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The Renaissance Music was instrumental and vocal music that was written during the Renaissance era that covered the period from the c.1400 with the end of the medieval era to around 1600 with the beginning of the Baroque era (Vendrix, 2017). Similar to arts, music of the renaissance era was influenced in greater heights by the developments that defined the early modern period, that is the rise of humanistic thought, the recovery of the literary and artistic heritage of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the increased innovation and discoveries, the growth of commercial enterprises, the rise of a bourgeois class and the protestant reformation. It is from the changing society; there emerged a common, unifying language, the polyphonic style, which meant music with multiple, independent melody lines that were performed simultaneously.

In 1439, the printing press was invented and to which enabled easier and cheap distribution of music and other musical theory texts on a wider geographical scale and to many people. Before the invention of the printing press, music and theory texts had to be hand-copied, which was an expensive and time-consuming process. With the emergence of the bourgeois class, the demand for leisure and entertainment music increased. Two types of Renaissance music existed that included sacred and secular music.

The early renaissance music was dominated by the Latin mass due to the supremacy of the catholic church, making the music sacred (Clarke, 2016). As a result of the catholic church influence, the sacred music was mostly polyphonic masses and the motets in Latin for use in the churches, for example, lamentations I by Thomas Tallis. Despite the steady movement away from the church due to the rise of the humanistic thought, churches remained crucial places for training musicians and singers, and as the period went on, the Protestant Reformation gathered pace prompting music for use in Protestant churches.

Secular music, on the other hand, was very dependent upon the courts, which financed and supported musicians. Secular music pushed the boundaries and laid the foundation for functional harmony with most of the composers trying to incorporate emotions into pieces. Secular music in the renaissance was mostly vocal, but the instrumental music was developing (Coelho & Polk, 2016). Some of the common musical instruments of the renaissance include viol da gamba, trumpet, cornett, harp, lute, sackbut and the keyboard. Renaissance composers were divided into early and later composers. Examples of early composers include John Taverner (1490-1545) and the late composers William Byrd (1567-1643).

References

Clarke, M. (2016). Sacred Sound for a Holy Space: Dogma, Worship and Music at Solemn Mass during the Victorian Era, 1829–1903. In Music and Theology in Nineteenth-Century Britain (pp. 55-78). Routledge.

Coelho, V., & Polk, K. (2016). Instrumentalists and Renaissance Culture, 1420–1600: Players of Function and Fantasy. Cambridge University Press.

Vendrix, P. (2017). Music and the Renaissance: Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Routledge.

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A Farewell to Arms

Introduction

A farewell to arms, a novel that was written by Ernest Hemingway, is the narrative of a disheartened soldier who happens to get entangled in a romantic relationship with his nurse. The soldier is confronted by the brutality as well as the nonsensical cruelty of the war. The soldier faces bare truths concerning how conflict compromises fundamental human relationships. In the novel, Italy’s responsibility is to prevent the Austro-Hungarian army from supporting the Germans on the battle’s western frontage, and Russia towards the east. The protagonist of the novel, who doubles as its narrator, is in the long run recognized as Lieutenant Henry. Henry is an American volunteer for the Italian forces, since the U.S has not yet come into the war. Henry oversees a faction of ambulance drivers of Italian origin (Baker 7).

THESIS STATEMENT

This paper posits to provide an exploration of the plot as well as the basics of the narrative. The paper will analyze the juxtaposition of war and love, specific and general, and delusion and authenticity, in an exploration of the novel’s inherent dualities.

The Plot. In the initial part of the book, Henry takes goes to Naples and comes back. Through his acquaintance, Lt. Rinaldi, Henry meets Barkley, who is an aide to a British nurse. Barkley’s fiancée had died in Somme the year before. Henry is immediately love-struck with Barkley and he spends a long time courting her. Henry’s initial meetings with Barkley come across as a playful game. The two characters are conscious of the surrounding gravity of events, but, all together, Henry and Barkley participate in a joint flight of the imagination. In tears, Barkley tells Henry that they would have a weird life (102). The offensive begins again as the snow clears, and Henry departs with three ambulances to a station in the mountains. In the first night at the station, a bombardment takes place and Henry is gravely injured in the legs. Henry loses one of the drivers, while another is wounded. Consequently, Henry is transferred to a field health-care facility, but he is later transferred to Milan when an American hospital opens there.

However, the hospital staff is caught unawares by Henry’s presence at the hospital, but they accept him nevertheless. Barkley comes to work at the American hospital with Miss Ferguson, who is her acquaintance in order that she may be close to Henry. The primary estimates give Henry six months to recuperate, but a second physician operates on him virtually instantly. Before long, Henry walks on crutches and is seen visiting restaurants in the company of Barkley. Barkley makes sure that, she works in the night shifts, in order that, they may spend time together during the night. Henry begins to engage in too much drinking, and as soon as he recuperates, he is offered leave for three weeks. He however, loses it since he acquires jaundice as a result of drinking excessively. Barkley owns up to him that she is pregnant, but Henry is not disappointed with her, but only troubled. Seemingly more significant than the fear of battle are the discussions and drinking in the officers’ mess, mirroring the triviality of the encroaching battle (132).

Prior to his to return to the battle front, the two spend a night in an inn. Henry departs by train at midnight in order to go back to Gorizia. On reaching Gorizia, Henry finds out that there are a smaller number people in the town, and the town is increasingly unexciting. He also discovers that, his acquaintance Lt. Rinaldi has grown to be increasingly miserable. Henry creates a fuss in the mess hall before leaving, as the two acquaintances chat over the war and life. The following day Henry arrives at the mountain station to search for the ambulance team. However, that night they are compelled to retreat following an Austrian assault. After a few days, the multitude of people who are retreating creates a traffic jam. Henry finds it appropriate to direct his three ambulances to take a path, but soon after taking the side road, the ambulances become stuck, and therefore, the team is forced to proceed on foot. Tragedy strikes as the come to a river, when one of Henry’s drivers is murdered, and another one is captured as he tries to escape. Henry and his remaining driver try reuniting with the Italian army, but, to their dismay, the Italian army has become suspicious of German spies. The Italian army is interrogating as well as shooting anybody who is not of Italian origin. Henry leaps into a river in an effort to flee execution, and consequently floats for a period of time. He leaps on a train and travels to Milan (171).

