John F. Kennedy

I was interested in this individual when I watched 'The Butler'; he was shot whilst fighting for the rights of black people.
What would have happened if he hadn't been shot? is the main question that comes to mind: tell me what you think!!

A Life in Brief

John F. Kennedy was born into a rich, politically connected Boston family of Irish-Catholics. He and his eight siblings enjoyed a privileged childhood of elite private schools, sailboats, servants, and summer homes. During his childhood and youth, "Jack" Kennedy suffered frequent serious illnesses. Nevertheless, he strove to make his own way, writing a best-selling book while still in college at Harvard and volunteering for hazardous combat duty in the Pacific during World War II. Kennedy's wartime service made him a hero. After a short stint as a journalist, Kennedy entered politics, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 and the U.S. Senate from 1953 to 1961.
Kennedy was the youngest person elected U.S. President and the first Roman Catholic to serve in that office. For many observers, his presidency came to represent the ascendance of youthful idealism in the aftermath of World War II. The promise of this energetic and telegenic leader was not to be fulfilled, as he was assassinated near the end of his third year in office. For many Americans, the public murder of President Kennedy remains one of the most traumatic events in memory—countless Americans can remember exactly where they were when they heard that President Kennedy had been shot. His shocking death stood at the forefront of a period of political and social instability in the country and the world.

A key individual : Otto Von Bismarck

Bismarck was responsible for transforming a collection of small German states into the German empire, and was its first chancellor.

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born into an aristocratic family at Schönhausen, northwest of Berlin, on 1 April 1815. He attended a prestigious school in Berlin followed by the University of Göttingen. He then entered the Prussian civil service but was bored by his job and in 1838 resigned. For nearly a decade, he helped his father manage the family estates.

In 1847, Bismarck married Johanna von Puttkamer, who provided him with stability. It was a year of significant change in his life, when he also embraced the Christian tradition of Lutheranism, and began his political career in the Prussian legislature, where he gained a reputation as an ultra-conservative royalist. In 1851, King Frederick Wilhelm IV appointed Bismarck as Prussian representative to the German Confederation. He then served as ambassador to Russia and France. In 1862, he returned to Prussia and was appointed prime minister by the new king, Wilhelm I.

Bismarck was now determined to unite the German states into a single empire, with Prussia at its core. With Austrian support, he used the expanded Prussian army to capture the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark. He then escalated a quarrel with Austria and its German allies over the administration of these provinces into a war, in which Prussia was the victor. Prussia then annexed further territory in Germany.

Unable to persuade the southern German states to join with his North German Confederation, he provoked hostilities with France as a way of uniting the German states together. The German victory in the Franco-Prussian War won over the southern German states, and in 1871 they agreed to join a German empire. Wilhelm I of Prussia became emperor.

As 'chancellor' of the new Germany, Bismarck concentrated on building a powerful state with a unified national identity. One of his targets was the Catholic Church, which he believed had too much influence, particularly in southern Germany. He also worked to prevent the spread of socialism, partly by introducing health insurance and pensions.

Abroad, Bismarck aimed to make the German empire the most powerful in Europe. In 1879, he negotiated an alliance with Austria-Hungary to counteract France and Russia. Italy later joined the alliance. To avoid alienating Britain, Bismarck arranged the two Mediterranean Agreements of 1887, designed to preserve the status quo against a Russian threat.

In 1890, Bismarck resigned after disagreeing with the new emperor, Wilhelm II. He retired to his estate near Hamburg and died there on 30 July 1898.

After Bismarck, Calvini became Chancellor, and, by disagreeing to re-negotiate the "reinsurance" treaty with Russia, and many more errors from the government, Germany became isolated: by 1905, France and Russia had an alliance; so did Britain and Japan and Britain and France had made a pact not to fight with each other. Although Germany had Austria and Italy as allies, Austria was weak and Italy was untrustworthy.

Great Book on this: Bismarck: A Life by Jonathan Steinberg!

Tactic of World War II: Bat Bombs

On December 7, 1941, a Pennsylvania dentist named Lytle S. Adams was on vacation in the southwest at the famed Carlsbad Caverns, home to excellent spelunking and about a million bats. Adams had been particularly impressed with the bats during his time in New Mexico. So when he turned on the radio that infamous day and heard the news that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, he began plotting a very unusual form of revenge on our World War II enemies.

