American History

Introduction
African American Slavery During the 18th Century
African American during the 20th Century
The State of African American in Recent Years
Conclusion

Introduction
The history of any country is basically the store house of its wisdom, the wisdom that serves as a beacon of hope and a source of learning for its generations to come. The history of any country if followed by its nationals in the correct and accurate way may always serve as a harbinger for the resolution of all issues that are faced by the people.

History of a country is a source of constant guidance and enlightens its entire people, if it used, channelized and disseminated in an efficient and authentic way. At this specific point the history of America is of prime importance to the topic, the interesting history of the country basically unearths the causes and factors that actually helped the country in becoming the strongest military, economic and democratic country of the world. Today everyone is interested in knowing and finding out the reasons and the secrets through which some other nation of the world can develop itself in the same way as done by Americans.

In contemporary times everyone shows intrigue in knowing the character and temperament of the leaders that ruled the country during those crucial times when the country was not a powerful controller of resources and did not had enough wealth to make its standing equivalent to other existent prosperous nations, what were the salient features of the policies of the leaders and rulers that transformed the country completely in every sector and facet of life. Answers to all these questions are obtained from a thorough study of the history or the chronological events that dominate the historical arena of the country or nation.

One of the most interesting and intriguing phases of American History has been the various phases and periods of struggle that the African Americans have gone through during the multitude chronological phases to gain their struggle and acquire their fundamental rights and position that they have in America today.

The history of this entire period of struggle is a manifestation of hope, perseverance coupled with a constant clinch of hope with which the struggle has been carried out. But before moving into greater and in depth details of the various phases of the entire movement for civil rights, it is important to briefly look at the history of the African American people and their primitive position in the history.
African Americans have been an integral part of the American culture and civilization from a long period of time are part of that American history which has a long timeline and started many years ago. Most of the African American people were the descendents of the slaves who were kept in captivity in the 1616s till 1865. Many years ago they were called as the American Negros but later came to be known as African Americans.
     
The long history of the African American slaves and their lives are so eminent that it is celebrated every year in the U.S on the month of February with the name of black history month. The real significant years for the African American slaves started in the 1877, when they were finally freed from captivation. (Virtual services, 2010)

The State of AfricanAmerican Slavery during the 19th Century          
After the civil war that ended in the 1865, all the African American slaves were freed of slavery and torture.  The southern part of America was totally destroyed hence it needed reconstruction, which took place in the year 1877 (American History, 2010). 11 associated states needed to be reclaimed and restored and the choices available for the African American slaves now had to be decided. Rapidly, the federal government was developing the civil rights for them.  Two years later, the migration took place where a multitude of African Americans moved from the south to Kansas. From here the opportunities for them only increased. (Borgna Brunner, 2007)
         
The first ever college that was made for the black women called the Spellman college along with the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama for afro American  students started in 1881. In 1982, the American colonization society helps the freed slaves to return to Africa and providing them with a home to live in.

Although in 1896, the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case legalized the racial separation between the blacks and whites, which disrupted the improvement in the lives of the African American slaves that migrated during the reconstruction.

African Americans in the 20th century          
The 19th century turned out to be more successful and flourishing for African Americans. W.E.B DuBois came up with a plan that stated that the colored people of America should get equal opportunity in social, political and educational areas and should not be told to go back to their own country. Evidently, four years later the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had established in New York, building a solid foundation for the civil rights of the African Americans. The freed slaves were finally able to have some rights of their own.
             
Marcus Garvey, in the 1914s created a Negro improvement association, to create unity amongst all the African American people.  All was going well, when in 1931, nine young afro American Scottsboro boys were arrested for raping two white women, this had to be the first crime done by the afro American. This may have be a kind of revenge they wanted to take from all the slavery they had experienced in the past years or just lack of education might be the reason.

While in 1947, some African American were trying very hard to make their name and become as educated as the others, Jackie Robinson, who took a step forward, was taken in the Brooklyn dodgers baseball team. 1948 resulted in World War 2, in which President Harry. S. Truman incorporated white and black soldiers together to go and fight for their country. In this way the African Americans were finally able to fight for their country and not for themselves.
           
Soon later another case by the name of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans in the Supreme Court resulted in abolishing the racial segregation in schools or institutes. This opened many doors for the African Americans to become well educated. (Lisa, 2010). In 1955, the most well- known incident occurred, a seamstress by the name of Rosa Parks that was arrested for refusing a white person who had asked her to get up from the bus seat. Her protest resulted in the bringing about the most well known and significant figure in the 1960s Martin Luther King, Jr.  African Americans in the 1960s were finally able to stand up for themselves and their rights in America.
         
However many other significant events for the African American students that occurred between 1955 and the 1960s showed that the African Americans were still not socially accepted by the people.
In 1957, nine black students that were constantly terrorized by the Governor Orbal Faubus for studying in the school were able to graduate successfully by the help of federal troops. James Meredith was the first African American to get admission in a university in 1962.
           
The most significant event occurred in 1963, Martin Luther King, who had developed a civil rights group (SCLC), was arrested while he was protesting against the racial separation between whites and blacks in Birmingham. He wrote a letter from jail which helped him popularize rapidly amongst the African Americans. The African Americans now had a lot of support from him.

The Washington march that took place on august 23 of the same year, has about 250,000 people who had ancestors that suffered slavery and now were experiencing discrimination heard the most well known speech by Martin Luther King I have a Dream. This created the kind of thrust the people needed in gaining their civil rights.

Realizing the importance and the status of Martin Luther King and his revolutionary role in the Civil rights movement for the acquisition of fundamental rights for Black people, it is important to describe a major incident that actually revolutionized the entire movement. On the other hand the instinct of Martin Luther King and his qualities that made him such a revolutionary figure in the entire movement.
He was a kind of a person of an overwhelmingly sanguine and optimistic temperament. He once met all his followers and colleagues who were actually assisting him in actually making the entire movement triumphant.

At the meeting he was told about Robert Kennedy and his staunch and stern actions that he was about to take against the black people of the United States, Martin was also given a subtle impression that the movement was bound to fail as people who did not had the power to vote and were not considered as the official citizens of the country could not take any strong or diplomatic action against an influential personality like Kennedy. At that precise moment he dismissed the meeting and told all his colleagues that he would next schedule a meeting when they had found something positive about the nature of Robert Kennedy. When the next meeting took place he was told that Robert Kennedy never refuses or denies the orders of his church bishop. This was sufficient for Martin as he had found the clue he was looking for, the positive instinct in Kennedys personality he wanted to know.

After a couple of days Martin made friends with the same bishop as that of Robert Kennedy and convinced the bishop that the civil rights movement was for the rights of the black people who were struggling to gain it to ensure a better livelihood and future to their present and future generations, the movement was not designed to target any political party or group and did not wanted to acquire their objectives through any violent means. The bishop explained this same thing to Robert Kennedy by adding some religious details. Kennedy was thoroughly convinced and the transformation in his behavior was so immense that the very same person who was at one point of time the strictest opponent of this movement turned its greatest advocate.          
       
One year later, President Johnson orders the civil rights that state that no discrimination or favoritism will take place in the name of color, race or religion.

The African Americans were finally able to vote in the same year as well. This meant that the African Americans could now be considered as the official citizens of the country and would be treated rightly.
But in 1968, America lost a very predominant and significant leader Martin Luther King, who was brutally shot by an assassinator, but his death resulted in the further improvement in the lives of the African Americans.
       
Few months after his death, President Johnson also ordered the civil rights on any prejudice in sale, renting and housing for the African Americans.

Finally in 1992, the first race riot took place, in the central-south Los Angeles, after four white police officials were not charged guilty for the video that showed them brutally beating an African American Rodney King.

The African Americans felt outraged at such people because they felt that after all the years they had served these people they still were not treated well and equally. (Worldarchipelago , 1996-2010).

The African Americans in the recent years

In the year of 2003, the affirmative action became very well known and it stated that diversity in the students of a particular school or institute will lead to much less likeliness of racism and discrimination among the people as they will be in contact with the African Americans as well, who will not be very different from them.  This officially helped the African Americans a lot as they were finally accepted in the country.
             
In the recent years, along with slavery the large amount of discrimination in America has greatly increased. You can now see a diversified environment in working and studying places in America. However, the effect of the African American slavery has not yet really vanished from their minds.
The main reason for high rates of criminal activity by the African Americans in America nowadays could be an after effect of the slavery in the olden days.

Some African Americans still feel inferior to the other people in the country hence they do such acts.
However there are people who now are contributing greatly to our country, despite their difficult time their ancestors had faced, one major example of such people in todays day is that of Barack Obama, the first African American president of America.  (Borgna and Brunner 2007)

Conclusion
The dreams and the endless efforts of people like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks reached their fulfillment and faced a fascinating reality with the pledge of Barack H. Obama as the President of United States.

The president of a country which at one point of time was most stringent against providing black people their fundamental rights and freedom of expression, a country where at one point of time boards saying Dogs and Black People are not allowed were displayed outside lavish hotels and other places.
It was during this time of oppression and social injustice when the ultimate struggle for liberty and acquisition of rights commenced and with the passage of time gained impetus so tremendous that it engulfed the entire country.

The revolt was so strong that the sudden assassination leaders like Malcolm X and Marin Luther could not paralyze their spirits and their perseverance that they had in their minds and hearts for their social, moral and political liberty.

It was exactly this undying spirit ignited by these people that ultimately led to the triumph of their struggle which is a comprehensible manifestation of their struggle.    

ARTICLE AND LYRICS COMPARISON

The songs Have you Forgotten by Darryl Worley, and Where have all the flowers gone by Pete Seeger are two songs that both deliver strong messages regarding two different wars.  Have you Forgotten which is a song composed to convey emotions regarding the war in Iraq delivers messages that are meant to sway people to hate war.  It describes the war and all its horrors by questioning if people have in fact forgotten what it is like to be in a war and so have become indifferent of the one that was currently being fought.  Where have all the flowers gone on the other hand, which is written during the period of the Vietnam war is another song written as a series of progressive questions terminating in the sad reality that the war in Vietnam had caused so many deaths.  While the song does not in any way specify whose death had been more deserved or valued in the Vietnam War, it proceeds to question these deaths in an attempt to question the war itself.

In an article, John Pareles describes that, Songs that touched on the war in 2006 were suffused with the mournful and resentful knowledge (2010) This is quite obvious in the song by Worley, for instance, in the lines from the chorus, Have you forgotten, how it felt that day  To see your homeland under fireAnd you say we shouldnt worry bout Bin Laden (7-8, 12) the song seems to be didactic and even moralizing in its approach and its perception of how people perceived the war.  These lines, in relation to what Pareles describes, are in fact resentful in that they express how people are indifferent about this particular war.  In addition, Pareles (2010) also states that, Immediate responses to 911 and to the invasion of Iraq arrived along familiar lines. There was anger and saber-rattling at first.  This expresses how the emotions had died down when the war had began to drone on.  There was only the desired response initially which eventually died down.  Hence, Morleys song very accurately describes this indifference by questioning America about its stand on the war and how America can seemingly be uncaring of what was going on.  So, in the last few lines of the song, one finds, Have you forgotten  About our Pentagon  All the loved ones that we lost  And those left to carry on (27-30) as the song shifts from being fierily questioning of the objectives for and reactions to the war to being deeply emotional, appealing to the better judgment of the listeners as if pleading that everybody be more reactive because the war was not just any kind of war, but it was something that took away so much from those who were in it.

Songs during the Vietnam War were equally as questioning, perhaps because that particular also had grey areas when it came to the goals and objectives of the battle.  In 1963 musicians began directly questioning the Vietnam War. (Anderson) and so, in the song Where have all the flowers gone by Seeger, this questioning tone is also employed.  However, noticeably in the song, as it progresses, the repeated lines go from questioning where the flowers are to where the graves are (1-40) looking at each of the stanzas, however, the more interesting recurring line is When will they ever learn (7-8, 15-16, 23-24, 31-32, 39-40) which serves the same function as the Have you forgotten theme of the earlier song.  So, in effect, this song by Seeger not only questions but also admonishes the listeners, perhaps because, Their music stated traditional folk themes, ones which were being voiced in the current civil rights crusade justice, peace, and brotherly love.  (Anderson)

Looking at these two songs side by side one can easily conclude that while both were about different wars at different periods the main message delivered is dont people ever get tired of wars albeit the painful and agonizing effects of these exercises  So, if war songs are to be evaluated according to these two songs which are separated by decades in between, the sentiment of people when it comes to war has not changed significantly which is probably due largely to the reality that nobody wants wars regardless of the reasons.  So, while both of the songs question the audience or the listeners, the questions in both songs are meant to indirectly remind the listener of the horrors of war and to admonish and enjoin the listener to remain faithful to the precepts of peace, justice and love while actively protesting whatever justifications the government makes for conducting these bloody exercises.

The City U.S. History

Question A-2
After the great depression and 1st World War, the federal government initiated housing programs to curb the problem of urban slums which was evident in most cities in America. The aim of the program was to build clean and safe as well as modern housing in order to meet the needs of the less fortunate in the society.  History denotes that there were about seven hundred housing programs which were established and some still operate even today under Federal Housing Programs (Lusignan, 2002).

The federal housing program started in 1933 after the congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act which was meant to support the public building projects by providing low interest loans to limited building corporations.  The government established Public Works Administration (PWA) which had a housing division which completed building seven limited divided housing projects between the year 1933 and 1935.  The housing projects were constructed using modern materials and designs.  Although the Public Works Administration housing projects were of high quality and therefore less appropriate for the low income earners, there was one project which helped to create new housing for the low income earners. It was the only project that achieved the goal of clearing slums.

After the projects of PWA came to an end in the year 1937, United States Housing Act was established and it operated from the year 1937-1940. Since it was a decentralized program, the local public housing authorities were accorded the responsibility building new housing and the United States Housing Authority bore the responsibility of providing technical and financial assistance as well guidance during the building process. As the period of world war II approached, history records that  the attention shifted to defense housing and a lot of houses which were already  or almost complete were turned  to defensive housing. At the same time, the Federal Works Agency was given the responsibility by the government to provide housing in the already congested defense industrial centers. After the war, the American housing program continued with the urban renewal efforts (Lusignan, 2002).

Each of the programs had great impacts especially in the urban centers and the suburbs.  For instance, studies record that PWA managed to replace some of the worst urban slums with modern and safe housing which initiated other development activities. The United States Housing  Authority also made a similar contribution since by 1940, studies of Lusignan (2002) indicate that it had managed to construct three hundred and seventy projects which managed to provide housing to around 120, 000 families.  Although the Federal Works Agency built temporal houses which were destroyed after the war, its contribution cannot be underestimated since it provided defensive housing to families during the Second World War. From the year 1930-1940, the public housing programs impacted the whole U.S. community since it established modern and affordable housing. On the same note, the same efforts contributed greatly to changing the face of urban centers since a lot of slums which were established during the economic recession were eliminated (Lusignan, 2002).    

Question A-3
Studies indicate that migration of people from rural areas to cities and from cities to suburbs as well as migration across the regions contributed greatly to change of the face of United States (Population Urban, Rural, Suburban). Further studies indicate that at the beginning of the twentieth century, about 60 of the population was living in the rural areas but towards the end of the century, only 25 of the population was leaving in such areas. After the first and Second World War, many of cities in America grew or developed rapidly since a lot of people migrated from the rural areas. This was as a result of the effects of the two wars as well as the harsh economic conditions during, and after the great depression.  However, after 1950, the rate of development in cities decreased especially because a lot of people left the cities and migrated to the suburbs. Further studies illustrate that though there was change of development in cities due to the trends of domestic migration, the growth of the suburbs was continuous through out the century. It bears noting that there were many factors that contributed to the change of migration trends. Apart from the effects of the war, racial segregation still added to the migration of the blacks from the areas where racial segregation was rampant to other areas    (Population Urban, Rural, Suburban). Therefore, the blacks and other racial minorities as well as people who were in the lower social economic class were involved greatly in migration since they had to look for better living conditions.

Apart from domestic migration, United States has always been affected by immigration not only during the twentieth century, but even earlier on. As a result, various acts were established to deal with the issues of immigration in the country. The Immigration and Nationality Act of the year 1965 was very significant since it abolished nation of origin quota system which existed since the Immigration Act of the year 1924.  As a result, immigrants who were not initially allowed in to the country managed to find their way in to the United States.  For instance, after 1965, the Asian American population increased due to the increase of immigrants from China, Philippines, India, Vietnam and Taiwan.  Further studies indicate that the presence of immigrants led to the development of major cities like New York. Similarly, the presence of Asian communities has contributed greatly to the development of ethnic businesses, enclave economies as well as residential communities (Le, 2010). Therefore, since then, the immigrants in United States are of different racial and ethnic origin.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TERM PAPER WORLD WAR II AND ADOLF HITLER

World War II and Adolf Hitler
Introduction
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in the small town of Braunau Am Inn in Austria. His parents were Customs official, Klara and Alois Hitler. He became a German politician and went on to be the head of the National Socialist German Workers Party or better known as the Nazi Party. From 1933 to 1945 he held the position as Chancellor of Germany and ruled the country in a dictatorship manner.
He was a known veteran of the First World War and he joined the pioneer of the Nazi Party (DAP) in 1919 and went on to become leader of the NSDAP by the year 1921. In 1923, Hitler led a failed coup in Munich known as the Beer Hall Putsch. He was imprisoned because of such attempt and it was that time that he wrote his book. He acquired support from his writing as he promoted anti-Semitism, German nationalism, anti-communism, and anti-capitalism with compelling rhetoric and propaganda. In 1933, he became chancellor and transformed Germany into a single-party dictatorship founded on the despotic as well as tyrannical principles of National Socialism. Hitlers actions and policies led to the declaration of France and United Kingdom of war against the country. This led to the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. Because of the Nazi Regime of Hitler and his genocidal policy, about 11 million people were killed and more than 6 million Jews were annihilated throughout the Holocaust.
For three years Germany together with the Axis powers had conquered most of Northern Africa, East as well as Southeast Asia, and Europe with Hitler being a major key player. Hitler and his mistress got married as the days of war came to an end and they both committed suicide.

World War I era
During the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment, Adolf Hitler served Belgium and France. He became a Gefreiter by the end of the war (a private first class in terms of the American armies and a lance corporal in British terms). He was frequently exposed to the adversarys fire as he served as a runner on the Western Front. He was a participant of some of the most important battles of the West including the First Battle of Ypres, Battle of Arras, Battle of the Somme, as well as the Battle of Passchendaele.

In October 1914, the Battle of Ypress took place which was known in Germany as the Massacre of the Innocents having about 40,000 killed in a span of 20 days and even the infantry division that Hitler belonged to lost about 200 men by December that year. This incident made Hitler become withdrawn and detached as the war continued. Adolf Hitler was recognized for the bravery he had shown during the years of war. In 1914, he got the Iron Cross, Second Class, recognition, and 4 years later the Iron Cross, First Class. These are honors not often given to someone of his rank (Gefreiter).

Early years in power
Adolf Hitlers power and glory began in September 1919 when he became a member of DAP or Deutsche Arbeiterpartei which later on became more popularly known as the Nazi party. The party was an anti-Marxist and was formed throughout the aftermath of the World War I period. His rose to power began in the initial years of the Nazi party from 1919-1923 due to his substantial skills in promotion, organization, and public speaking.

Germany was consistently aggressive during the World War I for more than four years (1914-1918). After the First World War, Hitler went back to Munich. For the period of 1918-1919 he was on a steady but comparatively insignificant assignment but he was in due course enlisted by the Armys Political Department. His great skills in public speaking and his open and intense anti-Semitism impressed an army officer and gave him a promotion making him an education officer. This gave him more opportunities to give public speeches which greatly contributed to his acquisition of power.
In one meeting, Hitler again used his tremendous skills in oratory impressing Anton Drexler, the DAP (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) founder. He gave Hitler a political pamphlet and later on invited him to be a member of their party. Hitler attended the committee meeting that was part of the invitation. His initial thoughts were that the party was too disorganized and mixed-up. Their membership process was messed up and this led Hitler to a consideration that he could be of great influence to the party as it was not totally established. Two days after that particular meeting, he decided to become a member of DAP, making him the 55th member. Adolf Hitler was named to be the leader of propaganda by 1920 because of his talents that were recognized by the heads of the party. On February 20, the party became known as Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP and Hitler began to transform it. By July 28, 1921, Hitler became in full control of the party ousting Drexler.

Hitlers aggression was brought to the party. They disrupted meetings of their opponents, caused chaos  disturbance, causing the imprisonment of Hitler for some months. Hitler also began to form two organizations between 1922 and 1923. These are Jungstum and Jugendubnd, two unions that are bound to have great importance. Because of Hitlers continuous rebellion, Hitler was convicted and imprisoned for five years. In prison, he began to contemplate about a lot of things particularly his political tactics. It was during this time that he was able to write his first book entitled Mein Kampf or My Struggle.
Adolf Hitler was released on December 20, 1924 from prison and assured that he would continue to get hold of political power but this time only by lawful and constitutional ways or means.

The Nazi Party during the May 1928 German elections only gained an overall vote of 2.63 of 810,127 votes. Because of these results, Adolf Hitler was determined to spread the goals of their party to the German people. He felt that the Germans werent fully aware of their partys objectives and aims. Hitler wrote his second book in order to lay out the word of the Nazi party. By the end of that year, the Nazi party has about 130,000 members and the following year, the Nazi party had a representative to the Presidential elections by the name of Erich Ludendorff. Ludendorff got 1.1 of the total votes or 280,000 total votes. He was the lone aspirant to gain fewer than a million votes. The street fights grew extremely brutal and violent. After the Rotfront (Communist party) interrupted Hitlers speech the SA (Storm battalion or division) went into the streets and executed two spectators. The SA on August 25, 1928, crashed a Rotfront gathering, as the tension between the two groups continued to heat up. The battle between the two went on for the following years resulting to more political violence and deaths.
The Nazi party had never been a power player in Germanys election as they were only the 9th smallest party before the Great Depression hit the country in 1930. The new Chancellor then, Heinrich Brning, coming from the Roman Catholic Centre Party, slowly but surely lost the majority in the parliament, thus the Brning administration needed to use the presidents emergency decrees. A premature election in September 1930 paved the way for the Nazi party to garner 18 of the vote equivalent to 108 seats in the parliament, making them second to the largest party in the chamber.

Hitler meant to run as president in the scheduled elections against President Pal Von Hindenburg, only with one problem. Hitler was Austrian born and still had not acquired German citizenship, not until the 25th of February as the interior minister of the Brunswick appointed Hitler as administrator for the states delegation making him a citizen of Brunswick. Their effort was not enough to win, but it showed that Hitler is a possible choice in German politics.

The president, after heavy thinking, reluctantly appointed Hitler Chancellor of the coalition government materialized by both NSDAP and DNVP. Still with the appointment of Papen as Vice-Chancellor and other conservative cabinet, the Nazis are contained to their framework. Hitler stopped any attempts by his adversaries to form a majority body in the parliament. Hitler planned to dissolve Reichstag once again and there was a scheduled election for March, but February 27, 1933 came, and the Reichstag building was set ablaze. A Dutch independent communist was the victim to this incident and the government reacted by suspending basic rights, habeas corpus included, to blame the fire to communists. The Nazis maximized their opportunity as campaigns continued, using anti-communist propaganda  paramilitary violence. The NSDAP garnered 43.9 of the votes during Election Day, March 6, to remain the largest party in the nation. But still without having absolute majority, their victory was blemished, as they need to maintain a coalition with the DNVP.

Hitler eagerly met with the newly-elected Reichstag with an act that would give the cabinet (and of course Hitler himself) legislative powers for a period of four years. The Enabling Act would allow deviation from the constitution but only after winning 23 majority in the Reichstag. Thus, the government needed some help of other parties for the votes. The Centre Party would prove to be the deciding element as they carried the Enabling Act. In return, the government guaranteed the Churchs liberty and the existence of the Party, through oral assurances. With this in motion, the Enabling Act was agreed upon by every party except the Social Democrats on March 23rd, and in combination with the Reichstag Fire Decree legally transformed Hitlers government as dictatorship.

Now having both legislative and executive power, Hitler finished off the opposition. The Social Democratic Party, SDP, was marked off illegal and other parties were forced into dissolving. After only less than 4 months, July the 14th, the Nazi Party was declared the only legal party in Germany. All notable opposition to Hitler was one by one murdered. And with the death of the President Pal von Hindenburg, Hitlers cabinet, capitalizing on the moment, passed a law transferring the role and power of the President to Hitler. Although with major inconsistencies with the constitution, and technicality that barred Hitler for making any actions with regards to the Presidency, no one dared to object. With the Presidency finally on his hands, Hitler was now the most powerful man in Germany.

Being the Head of State, Hitler became the Supreme commander of the Armed Forces, and instead of the soldiers and sailors doing the traditional loyalty oath, it turned to an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler. Hitler then forced his War Minister Werner von Blomberg after evidences that his new wife had a criminal past this was prior to removing several positions in the Armed Forces. But to the surprise by many, Hitler, announced that he will be assuming the command of the Armed Forces, taking over Blombergs old post  being the Commander  in  chief of the Armed Forces, giving Hitler the ultimate power in Germany.

Nazi Germany government
Germany was known as the Third Reich or Nazi Germany under the rule and regime of Adolf Hitler together with his Nazi party. This period was from 1933 until 1945. In order to keep up with the political syncretism that fascism practices, the German economy during the Third Reich was a mix of central-planning measures and free market. As soon as the Nazi Germany government began, the most critical matters were looked into and one of those was the rate of national unemployment which stood at about 30 during that time. Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, an economist  President of the Reichsbank as well as Minister of Economics had plans on the economic policies of the country. Schacht has been instrumental with the reindustrialization and redevelopment of the Nazi Germany, lending a hand to Adolf Hitler.

Germany under Hitlers rule had severe state intervention in the economy and enormous rearmament policy. These actions by Hitler and his party nearly resulted to a full employment in Germany during the 1930s period. The real income of Germans dropped by about 25 in 1933 to 1938 and the right to strike, collective bargaining, as well as trade unions were all abolished. Laborers were stripped of their rights to quit. In 1935, the government introduced labor books and it laborers needed the consent of their past employed before getting another job. The government under Hitler also dominated the business and private investment sector. The large companies and those companies that have extreme profit taxes were then became exempted from paying of dues or taxes on profits

By 1937, Schacht was replaced by Hermann Goring as Minister of Economics. Goring proposed a four-year plan for Germany that was said to establish the countrys autonomy for war. This was introduced and suggested to be done within four years by means of fixing prices and wages, restraining foreign importations, stock dividends were also limited to only 6 on book capital, etc. The Nazi Germany deemed that it was important for the strategic goals to be accomplished no matter at what cost just like the economy of the Soviet. Hence, synthetic rubber factories, programmed textile mills, steel mills, etc. were rapidly constructed. The four-year plan by Goring was discussed during Hitler and his foreign policy and military leaders meeting. They were planning about war and when the Second World War began in 1939, the four-year plan was to expiry by 1940. Because of the burdens that Germany took during the war, a war economy was established in Germany. This was spearheaded by Albert Speer as he took over the ministry command of Germanys economics. This war economy of Nazi Germany needed large-scale or extensive employment, and forced laborers were the solution. In order to acquire the number of slaves needed by the Third Reich economy, the Nazis abducted people in about 20 European nations, taking approximately 12 million people. The Nazi government aimed to create an entirely totalitarian state. The totalitarian disposition of the Nazi party was one of its most significant principles. Hitler and the Nazis asserted that all the immense accomplishments in the past that Germany and the German people had were all connected with the beliefs and ideals of National Socialism. Different propagandas recognized the consolidation of the principles, values, and successes of the Nazi regime to their leader, Adolf Hitler. Hitler is deemed to be Germanys intellect and savior.

In order to fully implement a totalitarian state, the Nazi government used acts of aggression and violence against democrats, communists, leftists, Jews, and other minority groups that are in opposition. The Nazi Germany supported the idea of a Greater Germany and considered that the merging of the Germanic individuals into a single state or country was a fundamental pace that will lead to Germanys success. This was the beginning of Hitler and Germanys desire for expansion by conquering long-lost lands and territories with tremendous number of non-German people like parts of Poland and Austria. Hitler and the Nazi decided that the Eastern Europe would be inhabited by the Slavic population and ethnic Germans, who are under the Nazi racial standard, would be taken into the Reich. Population and territories that dont fit the racial benchmark were to be utilized as cheap labor force or they will be deported.

Racism and as well as racialism, were significant features of Hitlers government in the society. The combined ideologies of anti-Communist and anti-Semitism that Hitler used for governing Germany manifested itself through the displacement, imprisonment, and methodical execution of about 11 to 12 million people in the middle of the Second World War. Approximately half of those people massacred were Jews in that historic incident known as the Holocaust. The other casualties of the Nazi government were consisting of social outcasts, communists, political adversaries, religious nonconformists such as Freemasons and Jehovahs witnesses, homosexuals, and freethinkers.

Social policies
Adolf Hitlers regime had the perhaps the most commanding anti-tobacco movement in the world. Hitlers government provided full support on anti-tobacco research and scientists in Germany were able to establish how tobacco smoke could lead to cancer. After the war, the research concerning the threats of tobacco was stopped and it was only in the 1950s and 1960s that these dangers of cigarette smoking were rediscovered by English and American scientists. It was also under Hitlers rule when Germany became the first country to offer a benefit for those suffering from diseases due to asbestos like lung cancer. As it is a work-related illness, people suffering from it were entitled for reparation.

Hitlers health policies were commendable. Mercury and lead were made sure to be removed from products used by consumers. The German women were encouraged to go through regular checkups for breast cancer. Water supplies were also sanitized as part of the public-health campaign of the Nazi government.

On the education sector, Hitlers government focused on culture, geography, population policies, racial biology, and physical fitness. Jewish professors, teachers, and other officials in schools were expelled from the educational system of Germany because of the Anti-Semitic policy. Environmental policies were also implemented such as the Reich Nature Protection Act which aimed to control or restrain air pollution, and manage as well as protect the forests of the country.

Hitlers social welfare programs centered on providing the people opportunities for employment and assuring that a minimum living standard for the Germans is to be implemented. Hitlers administration also produced programs in order to give the people entertainment such as traveling cinemas, festivals and vacation trips. Hitler also established the Hitler Youth Organization and National Labour Service, with both having obligatory or compulsory memberships. Architectural projects were embarked on as well in order to give the German citizens more assistance. The Autobahn was a major project by Hitlers government as it was the first ever freeway system built in the whole world.

The Nazi government was also in support of the wildlife, zoos, and animal rights. Several measures and policies were implemented to make sure their protection as prioritize. Adolf Hitler himself was a strong supporter of animal rights and protection. The government made tremendous efforts in banning the hunting of animals in the country. Although laws were implemented for animal protection, there were loopholes in the enforcement of such laws. The Nazi government was said to have numerous animal experiments during that time and they disbanded quite a few unofficial groups that were advocates of animal protection and environmentalism.

