History

Modern Day Feudalism As we have studied, feudalism was started to provide security and protection for the average person. Today there is a modern day type of feudalism being practice called cocooning. Cocooning is where people stay at home as much as possible–even for recreation. With cable or satellite t.v. with 100’s of channels and the internet with movies and shows that can be watched on demand, make entertainment convenient. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram let you interact with people. Amazon and other websites let you do your shopping from home as well. Numerous restaurants make home deliveries. The train of thought is that cocooning is both safer and cheaper than going out. My two-fold question this week is: 1. Did you cocoon prior to the Covid-19 social distancing/quarantine and if so to what degree? 2. Do you see any negative effects of cocooning?

Research First…Read about immigration at the turn of the century by clicking on the following links. Destination America Map: Principal European Origins of Immigration Chart of Major Sources of U.S. Immigrants since 1921 Next…View the two political cartoons by Thomas Nast. Pacific Chivalry, August 1869 The Chinese Question, February 1871 Write Based on your readings and your analysis of each cartoon, write one paragraph to answer the following questions about one of the cartoons.Describe the actions of the Americans toward the Chinese Immigrants.What actions do you see depicted in the cartoon? What factors could have accounted for the actions of these Americans, as portrayed by Nast? based on the reading you’ve completed, write one additional paragraph that compares the treatment of Chinese immigrants to other immigrant groups.Explain at least two reasons the Chinese were targeted by specific federal action (the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882), when other nationalities were not

Why were women so prominently featured in the social justice movements around the turn of the century?

Does Abraham Lincoln deserve the accolade “The Great Emancipator?” Say why/why not.

Compare and contrast the 3 branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial in regards to the history and current topic of lqbtq issues. analyze the principles of separation of power and checks and balances. Your analysis should include also related legislation and legislative process, court decisions, and other political and legal implications. Your analysis should be supported by at least ten (10) sources of information.

Write at least 250 words.Remember the firm rule here of respectful discourse. No name-calling. Focus your argument entirely on presenting arguments and counter-arguments. No ad hominem allowed!Religious Freedom LawsSince the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, legal same-sex marriage is the law of the land.Many people are still unhappy about the decision and some fear that in complying with the law they will be forced to violate their sincere religious beliefs. You’ve no doubt heard of cases in which, for example, courts have held that refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is unconstitutional discrimination. This case was heard by the Supreme Court in December 2017, but the decision has not been announced as of the time I’m typing this.In one highly-publicized case from 2013, a photographer was held to have discriminated because she refused to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony. In this case, the New Mexico Supreme Court held that the photographer had discriminated, in violation of state law, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision.Since the Obergefell decision there have been well-publicized cases in which government officials who issue marriage licenses have cited religious reasons for not granting licenses to same-sex couples. Here is one example. Or here.A fact that many have missed about the bakery or photography cases is that these cases are not about federal law, and are in fact unrelated to the question of whether same-sex marriage is or is not legal. These cases are based on state laws adopted by state legislatures that establish sexual orientation as a protected class. So in those states it’s illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples just as it’s illegal to discriminate against African-Americans or women or disabled persons. In Texas it’s not illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples because sexual orientation has not been added to the list of those protected from discrimination. So a Texas bakery can refuse service to a same-sex couple with impunity.Texas also is challenging (and here and here) government-subsidized benefits for married same-sex couples. Texas’s argument is that the Obergefell decision mandated that the state perform same-sex marriages but did not explicitly mandate that states offer the same benefits to married same-sex couples that are offered to married opposite-sex couples. Texas officials (the governor, lt. governor and attorney general) believe that discriminating — treating same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex couples — should be the state’s choice.Federal legislation has been introduced that, if passed, would among other things expand the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation among federally-protected classes. Here is a description (from the “liberal” web site thinkprogress.org) of what this legislation would do. No one realistically expects it to pass, thoughThe basic anti-discrimination principle in the Civil Rights Act is that “public accommodations” (such as restaurants, theaters, hotels, etc.) cannot discriminate against members of protected classes of people. A restaurant, for example, cannot refuse to serve African-Americans or women, even if they have a sincerely held belief that African-Americans or women are undesirable. Some people’s sincerely held religious beliefs long included the belief that African-Americans were cursed by God (the biblical “mark of Cain”) and thus discrimination against them is ordained, or at least approved of, by God. That belief was an important element of the supreme court case Newman v. Piggie Park (1968). If someone’s sincere religious belief mandates that they discriminate against African-Americans and courts have said that’s not OK, should sincere religious beliefs be the basis for discrimination against other groups of people, like homosexuals? [From the Piggie Park decision: “The free exercise of one’s beliefs, as distinguished from the absolute right to a belief, is subject to regulation when religious acts require accommodation to a society. Undoubtedly, [the restaurant owner] has a constitutional right to espouse the religious beliefs of his own choosing; however, he does not have the absolute right to exercise and practice such beliefs in utter disregard of the clear constitutional rights of other citizens.” Remember, we’re talking about laws that have to apply to everyone. No particular set of religious beliefs can bind everyone else, as we separate church and state in America.Anti-discrimination laws generally have exemptions for religious institutions. So churches may refuse to host gay weddings if they choose. For-profit wedding chapels are not similarly protected (here’s one story from a conservative perspective and a liberal perspective) as they are generally considered to be public accommodations.Some have asserted that the logic of forcing a baker who objects on religious grounds to baking a wedding cake for a gay marriage is the same as forcing an African-American baker to bake a cake for a KKK wedding or a Jew to bake a cake for a Nazi wedding. That’s not actually an accurate analogy. The KKK is not a protected class, because adhering to a political philosophy is not an immutable characteristic of a person. Neither is the Nazi party. Any baker, black or white, can therefore refuse to bake a cake for a KKK wedding, or any Jew for a Nazi wedding, without being accused of legal discrimination.So, what do you think? Should any business owner, or even any government official, be empowered to deny service to same-sex couples on the basis of their sincerely-held religious beliefs?

