Vietnam War Essays (927 words) - Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a military struggle starting in 1959 and ending in 1975. It began as an attempt by the Vietcong (Communist Guerrillas) to overthrow the Southern Vietnam Government. This research paper will discuss the Vietnam War, US involvement in this war, and significant battles. Following the surrender of Japan to the Allies in August 1945, Vietminh guerrillas seized the capital city of Hanoi and forced the abdication of Emperor Bao Dai. On September 2 they declared Vietnam to be independent and announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, commonly called North Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh as president. France officially recognized the new state, but the subsequent inability of the Vietminh and France to reach satisfactory political and economic agreements led to armed conflict beginning in December 1946. "Northern Vietnam was determined to gain it's freedom" (Davis 12). With French backing Bao Dai set up the state of Vietnam, commonly called South Vietnam, on July 1, 1949, and established a new capital at Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). "Where as the Southern Vietnam government seemed content to be a sort of a colony" (Davis 12). The following year, the U.S. officially recognized the Saigon government, and to assist it. President Harry S. Truman dispatched a military assistance advisory group to train South Vietnam in the use of U.S. weapons. In April 1961, a treaty of amity and economic relations was signed with South Vietnam, and in December, President John F. Kennedy pledged to help South Vietnam maintain its independence. Subsequently, U.S. economic and military assistance to the Diem government increased significantly. In December 1961, the first U.S. troops, consisting of 400 uniformed army personnel, arrived in Saigon in order to operate two helicopter companies; the U.S. proclaimed, however, that the troops were not combat units as such. A year later, U.S. military strength in Vietnam stood at 11,200. By the end of 1965 American combat strength was nearly 200,000. In February 1965, U.S. planes began regular bombing raids over North Vietnam. A halt was ordered in May in the hope of initiating peace talks, but when North Vietnam rejected all negotiations, the bombings were resumed. From February 1965 to the end of all-out U.S. involvement in 1973, South Vietnamese forces mainly fought against the Vietcong guerrillas. While U.S. and allied troops fought the North Vietnamese in a war of attrition marked by battles in such places as the Ia Dang Valley, Dak To, Loc Ninh, and Khe Sanh-all victories for the non-Communist forces. During his 1967-68 campaign, the North Vietnamese strategist, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, launched the famous Tet offensive, a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 urban targets. Despite its devastating psychological effect, the campaign, which Giap hoped would be successful, failed, and Vietcong forces were ultimately driven back from most of the positions they had gained. In the fighting, North Vietnam lost 85,000 of its best troops. In 1969, within a few months after taking office, Johnson's successor, President Richard M. Nixon, announced that 25,000 U. S. troops would be withdrawn from Vietnam by August 1969. Another cut of 65,000 troops was ordered by the end of the year. The program, known as Vietnamization of the war, came into effect, as President Nixon emphasized additional responsibilities of the South Vietnamese. Neither the U.S. troop reduction nor the death of North Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh, on Sept. 3, served to break the stalemate in Paris; the North Vietnamese delegates insisted upon complete U.S. withdrawal as a condition for peace. In April 1970, U.S. combat troops entered Cambodia following the occurrence there of a political coup. Within three months, the U.S. campaign in Cambodia ended, "It was as if the American military had just gone into Cambodia to waist time" (Davis 53), but air attacks on North Vietnam were renewed. By 1971 South Vietnamese forces were playing an increasing role in the war, fighting in both Cambodia and Laos as well as in South Vietnam. At this point, however, the Paris talks and the war itself were overshadowed by the presidential election in South Vietnam. The chief contestants were Nguyen Van Thieu, who was running for reelection, Vice-President Nguyen Cao Ky, and Gen. Duong Van Minh. Both Ky and Minh, after charging that the election had been rigged, withdrew, and Thieu won another 4-year term. Through the later months of 1971, American withdrawal continued so rapidly that "it seemed like there was a plague in Vietnam" (Sims 83). It coincided, however, with a new military buildup in North Vietnam, thought to

5 cambios de RAISE Act para sacar la green card

