Essay on Capital Punishment Must Be Put To Death - 1712 Words

Capital punishment, better known as the death penalty, has been around for centuries. Like all elements of modern society, the death penalty has evolved over the course of many years. Initially, the death penalty was administered by a royal court or monarchy through brutal stoning. Since then, the guillotine, noose, electric chair, and [currently] lethal injection have all been tools created to administer the death penalty here in the United States. Before the act of actually ending the criminal’s life is performed he or she waits on death row during the course of any court proceedings. In America, death row is the term given to the section of a prison reserved for inmates awaiting trial concerning the death penalty. The term â€Å"death row†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Above all, the death penalty is ineffective and corrupt The truth remains, that there is no completely accurate way to measure whether actual crime rates are lowered or not in states where the death penalty is legal. â€Å"Mistakes will be made in any system that relies upon human testimony for proof† (Top 2 of 4). It is also true that â€Å"No system can produce results which are 100% certain all the time.† (Top 2 of 4). Naturally, the effectiveness of the death penalty cannot be determined strictly by evaluating statics. Although there is no way to prove anything involving the testimonies of humans 100% accurate, there is no room to make assumptions in favor of a decision to terminate lives. The death penalty is not supported by any records that legitimately prove claims of lowering crime rates; particularly homicides. In fact research says: â€Å"States that have death penalty laws do not have better crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws.† (Top 1 of 4). â€Å"And states that have abolished capital punishment show no significant changes in either crime or murder rates.† (Top 1 of 4). In short there is no evidence of the death penalty or the laws that establish it lowering crime rates. From its beginnings, the death penalty was established to scare people out of committing certain crimes. People who were givenShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment1534 Words   |  7 PagesThe death penalty has been around for many centuries and will probably be around for many to come. Although some citizens feel capital punishment is ethically wrong, it is necessary in today s society for various reasons. Society must be kept safe from the barbaric acts of murders and rapist, by taking away their lives to function and perform in our society. Most criminals don t take into account the results of their actions. If a person intending to commit a crime, sees another criminal put toRead More The Need for Capital Punishment in America Essay1151 Words   |  5 Pagescrime as murder is punishable by death. Americans should take a position for anyone on death row, to be executed sooner rather than later. The moral reality in an argument for capital punishment is that they know the difference between the death penalty and what happens when it is actually put into place from the court of law. In the United States there are more people sitting in prison on death row than actually being executed at time of sentence. When the death penalty is not carried out, thenRead MoreArgument For Capital Punishment889 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscussing whether the death penalty is wrong. I will be arguing in favor of capital punishment and will be presenting several arguments to back up my position. First, an understanding of what the death penalty is and why it is used currently needs to be established. The death penalty has been around almost as long as humans have. It is a form of punishment that is a deterrent for other criminals. Also, capital punishment is a way to prevent the criminal being put to death from committing any furtherRead MoreEssay on A Call for Change: Abolishing the Death Penalty1 728 Words   |  7 Pagessociety, an idea from the past has become crooked and is no longer needed. A fashion of punishment might have benefited society in past generations, but the human race is always advancing and improving; therefore, a change must occur to keep enhancing humanity. One change must be capital punishment. The United States’ government must stop trying to preclude murder by committing murder and the ultimate punishment should be prison for life with no chance of parole. In 2010, 558 citizens in the stateRead MoreEssay on Capital Punishment863 Words   |  4 PagesCapital Punishment Capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty, and since ancient times, it has been used to punish a large variety of offenses. The penalty of death is reserved for the most serious and detested crimes. The legal system must sentence the death penalty to capital crime offenders. Criminals convicted of murder or rape need to be executed because they are dangerous to the world and the human race. However, America seems to to always want to put people in prisonRead MoreCapital punishments should not be banned; people believe capital punishment is unconstitutional,900 Words   |  4 PagesCapital punishments should not be banned; people believe capital punishment is unconstitutional, that the person on death row actually committed a crime that put them there. There are complaints about the money put out for capital punishment and some think that the death penalty sends the wrong message or that our government is broken. Even though people believe capital punishment sh ould be banned, it should not be banned due to multiple reasons. In the United States, capital punishment (also knownRead MoreEssay about Differing Christian Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment1547 Words   |  7 PagesDiffering Christian Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment This assignment is to discuss the different views of Christians on Capital Punishment. I will explore both sets of view, whether they are for or against it. I will say which bible verses may have swayed their opinions of capital punishment, and what they think God has to say about the whole issue. I have opinions from Christians today, who I have asked their opinions on the matter. I will also include churchs Read MoreNo Easy Way Out814 Words   |  4 Pagesbetween capital punishment and life without parole is an ongoing debate being waged between the states. Capital Punishment, or the death penalty, is the process by which an individual is put to death by the state for a capital offense, whereas life without parole is when a capital offender is sentenced to a life behind bars with no opportunity for freedom. The choice to adopt or abolish capital punishment is up to each state, and it is the state’s verdict to determine if capital punishment is unjustRead MoreToughts on the Capital Punishment1646 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment On June 1, 1985 Kathy Wilhoit was murdered. Greg Wilhot was left a single father to care for his four months old and fourteen months old. Nearly a year after Kathy was murdered Greg was accused, arrested and charged with the murder. The evidence to convict Greg of murder was a bite mark on Kathy’s body, that two dental â€Å"experts† matched with Gregs bite. This man was behind bars with two young daughters at home, so his parents decided to hire one of Oklahoma’s â€Å"best† defenseRead MoreThe Consequences Of The Death Penalty Essay1573 Words   |  7 Pages they are typically not focused upon the long-term consequences, such as death, but rather the immediate arrest and imprisonment. In fact, according to Kovandzic et al. (2009), the long-term risks never enter the forefront of the criminal’s mind during the decision-making process. By narrowing their focus upon the gains rather than the costs, they are able to minimize (or even eliminate) th eir fear of arrest and punishment, and even sometimes believing they wouldn’t get caught, invalidating the deterrent

