Relation Between the Structure of Power and Poverty Essay

Through several texts to include Bell Hooks’ articles Narratives of Struggle and Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor, Natasha Tretheway’s memoir High Rollers, and the film Trouble the Water directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal illustrate how the poor are often dehumanized by a higher dominating structure of power that belittles the poor because of preconceived notions from several forms of media and experiences. Many of the underclass were overlooked for service and stability because of the idea of civilians having preset ranks of class and agency or even the treatment, depiction, and resistance of poverty that was branded as impoverishment and acts of dehumanizing the ones most in need. Each of the sources express their†¦show more content†¦Hooks argues that people can struggle to survive, struggle to govern their own lives, or even struggle against dominating structures of power. She conforms that the government has classified the poor into a cat egory that defines them as being uneducated and automatically adapting to the idea of what poverty is that society has put out. The government ignores the poor because of their own misconceptions of reality and their own lifestyle. Hooks explains that these underclass members are set to have a colonized mind which means that they are going to follow in the steps of the government or a higher power due to a lack of intelligences. Hooks stated, â€Å"All too often the colonized mind thinks of the imagination as the realm of the psyche that, if fully explored, will lead one into madness, away from reality.† (Hooks 55) In relation to her other text, Hooks’ article Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor discusses how impoverished people are dehumanized by media which leads them into thinking the way that they do through a colonized mind. Due to the lack of resources and educational needs, less fortunate people only believe and function on what they see or know through the media. With regards to being dehumanized by society and the government, Hooks introduces the idea that contemporary popular culture rarely represents the poor in ways that display integrity and dignity. One canShow MoreRelatedDiscrimination On The Workplace And Can Result On Psychological Trauma1615 Words   |  7 Pages For centuries, society has been shaped following a structure that might have slightly changed over time, however not in a radical way. As stated by Giddens, structure could be defined by a set of rules, laws and resources that societies follow, by producing and reproducing social practices. Women’s voice in the structure has variated from being nearly insignificant to consequent, indeed they represent half of the workforce worldwide in 2011.** However, gender inequalities persists with a genderRead MoreMarx and Class Conflict948 Words   |  4 PagesIt is important to recognize that Marx viewed the structure of society in relation to its major classes, and the struggle between them as the engine of change in this structure. His was no equilibrium or consensus theory. Conflict was not deviational within society s structure, nor were classes functional elements maintaining the system. The structure itself was a derivative of and ingredient in the struggle of classes. His was a conflict view of modem (nineteenth century) society. The key toRead MoreCase Study : South Africa Essay1498 Words   |  6 Pagesthe elections of 1948. Apartheid regime ended in 1994 and the newly elected government led by the African National Congress (ANC) had to deal with enormous challenges in terms of poverty and huge inequalities. ANC’s election manifesto, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) emphasised that â€Å"attacking poverty and deprivation† must be â€Å"the first priority of a democratic government† (Statistics South Africa 2014). RDP was an ambitious socioeconomic framework focusing on addressing â€Å"economicRead MoreThe Social Functions Of Political Systems1001 Words   |  5 PagesRather, these systems continually shift and boundaries between the types of systems can easily become blurred (Kilman Module 5). Bands and tribes share some similar characteristics in that they are both relatively small. Bands in particularly usually only consist of thirty to fifty people (Taggart). In band societies, there is less of a different between status and wealth within the system, people tend to be relatively equal in terms of power (Taggart). Tribes also tend to be more egalitarian, althoughRead MoreRacial Segregation And The Civil Rights Movement1407 Words   |  6 Pagesit was a something to be erased. Notwithstanding the optimism outlook on race relations that dominated the country, there were deep, underlying changes within society that kept black communities marginalized and disenfranchised. As overt discrimination was becoming less commonplace, the seedlings of covert, institutionalized racism were being planted. George Lipsitz identifies this maintenance of subtle hegemonic power that unfairly withholds political, economic, and social advantages from peopleRead MoreThe Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, And Conflict Theory1040 Words   |  5 Pagesinteractionism. This focuses mainly on how the individual interacts with others, and how others influence the individual behaviors that impact society in a micro or macro way. The second theoretical framework is the conflict theory, it examines the rift between the rich and the poor and how it affects the quality of education, health care, and living condition of said group. Thirdly, the functionalist theory, which compares society to a system of