Social Inequality Within a Society Essay Example for Free

Social Inequality Within a Society Essay Throughout history, social classification has been a basis of economic and social stability. Social classification was introduced to even the predecessors of human civilization, the Mesopotamian civilization. But, due to natural flaws within the structure of the social classification system, this system concluded in becoming biased towards the upper class and unrighteous toward the lower class. Because social classification consistently had flaws which made the system more prejudiced to the lower class, throughout historical times, social classification primarily affected a society in a negative manner. Provided the idea of social inequality through the means of social classification, numerous ancient civilizations including the civilization of Athens, practiced a rigid social classing structure. In the ancient civilization of Athens, the social classing structure was extremely rigid. The upper class of Athens citizens was permitted only to pure blooded male Athenians who were born into their class. The social structure in Athens was very misogynistic toward females. Women were considered vile and loathsome. They were often treated as outcasts and even slaves. According to Bridges, â€Å"Women were rarely seen outside the home and had no rights in the Athenian democracy. † Due to the rigid social class structure of Athens, women were denied all rights. Even though the principles of democracy state that everyone be treated equally under the rule of law, because of the social class structure of Athens, women were completely denied any rights in a democracy. This form of class structure did not only prevail in European civilizations. But, this rigid classification system also prevailed in Middle Eastern and Indian civilizations as well. Indus River Valley civilization practiced an inexorable and rigid form of social classification. One had to inherit their social class by being born into the class. Mobility between classes was impossible. According to Kogl And Moore, â€Å"People were born into social classes that could not be changed. There were 4 Social classes, which were Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishiyas, and Shudras. † Due to the immobile class structure of Indus valley civilization, the citizens were locked in a single class forever. There were four classes which were practiced in Indus Valley Civilization. The Shudras class was considered the lowest class and this class primarily consisted of peasants and serfs. The Shudras were treated as feculence and were also denied natural rights and justice such as freedom to liberty and property. Due to the rigid social class structure in civilizations such as Athens and the Indus River Valley, many classes were predilected upon while the other classes were denied of their social and natural rights. In addition to the historical examples of social inequality and class struggle, many novels also base the idea of social inequality as their major theme. One of such novels is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Since To Kill A Mockingbird was written in 1954, this novel circulates around the idea of social inequality due to racism. Since Africans were viewed as slaves in the 1950s, these foreigners were denied many of the basic rights which were guaranteed to the Caucasians by the Constitution. In this novel, the central conflict revolves around the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson is falsely accused of raping white woman, Mayella Ewell. When Dr. Atticus Finch, the protagonist’s father accepts to continue the case on behalf of Tom, he is severely criticized and dishonored to the point where the people of Maycomb agree severely injure Dr. Atticus Finch. According to a character named Bob Ewell in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, ‘â€Å" Too proud to fight, you nigger-lovin bastard? †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Lee 118). The discrimination due to social class is still prevalent during the time Lee wrote this novel. The major antagonist, Bob Ewell uses the above quotation while trying to murder Dr. Atticus Finch. Bob Ewell is extremely enraged because Dr. Atticus Finch fought against his sister, Mayella just to protect a â€Å"nigger. † This novel conveys a meaning of class struggle and its relative consequences. Because Atticus accepted to protect an innocent African – American man, he upset the entire Maycomb town and almost got assassinated. Multiple classic novels such as To Kill A Mockingbird, transmit an idea of social inequality, and class struggle to overcome the social inequality. They also communicate relative consequences for class struggle. One such novel which conveys a meaning of social inequality and a rigid class structure is the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. In this novel, citizens are predestined to be in one class while in their embryonic stage. While the Alpha embryos are conditioned to excel in academics, the Epsilon embryos are poisoned with alcohol in order to diminish all forms of independent thought processes from their brains. Though the citizens of the Brave New World are in a constant state of confinement, they are educated to become and stay appeased with their servitude. Even though the lower classes in this novel are content with their position, this does not excuse the fact that the lower classes were conditioned to become satisfied with their servitude and that their free will was completely ignored. According to the character named Mustafa Mond in the novel, Brave New World, ‘â€Å"Liberty to be inefficient and miserable. Freedom to be a round peg in a square hole†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Huxley 138). Liberty was considered by the world controllers to be dissatisfying and depressing. Liberty, in the eyes of the world controllers, was unrelated to science and could potentially cause chaos. The world controller, Mustafa Mond is ridiculing the idea of gaining content and satisfaction through the means of liberty. He also uses a metaphor of freedom being a round peg in a square hole, which was happiness and content. He describes through the metaphor that freedom and happiness are completely unrelated and in order to gain happiness, one must sacrifice his freedom. Not only is the ideology of rigid classing structure used in historical times, but this ideology is also used as one of the major themes in novels such as To Kill A Mockingbird and Brave New World in order to persuade the reader about negative effects of social classing structure on humans. Although social classing primarily affected a society in a negative manner, there have been multiple occasions where social class system has affected a society in a positive manner. One of the positive aspects of social classing system is that the classing system eliminates uneducated classes such as the lowest classes of serfs and peasants from making decisions which are grave enough to impact an entire society. Any society would profit from decisions made by educated and wealthy upper classes, rather than uneducated decisions made by an uneducated and poor class. Because the lower classes receive bare minimum to absolutely no education at all, they are likely to make a decision that would be detrimental to the entire society and also to their own class. According to Girard, â€Å"Those who possess a lower socioeconomic status, should not be allowed to make decisions impacting a group. † Due to the lower socioeconomic status of a class of people, they were not properly exposed to in-depth education in