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Freedmen’s Bureau Act of 1865 Essay The Freedmen’s Bureau was a government agency enacted March 3, 1865. The purpose of this organization was to aid and protect the newly freed slaves in the south after the Civil War. This was a very influential agency and some people would find it to be a major influence in the life of newly freed slaves. In this paper I will explain to you the purpose, the events that led up to the Freedmen’s Bureau, and the people that influenced the Freedmen’s Bureau. The purpose of the bureau was to provide food and medical care to the freedmen of the south. This bureau was only supposed to be in effect for one year; however, congress extended it contrary to the veto Andrew Johnson. In addition to providing food and medical care to the freedmen of the south; the bureau also helped to manage abandon property, establish schools, and regulate labor. The bureau was successful in educating the freedmen, but was very unsuccessful in establishing land. It was very hard for the newly freed slaves to own land or anything for that manner and it took a very long time to establish anything major for them. Later on after the act was established the freedmen were granted 85,000 acres of land but President Andrew Johnson revoked the land and gave it to the Confederate landowners. After the land was revoked the bureau focused on employment for the freedmen. They were able to acquire employment working on plantations; however, this became a problem when they became sharecroppers and tenant farmers. The bureau had many problems but all in all they did work hard to help the newly freed slaves establish the rights that they weren’t able to obtain. The freedmen’s bureau was established on the sympathy of a Civil War hero. He felt sorry for the blacks that had to transition from captivity to freedom so suddenly. After President Johnson unconstitutionally vetoed the bill, congress passed the bill over his veto. Whites in the south were opposed to African Americans having rights, and the bureau didn’t have the proper military force in place to establish any authority. Eventually the military had the move to the western frontier. The bureau’s work stemmed the establishment of the government involving themselves with social welfare and labor relations. I will now explain the people that played a significant role in influencing and implementing the freedmen’s bureau. The freedmen’s bureau was initiated by former President Abraham Lincoln. It was also headed by Union Army General Oliver O. Howard. George Ruby was an African American teacher and administrator that was the bureau’s inspector. He helped to establish school for African Americans and he also inspected the field officer’s that worked within the bureau. Unfortunately under the leadership of President Ulysses S. Grant, the bureau was disbanded. According to history the freedmen’s bureau was not very successful. Out of all of the promises that were made to the newly freed African Americans, very few were kept. Essentially they were left to fend for themselves. Promises such as employment and some education were kept. The promises for land and racial equality were not kept and this enraged the supporters of the bureau and the African Americans themselves. If the bureau would have had the proper financial backing and the proper number of staff it probably would have been very successful. Being that the bureau let the freedmen down by not providing the necessary funds, land, and education they lost faith in the United States government. The bureau has been labeled a failure by historians. In essence the Freedmen’s Bureau was a relief organization set in place to help freedmen transition from slavery to the free world. Many promises such as land, employment, racial equality, and education were promised; but very few promises were kept. The bureau was underfunded and undermanned and the necessary resources hadn’t been set in place for it to thrive like it was supposed to.

Mind Deception :: Personal Narrative Abortion Descriptive Essays

Mind Deception I’m surrounded by the blatant screams of hatred as I am thrown from hand rail to hand rail on the steps of this large building. The People surrounding me are holding large signs and yelling chants as they throw trash at this structure before me. Signs scream death in red writing as if they were stabbed or ripped open like a wound. The noise has become numbing, and all I hear are footsteps and see hands flail in front of my face. I spin almost motionless as if my head is the only thing moving, yet I am unable to focus on any object. Suddenly the noise returns, and I am no longer spinning. I see the rush of news media approaching in hopes of capturing the best photo or quote of this enormous display of protest. Still I cannot figure out what is being protested. I turn in every direction looking for an explanation for this chaos, and all I receive in return is a shoulder or back turned to me. The riot is getting out of control now, and I see several policemen rushing towards the spectacle. With fear that I may get hurt, I decide to enter the building which stands before me. When the door behind me smacks shut with an echoing, darkness is all I can see. I call out to see if anyone is around, but it appears as though there is no one. The musty smell of this building enters my throat and causes me to gag. I quickly run through an open door in hopes of a change of atmosphere. The smell has changed but the room is still dark, except for a crack of light seeping in from an almost covered skylight above me. Shrieking cries of what I think are infants fill my ears, but after looking in every direction, I see nothing. My curiosity pushes me to explore more of this building; so I move forward and open the door into another room. The room is very well lit, and as I look around I feel as though I have been here before. With no signs as to what this building is, and with no one to ask, I am finding it difficult to recall why I know this place.