Less than a month later, on January 12, 1942, he sent the White House his plan: We could demolish Japanese cities by strapping tiny incendiary bombs to bats, which they would carry into the all the nooks and crannies of the cities on the island. "Think of thousands of fires breaking out simultaneously over a circle of forty miles in diameter for every bomb dropped," he later recalled. Japan could have been devastated, yet with small loss of life."
Now, as luck would have it, Adams happened to know Eleanor Roosevelt. He'd flown her in his plane to see a previous scheme he'd cooked up: an airmail system where the plane doesn't have to land to pick up cargo. So, when he finished his preliminary investigations, he appears to have managed to get a high-level audience, despite the rather eccentric nature of his idea.
His proposal was taken up by the National Research Defense Committee, which was in charge of coordinating and investigating research into war-applicable ideas. They forwarded the proposal to one Donald Griffin, who had conducted groundbreaking work on bats' echolocation strategies, as related by Patrick Drumm and Christopher Ovre in this month's American Psychological Association Journal. Griffin, who later became a renowned psychologist who argued that non-human animals also possess consciousness, was quite enthusiastic about the idea.
"This proposal seems bizarre and visionary at first glance," he wrote in April 1942, "but extensive experience with experimental biology convinces the writer that if executed competently it would have every chance of success."
The President's men followed Griffin's lead. "This man is not a nut. It sounds like a perfectly wild idea but is worth looking into," a Presidential memorandum concluded. And so, just like that, a dentist's crazy idea about bats had become a U.S. government research project.
After the team settled on using the Mexican free-tailed bat, Adams took a few to Washington for a demonstration of them carrying a dummy bomb. His superiors were sufficiently impressed that the U.S. Air Force gave authority for investigations to begin in earnest. It was March of 1943. The subject of the letter was, "Test of Method to Scatter Incendiaries." The purpose of the test was listed as, "Determine the feasibility of using bats to carry small incendiary bombs into enemy targets." The scheme became known as Project X-Ray.
After being transferred to the Army, thousands of bats were captured with nets at caverns around the southwest. Tiny bombs were designed for them. Appreciate, for a moment, the incendiary bomb that they came up with:

But this was a complex system that was being engineered. The researchers needed to figure out how to transport and deploy the little guys. So they did. First, the bats had to be kept in a hibernating mode while they were shipped. To accomplish this, they were stuck in ice cube trays and cooled. Second, they had to figure out how to release them in midair. A cardboard container was supposed to automatically open and release the bats. This was a real effort that cost science and engineering effort. Unfortunately, real tests did not go as planned. There were all kinds of things that needed to be fine-tuned. For example, at one point, a few of the loaded incendiary bats were accidentally released, whereupon a hangar and general's car were burned (as you can see in the photo below).
Eventually the Marine Corps took over the program and conducted tests beginning in December 1943. After 30 demonstrations and $2 million spent, the project was canceled. Most people believe it's because the U.S. realized that all resources should be concentrated on the development of a far more powerful weapon: the atomic bomb.
Adams, for his part, went on to a variety of crazy schemes. Right after, he advocated bombing the prairies with seed packets, and patented that scheme. And finally, after moving to Washington state, he tried to garner interest in a fried chicken vending machine. Truly Adams was a man with some ideas of his own making.

1. Lytle Adams loading bats into containers. 2. The bat containers being airdropped in a test. 3. The fire that accidentally released bats started at an Air Force facility. Images: U.S. Air Forc

Psychological History

A new type of History has emerged throughout the past twenty years or so: the type of history that psychologically analyses why crucial historical individuals did certain actions they did.


http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/17/science/insane-or-just-evil-a-psychiatrist-takes-a-new-look-at-hitler.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
This article is one of the most common examples of this history: Why did Hitler do what he did?


My questions about this
Can one actually justify someone's actions by something that happened in his/her childhood or his/her past? If so to what extent?
Doesn't it depend as different things affect different people in different ways?
Surely one cannot make an analysis on the precise reasons of someone's actions based on some knowledge of their childhood?


Nevertheless, I feel that to some extent some things happened in the past because an individual made a decision that was heavily influenced by their childhood.


Some interesting examples
Louis XIV's distrust in his court, owing to the revolts throughout the nobility when he was only 9 that tried to overthrow him, maybe hindered France from becoming as powerful as it may have been, as he did not take anybody's advice.


