American Essays (Examples)

American Colonists vs.

British Policymakers 1763-1776

American Colonists vs. British Policymakers 1763-1776

Great Britain's victory in the "French and Indian ar" (1689 -- 1763) gained new territory west of the Appalachian Mountains for the Empire but also saddled It with enormous war debt (The Independence Hall Association, 2011) in addition to Its existing debts. Great Britain's national debt had grown "from £72,289,673 in 1755 to £129,586,789 in 1764" (The Independence Hall Association, 2011), and British citizens were already so heavily taxed that the government faced the possibility of revolt. Consequently, Great Britain looked for revenue from American colonists, as loyal British citizens. Great Britain's attempts to control American colonists' settlement of the new territory, to exert power over the colonists as British subjects, and to gain revenue from American colonists to ease British debts all heightened tensions between the colonies and Great Britain. Great Britain's attempts, in a series of…

The United States of America's foreign policy has mirrored its influence and power within the international community. As a small and weak nation, America was forced to employ a regional foreign policy, limited to the North American continent. But as the U.S. grew into a powerful industrialized nation, its foreign policy began to change to include more international issues. Finally, as a result of the need for the United States to restore peace in the world, America emerged as a global superpower to balance the threat from the Soviet Union. hen the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States emerged as the sole remaining superpower with the ability to project power anywhere on the planet.

orks Cited

"Foreign Assistance Fast Facts: FY2010." Foreign Assistance Fast Facts. eb. 22 Feb.

2012. http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/data/fast-facts.html

Kaufman, Joyce. Concise History of United States Foreign Policy. Lanham, MD:

Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. Print.

McDougall, alter. "The Constitutional…

American Ethnic Literature

The Nature of American Ethnic Literature

The literary tradition of the United States and the colonies that preceded them is one of the proudest in the world. Even though the United States is relatively young as countries go, literature was born in the states long before the evolutionary War because many men and women came to America with the ability to add to the growing literary canon. However, most of the people that established this canon were of European origin, and there was little ethnic diversity among the most prominent early writers of the new country. Because ethnic writers had a different experience in the United States than their contemporaries with European ancestry, the literary tradition that they established differed, sometimes greatly from the accepted American literature. People from different cultures and ethnicities had to establish themselves as writers and they had to break the mold of…

American Revolution New

American History is full of many relevant events that have made a significant impact on the American History. Despite all the relevant things, it should be noted that America itself might not have been conceived if it had not been for the struggles that took place in the American Revolution. It was the starting point of the American history and the time when people were beginning to find the need for democracy. Apart from giving rise to democracy, the American Revolution paved way for minorities to attain their rights in the country. Furthermore, it was seen that the American Revolution altered the entire way of life in the country. Therefore, it is seen that the American Revolution was relevant to American history because it altered the political, social and cultural way of life.

Bankcroft thinks that the origins of democracy were set already in place before the…

American Identity: A Melting Pot of Diverse Cultures

The objective of this study is to examine the work of St. John de Crevecoeur entitled "hat Is An American" and John Steinbeck's work entitled "hat's Happening to America?

America is a melting pot of diverse cultures formed by individuals who came from countries all around the world. Steinbeck's work entitled "hat Happening to America?" speaks of how American was built and the process that resulted in the making of Americans described as "a new breed, rooted I all races, stained and tinted with all colors, a seeming ethnic anarchy." P.1) Jean de Crevecoeur in his work entitled "hat Is An American" describes American to those in Europe who have not heard about the new land and relates that it is a place that is more livable than Europe and goes on to relate the formation of the new society in America.…

American Expansion

Post-Reconstruction America gave rise to an incredibly transformative society and culture. Modernism was beginning to sweep the land with the industrial revolution, urbanization and westward expansion. How did the underprivileged fare in this new America? hat were the experiences and problems of the Native Americans, women, African-Americans, and various immigrant groups at this time? Be specific. as there a gap between the rhetoric of hope and democracy peddled by American institutions and leaders and the reality on the ground for the masses? hat of the meanings of The New Colossus on one had, and the Chinese Exclusion Act on the other? hat do these represent about historical development and issues of libery in the late 19th century U.S. In conclusion, how do authors Stone and Kuznick, in the beginning of their text Untold History, frame the problems of writing and the telling of history, and how do those…

American evolution's Emphasis On Individual ights

The American evolution was in many ways a conflict over liberty -- a war between the ideology of the old world (as represented by the monarchy and the crown) and the new world (as represented by the omantic/Enlightenment doctrine illustrated in Thomas Paine's ights of Man). This paper will discuss the ways in which the early political experiences of our nation's forefathers gave the American political culture a preoccupation with the assertion of individual rights.

Foundational Ideology

The American evolution was, in a way, a testing ground for the French evolution that followed -- which gives a better understanding of evolution in general and the ideas that were at the heart of it. While the Americans drafted their Declaration of Independence in 1776, asserting their individual rights -- the National Assembly of France drafted its Declaration of the ights of Man a decade later…

However, there were people who were against American Imperialism. Some believed that by expanding into islands, they were opening the door to people whom they viewed as lower in race and culture. America, at the time, had many who believed that Americans were superior in race and culture. There were other issues at hand during this time -- tensions between other world powers, an volatile economy -- and some believed that by focusing on expansion, the nation was not facing the real problems that needed to be dealt with right at home.

