Elizabeth Johnson-Revisonist Method of Theology Essay

Elizabeth Johnson is perhaps one of the most preeminent Catholic theologians of the new millennium. The fact that she is a woman religious who writes from a feminist perspective adds to her unique and distinguished career. This paper will examine the revisionist method espoused by Elizabeth Johnson, in an effort to understand her approach to Christian feminism. An overview of revisionist methodology will be presented so as to understand the framework in which Johnson works. References to some of Johnson! s writings will then be presented in an effort to illustrate her revisionist method. Finally a survey of various critics will then be presented in an effort to determine what has made her method, approach and style groundbreaking in the area of feminist theology. In its simplest form, revisionist methodology involves looking back at one! s tradition in an effort to gain new insights into the situation at hand or to uncover what has been lost. In a more elaborate definition, David Tracey states that, †In its briefest expression, the revisionist model holds that a contemporary fundamental Christian theology can best be described as philosophical reflection upon meanings present in common human experience and language, and upon the meanings present in the Christian fact. †1 Tracy then outlines five theses that are intended to explicate this particular model: The first thesis defends the proposition that there are two sources for theology, common human experience and language, and Christian texts. The second thesis argues for the necessity of correlating the results of the investigations of these two sources. The third and fourth theses attempt to specify the most helpful methods of investigation employed for studying these two sources 1 David Tracy, Blessed Rage for Order: The New Pluralism in Theology (New York: The Seabury Press, 1975) 43. 1 (methods include phenomenology of religious dimension for human experience and language and historical and hermeneutical investigations for Christian texts). The fifth and final thesis further specifies the final mode of critical correlation of these investigations as an explicitly metaphysically and transcendental one. 2 If we apply the aforementioned description to our area of interest, then revisionist Christian feminism can be seen as seeking,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦to mutually and critically correlate the central and liberating themes of biblical and Christian tradition with the experience of women in the contemporary situation. 3 In one of her most noted works, She Who Is, Johnson captures the essence of her revisionist Christian feminism in the metaphor of a braided footbridge,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦between the ledges of classical and feminist Christian tradition. Throwing a hermeneutical span from side to side may enable some to cross over to the paradigm of women! s coequal humanity without leaving behind all the riches of the tradition that had been their intellectual and spiritual home. †4 It clear already from this brief introduction, that Johnson employs the revisionist model of theology. Tradition is key to anyone employing the revisionist model and Johnson is no exception to this. Tradition is important for Johnson, but not necessarily in the sense that one should mindlessly adhere to every aspect of what we inherit. On the other hand, we cannot put our heads the sand and deny the existence of tradition or avoid learning about it. We are all part of a tradition and it becomes part of our shared history and allows us ,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦to see far thanks to the stature of those who have handed on the 2 3 Tracy, Blessed Rage for Order: The New Pluralism in Theology , 43. Shannon Schrein, Quilting and Braiding: The Feminist Christologies of Sallie McFague and Elizabeth Johnson in Conversation (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998) 2. 4 Elizabeth Johnson, She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1992) 12. 2 tradition to us. †5 Johnson is respectful of tradition, with the understanding that it often needs to be analyzed to determine if is contributing to pain and suffering. In her book, Consider Jesus, the emphasis is not just on tradition, but on a â€Å"living tradition†.