Alexander III's extremely conservative reign after his father's assassination in 1881.


The Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 because of Nicholas II's hatred for the Japanese because of the Otsu incident. This was an attempt of assassination on the Tsarevich in 1891 by a Japanese when he was touring the world.

The role of dogs in history

Man’s best friend has been by our side for some 14,000 years, playing a part in some of the most significant human conflicts of our history. The dog’s devotion to man, its intelligence and heightened sense of smell has seen it carry out a variety of roles in warfare.
The Romans made good use of their loyalty and fearsome image to deter and detect any marauding bandits by placing them near camps or on patrols as sentries. Attila the Hun used giant Molosser dogs on the front line, sending them in packs to face his European enemies. Mastiffs and Great Danes were used in England during the Middles Ages, exploiting their size to scare enemy horses into throwing off the knight they were carrying.
During two world wars dogs were given many duties including carrying messages, laying communication wires and helping to locate mines. Due to their widespread roles, many stories of heroism and dedication have arisen from these two conflicts alone.
A bulldog terrier with a short tail, aptly named Stubby, became the first dog in U.S. military history to be awarded a rank. Connected with the U.S. 102nd Infantry Regiment, who found him whilst training on Yale University campus, Stubby was given his name and smuggled on board the SS Minnesota by Private John Robert Conroy and headed for the trenches in 1918. Endearing himself to the whole Regiment with his antics, Stubby would go on to save the lives of these men time and time again. Armed with an acute sense of smell and hearing, Stubby could alert the troops to incoming shells or gas long before they themselves could detect them. He would also locate wounded soldiers in No Man’s Land, standing by their side and barking until a medic arrived. He even detained a German spy who was mapping out the American trenches. Stubby bit him on the leg the German tripped over and was subsequently captured. When he was awarded the rank of Sergeant, Stubby found himself outranking his own owner. After participating in 17 battles and being wounded twice, Stubby returned home a national hero, participating in frequent parades before his death in 1926.
And then there was Smoky, a Yorkshire Terrier who served as a mascot in WWII with the US 5th Air Force in the Pacific. Adopted by Corporal William Wynne in the jungle of New Guinea, Smoky helped to divert the minds of those around her from the stresses and horrors of war. Surviving a parachute jump, air raids, living in primitive conditions and through combat missions, Smoky was awarded eight battle stars for her bravery and devotion. She has six memorials dedicated in her honour.
In more modern times, dogs have played a crucial role in sniffing out and locating explosive devices. Subsequently 4 dogs have been awarded the Dickin award since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began in 2003 including Treo the Labrador who in August 2008, located an IED (“improvised explosive device”) on a road about to be passed by 7 Platoon, undoubtedly saving the lives of many soldiers.

What was the state of russia in 1914- notes

• He set up field courts in 1906 to crush peasant uprisings. 'Stolypin's neckties (the hangman's noose) dealt with thousands of peasants and nearly and nearly 60 000 political detainees were executed or sent into exile or penal servitude in 'Stolypin carriages' (railway cars).
• Stolypin's objectives: feed the rapidly growing population and avoid the cycle of famine and revolt + create a strong conservative peasantry who would support the regime.
• Stolypin was the Tsar's 'last, best hope'-->
• Abraham Ascher: Stolypin's vision was 'more feasible and more likely to lead Russia out of the abyss than any other'.

Industry Situation

"Could Tsarism have survived? 1906-1917"

• after 1907, industrial production grew steadily at a rate around 6% per annum until 1914, although this high rate was largely due to the start from a low base.
• by 1914, Russia was the world's 4th largest producer of coal, pig-iron and steel, and the Baku oilfields were only rivalled by Texas. Impressive Achievements.
• Gov's rearmament programme- heavy industry
• the downside of this focus on rearmament was that industry could not meet the demands for agricultural tools and machinery
• Industrial Development was largely state sponsored with companies dependent on gov contracts
• Growing internal market and the production of consumer goods rose. As a proportion of total industrial production, however, the share of consumer goods actually fell (52%- 45%)
• For historiography see booklet
• By 1914, industrial workforce had established itself as a distinct section of the pop; level of literacy was high (64% in 1914) (less than 40%= pop in general)
• Things had not much improved for the workers since 1905; workers' wages were less than one third the average in Western Europe+ the Russian gov had made no real attempt to improve their conditions (contrast to other nations in Europe - social reforms)
• 1912, limited insurance for accidents and sickness introduced; but only a minority of the work force.
• some places, work hours had increased since 1905
• no support of old age

