What were the most important things about foreign policy and politics during the Expansion/Pre-Civil War (1829-1859) era?

This is a vast subject, one on which many books could and have been written.  I will only be able to give you the bare details in this space.

The most important political issue during this entire time was the issue of slavery and how far it would expand.  There was also the connected issue of states’ rights.  Practically all of the politics of the time centered around these issues.  Let us look at some of the major events that occurred during this time period that had to do with these issues.  They include:

• The Nullification Crisis of 1832-3.  This had to do with whether states could ignore laws made by the national government if they thought those laws were unconstitutional.  This was the first time a Southern state made serious moves towards seceding from the Union.


• The domestic conflict over the war with Mexico that started in 1846.  While the war itself was a foreign policy issue, there was great conflict over the meaning of that war in the US.  Anti-slavery people felt that the war was being fought to expand slavery.  A term to know here is Wilmot Proviso, which tried to stipulate that slavery would be barred from any land taken from Mexico.


• Compromise of 1850.  This was supposed to solve the problem of slavery in the Mexican Cession.  However, it enflamed tensions between the North and the South, largely because of the Fugitive Slave Act, which was part of the Compromise.


• Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which threw out the Missouri Compromise and opened up the debate over slavery in the territories.


• The violence in “Bleeding Kansas” over the issue of slavery from 1856 to 1858.


• The Dred Scott decision of 1857, which said, among other things, that Congress could not regulate slavery in the territories.

These are the most important events that occurred during this time period with regard to the issue of slavery.  All of these episodes served to drive the North and the South further apart, making the Civil War more likely.

There was not that much going on in foreign policy during this time.  The two most important events were the war with Mexico and the deal with the United Kingdom with regard to the Oregon Territory.  The US and the British had jointly controlled the Oregon Territory since 1818.  They agreed to hold it jointly until they could agree to a boundary.  By the early 1840s, American migration to the Oregon Territory forced the two sides to try to agree on the boundary.  This brought some amount of conflict as some Americans wanted to fight unless Britain agreed to give the US the entire Oregon Territory.  This was eventually settled in 1846 with the two sides agreeing to a border at the 49th parallel.

The other major foreign policy issue was the dispute with Mexico.  This started when Texas, which was mainly populated by Americans, broke away from Mexico in 1836.  Texas asked to join the US, which Mexico strenuously opposed as it still refused to accept that Texas was independent.  This led to tension between Mexico and the US.  These tensions came to a head in 1845 when the US annexed Texas.  This led to war between the two countries in 1846.

These are the main issues in politics and foreign policy during this time.  However, please note that this is a terribly brief summary of what happened during a most eventful time in US history.

Why do you think the islanders find the voice of the cuckoo bird thrilling?

The lines you're referring to in William Wordsworth's "The Solitary Reaper" can be found below:

A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard 

In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird, 

Breaking the silence of the seas 

Among the farthest Hebrides. (13-16)

By referring to islanders, I assume you mean inhabitants of the Hebrides, which is a collection of islands off the coast of Scotland. We can't be sure exactly why the song of the cuckoo might be thrilling to these people but, since the cuckoo (like the nightingale) was often used in Romantic poetry because of its beautiful song, we can guess that the song of the bird is thrilling simply because it has a beautiful sound. Moreover, the song can be seen as an example of the pure beauty of nature in general, which would also explain its thrilling aspects.

However, it's important to note that Wordsworth is actually saying that the reaper's song is more thrilling than the cuckoo bird's. As such, though the bird's song might be enjoyable to listen to, the reaper's song is far more beautiful. By making this claim, Wordsworth highlights the transcendent beauty of the reaper's song, as he claims it trumps one of nature's most beautiful qualities: the cuckoo bird's song. 

In Elie Wiesel's Night, what are the lives of Sighet's Jews like before the German invasion?

Night is a harrowing memoir of a young man attempting to survive the Holocaust. In its first chapter, Night reveals much about the Jewish community where Elie spends his youth. These observations teach the reader about what daily life was like in Sighet and the countless other Jewish communities destroyed by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Day to day life in Sighet is something to which many readers can relate. “The shopkeepers were doing good business, the students lived among their books, and the children played in the streets.” This sentence is timeless and placeless. It applies to civilizations from thousands of years ago just as well as it does to today.

One thing the reader learns early on is that for the Jews of Sighet, their religion plays a large role in their daily lives. Even Elie, still a child in the memoir’s opening pages, dutifully studies the Torah. His father, though not a rabbi, is a highly respected member of Sighet’s Jewish community. Wiesel notes that his father “was more involved in the welfare of others than that of his own kin.” Though one can interpret this statement as negative, it shows the degree to which Elie’s father is an active member of his community.

Though religion ties Sighet’s Jewish residents together, these ties are not unbreakable. When foreign Jews, including Elie’s mentor Moshe the Beadle, are deported by the Hungarian police, they are quickly forgotten. “What do you expect,” someone in the crowd says as the train car full of foreign Jews pulls away. “That’s war.” Even Elie moves on, only to be surprised later when Moshe reappears in Sighet after escaping the Nazis' death squads.  

How is The Merchant of Venice a perfect blend of comic, tragic and romantic elements ?

