her status as a woman.    Many who opposed her referred to her as unwomanly, untrained, or even like a harpy.  Despite the constant criticism, Lease pressed on and continued sharing her opinion about the unfair legislation the government enacted, and their favor of big business rather than citizens.

When the populist party fizzled out, the Queen did as well, stepping down from her throne and into a less political lifestyle.  Lease divorced her husband, and was able to move to New York and get a fair amount of money through lectures, taking her out of her life of poverty and into a more comfortable one in her old age.  Her children moved to New York as well, and she was able to spend much of her time with them.  Lease died in New York in 1933, at the age of 83.

Lease is quite the interesting character.  Her outspokenness as a woman was harder to find in these times, especially considering how powerful she was, the Queen of the populist party, some called her, the champion of farmers.  As history moves towards modern times, we see more women popping up, challenging the status quo and becoming heroes in their own right.  Often they are criticized not for their words, but for their gender.  But Lease let no one stop her.  So, everyone, let’s learn from Lease.  When we want change to happen, use our voices, press through hardships, and raise a little hell.

Sources:
http://www.acatholicmission.org/mary-elizabeth-lease.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Elizabeth_Lease
https://www.nonfictionminute.org/the-nonfiction-minute/mary-e-lease-queen-of-the-populist-tornado
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/mary-elizabeth-lease/12128

Being Molly Maguire: Blog Post #2739

Schuylkill County, PA

February 23, 1864

Immediate Address

                                                                     Dearest Mr. Henry,

                                                               This is your coffin notice.

                                                          You have repeatedly let down the

                                                        workers you claim to assist with pay.

                                                      You send them to war, yet your money,

                                                        In your mind, means you deserve to

                                                         Exempt yourself.  We have decided

                                                            Allow you time to consider the

                                                              Counted days you have left.

                                                                Remember you have hurt

                                                                   And for that, you will

                                                                     Suffer.  Sadly, your

                                                                       Silly scabs must

                                                                         Suffer as well.

                                                                           Happy end.

                                                                                                                    The Molly Maguires

           Now you might be wondering exactly who Mr. Henry is, or more likely, who exactly the Molly Maguires were.  Henry is an arbitrary name I assigned a mining supervisor, one of two commonly attacked parties by the infamous Irish-immigrant-composed terrorist group, the Molly Maguires.  Molly Maguires might seem like really bad people, and I cannot speak to their actions, but their causes would be hailed as quite noble at the time in which they existed (or so we know).

           After over a million Irish fled to America during the Great Potato Famine, they were denied jobs by most everyone based on their race and very often their Catholic religion.  As a result, they took whatever jobs they could get, and the most desperate employers were usually in the least popular/most risky industries, such as that of mining.  When the Civil War broke out, someone had to make up the forces.  As no economic recession was yet occurring, most feared for their lives and would not voluntarily risk them.  Thus, as drafts began, it became known as a "rich man's war", one in which the wealthy could exempt themselves from the war but the working-class miners could not.  And then, as unionizing workers began striking for higher wages, scabs were taking their places and thus making the strikes ineffective.  So, in representing the proletarian revolution, the Molly Maguires' enemies were clearly becoming these two groups of oppressors and the ones who helped keep them oppressed.  That's when they were truly inspired to do something.

            And they did.  They sent coffin notices out to the two groups, delivering individual ones to members of each group, and would live up to most of such promises.  Their acts of arson and murders, totaling 24 assassinations, made clear that they were angry and they were no longer easy people to oppress.  It would come back to 20 Molly's, against whom one undercover spy would testify, when they were sentenced to death in the 1870s.  We will never know just how many there were, leaving mining supervisors sleepless since.  Happy Halloween!

                                                                                                The Remaining Molly Maguires

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was one of the most respected American Indians of all time. He was respected by both Americans and Indians alike. How did he become such a celebrated American Indian?

Crazy Horse was a brilliant Strategist who took up arms against the US Federal forces in the Indian wars. He fought in several critical battles during the war and during many engagements incircled and outmaneuvered US troops. At the time a feat which was believed impossible for "savages" to accomplish. By far his greatest achievement was his engagement at the battle of little bighorn where he led his forces to victory in 1876.

