American History
Essays

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) is most often remembered as being the "most prominent African-American orator, journalist and antislavery leaders of the 19th century." (Encarta) Douglass was himself an escaped slave who…

This essay examines the pros and cons of the Indian Removal movement that occurred in the United States in the 1830's. Both sides of the argument are presented before submitting that the Indian Removal process was unnecessarily violent and brutal. The essay concludes with a quote from William Penn noting the significance of the individual.

The Bush administration proposed its Immigration Reform program under the premise that the United States is a nation that was built on the hard work of many generations of immigrants (White House, 2004).

American individualism' is a phrase that is often bandied about in the popular media. However, it is seldom given a coherent historical definition. Rampant individualism is often seen as a societal negative that is…

Managing Diversity Diversity is a fact of American and International business and is a broader, more complex issue than one might initially believe. This paper will address the breadth and complexity of Diversity by reviewing: the nature of Diversity; legally protected classes within the United States; aspects of Diversity that fall outside the scope of U. S. legal protections; the benefits of Diversity for employers; the differences/challenges presented by Diversity for employers; general business adjustments/accommodations for Diversity; and suggested specific business adjustments/accommodations for Diversity. Though this paper cannot exhaustively address all aspects of Diversity, it is hoped that a review of all those aspects will give a good overview of modern businesses' Diversity issues and possible solutions. The nature of Diversity is shown to be much broader than the classes legally protected by U.S. Law; it also includes global issues created by international business and classes, such as our four generations of American workers, extending far beyond the narrow confines of U.S. law. As we have seen from our sources, there are many benefits for companies embracing Diversity, not only in "doing the right thing" but also in basic business advantages of greater employee skills, attraction for consumers and greater profitability. Despite these advantages, Diversity exposes businesses to differences/challenges, such as the attitude of some businesspeople; societal prejudice; different attitudes of different cultures; the apparent tendency of business to inadequately honor international cultural differences; prejudice against Middle-Eastern workers in view of 09/11; challenges when women & minorities are not proportionately represented in upper management; and challenges presented by the different traits and expectations of our four generations of American workers. In order to meet those differences/challenges, most sources seem to agree on general business adjustments/accommodations for Diversity, such as: recognition of Diversity; recognizing the need for Diversity Training; establishing a "corporate culture" embracing Diversity and inclusion through communication, clear policy and insistence on Diversity; Diversity coaching; a clear plan for company-wide Diversity, with the company acting as a "moderator" of those values; training involving a "top-to-bottom" approach in which Diversity values start with the CEO and move down and throughout the company. Finally, some sources have offered propositions, simple plans and very complex plans for Diversity programs, all of which seem to agree with the general principles that the positive embrace of Diversity must come from the highest reaches of a company, move down through company channels and spread throughout the company for the greatest success.

Slavery in America Introduction – The Beginning of Slavery The first year that African slaves were brought to Colonial America was reported to be 1619 (Vox, 2012). The ship that docked at Point Comfort, in Jamestown Virginia, was owned by the Dutch. The Dutch crew was said to be starving and they wanted to make a trade with the colonists – slaves for food, Vox explains in The New York Times-owned publications About.com. There were a reported twenty slaves on board, and this was verified by a letter from Dutch crewmember John Rolfe to the treasurer of the Virginia Company, Edwin Sandys. It is possible that African slaves actually arrived prior to 1619 – perhaps in the northern colonies – but Vox explains that the only "hard evidence" available as to the presence of slaves came from Rolfe's letter. The British were involved in the slave trade at that time but Vox writes that they were "reluctant to institute slavery in their new American colonies." Historian Betty Wood reports that by 1625, there were just 23 Africans in the Virginia colony, and thirty-five years later that number rose to 950, which was approximately four percent of the entire population of Virginia (Vox).

Enron Corporation is an American energy company formed with the merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth with Kenneth Lay as Chief Executive Officer in 1985 in Omaha, Nebraska (Wikipedia 2006).

My goal in this class is twofold. I would like to learn more about African-American history in general because the topic is very interesting to me, and I feel it is important to know about our culture and our history.

In his book Race, Reform and Rebellion, Manning Marable takes readers on an informative trip back in time to witness the lives of blacks in America from the end of World II to 1982, or what he calls the Second…

The purpose of this case study is close synopsis of the Enron case and its impact on consumers and corporate business practices alike. Prior to its collapse Enron had been named one of America's top 10 admired…