The American Civil War
The American Civil War was the culmination of sectional tensions brought about by a number of regional differences. The primary disputes were with positions on slavery and states' rights. These issues spawned widespread economic, political, and social sectionalism which the statesmen of the time chose in large part to ignore. Rather than get into an all out political battle, the politicians of the day avoided the problems rather than addressing them outright, and possibly preventing the widespread blood letting that was the Civil War. Their ad hoc compromises and poorly thought out legislation merely bought time for the nation by treating its symptoms and not the disease. These blundering statesmen led the young nation down a road of destruction, not taking into account the negative impact that their short sighted actions would have on the future of America. Martin Van Buren followed Andrew Jackson, one of the most popular presidents in American history, into office in 1837 (Anonymous "Martin..." 1). Van Buren was a man of good character and a shrewd politician. However, he became the fall guy for all of Jackson's failures, including the debacle that was his economic plan. These circumstances that surrounded his presidency set off a chain reaction that resulted in the election of a succession of presidents who were neither strong or far sighted enough to hold the
Why was the Weimar Republic able to survive the difficulties between 1919-23?
Why was the Weimar Republic able to survive the difficulties between 1919-23? The first four years of the Weimar Republic's existence seem very volatile. It suffered a series of threatening incidents ranging from extremist uprisings to economic collapse. However these events, although significant in the long run, were not dangerous enough to topple the Republic immediately. The Constitution was drawn up in the town of Weimar in January 1919 and submitted to the National Assembly in February. It contained 181 articles designed not only to safeguard the future of the Republic but also to create the most advanced form of democracy in Europe. Universal suffrage was implemented and civilians enjoyed a greater sense of freedom. The chancellorship had powers, which if used effectively could pull the country out of an economic crisis. The presidential powers were greater, revolving around article 48 which, in effect, allowed the President dissolve the Reichstag and take control of the country himself - a power later abused by Hitler in order to take control. However the constitution did rely on proportional representation as an electoral system. This weakened the Republic as it led to weak shifting coalition governments, resulting in political instability. Another problem with the Constitution was that it had been introduced after a long hard fought war and amidst
Who would you vote for?
Who would win a general election if there was one held tomorrow? In my opinion if there was a general election tomorrow (8/9/07), the Labour Party would win, albeit only by a tiny percentage of the vote and by maybe 15-30 seats (resulting in a hung parliament). This is reflected in the latest polls which show Labour winning 36-8% of the vote (based on the findings of YouGov, Populus and Comres opinions polls 4/9/07), the Conservatives winning 35-36% and the Liberal Democrats getting 15-18%. When you consider the margin of error that comes with these figures, it seems that the Conservatives may overtake Labour in terms of popular vote. This does not however, mean they would win the election, as the current system is weighted in Labours favour. In fact, it has been estimated that Labours majority would have been reduced to 60 seats in the '97 election had they accepted the recommendations made by Lord Jenkins (he proposed changing from FPTP to AV+). Because of the current system I think Labour would again unfairly gain seats but that in order to continue running the country effectively would rely on the Liberal Democrats, granting them the unique status of 'Kingmakers'. This situation would not really suit anybody as it would make it very hard for anything to be changed. If this happens, it won't be for the first time. In the past, the opposition has gained the majority of
Why was the Weimar government on the verge of collapse by November 1923?
Why was the Weimar government on the verge of collapse by November 1923? By 1923 Germany had reached a crisis point, politically, socially and economically. I will be explaining how the affects of different situations changed the country and how Germany dealt with such problems. First there was the flu epidemic, or Spanish Influenza. This killed thousands, merely within the first few days of its outbreak. It brought the country to social ruin, for so many died little hope was left. It was just after the war had been ended, and due to the lack of heating systems, food and clothes-because of the Blockade and payment in reparations, the German public were faced with a very long, cold and painful starvation. Because Germany had been left so poor after the war, they had to pay reparations not only in money but in coal and wood, etc. So although for the first few years Germany struggled but coped with paying back the 6.6 billion, it was leaving its own people to starve and freeze to death, amongst such fatal illnesses as the Influenza. 400, 000 civilians died from it in less than a year. 186, 000 soldiers died at the same time. The coal shortage lead to public buildings being closed, such as cinemas and libraries. This caused public morale to drop, considering the civilians would then be stuck in freezing cold houses with little to eat and disease spreading quickly. The coal
The Chinese times exclusive-results of the debate about the three gordes dam.
THE CHINESE TIMES EXCLUSIVE- RESULTS OF THE DEBATE ABOUT THE THREE GORGES DAM Yesterday, a debate went on about the controversial three gorges dam. Many groups of people were involved, the Chinese government, the engineers, Amnesty international, the residents of the village Chang Chang and the residents who are being moved for the creation of the dam and Environmentalists. All the groups had a chance to talk. The Chinese government went first. They talked about how the dam would save lives from flooding which is caused from the river. The dam is 185m high and 1.3 km wide. They also said that the dam would create 18 million kilowatts of power per year and that this energy was clean energy. For every tree lost in the reservoir, the government have promised to plant another one. They added that for all the people who will have to move, they have already built bigger houses. An attempt has been made by the authorities to save heritage and priceless artefacts. They pointed out that ships can get past the dam which would help neighbouring towns. The engineers spoke next. They talked about the dam and how it can stand a 7.0 on Richter scale. The dam would provide 10% of China's electricity needs. Better water supplies for farming and better navigation for ships are some of the plus points. There is also a way to get around it. They also added that the project is going to
What were the strengths of the Weimar Government?
