American History Essay -- History, British Colonies, War

From 1754 to 1763, the French and Indian War cost Britain greatly. Feeling that the colonists benefitted the most from this war, Britain decided to tax the thirteen colonies to help pay for it. After all, the war provided the colonists with greater protection from the natives, and now had more land that had been conquered from France. Colonists in the early 1700’s were English subjects. As Englishmen, they were entitled to certain rights. One of these rights was there was to be â€Å"no taxation without representation†. Due to the vast distance England was from the colonies, it was impossible to have a colonist represent the colonies in Parliament; therefore they should not have to pay taxes that Parliament dictated. Having Parliament dictate taxes was not merely a breach of rights, but was basically an indirect way of utterly controlling the affairs of the colonists. By getting taxes from the colonists, Britain could directly give these taxes to their governors, who o ften did not have colonist’s best interests in mind. By taxing themselves, the governor would have to go through their representatives to get money, and in so doing, would have to â€Å"play nice† I order to pay for things he wanted done. Colonists were afraid they would lose their self-governing abilities, and ultimately suffer at the hands of tyrannical governors. (As an analogy, it would be like Ohio having no senators, and Washington making all of our laws for us.) Britain did not take colonist arguments against taxation as valid. Britain began this fight by revamping the Molasses Act, into the Sugar Act 1764. By increasing the enforcement of the new act, and by reducing the percentage from 6 to 3 %, Britain hoped to keep colonists in line. Perhaps if the colonists wer... ...these acts, the first continental congress was formed. Among the leaders were Patrick Henry, George Washington, Samuel Adams, and John Adams. They believed that the Thirteen Acts of Parliament were not only unconstitutional, but went against basic human rights. They didn’t want to have war, but they did make a stand. They decided the best idea was to completely boycott all British goods, and to stop all export of colonial goods to Britain. They were able to stop the import and export by having each county, city, and town select a committee to oversee that the colonists were all in accord (Faragher. pg. 145). These committees are what enabled the colonists to organize retaliation from British troops. â€Å"On September 1, 1774, General Thomas Gage sent troops to seize stores of gunpowder and arms from several storehouses on the outskirts of Boston† (Faragher pg. 145)

Spread of Buddhism in China

During the spread of Buddhism in china, three popular views were that the spreading of Buddhism should be stopped, society benefited from it, and it was the way of salvation (afterlife). One of the responses to the spread of Buddhism was that it should be stopped. Many officials believed that Buddhism was harmful to china because Buddhism was discordant with the already established Chinese traditions, culture, and aristocracy.The leading scholar and official at the Tang imperial court, Han Yu, writes to his leader (document ) â€Å"Your servant begs leave to say that Buddhism is no more than a cult of the barbarian people spread to china†¦ The Buddha was a man of the barbarians who did not speak Chinese†¦ your servant is deeply ashamed and begs that this bone from the Buddha be given to the proper authorities to be cast into fire and water, that this evil be rooted out, and later generations spared this delusion. Han Yu was a Confucian scholar, so it is no surprise that he is opposed to Buddhism which clashes with Confucianism in many aspects including how Confucianism promotes one fulfilling his duties to his lord and country, where as Buddhism promotes detachment to avoid sorrow.The Tang Emperor Wu wrote (document 6) â€Å"Buddhism has transmitted its strange ways and has spread like a luxuriant vine until it has poisoned the customs of our nation†¦ Buddhism wears out the people’s strength, pilfers their wealth, causes people to abandon their lords and parents for the company of teachers, and severs man and wife with its monastic decrees†¦ Having thoroughly examined all earlier reports and consulted public opinion on all sides, there no longer remains the slightest doubt in our mind that this evil should be eradicated. . Emperor Wu did not want the spread of Buddhism to continue because it advocates one to focus on reaching nirvana, and in order to reach nirvana people would join monasteries and â€Å"abandon their lords and pare nts for the company of teachers. † Obviously any leader such as Wu would not want his subjects to stop contributing to the country and focus on reaching enlightenment. This explains why he would write in opposition of the spread of Buddhism. Another response was that the spread of Buddhism was good for both the community and society.A leading Buddhist scholar, Zong Mi, wrote (document 5) â€Å"Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha were perfect sages†¦ All three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society and for this they must be observed with respect. † This scholar and many others agree that Buddhism is good and that it contributes to an orderly society. One reason for this belief is that Buddhist try to achieve self-peace, and then become bodhisattvas and help others achieve nirvana.This document also shows us that Buddhism is in perfect harmony with the already existent philosophies, and that the three (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) come together to s upplement each other and together create a peaceful society. Zong Mi wrote in favor of Buddhism because of the fact that he is a Buddhist scholar and wanted others to see that Buddhism is good for the people as a whole. An Anonymous Chinese scholar wrote (document 3) â€Å"To compare the sages to the Buddha would be like comparing a white deer to a unicorn or a swallow to a phoenix†¦ The [Buddhist] monk practices the Way and substitutes that for worldly pleasures.He accumulates goodness. † Through the tone of the anonymous scholar, it seems evident that he reveres the Buddhist to be peaceful and of good-natured. The author wrote this in response to a few proposed problems, and he showed that the supposed â€Å"negatives† are not bad at all, but simply misunderstandings of the goods of Buddhism. The third response was that because of the spread of Buddhism many more people would be able to reach nirvana and get away from sorrow.In the first sermon preached, Buddha said (document 1) â€Å"The first Noble Truth is the truth of sorrow. Birth is sorrow, age is sorrow, disease is sorrow, death is sorrow, contact with the unpleasant is sorrow, separation from the pleasant is sorrow, and every wish unfilled is sorrow. The second Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Arising of Sorrow: it arises from craving, which leads to rebirth, which brings delight and passion, and seeks pleasure. The third Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of Sorrow.It is the complete stopping of that craving, so that no passion remains, leaving it, being emancipated from it, being released from it, giving no place to it. The fourth Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Way that Leads to the Stopping of Sorrow. † By acknowledging the four noble truths and then following the eightfold path, one is able to reach nirvana. Because these are the words of the creator of the Buddhism philosophy, it is clear to see that he is trying to show that through Buddhism, one can find peace from within.A Chinese scholar, Zhi Dun, wrote (document 2) â€Å"whosoever serves the Buddha and correctly observes the commandments, recites the Buddhist scriptures, and furthermore makes a vow to be reborn without ever abandoning his sincere intention, will at the end of his life be miraculously transported thither. He will behold the Buddha and be enlightened in his spirit, and then he will enter nirvana. † The Author wrote this when northern china was invaded by central Asian steppe nomads, and his tone is very optimistic.A possible reason for this him writing this with such hope is that during a time of unrest he was able to achieve partial or complete peace through Buddhism, and thus he is writing this to encourage others to follow Buddhism and obtain peace as he did. It would have been helpful for a map of how Buddhism spread into/around china or a map of the percentage of Buddhist every 10 years. This would have helped because one would have been able to see what are as were affected first and what areas were affected the most. From that, one would better be able to better comprehend the differences in responses to the spread of Buddhism.

