Has Pandora's Box been opened Part - 2

                                           

    Has Pandora's Box been opened Part 2

The original 13 colonies that formed the United States were Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia. With the end of the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a new country was born. Land of Immigrants, settlers, and Native Americans. The Native Americans were the key to learning the new lands. The colonists had agreements with some of the Native American Tribes through trade and things. The tribes that were more open to the colonists were able to trade more frequently with them. This would eventually lead to jealousy among other Native American tribes who saw the Colonists' inhabitation of their lands as an intrusion and a threat. Many of the tribes banded together and recognized the threat posed by these pale face people who dressed strangely. Some of the tribes did random incursions and raided the camps of the colonists they had been observing for some time from a lookout post in the hills and densely covered forest. They observed the hunting and fishing methods used and they saw the help rendered by the other tribes. The most intriguing thing they saw was the use of the long fire stick. While the Native Americans used stealth and mastery of their surroundings to hunt animals for food these pale people used the fire stick. After watching this for some time it was decided by the opposition tribes to raid the smaller settlements and get these fire sticks. The colonists realized at the time that they needed to strike some kind of agreement with the opposition tribes. The agreement needed to be enough to stop the raids which hampered trade routes that the colonists needed for their supply chain. Also, they needed to buy more time to build up their numbers so if a land war broke out that the colonists would prevail. They struck a deal that would supply the opposition tribes with guns, but they would restrict the ammo and gunpowder needed to use the firesticks by telling the tribes supplies would be coming in by boat. This did two things once the tribes began to use and like the fire sticks, they would begin to trust the colonists more. Also, there would be fewer raids and the colonists would be able to control what the tribes had access to as far as weapons by always keeping the upper hand.  

The colonists may have opened Pandora's Box by gifting the Native People of this new land with such a destructive tool. The Native people may not have been advanced enough to handle this new technology which could ultimately lead to their destruction. 

A new world full of wonder and excitement had already seen the savage destruction of war which would be ingrained into the fabric of America. After the Civil War which was primarily fought to abolish slavery within the United States, many free men had nowhere to go and wound up going back to the plantations that they had left. An agreement was struck with the newly freed slaves that would allow them back onto lands that they would farm and share the profits with the land or deed owners this was known as sharecropping. Even with what should have been an understanding between the former slaves and the general public anger and hate over the war engulfed many who did not agree with President Lincoln. Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished all slavery within the United States.  

The seed of hate would manifest itself in the heart of a country divided not only by race but also by political views and opinions. This very division would slowly strangle the country that had once been a place to escape an oppressive authoritarian regime only to form one of its own this is called irony. But in the eyes of Pandora's Box, this was parred for the course of things to come. The world would go down a familiar road in The Great War. The war which lasted from 1914 to 1918 applies known as WW1. The war was started by the leaders of Germany, Hungary - Austria. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His murder catapulted into a war across Europe. The stage was set as the countries of Germany, Austria- Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States. (Allied Powers) On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. The result of WW1 was a staggering 8.5 million soldiers dead and culminated in key victories for the Allied Powers. This led to surrender and the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 19, 1918. The treaty basically blamed Germany and its allies for the war and had some provisions that the nations involved agreed to which included returning occupied lands back to the original host countries before the war.  

WW1 saw for the first time a global conflict where a few nations looked to dominate the world. Are we headed in the very same direction as the world today? Many allies and adversaries seem today to work hand and hand while the true nature of these alliances seems to be in conflict with the directions that these countries are reportedly going in. Indeed, the advancement in technologies on a global scale and individual corporations operating worldwide have led to this unique situation. Has Pandora's janky box rearing its head yet again in the current time that could spell disaster that we have never seen.

Ominous signs that something else was right around the corner began to manifest into reality as the war officially ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. This is known as Armistice Day. November 11, 1918. Many nations went home and honored their fallen soldiers a new decade was fast approaching, and it would get here with a roar of enthusiasm, The roaring 20s had begun.

The United States and the rest of the Allied Powers were victorious and to the victor goes the spoils. To aid the nation and its allies the United States began to manufacture just about everything needed to sustain the war. For the first time, women rolled up their sleeves and punched the time clock working in factories all across the nation to help with the war. 

