Saturday, May 16, 2020

Research paper - Political and social issues in US vs around the world

After reading chapter 10, students had to analyze each section of the chapter and research for similar situations around the world. With information gathered on internet, from books and other resources, they wrote their research paper by following the MLA format (check the link if you need to use MLA format for yourself too 😶https://style.mla.org/mla-format/)

Here is an example of a research paper done by Maria P. 






Expanding West









Student: Maria Prisacariu                                                Mentor: Ardita Osmanaj 








March, 2020



Table of Contents






















Reasons for Migration

USA



In the 1800s, the Americans started migrating to the west. This migration began with the high demand of beaver fur, out of which water repellent hats were made. John Jacob Astor was very famous for creating the American Fur Company. He used the mountain men, trappers and fur traders who migrated to the Rocky Mountains, to get the fur he needed. Other pioneers of fur trade also met once a year at a rendezvous camp. The first settlement in the Oregon Country was Astoria, created in 1811. 

Although the mass fur trading came to a close in the 1840s, Eastern families began to move to the Oregon Country. They’re main reason was because rich resources and a warm climate awaited them. Other people came for religious freedom.The Mormons were a religious group that came to Oregon Country to escape religious prosecution. 




Reasons for Migration
Globally



The migration of people today can be classified into four categories: economic, social, political, or environmental migration. Some people choose to move to another country, such as when students want to attend a foreign college. Others are unfortunately forced to migrate, such as when their homeland faces war or natural disasters. 

Migrating has its own push and pull factors. Push factors are reasons why people leave their homeland. Push factors include natural disasters, lack of safety, poverty, and war. Pull factors are reasons why people go to a new area. Pull factors include more job opportunities, services, wealth, safety, and better climate.
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1. William Deverell and Deborah G. White.”United States History”. Expanding West, Chapter 11, Section 1, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012, USA.


Revolutions
Texas


In 1821, Mexico became liberated from the Spanish colony. In 1824, it undertook a republican constitution, which gave equal rights to all Mexican citizens. The new Mexican leaders’ next step was to use empresarios, or agents, to bring settlers in Texas. The settlers would receive free land, and in exchange they had to obey the laws. Stephen F. Austin was one of the first agents to make a successful colony of 300 people, on the lower Colorado River. In the beginning, everything was fine, but soon the American settlers did not obey the laws. Angry, the Mexicans made a law to forbid further Americans to settle in Texas.

The Texans did not like this, and they soon started an uprising. The Texans’ rebellion angered Santa Anna, a leader of Mexico. Soon, fights broke out, and the rebels started conquering San Antonio, then Alamo. Then, the Texans were defeated in Alamo, and the remaining survivors fled. Santa Anna then thought that the Texans were too weak to start a fight again. He was wrong, and when he expected it the least, the rebels attacked and captured him in the Battle of San Jacinto. After Santa Anna forcefully signed the treaty of independence of the Texans, the rebels were finally free. Their war hero was Sam Houston, leader of the remaining rebels, and his name still bears Texas’s Capital name, Houston. 
Revolutions


Globally


All revolutions have their own reasons. The Revolution in Texas was due to land rights. The French Revolution in the late 1700s , a very famous conflict today, dealt with the change of power, where the monarchy was overthrown and established a republic. A similar case happened in Russia in 1917, where the Tsarist (similar to a king) was forced to abdicate, and the Bolsheviks (communists) started ruling. Another revolution, called the Taiping Rebellion, occurred due to religion; the Chinese Qing dynasty persecuted a group of Christians (part of a sect), whose leader believed he was Jesus’s younger brother. Revolutions such as the Haitian Revolution fought for anti-slavery and anti-colonies. 
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2. William Deverell and Deborah G. White.”United States History”. Expanding West, Chapter 11, Section 2, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012, USA.
3. Nath, Soubin. “Top 10 Revolutions That Changed the World.” Listly, www.list.ly/list/1979-top-10-revolutions-that-changed-the-world . Accessed 13 Mar. 2020. 

Wars and Conflicts
United States


In the 1840s, the United States was growing rapidly. The Americans started looking for new territory to expand in, and they set their eyes on the West. With Polk as president, the people agreed to try and annex Texas and the Oregon Country. These lands were settled peacefully; Oregon Country became part of the United States in 1848, and Texas in 1845. Another disputed area was California. The border in California had long been distributed, and the Polk decided to send a troop under Taylor there. The Americans also tried to talk with the Mexican representatives, but they did not want to discuss with them. The Americans responded by send Taylor’s troop further into California. The Mexicans told them to retreat, and the Americans refused; this led to the Mexican-American war.

