Coming of Age

There has been a growing concern on the influx in numbers of the aging people within our societies. It is however difficult to establish the meaning of old age since its definition is blurred. Nevertheless, using the biological knowledge, old age can be defined as the phenomenon where the old person starts to present certain characteristics.  Psychological condition is one of the major characteristic that is attributed to old age and helps in shaping the behaviors of the aged. By nature, human’s relationship is often affected by situations. In this case, aging changes the way old people relate with themselves, with each other, with the world around them and with their own history. Evidently, the aging process is one that is faced with numerous problems. As a result, numerous programs and policies have been put in place to ensure that the well being of these old people is enhanced. However, it is so unfortunate that the old people are still at risk of facing some problems of income insecurity, social isolation and unmet health needs. Social isolation among the aged is an issue of concern and it will continue to increase in dominance as the population of the aged grows. The menace is not only experienced in the United States but the same situation is being experienced across the American border where old people are subjected to loneliness and social isolation. The fear of isolation reflects the prejudices and discrimination of the aged population within the capitalist society. This essay will therefore seek to present factors resulting to social isolation and how this affects the lives of the aged.

Old people are often looked upon as outcasts. The most common public perception is that old person is a burden to the society most especially if he cannot provide for himself. These myths of expansion and wealth have played a larger part in alienating the aged from the society. The fate of the aged questions the humanitarian moral values. The concept of isolation of the aged from their families and jobs comes into play as to whether it is morally acceptable to alienate these old people from their day to day activities. Simone de Beauvoir argues that this is one of the barbarous treatments that are against human morality that many people often pretend to follow. The reality is that the ruling class has adopted convenient strategies of refusing to accept the old people as real people. They thus choose to ignore the voices of the aged as integrating them would only mean that they are acknowledging that these are human voices. Prejudice is the order of the day for the aged. At every stage of their lives, their status is imposed on them by the society to which they belong.  Therefore, the society while making the economic status decision, the society tends to think that the old people are of another different species and thus have no right whatsoever to attain economic status as those of the young and middle-aged adults. Conversely, the society highly believes that their duty is to offer grant a wretched pittance as the aged has no similar needs or feelings just like the other men (Beauvoir, 3). Similarly, the article, “national health line”, argues that economic disparities among the old people still dominate even after the efforts to come up with policies and programs designed to benefit the old people. Old people have thus been forced to retire even when they feel that they cannot afford to stay unemployed.  Their opportunities to be involved in the workforce have thus reduced and this poses them to an economic risk.

The economy is based upon profit. Actually, the entire civilization is governed by profit. The human working accumulation is of interest only if it's profitable. When it no longer gives the profit that it should, then it is scrapped off. With the changing world and the increased globalization level, employers think that men must not be accumulated in their workplace for too long. As a result, after the age of fifty, men are often scrapped. Beauvoir opposes the meaning that capitalists use in defining retirement as the period of liberty and leisure. He asserts that these are just lies that the society creates in dealing with their guilt. It is a wretched standard that the society inflicts upon the old. He therefore claims that leisure does not open doors for new possibilities for the retired people. At the time when he is set free from pressure and command, his means of using this freedom are snatched away from him. The aged is subjected to stagnation of world-weariness and loneliness. Beauvoir therefore condemns these acts as he argues that they are a clear revelation of the failure of our civilization (Beauvoir, 6). In contrast, the views expressed in the article, “national health line”, clearly indicates that there have been changes in the aging approach. The reasons for remaining in the labor pool amongst the aged vary basing on the individual’s wants. Those who are faced with situations that make them economically vulnerable often remain in labor force so as to gain economic security while there are others who fail to retire as they look forward into satisfying their emotional needs. However, as the baby boomer generation is nearing retirement, volunteering and some other forms of civic commitment during retirement are being implemented. According to the wide findings from research it is quite evident that volunteering in late life helps in boosting the health of the old people. Correspondingly, Anderson draws a parallel between physical benefits and social integration. He asserts that healthy social life is the driving force towards physical benefits among the aged. Volunteering therefore is a social integration strategy advocated for by Anderson throughout his article. He asserts that volunteering amongst the aged encourages a sense of purpose. As old people volunteer they get opportunities to practice their hobbies that really interest them. Hobbies and interests are naturally social. Volunteering is therefore an immense way of maintaining and expressing purpose for the older people. With the numerous opportunities offered in the contemporary times for the aging, it is likely that there will be a reduction in the isolation problem.

The above analysis has given an in-depth insight into the isolation nightmare of the aging population. From this analysis, it is clear that all relevant stakeholders have a role to play in putting an end to this menace. A man who has worked for over fifteen years should not be subject to scrap and rejection. Men should, therefore, be highly regarded and incorporated in as men as this will simply bring order to our society.  

Black Hawk War

            In 1832, there emerged a brief conflict between the United States and the Native Americans. The dispute resulted from land ownership in Illinois which was initially owned by the Native Americans but the Americans signed a treaty in 1804 to be allowed to own the land temporarily. The treaty was signed by two spokesmen of Sauk and Fox without consulting the people. Black hawk also known as Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, a 65-year old Sauk warrior, led the people of Sauk and Fox across the Mississippi river to Illinois to reclaim their land from the white settlers. The Indians wanted a peaceful negotiation but the American leaders labelled them as hostile and sent out the militia to attack the Native Americans who recognized themselves as the ‘British band’ and they fought back leading to the death of many Native tribe members. The British Band was defeated. The survivors retreated to Mississippi and the militia destroyed the remnants of the British band. Black hawk and other band leaders escaped but they were later captured and imprisoned for a year. This paper will show how the negative impacts outweighed the positive during the Black hawk war and the disadvantages of treaties.

Even though war might be seen as a way to provide security for a country, it may lead to lack of trust and confidence in a country. Some people also claim that war brings social freedom. However, fighting may lead to loss of freedom for the defeated team (Holden 58). The Native Americans had trusted the United States enough to the point of signing treaties concerning land ownership because they believed that the land will be returned to them. On reclaiming, the United States betrayed the treaty’s terms and declared war against the Native Americans who wanted peaceful negotiations without bloodshed. This led to the Indians forming the British Band to fight the United States militia and this led to enmity between the two groups.

People may argue that war brings economic benefits and provides great opportunities to own resources and political positions in a certain country. However, fighting may lead to economic depression in a country. Wars results to massive destruction of properties thus promoting poverty. According to Hall (42), a country invests a lot on soldiers during a war and the money comes from the citizens. During the Black Hawk war, the Native American’s intention was to reclaim their land and plant corns which could take them through the winter season. The American General warned the Native Americans against going back to Illinois because the settlers viewed it as invasion promising to supply them with enough corns for the winter. The Natives saw the only way to reclaim their land for cultivation was through war and they ended up losing the battle and their land too. They did not receive the food aid either.

War may be seen as a perfect way to solve conflicts between countries. However, the negative consequences outweighs the positive and many people end up losing their lives. The country that wins loses lives while the defeated country loses both lives and the argument. The conquerors gains power over the defeated country and they end up overruling them. The Black Hawk war resulted to loss of lives, loss of land and freedom. The United States gained power over the Native Americans, they banished them from their own land and imprisoned the British Band leaders. In his final days, Black Hawk never talked about war anymore but peace. He urged the Americans and Sauk people to forget the past and maintain friendship (Jung 32). This showed that Black hawk had surrendered as a warrior despite losing the land.

It is claimed that when people are united during a war, they emerge as winners. However, warfare requires more preparation with all the needed resources. Good weapons and enough food and water are essential to win a war. General Henry Atkinson summoned the Indian tribes to make war on their common enemy and having suffered in the hands of Americans, many tribes accepted the call (Hall 9). Despite being united, they were defeated because United States had a strong army and superior weapons to those of the British Band. They also had enough food to sustain them throughout the war. The British Band was weakened by hunger and death of its members and this made it easy for the militia to win against them.

Treaties might be considered as the safest way to protect a country’s resources when lending them to other countries temporarily. However, if the terms are not well analyzed by literate people who understand the consequences of their action, a country might end up losing its resources. Some countries use treaties to get through with land alienation in inferior countries. In 1804, two Indian Spokesmen signed a treaty with the United States allowing them to own the Illinois land in exchange for some money annually. According to Armstrong (68), the Indians of that land were promised a peaceful stay without eviction from the land and that they could still enjoy the harvests only to be evicted later. The spokesmen were not literate enough to know that the treaty would results to white’s settlement and reclaiming the land would be impossible.

Warfare might be seen as the best solution when countries disagree, but it never brings a solution. Enmity increases between the fighting countries and this may lead to underdevelopment as many countries depend on one another through globalization. Many third world countries depend on the first world countries for financial aid and if the good relationship between them is destroyed, it may result to economic deterioration, political and social instability in many countries.