5 cambios de RAISE Act para sacar la green card El à ºltimo intento para llevar a cabo una reforma migratoria en Estados Unidos es la propuesta de ley conocida como RAISE Act, presentada en el Senado por los senadores Tom Cotton de Arkansas y David Perdue de Georgia. RAISE significa Reforma de la Inmigracià ³n a Estados Unidos para el Fortalecimiento del Empleo  (Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment en inglà ©s). El RAISE Act fue presentado pà ºblicamente en la Casa Blanca, demostrando asà ­ que cuenta con el apoyo del Presidente Donald Trump. Esta propuesta, en el remoto caso de ser aprobada y convertirse en ley, cortarà ­a el nà ºmero de inmigrantes que se permite que ingresen a los Estados Unidos anualmente aproximadamente a la mitad.   En otras palabras, se pasarà ­a de aproximadamente un millà ³n de migrantes legales que obtienen la tarjeta de residencia cada  aà ±o fiscal  a unos 500.000.   Adems, los cambios que se contemplan son numerosos, destacando los que afectan la emigracià ³n por razones familiares, de trabajo, inversià ³n, asilo y loterà ­a de la diversidad. Emigracin por vnculos familiares En la actualidad, 3 de cada 4 inmigrantes se convierten en residentes permanentes legales por una peticià ³n familiar. Los cambios segà ºn RAISE Act serà ­an los siguientes: En primer lugar, los ciudadanos americanos  solo podrà ­an pedir a sus cà ³nyuges, hijos solteros menores de edad y padres. Respecto a estos à ºltimos, la residencia serà ­a temporal y los ciudadanos patrocinadores deben asegurarse de que sus patrocinados tengan seguro mà ©dico y de que nunca se conviertan en una carga pà ºblica. Con el nuevo sistema, los ciudadanos no podrà ­an pedir a sus hermanos, hijos casados de cualquier edad o hijos mayores de edad. En segundo lugar, los residentes permanentes legales solo podrà ­an pedir a sus cà ³nyuges e hijos solteros menores de edad. Es decir, con la nueva ley desaparecerà ­a la categorà ­a que permite solicitar la green card para los hijos mayores que permanecen solteros. En tercer lugar, un cambio importante afectarà ­a la edad de algunos migrantes, ya que con la nueva ley el tà ©rmino menor, o child en inglà ©s, aplicado a los hijos pasarà ­a a significar soltero que es menor de 18 aà ±os. En la legislacià ³n actual se considera menor de edad para  efectos de estas peticiones a los menores de 21 aà ±os que son solteros. Por à ºltimo, se mantendrà ­a la posibilidad de solicitar a cà ³nyuges en el caso de parejas homosexuales. Es decir, las leyes migratorias de Estados Unidos reconocen y seguirà ­an reconociendo la validez de los matrimonios entre un hombre y una mujer y tambià ©n los de dos personas del mismo sexo. Emigracin por trabajo El cupo de migrantes admitidos anualmente bajo esta categorà ­a se mantendrà ­a igual: 140.000, nà ºmero que incluye tanto al trabajador patrocinado como a su familia inmediata. Sin embargo, habrà ­a un gran cambio en la forma de ingresar, ya que RAISE Act contempla un sistema de puntos que en la actualidad no existe, en el cual se valorarà ­an y puntuarà ­an: Tener una oferta de empleo bien pagada (13 puntos, que varà ­an en funcià ³n del salario)Conocimiento  del idioma inglà ©s (mximo de 12 puntos)Edad (mximo de 10 puntos, siendo la puntuacià ³n mxima los 25 aà ±os)Estudios (mximo 13 puntos, valorndose ms las licenciaturas sacadas en Estados Unidos y los estudios superiores en ciencias, ingenierà ­a, matemticas o tecnologà ­a, lo que en inglà ©s se conoce como STEM).Inversià ³n de $1.35 millones (12 puntos)Logro extraordinario, como por ejemplo Premio Nobel o atleta olà ­mpico (mximo de 25 puntos)Haber tenido una peticià ³n de green card pendiente en una de las categorà ­as que ahora se eliminan (mximo de 2 puntos). Cada aà ±o fiscal, los candidatos podrà ­an presentarse y obtendrà ­an la green card quienes tengan mayor puntuacià ³n segà ºn el cupo. Los rechazados podrà ­an presentarse en los aà ±os sucesivos. Eliminacin de categora de green card a cambio de inversin Segà ºn la legislacià ³n actual, es posible  comprar la green card para inversionistas  con un monto mà ­nimo de medio millà ³n de dà ³lares de inversià ³n. Con el RAISE Act, el mà ­nimo serà ­a de $1.35 millones y pasarà ­a a ser una forma ms de obtener puntos para sacar la green card dentro de la categorà ­a de trabajo. Emigracin por cuestiones humanitarias El RAISE Act limitarà ­a por ley a un mximo de 50.000 personas por aà ±o fiscal el nà ºmero de refugiados que pueden ingresar a los Estados Unidos bajo esa categorà ­a, limitando asà ­ el poder del presidente para modificar esa cifra, tal y como se hace ahora, en base a crisis humanitarias o a la polà ­tica exterior del paà ­s. Emigracin por la lotera de visas En la actualidad, cada aà ±o fiscal se sortean 50.000 tarjetas de residencia permanente bajo el programa de la loterà ­a de visas de la diversidad. El ganador puede emigrar legalmente a los Estados Unidos junto con su cà ³nyuge e hijos solteros menores de edad. El RAISE  Act pondrà ­a fin a esta posibilidad gratuita en la que participan cada aà ±o unos 15 millones de personas de todos los paà ­ses autorizados (los ciudadanos de los paà ­ses con altas tasas de emigracià ³n hacia los Estados Unidos estn excluidos). Por qu es importante estar informados sobre el RAISE Act? En la actualidad es muy poco probable que este proyecto se convierta en ley porque no tiene los votos necesarios para ser aprobado en el Senado primero y luego en la Cmara de Representantes. Sin embargo, es importante conocerlo porque muestra muy claramente cules son las directrices que favorecen un buen nà ºmero de legisladores republicanos en materia migratoria. Y, por supuesto tambià ©n sus votantes y el presidente. Tambià ©n es recomendable estar informado para evitar ser và ­ctima de fraude migratorio. Cada vez que se habla de un posible cambio en las leyes hay personas inescrupulosas que venden lo que en realidad no existe con el à ºnico fin de ganar dinero explotando el miedo y la angustia de los migrantes. Estos son 10 telà ©fonos para obtener informacià ³n migratoria y, en caso de fraude, dà ³nde se puede denunciar. La mejor forma de estar a salvo es conocer la ley  tal y como es y estar alerta. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

The Top 5 Jobs in the Northeast

The Top 5 Jobs in the Northeast If you’re looking for a career change (or a change of scenery!), here are some of the fastest-growing jobs for 2016 in the northeastern part of the U.S. This includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Sadly, â€Å"professional sports fan† isn’t on this list, despite the spirited fan bases for major league baseball, football, basketball, and hockey teams in this region.1. Tech Job Outlook: Software DeveloperSoftware developers are the unseen force behind every digital program you use. From apps on your phone to the fitness tracker on your wrist, software developers are the ones who devise, test, refine, and update the computer coding that makes our lives easier.Metro areas like New York, New Jersey, and Boston are becoming major tech hubs, and these skilled jobs are springing up accordingly. The median salary for a software developer is $93,350 per year, and the field is expected to grow a faster-tha n-average 22% per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.2. Administrative Job Outlook: Office ManagerIf software developers are the shadowy force behind our digital lives, office managers are often the unsung heroes of our workday. Office managers are typically responsible for ensuring that office logistics run smoothly. This can include keeping inventories of office supplies, managing facilities, keeping records, and taking on administrative tasks like human resources or payroll.The median salary for office managers is $81,080 per year, with growth of 12% expected.3. Logistics Job Outlook: Truck DriverTruck drivers keep the northeast moving. Companies like UPS and FedEx have large facilities in the northeast, and with companies like Amazon expanding into warehouses all over the country to shorten customer delivery times, this is a field that is growing fast.The median salary for truck drivers is $38,200, and the field is expected to grow by at least 11% by 2022. Projections for 2016 suggest that there may also be a shortage of drivers on the horizon, so now might be the best time to get on the road.4. Healthcare Job Outlook: Physician AssistantPhysician assistants (PAs) have become a major part of the healthcare industry of late, as the demand for healthcare grows with a growing and aging population and doctor and nurse populations struggle to keep up. PAs can practice medicine under doctors and surgeons and provide direct patient care (examinations, diagnosis, treatment, and education).The median salary for PAs is $90,930 per year, with astonishing projected growth of 38% by 2022.5. Service Job Outlook: Gaming and Sports Book Writers and RunnersIn recent elections, voters have authorized new casinos in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. This means that in the next year and beyond, there will be a boom of casino openings- and with it, a large call for employees to work on the gaming floors.The median salary for this job is $20,850, with a massive 28% inc rease in job openings expected.Whether you’re already in the northeast and looking for a change of pace or you’re looking to trade your current town for the invigorating chill of a New England winter, opportunities are waiting- even if you’re not willing to swear undying loyalty to the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees.

English 1010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