When Henry arrives in Milan, he discovers that Barkley has left to a town known as Stresa in proximity to the Swiss boundary. Henry acquires some new clothes from an acquaintance and travels by train to search for Barkley in Stresa. On arrival in Stresa, he enters into an inn and finds Barkley in the company of her acquaintance Miss Ferguson. The reunion of Henry and Barkley brings joy two the couple, although Miss Ferguson is distressed on seeing Henry since she does not trust him. In the course of their stay in Stresa, an acquaintance of Henry, who is a bartender, inform him that he faces arrest the following morning. The bartender grants them his boat to paddle to Switzerland. Henry paddles throughout the night, but on their arrival in Switzerland, Barkley becomes the first to be arrested (82).

Together, Henry and Barkley stay together in an isolated mountain town known as Montreux. The two spend their entire time in Montreux reading, talking, and hiking. By this time, Barkley’s pregnancy has fully-grown, and when the spring draws closer they shift into a bigger town. When Barkley goes into labor, the two hurry to the hospital where they arrive early at sunrise. However, Barkley still has not delivered the infant by midday. The doctor proposes a caesarian, and the operation appears to go well, but Henry soon discovers that Barkley has hemorrhaged and that the baby was born dead, having been strangled by its umbilical cord. Soon afterwards, Barkley succumbs to recurring hemorrhaging.

Basics of the Novel. The novel does not have any subplots, and the trifling characters are absolutely unnecessary. This perennially well-liked book draws its power from the intensity of Henry and Barkley’s affection for each other, as well as the power of the hostile forces that eventually tear them apart. The novel’s symbolic structure is developed around a succession of contrasting circumstances indicating an incessant dichotomy that would be labeled as “not home” and “home”. In spite of the adamant, denotative irony at the surface of the novel’s arrangement, the subsurface activities are structured connotatively around “not home” and “home”. Throughout, the novel, the author has worked entirely by implication, quiet repetition, and suggestion, therefore, placing the audience into potential awareness. The proposition for a symbolic “not-home” and “home” equation may be additionally extended and perceived as a sense of “home” (normalcy) versus “not-home” (the ridiculous).

The issue of what is delusion and what is authentic saturates the novel. In general held in reserve for philosophical argument, these issues provide the novel with an insightful drama. This is a tragedy in which the lives of the characters are profoundly affected since without dealing with these issues, they cannot flee the consequences of ignorance or indifference; in its place, their lives turn out to be inauthentic. In the author’s fiction, a character may act, strive and survive, but the character cannot be entirely human, a real being, until one sees beyond outward show to the real meaning (105). Barkley and Henry are drawn to one another via an illusion of seduction, love, as well as comfort that offers Barkley solace, following her fiancée’s death and Henry a diversion from the war. Following Henry’s injury, his craving for Barkley and the comfort she provides transforms from a desirable diversion to something indisputably real. Henry’s development in understanding as well as, the move to realism harmonizes the progression of the novel. Whereas at the beginning of the narrative, the adherence to an ordered world, picturesque landscapes, whorehouses and bars, conflicts with the backdrop of a growing war, subsequent to coming back from the hospital, Henry becomes increasingly conscious of the vulgarity of warfare and the nonexistence of the delusions. The novel’s resonating theme echoes the author’s contempt for the abstract concepts of honor and faith that contrast with the tangible facts of warfare. As Henry accepts the purposelessness of abstract views, such as conscience and duty towards one’s place of work, he ought to contend with the vainness of life. Henry acknowledges the ridiculousness of war, only to experience the loss of his wife and child through death, the irrationality of peace (179).

The difference between illusion and reality become interchangeable for Henry when fantasy and truth result in irrationality. By following Henry’s cyclic journey through the narrative, the audience is shoved in and out of nightmare and fantasy. Henry’s fortunes rise and fall alternately with the narrative’s structure. This emphasizes the notion that “home” is a fantasy, whereas “not-home” is the realism of suffering and pain. This highlights the dichotomy of illusion and reality is the inevitable sense of the illogical. It can be argued that, for the author the character exists vulnerably in a passive and, anxious association with the world. The author’s illusory subjects are strongly and peculiarly alienated from the real world. These characters give the impression of existing in an ideological void. This is because of their incapability to find any positive and meaningful relationship with the bigger public arena. Henry’s sense of illusion and reality result in the similar futile sense of emptiness and hopelessness. In the novel, the author demonstrates that happiness is a fantasy based exclusively on perception, and that the fantasy offers simply a temporary refuge from the authentic.

Works Cited

Baker, C. The Symbolic Structure of A Farewell to Arms, San Diego: Greenhaven, 2000. Print.

A Flow Chart of the Juvenile Justice Process in the State of Washington (Clallam County)

(Clallam County, Washington, 2013)

The primary objective of the Juvenile Justice System is to ensure that the juvenile is rehabilitated. The chart shows the process that has to be followed in order to ensure that a juvenile suspected of committing a crime is prosecuted. In case the juvenile will be tried as an adult, they will be transferred to an adult court. This means that the case will go on differently as opposed to the one that would have taken place in an adult criminal process. The first part of the process is the committing of the offense. A person who has witnessed a crime should report to a law enforcement agency or the concerned party in the crime area. Secondly, an initial investigation of the crime will be carried out by an officer once the crime has been reported. The witnesses and the victims will be interviewed and an initial report will be prepared. The initial report will be given to detectives once it has been prepared

A follow-up investigation is conducted by an investigator and they contact witnesses to obtain formal statements. For example, if it is robbery, a description of the stolen items should be provided by the victims or witnesses. A photographic line up takes place and the suspected juvenile offender can at times be in the line-up. In case the youth has been identified and evidence exists, a Juvenile prosecutor has to be provided with a Delinquency Referral/Complaint. Depending on whether the juvenile has ever committed a crime, the case is diverted. If there is evidence to prove that the juvenile committed an offense, a Criminal Information is filed.

