The current financial and economic situation Essay Example for Free

The current financial and economic situation Essay During my analysis of the current financial and economic situation, I uncovered how the effects of the situation are still being revealed. It is imperative to recognize that the situation is complex in nature and that is why we must comprehend how this dire situation came to be. We must also comprehend why we are seeing the consequences unfold, the various impacts of the financial bailout, and lastly how we might fix the situation. My research paper shall discuss in depth the effects of our ‘financial crunch’ on financial markets, such as on banks, credit unions, the stock market, the mortgage industry, and retail sectors. Because these key aspects of our culture have been negatively affected by the credit crunch, the middle class is feeling doubts about their capability to overcome this new harsh financial sphere that now exists. This paper shall carefully examine how the financial crunch has affected these individuals and thus the retail and sales industry. It shall also look at some top financial companies which require the bailout money in order to survive; for instance, Lehman Brothers, Bears Stearns, and AIG. Furthermore, we shall correlate how individuals unwittingly began to rely on credit as a means to obtain more expensive items that might otherwise be outside of their price range. In fact, we shall see that people began living beyond their means due to relying on credit versus cash purchases and this has lead to the financial mess that we are in today (http://www. economist. com/opinion/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11885697). In addition, I shall pin point key aspects of the financial bailout that were proposed to aid individuals in returning to their safe spending habits and thus aiding the financial retail markets. Our government is seeking to rectify the situation via the financial bailout and such governmental driven policies might in fact be essential for the development of new successful businesses and our infrastructure. The paper will need to distinguish if such policies and procedures can positively or adversely impact the financial and credit crunch situation that we find ourselves in. Towards the conclusion of the research paper, I will attempt to suggest how perhaps in hindsight we could have warded off this recession at an earlier time. My suggestions will holistically analyze how vital it is to see the â€Å"big picture† as a long term development and not simply focus on the short-term details of our dilemma. My in-depth analysis includes ‘re-valuing’ the American dollar, holding our politicians responsible for how they are spending or investing our tax dollars, absolutely educating people in how to stop relying on their credit cards for purchases, considering organic produce, and how â€Å"turning green† in the long run will be beneficial for everyone. Look more: problem and solution essay Our failure to tackle the beginning signs of the recession has indeed played a negative role in where our financial perspective lies today. Hopefully, the federal financial bailout that we find ourselves in having to come to terms will can help us learn from this experience and prevent it from occurring once again in the future. For these reasons the bailout became a pressing necessity (http://www. usnews. com/blogs/the-home-front/2008/10/3/5-reasons-the-house-passed-the-bailout-bill. html) What led to Our Current Financial Problems? The bottom line: It was the misuse of our money, risky endeavors of the mortgage and banking industry, and individuals turning to credit for the chance to procure non-essentials without paying upfront. Honestly, the true origins of this financial problem were due to being more careless with other people’s money than we are with our own money. This predicament was entirely supported by credit card companies and the mortgage industry seeking to make an easy buck. These entities were satisfied in granting high credit lines to individuals who they knew via trend and marketing analysis would be unable to pay their bills on time. This led to those corporations receiving millions based upon late fee charges and finance charges. As our public began to depend more and more on credit cards, they found themselves unable to surmount the incredible amount of debt that they had created (Velshi 16-18). Now with this situation, these individuals began to declare bankruptcy because they were unable to pay their bills and wanted the collection agencies to stop badgering them. This act was not something the credit card companies, banking industry, or mortgage companies had the foresight on how to handle. http://www. economist. com/finance/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11 885272 We saw that as prices rose, including oil prices, people were under pressure to meet their basic necessity payments, and began to make minimum payments on their credit debts. The fallout reflected in their credit ratings and scores dropping due to outstanding debts and responsibilities. This financial distress was seen early on by economists who were ignored businesses such as banking giants and mortgage entrepreneurs were busy making bucket loads of money. This was also shown in the economic bubble perspective, that consumer spending was slowing down because they were seeing their home values decreasing. The public had become used to the real estate market booming and decided to refinance their homes to lower their monthly mortgage payments. By doing this, they drew the equity out of their homes at the same time and spent this money in the retail industry. The retail industry saw such actions becoming common place and developed more lines of credit opportunities to compel people to get further and further into debt. The retail industry focused on charging late charges and finance charges to draw money out of people in this vicious cycle. The subprime mortgage industry and banking industries were similarly practicing unethical procedures. They used lax lending standards so they could make the most money as the home valued at higher levels and their return customers spent more to refinance to lower rates. When the introductory interest rates reverted back to the regular interest rates, individuals were faced with the impasse of either making their higher mortgage payments or trying to refinance on a home which they now owned more than it was worth. Such individuals were also weighed down with other debts, such as student loans, car loans, rising oil prices, increased costs in the retail sector, and the increase in the cost of living in 2001, which made it difficult to make timely payments. In the United States, we saw that home sales and prices fell sharply