The Contribution of Martin Luther King to US Affairs free essay sample

Introduction: 1. Before 1945, the Negro community was regarded as socially inferior within the United States. 2. While slavery had been abolished in 1863 under President Lincoln, segregation was commonplace, especially in the southern sates. 3. The Jim Crow laws were in place to maintain this segregation and in 1896, the Supreme Court ruled these laws constitutional. 4. However, the growing discontentment among the Negro community, helped by the new wave of liberalism spreading throughout the US in the late 1940s, meant that pressure for change was building. 5. In the late 1950s and 1960s the movement began gathering legs through the successful cases of black Americans such as Oliver Brown and James Meredith, both backed by the NAACP. 6. However, these individual victories needed to be consolidated into one movement, the Negro community needed to become united for any significant change to occur; one man who realised this was Martin Luther King. 7. By sticking to his christian ideals and his skills as an orator, King would become one of the most iconic figures in not only the African-American community, but in the world. We will write a custom essay sample on The Contribution of Martin Luther King to US Affairs or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2) Background of King: 1. The upbringing of Martin Luther King had a profound effect on the nature of his approach to the oppression experienced by the Negro community. 2. Throughout his life, King was lauded for his condemnation of violence, a stance most likely forged during his time in the baptist ministry and though his studying of theology in Boston. 3. From an early age King was involved in the pursuit for racial equality and served on the executive committee of the Montgomery branch of the NAACP. 4. In 1954 King became pastor of the baptist church in Montgomery and in 1955 he was awarded his PhD in theology. 5. Martin Luther King was now a very well educated and respected member of society in Montgomery, giving him a platform to begin publicly discussing his ideals. 6. The well spoken and unblemished character of Martin Luther King would go on to become the unelected leader of the civil rights movement, beginning with his involvement in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 3) The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1. King’s involvement in the Montgomery Bus Boycott was his first contribution to the civil rights movement and to US affairs. 2. In conjunction with the NAACP taking Rosa Parks’ case to the Supreme Court, a city-wide boycott of the bus services was planned, with King asked to lead. 3. The 26-year-old Martin Luther King was elected as head of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) with the task of overseeing and maintaining the boycott. 4. King had to travel to many different states in order to fundraise the money to fund the temporary taxi alternatives being organised by the Transportation Committee. 5. King had to maintain his peaceful resistance for over a year, before the Supreme Court ruled the segregated seating on buses unconstitutional on the 20th of December 1956. 6. The MIA subsequently called off the boycott and King, along with other civil rights leaders, sat in the front seats of a bus on the 21st of December 1956. 7. King’s well-organised and peaceful boycott was one of the main contributing factors to the success of the Rosa Parks Trial and he gained national publicity, with Times Magazine christening him â€Å"the American Ghandi†. 4) Rise in Popularity and Involvement: 1. The Montgomery Bus Boycott launched King’s career and he soon had the necessary authority and power to drastically impact on US affairs. 2. King became head of the non-violent civil rights organisation the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. 3. As leader SCLC, King organised and led marches in an attempt to achieve equal voting rights, labour rights and desegregation for the Negro community. 4. On the SCLC’s Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in 1957, King addressed a national audience for the first time. 5. King had a set a clear precedent through the success of his peaceful protests and the Negro community obliged. 6. The non-violent Lunch Counter Protest in 1960 saw groups black students defying the whites only lunch counters in 54 cities across the Old South. 7. Similarly in 1961, the Freedom Riders tested the supposedly desegregated interstate buses, without the use of violence. 8. King had shown to the minorities of America that violence was not necessary to achieve change, a message adhered to by the Chicanos and Native Americans in the years to come. 5) Marches: 1. The campaigns and marches organised by Martin Luther King greatly impacted on US affairs. 2. In April 1963, the SCLC began a campaign against racial segregation and economic injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. 3. King organised intentionally contentious sit-ins and marches in occupied public spaces across Birmingham City. 4. King and the SCLC were also the driving forces behind the intense demonstrations in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1964. 