American Ideals Of Freedom And Liberty

American Ideals Of Freedom And Liberty In 1776, our country was founded on American ideals of freedom, liberty, and equality however, during this time in history; these principals were often bias to upper class white men. When the Declaration of Independence was first written, many Americans understood the notion of all men are created equal to truly mean that all white males were created equal. This was true with other civil rights guarantees also. The framers of our countrys Constitution were also considered to be the elite of their time. They were all white, wealthy, well educated land owners and did not adequately represent the diversity in our nation. Civil rights are defined as; a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure ones ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression. Freedoms of speech, of the press, of religion, and of fair and equal treatment are the basic civil rights granted to each of us. The Bill of Rights that was added to our Constitution outlines the basic freedoms and liberties guaranteed to every citizen of the United States of America. The Bill of Rights, in black and white is the first ten amendments to the constitution; however sadly, women and African Americans were not granted the civil rights entitled to them. Civil rights issues began at our countries founding, and continues throughout history and today. Wars in general happen as a result of people or nations defending a terrority, protecting their interests and/or trying to achieve a moral purpose. The Civil War combined all of this rational, and ended up being the single bloodiest conflict in American history. The Civil War claimed the lives of over 600,000 Americans, all on American soil; which is more than in all other American wars combined with the exception of Vietnam. The Civil War began in 1838 as a result of disputes between the northern and southern states over slavery and taxation of cotton exports. The south wanted to keep slavery and felt it was necessary, so they started the war by seceding from the union. The North refused to let the Southern states break up the Union, thus the dispute led to the Civil War. The end result of the Civil War did free the slaves, however, the blacks did not gain any ground of status or respect among the states in either the north or south. White men continued to treat the African American population as property rather than people. Following the Civil War, slavery may have been abolished however not much changed for blacks. Blacks fought hard for freedoms; men still could not own property, vote, or go anywhere in public the white men were allowed. They suffered through hate, beatings, and small rations of food. They were treated no differently when they were supposed to be free. If a black man or woman did get the opportunity to work for pay at a white mans factory, he nor she would never get the same pay as a white man. They were working for the same company and doing the same job however, it wasnt considered to be right for a black man or woman to be earning the same amount as a white man or woman. Women were making small strides toward equality in the early 1800s; Oberlin College in 1833 was the first to accept women students and make their university a coed facility, the first National Female Anti-Slavery Society convention was held in 1837 with 81 female delegates, and in 1844 Female textile workers in Massachusetts organized the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association (LFLRA) and demand a 10 hour work day. The push for womens right to vote began in the mid 1800s when the proposed 15th amendment came to fruition. Some suffragists refused to endorse the amendment because women were not included; however, argued that once the black man was enfranchised, women too would achieve their goal, and gain voting rights. The National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed in 1890; the group organized marches and protests, and pressed the federal government for institutional changes, such as allowing married women to have property rights. The 15th amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote. This was a big step in the direction of equality. This amendment states that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Voting rights for African Americans was huge in the civil rights movement; however it proved not to be an easy task or necessarily wise choice for most blacks to do so. Discriminatory legal barriers were enacted to prevent them from actually having a say, once again forcing the African Americans to fight for what was suppose to be a freedom. Literary tests, poll taxes, the grandfather clause and white primaries were put in place as ways to discourage the black voters from excerising their civic duty. Literary tests were exams given to indivudials to determine if they were intelligent enough to vote. The vast majority of African Americans were not educated; therefore it was very difficult to prove they were literate enough to vote. The exams were administered by whites and bias toward whites. A test administer may ask a white person to spell a simple word such as God or boy, where a black person would be asked to spell a word like chrysanthemum or interpretation. When an African American got the word wrong, they were deemed illiterate and lost their privilege to vote. For those who did pass the literary tests, the government put in place poll taxes. Essentially this was a law forcing voters to pay a steep tax/fee in order to vote. If you were not able to pay the tax, your right to vote was revoked. Taxes were also cumulative; if you could not afford the tax at a particular election, the next time you tried to vote, you were required to pay that elections tax as well as all previou s unpaid taxes. African Americans were poor and most lost their voting privilege because of this. The Grandfather Clause was a law that waived electoral literacy requirements and poll taxes for those whose ancestors voted before the Civil War. This provided a loop hole for illiterate whites that could not pass the literary tests to be able to vote. It also prevented the blacks from voting as the majority of their ancestors were slaves and had no rights. The Democratic