The Bush Doctrine

President George W. Bush made known to the people all over the world the existence of his new National Security Strategy on September 2002. While the new scheme preserved a few components from past strategies, in many aspects it is a daring digression from previous U. S. policy. It clearly asserts that the United States is in an extremely distinctive spot of political and military ascendancy and that it possesses an ethical responsibility to utilize this power to institute an autonomous and noninterventionist world order.This new strategy maintains that the United States must set up and sustain a global military supremacy to achieve the kind of democratic and peaceful world it has visualized. According to this plan, its execution necessitates blocking, if necessary by force, any and all those who will challenge this notion of U. S. military dominance. As it is, terrorists and some states that are known to seek or actually possess weapons of mass destruction pose a colossal challenge to world stability.Fearing that the Cold War principles of deterrence and containment may be outdated or would no longer work, and that â€Å"if we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long,† Bush declared in the National Security Strategy a novel â€Å"preemption doctrine† to combat such threats (Speed & May, 2005, pp. 38-49). The Bush Doctrine This doctrine is a set of foreign policy courses of action initially disclosed by President Bush during his commencement speech addressed to the graduating class of West Point on June 1, 2002.When taken as a whole, these principles shaped a comprehensive and novel stage in US policy that stressed military pre-emption, military superiority (what has been known as strength beyond challenge) unilateral action and a dedication towards extending democracy, liberty and security to all regions. Such set of principles was made official in a document called The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, published on September 20, 2002.This doctrine provided the framework for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The term Bush Doctrine at first referred to the policy formulation stated immediately after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center assault that the United States would see no difference between terrorists who commit outrageous acts against property and humanity and those people who believe and protect these terrorists. During the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, this policy was stridently applied.Even though the Taliban-controlled government of Afghanistan volunteered to extradite al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden if concrete proofs were given that he was really responsible for the September 11 attacks and also offered to entrust bin Laden to Pakistan where he would be tried under Islamic law, their refusal to extradite him to the U. S. with no preconditions was considered justification for invasion. This principle then connotes that any country that would not ta ke a pro-active position against terrorism would automatically be seen as a country supporting it.In a televised speech to a session in Congress, President Bush recapitulated the doctrine with these very popular words – â€Å"Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. † Roots of the Doctrine History of the doctrine can be traced back to the Department of Defense when a draft version of the internal Defense Planning Guide principles prepared by Paul Wolfowitz came out, at that time then he was the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in 1992.As the guidelines were leaked to the press and consequently triggered bitter controversy, President Bush commanded it to be re-drafted which now became to be known as the Bush Doctrine. Debate over the Bush Doctrine In spite of the United States’ position as a world power, the ominous September 11 assault on the American people on American soil and Bushà ¢â‚¬â„¢s declaration of a GWOT depicted more than ever the necessity of taking a new perspective of its global security environment (Zelikow, 2003, p. 19).The Bush Doctrine progressed from a realist selective engagement scheme toward a plan of US supremacy with the motivation and enthusiasm to utilize pre-emptive military might in confronting threats essential to American national security (Dueck, 2004, pp. 523-532). Both liberal and conservative standpoints clashed. The Bush Doctrine instigated an ocean of censure, praises and its own set of disputes, deliberating on its legitimacy and strength as the appropriate strategy for America in the twenty first century.President Bush’s administration chose to take a position toward a NSS of Primacy, utilize preemptive military action to take care of national vital interests, and use a â€Å"coalition of the willing† when UN support was less than expected (Bush, 2002). So much disagreements and deliberations surface at home an d abroad after the release of the September 2002 NSS. The idea of United States dominance push people to be on two extreme sides – advocates strongly believe that the US is a principled and a respectable â€Å"knight in shining armor† and a genuine defender against anarchy and wickedness.Those who intensely oppose refer her as â€Å"the all powerful root of evil† (Foreign Policy, 2002). Very specifically, Bush Doctrine detractors see the use of â€Å"primacy† as an unwarranted speechifying and an unlawful rationalization to employ pre-emptive military strikes when the US conveniently opts for it (Ney, 2004, p. 10). It simply means that the doctrine’s antagonists view it as egotistical, over-belligerent and menacingly intimidating (Kagan, 2004, 65-72). â€Å"By the time the war actually began in March 2003, the Iraq crisis was no longer just the result of transatlantic differences, but a significant cause of them† (Gordon & Shapiro, 2004).â⠂¬Å"Critics point out that the practice of preemption is not new, however turning it into doctrine weakens international norms and encourages other countries to engage in risky actions. Similarly, they argue, American primacy is a fact, but there is no need for rhetoric that rubs other peoples’ faces in it† (Ney, 2004, p. 9). Criticisms Those who have been very cynical of the Bush Doctrine articulate that it is not a principle of pre-emptive war but preventive war. A pre-emptive war is one against an enemy preparing to strike right away. A preventive war is one against an enemy that will pose a danger in the future.Likewise, they consider it a huge problem if American preventive wars might motivate other countries to validate attacks on their enemies as â€Å"preemptive wars. † Apparently, the National Security Strategy warns other nations not to â€Å"use pre-emption as a pretext for aggression† and explains that the â€Å"reasons for [American] actions will be clear, the force measured, and the cause just. † However, critics argue that with this policy, it will be difficult for America to be successful in stopping other countries from using pre-emption to wage war.Another argument from detractors further insist that the doctrine implies that America will do what it chooses without respect and consideration for international organization agreements. This principle, according to them, emasculates the authority of the initiatives of these international groups to confront many global predicaments like slavery, drug-running and terrorism, concerns that are also important to the United States. In like manner, these opponents of the doctrine are fearsome that a willingness to use preemptive military force may turn this â€Å"last resort† scheme into a â€Å"first resort† instrument.By going it alone in the world, American power loses its authority and authenticity and the United States is seen as a tough tormentor and persecutor. Finally, say it isn’t realistic. These critics stressed the fact that it took democracy hundreds of years to set in, develop and become established in Western countries. Societies like Iraq, which have no democratic tradition, cannot be expected to right away form liberal institutions. It is also thought that the costs of nation-building will be outrageously overwhelming.And on the personal level, these opponents of the doctrine think that it is definitely shameful for the US to impose her way of life, most especially the capitalistic system, on other cultures. When is a First Strike Acceptable? For the sake of argument, one accepts to be true that some right of pre-emptive self-defense exist under international law, the next query is how far it can go. Experts on the subject claimed that even if there was a right of striking first, it could only exist when the country affected had no time to take the issue to the United Nations.Based on Article 51, it has been a rgued that â€Å"you have the right of self-defense until such time as the Security Council takes action. And therefore it’s implied that if you have the time to deliberate and to go to the Council before you take pre-emptive action, then you have to go to the Council. † In short, the Bush doctrine was and is obviously illegal. If one considers it closely, there was never an indication or suggestion that Iraq is going to launch an assault at the United States or that any of the countries that potentially fall within the scope of military action validated by the Bush doctrine are immediate threats.Clearly, the policy was aimed at â€Å"effectively closing down dangerous regimes before they become imminent threats† an act which represented a usurpation of the Security Council’s role in global affairs. In the specific case of the United States and Iraq, however, experts did not consider Iraqi actions to pose a grave threat to the United States to justify a p re-emptive attack. As an indication of what might indicate a sufficient threat, there should be evidence that the Iraqi leadership is in possession of some sort of weapon, plus a means to get it to the United States, plus actually intending imminently to do that but otherwise not.The Dangers of Unilateralism It has been asserted that it was intrinsically undesirable for the United States or any other country to