The Style and Times of Jack Kerouac

The Style and Times of Jack Kerouac Jack Kerouac led a crazy and exhilarating life separated from the normal scope of realm of mainstream American life. Still On the Road and The Dharma Bums remained Kerouac's only profitable successes, not only through these work, but through many others he changed modern American Literature and culture. Kerouac essentially shaped a life-style dedicated to music, art, literature, and poetry. When the "Beat" movement flourished out of his personal management, he became came to loathe it, and ended up living a lonely, desperate life on the end of what was once a movement he had valued and loved above everything else. Through this life journey though, he had created a style of writing that incorporated many elements of all the distinguished writers before his time. He created this style through common and swift language, real identities, and the experiences of everyday life. He began reading excitedly in junior high school. During his English classes he succeeded greatly, unlike his social status. Mark Twain and Jack London were two writers that greatly influenced his early writing. Kerouac developed his own imaginary world in his mind. He then documented this creation in newspapers. The short articles then led to his first novel entitled, The Town and the City, which was a based on a summary of a news article in the New York Times (Maher

  • Word count: 1319
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Essay on civil rights

Why did a mass Civil Rights movement emerge in the late 1950's? The importance of civil rights for Black Americans was at an all time high within in the late 1950s.Black Americans having been oppressed not only within in their rights of freedom yet also in terms of education and employment felt that it was time for a major change. Thus various civil right movements had to be implemented. However, it is key to understand the reasons why a civil rights movement did not occur earlier on for it allows us to gain an insight into the levels of segregation and lack of opportunities that Black Americans faced. During the inter-war year period of 1920 to 1941, Black Americans amongst other minorities suffered from the racial segregation that had deemed to govern the way in which they would live their lives. During the year known as the 'Roaring Twenties' America was enjoying unprecedented prosperity having become the worlds leading industrial nation. However, this affluence was only shared mainly by the white Americans, whilst conditions for Black individuals only seemed to get worse; arguably discrimination, prejudice and racism reaching a peak during these years. Moreover, the latter was upheld by a radical groups known as the Ku Klux Klan made up of different individuals some possessing a great deal of power such as governors and police officers. They felt that segregation of

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Reasons for the Missouri Compromise

How far was the Missouri Compromise driven by economic rather than moral reasons? When Congress was presented with the problem of Missouri, an area within the Louisiana Purchase requesting permission to form a constitution in preparation for admission to the Union as a state, it had to quickly seek a compromise in order to prevent already stale situations within the US getting exacerbated. Jefferson described the incident as "like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror" for it opened up the issue of slavery being an economic v moral issue. Missouri already had a slave-owning population of more than 10,000 (16% of the total) and they wanted a further increase of slaves, as they believed it was needed due to the vast spread of cotton cultivation and the slave owning which was spreading rapidly up the Mississippi river from Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas. Those within Missouri wanted more slaves to be allowed in so that they could capitalise on the economic advantage which the other agricultural states in the south had been able to gain from. However, James Tallmadge (a Republican) believed that for moral issues, the introduction of new slaves should be prohibited and that the children of slaves already in Missouri should be freed when they turned 25. The proposed motion divided Congress; however, the House of Representatives managed to pass the motion

  • Word count: 735
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) How was his character formed?

"The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), from The Gettysburg Address How was his character formed? To understand Lincoln's character and the influences on it, we must comb through his life and find the people and experiences that affected its result. As we travel from the small log cabin in Kentucky to the simple townhouse in Washington, D.C. where Lincoln breathed his last breaths, we will see a pattern of a life that was lived to its utmost capacity in honesty, truth, and integrity. Abraham Lincoln was born in 1908 in a small farmhouse in Kentucky. A year after Abraham's mother (Nancy Lincoln) died of milk sickness, his father, Thomas Lincoln, realized that he couldn't support the family and parent them. He was quickly married to the widow Sarah Bush Johnston, who was a widow herself and

  • Word count: 1216
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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To what extent was the 1920s a major turning point in the development of labour and trade union rights in the USA from 1865-1992?

To what extent was the 1920's a major turning point in the development of labour and trade union rights in the USA from 1865-1992? Throughout the period trade union rights, the most basic of which was to exist, and labour rights, which unlike trade union rights were granted by the employer and were individual to the workers, generally failed to develop along the same trajectory. At many points, indeed during the 1920s, the advancement of labour rights appeared to conflict with the development of trade union rights. However, when considering the turning points in the development of trade union and labour rights together during the period, it is evident that the 1920's, far from being a turning point, was an era which saw only superficial advancements in labour rights and limited change for trade unions. In contrast, major turning points can be identified at the very start of the period, which saw the establishment of trade unions, during the 1930's and towards the end of the period between 1980 and 1992, a pivotal time due to the significant regression of union rights. As a decade which enjoyed an unprecedented level of economic prosperity, it is true that during the 1920's workers were indeed granted better conditions and the number of causes of industrial unrest was reduced. For example, workers saw a rise in real wages and employers taking actions to improve working

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  • Word count: 1243
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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a) "How far do these sources support the view expressed in source one that, in the years 1067-1075, William had favoured conciliation in his attempts to establish peace in England?"

