Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Kiss that Brought about the Two Party System

How dare the President of the United States bow to the Emperor of Japan. Just because it is a tradition in Japan to bow when meeting anyone, why should Americans sink to such a level? We should just insult a three thousand year old culture as Dick Cheney did when he visited Japan.

This controversy is nothing new. In 1794 John Jay was dispatched to Great Britain by Washington to settle lingering issues from the Revolutionary War. Wouldn't you know it, he kissed the Queen's hand!!!! The resulting treaty (Jay's treaty) was very controversial for many complicated reasons, (pull out your history notes or just google) but it was the kiss that captured the public's attention. It could be concluded that the differences between Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Party and Thomas Jefferson's Democratic Republican Party were cemented due to the public's outrage over THE KISS.

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