Free Essays on Mary Rowlandson And The Power Of Gods Elect

The Power of God’s Elect Puritan beliefs are very numerous and strong. One of their biggest beliefs was that they were of â€Å"God’s elect.† The Puritans thought of themselves as God’s last test for the perfect secular group. This idea also ties in with what is called unconditional election or predestination. Predestination is the belief that God saves only a certain number of souls, which he chooses, regardless of the faithfulness of the person. A person’s salvation is determined before they are born and cannot be altered by human actions. Puritans believed that they were superior over every other social group in their time. Puritans used the Bible to relate everything that happens to them, good or bad, and used it to justify the current situation. In Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, she uses a plethora of Bible verses and scriptures to show that the Puritans were superior over the Native Americans as well as to show that she was one of God’s elect. Mary thinks of her capture and every detail about it as a trial from God. King Phillip’s War (1675-1676) was brought about by Native Americans who were tired of the English settlers taking their land. The Wampanoag Indians invaded Mary Rowlandson’s hometown of Lancaster in February of 1675 taking twenty-four Puritans hostage. One of these hostages was Mary Rowlandson. Despite seeing most of her family brutally killed by savage Native Americans, Mary is able to find comfort in the Lord, Mary wrote: We had six stout Dogs belonging to our Garrison, but none of them would stir though another time, if an Indian had come to the Door, they were ready to fly upon him, and tear him down. The Lord hereby would make us the more to acknowledge his Hand, and to see that our Help is always in him. (13) When she sees her family, home, and town destroyed by Indians, she sees this as an act of God, not an act by the Indians, â€Å"O the doleful sight that now ... Free Essays on Mary Rowlandson And The Power Of God's Elect Free Essays on Mary Rowlandson And The Power Of God's Elect The Power of God’s Elect Puritan beliefs are very numerous and strong. One of their biggest beliefs was that they were of â€Å"God’s elect.† The Puritans thought of themselves as God’s last test for the perfect secular group. This idea also ties in with what is called unconditional election or predestination. Predestination is the belief that God saves only a certain number of souls, which he chooses, regardless of the faithfulness of the person. A person’s salvation is determined before they are born and cannot be altered by human actions. Puritans believed that they were superior over every other social group in their time. Puritans used the Bible to relate everything that happens to them, good or bad, and used it to justify the current situation. In Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, she uses a plethora of Bible verses and scriptures to show that the Puritans were superior over the Native Americans as well as to show that she was one of God’s elect. Mary thinks of her capture and every detail about it as a trial from God. King Phillip’s War (1675-1676) was brought about by Native Americans who were tired of the English settlers taking their land. The Wampanoag Indians invaded Mary Rowlandson’s hometown of Lancaster in February of 1675 taking twenty-four Puritans hostage. One of these hostages was Mary Rowlandson. Despite seeing most of her family brutally killed by savage Native Americans, Mary is able to find comfort in the Lord, Mary wrote: We had six stout Dogs belonging to our Garrison, but none of them would stir though another time, if an Indian had come to the Door, they were ready to fly upon him, and tear him down. The Lord hereby would make us the more to acknowledge his Hand, and to see that our Help is always in him. (13) When she sees her family, home, and town destroyed by Indians, she sees this as an act of God, not an act by the Indians, â€Å"O the doleful sight that now ...

A Short List of Synonyms for Shorten

A Short List of Synonyms for Shorten A Short List of Synonyms for Shorten A Short List of Synonyms for Shorten By Mark Nichol Shorten is a serviceable word for describing how to reduce the extent or length of something, but some synonyms are available to use in its place. Abbreviate stems ultimately from the Latin verb abbreviare, the root of which is from brevis, meaning â€Å"short†- the same word from which brevity (â€Å"briefness†) and brief are derived. Abridge, which has nothing to do with bridges (it has the same origin as abbreviate), is often used in the sense of diminishing effect or strength or shortening a written compensation by excising parts. To curtail is to limit or reduce as if by cutting (its obsolete predecessor, curtal, referred to cutting an animal’s tail short); its derivation is curtus, Latin for â€Å"short†- which came to be used in English as curt, an adjective usually applied to a brusque statement. Truncate is ultimately from the Latin word truncus, the source of trunk (as well as truncheon- the original term for a billy club- and the rare word obtruncate, which means â€Å"cut the top from†). The original sense is an adjective meaning â€Å"with square or even leaves†- leaves that appear to have been artificially shortened and straightened. Elide means â€Å"omit†; it usually pertains to removing a letter, word, or phrase from a document but also has a general sense of â€Å"shorten†; the noun form is elision. Syncopate means â€Å"cut short,† but it also applies to the linguistic process of syncope, in which part of a word is elided, as in g’day for â€Å"good day.† It’s also the verb form of syncopation, which refers to music rhythm based on giving stress to weak rather than strong beats. There is also a group of short words- often, in their pronunciation, suggestive of abrupt action- that refer to cutting something short, including bob, chop, clip, crop, cut, dock, lop, and snip. Other terms referring to cutting, often in reference to vegetation, include mow, pare, prune, and trim; shave and shear are similar. Prà ©cis, a noun referring to shortening or condensing (from French, and the ancestor of precise), is also a verb; other terms are compress and contract, as well as condense and its close synonym digest (from the sense of the word, also associated with assimilating food into the body, of arranging and dividing). To abstract, profile, and summarize are similar actions, though they involve outlining content rather than reducing its length. Likewise, to epitomize is to serve as an example rather than to actually reduce. Shrinking, meanwhile, involves literally reducing in size rather than abbreviating. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Exquisite AdjectivesExcited ABOUT, not "for" Educational vs. Educative

Why Americans should embrace Alternative fuel vehicles Term Paper - 1

Why Americans should embrace Alternative fuel vehicles - Term Paper Example If current energy usage patterns continue for a few more decades then the ecosystems and environments across the world would be damaged beyond repair, putting at risk the long-term survival of our species. (Borowitz, 1999, p.255) The rest of this essay will elaborate on these points and present the reasons why Americans should embrace alternative fuel vehicles. Beyond concerns about peak-oil and issues of sustaining conventional oil supplies, there is the danger posed by environmental pollution. While manufacturing industries play their part in polluting air, water and soil, the chief contributors are motor vehicles. For example, 90% of the carbon monoxide, 50% of the volatile organic compounds, and 40% of the ozone in metropolitan areas come from motor vehicles. (Meotti, 1995, p.27) With car ownership per-capita in America being one of the highest among advanced economies, there is a urgent need for alternative fuels. There is also the option of attempting to reduce car sales and car usage. But since this outcome is highly unlikely, finding substitute fuels for petroleum-based ones is the more plausible option going forward. Soybean oil is another alternative fuel that holds a lot of promise. When oil prices spiked during the first Gulf War in 1991, American farmers put to use the huge surplus of soybean oil stored in tanks across the country. They said that Soybean oil can be refined into bio-diesel, which can be used by vehicles. Already, by this time, bio-diesel was being manufactured in Europe using rapeseed oil. And by following the same procedure, Soybean oil could also be converted into bio-diesel, which would prove to be a cleaner and eco-friendly energy alternative. (Schmidt, 2007, p.87) Experts and business people have now identified bio-diesel as a key player in the alternative fuels market. It also has the advantage of being produced by both small-scale manufacturers as well as large industries. While