The juvenile is arrested then proceeds to custody and is put in detention at the Juvenile & Family Services complex. A court then makes a decision as to whether the juvenile should wait arraignment or be held in custody. During the first hearing a juvenile respondent is made aware of the charges and they can have an attorney. The juvenile has to enter a plea based on the charges against them and if they enter into a guilty plea, a disposition hearing date is then set. Before the arraignment hearing occurs, the defense and the prosecutor have to disclose information to all parties and the juvenile’s defense attorney has to be provided with a police report copy.

The Washington Law claims that if a juvenile is either seventeen or sixteen years old, they are to be filed in an adult court. This is depending on whether the crime is a robbery or a violent offense, among others. In case, there is reason to believe that the juvenile cannot be adjudicated, psychiatric evaluation on the juvenile should be conducted. There are times when the juvenile can enter into a plea agreement and a judge has to make decision on this matter. Thereafter, an adjudication hearing occurs and a judge can set a disposition hearing date if the delinquent pleads guilty. The delinquent can then be found not guilty or guilty and be put on parole, commitment to Juvenile Authority or probation. Lastly, the juvenile can either accept the sentence or file for an appeal to review the case.

I would change the process of the Washington juvenile Justice process if given an opportunity. Firstly, I would ensure that the process time is shortened and secondly, I would ensure that repeat offenders are given harsh punishments. There would be no need of giving repeat offenders an opportunity to plea. In turn, the Washington juvenile justice process will be performing well.

Reference

Clallam County Washington. (2013). The Juvenile Court Process. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.clallam.net/courts/juvenilecourt.html”http://www.clallam.net/courts/juvenilecourt.html

The Research Design Employed in the Article’ Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009

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I selected the article’ Abortion and mental health’ for this assignment. It aims to measure the correlation between abortions and the indicators of adverse mental health. The researcher conducted a longitudinal survey because they intended to collect relevant data of their study sample at various times (Coleman, 2011). They wanted to determine changes in their respondents’ thinking processes, patterns, and behaviors. The researchers divided it into two phases since the research employed a longitudinal survey. The first phase facilitated primary quantitative search using polls where the respondents were subjected to open-ended questions. The second phase of the survey involved sending survey emails to respondents.

Relying on baseline observations and conclusions sometimes gives inaccurate results due to biases or external factors that may hinder the research. Internal and external validities can contribute to the inaccuracy of the findings of a study (Matsuo et al., 2022). Internal validities entail establishing confidence in a study’s conclusions by ruling out alternative explanations. On the other hand, external validities refer to how findings can be generalized or applicable in different settings (Chytilova & Maialeh, 2015). The three criteria used to establish cause-and-effect in internal validities include the same variation in cause and effect, the caused preceded effect in terms of time, and the absence of an alternative in the relationship observed.

In the article above, the researcher eliminated threats to validity by random selection, where participants were randomly selected to represent the population. They also used the study protocol, where the researcher used specific treatments and administration procedures to facilitate the research and randomization (Coleman, 2011). Participants were randomly assigned treatments and control groups hence eradicating systemic bias between groups. The researcher finalized by identifying the setbacks of his study. He observed longitudinal effects, cultural bias, and the measure used to collect data limited the study.

References

Chytilova, H., & Maialeh, R. (2015). Internal and external validity in experimental economics. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 9, 1944-1951.

Coleman, P. (2011). Abortion and mental health: Quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009. British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(3), 180-186. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.077230

Matsuo, Y., Yamada, Y., Miyata, J., Aita, T., & Yoshioka, T. (2022). Importance of internal and external validity in clinical research: comment on the article by Fatima et al. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 74(1), 175-176.

The Research Essay Assignment

For your class research paper, your topic will come from one of the selected figures from history, philosophy, literature, and other significant areas of intellectual history that I have prepared for you (you’ll find these in Step #1 below). These figures range from Ancient (such as Plato and Aristotle) to more modern (such as Flannery O’Connor and Stephen Hawking).

Firstly, let’s make sure you understand what this research paper is not. You will not write biographies of these figures nor will you write a book report on one of their writings. Make sure you understand that from the outset.

This research paper is a thesis-based, argumentative-focused project. You will select one significant piece of writing from the figures I have provided and write a persuasive research paper on that writing (an exception might be if you write on, say, a poet like Emily Dickinson, where you would use selected poems for your project). So for example, you could select Plato and write on some topic that relates to “The Republic” (such as “The Allegory of the Cave”) or you could choose Karl Marx and write a critique of one of his ideas from “The Communist Manifesto.” You could write on Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” or Albert Camus’s “The Stranger.” There are a host of options – literally hundreds.

Again, though, you will not write a paper where you summarize a work. That is a sure fire path to failing the paper (and likely receiving a zero). You will also not write an encylopedia-like article on your chosen figure. You will need to do some significant reading and research to find a topic based on something one of these men and women have written. I’ve provided a preliminary list of some suggestions, but you are welcome to find your own selection. However, your topic must come from the list of figures that I’ve provided. That is non-negotiable.

Requirements:

The final draft of your paper should contain the following minimum requirements:

1,500 words. This is exclusive of the works cited page.

A minimum of 5 sources (not counting your chosen work), which should be at least three scholarly articles (peer-reviewed articles, not web pages), one book, and one quality web page (e.g., a .edu site). You may use four scholarly articles instead of a web site if you wish.

