Vagrancy

When reflecting on my life’s path and my position within the groups I identify as a member of, it is an interesting and worthwhile task to explore how they are directly situated within the web of oppression. While I like to consider myself as an individual who strives to live in accordance with values that nurture a sense of inclusivity and peace, it would be ignorant for me to believe that the groups in which I belong have historically advocated for similar virtues. Whether it be my family…

Miserable: Without Love and Family “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a famous quote from our country's declaration of independence. Everyone tries to fulfill these three fundamental rights, but there are times that a person doesn't have control of his or her life and doesn't see beyond what impedes him or her to pursue these rights. In addition, if that person stopped to think for a moment that his or her life can change and incorporate the fundamental rights, then that person…

by carefully choosing the parents. For the first time in history people felt the power to eradicate inherited defects and to eliminate undesirable characteristics in humans. In the early twentieth century the common mindset was that criminality, vagrancy, alcoholism and sexual promiscuity were inherited traits that needed, to be eradicated. After the Civil war, the U.S. economy was unstable and an influx of new immigrants from Europe further complicated the situation. As the economy…

On March 25, 1931, With the Great Depression gripping the nation after the stock-market crash of 1929, people hopped freight trains to travel from one city to the next in search of work. A group of whites and a group of blacks who are ages 13 to 19 and are later called ‘Scottsboro boys’ got in a fight on a train. The scottsboro boys were defending themselves and they kicked the white group off in Jackson County. Then, two women on the train, who were trying to avoid arrest, falsely accused nine…

Lopate, similar to Ginsberg, his passion manifested itself through anger and rage. Further along, Lopate confides that “The strongest pull that ‘"Howl"’ exerted on me thus was cautionary. If it seemed an advertisement for madness, drug addiction, vagrancy, homosexuality,…

John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck both made an extraordinary journey to China in the 13th century. However, they traveled with different purposes. William of Rubruck traveled from 1252-1255 in hopes of converting the people he encountered and teaching them the truth. William was dishonest about his intentions, he didn’t want to be seen as a diplomat being sent by King Lois, he wanted to be seen as an envoy of God. William traveled with letters from King Louis IX and documented his…

African American history plays a major part in American history. Not because any specific reason, but African Americans had to undergo a great deal as a race. The 1600s was presumably the most talked about period in African American history, which is when slavery was developed through this era African Americans endured slavery up until the 1800s. Of course there are important people or important events that we learned about in African American history, but some of the most important things are…

Historians often regard the eighteenth century as one of the most criminal in the history of Early Modern England. Property crimes were the most common sort of vagrant behaviour, but some violent incidences did take place, usually in the form of riots. Many times, these riots were to express the general discontentment of the population against certain factors. Property crime was a certain eventuality, especially when the growing economic prosperity of England is considered. It is likely that the…

The concept of racial injustice has been debated throughout American history; it has been especially evident in America’s legal system. No matter the decade, African-Americans have continually been wrongfully convicted for crimes they never committed. From Brown versus Mississippi (1934) to the case of Brian Banks (2002), one stands out amongst the others: the Scottsboro Trial. This case can be considered the epitome of injustice as the role of racism in the trial was extremely evident in the…

Jim Crow laws were meant to segregate black Americans, but looking at the bigger picture, how did the Jim Crow laws effect Americans? Jim Crow isn’t a man, but rather the name of certain laws that took place in America from 1877-1954. It started from the end of Reconstruction and began at the start of the Civil Rights movement. The laws were written to enforce racial segregation mainly in the South. Even though slavery was ended, the hate towards the African Americans was still firmly rested on…