Anti-imperialist raged about what America was doing when America should be at home tending to the needs of its citizens. There were defenders of American Imperialism who would not have it, however. They saw America as the greatest nation in the world and in order to keep that position, they needed to go out and conquer all the…

In a democratic society, however, the responsibility for making governmental decisions is transferred to the citizenry and it is incumbent that the citizenry be provided with at least a rudimentary education so that they are in position to make such decisions. Although the original U.S. Constitution did not initially grant women the right to vote and otherwise participate in the government, women were afforded, on a limited basis, to participate in the increased emphasis on public education following the end of the evolution. The theory behind allowing this greater participation by women in the educational process was that in order for the republic to succeed, women must be able to teach the democratic principles upon which the nation was founded to the children (Cohen, 2000). This idea of allowing women to become educated became known as "epublican Motherhood."

The American evolution was also a major inspiration for future revolutions in…

The overall oppression of women in American society unfortunately reflected worldwide trends and therefore was not entirely nefarious; in most countries in Europe women were likewise unable to vote until the very end of the nineteenth or early twentieth century.

However, the treatment of African-Americans has been deplorable throughout American history and is perhaps the largest stain on American democratic principles. The United States allowed slavery to persist within its borders long after the international slave trade was prohibited by other nations. Slaves were repeatedly mistreated and had absolutely no legal recourse. Viewed legally, socially, and politically as less than human, African-Americans had no rights whatsoever until the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. Even then, Blacks were unable to vote. The 14th Amendment finally extended the rights of "life, liberty, or property" to Black males; women were will excluded from the rights and privileges of males.

Throughout American…

American Imperialism (APA Citation)

American Imperialism in the Late 19th Century

There were two main reasons for American overseas expansion in the late 19th century: economic and nationalistic reasons. As America entered the industrial revolution, it wanted to expand commercially, this meant overseas materials and markets. Alfred T. Mahan explained this concept in his 1890 book The Influence of Sea Power upon History, and argued that modern industrial nations need foreign markets for their goods, and they must have a naval force capable of protecting these markets. As the United States began to industrialize it's navy, it also began to develop a strong sense of nationalism. Beginning with the concept of "Manifest Destiny," where American believed that God had given them the entire continent to settle and civilize; by the late 1800's Americans had developed this concept and expanded it beyond the shores of the Pacific Ocean. But instead of…

American Revolution (1775-1783): The irth of a Free and Liberal American Society

The birth of America as the 'New World' during the early 16th century, as a result of the Age of Discovery in Europe had brought about significant changes in human society, particularly in Western civilization. The discovery of America by Vasco de Gama, and eventually, Christopher Columbus, had prompted ritain to extend its territorial and political powers through colonization. y colonizing America, the ritish are asserting their power to the world, since their new colony is vast in territory and is virtually 'unexplored,' in terms of economic, political, and social exploits of its early inhabitants (Native American Indians).

Colonial America is comprised of thirteen (13) ritish colonies, wherein all colonies are subject to the control of the ritish government. Initially, the early periods of colonial life in the New World or the Americas are productive, although halted sometimes…

He had a "mass appeal" because he was himself a fighter who had many experiences in the westward frontier, and he related to those people like no president before him. hat was really important about Jackson's election was that he had put together a coalition of enough voters from the west, the south, and the north, to beat John Quincy Adams, whose strength was mostly in the east. This election was called the "common man" era because ordinary hard-working people took offense at some of the wealthy that had "special privileges" (Faragher 249) in ashington and other eastern regions.

Jackson was smart enough to tap into opinions of non-government officials, and he had his "kitchen cabinet" (friends of his who he felt had a better grasp of the common man's problems than higher-ups in his own administration) to keep him abreast of what people wanted and needed out there in…

In Lincoln's view, the experiment could only succeed through the preservation of the Union without secession; he resolved to restore the rebellious states to the Union and all else would fall to this goal. But the war was very hard and very long, and war by its nature lowers the status of peripheral principles and elevates the central principles in dispute." (Kleinfeld, 1997)

Lincoln provided the means for emancipation from slavery and it cost him his life. Few individuals know however that the Emancipation Proclamation actually did not free the slaves immediately. This is because the president did not have the constitutional authority to free the slaves other than those slaves in states where it was deemed a military necessity to suppress rebellion. Lincoln also was a shrewd politicain who fully understood that freeing the slaves was risky politically because there were still slave states that were loyal to the…

American Studies

One theme that could unify the wide variety of readings in this course would be the paradox of Equality vs. Hierarchy in American history and society, which is closely related to Inclusion and Exclusion. Black observers, activists and critics of American society like Martin Luther King, Langston Hughes, ornell West and James Baldwin understood these themes particularly well. From the colonial period to the present, this country has always had a racial caste system, which all of its founders understood perfectly well. John Winthrop may have envisioned a Puritan ommonwealth that would be a model for the world, but this society also had slavery, genocidal wars against Native Americans, as well as harsh treatment for white religious dissenters and the lower classes in general. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were all large slave owners after all, and had to look no further than their own plantations…

American Foreign Policy

At the conception of the American nation, Americans were told to beware of foreign entanglements, by then-president George Washington, because a body of water separated our nation between Europe and ourselves. However, despite the fact that this caveat has been frequently cited by opponents of expansionist or interventionist policies in its foreign policies, such as World War I and World War II, American foreign policy can hardly be characterized as purely isolationist. Even World War I was defended as making the world safe for democracy and American democratic principles, rhetorically justifying the war in ways beyond mere American national self-interest in Europe.

