Sino-American Relations

This past Friday I attended the Arrival Ceremony for the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan on the South Lawn of the White House. As with every state visit by a foreign president, there was much pomp and circumstance, including performances of both nations national anthems, a 21 gun salute and a musical review of representatives from the five military branches of the United States.

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

President Xi had visited the US before but never as the president of China. In his opening remarks, President Barak Obama said "that when the United States and China work together, it makes our nations and the world more prosperous and more secure." President Xi also addressed this by saying that he came to the US to "promote peace and advance cooperation." 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

In 1972, President Nixon became the first US President to visit China, but official relations between the two countries did not begin until January 1, 1979. These official diplomatic relations allowed the two nations to work together for trade and cooperation, since both nations are permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations. While official diplomatic relations have only been in place for the last 36 years, the two countries had negotiated treaties long before. 

Photo: pages.ramapo.edu

In 1844, the Treaty of Wanghia marked the beginning of formal Sino-American relations, but at that time China was a very different country than it is today. This treaty, as well as the defeat of the Chinese by the British in the Opium Wars, ended China's age of isolationism and allowed Western nations into port for trade opportunities. Relations soured with the building of the trans-continental railroad. Many of the workers were Chinese immigrants and they were blamed for depressed wage levels. Reactions to Chinese workers resulted in the first Immigration Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese immigration to the US and made it very difficult for them to find jobs. The ban lasted for 60 years. 

Photo: digitalhistory.uh.edu

In 1931, Japan invaded China and when China fought back in 1937, the US backed China. Americans were sympathetic toward the Chinese because of the atrocities committed by the Japanese Army, as well as stories of the country from American missionaries. Once the US entered World War II, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed. Despite sending aid to China during the war, America was not welcomed by the rising Communist Party in China. The US did not officially recognize the People's Republic until 1979. 

Photo: cfr.org

Diplomatic relations have made it easier for the two nations to work together but relations are far from perfect, as to be expected between the world's preeminent democracy and a country ruled by the Communist Party. Nonetheless, the two nations have been able to cooperate on several fronts despite being competitors for influence around the world. China has the largest population in the world and the second largest economy, and as such can be a key ally in combating climate change. As both President Obama and President Xi highlighted on Friday, when the two nations work together, the world can benefit. 

Photo: usnews.com

The Spy

The name Benedict Arnold is infamous in American history but what about the name John André? André was the man who helped Arnold to betray America and commit treason. On September 21, 1780, André and Arnold met to discuss plans to allow British troops to take West Point, which was under the command of Arnold at the time. 

Photo: uppercanadahistory.ca

The meeting between Arnold and André in 1780 was a long time coming and the nail in the coffin for André. André was born May 2, 1750 in London to wealthy parents who sent him to school in Geneva. At the age of 20, he joined the British Army and was sent to the New World to fight in the American Revolutionary War. In November 1775, André was captured by the Continental Army and held as a prisoner of war until December 1776 when he was released in a prisoner exchange. By 1778, he was promoted to Major. 

Photo: uppercanadahistory.ca

With his promotion, he became head of British secret intelligence in America. When the British occupied Philadelphia (1777-1778), André lived in Benjamin Franklin's house and became friends with Peggy Shippen, the daughter of a prominent loyalist. After the British left Philadelphia, Shippen and André remained in contact. 

During the reoccupation of Philadelphia by the Continental Army, Benedict Arnold, then the military commander of the city, became romantically involved with Shippen and they were married in 1779. Shippen's correspondence with André allowed Benedict Arnold to work with the secret intelligence officer to betray the Continental Army. 

Photo: thehermitage.org (Peggy Shippen)

The conspirators came up with a plan for Arnold, by then in command of West Point, to surrender the fort in exchange for £20,000. This was a highly desirable strategy because it would allow the British to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. On September 21 Arnold handed over to André the plans of West Point, which he himself had weakened in anticipation of a British attack.

When the two left, André was led by Joshua Hett Smith, whose help Arnold had enlisted. But Smith was a shifty character and appears to have been a double agent, for he convinced André to wear civilian clothing and led him towards American lines. André was captured and the plans of West Point were found. Since he was wearing civilian clothing instead of his uniform, André was arrested as a spy. 

Photo: newenglandhistoricalsociety.com

When word got to Arnold that John André had been arrested as a spy, he escaped to British controlled New York City. George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, was open to exchanging the spy for the traitor but the British had a policy of not returning Americans who had switched sides. While many British disliked Arnold, they did not renege on this policy.

Arnold continued to fight the war as a general in the British army while André was convicted of espionage and hanged. André held his head high as he went to his death while Arnold was held in suspicion by the British as a mercenary. The contrasting character of the two men, the patriotic spy and the traitor, further vilified Arnold among both the Americans and the British. 