in March of 2007. Americans were also seeing high unemployment and the foreclosures began on homes. Overwhelming debt led to this severe economic situation and the recession that people were seeing. The stimulus and bailout is expected to help people face these problems. (http://money. cnn. com/2009/02/17/news/economy/obama_stimulus_meas_success/index. htm) For people overextended in their vicious debts, they now faced financial pitfalls as they had to select between making payments to debt collection agencies versus providing food for their families (http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/7523234. stm). The Aug 7, 2008 article, â€Å"Home Truths: A housing slump helped cause the credit crisis. But its effect on spending may have been exaggerated† the Economist illustrates that when the housing bubble burst, new homeowners were suddenly faced with the opportunity to purchase homes at much lower prices. This made it more affordable for young Americans to obtain homes at lower prices if they could qualify through the banks. This article shows that for current homeowners and landlords, this difficult economic situation leads to them cutting back on their spending in order to overcome this â€Å"loss of wealth. † (http://www. economist. com/finance/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11885272) As this housing and mortgage bubble has burst it has also cracked the illusion that debt was the answer to obtaining more material items. We arrived at this recession because of lax loaning practices and standards. We can see that the financial sector cared about making money versus the right decisions about who to lend money to or even how much money should be lent. This is why the financial bailout has arrived. Historically we have seen that past causes of a recession can be either external or internal in nature. For instance, internal causes include high interest rates, high taxes, high spending, mistakes by the fed to curtail financial concerns, corporate fraud, and investor reluctance to invest. On an external front, some past causes of a recession include global stock market falls such as in Asia or Europe, wars, and other such financial mayhem in the world. Overall, opinions are often divided as economists tend to disagree about when and if we are in a recession but currently they all agree that our economy is in bad shape and it has been for some time. While they hesitate to say what has toppled our economy and caused stagnation, they are certain that a variety of facts has led to our current financial predicament. Both the internal as well as external causes have resulted in a global domino affect around the globes financial and retail spectrum. The best reference we have for this situation is the Great Depression were economists saw a sharp decline in international trade . During the Great Depression large businesses were unstable and the governement via the New Deal was charged with the task of limiting how much power businesses had and giving more power to labor unions. Regulations were put into place which increased the amount of taxes paid by large corporates which generated revenue for the government and helped the government lower trade tariffs which had caused international markets to sell less. As people decided to save more in the face of those economic hardships they wound up actually saving less because businesses saw retail expenditures drop. They then decided to balance out there budgets they needed to layoff workers. As the article, â€Å"Causes of the Great Depression Political Perspectves on Causes and Cures†, states, â€Å" The increased savings (reduced spending) †¦. contributed to price deflation, perpetuating the Great Depression†¦. Businesses, cut back on investment spending because they were pessimistic about the future†¦. (led to) less investment, fewer jobs, less consumption and even less reason for business to invest. † http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression_-_Political_Perspectves_on_Causes_and_Cures/id/4905687 Role of the Financial Bailout for Lehman Brothers, Bears Stearns, and AIG Lehman Brothers: The nation’s 4th largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers, made poor investment decisions in its real estate holdings. Lehman Brothers, was one of the first investment banks granted the rights to borrow emergency money from Fed as a loan like commercial banks are allowed to. The true issue that arose with Lehman Brothers was that it was a insolvency risk (http://www. moneyweek. com/investments/stock-markets/what-went-wrong-at-lehman-brothers-03809. aspx). They had a large number of loans related to real estate and because such assets depreciated in value with the real estate market bubble burst, the face value of such properties was marked as a financial loss (Muolo 42-43, 143-144). When the company attempted to sell itself to Bank of America and Barclays, they were faced with their potential bidders requesting government support because they didn’t know the true scope of Lehman Brother’s financial losses. The Treasury department refused to grant this support, and both banks walked away from negotiations. After this occurred, Lehman was forced into filing for bankruptcy. (http://cbs5. com/business/lehman. brothers. crisis. 2. 816615. html) http://cbs5. com/national/lehman. brothers. shares. 2. 814040. html http://www. moneyweek. com/investments/stock-markets/what-went-wrong-at-lehman-brothers-03809. aspx Bears Stearns: Unlike Lehman Brothers, Bears Stearns was unable to get banks to lend money to them. As investors lacked confidence that the company could repay the prior loans granted to it, the reputation of this 5th largest investment bank faltered. The final element that led to its demise was that investors believed that the bank would be unable to adhere to the prior complex agreements that it had with the many other financial institutions that it did business with. Because such financial relationships with other banks was precarious and if the bank failed, those relationships could send a ripple effect through the economy the Federal Reserve was forced to agree to support JPMorgan Chase’s decision to purchase Lehman Brothers (http://www. usatoday. com/money/industries/banking/2008-03-17-bear-stearns-bailout_N. htm). The Federal Reserve agreed to â€Å" fund $30 billion of Bear Stearns assets that would be difficult to sell quickly, raising the possibility that taxpayers could be on the hook for part of the bailout†¦. As far as Wall Street securities houses go, Bear Stearns wasnt too big to fail, says Steve East, chief economist for FBR Capital Markets. (FBMC) It was too interconnected to fail. This collapse was the direct result of the bursting housing bubble. Society saw that home prices rose and fewer people could afford to purchase, so lending banks created new types of mortgages to qualify people who would not have qualified otherwise for the traditional 30 year fixed mortgage. These subprime mortgages allowed banks and brokers to charge fees for the closings which gave them substantial profits but no risk once the loans were sold to Wall Street. Investors, such as Bears Stearns, purchased these bulk complex securities packages and remained profitable on the interest generated from these packages. But when the housing market started to crash, borrowers became unable to refinance and select to default on their mortgages. With more defaults piling up, companies like Bears Stears were left with assets which were reflecting as devaluation. AIG The situation with AIG (American International Group) is a precarious one. As of Sept 16, 2008 this globally based company underwent a liquidity crisis due to its credit rating being downgraded; thus, AIG was forced to post collateral promises with its trading counter parties. When the company sold its CDS to meet collateralized debt obligations it endured a sharp decline in their value. The Federal Reserve was then forced to financially prop up the company so it did not collapse; which would have caused financial ruin for the global economy as other companies would have also collapsed. The Fed then created $85 billion in a secured credit facility for AIG, and took over 80% of AIG equity stake (Velshi 18). This bailout was by far the largest U. S. government bailout of a private company, but it was smaller than the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which occurred earlier in Sept 2008. After this occurred, the share prices of AIG fell more than 95% in value to $1. 25 from its prior $70. 13 per share. Investors found that AIG valued the types of securities that it held at Alt-A and its sub-prime mortgage backed securities at 1. 7 to 2 times more than the rates used by Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in U. S. history. The following month on Oct 9, 2008 the company forced to borrow an additional $37. 8 billion as a second secured asset credit facility initialized by the Federal Reserve (http://money. cnn. com/2008/09/17/news/companies/aig_explainer/index. htm? postversion=2008091715). The defaults for the next months were increasing steadily which shows that the company itself was facing a big collapse. Then on Nov 10, 2008 the U. S. Treasury heralded that it would be acquiring $40 billion in newly issued AIG senior preferred stock, under the power of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Acts Troubled Asset Relief Program. Federal officials indicated that its $40 billion investment in AIG would enable the government to decrease the total risk exposure to AIG to $112 billion from $152 billion (http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20090302/ap_on_bi_ge/aig_rescue). During this financial bailout mayhem, the public learned that AIG executives squandered bailout money at an exquisite California resort. This â€Å"vacation† using bailout money cost $444,000 and included spa activities, festivities, and golf retreats. In addition, these executives also used $86,000 on a hunting trip to England; this with the Fed giving them additional loans of $37. 8 billion! They also used $343,000 on trip to Phoenix Arizona for an exotic resort there. So when does this bailout money end! Attempting to sell their assets, AIG has been unsuccessful in paying off its government loans. With the global economy taking hits in insurance businesses, AIG is being protected by the Fed from falling into bankruptcy. This financial support by the government has lead to the Fed writing off some of its loans as losses and further devaluing the U. S. dollar. Recently as of March 2, 2009 AIG reported a 4th quarter loss of $61. 7 billion dollars for the last three months of 2008. This loss impacted Europe and Asian trading markets as well. Financial Problems and How the Financial Bailout is Hoping to Address Each Point: Effects Both Here at Home and Abroad †¢ Problem: increase in unemployment as companies downsize Bailout Solution: $39 billion will be spent on health insurance for the unemployed who can use this money to pay for cobra coverage or Medicaid. In addition $43 billion will be spent to enable them to increase their unemployment benefits and receive job training for new positions. †¢ Problem: credit tightening and lending standards inflexible Bailout Solution: rescinding the requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time, and giving loans to companies and new procedures to ensure that lending continues so that student loans, car loans, etc†¦would be easier to obtain (http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154. html). In addition, changes to how mortgages were granted occurred http://useconomy. about. com/od/criticalssues/a/govt_bailout. htm) †¢ Problem: retail industries closing as public demand decreases, and infrastructure concerns Bailout Solution: $31 billion: Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure along with water projects and mass transit projects. For retail industries and small businesses the government will double the amount they can write off for capital investments and vital business related purchase. (http://www. glennbeck. com/content/articles/article/198/20639/) †¢ Problem: decrease in global expansion efforts and trade between countries which affects emerging economies which depend upon the U. S. and U. K. for big and small purchases and exports in order to continue growth and expansion Bailout Solution: n/a. If the U. S. economy can get back on track this would coincide with other countries being less impacted by our poor financial situation. †¢ Problem: failure of the mortgage and real estate industries due to being unable to aid individuals with in refinancing or making new purchases because banks are refusing to lend money Bailout Solution: aid to struggling home owners, but not listed in bailout bill †¢ Problem: growth projections declining from 4. 9% in 2007 to 4. 