order to make educated decisions for their group. This would mean that if there are extremely educated and wealthy classes to make educated decisions for a society, there is no reason to jeopardize the prosperity of a nation by letting lower socioeconomic classes vote. Even though there have been rare circumstances where social classing is proved beneficial, social classing primarily affects any society in a negative manner. In ancient Meso America, several tribes including the Aztecs, have used a rigid and inescapable class structure in order to not only maintain social control, but to also maintain a strong belief in their gods. The aztecs lived their lives in belief that the ancient war God, Huitzilopochtli fought off the vile and inhuman demons in order to make the sun rise again. The Aztecs also believed that God Huitzilopochtli grew extremely feeble and defenseless by battling the darkness and that he required ample amounts of human blood in order to replenish his strength. So, while the upper class of nobles ruled the tribe, they used the commoners as a source of nourishment for the war god. According to Pfeil, â€Å"Huitzilopochtli is first in rank, no one is like unto him. Not vainly do I sing coming forth in the garb of our ancestors, I shine; I glitter. † This ancient Aztec hymm was sung by every victim before he or she was cruelly massacred and had his or her heart gouged out. The Aztecs would sacrifice any commoners including women, children, disaled and the elderly. The social classing structure in tribes such as the Aztecs, was not only injust, but the classing system was also inhumane and deadly. This religious practice was one of the major detriments for the downfall of the Aztecs. Eventhough there have been extremely rare occasions where a society has benefitted from a social class, primarily the social classing structure have always been a negative aspect of a society. The idea of social classing is still prevalent within the modern society. Many countries practice different social classing systems such as Marxism. Marxism is the ideology that the upper class of the society is appropriated a surplus of social product. This simply means that by inheriting or transferring to an upper class, one receives multiple socio-economic benefits. These benefits include unpaid surplus labor. This type of social classification also manifests itself to the society as a negative aspect of social classification. According to Werner, â€Å"This deduction theory of the income of the lower class is thus a factor of debate. † Due to the upper class receiving the surplus amount of socio-economic product, Marxism has caused many riots in countries. But, due to the socio-economic stability, many countries still continue to utilize it. Regardless, this modern form of social classification impacts the society negatively. In finalization to the ideology and structure of the rigid social classification system, the idea is very obvious that the social classification system impacts any society in a negative manner. Numerous ancient civilizations including the civilization of Athens and the Indus River Valley civilization practiced a rigid social classing structure. In addition to the historical examples of social inequality and class struggle, many novels such as Brave New World and To Kill A Mockingbird, also base the idea of social inequality as their major theme. Throughout historical times, Social classification primarily affected a society in a negative manner.

Historical Development The American Dream History Essay

Historical Development The American Dream History Essay The idea of the American dream was evident long before its coinage. However, the idea of the American dream could be traced chronologically, from the discovery of America, especially the Northern part or the Promised Land4 to the modern age. According to Robert E. Spiller, in Literary History of the United States, the idea of the American dream was associated with America. As a state of mind, America has existed long before its discovery.5 Europeans began to come up with all sorts of hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the new and largely unexplored continent. Many of these dreams focused on owing lands and establishing prosperous business and religious freedom. For them, the American dream was the dream of an Earthly Paradise. The Earthly Paradise was strongly believed to be the land of great opportunities. It was a great dream that dominated Europeans imaginations: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦from the time of the first settlement, America was seen from European eyes as a land of boundless opportunities, a place where man, after centuries of poverty, misery, and corruption could have a second chance to fulfill, in reality, his mythic yearnings for a return to paradise.6 The idea of the American dream was as old as the American continent. Europeans were influenced by the Greeks and Classics writings. During the sixteenth century, an English saint and humanist, Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) identified America with Platos Utopia. In his book Utopia (1516), More represented the idea of the heavenly paradise to an attainable paradise. In the nineteenth century, the idea of Utopia changed into an actual paradise. Because of the influence of the French and Industrial Revolutions, the earthly paradise was attainable.7 With the possibility of such a land, the American dream was an attitude of hope and spiritual faith erected to fulfill human wishes, desires, and dreams in the New World. Thousands of European immigrants had moved to the New World to fulfill the versions of the American dream. The New World was a hope of a new life away from frustration and the sense of inferiority. 8 The American dream dealt with the idea of bettering one selfs economy by which one hoped the New World would provide abundant opportunities for ones prosperity and success. The dream was of rising from poverty to fame and fortune i.e. from rags-to-riches.9 Furthermore, it was the dream of a perfect government that would provide immigrants full and equal opportunities. They would go to the New World to set up new religious and political communities, hopefully, based on their ideas.10 The idea of the American dream had developed. It represented the dream of individual success of that of the American Adam whose labors and posterity that one day would cause great change in the New World.11 According to R. W. B. Lewis, the American Adam was: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a radically new personality, the hero of the new adventure: an individual emancipated from history, happily bereft of ancestry, untouched and undefiled by the usual inheritance of family and race, an individual standing alone, self-reliant and self-propelling, ready to confront whatever awaited him with the aid of his own unique and inherent resource.12 This signified the secular dimension of the American dream, which was associated with social success. With the rise of industrialism and the growth of the economic environment and the rapid advance of science and technology in the nineteenth century, America changed from an agricultural into an industrial and a capitalistic country. The idea of the American dream was to achieve economic independence, especially to have a vocation and own a home in order to be happy. This economic development led to class distinctions and created special privileges for certain classes. It was the pursuit of money rather than of happiness. With the development of new knowledge of Darwinian Theory, American people believed in the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest. To become wealthy, one needed to fulfill his or her dreams by all means, even if the fulfillment was by illegal ways. This dilemma corrupted the principles of freedom and equality of opportunity, and caused great doubt tow ard the American dream as a whole, and engaged more severely against other human beings. 