Use MLA documentation for all source usage. You will use your research in a variety of ways. You may use direct quotations, paraphrase, or summarize the sources. Please see the “Source Usage” section below. 

Use MLA format for the document design as well. Make sure that you format the first page properly. Ensure that your last name and page number are in the header on every page.

Have a focused argumentative thesis that comes from your close reading of your chosen text. Do not summarize or offer a book report. 

Your paper should be focused on the work that you’re writing upon. The research should support your argument.

Edited with care. Avoid serious errors like comma splices, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, faulty possessives, and misused words.

The Big Picture: What This Paper Is and Is Not

As you’re working on your papers, I think it’s important to have a sense of the “big picture,” what this paper involves and what should be avoided.Remember from the outset that this isn’t a book report. You don’t just tell me about a particular work. You don’t summarize it. It’s also not a collection of random thoughts about the subject matter related to your chosen work. It is focused on the reading you’ve chosen. You need to stay engaged with the primary reading. And as a reminder, you do need the work or works you’re writing on. That should be a given at this point.

Your paper needs to have a main idea. That’s really what a thesis is – a main idea about the work that you’re writing on. It is not an obvious point, but something that you’re trying to argue for or against, a particular interpretation or particular anaysis. 

You will use your research to help support your main point; however, the reseach does not do the “heavy lifting.” Using your sources is not a substitute for careful reading and reflection on your chosen work.

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A Formal Analysis of “The Accident” And “Buying Fishing Rod for My Grand Father” By Gao Xingjian

Formal Analysis is a kind of visual description that explains visual structure of the manner in which particular visual elements are arranged and their role within a composition. Gao Xingjian’s Short Story “The Accident” is about an accident which happened on the Chinese streets on the front of a radio repairs shop. When one man on a bicycle was headed to a bus the driver began stepping on his breaks. However, the bus did not stop and the result was a tragic accident where the man on the bicycle was knocked down. Witnesses recounted that the man upon realizing that the bus was headed on his way pushed the baby carriage out of the bicycle. He died on the spot upon being hit by the bus but the baby was found safe and sound (Xingjian 1377-1379).

People who had not witnessed the accident started asking themselves questions such as: “Why didn’t the child save his father by pushing him out of the way” (Xingjian 1379-1382). However the truth of the matter was that the child was too young to attempt such a feat. The busy bodies who did not witness the accident were just but quick to judge without getting a full account of the accident. After the accident soil was placed over the blood by a police officers, this was later washed away by the street cleaners and people continued with their lives oblivious of the life shattering event that had occurred.

Throughout the story the accident as is with his painting “the Oblivion” Xingjian was basically stating a sequence of events even as they occurred. He did not make any statement or passing across any particular message through the story because as he asserts there is no need for humanity “to turn life’s tragic accidents into statistics …for this is a job of the traffic safety department” (Xingjian 1384).

He was essentially connecting an accident’s events that occurred outside a radio repair shop. It is possible to conclude that Xingjian was attempting to make use of this story in order to define his writing. He did not want to come out with a formal statement or create a disturbance in government. He just wanted to describe things in black and white as is with his painting “the Oblivion” where he states in a Harvard interview that” where words fail paintings begin” and let people draw conclusions from the events themselves. Through his painting and art work “the Oblivion” Gao tries to depict the socio-cultural transformations in the society. The picture is just as ugly as the events in the accident are but as much as it is ugly people just have a look at it, some critic the artist on what he should have done and then move on with their lives. It is therefore important to note that literature and other literacy writing play a significant role in identifying the social and cultural values that are rooted in our communities (Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature Web).

Similarly in “buying fishing rod for my grandfather” a man in his middle ages after the Cultural Revolution wishes to reconnect with his aging grandfather in a self nostalgic trip. He envisions himself making a visit to his home town only to realize he has forgotten about how the place looked like. The whole place is completely physically transformed that he can only make his way out through an old local temple. Upon flashing back on how he went fishing with his grandfather he buys him a fancy fiberglass fishing rod which replaces his old fishing rod that the narrator broke when he was young. A world cup football match that the narrator could be watching unfolds as young women culturally liberated and thus scantily dressed seek his attention (Xingjian 45).

“You are walking on rocks that already been smoothened and rounded up by the river, as you jump from one rock to the other you can almost see the clear current. However, when the mountain floods came an expanse of muddy water spread into the city” (Xingjian 61). What was clear in the past has been clouded in every aspect both physically and culturally. In particular, the narrator identifies the lake where he and the grandfather often fished together as no more with creeks of dry valley as the only living evidence of the old prestigious lake that provided source of living to many (Xingjian 79).

The traditional values and heritage that were at one time held in high esteem have been lost to modernity. Just like the “the Oblivion” painting they remain an ugly and pale shadow of their former selves. People can only speak about them like news. In the same manner they dehumanized the old man who was knocked down by the bus into a piece of news they have reduced their once revered culture into a piece of news. Their life continue oblivious of these changes.

Works Cited

HYPERLINK “http://www.google.co.ke/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Gao+Xingjian%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=5” Xingjian, Gao. Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather (Fast Fiction). HarperCollins Publishers, (2011): 1377-1384. Print.

Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature, Part2: Faulkner-kipling. Detroit: Thomson Gale, (2007). Web.

Xingjian, Gao. “The Accident.” The Story and its Writer (7th Ed). Ed… Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, (2007): 45-79. Print.

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Argumentative Essay on whether university students should be forced to attend all the classes

Introduction

A debate has been brought forward regarding the issue of whether university students should be forced to attend all the classes, or whether attending classes should be optional to the students. Weighing the benefits of attending all the classes and having an option of whether to attend or not, gives the best option in the debate. Emanating from the benefits that attending all the classes has on the students, I would argue that university students should be required to attend classes.

