AP American History Essays - Irish Diaspora, Irish Genealogy

AP American History Early American Nationalism and Reform The rise of immigration in the mid 17th century lead to a spirit of national reform in the United States. Many Europeans, particularly the Irish and the German, immigrated to America during the 1800s. There were many different reasons for their immigration, and when they came they influenced American culture greatly. The United States changed religiously, because of the German and Irish, politically because of the German and Irish, and economically/socially by virtue of the conflicts between the Irish and the blacks and the influence of the Germans on education. When the Germans and the Irish immigrated to America, they greatly affected us religiously. With the enormous inflow of the Irish and the Germans in the 1840s and 1850s, the Roman Catholics became the powerful religious group. Seeking to protect their children form Protestant education in the public schools, these Roman Catholics began to construct a separate Catholic educational system. This was enormously expensive for the poor immigrant community, but revealed the strength of its religious commitment. ?Native? Americans were concerned that this ?alien riffraff? would establish the Catholic Church at the expense of Protestantism. The Americans formed a party known as the ?Know-Nothing? party, given its name because it was so secretive. This party wanted rigid restrictions on naturalization and immigration and laws allowing the deportation of aliens. This group also caused occasional mob violence against the Catholic schools and churches. This lead to national reform because the Iri sh and the Germans had, in a way, created a new dominant religion, and helped create more religious diversity. The Irish and the Germans were extremely influential in American politics. The Irish possessed an extreme hatred for the British. As the Irish increased their population in the United States to nearly two million, politicians often found it politically beneficial to insult and ridicule England. Most Germans who came to America came because America was one of the brightest hopes of democracy. German liberals with their ideas about slavery and public corruption contributed to the uplift of American political life. Like the Irish, the Germans were influential voters whom the American politicians took great advantage of. However, the Germans were less influential because their strength was more widely scattered. The Irish also affected the United States economically and socially. The Irish came to America because of the horrible potato famine in Ireland. They came to America too poor to move west to buy land, equipment and livestock. Forced to live in poverty they worsened the already poor slum conditions. As competitors for jobs, the Irish fiercely hated the blacks. The Irish, along with the blacks, were at the bottom of the social ladder and competed for menial, low-income jobs. However in some cases, the Irish began to gain control of city machines, most notably, New York's Tammany Hall. Before long Irishmen dominated police departments in a considerable amount of the larger cities. This modified the American economy because now the southern plantation owners could be less reliant on slaves. Later on, this helped the southern economy because when they made the slave trade illegal, the southern plantation owners had already become less dependent on their slaves, because now they also had c heap Irish labor. The Germans helped shape American education when they emigrated form Germany. The Germans came to America better educated them the ?Native? Americans. They supported public schooling, and introduced us into one of their ideas known as kindergarten. The Germans also did many things to stimulate the learning and knowledge of arts and music. This influenced America socially by improving our education with new ideas, and better knowledge. America was greatly influenced in the 1800's by the rise of immigration, principally the Irish and the Germans. Immigration led to a spirit of national reform by affecting America politically, economically/socially, and religiously.

buy custom Feudal Relationships and Mutual Obligations of Lords and Vassals essay

