Saturday, September 7, 2019

Red, White, and Black by Gary Nash Essay Example for Free

Red, White, and Black by Gary Nash Essay Gary Nash author of Red, White, and Black purpose to their readers is describing the early colonists, but also the relationships toward Europeans, the Indians, and the Africans. Nash successfully analyzes the impact of the colliding three cultures and interprets them to give an overall theme about the relationships between those who made America what it is today. He has shown another point of view to his reader that we grew up and was raise in a white people land; learning only the White people point of view through history. His purpose of writing Red, White Black was to prove that Native Americans and Africans were not victims, but played as a active role to American history. Nash major theme that he covers in his book was about the three cultures in America and to interpret them overall. The theme is about the issue that Americans have towards the Native American and Africans. He wanted to examine and studied other culture history instead of only learning from the American side. He figures out that they were victims to the history and was just a role in the American history. His main point of time frame was from 1492-1796. The introduction to Nash research took place in Eastern and Northern America. Nash was against how the founding fathers came to America and affected the Natives and Africans. He was against how the founding fathers came to their land and changed their destiny of lives and culture because they took what belong to them first. Anthropologists call this process â€Å"transculturation† and historians call it â€Å"Social change. † His argument towards the historical terms is that we are studying a dynamic process of interaction that shaped the history of American Indians, Europeans, and Africans in the North America in the 17 18 centuries. Gary B. Nash was arguing of something different than what is written to us. He believes of what the founding father want us to know and was marked down through history. But reality during those times American Indians and Africans had a big destiny change when the European came along. They changed and affected their lives in there home land. Gary B. Nash written Red, White, and Black purpose was mainly to let people know that, what’s ever that was passed down from the founding father in history is only what their views were and marked down in papers. How the Americans European changed the lives of all Native American and African that was located at Eastern and Northern America.

Friday, September 6, 2019

Narrative Argument About Education Essay Example for Free

Narrative Argument About Education Essay Reading the web is not the same as reading in the book or magazine or even newspaper. The information that you read from the internet may not stick with you as long as it would if you were to read a book, newspaper, magazine, or journal. This can’t be a hundred percent accurate for everyone, but according to most people that I have questioned, the information that they read from the web/internet doesn’t stick with them as long as it does when they read an actual book, newspaper, or magazine. Personal computers can be empowering tools in a way of learning about technology, but in my opinion they do no good for learning when it comes to critical thinking skills and gaining accurate information for yourself. Most of the web pages that are out there are not even filled with accurate information. If there is no context on the web for the research you are looking up, then neither is there any history for it. Nothing online has been indexed before 1980, so therefore; the information is not completely accurate and gainful knowledge. According to Judith Levine, most of the data her students net are like trash fish, and by that I feel like she means that the information that they get is worthless and will not help them in any way. I would have to say that I can agree with her statement because as a web surfer myself I don’t see how it helps me. Yes, it does give me certain education in the information that I am surfing about, but it does and will not help me as much as it would if I were to read a book about that very same subject. I can gain more knowledge and keep it memorized with a book much easier than I can surfing the web. Judith talks about her students not being able to concentrate when she asks them to organize their impressions into coherent stories, and I find that to be due to the lack of critical thinking skills from not reading books anymore and using this computer technology for all of their research and surfing articles. I feel like students don’t get the full education of the subject that they need when they shortcut it by using the web for their papers. I agree with Judith’s statement about the diagnosis of an epidemic attention deficit disorder. It can be caused by the casual clicking and pointing that has come to stand in for intellectual inquiry. Technology may empower, but when will the power of it be used? Students don’t read anymore and so their critical thinking skills are not as great as they could be if they would just read instead. They should be reading books like literature, history, poetry, and politics so they can be listening to people who know what they are talking about. Otherwise, the information they get will be of no use to them. â€Å"The search engines that retrieve more than 100,000 links or none at all, they will be awkward at discerning meaning, or discerning at all† (Paragraph 14). After reading the story of Judith Levine’s argument about using the web for research papers versus reading books, I can feel like I totally agree with her on every aspect. â€Å"Because reading makes you use your brain. While reading you would be forced to reason out many things which are unfamiliar to you. Reading improves your vocabulary: Remember in elementary school when you learned how to infer the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? You get the same benefit from book reading. While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed to many new words you wouldn’t be otherwise.† â€Å"Reading also improves concentration and focus. It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, internet posts or e-mails that might contain small chunks of information, books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, like a muscle, you will get better at concentration†Ã‚   Just like Judith talked about in her argument, she feels like the etiology of attention deficit disorder is due to the fact that students these days are not reading books anymore, but are only surfing the web which doesn’t help the brain to focus and concentrate. When students surf the web for answers there is no way of them being able to know if any particular fact is accurate or not. But when they read books it gives them better information that is sure to be accurate. So, when Judith Levine argues the point that she feels reading books, magazines, newspapers and etc. â€Å"are better that surfing the web, I would have to agree with her because it help us in our comprehension, practices our fluency, and many others. But nowadays, because reading books is boring and you have to read for almost a week or month, students today are so lazy to that and they always have the speech of, it’s a waste of time† â€Å"Using Computer is widely practice today’s generation. It is almost needed in the society. You can also be called an illiterate when you don’t know how to use it, because even a 7 years old kid can use the computer. Computers are easy to use, reliable, fast, and consume a short period of time† I believe that is why in the beginning of Judith’s argument she quoted Bill Gates statement after he bestowed a $200 million gift to America’s public libraries so they could hook up to the internet and I understand why he would feel the way he does about computers because of how popular they are in today’s society, but in my opinion I feel that they are not as empowering as people seem to think that they are. They will not give you the education and critical thinking skills that you need like books will do for you. So, therefore; I would have to agree with her argument towards Bill Gates decision and statement.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Mobile Phones: Impact on Interpersonal Relationships

