A Brief History On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ordered the desegregation of the US military. At times presidents cannot or will not wait for congress to act on a subject and they take it into their own hands by issuing an “Executive Order.” President Obama is currently under attack by Republicans for using this non-legislative authority, somewhat hypocritically when in fact George W. Bush used many more executive orders than Obama (291 to 183). Franklin Roosevelt holds the record for the most executive orders with a whopping 3721. Second place is Woodrow Wilson with…
Author: Major Dan
A Brief History On July 26, 1945, the leaders of the major Allied countries fighting Japan in World War II met in Potsdam, Germany to issue the conditions by which the Japanese were to surrender to the Allies. Also known as “unconditional surrender” the Allies left no room for negotiation, which soon became a point of controversy and is debated to this day, as the declaration is seen by some as having prolonged the war by leaving Japan no honorable way to stop the fighting. Digging Deeper President Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and Chinese premier…
A Brief History On July 25, 1969, President Nixon declared the “Nixon Doctrine,” stating that from this point on Asian countries were expected to defend themselves rather than rely on the US to defend them. This policy began the pathetic process of “Vietnamization” of the Viet Nam War, turning over responsibility for the war to South Viet Nam. Presidents have been declaring “doctrines” all the way back to James Monroe. Here we list 10 of those presidential doctrines. Whether or not they were/are a good idea is for you to decide. Digging Deeper 10. Monroe. The original policy labeled a…
A Brief History On July 25, 1593, Henry IV, King of France, converted from Calvinism back to the Catholicism of his birth. Henry had been raised Protestant, although he was baptized Catholic. His conversion back to Catholic came in the midst of the Wars of Religion, battles between Catholic and Protestant Europeans. Digging Deeper Was Henry’s re-conversion a political ploy or a sincere action of conscience? It would seem to be a move made for political expediency, something monarchs and other national leaders have done throughout history. Napoleon Bonaparte did not think highly of religion, but he recognized the usefulness…
A Brief History On July 24, 1814, British forces under Phineas Riall marched to the Niagara River to halt an American force from invading Canada. The War of 1812 is misunderstood by many Americans, with most Americans assuming the US won the war, when the truth is much more like a tie at best. The British never intended to conquer the US, as they were busy with Napoleon and bigger issues than the US. The war was more about a punitive expedition by the British. The final battle, after the war was over, in New Orleans was an American victory…