The Wade-Davis Bill and Reconstruction

At the end of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln wanted to bring the Confederate states back into the Union as amicably as possible. In fact, he did not even officially recognize them as having seceded from the Union. According to his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, any Confederate would be pardoned if they swore allegiance to the Constitution and the union except for high-ranking civil and military leaders or those who committed war crimes. In addition, after 10 percent of voters in a Confederate state took the oath and agreed to abolish slavery, the state could elect new congressional representatives and they would be recognized as legitimate. Wade-Davis Bill Opposes Lincolns Plan The Wade-Davis Bill was the Radical Republicans answer to Lincolns Reconstruction plan. It was written by Senator Benjamin Wade and Representative Henry Winter Davis. They felt that Lincolns plan was not strict enough against those who seceded from the Union. In fact, the intention of the Wade-Davis Bill was more to punish than to bring the states back into the fold.   The key provisions of the Wade-Davis Bill were the following:   Lincoln would be required to appoint a provisional governor for each state. This governor would be responsible for implementing measures set out by Congress to reconstruct and state government.  Fifty-percent of the states voters would be required to swear loyalty to the Constitution and the Union before they could even begin creating a new Constitution through the state Constitutional Convention. Only then would they be able to begin the process to be officially be readmitted to the Union.  While Lincoln believed that only the military and civilian officials of the Confederacy should not be pardoned, the Wade-Davis Bill stated that not only those officials but also anyone who has voluntarily borne arms against the United States should be denied the right to vote in any election.  Slavery would be abolished and methods would be created to protect the liberty of freedmen.   Lincolns Pocket Veto The Wade-Davis Bill easily passed both houses of Congress in 1864. It was sent to Lincoln for his signature on July 4, 1864. He chose to use a pocket veto with the bill. In effect, the Constitution gives the president 10 days to review a measure passed by Congress. If they have not signed the bill after this time, it becomes law without his signature. However, if Congress adjourns during the 10-day period, the bill does not become law. Because of the fact that Congress had adjourned, Lincolns pocket veto effectively killed the bill. This infuriated Congress. For his part, President Lincoln stated that he would allow the Southern states to pick which plan they wanted to use as they rejoined the Union. Obviously, his plan was much more forgiving and widely supported.  Both Senator Davis and Representative Wade issued a statement in the New York Tribune in August 1864 that accused Lincoln of attempting to secure his future by ensuring that southern voters and electors would support him. In addition, they stated that his use of the pocket veto was akin to take away the power that should rightfully belong to Congress. This letter is now known as the Wade-Davis Manifesto.   Radical Republicans Win in the End Sadly, despite Lincolns victory, he would not live long enough to see Reconstruction proceed in the Southern states. Andrew Johnson would take over after Lincolns assassination. He felt that the South needed to be punished more than Lincolns plan would allow. He appointed provisional governors and offered amnesty to those who took an oath of allegiance. He stated that states had to abolish slavery and acknowledge seceding was wrong. However, many Southern States ignored his requests. The Radical Republicans were finally able to get traction and passed a number of amendments and laws to protect the newly freed slaves and force the Southern states to comply with necessary changes.