The 1920s started out on an odd note after the Great War had ended another more diabolical emergency was upon the nation. The 1918 Flu pandemic may have been what truly ended WW1 this flu was a monster infecting over 500 million people worldwide and killing around 50 million. It was inescapable and even made its way into the White House. A critical election year with the country in a deep recession and widespread division along racial lines which had become deadly. Seems oddly familiar although I can't quite place it somehow, I have seen this movie before.  

The League of Nations was an international organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, created after the First World War to provide a forum for settling international disputes. The concept was proposed by Woodrow Wilson, but the United States never joined the league. (1920)

America had its first de-facto women President when Woodrow Wilson the 28th President suffered a stroke in his second term in office. His wife Edith Bolling Galt Wilson pre-screened all manners of state, functionally running the Executive branch of the government for the remainder of Wilson's second term. 

On September 16, 1920, a bombing took place in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City on Wall Street. The terrorist attack killed 30 people immediately and another 10 died from injuries later on.

The 1920s were off to a very shaky start, to say the least, and things were just heating up. Pandora's Box of Fun had plenty of random unforeseen events ready to unfold to make this decade the most memorable yet. Passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. It took decades for women in America to achieve this milestone after hard struggles and protests to finally have a voice in the direction of the country. 

Prohibition which lasted from 1920-1933 was to combat the illegal crime of bootlegging, which was the manufacturing, distributing, and sale of alcoholic beverages during prohibition. These activities were forbidden under the 18th Amendment of the US Constitution. This created some of the most infamous crime figures in US history which included Charles Luciano - He has been accredited with being the father of modern-day crime, splitting the New York mafia into five families. Al Capone is considered to be the original Scarface; Al Capone is the most notorious criminal in the Prohibition era.  

The reemergence of the KKK- The Ku Klux Klan is an organization with its roots embedded in American history. Although many pundits do not want to talk about the nature of this organization its history is mainly about hate for Black or African American people. Many believed for various reasons that the freed former slaves would pose a serious threat to the United States. The KKK vowed to stop any insurrection by blacks at any cost. The fear and sentiment were shared by many White people around the country they knew that the blacks would oftentimes be mistreated, and they feared retribution. The fear led to a sort of delusion and an unhealthy fantasy where they would imagine the blacks doing all sorts of crimes that did not happen. This would lead to racism and a consorted effort to keep the blacks down and underfoot. One could say that White America had imagined an enemy that was never there in their persecution of blacks at all costs. This would lead to the lynching or hanging of blacks mainly men all about the country for nothing at all for just existing. Pandora's Box may have been working on the minds of the people of this time who gave into the fear of their fellow man and committed many atrocities against mankind.  

If anyone does not believe that the human race is a melting pot of a variety of shades and hues belonging to one group that is mankind, then Pandora's Box would have no problem showing them how wrong they were. The decade saw prohibition and the rise of mobsters in American cities as well as an uneasy rise in the KKK which at its highest recorded point had over six million members. Women's suffrage led to voting rights and Black men hanging from trees. To say that the 1920s was a mixed-up bag would have been putting it lightly. As good or bad as the 1920s were depending on your circumstances at the time some people took the lemons they were given and made lemonade, and it was sweet for a while but just like all things especially lemons, things will begin to sour after a while. The best parts of American society are maybe when people are not feuding or finding fault with one another it is when they let their guard down and live a little, let off some steam, and well party. The parties of the 1920s would be the talk of the ages Jazz and many Black bands sprang up all along the south and people loved the music and atmosphere. Many of the blacks excelled in the creation of the dances of the day that their White counterparts would copy. It was all in the name of a great time and boy did they have a great time, perhaps for the first time the nation was starting to shed some of the tension of war and chaos and begin to heal itself.  

1929- The close of a decade that had just about everything American life had evolved into by then and I mean everything. The decade that began with war and a pandemic had somehow redeemed itself with celebration and joyfulness. I don't quote many people in my blogs so I will quote myself " When the end comes, and it will come...it comes for all of us".  Head these words for they are the truest words ever spoken. On September 4, 1929, America was plunged headfirst into a depression that would last for four years (1929-1933) It would be known as the Great Depression the stock market crash occurred in October 1929 which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. When it was least expected Pandora's Box had the final word about the goings on in the 1920s.  

Will the American spirit rise up and call on hope for its survival or will this be the beginning of the end? Continue to read Has Pandora's Box Been Opened - Part 3

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