In recent years, few federal requirements have been as controversial as the mandate for what critics call 'bilingual ballots'. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 included a permanent requirement for language assistance for Puerto Rican voters educated in Spanish and ten years later Congress banned English-only elections in certain covered jurisdictions, expanding the support to include Alaska Natives, American Indians, Asian-language voters and Spanish-language voters. Some commentators have condemned the language assistance provisions, underlying many of their attacks with anti-immigrant rhetoric. Although the provisions have been in effect for over three decades, until now no comprehensive study of them has been published. This book describes the evolution of the provisions, examining the evidence of educational and voting discrimination against language minorities covered by the Act. Additional chapters discuss the debate over the 2006 amendments to the Voting Rights Act, analysis of objections raised by opponents of bilingual ballots and some of the most controversial components of these requirements, including their constitutionality, cost and effectiveness. Featuring revealing case studies as well as analysis of key data, this volume makes a persuasive and much-needed case for bilingual ballots, presenting a thorough investigation of this significant and understudied area of election law and American political life.
In spite of what we have been taught, printing did not start with Johannes Gutenberg in Germany about 1440-1450 although he was known for the invention of movable type. What made his work remarkable with such a social impact was that he developed a complete system of movable metal type, ink, paper and the printing press. No one would suspect, or guess, it was the Chinese who first invented and utilized block printing in roughly 600 BC. They even progressed to movable type, similar to Gutenberg, but abandoned it because it did not fit with their language and script. Later in 105 AD they also invented paper as a relatively cheap improvement over the common material, papyrus and velum (animal skins), which had been in use for quite some time. As we are all aware, in spite of their contributions, it would be quite some time before any of these developments would progress to their wide-spread utilization by the general populace throughout the world. Two evolutionary traits were necessary for printing to become a viable means of communication. The first was a society’s, or a race’s development of a written language. Strictly verbal communication was fine, how-ever, it did not lend itself to mass communication. The second trait concerns literacy. It was just fine if the educated elite could write and also read their pronouncements, however, it was of not much use if the general populace could neither write but, more importantly, could not read what someone else had written. The first task was to develop an alphabet. Next came the construct of actual words and finally, it follows naturally, a system of writing them down permanently. And now, twenty five hundred years later, we are the blessed recipients of those many years of discovery and development of printed matter. And, Oh, what an inheritance we have. Words, words, words----they overwhelm our senses both audibly and visually. Whether it be the news on TV or our favorite songs on the radio, during the drive to and from work, they assault us. From the idle chatter of our friends and cohorts to the very intimate and genuine communications of our significant others, wives or husbands and children, verbal sounds clutter and overwhelm our brain. Some have an impact while others are merely processed expeditiously, as the saying goes, in one ear and out the other. So also we are constantly bombarded by the written word. One’s employer’s communications and directives, letters and cards, our daily mail, magazines and newspapers and even in our routine travels, ie., stop signs, school zone warnings, no U turn directives, speed limit restrictions and one way signs all assail our mind and senses with words. As with sounds, most of these do not permanently register in that small mass of cognitive muscle between our two ears. Yet, there are those times when certain phrases, whether verbal or written, impact our senses, register in our minds and are savored as something more than just words. And yes, they are still no more than words, but oh how they can have such a priceless impact on our world. Here they are arranged in a manner which communicates emotions and feelings, desires and longings which seem to connect mysteriously with our inner being; that part of our mental process which concurs, ‘I had not thought about those issues that way before,’ or ‘yes, that observation or admonition is certainly worth remembering.’ Such are the ‘words’ which are offered here. Some are familiar, which does not make them any less relevant. Many may be new revelations for you. ‘Revelations-Words of Wisdom’ is a relatively short but priceless relating of some of the best thinking from long past up to the present day. It encompasses all phases of life from the beginning, birth, to the ending, death. It has the power for each of us to understand and cope with many of the anomalies in our lives. As Lord Byron described them
In recent years, few federal requirements have been as controversial as the mandate for what critics call 'bilingual ballots'. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 included a permanent requirement for language assistance for Puerto Rican voters educated in Spanish and ten years later Congress banned English-only elections in certain covered jurisdictions, expanding the support to include Alaska Natives, American Indians, Asian-language voters and Spanish-language voters. Some commentators have condemned the language assistance provisions, underlying many of their attacks with anti-immigrant rhetoric. Although the provisions have been in effect for over three decades, until now no comprehensive study of them has been published. This book describes the evolution of the provisions, examining the evidence of educational and voting discrimination against language minorities covered by the Act. Additional chapters discuss the debate over the 2006 amendments to the Voting Rights Act, analysis of objections raised by opponents of bilingual ballots and some of the most controversial components of these requirements, including their constitutionality, cost and effectiveness. Featuring revealing case studies as well as analysis of key data, this volume makes a persuasive and much-needed case for bilingual ballots, presenting a thorough investigation of this significant and understudied area of election law and American political life.