Mobile Phones: Impact on Interpersonal Relationships According to the International Telecommunication Union, mobile phone users in the world will raise to more than 7 billion at the beginning of 2014. Additionally, the report of ITU in 2013 revealed that over one third people in the world use the web. China, a country with more than 591 million internet users doubtlessly, ranks first on the list of â€Å"Five Countries with the Most Internet Users† with the USA the following second 254 million. Among so large a number of internet users in China, Chinese people always use the web via mobile phones. By the end of December 2013, China had 500 million mobile Internet users [†¦] Among all the Internet users, the proportion of those using mobile phones to access the Internet rose to 81.0% from 74.5%, and the number of mobile Internet users grew steadily (â€Å"Statistical Report on Internet Development in China† 22). Therefore, in China, it is very convenient to contact a person—just call him/her or send a message. Meanwhile, one can easily observe that no matter in restaurants or on the road, there being a group of people who always lower their heads addicted to the mobile phones; one can easily observe that some looking down on screens of the mobile phones ignore the others at a meeting; one can easily observe that lots of people no longer listen to and communicate with others but focus on the mobile phones. Consequently, one must start to consider what the popularization of mobile phone has brought? And think about how does it work to interpersonal relationship? Good or bad? Have people fallen into â€Å"a world where [they] are slaves to the technology [they] mastered† (Gary Turk)? Have fallen into â€Å"a world of self-interested, self-image† (Gary Turk)? After reflection, a conclusion that mobile phone exerts a double-edged influence on interpersonal relationships, impairing our affection while it providing people with a more convenient platform for communication is drawn. Negative Impact on Interpersonal Relationships The wide use of mobile phones reduces the chances of face-to-face communication. Nowadays, with the emergence of various social instruments in them, such as Wechat, Micro blog, Facebook, it is common to see that people hold their mobile phones all day long. Most of the people would like to make contact with others by those instruments, but not through conversation. Psychologists Kaveri Subrahmanyam of California State University and Patricia M. Greenfield of U.C.L.A. wrote in the journal â€Å"The Future of Children† that electronic communications such as texting, social networking and instant messaging might be making teenagers less interested in face-to-face talks, according to their initial research (Arvidson â€Å"The Effects of Cell Phones on Relationships†). Now, people tend to use texts or calls to inform someone. For example, a mother will ask her kids to go to bed by texting them even though she lives in the next door to her kids. Therefore, some psychologist s make a suggestion that people should grasp more chances to communicate with others and pour their feelings into others face to face, because the number of messages they sent is inversely proportional to the feelings of accumulation in a way (Ni 180). In addition, people focusing on mobile phones when getting together will definitely hurt their relationships. When people get together, it ought to be a chance for them to communicate with each other directly and sincerely. However, most people are just keeping their heads down and phubbing is seen here and there. When people have meal with their parents or grandparents but just keep their eyes staring at the screens, the eldership of the family will feel lonely and think the young are impolite. Some couples text each other at home though they sit next to. And a group of friends get together, they are laughing not because the party but because the fun news they are reading on their phones. Warner said, â€Å"Increasing use of cell phones [†¦] was linked to a decrease in family satisfaction and increased stress over a two-year period† (â€Å"Cell Phones Raise Stress†). After a long time, it will do harm for people’s harmony of family and friendships. What’s more, being addicted to the mobile phones makes people lonelier. According to a survey made by the China Youth Daily, â€Å"46.1 percent said that reliance on mobiles was making people’s social circles smaller, and nearly 30 percent said it was making them lonelier† (Custer â€Å"Chinese Survey Shows Worry Over Impacts of Mobile Phone Use†). Most people have many friends on their Social Network Site. They talk every day, share interesting or sad things every day, but they do not know who those people really are and they might never meet them even once during their whole lives. When they turned off all the social instruments, they realized it was difficult for them to find someone to talk to; when people left their phones at home or some other places, they would become anxious and did not know what they should do. Spending too much time on mobile phones or relying on them will make people feel lonelier step by step. Also, communicating by mobile phones does harm for the sense of trust. Because when people communicate by texting or other social instruments, sometimes they do not really mean that. Talking through message is in a negative position, since it lack the face to face sensed presence and the recipient does not know the real surroundings the sender in, which offers chances to lie (Ni 177). For example, when someone send â€Å"hahaha† (It means happy or laugh at receiver), most of the time, he is not happy or laugh actually, maybe he is expressionless or upset. Sending message is loses the sense of reality and people cannot feel the real situation of their communication. Positive impact on interpersonal relationships Though mobile phone exerts a certain negative influence on interpersonal relationships, it also provides great convenience and enhances the flexibility on social interaction. For one thing, as a modern communication tool, the mobile phone breaks the formal time and place limitations , which makes people more accessible to communicate with others and then get further to strengthen the relationship. In the past, before the invention of the modern communication tools, if one person wanted to discuss something important with another person who lived in a far area, it was very inconvenient and that always cost a lot of time. But now, faced with the same situation, people just wave their fingers to press a call button, and then they can talk to others easily. Besides, owing to mobile phone’s convenience, the times for people to contact with their friends, relatives and partners become more frequent. An interviewer says: â€Å"Although I cannot meet my friends for a long time, the r elationship between us becomes closer rather than alienated by using this convenient communication tool to contact with each other occasionally†.(Ni 127)Therefore, the mobile phone is definitely an effective tool for people to maintain their relationships. For another, mobile phone can make the interpersonal relationships more comfortable. In the daily life of interpersonal communication, people sometimes will feel bashful, uncomfortable and nervous when meeting with others face to face. However, there doesn’t exist the same problem on the message communication, people can integrate themselves into the contacts with a more open and bold attitude when breaking away from definite communication environment (Ni 126). For instance, if a boy is too shy to express his love to a beautiful girl face to face, he can choose to bare his heart by sending a message or making a phone call so that he will not miss her. Since the mobile phone provides a comfortable communication platform, it is wise for people to grasp more chances to communicate with others. As a communication media, mobile phones enhance the flexibility on social interaction. People can do their business whenever they need, and make an appointment conveniently. In addition, it plays a vital role in family relationship, friendship and business relationship. People can chat with their family members or friends without the limit of place. Also they can talk to their business partner to keep a close relationship. However, mobile phones estrange people from one another. Most people spend too much time in playing phones and ignore talking to others. Technology and humanity are not necessarily compatible. One is about an anonymous push forward into the unknown†¦to explore it, to develop and exploit it, which is important. The other is about paying undivided attention to the individual and the world in front of you, developing relationships, and increasing consciousness (â€Å"Cell Phones May Hurt Interpersonal Relationships Just by Being in The Room, Study Says†).Both are necessary. The challenge is figuring out how to use technology to enhance humanity, not degrade it (â€Å"Cell Phones May Hurt Interpersonal Relationships Just by Being in The Room, Study Says†). Meanwhile, people’s sense of loneliness is increasing and the sense of trust decreasing with the popularization of mobile phones. Interacting in a neutral environment, without a cell phone nearby, seems to help foster closeness, connectedness, interpersonal trust, and perceptions of empathy – the building – blocks of relationships (Lin â€Å"How Your Cell Phone Hurts Your Relationships†). Therefore, when people have a meeting or party, phones should be gathered in one place. Set the rule that the one who uses his phone without permission will be punished. Perhaps it would be going too far to prepare for important conversations by throwing your cell phone into the closet, or leaving it in the car on first dates. But if you are spending the day with people you really care about, you might want to reconsider the next time you reach for your phone to reply to a text message or check sports sores. Just having that phone nearby is bad enough (Lin â€Å"How Your Cell Phone Hurts Your Relationships†) .So try to use your mobile phones appropriately, or you are likely to lose your friends and a happy life. Works Cited Arvidson, Erik. â€Å"The Effects of Cell phones on Relationships.† eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 2 May 2014. http://www.ehow.com/info_10054161_effects-cellphones-relationships.html> Custer, C. â€Å"Chinese Survey Shows Worry Over Impacts of Mobile Phone Use.† TECH IN ASIA. TECH IN ASIA, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 2 May 2014. http://www.techinasia.com/chinese-survey-shows-worry-impacts-mobile-phone/> â€Å"Cellphones May Hurt Relationships Just By Being In The Room, Study Says.† The Huffington Post . n.p. 5 Sep. 2012. Web. 24 May 2014. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1855930/> Lin, Helen L. â€Å"How Your Cellphone Hurts Your Relationship.† Scientific American. n.p. 4 Sep. 2012. Web. 21 May 2014. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-your-cell-phone-hurts-your-relationships/> Look Up. Dir. Gary Turk. Perf. Gary Turk, Louise Ludlam, Stuart Damley, Daniel Cobb. Youtube, 2014. Film. Ni Huan à ¥Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¦Ã‚ ¡Ã¢â‚¬Å". â€Å"Shouji duanxin chuanbo xinli tanxi† à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¦Ã…“ ºÃƒ §Ã… ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¼Ã‚  Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã†â€™Ãƒ §Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ ¦Ã… ½Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã… ¾Ã‚ (Research on Communication Psychology of Mobile Phone Messages).Beijing à ¥Ã…’-à ¤Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¬:Communication University of Chinaà ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ½Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¼Ã‚  Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ªÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã‚ §Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ¦, 2009. Print. â€Å"Statistical Report on Internet Development in China†. China Internet Network Information Center, Jan. 2014. Web PDF. 27 May 2014. http://www1.cnnic.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/201404/U020140417607531610855.pdf> Warner, Jennifer. â€Å"Cell Phones Raise Stress.† CBSNEWS. CBS Interactive Inc, 14 Dec. 2005. Web. 2 May 2014. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cell-phones-raise-stress/>

