Muhammad s Influence On Islam - 1378 Words

In the year wchih followed the Revelation, Muhammad began his public preaching. The first converts include his wife – Khadija, cousin – Ali, other people closely related to him, and eventually more people from his own clan of Hashim. At first there was no sign of opposition against Muhammad’s teaching, but as it become more widespread in Mecca, people start seeing it as a threat to the city’s stability. Muhammad’s message about a single, all-powerful deity negates the legitimacy of the haram and its idols, puting the holy and neutral status of the site at risk. This theological clash continued to put pressure on Muhammad and his followers. However, they receive protection because of the solidity of the clan system. It had been Abu Talib, Muhammad’s uncle, who united the Hashim in support of Muhammad and protected him for his Meccan opposition. In 619, both Khadija and Abu Thalib, two of Muhammad’s most important protecters passed away and his opposition became even more bold and determined to pressure Muhammad. It is important to remember that the previous early success of the spread of Islam in Mecca could only be achieved because of Muhammad’s allegience and close relationship with these two important Meccan figures. In other words, Muhammad’s kinship paved the way for his teachings to be disemminated within the Meccan society. As Meccans become more hostile towards Muhammad, he began to look outside his native city for support. At this crucial point, Muhammad wasShow MoreRelatedThe Spread Of Christianity And Western Europe1637 Words   |  7 PagesEurope was both similar and different to the spread of Islam. The rise of Islam starts with the Prophet Muhammad, believed by Muslims (followers of Islam) to be the last in a line of prophets that includes Moses and Jesus. Because Muhammad was the chose n one to be the messenger of the word of God, Muslims from all around the world work to follow the example he set. For Muslims after the Qur an (their bible), the sayings and teachings of Muhammad and the descriptions of his way of life are the mostRead MoreIslam Studies Jahiliyyah1539 Words   |  7 Pagesdemonstrate the importance and impact it has to understand the origins and development of Islam. The Jahiliyyah is a core and critical part of the foundations of Islam, that certain elements of the jahiliyyah were borrowed, adopted and developed; whilst other elements were discarded as Islam evolved. It is important as aspects of the jahiliyyah period continues to have an influence after the advent of Islam. Elements of the jahiliyyah such as the geographical location; the political, social and religiousRead MoreIslam, Like Christianity, Judaism And Other World Religions,1076 Words   |  5 Pages Islam, like Christianity, Judaism and other world religions, varies in its interpr etations, rituals and practices. It is true that Muslims share certain fundamental beliefs, such as those expressed in the shahadah, the profession of faith: there is only one God and that Muhammad is His Prophet to whom was revealed in the Qur’an (The University of Texas, Muslim Histories and Cultures, 2009). These writings to Islamist believers are their most sacred writings. Islamic culture inherited an ArabRead MoreThe Story Of The Qur An Essay1640 Words   |  7 Pagesbroader historical context you must start with the events leading up to this point. Muhammad was seen as god s messenger. He would recite passages of the Quran and the word of god from memory which had been given to him by the Angel Gabriel. He would recite these passages orally, as he was illiterate and could not write. Many of Muhammad s Sahaba(companions) were able to memorize the whole Quran by heart after Muhammad recited the passages. Once the Prophet died in 632 AD many wanted to complete theRead MoreThe Origins And Central Beliefs Of Islam1735 Words   |  7 PagesThree Theologies for Thee The origins and central beliefs of Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity should be common knowledge to understand our world today and its history. Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion that professes that there is only one god. Muhammad is the last messenger of the god Allah. It’s the world’s fastest growing religion and the second largest in the world. Muslims make up 23% of the world’s population. Islam teaches that Allah is peaceful, all-minded, and unique, and he hasRead MoreNotes On The s Destiny Disrupted1526 Words   |  7 Pages2015 Paper #2 Ansary s Destiny Disrupted Along time ago in a far way kingdom there was a man who had a visio had called out to his popwl and told them about this dream and all r Muhammad was born into the ‘most powerful tribe in Mecca†, the Quraish, around 570 A.D (Ansary 18). Mecca was home to two widely venerated polytheistic cults whose gods were thought to protect its lucrative trade. Working years as a merchant, Muhammad was hired by Khadija,Read MoreEssay on Nation of Islam Movement1362 Words   |  6 Pages Nation of Islam Movement â€Å"God is black. All black men belong to Islam; they have been chosen. And Islam shall rule the world† (Baldwin 319). This is the principal message of the Nation of Islam movement. Although the movement has existed since the early 20th century, it gained a lot of momentum in America in the 1960’s, according to African-American essayist and novelist James Baldwin. In his essay, Down At The Cross, Baldwin conveys that the movement reached more blacks duringRead MoreThe Spread Of The Islamic World997 Words   |  4 PagesKone 3/6/15 WH7/P4 The Spread of the Islamic World Long ago in 610, a man named Muhammad meditated in a cave near Mecca Arabia , and received a religious vision. This vision laid the foundations and a new belief system for an unknown religion, Islam. United by their faith in Allah, Muslims of Arabia succeeded in consolidating their beliefs throughout the Arabian peninsula into the Middle East. After the death of Muhammad, the Islamic state expanded rapidly through a remarkable success of trade, lawRead MoreHistory : The History Of Islam823 Words   |  4 Pages The History Of Islam Monica Li March 21, 2017 History 9 Islam was founded in the year 610 AD. The founder was Ubu l-Kassim who was born in Mecca 570 AD, and died in Medina in 632 AD at 62 years old. He was famous as Muhammad, the Prophet. The Islam religion is known by several ways: Islam means complete obey to ALLAH , one God, or God and Creator. Muslim, or Moslem, means to be a follower of the Muslim religion, or the Islamic religion. The word Muhammad, from which the ProphetRead MoreThe Leader Of Egypt From 1805-1848 And The British Influence1306 Words   |  6 Pagesof these problems stemmed all the way back from when Muhammad Ali Pasha became the leader of Egypt from 1805-1848 and the British influence in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s under Lord Cromer. Muhammad saw how backward Egypt was and primarily due to the declining Ottoman Empire. Originally an Ottoman soldier he played off of the Mamelukes and Ottomans during their power struggles after the French revolt gaining control over Egypt (). Muhammad wanted a more western or European Egypt, and to do this