5. The movement marched nightly through the city and suffering violent attacks from white supremacists, with hundreds of the marchers arrested and jailed. 6. Later that year in December 1964, King and the SCLC joined forces with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Selma, Alabama. 7. The march from Selma to Montgomery was in protest of the voting inequality in Alabama and 25,000 civil rights activists partook. 8. King used the contrast between white backlash and the peaceful protestors to get national and world media coverage, publicity that would ultimately force the US Government’s hand. 6) Speech – Washington: 1. Martin Luther King’s oratorical talents and speeches influenced public opinion and affairs in the United States. 2. On the 2nd of January 1965, a Martin Luther King speech defeated a local judge’s injunction banning the gathering of any people affiliated with the SCLC at Brown Chapel. 3. One of the single greatest factors in achieving minority equality in across America was Martin Luther King’s speech in Washington in 1963. 4. On the 28th of August, King delivered his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech to a rally of 250,000 peaceful protestors, which was also internationally televised. 5. The march, and especially Kings speech, helped put civil rights at the top of the liberal political agenda in the United States and facilitated passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 6. On February 6, 1964, King delivered another inaugural speech at the New School in New York called The American Race Crisis. 7. The now infamous speeches of Martin Luther King strengthened the cause internally and externally; maintaining the belief of the Negro community while achieving international sympathy and support for the cause. 7) Conclusion: 1. Today, Martin Luther King is regarded as one of the single greatest contributors to civil rights of all time and has his own federal holiday in the US. 2. Even before his death in 1968, King’s contribution was recognised with his awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and American Liberties Medallion. 3. King has also been poshumerously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. 4. Martin Luther King’s speech in Washington was a major factor in the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 under President Johnson. 5. The march from Selma to Montgomery also influenced public and political support of the Voting Rights Act, which was passed in 1965. 6. Martin Luther King had arguably impacted on US society and affairs more than any individual had in the history of the state.

Battle of Sullivans Island in the American Revolution

Battle of Sullivan's Island in the American Revolution The Battle of Sullivans Island took place June 28, 1776 near Charleston, SC, and was one of the early campaigns of the American Revolution (1775-1783). Following the beginning of hostilities at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, public sentiment in Charleston began to turn against the British. Though a new royal governor, Lord William Campbell, arrived in June, he was forced to flee that fall after Charlestons Council of Safety commenced raising troops for the American cause and seized Fort Johnson. Additionally, Loyalists in the city increasingly found themselves under attack and their homes raided.      The British Plan To the north, the British, who were engaged in the Siege of Boston in late 1775, began seeking other opportunities to strike a blow against the rebelling colonies. Believing the interior of the American South to be friendlier territory with a large number of Loyalists who would fight for the crown, plans moved forward for Major General Henry Clinton to embark forces and sail for Cape Fear, NC. Arriving, he was to meet a force of predominantly Scottish Loyalists raised in North Carolina as well as troops coming from Ireland under Commodore Peter Parker and Major General Lord Charles Cornwallis. Sailing south from Boston with two companies on January 20, 1776, Clinton called at New York City where he had difficulty obtaining provisions. In a failure of operational security, Clintons forces made no effort to hide their ultimate destination. To the east, Parker and Cornwallis endeavored to embark around 2,000 men on 30 transports. Departing Cork on February 13, the convoy encountered severe storms five days into the voyage. Scattered and damaged, Parkers ships continued their crossing individually and in small groups.   Reaching Cape Fear on March 12, Clinton found that Parkers squadron had been delayed and that the Loyalist forces had been defeated at Moores Creek Bridge on February 27. In the fighting, Brigadier General Donald MacDonalds Loyalists had been beaten by American forces led by Colonel James Moore. Loitering in the area, Clinton met the first of Parkers ships on April 18. The remainder straggled in later that month and in early May after enduring a rough crossing. Armies Commanders Americans Major General Charles LeeColonel William Moultrie435 men at Fort Sullivan, 6,000 around Charleston British Major General Henry ClintonCommodore Peter Parker2,200 infantry Next Steps Determining that Cape Fear would be a poor base of operations, Parker and Clinton commenced assessing their options and scouting the coast. After learning that the defenses at