Free Essays on Political Opinion Shaping Military Action

â€Å"A Century of War: How Public Opinion Has Shaped American Military Actions in the 20th Century† Clifton W. Lemoine II  The 20th century marked a significant turning point in world affairs. Significant changes in culture, technology, and diplomacy highlight this century. Great triumphs of human ingenuity such as the first manned aircraft and the Model T gave way to some of the worst tragedies the world has ever seen. These tragedies, in the form of two world wars and several smaller conflicts, gave rise to the United States’ stance as the world’s premier superpower. The United States could not have played such a vital role in these conflicts without support from its people. As technology and education has grown and advanced, so has public opinion in the United States. Public opinion in the 20th Century has been crucial to U.S. military involvement in all of its military conflicts. At the turn of the 20th Century, America had a strong stance of isolationism in world affairs. Americans were hesitant and even unwilling to get involved with the affairs of European countries. This isolationism caused America to announce its neutrality as the first shots were fired in World War I. As one delves further into the cause for isolationism, it becomes clear that the war held different meanings for different interest and ethnic groups. Many Irish and Eastern European immigrants had grievances against some of the allied powers and were unwilling to sacrifice lives for such an unworthy cause. Interests groups such as the Progressives, suffragettes, and prohibitionists were interested only in their causes, seeing the war as nothing more, if anything, than a way to promote their own agendas. This sense of seclusion from the rest of the world was compounded by President Woodrow Wilson’s anti-interventionist policy of strict neutrality. As the war went on, American sentiment changed as news was relayed of events abroad. T... Free Essays on Political Opinion Shaping Military Action Free Essays on Political Opinion Shaping Military Action â€Å"A Century of War: How Public Opinion Has Shaped American Military Actions in the 20th Century† Clifton W. Lemoine II  The 20th century marked a significant turning point in world affairs. Significant changes in culture, technology, and diplomacy highlight this century. Great triumphs of human ingenuity such as the first manned aircraft and the Model T gave way to some of the worst tragedies the world has ever seen. These tragedies, in the form of two world wars and several smaller conflicts, gave rise to the United States’ stance as the world’s premier superpower. The United States could not have played such a vital role in these conflicts without support from its people. As technology and education has grown and advanced, so has public opinion in the United States. Public opinion in the 20th Century has been crucial to U.S. military involvement in all of its military conflicts. At the turn of the 20th Century, America had a strong stance of isolationism in world affairs. Americans were hesitant and even unwilling to get involved with the affairs of European countries. This isolationism caused America to announce its neutrality as the first shots were fired in World War I. As one delves further into the cause for isolationism, it becomes clear that the war held different meanings for different interest and ethnic groups. Many Irish and Eastern European immigrants had grievances against some of the allied powers and were unwilling to sacrifice lives for such an unworthy cause. Interests groups such as the Progressives, suffragettes, and prohibitionists were interested only in their causes, seeing the war as nothing more, if anything, than a way to promote their own agendas. This sense of seclusion from the rest of the world was compounded by President Woodrow Wilson’s anti-interventionist policy of strict neutrality. As the war went on, American sentiment changed as news was relayed of events abroad. T...

The End of the Commonwealth essays

The End of the Commonwealth essays The Commonwealth was a very different period for England. It was a new form of government, which had never been tried before. Prior to this period England had only been ruled by monarchs, who were thought to be given power through divine right. The leader of the Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell, didnt get his power through divine right, but more through military power. The Commonwealth lasted from 1649-1660, ending because of Olivers death and the lack of his son Richards ability to follow in the footsteps of his father. In order to understand why the Commonwealth ended after Cromwells death, one must first understand its leader and how the Commonwealth started. Oliver Cromwell was born into a common family of English country Puritans. He had no particular advantages that would prepare him for leading a country. Yet he had a God given ability to earn the loyalty and respect of the people around him. Cromwell's early years were ordinary, but at the age of twenty-seven he had this sense of his divine destiny that God had in store for him. He was a quiet, simple, serious-minded man, who spoke very little. But when he did speak, people listened and did not question. As a justice of the peace, his exploits lead him to be noticed by Puritan locals who in turn sent him to Parliament as their representative. There he attracted attention with his blunt, forcible speech as a member of the Independent Party which was made up of Puritans (DAV 145). The English people wanted the establishment of a democratic parliamentary system of civil government and the elimination of the divine right of kings. King Charles I, the tyrant who had long persecuted the English Puritans by having their ears cut off and their noses slit for going against his attempts to force their churches to episcopacy, finally collided with Parliament over a long ordeal with new and revolutionary ideas. The Puritans, or "Roundheads" as they were...