Introduction
One of the most hotly debated topics in international politics and, indeed, the whole of human history, is the American use of the atomic bomb to bring an end to the fighting in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Central to this debate is the question of motivation: what was it that caused President Harry S. Truman to employ what he himself called “the most terrible bomb in the history of the world” in bringing the Japanese to heel?

The most obvious answer is, of course, to expedite the end of the second World War by securing Japan’s surrender. The most common defense of the use of the bomb was that it saved the much-touted “half a million American lives” that would have been ended in an American invasion of the Japanese archipelago. Truman said, “The atom bomb was ‘no great decision’…It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness…It was a purely military decision to end the war.” However, goings-on in international politics, and especially in times of war, can only very rarely be explained away with such a simplistic, surface-level argument. There are always underlying motives to be considered, and these can be few or many, trenchant or vague.

In the case of the use of the bomb, possible motivations are many, and they are vague. It is difficult for one to put their proverbial finger squarely on a single argument and say, “Yes. That’s the one. That’s why they did it”. Given our hindsight, we know the outcome of the decision - on the morning of August 6th, 1945, the B-29 bomber known as the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. We know that it detonated at 8:16 am, “after a forty-three-second fall to an altitude of 1,900 feet over the courtyard of the Shima Hospital, 550 feet south-east of the Aioi bridge aiming point” .We know of the devastation that followed, but the catalyst for the decision is still under scrutiny, and for good reason.

Stonehenge is Britain’s greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery, power and endurance. Its original purpose is unclear to us, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities. It has been called an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago.

This ancient monument of huge stones solitarily standing on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England has captured imaginations for centuries. Theories about who built it have included the Druids, Greeks, Phoenicians, and Atlanteans. Speculation on the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy.

Investigations over the last 100 years have revealed that Stonehenge was built in several stages from 2800 - 1800 BC. It seems to have been designed to allow for observation of astronomical phenomena - summer and winter solstices, eclipses, and more.

The Trilithons are ten upright stones arranged as five freestanding pairs each with a single horizontal lintel. They were erected within the Sarsen Circle in the form of a horseshoe with the open side facing north-east towards the main entrance of the monument. They were arranged symmetrically and graded in height; the tallest is in the central position. Only three of the five Trilithons are now complete with their lintels. The other two both have only one standing stone with the second stone and lintel lying on the ground.

There were many disagreements between countries that led to the devastating World War in 1914. Germany’s hunger for power was something most countries did not agree with, so they fought back, this was Imperialism. Countries coming to the aid of each other, and joining as allies created fear and suspicion among rival nations; this was an issue of alliances. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand caused many problems; this was an issue of nationalism. The three major issues that sparked WWI were alliances between countries, a group’s devotion to their country, and who could gain the most land and power.

An important cause of WWI was alliances between countries. Conflicts between nations occurred when alliances were formed between countries. This created fear and suspicion. An alliance known as the Triple Entente consisted of France, Britain and Russia. Also, the alliance between Germany, Austria and Italy was called the Triple Alliance. When countries were obligated to help one another, it created tension among rival nations. On August 1st when Germany declared war on Russia, France and Britain were automatically involved with it, including Canada because they were a part of the British Empire. Although alliances were an important factor, imperialism was an important cause as well.

Imperialism was another thing that sparked the Great War. This mostly revolved around Germany due to their power-hungry attitude around the globe. This caused many disputed between rivals because Germany was very powerful and this made them very nervous and frightened. Germany wanted to build an empire and establish colonies, and they resented Britain and France because they had the most out of anyone. Germany’s main goal was to get as many countries to surrender to their command, or they would destroy them which was why alliances were so important to have with strong nations. However, the main thing that triggered WWI was extreme nationalism.

The history of the American Indian is one of great pride and honor, but also includes discrimination and much bloodshed. Never has a population been more affected by a foreign intruder than the Native American. The conflict between Native Americans and non Native Americans began ever since the first Europeans set foot in the New World. The result of the European migration and their confrontations with the Indians was a deep hatred between the two races. This hatred would lead to war which would eventually lead to the near extermination of the American Indian. This long-lasting unnofficial war reached its climax in the early 1800s. Manifest Destiny, Tecumseh, the Prophet, and Andrew Jackson are the main reasons for the extermination of the American Indian during the early 1800s. Manifest Destiny was the main cause of conflict between the territorial Indians and the intruding Americans, Tecumseh and the Prophet led the Native Americans in a last stand against the land hungry Americans, and Andrew Jackson slaughtered the most Indians than any other person in history. Although Andrew Jackson is responsible for the deaths and removal of many Native Americans, he consequently saved the Native Americans from probable annihilation or extinction. It is not certain if he personally disliked or was discriminative toward the Indians, but what is certain is that the American expansion movement led to the conflicts in the early 1800s.

