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Warsaw Pact and Soviets in Czech
The Warsaw Pact, or Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO), was a military
alliance of seven Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union designed
as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
alliance with the goal of the collective defense of Eastern Europe. Members
of the Warsaw Pact alliance included the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, that is, all
communist countries of Eastern Europe with the exception of Yugoslavia. In
the eleven articles of the treaty, the contracting parties agreed to seek
peaceful solutions to international disputes and to cooperate with other states
in all international actions (Articles 1 and 2); to consult with one another on
all international issues affecting their common interests and defend each
other if one or more of the member states were attacked (Articles 3 and 4); to
establish a joint command and a political consultative committee or PCC
(Articles 5 and 6). Moreover, member-states pledged to refrain from joining
alliances and agreements whose objectives were in conflict with
the Warsaw Pact and to allow for the accession of other states regardless of
their social and political systems. However the Soviet Union wanted to
strengthen its force with the use of other Communist Countries. On the night
of 20–21 August 1968, Warsaw Pact forces invaded Czechoslovakia to crush
a reform movement, known as the Prague Spring, within the Czech
Communist. This was because the Soviet Union wanted to keep Czech a
communist Country so it could be another ally
Warsaw Pact." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia
of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Ed. John
Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles
Scribner's Sons
2006. 2716-2718.World History in Context.
Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
Apollo 11
Soviet achievements in space overshadowed American ones from
1957 through April 1961, when Major Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968)
of the Red Air Force became the first human to orbit Earth.
America's seemingly permanent second-place status in space
stung the pride and undermined the Cold War foreign policies of
the newly inaugurated president, John F. Kennedy. He proposed,
in a May 1961 address to Congress, that the United States take a
bold step: committing itself to landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to Earth by the end of the decade. On July
20, 1969, Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin
(1930-) landed an ungainly spacecraft named Eagle on the moon
and spent two hours exploring the lunar surface. They left the
next day, rendezvousing in lunar orbit with the command
ship Columbia and returning safely to Earth.
The Apollo11 landing ended a decade of competition between the
Soviet and American space programs, helped to restore the
nation's self-confidence, and began an intensive program of
exploration that transformed scientists' understanding of the
Moon .
"The 1969 Moon Landing: First Humans to Walk
on Another World." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil
Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale,
2001
. World History in Context. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin on the Moon, 1969." Gale
World History in Context. Detroit: Gale,
2010. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr.
2014.
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Exhibit
Allende becomes President
The 1970 Chilean presidential election sparked a political crisis
that ended three years later with a military coup and the
establishment of a ruthless dictatorship which lasted until 1989.
In the election, Marxist Salvador Allende Gossens, leader of the
Socialist-Communist Popular Unity (UP) coalition, won a large
segment, but not a majority, of the popular vote. Previously, he
had lost the 1958 and 1964 elections, both of which were
closely contested and, in that way, similar to the 1970 elections.
According to the Chilean constitution, if no single candidate
secured a majority, Congress would decide the victor. In this
tradition, Allende was confirmed the new Chilean presidentelect. Upon assuming office, Allende found himself head of a
divided nation.
"Allende Is Overthrown in a Chilean Military
Coup, September 11, 1973." Historic World Events.
Detroit: Gale, 2012. World History in Context.
Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
"Salvador Allende, Chilean President." Gale World
History in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. World
History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
Korea Captures the Pueblo
The Pueblo incident involved the 1968 seizure and hijacking
of the USS Pueblo by North Korean military forces.
The Pueblo, a naval intelligence ship, was conducting
offshore surveillance of North Korean radar and radio
installations when it was overtaken by the North Korean
fleet. Following seizure of the ship, diplomatic tensions
between the United States and North Korea heightened.
North Korean officials claimed that the vessel, and the
United States government, had been warned about
conducting espionage activities in the region. In contrast,
United States officials claimed that the Pueblo was seized in
international waters, without provocation. The crew of
the Pueblo was detained in North Korea for nearly a year
before their release was negotiated.
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Exhibit
LERNER, ADRIENNE WILMOTH. "Pueblo
Incident." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence
and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 456459. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014
"The USS Pueblo, shown underway at sea, was
captured in 1968 by North Korean patrol boats with
83 men..." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence
and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. World
History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
.