interrelated parts, it’s a social system not just an individualRead MoreThe Link Between Corruption and Poverty : Lessons from Kenya Case Studies1403 Words   |  6 PagesThe Link Between Corruption and Poverty : Lessons from Kenya Case Studies INTRODUCTION One thing can be said-the mere fact that corruption has become an item of national preoccupation is paradoxically the first real achievement by Kenyans over corruption Since the end of the last decade the emphasis has moved from building public awareness on corruption issues to understanding the nature of corruption and its effects on the economy, society and politics; understanding the nature of the beastRead MoreThe Link Between Corruption and Poverty : Lessons from Kenya Case Studies1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Link Between Corruption and Poverty : Lessons from Kenya Case Studies INTRODUCTION One thing can be said-the mere fact that corruption has become an item of national preoccupation is paradoxically the first real achievement by Kenyans over corruption Since the end of the last decade the emphasis has moved from building public awareness on corruption issues to understanding the nature of corruption and its effects on the economy, society and politics; understanding the nature of the beast asRead MoreThe Link Between Poverty and Crime1654 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Many people living in poverty do not want to be living in poverty. In order to obtain a higher level of socioeconomic status, crime is seen as the only option.† (Wilson, 1987). Crime exists everywhere in the world – in rural and urban areas in many countries, in the East and West, and among all types of people. This has led many government officials, especially those in urban areas, to focus largely on the reduction of crime among their respective constituencies and has led others to speculateRead MoreInfluenced By Marxism And Imperialism915 Words   |  4 PagesInfluenced by Marxism and imperialism, Dependency writers sought to explain the high inequities in the world economic system in terms of its distribution of power and resources and places most nations in a dependent position in relation to the industrial powers. Dependency scholars basically believe that less-developed countries will be unable to develop because the rich world uses them as the equivalent of colonies. The major contention here is that the developing countries of the Global South are

Inital Interview Free Essays

Which of these roles, within these statuses, do you find to be the easiest to play? Hahn? Find being a mother to be the easiest because it’s natural. Its instinct to nurture and care for your children. Which roles in your life would you like to perform less often? I would like to perform the employee and student roll less often, this way I have more time to spend with my children, husband, family, and friends. We will write a custom essay sample on Inital Interview or any similar topic only for you Order Now Which roles would you like to play more often? Would like to perform the mother, wife, sister, and friend roll more often. I usually don’t have much time to do this because I am either at work, or at school. Conflicting Statuses and roles Can you give any examples of how the social statuses you play throughout a typical day may come into conflict with each other? (For example, if the person you are interviewing is a parent, how do they balance the roles of being a parent with the roles of being an economic provider to their children? ) I think it’s difficult to be employed full time, keep up with homework, and try to balance my home, it’s really difficult. Sometimes, something has to come last. How to cite Inital Interview, Papers

Anticommunism in the 1950s free essay sample

In 1950, fewer than 50,000 Americans out of a total US population of 150 million were members of the Communist Party. Yet in the late 1940s and early 1950s, American fears of internal communist subversion reached a nearly hysterical pitch. Government loyalty boards investigated millions of federal employees, asking what books and magazines they read, what unions and civic organizations they belonged to, and whether they went to church. Hundreds of screenwriters, actors, and directors were blacklisted because of their alleged political beliefs, while teachers, steelworkers, sailors, lawyers, and social workers lost their jobs for similar reasons. More than thirty-nine states required teachers and other public employees to take loyalty oaths. Meanwhile, some libraries pulled books that were considered too leftist from their shelves. The banned volumes included such classics as Robin Hood, Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. The post-war Red Scare is often called â€Å"McCarthyism,† a name derived from one of the era’s most notorious anti-Communists, Senator Joseph McCarthy. Yet the anti-Communist crusade of the late 1940s and 1950s extended both in time and scope well beyond the activities of the junior senator from Wisconsin. Its roots can be traced to the mid-nineteenth century. As far back as 1848, when Karl Marx published the Communist Manifesto, many Americans viewed communism as an alien ideology. The Bolshevik Revolution only added to such anxieties, fuelling an earlier Red Scare in 1919. Post-war anti-Communism was rooted even more directly in the political culture of the 1930s. During the Depression, many Americans became disillusioned with capitalism and some found communist ideology appealing. Others were attracted by the visible activism of American Communists on behalf of a wide range of social and economic causes, including the rights of African Americans, workers, and the unemployed. Still