This volume is part of a two-volume set that contains over 1,000 local and national articles, from historical newspapers and other publications, relating to the pioneer history of the area of northeastern Kentucky known as the "Buffalo Trace," including the counties of Mason, Bracken, Fleming, Robertson and Lewis, and the adjacent Ohio counties of Adams and Brown.
Looking at the relationship between slavery and capitalism in 19th-century America, 'Slavery and Freedom' describes how slave resistance affected American politics.
A dramatic period in the maritime history of England and Europe, in the late Tudor era sailors ventured far from shore for commerce and conquest. Taylor documents ship types and names, cargoes and weaponry, crew complements, storms and battles, with log entries and previously unpublished narratives and maps of possible wreck sites collected from the period 1547 to 1603.
This history includes George Washington who never had wooden teeth, harvesting teeth from corpses after the Battle of Waterloo, Paul Revere and the field of forensic odontology, the patron saint of toothache sufferers, and perception of pain as reported by dentists and their patients.
A vast and desolate region, the Texas–New Mexico borderlands have long been an ideal setting for intrigue and illegal dealings—never more so than in the lawless early days of cattle trafficking and trade among the Plains tribes and Comancheros. This book takes us to the borderlands in the 1860s and 1870s for an in-depth look at Union-Confederate skullduggery amid the infamous Comanche-Comanchero trade in stolen Texas livestock. In 1862, the Confederates abandoned New Mexico Territory and Texas west of the Pecos River, fully expecting to return someday. Meanwhile, administered by Union troops under martial law, the region became a hotbed of Rebel exiles and spies, who gathered intelligence, disrupted federal supply lines, and plotted to retake the Southwest. Using a treasure trove of previously unexplored documents, authors James Bailey Blackshear and Glen Sample Ely trace the complicated network of relationships that drew both Texas cattlemen and Comancheros into these borderlands, revealing the urban elite who were heavily involved in both the legal and illegal transactions that fueled the region’s economy. Confederates and Comancheros deftly weaves a complex tale of Texan overreach and New Mexican resistance, explores cattle drives and cattle rustling, and details shady government contracts and bloody frontier justice. Peopled with Rebels and bluecoats, Comanches and Comancheros, Texas cattlemen and New Mexican merchants, opportunistic Indian agents and Anglo arms dealers, this book illustrates how central these contested borderlands were to the history of the American West.
Vicksburg is the key. . . . Let us get Vicksburg, and all that country is ours.--President Abraham Lincoln, 1862 In a brilliantly constructed and powerfully rendered new account, James R. Arnold offers a penetrating analysis of Grant's strategies and actions leading to the Union victory at Vicksburg. Approaching these epic events from a unique and well-rounded perspective, and based on careful research, Grant Wins the War is fascinating reading for all Civil War and military history buffs. Acclaim for Grant Wins the War Nicely details the coordination of Union military and naval operations and the boldness and genius of General U. S. Grant that brought Union victory, and he offers an excellent discussion of the technology and tactics of siege warfare. . . . a good drums-and-bugle account of an important event.--Library Journal A particular strength of this work is its demonstration that modern weapons left no shortcuts to victory, and little room for command virtuosity.--Publishers Weekly Throughout, Arnold backs up his assessments with solid facts and sound reasoning, engagingly presented. He has produced a useful and enjoyable brief history of the Vicksburg campaign, helpful to scholars and general readers alike.--Journal of Military History Powerfully and persuasively argues that the Union victory at Vicksburg in 1863 was in fact the actual turning point of the Civil War.--Helena (Mont.) Independent Record
The most popular mystery writer of all time concocted a rich recipe of intrigue, character, and setting. All of Agatha Christie's 66 detective novels are covered here in great detail. Each chapter begins with general comments on a novel's geographical and historical setting, identifying current events, fashions, fads and popular interests that relate to the story. A concise plot summary and comprehensive character listing follow, and each novel is discussed within Christie's overall body of work, with an emphasis on the development of themes, narrative technique, and characters over the course of her prolific career. An appendix translates Poirot's French and defines the British idiomatic words and phrases that give Christie's novels so much of their flavor.
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