English 1010 - Essay Example It was actually the conversation that Edge had, earlier in the day, with Lionel Dufour, the proprietor of the Farm Fresh Supplier Company, the Company that specialized in the making of the pickled pig lip, concerning the use of pickled pig lip as human food, that gave Edge the courage to taste the pickled pig lip. In the conversation, Dufour had reassured Edge that pickled pig lip is a very good human food. The article lastly describes how Edge eventually ate the pickled pig lip, despite being squeamish about eating it. With his courage bolstered by the conversation that he had with Dufour and, also, having been encourage by Audrey, the bar owner’s wife, Edge eventually ate the pickled pig lip together with some potato chips. Edge, however, fought the urge to vomit as he ate the pickled pig lip; but after eating it, Edge said that, although the taste of the pickled pig lip was foreign to him, the taste wasn’t altogether

Internet, software piracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internet, software piracy - Essay Example He has been induced to look at the ad offering instead of carrying on his normal surfing activity. The normal trajectory of events has been affected. THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS There are many ethical dilemmas associated with advertising on the Web. One group of advocates wanted to keep the Web free of advertising, but it’s too late for that now. Secondly, you will notice that most if not all activity on the web is about selling products and services anyway (www.ehow.com). As to whether or not it would be a correct practice to use an ad on a page to index that page in a search, I think that it would be very unethical especially if the ad pertained to one of your clients who had agreed to advertise on that page. Proper permission needs to be taken from clients before using their ads in such a manner. The client would not think of you very highly because he has paid you to put his ad on that page in the hopes of generating business for him, not you. It shows lack o f professionalism on your part. In any case, if the client removed the ad from the web page at some later date, it would mean that the link would have to go too. Now about web page authors who add invisible tags to increase the visibility of their page in search results, you can do this be inputting the following code in HTML: TextHere. There is a debate going on as to whether this is a good practice or whether it can be harmful for PR and Google rankings, SEO etc. Some say it causes no harm while others opine it can affect your ranking adversely. One example I have found on the Internet is at the site http://stommepoes.jobva.nl/guis2.html. One way to hide the link is to give it the same color as the background. References Torrie, C. How to Advertise on the Internet successfully. Accessed on 21 April 2011 at

to be or not to be paraphrase :: essays research papers

excellent paraphrase! I enjoyed it very much 2) The question is to live or not to live. Is it more noble to suffer the outrageous misfortunes or to oppose those misfortunes and end my life. I wish very much to die and no longer suffer the heartaches and natural shocks that exist. When we are dead it is possible that we can no longer dream, but when we sleep we can dream. There is no reason to suffer through life for so long. Who would want to suffer all the things that are bad in life, and there is so much; unrequited love, the lack of efficient law, poor leadership. The patient man can not handle all of this and instead wants to take matters into his own hand even with a simple dagger. This would relieve the stresses that are suffered. But we do not know what awaits us in the after-life and this is what is so frightening. No one has ever returned from death and this is why it is so frightening. When we die we go someplace that we are not familiar with and join people whom we are not familiar with. This is why we are all afraid of death, and so the person who thinks about this situation does not know what to do. We are afraid of the action that we take causing death. But wait, What about Ophelia, the spirit. May my sins be remembered forever. 2) Before Hamlet begins his soliloquy the King is speaking with Polonius, the Queen, Ophelia, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The King is trying to discover what exactly is wrong with Hamlet because he has been acting very strangely with everybody. The King and Queen are hoping that Ophelia and his two friends will be able to find out what is troubling him. The soliloquy itself is a summation of all of Hamlet’s emotions throughout the play. Hamlet knows that his father was murdered by his uncle and he wants revenge, but he doesn’t know how to go about this revenge and that maybe it would be better just to die. He is terribly afflicted and torn between his emotions and his thoughts. He is also fearful, as he says death is unfamiliar to everyone and is that what he really wants.

The Frontier Thesis

