Monday, May 25, 2020

Battle of Churubusco - Mexican-American War - Winfield Scott

Battle of Churubusco - Conflict Date: The Battle of Churubusco was fought August 20, 1847, during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Armies Commanders United States Major General Winfield ScottMajor General William J. Worth8,497 Mexico General Manuel RinconGeneral Pedro Anaya3,800 Battle of Churubusco - Background: With the beginning of the Mexican-American War in May 1946, Brigadier General Zachary Taylor won quick victories in Texas at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Pausing to reinforce, he later invaded northern Mexico and captured the city of Monterrey. Though pleased with Taylors success, President James K. Polk was increasingly concerned about the generals political aspirations. As a result of this, and reports that an advance on Mexico City from Monterrey would be difficult, he began stripping Taylors army of men to form a new command for Major General Winfield Scott. This new army was tasked with capturing the port of Veracruz before moving inland against the Mexican capital. Polks approach nearly brought disaster when a badly outnumbered Taylor was attacked at Buena Vista in February 1847. In desperate fighting, he was able to hold off the Mexicans. Landing at Veracruz in March 1847, Scott captured the city after a twenty-day siege. Concerned about yellow fever along the coast, he quickly began marching inland and was soon confronted by a Mexican army led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Attacking the Mexicans at Cerro Gordo on April 18, he routed the enemy before advancing to capture Puebla. Resuming the campaign in early August, Scott elected to approach Mexico City from the south rather than force the enemy defenses at El Peà ±Ãƒ ³n. Rounding Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco his men arrived at San Augustin on August 18. Having anticipated an American advance from the east, Santa Anna began redeploying his army to the south and assumed a line along the Churubusco River (Map). Battle of Churubusco - Situation Before Contreras: To defend the southern approaches to the city, Santa Anna deployed troops under General Francisco Perez at Coyoacan with forces led by General Nicholas Bravo to the east at Churubusco. In the west, the Mexican right was held General Gabriel Valencias Army of the North at San Angel. Having established his new position, Santa Anna was separated from the Americans by a vast lava field known as the Pedregal. On August 18 Scott directed Major General William J. Worth to take his division along the direct road to Mexico City. Marching along the east edge of the Pedregal, the division and accompanying dragoons came under heavy fire at San Antonio, just south of Churubusco. Unable to flank the enemy due to the Pedregal to the west and water to the east, Worth elected to halt. In the west, Valencia, a political rival of Santa Anna, elected to advance his men five miles south to a position near the villages of Contreras and Padierna. Seeking to break the deadlock, Scott sent one of his engineers, Major Robert E. Lee, to find a path through the Pedregal to the west. Successful, Lee began leading American troops from Major Generals David Twiggs and Gideon Pillows divisions across the rough terrain on August 19. In the course of this movement, an artillery duel commenced with Valencia. As this continued, American troops moved unnoticed to the north and west and took positions around San Geronimo before nightfall. Battle of Churubusco - The Mexican Withdrawal: Attacking around dawn, American forces shattered Valencias command at the Battle of Contreras. Realizing that the triumph had unhinged the Mexican defenses in the area, Scott issued a series of orders following Valencias defeat. Among these were orders which countermanded earlier directives for Worths and Major General John Quitmans divisions to move west. Instead, these were ordered north towards San Antonio. Sending troops west into the Pedregal, Worth quickly outflanked the Mexican position and sent them reeling north. With his position south of the Churubusco River collapsing, Santa Anna made the decision to begin pulling back towards Mexico City. To do so, it was critical that his forces hold the bridge at Churubusco. Command of the Mexican forces at Churubusco fell to General Manuel Rincon who directed his troops to occupy fortifications near the bridge as well as the San Mateo Convent to the southwest. Among the defenders were members of the San Patricio Battalion which consisted of Irish deserters from the American army. With the two wings of his army converging on Churubusco, Scott immediately ordered Worth and Pillow to attack the bridge while Twiggs division assaulted the convent. In an uncharacteristic move, Scott had not scouted either of these positions and was unaware of their strength. While these attacks moved forward, the brigades of Brigadier Generals James Shields and Franklin Pierce were to move north over the bridge at Coyoacan before turning east for Portales. Had Scott reconnoitered Churubusco, he most likely would have sent the bulk of his men along Shields route. Battle of Churubusco - A Bloody Victory: Moving forward, the initial assaults against the bridge failed as Mexican forces held. They were aided by the timely arrival of militia reinforcements. Renewing the assault, the brigades of Brigadier Generals Newman S. Clarke and George Cadwalader finally carried the position after a determined attack. To the north, Shields successfully crossed the river before meeting a superior Mexican force at Portales. Under pressure, he was reinforced by the Mounted Rifles and a company of dragoons which were stripped from Twiggs division. With the bridge taken, American forces were able to reduce the convent. Charging forward, Captain Edmund B. Alexander led the 3rd Infantry in storming its walls. The convent quickly fell and many of the surviving San Patricios were captured. At Portales, Shields began to gain the upper hand and the enemy began to retreat as Worths division was seen advancing from bridge to the south. Battle of Churubusco - Aftermath: Uniting, the Americans mounted an ineffective pursuit of the Mexicans as they fled towards Mexico city. Their efforts were hampered by the narrow causeways which traversed swampy terrain. The fighting at Churubusco cost Scott 139 killed, 865 wounded, and 40 missing. Mexican losses numbered 263 killed, 460 wounded, 1,261 captured, and 20 missing. A disastrous day for Santa Anna, August 20 saw his forces defeated at Contreras and Churubusco and his entire defensive line south of the city shattered. In an effort to buy time to reorganize, Santa Anna requested short truce which Scott granted. It was Scotts hope that peace could be negotiated without his army having to storm the city. This truce quickly failed and Scott resumed operations in early September. These saw him win a costly victory at Molino del Rey before successfully taking Mexico City on September 13 after the Battle of Chapultepec. Selected Sources PBS: Battle of ChurubuscoSon of the South: Battle of ChurubuscoAztec Club: Battle of Churubusco - Map