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

The Psychological Labyrinth in Owl Creek Bridge, Yellow Wallpaper, and

The Psychological Labyrinth in Owl Creek Bridge, Yellow Wallpaper, and Garden of Forking Paths      For millennia, the labyrinth has been used as a sacred tool for spiritual enlightenment.    Sometimes called a "divine imprint" because of its prevalence combined with its unknown origin,    the labyrinth provides a "transcendent experience of connection and clarity" ("What is a Laby-    rinth") through the act of walking the winding paths to its center. Unlike a maze, which has dead    ends and trick turns, the labyrinth has only a single path leading to and from the center; the    principle of the labyrinth is such that a person must traverse every inch of space before reaching    his/her goal. In this way, the labyrinth subverts the logical aspect of the mind (normally dominant)    and enables the individual to enter a state of mental calmness, allowing him or her to experience    the spiritual benefits of a sort of walking meditation.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probably the most famous historical labyrinth is the one constructed by Daedalus to house    the Minotaur in classical mythology. In that case, according to Ovid, Daedalus "built a house in    which he confused the usual passages and deceived the eye with a conflicting maze of various    wandering paths ("Ariadne's Thread"). There is no mention of a specific shape for this "house,"    but traditionally most such mazes have been made in a circular formation. Another famous laby-    rinth is built into the floor of the cathedral at Chartres; the fact that the same design has been    found on coins minted at Cnossus gives rise to the theory that it may be connected to the laby-    rinth of Daedalus and the Mi... ...Garden of Forking Paths. » The Story and its Writer.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995. 1391-1392.    Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Story and its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995.531-542.    Green, Edward J. "Labyrinth." www.concentric.net/~Egreen/prof/otherstudies/labyrinth.html.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (accessed 11/21/99).    Irwin, John T. "A Clew to a Clue: Locked Rooms and Labyrinths in Poe and Borges."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MasterFILE Premier database from Raritan, Spring 91, Vol.10 Issue 4. <... /      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   print2.asp?records=CURRENT&pFormNum=PrintCitation&pFulIText=ON&kwic=on&deliv>      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (accessed 11/20/99).    "What is a Labyrinth?". www.mindspring.com/~Iabyrinth/Iabyr2.htm (accessed 11/20/99).      

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

The Withch-hunt In Modern Europe :: essays research papers

THE WITCH-HUNT IN MODERN EUROPE By: Brian Levack The Witch-Hunt in Modern Europe by Brian Levack proved to be an interesting as well as insightful look at the intriguing world of the European practice of witchcraft and witch-hunts. The book offers a solid, reasonable interpretation of the accusation, prosecution, and execution for witchcraft in Europe between 1450 and 1750. Levack focuses mainly on the circumstances from which the witch-hunts emerged, as this report will examine. The causes of witch-hunting have been sometimes in publications portrayed differently from reality. The hunts were not prisoner escapee type hunts but rather a hunt that involved the identification of individuals who were believed to be engaged in a secret activity. Sometimes professional witch-hunters carried on the task, but judicial authorities performed most. The cause of most of these hunts is the multi-causal approach, which sees the emergence of new ideas about the witches and changes in the criminal law statutes. Both point to major religious changes and a lot of social tension among society. The intellectual foundations of the hunts were attributed to the witch’s face-to-face pact with the devil and the periodic meetings of witches to engage in practices considered to be barbaric and heinous. The cumulative concept of witchcraft pointed immediately to the devil, the source of the magic and the one most witches adored. There was strong belief then that witches made pacts with the devil. Some would barter their soul to the devil in exchange for a gift or a taste of well being. Many believed that these witches observed a nocturnal Sabbath where they worshipped the devil and paid their homage to him. They were also accused of being an organization known for its cannibalistic practices of infanticide incest. Another component of this cumulative concept was the belief of the flight of witches. The belief for this was contributed to by the assumption that witches took flight from their homes to goto nocturnal meetings without their absence from home being detected. The belief in â€Å"flying night witches† was shared by many cultures in the modern world. These women were referred to as strigae, which was one of the many Latin terms for witches. As the reader first opens the legal foundations of witch-hunting, one finds that historically it was a judicial process from discovery to elimination. Levack states that before the thirteenth century European courts used a system of criminal procedure that made all crimes difficult to prosecute.

