December 15, 2015

Dear Editor,

You are correct. Your knowledge of U.S. history needs a lot of help.

The Pilgrims and Puritans were not the same people. The Pilgrims had broken with the Church of England and lived in the Netherlands for a while. Bradford’s History of Plimouth Plantation struck me as a colossal piece of arrogance. They definitely felt superior to the Native Americans. The Puritans only wanted to purify, as they put it, the Church of England. They settled in the area of Boston – north of Plymouth.

I could be incorrect, but I believe that the oldest city in the United States is Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Napoleon sold Louisiana because he needed the money. It doubled the size of the United States. A few U.S. citizens had already moved into that territory.

You have a problem, also, calling WASPs elite. Perhaps it’s in your definition of elite – too complicated to take up here.

At the end of World War I the United States refused to accept the fact that it was a world power and did not join the League of Nations. The U.S. had spent more money on that war than all the other allies combined.

The U.S. became a super power at the end of World War II. It had spent more money on that war than all the other combatants combined – both sides.

The reconstruction of Europe after World War II was accomplished with the just previously discovered oil in the Middle East. Thus Europeans are still dependent on that supply source.

The feelings about what happened to the Jews before and during the war stimulated the push to create and sustain Israel. There were some Jews in high places – banking and Hollywood, for example – which added momentum.

Mr. Trump’s popularity proves how inadequate the education of a large portion of the electorate has really been.

In the 1600, 1700, and 1800’s it was felt by all nations that an empire was important and in some cases necessary to supply the needs of their people. England and the Netherlands, for example, were confined to small land masses. Thus the “haves” and “have nots”! Germany was a have not. World War I followed. They lost. Japan was also a have not. So the two, plus Italy, agitated for empire, which led to World War II. Africa was what was left to argue over, while the Japanese pushed into Asia.

I want to tell you how happy I am to see Jerry A. Enriquez return to your pages. He is by far your best columnist. He displays a wide knowledge and the ability of analysis. Luna you should lose. I could spend hours explaining his inadequacies.

Emily L. Wilt
P.O. Box 294,
Corozal Town
(Caribbean Village)
422-0311

(I have written to you in the past, and stated my background. Again – Master’s Degree studies in American History and Government at the University of Nebraska – Omaha. The department head was an Oxford Doctorate. My Master’s Degree in History was earned at the University of San Diego. I taught History and Government in a large Nebraska high school. As the department head there, I developed a program for college and university-bound students.)