13 A concept often brought into connection with the American dream was the symbol of Melting Pot. The idea of Melting Pot was used in the eighteenth and ninetieth centuries, the metaphor of a Crucible was used to describe the fusion of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures.14 It was used together with the concepts of the United States as an ideal republic and a city upon a Hill. It was a metaphor for the idealized process of immigration and colonization by which different nationalities and races were to blend into a new, virtuous community, and it was connected to Utopian vision of the emergence of an American new man.15 It was first used in American Literature, as a concept of immigrants melting into the receiving culture, was found in the writings of J. Hector John de Crevecoeur. In his Letters from an American Farmer (1782), Crevecoeur referred to the problem of the American Nationality that appeared after the Revolutionary Era and the Declaration of Independence. He wrote: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a man whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, [new in part, because of that] strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. He is an American who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudice and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holdsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The Americans were once scattered all over Europe; here they are incorporated into one of the finest systems of population which has ever appeared.16 In 1908, a play by Israel Zangwill named Melting Pot, was first performed in Washington, D. C., where the immigrant protagonist declared: Understanding that America is Gods Crucible, the great Melting-Pot, where all the races of Europe are melting and re-forming! [into a new identity] Here you stand, good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand in your fifty grounds, your fifty languages, and histories, and your fifties blood hatred and rivalries. But you wont be long like that, brothers, for these are the fires of God youve come to-these are fires of God. A fig for your feuds, and Vendettas! German and French manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ into the crucible with you all! God is making the American.17 However, the play was soon criticized as unrealistic; because melting and reforming into new American Adam appeared to be heresy that implied that all sides had to give up their culture completely to create a new one. The conflict was that many social classes and groups were excluded from the participation in the earthly life.18 Nevertheless, since the whites (Anglo-Saxon Protestants) were the predominant group in the British Colonies, other cultures and identities were perceived as inferior or even unwanted. African-Americans and Native American Indians were enslaved; Catholic Irish and Southern European immigrants were discriminated against for centureies.19 People from different cultural backgrounds often wrongly interpreted the concept of melting pot as the peaceful living together with people from other ethnic groups. But in reality, ethnic groups or minorities in America were not equal to the white people. African- Americans and Native American Indians were denied civil rights.20 Gradually, the meaning of the melting pot had changed. In response to the criticism of the concept of melting pot, Horace Kallen developed the concept of cultural pluralism in 1915. This concept incorporated that different ethnic groups could keep their cultures and that people would mutually enrich their culture. 21 Multiculturalists asserted that cultural differences within society were valuable, and should be preserved. They proposed the alternative metaphor of the mosaic or salad bowl-different cultures mixed, but remained distinct.22 The question was what, then, is the American, this new man? He is neither European nor the descendant of a European.23 The conflict was between the dreams of the white European Americans, who came to the New World to fulfill their dreams as new men, and the dreams of the other minorities, especially, the black African, who came by force. Like many other minorities, Africans were obliged to abandon their rights of sharing or participating in the American life. According to the assumption that Man was part of the universe, man had the power to improve his own nature by improving his environment through science and education.24 Merle Curti in his The Growth of American Thought affirmed mans natural rights of life, liberty, and prosperity, which were accessible to everyone without discrimination. In order to be a normal American citizen, one should naturally practice these rights. These natural rights could not be alienated from the state, and if the state did violate the natural law of the universe by alienating these rights, then man could and should resort to revolution.25 This basic fact encouraged many people in the United States of America, especially African-Americans to take action and revolt against the injustice. By the turn of the twentieth century, the American dream was described as a nightmare. In the Two World Wars, the dream had begun to lose its glitter. Americans, whites and blacks became disillusioned by the idea of making the world safe for democracy [which] had proved to be blasphemy.26 They believed that they were fighting for a better world, for a world of peace and corporation, for a real and immediate Utopia. Americans had suffered psychological and mental pressures, and the image of death made men lose stability and lose faith in the American dream of establishing a perfect world. Instead, they became neurotic, frustrated, and disappointed; Gertrude Stein described the new youth as a lost generation, because their lives became meaningless, pointless, and agonizing ones. 27 The reason behind the confrontation of dreams, was the misery and suffering caused by the crisis that happened in the first half of the twentieth century. One of the most eventual and memorable decades in American history was, the Great Depression of the 1930s that changed American life, and prepared the country for a post-war era, characterized by pessimism and despair.28 Thus, the American dream of the modern age had been shrouded by doubt and pessimism, as economics faltered and opportunities diminished. The dream became a record of unfulfilled promises and dashed hopes.29 Yet, Americans had consistently, flavored their dreams with dashed skepticism. From the very beginning, this was true, Sir Thomas More was as skeptical as any other man about the promises he entitled in Utopia. When he wrote it, he was playing with an idea.30 This showed that the American dream was first an idea. Then, it was said that the American dream had served as a justification for those who had exploited a virgin country, and it had been the chief argument of those who had tried to equalize all men before the law.31 Consequently, people came to anticipate a generous and friendly New World rather than a lavish heaven.32 The American dream was not the product of a solitary thinker, but evolved from the hearts and burdened souls of millions who came to this nation. To make their dreams come true, James Truslow Adams insisted on the principle of working together, no longer merely to build bigger, but to build better. And that referred to all citizens of the United States whether they were black or white.33 After World War II, the American dream was portrayed as a military power.34 The United States of America became the most powerful nation. The 1950s was the period of American preeminence as a military and economic power that revived the dream after the Great Depression of the 1930s. America was marked by a self-conscious sense of its place in the world. The twentieth century was the American Century, the post-war era was certainly the time when citizens of the United States began to believe that it was, in fact, their century, and that theirs was the greatest country in the world. With the Americans belief of their responsibility for winning World War II, it provided them with self-confidence about the world. 