Antoni Gaudi essays

Antoni Gaudi essays Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish architect, born on 25th June 1852 in Reus. He attended secondary school in the Colegio de los Padres Escolapios also in Reus in 1863. Gaudi also attended preparatory courses in 1869 to enable him to study architecture at the Faculty of Natural Science at Barcelona University. In 1873 Gaudi studied architecture at the Escola Provincial dArchitectura in Barcelona and just before finishing his studies he was awarded a public contract to design street lamps for the City, which were installed in 1879. On the 15th March 1878, Gaudi received his diploma. Gaudi died in early 1926. Gaudis earliest architectural work was the Casa Vicens, built in 1878, which was a private home in Barcelona. Gaudi has also created other works, such as the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo and the Casa Mila. They all show Gaudis style, described as a blend of Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau. Gaudi was inspired by mosaics but has interpreted them in his own way. Instead of flat, angular shapes, Gaudi creates smooth, shaped and curved 3D forms, and there are virtually no straight lines. Gaudi also includes shapes from natural forms, such as lizards, snakes and mushrooms. These forms can all be found in Park Guell. Gaudis rounded, unique wavelike style also reminds me of movement, although not straightforward, but a slow, wavy movement. His work and style also remind me of space, as most of his works are large especially the Casa Mila. The Casa Mila is my favourite of Gaudis buildings. It is also known as La Pedera or the Quarry, as it is a large stone and iron building, and is a pale colour with ironwork details. The outside is very smooth and wavy and has been described as a moving landscape by Josef Wiedermann. The stone is rounded and reminds me of a large cliff by the sea, as the walls appear to have been eroded by the elements. ...

