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Research Paper on Randolph Bourne
Randolph Bourne was an American intellectual, an author and a pacifist who established a name himself as a sharp critic of social pretences. He was born in 1886 in Bloomfield, New Jersey, a small town on the East Coast. Bourne was disfigured at birth by the attending physician's forceps, and an attack of spinal tuberculosis at age four left him stunted and hunchbacked. Bourne always lived in a sort of emotional isolation and therefore seldom appeared in public, but devoted himself to writing and study.
He held a variety of odd jobs before winning a scholarship to Columbia University at the age of 23, from which he received a Master's Degree in 1913. At Columbia College in the early 1910s he met John Dewey and Charles Beard, intellectuals like himself and during that time he started publishing essays in journals such as the Atlantic Monthly and the Dial.
After finishing his Master's Degree at Columbia University, Randolph Bourne traveled to Paris and during this time he experienced the European culture and gained European influence which also had lots of impact on his writing. After a year in Europe, resulting in 1914 in Impressions in Europe: 1913-1914,' he turned his attention to the progressive education theories of the pragmatist philosopher John Dewey. The outcome was two books called The Gary Schools' (1916) and Education and Living' (1917). In 1918, he died of influenza epidemic that spread throughout the country after the close of the war. Randolph Bourne was only 32 years old at that time.
The most important aspect about Bourne's life is definitely the fact that he opposed US entry into World War I. Bourne had different views toward America's entrance into the First World War and it was because of that that him and his mentor, John Dewey got involved into serious arguments, which led to the break of this relationship. Bourne opposed the US entry into World War I because of the failure of the melting-pot. He saw no logic of those who had to change their principles in order to justify joining the national call to arms.'
The text Trans-National America' was revolutionary for the time that Bourne wrote it because nobody was actually talking against the traditional understanding what American patriotism is. In this particular text, Bourne writes about anti-Anglosaxonism and discusses the failure of the melting-pot.
The benefit of hindsight allows modern historians to assume that colonists in British America united easily and naturally to throw off the bonds of tyranny in 1775-1776. The fact that "thirteen clocks were made to strike together" (p.4) surprised even the revolutionary leader John Adams. Prior to the mid-1700s many residents of British North America saw themselves in regional roles rather than as "Americans", they were Virginians or Bostonians, regional loyalties trumped any other including those as British colonial citizens. In T. H. Breen's work, The Marketplace of Revolution, he offers an explanation for the sudden creation of a unique American identity. In his words, "What gave the American Revolution distinctive shape was an earlier transformation of the Anglo-American consumer marketplace" (p. xv). Breen contends that before Americans could unite to resist the British Empire, they needed to first develop a unity and trust with one another in spite of their regional differences. "The Marketplace of Revolution argues, therefore, that the colonists shared experience as consumers provided them with the cultural resources needed to develop a bold new form of political protest" (p. xv). The transformation of the consumer marketplace allowed the colonists of British North America to create a unique British and the American identity that would later result in revolution and the formation of a new nation. This trust based on consumption, Breen concludes, was absolutely necessary for the boycott movement to be an effective tool against the British government. "Unless unhappy people develop the capacity to trust other unhappy people protest remains a local affair easily silence by traditional authority" (p.1).
The Revolutionary War was one of America’s earliest battles and one of many. Although, many came to America to gain independence from Great Britain many still had loyalty for the King and their laws. Others believed that America needs to be separated from Great Britain and control their own fate and government. I will analyze the arguments of Thomas Paine and James Chalmers. Should America be sustained by Great Britain or find their own passage?
...erspective to view America’s history from. She does this again when discussing manifest destiny or as she calls it “a doctrine that served to justify expansionist violence by means of intrinsic racial superiority”. in the following paragraph Martinez makes her strongest point saying, “Today’s origin myth and the resulting concept of national identity make for an intellectual prison where it is dangerous to ask big questions about this society’s superiority”. She shows her reader in a sense what the word choice, repetition and examples were meant to have them question, which was superiority in this society, and where did it all start. Through the use of historical events Martinez shows alternative views that oppose the sugar coated tales presented by society, and in so many words ask her readers to question history and motive of what the American Identity actually is.
When he was fifteen years old, his mother died from appendicitis. From fifteen years of age to his college years, he lived in an all-white neighborhood. From 1914-1917, he shifted from many colleges and academic courses of study as well as he changed his cultural identity growing up. He studied physical education, agriculture, and literature at a total of six colleges and universities from Wisconsin to New York. Although he never completed a degree, his educational pursuits laid the foundation for his writing career.