Friday, May 15, 2020

Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde - 1332 Words

In the novel The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Wilde quotes, â€Å"I hope [he] has not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.† Wilde’s quote is indirectly connected to the idea of moral ambiguity that The Scarlet Letter portrays. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter depicts the actuality of romance, sin, and revenge rooted in the 17th century American society. Strong Puritan beliefs of the characters in The Scarlet Letter created many different forms of moral ambiguity that can be described as illustrating both good and evil. Among the characters in the Scarlet letter with such moral struggle, Dimmesdale is presented to the readers as an outwardly honorable man who is constantly clashing his desires to be honorable and his other evil ambitions. Hawthorne is able to use Dimmesdale s moral ambiguity in The Scarlet Letter to demonstrate human frailty, ultimately sugges ting that hypocrisy results indescribable guilt causing failure to reach salvation. Dimmesdale’s moral ambiguity can be seen from the beginning of the novel. He is a highly renowned minister in The Scarlet Letter who is known to be an honorable man to the public but is privately corrupted. Dimmesdale s worst sin begins at the beginning of the novel during Hester’s trial. At the trial, Dimmesdale tells Hester â€Å"to speak out the name of [her] fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer! Be not silent from any mistaken pity andShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde707 Words   |  3 PagesWebsters dictionary defines earnest as â€Å"characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind. Which can be considered a pun since thought this play we see the characters being more apathetic. The Importance of Being Earnest is the story of Jack Worthing is the main character and the protagonist of this play. He is a well of business man who lives in the country and is very well respected there. But Jack has a secret he lives another in the city of London where he claims to goRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1750 Words   |  7 PagesSymbols in The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde takes place in 1895 and exposes the hypocritical social expectations of the end of the Victorian era. During the Victorian period, marriage was about protecting your resources and keeping socially unacceptable impulses under control. The play undeniable reveals and focuses satire around differences between the behaviors of the upper class and that of the lower class. Oscar Wilde uses comedic symbolism ofRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde975 Words   |  4 PagesThe Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by Oscar Wilde about a man named Jack who lies about his identity and ends up creating huge confusion about who he really is. The biggest notion that appears throughout the play is about character. There are many instances where the characters of the play lie about their identities and pretend to be people they are not. Oscar Wilde does this throughout the play in order to explain how one’s ide ntity can be made up. One is not born with an identity;Read MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde913 Words   |  4 Pagesuntil they feel insulted, mostly due to the fact that humans don’t acknowledge their lifestyle flaws until others make them known. This concept has come to be the brick and mortar of the wry play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The significance of the notion of being earnest is contradicted in the play, through Wilde’s clever use of words, characters digression of societal normalcy, and triviality of Victorian concepts. Cynical character Algernon asserts that women of Victorian societyRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde773 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play by Oscar Wilde â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest†, Wilde takes a comedic stance on a melodrama, portraying the duplicity of Victorian traditions and social values as the modernism of the twentieth century begins to emerge. The idea of the play revolves around its title of the characters discovering the importance of being earnest to their individual preferences. The author uses the traditional efforts of finding a marriage partner to illustrate the conflicting pressure of Victorian valuesRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1293 Words   |  6 Pagesyourself, many of which was not the must enjoyabl e of ways and lacked some fun that many need in their life. This forced many to split their Public life from the Private one. Written in the Victorian Era, the works of The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson ,and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley displays how the characters need to keep be kept their Private lives separate from their Public lives in order to fit into their strict Victorian societyRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1318 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Status in Persuasion and The Importance of Being Earnest Social status refers to a person s position or importance within a society. I have done some research and have acquired information over the way social status is addressed in both the writings of Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. In the novel Persuasion we can see how the characters go beyond their means to uphold their title and social value. In the play The Importance of Being Earnest we can see how the social rank and wealth of a personRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1364 Words   |  6 PagesIn order to fully understand the meaning of â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† and its importance in its time, one must look at Oscar Wilde’s background in relation to the Victorian time period. Biography.com states that Wilde had a very social life, growing up among influential Victorians and intellectuals of the time. As he grew older and became a successful writer, he began engaging in homosexual affairs which was a crime during the 19th century. He e ventually started a relationship with AlfredRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1382 Words   |  6 Pagesappeared to be strict. The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, a nineteenth century author who was one of the most acclaimed playwrights of his day, is a play set in the Victorian time period that demonstrates how trivial telling the truth was. Different characters throughout Wilde’s play establish their dishonestly through hiding who they really are and pretending to be someone whom they are not. In an essay titled â€Å"From ‘Oscar Wilde’s Game of Being Earnest,’† Tirthankar Bose describes the charactersRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1243 Words   |  5 Pagesexuberant nonconformist and controversial playwright, eminent author Oscar Wilde produced critically acclaimed literary works that defined the essence of late Victorian England. Posthumously recognized for his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and satiric comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde initially acquired criticism for his immoral and unconventional style of writing. Additionally, to his dismay, strife followed Wilde in his personal life as he was notoriously tried and incarcerated

