Xyz Affair

From March of 1797 to 1800, a diplomatic scandal occurred where Americans were outraged by demands from the French for a bribe as a condition for negotiating with American diplomats that became known as the XYZ Affair. John Adams took presidency in 1797 and inherited several problems from George Washington’s administration, including hostilities between the United States and France that began to escalate in the 1790s. The signing of Jay’s Treaty, which violated of the Treaty of Paris yet averted the threat of war with England, induced angry reactions from both American and European politicians.Democratic-Republicans believed the treaty was a humiliating surrender to the British. French leaders, meanwhile, viewed it as a union with their enemy, and the violation of the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. In response to the John Jay’s agreement, the French used forces to plunder more than 300 American ships. To stop the attacks on American shipping and settle on an agr eement with France, Adams appointed three commissioners: Charles Pinckney, United States minister to France; John Marshall, a Virginia lawyer; and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts.Upon arriving in Paris in October 1797, the three men experienced a hostile environment. They requested a meeting with the French government. The envoys met three secret agents to relay Talleyrand’s terms of negotiations. The three agents were labeled as X, Y and Z, but later revealed as Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy, and Lucien Hauteval respectfully. The agents insisted that before any negotiate could begin, they demanded 50,000 pounds of sterling, a $12 million loan from America, a $250,000 personal bribe to the French minister, and a formal apology to the French minister for a comment made by President John Adams.Though bribery was extremely common in the eighteenth-century politics, Talleyrands demands were too high for merely a pledge to negotiate. Pinckney rejected the terms and told the French agents â€Å"no, no, not a sixpence. † The incident became known as â€Å"The XYZ Affair. † Once the commissioners’ report to Congress became public, citizens were furious about the French behavior. Even the most loyal Democratic-Republicans, who supported a strong relationship with France, felt a sense of betrayal and many joined a call for war.Pinckney’s response to the demands sparked a rallying that spread throughout the colonies: â€Å"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute. † Federalist politicians were eager for a fight and the war campaign gained more support. Adams refused to declare war but advocated the build-up of American armed forces and raised taxes. Adams also accepted new laws that tried to limit protests against the government and its actions. These laws were the Alien and Sedition Acts.They made it difficult for immigrants to become a United States citizen and people from certain countries, such as Fra nce, could not become a citizen at all. The laws also restricted free speech and freedom of the press. Many citizens saw the Alien and Sedition Acts as harsh and undemocratic laws. Congress stopped commercial trade with France, renounced the alliance of 1778, tripled the size of the army, and created a Navy Department with an order for the contraction of 40 warships.By the fall of 1798, American ships were waging an undeclared war against the French in the Caribbean waters, a conflict that is known as the Quasi-War. The French seized over 300 American ships. The United States retaliated by capturing 22 French ships off the American coast and in the West Indies. Hamilton led the Federalist charge for war, but Adams remained steadfast in his refusal to sign a formal declaration of war. He believed that war with France would divide the colonies and lead to a civil war.This could be Adams’ finest hour because his of his decision to put the interests of his nation ahead of those o f his party. 5 In 1799, Tallyrand, who did not want to deplete the French military with a fight outside of Europe, let it be known that he was willing to talk. Adams sent another delegation to negotiate a peaceful end to the quasi-war with France. But by the time the envoy arrived in Paris, Napolean Bonaparte was in power and looking to cut ties with America.The two sides finally produced an agreement called â€Å"The Convention of 1800,† that annulled the 1778 treaty of alliance and excused the French from damage claims of American shippers. Had Adams chosen war, it may have jeopardized the American purchase of Louisiana in 1803. The threat of war with France was eliminated. President Adams showed Europe that the new American nation was ready to defend itself and would not be bullied anymore. The naval program Adams helped to stimulate would also help the United States defeat the Barbay pirates in the First and Second Barbay war as well as aiding in the War of 1812.