35 Frederick R. Karl characterized the period: as a time of growth, development, progress, enlightenment, and achievement of goals; as a renaissance of sort and essential to what helped turn the country into a superpower under a benign, grinning, ex-hero of a persistence. The general argument is that man and woman who experienced the depression returned from World War II to rebuild the country. This generation accordingly, is a treasure, for not only did it , revitalize the country domestically, it helped make the United States the beacon of the World, offering financial aid, food, and military muscle wherever required.36 Americans had always had a faith in the new. Critics saw the American dream as a clever political and economic marketing strategy. They wanted people to get away from selfishness, individualism, and materialism, and to return to community spirit and social responsibility.37 The meaning of the American dream had changed over the course of history. The American dream simply indicated the ability, the practice, and the participation in the society and economy, for everyone to achieve prosperity. According to the American dream, this included the opportunity for ones children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. It was the opportunity to make individual choice without the prior restrictions that limited people, according to their class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity.38 1:2The African-American Experience In the United States of America, the African-Americans experience was unique. It was marked by slavery, segregation, and injustice. It made the quest for the American dream; that was of freedom, equality, and happiness, an essential pursuit.39 It is important to shed light on the African-American struggle in the United States of America. Unlike most of other minorities, the African- Americans were captured in Africa, taken from their homes and lands by force and sent to a strange new land. They were brought chained and enslaved as a result of colonialism.40 In the early colonial days, Black Africans had many opportunities to secure their freedom by escaping or buying themselves out of slavery, and once free, they had a good chance to make their success in the New World. The life of Anthony Johnson41 illustrated the possibility of the blacks early dreams, in the early period of European colonization in American North. He was known as Antonio, a Negro. Johnson was enslaved in 1621, when he was sold to the English Jamestown; he worked with Bennett family (a white family) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ who commended him for his hard labor and known servicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He secured his freedom, got married to a freed-slave named Mary and baptized his children. As a freeman, Johnson dreamed of establishing his own farm in Virginia, of 250 acres raising tobacco and cornà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Eventually, his farm was burned, and he was killed, because the colonial legal system had begun to preserve the rights of the whites and deprive blacks of theirs. This period illustrated the fact the era of chattel Slavery had begun. Many Black Africans came to this land having dreams to fulfill. But, many forces spoiled these dreams. The dream of owning a land and successful business for the blacks was limited or weakened by the time and by the force of the law of the Black Codes 42 that was enacted by Virginia, in 1667. Black people had been enslaved with the change of economic conditions. The blacks were denied the opportunity to own land, because they were Negroes and by consequences aliens.43 These Codes made slavery a permanent condition inherited through the mother and defined slaves as property. Such slave Codes robbed the African-American slaves of their freedom and the power of their will. Nevertheless, freedom was always in the mind of the enslaved and how to gain that freedom was the essential question.44 In the New World; African-American slaves were forced to give up their African past and cultivated themselves to being slaves under the white master domination. They were prevented from bringing over their social relations and institutions. These slaves ate what was given to them, not what they wanted, and dressed the clothes that were given to them. In addition, these slaves were treated without any regard or consideration to physical welfare and human dignity.45 In the American South, African-American slaves were described as property. Masters learned to treat their slaves as property. Frederick Douglass, one of the most eloquent speakers against slavery in America, captured the essence of slavery in 1846: Slavery in the United States is the granting of the power by which one man exercises and enforces a right of property in the body and soul of another. The condition of slave is simply that of a brute beast. He is a piece of the master; who claims him[her] to be his property. He is spoken of, thought of, and threaten as property. His own good, his conscience, his intellect, his affection, are all set aside by the master. The will and the wishes of the master are the law of the slave. He is as much a piece of property as a horse. If he is fed, he is fed, because he is property. If he is clothed, it is with a view to the increase of his values as property.46 According to this definition of slavery, an African-American slave was the individual whose movement and activities were under the control of the Whites. Thus, he/she could not leave the controller or the employer without an explicit permission; otherwise, he/she could be punished.47 During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the use of slave labor was cheaper than indentured labor. Slavery was different from one colony to another. On the Eastern Coast and American North, the climate was not supporting extensive farming, slavery, there, tended to be farming slavery, with a few slaves living and working side by side with small farmers or craftsmen. Whereas in the South, the fertile land and warm climates made large-scale cultivation possible, plantation slavery developed. Large numbers of slaves lived and worked on far distances from their owners.48 Another reason for slavery spread was the shortage of indentured servants, which led to resort and to enslave African Americans.49 This meant slavery was essentially an economic institution from which the American nation benefited. More slave labor meant a large measure of prosperity. Many American historians believed that the growth of American economy was not because of slavery. But, Eric Williams, a Caribbean Scholar, charged that black slavery was the engine of that propelled American rise to global economic dominance. In his Capitalism and Slavery, Eric Williams maintained