IMAGES OF AMERICA

 

A review of Alan Brinkley’s Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States (2001)

(Rating 4 of 5)

                This will a short review because I don’t have much to say about this book.  This is not to say the book is bad for it is very much good.  However, it does give cause for me to write much.  That can be a good sign usually when I have a lot to say something that means something is usually highly objectionable generating a lot of words in response.  When I am reviewing a biographical work, I tend to try to look at the subject in the same way the author did in order to properly evaluate the author’s material.

Virginia map

                This book divides American History, from the Columbian Exchange right up to the end of 20^th century, into seven separate chapters.  The first few chapters cover a couple of centuries where the remaining five are measured in decades.  Each has a written sections that explains the period of history that it covers before going into the visual aspect which is why people bought the book.  The written pieces, as one can easily imagine, is overly broad and I do not fine anything objectional about them.  The visual pieces are amazing and contain great images.

Normandy landings 

                The only complaint I have about this book has nothing to do with author but the publisher of my copy.  The Chapter 4 write up which goes from pg.129-144 is duplicated.  So, after pg.144 it is suddenly 129 again not 145.  You do not get to 145 until you go by it a second time.  It was quite a shock as I read one chapter a sitting.  I started into the duplicated chapter and read about three pages before I realized what had happened. The image part was not repeated so I skipped to that.  I was pleased and I remember wondering after reading chapter 4 the first time why there was no images section like in the earlier chapter.  Considering that was the chapter the covered the time period from 1850-1870 I was glad that turned out to be a corrected mistake.       

MALCOLM X IS HIS OWN WORDS

 

A review of The Autobiography of Malcolm X As Told To Alex Haley (1965) (1999, my copy)

(Rating 5 of 5)

                The Autobiography of Malcolm X is one of the great American political works of the 20^th century.  It is quite an intimidating to review given so much has been said about the book that it makes it difficult to try to contribute something original.  The book was assembled from a series of interviews that Malcolm X had with journalist and author Alex Haley. 

Having a professional writer, it naturally raises the question of filter or embellishment.  How much of this is this Malcolm X’s natural story or how much has been sensationalized by Haley.  Fortunately, Haley put a rather lengthy epilogue in which he explains his working relationship with Malcolm X and how this book was assembled.  In that epilogue, Haley discusses the challenges of getting his approval for chapters in which he praises Elijah Muhammad, during a time when Malcolm X’s conflict with Muhammad was at its height.  After reading the epilogue I feel with a great deal of confidence that story presented is the authentic and genuine story of Malcolm X in his own words.

Alex Haley

The story has smooth narrative that gives the reader the feeling of actually being in room with Malcolm X as he explains his life to you.  It reminds me of the narrative that the reader gets when they read The Autobiography of Ulysses S Grant.  There is something about the narrator stopping for some human moment that the reader can easily relate to.  For example, during his hustler days he came to a moment of indecision as he wondered about a task that was sure he completed but suddenly formed doubts.  He then asks the reader if they have experienced anything the same, which obnoxiously the reader cannot answer him, but it does allow them to feel a connection.     

Malcolm X begins talking about his life growing up with his parents who were followers of the Black Nationalist movement of Marcus Garvey.   His father, Earl Little, is killed by a gang of white racists known as the Black Legion.   His mother, Louise, is left as a single parent.  Eventually the pressures of being a single parent in a huge family, losing a spouse to murder, being denied the full insurance payout, and being undermined and not helped by the state caused her to have a mental breakdown that she never recovered. As a result, her children went into foster care.  Malcolm X visited her years later and she didn’t know who he was.     

“I can’t describe how I felt.  The woman who had brought me into the world, and nursed me, and advised me, and chastised me, and loved me, didn’t know me. It was as if I was trying to walk up the side of a hill of feathers.  I looked at her.  I listened to her “talk.” But there was nothing I could do.

I truly believe that if ever a state social agency destroyed a family, it destroyed ours.  We wanted and tried to stay together.  Out home didn’t have to be destroyed.  But Welfare, the courts, and their doctor gave us a one-two-three punch.  And ours was not the only case of this kind.” (pg. 22)

parents

Malcolm X does rather well in foster care.  Still going by the name Malcolm Little that he will keep until his conversion in 1950.  He attended an integrated school in the north that was primarily white.  Despite that he was really popular with his classmates and even elected class president.  It wasn’t until a conversation with his school guidance counselor that became a factor in the change of his direction in life.  When he said that he wanted to be a lawyer the man shot that down and told him using the N-word that since he was black, he had to be more realistic.  He encouraged him to try to get a job in the domestic field.  

