American Transition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Transition - Essay Example The problem was that the Radical Republicans pay more attention to the rearrangement of Southern institutions rather than to "the elevation of the ex-slave". Only some of them realized that slavery was not able "to train the ex-slave for participation in a free competitive society, as most of them assumed that the termination of slavery meant the end of their problems (Burns 12). They believed that blacks could immediately enter into community life on an equal footing with other citizens". Anyway ex-slaves appeared empty handed before the new kind of world. They had not yet been granted their civil rights. "At the same time, they were no longer covered by property rights. Therefore they were even more vulnerable to physical intimidation than before" (Burns 7). Seemingly among the achievements of Reconstruction was obviously granting minimum of political and civil rights to the ex-slave, though white supremacy supporters were stubborn in their desire to ruin this advance. In the situations when it was impossible to use frightening and terror, ex-slaves were under the ruthless economic oppression by landowners and merchants. Ex-slaves were little by little loosing their influence during voting. Although it all this was obvious the Northern Radical Republicans seemed to be tired of the everlasting fight for protecting ex-slaves. Moreover the Northern whites supported the Southern race bigotry. Thus the North begun to give preference to peace rather than justice. "Industrialists were expanding their businesses rapidly, and they wanted the South to be pacified, so that it would be a safe area for investment and expansion. If this meant returning power to white conservatives, they were willing to pay the price" (Burns 11). The election of presi dent in 1876 outgrew into mess. The South agreed to uphold Republican Hayes only in the case of withdrawing the troops and renewing home rule. Thus having become President B. Hayes claimed that if the Southern whites were let alone, they would be to handle ex-slaves conscientiously. "Hayes seemed unaware that men could be educated, civilized, and claim to be Christians while at the same time behaving as bigots and racists" (Burns 14). In order to content the voracious North and the Hayes interred the residues of Reconstruction. At the end of his term Southern white conservatives absolutely retook earlier lost positions. From the point of view of American transition let's also consider an issue of technical changes which accelerated the development of the United States in the late 19th century. These changes included "a wave of inventions bringing new interlocking means of transportation, new power sources, new materials, mass production of consumer goods, advances in industrial chemistry, and innovative modes of production" (Burns 42). Besides this revolution resulted in various economic and social changes in the USA like new modes of management and organizational forms. Inventor-entrepreneurs, and among them was Thomas Edison, Elmer Sperry, Lee De Forrest, formed a direction of inventive activity which initiated the Second Industrial Revolution. In 1896 a writer in the Scientific American referring to the remarkable outpouring of U.S. patents since the Civil War, exuberantly insisted that his was "an epoch of invention and progress unique in the history of the world" (Burns 39).

Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lines Composed a Few M

"Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley and "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" by Wordsworth The two chosen pieces both have a dominant theme of nature. Shelley, in his poem 'Ode to the West Wind,'; uses poignant tone, while using personification and imagery to unravel his theme of nature. While Wordsworth's '...Tintern Abbey'; contains a governing theme of nature, Wordsworth uses first person narration, illusive imagery, as well as an amiable tone to avow his connection to nature. In his poem, 'Ode to the West Wind,'; Shelley uses a poignant and heart-rending tone to describe the power of nature and more specifically the wind. Shelley's reference to the wind, as the 'sister of Spring'; and a 'Maenad,'; shows how the wind is like a woman, spontaneous and free, with the liberty to be a gentle soul or a vicious amazon. He sees the wind with wonderment, and at the same time respects it and or even fears it. Shelly not only uses tone to depict his conception of nature, but he goes on to use personification to characterize the strength and vigor the wind possesses. He gives the wind human characteristics by referring to the wind as 'her'; and 'she.'; For example, 'Her clarion over the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With loving hues and odors plain and hill,'; can be paralleled with a woman tending to her garden with love and devotion. Along with a heart-rending tone and personification Shelley uses imagery to d...