After reading Columbus’ Journal–Oct. 13-17 entries, answer 3 or more of the following questions: 1. What appears to be Columbus’ main interest in the Native Americans? How does he describe them? 2. What do you judge to be Native Americans’ weakness/mistake when they approach the Europeans for the first time? 3. Do you see evidence of Columbus and his crew’s condescending attitude toward the natives during these first encounters? 4. Do you recognize any patterns of behavior between Columbus and his crew and the Native Americans during these first encounters that will be repeated in the next four centuries?

Essay #2 prompt: Are capitalism and democracy inextricably linked to each other? Number of pages: 3-4 Double spaced, typedTyped, 1” margins all around Times New Roman, 12-point font Things to refer to/consider: Civilization and its Discontents – Sigmund Freud Escape from Freedom – Erich Fromm Lecture notes and textbook The Century of the Self – Adam Curtis film The Happiness Machines The Engineering of Consent

You have been hired to write the last chapter for a new U.S. History textbook. The final chapter covers the decade 2010-2020. What are two (no more than three) things/topics/events/people/issues you would include in your textbook chapter and why? Also, how do each of your selections reflect the past? How are they influenced by the past? What are the continuities with the past? The breaks with the past? You should be making connections with material covered in this course. Explain.

How did Islam influence the rise of the Ottoman State? Please explain and provide examples. Analyze the Ottoman rise to power from a frontier principality to an empire. Guideline: Pay attention to both internal and external developments that made possible the Ottoman success. See: the institutions responsible for the ascension of the Ottoman state, their inter-relationships, the state’s policies, the Ottoman military conquests, the political situation in Asia Minor, the Balkans, etc. Evaluate the Christian states’ reaction to the Ottoman expansionism and the Ottoman influence on Christian states. The word count for this essay should be between 900 and 1250 words (This word count limit is mostly a guideline, however if you go over 1500 words you’ll be penalized by 1 grade point for every 100 extra words). The essay is due on 07/13/20, at 11:59 AM. The last day to submit late is 07/26/20 by 11:59 AM. The late turning in of the essay will result in lowering the grade by 5% per calendar day up to the late turn in deadline. Turning in essays after the last day to submit late is not permitted! Bibliography: Students must use at least one of the following sources: Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream : The History of the Ottoman Empire, Basic Books, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, to an external site. (Links to an external site.). (Ch. 1-3, p. 1-80) Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, 1300-1600, Praeger, 1973, Chapters: 1-4, p. 5-34 Note: Students must use at least two scholarly sources in their essays. Please refrain from using Wikipedia or similar non-academic sources (as a rule-of-thumb, any “.com” website is not a valid academic source; use “.edu” online sources instead).