Importance of Literature Essay

There are a lot of things that come to mind when a person hears the word literature. Usually, one thinks of a book, story, classical work or some variation of the aforementioned but to ask someone to define the term literature, proves to be a much trickier task. Many are stumped when asked this question. People often answer by giving examples of literary works but fail to actually give an encompassing definition of the term. Welcome to the world of Webster (Dictionary that is). Webster’s Dictionary defines the term literature as the body of written works of a language, period, or culture. This definition seems be broad but continuing on in the definition there was one part that really stood as a more adequate representation of what literature is about. The definition reads as follows; Â…the body of written work produced by scholars or researchers in a given field. This particular definition seems to hit at the core of literature; scholarship and specialization. Some feel that that all written works are forms of literature. I contend that a true work of literature must be written by a person who has studied a given field (specialization) and produced a work that allows the reader to gain some form of a lesson or viewpoint (scholarship), whether agreeing with the writer or taking an opposing stance of the information set fourth in the work. This is not to say that these types of works do not have any entertainment value but they have a type of entertainment that wraps the lesson, argument or viewpoint in an engaging style rather than being force-fed the authors’ stance. A true work of literature should evoke some form of discussion on the works main point. A work of literature needs all of the above, not only to be called a true work of literature but to also cement its place in history, which is the last piece of the puzzle when defining the term. Literature stands the test of time and can be discussed by great grandchildren as well as great grandmothers and all those in between. This all goes to say that the importance of literature is its ability to connect  a community known as the human race. Classical works of literature have been translated so that all human beings can share in a great piece, even being translated to an audio, so that those who can not read will not be stopped from participating in the act of community that literature provides. It is amazing that even though some might not share the same culture as others, they could start a discussion around a piece of literature. The literature in this instance acts as a unifier rather than just a book or story, thus proving the power of literature and the overall power of the written word. A true work of literature must have scholarship, specialization, a unifying human element and an entertaining delivery in order to stand the test of time. The points mentioned above give literature criteria on which to be compared. The importance of literature goes far beyond just having â€Å"a good read.† Literature possesses an intangible that can have a great impact on people’s lives. Great works of our time have brought nations together, stopped feuds, healed wounds, and have even taught humans how to be â€Å"human† again. Literature is extremely important and necessary to the growth of this world and for a creation of a global society.

Napoleon and the Italian Campaign of 1796â€1797

The campaign fought by French General Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy in 1796–7 helped end the French Revolutionary Wars in favor of France. But they were arguably more significant for what they did for Napoleon: from one French commander among many, his string of successes established him as one of France’s, and Europe’s, brightest military talents, and revealed a man able to exploit victory for his own political goals. Napoleon showed himself to be not just a great leader on the battlefield but a canny exploiter of propaganda, willing to make his own peace deals for his own benefit. Napoleon Arrives Napoleon was given command of the Army of Italy in March 1796, two days after marrying Josephine. On route to his new base—Nice—he changed the spelling of his name. The Army of Italy was not intended to be the main focus of France in the coming campaign—that was to be Germany—and the Directory  may have been just shunting Napoleon off somewhere he couldn’t cause trouble. While the army was ill-organized and with sinking morale, the idea that the young Napoleon had to win over a force of veterans is exaggerated, with the possible exception of the officers: Napoleon had claimed victory at Toulon and was known to the army. They wanted victory and to many, it seemed like Napoleon was their best chance of getting it, so he was welcomed. However, the army of 40,000 was definitely poorly equipped, hungry, disillusioned, and falling apart, but it was also composed of experienced soldiers who just needed the right leadership and supplies. Napoleon would later highlight how much of a difference he made to the army, how he transformed it, and while he overstated to make his role look better (as ever), he certainly provided what was needed. Promising troops that they would be paid in captured gold was among his cunning tactics to reinvigorate the army, and he soon worked hard to bring in supplies, crack down on deserters, show himself to the men, and impress on all his determination. Conquest Napoleon initially faced two armies, one Austrian and one from Piedmont. If they had united, they would have outnumbered Napoleon, but they were hostile to each other and didn’t. Piedmont was unhappy at being involved and Napoleon resolved to defeat it first. He attacked quickly, turning from one enemy to another, and managed to force Piedmont to leave the war entirely by forcing them on a large retreat, breaking their will to continue, and signing the Treaty of Cherasco. The Austrians retreated, and less than a month after arriving in Italy, Napoleon had Lombardy. At the start of May, Napoleon crossed the Po to chase an Austrian army, defeated their rear-guard at the battle of Lodi, where the French stormed a well-defended bridge head on. It did wonders for Napoleon’s reputation despite it being a skirmish that could have been avoided if Napoleon had waited a few days for the Austrian retreat to continue. Napoleon next took Milan, where he established a republican gove rnment. The effect on the army’s morale was great, but on Napoleon, it was arguably greater: he began to believe he could do remarkable things. Lodi is arguably the starting point of Napoleon’s rise. Napoleon now besieged Mantua but the German part of the French plan had not even begun and Napoleon had to halt. He spent the time intimidating cash and submissions from the rest of Italy. Around $60 million francs in cash, bullion, and jewels had so far been gathered. Art was equally in demand by the conquerors, while rebellions had to be stamped out. Then a new Austrian army under Wurmser marched forth to tackle Napoleon, but he was again able to take advantage of a divided force—Wurmser sent 18,000 men under one subordinate and took 24,000 himself—to win multiple battles. Wurmser attacked again in September, but Napoleon flanked and ravaged him before Wurmser finally managed to merge some of his force with the defenders of Mantua. Another Austrian rescue force split up, and after Napoleon narrowly won at Arcola, he was able to defeat this in two chunks as well. Arcola saw Napoleon take a standard and lead an advance, doing wonders again for his reputation for persona l bravery, if not personal safety. As the Austrians made a new attempt to save Mantua in early 1797, they failed to bring their maximum resources to bear, and Napoleon won the battle of Rivoli in mid-January, halving the Austrians and forcing them into Tyrol. In February 1797, with their army broken by disease, Wurmser and Mantua surrendered. Napoleon had conquered northern Italy. The pope was now induced to buy Napoleon off. Having received reinforcements (he had 40,000 men), he now decided to defeat Austria by invading it but was faced by Archduke Charles. However, Napoleon managed to force him right back—Charles’ morale was low—and after getting to within sixty miles of the enemy capital Vienna, he decided to offer terms. The Austrians had been subjected to a terrible shock, and Napoleon knew he was far from his base, facing Italian rebellion with tired men. As negotiations went on, Napoleon decided he wasn’t finished, and he captured the Republic of Genoa, which transformed into the Ligurian Republic, as well as took parts of Venice. A preliminary treaty—Leoben—was drawn up, annoying the French government as it didn’t clarify the position in the Rhine. The Treaty of Campo Formio, 1797 Although the war was, in theory, between France and Austria, Napoleon negotiated the Treaty of Campo Formio with Austria himself, without listening to his political masters. A coup by three of the directors which remodeled the French executive ended Austrian hopes of splitting France’s executive from its leading General, and they agreed on terms. France kept the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium), conquered states in Italy were transformed into the Cisalpine Republic ruled by France, Venetian Dalmatia was taken by France, the Holy Roman Empire was to be rearranged by France, and Austria had to agree to support France in order to hold Venice. The Cisalpine Republic may have taken the French constitution, but Napoleon dominated it. In 1798, French forces took Rome and Switzerland, turning them into new, revolutionary styled states. Consequences Napoleon’s string of victories thrilled France (and many later commentators), establishing him as the country’s pre-eminent general, a man who had finally ended the war in Europe; an act seemingly impossible for anyone else. It also established Napoleon as a key political figure and redrew the map of Italy. The vast sums of loot sent back to France helped maintain a government increasingly losing fiscal and political control.