President Polk and the Congress called to war. They asked for 50,000 people, and 200,000 volunteered. Their forces came into California, and slowly defeated the Mexican forces. In the Bear Flag Revolt, the people declared California to be an independent nation; the Americans claimed it soon after. The War ended when the Americans finally came to Mexico city. On September 14, Mexico city fell. This led to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which officially ended war and the Mexicans gave up most northern lands to the United States. These areas came into contact with the Americans, and the economy, culture, and understanding changed.


Wars and Conflicts
Palestine

For hundreds of years, the State of Palestine had trouble with rulers who would occupy it. One of Palestine’s recent battles was with the State of Israel, and Israel’s goal was to gain land. The Palestinians’ conflict with the Israeli began as soon as the British retreated from the area (after the Partitioning of Palestine was made, which split the area into 2 parts: the Jewish area and the Palestinian Arabs). The 1948 Arab-Israeli War involved Israel and five Arab nations—Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.(History.com Editors) Many more horrible wars ensued, and religion began to be the reason why so many people were killed. 
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4. William Deverell and Deborah G. White.”United States History”. Expanding West, Chapter 11, Section 3, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012, USA.

To sum it all up, after all the bloodshed, Palestine continues to have unsolved border issues with Israel. Still, the Palestines continue hoping to regain their land, and come to a peaceful agreement with Israel.


Conflicts over Natural Resources
America


After the Americans claimed its right to California, only a couple settlers came to settle there. Sometimes people would stop by, since it was a great trading spot, and a place to rest. The pre-existing colonies, such as the one made by Sutter, would help the travellers. Once, in 1847, the Donner Party was found frozen and hungry in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Everything took a turn when one of Sutter’s carpenters found a gold nugget. The two decided to keep it a secret, but soon Mexicans and Native Americans were found searching for gold. This discovery brought as many as 80,000 people in 1849, and were called forty-niners. The forty-niners came for the gold rush, and they were seeking wealth. Later on, 20,000 people came from Europe, China, and South America in their search for gold. The situation also came to a point where miners sometimes used violence to claim a piece of land for finding gold. Other people that were not gold miners (placer miners) became wealthy through industries. Although this gold rush brought people and helped California become a state in just 2 years, it brought inflation. California was also isolated at first, and it took 20 years until the American Railroad extended to San Francisco.
Conflicts over Land Resources


Globally

Today, countries still face conflicts over land resources. The land resources that groups usually fight over are diamonds, gold, and oil. Sierra Leone, Congo, Liberia, and Angola have all experienced horrific civil wars in recent decades, and a major factor in those wars has been over diamonds.(“Conflict & Natural Resources”) All of these wars and conflicts only start from the greed and lust of some people who have too much power on their hands. Other countries like Botswana are great examples of peace and tranquility. Although extremely abundant in diamonds, Botswana does not have any conflicts. Experts say that it is also important that Botswana does not have any ethical divisions either. 

______________________________ 
5. History.com Editors. “Palestine.” HISTORY, 21 Oct. 2019, www.history.com/topics/middle-east/palestine
6. William Deverell and Deborah G. White.”United States History”. Expanding West, Chapter 11, Section 4, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012, USA. 
7. “Conflict & Natural Resources.” The Environmental Literacy Council, www.enviroliteracy.org/land-use/conflict-natural-resources . Accessed 12 Mar. 2020.

Bibliography


1. “Conflict & Natural Resources.” The Environmental Literacy Council, www.enviroliteracy.org/land-use/conflict-natural-resources . Accessed 12 Mar. 2020.
2. William Deverell and Deborah G. White.”United States History”. Expanding West, Chapter 11, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012, USA
3. History.com Editors. “Palestine.” HISTORY, 21 Oct. 2019, www.history.com/topics/middle-east/palestine. Accessed 10 Mar. 2020.
4. Nath, Soubin. “Top 10 Revolutions That Changed the World.” Listly, www.list.ly/list/1979-top-10-revolutions-that-changed-the-world . Accessed 13 Mar. 2020.
5. “Why Do People Migrate? - Migration Trends - GCSE Geography Revision.” BBC Bitesize, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8x6wxs/revision/2 . Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.



P.S. some of the formatting got lost due to the blog capacity. 

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