0% in 2008 Bailout Solution: $275 billion in tax relief ($1,000 tax cut for families, $500 tax cut for individuals through SS payroll deductions) along with $20 billion spent to increase the food stamp benefit over 13% so as to help ease the rising food costs. †¢ Problem: inflation increases in oil, commodities, and food prices and energy issues Bailout Solution: $32 billion is destined for funding a smart electricity grid in order to reduce waste, and $16 billion is geared for research and development on energy related work, energy tax cuts, and credits (http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154. html). †¢ Problem: individuals recognizing that the federal and state governments are over extended in war funding and not tending to our financial crisis in a timely or appropriate manner Bailout Solution: efforts to bring troops home, but not listed in bailout situation †¢ Problem: value of the American dollar and reputation has turned drastically negative Bailout Solution: n/a. Efforts to fix our tarnished reputation but the American dollar is devaluing even more due to the bailout. †¢ Problem: Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns, and IndyBank also being key examples of financial companies which all required immediate aid from the federal government in order to collapse (http://www. imf. org/external/np/speeches/2008/032108. htm) Bailout solution: Continued support of such institutions to ensure that they do not fail How Should We Fix the Regulation? As voting citizens, we must should insist that the government account for its spending habits and they must be made responsible for spending more than it can obtain via revenue. For companies like AIG which receive bailout money and spent it frivolously on expensive resorts they must be held responsible and the board of directors held accountable or given jail time. The cost of war has also been unaccounted for, so our new regulations need to decrease the amount of spending on that front. As the bailout takes our hard earned money it needs to be used on improving transportation, education, medical requirements, and even social security. Poor lending standards and practices must be better regulated for those seeking to get good refinance rates or purchase new homes, cars, or even student loans. As we are seeing a sharp rise in unemployment and off-shoring of jobs, it is improper that businesses which hire individuals in the United States are forced to pay unemployment taxes; whereas, companies which elect to outsource their labor force are not required to pay these same taxes. This means such companies have more money in revenue due to the fact that they are paying their employees less overseas and adding to the unemployment that we see here at home. This action is counterproductive because from a financial perspective organizations might save more money by outsourcing and not having to pay the additional taxes, but it also means that unemployment will continue to rise in the face of such activity. A fair technique would be to increase the taxes on companies with large profits, and grant a fair marginal credit to companies which employ workers in the United States. This activity would put money back in the hands of American workers who can then turn around and use their paychecks in the economy and ease the financial crunch. This would also allow them to learn how to manage debt more practically and not take the equity out of their homes to pay debt off. I suggest that we better educate ourselves in managing our finances and saving versus running ourselves into the ground in insurmountable debt. References: Amadeo, Kimberly (2009). What Exactly is the Bank Bailout Bill. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://useconomy. about. com/od/criticalssues/a/govt_bailout. htm Aversa, Jeannine. Govt moves to aid AIG yet again; when will it end? Retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20090302/ap_on_bi_ge/aig_rescue Beck, Glenn. Obama Stimulus Package Breakdown. January 26, 2009. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. glennbeck. com/content/articles/article/198/20639/ Congressional Budget Office | Reporting by Karen Yourish, graphic by Laura Stanton The Washington Post February 01, 2009. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wpdyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154. html Heaton, Chris Sholto. (9/19/2008). MoneyWeek. What Went Wrong at Lehman Brothers. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. moneyweek. com/investments/stock- markets/what-went-wrong-at-lehman-brothers-03809. aspx Luhby, Tami (2008). Why the Fed Pulled the Trigger on AIG. CNNMoney. com, retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://money. cnn. com/2008/09/17/news/companies/aig_explainer/index. htm? postversion =2008091715 Muolo, Paul and Mathew Padilla (2008). Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Mullins, Luke (2008). U. S. News. Five Reasons The House Passed the Bailout Bill. Retrieved from http://www. usnews. com/blogs/the-home-front/2008/10/3/5-reasons-the-house- passed-the-bailout-bill. html Kato, Takatoshi. (3/21/2008) The Financial Crisis and Economic Outlook-Lessons for Securing the Benefits of Financial Deepening. Retrieved Feb 28, 2009 from http://www. imf. org/external/np/speeches/2008/032108. htm Sahadi, Jeanne. CNNMoney (2/17/2009). Stimulus: Now for the Hard Part. Retrieved Feb 27,2009 from http://money. cnn. com/2009/02/17/news/economy/obama_stimulus_meas_success/index. Htm Small, Jay Newton (10/3/2008). Time. What the Bailout-Bill Crisis Has Wrought. Website Retrieved http://www. time. com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1847205,00. html The Associated Press (2008). Obama, McCain wary about financial bailout. Website. Retrieved Feb 27, 2009 from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/26856877/ The Economist (2008). The credit crunch: The year of living dangerously. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/opinion/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_i d=11885697 The Economist (2008). The credit crunch one year on: Mission creep at the Fed. Website Retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/finance/displaystory. cfm? story_id=11897000 The Economist (2008). Home Truths: A housing slump helped cause the credit crisis. But its effect on spending may have been exaggerated. Website. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/finance/displayStory. cfm? source=hptextfeaturestory_id=11 885272 The Economist (2008). The credit crunch one year on: Mission creep at the Fed. Website Retrieved March 1, 2009 from http://www. economist. com/finance/displaystory. cfm? story_id=11897000 Stamp, Gavin. BCC News. Credit crunch a year on: The losers. Retrieved Feb 26, 2009 from http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/7523234. stm U. S. And World (9/10/2008). Lehman Brothers Announces $3. 9 Bil 3Q Loss. Retrieved on Feb 28, 2009 from http://cbs5. com/national/lehman. brothers. shares. 2. 814040. html U. S. And World (9/12/2008). Emergency Meeting Held To Discuss Lehman Crisis Retrieved on Feb 28, 2009 from http://cbs5. com/business/lehman. brothers. crisis. 2. 816615. html Velshi, Ali (2009). Gimme My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis. New York: Sterling and Ross Publishers. Pgs 16-25 Causes of the Great Depression Political Perspectves on Causes and Cures. Retrieved March 3, 2009 from http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression_- _Political_Perspectves_on_Causes_and_Cures/id/4905687 Waggoner, John and David J. Lynch (3/15/2008). USA Today. Red flags in Bear Stearns collapse. Retrieved on March 1, 2009 from http://www. usatoday. com/money/industries/banking/2008-03-17-bear-stearns- bailout_N. htm

