Essay Sample on the History of the United States Liberalism and American Dream

Essay Sample on the History of the United States Liberalism and American Dream The guideline of the present paper is to discuss how Liberalism and American Dream have helped to create and to shape the history of the most powerful country of the world – United States. The concepts of liberalism and American dream represent political and ideological tendencies and their influence is seen throughout the American experience. In responding to the topic the paper will firstly define Liberalism and American dream, secondly explain their origins and thirdly how those tendencies have helped to shape United States history. In conclusion the discussion will be about how studying history helps to understand the present. Liberalism is known to be an ideology and political tradition with the idea that liberty is the first and the most important political value. It is a matter of fact that the origin of the liberalism is in Western Enlightenment, but nowadays this term embraces different political thoughts. Liberalism emphasizes individuals rights such as freedom of though, limitation on government and religion power, the rule of law, free exchange of ideas, free public education for both men and women, market economy with free private enterprise and finally transparent government system which will protect the rights of all citizens. In modern USA liberalism is connected with open and fair elections, equal rights granted by law for all citizens, equal employment opportunities. It is apparent that such definition of liberalism is the evidence of its significant influence on USA history. (Goldberg 2001) It is necessary to mention that â€Å"liberalism† originated from Latin â€Å"liber† (free) and was firstly described as struggle for independence and freedom between patrician and plebeian classes with the purpose to receive equal rights. American War of Independence was the first to establish a nation based on the concept of liberalism, especially on the idea that â€Å"governments rule by the consent of the governed†. The principles of free trade were firstly enunciated in the USA history due to liberalism. The impact of liberalism on USA history is evident and significant, because due to it there was a rapid increase in literacy among population. Spread of knowledge resulted in successful social activism and nation has become interested in its authorized freedoms and liberties. The positive impact is passed law against child labor and laws requiring workers’ safety and fixed minimum wages. Liberalism set the idea that nations needs to be protected from exploitation and to be provided with education. It is apparent that impact of liberalism is profound on the USA history, because it implemented new ideas of personal dignity, religious tolerance, free expression of thoughts, private property, government transparency, human rights, popular sovereignty, rights for privacy, fundamental equality, national self-determination, free trade and market economy, rule of law, etc. that is why the impact and result of liberalism can’t be neglected by USA nation.(Goldberg 2001) American dream is a belief â€Å"that in the United States of America hard work and determination can lead to better life, usually through the earnings of money†. Such values were in the root of American dream are closely connected with Horatio Algerism. American dream is living in a perfect house with two children and without financial problems. It is the lifestyle of the middle class. Nevertheless the American dream was strongly criticized because of it accent only on material possessions as the highest happiness. Critics argued that American dream didn’t suggest the ideas of intellectual wealth and development. (Hochschild 1995) It is necessary to point out that the origin of American stems from the departure in economic and government based on the models of Old World. From the American Revolutionary war the unprecedented freedom was allowed and gave the possibility of dramatic social activity. Additionally many physical resources were held out and unclaimed waiting lucky investments in industry. Industrial Revolution combined great natural resources potential and unsettled continent and thus created American dream aimed at achieving wealth.(Cullan 2003) American dream has its challenged throughout the 20th century, because the Great Depression caused hardships and racial instability was still present. After the World War II American families were trying to find the relative comfort and stability for living. American dream suggested â€Å"perfect family† to be a part of consequence. American dream was tossed aside by new generation of young hippies who strongly denied the traditional values and ideas of the dream. (Ehrenreich 1989) Nevertheless the impact of American dream was seen throughout the USA history, because it promoted the ideas of education and personal achievement. It is apparent that a dream has never died out and is still present in souls of many Americans. American dream stimulated the people pursuing their energy into new source of gold – Internet, because it was the new way to become wealthy. In the result even ordinary people started their businesses and became millionaires. American dream attracted many entrepreneurial people from India and China to seek fortune in USA. The last argument is that American dream promoted hard work as the way to achieve a better life. (Hochschild 1995) In conclusion it is necessary to state that studying history helps to understand the present. As it is said all reasons of the present are hidden in the past. History helps to understand better the origins of events and tendencies and to realize their importance. History is the mirror of the present, because it hides many secrets and unexplained events. It is historians who contribute development by analyzing historical trends and their possible results in the future. Due to studying history it is possible to figure out the impact of American dream and Liberalism on the history of the United States. If there were no history, there would be no present and past.