Works Cited

Jung, Patrick. The Black Hawk War of 1832. United States: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

            PRINT.

Armstrong, Perry. The Sauk and the Black Hawk War. New York: H.W. Rokker, printer, 1887.

            PRINT.

Hall, John. Uncommon Defense. United States: Harvard University Press, 2010. PRINT.

Holden, Angi. The Psychological Impact of War. United States: Verto Publishing, 2015. PRINT.

Analysis of the Hippies

            Hippies were counter sub-culture movement that involved middle-class whites mostly youth from the United States of America in 1960’s. They had derived their roots and believes from, “The Beats generation”, (bohemians & beat links) of 1950’s. They advocated for communalism or collectivity and not individualism. They felt that they were for justice for all especially the oppressed. Ideologies such as fashion, eastern philosophies, rock n roll music, open sex, and Marijuana among others made their spirit alive. Their doctrines based on the fact that they advocated nonviolence, love, openness, and tolerance caused them to being referred to as “flower children.” They believed in Judeo-Christian, Buddhism and other Eastern religions. The whites absorbed few African Americans who accepted the movement and its values.  By the mid 60’s, they had managed to influence the outside world, especially  Canada, Britain, Morocco and other parts of far east.

Hippies had some distinct lifestyle that made them unique and different from any other group that had coexisted. Being a counter-cultural group, they abused drugs such as marijuana and Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) so that they can be able to calm their aggression, stress and unwanted feelings. Drugs abuse provided them with an avenue of breaking the laws so that their point drive was crystal clear understood (Allen & Louis 360). They believed that it was healthier to smoke marijuana than tobacco, inverse of what the condemned big brothers thought. They also had a firm believe that LSD was a healer of every problem they may encounter along the way (Miller 10). According to Moretta (59), LSD was the center of unity even if it had the fundamental building foundation of culture to suppress the big brothers. The rock festival was another phenomenon that expressed hippie’s lifestyle and made them distinct. A rock n roll festival was the integral of dope and sex. Festivals like Woodstock which occurred in 1969 with the aim of bringing people together after the idea of nobody can survive alone; everyone needs each other. Festivals brought a sign of brotherhood to the group. “The Trip Festival” that was held on 23rd January 1966 in San Francisco which was attended by thousands of it followers (Miller 43). It was through such festivals that the members were able to sell out their ideologies to the rest of the potential followers and solidify their points to those who have already joined (Miller 43). Hippies were vegetarianism; they ate brown rice, soybeans, tabouli among others. This was because some believed it was the right way to sustain their beliefs, other thought that being a vegetarian would enhance agricultural cycle and different had a notion that it would be a way of changing from processed food that was from the factory owned by the big boys thus weakening them (Moretta 12). Hippies also had a distinct form of clothing that differentiated them from any other group. They usually wore bright colored cloths that were homemade or purchased second hand one as a sign of defiance from the western culture. They also embraced any non-western clothing except those of Native American such as bell-bottomed trousers and a tight vest. They also chose to grow long beards and long natural hair for men while women preferred to be topless. Scarves, necklaces, and bands were among but not least, other comprised their traditions (Miller 105).

The Hippies had some philosophy that made their movement spread globally and in a short period of time. One of their opinions was sexual liberty for everyone. This caused them to absorb all sexual orientations such as bisexual, lesbians, homosexual, transgender and gays. This made most of segregated gender to find a comfort home. They supported free and open sex; anyone can have sex with anyone, anywhere, anytime without any restrictions. They were against society restrictions that a man should be restricted to one lover (Issitt 20). This idea made them gather most youths across the world who felt that society’s morals were too harsh on them and constrict their freedom. Another philosophy was mind expansion and one consciousness.  By abuse of drugs; they believed that drugs make their mind to be perfect in solving their problems and thus making their world look perfect. According to Miller (3), if a man is in his twenties and had not smoked a pot he is probably sick. In Marrakech Morocco, the police had turned a blind eye to the ongoing sale of cannabis which the Hippies had heavily invested. This made the Hippies to sell their ideologies in North African country, Europe and to the Fareast traders who came to the city to trade (Moretta 7). The third philosophy was that they were vegetarians. They believed that consuming greens only was eco-friendly. They felt that animal should not be killed for one to fill their stomach. Also they were against processed food that was being from manufactured by the established institution’s factories. Hippies also embraced aspects of eastern philosophies. This is because most of the eastern countries were communists which Hippies preferred than capitalist. They saw communism as a way of promoting peace and love among their member group. This was one of the reasons why they opposed nuclear programs and the Vietnam War in Asia. Hippies being middle-class citizens disliked how the elites treated them. They had even nicknamed them “The establishment” or “Big Brothers”. They felt segregated from the rest (Moretta 6). Hippies used music festivals to propel their message to new members. Having embraced rock n roll music genre, they held a series of music concert in different countries such as Britain, Canada, Mexico and United States among others. The message was that their culture was the superior one since it accommodates everyone and embraces equality for all. Such concerts were The Warlock of 1964, The Trip of 1966; The Summer love of 1967, The Woodstock of 1969 which was among famous show held. Also through groups that they had formed, they were able to propel their ideas to their targeted members as they could freely mingle with anyone. They also invested heavily on trade especially drugs such as cannabis and LSD gas. Through this, they were able to interact with different people of the world and sell their ideologies to them.           

One of the most significant achievements by the Hippies was that they won the war on culture. This was because members felt a sense of inclusivity since they didn’t have restrictions when it comes to any sexual orientation. Members felt more close to one another since they thought recognized by the society. This made the group to draw more members who felt segregated (Willis p. 84). The Communal behavior also made members felt superior accepted by the elite community. It was on this end that a revolution had started taking shape; it was a revolution for freedom, one of their significant ideologies. They also held series of rallies that were successful and that made the world know their intentions. In 1960, they held first civil right riots in Atlanta and by 6th May same year President Eisenhower sign into agreement the civil right act. In 1962, Students for democratic change held protest against nuclear weapons in Washington Dc. That was successful since the regime aborted the mission. On 28th August 1964, they organized a race riot in Philadelphia that was successful pushing the current system to recognize civil rights (Issitt 15). The group had also produced some of the most prominent legends like Martin Luther King Jr who was an advocate of civil rights, equality and justice for all especially on that speech of “ I have a dream” that he delivered in Washington on 1963. Great writers, artist and rock bands that performed all over the world also found their roots from this group. Some of them were The Beatles who was a British rock band, Bob Dylan, Ken Kesey and Chet Helms to name a few were some of the prominent figures (Issitt 14). They forced the regime to withdraw American troop from southern Vietnam; this was after series of protest all over the country. This made the war in Vietnam come to an end in 1963 (Issitt 15). They also introduced eastern cultures to the American culture. Since they embraced Eastern religion such as Buddhism, eating habits like tabouli, brown rice among others, they had successfully enriched western culture s and taboos.

Despite their success, they also faced some shortcoming within and outside the movement. One of the challenges was that the other American cultures perceived them as an outlawed and a criminal gang. This was because of their behaviors such as drug abuse, decayed morals such as free sex for everyone among others. This made the general public to advocate against them. The group also consisted of a young generation mostly youths whose ideas were not understood by the older generation and thus faced a hostile reception from them (Moretta 272). The other factor that led to their demise was the emergence of other resistance movements such as The Diggers who held a walk death of Hippies march on 10th October 1967. The demise of some leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Robert Kennedy, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and others led to the fall of the group since it lacked their leadership. Some of their festivals were banned in the United States and other countries such as Britain due to tolerance on drug abuse particularly marijuana and LSD within the concert. They criticized them of eroding their morals (Issitt 20). These were just but a few of the reasons for their downfall.

We can conclude that the Hippies had successfully succeeded in their mission. The subculture had managed to sell their ideology both across the United States and another part of the world. They had managed to influence other culture’s morals all over the world. We cannot ignore the fact that the current Hippies derive their roots from them. The Hippies had demonstrated how a sub-culture may evolve, gather muscles and influence the bigger culture.

Works Cited

 Allen, James & Louis, West. "Flight from Violence: Hippies and the Green Rebellion." American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 125, no. 3, 1968, pp. 364-370.

Issitt, Micah. Hippies: A Guide to an American Subculture. Greenwood P/ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Miller, Timothy. The Hippies and American Values. U of Tennessee P, 2012.

Moretta, John. The Hippies: A 1960s History. 2017.

Willis, Paul. "The Hippies." Princeton University Press, 2017.