Forensic Science 5.1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forensic Science 5.1 - Essay Example Carbon strip involves the use of an activated carbon strip to absorb the vapors from debris and then mixed with a solvent for analysis. Solvent wash is used when the debris cannot be easily vaporized due to high boiling point. Subsequently after sample preparation gas chromatography is used to separate the chemicals for identification and assessment (Gaensslen, 2008). 2. There are two main objectives of investigating a fire scene: (1) to identify the cause of fire and (2) its origin. Since fires burn upwards, the burn patterns are important in trying to understand the direction or fire and how it possibly started. Then points of origin are looked for to analyze the origins of fire. 3. Whenever an explosive detonates, it causes much more damage than the usual fire. Explosions are characterized by a special kind of combustion that occurs more quickly and is capable of giving off large amounts of heat quite quickly. Hence, the intensity of an explosion is great. Igniters, primers, or detonators are used along with main charge that causes a lot of damage when they explode. 4. Chromatography is common separation and analysis technique common to both in investigating an explosive or fire debris. Infrared spectrography is more common for analyzing explosives in addition to gas chromatography. However, the nature of an explosion differs greatly from a normal fire. 5. Examination of an unexploded device is different because unlike having debris or other physical evidence, unexploded devices have to rendered safe, examined for all the components, and identified in terms of their chemical make-up. However, exploded devices involve microscopic investigation and gas chromatography. 11. Trace evidences are small-sized physical evidences that are used to make connections between criminal and/or victim. Transfer materials on the other hand are those that are found on objects as a result of being transferred because of contact (Gaensslen, 2008). 14. A control sample

Information to commit a crime Essay Example for Free

Information to commit a crime Essay The article from The Mail on Sunday spreads over 2/3s of a page. It is at first glance more interesting than the previous article because it contains a large color picture of Lord Archer and his wife, and a smaller picture of the book he has recently published. Articles with pictures beside them seize the readers attention. The caption under the picture of Archer and his wife reads inside job: which suggests a crime has been committed from inside prison. Inside job is a word used to refer to those who use their access to privileged information to commit a crime. It is an exaggerated and dramatic term to use, which will catch the readers interest. Archer could pocket a fortune from his prison diary, left, which could ease his and wife Marys cash flow problems This sentence is intended to be humorous because it is sarcastic. The lord and lady are not expected to have any money troubles or cash flow problems. Humor is a method used by journalists to incite their readers. Also, here is introduced a motive for releasing the book that was not mentioned in the other article. However the article does not hold substantial evidence that this is true, and not just a conclusion drawn by the reporter for the purpose of obtaining public interest. The article says that this had been said by sources close to the family. Nevertheless it does go on to say that Archer recently paid out 2. 7 million to Express Newspapers. The Mail on Sunday article is similarly set out in columns. Unlike The Sunday Telegraph this article contains larger font for the first two paragraphs of the article. This is done because it contains the basis of the story and larger font stands out more. There is one enlarged quote, which reads He simply put his memoirs in the post. The reporter chose to enlarge this because it will surprise the readers. It is a controversial point: should Archer really have just been allowed to post his memoirs. The article uses language such as far from smuggling the manuscript out which suggests this is what would have been expected. The article goes on to explain that prison authorities can check prisoners outgoing post and that they could have censored Archers book. This leaves the reader wondering why they allowed Archers book to get out. Could it be because he is a Lord and has high social status than the average prisoner? I think that is what the article is suggesting throughout. It does this because it wants to raise a point, make the readers think and get their attention. The language in this article uses more adjectives than the Sunday Telegraph article, examples of this are: Calls were made for Archer to be dealt with harshly. A spokesman criticized the prison service. This has the effect of persuading to the reader to agree with the reporters point of view. Unlike the Sunday Telegraph article it refuses to sit on the fence. Both the articles are similar to each other in some of the ways they were written. For instance it is written like a story with intervening quotes and opinions from different people. Frances Crook says anyone should have the right to free speech and free expression. The article also stops to explain facts to the reader such as letters or phone calls to or from the prison can be read. The Mail on Sunday talks about many more different aspects relating to the story than the Sunday telegraph which chooses to stick to the main story. The Mail on Sunday article speaks of the cash flow problem. It explains what else has happened to Archer whilst he has been in prison, used a weekend home leave to attend a champagne party and lavish lunches with prison staff . The word lavish suggests to the reader that Archer is having an easy time, living the life of a high society, rich man. It is said because the reporter feels that Archer should not be treated as well as he is, because he is a criminal. It goes on to explain that these breaches of prison rules has meant he has been transferred. The first paragraph of this article says Archer is expected to escape any severe punishment for publishing his Prison Diaries. It also states that the diary is likely to net him at least 300,000. The word escape suggests to the reader that Archer deserves a punishment and is getting out of it. The 300,000 is also a lot less than the 500,000 the Sunday Telegraph said Archer had gained. The effect of money written of in the first paragraph is also make the reader interested and angry that Archer has received so much money but will not be punished for his crime. The title stating that the punishment for Archers crime is to have his TV removed is not completely accurate. A prison service insider as one of a number of possible punishments mentioned it. The article picked up on this and enlarged its importance to capture readers attention because it sounds like a stupid and unfair punishment. The article also mentions that under Prison Rule 55, Archer could have seven weeks added to his sentence. However this is still a lot less than the extra year mentioned in the other article. The two Newspaper articles were very similar in many ways because they were of the same type of media. I found the main differences between them were the main facts of their stories, the punishments disagreed with each other. They both used different techniques for get the readers attention. The purpose of this was to capture and maintain an interest in the article. The overall purpose is to sell newspapers, and make money. The Sunday Telegraph is known to be a more trustworthy newspaper than tabloids such as the Mail on Sunday. The article in the Sunday Telegraph was a straightforward news event and it had no signs of being biased. All the facts were presented The Mail on Sunday appealed more to peoples need for gossip and scandal, it tried to make the reader feel annoyed and shocked. This article was better at catching the readers eye because of the layout and bright pictures. I think the Mail on Sunday also did a better job of maintaining the readers interest because most people like to read about the more scandalous side of stories and it is more interesting when an article sways your emotions. The Sunday Telegraph, can be trusted to give a relatively non-biased true account but it is less interesting to read. The language in both articles was very similar; both used simple, factual writing backed up with quotes.

How art improves our lives :: Essays Papers

How art improves our lives Art is a deliberate recreation of a new and special reality that grows from one’s response to life. It improves our existence by enhancing, changing and perpetuating our cultural composition. â€Å"The great artist knows how to impose their particular illusion on the rest of mankind,† proclaimed Guy de Mauspassant. Art improves our lives by directly and indirectly lift the morale of individuals, creating unity and social solidarity. Art creates awareness of social issues. Art may express and reflect the religious, political, and economical aspects of cultures. Art is and can be what ever a culture says it is or what ever they want it to be. It involves all people, those who conceive the idea of the work, execute it, provide necessary equipment and materials, and people who make up the audience for the work. Art forms as diverse as architecture, body decoration, clothing manufacture, and memorial sculptures reflect social status. Art echoes the natural world. It gives order to the world and intensity to human life. Art is a means of communion as well as communication. It provides pleasurable experiences along with cerebral wealth. Art also helps us to express our sentimental relations. It can beautify, surprise, inspire, stimulate imagination, inform, tell stories, and record history. As someone once said, â€Å"Art is life.† Therefore, as teachers, it is our jobs to teach students about life through art. We must have a penetrating comprehension ourselves of how art affects our society in order to teach our students to comprehend the complex purposes of art. We must be aware of the global culture and heritage from which art emerges. For example when teaching our students art aesthetics, we must never let them think that there is only one way to view art. Students, and especially teachers, should be acceptable to all ways in which art evaluation can occur. Western aesthetics is based primarily on individuality, originality, permanence, and form. These factors cannot be applied to art from every culture. For example, African art is understood in terms of rites of passage, healing, power, control, and commerce. Students must be taught to understand the principles of art as they are understood by the cultural group in which they belong in order to truly achieve global awareness and appreciation for art. Obvio usly, teachers must gain this awareness themselves before they can impart it to their students. Travel, physically or intellectually, is necessary for teachers who truly aspire to instill a devotion to open-mindedness and tolerance in their students.

