HLSC 510 History of Terrorism Research Paper 2.pdf

HISTORY OF TERRORISM 1

History of Terrorism

Liberty University

HISTORY OF TERRORISM 2

Abstract

Although the idea of terrorism has been seen as a new concept in the modern era, it is seen

throughout history since the foundation of the United States. Defined by the US Patriot Act of

2001 terrorist activities include: “threatening, conspiring, or attempting to hijack airplanes, boats,

buses, or other vehicles; threatening, conspiring, or attempting to commit acts of violence on any

"protected" persons, such as government officials; any crime committed with "the use of any

weapon or dangerous device," when the intent of the crime is determined to be the endangerment

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Terrorism in America

Despite its growing prevalence in recent decades, the concept of terrorism and attacks

have been a concern in the United States since the foundation of the country in 1776. The words

terrorism and terrorist in the English language have been derived from terms used in French

during the Reign of Terror from 1793-1794. During this time, state-sponsored violence guided

politically motivated punishment (“The History of the Word Terrorism, 2021, para.1). Although

there are various interpretations and understanding of the concept and definition of terrorism, the

destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and…(C) occur primarily within the territorial

jurisdiction of the United States…” (“Various Definitions of Terrorism”, n.d., p.2).

The FBI further distinguishes terrorism both internationally and domestically. Domestic

terrorism is defined as, “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further

ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious,

social, racial, or environmental nature” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2021, para.2).

International terrorism is defined as, “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or

groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or

nations (state-sponsored)” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2021, para.2).

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Founding of the United States

During the period of time following the foundation of the United States in the late 1700s,

the words related to “terrorism” were used to describe activities related to strikes, boycotts, and

terror accompanied by the Civil War. Late in the nineteenth century, terrorism and terrorists

were then applied relating to violence. According to Gage (2011), following the attempted

assassination of Henry Clay Fick in 1892, anarchist Alexander Berkman claimed to have

committed “the first terrorist act in America” (p.75). It is important to note that during the

imposed heavy penalties, and authorized suppressive forces (Gruberg, 2009, para.4).

Various attempted and successful assassinations of presidents and political figures can

also be coined as early terrorist attacks due to their political motivation. On April 14th, 1865,

President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who escapes the shooting as

he yelled, “Sic Semper Tyrranis” (“American Presidential Assassinations, n.d., para.2). On

September 6th, 1901, President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz due to the belief

that McKinley was the head of a corrupt government (“American Presidential Assassinations,

n.d., para.4).

In addition to assassinations and related attempts, bombings have been a prevalent

method of terrorism throughout history. On May 4th, 1886, a rally at Haymarket Square was

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organized to protest police brutality. During the rally, an unknown subject threw a bomb towards

the police as they attempted to disperse the rally. This resulted in gunfire emerging and causing

the lives of seven police officers and multiple civilians to be lost (“Haymarket Riot”, 2020,

para.3). As a result, eight anarchists were convicted and some hanged for their conspiracy

convictions. On October 1st, 1910, union members J.J. and J.B. McNamara detonated dynamite

at the Los Angeles Times Building in protest, causing the deaths of 21 lives (Harrison, 2018).

They were both convicted and sentenced to time in prison for their involvement in the attack.

On December 7th, 1941, Japan bombed the United States at Pearl Harbor, killing and wounding

over 3500 servicemembers and civilians which launched the United States into World War II

(The National WWII Museum, 2001, p.1).

In 1946, the Ku Klux Klan emerged for a third time with strong opposition to the civil

rights movement. The Klan was responsible for a bombing of a church in Birmingham,

Alabama, the murders of three civil rights workers, and a voting rights volunteer between 1963-

1965 (Gruberg, 2009, para.10). With the Federal Bureau of Investigation increased

investigations and surveillance, in addition to passing civil rights law, the Ku Klux Klan

membership began to decrease (Gruberg, 2009, para.10).

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Following the conviction of a Klansman in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Supreme

Court overturned the conviction establishing “the states could only suppress subversive speech

that is ‘directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or

produce such action’” (Gruberg, 2009, para.12). Following this decision, the Ku Klux Klan

began to challenge the First Amendment and their freedom of speech, but their involvement in

terrorist actions substantially decreased in comparison to when the group was founded.

Once again in the mid-1900s, politically motivated assassinations were carried out

The 1990’s

The United States fell victim to various terrorist attacks throughout the 1990s, including a

two-decade-long run of bomb mailings by Ted Kacynski, known as the Unabomber. In a protest

of technological advancements, 25 individuals were either killed or injured through his 16 mail

bombings (Resnick, 2013, para.5). Following Kacynski, the World Trade Center was bombed by

al Qaeda member Ramzi Yousef, through the use of a truck bombing. Yousef later explained to

the New York Times, “This action was done in response to the American political, economical,

and military support to Israel, the state of terrorism, and to the rest of the dictator countries in the

region” (Resnick, 2013, para.6).

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In 1995, 168 Americans were killed and 600 more were injured as the result of a car

bomb set off in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (Resnick, 2013,

para.7). Following this attack, Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty

Act of 1996. And then during the 1996 summer Olympics in Georgia, Eric Rudolph planted pipe

bombs in the ‘Centennial Olympic Park Bombing’ to “...confound, anger and embarrass the

Washington government in the eyes of the world…” (Resnick, 2013, para.8).

On April 20th, 1999, the United States saw its first major school shooting in history

school building security, and active shooter preparedness (Temkin et al., 2020, para.3).

Terrorism Post 9/11

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, the United States began its 20-year

war in the middle east to combat international terrorist groups and attacks. The role of this type

of violence was prevalent throughout American history, but society saw this as a new threat and

war on the country. The 9/11 attacks surface this new meaning to the word “terrorism” and

brought both historical conversations, new legislature, and changes made on the homefront,

“What changed on 9/11 was not so much the history itself but…our sudden awareness of it”

(Gage, 2011, p.81). Despite the foundation of the Department of Homeland Security and

improved legislature and communication throughout all levels of government, various types of

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mass shootings, bombings, and other terrorist attacks have continued to grow in the United

States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has remained agile in its terrorism threat approaches

and continued to evolve its management of these threats and attacks.

Biblical Overview

Despite the harm that domestic and international terrorist attacks have harmed the United

States, we are reminded by the bible to persevere and overcome hate. In Romans 5:2-5,

“Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love

him.”

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References

“American Presidential Assassinations”. (n.d.). American Experience. Retrieved on December

16th, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-

assassinations/

Canestaro, N. (2003). American law and policy on assassinations of foreign leaders: The

practicality of maintaining the status quo. B.C. International and Comparative Law

Review. https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol26/iss1/2/

Gruberg, M. (2011). Ku klux klan. The First Amendment Encyclopedia.

https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1191/ku-klux-klan

Harrison, S. (2018, October 1st). From the archives: The 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles

Times. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-

archives-the-1910-bombing-of-the-los-angeles-times-20180612-htmlstory.html

“Haymarket Riot”. (2020, May 1st). https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/haymarket-riot

Homeland Security Digital Library. (2021). Columbine high school massacre.

https://www.hsdl.org/c/tl/columbine-high-school-massacre/

“Martin Luther King Jr”. (2021, December 13th).

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr