History Essays
The Role of Women in the Church
The Role of Women in the Church With the advent of the feminist movement, the role of women in all parts of society has come under increasing scrutiny. One area of recent controversy is the role of women in the Christian Church. Some churches whose traditions and practices are less rigidly tied to Biblical doctrines have begun placing women in leadership positions such as pastor or teacher. Other churches which interpret the Bible more literally have been slow to adopt such c...
The Defeat of Napoleon in Russia
The Defeat of Napoleon in Russia The Campaign of 1812 should have been a another crusade for Napoleon, but he now faced 2 new policies that he had never faced before, the severe Russian winter and the notorious scorched-earth policy. On June 23, 1812 Napoleon's Grande Armee, over 500,000 men strong, poured over the Russian border. An equal amount of Russian forces awaited them. The result of the campaign was a surprise. Two authors, General carl von Clausewitz and Brett James...
Napoleon's Conflict with Russia
Napoleon's Conflict with Russia Napoleon was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. By 1812 Napoleon had expanded the territory of France all over Europe including Spain, Italy, Holland, and Switzerland. The countries that Napoleon did not directly control, he was usually allied with. The turning point of Napoleon's career also came in 1812 when war broke out between France and Russia because of Alexander I's refusal to enforce the continental. Even the...
Nazism and World War II
Nazism and World War II The National Socialist German Workers� Party almost died one morning in 1919. It numbered only a few dozen grumblers� it had no organization and no political ideas. But many among the middle class admired the Nazis� muscular opposition to the Social Democrats. And the Nazis themes of patriotism and militarism drew highly emotional responses from people who could not forget Germany�s prewar imperial grandeur. In the national elections of Septembe...
Biography of Genghis Khan
Biography of Genghis Khan The old world had many great leaders. Alexander the Great, Hannibal and even Julius Caesar met with struggle on their rise to power. Perhaps Genghis Khan was the most significant of all these rulers. To prove that Genghis Khan was the greatest ruler, we must go back to the very beginning of his existence. We must examine such issues as; Genghis�s struggle for power/how his life as a child would affect his rule, his personal and military achievements ...
The Spanish Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition The Spanish Inquisition officially started in the mid- to late- fourteen hundreds. The Spanish Inquisition was a country wide persecution of Jews for which there are several different reasons as to why it began. The actual reason, or reasons, that motivated the King and Queen are not known at this time, and may never be known for sure. Depending on whom you ask, there are different reasons of that vary in importance for the start of the Sp...
Role of The Emperor in Meiji Japan
Role of The Emperor in Meiji Japan Japan is a society whose culture is steeped in the traditions and symbols of the past: Mt. Fuji, the tea ceremony, and the sacred objects of nature revered in Shintoism. Two of the most important traditions and symbols in Japan; the Emperor and Confucianism have endured through Shogunates, restorations of imperial rule, and up to present day. The leaders of the Meiji Restoration used these traditions to gain control over Japan and further ...
Comparison of Trade Rivalries
Comparison of Trade Rivalries The German-Great Britain trade rivalry like the U.S.-Japan trade rivalry involved a rising power cutting into the trade of an already dominant trading power. There were several causes of the German-Great Britain trade rivalry according to Hoffman. The first was German's industry's zeal in procuring new contracts and expanding markets. They did this by fulfilling contracts even if they were very small and constantly trying to stay up with market...
First British Industrial Revolution
First British Industrial Revolution The manufacture of military munitions and the development of a home market were critical underpinnings of the first industrial revolution in Britain. Military manufacturing supported by the British Government contributed directly to technological innovation and spurred industrialization. This is because the companies that choose to fulfill the government contracts to make military munitions found money could be made if new processes and ...
Power, Propoganda in Communist China
Power, Propoganda in Communist China Propaganda in China during the Cultural Revolution took on many forms; there were mass Red Guard demonstrations in Tianamen Square in support of Mao Zedong, pictures of Mao were put up in every conceivable location from restaurants to the wallpaper in nurseries, and pamphlets and books of Mao's teachings were distributed to every Chinese citizen. One of these propaganda publications Quotations from Chairman Mao which later became known as ...
Meiji Strategy for Economic Growth
Meiji Strategy for Economic Growth The Meiji government during the 1880's created both an institutional and constitution structure that allowed Japan in the coming decades to be a stabile and industrializing country. Two major policies and strategies that reinforced stability and economic modernization in Japan were the creation of a national public education system and the ratification of the Meiji constitution. Both these aided in stability and thus economic growth. ...
Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then ...
The Rise of Japanese Militarism
The Rise of Japanese Militarism Japan's political journey from its quasi-democratic government in the 1920's to its radical nationalism of the mid 1930's, the collapse of democratic institutions, and the eventual military state was not an overnight transformation. There was no coup d'etat, no march on Rome, no storming of the Bastille. Instead, it was a political journey that allowed a semi-democratic nation to transform itself into a military dictatorship. The forces that ...
