Battle of Fort Necessity in the French and Indian War

Battle of Fort Necessity in the French and Indian War In the spring of 1754, Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie dispatched a construction party to the Forks of the Ohio (present-day Pittsburgh, PA) with the goal of building a fort to assert British claims to the area. To support the effort, he later sent 159 militia, under Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, to join the building team. While Dinwiddie instructed Washington to remain on the defensive, he indicated that any attempt to interfere with the construction work was to be prevented. Marching north, Washington found that the workers had been driven away from the forks by the French and had retreated south. As the French began constructing Fort Duquesne at the forks, Washington received new orders instructing him to commence building a road north from Wills Creek. Obeying his orders, Washingtons men proceeded to Wills Creek (present-day Cumberland, MD) and began work. By May 14, 1754, they reached a large, marshy clearing known as the Great Meadows. Establishing a base camp in the meadows, Washington began exploring the area while waiting for reinforcements. Three days later, he was alerted to the approach of a French scouting party. Assessing the situation, Washington was advised by Half King, a Mingo chief allied to the British, to take a detachment to ambush the French. Armies Commanders British Lieutenant Colonel George WashingtonCaptain James McKay393 men French Captain Louis Coulon de Villiers700 men Battle of Jumonville Glen Agreeing, Washington and approximately 40 of his men marched through the night and foul weather to set the trap. Finding the French camped in a narrow valley, the British surrounded their position and opened fire. The resulting Battle of Jumonville Glen lasted about fifteen minutes and saw Washingtons men kill 10 French soldiers and capture 21, including their commander Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville. After the battle, as Washington was interrogating Jumonville, Half King walked up and struck the French officer in the head killing him. Building the Fort Anticipating a French counterattack, Washington fell back to Great Meadows and on May 29 ordered his men to begin constructing a log palisade. Placing the fortification in the middle of the meadow, Washington believed the position would provide a clear field of fire for his men. Though trained as a surveyor, Washingtons relative lack of military experience proved critical as the fort was sited in a depression and was too close to the tree lines. Dubbed Fort Necessity, Washingtons men quickly completed work on the fortification.  During this time, Half King attempted to rally Delaware, Shawnee, and Seneca warriors to support the British. On June 9, additional troops from Washingtons Virginia regiment arrived from Wills Creek bringing his total force up to 293 men. Five days later, Captain James McKay arrived with his Independent Company of regular British troops from South Carolina. Shortly after making camp, McKay and Washington entered into a dispute over who should command. While Washington held a superior rank, McKays commission in the British Army took precedence. The two ultimately agreed on an awkward system of joint command. While McKays men remained at Great Meadows, Washingtons continued work on the road north to Gists Plantation. On June 18, Half King reported that his efforts were unsuccessful and no Native American forces would be reinforcing the British position. Battle of Great Meadows Late in the month, word was received that a force of 600 French and 100 Indians had departed Fort Duquesne. Feeling that his position at Gists Plantation was untenable, Washington retreated to Fort Necessity. By July 1, the British garrison had concentrated, and work began on a series of trenches and earthworks around the fort. On July 3, the French, led by Captain Louis Coulon de Villiers, Jumonvilles brother, arrived and quickly surrounded the fort. Taking advantage of Washingtons mistake, they advanced in three columns before occupying the high ground along the tree line which allowed them to fire into the fort. Knowing that his men needed to clear the French from their position, Washington prepared to assault the enemy.   Anticipating this, Villiers attacked first and ordered his men to charge at the British lines.   While the regulars held their position and inflicted losses on the French, the Virginia militia fled into the fort. After breaking Villiers charge, Washington withdrew all of his men back to Fort Necessity. Outraged by his brothers death, which he considered murder, Villiers had his men maintain a heavy fire on the fort through the day. Pinned down, Washingtons men soon ran short of ammunition. To make their situation worse, heavy rain began which made firing difficult. Around 8:00 PM, Villiers sent a messenger to Washington to open surrender negotiations. With his situation hopeless, Washington agreed. Washington and McKay met with Villiers, however, the negotiations went slowly as neither spoke the others language. Finally, one of Washingtons men, who spoke bits of both English and French, was brought forward to serve as an interpreter. Aftermath After several hours of talking, a surrender document was produced. In exchange for surrendering the fort, Washington and McKay were permitted to withdraw back to Wills Creek. One of the clauses of the document stated that Washington was responsible for the assassination of Jumonville. Denying this, he claimed the translation he had been given was not assassination but death of or killing. Regardless, Washingtons admission was used as propaganda by the French. After the British departed on July 4, the French burned the fort and marched to Fort Duquesne. Washington returned to Great Meadows the following year as part of the disastrous Braddock Expedition. Fort Duquesne would remain in French hands until 1758 when the site was captured by General John Forbes.

