The significance of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Essay Example for Free

The significance of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Essay The significance of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The class action Brown v. Board of Education is recognized as one of the greatest decision in the twentieth century by the Supreme Court. This court held unanimously that racial discrimination of kids in public schools desecrated the Equal protection clause in the constitution. Even though the decision was not successful in United States in completely desegregating public education, it incited the civil rights movement which was emerging into a popular revolution and also succeeded in putting constitution on the side of the racial equality. Many regions of United States had numerous segregated schools in 1954 and this was made legal in plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 where it was held that isolated public facilities were constitutional provided that white and black facilities were â€Å"equal† to each other. But, by mid-twentieth century the civil rights groups established political and legal challenges to racial discrimination. In early 1950’s some class lawsuits were initiated as a way of seeking court orders to oblige school districts to allow black students to attend white public schools. Brown v. Board of education case was one of the class actions which were initiated against the Topeka. In this case Brown argued that Topeka’s racial discrimination violated the clause of equal protection of United States constitution. This decision by the Supreme Court declared discrimination in the educational facilities was unconstitutional. Supreme Court through this decision ended the notion that â€Å"separa te† could be termed as being â€Å"equal† (Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html). How did the Tet Offensive change American public opinion about the war in Vietnam?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Tet offensive which was televised in the United States nightly surprised a lot of Americans who had the idea previously of United States easily taking care of the enemy. United States forces pushed the Vietnamese forces back where they eventually caused huge casualties on them however the effect of fighting on United States public opinion was very huge(Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/history/how-did-the-tet-offensive-affect-public-opinion-about-the-vietnam-war). Briefly describe the factors that brought an end to the Cold War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The cold war came to an end since a reformist faction of the communist party came to power in the USSR with Andropov, and then again with Gorbachev, since the old-guard, and just plain old, soviet leaders kept dying. Gorbachev from a younger generation had a much more critical attitude towards the UUSR and was much more educated, intelligent, worldly and open-minded than any other previous leader who is more than Reagan too. There was, however, one other group responsible for the end of the cold war: the individuals of the USSR and Eastern Europe who protests and organized at great personal risks. Their protests and Gorbachev’s acceptance of their roles brought about the end of the cold war not United States arms deployment which may have delayed the whole process (Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_events_started_and_ended_the_Cold_War?#slide=28). Briefly describe the reason the Clinton administration embraced NAFTA and the WTO and why the WTO was such a controversial organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clinton’s administration was aimed at curbing international and domestic terrorism. Clinton administration efforts were aimed at rewarding those who worked. WTO is a basic international body which is aimed at assisting in the free trade. Controversy has faced WTO where it has been hijacked through county interests therefore worsening the lot of poor, intense criticism and inviting protest (Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/42/the-wto-and-free-trade). References How did the Tet Offensive affect public opinion about the Vietnam War?. (n.d.). How did the Tet Offensive affect public opinion about the Vietnam War?. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/history/how-did-the-tet-offensive-affect-public-opinion-about-the-vietnam-war The WTO and Free Trade. (n.d.). Global Issues. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/42/the-wto-and-free-trade What events started and ended the Cold War?. (n.d.). WikiAnswers. Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_events_started_and_ended_the_Cold_War?#slide=28 supreme court. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html Source document

Female Protagonists Essay -- essays research papers

The desire for freedom is a similar aspect of the female protagonists Louise Mallard, Mathilde Loisel, and Emily Grierson.In Kate Chopin's, "The Story of an Hour," Guy DE Maupassant's, "The Necklace," and William Faulkner's, "A Rose for Emily," the female protagonist's have a desire for freedom. The stories are about three women living in patriarchal societies. Each character longs for freedom in a different way, but because of the men in their lives they are unable to make their own life decisions.In "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard is a repressed married woman that has a heart condition. The reaction to her husbands presumed death is a sign that she is unhappy. After hearing the tragic news she goes up stairs to her room and looks out an open window and notices "new spring life", "the delicious breath of rain", and "countless sparrows twittering in the eaves." As she looks out the window among the storm cl ouds, she stares at patches of blue sky. "It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought." Louise is not grieving over her dead husband or having negative thoughts about her future. She realizes that she will have freedom through her husbands death and whispers over and over, "free, free free!" Her unhappiness is not with her husband, it is with her ranking in society because she is a married woman. Becoming a widow is the only cha...