A-Level History Coursework a) "How far do these sources support the view expressed in source one that, in the years 1067-1075, William had favoured conciliation in his attempts to establish peace in England?" The view of William I favoring conciliation in his attempts to establish peace, to a certain extent, do agree with a number of the sources. This is only to a degree due to events that occurred between the years 1067 and 1075 that pushed William into more brutal and violent methods of subduing the English and securing his authority over England. Sources that do agree with William I using peaceful procedures to establish peace are sources three and four. Both sources to a great extent agree with the first source. Source three depicts how appeasement established authority. The source describes the naval and land levies, proving that William favoured conciliation. William had enough trust with the English to take them to war with him, and that they would not mutiny. This trust can be linked with source four; William felt strong enough to leave England in the hands of William fitz Osbern and go to Normandy. However, did the English really have a choice? With the erection of castles, the use of cavalry, and Norman landholders, the English may have been forced to fight for him; there is little detail of the events or others before or after. Source four also agrees,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Shay's Rebellion

Olha Kolesnykova APUSH-3rd 10-8-08 For the critics of republicanism, Shay's Rebellion was a chilling vision of the future. Describe the economic troubles, many of which first developed in the revolution that subsistence farmers (along with others) in the post-revolutionary era faced. With regards to Shay's Rebellion, discuss how it could be interpreted as proof of the fallibility of republicanism. In the post war era many economic troubles developed. The war debt- was agreed to in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 had to be paid back to the English. The debt was large a hefty sum of 35 million (much of it needed to be paid to French and Dutch bankers). Under the republican system, and the newly ratified Articles of Confederation the Congress of the new nation couldn't tax. Congress had to borrow money- and as exhibited later on borrowing is a very unfortunate concept. Therefore, the states had to have the willingness to meet their financial obligations. The states needed to find way to get all the money, so they started raising taxes. Again, the states borrowed money from merchants and investors. The people complained about the taxes, and tried to pay in paper money- which the government wouldn't accept because the value fluctuated all the time. Other issues also added to the financial crisis. The English, Dutch or French wouldn't trade with the Americans- this brought

  • Word count: 688
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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How far did Truman and Eisenhower increase US involvement in Vietnam?

How far did Truman and Eisenhower increase US involvement in Vietnam? Vietnam is an Asian country to the east of the Indochina Peninsula. From 1946 to 1954 the Vietnamese people were under French rule, and the Vietnamese struggled for independence. In 1954 the French left, and Vietnam was temporarily divided in two, Communist north and Capitalist south. The Americans quickly moved into help the anti-communists of the south. There are several reasons for the increased US involvement, some involving Truman and Eisenhower and others that are not related to the two presidents. In order for the topic to be fully explored and the question to be answered; the actions that Truman and Eisenhower took must be compared to other factors that affected the US involvement in Vietnam. Areas such as; the domino theory, the stalemate theory, the quagmire theory will be covered. In my personal opinion I believe Truman and Eisenhower had a big role in the amount of involvement the USA had in Vietnam. It could be argued that Truman had played an important role in Vietnam financially, which led to further US involvement. Truman gave France $2 Billion, 78% of their costs. Truman also gave $50 billion in economic aid to the region. Truman related the Vietnam conflict with the Cold War and therefore believed that the Vietminh were taking orders from Stalin. The Truman doctrine gave USA a reason to

  • Word count: 826
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Describe the impact of the montgomery bus boycott

Describe the impact of the Montgomery bus boycott During the 1940s and 1950s there was little practical progress made in civil rights, NAACP had been concentrating on, ironically, lawful ways to fix what was wrong with the justice system, they had been focusing on court cases and representation. There had been some advances, e.g the Brown case which deemed that segregated education was indeed unconstitutional. However although the case invoked passion across America it was the Montgomery bus boycott which was a turning point for civil rights, it showed Alabama that African Americans were serious, and willing to go to great lengths for their cause. Rosa Parks was a dignified and respected women, she was friendly to neighbours and believed strongly in equality. Her attitude and reputation already gave her the moral high ground against opponents. Parks decided she did not want to give up her seat for a black man and was subsequently arrested, her arrest and trial sparked outrage across the black community and there was a call for action, for something direct to be done. Thus the boycott was implemented. The boycott was different previous attempts at gaining civil rights, Civil rights leaders and groups such as NAACP had tried court action with moderate success and not enough progress. The boycott had a huge impact on the way people saw the African American community of

  • Word count: 1147
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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It is hard to pinpoint the exact beginnings of slavery in the United States. It is known, for example, that the Native Indians practised some forms of slavery in small minorities. However the Atlantic Slave Trade, begun in the late 1500s

What is Slavery? Slavery, simply defined means 'the state of a person who is a chattel of another'. But slavery is much more than this. It is the basic denial of human rights, the oppression of one person due to another, an 'inhumane form of legalised inequality'. In America, Africans had suffered this inhumanity for centuries, under the coercion of white Americans. They were forced to work on the Southern plantations, harvesting crops such as cotton, for little or no pay, without any basic rights. Families were torn apart, slaves were regularly beaten and killed; but regardless of this cruelty, slaves still managed to harvest a life for themselves, constructing their own culture - music, religion, songs. It was not until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 that slavery was finally on its way to extinction in America. It is hard to pinpoint the exact beginnings of slavery in the United States. It is known, for example, that the Native Indians practised some forms of slavery in small minorities. However the Atlantic Slave Trade, begun in the late 1500s in England, was responsible for the large-scale importing of slaves into America; slaves who for generations to come would be integral to the economy of the South and who would divide and segregate the country. The Atlantic Slave Trade worked on a basic principle, collecting and enslaving people from Africa and forcing them

  • Word count: 2881
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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