One of the reasons why students should be required to attend classes is because students have the benefit of receiving teacher’s knowledge. Tutors are usually knowledgeable in the specific areas that they teach and this knowledge cannot be replaced by other reading materials that students opt to use rather than attending classes. Whatever is written in the books gives a less practical example than what the teacher teaches in class; the tutor will, in most cases, provide practical examples to match what he is teaching, but books or other reading materials may not. Therefore, attending all classes equips a student with not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical knowledge. Besides, students should be required to attend classes in order to keep focused on the studies. Attendance of classes makes students concentrate on their studies because once in class, they will avoid out of class businesses and activities, thus tune their minds to studies. If classes were optional, it would be exceedingly difficult to keep students focused on their studies since they would irregularly attend classes making it difficult to keep in touch with whatever the lecturer is teaching. Therefore, attending classes makes students focus on studies and keep the students abreast with their career.

A requirement to attend classes encompasses one of the rules established in a university; therefore, attending classes is a show of respect and discipline to an institution’s rules. Hence, attending classes prepares students for their future career in the workplace, where they would be required to attend to work without failure and show respect to the rules of the workplace. Attending classes on time rather than staying in bed late and making studies whenever students want, prepares students for punctuality in their future career. In addition, attending classes gives students an opportunity to interact with others as they discuss topics with the lecturer; through the various viewpoints given by fellow students, students get an opportunity to learn other intelligent thoughts from their friends. Furthermore, students should be required to attend classes since their chief reason of going to university is developing their career; it is remarkably difficult to develop a career by not attending classes since irregular attendance of classes makes students lose focus.

In conclusion, students should be required to attend classes because attending classes help students to gain immense knowledge from the tutor and from fellow students. The tutor has the capacity of giving practical examples, which relate to the subject being taught and students, in class, give different intelligent viewpoints during class discussions, which add to the knowledge of other students. Besides, attending classes is of benefit because attending classes on time prepares students for their future career in the workplace. Therefore, looking at the benefits that attending classes have, individuals that think attending classes, in the university, should be optional are usually misleading.

THE RATIFICATION OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

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After President Johnson announced the end of the Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866, Southern States began passing discriminatory state laws collectively referred to as black codes. The goals differed from state to state bur had a fairly similar goal: to maintain the socioeconomic system of racial slavery. The black codes systemized white supremacy by restricting freed slaves from civic participation. The codes deprived blacks of the rights to vote, to serve on juries, to carry or own weapons, and to rent or lease land. The members of the Congressional Joint Committee felt that the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 and the passing of the first Civil Rights Act in 1866 had done little to change the plight of the freed slaves because it posed legal questions over black citizenship. Therefore in 1866 Radical Republicans drafted the Fourteenth Amendment and was ratified by state legislatures in 1868. The Fourteenth Amendment stated, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” It, therefore, gave all citizens equal protection under state and federal law and eliminated the notion that freed slaves were three-fifths of a free white person. Because of its emphasis on equal justice and equal protection, the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment is to date, one of the most important events in the country, not only did the Amendment equalize the American people, it also established the United States as a multicultural society.

The Fourteenth Amendment dramatically transformed the realities of Americans and made the federal government an advocate and guardian of civil liberties. According to an article by Eric Foner dubbed, “The Original Intent of the Fourteenth Amendment” the Civil War changed the roles and powers of the government with the roles of the federal government expanding in Abraham Lincoln’s government as the Republicans tried to manage the dual challenge: maintenance of a Union and eradicating slavery. This expansion of federal powers is evident in the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The Civil War had also forced American leaders to acknowledge their responsibility to the four million black slaves who yoked with the bondage of chattel slavery. By ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment, the lives of African Americans took on a different turn for the better.

The Fourteenth Amendment established equal protection and due process for all citizens in the nation by bridging the gap between legal positivism and natural law. The Radical Republicans who drafted the Fourteenth Amendment foresaw the protection of man’s natural rights protected by a social contract (natural law) but also acknowledged the role of the legislature in imposing the law despite natural law. Before the Civil War, the Republican Party condemned chattel slavery on the premise of higher laws. They debated that slavery was in violation of natural rights, to solidify their argument even in territories that lacked legislative sanctions. The natural law tradition had been adopted in the Declaration of Independence and had been used to shape the ideology of the American Revolution. For instance, in a radical pamphlet by Thomas Paine’s that incited colonists on the need for independence from Great Britain titled “Common Sense”, Paine argues that “[all] mankind [was] originally equals in the order of creation…no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever”. Republicans therefore based the emancipation on the same premise used by Americans while fighting for independence from Great Britain.

The Fourteenth Amendment did not only provide a set of rights for the blacks, but it aimed to also embrace all “races, classes, and conditions of men.” Today, the Court acknowledges the Fourteenth Amendment to have “a broader principle” than to meet the immediate plight of the newly freed black slaves. The Amendment was of course designed to free the slaves and grant them equality in all aspects. However, it was not only confined to the African American slaves, but to all races and classes. The Amendment did not confine the rule to any race but granted all Americans equal protection, privileges, and the right to due process. The concerns of the freed black slaves were obviously present in the Republicans and Congress as they drafted and debated the Amendment but they also concerned by challenges facing other groups such immigrants into the nation, Northern migrants to the South, and Southern Unionists. The integration of foreign-born persons into American society was a primary challenge in antebellum society. White citizens were aware of the influx of immigrants such as the Chinese, and most of the immigrants were met with hostility due to perceived differences and the notion that they would rob them of economic opportunities. The Citizenship Clause, in its non-racial language, protected all persons born in the nation, despite the origin of their parents.