Hitler was against the feminist movement during his regime as he and his administration believed that it was led by Jewish women. The Nazi government encouraged and promoted a patriarchal social order where German women should though of nothing but her husband, children, and home. In Hitlers viewpoint, these women who took important jobs away from the men as the Great Depression were currently felt, resulted in a bad way for the German economy since women were paid lower than what men during those times earned. Hitler was very firm on his opposition against women working and he encouraged them to simply stay at their homes. Hitlers administration made it clear that the womens role during that time were purely to be submissive to men and bear children. Women were also disapproved of by the Nazi government in taking higher education classes. Abortion was considered illegal during Hitlers government and abortionists were given death penalties for their actions. Hitler was also against the use of contraceptives believing that these are violations of womanhood and motherhood.

Early political success and World War II
Hitler was in a dilemma whether he would continue the long Sino-German alliance or create a new alliance with its adversary that time, Japan. Over the 20 years or so that the China had been an ally of the Germans, there had been several interaction between them from the economic, political and even military standpoint. The military was inclined to continuing the alliance they have built over the years with China. Notably, two men who are heavily favoring the relation of China and Germany, Blomberg and Neurath, were dismissed by Hitler by the early 1938. Hitler was backed up by the advice of his Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, to create a new alliance with the more modern and more powerful Japan. When February 1938 came, Hitler denounced the relation with China and announced the German recognition of Manchukuo, Manchuria. Additionally, Hitler announced in the same address to the Reichstag that the country renounce all of its claims to the former colonies in the South East currently held by Japan. Adding to insult, Hitler ordered promptly the halt of any shipment of arms to China, terminating the support of Germany to China with its war against Japan. China responded with also stopping all the Sino-German economic agreements that helped Germany for raw materials such as tungsten in making their arms. Thus, Germany was forced to use its narrow supply of foreign exchange to gather raw materials from the international market.

The British Ambassador Sir Neville Henderson, on behalf of the British government, presented a proposal to Hitler regarding an international consortium to reign over greatly of Africa. The British would even give the leading role in this domination over Africa but only in exchange that Germany would never resort to war for change in the frontiers. Hitler did not want an international consortium to govern that of Central Africa and that he wanted the former German African colonies to be returned to Reich. But actually, Hitler rejected the British offer for he was more interested in Lebensraum in Easter Europe. Additionally, Hitler claimed that it was shameful that Britain would impose such conditions on German conduct in spare of a territory in Africa. It was outrageous in that the British signified German conduct as the price of a piece of Africa. Hitler ended the conversation by telling the British that he would choose to wait 2 decades for the return of former colonies than to accept their offer.  The proposal and the meeting ultimately pushed both sides to dispute.

As Hitler is known to be influential both inside and outside of Germany, he used his charm and pressured Austria into merging their military to enter Vienna on 14 March, 1938. Then, Hitler built up the crisis over the Sudetenland districts of Czechoslovakia, obviously wanting to control the German-speaking district. A one-day conference was held in Munich on 30 September 1938. This was attended by Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier that would result to the Munich Agreement  giving Hitler his demands by giving control over the Sudetenland districts to Germany. With the ending of the meeting, Chamberlain and Hitler signed a testament to Anglo-German friendship. Hitlers efforts on the European Domination are starting slowly but surely. Hitler even won the TIME Man of the Year for 1938  an evidence of Hitlers lasting international impression and somewhat charm.

Hitler believed that Poland needed to be neutralized or become a satellite state. Primarily the German forces expected Poland to become a satellite state but by March 1939 the demands of the Germans have been declined and rejected by Poland.  Because the Poles refuse to be in cooperation with Hitler, he decided to target Poland and ordered for its destruction. After confirming from a foreign minister that neither France nor Britain would be on Polands side, Hitler ordered a mobilization in opposition to Poland. In August 1939, Hitler proposed a non-aggression pact to which Joseph Stalin accepted. The two leaders had agreed to partition Poland in the pact. Hitler had difficulties thinking of how and when to battle the Western powers and keep the Britain out of way. But his aim to invade Poland remained nonetheless. Hitler postponed the supposed August 25 attack into September 1 when the Anglo-Polish alliance was signed in response to Germanys pact with the Soviet. It was on September 1, 1939 when Germany attacked and invaded Western Poland, and 2 days after, on September 3, Britain and France declared war against Germany. Soviet invaded the other side of Poland (Eastern) on September 17.

After Poland was invaded, Germany also attacked Norway and Denmark. The German forces also invaded France and eventually conquering Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Because of Hitlers victories, Italy joined forces with Hitler and on June 22, 1940, France finally surrendered. The war against Britain continued and then Germany continued invading other territories including Greece and Yugoslavia. On June 22, 1941, Hitler and the German forces broke the non-aggression pact and invaded the Soviet Union. In 1943, Mussolini and the Italian forces surrendered and the Soviet Union powerfully forced Hitler and the German forces to retreat.

Death  Legacy
Hitler had an attempted assassination in July 1944 when a bomb was planted in his headquarters. Hitler was able to escape the attempted killing. Adolf Hitler died in April 1945 when he committed suicide. He took his life together with his mistress by cyanide poisoning and gunshot. He did so in order to avoid the Soviet forces that were out to capture him. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party may have been regarded as gravely immoral but nonetheless they made history with Nazism. He was indeed a great man who changed Germany in a major way. His personality and skill gave him immeasurable power that gave historical life to Germany.

American History

The most significant motive why America wanted to become an imperial state in the 19th century was for economic benefits. The objects of analysis during the period of geopolitical expansion, imperialism and global engagement were geopolitical culture and the development of foreign policy. Geopolitics was the need for exposing the geopolitics with domination and imperialism. The political imperialism that was initiated during the 19th and the 20th century set pace on things to come in the United States. During this period, most of the countries, America included were embracing the idea of world powers or great powers. One of the leading supporters of this movement in America was Albert Beveridge. He talked about oversees expansion to increase the prosperity of the country. For a country that considered itself God chosen, individuals and societies saw this period as a God sent opportunity to spread Christianity. This was a part of President William McKinleys resolution to retain the Philippines. This is what saw the establishment of many missionaries in other countries. This period saw Americans enjoy freedom, liberty and prosperity. The United States thinkers and political leaders are currently embracing a clear imperialist or neoimperialist mission for the country. This is seen in the mainstream media and their dealing with the foreign affairs. This is evident mostly in the Bushs administration especially on the war on terrorism. In the pursuit of extending what can be seen as the American empire, the leaders of the country are not only going back to the notion of imperialism, but also to the perspective of the notion as advocated for by its 19th century supporters. The idea of imperialism came as a shock to the people and societies in the United States, since they do not want to consider their country as an empire (Skowronek, 1982).  

The American founding fathers were hesitant about executive authority in the country. There was great potential for constitutional extension of presidency. Utilizing this potential, the early heads of state- Washington, Jefferson, Polk and Lincoln expanded the position of presidency in foreign affairs. The main sources of presidential power became wars and threats of war. During the greater part of the 19th century, the presidency remained considerably weak. For most of this period the office was an insignificant institution. However, from the 1890s to the 1920s, the presidential powers went up rapidly. The president became so powerful as the head of state as well as the head of government. He has the executive power to execute the federal law, as well as the power to appoint federal executive, ambassadorial, judicial and regulatory officials. Most of the initiatives of the president of the United States affect the country as well as other outside countries considering the fact that it is world hegemony, for example, the presidential initiatives to intervene in Vietnam, Iraq and other countries. The presidency of the United States has been described as the imperial presidency by many writers. Since the philosophical arguments of Aristotle, it is clear that information alone is not an assurance of political success. What are important are the principles of the political system and definitely those of its policy-makers. This is the reason why the leadership and initiatives of presidents in the United States has had effects on individuals and societies in the country. Taking the example of Bushs decisions to intervene in Iraq, individuals who were sent to war as well as their families were affected. Societies both within and outside the country were also affected. The problem remains that the power of the presidency in the country continues to enable presidents to come up with decisions that have profound effects on individuals and societies (Skowronek, 2002).

The American forefathers were aware of the future needs to change the laws of the land and this was the reason why they created a constitution that could be amended. During the time period of 1877-1920, there were various legislative actions that were followed by amendments to the constitution. Teddy Roosevelt was for example the most notable supporter of the changes with a lot of reforms being carried out during his reign. Some of the crucial changes done during this period were introduction of income tax after the 16th amendment, direct appointment of senators after the 17th amendment, prohibition following the 19th amendment, and suffrage of women following the 19th amendment. All the changes were aimed at boosting democracy in the country by making it possible for the citizenly to govern and avoid political bosses. The governor of California is an example of a supporter of these changes. He initiated initiative, referendum and recall seeing them as positive influences for public involvement. The changes gave Americans more freedom and a voice in how they were to be governed. There was an effect of these changes especially on the middle class. This is because they this class was caught in between big capital and big labor, as a way of taking political action. Many of the states took an initiative of enacting changes that would see the improvement of living and working conditions. This was beneficial to individuals as well as communities. Laws like the child labor laws were made stronger and new ones developed. This provided benefits like rise in age limits, shorter working hours, restriction of night shifts, and requirements for education (Wiebe, 1966).    
The Democratic and Republican parties in the United States have dominated the politics of this country for a very long time. Despite the fact that they trace their roots in the 1800s, there were other parties that enjoyed flashes of fame before they faded away completely. Some of these are political organizations that successfully put their members into power. The first political party in the country was the Federalist Party. This party supported a strong state administration and leaders such as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. The party declined in the elections of 1800. The forerunner of the current Democratic-Republican Party was the Jeffersonian Republican Party, which supported President Jefferson into power. The forerunner of todays Republican Party was he National Republican Party. There were other parties like the Anti-Masonic Party, the Whig Party, the Liberty Party, the Free-Soil Party, the Know-Nothing Party and the Greenback Party. Different parties in the country played different roles in the politics of the country. Some were beneficial while others oppressed the people of the country, for example the controversial Know-Nothing Party that opposed immigration into the country. However, the country was more democratic as compared to other countries around the world. They elected leaders to office in a democratic way, which was beneficial to the people and communities in the country (Skowronek, 1982).

During the time period of 1877-1920, when people were not satisfied by the actions of leaders and political systems, they came up with citizens founded organizations and movements to counter the political systems and their actions. For example in the year 1877, there was the railroad strike dubbed Americas first national strike. These organizations and movements that were founded by citizens at the local, state and national levels were aimed at addressing various social problems. Some of the issues they were aimed at addressing were alcohol and prostitution, child abuse, railroad and corporate laws, probation, parole, town planning, referendum, party primaries, and direct elections among others. The movements bore fruits despite the fact that some people lost their lives and properties in the process. These movements motivated a lot of reforms that saw the people enjoying their life and working in the country.  The child rights, labor laws, voting rights and other rights and freedoms were introduced as a result improving the lives of individuals as well as the entire society (Wiebe, 1966).    