others, alarmed by the rise of the Nationalists in Spain and the Nazis in Germany, admired the Soviet Union’s early and staunch opposition to fascism. In 1935, Joseph Stalin announced that he would allow Communists around the globe to ally with liberals and non-communist leftists in a broad anti-fascist coalition. All of these developments swelled the membership of the US Communist Party from some 7,500 at the start of the decade to an estimated 55,000 by its end. More importantly, many Americans who did not join the party sympathized with what they saw as its goals. They joined dozens of other groups with tangential connections to the Communists: unions, theatrical troupes, lawyer’s guilds, ethnic organizations, and political committees devoted to causes ranging from anti-fascism to civil rights. Many victims of the postwar Red Scare were hounded for activities they had engaged in a decade or more before. If the Depression decade boosted the profile of international communism in the United States, it also sparked an anti-Communist backlash. Some of those who warned of a growing â€Å"red menace† during the 1930s feared Soviet influence in the US, but most hoped to use anti-communist language to discredit labor and social activism and New Deal policies. Ironically, anti-Communists were sometimes aided by liberals and leftists whose primary fear was fascist subversion. In any case, nearly all of the tactics deployed by anti-Communists in the decade after World War II had a trial run in the late 1930s. This period saw the renewal of FBI spying, the adoption of loyalty oaths for teachers and a political litmus test for federal employees, and passage of the first peacetime sedition law since 1798. In 1938, anti-Communists and anti-fascists in Congress joined forces to create the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which would become one of the key institutional centres of post-war anti-Communism. Hitler’s surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 turned Washington and Moscow into wartime allies, and for a time domestic anti-Communism waned. But as the war ended and the alliance frayed, a series of events fanned the banked embers of anti-Communism into flames. In the spring of 1945, acting on orders from Moscow, US Communists reversed their policy of reconciliation with the West and adopted a militantly anti-capitalist stance. Meanwhile, authorities in the United States and Canada uncovered evidence of Soviet espionage, evidence that suggested Americans had been involved in passing classified secrets. Finally, Republicans and some conservative Democrats saw in anti-Communism a powerful campaign issue and a weapon that could be used to curb union and civil rights activism and New Deal policies. During the 1946 mid-term elections, for instance, Senator Robert Taft accused President Truman of seeking a Congress â€Å"dominated by a policy of appeasing the Russians abroad and of fostering communism at home. † To fend off such attacks from the right—and to build domestic support for his Cold War foreign policy—President Truman in March 1947 issued an executive order creating a Federal Loyalty-Security Program. A greatly enlarged version of a program originally instituted in 1939, the program gave loyalty review boards the power to fire federal employees when â€Å"reasonable grounds† existed for belief that they were disloyal. Evidence of disloyalty included not only treasonous activities, but â€Å"sympathetic association† with a long list of organizations deemed by the Attorney General to be â€Å"Communist, fascist, or totalitarian. † These organizations ranged from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to the National Negro Congress. In practice, people could lose their jobs for being on the wrong mailing list, owning suspect books or phonograph records, or associating with relatives or friends who were politically suspect. Those accused almost never learned the source of the allegations against them, and the criteria for dismissal were expanded in 1951 and again in 1953. Tens of thousands of federal employees—including disproportionate numbers of civil rights activists and gays—were fully investigated under the loyalty-security program, and some 2700 were dismissed between 1947 and 1956. Thousands more resigned â€Å"voluntarily† before the program’s demise in the early 1960s. By legitimizing the use of political litmus tests for employment, the federal loyalty-security program paved the way for the use of similar political tests by state and local governments and private employers. Between the late 1940s and the early 1960s, school systems, universities, movie studios, social welfare agencies, ports, companies with defence contracts, and many other employers used background checks, loyalty oaths, and other means to weed out employees deemed politically undesirable. If 1947 marked the start of the Federal Loyalty-Security program, it also saw the resuscitation of HUAC. In October of that year, the committee was catapulted back into the headlines after years in obscurity when it launched an investigation of communist influences in the film industry. HUAC summoned a dazzling array of actors, screenwriters, and directors to testify at public hearings, asking them about their own involvement with the party and pressing them to name others with Communist ties. Ten witnesses—including the famous director Edward Dmytryk and Oscar-winning screenwriters Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner, Jr. —refused to cooperate on the grounds that answering the committee’s questions would legitimize inquiry into political beliefs and associations. The â€Å"Hollywood Ten† were convicted for contempt