Substantial Problems on Industrialization

At the turn of the century, a spirit of reform known as progressivism took hold of many American people. Less a united movement than a loose gathering of casual and improbable alliances, progressivism targeted the massive problems of an urban, industrialized nation. In spite of resistance, progressives were able to redefine government†s role in American life, make a serious run for the White House, and ratify such lasting reforms. In the nightfall of the 1800†³s, many citizens could see that existing efforts to solve the substantial problems of industrialization were failing. The 1880†³s and 1890†³s were filled with lively debates about how to reform society. The ideas of journalists Henry George and Edward Bellamy were among the most popular. In 1879 Henry George had written a book Progress and Poverty in an effort to explain why an advanced civilization seemed to increase rather than eliminate poverty. George proposed to solve this problem by ending taxes on improvements on land, such as housing and cultivation. George proposed just a single tax – on the value of land itself. Such a tax would make a speculation in land less attractive by increasing the cost of holding land without using it. In 1888 newspaper editor Edward Bellamy published a novel called Looking Backward. Incorporated into the novel was the story of a man being hypnotized and waking up in the year 2000. All of the harsh working conditions, social class set backs, and political corruption that existed in 1887 no longer existed. The reason for such a change was that government had nationalized the great trusts and organized industrial management. Socialists, unionists, and city government reformers also had many followers. Progressives realized that the nation†s free enterprise system often could be unfair, but they did not want to lose the high standard of living and personal liberty it had given them, and they deeply feared the violence of revolution. Thus, progressives were faced with the question of how to preserve what was good about the United States while reforming the bad. In order to protect vulnerable citizens, progressives accepted an increased level of government control over areas once considered private, such as housing and healthcare. Florence Kelley became a leader in the search for answers. She soon became a resident in Jane Addams† Hull House in Chicago. Largely through her efforts, in 1893 Illinois passed a law prohibiting child labor, limiting working hours for women, and regulating sweatshop conditions. In 1954 Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter said that Florence Kelley â€Å"had probably the largest share in shaping the social history of the United States during the first thirty years of this century. † Driven by the mounting tide of public demand, an inundation of progressive reform programs flowed through local, state, and federal legislatures. Targets for the proposed reforms included politics, society, and the economy. Some reform mayors led movements for city – supported welfare services. Hazen Pingree provided public baths, parks, and, to combat the 1893 depression, a work relief program. â€Å"Golden Rule† Jones opened playgrounds and free kindergartens and built lodging houses for the homeless. â€Å"Nobody has the right to rule anybody else,† he once said. He thought all people would be good if social conditions were good. Progressive governors and state legislators also were active. Governors Robert LaFollette in Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson in California introduced reforms to make government more efficient and responsive to voters. Progressivism appeared at the federal level in labor and industrial relations, in the regulation of business and commerce. By the time Theodore Roosevelt completed his second term in 1909, the government had filed forty – two antitrust actions. The beef trust, Standard Oil, and the American Tobacco Company were either broken up or forced to reorganize. Roosevelt was not antibusiness. He did not wish to destroy trusts he deemed â€Å"good,† or not harmful to the public, he just felt they should be supervised and controlled. The progressive era also gave way to they sixteenth and seventeenth amendments. The sixteenth amendment allowed government to raise more revenue from wealthy people†s income and less from tariffs that hurt the working poor. The seventeenth amendment took the election of senators out of the hands of legislature; voters were thus allowed to play a more direct role in government. By the mid – 1910†³s, progressives could take pride in the many changes they had helped bring about, such as redefining the role of government in business and politics. Some reformers included Henry George, Edward Bellamy, Florence Kelley, and the nation separated as local, state, and federal. The beginning of the war in Europe brought about the end of the progressive era in 1914, by the end of 1916 the reform period of the United States had sputtered out.

Death Penalty Debate Essay - 1235 Words

The controversial debate over the death penalty has been going on for a very long time and still has no conclusive solution. In the United States that is, most of the rest of the civilized world has done away with the death penalty a long time ago. Many people have different views on this issue. Although, there is a consensus that heinous murders need to be severely punished, there is no consensus on the choice of that punished. The debate over the proper punishment lies between the death penalty and life in prison. Some of the issues that encompass the debate are the morality of the death penalty, the cost of the death penalty as opposed the cost of life in prison, the deterrent effect of the death penalty, family consideration of what†¦show more content†¦It is definitely true that money should not be an issue when it comes to fighting crime and saving peoples lives. However, it is also true that it is necessary to logically and rationally choose the best way to spend th e available money for crime-fighting. In the case of the death penalty, so much extra money is spent in legal procedures and appeals that could be spent toward other more deterrent and efficient ways to fighting crime, such as increased police forces, more funding for the war on guns, and other crime-fighting initiatives. In the economic sense, the death penalty is clearly not the smartest and most efficient way to fight crime. One of the most important issues in the debate is the deterrent effect of the death penalty. Deterrent effect, meaning that by having the death penalty as an available form of punishment it will deter future murders from committing their crimes. So supposedly, by instilling this fear of death a murderer will be forced to think twice before they kill. This is not the case, as many studies have shown that the death penalty does not have a deterrent effect. For instance, the homicide rates in states that do have the death penalty and those that dont are generally the same. Furthermore, when states have established the death penalty they have not seen their homicide rates fall (Barkan p. 498). A global statistic that disproves the deterrent effect of the death penalty is that the United States, which inShow MoreRelatedThe Debate On Death Penalty1447 Words   |  6 PagesThe debate on death penalty In her book Last Words From Death Row: The Walls Unit, Norma Herrera writes about the tribulations she and her family went through while trying to free her brother, Leonel, from the death row. Despite showing glaring and overwhelming evidence claiming his innocence, Leonel was sentenced to death for a crime that he did not commit. His last words to the world were, â€Å"I am innocent, innocent, innocent. 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