  The Global Cold War

 In his book, Westad argues that the cold war rooted from the intervention of both U.S and the Soviet Union in the Third World countries. The book is essential important as it allows the reader understands that the modern international conflicts rooted the Cold War between the two superpowers, that is, the U.S and the Soviet Union. There was a conflict that existed in the Third World countries due to democracy, economy, and minorities among other issues. These conflicts gave the two superpowers an opportunity to enter  in the Third World countries  where the U.S focused on  implementing liberty while the Society Union  wanted to  create an ‘empire justice’.  Both superpowers struggled for dominance and they did not use military or any strategy   for the battle, but they used their political and social powers. It is true that the cold war occurred at varying times in that in 19^th century, the U.S policy ideology was based on liberty and interests. During the Cold War, U.S -presented teleological functions and focused on spreading the U.S policy worldwide as well as territorial expansion. During the war, it was driven by the interventionist power and the idea of liberty for its citizens. Liberty made the U.S exist as a separate State and nations that were not enlightened were excluded. In 1945, U.S created a postwar agenda to remake the world and more impartially, rebuild the economy and security and combat Communism. To achieve the mission, the strategy that was used was based on restructuring Japan that started by creating the New Deal programs for the social development. Note that even though the initially the battle field for the Cold War was in Europe; the two superpowers created intervention and developed conflict in the Third World.

History

Chapter 11

 QUESTION 1: How does Norcom’s letter suggest the interconnections between the fate of Native Americans and the opportunities open to white migrants to Mississippi?

 Narcom’s suggested that people moving to the land Mississippi have high probability of becoming rich. Narcom stated that he had seen most men ranging from 5- 100 men who are not able to buy basic things such as shoes (p.25). He also noticed that there some individual who move to Mississippi already rich.  He viewed that individuals venturing into cotton business get a lot of wealthy quickly.  Due to large plantation many people can be employed to work in those farms, thus, the Indians can benefit and get more profits by selling the lands to the rich people.

QUESTION 2: Why do white southerners feel that it is important to show that the Bible sanctions slavery?

Southerner had great farms for plantations and therefore they needed slaves to work in their large plantations, their economy depended highly on plantation of cotton.  White southerners stayed together in small village and they needed slaves to work in their larger farms.  People from the Northern part viewed that slaves is not accepted by God and therefore it is evil. Many people in the community were Christians and they used to attend churches, and they believed the Bible as true word of God. The white had strongly believed that slavery act was not bad and that it was accepted by God. They argued that slavery has been there since the creation of human being. They believed that Bible is a true word of God and it has not indicated that slavery is evil. Also, they interpreted that even in the Bible it was not condemned, for example, they viewed that Abraham a servant of God had several servants which is not different with what white southerners had at that moment (p.218).

QUESTION 3: What aspects of buying and selling of slaves does Northup single out for condemnation?

He condemned how he was drugged, beaten, kidnapped and sold as slave to work in plantation farm. Northup condemned living conditions of slaves in the south. Slaves were brutally beaten; he once reported how a female slave named Patsey was brutally beaten for visiting a neighbouring plantation without permission (p.221). Also, young people were beaten for not following instructions. Slaves were not allowed to learn how to read and write and they were not allowed to carry out any business without permission. They could not keep livestock and they were not allowed to move during the night. Also, he condemned raping of women slaves by the slavers holders.

QUESTION 4: What light does Northup’s account shed on the biblical arguments in defence of slavery in document 70?

 Solomon Northup was not happy with the idea of him together with other slaves working for southerners as slaves.  He believed that God will release them, and that the God is helping them to endure difficult situations. Contrary, the southerners were against this idea and they believed the opposite. Northup stated that slavery is immoral and evil and it is accepted by the God (p.224).

Work Cited

Chapter 11:  voice of freedom N.D. Pp. (212-225)

The Indian Great Awakening

Linford D. Fisher wrote his book “The Indian Great Awakening: Religion and the Shaping of Native Culture in Early America” in an attempt to explore the influence of colonial Empires on newly formed societies and local communities, specifically, Native Americans. The author argues that colonists had used Christianity as the tool to keep their control in the region. Indians of Southern New England did not have much of choice but to accept terms and conditions of mighty conquerors in order to survive. The religion of Euro-American communities had erased the culture of Natives from the history forever.

The book of Fisher is about the destiny of Native American Indians who used to live in Southern New England and covers the period between the 1670s and 1820. There are eight chapters which chronologically integrate every period of the history of Natives starting at the end of the seventeenth century and mostly concentrated on changes which happened in the eighteenth century.

In the first chapter, the author is writing about previous attempts of American and European missionaries to turn Natives into Christianity. Fisher continues to develop his ideas in the second chapter where he stresses on efforts of Euro-American societies to promote religion and educate their traditions to Natives. The author describes the struggle of Indians in making the right decision which would mean social and cultural engagement of different societies for better future. In chapter three, Fisher proves the importance of Natives participation in the Christian revival as the way of survival in prevailing historical circumstances. He states that Indian’s acceptance of reality changed the level of education within the community. Natives had used religious interactions between churches to establish own traditions like, for instance, individual expression in worship.

The fourth chapter of the book is about “affiliation.” The author is talking about the process of accession of Natives to the new world. Indians had to accept rules of colonists. Furthermore, they adapted to those rules but had never converted to Christianity. Chapter five is about New Light revivalists who separated from the Euro-American church to form own congregations. In chapter six, the writer is discussing education and literacy of Native Americans in the middle of 1750s. The educated society is more encouraged to have stronger beliefs and keep their traditions. Chapter seven is about many Indians who had migrated to the West because of the land dispossession started by colonialists to create new communities. In the last eighth chapter, Fisher is concluding how Euro-American civilizations with the help of Christianity had influenced the culture of Natives and changed it forever.

Linford Fisher had never referenced any official documents or published articles of other authors to write his book. Instead, he says that "the medicine bundle seems like a broadly inclusive approach to the question of efficacious oversight in the afterlife" (7). Fisher used funerary objects and records of local community’s churches about marriages and baptism of infants to support his ideas. From those records, the writer managed to collect very valuable information which helped to develop his chapters. Therefore, the book depicts the life of Indians in the eighteenth century and how Euro-American colonists tried to design “literate, Christianized, and culturally Anglicized Indian men and women” (Fisher, 51).

There are two sides of the situation. Firstly, Natives were not educated and politically organized. This made them vulnerable to outside conquerors. Secondly, religion was the tool for Natives to become strong as the community and create “the very institutions that were supposed to help turn Indians into faithful English subjects, in the end, were used by Indians to create semi-autonomous space within which they could monitor their own spiritual lives, exercise a great deal of autonomy, and strengthen intertribal connections” (Fisher, 113). However, further land dispossession caused by the desire of colonists to enrich their wealth forced many Indians to migrate. Those who stayed went through the long process of affiliation which intended to combine colonial and local traditions with dominant influence of the first one.

Most of the Natives denied Christianity and after separatist movements in New England area churches adopted Indians heritage. Therefore, Native Americans managed to survive in severe conditions of progressive changes but lost own pride and dignity. Nevertheless, the life of next generations is more significant than the honor. The Indian Great Awakening was the possibility for Natives to remind the world of themselves.

The book of Fisher “The Indian Great Awakening: Religion and the Shaping of Native Culture in Early America” had made the significant contribution to the history of Native Americans who used to populate lands of the US for many centuries. The book will keep Indians always remembered by nations. However, The Indian Great Awakening is also crucial as it is the guideline through the revival of Christianity in the eighteenth century and its influence on the culture of Natives. From one side, the effect was positive as local communities get access to literacy and education. From another side, religion had damaged the culture and traditions of Indians.

The video on ‘Inuit throat’ clearly tells the Native American traditions and the video helps us understand the great role of Euro-Americans in outlawing the practice. Christian priests believed that the practice was ‘the devil’s voice’ or in other words they believed that the Native American had a complex system of religion and they did not distinguish between the spiritual world, the physical world and religious conventions (Anchorage Daily News, 1).  Native American relied on their traditional cultures and thus the role of Euro-American was to change the traditional cultures by use of spiritual forces (Fisher, 12).

Note that Native American valued dances as they believed that dancing was a form of prayer, healing and a way of maintaining   their identity.  Despite the fact that Native American  embraced  and connected tradition and culture with  nature, gods, humans and  their ways of life, Europeans  viewed this as a nonreligious practice (MN original, 1). However,   Native American   followed their spiritual leaders or Shaman who performed rituals and dances.  During evangelization and Christianization, all these traditional religious practices were destroyed through evangelizing efforts (Fisher, 35).

 For example, in the Apache culture, there was a rite of passage where girls were celebrating   adulthood at a certain age.  The girl and her family prepared for the ceremony such as finding gifts and ceremonial clothes and finding godparents who would conduct the ceremony.  The role of the godparent was to dress the girl and the girl was supposed to wear the dress during celebration which would take four days (Nat Geo, 1).  This example allows the reader to see how the ‘Indian Great Awakening’ changed the Apache Religious Traditions as well as their beliefs on ancestors, dances supernatural powers and more.

