The Role Of The Freedmens Bureau

The Role Of The Freedmens Bureau The Freedmens Bureau as it was commonly referred to, was established on the 3rd of March 1865 under the United States War Department as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Its primary function was to take into account and provide practical assistance to the millions o former slaves in the south as they made their transition from bondage to freedom. The bureau was recognized by the influence of the Northerners, who had organized private organizations during the war and had also influenced the Congress after emancipation to relieve the distress of the freed people and assume the responsibility for their welfare as early as 1863.1 To simply put it, the bureau was to aid the freed people to gain land ownership, enfranchise them and help them to establish institutions that were beneficial to them. One of the first tasks of the Freedmens Bureau proved to say the least to be intimidating as it operated in regions ravaged by war and the acute competition of visions that were conflicting in the postwar southern society, one white and one black. As there seemed to be a supposed ready acceptance to the emancipation act in the south, this differed however as Southern whites feared that with this new order it would include full social and political equality for the blacks. In order to eliminate white supremacy over the blacks and protect their interests the bureau set up official offices in each southern state, even though there was a lack of adequate man power or financial resources for such an enormous undertaking. The bureau also had to work to persuade the southern states to recognize racial equality in their own judicial proceedings therefore the bureau had to monitor state and local legal affairs in the face of the Black Codes of 1865 and 1866 as the planters were being inflexib le.2 Another task of the bureau that was the important and main steps that were needed to be taken was the acquisition of land for the freed people. As according to Meier and Rudwick (1966) the freed people had not placed much emphasis on their civil and political rights, as their eyes were more set on acquiring their own land to cultivate. As the freedmens desire Meier and Rudwick states further was for land and it mirrored the American faith in property and land ownership. The freed people before being emancipated were bound to the soil and its cultivation, hence to them freedom meant that in order for them to get ahead in the race they associated freedom in itself the farming of their own land. Economically, to say the least freed people were put into a difficult and subsequently unique position as they were freed and found themselves in often times without work, therefore some southern planters did provide the freed people land with the consequence of working long contracts for extrem ely low wages.3 This influenced the Freedmens Bureau to answer the demands for labour by the planter class for the cultivation of land instituted a judicial system that would be fair to both parties by establishing their own authority with local agents, therefore a contract was constructed between the freed people and their employers in order to protect and allow the freed people to receive fair wages from the planters, also the setting up of temporary three-man courts in order to hear individual disputes between the white employers who were dealing for the first time with black employees.4 The content of the contract stipulated terms to which the planters had to arrange free transportation for the freed people from congested areas and provide the necessity of work in order for the freedmen to provide for their families, security and independence. These contract dealings led the bureau to aid Franklin (1967) states over 30, 000 persons to the abandoned lands in 1870, though some were returned to the ir previous owners under the Amnesty proclamations by Lincoln and Johnson. Because of the atmosphere in which the Bureau worked in the South were one of hostility, and the maintenance of the agency proved to be rather expensive by the Northerners. Franklin noted duly that the Northerners argued that the Bureaus existence was unable to be justified even in times of peace as the Southerners opposed fervently and openly of interference of the federal government with the relations between the worker and his employer. Some historians concluded that the establishing of the Bureau was a direct link to a political program for enfranchising the Blacks and, also establishing a strong Republican party in the South. The Bureau also aided refugees and freedmen by furnishing supplies and medical services, established schools and churches. In Louisiana according to Taylor, for example, the Freedmens Bureau tried hard to reduce the pangs of hunger of the blacks and poor whites. He goes on to explain that the