...Slavery shaped every facet of the daily life of those living in the old south and even those living in the Northern Stares. Focusing primarily on the Old Southern States it is easy to see that slavery heavily affected the social, economic, religious, and political aspects of old southern life. To begin, the economic effect that slavery had on the southern states were numerous. Slavery allowed for enormous profits to be made by the America. The free labor used to pick cotton and other crops made it very profitable for the plantation owners and the owners of factories in the northern states. Another economic effect was the development of the south. Because slavery made it so profitable to continue an agricultural society, the south found very little use for industry and following the example set by the North. The social effects of slavery were also varied. One of the most important was the structure of society. The South was primarily agricultural because it was so profitable. It was therefore not necessary to develop an industrial base for society. Another social effect was the racism created by slavery. This contempt created between the races was a result of the institution of slavery. The effects of this racism were perpetuated throughout society for a very long time and are seen in our not too distant past. Religion was also affected by slavery. The result of slavery on religion was the creation of new beliefs and traditions. The slaves in the south were exposed...
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...living should be able to make a living from their work. Low-wage workers should not have to scrap by. While many of the companies they work for are making thousand if not millions of dollars. The federal minimum wage hasn’t kept up with inflation. If it has been, low-wage workers or family would be able to survive on minimum wage income. However is stratification necessary and positive in America? Society has developed the concept of social class to categorized people into different groups based on economic, political, and socio-economic status. This system of social stratification contributes to the difficulties that the middle and lower classes have to experience in order to succeed in the United States. America is a place where all people are supposed to be equal, but social class has created divisions in our society. Unfortunately social class has become the backbone of American society, where being upper-class gives people an advantage and a controlling position in the United States. In order for some people to feel secure and happy, they feel that they need to move up in the socio-economic...
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...Court System….is it fair or unfair justice??? America was built on the premise of everyone having equal rights. After years of British tyranny our forefathers felt they wanted a system where they will not be improperly punished without facts. In fact the framers of the Constitution felt they needed a system where everyone gets a fair shot. In America everyone who is accused of a crime is supposed to have a fair trial and is assumed innocent until proven guilty. Sadly, however, some would argue America’s criminal justice system has become more twisted and unfair than ever and that the rule of law has basically been vanquished in America’s criminal justice system. Outcomes of cases are generally decided now by the prosecutors and more plea bargaining is the norm over trial by jury. Yet so many people in our society today feels that people in the system gets equal opportunities. Although some people end up with different sentences and punishments people say that the American court system is a fair system. America has slowly turned into a system where justice and fairness is overruled by money and power. In the media today many people are committing crimes and walking away with a slap on the wrist. Many social media and news shows the bias in court systems through their broadcasts of issues. The American justice system is biased in their convictions and sentencing through racial disproportion, social structure, and economic standing. Our criminal justice system in...
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...could be elaborated together in the following essay. So how did the idea about race and class form and develop? The answer could be found starting from the colonial period. In the colonial period, Europeans tried to establish settlements in Florida, the Northeast area bordering Canada, the Virginia colony, and the Southwest. By the 1600s, English colonists had established a system of indentured servitude that included both Europeans and Africans. Soon after, the slave labor system replaced the indentured working labor systems and gradually became rooted in the society. Due to the relationship between white owners and black slaves, the social hierarchy based on the race emerged naturally. Of course, white had the superiority and the black were attached tags of inferiority. The other race is the Native Americans. They were aboriginal people on the land of America. Although they developed good relationship with the first colonists, the conflicts between the Natives and the white Americans over the land issue could never be peacefully solved. Because the natives were outdated in their weapons so they lost their land to the white Americans. At that time, the absolute force meant the dominant power. The natives had to give in, and hence they became subordinates instead of the owner of the land. The most obvious point was the Indian Removal Act. Though it raised a lot of controversy, it was still enacted so that the federal government forced the Natives to leave their homelands and...
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...educated, the economic disparities separating Blacks and whites remains as wide as they were when marchers assembled on the mall in 1963[ for the Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream Speech]”(qtd. in“These Ten…”). Economics played a role in the African American for equality in the schools pre Brown just as it is factoring into the integration of schools today. Richard D. Kahleberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation in Washington D.C. who has studied the impact of segregation in schools stated:...
