The Role of Ideals and Self-Interest in the History of America
Throughout history, beginning when settlers first arrived in America, every event that took place became part of American history. Ideals, as described by Dr. Margolies, History Professor at Virginia Wesleyan College, are "motivating, lofty goals". Some of these ideals, which shaped American history, included life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as protected by the Constitution. Self-interest, a second influential factor in American history, is shown through the gaining of benefits for oneself. Although it is debatable which of these two influential factors was more dominant in American history, the possibility arises that they coincide with one another revealed by many documented events.
Self-interest can be seen in many of the writings throughout American history. The mercantile system, as exhibited by the British on the colonies, was an extremely hedonistic approach to gaining wealth for themselves. Mercantilism, as set forth by the Navigation Acts, imposed strict and extremely descriptive laws that would limit and exploit trade in the colonies, allowing Britain to control the wealth and profit of materials and goods in America. These acts were used to keep America from trading with any other countries. As stated in the Navigation Act of 1660, "no goods or commodities whatsoever shall be imported into or exported out of any lands" to his Majesty belonging"in any other ship or ships...as do truly and without fraud belong only to the people of England or Ireland" (Restoration 98). Britain knew that by controlling the colonies in this manner they could take the raw materials out and sell the finished products back, and by doing so they would profit greatly. This mercantile system exemplifies the arrogant minds of the British while America was developing. This system would soon become a failure due to the people's demands to have representation along with taxation, and their desire to separate from England as a free and independent state. Likewise, it was due to self-interest of the greedy planters and the self righteous farmers in the south that slavery was highly used. At that time they needed all the labor they could get, and the cheapest way to obtain it was through the purchase of slaves. Some of the slavery was downplayed by calling it indentured servitude, where servants were essentially slaves for a limited number of years.
In the early eighteenth century consumer goods flooded American markets, the colonists needed to sell what they produced in order to purchase British goods that were beyond their ability to manufacture and therefore made them feel more a part of the British "empire of goods".
Slavery was a practice in many countries in the 17th and 18th centuries, but its effects in human history was unique to the United States. Many factors played a part in the existence of slavery in colonial America; the most noticeable was the effect that it had on the personal and financial growth of the people and the nation. Capitalism, individualism and racism were the utmost noticeable factors during this most controversial period in American history. Other factors, although less discussed throughout history, also contributed to the economic rise of early American economy, such as, plantationism and urbanization. Individually, these factors led to an enormous economic growth for the early American colonies, but collectively, it left a social gap that we are still trying to bridge today.
Two hundred and twenty five years ago, a document was added to our constitution granting us five ideals. This document was called the Bill of Rights, which granted us the basic rights of opportunity, liberty, equality, democracy and rights. Since the Bill of Rights was added, not all of the ideals have been obeyed consistently. Liberty, rights, and democracy have been followed well throughout the years, but opportunity and equality have fluctuated. Although the constitution and bill of rights says every american should be granted with these ideals, some americans simply did not make that so.
The current criteria for assessment of PTSD is only suitable if criterion A is met. Every symptom must be bound to the traumatic event through temporal and/or contextual evidence. The DSM-5 stipulates that to qualify, the symptoms must begin (criterion B or C) or worsen (symptom D and E) after the traumatic event. Even though symptoms must be linked to a traumatic event, this linking does not imply causality or etiology (Pai, 2017, p.4). The changes made with the DSM-5 included increasing the number of symptom groups from three to four and the number of symptoms from 17 to 20. The symptom groups are intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and
The website My PTSD (2013) explores the history of PTSD experienced by soldiers. While this illness was not known until 1980 as PTSD, the symptoms of the disease can be traced back to warriors in the battlefield 1000BC. Prior of being called PTSD this disorder was identified with various names just within the last century. These names included: War Hysteria, Stress Response Syndrome, Vietnam Veterans Syndrome, DaCosta’s Syndrome, Shell Shock, War Neurosis, Combat Stress Reaction, Traumatic & Fright Neuroses, and many others. Much of the PTSD development was influenced by WWI and WWII veterans’ response to stress. The effects of the illness were identified by the fixation on traumatic events as well as functional limitations (My PTSD). While anybody experiencing a trauma can become a victim of PTSD,...
After about twelve years of the DREAM Act floating around in congress, many people on both sides of the issue are unsure of what will happen. For some, the fact that it has been around for long without much progress means that the DREAM Act will not pass. On the other side of this issue, the dreamers, continue fighting to keep the DREAM Act alive, so that all the immigrant students can continue to post secondary education, and not have to stop their education at the end of 12th grade. These young immigrants were brought here when they were younger and have lived in the United States most of their life. They are known as dreamers because many of them cannot continue their education due to the barriers placed on them because of their undocumented status. Those who wish to continue to a post secondary education have to pay higher out-of-state tuition rates. The passing of the DREAM Act will provide a path to legalization for educated and dedicated individuals who will continue to contribute a lot to the U.S. economy and in many other ways. The majority of undocumented students were brought to the U.S. when they were small children, and they “should be allowed to have the chance to stay in the country call home” (Bennion).
One facet of this unique system involved the numerous economic differences between England and the colonies. The English government subscribed to the economic theory of mercantilism, which demanded that the individual subordinate his economic activity to the interests of the state (Text, 49). In order to promote mercantilism in all her colonies, Great Britain passed the Navigation Acts in 1651, which controlled the output of British holdings by subsidizing. Under the Navigation Acts, each holding was assigned a product, and the Crown dictated the quantity to be produced. The West Indies, for example, were assigned sugar production and any other colony exporting sugar would face stiff penalties (Text, 50). This was done in order to ensure the economic prosperity of King Charles II, but it also served to restrict economic freedom. The geographical layout of the American colonies made mercantilism impractical there. The cit...
Padela, MD, A., Gunter, MPH, K., Killawi, MSW, A., & Heisler, MD, M. (2012). Religious Values and Healthcare Accomodations: Voices from the American Muslim Community. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 708-715.
The diagnosis of Post –Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) involves clusters of symptoms. They include persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance of traumatic reminders/ general numbing of emotional responsiveness, and hyper-arousal (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In order for the possible diagnosis of PTSD the individual needs to have exposed to a
Post-traumatic Stress disorder is defined as a mental illness that involves the exposure to trauma involving death or the threat of death, serious injury, or sexual violence. An event is categorized as traumatic when it is frightening, overwhelming and causes a lot of distress. A traumatic event can range anywhere from crimes to wars and are often unexpected. The difference between PTSD and a normal response to trauma is the duration of the symptoms someone experiences after the event. A normal response to trauma includes the same symptoms as PTSD but lasts between several days and several weeks, but they eventually subside. It is not out of the ordinary that people experience these problems; it would be strange if they didn’t. Nevertheless, a normal response to trauma escalates to PTSD when someone gets stuck in that state for an extended period of time. The symptoms don’t decrease and individuals progressively begin to feel worse as each day passes.
Smith, M & Segal, J 2011, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), viewed 17 August 2011 .
Thomas Miller, Assessment of Life Stress Events: the Etiology and Measurement of Traumatic Stress Disorder
Slavery has played a major role in colonial America since European colonization. When Europe colonized America, there was a lot of work that needed to be done. With the vast land and lack of laborers, slaves were introduced to the new world. Dutch ships brought African slaves into America and started to use slaves as laborers. Slaves became the solution to the problem in hand. During the American Revolution, Slavery was an issue that was overlooked by the people and government. The people of America just wanted their independence and liberty from Great Britain. They did not see that slaves were people too and should have equal rights just like them. By the eighteenth century, America was influenced by John Locke’s theory of natural rights.
...healing process of the patient. Healthcare professionals should frequently ask questions in order to fully understand if certain needs are to be met because of religious practices or beliefs. For example, a fresh bed sheet can be offered to a Muslim in order for a clean space for their daily prayers (pg. 21, Singh, 2009). Certain medical decisions can be difficult to finalize since religion must be taken into consideration. Healthcare providers will come into contact with people of different faiths, nationalities and cultures. All patients should be treated with the same amount of respect and acceptance in order for their medical needs to be fairly met.
The evolution theory, one of the most significant theories, laid groundwork for the study of modern biological science. This theory has lead scientists into unending debates due to lack of empirical supports. Until the mid-eighteenth century, when Charles Darwin came up with an explanation to evolution, scientists, then, began to endorse this hypothesis. In “Natural Selection,” Darwin explains the natural selection, a plausible mechanism that causes evolution, to gain approval of his cynical audience for his evolution theory. He supports his claim with numerous examples of animals and plants that have developed traits beneficial for survival. A century later, Stephen Jay Gould, influenced by Darwin’s work, supports the evolution theory with a different method. In “Evolution as Fact and Theory,” Gould, in contrast to Darwin, criticizes his detractors, the creationists who believe that every life form is the creation of a supernatural being, to reinforce the validity of the evolution theory. Gould undermines creationism by emphasizing its misused concepts of theory and popular philosophy, proving that it is not science. Besides denouncing creationism, Gould also provides theoretical examples as evidence to prove evolution is a theory. Despite their different approaches, both Darwin and Gould effectively prove the existence of evolution.