Nation under God Essay Example for Free

Nation under God Essay The argument regarding the use of the word God in the Pledge of Allegiance is not a new one. In fact, this argument stems from the long standing principle of separation between the church and the state which is embodied in the First Amendment of the United States constitution. Under this principle, the government and the church are to be kept separate from each other. The government is prohibited from encouraging or advancing any of the interests of a single religion. This means that the government cannot promote a single religion or impose upon its people which religion to follow (Clark 1965). It is a blanket prohibition that prevents the government from intervening in the religious beliefs of people. The second aspect of this principle recognizes that the government will invariably have to deal with religious institutions one way or the other (Clark 1965). The doctrine on the separation of church and state therefore also regulates the dealings between the church and state such that there should only be a minimal and incidental interference from the government. This is also known as the rule on excessive entanglement between the church and the state. The problem with the use of the word God in the Pledge of Allegiance is considered as a violation of the doctrine on the separation of the church and state because many religious groups claim that the use of the term God favors the Christian religion which prominently uses the term God for the Supreme Being. Other groups on the other hand argue that the word God as used in the Pledge of Allegiance is not an advancement of the Christian religion but rather an acknowledgment of some higher being that is common to all religions. This short discourse will seek to shed more light on the issue of the use of the word God in the Pledge of Allegiance. The first part will cover the historical background of the insertion of the word God in an attempt to understand the original meaning of the word God as used in the Pledge of Allegiance. The next segments will cover the points of view from the perspective of the state as contrasted to the perspective of the church on the issue. Historical Background of the Insertion of the Word God: There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the use of the word God in the Pledge of Allegiance particularly with its mandatory recitation in the public school classrooms. Most of controversy revolves around the use of the phrase â€Å"under God. † It was not until June 14, 1954 however that this highly contested phrase was inserted (Whitsitt 1896). The original tenor of the pledge of allegiance which was created by Francis Bellamy on September 7, 1892 read as follows: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Historical Changes of the Pledge of Allegiance 1892: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. 1892 to 1923: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. 1923 to 1954: I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. 1954 to Present: I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. The original tenor of the Pledge of Allegiance did not contain any reference to any deity whatsoever. In response to this, the Knights of Columbus of New York City urged the assemblies to insert a reference to a deity since they felt that it was incomplete without one. The deity to which the Knights of Columbus referred to was the same one that was referred to in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (Whitsitt 1896). The words â€Å"under God† as used in Lincoln’s address, according to the Knights of Columbus, was the most appropriate one to add to the Pledge of Allegiance. It is important to note however that the phrase â€Å"under God† was never contained in the original text of the Gettysburg Address. By April 22 of the year 1951, the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus formally adopted a resolution to amend the recitation of Pledge of Allegiance by the members of the Knights of Columbus at the opening of each of the meetings of the 800 Fourth Degree Assemblies of the Knights of Columbus by addition of the words under God after the words one nation (Whitsitt 1896). It was not long before the whole organization had adopted the same resolution as the idea spread throughout the other Knights of Columbus organizations nationwide. On August 21, 1952, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution at its annual meeting recommending the that the change in the Pledge of Allegiance be made universal and soon petitions and copies of the resolution were sent to the Office of the President, the Vice President, who was the Presiding Officer of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. While the attempts of the Knights of Columbus were unsuccessful, they were able to convince a majority of the relevance of inserting such a phrase and soon the movement began to gain momentum (Whitsitt 1896). It was not until Senator Homer Ferguson who in his report to the United States Congress on March 10, 1954 that the movement had begun to make significant progress. In this privileged speech, Senator Ferguson said, The introduction of this joint resolution was suggested to me by a sermon given recently by the Rev. George M. Docherty, of Washington, D. C. , who is pastor of the church at which Lincoln worshipped. By this time Congress concurred with the Oakman-Ferguson resolution, and Eisenhower opted to sign the bill into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954. The rationale for the approval and adoption of the phrase â€Å"under God† was clarified by President Eisenhower in a letter which he wrote in August of 1954 (Bradley 1996). These words [â€Å"under God†] will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded. This was actually taken from the sermon of Docherty to which President Eisenhower had taken a great interest in (Whitsitt 1896). It was eventually published by Harper Bros. in New York in 1958 and President Eisenhower took the opportunity to write to Dr. Docherty with gratitude for the opportunity to once again read the fateful sermon. Finally, on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, Congress passed the legislation that add the phrase under God to the Pledge of Allegiance. At this point, it can be argued that the insertion of the word God into the Pledge of Allegiance was actually motivated by some religious influence, particularly the Christian religion. In order to have a better understanding of the issue at hand however it is important to briefly examine the import of the doctrine of the Separation of the Church and the State. Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State: The phrase, â€Å"separation of Church and State†, is actually from a letter that was written by one of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, to a group that called themselves the Danbury Baptists. In the letter, Thomas Jefferson wrote that, â€Å"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. † This was of course in reference to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Whitsitt 1896). The basic precept of this doctrine is founded on a firm belief that religion and state should be separate. It covers a very wide spectrum, as mentioned in the previous sections of this discussion, ranging from the secularization or elimination of the church to theocracy wherein the state works in tandem with a religion in order to govern over the acts of people (Bradley 1996). The Secularist Perspective: The secularist perspective is that the state should be kept distant from religion and that, in the same vein, the religious institutions should also be free from any governmental interferences. This follows the second aspect of the Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State that dictates that there should be no entanglement between the Church and the State (Bradley 1996). In this perspective, the government is prohibited from citing the authority or influence of a specific religious institution for the justification of its authority (Bradley 1996). While there are some governments that claim religious justifications for their powers such as the Muslim states, the justification for such is based on the emphasis of the relationship for ceremonial and rhetorical purposes only. The acts done by the government are not meant to further the cause of any single religion but are actually for the general welfare and the benefit of the state. The state therefore does not conform to any particular religious doctrine but in fact caters to its own doctrine as mandated by the will of the people and of the Constitution (Clark 1965). Acts such as exemptions from taxation or providing funds for education and charities, though viewed as supporting religion, are in fact welfare based or â€Å"faith based† according to secularists. This reflects the view that temporal authority and spiritual authority should properly operate in complimentary spheres. The spheres where they overlap such as in moral values or property rights are areas where neither should take authority over the other but should instead offer a framework in which society can work these issues out without subjugating a religion to the state or vice versa (Bradley 1996).

