Reconstruction After the American Civil War Essay Example for Free

Reconstruction After the American Civil War Essay The civil war is considered by many the most important war that our country has endured. During the 5 year Civil War, not only did 620,000 men die, but our nation was left in ruins. It was necessary that our country be rebuilt from bottom up. Abraham Lincoln, said to be the brightest president of his time, had plans and ideas for reconstruction. Unfortunately, these plans were failed to be put in place due to the fact of his assassination on April 14, 1865. Throughout some of the most politically tough years our nation has experienced (1865-1877) lousy presidents were elected, plans and bills failed and succeeded, and struggles with civil rights were prominent everywhere. The United State’s hopeful plans for reconstructing and reuniting slowly faded until it was all gone The most important part of reconstruction would probably have to be the beginning, or where it all started. Reconstruction of our nation began unofficially in 1863 with Lincoln’s 10% plan. Because Lincoln wanted a reunited nation as easily and quickly as possible, he entailed that only 10% of the confederates in each state would have to swear allegiance in order for the state to be accepted back into the union. Because of the small number of confederates needed to swear allegiance, the radical republicans in congress were angered and proposed the Wade-Davis Bill. The Wade-Davis bill was intended to make congress responsible for reconstruction rather than the president, and also stated that the majority (not 10%) would have to swear allegiance in each state to be re-accepted into the union. For the good of the united states, not for selfish reasons, Lincoln vetoed (or declined) the bill. Because Lincoln was assassinated, the rest of his plans and hopes for reconstruction were n ever put to use, and his vice-president, Andrew Johnson, took the Presidential role. As reconstruction continued on, it brought many major achievements that greatly benefited our country. One of the greatest accomplishments of reconstruction was the Fifteenth Amendment. The Fifteenth Amendment stated that everyone has a right to vote no matter what â€Å"race, color, or previous condition of servitude† was. Because many whites didn’t like this, they wouldn’t cooperate with the amendment and would go as far as using violence to make blacks not vote. Because of this congress used the Enforcement Act of 1870 which entailed that federal governments would be able to punish those that were causing problems for the African Americans. Going along with the fifteenth amendment, reconstruction brought another achievement, a new life and society for former slaves. Supported by the government, former slaves were able to create new lives for themselves. Although it took hard work and dedication, African Americans were able to create schooling systems, churches and volunteer groups and fight against segregation. Former slaves were able to reunite with their families, and blacks were even finally allowed a spot in politics. The final greatest achievement of reconstruction was reuniting our country. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the other four states all re-entered the union by 1870. By originally initiating reconstruction, this is what Lincoln was shooting for. Although they still had political and economic differences, they were once again a reunited nation. With every great movement and political plan, lasting effects come along with it. During reconstruction many things were accomplished, which means that our nation was faced with many positive and negative effects. Some of the positive effects included new opportunities for the common public and former slaves. For example, the common public was presented with its first public school system, new roads and railroads, as well as orphanages for children and institutions for the mentally ill. One of the negative effects of the war was the physically and economically drained south. After the war, the south was in extremely poor physical condition and most everything had to be either rebuilt or restored. This was going to cost sufficient amounts of money that the south did not have. To get the money, the taxes rose and the wages lowered. Many people were without family members that died in the civil war, and the south’s population had decreased drastically. Another lasting effect that reconstruction left on our nation was a dent on the farms and plantations in the south. Many farms and plantations in the south had been ruined. Poor whites and African Americans were at disagreement with rich whites on what the farm land should be used as. Rich whites wanted to restore the plantation system and poor whites and African Americans wanted to create small farms and subsistence farming. Labor was also down. With many men dying in the war, not as many people were left to work on the farms. When the plantations were reopened, many African Americans and poor whites worked on the plantations in exchange for housing, food, clothing, etc. Many good and bad effects were left on our nation from reconstruction. Although reconstruction was a good recovery point for our nation, it was slowly ended in 1877 for a collection of reasons. One of the largest problems was whites inflicting violence on African Americans to prevent them from exercising their rights. During reconstruction, Americans struggled with anti-black radicals such as the Ku Klux Klan. They destroyed buildings, personal property, harmed the African Americans, and even went as far as killing them. The goal of the Ku Klux Klan was to restore white supremacy. By 1880 terrorist groups had restored white supremacy in the south. Along with terrorist groups, political troubles were also in the nation’s way. General Ulysses S. Grant was elected president in 1872. Because Grant was inexperienced, he brought his friends into high positions and many scandals resulted. Because of all of the scandals, many people became irritated and more conflict arose. Last but not least, the United States was experiencing economic turmoil. The panic of 1873 was one of the main reasons that focus was turned away from reconstruction. A man named Jay Cooke invested a grand amount of money in railroads and not enough investors bought shares, causing Cooke to spiral into debt. Because of this Cooke’s banking firm (largest in the nation) went bankrupt. Many small banks and businesses closed and the stock market closed. Millions lost their jobs. Because of this five year depression, the focus of the country was turned away from reconstruction. Reconstruction lasted a solid 13 years that were filled with many great improvements and countless lasting effects on our country. While enduring many severe losses and challenges brought on by the Civil War, the United States pushed through and reunited. We will always be affected by this era in our country’s history. Throughout many failed presidencies, failed and passed bills and movements, and continuous struggles with civil rights, America became the country it is tod ay. From the achievements to the collapse of reconstruction, I believe it was completely necessary and left many lasting effects, good and bad, on our country.

Religion Through Spiritual Explorations in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre

Religion Through Spiritual Explorations in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre In Jane Eyre, religion is embraced through a series of spiritual explorations. Bronte portrays Jane's character and zest for religion by revealing Jane's transitions from Gateshead to Lowood, Lowood to Thornfield, and Thornfield to Moor House. Jane ultimately rejects everyone of these organized styles of worship. However, that does not mean that she rejects all their beliefs. She is forever changed by each experience and they have helped mold her view on religion and her relationship with God. Each location plays a significant role in the development of Jane's perspective on religion. Jane struggles to acquire true faith in God, which will help her overcome the obstacles of her nomadic life. Within Jane Eyre, Bronte shows a feeling of anti-Catholicism through the character of Jane?s cousin, Eliza Reed. The novel portrays Eliza as a picture of rigidity: Two young ladies appeared before me; one very tall, almost as tall as Miss Ingram,--very thin too, with a sallow face and severe mien. There was something ascetic in her look, which was augmented by the extreme plainness of a straight-skirted, black, stuff dress, a starched linen collar, hair combed away from the temples, and the nun-like ornament of a string of ebony beads and a crucifix. (Bronte 228) Eliza had certainly taken on the ritualistic side of Catholicism. (Rife) She is described as a busy person, but "it was difficult to say what she did: or rather, to discover any result of her diligence" (Bronte 234). Bronte had the same feelings toward the Catholic faith. Charlotte and many other English Protestants viewed Catholics as people who worshipped idols diligently, yet d... ...r himself. (Cashwell) As we can see, Jane is obviously affected by her experiences at each of these different stages in her life. At Lowood she learned the strict adherence to the religious and moral values that were taught there. Even though she may not have agreed with all of them, they molded her views on morality, shown in her experiences with Rochester. She also learned of sacrifice through St. John, who sacrificed true love for the greater good of his religious calling. Bronte deals with quite a few religious topics and pretty much finds something wrong with each form of Christianity. Jane finally finds a personal relationship with God, and even though she may not agree with one of the forms of organized Christianity, she finally fells a spiritual inner peace. Works Cited: Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996.

Carol Ann Duffy’s anthology Mean Time Essay

Carol Ann Duffy’s anthology Mean Time is littered with references to the past. With the title Mean Time in its self referring to time in an ambiguous ways, like Greenwhich mean time, or time associated with angry emotions. The most common interpretation being that the characters represented in many of Mean Times poems as in between two states, past and present. The characters are trapped, escaping, or reminiscing about past times retrospectively from a present time. Much of there past is what is now influencing there present situation or state of mind and Duffy accentuates this factor by being explicit and drawing attention to language that would draw a conclusion to that notion. The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team is a 1960s quiz show between competing teams of school children who, representing their school and in school uniform, would answer general knowledge questions in front of an audience of school children. The individually competitive suggestion of the name of the show individual competition was emphasized in the education system of the 50s and 60s (it would not be unusual for a class to be sat in their rank order according to the last set of exams) and it precedes the change to a comprehensive system. This competitive tone, the sense of a hierarchy, is an important element in the poem. This poem questions the romantic view of the past forming a persona to there present as he characterises his children as his â€Å"thick kids† and his wife as â€Å"stale†. He ambiguously illustrates his past in that he want â€Å"it back, The Captain†. The captain is a symbol of his youth and past in that he wants it back but it’s so isolated and remote that he can’t obtain it and only exists as memories in his mind. The comparison between the first six stanzas’s representing the past and the last stanza representing the present exhibits a barrier between the two. The constant music references mentioned within the poem to past artists and songs reflects the rich memories that are illustrated to the reader, by appealing to more senses, the eyes and hears. Duffy’s purpose for inclusion of these songs is not only that they are connected to the time period and create a richer spectacle but they clearly reveal the more desired time period of the character, showing him to feel nostalgia. We see the nostalgia form as he describes his family and current situation in the last stanza previously discussed. Carol Ann Duffy’s dramatic monologue The Suicide provides an intriguing insight into the forces of the past having an effect on a situation in the present. This poem establishes how the past and present are interconnectivly dependant on each other. This is explained as, without a past of experience and events that shape u as a person there can be no present effects. This notion is also reversed in that without a present the past would never be expressed fully either emotionally or physically with no results or effects seen from past causes. The poem title explicitly provides the reader with exactly what the context of the poem is. The reasons for this is possibly to engage the reader into how is Duffy going to describe the feelings of suicide appealing to our macabre sides of personality. It is commonly thought that language fails to describe many feelings especially that of suicide. The poem analyses the nature of suicidal impulse, by letting a would-be suicide talk to us in the moments before her death. It compares with The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team (The captain), as it is also a dramatic monologue but fails in comparison similarities to that poem. It does refer to the past like The Captain does, however not as explicitly. In The Suicide the reference to the past is, â€Å"Kisses on a collar. Lies. Blood. † The above is a strong reference to a past event of what implicitly seems to be infidelity by the partner. This is followed by short sharp sentences of â€Å"Lies† and â€Å"Blood†. These single emphasised words almost tell a complete story; the history of a relationship, written in lies. Lies that lead to blood (perhaps the blood of the suicide). There is a sense that the whole story is told in these few words. But this whole event can not be ignoring the fact that it was all triggered by a past event that is now influencing if not directly causing the present situation of suicide. The Good Teachers is one of Duffy’s explicit references to the past but written in present tense which instantly makes the reader form the opinion of reminiscence and living in the past letting past events form the future. We believe to be a male because of the hints to passion for female teachers, as he reveals that â€Å"you love Miss Pirie†. It describes his memories of his life in school as a child but most significantly how he retrospectively looks back and regrets the tom foolery that took place then and how he wasted his time in school. This forms similar themes to â€Å"End of innocence† about regret of the past and wants to escape it. The short sentences in the last stanza can be symbolic of time and how it speedily passed by to leave him where he is now which we never quite find out. Again a barrier is formed between the past and the present by the line â€Å"But there’s the wall you climb†. The wall denoting the barrier between past and present and shows how the two are separate. The context before the â€Å"wall† line is about the past, the context of the poem after the â€Å"wall† line is about the present. This structure reinforces the separation of the past and present. Also this show how the past forms a barrier that forms the future and weather or not you accomplish successfully by getting over or around the barrier will have an impact on your life to come. The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team, The Suicide and The Good Teachers all portray the past, but in separate ways. In The Captain†¦ the past is seen as a rich rejoicing memory, with dignity and pride at the forefront of it where the past was contrasted to the future to reinforce how commendable the past was. The nostalgia was accentuated by the language and references to his current situation of him having a â€Å"stale† wife and â€Å"thick kids†. The suicide depicts the past consuming the character and a direct cause for her present situation. The language illustrates a dyer situation and forms the opinion that â€Å"suicide is not chosen, it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain†. It fails to by the inadequacy of language and context fully describe the emotion and direct feeling of suicide caused from the past events. It only refers to four words to describe the past, â€Å"kisses on a collar†. This is a classic example of the notion that the past is represented as irretrievable and irreplaceable. Also that not being able to alter the mistakes made in life will undoubtedly form the situation of present and which is suicide in this case but also that those events will characterise you for the future. The Good Teachers forms a view of the past being one of regret and wanting to escape from it. This also, like The Captain†¦ and The Suicide, forms a barrier separating the past and present by language and contrasting stanzas.

