Affirmative Action Essays (300 words) - Social Inequality, Politics

Affirmative Action Affirmative action works. There are thousands of examples of situations where people of color, white women, and working class women and men of all races who were previously excluded from jobs or educational opportunities, or were denied opportunities once admitted, have gained access through affirmative action. When these policies received executive branch and judicial support, vast numbers of people of color, white women and men have gained access they would not otherwise have had. These gains have led to very real changes. Affirmative action programs have not eliminated racism, nor have they always been implemented without problems. However, there would be no struggle to roll back the gains achieved if affirmative action policies were ineffective. The implementation of affirmative action was America's first honest attempt at solving a problem, it had previously chosen to ignore. In a variety of areas, from the quality of health care to the rate of employment, blacks still remain far behind whites. Their representation in the more prestigious professions is still almost insignificant. Comparable imbalances exist for other racial and ethnic minorities as well as for women. Yet, to truly understand the importance of affirmative action, one must look at America's past discrimination to see why, at this point in history, we must become more color conscious. History Of Discrimination In America: Events Leading To Affirmative Action. The Declaration of Independence asserts that all men are created equal. Yet America is scarred by a long history of legally imposed inequality. Snatched from their native land, transported thousands of miles-in a nightmare of disease and death-and sold into slavery, blacks in America were reduced to the legal status of farm animals. A Supreme Court opinion, Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), made this official by classifying slaves as a species of private property. Bibliography etywetyety

Politics in the Guilded Age essays

Politics in the Guilded Age essays Discuss Politics in the Gilded Age. Include major political events and issues, and the roles of the bloody shirt, corruption, patronage, and reform movements. The term Gilded Age was named for a Mark Twain book. It meant covered with gold, and was applied to this period as a whole. This was a period of corruption in sordid politics. The Republicans and Democrats didnt really have strong opposing beliefs during this period. The Republicans supported high tariffs and sound money. The Democrats supported lower tariffs and expanded currency. Both rural and urban classes supported each party. They worked with spoils and local issues. Both parties worked to please everyone, and to attract voters. Since both parties were so close in strength, it caused the elections to be fought harder. The Republicans used the waving of the bloody shirt tactic. This meant that they brought back the past in order to avoid the real issues. They portrayed the Democrats as rebel traitors. The Republicans were against alcohol. The Stalwarts were led by Senator Conkling from New York and were the hard core machine of elections. Senator Blaine led the Half-Breeds from Maine, and they wanted to be in control of it all. The mugwumps were a group that turned Democrat because of the corruption of the Republican presidential nominee, Senator Blaine. One president was Grant during this period. He was elected into office for his past war experience. He had little knowledge of politics, and depended on his fellow politicians. These men, in turn, involved in scandals to embezzle money from the government. One was the Great Mobilier scandal; it dealt with the Union Pacific Railroad. The Construction Company hired themselves at inflated prices to build railroad lines, and distributed shares of stock to congressmen. A scandal during Grants ...

Final part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final part - Essay Example My 1st day at the organization began with the formal signing of wavier forms to indicate that I was indeed working there. My supervisor then enlightened me on the tools that were available as well as the duties that I would carry out during the day. My first role was helping him on putting up frames for a house that had been set up in the locality. This involved putting up exterior wood panels so as to cover the already put up frames by nailing them together. Through combined efforts, we were also able to put up ladder blocking in the walls. I also joined another team of workers at the construction site and helped them the top wooden stud of the house in its appropriate place. On the 2nd day, my supervisor assigned me and other volunteers to work on putting up the roof. I assisted in laying of shingles as a base set up for the roof. There was a roofing professional on site to guide on how to properly roof the house in order to avoid any leakages in times of rain. He guided us through proper alignment and nailing of tar papers as well as layering of the shingles in their proper places. We were then required to install the aluminum roof side covers, a process that required effective teamwork to ensure that each nail was properly nailed in its rightful place. Afterwards, we were required to go round the house confirming that the wall panels were all nailed down properly. I was able to identify and rectify a few of errors all by myself by applying what I had previously learnt. In the course of my volunteer ship, I was able to gain 1st hand experience of what I had orally learnt at school. The basis safety guidelines while constructing a house made more sense now that I had carried the out practically. The idea of teamwork during the construction of a house made more sense to me at that time than when it was being taught in class. I was also able to analyze the principles of construction that I had been taught earlier. This was in