Malcolm X as child

In many ways it’s the conversation with the guidance counselor that I find the most disturbing part of the book.  As someone who works in education it breaks my heart to see a smart promising young student have his dreams dashed without even being allowed to try.  I am still not sure how I am supposed to feel about this guidance counselor.  When discussing white people in his youth who use the N-word Malcolm X breaks them up into two categories, hateful racists and well-meaning ignorant people.  The second group is made up of people who probably wouldn’t use the N-word if they grew up in a different time period.  I am not sure about the guidance counselor.  One on hand I can understand him not wanting to mislead the student about the realities of the world into which he is entering.  Nevertheless, I feel that he still could have gone about it in a better way.  There were African-American lawyers back then; it would have been hard for him but not impossible. 

I enjoyed Malcolm X’s telling of his hustler days in New York because it was the section of the book where I learned the most.  As the reader, you got to see what the underside of New York City looked like in the 1940s.  It is interesting that the underworld was one of the most integrated places in the country.  Here the then Malcolm Little goes by the nickname “Detroit Red.”  He befriends and works as an enforcer for a number of pimps.  He participates in fencing with a fellow Black man and a couple of White women.  He has a number of different women in his life.  

The biggest thing I learned that never would have even guess existed unless a read this book was the “conk,” a type straightening method that African-American men used to alter the hairs appearance from its natural state to a more “white” look.  It was a process that was painful and could result in serious injury to the scalp.  After reading this I did go through some old pictures of African-American men in the first half of the 20^th century to see if I could spot it.   

Hustler days with "conk" hairstyle

His hustling days came to an end when he and his group of thieves were caught, tried, and sent to prison.  Now for most people going to prison would be rather bad thing, but Malcolm found himself there and would later reflect that his prison time was important part of his life.  While imprisoned he was able to get the education that he had been denied so many years ago.  He even notes at times that if he had gone to a traditional college, he may have been distracted by all that goes on in a community that a university offers.  In prison he was forced to read and he managed to give himself quite the education.  He read a lot of history and hearing of the horrors that people of his racial background went through radicalized his politics. 

“I will never forget how shocked I was when I began reading about slavery’s total horror.  It made such an impact on me that it later became one of my favorite subjects when I became a minister of Mr. Muhammad’s.   The world’s most monstrous crime, the sin and the blood on the white man’s hands, are almost impossible to believe.  Books like the one by Frederick Olmstead opened my eyes to the horrors suffered when the slave landed in the United States.  The European woman, Fannie Kimball, who had married a southern white slave owner, described how human beings were degraded.  Of course I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  In fact I believe that is the only novel I have ever read since I started serious reading.”  (p.179)

While imprison his brother Reginald introduced to him with his letters and visits the religion called the Nation of Islam.  Up into this point Malcolm X had been so openly atheist his fellow inmates nicknamed him Satan.  It is at this point where he ceases to be Malcolm Little and embraced his identity of Malcolm X.  Their leader Elijah Muhammad had his followers drop their surnames as these were just imposed on their ancestors by white slave masters. 

Elijah Muhammad

With his new religious identity, the reader can clearly see some of the good and bad that comes from religion.  It gave Malcolm X an instant community to come home to, it helped generate self-worth, and it gave him a purpose.  It also made him believe rather ridiculous things such as white people were created by a mad scientist thousands of years ago. 

Malcolm X during public career

Armed with his new faith, Malcolm X makes a lot of lifestyle changes to accommodate it such as giving up pork and cigarettes.  When he gets out of prison, he meets Elijah Muhammad and becomes a minister for the NOI.  He then embarks on the work that would make him world famous.  He would grow the NOI amongst the African-American community and in doing so challenge the white establishment that would be standing in his way.  To so would not only make enemies of white America but it would also bring him into conflict with the active civil rights leaders.       

“My decision came relatively quickly. I have always been an activist, and my personal chemistry perhaps made me reach more quickly than most minsters in the Nation of Islam that stage of dedication.  But ever minister in the Nation, in his own time, in his own way, in the privacy of his own soul, came to the conviction that is was written that all of his “before” life had become conditioning and preparation to become a disciple of Mr. Muhammad’s.” (p. 215)  

With Malcolm X as its most popular minister, the Nation of Islam experienced a swelling of its ranks.  It would multiple several times over.  However, in many ways his success would also be his undoing within the Nation.  Despite the fact that he had always presented himself as “representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad,” Malcolm X was by far the most visible Black Muslim and this would seem to create a jealousy in Muhammad.  Malcolm X also discovered that Muhammad had several sexual indiscretions fathering illegitimate children with former secretaries.  When Malcolm X gave his infamous “chickens come home to roust” remarks in the wake of the Kennedy assignation, Muhammad took the opportunity to silence him. 