Outcast Essay Example for Free

Outcast Essay Outcast The novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a 9th grade girl called Melinda Sordino whose life is being terrorized by her memories from a bad incident at an end-of-the-summer party. It is the first day of 9th grade for Melinda at Merry Weather High School, nobody likes her because she called the cops at the party, making her an outcast and speechless. By the end of the novel Melinda finally speaks to her mom and her ex-friends about the party, and the narrator learns that having the confidence to speak and speaking up can make somebody feel better. Anderson uses the Title Speak to help show the theme of the novel. Early in the story, Melinda is going to her first day of 9th grade. Melinda is not having a great 1st day of High School, and than she soon refuses to speak Its easier to not say anything (9). Melinda first shows her behavior when she is no longer speaking. On this part of the novel the problem is firstly presented but the theme is still not represented in this part of the novel. As the story continues, Melinda is going thru her life in High School but in a way nobody likes. Melindas ex-friends hate her due to the incident. But, she meets a girl named Heather who is new to the state, and become friends. Heather speaks a lot to Melinda but Melinda becomes anti-social with her. In Melindas art class she is picked to paint a tree but she starts poorly. Later in the story Melinda becomes more closed and her life becomes worse. Melinda: you mean we are not friends anymore? Heather: We were not really, really friends. (105). Speaking now symbolizes how difficult or how struggling it is to keep a friend and to achieve something.