Marketing Plan for New Drink - 1832 Words

Assignment 2 Name: jimmy cui Words: 1800 Develop a marketing plan for a new non alcoholic drink A business actually need a plan to develop, especially to a new product is particular important that is pivotal step in developing future marketing. A new non alcoholic drink which named Supa-F (super-fit) is targeting the junior high school or a subgroup market, let us suppose that the new coming juice which is 20% made of vegetables and 10% made of fruits and 70% water. The vegetable contains cabbage, carrot, Apium graveolens and tomato. The fruit contains apple and orange. The reasons why we decide to make the Supa-F (super-fit) are because 1. The young people group in Australia are known that didn’t eat enough vegetables and fruit†¦show more content†¦If government has signed with other trade agreements, our product will enter into overseas market easily. * Economic-The state of the economy in which business operate is determined by four key variables: inflation, unemployment, economic growth and international trade. The rapid growth of the national economy is con tinuing increase in income and consumptive level will help to impel consumer demand always in the fast-growing stage. Our product is also growing faster. * Social-our product is sell to young people, most of them are students so we need to be friendly with them when we propagandize in the social especially the advertisement should be accepted quickly. Sell to overseas the language also our problem. * Technological –The Supa-F is created product so no- skilful in technology. It will effect our sales, we need improve the technology to reduce the cost of product and service. Offer more and more new product to consumers. Established market objectives Our company understand that we have to satisfy the people’s need. Then increase our market share and expend our production. Taking this into account, we come up with following objective for our product: Supa-F 1. At the first year, we hope that let our Super-F take market share form 0% to 5% gradually, and most them know it’s healthy drink. Thought well, next to Increase in advertising investment, strive for taking market share from 5% to 30% in three years. 2. Over two years,Show MoreRelatedMarketing Plan For A New Soft Drink1687 Words   |  7 PagesMy coursework is about a new product idea of a new soft drink, a frozen fizzy drink which will be available in a range of exotic flavours. I have conducted both primary and secondary research in order to determine my target market and also what will be popular with potential customers and what I can do to the product to give it an edge over potential competitors. Brief History of Coca Cola -Fanta Fanta is a global brand of fruit-flavoured carbonated soft drinks created by The Coca-Cola Company. ThereRead MoreMarketing Plan for a New Launched Drink in China4003 Words   |  17 PagesMSc EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP: STRATEGIC MARKETING ASSIGNMENT NAME: GROUP: Marketing Plan For a New Launched Drink in China * Executive Summary We are a company dealing with beverage business worldwide and we are going to explore new market in China. For this reason, we are going to make a marketing plan for a newly developed drink in the local market. The marketing plan is comprised by 5 parts. After giving brief introduction of the local market, we will make a SWOT analysisRead MoreMarketing Plan Soft Drink Company 1st Half1495 Words   |  6 PagesExecutive Summary The following plan is intended to provide a basic marketing communications plan for a fictitious company. The company in question operates in China and produces soft drinks, particularly adult soft drinks. The information in the plan has been sourced from various textbooks and online research including the National Bureau of Statistics China. It has been found that the company should target the market aged 18 to 44, married, living