The emergence of western history as an important field of scholarship started with Frederick Jackson Turner’s (1861-1932) famous essay â€Å"The Significance of the Frontier in American history. †[1] This thesis shaped both popular and scholarly views of the West for the next two generations. In his thesis, Turner argued that the West had to be taken seriously. He felt that up to his time there had not been enough research of what he in his essay call â€Å"the fundamental, dominating fact in the U. S. istory†: the territorial expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The frontier past was, according to Turner, the best way to describe the distinctive American history and character. To this day, Turner’s thesis remains one of the most widely discussed interpretations of the American past and it still continues to influence historians. Even though many scholars have questioned the thesis as an acceptable theory of explaining American history and cul ture, the thesis has its strengths. Turner explained what made America unique. America as a unique nation was already a belief when the first colonies were established on the East coast. And the notion that America was exceptional would continue to be re-created again and again on the frontier. The frontier was closely related to the myth that sustained the American faith, the ideals and images that represent the American Dream as well as America as an exceptional nation. The purpose of this paper is to look at the essence of Turner’s argument in his essay, as well as discuss his strongest and weakest arguments. The paper will end with a look at the West as a myth. The essence of Turner’s thesis In Turner’s mind, the settlement of the West by white people –â€Å"the existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward† was the most important part of American history. [2] This is the major theme in Turner’s essay and the heart of the frontier thesis. Turner did not define the West as a geographical place or region but as a process, which defined what he looked upon as uniquely American. According to Turner, the westward expansion had transformed the savage and wild land into a modern civilization. This westward expansion could explain the American development, the national character as well as its democracy. Turner believed that this settling of a wild area of â€Å"free land† was an important factor in shaping the American character. American characteristics like individualism, democracy and a strong work ethnic, which Turner looked upon as typical American qualities had all been developed when newcomers settled the wilderness. These special qualities would later influence the whole nation. Other historians and philosophers such as Tocqueville and Hegel have also talked about the impact of the frontier on the American experience, but the Turner thesis was the first to be accepted by other historians. Turner insisted upon the frontier as the number one â€Å"explanation† of American history. But it is difficult to understand what he really meant by â€Å"explanation†. As argued by Joshua Derman, it is almost impossible for the reader of Turner’s work to deduce whether he intended the â€Å"frontier to be the ‘prime mover’ in American political history, the single best explanation for why American cultural and political institutions developed the way they did, or a dogmatic rule for interpreting all events in American history. †[3] The notion that democracy arose because of the frontier is also weak. For example, both Russia and China have vaster frontiers than America, but they lack democracy. And in his essay, Turner has not showed what made the American frontier experience different from other countries with considerable frontiers. To say that the frontier shaped American democratic institutions is vague and hard to prove. It is clear that the new land and communities in the wilderness demanded greater participation in political activities (than in Europe) and because of this ordinary people had to step in and contribute. 4] This notion that the ‘common man’ should contribute in civil life became an important part of American society. [5] It was not only American democracy that Turner thought had developed out of the unique frontier experience. There were also several other values that owed the frontier its striking characteristics, for example the complex nationality (later termed the melting pot), individualism and economic mobility (the American Dream). â€Å" The result†, Turner concluded, was â€Å"that to the frontier the American intellect owe[d] its striking characteristics†(100). Individualism was one of the most important and distinctive qualities created by the frontier, as stated in the essay: That coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and acquisitiveness; that practical inventive turn of mind, quick to find expedients; that masterful grasp of material things†¦. the restless, nervous energy; that dominant individualism, working for good and