School funding and resources Essay

These issues have not started today but have been in existence for a long time. One of the major issues is inequity and inadequacy. There is a funding difference between the tax wealthy district schools and the poor school districts that have tax capacity that is limited. This to some extent affects the education quality due to low financial resources (Crawford, 2006). Secondly there is the issue of political ideology. Politics affect the funding in schools greatly. Politics affect the budgeting that takes place in schools. The schools have limited authority on imposing extra taxes for educational purposes unless they gain full support of the legislature. Level of funding is dependent on the resources available for these resources to be fully utilized the legislature must be in full support. Another major issue facing funding in schools is the social influence. The influence that comes from the surrounding environment of the schools matter a lot to how the resources are utilized and how funding takes place. If there is negative social influence then the issue of funding becomes very difficult. Positive social influence is important both in urban and suburban areas (Bartolomeo, 2004). The problem of inequity and inadequacy can be addressed by ensuring that all schools receive funding depending on their size and location. It can also be solved by ensuring that the schools with little resources get extra funds. The strengths of these solutions are such as it will upgrade schools that are at low levels. However the weakness is that it is difficult to give some schools more funds than others and call that equity (Crawford, 2006). To solve the problem of political ideology the schools should be allowed to tax some extra fee when necessary for school funds. Also the legislature should not be playing a role on determining the amount to be taxed. The strength of this solution is that the schools will have a chance to make funding decisions better while the weakness it has is that it could lead to poor budgeting. The solution to negative social influence is ensuring that the surrounding individuals are not too involved in school funding matters. Also ensuring that the school is not affected by external factors when it comes to funding could help. The strength of these solutions is that funding will be easier. Its weakness is that schools could loose on some other aspects it gains from social influence (Bartolomeo, 2004). References Bartolomeo, C. (2004). The funding divide. American Teacher, 6-7. Crawford, C. (2006). The Critical Issue of Financing Schools. the Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 22-26.

Extreme sports risky but worth it? Essay

Imagine the feeling of accomplishment, the adrenaline rush, and the overall thrill of participating in an extreme sport for the first time. Whether it be skydiving or successfully landing a jump on your snowboard or skis for the first time. Extreme sports are all about big risk, and big reward. To me there are four categories of extreme sports the ones performed in the air, water, on the ground, or on the snow. They can vary from mountain biking or jumping out of a plane with nothing but a parachute attached to your back. To some people, they see extreme sports as an unnecessary risk. But to others these high risk sports are there passion and they couldn’t see life without it. I remember the first time I went snowboarding and I didn’t see the point, I thought it was boring and I wondered how people could enjoy it. But this was only because I wasn’t good at it, and because of that I was frustrated. Once I made that very first run down the hill without falling, tha t was awesome, it was a huge confidence booster and it was kind of like hearing the Beatles for the first time, simply amazing. Looking back now I am very happy that I decided to get back on the board and teach myself how to ride because it is currently one of my most favourite things to do. I enjoy it so much because now when I am racing down a hill it feels so refreshing, regenerating, and rejuvenating. I still remember the first time I landed a jump and the thrill and rush that came with it, I just wanted to do it again and again, and at that point I wasn’t worried about any of the risks involved with landing that jump, because everything felt so†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ worth it. Many people have been badly injured doing extreme sports, for example; Jeb Corliss who was base jumping in a wing suit in South Africa when he crashed into some rocks at 120 mph and suffered devastating injuries and several broken bones. He made a full recovery and went right back out to base jumping about 4 months after the accident. Kevin Pearce is a snowboarder who was trying to perfect a trick in the half-pipe ended up suffering a traumatic brain injury. Doctors weren’t sure that he would ever regain the ability to walk again. Not only did he learn to walk again, but in only two years he was back out on the slopes. Bethany Hamilton is a surfer who came face to face with death after she lost her left arm to a shark while surfing in Hawaii. She is now back out on the water surfing with only one arm. To these extreme athletes they have a passion for the sport  and they have gone through severe injuries in which they recovered or only have one arm. Yet even going through those experiences they still want to get back on their board or in the air with their wing-suit to continue to do what they love doing. They rather take the risk with their sport then stop the sport completely, because to them the benefits o utweigh the risks. The number one reason I think that people don’t try an extreme sport in their life is that they don’t want to be putting there selves at risk, because to them there is no reward, because they have never felt what its like to have an adrenaline rush or that they aren’t thrill seekers. All it takes is education on the sport and how to stay safe while doing the sport, what kind of gear is needed and what type of training they should go through beforehand. It is also important to know the risks and the dangers of what your doing and how to react to those types of situations. It is also important to know that you can never be too safe. I think that if we all get out one day and try something extreme or out of our comfort zones, afterwards we will like it and get the I want more kind of feeling. At that point I think the benefits of the extreme sport outweigh the risks.

