The Nineteenth Century America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Nineteenth Century America - Essay Example In the year 1819 the Transcontinental Treaty proposed by the then American President John Quincy Adams was signed by the United States and Spain. This treaty reinforced the American belief of territorial expansion. The desire to spread towards the west increased when John Jacob Astor expanded his fur trade company to the Pacific Northwest. With trade expansions the legendary â€Å"mountain men† became popular as they were financially facilitated by the fur trade companies to move to other countries in search of profit. During the 1830s and 1840s the Americans expanded their territory westward towards the Pacific Ocean. Besides economic there were other reasons like avoiding religious persecution. Their attempt to establish American ideals into areas that fell into the boundaries of Mexico or Great Britain created diplomatic crisis. The phrase Manifest Destiny was coined in 1845. It manifested the American belief that God has given them the right to expand their territories bec ause of their growing population. The largest acquisition took place in 1803 when America acquired Louisiana territory for $15 million. With this America got control over Mississippi River and the size of the nation became double. America was greatly affected by the era of expansion. The territorial expansions resulted in dividing the nation by causing diplomatic crisis, war and internal conflicts. The economic expansion that took place internally increased class differences and America began to be recognised as a â€Å"land of opportunity and upward mobility† (Divine et.al, ch.8, 9, 13). II.Transportation Revolution During the first half of nineteenth century America experienced a growth in market economy. This was helped by development in the transportation sector which created an economic link between different parts of the nation and strengthened the national economy. It was the era of expansion in America when the nation expanded its territory towards the West. Most of the land in the east of Mississippi river became marketing centers to fulfill the needs of the farmers. There was a growing awareness among the political leaders regarding the need of connecting these distant areas with the rest of the nation through a well developed transport system. The initial focus was on developing the road network by building new highways and improving the older roads. Overland toll roads or turnpikes could not provide cheap transportation to cover long distances during bad weather because of their poor conditions. More economically efficient was the water transport. Many canals were constructed to estab lish links between the rivers Ohio and Mississippi as canals were cheaper to transport heavy agricultural goods than on poorly maintained roads and highways. The most important canal, the Erie Canal, was constructed in 1825. This canal helped in extending the commercial market to New York and this led to economic development in the region. There were also other improvements made on water transport. Steamboats became popular after they were invented in 1807 by Robert Fulton. (Divine et.al, ch.9) The growth of railroads in the 1840s and the 1850s reduced the importance of canals as primary means of freight transport. The expansion of the railroads helped the iron industry of America. It also facilitated financing of business sectors and paved the way for governments to provide land grants (Divine et.al, ch.13). III. Jackson presidential administrations During the 1820s and 1830s the concept of â€Å"self-made man† was celebrated in the political culture. It promoted the idea th at leaders of the

Health Reforms in the U.S. and UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Health Reforms in the U.S. and UK - Essay Example The countries’ governments have indeed stated that the marginalised group of the society lacks proper healthcare due to the prevailing economic incapacities. Therefore, the governments feel the need to consider all citizens in offering healthcare services despite their societal status, races, demographic variability and economic variations. As a result, implementation of healthcare reforms in these countries has been given first priority (Weisfield, English & Claiborne 2012, p. 54). The aspects established in the reforms include cost reductions, quality enhancement criteria, patient satisfaction, stimulating ideal information technology approaches and improving overall service delivery in the health sector. Access to Health Care Individuals are entitled to efficient and effective healthcare services. In this case, the US advocates access to insurance cover that will cater for health-related issues. According to Tudor, the government ascertains that the reforms will further sec ure and ease the risk of loss for those with health insurance policies. On the contrary, the UK government advocates fair access to health services through the reforms. This emphasises the stringent measures over the health services delivered by private and public proprietors (Great Britain 2012, p. 78). The United Kingdom further advocates that proper health care systems will put patients into consideration, and to that extent, they will have the rights to express the types of services they seek. Most importantly, the UK reforms target to reshape and restructure the health system by approaching all societal groupings equally. In essence, the country understands the importance of all citizens and upholds their health as being significant to economic propulsion. The reforms consider improving the rate at which people gain access to health by allocating funds to the clinical commissioning groups and the founding of Public Health England. The bodies serve in intensifying health provisi on throughout the UK, thus reaching people in all dimensions nationwide. This aspect contrasts with the United States reforms, which imply that individuals ought to access insurance cover to stand viable to health services. On the other hand, the US government depicts that most of its citizens lack prompt access to health services due to high costs as compared to other nations. The reforms shall implement guaranteed access to the best health care among all citizens, thus enhancing social welfare. Through the reforms, the governments will subsidise the cost of insurance, hence making the policy cheaper and accessible by the marginalised group of the society (Truglio-Londrigan & Lewenson 2011, p. 49). An analytical approach portrayed that the US nation spends much on medical care but denies the citizens access because of the cost constraints. Therefore, suppressing the costs will propel health care throughout the nation. On the contrary, the UK government offers free health care throu ghout the nations, but inhibitions prevail over immigrants, and the time factor also matters since health facilities do not offer prompt services (Great Britain 2012, p. 79). Therefore, the UK reforms contrast with those of the US in accessibility to the extent that while one seeks to surpass costs, the other wishes to improve prompt delivery to all citizens despite their region and ethnicity. Health Quality Criteria A survey conducted upon the uninsured and insured patients inclusive of those