take pre-emptive action unilaterally. The difficulty posited by anticipatory self-defense as that of finding a reasonable middle ground between the reductio ad absurdum of two extremes have been depicted, â€Å"If you insisted that a small country wait for a neighbor to attack it with nuclear weapons before responding†¦ everybody would just say the law is an ass.On the other hand, if you have a law which says that any country that feels threatened is free to attack any country from which it feels the threat is emanating, then you don’t have a law at all. † In the case of the United States and Iraq, it has been sketched out what a reasonable interpretation of the law would demand — that the US show other states (starting with the Security Council and NATO) evidence to suggest that Iraq is supporting the use of force by terrorist organizations against a member (or several members) of the United Nations.Without such evidence, â€Å"you probably shouldn’t do it, because everybody is going to assume that you’re acting for other motives. † That would destabilize the international system, because other countries would see the Bush doctrine as a potential threat to themselves. Extending this point to a general principle, analysts say that when there is a rule in international law that had to be interpreted reasonably, as with the right of self-defense, the process by which it was interpreted became more important than the substance of the rule itself.It could not simply be interpreted by a single country, with no a ttempt to persuade other countries of the necessity of its actions. If the process [of interpreting the rule] is an entirely unilateral one, in which the strong do as they will, and the weak have to accept it, then the world is back to the Peloponnesian wars, and certainly most countries would resist that. International Law and the Bush DoctrineAt home and abroad, the doctrine triggered so much alarm because it evidently ignores even the minor respect to international law and collaboration that exemplified Post-Second World War foreign policy until the Clinton administration. From now on, the U. S. might make use of the cover provided by UN resolutions and international coalitions for the sake of expediency, but Bush and his team were openly declaring that the world’s only superpower would do as it wanted without being bound in any serious way by the international community.Between September 11 and the public declaration of the Bush Doctrine, there were many manifestations of the administration’s sweeping condescension for international law. The bombing of civilian areas and the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan were all in direct violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims. Likewise, a blatant infringement of other Geneva Convention provisions is the imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, of aliens detained in the war on terrorism.More than six hundred detainees from more than forty nations are at present being held at Guantanamo. These foreigners are declared by the Bush administration to be â€Å"unlawful combatants† and not â€Å"prisoners of war† whose rights are suppose to be protected under the Geneva Conventions but as it is, these detainees have been prohibited from seeing family members or having access to lawyers. The list of incidents where the Bush administration has written off or repudiated support to various agreements with other powers is huge and far-reaching.One good way to recapitulate the approach the Bush administration is taking and its current line of thinking is to say that the U. S. is now organized, equipped and geared up to hold everyone in the world answerable under international law–except itself. Nowhere has this stance been more prominent than in the administration’s policy towards the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has been a major subject of international discussion and negotiation for years and was scheduled to come into existence on July 1, 2002.It will be made up of judges and a prosecutor chosen by the 66 nations that have ratified the 1998 Rome Statute of the ICC and will claim to have jurisdiction over the most heinous abuses resulting from international conflicts (Keach, 2003). Right or Wrong Strategy? Evidently, the Bush Doctrine is an exceedingly audacious plan. However, it is hideously inconsistent and faulty. Some of the flaws are: †¢ International support almost zero. These guidelines will b e confronted with a high degree of opposition from the global community which implies that it will also be the end of open cooperation to stop terrorists and all forms of terrorism.It cannot be denied that global unity and collaboration is a great necessity in order to effectively hunt terrorist leaders and bring them to justice. With the kind of opposition the US is getting and the type of psychological and emotional level the global community is in, that ability to obtain cooperation is in danger. †¢ There is too much to loose economically. Or a poetical way of saying it is – the war may have been won but along the way, peace is lost. Obviously, economics was behind the the West’s great triumph during the Cold War.The US’s consecutive principles of containment permitted wealth and success in the face of peril. It is common knowledge that the US’s high technology and affluence facilitated her to obtain increasing levels of superiority over the USSR. With the Bush Doctrine, the threat of ‘hot’ wars with small nations of insignificant power over a long period of time has and will persist to gravely damage the United States and global economies. Economic catastrophe can and will create problems in states the US formerly had no reason to be afraid of.†¢ US military cannot fight and win clean victories against these opponents. As the Russians found out in Grozny, urban warfare is not even remotely similar to the clean open air victory we fought in the first gulf war. Further, the other foes we may fight are much more difficult, particularly N. Korea. The collateral damage in that situation would likely be massive. Conclusion The Bush administration's language of preemptive strikes, regime change, and anticipatory self-defense, simply present euphemisms for raw military aggression and belligerence.Critics claimed the new â€Å"strike first, ask questions later policy,† and hostile unilateralism are hazardous legitimating of preemptive strikes. Israel, Pakistan, Russia, China, and smaller powers had already made use of the so-called Bush doctrine and â€Å"war against terrorism† to legitimize assaults on domestic and external enemies and there were big possibilities that it could escalate into bigger conflicts that will definitely make the world an extremely volatile and vicious place to live in.â€Å"A global strategy based on the new Bush doctrine of preemption means the end of the system of international institutions, laws and norms that we have worked to build for more than half a century. What is at stake is nothing less than a fundamental shift in America's place in the world. Rather than continuing to serve as first among equals in the postwar international system, the United States would act as a law unto itself, creating new rules of international engagement without the consent of other nations. In my judgment, this new stance would ill serve the long-term interests of the United States† (Galston, 2002).In the book Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Future of Good Intentions, Clyde Prestowitz (2003) asserts that Bush’s doctrine of preemptive strikes and military supremacy emasculates three primary towers of strength as far as international order and stability are concerned – 1) the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia which recognized and established a principle of respect for national SV and noninterference in the affairs of other countries; 2) the UN Charter that disallows the threat or use of military force except in self-defense or under the authority of a UN Security Council mandates; and the 3) Nuremberg Trails which considered preemptive strikes a war crime. In addition, this doctrine of preemptive strikes could give free rein to a sequence of terrible wars that could thrust this planet into a dreadful and nightmarish militarism and totalitarianism vividly depicted in George Orwell’s 1984. The Bush principle is an extremely barbaric policy, bringing the international community to a social Darwinist battleground where years and years of international law and military discretion were set aside in possibly the most perilous foreign policy doctrine that had ever surfaced in American history.It foretells a militarist future and a period of eternal war in which a new militarism could create a succession of interminable bloodshed and reprisals, such as the case in the Palestine-Israel conflict (Vidal & Gore, 2002 / 2003). References/Readings Bush, G. W. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America Washington, D. C. : The White House, 17 September 2002 Zelikow, P. 2003. â€Å"The Transformation of National Security. † The National Interest. Vol. 71 p. 19. Dueck, C. 2004. â€Å"Ideas and Alternative in American Grand Strategy, 2000-2004,† Review of International Studies. vol. 30, pp. 511, 523-532. . Ney, J. S. 2004. â€Å"US Primacy Is Fact-So, Now, Work on Soft Power of Persuasion. † Christian Science Monitor. p. 10. Speed, R. & May, M. 2005. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 38-49 Kagan, R. 2004.â€Å"America’s Crisis of Legitimacy. † Foreign Affairs, vol. 83, II, pp. 65-72. Gordon, P. & Shapiro, J. 2004. Allies at War America Europe and the Crisis Over Iraq. New York: McGraw-Hill Smith, J. W. 2003. World wars: Battles over who decides the rules of unequal trade, economic democracy: The political struggle for the 21st Century. 3rd Edition Whittaker, D. 2003. The terrorism reader. London; New York: Routledge Bush, G. W. 2002. â€Å"Graduation Speech at West Point†, the White House, 1 June, http://www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020601-3. html Keach, B. 2003. â€Å"International Law: Illusion and Reality. † International Socialist Review, vol. 27