The Culture of Food in America Essay - 2672 Words

The Culture of Food in America ANT 101 Abstract Food is an essential part of any culture and it serves to show the diversity and unique aspects of different cultural beliefs. In the United States, there are people from diverse cultural groups and many different cultures. These groups possess unique culinary cultures, which add to diversity. This paper explores the different cultural groups present in the United States and their traditional foods. These cultures enable us to understand the concept of cultural diversity. The paper also explores divergence towards the â€Å"fast food† culture and its effects of the health of Americans. Two journal articles are used to further†¦show more content†¦Different cultures of Hispanic origin consume different types of beans with Southern Mexicans, Cubans, Venezuelans, and Central Americans using black beans while Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Northern Mexicans use pinta beans or pinto. Hispanic Caribbean, Central, and South Americans prefer red kidney beans, whil e Brazilians and Venezuelans use garbanzo or chickpeas (Devine et. al., 2002). Native Americans Native Americans consume traditional American dishes such as crab cakes, beef barbecue, pizza, and slow cooked pork. However, these diets emerged after being introduced by Europeans (Wellman Friedberg, 2002). Before they came into contact with Europeans, they ate Indian corn, squash, pumpkins, wild rice, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, papayas, avocadoes, and peanuts (Wellman Friedberg, 2002). General Eating Habits of the American Population Although the American population has different culinary tastes, there is a convergence towards the culture of fast foods at present in the U.S. Many Americans have adopted an eating culture that involves consumption of fast foods in large quantities. This has been seen as the American dietary culture and has been embraced by most cultural groups. For instance, $6 billion was spent on fast foods in 1970, but this figure increased to $110 billion by 2000 (Wellman Friedberg, 2002). Most of these fast foods are junk foods and they include pizza, french fries, candy, hamburgers, hot dogs andShow MoreRelatedFood Culture Between Vietnam and America729 Words   |  3 PagesFinal Draft Food Culture in Vietnam and America When we discuss about the differences between Vietnamese and America culture, we can think of many things such as History, Style of Music, Arts, Religion, Language, etc. And, I will tell you some differences and similarities in eating culture of the two countries. Even though they both have things in common such as family’s dinner, tea and coffee for morning, three meals a day or small snacks between main meals. 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The dominant culture in America has been increasing and influe ncing other cultures ever sinceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Omnivore s Dilemma Calls The American National Eating Disorder1301 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican food culture is not like other countries in the world; the diversity in foods and ethnicity creates its uniqueness. However, Americans mindset of â€Å"what should we have for dinner† and the poor decision making about food choices created the â€Å"omnivore’s dilemma† or what Pollan, in The Omnivore’s Dilemma calls the American national eating disorder. Pollan explored more about the food that Americans consume in â€Å"an investigation of food called the industrial food chain†(Pollan, Omnivore 110).Read MoreAmeric A Unique Combination Of Many Cultures Essay1671 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica is a unique combination of many cultures. We are a very diverse nation and we represent many different countries throughout our culture. 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After that, they get a lot of different information about their culture and people can communication with different people. I interested to know about American life because when I was young, I watched movies about this culture and community, so I saw how they life is. Because that I want to know if it trueRead MoreAmericanization of Foods: Food is traditionally considered as a simple means of subsistence but1400 Words   |  6 PagesAmericanization of Foods: Food is traditionally considered as a simple means of subsistence but has developed to become filled with cultural, psychological, religious, and emotional significance. Consequently, food is currently used as a means of defining shared identities and symbolizes religious and group customs. In the early 17th and 18th centuries, this mere means of subsistence was considered as a class maker but developed to become a symbol of national identity in the 19th centuries. In

Business Macroeconomics Neoclassical Theory

Question: Describe about the Business Macroeconomics for Neoclassical Theory. Answer: Introduction The paper intends to discuss the limitations and strengths of neoclassical theory on the one hand and assesses the managerial theories contribution to the firms behavior and performance understanding on the other hand. The paper comprise two parts with the first part delving into a deeper understanding of how neoclassical theory of the firm has helped economist understand how it enhances the behavior of the firm. Both limitation and strengths of the neoclassical theory are discussed and a decision is made on how such a theory is helpful in comprehending the behavior and the firm and its performance. In the second part, a detailed discussion is provided that illustrates a deeper assessment of the contribution of the managerial theories in understanding both performance and behavior of a firm. Part two are gives a detailed explanation of the possible ways that can be employed to test the hypothesis of sales revenue as assumed by Baumol. A: Strengths and Limitation of Neoclassical Theory The neoclassical perspective of the firm remains predominant despite the numerous building blocks put forward by various scholars for a new approach. Neoclassical assumed that a firm enjoys perfect information alongside certainty regarding the outcomes of the environment. It also assumes that a firm suffers no control and adaptability problems (Rosenzweig 2010). The neoclassical theory also believed that a firm maximizes profit and faces no dysfunctional allocation of resources problems. The theory further assumed that the strategies as well as performance of the firm are predictable and that the firm manufactures as well as assembled components that are tangible. It also posit that the firm subsequently sells the outputs produced in the final product market (Mabry and Siders 2013). The neoclassical theorys assumption given for a simple reason as well as manageable treatment