Party was the dominant party in the United States during this time and in most all elections their candidates were in office. To avoid allowing black voters to vote in the primarys, the democrats promoted their political party as a private organization. By doing this, they could control who voted in the primary and they could exclude anyone they wished. In most cases, who ever won the primary, and made it to the general election ticket would be voted into office; therefore the African American votes really didnt matter since the primary was determined by the whites. The Reconstruction period following the Civil War saw the beginnings of the Ku Klux Klan. This group was a white activist group and the first charter was founded in 1865. Their original purpose was to deny African Americans the same rights and opportunities as white people in the south. Klan members used violence, threats, and even murder of those blacks who attempted to become educated, to vote, to befriend whites or sought out better paying jobs. It was during this time the Klan began to wear white robes in an attempt of further intimidating blacks and to conceal their identity. In 1870 and 1871 the federal government was forced to step in and passed a series of acts, known as Enforcement Acts. They were put in place to protect the voting rights of blacks and to try and suppress the Ku Klux Klan. The Acts; outlawed actions intended to prevent blacks from voting, established rules to eliminate fraudulent registration practices, prevented intimidation of blacks by any illegal action, and gave the president the right to have the military step in when public safety was threatened. Civil rights have been a struggle America has faced since the founding of our country, and has been a violent and deadly battle for equality of our laws. All people are created equal, and all people bleed red. I believe that every citizen in America should have the same rights and privileges regardless of ethnic background or religion. A prerequisite of being a white, land owning well off male contradicts the very principals our nations was founded on. Reconstruction in the south was Americas first attempt at an interracial democracy. It completely reshaped life as was once known. Blacks were freed from slavery and for the first time looked upon as a person, not property. The United States government finally assumed responsibility for defining and protecting civil rights. Freedmen in the south were given an opportunity to vote; although it did not come with out risk and challenges. Black men were also granted the right to hold political office. The African American community was huge in the south, and with the help of white allies was able to temporally bring the Republican Party to power. Cumming, GA is considered to be a rural country town with little racial diversity or tolerance. Cumming benefited from the traffic of the gold rush in Dahlonega; however when gold was discovered in CA, and the tourists left, Cummings economy suffered. Even during the Civil War, Cumming was bypassed by Shermans Army and was basically a sleepy little town. There is a case from1912 when a white woman was raped by 3 black men in town. This outraged the citizens so much that Georgias governor was forced to send troops into the city to prevent a riot. The Ku Klux Klans Knight Riders campaigned for well over a month in an effort to force all African Americans out of not only Cumming, but all of Forsyth County. They were fairly successful and for many years the black population in the county was basically non existent. More recently in 1987, a small group of blacks marched through town in Cumming to celebrate Martin Luther Kings birthday. This infuriated the Klan and in protest, they threw g lass bottles and rocks at the group. This attack drew national attention and turned into the largest civil rights demonstrations since the 1960s. The results of this demonstration were positive as it was a turning point and marked favorable change. Today, the city is becoming more and more diverse and is growing rapidly.

Roosevelt Sources Question

1. People supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election because he was promising to rebuild the American people. He told them that he was waging war against ‘destruction' which was of the economy and business. He also said he was waging war against delay, deceit and despair. All of those were from the last government, the Hoover government. He promised he would give the lower class people a chance with new jobs, new ideas. After the last government of Hoovers people had grown to hate him and so whatever Roosevelt's ideas, they were going to vote for him. The American people heard what Roosevelt was saying and because it sounded so much better than Hoovers they praised him. The way he put his speech across, he said, â€Å"Give me your help, not to win votes alone, but to win in this crusade to restore America†. This made the American people think that he really didn't just want votes he made them think that he really was just trying to win the crusade for America. 2. Source B and C present two different judgements on the New deal. B was written by an American historian writing in 1945, and C is from a book, ‘The Roosevelt Myth' by and American historian published in 1945. Source B, i think was written after Roosevelt dies. We can tell this by the way that the passage is written in the past tense that he was dead. The difference between each of them is very simple. Source B is telling me that there was a lot of self confidence in the New Deal because it says that during 1933 people will have remembered that the change form depression and discouragement to excitement and hope. It also talks about how the physical rebuilding of the country has been happening during the 1920's and the 1930's. This problem was tackled by Roosevelt employing three million young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). They planted 17 million acres of new forests and built over 6 million dams to avoid erosion. The New Deal also cut unemployment in another way. Roosevelt introduced unemployment assistance; old-age pensions and he banned child labour. In the political field the government was strengthened but i still gave the public people