Chilean Crisis
The 1970 Chilean presidential election sparked a political crisis
that ended three years later with a military coup and the
establishment of a ruthless dictatorship which lasted until 1989. In
the election, Marxist Salvador Allende Gossens, leader of the
Socialist-Communist Popular Unity (UP) coalition, won a large
segment, but not a majority, of the popular vote. Previously, he had
lost the 1958 and 1964 elections, both of which were closely
contested and, in that way, similar to the 1970 elections. According
to the Chilean constitution, if no single candidate secured a
majority, Congress would decide the victor. In this tradition,
Allende was confirmed the new Chilean president-elect. However,
Allende was a weak president who attempted to employ political,
rather than aggressive, means to establish socialism. This caused
peasants to settle on farmlands without waiting for legal title.
Workers seized control of textile factories owned largely by
Middle Eastern immigrants. To the north, miners rejoiced over the
nationalization of copper mines. This caused a decrease in the
Chilean economy which empowered an anti-communist military
(funded by the C.I.A.) to revolt against the weak leadership. This
weakened the reach on the Soviets Communist empire.
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Exhibit
"Allende Is Overthrown in a Chilean Military
Coup, September 11, 1973." Historic World Events
. Detroit: Gale, 2012. World History in Context.
Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"Tanks in Santiago during the Chilean coup. In
1973 Chilean military forces overthrew the
democratic..." New Dictionary of the History of
Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 1.
Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. World
History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
SALT 1
On 26 May 1972 President Richard M. Nixon signed the AntiBallistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and the Interim Offensive
Forces Agreement. The signing of these agreements marked the
culmination of the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) that
had begun three years earlier. Without a treaty both nations
would be forced to adopt costly countermeasures--such as
deploying missile defenses or increasing intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) deployments--to render ineffective the
ballistic-missile defenses of the other side. The Soviets initially
resisted American proposals to negotiate limits on the
deployment of offensive and defensive strategic systems. Their
hesitancy stemmed largely from the inferiority of their strategic
nuclear arsenal. Only after the completion of the July 1968
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), designed to halt the
spread of nuclear weapons, did the Soviet Union officially
announce its intention to begin negotiations on strategic
systems. Finally, the development of satellite reconnaissance
offered both superpowers an acceptable method of verifying
arms-control agreements
"Strategic Arms Limitation Talks." The Cold War-1945-1991. Gale, 1992. World History in Context.
Web. 22 Apr. 2014
"U.S.-Soviet Nuclear Arms Treaty Signed,
1972." Gale World History in Context. Detroit:
Gale, 2010. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr.
2014.
.
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Arab Israeli War
The 1973 Arab-Israeli war was the fourth to break out between Arabs and
Israelis since the establishment of Israel in 1948. After the 1967 Six-Day War,
intermittent fighting had continued between the Arab states and Israel. Finally,
frustrated with Israel's refusal to negotiate the return of the occupied
territories, the Arab states, led by Egypt, launched a surprise attack on Israel
on 6 October 1973, the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, believing that the
alertness of the Israeli forces would be reduced. The Egyptian army of
President Anwar Sadat attacked from across the Suez Canal and broke into the
Sinai, while Syrian forces moved into Israel from the Golan Heights in the
north. Joined by Jordanian, Iraqi, and Libyan military units, the Egyptian and
Syrian armies made substantial gains and inflicted heavier losses on Israel than
in any previous Arab-Israeli war. The Israeli forces had driven back the Syrian
forces and surrounded the Egyptian forces by crossing the Suez and installing
troops on the west bank of the canal. Soviet support of the Arab states and U.S.
support of Israel almost led to a nuclear confrontation between the two
superpowers. The Egyptians had positioned five hundred tanks and missiles
across the Canal and had destroyed one hundred Israeli tanks. The tables soon
turned, however. Israeli jets struck into Syria, bombing Damascus and Homs,
and heavy civilian casualties were reported. In its highly successful
counterattack, Israel drove the Syrians to within twenty miles of Damascus, far
beyond the 1967 cease-fire lines, and Israeli artillery shelled the suburbs of
Damascus.