This however ultimately just pushed him away.  After being contacted by more mainstream Muslims he starts to re-examine his own faith.  With that he leaves the NOI and becomes a Sunni Muslim.  With help of his sister, Ella^[1], he goes on a pilgrimage to Mecca required by all Muslims who are able.  There he refines a lot of his political views.  Where before he advocated for Black separation and supremacy, he now advocated for a universal brotherhood.  He never stopped attacking white supremacy for what it was though and would continue calls for a strong revolutionary change.  He adopted a new name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, although he never legally changed it.     

“White society hates to hear anybody, especially a black man, talk about the crime the white man had perpetrated on the black man.  I have always understood that’s why I have been so frequently called ‘a revolutionist.’  It sounds as if I have done some crime!  Well, it may be that American black man does need to become involved with a real revolution.  The word for ‘revolution’ in German is Umwalzung.  What it means is a compete overturn—a complete change.  The overthrow of King Farouk in Egypt and the succession of President Nasser is an example of a true revolution.  It means the destroying of an old system, and its replacement with a new system.” (p374)

The NOI never stopped giving him trouble however.  Since the Nation owned the house, he lived in with his wife Betty and their daughters, they evicted them and even fire-bombed the place when he did not leave.  His life ended when he was assassinated by members of the NOI.   Just recently it was uncovered that the US Government had information that that was going to happen and did nothing to stop it.

At civil rights rally

Legendary actor Ossie Davis who eulogized Malcolm X has a written response to question posed by a magazine editor to why he performed that action.  I find the piece very prophetic when he explains who he thinks Malcolm X will be remembered.   Davis makes an analogy to John Brown.    

“But even had Malcolm not change, he would still have been a relevant figure on the American scene, standing in relation as he does, to the ‘responsible’ civil rights leaders, just about where John Brown stood in relation to the ‘responsible’ abolitionists in the fight against slavery.  Almost all disagreed with Brown’s mad and fanatical tactics which led him foolishly to attack a Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, to lose two sons there, and later be hanged for treason.

Yet, today the world, and especially the Negro people, proclaim that Brown not a traitor, but a hero and a martyr in a noble cause.  So in future, I will not be surprised if men come to see that Malcolm X was, within his own limitations, and in his own inimitable style, also a martyr in that cause.” (p.466)

This prediction has certainly come to pass.  Malcolm X is certainly more popular today than he ever was in his own time.  In the book he and Alex Haley go over a poll taken among African-Americans about who they thought was the most important leader in their community.  The poll revealed both that Dr. King was at the top and he, Malcolm X, barley registered.  He acknowledged that a lot of that was his fault for as a minster of the NOI they were not supposed to get involved with politics outside of their group.  They would take bold stands in support of their members, as in the incident when one of them named Hinton Johnson had been beaten by the police during an arrest causing Malcolm X to lead companies of his fellow Muslims to the police station and demanded their member be taken to a hospital.  However, when it came to doing something for the oppression of others, they would do nothing similar. They talked a big game about white oppression but with the intention of getting potential members to turn their back on mainstream society and embrace their group.  On the one major issue of the day that was most important to African-Americans: integration, the NOI was opposed.  Their stand would even earn them the respect of white nationalists such as the KKK and George Lincoln Rockwell.  

One of things that Malcolm X tries stress at the end of his book, although he repudiated Black Supremacy and Nationalism (while still holding White society to account) he hopes that his readers will be able to understand why it was such an ideology would have naturally appealed to someone with his life experiences and situation.   My assessment as a reader is in that respect this book is truly successful.  His main achievement with this book is he does show the reader why his world view became his world view, not only in why he embraced the NOI but also why he held some other controversial views that are still controversial.  For example, his view on Jewish people and women in general, he clearly explains to the reader why he has such views in a way that the reader can understand and sympathize with while still not embracing them.  I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in autobiographies of important historical figures.            

[Video is from British Films Institute] 

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[1] Ella Little-Collins is one of the more fascinating characters you get to meet in this book.  She led a life almost as interesting as her brother’s.

AN EYE INTO 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN SLAVERY

 

A review of Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) (1997, my copy)

(Rating 5 of 5)

                Frederick Douglass’s account of his journey as a person born into slavery who ultimately escaped to freedom was published in 1845.  It was the first time for many Americans, particularly those who would be mainstream voters, to see what American slavery was through the eyes of the enslaved.  He did not paint a pretty picture.  Douglass told tales of malnourishment, beatings with whips and other implements, forced illiteracy, and humans being bread for later sale when they were older.    

                When the book was first published it was attacked by southern slaveholders as forgery.  No slave could write as elegant as the passages in this book.  They were oppressing the enslaved population enough so they could be sure.  However, they didn’t count on a former slave who used to be named Frederick Bailey, armed with a little bit of luck and lot more craftiness, actually learning to read and write without their knowledge and passing that ability on to others.