evil, and withal the buoyancy and exuberance which comes with freedom – these are traits of the frontier, or traits called out elsewhere because of the existence of the frontier. (100) As we can see from these lines, frontier individualism did not only promote positive things, it had negative traits as well. On the frontier, newcomers had to rely on themselves. This feeling created the traditional, individualistic feeling. Since life was so hard on the frontier one could not carry one’s ancestry into the wilderness. As a consequence, Turner thought, social life became more informal †¦ than in the older and more settled communities. According to the frontier thesis, all the resources on the frontier as well as its lack of an established socio-political structure provided opportunities for the settlers. They could now pursue their dreams â€Å"of limitless wealth and self-betterment. †[6] Cheap or free land meant more opportunities for the self-made man, and provided a ‘safety valve’ for the ‘newcomers’: Since the day when the fleet of Columbus sailed into the waters of the New World, America has been another name for opportunity, and the people of the United States have taken their tone from the incessant expansion which has not only been open but has even been forced upon them. (100) Free land led to new opportunities, and it was up to each individual and their desire to work hard and climb the economic and social ladder: â€Å"†¦each frontier did indeed furnish a new field of opportunity, a gate of escape from the bondage of the past; and freshness, and confidence, and scorn of older society†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Turner, 100). Everything was open to the man who knew how to seize the opportunity. The self-made man became the ideal of the West, and eventually every man in the U. S. A. should be like him. It was the work ethic of the frontier, not of the South or East, Turner thought, that had contributed the most to the American character. The frontier culture concentrated on the dollar and it became important to make something out of your life. People were constantly moving in search of larger acreage and new opportunities. The large amount of unclaimed western land offered huge opportunities for those who were willing to take a risk. It could, if they worked hard, give them even more wealth and money. This â€Å"gospel of wealth† has continued to be a part of American society. The idea of the â€Å"American Dream† was already a part of the Puritan faith, but it gained even more strength as a modern conception of the frontier. The frontier became the American Dream. To some extent, Turner is right when he talks about the opportunities on the frontier. Newcomers came to the U. S. A. because of new opportunities, and America letters described all the opportunities the frontier offered those who were willing to take a risk. [7] Whereas genealogy divided classes in the Old World, money from hard work divided classes on the American frontier. This became uniquely American. And this myth of America as a place of opportunity and optimism is still a part of the American character. Also, the American tradition of competition and self-betterment was born on the frontier and continues in America even today. But a weakness of the frontier thesis is that Turner ignored the fact that many Americans have never or would never live on the frontier. The West was not a place of opportunity and freedom for everyone, as it seems in Turners essay. For example, to many women and minorities and of course the Indians, the West was no promised land. Life was hard. It was not as romantic and idealistic as Turner made it seem in his essay. And not all men benefited from the frontier. For example, the cost of starting a farm in West was high and few poor urban workers of the East could afford to get a second chance in the West. Also, the largest migration was actually to the city and not to the farm. [8] Historians have concluded that the American West was not â€Å"some rough-hewn egalitarian democracy, where every man had a piece of land and the promise for prosperity, but a world quickly dominated by big money and big government. †[9] Despite shortcomings in Turner’s essay, the frontier myth meant social and economic mobility. As argued by Degler, â€Å"precisely because it [the frontier] was believed to be a safety valve, regardless of what it was in fact, the western frontier worked an influence upon the attitudes of Americans. It left its mark in the optimism, the belief in progress, the promise of the future and the second chance – all of which have been deeply embedded in the American character† (142). Turner also ignored the fact that the land was not ‘free’ (which is illustrated by all the Indian wars). And the essay does not say much about the violence and lawlessness of western expansion. Clearly, opportunities aided the development of democratic ideals