Group items tagged

"The twentieth century has been a century of war. It began with the Boer War in South Africa and ended with the Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq. This tragic legacy suggests that citizens of the twenty-first century have a shared responsibility to attempt to understand how and why these conflicts occurred and to discover how peace efforts contributed to the resolution of international conflicts. "

Primary sources devoted to helping people understand why the C20th was a time of such visceral conflict. If you believe Niall Ferguson it had to do with ethnic diversity in regions of deteriorating economic conditions and declining imperial control. My high school history teacher reckoned it was ideologies. Many of you will no doubt have other ideas...

Article on the Women's Peace with connections to current movements

Nice interactive map of the Dayton Accords.  It includes the ethnic distribution in Bosnia before and after the war, as well as maps of the various peace proposals, in addition to the Dayton Accords themselves

Global Peace Index

"A Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico In 1519 Hernan Cortés sailed from Cuba, landed in Mexico and made his way to the Aztec capital. Miguel Leon­Portilla, a Mexican anthropologist, gathered accounts by the Aztecs, some of which were written shortly after the conquest. Speeches of Motecuhzoma and Cortés When Motecuhzoma [Montezuma] had given necklaces to each one, Cortés asked him: "Are you Motecuhzoma? Are you the king? Is it true that you are the king Motecuhzoma?" And the king said: "Yes, I am Motecuhzoma." Then he stood up to welcome Cortés; he came forward, bowed his head low and addressed him in these words: "Our lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You have come to your city, Mexico. You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy. "The kings who have gone before, your representatives, guarded it and preserved it for your coming. The kings Itzcoatl, Motecuhzoma the Elder, Axayacatl, Tizoc and Ahuitzol ruled for you in the City of Mexico. The people were protected by their swords and sheltered by their shields. "Do the kings know the destiny of those they left behind, their posterity? If only they are watching! If only they can see what I see! "No, it is not a dream. I am not walking in my sleep. I am not seeing you in my dreams.... I have seen you at last! I have met you face to face! I was in agony for five days, for ten days, with my eyes fixed on the Region of the Mystery. And now you have come out of the clouds and mists to sit on your throne again. "This was foretold by the kings who governed your city, and now it has taken place. You have come back to us; you have come down from the sky. Rest now, and take possession of your royal houses. Welcome to your land, my lords! " When Motecuhzoma had finished, La Malinche translated his address into Spanish so that the Captain could understand it. Cortés replied in his str

Homepage for the USIP - Great lesson plan ideas and essay contest for high school students under Education & Training tab.

The essay contest for 2009-10 is not up yet, but the topic is the effectiveness of nonviolent civic action. My students participated last year when the topic was crimes against humanity and it lead to really great discussions.

A chronicle of the ill-fated concert at Altamont, which was held only four months after Woodstock, and went as wrong as Woodstock went right. One writer calls Altamont " a condensed version of the preceding decade, with queasy race relations, well-intentioned non-conformism turned reckless and a bid for peaceful, harmonious co-existence-among the most valued ideals of the '60s-shattered by senseless violence."

On Jan. 8, 1815, Gen. Andrew Jackson led American troops to victory in the last major conflict of the War of 1812, two weeks after both nations had signed a peace treaty. Jackson's military success would later propel him to the presidency.

"But Einstein kept God at the center of its research activities throughout his life. He shares this passion during one day with a young physics student, "I am not a family man. I want my peace. " I want to know how God created this world. I'm not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know his thoughts, the rest is detail. ""

On September 11, 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge were sent by the Continental Congress to met with Admiral Howe at the Conference House in Staten Island, New York. Their mission was to avoid a war. After only three hours the meeting ended. They failed! What could have happened that day? That's what our project is all about. The goal of this project is for classes to negotiate ... via email ... and try to come up with a treaty that could have avoided the American Revolution! This project can also be adapted for any other war!

WWI cartoons - but about Versailles Peace Conference