"The Israeli army firing artillery shells on the
Syrian border during the 1973 Arab-Israeli
War...." Middle East Conflict. Sonia G. Benson.
2nd ed. Vol. 1: Almanac. Detroit: U*X*L,
2012. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr.
2014.
"Arab-Israeli War, 1973." The Cold War--19451991. Gale, 1992. World History in Context. Web.
22 Apr. 2014.
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Pentagon Papers are Public
As the Vietnam War dragged on and the U.S. military
presence inSouth Vietnam increased to more than
500,000 troops by 1968, the military analyst Daniel
Ellsberg (who had worked on the study) came to
oppose the war, and decided that the information
contained in the Pentagon Papers should be more
widely available to the American public. He secretly
photocopied the report and in March 1971 gave the
copy to The New York Times, which subsequently
published a series of articles based on the report’s
findings. Amid the national and international uproar
that followed, the federal government tried
unsuccessfully to block publication of the Pentagon
Papers on grounds of national security. Published at a
time when support for U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War was steadily eroding, the Pentagon
Papers confirmed many people’s suspicions about the
active role the U.S. government had taken in building
up the conflict. Though the study did not cover the
policies of President Richard M. Nixon’s
administration, the revelations included within it were
embarrassing, particularly as Nixon was up for
reelection in 1972.
"Pentagon Papers." History.com. A&E Television
Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
Operation Babylift
The April 1975 operation bringing Vietnamese orphans to the
United States, where they were adopted by Americans. Over ten
days just prior to the fall of South Vietnam, U.S. aircraft
transported some twenty-five hundred Vietnamese children to
adoptive families. The flights were largely uneventful aside from
the very first, on April 4, which crashed soon after taking off from
Saigon. Most of the 138 people killed in the crash were children .
Operation Baby Lift was the source of much controversy. Many of
the children taken to the United States, some claimed, were not
orphans at all. Instead, their Vietnamese parents had simply given
them up to get them out of the war-torn country. Other critics,
perhaps echoing the fears of Vietnamese parents, wondered
whether the operation indicated that both the South Vietnamese
and Americans suspected that a bloody reign of terror would
follow the fall of South Vietnam. Still others suspected political
manipulation, accusing President Gerald Ford, who announced the
plan on April 3, of using the children to try to create sympathy for
the South Vietnamese regime in hopes of getting Congress to send
military aid.
"Baby Lift." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The
Vietnam War. Jeff T. Hay. Ed. Charles Zappia. San
Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. 34. World History
in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Harrington, Joyce. "ADOPT
VIETNAM." Operation Babylift Airlift
Photographs 2. AdoptVietnam.org, n.d. Web. 22
Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
Soviets invade Afghanistan
The Soviet goal in Afghanistan was to keep Afghanistan neutral in the face of
relations with the United States and the People's Republic of China. It also
wanted to maintain a healthy trade relationship with Kabul. Therefore, the
Soviets would intervene whenever there was friction between Afghanistan and
neighboring Pakistan. They were able to accomplish this by bribing middle
eastern countries into allowing some Soviet power. After each state visit to
Moscow, the Afghans would receive special aid packages that included
construction kits for flour mills and asphalt factories, as well as motor repair
kits. In addition, trained Soviet laborers brought equipment for road
construction such as the Kushka-Qandahar Highway across Afghanistan and
the Salang Highway which crossed through the Hindu Kush. Other examples
of Soviet aid included the development of an irrigation system, a gas pipeline,
hydroelectric plants, and a number of airports. While people initially hailed
the changes, they ultimately came to realize the full consequence of
collectivization. Several voices of opposition were heard, even among the
lower class, which was forced to sell their property to pay basic expenses. The
Soviet Union and Afghanistan enjoyed cordial relations from the nineteenth
century until the 1979 invasion.. The village of Istalif, north of Kabul, was
bombed repeatedly in the seven days beginning October 12, 1983; one
thousand were killed or wounded. At the same time, relations between
Moscow and the West were becoming strained Moscow had hopes of playing a
crucial part in regulating Eastern Europe's contacts with the West but the
invasion of Afghanistan now dashed any such hopes as Moscow faced
increasing condemnation from Western nations.