of Congress and served short prison terms. HUAC’s investigation led to the development of extensive entertainment industry â€Å"blacklists,† which made it difficult or impossible for those suspected of leftist sympathies to find work. These blacklists persisted into the early 1960s. Meanwhile, HUAC went on the road, holding hearings in cities across the US over the course of the next decade and investigating teachers, musicians, union organizers, and other groups. HUAC also inspired others. By the 1950s, two Senate subcommittees and dozens of committees at the state and local levels were also investigating â€Å"un-American activities. † The Red Scare was well underway by the end of 1947, but a series of events in late 1949 and 1950 fed the anti-communist frenzy. In September 1949 Americans learned that the Soviet Union had successfully tested an atomic bomb, years earlier than most experts had thought possible. In December, Mao’s Communist army captured mainland China, prompting headlines about the â€Å"loss† of China. In June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and the resulting Korean War soon devolved into a prolonged stalemate. Many Americans thought that only a fifth column working to undermine the US from within could explain this series of setbacks. Such fears were reinforced by several high-profile spy cases. In 1949, Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, was accused of passing secrets to the Soviet Union during the 1930s; the statute of limitations for treason had run out, but a jury convicted Hiss of perjury. The following year, Britain revealed that a high-ranking physicist named Klaus Fuchs had spied for the Soviets while working on the Manhattan Project. Finally, in 1951 a federal judge found Julius and Ethel Rosenberg guilty of passing atomic secrets to Soviet agents, and both were eventually sent to the electric chair. Hiss and the Rosenbergs maintained their innocence and their cases became cause celebres for many liberals. Evidence obtained since the collapse of the Soviet Union has strengthened the case against Hiss and Julius Rosenberg, while suggesting that Ethel’s participation was minimal. Still, scholars continue to debate the guilt of all three. One of those who took advantage of the rising hysteria was a young senator from Wisconsin named Joseph McCarthy. Seizing an opportunity to improve his political fortune, McCarthy gave a speech to the Women’s Republican Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, in February 1950 in which he claimed to hold in his hand a list of 205 Communists in the State Department. (In later versions of the speech, he changed the number to 81 and then 57. The very concreteness of this charge—and the many others McCarthy hurled over the next few years—set the Wisconsin senator apart from other red baiters and he quickly captured headlines. McCarthy cared little about the accuracy of his accusations, and he made heavy use of intimidation and innuendo. Nevertheless, his complete disregard for the truth only made him more powerful and frightening. Few dared to challenge McCarthy directly, and many Republicans who despised him found him useful. (President Eisenhower told aides that he would not â€Å"get into the gutter with that guy. After Republicans won control of Congress in 1952, McCarthy took over a Senate subcommittee and he used this perch to investigate federal agencies like Voice of America and the Army Signal Corps. McCarthy, like members of HUAC and many other red baiters, greatly exaggerated the domestic communist threat. Still, the party’s policy of secrecy, its top-down control, its attempt to win converts, and its ties to the Soviet Union alarmed even many liberals. â€Å"Cold War liberals† like Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, union leader Walter Reuther, and historian and presidential advisor Arthur Schlesinger Jr.  deplored the excesses of anti-Communism, but agreed with many of its basic tenets. Such liberals generally supported New Deal policies and an array of social reforms, but also believed that the best way to protect the nation from both Communists and anti-Communist zealots was to purge schools, unions, reform groups, and professional organizations of those with ties to the party. Thus, while their language was more restrained than that of McCarthy and others they decried, Cold War liberals frequently supported some anti-Communist sanctions. Anti-Communism continued into the 1960s, but after 1954 it lost much of its fevered pitch. The turning point came when Senator McCarthy began to investigate Communists in the Army, and powerful Republicans (including the President) decided he had finally gone too far. A special Senate subcommittee was formed to investigate McCarthy’s tactics and ABC broadcast the hearings live, the first time political hearings had been televised nationally. The Army-McCarthy hearings dominated national television for three months and exposed McCarthy’s bullying tactics. Much of the credit for this goes to Joseph Welch, the feisty and folksy Boston lawyer hired by the Army. When McCarthy red-baited one of Welch’s young associates, Welch responded: â€Å"Until this moment, Senator, I think I had never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. . . . Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency? † The question resonated with Americans. A few months later the Senate voted overwhelmingly to censure McCarthy and his influence evaporated. The worst of the Red Scare was over. Wendy Wall is an associate professor of history at Binghamton University and the author of Inventing the â€Å"American Way†: The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement (2007).