History of Childcare Essay

History of Childcare Institutions and Qualifications During this essay I will be outlining the history of childcare institutions and qualifications and how they have developed in relation to the needs of the country, family needs and society. I will be looking at the following occupations wet nurses, governesses, nannies and nursery nurses and how qualifications have developed within these roles. I shall them to the qualifications of the present day and how gender and social class have impacted on these professions. Also I shall consider how the curriculum content has changed to meet the demands of the ever changing role of the childcare worker and how it relates to my teaching practice currently and in the future. When focusing on childcare a fundamental starting point is considering the role of the wet nurse and why she was popular and in demand. Wet nursing can date back as far as Moses. When the princess found baby Moses floating down the Nile she asked Miriam to find a wet nurse. In Ancient Egypt poor women used to supplement their income by becoming wet nurses for the upper class citizens or mothers who could not produce enough milk. Contracts were drawn up between them to â€Å"ensure the wet nurse provided good milk; preventing the wet nurse from nursing other children, having sex, or becoming pregnant† (history-wet-nursing, 2011). In many cultures wet nurses were an ancient tradition, for example within the Chinese culture, before the Second World War, wet nursing was common practice. The Communists tried to outlaw the practice but in the 21st century it has become a status symbol and due to the melamine milk scandal this ancient profession has seen a revival. Wet nurses in China today – must leave their own children, maintain a special diet, and undergo training in certain cases. Furthermore, if the babies that they nurse do not grow 20 grams each day, the wet nurses are fined by their employers. † (history-wet-nursing, 2011) During the Victorian era it was common place for the upper classes to employ a wet nurse as once more this was seen as a status symbol. Other reasons were that women of this era were usually married to authoritarian husbands who believed that breast feeding interfered with sex and the women themselves assumed that it would disfigure their breasts. Furthermore, during this time infant mortality was high and upper class families were encouraged to have large families to ensure the survival of an heir. Breast feeding provided a form of contraception and prevented ovulation thus, spacing out pregnancies. It wasn’t uncommon for babies to be sent to a wet nurse’s home for 18 to 24 months in order for the mother to become pregnant again. Often a wet nurse could be feeding many children including their own (sometimes to their detriment) and was either paid as well as a labourer or received nothing at all. Morisot, The Wet Nurse (1880) According to Valerie Fildes there were three types of wet nurses â€Å"the parish nurse who took in parish infants and was usually receiving poor relief herself; the nurses of the London Foundling Hospital who worked under the supervision of inspectors; the privately employed nurse, for whom wet-nursing was a significant and continuing occupation for which she received a good wage both in money and in kind: often she was cared for by her nurse-children in later life and received the occasional bequest from them. † (Fildes, 1988, p. 43) The qualities required for a wet nurse by the Victorians were worked out in enormous detail. She should have an attractive face, clear eyes, well made nose, red mouth, white teeth and a deep chest. The shape of her breasts was very important and their size shape and colour were all taken into account. She should also have a good personality, speak well, not be pregnant or desire the company of her husband. The reasons for these specific qualities were that it was thought that they would be transferred through the breast milk to the child (Fildes, 1988). By the middle of the 19th century wet nurses had virtually disappeared although isolated examples still existed (Churchill had a wet nurse). Surprisingly, wet nursing is making a reappearance in society today, there are wet nursing agencies where mothers can employ a wet nurse. Within society today, a woman may choose this option due to health reasons for example extreme illness or disease such as AIDS, an inability to produce breast milk or multiple births. What is more, this privilege is still confined to the upper and middle classes of society who have the means to pay. However, during the Victorian era this may have been seen as common practice but during this century it is quite often seen as a taboo subject,as pregnant mothers are given information about the benefits of breastfeeding from health professionals who actively encourage new mothers to conform with this practice. Alongside this there is the pressure from government initiative and more detailed research, that are changing the ideology of society thinking dismissing the Victorian idea of wet nursing as a status symbol. When comparing the person specification of the wet nurse in the 19th century to today’s wet nurses, it appears that there are some similarities such as being in good health, not smoking or consuming alcohol. Today, they are also vetted and tested for transferable diseases due to the fact more is understood about these by society and health professionals. Furthermore, wet nurses need to have a baby of a similar age in order for the milk to be of the right constitution and they would usually live or work in the employer’s home whereas previously they would have been taken to the wet nurses home. Following on from the wet nurse there is the emergence of nannies. The history of nannies can be traced back as far as the seventeenth century. The English nanny was an institution and was most popular during the 18th century. She is often portrayed in books and films as a kind, gentle woman who children adored; in fiction such as Jayne Eyre, Mary Poppins and more recently Nanny McFee. Before training developed nannies were often what were known as â€Å"gentlewomen† who had fallen on hard time and had to support themselves. They saw being a nanny as a solution to their predicament. Not all nannies were kind, some were extremely cruel. The nanny usually had a great deal of power and responsibility within the home; she had her own quarters to look after the children usually at the top of the house. The upper classes, employed nannies in order for them to continue their leisurely life style. Children at the time were also viewed as they should be â€Å"seen and not heard† and parents left it to the nanny to have total care and responsibility for their upbringing. Parents only spent a short time in the day with them accompanied by the nanny. The nanny would usually have a nursery maid to assist her who would do the menial tasks such as preparing meals and laundry. On the whole, nannies learned from other nannies and progression was usually nursery – maid, nursemaid or under nurse, sometimes a period of working as a second nanny, and then finally a nanny in her own right. In 1892 the first training college was set up by Emily Ward. She ran a school for young children in Norland Place and recognised the need for training. She was one of the earliest advocates of the Froebel system of teaching which was based on the approach â€Å"that all children are born good, and that to help them develop, adults need to provide the right environment and activities. These protect the child from learning bad habits of â€Å"evil tendencies†(Tassoni, 2006, p19). Emily Ward found that many of the students who went to her for training were not academic and found the Froebel examination too difficult despite her students being very practical and having a great love of children. Emily Ward recognised that if the students could be trained, not only would it benefit the children but would provide a new profession for girls of the educated classes. Students were charged a fee of thirty six pounds which covered six months training. The students were also expected to wear a uniform which Emily Ward thought would identify them as professionals and not have them mistaken for housemaids. This leads me to believe that originally the role the nanny was seen for women to earn a respectable living when they found themselves to be in a financial predicament rather than needing a formal qualification. However, during the latter stage of the 19th century the introduction of a formal qualification and fee for training transformed nanning into a profession, but still only allowed educated middle class, girls the opportunity. The students training was broken down into the following:- â€Å"Three fortnights for cooking, laundry, and domestic work, and six weeks spent in the Norland Place School, looking on at lessons, and giving help to the teachers. † (Gibbs, 1960, pg 178) Lectures given in the morning and the afternoons were spent exercising (walks in the fresh air), the evenings were for learning needlework. The second three months were spent in hospital training and the students were then given one month’s holiday before taking a post in a private family as a children’s nurse. If the employer was happy with the student she would continue for another three months and only then would the Norland Certificate be awarded. By today’s standards training was centred around domestic science rather than understanding the child and how they develop, which would confer with the ideology of woman’s role within society at that time as the traditional housewife. However, at a glance nanny’s of today are still required to fulfil domestic duties such as cooking and laundry but this is not curricular based but, has more emphasis on the development of the child. By 1904 the training changed slightly as it was realized that students needed to gain practical experience to do their job and a small nursery was set up overseen by experienced children’s nurses with the students acting as under-nurses. This practice was highly regarded by employers when the students obtained posts, and is seen favourably and useful by employers today. By 1924 fees had risen to eighty pounds and the college expanded. During the Second World War the college and nursery evacuated to Devon, but many of the students gave up their training and joined the women’s services. After the war the college relocated to Chislehurst and students began training again. The course itself was extended from six months to twenty one months and included â€Å"domestic science, educations training, residential nursery training and a hospital nurse course. Students were also taught story-telling and games for the under-fives. (Gibbs, 1960, pg 180) Great emphasis was placed within the training on the needs of the small child, students gained experience of this from working in the nursery attached to the college and nursery schools and infant welfare centres outside of the college. An examination was also introduced at the end of the twenty one month’s – the National Nursery Examination Board qualification or NNEB. However, the Norland Certificate was only awarded to students who had completed