This play is certainly one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays, and, due to its themes of bigotry and suggested violence, one of his most controversial. Perhaps one of the reasons for its popularity is that the play does indeed combine elements of comedy, tragedy and romance.

The comic elements are perhaps most clearly seen during the segments when Portia's suitors choose the gold and silver caskets. In these scenes the two suitors are shown that their own personality flaws are magnified by the choices they make, and this provides comic relief. There is also a bit of comedy in the friendship between Bassanio and Graziano, as the former teases the latter about his womanizing.

The tragedy of the play lies in the deep anger and hatred that Shylock feels towards Antonio; likewise, Antonio's deep sadness and depression could be said to have a somewhat tragic overlay. Some productions of this play include the suggestion that Antonio is in love with Bassanio, and this is tragic because, despite their friendship, Bassanio cannot return Antonio's affection.

The play's romantic elements are expressed most thoroughly in Portia's determination to help Antonio escape Shylock's cruel justice. She does this in order to please Bassanio, with whom she has fallen in love.

In Philbrick's Freak the Mighty, what is the difference in behavior between the first time Max meets Iggy and the second time?

The first time Max meets Iggy is in chapter 11 when he and Kevin return Loretta's wallet to her. When Loretta first sees the boys, one very large and the other small, she calls to Iggy to come see the circus that's in town. When Iggy shows up, Max sees a big hairy guy and says they must have gotten the wrong house because he's afraid. Loretta and Iggy continue to mock and laugh as the boys explain how they found her wallet and want to return it. Iggy forces the boys to enter the home and asks their names because Loretta says Max looks familiar. Iggy is behaving very aggressively with the boys until Loretta realizes Max is Killer Kane's boy. Then he is all in favor of finishing the interview because he doesn't want Killer Kane figuring out he messed with his son. 

The next time Max meets Iggy is in chapter 16 after he's been kidnapped from his grandparents' house by his father. Killer Kane takes him straight to Iggy's. Once there, Iggy behaves like a paranoid criminal by frantically locking all the doors and closing all the curtains. He's tense and willing to do anything that Killer Kane says because this time, Iggy's scared. Max is scared, too, but Iggy is completely different from the first time Max met him because he knows that Killer Kane is the boss, now. Iggy has been asked by Killer Kane to help him escape with his boy and Iggy is too scared to say no. In fact, it seems as if Iggy just wants to help Kane on his way so he can avoid being put in jail. 

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, what are some events that show how Ponyboy struggles with his identity, but ultimately, remains true to himself?

Pony worries about being a greaser, but he finds a way to be true to his friends and still sensitive and intelligent. 

Pony explains early on that he is not like the other greasers, but he still feels a deep connection to them.  He is not a fighter, and not a high school dropout.  He is more sensitive and considered deeper than the others. They care about him and want him to follow his ambitions. 

I'm supposed to be smart; I make good grades and have a high IQ and everything, but I don't use my head. Besides, I like walking. (Ch. 1) 

So Pony often seems different from the other greasers.  For example, when Two-bit hands him a broken bottle when the Socs drive by, he says he would never use it.  The other greasers feel like Pony is a little more delicate and inside his head. 

Yet Pony does fight when he needs to.   He participates in the rumble, even though he is still recovering from his injuries from the fire.  He wants to do it because he wants to support his greaser friends.  

"Ponyboy, listen, don't get tough. You're not like the rest of us and don't try to be..."

What was the matter with Two-Bit? I knew as well as he did that if you got tough you didn't get hurt. Get smart and nothing can touch you... (Ch. 12) 

He survives, again with an injury.  He does feel proud of himself for participating.  He feels like he is pulling his own weight.  He also likes the fact that the greasers won.  It makes him proud. 

Johnny tells Pony to stay gold.  He wants him to stay in school and get an education. The other greasers, especially his Brother Darry, agree.  They know that Pony has a chance to make something of himself.

Calculate speed when light in a vacuum is 300,000 km/s. If the index of refraction of water is 1.33, what is the speed of light in the water?

Q: 

Assume the speed of light in a vacuum to be 300,000 km/s. Assuming the index of refraction of water to be 1.33, what is the speed of light as it passes through a medium of water? 

A:

This is a case of refraction of light as it enters a medium. In the process of refraction, light is bent or curved as it passes from one medium into another. The index of refraction allows us to quantify this change in light's velocity. Although light technically moves ever so slightly slower in air, we can consider the speed of light through air to be essentially equal to the speed of light within a vacuum. 

The following formula defines the index of refraction:

`n = c/v`

Here, `n` is the index of refraction (a ratio which has no units), `c` is the speed of light in a vacuum, which for our purposes is `300,000 (km)/s`, and `v` is the velocity of light as it passes through the medium in question (in this case, water).  

Therefore, we will solve for `v` in the above equation.

Plugging in the known values from the question, we now have the following:

`1.33 = (300,000 (km)/(s))/v`

After multiplying both sides of this equation by `v`, we obtain the following:

`1.33*v = 300,000 (km)/(s)`

We can now divide the right side by 1.33 to obtain the value of `v`.This gives us `225,563.9098 (km)/(s)` , which if rounded to three significant digits will be`226,000 (km)/s` . This is our final answer. This makes sense as an answer because light will be slowed down as it enters water.