african americans in the civil war :: essays research papers fc

African-Americans in the Civil War The foundation for black participation in the Civil War began more than a hundred years before the outbreak of the war. Blacks in America had been in bondage since early colonial times. In 1776, when Jefferson proclaimed mankind’s inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the institution of slavery had become firmly established in America. Blacks worked in the tobacco fields of Virginia, in the rice fields of South Carolina, and toiled in small farms and shops in the North. Foner and Mahoney report in A House Divided, America in the Age of Lincoln that, â€Å"In 1776, slaves composed forty percent of the population of the colonies from Maryland south to Georgia, but well below ten percent in the colonies to the North.† The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 provided a demand for cotton thus increasing the demand for slaves. By the 1800’s slavery was an institution throughout the South, an institution in which slaves had few rights, and could be sold or leased by their owners. They lacked any voice in the government and lived a life of hardship. Considering these circumstances, the slave population never abandoned the desire for freedom or the determination to resist control by the slave owners. The slave's reaction to this desire and determination resulted in outright rebellion and individual acts of defiance. However, historians place the strongest reaction in the enlisting of blacks in the war itself. Batty in The Divided Union: The Story of the Great American War, 1861-65, concur with Foner and Mahoney about the importance of outright rebellion in their analysis of the Nat Turner Rebellion, which took place in 1831. This revolt demonstrated that not all slaves were willing to accept this â€Å"institution of slavery† passively. Foner and Mahoney note that the significance of this uprising is found in its aftermath because of the numerous reports of â€Å"insubordinate† behavior by sla ves. 8 Individual acts of defiance ranged from the use of the Underground Railroad - a secret, organized network of people who helped fugitive slaves reach the Northern states and Canada - to the daily resistance or silent sabotage found on the plantations. Stokesbury acknowledges in, A Short History of the Civil War, the existence of the Underground Railroad but disagrees with other historians as to its importance. He notes that it never became as well organized or as successful as the South believed.

