Abolition Movement Essay

Nineteenth century America bore a perplexing set of movements. Most of which aimed largely to reform American society. At this era, America is redefining her identity. Such was a significant time for reformation movement to peak. The Temperance Movement, religious â€Å"Second Great Awakening† and Women’s Rights Movement are along some of the major efforts attempted to improve the nation and its people. Most important of all, the Abolition Movement, which the very foundation of freedom in America was redefined. The American abolition movement emerged in the early 1830’s as the by-product of â€Å"Second Great Awakening.†[1] Revivalistic tenets led the abolitionist to view slavery as a product of personal sin. They demand emancipation as the price of repentance.[2] This religious revival resulted to thousands of conversions to evangelical religions.[3] Slavery was one of the issues in America which most people sought to end. As early as 1688, the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, took a public stand against slavery.[4] Even though most quakers own slaves when they first came to America. William Buriling, Ralph Sandiford, Benhamin Lay, John Woolman and Anthony Benezet were among the society’s members who largely determined their policy. These people were the salient figures who primarily opposed slavery within the society. By late 1700s and 1800s, the Society of Friends declared their protest against slavery. Quakers opposed it on religious grounds. Others contended that slave owners violated the very principles that the Founding Fathers and the Declaration of Independence had established in 1776. Many religious figures had largely contributed to America’s history of slavery. One was Lyman Beecher, one of the country’s prominent nineteenth- century clergymen and a revivalist of Second Great Awakening.[5] Students of the school where Beecher became pastor, debated the issue on slavery and preferred to adopt abolitionism, which the board of the school opposed. In protest many students including Theodore Weld left the school.[6] Religion had intruded on slavery issues even during the establishment of Quakers. It is often said that this group have influence beyond their numbers. Through their social class and background, Quakers have shared an important role in forming America’s history as well as the society. In 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society was established by William Lloyd Garisson[7] with fellow abolitionists Arthur Tappan, Lewis Tappan, and Theodore Dwight Weld. It attracted a crowd with lecturing agents, petition drives and a wide variety of printed materials, condemning slavery on moral grounds. The organization sent lecturers about the brutality of slavery across the North, including Ohio. Unfortunately, abolitionists’ appeal of emancipation were rejected by higher institutions as well as individual slave-owners. Some important figures in the emancipation in America were blacks, themselves. Most prominent black during the period started their journey from the oppression of slavery of the Southern states toward more desirable freedom enjoyed at Northern states. In this freedom, they did not grow complacent while their people and family still suffer from inflictions of the institution of slavery. The most famous of this divine ordeal was that of Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman[8] was a slave from Maryland. She suffered all her life from seizures, headaches and hypersomia having had knocked in the head with a heavy iron weight by a slave owner. In 1894 she escaped to Philadelphia where she met with William Still, the Philadelphia stationmaster on the underground railroad. Still, along with the Philadelphia Anti-slavery Society, enlightened Tubman of the workings of the underground railway. Eventually, she became a conductor for the underground railway. Dubbed as the â€Å"Moses of her people†, she helped provide safety and salvation to an approximately 300 slaves. She worked various jobs in order to finance her actives as a conductor. During the Civil War, she served as a soldier, spy and a nurse for the Union. Another women of considerable existence was Soujorner Truth. Truth had been born a slave from Ulster County, New York at a time wherein the state still permits slaves. The anti-slavery law of 1827 freed her from bondage. Her freedom prompt her to be an active abolitionist and a woman’s rights advocate. Truth became one of the most famous orator of her day. Her passion came from her desire to abolish slavery and help her fellow black. Her speeches against the evils of slavery â€Å"shamed many people who were apathetic and passive†. She also fights for women suffrage. Her speech, â€Å"Ain’t I, a Woman?