Massacres

Massacres

Since the beginning of empires, there has been conflict. Filling the space between the conflict is tension, building of to massacres and bloodshed. These massacres have been spearheaded by imperialist conquests by empires such as the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the United States of America. 

"My Lai Massacre." Photos/Illustrations. 

Ronald S. Haeberle/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.

World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

When the United States was pushed into Vietnam, President Lyndon B. Johnson was quoted as saying "Our numbers have increased in Vietnam because the aggression of others has increased in Vietnam. There is not, and there will not be, a mindless escalation." A mindless escalation could be qualified as bombing villages, or firing on innocent civilians, but one could qualify such a mindless escalation as the carnage at My Lai. It is estimated that from two hundred to four hundred people were killed in the massacre. 

 "Map Of My Lai." Map Of My Lai. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

The more alarming aspect of this attack was that out of the thirty people listed in the Lieutenant's report, only fourteen were charged. Out of those fourteen only one went to jail - for ten years. Despite being labeled as America's scapegoat after receiving a life sentence, he twice had his sentenced reduced to ten years, and then was paroled by President Richard Nixon. after only one day. He served three and a half years under house arrest.

"Armenian Genocide Lesson Two:We and They, the Armenians in the 

Ottoman Empire."

Facing History and Ourselves. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Armenia was a region that during the late nineteenth century and beyond was struggling to gain political autonomy. The country was surrounded by other successful countries that beat the rule of imperialism; Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria all had broken away from the Ottoman empire. Nationalism in Armenia began to grow in the eighteen eighties, with multiple political groups being formed starting to be organised amongst the people. These groups were deemed as a threat to Ottoman society, and the leader had to take action. Sultan Abdulhamid II began enacting the Ottoman army to attack and kill those who were forming radical political groups that protested for Armenian sovereignty.

"Social Democrat Hunchakian Party." Social

Democrat Hunchakian Party. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

The first notable battle in this string of one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand deaths was in the small town of Sassoun. Armenian rebels refused to pay taxes that would support the Ottoman's, and this led to the murder of around eight thousand Armenian civilians. The man to the left is the man who is credited with starting the first uprising in Sassoun, his name is Medz'n Mourad.











Bibliography

"My Lai Massacre." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

"Map Of My Lai." Map Of My Lai. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

"Armenian Genocide Lesson Two:We and They, the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire." Facing History and Ourselves. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

"Social Democrat Hunchakian Party." Social Democrat Hunchakian Party. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.