the ability to vote out the government and so by calling Roosevelt a dictator wasn't true. 3. In this photograph i think that the photographer is trying to show the stereotype of a happy white family and then below the reality of a black persons life. This photo was likely to have been staged by editing and cutting to provide the photographer with the ideal picture. The picture of the white family shows them as happy, wearing hats, with a dog and going about life in the ‘American Way!' There was a survey done about how many desk jobs black people got against how many white people got, the white got considerably more jobs than the blacks. The picture is extremely ironic because the difference between the blacks, lining up to receive their government relief and the white family driving being very happy in their car are at two totally different ends of the scale. This picture also proves that not everyone was happy with the new deal, people were still having problems. We can see this by looking at the grim looking faces on the black people. 4. These three sources show very very different points of views. Source E shows Roosevelt pouring money into the new deal, but at the bottom of the picture it shows how the money is just leaking out of the system. It shows that he had put in 16 billion dollars into it but still there was seven thousand million still to put into it. The caption shows Roosevelt saying that he hopes that its going to work, he believes it does. Source F is very much for Roosevelt. It shows Roosevelt throwing out all the rubbish that President had promised but had not honoured. In the rubbish is ‘Car in every garage' this was supposed to allow every household in America to own their own car. Many other promises where made but most weren't for filled. Source G shows Roosevelt with a bag full of remedies in case the new deal fell through, he is talking to congress and is explaining that if things don't go smoothly he'll have to change them. The old man sitting in the corner on the left is Uncle Sam he is sitting there because he i supposed to representing America. The bottles on the table, are the alphabet agencies the are the agencies that Roosevelt that Roosevelt made to help unemployment, and to restore the country. One of the Alphabet agencies the (CCC) took unemployment from 17 million and it helped rebuild the banks to help and avoid erosion. 5. I personally think that source H is the best. It is a letter from a supporter of Roosevelt. He is talking about how Roosevelt has helped him and his wife get back his possessions from the bank and get his loan extended. The man tells how he has never heard of a president quite like him and how amazing he is. The man goes on to say how him and his wife pray for him every night; it is said that he isn't the only one. There are many millions of others. This is the best example of public opinion i think. Source I is just a song about how Roosevelt has stopped people from working and not getting the correct pay, and how glad they are that he is back. This source isn't as good as source H. 6. I think these two people disagree about the new deal so much because source J is made by a business speaking in 1980 he says that Roosevelt gave to people rather than teaching them how to gain. He says that people then got used to not having to work so hard and so they just expected to get from Roosevelt. He says that they had soup lines and the depression because people ‘lost confidence in themselves.' He says that ‘Welfare kills a man's initiative'. He makes the example of a dog and says that ‘A dog you feed will not hunt.' The point he is trying to make is that if you allow someone to get hungry and then that person has to work hard to eat then he'll learn from that, but, if you just give money and government relief to him on a plate then he'll just take it and run. Source K says the total opposite written by the secretary of Labour in Roosevelt's New Deal government in the 1930s. She says that ordinary people had been given the chance of a much better life. Roosevelt ‘understood' about how the depression had hit the heaviest on those people less able to bear the strain. Although the rich had been hit too hard too he knew they didn't have so many problems, they had something left at least. The sentence he used was, â€Å"The idea was that all forces of the community should be directed to making life better for ordinary people.† Roosevelt tried his hardest to do this. 7. The first paragraph is a very psychological accepts of the New deal. It says that it helped many Americans and it helped the USA as a whole to life out of the depression. The New Deal may have helped but it wasn't the only thing. Much of the Deal had helped like the alphabet agencies, they helped because it gave people jobs and the chance to work and gain money. They certainly lifted people's hopes. This interpretation of the New Deal is quite a hopeful one. It makes the New Deal sound like it was faultless and that there were never any problems with it. This is not the case at all but it did help in its own way of getting the USA out of the depression. The second paragraph is wrong in many aspects and is factual. Firstly although the government did become reasonably powerful they didn't become powerful enough to not be able to not be voted out by the American people, the public. They never got too powerful. Secondly, the view about making people dependant may have been right in some cases but not in all cases by any means. Many people did tend to rely on the government relief offered, but the majority of the country worked their way back up again and earned their living by doing hard work. Lastly, the situation about losing a lot of money is reasonably true as a statement but all of the money helped in its own way. Roosevelt did pour a lot of money into this New Deal but he wanted it to work so much. The money was leaking through the system but not all of it was a waste. I think that the first one is a much better interpretation of the evidence because, it the second one is not right what it says is wrong and doesn't speak the truth. Yes its true the New Deal drained a lot of money out of American but it helped so many people in so many different ways that it was almost a saviour.

