Midterm Free Essays

The Northern United States consists of a wide variety of people from different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Dutch, Swedes and Puritans were the early settlers who lived here before the American Revolution. Agriculture did not develop extensively here because the climate was cold and soils were rockier. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm or any similar topic only for you Order Now Northern farmers were mainly subsistence farmers. They grew corn, wheat, beans and livestock. By the start of the nineteenth century the industrial revolution began in the North. Many European immigrants like the Irish, Germans and Scandinavians also moved to the North in large numbers. This led to the creation of large cities. Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia and New York City were all large cities in the North (Milner, 1996). The North had an industrial sector with advanced financial and commercial services. Most of the farms in the North used free labor. The massive immigration of the 19th century brought new industries to America’s North to provide for the booming population. The North provided the greatest opportunities to new settlers. The Northern states were becoming more and more powerful as the populations increased. There was a desire in the Northern states to abolish slavery in the West which would soon become states. The economical structure of the Northern states, the Union, was vastly dependent on industry. Slavery did not exist in most of the Union, as there was no demand for it due to the type of industrial development taking place. As the Union had a paid work force, the profits made were lower and the cost of the finished manufactured item higher. In turn, the Union used the profits and purchased raw materials to use. This cycle is referred to as interdependency. The Southern United States constitutes a large geographical location which is famous for the early European colonial settlements, slavery, American Civil War and the legacy of the Confederate States. The American South was settled by British Colonists which also included Scots and Ulster-Scots. These people began their trade and cultural exchanges with the local Native Americans. The South witnessed the creation of large plantations which grew cash crops like cotton and tobacco. The South did not receive foreign immigration before the American Civil War. The population of the South was also mostly rural. There were very few large towns and cities. Slavery was considered a vital practice for the South’s economy. Wealthy slave owners dominated Southern politics and they defended the institution of slavery vigorously. This issue sharply divided the North and South. It would eventually lead to the American Civil War. Southerners also resented the domination of the North in American politics (Milner, 1996). The economy of the Southern states, the Confederacy, greatly if not entirely depended on the institution of slavery. The Confederacy was heavily reliant on agriculture, and they used the profits made from the sale of such raw materials to purchase finished goods to use and enjoy. Their major export was cotton, which thrived on the warm river deltas and could easily be shipped to major ocean ports from towns on the Mississippi and numerous river cities. Slavery was a key part of this, as slaves were the ones who harvested and planted the cotton. Being such an enormous unpaid work force, the profits made were extraordinarily high and the price for the unfinished goods drastically low in comparison; especially since he invention of the cotton gin in 1793 which made the work all that much easier and quicker. Many Americans migrated to the West in search of gold. The West was a land which had many opportunities for people. The Western countryside was rough and full of hurdles. Many Americans wanted to get out of the cities which were polluted and overcrowded. Some of them came in search of adventure while others fled because of poverty and religious discrimination. The West seemed to be an ideal place to become rich. Many settlers faced hostility from the Native American tribes living there. There were constant skirmishes and battles with the Native Americans which eventually led to their confinement to reservations. An area that was settled west of the Mississippi that was affected by its natural environment is the Great Plains. Probably more than any other region of the West, the natural environment played havoc with those living there. The years between 1843 and 1869 are the years when most of the famous covered-wagon migration took place. During those years, thousands of people moved west, looking for better lives. The people moved in long trains of covered wagons, exposed to every sort of danger and hardship. Trails were formed, most notably the Oregon Trail. Although many people died on the long journey, people kept moving west (Milner, 1996). People were migrating in search of fertile land and economic opportunities beyond the pre-existing border of the nation. There were many other more specific reasons for the expansion as well. One of the main economic attractions of the west was the discovery of gold ion California in 1848. People went west at the thought of becoming rich fast. They had no idea exactly how wild the west would prove to be. Others belonging to the lower classes were enticed to the west by the free land. All these three areas now form part of the United States of America. All of them started as agricultural lands which have now become heavily industrialized. References: Milner II, Clyde A; The Oxford History of the United States of America. Oxford University Press; Reprint edition, 1996       How to cite Midterm, Essay examples Midterm Free Essays Midterm Free Essays Description: Preferred language style: English(U.S.) Please double-space the exam, 12 font, and send it to me thru the Assignment Drop Box. We will write a custom essay sample on Midterm or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are 3 questions worth a total of 50 points (about 16.6 points a piece). The questions have multiple-parts. Answer all of the parts for each question. 