Throughout World War 2 men between the ages of 16 and 50 were conscripted and sent to training camps, where they would eventually become soldiers. Conscription is involuntary labour demanded by authority, in the sense where government policies require citizens to serve in the armed forces. Whether they are fathers, sons, uncles or husbands (and sometimes women) they were forced to fight, even if they didn’t want to. It also caused a great deal of conflict between French and English Canadians, Canadian women were obligated to take over the jobs of their male family members, which was very hard on them, as well as the younger children and In the end, the use of conscription had very little impact on the outcome of the war. Mackenzie King did not make the right decision about inforceing military service, but he thought at the time he was doing what was best for his country.

A lot of customs we have today are evolved from ancient civilizations. Parts of civilization such as: government, values, social classes, and economics; to name a few. There are many parts that have come from joint ideas. We owe some of our traditions from ancient Western Civilizations.

Our government has come from ancient Romans. They had what was called the “Roman Republic.” The people who were considered citizens ran this. We also have government ways from the ancient Greeks, who had democracies in some of their poleis. Our modern government is a Republic Democracy. We have taken both governments and thrown them into one. We did not just create our whole system of government up, the Greeks and Romans did for us.

Our civilization contains social classes just as divided as the ancient civilizations. Our social classes have changed over the years though. We used to have classes such as ancient Egypt. Our classes used to involve religion being a top level, with wealthy and commons surrounding. Now because of recent situations, we have moved more toward a Greek class system. The Greeks contained levels of the upper class, merchants (which are similar to modern day low white collar, blue collar citizens), city poor, slaves, and women. Although slaves are no longer legal, and women are now apart of the other classes, we still have a system quite similar.

Our outlook on the world is that we are superior. We look at every other culture and think they are poor or just strange. Because of this we try to force our ways on others. This is quite like the Romans. They had a huge empire, of countries that they converted to Christianity. So like we try and convert others to our beliefs and government the Romans did the same.

Anne Boleyn was born in Blickling, Norfolk. The exact date of her birth is unknown, but it is thought to be around 1500 in either late May or early June. She was known to be an unattractive woman for the time. She had a dark complexion with brown hair and eyes. She was even said to be covered in moles and warts; as well as possessing a sixth finger on her left hand.

The exact meeting between King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn is uncertain. Anne returned to England from working under the Queen of France, and became an official member of the Court on March 1st, 1522 under Queen Catherine. Anne was arranged to be married and even had multiple men on the side; and Henry normally had mistresses, so when Anne and Henry were suspected of being together, no on paid it much attention at first.

In 1527 King Henry VIII began to seek an annulment of his marriage to Catherine. Anne had such an influence over Henry that not only did she get him to leave his wife; he fell madly in love with her and wrote her love letters. These love letters are the very few remaining documents that were actually written by Henry. Anne had great influence over Henry in the Court; she was the one who led him to his new ideas about religious reforms. Anne worked hard and received the title of Marquess of Pembroke in September 1532, which she had earned. The people of England hated her greatly and were plotting her death

In December of 1532 she became pregnant, so on January 25th, 1533 Anne and Henry got secretly married. Catherine and Henry’s marriage was declared invalid on May 23rd, 1533. Anne was officially the Queen of England. She gave birth to the Princess Elizabeth on August 26th, 1533. Later on in 1534 and 1535 she had two stillborn babies, one of which was a boy. Anne and Henry became frustrated with the fact that she could not give him a son, and Henry became interested in Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting.

"Pressure from without, whether on a nation or a race, tends to promote unity and cohesion within."

Assess the importance of Greek unity in bringing about success for the Greeks in the period of the Second Persian War.

There is no doubt that Columbus Day should be celebrated as there is no doubt that Columbus was an exceptional explorer. Because of his vision, his courage, his leadership, and his navigational skills, he was able to open up a new world. However, there is a not so human side to Columbus’ exploits that needs to be examined as well.

Frederick Douglass was a trapped slave not only in his body but also in his mind. He was born into slavery, and was also a product of an interaction between his white master and black mother. Frederick Douglass was born with the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; his slave name. After running away and becoming free from the bonds of slavery he changed his name several times before he came to rest on the name we all know him as now.