Louisiana official had no appropriation, thus it derived its income from various seized properties and also from a tax of two dollars from the planter and three dollars from the labourer. Foner (1975) also rubs two cents in to say that free blacks who were skilled found themselves restricted from the trade they learnt under enslavement and unlike that of the white craftsmen blacks were taxed to special taxation as and were shown hostility as they were prohibited from the most profitable occupations and enterprises. Between 1865 and 1869, Franklin and Taylor, both noted that the Bureau also played its role of relieving the suffering amongst the freed people, as twenty million rations were issued to which approximately a quarter of the rations went to the poor needy whites and three quarts of the rations went to the blacks. These rations consisted of one bushel of corn and eight pounds of pork per month for adults, half as much for children, there was also the occasional issues of vinegar, sugar, vegetables, and coffee. There were also restrictions for ration collection for about a week as able-bodied persons were only allowed to receive and no more. Another challenge facing the blacks in the South was the abysmal lack of health care services. The Bureau attempted to strengthen existing medical care facilities as well as expand services into rural areas through newly established clinics. In 1867 there were 46 established hospitals by the Bureau and was staffed with physicians, surgeons, and nurses, under the medical department the Bureau spent over two million dollars to improve However the greatest success of the Freedmens Bureau in assisting the freed people was in education. The bureau founded over 4000 schools, from elementary grades to college, charging no fees and at most times furnished free textbooks that came from the north through philanthropic and religious organizations. Nearly a quarter of a million freed people received varying amounts of education while white southerners opposed these activities by the bureau as they believed that blacks were unable to absorb book learning. Among the schools that had inward funding by the Bureau were Howard University, Hampton Institute, St. Augustines College, Atlanta University, Fisk University, Storer College, and Johnson C. Smith University.5 Between 1869 and 1870 there were a total of 9,503 teachers both whites from the north and black freed people, along with approximately 247,333 pupils in the education system. When the bureau stopped its supported in 1870, Franklin (1967) had evidence that showed a mar ked increase in attendance, and advance in scholarship, and a record of punctuality and regularity which compared favourably with the schools of the north. The black churches also aided the Freedmens Bureau in the education aspect of the freed people. Despite its short existence, the bureau played a critical role in defining the meaning of freedom for some four million former slaves. Charged with exercising control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from the rebel states, its activities were countless. It provided issues of provisions, clothing and fuel to refugees, freedmen, and their wives and children; it assisted in reuniting black families; it supervised labour agreements between blacks and their former masters; it monitored state and local officials treatment of the former slaves; it established informal tribunals to settle disputes between whites and blacks and among African Americans themselves; it instituted clinics and hospitals for the former slaves; and it aided efforts to provide freed people education in the Civil Wars immediate aftermath. The most lasting failure of Reconstruction governments was not political but, it was social. They failed to alter the Souths social structure or its distribution of wealth and power. Government policies, rather than being too severe, were not thorough enough to win full and permanent equality for Afro-Americans. Regardless of all these dissolution of the Freedmans Bureau, its legacy still lives on through historically black colleges and universities, from approximately 1866 until its termination in 1872, an estimated 25 institutions of higher learning for black youth were established,[9] many of which remain in operation today. John H. Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom: A history of Negro Africans. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1967), 306 A. Meier E.M. Rudwick, From Plantation to Ghetto: An Interpretive History of American Negro.( New York: Hill and Wag Publishers, 1966), 139 Foner, Philip. History of Black Americans. (London and Westport: Greenwood Press, 1975), 513 John H. Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom: A history of Negro Africans. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1967), 308 Ibid.,

Determining Molar Mass by Ideal Gas Law

