There were no tropical bands, smiling islanders, or readily available sun tan lotions. There were, however, three gentlemen dressed in army fatigue sporting rifles and an unhappy disposition. Margarita Island looked more like the stage for a military coup than a vacation paradise. What awaited us on the small plot of land 20 miles north of the Venezuelan coast was a run-down hotel, Porto Fino Mare. Arriving with seven classmates from school and a plane full of American tourists, it felt as if the island's population had doubled with our arrival. We tried to make the best of a bad situation, after all, there was still an abundance of blue sky and crystal clear ocean. Although all seven of us attended the same school, we were still just acquaintances. By the third night on the island we made a rotting bamboo table our source of entertainment. Sitting around that table, we were forced to occupy ourselves with something novel, conversation.
At first, dialogue sounded like group therapy. Where are you from? What brings you to this island tonight? Over time, however, our discussion shifted to deeper waters. Some of my classmates knew that I had been running an internet company, but nobody knew exactly what or how I was doing it. I explained about the two books I had written and went into detail about how I was using the internet as a marketing tool. I talked about the weird looks I received from peers, while printing out thousands of pages in the school library.
My friends seemed genuinely interested in how I could manage a successful company, but what happened next surprised me. My normally reserved school acquaintances became enthralled. They started offering new ideas and directions for my business.
The period after World War One was very politically unstable. Many different kinds of governments, such as fascism and communism, were coming up all over Europe. One country that especially faced this political fluctuation was Germany. After the war, Germany was forced into a democracy known as the Weimar Republic, but this government soon collapsed and Hitler’s fascism took over. There were various factors that contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic, but three major ones were the lack of popular support for the government, the lack of efficiency and internal organization, and the competition of other, more conservative parties such as the Nazis.
This essay will examine how the lack of effective opposition and the weakness of the Weimar, was a major factor in the Nazis rising to power between 1919 and 1933.
The Battle of Fredericksburg falls in a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Antietam the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee’s army. However, Northerners, were shocked by Lee’s escape following this battle on 17 September 1862, and were further upset by Major General George B. McClellan’s procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing General J.E.B. Stuarts daring cavalry raid into Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (10-12 October 1862). McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s Army is mainly due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he doesn’t have enough men or material in order to defeat the Army of Virginia. President Lincoln had finally had enough; he fired McClellan for the second and final time, and replaced him with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, whom he had initially offered the job. No military officer in the Civil War resisted promotion more assiduously than did Major General Burnside during 1862. On three separate occasions that year, President Lincoln asked Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac, and each time the general demurred on the grounds that he was not competent to handle such a large force. Once General Burnside took command he immediately set forth after General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
The first two days of the battle were heavy on casualties for the Union Forces. “Union soldiers sustained an estimated 12,660 wounded compared to 5,588 for the Confederates.” (Franklin, 1998) An analysis of the total number of soldiers killed, wounded or captured during the 5-day battle revealed that for each Confederate casualty there were two Union casualties. “The battle of Fredericksburg was both lost and won by the application of tactical intelligence practices and techniques.” (Massamore, 1976)On December 15, 1862 during a meeting with (name) to discuss the following days attack order Burnsides General’s would convince him to abandon the campaign altogether. That night the Federal Army would return back across the river facing no resistance from the Confederate Forces, as they had been busy preparing for what they had believed to be a forthcoming renewed assault. General Lee’s forces would learn of their
After the First World War Germany recognised her first ever democratic government, the Weimar republic lasted from 1918 – 1933 an astonishingly long time given its turbulent start. The November revolution saw the election of soldier and worker councils similar to that of the Russian revolution in 1917, it spread across Germany like wildfire and in turn split the country before a democracy could even be instated nevertheless on November 9th 1918 the German republic was established. From then on The Weimar Republic was set on unstable and insecure path and this is why it is one of Germanys most important historical periods; it was Germanys earliest form of non-imperial government and rule and its collapse in 1933 paved the way for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For these reasons there have been endless works published on the Weimar republic and the outpouring of literature post world war two focuses on the collapse of the Weimar republic and how the Nazi party came to power. However, to understand why the debate surrounding the Golden Era in the Weimar Republic is an interesting one and lacking in historical works, it is key to examine the historiography of the Weimar republic as a whole. Furthermore, to understand why historians focus on other periods in the Weimar’s history in particular the consequences of the treaty of Versailles and the consequences of the Wall Street crash in 1928 which led to its collapse.