Agrarian Situation

"Could Tsarism have survived? 1906-1917"

• Agrarian Reforms. Peasants were allowed to leave the mir, to consolidate their strips of land into a single unit and build a farmhouse or it. A land bank was set up to help the independent peasant buy land. (Stolypin believed that making peasants independent prop. owners + full civil rights would give them a stake in the country and lead them to become supporters of the regime) Encourage peasants to go to Siberia to create new food-growing areas.
• Abraham Ascher's view: if there had been more time - contributed to a more moderate revolution
• by 1914, only about 10% of households in European Russia lived on farms separated from the commune
• those who left were seen as traitors
• reform was more successful in the west- in Ukraine and Belorussia- than in other parts of Russia where reform was most needed.
• Judith Pallot argues that there were alternatives which could have done as much if not more to increase peasant farm productivity. Commune not always backwards + some 'separators' used poor farming methods and exhausted the soil
• by 1914, 20 mil peasant households, most still in communes using the inefficient strip system.
• no major upheavals and disturbances
• peasants not been tied closer to the Tsar by the reforms
• growth in pop had only increased their hunger for land, particularly in the central agricultural province
• main aims had not  changed: getting their hands on the nobility's land and farming it free from gov interference
• Orlando Figes-- landowners felt that 'the next- and imminently more powerful revolutionary outburst by the peasantry would only be a question of time'.
• consequences of Stolypin's reforms: peasants who had left the land as a result of the reforms were often full of resentment and many of these had gone into the towns and cities to become industrial workers
• thousands of peasants who had been encouraged to go to Siberia returned home, having found the land inhospitable or been cheated by land speculators.

Political Situation

"Could Tsarism have survived? 1906-1917"

• after 1905, the labour movement had retreated as repression of trade unions and strikes, but revival of militancy from 1912
• started with Lena Goldfields Massacre in April 1912: striking workers protesting clashed with troops and over  200 people were killed and many injured --> workers' protest
• strikes grew in militancy from 1912 to 1914 (eg. July 1914, general strike in St Petersburg involving barricades and street fighting) (only 1/4 involved; 4/5 in 1917)
• Students' relationship with gov. was bad- supported workers
• regime worried of urban unrest but not ready to be toppled in 1914
• RB McKean argues that most workers did not work in the larger factories targeted by the socialists but in the domestic and service sectors. Most workers were not socialists and strikes were mainly about pay and working conditions.
• increase in section of the labour force that was rootless and disoriented and who provided good material for revolutionary propaganda.
• Liberals were divided and no real threat. Octobrists and Kadets distrusted each other, were out of touch with the masses and refused to seek their support, as they feared mass anarchy and did not support the strike movement.
• SRs were in turmoil after 1908 as a result of the exposure of Azef, especially as the party's terrorist wing had such prestige within the party. SRs became obsessed with the issue of double agents and party organisation broke down + was division between leadership.
• Mensheviks enjoyed popularity in 1905, but Lena blew any illusions about the regime and peaceful change, giving the more radical Bolsheviks their opportunity.
• By 1914, Bolsheviks had more influence over trade unions than Mensheviks. Control over the biggest unions in St Petersburg and Moscow, like the Metalworkers Union. Bolshevik Paper 'Pravda' had achieved national circulation of 40,000 (twice Menshevik rival).
• HOWEVER
• leadership exile or, like Lenin, isolated abroad.
• Lenin had failed to build a national illegal party organisation.
• thorough infiltration by the Okhrana
• in 1914, army remained loyal.
• HOWEVER, Edward Acton points out: experience of 1905-06 and the subsequent reforms had weakened the army;   mutinies not easily forgotten; the cutting of the period of service to 3 yrs bought army into closer contact with the stresses and strains of civilian society; as officer corps became more professional, it became more determined not to be used for crushing civilian disturbances.
• Okhrana--> best secret service to this day. Destroyed morale and comradeship. Malinovsky- leading Bolshevik
• Simon Sebag Montifore argues that the Okhrana were so successful in poisoning revolutionary minds that 'thirty yrs after the fall of the tsars, the Bolsheviks were still killing each other in a witch-hunt for non-existent traitors.'

