The Battle Of Midway In The Pacific :: War History American Historical Essays

The Battle of Midway in the Pacific Nothing distinguished the dawn of June 2, 1942, from countless other dawns that had fallen over tiny Midway atoll in the North Pacific. Nothing, that is, except the tension, the electric tension of men waiting for an enemy to make his move. On Midway's two main islands, Sand and Eastern, 3,632 United States Navy and Marine Corps personnel, along with a few Army Air Force aircrews, stood at battle stations in and near their fighters, bombers, and seaplanes, waiting for the Japanese attack they had been expecting for weeks. The carrier battle of Midway, one of the decisive naval battles in history, is well documented. But the role played by the Midway garrison, which manned the naval air station on the atoll during the battle, is not as well known. Midway lies 1,135 miles west- northwest of Pearl Harbor, Oahu. The entire atoll is barely six miles in diameter and consists of Sand and Eastern islands surrounded by a coral reef enclosing a shallow lagoon. Midway was discovered in 1859 and annexed by the United States in August 1867. Between 1903 and 1940, it served both as a cable station on the Honolulu ­ Guam ­Manila underwater telegraph line and as an airport for the Pan American Airways China Clipper (Miracle 5). In March 1940, after a report on U.S. Navy Pacific bases declared Midway second only to Pearl Harbor in importance, construction of a formal naval air station began. Midway Naval Air Station was placed in commission in August 1941. By that time, Midway's facilities included a large seaplane hangar and ramps, artificial harbor, fuel storage tanks and several buildings. Sand Island was populated by hundreds of civilian construction workers and a defense battalion of the Fleet Marine Force, while Eastern Island boasted a 5,300-foot airstrip. Commander Cyril T. Simard, a veteran naval pilot who had served as air officer on the carrier USS Langley and as executive officer at the San Diego Air Station, was designated the atoll's commanding officer. Along with the naval personnel manning the air station was a detachment of Marines. The first detachment was from the Marine 3rd Defense Battalion; it was relieved on September 11, 1941, by 34 officers and 750 men from the 6th Defense Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Harold D. Shannon, a veteran of World War I and duty in Panama and Hawaii. Shannon and Simard meshed into an effective team right away. World War II began for Midway at 6:30 a.m. December 7, 1941, when the garrison received word of the Japanese attack on