Problematizing Feminsim: An Article Critique Essay

A thorough examination of Shefali Desai’s article clearly shows the major issues that are confronted by the feminist movement. Desai carefully examined the underlying ideological tenets, as well as the corresponding political, social and cultural differences that seem to create a wide gap among many feminist activists. This is most especially true in cases that specifically focus on the recognition of women’s rights and at the same time, taking into full consideration the respective cultural and social arenas in which oppression and repression take place. Clearly, under this context, Desai attempts to formulate a concrete and feasible solution on how to resolve the tensions and disparities, which are often experienced and reflected in feminism’s multicultural approach. To further illustrate the author’s contentions and arguments, Desai offered a substantial distinction about the glaring differences between the methods and approaches that are deployed by universalists and cultural relativists (5). As universalism implies, Desai expounded that this particular approach upholds the belief that the idea of human rights can be understood within a single vantage point (5). Consequently, cultural relativism espouses that human rights should be contextualized from different angles that subsequently acknowledge a range of external factors (Desai 5). The political, social and more importantly, cultural factors, thus affect the individual’s scope of reality. In this aspect, arguing for a universal approach is no less than a subtle assertion of power legitimacy and to a certain extent, subordination. Desai, then linked these scenarios to the recognition of women’s rights in non-Western setting, such as the Taliban society (7). Via exerting a conscious effort to trace the historical narrative of the Taliban government, Desai narrated how a series of wars and intercultural differences have affected the women of Afghanistan (7). But with Taliban’s rise and its strict imposition of Islamic Law, is perceived by many as far more repressive, patriarchal and detrimental to Afghan women (Desai 7). This is despite of the fact that several members of the community have seen the Taliban approach as yet another way of safeguarding not only their women, but also their cultural practices (Desai 11). This particular situation has led Desai to question the seemingly monolithic and (apathetic) contentions of both universalists and cultural relativists women advocates. Critically speaking, far more than acknowledging human rights, it can be argued that Desai was also concerned on a pragmatic application of â€Å"multicultural feminism (Worell 432)†. The Taliban case, far more than anything else raises the question of whose feminism is involved, most especially in scenarios that revolved around women oppression and identity construction. For those who do not have a direct experience of oppression, universalism and feminism can be easily combined. However, it cannot be denied that individual differences and cultural and individualistic considerations may divide feminist movements from across the globe. Thus, via providing clear definitions and comprehensive distinctions of how womanhood is experienced and understood in various social settings, Desai’s work remarkably eliminates the possibility of Western feminist hegemony. Consequently, by being open to the respective cultural constraints of women in highly marginalized regions, the article remains free from the biases of relativism and still offers a highly pragmatic approach. The example that Desai used added to the author’s credibility since it successfully illustrated the concrete shortcomings of two divergent perspectives that exceed the theoretical or hypothetical assumptions. Evidently, the remaining parts of Desai’s discussion presented different way of )dealing with feminism and human rights recognition. Desai called for a much more holistic and collective approach via formulating legal protocols that duly recognize human rights with great sensitivity. Yes, Desai’s work calls for sensitivity, in the sense that feminists must also pay attention to the individualistic needs of many women. In this manner, highly customized and appropriate solutions can be enacted. Oftentimes, women-related problems become worse, not only because of the lack of direct action, but also due to the excessive politics that exist among feminists and even legal experts. As Desai stressed, feminism cannot possible produce good results if the idea of â€Å"multiplicity† is taken for granted (17). Here, it can be seen that Desai actually looks for parallelism rather than an abrupt intersection of opposing views and ideologies. The strengths of universalism and cultural relativism are combined to overcome its respective weaknesses. In this aspect, biases and politicking shall be lessened and feminism now transforms into an efficient and pragmatic solution. Works Cited Desai, Shefali. â€Å"Hearing Afghan’s Women’s Voices: Feminist Theory’s Re- Conceptualization of Women’s Human Rights. † Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. 16. 805 (1999): 1-17 Worell, Judith. Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and the Impact of Society on Gender. California: Academic Press

Childhood obesity assoicated with soical disadvantage of school age Research Paper