Dells Just In Time Inventory Management system

Dells Just In Time Inventory Management system Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing is specific type of inventory production strategy that is used to improve a companys return on investment through a cutback of stock held. The primary goal of JIT is the achievement of zero inventory, not just with within the confines of a singe organisation but ultimately throughout the entire supply chain (Hutchins 1988). Many companies are making the transition into adopting JIT manufacturing; however it was the automotive industry sector that initially pioneered the principle. It was first developed by Toyota in the 1980s and it is now frequently used within the production of a diverse range of different goods. Nowadays companys inventories are shrinking to almost nothing mainly because of the large increase of JIT manufacturing. Dell is probably the most well known business that had implemented the lean manufacturing process. Therefore for the purpose of this report I am going to focus on how Dell the computer producer has integrated JIT, a parti cular type of inventory management into their firm. 2.1 Dell company analysis The Dell Computer Corporation is one of the leading sellers of PCs with its main rival being the Hewlett Packard Company. (Mintel 2009) claims that Dell is the the number two supplier worldwide. It is a very successful firm that has gained exceptional sales accomplishments because of its unique direct marketing model. They have had the right amount of resources within their business to develop an extremely successful inventory production model. As a result Dell has gained competitive edge and many rival computer companies are now starting to replicate Dell. However simply imitating Dells strategy without fully researching the management theory behind it is not an ideal approach for other firms to adopt. Most of the enterprises that have tried to do this have not succeeded, to much of a degree that Dell has. The competitive advantages of Dell over its competitors are that Dell has well thought out JIT inventory system and very good supplier integration. This has helped in cutting down inventory costs within the business and has also reduced the lead time in serving customer orders for computers and laptops. This had caused Dell to gain a very successful process improvement within their enterprise. 2.2 Dell JIT strategy It is quite clear that these JIT inventory systems have evolved over the years. (Helo 2004) states that JIT is believed to enhance productivity and build a leaner manufacturing system which minimises inventories. This is because Just-in-time makes production operations much more efficient compared with other methods of production, as it is a cost effective approach. Dell realised that this would be a excellent opportunity for their business processes before any other computer firms did and have therefore have cut their inventories from having 20 to 25 days of inventory to having no warehousesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and no more than two hours of inventory in its factories (Mishra 2009). By doing this Dell reached one of their main goals of constantly improving performance of their business. They also recognized that they could reduce expenditure by integrating and optimizing their computer manufacturing system. Overall such a system builds a leaner supply chain for Dell, so that their inventor ies are minimized. 2.3 Requirements for JIT manufacturing Establishing a JIT company like Dell requires commitment from every department and a lot of support from the companys strategic management team. A pull production method of work flow needs to be put into practice for JIT systems to be useful within Dell. The entire supply chain system is built around the flexibility and speed therefore customer demand is the factor that activates production of Dell computers. Normally this is fine within Dells business as they use the direct marketing model to sell their computers. However sometimes demand for computers can rapidly increase without any significant explanation. Dell has to have a contingency plan in place in case this happens unexpectedly. Even though inventory is low Dell still have the ability to stretch and push the factory processes to the capacity at times when demand succeeds supply. Table 1. Key Requirements for JIT Production (Lubben 1988) 1.High quality standards 2.Demand or pull scheduling 3.Level production schedules 4.Sufficient lead time (minimum setup time) to change to new products 5.Long term contract commitments from customers and with suppliers 6.Contiuous improvement of the production process 7.Minimum inventory in the manufacturing system 2.4 Advantages of Dell adopting a JIT system There are a wide range of benefits that JIT manufacturing can have on an enterprise. Firstly JIT appeals to a wide variety of businesses as it helps to prevent manufacturers from getting stuck with outdated or unusable inventory. Dell only has 2 hours worth of inventory in their manufacturing plants. This ensures that they are controlling their production of computers fully. In addition to this it has been found that JIT adoption has significant positive results on the financial