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The Articles
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On this day – April 4th, 1949
On April 4th, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO was formed primarily as a military alliance against the Soviet Union. Belgium, Denmark, Canada, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Great Britain all decided to sign the treaty to form NATO after United States President Harry Truman expressed a need for an alliance in the struggle between democracy and communism. NATO has now grown from 12 to 32 member allies and still remains a crucial part of international safety today.
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On this day – March 23rd, 1933
On March 23rd, 1933, the Enabling Act was passed by the German parliament. This act enabled Adolf Hitler to pass laws without the involvement of Reichstag, the German Parliament. This law allowed Hitler to assume complete dictatorial control over Germany and allowed the National Socialist party to start taking steps to their revolution.
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The War of the Stray Dog
Can you imagine a world in which a dog caused the outbreak of a war? This may seem unlikely, but it did happen in the 1925 War of the Stray Dog between Bulgaria and Greece. Before we get to how a dog started a war, let’s go back to Bulgaria and Greece’s complex, intertwined history of conflict. After both countries had fought for their independence from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s, they joined together with two other nations, Montenegro and Serbia, to form the Balkan League. These nations had all gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but because large numbers of their populations remained under Ottoman rule,…
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On this day – February 3rd, 1989
On February 3rd, 1989, after more than 30 years as dictator of Paraguay, Alfredo Stroessner was overthrown in a coup d’etat led by General Andres Rodriguez. He was driven into exile in Brazil where he lived until the end of his days.
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The Longest Running Friendly Feud
Imagine starting a 50 year international conflict over a virtually unusable body of rock. While this seems extremely silly and unlikely, it is exactly what happened between Denmark and Canada in what is now known as the Whisky War. I am here to explain how this conflict started, and how it finally ended in June of 2022. It all began with Hans Island. Never heard of it? That’s probably because it is only half a square mile large and has no great natural resources. Many have referred to it as an unremarkable piece of rock. While negotiating territorial lines in the Arctic, both Denmark and Canada realized that they…
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On this day – January 2, 1980
On January 2nd, 1980, President Jimmy Carter asked the Senate to halt any action on the SALT II Program (nuclear weapons treaty agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union). This came in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December of 1979. By postponing SALT II, Jimmy Carter and the United States made it clear that the friendly, detente relationship between America and the Soviet Union had come to an end. This also led to a halt of exports, such as grains and technology, to the USSR, as well as a boycott by American athletes of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.
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The Short Staircase and an International Incident
Most of us have seen the famous images of US presidents descending from Air Force One via the 18 foot tall staircase. Recently however, these images have become less common. This is because President Biden has been opting to use another shorter set of stairs to enter and exit Air Force One. Because of this, media sources and the general public have been criticizing the president and calling him weak. How could a simple staircase have such a great impact on a president’s public image? Well, the use of the same staircase once led to the outbreak of an international incident. In 2016, President Obama was en route to…
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On this day – August 13, 1961
On this day in history August 13, 1961 – Germany was divided when soldiers started to build a wall between the democratic western portion of Berlin and the Soviet-controlled eastern portion. It was not until November 9, 1989 that the wall fell to reunite Germany.
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A US soldier’s escape to North Korea and other examples
On the morning of July 18th, 2023, I woke up to a notification from the New York Times that stated North Korea Detains US Citizen After Unauthorized Border Crossing. A quick read of the article brought me some knowledge of the situation. An American citizen had illegally crossed the border into North Korea after being on a tour of the Joint Security Area. Updates later in the day revealed that the man was an American soldier: Private Travis T. King. The soldier was set to be sent to Fort Bliss, Texas after he had been arrested in South Korea on assault charges. Rather than boarding his plane at the airport,…
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On this day – August 8, 1945
On this day in history August 8, 1945 – The Soviet Union declared war on Japan. This led to the Soviets gaining significant influence in the Northern portion of Korea. The United States was forced to propose the division of Korea in an effort to limit complete Soviet control of the peninsula.