one year’s satisfactory work in post which had been agreed by the Principal. Only two years were allowed from the end of training to obtain the full certificate. The college also encouraged students to stay in touch with them for at least three years after completing their certificate. They did this to ensure they could follow the career of each student and ensure that the standard of the college could be maintained. Norland nannies were well respected and there was a constant demand in private posts, nurseries and for posts as school matrons. Norland College was the first training college to open in 1892 and later other colleges began to appear. The Princess Christian Training College for Nursery Nurses opened in Manchester in 1901 under the direct patronage of the Princess Christian (third daughter of Queen Victoria). She suggested that instead of hospital training, a course of home nursing should be introduced. She also felt very strongly that a nurse should be forbidden to punish children herself. The need for training colleges was recognised by the Gentlewomen’s Employment Association (1891), Princess Christian was one of its patrons. Like the Norland College it provided employment for gentlewomen who needed to earn a living at a time when it was not generally acceptable. The Princess Christian College’s training duration was nine months unlike Norland’s six months and was hard and rigorous. Students had to be on duty at six and complete washing and cleaning before breakfast at seven. They had evening lectures and sewing after supper, no holidays and half a day off each week. The college also had testimonial books which recorded each nurse’s career, including a principal’s report and at the end of her training and a reference from her last employer. There is a stark contrast to the training that was provided in 1904 to the qualification we see today. Although there is still a strong emphasis on work based training the standard of the qualification is not as robust as in the 19th and early 20th century and this could be because students are being accepted onto courses with a required level of education and the demands of the role have changed. During the First World War The Princess Christian College ran into financial difficulties and in May 1918 closed. The college reopened again in 1919 in new premises but closed again at outbreak of the Second World War in order for children to be evacuated. After the war the college reopened and reorganised its syllabus and training to cover the changes in social conditions. Training was extended to eighteen months and covered the NNEB requirements (Gibbs, 1960). At the time Mary Ann Gibbs wrote her book â€Å"The Years of the Nannies† (1960) the fees for the eighteen month course at Princess Christian College was ? 270 for a resident student and ? 140 for a non-resident student. Bursaries and local authority grants were available for less well off students. The syllabus in 1960 included:- daily nursery work with babies and small children, instruction in the planning and preparation of infant diets, training in the milk kitchen, general cookery and nutrition, laundry and housewifery, needlework with design and care of children’s clothes, hygiene and physiology and the model nursery. † (Gibbs, 1960, Pg 190) The college awarded three certificates to students the first being a Probationers Certificate on completion of satisfactory training and a Nurse’s Certificate for two years satisfactory work, dating from the ranting of the Probationers Certificate. Finally, the student would be awarded The Special Certificate with Badge for three year’s satisfactory work, dating from the granting of the Nurse’s Certificate. After a student had completed her training she had quite a wide range of employment opportunities such as working as a nanny, working in day and residential nurseries, working with disabled children, school matron, nursery nurses on maternity wards and in passenger liner nurseries. A Night Nurse at The Princess Christian Training College Students who completed their training at the training colleges usually found employment through the college or through advertisements in women’s journals, or professional journals. One of those journals was â€Å"Nursery World† which was first launched in 1925 and is still used by our students today. The other was â€Å"The Lady† first published in 1885 which advertised many employment opportunities for nannies. Nannies are still very much in demand today, their role has changed in that they work closely with parents respecting their views and wishes and are more usually employed by working parents. They are required to be trained to Level 3 and most will have had experience with babies. In contrast, nannies back in the eighteenth century would always live with the family, whereas nannies now can live out. They also have the opportunity to work for families abroad and can command high salaries and additional benefits such as holidays and use of a car. [pic] Advertisements’ from Careers and Vocational Training 10th Edition The role of the nanny was important but you cannot overlook the role of the governess in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. She is portrayed in fiction as a lonely, somewhat stern figure yet many women entered this profession. She would have been a well educated middle-class woman who like the nanny had to provide a living for herself. In Victorian times women were seen as the responsibility of men – her husband, father or brother. When they were unable to provide financially for her, working as a governess was seen as socially acceptable. There was a high demand for governesses in he Victorian era (despite the expansion of public school education for boys and public school for the masses) especially if they were competent in teaching math’s and science. â€Å"The census of 1851 showed that there were 24,770 governesses in England and Wales. † (Hudson, 1970, p45) The greatest qualification of the governess was having a good background fitting in with the correct social class. She was required to write a letter of application in order for the family to consider her suitability. Many fa milies listed subjects they required their governess to teach. â€Å"Wanted, a Governess, on Handsome Terms. Governess – a comfortable home, but without salary, is offered to any lady wishing for a situation as governess in a gentleman’s family, residing in the country, to instruct two little girls in music, drawing, and English; a thorough knowledge of the French language is required. †( Advertisement, The Times. (London: 27 June, 1845). The upper class families still continued to educate their children at home and it was down to the family to decide when their children would enter the school room. In order to ensure their employability they sought to improve their education and this lead them gaining a footing in higher education. During the nineteenth century, professional books and journals were printed for governesses to use. These were read among other teachers and concerned parents to share educational practices and lessons, and keep The Governess them informed of the changing educational reform in the Victorian era. In 1843 The Governesses’ Benevolent Institution was formed and it helped educate governesses and provided aid for retired or out of work governesses in and around London. It also provided a registry for governesses and families seeking a governess to place their information. This was similar to an employment agency today. Along with this and pressure from the governesses the institute expanded and included a college for governesses to study and improve their education. A donation from the Prince and Princess of Wales enabled funding for free night classes. The Queens College was founded in 1848 and its goal was to provide qualifications for governesses, it provided â€Å"Lectures for Ladies† from which at the end of study they received a Diploma. Almost all the lectures were given by men from Kings College, and older women known as â€Å"Lady Visitors† attended to act as chaperones to the female students. It is clear that despite considerable changes from the era of the wet nurse there is still a vast divide between what is considered beyond the realms of the woman as it is the man that is considered able to lecture in the core subjects whilst the woman is only expected to understand and deliver to her charges. The Queens college was seen as an institution offering higher education for women. In the last decade of the nineteenth century the Queens College and The House of Education developed a curriculum specifically for the training of governesses and this saw a drastic change in the profession of the governess. Families now wanted to employ governesses with certificates and training in education rather than, be qualified solely by their family background. We must take into account that at this time education for girls was seen as less important and it was not until the 1900 that attitudes changed when girls started to enter public high school and boarding schools and this resulted in the decline of the governess. Governesses are still employed today but their role has changed. Today they need to hold a degree and at least two years experience as an educator. They may live with the family or live out. They usually have sole charge of the children’s education although in some cases they may just supplement the child’s education. This could be coaching a child to obtain their eleven plus, or providing additional help for specific subjects, or in all subjects, with the goal of preparing students to apply to and be accepted into good colleges. They may also be employed if a family moves to another country so that children can learn the language or maintain the education that correlates to their native country. The profession is still largely female orientated despite the pay and conditions being good. This could be due to several factors such as living in the employer’s home and societies view of a male in a governess role. The Second World War saw an increase in day nurseries as men went away and women were called upon to take over the work left to do at home. The Ministry of Health organised and supervised this provision. In view of this more nursery nurses needed to be trained and in January 1944 The National Nursery Examination Board was formed and they established an examination for all nursery nurses. The first examination was taken in 1946. The syllabus and training has changed considerably over the years, notably in 1965, the age range was extended to seven years of age, before this students trained to work with children up to five years. This decision was prompted by the increase use of classroom assistance in primary schools and the Plowden Report’s (1967) recommendation that nursery nurses should be used for this position. â€Å"In 1975 the Bullock Report, A Language for Life made the same recommendation that nursery nurses should be used as trained assistants and work alongside teachers in helping language development in young children. (Herrman, 1979, p. 21). After the Second World War provision that was put in place for childcare was not expanded further. This was partly due to men needing