The clauses in The Fourteenth Amendment: the representation clause, the disfranchisement clause, the debt clause, the pardon clause, and other parts of this Amendment are meant to avoid inequality. “These clauses were not only meant to attack the undemocratic socioeconomic system in the South but to avoid future repetition of the same.” Issues such as public debt aim to dissociate the government from insurrections and rebellions against the country. The clause specified that all debts incurred by fighting to defeat the Confederacy would be honored. However, Confederate debt would not be honored since the government would not pay for insurrection or rebellion against the nation. Moreover, the Amendment stated that claims for the emancipation or loss of any slave would be held illegal and void. Therefore, the framers of the amendment aimed at reaching deeply into the political lives of the states to ensure that the amendment would meet Republican standards.

In conclusion, the Fourteenth Amendment is one of the great foundations on which the democracy of America is based. It is said that more litigation is based on this Amendment or the Amendment’s implementing statues than any other provision in the United States Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment shows the determination of the 39th Congress to do away with Chattel Slavery and to build a more integrated nation whose citizens were all equal regardless of their race, gender, class. The Fourteenth Amendment grants all citizens fundamental rights to be protected against the local, state, and federal governments. It not only assisted in demanding equal rights for African Americans but its generality incorporates all peoples hence prompting the multicultural character of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment takes the primary ideal of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal, and incorporates it into the U.S. Constitution.

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartley, Abel A. 2003. “The Fourteenth Amendment: The Great Equalizer of the American People.” Akron Law Review 473-490.

Corbett, P. Scott, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, and Paul Vickery. 2017. U.S. History. Houston: OpenStax.

Farber, Daniel A., and John E. Muench. 1994. “The Ideological Origins of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Berkelely Law Journal 235-279.

Foner, Eric. 2006. “The Original Intent of the Fourteenth Amendment: A Conversation with Eric Foner .” Nevada Law Journal 426-446.

Paine, Thomas. 2008. “Common Sense (2nd ed.: Philadelphia, 1776), pp.1. 6-12, 15-30.” In Voices of Freedom : A Documentary History, by Eric Foner, 93-98. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Absolutism

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Introduction

The reign of Peter the Great Russian

Absolutism is a form of government whereby where complete and unlimited authority is sustained by a sovereign individual with no incoming balance from any part of the government. The rulers in these types of governments have absolute power with no challenges to his power. Over time, the term has been used to single out various leaders-from Hitler’s dictatorship to monarch rulers such as Louis XIV of France- to Julius Caesar. Early absolutism existed across Europe; however, it mostly existed among the western states of Austrian, Prussia and Spain. Through absolutism, a central government could exercise much control and command on its people. It is these qualities and components of the system that led to the rise of Peter the great who through successful wars transformed Tsardom of Russia to become a dominant European power.

Analysis

Peter the great is acknowledged with pulling Russia out of the dark ages times to the point that when he died in 1725, Russia had become a leading state in the Eastern Europe. He accomplished these by employing a centralized government, modernizing the army, creating a navy and increasing the subjugation and subjection of the local peasants. It is easy to conclude that Peter’s outlook on life and people was toughened by his childhood. At 17 years, Peter removed his sister (Sophia) and the prince (Golitsin) to step down from the seat as their reign was filled by chaos at the government level much to the public’s dismay. Upon sitting on the throne, Peter portrayed a physical presence (7 feet tall and very broad) which seemed to indicate how his rule would go. His ambition led to his enquiry about how to be a carpenter, talking to mathematicians, and he also leant how best to train soldiers (including how to torture people).

After inheriting an administration full of problems, Peter the great tried to solve these issues. This consisted of navigating to other states in search of knowledge and studying other cultures so as to apply these and even better reforms upon returning home. In his European trip, he visited museums, factories, theaters, arsenals and even attended some sessions in parliaments. By the time Peter was forced to come back home, he was full of knowledge, brilliance and ready to steer Russia towards the Western culture. His actions to westernize Russia, however, did not always produce the wanted effect. As a result of his reforms, the Russian society became splintered in classes that could not even have a dialog-factions and disputes never ceased in the context of the same class. (Olive, 1969)

In his efforts to westernize Russia, he labored at the reform of dressing. His period was marked by people wearing long beards, (which was cherished and preserved with care) thus allowing them to hang on their bosoms without cutting the mustache. Some people even slept with shoes! Short hair accompanied the long beards except for the ecclesiastics who kept their hair long for people to distinguish them from the public. In order to change that custom, Peter ordered that merchants and gentlemen i.e. except priests and peasants should be imposed a tax of one hundred rubles for those who wanted to keep the long beards. The act was regarded as a sin and that it abolished their religion. Also, the Russians wore very long that reached the heels. Peter commanded that all the nobles and those with positions at the court to dress like the English fashion. They were also supposed to adorn the clothes with silver or gold according to their means.

The rest of the people were instructed to wear a suit of clothes cut in accordance to the new fashion. Failure to that, a penalty of 2 grieves or kneeling and having the long part of the garments that went below the knee cut off, was set for any time that a person entered the town in the old style. Women changed their dressing to include stays, skirts and bodices. Also, he introduced practice that-all men and women should be invited to entertainments e.g. wedding and banquets where they would mingle freely. He encouraged people to drink coffee and even smoke cigarettes. His majesty presented himself as an example to all the new rules. (Basu-Zharku, 2011)

Peter took Russia to war against the Ottoman Empire so as to have access to the black sea from where he builds the first ever naval base in Russian history. In 1700, he went to war against the Swedish Empire, which lasted for 21 years. After coming out victorious, the Russian Tsardom transformed to the Russian Empire. During the war, Peter transformed the scattered kingdom into a central state, with 12 provinces being managed by governors. Also, he created a senate and a cabinet to help bring the public supervision closer to the people. In fact, the first Russian newspaper was printed in Peter’s reign. (Cheney, 2013)After setting up two academies, Peter promoted the Russian industry until Russia became the world’s top producer in cast iron melting. The production of the melted iron bolstered the industry as well as the military. He designed new guns from Russia and also made the army and navy professional standing units.

