Background Essay: The Nanking Massacre

In December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Nanking, China. They killed 300,00 out of the 600,000 people in China’s capital city. The six-week rampage by the Japanese is now known as the Rape of Nanking and the single worst atrocity during WWII era in either the European or Pacific theaters of the war.

The Matewan Massacre, an armed confrontation between miners, police and the Baldwin Felts, caused civil unrest in West Virginia for many years.

A little more than 35 years ago, a man named Jim Jones shocked the world when he led almost 1,000 of his followers in an act of mass suicide; amongst those dead were more than 270 children1. On November 18, 1978, Jones and his followers drank Kool-Aid laced with cyanide in what he had presented to them as a peaceful escape to injustices of this world. The Jonestown Massacre was an incredible tragedy that sent waves through the whole world. Though the event was tragic, scholars have used our knowledge of what happened in order to deepen our understanding of cults, religions, and how both can influence people’s decisions.

Though termed the Tiananmen Square Massacre, this incident actually took place throughout China. What started out as a peaceful protest calling for political and economic reforms, soon turned to bloodshed. (Hu 2015)This greatly impacted China's international relationships. Contact between China and Western nations declined, official visits were suspended. Western powers imposed arms embargoes and economic sanctions, preventing the sale of military equipment, and approval of loans. (The National Bureau of Asian Research) Understanding the causes of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and its effects on China’s international relationships, aids in better understanding the nuances of this infamous incident.

On March 5, 1770 a mob of colonists armed with clubs surrounded the customs house in Boston where the kings money was kept. The mob surrounded the guard posted there and threatened his life so the red coats were called in, to disperse the mob and the defend the customs house. The colonists started to attack the redcoats tasked with defending the customs house, Which lead to shots being fired by the soldiers. In document A by Paul Revere it was titled “The Bloody Massacre”. In my opinion that was far from the truth, the Boston Massacre of 1770 was not a massacre because the colonists had weapons and attacked the British troops first. Also there was a every low loss of life which goes against the definition of a massacre, a massacre (insert massacre

I was shocked by a Japanese man named Shiro Azuma, a Japanese soldier who had attend the massacre. After the end of the war, he analyzed the diary he wrote during the invasion of China as The Diary of Shiro Azuma. He came to Nanjing during his lifetime to apologize for the atrocity he had do to this city. However, he was accused by groups of Japanese people about some description in his diary, and he was die before he successfully prove that all the stories in his diary are true.

The Jonestown massacre is a great example of people being manipulated and brainwashed. The fact that people can be manipulated to leave the states and go in the middle of the jungle is crazy but they thought it was for the best. Jim Jones the cult leader didn’t lie completely, he would tell parts of the truth convincing them his way was right and he told them Jonestown would be Utopia. In my opinion I do believe it could happen again, if someone is convincing enough and good at speaking it’s easy to believe they are right and even follow him or her. If it’s possible for this to happen again how could it happen in todays world?

After the massacre, the trials were postponed for a few months for the soldiers own safety and gave time for the crowd to settle down. .Again Wikipedia does not mention the funeral and the time that the trials were postponed in order for the city and the people to calm down. Propaganda came after and propagandist such as Samuel Adams described the incident as a, “Horrid Massacre” . However, others such as John Adams who was a lawyer, believed that law and not propaganda would solve the case, and he agreed to be the defender of the soldiers at the trials, and argued that the soldiers acted in self-defense Wikipedia does state that John Adams fought for the soldiers, but it won’t say the reason to why he did it, and from other academic

“Belief is a powerful force” (Moore, Alt. Considerations). It is what lead the Israelites out of Egypt and what inspired Michelangelo to paint the “Creation of Adam.” It is what encouraged the pilgrims to move to America, but belief has also lead to wars. It is belief of superiority that fanned the flame of the Holocaust and the KKK. It is what that killed seventy-nine people in the Wacco Siege and it is what that killed 909 men, women, and children in Jonestown. The Jonestown Massacre has played a very big part in the history of cults and radical belief. People wonder how these people were manipulated to do terrible things. But perhaps it is not belief itself that is terrible, but how people use it.

I found the book to be extremely troubling. Next to slavery, the holocaust, and treatment toward Native Americans; this has been one of the top horrifying acts of humanity I’ve come across. The events surrounding the 'Rape of Nanking' are only a part of the story but have become related to those leading up to the construction of one of the most notorious research labs known- Unit 731. However, what was done to the inmates was only the beginning. The biggest travesty was soon to come by way of the U.S's reaction- after the war was over, U.S occupational forces lead by Douglas MacArthur struck a deal that would help shield the doctors, nurses and other medical personal involved with these horror from much deserved accountability. Some had gone

The holocaust the twelve year massacre started in 1933 and was not stopped until 1945 what innocent lives were lost during this dark period of time. Death, depression and silence are all things that the jews had to live through during the holocaust therr were camps for murder sych as birkenau and aushwitz.tE war killed over 6 million jeews and that left them with a ansall number of people to continue livng on .there are many known cases of jews being quiet for many years and then they told the court what happened here aand why would anybody do anyrhing this horrinle

As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. “The Chinese people have stood up!” declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class.

The worst mass murder suicide was the Jonestown Massacre which happened on November 18th, 1978. Have you ever head the saying “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid?” this originates for the Jonestown Massacre, which killed over 900 members of the Peoples Temple. James Jones made a concoction of a powered drink, like Kool-Aid mixed laced with cyanide and prescription drugs. James Jones used psychological manipulation instead of physical force with the members of Peoples Temple.

In deciding on which course of action would be the most appropriate in resolving the Taiwan-China conflict, it would be necessary to understand the conflict and the attempts made to resolve such conflict to have a proper perspective on the issue. It would also help to analyze why the previous techniques were not successful before adopting any policy recommendation to resolve the conflict.

The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.