Significant Contributions of the Roman Empire essays

Significant Contributions of the Roman Empire essays The contributions of the Roman heritage on the modern West cannot be overemphasized. Even from ancient times the Roman Republic, and later the Roman Empire, was regarded as a successful template for all of civilization. The Romans had an excellent ability to organize and administer to the needs of their citizens and also developed a great legal system that is fundamentally in use even today. In the early republic, social divisions determined the shape of politics. Political power was in the hands of the aristocracy – the patricians. They dominated the affairs of state, provided military leadership in a time of war, and monopolized knowledge of the law and legal procedure. The common people – the small farmers, artisans, and landless urban dwellers – had few of the patricians' advantages. They did, however, have a voice in politics but were mostly overshadowed by the patricians. One of the greatest institutions of the republic was the formation of the Senate, a council of noble elders who advised the king. The creation of several assemblies through which laws and policy decisions were made provided the foundation for a structured government in Rome. In comparing historical Roman political bodies to that of the present-day United States it is easy to understand the influence that Roman history had on the framers of our own constitution and system of government. The Roman senate retains its name and also its function. The Roman consuls relate to our country's legislative assembly while a Roman praetor most closely resembles a judge or attorney. The Roman system of law was one of the earliest in history to enforce the belief that all men were created equal and are the basis of modern civil law. Roman law also established the precedent that the burden of proof weighed on the accuser, creating the belief that someone is innocent until proven guilty. It also stated that a person could not be punished for thought but only action. T...

DBQ Industrial Revolution Essays

DBQ Industrial Revolution Essays DBQ Industrial Revolution Essay DBQ Industrial Revolution Essay Conditions soon improved during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, However, some mill families and workers still suffer from poor living conditions, low wages, and brutal working hours. Children working in the mills for low wages was not uncommon during the Industrial revolution. However, working there served many dangers to children. Children as young as 10 years old worked in factories. William Cooper, 28, who testified before the Sadler Committee in the early 17th century, described factory conditions. (Document 1) The employees worked extremely long hours, from five in the morning until 9 at night. There was no time to stop for meals except a period of forty minutes, the only break they had out of their 16 hour work day. They were whipped when found asleep, and missed out on opportunities for an education, as they had no time for schooling. Cooper stated that he can read, but is unable to write. Joseph Hebraic, another mill worker who testified before the Sadler Committee describe injuries that he and other mill workers sustained from the factories dreary conditions. (Document 2) He suffered lung and bone damage from the dust in the factories and from overwork and insufficient diet Children also died from being caught in machines and suffering serious dismemberment . An additional document expressing the point of view of an actual child, rather than an adult, working in the mill during that time would provide more insight into the working conditions Of children in the mills. However, manufacturers who owned and/or supported these mills had a different tale to tell. They claimed that children and other employees in factory were treated well, and that the work was enjoyable to employees. Document 3) These claims can be viewed skeptically, as manufacturers knew that reported bad working conditions could sibyl put them out of business. Going into the late 18th and early 19th century though, there is improvement in working conditions. Employees living in mill villages were properly clothed fed and educated by mill owners, and certain regulations adopted by mill lowered the death toll of mill workers (Document 5) Housing conditions also improved in certain mill villages. One mill village, in which 1500 workers are employed, there are 300 hundred houses built for them by the mill owner. Document 6) This means that on average, there were only about 5 people living in one souse, a comfortable size. French politician Leon Voucher also describes the mill Village with a cleanliness which indicates order and comfort. While conditions were improving for some mills in t he early 19th century, regular working class towns did not undergo the same transformation Working class families lived in slums. They had to suffer filthy conditions, unpaved roads full of potholes, and an accumulation of refuse on the street from a lack sewage systems. Water sources were soiled from stinking filth and rubbish which deposits on the bank. Document 7) The visual from document shows a working class neighborhood in London. The air is thick with soot and smoke from factory chimneys. The houses are extremely small, and packed into tight childlike divisions separated by brick walls, with barely any space to spare. Workers during the industrial revolution suffered injuries, brutality, and inadequate live Eng conditions for their labor during the early 18th century. Although these conditions improved slightly during the late 17th and early 19th centuries, many working class neighborhoods in England continued to struggle with their living and working conditions.

Police Corruption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police Corruption - Research Paper Example Thus, the author recommends more emphasis in fighting police corruption as a way of promoting governance and democracy. Cole, Smith and DeJong (2013) define police corruption as a form of police misconduct aimed at obtaining personal gains, including financial benefits or career advancement in exchange for selective or non-pursuance of an arrest or investigation. These could take the form of bribery and payoffs where police officers would accept money or its equivalent in exchange for some favours and demand payment from an individual in return for services respectively; shakedowns describes attempts by an officer to coerce money or its equivalent from criminals; and mooching which describes acceptance of free gifts from a person in return for favourable treatment to the gift giver (Gaines & Miller, 2013). Just as other values, attitudes and norms toward corruption, Martin (2011) argues that police corruption would be bound by context and hence would vary across cultures. For example , in the West, bribery was a major factor in hiring and posting the police in the past but has ceased to be a major concern nowadays. Survey also indicates visible and pervasive police corruption in developing countries as opposed to developed countries where it would be common among those working undercover rather than among the uniformed and visible officers (Bayley & Perito, 2011). This variation in police corruption would undoubtedly impact on the public regard for the police, particularly on perception of legitimacy. Police corruption remains widely spread throughout the world. In the US, the Knapp Commission found out that the New York Police Department, NYPD not only engaged in these corrupt dealings but had gone a notch higher to commit the crimes themselves (Gaines & Miller, 2013). In the UK, suppression of evidence and tampering of confessional evidence and perjury has been documented in the famous cases of the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six among many other cases. Organised police corruption has also been uncovered in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. The holds or worsens in the rest of the world with Transparency International ranking the crime top in its corruption index among nine public services (Bayley & Perito, 2011). Effect of Police Corruption According to Bayley and Perito, police corruption has been noted to be â€Å"severely regressive,† affecting majorly the low income earners (2011, p. 2). Aid administrators, diplomats and other varied field personnel argue that police corruption leads to wastage of resources, mockery of justice, undermining security, alienating populations from their governments and slowing down economic development. Neild (2007) reveals obstacles in the fulfilment of the basic objective of the international community objective of establishing the rule of law. Incorporating corruption in the administration of law amounts to denial of equal justice. This undermines fair elections, fair trials, cultural expression, socio-economic opportunities and access to the basics of food, shelter, health and education. With the police being the primary institution for the implementation of society’s law, police corruption hinders the implementation of the rule of law. When the police resort to selling their services profitably, the rule of law gets compromised. Cole et al. (2013) cite three major effects of police corruption