I. Abstract: By manipulating the ideal gas law (PV=nRT), we will be determining the molar mass of an unknown volatile liquid. Heating a flask filled with an unknown, easily evaporated liquid will allow for measurements that can be taken to work out the ideal gas equation. This lab will require knowledge of basic equations used in chemistry. Using these equations, such as density and number of moles(n), we can substitute different values into the ideal gas law to manipulate it. II. Materials: 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask Needle or pin Unknown liquid sample Barometer 1000-mL beaker Hot plate Utility clamp Aluminum freezer foil Hot mitt Wire gauze with ceramic center 1000-mL graduated cylinder III. Procedure: 1. Aprons and goggles on. Clean a 1000-mL beaker for use as a heating bath. Set the beaker on a hot plate and begin heating. 2. Clean and completely dry the Erlenmeyer flask. 3. Cut a square of aluminum foil to serve as the cover of the flask. Trim the edges so that it neatly covers the edge of the flask. 4. Weigh the empty flask with cover and record to as many sigfigs as possible. 5. Obtain your unknown liquid and record the ID #. Add 3-4 mL of the liquid to the flask. Re-cover the flask, making sure the edges are tightly crimped. 6. Punch a tiny hole in the foil cover with a needle or pin. 7. Heat the water in the beaker to boiling. Adjust the heat so that the water will remain boiling but will not splash. 8. Immerse the flask containing the unknown liquid in the boiling water so that most of the flask is covered. Clamp the neck of the flask. 9. Watch the liquid carefully. The liquid will begin to evaporate, and its volume will decrease. 10. When it appears that the flask is completely filled with vapor, continue heating for 1-2 minutes. Remove the flask from the bath using the clamp. 11. Set the flask on the wire gauze on the lab table, remove the clamp, and allow the flask to cool to room temperature. Measure and record the exact temperature of the boiling water in the beaker, as well as the barometric pressure in the lab. 12. When the flask has cooled completely, carefully dry the outside of the flask to remove any water. Weigh the flask, foil cover, and vapor with as many sigfigs as possible. 3. Perform a second trial, if the final mass of the flask and vapor is not within 0. 05g of the first trial, perform a 3rd. 14. When two acceptable trials have been performed, remove the foil cover and clean the flask. 15. Fill the flask to the very rim with water and pour it into a 1000-mL graduated cylinder to determine the exact volume of the flask. Record. IV. Data and Observations | |TRIAL 1 |TRIAL 2 | |BAROMETRIC PRESSURE (mm Hg) |763. mm Hg |763. 5 mm Hg | |MASS OF FLASK AND FOIL COVER (g) |106. 095g |106. 095g | |TEMPERATURE OF WATER IN BEAKER ( °C) and |99. 1 °C / 372. 1 K |97. 9 °C / 370. 9 K | |(K) | | | |MASS OF FLASK/COVER AND CONDENSED LIQUID |106. 406g |106. 87g | |(g) | | | | | | | †¢ Volume of Erlenmeyer Flask (determined by filling completely with water): 289mL †¢ Unknown liquid ID #: B – (ethyl alcohol) V. Analysis of Data PV = nRT Trial 1) 763. 5 (. 289 L) = n (62. 4) (372. 1) 220. 6515 = 23219. 04 n 220. 6515/23219. 04 = n 0. 0095 mol = n Mass of vapor in the flask = (mass of flask/cover and condensed liquid) – (mass of empty flask/cover) Mass of vapor in the flask = 106. 406g – 106. 095g = 0. 311g 0. 311g/0. 0095 mol = 32. 73 g/mol = molar mass Trial 2) 763. 5 (. 289 L) = n (62. 4) (370. 1) 220. 6515 = 23094. 24 n 220. 6515/23094. 24 = n 0. 0096 mol = n Mass of vapor in the flask = (mass of flask/cover and condensed liquid) – (mass of empty flask/cover) Mass of vapor in the flask = 106. 487g – 106. 095g = 0. 392g 0. 392g/0. 0096 mol = 41. 02 g/mol = molar mass AVERAGE MOLAR MASS: (32. 3 + 41. 02) / 2 = 36. 875 g/mol Theoretical molar mass of ethyl alcohol: 46. 07 g/mol VI. Conclusion (36. 875 – 46. 07) / 46. 07 (x 100) = 19. 9% = percent error The first trial was very unsuccessful while the second trial was much closer to the theoretical value. The possibilities of error within the first trial include not letting the flask cool completely to room temperature before weighing and also forgetting to utilize acetone to dry the flask before the addition of the liquid. The latter was the major difference in performance of the two trials. This experiment showed that the interference of water vapor can completely wreck the chance for an accurate measurement of volume of a different gas. It is imperative to make sure that the flask is as dry as possible or the results will show a very wrong answer. It is hard to realize the prominence of water vapor in the air until an experiment like this one shows that it takes up a relatively huge space in a given volume of air. A suggestion to improve this lab could be to place more emphasis on drying the flask with a paper towel and acetone before use.