in America. But the availability of opportunities should not be confused with the origination of democratic ideas (Degler, 137). The idea of ‘starting over’ is closely connected with opportunity and an important part of the frontier thesis. As stated in the thesis: â€Å"American social development has been continually beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnished the forces dominating American character† (Turner, 88). The wilderness overwhelmed the newcomers and reduced them to a sort of â€Å"primitiveness. † It is a reversed evolution of civilization Turner explains in his thesis. But this step backwards was overshadowed by the hope for a new and better society. Euro-Americans turned the wilderness into civilization, and in doing so they themselves were transformed. In the ‘contest’ between nature and the colonists emerged a unique American character and a distinctive political culture – individualism and democracy. [10] Turner addressed all these new opportunities the frontier created as a â€Å"social rebirth†. America became a sign of a new start to many. People were willing to lie their past behind in search of new opportunities. Turner also set the stage for what would later become known as the â€Å"melting pot†. He looked upon the frontier as a crucible where people with different backgrounds came together and formed a distinct American character: â€Å"In the crucible of the frontier the immigrants were Americanized, liberated and fused into a mixed race, English in neither nationality nor characteristics. † The result was †the formation of a composite nationality for the American people† (94-95). But Turner as well as many others were wrong since the West was not a homogeneous as they thought. Many thought the newcomers would be Americanized, but the reality was that many newcomers kept their traditions and Americanization happened much more gradually than Turner believed. For example, Germans and English colonists differed in farming methods, crops and labor systems even though they lived on the same frontier. And many ethic groups settled in areas dominated by their own people and showed resistance to change. Another central aspect of Turner’s frontier thesis was that the frontier had made the United States different from Europe. According to Turner, the frontier remade the Europeans who entered it: â€Å"The frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization. † The frontier â€Å"finds him [the settler] a European in dress, industries, tools, modes of travel and thought †¦ little by little he [the settler] transforms the wilderness, but the outcome is not the old European, not simply the development of Germanic germs†¦[but] a new product that is American (89). The only uniquely â€Å"American† part of American history is the history of the frontier regions, since the other regions are too influenced by European institutions, Turner thought. He broke away from the notion that America was an extension of European culture and the so-called †Germ Theory† of American historical development, which stated that American institutions had their roots in ancient Teutonic forests (European roots of American institutions). [11] Turner looked upon the frontier as a powerful force. It shaped European settlers into something different from the European character. [12] The settling of the New World, especially the American frontier, had shaped an exceptional country, different from the Old World. The United States was something new and unique, something independent of European experience. As argued before, America as exceptional was a part of the American republic from the beginning and the frontier thesis carried this view even further. [13] The American frontier became something different and made a sharp contrast to the shadows of urban Europe. America became â€Å"the land of European dreams. † And this is not all, the frontier actually influenced not only America, but Europe as well: â€Å"Steadily the frontier settlement advanced and carried with it individualism, democracy and nationalism, and powerfully affected the East and the Old World† (Turner, 99). One weakness in Turner’s essay is that he puts too much emphasis on the effect on the frontier and because of this fails to mention other important features that have formed both the West and America as a whole. The frontier clearly contributed, but other factors are important as well, like slavery, immigration, agriculture, violence, industrialization, urbanization as well as women and ethnic minorities. For example, Indians received far too little attention. Turner considered Native Americans to be of little significance. They were part of that wild frontier environment and posed â€Å"a common danger and served as â€Å"a consolidating agent in our history,† faceless obstacles to be overcome and subdued in the process of westernizing† (Milner, 213). Turner’s estimated effect of the frontier