Rhetorical Analysis Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay

â€Å"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.† Those are the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Those words will be eternally repeated when discussing the topic of Pearl Harbor. The words contained in this speech show his utter disdain pertaining to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The purpose of President Roosevelt’s â€Å"Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation† was to educate the nation on what had happened on December 7th. He also wanted to justify his reasons for needing to go to war with the Empire of Japan. Each and every word in this distinguished speech played on the emotions of the american people, and it provided significant support for his purpose. The powerful words Roosevelt used in the address gave strong support that grabbed the American peoples’ attention, and. One convincing statement he makes was when he said, â€Å"The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.† Roosevelt wanted to be sure that the congress and the nation knew the facts behind the tragedy. In that short statement he informs the people that he had no idea that the attack was coming, in his words the attack came suddenly. He also tries to explain Americas relationship with Japan before the attack in this section, â€Å"The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.† That showed the American people what events had taken place prior to the disaster at Pearl Harbor. He wanted the people to know that he was under the impression that the two nations were at peace, and that they were nowhere near a state of war. Another purpose for the address was that Roosevelt wanted to justify going to war with the Empire of Japan. One such section of the speech was when Roosevelt said, â€Å"The distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued  peace†. Roosevelt tried to make his audience feel appalled by the actions of Japan in that excerpt. He wanted to show the audience that Japan was deliberately misleading the American People into having them believe that all they wanted was to make an effort for peace, when at the same time they were preparing for war. In the speech addressing the nation he stated that after the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor they did not stop their. They continued on to attack neighboring countries and city-states. He tried to convince the audience that not only the lives of the American people were at stake but the lives of surrounding countries that may not be able to defend themselves. â€Å"No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory†, through this passage the president wanted to reassure his audience that if they did in fact go to war the end result would be that America will obtain absolute victory. The President not only wanted to educate the American people on the events that occurred, but he also wanted to reassure them if they did in fact go to war, they would come out victorious. Roosevelt’s striking words helped a nation recover from one of the greatest tragedies in the nation’s history. Roosevelt believed that through his words the nation would hold their ground and beat back any enemy that would come their way.

Motivation.learners are motivational Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivation.learners are motivational - Essay Example earchers have shown that learner’s attribution of success and failures is an essential part of whether the learner will attempt, complete and repeat activities. Therefore, most motivational issues of Jake can be addressed by these theories of the Bandura’s social cognitive theory, and attribution theory. Self efficacy impact the choice of activities. Self-efficacious students readily undertake challenging and difficult tasks more readily than do inefficacious students. (Bandura & Schunk, 1981). It is possible that Jake held a low sense of efficacy for acquiring cognitive skills that attempted him to avoid boring tasks, whereas if he judged himself more efficaciously, he should have participated more eagerly. Self-efficacy can also influence motivation. Students with high sense of efficacy for learning should expend greater effort and persist longer when they encounter difficult tasks than those who doubt their capabilities (1981). Therefore, Jake‘s lack of motivation and low effort to take challenging and difficult tasks can be associated with his low self efficacy. Efficacy and outcome expectancy are closely related; students who perceive themselves as capable of performing well expect successful performances, which in turn promote self-efficacy. Therefore, Jake’s low efficacy influenced his outcome expectancy and performance during his new school year. Also, poor performance in turn, results to low efficiency. In addition, Jake’s lack of motivation can be demonstrated according to attribution theory. Learners who have perceptions of ability in failure are likely to assume that performance is not in their control. Therefore, Jake’s negative attributional style (attributing failure to ability) contributed to his lack of motivation in engaging in difficult tasks, and developing skills. In Addition, learners negative attribution responses are related to inferior use of strategies (Schrieber,2006). Without high self efficacy and the tendency to