Peter knew that Russia needed immediate change once he took over. He also knew that the majority of the public disagreed with his plans to westernize Russia. So, he decided that in order to inflict the changes he engineered, he would have to push the people. In order to force the people to follow him, he increased his power as an absolute ruler. He brought he Russian Orthodox Church under the state control for closer supervision. He went ahead to abolish the office of the patriarch. Apart from that, he set up a group entitled ‘the Holy Synod’ for the purpose of running the church-under his direction.

To make more impact as the head, he reduced the powers of the great landowners and recruited men from the lower ranking families. He promoted them into positions of authority and even rewarded them with grants of lands. He wanted to make sure that the recruited men would owe everything to him, and be loyal to him. He added potatoes and started Russia’s first ever newspaper, and was the first person to edit it. Peter saw himself as the prime servant of the nation as he accepted the title the great, a title which elevated him above the rest. He controlled nobility while also demanding the state service from them and also drafted their lives. He used his self-elevated powers to force thousands of people to make Saint Petersburg (that he named after himself) without pay. (Cross, 2003)

In 1700, there was a war that lasted for 21 years. The great Northern war comprised of two conflicting groups. A fight raised between the coalitions led by peter the great verses Sweden’s Charles X11. As a result, Sweden lost her supremacy to the Tsardom Russia. The Russian Empire became the most dominant nation in the Baltic area. Though the war occurred from 1700, the causes are traced back to the 1690s. A coalition was made in 1699, and it included Russia, Denmark and Poland. The three nations seemed to agree that a 15-year old Sweden’s king Charles X11 would be a soft target. While Denmark and Poland had their reasons to battle Sweden, Peter’s main reason was to attain greatness in the area. Sweden possessed Estonia, Inglia and Karelia and thus became acknowledged as the greatest in the Baltic region. In order for Russia to become the greatest, Peter needed his area to advance to the West. Thus, Sweden stood as the only state blocking Russia’s advancement to the West.

The only waters surrounding Russia were the Archangelsk, but the water was ice-shut for most of the year. The fact that he could not use these water bodies for export to Europe meant that Russia had to use the ports of Eastern Baltic that were controlled by Sweden. It also meant that the Russia’s goods for export were put in the hands of the customs and tolls of the people of Sweden. Peter’s ambition to make Russia a naval power was not achievable until she had a port in Eastern waters. Russia became successful against the Swedish empire. Peter seized Riga and large portions of Finland (Sommerville, n.d.).

The campaigns of the Russian army under the rule of Peter the great, towards the Sea of Azov occurred at the time of the Russo-Turkish war that happened between 1686 and 1699. Peter’s main purpose of the campaigns was to capture the fortress of Azov with a garrison of seven thousand men, which blocked the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The campaigns occurred in two phases- the first and second Azov campaign. The first phase started in the spring of 1695. An army of 31000 men with 170 guns composed of rack regiments and Don Cossacks and divided into three detachments was sent towards Azov. A different army comprising of 120,000 noble cavalrymen, musketeers and Ukrainian Cossacks (under the command of B.P. shere-metev) shifted along the lower reaches of the Dnieper so as to distract the Crimean taters. On the th of July, the Russian armies marched and surrounded Azov by land. However, after two unsuccessful assaults, the siege was lifted.

The preparations for a second Azov campaign commenced officially at the end of 1695. On April 23rd to 26th, the main force comprising of 75,000 men commanded by S.A. Shein arrived by boat and land. Peter led fleet galleys on 3rd of May. Azov surrendered on July 19th after bombardments from the land as well as from sea. These campaigns showed the importance of fleets, and it also marked the beginning of the Russia transformation into a naval power. Even before Peter the great came to power, Russia was still doomed by Geography never to become a European naval power because it had no warm-water port and also, no access to the Mediterranean. To improve Russia’s state on the seas, Peter set out to attain more maritime outlets as the only possible outlet since White Sea snowed mostly through the year.

The Baltic Sea was controlled by the Swedish nation in the North. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire was in full control of the black sea in the south. As a result, Peter’s primary goal became capturing the Ottoman fortress of Azov (located near the Don River). He launched an attack in 1695 but failed to capture the port. He returned to Moscow and rebuilds a large navy. The next year, (1696) Peter the great launched about thirty battle ships against the ottomans. As a result of the assault, Peter the great captured Azov in July. The war marked a conflict that would last for more than a century with the Ottoman Empire over the control of the Black sea.

Peter’s reign was symbolized by great enthusiasm, ambition, authority and will to compete. He employed the western style and also engineered series of reforms. His will to succeed and vision for the future pushed him into inviting the best engineers, merchants, shipbuilders and architects in order to modernize Russia. He also sent lots of people to Europe to attain the best available education so that they can sustain Russia in its future growth. Among his main achievements was regaining access to Baltic trade and sea as well as other access to European trade routes which aided in the development. Success on his part also came as he reorganized the government, introduced a new poll tax, he boosted national trade and product manufacturing; he organized an army and found the Russian navy among others.

Conclusion

Though peter (and his admirers and imitators) tried probably the best he could, he never came into terms with the fact that: human rights, dignity and personal autonomy were and still are the absolute essentials to achieve a cohesive, productive, and self generating community. Peter’s rule only lists in a list of many dictators, absolute rulers and autocrats in Russia who have tried to pick and choose for the western technology and culture packages in the hopes of surviving, maintaining the society cohesion, or even overtaking and surpassing the western. The lesson however is that the entire package applied by these people yields short-lived success before the next one comes and overrides the previous accomplishment to pave ways to his.

References

Bushkovitch, P. (2004). Peter the Great: A Biography. The Journal of Modern History:, Vol. 76 (03), Pg, 732/734

Cross, A.G. (2003). St.Petersburg. 1703-1825. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmllan Publishers.

Olive, L.J. (1969). Russia in the era of Peter the Great. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall publishers.