Lego free essay sample

How did the information systems and the organization design changes implemented by knudstorp align with the changes in business strategy? Advances in the field of information technology and introduction of new hi-tech form of entertainment such as tablets and gaming consoles had left Lego trailing in the entertainment field. Jorgen Vig Knudstorp was appointed as the CEO to revamp the company’s business process, organization structure and information systems. Knudstorp was quick to act and first made changes in the company’s production process.He encouraged designers to use the unused components in development of new products and design, thus reducing the number of unused components and reduced losses as the cost of production of each unit was very expensive. Lego created a new strategy to broaden the product range and target a new customer segment. Earlier Lego used to develop products which primarily targeted boys; with this new strategy they started developing product s keeping a larger segment into perspective. We will write a custom essay sample on Lego or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They started developing products based on movie themes.Most drastic changes came in the organization structure at Lego, switching the employee pay structure, providing incentive for innovative product designs. Lego also started developing video games thus targeting a new segment of customers. All these changes in the business aspects of the company led to an increased revenue, increased demand and growth in the number of employees. Development of new product based on the internet, addition of new employee and inability to meet the consumer demands led to need for a new advanced and upgraded system which would fulfill all the above mentioned.Lego developed a new modularized and standardized architecture for their information system, which they could easily expand and add functionality and capacity. The latest IT infrastructure in the organization enabled the employees to become more creative in terms of the product development and also business process development. The new system helped manage data, provided application for operation support and human capital management. Q. 2: Which of the generic strategies does Lego appear to be using based on this case? Provide support for your choice. Based on the case study Lego appears to be using the Focus strategy.Michael Porter proposed three generic strategies Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. Focus is a strategy where organization focuses on specific niche markets; this may include a particular geographic region or particular segment of customers. Organizations which use this strategy develop their products after having a study of dynamics of the segment and unique needs of customer. Lego before the appointment of the new CEO appear to use the focus strategy as their top priority was always to focus on innovation and creativity with taking profits into consideration.Add to that the case study also mention that Lego used to create products that primarily targeted boys. After the appointment of new CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp the company appears to have changed its policy form Focus to Cost-Leadership. Cost-Leadership is a strategy where organizations focus on gaining competitive advantage by offering products and services at the lowest possible price. They achieve this by increasing profits by reducing production cost and other way is to increase market share by reducing the prices of products compared to the competitors.Knudstorp after taking charge of Lego changed their focus on reducing the production cost. He proposed a strategy to reuse most of the components produced by them as the production for each component was too high. Under Knudstorp Lego started creating products on themes of popular movies, they engaged in online communities through websites and blog which allowed them to create a bond with their proposed market. Knudstorp also changed their organizational structure; Key performance indicators encouraged innovation and thus resulted in cost reduction. Q. : Are the changes implemented by knudstorp an indication of hypercompetition? Defend your position. The generic strategy focus on maintaining a competitive advantage Hypercompetition model suggests that the speed and aggressiveness of the moves and countermoves made in any given market create an environment in which new advantages that cannot be sustained for a long time. Organizations must constantly compete in price or quality, or innovate in, supply chain management, new value creation, or have enough financial capital to outlast other competitors.The hypercompetition model is based on the assumptions that every advantage is eroded, sustaini ng an advantage can be a deadly distraction, goal of advantage should be disruption and not sustainability and initiatives are achieved by a series of small steps. The changes made by Knudstorp are an indication of hypercompetion. Organizations try to attain relative competitive advantage in such a competitive market in four ways. Knudstorp’s strategy to revamp the business process, organization structure and production process 1.Cost/ Quality: After taking over Lego, Knudstorp most important task was to get the company out of losses and back in the green. Lego at that time was losing $1Million a day. He revamped the production process to make sure that designers reused their components in new products thereby decreasing the number of unused components from 13000 to 7000 Lego components. This resulted in a decreased production cost which indirectly had its effect on the company revenue. 