Essay on West Side Story - 549 Words

West Side Story nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In this musical, it uses several types of narratives, for example, after the fight between the Jets and Puerto Ricans, after the police leave, they enter the ally and the girl is begging to join the gang saying how much she wants to fight is a part of narrative sexuality (B 34). The girl is more of a tom boy who wants to be like one of the guys. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Also, in the West Side Story, it uses many camera angles and distances. One example is the high-angle shot (B 49). In the very beginning the camera shows an overview of the West Side. I think that is shows this because it gives the audience a perspective on how large the West Side is. It also shows a distance shot (B 49)†¦show more content†¦It shows the audience how big each gang is. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The West Side Story also uses different types of lighting. One example is in the beginning where they Jets and Puerto Ricans are fighting uses a type of general set lighting (B 53). Since it is a day time exterior scene much of the lighting is not needed because it is using the sun. I may use mirrors or reflectors to use more lighting (B 53). An example of low-key lighting is used in the dance scene, (where they are in a red room and they are dancing) they director is using the low-key lighting system (B 54) because it just shows the shadows in red and black. Another example of low key light (B 54) is when the girl is on the fire escape ladder in her night gown talking to the guy in the yellow jacket. In this scene it is very dark except for both of the people. Another example of low key light is right after the sunrise scene in the second act where the picture is all red except for two black looking diamonds. Afterwards, the camera moves out and the Jets cli mb over the fence. Another example of lighting is in the second act when both gangs start fighting when the two people pull out the knife the light reflects off the knife to show the audience how shiny, well kept, and sharp the one knife is. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In the musical, itShow MoreRelated West Side Story Essay1120 Words   |  5 PagesWest Side Story 1. Point out how the general setting of the play is established. Give at least two examples. The play West Side Story takes place in a suburb on the West Side of New York City. We can conclude that we are talking about a socially disadvantaged suburb as the surrounding area is described with high brick walls, not very attractive and by the presence of the two gangs – the Jets and the Sharks. We are also able to say in which time period the actions take place. As anRead MoreWest Side Story Essay978 Words   |  4 PagesThe movie West Side Story directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise is a reinterpretation of the famous play, Romeo Juliet. The movie associate producer Saul Chaplin, music by Leonard Bernstein, film editor Thomas Stanford, costume design by Victor A Gangelin, and production manager, Allen K. Wood. The actors playing in the movie are Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Tucker Smith, Tony Mordente, David Winters, Eliot Feld, Bert Michaels, Robert Banas, CaroleRead MoreWest Side Story Essay766 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1961, West Side Story, a filmed version of the hit Broadway musical that was inspired by William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, was released to viewers, who just could not resist the energy and excitement of the movie. Thirty-eight years later, viewers, like myself, still cannot resist it. I had never seen the film, which was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, befo re, but I had always wondered why people loved this multi award-winning movie so much. After viewing the film, I thinkRead More West Side Story Essay741 Words   |  3 Pages In 1961, West Side Story, a filmed version of the hit Broadway musical that was inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, was released to viewers, who just could not resist the energy and excitement of the movie. Thirty-eight years later, viewers, like myself, still cannot resist it. I had never seen the film, which was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, before, but I had always wondered why people loved this multi award-winning movie so much. After viewing the film, I thinkRead MorePrejudices in The West Side Story by Arthur Laurents Essay803 Words   |  4 PagesThe book West Side Story written by Arthur Laurents is set in the mid 1950’s, created as modern version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story is a romantic tragedy about two characters that are su pposedly completely different and aren’t accepted when they fall in love. The â€Å"difference’s† between these characters is centered on the prejudice’s they had against each other. Prejudice is a harsh opinion or feeling formed previously without any knowledge or reason. The Jets and the SharksRead MoreWest Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim Essay1472 Words   |  6 Pagesperformance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and charactersRead MoreLove in Romeo and Juli et by William Shakespeare and in the Movie West Side Stories876 Words   |  4 Pagesmost well known love stories of all time in the play from the 15th century, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare tells the tale of young love and fatal misfortune. With the same message the musical from the 50’s, West Side Story directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise carries out a similar story of young love and tragedy. Although some are touched by these love stories, others believe it tells a tale of young fools. Although the theme of tragedy is seen in both stories as the time goes on fromRead MoreWest Side Story Analysis972 Words   |  4 Pagessocial status in culture is not only shown in history, it is also depicted in several films such as the original 1968 Planet of the apes, and 1961 West side story. Both films are unique in their own ways but go hand in hand presenting specific perspectives on race and social status from the beginning of history through today. In the reading West side story by Alberto Sandoval he explains how the film perpetuates the image of racial problems explaining that the film has its profound structure expressingRead MoreEssay on West Side Story731 Words   |  3 Pages West Side Story Day 4: 2-page essay nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The West Side Story portrays the lives of two different gangs living in America, as well as their beliefs and examples of living a good life. The expectations of what people consider the good life to be may vary on a person’s morals and their dreams of what life is truly about. In this movie, whether or not these characters were good people, lived a good life, or lived in a good society is a very controversial topic. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;TheRead MoreThe Importance of West Side Story Essay980 Words   |  4 PagesWest Side Story is one of the great contributors to musical theatre, in particular Broadway where it originally opened on September 26 1957 at the Winter garden Theatre. The production ran for 732 performances before entering the world of film in 1961. However, I believe its significance lies in the heart of the theatre where the audience is subjected to different styles of music, dance and of course an adaptation of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. In fact, Leonard Bernstein first decided to call