Extraterrestial Influence :: miscellaneous

Extraterrestial Influence All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike and yet it is the most precious thing we have. -Albert Einstein INTRODUCTION There are many things in this world that go unexplained. Not anymore, it was all aliens, everything you can’t figure out like, â€Å"Where does one sock go when I do the laundry?†, and â€Å"How do you get the caramel into the Caramilk bar?† Aliens. Earth has been profoundly impacted by extraterrestrials in its short history. Everything from supplying life-giving chemicals and wiping out the dinosaurs with meteorites to influencing human culture and evolution. The whole world is filled with evidence of extraterrestrials, though it is usually denied and ignored by governments and academics. This essay will provide a brief analysis of extraterrestrial events or evidence thereof the were especially significant. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Evolutionary theory suggests that life on earth has been developing for millions of years into more and more complex organisms. These organisms evolved from inorganic molecules through the release of UV, heat and electrical energy in the atmosphere of early Earth. This theory was found to be valid by Stan Miller in 1953, who through a series of tests managed to create some hydrocarbons and amino acids out of chemicals that were present on earth 3.5 billion years ago. These hydrocarbons and amino acids are very susceptible to oxidation and would not exist for very long in an oxygen based environment. Though there was very little oxygen in earth’s atmosphere at the time, the large amount of energy present would have easily electrolyzed some water and produced oxygen gas, which is bad for the amino acids. A much more likely place for amino acids and hydrocarbons to develop would be in large dust clouds in space, such as the one that condensed to form our solar system. Evidence fo r this theory comes from the many carbonaceous chondrite meteorites recovered (these same life giving meteors have also led to many mass extinctions in earth’s history). A NASA research group examined one such meteorite in 1970 and found a higher concentration of amino acids and hydrocarbons than are present on earth today (Kvenvolden, K., Lawless, J., Pering, K., Peterson, E., Flores, J., Ponnamperuma, C., Kaplan, I.R., Moore, C., 197). In addition the amino acids had a higher concentration of L enantiomers than R-enantiomers, as is seen on earth (Chyba, 1997). This seems to suggest that the basic chemicals for life were derived extraterrestrially.

Cherokee Removal

The Cherokee people were forced out of their land because of the settler’s greed for everything and anything the land had to offer. Many Cherokee even embraced the â€Å"civilization program,† abandoning their own beliefs so that they may be accepted by white settlers. Unfortunately for the Cherokee though, the settlers would never accept them as an equal citizen. A quote from historian Richard White says it very well, â€Å"The Cherokee are probably the most tragic instance of what could have succeeded in American Indian policy and didn’t.All these things that Americans would proudly see as the hallmarks of civilization are going to the West by Indian people. They do everything they were asked except one thing. What the Cherokees ultimately are, they may be Christian, they may be literate, they may have a government like ours, but ultimately they are Indian. And in the end, being Indian is what killed them. † The Treaty of Hopewell was set up in 1785 and was made with all the good intentions, but nobody to enforce the rules. It was set up to start setting up friendly relations with the Cherokee, but also to define the Cherokee borders.It gave the Cherokees the right to expel of any unwanted person that was on their land. Even with this treaty though people of both Georgia and North Carolina moved onto the Cherokees land, taking as they pleased. This caused there to be battles between settlers and Cherokee. There was a big racial issue when it came to battles though. Whenever the settlers would win a battle it was called an Indian war, but when the Indians would win, it was called a massacre. Henry Knox soon stepped into the picture and he came believing that it was inevitable that both â€Å"civilized† and â€Å"uncivilized† peoples should fight so much.In order to ratify this he implemented a â€Å"civilization program. † As a part of this program, in order to be considered â€Å"civilized† one had to dr ess, think, act, speak, work, and worship the same way. Knox felt the Cherokee just needed some time to learn these ways. Knox set up the Treat of Holston in 1791 where it stated, â€Å"That the Cherokee nation may be let to a greater degree of civilization, and to become herdsmen and cultivators, instead of remaining in a state of hunters, the United States will, from time to time, furnish a gratuitously the said nation with useful implements of husbandry. For the Cherokee this meant leaving many of their traditions behind and embracing the American way of life in order to keep their land. In order to be â€Å"civilized† Cherokee men had to cease hunting and attend to either the fields of herd livestock. This was due to the view by the settlers that the Cherokee men were lazy because the settlers viewed hunting as fun and a sport. Because many felt that working in the fields was something that is a woman’s job many turned to herding livestock as an alternative. Chero kee women were told that they could no longer work in the fields but should work in the household as a subservient.Many of the Cherokee had a hard time with this as well because they felt that the women settlers were lazy and they did not want their women to be the same way. Soon though many Cherokee women began working in the household, cooking, cleaning, or sewing. The main way Cherokees could be considered â€Å"civilized† was to accept Christianity. The U. S. government sent missionaries into Indian Territory to build schools. At these schools though they not only taught literature, math, and English, but they also taught young Cherokees how to read using the Bible and also taught them how to pray.Many Cherokees ended up accepting Christianity with a select few not willing, but that was no different than how many white settlers were. Due to the â€Å"civilization program† many Cherokees became extremely wealthy and even ended up purchasing slaves to do field work. These Cherokee men became key political leaders for the Cherokee nation. They would end up writing and applying their very own â€Å"Constitution of the Cherokee Nation† which was made very similar to out very own constitution. The main concern for most of the Cherokee was land and due to that it was the first thing to be outlined in the Cherokee Constitution.In Article 1-Section 1 it states the boundaries they now posses because of the treaties made with the U. S. and also states that those boundaries shall forever be their land. Cherokees made another important law about the selling of land as well in order to keep their borders, â€Å"The Cherokee Nation Council advised the United States that it would refuse future cession requests and enacted a law prohibiting the sale of national land upon penalty of death. † Even with these laws in place a small group of Cherokee set out against the rest of the Nation.Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, signed a removal treat at the Cherokee capital of New Echota without the authority of Principal Chief John Ross or the Cherokee government. The Treaty of New Echota required the Cherokee Nation to exchange its national lands for a parcel in the â€Å"Indian Territory† set aside by Congress, in what is now Oklahoma, in 1834 and to relocate there within two years. The federal government promised to remit $5 million to the Cherokee Nation, compensate individuals for their buildings and fixtures, and pay for the costs of relocation and acclimation.The United States also promised to honor the title of the Cherokee Nation's new land, respect its political autonomy, and protect its tribe from future trespasses. Even though it was completed without the sanction of the Cherokee national government, the U. S. Senate ratified the treaty by a margin of one vote. Presidential Chief John Ross tried to prove that it was done without majority consent by getting 16,000 Cherokees to sign a document against the treaty. Ross tried to fight against the treaty till 1838, when the U. S. army was sent into the Cherokee Nation.In October, the Cherokees were herded into wooden stockades with no food, water, blankets, or sanitation. Most of them were barefoot and had no coats or blankets, yet they were forced to cross-rivers in sub-zero weather. There was about 22,000 Cherokees that were forced out of their homes on the Trail of Tears and a total of about 5,500 died along the way of exposure, starvation, and disease. A guard wrote, â€Å"I fought through the War (Civil War), and I saw men shot to pieces and slaughtered by the thousands, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew. †Despite everything the Cherokees did†¦changing all of their traditions, trying to negotiate, and finally trying to protect themselves with laws†¦it did not matter. All the settlers wanted from the beginning was to manipulate and take every bit of land they could from the Cherokee. The Ch erokee followed the â€Å"civilization program† and settlers only thought that, no matter what; an Indian could never be â€Å"civilized. † As the historian Richard White put at the beginning, â€Å"And in the end, being Indian is what killed them. † Cherokee Removal President Washington and Mr.. Knox did not take into consideration owe the United States people would feel about the Cherokee; they felt that no matter what the Cherokee were taught that they would never fully be equal because of race. The Cherokee accepted some of the changes and resisted others, eventually this led to the forced removal of the Cherokee. After several failed treaty attempts, the Cherokee finally accepted that they would have to leave when soldiers arrived.The final negotiation was for the Cherokee to be able to move alone in the winter or 1838-39 and this would become known as the â€Å"Trail of Tears† because so many Cherokee died along the way. Becoming Civilized† meant changing the ways that the Cherokee were accustomed to. Cherokee women would be more homemakers and the farming that they had done in the past would now fall to the men who had once been the hunters of wild game. The experiment would have the Cherokee taking on more cattle, hogs and th ey would also begin to raise sheep.In addition to planting corn they would also plant, cotton, wheat and flax. This also changed how some Cherokee viewed themselves and the way they looked at family. One example of that change would be Young Wolf, whom after he died and his Last Will and Testament dead showed how the views of the Cherokee had started shifting. Before Cherokee traced themselves through their mothers; this meant that when Young Wolf died his land and other possessions should have gone to his sister's children.This however did not happen; he left his estate to his son. â€Å"A Cherokee view of civilization† had begun early with Cherokee chiefs' sons' moving about the white community easily. They had been educated, were now living in regular housing, had started growing crops such as cotton, and were becoming involved with politics. One such son was named John Ridge, â€Å"he became involved in national politics as a promoter of civilization and as a patriot who helped to execute the unscrupulous chief Doubleheader for an illegal land sale† (Purdue and Green, 32).John Ridge was a big promoter in the â€Å"civilization† process, he was also â€Å"particularly interested in charting culture change among the Cherokees† (Purdue and Green, 34). In order to reach the Cherokee people the United States government had â€Å"Christian missions† become involved, as the agent that the government had placed among the Cherokee had not fulfilled the Job. Missionaries took on the role of civilizing the Cherokee, â€Å"they set up schools, model farms and served as the United States postmasters.This peaceful partnership of missionaries and government agents had a relatively brief tenure† (Purdue and Green, 45). With the missionaries immersed with the Cherokees they would prove to not only be education teachers but also teachers of manners and dress; and some would also begin to side with the Cherokee people. The United Sta tes government wanted a way to keep track of the Cherokee so in 1835 they would begin â€Å"quantifying Cherokee civilization†. They wanted to know as much as they could about where and what the Cherokee were doing.The government looked at the makeup of the Cherokee family within each home; this included whether or not the family had full blooded, squadrons, half-breeds or whites that were related by marriage. This was not all that the government concerned themselves with, they also took note of the style of homes, crops raised, acres farmed, closeness of mills and ferries. The Cherokee were growing tired of how the governments, both federal and state, were treating them so they adopted â€Å"the Cherokee Constitution of 1827†³ which