buy custom Feudal Relationships and Mutual Obligations of Lords and Vassals essay From the reading regarding Henry 1 of England from Ecclesiastical History, in Western Europe, kings were highly respected in the community. They acted as the overall judge on their land. The kings had the power to deliver judgment on their subjects (Burr, 1998). All subjects were supposed to show respect for their king, and in case an individual spoke badly about the king, the king had the power to punish such a person or send the person to exile. In addition, all subjects were supposed to respect the families from which the kings came from. The king would publicly summon an individual, who would be found guilty of speaking against his brothers or other members of his family. Such an individual would be required to confess his/her offenses publicly, and then, the king would deliver his judgment depending on the seriousness of the offense committed (Burr, 1998). In the reading regarding Henry 1 of England from Ecclesiastical History, King Henry had summoned Robert of Bellecircme, accusing him, of committing several offenses against him and his brother, the duke of Normandy. Robert did not respond to the kings summon. Instead, he flew away, were he formed his own castle and sought support from his allies and relatives to defend him against the king. After engaging in unsuccessful confrontations with the kings garrison, Robert finally surrendered to the king. Using his position as the final source of judgment on the land, King Henry 1 banished Robert from his kingdom(Burr, 1998). From The Lais of Marie de France, during the Age of Invasions in Western Europe, the society was divided into two categories: the lords and the vassals. The lords were those who owned riches and wealthy, while the vassals were those people who acted as slaves or servants to the lords. Both the lords and the vassals had mutual obligations toward each other. As illustrated in The Lais of Marie De France, vassals obligation to their lords was to provide advice whenever they were faced with difficult situations. For instance, when the wife of the other wealthy man gave birth to two daughters, her damsel advised her to abandon one the daughters in a church, instead of killing her. The damsel gave the advice to her master as a way of assisting her from suffering the shame of having given birth to two children at the same time (Le Fresne, n.d.). Vassals also had an obligation to protect their lords and their properties. From the reading regarding Henry 1 of England from Ecclesiastical History, the vassals always accompanied King Henry whenever he went out either to deliver judgment to offenders, or to look for offenders. In addition, the vassals had a mutual obligation of informing their lords about all matter, which they deemed important. For instance, when Robert of Bellecircme refused to honor the kings summon and opted to escape, it is stated that a royal servant was the one who informed him about Roberts disappearaance (Burr, 1998). On the other hand, one of the lords obligations to their vassals was to ensure continuity of their generation. This means that the lords had an obligation to get married, and have children. The lords children would become the heirs of their fathers land, hence providing continuity of the lords families (Burr, 1998). In The Lais of Marie De France, when Gurun took Le Fresne as his concubine, the vassals advised him to look for a wife to marry, so that he would have children who would become the heir of his land (Le Fresne, n.d.). In addition, the lords had an obligation to listen to the advice of their vassals. For instance in the reading regarding Henry I of England from Ecclesiastical History, when a group of earls and magnates allied to Robert went to the king asking him to consider reconciliation, a group of knights allied to the king shouted loudly to the king, asking him not to consider their plead. As his obligation to his vassals, the king took the advice, and sent the earls a nd magnates away (Burr, 1998). From The Lais of Marie De France, it is clear that the Western Europe society expected women to respect men. Women would always kneel before men or present themselves in a humble manner whenever they were in presence of men. For example, during the wedding night of Le Codre, her mother knelt before her husband to beg for forgiveness, after she discovered Le Fresne was her daughter. Buy custom Feudal Relationships and Mutual Obligations of Lords and Vassals essay

Voter Turnout in Local Election Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Voter Turnout in Local Election - Research Paper Example Turnout is bad enough during the a federal election cycle, but when there are no national politics involved, that statistics get even poorer. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to unseat incumbents, many of whom have grown too comfortable in their position to enact meaningful change. There are other issues involved, as well, in the record low numbers of voters turning out in local elections. This paper aims to examine some of those issues, provide implications for such voter apathy should it continue, and propose possible solutions for increasing voter turnout in local elections in the future. There is a wealth of current research looking into possible reasons that local election typically draw such abysmal voter turnout year after year. Many simply blame this on voter apathy, a frustration with current politicians and government in general, or simply on a mismanagement of the election calendar, resulting in elections in off years simply not gaining the attention that the y need to in order to garner a deeper interest in local government. While the reality is that it is likely a combination of these factors that have created the problem, a solution centered on having local elections coincide with the federal cycle will likely be a quick way to improve initial voter turnout numbers. Then, attention could be directed into getting more local involvement in government and restoring trust to the people in their own political system. To begin, let us consider the state of California. Hajinal and Lewis (2003) looked at some empirical research to determine various factors that are leading to low voter turnout in elections for various mayoral and city council races. The feeling was that something needed to be done to combat these low turnout numbers in order to have a more active and politically sensitive government. The study revealed that many residents in various towns and cities throughout the state had lost faith in their local government, so they have c eased any type of involvement in their community political system, most of all among these local elections. As a result, many incumbents are running unchallenged and seemingly unabated in their quest for a career in local politics. Not only has this phenomenon resulted in voter apathy, as it is difficult to get excited about voting when there is only candidate running for various offices, but it has also cheapened the entire political process of local government. The author’s of this study concluded that many local politicians who had been in office for numerous election cycles were now unmotivated to really invoked lasting change in the community, because they had no fear of being unseated. Similar to other studies, it was also uncovered that the same incumbents were supported in every campaign by the same special interest groups who could count on the local politicians to keep voting their way on various issues. It has been little wonder that many local communities simply h ave low turnout on voting day (Hajinal & Lewis, 2003). This study employed a methodology whereby current voting data was triangulated with current events in an effort to determine what remedies could be found to help encourage higher numbers of voters to actually turn out and cast their vote on election day. The research findings and data led to the eventual conclusion that shifting local