However, the foreign policy history of the United States, a democratic nation, has been extremely unilateral in nature, rather than reflecting an internationalist sense, or a sense of interdependence upon other states. The Monroe Doctrine defended intervention in South America specifically as the United States'…

American Indian Movement

The poorest people in America are the American Indians and it is also a fact that Indian reservations have unique laws that has made it a nation by itself within the United States. The modern movements focus on the American Indian reservations being empowered by self-determination. This is important for the economic, social and cultural improvement of the American Indians. It was with the Nixon administration that the welfare of the tribes became the focus of the government. The subsequent administrations encouraged the Indians to adapt to a policy of political and economic self-determination. Today many reservations have become economic hubs with tax and regulation havens for investment. Thus as of now the Mescalero and White Mountain Apaches "have become premier private managers of multiple-use forest resource economies." (Legters; Lyden, 1994)

However it must be stated that only during the eagan administration that there were major reports…

American est

United States became one of the most industrialized nations and sought to grow its industries at an alarming rate. For this purpose, the western part of United States, which had not yet been discovered, was subjected to massive development, economic growth, formation of industries and allowing settlers to move towards the west. Railroads played a significant role in contributing towards the development and urbanization of America's est. The goal of this paper is to analyze the impact of railroads on America's est in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources.

Railroads in America est

Railroads had been developed in United States during the nineteenth century and start of twentieth century. They owe their existence to Industrial Revolution. During the nineteenth century, Industrial Revolution promoted technological and industrial development and thus, laid down the foundations of railroads in United States. During this time, United States became one of…

American Expansion

American Territorial Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase

American territorial expansion was the top priority of ashington DC for every decade of the 19th century, including the Civil ar years. The new territory all came to Americans through treaties or conquest, and thus promoted the isolationist "Manifest Destiny" prerogative of strengthening the American continent. The earliest and largest territorial expansion of the 19th century was the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the American states. The Louisiana Purchase was made with the short-term bolstering of Thomas Jefferson's government in the near-term, yet with deep concerns for the security of the new land and how and who should settle the land in the long-term.

The Louisiana Purchase was not a decision taken lightly by then President Thomas Jefferson, who felt that it would be difficult for the young America to take full possession of the territory, and thus sign the country…

American System

Henry Clay gave his famous speech in support of the American System to the House of Representatives in 1824, although Alexander Hamilton had used the same term decades before. It rested "on the idea of harmonizing all the segments of the economy for their mutual benefit and of doing so by active support from an intervening national government" (Baxter 27). Clay's conversion to this policy was surprising since Hamilton had been a member of the Federalist Party while Henry Clay was supposedly a Democratic Republican and a Jeffersonian, opposed to Federal plans for government aid to industry, a national bank, protective tariffs and federal funding for highways, canals, railroads and other internal improvements. After the ar of 1812, however, the first political party system had come to an end and the Federalists were discredited by their opposition to the war and threats of secession in New England. During…

As Margaret Atwood points out, Americans have as much to be ashamed of as to be proud of.

When Barbara Kingsolver claims "The values we fought for and won there are best understood, I think, by oil companies," she refers to the way the American flag has been distorted. The issues the flag symbolizes, such as freedom and liberty, are myths for many people. As Kingsolver points out, the American flag has been used to justify many evils including wars like Vietnam and Iraq. Instead of delivering true freedom, liberty, and democracy, the American flag really brought economic dependence. Instead of associating the American flag with negativity, death, and intimidation, Kingsolver suggests that Americans reclaim it. The red stripes do not need to symbolize war. They can also symbolize "blood donated to the ed Cross."

The American flag is a flexible symbol that is often used in ways that manipulate…

The relationship they had with one another included a fair division of land, and a good balance of trade. Unfortunately, after the settlers learned what they needed from the Native Americans and took what they could from them, they no longer had any use for the proud people whose land they had invaded.

The relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans began to change as settlers learned to do things for themselves, grow their own crops and breed their own animals for food. With the settlers being able to survive on their own, there was no longer any need for the Native Americans to help. The population of settlers was also growing, and new villages were being built on land that used to belong to the Native Americans.