Monday, September 2, 2019

Design and Construction of The Titanic Essay -- essays research papers

11:35 p.m. the deadly iceberg was spotted. Margaret Brown was sitting is her bunk indulged in a book, when she was thrown across the room, off of her bed from the impact of the crash. The engine stopped at once but nothing dangerous had occurred, yet. At 12:00 a.m. there was serious flooding in the crew?s quarters. Many demanded lifesavers and there was much uproar. Putting on layers of clothing along with stuffing money into her pockets, Margaret Brown would be prepared. Margaret headed towards the lifeboats. Now the commotion was at an all time high. To keep the people calm, there was a band playing in the background. First class passengers had left money and jewels in the purser?s office, but it was locked due to the predicament. Some of the first class passengers threatened to sue the White Star Line because of the inconvenience. Margaret helped many people to their lifeboats and attempted to comfort some of the distressed passengers. The Titanic was almost submerged, Margaret he lped to load people and was seated on boat 6. Margaret remembers, ?Suddenly there was a rift in the water, the sea opened up and the surface foamed like giant arms that spread around the ship? (Landau 15). Suddenly the ocean liner Carpathia came to their rescue. Only about 31% of the passengers on the Titanic survived including the brave heroine, Margaret Brown. The doomed fates of the Titanic have motivated much discussion concerning why it was a disaster. The Titanic boasted unsinkable status and its demise will affect the way we build ships today and how we boast them. A passenger of the Titanic states, ?The design and construction skills of the yard were outstanding, and the captain E.J. Smith and workforce took great pride (Adams 10). The .. ...hers only felt a light bump. Titanic survivor Violet Jessop recalls, ?I lay lazily reflecting on many things, comfortable and drowsy. Crash! ? Then a low, rending, crunching, ripping sound, as Titanic shivered a trifle and the sound of her engines gently ceased? (Graham 126). In conclusion, the tremendous loss of life stirred a discussion to the cause of the failed sail. The 50,000-ton ship will be forever peaceful at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The brave heroines of the Titanic, both alive and dead will be remembered. Cruise Line ships today have put in much more precaution concerning safety. Luxury was put before safety in the Titanic. Today, ships have many more lifeboats and they are careful of the weather. The Titanic unsinkable status may have caused an ironic demise to the sail. The failure will affect how we build ships today and how we boast them.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