Alternative Voting System in Parliamentary Elections Essay - 1

Alternative Voting System in Parliamentary Elections - Essay Example UK has seen in many such reforms that have made it a modern democracy with elected representatives, from being a monarchic state (Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, 2007, 9). My article will examine the current electoral changes that have been proposed, which signal the ushering in of the Alternative Voting system (AVs). This topic has been in debate in the UK parliament for quite some years, and is currently under review, in the House of Lords and the Parliament. My article will explore to find out whether the changes in the electoral processes that will bring in use of the Alternative Voting System or AVs in parliamentary elections, would actually work towards improving democracy in United Kingdom. What is AV: â€Å"AV represents a very simple change to our current First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) voting system. The principle behind AV is a no-brainer: the winner in an election should need the support of a majority of the people. AV makes this happen with ‘preference voting’. All that means for voters are swapping the ‘X’ on the ballot paper for numbers, so voters can rank the candidates in order of preference 1, 2, 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Electoral Reform Society, Introducing the Alternative Vote). Fig 1: (Source: Electoral Reform Society, Introducing the Alternative Vote). In this figure, we take an example of a voting centre, which has 4 candidates A, B, C and D, standing for an election, while the number of voters is taken to be 100. In the present electoral process that is known as the First-Past-the–Post or FPTP, Candidate ‘A’ has garnered the maximum number of votes, and is the clearly the winner, though he hasn’t received even 50% of the total vote share, that is, majority of the voters are not backing him.

Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Hamlet - Essay Example â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago† is a play directed by Hamlet as he learns from the ghost that this was his uncle Claudius who killed Hamlet’s father in order to become a king. It is aimed at replicating the events which, as Hamlet suspects, happened in reality and led to the death of his father. Subsequently, the logic behind showing this play is to reveal the guilt of Claudius by showing him circumstances that are expected to cause a particular reaction from the man: â€Å"To catch the consciousness of the king.† (Act II, Scene II) In this way, the suspense is created. As a result, Hamlet confirms his doubts and realizes that his father was killed by the new king. In this way, the plot gets its logical development and approaches to the climax. Apart from serving as a catalyst for the plot development, inclusion of the play into the play can serve the purpose of reinforcing the theme of pretending and lack of certainty, which is one of the essential themes of the given play. Throughout the play, Hamlet and Claudius are playing their roles (Hamlet acts insane and Claudius – honest and innocent) instead of being what they really are. At the same time, it is not clear whether Gertrude was loyal to her husband and whether she knew about the plans of Claudius. Furthermore, Hamlet is not sure whether the ghost he saw was saying the truth: â€Å"The spirit I have seen may be a devil.† (Act II, Scene II) Similarly, actors in â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago† are playing their roles and highlight the motif of theatricality of the life. The play within the play becomes a reflection of the real life in which people act as actors. The following can also hint on the attempts of Shakespeare to assert the importance of art and power of theatre as a whole. For instance, in Hamlet, the play within the play not only exposes the truth, but gives the prince the power and passion to revenge. In other words, actors on the stage provoke actions and make one reflect on the past and predict

State of Personal Computers Market in the UK Assignment

State of Personal Computers Market in the UK - Assignment Example In other words, the portable PC must not necessarily have big memory or storage space since it can retrieve data from the centric server within the company (Gillam, 2010). Several companies adopted this technology, hence increased sale of the portable PC but reduced sales of desktops. A good VDI network may comprise of at least one desktop with over 70 portable PC depending on the size of the company. Other clouding technology also followed and led to a further increase in sales of portable PCs. The graph below shows a non-uniform decrease in PCs’ prices as time (in years) advances. Increase in PCs producing firms There have been increases in the number of mobile PC companies venturing into the market. These include Samsung which manufactured laptops, net books, notebooks, tablets and mini laptops among other portable PCs. Apple manufactures iMacs and iPhones among other portable PCs. These products had advanced and efficient applications and specifications that later attracte d more customers. Majority shipped their desktops to developing nations while some were treated as electronic wastes. The younger generations were compelled to purchase the portable the portable gadgets since they have social media applications like twitter, Facebook and Skype among other applications. The products also came in smaller sizes but attractive shapes and colors to attract more customers (Bradley, 2005). The aspect of compatibility also enhanced increased demand for the products. One can easily connect his/her portable computer with the sound system or flat screen televisions for entertainment purpose. The companies have stiff competition with regular advancement of the portable computers which has kept the demand on a steady growing trend, since majority dump or ship their... This paper offers a comprehensive theoretic economic analysis of high price elasticity of the demand for personal computers in the UK market. In the 2007, the market of personal computers in the UK recorded an estimated net worth of 12.27 billion USD. This increased to 12.81 billion USD in the year 2008 (4.4 % increase). The market PC market continued to depreciate to about 11.77 billion USD by the end of the year 2009. However, the same report indicates the market worth was on a growing trend from 2005 until 2008, from which the PC market worth started depreciating.There are several factors that boosted the increase in the PC market worth between 2005 and 2008. Several companies register an increase in sales of portable or mobile personal computers. The introduction of the portable PC in the markets attracted more customers The law of demand and supply states the demand will increase as the price decreases and other factors held constant. However, this economic principle does not apply in the personal computer business. Since 2005, the price for the personal computers has been on a falling trend despite continuous growth in demand. Different markets have different demand, price and supply relations depending on the prevailing economic status as well as the countries demographic characteristics among some factors. Different nations also have different policies or legislations to control its business. The aspect of a global description of the elastic curve with respect to the personal computers is a challenge.