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Exhibit
"Soviet Tanks in Afghanistan's Mountains." Gale
World History in Context. Detroit: Gale,
2010. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr.
2014.
"Afghanistan Invaded by Soviets, December 24,
1979 to December 27, 1979."Historic World
Events. Detroit: Gale, 2012. World History in
Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Jimmy Carter
Governor of Georgia, 1970-1976; U.S. president, 1977-1981. As
governor, James Earl Carter backed President Nixon's Vietnam
policy and urged his fellow governors not to oppose the war and
undermine public support. He criticized the press for its
handling of the My Lai massacre story. As a Democratic
presidential candidate in 1976, however, Carter denounced
theVietnam War as "immoral" and "racist." Upon assuming the
presidency in 1977 he issued a blanket pardon for draft resisters,
an action he believed necessary to begin a national
reconciliation process. He considered a pardon as "forgiveness"
as opposed to amnesty, which would have implied government
recognition of draft resistance as morally correct. Carter
explored the possibility of normalization of relations with the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, but Vietnamese demandsh for
war reparations, unacceptable to the United States, foreclosed
such a policy change.
"Camp David Peace Accords Signed." Gale World
History in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. World
History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014
"Jimmy Carter." Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War.
Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1996. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr.
2014.
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The Fall of Saigon
Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam when the
country was divided in 1954. Saigon's official
population of 1.5 million nearly doubled during the
next decade as war refugees streamed into squalid
shantytowns. The sudden and gigantic influx of U.S.
troops and dollars rapidly transformed the Asian
capital into a carnival of Western decadence.
Saigon swarmed with thieves, beggars, prostitutes,
drug dealers, and black market peddlers. "Saigon has
become an American brothel," Sen. J. William
Fulbright complained in 1967. Saigon became a
symbol of how the United States ruined a nation that it
meant to save.
"Saigon." Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Ed.
Stanley I. Kutler. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1996. World History in Context. Web. 22 Apr.
2014.
"Corporate Billboards Show Economic Changes in
Vietnam, 1995." Gale World History in Context.
Detroit: Gale, 2010. World History in Context.
Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
Angolan War
During the Angolan War, the South African military fought a
defensive war against strategic USSR and USSR-proxy foreign
forces, which had as their target South Africa. These strategic
forces included USSR Russian forces (300 000 conscript
soldiers), Cuban forces (500 000 conscript soldiers, paid for by
the USSR), Warsaw Pact soldiers and Fapla - the conventional
army of the USSR-aligned MPLA (the unelected Angolan
government during the Cold War). The USSR's targeting of
South Africa was not due to the discriminatory policy of
apartheid. Its strategic Cold War aim was the seizure of South
Africa as the source of strategic minerals and metals. These
strategic minerals and metals were critical for Nato during the
Cold War, and other than in South Africa, the majority of them
were located in the USSR. It is an indisputable fact that the
US, Western European Nato countries, Western-aligned
African countries and the Western-aligned Unita were not
supporting South Africa to uphold, promote or defend the
policy of apartheid. This was rather a strategic Cold War
conflict.
"It was never a war between us Angolan war in
numbers; It's 25 years since the Angolan war
ended. It's time to reassess what it meant, writes
Stuart Sterzel." Star[South Africa] 7 Feb. 2013:
13. World History in Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
"Africa Angola's 'war for Peace's Sake'" BBC News.
BBC, 31 Jan. 1999. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
The Ogaden War
On July 13, 1977, the Somali National Army (SNA) invaded the
Ogaden region and made significant incursions into Ethiopia,
thus beginning the Ogaden War. Finding itself supporting both
sides of the war, the Soviet Union attempted a cease-fire; when
this failed, the Soviet Union stopped aid to Somalia. By August
the SNA was advancing on the strategically important city of
Dire Dawa. But the Ethiopian army resisted the assault, and the
SNA was unable to take the city. One month later, in midSeptember, the SNA did succeed in capturing Jijiga, forcing the
Ethiopians to withdraw from the city. In October the SNA tried
to take the city of Harar but were beaten back by Ethiopian
troops who had regrouped and been strengthened by Sovietsupplied arms. From that point on the SNA proved to be no
match for the Soviet-backed Ethiopian Army. The last SNA unit
left on March 15, marking the end of the war. Abandoned by the
Soviet Union, Somalia allied itself with the United States,
allowing the United States use of its military bases.