Charles Darwin s Theory Of Evolution - 1714 Words

â€Å"Survival of the fittest† is one of the greatest concepts discussed by Charles Darwin (who is known as the father of evolution) and which has also affected many species throughout the world over the years, including us! As presented in his theory of evolution, Charles Darwin explains how those with advantageous traits will be able to better survive than their fellow counterparts. In other words, organisms with traits best suited for their environment will have higher chances of surviving than those without those certain traits. According to The Living Environment Holt textbook it states â€Å"For example, he suggested that all of the finch species descended from one ancestral finch species that migrated from South America. Then, the descendant†¦show more content†¦However, something too big, like the pliers, would most likely be hard to use too, as they’re somewhat robust. Finally, tweezers are not too big or too small, making them easier to use and proba bly more efficient at picking up small seeds. Moreover, the website http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2006/07/how-darwins-finches-got-their-beaks/ states â€Å"The warbler finch boasts a thin, sharp beak best suited for spearing insects. Ground finches’ shorter, more robust beaks are adapted for eating seeds found on the ground. Those of cactus finches are shaped for getting seeds from cacti.† From these one can see that finches with a beak structure like that of the cactus finch (or tweezers) will probably be best suited for small seeds (which might resemble cacti seeds). Materials: 1. 1 small plastic dish or cup 2. 1 large non-breakable dish 3. 1 tool to serve as beak 4. Large seeds (such as lima beans) 5. Small seeds (such as lentils) Procedure: 1. First, we had to form groups of 2 (in some cases 3). 2. We received our lab packets and answered the first 2 questions, meanwhile our science teacher was distributing materials. 3. Later on, she came around with a cup that contained pieces of paper with a number written on them (my science partner and I randomly chose number 5, which out of all possible things, was the chopsticks). 4. Then we wrote a brief descriptionShow MoreRelatedCharles Darwin s Theory Of Evolution984 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Robert Darwin was a British man who became one of the greatest contributors to the study of evolution. He was a naturalist who was able to develop a theory of evolution based on biological changes that he witnessed occurring in varieties of samples on his travels all around the world. Charles Darwin is valuable in science history, simply because he was the first geologists who had come the closest for closing the gap on how and why biological changes occurred. The naturalist and geologistRead MoreCharles Darwin s Theory Of Evolution801 Words   |  4 PagesThe theory of Evolution is one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of human history. It can drastically change our perception of the world and our place in it. Charles Darwin created a coherent theory of evolution and amassed a great body of evidence in support of this theory. During this time, most scientists fully believed that each organism and adaptation was the work of the creator. A fellow scientist Carl Linnaeus created a system of classifications that we still use today. Charles RobertRead MoreCharles Darwin s Theory On Evolution Essay1074 Words   |  5 Pagesand how did life start, along with the creation of the universe and Earth? Charles Darwin’s theory on evolution, which is called natural selection, is based on the idea of species naturally adapting to their surrounding environment to better the species chances for survival. 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