Articles by Steven Gilchrist

T he National Japanese American Memorial is a multi-faceted memorial that recognizes the courage, loyalty, and sacrifices of Japanese Americans during World War II.   On February 19, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066.   This executive order authorized the federal government to remove approximately 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ethnicity from their homes and subsequently bring them to detection camps enclosed by barbed wires.   The names of the detention camps and the number of people confined in each camp are inscribed on the walls of the memorial. The Japanese American Memorial also exists as a reminder of the American government’s mistake of discriminating against citizens based on their ethnicity.   This memorial also pays tribute to the 30,000 Japanese American men and women who served in the American military forces during World War II.   The names of more than 800 Japanese American men who died in com...

A USA Today investigation initially conducted in 2014 has revealed that police departments across the country, in certain circumstances, would not pursue thousands of fugitives if they have fled the state where they have committed a crime.   The USA Today investigation led by reporter Brad Heath suggests that police departments will not pursue fugitives who flee state boundaries because they did not want to allocate the time nor necessary resources to arrest them from another county or state. Advocates for victims of crimes suggest that the financial cost of apprehending fugitives across state lines restricts law enforcement personnel from arresting fugitives.   “I’m troubled as to what might be driving these choices, and if it’s solely financial, then what are we going to do to reverse that.   These are dangerous people,” says Will Marling, executive director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance. The fugitives that police do not pursue repre...

Published in 2011, Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin chronicles the life of the one of the early American landscape architects.   In over 400 pages of text, Martin eloquently describes the amazingly brilliant, challenging, and sorrowful life of Olmsted.   Born on April 26, 1822 in Hartford, Connecticut, Olmsted was an avid reader.   He also had a dedicated work ethic and a talented speaker.   Before finding his true life passion as a landscape architect and conservationist, Olmsted worked as a surveyor, clerk, sailor, and farmer.   Olmsted also worked as a journalist.   He traveled to the American south and wrote articles about slavery and southern life for The New York Daily Times.   Olmsted also wrote books as well: Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England and A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States.   “Olmsted was quick to concede that slavery was wrong,” Martin writes on page 76.   After...

From April 2, 1982 to June 14, 1982 Argentina and the United Kingdom fought in a conflict known as the Falklands War.  The 10 week conflict was fought over two British territories located in the South Atlantic Ocean: the Falkland Islands & South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.  The conflict began when Argentina’s military invaded the Falkland Islands.  Prior to invading the Falkland Islands, Argentina’s economy was collapsing.  Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri initiated the invasion of the islands as a plan to galvanize the citizens of Argentina.  The invasion of the Falkland Islands was intended to unite Argentina’s citizens around a common cause and to distract the citizens from the economic problems the country was facing.  The Falkland Islands had been governed by the British government since 1833.  In that year the British expelled Argentina from the islands.  The islands are located 400 miles east of the Argentinean ...