USS New Mexico (BB-40) during World War II

USS New Mexico (BB-40) during World War II USS New Mexico (BB-40) - Overview: Nation:  United States Type:  Battleship Shipyard:  New York  Navy Yard Laid Down:  October 14, 1915 Launched:  April 13, 1917 Commissioned:  May 20, 1918 Fate:  Sold for scrap, 1947 USS New Mexico  (BB-40) - Specifications (as built) Displacement:  32,000 tons Length:  624  ft. Beam:  97  ft. Draft:  30 ft. Propulsion:  Electric drive turbines turning 4 propellers Speed:  21  knots Complement:  1,084  men Armament 12  Ãƒâ€" 14 in. gun (4  Ãƒâ€" 3)14 Ãâ€" 5 in. guns2 Ãâ€" 21 in. torpedo tubes USS New Mexico (BB-40) - Design Construction: After commencing construction of five classes of dreadnought battleships (, , , Wyoming, and New York), the US Navy concluded that future designs should utilize a set of common tactical and operational characteristics.   This would allow these ships to operate together in combat and would simplify logistics.   Designated the Standard-type, the next five classes made use of oil-fired boilers instead of coal, eliminated amidships turrets, and utilized an â€Å"all or nothing† armor scheme.   Among these alterations, the change to oil was made with the goal of increasing the vessel’s range as the US Navy felt that this would be required in any future naval conflict with Japan.   The new all or nothing armor arrangement called for key areas of the ship, such as magazines and engineering, to be heavily protected while less vital spaces were left unarmored.   Also, Standard-type battleships were to have a minimum top speed of 21 knots and a tactical turn radius of 7 00 yards.   The concepts of the Standard-type were first employed in the Nevada- and Pennsylvania-classes.   As a follow-on to the latter, the New Mexico-class originally was conceived as the US Navys first class to mount 16 guns.   Due to arguments over designs and rising costs, the Secretary of the Navy elected forgo using the new guns and directed that the new type replicate the Pennsylvania-class with only minor modifications.   As a result, the three ships of the New Mexico-class, USS New Mexico (BB-40), USS Mississippi (BB-41), and USS Idaho (BB-42), each mounted a main armament consisting of twelve 14 guns placed in four triple turrets.   These were supported by a secondary battery of fourteen 5 guns.   In an experiment, New Mexico received a turbo-electric transmission as part of its power plant while the other two vessels used more traditional geared turbines.      Ã‚        Ã‚   Assigned to the New York Navy Yard, work on New Mexico began on October 14, 1915.   Construction advanced over the next year and a half and on April 13, 1917, the new battleship slid into the water with Margaret Cabeza De Baca, daughter of the late Governor of New Mexico, Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca, serving as sponsor.   Launched a week after the United States entered World War I, work moved forward over the next year to complete the vessel.   Finished a year later, New Mexico entered commission on May 20, 1918, with Captain Ashley H. Robertson in command. USS New Mexico (BB-40) - Interwar Service: Conducting initial training through the summer and fall,  New Mexico  departed home waters in January 1919 to escort President Woodrow Wilson, aboard the liner  George Washington, back from the Versailles peace conference.   Completing this voyage in February, the battleship received orders to join the Pacific Fleet as flagship five months later.   Transiting the Panama Canal,  New Mexico  reached San Pedro, CA on August 9.   The next dozen years saw the battleship move through routine peacetime exercises and various fleet maneuvers.   Some of these required New Mexico  operate in conjunction with elements of the Atlantic Fleet.   A highlight of this period was a long-distance training cruise to New Zealand and Australia in 1925.    In March 1931,  New Mexico  entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for an extensive modernization.   This saw the replacement of the turbo-electric drive with conventional geared turbines, the addition of eight 5 anti-aircraft guns, as well as major alterations to the ships superstructure.   Completed in January 1933,  New Mexico  departed Philadelphia and returned to the Pacific Fleet.   Operating in the Pacific, the battleship remained there and in December 1940 was ordered to shift its home port to Pearl Harbor.   That May,  New Mexico  received orders to transfer to the Atlantic for service with the Neutrality Patrol.   Joining this force, the battleship worked to protect shipping in the western Atlantic from German U-boats. USS New Mexico (BB-40) - World War II: Three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and American entry into World War II,  New Mexico  accidentally  collided with and sank the freighter SS  Oregon  while steaming south of Nantucket Lightship.   Proceeding on to Hampton Roads, the battleship entered the yard and had alterations made to its anti-aircraft armament.   Departing that summer,  New Mexico passed through the Panama Canal and stopped at San Francisco en route to Hawaii.   In December, the battleship escorted transports to Fiji before shifting to patrol duty in the southwest Pacific.   Returning to Pearl Harbor in March 1943,  New Mexico  trained in preparation for the campaign in the Aleutian Islands.    Steaming north in May,  New Mexico arrived at Adak on the 17th.   In July, it took part in the bombardment of Kiska and aided in forcing the Japanese to evacuate the island.   With the successful conclusion of the campaign,  New Mexico  underwent a refit at Puget Sound Navy Yard prior to returning to Pearl Harbor.   Reaching Hawaii in October, it began training for the landings in the Gilbert Islands.   Sailing with the invasion force,  New Mexico  provided fire support for American troops during the Battle of Makin Island on November 20-24.   Sortieing in January 1944, the battleship took part in the fighting in the Marshall Islands including the landings on Kwajalein.   Rearming at Majuro, New Mexico then steamed north to strike Wotje before turning south to attack Kavieng, New Ireland.   Proceeding on to Sydney, it made a port call prior to commencing training in the Solomon Islands.      Ã‚      This complete, New Mexico moved north to participate in the Marianas Campaign.   Bombarding Tinian (June 14), Saipan (June 15), and Guam (June 16), the battleship defeated air attacks on June 18 and guarded American transports during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.   After spending the beginning of July in an escort role, New Mexico provided naval gunfire support for the liberation of Guam on July 12-30.   Returning to Puget Sound, it underwent an overhaul from August to October.   Complete, New Mexico proceeded to the Philippines where it protected Allied shipping.   In December, it aided in the landings on Mindoro before joining the bombardment force for an attack on Luzon the following month.   While firing as part of the pre-invasion bombardment at Lingayen Gulf on January 6, New Mexico sustained damage when a kamikaze struck the battleships bridge.   The hit killed 31, including the battleships commanding officer, Captain Robert W. Fleming. USS New Mexico (BB-40) - Final Actions: Despite this damage, New Mexico stayed in the vicinity and supported the landings three days later.   Quickly repaired at Pearl Harbor, the battleship returned to action in late March and aided in bombarding Okinawa.   Commencing fire on March 26, New Mexico engaged targets ashore until April 17.   Remaining in the area, it fired on targets later in April and on May 11 sunk eight Japanese suicide boats.   The following day, New Mexico came under attack from kamikazes.   One struck the ship and another succeeded in scoring a bomb hit.   The combined damage saw 54 killed and 119 wounded.    Ordered to Leyte for repairs, New Mexico then began training for the invasion of Japan.   Operating in this capacity near Saipan, it learned of the wars end on August 15.   Joining the occupation force off Okinawa, New Mexico steamed north and arrived in Tokyo Bay on August 28.   The battleship was present when the Japanese formally surrendered aboard USS Missouri (BB-63). Ordered back to the United States, New Mexico ultimately arrived at Boston on October 17.   An older ship, it was decommissioned the following year on July 19 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on February 25, 1947.   On November 9, the US Navy sold New Mexico for scrap to the Lipsett Division of Luria Brothers.   Towed to Newark, NJ, the battleship was a centerpiece of a dispute between the city and Lipsett as the former did not wish to have additional ships scrapped on its waterfront.   The dispute eventually was resolved and work began on New Mexico later in the month.   By July 1948, the ship was completely dismantled. Selected Sources: DANFS: USS  New Mexico  (BB-40)NHHC: USS  New Mexico  (BB-40)USS  New Mexico  (BB-40)

