What are the three periods of development of federalism, the influential leaders of the time, and the future of federalism?

There have been more than three periods of federalism, so there are different ways to answer this question. However, there are some important milestones and divisions in the practice of federalism in the U.S.

• During the period called "dual federalism" (1836-1933), states and the federal government vied for power. There was tension between the power of the states and power of the federal government, which came to a head in the Civil War of 1861-1865. However, Lincoln led the federal government to have more power through his role in using the government to expand the country economically; for example, he funded the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.


• During the period of "cooperative federalism" (1933-1961), the states and the federal government worked together cooperatively. The federal government developed the authority to regulate the states and other government agencies. An example is the New Deal agencies established by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. Many of these agencies worked through the states to provide relief and jobs to people.


• There have been different periods of federalism since 1961. One period was "New regulatory federalism" (1981-1989) under Ronald Reagan, in which the role of the federal government was cut back. 

The future of federalism might continue along the current track, in which states are given some latitude to implement federal programs. While Obama has pushed certain initiatives, states have continued to have some degree of latitude in implementing policies. Especially because many states have been financially ailing, the federal government has at times used the "carrot and stick" approach to try to get states to do what they want by offering funding in return. For example, the states were tasked with implementing Obama's new healthcare law. 

What is the social content of Orwell's Animal Farm?

Like any good satire or allegory, and almost all of George Orwell's work, Animal Farm is full of social commentary. Though he dismissed the book as a "fairy story," Orwell wanted to show how even those popular movements that started with good intentions could become corrupted once they gained power. The pigs launch a revolution in the name of Animalism, an ideology that promotes equality to all animals and the end to exploitation by Man. We see at the beginning of the book that this set of ideas, based on a speech given by Old Major in Chapter One, is sincere and motivated by an honest desire to make a better world (or farm.) But once Jones is driven from the farm, the pigs assume leadership, and begin to use their power to enrich themselves and, most importantly, to pursue more power. The idealism of the early days of Animal Farm, exemplified by the singing of the revolutionary song "Beasts of England" and the Seven Commandments on the barn, quickly becomes corrupted as Napoleon consolidates his power through propaganda and violence. By the end of the book, the pigs are indistinguishable from the humans they overthrew, and the lives of the rest of the animals are, if anything, worse than they were before. Throughout the book, we see serious social commentary. The ability of the state to manipulate information is symbolized by Squealer. The ease with which "the masses" can be swayed by jingoism is represented by the sheep, who drown out dissent by bleating "four legs good, two legs bad" at public meetings. There are countless other examples--every character in the book is intended to say something about society.

Overall, the social message of this book can be interpreted in a number of different ways. You could argue that Orwell was simply denouncing all popular movements, which were doomed to fail because people (symbolized by animals in the book) are inherently corrupt. But Orwell was a democratic socialist for most of his adult life, including when he wrote Animal Farm. It can also be read as a fairly straightforward allegory for the emergence of brutal Stalinism from the communist revolution in Russia. There is no doubt that Orwell had the Soviet Union and the rise of Stalin in mind, and that Animal Farm is a critique of totalitarianism. But, especially when read in tandem with 1984, his other great dystopian novel, Animal Farm has an even more sobering warning: Unless we are vigilant in keeping human rights and liberties at the forefront of our politics, all of our political systems are subject to sliding into totalitarianism. 

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, what contributes to things falling apart in Umuofia?

In Chinua Achebe's classic novel Things Fall Apart, there are two major factors that contribute to everything in Okonkwo's life and his home of Umuofia "falling apart." First, Umuofia changes drastically with the arrival of white Christian missionaries. These colonial representatives bring with them not only a strange, alien faith, but also European models of governance. This pervasive colonial influence is one of the major factors that cause everything in Okonkwo's life to fall apart. Toward the end of the novel, the narrator acknowledges how the white settlers have changed the region:

"There were many men and women in Umuofia who did not feel as strongly as Okonkwo about the new dispensation. The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion.... And even in the matter of religion, there was a growing feeling that there might be something in it after all, something vaguely akin to method in the overwhelming madness" (178).

Next, Okonkwo's own rigid, staunch, brutally masculine values that are steeped in Umuofian tradition prevent him from successfully adjusting to the alterations that white settlers bring to the region. Indeed, things start falling apart for Okonkwo because his pride and stubborn nature do not allow him to adapt to the significant changes in Umuofia after he returns from his exile:

"Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women" (183).

Here, Okonkwo is incapable of accepting the changes that stem from colonialism, and he considers his clan a lost cause because they no longer share his rigid values.

For me, these are the two major factors that contribute to the tragic events that unfold throughout the novel.

Why did the police captain insist that Officer Delinko patrol the construction site until the groundbreaking ceremony in Hoot by Carl Hiaasen?

The people building the new pancake house, called Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House, in Hoot have connections with local politicians. One of the big shots in the pancake franchise phoned Councilman Grady because the site where they are building has been vandalized. The stakes were pulled out of the ground, meaning the bulldozer can't begin its work. Additionally, the construction trucks' tires were slashed. After the person from the pancake house company called the councilman, the councilman yelled at the police chief, who spoke with the captain. Then the captain summoned the sergeant, who summoned Officer Delinko to tell him he needed to have a cruiser go by the pancake house construction site every hour (Hiaasen 35). Officer Delinko thinks professionals vandalized the construction site because they put alligators into the portable toilets, but the police captain doesn't really care who vandalized the site as long as the police don't receive any more calls from the councilman. 