Southern slavery

                Douglass’s target audience is the white population, particularly white men who could vote and impact the polices of the state and the federal governments.  One of the ideas that he reiterates throughout his work is that while all slavery is evil there is a spectrum of evilness.  Once you are enslaved it can still get worse for you.  Sometimes it can get better but the place you were before is always a place you can be sent back to.  During his enslavement Douglass experienced both ends of the extreme.  

               

“I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness.  It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake.  Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy.  The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears.  At least, such is my experience.  I have often sung to drown my sorrow, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery.  The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and of the other are prompted by the same emotion” (pg.30)

Douglass was born on a planation on date he was never told.  He was separated from his mother early on and his father was his owner.  That man was Captain Aaron Anthony who worked as an overseer on the plantation where Douglass was enslaved.  Despite being just the overseer, he did own a few of the slaves himself besides Douglass.  While living on the planation Douglass and the other slaves were treated as if they were farm animals given little to eat, poor clothes to wear, and beatings if they complained.  Then his owner/father died and he became the property of his half-sister Lucretia Auld, who then sent him to serve her brother-in-law and his wife, Hugh and Sophia Auld.

Plantation slavery 

                With this change his life instantly improved.  He went from being treated like a farm animal to being treated more like a live-in butler.  However, he was a butler who at any time could be sent back to be a farm animal.  He credits the change of status to the change of venue.  In a strange twist on the classical city mouse/country mouse, we have city slave/ country slave.  In this case it seems the city slave has the better deal.  Douglass points out that the slave/free population was reversed with the city having more free people.   Rebellious slaves were less of a risk and mistreating or malnourishing a slave tended to invite judgement from neighbors.  It is interesting point out that slave owner and US President James Madison also noted that slavery becomes more brutal the higher the slave population gets to the free population.

                This is also where Douglass has some important lessons for his readers.  All slaver holders were bad but there was a range of badness.  The majority that Douglass encountered would have redeemable traits that he would notice.   Then there were some who were just sadistically evil.  Douglass argued that the reason that any slave owner is going to be bad is that the nature of owning a slave is a morally corruptible one.  His analysis was similar to the saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

The case of Sophia Auld is the one he gives as a prime example.  Sophia Auld was from the North where there were no slaves.  Slavery is new to her as she moved to Baltimore with her new husband.  When she first meets Douglass, she treats him and all the other servants with kindness.  She even begins teaching Douglass how to read.  His reading lessons were cut short when her husband found out.  Hugh Auld gave a speech to his wife where he reprimanded her behavior with the slaves.  He explained teaching them to read would ruin them as slaves.   The speech had an impact on both of them: Douglass resolved to learn to read, but Sophia went in another direction.  When he tried to read newspapers, she would stanch them away.  As time went on, although not overtly cruel Sophia Auld became a typical slave owner.

“But, alas! This kind heard had but a short time to remain such.  The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work.  That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.”  (pg.46)

Still yearning to read Douglass had to go about it a different way.  One of the advantages of now being a city-slave instead of being one on the plantation is Douglass had more freedom of movement as he could be sent on errands or even employed elsewhere so long as he gave his owners the money he earned.  While traveling among the citizens of Baltimore he discovered an interesting truth that there were different classes of white people with some of them being very impoverished.  These poor white citizens had freedom, literacy and a genuine hope their lot could improve all things Douglass himself was denied.  However, he did have couple of things that they did not such as roof over his head and food security. 

Martha Anne Atavis, enslaved in Baltimore to a family who she had to act as caretaker to their children, one is Alice in the picture

Armed with this knowledge, Douglass befriended some of these poor whites and offered a swap.  He would give them the excess food that he has access to if they would give him reading lessons.  It worked and Douglass was able to master reading.  He doesn’t identify any of the white people that helped him as this book was published when they were still alive and could have faced both legal and social consequences if those in Baltimore learned who they were.  

Now fully literate Douglass now wanted to expand that knowledge to his fellow slaves and had that opportunity when he was hired out to William Freeland.   Freeland is described by Douglass as the least oppressive as all the white slave owners that he labored under.  He was easy-going and not strict with the slaves.   This gave Douglass an opportunity to teach a number of students and spread literacy throughout the plantation.  This success was his undoing as it was discovered and his owner, Mr. Auld, decided to relocate Douglass from Mr. Freeman’s planation to the farm of Edward Covey.

Edward Covey was a farmer who was not well off enough to afford many slaves.  However, he had a great many slaves from other slave owners who sent them to him often paying him to house them.  They did this because Covey had a reputation for being a slave-breaker (they used a different word that Douglass does quote) who would train slaves through beating them to submission and once they were fully compliant sent them back to their owners.  Thus, he got slave labor without actually having to buy it.  There is even a disgusting scene of him breeding a young woman that he owns as a slave so he can sell her children.

