Connections in History: Flavius Stilicho and Benedict Arnold

Flavius Stilicho was a noble Roman general, perhaps the best of his time. Like Benedict Arnold, another brilliant general, Stilicho never received the respect that he truly deserved. Without his diplomatic skills, the Visigoths led by Alaric would have sacked Rome long before. The son of a Vandal father and Roman woman, Stilicho had to work very hard to the earn the respect of the Roman public. Unfortunately for both him and Rome, Stilicho was never quite able to truly earn the respect and admiration of the people he devoted his life to defend. Emperor Theodosius I entrusted the Western Roman army and care for his young son Honorius, the Western Roman Emperor, to Stilicho. Honorius was extremely fickle and cared more for the luxuries royal life had to offer him than his duties as Emperor. Despite his loyalty to the Roman people and his success as a military general, Stilicho was assassinated per the orders of Honorius. Honorius had been convinced to order the death sentence by his power-hungry aids who were Stilicho's political opponents. Stilicho could have contested his charges but refused to, therefore dying a noble death. Benedict Arnold was perhaps the greatest military general for the colonies during the early stages of the Revolution. Unlike Stilicho, Arnold's excessive pride got the best of him causing him to commit his infamous act of treason. Arnold was crucial to the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, though he was not recognized for his acts. The general felt as though he was not being appreciated by the Americans and this hurt him most of all. Stilicho and Arnold are connected by the simple fact that the stories of both figures have sad endings. Both figures were elite military figures of their time, but neither was truly treated as such. While Stilicho died a noble death, Arnold, the epitome of treachery and deceit, died alone and regretful.

How Experience Has Failed Us

I wanted to bring one of my favorite posts from my other blog over here. I will be having a followup "How inexperience has surprised us" article very soon. In the history of the our country, we have looked to the most experienced individuals to lead our country and have elected those “experienced” politicians to the nations highest office. In the current election, many argue that Barack Obama lacks the experience necessary to be successful as President of our country. Below you will find the 5 most experienced individuals ever elected to the Presidency and a brief overview of their terms in office.

Most Experienced:
James Buchanan: The 15th President of the United States, Buchanan failed to accomplish really anything during his Presidency. As states were gearing up to secede from the Union, Buchanan argued that secession was illegal but that starting a war to stop it was also illegal. His strategy (or lack thereof) helped contribute to the Civil War. During the Buchanan Presidency, the panic of 1857 caused a huge economic crisis and government revenue deficit. In short, the Buchanan Presidency was a huge failure.

Andrew Johnson- The 17th President of the United States, Johnson became President after the disastrous assasination of Abraham Lincoln. As devestating as the death of Abraham Lincoln was, the Johnson presidency was not much better. Successfully avoiding impeachment twice with the Radical Republicans in power. Johnson was initially against awarding amnesty to leading Confederate officials because he felt treason should be dealt with severely but eventually agreed to pardon all Confederates on Christmas day, 1868. Johnson was ineffective at leading the country through reconstruction and experience again failed Americans.

John Quincy Adams: Widely regarded as one of America’s finest diplomats and one of only two Presidents to later serve in Congress, the Presidency of the younger Adams did not go as smoothely as he would have liked. His elaborate domestic projects and policies were not very popular with Congress and very few were actually passed. Adams personal feud with Andrew Jackson was arguably considered the biggest highlight of his Presidency.

Lyndon B. Johnson: The 36th President of the United States, LBJ was sworn in as President under the same circumstances as Andrew Johnson following Lincoln’s assasination. The assasination of John F. Kennedy caused an uproar amongst the American public. Johnson did several great things during his Presidency including the nomination of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court and his work in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, when the Vietnam wore broke out Americans lost trust in Johnson, who claimed he would avoid dragging the US into war during his campaign. In the election of 1968, Johnson was defeated by a large margin by Richard Nixon.

Gerald Ford: The 38th President of the United States, Ford became President following the resignation of Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. Ford was criticized severely for his pardon of Nixon, as the majority of Americans wanted Nixon to be punished for his crimes. The Ford Administration was forced to address America’s faltering economic issues, something they were never fully able to grasp. However, Ford did just about all he could do taking over the office at such a critical time.