The settlers kept expanding the areas that belonged to them, and this made the areas belonging to the Native Americans smaller…

American Civil Liberties Union

(Friend or Foe)

America was founded on the astute principles of democracy and the potential benefits of freedom it derives. America, unlike many of its foreign counterparts has long recognized the benefits of individual rights, freedoms and privileges and has fought to the death to protect them. Currently, America aims to spread these principles of democracy around the globe in an effort to create a better quality of life for all mankind. Even with these lofty and ambitious goals, America, on occasion fails to uphold these principles within its own borders. Too often, America has overlooked the problems prevalent within its own country while criticizing other nations about their own circumstances. Many of these overlooked issues including slavery, discrimination, women's rights and others have left an unfavorable image in American history. In such instances, the American Civil Liberties Union has become the beacon of hope for…

With the advent of Colombo on the American soil, things began to change as Philip J. Deloria asserts in her book Playing Indian (1999): "[T]he self-defining pairing of American truth with American freedom rests on the ability to wield power against Indians... while simultaneously drawing power from them." This is also the basic idea of Shari M. Huhndorf's Going Native: Indians in the American Cultural Imagination. "As white Americans became disenchanted with how American society was developing, they began to reference Indian people and culture as an answer to such problems of a modernizing America as capitalistic greed; alienating, sedentary life-style of the office worker; imperialistic aggressiveness; and racial and gender challenges to white male hegemony" (Barak, 2005).

The Indians progress was challenged by the so-called American School of ethnology. Therein Christianity became a tool in the American colonial project. The development of an ideology based in religion was made…

Therefore, for instance, the Stamp Act was justified through "granting and applying (of) certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America, towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same; and for amending such parts of the several acts of parliament relating to the trade and revenues of the said colonies and plantations, as direct the manner of determining and recovering the penalties and forfeitures therein mentioned"(the Stamp Act, 1765).

Taking these legislative manners into consideration, the opponents of the Loyalists considered that the issue of trade as a reason for maintaining the British rule was by no means a viable solution. More precisely, they argued that the lack of representation in the British Parliament should not allow the British to impose taxes they do not agree or vote upon. From this perspective, it can be said that the Loyalists had…

Baltimore Advertiser, 18 Mar 1788)

(2) the second class was reported as comprised by "those descriptions of men who are certainly more numerous with us than in any other part of the globe. First, those men who are so wise as to discover that their ancestors and indeed all the rest of mankind were and are fools. We have a vast overproportion of these great men, who, when you tell them that from the earliest period at which mankind devoted their attention to social happiness, it has been their uniform judgment, that a government over governments cannot exist - that is two governments operating on the same individual - assume the smile of confidence, and tell you of two people travelling the same road - of a perfect and precise division of the duties of the individual." (No. 10 -- on the Preservation of Parties, Public Liberty Depends, 18 Mar…

Americans are reminded incessantly these days that slavery was a terrible thing. In today's politically correct society, some blacks are challenging reparations for slavery because their remote ancestors were slaves. Slavery is routinely used to bash the South, although the slave trade began in the North, and slavery was once used in every state in the Union. Today's historians assure people of America that the War for Southern Independence was fought first and foremost if not exclusively over slavery, and that by winning that war, the North put an end to the peculiar institution once and for all. However, in today's modern society, if people are legally bound to hand a certain percentage of their income (the fruits of their labors) over to federal, state and local governments, then from the legal standpoint they only have some percentage ownership of their person and labor which could be considered a form…

American Independence, National Unity

rief thematic history of the U.S. from 1760 to 1815

In describing U.S. history from 1760 to 1815, I would have to title it as "The United States: The Formative Years." From the ritish indifference to her New World colonies, and the War for Independence; to the events before the Civil War, the United States formative years were ones of triumph, struggle and unity.

During 1763, up until 1775, the United States and ritain feuded over 'taxation without representation'. Like a child, the colonies had to break free from the mother country and find themselves and their independence, which they did in 1776 (U.S. History Timeline).

Thomas Payne said in his political pamphlet 'Common Sense' that "There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest…

Many colonists had come to the new world in search of a lifestyle infused with greater freedom. The colonists' ideas about government differed greatly from their English counterparts. hile the English still focused on the power of the monarchy, the colonists had been holding popular assemblies since 1763 ("The American Revolution: First Phase"). They began to believe in rights that they saw the English and their stationed guards as there to violate. In addition, they believed that they, not a country across the ocean, should have the right to control or at least have a say in the political decisions that would affect their lives.

In addition to these highly popularized economic and ideological causes of the revolution, social causes also added fuel to the fire of revolution. As the 1700s wore on, More and more Americans came from European countries other than England. As these people began to immigrate…

There was another group of Americans who felt that all of America, including British Canada, should have been conquered during the Revolutionary War and then ceded to the Americans, so they felt the War of 1812, which began with Americans attempting to conquer Canada, should not have had to take place at all.

Finally, New England residents openly opposed the war, and did not support anything connected with it. They would not offer funds for the war, and they would not allow their militia to fight in the war. They were angry about the economy, but they were also angry because they felt they had been mislead by the government, and the war was really being fought to gain territory in Canada, which they did not agree with. Ultimately, the war ended in 1814, but much of American did not support or condone the…

One of his major works was a long poem written in three cantos about the horrors he experienced while being held prisoner on a ritish prison. ship. There we see a much edgier, angry Freneau who is willing to write about real life in real terms:

Here, generous ritain, generous, as you say,

To my parch'd tongue one cooling drop convey;

Hell has no mischief like a thirsty throat,

Nor one tormentor like your David Sproat."