in urban China, and purchasing for personalRead MoreMarketing Communications Plan For A Fictitious Company1253 Words   |  6 PagesThe following plan is intended to provide a basic marketing communications plan for a fictitious company. The company in question operates in China and produces soft drinks, particularly adult soft drinks. The information in the plan has been sourced from various textbooks and online research including the National Bureau of Statistics China. It has been found that the company should target the market aged 18 to 44, married, living in urban China, and purchasing for personal use. In order to addressRead MoreMarketing1580 Words   |  7 PagesASSIGNMENT QUESTION Marketing Plan: Your company has just developed a new sports drink that is in a container which will keep it cool for up to 6 hours.   Write a 3 page paper discussing how you would market the product.   Running Head: COOL CONTAINERS MARKETING PLAN 1 Cool-Containers Marketing Plan COOL-CONTAINERS MARKETING PLAN Read MoreMarketing Strategies For Starbucks Marketing Communication Essay1427 Words   |  6 Pages4.2 SMART â€Å"Portable Starbucks† marketing campaign Smart marketing communication also could be defined as per following figure Source www.smartinsights.com The SMART objective details refer to Appendix 1 5 Marketing Communications strategy Marketing strategy refers to the process of carrying out segmentation, positioning and targeting (Kerins, 2009). STP approach for Starbucks marketing communication addressed as following: 5.1 Segmentation It is a process of subdividing a market into buyers’Read MoreMarketing Plan For Coffee Beans1456 Words   |  6 Pagesof the company is linked with trusted customers and producers who considers quality as their utmost choice. The company is currently serving Mediterranean food and now the company is going to launch new products for its customers i.e. coffee beans. The aim of this marketing plan is to market their new business i.e. coffee beans. The company will import coffee beans grown in Brazil and will expand the importation capacity from 6,000 kg per year to 12000 kg per year. With the provision of the coffeeRead MoreMkt421 Marketing Mix Paper1370 Words   |  6 PagesMarketing Mix Paper Brian Morales MKT 421 October 15, 2012 Kim Houseman Marketing Mix Paper Nowadays, for a company to be successful in the business world one must have a good marketing plan to be successful. One way to accomplish a successful business plan is to use something known as the marketing mix or the four P’s of marketing. These four P’s of marketing are known as the product, place, price, and promotion. If one uses these four P’s one will notice that each of these cover their ownRead MoreAnalysis Of The Current Marketing Structure Of A Company, Its Position And Its Future Marketing Strategy1354 Words   |  6 Pages25163567 OUGEC 1530 - PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING ESSAY This essay is to present a thoughtful analysis of the current marketing structure of a company, its position and its future marketing strategy. The aims and objectives are as follows: 1. To look at one product of a company by sensible recommendation of product positioning, targeting and relevant marketing segmentation bases. 2. To describe different strategy the company can used to compete in the marketplace by using Ansoff’s growth matrixRead MorePromotional Strategies : Marketing Mix1228 Words   |  5 PagesPromotional Strategies Promotion is one of the marketing mix elements among a system of five in a promotional plan, known as the five P’s. These elements are personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and publicity. Objectives: †¢ To initiate a strong awareness of the launch of the new product, V8 Plus, throughout the target market. †¢ Extend our existing line of V8 products. †¢ Maintain and increase relationships with current and future retailers. †¢ Preserve the interest