Nazi Germany: 918 - 1945 What were the strengths of the Weimar Government? Although it was flawed in many ways and ill-fated from its conception, the Weimar Republic did have several strengths which made it a pioneer of modern day democracy. Having declared itself as a republic, a government ruled by the representatives of the people, the Weimar government released its constitution which gave the German people many new-found rights and freedoms which had not been seen for. One of the most prominent aspects of the constitution was the inclusion of universal suffrage for Germans over the age of 20. This lead to political liberalisation unheard of throughout much of the western world at the time. The people's representatives, which met in the Reichstag were voted for by the people every four years and were presided over by a President, who in turn was elected every seven years. The fact that the head of state and the head of parliament were democratically elected was a very alien but welcomed idea to a people under monarchic rule for so long as they had been used to someone with an iron fist leading the nation. Although this was a great leap forward in politics and the civil rights of Germans, this political freedom would be the prime factor in the undoing of the Republic. Another example of this freedom was the introduction of the electoral system of proportional
The "Mandate of Heaven" based on the teachings of Confucius.
The Mandate of Heaven The Chinese concept of the "Mandate of Heaven," was based on the teachings of Confucius and further enhanced a century later by a man named Mencius. Mencius added to the Confucian teachings by addressing human nature and the right to govern. Previously, China had been ruled by two divergent schools of thought. One was "selfish" religion in how you could obtain happiness in an unsettled world by living a simple life in harmony with nature. Confucius taught that the improvement of society was the responsibility of the rules, and that the quality of government depended on the ruler's moral character. Confucius based his teachings on the "Golden Rule." Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When Mencius came along, he added new dimensions to Confucian thoughts. He believed that man was immediately good, and would lean towards the good just as water runs downhill. Man could become corrupt if he did not follow the path of goodness and picked up bad practices. Mencius, and the "Mandate of Heaven," promoted the idea that good rulers in China's past had been those who treated the people with respect and kindness. Good rulers had based their dynasties on good ethical principles. Thus, the citizens had been well cared for. Mencius went father than Confucius by adding a new thought to the" Mandate of Heaven." He believed that if a ruler
Reserved & Devolved Powers in Scotland
Politics Study Theme 1A Reserved/Devolved Powers The distribution of reserved and devolved powers means the most important decisions continue to be made at Westminster. Discuss. Since the Scottish Parliament was formed the issue of which Government should decide what has always been contentious. Many believe that the Scottish Parliament do not have the necessary powers to make the most important decisions whereas many feel they are doing a sufficient job with the powers they have at the moment. The election of an SNP government in 2007 has reignited the debate over reserved and devolved powers. The Scottish legal system differs greatly from the English system and has always done so. Prisoners that are arrested under Scottish law remain under Scottish, not British, jurisdiction. A recent example of this was when al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, was offered in a deal with the Libyans to return home from the British Government. This deal was promptly blocked by the Scottish Government and al-Megrahi remains a Scottish prisoner. This shows how Holyrood has the power to overrule Westminster over certain issues. An issue that, on the other hand, shows how little control Scotland had over certain issues is the reserved power of negotiations with the EU. This issue, particularly over fishing, is very important to Scotland but less so to England - however, a UK Minister makes
The Government's Aim to begin a severe crackdown on knife related crime
Citizenship Coursework India Rose 10X3 Due to the significant increase in the amount of knife related crimes, the government are planning a serious crack-down and are doing all they can to alert people of the scale of severity. With 26 knife-related teenage deaths over the last year alone, it is become clear that the government need to act now by whichever means possible. In our last citizenship lesson we were presented with a photograph which the government were planning to blow up into posters and display them all around the UK on billboards to raise awareness of issues surrounding knife crime. The picture is quite disgusting and quite hard to look at if you are of a squeamish disposition. It's of a human hand with the wrist slashed into by a knife, you can see the cut is extremely deep and it appears to be a very brutal stab-wound. This poster certainly demonstrated the shocking results of a knife attack but I believe it may be slightly too graphic to be posted up all over the country. Imagine having to take a walk down the street or go into town and seeing that picture staring you in the face. It could be especially distressing for the older generation. A constant reminder of what seems to be happening to our society. Another point to make, anti the campaign, would take into consideration the fact that many young people are used to seeing graphic images and
The Successes and Failures of Charles Stuart Parnell!
The Successes and Failures of Charles Stuart Parnell! Charles Stuart Parnell was born in Avondale, County Wicklow on the twenty seventh of June 1846 to a well off Protestant family. Parnell attended Cambridge University and was a very wealthy and highly regarded landowner. During Parnell's lifetime, Parnell had a number of successes and failures. In this essay I will examine all of these before asking myself was Parnells life a success of a failure? Parnells dream was to obtain Home Rule for Ireland. When the Home Rule party was firstly established it was a small party in comparison to the other parties in west Minster. This meant that it was frequently ignored. In order to attract some attention to then selves the Home Rule party came up with the tactic of parliamentary obstruction. This was when Home Rule M.Ps made long irrelevant speeches on a variety of topics to disrupt the parliament and stop new laws from being made. This tactic was very successful. Many Irish peasants knew only vaguely about the issue of Home Rule and to put it bluntly they didn't really care about "who controlled them". Irish peasants had a more Important issue on their minds. This issue was Land! Parnell knew this all too well and realised that if he wanted Home Rule for Ireland he would need to find away to gain the support of the Irish peasants. In 1879, Parnell was invited by Michael Davitt,