Clash of Cultures Tension in Colonial America between 1619 an 1763

The colonial America comprised of thirteen colonies from Europe. The colonies were as varied as their cultural and religious background. There were tension and culture clash as each colony tried to chart its own way and acquire more land in the expansive America. For too long the colonial settlers were against each other. Competition between religious groups was rifle and intolerance of other peoples culture was the order of the day. However, there came a time when colonies had to unite for their own good. There were two historical experiences that led to the unity of the American thirteen colonies. One of these was the Great Awakening movement that happened during 1720s through to the 1740s. Most immigrants that settled in the colonial America came seeking a religious freedom. And since the British never imposed the Church of England as the official church on the 13 colonies, religious practices were diverse as the people themselves. The Great Awakening started by Jonathan Edwards and later led by George Whitefield together with other itinerant pastors moved around the continent and across the colonies preaching for a new birth and repentance regardless of ones cultural or religious background (Ciment, 2005). The preachers and their followers were credited with promoting religious tolerance among the diverse religious groups in the different colonies. The revival movement brought a new understanding of the Christian faith that was very much missing which was to be shared by people from the north and south as well as across all races.

French and Indian which occurred between 1754 and 1763 cemented the gains made by the great awakening. While it is notated that most the past colonial wars experienced in North America began in Europe before spreading to the colonies, the French and Indian war was a different one it was started in North America before it spilled over to Europe. Suspicion and cutthroat competition between the colonies was responsible for the war. For example, the French and the British had a long struggle to take control of the Ohio valley and the Great lakes region something said to have been the primary cause of the war (Ciment, 2005). The French and Indian war brought a sense for unity of purpose among the thirteen American colonists under the British Empire to win the war against the French who were viewed as a threat by all other colonists. Unity among Americans was further boosted by this war as people found an opportunity to leave their colonies and move across the larger continent to fight alongside other people from different cultural background but shared the common American interest.

During the war, Americans got the opportunity to be trained by the British officers in readily for the battle, something that did not only bring the colonies together but would later help in the American Revolution. According to Ciment (2005) the war also brought together the colonial legislatures as well as officials into strong cooperation probably for the first time in efforts to pursue the continents military strength. Once the war was over and the French defeated, the colonists together with the British felt a joint a triumphant victory over their common enemy. This strengthened the colonies loyalty to America as their mother land more than before. The end of the war also marked the end of the need for colonial protection of the colonists because the foreign threat had been eliminated.

Teaching American Values and Virtues

It was late Saturday evening, Lisa Donath, a teen drug counselor was on her way home from work. She was not feeling well that time and thought it could be due to the blood she donated the other day. While at the station, Lisa fainted and fell right on the trail racks near a couple. Without any delay, the man named Ismael Feneque, a pattern maker, jumped in to rescue her, 20 seconds before the next train arrived. Within such a short time, Ismael was able to rescue Lisa and climb up to save himself. When asked, Ismael said he did not bear any second thoughts about saving Lisa, even if it could have caused his own life. In our everyday life, we encounter many struggles and negative experiences. We hear about rape, murder, robbery, and many different kinds of crime that make us feel pessimistic about people and the world. However, stories of heroism like what Ismael did inspire us to believe that there is still hope in the future, if we only teach our children the right values and virtues they should bear. In view of this, the family, school, and community should contribute to emphasizing good values and virtues among children. In this paper, we discuss the values and virtues that every American youth should imbibe despite coming from different cultural backgrounds.

The structure of American classes nowadays is usually made up of children from different multicultural origins. Hence, multiculturalism presents the challenge to every teacher who intends to teach about American culture and values. Despite coming from different backgrounds, children should possess values and virtues typical of every American youth in order to ensure individual adoptability and sound social structure.

The challenge involves a number of considerations. Among which is the belief in moral relativism that tend to lead the youth to lose moral conviction. Sommers (in Surname of Editor, year) identifies todays youths inability to judge situations with strong moral conviction. Most of them are morally misled, and cannot decide whether something is good or bad. When asked the same question, one interviewee explained that it depends on the person to decide whether what she does is good or bad. This inability to identify good from evil is alarming for there is a better probability that they will do what is wrong more than what is right. For Sommers, this kind of thinking is no better than the philosophy of a sociopath (390). A morally deranged person does things on impulse and not by purpose. In Aristotles (in Surname of Editor, year) Nichomachean Ethics, he emphasizes that our desires should be directed towards a good goal or else it will be empty and in vain (366). He believes that a person who knows right from wrong can likewise identify between physical and higher pleasures. Like Sommers, he supports the idea that there are standards of goodness. People are endowed with the capability to determine what is right and what is wrong based on the outcome of a certain act. Thus, a good deed results in a good outcome, one that is beneficial to those who are concerned.

To develop the ability to distinguish right from wrong, Sommers suggests a great relearning where students will be taught of general rules that would help reform their thoughts towards doing what is good. A great relearning is necessary in order to unlearn and correct wrong notions and behaviors developed in the past. To do this, students should hear a lot of stories and examples of good deeds such as those of Ismael Feneques heroism. Everyday, one of them will be assigned to report an act of heroism they encountered from the news or read from the Internet. This will help them realize that courage or heroism is one of the values that Americans should have. The heroism of American people, especially those who fought in the wars, should be strongly emphasized to similarly motivate students to learn and value freedom.

Krauthammer (in Surname of Editor, year) renders a commentary on recurrent crimes, among which is rape. According to him, the incidence of rape has multiplied over the years from the 1960s. In response to this, teachers should emphasize the importance of respect for life and rights. Mainly, children should learn how to give respect to others, especially to human beings. By exercising respect, people can live harmoniously, Respect for the law, property, and freedom of speech are just some values they need to relearn. In teaching respect, the teacher should allow students to share about their own culture. At the start of every lesson, one student will share practices, traditions, food, etc. which are exclusive to ones culture. This way, students will be exposed to cultural differences, thus promoting respect and acceptance of other peoples individuality.

Another value that students need to develop is honesty. For Aristotle, the wise speak only the truth. In Sommers (in Surname of Editor, year), the author confronts the crucial reality that many of our youth today do not bear the truth. Sad to know, some are doubtful of important historical facts such as the Holocaust and the WWII, where many lives were fought and lost in vain. This sad reality about the youth challenges us again to submit students to a kind of relearning. Teaching history, memorizing facts, and reading about important events in history are certainly not enough to show our youth the truth about the past. What they need is evidence. Therefore, to teach truth students should be made to watch videos and documentaries. These resources should include documentaries on the past including our ancestors, and the present situation of our people and even those who are experiencing hunger or oppression such as those in Somalia or in Tibet. These documentaries would help them realize the truth. After viewing, students should be asked to write reflections based on what they have seen, and these reactions should be processed through discussion in class.

In addition, lessons for teaching honesty and truth should include practical applications. Sommers (Ibid.) emphasize that teaching honesty includes teaching students the importance of decency. In the academic setting, honesty may be exercised by not plagiarizing. Plagiarizing somebodys work demonstrates the loss of honesty and respect for other peoples right. It also results in the loss of human dignity. The students should understand that these values are interconnected, thus neglecting one results in neglect of another.

Related to honesty and respect is the value of patience. The modern trends that we live with nowadays teach us to do things in an instant. Instant coffee, instant meals, and instant income are just some things we enjoy because we escape the need to wait. This results in our inability to wait for the right time before something comes to fruition, or before something is perfectly ripened. It also results in the loss of patience. Many youngsters nowadays have forgotten the value of patience. Thus, they resort to copying or plagiarizing other peoples work, they resort to liposuction instead of exercising, or they try to secure jobs that can make them earn instant cash. In response to the need to redevelop patience, teachers should design activities that require students to do a comprehensive and hands-on project such as conducting research, interviews, or preparing videos and other activities that they would enjoy doing and at the same time allow them to spend time working together as groups. Cooperative learning would teach them the value of patience and hard work.

Heroism, ability to determine right from wrong, respect, honesty and patience are only some American values and virtues that we need to develop among students in order to reform society. Although these values are universal, we accept the fact that there are critics and skeptics who will oppose to teaching them in the classroom. For instance, some may think that heroism cannot apply to most students. However, it should be stressed that values such as heroism can be demonstrated in simple ways. For instance, a simple help to carry a classmates books is an act of heroism. Checking ones own paper can be an exercise of honesty and judging right from wrong. Also, a simple drawing exercise using natural pigments can promote patience among young students. Every teacher should consider that the little things they do and the values they develop in the classroom can do wonders eventually when students set foot in the big world.

A Review of the American Society during and after the First World War

World War I is one of the most pivotal events of the world. For America, the First World War also serves to be an important turning point of its history and its role to international affairs. David Kennedys exceptional book entitled Over Here the First World War and the American Society is a well-written account that evaluates and analyzes the real significance of the Great War to the transformations of the American society. Kennedys book is a well-researched document that focuses more on the domestic or home front events that also took place when America decided to join the war. It is a very informative, excellent book that helps people to understand the consequences of the war for the country and how it led to the birth of modern America. Over Here documents the strengths, weaknesses, trials, and successes of the government and the American nation during this crucial time in world history.

The First World War has really brought immense tension to the American society not only because it is a threat to the peace of the nation, but also because it signified the first intense involvement of America to international affairs. Kennedy addressed in his book the persistent confusion about Americas stake in the fighting, and about the precise causes and purposes of American Entry (46). Over Here presents the most comprehensive discussion of the impact of World War I to America, how the people struggled because of it, how the society changed due to it, and what emerged from the American society after it. The book also noted how the pressure of the Great War also hinted the possible character of the modern American nation in terms of handling issues related to politics, economics, and international relations.

The arrival of the war in America was not immediate. Although the war started in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson was apprehensive that if America joined the war, every reform they won will be lost. It was not until the spring of 1917 that President Wilson changed his mind and began planning what role should America play in the war. Prior to the announcement of the President that America will join the war in Europe, there had been threats and attacks from the German forces already. But Kennedy noted that America declined for as long as they can until it reached the point that the terrorization and the insults from Germany had at last become too many and too grievous to endure for America (10). After consulting with all of his advisers that were unanimously in favor of war with Germany, the President announced to the Congress that America will be taking part of the First World War. Kennedy details in his book how the announcement of the President would not simply concern the question of peace or war, but the ways in which America should wage the war (13). With a careful, organized discussion of all the actions and decisions committed by the American government during their entry to the Great War, Kennedy produced a wide-ranging book that really delivers the picture of the war home front in times of great peril.

In America, the First World War was packaged as a war for democracy, a war to end war, a war to protect liberalism, a war against militarism, a war to redeem barbarous Europe, a crusade (Kennedy 51). But domestic America also faced its own turmoil while the war in Europe was taking place.