of the firm that can be incorporated into neoclassical price theory. However, this was never an effective abst raction of the internal organization of the firm (Knight, Loayza. and Villanueva 2013). Accordingly, the model use by neoclassical theory did not acknowledge the heterogeneity, performance as well a strategic behavior (Ferguson 2008). The neoclassical perspective, however, was effective in addressing the firm as its basic unit as well as predicted the behavior of the firm based on pricing, output as well as allocation of resources decisions as its objective. Even though the theory was successful in these two elements, it terribly failed to take the firm as an explicit emphasis on the real process of making decision in the organization as the firms basic research commitment. Strengths Discussions pertaining to theories of the firm have to begin with the neoclassical theory perspective hence theory is tagged the staple diet of contemporary economists. Despite being formulated a hundred years ago, the neoclassical theory is still pre-dominant in the contemporary textbooks. The theory rationally perceives a firm as a set of feasible plans of production with the manager presiding over this production set as he buys and sells inputs and outputs within a spot market as well as selecting the plan which optimizes the welfare of the owner of the firm (Jensen and Meckling 2012). In neoclassical theory, the profit denotes the welfare and hence in case of uncertain profit so that profit-optimizing is not definite, the anticipated net present value of the upcoming profit or by the market value. The neoclassical theory of the firm is, therefore, the caricature of the contemporary firm even though rigorous it remains rudimentary. The theory has a lasting survival which can be explained using three different reasons. The neoclassical has lent itself to the elegant as well as general formulation of mathematics. It has also remained useful in the analysis of how production choices of the firm respond to the external fluctuations in the environment including for instance, how a rise in a wage and tax sales will be tackled. Neoclassical theory is also useful in the analysis of the implications of strategic interaction between firms operating under the imperfect competition. For instance, the theory is helpful in understanding the connection between the levels of concentration in a given industry as well as the levels of output and price of the industry. Neoclassical theory has some value in understanding the behavior of the firm. The profit satisficing may be surpassed via share deals as well as performance-oriented pay. Accordingly, neoclassical theory remains useful since it indicates how as well as why firm need to ensure that the workers have adequate incentives for maximization of the profit like owners. One could argue that in case a firm is pursuing other objectives, in the back of their minds, profit maximization is alive. For example, a firm can involve in a price war for market share maximization (Sobel 2008). Nevertheless, the reason for such engagement could be that the firm expects that such an increase in market share in the long run would allow higher monopoly power and hence a high profit in the future. The same can be argued of an environmental objective where neoclassical theory hold that there would be a long run profitability resulting from a better corporate image. Limitation The neoclassical theory of the firm has clearly manifested limitations. The theory does not explicate the organization of production within the firm. It also has a limitation since it is silent on how conflicts of interest between the various aspect of the firm such as managers, consumers, owners and workers are engaged or how the profit maximization goal is attained. Neoclassical theory begs the question of determines or defines a particular firm as well as what determines the boundary of the firm (Rumelt 2008). The theory is also silent on the issue of individual size of the firm and extent. In this regard, the neoclassical theory fails to explicate the consequences of two firms agreeing to merge or one firm deciding to split itself into two or multiple smaller entities (Hart 2012). The theory uses the rudimentary approach to describe the functionality or operation of the firm. Surprisingly, neoclassical theory offers little contribution to any meaningful image of the structure of such firms described rudimentarily. The neoclassical hold that firms seek to maximize profits which is not a true assumption. It has been proven that firms always seek for maximization of the size of the firm as well as market share than profit. There is also the problem of a principle agent when it comes to profit satisficing. The owners of the firm can wish for maximization of the profits. However, the worker do not wish for profit maximization. Accordingly, the employees will put concerted effort to keep the owners happy, however, they will pursue other objective like enjoying themselves at work (Grant 2012). Such a problem is called the problem of separation of control and ownership. Other objectives including cultural, environmental as well as social objectives will be pursued by a firm rather than profit maximization. The neoclassical did not acknowledge human as not merely profit maximizers but still consider additional non-financial objectives. B: Assessment of Managerial Theories Contribution to Firms Conduct and Performance Understanding Various managerial theories have helped understand the behavior and performance of the firm. The three known managerial theories include Baumols Model of sales revenue maximization, the Williamsons Theory of Managerial Discretion as well as Marris theory of managerial enterprise. According to Baumol, the maximization of the revenue arising from sales is the primary objective of the firm and the alternative objective to neoclassicals profit maximization. Baumols theory, therefore, contributes to the understanding of firms conduct and performance by holding that managers solely make sure acceptable profit levels but pursues an objective that enhance their individual utility (Baumol et al. 2012). According to Baumol, the hypothesis is rational since there is a distinction between ownership and management in the contemporary world. Managers presently have authority and powers that help them pursue individual goals instead of the owners goals. Accordingly, managers only make sure a minimum acceptable profit levels for shareholders satisfaction but pursue an objective that facilitate individual utility. Baumol hold that managers attempt to pursue sales maximization because incomes of top executives remain closely linked to sales than profits (Hayashi 2010). Managers also do this to impress banks and financial institutions as they perceive the amount of sales