that early Europeans conquest and settlement of the New World depended upon the enslavement of millions of black slaves, who helped amass the capital that financed the industrial revolution. Americas economic progress, he insisted, came at the expense of the black slave, whose labor built the foundation of capitalism.50 In spite of the African-Americans participation in constructing the foundation of this nation, slavery was identified with dark skin.51 By late seventeenth century; slavery and servitude were closely identified with race. White indentured services were limited, voluntary, and had no racial components, whereas, slavery was involuntary, perpetual, and racially defined.52 Hence, indentured servants could be free and had the right to purchase their own freedom or buy completing their period of indenture. At the time of obtaining their freedom, they would pursuit their dreams of property and prosperity. While the African-American slaves did not enjoy these rights and protections.53 Instead, African-American slaves were controlled by the laws of Black Codes. On one hand, race was one of the obstacles that prevented African-Americans from achieving their dreams. On the other hand, the worst condition that African-American slaves had to live under, was the constant threat of sale.54 The African- American slaves family stability and security faced severe challenges. Masters, rather than parents, had legal authority over African-American slaves children and the possibility of forcible separation through sale hung over every family. The Southern plantation owners did not care, whether a slave to be sold off had family members, he/she had to leave behind or not. All mattered was that masters encouraged slavery. As masters questioned the humanity of such slaves, they argued that African- American slaves did not mind being sold since they lacked the ability to form stable family life.55 As for African-American women, they were included in the horrible system of slavery. They were persecuted, subjected to the worse kinds of oppression and exploitation. Not only, because being black women had to endure the horror of slavery and living in a racial and sick society. But as women, they witnessed their physical image being defamed and became the object of the white masters lust. As Black African-American, women had to endure the threat and practice of sexual exploitation, and as mothers, they witnessed their children torn from their breasts and sold into slavery.56 One of the ex-slaves, Jennie Hill explained the outlook of the Black African-Americans humanity according to the whites view point: [White] people think that slaves had no feelings, that they bore their children as animals, bear their young and that there were no heart-breaks when the children were torn from their parents or the mother taken from her brood to toil for a master in another state. But, that isnt so.57 For a white woman, providing home was an essential thing to possess. But, for an African-American woman, it was a dream. Black African-American woman had scantly the opportunity to regain her freedom and her own children.58 During slavery, Black African-American women were exploited in two main sectors of economy: in the fields (with full employment), and in the household. Black African-American women were stretched physically, emotionally, and spiritually to the utmost in the slave plantation, as they were forced to labor like men in the fields. Also they had substantial domestic roles. They raised whites children and created a decent and warm home environment for the white American family, while their dream of family unit was uncertain. 59 The Black African-American slaves had no right to live proper family unit. They had no rights which the master was obliged to respect. The master found it cheaper to overwork a slave and to replace him [or her] when died, rather take care of him [or her] when lived.60 The Black African-American slaves were deprived of living their own lives, denied the right of literacy, education, and could not retract, in inevitably distorted ways, the values, morals, and attitudes of the new civilization of which they gradually became a part.61 White Americans believed that the Black African-American slaves were brutal, barbaric, savage, who would present a real danger to the safety, prosperity, and security of the United States.62 Thus, it was in the system of slavery that the genesis of racism was to be found. According to Eric Williams, slavery was not born of racism, rather, racism was the consequence of slavery.63 White Americans fastened onto differences in physical appearance to develop the myth, that African-American slaves were subhuman and deserved to be enslaved. To enhance the Black African-America slaves inferiority, white Americans deliberately used religion to reinforce slavery as well. To support their institutions, the whites relied heavily on the Biblical story, in which Noahs curse of his son Ham (especially, the fourth son, Canaan), who said in the ninth chapter of Genesis: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.64 This story justified the color of the Black African-American slaves. By the Nineteenth century, many historians agreed to the belief that the Black African-American slaves were the descendants of Ham was a primary justification for slavery among Southern Christians. In other words, the Bible was used to teach the Black African-American slaves a divine, God-given justification for their condition as slaves.65 Hence, white Americans became convinced of white superiority and black inferiority. It was the beginning of hatred and racial discrimination.66 White Americans taught the Black African-American slaves how to despise their African heritage, identity, and culture. They strove to include their own value system into the African-Americans outlook. They believed in Africans inferiority that paralleled self-hatred.67 In general, there were five steps in molding the character of strict discipline, a sense of his [her] inferiority, belief in the whites superiority power, acceptance of the whites standers, and finally, a deep sense of his [her] own helplessness and dependence.68 These facts emphasized the flourishing of the white American culture and completely ignoring of the Black African-American slaves culture. The Euro-Americans were the first who immigrated to the New World by their own free will in search of individual opportunity; their European culture was superior. However, the ignorance diminished the real fact of the importance of the African heritage, not only for the Black African-American slaves, but to mankind.69 For centuries, the Black African-American slaves were ignorant about their own culture and identity. They lacked knowledge, they were illiterates. They were described as people [, who] were no more capable of learning than were animals.70 This indicated that Black African-American slaves were victims and white Americans were victimizers. They were oppressed by the power of the whites. So, they were unable to find a hope to transform their life from slavery into freedom.71 1:3The Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.72 With the setting of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, the most important document in the American history and self-perception, slavery as a moral, human, and economic system challenged the basic principles of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, and proved to be the first great institution that tested the equality doctrine.73 The Declaration of Independence marked not only the independence of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain, it