Reconstruction and Race Relations Paper Research

Reconstruction and Race Relations - Research Paper Example Another law was also passed which is the Disenfranchisement Law that deprived Afro Americans of their right to vote. The passage of the segregation law and disenfranchisement law meant the white and the black cannot be together on public places and public transportation. These oppressive laws were then implemented in various states and municipality mandating the segregation of the blacks and the whites not only on public transportation but also in other aspects of public life that include, schools, hospitals, parks, movie houses, hotels and even restrooms. The Disfranchisement Law as the name implies, remove the right of the Negro to exercise his civil liberty to vote by despite the guarantee of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. This was evident with the exclusion of the blacks from the list of those who can vote in 1870 and made it more difficult for blacks to vote (if they can) by passing the poll tax law. Ridiculous as it may sound but a literacy requirement was also enacte d in 1890 that if a black person is allowed to vote, he or she must satisfy the â€Å"understanding clause† that they understood the constitution before the state registrar. Naturally, the determination of the black person’s fitness to vote became arbitrary that deprived many of them of their right to vote. Voting restrictions were also imposed to make it difficult for black people by stating deadlines of poll tax payment and voter registration unannounced. All of these were designed to make it difficult, if not impossible for a black person to vote. The Reconstruction and beyond The end of the civil war marked the reconstruction period in the South. There are many accounts and interpretation why the Reconstruction became a splendid failure but it converged on the idea that it did not achieve what it intended to achieve. One its failure was failure was the attempt to provide some civil rights such as the right to vote for African Americans (Fitzgerald, 2008). This was evident in the Dred Scott decision which the Supreme Court ruled that blacks â€Å"had no rights which a white man was bound to respect; and that the Negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit† (Freerepublic.com). In 1876 however, a change in political tide was seen when the Republicans gained control in Congress. From the repressive regime of the Democrats, the Republicans passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution where several civil rights bills were introduced which will give every Americans equal protection before the law (Cornell University Law School, nd). One of the laws that were also passed was the granting of the right to vote among African Americans. In effect, this would have also given the African Americans some civil rights and the benefit of equal protection before the law except that it was blocked in every way of its application. One particular right, of the four civil rights that was passed in Congress that was circumvented in its application was the protection of right to vote as expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment. The Democrats device several political implements to block the application of the African American right to vote which included imposition of poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses and Gerrymandering. The imposition of

Materials in Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Materials in Engineering - Essay Example Practicing engineers have to understand the specific characteristics of these materials in order to make the most appropriate selection for the job on hand. Engineering materials are of many types – metals (ferrous and non-ferrous), plastics, polymers, ceramics, glass, cement etc. The most extensively used materials for engineering are of course metals followed by cement, plastics and ceramics. Different engineering disciplines like mechanical, civil, electrical, space engineering, electronics etc. have to use these materials for building their intended products. Such products operate or exist in a vast variety of situations, and it is this variety that determines which materials are to be used where. The selection of materials poses a problem, given the different situations and the vast array of available materials. To confront this problem and make the most appropriate selection, design engineers have to match the application needs to the characteristics of the materials. A defined set of load conditions may demand completely different materials depending upon the application of the item – e.g., in surface transport vehicles, ocean going liners or in space crafts. Design engineers select materials, depending upon their properties and suitability for the intended purpose. This is because, while the stresses and strains may be similar, the behavior of the material in the different situations can be completely different. A normal structural steel (like St 42W) may be quite suitable for a railroad car in Latin America, but is unsuitable in cold regions like Russia, where it may be subject to temperature variations of +35 to -35 deg. Celsius. A ferritic stainless steel may be unsuitable in space engineering while the same may be quite adequate for kitchen utensils. Or to cite another example, electronic components used in TV sets are specifically tropicalized for suitability of operation in hot countries. Thus, it is essential to understand the vast variety of