Michael Moore Sicko Free Essays

1.Michael Moore’s movie Sicko is so controversial because it makes people think. He went to Cuba and showed it, not as this horrible place that we’ve all be told but as a caring country willing to help our citizens. We will write a custom essay sample on Michael Moore Sicko or any similar topic only for you Order Now This movie proving that Universal Healthcare works in other countries makes people wonder why it has to be so difficult to have it here. The Unites States is suppose to be the most powerful country and yet so many Americans feel powerless when it comes to healthcare. 2.Some pros for Universal Healthcare are everyone would be covered. People would be healthier and live longer. Our poverty rate wouldn’t be as high because people wouldn’t be losing their homes because of medical bills. It would make businesses more productive because they wouldn’t have to carry insurance. Some cons for Universal healthcare are higher taxes. There is a longer wait for surgeries. All the people that work for the insurance companies would lose their jobs. 3.Some relative changes in healthcare because of the Universal Healthcare Bill are not having to wait or being denied because of a pre-existing condition. You will no longer have a higher rate because of your health status. Insurance companies wouldn’t be able to cancel your policy due to an adverse health condition. Children will be covered under their parents insurance policies until they are 27. New plans must cover check ups and preventative care with out co-pays. 4.Most Americans are concerned about the new law requiring almost everyone to have insurance. A lot of people simply can’t afford it although the new law is suppose to make it more affordable. Another concern is wait time to see a doctor. With more people seeing doctors there will be a longer wait time to get in and the less time the doctor has to spend with you in the room. How to cite Michael Moore Sicko, Essay examples

Michael Moore Sicko Free Essays

1.Michael Moore’s movie Sicko is so controversial because it makes people think. He went to Cuba and showed it, not as this horrible place that we’ve all be told but as a caring country willing to help our citizens. We will write a custom essay sample on Michael Moore Sicko or any similar topic only for you Order Now This movie proving that Universal Healthcare works in other countries makes people wonder why it has to be so difficult to have it here. The Unites States is suppose to be the most powerful country and yet so many Americans feel powerless when it comes to healthcare. 2.Some pros for Universal Healthcare are everyone would be covered. People would be healthier and live longer. Our poverty rate wouldn’t be as high because people wouldn’t be losing their homes because of medical bills. It would make businesses more productive because they wouldn’t have to carry insurance. Some cons for Universal healthcare are higher taxes. There is a longer wait for surgeries. All the people that work for the insurance companies would lose their jobs. 3.Some relative changes in healthcare because of the Universal Healthcare Bill are not having to wait or being denied because of a pre-existing condition. You will no longer have a higher rate because of your health status. Insurance companies wouldn’t be able to cancel your policy due to an adverse health condition. Children will be covered under their parents insurance policies until they are 27. New plans must cover check ups and preventative care with out co-pays. 4.Most Americans are concerned about the new law requiring almost everyone to have insurance. A lot of people simply can’t afford it although the new law is suppose to make it more affordable. Another concern is wait time to see a doctor. With more people seeing doctors there will be a longer wait time to get in and the less time the doctor has to spend with you in the room. How to cite Michael Moore Sicko, Essay examples

