Seminole Native Americans in US History, Camille Thrall

Seminole Native Americans

by Camille Thrall

At the beginning of United States history, European settlers had to work with and eventually compete with the native people of the Americas for land. During colonial times, this particular tribe called the Seminole were on friendly terms with the Spanish and British settlers alike. After the American Revolutionary War, they were easily able to push farther and farther into Florida because of the decline of the Spanish Empire in the Americas Eventually, as the Americans gained Florida as territory, the Seminole were pushed into Indian territory, in modern day Oklahoma.

This tribe did not go down willingly or quietly, managing to fight the Seminole wars (1818-1858). The first Seminole war was over territory as General Andrew Jackson ventures into Florida and Fought the Native Americans in hope of more territory, believing the territory to rightfully belong to the Americans and not to the Seminole. To end this, the Seminole signed a treaty. The Seminole were first stuck on an Indian Reservation in the middle of Florida because of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823). This was upheld by the Americans by patrolling and building more and more forts. Later the tribe was forced from their homeland by the Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832), after the second Seminole war, which was a result of the attempt to remove the Seminole from Florida completely. Eventually, most Seminoles and Black Seminoles were forced to move to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River (Oklahoma), even after the third attempt for freedom and recognition by the Seminoles in the third and final Seminole war.

Another instance of the Seminole impacting the History of the United States is the American Civil war. During the Civil War, most of the Oklahoma Seminole allied with the Confederacy, who did lose the war as we know, and after which they had to sign another new treaty with the U.S., this time giving them freedom and tribal membership for the Black Seminole. Today, people of the reservation are enrolled in the federally recognized Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, while others belong to unorganized groups.

Author’s note: The Seminole native Americans have always been interesting to me, not because I knew who they were or what they stood for, but because I am related to them. This one of the few things I know about my Father’s birth parents, that they were part Seminole Native American. I am not sure how much I am related to them or if it is even true (I should really get one of those ancestry.com tests done) but I have always been curious about them. This assignment has given me an excuse to research more about them and cure my curiosity, and I am thankful for that.

Links:

floridamemory.com

Seminole Wars

Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat was one of the most deceptive plans during World War II and was pulled off by British intelligence officials Charles Cholmondeley and Ewen Montagu. With the Allies successfully defeating Italy and Germany in the North African Campaign, it was believed by the Axis Powers that the Allies would target Italy next.

In April 1943, a fisherman spotted a dead corpse off of the coast of Spain. The dead body turned out to be a British man under the name of Major William Martin, who was part of Britain's Royal Marines. In addition to the dead body, a briefcase was also found, containing what was thought to be official documents. The documents revealed that the Allied Army would plan an attack on Greece and Sardinia, which were both occupied by Germany, by traveling through the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa. This information spread all the way to Adolf Hitler, who secretly transferred his troops from France to Greece in anticipation of a great invasion from the Allies.

However, little did Hitler and the Nazis know that the dead body and official documents were all intentionally planned to be unveiled to the Axis Powers. Cholmondeley and Montagu had created a fake identity for the dead man, and they had also written fake documents of the Allied Army's plans. With the Germans fooled by the idea that the Allies would attack Greece, 160,000 Allied troops invaded Sicily on July 10th, 1943.

Since Hitler was so deceived by Operation Mincemeat, he had only left two German divisions in Sicily. As a result of the Allied invasion, the Germans and Italians were utterly defeated in the battle, and thousands of Allied soldiers were saved. Italy was also significantly weakened as the defeat brought Italy one step closer towards its downfall.

Operation Mincemeat could be considered as one of the most successful plans during the war, and it ended up helping out the Allies significantly. The plan also brings into account of how important it is not to trust anything or anyone as the operation even fooled Hitler. Had the Nazis found out that the documents were fake, they probably would have been more prepared to confront the Allies at Sicily. It is interesting how one dead man lead to a huge victory for the Allies.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-operation-mincemeat
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/operation_mincemeat
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/invasion-of-sicily