Taiwanese Development Model
Taiwanese Development Model According to Thomas Gold Taiwan offers a text book case of an elite-led revolution leading to social transformation. The stability of hard authoritarianism of the Taiwanese government laid the groundwork for Taiwanese development. The KMT's cohesiveness and political domination plus the economic development aid supplied by the United States also helped to provide good conditions for Taiwanese growth in the beginning. Once the KMT gained control ...
Japanese Colonialism in Korea
Japanese Colonialism in Korea North and South Korea are nations that while filled with contempt for Japan have used the foundations that Japan laid during the colonial period to further industrialization. Japan's colonization of Korea is critical in understanding what enabled Korea to industrialize in the period since 1961. Japan's program of colonial industrialization is unique in the world. Japan was the only colonizer to locate various heavy industry is in its...
Confucianism and Japanese Growth
Confucianism and Japanese Growth Many factors helped aid in the dynamic growth that occurred in Japan and the four little dragons during the post-World War 2 period. Some of these factors were situational factors unique to the time but some of the factors were cultural. The legacy of Confucianism in Japan and the four little dragons helped to further the goals of industrialization that these nations had. The traditions of Confucianism provided for Japan and the four little...
What the U.S. can learn from Japan
What the U.S. can learn from Japan Japan and the Four Little Dragons in order to achieve their industrialization goals have a diverse set of policies ranging from limited entitlement programs to a education and government bureaucracy that stresses achievement and meritocracy. But one of the most significant innovations of Japan and the Four Little Dragons is there industrial policy which targets improving specific sectors of the economy by focusing R&D, subsidies, and tax ...
Causes of the Showa Restoration
Causes of the Showa Restoration Sonno joi, "Restore the Emperor and expel the Barbarians," was the battle cry that ushered in the Showa Restoration in Japan during the 1930's.Footnote1 The Showa Restoration was a combination of Japanese nationalism, Japanese expansionism, and Japanese militarism all carried out in the name of the Showa Emperor, Hirohito. Unlike the Meiji Restoration, the Showa Restoration was not a resurrection of the Emperor's powerFootnote2, instead it w...
Analysis of the Red Scare
Analysis of the Red Scare "The tumult and the shouting dies, The captains and the kings depart." -Kipling, The Recessional Mr. Kipling was wrong. War does not always end with the last cry on the battlefield. World War I certainly did not. After the war formally ended on November 18, 1918, there was an ideological war still going on in the US. An ideological war which prompted mass paranoia and caused, among many other things, what would be known as the Red Scare, which b...
The Temperance Movement
The Temperance Movement As the 1800's came to a close the calendar was not the only thing which was changing. The tirn of the century also saw a radical change in the ways in which Americans conducted their lives. No more were people's lives based around farms in small rural neighborhoods. Instead people moved into the cities, and factories started sprouting up in every major urban area. However, the industrialization of America also brought with it problems which hurt many...
The Titanic - History of a Disaster
The Titanic - History of a Disaster On April 14,1912 a great ship called the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. That night there were many warnings of icebergs from other ships. There seems to be a conflict on whether or not the warnings reached the bridge. We may never know the answer to this question. The greatest tragedy of all may be that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board. According to Walter Lord, author of The Night Lives On, the Titanic could have...
Anti-Vietnam Movement in the U.S.
Anti-Vietnam Movement in the U.S. The antiwar movement against Vietnam in the US from 1965-1971 was the most significant movement of its kind in the nation's history. The United States first became directly involved in Vietnam in 1950 when President Harry Truman started to underwrite the costs of France's war against the Viet Minh. Later, the presidencies of Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy increased the US's political, economic, and military commitments steadily throu...
The Beginning of World War II
The Beginning of World War II At daybreak on the first day of September, 1939, the residents of Poland awakened to grave news. A juggernaut force of tanks, guns, and countless grey-clad soldiers from nearby Germany had torn across the countryside and were making a total invasion of the Pole�s homelands. Germany�s actions on that fateful morning ignited a conflict that would spread like a wildfire, engulfing the entire globe in a great world war. This scenario is many peo...
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson is remembered in history not only for the offices he held, but also for his belief in the natural rights of man as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and his faith in the people�s ability to govern themselves. He left an impact on his times equaled by few others in American history. Born on April 13, 1743, Jefferson was the third child in the family and grew up with six sisters and one brother. Though he opposed slavery, his fam...
Progressivism and its Effects
Progressivism and its Effects Progressivism was a period of American history in which improving working conditions, improving the way of life, exposing corruption, expanding democracy and making reforms was the main idea of this period. Many of the citizens granted and demanded a change in numerous areas such as business, labor, economy, consumers and an increase of democracy. The progressive period was marked with the arrival of three great presidents Roosevelt, Taft, an...