Comparison Between Mitosis and Meiosis Processes

Comparison Between Mitosis and Meiosis Processes Mitosis (along with the step of cytokinesis) is the process of how a eukaryotic somatic cell, or body cell, divides into two identical diploid cells. Meiosis is a different type of cell division that begins with one cell that has the proper number of chromosomes and ends with four cells- haploid cells- that have half the normal number of chromosomes. In a human, almost all cells undergo mitosis. The only human cells that are made by meiosis are gametes, or sex cells: the egg or ovum for females and the sperm for males. Gametes have only half the number of chromosomes as a normal body cell because when gametes fuse during fertilization, the resulting cell, called a zygote, then has the correct number of chromosomes. This is why offspring are a mixture of genetics from the mother and the father- the fathers gamete carries half the chromosomes and the mothers gamete carries the other half- and why there is so much genetic diversity, even within families. Although mitosis and meiosis have very different results, the processes are similar, with just a few changes within the stages of each. Both processes start out after a cell goes through interphase and copies its DNA exactly in the synthesis phase, or S phase. At this point, each chromosome is made up of sister chromatids held together by a centromere. The sister chromatids are identical to each other. During mitosis, the cell undergoes the mitotic phase, or M phase, only once, ending with two identical diploid cells. In meiosis, there are two rounds of the M phase, resulting in four haploid cells that arent identical. Stages of Mitosis and Meiosis There are four stages of mitosis and eight stages in meiosis. Since meiosis undergoes two rounds of splitting, it is divided into meiosis I and meiosis II. Each stage of mitosis and meiosis has many changes going on in the cell, but very similar, if not identical, important events mark that stage. Comparing mitosis and meiosis is fairly easy if these important events are taken into account: Prophase The first stage is called prophase in mitosis and prophase I or prophase II in meiosis I and meiosis II. During prophase, the nucleus is getting ready to divide. This means the nuclear envelope has to disappear and the chromosomes start to condense. Also, the spindle starts to form within the centriole of the cell that will help with the division of chromosomes during a later stage. These things all happen in mitotic prophase, prophase I and usually in prophase II. Sometimes there is no nuclear envelope at the beginning of prophase II and most of the time the chromosomes are already condensed from meiosis I. There are a couple of differences between mitotic prophase and prophase I. During prophase I, homologous chromosomes come together. Every chromosome has a matching chromosome that carries the same genes and is usually the same size and shape. Those pairs are called homologous pairs of chromosomes. One homologous chromosome came from the individuals father and the other came from the individuals mother. During prophase I, these homologous chromosomes pair up and sometimes intertwine. A process called crossing over can happen during prophase I. This is when homologous chromosomes overlap and exchange genetic material. Actual pieces of one of the sister chromatids break off and reattach to the other homolog. The purpose of crossing over is to further increase genetic diversity, since alleles for those genes are now on different chromosomes and can be placed into different gametes at the end of meiosis II. Metaphase In metaphase, the chromosomes line up at the equator, or middle, of the cell, and the newly formed spindle attaches to those chromosomes to prepare for pulling them apart. In mitotic metaphase and metaphase II, the spindles attach to each side of the centromeres holding the sister chromatids together. However, in metaphase I, the spindle attaches to the different homologous chromosomes at the centromere. Therefore, in mitotic metaphase and metaphase II, the spindles from each side of the cell are connected to the same chromosome. In metaphase, I, only one spindle from one side of the cell is connected to a whole chromosome. The spindles from opposite sides of the cell are attached to different homologous chromosomes. This attachment and setup is essential for the next stage. There is a checkpoint at that time to make sure it was done correctly. Anaphase Anaphase is the stage in which the physical splitting occurs. In mitotic anaphase and anaphase II, the sister chromatids are pulled apart and moved to opposite sides of the cell by the retraction and shortening of the spindle. Since the spindles attached at the centromere on both sides of the same chromosome during metaphase, it essentially rips apart the chromosome into two individual chromatids. Mitotic anaphase pulls apart the identical sister chromatids, so identical genetics will be in each cell. In anaphase I, the sister chromatids are most likely not identical copies since they probably underwent crossing over during prophase I. In anaphase I, the sister chromatids stay together, but the homologous pairs of chromosomes are pulled apart and taken to opposite sides of the cell. Telophase The final stage is called telophase. In mitotic telophase and telophase II, most of what was done during prophase will be undone. The spindle begins to break down and disappear, a nuclear envelope begins to reappear, chromosomes start to unravel, and the cell prepares to split during cytokinesis. At this point, mitotic telophase will go into cytokinesis that will create two identical diploid cells. Telophase II has already gone one division at the end of meiosis I, so it will go into cytokinesis to make a total of four haploid cells. Telophase I may or may not see these same sorts of things happening, depending on the cell type. The spindle will break down, but the nuclear envelope may not reappear and the chromosomes may stay tightly wound. Also, some cells will go straight into prophase II instead of splitting into two cells during a round of cytokinesis. Mitosis and Meiosis in Evolution Most of the time, mutations in the DNA of somatic cells that undergo mitosis will not be passed down to the offspring and therefore are not applicable to natural selection and do not contribute to the evolution of the species. However, mistakes in meiosis and the random mixing of genes and chromosomes throughout the process contribute to genetic diversity and drive evolution. Crossing over creates a new combination of genes that may code for a favorable adaptation. The independent assortment of chromosomes during metaphase I also leads to genetic diversity. It is random how homologous chromosome pairs line up during that stage, so the mixing and matching of traits have many choices and contribute to the diversity. Finally, random fertilization also can increase genetic diversity. Since there are ideally four genetically different gametes at the end of meiosis II, which one is actually used during fertilization is random. As the available traits are mixed up and passed down, natural selection works on those and chooses the most favorable adaptations as the preferred phenotypes of individuals.