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Fossil Fuels Vs. Solar Energy - 1972 Words

Fossil fuels have depleted greatly over the last ten years causing many to wonder what the next renewable source will be to use if fossil fuels run out. A renewable source comes from natural resources which are naturally replenished and have the ability to reproduce through biological and natural process. One of those options widely discussed is solar energy, it’s power is obtained by harnessing the energy of the sun s rays and converts light energy to generate electricity through photovoltaic or solar cells. Solar has no environmental effects and is ecologically acceptable. Solar energy is one of the few alternative renewable resources that doesn’t pollute the earth but also isn’t 100% risk free. The amount of sunlight that hits the earth in 1 minute meets the world’s energy demands for an entire year. That’s an impressive feat that even regular fossil fuels can’t compete with. Solar Energy has been around for over the past 50 years but it h as been talked about longer than that, according to Je Solar, in 1447 Leonardo Da Vinci himself predicted that there would be a solar industrialization. It doesn’t just work on sunny days too as many believe as research shows even on a cloudy day or at night. It can also be used for many other technological advancements that can help power the entire world. Solar energy also saves money and is very effective to everyday life. Solar energy can be used for many every day tools such as heating, cooking, cleaning and just regularShow MoreRelatedU.s. Should Replace Fossil Fuel With Renewable Energy994 Words   |  4 PagesProfessor Melissa Tran English 061 26754 14 November 2016 Renewable Energy The U.S. should replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. There are many reasons that the U.S. can use renewable energy to improve the economy. First of all, renewable energy can have a more stable price. Unlike fossil fuel, renewable energy is a continual source of energy that will not be as demanded, and will not cause inflation. Next, using renewable energy is a key to having a clean and green environment. It will not causeRead MoreEssay about The Rising Cost of Fossil Fuels1576 Words   |  7 Pagesuse of burning fossil fuels. Americans are also looking for new ways to save move. Over the past 30 years, rising cost of fuel as forced many people to reconsider current and future financial plans. What type of vehicle to drive, possible carpooling plans, even acceptance of new jobs based on the logistics of their current home and as well as the finding of a new home based on current employment. With these factors in mind, Americans are now looking for alternatives to fossil fuels to save both theRead MoreRenewable Energy : An Essential Function Of Protecting Humans1454 Words   |  6 Pagesday fossil fuels are heavily emitting greenhouse gases leading to the destruction of the ozone layer and limiting the ozone’s ability to perform an essential function of protecting humans from deadly UV rays. Many ideas for solutions are being researched to help prevent these emissions, but the most promising solution is going green and eliminating fossil fuels. Although conventional energy such as coal, gas, and crude oil are the most popular energy sources, renewable energy including solar, windRead MoreNuclear Fusion And Nuclear Energy Essay1638 Words   |  7 Pages ¬Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom. Atoms are tiny particles that make up every object in the universe. There is enormous energy in the bonds that hold atoms together. 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History of a Solar Cell It was in 1839 when the photovoltaic effect was first discoveredRead MoreRenewable Energy: Is It the Solution?1571 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Renewable energy is considered a revolutionary thing, something that can save us from peak oil and climate change, but is it really what it seems? Renewable energy can help ease our predicament. There are multiple ways to achieve this, including the use of newer, greener technologies such as wind, solar power, and biomass. The purpose of this paper is to educate, theorize, and discuss various aspects of renewable energy, such as its history, development, and the advantages and disadvantagesRead MoreNuclear Power Is The Most Viable Replacement For Fossil Fuel1590 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish 7 March 2016 Nuclear Power is the most Viable Replacement for Fossil Fuel The use of fossil fuels as a primary source of power is poisoning our world, and nuclear power is just the way to stop this. Nuclear power is using the process of nuclear fission to create electricity. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a uranium atom to release massive amounts of energy. When this process takes place in a nuclear reactor, the energy is used to superheat water which is pumped through pipes also submergedRead MoreImpact Of Climate Change Policy On Employment Essay1313 Words   |  6 Pagesthe global warming. In 2013, 81.2% of the energy consumption in the world are produced by fossil fuel (International Energy Agency). Could you imagine how much greenhouse gases are produced? Ever since 1980s, scientist has found that the emission of the greenhouse gases is the major factor contributes to the global warming, which intensify the climate change that the human civilization may collapse one day. 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Energy consumption is a topic that will impact the world. Greenhouse gasses are gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere, in turn, releasing carbon dioxide. This essay will discuss the common fuel sources, emissions, and total energy consumption by the United States and Brazil

