History of Terrorism in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of Terrorism in America - Essay Example History of terrorism in the United States United States has a long history of terrorist attacks and this demonstrates that the act is not a new form of violence. Historical records attest that the practice originated about 2000 years ago when brutal Jewish factions such as Sicariii emerged (Bruce, 1999). Although the world had witnessed numerous brutal attacks on innocent civilians, the term â€Å"terrorism† was not used until 1794 during the French revolution. However, the initial meaning of terrorism was complementary, applied by the state to execute its mandate (Bruce, 1999). According to Burgess, (2003), the earliest recorded terrorist activity in the United States was in 1622. A native Indian group invaded Jamestown colony killing about a third of the total population during the attack. The colonial United States encountered numerous violent internal attacks and rebellions with characteristics of terrorism. The earliest recognized terror organization in the United States was Ku Klux Klan that was formed in independent United States in 1867 (Bryant, 2002). Initially, the group was pacifist but it comprised of racist white people. Nathan Bedford Forrest, formerly a confederate soldier was the first leader of Ku Klux Klan. In 1868 American elections, the group embarked on violence, threats and killing of black people and Republic Party supporters. The organization’s attacks on the innocent population during elections were highly influential in determining early voting pattern across the United States because the group was supporting the Democrats (Burgess, 2003). According to Bryant (2002), the Ku Klux Klan killed over 3000 people, mainly freed black slaves and moderate Republican Party supporters by the time the group reduced its activities and went underground in 1872. The early twentieth century experienced an increased number of terror attacks in the United States. According to Burgess (2003), President McKinley was murdered in 1901 by extre mists and in 1920 terrorists bombed the Wall Street, killing thirty and injuring over 300 people. Moreover, terrorists bombed Los Angeles times building in 1910, killing 21 people in the premises. The period between 1920 and 1960 recorded reduced terror attacks in the United States territory. However, the following decade experienced an increased terror attacks on America interests. This period was characterized by increasing application of the air transport to carry passengers along air routes connecting United States and other countries. The airplanes became new target for terrorists and in 1962, a continental airline plane crashed and then exploded in Missouri, US killing all 45 passengers on board. The American air safety authorities identified terrorism as the cause of the accident (Bruce 1999, p58) The 1960s experienced an upsurge of domestic violence in the United States. According to Casey (2004, p 47), the country witnessed increased violence from the youths who formed a ma jor component of the increasing civil rights movements that lobbied for the rights of minority and disenfranchised groups in the United States. From 1960s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, several anti-communist, leftists and ethno nationalist organizations emerged in the United Sta