Diamond's Viewpoint Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diamond's Viewpoint - Essay Example The nervous system is made up of neurons, and they are tasked with the responsibility of transmitting information in the body. Communication is as a result of chemical and electronic means. The cellular structure of a neuron comprises axons and dendrites. Synapses are the connection between cells. Neurons produce neurotransmitters – a chemical that enables neurons to communicate with one another. Diamond illustrates that the trees of the mind are neurons, and as trees, they have branches that interconnect to send and obtain messages to and from the mind. Environmental incentive affects the brain growth of a child, and productive environment stimulates the brain positively (Diamond and Hopson 18). Brain enrichment is significant at a young age since the brain is still young and learning can be incorporated easily. The full potential of a child can be ensured through the learning that they experience at a young age. Children use the skills they learn: thinking and remembering, to help them through school. The brain, when stimulated well and positively, will give satisfying

Assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

2 - Assignment Example I would suggest bringing a revolutionary change in the television policy in favor of a healthier America both with respect to food consumption and activity level. Sustainability, as the name suggests, means to carry on. The term â€Å"sustainability† is used to refer to the need to live in a way that the resources can be prolonged and possibly expanded for future generations. Sustainability is the most important in jobs. People would only behave sustainably when their basic needs are fulfilled. A person that is not getting enough money to afford a decent living would not be concerned about protecting environment. Globalization is fundamental to the economic growth of Africa. Globalization would open doors to not only more jobs and better lifestyle for the Africans, but would also spread the African culture far and wide in the world. The problem fundamentally lies in wrong policy-making, and ties between the African countries. Resources are there, but they are

Operations Management in Manchester Airport Essay - 1

Operations Management in Manchester Airport - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the prices for durations of parking are advertised on a large bulletin board and thus, no delays due to bill problems for passengers. The parking time at Manchester airport takes approximately 20. There is a large parking area and thus it is uncommon to miss parking space. Security inspection- with the 9/11 attacks, security in airports have been beefed up. Manchester airport is no different and it security operations through. The security procedures take about 3minutes. The delay however is worthwhile. The procedures involve a pat down and screening by X-ray machines for dangerous equipments. Those with dangerous weapons are arrested by the standby police and taken to the nearby Manchester Airport police station. The above security check is for entrance to the airport and not for boarding flights. Queuing- queuing is a security procedure as well as a measure to maintain order. Those in the queue are closely monitored by CCTV cameras whi le they line up to go and purchase or confirm tickets. This is a fundamental operation activity as it helps maintain order in the airport. The time taken in the queue depends on the number of passengers in the airport. But approximately staying in the Queue cannot take more than 10 minutes. The number of teller stations to which passengers buy or confirm tickets are many and thus efficient operation. Ticket buying and confirmation- The airport has a self check-in ticket kiosk which allows one to insert an id and credit card for validation. The boarding pass then prints itself automatically; this reduces the queues at the counters. They also allow one to view the itinerary and select seats. The process takes approximately 5 minutes. According to McGregor theory of operation management, time is an essential factor, all operations are supposed to be time inclusive. The introduction of self-check-in tickets in the airport is thus in line with the McGregor theory. Document Verification- In an international airport such as Manchester, the human traffic is unimaginable. The logistics therefore in of ensuring that everyone is he/she claims to be is thus a nightmare. This operation is both complex and time consuming. It should thus be handled carefully because if handled wrongly could increase the occurrence of a security breach. The counters in Manchester airport are up to the task. The airport has 30 counters for verifying travel documents and thus reduce the delays at this operational stage. Because of the many counters this process takes approximately two minutes. Waiting bay- The passengers then have to wait for approximately 20 minutes in the waiting bay, this is where the non passengers are left. The ticket is used to ensure only those travelling enter into the next section. The time taken here is because of saying goodbyes. The passengers enter into the center of the airport or the terminuses, while those coming to wave the goodbye go out through another sectio n. Those going out get out through n exit door to avoid confusion. This is operation is helpful as it enables security to monitor movements. Eating/feeding- Tax free hotels inside the hotels ensure that those travelling eat what they want. The hotels offer all types of food. The area is a wireless networking gateway. The food is necessary for long distance travelers who do not want to take food in the plane.

Impact of the 17th Amendment

Impact of the 17th Amendment The Seventeenth Amendment, Senate Ideology, and the Growth of Government Danko Tarabar Abstract The 17th Amendment disturbed the existing electoral system in the United States by requiring direct elections for state Senators. Scholars have argued this made the Senate more populist and contributed to the growth of government in the US post-1913. We employ econometric tools to investigate whether the time series of mean ideology of Senate and its winning policies experienced a structural change around the time of the enactment. We find no compelling evidence of a structural break at that time but do find evidence for a change in the mid-to-late 1890s. Keywords: Seventeenth Amendment, structural break, Senate ideology JEL codes: D72, H19 Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank Edward J. Lopez and participants at the 2012 Southern Economic Association meetings in New Orleans for helpful comments and suggestions. The Seventeenth Amendment, Senate Ideology,  and the Growth of Government 1. Introduction The 17th Amendment to the US Constitution established that Senators were to be directly elected by popular vote rather than appointed by state legislatures. The amendment ended a generation of state-by-state battles attempting to bring Senate elections under popular control. Although its 1913 passage is regarded by historians as enhancing democratic accountability, Zywicki (1994) argues that the amendment helped erode federalism and the separation of power. As Senator fidelity moved towards the electorate and away from protecting states’ interests, the Senate became as populist as the House, thus paving the way for government growth. In making this argument, Zywicki is attempting to contribute to one of the biggest questions in public economics: the dramatic increase in government in the United States during the 20th Century (Higgs, 1987; Husted and Kenny, 1997; Lott and Kenny, 1998; Holcombe, 1999). This paper empirically investigates whether the Senate experienced an ideology shift as the result of the change in political allegiance. If the interests of state legislatures and the median voters sufficiently differed, we expect to find evidence of a structural change in Senator and winning policy outcomes on roll calls at or near the time of adoption of the 17th Amendment. We examine this hypothesis by subjecting the time series of Senator and winning policy ideology to a battery of structural break tests. The evidence presented here suggest that a break most likely occurred during the 54th Congress (1895-1897), suggesting that the 17th Amendment merely codified what had already occurred through other means. 2. Data The most widely used measure of Congress ideology today are the NOMINATE scores, developed by Poole and Rosenthal in the 1980s (Poole and Rosenthal, 1997). The scores map House and Senate ideology outcomes onto a continuum, where negative scores denote liberal and positive denote conservative values (also analogous to greater or less government intervention in the economy). Zero implies centrist leanings, whereas score magnitudes reflect relative ideology strength. Each chamber since 1789 receives a mean score for legislators and winning policy outcomes, allowing for an overall assessment of ideology with respect to legislator behavior and the nature of enacted policies. We employ the DW-NOMINATE (dynamic, weighted) score subtype, estimated using normally distributed errors. The entire series contains 112 biennial observations, one for each Congress. The DW scores are comparable between Congresses, but comparisons only make sense within one of the three stable two-party periods in US history. We focus on the most recent such period, the Democratic-Republican (46th-112th Congress), since the formal adoption of the 17th Amendment occurred during the 63rd Congress (1913-1915). The operational database thus contains 67 observations ranging from 1879 to 2013 (Fig. 1). We exploit this dataset to search for structural changes in the series of mean Senator ideology and mean winning policy coordinates. 3. Methodology Structural change implies a sudden shift in any or all of the model parameters that control for the series mean and variance. In the current context, a structural break in either series would be indicative of mean â€Å"jumps† in chamber or winning policy ideology, whereas a break in variance implies a volatility shift not unlike, for instance, the Great Moderation. If the 17th Amendment instigated higher growth of federal government, one should observe a structural break in ideology in the 63rd Congress, presumably to the ideological left. While a visual inspection offers little in terms of inference, the diagnostics indicate that the mean chamber ideology is lower (-0.056 versus +0.01), and SD is approximately two times larger pre-Amendment. For mean winning outcomes, the average is higher pre-Amendment (0.037 versus -0.07), and the sample SD is exactly halved afterwards. We let both series evolve according to an AR(1) data generating process with drift and a deterministic linear trend: (1) where are serially uncorrelated errors and lag number is determined by Akaike and Schwarz Bayesian Info criteria. The structural change in series mean comes from breaks in drift, trend and autoregressiveparameters, while series’ volatility is largely dependent on error variance if is small. We estimate equation (1) using OLS. The econometrics of structural change underwent significant development in recent decades. The classic Chow (1960) test treats the breakdate as exogenous and a priori known. However, the current standard practice is to let the breakdate be an estimable endogenous parameter (Hansen, 2001). Quandt (1960) proposed taking the highest in the sequence of Chow F-statistics across all possible dates as the breakpoint, but the critical value asymptotic distribution for such a test was not available until Andrews (1993). Andrews’ now-conventional approach to testing for structural break rests on the â€Å"sup† methodology, in which the maximal significant F- (supF) or Wald-statistic (supW) across all observations is the most likely breakdate. Andrews and Ploberger (1994) further consider the averages and exponents of these test statistics. We use the supW-statistic, which has the advantage over supF in that it allows for residual heteroskedasticity. All statistically significant supW-statistics represent possible breakdates, but only that which minimizes the model sum of squared errors (SSE) is the most probable candidate (Hansen, 2001). In testing for and dating structural breaks in the series’ variances, the same methodology follows for equation (2): (2). Finally, the existence of breakpoints could erroneously lead to the conclusion that the series is nonstationary. We then use the Zivot-Andrews (ZA) (1992) test to distinguish between structural break and random walk disturbances. Conventional unit root tests tend to under-reject the null of nonstationarity in the presence of a break, while the ZA procedure allows for existence of one endogenously determined structural break in trend or intercept in testing unit root. Since neither series seem to be trending, we allow for an intercept break only, within 10% trimmed data. Some caveats are in order. First, the power of structural break tests is lower in smaller samples. Although a test statistic modification is possible, it is computationally costly (Antoshin et al., 2008). Second, the Quandt-Andrews procedure assumes regressor stationarity. As a solution for nonstationary regressors, Hansen (2000) proposes a â€Å"fixed regressor bootstrap.† Third, small sample size makes it impractical to search for multiple breaks simultaneously, even though an event such as women’s suffrage would make for a plausible structural break from public choice theory standpoint. Lastly, we recognize that structural break test results may be sensitive to model specification. 4. Results Table 1 summarizes our findings. In the case of mean Senate ideology, none of the supW-statistics, in any form (level, average and exponential), are significant at usual levels within 5, 10 and 15% trimmed data, so we find no evidence of a structural break. We also find no significant variance shifts. The ZA test rejects nonstationarity in favor of an intercept break in the 54th Congress (1895-1897). Although this date comes closest to the breakdate in the Quandt-Andrews procedure, it remains statistically insignificant. For the mean of winning policy ideology, the maximal significant supW-statistic also falls in the 54th Congress. Plotting the SSE from equation (1) over time, we observe the global minimum to fall in the 64th Congress (1915-1917). The ZA test allowing for an intercept break rejects nonstationarity at the 3% level, and also gives the breakdate as in the 54th Congress. Turning to variance shifts of mean winning ideology and repeating the same procedures on equation (2), we reject the null of no breakpoint at 4% level within 5, 10 and 15% trimmed data, with the maximal statistic during the 54th Congress. The SSE for variance breakdate (from equation (2)) exhibits multiple sharp drops indicative of a breakdate, with a global minimum in the 97th Congress (1981-1983). Overall, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the most probable breakpoint for mean and variance of winning policy ideology, as well as some evidence for chamber mean ideology, occurred between 1895 and 1897, in the 54th Congress. 5. Conclusion In his analysis of the political economy origins of the 17th Amendment, Zywicki (1994) notes that it was in the 1880s where dissatisfaction with the indirect system began to escalate. During this period, many states began to employ extra-constitutional means to move towards popular election of Senators (Riker, 1955). These approaches – public canvass and pledged state legislators –allowed for direct public participations in Senate elections. Our results provide some evidence that these approaches or other contemporary changes led to a change in ideology of the mean Senator, not the passage of the 17th Amendment. This finding suggests that while much the growth of in government occurred during the 20th century, the underlying ideological and institutional changes likely began in the Civil War and its aftermath (Higgs, 1997; Holcombe, 1999). References Andrews, D. W. K. (1993) Tests for parameter instability and structural change with unknown change point, Econometrica, 61, 821-856. Andrews, D. W. K. and Ploberger W. (1994) Optimal tests when the nuisance parameter is present only under the alternative, Econometrica, 62, 1383-414. Antoshin, S., Berg, A. and Souto, M. (2008) Testing for structural breaks in small samples, The International Monetary Fund, Working Paper Series No. 08/75 Chow, G. C. (1960) Tests of equality between sets of coefficients in two linear regressions, Econometrica, 28, 591-605. Hansen, B. E. (2000) Testing for structural change in conditional models, Journal of Econometrics, 97, 93-115. Hansen, B. E. (2001) The new econometrics of structural change: dating breaks in U.S. labor productivity, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15, 117-128. Higgs, R. (1987) Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, Oxford University Press, New York. Holcombe, R. (1999) Veterans Interests and the transition to government: 1870-1915, Public Choice, 99, 311-326. Husted, T. and Kenny, L. (1998) How dramatically did women’s suffrage change the size and scope of government? Journal of Political Economy, 107, 1163-98. Poole, K. and Rosenthal, H. (1997) Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting, 1st edn, Oxford University Press, New York. Quandt, R. (1960) Tests of the hypothesis that a linear regression obeys two separate regimes, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 55, 324-330. Riker, W. (1955) The Senate and American federalism, American Political Science Review, 49, 452-469. Zivot, E. and Andrews, D.W.K. (1992) Further evidence on the Great Crash, the oil price shock, and the unit-root hypothesis, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 10, 251-270. Zywicki, T. J. (1994) Senators and special interests: a public choice analysis of the Seventeenth Amendment, Oregon Law Review, 73, 1007-55. Fig 1. Mean Senate and winning policy ideology over time Source: http://voteview.com/pmeans.htm Notes: Vertical line denotes the 17th Amendment adoption 1 [† ] Corresponding author.