Question of the Week/ Feb. 27

The Question is: I was considered the first of athens. I led Athens through the early stages of a great war. Who am I?

Last Week's Answer: Khufu

Please send all answers to Khoops621@gmail.com
The winner will be posted on the blog for the entire week. First person to answer correctly wins. For more information, please read the blog post.

Winner will be announced on February 27th and only email submissions will count.

A Real American Hero

Too often today, society tends to look up to those not worthy of our admiration. Our media glorifies stars who cannot stabilize their own lives, let own positively affect the lives of others. So I ask all of you, why do we honor those that dishonor our country. The real American heroes, those serving in the armed forces and in various other integral positions, are neglected the honor and media coverage they truly deserve. Too many lives are lost every day on foreign soil to give me this very opportunity to speak to all of you on my blog. The American Dream is an unmistakable freedom, which too many take advantage of at the cost of our dedicated service men and women. They defend our country not for the fame and publicity that our “beloved” stars receive, but for the opportunity to spread the American Dream beyond our soil and to defend the people of our great nation. I write this evening to spread the story of Marine Sergeant Merlin German, who in 2005, was injured in a Humvee attack and received burns covering 95% of his body. With all odds against him, German survived and has undertaken over 100 surgeries to get him in a stable condition. However, German has passed away as a result of complications after his latest surgery. The face you see above, is the face of a true American hero. In no way, can this post or any post for that matter, do any justice to the great service this man has given this country. Those of you out there that look up to sports stars like Alex Rodriguez, I am sorry to inform you that you are setting yourself up for disappointment. We should not look up to those who make millions of dollars for actions that hold no real weight. For those of you that admire the people we call “stars”, I urge you for the sake of your own integrity, to reconsider your own values.

What America Needs....Bipartisanship

With a new 787 billion dollar stimulus package being approved in the Senate, it was revealed that only 3 Republican Senators approved the measure. With all due respect, what the heck were all the other Republicans thinking? I understand the difference in the political lines amongst the two parties, but it is clear that we need action now before our economy falls too far from the prospect of recovery. The three Republicans in favor of the bill were Susan Collins and Olympia Snow, both of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Our economy cannot wait while the Democrats and Republicans battle over small party ideals. Republicans, whether willing or not, need to give President Obama the opportunity to succeed or fail. If squabbling amongst the two parties continue to transpire, America as a whole loses. Bipartisanship is the only way to climb out of the economic trench we now find ourselves in. The stimulus package is not perfect by any measure, but it has the ability to be effective. We need to reinvest in the American system and reclaim American industry. With bipartisanship in our government, we have the potential to truly unite and overcome yet another troubling obstacle. As the champion of the New Deal, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".

The Economy

I do not have to tell you that the economy is in a disastrous state right now. President Obama finds himself inheriting the country at a time where inaction could prove to be more costly than the Iraq War. Whether Obama is inheriting George Bush's problem or not, the fact remains clear that something has to be done sooner rather than later. As the Democrats and Republicans battled over the stimulus, the only side to suffer was the American people. Democrats argue "we need more" and Republicans argue "that is way too much". Obama ran his campaign on promising the American people more jobs and tax cuts to over 90% of Americans. Now is the time to put all his plans into action. The longer we wait, the more we have at stake to lose. One thing Obama needs to at least moderately improve on, is the production of American exports. Over the last several decades, the United States has increasingly become dependent on imports and this has impacted American business. I am well aware we can not compete with the labor costs in China, but we at least need to infringe upon this devastating transgression. The stimulus should provide some comfort to the weak economy, but even chief economists argue that it would at the very least take one year to have an impact. Where's FDR when you need him?

Question of the Week

Each Monday, a historical question will be posted on the blog and the first person to "decipher the code" will be honored on the blog for the entire week. The questions require you to delve deep into your historical think-tank and be the first to reveal who the code identifies. The question can be found each week at the top of the blog in the special "Historical Question of the Week" section. Please send all answer submissions to Khoops621@gmail.com and the winner will be announced as soon as a winning response is received. The question is can you crack the code?