Is market research necessary for start-up-business Discuss Essay

Is market research necessary for start-up-business Discuss - Essay Example 1998.Marketing Research, P.106, Tata McGraw-Hill ). Business is a very fluid state; its states will never be constant, ever changing from time to time. Because of these constant changes Organizations are always posed with a question, what do I do next? Little can be answered with out any data to support. The collection of such relevant data gathers high importance especially for beginners because before organizations can launch their products they can understand the feasibility of their efforts through market research. 1. Formulating the problem: The very purpose of any marketing research is to identify the problem and its relevance to the organization. An ill defined problem can mislead the entire market research because of poorly defined research objectives. Initially for beginner, problems are plenty in understanding his/her own business and the general market conditions. Question such as whom to market? What to market are the real challenges for an entrepreneur? Marketing research helps in finding solutions for these and also many other issues. The concept of four ‘p’s (product, place, price, people) needs to be answered. 2. Developing Objectives of the research: The objectives of the research should be clear and specific. The objectives should cover the questions regarding the purpose of the study, Method in which the study is to be conducted, the information needs and the sources of information. The concept to be launched into the market whether it is a product or a service needs to be tested. However it is important to decide at which phase of market research the testing can be done. Normally while launching a startup business, businessmen use market research as a launching board for the product or service. Data collected has to be collated in such a way it yields information and the information so gathered can be utilized for preparation of a research report. Normally research analysis will be based on data depicted in the form of graphs and

