Mostrando resultados por autor "Ryan Webb" en Todas las categorías

In the fall of 1862, the Army of the Potomac under Major General George B. McClellan had a chance to inflict a crushing blow on Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Following his victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Lee moved his army into Maryland, hoping to gain recruits in this crucial border state. He then planned to invade Pennsylvania, possibly reaching Harrisburg, or turn to face the Union army on ground of his choosing. However, on September 13, when Federal forces moved into Frederick, Maryland, following the departure of Lee’s soldiers to Harpers Ferry, Boonsboro, ...

According to the Holy Bible, man is naturally evil. Psalm 51:5 states, ”Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” As a result, man is selfish, lustful, jealous, envious, divisive, deceitful, malicious, insolent, arrogant, boastful, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless, slanderous, and full of gossip. Even human actions that seem good on the surface are often tainted by evil.

On 25 October 1973, United Nations forces intervened in the Yom Kippur War to implement a ceasefire between Israel, Egypt, and Syria. The Egyptian Second and Third Armies, after penetrating ten to fifteen kilometers into the Sinai, occupied territory held by Israel prior to the war. At the same time, Israeli forces, after crossing the Suez Canal, nearly encircled the Egyptian Third Army, which carried only four days supply of food and water. On the Syrian front, Israeli forces advanced to within thirty-five kilometers of Damascus and seemed poised for even greater gains. At this critical ...

Despite their alliance against the Persian invasion in 480 B.C., the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta created separate spheres of influence. Following periods of intermittent conflict, in 431 B.C. they began a destructive war against each other that lasted twenty-seven years. To help explain this struggle, Thucydides, an Athenian military general and historian, looked for cause and effect relationships. He concluded that human emotions and interests, a nation’s pursuit of power, and influential leaders proved instrumental. These elements, which are all part of the theory of realism,...

It was early afternoon on October 26, 1881. In the mining town of Tombstone, Arizona, the well-armed lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, along with their friend Doc Holliday, wore long, dark coats as they strode to an alley near the O.K. Corral. Here, the four of them found five cattle rustlers who had threatened them repeatedly. The unarmed Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne were allowed to leave. The remaining three, Billy Clanton, and Frank and Tom McLaury, were shot dead while Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were all injured. In the following months, the feud continued. Virgil was ...

The mourners fall silent with anticipation as Pericles walks briskly from the sepulchre to the erected stage. After a slight pause, he takes a deep breath and begins an eloquent funeral oration. He speaks on the glory of Athens and the honor of her dead. It is the Athenian winter of 431 B.C. and the city-state is engaged in a bitter war with its rival Sparta. Pericles’ resounding voice echoes off the surrounding hills and into the ears of Thucydides, the historian who records them in his work, The History of the Peloponnesian War. About eight hundred years later, a Christian bishop in ...

Through a study of history, Alfred Thayer Mahan concluded that six key factors influence a nation’s development as a sea power. Mahan also argued that command of the sea is valuable in both peace and war and that, during conflict, concentrating one’s fleet for decisive battle is key. Mahan’s ideas gained popularity among the major world powers in the late 19th century and continue to influence naval strategy today.

In the final decades of the 19th century, America experienced rapid industrial growth, corporate mergers, an influx of immigrants and a rise in urban population and development. These modern changes resulted in crowded tenements, low wages, long working hours, child labor, and bad factory conditions. In response, the American people called for an end to corruption in government and supported legislation aimed at reducing these new evils of society. Indeed, during the Progressive Era the United States experienced one of its highest rates of reform. Government became more democratic and laws ...

The complex and intransigent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians has dominated the 20th century. While British support of Zionism facilitated the creation of the Jewish State, it is unclear whether a lack of British support would have prevented it. Nevertheless, following World War II, the British, deeply in debt, transferred world superpower status to the United States, which moved into Greece and Turkey and immediately recognized the Jewish state in 1948. Since then, the US influence has been beneficial towards Israel. Even so, in the 1990’s, the drive to broker a peace ...

In June 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, moved north through the Shenandoah Valley and invaded Pennsylvania. Brewing with confidence after decisive victories at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and Chancellorsville in April 1863, Lee planned to draw out the Union army and destroy it on ground of his choosing. An aura of invincibility was in the air. A dramatic victory would expose Washington and perhaps lead to Southern secession. In fact, a letter suing for peace was to be placed on Lincoln’s desk following the annihilation of the Union army . . . ...

