Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Joseph Stalin Essay Example for Free

Joseph Stalin Essay World leaders are leaders with high governmental power in the world. Every leader, not just world leaders, is either great or corrupt; they are rarely both. Most of Russia’s history is filled with corrupt leaders. Joseph was one of those leaders. Stalin killed millions of people during his rule. But Stalin also led the Soviet Union almost to the top in world power. Stalin had many influences that led him to his Soviet Leadership in which gave him many admirers but even more non-supporters. At the age of 10, Joseph â€Å"Stalin† Djugashvili attended Gori’s religious elementary school. His mother, Yekaterina, wanted him to be a priest and would usually beat her son if he son whenever he misbehaved. These beatings were never as bad as those received from his father, Vissarion. Vissarion would frequently beat Stalin and his mother until they finally had enough and Yekaterina kicked Vissarion out. In 1894, at the age of 16, Stalin attended the Tiflis Seminary on a full scholarship. At the school, in 1899, he joined an underground Marxist revolutionary group. Because of his membership in this group, him and other revolutionaries were arrested and sent to Siberia. Two years later, Stalin escaped from Siberia. On his return, he joined the RSDLP or Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Later, when the RSDLP split because of differences, he joined the Bolsheviks half under the control of Vladimir Lenin. With the Bolsheviks, Stalin helped with many revolutions. The first was the take down of Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian Tsarist government. With the tsarist takedown, Russia set up a new provisional government. It worked at first but then it started going downhill. Since fleeing the country in fear of arrest, Lenin put Stalin in charge of the central committee of the Bolsheviks Party. Unimpressed by Stalin’s compromising with the Provisional government, Lenin started writing hate letters to the provisional government. Most, if not all, of these letters were published in Stalin’s communist newspaper, Pravda. The Pravda was one of the ways the Bolsheviks spread the communist revolt. The Russian’s loss in the Russo-Japanese war was the another way that they got the public to turn against the provisional government and strengthen the communist revolt. The revolt got stronger and stronger until the Bolsheviks finally revolted and took down the Russian Provisional Government. Because of this, civil war erupted all over the country. At the end of this war, in 1920, the Bolsheviks set up the USSR, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, under control of Vladimir Lenin. When Lenin died, Stalin aggressively worked his way up until he was the leader of the USSR. In his control, Stalin set up a â€Å"5 year plan† to advance the Russian economy from just farming to also having industry. In this plan, he would also advance the military and â€Å"cleanse the country of villains† or those he saw as villains. To â€Å"cleanse the country†, Stalin would have unfair trials that would have many on trial at once. These were called his â€Å"Show Trials†. The majority, if not all, of these people were found guilty and sent for execution. They were executed all at once, and the executions were called the Purges. To advance the Russian economy, Stalin would work the farmers to death†¦ literally. When the farmers revolted, Stalin stopped sending them food and even more died from starvation. On the last of the purges, 16 men were put on trial and accused of acts of terrorism towards Stalin and the Soviet government. Two of them were Stalin’s allies after Lenin’s death, Zinovyev and Kamenev. All 16 of them confessed although none they were innocent. One of the accused that wasn’t sent to execution was Robert Eikhe. Eikhe wrote a letter to Stalin saying that Stalin was wrong and shouldn’t have executed those men. Furious, Stalin demanded that Eikhe was shot to death. Not too long after, Stalin’s wife died. With that, Stalin will never truly trust anyone or ever be the same. In Europe, there was another leader rising to power, Germany’s Adolf Hitler. Stalin admired Hitler and, in WW2, hoped they wouldn’t have to fight, so the USSR and Germany signed a Nonaggression Pact to avoid battle between them. It wasn’t too long until Hitler broke the Pact and attacked Ukraine. During the invasion, the Soviet air force was wiped out. Feeling surprised and betrayed, Stalin had a mental breakdown. Stalin finally pulled himself together and set up a â€Å"Scorched Earth† policy. He had both soldier and citizen initiate this scorched earth policy by destroying everything the Germans needed in their area and push out the invading Germans from Ukraine, which was taken under German control. Many were killed in the invasion; the Germans captured four million and killed three million people. Then the Soviets started fighting back. In that winter, many Germans died because of harsh weather and lack