2. Know-how/Timing: Lego’s supply chain system was out of order before Knudstorp came into the company.The company struggled with missed deadlines and poor delivery. There were instances where the most popular toy would run out of stock and company would not be in a position to meet the demands of the retailers on time or did not have the correct supply infrastructure to deliver the products. Knudstorp changed all this. He fixed the missing links in the supply chain system. He moved the manufacturing and distribution function to locations from which delivery and reach to the market would be easier. 3. Stronghold Creation/Innovation: Knudstorp new strategy was to broaden the product range.He encouraged the designers to develop new products and provide incentives for appropriate product innovation. Under his new strategy Lego created products based on movie themes, developed products for a larger segment of population making toys for adults and girls. Lego expanded into virtual world and started creating video games and virtual interaction games. This helped them by reducing production cost and increasing customer interaction. Q. 4: What advice would you give to Knudstorp to keep Lego competitive, growing and relevant?

Th Accomplishemnt of the Democratic Leader Woodrow Wilson Essays

Th Accomplishemnt of the Democratic Leader Woodrow Wilson Essays Th Accomplishemnt of the Democratic Leader Woodrow Wilson Paper Th Accomplishemnt of the Democratic Leader Woodrow Wilson Paper During Woodrow Wilsons two terms in office he proved to be a great democratic  leader in many areas. He managed to accomplish a lot, despite his poor health that  he had to deal with since his childhood. Wilson always had a strong interest in  government and was always looking for changes and improvements. As president  he was never afraid to be a little on the radical side when it came to making  changes. He was constantly pushing for world peace and the avoidance of World  War I. Even though he was unsuccessful in avoiding the war he showed to be a  great leader during it. He never gave up on anything he was trying to do. His last  years of his life were dedicated to convincing the U.S. to join his League of  Nations.  Woodrow Wilson was born December 28, 1856. Although he spent most  of his childhood recovering from illness he managed to build an interest in  education. His father and him would read out loud to each other and discuss the  books. If they were not reading they would often sit and talk about recent events. He later moved onto college and studied American and British political history,  public speaking, and law. After college he set up a law practice with Edward  Renick. Because he had not learned the field of law thoroughly while in school, he  showed little ability as a lawyer. During this time he was constantly in and out of  sickness. Wilson did not really want to be a lawyer, his main area of interest was  in politics. His first taste of politics was during his term as Governor of New Jersey.  He took this seat in office with his sites on the presidential election two years later.  He let this be known in a letter he wrote to a friend in June of 1910. In the letter  he said It is immediately, as you know, the question of my nomination for the  governorship of New Jersey; but that it is the mere preliminary of a plan to  nominate me in 1912 for presidency†. During his years as governor he showed  that he could change his political attitudes. He learned to be a little more patient  with other people. Before he found it very difficult to work with people who  opposed him. This was shown more during his time of presidency at Princeton  University. Wilsons more conservative student body and faculty showed a dislike  towards his radical ideas. They did not like the ideas of changing the teaching  style and living style. Because of this many of his ideas were turned down.  When he first became president he pushed for equality of opportunity for  all men, no matter if they were rich or poor. He presented many new proposals to  congress and often he presented these new proposals in person. Wilson also  created new agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board. He was also responsible  for the ratification of the 18th Amendment. In 1920 during his second term, he  passed the 19th Amendment which allowed women to vote. During this time he  was also pressured by the southerners to allow segregation in Washington D.C.  He said that this would be in the best interests of the blacks. Woodrow Wilson did  how ever show weaknesses during his presidency. During World War I he often  took his time in making decisions. He wanted to make sure that there wasnt any  other way to avoid the war. This was good that he was looking out for the best  interest of the country, but it could also have made the war worse. Wilson also  was thought to be a weak president by former president Roosevelt. During  Roosevelts time in office he helped Panama succeed from Colombia in return forrights to build the Panama Canal through their country. He thought it was very  unnecessary to apologize to Colombia for helping Panama secede. Roosevelt  believed that it showed Wilsons weaker side.

