Ethel+and+Julius+Rosenberg+and+others+-+p4

Bethany =__The Story of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Other Spies__= Ethel Greenglass was born on May 12, 1915. Her future husband, Julius Rosenberg, was born on September 29, 1918. Julius was the fourth child from a Jewish immigrant family from Poland. They both grew up on the Lower East Side of New York. As a teen, Rosenberg joined the YCL, or Youth Communist League. He met Ethel in December of 1936 at a fundraiser for striking seamen. That fundraiser was held by the International Seamen's Union. Ethel was singing there, and Julius attended as a supporter. Ethel was never an official Communist. Julius became an official Communist on December 1st, 1939. Later in 1939 they were married. The government was keeping tabs on who had officially joined the Communist party. Julius had a hearing in January 1941, and then another hearing in March of that same year on the accusation of being a Communist. In order to not get fired from his job as a United States Army Signal Corps, Julius Rosenberg lied about his involvement with the Communist party. In October 1942, Julius got a promotion at his job, and that was very beneficial to his family’s financial status. Michael Allen Rosenberg, Ethel and Julius’s first son, was born on March 10, 1943. In the winter of 1943-1944, Julius dropped out of the Communist party. In 1945, the US government found factual evidence that Julius had been involved with the Communists. Again, Julius lied about his involvement to keep his job. On February 10, 1945 he was suspended from his job without pay, and then on March 26, 1945 Julius was officially fired. Robert Harry, the couple’s second son, was born on May 19, 1947. The Rosenbergs had very little money since Julius got fired. Bernie and David Greenglass, Ethel’s brothers, held various unsuccessful business ventures with Julius. After multiple business quarrels, Bernie officially left the business in August 1949. Later, David pulled out of their business as well. Julius and Ethel deliberately withheld their financial troubles from their boys.

Later in 1945, David Greenglass, Ethel's brother and husband of Ruth Greenglass, began working in New Mexico on an atomic bomb project for the United States government. In 1950, Greenglass was fired and arrested for being a spy. When he was interrogated, he claimed that Julius had recruited him to spy for the Soviets. Because of this accusation, Julius Rosenberg was also arrested, along with his wife. Julius was arrested on July 17, 1950. The couple pleaded innocent. In 1951, they were both found guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit espionage, and sentenced to death by the electric chair.

Multiple protests were staged against the execution of the Rosenbergs. People believed that the judge was biased or that the trial was unfair. Albert Einstein and Pope Pius XII spoke out against the sentence, saying that the Rosenbergs should have an appeal. The case of the Rosenbergs ended up in Supreme Court, and their appeals were denied. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed on June 19, 1953 at Sing Sing prison, which is in Ossining, New York. David Greenglass was sentenced to 15 years, but was released in 1960. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were the first United States citizens who were arrested and put to death for wartime spying.

The trial and conviction of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg was very important to American history. This was the first time that United States citizens had been arrested and convicted for espionage. It opened people's minds to the possibility of betrayal in their own backyard. The trial scared people into accusing their own neighbors. The trial was a turning point in American history because it showed people that not everyone could be trusted.

The death penalty has always been fairly controversial. It has been around since ancient times for various crimes such as witchcraft, or robbery. The use of the death penalty today in the United States includes lethal injection and electric chair. This is a very painful way for a convict to die, and this makes many people discontent with the death sentence being given out. The 6th amendment to the United States constitution says that plain factual evidence must be present for a convicted murderer to be considered for the death penalty. Juries, not a judge, must decide the death penalty, or capital punishment. Capital punishment is outlawed in 5 states in the nation.

David Greenglass worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. That laboratory is a research facility. They help to test and develop nuclear weapons. However, no testing has been done since 1993, and no new weapons have been developed there since the 1980's. This laboratory also works with the disposal of nuclear waste and other advanced materials. The Los Alamos National Laboratory was started in 1945 to help with the Manhattan Project of WWII. The L.A.N.S.C.E., the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, is considered one of the countries most advanced nuclear facilities.

Bibliography: 1) Reeves, Thomas C. "Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel." World Book Online Reference Center. 2007. [Place of access. Date of access.] <[|http://www.worldbookonline.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org:2048/wb/Article?id=ar475720>.] 2) MLA (Modern Language Association) style: Bedau, Hugo A. "capital punishment." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2007. Grolier Online. 7 Feb. 2007 <[|http://gme.grolier.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org:2048/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0051440-0>.] 3) Chicago Manual of Style: Bedau, Hugo A. "capital punishment." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org:2048/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0051440-0 (accessed February 7, 2007). 4) APA (American Psychological Association) style: Bedau, H. A. (2007). capital punishment. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org:2048/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0051440-0 5) Monroe, Judy. The Rosenberg Cold Wart Spy Trial. Berkley Heights, NJ: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 2001. 6) "Los Alamos National Laboratory." World Book Online Reference Center. 2007. [Place of access. Date of access.] <[|http://www.worldbookonline.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org:2048/wb/Article?id=ar331270>.]