Is it unique or just another form of warfare? Terrorism, while morally impermissible, is no more or less distinctive than many other acts of war. History is rife with many examples of tactics that directly kill non-combatants but would not be considered terrorism. Therefore, I disagree with philosopher Samuel Scheffler’s assertion that terrorism is morally…
All posts by R.F.M. Williams
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The Irony of the “State’s Rights” Confederacy
The secessionists who attempted to create a “state’s rights confederacy” in 1861 were a hypocritical bunch. Despite calling for rebellion on account of federal overreach and a refusal to accept the results of the 1860 election, the rebel cause enhanced its power during the American Civil War by nationalizing its army, its economy and enacting…
The United States and Guatemala in the first half of the 20th Century
After anti-immigrant rhetoric culminated in a mass shooting in El Paso, it’s increasingly important to remember one of the reasons we’ve arrived at this point. History is not well suited for predicting the future, but it is perfect for explaining how we got to where we are. Regarding central American immigration, the United States’s influence…
The Demise of the Sioux
The Sioux Nation was a proud and independent people that subsided on hunting and gathering for their entire existence until the Euro-American invasion of their traditional lands. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, until contact with Euro-American settlers, the Sioux enjoyed a nomadic sustenance lifestyle, hunting bison and gathering what they needed. The Sioux could…
From Boots to Books
Or, how I navigated the transition to college Leaving the service to attend university full-time was one of the oddest experiences of my life. A blessing when I stop and think about it, though, because of the post 9/11 G.I. Bill allowing me to focus on school, mostly. But I find this period of transition…
Globalization Comes to Mebane, NC
This is an adaptation of one of the first papers I ever wrote as an undergraduate student The only constant in modern economics is change. Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory is a story about the closure of White Furniture Company in Mebane, NC but also serves as a microcosm for the greater U.S.…
Operation PBSUCCESS
Early CIA regime change operations During the Cold War, the United States maintained nominal control over the Western Hemisphere — Latin American in particular. U.S. foreign policy attitudes toward its southern neighbors are characterized as paternalistic at best and interventionist at worst in the centuries leading up to World War II. The early nineteenth century…
Three Native American Creation Myths
The Iroquois, Yakama, and Cherokee Each Native American tribe has its own story of its origin. While scientists believe Native Americans originated in Asia and came to the Americas via a land bridge between modern day Russia and Alaska, a second theory positsthat ancient Asians came to the Americas by boat, traversing the Pacific coast. Regardless, these two theories are rooted in scientific discovery,…
Is There a Western Way of War?
In this article I introduce the debate over a Western Way of War and some of the key works that have driven the discussion. In twin books, The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece and Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power the eminent historian Victor Davis Hanson argued that that several…
How Neoliberal Principles Failed the People of Latin America
And ushered in a new era of socialist government Throughout the 20th Century, Latin America experienced a consistent pendulum shift between left and right political and economic systems of government. Whether through revolution, election, or coup, one side of the political spectrum would usually follow the other in short order. Neoliberalism is an era of…