It is visibly apparent culturally as the United States evolved from a nucleus of British settlers to become an English-speaking country, sharing with Great Britain ‘joint aims’ and a ‘common heritage’, as is often referenced in political rhetoric, and by David Watt in his introduction to the book The Special Relationship (D. Watt 1). Yet this perceived relationship between these two countries has gone beyond a joint appreciation for the literature of William Shakespeare and the flavour of a Burger King Whopper to become manifest in political and military relations between the United States and Britain.
“The Star Spangled Banner” emphasizes America’s perseverance and its unwillingness to surrender to adversity. The prime example of this “American attitude” traces back to the dawn of America. Harsh European laws during the Colonial Period allot little to no rights to its own subjects in America. American colonists’ penurious lives are in constant peril of taxation through means such as the mercantilist system and selfish laws like the Navigation Acts. However, American colonists refuse to remain under control of such an oppressive government. In the eyes of the Europeans, they are rapacious rebels who are oblivious of the supremacy of their mother country. Yet, in the eyes of the colonists, they are merely humans asking, and eventually fighting, for simple rights that–according to their tenets–belong to everyone. Although their adversary is the seemingly invincible England, the colonists are able to endure and emerge as the victor. “The Star Spangled Banner” clearly demonstrates the perseverance and audacity in this cl...
“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.
After graduation in 1920, he went to Mexico to teach English for a year. While on the train to Mexico, he wrote the poem “the Negro Speaks of Rivers”, which was published in the June 1921 issue of The Crisis, a leading black publication. After his academic year at Columbia, he lived for a year in Harlem, embarked on a six-month voyage as a cabin boy on a merchant freighter bound for West Africa. After its return, he took a job on a ship sailing to Holland.
"His ( Americans ) only way to assume protective coloration, to loose himself in the crowd, and then to be approved by one of its members." ( S. Lewis, Amer. Author Series 78 )
Once Hughes graduated from high school some of his work began to be published in magazines. During his college years he became a very important key figure with his poetry during the Harlem Renaissance which took place in New York; and it was a literary, artistic, cultural, and intellectual movement that began soon after World War I and ended in the 1930's. The movement brought up huge issues in the lives of African Americans
After graduating from high school, Hughes spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University in New York City. During this time, he acquired menial jobs but, when he moved to Washington D.C. in November 1924, Alfred A. Knopf, published his first b...
Crèvecoeur depicts Americans as though they are a new race or sub-set of people formed from European descent. He mentions, “they are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race now called Americans have arisen” (310-311). Although the American character is founded on liberty, industry, independence, and happiness, Crèvecoeur mentions how extraordinary the diversity is among Americans. Although many Americans came from different customs, traditions, and governments, Crèvecoeur suggests their ability to unite on relatively new ideologies distinguishes them as a nation. Also, adopting the customs of America and rendering an individual's previous traditions, seems to be the product of the high-risk, high-hope behavior distinctive to Americans. He defines, “he is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds” (312). Incorporating new doctrines, governments, and hierarchies the American character develops with the growth of the nation. This becomes exclusive to American identity because it is relatively new as is the American nation and culture. While Americans are unified by similar ideas, and those ideas
In the first Chapter of the book ‘A Different Mirror’ by (Takaki, 1993) the author embarks on a descriptive narrative that tries to elaborate the concept of a multiracial America. The chapter begins with the author taking a taxi ride in which he is subjected to racial discrimination. The taxi driver questions the author’s origin owing to the fact that his English is perfect and eloquent. This incident prompts a discussion that transpires throughout the chapter as the author tries to explain to his audience that America is a multiracial country with different ethnic groups that moved from their homelands to settle in the United States. The chapter discusses the settlement of various racial groups such as; English immigrants, African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanos and the Irish.
A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki provides an insight of America’s multicultural nation. He shares the history of the non-European minorities who have settled and contributed to the growth in America. However, many do not view them as Americans today because they still follow the Master Narrative. This teaching only focuses on the European settlement and their history in America, therefore, causing no acknowledgement to the minorities. Takaki challenges the Master Narrative as an incorrect teaching because it does not reflect America’s full history. America has always been racially and ethnically diverse. Thus, he hopes to move them away from the Master Narrative and learn from his teachings that non-Europeans are Americans despite their
Parrillo’s primary argument is that cultural homogenization had begun to rise during and after the Revolutionary war when cultural differences were put aside in the fight for independence. Intermingling of ethnic groups during the war was a crucial first step in the development of true American common culture and political tradition. The following step, to building an American identity, was to leave behind the Old World political and cultural values. Once the New World was able to sever ties with the Old World, the new nation was able to develop a surge of national pride and success in areas such as art, language usage, and religious authority. The independent nation bonded and was able to shape into a unique community with some distinctively