 The ‘Indian Great Awakening’ marked the protestant reformation and   Martin Luther is not only remembered for his efforts in establishing religious beliefs but also in economic development and political freedom.  In 1517, Martin Luther was against the religious doctrines of Roman Catholic Church which were based on ‘indulgences’ (PBS, 1).  Luther argued that the teachings were false as they taught individuals that rather than having a divine intervention with God, individuals were supposed to create conscience and values by reading the scripture.  Luther was against the teachings and was interested in human dignity and human freedom.  He asserted that Christians are granted the freedom to participate in God’s blessings and salvation is not attained through own effort but it is a gift (PBS, 1).

Works Cited

Fisher, Linford D. The Indian Great Awakening. New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2012.

Anchorage Daily News. Inuit throat-singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLMlkjnYe0U. 2013

MN original. Native American dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPjYdfA_tLU. 2016

Nat Geo. Girls' rite of passage in Apache culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B3Abpv0ysM. 2007

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 500 years of the Reformation: http://www.pbs.org/video/religion-and-ethics-newsweekly-500th-anniversary-protestant-reformation/. 2018

Black Hawk

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak also known as Black Hawk was a young leader and a worrier, who earned his title as a war captain through his deeds. He was antagonistic to the white for settling to his fellows’ territory. During the 1812 war, he joined the British to war with high hopes of pushing white Americans away from his people’s territory. However, he also joined several British battles that impacted to heading his people in Mississippi to escape the White resistance. The Black Hawk War created a major conflict between the white and Native Americans thus, it is known as the most serious battle since the Vietnam War. The war was given its title after Black Hawk for his courage (Peterson 26-73). Black Hawk battle was as a result of a misunderstanding between Americans and the natives over a signed treaty that was faked.  The United States Government forged the documents stating that Indian Americans were allowed to settle on their immigration land for as long as they wanted to. Nevertheless, the war was the last Indians fought in East of the Mississippi River.

Thesis

Leaders inspire people with their confidence and wisdom, for Black Hawk it was different whereby; his actions throughout his life time proved him as a good leader. His first proof of leadership was in teenager while he wounded several enemies in battle thus, earned him the honor of leadership thus, was face painted.  However, he convinced the Americans of his extreme power for being behind the Black Hawk War (Brown & Sarah 100). Furthermore, in reality, he was a strong plus influential warrior despite the chief title.

In many cases Black Hawk is mainly known as chief, a title he inherited from his father. However, in history the title does not rhyme to his action rather, he would be referred to as the war leader or warrior. Furthermore, by calling him just chief indicates that he knew little though; he did much for history. His rivalry with America arose over land treaty whereby; his people from India died right over it. Black Hawk was offended and supported the British in war and also, preferred their companies over America.  Nevertheless, the British had assured him of their support whenever would open a battle with America. Money was not the issue of treaty it was with Black Hawk who refused to sign the treaty thus, claimed that the chiefs who made the deal were not leaders and they had no permission to get into any agreement. Further, the Americans were aware that the treaty was fake thus, allowed the natives to settle in the land until they were able to sell it to white settlers. By 1820s, the white had fully occupied the land thereby; forcing Native American to move to the West of Mississippi (Peterson 55-122).

As the chief leader, Black Hawk was not pleased with the drastic circumstance thus, stood up in defense for the right of his people over Sauk land. He campaigned against the treaty term for the land to be returned to his people thus encouraged them to return and claim for their homelands. As a good leader, he chooses peace and settled with his band on Mississippi Island to prevent war. In 1829, Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak led his group back to America and, found that their land was fully occupied by white settlers. Nevertheless, the Natives and White Americans lived together in unity; until when Black Hawk returned to the spring (Brown & Sarah  88-143).He and his fellows were not welcomed thus, had no choice but fled to Mississippi though; not permanent. Hopeless alongside Mississippi, Black Hawk moved to Lake Koshkonong in Southern Wisconsin in search of food for his starving people.

The illiois attacked and killed many Indians in Black Hawk’s group among them were women and children. However, with his strong leadership he led and attacked two forts in North-West Illinions whereby; the group gathered with claims of settler’s cabin as well as farms. However, it was impossible to understand how many Native Americans had lost their lives in the war. Additionally, some were in battle while others hunted down by Americans in their hide out. It was a difficult time for the chief leader whereby; he went miles searching for food to his starving people who even faced death over hunger. The Native Americans leader was a reliable leader that, the Americans were convinced of his abilities suggesting that he was an extremely powerful warrior (Hell 98). Despite his title as a chief leader, reality proves him as a strong as well as influential leader.  War with the American posed a delicate condition for Native Americans whereby; the chief leaders started dropping, peopled lost their lives from the war as well as starvation.  1832, thereby marked the end of Black Hawk’s group, his followers ignored him and led to his Escape. Even though Black Hawk was left alone, he managed to cross River Mississippi but latter was turned in to the Americans by people he thought were his friend.

Work cited

Brown, Nicholas A. and Sarah E. Kanouse. Re-Collecting Black Hawk : Landscape, Memory, and Power in the American Midwest. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015. Culture, Politics, and the Built Environment. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1001037&site=ehost-live.

Hall, John W. Uncommon Defense. Harvard University Press, 2009. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=327566&site=ehost-live.

Peterson Andie. A Second Look: Native Americans in Children's Books. Author house 2007 print

Church History

 Introduction

 During the 2nd century, the Roman empire had a great eternal power  that stretched to various nations such as Germany and Britain but the  end of the 2^nd century marked the end  of  its power  expansion  due to the wave of  invaders. During this period of terminal decline of the Roman Empire, the Church had an incredible growth since majority had read the New Testament and Christian’s beliefs. However, not all people believed on Christianity since there was disagreement and different teachings on the divine nature and the human nature. For example, Gnostics and Docetism and other  raised arguments on Christian life and the deity of Christ but  the ‘Church Fathers’ such as Justin Martyr and others opposed the Roman authorities and offered responses to the  argument that was raised to suppress Christianity. This period was marked as the period of ‘Church Fathers’ since theologians started introducing the basic doctrines.  Conservative Romans failed to accept the Christian religion since they saw Christianity as a threat and believed on ‘pax deorum’, but Christians believed on God and Christ.

 Gnosticism

            During 130 and 160 A.D to 1^st century, there was controversy between the Gnosticism and defenders of   Christian teaching. The controversy was on fundamental issues regarding the nature of evil, the redemption and the nature of God. These fundamental issues introduced the Christians theological tradition in order to understand its nature and more importantly get answers on the fundamental issues. However, Gnosticism presented its argument from Jewish texts and symbols and Hellenistic religion[1]. In addition, sources for Gnosticism were derived from work of opponents who provided  Gnostic teaching and believed that the material world  was created by  the  a demi-god .The problem with these teachings is that they offered a secret teaching and presented   primordial reality from ordinary thought and own experience. Rather than presenting teachings from the Greek philosophy, they presented theological notions from Gnostic thinking.  Generally, the knowledge was derived from the world of darkness and ignorance   and their thoughts   were   based on docetism[2].  The latter means that Christ was not a human but rather he was a celestial substance and for this reasons, his sufferings, death and resurrection were mere illusion. There is a big difference between the Gnostic teaching and Christian teaching in that the latter derived knowledge from the ‘apostolic tradition’, the Old Covenant Scriptures and the revelations of Christ. The former focused on the letters of Paul where they offered allegorical interpretations to justify their argument on spirit and soul[3].  

Marcion

 Marcion opposed both Gnosticism and Christian teaching and presented different teachings similar to Basilides and Valentinus teachings.  His teachings were derived from the letters of Paul and he presented canon of sacred books.  However, even though he provided canon books, the problem with his teachings was that he related the Christian Gospel with Judaism from the Jewish Scriptures.  He read the letters of Paul and the Jewish Scriptures in a literally manner and he was convinced that   the Christian dispensation was from the loving God   but he did not understand the Christians dispensation from the Law and the Prophet[4]. The teachings made him to conclude that God in the letters of Paul and God in the Mosaic covenant are two different things simply because God in the letters of Paul presented God of love and mercy while God in the Mosaic Covenant presented a tyrannical nature.  Marcion did not only understand the teachings but he wrote ‘Antitheses’ which presented the contradictions between the Christian faith and the Jewish Scriptures.  In his writing, he clearly showed that   God in the Old Testament was not the true God but rather the true God was presented   in the letters of Paul or simply through Jesus Christ.  He tries to say that God the creator (Old Testament deity)   is a false God since he create peace and evil (Isaiah 45:6-7) and God in the New Testament is the true God since he appointed his son to save the human race[5]. It is also important to understand that Marcion borrowed Gnostic ideas since he accepted the dualism on spirit and matter from the Cerdo teachings.  He believed that the true God of love did not have a human body and for this reason, Marcion’s believers were restricted form sexual intercourse and eating meat[6].  

