Pierpont Morgan: The turn of the century in American, when E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime is set, was a time marked by rapid technological developments and industrialization. These years also brought a heavy flood of immigrants as well as an increasingly urban American landscape. Technological advancements enabled increased efficiency and mass production. However, Doctorow clearly brings into question the consequences of this new technology for the average American worker. J.P. Morgan's discussion with
homage to this fact, especially when they can cast their protagonist as the villain. In the novel “The Financier” (Dreiser, 2008) Frank Cowperwood risked the loss of his personal freedom in an attempt to gain control of a streetcar system. In the film “Wall Street” (Stone, 1987) Gordon Gekko took the same risks in an effort to assume control of a small airline company. Even though “The Financier” and “Wall Street” were created more than 75 years apart, both works acknowledge the importance of transportation
bully, drunk with wealth and power." Despite conflicting opinion on his persona, his influence and character shaped the business world more so than any other person at the turn of the century. Morgan was a banker, railroad czar, industrialist, financier, philanthropist, yachtsman, and ladies' man. He was king to a handful of millionaire barons who controlled the country's wealth in an era of little government regulation. The wealth of the Morgan family did not begin with Pierpont but with his
reading the story, the readers as well as listeners can actually see and understand Firoozeh’s feelings in particular and immigrants in general. Actually, I am an international student, and I come from Vietnam. I also have that bad experience when Americans cannot say my name, and that makes me sympathize with Firoozeh. At the beginning of the story, Firoozeh shows American’s attitude toward saying her name as well as her cousin’s name and her brothers’ names. They purposefully mispronounced and changed
The Malignant American in Surfacing Before traveling through Europe last summer, friends advised me to avoid being identified as an American. Throughout Europe, the term American connotes arrogance and insensitivity to local culture. In line with the foregoing stereotype, the unnamed narrator's use of the term American in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing is used to describe individuals of any nationality who are unempathetic and thus destructive. The narrator, however, uses the word in the context
A and Ph.D in Sociology from Harvard University. Now, he is working for Made In America which is a Social History of American Culture and Character. First of all, Claude pointed out “Locality is following the family, the premier locus for “community”, in the fullest sense of solidarity, commitment, and intimacy”. Afterwards, he stated 4 different ways can prove Americans have become more committed in localism. He also stated that the changes between families and nations. In my point of
about American imperialism and its behavior. Historians such as William A. Williams, Arthur Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer provides their own vision and how America ought to be through ideas centered around economics, power, and racial superiority. Economics becomes a large factor in the American imperialism; but more specifically that expansion in foreign markets is a vital part in the growth of America. As historian Charles Beard puts it, “[it] is indispensable to the prosperity of American business
Martha Euphemia Lofton Haynes was the first African American women to earn a PH.D in mathematics. She was the first and only child of William S. Lofton, a dentist and financier, and Lavinia Day Lofton. Euphemia Lofton Haynes was born Martha Euphemia Lofton on September 11, 1890 in Washington D.C. In 1917 she married her childhood sweetheart Dr.Harold Appo Haynes. They knew each other very well, as they grew up in the same neighborhood when they were teenagers. They both attended, and graduated from
African-American community. A span of ideas on what it meant to be African-American influenced many people to partake in art, music, and writing. During the 1920’s, the endless innovation made Harlem the “Mecca” for African-American civilization. Contributors and leaders recognized this as a resurrection of identity and spirituality which created, the “Harlem Renaissance.” Although the Harlem Renaissance shaped the African-American community substantially, there was still dispute. White Americans weren’t
expedition, like the American Dream and the Socialist vision, is based on grand hopes. The expedition is however, marked with disappointment and results in the destruction of dreams and people. In Doctorow’s treatment, the American Dream as well as the Socialist vision share this fate. In this way, Peary’s polar expedition serves as an allegory for the entire novel. The novel is filled with great dreams, sweeping visions and grand hopes. The general tone of the era and the American Dream are represented
typify a person or situation (Oxford). But in reality it is more like a subtle form of bias, such as those based on people's gender, race or occupation. For example, Americans are generally considered to be arrogant and materialistic while Asians, on the other hand, are expected to be shrewd but reserved. Obviously, not all Americans are arrogant and not all Asians are shrewd. So, if one just assumes what a person is like and don't look at each person as an individual, he or she is likely to make
The American Economy The American economy is a vibrant, free-market system that is constantly developing out of the choices and decisions made by millions of citizens who play multiple, often overlapping roles as consumers, producers, investors and voters. The changes in the organization and performances of the manufacturing industry over the last century have helped shape the American economy. The Automotive industry perhaps made the biggest changes to their manufacturing processes. I will be
However, the practical advantages of the Tuskegee group its influence over the black press, backing by white financiers, Washington’s skills as a tactician coupled with fragmentation within the Niagara movement itself helped bring about the demise of Du Bois group in 1910. Some critics contend that the Niagara’s failure was inevitable because of the overwhelmingly racist beliefs of American society at that time. “The movement’s basic problem,” according to Rudwick, “was the nation’s virulent racism
Howard Hughes, the Eccentric Millionaire Mesaed Yousef BGEN – 194 US Montana State University Howard Hughes In the year 1926, an inventor, businessman, and film producer, Howard Hughes, started building his business empire based on his father’s inheritances. He inspired many people during his time and in the modern society (Morganthau, & Warner, 1985). Depictions of his character and lifestyle are portrayed in a Video Game as “Andrew Ryan,” the founder of the underwater city in “Bioshock 2007
Throughout history racism has had many faces and damaged the lives of many people. Such historical events as the American Civil War, and Hitler’s rise before WWII, demonstrate how oppression has crippled and tarnished society at all levels. In the aforementioned events in history and in Richard Wright’s Native Son, racism is a vehicle that often leads to oppression
The NFL’s expectation of violence and tolerance of systemic violence is disturbing to think about. Our troubled consciousness, however, can easily shake off the pangs of moral discomfort, and carry on. The hundreds of athletes who experience the consequences of this violence every day can not. They “[regard] their bodies as machines and weapons with which to annihilate their opponents” and deliver pummeling blows with each passing down (Messner and Sabo, 95). A human being is simply not designed
expelled from Harvard a year before Croly entered its halls. But Croly remained aloof through his long stay at Harvard, which had more promising sons to look after. However, when in 1909 Croly published his first and most remembered book, The Promise of American Life, he was instantly recognized as a great political thinker. Eager to recognize him as one of its own, Harvard gave him his bachelor’s degree soon after the jubilant reviews were printed. Croly was born on Jan 23, 1869 and journalism was in
different views, aims and backgrounds. They had different views and aims because of their different experiences of segregation and their different perceptions of White Americans themselves. The Southern Blacks were mainly from small towns and rural areas. They were part of the small and almost non-existent middle class of Black Americans. Most of them came from professional or largely business backgrounds, the younger members were also lucky in the fact that most of them got the chance to go to
Repression, Isolation, Segregation and the Urban Ghetto African Americans have systematically been denied equal opportunities and this is particularly true within American inner cities. The social, cultural, and economic isolation of these urban ghettos has profound impacts and affects on its dwellers. This isolation and segregation has led to the evolution of profoundly divergent and dichotomous life chances for black and white Americans. The black urban poor are confronted with a lifestyle that promotes
I. Introduction A. More and more immigrants pour in for "American Dream," but fail B. Main Points American dream- hope, freedom, jobs and a better life for their children (Costa 1) Need to acculturate Child who learns to speak English has more control than parent (Costa 1)- Acculturated second generation generally more economically successful To get good jobs, need English language and American education- need to be well-rounded to be "wanted" by top schools (Fuller 39) Cultural identification-