as good performance indicators. Managers are motivated to maximize sales since large as well as continuing sales facilitate their prestige thus guaranteeing regular dividends distribution. Baumol assumes that firms will solely try the revenue maximization instead of physical sales volume as decision making of a firm remains restricted to one period. Marris acknowledges the structural separation of management and ownership thus allowing managers to formulate certain goals that need not to conform to owners or shareholders goals. The utility function of managers include market share, capital size, public image, output size and profits. Managers also incorporate other ideas including salaries security of jobs and status and power. Whereas the shareholders wish to maximize their utility, manager always try to maximize individual utility (Ding, Akoorie and Pavlovich 2009). These utilities may not necessarily clash as various variables of both utilities show firm connection with only one variable (size of the firm). The owners are interested in the firms growth and hence push for supply of capital growth assumed to maximize utility of the owners (Diamond 2011). Managers, conversely, advocate firms growth rate and not absolute firms size with a strong belief that demand for commodities growth indicates firms growth. Marris has, therefo re, significantly contributed by incorporating financial policies into the process of making decision by corporate firms (List 2004). The theory suggest that there is a possibility of finding solutions that maximize utility of both owners and managers. It explains why owners are ready to sacrifice certain levels of profit because they prefer rate of growths maximization. Williamsons discretion theory anchors the view that contemporary business firm managers structured as corporate unit maximize individual utility by using discretion. The managers try to make sure of minimum profits to owners to guarantee job security in the form of dividends. The managers view profit a constraint to their discretion. The utility of the manager's anchors variables including job security, prestige, job satisfaction, power, salary as well as professional excellence. Since the only salary is quantifiable, Williamson utilizes such measurable variables as a discretionary investment, staff spending as well as managerial emoluments in the utility function based on the assumption that such variables remain their source of security of the job as well as manifestations of status, professional excellence, power, as well as prestige. Possible Ways of Testing Baumol Sales Revenue Hypothesis Baumol rejects the assumption that the primary objective of leaders of a huge corporation is to maximize profits but rather that the predominating goal is to maximize revenue. Baumol, therefore, holds that increased sales will always be pursued by these leaders even at the expense of reduced profits in both long- and short-run. As reflected in his model, the total sales are perceived as a function of prices and output in the short run as well as advertising in the long-run. Baumol holds that output will be enlarged as prices decline past the maximum profits point in the long-run up to a point in which revenue is maximized with a particular demand curve. He further holds that, in the case of a persistent rise in total revenue, the said changes in prices and output will continue until a point where the constraints of profit are at their minimum ((Alchian, and Demsetz 2012)). For Baumols hypothesis to hold water or show empirical significance then it has to be discovered in the objectiv e behavior of a large firm manifested by a marked tendency to enlarge sales in the absence of the growing profits. Surprisingly, Baumol Model displays a contrary link between profits and sales at various levels of the advertising outlays as depicted in the derived comparative static model by Sandmeyer. Conclusion The paper has presented a detailed discussion of the neoclassical theory of the firm and three managerial theories. It is clear that neoclassical is still dominating as a theory of the firm based on its lasting strengths that have been extensively discussed. However, certain weakness of neoclassical theories was identified and discussed at length. It is clear from the discussion that neoclassical theory is helping in understanding the behavior of the firm. Similarly. Williamson, Baumol as well as Marris Managerial theories have been alongside individual theorys contribution to both conduct and performance of a firm. References Alchian, A.A. and Demsetz, H., 2012. Production, information costs, and economic organization. The American economic review, 62(5), pp.777-795. Baumol, W.J., Panzar, J.C., Willig, R.D., Bailey, E.E., Fischer, D. and Fischer, D., 2012. Contestable markets and the theory of industry structure. Diamond, P.A., 2011. National debt in a neoclassical growth model. The American Economic Review, 55(5), pp.1126-1150. Ding, Q., Akoorie, M.E. and Pavlovich, K., 2009. A critical review of three theoretical approaches on knowledge transfer in cooperative alliances. International Journal of Business and Management, 4(1), p.47. Ferguson, C.E., 2008. The neoclassical theory of production and distribution. Cambridge Books. Grant, R.M., 2012. Toward a knowledge?based theory of the firm. Strategic management journal, 17(S2), pp.109-122. Hart, O., 2012. An Economist's Perspective on the Theory of the Firm. Columbia Law Review, 89(7), pp.1757-1774. Hayashi, F., 2010. Tobin's marginal q and average q: A neoclassical interpretation. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, pp.213-224. Jensen, M.C. and Meckling, W.H., 2012. Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of financial economics, 3(4), pp.305-360. Knight, M., Loayza, N. and Villanueva, D., 2013. Testing the neoclassical theory of economic growth: a panel data approach. Staff papers, 40(3), pp.512-541. List, J.A., 2004. Neoclassical theory versus prospect theory: Evidence from the marketplace. Econometrica, 72(2), pp.615-625. Mabry, B.D. and Siders, D.L., 2013. An Empirical Test of the Sales Maximization Hypothesis. Southern Economic Journal, pp.367-377. Rosenzweig, M.R., 2010. Neoclassical theory and the optimizing peasant: An econometric analysis of market family labor supply in a developing country. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, pp.31-55. Rumelt, R.P., 2008. Towards a strategic theory of the firm. Resources, firms, and strategies: A reader in the resource-based perspective, pp.131-145. Rumelt, R.P., 2007. Towards a strategic theory of the firm. Resources, firms, and strategies: A reader in the resource-based perspective, pp.131-145. Sobel, R.S., 2008. Testing Baumol: Institutional quality and the productivity of entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(6), pp.641-655.