figures of a business. Dell has achieved a cash conversion cycle from implementing JIT systems. This allows a healthy flow of money within their business, which will have an encouraging impact on their profitability. Another one of the many advantages to just-in-time manufacturing is the reduced cost. This is only achieved after the JIT systems has been in place for quite while, but it reduces capital tied up in stock, which allows a company like Dell to spend money on other areas of the business such as adve rtising and marketing. Just-in-time also has a much faster setup and saves resources by streamlining production systems. This as a result prevents overproduction of computers, which will therefore help Dell with the elimination of waste within their company. As a further point JIT systems also abolishes costs of warehouse space and storage facilities. This also allows Dell to inject cash into other parts of their enterprise and can also keep travel costs to a minimum. 2.5 Limitations of a company such as Dell implementing JIT manufacturing Just as JIT manufacturing has many strong points, there are some weaknesses as well. The Just-in-Time system may not suit every business, thorough research needed to be done by Dell to ensure such inventory management would work in the way they wanted it to, before they executed it. This would have been a very long process as they would have needed to weigh up the risks it could have on their business. In addition to this it is difficult and very expensive to introduce as there is possible large initial set up costs, which may put some businesses off. This did not put Dell off as they knew the long term benefits would mean that they would become more profitable if they introduce this method. They also found that it would allow them to gain continuous improvement within their business practices in the future, which could allow them to become the superior computer manufacturer over the Hewlett Packard Company who currently has the top spot in the industry. It is also true that JIT proc esses can become vulnerable to market demand fluctuations and unforeseen production interruptions. Again Dell had to look in depth into the buying patterns of their customer base, before investing in JIT systems within their firm. Conclusion Just in time manufacturing can have a positive influence on an enterprise such as Dell and by utilizing JIT systems they have gained a competitive edge against similar rivals in the computer industry. The direct selling model compliments their JIT systems which could in the future make them the worldwide leader in computer manufacturing. However as an important point inventory management systems do not appear to be consistent across all industries. Dell Computer Corporation must critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of implementing Just-in-time systems within their operations. Nevertheless Dell has done their research correctly and as a result JIT is rather successful within computer manufacturers. It is true that the computer industries do not have the experience of JIT systems that the automotive industry has, but it has successfully implemented JIT principles over the past 20 years and will continue to in the future. In addition to this implementing a new concept such as JIT systems requires a constant support from each and every aspect of the organization. It demands complete support from every department operating in the organisation. If a company like Dell accomplishes the implementation of JIT purchasing systems it can result in improved productivity. Despite JIT process it self is not complicated, the implementation stage is not easy to face at all. However it is possible the system can bring high levels of competitiveness to big companies such as Dell and they have proved this with their financial status in the market. The most important factor Dell has to remember, is that they have to sustain good working relationships with their suppliers for JIT to work within their organisation in the first place. For the reasons highlighted in the paper above I can come to the conclusion that Dell have successfully implemented JIT inventory management within their business processes and they are using continuous improvement within their company to mai ntain to be one the leading manufacturers of computers and software. References ALPHABETICALLY Helo (2004) Managing agility and productivity in the electronics industry Industrial Management Data Systems Hutchins (1988) Overview of JIT Just in Time Lubben (1988) Pull production system Just-in-time Manufacturing Mintel (2009) PCs and Laptops [online] Available at: http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/showHYPERLINK http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show/display/id=474522/display/id=475761#hit1HYPERLINK http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show/display/id=474522/display/id=475761#hit1/display/id=474522/display/id=475761#hit1 [Accessed 30 April 2010] Mishra (2009) Just-In-Time production: the Dell Way [online] Available at: http://penofaparanoid.blogspot.com/2009/06/just-in-time-production-dell-way_18.html [Accessed 30 April 2010] http://www.ehow.com/about_5099120_pro-just-time-inventory-system.html