The Extent of Fidel Castro’s Achievement of His Aims

To what extent was Fidel Castro able to achieve his aims between 1959 and 1979, and what prevented him from achieving more? During Fulgencio Batista’s reign in Cuba, Fidel Castro had insistently professed his dissatisfaction with the government, and when he finally took over in 1959, he effected a government that formed the basis from which the criticism of many historians today derives. To a minimal extent, Fidel Castro was able to achieve his aims between 1959 and 1979. Revealed in the 26th of July Movement’s doctrine, Castro’s goals called for Cuba to become fully independent and purely democratic while having a just society.Castro’s goals were hindered not only by the dependence on the U. S. , but also on the Soviet Union after relations with the U. S. intensified. By the end of his reign, Castro had not upheld his initial revolutionary ideology; therefore, he did not achieve his aims for Cuba to the greater extent. In one of his aims, Castro hoped to see Cuba become independent. In order to become less dependent on foreign countries, Castro implemented an economic reform that would allow Cuba to become less dependent on the foreign countries. He wanted to create a more centralized economy by confiscating businesses, many of which were American-owned.The U. S. saw this attempt of nationalization as a direct challenge to their interests, thus they removed the sugar quota placed an embargo on Cuba, threatening to destroy the base of the Cuban economy. Cuba had now become independent from U. S. trade, but with no means self-sufficiency, Cuba turned to another group–the socialist/communist nations in the eastern hemisphere. Cuba had increased their sugar production tremendously because of Castro’s speech, â€Å"The Year of Decisive Endeavor,† in 1963 which set a production goal of 10 million tons of sugar by 1970 so that Cuba could industrialize and become more self-reliant.USSR began buying this Cuban sugar in r eturn for industrial equipment and machinery which allowed Castro to develop their countries as allies. Germany also agreed to sell the industrial necessities needed by Cuba. During these early 1960 years, Cuba quickly lost nearly all economic dependence on the U. S. , but any progress toward self-sufficiency was undermined by the developing relationship with the Soviet Union. Unlike the U. S. , the Soviet Union was not hostile to the idea of an independent Cuba and was willing to defend Cuban interest.In reality, Castro might have professed his devotion to socialism in his Marxist-Leninist speech only for the benefit of siding with the world’s socialist superpowers for military and economic support. Castro’s favoring paid off because the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962; however, this caused U. S. -Soviet tensions to peak when the U. S. made the threat of invading Cuba. Castro also attempted to establish Cuba’s independence by making the cha nge to a Communist state, which began distinguished officially in 1965.Although the changes were small in the early 1960s, it was not until 1976 that Cuba created a new constitution. Another aspect proving Cuban independence was the buildup of a strong military force from foreign intervention and internal opposition. Castro suspected the U. S. of military action because of their discontent with his socialist policies. Nearing the end of the first decade of his reign, Castro revealed that Cuba did not meet the 10 million ton harvest, but welcomed the shame and criticism that the failure would bring about.Throughout the years of Castro’s reign, he strived to assert Cuba as an independent nation, as demonstrated with the victory in the Bay of Pigs Invasion; however, he never fully accomplished this aim, continuing to depend on their monoculture and export-oriented economy. Castro's objective for Cuba was to uphold an uncorrupted, democratic nation. However many of his actions pr ove his ideology wrong. Within the early months after he overthrew Batista, Castro made a decision with other revolutionaries to pass the Fundamental Law of the Republic in February of 1959.By passing this legislature he gave himself more legislative power as executive of the country, adding to his power to veto due to his rank as Executive of Army. Jose Cardona was replaced from his job as Head of Legislature which allowed Castro to basically become a dictator–the opposite of a democracy. The people of