Principles of Environmental Science Essay Example for Free

Principles of Environmental Science Essay Principals of Environmental Science Joshua Hammack ENV/100 February 4, 2013 Christopher Bertram Principals of Environmental Science Environmental science is the relationship between the earth and all living things and organisms that use the earth’s resources to sustain life. Environmental science is also the ongoing study of the environment and all of its interconnected systems. The style of research performed by environmental scientists is very diverse. Also, environmental science is composed of many components such as geology, physics, social science, meteorology, and biology. Social science looks more at how humans and animals interact within the environment and the effects they have on one another. â€Å"Environmental scientists try to establish general principles about how the natural world functions. They use these principles to develop viable solutions to environmental problems—solutions that are based as much as possible on scientific knowledge† (M. C. , 2009). Technology and science affect the problems and solutions of today’s society both positively and negatively. Take for instance the invention of the car by Karl Friedrich Benz in 1885, (Bruno, 1997) while there was a demand for better transportation as people became more sophisticated and wanted to travel further than possible on a horse it created a demon for the environment to fight. Today, worldwide there are more than 1 billion passenger vehicles on the roadways, (Tencer, 2011) and with an increase in automobiles comes added pollution from oil, grease, petroleum, and rubber, but not only the cars produce pollution. The manufacturing does equal amounts of damage from steel mills, rubber plants and stamping plants. With growing population these numbers will begin to rise. At the same time the technologies that are contributing to the Worlds pollution problems are also being used to help solve the problem by creating means necessary to obtain valuable data to aid in the solution. For example studying marine life in the depths of the ocean would not be possible without using motorboats to reach these remote locations. The double edge sword being that the boat itself pollutes the water. Finding a balance between the neccessity of technology and the over consumption of technology is a slippery slope, but it is crucial to the sustainability of the environment. â€Å"Ecologist Garrett Hardin (1915–2003) is best known for his 1968 essay â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons. † In it he contended that our inability to solve complex environmental problems is the result of a struggle between short-term individual welfare and long-term environmental sustainability, the ability to meet humanitys current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs† (M. C. , 2009). It is essential that society studies the sustainability of our resources not only so they can be preserved, but to aid in the prediction of growth and evolution. Some countries like the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe are highly developed countries that are consuming the majority of the worlds sustainable consumption. As the under developed countries such as Haiti, yemen, and Sudan begin to grow they will take on a larger share of the sustainable consumption. Without monitoring the development from an environmental point of view the worlds population could literally eat themselves out of house and home. â€Å"Those who dont know history are doomed to repeat it. † –Edmund Burke. Looking back through history the United States has not always been the best stewards to the land. In fact, through many mistakes the lessons of Mother Nature have been ingrained into our culture. The concept of conservation and preservation was brought about by a group of men in the mid 1800’s through the early 1900’s. Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), Grover Cleveland (1837–1908), William McKinley (1843–1901), and Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) were all the first to use the Forest Reserve Act, this act was put into affect in 1881 which gave the president the authority to establish forest reserves on public, federally owned land (M. C. , 2009). Before this the lands in the western United States were falling victim to deforestation with 160 billion board foot of lumber being cut from 1860, just after the Civil War to 1900. Throughout history the government has been very proactive in establishing programs to help preserve and protect the natural resources. Until 1970, the voice of the environmentalist was nothing but a whisper that was only heard through two organizations, the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation (M. C. , 2009). When Denis Hays, a Harvard graduate student was influenced by a former Wisconsin senator to organize the first recognized Earth Day it bacame a gateway for informing the public on sustainability, consumption and what we needed to do to preserve our environment. Eventually Earth Day became a way to show people that their little contribution to reducing their carbon footprint as much as possible was magnified greatly when coupled with others efforts. â€Å"By Earth Day 1990, the movement had spread around the world, signaling the rapid growth in environmental consciousness† (M. C. , 2009). In conclusion, it is inevitable that the world as a whole will continue to grow, the population will increase, and resources will be exhuasted. It is for that reason the human race must be aware of what is coming.

Essay --

Education is closely associated in determining a person’s life chances. Socioeconomic status (SES) plays a critical part in higher education today in America. Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to the ranking based on occupation, income and other social components like education. The inequality in college enrollments and degree completion has been a major concern in our society. The students’ SES seems to actuate the opportunities and the achievement they will fulfill in postsecondary school. Sociologists tend to acknowledge that social course is still an important aspect in today’s society. Also, it affects our life chances and choices. Education contributes to income attainment and occupational prestige. Moreover, there is an inequality between men and women from contrasting social backgrounds in terms of education, particularly in college. Education serves as a ladder to success and social mobility. In America, students from low socioeconomic status (SES) families have always been a part of the nation’s higher education and are few in number. Socioeconomic status has crucial effects on students and their performance in college. The subject of SES and how it affects college education has been debated for decades. The social ranking is parallel to whether one will succeed in college. SES insinuates more immense impact on low SES students than high SES students. Low SES students are deprived in schools due to the lack of academic environment and limit their chances of academic success in school. Those circumstances cause low SES schools to be low compliant and impose the notion that only determined and flexible students can avoid low academic achievement. Low SES students are said to be â€Å"similarly u... ...and men. Mention history of gender inequality: how history affect our society. â€Å"Let’s not forget about the history of Women’s Rights. Women are not mentioned in the Constitution†¦ There are natural differences in men and women; Women are viewed weaker and are expected to stay home, take care of the family. Also, might want to squeeze in a little detail about the role of Economics in our society. Accomplishment in college of students from different socioeconomic background varies. If the social deprivation decreases, low SES students should have similar experiences and accomplishments. Social backgrounds continue to negatively affect their college achievement if low SES students have different outcomes or lower achievements (Walpole viriya.net 2003). Different opportunities are brought about by differences of resources and status (Linkon diversityweb.org 2008).

