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On this day in 1953, America had their first execution of American citizens during peacetime for espionage. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were husband and wife that met through the Young Communist League. So as I researched this day, this is where I would begin to educate myself with the Young Communist League. As an article introduces an unfamiliar part of history, I make sure to understand it completely so that everything makes sense in my future research. I will go ahead with the main story and you can investigate as I go. The couple was turned in by Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, for colluding with the Soviets about the U.S.’s atomic bomb secrets. David had also been sharing secrets, but since he testified against his sister and brother in law he was able to only be sentenced to 10 years of prison. The Rosenberg’s very brief trial ended with a guilty verdict and a controversial death sentenced on April 5, 1951, a month after the trial began. It wasn’t until 2 years later that they were executed. During this time President Dwight D. Roosevelt backed his decision not to grant them executive clemency by stating “I can only say that, by immeasurably increasing the chances of atomic war, the Rosenbergs may have condemned to death tens of millions of innocent people all over the world. The execution of two human beings is a grave matter. But even graver is the thought of the millions of dead whose deaths may be directly attributable to what these spies have done.” (History.com Staff) On the other hand were those protesting the sentencing saying that it was unconstitutional to condemn them to death, their reasoning being that they probably wouldn’t have been sentenced to death if the country wasn’t in the middle of an Anti-Communist rage. Both Rosenbergs died still arguing their innocence. Here is where I will put my two cents in on the decision to execute them. On the one hand I can see how the people would look at it as circumstantial because of what the country was going through at the time but I would probably have to say that I side with the president on this one. The Rosenbergs knowingly gave the Soviets the information that needed in order to murder millions of people, and for that I see that them giving up their lives is basically what they were asking the American people to do after they gave up the information. I would love to see other points of opinion to this, so go ahead and leave it in the comments and we can see if you can change my mind. "This Day in History." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 19 June 2017. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history>. |
This blog is about continued education in the field of History.
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