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Exhibit
"Anti-Soviet Protest in Somalia." Gale World
History in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2012.World
History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
"Ethiopia and Somalia Fight the Ogaden War:
1977–1978." Global Events: Milestone Events
Throughout History. Ed. Jennifer Stock. Vol. 1:
Africa. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2013. World
History in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) secretly
encouraged and financed Afghan communists from before the
formation of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
(PDPA) in 1965 until the party unexpectedly came to power
through a military coup d'état on 27 April 1978. When popular
opposition to the regime's economic and social changes
provoked armed resistance, Moscow supplied weapons and
military advisers who took unofficial command of the Afghan
armed forces. In mid-1979, the Soviets sought the removal of
Afghanistan’s deputy, Hafizullah Amin. They blamed Amin for
antagonizing the Afghan people into rebellion. Brezhnev(Soviet
Leader) decided on 12 December 1979 to send the Soviet army
into Afghanistan. The Soviet army seized control of Kabul on
27 December, killing Amin. Moscow claimed its army had been
officially invited into Afghanistan. The mojahedin(Muslim
forces) armed by the United States and its allies, and trained and
directed by Pakistan's military intelligence service, ambushed
roads and harassed garrisons.. Non-aligned nations voted in the
United Nations against the Soviet troop presence in
Afghanistan, and Western countries restricted ties with the
USSR. The USSR and the United States had agreed in 1988 to
terminate their support of their respective clients in the ongoing
civil war on or before 31 December 1991. As it happened, the
USSR was formally disbanded a few days before that. Deprived
of aid, Najibullah's(Communst leader) regime lost support and
collapsed. The mojahedin who had fought the Soviet Union took
control of Kabul on 28 April 1992.
Bradsher, Henry S. "Afghanistan: Soviet
Intervention in." Encyclopedia of the Modern
Middle East and North Africa. Ed. Philip Mattar.
2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference
USA, 2004. 65-66. World History in Context. Web.
22 Apr. 2014.
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Exhibit
Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran was being run by American like politics. In
response, a group of Iranian revolutionist abducted a
large amount of U.S. citizens. Fifty-two American
hostages were ultimately held for 444 days, and their
captors treated them abysmally. After close to three
weeks, they were bound and blindfolded, then taken to
a number of temporary prisons, where they were
interrogated constantly and beaten and humiliated.
Three months after their captivity began, the hostages
were incarcerated in small cells and were not allowed
to communicate. Violators were punished by being
locked in dark, cold cubicles for up to three days.
During the last part of their captivity, they were
subjected to a mock firing squad. When at last they
were released--on January 20, 1981, minutes after
Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the new U.S.
president--it was clear from their haggard appearance
how much they had suffered. The American hostages
in Iran drew the attention of much of the world, and
most countries condemned the hostage taking. The
Iranian success in exploiting the hostage situation to
render the United States powerless, and President
Carter's impotence in the face of the crisis, served as an
inspiration to other terrorists, particularly those in the
Middle East.
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Exhibit
"Iranian Revolutionaries Hold Americans Hostage,
November 4, 1979-January 20, 1981." Historic
World Events. Detroit: Gale, 2014. World History
in Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
"Iran radicals move one of the hostages during the
444-day Iran hostage crisis. The standoff ended
on..." UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia
Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca
Valentine. Vol. 4. Detroit: UXL, 2009. World
History in Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
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Entrance
Propaganda
The extraordinary level of government and commercial
propaganda during the war continued during the period
of economic and political hostility between communist
and capitalist countries known as the Cold War (1945–
1989). Propagandists on all sides utilized their own
interpretations of the truth in order to sell an
ideological point of view to their citizens and to the
world at large. U.S. president Harry S. Truman
described (1950) the conflict as a "struggle above all
else, for the minds of men." The Soviet leadership
under Joseph Stalin (1879–1953), untroubled by the
negative connotations of propaganda, viewed the role
of the media as mobilizing and legitimizing support for
expansionist policies.
Phoenix, Red. "Guide For Moral Perspective in
A Capitalist Society." The Red Phoenix. N.p., 10
June 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
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