From the Paper "The rise of Andrew Jackson is commonly associated with the rise of democracy in the United States. Before Jackson's first presidential campaign in the momentous year of 1824, democracy as is commonly known in contemporary society did not exist. President James Monroe epitomized the American ruling class before the age of Jackson. A wealthy planter from Virginia, Monroe wore a powdered wig, knee-length pantaloons, and white-topped boots. Such style of dress clearly delineated the social "betters" and reflected the contemporary belief that politics was an activity which was to be conducted by the "better sort" for the rest of society. The Founding Fathers eschewed democracy as "rule by the rabble" and preferred a Republic that isolated the government from the masses, but was still accountable to some of the people. Jacksonian Democracy was a genuine phenomenon. Jacksonian democracy involved a democratization of American politics. However, democracy was not completely developed under Jackson."
An examination of Beard's thesis that the authors of the constitution were an elite who rejected democracy and desired a federal government that would protect and promote its own economic interests.
930 words (approx. 3.7 pages), 1 source, 1999, $ 33.95
From the Paper "There was widespread unrest and dissatisfaction with government under the Articles of Confederation. With thirteen states often going thirteen different ways, many feared for the future of the union. Men of property lamented the inability of Congress to collect taxes, to regulate interstate commerce, and to negotiate a favorable trade treaty with England. Widespread depression following the end of the war compounded the difficulties. Farmers in Western Massachusetts, led by Daniel Shays, rebelled. In the midst of Shays? Rebellion, a small group of delegates met at Annapolis, Maryland to discuss interstate commerce matters. However, the result was the calling of the Philadelphia Convention, otherwise known as the Constitutional Convention. The Articles of Confederation were discarded, but not necessarily for the good of the American people. Charles Beard argues that the Founding Fathers intended to provide for their own personal well-being in writing the Constitution. The authors of the constitution were an elite who rejected democracy and desired a federal government that would protect and promote its own economic interests.
From the Paper "As the 19th Century began in the United States, thoughtful observers could not conclude that massive sectional conflict and civil war would occur within their lifetime. However, at that time, significant opposition to slavery first began. In the North, all states quickly outlawed the practice of slavery, and the idea of slavery in the United States soon fell under attack. The anti-slavery movement first began in the early part of the 19th century, and from the beginning, the movement was fragmented between abolitionists who favored freeing the slaves, and the colonizers, who wanted to send all the slaves back to Africa. Initially, the stronger movement was for colonization. William Lloyd Garrison, the prominent abolitionist, was once a supporter of the American Colonization Society, although he later left because he rejected the Society's racism. Support for the colonization movement reflected the fears and prejudices of white Americans. Some whites supported Colonization as a just means to end slavery. However, whites also thought that blacks should not live in the United States because racism was an immutable characteristic of American Society. Furthermore, whites wanted blacks to leave because some whites thought that colonization would benefit whites economically. "
Tags: abolitionist, african, american, black, civil, garrison, liberia, lloyd, slavery, war, william
From the Paper "In his dissenting opinion on a 1919 case, Justice Holmes wrote, ?[W]e should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death...? (Abraham and Perry 157). The case was Abrams v. United States, a freedom of speech case dealing with the distribution of socialist literature during World War I. There were other similar cases in the early part of the 1900s such as Schenck v. United States, Frohwerk v. United States, Debs v. United States, and Gitlow v. New York (Abraham and Perry 154-5, 156, 158). Although these cases laid the foundation for all of the freedom of expression cases that would later come before the Supreme Court, they did little when compared to the free speech cases that came before the Court in the 1960s. While the cases in the early part of the century were important for the precedents that they set, freedom of expression cases during the 1960s changed American government and politics. Supreme Court decisions on freedom of expression cases during the 1960s placed never before seen limits on governmental power and guaranteed the protection of several fundamental rights."
An argument that the American constitution was intended to keep the power out of the hands of the people, and specifically addressed the grievances and purveyed the interests of the founding fathers.