†[9] was her legacy. The speech were made at 1851 Convention on Woman’s Rights after a clergyman remark women as â€Å"too weak and helpless†. Another individual of which probably had the greatest impact for the cause, was Frederick Douglass. Douglass was probably the most important black figure in the abolition of slavery. His accomplishment had impact America on a political scale. His reputation was in an international level. Douglass was born a slave in Maryland. He escaped from bondage and went to New Bedford with the help of a black navy named Ruggles. Although blacks are free in the city of New Bedford, it isn’t a paradise. Douglas observed the discrimination throughout the city.   He subscribed to an abolitionist paper the Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison. Through the Liberator, Douglass were introduced to abolitionist movements. Garrison eventually became his personal hero.   Later he became a member of American Anti-Slavery Society. On August of 1841, an abolitionist meeting took place at New Bedford. Garrison saw Douglass, and he eventually recognized the potential. Douglass became an agent for Garrison. He became a traveling lecturer â€Å"touring the Northern states to talk about his life and sell subscriptions to the Liberator†. The young Douglass â€Å"told stories of brutal beatings of slave owners to women, children and the elderly†. He told the story on how he broke the slave breaker Edward Covey[10]. He scorned clergyman â€Å"who warned slaves that they would be offending God if they disobeyed their masters†. He speaks of evil of masters breeding their female slaves. He grew in skill within his trade that people began doubting his credibility. â€Å"How can such a slave have such a commanding master of words?† they told themselves. This provoked Douglass into revealing his true identity through the disclosure of personal details. He published an autobiography entitled â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave† against the protest of his mentor Garisson and some co-abolitionists. The theme of the narrative is about moral force. â€Å"It is a story of triumph and dignity, courage and self-reliance over the evils of brutal, degrading slave system†. The narrative connotes the existing corruption in the human spirit that â€Å"robs both the master and slave of their freedom†. The book became popular in the North as well as in Europe. However, the Federal Law on fugitive slave threatened his freedom. The Law gave Thomas Auld the right to seize his property. The threat prompted his tour in London where he was later joined by Garisson and other abolitionist. August of 1846 at World Temperance Convention in London, Douglass attacked the American Temperance Movement. He felt that temperance activist were hostile to free blacks. Emancipation in Britain is still fresh among its people. In that regard Douglass felt little racial prejudice among the British. He carved connection among British and Europeans who were compassionate for the cause.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tour â€Å"aroused goodwill for the abolitionist cause in the British Isle†. The success in Britain had propelled his reputation to an international level. Douglass established friends and supporters in Britain. In fact, it was his British friends who paid[11] the price of Douglass’ freedom in America. With his renewed freedom he went to Rochester, New York to settle. The town had reputation of being pro-abolition. The women were also active in fighting for their rights. In here, he established a new anti-slavery publication, named North Star, which was not supported by Garisson. With the North Star he no longer have to cling with white abolitionist group of   Garisson. The widening connection of Douglass open his mind to the political aspects of his cause. He began to question the Garissonian views. For Garisson, â€Å"abolishing slavery through violence is wrong†. Garisson believed he could convince the slave owners into giving up their slaves thus setting them free. A white militant named John Brown[12] helped convince Douglass that â€Å"pacifist means could not by themselves bring an end to slavery.† Douglass believed that the North would never abolish slavery if it could cause the break up of the Union and collapse of the Constitution. â€Å" He therefore decided that slavery would have to be ended through political reforms†. Tension began to rise when Douglass urged North Star reader to be politically active and be involved. The change in principle created factions within the abolitionist circle. He, however, did not allow such disputes to affect what he aspired to do. Douglass became one of the most prominent and respected black of his time. His actions and success boosted the confidence of the black abolitionist. He tried to establish a black vocational school. Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped to raise the fund. Furthermore, his Rochester home became the most important station on the underground railroad. He became the superintendent of the entire system in his area. The information regarding the evils of slavery are readily available due to hard work and perseverance of Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison[13]. However, the popularity of these informations are confined within the anti-slavery circle. In line with this, a fictional novel of abolitionist nature was published entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The author was Harriet Beecher Stowe, an alleged daughter of Lyman Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin had been published by weekly installment in the National Era from summer of 1851 to spring of 1852. Nevertheless, its popularity was still within the abolitionist circle. Its popularity gained when the novel was published in full in 1852. Uncle Tom’s Cabin became the best selling fiction of its time. It is considered by many, as one of the most influential American works of fiction ever published. The fiction had made an impact on America’s inner inquiry and realization of identity and of morality.[14] The success of the novel were founded on Stowe’s humanization of the slaves. The fiction places the reader in frontal view of the barbarity and â€Å"inhuman disintegration of families† which existed in the slavery system. Mothers were portrayed in their most desolate state when their masters sell their babies to a slave trader. The fiction appeal to the Christian soul as Stowe embodied Christ to Uncle Tom which is a black dutiful, loyal and a forgiving slave. The works of fiction â€Å"arouse the antislavery sentiment in the North and provoke angry rebuttals in the South†. Oppositions of views paved the way to devisions. Slavery was no longer a problem of the south and it concerns the whole nation as a whole. The culmination of all these events leads to a bloody battle between the Union and the Confederate slave states. The Union was fighting for a unified nation. The Confederates, on the other hand, wants to separate from the Union in order to secure their rights to own slaves. This disparity brought America to Civil War from 1861 to 1865. It was this reason why Abraham has been quoted saying to Stowe â€Å"So this is the little lady who started this war.† The status of the South as an agricultural states contributed much to their dependencies on slaves. Slaves were utilized for their manual work on the fields and plantations. In contrast, the North are already being industrialized. Their production was dependent on factories and machineries. It was the bloodiest battle that took place in American soil. The Confederate eventually succumb to the much equip forces of the Union. It was very devastating era that Americans have gone through in order to bring about change which redefined freedom in their constitution. Emancipation of all slaves was decreed to slaves states after the Civil War The abolitionists had their victory through information dissemination. Victory was achieved through rallying speeches that awakened compassion and goodwill of humanity. The rallying cries of the oppressed accused passivity a crime. They have pressured those who claimed to be free to guard and fight for freedom. On the night of the proclamation, Douglass was quoted as saying â€Å"We were waiting and listening as for a bolt from the sky†¦we were watching†¦by the dim light of the stars for the dawn of a new day†¦we were longing for the answer to the agonizing prayers of centuries.†[15] WORKS CITED Scott, Donald. â€Å" Evangelicalism, Revivalism and the Second Great Awakening.† TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center. October 2000. Queens College. 18 April 2009. McKivigan, John. â€Å"A Brief History of the American Abolitionist Movement.† American Abolitionism. n.d. Indianapolis. 18 April 2009. â€Å"The Second Great Awakening and the Age of Reform.† Teach US History. 19 April 2009. http://www.religioustolerance.org/quaker1.htm â€Å"William L. Garrison.† Ohio History Central. 1 July 2005. A product of the Ohio Historical Society. 18 April 2009 Robinson, B.A. â€Å"Religious Society of Friends (Quakers): Quaker History†. Religious Tolerance. 7 February 2006. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 19 April 2009. Woodson, C.G. â€Å"Anthony Benezet.† Classics on American Slavery. 25 March 2003. Dinsmore Documentation. 19 April 2009. â€Å"Abolitionist.† Ohio History Central. 1 July 2005. A product of the Ohio Historical Society. 19 April 2009 Sassi, Jonathan. â€Å"Great Questions of National Morality.† Common Place. 9. 1. ( October 2008): 19 pars. 19 April 2009. â€Å"Lyman Beecher.† Ohio History Central. 1 July 2005. A product of the Ohio Historical Society. 19 April 2009 â€Å"Theodore Dwight Weld (1803-1895).† Forever Free.The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. 19 April 2009. â€Å"The Effect of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.† 123HelpMe.com. 18 Apr 2009 Thomas, Sandra. â€Å"Frederick Douglass:Abolitionist/Editor† 19 April 2009. â€Å"The Life of Harriet Tubman.† New York History Net. 20 February 2008. 19 April 2009 .