Douglass suffered brutality under Covey.  This lasted until a fellow slave named Sandy Jenkins, helped him make a totem from a certain root they found in the woods that he claimed would magically protect him from violence from white overseers.  Douglass was skeptical of any magic, but it did have what we would call a placebo effect where having the totem gave him the courage to stand up to Covey.  He did so and was able to defeat Covey in a fight and beat the crap out of him.  Under ordinary circumstances this could have been a death sentence for Douglass however he had something working in his favor.  Covey got free use of slaves because of his reputation for being able to bend them to his will.  Had he formally charged Douglass he would have lost his reputation.  It was in their best interest to keep this a secret.  

“This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning point in my career as a slave.  It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood.  It recalled the departed self-confidence, and inspired me attain with a determination to be free.” (pg. 80-1)

After Douglass is sent back to live with the much more tolerable William Freeland, and this makes it easier to plan an escape.  I have to say given that American slavery was still going to go on for another twenty years I am not sure it was wise of him to write all he did about Freeland.   He was the most tolerable master he had and yet was under him that he began a mass literacy project and ultimately escaped.   A slaver owner who reads this work might use it as a perverse how-to-guide in how to keep slaves in line.  No kindness and maximize cruelty.  I think it might have been smarter to say something like “Freeland was starting to take lessons from Covey, so I had to escape.”  Then issue a correction in his later biographies.  

The book ends with his finding freedom, changing his name from Bailey to Johnson to finally Douglass, and getting involved with the abolitionist movements.  At the end of the book, he also makes a distinction between what he considers real Christianity and the Christianity of the slave holder, as not to offend non-slave holding Christians. 

I highly recommend this book Douglass brings you right into the world of slavery as it existed in the 1800s.  The book is simultaneously complex and easy to read.  It is only 125 pages so you can get through it in a very short period of time.  Sometimes it might take longer when going over some of the harder passages.  However, the book ends on a very hopeful note.

[Video is a clip from The Story of US you can purchase it here.}

TRY TO TAKE A FOUR-THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD CIVILIZATION AND REDUCE IT TO LESS THAN SEVEN HUNDRED PAGES! GOOD, NOW DO TWO FOUR-THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD CIVILIZATIONS!

 

A review of Conrad Schirokauer’s A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations (1989)

(Rating 4 of 5)

                I first read this book as part of a class I had on China and Japan.  It is a good book and great introduction into the history of two important nations, with some additional throw-ins about Korea and Vietnam.  It is, however, a lot of information jam-packed into a relatively small volume.  It covers everything from the earliest days of civilization to modern communist China and democratic Japan.

                Reading this book, it is important to distinguish between China the modern state and China the civilization.  The reason is often on Western historical maps we will see the label “China” no matter what period is being displayed.  This gives the Westerner the impression “Wow, China is really old!” While failing to understand that the People’s Republic of China has as much to do with the Han Empire as European Union does with the Roman Empire.  Yes, they cover much of the similar landmass and the people are mostly their direct descendants but the very different “states’ to use a modern term. 

                Throughout much of its history China would go through periods of unification that would be interrupted by other periods of disunity.  This would occur when a dynasty got corrupted, pressure from external threats, or other domestic disturbances cause an empire to collapse.  Then everything is fragmented until a powerful leader or group commands enough support to put everything back together.  This would be called having a “Mandate of Heaven.”  China was in such a fractured state in the early half of the 20^th century.           

“The Qin (Ch’in) unification of China in 221 B.C. was the beginning of some 400 years of imperial rule, even though the Qin itself barely survived the death of its first emperor.  Building on Qin foundations, although overtly rejecting many of that regime’s polices, the Han erected a more lasting political structure.  Under the Han, Chinese civilization was reshaped, and China became a great imperial power comparable in achievements and historical to the Roman Empire.  Considering the importance of the period, it is perhaps not inappropriate that our English word “China” is ultimately derived from the name of this dynasty.  On the other hand, the Chinese refer to themselves ethnically as the Han people.” (pg. 51)

Han Empire (60 BC)

                Chinese civilization was so powerful and sophisticated that if a power was to come in and take over usually the conquerors would find themselves being more transformed by those who they had conquered.  New rulers would find themselves assuming traditional Chinese titles for their rule with only their own names substituted in, and their own people set up as the ruling class.  This would be true for both the Mongols (Yuan) and the Manchurians (Qing).   