1,080 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 3 sources, 1999, $ 37.95
From the Paper "The 1789 constitution, at the time of its authoring, truly seemed a liberal and enlightened document. Although, at the time, it provided the most democratic system of government in the western world, the authors of the constitution, the founding fathers, certainly did not fail to provide for their own well being. The constitution was not only intended to keep the power out of the hands of the people, but it specifically addressed the grievances and purveyed the interests of the founding fathers. The constitution, though it provided a less tyrannical government that the colonists had endured as subordinates to the British, truly epitomized the self-interest of the authors. "
From the Paper "Federalism in the United States is distinctly unique from that practiced elsewhere. Quite unlike any other system established, American federalism is conducive to American ideals of liberty. Federalism gives both the national and the state government separate spheres of authority, which cannot be trampled upon by the other. Hence, while states retain a degree of sovereignty, nationalistic interests can pervade over regional concerns, the federal government can assert control when appropriate. Not only does the federal system in America allow the government to act upon the needs of the nation, but it limits the possibility of control of the government by a militant faction and provides a bulwark against the "tyranny of the majority." "
From the Paper "A common theme in contemporary politics, both Russia and China have experienced a trend toward greater democratization since 1980. While the peoples of both Russia and China have seen the effects of this democratization, the means and the degree of the change varies between the two nations. While Russia has made an official transition from an authoritarian government to a democratic government, with often sometimes unsatisfactory results from the perspective of the people, the movement toward democratization has been more of a tacit one in China, while economic freedoms have been gained, the ominous political repression still remains. Clearly, reform in China and Russia has been vastly different, but significant in both regimes. "
A look at the development of capitalism and the merchant class in America, from 1787 to the 1877, and the effect it has on American economics to this day.
3,976 words (approx. 15.9 pages), 13 sources, 2000, $ 108.95
From the Paper "The prosperous nation of freedom and liberty was fueled by growth?socially, geographically, and most importantly, technologically. The period of time between the introduction of the Constitution (1787) and the last period of Reconstruction (1877) was one of the most innovative and influential periods in American history. As the country developed during these times, its economic system was molded and formed to the supposed best that it could be. Built on imitations and variances of existing nations economies, it became what was to be the cornerstone for modern day international capitalist economy. What made the United States the primary benefactor was its people's "almost universal ambition to get forward", thus creating the need for the technological innovations and sociological revolutions which became the building blocks of modern day economics (Taylor, 4). With new technologies being found everywhere, the merchant classes attempted to mold an entirely new, productive economic system"albeit good or bad"which The United States still rests upon today. "
Tags: america, colonial, post, railroad, revolution, technology, transportation
From the Paper "Throughout history, the struggle for equality and human rights is a central element in many eras. During times of revolution where the people join together to fight for a common cause, usually for freedom and equality, basic human rights stand as the main drive. The English and French Revolutions both show how oppressed people of almost every group came to change their status. There is one motive that causes revolution; inferiors revolt to be equal, and equals so that they may be superior."
Tags: charles, convention, enlightenment, james, king, national, women
A paper mainly dealing with those involved on the battlefield in the closing days of the conflict, as well as some of the important leaders on both sides.
2,356 words (approx. 9.4 pages), 7 sources, 2000, $ 72.95
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the events surrounding the end of the American Civil War. This war was a war of epic proportion. Never before and not since have so many Americans died in battle. The American Civil War was truly tragic in terms of human life. In this document, I will speak mainly around those involved on the battlefield in the closing days of the conflict. Also, reference will be made to the leading men behind the Union and Confederate forces.
Examines the United States' policy during the early to middle nineteenth century through the five general concepts of: isolationism, expansionism, imperialism, idealism, and exceptionalism.