Basu-Zharku, I.O. (2011). The Reign of Peter The Great. Student Pulse: The International Student Journal:. Vol.3 (01). Pg, 1/2.

THE RATIFICATION OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

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After President Johnson announced the end of the Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866, Southern States began passing discriminatory state laws collectively referred to as black codes. The goals differed from state to state bur had a fairly similar goal: to maintain the socioeconomic system of racial slavery. The black codes systemized white supremacy by restricting freed slaves from civic participation. The codes deprived blacks of the rights to vote, to serve on juries, to carry or own weapons, and to rent or lease land. The members of the Congressional Joint Committee felt that the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 and the passing of the first Civil Rights Act in 1866 had done little to change the plight of the freed slaves because it posed legal questions over black citizenship. Therefore in 1866 Radical Republicans drafted the Fourteenth Amendment and was ratified by state legislatures in 1868. The Fourteenth Amendment stated, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” It, therefore, gave all citizens equal protection under state and federal law and eliminated the notion that freed slaves were three-fifths of a free white person. Because of its emphasis on equal justice and equal protection, the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment is to date, one of the most important events in the country, not only did the Amendment equalize the American people, it also established the United States as a multicultural society.

The Fourteenth Amendment dramatically transformed the realities of Americans and made the federal government an advocate and guardian of civil liberties. According to an article by Eric Foner dubbed, “The Original Intent of the Fourteenth Amendment” the Civil War changed the roles and powers of the government with the roles of the federal government expanding in Abraham Lincoln’s government as the Republicans tried to manage the dual challenge: maintenance of a Union and eradicating slavery. This expansion of federal powers is evident in the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The Civil War had also forced American leaders to acknowledge their responsibility to the four million black slaves who yoked with the bondage of chattel slavery. By ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment, the lives of African Americans took on a different turn for the better.

The Fourteenth Amendment established equal protection and due process for all citizens in the nation by bridging the gap between legal positivism and natural law. The Radical Republicans who drafted the Fourteenth Amendment foresaw the protection of man’s natural rights protected by a social contract (natural law) but also acknowledged the role of the legislature in imposing the law despite natural law. Before the Civil War, the Republican Party condemned chattel slavery on the premise of higher laws. They debated that slavery was in violation of natural rights, to solidify their argument even in territories that lacked legislative sanctions. The natural law tradition had been adopted in the Declaration of Independence and had been used to shape the ideology of the American Revolution. For instance, in a radical pamphlet by Thomas Paine’s that incited colonists on the need for independence from Great Britain titled “Common Sense”, Paine argues that “[all] mankind [was] originally equals in the order of creation…no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever”. Republicans therefore based the emancipation on the same premise used by Americans while fighting for independence from Great Britain.

The Fourteenth Amendment did not only provide a set of rights for the blacks, but it aimed to also embrace all “races, classes, and conditions of men.” Today, the Court acknowledges the Fourteenth Amendment to have “a broader principle” than to meet the immediate plight of the newly freed black slaves. The Amendment was of course designed to free the slaves and grant them equality in all aspects. However, it was not only confined to the African American slaves, but to all races and classes. The Amendment did not confine the rule to any race but granted all Americans equal protection, privileges, and the right to due process. The concerns of the freed black slaves were obviously present in the Republicans and Congress as they drafted and debated the Amendment but they also concerned by challenges facing other groups such immigrants into the nation, Northern migrants to the South, and Southern Unionists. The integration of foreign-born persons into American society was a primary challenge in antebellum society. White citizens were aware of the influx of immigrants such as the Chinese, and most of the immigrants were met with hostility due to perceived differences and the notion that they would rob them of economic opportunities. The Citizenship Clause, in its non-racial language, protected all persons born in the nation, despite the origin of their parents.

The clauses in The Fourteenth Amendment: the representation clause, the disfranchisement clause, the debt clause, the pardon clause, and other parts of this Amendment are meant to avoid inequality. “These clauses were not only meant to attack the undemocratic socioeconomic system in the South but to avoid future repetition of the same.” Issues such as public debt aim to dissociate the government from insurrections and rebellions against the country. The clause specified that all debts incurred by fighting to defeat the Confederacy would be honored. However, Confederate debt would not be honored since the government would not pay for insurrection or rebellion against the nation. Moreover, the Amendment stated that claims for the emancipation or loss of any slave would be held illegal and void. Therefore, the framers of the amendment aimed at reaching deeply into the political lives of the states to ensure that the amendment would meet Republican standards.

In conclusion, the Fourteenth Amendment is one of the great foundations on which the democracy of America is based. It is said that more litigation is based on this Amendment or the Amendment’s implementing statues than any other provision in the United States Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment shows the determination of the 39th Congress to do away with Chattel Slavery and to build a more integrated nation whose citizens were all equal regardless of their race, gender, class. The Fourteenth Amendment grants all citizens fundamental rights to be protected against the local, state, and federal governments. It not only assisted in demanding equal rights for African Americans but its generality incorporates all peoples hence prompting the multicultural character of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment takes the primary ideal of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal, and incorporates it into the U.S. Constitution.

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartley, Abel A. 2003. “The Fourteenth Amendment: The Great Equalizer of the American People.” Akron Law Review 473-490.

Corbett, P. Scott, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, and Paul Vickery. 2017. U.S. History. Houston: OpenStax.

Farber, Daniel A., and John E. Muench. 1994. “The Ideological Origins of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Berkelely Law Journal 235-279.

Foner, Eric. 2006. “The Original Intent of the Fourteenth Amendment: A Conversation with Eric Foner .” Nevada Law Journal 426-446.

Paine, Thomas. 2008. “Common Sense (2nd ed.: Philadelphia, 1776), pp.1. 6-12, 15-30.” In Voices of Freedom : A Documentary History, by Eric Foner, 93-98. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.