Cuba lost their freedoms that citizens should have in a democracy. The government began redistributing income from the urban to the rural working class. Although it created successes such as a raise in wages, a raise in purchasing power, and a decrease in unemployment, incomes were still not all equal.Land became another freedom of the people that the government decided to take away and redistribute. Large plantation estates called Latifundios were outlawed and limited to 995 acres with the Agrarian Reform Law. The INRA enforced the ARL which hurt large American owned companies like Coca Cola and Hershey’s, contributing more animosity from the U. S. Along with the Second Law of Agrarian Reform in 1963, both reforms created an agricultural system that did not produce the same amount of crop as they did pre-1959 until the late 1960s.After forming the Constitution in 1976, Castro made a government that was not very efficient and could silence any complaint with the â€Å"red tape† effect. By reorganizing the government into the military, executive committee, and communist party, the constitution made the Cuban bureaucracies contributing to a more authoritarian-like government. More and more, Castro nationalized Cuba in every aspect and Castro, having achieved an economic stability, made a Communistic dictatorship; therefore, he did not achieve his goal for a democracy in Cuba since his own regime was corrupt.Another goal that Castro had for Cu ba from 1959 to 1979 was to create a just society. One way Castro made this society was by targeting the needs of the people and providing them with an education and healthcare system. One of the biggest issues during Castro’s reign was the country’s lack of educated revolutionaries because most of the trained workers and professionals emigrated from the island. In his 1961 speech Castro proclaimed that this year would be the â€Å"Year of Education. † To some extent he did achieve this aspect of providing immediate literacy which rose from 76% to 94% in 1979.Other improvements occurred up through this first decade of Castro’s reign such as recruiting 100,000 students, the tripling of teachers, and quadrupling of schools. However, Castro did create a curriculum that would not only provide an education limited to only basic reading and writing but also indoctrinate students with the loyalty and morals of Communism. Vilma Espin, the head of The Cuban Womenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Federation, advocated for literacy rates in the female population while also pushing for education and healthcare as well. Through Espin’s work, Castro realized that it was larger issue, thus he passed the Family Code.This law mandated equality in marriage and legitimized divorce. This law was never really enforced but women were generally happy with the gain. Gender and racial equality was an issue with which no other country in Latin America had dealt. Castro also stressed the need for a healthcare system in Cuban society in order to create a just society. His system would implement a method that trained doctors in universities around the country. Because of forming of education and healthcare systems, Castro’s aim for social justice in Cuba was achieved to some extent.Castro was not able to uphold his ideology because limited reasons. The chief reason that may have hindered him from achieving more is the on-going tensions with the U. S. and the economic con sequences from this. If the U. S. did not have the discontent toward Cuba’s regime, Cuba would have developed the revolutionized economy that they sought. If Castro had developed relations with the U. S. and given up the socialist policies, Cuba would have avoided severe U. S. tensions and the embargo altogether. The U. S. embargo on Cuba was a major influence that hindered economic prosperity and diversified agriculture.Castro focused on manipulate Cuba from his revolutionary political aims in the 26th of July Movement. Initially, he attempts to create Cuba in the ideology of a system of social justice within the broadest concept of democracy, of freedom and of human rights. Throughout his reign Castro enacted laws and promoted policies in order to create this fully independent and democratic Cuba with a just society. To the least extent, Castro fulfilled this vision during the first two decades of the revolution, and on-going tensions with the U. S. prevented Castro from ex tending his revolutionary aim.