Shorter History of Istanbul

Here is a summary of Istanbul's history. There is so much of it. When I was visiting I got quite confused and had to look up many a thing in the evening!
Key places I visited:
Blue Mosque
St Sophie
Topkapi Palace
Grand Bazaar
Galapa Tower
the tram is great!

Byzantium

Though Istanbul may have been inhabited as early as 3000 BCE, it was not a city until Greek colonists arrived in the area in the 7th Century BCE. These colonists were led by King Byzas and settled there because of the strategic location along the Bosporus Strait. King Byzas named the city Byzantium after himself.

The Roman Empire (330-395 CE)

Following its development by the Greeks, Byzantium became a part of the Roman Empire in the 300s. During this time, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great undertook a construction project to rebuild the entire city. His goal was to make it stand out and give the city monuments similar to those found in Rome. In 330, Constantine declared the city as the capital of the entire Roman Empire and renamed it Constantinople.

The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453 CE)

After Constantinople was named the capital of the Roman Empire the city grew and prospered. After the death of the emperor Theodosius I in 395, however, enormous upheaval took place in the empire as his sons permanently divided the empire. Following the division, Constantinople became the capital of the Byzantine Empire in the 400s.
As part of the Byzantine Empire, the city became distinctly Greek as opposed to its former identity in the Roman Empire. Because Constantinople was at the center of two continents, it became a center of commerce, culture, diplomacy, and grew considerably. In 532, though, the anti-government Nika Revolt broke out among the city’s population and destroyed it. After the revolt however, the Constantinople was rebuilt and many of its most outstanding monuments were constructed- one of which was the Haghia Sophia as Constantinople became the center of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The Latin Empire (1204-1261)

Although Constantinople significantly prospered during decades following its becoming a part of the Byzantine Empire, the factors leading to its success also made it a target for conquering. For hundreds of years, troops from all over the Middle-East attacked the city. For a time it was even controlled by members of the Fourth Crusade after it was desecrated in 1204. Subsequently, Constantinople became the center of the Catholic Latin Empire.
As competition persisted between the Catholic Latin Empire and the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire, Constantinople was caught in the middle and began to significantly decay. It went financially bankrupt, the population declined, and it became vulnerable to further attacks as defense posts around the city crumbled. In 1261, in the midst of this turmoil, the Empire of Nicaea recaptured Constantinople and it was returned to the Byzantine Empire. Around the same time, the Ottoman Turks began conquering the cities surrounding Constantinople, effectively cutting it off from many of its neighboring cities.

The Ottoman Empire (1453-1922)

After being considerably weakened by constant invasions and being cut off from its neighbors by the Ottoman Turks, Constantinople was officially conquered by the Ottomans, led by Sultan Mehmed II on May 29, 1453 after a 53-day siege. During the siege, the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, died while defending his city. Almost immediately, Constantinople was named as the capital of the Ottoman Empire and its name was changed to Istanbul.
Upon taking control of the city, Sultan Mehmed sought to rejuvenate Istanbul. He created the Grand Bazaar (one of the largest covered marketplaces in the world), brought back fleeing Catholic and Greek Orthodox residents. In addition to these residents, he brought in Muslim, Christian, and Jewish families to establish a mixed populace. Sultan Mehmed also began the building of architectural monuments, schools, hospitals, public baths, and grand imperial mosques. From 1520 to 1566, Suleiman the Magnificent controlled the Ottoman Empire and there were many artistic and architectural achievements that made it a major cultural, political, and commercial center. By the mid-1500s, the city’s population also grew to almost 1 million inhabitants. The Ottoman Empire ruled Istanbul until it was defeated and occupied by the allies in World War I.

The Republic of Turkey (1923-today)

Following its occupation by the allies in World War I, the Turkish War of Independence took place and Istanbul became a part of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Istanbul was not the capital city of the new republic and during the early years of its formation Istanbul was overlooked and investment went into the new centrally located capital Ankara. In the 1940s and 1950s though, Istanbul re-emerged new public squares, boulevards, and avenues were constructed. Because of the construction though, many of the city’s historic buildings were demolished.
In the 1970s, Istanbul’s population rapidly increased, causing the city to expand into the nearby villages and forests, eventually creating a major world metropolis.

Istanbul Today

Istanbul's many historical areas were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985. In addition, because of its status as a world rising power, its history, importance to culture in both Europe and the world, Istanbul has been designated the European Capital of Culture for 2010 by the European Union.