of supplies. Towards the end, Roosevelt sent weapons, equipment, and food to the Soviet Union. Stalin launched his final attack on the Germans in Stalingrad. At the end of WW2, Germany was left with nothing and no one in control. The â€Å"big three† (The United States’ Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Britain’s Winston Churchill) met in Yalta, Ukraine. In Yalta, they discussed many topics. One of them was about Germany. They split Germany into four parts. The four parts were under control of the USSR, USA, Britain, and France. They also talked about Roosevelt’s preposition and set up the United Nations. The effects WW2 had on the Soviet Union were drastic. People would have their houses destroyed and had to live in their caves. The food rationings for the poor would continue for a while. Stalin knew nothing about it. It got worse when the United States stopped sending supplies. Because of this, Stalin declared war on the United States and its allies. This war would was called the Cold War. At that, the Soviet Union started developing nuclear technology and tension escaladed. Not too long after, United States President Harry Truman set up the â€Å"Marshal Plan† which had no trade sent to the Soviet Union or any other communist country. A little after that, Germany was officially split into two parts, East and West. East Germany and East Berlin was under Soviet Control. West Germany and West Berlin was under United States, British, and French control. Stalin blockaded East Berlin from the West. Knowing the end of this life was near, Stalin did many things to make sure he would be remembered. He wrote a 16 volume set of books, and he built canals and bridges to â€Å"show his control over nature†. Many of the projects were unfinished, though. Not too long before his death, Stalin accused seven doctors of planning to kill him and other governmental officials that were their patients, and put all seven on trial. On March 1st, 1952, Stalin suffered a stroke caused by a burst blood vessel in his brain in his mansion outside Moscow. He died four days later. After his death, Stalin still had many supporters. The Supporters mourned the loss of their great leader. They disregarded the millions of murders or say that they were for the better of the country. They also believed that some of the negative information was fake and still remain loyal to him. Other people that were non-loyal to Stalin were glad that he’s gone. The non-supporters renamed the bridges and streets he named after himself. They also renamed Stalingrad to Volgograd. The propaganda Stalin used didn’t completely work. He tried having history books rewritten to make him look peaceful because despite the terror, he wanted peace to be part of his remembrance. Stalin would have picture taken and paintings made of him doing good or kind things. He would also say things to make it look like his murders were okay. In one of his speeches, he said â€Å"A great danger hangs over our country. † (â€Å"Stalin, Joseph 1878-1952† 205) He says this for his multiple 5 Year Plans and his Purges. Joseph Stalin will always be known as the man who changed Russia. He evolved the working class country into an industrial, Military-strong country. His goals for Russia and the Union were good, but the ways he reached those goals weren’t so good and that’s why many people didn’t like him. The opinion of Stalin that I had was that he was a terrible ruler and that he thought for the worst; that changed. I learned that he wanted to advance Russian economy from farming to more industrial factories and that gave me more respect towards him, but I still think he could have done better.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Destined to Fail :: Free Essays Onlinevv

Destined to Fail Imagine having to wake up every morning and going to a broken down old building for seven hours a day. In the building you complete the same tasks which are easier in other buildings five minutes away, but since yours is poor it is difficult to, if at all, complete these tasks. The outlook is so bleak that it almost seems as if you are destined to fail. For children in Camden, New Jersey this is school. Students in Camden are faced with an obvious, appalling educational disadvantage when viewed against suburban schools, such as in Cherry Hill which are only five minutes away. The crux of the problem with the Camden public schools is the impoverished state in which it is forced to educate its children. The main cause for the destitution in the Camden public schools is the serious lack of funds for educational materials including those for school facilities. The schools are in such dire straits that most do not have the necessary materials with which to teach. Students at times do not even have their own textbooks and science labs lack the necessary equipment to teach lessons properly. If a student is lucky enough to receive a textbook it is either outdated, falling apart, or at the incorrect level of learning. In one Camden school, eleventh grade history class is