He was always being watched. He was left handed and he wrote his notes backwards because it was to encode them or it was more comfortable we will never know (lassieur 62). There have been numbers and letters found in The Mona Lisa’s eyes. Leonardo’s inventions were unusual. In his notes there was found a version of a bike that resembles the bikes of today (lassieur 83). His drawing of a tank is considered garbage because the gears are drawn so the tank wouldn’t move. Most say he did this on purpose because he knew the destruction that the tank would bring. He also drew multiple mechanisms for flight and ways to breath under water.. We will never understand why Da Vinci did the things he did but, they are very
Stricken with rickets, attention deficit disorder, a severed facial nerve, and being voted "most likely to end up in the electric chair" by his fifth grade class, this individual triumphed over many obstacles. As an aspiring writer and actor he was rejected as an extra in the film The Godfather and was persuaded to switch careers for more realistic goals. Sparks of genius were recognized in his script writing, but he was told only legitimate actors would have a chance at performing the title roles.
The American and the French revolutions had many similarities and differences. One similarity being is that they both wanted to escape the rule of their King. Second, they both started by an uprising of people against unfair taxation by the monarchy. The French peasants were not represented by the Parliament. It was mainly composed of middle and upper class people. Now, the American colonists were not represented in England because of their lack of presence. Both wanted to set up a Republic, which provided liberty and justice to all classes of citizens. Just like France, the American colonists were composed up mainly middle and lower class citizens. The American Revolution started out by not wanting bloodshed and violence. France started out with violence and bloodshed. (American Revolution)
The causes of the failure of the Weimar government are multi-faceted. However, I assert that the Weimar government's inability to keep the people's confidence in their capabilities, which eventually rendered them obsolete, was fundamentally due to the threats from within rather than the external hazards. Through exploring the flaws in the constitution and the threats to the WG's authority from the outside, it will be proven that what brought the WR down were its intrinsic vulnerabilities , and that the external threats were only catalysts of their downfall; without the presence of the internal weaknesses in the first place, the external perils would not have been able to threaten the rule of the government.
One of the early differences in the revolutions is the way each began. At the beginning of the French Revolution, the government was about to collapse. While at the beginning the American Revolution, the colonist felt oppressed but had a stable governing body. The French Revolution was caused by problems that can be categorized into three categories: political and social imbalance, government bankruptcy, and Enlightenment thinking. The American Revolution was caused by impeding political laws and taxation on the British colonies by England.
With a combination of poor leadership on the Weimar Government’s behalf, the signing of the hated Treaty of Versailles and an unattractive economic situation, Hitler, using his charismatic personality, was able to convince the majority of the public to resort to the extremist nazi party. There are many other factors that influenced the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism; In every case, however, Hitler’s manipulative skills and sophisticated behavior towards circumstances lead to the success of the Nazi Party. By successfully manipulating the above set of circumstances, Hitler was able to cause to the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party.
The college education that I am seeking goes beyond credentials in that it must first and foremost enrich my mind and spirit, and support my belief in continuous learning. My desire is to be challenged and to gain an experience that I can build upon for the future.
The experience of the APEC Youth Science festival was incredible. It has had an enormous impact on me in many ways, changing the way I look at the world and connecting me with people and events far beyond my formerly limited experience. I am extremely glad to have had this opportunity. It was a wonderful experience on multiple levels. It challenged me and expanded me intellectually and socially. I feel that this experience has had an immense impact on me.
I have always had a passion to learn. My interest is in political theory and economics, hoping someday to become a lawyer and stateswoman. I realize that in order to reach any of these goals, a college degree is vital. When I in turn reach my goals, I will use them to encourage and uplift my community by investing my time, money, energy, and influence to become a stepping stone for others.
On the first day at my new job right after graduation, the Vice President asked me why I became a structural engineer. My answer was “I want to contribute to society and my local community using my strengths in numbers and analytical thinking.” This answer has never changed to this day.