Montanism

 Marcionism, Gnostism and ‘the New Prophesy’ (Montanism) created a crisis of self-understanding at the end of the 2nd century. Montanus who founded the Montanism proclaimed that he was a prophet sent by God to proclaim the truth[7].   However, the Christian community opposed the prophetic teachings arguing that the teachings were a threat to the society. The big problem with the prophetic teaching is that it was a ‘new prophecy’ which proclaimed apocalyptic revival and the end of the world and the construction of the New Jerusalem in the Pepuza in Phrygia.  In preparing for the end of the world, Montanu together with other prophets like (Priscilla and Maximilla) and their followers alienated themselves from the world as well from the society[8].  The movement expanded in various regions such as Asia, Syria, North Africa and Rome where bishops in these regions taught Christians the teachings of the ‘New prophecy’ but later some questioned the prophecy and others led to crisis between Christian churches and believers[9].

Irenaeus of Lyon

 Irenaeus of Lyon is well known as a theological leader who opposed the Marcion and Gnostics teachings.  Irenaeus did a great work   which is fully apprenticed in modern times.  An important point to note about Irenaeus is that he is not Christian convert but rather he grew in a Christian background since childhood.  His Christian background and the martyrdom in his religious faith had a great impact in his orthodoxy owes. Irenaeus’s well known work is ‘Against Heresies’ where he refuted the Gnostic teachings and defends the orthodox faith.  As a prolific writer,  he rejects  all teachings which  orthodox church and leaders  could reject  and more importantly  he refutes the Valentinian’s  teachings that  ‘in order to understand  the scripture,  people need a  secret tradition and  be spiritually mature[10].  In other words, those who ignore the tradition cannot derive an important message from the scripture. Valentinun did not believe on the creation of the material world but he believed that creation is a work of ‘the demiurge’ and the role of Christ when he was on earth was to separate the human beings from the evil.  In response, Irenaues  in his  Christian  writings  showed that  God, the Father of Jesus Christ  created the world with goodness  and beauty , and that  Christ  acted as a human being  and was made perfectly visible to human beings by God.  ‘Against Heresies’ is divided in to five books and the first  book presents the heretical sects and offers true doctrines  by quoting Scriptures  to show  the  divine wisdom. He clearly presents the biblical doctrines especially the Divine testimonies of Jesus Christ to show that the scripture is an inspired word of God.  In addition, he shows that the   Old Testament and New Testament   are related in reflecting the role of Christ[11].  He also wrote another book ‘The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching’ where he presented the knowledge on the nature of God and the doctrine of man.

Justin Martyr

 Jutsoce Martyr was a Greek Philosopher and his writings present the Christian revelation and a theology of history.  He  was a  converted Christian  since  he was grew in a  Jewish environment   and after being  converted he  became a teacher  in Christian  teaching. His writings are ‘First Apology’, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew’ and the ‘Second Apology[12]’.  In his work, he uses the Old Testament as the ‘Memoirs of the Apostles’ where he introduced the gospel of Mathew, Luke, John and others. Thus, Martyr was a great apologist and an interpreter of the Old Testament and his tradition view helped him build a systematic hermeneutic. In other words, he understood the Christian tradition by focusing on the Old Testament where he derived symbolic and prophetic concepts[13].  From the prophetic  books  or  from the Old Testament, Justin  show  that  Jesus, the son of God came in the world  as a human beings where he was hated and unacknowledged .  Justine  presented  the nature of Scripture by asserting that   the content in the Old Testament is  important to the church as it is  a ‘memoir of Apostles’ and  helps the Christians  understand the  Scriptures[14].  In his writing, he used exegetical procedures and was influenced by the Judaism, Christianity and Philonic hermeneutics. On Judaism, Justin concentrated on Post-Christian Judaism where he derived the biblical interpretation methods and concepts of the scripture.   For example, the combination of Christianity and Judaism show that the Old and New Testaments as well as the Hebrew Bible are authoritative scriptures and all have a common belief that salvation is through accepting Jesus Christ[15]. On Philonic hermeneutics, Justin focused on Alexandrine tradition where he derived a hidden meaning reduplicated expression, allegorical meaning of words and symbolic meaning of things.  On Christianity, Justin asserts that the Gospel such as that of John provided a historical knowledge on Jesus’ life in the Old Testament[16].

 Tertullian

 Tertullin was a Roman but later converted to Christianity and presented Christianity teachings in the West. In his writing, he focused on the martyrdom and   his writings were in Latin unlike other theologians who wrote in Greek. His work is unique in that he goes direct to the point by practically attacking the prosecutors of Christianity and   those whose doctrines are not true[17].   He  include something important based on graphic warnings  by saying that  there is a fiery judgments and  those who persecuted Christianity  and those who led people astray  will be consumed. It is important to understand that   he used the Scripture to present his argument. For example, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and are unity of substance and they have similar qualities. He applies a traditional imagery in explaining the trinity and asserted that since the sun originates from the rays of the light, the son and the Spirit originate from God and thus, the Father is greater than the son[18]. Tertullian argues that the word was God and since the Father, the Son and the Spirit are one, then Jesus Christ   is the word.  In this case, the ‘word’ presents not only what Jesus said but also who he was and his action. The word of God is the truth and the truth was presented through the character and work of the Christ[19].

Conclusion

  The research show that Christianity originated from the Roman Empire in the Jewish society during the 1^st century.  However, Christianity was prosecuted by the Roman Empire because Christians rejected their beliefs on pax deorum but believed on God and refused to sacrifice and to worship their gods.  There was a great persecution especially during the 3rd century which led to political instability, war and death.  Even through Roman were religious, there was nothing like ‘united Christianity’ so many used different forms to spread the religious doctrines. For example, Gnostics, Montanism and Marcionism had different beliefs on the nature of Christ and the salvation.  However, early church fathers, that is; Tertullian, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyon were apologists in the 2^nd century who introduced the Christian teachings and opposed false teachings such as Gnostics.  The Christian theologians played an important role in presenting the canonical books, developing Christian doctrines   and shaping the Christian history.

Bibliography

González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Volume 1, Volume 1. New York: HarperCollins, 2010.

Hill, Jonathan . The History of Christian Thought: The Fascinating Story of the Great Christian Thinkers

and How They Helped Shape the World As We Know It Today. Downers Grove: IVP Academic,

2003. Print.

Walker Williston. A History of the Christian Church. Ravenio Books, 2014

Barnard, Leslie W, and Iustinus. St. Justin Martyr: the First and Second Apologies. New York [u.a.: Paulist

Press, 1997. Print.

 Dunn. D Geoffrey. Early Church fathers. Tertullian.  Psychology Press, 2004

Butler D. Rex. The New Prophecy and "New Visions": Evidence of Montanism in The Passion of Perpetua

and Felicitas.CUA Press, 2011

[1] Walker Williston. A History of the Christian Church. Ravenio Books, 2014, pg 62

[2] Ibid, 62

[3] Ibid, 63

[4] González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Volume 1, Volume 1. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. Pg, 82

[5] Ibid, 84

[6] Ibid, 85

[7] Walker Williston. A History of the Christian Church. Ravenio Books, 2014, pg 87

[8] Ibid 89

[9] Butler D. Rex. The New Prophecy and "New Visions": Evidence of Montanism in The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas.CUA Press, 2011, page 10

[10] Hill, Jonathan . The History of Christian Thought: The Fascinating Story of the Great Christian Thinkers and How They Helped Shape the World As We Know It Today. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2003. Print. Pg 21

[11] Ibid, 25

[12] Barnard, Leslie W, and Iustinus. St. Justin Martyr: the First and Second Apologies. New York [u.a.: Paulist Press, 1997. Print. Pg, 103

[13] Ibid, 164

[14] Ibid, 175

[15] Ibid, 180

[16] Ibid, 187

[17] Dunn. D Geoffrey. Early Church fathers. Tertullian.  Psychology Press, 2004.pg, 53

[18] Ibid, 56

[19] Ibid, 58

America Before 1877

Introduction

The Europeans colonized America back in 1492 .Although, earlier, the Vikings were among the first Europeans to set foot in North America during the 10^th century .They settled at green land which is presently known as new found land. Christopher Columbus, an explorer, reached America after being granted permission by the Spanish monarch leaders to find new lands and resources for Spain. (Ayers, 130).