also laid the foundation of womens rights and of struggles for ending slavery: After the American colonies secured their independence from Great Britain, [the] black[s] hoped that the same leaders who had yearned for their own freedom would end slavery.74 The Declaration of Independence rested not upon particular grievances, but upon a broad base of individual liberty that could command general support throughout America.75 It served a purpose far beyond that of a public notice of separation. Its ideas inspired mass fervor for the American cause, for it instilled among ordinary folk a sense of their importance, inspiring them to struggle for personal freedom, self-government, and a dignified place in society.76 The United States of America started to shape itself as the Empire of Liberty and Prosperity, as a new entity, Black African-American slaves continued to play a significant role. Despite the continuation of violence against Black African-American slaves, who challenged the long standing tradition of racial discrimination and oppression in the South, the ex-slave and free-black people stepped forward into a new identity, a new reality, and a new sense of agency in public life. Many Black African-American slaves fought in the war of Independence, and they took to the heart assertion of the right of individual freedom that was so a part of the American Colonial and Revolutionary eras.77 Hence, the Declaration of Independence, as Jim Cullen, a historical critic thought it was not only an important document that shaped the way of Americans lives, but it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was born and lived the character of the American dream.78 This dream was profound, eloquent, and unequivocal expression of the dignity and worth of all human personality. In his A Struggle for Power, Theodore Draper, a historian summarized the revolutionary era as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a struggle for power -between the power the British wanted to exercise over the Americans and the power the American wished to exercise over themselves.79 This fact suggested the most important question of Slavery. The Declaration of Independence made Americans want nothing more than freedom and to assume a separate and equal station among the power of the earth, Great Britin.80 The problem was, however, that the founding fathers (Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Washington, etc.,) of the nation defined freedom in terms of its opposite: Slavery. When they used the term Slavery, however, they were not referring to a peculiar institution, whereby many of the founding fathers themselves brought and sold Black African-American slaves as property. They referred to what they felt Great Britain was doing to their lives and livelihood.81 The unself-conscious comparison between freedom and slavery made other people in the United States call for their freedom as well. A British essayist, Samuel Jonson in 1775, asked, but How we [white people] hear the loudest yelp for liberty among drivers of Negroes?82 This paradoxical state made the founding fathers fear that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the attainment of their dream could encourage others to pursuit theirs.83 And this was true, because the success of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, gave Americans the opportunity to give legal form to their political ideals as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and to remedy some of their grievance through state constitution. Americans were accustomed to live under written constitutions that they took them for granted.84 Therefore, the Black African-Americans experience with the American dream in the United States started with the announcement of the Declaration of Independence. Yet, the founding fathers never thought about women, slaves, and Natives as having equal rights like white Americans (Anglo-Saxon American descents), or did not even recognize them as human beings. Thus, the Declaration of Independence was not the subject to change disagreement, because its content never changed.85

Science Terminology :: essays research papers

1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Active transport- The movement of a chemical substance through a gradient of concentration or electrical potential in the direction opposite to normal diffusion, requiring the expenditure of energy: active transport across a cell membrane. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cell- The smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable of independent functioning, consisting of one or more nuclei, cytoplasm, and various organelles, all surrounded by a semi permeable cell membrane. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cell membrane- The semi permeable membrane that encloses the cytoplasm of a cell. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cell theory- a theory in biology that includes one or both of the statements that the cell is the fundamental structural and functional unit of living matter and that the organism is composed of autonomous cells with its properties being the sum of those of its cells 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cell wall- a theory in biology that includes one or both of the statements that the cell is the fundamental structural and functional unit of living matter and that the organism is composed of autonomous cells with its properties being the sum of those of its cells Chloroplast- A chlorophyll-containing plastid found in algal and green plant cells. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chromatin- A complex of nucleic acids and proteins, primarily histones, in the cell nucleus that stains readily with basic dyes and condenses to form chromosomes during cell division 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chromosome- A threadlike linear strand of DNA and associated proteins in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells that carries the genes and functions in the transmission of hereditary information. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Concentration- The amount of a specified substance in a unit amount of another substance. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cytoplasm- The protoplasm outside the nucleus of a cell Cytoskeleton- The internal framework of a cell, composed largely of actin filaments and microtubules. 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diffusion- The spontaneous intermingling of the particles of two or more substances as a result of random thermal motion. DNA- A nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in the cell and is capable of self-replication and synthesis of RNA. DNA consists of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases adenine and thymine or cytosine and guanine. The sequence of nucleotides determines individual hereditary characteristics. 11.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Endocytosis - A process of cellular ingestion by which the plasma membrane folds inward to bring substances into the cell. Endoplasmic reticulum- A membrane network within the cytoplasm of cells involved in the synthesis, modification, and transport of cellular materials. 12.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eukaryote- A single-celled or multicellular organism whose cells contain a distinct membrane-bound nucleus. 13.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Exocytosis - A process of cellular secretion or excretion in which substances contained in vesicles are discharged from the cell by fusion of the vesicular membrane with the outer cell membrane.