African American Heritage Paper Essay

This paper explores the African American heritage and also identifies the significance of nurses being culturally aware, sensitive and competent when caring for people of African American heritage. Although these terms mentioned above are used interchangeably, they have different meanings. Cultural awareness is appreciating the external or material part of the culture, such as the music, arts, and physical characteristics, and dress. Cultural sensitivity is the personal attitudes toward the culture, such as not saying things that is offensive to someone from a different ethnic or cultural background (Purnell,2013, p. 4). Cultural competence is putting it all together; by using your knowledge to provide culturally congruent care and to be able to work effectively with people in cross- cultural situations. African Americans are the second largest ethnocultural groups in the United States; however, it is one of the most misunderstood cultures. This culture is so unique because they have mixed their cultures from their different homes of origin in Africa, along with American culture. This paper overviews the history, communications, family roles, workforce issues, biocultural ecology, high-risk behaviors, pregnancy and childbearing practices, spirituality, health care practices, nutrition, and death rituals in the African American culture. It is important that nurses see themselves as becoming culturally competent when caring for African Americans, and this involves incorporating cultural desire, cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, and cultural encounter with the people of African American heritage (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). 2 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE One of the largest minority groups in the United States, African Americans culture includes the various cultural traditions of different African ethnic groups. â€Å"Data from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (2001) reveals that there are approximately 34,333,000 African Americans residing in the United States, representing 12. 1% of the total population† (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). They were forcibly imported into the United States as slaves from 1619 to 1860 (Purnell, 2013, p. 21). During slavery, they incorporated their culture from their homes of origin, and as a result, their culture included several cultural traditions of African ethnic groups. Many African Americans live in poverty due to discrimination and lack of proper education. Most families of African American heritage value education, but they still struggle to have equal representation in the workplace, and are more likely to work in a hazardous environment, resulting in job related diseases and illness. Due to the lower-level positions and the difficulty in achieving higher opportunities in the workplace, some African Americans continue to feel discouraged. Nurses need to address discrimination and also issues that create ethnic or racial tension in the workplace. English is the language spoken by African Americans, however, people of lower socio economical status communicate in an informal language known as African American English (AAE) (Purnell, 2013, p. 22). According to Campinha-Bacote (2009), the major problem that AAE speakers face is prejudice. Most people believe that AAE is inferior to Standard American English. As a result, African Americans who speak AAE are sometimes misinterpreted as being uneducated. Nurses should be aware not to stereotype African Americans as only speaking AAE, and also not to stereotype them as uneducated based on the way they communicate. African Americans are expressive when 3. A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE communicating and often use body languages to convey their feelings. Their expressive language and body movement can be misconstrued as anger or provocation. Nurses need to be familiar with these characteristics and not misinterpret them. As a nurse, when interacting with African Americans for the first time, be sure to address them formally, until given permission to use other names, such as their first name. The African-American family has evolved over the last two decades and still continues to evolve. A person that is brought up in a traditional nuclear family is more likely to continue that tradition. Whereas, a person that is brought up in a single parent home is more likely to continue that same tradition. Although these situations are more likely, they are not always so. To provide the most competent care, the best thing for the nurse to do would be to ask the patient in a non-judgmental way about family dynamics and also ask them what they would feel the most comfortable with when it comes to decision making for their care. The nurse should then accept this decision. Being knowledgeable about this cultural group’s family values and beliefs are crucial for providing care for the African American patient (Revell & McGhee, 2012). A high percentage of African American households are matriarchal and fall below poverty level. With that being said, it is wise for nurses to make a point of including women when discussing health care issues. Nurses also should take note when dealing with homosexual individuals in this ethnic group, not to break confidence by sharing their lifestyles with others. This information can jeopardize and cause conflicts within the family and ruin relationships. Romantic relationships of the same-sex are not totally acceptable within this culture. 