All of these influences eventually came together, resulting later in the 19th century in Transcendentalism. This time when American writers reached to the past, they combined the best higher ideals of both the Puritans and the Enlightenment, and the love of nature from neoclassicism, and produced bodies of work that transcended all its previous influences. The roots for the literary movement that would bring us "Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry…

Suppose I was asked to donate money to "Citizens for Better Schools," what would I need to find out about the group first? The first thing would be find out if they are a bona fide public charity -- a 501 C3 -- and if they were, I would examine their bylaws and mission statement. Secondly, I would locate board members and examine public statements they have made and projects they have injected themselves into. Something with a vague title like this one has could actually be a protest group trying to remove certain board members from the school board or they might be advocating to have the science textbooks changed so evolution isn't taught. I would also look through newspaper reports to find what the group has been advocating in its public pronouncements.

Should journalists have the right to protect their sources? The answer is yes. One example relates…

aid Mr. Harris: "We are always looking at new ways to reach our customers through innovative digital platforms." Mobile works well since "There is rapid growth in mobile devices supporting more and more of the everyday tasks that people want to perform."

Another highly successful mobile application has been that of American Express' Android version of its free mobile app, which has had more than 1 million views since 2011. The mobile apps are free as are the apps that AE has implemented via social media (ibid.)

Conclusion

The American Express (AE) Credit Card Company markets itself in various ways. avvy with its promotional and publicity performance, it has put together a variety of tools -- some of them innovative -- that it uses for its own promotional ends. These include extensive featuring of celebrities, innovative media campaigns, cause activity promotional ends, innovative use of social media, as well as…

American Ethnic Literature

Analyzing the Nature of American Ethnic Literature

America has a distinct history: like ancient ome, its inhabitants have come from all over and few of them can truly say to be natives of the place. This fact alone makes American Literature a compelling label: what makes American Literature American? This paper will attempt to answer the question by showing how many ethnicities have converged in one nation allowing various writers with different ethnic, social, political, economical, and social perspectives to define and/or illustrate a time and place.

As Morris Dickstein states, "When America was merely a remote province of world culture, its educated elites were Anglophile, Francophile, or broadly cosmopolitan. Education was grounded in classical learning, a respect for the ancients over the moderns, and a deeply ingrained respect for old Europe's artistic heritage" (p. 155). This type of background made American letters similar to European. What…

American Ethnic Literature

There are so many different voices within the context of the United States. This country is one which is built on cultural differences. Yet, for generations the only voices expressed in literature or from the white majority. Contemporary American ethnic literature is important in that it reflects the multifaceted nature of life in the United States. It is not pressured by the white majority anymore, but is rather influenced by the extremely varying experiences of vastly different individuals, as seen in the works of alph Ellison's Invisible Man, Gloria Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," and Cathy Song's poem "Lost Sister." American ethnic literature speaks for minority voices, which have long been excluded in earlier generations of American society.

American ethnic literature has developed enormously over the last few centuries, and especially within the context of just the last few decades. In today's literary world, it…

American Investment ecovery Act

Throughout American history there has been an emphasis on maintaining a balance of power between different branches of government. This is from the belief that concentrating too much authority in one area will lead to inevitable abuses in others. To prevent this, the federal government and states have always practiced these basic principles. As a result, there are varying interpretations as to the overall scope of power given to particular branch. (McNeese, 2001)

In 2009, these issues were continually being brought to forefront with the American ecovery Act and einvestment Act of 2009. This law was designed to provide the economy with additional amounts of stimulus to address the lingering challenges from the financial crisis. However, the process of enacting this legislation, there were increased amounts of controversy surrounding the balance of power between the President and Congress. This is because the Democrats had an overwhelming…

Some writers had been overwhelmed by the sudden changes brought by the Harlem Renaissance and they preferred writing about certain things which didn't involve it. Sometimes they chose to write about a place in the U.S. which had a special effect on them at some point of their lives.

3. Black people had not been the only ones struggling to receive credit for their writings during the 1920s, as it had been also hard for women to become appreciated in a majority of men writers. Despite having to fight the severe gender discrimination which existed during the period, many American women writers managed to become successful.

Bess Streeter Aldrich is one of the women who succeeded in getting a positive feed-back from a public that had not been accustomed with women writers. Aldrich's writing "A Lantern in Her Hand" had won her international recognition for having created a great literary…

American Psycho

In his seminal work American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis uses the character of the yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in order to criticize American consumer culture while simultaneously challenging the reader to confront his or her own responses to that culture, responses that Ellis seems to suggest are only removed from the sociopathic actions of Bateman in a manner of degree, rather than kind. To see how Ellis uses the character of Patrick Bateman to explore the dual role of the serial killer as liberated individual and microcosmic representation of society, one may compare Bateman to the real life serial killer John ayne Gacy, who managed to keep his multiple murders a secret for the better part of the 1970s. Examining Bateman's characterization alongside the history of Gacy's murders and seemingly normal civilian life will help to demonstrate how the fascination with the two-faced killer ultimately stems from…

To wit, "half of Americans deem religion very important in their lives; fewer than a quarter in Spain (22%) feel this way, and in Germany (21%), Britain (17%) and France (13%), even fewer say religion is "very important" to their lives (PE).

