Harriet Jacobs, Slavery, The South, and the Civil War Essay Example for Free

Harriet Jacobs, Slavery, The South, and the Civil War Essay Harriet Jacobs remains one of the most important anti-slavery figures in American history. As a former slave turned author, Jacobs was very influential in shaping public opinion towards an anti-slavery sentiment. Jacobs was born into slavery in 1813. She would eventually escape into freedom in 1835. Her escape route would eventually lead her to Philadelphia where she would not have to worry about being returned to the south. (Most northern cities were sympathetic to escaped slaves) Upon moving to New York City, Jacobs would develop a personal relationship with a publisher named Nathaniel Parker Willis. Perhaps it was this relationship that inspired her to write her seminal work Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl detailed the horrible conditions that women faced in slavery. The stories were first published in the newspaper the New York Tribune. While the articles were well received at first, the graphic depictions of sexual abuse proved controversial and the serial was discontinued. Eventually, Jacobs work was published in book form. The book became an immediate sensation and significantly shaped an anti-slavery sentiment that surely fueled the abolitionist movement. While the north understood slavery was evil, the pure brutality of it was unknown to most. Jacobs work raised a much needed awareness. But why did the south embrace slavery in the way it did? There were a number of reasons why the south was a huge proponent of slavery. The most obvious reason centers on the enormous profits that the southern states were able to amass due to having free labor. In time, the south was eventually overly reliant on  slavery since it was a non-industrialized society. Without the presence of factories, modern machinery, and an industrialized production center, the southern states were reliant on human labor more than the north. And as previously mentioned, free labor in the form of slavery provided the mechanism for this backwards infrastructure. There were many issues that drove the notion of the south succeeding from the union. If there was a â€Å"final straw† that drove the southern states to succeed from the union, it was the election of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had campaigned on an anti-slavery platform. When he was elected, he professed his assertion that no new states entered into the union would be allowed to be slave states. This led to several southern states succeeding from the union and to form the Confederacy. Obviously, President Lincoln sought to quell this succession as soon as possible. However, the tensions exploded on April 12, 1861 when the Confederacy launched an all out assault on the military base Fort Sumter in South Carolina. More than anything else, this was the inciting incident that led to an all out Civil War.   During the initial years of the Civil War, the south was seriously â€Å"hammering† the north as the north could not find a proper strategy to win the war. This situation nearly led to Lincoln’s defeat in re-election. However, Lincoln did win re-election and eventually found the right general in Ulysses S. Grant. Under Grant, the south was defeated and the Emancipation Proclamation was upheld. Slavery was no more in the United States. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the reconstruction of the devastated south began. One goal of reconstruction was to integrate the now freed slaves into society.  However, Lincoln’s assassination undermined reconstruction and African-Americans would remain disenfranchised in the south for an additional 100 years.

Gambling in the United States Essay examples -- Gaming Casinos

Gambling in the United States   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gambling has increased in the last couple of years. Is it because people are addicted? There are two types of gambling: Compulsive Gambling and pathological gambling. Compulsive Gambling is when people have a hard time resisting to gamble. Pathological Gambling is when there is a need to gamble for money or for large amounts of money. Also people don’t know when to quit when they are pathological gamblers. Both types of gambling have major side effects, and can both lead to serious gambling problems.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Studies show that 82% of people gamble. In 1975 only 61% gambled (Richard E. Vatz).† Gambling has increased rapidly in the United States. Many Americans who gamble often lose more than they win. It is a bad habit that many people develop. As people are young the gamble for fun, as It carries on some may become addicted, and can become a â€Å"Pathological or Compulsive† Gambler.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"One third of Problem gamblers who receive treatment for compulsive gambling also received treatment for either chemical dependency or mental health problems (Lee S. Weinberg).† This is why people don’t know when to quit because some may have mental problems. If someone has a gambling problem, it is a serious behavior disorder that can cause psychological, financial, emotional, marital, and legal difficulties. Gambling effects peoples lives and families, not just the person who is gambling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many signs when people have gambling p...