New Aircraft Avionics installation and functionality Essay

New Aircraft Avionics installation and functionality - Essay Example It also describes and shows the block diagram, power source wiring, and the electrical cable routing for the three systems. The paper also details the operation and functionality of the remaining two systems in reference to their block diagram, power source wiring, and the electrical cable routing. The report describes the system in depth including the exact functions of the systems, detailing their peripherals and their form of redundancy. The chosen hypothetical avionics systems include communication and navigation system, cabin and cockpit information system, flight instruments (flight recorders), hazard detection system, and surveillance system. Discussion. Communication and Navigation Systems. Receivers and transmitters are widely used in aviation communication and navigation systems. The transmitters and receivers are used together with one ore antennae, which are responsible in implementation of the vital and crucial link between the ground stations, aircrafts, satellites, and other aircrafts. One of the devices used in facilitating navigation and communication is a simple radio communication system. The radio comprises of the receiver and the transmitted that uses the continuous wave signal. Communication is attained through keying or switching the radio frequencies on and off. Switching the radio signal is achieved through interruption of power supple or the oscillator stage, it is usually applicable within the stage of the driver operating at a modest power level. The oscillator stage of keying normally leads to impaired frequency stability. However, the appreciable currents and voltages appearing in the power amplifier stage also prove to be problematic. A simpler CW consists of the radio amplifier, audio amplifier and the detector. The detector stage mixes a domestic generated signal of the radio frequency that is produces by beat frequency oscillator with the coming signals that produces a signal within the radio frequency ranging between 300 Hz an d 3.4 KHz. Antennas are normally used for navigation purposes in aircrafts. There are various practical kinds of antenna used in aviation related applications that include vertical quarter wave antenna, vertical half wave antennas, and also 5/8th wave vertical antennas. Vertical quarter wave antennas produce an omnidirectional radiation pattern in the radiate vertically polarised systems and the horizontal plane. The antennas can be produced for the high HF and VHF bands but the length is prohibitive for usage on the LF bands and low HF (Lombardo, 1993). To produce a flat radiation design it is important to include an effective ground plane. At VHF, it can be attained by employing the 4 quarter wave radial elements. The vertical half wave antennas is voltage fed rather than the current fed. Antennas that are voltage fed requires resonant transformer that is connected between antenna’s end and low impedance coaxial feeder. The arrangement is liable to loses because it needs hi gh quality, and low loss components. It also requires careful adjustment in order to achieve results and therefore they are usually preferred. The5/8th wave vertical antennas offer a compact solution to the essentiality of an Omni-directional VHF. Radio systems: Antennae. Cabin and Cockpit Information Systems In the aviation sector, accessing the correct information in the proper place, at the right period, is important in supporting decisions and enhancing operations. The information system,

Paul Cezanne - Impressionist of Life Research Paper

Paul Cezanne - Impressionist of Life - Research Paper Example The paper "Paul Cezanne - Impressionist of Life" discovers the Impressionism and the art of Paul Cezanne. The great painters like Picasso, Henri Matisse, Braque, and many others too acknowledged him as the Father of Modern art. This essay traces the contribution of Paul Cezanne to the Modern Art. CÃ ©zanne’s paintings had many central ideas. Although he is associated with the Impressionists, yet he did not belong with them. He almost as if took the best of both the worlds and incorporated the fleeting moments which the Impressionists tried to capture and gave then character, shape and form. While experimenting with shape and form Cezanne began thinking in his later life of objects as perfect , simple geometrical shapes like as in the tree trunk as a cylinder. This simplicity and this return to the basic shaped and paved the way for Cubism. In the beginning of his life, Cezanne’s art was a bit darker in palette but after getting to work with the impressionist his color palette lightened. His works also formed inspiration for the beginning of the Fauvism movement in art. Fauvism centers on the playful attitude of the artist where he incorporates the use of bold colors into his works. The founder was Fauvism was Henri Matisse who too was inspired by the use of Cezanne’s bold colors in his works. When Cezanne encountered the Impressionists who were interested in capturing the fleeting moments of life, he was impressed by them. However, he did not like their idea of not exactly stressing on the form and only playing.