Fifty-three percent of Americans are more apt to agree that it is vital to believe in God prior to having good morals and values while just 33% of Germans, 20% of the British, 19% of Spaniards and 15% of those in France agree with that statement. omen and the elderly are more apt to agree that God is indeed the "necessary foundation for morality and good values" (PE). Fifty-nine percent of American women say religion is "very important" to them but only 41% of American men agree with that statement (PE).

Meanwhile, in the Journal of Beliefs and Values (illiams, et al., 2009) the authors point out that…

American life is all about the fight towards becoming upwardly mobile and making life better. Ellen oster by Kaye Gibbons and the Narrative of the Life of rederick Douglass, an American Slave written by himself tell the story of struggle and hardship that leads to change and reflection. These two stories although differing in setting and protagonists, share the same level of pain that are universal regardless of race, gender, and age.

Both protagonists are bound by the chains of their existence. The differences are based on age and racial inequality. In terms of style and content, because the two novels were written during different time periods, they will have differences, especially in perspective since Douglass wrote it about himself where as Kaye Gibbons wrote about a made up character. In this essay these differences will be explained along with the universal themes that bring the two together.

Ellen oster…

American Civil ight Movement

Compare and contrast the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on the basis of their leadership, philosophy, and tactics.

Philosophy

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was a civil rights organization that was initiated by African-Americans in 1957 (Fairclough, 2001). The movement was primarily aimed at ending the segregation and discrimination against the black African population in the U.S. The core philosophy of SCLC revolved around to seek civil rights and economic justice for the people of Southern States having majority of African-Americans.

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) actually aimed achieving same objectives as those of SCLC but through non-violent sit-in and defiance of segregated dining and lunch services. The core philosophy of SNCC was also eliminating segregation but the mission statement was narrower compared to SCLC.

Leadership

The most prominent leader of SCLC was Martin Luther King, Jr. Other prominent…

American Culture

riters such as Pico Iyer, Richard Pells, and Joseph Nye are in fact correct that the world culture has not and will not be Americanized. These writers are correct in asserting that American culture is ever forceful, but still America remains just one influence in a multicultural world: a manifestation of globalization. ith such a supreme focus on America, it can seem like America is the dominant force; however, this is just a result of a skewed perspective. It is true that other cultures have also spread outwards and that local cultures cannot and will not be destroyed.

The phenomenon of culture shock is direct evidence of the fact that American culture is not as pervasive as many people would like to assert that it is. As centers for study abroad programs in various universities explain, culture shock is a logical reaction to the body and mind in…

American Association of Advertising Agencies was founded in 1917 as national trade association in the United States that represents advertising agency business the American Association of Advertising Agencies, 2013a ()

The association is management-oriented, and it offers expertise, broad services, and information to its members in regards to advertising agency business. Its members contribute an approximate of 80% in the total advertising agencies revenue worldwide. Not all the larger multinational advertising agencies are members of the 4A, but their members have a billing of less than $10 million per year. Since it is a national trade association, it is bound by its own by-laws and constitution, which strengthen the association. The association has been credited with been one of the associations that helped in regulating advertising in the United States. The association has its headquarters in New York City.

Membership to the association is by election after interested members fill…

American Myths Nature Environment

Unlimited Growth and Finite Resources

Western Civilization is currently coming to terms with some very important and unsettling realities. Capitalism, and modern economics thinkers, have idolized economic growth without limit. In most economic textbooks and theories, economic growth is considered an end good, and a lack of economic growth a problem.

Though we can argue about whether economic growth is a good in all situations, it is indisputable that economic growth has natural limits. These natural limits are created by our own natural environment. For this reason, the culture of "more" which dominates Western Civilization and drives all of our reasoning, is not sustainable.

The effect of Western industrial capitalist civilization on the environment has been huge. The culture of Western civilization, currently driven by an ethic of individualism and materialism, empowered by science and technology, has done irreversible damage to the natural environment and continues…

American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) is a management-oriented business that provides a number of important services for its members. It was founded in 1917 and is actually the "national trade association" that is the most visible advocate for and representative of the advertising business in the United States. This paper delves into what the organization does, its mission, its services, and why it is important in the field of advertising.

The Association's Mission and Purpose

The AAAA members produce an estimated 80% of all the advertising that is placed in the United States, which is an enormous amount of advertising. That said, there is evidence that the majority of members are not huge agencies at all; "…more than 60% of our membership bills less than $10 million per year" (AAAA). It is apparent that AAAA members are loyal and receive worthy services because on average, an AAAA member has…

Why Did American Express succeed in the U.S.A. And Internationally?

It succeeded because the company established an outstanding reputation in its core businesses very early in its lifetime. It also took advantage of the competition during both World Wars to support its customers with financial assistance when they needed it. Its business decisions, all told, were solid. It divested itself of non-profitable segments when necessary, and put the emphasis always on its core businesses -- travelers' checks, its travel business, and credit cards. AmEx has maintained flexibility as well in adapting to consumer's demands and the needs of its business, such as issuing the revolving credit card when that segment might have failed.

oday it is one of Forbes Magazine's top 100 companies.

How is American Express surviving the 2008-2009 Economic Crisis?