Photo: mountvernon.org

Birmingham 1963

On September 15, 1963, an explosion rocked the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This explosion was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement and in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., it was "one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity." Children in churches were thought to be safe, but four girls were killed that day as they got ready in their Sunday best. The congregation knew that this was an act of terrorism, not an accident. At that time, Birmingham was known as "Bombingham" because of the number of explosions that affected the city. 

Photo: nydailynews.com

In January 1963, George Wallace gave his inauguration speech as governor of Alabama. He famously said, "I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." His words set the stage for Birmingham to be a battleground between staunch segregationists and civil rights activists. 

Photo: washingtonpost.com

May 2, 1963 saw the beginning of something new: the participation of children in the peaceful Civil Rights Movement. Starting at the 16th Street Baptist Church, children marched in peaceful protest for equal rights. Police Chief Bull Connor responded with violence: he ordered that police dogs be used to attack the children, for fire hoses to be blasted at them and to hit them with batons. Connor's tactics were televised and shocked the nation. 

Photo: blackhistorycollection.org

When the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed, the nation was horrified and the federal government became more involved in the Civil Rights Movement. The nation had witnessed violence towards children but this attack was too much because it took the lives of four innocent girls. 

Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair were attending church on Youth Day, when children had the opportunity to attend with the adult congregation. They were in the basement of the church, getting themselves ready in anticipation for an exciting day. 

Photo: apr.org

The actions of Ku Klux Klan members Thomas Blanton, Bobby Frank Cherry, Herman Frank Cash and Robert Edward Chambliss changed the emotions from excitement to grief. By 1965 the FBI knew that these men were Klan members and had bombed the church, but did nothing.

Finally, in 1977 Robert Chambliss was charged and convicted of the murder of Carol Denise McNair. Thomas Blanton was charged and convicted on four counts of murder in 2001 and Bobby Cherry was also charged and convicted on four counts of murder in 2002. Herman Cash died in 1994 and was never charged.

Their actions were meant to terrorize the members of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Instead, they spurred the Nation on towards the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

Photo: learnnc.org (President L. B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964)

Denali: The High One

Last week, President Obama sent a powerful message to America: we should recognize and honor indigenous culture. On August 30, 2015, Mount McKinley's political-stunt-inspired existence ended and Denali was born again, after 119 years.

Photo: parkadvocate.org

Denali is the tallest mountain in North America and is today protected by Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Long before Europeans arrived, Alaska Natives had their own name for the mountain in their own language. These people, the Koyukon Athabaskans, have lived near the mountain for centuries and they called it Denali, meaning "The High One." When the Russians arrived in Alaska, they called it Bolshaya Gora, a literal translation of the indigenous name "Denali".

Then in 1896, American gold prospector William Dickey renamed the mountain as a political statement of support for presidential candidate William McKinley. The government officially recognized the name as McKinley when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Mount McKinley National Park Act of February 26, 1917. 

Photo: nps.gov

In 1975, the Alaska state legislature requested that the U.S. Congress change the name of the mountain back to its original native name, which was how it was commonly referred to within the state. However, members of the Ohio congressional delegation blocked the efforts by Alaskans since McKinley was from that state, so the Board of Geographic Names was incapable of making the change.

The fight to keep the name was led by Ohio Representative Ralph Regula. Instead of simply blocking the name change, Regula offered a compromise: keep the name Mount McKinley but change the name of the national park surrounding it to Denali. The compromise was accepted but not by Alaskan lawmakers, who continued to fight for a name change. Regula continued to block the effort until his retirement in 2009. 

Photo: projects.washingtonpost.com (Ralph Regula)

William McKinley, a native Ohioan, was the 25th President of the United States, and though the tallest mountain in north America was named after him, McKinley never visited Alaska. The reason gold prospector William Dickey named it after the Presidential candidate was because McKinley was in favor of using the gold standard while his opponent was in favor of the silver standard. McKinley is not a well-known president, except for the fact that he was assassinated in his second term and his vice president was Theodore Roosevelt, who then became president. The Ohio delegation fought to maintain the name of Mount McKinley simply to honor a fellow Ohioan. 

Operating under President Obama's order, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the official name change. She was empowered to do so because of a federal law stating that if the Board of Geographic Names does not act in a reasonable amount of time, the Secretary of the Interior can take action. Jewell said, "I think any of us would think that 40 years is an unreasonable amount of time." (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/31/hailing-mckinley-ohio-lawmakers-blast-obamas-denali-name-change) 

Photo: doi.gov (Sally Jewell)