How To Tame A Wild Tongue English Language Essay

How To Tame A Wild Tongue English Language Essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue is a chapter from the book titled Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza written by the author, Gloria E. Anzaldua. In this chapter the writer talks about her Chicana life in a time full of immigration controversies where Latinos living in the United States struggled to find their national identity and a language to speak freely without shame and fear. Hispanic immigrants or Hispanics born in the United States are mentally tortured by the dominant English language and culture into changing into something that is neither English nor Spanish but a mixture of both. Anzaldà ºa targets Chicano readers who share her experience in finding a clear identity and American readers as well in order to better understand Chicano life. In the title Gloria Anzaldà ºa chose for this chapter in her book, is a title that does not make much sense at first sight but as the reader beings to read the first few paragraphs, he realises that the meaning of the title is how to change a persons language and way of speaking, such as accent, on an immigrant population. In this case it would be the authors own experiences and her maternal language Spanish or to be more precise, Chicano Spanish. As the reader continues reading, he discovers that forcing someone to only speak another language is near to impossible. Anzaldà ºa showed strong opposition by talking in Spanish with her friends: My home tongues are the languages I speak with my sister and brothers, with my friends. They are the last five listed, with 6 and 7 being closest to my heart. (56) She loved speaking Spanish and wanted at least her name to be spoken and heard in Spanish but instead she remembers being sent to the corner of the classroom for talking back to the A nglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name. If you want to be American, speak American. If you dont like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.(53). Anzaldà ºa is showing defiance by not wanting to let go of her maternal language. She is proving the futility in changing ones language and speaking patterns by switching back and forth between Spanish and English. When a teacher would catch her speak Spanish at school she would be punished by that teacher. I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler. (53). She was accused of talking back to a teacher when all she did was giving an explanation. I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for talking back to the Anglo teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name. (53). A society such as the one described in Gloria Anzaldà ºas How to Tame a Wild Tongue cannot be easily influenced or changed if that society is still living in their territory or close to it. It is in this type of settings that futility manifests the most. On the other hand, once a society or group of individua ls are taken away from their territory they will, unknowingly, become heavily influenced if not entirely changed when it comes to their language, culture and history no matter how proud they are. In her book, the author discusses the cultural and gendered impacts of the language itself. From an early age girls are taught not to talk too much, not to talk back and not to ask questions. In Northern parts of Mexico and Southern most parts of the United States, the female plural in Spanish is excluded from the language, leaving women fall under the masculine plural. Many Latinos and Latinas think people living in these parts of the world are ruining the Spanish language by letting yourself influenced by the English language. You are being criticised for learning or speaking English, the language of the oppressors, thus being treated as a traitor by your own people. Pocho, cultural traitor, youre speaking the oppressors language by speaking English, youre ruining the Spanish language, I have been accused by various Latinos and Latinas. Chicano Spanish is considered by the purist and by most Latinos deficient, a mutilation of Spanish. (55). In this chapter, Anzaldà ºa discusses some examples of how the Spanish language changed and evolved in this part of the world since the first Spanish colonisations began in the region. A combination of different languages, Spanish, English and native American sounds and words were combined to develop into the present day Chicano Spanish. But because of these combinations, the language was viewed as a bastard form which is neither Standard Spanish nor Standard English. It was considered by other Hispanics that the language was of poorer quality and thus caused Chicanas and Chicanos to feel uncomfortable in expressing themselves. Anzaldà ºa sees this as something that needs to be changed. The attack on the Chicanos native language needs to be stopped because If a person, Chicana or Latina has a low estimation of my native tongue, she also has a low estimation of me. (58). The author states that language is part of ethnic identity and should be something you can find pride in if women hope to improve their self-estimation. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. (59). Closing to the end of the chapter, the author discusses the language in terms of learning what it is incorporated within oneself. Through Chicano literature, such as books and poetry, through Mexican movies, such as Nosotros los pobres, the first real Mexican movie (60), and music, Chicanos felt a sense of belonging. It is an expression of their language and thus an expression of them. With these works, the Mexican people get an external reinforcement of their heritage and culture. Anzaldà ºa discusses that on the border, the language is getting forgotten. Living in the lands between America and Mexico seems to be a place of confusion, of separation of not knowing to which side you belong. Nosotros los Chicanos straddle the borderlands. On one side of us, we are constantly exposed to the Spanish of the Mexicans, on the other side we hear the Anglos incessant clamouring so that we forget our language. (62). However, Anzaldà ºa states that deep down in their hearts, being Mexican is not about where you live or where were you born. It is not in your mind but in your soul. Around the border, conflict and confusion is strong but as Anzaldà ºa states, her people have been patient and hope that one day the conflict and confusion will end. In the meantime, the Mexican people will survive as they always had. In coclusion, Gloria E. Anzaldà ºas story of How to Tame a Wild Tongue proved to be a convincing argument because she is the voice of the Chicano people living on both sides of the border. She narrates from her own experience of being a Chicana living in the United States where all the pressure of forgetting her language was put on her shoulders for many years. Anzaldà ºas writing style is very poetic and moving and chose to use a lot of imagery to impress her readers and also to let Non-Latin American people learn more about the life of Chicanos which is known so little about to an outsider. Work Cited Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands La Frontera. San Francisco : Aunt Lute Books, 1987