The Fight between Christianity and Satanism :: essays research papers

The Fight between Christianity and Satanism This is a fight between a slave world and a free world. Just as the United States in 1862 could not remain half slave and half free, so in 1942 the world must make its decision for a complete victory one way or the other. As we begin the final stages of this fight to the death between the free world and the slave world, it is worth while to refresh our minds about the march of freedom for the common man. The idea of freedom — the freedom that we in the United States know and love so well — is derived from the Bible with its extraordinary emphasis on the dignity of the individual. Democracy is the only true political expression of Christianity. The prophets of the Old Testament were the first to preach social justice. But that which was sensed by the prophets many centuries before Christ was not given complete and powerful political expression until our nation was formed as a Federal Union a century and a half ago. Even then, the march of the common people had just begun. Most of them did not yet know how to read and write. There were no public schools to which all children could go. Men and women can not be really free until they have plenty to eat, and time and ability to read and think and talk things over. Down the years, the people of the United States have moved steadily forward in the practice of democracy. Through universal education, they now can read and write and form opinions of their own. They have learned, and are still learning, the art of production — that is, how to make a living. They have learned, and are still learning, the art of self-government. If we were to measure freedom by standards of nutrition, education and self-government, we might rank the United States and certain nations of Western Europe very high. But this would not be fair to other nations where education had become widespread only in the last twenty years. In many nations, a generation ago, nine out of ten of the people could not read or write. Russia, for example, was changed from an illiterate to a literate nation within one generation and, in the process, Russia's appreciation of freedom was enormously enhanced. In China, the increase during the past thirty years in the ability of the people to read and write has been matched by their increased interest in real liberty.

Comparison Of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass Essay -- Compar

Comparison Of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass America, a land with shimmering soil where golden dust flew and a days rain of money could last you through eternity. Come, You Will make it in America. That was the common theme of those who would remove to America. It is the common hymn, the classic American rags-to-riches myth, and writers such as Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass had successfully embraced it in their works.Franklin and Douglass are two writers who have quite symmetrical styles and imitative chronology of events in their life narratives. They both approached their story with a "rags-to-riches" idea. In addition, we must realize that both Franklin and Douglass are powerful writers. In that sense, I mean that Franklin was a "well-educated" man in which he filled his life with bountiful knowledge through reading and productive dialogues with peers. On the other hand, Douglass mode of writing, like ones of William Lloyd Garrison's is sentimental and contains compelling language.In The Autobiography by Franklin and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Douglass, both narrations are generally composed of series of life events and encounters with hardship that eventually brought them success. I shall put forth some parallel ideas of both the authors have in common. In Franklin's Autobiography, his chapters of life events and improvements are symbolized by his travels, especially on the boat. His first travel signifies his "new beginning" and it caused great hardship. He was "cut so a miserable fi gure" when he started out. (Franklin, 1771:196). However, Franklin was quick to gain ground. His move to another city or country signified his advancement and his prologue to his success to come are in his description of his boat travels. By this I mean that, Franklin intentionally gave the details of his boat travels to prepare the reader for the kind of successes or failure that he was going to face in the next chapter of his life. For example, he described his first travel as an unpleasant one, and nevertheless his first move to another city was a struggle. In Franklin's later travels, he spoke of being around some prominent figures such as Governor Hamilton and nonetheless, he landed with a successful job at a famous Printing House in Bartholomew. With this characteristic in mind, Douglass's narration ... ...nt of maturity. In addition, both authors think that matured readers in general are harder to persuade compared to younger readers (those at the of 16 to 18). This is why both Franklin and Douglass intentionally set their "rebellion stage" at the age of 17. This is to encourage the "less stable" teenage readers to dare do something different and to not compromise with normality. This less-stableness would enable these teenage readers to be more receptive to radical ideas. With this thought in mind and armed with Americans vulnerability in believing the rags-to-riches myth, Franklin and Douglass are able generated effective and persuasive narrations.With such effective writing prose, the authors created well-fabricate compositions which modeled upon the "rags-to-riches" chronology.These are the myths, Americans live by them and the country survives with them. Thus, it is the American Dream. Works Cited: Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (The Harper Single Volume American Literature 3rd edition) 1845:p.1017-1081 Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. (The Harper Single Volume American Literature 3rd edition) 1776: p.282-284.