Before the 1490s Europeans had already sailed to western coast of Africa and had already established a trading slaves with Africa .Moreover their motive was to get access to resources within Africa and expand to Asia. They furthered their efforts and expanded to Asia .More than three centuries later before Christopher Columbus discovered America. the continent was dominated by the native Americans .After its discovery the Europeans namely the Spaniards and the French came and occupied it .The Europeans occupied the  western part of America and brought in African slaves to work on their plantation .The European expansion into America as motivated by social, political and economic determinants. (Ayers, 112)

Reasons why the Europeans expanded into America

One of the primary reasons was economic. The Europeans hoped to explore the resources in America. Their own resources were reducing and expansion into new horizons proved lucrative. Aside from exploiting resources, they hoped to use America as a base for their operation and exploration into other unexploited lands such as Asia. They hoped that America could provide alternative shorter routes to the Indies at the same time providing safe routes away from the dangerous waters that were filled with pirates. America would also provide a strategic place where trade could thrive by avoiding Arab middlemen and secure unexploited raw materials. Discovering new lands opened up new possibilities and expanded trade relationships with the new inhabitants. (Ayers, 98).

The Europeans wanted glory. They were competing for dominance by exploiting new lands. The rivalry between Portuguese and Spanish pushed the two countries to expand into new horizons, America was one of the coveted locations they hoped to expand into. Prince Henry of Portugal exploited Africa and the Atlantic during the 1400s.They established trade in African before spreading into South America. They later moved in to America to stay ahead of their Spanish rivals. (Berkin, et.al 160).

America was new land that had no regulation nor rules to restrict their activities. This lack of regulation and rules motivated the Europeans to concur America with hopes of creating a better future for themselves. For instance, the puritans grew tired of reforms brought in by John Calvin. They shifted to North America where they hoped to come up with new and complete reforms that would shaped their church. The puritan were encouraged by the hope that a new land or state would provide freedom they needed to bring better reforms to the church. (Billington, 123).

In England, life was growing harder as days with each passing day. Most people were losing employment, homes and investments to taxes and other rectifications imposed on them by the government. They were forced to search for better lands. This purpose brought them to America. The scenario is similar to that of pilgrims who were searching for religious freedom from their native land England. A Lot of people left England in search for new lands to restart their life again. They joined forces to form colonies (Berkin, et.al 117) .They explored new lands in colonies and cultivated land they settled on without supervision or restriction from anyone. They utilized natural resources depending on the particular location they settled on. Banking on the land they inhabited, they sent back exports into England and gained profits which in turn increased economic chances. Economic opportunities in turn attracted other people to America. The need for employment that guaranteed a good pay gave the Europeans exactly what they came for. The new communities prospered due to trading of imports and exports. The people of England needed resources from America to supplement their industries. The colonies were able to meet the requirements and increased their wealth in terms of resources and economy. . (Berkin, et.al 116).

Some Europeans were not just after economic gain but also in the pursuit of knowledge and adventure that new America had to offer. Europeans came up with maps of locations they ah not yet discovered. They were interested in vegetation and people that inhabited these new lands and wanted to expand their knowledge. The thirst for knowledge was brought about by rebirth that had dominated Europe during that period, a time of renewed focus in acquiring knowledge in the arts and other field. (Berkin, et.al 110).

Routes the Europeans used to expand into America

The first phase of expansion into America was done through three areas .First, it was extended through the Atlantic basin from Atlantic peninsula and the west African coasts which linked the Europeans to central parts of America .Secondly, it was through the northern water bodies, that extended east from the Baltic countries to the white seas and oceans and coast of Siberia and westerly towards the north America coast of Canada, and other islands. Thirdly, through the eastern seas and north Asia. (Berkin, et.al 128).

The second phase of expansion into America took place during the 18^th century. The pacific geographical region i.e. Australia, New Zealand, pacific island an seas located in the northern Alaska and Siberia. (Ayers, 67).

Impact of European expansion into America

When Europeans discovered America, their influence and effects were many. It changed America in several ways. Socially, European expansion into America created a new home for many poverty stricken individuals especially those who came from England. They influenced the natives and in turn the native impacted them to a certain degree. The impact were not uniform, they varied from one place to the other within America. The old political native system were altered and replaced with European systems, institution, languages and way of life. (Ayers, 79).

American settlers interrupted the normal way of   the native population which resided on the eastern side of Mississippi .For instance, missionaries introduced their Christian religion .Christianity came with its rules and regulations .While dealing with native people, they gave them cheap gifts in exchange for land and valuable resources , they short changed the natives. In turn the natives remain dependent on the Europeans. (Norton, 567).

When the Europeans moved into America, they urgently needed labor to grow cash crops such as tobacco and sugarcane. This need was filled by Africans. They moved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean and into America. The English authorities gave royal African company the right to transport African slaves from Africa into America. The company transported more than 350,000 Africans into America to supply labor in their fields. The arrival of slaves into America changed the entire system. Laws were established to direct slavery .merchants who traded in slaves for textile companies, alcohol, ammunition and food made a lot of a money. (Norton, 123).

Although the native still had control over America during the first three decades of European expansion, conflict grew between the Europeans and the native people. The Europeans expected the natives to adopt into their way of life. The natives were expected to convert into Christianity i.e. catholic or protestant. They were also expected to leave their barbaric and uncivilized ways of life. Through the 17th century, the native fought the European and drove them out of their land due the mistreatment they received from them. (Norton, 89).

At the same, Europeans brought with them goods that had great benefits to the natives. In the 1500 the Europeans brought with them glass, beads, metal, utensils and copper, just to name a few. Natives usually accepted this items but tailored them according to their own needs. For instance, natives cut kettle made of copper and used them as they deemed fit. The pieces of kettle were used as jewelry to symbolize they have the European wealth. As the number of Europeans increased, their goods flooded the American native societies and the natives started to put the goods to proper use as they got more familiar with them. For example many natives abandoned their traditional furs and exchanged them for European trousers and shirts .similarly, clay cook items gave way to metal made European utensils .Indian natives realized that European flints and steel would start fires faster and much easier than their conventional ways. (Ayers, 116)

The native adopted some of the European items and learnt to make them. For example the native used iron owls to make beads which led to discovery of new art and style of making beads among the natives. (Berkin, et.al 110).

The European brought with them diseases that killed a lot of native people in America. The European lifestyle involved sharing of house item and living under the same roof with domestic animals such as sheep and goats. This facilitated the spread of unknown diseases within America. The contact between the European and Native American led to an outbreak of small poke disease, influenza and measles. The diseases were caused by germs and other types of bacteria. The disease caused a lot of deaths to occur. It killed an estimated 10 million to 20million native inhabitants of America. This number represent almost 95% of the total population at the time. This loss of indigenous people caused cultural and political collapse of the framework upon which the natives operated on. It weakened them and Europeans easily took over by establishing their way of life. (Ayers, 34)

European inhabiting America altered the environment greatly .Their way of life was different from the natives. Hunting using guns coupled with the desire of the native Indian to own guns, made natural resources deplete at a faster rate. For instance popular birds such as beaver trim hats became very scarce as people used guns to hunt then down .The loss of the species came also with loss of the natural habitats .The beaver ponds had been home to fish as well source of drinking water for deer and other wild animals. European introduced other domestic animals such as pigs into America. Pigs got their food from forest and the grasslands. The introduced species increased competition for food with indigenous animals. This led to scarcity of food that native people depended on for their daily meals. (Berkin, et.al 78).

European used privatized land which was in contrast with the understanding of native people. Natives believed that land was owned by all the people and should benefit the whole community. Natives who migrated seasonally to utilize natural resources of different lands found themselves limited. (Berkin, et.al 120).

Politically, the Europeans generated a lot of wealth form the colonies established in America. The wealth gave them access to power and influence .They used their power to establish a governing system over the natives. Furthermore power gave them control over resources that were once owned by the natives. In short The Europeans expanded into America in search for natural resources. They established new social, religion and political systems within America. They established alternative shorter routes within America and used the routes foe exploitation. (Ayers, 25)

Conclusion

It is not clear whether the expansion into America was justified but the expansion had both negative and positive effects on the native people. The European came into America to seek new land that would give them new opportunities and give them a chance to start life over again. They could exploit the new found land in any way they wanted. The raw material they harvested form America were imported back to their countries and brought in profits to the. These caused economic growth which attracted European into America .The European establish new shorter routes that could be used to transport products faster through America. The native people adopted into the European’s way of alife.Europeans forced the Indians to assimilate their culture.

Works cited 

Ayers, Edward L. American Passages: A History of the United States. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2009.

Berkin, Carol, Christopher L. Miller, Robert W. Cherny, and James L. Gormly. Making America: Billington, Ray A. American History before 1877. Totowa, N.J: Rowman & Allan held, 1984 A History of the United States. , 2014

Norton, Mary B. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2008.