Essay --

Throughout the twenty and into the twenty first century, the world has seen much academic and historical reflection on the subject of the Holocaust. Scholars have avidly debated both the motives of the perpetrators and the inaction of the Jewish race during the Holocaust. Both the offenders and the offended have been criticized in one way or another for s variety of reasons. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen specifically looks at the perpetrators, the Germans, and argues that in fact, the Holocaust could only have taken place in Germany because of the German peoples’ great anti-Semitism. Goldhagen, a smart, cognitive and historically knowledgeable man strives to prove his theory in a three-pronged reasoning trident. He seeks, through his theory, to directly connect a country’s apparent anti-Semitism to the mass murder that directly succeeded it. The initial part of his argument is to look at the Police Battalions and the Einstadtzgruppen, and make the claim that the men committing the mass murder in these military ranks were in fact what Goldhagen calls â€Å"ordinary Germans†. Goldhagen looks specifically at their economic and social backgrounds to make this claim. (Handout; Police Battalion 101: Men’s Deeds) The second part of Goldhagen’s thesis is to equate the â€Å"ordinary Germans† coordinating the death marches to the entire German population: Golhagen takes a focus group and decides that in fact it is a distinct match for the whole population of Germany – something that I will cover later on. The third prong of the t rident is the conclusion in which Goldhagen says that all Germans were in fact, Nazis and bought into Nazi ideals of eugenics and mass murder. Essentially, to wrap up the â€Å"trident of reasoning† metaphor into one simple sentence ... ...explaining evil is just as difficult as preventing it, which is primarily the reason for so much debate on the subject of the Holocaust. Most of Goldhagen’s theories are intelligent, well articulated and backed up with evidence, but this doesn't mean that they are flaw-free. While on the surface his theory of the perpetrators being all ordinary Germans makes simplistic sense, it is slightly flawed. A, it is a generalization to group â€Å"all ordinary Germans† with a specific set of Germans who carried out the mass murder and B, Goldhagen comes to his conclusion and then looks for evidence to support his claim. Usually one finds specific evidence and then after piecing the evidence together one comes to a conclusion based on one’s evidence, not the latter. Regardless, what Goldhagen offers in his thesis is a totally unique look at who was responsible for the Holocaust.