Childhood obesity assoicated with soical disadvantage of school age children - Research Paper Example Generally speaking, an obese person is considered to be any individual who carries more body fat than is considered healthy for their specific gender, height, age and gender. Although obesity is typically only thought of as an adult problem, children are even more at risk. While other conditions may be easier to hide under clothing or to mask in other ways, obesity cannot be hidden under clothing and often leads to children being teased or becoming the recipient of cruel jokes perpetrated on them by their misunderstanding classmates. The negative looks and disapproving stares from other children and adults greet them each time they meet the next set of eyes. This often unconscious reaction on the part of others can contribute to severe psychological damage that lasts a lifetime. Even when the weight is defeated, these emotional scars can significantly impact the individual’s ability to achieve the kind of happiness and fulfillment that should be everyone’s right. The ph ysical ramifications of obesity are also unacceptably great. It is a well-known fact that obesity can dramatically lower life expectancy regardless of age. With obesity now recognized as being at epidemic proportions, it is of utmost importance to identify the most prevalent causes of obesity and the most effective means of treating it to help school-age children overcome some of the social disadvantages of being overweight. One of the most troubling aspects of obesity is its close connection with at least 30 adverse health conditions and innumerable psychological ramifications. Increasingly younger people are beginning to experience arthritis of the knees, back, hips and hands as a result of the long-term abuse their systems must endure. The risk of breast cancer is doubled for obese people as compared to those who maintain a relatively stable

Issues that affect human rights of a group of Indigenous people Essay

Issues that affect human rights of a group of Indigenous people - Essay Example The position, land and demographics of any particular state decide the spectrum of rights for the people of that particular region (Council of Europe, 2011). From past studies, it can be said that human rights are those associated with people living in a cross-cultural or multi-cultural spectrum. A cross cultural spectrum is the one which could comprise people of different identities like indigenous people. Category of indigenous people is one major category within a multi-cultural system, in which human rights fall at the highest human distinction (An-Na'im, 1995). Talking about Australia, a country of 22 million human population holds a diversified multi cultural system. People who belong to different cultures, casts or identities reside in such cross-cultural country. There are partially several indigenous groups that dwell in different districts of the country. Human rights of indigenous people in Australia are always under the question. This is because of avoidance and negligenc e given by the government officials in the indigenous section. Concerning Australia, there are mainly two indigenous communities (aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) which are always on the discussion (Kinley, 1998). This is because of their consistent proclaims that government ignores their fundamental native rights in the region (Eniar, 1999). From historical evidences, it can be said that indigenous Australians are truly identical to the continent, as they fall in the geography since 40,000 years ago. Due to a couple of reasons the native Australians often fall behind the human rights appearance, as majority claims them to be a minority within the region. There are couples of issues that relate to native Australians, which would be part of the discussion of this study. Here is a brief introduction of two major communities who became the victims of human right violence in the country: Aboriginals Aboriginal is a name used for native Australians. The word became popular for indi genous Australians who migrated from Southern routes of India to nearby islands of the country. Aboriginals migrated to Australia 50,000 years ago, a time when their forefathers adjusted them to different regions of the continent. For such reason, aboriginals are truly to be called Australians holding original identification and by birth distinction of the place. Their presence can also be found on parallel geographies of the country like in Tasmania or in other adjacent islands (Aboriginal affairs, 2003). Aboriginals face a lot of problems in the continent in which the major problems are about the deprivation of land, social injustice, minority treatment or cultural discrimination. Since the last couple of decades their problems have been increased instead of decreasing which is because of big racist presence within the country region (Aboriginal affairs, 2003). Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islander is another big indigenous community which resides in the northern side of the state of Queensland. Natively they belong to Torres Strait Islands which are places of their ancestors’ origination. It was 40,000 years ago when Torres Strait Indigenous arrived at the continent. It was their expected best place of reside, holding a natural identify of their forefathers’ attribution (Heritage Division, 2010). Torres Strait Islanders are natively true Australians, which according to racist’s communities is not a sufficient factor that can give them their

PBL2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PBL2 - Essay Example The ischemic necrosis of kidneys gradually heals by undergoing progressive fibrous scarring (Alpers, pg. 1012). Destruction of extracellular matrix occurs. The regenerative capacity of renal tissue is maximal in cortical tubules, less in medullary tubules, and nonexistent in glomeruli. Hence this is the correct answer. B: Granuloma formation: Granulomas are formed following chronic inflammation and are encountered in some immunological mediated reactions, infections and some non-infections conditions. Some of the common conditions in which granulomatous inflammation occurs are tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, cat-scratch disease, leprosy and syphilis. The granuloma consists macrophages mainly (Kumar, pg.83-84). Hence this is not the correct answer. C: Liquefaction: Liquefaction or liquefactive necrosis is a condition in which the affected cell is completely digested due to powerful hydrolytic enzymes. It usually occurs in fungal and bacterial infections and causes formation of abscess. Also, ischemic injury in brain causes liquefaction (Mitchell, 138). Hence this is not the correct answer. D: Metastatic calcification: Deposition of calcium salts in otherwise normal tissue is known as metastatic calcification. It occurs due to elevated calcium levels. It is commonly seen in the kidneys and lungs. Hence this is not the correct answer. A 25 year old-woman sustains a deep laceration over the right forearm in a motorcycle accident. The wound is cleaned and sutured. During the next 3 months, the wound heals with formation of a linear scar. Which of the following nutritional factors is required for proper collagen assembly in the scar tissue of the patient? A. Folic acid: Folate, the useful form of folic acid is an essential nutrient for the production and maintenance of new cells because it is needed for the replication of DNA. It is not useful for collagen production. Hence this is not the correct

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra - Movie Review Example According to the reactions of many students who were in attendance, the likes overweighed the dislikes apart from the fact that dressing or costumes went a little bit too far and many were not comfortable with them. The fact that this was just one dislike, the likes included the best voices in the world this time witnessed in live performance, great styles on stage and most of all what seemed like the best organization and coordination among the artists who were present. This automatically influenced many students develop the desire to attend another concert in the future. In Opera context, there was a similarity between Don Giovanni-Mozart Madam Butterfly-Puccini because they all acted and appeared in theatre scenes in the same year. In all their acting, they seem to believe in fallacy making it a similarity amongst all of them. Don who featured as the daughter of the regiment from2000 to 2001, Puccini who featured as the girl of the golden west in the same year and Manama Butterfly in 2002 as well as Mozart who featured in the marriage of Figaro, all highly advocate fallacy for they say a fallacy is an informal notion or logic of thought. It is normally due to a misconception or false assumption (Ellen, 202). Normally, all of them direct it towards any other reason other than the true conception of truth. This form of reasoning is used to win arguments. There are many forms of trying to go about this form of reasoning in arguments relating to the question that the first paragraph intended to answer. In order to have a critical and analytical understanding of jazz composers, one should be familiar with the basic common errors of reasoning in order to have a concise form of logical argument (Ellen, 202). Answering the question of my thoughts on the plot of each opera, which many people have not been able to answer since 1960, every Opera production in the United States of America supports performance and creation of new works by American composers especially th ose from the northern side. OPERA America’s online education core, which is the learning centre, features information, which not only focuses on frequent operas but also houses an inventory that has proven to grow of composers from north America as well as their operas for use by opera lovers, artists and administrators (mark, 12). Therefore, the concert finds synopses, biographies of librettists and composers, historical essays and other research as well as other multimedia excerpts. Jazz composers for example, which happens to be the genre subject in this paper, started way back in the 1960’s and up to date the composers still rely on Opera for research work. In the Opera, there is the voice workshop and the composers’ series, which is a competitive biannual fellowship, offered to composers especially those of jazz and composer/librettist teams (Mark, 212). The composers in subject do not relate to modern social issue because the notion behind fallacies as out lined by major philosophers asserts that in order to be a rational thinkers and composers, then one should avoid the illogicality in fallacies and carry out an examination to gauge one’s level of thinking. While composing, development for Rational Persons involves Viewing Development in Stages; the composer tries to explain the basic concepts that would help in becoming a rational jazz composer. Librettists like mark Campbell places in the mind of the audience stages of evaluation through which one can become a more rational thinker (Mark, 202). Other noticeable aspects include I. Non sequitur as the form of thinking where the