Helping Others

Helping others can be very rewarding and beneficial to both parties. After going to the Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting and Our Community Place (OCP), I have realized the benefits of helping others and I have gained new perspectives on others. While I was there I met some very interesting people that might not have the best lives but they know how to make the best of what they have. I felt like I gained some knowledge and insight on different things and it made me feel good to help them out.In my lifetime I feel as though I have overcome many obsticles and accomplished many goals and as I looked around at others that were less fortunate than me I became even more thankful and more willing to help others. It made me feel good to see others happier and to make their day and things a little better. On Sunday night my roommate and I went to the Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting in a building downtown Harrisonburg called the Club with my friend Joseph. The place did not look like a club where you party at but it looked like just a normal building with a lot of cars there.If you drove by you would not know that it was an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting location. When I first went in I did not expect to see that there were so many normal people in there. This place seems like a place that you have to go to when you are in trouble and have nothing else to do. There was a range of people from my age to elderly people. The people that looked like they had the most trouble were the older people and the younger ones were in there because they might have been more curious of what goes on in the meetings. The open meetings are a place where anyone can go to get help or support others.I went with my friend for support and to gain knowledge about the truth behind alcoholism and to see what it’s like in real life versus the movies and television. It was very different from what I expected. I wasn’t expecting such real problems and people in the situations. I feel like in rea l life people don’t go through all these bad things due to that I see it happen so much in everyday life that everyone lives as actors and goes home to a normal life and not this sad, difficult problem. The largest part of the meeting was support orientated and sharing stories, struggles and success.I got to hear how they got there and what they are doing to stay strong. The stories that were told were confidential and very heart breaking. It made alcohol seem like such a controlling substance that can become deadly if used too much or in large amounts at one time. Alcohol is never seen as being bad or controlling until people start binge drinking and it gets out of hand and we need help. I feel that if college kids would listen to some of the situations and the real struggles of others then they would feel less obligated to get drunk all the time.Some of these people have hit rock bottom and you could see who they really were and the struggles they went through. There were m any different stories on how they got to where they were and what pushed them to go the right way. Some were their kids and families or someone who took the time to help them and show them things could get better. There were a few parents there that wanted more information about how the kids in this generation were abusing alcohol so they knew what to look for in their own children. This type of meeting for the community is very helpful due to that everything is confidential and you can get help for free.I feel like if I could change something about the meeting is making it so that you don’t have to say your name in the beginning because it makes people seem insecure about themselves. Our community Center us a place for those to go who could need help in a variety of ways. Some see it as a church or a counseling center. It is a place to go for enjoyment and help. They provide food and exercising as well as plays, activities or talent shows. The shelter is a place for homeless people in the city and a place for them to pray and seek religious insight.The leader of the OCP is Ron Copland and is a great supporter and motivator for this shelter. He wants everyone to feel closer and equal. He has had many great ideas to make this place a successful shelter and made him a respectable leader and achiever. He is extremely dedicated and spends most of his time and money into this volunteer only facility. He is a very inspirational man and has done so much in his lifetime to help others that time I was there I wanted to help and show my gratitude and respect for all he has done. He is a wonderful man and he has succeeded in life.The OCP is a group that uses caring experiences and working together to help others. Recovering alcoholics and current alcoholics come here to work together and keep busy while trying to get over their problem. They use agriculture and other jobs to show them how to move on and work together. They use a program called OCM which is our com munity works. They learn to work with each other versus doing it all alone. The center does many activities and programs to get everyone involved and help them run these programs and volunteers like my self help keep this wonderful place in the right direction.When I went to the center there was a talent show. Everyone there had a job to do for the show to be put on. They were people from little kids to older adults and they all worked together like they were best friends who know each other forever. OCP is an effective program that is steadily spreading to more individuals. It brings not only people without homes together but those people of the community. It makes us thankful for what we have and realize they are real people. We don’t see homeless people we see every day plain-Jane citizens.We see our community in new light. Each Program had its own approach to the problem at hand. The alcoholics anonymous meeting was depressing and awkward. People were sad and uncomfortabl e and no one sounded like they wanted to be there. The OCP was much more upbeat and happy. I feel that it is a much better way to get over alcoholism. It gives you activities to keep your mind off drinking and keeps you happy. I would rather forget about a drink than talk about it in an awkward group meeting. I think MR.Copland was onto something when he opened the OCP. But just like any idea it may not work for everyone. Both of these situations have shown me another side of the tracks. Both community programs help others and have me a different perspective on alcoholics and their situations. Hearing their stories was very sad and I could not imagine what they go through. Mr. Copland and his hard work made me inspired to work to help others. He has helped so many people and it felt good to show people that they are equal and can get their problems taken care of.

The European Court Of Human Rights - 1038 Words

It is established that the UK does not have a single, written and codified constitution that encompasses ground rules on how it should be governed. The first part of this essay outlines the movement of the United Kingdom towards legal constitutionalism which then brings to the consideration of the need for judicial diversity in the second part. To make this argument, this paper analyses the influence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and European Union (EU) law including domestic laws onto the dilution of political elements in the UK; thus transitioning towards a legal constitution. Before the 1970s, Dicey’s view that ‘no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the†¦show more content†¦However, the incorporation of legal constitutionalism prove the increasing need for this reform in order to prevent the state’s powers from being ultra vires. The legal approach is necessary to protect basic h uman rights from being taken away by higher authorities because what use is a constitution if it fails to operate fairly without bias? The European Communities Act 1972 (ECA 1972) which is the foundation of the UK’s entry into the EU led to the erosion of its parliamentary sovereignty. The enactment of this Act led to the implication that any conflicting domestic laws in English courts were subjected to the supremacy of European law. This concept was affirmed in Factortame No.2.[5] However, Lord Bridge asserted that Parliament voluntarily accepted the limitations[6] because it can repeal the ECA 1972 at any desired time by leaving the EU. Contrary to this, section 18 of the European Union Act 2011 merely confirms that EU laws apply within the UK—according to section 2(1) of the ECA 1972. It may be argued that the EU membership did not cause any considerable change to the UK’s basic constitution. But from this point, it can be agreed that legal aspects are beginn ing to surface onto the constitutional system. Most importantly,