Cultural competence Essay

This paper explores the Hmong people’s views toward medicine within the lens of their culture. It will take into account their history and also seek to explain the natural aversion these people have to most modern techniques in medicine. The Hmong people have a large immigrant population in the United States and represent unique challenges to most medical practitioners that can be used as a model to teach new methods of treating patients who may not understand western medicine. Understanding the Hmong is the first step in devising better techniques for nurses and other health professionals who seek to provide the best standard of care to all peoples in a safe, professional and cooperative way. Medical Views of the Hmong People: The Importance of Cross-Cultural Understanding As the United States becomes a more racially and ethnically diverse nation, health care systems and providers must adapt to be able to better care for patients’ with regard to their perspectives, values, and cultures. Failure to understand and manage social and cultural differences may have significant health consequences to the patient and could lead to ineffectual practices in the delivery of care. This is particularly significant in the treating of patients from the Hmong ethnic group. Whose cultural beliefs and practices are often opposed to the methods of modern U. S. Medicine. The Hmong people are made up of peoples from China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Indigenous to South East Asia, many of them resided in Laos until 1975 when Pathet Lao came into power and began to persecute them for their involvement (on behalf of the United States) in Vietnam. As a result of this political crackdown many Hmong fled Laos and have been accepted as refugees in many western countries including the United States. Although they are a largely diaspora population they have managed to hold onto their cultural traditions as well as assimilated (partially) to the culture s of their home countries. These traditions are passed down from elders to youth and are a strong pillar through which the Hmong are able to maintain their history and community. Currently there are 245,000 Hmong people residing in the United States, most of which live in California, Minnesota and Washington. As their numbers grow so does the importance of dynamic care practices that can better suit their medical needs. The Hmong are a primarily Shamanistic culture, with a strong reverence for ancestral spirits. Their beliefs in spirits are not regulated to simply deceased family members, but in all things both animate and inanimate. These spirits reside in a mirrored Spirit realm, where the spirits of their ancestors and also that of trees dwell. The individual is thought to have multiple spirits residing in them that regulate both the spiritual and physical health of the person. Illness is thought to come from evil spirits who attempt to harm the native spirits that reside in individual’s body. These spirits are the cause of all illness and exist in the spirit realm. It is to be noted that these spirits exist on the same plane as regular mortals, however the deity Saub made us blind to them after conflicts between the spirits and the mortals. It is only through the utilization of shamans that we may access them, and treat illness. As the malevolent spirits descend on the body, they may cause the native spirits to leave their human host, this is thought to be manifested in the physical world as serious illness. The Hmong believe that illness is intrinsically linked with a spiritual imbalance, therefore the Shaman is called upon to conduct rituals to bring back the wayward spirit and to discern the cause of its leaving. These beliefs can be in direct opposition to the belief of modern medicine, which relies heavily on scientific and empirical evidence. The simple diagnosis of illness can be greatly impeded when the patient believes that their rash comes from evil spirits as opposed to the contact of a poisonous material. Also this can breed a general distrust of western medication, when for centuries the answers to illness have always lied with the shaman and not with pills and elixirs. The language barrier also is challenging, but in a novel way, whole concepts in the Hmong culture are untranslatable, and the nuances in regional practices of the Hmong make each group individual in their phrasings and pronunciations. Even with the assistance of a native translator many concepts remain completely lost in translation, especially for American nurses who are often the first line of care for these people. Traditionally when a Hmong person becomes sick they are taken to see the community Shaman. The Shaman is considered a very important member of Hmong society as they are able to communicate and travel with spirits. They serve the role of both doctor and priest in that they care for the physical and spiritual wellbeing of the person. Because of the link between spiritual and physical illness, it is held that the main means to achieve health wellness is through ritual to appease the spirits. This