Diversification of its business. he American Express credit card business in the U.S. dropped 96% from early 2007…

Alexander Hamilton carried on an affair with the wife of "a notorious political schemer," Maria Reynolds. Andrew Jackson married Rachel Jackson before her divorce from Lewis Robards was finalized and therefore was accused of marrying a married woman. Jackson's opponent in 1828, John Quincy Adams, was in turn accused of "corrupt bargaining" during his term. Jackson also championed Margaret O'Neill Timberlake, who married his secretary of war, John Eaton. "Peggy O'Neill" was considered a woman of "questionable virtue," and as a result Martin Van Buren became Jackson's successor in the presidency. After the death of Jackson and Eaton, Peggy married a 19-year-old dance teacher (which raised eyebrows, as she was 59), who embezzled her money and ran off to Europe with her 17-year-old granddaughter.

Other scandals concerned Richard Mentor Johnson, who ran for vice president in 1836 with Martin Van Buren. He supposedly shot Tecumseh during the ar of 1812,…

The quest for primacy is likely to lead to the formation of adversarial alliances and greater distrust of American intentions, endangering international stability and peace. In the domestic sphere, quest for primacy will lead to greater abuse of power and the expansion of the military, threatening the health of American democracy. Democracy may be eroded and the U.S. economy may be drained before advocates of American primacy may achieve their dream of American primacy.

orks Cited

Allison, Graham and Philip Zelikow. Essence of Decision: Explaining Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Longman, 1999.

Bacevich, Andrew. The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by ar. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Blainey, Geoffrey. The Causes of ar. New York: Free Press, 1973.

Jervis, Robert. "Cooperation Under the Security Dilemma," orld Politics 30.2 (1978): 167-214. JSTOR. eb 14 Oct. 2011.

Jervis, Robert. System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life. Princeton, NJ:…

The biggest challenge however over the long-tern is the lack of acceptance of foreign cards by Chinese merchants. There are an estimated 20 million businesses in China, and of these, 414,000 accept credit cards, and of those, 150,000 accept foreign credit cards (Worthington, 2003). At the infrastructure level this fact illustrates how pervasive the sociological factors that limit debt continue to influence the Chinese culture specifically and the Asian culture overall. As with every Asian culture, there is tremendous pride in not losing "face" or stature in ones' community. As a result, cash is king in the more conservative cities and regions of the country. The generation of 25 to 40-year-olds will change this, however it may take a generation or more to significantly increase American Express credit card use in Asia and China as a result.

eferences

Bayot, J (2004, March 30). American Express to Issue Cards in China.…

The development of the American automobile industry is one of the best examples of this interplay: "Unlike European manufacturers, who concentrated on expensive motorcars for the rich, American entrepreneurs early turned to economical vehicles that could be mass-produced," (Jackson 159). The fact that so many Americans then became capable of purchasing a car both fed the notion of the American dream, and also served to expand American cities and suburbs; people who could afford to commute were not forced to live in the stifling and often impoverished inner-city. This trend tended to make inner cities in America decreasingly desirable places to live. Yet, in places like New York, with the creation of central park, wealthy neighborhoods came to crowd around such desirable locations and push the impoverished sects of society away: "By the time the park's founding generation passed away, the political, aesthetic, and cultural unity they valued had already…

Baggetta says, "My painting process is a very active one where my first marks and impressions are usually quiet and deliberate strokes" (Marla pp). Two of her pieces, "Across the Fields," (9"x9") and "inter Hike," (12"x12") are excellent examples of her work as a landscape artist, and can be found at gabrie.com/marla_baggetta.html. Other examples of her landscape work, including "Breath of inter," (12"x12"), "Across the Valley," (18"x18"), "Cedar Oak," (30"x20"), and "Fairyland," (12"x12"), can be seen at Village of illiamette Arts Festival eb site, village-arts.org/Artist/266/2004.

Baggetta has exhibited extensively in the Northwest and has received numerous awards for her landscape painting including Best of Show, Oregon Pastel Society 2003, Best in Show two-dimensional, Art in the Pearl 2000, Arts for the Parks Top 100, 1999, and has been included in numerous regional and national pastel society exhibitions (Marla pp). Moreover, she was featured in the February, 2004 issue of Pastel…

When it is flown at half-staff because of a death or series of deaths, it should be first hoisted to the top of the pole for an instant and then lowered to halfway. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. "Half-staff" means lowering the flag to one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff. Crepe streamers may be affixed to spear heads or flagstaffs in a parade only by order of the President of the United States.