The tragic fate of this as we know is that he won battles but sadly could never win the war. Outnumbered and outgunned the Sioux were on the retreat and began falling back to strongholds to prepare a final defense. During these skirmishes, Crazy Horse was captured by US Federal troops in 1876. 6 months into his capture he was bayoneted by an American Federal Trooper after. "Resisting". This is how his story ends. Sadly this is how most of the story of the American Indians ended. It is almost ironic then how romanticized the American Indians were at the time. Most Americans had high respect for them and believed they where almost equals. They believed that if they could integrate they could live in harmony. This however also somehow managed to exist with the blatant racism that the American public had. American Indians were deemed "Savages" barbarians which needed to be purified and purged in order to harness the land.

From our point of view, the past will always be horrific and vile. I often question what I and my fellow peers would do in the situation. For it is easy to say that "I would have fought against the system and saved the Natives" but in reality, it is so difficult to stand alone. Which is why I have such respect for the heroes of our past who truly fought for the American dream which was promised.

The Carlisle Indian School

The Carlisle Indian school began teaching Native American youth in 1879, all the way through 1918. Its attendance numbers spanned 12,000 Indian teenagers and children from over 140 different tribes, making it a model for the other 150+ established Indian schools at the time.

The Carlisle School's goal of assimilation was first realized by Richard Henry Pratt, a U.S. army officer. While in service, Pratt was given responsibility for 72 captured Native American warriors. When he was in control of them, he forced on them strong discipline but also taught them to read and write. It was this experience that led him to seek assimilation of Native Americans into the American society, a goal that could be accomplished through the founding of a new school; The Carlisle Indian School.



To help those of you who were just as shocked by this as me, I'll give you an inside look into Pratt's belief, found in a quote written by him, "A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man". Pratt, and many others at the time, truly believed that the way to "save" and "civilize" the native Americans was to force them to become one with their American counterparts, he talks about the complete destruction of a race; a theme we see again later on in history. However, he doesn't plan on the brutal genocide of thousands of natives, no, he wants to take away what makes them unique; he wanted to eliminate their cultural identity and with that their history, the essence of being a Native American.  

And the Carlisle Indian school was successful in its method, it demanded that its students adopt American names, cut their long hair,  outlawed the use of native tongues, as well as to abide by a dress code centered around American fashion. The school's goal was to completely remove all traces of Indian culture from its students, and when the children would go back to their parents each year, the school's success in doing so would be obvious. The children that had been born into a family, a tribe, with a colorful history behind it, sacred meanings and beliefs in the world, were alienated and isolated, forced to become "American" in the worst sense of the word.

Sources:

“‘Kill the Indian, and Save the Man’: Capt. Richard H. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans.” HISTORY MATTERS - The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4929/.

“Children and Youth in History.” Omeka RSS, chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/291.

Native Americans and Alcohol

On Tuesday, when we were talking about the Lakota tribe and Custer's Last Stand, Mr. Stewart mentioned the affect of alcohol on Native Americans, and I decided to research a little on the topic.

The presence of alcohol in Native American tribes dates back to precolonial times, although then it was almost exclusively used for religious ceremonies, and only in very low concentrations in a few areas. The problems that it presented in the tribes surfaced around colonial times, when various liquors became widely available to them. It was often used as a trade item in exchange for animal skins and other Native American materials, but was also used as a bargaining tactic. Colonists quickly realized that they could get much better deals when their trading counterparts were intoxicated, which was a major factor in the prevalence of alcohol in the tribes.

Another major factor was the frequent abuse of alcohol among the colonists themselves. Heavy, frequent drinking was a common occurrence among soldiers, miners, and many of the traders who interacted with the Native Americans. Because of this, Native Americans often weren't able to see the dangers of excessive alcohol, because drunkenness was common in their experience. Why this was so detrimental to their society was because, while the colonists had laws and moral guidelines to help control the alcohol problem, Native Americans had no such restrictions, which meant they had no way to control what would become a very serious issue.

This problem also led to what was called the "firewater myths". When a white colonist would get drunk, it would be seen as misbehavior. When a native would get drunk, however, white colonists would attribute it to their race, and claim the natives to be inferior because of their addiction and sensitivity to alcohol. While many scientific arguments have debunked these myths since then, they reveal the racial prejudices that consumed most of American in the earlier centuries.

Overall, the impact of alcohol is still very visible in Native American communities today. The amount of alcohol-related deaths among Native Americans is between 5 and 7 times as much as for Americans. Almost 20% of Native Americans between the ages of 12-18 regularly binge drink. Domestic violence due to alcohol is a common occurrence. This problem is one that has been growing in America for over 400 years, and is not one that is likely to get much better any time soon.


Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_and_Native_Americans#Precolonial
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10705850
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics

Annie Oakley: The First Female Sharpshooter

    Annie Oakley was born in 1860 in a small town in Ohio to a very poor family.  Most of her family members were illiterate.  Her mother bore several other children, but most didn't make it due to a deadly outbreak of pneumonia.  Left with few other options, Oakley was later moved to an orphanage and was separated from her siblings.  There, however, she was given a basic education in exchange for helping with the younger children.  When she graduated from the orphanage at the age of 13 or 14, she moved in with her old family.  To help pay her family's bills, she hunted game and sold them.  She was so good at this that she was promoted to hunt for a grocery store that sold to hotels and restaurants.  It was with one particularly satisfied hotel owner that she was invited to a sharpshooting competition with her future husband, Frank Butler.  She won the competition, but the two remained in love and were married.
     Annie and her husband traveled across stages throughout America to perform their sharpshooting.  In a performance in St. Paul, Minnesota, she ended up befriending famous Lakota chief Sitting Bull.  He was impressed with her deadly accuracy and ended up dubbing her "Little Sure Shot" - a nickname that would stick with her during her career on stage. After a short spell in the circus, Oakley and Butler decided to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West, a performing company that reenacted the battle at Little Big Horn and other rodeo-like spectacles.  She was so successful that she even performed for the Queen of England.  Oakley's success was also a success for all white women across America.  She was breaking gender stereotypes by not only wielding a weapon with deadly accuracy but also sharing the limelight with her husband (when he managed to make it out of her shadow). 
     After a short break from show business, Mrs. Butler had almost concrete plans to expand her success.  She was being pitched an idea for a major motion picture (with sound), but unfortunately, a car crash severely injured her and her husband.  However, the role of Annie Oakley in Annie, Get Your Gun! (a movie musical about Annie Oakley and her performance career)was played by Betty Hutton.  The movie, like Oakley's career, was a big success.

https://centerofthewest.org/explore/buffalo-bill/research/annie-oakley/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042200/

Is Lincoln the American Jesus?

Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth 6 weeks after his inaugural address. For some very odd reason, this day was coincidentally Good Friday. This led to ministers, pastors, and preachers interpreting his death in a completely different way. \
Here are a few things they said...

• He "died for our country" (wow just like jesus died for us!)
• They proclaimed "the grave cannot hold him and he has been lifted up above the clouds and has become an angel" (woah! that sounds like when jesus rose from the dead)
• Frederick Douglas said Lincoln is the "salvation of the country, he died for the republic lives" (what? jesus was our salvation! he died for us...)

 In general, it was almost like he was compared to Jesus. Many artists started depicting him as the song of God going to be lifted above the clouds and sitting next to God. Just like Jesus was crucified for our sins and saved humanity from eternal damnation, Lincoln was assassinated to save the nation from civic damnation. Many people say that Lincoln's death parallels that of the Son of God. Did they think he was the son of God though? In general, after reading some arcticles they didn't they just compared him to jesus and basically saying he was the son of God of America.

A quote by Rev. C. B. Crane in Harford simplifies this claim, "Jesus Christ died for the world. Abraham Lincoln died for his country." Many American Christians took his loss personal and felt attached to Lincoln almost as they felt attached Jesus.

You decide... Is Lincoln the America's Jesus?

Here is an example of a painting:

Look at that! Lincoln is rising from the dead :)