Mu Claim Development WS English 11Shakopee HSinspi Essays

mu Claim Development WS English 11Shakopee HSinspired by Steve Dunn (2005) For article: Reading Assignment #2: For given article, use the Claim Development WS to identify the author's claim, select three pieces of evidence used to support the main idea, attribute the evidence correctly by naming the source, and explain how that evidence supports the main idea. Not yet Getting There Nailed It! Student has correctly identified the author's claim 0 0 2 Student has chosen and correctly cited (by naming the source and establishing its credibility) three pieces of evidence that clearly support the main idea. MN State Standard 11.5.1.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. 0 0 6 For each piece of evidence, student has clearly explained how the evidence supports the author's claim. 0 0 2 Rhetorical Analysis Paragraph: Student has identified and described one rhetorical choice made by the author and its influence on the writing (include the quote where the choice was made). Identify a choice made by the author (and quote an exact phrase). Explain why the author may have made that choice / used that phrase. Explain the impact that the choice has on a reader. MN State Standard 11.5.6.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text. 0 0 5 VOCAB: Student has done Vocab Exploration for one word chosen from the article 0 0 1 Author's Claim: Both parties want to solve the Zika Crisis but the Republicans have other plans which they want to push along with the bill. Textual Evidence #1 (Direct Quote, With tag) McClatchy the account of negotiation stated "Democrats wanted a clean bill, but Republicans wanted to cut planned parenthood out of any Zika money, ban spending it on contraception, reverse a law restricting the display of the confederate Battle Flag at military cemeteries, temporarily deregulate some pesticides, and pass spending cuts to offset any additional appropriation"(Cooper). Explanation #1 While the Democrats want to devote the entire bill to the CDC to prevent Zika. The Republicans want to add on several other demands that have little or nothing to do with the will that suppose to be dedicated to preventing Zika. Textual Evidence #2 (Direct Quote, With tag) Ryan Cooper says, "No, What's happening here is obvious: Republicans expect to be paid off for doing what even they agree is the responsible thing". Explanation #2 The author claims that if Republicans agree that the CDC should get money to control Zika, then they will include their political agenda. Therefore they are doing what is best for themselves and couldn't careless about the zika disease. Textual Evidence #3 (Direct Quote, With tag) Cooper claims,"The real tell here is that the final Republican proposal only had $750 million in spending cuts (taken from a broken piece of ObamaCare,Ebola funding , and the Department of Health and Human Services) against 1.1 billions of dollars in spending." Explanation #3 The republicans are spending more money instead of reducing it the spending cut. They took money from other organizations. Conclusion While the Democrats want dedicate bill towards the zika crisis the Republicans had other plans they wanted to cut planned parenthood out of any zika money. VOCAB: Superimposes:Place or lay (one thing) over another, typically so that both are still evident. Synonyms: lay,superimposes, place, pose, position,set Types of develop Most specific location least specific location Superimposes position place set lay Rhetorical Analysis Paragraph: In the 1st paragraph Ryan Cooper says "Feel like America has gone too long without being deeply humiliated before the world? Fear not!". He uses sarcasm to introduce how he feels about the Republicans. He believes the republicans are not willing to give up their political agenda to help with the zika crisis. The author want the reader to think that the republicans are always focused on politics. Writing Assignment #2: Using your Claim Development WS, Write one effective paragraph describing the author's claim, providing two pieces of evidence to support the claim, and explaining that evidence. Not Yet Getting There Nailed It! Student has written a clear and logical explanation of author's claim, including