Development of Youth Culture Essay

There is no single reason for the development of culture; rather, it came about as a result of the number of different social changes occurring at the same time. These developments included the increasing economic power of young people, the influence of the USA and globalisation, social changes at the end of World War 2, development of the media, demographic change in the numbers of young people and the transition to adulthood. Defining youth culture can be difficult because different cultures and interruptions in employment status’s can affect the perspective of what â€Å"youth† is. Culture is the way we live within our culture and youth culture is the way youth lives within it but because of the difficulties youth culture could mean different things to different cultures. Youth culture developed in the early 1950’s, although the idea of youth as a phase in life has a longer history. Youth culture was first developed in America after World War 2, which then Britain decided to follow due to media and other influences from America. In my opinion the most important factor that developed youth culture was the economic changes in society. Due to the demand in workers after the Second World War there was an economic growth. The first person to realise the impact this was having on young people was Abram’s (1959) who analysed the increased economic power of the ‘teenage consumer’. There was a noticeable pattern in what was getting most money spent on, because young people were the age group spending the highest proportion of their income on leisure activities and music, clothes and cosmetics. This increase in economic power created the conditions for the emerging youth culture to develop. For the first time, young people had significant amounts of money to spend. Another extremely important factor for the development was the social change at the end of World War 2. There was much more opportunities for young people and possibilities at this time. Before the war, Britain was characterized by a class structure. By the time it came to the 1950s, we started to see a change in the economy and this opened up oppurtunities and individual expression. Judging on conventional standards, opportunities were becoming bigger. Cinema, art, literature and theatre began to explore new ideas. Amongst many new ideas was that young people were a distinctive group with new values and ideas about their place in society. The next important development for youth culture in my opinion was the influence of the USA and globalisation. With the changing culture and the growth in affluence of the 1950s, there was a ready market for American goods and culture, which included rock and roll music and other products aimed at the new ‘teenage market’. A quote from Leech (’76) saying ‘youthquake’ explained how a change in the new youth was such a sudden change it was like an earthquake. Globalisation recognised what young people wanted and advertised it more. I think the next development of the youth culture which was important was the growth and specialization of media. Media was becoming a lot more popular and so was advertisement. The media started to advertise the products that young people during that time wanted and this was a massive boost for the economics and spread quickly across the world. The 1950’s saw an explosion of different sorts of media. This was only possible because of the growth in social diversity and an increase in spending power that persuaded companies to spend large amounts of money advertising the new media. As a high-spending and newly discovered group, young people became the target for advertisers and hence the commercial media competed to attract this market. Another social condition that made the development of youth culture possible was transition to adulthood. Transition refers to the movement from being economically and socially dependent on parents, towards independence. The length of transition increased over the 20th century as the average period in education. Due to the longer age of being in education, it meant that typical adult responsibilities were taken on increasingly later in life, leaving young people with a number of years where they were physically mature but without the responsibilities of adulthood. This caused young people to want their own place in society. The last social condition that helped youth culture become possible was the demographic change in numbers of young people. After the war because couple had been split for so long because of hundreds of men being sent abroad, many sexual experiences had been delayed for years. The result was that when the men were released from the armed forces in 1945/46, there was a huge increase in birth rate. Although many of the children born at this time were not ‘teenagers’ until the end of 1950’s, they did ensure that youth culture continued and grew as a cultural form. Around 50 to 60 years ago, for the first time, a youth culture appeared to be emerging – young people appeared to be developing their own values, customs, tastes, clothes, music and language. After studying and discussing all the different social conditions that developed youth culture I have discovered that youth culture wasn’t made overnight. It took all these 6 main factors to create this culture and carry it on until this day. Economics was the most important condition in my opinion due to the fact that it all started because of the economic boost after World War 2. America was the country that started this youth culture and Britain followed it after the war ended. Abercrombie et al. (2000) has suggested that youth culture has three distinguishing features: leisure, style and peer group.