“Within China the long and bitter struggle against the Southern Song left lasting wounds.  Chinese hatred and bitterness were matched by Mongol suspicion and distrust of the southerners.  A significant number of Chinese remained loyal to the old dynasty, continued to employ Song terminology, and dreamed of a Song restoration while refusing to serve the new power.  On the other hand, the Mongols relegated southerners to the lowest category in their fourfold division of society along ethnic lines. Highest status in this system was accorded to the Mongols.” (pg. 221)

  

Qing Empire

Unlike China, Japan’s throne was and is not considered something that someone outside the royal family could assume.  Dynasties cannot be replaced and presumed legitimate.  Only the ‘true’ family line can rule.  So, getting control of these emperors is the primary concern of any power holder.  One of the ways to do that is to have the current emperor tied up in so many religious ceremonies that they don’t have time for actual government duties.  If some emperors get fed up and abdicate in favor of their minor son as soon as they are finally able, so much the better.

     The Shogun, a position established in the twelfth century, becomes the default ruler of Japan for almost 700 years.  The position eventually becomes hereditary although, unlike the imperial throne, the position does change clans from time to time.   

“Legitimization for the new order came from the emperor, who in 1192 “appointed” Yoritomo shogun, or to use the full term, Seii Taishogun (Barbarian Suppressing General”).  Under the theoretical sovereignty of the emperor, the shogun’s government exercised substantial “delegated” power.  This was the beginning of an institution (the shogunate) that lasted until 1868.

“The most important power “delegated” to Yoritomo was legal control over the staffing of provincial posts, which enabled him to appoint his own men to administrative positions in the provinces.  He was also authorized to appoint his men to the newly created position of Land Steward or Overseer (jito) and Military Protector or Constable (shugo). “ (pg.266)

(The Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu)

The Shogun office came to an end when the Meiji Emperor has decided to rule in his own right and with help of supporters overthrows the Shogun’s government.  They create a constitution based on the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia.   This means the country has a weak legislature and the monarch is practically all-powerful.

“In 1889 work on the constitution was completed, and it was promulgated as a “gift” from the emperor to his people.  It remained in force until 1945.  The emperor, father of the family state, retained the power to declare war, conclude treaties, and command the army.  He also had the right to open, recess, and dissolve the legislature; the right to veto the latter’s decisions and the right to issue his own ordinances.” (pg. 435)

The Meigi Emperor

                 While the Japanese Throne kept getting stronger the Chinese Throne kept getting weaker.  By 1912 the imperial system comes to end and China falls into the hands of warlords.  Ultimately multiple powers die down to just two in the Nationalists and the Communists, and then the Communists finally prevail.  

“The march itself, was a heroic accomplishment, a vindication of Mao’s belief in the power of the human will and determination.  In just over a year, the marchers covered some 6,000 miles, traversing snow-covered mountain passes where they froze in their thin clothes and crossing treacherous bogs and marshes.  To the hardships provided by nature was added the hostility of man, for there was rarely a day without some fighting.  At one point they had no alternative but to cross a mountain torrent spanned by a thirteen-chain suspension bridge from which the enemy armed and waiting on the other side had removed the planks.” (pg. 537)

Mao's Long March

             At the end of the book, we come to the ‘modern’ era:  Mao’s Communists in China and the democratic Japan.  China is opening and Japan is about to dominate the car and video game industry. Again, if you know nothing about this area of the world this book is a good introduction, but you fly through everything at record speed.  

THE END OF A HOT WAR AND THE BEGINNING OF A COLD ONE

 

My review of Winston Churchill’s Triumph and Tragedy (1953)

Part VI of Winston Churchill’s World War II memoirs

(Rating 4 of 5)

                In the final volume in his memoirs of World War II Winston Churchill takes us from the beginnings of D-day to the final destruction of Hitler’s Germany and the creation of the bi-lateral post-war world that would consumed by what we refer to as the Cold War.  Throughout the final books in this volume you feel that Churchill is more and more the man abandoned.  On side he has Roosevelt dying on him and having to cultivate a new relationship with Truman.  On the other side he has Stalin ever increasing his grip on Eastern Europe building what Churchill would later the call the Iron Curtin. In the end he is ultimately abandoned by the British people who had led to victory in this conflict when in their first opportunity to choose a government in ten years they toss him out. 

                In the beginning of the book D-Day is ongoing Churchill sees all of this through letters of the various commanders.  As the allies push through he makes the point that it was in Allies’ good luck that Hitler focused less on bombers and instead just missiles.  For as the Allies pushed through German forces’ abilities proved inefficient compared to the technological prowess of the Allies.

                As the war pushes on it becomes clear that the Allies are going to win it is no longer of ‘if’ but ‘when.’  At this point plans are going to have to be made.  What if Hitler himself offers unconditional surrender?  There was a strong feeling that they should not negotiate with war criminals.  So they refuse Hitler’s hypothetical offer and anyone else who was in the Nazi hierarchy.  Instead wait for some other government to come to power to surrender.  I wonder however if by holding this view Churchill would be subjecting this hypothetical peace government to the same blame the Weimar Republic had after the last war.  

                It was important to come up with a plan and be able to adapt to changing circumstances but on the Atlantic Churchill’s most powerful friend was becoming weaker and weaker as his physical condition continued to deteriorate.

“I lunched there on September 19.  Harry Hopkins was present.  He was obviously invited to please me.  He explained to me his altered position.  He had declined in the favour of the President.  There was a curious incident at the luncheon, when he arrived a few minutes late and the President did not even great him.  It was remarkable how definitely my contacts with the President improved and our affairs moved quicker as Hopkins appeared to regain his influence.  In two days it seemed to be like old times.  He said to me, ‘You must know I am not what I was.’ He had tried too much at once.  Even his fullness of spirit broke under his variegated activities.” (p. 161)

Roosevelt with little time left.

One thing Churchill tries to dispel is the myth of Yalta.  That Roosevelt’s growing weakness contributed to the Allies getting fleeced.  One thing Churchill would later point out of the agreement itself was so bad why did Stalin violate it?  He also has to defend against the point that Britain went to war to protect Poland but when it came to Poland it seemed that Stalin got his way almost every time.   Churchill would continue to defend the decisions that were made while reminding everyone that they still needed the help of the Soviet Union.

 “It is not permitted to those charged with dealing with events in times of war or crisis to confine themselves purely to the statement of broad general principles on which good people agree.  They have to take definite decisions from day to day.  They have to adopt postures which must be solidly maintained, otherwise how can any combinations for action be maintained?  It is easy after the Germans are beaten, to condemn those who did their best to hearten the Russian military effort and to keep in harmonious contact with our great Ally, who had suffered so frightfully.  What would have happened if we had quarreled with Russia while the Germans still had three or four hundred divisions on the fighting front?  Our hopeful assumptions were soon to be falsified.  Still they were the only ones possible at the time.” (p. 402)

Yalta

On his new American ally in President Harry Truman, he was very impressed how quickly Truman seemed to grasp matters.  He did have some suspicions on some issues he may have been just piggy-backing off of Roosevelt’s policy. 

“President Truman’s first political cat which concerned us was to take up the Polish question from the point where it stood when Roosevelt died, only forty-eight hours earlier.  The document in which this was set fourth must of course have been far advanced in preparation by the State Department at the moment the new President succeeded.  Nevertheless it is remarkable that he felt able so promptly to commit himself to it amid the formalities of assuming office and the funeral of his predecessor.” (p. 486)

New Ally

Churchill was not given the opportunity to finish his own story.  As they were heading to the Conference to which the post-war world was to be build his party was defeated at the poles.  It should be noted that when this volume was printed Churchill was once again the prime minister but the defeat in the election after victory in war hurt him.  You can easily detect his bitterness in his statements about his resignation.

“In ordinary circumstances I should have felt free to take a few days to wind up the affairs of the Government in the usual manner.  Constitutionally I could have awaited the meeting of Parliament in a few days’ time, and taken my dismissal from the House of Commons.  This would have enabled me to present before resignation the unconditional surrender of Japan to the nation.  The need for Britain being immediately represented with the proper authority at the Conference, where all the great issues we had discussed were now to come to a head, made all delay contrary to the public interest.  Moreover, the verdict of the electors had been so overwhelmingly expressed that I did not wish to remain even for an hour responsible for their affairs.” (p.675)       

In closing I have to admit I found Mr. Churchill’s memoirs somewhat difficult to get through they lacked the narrative appeal of his History of the English Speaking Peoples.  Often things would be dragged down with long drown out letters that he easily could have summarized.  I think I will take a break from memoirs for a little while.

RUNNING UP TO D-DAY

 

My review of Winston Churchill’s Closing the Ring (1951)

Part V of Winston Churchill’s World War II memoirs

(Rating 3 of 5)

                Churchill’s fifth volume goes over the remainder of the 1943 and the first half of 1944 leading up to the D-day invasion.  The focus of the book has to maintaining the alliance the three great powers of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union; the fall and future of Italy; with a little bit of the Pacific theater thrown in for good measure.  Like the previous volumes I find Churchill’s personality clashes with other historical figures to more interesting than his description some of the events that were happening.  

                As the allies hopped from Africa to Italy and toppled the dictator Mussolini there was now a concern about control of the peninsula.  It would be good for locals to cooperate and the best way for that to occur was for a local popular based authority to emerge from the population.  So the allies needed to find local support quickly.    