This study researched the occurrence of post-traumatic anniversary reactions in Gulf War veterans. The article defines an anniversary reaction as “a specifically timed, emotionally invested episode during which an individual experiences significant psychiatric or medical symptoms.” In other words, an anniversary reaction occurs when a veteran develops abnormal physical or mental symptoms on the anniversary of a previous traumatic experience. The goal of the study was to more fully explain these reactions so that the veterans who experienced them, and the clinicians who develop treatment...

Autistic architect Rafael has been in love with his best friend, Henry, since they were teenagers. Over the nearly two decades of their friendship, they’ve had many romantic close calls. But something always gets in the way, including Henry’s cross-country move. Now recovering from losing his leg to cancer, Rafael is reunited with Henry for his dream road trip to the Golden Gate Bridge. But can they overcome the baggage between them to finally end up together? Or will life continue to get in the way?

As a young man growing up in Virginia and Georgia in the late 18th century, Meriwether Lewis displayed the courage that would be so valuable to him later in life. When he was eight or nine years old, a bull charged him. He coolly raised his rifle and shot it dead. A year later, during a nighttime Indian attack on his family, he had the presence of mind to extinguish the campfire so as to hide his party. At eighteen, Lewis was the head of his family’s plantation. Despite such promise, Stephen Ambrose, in "Undaunted Courage," portrays Meriwether Lewis as both a hero and a flawed man. Indeed...

Casablanca effectively made the case that America was the land of hope and freedom in a world darkened by the forces of Nazi Germany. In the beginning of the film, a map of the world serves as the backdrop for a deep-voiced narrator explaining the flood of refugees out of Europe. This ominous mood shrouds the city of Casablanca, in Vichy North Africa, the final stop between Lisbon and freedom in America. Indeed, corrupt French bureaucrats charge a steep price for exit visas. As a result, refugees become desperate.

A likeness between things, when the things are otherwise entirely different, is an analogy. Comparing one situation to another in order to gain perspective and formulate policy is a common human technique and a favorite of historians. For example, the Cold War has been compared to the Athens-Sparta rivalry, while Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union has been called folly by those who look to the “lesson” of Napoleon’s failed 1812 campaign. While analogies can be useful, one should use caution, as no two situations are the same. For example, is it logical to compare the partially ...

In "The Art of the Long View," published in 1991, Peter Schwartz presented scenario-building as a useful planning tool. First, he argued that “driving forces” move the plot of a scenario. These forces often involve developments in society, technology, economics, and politics. Next, Schwartz identified “predetermined elements,” or events that seem certain to occur. Examples include population change, resource constraints, and inevitable collisions. Third, Schwartz explored “critical uncertainties,” which are important unknown events. After identifying these three factors, ...

The signing of the Camp David Peace Accords by President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin on March 26, 1979 altered the strategic picture of the Middle East, as it marked the first time an Arab state recognized the legitimacy of Israel. In reaching a settlement, Sadat alienated himself from the Arab world by failing to secure an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza or the recognition of the Palestinians. Instead, Sadat obtained a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. In short, Sadat acted in the best interests of Egypt at the expense of his Arab neighbors. This ...

Both John Mill and Jeremy Bentham agreed with the utilitarianism claim that a “good action” resulted in an increase in the overall balance of pleasure. At the same time, a “bad action” decreased the balance. In other words, actions can be deemed “right” depending on their promotion of happiness and labeled as “wrong” when they produce the opposite effect. It should also be noted that, according to the theory, happiness is characterized as pleasure and the absence of pain.

Non-proliferation is the attempt to prevent the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons through international treaties and cooperative efforts to control NBC related technologies. The 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) acknowledged five nuclear power states and declared that other nations who joined the treaty would forego development of nuclear weapons. It implied the ultimate goal of all nations to be free of nuclear weapons. To enforce this treaty the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) conducts inspections of a nation’s declared nuclear related facilities...

Today, the House of Representatives is debating a bill that would permanently normalize trade relations with China. At the same time, the State Department reports that terrorist activity has shifted to the Southeast Asian countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In southern Lebanon, Israeli troops prepare to pull out of the buffer zone following two decades of occupation. In Iran, a Jewish Iranian admits he was paid five hundred dollars per month to spy for the Israeli intelligence service. He faces the death penalty if convicted. In the Philippines, twenty-one foreigners, held hostage by ...