Same Sex Marriage Should Be Legal Essay - 1072 Words

Same sex marriage Same sex marriage also known as gay marriage is the union between two of the same gender having all legal rights allotted to this agreement in a given jurisdiction. According to opponents of same sex marriages such unions are more of abandonment of gender since one cannot be in the said union and still believe gender is important. Supporters of same sex marriage however refer to same sex unions as marriage equality. Same sex marriages challenge the traditional meaning of marriage which is procreation. Until the twenty first century the same sex marriage did not exist when many countries began legalizing gay marriage. Beginning late twentieth century there has been a worldwide movement to treat marriage as a basic human right to be unlimited to gay couples. (Chamie, Joseph, ,2011)Many countries have revised marriage law to recognize gay couples and so has numerous English dictionaries redefined their meaning of marriage. Since 2000, Oxford has recognized same sex marriages (May, 200 4) Same-sex unions were known in ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome and regions of China, such as Fujian province. According to contentious historian, John Boswell the first historic mention of same sex marriage occurred during the early Roman Empire. Nero was the first man to marry a fellow man and is said to have married two other males on separate occasions. The first was Pythagoras who acted as a groom and later Sporus a young man after NeroShow MoreRelatedSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1288 Words   |  6 Pages Marriage is not precisely the same as it used to be interpreted. For example, women used to be their husband’s property. Sometimes the women were forced to marry whoever their parents wanted them to marry and most of the time they couldn’t leave the marriage. Nowadays women have more freedom. They can vote, they can run their own business, and they can marry whichever man they want to. The laws change as the people’s mind change. As they get more comfortable with the idea, they become more openRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal Essay1475 Words   |  6 PagesSame sex relationships relate to when a man or woman are attracted to someone of the same gender of themselves. It is being rejected as same gender marriage denies the obvious purpose between a man and a women which is procreation (Richardson-Self, 2012). Denying same sex couples the legal right to get married, could mean that they are being denied their basic human rights to enjoy human benefits (Richardson-Self, 2012). However, the opposing view is that if gay marriage was granted the legal rightsRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1403 Words   |  6 PagesSame-Sex Marriage â€Å"I now pronounce you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At some point in a person’s life, they have heard or will hear those words. What follows, however, has changed somewhat over the years; although, the commitment has remained the same. Those words historically indicate that until the death of a spouse, that couple shall remain together. Who should be able to determine whom that spouse is for that person? Some people judge others for their sexuality and how it is affecting them, but they never stop andRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1144 Words   |  5 PagesGay Marriage There are many issues the revolve around same-sex marriage. Many issues like: Whether same-sex should be legalized and should there be an amendment on same-sex marriage? There are multiple side to view this, but gay marriage but in my opinion gay marriage is socially accepted. it should be legal and it does affect American teens in a broad spectrum of ways. There have been a lot of issues on whether or not same-sex marriage should be legal or not. According to Burns, â€Å" The unionRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal998 Words   |  4 PagesSame sex marriage ought to be legalized on the grounds that it is uncivilized and unmerited. Marriage is a commitment between two people that cherish one another. In almost every country and culture, marriage is a commitment of loyalty and love. Marriage is an authority contract gathering two individuals together, furnishing them with profits of holy matrimony such as tax cuts and clinical privileges. The debate throughout most countries today is whether or not the rights of these profits and commitmentsRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1659 Words   |  7 Pages Same-sex couples can hardly remember a time where they were not fighting for their right to marriage in the United States. After several court cases, California Proposition Six, and their struggle against the Defens e of Marriage Act (DOMA), same-sex couples found their way into U.S. society. Many misguided studies appealed to those opposing same-sex marriage, but after several years of integrating in society, same-sex couples found the support they were looking for. Before the Supreme CourtRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal899 Words   |  4 Pages In the United States, same sex marriage became legal nationwide on June 26, 2015, when the United States Supreme Court overruled the court in favor of same sex freedom and marriage. The victory of same sex marriage came to be recognized from the Obergefell v. Hodges case which was submitted when an American Ohio man was denied and regretted to get his name on his late husband’s death certificate. Same sex marriage has been a controversial social issue in the United States for several decades. SinceRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1491 Words   |  6 PagesSame sex marriage is one of the most debatable issues in the modern world. Marriage has been accepted as the social union between a man and a woman for the past thousand years. Homosexuality was viewed with scorn, and marriages among same sex couples were prohibited in most cultures across the globe. However, gay relationships are slowly obtaining acceptance, as homosexuals have come to be expressive in fighting their rights to marry in the early 90’s. As homosexuality grows in acceptance in theRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal892 Words   |  4 PagesLove Same sex marriage is now allowed in all states across the country. But it took years and years for this â€Å"issue† to be finally laid to rest. The first state to legalize same-sex marriage was Massachusetts in 2004. There was not a last state to legalize gay marriage. The supreme court realized how many states were now legalizing it, so they just had all of the states left legalize it as well. ProCon.org supplies information that â€Å"Twenty-six states were forced to legalize gay marriage becauseRead MoreSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal2253 Words   |  10 Pages1776). The recognition of same-sex marriage is an issue influenced by numerous factors, and debates continue to arise over whether people in same-sex relationships have the right to marriage. Marriage provides many benefits, legally, financially, and personally. Same-sex marriage can open up those in same-sex relationships to tax benefits and financial demands comparable to those afforded to and required of peo ple in opposite-sex marriages. Same-sex marriage also gives them legal protections, such as