Major General Benjamin Butler in the Civil War

Major General Benjamin Butler in the Civil War Born at Deerfield, NH on November 5, 1818, Benjamin F. Butler was the sixth and youngest child of John and Charlotte Butler. A veteran of the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans, Butlers father died shortly after his sons birth. After briefly attending the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1827, Butler followed his mother to Lowell, MA the following year where she opened a boarding house. Educated locally, he had issues at school with fighting and getting into trouble. Later sent to Waterville (Colby) College, he attempted to gain admission to West Point in 1836 but failed to secure an appointment. Remaining at Waterville, Butler completed his education in 1838 and became a supporter of the Democratic Party. Returning to Lowell, Butler pursued a career in law and received admittance to the bar in 1840. Building his practice, he also became actively involved with the local militia. Proving a skilled litigator, Butlers business expanded to Boston and he gained notice for advocating the adoption of a ten-hour day at Lowells Middlesex Mills. A supporter of the Compromise of 1850, he spoke out against the states abolitionists. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1852, Butler remained in office for much of the decade as well as attained the rank of brigadier general in the militia. In 1859, he ran for governor on a pro-slavery, pro-tariff platform and lost a close race to Republican Nathaniel P. Banks. Attending the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, SC, Butler hoped that a moderate Democrat could be found that would prevent the party from splitting along sectional lines. As the convention moved forward, he ultimately elected to back John C. Breckenridge. The Civil War Begins Although he had shown sympathy to the South, Butler stated that he could not countenance the regions actions when states began to secede. As a result, he quickly began seeking a commission in the Union Army. As Massachusetts moved to respond to President Abraham Lincolns call of volunteers, Butler used his political and banking connections to ensure that he would command the regiments that were sent to Washington, DC. Traveling with the 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, he learned on April 19 that Union troops moving through Baltimore had become embroiled in the Pratt Street Riots. Seeking to avoid the city, his men instead moved by rail and ferry to Annapolis, MD where they occupied the US Naval Academy. Reinforced by troops from New York, Butler advanced to Annapolis Junction on April 27 and reopened the rail line between Annapolis and Washington. Asserting control over the area, Butler threatened the states legislature with arrest if they voted to secede as well as took possession of the Great Seal of Maryland. Lauded by General Winfield Scott for his actions, he was ordered to protect transport links in Maryland against interference and occupy Baltimore. Assuming control of the city on May 13, Butler received a commission as a major general of volunteers three days later. Though criticized for his heavy-handed administration of civil affairs, he was directed to move south to command forces at Fort Monroe later in the month. Situated at the end of the peninsula between the York and James Rivers, the fort served as a key Union base deep in Confederate territory. Moving out from the fort, Butlers men quickly occupied Newport News and Hampton. Big Bethel On June 10, more than a month before the First Battle of Bull Run, Butler launched an offensive operation against Colonel John B. Magruders forces at Big Bethel. In the resulting Battle of Big Bethel, his troops were defeated and forced to withdraw back towards Fort Monroe. Though a minor engagement, the defeat received a great deal of attention in the press as the war had just begun. Continuing to command from Fort Monroe, Butler refused to return fugitive slaves to their owners claiming that they were contraband of war. This policy quickly received support from Lincoln and other Union commanders were directed to act similarly. In August, Butler embarked part of his force and sailed south with squadron led by Flag Officer Silas Stringham to attack Forts Hatteras and Clark in the Outer Banks. On August 28-29, the two Union officers succeeded in capturing the fort during the Battle of Hatteras Inlets Batteries. New Orleans Following this success, Butler received command of the forces that occupied Ship Island off the Mississippi coast in December 1861. From this position, he moved to occupy New Orleans after the citys capture by Flag Officer David G. Farragut in April 1862. Reasserting Union control over New Orleans, Butlers administration of the area received mixed reviews. While his directives helped check the annual yellow fever outbreaks others, such as General Order No. 28, led to outrage across the South. Tired of the citys women abusing and insulting his men, this order, issued on May 15, stated that any woman caught doing so would be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation (a prostitute). In addition, Butler censored New Orleans newspapers and was believed to have used his position to loot homes in the area as well as improperly profit from the trade in confiscated cotton. These actions earned him the nickname Beast Butler. After foreign consuls complained to Lincoln that he was int erfering with their operations, Butler was recalled in December 1862 and replaced with his old foe, Nathaniel Banks. Army of the James Despite Butlers weak record as a field commander and controversial tenure in New Orleans, his switch to the Republican Party and support from its Radical wing compelled Lincoln to give him a new assignment. Returning to Fort Monroe, he assumed command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina in November 1863. The following April, Butlers forces assumed the title of Army of the James and he received orders from Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant to attack west and disrupt the Confederate railroads between Petersburg and Richmond. These operations were intended to support Grants Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee to the north. Moving slowly, Butlers efforts came to a halt near Bermuda Hundred in May when his troops were held by a smaller force led by General P.G.T. Beauregard. With the arrival of Grant and the Army of the Potomac near Petersburg in June, Butlers men began operating in conjunction with this larger force. Despite Grants presence, his performance did not improve and the Army of the James continued to have difficulty. Positioned north of the James River, Butlers men had some success at Chaffins Farm in September, but subsequent actions later in the month and in October failed to gain significant ground. With the situation at Petersburg stalemated, Butler was directed in December to take part of his command to capture Fort Fisher near Wilmington, NC. Supported by a large Union fleet led by Rear Admiral David D. Porter, Butler landed some of his men before judging that the fort was too strong and the weather too poor to mount an assault. Returning north to an irate Grant, Butler was relieved on January 8, 1865, and command of the Army of the James passed to Major General Edward O.C. Ord. Later Career Life Returning to Lowell, Butler hoped to find a position in the Lincoln Administration but was thwarted when the president was assassinated in April. Formally leaving the military on November 30, he elected to resume his political career and won a seat in Congress the following year. In 1868, Butler played a key role in the impeachment and trial of President Andrew Johnson and three years later wrote the initial draft of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. A sponsor of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which called for equal access to public accommodations, he was angered to see the law overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883. After unsuccessful bids for Governor of Massachusetts in 1878 and 1879, Butler finally won the office in 1882. While governor, Butler appointed the first woman, Clara Barton, to an executive office in May 1883 when he offered her oversight of the Massachusetts Reformatory Prison for Women. In 1884, he earned the presidential nomination from the Greenback and Anti-Monopoly Parties but fared poorly in the general election. Leaving office in January 1884, Butler continued to practice law until his death on January 11, 1893. Passing in Washington, DC, his body was returned to Lowell and buried at Hildreth Cemetery. Sources Civil War Trust: Major General Benjamin ButlerUnversity of Cincinnati Libraries: Benjamin ButlerEncyclopedia Virginia: Benjamin Butler

REIT Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

REIT Project - Essay Example RECOMMENDATION: HOLD PRICE: 378 Gp AS OF July2, 2009 Volume 4,063,468 Days High 379.25p Days Low 371.50p Avg. Vol 5,343,894 Company description: The British Land Company PLC operates in the fields of property development, finance and investment in London. The Company’s retail warehouse park investments include Teesside Shopping Park, Giltbrook Retail Park, The Kingston Centre, New Mersey Shopping Park, Glasgow Fort, Parkgate Shopping. Significant financial developments have occurred in the past two years that led to decrease of revenues to 16 percent to  £554M and a net loss of  £63l 93B up from  £1.61B as of March 2009 according to report of Reuters. Based on Reuters report, BLC posted negative performance for the year ended as it has negative operating margin of -65.16 B and a negative net profit margin of -700.54bn. Percentage of management effectiveness are nestled on high negative ratios.. It has low cash availability and zero cash flow which shows company relies heavily on debt borrowings. It has a total debt equity ratio of 117.76% that is a risky investment because of high cost of mo ney. The company has no dividend yield and zero growth rates for the past two years There is no available property map that depicts location of properties of BLC. Based on Yahoo Finance, BLC is the biggest real estate management company in London. One of their properties is over 12 hectares property in Broadgate