4 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE As in many culture, social status is important in African American community. African Americans are often met with negative atmosphere and prejudice attitudes based on their cultural background and skin color. Assumptions are made based on AAE spoken by some as an indication of unintelligence and the lack of education. These assumptions sometimes affect employment opportunities and job promotions. Nurses should be cautious not to fall into the stereotyping African Americans based on these characteristics. African American skin color ranges from light to very dark due to the combination of a gene pool of more than 100 racial strains (Purnell, 2013, p. 25). When assessing for cyanosis in dark-skinned African Americans, be sure to pay attention to the oral mucosa or conjunctiva. When assessing for pallor, note the absence of the underlying red tones that give the skin it’s glow. Lastly, when observing for jaundice, be sure to look at the sclera of the eyes, the soles of the feet, and the palms of the hands for any yellow discoloration (25). Health care is a luxury that low socioeconomic African Americans may not be able to afford. Meeting their daily needs takes priority over what they believe to be minor health issues. Consequently, diseases that could be treatable might end up being a life- threatening situation. African Americans are family orientated, because of this; some tend to initially seek medical attention from family members rather than going to a health care professional. Health care professionals need to be aware of this and work toward teaching and distributing health information via church and community centers. Most African American women are against abortion due to religious, cultural, and moral beliefs. As a result, there is a delay in making a decision until it becomes too late. 5 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE Family support is crucial for pregnant African American women. Gichia (2000) studied and found out that African American women look for role models such as older female relatives, or if they have none, they look for someone who seemed like a mother to them, such as a neighbor. These role models can provide the pregnant woman and new mother with needed support. According to Abbyad & Robertson (2011), nurses caring for pregnant African American women need to be informed about the variety of ways in which childbirth preparation can occur, as in any other group of pregnant women. Moreover, nurses need to consider the ways in which their attitudes and behaviors send unwelcoming messages to African American women seeking prenatal care or childbirth classes. These attitudes can discourage the African American woman in seeking further care. â€Å"Culturally competent care for the childbearing African American woman includes addressing all components of care including the use of complementary and alternative medicine† (Revell, 2012). The childbirth nurse that is providing culturally competent care should be aware that the perceived norm is different for every family. African Americans are spiritual and are usually affiliated with some religious order. Historically, the church has played a major role in the life of African American culture. The church is a place where they can meet on common grounds. Faith and prayer is one of the most important attributes of Christian African Americans. They believe that God has the power to heal them, and he also has the power not to. They believe that whatever happens to them is according to God’s will. Food is very valuable in the African American culture. It symbolizes health and wealth. It is derived from African descent. When food is offered to someone, it means that the person is valued; and by offering food, they are given you something that is 6 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE valuable to them. When it comes to nutrition, some African American diets are high in cholesterol and fats. According to James (2004), â€Å"African Americans will need information on basic nutrition topics such as serving sizes and reading food labels†. Nurses that work in African American communities should be involved in programs that promote healthy food choices. These programs can specifically be developed for churches, neighborhood grocery stores, and local restaurants. â€Å"Health disparities among the African-American population include life expectancy, heart disease, hypertension, infant morality and morbidity rates, cancer, sickle cell diseases, HIV/AIDS, violence, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and asthma† (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). Unfortunately, they have the tendency to see a health care professional only when absolutely necessary. â€Å" Health is viewed as harmony with nature, whereas illness is seen as a disruption in this harmonic state due to demons† (Purnell,2013, p. 33). Recognize and support your patient cultural behaviors and believes to promote healthy interactions. In addition, always provide factual information about health practices that may not be understood due to their cultural believes and cultural differences. In conclusion, it is recommended that nurses familiarize themselves with cultural specific information in order to provide cultural competent care in African American community. Nurses should consider the following question: â€Å"In caring for African- American patients, have I asked myself the right questions. † It is important for nurses to be aware of their biases and prejudices toward African Americans. In addition, they should possess the needed skills to conduct a cultural assessment while possessing knowledge of this cultural group (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). Lastly, nurses should always 7 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE have the desire to become culturally competent not just with African American patients, but any patient that has been placed in their charge. 8 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE Resources Abbyad, C. , & Robertson, T. (2011). African American Women’s Preparation for Childbirth From the Perspective of African American Health-Care Providers. Journal Of Perinatal Education, 20(1), 45-53. doi:10. 1891/1058-1243. 20. 1. 45 Campinha-Bacote, J. (2009). Culture and diversity issues. A culturally competent model of care for African Americans. Urologic Nursing, 29(1), 49-54. Gichia, J. E, (2000), Mothers and others: African-American women’s preparation for motherhood. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 25(2), 86-91, James, D. (2004). Factors influencing food choices, dietary intake, and nutrition-related attitudes among African Americans: application of a culturally sensitive model. Ethnicity & Health, 9(4), 349-367. Purnell, L. D. (2009). People of African American Heritage. Guide to culturally competent health care (2nd ed. , p. 21-35). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Co. Revell, M. A. , & McGhee, M. N. (2012). Evolution of the African American Family. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 27(4), 44-48. Revell, M. A. (2012). Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the African American Culture. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 27(3), 55-59.

Short Answer Essays Avoid These Application Mistakes