taught from an eighth grade history text, (Kozol 152). This unfortunate condition applies not only to school supplies but also to the school itself. School facilities are in a state of trouble, many are falling apart or have serious problems which inhibit learning. In one of the Camden high schools, the malfunctioning heating system not only makes the building extremely hot all year round, but also melted approximately forty of the fifty computers in a lab, (Kozol 149). Is this the proper environment for education? Would you want to go to a school like this? Disadvantages such as these do not provide a proper atmosphere or environment conducive to learning. They also add a number of components to the problem of the lack of funds and increase the students' feeling that they are destined to fail. The lack of proper educational materials prevents students from learning. Since it prevents students from passing state mandated tests which control funding, they have to spend approximately eight months of the school year, usually in high school, preparing for these exams.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Hernan Cortes Hero or Villain

The Sun Cannot be covered by a Finger Hearing of the word hero brings to my mind a good looking man with some qualities of fair, equal, courage, brave, honest and a positive leader. This makes the opposite a villain a person who wishes wrong for someone or a person who creates evil. The event changes dramatically, a hero of the past may not be considered a hero in the present and versa. Hernando Cortes a hero for joining two worlds and conquering the most powerful civilization of America or Hernando Cortes a villain for making the Aztec Empire disappear.Hernando Cortez was an important symbol for the explorations, but killing people, ending the most powerful civilization in America and spreading diseases does not makes him a hero. With good strategy and few men Cortes defeated the Aztec Empire, first Montezuma II and then Cuauhtemoc. (5) Spreading disease â€Å"smallpox† to the Aztecs that then will spread the disease all over Mexico and making many people die. (2) Taking over a civilization that had his culture, language, religion and after doing all this finished with the entire Aztec Empire. (1) If you argue these reasons you get the results of a villain or in this case the result of Cortes. â€Å"For the people of Mexico, Cuauhtemoc is a hero as the Spanish are inhuman exploiters in their treatment of the indigenous population. † (3) Not only Mexicans believe that poor and cruel treatment for human beans is a crime. This is something that we were born and we immediately knew. Treating humans as slaves is shameful and this is exactly what Cortes did.Coming to a place that is not yours and saying that now is you place is one thing, but treating them bad so they would do what he order and killing them if they decided to oppose is another high level of evilness. (4) Cortes was ultimately responsible for the abuses suffered by indigenous and this contributes immensely to the â€Å"black legend† of conquest. (9) The black legend of the conque st was the abuse of the Spanish toward the Indigenous. Spanish began to take women and children for the Indians to serve and to use evil from them; they ate their meals that the Indians got from hard effort and work of everyday from them. 9) All of this where bad treatment towards the Aztecs that before the Spanish got to America was a civilization that was not bad treated by anyone. (6) This was the form they treated the Aztecs that would later lead to the evaporation of the Aztec Empire. The Spanish were starting to settle as well as the diseases.In 100 years 90 percent of the Indians population died and this was a problem that Cortes carried since his arrival. (11) Smallpox was undoubtedly the main villain, though not only, as the Spanish also introduced the mumps and measles, both responsible for many deaths. 17) There is no evidence that these infections exist in America before the arrival of the conquistadores. The disease was certainly bloodiest than the smallpox in sixteenth century in Europe. (11) It can be considerate that this disease was passed in the first try of Cortes trying to conquer the Aztecs in 1521. This being a fast disease that passed from person to person. (16) When Cortes entered the city in August, found that nearly half the population had died. In the course of six months there was hardly a single town without being infected. 