Democracy and Reform Movements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Democracy and Reform Movements - Essay Example Most of the reform movements were geared to movement towards a democratic society which provided equal rights for all the people. One of the greatest movements was the women’s reform movement which demanded for more women participation in the state affairs like voting rights. Elizabeth Candy Stanton organized and participated in the Seneca Falls convention where major statements on the promotion of women rights were made but women seemed not interested in the movements. Other reform movements which took place include the new correctional prison system which called for better treatment of prisoners but did not emphasize on their democratic rights. Temperance movements which enforced spread of equal opportunities to all attempted to help women and children whose lives had been worsened by the drinking fathers and husbands. The blacks were considered as second class citizens who were not even allowed the right of citizenship in the American society. The period was marked by massi ve settlement of Native Americans in Mississippi River and the concentration of wealth in few of the American upper social class. The reform movements of that period only focused on ending the economic inequality among classes in the Native American citizens and did not advocate for the rights of the black people. Some states abolished the property and tax qualifications for voting which saw a record high of 355,000 votes cast in 1824 where the number kept on increasing to reach 1.1 million after four years due to the end of the property qualifications. The method of voting was initially orally where the voter would state his choice but the years of 1820s saw dramatic shift since few voters would hardly vote against a candidate when his supporters had crowded the voting place. There was introduction of ballot papers which gave the voter more autonomy in choosing his preferred elective candidate though the ballot papers were themselves prepared by the political parties due to lack of government bodies which could oversee the election process. Political offices became more democratic and elective rather than appointive hence leaders became more accountable to the public. By 1932, most of the states with exception of South Carolina shifted the selection of the members of the electoral college from their legislature directly to the voter hence there was introduction of more voting democracy. Democracy and reform movements Introduction The ideals of equality, liberty and pursuit of happiness characterized the desires of American population up to the period 1850. The desire was to make America civilized in order to expand democratic ideals by expanding the moral standards of the common citizens. Movements like the women and slave movements focused on the liberty (Murrin, 2012). Movements like temperance, abolitionist and natives to public schools and better living conditions were some movements which were pursed with democratic ideals (Greer, 1949). Women movement s trongly reinforced the importance of morality and equality through the struggle for social justice and the desire to see a more civilized American society which would be more productive (Boyer, 2008). The rise of democratic politics can be traced back to 1824 -1832 when the republicans on suspicion of the government policies on spread of cotton to the south

Bible and the Odyssey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bible and the Odyssey - Essay Example â€Å"Deceiver, creator, acculturator, unmasked liar, survivor – these qualities of the trickster do apply to the deceiving, ethically ambiguous survivor Abram of Genesis 12: 10 – 20† (Niditch 45). Abram is portrayed as a trickster; this is because he is the Israelites’ progenitor and the traditional initiator of Yahwism, and the first contributor of covenant with God (Niditch 45). The tale of Abram in Genesis 12 outlines the particular trickster morphology that is common pattern of the narrative components; in this case, the trickster plays his or her role. This morphology is unique to both the Israelite literature and other literatures found throughout the universe (Niditch 46). The Odyssey offers an example of trickster morphology in which one of the incidents creates an important link to the larger part of the epic narrative chain. In Book 9, Odyssey speaks of his capture or imprisonment and escape from the hands of Cyclops Polyphemos. The minimized st atus of the heroes occurs when they become captives and a source of food, simple nourishment, for their unacculturated captor, who consumes Achains by the handful. The trick or deception created by Odyssey is to â€Å"make the Cyclops drunk, to blind him, and then escape tied to the monster’s sheep as they leave his cave to reach pasture† (Niditch 47). As part of his deception, Odyssey makes the giant believe that he is nobody. However, the hero creates a sophistication of himself through the revelation of his deception. Out of his boldness, he discloses his actual character to the wounded son of Poseidon. In this way, he becomes the hero of prisoners of Poseidon, and the prisoner of sorts. The Odysseus men are supposed to die at the sea and Odyssey has to suffer more statuslessness and wandering (Niditch 47). Just like Genesis 12, Genesis 26 traces the pattern of deception from the marginal status to the enhancement of the underdog tale. Genesis 26 is full of trickste r; this is because deception is revealed and there is deception (Niditch 51). The deception found in Genesis 26 is due to a direct response to a threat. In other words, the perceived threat is dealt with deception. The revelation of the reduced status in Genesis 26 comes before the heroes’ status is improved. This is in contrast to Genesis 12 where deception results in the heroes’ improvement and the revelation of their reduced status (Niditch 52). The theme of deception is evident throughout the Odyssey. There are many examples where individuals (particularly Odysseus and goddess Athena) use deception. The reason for acts of deception vary, however, Homer evidently indicates the significance placed on being clever. Athena uses deception as an act of disguise whereas Odysseus uses deception as an act of storytelling. Athena as a young man appears to Odysseus after he wakes up on Ithaka confused of his whereabouts. Athena disguises herself in order to test Odysseus; in other words, Athena wants to see if Odysseus is still on his toes. In response, Odysseus tells Athena (disguised as a man) a fake story about himself. The purpose behind Athena’s cover up is Homer’s means of continuing to stress about how smart Odysseus is. Homer evidently states his perspective of Odysseus when Athena states that â€Å"Of all men alive / you are the best in plots and storytelling† (13.351-52)†