Kennedy discussed the economic concerns brought by the war for the Americans and how the war had begun slowly changing all sectors of the society, even politics and labor. Different ideologies emerged, most prominently would be the debates between the radicals and the conservatives. As a whole, Over Here managed to remain objective in discussing the important experiences happening in American land during this historical period. Not all Americans were in favor of the nations involvement to the First World War. Many conservatives and isolationists spent the day pleading with Senators and Representatives not to approve the expected request for a declaration of war (Kennedy 15). In fact, the division between those who are in favor of it and those who want the nation to isolate itself from it became more intense as the days passed. Kennedy noted how the war resulted to unbridgeable chasms between those who feared and those who welcomed the consequences of American belligerency and caused more threat to the peace of the American nation (Kennedy 29).

Kennedy also discussed in the book how President Wilsons administration needed to cultivate or even manufacture public opinion that would agree to their plans and goals. The entry to war definitely resulted to an intense ambiance and amplified the different social concerns of America so the president had to utilize all measures he had to keep the nation intact and productive. The Great War was peculiarly an affair to the mind and the President knew this as well (Kennedy 46). Wilson was not like other politicians because he was a newcomer to the field and he used popular opinion to help him achieve his political purposes. The Presidents strategy was to appeal directly to the people and produce a unified convictions and perspective of the issue. Propaganda was definitely beneficial for President Wilson to convince everyone to support the war and to take part on it even on domestic level.

Over Here also discussed how President Wilson intended to keep government borrowing to a minimum, while increasing taxes and very probably revising the tax structure itself in order to finance the war (Kennedy 13). The author also noted that there had been universal military training of drafted men who would become soldiers in the war. But most importantly, Kennedys book highlighted how the President used Americanism or the repression of supposed disloyalty to make his plans of war more effective and tightly productive. The war paved way to the ideal of 100 Americanism that intends to keep the loyalty to the American flag more intact in this crucial time. The war popularized the idea of America being the melting pot of different races and paved way for schools for immigrants where people from different races would be welcomed and educated the American way. But Kennedy also noted how this ideal also resulted to a bad case of vigilantism where people related to Germany, even those who denounce it, faced sufferings in the hands of the pro-Americanism.

But the book not only noted the troubles of the war to domestic America. Kennedy also gave significant emphasis on all the positive changes that the nation needed but only became possible because of the war. The author noted all progressive reforms and decisions in social, economic, and political policies. Several provisions on the labor laws changed, one of them was that work became restrained to just eight hour per day end of child labor, right to form unions, and better wages for the people. The war also led to the eventual migration of the Blacks from the South and womens movement. Kennedy also highlighted how the Great War catapulted the role of America to become a part of the affairs of the world. Although, it did not successfully push through at once after the war because America isolate itself again after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles where the American Congress refused to ratify peace treaty due to its inclusion of the league of nations that they deemed may threaten the independence of their country. Later on, of course, America also learned from these early decisions.

And though the First World War did not actually produce the rich, powerful nation that America is now nor did it ensure that peace will be surely continuous and prevailing around the world, the Great War was able to pave way for the possibility of a prosperous, modern America. As a whole, the book significantly acknowledged how President Wilson contributed to the development of several facets of the American society and what became of the nation in the post-war world.  Kennedys book was successful in achieving its goal of describing how the changes of the First World War affected the future of the nation, how America became more involved with other countries, and what was the image of the early 20th century of the American society.

Lies My Teacher Told Me Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

Lies My Teacher Told Me Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong explores the other side of  some American history  that has been excluded in  high school history textbooks.  American textbook writers, according to James W. Lowen, author of  Lies My Teachers Told Me,  glorified the American historical truth while bombarding students with tedious and one- sided information about America. As a result, students find American history boring. (p.2-3). Also it isolates the students of color s own ethnic history by leaving out important facts printed in some American history textbooks that Lowen has researched.

Lowen, professor of sociology at the University of Vermont, investigates and explains about how textbook writers altered historical facts to sell students a product  of  progressive country without flaws. (p. 249)  He believes these  lies   in textbook may be the root cause of  high school students disinterest in history. This is after he surveyed high school students from Mississippi, Vermont and the metro area of Washington D.C. about their least favorite subject (p.1-7)  Besides observing students, most of his proof comes from the twelve textbooks he analyses. In addition, Lowen interviews American history teachers who has to teach the altered textbook.

The reviewer did not approached the author s knowledge in a skeptical manner because of the author s career and  co-writer of  the history textbook Mississippi Conflict and Change. He  reserves the right to dismantle the issue from a subjective view.  He asks the reader  (1995)  Why are history textbooks so bad  Nationalism is one of the ld allowed the reader to make their own judgment as indicated by
Lowen  about American history textbooks.  

THE LOUSIANA PURCHASE AND ITS ROLE IN AMERICAN CULTURE

For every country, there is always a point in history when everything seems to change.  For the United States of America, it is the Louisiana Purchase which is considered to be the most significant event to impact the nations history.  Events such as this represent a huge portion of any countrys development and so ripples in effect from social, to political, to cultural.  In the case of the Louisiana Purchase, while many contemporary events are focused mainly on its commemoration as a historical event, there are other, more interesting aspects of this particular event that have to be considered such as its cultural effect.  The Louisiana Purchase served to enrich the culture of the United States in more ways than one as evidenced in the social constructs that exist in states included in the said purchase as well as many arts, civic, and cultural activities that are implemented in commemoration of this very significant event in United States history.

The Louisiana Purchase is when President Thomas Jefferson purchased the vast territory of Louisiana from France in 1803, doubling the size of the United States. (Arkansas State Secretary)  In 1815, the new land acquired was surveyed which then resulted in efforts to explore and settle in the American West.  (Arkansas State Secretary)  Many historians consider this huge historical event to be instrumental in the emergence of the United States as a world power mainly because of the physical effects of the purchase  making the United States a country that can dwarf many other countries in the matter of geographical domain.  The Purchase elevated a fledgling nation into a world power made Missouri and 12 other future states a part of this nation, and transformed St. Louis, a small trading post, into the Gateway to the West. (Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial)  So, based on the phenomenal impact of this particular period in the history of the United States it is safe to surmise that the event had its tangible effects on the culture of the nation.  These effects are not imaginary in fact, there is evidence that the Louisiana Purchase had visibly influenced how culture developed in the new world.

The Louisiana Purchase had a significant effect in the blending of cultures among the various occupants of the United States, more specifically of the states covered by the Louisiana Purchase.  The Louisiana Purchase offered the potential for the creation of a rich, multicultural civilization blending Native American, French, Spanish, Anglo-American, and other influences. (Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial)  Here it is clear that the multicultural composition of the United States is influenced significantly by the various cultures that were active in the states that the Louisiana Purchase acquired as part of the United States of America.  In the West coast of the United States there is a dominance of French culture which is due largely to the French hold of these territories prior to the Louisiana Purchase.  So, when the territories were purchased by the United States, a huge percentage of its population retained their French ancestry.  French culture, however, is not the only culture that is evident in these states and all other states in the country because Native American culture and the Anglo-American culture also pervaded traditions and practices.  This resulted to the emergence of an entirely different and distinct culture that is now known as American Culture.  In any event, this mingling of cultures resulted in many tangible expressions of the Louisiana Purchase itself.

The field of the arts also has its own share of influence from this historical event.  The Pontalba Affair, a new opera composed and written by Thea Musgravefeaturesthe story of the Purchasein the first act of the opera, especially scene fourto serve almost exclusively as the backdrop for the melodrama. (Transatlantica)  This particular incident is merely an example of how the Purchase has found its way into American arts.  Other than just in theater and music, the Purchase is also portrayed in the visual arts.   An oil-painting located in the Western Expansion of the Capitol in one of the panels of the Cox Corridors portrays the signing of the Louisiana Purchase.  (United States House of Representatives)  There are many such paintings all throughout history featuring this important event and many artists have their own perspective of the event as seen in the various ways it is portrayed.  The portrayal is mostly influenced by the magnitude of emotions that comes with the commemoration of this event as well as the value that citizens put into this particular period in history which is largely responsible for the status that the United States is currently enjoying.

All over the country, there are also civic organizations and establishments that use the Louisiana Purchase to propel their specific and respective goals and objectives.  Even environmental organizations focusing on the protection of wildlife take the precepts of the purchase into consideration in composing the vision and mission of their establishments.   For instance, a zoo in Louisiana is named in commemoration of the said purchase.  The mission of the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo is to help people develop a sustainable relationship with nature. (Monroe State Government)  This particular incident shows how the principles of the purchase, specifically sustainability in the existence of the additional states covered by the Purchase are used to mirror efforts at maintaining ecological and environmental sustainability.

It is not surprising that many such events are held and implemented in commemoration of the Louisiana Purchase because of the gravity of its impact on the progress and development of the United States.  Albeit being a historical event, the Louisiana Purchase still reverberates in contemporary times in its emergence and reemergence in arts, cultural, and civic activities.  This simply shows how people value this event and how this event had been a tangible, material, and real legacy for all Americans.

Colonisation American and British perspectives

Political Violence is a phenomenon in which people and governments around the world us it for meeting their political goals. Different groups as well as individuals believe that their political systems will never respond to their political demands as a result the need for violence is justified by them. Many governments around the world also think that violence could really settle their popularity as well as us them for defending their country from threats and invasions (Political Violence).

 Social violence is organized violence. It is a type of social combat used in context of group interests and goals. Social violence can also be spontaneous. Some psychologists have also classified social violence as pathological violence. Political and social violence have often occurred as a result of disagreements between the two major colonists of the world, America and Britain. One of the major violence between the two nations was the American war of independence (Dennen).

In the late 1700s disagreements between British and American forces occurred which led to bloody violence like the Boston massacre and the Boston tea party. Angry responses from Britain even increased the indignation of the colonials against British forces. This violence ultimately led to the revolutionary wart in the 13 American colonies. Among the things that led for disagreements was resentment of parliamentary taxation, military measures of the British, civil liberty restrictions and legacy of the American ideas related to religion and politics.

One of the main causes of the rebellion between the two was the resentment of the stamp act. The stamp act was imposed by Britain for recovering the debt incurred by colonies during the Indian war and the French war. The act was severely hated by colonists because they felt that only their own colony legislatures had the authority to levy and collect taxes. As a measure of protest many people living in the colonies boycotted British goods and they sometimes tarred and feathered tax collectors also. Boycott of British goods severely affected the British economy. As a result of pressure from the merchants, finally the British parliament repaid the tax reluctantly. But even though the tax was withdrawn, the Americans grew suspicious about the British.