jobs that women had done in the war, and society’s view that women should be in the home looking after their children. The 1950’s saw the beginning of Playgroups, these were parent co-operatives formed in private homes or community halls. They started in order to fill the gap in nursery provision for three and four year olds. â€Å"In 1961 Belle Tutaev wrote to the Guardian offering help to anybody who wanted to start up a playgroup. She received letters from all over the country and playgroups burgeoned and grew. † (Dean, 2005, Pg 13) The Pre-School Playgroup Association (PPA) was set up in 1962, â€Å"the aims of the organisation at first were two-fold: mutual support for those running groups and also the lobbying of government to emphasise the importance of pre-school provision and to seek the withdrawal of Circular 8/60 which prevented state nursery expansion. † (PLA Factsheet) Playgroups relied heavily on voluntary staff and on mothers to provide play activities for the children. Many of these volunteers were untrained due to lack of funding. This restricted their work opportunities and workers were given little recognition. An additional reason for unqualified staff was that until the Children’s Act 1989 playgroups had little statutory guidance or regulation. Those playgroups that were affiliated with the PPA did have access to training (short courses in play work) if they were able to fund it. The PPA in 1991 established themselves as training providers under the National Council for Vocational Qualifications. Other childcare provision between 1946 and 1990 such as private nurseries and local authority nurseries continued to employ NNEB qualified staff or equivalent. In 1990 there were various childcare qualifications that students were able to study. The main qualifications for nursery nursing were the NNEB, BTEC National Diploma and the Certificate in Post-Qualifying Studies (CPQS). The NNEB being the longest established and well known was still a requirement for some posts but it did not give a valid entry into higher education. However, the BTEC National Diploma was thought to be more academic and allowed students to progress onto more advanced education and training being the equivalent of â€Å"A† Levels. When you look back at the history of the NNEB it was not set out to be a qualification that would allow progress to higher education although comparing it to today’s CACHE Level 3 Diploma it was a lot more rigorous. The selections of qualifications were many and in 1991 a system of National Accreditation was introduced to link qualifications. NVQ’s were introduced in 1991 in attempt to give experienced staff without a qualification a chance to achieve a Level 2 and 3. The NVQ syllabus involved students showing competence in the workplace through assessment whilst building a portfolio of knowledge evidence. This qualification in theory did fill a training gap but funding still remained an issue along with adults having to study around family commitments and also if they had the academic confidence to study. Due to the Start Right Report of 1991 by Bell in which he identified numerous routes into teaching, this was an attempt to provide a standardized route into comprehensive training and also of helping workers to progress through the qualification system. Up until 1999 qualifications remained unchanged in what were available and it left employers and students confused as to what qualification was at what level. In 1999 a new training framework was introduced (QCF) and this mapped out the levels of each qualification. This gave clear guidance for students, employers and training establishments to assess their current qualifications. In 2002 the new NVQ Level 4 was introduced *they were to provide a route for those working in senior management level or advanced practitioners† (Pugh,2001, P. 190) they were academically and practically demanding qualifications and carried 120 CATs points. This was a way of gaining entry to the Early Years Foundation Degree. In 1994 CACHE was established and merged with The National Nursery Education Board and The Council for Early Years Awards. In 2001 the National Association for Maternal and Child Welfare (NAMCW) merged with CACHE, and Her Majesty the Queen became the patron. CACHE at this point became the awarding body and offered various Childcare qualifications from Entry Level to NVQ 4. Since joining Canterbury College in February 2006 the qualifications have changed twice, with a third change is about to take place. The delivery of the courses has not changed in that students still attend placements and have to show competence. The only difference to the NNEB is that the students don’t work with children attached to the college. We have placement visitors that visit the student in their placement who assess their competence and report back to their course tutor. Level 3 students up until 2007 still had to sit an end of course exam in order to qualify as well as passing unit assignments. The qualification carried UCAS points to allow entry to university depending on the overall grade achieved. It was quite clear at the time that the grades students achieved were quite low and very few went onto university. I believe this to be for the following reasons (a) students were not properly assessed at interview and were on the wrong level of course, (b) there was a high level of turnover of staff which affected the teaching of the students and causing disaffection. There was also a big drop out rate. I remember well, my first day in the classroom, being bombarded with complaints. In 2007 CACHE reviewed the content of the syllabus as the previous syllabus was quite dated and childcare practice had changed considerably. The new syllabus carries the same format of placement and academic work and still continued to carry UCAS points. The grading of the assignments changed into a point system instead of the previous system of pass or refer. The students also have to complete a research task and a short seen scenario exam. This I feel has led to students achieving higher grades and more have gone onto university. The department has been running this Level 3 Diploma for the past three years but last year we were advised that the qualification would hange along with NVQ’s being discontinue. This has had a big impact on the department as a whole. The introduction of the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young Peoples Workforce will be the only qualification available for students to study to become childcare workers. The delivery of the course is very much based on the NVQ delivery of observed assessment and a knowledge portfolio. We have started to run a pilot group for this new qualification an d it has involved various changes in the department and in the teaching. Students now have to be allocated an assessor who has an A1 qualification and students only attend three days a week every other week. Already, this has posed problems in that the course is designed to be taught holistically and not unit led as the previous qualifications. It is designed so that the assessor and tutor work closely together. This does not work in our department as assessors are constantly out observing students leaving little time for feedback to the tutor. This makes it very difficult to support students and ensure that they are progressing. However, we have recently been informed that due to the qualification not meeting the needs of the employers and students the previous qualification will continue running for at least another year while they review the course. In conclusion, childcare and qualification has developed in line with the needs of the family and society starting with the wet nurse through to nannies and governess. It has also developed in line with government policy and the social and economic needs of the country along with current thinking of child development at the time. Childcare roles have not disappeared but still exist in a modernised way as can be seen in the reappearance of the wet nurse. The status of childcare however still remains low and this is reflected in pay and conditions. Many nurseries still don’t pay above minimum wage or provide sick pay, and often only the minimum holiday requirement. Until this is addressed the status and moral of childcare workers will not rise. There is still a culture of thinking that â€Å"anyone can look after children† and it is still a predominantly female role despite campaigns to attract male candidates. The calibre of students that is seen during interviews are on the whole, students from lower class backgrounds which could have contributed to the introduction of EMA. The fact that students don’t have to pay fees for childcare courses and its workplace element, adds to the perception that they are easy courses. The college funding system makes it very difficult to decline students who we feel not appropriate to the course, and the system makes it difficult to withdraw students who prove to be unsuitable. This does not lead to providing the best possible care for young children. Significantly and in contrast to this is that to train as a Norland Nanny today requires a student to pay full fees and this only attracts the more affluent students who want to train in the profession. Also, to employ a Norland Nanny, is seen as a status symbol by families, thus highlighting social status despite it’s qualification being the same as achieved at college. The only difference being that the Norland Certificate is achieved at the end of the course on top of the qualification and seen as a â€Å"stamp of excellence† The old range of qualifications enabled students to access the qualification that best suited their learning and training needs such as on the job training or a full time college course. The new qualification does not take these needs into account. The new qualification does not fit with young students who have no experience. This is one of the issues that has been highlighted along with the course only being a year in duration. It is quite worrying that a sixteen year old could become a fully qualified level 3 in a supervisory position with only one year of training. There are also wider issues in that the government has reduced funding, (currently there is no funding for over nineteen’s) along with the demise of EMA, making access to college less accessible for less well off students which causes a social divide. The next year will provide interesting times in childcare qualifications and a review in our own department in the teaching and delivery will provide its own challenges in that e-learning is being introduced along with apprentiships. This will mean training in the use to technology as well as new assessment methods. Staff will have to adapt their delivery of lessons as well as developing a closer working partnership with assessors, which at the current time is fragmented. There will need to be changes in the current systems in place and this will no doubt cause frustration to some staff who find adapting to change difficult. On a more positive note the updating of skills for staff will only improve the range of teaching techniques available to them, hopefully providing better outcomes for students.