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...Islam and Muslims in North America * With arising consciousness, with American blacks, the idea that very many of them could have been Muslims, got stronger and stronger * There are estimates that between 14-20 % of Africans brought over to America, were Muslims. * The first Muslims: pre-Columbian and Columbian arrivals or visits? * Muslims arrivals through the slave trade, from early 1600’s to Abolition of slavery in 1863 * Muslim migration to North America * African American Muslims- assertion of identity from 20th c. On 1.3rd of total Muslim population in the USA * Converts * Omar ibn Sayyid (1770-1864) * Born in Senegal, he was enslaved and brought into American in 1806. * Prescribed himself out of a teacher and left the slavery expeditions * Was sold to one master, who died * The next one who bought him forced him into hard labour * Although he was baptized, he was still a practising Muslim Muslim Immigration to North America * Immigrant “cohorts” -Pioneer families (19th c. To WWII) -Transitional families(post WWI to 1968) -Differentiated families (From 1968to today) * Issues -Integration -{reserving an identity) -Diversity within (ethnic, religious) -Proselytizing from other faith communities * 60’s are the turning point for Muslim migration -the post war economic boom and economic recovery, necessitates the influx of labour in Europe and in the North America= immigration is incurred. The...
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...While informing one’s identity, I believe social classes are in place. In the James Brown interview, he talked about the responsibility to take a stand and be a part of the move for fighting freedom, equality and opportunity for African American as a man, but more importantly, as a black man. This related to the Combahee River Collective, where they strongly believe that “the only people who care enough about is to work consistently for our liberation are us.” You are the only one should be talking about your own need and desire. The problem of racial profiling against African American is exactly the outcome of labeling and categorizing. Raven Symone believe that America should be and is a melting pot. In America, we have people from all around the world, different religious and race. The reason America is a melting pot isn’t because we have many different type of American, but we are all...
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...of society are perceived to be the major contributor of social inequality. Discourses have, therefore, been raised on whether the poor deserve to be poor or not and whether the rich deserve to be rich or not. In order to address this question, I examined different dimensions of social inequalities in my life such as social class, educational level, and race among other factors. In this paper, I will also try to bring out understanding of different theories in attempt to explain social stratification. A comparison will be done between different perspectives through interviews and my own perspective of social inequalities. In essence all factors discussed in this paper show a link between social inequalities and different factors such as economic and political system. Trends such as widening inequalities among the groups are associated with low standards of national cohesion and patriotism in the society. It is for these reasons that the patterns of social inequalities need to be understood from an individual perspectives. The society I live in has become more complex with different changes from different regions. Such changes have categorized people by giving them a high or low...
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...(Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States") Chapter 1: Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress The beginning chapter covers early Native American civilization in North America and the Bahamas, the genocide and enslavement committed by the crew of Christopher Columbus (to the West Indies), and incidents of violent colonization by early settlers. The native inhabitants, Arawak Indians, swam out to greet the European boats the first time they landed. Zinn cites Columbus' journal entries throughout the chapters, which included his reaction to the initial encounter with the Arawaks: 'They would make fine servants...With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.' This attitude ultimately led to enslavement, highjacking, murder and rape. Why did they murder thousands to millions of innocent Native Americans? The Spaniard's main aim was to prove to the royalty back home that the islands were wealthy and loaded with great resources, mainly gold. Columbus took some natives back to show the Queen of Spain (they died on route), and when he came back with numbers of men and ships, they started a regimented system of slavery and punishment on the natives of the West Indies. When looking at historical documents of this event, they all had one thing in common. They only speak of the friendliness of the Arawaks, of their genuine kindness and great hospitality. They saw the Spaniards as divine beings, meaning they would never do harm or, let alone...
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...Although Latin America has faced many social, political, and economic issues within the last three centuries, inequality remains one of the most important, historical, and omnipresent aspects of the region’s culture. As Europeans took over Latin America during the time of colonization, they implemented many elitist social structures that have held strong and are evident today (Harris). Income inequality is the most visible and greatest disparity that the region faces; yet inequality between gender, ethnicities, and education remain strong and significant problems with a necessity for improvement. Inequality of wealth and disparity of power and influence are Latin American’s greatest curses and are at the root of many of the developmental, social, criminal, and political problems that continue to plague the region (De Ferranti). Since inequality has pervaded into every feature of Latin American society, it is important to measure inequality accurately in order to obstruct the causes of the discrimination and prevent new ones from beginning. The Gini Coefficient is an effective way that people indicate the inequality of a country by measuring a frequency distribution of income or wealth. Using the "Gini Index" of inequality in the distribution of income and consumption, the researchers found that Latin America and the Caribbean, from the 1970s through the 1990s, measured nearly 10 points more unequal than Asia, 17.5 points more unequal than the 30 countries in the Organization...