In addition to the stamp act, restriction of civil liberties also strained relations between British and Americans. The act that was used by the British for restricting civil liberties of Americans was the Quartering act. This act required the American colonists to board British troops and provides them with provisions when necessary. Moreover colonial governments were also asked to pay for stationing troops in their colonies. Other measures that led to disagreements were the intolerable acts which closed the Boston harbour until the damages for the Boston tea party was paid. This act also prohibited town meetings of people. In addition to this military measures followed by the British also aroused disagreement between the two. Unpopular military measures followed by Britain like stationing troops at Boston, which led to Boston massacre also ruined the relations between the two colonists.

Another disagreement factor between the British and American colonists was the threat the Americans felt to their religious and political ideas. The British who were protestants did not encourage spreading of catholic faith in colonies. Some colonists even felt that protestant religion and republican government ideas were damaged after the passing of the Quebec act which supported the Catholics.

Several factors have led to the American Revolutionary War such as parliamentary
Taxation, civil liberty restrictions, intolerable British military Measures and the disrespect of the heritage of American religious as well as political ideas. Conceivably the most important of all the measures was the Stamp Act, which was the first act that provoked colonists to dissent. Its revoke fortified the colonists confidence that Parliament had no authority to Charge tax on the colonies without the colonial legislatures consent (Factors of Rebellion. 2010).

Historically British and American colonists have their share of indifferences. One of the major causes of the American war of independence was the disagreement between British and American separatists. There was significant differences in colonial interests between American colonists and that of the British, those who migrated from Britain for religious reasons believed that they have been called to take part in an event which had both spiritual as well as historical significance. They insisted on individual efforts and moralities in order to achieve economic and spiritual success.

The British colonists have a different form of outlook where freedom was given more importance. Freedom in their viewpoint was both individual and collective. However freedom that was expressed in the covenant was restricted through religious ideals. Political differences were unthinkable in this context.

After the withdrawal of British from American mainland, most of the people living in colonies were free holders. They escaped the label of tenants. Individual liberty and equality belief was widely accepted. When compared with the life styles of British colonists, American society was fluid in structure where origins were counted for less than individual achievements. They strived to cerate opportunities to anyone. Moreover American colonists gave importance to education than the British ( HYPERLINK httpwww.skyminds.netanglo-american-civilisationfrom-the-reformation-to-the-birth-of-the-american-nation-1534-1776the-american-colonies-religion-and-politics o Permanent Link to The American colonies  Religion and Politics The American colonies Religion and Politics.2010).

Continental Army and how it was supplied with both men and equipment

The ability of an army to succeed in the war is dependent on the ability to maintain effective ideology for the war, maintain the necessary personal and military supplies and provide the needed leadership. Though Continental Army suffered great shortage of qualified men and supplies, new recruitments, use of militia groups and states commitments provided the needed supply of men and food while equipments were developed in the few local industries, stolen from the British military and others bought from Europe.

Many scholars conclusions consider Revolutionary War as a conflict undercut by great commitment and patriotism which saw United States emerge as the global force in the 18th and subsequent century.  They argue that the ultimate success was built on the key acceptance of the inferiority that United States suffered in comparison to the highly experienced opponents (British Army).  How then did the Continental Army succeed despite their many raw inexperienced men What were the supply problems during the war How did Washingtons inexperience contribute to poor supplies How did the Congress help or hinder the war effort It is from the above consideration that this paper provides an in-depth evaluation of the Continental Army and its application that saw America emerging victorious from the revolution.  

A brief analysis of Continental Army and Revolution War
Continental Army was formed as a theoretical and philosophical underpinning on American Revolution which saw United States freedom from the British rule and laying the basement towards the formation of the American Army.  John Lockes ideology on political thinking on peoples rights to overthrow leaders created the force to rebel against misrepresentation of the local people in the British government system in the new England presently United States.  Particularly, the Americans established the ideal of republicanism which strongly criticized British model of governing its colonies. In 1775, Continental Congress established a resolution that created the Continental Army.  Under the leadership of George Washington as the Commander-in-Chief, the Army sought to consolidate militia groups and troops in individual states to fight against the British forces.

As the Revolution War intensified, the Continental Congress increasingly assumed the status of a sovereign state but fears reigned of possible evolution of Continental Army into a permanent army.  Notably, the Army went through key reforms that were carved out of renewed efforts by Britain to defeat the revolution, American support by Prussian and French troops, and Congress near bankrupt status towards the end of the war. This army was succeeded by the American Army that was ultimately derived from the cumulative experience.   Historians appear in agreement that this army was highly primitive both in command, constitution and overall planning a factor that makes their success at times to be credited to other forces that lent a hand to them such as militia and French troops.
What were the effects on the Continental Army by having so many raw recruits compared to the British Regulars

(a) Hard to maintain the necessary discipline
Analysts argue that large numbers of raw recruits in the army had both positive and negative implications.  To begin with, it was hard to maintain the needed discipline of the forces that facilitates cooperation at all levels.  With realization of the critical lack of the needed infrastructure especially weapons such as guns, canons, chemicals such as gun powder and the correct attire, Washingtons ideology and actions were completely tied-up and he had to uptake the existing militias into the army.  Notably, the raw recruits subscribed to differing prior commands and therefore constant difficulties in making them adhere to the same codes of communication and discipline.  In December of 1975 more than 5,000 men were recruited to boost the existing numbers which was already becoming feeble.  Taking into consideration of the poor communication mechanisms employed in the army, great fragmentation was inevitable.  Troops in the battle ground were not in harmony with the overall demands and provisions of the congress.  Consequently, they differed from their immediate generals who they considered to fail in securing their needed bounties and weaponry.  On 6th December of 1975 Connecticut troops resolved to leave their camp from their differences with their general.

Washingtons view of a continental army though immediately opposed by the congress was correct.  A fragmented raw recruitment was a major threat to the revolutions ideology.  At this point, Non-Massachusetts recruits equally viewed themselves as outsiders and therefore took longer before they could assimilate the whole ideology of military discipline and working as a team.  Upon empowerment by the congress a factor that saw greater coordination of recruitment at the state level, regiments took a greater centralized focus which ultimately transformed into the United States Army.  However, under the ideology that the fight was theirs, their families and therefore a patriotic liberation, it is critical to identify with the recruits who though poorly skilled, marched with determination to win the revolution that marked the platform of the American supremacy.

(b) Poor supply of military requirements
Military analysts often underscore the logistics involved in maintaining an army in war in the context of American Revolution.  In any army, success depends on the ability to get the necessary supportive personal and weaponry demands.  Continental Armys raw recruits saw a very large number which though had the advantage of outdoing the skeleton British Forces, created great supplies shortage.   Notably, the feeble congress by the time of the revolution lacked a clear military supplies production system a factor that made the army use crude models such as stealing those belonging to the British and imported others from the Caribbean.  Of particular consideration was the great deficit of gun powder that saw large numbers of raw recruits operate in a guerilla style only with the tradition weapons.  Equally in small quantities were small arms and shells which reduced the overall effectiveness of the army against the precise British Army.

The large number of raw recruits further created a great shortage of military attire as both funds and materials were greatly limited.  In what authors see as a desperate move by the army, some of the men resulted to taking their clothes and shoes to their families for mending.  Therefore, a comparison with modern armies with highly organized supplies for periods well longer than anticipated session of wars, continental army supplies was a big joke.  As indicated earlier, Congress realization of the need for greater supply upon the establishment of the Continental Army was perhaps the most effective decision that saw importation of some supplies from France which made latter battles being more effective.  
(c) Buildup of greater confidence in the Army and

While the large entry of raw recruits was perhaps one of the greatest tests for Washingtons military leadership, one cannot fail to give credit to them for commitment that was driven by patriotism for their nation.  Over the years, British had used the simple model of divide and rule tactic that saw various states highly deficient in both the necessary ideology to outdo its army and the critical supplies.  As a result, the notion of a combined force from different states took the colonial power by surprise.  Large numbers of raw recruits created a central confidence among the troops on their noble task to liberate their nation. Taking advantage of the power in numbers, it was hard for Thomas Cage, the Massachusetts British Governor to administer the Intolerable Acts against the large numbers of new troops.  As the British forces sought to destroy the military supplies store in Massachusetts, it was the large numbers of the Continental Army that made it possible to relocate them and therefore progressed with their assault on British Strongholds as planed.  
What was the impact of short enlistment periods

(a) Lack of ample training time
Unlike other professions, military operations are perhaps the only ones that demand the greatest precision both in intelligence and combat applications.  Short enlistment period of one year for the Continental Army therefore created a major shortage of the necessary skills for application of intelligence especially in espionage and spying.  With British Army having great experience especially in radio communication, short enlistment in the Continental Army was very perilous to the Congress vision.  It is estimated that between the years 1975 to 1983 a total number of about 400, 000 men were enlisted in the Continental Army of which about 164, 000 were members of different militias. The war against the highly qualified British Forces was therefore a traditional one as poor training saw uptake and employment of militia tactics as opposed to well coordinated operations.  While their skills cannot be under-looked especially from the great commitment that they were executed with, it makes the whole credit be pegged partially to them as opposed to the congress.    

(b) Poor consideration of joint operation expected in the military
A comparison of the Continental Army with other operations such as the World War II and recent war on mass destruction points at the former poor focus on joint operations.  Any military operation that fails to emphasize on effective joint-operations like the Operation Eagle Crow of 1979 in Iran, risks great failure and surprises.  Short enlistment periods therefore lacked this critical component a consideration that could easily have led to unexpected failures.  However, how applicable was joint operation in this case Analysts indicate that short enlistment was like adding a problem to the already existing ones as it created major discontinuities as opposed to consolidating acquired skills.  By giving the Army a longer enlistment period, it could have been possible to build on the existing regular men codes and upgrade militia mode of application to harmonize attacks and counterattacking the enemy a platform that could have facilitated easier and faster winning of the critical war.

(c) High departure rate from the military and loss of acquired skills
The concept of military operations is a deeply theoretical based undertaking which requires extended support that anchors perseverance and ultimate achievement of the main objective.  As indicated earlier, the concept is indeed hard to get and therefore the need to retain military troops for longer sessions.  As a result, the one year enlistment in the military was a major cause of high departure rates and therefore loss of critical skills to counter the highly qualified Britain Army.  At the fall of 1976 as more support from French forces was entrenched into the continental army, the need for longer enlistment was cited by Washington to be very critical in the emerging challenges from the British forces.  During the siege of New York, the number of men had dropped to about 20, 000 as it continued shrinking after every recruitment session.    