Dell SWOT Essay -- Dell Inc Swot Analysis Case Study Computers

Dell INC Executive summary Is the dell's direct model working? Last year, the company gave up the PC market share lead to Hewlett-Packard. Dell was the only top computer company to lose worldwide PC market share. This analysis identified Dell's problems and provided strategic moves for the PC maker firm. Company Background The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, now the company is one of the world's largest suppliers of personal computers and related products. It designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services personal computers, servers, printers and other products. The company primarily operates in the Americas. It is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas and employs about 66,000 people. Dell's simple concept focus on selling personal computer systems directly to the customer in that way Dell could best understand their needs, and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. The company announced plans to begin selling through retail stores. Vision: Dell's vision is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. Recommendation for the vision statement: A vision statement focuses on the on how the world would be ideal without mention the organization. In this vision Dell mention its product, I recommend a vision that would say: There will be a personal computer for each individual in the world. Justification: Dell aspire that every individual in the world owns a computer. Computers are part of everyday life in the twenty-first century. Computers have changed the way humans work and live. We live in a world where technology is rapidly increasing, and new discoveries are being made every day. Comp... ...III, the most common approaches are Market development and innovation, with these strategies Dell can broad its operations and introduced those in new segments or new customer groups. They have the necessity to invest more in innovation. More R&D, more and unique products will make the difference against the competition. References Pearce&Robinson, Strategic Management, 10e, 2007 McGraw-Hill Dell.com.2007 from: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/en/commitment?c=us&l=en&s=corp By Jeordan Legon "is The Dude Steven Done For;Wednesday, October 16, 2002 Posted: 3:50 PM EDT (1950 GMT) from: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/10/16/dude.dell/ Chang, Althea "Is All well with Dell?, August 17 2007: 2:20 PM EDT.From: http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/17/markets/spotlight_dell/index.htm Holzner, Steven, How Dell Does it, McGraw-Hill, 2006

The Life of Billy Pilgrim in Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five or The Chil

The Life of Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marked by two world wars and the anxiety that accompanies humanity's knowledge of the ability to destroy itself, the Twentieth Century has produced literature that attempts to depict the plight of the modern man living in a modern waste land. If this sounds dismal and bleak, it is. And that is precisely why the dark humor of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. shines through our post-modern age. The devastating bombing of Dresden, Germany at the close of World War II is the subject of Vonnegut's most highly acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death. Vonnegut's experience as an American POW in Dresden fuels the narrative that unconventionally defines his generation through the life and death of Billy Pilgrim. The survival of Billy Pilgrim at Dresden and his re-entry to the shell-shocked world reveal a modern day journey of the anti-hero. Vonnegut's unusual style and black satire provide a refreshing backdrop for a vehement anti-war theme and enhance his adept ability to depict the face of humanity complete with all of its beauty and blemishes. Likewise, Vonnegut adds his own philosophy concerning time, our place in it, and connection (or disconnection) to it and one other. Perhaps the most crucial step in understanding this intriguing work is to start with its title, which holds the key to Vonnegut's most prevailing theme.    Vonnegut addresses the writing of his work about the bombing of Dresden in the first chapter, detailing the stress he felt when faced with such a laborious task. The carnage of Dresden does not haunt those who were not there. The combined efforts of the A... ...dons the glimmer of hope that accompanies the fact that life has its moments of grandeur. He encourages the modern reader to escape the question "why me" and urges us to embrace a philosophy that consistently reminds us that even in the midst of the most cruel (and the most celebrated) events, humanity retains all of its virtue and vice. So it goes. Vonnegut allows us to laugh out loud, despite the tragedies of war and the anxiety of the post-modern world. His picture of the modern man is simultaneously dismal and hopeful. His unique style, satiric overview and astute ability to capture the multiple faces of mankind, properly place him in the realm of the most accomplished authors of the Twentieth Century.    Works Cited Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A duty Dance with Death. New York; Random House, 1969.   