3,039 words (approx. 12.2 pages), 6 sources, 1998, $ 89.95
From the Paper "The United States' policy during the early to middle nineteenth century can be examined through the five general concepts of American foreign policy: isolationism, expansionism, imperialism, idealism, and exceptionalism. Each of these concepts was prevalent during the crisis leading up to the Mexican-American War of 1846. The precipitating causes of the war are deeply rooted in the domestic and international affairs of the United State and in the personality of President Polk and his clandestine desire to acquire California."
How the French Revolution disrupted and dismantled a long established international system by manifesting the philosophies of liberalism and nationalism that had been fermenting in the minds of European political thinkers.
1,456 words (approx. 5.8 pages), 1 source, 1998, $ 48.95
From the Paper "For hundreds of years, Europe had been ruled by feudal and dynastic systems that placed power in a minority ruling elite and subjugated the lower classes. France established itself as a dominant power and other European countries admired the stability and legitimacy of the French Old Regime. The expansion of Louis XIV (1643-1715) supplied France with the respect of all countries. The divine right of kings was sternly instilled upon the European community as the only legitimate system of governing. The radical change that the Revolution promulgated was not recognized as an actual and sincere change, but rather a temporary political and economic instability. The French Revolution disrupted and dismantled a long established international system by manifesting the philosophies of liberalism and nationalism that had been fermenting in the minds of European political thinkers. The abrupt and catastrophic destruction of the dynastic system was meet with disbelief by European contemporaries who prolonged a focused response to the dangers that the ideals posed to the political atmosphere of Europe."
Tags: austria, britain, europe, france, great, legitimacy, liberalism, louis, monarch, napoleon, nationalism, old, politics, power, prussia, regime, russia, xiv
From the Paper "George Orwell has been a major contributor to anticommunist literature around the World War II period. Orwell lived in England during World War II, a time when the Totalitarianism State, Nazi Germany, was at war with England and destroyed the city of London. "I know that building" said Winston finally. "It's a ruin now. It's in the middle of the street outside the Palace of Justice. That's right. Outside the Law Courts. It was bombed in-oh many years ago.'" (Orwell 83). The main character's being reflects Orwell's own life experiences as a citizen in war torn England and how he uses this in 1984. George Orwell is famous for two major novels, which attack totalitarianism. The first is Animal Farm a satire describing the leaders of the Soviet Union as animals on an animal farm. The second novel is 1984 a story of dictators who are in complete control of a large part of the world after the Allies lost in World War II. The government in this novel gives no freedoms to its citizens. They live in fear because they are afraid of having bad thoughts about the government of Oceania, a crime punishable by death. By employing literary devices such as diction, foreshadowing, and symbolism, Orwell composes a novel "1984" which proves to be a gem in Orwell's collection of novels against totalitarianism."
From the Paper "The Wright Brothers chose to focus on the invention of the airplane despite the belief that heavier-than-air crafts would never be able to fly."
A look at the first person to teach the civil rights groups in the South the non-violent methods of protest that were instituted in the fight for freedom during 1957-1964.
3,070 words (approx. 12.3 pages), 20 sources, 2001, $ 89.95
Abstract This paper tells of Bayard Rustin and his principles of non-violence taught within the Civil Rights Movement. It gives information on Rustin's life, the basic ideas and precedents of his philosophies, and how his ideas were applied to the Civil Rights Movement.
From the Paper "The Civil Rights Movement can best be described as a series of massive, non-violent, and highly publicized protests that took place throughout the Southeastern United States during the late 1950's on through the 1960?s. The main objective of the Movement was to integrate the rigidly segregated South and obtain legislation that would protect violations of the Constitutional rights of African-Americans. The mostly peaceful demonstrations became so large that the nation could no longer turn its head to the problem that it faced as a whole with racism and discrimination. Bayard Rustin first taught the civil rights groups in the South the non-violent methods of protest that were instituted in the fight for freedom during 1957-1964. Such organizations as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced Snick) would not have been successful without the guidance, instruction, and precedent that Rustin gave to the Movement. The main pieces of legislation that Rustin helped secure during this particular time in American history were the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the twenty-fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "
