Thursday, March 19, 2020

Benjamin Franklins Diplomatic Mission essays

Benjamin Franklin's Diplomatic Mission essays Benjamin Franklins single most significant contribution to American history was his diplomatic mission that convinced France to help America in their fight against Britain for independence. It may not have happened in America but it sure changed the face of the country as we know it today. As a matter of fact, there might not have been an America had he not gotten the help from France that America so desperately needed. It started with the Continental army suffering a series of devastating losses. With the pressure of all of Great Britain on Americas shoulders, Congress was grasping at straws trying to get all the help they could find. State militias were refusing to march and Continental forces were scattered all throughout the colonies. Congress decided they needed help, and a lot of it. Dutch funds were arriving but werent enough to put munitions in every mans hands. With men running low, Congress made a bold move. They were to send a representative to France to ask for help. Benjamin Franklin was their man. Franklin was sent in 1776 and arrived in France in late December to a warm reception. He was very popular in France and was addressed as Dr. Franklin. His popularity was to serve him well in his mission to receive assistance. He was obliged with many parties thrown in his honor and he made friends with many high-ranking French officials. His first objective was to get France, or better, Louis XVI to formally recognize America as its own country. After that, he could then ask for assistance be it any of the three ms...men, munitions, or money. Franklin couldnt just simply ask the French for help without the promise of something in return, so he also had to convince the French that it would be a wise investment to help. With all this in mind, an agreement was close behind. After a long while and many bargains later, an agreement was signed on February 6, 1778. It was the Treaty of Paris....

Monday, March 2, 2020

Difference Between Samstag, Sonnabend, and Sonntag

Difference Between Samstag, Sonnabend, and Sonntag Samstag and Sonnabend  both mean Saturday and can be used interchangeably. So why does Saturday get two names in German? First of all, which version to use depends on where you live in the German-speaking world. Western and southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland use the older term â€Å"Samstag†, whereas eastern and northern Germany tend to use Sonnabend. The former GDR (in German: DDR) recognized Sonnabend as the official version. Historically the term Sonnabend, which means The evening before Sunday, can be traced back surprisingly to an English missionary! It was none other than St. Bonifatius, who was determined during the 700’s to convert the Germanic tribes in the Frankish empire. One of his items on his to-do list was to replace the word Samstag or Sambaztac as it was known then, which was of Hebraic origin (Shabbat), to the Old English term â€Å"Sunnanaefen.† This term made sense since it signified the evening and later on the day before Sunday and thus was easily integrated into old high German. The term â€Å"Sunnanaefen† evolved into the middle high German â€Å"Sun[nen]abent† and then finally into the version we speak today.As for St. Bonifatius, despite his successful mission among the Germanic people, was killed by a group of inhabitants in Frisia (Friesland), which is known nowadays as the Netherlands (Niederlande) and northwestern Germany today. It is interesting to note that the Dutch kept the original version for Saturday only (zaterdag). The Cultural Meaning of Samstag The Saturday  evening was always the day where they would show the main blockbusters on TV. We remember studying the TV magazine - we admit, we are a bit older- and really feeling the Vorfreude (joy of anticipation) when we saw a Hollywood movie being shown on Saturday. On Saturdays, they would also show the big entertainment shows like Wetten Dass...? which you might have heard of. Its host Thomas Gottschalk (his name literally means: Gods Joker) most likely still lives in the US nowadays. We loved that show when we were younger and less thinking about what was going on there. Later we realized that it was actually pretty horrible. It entertained millions of people and so far everyone following into Gottschalks footsteps has failed to continue his success. It was big news when they finally put that dinosaur to sleep.   Sonnabend versus Sonntag Now that you know that Sonnabend is actually the evening before Sonntag (Sunday) you might be able to easily distinguish these two German weekdays. The Sunday though is a very special day in Germany. In our youth, it was the day that the family would spend together and in case you were religious youd go to church in the morning to start off the day. It was also the day all the stores in the countryside are closed. Which lead to a little culture shock when we came to Poland in 1999 and saw many stores open on Sunday. We had always thought that the Sunday was some kind of Christian holiday but as the Poles were even stricter Christians than the Germans, we couldnt quite grasp this. So dont be surprised when you come to Germany. Even in the bigger cities, the main stores are closed. The only way to get what you urgently desire is to go to a Tankstelle (gas station) or a Spti (late shop). Expect the prices to be up to 100% higher than usual.