2. CJ experts know that it is difficult to evaluate just how risky an offender`s future behavior might be. What are some of the problems associated with measuring risk? Explain why it is important to try to measure an offender`s risk. How does measuring risk help the CJ system operate more effectively? http://www.francistimko.com/Risk/RISK%20ASSESSMENT.htm#TOC2_4 3. What does it mean to classify probationers? Why do probation departments classify the offenders on their caseloads? Imagine yourself as a probation officer – which classification of probationers would you prefer to supervise and why? HINTS: Write well, edit. DO NOT discuss prisoners, prisons, jails, incarceration. You aren`t in that class. You are in a community corrections class. All of these questions require some reading from you textbook. Don`t try to answer any of the questions without reading the appropriate section of your text. I expect and want you to read yout textbook as you prepare the mid-term. Answer the questions I asked. Don`t answer questions I didn`t ask. Intermediate Sanctions:   Range of sentencing options that, â€Å"fall somewhere between outright imprisonment and simple probationary release back into the community. Michael J. Russel, former director of the NIJ says that â€Å"intermediate punishments are intended to provide prosecutors, judges, and corrections officials with sentencing options that permit them to apply appropriate punishments to convicted offenders while not being constrained   by the traditional choice between prison and probation.   Rather than substituting for prison or probation, however, these sanctions, which include †¦ bridge the gap between those options and provide innovative ways to ensure swift and certain punishment. – From the introduction to James Austin, Michael Jones, and Melissa Boylard, The Growing Use of Jail 1. Some people argue that intermediate sanctions are the best new approach to sentencing offenders in the community.   Define what experts mean by ‘intermediate sanctions’ and what they are designed to do BOTH for offenders and the CJ system.   How do experts justify the need for intermediate sanctions?   Intermediate sanctions are controversial.   Why? â€Å"Intermediate sanctions† is a term used for punishments that bridge the spectrum between prison and probation.   They include intensive supervision probation, work release, house arrest, day fines, asset forfeiture, restitution, community service, boot camp and, occasionally, substance abuse treatment programs. These programs are intended to provide swift and certain punishment while decreasing the economic burden of the prison system, and simultaneously helping society feel that criminals are punished with something more than a slap on the wrist. They are also intended to provide low risk offenders with the intervention and assistance that they need in the hopes of reducing recidivism.   Intermediate sanctions also theoretically decrease the risk that a low level offender will become â€Å"hardened† during incarceration. IS is controversial, for the most part, because research has shown that it does not accomplish the goals that have been set.   Random experiments involving the assignment of offenders to ISP or probation showed no statistical differences in rearrest, but significantly increased technical violations of parole among the offenders enrolled in the intensively supervised program. From that experiment, it is assumed that although ISP programs cost MORE to run, they are no more effective in reducing recidivism than traditional probation programs.   Forfeiture judgments, in which the government confiscates property obtained with illegal money, have been successfully challenged in court.   NIJ department studies of boot camp programs have shown that the programs generally do not last long enough to reduce recidivism.   When the programs did last long enough to have that impact, they offered no real cost benefits to traditional incarceration. 2. CJ experts know that it is difficult to evaluate just how risky an offender`s future behavior might be. What are some of the problems associated with measuring risk? Explain why it is important to try to measure an offender`s risk. How does measuring risk help the CJ system operate more effectively? Although many assessments exist to evaluate an offender’s future risk, all assessments contain some flaws – They assess different values (which may vary, depending on the community’s needs), every prediction instrument contains hidden policy and value decisions, and anyone using a standardized assessment has to pay yearly fees to the proprietary vendor.   For the above reasons, several societies have elected to develop their own assessments – but with this choice comes the problems associated with working the bugs out and making sure that the assessments are accurately measuring that which is intended. It is important to measure an offender’s risk of recidivism as well as his risk of escalating the violence of his attacks in order to adequately protect society while keeping the cost of the criminal justice system to its absolute minimum.   Measuring offender’s risk and adjusting the conditions of probation or intermediate sanctions accordingly theoretically decreases the likelihood of a repeat offense, which physically protects society and assists in keeping the operating costs of the system lower due to NOT having to re-house this particular offender. 3. What does it mean to classify probationers? Why do probation departments classify the offenders on their caseloads? Imagine yourself as a probation officer – which classification of probationers would you prefer to supervise and why? Probationers are classified by risk and need within the first thirty days hat they are assigned to a PO.   The risk is the total of the scores for address changes, employment, substance abuse, attitude, age at first conviction, prior offenses and prior assault offenses.   Each item is weighted and totaled, and the result is combined with the need score. Need scores are based on vocational skills, employment issues, financial stability, family stability, emotional and psychological issues, substance abuse, health, sexual behavior, and officer’s impression.   Probationers are the classified into high, medium, and low categories using predetermined values.   A higher risk assessment is considered to correlate to an increased risk of probation violations.   Probation officers use this risk assessment to determine how to most effectively allocate their resources of time and energy, while attempting to insure that each offender receives sufficient amounts of each to prevent violations of the probation agreement, and to catch any violations that do occur. Although it may seem irrational, I believe that if I were a PO I would prefer to supervise medium to high level risks, simply because the research indicates that – regardless of risk assessment – there is an inverse relationship between repeat violations and the level of supervision offenders receive.   It is my opinion that officers who are assigned low risk offenders may be less vigilant about catching offenses, or that the offenders may feel like they have sufficient opportunity to engage in criminal behavior, which results in a greater danger to potential victims of these crimes.   An officer supervising a released rapist, for example, may find it easier to attain needed resources than one supervising an identity thief, despite the fact that the identity thief is as likely to re-offend – simply because rape is an assault crime. How to cite Midterm, Essay examples