Whatever They Told You About Funny Classification Essay Topics Is Dead Wrong...And Heres Why

Whatever They Told You About Funny Classification Essay Topics Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why If you've narrowed your object in some manner, you ought to do it clearly from the very start. The very first step is to pick a topic wisely. A good example is if you're writing about gadgets. At times the text used with hashtag might provide useful information regarding the tweet. It's crucial to define the order you're going to set the categories in your paper when describing them. When you choose a topic, don't forget about the duration of your paper. An individual might be able to surmise a few facts about a student till they put pencil to paper or even speak. Seeing a total picture will permit you to break off your paper into specific pieces and arrange all of them logically. Seeing the entire picture allows building a good thesis, which ought to contain the topic and the way it's categorized. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Funny Classification Essay Topics You should stay silent until you get a very clear view of what you will say, how you are going to say it and you already understand what first five or six exact words you're likely to say. The unifying essay topic could be an activity, a form of person, place or thing. You are going to have the chance to offer lots of examples to back up your arguments. A good example is whenever you're grouping people. Furthermore, the subject matter that's broken down into various categories have to be very distinguishable and clear. After you develop a list of subjects you enjoy, think of the way you can approach it from an intriguing angle. Next, you will want to take into consid eration how many categories there are. By adjusting the reach of your topic that can be made sure you have exactly enough categories to work with while remaining comprehensive. It's important to not forget that every category needs to have a single base for classification. The group doesn't fit the category. You are going to want to choose something you can divide into three or so categories without missing any significant category. Moreover, when you choose your subject, take some time to be sure you've thought of every possible category. The Awful Secret of Funny Classification Essay Topics There are a number of classification Essay Topics. It organizes a particular topic into a number of categories. Classification essays aren't very popular with professors. On the surface of it, the classification essay may look like a very simple concept as it's only meant to help make a concept easily understandable to the reader. Students can't find adequate info regarding how exactly they need to classify the modules of their essays. College students in addition to university professors might easily generate an outstanding number of custom topics for their research papers. Let's begin with the principal principles that are crucial for classification essay writing, so it is possible to earn a conscious selection of topic based on the categories that you want to cover. When writing an essay you could first select a very good category of things that you have better knowledge and comprehension. The fundamental purpose to divide the full essay into various categories is to acquire more thorough understanding on the larger subject. The degree of vocabulary employed in the essay needs to be sufficient for the entire disclosure of the topic. Students do not need to read the whole guide so as to construct effective essays. The trick to your success is the scheme or principle you decide to use. One of the most intriguing pieces of a classification essay is exploring the many ways which you can categorize the sections of your subject. By way of example, popular inventions might be classified depending on their significance to the humankind. Some could think the opportunity to investigate and explore a different topic will help them with an amazing learning curve.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Oil - 1616 Words

During the 1950’s vast reserves of petroleum were discovered in Nigeria, making oil a crucial aspect of the Nigerian economy. Foreign oil companies have then since dominated the oil exploration, drilling, and shipping and 87% of the government’s revenue comes from oil production. Shell Oil decided to enter Nigeria in 1937 through a joint venture with the government owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (55%), Total EP Nigeria Ltd (10%), and Agip Oil Company Limited (5%). Shell Oil controls approximately 60% of the domestic oil market and operates majority of its facilities in the Delta region of Nigeria. The Ogoni region is a highly oil rich area in the Delta region that has been greatly affected by the environmental†¦show more content†¦Ken Saro-Wiwa, the leader of MOSOP has gathered support from international nongovernmental organizations and has received international attention through media and U.N. meetings. The group presented Shell with deman ds to pay 10 billion dollars in damages to the Ogoni people and to end its harmful treatment of the environment in the region. If Shell did not meet the demands, widespread resistance was threated. In response to the group’s threat, the Nigerian government announced that all disturbances of oil production were considered of treason and banned public meetings. MOSOP continued to lead peaceful protests despite the ban of public assemblies, yet there was an incident were a Shell employee was injured by angry protestors and Shell temporary pulled out of the region in response. This dramatically decreased the petroleum extracted and decreased profits by 200 million in 1993. The Nigerian government attempted to suppress the Ogoni protest through violence. Over 750 people were killed in a series of attacks on the Ogoni villages, yet the protests continued. International support of MOSOP increased and Greenpeace and Amnesty International led campaigns for Ken Saro-Wiwa’s rel ease after his repeated arrests in 1993 and 1994. Ken Saro-Wiwa experienced a disagreement with the other MOSOP movement leaders and on May 21, 1994, four leaders and eight other activists were murdered. Ken Saro-Wiwa