The Civil War Destroyed Institutions - Essay Example

Midterm Paper Question Mark Twain argued that the civil war destroyed s that had taken centuries to establish. The civil war also changed the social life of the Americans (Roderick 34). According to Mark Twain, the roots of a civil war are found on a country’s political fabric, in the fundamental law, in complex organisms and the constitution itself. Twain, in his books, also stated that civil wars occur due to the conflicting constructions that a country adapts, as well as in the organization of slavery, which a country recognizes and plans to protect. For instance, according to Mark Twain, the American Civil War evolved from the unparalleled conflicts between “The Negro" people and the average American. According to Twain, if there was no slavery, then the war would not have occurred. Slavery was the leading cause of the American Civil War. The American author argued that the case would have been avoided if the South's protests against slavery took place earlier (Roderick 35). According to the author, the war was inhumane, and everybody deserved equal treatment. Question 2 Mark’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is written with a negative perspective of the society. This is portrayed by the proceedings of the characters in the novel, as well as Mark’s use of symbolism to put across his views. The author illustrates the society as full of racial discrimination and slavery in order to justify the need for slavery (Roderick 35). For instance, Mark creates characters like Aunt Sally and Miss Watson who, although, are morally upright and religious, deem slavery as essential for life. This eventually causes people to dislike the book instead of praising Mark Twain. In “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, critics claimed that the plot of the novel had been copied from “The Vicar of Weilby” by Steen Blicher (Roderick 35). However, during Mark’s time, and today, defenders of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” lump all nonacademic views of the book together as censors and extremists. This equates the complaints concerning the book in the 1880s with current objections founded on civil rights and race. Question 3 Henry Ford’s traits that enabled him to be a success included: curiosity, persistency, intellectualism, as well as strength (Roderick 76). On curiosity, Ford took apart his brother’s toy just to see how it functioned, and after that, he put it back together. Ford was persistent in his work. He tried all the means even though he did not succeed many times. Ford was smart. This is because he designed the Model T car, the V8 engine, the assembly line and a vehicle out of soybean plastic among others (Roderick 76). Henry Ford was also strong since he created the Quadracycle from scrape virtually by hand. A successful trait of individuals in any field is their commitment to constant learning. Ford affirmed many times that the long hours put in studying and practicing contributed to enhancing his abilities and they never seemed like work when he was excited by his study. In his 20s, Henry was still working in another company, yet he found ways to enhance his machinery and tools even at work. Question 4 Henry looked outside of his given conditions for fresh opportunities and the possibility to pursue his likes, which were not being fulfilled. Hence, his opposition to farm work led him to the point of an apprentice worker at the age of 16 (Roderick 77). Even when he went back to the farm, he followed this interest in engineering and mechanics to the level that he could work on his conditions. Ford was highly motivated to be an engineer. Henry Ford realized that he could sell more cars, and he could only trade more cars by restraining turnover and maintaining workers on the assembly line (Roderick 77). Ford’s treacherous $5 a day policy worked even though the general public was cheated, or at the very least inaccurately paid. It was a fair gesture by Ford. Job seekers were lined up every day outside the Ford industry for months after this salary was implemented. According to Ford, people had to work hard to attain their desires just as he worked hard from being a farm boy to an industrialist. Question 5 There were not many jobs open for women in Jane’s time. Women such as Jane Addams, in the Western countries, in the 1800s, were vastly directed and controlled by men (Roderick 113). A woman's crucial aim was to find a man to get married, and also reproduce. If a woman decided to stay single, she was mocked as an "old maid" and turn into an outcast. Women who, however, chose to work were either teachers or missionaries (Roderick 113). Women of such class were not permitted to wear elegant clothes, and they stayed dirty in front of people. Some women were not educated plus they did not have respectable jobs. Hence, they depended on aid organizations for survival. Also, when aid was not enough, some women resorted to prostitution so as to earn a living. This is if there were no other jobs available for them. Their standards of living were due to their collective lack of jobs, financial support and family inheritance. Question 6 The purpose of settlement houses was to get the poor, as well as the rich people, to live together in a community. Jane wanted to locate a place where deprived people lived, and Chicago was the best location. The Hull House vicinity was a blend of various European cultural groups that had immigrated to Chicago at the start of the 20th century (Roderick 115). The Bethlehem Neighborhood Organization stated that a blend of immigrants that comprised of social laboratories upon which the philanthropic and social elitists comprising Hull House's inner study examined their rationales and based their challenges to the organization. Jane Addams chose Chicago as the center for Hull establishment since the area had many immigrants from many parts of Europe (Roderick 115). These areas were: Italy, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, England, Russia, France, Norway, Greece, Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria, Portugal, Holland, Scotland, Spain, Wales and Finland. The area also had rich dwellers in it was perfect for Jane’s project. Question 7 Elvis’ influences comprised of the country music, as well as pop ballads, of his day (Roderick, 209). Elvis was also influenced by the gospel songs he listened to in the church, as well as at the all-night gospel songs he and his mother frequently attended, and the black R&B he engrossed on Memphis’ famous Beale Street as a young person. Elvis also enjoyed music, and he liked pleasing his mother who thought her son had a stunning voice (Roderick, 209). Finally, part of the modification of Elvis’ music life was due to his deals and the music producer of Hill and Range Company that was united with RCA. Question 8 According to critics, Elvis Presley’s look was influenced significantly by Engelbert Humperdinck. This is because Humperdinck had the sideburns, as well as the jump suit before Elvis. Humperdinck first put the jump suits in 1965, but Elvis had them in 1972 (Roderick, 210). Also, the new sound of rock and roll, demonstrated primarily by Elvis Presley, turned to be a catalyst for change (Roderick, 210). Elvis, to the youth, was a fresh icon for a new era of the 1950s, a young and agitated generation looking for a substitute to their parent’s songs, with a style and sound to call their own. Elvis Presley’s music, with its drastic departure from the ballads that dictated the days leading to his coming of the scene and his strong presence gave his young fans the fresh style they had been seeking. In the procedure, his critics including the media, parents and other artists called him rebellious, lewd, as well as dangerous. Work Cited Roderick, Nash. Biographical Approach to American History. London, UK: Longman Publishing Group, 2000. Print. Read More