s similar to that of the United States constitution but it also had some differences as well. The men who convened at New Echoed, the Cherokee capital in the summer of 1827, were no more representative of the Cherokees than the United State s founding fathers were of the Americans. They were more likely to be wealthy, literate, and Christian than the average Cherokee† (Purdue and Green, 58). The Georgia governor did not like the fact that the Cherokee were trying to put together their own constitution and asked President John Quince Adams to step in however, President Adams would not.Since the President would not step in â€Å"the Georgia Laws† were created to try and force the hands of both President Jackson and the Cherokee Nation. These laws were designed to let both the United States and Cherokee Nation know that Georgia meant business and if need be they would take the land that the Cherokee people occupied by force because that land belonged to her. The testing of both the Cherokee Constitution and the Georgia laws would come when â€Å"Georgia and the Supreme Court† went to battle over the Georgia Guard arresting George Tassel a Cherokee citizen.Mr.. Tassel was arrested and convicted under Ge orgia law for murdering another Cherokee within the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Council went to the Supreme Court and challenged this ruling because they stated that Georgia law had no meaning in the Cherokee Nation. This however did not prevent Georgia from executing Mr.. Tassel and it also didn't prevent them from creating more laws to make life even harder for the Cherokee Nation. The goal of Georgia from the very beginning had always been â€Å"dispossessing the Cherokees† so they could have Cherokee land.Georgia wanted the Cherokee gone and they thought they had found way when â€Å"a federal agent realized that many of the wealthiest, including Principal Chief John Ross, had accepted reserves (individual or personal reservations) under the terms of the treaties of 1817 and 1819† (Purdue and Green, 84). To politicians within Georgia this meant that the Cherokee had no right to the land that they had acquired within the Nation in Georgia. Soon people who had star t coming into Georgia and the Cherokee Nation and were considered the â€Å"white intruders† because they would push the Cherokee people out of their homes and off of their land.This was because Georgia had passed more laws were making it okay for people to Just come in and push the Cherokees off of their land. The Cherokee Nation was surveyed and plotted into lots; lotteries were held for males, widows, orphans all of whom could obtain one ticket, however a veteran could obtain two tickets. Once the lotteries were held, names drawn and small fees paid those that won that piece of land could then go in and take it from the rightful Cherokee owners. In Defense of the Cherokees: the William Penn Essays† were actually works of â€Å"Jeremiah Averts, hive administrative officer of the large interdenominational missionary consortium the American Board of Commissionaires for Foreign Missions† (Purdue and Green, 103). These essays were in defense of the Cherokee and wha t Georgians people were doing to them; it was also a way for other people to let the President and Congress know how they felt about the treatment of the Cherokee people and the forceful removal that the Cherokee faced.These essays led to â€Å"American women organize against removal† with the lead role being taken by Catherine Beechen, who was not only an educator but a writer as well, she wrote anonymously on behalf of the Cherokee people. With her Journal articles â€Å"she called for women to petition Congress to defeat the impending Indian Removal Act† (Purdue and Green, 110-11). â€Å"Opposition to Indian removal, therefore, politically empowered women in the United States and provided them with a public voice despite their disfranchisement† (Purdue and Green, 111).However, â€Å"Lewis Sacs Justifies removal† because he was presumed to be the leading figure for United States Indian Policy; this is because of his experience with the Great Lake Indian s. Mr.. Sacs believes that if the Indians do not become civilized and remain uncivilized that they will perish. This led to Mr.. Sacs writing his opinion of why he thought it necessary to remove the Cherokee from Georgia; the Cherokee would not honor Georgia law. The Cherokee felt that they need only to obey Cherokee law; Mr..Sacs disagreed with that thought and let it be known that the Cherokee would need to be removed if they could not follow state law. â€Å"Congress Acts† like a bunch of overbearing bullies; Georgia finally gets what it wants and the â€Å"Indian Removal Act† is passed on May 28, 1830. The â€Å"Indian Removal Act† was not pretty in the fact that there was a bunch of bitter, emotional and exhausting arguing going on in both the House and the Senate. However, evil won out over good in the fact that the Bill passed and the President still refused to stand up for the Cherokee against Georgia.This is when â€Å"Andrew Jackson applauds the Remov al Act† in his State of the Union address, December 8, 1829. â€Å"Andrew Jackson's address publicly clarified his recognition of the sovereign rights of the states over the Indian country within their borders† (Purdue and Green, 125). President Jackson ever felt as if the Cherokee or any Indian would or could be civilized. â€Å"The Indians, therefore, had two choices: They could emigrate beyond the Mississippi or submit to the laws of those States† (Purdue and Green 125). â€Å"Women and removal† in 1817 and 1818; had on two separate occasions Cherokee women choosing to speak up.They spoke up when it came to the removal and the allotment of lands. They did not want to move and they did not want any more land to be sold; they felt as if they had done everything that they possibly could to follow what the President had wanted them to do. They had â€Å"become farmers, manufactured their own clothing, to have our children instructed. To this advice we have attended in everything as far as we were able† (Purdue and Green, 133). So then Alias Biotin's editorials in The Cherokee Phoenix† took up the cause for the Cherokee people.The newspaper was for anyone who subscribed, so not only Cherokee, but United States citizens and British could read about the plight of the Cherokee people; the paper would go into detail about Cherokee removal, correspondence from the President, Secretary of War and Principal Chief as well as the position of the Cherokee on removal. â€Å"The Treaty of New Echoed† was drawn up and it involved Alias Button, John Ridge, and other Cherokee leaders after the realization that they would probably never receive the justice they deserved.This realization finally came after missionaries