Mr. Butt

Stephen Butler Leacock (1869-1944) is a Canadian author. He will long be remembered for his best-selling book Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) as well as the numerous awards and honours he received during his illustrious lifetime as author, professor, lecturer and humourist. Leacock published Literary Lapses in 1910, with the financial assistance of his brother George. It is a best-of compilation of his previously published writings. It sold out quickly and propelled Leacock into being known as one of the most popular authors in the English-speaking world. In 1911, Leacock's collection of parodies, Nonsense Novels successfully followed. 1912 saw the release of Leacock's satirical masterpiece, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. Based on his many summers spent in Orillia, Ontario and other childhood experiences, it was very popular in Canada, the United States and England. His sanitization of city life, Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich, was published in 1914. And in 1915 the book â€Å"Moonbeams From the Larger Lunacy†. And it was a success. This book includes 17 parts. There are short stories that deal with real life of the author. It also includes the story â€Å"Afternoon Adventures At My Club†. And I am going to give a detailed characterization of the main character of its 9th chapter, â€Å"The Hallucination of Mr. Butt†, Mr. Butt. Stephen Leacock is famous for his brilliant ability to portray characters that represent different types of contemporary people. The characters he describes still exist nowadays, so we should collect the pieces of wisdom which he covered with his gleaming humour. And in this chapter we met an old man who used to come to the author’s club, as many of men did. But he was not the ordinary man, so that is why the author told us about him. We learn about Mr. Butt from the author’s direct commentary at the beginning and though his own appearance, actual speech, behavior and actions during the chapter. I am going analyze his personality through his speech in detail and touch upon his appearance, behavior and actions in brief. To begin with, I’d like to comment on the name Mr. Butt. It is closely charged with connotation, as the word â€Å"butt† in defined as † to hit or push against with the head or horns† in dictionaries. But I guess that the most interesting and appropriate connotation in our case is the definition of the phrasal verb â€Å"to butt in†: â€Å"to interfere or meddle in other people's affairs†. And I think that is what all this character is about. And there is also an interesting fact about this word. As soon as the story was published and read by a number of people the word â€Å"butt† get another meaning: â€Å"a person or thing that is an object of wit, ridicule, sarcasm, contempt, etc. † as the author treated his character with concealed irony and sarcasm. I’d translate the name â€Å"Mr. Butt† as  «  »into Russian. He was all around those who never needed his help, but he â€Å"insisted†. Such a name surely reflects his character which can be named â€Å"I-care-about-you-and-only-I-know-what-is-good-for-you†. Such a connotation of this person describes us all the way this man lived. We expect him to be a person who cared about everyone else’s business as much as he could. The chapter meets our mere expectations, and his name is in accord with his personality. Through the chapter we see Mr. Butt with the author’s eye, but he gives us his direct commentary only at the beginning. From what the author tells us about Mr. Butt, we realize that â€Å"at whatever cost of time and trouble to him† he helped people and even â€Å"insisted on helping them along†. The author also underlines the beaming face of Mr. Butt with his unstoppable eagerness â€Å"to some sort of benevolence†. All this draws a picture of a very thoughtful, exceptionally kind and sunny eager beaver, who should be a God’s gift to all the people he met. But it’s common knowledge that too much pudding will choke a dog. And if we read the author’s remarks more attentively we will easily come to a conclusion that Mr. Butt possessed many positive traits, but they were too exaggerated to seem positive. We read: â€Å"Whatever people appear to desire it or not† and we no longer suppose him to be thoughtful enough to be somebody’s shoulder on time, but not just all the time. As we all are used to find bad things in a person as soon as we said he is not very perfect at all, I will not reject such a unconscious â€Å"approach† to interpreting any man’s personality. So, seeking for some intolerant and pushy stuff to collect we can easily find the examples. He seemed to be very boastful about what he did, and even about what he was going to do, I guess: â€Å"My dear fellow,† said Mr. Butt, â€Å"I only wish I could. I wish I had the time. I am sure it would cheer you up immensely if I could. But I'm just going out. † And unfortunately, to hear him speak, you’d think he is boastful about the things he shouldn’t be so boastful. â€Å"I can easily find it† he said about the way he is going to find a house of his friends, as he used to tell us. And to our great surprise we read further: â€Å"I've a very simple system for finding a house at night by merely knocking at the doors in the neighborhood till I get it. † And it almost scares us, as we all know that it is very intolerant to do so. So Mr. Butt started his