Mostrando resultados por autor "Ryan Webb" en Todas las categorías

In William N. Still’s essay, “A Naval Sieve: The Union Blockade in the Civil War,” he contended that the blockade “was not a major factor in the collapse of the Confederacy” (Still 72). Of the Union Navy’s primary tasks of maintaining control of Southern ports, supporting amphibious operations, and pursuing piratical cruisers, the effectiveness of the blockade remains the most hotly debated strategy. Did it strangle the Confederate economy and force the South to pursue peace? According to Still, the answer is no. The supporting evidence he cites, however, is inconclusive and can...

The signing of the Camp David Peace Accords by President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin on March 26, 1979 altered the strategic picture of the Middle East, as it marked the first time an Arab state recognized the legitimacy of Israel. In reaching a settlement, Sadat alienated himself from the Arab world by failing to secure an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza or the recognition of the Palestinians. Instead, Sadat obtained a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. In short, Sadat acted in the best interests of Egypt at the expense of his Arab neighbors. This ...

What do fairy tales, such as “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Hansel and Gretel,” have to do with French peasant life in the eighteenth century? What does a cat massacre reveal about the relationship between artisans and the bourgeois in early modern France? In Robert Darnton’s, The "Great Cat Massacre," the underlying themes of fairy tales and the circumstances surrounding a large killing of cats provide the answers to these questions and reveal the attitudes and concerns of peasants and artisans in eighteenth century France.

An examination of the records of Captain William Scott and Major Samuel Scott in the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files provides insight on their war and post-war lives. Additional information from secondary sources allows for a more detailed biography of these Virginian-born Revolutionary War officers. Both brothers served during most of the war, as did a third brother, Captain Thomas Scott. In December 1775, William saw action in the Battle of Great Bridge, in Virginia, before he and Samuel Scott headed south to Georgia and the Carolinas. This was after ...

In the years preceding the Yom Kippur War, Israeli leadership framed the operational environment. The result was the 1973 surprise attack by Egypt and Syria. How did this occur? What caused the Israelis to develop such an erroneous assessment? One way to analyze this situation is by looking at the instruments of national power. Nations impact the international environment through diplomatic, informational, military, and economic sources of power. By using these four areas, a holistic view of Israel’s situation prior to the 1973 war can be developed.

Purpose: In "Errand into the Wilderness," one of Perry Miller’s goals was to explain the establishment and development of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony using the two meanings of the word errand, in order to gather insight into the genesis of the American experience. Key Questions: Miller first asked whether the Puritans were sent on a mission, like an errand boy, or whether they were acting alone, doing their own errand. He then asked whether the Puritans fell short of their goal by 1660, and, if so, in what sense had they failed. Finally, he examined whether there was a further ...

In the Greco-Roman world, the Stoics practiced a school of philosophy which held that a wise man should be free from passion and submissive to natural law. In Encheiridion, Epictetus articulated this view and offered advice on life. His ideas can be categorized into the areas of practical advice, inhuman advice, and thoughts that emulate Christian morality.

In 1847, Albert Gallatin published, Peace with Mexico, a pamphlet in which he called for an honorable and just end to the Mexican War. Gallatin argued that the United States acted immorally when it provoked war with Mexico and needed to redeem itself. Instead of dismembering Mexico to satisfy what he called a hunger for conquest, he suggested the United States voluntarily relinquish all conquests and only demand the rights that were due her citizens.

Both the history of the American West and the history of the world contain numerous examples of opposing forces engaged in conflict over religious, economic, or social issues. For example, in the American West, tragedies include the conflict between small farmers and social bandits against wealthy elites, the Indian Wars, and the industrial conflict between wageworkers and big business. In world history, the American Civil War, the serfdom of tsarist Russia, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all represent tragedies. In the American West, small farmers and social bandits challenged an ...

Both John Mill and Jeremy Bentham agreed with the utilitarianism claim that a “good action” resulted in an increase in the overall balance of pleasure. At the same time, a “bad action” decreased the balance. In other words, actions can be deemed “right” depending on their promotion of happiness and labeled as “wrong” when they produce the opposite effect. It should also be noted that, according to the theory, happiness is characterized as pleasure and the absence of pain.

Even though the collapse of the Soviet Union left America as the sole world superpower, the United States sought to promote a world order based on cooperation between states. In 1991, President Bush formed a large coalition to push Iraq out of Kuwait. In the same spirit, America worked with the United Nations in Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo. In addition, throughout the 1990’s, the United States turned to the United Nations to implement a policy of containment against Saddam Hussein’s regime. Nevertheless, containment gradually eroded, and by 2001, the policy appeared to be no longer viable...

In "The Art of the Long View," published in 1991, Peter Schwartz presented scenario-building as a useful planning tool. First, he argued that “driving forces” move the plot of a scenario. These forces often involve developments in society, technology, economics, and politics. Next, Schwartz identified “predetermined elements,” or events that seem certain to occur. Examples include population change, resource constraints, and inevitable collisions. Third, Schwartz explored “critical uncertainties,” which are important unknown events. After identifying these three factors, ...

Napoleon Bonaparte once stated, “Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, and Frederick the Great. This is the only way to become a great general.” Napoleon’s successes on the battlefield point to the validity of his assertion. His study of the past informed his understanding of the present, and influenced his actions. In the same way, history provides valuable insight into other areas. For example, an analysis of military history, from the 16th through the 19th centuries, reveals several characteristics of effective militaries. During ...

Before becoming president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in prison. Reflecting on this crucible, he stated, “The cell is an ideal place to know yourself. People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones.” A crucible is “a transformative experience through which an individual comes to a new or an altered sense of identity.” For me, the crucible of naval flight training expanded my understanding of organizational leadership. In addition to learning the importance of the operations process, the ...

“That’s it?” I ask myself as I close John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, and place it on my desk. “Where’s the decisive battle between Beowulf, the herculean warrior, and Grendel’s outraged mother? Where’s the scene of the mighty thane slicing off dead Grendel’s ugly head and carrying it proudly into King Hrothgar’s mead hall? Why does Gardner not show us the restoration of peace to the land of the Danes?” Leaning back in my chair, I think, “Why doesn’t John Gardner’s novel mimic the end of the epic, Beowulf, on which it is based? Why does Gardner downplay the great ...

In the final decades of the 19th century, America experienced rapid industrial growth, corporate mergers, an influx of immigrants, and a rise in urban population and development. These modern changes resulted in crowded tenements, low wages, long working hours, child labor, and bad factory conditions. In response, the American people called for an end to corruption in government and supported legislation aimed at reducing these new evils of society. Consequently, during this “Progressive Era” the United States experienced one of the highest rates of reform in its history. Government ...

US and Israeli intelligence detect a nuclear weapons shipment set to depart Pakistan for Saudi Arabia in several days. The nations of Iran and Iraq already possess nuclear weapons. The spread of nuclear weapons creates a greater chance that war could escalate to a level of destruction never before seen, through accidental launch or a regional conflict spiraling out of control. Logic suggests that more widespread possession of nuclear weapons increases the likelihood of their use. For this reason, efforts at non-proliferation by the international community are an important factor in ...

In the final decades of the 19th century, America experienced rapid industrial growth, corporate mergers, an influx of immigrants and a rise in urban population and development. These modern changes resulted in crowded tenements, low wages, long working hours, child labor, and bad factory conditions. In response, the American people called for an end to corruption in government and supported legislation aimed at reducing these new evils of society. Indeed, during the Progressive Era the United States experienced one of its highest rates of reform. Government became more democratic and laws ...

This paper explores President Truman’s decision to intervene in the Korean War and then cross the 38th parallel and invade North Korea. An analysis of Truman’s foreign policy reveals that intervention in the Korean War was part of a new global offensive against the spread of communism. Domestically, Truman believed that a Korean offensive across the 38th parallel would quiet his critics and allow him to mobilize the economy for a long-term Cold War. Militarily, Truman’s advisors overwhelmingly supported the invasion of North Korea. They concluded that Korea could be unified after ...

In Plato’s, The Ring of Gyges, Glaucon believed that man created justice by coming to an agreement not to inflict injury or suffer it. Glaucon also pointed out that man struggled to act justly since his natural tendency was to be unjust. This hypothesis is demonstrated in the story of the ancestor of the Lydian Gyges. In this story, a man found a ring that could make him invisible. Leaving his life as a quiet shepherd, he decided to engage in an affair with the king’s wife, killed the king, and then took over the kingdom. Would other men act similarly? Glaucon believed the only way to ...