Introduction

During the 15^th century and the 17^th century, Europeans focused on expanding their dominance into America. They heavily invested their resources in America with the intention the land was rich in resources and fertile enough to meet their feed them and cloth them. (Ayers, 130).

The Europeans colonized America back in 1492. Although, earlier, the Vikings were among the first Europeans to set foot in North America during the 10th century .They settled at green land which is presently known as new found land. Christopher Columbus, an explorer, reached America after being granted permission by the Spanish monarch leaders to find new lands and resources for Spain (Ayers, 130).

Before the 1490s Europeans had already sailed to western coast of Africa and had already established a trading slave with Africa (Ayers, 112). Moreover, their motive was to get access to resources within Africa and expand to Asia. They furthered their efforts and expanded to Asia .More than three centuries later before Columbus discovered America. The continent was dominated by the Native Americans. After its discovery the Europeans namely the Spaniards and the French came and occupied it. The Europeans occupied the western part of America and brought in African slaves to work on their plantation. The European expansion into America as motivated by social, political and economic determinants (Ayers, 112).

Reasons why the Europeans expanded into America

There are various reasons that forced the European to expand into America. The expansion took place during the sixteenth century .Expansion became popular across each and every nation of Europe. This made expansion to be known as the Age of extension or the age of new horizons. Based on the study by Rick McKinney, there are several causes that caused expansion into America. The expansion during that period can be categorized into three: exploration of oversea lands; due to increase in population and high cost of living. These reasons are tied together to form multiple reasons that cannot be isolated and studied separately. Alongside the three factors mentioned above there are other factors i.e. spreading of Christian religion by preaching to Native Americans. The other reason was desire for economic power and exploiting new resources. Economic power could only be gained through securing trading new trading routes. Trading also came with new raw material s such as rubber, oil and mineral cores. The only way to secure new trading routes was through expansion into new lands such as America. Exploration was not new to Europeans of the sixteen century, therefore they had the know- how the during their early days, Europe and explored other lands through land. Italian s such as Marco polo established a lot of colonies in various parts of the world. The colonies were many trading posts that were to assist Italy gain economic power. Power assisted them to push through new lands without encountering many challenges. (Ayers, 355).

One of the primary reasons was economic gain. The Europeans hoped to explore the resources in America (Ayers, 98). Their own resources were reducing and expansion into new horizons proved lucrative. Aside from exploiting resources, they hoped to use America as a base for their operation and exploration into other unexploited lands such as Asia. They hoped that America could provide alternative shorter routes to the Indies at the same time providing safe routes away from the dangerous waters that were filled with pirates. America would also provide a strategic place where trade could thrive by avoiding Arab middlemen and secure unexploited raw materials. Discovering new lands opened up new possibilities and expanded trade relationships with the new inhabitants (Ayers, 98).

The Europeans wanted glory. They were competing for dominance by exploiting new lands. The rivalry between Portuguese and Spanish pushed the two countries to expand into new horizons; America was one of the coveted locations they hoped to expand into (Ayers, 98). Prince Henry of Portugal exploited Africa and the Atlantic during the 1400s. They established trade in African before spreading into South America. They later moved in to America to stay ahead of their Spanish rivals (Berkin, et al., 160).

America was new land that had neither regulation nor rules to restrict their activities. This lack of regulation and rules motivated the Europeans to concur America with hopes of creating a better future for themselves (Billington, 123). For instance, the puritans grew tired of reforms brought in by John Calvin. They shifted to North America where they hoped to come up with new and complete reforms that would shape their church. The puritan were encouraged by the hope that a new land or state would provide freedom they needed to bring better reforms to the church (Billington, 123).

In England, life was growing harder as days with each passing day. Most people were losing employment, homes and investments to taxes and other rectifications imposed on them by the government (Berkin, et al., 117). They were forced to search for better lands. This purpose brought them to America. The scenario is similar to that of pilgrims who were searching for religious freedom from their native land England. A Lot of people left England in search for new lands to restart their life again. They joined forces to form colonies (Berkin, et al., 117). They explored new lands in colonies and cultivated land they settled on without supervision or restriction from anyone. They utilized natural resources depending on the particular location they settled on. Banking on the land they inhabited, they sent back exports into England and gained profits which in turn increased economic chances. Economic opportunities in turn attracted other people to America. The need for employment that guaranteed a good pay gave the Europeans exactly what they came for. The new communities prospered due to trading of imports and exports. The people of England needed resources from America to supplement their industries. The colonies were able to meet the requirements and increased their wealth in terms of resources and economy (Berkin, et.al 116).

Some Europeans were not just after economic gain but also in the pursuit of knowledge and adventure that new America had to offer (Berkin, et al., 110). Europeans came up with maps of locations they ah not yet discovered. They were interested in vegetation and people that inhabited these new lands and wanted to expand their knowledge. The thirst for knowledge was brought about by rebirth that had dominated Europe during that period, a time of renewed focus in acquiring knowledge in the arts and other field (Berkin, et al., 110).

Routes the Europeans used to expand into America

The first phase of expansion into America was done through three areas .First; it was extended through the Atlantic basin from Atlantic peninsula and the West African coasts which linked the Europeans to central parts of America (Berkin, et al., 128). Secondly, it was through the northern water bodies that extended east from the Baltic countries to the white seas and oceans and coast of Siberia and westerly towards the North America coast of Canada, and other islands. Thirdly, through the eastern seas and north Asia (Berkin, et al., 128). The second phase of expansion into America took place during the 18th century (Ayers, 67).

Impact of European expansion into America

When Europeans discovered America, their influence and effects were many. It changed America in several ways. Socially, European expansion into America created a new home for many poverty stricken individuals especially those who came from England (Ayers, 79). They influenced the natives and in turn the native impacted them to a certain degree. The impact were not uniform, they varied from one place to the other within America. The old political native system were altered and replaced with European systems, institution, languages and way of life (Ayers, 79).

American settlers interrupted the normal way of   the native population which resided on the eastern side of Mississippi (Norton, 567). For instance, missionaries introduced their Christian religion .Christianity came with its rules and regulations. While dealing with native people, they gave them cheap gifts in exchange for land and valuable resources, they short changed the natives. In turn the natives remain dependent on the Europeans (Norton, 567).

When the Europeans moved into America, they urgently needed labor to grow cash crops such as tobacco and sugarcane. This need was filled by Africans. They moved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean and into America. The English authorities gave royal African company the right to transport African slaves from Africa into America. The company transported more than 350,000 Africans into America to supply labor in their fields (Norton, 567). The arrival of slaves into America changed the entire system. Laws were established to direct slavery merchants who traded in slaves for textile companies, alcohol, ammunition and food where they ended up making a lot of money (Norton, 123).

Although the native still had control over America during the first three decades of European expansion, conflict grew between the Europeans and the native people. The Europeans expected the natives to adopt into their way of life. The natives were expected to convert into Christianity, that is, catholic or protestant. They were also expected to leave their barbaric and uncivilized ways of life. Through the 17th century, the native fought the European and drove them out of their land due the mistreatment they received from them (Norton, 89).

At the same, Europeans brought with them goods that had great benefits to the natives. In the 1500 the Europeans brought with them glass, beads, metal, utensils and copper, just to name a few (Ayers, 116). Natives usually accepted these items but tailored them according to their own needs. For instance, natives cut kettle made of copper and used them as they deemed fit. The pieces of kettle were used as jewelry to symbolize they have the European wealth. As the number of Europeans increased, their goods flooded the American native societies and the natives started to put the goods to proper use as they got more familiar with them. For example many natives abandoned their traditional furs and exchanged them for European trousers and shirts .similarly, clay cook items gave way to metal made European utensils .Indian natives realized that European flints and steel would start fires faster and much easier than their conventional ways (Ayers, 116). The native adopted some of the European items and learnt to make them. For example, the native used iron owls to make beads which led to discovery of new art and style of making beads among the natives (Berkin, et al., 110).

The European brought with them diseases that killed a lot of native people in America. The European lifestyle involved sharing of house item and living under the same roof with domestic animals such as sheep and goats (Ayers, 33). This facilitated the spread of unknown diseases within America. The contact between the European and Native American led to an outbreak of small poke disease, influenza and measles. The diseases were caused by germs and other types of bacteria. The disease caused a lot of deaths to occur. It killed an estimated 10 million to 20million native inhabitants of America (Ayers, 34). These numbers represent almost 95% of the total population at the time. This loss of indigenous people caused cultural and political collapse of the framework upon which the natives operated on. It weakened them and Europeans easily took over by establishing their way of life (Ayers, 34).