Here's one of the procedures least followed: When the flag is displayed in a way besides being flown from a staff, it should be displayed flat, whether indoors or out. When shown either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window…

American Popular Music (Lady Gaga)

The question of originality in popular music is a vexed one. To choose a convenient and current example, when Justin Bieber sings about his "baby," listeners are not meant to hear any kind of deliberate allusion to the Supremes' "Baby Love" or any other previous songs which include "Baby" as part of their lyrical hook: Bieber's charming faux-naivete cannot be mistaken for anything other than a rhetorical willingness to utilize the regular tropes and language of a standard love song. But with some performers, the matter of originality -- together with the question of influence -- is one that must be addressed. I would like to look, in this context, at the work of Stefani Germanotta, the twenty-four-year-old singer and composer better known by her stage name "Lady Gaga." I would like to examine Lady Gaga's oeuvre with three separate areas of inquiry kept in…

His accomplishments included simplifying government jobs, and helping create the Democratic Party. He is most remembered as a great general and for defying Congress. Martin Van Buren served from 1837 to 1841. He was married to Hannah, and he died in 1862. His vice-president was ichard Johnson, and his nickname was the "Little Magician." His accomplishments included regulating banks and federal funds, and creating an independent treasury. He is most remembered for the Panic of 1837, and for being opposed to slavery. William Henry Harrison served in 1841 and died after only one month in office. He was married to Anna. His vice-president was John Tyler. He is most remembered for being the first president to die in office. John Tyler served from 1841 to 1845. He was married to Letitia and then Julia and he died in 1862. His nickname was "Old Tippecanoe." His accomplishments included annexing Texas and…

Marx's interpretation of Twentieth-Century Capitalism, as described by Miller, describes the changes in the American dream. The American dream was initially one linked to the idea of land ownership. Immigrants came from Europe, where land ownership had been a privilege of the wealthy. However, when America was relatively unsettled, almost anyone could theoretically come to America and claim land, and many people did just that. Of course, some of these early Americans did so in a grand way, traveling westward from the cities and establishing homesteads in the wilderness. The idea of home ownership, however, was not limited to those frontiersmen. Instead, only 100 years ago, someone could come to America and, because of the cheap price of land, afford to build his own home if he worked hard enough to do so. However, the nature of the home, itself, was different. Those homes were centers of production: at the…

Nevertheless, there have been many decisions over the years that have tended to weaken the intent of the Framers. In 2001, in Zelman v. Simmons Harris the Supreme Court ruled that school voucher programs did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The decision represented a blow to the essentially secular nature of the American state and system. By allowing public money to be given to religious schools, the Supreme Court was permitting the violation of a more than two hundred year old principle. In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court chose to accept the argument that giving money to schools was not a case of advancing religion but rather one of who should have power over education - the state or individual parents.

Personal freedom was now being re-defined as something that included the right to government assistance if the government provided assistance in similar situations. Persons…

He also observes the poignant problem of racism that arises here, which is also his reason for calling the new cult "white" Buddhism: in spite of the fact that the hite Buddhists may adopt all the traditional Asian customs- from their name to the food they eat or to the rituals as such, they will still be part of the "mainstream of the white culture." (Allitt 1999, 459). That is to say, the racial differences, still linger no matter what, and are emphasized by the American racism, which is the dark side of American culture.

Finally, Eldin Villafane analyzes the way in which the Catholicism of Spain was imposed to the Native Americans in Mexico, emphasizing the great religiosity of the Hispanic people. The author discusses the differences between Christendom and Christianity, the first being the powerful and complete assimilation of all life-matters into the religious frame.

Thus, all these…

Since inception, the Amex Composite Index has shown an increase of 57.3%, as compared to the NASDAQ Composite's gain of 26.6%, the S&P 500's gain of 7.1%, and the NYSE composite's gain of 14.3% (American Stock Exchange).

Values and volumes of stocks and options at the AMEX are significant. Closing values as of 10/11/2004 at 5:07 PM ET show significant activity. As of this date, the total volume was 44,288,030, with 1,359 block trades. Total options volume was 576,653, and bond volume was 102,000 (American Stock Exchange).

Like other stock exchanges, the AMEX is run by a number of officials. Officers of the AMEX include Chairman and Chief Executive Officer SALVATOE F. SODANO, the President Peter Quick, Executive Vice President alph . afaniello, and Chief Financial Officer and Controller MICHAEL T. D'EMIC. The AMEX also has a Board of Governors, trustees, a nominating committee, exchange officials, floor officials and a…

American History

The underside of affluence

The period is in the early years of the twentieth century. America is now experiencing economic and political expansion as it became the model of an imperial superpower for all nations, both in the Western and Eastern regions. Economic growth spurred as a result of the industrial revolution, while political structures strengthened due to the numerous successful conquests of the Americans to colonize nations in the Asian and southern American regions.

However, despite the affluence that American society had experienced during this period, a considerable half of the American population is suffering from poverty. With the rise of urbanization, many people flocked to the cities in search of a high-paying job and steady source of income as factory workers. However, the rapid incidence of migration to the cities made them crowded with people, hence, living conditions began to deteriorate, which includes the lack of…

American Express

This report is an analysis of the American Express company.

Company Background

Founder, date incorporated -- "Established in 1850 in New York, American Express Company was among the first and most successful express delivery businesses to arise during the rapid westward expansion of the United States." (American Express)

Initial source of Capital -- "Although in its early years American Express was not itself a financial services company, its largest and most consistent clients were banks. Delivering the banks' typically small parcels -- stock certificates, notes, currency and other financial instruments -- was considerably more profitable than transporting larger freight. Soon the company would scale down its parcel and freight delivery business in favor of creating and selling its own financial products." (American Express)

Key innovations -- "In 1882, American Express launched the money order business, which proved an almost instant success. The company introduced the world's first traveler's…