Charleston were incomplete and being lobbied by Campbell, the two officers elected to plan an attack with the goal of capturing the city and establishing a major base in South Carolina. Raising anchor, the combined squadron departed Cape Fear on May 30. Preparations at Charleston With the beginning of the conflict, the president of the South Carolina General Assembly, John Rutledge, called for the creation of five regiments of infantry and one of artillery. Numbering around 2,000 men, this force was augmented by the arrival of 1,900 Continental troops and 2,700 militia. Assessing the water approaches to Charleston, it was decided to construct a fort on Sullivans Island. A strategic location, ships entering the harbor were required to pass by the southern part of the island to avoid shoals and sandbars. Vessels that succeeded in breaching the defenses at Sullivans Island would then encounter Fort Johnson. The task of building Fort Sullivan was given to Colonel William Moultrie and the 2nd South Carolina Regiment. Commencing work in March 1776, they constructed 16-ft. thick, sand-filled walls which were faced with palmetto logs. Work moved slowly and by June only the seaward walls, mounting 31 guns, were complete with the remainder of the fort protected by a timber palisade. To aid in the defense, the Continental Congress dispatched Major General Charles Lee to take command. Arriving, Lee was dissatisfied with the state of the fort and recommended that it be abandoned. Interceding, Rutledge directed Moultrie to obey [Lee] in everything, except in leaving Fort Sullivan. The British Plan Parkers fleet reached Charleston on June 1 and over the next week began crossing the bar and anchoring around Five Fathom Hole. Scouting the area, Clinton decided to land on nearby Long Island. Located just north of Sullivans Island, he thought his men would be able wade across Breach Inlet to assault the fort. Assessing the incomplete Fort Sullivan, Parker believed that his force, consisting of the two 50-gun ships HMS Bristol and HMS Experiment, six frigates, and the bomb vessel HMS Thunderer, would easily be able to reduce its walls. The Battle of Sullivans Island Responding to the British maneuvers, Lee began reinforcing positions around Charleston and directed troops to entrench along the northern shore of Sullivans Island. On June 17, part of Clintons force attempted to wade across Breach Inlet and found it too deep to proceed. Thwarted, he began planning to make the crossing using longboats in concert with Parkers naval attack. After several days of poor weather, Parker moved forward on the morning on June 28. In position by 10:00 AM, he ordered the bomb vessel Thunderer to fire from extreme range while he closed on the fort with Bristol (50 guns), Experiment (50), Active (28), and Solebay (28). Coming under British fire, forts soft palmetto log walls absorbed the incoming cannon balls rather than splintering. Short on gunpowder, Moultrie directed his men in a deliberate, well-aimed fire against the British ships. As the battle progressed, Thunderer was forced to break off as its mortars had become dismounted. With the bombardment underway, Clinton began moving across Breach Inlet. Nearing the shore, his men came under heavy fire from American troops led by Colonel William Thomson. Unable to safely land, Clinton ordered a retreat to Long Island. Around noon, Parker directed the frigates Syren (28), Sphinx (20), and Actaeon (28) to circle to the south and assume a position from which they could flank Fort Sullivans batteries. Shortly after beginning this movement, all three grounded on an uncharted sandbar with the latter twos rigging becoming entangled. While Syren and Sphinx were able to be refloated, Actaeon remained stuck. Rejoining Parkers force, the two frigates added their weight to the attack. In the course of the bombardment, the forts flagstaff was severed causing the flag to fall. Jumping over the forts ramparts, Sergeant William Jasper retrieved the flag and jury-rigged a new flagpole from a sponge staff. In the fort, Moultrie instructed his gunners to focus their fire on Bristol and Experiment. Pummeling the British ships, they caused great damage to their rigging and lightly wounded Parker. As the afternoon passed, the forts fire slackened as ammunition ran low. This crisis was averted when Lee dispatched more from the mainland. Firing continued until 9:00 PM with Parkers ships unable to reduce the fort. With darkness falling, the British withdrew. Aftermath In the Battle of Sullivans Island, British forces sustained 220 killed and wounded. Unable to free Actaeon, British forces returned the next day and burned the stricken frigate. Moultries losses in the fighting were 12 killed and 25 wounded. Regrouping, Clinton and Parker remained in the area until late July before sailing north to aid in General Sir William Howes campaign against New York City. The victory at Sullivans Island saved Charleston and, along with the Declaration of Independence a few days later, provided a much needed boost to American morale. For the next few years, the war remained focused in the north until British forces returned to Charleston in 1780. In the resulting Siege of Charleston, British forces captured the city and held it until the end of the war.