Turtle Essays - Sea Turtles, Reptiles Of The Philippines

Turtle Distinction For many reasons the human race could be called a blessing. Great advanced in technology, medicine and even the fact we are the most sophisticated species on the planet. Are we a gift to planet Earth, or far from it? With cast amounts of pollution and destruction of the planet, not to mention unthinkable acts of violence and hate that has been going on since the beginning of time. Are we really as sophisticated and important as we have led ourselves to believe? Are we any better than any other creature because we are more technologically advanced? Is the human race a blessing? Humans have destroyed and endangered more species on our planet than any other species or group, with our continuous pollution and lack of respect for out own environment. One area of the world affected by our careless habits is our coastlines and the marine habitats that vast amounts of species rely on. These particular areas of the world are being destroyed because humans don't seem to care as long as they make a couple of dollars in the process. Oil spills like the one in the Prince William Sound on the coast of Alaska and Hawaiian sea turtles and their many troubles with humans are just some examples of human carelessness and the consequences that the environment, particularly marine wildlife incur, which often are fatal. I chose this particular subject because I find the ocean and it's unique and rare inhabitants to be interesting. Every coastline has its one unique species and no two areas are the same. I wanted to learn more about how humans are destroying the habitats of these unique creatures. I found that all species are in someway being threatened by human dominance and carelessness. From the common flounder or sea star you can find when you walk across the beach to a rare fish like the coelacanth (prehistoric fish that was believed to be extinct until one was caught off the coat of Madagascar by a local commercial fisherman until in the 1950's). The ocean can be a calm and loving but can easily turn into a vicious killer within seconds. All of these things are what I find so interesting about the ocean. I wanted to find out why people can continue to destroy it even though they know the effect of their actions. I guess some people are ignorant and just don't care if they destroy the things that make our environment so beautiful. One example of our careless destruction of our environment is the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989. The Prince William Sound still shows signs of the oil spill tem years later. Most species have recovered since the spill, but many are still suffering. The Harbor Seal and herring are just two who are vital to the survival of all the species in the area. Herring are the main source of food for many species in the area, including humans. (Mitchell, p.98) "The ecosystem is gradually recovering from the spill," says Molly McCammon, an Executive director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, "but it will never be the same as it was twenty years ago." The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council was founded to oversee the use of nine hundred million dollars to the area by the government after settling with the Exxon Company for one billion dollars in criminal and civil damages. One serious problem in the aftermath of Exxon Valdez is the decline of herring. (The table shows the chave in populations of Prince William Sound before and after the Exxon Valdez spill.) Even more disturbing than the fact herring aren't recovering as well as other species like them is the fact they were on the decline before the accident. This was a major issue because herring are the center of the ecosystem in the Sound. Many biologists now believe that over fishing of the herring has contributed to their decline. The Pacific Herring is just one species of the area, but if you see how important that one species is to the ecosystem of the Alaskan coast than you begin to see how important all species are to their particular habitats. This is just one example, but if you take a species out of its environment, then a chain reaction would occur, hurting the species around it. Another species that biologists are beginning to study wit the money received from the Exxon Valdez settlement is the Alaskan Salmon. The oil spill has