What techniques are used in Shrek Essay Example

What techniques are used in Shrek Essay Example What techniques are used in Shrek Paper What techniques are used in Shrek Paper For this piece of coursework I will be evaluating the Technique that is used in the movie trailer of Shrek 2 to attract its target audience. The trailers are ways of launching a new film into market place.Tralier are mainly used for advertising. They contain short clip from the feature film which attract the target audience. The trailer is usually 2 to 3 minutes. Trailer are short because they are only effective for only short period of time as it losses impact. The main jobs of film trailer advertising to show the story in short and persuade the audience to buy film. From the trailer the audience are able to tell what genre (comedy, action, horror, and thriller) and the narrative of film is. From the trailer audience will know who is star of the film are who is the director of film. Films are also promoted in magazines, Newspaper, Internet and posters.  A target audience can depend on age and gender and will contain sound and images that will appeal to that target audience. Trailers are extremely important marketing tool, along with posters as they encourage many people to watch or rent film. Trailer must have many qualities to attract its target audience. It must have a great amount of information in a short amount of time. The target audience in Shrek 2 is all age group because this film can be enjoyed by anyone. Shrek is animated film created by DreamWorks and brought to life by state of the art 3d animation. The music used in the film is also different to other such productions. Instead of the characters bursting in to song all the time, the songs are played by an external person and reflect the mood of the characters in a particular scene. Shrek 2 Film is featured be all star cast providing the voice and a whole host of class new characters in the host of class new character in the enchanting Shrek story. The film has a large intake of digital animation, and has a long list of different animating techniques. Shrek 2 is a computer animated film. The Shrek 2 trailer use various technique to target it audience. One of the techniques used in Shrek 2 trailer is camera angel. Good camera angel is very import ant in any films to attract their target audience. Camera makes audience to view the film from different angel camera shot can make audience to look close-up view of someone or something. Shrek 2 have eye catching colour that will attract most of children. Shrek 2 film trailer highly concentrates on children due to the mixtures of colours and the cartoon characters, it also focus on young adults and adults themselves due to the hummer and animation with star voice throw out the hole movie. The opening of the trailer immediately catches the audience eye as the camera focuses on the words Far Far Away which sit on amounting top, as Shrek, Fiona and Donkey travel by a horse drawn carriage for 700 miles to reach the kingdom of princess Fiona parents . Here Adult humour is shown because the board should traditionally say Hollywood not Far Far away this immediately makes us smile. After the opening clips of the kingdom there is a flash and DreamWorks appears, here a voiceover is used. The voice over is a device that is intended to guide you to understand the film , using the right language and voice tones, to dramatise as much as possible without over hyping. The voice which appears as a standard feature in trailer, build the sense of mystery and suspense. The voice over in Shrek 2 says, DreamWorks invites you to a land of fairytales and then fairytale characters appear like the Pinocchio, ginger bread man, and the three piglets. A voiceover is used to link shots and to increase childrens understandings of what is going to happen in the film. Shrek 2 is aimed at both kids and families. Some scenes in the film were aimed at a specific target audience. For example, the scene where Fairy Godmother makes a performance on the stage and is wearing a red dress and lies down on the piano. There were some scenes that were suitable for kids to watch. For example, the scene where Shrek and other characters found out that Pinocchio wears a thong. Overall, I think the Shrek 2 trailer was persuasive and effective because it has influenced millions of other children and adult across the world to go and watch or buy the film. This was achieved by the producers using a lot of clever and innovative camera shots, sound effects e.g. shots of action and humour. These were sufficient to make people feel and think that this was going to be a great and entertaining film. The trailer had a lot of unique selling point e.g. the actors, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers and John. These actors are very famous and the best in their field. This is another strong selling point of the film.

