Why did the United States invade Cuba?

     Why Did the U.S. Invade Cuba?

Introduction:
Thesis: At this time in American history we were becoming one of the most dominant countries in the world. America invaded Cuba because it wanted the land, Cuba was in the middle of the Caribbean and was the midway point between North America and South America.

Body:
I.) One could easily argue that we were upset about the destruction of the Maine but I personally believe that the invasion of Cuba was because we wanted and needed the extra land.

A.) Rimland Theory, you can control the seas you can control the world.
B.) Guantanamo Bay, we wanted a place to keep terrorist. This was just more land that we could have.
C.)   We wanted there exports and wanted control of there country's decision making (Platt Amendment)

II.)  We did not like Spain or agree with them on most things and they were in control of Cuba.

        A.) We wanted the Eastern World or Europe out of the Eastern Hemisphere
B.) We did not want Spain to control Cuba because they were treating them harshly and was making Cuba a bad place.
C.) We didn't want Spain to take over Cuba and have a Spaniards just south of us because it would be like having the threat of Spain very close to us.

III.) Cuba had concentration camps and harsh treatment of the women and children.

        A.) We needed to set a good example for the rest of the world and show the world that we aren't selfish and we care about our allies.
B.) Although we wanted to help we saw that there was weakness in Cuba and it was any easy time to gain control of the centrally located Cuba.
C.) We needed to show strength and show the world that we weren't the ones to step down from a war with Spain after they blew up our ship.

Conclusion:
At the time, Spain was hated by most of the world and the media was trying blame this all on Spain. Assuming that Spain has any intelligence at all, they would not want to start a war with the United States. The United States was and still is one of the most feared and tactical countries in the world and even Spain would not want to get into that type of mess. With that being said, I believe that the Maine was blown up by a technical error from the inside of the ship.  We saw that we could use this as an advantage,  the explosion of the Maine was just another reason to invade Cuba. Although this is all just a conspiracy, this wouldn't be the first time we tried to cover up a mistake. This big mistake ended being a good reason to be mad and invade Cuba. There are multiple reasons and theories why would did it but it ended up working in our favor.

Refugees vs. Immigrants

Refugees vs. Immigrants 

Whats is an Immigrant? 

According to CNN an Immigrant is a person who choses to resettle in another country.

What is a Refugee?

According to CNN a Refugee is a person is forced to resettle in another country. They need help and their lives are in danger. 

Where does the line get crossed whether or not a person is a Refugee or an Immigrant?

America is a country built on hope and dreams which is why most people choose to resettle here. A Refugee does not chose to come to America, they are forced. Refugees are more aloud in America than an illegal Immigrant who crossed the border to get here. 

If associations like ISIS and the Mexican Cartel are running your country wouldn't you want to leave?  Are the people that want to leave that country Refugees or Immigrants? The answer can not be answered at this point in time but this topic needs to be dicussed. The immigration issue in this country is definately a problem but if people need help and lives need to be saved we need to take action as a country. When defining an Immigrant we need to be more specific and know when it is okay to come to America. An Immigrant that comes to America to make money and comes here illegaly is bad but if you come here and have a goal to save your life from the termoil of your former country than it is okay.

Populism in Modern Day America

Populism in Modern Day America

Populism in today's society can be defined as taxing the rich and giving it to the working middle class. This concept is a little like the Robin Hood effect, stealing from the rich upper class and giving it to the poor lower class. In some ways this can be effective but one could argue that Populism backs away from the American idea of capitalism that this nation was built on. I do believe that the American Dream or Capitalism is awesome and this country would not be the same without it but, there comes a time where as human beings we all deserve equal rights and the basic necessities of life.

In President Obama's most recent SOTU address he mentioned that our tax dollars would potenially help pay for kids to attend community colleges. This is a prime example of populism. Giving kids the oppurtunity to go to college and better themselves would improve our economy because we are putting qualified human beings out into the world. We live in a society where education could be considered a necessity. 

Populism is effective and it is always a good thing to do what is right for the people but I believe that populism is only needed when in it improves the everyday necessites of human life. 

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad 

The Underground Railroad was a system that moved fugitive slaves to the North or Canada. The Underground Railroad was just another building block for the South as they were going to secede. The Underground Railroad and the people who were involved in it played a big role the beginning of the Civil War.

Ever since the beginning of slavery in America there has been certain abolitionist that have tried to free slaves. When George Washington was president there are reports that some of his slaves escaped and freed by Quakers. This Underground Railroad wasn't a completely new phenomenon at the time, things like this have been going on forever. The Quakers were believed to have started the famous Underground Railroad. A man named Levi Coffin, known as the king of the Underground Railroad, was believed to freed close to 3,000 slaves. When the Underground Railroad first started people saw sparks arise but they did not know that this would lead to something like a Civil War.


Abolitionist who worked the Underground Railroad wanted to spread the anti-slavery movement across America so their way of doing it was through the Underground Railroad. People all throughout the network would talk about it and it would eventually spread to everywhere orally. Unfortunately the word on abolishing slavery and the Underground Railroad got to the slave owners of the already frustrated South.

With the secession of the South the Civil War was in the near future. No one can really blame the whole cause of the Civil War on the Underground Railroad but it played a big role. The Civil War was a fight over the South wanting slavery and the North wanting to abolish it. Some may say the Civil War was started because South the was being stubborn but, at the end of the day we do not know why it all started. All I know our country would not be the same strong country it is without it.

The Underground Railroad was a major event in our country's history. The Underground Railroad built character in our country, it tore apart our country and effected our country in many different ways. One could say it effected the South much more than the North but it effected them both in different ways. Since the Civil War this country has shown to be one of the most diverse places on earth and I find it very hard to believe that any of this even happened but I guess its stuff like this that shapes our country and makes it the great country that it is.

Transcendentalism

Beauty of Transcendentalism 

Transcendentalism is the belief that society and it's institutions corrupt the purity of an individual. Transcendentalist truly believe that people are the best when they are self-relient and independent. Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the men who started off the theory of Transcendentalism. Emerson wrote an essay entitled "Nature" which began the Transcendentalism era. Transcendentalism was very nature oriented and believed that society ruined the original creation and wanted to preserve all nature.

The picture above symbolizes Transcendentalism pretty well. All transcendentalism artist of the time made sure to make every piece art was independent and real. I think that in today's world we need a little more independent and real things. 

American Influence on Canadian Nationalism

American Influence on Canada


Ever since the war of 1812 America has influenced Canada greatly. The agressive American behavior has julted Canada's nation as a whole. For example the Canadian national flag was established in 1965 becasue of Canada's hopes to become an independent country. Canada also began to speak English because of the American influence in the major cities across Canada including Quebec. I think that Canada wants to very similar to our country because they have seen how succesful we have been ever since the war of 1812. America has overcome many things to become the free country it is and Canada wants to have the same "story" as us. Canada's "history" was very similar to America's but just happened 40 years later. I couldn't tell you if the mirroring history has anything to do with Canada wanting to be America but both country's definitley have had similar events they had to overcome to become a free country.

    America has always been the country to get in everyone's business. America is just south of Canada and America has and probably always will play a role on Canada's culture, Especially in the bigger city across Canada that American people migrate to. In the big picture America has definitley played a role in the development of Canada but at the end of the day it is it's own country and it has done a lot on his own to become an independent country.

Some comparisons of Canadian and American cultures are
Tim Hortons vs. Dunkin Donuts
Hockey vs. Football or Basketball
CFL vs. NFL