Operation Torch

“My position is that once Mussolini and the Fascists are gone, I will deal with any Italian authority which can deliver the goods.  I am not in the least afraid for this purpose of seeming to recognize the House of Savoy or Badoglio, provided they are the ones who can make the Italians do what we need for our war purposes.  Those purposes would certainly be hindered by chaos, Bolshevisation, or civil war.  We have no right to lay undue burdens on our troops.  It may well be that after the armistice terms have been accepted both the King and Badoglio will sink under the odium of surrender and that the Crown Prince and a new Prime Minister may be chosen.” (p. 64)

Needed some local support to complete Mussolini's overthrow

The local was in the person of King Victor Emmanuel III and his Prime Minster Pietro Badoglio.  Despite the former cooperation with Mussolini, they proved to the best option in a bad situation.  In Churchill’s view they were allies who came through.

“From the moment when the Armistice was signed and when the Italian Fleet loyally and courageously joined the Allies, I felt myself bound to work with the King of Italy and Marshal Badogio, at least until Rome should be occupied by the Allies and we could construct a really broad-based Italian Government for the prosecution of the war jointly with us.  I was sure that King Victor Emmanuel and Badoglio would be able to do more for what had now become from the exiles or opponents of the Fascist regime.  The surrender of the Italian Fleet was solid proof of their authority.” (p. 188)

King Victor Emmanuel III

Nevertheless Churchill still felt that Italy was going to be a strong challenge.  Still with German troops, Italian fascists, and other various forms of resistance, Churchill tried to properly inform the Parliament of the tough road that they would be facing.   

“The battle of Italy will be hard and long.  I am not yet convinced that any other Government can be formed at the present time in Italy which could command the same obedience from the Italian armed forces.  Should we succeed in the present battle and enter Rome, as I trust and believe we shall, we shall be free to discuss the whole Italian political situation, and we shall do so with many advantages that we do not possess at the present time.  It is from Rome that a more broadly based Italian Government can best be formed.  Whether a Government thus formed will be so helpful to the Allies as the present dispensation I cannot tell.” (p. 498)

Prime Minster Badoglio

As always what I enjoy most about these books are Churchill’s interactions with other world leaders.   FDR often had to be the go-between when it came to his fellow titans, as Churchill would often be badgered by Stalin frankness of who and what he was,  such as his suggestion the execution of German officers as a way of upsetting Churchill, where Roosevelt treats it as a joke. 

In Churchill’s retelling he never loses his cool.  When it joked that the unwritten British Constitution is what “Mr. Churchill wants it to be at any moment” he is quick to remind his colleagues that the House of Commons could dismiss him at any moment while Mr. Roosevelt’s term is fixed and Stalin is a dictator.  Churchill also denies reports that the British were against a second front in France, instead keeps the focus on overlord and joins with Stalin in pressuring Roosevelt to choose his commander. 

“The President remarked on the importance of the timing of operations in all the theaters.  Now that the three Staffs had got together, he hoped they would keep together.  He had informed Marshal Stalin that the next step was to appoint the Commander for ‘Overlord.’  After consultation with his own Staffs and with me, it should be possible to make a decision within three or four days.  Now that the main military decisions had been taken, it seemed right for the British and American Staffs to return to Cairo as soon as possible to work out the details.  To this Stalin and I agreed.” (p. 383)

Churchill and Stalin are pressuring Roosevelt to appoint a Commander for Overlord 

There has been since World War II a nice little story about King George VI and Churchill.   This old story repeated by General Eisenhower in his own memoirs and also by his grandson.  It is shown in many bio films about Churchill.  The story goes that Churchill wants to take an active part in the D-day operations from one of the British battleships.   Generals are opposed but Churchill insists.  That is when the King intervenes.   Informing Churchill that he wants to lead the troops as King, His Majesty is opposed by Churchill citing the very reasons the generals didn’t want him to go.  Churchill sees the King’s point and they both agree not to go.

However in Churchill’s own account of it, that he provides with the King’s permission to correct the record, it was not one event but a series of exchanges between the King and the Prime Minister.  Basically the King had to almost beg Churchill not to go.

 “I want to make one more appeal to you not to go to sea on D-Day.  Please consider my own position.  I am a younger man than you, I am a sailor, and as King I am the head of all these Services.  There is nothing I would like better than to go to sea, but I have agreed to stay home; is it fair that you should then do exactly what I should have liked to do myself?  You said yesterday afternoon that it would be a fine thing for the King to lead troops into battle, as in the old days; if the King cannot do this, it does not seem to me right that his Prime Minister should take his place.” (p. 622)   

Churchill's owed King George a little more respect 

Churchill relents but in a passive aggressive fashion notes that the ship he was going to be on board did not take fire during the attack.  In an attempt to clear the record on this matter he comes off as a totally jerk to a King who was doing his best to help him.

As the book ends the Countdown to D-Day has begun.