What is the tone of "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell?

There is a menacing tone to "The Most Dangerous Game."

Connell's use of dark foreshadowing with the exotic setting, the strange occurrences, and bizarre characters introduced in the exposition quickly puts readers "on edge," as they fear what will happen next. This element of danger is immediately introduced as Rainsford and Whitney travel to hunt jaguar; then, when Rainsford falls overboard and must swim for a long time before finding any shoreline, there is clearly a forbidding tone. Later, Rainsford's frightening encounter with the massive Ivan, whose tongue has been cut out is, indeed, disconcerting. The greatest menace is presented in the form of the owner of the chateau, "a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom." This man is the Russian General Zaroff, whose "dead black eyes" do not change as he calmly speaks of his bizarre penchant for hunting "the most dangerous game."

After Rainsford becomes Zaroff's prey, there is great tension and the dark, forbidding tone of the narrative heightens. Certainly, the story's exploration of fear and death generates a menacing tone to the fast-paced action of this work.

How can I write an analytical essay on "Big Black Good Man" by Richard Wright?

A successful literary analysis begins with careful close readings of the literary work, in this case, the short story "Big Black Good Man" by Richard Wright (1908-1960), published posthumously in the collection Eight Men (1961). A successful analysis will examine and discuss background information (e.g., historic, social, author biography) and the opinions of critics and scholars. The nugget of a literary analysis essay expresses your own textual analysis and your critical argument expressing your own idea about the story. Your idea must be developed and supported directly from the words of the text, and this text must be clearly presented and soundly explicated.

An example of an idea about the text that might be expanded into a literary analysis is the question of what psychological reaction changed the attitude of the big black good man at the very end of the short story; it is his attitude change that drives the dramatic twist and surprise ending. Understanding and presenting the literary analysis of the man's original attitude and change in attitude will call for examining the text to substantiate the sincerity of his earlier attitude and of his apparent surprise at the fear he had lodged in Olaf's mind. This analysis will also call for examining the character development given to the big black good man to determine what his emotional and cognitive responses, unstated but implied in the text, might have been.

   "Thanks!" Olaf cried after him.
   The black giant paused, turned his vast black head, and flashed a grin.
   "Daddy-O, drop dead," he said and was gone.

Following this type of examination of the text to analyze and understand characterization development, motivation for actions, psychological reactions and any other relevant textual elements, such as setting, tone, mood, etc., will provide the framework for a literary analysis essay examining any question you may develop for "Big Black Good Man."

What three Shakespeare plays can be more relevant to 9th graders?

Based on this question being in the Hamlet category, I believe the question is asking, "What three Shakespeare plays might be more relevant than Hamlet is to ninth graders?"

That's a good question.  It's one that curriculum review committees wrestle with too.  

I believe that Romeo and Juliet is more accessible and relevant to ninth graders.  One reason is that the story is already known by most people.  A general understanding of the events of the play is likely common knowledge to most high school students.  Another reason for its greater accessibility to young people is the fact that Romeo and Juliet are teenagers themselves.  Young readers like to read about characters that are the same age as the readers.  Just look at most young adult literature.  The characters are almost always under the age of eighteen.  The Hunger Games is about teens killing teens.  Unwind is about teens trying not to be killed for body parts.  Twilight is about immortal teens.  Divergent is about teens.  The Maze Runner is about teens.  Romeo and Juliet is about teens which makes it more accessible and relatable to teen readers.  On the whole, Romeo and Juliet is relevant to high school students because they are learning about love and heartache for the first time, and Romeo and Juliet is a play about those very same things.  

I think Much Ado About Nothing is a good choice too.  My reasons on this one are not complex.  First, the play is a comedy.  My problem with Romeo and Juliet has always been the fact that it is a tragedy.  I don't like tragedies, and my students don't tend to like them either.  Why?  Because they are sad.  Much Ado About Nothing reads like a romantic comedy.  It's happy and upbeat through most of the play and loaded with dirty jokes, insults, and bickering.  It's relevant to ninth graders for exactly those reasons.  That's how they act a lot of the time. It's a fun, and funny play to read; therefore, students are more likely to want to read it because they are having fun with it.  Thematically the play shows what can happen to a relationship when there is communication breakdowns.  That fits with high school students too that are learning to communicate with their teachers, their friends, and their significant others.  

For my third suggestion, I recommend The Tempest.  It's a nice mixture of comedy and tragedy, but it most definitely isn't as dark as Hamlet.  The Tempest is definitely on the more exciting side of the spectrum of Shakespeare plays, which ninth graders should appreciate.  It's loaded with action, fighting, and magic for the boys, and the play contains a love plot as well for the girls.  There's tons of Shakespeare style swearing in it too.  Obviously high school students are not dealing with shipwrecks and mystical creatures, so the play is not relevant in that regard.  The play is relevant because its overall plot mirrors the same plot structure and character type that students are already familiar with.  Additionally, it's loaded with love, loss, betrayal, violence, and humor.  These are all things that modern audiences can relate to. 

If I was really forced to do it, I could probably say that any of Shakespeare's plays are still relevant to modern day audiences.  Alan Craven, a modern day literary scholar, would also agree.  He writes the following about Shakespeare's plays and their continued relevance.  

Humans still experience love, loss, betrayal, war, humor and tragedy, which gives Shakespeare a foothold in modern times.