Unit 5 Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 5 Discussion - Research Paper Example Karsh and Fox (2009) further denote that another important rule is to provide a justified and a valid budget for the implementation of the program under consideration. Issuing out a realistic budget will help the organization to know how much money the grant seeker needs, and how the grant seeker will use this money for purposes of achieving the objectives of the organization under consideration. It is important to denote that the grant seeker is looking for money, and failure to provide his or her budget might making the reviewing panel to consider the grant seeker as a person who is not serious (Raymond, 2004). The message sent is that the grant seeker is not aware of how much he or she needs, and thus, chances are high that his or her application will be rejected. Karsh and Fox (2009) further denote that a grant seeker must give out detailed information on why it is important to fund the program under consideration, and why he or she is the most capable person to get the funds and use it for solving the problem under consideration. Under this section, the grant seeker must try to convince the reviewing panel that he or she has the necessary skill and expertise to carry out the job under consideration (Raymond, 2004). In using these three rules in writing a proposal, the first step will be to identify the mission and vision of my organization. After identification, the next step will be to look for an organization that specifically funds the activities that my organization will engage in. After the identification of the organization under consideration, there will be a need of carrying out a research on how much this organization gives as grants (Zunz, 2012). This will help in developing a budget that does not surpass the amount of money that this organization normally gives out as grants. My budget must also be reasonable, factoring in all the necessary expenses and costs needed to achieve my organizations objectives and

The Black and Decker Corporation Case Study Essay

The Black and Decker Corporation Case Study - Essay Example Case Study Synopsis A. Company Overview; Dissecting the Case The Black & Decker Corporation is an American firm that manufactures and markets power tools, power accessories, fastening systems, products for home improvements, and hardware. It manufactures its products in eleven countries spread worldwide, and markets those in a hundred plus countries. Its biggest markets are the United States, which accounted for 55 percent of all revenues in 2008, and Europe, for 25 percent in the same year. 2008 revenues were US 6.086 billion dollars, while gross margins were 32.8 percent for that year. By product group contribution, power tools contributed 73 percent of all revenues in 2008, at US 4.3 billion dollars, followed by hardware and products for the improvement of the home, at US 900 million dollars, making up 15 percent of all revenues. The balance was made up for by revenues from fastening systems, which was the smallest product group by revenue for that year, accounting for 12 percent of all sales, valued at US 700 million dollars (Black and Decker, n.d., pp. 1-14). By way of a look forward, by 2012 the Black & Decker Corporation had ceased to be an independent firm, having been bought out by Stanley Works in 2010, so that the merged entity had come to be known as Stanley Black & Decker Inc.(Google Finance, 2012; Stanley Black & Decker Inc., 2012; Black and Decker, n.d.; Reuters, 2012 (b)). ... The hypothesis is that the traditional market strengths of the original Black & Decker Company had something to do with this share price appreciation(Reuters, 2012; Google Finance, 2012; Reuters, 2012 (b)): Image Source: Google Finance, 2012 B. Business Groups and Market Segments Three product groups serve as the organizing principle of the organization. These product groups are, as already mentioned earlier, power tools, product for home improvement and hardware, and fastening systems. Of the three, as has been noted earlier, power tools make up the bulk of the revenues (73 percent), followed by home improvement at 15 percent, and fastening systems at 12 percent of all revenues. Absolute profits rankings are the same, with power tools contributing the most to profits, followed in the same order by the two other product groups (Black & Decker, n.d., pp. 1-14). Three different market segments for the power tools product group, the largest product group, have differing characteristics, defined along customer type. As discussed earlier, these are industrial users, general consumers, and professionals. Of the three, the company has had success with industrial users and general consumers, while as noted earlier, prior to the launch of the DeWalt brand, the corporation had suffered anemic following among professionals, owing to the market perception that the company's products were inferior (Black & Decker, n.d., pp 3-5). Moreover, the three market segments also differ in some other profound ways. Industrial users are the most demanding, requiring that products show resistance to wear and resilience, even as the rewards include long-lasting relationships with buyers, and large and frequent orders. Professionals, using the products as essential trade tools,

The Stages of Consumer Buying Decision Process Essay Example for Free

The Stages of Consumer Buying Decision Process Essay A purchaser buy a product or service for the first time. The greater cost or risk, the larger the number of participants and the greater their information gathering. New task buying is the marketer greatest opportunity and challenge. The process passes through several stages. They are: 1. Awareness 2. Interest 3. Evaluation 4. Trial 5. Adoption Systems Buying and Selling Many business buyers prefer to buy a total solution to a problem from one seller. System buying – The practice that originated with government purchases of major weapons and communication systems. The contractor who has awarded the contract would be responsible for bidding out and assembling the system subcomponents from second tier contractor. This is the prime contractor provides a turnkey solution. System Contracting – A single supplier provides the buyer with all required MRO supplies (maintenance, repair, and operating supplies). During the contract period, the suppliers managed the customer inventory. System selling is a key industrial marketing strategy in bidding to build large scale industrial project, such as dams, steel factories, irrigation systems, pipelines utilities, and even new towns. Participants in the Business Buying Process Purchasing agents are influential in straight rebuy and modified rebuy situations whereas other department personel are more influential in new-buy situations. The Buying Center 1. Initiators Users or others in the organization who request that something be purchased 2. Users Those who will use the product or service. In many cases, the users initiate the buying proposal and help define the product requirement. 3. Influencers People who influence the buying decisions, often by helping define specifications and providing information for evaluating alternatives. Technical personel are particularly important influencers. 4. Deciders People who decide on product requirement or on suppliers 5. Approvers People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders or buyers 6. Buyers People who have formal authority to select the suppliers and arrange the purchase terms. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but they play their major role in selecting vendors and negotiating. In more complex purchases, buyers may include high-level managers 7. Gatekeepers People who have the power to prevent seller or informations from reaching members of the buying center. For example, purchasing agents, receptionist, and telephone operators may prevent salespersons from contacting user or deciders. Buying Center Targeting To target their efforts properly, business marketers need to figure out: Who are the major decision participant? What decisions do they influence? What is their level of influence? What evaluation criteria do they use? The business marketers is not likely to know exactly what kind of group dynamic take place during the decision process, although whatever information he can obtain about personalities and interpersonal factors are useful. Stages in the Buying Process 1. Problem Recognation The buying process begins when someone in the company recognizes a problems or need that can be met by acquiring a good or service. The recognation can be triggered by internal and external stimuli. Internal stimuli might be that the company decides to develop a new product and needs new equipment and materials or a machine breaks down and requires new parts. Externally, the buyer may get new ideas at a trade show, see and ad, or receive a call from a sales representative who offers a better product or a lower price. 2. General Need Description and Product Specification The buyer determines the needed item’s general characteristics and required quantity. The buyer will work with others engineers, users, to define characteristics such as reliability, durability, or price. Business marketers can help by describing how their products meet or even exceed the buyer needs. The buying organization now develops the item’s technical specification. Often, the company will assign a product value analysis engineering team to the project. Product value Analysis (PVA) is an approach to cost reduction that studies component to determine whether they can be redesigned or standardized or made by the cheaper methods of production. The PVA team will identify overdesigned components, for instance that last longer for the product itself.