The Power of the Latino Vote

With the Presidential Elections coming in less than a year, candidates have stepped up efforts to attract the various groups of voters all over the country. One of the groups that candidates have targeted significantly is the Latino or Hispanic voters. The attention and importance that has been given to the Latino Vote can be traced back to the fact that Hispanics are slowly becoming the largest minority population in the country. With the large segment of the Hispanic population becoming eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential elections, candidates are viewing the Latino Vote as greatly influential in determining the results of the elections. In the past presidential elections, Hispanic voting has been considerably less than other racial or ethnic groups in the country. Since the presidential elections in 1980, the percentage of reported voting of Hispanic voter has been less than 30%. (Jamieson et al, 2002) This is significantly less than the reported voting percentage of African American voters. In every presidential election since 1980, African-American reported voting was between 50 to 56 percent. Meanwhile, voters of Asian origin had almost the same percentage as the Hispanic voters. (Jamieson et al, 2002) These data are only significant when one considers the population of each of the said races. Latinos greatly outnumber Asians in the country. Therefore, the low turnout of Hispanic voters is more significant than that of Asian voters. The importance of the Latino vote can be better understood from a demographic perspective. For the 2008 presidential elections, an estimated 12 million Latinos will be registered to vote. At the same time, there are 6.7 million unregistered voters. (LULAC, 2007) These votes can easily swing the results of the election. From this perspective alone, it is evident that the Latino vote is vital. Presidential candidates have acknowledged such fact. For this reason, there has been increased effort to court the Latino Vote. References Jamieson, A., Cheeseman Day, J. and Shin, H. (February 2002). â€Å"Table C. Reported Voting in Presidential Election Years by Region, Race, Hispanic Origin, Sex, and Age: November 1964 to 2000.† Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2000. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. League of United Latin American Citizens. (1 Oct. 2007). Maximizing Latino Voting Power, Defeating Anti-Immigrant Efforts. Retrieved 27 November 2007 from: .   

Cango Analysis Essay

Like Liz mentions in the video (speech); CanGo acts as a personal shopper for their customers. Customers don’t have go to different store to buy their merchandise when they can buy online at the same place and for affordable prices. Weaknesses: When Liz was asked to prepare a speech of how their company developed over time, she had no clue of where to start. She didn’t plan anything ahead, for example; she mentions in the resolution video that if she had done some planning for her company, her company would have gone much far from where they are at now. CanGo didn’t have a strategic plan for online gaming. Liz and her employees just had a small meeting and without giving a notice ahead of time, she just announced that they are entering into a new market of online gaming. All her employees were surprised at first. She didn’t ask any of her employees before that if they liked the idea of online gaming or not. She just went ahead and asked for preliminary marketing plan. The employees seemed hesitant as to asking questions. The employees at CanGo don’t work together and are not working in a team setting as should be implemented. Furthermore, the company doesn’t determine what this online gaming includes. Further, the company didn’t speak to determine what would be the various levels of support it would provide to its customers. CanGo didn’t develop a strategy explaining how it will conduct its business. Opportunities: As one of the employee mentions what about online â€Å"football† game ? I think it would be great idea for the company to go ahead and implement an online football game, since a lot of customers like to play football or sports. It could be that during the football season they can get a huge rush. Secondly online gaming also allows people from different countries to play at the same time which is a huge plus. Threats: CanGo doesn’t have a huge capital to invest. If they waste it on the idea of online gaming without knowing if they have any future with it, CanGo will be in a huge debt. If they are going to train their staff to do the operations, their customers are going to be unhappy because they have few people and there is a lot of work to do. They would have to increase wages of their employees because they will be handling more work than they are supposed to. Recommendation: CanGo company needs to have a mission and vision statement. Mission statement is going to describe what their company does and vision statement is where management wants to see their company in future. First step is, to have these two statements ready, which this company is missing. I don’t think CanGo should expand on their idea of online gaming without having a strategic plan. They were missing all the elements of strategic planning which are implementation, evaluation and formation. There were no questions about the future of online gaming nor there do any report to see how much success other companies had so far with online gaming. No one discussed about the equipment they are going to need to build this huge project. Liz has put the whole burden on one employee. There is no teamwork; what if that person gets lazy and comes up a lazy marketing plan. Then everyone would have to agree to it because no other member knows anything about marketing. Liz should have told her employees that everyone needs to come up with marketing plan and then in the next meeting they will choose the best one by consensus. I don’t think company is in its best financial condition. If they go ahead with their idea of online gaming, operational costs of buying equipment and software are going to cost a lot by itself. I also think they need new personnel; training old employees about the new technology is going to be a tough job. Hiring the new staff will be cheaper. May be they should wait for the financial times to get better or they should outsource. The company can outsource the implementation of equipment which would save them a lot of money and keeping the customer service here in America. CanGo’s customers will be very happy because they will be able to talk to their own people in their language comfortably. Customer Service should be the priority in any decision they make or any service they provide. References: Devry. (n. d. ). CanGo videos. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from devry: www. devry. edu/ec/crs