Abstract In this article, the writer notes that in today's modern world, the issue of gay marriage has spawned a huge debate centering on whether or not gay couples should be legally allowed to become married. Those who oppose gay marriage contend that such an arrangement if made legal would destroy American society by changing the traditional family unit of a mother, father and children; others point out that gay marriage is not supported by the Christian religion. The writer discusses that in contrast, those who support gay marriage contend that such an arrangement between either two men or two women is factually not that different from traditional marriages and that all of the arguments against gay marriage are based on misinformation, rumor and outright lies by numerous national organizations seeking to make certain that gay marriage is never made legal nor recognized as a legitimate way of living. The writer concludes that it is quite clear that if gay marriage was legalized in the United States, our current social systems would not collapse nor become non-existent.
From the Paper "Not surprisingly, gay couples in today's America see this opposition to gay marriage as nothing less than an issue of civil rights. As outlined in the Bill of Rights, every American citizen is entitled to the same civil and legal protections regardless of race, national origin, religious beliefs and sexual gender. Thus, it is abundantly clear that gay marriage should be legal in the United States in the face of so much opposition which is mostly based on religious beliefs and unfounded cultural fears and phobias. For example, if the science of genetics does eventually determine beyond a shadow of a doubt that being gay is inborn, i.e. genetically predetermined, then what the Holy Bible says about homosexuality is hypocritical."
"In conclusion, it is quite clear that if gay marriage was legalized in the United States, our current social systems would not collapse nor become non-existent."
Abstract This paper is an analysis of the California Proposition known as Proposition 187. Prop. 187 is about the status of illegal aliens in terms of health care and other social benefits. This paper is broken down into sections that provide the history of the Proposition, an analysis, a complete description and a conclusion.
From the Paper "Although the American Civil War effectively ended in April, 1865 with the surrenders of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Albert S. Johnston in Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, the fight for the peace, that is, reconstruction, had merely begun. Reconstruction involved federal control of Southern state governments and the South's reincorporation into the union, its political reconstruction. Reconstruction began at the end of the Civil War, under the presidency of Andrew Johnson. Presidential reconstruction was essentially conservative. However, Congressional reconstruction, which effectively superceded the Reconstruction efforts of the politically enfeebled Johnson, was radical in nature. Radical reconstruction was intended to be both punitive, and to amend Southern society."
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. "
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
Abstract This paper is based on Nietzsche's views on he ?will,? ?free will,? ?unfree will,? ?physical body,? ?subservient body,? and "cause and effect" as outlined in his book "Beyond Good & Evil". The author attempts to write the paper in the same style as Nietzsche and builds Nietzsche's definitions of the terms mentioned above and relates them to each other. The paper covers a number of important Nietzsche concepts.
Abstract The paper covers the politics and governments of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Each section briefly describes the government structures of these countries. Then each section talks about Islamic influence in their political system, relations with the United States and the Soviet Union, and the effects of the politics of oil production. In the conclusions the paper compares these three factors for each country to each other. It explores these important factors in the political structure and the effects on Middle Eastern politics and foreign policy.
An argument which shows that Needle Exchange Programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing either the injection of illegal drugs among drug addicts or the number of new initiates to injection drug use.
1,368 words (approx. 5.5 pages), 8 sources, 1999, $ 45.95
From the Paper "AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), is one of the leading killers in the United States of America. HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) attacks and destroys white blood cells while weakening the body's immune system, making it susceptible to common infections and diseases. HIV, which eventually leads to AIDS, is passed through the exchange of blood or semen. There is no cure for AIDS at this time. People that are diagnosed with AIDS are affected for life. AIDS can also be transmitted through needle sharing used by heroin and other drug addicts. By sharing needles, drug addicts have a high risk of passing blood left on the needles from the previous user that might contain the HIV virus. This has made drug addicts one of the fastest?growing groups suffering from HIV infection and AIDS (Siegel 24). Injection of illegal drugs has become a primary source of new HIV infection in the country. AIDS has devastated addicts who inject drugs, due to the high risk of needle contamination and HIV infection. One way to decrease the speed, in which the disease spreads, is to give addicts clean needles in exchange for used ones that can be contaminated. This is the main goal of needle exchange programs. Needle exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing either the injection of illegal drugs among drug addicts or the number of new initiates to injection drug use."