Winston Churchill

Paolo Del Pielago

The British Prime minister twice, man of great speeches, and had the resilience to never surrender. Winston Churchill Born November 30, 1870, in the United Kingdom. His mother Lady Randolph Churchill or Jennie Spencer Churchill an American and his father Lord Randolph Churchill a British Aristocrat. Winston Churchill was in a line of aristocratic people such as his father and grand father John Spencer Churchill. Lady Randolph was just a regular American who just scraped by through finance. When they married, they were frequently in debt. Churchill was born in the Blenheim palace his grandparents house and, lived in Oxfordshire, UK. He was then forced to move to Dublin because of his father's appointment as secretary to John Spencer-Churchill was appointed Viceroy of Ireland. In 1880 John Strange(Jack) Spencer Churchill was born a brother to Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill practically had no relationship with his father as if he didn't have a father  and he loved his mother but at a distance. The only one Churchill really got close to was his brother Jack. Churchill was taught English and math by a governess and was taken care of by a nanny named Elizabeth Ann Everest. Churchill says that in his twenty years of life in the beginning she was Churchill's most intimate and dearest friend. He even gave her a nickname of Woomany. Churchill went to a St. George's school in Berkshire and he hated it. He did poorly academically and misbehaved regularly. Churchill ended up moving to a new school in 1884 because of his poor health. In Brunswick school Hove, his grades improved but he continued to misbehave. In April 1888 he went to the elite Harrow school by barely squeezing through the entrance exam. He wrote poetry and letters that ended up in the school magazine Harrovian, excelled in academics particularly history. His teachers complained that he was careless. Churchill's father encouraged him to prepare to join the militray and he did that for the last three years even though he performed poorly on his exams. Churchill tried to get admitted into the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst succeeding on the third attempt. He graduated in December 1894 and did well with horses at the academy. His father died soon to Syphilis after he graduated. Churchill joined the British army and made 150 euros. Churchill rushed to North London to pay visits to his dying nanny Everest and attended her funeral. In the span of four years Churchill went to Cuba, India, and Sudan to fight as a soldier. Churchill was taken as a prisoner of war in South Africa by trying to get information for "Daily Mail" and "Morning Post". He later escaped with two other prisoners. Churchill then raised 10,000 euros(990,000 euros today) While after winning the general election of 1900. Churchill published a biography of his father which he hardly knew in 1906. Churchill grew in the political realm as a liberal to his position of prime minister. Churchill's actions as a soldier were very brave and foolish saying that he doesn't condone of mass killings but goes into no man's land and the front lines during battle. During World War one, Churchill was appointed to first lord of admiralty and helped design things such as tanks which were being manufactured by the navy. Churchill took the blame for the incident at Gallipoli for fighting with the commander to keep on pressing forward but the commander wanted to fall back for support. They lost their opportunity and the battle ended in disaster for the British. He was then demoted from his admiralty position and returned home defeated and shamed. Churchill was haunted by this for decades and his political opponents said "Remember the Dardanelles," to taunt him and discourage him. It was from this that he gained some steely nerves. Churchill was for a conservationist until the 1930's then Churchill was at his lowest point in 1931. Churchill overcame this point in the mid 1930's even though he was much smaller now, he tried to gain supporters about Germany's rearmament. September 1st, 1939 World War 2 begins and Churchill gains his position as First Lord of Admiralty for the war. On May 10th 1940 George VI asked Churchill after Lord Halifax turned down the offer. Churchill's speeches inspired the embattled Britain to never give up and fight on. Britain held off the extremely large German army after France was lost and they defeated an all air attack in the Battle of Britain. Churchill knew he couldn't have done this without his connection to the U.S and Franklin D. Roosevelt. On September 2nd 1945, the war is over and Churchill reassures his people of their victory over the Germans specifically with his signature Victory sign and a speech. Churchill then went on to a second term as British prime minister from 1951-1955. Churchill married in 1908 to Clementine Churchill and had five children. The oldest child was Diana Churchill. Churchill retired in 1955 and was offered to be Duke of London but refused because once he died it would be passed on to his son Randolph Churchill and he didn't want that title. He was instead knighted by Elizabeth II as Garter knight. The British Bulldog was his nickname for his spirit and a photo of him with an English bulldog. Churchill's old age was causing him to become deaf and he was speculated to have Alzheimer's disease. John F Kennedy proclaimed him as an honorary citizen of the United States but he was unable to attend because of his illness. At age 90 Sunday, 24 January 1965 Winston Churchill died and his impact on the world for fighting off the Germans so long with out the real help they needed by never giving up. An interesting fact about Churchill was even though he had speech impediment he still gave his powerful speeches that inspired the British and empowered them through tough times. Churchill was an avid drinker and smoker and his parents were missing for most of his life. 

http://www.history.com/news/winston-churchills-world-war-disaster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill#Early_life

https://www.biography.com/people/winston-churchill-9248164

https://www.nps.gov/articles/fdrww2.htm

https://www.winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-122/churchill-and-d-day/