pleasant full of benevolence trip. It is nonsense to us, how spineless were all those people he disturbed! He said:†I had to knock at twenty houses at least to get it† and we are laughing through the tears at him. Analyzing the night at the Everleigh-Joneses’s we find these two â€Å"poor souls† to be fluently played on by our dear Mr. Butt the Wonder. They were like birds in a cats grasp, but the disturber pays no attention to that, so he can be called really thick-skinned. And to make things still worse he went on boasting about that accident, as I tend to call it from the position of embarrassed couple:† I can talk, you know, when I try. Needless to say, Mr. Butt kept on surprising us. the Everleigh-Joneses were too permissive to say no, so Mr. Butt was imposing himself to them:† Every little while Jones would say, ‘By Jove, it's half past twelve,' or ‘it's one o'clock,' and so on. I took care, of course, not to stay too late. But when I left them I promised that I' d come back to-day to help straighten things up. They protested, but I insisted†. It all characterizes him as a very pig-headed gate-crasher. He also seemed to be a pain in the neck every time he imposed himself to his â€Å"disabled†, as he thought, couple. He was this very kind of person, that give him an inch, and he would take your arm. Too self-important with all his â€Å"I†s in every sentence he was also selfish and, what is more, self-centered. Here is what makes us think this way:† they'd been trying to put them up by themselves in the morning. I had to take down every one of them–not a single one right. † It was very self-righteous and self-willed of him to do this. It’s common with all the people in the world to say:†When in Rome, do as the Romans do†, and we all obedient the rules of others at their places. But to tell the truth, I realized that Mr. Butt liked himself to be such a â€Å"travelling Rome† more than to obedient to anyone or anything. To add some words to it, I’d say he was bossy as well, as we read his insisting words:†Drink it† or â€Å"they never told me or sent for me–just like their grit–meant to fight it out alone. † To continue these chain he seemed to see all his â€Å"friends† as children who had no idea of how the things were to be done, he used to treat them with a parenting patience and love, what were reflections of his bossy, pushy and inconsiderate character though:†no one there but themselves, no one to cheer them up†, â€Å"My dear boy†, â€Å"those two oor souls†, â€Å"poor chap†, â€Å"that dear little woman†, â€Å"that kind little woman†. Though there was much I said about him, it is not all the personality he is about. Mr. Butt embodies a complex mixture of positive and negative traits. To be f rank, he is such a sunny nature to look at. He is spreading all his positive energy all around, trying to make the world better, brighter, kinder:† let's make things a little brighter here†, â€Å"Presently about midnight they seemed to brighten up a little. † That was the real reason for all his deeds. His soul was full of good intentions. He was very sympathetic to all those he helped:†I’m going out there at once†, â€Å"I went in and soothed him†, â€Å"I haven't had an evening to myself since it began. † Wasn’t he generous in his actions? I should say he was. He was so enthusiastic about helping others; he couldn’t spend a day without altruistic deeds on his list:† You may see the beaming face of Mr. Butt appear at the door of all those of his friends who†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"I never mind the rain,–does one good†, â€Å"said Mr. Butt one day with an anxious face†. Though he acted very inconsiderately, he did it in such a friendly and polite manner, that people couldn’t fail obeying him:†I don’t mind a bit†, â€Å"I only wish I could†, â€Å"my dear fellow†, â€Å"the way I look at it is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , etc. To crown it all, he was very grateful to his friends, and it appeals to me very much:† I'm alone in the world and my friends are all I have. † The author treats his character with sarcasm and irony, I guess:â€Å"I knew he wanted me to say it†, â€Å"A few days later Mr. Butt gave me a further report†, â€Å"After that Mr. Butt was very busy selecting the piano†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"Eventually, thanks no doubt to Mr. Butt's assiduous care, Everleigh-Jones got well†, etc. He was such a busy body with a lot on his plate all the time, such a born helper, wasn’t he? Of course he was, but he was too flat and static to reflect this changing world and its reality. The leopard can’t change his spots. Such people will always live in our world. Though the past reasons for their actions are loneliness, unhappiness, the lack of satisfaction and the wishes that haven’t come true, they make the world better, they have good intentions, and they inspire people and encourage them. But these personalities are always only seen as weirdoes. People don’t see their positive sides as usual, as it is easier to call them bad, than try to find their good traits. And the reality is that we do not accept their presence around us, unless in a great trouble such a weirdo guy gives us his hand and helps us with his plan of solving everything. And only then we understand. I admire Mr. Butt and his intentions, though he was not all positive. But†¦ What is positive? Everything is relative in this world.

Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic, and Hyperbolic geometry

Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic, and Hyperbolic geometry Free Online Research Papers Though in schools most students learn Euclidean Geometry, there are actually many different types. These different types were developed by other mathematicians who developed theories and research that may have contradicted the work of other mathematicians. This resulted in the formation of four different types of geometry. The four types are Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic(aslo known as Riemanns geometry), and hyperbolic.(Also known as lobachevskys geometry) Euclidean Geometry which is sometimes called flat or parabolic geometry is named after the greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria. Euclid lived in alexandria, Egypt and is credited for writing Elements which is considered to be the most successful textbook in the history of mathematics. Also, he is known for his use of logical reasoning to prove mathematical theorems which is still the backbone to mathematics. One of his most credited accomplishments was his reasearch of Euclidean Geometry which is based almost entirely on his studies. Euclidean Geometry is based on rules called postulates. It is different from other geometries because of the parralel postulate which states that through a point not on a given straight line, one and only one line can be drawn that never meets the given line. This is what seperates Euclidean geometry from other types such as Reimann geometry where no parralel lines exist. In Euclidean geometry each point is mapped on a rectangular coordinate system in Euclidean space with a unique set of real numbers. It is used to describe points in space or on a plane to express geometric relations. Spherical geometry contradicts Euclidean geometry in two ways. Spherical geometry states that there are no parralels to a given line through an external point and the sum of angles and triangles is greater than 180 degrees. An understanding of this geometry can be made by considering geometry on the surface of a sphere where the shortest distance between two points is an arc of a great circle reather than a straight line. This is what seperates spherical geometry from Euclidean geometry. Because spherical geometry is based on great circles, all circles meet in two points on a spherical plane meaning that no two circles can be parralel. Also, In spherical geometry triangles and other angles exist where great circles meet. The triangles are formed where three great circles meet, using a portion of the equator and two meridians of longitude whos endpoints connect to one of the poles. Because the two angles at the equator would each measure 90 degrees the sum of all three would exceed 180 degrees. Reimann geometry, which is based on the studies of german mathematician Bernhard Reimann is extremely similar to spherical geometry. Bernhard Reimann is considered to be the most influential mathematician of the mid nineteenth century. His study of geometry, called Riemann geometry or Eliptic Geometry is much like spherical geometry in the statement that there are no parralels to a given line through an external point. Reimann geometry is also known as elliptic geometry because like an elipse, a line in a plane in Reimann geometry has no point at infinity where parralels could intersect. Very opposite the studies of Reimann, is Lobachevskys geometry. Lobachevsky was a russian mathematician who is not only responsible for Hyperbolic geometry but also is credited fordeveloping a method for the approximation of roots of algebraic equations. Lobachevskys Geometry is also known as hyperbolic geometry. It is called hyperbolic geometry because just like a hyperbola has to asymptotes, a line on a hyperbolic plane has two points at infinity. Hyperbolic geometry explores the theorum that the sum of the angles of a triangle is less than 180 degrees which contradicts Reimann, spherical, and euclidean geometry. Euclidean states that the sum of the angles of a traingle always add up to 180 and Reimann and spherical geometries both state that the sum of the angles of a triangle exceeds 180 degrees. The best way to understand the hyperbolic plane is by using the image of a saddle-like or saddle-shaped surface. hyperbolic geometry states that two rays extending in either direction from a point, and not meeting a line are considered to be distinct parralels to that line. Another result of Lobachevskys geometry is the statement that there is a finite upper limit on the area of a triangle, corresponding to a traingle whose sides are parralel and all of whose angles are zero. All four of these types of geometry were developed by brilliant mathematicians and have sufficent proof that none is more correct than the other. All of been very influencial to the world of modern math and math of their own times. They are all huge contributions to the world around and are all widley used throughout the world. Research Papers on Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic, and Hyperbolic geometryThe Hockey GameThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeTrailblazing by Eric AndersonMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductMind TravelEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenStandardized TestingResearch Process Part OneOpen Architechture a white paper

The Scarlet Letter Essays (409 words) - Film, Free Essays

The Scarlet Letter Essays (409 words) - Film, Free Essays The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter Death, deceit, beauty, and love: These are some of the many themes of Hawthorns The Scarlet Letter. The most visible theme in this novel of the four is love. They say that love can last forever, and this book is written proof. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, is a lovely lady who has committed one of the worst crimes a woman can, adultery. Her husband had sent her over to the new world from Europe. He had asked her to wait for him there until he finished some business. She had waited for two years. When it seemed that he would never come, she gave into temptation. After resurfacing incognito, her husband discovers the identity of the unnamed man that she had relations with. After all of her husband's attempts to destroy their love, they decided on leaving the country. That way they would not have to bear the shame that the town had grown to pay unto them. Even after her newly found love, Arthur Dimmesdale, had passed away her love for him still thrived. The punishment for her crime was she must wear a scarlet A on her bosom for the remainder of her life. Her daughter, Pearl, had stared at it, wondering what it was many times. She had grown accustomed to seeing her mother wearing it. The townspeople had all ridiculed her for her crime, but still commended her on her sewing skills. These skills displayed every day in plain site on Her chest. One event that truly explains the theme of this book is the part in the forest when Pearl sees her mother for the first time as her true self. She saw her as she used to be without the scarlet letter on her chest. Pearl's reaction was that of non-recognition. She would not even approach her mother because she did not recognize her. It was not until her mother put her hair up and the letter back on that she would come back. Though she loved her mother she had grown accustomed to seeing the letter everyday. If you grow up seeing something everyday and then all of a sudden it is gone it can be very traumatizing. Though at first Pearl was afraid of Arthur, she grew to love him in the end. The best part of this book is the theme of everlasting love. The rest of it is actually quite boring. If you like love stories this is a good one to read. There love and hardships end in tragedy just like real life.