11) It has been estimated that nearly half of the Aztec people died in the first epidemic. While Cortes was preparing more men and building ships for attacking the city, the Aztecs were dying by the disease that his men left the first time they enter the city. (8) This was a big extra help to make things much easier so Cortes could conquer the Aztec Empire. (11) Without really looking for extra help, help was falling from the sky towards Cortes; in this case he found out that he had killed a lot of men with one of his disease.In addition, can someone by considered a hero for something that he really did not plan ? After one eventually comes the other. Cortes did not only focus on killing the Aztecs he is still remembered for the battles of â€Å"La matanza de Cholula† and â€Å"La matanza del templo mayor†. Cortes needed men to help him finish the Aztec empire. â€Å"La matanza de Cholula† was an attack by military forces of the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortes in his path to the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in the year 1519. (12) According to writings of Cortes it was a preventing action because there was a rumor that there was going to be a possible ambush inside the city of Cholula. The result was the death of 5 000 or 6 000 Cholula, mostly unarmed civilians in a period not exceeding six hours. (12) The other battle â€Å"La matanza del templo mayor† also known as the night of tears was the night that Cortes lost half of his men trying to escape from the city of Tenochtitlan were also many Aztecs died; this was the 20 of May 1520. 13) The 27 of June 3 days bef ore the night of tears happened Montezuma was killed by his own people, this will lead to the first confusion; days later Cuauhtemoc will be the next leader of the Aztecs being recognized for a more aggressive leader. (14) Cuauhtemoc knowing that Cortes was trying to empower Tenochtitlan, he organized the army and people to defend the city, offered to remove the tributes to his vassals, fortified the plaza and destroyed the bridges.The Aztecs defended their positions for 75 days, until August 13, 1521. After the 75 days the city was impossible the leader tried to escape but they were capture by Spanish people. (14) Cuauhtemoc was then captured and was threatened to death if he did not said were the gold was. Cuauhtemoc remained imprisoned for 4 years. He was killed by the conquerors during the expedition of Cortes to Central America in 1525 and this was the end of a civilization that suffer since the arrival of the Spanish. 14) Getting to a conclusion, we analyze how Cortes treated, killed, fight. Cortes a villain for making bloody battle fields where he stepped. Clearly here is the definition of a villain. Spreading diseases, making people suffer, finishing the civilization only for the purpose of gold and his own benefits. A hero thinks of everyone not just on himself. Once again with good strategy and few men Cortes defeated the Aztec Empire, first Montezuma II and then Cuauhtemoc making this suffer much more.However spreading disease â€Å"smallpox† to the Aztecs that then will spread the disease all over Mexico and making many people die. This disease killed 90% of the Natives in 100 years. Taking over a civilization that had his culture, language, religion and after doing all this finished with the entire Aztec Empire. No one can be considered a hero by doing these evil things. Cortes proof to be a villain in almost every act, sometimes is not enough to be a brave men and courageous. You need to use this qualities for good not for bad treatment.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Philosophy of Socrates a Lover of Wisdom - 2030 Words

Running Head: THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 1 The Philosophy of Socrates: A Lover of Wisdom (2052 Words) THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 2 The lessons of life that are delivered by Socrates act as a basis for Western philosophy. Plato, the writer of The Apology, significantly respects Socrates and his dialogues act as a framework for our understanding in the passages. Our only record of his life comes from his associates, as Socrates never documented his opinions. A clear expression of Socrates’ philosophy is represented in The Apology. The purpose of this†¦show more content†¦The purpose of this focuses on disproving the statements of others. The Socratic Method was a common practice as Socrates understands that knowledge was the acknowledgment of one’s ignorance. Questions are asked to the opponent, resulting in their confusion once they realize that they have fallen into a verbal trap, which was logically calculated. Socratic Method can be seen in The Apology when Socrates explains his â€Å"divine mission† to the jury. Throughout this explanation, Socrates questions the several ranks of occupations in society. The Socratic Method is relieved in order to prove that his opponents are incorrect when they claim â€Å"Socrates is committing an injustice...he makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger and teaches others to follow his example† (Plato, 507). Socrates tries to show the jury that he is innocent and did not try to corrupt the young minds. Socrates wants to expose the residents of Athens to philosophical facts, and also demonstrate what his criticizers are really trying to do. When Socrates values the examined life, he also values critical thinking. The statements that are brought up from the questioning of the Socratic Method can convey the inner beliefs, which can then be examined. 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