What were the supply problems Washington experienced with food, cloths, and arms and if supplied with the right men and equipment, could the war have been won earlier

(a) Quartermasters logistic issues
An army with poor supplies is no better than a defeated force in that though it may have the correct ideologies as the Continental Army did, it may lack the necessary operationalization force.  Notably, though continental army and indeed all the states were highly positive in their mission, liberating themselves, both nature and human capacity appeared to work against them.  By understanding these difficulties, the Quartermaster (a department to coordinate supplies and transport) was established.  The quarter master therefore asked respective states to provide the necessary food, blankets, clothing and other essential items that were required by the military. Notably the quartermaster took very long before it was fully organized and therefore made more men to suffer greatly in the battle field.  In addition, many people in different states were not cooperative and therefore made the Quartermaster to fail collecting enough supplies for the soldiers.  At this point men in the army were forced to seek alternative means of getting food and clothing by direct borrowing them from immediate households, using ineffective and old attire that reduced their efficiencies greatly.

Transport system for different supplies to men in the field was very poor.   The supplies collected by the quartermaster often failed to get to the men in the battle field due to transport problems.  Even when they got to them, it was late and perishables were already spoilt and could not be useful to them.  Indeed, even people involved in transporting the same supplies were never completely honest and major supplies were diverted for personal gains as the army was patriotically fighting for the nation.

(b) Monetary issues
A fact that scholars often cite to have worked against Washingtons supply consideration was lack of enough funds. During this session the Congress lacked enough Gold and Silver, as paper money was by then more worthless, to buy military requirements from Europe or even food from farmers.  This created a dilemma for Washington in maintaining both recruitments and army operations as the battle ground became almost a trial and error undertaking.  As indicated earlier, part of the motivation to men in the army was the expected pay by the congress.  However, the supply which came in form of paper currency was equally limited as congress remained undecided on models to maintain their motivation high.  This put a great disadvantage to the Continental Army against the well motivated British soldiers.
(c) Lack of enough skills training services to the soldiers
One key undoing for the Continental Army was poor skills development which resulted largely due to short enlistment sessions, poor cohesion and interstates enmity that made war to initially be fought separately.  As a result, the uptake of militia skills was a major retrogressive aspect in that it created a reduced force in search for more effective intelligence and counterattacks mechanisms.  To emphasize on this fact, a major difference was evident after the arrival of Baron von Steuben from Prussia who facilitated strong development of counter skills and survival strategies.  Indeed, it was after inculcation of new skills from Baron and latter arrival and support by General Rochambeau that siege of New York in the Battle of Chesapeake was successful and Britain had to surrender.  

How did Washingtons inexperience contribute to the lack of men and equipment
(a) Emphasis on Civilian control of the military
While reference to Washington has always been heroic, few writers have tried to focus on how he greatly contributed to key inefficiencies and particularly on lack of enough men and equipment to the Continental Army.  To begin with Washington emphasized on application of civilian control in the military. Civilian control of the military withdraws the direct command of the military and entrusts it on political leadership.  As a result, the experienced professionals become directly sidelined as dynamics of the political process especially in a poorly defined democracy (such as United States during the American Revolution era) are highly egocentric.  At this point, Washington can only be considered to be selfish because he understood Congress supported him irrespective of his inexperience but he never cited the need for a more qualified commander-in-chief.

By supporting the civilian control model, Washington, unknowingly rendered him powerless in that both equipments and men for the army had to be approved and manned by the Congress.  As a result, reverse trend took control of all supplies where Washington had to report to the congress for supplies.  This model limited the overall time for facilitating supplies that greatly impaired the respective efficiencies in the field.  A good example is the 1776 Washingtons recommendations to broaden recruitment base which was not directly accepted.  It was indeed hard for the political elites in the congress to figure out the real situation in the field and therefore major delays that could have led to great defeat in the field.

(b) Poor planning and lack of long term focus
Army planning and management calls for strong vision that goes well beyond the men operating in the field. Continental Army planning however assumed a highly fragmented operation that saw respective men easily loose faith in their immediate leaders and the whole congress.  Washingtons proposal and emphasis to maintain short time enlistment had the following negating effects on availability of supplies and more soldiers. First, most men from the military created a negative perception of the military and discouraged others from joining it to fight the patriotic war.  This negative implication could have been avoided if Washington had long-term plans and extended enlistment periods effectively.  As indicated earlier, both payments, diseases, war equipments and even lack of enough food were enough considerations to make a man change his mind and indeed perception of the revolution.

With communities understanding how their sons were suffering, their refusal to give supplies can be understood.  Though they understood the negative implications that British rule had to them, it was hard to compare it with the seemingly worse conditions marred by torture in the hands of British troops, suffering from harsh weather conditions and unpredicted deaths, with unclear visionary revolution.  Washingtons plan failed to factor these shocking effects by the community and therefore made his plan susceptible to public emotions. The public could not easily release their sons to go and suffer in their military.  

(d) Intensive use of local militia groups
Throughout the war, Washington appeared to lack an effective model that could empower the Continental Army.  In particular the constant reference to militia groups created a consideration that there was enough backup against the British forces.  Key Militias were called in battles such as the Cowpeas and the siege of New York.  In the former Battle of Cowpeas, militias such as Virginia Battalion led by Triplett Frank, Georgia militia under Cunningham and North Carolina Militia led by McDowell made Washington to have a great win over the British troops. Owing to their long time experience, Washington should have considered assimilating these militias into the army, however, lack of this consideration maintained a clear deficit of men to the Continental Army.    

How did Congress help or hinder the war effort. Was new technology available that could have helped the young American Army

(a) Congresss help on the war effort
Congress was perhaps the most instrumental factor in determining the orientation of the Continental Army.  Its input was however both supportive and at times a major obstacle that largely limited and disappointed the Armys operations.  First, the congress was made up of a congregation of strong republicans such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams among others (generally referred to as the founding fathers) who coined the need for a revolution.  Indeed, most historians have differed on the notion that Congress was at any time an obstacle against the Continental Army by pointing that it could never negate its very own initiated ideology.  Congress formed the final reference in decision making towards raising and gathering supplies for the army.  The congress raised money, procured food and even military equipments for the army in the field.  Immediately after Washingtons assumption of the role as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, he pointed at the critical shortage of gunpowder and small arms.  About 90 of the supplies had been imported from France by the end of year 1776.

As revolution intensified, Congress assumed a more central role in the propagation of the war especially in creating the new vision.  Though it was not easy for the new brooding administration to anchor the revolution process due to non-existence of relevant infrastructure it managed to hold high the portrait of new America to the nation and the army.  The drawing of declaration of independence created a new force in Washingtons men who were appearing exhausted towards the end of war.  Indeed, Washington held the declaration in his hands as he led over 20,000 men in the siege of New York.

(b) Congress as an obstacle to the war  
However, it is important to indicate that Congress equally remained a major obstacle towards the war effort.  As indicated earlier, the congress failed to emphasize on high professionalism from the beginning, a factor that almost saw the army being defeated during its war in New York. Washington was indeed poorly qualified to take the role of the Commander-in-Chief, however, congress made no efforts in seeking a more qualified person as the war progressed. In addition, Congresss emphasis on remaining the ultimate decision maker on core issues of the Army caused major delays especially in supplies for war.  This made it hard to strengthen the Army against the highly experienced British soldiers.

Though some analysts argue that it is essential to look at Congress in the context of time and the immediate difficulties they faced by then, a factor which is indeed correct, it is essential at times to compare it with present military operations.  The congress failed to establish a strong incentive that would bind the army to the long-term vision of liberating America.  The congress failed to honor payments to the men who were leaving the army after their enlistment was over.  This created a very negative image that even saw some residents resist cooperating with the Continental Army especially in supplying them with relevant supplies. Another major failure that Congress made was withdrawing its support to the Continental Army as it appeared that British was winning in the New York war even after the Declaration of Independence.  However, Washington retreated before he was supported by more militias and French soldiers to ultimately defeat the British Army which appeared to be gathering momentum.  

Though technology was still less developed compared to present times, it is important to note that the existing one could still have greatly helped the Continental Army in defeating the British. Globally, this technology was available especially from Europe where mass production to support large conflicts was done.  For instance, Prussia, France and Germany had well established production systems for war equipments.  However, this technology was only partially available to the continental army as New England lacked production units for the new communication and war equipments.  As a result, they had to be imported from Europe while others were impounded from the British forces.

How could this poorly equipped army beat the most experienced standing army of the time
Continental Armys ability to win the war against the highly experienced British Army was a culmination of a number of factors.  First, the underlying spirit for revolution against the British government undercut the whole Continental Armys driving force as outlined by the Congress.  The drive which Washington greatly utilized created a sense of liberty, freedom and therefore the ultimate break from the bondage of the British.  Notably, this ideology assumed an ascending tempo which climaxed in The Declaration of Independence and surrender of the British forces. The war was therefore an ideological one, a war necessitated by the time for change having reached, it could not be lost.

Compared to the British Army, Continental Army under Washington was greatly inexperienced.  As a result, Congress sought assistance from more experienced personnel to train the men in the battle ground.  For instance, Baron von Steuben from Prussia greatly helped in acquisition of new skills which improved tactical approaches in attacks and counterattacks on British Army.  Other supportive efforts included French army and Spanish men who were equally displeased by the British both in New England and in Europe.

Finally, the input of the local militias provided an invaluable force against the British forces whish Washington relied on to win major battles during the revolution.  Though the militias operated largely from a localized perspective, they created the required large numbers of men required to defeat the British Army.  By using the militias, Washington was able to avoid having an extremely large army factoring the notion that even the regular men he held were already hard to maintain and support with required supplies.

Conclusion
From the above discussion, this paper concludes by supporting the thesis statement, though Continental Army suffered great shortage of qualified men and supplies, new recruitments, use of militia groups and states commitments provided the needed supply of men and food while equipments were developed in the few local industries, stolen from the British military and others bought from Europe. Supplies to the Continental Army wit men and military requirements turned out to be one of the major setbacks for its effective operation against the highly qualified British Army.  From the establishment of the Army, it came out clearly that neither the Congress nor the Commander-In-Chief, Washington, had the correct experience to navigate key operations for the vision of revolution to be realized.  It further came out in the discussion that both Washington and Congress assumed key crucial responsibilities that defined the operations of the Army however, they equally wielded major limiting considerations for faster progress. If planning was executed in a more strategic model that factored long-term orientation, it is no doubt that this war could have been won faster that it took.  However, external forces were very crucial as they came to reinforce the fast dwindling Continental Force and leveraged the ultimate defeat and surrender by the British.