on American politics and institutions was also exaggerated. As Turner puts it: â€Å"The legislation which most developed the powers of the national government, and played the largest part in its activity, was conditioned on the frontier† (Turner, 95). But actually, the frontier state was not that different from eastern models in state government and legislation. For example, the constitution of both Tennessee and Kentucky were modeled after the Pennsylvania constitution of 1790. Just some clauses had actually originated in the West (Degler, 136). In fact, regarding property qualifications for suffrage and the structure of state legislature, the western states modeled their government and legislation after older eastern States. The western states were also more reluctant than eastern states to permit black suffrage and even to allow them to enter their states both before and after the Emancipation. 14] Benjamin F. Wright, Jr. , argues that democracy had emerged in the Old World and had generally moved from east to west, rather than visa versa. Turner has also been criticized when he defines the frontier. To him, the frontier means different things. Sometimes it is an area where the civilization and wilderness meets, and other times the western part of the United States. It can even refer to a process – a way of life for those participa ting the settling of the land or a place full of natural resources. Critics have argued that if the frontier is the edge of civilization, it cannot also be the western part of the USA at a stage of social evolution (Degler, 135). The Western myth The frontier has become essential to Americans’ becoming who they are as a people. As argued by Faragher, †the belief that ‘westernizing’ defines our unique national heritage, and that it amounted to the purest expression of American idealism, has been what historian Warren Susman called â€Å"the official American ideology†(Faragher, 230). Henry Nash Smith and other specialists in American studies demonstrated that reality did not always rule in thinking about the West and that myths, symbols, images and stereotypes developed in response to the conditions of a particular time, could become a part of American culture and be transmitted to subsequent generations (Milner, 12). It was on the western frontier that America formed its own independent identity. Americans have located their nation-building myths and heroes out west, and the west has connected America’s to a national culture through a common story. The frontier thesis had, and continues to have, a powerful hold on popular and scholarly imagination. It reinforced the American sense of uniqueness and accomplishment, and strengthen the American nationalism (Milner, 21). The frontier played a role in endowing the people of the United States with distinguished character traits. Conclusion With his frontier thesis, Turner wanted to get away from the notion that America was just an extension of Europe. Instead, he emphasized the importance of the frontier as the promotion of distinctive American characteristics. It was on the western frontier you could trace the uniquely American character traits like, for example, individualism, opportunity and democracy. The West would be known as a place for opportunity and success for millions of Americans throughout the frontier, eastern cities and soon rest of the world. America became the â€Å"New Eden† and the land of opportunity. The affluence in America made Americans unique to Europe and also the rest of the world. The frontier’s work ethic and individualism spread across the country because it spoke to all Americans. And American frontier values like individualism continue to be important even today. No other country in the world would use the word frontier as Americans do: it convey so many different things to them. Most of all it means optimism. It is not strange that people were encouraged to go West for example during the depression of 1857, where they were promised more opportunities. [15] Despite shortcomings and weaknesses in Turner’s essay, the frontier thesis has a lasting appeal and the frontier idea keeps turning up in new forms, for example in everything from western movies, commercials and politics. The frontier has become an important part of American consciousness. There is something of substantial merit at the core of Turner’s views. The characteristics we think about when we hear the name America, even if it’s true or just a myth is qualities Turner described in his thesis. The frontier has become a symbolic repository of American values and characteristics. Turner articulated the American ‘myth’ that people already thought was true and what many thought was a distinctive American characteristic. The West became an image of a mythmaker and a preserver of distinctive American values. Clearly, the West continues to live one, and it is a distinctive American characteristic.