Informative Speech Outline Essay

I. Introduction A. Attention Getter – â€Å"A man must consider what a rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist.† ~Ralph Waldo Emerson B. Introduce Topic – To simply do something because it’s what everyone else is doing without knowing the reasons why they’re doing it, is conformity. You might understand the term conformity when used as â€Å"sheeple† in the political world. Those who go with the growd, just because. Halloween and Religion seem like two natural opposites – good and evil brought to life. C. Establish Credibility – In most things I’m a non-conformist. I trust no one and nothing without questioning and understading everything. I question everything even if it seems simple on the surface. Far too often I have found most things are not what they seem, and Religion and Holidays are no exception. D. Preview Central Idea – The term Holiday was originally used to reference Holy Days that were celebrated and remembered with some form of ceremony or worship. Halloween, originally a day of rememberence for the recently deceased and their spirits that returned to earth on the eve of the new year, has become something celebrated by just about everyone, in many cultures, and across many religions, but most notibly in the US where it has become yet another commercialized event, causing people to spend money they might not otherwise spend, to eat food that offer no nutrition at all, and in excess at that, and to go against the number one safety measure your parents drilled into your heads – NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM STRANGERS!! This has become so acceptible in modern religious practices that it’s been given a new name â€Å"Trick-Or-Trunk†. This is an event sponsored by religious elders, held on church grounds, outside in the parking lot, out of the trunks of cars and more often than not, the costumes that are worn do not promote religious purity and goodness, but the very evil the religion is supposed to protect them from. Transition to main points – In order to fully understand how this seemingly innocent day of celebration, creativity and self expression  is a contradiction, we need to look at several things. II. Body – summary of main points / personal view Transition to origins When did this holiday begin and why? Was it of pagan origins or is there something more behind Halloween’s history? How should Religions view this day in general? To understand these questions further, we need to go back to the roots of Halloween. A. Origins 1. Celtic Origins a. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer, the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. b. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. c. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. d. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. 2. Halloween & Religion a. By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the  Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of â€Å"bobbing† for apples that is practiced today. b. Around AD 600, Pope Boniface IV created All Saints’ Day, and Pope Gregory III later moved this holiday to November 1 in an effort to give a Christian alternative to this pagan celebration.5 (answersingenesis.org) Christians who did not want to celebrate pagan festivals celebrated something of positive spiritual value—in this case honoring the saints and m artyrs. With the overwhelming expansion of Christianity in Europe, All Saint’s Day became the dominant holiday.6 (answersingenesis.org) On May 13, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13 to November 1. By the 9th century the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted the older Celtic rites. c. In 1000 A.D., the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It is widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning A ll Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. A couple hundred years later, the Roman Church made November 2 All Souls Day to honor the dead. This may well have been influenced by the continued persistence of the day of the dead by the ancient Irish, Scots, and others in Europe. Standing against this, many Protestant Christians celebrate October 31 as Reformation Day in honor of reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others who spearheaded the Reformation in the 1500s. (answersingenesis.org) In fact,  the current name of â€Å"Halloween† originates from the day before All Saint’s Day, which was called â€Å"All Hallow Evening†; this name was shortened to â€Å"All Hallow’s Eve† or â€Å"All Hallow’s Even.† The name changed over time and became â€Å"Hallowe’en.† (answersingenesis.org) d. It should be obvious from a Christian perspective that many modern practices of Halloween and days of the dead have evil intent (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:20). There has been considerable paganism that has been associated with Halloween over the years. Even evil acts such as vandalism, fires, destructive pranks, pretending people are something they are not by dressing up (and particularly by the glorification of sensuality, death, and demons) are in strong opposition to the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19–23). So, a word of caution must be given to Evangelicals who promote some of the questionable modern practices of Halloween. If anything, an alternative in opposition to Halloween should be offered by Christians. Psalm 24:1 points out that everything belongs to the Lord. Therefore, there is no reason to let Satan have Halloween. It is not his day in the first place! (answersingenesis.org) 3. Trick-or Treating a. The American Halloween tradition of â€Å"trick-or-treating† probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called â€Å"soul cakes† in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. b. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as â€Å"going a-souling† was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money. c. The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. Transition to lost traditions B. Lost traditions/beliefs – Many of these obsolete rituals focused on the future instead of the past and the living instead of the dead. In particular, many had to do with helping young women identify their future husbands and reassuring them that they would someday—with luck, by next Halloween—be married. 1. In 18th-century Ireland, a matchmaking cook might bury a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night, hoping to bring true love to the diner who found it. 2. In Scotland, fortune-tellers recommended that an eligible young woman name a hazelnut for each of her suitors and then toss the nuts into the fireplace. The nut that burned to ashes rather than popping or exploding, the story went, represented the girl’s future husband. (In some versions of this legend, confusingly, the opposite was true: The nut that burned away symbolized a love that would not last.) 3. Another tale had it that if a young woman ate a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, h azelnuts and nutmeg before bed on Halloween night she would dream about her future husband. 4. According to some accounts, the Halloween supper has featured a roast fowl or even meat, but as the day before a Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church, Halloween has traditionally been a day of abstinence from meat. The dishes most associated with Halloween in Ireland—colcannon, champ, and boxty—are all made from root vegetables and earthy harvests such as potatoes and cabbage. Champ is mashed potatoes, frequently with leeks, and served with a pool of melted butter in the top. Colcannon is potatoes and cabbage. Boxty is mashed potatoes mixed with grated raw potatoes, onion, and cabbage, which are then boiled, cut into portions and fried. (encyclopedia.com) 5. These traditional foods are emblematic of Halloween for many in Ireland. Sometimes, portions were left out for the fairies. In an article published in 1958, K. M. Harris quotes a man who recalls his mother putting salt on the head of each child to prevent them from being taken away by the â€Å"wee peop le† on Halloween. He also recounts her placing a thimble-full of salt on each plate. If the salt fell down that person would die in the next twelve months. These beliefs indicate the continued association of food with the supernatural, and perhaps echo the â€Å"old† new year’s day of Samhain in the idea that what happens on this night affects the next twelve months. (encyclopedia.com) C. Cultural  Similarities (all from answersingenesis.org) – Although many affirm that Samhain was the origin of modern-day Halloween, it is significant to note how many cultures throughout the world have celebrated a â€Å"day of the dead† (often with sacrifices), occurring at the end of summer and fall. There seem to be too many parallels to call these similar celebrations a coincidence. 1. For example, in the Americas there is the Mexican Day of the Dead (El Dà ­a de los Muertos) that goes back to the ancient festival of the dead celebrated by Aztecs and the more-ancient Olmec. This was likely where the Guatemalans got their Day of the Dead. 2. Brazilians also celebrate Finados (Day of the Dead). Bolivia has the Day of the Skulls (Dà ­a de los Natitas).7 3. In Asia, there are similar festivals. For example, the Chinese celebrated the Ghost Festival, which was a day to pay homage to dead ancestors. The Japanese celebrated something similar called O-bon or merely Bon. Even Vietnam has a variant of the Ghost Festival called Tet Trung Nguyen. In Korea, there is Chuseok or Hankawi, in which deceased ancestors are ritualized. In Nepal, there is the cow pilgrimage called Gia Jatra to honor the recently deceased. In the Philippines, there is the Day of the Dead (Araw ng mga Patay), where tombs are cleaned and repainted. The list goes on and on (see reference 5). 4. The annual Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is celebrated in the fall, usually September or October.8 But it is distinctly different in purpose. It is not in honor of the dead. Rather, it deals with soul searching, repentance, and is a time of great sacrifice for the sins of the people (Leviticus 23:27–28). So, there is some cross over, but God instituted this date. Transition to Halloween in America D. Halloween in America 1. Celebration of Halloween was extremely limited in colonial New England because of the rigid Protestant belief systems there. Halloween was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups as well as the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included â€Å"play parties,† public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also  featured the telling of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country. 2. In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s â€Å"trick-or-treat† tradition. Young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors. 3. In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything â€Å"frightening† or â€Å"grotesque† out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century. 4. By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities during this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second  largest commercial holiday. III. Conclusion Summarize main points, purpose and view. ——— Works Cited â€Å"History of Halloween.† History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. Hodge, Bodie. â€Å"Halloween History and the Bible.† Answers in Genesis. Network Solutions, LLC, 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. Image 1: D4doddy, Digimaree. Samhain Bonfire. Digital image. Ancient Samhain Ritual. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. . Image 2: Ritual De Samhain (NOCHE DE DIFUNTOS CELTA). Digital image. Cosas De Meiga (Libreria Escuela Tarot). Meiga, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. .

Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949 - Essay Example According to JSTOR (1950), this approach has been rendered urgent by the fall in value of money, which has made the present financial limits of the Poor Person's Procedure totally inadequate, and the satisfactory arrangements for legal advice for the forces during the late war, have focused attention on the need for similar arrangements for civilians. (p. 81-87) Legal aid or legal help is the act of providing initial assistance and advice to any legal problem. The idea is that the state meets the cost of the case. Legal aid and advice is an initiative designed to enable the people of England who would not normally have access to the legal services the rare opportunity to bring a case into a court of law. According to Article 6 of Human Rights, everybody should be given a fair public hearing while determining his obligations and civil rights. This should be done by an impartial and independent tribunal which is set up by law. The judgment should also be pronounced through the press to the public. Most important point mentioned here is that everyone is innocent until he is proven guilty. The following rights are also available to anyone that is charged with a criminal offense; the first right is that, the person should be informed on time in a language that he can speak the type and cause of crime that he is accused of. The second point is that he should be given enough time to prepare for his defense. Thirdly, he should be allowed to defend himself in person or through legal assistance and to be given legal assistance for free when he is not able to afford it. The fourth right is that, he should be allowed to examine witnesses against him. The last right in this article is that, he s hould have free assistance of an interpreter in times when he cannot speak a language. A report by one Rushcliffe of 1949 hinted that equal opportunity of right to representation in a court of law was a fundamental instrument to a just society. Rushcliffe in his 1945 report did recommend the establishment for the first time of legal aid scheme in the Legal Aid and Legal Advice Act 1949. Until 1970, legal aid was just confined to civil disputes (divorce and matrimonial problems). Lord Chancellor in 1970 called for auxiliary legal services through tribunals. The responsibility of legal aid then lay with the Law Society. In 1888, a new system was mooted and it brought legal aid services under the control of central government, which then established the Legal Aid Board. This board, unlike the previous one, acquired a new role and responsibility. For instance, the Legal Aid Board was responsible for the financing of all state paid legal work. However still the poor could not access legal services and obtain justice and something had to be done to address their problems. In 1999, the Access to Justice Act did pass in parliament and it made a fundamental move with respect to justice accessibility by the less fortunate in the society. The Access to Justice Act was quite radical in its proposals. It proposed immediate abolishment of the defunct Legal Aid Board and instead established an independent body the Legal Service Commission (LSC) under the Ministry of Justice and did redraw the entire mode of funding and controlling the legal aid. LSC was provided with a lot of powers to enable it

Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Personal statement - Essay Example My dream goes on to include a specialization in the field of law. The reason behind my dream is quite simple. I want to be set apart from every lawyer pounding the pavement of the court houses and law offices. That is why I am intent on attending a year long Masters of Law post graduate degree. Okay, I admit that I am an Asian immigrant with UK citizenship status. I will be the first to acknowledge that I have some difficulty in expressing myself in the English language. By now you are probably wondering what I am doing in the legal field of studies when I am sure to shine brightly if I concentrate on the area of Math or Management. Let me put it this way, my language handicap has never been a barrier for me towards achieving any of my dreams. I managed to keep my grades at a decent average as a Law student at the University of York. I may have struggled to express myself in the English language during certain instances of public debate and other spoken avenues of my subjects but I n ever lost heart. My Law studies posed the biggest challenge of my life. I may have had a difficult time in most of my classes and my scores may have been only average but what mattered the most what that I never gave up. I gave my studies everything I had and managed to come out of it with remarkable improvements in my class grades that continue with every semester that I complete. Even more amazing to my professors at York is the fact that I manage to somehow keep my grades up while I participate in various sports activities on campus. I am an active participant in table tennis matches and other British and University College Sports. These are after class activities that I enjoy participating in because it helps me relax and forget all of the legal studies that take up most of my student days. After all, I am no good as a student if I am burned out. Neither will I be good lawyer if I do not know how to relax and take some time off in order to get a fresh perspective of the cases I am working on. I have never been faced with a challenge that made me turn away. I have always faced my fears head on and plunged into seeking solutions to them rather than cowering in one corner, wondering what other people can do to help me overcome my difficulties in class and other avenues of life. I believe that this go-getter attitude comes from the fact that I am a person who is always eager to learn and excited about discovering new avenues of learning that can bring me new life experiences at the same time. Having mentioned before that I am of Asian descent, it is pretty obvious that I can easily excel in anything related to Maths. So, not wanting to waste my inborn talent for numbers and analysis, I have decided to pursue a LLM degree in order to become a very competent commercial lawyer. It seems like the most logical step for me because I can see and understand the way the world economies are balancing on the brink of bankruptcy and the banks are caught in the middle of i t all. As a LLM lawyer with a specialization in the commercial field, I will easily be able to defend the financiers of the world when they need legal help the most. With such a highly specialized degree, I do not even have to be a lawyer all my life. Having a LLM will allow me to pursue other career avenues in the legal field such as tax and international law. But most importantly, the LLM will give me an upper hand when enticing other companies to hire me for upper management positions. After all, a