can be dangerous to the person as their illness may go undiagnosed and untreated as the afflicted wait for the results of the ritual to affect them. Among the largest problems with treating the Hmong is noncompliance, as their tradition may prevent them from actually utilizing the medicine given to them from western hospitals and pharmacies. The treatment of psychological disorders in the Hmong people also poses a unique challenge to western health professionals. In the Hmong tradition those with unexplained psychological illnesses such as bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, and some neurological disorders (i. e. epilepsy) are considered to be chosen to become shamans. The symptoms with these maladies are often closely associated with spiritual intervention such as: multiple personalities exhibited being the manifestation of different spirits attempting to possess the body, or epileptic seizures being a communication from spiritual forces. This has caused these disorders to be revered in the Hmong tradition and have led to many of them going undiagnosed. The usual protocol for such episodes are for the child (as these ailments often present themselves in childhood) to be blessed and sent to learn with a shaman teacher, so that they may use their gifts for the community and become a shaman themselves. As shamans are highly respected and important members of the community any attempt to stifle or diminish their gifts can be construed as going against the wishes of ancestral spirits. To have a shaman in ones family is considered one of the highest honors, thus creating a situation where the illness goes both undiagnosed and untreated. Interactions between American health professionals and the Hmong people have even been documented in the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman where culture clashes between ignorant parents and culturally insensitive medical staff ends very tragically for a young girl diagnosed with epilepsy. The combination of the Hmong parents unwillingness to trust the medicines of the Merced doctors and doctors unwillingness to understand the culture of the Hmongs and to tailor the care of the daughter unfortunately end in the girl in a vegetative state. This book goes through the history of the Hmong and makes the reader understand the nature aversion they have to medicines. To them healing is their religion, and to these people the American method of medicine is entirely too invasive. They feel we cut and defile bodies, we take too much blood and we cause dramatic personality changes with our drugs. This failure to understand these concerns is damning for Lia Lee (the little girl) and led to both noncompliance and also fear about regarding possible surgeries for the very young child. This book is assigned reading for many medical programs and is compelling read, The importance of its theme of cultural understanding cannot be stressed enough. When Lia was brought to the emergency room for the last time, the staff at the hospital assumed that she had a big seizure because of her parent’s unwillingness to give her seizure medications that had been prescribed. They all silently agreed that it was just a matter of when. It was to the disappointment of many and a shock to Neil Ernst and his wife Peggy Philp when another neurologist who had treated Lia previously announced that it was septic shock and not under medication that had caused the â€Å"big one†. The fact that Neil Ernst did order a septic workup on Lia indicated that he was not treating her symptoms but was had used previous experience with the parent’s noncompliance as all- purpose explanation that blinded him from seeing exploring other more obvious possibilities of Lia illness. The role of the nurse as educator is paramount in these situations. A nurse when performing her role in the health care setting always has the opportunity to bridge the gap between the patient and the physcians. Anne Fadiman after researching the book for eight years ascertains that â€Å"We do not know if Lia would be able to walk and talk today had she been treated by Arthur Kleinman instead of by Neil Ernst and Peggy Philp. However, I have come to believe that her life was ruined not by septic shock or noncompliant parents but by cross-cultural misunderstanding. † In modern medicine there has been an increased prominence put in patient education and understanding. What could have saved Lia’s life is a more tailored course of treatment that both respected her families beliefs while also allowing for the benefits of modern medicine. When helping patients it is always important to respect their cultures and traditions, but it is more important to build understanding between their traditions and what will best allow them to get better. Nurses can play the greatest role in building cross-cultural trust, when they (as the first line of care) educate patients on their medications and dietary recommendations. In a more diverse America we will need more Nurses to be able to not only respect cultural boundaries, but foster cultural cooperation to better treat all patients.