that had sided with the Cherokee had been ordered released by the Supreme Court and Georgia refused to do so. This new treaty set up provisions for the Cherokee; they would receive pay for their losses and provisions for the move. However, the â€Å"the opposition continues† with John Ross, Principal Chief for the Cherokee, trying everything that he knew to do to try and prevent the injustices that were being aired out against the Cherokee.He not only tried to get the Treaty of New Echoed thrown out because he claimed that the Treaty Party, â€Å"behaved unethically, illegally, and undemocratically and he believed they had subverted the incontrovertible will of the people† (Purdue and Green, 153). John Ross also tried his best to get more money for the land in the East, title to the land in the west guaranteed, alternatives to removal, and possibly emigration into Mexico so that the Cherokee people would be finished with the United States once and for all.None of these worked for John Ross o he took to writing about the injustices done to the Cherokee people not only by the United States but also by the Treaty Party, with the help of a friend John Howard Payne. â€Å"The Treaty Pa rty's Defense† was taken up by Alias Button who along with the others whom had formed the Treaty Party believed that the only way for Cherokees to get out of their current situation was to give up land. The Georgia Laws prevented the Cherokee from holding any type of elections or debates regarding the removal process and so therefore Button could not voice his opinions or concerns for the Cherokee people.The only way that Button had to get his point across was to start writing about what he felt the Cherokee people needed to hear in other publications. Button also felt that most Cherokee would and could not make rational decisions when it came to removal. This all led up to â€Å"enrollment† for the Cherokees which was not only a slow process but one that not many would take into consideration. The Cherokee that did enroll would revoke their citizenship and then there was the matter of discouraging others from signing the enrollment forms. With Georgia being so mad abou t the slowness of the move, President Jackson appointed n 1831 Benjamin F.Currency as chief enrolling agent. Mr.. Currency wanted to make the lives of the Cherokee Indians so bad that they would take to the move without further stall. However, â€Å"forced removal† would come to the Cherokee in the end; they were forced into stockades in which many died before the move even began. Some of the missionaries whom had been with the Cherokee and had taken up their cause went along with them to the stockades. This move would prove to the Cherokee Just how much the missionaries cared for them and the situation that the United States had put the Cherokee people in.Even Jones was one of those missionaries and he would be placed in charge of one of the many detachments of Cherokee people when they finally start moving along the Trail of Tears. Once the move began the Cherokee people would be â€Å"waiting to cross the Mississippi† because of huge chunks of ice which made the dan gerous river even more so. Some of the detachments of Cherokee would camp along the river as they waited for the thaw to occur; this waiting was unbearable, extremely cold and very damp. These conditions were another reason some of the Cherokee would not make it to the new Cherokee Nation.The removal to the new Cherokee Nation was not only difficult for the older Cherokee but also to the Cherokee children. â€Å"Removal through a child's eyes† was a very difficult thing to swallow; the children see that their lives are not being valued by the United States. They are being forced to move once again from land that is rightfully their peoples; some of them are also being separated from their families. For them it is probably difficult to understand the full extent of what is happening and some of them were told of what happened as they grew up because of their young age at the mime of the removal.Once the Cherokee finally reach their destination it is time for â€Å"rebuilding the Cherokee Nation† which still consists of political turmoil; however, the resilient Cherokee people are starting to rebuild their lives. Not only are they building homes, but they are farming, sending their children to school and attending council meetings. It is as if things are starting to become normal for them again; they want to forget the past and look towards their future. â€Å"Removal 150 years later† is still something that should be taught and talked about. As you read of the things that theUnited States people did to the natives of this great country it is Just horrendous to think that this is how this country began. In reading the Cherokee Removal it teaches you Just the kind of trials and tribulations that the Cherokee people went through. To think that the people of the United States called the Cherokee or other Indians uncivilized is a laughing matter; if anyone in this country was uncivilized it would be the people who came in and took over what righ tfully belonged to the natives. Cherokee Removal is something that should have never been allowed to happen; hey were here first.If the Cherokee rebelled they had every right to do so, they were losing everything that they had worked for to people who hadn't lifted a finger to do so. This brings me to a whole new realization that the great United States and her people back then were not so great, they were bullies, many of which would not stand up for what is right in this world. They wouldn't take a stand to those who thought that they could Just come in and take over a land that did not belong to them. People of power sometimes Just need a good cold lesson in manners and hat's right and what's wrong.

Music A Powerful Form Of Art - 1516 Words

Music is vitally important to countless people. As said by Frank Zappa, â€Å"without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.† Music brings art and creativity to a person’s life. Unlike, art or paintings or some theater, anyone can appreciate it. Simply, by tapping your foot to the beat, you are appreciating the art of music. Music is a powerful form of art. It motivates and inspires its listener. Music is like an indescribable force, present is every culture known to man. Music influences the things we do, and how we see the world. For each individual person, the exact same song can form millions of different meanings. Everyone has a different perception of music and their own unique taste. A single musical group can have a huge impact on a person’s life. Similar to how a musical movement can have a lasting impact on history. Music is an unexplained phenomenon in our history. 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