The Fort Pillow Massacre

The Fort Pillow Massacre

    At the beginning of the Civil War, the Union army refused to accept black volunteers. However, by the end of 1861, the army began employing escaped slaves as laborers. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the recruitment of black soldiers began in earnest.
   In the army, black soldiers faced extremely unequal treatment in almost all aspects of their lives. They were organized into segregated units, received lower pay, assigned to labor, and couldn’t be promoted until the very end of the war. Additionally, all black soldiers were treated as escaped slaves and if captured, they could become slaves. However, Confederate soldiers often didn’t even allow black soldiers to be captured and killed them instead.
      On April 12, 1864, southern troops under the command of Nathan Forrest attacked Fort Pillow. Under a flag of truce that they later violated, Confederate troops took the fort and brutally killed black soldiers that tried to surrender. Many black soldiers that threw down their weapons were shot anyway, and according to one account, “On the morning after the battle the rebels went over the field, and shot the negroes who had not died from their wounds.” Out of 262 black soldiers, 200 died. Additionally, Fort Pillow was of little strategic significance and Forrest abandoned the fort the next day. Though Confederate soldiers initially bragged that they had taught “the mongrel garrison” a lesson, Forrest later denied there had been a massacre. He later became the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Many Southern revisionists also refused to call the what happened a massacre, though many sources now show exactly what happened.
    Despite this, black soldiers were not deterred and played a crucial war in winning the war. “Remember Fort Pillow” became a rallying cry for black soldiers. The deaths and treatment of black soldiers also affected Lincoln, who demanded the Confederacy to treat black prisoners equally to white prisoners. Later on in the war, laws were made to grant equal pay to black and white soldiers.   
 In the aftermath of the Civil War and in the attempt to portray the war as a “Lost Cause,” many of sacrifices made by black soldiers were forgotten. However, it is important to recognize and honor the crucial role that they played in the Civil War, not only in winning the war, but defining the war’s consequences.

TUSHAP 2018-19hat time Otto Von and President Ulysses S. Grant talked about the American Civil War

Heres something most people don't know! The American Civil war was raging at the same time as Prussia was struggling to Unite Germany. Germany was effectively United in 1862 and the American Civil war began in 1861. During this time Europe was in turmoil with the formation of a powerful new nation this combined with the fact that technology had drastically changed since the last great European war Bismark was hungry to observe a conflict with modern weapons. When the American civil war broke out Bismark took several generals with him and began observing the conflict. This expedition first was solely for educational reasons but it quickly evolved into something more personal for the young chancellor.


Bismark began to gain respect for the Americans. Frequently stating "No men fight harder". This admiration came from the fact that like Ulysses S grant, Bismark too had to fight to unify his country. The only difference was the civil war. This war was fought with new tactics to adapt with the new technology. Bismark took this new knowledge and applied it on the European continent.

That should have been the end of the story. But Ulysses S Grant went on a 30-month tour of the world. During this tour, he visited Bismark at his home. From this, he and Bismark discussed the war. The world and war in general. In this discussion, General Grant told Bismark "I am more of a farmer than a soldier". They debated the cause of the war but when this meeting ended two titans of history left to return to their homes both with new knowledge gained.

Shocking Similarities Between Lincoln and JFK

A few days ago, I was scrolling through my IG explore feed and I came across an interesting post that had a list of the similarities between Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. I found some of the things on the list pretty interesting so I decided to research this further to see if this post was actually credible or not.

Firstly, I'll start off with some similarities that may seem ridiculous and trivial. Both Lincoln and Kennedy contain 7 letters and the names of their killers, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, both contain 15 letters. Both of the killers were "southerners."While John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln because Booth was a confederate from the south, and Lincoln was the leader of the Union, Lee Harvey Oswald just happened to be from the south. Oswald wasn't motived by his regional affiliation. Whether true or not, both assassins both stood at 5 feet 8 inches. Both presidents were assassinated on Friday; the chances of which are actually quite low being 1/49.  Both the wives of these presidents, Mary Todd Lincoln and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, were somewhat fluent in French, and each president lost a child in office. Finally, while it is quite a stretch, Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's theatre, and the car that JFK had been assassinated in was a ford; Lincoln was is box 7 in Ford's Theatre and JFK was in the 7th car of the motorcade.

Some of the next similarities are quite interesting whether they are actually connected or not. After they were assassinated, their successors were both named Johnson: Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson, who were also both southerners. Both Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson were also born 100 years apart, Andrew in 1808, and Lyndon in 1908. Continuing with the 100 years apart trend, Booth was born in 1839 and Oswald in 1939. Both Lincoln and JFK were elected into congress in the years '46, Lincoln in 1846 and JFK in 1946, and were both elected as presidents of the United States in the years '60, Lincoln in 1860 and JFK in 1960. During their time in office, the last name of Lincoln's secretary was Kennedy, and last name of JFK's secretary was Lincoln. Both of these secretaries had advised their president not to go to the place where they were assassinated.

The similarities listed above are just a few of what I found. Whether you actually think they are related in some sort of political conspiracy, or if they are merely just a coincidence is entirely up to your own judgement. In any case, it's never a good thing if the President killed, especially because both these presidents worked towards greater civil rights for Americans.

Sources:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/linkin-kennedy/
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/1109