European inhabiting America altered the environment greatly. Their way of life was different from the natives. Hunting using guns coupled with the desire of the native Indian to own guns, made natural resources deplete at a faster rate (Berkin, et al., 78). For instance, popular birds such as beaver trim hats became very scarce as people used guns to hunt then down. The loss of the species came also with loss of the natural habitats. The beaver ponds had been home to fish as well source of drinking water for deer and other wild animals. European introduced other domestic animals such as pigs into America. Pigs got their food from forest and the grasslands. The introduced species increased competition for food with indigenous animals. This led to scarcity of food that native people depended on for their daily meals (Berkin, et al., 78).

European used privatized land which was in contrast with the understanding of native people. Natives believed that land was owned by all the people and should benefit the whole community. Natives who migrated seasonally to utilize natural resources of different lands found them limited (Berkin, et al., and 120).

Politically, the Europeans generated a lot of wealth form the colonies established in America (Ayers, 25). The wealth gave them access to power and influence. They used their power to establish a governing system over the natives. Furthermore power gave them control over resources that were once owned by the natives. In short, the Europeans expanded into America in search for natural resources. They established new social, religion and political systems within America. They established alternative shorter routes within America and used the routes foe exploitation (Ayers, 25).

Conclusion

It is not clear whether the expansion into America was justified but the expansion had both negative and positive effects on the native people. The European came into America to seek new land that would give them new opportunities and give them a chance to start life over again. They could exploit the new found land in any way they wanted. The raw material they harvested form America were imported back to their countries and brought in profits to the. These caused economic growth which attracted European into America. The European established new shorter routes that could be used to transport products faster through America. The native people adopted into the European’s way of a life .Europeans forced the Indians to assimilate their culture.

Works Cited

Ayers, Edward L. American Passages: A History of the United States. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

Berkin, Carol, Christopher L. Miller, Robert W. Cherny, and James L. Gormly. Making America: Billington, Ray A. American History before 1877. Totowa, N.J: Rowman & Allan held, 1984 A History of the United States. , 2014, Print.

Norton, Mary B. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2008, Print.

Labour Movements

Labour movements in the U.S were significant in addressing the challenges faced by employees in different working groups. For instance, blue collar workers were consequently represented by such movements, in the sense that the movements aimed at airing their grievances. The African Americans were usually discriminated hence they occupied most menial jobs, since they were considered as being less equal to the whites. They worked for long hours, but were paid low wages and they did not also have holidays and medical support. They worked every day but their earnings depended on the hours they worked. When someone fell sick, it was enough reason for the person to lose the job (Chapter 13).

Nevertheless, they came together and formed a movement in 1963, after Jones called for a strike which saw all the workers being laid off. This marked the beginning of labour movements, after an electric shock activate a garbage truck which crushed two men. The men did not have medical insurance, a factor which made it hard for them to receive any form of assistance. The African Americans therefore decided to come up with unions, which would be able to cater for the needs of the employees, hence acting as bargaining agencies (Chapter 13). Most blue collar workers joined labour unions since they were responsible for enabling them to air their grievances. Labour unions became more dominant, due to the way they were effective in demanding for good working conditions, high pay, and respect for all the employees. After a series of demonstrations, the government gave in to the grievances of the African American’s thus the unions were recognized and allowed to carry on with their activities.

Work Cited

Chapter 13. Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining.

Black Truth Manifest. I am a Man Dr Kin amp the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. Retrived from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbBETHRd6U

1a drobox corporate history

Dropbox is one of the first cloud file storage system. Its name is derived from the services it offers. It was first launched into the market as free product but additional features are available when one a consumer subscribes. Dropbox boasts of an estimated 300 million users. In 2014 it expanded its market share by catering for big corporate companies. In 2016 it diversified further by introducing the dropbox education service that would cater for colleges and universities. Consumers who have subscribed to dropbox have access to more than 1 terabyte storage space as well other additional special features such as sharing control and remote wipes. Dropbox has applications for computers such as Microsoft window, apple mac operating system and Linux .Mobile users who have android operating system and other systems also have access to it (Meister, Wong, 2017).

Dropbox operates by creating a folder on a user’s computer machine. The user’s personal content are then synched to drop box’s domain servers and to other devise which the consumer has installed dropbox application hence enabling personal files to be updated on all devices. Most users are offered with free space and account which has a specific amount of storage space (freemium business model).basic consumers receive 2 GB amount of space. (Meister, Wong, 2017).

Competition in the cloud storage industry is tough. Dropbox faces stiff competition from corporate giants lie Microsoft and Google. But drop box has been able to muscle its way up in the industry. The headquarters of dropbox is located in San Francisco. Paul Jun heads finance strategic department. He helps the company to adapt to the dynamic industry and to get the necessary tools for market evaluation purposes. (Meister, Wong, 2017).

Drop box was begun by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in the year, 2007.They studied computer science at Massachusetts institute of technology. The idea came about when Houston was on a distant trip and had a deadline to beat. He had forgotten his Usb and could not access the file. He teamed up with Arash and they began to work on the code that would birth dropbox. They were part of the group that was accepted into Silicon Valley startup, acceleratory Y combinatory .Dropbox was officially launched in 2008 at a function that hosts such innovations called techcrunch50.From then, its popularity has risen due to its combination of simplicity and offering free storage space. (Meister, Wong, 2017).

2a        Within the cloud storage industry, dropbox competes against firms like Microsoft and Google. They are the two main firms that have a lion’s share in the industry. (Meister, Wong, 2017).

2b In the software as a service (Saas) business model they compete against Atlassian and LinkedIn. (Meister, Wong, 2017).

2c In the windows devices cloud backup applications they compete against companies such as Microsoft office, Google drive, Google store, googles app engine. (Meister, Wong, 2017).

3g Global market for business=US$904million, dropbox market share is 24% of the global market share which is: 0.24*904million. $216,960,000 is the market share of dropbox (Meister &Wong, 2017).

4 Companies like dropbox provide freemiums services so that they may attract potential customers who can pay for subscription services they offer.  Freemiums can transform free customers to paying customers. The key objective of freemium is to give just the right amount of access to the service one offers so that it can develop enough interest for the consumer to start paying for the whole product. The interest is developed when the user has become so accustomed to the service and cannot stop using the product. This forces him or her to pay for extra services. Freemium also provides coverage of the product in the media. This enables the product to have a wider outreach (Meister & Wong, 2017).

5i         go- to -market usually describes how a company was able to market a product to its target consumers. It considers resources available such as price, distribution and capital needed for the work. In this case, due to dropbox customers’, who are varied in size that is from small companies to individuals, they needed to use the self-service, go- to-market strategy. The self service is in line with the company’s original model of changing free customers into paying customers i.e. Freemium. Personal users also have the option of using dropbox in their phones or computers and at the same time pay a subscription fee. Therefore, self-service go- to -market strategy has the capability of offering services to large companies and individual customers. The self-service go- to- market strategy is also cheap and simple for most customers. Self-service creates an easier way to rate a company and to get feedback directly from the consumers. Hence, one can know if its innovation is working or it is failing. Self-service often speeds up the branding process by making it simple and cutting out a lot of procedures that may interfere on the way (Meister & Wong, 2017).

Part two

According to the Wall Street article, ‘AT & T and the danger of vertical integration,’ I would block the acquisition of warner brothers by AT & T.  Because AT & T will gain the power of monopoly. Which means that it will exert immense control over the means of distribution and content ownership hence killing its competition. This will be a disadvantage to the consumers. This will also make it difficult to control and put constraints on the merger company (Stelzer, 2017).

Another danger posed when AT & T merge with warner brothers is the concentration of power. Already, this two companies have a lot of power and are also influential. Warner brothers owns Cnn, Hbo and other major companies. At & T owns direct TV Satellite Company. This two companies serve an estimated number of over 134million customers. This goes to demonstrate that the two companies should not join forces as it will give the companies too much power over TV and internet experiences and the merger will be able to eliminate any competition that competes with its content. They will make their channels more attractive and more available to consumers hence eliminating competition (Stelzer, 2017).

The new entity that will merge will not have any proper monitoring and assessment its activities. Combining the assets of AT &T and time warner’s content would lead to a strong incentive that would stifle its competitors from other willing content providers (Sullivan & Grimes, 2006).

The merger can be studied by looking into other similar cases. MA bell was vertically intergared.it had total control of the wires and the products that could be linked to the wires. Other independent competitor’s competitors who manufactured communication tools were affected naturally. The vertically integrated companies discouraged their consumers from using any wire not produced by their integrated partners. This example can also apply to the merger between at & t and warner brothers (Stelzer, 2017).

References

Meister, D &Wong, M. (2017). Dropbox Go-To-Market Sales Strategy. Ivey Publishing.

Stelzer, I. (2017).AT &T and the Danger of Vertical Integration. The Wall Street Journal.

Sullivan, L. A., & Grimes, W. S. (2006). The law of antitrust: An integrated handbook. St. Paul, Minn: Thomson/West.