The American West

The American West The American West, a new frontier, a new promise to those who immigrated to the land, and a land where legends and myths were born. With this exciting time came violence or the threat. However, today many only know the violence as portrayed by John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and the producers and directors of the Hollywood Western. Violence in many aspects is what helped shape the New American West because the people of the Old American West were the major target of violence.A century ago, the American West, and the process of homesteading and Americanization that took place in the lands West of the Mississippi River was seen as a triumph of American drive, ingenuity, and courage; a sheer act of will that required hard work, perseverance, and above all, a spirit of independence and individualism.In the decades following the closing of the Frontier (as pronounced by Frederick Turner in 1890) , this perception of the West changed dramatically.Route 248 at the 5600 West TRAX stationThe old view of a divinely inspired spread of Americanism changed to a more ambivalent view by mid-century, and finally, to an openly hostile view today that Western society was (and is) violent, murderous, and chaotic. We are told now that the West, after the coming of the white man, was a land of sadistic Indian murderers, psychopathic outlaws, and misfits who had abandoned the more peaceful life back in the good ol' U.S. A.Whether promoting or condemning the West, though, novelists, filmmakers, and even historians never shied away from giving us many images of murdering Indians, roaming outlaws, crazy misfits, but what in an earlier era would have been abnormal behavior in films and images of the West, became standard behavior for citizens of the West in later times.There is certainly no doubt that Native American...

How Brown v. Board of Education Changed Public Education for the Better

How Brown v. Board of Education Changed Public Education for the Better One of the most historical court cases, especially in terms of education, was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). This case took on segregation within school systems or the separation of white and black students within public schools. Up until this case, many states had laws establishing separate schools for white students and another for black students. This landmark case made those laws unconstitutional. The decision was handed down on May 17, 1954. It overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which had allowed states legalize segregation within schools. The chief justice in the case was Justice Earl Warren. His court’s decision was a unanimous 9-0 decision that said, â€Å"separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. The ruling essentially led the way for the civil rights movement and essentially integration across the United States. Fast Facts: Brown v. Board of Education Case Argued: December 9–11, 1952; December 7–9, 1953Decision Issued:  May 17, 1954Petitioners:  Oliver Brown, Mrs. Richard Lawton, Mrs. Sadie Emmanuel, et alRespondent:  Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et alKey Questions: Does the segregation of public education based solely on race violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?Unanimous Decision: Justices Warren, Black, Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Jackson, Burton, Clark, and MintonRuling: Separate but equal educational facilities, segregated on the basis of race, are inherently unequal and in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. History A class action suit was filed against the Board of Education of the city of Topeka, Kansas in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas in 1951. The plaintiffs consisted of 13 parents of 20 children who attended the Topeka School District. They filed the suit hoping that the school district would change its policy of racial segregation. Each of the plaintiffs was recruited by the Topeka NAACP, led by McKinley Burnett, Charles Scott, and Lucinda Scott. Oliver L. Brown was the named plaintiff in the case. He was an African American welder, father, and assistant pastor at a local church. His team chose to use his name as part of a legal tactic to have a man’s name on the front of the suit. He was also a strategic choice because he, unlike some of the other parents, was not a single parent and, the thinking went, would appeal more strongly to a jury.   In the fall of 1951, 21 parents attempted to enroll their children in the closest school to their homes, but each was denied enrollment and told that they must enroll in the segregated school. This prompted the class action suit to be filed. At the district level, the court ruled in favor of the Topeka Board of Education saying that both schools were equal in regards to transportation, buildings, curriculum, and highly qualified teachers. The case then went on to the Supreme Court and was combined with four other similar suits from across the country. Significance Brown v. Board  entitled students to receive a quality education regardless of their racial status. It also allowed for African American teachers to teach in any public school they chose, a privilege that was not granted before the Supreme Court ruling in 1954. The ruling set the foundation for the civil rights movement and gave African American’s hope that â€Å"separate, but equal† on all fronts would be changed. Unfortunately, however, desegregation was not that easy and is a project that has not been finished, even today.

Objectivism and Collectivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Objectivism and Collectivism - Essay Example This has brought about the two philosophies of collectivism and objectivism which can be said to be direct opposites of one another when it comes to the beliefs and practices they promote (Mayhew 56). They do however also maintain a few similarities in certain aspects as well and it is by comparing and contrasting that one is able to identify both the differences and similarities that objectivism and collectivism bring to the table in the discussion of a life well lived. One platform that exhibits both these philosophies clearly is in the book (Mayhew 26) Anthem written by author Ayn Rand in the year 1937 though it was published a year later. In this book the author manages to depict the two philosophies in various scenarios and through various characters within the story that can help one compare the two. It is suggested as a matter of fact that Ayn Rand was the individual who came up with the philosophy of Objectivism so it is no surprise that it is displayed phenomenally in this p iece of literature (Mayhew 154). Objectivism refers to a philosophy that advocates that the purpose of an individual’s life is the discovery of their own happiness and thus morality is achieved in the respect of one’s individual’s rights. Objectivism promotes putting one’s self interest ahead of the pack and the author Ayn Rand describes it as "a philosophy for living on earth" that defines human and worldly nature and thus can be said is established in reality (Mayhew 235).