Four Teaching Strategies That Increase Curiosity in Math Essay

There are many strategies and techniques that could be used in the classroom to encourage curiosity in math, but the four I chose to discuss I thought would be the most beneficial. This is due to the way they support auditory, visual, and kinesthetic styles of learning. The four strategies teachers could use to encourage curiosity towards mathematics in a classroom include co-operative learning, guided or discovery learning, simulate real life experiences, and active student learning. These four learning strategies range from group learning to the use of manipulatives to real life experiences and group discussions where students can share their ideas and thinking processes. Therefore, students would be able to learn in a variety of formats like listening, seeing, taking notes, and by using their hands. The first teaching strategy mentioned is co-operative learning strategy. In which, students can use think-pair-share, peer-tutoring, or group assignments to work together to learn how to solve mathematical equations. The purpose of co-operative learning is that students can benefit from teaching each other, sharing ideas, and clarifying their own thinking processes while working together in groups of two or more. For instance, teachers can create worksheets or quizzes that are a bit more challenging than the student’s homework so the students will need to work as a group to solve all the problems. And, if they all get the same grade than they will be more to likely communicate together, share their work, and ideas with each other to attain the best grade possible. Additionally, since group assignments or activities are based on the need for students to compare their work and answers with one another, discuss the ways in which they solved an equation, and justify why their answer is right will help reinforce what they previously learned, thereby encouraging students to participate more in group activities and more inclined to enjoying math. The second teaching strategy involves creating or simulating real life experiences that will help teach a variety of math skills. The purpose of creating real life experiences is to make math more relatable to students. It will also demonstrate how math is used in the community and in their lives on a daily basis. This will create more interest in math, since students will have a tangible sense of why math is needed. A good example of this strategy includes role-playing or dramatic play. The goal is to create real life experiences in which students will need to use their math skills to solve every day problems. For instance, making play currency and having the students go to the market to buy produce is one experience that is a necessity in life. The teacher can have the students make a list, create a budget and have the students buy what they need within their budget. Then, they can pay a cashier and the cashier will then need to give back change. Given the age of the students, the teacher may not have a dramatic center, but can then have students work in pairs at their desks. For example, each student creates their shopping list and budget; buy their produce on paper, then take turns paying each other with different amounts of currency which the cashier will then need to give them change. The benefit about role playing is it can be all imaginary or done in the class with few a materials, means that with some creativity the teacher can recreate any type of real life experience the students may encounter. Some examples include buying a house, paying utilities, buying a car, going to the movies and paying for the tickets and snacks. The third teaching strategy to create curiosity and understanding toward mathematics in the classroom is to include guided discovery learning or hands on learning. Both types of strategies allows the students to use their hands in different ways, but one uses more guidance from the teacher while the other allows the students to discover the learning on their own. The purpose for both is that it allows the students to use hands on materials to discover something on their own thereby taking an abstract concept and turning it into a concrete and tangible concept. Something the students can physically see, touch, and manipulate. For instance, if students are learning about geometry and the different geometric shapes then the teacher can have the students create an art scene using only the shapes they will be learning about in geometry. A good example would be to have the students create a farm scene, in which the shapes represent objects found within our environment, like a rectangle for a tree, a square for barn, a triangle for the roof. If the teacher has the students label all their shapes and number of sides then it reinforces their learning of shapes. Plus, it will help them understand that geometric shapes are everywhere and used in many different ways in life. Another way a teacher can incorporate hands on learning is to have the students bake cookies, or mix the dough and have the kitchen staff bake the cookies, if possible. Baking is an excellent way to reinforce the concept of fractions, doubling or halving a recipe, which also helps students understand how fractions can be added or subtracted. The fourth teaching strategy that can increase curiosity in math in the classroom is by creating a student centered learning environment. The purpose of a student centered learning environment is that it allows the students to participate in class discussions, where they listen and share their ideas or their thinking process when solving math equations. This also allows the students to reflect on their own thinking or math skills learned, as well as, help clarify any misunderstanding or misconceptions about math. For instance, after the introduction of a new skill in math, the teacher can have the students go up to the front of the class and work the problem on the board. This gives students an opportunity to show the class how they solved the problem and what they were thinking when they solved it. Plus, this creates an opening for the class to discuss what the student did that was right or wrong, and allows other students to ask questions. In addition, a student centered learning environment gives students the ability to participate in a safe and comfortable environment in which they can express their views, thoughts, ideas, and misconceptions about math thereby maybe encouraging a more positive outlook towards math. The benefit of using the four teaching methods above is that each method will help support visual, auditory, and kinesthetic styles of learning. Thereby, creating and providing a learning atmosphere that will support both multicultural students and students with exceptionalities. For instance, working in co-operative groups allows students to verbally share their ideas with each other and listen to each other, in addition to taking notes. Role playing also allows verbal interaction while using a tangible manipulative, like play currency. A hands-on learning project like baking cookies requires students to read the recipe, listen to their partners, and use their hands to measure out ingredients; whereas, an active learning environment students can have discussions how architectures use math to build skyscrapers, or NASA scientists use it to build space ships. All of which have the ability to support all three learning styles. This is why I feel that these teaching strategies not only create a curiosity in math but support the learning of multicultural students and students with exceptionalities.