Kevin Thomas
November 30, 2012
US History II (010)
Moments That Shocked the World (After 1960)
Trying to decide on three different significant historical events to write about is difficult. What
may be significant to one may be trivial to someone else. The reader may not have any interest in one
or all of the events chosen. After some long thinking and soul searching I have decided to write about
the Jonestown Massacre, The Iranian Hostage Crisis and The 911 attacks in New York specifically. Each
of these events has held my interest for some time for different reasons.
The Peoples Temple Church was formed by a charismatic man named Jim Jones. Jones was born
In Indiana where he began his career as a preacher. After his group began to grow along with his
reputation, he moved the group to California where he could continue with preaching in privacy. After a
short period, his growing paranoia about the Government grew to the point where he decided to move
the group to Guyana. The Peoples Temple leased 3000 acres from the Guyanese Government to begin
work on their new settlement, Jonestown. Life in Jonestown was far from the utopia that Jones
promised his followers. His growing anxiety about the Government made him suspicious about people
wanting to leave and visitors to the settlement. Jones began having his followers practice suicide drills
because of his paranoia. He believed that he was God and his preaching reinforced this to his followers.
He would preach to them at all hours of the day and even at night over loudspeakers. He would have
people work long hours and keep married couples from sleeping together. His sensory attacks on the
people would have far reaching implications. In 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan visited the settlement to
investigate reports from people that had escaped that things were getting dangerous in Jonestown.
People were being held against their will and Congressman Ryan went to try and help the people that
wanted to leave to go. He and his group were welcomed into Jonestown and were given a taste of what
life was like, according to Jones. The people there seemed happy and everyone seemed to get along.
During dinner, a message was given to the Congressman that people wanted to leave. When Jones was
presented with this information, he allowed the people to leave. When the group arrived at the airport
and boarded the plane, a group emerged from the jungle and opened fire on the Congressman and his
group. Five people were shot dead and eleven others were injured. The Congressman was one of the
dead and is still the only US Congressman to be assassinated in office. The true terror of the event was
unfolding back in Jonestown. Jones put his suicide drills into motion. The followers lined up to drink
poison and die while their leader, Jones spoke to them over a loudspeaker telling them that the
Government was going to come for them for the airport attack. Children were given the poison first so
their parents would follow if not just out of grief. In all 912 people died in the Jonestown tragedy.
The reason I picked this event was because before this, the idea that people could be lead to do
things that were beyond normal was unheard of. There had been smaller incidents but nothing on this
level or in these numbers.
The Iranian Hostage Crises began on November 4, 1979. The US Embassy was raided because
the former Shah of Iran to come to the US for cancer treatment. The issue began as protests outside the
embassy but escalated to the violent overthrow of the embassy and the people that worked there. The
hostages were paraded through the streets of Tehran blindfolded and bound to each other. These
images enraged citizens at home and public outcry for action was overwhelming. Openly, President
Carter was against a rescue attempt due to the distance of the embassy where the hostages were being
kept, from any access. In secret, a group had begun training for the mission since the beginning of the
crisis. A plan to fly into Iran and rescue the hostages was attempted by on April 24th, 1980 but was a
huge failure. Two of the helicopters that were going to be used in the rescue were damaged while
traveling to the landing site. Another was damaged by a dust storm. The mission commander decided
to call off the mission and while taking off, his helicopter struck a transport plane and both craft burst
into flames. Eight Americans were killed. The reason that I chose this event was because of how closely
it resembles the raid on May 1st to go after Bin Laden. The details of the mission were so similar that it is
scary. Both incidents had much larger implications. Bin Laden’s death finally gave closure and a sense
of accomplishment after the attacks on September 11th, 2001. The crisis, according to some experts,
was the main reason for Carter’s loss in the Presidential Race to Regan.
The last event that I chose to write about is the Attacks on New York on September 11th, 2001.
Anyone that is old enough to remember that day can tell you what they saw on television during and
after the events. The horrific images of the Trade Center Towers burning and people jumping from the
upper floors to their death will be etched in their memories forever. People think that no one could
ever dream of attacking the US in such a way. The truth is, officials knew for months that an attack was
coming, they were just not sure when. My Chief took a class about terrorism three months before the
attack and the cover of the book that was used showed two buildings of equal height with crosshairs
over them. The attacks on 911 were just the next page in a long standing story between the US and
Islamic Extremist in the Middle East. During the war between Afghanistan and Russia, the US supplied
the Afghanistan militants with weapons to help defeat the invading Russian Army. After the Russians
pulled out, all of the aide to the region from the US also stopped. This along with the US setting up
bases in Saudi Arabia made many enemies among Islamic Extremist. They believed that Western people
did not belong in their Holy Land. Starting in the late 80’s and early 90’s, attacks on US interest abroad
by extremists escalated. The attack on the US Cole, a US Battleship in the Middle East was damaged by
a suicide bomber in a show of force. The World Trade Center parking garage was also bombed by a
truck bomb.
On the morning of September 11th 2001, the latest plan to attack the US was implemented.
Terrorist boarded planes in Boston and New York and managed to smuggle weapons onboard. They
took control of four planes and targeted the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and The Capital. The
flight heading to the Capital Building never made it crashing into the Pennsylvania countryside in an
attempt to retake the plane. One struck the Pentagon and two crashed into the World Trade Center
Towers. The damage to the buildings was devastating. Due to the construction methods used in the
towers, the lightweight floor supports failed under the stress from heat and weight. The buildings
eventually collapsed. The results of this day we still feel today. The double war in Afghanistan and Iraq
are a direct result of the 911 attacks. Anyone that tries to fly today can attest to the fact that security
measures have been increased to the point where it will make you want to fly. So much about our daily
lives has changed due to this day.
I am sure that there will be many different entries for this assignment. These are just a few of
the historic events since 1960.
R. Conrad Stein, The Iran Hostage Crisis (Chicago 1994).
Gina De Angelis, Jonestown Massacre: Tragic End of a Cult (Berkley Heights, NJ 2002) 7-42.