The Many Drawbacks Of Homeschooling - 1733 Words

The Many Drawbacks of Homeschooling Carole Kennedy, a principal at a school in Columbia, Missouri, talks about how time and time again she has seen many bright young children turn into lazy and poor students when they decided to turn to homeschooling. Carole specifically remembers a young boy who used to go to public school. He had some behavioral problems and his parents constantly received calls from school. She said that eventually the parents grew sick of dealing with the student’s problems at school and decided to withdraw him from public school to teach him at home. All of the child’s former friends had heard that at home he did very little work. This has happened to many children over the years (Pfleger 55). Most children would†¦show more content†¦Most parents do not want their children pressured into making bad decisions that will hurt them later in life. Religion also plays a key role in a parent’s decision to keep their children home from publ ic schooling. â€Å"Families from diverse backgrounds resort to homeschooling because they are dissatisfied with the quality or content of public schools† (Lines 21). A family that revolves heavily around religion would not be happy with the lack of religious studies in public school. Public schooling also poses difficulties if a family lives in the military and must constantly move around from place to place. In some cases, to just keep a child home proves easier. Many people argue that their children are safer in home schools than in public schools in the wake of all the recent school shootings as well. Public schooling demonstrates effectiveness and efficiency. Homeschooled parents like to point out that public schools do not have a specific learning program for every child. While it might appear that public schools use broad learning techniques, they actually â€Å"have been refined for decades to supply the best possible teaching to the vast majority of all students† (Hudak 41). Though it may appear that these teaching styles do not cover a student’s specific learning style; the schools supplement them with special programs like the Gifted and Talented program. TheseShow MoreRelatedEssay On Homeschooling907 Words   |  4 PagesHomeschooling Many families are taking their children out of public and private school’s classroom to move the classroom to their homes. In both articles, the parents have different reasons for why they are choosing to homeschool instead of keeping their children in public or private schools. Homeschooling is not for everyone and cannot be taken lightly. There are many different reasons why families would rather homeschool instead of sending their children to public schools. According to parentsRead MoreIs Homeschool Not Public School?757 Words   |  4 PagesUsing whatever resource is available is great. Even if the choices are limited because you are home with your children there are better ways if parents take the time to think about what is the best way to homeschool. 1. Remember you are home: Homeschooling does take time to adjust to but don’t require your children to school as if they were in public school. Scheduling is much different. It’s much more relaxed and calm. There is no need for strict, inflexible rules. Encouragement and love are necessaryRead MoreHomeschooling: A New Way of Learning Essay1547 Words   |  7 Pagesmy family. My experiences as a homeschooler led me to want to research homeschooling and how it has affected others. Where homeschooling remains to be one of the fastest developing trends in America and that very trend is spreading worldwide. The number of students being homeschooled has increased greatly, to about 1.1 million from 1999 to 2003, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. With many new and exciting statistics being put out daily, such include homeschoolersRead MoreEssay on Definition of Home Schooling1622 Words   |  7 Pagestraditional school environment† (Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), 1999). Parents homeschool their children in many different ways. The techniques vary from traditional ways of teaching using textbooks, to community activism, to the study of classic literature and Latin, and many versions in between (Ransom, 2001; Izhizuka et. al., 2000). Homeschooling is permitted in all 50 states, however, each state has its own rules and regulations for legally taking a child out of the traditionalRead MoreEducation Is Not A Perfect System978 Words   |  4 Pagesessentially become â€Å"schooling† (Gatto 28). Compulsory education’s major flaw is its existence as a â€Å"network† whose sole purpose is to churn out citizens who will fit into the American workforce (Gatto 53). An alternative to compulsory education is homeschooling, and if Gatto were to decide, all children would be homeschooled within their individual community. Yet, in what John Dewey would call today’s â€Å"progressive society,† an increased expectation of global participation requires children’s educationRead MorePublic High School Reform : Public School2137 Words   |  9 PagesPublic High School Reform Let s get straight to the point, American public school s are failing, and although the solutions to their many problems aren’t entirely implicit, remedial endeavors have been lackluster at best. In fact, According to PISA(Program for International Student Assessment), a recent international academic assessment, American students are significantly falling behind their international counterparts in math, reading, science, and have sunk to the 36th spot in the internationalRead MoreThe And The Contemporary Manifestations Of Alternates From Traditional School Structures1419 Words   |  6 Pagesthe large, overarching beliefs from both sides of the argument, but as far as the contemporary issues and possibilities are concerned, there are three alternative school structures I would like to look at; private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling. The first example I would like to look at is charter schools. Charter schools are a rather recent invention having only begun twenty four years ago in Minnesota. Since then, however, they now account for a total 5.8% of public schools in 2012Read MoreThe Benefits And Drawbacks Of Total Immunization1634 Words   |  7 PagesAuditing The Benefits And Drawbacks of Total Immunization On April 16, 1850, many people were relieved to know that the polio vaccination became required in all US schools. At this time, doctors and medical researchers did not think that now requiring one vaccine would create such a ripple affect, as well as so much controversy. Now, in the twentyfirst century, vaccinations are one of the medical fields strongest defenders of health and have created the ability for the body to become immune to virusesRead MoreEssay The Dark Side of Online Education2078 Words   |  9 Pagesadvanced, but that they are being replaced by at home online courses. Unfortunately many of the students enrolled aren’t because they need this type of education but rather that they do it out of pure convenience. The problem with all of this is that people are so impressed by the possibilities that they forget that homeschooling is not necessarily the best environment for education. Although convenience may be important to many Americans today, the potential harm of an online education to a young studentRead MoreShould Home Schooling Be Encouraged as an Alternative to Educate Children?2711 Words   |  11 Pagestogether. Thus, they fought for their common goal which was to let children to have the opportunity to study in a better and safer environment, and hence, motivate children to study. (Parenting 4 Dummies, 2007). For many years, there are many who tend to argue that home schooling bri ngs many disadvantages. These disadvantages includes the impression that homeschooled kids are unable to get socialize, cost of home schooling will be a burden for parents and some of them even claim that home schooling is

Night of the Long Knives Free Essays

The Night of the Long Knives(The Blood Purge) Hitler had an abundance of power due to the enabling act that was granted to him by President Hindenburg. Even with all his power, Hitler still felt threatened by the SA leaders. This lead to the Night of the long Knives June 29th, 1934. We will write a custom essay sample on Night of the Long Knives or any similar topic only for you Order Now This purge was only the beginning of his conquest to be the dictatorial power of Germany. What happened on the Night of the Long Knives? And why did Hitler arrange it. What happened during the Night of the Long Knives? This event saw the wiping out of he SA leaders and other people that angered Hitler. Hitler ordered his SS troops to arrest the leaders of the SA and political figures. Hitler assembled a fairly large group of SS and regular police, and went to the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee. Ernest Rohm and his followers were staying there. Upon arriving at the hotel, Hitler personally arrested Rohm and high ranking officers of the SA. Hitler then headed back to Munich where he addressed an assembled crowd of party members and SA members, saying â€Å"the worst treachery in world istory. † Hitler told the crowd that â€Å"undisciplined and disobedient characters and asocial or diseased elements† would be annihilated. When he arrived back in Berlin, he radioed to G oring saying the codeword â€Å"kolibri† to let loose the execution squads on more unsuspecting people. Hitler also used this purge to make a move on the conservatives he found unreliable. Himmler, Goring and Hitler himself ordered the SS against old enemies. Kurt von Schliecher George Strasser (angered Hitler by resigning from the party) and Gustav Ritter von Kahr former Bavarian state commissioner who brought down the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923) The reasons why this purge happened was because Hitler feared that someone would try and over throw him, Rohm and the SA had the power to do so if they wanted (Rohm was the leader of the SA, the SA had a force of over 3 million men). So Hitler did what he thought needed to happen. He got rid of the problems and anyone else he thought had the power to overthrow him. The Night of the Long Knives did not just remove those who opposed or threatened Hitlers position. It also got the army to sign an oath that Hitler needed. The army saw the SA as a threat to their authority because the SA outnumbered them, also Rohm spoke about taking over the regular army by including them with the ranks of the SA. This alarmed the army leaders. Hitler then made a pact with the army. If Rohm and the other SA leaders were removed then the army would be in control of the SA. However for that to occur the army had to sign an oath of loyalty to Hitler. Hitler told the public of this gruesome even on July 13th 1934. Hitler told the Reichstag. in this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and I thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people. I gave order to shoot the ringleaders in this treason, and I further gave the order to cauterize down to the raw flesh the ulcers if this poisoning of the wells in our domestic life. Let the nation know that its existence- which depends on its internal order and security- cannot be threatened with impun ity by anyone! And let it be known for all the time to come that if anyone raises his hand to strike the state, then certain death is his lot† – Adolf Hitler, July 13th, 1934. he aftermath of the Night of the Long Knives aka â€Å"The Blood Purge. † Hitler got away with his purge because Hitler had the cabinet approve a measure on July 3rd that declared â€Å"The measures taken on June 30th to July 1st and 2 to suppress treasonous assaults are legal as acts of self-defense by the State. † A new law was added which was signed by Hitler, Franz Gurtner, and the Minister of the interior Wilhelm Frick. The new law legalized the murderes committed during the purge under treason. The army applauded the Night of the Long Knives nd President Hidenburg expressed his â€Å"profoundly felt gratitude† and he congratulated Hitler. Hitler rewarded Himmler by giving him control of the SS. Himmler would now only answer to Hitler. Also Hitler game himself President a s well as Chancellor, a new role called ‘Der Fuehrer’. He also made himself head of the armed forces, who swore an oath of loyalty. Adolf Hitler was now in complete control after President Hindenburgs death in August. The Night of the Long Knives occurred on June 29th 1934. Many high ranking officers of he SA were killed, including several of Hitlers partners executed in the purge. After the purge Hitler created another Nazi organization called the Schutzstaffel or also known as the SS. The SS became the most feared arm in Nazi Germany. The Night of the Long Knives was an action to get rid of those disagreeing with Hitler or getting in the way of his rise to power. He was scared that someone would attempt to overthrow him. The result was the rise of an even greater/ stronger paramilitary for the Nazis. How to cite Night of the Long Knives, Papers

Dwight D. Eisenhower free essay sample

Historians often remark on the similarities between the 1950s and the 1920s. Both were prosperous decades, both had economies led by the automobile and construction industries, both had pro-business administrations in Washington, and both seemed marked by a retreat from social reform. Beyond those superficial similarities, the differences are perhaps more informative. By the 1950s, the nation was rapidly becoming more suburban and less rural and urban. Twelve years of depression and five years of war had made the government, industry, and bureaucratic organizations far bigger and more impersonal. Further, the United States had become an activist member of the world community. In the 1950s prosperity at home became not only an end but an instrument to fight the Cold War. OVERVIEW As the introduction makes clear, the automobile and the culture of the highway were in many ways the ties that bound Americans to one another in the 1950s. Automobiles reflected the increasing abundance of the era, with newly designed models being presented yearly, graced in this decade by ever-more-upswept tail fins. The fears of many Americans during the Depression era—that differences of class might lead to social conflict—now gave way to concern that the rise of a consensus among Americans, in support of anticommunism and middle-of-the-road suburban values—might be breeding a suffocating conformity. The Rise of the Suburbs Two factors shaped suburban growth in the postwar era: the baby boom and prosperity. More children created a need for more housing, as well as for other goods and services. Rapid economic growth and government policies like the G. I. Bill made home ownership practical for far more people. Developers like William Levitt used mass production techniques to build housing rapidly at affordable prices. Levittown, begun in 1947, typified the new auto-dependent suburbs. The interstate highway system begun during the period symbolized a continuation of moderate New Deal-style involvement in the economy, in the guise of Eisenhower’s â€Å"modern Republicanism. † And the new highways encouraged suburban growth as the most popular form of housing. As highways paved the exodus to suburbs, cities began to decline. They were unable to provide recent African-American migrants from the South and Hispanics in the Southwest the opportunities that earlier immigrants had found. The Culture of Suburbia The new suburbs blurred class distinctions and celebrated the single-family dwelling, where family rooms and live-in kitchens afforded more space for baby-boom families. The notion of â€Å"civil religion†Ã¢â‚¬â€that civic-minded Americans ought to hold some core of religious belief, regardless of the particular creed—gained in popularity. Public leaders proclaimed religion a weapon in the cold-war struggle against Communism. At the center of this idealized world stood the mother and father of the family. Father, the organization man, worked increasingly in more bureaucratic settings, often for large conglomerate firms. Although more women than ever worked outside the home, the public image of the ideal mother promoted the notion that housework and family provided sufficient outlet for female talent. Though women more often worked and received more education, the social patterns of the decade segregated them more than in earlier eras. Emphasis on exclusive gender roles reflected a larger concern with sexuality. The research of Alfred Kinsey challenged a number of conceptions and taboos about normal sexual behavior. New sexual attitudes were also a consequence of increased leisure time. For most Americans, more free time meant more opportunity to gather in front of the television as the new medium became the center of family entertainment. The Politics of Calm Former General Eisenhower brought a gift for organization and political maneuvering to the White House. Reflecting the politics of the era, he resisted the demands of conservative Republicans to dismantle New Deal programs. He preferred his own brand of modern Republicanism. While initiating a number of modest social welfare programs, he rejected more far-reaching proposals of liberal Democrats to provide large-scale federal housing aid or a universal health care system. In the face of Democratic demands for government activism, Eisenhower maintained a pragmatic approach that led him to support programs like the Interstate Highway Act and the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, neither of which took any funds from general revenues. Still, partisan politics flourished. Issues about corrupt officials and the President’s health dogged the administration. Recessions hurt the Republicans in the Congressional elections of 1954 and 1958. Eisenhower’s personal popularity remained so high, however, that he easily defeated Adlai Stevenson in the 1956 election. The recessions marked temporary downturns in a generally expanding economy. Large multinational and conglomerate firms managed much of the private sector of the economy. Fears of excess concentration of corporate power were balanced by the stabilizing effects of diversity. New technologies such as computers made it easier to manage complex corporate empires. Nationalism in the Age of Superpowers The prosperity of the 1950s at home depended on maintaining a stable international system of markets and resources. Eisenhower shared responsibility for foreign policy with his experienced but somewhat belligerent secretary of state, John Foster Dulles. Under Dulles, U. S. anti-Soviet rhetoric became more confrontational, with an expressed willingness to push to the â€Å"brink† of nuclear war in order to counteract Soviet influence. As many nations worldwide clamored for independence and an end to the old colonial remnants of imperialism, both superpowers competed for the allegiance of former colonies and nonaligned nations. Although the Korean War ended in 1953, regional conflicts in Vietnam, Quemoy and Matsu, Hungary, Guatemala, Iran, and the Middle East all demonstrated how the cold war struggle inflamed international tensions. Often Eisenhower and Dulles supported covert action, as in Iran and Guatemala, when they wanted to topple popular governments that seemed to have a pro-Communist tilt. The death of Stalin eased some cold war tensions. While Eisenhower made moves toward conciliation (the Geneva Summit and his â€Å"Open Skies† proposal), they were offset by renewed rivalry (the U-2 incident, the race into space, Castro’s Cuban revolution). Nationalism, especially in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, posed special problems. A brief war between Egypt and Israel, France, and Britain closed the Suez Canal. A simultaneous uprising in Hungary found the U. S. unprepared to act. To discourage Soviet gains in the Middle East, the administration won approval for the Eisenhower doctrine and briefly sent troops to Lebanon. The launching of the Soviet space satellite Sputnik in 1957 made Americans fear they had lost their edge in defense technology. In his farewell address, Eisenhower warned not to allow such unrealistic fears to lead to over-spending on the military-industrial complex. The Cold War along a New Frontier The roots of social upheaval in the 1960s lay beneath the calm surface of the 1950s. John F. Kennedy opened the new era with his call to â€Å"get the nation moving again. † As a Catholic and playboy son of the wealthy Joseph Kennedy, Jack Kennedy seemed an unlikely presidential candidate. Yet he showed superb organizational skills, laid to rest the religious issue, and bested Richard Nixon in televised debates. For all that, Kennedy won the election by an unprecedentedly narrow margin. As president, Kennedy was not instinctively a liberal. Still, he brought to the White House a crew of pragmatic liberals convinced they could reach â€Å"New Frontiers. That meant practical reforms at home and a more dynamic policy to contain Communism abroad. Kennedy shared with his advisers the belief that they could use power when and where it was needed to get optimal results. The new administration turned its attention abroad to the instabilities of the Third World, hoping to counter them with programs like the Alliance for Progress, the Peace Corps, and â€Å"special forcesâ₠¬  military advisers. Almost immediately, the aborted invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs raised doubts about Kennedy’s judgment. So, too, did his confrontation with Khrushchev in Vienna and the Soviet decision to build a wall in Berlin. Kennedy countered by stepping up aid to South Vietnam. And when intelligence sources discovered in October 1962 that the Soviets had placed offensive missiles in Cuba, the President faced the worst crisis of the nuclear age. Using restraint, he rejected air strikes in favor of a blockade. Privately he offered Soviet Premier Khrushchev a face-saving way out of the crisis. The next year Kennedy negotiated a nuclear test ban treaty, which slightly eased the heated-up Cold War. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students have been given the following topics as learning objectives. After reading the chapter they should be able to: 1. Explain how mass automobility affected American lifestyles in the 1950s. 2. Discuss the impact of organizations and the pressures for conformity on suburban living, for both men and women. 3. Distinguish Eisenhower’s â€Å"modern Republicanism† from both New Deal reformism and Taft conservatism. 4. Compare the Eisenhower-Dulles â€Å"New Look† approach to the Cold War with the concept of containment pursued by Truman and Acheson. . Discuss the Kennedy administration’s application of pragmatic liberalism. 6. Explain how Kennedy’s cold war foreign policy led to crises in Cuba and Vietnam before Soviet-American tensions eased. ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION The chapter opener emphasizes how central the automobile was to society in the 1950s. The impact, however, was different for adolescents than for adults, an issue stu dents will be sensitive to. Students should also be able to distinguish between physical and social mobility, yet see how the two concepts complement each other. Another comparison worth discussing would be between automobile-centered communities and those built around railroad or trolley lines. What was the difference between the massive public works program like the Eisenhower Interstate Highway system and earlier public works projects under the New Deal? In dealing with suburbia, it is useful to compare the traditional value of detached, single-family dwellings—the new suburban ideal—with prevailing urban realities. How did the concept of civil religion suit the needs of suburban life? Central, too, in the 1950s suburb was the tension between vestiges of the nineteenth-century cult of domesticity and the suburban version, reincarnated. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is a good source, and an excerpt appears in the Student Study Guide. You can compare the pressures on organization-bound husbands and suburban wives, especially the need for conformity. Dwight Eisenhower seems to have been an ideal President for the 1950s, moderate and reassuring. How did his concept of modern Republicanism satisfy the desire to leave New Deal reformism behind? How did his election serve to moderate anticommunist hysteria? In what ways did Eisenhower fail on this issue and civil rights? You might also emphasize the ways that the media distorted many of these issues. In foreign policy, Eisenhower shared the stage with Dulles. Students should be able to identify the ways in which the two men were similar and different in attitudes and strategies. Most important was their call for an offensive approach to containment (brinkmanship). What do students think of this concept and why did it show such limited results? In the realm of politics, students may understand from the Reagan years the importance of media images in politics. That same awareness can be easily applied to Kennedy and his administration. Richard Goodwin’s Remembering America offers some interesting insights into the inner workings of the Kennedy political organization. Discussion of Kennedy’s success in muting the religious issue can lead students to consider future prospects for women and minority presidential candidates. Most students seem to have a distorted image of Kennedy, usually too positive or, of late, too much informed by gossipy accounts. It is useful therefore to discuss the limitations of pragmatic liberalism as Allen Matusow does in The Unraveling of America. Matusow underscores how cynical some of the Kennedy circle could be. What also should be brought out is that Kennedy, once a supporter of Joseph McCarthy, succeeded in wresting the anticommunist issue from the Republicans. What then, one might ask, was the cost—with possible topics for appraisal including the cold war space and nuclear arms races, the showdown in Cuba, and the commitment to a corrupt government in South Vietnam. The implications of the Cuban missile crisis in bringing the nation to the brink of nuclear annihilation are well elaborated in Graham Allison’s The Essence of Decision. LECTURE STRATEGIES The decade of the 1950s sits squarely between contrasting eras of hardship, turmoil, and change. It followed the Great Depression and World War II, during which consumer goods were scarce, food was rationed or unaffordable, and even marriage and birth rates fell (Generations of the Republic, Part 5: The Modern Family). On the far side of the fifties, civil rights protests, assassinations, the movements of the New Left, and the Counterculture shaped world sharply at odds with the â€Å"placid† decade preceding it. One approach to treating the fifties is to set it firmly in context, so that students see it not as some aberration or backwater calm unrelated to what precedes or follows it, but as a logical part of the century’s pattern of historical development. The abundance of th e fifties is a natural rebound from the constraints of depression and war: the boom in housing, Levittowns, and suburban growth; the boom in babies, education, and the rock ‘n’ roll teen culture. And as we shall see, the sixties, with their expressions of revolt and protest, follow naturally from the culture of abundance, affording students an opportunity to think about goals beyond the mere making of a living, and impelling African Americans and other minorities to seek to share in an abundance that became more widespread during the 1950s. An opening lecture might set the culture of abundance in national and international context; our metaphor for doing that was to see Eisenhower, the man who organized D-Day and a consummate master of the military bureaucracy, as the â€Å"organization man† at the center of political affairs. In an age of superpower confrontation, the ideology of brinkmanship heightened the rhetoric of cold war confrontation (for good material on John Foster Dulles, see Townsend Hoopes’ The Devil and John Foster Dulles), but Eisenhower’s more pragmatic caution lent a moderating brake to Dulles’ hard-line approach. Robert Divine’s Eisenhower and the Cold War provides good background information. One dramatic way to highlight the technological rivalry as well as the political overtones of the superpower confrontation is by focusing on the Sputnik crisis, with good material available in Walter MacDougall’s Heavens and Earth. For the culture of abundance at home, it may be worth expanding in a lecture (or perhaps two) on the dual contrast between the â€Å"Organization Man† in the workplace and the home-making women of the suburbs. For the first, William Whyte’s Organization Man has a test at the end of the book that could be administered to students, designed to show them how to beat the organization. And of course, the â€Å"organization woman† at home—queen of the kitchen, driving the kids to piano lessons, fulfilling herself through motherhood—is vividly described in Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique. For the underlying material culture of the era, Thomas Hine’s Populuxe provides superb illustrations showing, for example, how the parabola influenced both the design of lawn chairs and Chrysler’s â€Å"Forward Look. † There are plenty of visuals here that could be used either on an overhead projector or as slides prepared from the book, illustrating the often delightfully bizarre way this generation expressed abundance through the design of its homes, automobiles, and furniture. Review and Test Questions MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. The chapter introduction uses the automobile as a symbol for the 1950s in order to make the point that: a. culture of mobility developed, featuring abundance and a high degree of movement, especially to the suburbs. b. the variations and yearly changes in car design reflected the diversity and divisions in American life. c. government programs no longer focused on people (as in the New Deal), but on things (as with the Interstate Highway Syste m). d. car-buying adults were more influential than children and their toys in shaping American culture. (pp. 934-936) 2. â€Å"If the 1950s had a symbol,† says your text, â€Å"it was: a. the Bomb. † b. Sputnik. † c. the automobile. † d. the suburban home. † (pp. 934-936) . An earlier chapter pointed out that by 1920, more than half the American population lived in urban places. By 1960, 40 years later, half the population lived in: a. the Sunbelt. b. western states. c. cities of 100,000 or more. d. suburbs. (p. 936) 4. According to the text, all of the following contributed to the explosive growth of suburbs EXCEPT: a. television, which drew Americans toward center cities. b. the baby boom, which created a need for housing. c. the automobile, which made the suburbs accessible. d. the return of prosperity, which made TV, houses, and cars affordable. (p. 936) 5. All of the following help explain the rise of suburbia EXCEPT: a. â€Å"white flight,† which lured rural residents to the glamour and high living standards of metropolitan areas. b. the â€Å"baby boom,† which provided a large number of young families seeking their own houses. c. availability of cheap single-family houses on their own lots. d. availability of a transportation system that allowed commuting to a job elsewhere. (pp. 936-938) 6. Which one of the following was NOT a major social or economic trend of the post-World War II era? a. a booming residential construction industry, especially in suburbia b. ffluence for many Americans who had income to spend on cars and other consumer goods c. a high birth rate d. an uncritical cultural consensus enthusiastically supported by intellectuals and middle-class suburban parents alike (pp. 936-938) 7. The suburban lifestyle flourished in the 1950s, but there were problems, including all EXCEPT: a. pressures toward organiza tional conformity. b. impoverishment of the inner city. c. disruption of the nuclear family. d. anxieties about juvenile delinquency. (pp. 936-940) 8. All of the following factors account for the baby boom EXCEPT: a. the U. S. ad one of the highest marriage rates in the world. b. the U. S. had one of the highest birth rates in the world. c. Americans placed a high value on a woman’s right to choose for herself about childbearing. d. Americans placed a high value on motherhood and larger families. (pp. 936-938) 9. As Henry Ford had been to mass production of automobiles, so William Levitt was to the mass production of: a. ships. b. houses. c. baby products. d. religion. (pp. 942-943) 10. American life in the 1950s has been described—then and since—as a time of â€Å"consensus. † Which of the following evidence supports that blanket judgment? . attitudes toward civil rights b. â€Å"highbrow† and â€Å"middlebrow† comments on mass culture c. t he â€Å"beat† generation d. employee attitudes within large corporate organizations (pp. 940-941) 11. Church membership in the 1950s: a. for the first time in the twentieth century declined to less than half the population. b. for the first time in the twentieth century grew to more than half the population. c. grew steadily in the suburbs but declined sharply in cities and rural areas. d. became irrelevant to the consumer-oriented culture of the suburbs. (pp. 940-941) 12. Religion in the 1950s: . was increasingly seen as unimportant to everyday life. b. was usually a unifying factor in the conformist communities of suburbia. c. was one way Americans in suburbia maintained a sense of identity and community. d. was marked by declining church membership in most faiths. (pp. 940-941) 13. Which stereotype of women was most common in the 1950s? a. independent and career-oriented b. an equal partner in American democracy c. domestic and motherly d. genteel and cultured (p. 944) 14 . Popular design features that marked the houses of suburbia included all EXCEPT: a. imple, formal lines and uniform color schemes. b. picture windows but larger, more private master bedrooms. c. split-level construction. d. live-in kitchens and family rooms. (pp. 942-943) 15. Alfred Kinsey’s famous mid-century research dealt with: a. conformity. b. human sexuality. c. juvenile delinquency. d. business prosperity. (p. 945) 16. Modern Republicanism in practice meant: a. social liberalism. b. fiscal conservatism. c. selective cutbacks in New Deal programs like farm price supports. d. significant hikes in military spending. (pp. 946-948) 17. At the heart of the sustained economic growth of the 1950s were: a. large, diversified conglomerates. b. new high-tech telecommunications and entertainment businesses. c. the construction and agricultural sectors. d. government fiscal measures that prevented recessions. (p. 948) 18. What phrase did President Eisenhower coin to describe the vulnerable neighbors of a country like Vietnam threatened with a communist takeover? a. â€Å"sitting clucks† b. â€Å"at the brink of war† c. â€Å"our firm friends† d. â€Å"a row of dominoes† (p. 953) 19. For corporations in the 1950s, diversification and conglomeration were: a. edges against major recessions. b. keystones of federal economic policies. c. innovations not previously characteristic of American firms. d. ways to avoid becoming involved overseas. (pp. 948-949) 20. Which of the following statements about the domestic policy style of the Eisenhower era is most accurate? a. As president, General Eisenhower w as predictably an activist and decisive leader. b. â€Å"Ike’s† presidency stressed moderation and behind-the-scenes negotiation. c. As a staunch conservative, Eisenhower sought to eliminate as many New Deal welfare state programs as he could get away with. d. Eisenhower used his personal popularity to persuade the Republican-dominated Congress to enact most of his legislative proposals. (pp. 946-948) 21. At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, all of the following were true EXCEPT: a. The United States tended to rely on nuclear weapons in order to save money. b. The hostility between the U. S. and U. S. S. R. grew more and more intense and uncompromising. c. The two superpowers competed for the allegiance of the newly independent nations of the Third World. d. Unrest, nationalism, and even revolution plagued the countries of the â€Å"Third World. † (pp. 951-953) 22. Which of the following statements about the foreign policies of the Eisenhower era is NOT true? a. In the final stages of the French-Vietnamese war, the United States was subsidizing the costs of the French war effort. b. The CIA orchestrated covert operations in the Middle East and Latin America that toppled governments. c. In 1956, a joint French-British force invaded Egypt after Gamal Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal, but the U. S. sided with Egypt against its NATO allies. d. The summit meeting scheduled for 1960 between Dwight Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev was never held because of the Berlin blockade. (pp. 951-953) 3. The â€Å"new look† in Cold War policy, identified with Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles, proclaimed U. S. commitment to: a. limited war in peripheral areas b. â€Å"summit† negotiations with Soviet leadership c. deterring the Soviets from all-out war by threatening a full nuclear response to any aggressive act d. continuing the Truman admi