Bill Bryson †“Notes from a small Island” Essay

What features make it amusing? â€Å"Notes From A Small Island† is Bill Bryson’s accounts from travelling around Britain. He writes in a very distinctive style. He compared this journey to a similar one that he took in 1973. He begins the book by recalling his first sight of England â€Å"on a foggy March night in 1973.† This is in the prologue. He begins chapter one by comparing Britain in 1973 to the time when he revisited it. The humour in this passage is how he complains about England. Through out Bryson’s accounts of his trip he portrays a lot of Irony. The Irony is that it is over twenty years since his last visit Britain has actually changed surprisingly little. In his accounts of Dover he has noticed that there are a lot of similarities to Dover in 1973, â€Å"†¦found myself square in front of Mrs Smegma’s establishment. It was still a hotel and looked substantially unchanged, as far as I could remember†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It is the Ironic features that makes parts of â€Å"Notes from a small island† amusing. The reason that Bryson’s books are so funny is because they are so true and honest. I especially find the chapters about London funny because I have been there so many times my self. I love the part where he talks about multi – story car parks, â€Å"You drive around for ages, and then spend a small eternity shunting into a space exactly two inches wider than the average car.† Another reason why we laugh at Bryson’s books is because it is a common instinct to laugh at other’s misfortunes. This especially occurs when we have been in a similar situation, in the past, our selves. â€Å"Notes from a small island† is written in first person. Bryson uses Elision and Ellipsis in his writing. This makes his writing seem more personal and it also seems like he is actually telling his stories to the reader themselves. He also uses similes and many adjectives to create images in the reader’s mind. The use of modifiers is included in his writing. He has included dialect into his writing as well. Bryson has used both compound and complex sentences. He also uses â€Å"Tongue in Cheek Tone,† â€Å"†¦a sprig of artificial lilies instantly informed me that the food would be mediocre but present with a certain well – practiced flourish.† The use of â€Å"Tongue in cheek† creates more humour in Bryson’s writing. The potential audience for this book is people whom whish to travel or generally people who like reading comedy. It is a travel book merged with humour. The purpose of â€Å"Notes from a small island† is to inform the readers about the different places but also entertain and amuse them. His lexical field is effective. Through out the book Bryson makes many observations, â€Å"†¦between them consumed the last of the profiteroles and the black forest gateau from the sweet trolley. The boy, I noticed, had a double heap of both, the greedy fat pig.† In this quotation Bryson has basically written about what the majority of us think but do not actually say. Bryson’s ability to put into words his travelling experiences so they can be read and enjoyed are not achieved all that often by others. He appears to have an open mind and as a result gives extensive reviews of his experiences. In these reviews provide entertainment for the reader, as they are very funny.