Brooklyn Bridge Construction and History

Brooklyn Bridge Construction and History Of all the engineering advances in the 1800s, the Brooklyn Bridge stands out as perhaps the most famous and most remarkable. It took more than a decade to build, cost the life of its designer, and was constantly criticized by skeptics who predicted the entire structure was going to collapse into New Yorks East River. When it opened on May 24, 1883, the world took notice and the entire U.S. celebrated. The great bridge, with its majestic stone towers and graceful steel cables, isnt just a beautiful New York City landmark. Its also a very dependable route for many thousands of daily commuters. John Roebling and His Son Washington John Roebling, an immigrant from Germany, did not invent the suspension bridge, but his work building bridges in America made him the most prominent bridge builder in the U.S. in the mid-1800s. His bridges over the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh (completed in 1860) and over the Ohio River at Cincinnati (completed 1867) were considered remarkable achievements. Roebling began dreaming of spanning the East River between New York and Brooklyn (which were then two separate cities) as early as 1857 when he drew designs for enormous towers that would hold the bridges cables. The Civil War put any such plans on hold, but in 1867 the New York State legislature chartered a company to build a bridge across the East River. Roebling was chosen as its chief engineer. Just as work was beginning on the bridge in the summer of 1869, tragedy struck. John Roebling severely injured his foot in a freak accident as he was surveying the spot where the Brooklyn tower would be built. He died of lockjaw not long after, and his son Washington Roebling, who had distinguished himself as a Union officer in the Civil War, became chief engineer of the bridge project. Challenges Met by the Brooklyn Bridge Talk of somehow bridging the East River began as early as 1800, when large bridges were essentially dreams. The advantages of having a convenient link between the two growing cities of New York and Brooklyn were obvious. But the idea was thought to be impossible because of the width of the waterway, which, despite its name, wasn’t really a river. The East River is actually a saltwater estuary, prone to turbulence and tidal conditions. Further complicating matters was the fact that the East River was one of the busiest waterways on earth, with hundreds of crafts of all sizes sailing on it at any time. Any bridge spanning the water would have to allow for ships to pass beneath it, meaning a very high suspension bridge was the only practical solution. And the bridge would have to be the largest bridge ever built, nearly twice the length of the famed Menai Suspension Bridge, which had heralded the age of great suspension bridges when it opened in 1826. Pioneering Efforts of the Brooklyn Bridge Perhaps the greatest innovation dictated by John Roebling was the use of steel in the construction of the bridge. Earlier suspension bridges had been built of iron, but steel would make the Brooklyn Bridge much stronger. To dig the foundations for the bridge’s enormous stone towers, caissons- enormous wooden boxes with no bottoms- were sunk in the river. Compressed air was pumped into them, and men inside would dig away at the sand and rock on the river bottom. The stone towers were built atop the caissons, which sank deeper into the river bottom.Caisson work was extremely difficult, and the men doing it, called â€Å"sandhogs,† took great risks. Washington Roebling, who went into the caisson to oversee work, was involved in an accident and never fully recovered. An invalid after the accident, Roebling stayed in his house in Brooklyn Heights. His wife Emily, who trained herself as an engineer, would take his instructions to the bridge site every day. Rumors thus abounded that a woman was secretly the chief engineer of the bridge. Years of Construction and Rising Costs After the caissons had been sunk to the river bottom, they were filled with concrete, and the construction of the stone towers continued above. When the towers reached their ultimate height, 278 feet above high water, work began on the four enormous cables that would support the roadway. Spinning the cables between the towers began in the summer of 1877, and was finished a year and four months later. But it would take nearly another five years to suspend the roadway from the cables and have the bridge ready for traffic. The building of the bridge was always controversial, and not just because skeptics thought Roebling’s design was unsafe. There were stories of political payoffs and corruption, rumors of carpet bags stuffed with cash being given to characters like  Boss Tweed, the leader of the political machine known as Tammany Hall. In one famous case, a manufacturer of wire rope sold inferior material to the bridge company. The shady contractor, J. Lloyd Haigh, escaped prosecution. But the bad wire he sold is still in the bridge, as it couldn’t be removed once it was worked into the cables. Washington Roebling compensated for its presence, ensuring the inferior material wouldn’t affect the strength of the bridge. By the time it was finished in 1883, the bridge had cost about $15 million, more than twice what John Roebling had originally estimated. While no official figures were kept on how many men died building the bridge, it has been reasonably estimated that about 20 to 30 men perished in various accidents. The Grand Opening The grand opening for the bridge was held on May 24, 1883. Some Irish residents of New York took offense as the day happened to be the birthday of Queen Victoria, but most of the city turned out to celebrate. President Chester A. Arthur came to New York City for the event, and led a group of dignitaries who walked across the bridge. Military bands played, and cannons in the Brooklyn Navy Yard sounded salutes. A number of speakers lauded the bridge, calling it a Wonder of Science and lauding its anticipated contribution to commerce. The bridge became an instant symbol of the age. Its early years are the stuff of both tragedy and legend, and today, nearly 150 years since its completion, the bridge functions every day as a vital route for New York commuters. And while the roadway structures have been changed to accommodate automobiles, the pedestrian walkway is still a popular attraction for strollers, sightseers, and tourists.