nistration’s approach to containing communism through primary reliance on our allies (pp. 954-956) 24. In the final stages of the French-Vietnamese war, the United States: a. adopted a policy of strict neutrality. b. was subsidizing the costs of the French war effort. . deployed nuclear weapons in support of the French. d. contributed ground combat troops in support of the French. (p. 953) 25. The dramatic proposal Eisenhower made to the Soviets at the 1955 Geneva Summit was: a. phased disengagement. b. limited deterrence. c. 54-40 or fight. d. open skies. (pp. 955-956) 26. Just before leaving office in 1961, President Eisenhower warned Americans of: a. the growing Russian hostility toward China. b. the dangers of the â€Å"military-industrial complex. † c. the threat from internal communist agents. d. the risks of a â€Å"missile gap. † (p. 958) 27. All of the following offered, directly or implicitly, conscious dissent from the consensus-oriented, organizational culture of the 1950s EXCEPT: a. abstract art. b. rock and roll. c. the TV preachers. d. the beats. (pp. 949-951) 28. All of the following offered, directly or implicitly, conscious dissent from the consensus-oriented, organizational culture of the 1950s EXCEPT: a. Jackson Pollock. b. Jack Kerouac. c. Elvis Presley. d. Marilyn Monroe. (pp. 949-951) 29. In the election of 1960, which of the following were key components in Kennedy’s victory? a. religion b. race c. ethnicity d. all of the above e. none of the above p. 959) 30. The cornerstone of Kennedy’s foreign policy in Latin America was a program known as the: a. Alliance for Progress b. Peace Corps c. NATO d. Voice of America (p. 961) COMPLETION 1. The National Defense Education Act of 1958, passed in response to [the launch of a Russian satellite or Sputnik] authorized federal funding of science and for eign language programs in public schools. 2. The National Defense Highway Act created today’s system of [interstate] highways. 3. Crucial to the increased reliance on the automobile was the creation of this highway system, paid for by taxes on [gasoline (and tires and other auto parts)]. . Consistent with suburbia’s leisure-minded lifestyle was a new household technology that burgeoned in the 1950s: [television]. 5. [Guatemala or Iran] was one of the places where the CIA orchestrated covert operations that toppled the government. 6. When [the French] asked the United States to intervene against the Viet Minh in 1954 in Indochina, President Eisenhower refused the request. IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONS Students should be able to describe the following key terms, concepts, individuals, and places, and explain their significance: Terms and Concepts Interstate Highway Act |civil religion | |organization man |conglomerate | |modern Republicanism |mass automobility | |New Look |br inksmanship | |covert operations |Open Skies | |Eisenhower Doctrine |U-2 |Sputnik |Sunbelt phenomenon | |beatniks |abstract expressionism | Individuals and Places |St. Lawrence Seaway |Billy Graham | |William Whyte |John Foster Dulles | |Jacobo Arbenz Guzman |Nikita Khrushchev | |Beirut, Lebanon |Gary Powers | MAP IDENTIFICATIONS Students have been given the following map exercise: On the map on the following page, label or shade in the following places. In a sentence, note their significance to the chapter. 1. Quemoy 2. Dien Bien Phu 3. South Vietnam 4. Taiwan 5. Hanoi ESSAY QUESTIONS (FACTUAL) 1. Identify three factors that explain suburban growth after World War II. 2. Explain how each of the following affected (or were affected by) the growth of the suburbs: the federal highway system, the film industry, housewives, African Americans. 3. Describe the key features of conglomerates and diversified corporations. 4. What connections were made during the 1950s between popular culture and juvenile delinquency? Why were such connections made and were they convincing, in your opinion? 5. Explain how social class, religion, and ethnicity affected suburban communities. 6. Explain the role of nuclear deterrence and covert operations in Eisenhower’s foreign policy. ESSAY QUESTIONS (INTERPRETIVE) 1. Compare the quality of life in the suburbs with the quality of life either on farms or in cities. 2. What impact did the rise of large organizations have on the American tradition of individualism? 3. Compare and contrast the Eisenhower-Dulles conduct of foreign policy with that of Truman-Acheson. . â€Å"Highbrow† critics condemned the suburban culture of the 1950s and the popular culture of the mass media. What claims did the critics make? What economic and social developments were they reacting to? In your opinion, were the criticisms justified? 5. How did Dulles and Eisenhower counterbalance each other in the making of foreign policy? What were the principal swings of foreign policy during the Eisenhower administration? Critical Thinking EVALUATING EVIDENCE (MAPS) 1. Locate Quemoy and Matsu on the map, â€Å"Asian Trouble Spots† (page 953). Why would they be a point of contention between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese governments? 2. Looking again at the Asian map, explain Eisenhower’s domino theory about Vietnam. What information other than geographic data would you need to evaluate whether or not the theory was valid? 3. Looking again at the map on page 953, what countries, if any, would you say were vital to American security? What makes them vital? EVALUATING EVIDENCE (ILLUSTRATIONS AND CHARTS) 1. In the painting Easter Morning (page 935), how many details of â€Å"ideal† suburban life are shown? What aspect of 1950s culture is Norman Rockwell satirizing? . What underlying message does the photograph of a demonstration fallout shelter (page 957) give about the notion of surviving a nuclear war? In what ways does it convey that message? 3. In the graph, â€Å"Internal Population Movement after World War II† (page 939), what trends are shown to continue after the war? How does that continua tion contribute to an explanation of the â€Å"Sunbelt phenomenon? † To the rise of the civil rights movement? CRITICAL ANALYSIS Students have been asked to read carefully the following excerpt from the text and then answer the questions that follow. The increased willingness to see sexual pleasure as an integral part of marriage received additional attention in 1948, with the publication of an apparently dry scientific study, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Its author, Professor Alfred Kinsey, hardly expected the storm of publicity received by that study or its companion, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). Kinsey began his research career as a zoologist with a zest for classifying data. During the 1940s he had turned to collecting information on sexual behavior. Based on more than 10,000 interviews, Kinsey reached conclusions that were startling for his day. Masturbation and premarital petting, he reported, were widespread. Women did not just endure sex as a wifely duty; they enjoyed it in much the same way as men did. Socioeconomic factors of race, class, ethnicity, and age often dictated sexual preferences. Extramarital sex was common for both husbands and wives. About 10 percent of the population were homosexual. It is difficult in more sexually liberated times to appreciate the impact of Kinsey’s work and the controversy surrounding it. Commentators called his first volume â€Å"the most talked about book of the twentieth century. † Social scientists, with some justice, objected that Kinsey’s sample was too limited. (Most of his subjects were Midwestern, middle class, and well-educated. ) Later studies challenged some of his figures (for example, the percentage of homosexuals in the population). More strident critics of the day charged that Kinsey was a â€Å"menace to society† who would destroy the morals of the nation. Kinsey replied that he had published a â€Å"report on what people do which raises no questions about what they should do. Polls indicated that most Americans felt comfortable about having such research published, perhaps partly because they found liberation in the discovery that behaviors once treated as sinful or perverse were widely practiced. Questions 1. Why do the authors think it is more difficult today to understand the impact of the Kinsey report than when it was first published? 