Dark Were The Tunnels Essay

A Change in Humanity George R. R. Martin’s short story, â€Å"Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels,† is one of the pieces included in John Joseph Adams compilation of apocalyptic short stories titled Wastelands: stories of the apocalypse. This story is not a traditional story of the apocalypse; it is not about humanity’s struggle to survive immediately after an apocalyptic event, in a changed environment. Nor is it a story about how humans are affected emotionally and struggle to live day to day. Instead this is a story about how humanity has already passed its struggle and has adapted to its new world so that people may easily live and build a civilization in their changed environment. Greel, the protagonist for the first half of this story, is a member of a portion of the human population that burrowed underground in order to escape the apocalyptic wasteland of the surface of the earth. There is, however, another group of humans who escaped to a place called Luna in order to survive the apo calypse. When two men from Luna venture in to the tunnels to look for any sign of survivors, they see Greel. The people of Luna are virtually unchanged by the apocalypse. However, the tunnel people have adapted to their new environment, with large photosensitive eyes, pale skin, long limbs and telepathic abilities. The explorers are shocked and disgusted by Greel’s appearance because he no longer looks like they do; in their eyes he is no longer a human being. â€Å"The creature in the pool of light was small, barely over four feet. Small and sickening. There was something vaguely manlike about it, but the proportions of the limbs were all wrong, and the hands and feet were grotesquely malformed. And the skin, the skin was a sickly, maggoty white.† (Adams 97). The theme of this story is the how differences between two groups of people can result in problems between the two groups. This story’s strengths are first that you get to see the same event from the point of view of two different characters. First you come to understand Greel, a member of the new underground species of humans; then you see the same events from the point of view of the people who escaped into space. This gives you an interesting understanding of how much humans have been changed by their apocalypse becoming he two types of humans are  now so different that they cannot communicate with each other. The second strength of the story is the way that Greel is introduced to the reader. If the story had started with a description of Greel than the reader might not have been able to sympathize with him. However by having his point of view first it makes the reader take Greels side and sympathize with him despite how he looks. The weakness of this story was that it di d not contain many background details. It did not explain how the humans who escaped the apocalypse by going into space managed to do this. Also the details that it did give about Greels civilization were confusing because they were not explained in detail, only talking briefly about fighting through the bad levels and climbing up through tunnels. However, a lack of detail is common in short stories because it is difficult to fit in a lot of background information while still keeping the story interesting and short. The importance of this story is that it shows the long-term effects of an apocalyptic event on humanity. Humans have been completely changed by an apocalyptic event, so much so that the people who did not experience this event are shocked and horrified by what the changed group of humanity has become. They no longer consider each other a part of the same species; they are now too different from each other. This is a unique story in the collection of apocalypse stories be cause it shows how a ‘normal person,’ someone unaffected by the apocalypse, reacts to a person who has been changed by the apocalypse. This story shows how the two types of people can no longer understand each other. â€Å"Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels† does not talk about the original struggles of the people who burrowed into the earth to escape the apocalypse, such as an inability to find food and the emotional impact of being trapped underground, instead it talks about how the people who have adapted to their new situation have created an entirely new civilization in their new environment. They are no longer the same group that fled underground; they have changed almost entirely. This is a story of these new people, people who were irrevocably changed by the apocalypse, meeting people who were not changed at all. The interaction between them does not end well for either party. They no longer speak the same language so they cannot communicate, they do not look the same physically, and both think that the other has a limited intelligence. The humans from Luna believe that Greel is stunted from his time undergr ound and Greel does not  understand why he cannot form a connection with the minds of the men from Luna, something that only happens with animals. Neither side understands the other and this results in Greel killing the humans from Luna because they killed his hunting rat, wrongly thinking that it was dangerous. Overall this story was a successful. It does belong in Wastelands because it tells the story of the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. It was made clear that there had been an apocalypse, saying that there had been a war; making the surface of the planet unlivable for a long time. This apocalypse is what led to the change in the human population that burrowed underground. The story is not a about the immediate effects of the apocalypse, it is a story about the aftereffects of an apocalypse. Work Cited Adams, John Joseph. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. San Francisco: Nightshade Book, 2008. Print.

The Macbeth Murders Essay - 641 Words

In the Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth, numerous murders take place. Throughout the play, the reader finds that each murder gets more and more evil, and more planned than the previous, thus leading to the downfall of Macbeth. The first murder to take place in Macbeth is the Thane of Cawdors. Duncan does not previously plan to kill the Thane, but with the information of the war given to him, he says, No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive/ our bosom interest: go, pronounce his present death, / and with his former title greet Macbeth (I, ii). Ross goes forth to carry the word that the Thane needs to be put to death. The Witches, to Macbeth, foretold this demise, but Macbeth thinks that it will not be possible, for the Thane is†¦show more content†¦This dread conducts Macbeth to map out the next assassinations. Macbeth converses with his comrade, Banquo, to inquire where he might be around the time he [Macbeth] is planning to slay Banquo and Fleance. Ride you this afternoon? As far, my lord, as will fill up time/ `twixt this and supper. Go not my horse the better... (III, i). Macbeth sends two murderers to slaughter the father and son as they are taking an evening ride. Banquo tells Fleance Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! (III, iii). This command makes Fleance flee, while his father lies dying. When Macbeth hears that Banquo is no longer in this realm, his heart leaps in his chest with gladness. But when he hears that Fleance has disappeared, his eyes glaze over with hate toward the murderers. His friend was killed, but not the heir to the thrown. This makes Macbeth turn sour and forces him to decide to be even more demon-like. The worst is yet to come... Macbeth decides to be a ruthless, heartless, wretched king than any other that has graced this earth. He decides that the best way to make a point that he will be king, and no one else, is to slaughter an entire family... the Macduff family. Macduff is away at war when he learns that his lady and children are brutally executed. His face drops in awe as he realizes who the hellcat is that killed them. The witches apparitions foretold to Macbeth: [first apparition]Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!Show MoreRelatedMacbeth Murder Essay720 Words   |  3 PagesIn Shakespeare’s Macbeth, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth contributed to the murder of King Duncan and the murders that follow. Macbeth is known for his bravery and courage as a soldier on the battlefield, and as a solider he is very familiar with killing people, which we later see throughout the play. This shows that Macbeth is solely responsible for the murders he commits throughout the play. Although, Macbeth may seem to tally responsible for these murders, other characters actions in the play includingRead MoreThe Murder of King Duncan in Macbeth1082 Words   |  5 PagesIn the play Macbeth we can argue that there are three possible choices for who is most responsible for the murder of King Duncan. The first choice is the witches. In the whole of the play they seem to embody evil and make a morally corrupt atmosphere. In Elizabethan times they were regarded as evil so these prophecies would be thought to be evil. Macbeth first meets them after the battle against the Norway and they predict that he will be Thane of Cawdor and then King. At first he can not believeRead MoreViolence and Murder in Macbeth by William Shakespeare868 Words   |  4 PagesShakespeare has delivered his plays in many different ways, and Macbeth is one that demonstrated violence and murder. 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