The United States

The Oxford Dictionary defines Wisdom as the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. Looking over the history of the United States, it can be argued that as a nation, the U.S has grown wiser over the years. This due to the various obstacles that they’ve overcome. Many of which were conflicts that arose with other countries and, at one point, within itself. All of the decisions made during these times of tension and overall crisis, even though at the moment very difficult to get through, all in all have been exceedingly beneficial to its progression as a Nation and in total helping citizens better define what it truly means to be American. Although the United States has been around since the late 1700’s, the definition of what it means to be American has transformed dramatically since then. Through each major conflict and detrimental hardship, the definition of what it means to be American has manifested itself into something far greater than it ever has been before, demonstrating the amount of progress that this fine nation has made over the past two hundred years altogether.

Cultures using hyphenated forms of “American,” such as Mexican-American, African-American, Asian-American, Native-American and many more is a step in the right direction for culture acceptance. With this positive move in the world, there could be a change in how cultures view themselves, leading to how others view them. The multicultural society has to take into account for this change because without their acceptance it would just be hate. Bharati Mukherjee in her essay “American Dreamer,” asserts, “WE MUST BE ALERT TO THE DANGERS OF AN ‘US’ vs. ‘THEM’ MENTALITY.” Although Mukherjee has a great point here, I have to disagree. I don’t feel that we have to be aware of the ‘US’ versus ‘THEM’ mentality with the change in cultural acceptance.

Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world. Times were tough in America during the turn of the century. Lots of changes were occurring, and many folks had a difficult time coming to terms with them. Black Americans in particular found themselves caught in a culture that appeared somewhat better than it had been before and during the Civil War. But the fact of the matter was: things just weren't so peachy. This poem is a reaction to the racial climate of the late nineteenth century. The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War. At age 33, he died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906. He was the first African-American poet to reach a wide audience, publishing verse poems and short stories before his early death. His use of both negro dialect and standard English helped to portray his cultural lifestyle, joys, and tribulations distinguishing him from other writers of the late 1800s, early 1900s. In his poem, the speaker opens the poem with the declaration that we wear masks that hide our true feelings. He goes on to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering that these masks try to cover up. By the end we understand that all of the politeness and subdued emotions are just phony disguises of the painful truths that hide behind them. With that knowledge, he try’s to get his audience to understand his purpose in

Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the first black poets in his time to confront the hypocrisy he saw around him. “We wear the mask” was one of his outstanding works that addressed racial injustices in

There are those who do not like the idea that they are being better served than others are. It makes them feel guilty and upset; they will feel empathy and sympathy to those who never had the opportunities that they had. The minute one acknowledges that one has privilege, that individual must either act on that knowledge, or burry one’s head in the sand. Both in quality of education and in resources, those that are the most under-served are ethnic and racial minorities living in cities. On the other hand, those that are being best served are Caucasians in suburbs, who are disproportionately given the resources and money that urban schools need. Through political and racial attitudes that have persisted from our countries inception, these

.“Ships that come and go- I wonder where they’ve been and where they’re going when they leave. I wonder what they carry with them and what they bring. The other day when I went to the market, I saw stalks of sugarcane- one of the vendors said that it came from Barbados. Barbados is an island like Jamaica- maybe Thomas will take me there one day…”

Chapter 6 narrates the popular demand for a militarized “food dictatorship,” and the state leaders’ response to it. The poor Berliners challenged the market economy and believed that only a total militarized control of food distribution could serve their needs. Seeing the slow response of the authorities, the starving population found that the government failed to make their promise to reward their patriotism in the war. A byproduct at this time was anti-Semitism, separating “true Germans” from “the Jew” that were associated with profiteering (132-135). This chapter contends that the women of lesser means perceived the state’s capacity for controlling food distribution as a criterion to “adjudicate the government’s success or failure” (115). Consequently, the WWI Germany was not fully oriented to the military need and political loyalty, but full of dynamic altercation (115).

led by the Sons of Liberty: opened 342 chests of tea and dumped them into the Boston Harbor (dressed up as Native Americans)

The victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011 accept the president’s policy. Granting equal liberties also shows good will in changing this situation.

Early English settlers who sailed on the Arbella set a precedent that would affect the actions and history of the United States in the future. According to The Wordy Shipmates author Sarah Vowell, those colonists began the way the United States would be unique and not conform to what other countries do and this is shown in the actions the United States has taken throughout its history. Instead of conforming, most of the goals of the United States have been to allow other nations to conform to the United States’ image. Yet, those colonists who were being sent off with John Cotton’s speech questioned their decision to leave England in case there was some reason England would need their religious influence. There is no reason why their home

One of the main foundations upon of the Constitution is the innate belief that we are a government run are by the people, yet must simultaneously watch for the corruptions of those same people who stand beside us. It is the reason that the United States has a system of checks and balances, to prevent one branch from becoming too powerful, it is why we have the electoral college, though many argue it’s exclusivity has hardly served its purpose, and it is why we have the 7th Amendment, which guarantees all civil trials (that exceed $20, ironically) to be accompanied by a jury. Though the question of its justification and use is more complex than a complete agreement or disagreement, the amendment overall deserves its place among the others, and then some. It is not insusceptible to corruption, most will admit, but we need this right both for it’s efficiency and for it’s correlation with the very foundational principles that make up our country.

Following numerous events in the 1850’s and early 1860’s, eleven of the southern states of the United States of America would make a fateful decision to succeed from the Nation. They would in turn create their own independent country, the Confederate States of America. This action and its ramifications echoed throughout the world during the Era and the effects are still felt today. A civil war would ensue, lasting from April of 1861 until May of 1865. During this conflict approximately 700,000 people would lose their lives and the end would come with the Confederate States of America surrendering at Appomattox Courthouse.

The basic explanation of what this compromise was, is basically a package of 5 different bills that the United states Congress passed in 1850. That is not all though, for it is rather more complicated than just being 5 different bills. to further understand the compromise, you need to think back to the slave and free states of our country at this time.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear The Mask” cleverly talks of the black condition in a language so universal that it could apply to any race of people that tries to hide their emotions from the world in order to survive.

Countries like the United States of America or Canada is for many individuals the synonym of prosperity, opportunities and better quality of life, based on the economic power and lifestyle that is perceived by the general population. This situation has generated that people from third world countries such as Latin American countries immigrate to achieved the “American Dream”, this means having the possibility of a better life for them and their families. Although, the majority of the immigrants choose the USA over other countries to achieved this dream for either its location or its reputation and “is woven into the fabric of American history and culture” (Hilfinger, Morris and Boyle, 2014). However, the “American Dream” is not always