2. To what extent is a value judgment implied by their phrase â€Å"in more sexually liberated times? † 3. What research results that Kinsey reported might have offended social conservatives? Why did some people believe Kinsey was a subversive or a menace? 4. Kinsey considered his work to be scientific research. What statements in this excerpt reveal that the reactions to his results were as much philosophical or political as sociological or academic? Can a case be made that his research did have philosophical or political consequences? 5. What (if any) elements of the Kinsey report do you think would remain controversial today? PRIMARY SOURCE: Betty Friedan Attacks the Feminine Mystique* In 1963, Betty Friedan jolted the myth of the contented suburban housewife when she published The Feminine Mystique. Friedan tried to explain how the image of independent career women, popular in the 1930s, had become trivialized into a cult of domesticity and submissiveness. She further wanted to urge women to expand their horizons and develop a stronger sense of personal identity. By the end of 1949, only one out of three heroines in the women’s magazines was a career woman—and she was shown in the act of renouncing her career and discovering that what she really wanted was to be a housewife. In 1958 and again in 1959, I went through issue after issue of the three major women’s magazines ithout finding a single heroine who had a career, a commitment to any work, art, profession, or mission in the world, other than â€Å"Occupation: housewife. † Only one in a hundred heroines had a job; even the young unmarried heroines no longer worked except at snaring a husband. These new happy housewife heroines seemed strangely younger than the spirited career girls of the thirtie s and forties. They seem to get younger all the time—in looks, and a childlike dependence. They have no vision of the future, except to have a baby. The only active growing figure in their world is the child. The housewife heroines are forever young, because their own image ends in childbirth. Like Peter Pan, they must remain young, while their children grow up in the world. They must keep on having babies because the feminine mystique says there is no other way for a woman to be a heroine. Here is a typical specimen from a story called â€Å"The Sandwich Maker† (Ladies’ Home Journal, April, 1959). She took home economics in college, learned how to cook, never held a job, and still plays the child bride, though she now has three children of her own. Her problem is money. Oh nothing boring, like taxes or reciprocal trade agreements, or foreign aid programs. I leave all that economic jazz to my constitutionally elected representative in Washington, heaven help him. † Questions 1. From reading this passage, how would you define the feminine mystique? 2. How would you describe Friedan’s tone? What words or phrases influence your reading of it? 3. What historical sou rce material does Friedan use to document her case about changing women’s attitudes? 4. What does Friedan’s choice of sources tell you about her view of the role the media play in shaping popular values? 5. If you were a historian, what would you do to test Friedan’s interpretation of the causes of the rise of the feminine mystique? 6. Based on Friedan’s brief description of â€Å"The Sandwich Maker,† sketch a hypothetical story you would write that would be consistent with what the women’s magazines were publishing. How would the happy homemaker reconcile her need for more money with her obligations to family? 7. Check your version against either the original or Friedan’s summary of the story in The Feminine Mystique. Filmography: Film Options for the Classroom Frank Lloyd Wright (Ken Burns Lynn Novick, 1998) Fabled architect’s enduring influence on American material culture. Avalon (Barry Levinson, 1990) The patriarch of a Jewish family hands down history in postwar Baltimore. Family of immigrants in pursuit of the American Dream. Goin’ to Chicago (George King, 1994) Documentary chronicle of the great migration of 4 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the north after World War II—profoundly changing American urban culture forever. West Side Story (Robert Wise, 1961) Film adaptation of Broadway musical, updating the Romeo and Juliet story to multicultural, late 1950s, New York City environment. Ten Academy Awards, music including â€Å"America. † Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967) Racism revisited in upscale America. Mixed racial marriage perplexes liberal sensibilities. The Wild One (Laslo Benedek, 1954) Placid Eisenhower years revisited. Marlon Brando vehicle for the alienated 50s. When asked what he’s rebelling against, he responds, â€Å"What have you got? † Blackboard Jungle (Richard Brooks, 1955) Underside of American postwar prosperity in a New York City public school. Sidney Poitier personifies troubled youth in the symbolic context of Bill Haley’s rock and roll classic â€Å"Rock Around the Clock. Rebel without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) Tortured high school student defines alienation for an entire generation of youth. The â€Å"generation gap† on film. James Dean becomes a cultural icon. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) Important cultural marker as landmark film of the decade. The new generation reject s â€Å"plastic,† seductive middle-class values embodied in Mrs. Robinson. Film expresses culture. Anthem of alienation. The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971) Study of small town American life in 1950’s Texas. Truly nostalgic—in the original sense of the term—†a painful return home. American Grafitti (George Lucas, 1973) Coming of age in the early 1960’s, in the context of the California Dream. Homage to small-town life. Study of social rituals and malaise. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966) Edward Albee 1962 play brought to the screen. Emotionally defeated history professor, his wife, and guests dramatically explore the nature of personal history in relation to contemporary identity. Has much to say about how any past is interpreted and informs the present. Pleasantville (Gary Ross, 1998) Be careful what you dream for. 0s nostalgia proved problematic via 90s high-tech. An artistic backlash against neo-Purit anism. Distributed in the context of Kenneth Starr’s Clinton crusade. The idea of the movie, testifies the director, â€Å"came to me the day after Newt Gingrich was swept to power. † Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975) Patriotism, country music, and political assassination combine to give a view of trends in the South and the nation during the supposedly placid 50s. *From The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman, by permission of W. W. Norton Company, Inc. Copyright 1974, 1963 by Betty Friedan.