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Cloning Morality Essay Example For Students

Cloning Morality Essay Currently with technology advancing rapidly in every aspect of life, is it possible that humans can recreate themselves. This big ethical and moral question is on the minds of almost every person in the world. Should we as a human race make duplicates of ourselves? There are several things to look at and to consider when making decisions based on God like proportions. There are health risks from mutation of genes. An abnormal baby would be a nightmare come true. The emotional risks could have a deep impact. For instance, the child grows up knowing her mother is her sister, her grandmother is her mother. Every time her mother looks at her, she is seeing herself growing up. There would be unbearable emotional pressures on a teenager trying to establish his or her own identity. What happens to a marriage when the father sees his wifes clone grow up into the exact replica (by appearance) of the beautiful 18 year old he fell in love with 35 years ago? A sexual relationship would of course be with his wifes twin, no incest involved technically. There are always the risks of abuse of technology. With a God like technology like cloning, the risks could be less as risky as why someone would want a clone of someone else or of themselves. Reasons why people want human cloning may be rational or irrational. That is not the point. The fact is that a recent US survey conducted by CNN found that 6% of US citizens think human cloning could be quite a good idea. Just a few of the reasons people may want to clone could include bizarre ideas. A person may want to recover someone who was lost as a twin or just a reminder. Someone else may have infertility issues and rather than use donated sperm and eggs, why not use a cell of one’s own self to give birth to yourself, one’s own twin? Other reasons would include: Eugenics an attempt to improve the human race, Megalomania a desire to reproduce ones own qualities, Assisting medical research, Spare parts using a cell from one’s own body to duplicate one’s self. Take tissue like bone marrow, and then offer baby for adoption. Then the biggest reason for human cloning may just simply be out of plain old curiosity. Human cloning has always caught the public imagination. Humans now have the technology to take a few cells from a modern day Einstein, or a musical genius or a child prodigy and to create hundreds of cloned babies, which have exactly the same genes. Of course, as identical twins, clones will have individual differences, separate identities separate souls. However, studies of twins raised apart show remarkable similarities. There is more in our genes than we often realize. Just think how attractive that could be to some dictator who fancies the idea of watching him or herself growing up, or dreams of populating the world with a new race of genetically superior people. Humans will almost certainly be able to clone the dead too, from cells taken from their bodies before they die and kept alive in culture. This is a standard technique. In this way, parents could reproduce a carbon copy of a child who tragically died. For years, many scientists have been telling us that human cloning was impossible, and would never be possible. How wrong they all were. It is absurd for geneticists and embryologists to mock and stifle debate by dismissing vital issues as science fiction.† As we have seen recently, yesterdays science fiction is todays reality when it comes to genes. We can hardly keep pace with the lightning advances being made. So let us all ask, is this a morally right thing to do, to make clones of one’s self to alter the course of mankind. Are we Gods?Ethics and Morals