The Present Government Is Planning to Increase Compulsory Education to Age 18. Why Is Such a Measure Necessary? What Are the Reasons for the State to Implement Such a Law?

The present government is planning to increase compulsory education to age 18. Why is such a measure necessary? What are the reasons for the state to implement such a law? The proposed policy of changing compulsory schooling from 16 to 18 clearly shows the governments vision in how to they intend take a stronghold grip on economy and its problems. Governments aims have always been to raise attainment for all children and â€Å"to close the gap between the richest and the poorest† (Lemieux, 2006: ). From the late 1970s to 1991 the disposable income of the top quintile group increased form 26 to 42 percent, whilst the bottom quintile group fell from 10 to 7 percent (www. statistics. gov. uk), and this has increased further in current times. A possible reason for this increased inequality is the shifts in industry from non-skilled workers to skilled workers over the past 20 years, and educational systems failures to meet these changes. Raising education therefore would help create the supply of labour that industries demand, and help increase economic growth and GDP; both vital requirements in order for the country to come out of the recession, which is an integral part in all government policy. With record levels of unemployment, it is without doubt that this proposed policy intends to target and reduce the unemployment rate, especially amongst young individuals, as more education leads to better job opportunities in the future. Increasing education requirements would therefore theoretically solve the problem of increasing pressure by economists to cut costs and solve the ever-growing dependence of many on welfare. It is important to first define the human capital theory as it plays an integral part in the following points. Human capital theory is that the more educated and individual, the greater earning potential for that individual as he/she is more productive due to the skills they have attained. Belfield’s definition of human capital is the most commonly accepted as â€Å"an individuals embodied skills above their raw ability† (Belfield, 2000: 17). Based on this idea, raising the schooling age to 18 would therefore make young students obtain more skills, becoming skilled and more productive leading to greater job prospects and greater earnings potential. In the long run this would lead to increased consumption, less dependence on welfare due to less unemployment, increase GDP and help boost the economy out of recession. The proposed policy is necessary because it directly tackles youth unemployment that is crippling the current economy. With recent figures stating that as of September 2010, 2. 45 million people are unemployed (www. bc. co. uk), it is important the government aims to reduce this to help boost the economy, and improve national morale. By increasing the schooling age, the government hopes to solve the increasing number of young people unemployed. NEET is a government term that shows the number of people not in education, employment, or training. Recent figures show that â€Å"183,000, 9. 2% of young people aged 1 6-18 in England were NEET at end of 2009† (www. publications. parliament. uk). It is an alarming figure as it is one of the worst in the OECD countries, and needs to be tackled. This is because being NEET at a young age is associated with negative outcomes in later life, each having a cost not just for the individual but also for the economy as a whole (www. publications. parliament. uk). By implementing the proposed policy, this figure of 9. 2% of 16-18 year olds being NEET would be eradicated, and improve their chances of finding employment after leaving school. Greater human capital, revised outlook on goals and better decision-making are the result of more education, and as a result, in the long run, unemployment would fall, and there would be less strain on the welfare system. However, such a law is only effective if it helps meet the needs of the labour market. Labour market patterns and trends have played an important role in the decision to implement the proposed policy. Over recent years â€Å"there have been shifts in relative labour demand that have favoured skilled workers† (Machin & Van Reefen). The 1980s saw radical developments in technology and is often referred to as â€Å"the information age†. Computers, advanced machinery, and other technical change â€Å"has had a clear effect of increasing the relative demand for skilled workers† (M & Van R). This intuitively has led to a decrease in demand for non/semi-skilled workers in the labour market. This phenomenon is enhanced by the globalisation of many industries, and the membership of the EU, leading to many industries using alternative cheap labour in other countries; â€Å"increased foreign competition has damaged the position of less skilled workers† (M & Van R). Hough put forward the argument that the education system and its role is often â€Å"far from what the industry requires† (Hough, 1987: 15). Although this was not directly to do with the school leaving age, it is still relevant in this argument because it is clear that now skilled labour is what industry requires, and by increasing the schooling age to 18, the education system would help create more skilled workers through greater human capital accumulation and allocative efficiency, leading them to be more adaptable to work in such skilled professions. Therefore the increasing of the compulsory schooling age could be used to reduce unemployment rates. This is because labour supply of youths would meet the requirements of labour demand, something that hasn’t been the case over past years. This in turn would increase productivity and output, and help boost the economy, which is another important government aim. Therefore the proposed law can be seen as a way of tackling unemployment. Industries have been crippled by the recession, and the economy is growing at a very slow rate. By making young individuals more educated, it is widely accepted that this would lead to increased productivity and greater economic growth. It is based on the assumption of human capital theory: more education leads to increased productivity levels. Therefore by feeding the labour market with more skilled individuals (which is what the market demands), productivity and output within industries would increase. As the policy would increase education levels, wage levels will rise as individuals who pre-policy implementation would enter semi-skilled work, enter more skilled professions, leading to an increase in national income. With more skilled labour entering the labour force, industries will be able to undertake more skilled/capital intensive practices as they now have more able workers to carry out such operations. This leads on from the previous point, as productivity will increase as well as output. In the long run this would lead to increased consumption therefore the economy will grow. By increasing the schooling age to 18, the government are taking a direct approach to stimulate economic growth in the long run and increase output. Since the introduction of new labour in 1997, recent governments have constantly tried to reduce inequality in society; â€Å"to close the gap between the richest and the poorest† (Lemieux, 2006: ). Inequality in wages have risen dramatically in the UK over the past 20 years, with wage growth â€Å"more evident at the upper tail of the distribution† (Slemrod, 1996: 99). The increasing of the schooling age can be seen as another instrument in solving this. It can be linked to the previous point of meeting the demands of the labour market. It is often the case that when a child leaves school at 16, the opportunities for that individual to obtain high earnings are very limited, as they do not have the skills to compete with more educated individuals and therefore are often limited to low paid, non/semi-skilled professions. Hence by increasing compulsory schooling age to 18, individuals who would normally find themselves at the lower tail of the wage distribution would have potential increased earnings due to the more human capital accumulated, and reduce the gap between the two ends of the wage distribution. A counter argument to this is similar to the problem induced by the implementation of the minimum wage in affecting wage distribution with the wages of the those at the top end of the distribution also increasing. As a result inequality would be unaffected. Having said that, the fact that earnings prospects for young individuals would be greatly enhanced by the policy, shows that reducing inequality in the sense of bettering individuals standard of living, shows that this proposed policy would still be very effective in tackling the issue. The government is under great pressure to reduce the welfare state in order to help reduce the huge deficit of the country. The welfare system used to be a safety net for individuals, but unfortunately has now turned into a fishing net with many abusing it. Increasing the compulsory schooling age to 18 could be seen as a way to reduce the potential dependence people could have on welfare. By allowing students to develop their skills and have greater human capital, the prospects of them finding employment are that much greater, therefore reducing the possibility of unemployment and hence claiming off the state. One of the biggest strains on the state is teen pregnancy as it can lead to a vicious cycle of future offspring going through the same direction of life. Teen fertility is â€Å"driven by immediate thinking-efforts† (Oreopoulous) and poor decision making that is the result of little education. Conception rates for England was â€Å"40. 5 per 1000 girls aged 15-17† in 2010 (www. dcsg. gov. uk), which although is down on previous figures, is still regarded as to high by government officials. Oreopoulous states that education leads to better decision-making and eradicates the present orientated preferences of individuals (Oreopoulous, year : ). Increasing the schooling age by two years therefore can only be a positive step in trying to reduce teen fertility, and hence reduce the strain on the welfare state; and as a result can be shown to be another reason why the government are opting for such a policy. Finally, one must discuss the alternative approaches that the government could have taken instead of increasing the school leaving age. ALMPs are a government tool used to â€Å"raise output and welfare and reallocate labour between sub-markets† (Boeri & Ours, 2008: 261)). However, it is viable to say those ALMPs such as training and activation programmes will be used in conjunction with the new law; therefore strengthening the possible success of the proposed law further in tackling the problems of the labour market. After analyzing and evaluating the proposed law of raising the school leaving age, I have come to conclude that the government have felt that such a measure would: tackle youth unemployment, help create the supply that labour markets demand, increase production and output leading to economic growth, reduce wage and social inequalities, and reduce the dependence many might have on welfare. All these points help build towards the bigger picture the government has: to get the country on the right path to get out of the recession. It is a law that will reap rewards in the long run and will make inroads into changing the â€Å"careless and unambitious culture† of today’s youth. The law will be more beneficial to the country if it is worked in conjunction with alternative labour market policies such as training, and activation policies that will help those who leave school at 18 unemployed. It can be seen in broader aspects boosting the countrys moral and self belief and help Britains labour market and industry compete greater internationally. In my opinion is it is a necessary measure, and such a law will go a long way in helping stabalise and boost the economy. Bibliography Belfield, Clive R. Economic Principles of Education. Cheltenham: Edward Publishing Limited, 2000 Hough, J. R, Education And The National Economy. USA: Croom Helm, 1987 Lemeiux Machin and Van Reefen Slemrod, Joel. Tax Progressivity and Income Inequality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Oreopoulous Boeri, Tito and Ours, Van Jan. The Economics of Imperfect Labour Markets. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2008. Other sources www. statistics. gov. uk www. bbc. co. uk www. publcations. parilament. uk www. dcsg. gov. uk