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Annotated Bibliography Example Students were then allocated to either ethnically diverse or all Anglo groups. There were around 135 subjects. Individual and group responses were tabulated using Prisoner’s Dilemma task in which participants could either compete or help the other party. It was hypothesized that groups carrying collectivist cultural traditions will be more co-operative compared to the one carrying individualist cultural traditions. The results confirmed the hypothesis. The reasons cited by 82% of the subjects confirmed that they were expecting the other party to cooperate. Further analysis showed that ethnically diverse groups made more co-operative choices than the groups that composed solely of Anglos. The study emphasizes and addresses on one cultural dimension and one behavioral dimension in a collectivist setting. More research needs to be done using cultural differences on the individualism-collectivist dimension. The study helps explain the reader the impact of cultural differences on decision making in an organization when working in groups. It can help him when he is working in a culturally diverse group as he will know what to expect from other group members. It can also contribute to different models on leadership and group work and help reader gain a broader understanding of the organizational demographics. Hoftsede’s framework provides methodological, theoretical and practical contributions in the cultural domain. Its popularity has raised a lot of eyebrows and attracted considerable debate. Thus it became necessary to conduct further research to overcome its limitations. This study, seeks to address those limitations. The general belief that cultural influences reward preference is found in this study. The applicability of Hoftsede’s framework is tested through cross cultural comparison of reward preferences in four countries. The study used data collected from four different countries, comprising of 1000

Competition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Competition - Essay Example Competition can serve as a driving force that motivates children to work harder. In a school setting, competition can be a driving force towards better performance. When children recognize that they have rivals at a similar level, they face the compulsion of moving beyond their comfort zone. If there were no rivals, children would remain in their comfort zone without any additional efforts. For this reason, teachers should promote healthy competition within the school setting. In sports, competition can help children improve their talent and become more successful. When children are aware that there is always a winner in sports, they are more likely to nurture their talent. In addition, competition in sports makes children more excited a factor that makes them look forward to participating. Many children who have won in sports recognize the value of hard work and are willing to exert more efforts in other sectors of their lives. In different games, children require competition so that they may find the find the games exciting. Competition in games introduces children to the realities of life, which is defined by different levels of competition. Games that do not encourage competition are less thrilling for children. Many children prefer games that have a winner so that they can have more fun. Introducing children to competition helps them learn how to address losing, which is a common aspect of life. For this reason, healthy competition should be promoted in different aspects of children’s

Definition of Racism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition of Racism - Essay Example The influence of environmental factors such as the family, school, and religion which all played a part in molding the characteristics and traits of a person are downplayed; the characteristics of a person have already been determined by his/her race. Connotative Meaning The definition of racism above connotes that a specific race will have a specific set of qualities and characteristics which make it different from other races. That difference can be interpreted as superiority or inferiority depending on the person who looks at it. Some races, then, are simply superior to other races; they possess the genes that establish the superiority of their race even before they were born. Racism in this sense is a work of nature rather than a construction of culture and society. The belief that certain races are better than other races is another connotation of racism. It is a belief system that people hold about different races that influences how they see their own race and its relation to other races. This definition shows that races fall on a hierarchy; it could be a hierarchy of class, intelligence, or political power that guides people’s beliefs about their own and other people’s races. ... Racism can also lead people to discriminate against other races. This refers to the behavioral manifestation of racism. While other people keep racist ideas in their minds, others would act out those ideas and display racist behaviors. When people hold a belief of superiority or inferiority of other races, this could result to a discriminating or a hostile behavior towards people belonging to other races. Since a person believes that his/her race is better than others, he/she would tend to treat people belonging to a specific race unfairly and unjustly. The next connotation of racism that I’ll be tackling is about the distorted belief system that people hold against other races. First, there is no verifiable evidence which supports the idea that race predetermines the traits and characteristics of the people possessing it. There are just too many factors that influence people’s traits and characteristics. Attributing those traits and characteristics to race alone seems illogical. Second, there isn’t a single race that excels or performs best in a specific area such as business, sports, or politics, for instance. Successful people in those areas mentioned may come from different races (e.g. African-American Kobe Bryant and Argentinean Manu Ginobili for basketball). Racial differences are always present but these differences, however, are cultural in nature. A person’s accomplishment and achievement are only partially influenced by the culture he/she belongs to. Family, religion, education will have bigger influence than race in how a person grows and matures. It doesn’t follow, then, that differences in race will create superiority in a particular race. This notion of difference and otherness is another connotation of