Case Study: Audit Processes of a Computer Company

Case Study: Audit Processes of a Computer Company Introduction Internal auditing is a consulting activity on a company that is independent. It aims at helping a company/ form evaluate its managerial system, identify issues in the firm and control the process of governance. Therefore an internal audit helps in supporting the board in their duties of completing important businesses in the company. The main issues faced by the auditor is whether research and development costs expensed in establishing technological feasibility were properly expensed or capitalized when appropriate. A good audit plan when implemented improves business performances and increases sales in a company. Definitions An internal audit is a tool used in firms to evaluate how effective its management system is and its quality. An internal auditor is any person who is qualified enough to have a responsibility of performing the audit process Nonconformance is the situation where the practice of a company is in disagreement with the standard practices KCN Analysis of the Audit Strategies Section Purpose Audit Strategy OBJECTIVES OF THE ENGAGEMENT This lists the services to be provided by the audit firm to KCN. The aim of this process is to define Keyton Computers Networks Inks internal audit for the purpose of evaluating the companys effectiveness.This is the audit of KCNs financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, and the issuance of a letter of engagement. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY CONDITIONS To evaluate KCNs business and the industry it operates in KCN sells and services micro-computers, networking hardware and software to different businesses. PLANNING MEETINGS Shows the meetings that have been made with the clients and CPA team One meeting so far held with client and one with engagement team OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Shows/ indicates who owns and manages the company. Owners: Terry Keystone, Mark Keystone, John Keystone, Keith Young, and Rita Young. Managers: Terry and Mark Keystone OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES AND BUSINESS RISKS This establishes clients goals, how they planned to achieve it, and the commensurate risks, and how they planned to overcome these risks. The main aim is to increase revenues 110% and increase net income to112% for each of the next 3 years.   To achieve this there will be need to: (1) advertise aggressively, sell to customers with higher risk profiles, and to develop new software.    The primary risks involved are not being able to produce the desired results and exceeding increased sales with credit losses. Another possible risk is not producing products in the software development. MEASUREMENT AND REVIEW OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE These are the ways used for performance evaluation. The procedures include inventory and receivables turnover, aging of accounts receivable, and the total inventory balance. PROCEDURES TO ATTAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF CLIENT AND CLIENTS OPERATING ENVIRONMENT This tells the procedures to be done so the auditors can understand the client and the clients environment. For this audit strategy, the auditor needs to 1) review the prior years audit, 2) make inquiries from management, 3) analyze KCNs minutes of its board of directors meetings, 4) evaluate performance reports, 5) analyze company website, 6) appraise industry reports, and 7) assess business newspapers including the Wall Street Journal. AUDIT APPROACH This defines the general plan to be taken. Just like last years audit, the accountants assigned to KCNs audit have to make a plan about the companys tests of controls to gauge whether its control risks are below the maximum for the identified assertions. SIGNIFICANT RISKS Primary risks identified by the auditors. The primary risks involved are not being able to produce the desired results and exceeding increased sales with credit losses. Another possible risk is not producing products in the software development, and analysis of the quarterly results showed significant bonuses awarded to officers. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING MATTERS This are matters of concern in accounting and auditing Two primary concerns exist: whether accounting for extended warranties is done properly and cost of software. PLANNING MATERIALITY The auditor computes the materiality threshold. Review of sales, total assets, and pretax net income, to plan for materiality, $70,000 was established as the measure. SCHEDULING AND STAFFING PLAN This is the audits schedule. It also identifies the human resources assigned to the engagement. This includes the target dates for each major section of the audit starting from the interim audit work up to the updating of the management letter.The firm budgeted 118 hours for the engagement. KCN Risks RiskImplications and Response The primary risks involved are not being able to produce the desired results and exceeding increased sales with credit lossesthrough the extension of credits to high risk customers This increases the risk of bad debt expense misstatement and the corresponding allowance. The auditors can revise their estimates on the value of an account, and ignore the procedures previously done. Bonuses for the clients officers There could be an increase in the risk of quarterly results misstatement to extract the maximum bonus for officers.Also this motivates the officers to work more for more bonuses. The auditors may respond by reducing the number of the staff as long as they can handle their duties, to reduce number of people receiving bonuses. KCN Capitalization of Software Development Costs For KCN, the auditor has to determine whether research and development costs including those expended to establish technological feasibility have been properly booked as expenses or capitalized wherever appropriate.The audit firm will then identify the point of feasibility for the software product.The primary risks involved are not being able to produce the desired results and exceeding increased sales with credit losses by selling to high risk customers. The implication of this factor is that it creates a chance for misstatement of bad debt expense and the allowance for bad debts. Moreover, auditors will either increase or decrease their evaluation of the worthiness of the accounts receivable and avoid relying on previously done procedures. KCN Ratio Analysis Keystone Computers Networks, Inc. Analytical Review of Financial Ratios For the Period Ended December 31, 20X5 Details of Computations of 2005 ratios Ratio analysis may be difficult when there are no major changes in ratios.   However, the following might be considered: Number of Sales in Accounts per day Changes in credit policy and customer mix Improved economic conditions Exaggerations of sales Understatement of purchases Turnover of Inventory Change in the policy of the inventory exaggeration of inventory Understatement of the commodities bought by the company As KCN competes with companies that are much larger than itself and some even older in the computer and software business, the economic pressure is a lot. Whether bor not the company succeeds depends on how it handles the competition, for example, being able to attain and maintain a qualified market. This may increase its growth in the software sector by up to 6%. Conclusion The audit process is an important part of a company. Using the ratios and factors above, the Keyton company auditing process was carried out.   The increased profitability level resulted to a number of ratios with significant changes.As mentioned in the first part of this discussion paper, the auditor needs to determine whether research and development costs are properly expenses or capitalized when appropriate. The auditors determined that accounting for research and development was followed and all it needs to do is to identify when the software product became technologically feasible. As stated above, implementing these policies from the auditors reports will increase the sales for example, up to 6% in software alone. This supports our thesis statement. References Chesler, L. (1981). Baseline audit plan. Santa Monica, Calif. Kagermann, H. (2008). Internal audit handbook: Management with the SAP-Audit Roadmap. Berlin: Springer. Pickett, K. H. S. (2006). Audit planning: A risk-based approach. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Why did the Compromise Fall in 1860? Why did the Compromise Fall in 1860? During the beginning of the nineteenth century, the relationship between North and South deteriorated over the issue of territorial expansion. In 1850, the issue of slavery was slowly dividing the North and South sections of the United States; both factions were of similar origins and had a myriad of common bonds. Frantic efforts at compromise were launched such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and The Missouri Compromise of 1820. However, the sectional rift only increased with the Brooks-Sumner incident and any chances of compromise were terminated with the Supreme Court decision of the Dred Scott case in 1859. The two powerful parties of the Second American Party System, the Democrats and the Whigs, were dumbfounded and could not find a solution to the slave question, which ultimately lead to their destruction. From their remains rose two new political parties, the Republican Party and a southern party devoted to the defense of slavery. Their battle in the election of 1860 would decide the future and fate of the United States. By 1860 all attempts at compromise had failed, and within a year the nation was in the midst of a bloody Civil War that would cost over 600,000 American lives and divided many families in the process. The types of economies that developed in the three regions of the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century had a powerful impact on political goals and decisions. The South grew important cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, sugar, and rice. The North was far more industrialized than the South or even the West, having shifted from mercantile capitalism. At the same time the West shifted from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture and produced more foodstuffs, such as corn and wheat, than the other two regions. The North came to rely more and more on western foodstuffs and in return, westerners became consumers of northern industrial and commercial products. By the 1850s the North and West were economically joined, and the Norths economy was rapidly evolving into a modern-day industrial and commercial system. In the South, cash crops such as rice and tobacco were grown extensively. Yet no commodity was more important to the South than cotton. One southern politi cal leader was so certain that the rest of the nation depended on the Souths cotton production that he declared, Cotton is King! Cotton was one of the most important commodities in the world in the nineteenth century; many factories in the Northern states as well as European countries such as Great Britain and France needed cotton for their important and prosperous textile industries. Yet this was all done on the backs of abused slaves who worked tirelessly night and day to pick the cotton of their masters plantations. In the early 1800s Northerners were content to allow slavery to reside in Southern states. Only when Southern leaders sought to expand slavery did many Northerners become concerned. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an attempt to maintain the balance in the Senate between slave and Free states. Senator Henry Clay, known as the Great Compromiser, worked out a compromise in which Maine would enter the Union as a free state while Missouri would be admitted into the Union as the northernmost slave state. As a result of the compromise, slavery was then prohibited north of the 36 °30 parallel making a clear distinction between the northern and southern states. This boundary would then later be challenged by events such as the Dred Scott case, yet it marvelously managed to avert war for forty years, and thus set it aside for a later generation to fight, but the damage to American nationalism helped to erode the so-called Era of Good Feelings in which the popular James Monroe presided as president. During 1828, Congress passed a tariff that protected Northern industries but had the unwanted consequence of driving up domestic prices. This, while beneficial to the growing industry in the North, greatly crippled the South who suffered as their economy largely depended on the import and export of domestic goods. As a result, this new bill outraged Southerners who began calling it the Tariff of Abominations. South Carolina spearheaded Southern concerns by citing the doctrine of nullification, which allowed individual states to nullify proclamations of the federal government that would be found to be unconstitutional or inhibit the states rights. The issue of nullification was taken up in the Senate in the famous Webster-Hayne debate in which Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, the Senates leading orator, responded by challenging the Souths apparent willingness to subvert the Union for regional economic gain. In doing so, he broadened the debate beyond land, tariffs, and slavery to a co nsideration of the very nature of the federal republic. In 1832 Congress modified the tariff of 1828 by retaining high duties on some goods, but lowering others to rates held before the treaty. A South Carolina convention, under the leadership of current vice-president John Calhoun, later that year adopted an Ordinance of Nullification, voiding the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 in the state. The claim was that because the South tended to export food and import manufactured goods these tariffs were abusive and unfair; this new Ordinance supported free trade and generally opposed protective tariffs. The South Carolina state legislature funded a volunteer army and threatened secession if the federal government tried to force the state to comply with the tariffs. President Jackson, though an advocate of states rights, responded forcefully and threatened to invade South Carolina if its leaders refused to participate in the collection of tariff duties. To the ambitious malcontents in South Car olina, he proclaimed emphatically, the laws of the United States must be executed. . . . The Union will be preserved and treason and rebellion promptly put down. Jacksons proclamation stimulated an outburst of patriotism all over the country, isolating South Carolina from the rest of the Union. President Andrew Jackson asked Congress to grant him the authority to use military force to collect tax revenues and to subdue South Carolina. Congress complied by passing the Force Bill of 1833; the bill gave the President the authority to close ports or harbors at his will. This in turn would require opponents to the tariff to travel a distance to carry out any threats or insurrection against federal