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...Wealth & Power in America Name Institution Wealth & Power in America 1. In your opinion, who has political power in the United States? Who lacks it? Why? The congress has the political power in the United States. This is because the congress is entitled to writing the laws. The government and the president do not have the political power in U.S. The president is only entitled to signing the laws made by the congress. The Supreme Court, on the other hand, only decides whether the made laws are constitutional or not (Barret, Stokholm, & Burke, 2001). The wealth and the rich also have immense political power in U.S. 2. What is your opinion of the "American Dream" and the idea that anyone can work hard and succeed? “American Dream” refers to a concept that argues that people can lead happy and successful lives if they embrace the need to work hard. It also argues that freedom, meaningful relationships, and a person’s fulfillment can be achieved if a person works hard. However, in my opinion, not all people can achieve the goal of this dream. This is attributed to the society-structure of the United States. People live in varying social classes, ethnicity, and religion. This different structure of the American society hinders the achievement of this dream (Barret et al., 2001). Some people face a lot of discrimination in the workplaces. Discrimination, in most of these workplaces, is based on one’s color and background ethnicity. Such people are denied job opportunities...
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...most families because there are liberal and conservative Democrats as well as liberal and conservative Republicans. Clear political ideologies are communicated to small proportions of children raised in families where politics is a dominant topic of conversation and political views are strongly held. Religious traditions affect families. Catholic families are somewhat liberal on economic issues than white protestant ones. Jewish families are much more liberal all around then Catholics and Protestants. There are two theories why this is. The first has to do with the social status of religious groups in America. For example Catholics and Jews were often poor and discriminated against, so they affiliated themselves with parties that felt bad for them or would help them. The second theory emphasize the content of the religious tradition. For example Jews emphasize social justice while protestants emphasize personal salvation. This leads to Jews being more liberal and protestants being more conservative on social issues. Religious differences...
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...Robert Marra Section 103 The Origins of Slavery in America The institution of slavery is a black mark on the history of America. The atrocities that were allowed to occur for hundreds of year are revolting to think about. History books and classes often detail the horrors of slavery, and the effects it had on our agricultural economy. However, they do not really explain why the practice of slavery was allowed to flourish in the colonies. They just present the facts of its occurrence. They do not consider the mindset of the people who thought it was justifiable to enslave a specific race. This paper seeks to answer this question using evidence from the studies of Degler, the Handlins, and Morgan. Slavery was not brought into existence by any one singular variable. It is a combination of attitudes and circumstance. Specifically, a preexisting discrimination of darker skinned people by the British and colonists led to the foundation and inconsistent growth of slavery, while the economic factors caused for its widespread acceptance. For instance, there are many more cases of blacks being treated as slaves before the legal status of slave came into existence than there are of whites. In Degler’s article Genesis of American Race Paradox, he argues that racial discrimination was present from the beginning and that the institution of slavery was just the law catching up with the practice (Degler). This essay agrees with and will use many of the points he makes to argue how...
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...in some cases prescribes that one would be fated to become a future blue collar worker, much like one’s parents and peers. However, MacLeod also highlights the paradoxical discrepancy in the less than favorable outcomes of another group whose members do adhere to the dominant achievement ideology, The Brothers. MacLeod explains that, “If the Hallway Hangers [group of white boys] show that opting out of the contest is not a viable option, the Brothers [group of black boys] show that dutifully playing by the rules hardly guarantees success...
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...America has long been viewed as the land of opportunity for everyone; a place unlike any other where anyone can ascend to the top with hard work. People ravaged by hunger, poverty, and religious imprisonment have traveled across the world for centuries to reach this eden-like destination in hopes of reaching an elite status and living a better life than the one from which they escaped. Generations after the initial waves of immigration, people continue to pursue the dreams shared by their ancestors. However, as the inequality gap continues to grow, one question remains: is social mobility likely for most Americans? Although the statistics show that it is unlikely, social mobility is attainable for some due to special factors and the changing society of the United States....
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