Frederick Douglass Essays

Frederick Douglass Essays Frederick Douglass Essay Frederick Douglass Essay What he most awful. that I most desired. ( Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass pg. 48 ) Frederick Douglass states that cognition and literacy are great signifiers of power. Slaves are considered belongings and are non treated with regard. and in his novel. Douglass expresses how he was able to get the better of the affraies that he had to confront contrasting it with how of import it is to be literate. From being a former slave for life. to the instruction that his Masterss revoked from him. this man’s life was filled with adversities. In this novel. Douglass expresses the importance of cognition by depicting how he was able to larn. read. and write. besides what he discovered by going literate. This essay focuses on the ways literacy played an of import function in his life. how cognition can on occasion do you experience severely. and how cognition being suppressed from those who are slaves affected the running of the slave system in the United States. There can be no freedom without instruction. This sentence was written by a slave named Fredrick Douglass. During bondage. masters†¦ maintain their slaves therefore ignorant ( Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass pg. 19 ) hence. to maintain them from arising against their proprietors and doing pandemonium throughout the South. Douglass writes how he was unable to go on having the instruction that his kept woman started to supply him with because her hubby instructed her to make otherwise. A nigga should cognize nil but to obey his master-to bash as he is told to make. Learning would botch the best nigga in the universe. If you teach a slave how to read. they would go unwieldy and have no value to his maestro. ( Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass pg. 47 ) : Frederick Douglass The slave society during the antebellum period was focused on slave trade as the main economic activity. Slavery was essentially a labor system, which was used to drive the agricultural revolution. Slavery was an institution, which was influential in shaping the state of affairs such as the economy, politics and culture of a given state in the United States. Majority of the slave trade took place in the south of the United States given the presence of large farms, which required labor for production of raw materials. Slavery was primarily influenced by the growth in agriculture necessitating for labor to increase production in the large plantations, which characterized the south of the United States. This was driven by the ability of the farmers to access large and controllable labor in comparison to the small controllable labor before the beginning of slavery. The daily lives of the salves were marked by the provision of labor to the large-scale farmers. The slaves usually existed in the formations of large families, which were used as a survival mechanism by the slaves given the extreme inhumane living conditions (McCurdy, Frederick, 19). The antebellum slave society was marked by the presence of numerous incidences of inhumane treatment of slaves because they were essentially considered as property by the slave traders and owners. The slaves experienced unfathomable cruelty from their masters because they were considered as less human. They were driven by the use of the whip with the aim of ensuring that they were adequately intimidated to fight for their rights and privileges from their masters. In addition, this was also used to encourage the ignorance, which existed amongst the slaves. 2. Power wielded by the white salve masters gave them the ability to influence the conduct of the trade as well as the ability to control large labor in their farms. The whips made from cow skins were used as the tools for inculcating fear through intimidation by whipping the slaves to respect the commands of their masters. The ability of the white slave traders to engage in the sale and purchase of slaves was an indication of the power, which they yielded over the slaves. This enabled them to term the slaves as property, which could be sold and pushed to provide maximum benefits using the whip as the tool of driving the slaves (Tise, 19). Additionally segregation was another form of power, which ensured that the slaves who were all black remained in ignorance and misery. They were separated in all social aspects, which were brought about by the denial of their basic liberties such as the liberty to move and access to basic amenities. For instance, a slave was not warranted the ability to sit while his master was talking. In addition, a slave was also unable to give opinion of provide defense for mistakes or incidences in the conduct of his or her duties in the farm. This was usually followed by whipping to ensure that intimidation of the slaves was actualized (Schneider, Carl, 29). Power of the slave owners was exhibited by their ability to own large numbers of slaves. This was also in part determined by the size of land owned by a slave master. This was relevant in that a large tract of land was usually marked by the presence of large numbers of slaves to provide the much-needed free labor as well as ensuring that the white masters were able to exhibit power over the slaves. The ability of the slave masters to control large numbers of slaves is an express indication that this was aimed at showing the slaves that the white masters were inherently powerful. 3. Douglass and other salves were able to resist the rule of their white masters and subject to hard labor as other slaves through taking advantage of the anti-slavery reform. Some of the slaves were also able to escape from the captivity of their slave masters by escaping the persecution exercised by the masters with an aim of instilling fear by intimidation. Douglass was of the opinion that enlightenment of the slave was the appropriate means of ensuring that the slaves were able to accrue knowledge, which would enable them rise, form their levels of ignorance and begin a quest for freedom from the captivity of persecution by the slave masters (Guelzo, 34). Because of his ability to accrue wages , Douglass was able to pay for his privileges to live in freedom such enabled him to exercise numerous liberties such as the ability to exist in freedom by exercising liberties such as ease of movement, private means of boarding, and individual ability to determine his load of work. This was however granted at a cost, he was to make weekly payments to the master for exercise of such privileges. He was able to seek employment elsewhere and was owned by another master to whom he gave dues on a weekly basis. However, he had a specific focus, which was to ensure that he would run away from the slaving conditions in the state into another part of the country. He was able to flee into New York with the use of his saving which he had accrued in the conduct of his duties for his slave master. 4. Power exercised by the slaveholders was essentially used to ensure that the slaves were bound by the fear of escape, which was actualized by the slave masters through intimidation using the whip. The civil war between the union and the states in the south was expressly driven by the calls for abolishment of slave trade by the government. Slave trade was the largest trading activity, which enabled white slave traders to accrue immense wealth. In addition, the notion of the presence of freedom for the slaves was a translation to the loss of free labor, which was availed to the slave masters. Hence, the loss of labor would result in losses in their farms in terms of lack of labor to take care of the large farms and vineyards, which characterized the south of the United States (Tise, 41). The deep divisions between the states form the union and those in the south were driven by the economic conditions. The south generated a lot of its wealth from the use of slave labor to amass wealth for the slaveholders though the use of free labor. In addition the deep divisions which were based on race were also among other drivers of the civil war in that the freedom to the slaves would amount to loss of majority of the wealth of the slaveholders as they held on to slaves as part of their wealth or property. Hence, calls to free slaves translated to return to poverty for numerous slave traders in the south. In addition, it was also unfathomable by the white people to exist in a country where all white and slaves were essentially black, to access similar privileges and liberties. The north was marked by the presence of access to liberties by freed slaves similar to liberties, which were accessible to the white people or the slave masters and their families. In addition, agriculture was the main economic activity, which was directly related to the legalization of slave trade in the south of the United States (Douglass, 37). The reduced economic activity was a translation to the loss of power, which was held by the white people in the south. Their inability to give command because of freeing of the slaves was a translation to the loss of numerous privileges such as hiring labor to service the extensive farms, which had been traditionally manned by the slaves at no cost by the farmers who held large numbers of slaves. In essence, it was a fear for the attainment of equality between the slaves and their masters and the subsequent loss of the power over the slaves and its privileges. Work Cited Douglass, Frederick. Autobiographies: Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave; My bondage and my freedom; Life and times of Frederick Douglass. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 1994.Print. Guelzo, Allen C. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. New York: Simon Schuster, 2004. Print. McCurdy, Michael and Frederick Douglass. Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words. New York: Knopf, 1994. Print. Schneider, Dorothy, and Carl J. Schneider. Slavery in America: From Colonial Times to the Civil War: an Eyewitness History. New York: Facts on File, 2000. Print. Tise, Larry E. Proslavery: A History of the Defense of Slavery in America, 1701-1840. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1987. Print.