Thomas Jefferson :: essays research papers

THOMAS JEFFERSON Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3d PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. As the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he is probably the most conspicuous champion of political and spiritual freedom in his country's history. He voiced the aspirations of the new nation in matchless phrase, and one may doubt if any other American has been so often quoted. As a public official--legislator, diplomat, and executive--he served the province and commonwealth of Virginia and the young American republic almost 40 years. While his services as a Revolutionary patriot have beenhonored by his countrymen with only slight dissent, his later and more controversial political activities have been variously interpreted. Believing that the government was not being conducted in the spirit of 1776, he turned against the administration in WASHINGTON's second term and remained in opposition during the presidency of John ADAMS. Jefferson, who was president from 1801 to 1809, was the acknowledged head of his political party, and his election to the highest office has been interpreted as a vindication of the right of political opposition. His ELECTION checked in the United States the tide of political reaction that was sweeping the Western world, and it furthered the development of political democracy. Throughout his life he sought to do that, though the term he generally used was republicanism. Opinions differ about his conduct of foreign affairs as president. He acquired the vast province of Louisiana and maintained neutrality in a world of war, but his policies failed to safeguard neutral rights at sea and imposed hardships at home. As a result, his administration reached its nadir as it ended. Until his last year as president he exercised leadership over his party that was to be matched by no other 19th century president, and he enjoyed remarkable popularity. He was rightly hailed as the "Man of the People," because he sought to conduct the government in the popular interest, rather than in the interest of any privileged group, and, insofar as possible, in accordance with the people's will. He was a tall and vigorous man, not particularly impressive in person but amiable, once his original stiffness wore off. He was habitually tactful and notably respectful of the opinions and personalities of others, though he had slight tolerance of those he believed unfaithful to