facilities. Hostile acts against government facilities or personnel would then be considered pre-meditated and blatant. Fortunately, however, the president never had to resort to military action. The crisis was averted when Congress passed a bill that reduced the productive tariff the following year. These events were dubbed the Nullification Crisis and the Compromise of 1833. Though war was averted, South Carolina now became the hotbed of southern dissent. The crisis of 1850 may never have occurred if a more common resource was discovered in California. But since gold was so rare, and therefore very valuable, Californias population skyrocketed. By 1850 over 100,000 hoping-to-strike-it-rich settlers, also known as forty-niners, flocked to California in hopes of attaining vast wealth in the gold that was said to be so abundant there. Without waiting for federal approval, the inhabitants of California called a convention, framed a constitution that prohibited slavery, and applied to Congress for admission as a state without first becoming a territory, this was made possible due to the vast influx of people who had emigrated there from the east of the United States as well as those who had immigrated from other countries. California had become very populous. The questions of whether California should be admitted as a free state and slavery should be allowed in New Mexico and Utah, two other territories asking to be allowed into the Union a t the time, generated a great deal of controversy both within Congress and throughout the nation. President Taylor supported Californias admission. Though the slaveholding president supported the proposal, other slaveholders throughout the country did not follow suit. Many southerners quickly threatened that they would secede from the Union if California was admitted as a free state. The Great Compromiser Henry Clay then once again stepped into the fray and proposed a compromise to this problem; this would be known as the Compromise of 1850. The compromise itself was more a series of bills than an actual compromise, these bills included among other things, that California would enter the Union as a free state; a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was guaranteed to be rigidly enforced. The law itself was already present, but it was rarely followed due to it being so poorly enforced as well as fierce opposition from Northerners who refused to hand in runaway slaves to the ever unpopular slave hunters; a settlement of the boundary between Texas and New Mexico; an indemnity to be paid to Texas for the relinquishment of its claims to a large portion of New Mexico; the slave trade would be banned in Washington D.C. (District of Columbia) though the ownership of slaves would not be abolished in the capital. This idea arose mainly because in this time period many European nations, with which the United States of America did business with, had already abolished slavery throughout their country, and it would leave an unfavorable impression on a foreign diplomat to see slaves which were no longer allowed in their own country, still present in another with whom they were considering associating themselves with ; the Mexican Cession, or the land taken from Mexico as a result of Americas victory in the Mexican-American War, would be divided into two new territories, New Mexico and Utah. Both territories would determine the status of slavery in their areas by popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty was a system that would determine whether the state or territory would be free or would allow slavery by mean of holding local elections in said state or territory, Democrats would advocate popular sovereignty during the election of 1860. The compromise was made official with the signing of President Millard Fillmore. This passage by Congress delayed the onset of the Civil War for more than eleven years. The Bleeding Kansas period came about due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Democrat and Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act to further the construction of a Transcontinental Railroad to Chicago despite being warned by Frederick Douglass that the bill was an open invitation to a fierce and bitter strife. For the Bill to pass he needed the votes of southern Democrats, who were unwilling to support him unless the new Territories needed to accomplish it were open to slavery. Douglas thought that by proposing that the status of slavery in the new territories be governed by the principle of popular sovereignty, he would satisfy both pro and anti slavery factions. However, his bill in effect, repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which barred slavery north of latitude 36à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ° 30. This brought as consequence that the Southern Whigs voted with southern Democrats in favor of the measure, and the northern Whigs rejected it, creating an irreconcilable spl it that left Whigs unable to field a presidential candidate in 1856. In the congressional elections of 1854, the southern Democrats became the dominant voice both in congress and within the party due to the split with the northern Democrats. The Cotton Whigs, who had economic ties with southern slave owners, were convinced that the bill would encourage antislavery feelings in the north. They urged southern politicians to vote against the bill, but were utterly ignored. This convinced them that compromise with the South was impossible and the nation watched horrified as the residents of Kansas slaughtered each other in pursuit of sectional goals that increasingly seemed to represent the divisions of the country. Since popular sovereignty would decide Kansass fate, it seemed that the majority of Kansas antislavery farmers would align Kansas with the Free states. Proslavery sympathizers in neighboring Missouri were not about to stand by while their neighbor cast its lot with the free s tates on account of its land being fertile and perfect for growing and farming cotton, the white gold of the South. Soon, border ruffians crossed into Kansas with the intention of making it a slave state. Border ruffians terrorized Kansas and intimidated others to vote proslavery with vicious threats and cast fraud ballots during elections to help elect their candidates into office. In response, Northern opponents of slavery like the New England Emigrant Society began sending supporters to Kansas. Fighting soon erupted as advocates of slavery created a government in Lecompton, Kansas and their opponents established an antislavery government in Topeka. Shortly thereafter, proslavery forces massacred citizens of the antislavery town of Lawrence. In retaliation, a violent abolitionist named John Brown organized his own massacre of five suspected proslavery advocates at Pottawatomie Creek in 1856. The Democratic President Pierces decision to remain aloof from the events in Kansas furthe r damaged what was left of his partys cohesion. In the ensuing months it seemed as if Kansas would enter as a free state, but a new problem arose; enter President James Buchanan. The newly elected President Buchanan accepted the proslavery Lecompton Constitution, which would admit Kansas as a slave state. Certain democrats then agreed to unite with the young Republican Party in 1858 to oppose the Lecompton Constitution, their efforts were not in vain and Kansas was ultimately accepted into the Union as a free state. The election of 1856 attracted one of the highest voter turnouts in American history. Ordinary citizens were sharing the politicians concerns about the growing sectional rifts in the nation. The northern turnout also showed that the threat posed by expansion of slavery was greater than that posed by new immigrants. In 1856 the people of the United States heard about the looting and burning in Kansas, about John Browns massacre at Pottawatomie, and about the Sumner-Brooks incident on the senate floor, ostensibly causing the unprecedented voters outpour. In the latter incident, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts suffered permanent injuries from an attack by Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina. Using abusive and accusatory language in his The Crime Against Kansas speech, Sumner had singled out for ridicule Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. Sumners rude and personal attack suggested that the senator was drooling. South Carolina, Sumner cried, had sent to the Senate a Don Quixote who had chosen a mistress who, though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight- I mean the harlot, Slavery. Talk of sexual connection between white Southerners and slaves was always explosive. Senator Butlers nephew, Preston Brooks, did not bother to challenge Sumner to a duel. Brooks said that the Yankee would never give satisfaction and would therefore refuse or flee from the challenge. Instead, Brooks strode into the Senate chamber and, finding the Massachusetts lawmaker alone, brutally beat Sumner with his cane, nearly ending his life. In Brooks mind, he was simply avenging an intolerable affront to his uncles honor. Each man found his action perfectly justifiable and the action of the other outrageous. So far had the behavioral codes of the North and the South diverged, and their attitudes were mirrored by their respective sections. The nation lay as divided as the senators. President-elect James Buchanans support for a pro-southern decision by the Supreme Court further aggravated sectional differences. In Dred Scott vs. Sandford, a southern-dominated Supreme attempted, in vain, to solve the political controversy over slavery. Scott, a slave, had been taken by his owner to Illinois, a Free State, and Wisconsin Territory north of the Missouri Compromise line. During that time, Scott married another slave and had a daughter who was born in free territory, then returned to Missouri, a slave state. Once in Missouri Scott sued for his freedom and that of his wife and daughter on the grounds that residence in free lands had made them free. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional asserting that the federal government had no right to interfere with the free movement of property throughout the territories. Taney dismissed the Dred Scott case on the grounds that only citizens could bring suits before federal courts and that b lack people were not citizens. The five southern members of the Supreme Court concurred with the decision along with one Northerner, Robert Grier. President-elect Buchanan had pressured Justice Grier into supporting the majority. Clearly as a sectional decision, Southerners expressed satisfaction and support for the Court, Northerners disagreed. They found themselves questioning the power of the Supreme Court to establish the law of the land. The racist attitude of the Supreme Court was a bitter blow to the free blacks in the North. The South was overjoyed with the Courts ruling. The North was outraged; Northern Democrats like Senator Steven Douglas of Illinois found it increasingly difficult to reconcile their support of popular sovereignty in the Dred Scott decision. Under Douglass definition of popular sovereignty, it was always the white majority that would make decisions about black mens freedom. Lincoln responded to this definition by stating that for a man to rule another man without his consent was tyranny. Lincoln succeeded in pressing Douglas on the issue of slavery in the territories after Chief Justice Taneys Dred Scott decision. Lincoln used this opportunity to attack Douglass popular sovereignty idea. For how could the people of a territory vote against slavery, if Chief Justice Taney said that every American had a right to carry his property with him? In response, Douglas introduced his Freeport Doctrine. The doctrine was dubbed after the Illinois town where Lincoln and Douglas had met for one of their debates. The doctrine said slavery could not exist without friendly legislation to support it. Anti-slavery voters could simply refuse to pass such laws and slavery would effectively be kept out of the territory. Douglas concluded then that popular sovereignty was entirely consistent with Chief Justice Taneys ruling. However, the Freeport Doctrine alienated many Southern Democrats. Douglas had actually stated the essence of the doctrine previous t o the debate at Freeport, but its prominent public assertion at Freeport contributed, along with other political disputes, to antagonizing those in the Southern United States who were demanding ever-increasing protections for slavery, and who subsequently insisted on the repudiation of the Freeport Doctrine in order to block Douglas presidential bid in 1860. Containing slavery became important to Northerners, who believed that as slavery expanded, Northern industrial capitalism would become limited. To fight this fear a new political party emerged in the 1850s, the Republicans, whose political goals were free labor, free soil, free men. The industrial capitalists, owners of the Norths factories and workshops had the most to gain by containing the spread of slavery and expanding capitalism. For example, as capitalism expanded, they hoped to expand the labor pool, by supporting a loose immigration policy, which in turn would drive down the wages that they would have to pay for workers. Just as the planters dominated the South, the industrial capitalists profoundly influenced the Norths political, economic and cultural system. In addition, their political and economic objectives often clashed with those of the Souths planter class. In the South, militant political leaders, referred to as fire-eaters due to their adamant nature to raise cont roversial disputes, especially with their northern counterparts. These fire-eaters chafed at the notion of containing slavery, let alone abolishing it entirely, naturally bringing about disputes between the two. These clashes were mostly due to slavery as the industrial capitalists wanted to expand the white labor pool and southern plantation owners wanted to keep their slave force. Though compromises such as the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the myriad of bills proposed by Henry Clay in the Compromise of 1850, it helped to divert attention from the topic and to try and appease both sides, but conflict was inevitable. As discussed earlier, both the North and the South consisted of entirely different ideals and culture by the nineteenth century. These divisions were brought to light in both the violence of the Brooks-Sumner incident and the racist decision of the South-dominated Supreme Court during the Dred Scott case. By the time Abraham Lincoln, the sixteen pre sident of the United States of America, took office the southern had already seceded from the Union. There was no longer room for compromise, Lincoln was given two options; to allow the Union to crumble or fight to preserve it. They thought themselves to be to economically powerful, politically influential, and the North and the rest of Europe too dependent on their White Gold for slavery to be abolished. They were wrong.