American History Essay

In the aftermath of the wars waged with the other European countries, vying with each other to subjugate and exploit the American continent, Britain emerged as the sole Imperial Power in North America. Nevertheless, the cost was prohibitive and this compelled the British to impose additional taxes, which were very much resented by the people in the colonies. The authorities who had been appointed by the government in England, made it very clear that taxes would be imposed by England and that the colonial subjects would perforce have to abide with such legislation (Johnson and Woloch). The colonies had elected assemblies and these were deemed to be protection against the avaricious British and the governors appointed by them. A major objective of these assemblies was to mitigate the power of the British over them. The grouse of the colonists was that after having fought in the wars, provided most of the finances for the war and having sustained losses, they would once again have to pay taxes to prop up the profligate British. Moreover, the colonists were fiercely independent and brooked no interference in their affairs. Accordingly, they were unwilling to pay taxes to the British and felt that the only taxes that they had to pay should go into the coffers of their own colonies (Johnson and Woloch). To this end the British government introduced the Stamp Act, which levied a tax on commercial transactions, newspapers and gambling. This act was strongly opposed by the colonists and had to be eventually abandoned in the year 1766. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend, introduced a number of taxes in 1767. These were to be imposed on the import of tea, glass, lead, paper and paint. Moreover, such imports could only be made from Britain. When the colonists agitated against these taxes, their assemblies were dissolved and repressive measures were adopted against them, resulting in the death of civilians in Boston, on whom the Redcoats fired indiscriminately. Most of these taxes were subsequently, repealed, with the exception of that on tea. The redoubtable colonists boycotted tea (Johnson and Woloch). In 1773, a shipload of tea was dumped into the sea at Boston. This increased the brutality of the British, who brought about legislation that was clearly meant to crush the colonists. In 1774, the colonist responded to this British barbarism, by inaugurating a Colonial Congress at Philadelphia. The resolution passed at this congress, which was conveyed to the despots back home in England, was that taxation and other legislation was to be enacted only by the colonial assemblies and not the British Parliament. The English retaliated by declaring the colonies as being in rebellion and deployed its hated army. The colonists fought tooth and nail against their oppressors and managed to drive the British army out of their colonies. To compound the felony, the English hired some thirty thousand odd German mercenaries to fight against the colonists (Johnson and Woloch). This was the last nail in the coffin, and the colonists decided to secede from the overbearing British. Accordingly, the declaration of independence was formulated in 1776. The British had a large, well armed, well trained and highly experienced force at its disposal. However, as the colonists had only to demonstrate that they could not be defeated and as the terrain was not only unfamiliar but also vast, the British failed to make significant headway against them. The British tasted defeat at Saratoga and this prompted the French to provide support to the colonists. Finally at Yorktown, the Red Coats, led by Cornwallis were besieged on land by the glorious American troops led by that paragon of virtue, George Washington; on the sea the French Navy ensured that the despicable British could not make good their escape. The oppressors were forced to surrender before the valor and indomitable spirit of the Americans. In 1783, the loathsome and rapacious British recognized America as an independent country, much to their chagrin (Johnson and Woloch). Right from the inception of measures to rescind the rule of the British, the colonies had unanimously rejected the British Constitution. The different states of the Union were in favor of implementing their own constitutions. Since, the federal government was in favor of a uniform constitution, this led to quite a few disputes between the states and the federal government. After the revolutionary war had ended a wide range of disputes arose between the states and the federal government. In addition, there were a few disputes between several states of the budding nation. There were economic disputes, political disputes and differences in the ideologies of these states. The disputes had emerged as an aftereffect of the French Revolution and hence there was an immediate need to resolve them. President Jefferson had undertaken several measures to resolve these issues, but was unable to sort them out entirely. This led the rulers of the US to review the situation and it was established that the US had to rescind its relations with Europe and renovate the entire code of administration, which had a European background. It was realized that the fundamental issues to be adopted were self reliance and an enterprising spirit (GREAT BRITAIN-U. S. RELATIONS , 1991). The incomparable James Madison was the fourth US President. He was the greatest political theorist of his time. The efforts extended by him towards the success of the American Revolution were prodigious. He also strived hard to strengthen the US in its early days. His was the principal impetus to the implementation of the US Constitution. Madison was the leader of the Republican Party. His main objective was to establish a national government that represented the people and not the states. In this endeavor he represented the aspiration of the states to oppose any measure to control their respective administrative powers. His vision was that such a national government would resolve the disputes effectively between the states of the union. He contributed vastly to the establishment of federalist governance, and he was successful in achieving his goal. The first ten Constitutional Amendments were introduced by him and they are known as the bill of rights. These amendments, serve as a check on federal power. The states of the Union have been protected to a major extent by the bill of rights (Madison, James, 1991). The economies of some of the southern states were mainly agrarian and dependent on slavery. The northern states had become wealthy due to industrialization. In that situation, Abraham Lincoln was elected as the US President. He liberated the slaves through his Proclamation of Emancipation. This drastic measure resulted in the US Civil War in the year 1861. The Civil War lasted for four years. Eventually, in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted, which ended the practice of slavery. The Civil War also came to an end during that time (abolitionism, 2005). Subsequently, the political system became fortified and democracy was well established in that period. The common man’s rights were protected through the Bill of Rights introduced by James Madison. All the political parties, without exception, cooperated in the process of nation building. These efforts resulted in a United States, which is the only superpower in the world. In this manner, the citizens of the US had always opposed measures by the government to curtail their rights.First the British and then the federal government, had to countenance the wrath of the American populace in this regard. Works Cited abolitionism . 2005. 16 December 2007 < http://www. credoreference. com/entry. jsp? xrefid=6400501&secid=. 2. -abolitionism>. GREAT BRITAIN-U. S. RELATIONS . 1991. 16 December 2007 . Johnson, Paul E and Nancy Woloch. â€Å"United States History . † Microsoft ® Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2007. Madison, James. 1991. 16 December 2007 .