The Red Turban Rebellion in China

The Red Turban Rebellion in China Disastrous floods on the Yellow River washed away crops, drowned villagers, and changed the rivers course so that it no longer met up with the Grand Canal. The hungry survivors of these catastrophes began to think that their ethnic-Mongol rulers, the Yuan Dynasty, had lost the Mandate of Heaven. When those same rulers forced 150,000 to 200,000 of their Han Chinese subjects to turn out for a massive labor corvee to dig out the canal once more and join it to the river, the laborers rebelled. This uprising, called the Red Turban Rebellion, signaled the beginning of the end for Mongol rule over China. The first leader of the Red Turbans, Han Shantong, recruited his followers from the forced laborers who were digging out the canal bed in 1351. Hans grandfather had been a sect leader of the White Lotus sect, which provided the religious underpinnings for the Red Turban Rebellion. Yuan Dynasty authorities soon captured and executed Han Shantong, but his son took his place at the head of the rebellion. Both Hans were able to play upon their followers hunger, their displeasure at being forced to work without pay for the government, and their deep-seated dislike of being ruled by barbarians from Mongolia. In northern China, this led to an explosion of Red Turban anti-government activity. Meanwhile, in southern China, a second Red Turban uprising began under the leadership of Xu Shouhui. It had similar complaints and goals to those of the northern Red Turbans, but the two were not coordinated in any way.   Although the peasant soldiers originally identified with the color white (from the White Lotus Society) they soon switched to the much luckier color red. To identify themselves, they wore red headbands or hong jin, which gave the uprising its common name as the Red Turban Rebellion. Armed with makeshift weapons and farm implements, they should not have been a real threat to the Mongol-led armies of the central government, but the Yuan Dynasty was in turmoil. Initially, an able commander called Chief Councillor Toghto was able to put together an effective force of 100,000 imperial soldiers to put down the northern Red Turbans. He succeeded in 1352, routing Hans army. In 1354, the Red Turbans went on the offensive once more, cutting the Grand Canal.  Toghto assembled a force traditionally numbered at 1 million, although that is no doubt a gross exaggeration.  Just as he began to move against the Red Turbans, court intrigue resulted in the emperor dismissing Toghto. His outraged officers and many of the soldiers deserted in protest of his removal, and the Yuan court was never able to find another effective general to lead the anti-Red Turban efforts. During the late 1350s and early 1360s, local leaders of the Red Turbans fought among themselves for control of soldiers and territory. They expended so much energy on each other that the Yuan government was left in relative peace for a time. It seemed as if the rebellion might collapse under the weight of different warlords ambition. However, Han Shantongs son died in 1366; some historians believe that his general, Zhu Yuanzhang, had him drowned. Although it took two more years, Zhu led his peasant army to capture the Mongol capital at Dadu (Beijing) in 1368. The Yuan Dynasty fell, and Zhu established a new, ethnically-Han Chinese dynasty called the Ming.

Hollow Victory, On the Brink of the Revolution Essay

Hollow Victory, On the Brink of the Revolution - Essay Example In addition, 13 million from among the Allied powers were wounded compared to 8.3 million from among the Central Powers. The Allied powers also reported 4 million either missing or held as prisoners of war, while the Central Powers reported 3.6 million. In total the Allied powers suffered 22 million casualties altogether compared to 15 million for the Central Powers. The total death toll for the First World War was 8.5 million, and total casualties were 37 million (History Learning Site, 2012). Human suffering during the First World War was not limited to soldiers however. According to Tucker (2005), the consequences for the First World War were â€Å"far-reaching† (p. xxix). For instance approximately 750,000 German civilians perished as â€Å"a result of the British naval blockade† (Tucker, 2005, p. xxix). World War I also marked the first case of genocide during the 20th century. This case of genocide was inflicted by the Ottoman Empire against Armenia. The Ottoman E mpire murdered 1.5 million men, women and children in Armenia (United States of America, Congressional Record, 2001). The financial consequences of the First World War were also enormous. Total war expenditures were 82 billion US Dollars which is equivalent to 209 billion US dollars today (Hardach, 1981). The high expenditure is attributed to two main reasons. First, the power struggles emerging in Europe left all European powers willing to pledge all assets in order to emerge the victors during the First World War. Secondly, the First World War represented the first major conflict of the industrialized world. Thus, technological advances offered both sides unprecedented machinery and artillery. Naturally, both sides were compelled to invest in more sophisticated weaponry and machinery if they were to have any chance of succeeding against the enemy (Oliver & Aldcroft, 2007). According to Thompson (1983) Churchill’s eventual analysis of the First World War in the aftermath of the Second World War, was that the First World War set in motion significant cost for mankind. As the first part of the two Great Wars, the First World War saw the political and financial destruction of Europe and can be credited with given birth to Communism in the Soviet Union. According to Thompson (1983), in looking back on the First World War, Churchill noted that: Events passed very largely outside the scope of conscious choice. Governments and individuals conformed to the rhythm of the tragedy, and swayed and staggered forward in helpless violence, slaughtering and squandering on ever-increasing scales, till injuries were wrought to the structure of human society which a century will not efface, and which may conceivable prove fatal to the present civilization (p. 195). Thus the cost of the First World War, from Churchill’s perspective was timeless and can be measured politically, socially and economically. Assignment 2: On the Brink of Revolution Afrikistan is a count ry in North Africa with a disproportionately large youth population. Afrikistan’s dictator has been in power for upward of thirty years. Afrikistan’s primary source of income is derived from oil reserves which are owned by the State. Increasing literacy and access to social and news media via the internet have rendered Afrikistan’s youth profoundly aware of their diminished returns and their dictator’

The Student Loans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Student Loans - Essay Example There is a study that shows areas having higher growth in the student debt, depicting lower development in the entrepreneurial spirit where there is a lower number of businesses with one to four employees (www.nytimes.com). In most cases, when students use up their capacity of debt on student loans, they can’t commit that debt capacity elsewhere. These students end up not thinking of ever taking any loans in future thus killing the spirit of being their own bosses. This therefore shuts down the spirit and ability to create new businesses and opportunities in future. With this, a country’s economic growth is hampered. Student loan debt is also appearing to affect the trends of home ownership. Recently, people around the age of 30-33 are not buying houses. This decline has been steeper for those people having the history of student loans. It was intense during the fall of the housing market, but has since continued even after the market has recovered. According to Korkki on www.nytimes.com, career choices by the students having the student loans are affected mostly. Students having the college loan have a low tendency of choosing a low-paying job. This leads to overcrowding in certain job categories whereas leaving other jobs unattended to. This tends to kill the economy because all sectors of the economy are supposed to be attended to. Overcrowding in certain professions could lead to social problems such as corruption, favoring and all those sorts of injustices. It has also come to my attention that some government organizations are not employing people who have not settled their student loan debts. It has therefore deprived various young men in the age bracket of 22 to 30 opportunities to express themselves given the fact that they are the most productive group currently. In addition, these people do not drive.