Read attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Read attachment - Essay Example In his thesis, Turner points out that America is unique due to a number of reasons that include the settlement by White people, the existence of large areas of free land and its continuous recession as well as the Westward advancement of American settlement. He further argues that it is these three attributes that are the central story of American history. A number of historical events can be noted to arguably support this thesis. One of these events is the Bacon’s rebellion. The Bacon’s rebellion is noted to have occurred over a period of several months in Tidewater Virginia. The rebellion was brought about by a rapidly growing shortage of available land as well as the colony’s relatively complicated relations with both the hostile and friendly tribes of Native Americans. Noble (42), points out that in one of his essays, Turner points out that the Bacon’s rebellion was essentially the first attempt of the American people to attempt to throw out both the British authority as well as the colonial aristocracy. As is characteristic of Turner’s thesis, the eastern authority was able to gradually push inland into the American frontier to the fall line of the rivers that served to end the existence of this first frontier. Turner’s thesis is also noted to be supported by the ideology behind Manifest Destiny. The ideology behind this phrase was that it was indeed the providential mission of the United States to ensure that it extends itself over the frontier as this was essentially a God-given national right. In this regard, the American frontier is noted to have quickly moved across the nation although this was not done in a uniform manner. Americans believed that all the land spanning form the Pacific to the Atlantic should be filled. When all this area was eventually filled in 1893, Turner proclaimed that the American Frontier was closed. It was during this time that the United States started moving towards a

The Leader as a Strategist Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Leader as a Strategist Report - Assignment Example Analysis of the strategic cascade According to Michael E. Porter, strategy is the ability of the organization to make an informed decision about when, how and where to target the customers, set the desired objectives and facilitate resources and thereby make a difference between mangers who thinks strategically for future prospects. Therefore anticipating these desired movements into the current decision making process helps to set stage in order to create a competitive advantages. Porter had referred to operational effectiveness as â€Å"performing similar activities better than rivals† and referred strategic positioning as activities performed by organization in different way. Real strategy for an organization is to choose a different path in order to deliver mix of activities and values. According to Porter, strategy is about choices and not about what to do and what not. Thus it can be said that Strategy is all about combing the activities and Google has adopted the simila r strategy which has made it the top most search engine company across the globe. Business Strategy Target market Goggle has targeted both consumers and the business enterprises or the advertisers. Google searchable database favors the big business houses and the established merchants. Google deals with viral marketing and has been able to attract the attention of media for both paid and free promotions. Goggle has also targeted the software market; the search engine has let firms run the email calendar and other services in order to build in the offerings for the individuals (BBC News, 2006). Value proposition Goggle is search engine and it derives its value proposition by delivering with all the important and necessary information that is need by the target customers. Google value proposition is based on the concept of reaching people actively who are looking for information about the products and services online. Thus it becomes easier for a searcher to reach the concerned people who are looking exactly for the products or services that one is offering. Therefore the value to users and to the advertisers is aligned hence everybody wins, the advertisers and the users. And most important in Google when something is searched for, the ads are in the form of result that is meeting with the needs and wants of the customers. Positioning Google has positioned its products and services in the market and with its respective target market as a search engine which provides information about everything that the customer’s types in, which means that search with Google gets smarter and faster. One can share document without having to cut and paste through Gmail contacts and use all the necessary services. Google defines itself as the â€Å"perfect search engine† as it tends to understands what a customer wants and gives back exactly the desired information (Google-a, n.d). Google earns most of the revenue from advertising and is one of the most visited sites on the internet. In order to produce user fees, the company has supplemented their searches which are free with a service named Google Answers. Google pays about three quarter of its revenue who answers the question and keeps with it the other 25% of the fees. Fees start at a price of $2.50 and at an average point of $75 (Kotler, 2008, p.283).

E-Law, Jurisdictions, Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

E-Law, Jurisdictions, Contracts - Essay Example While the question of an infringing trademark may be easily established in this case since the logos so closely resemble each other, it is a more difficult matter to establish the jurisdiction of Australian courts to deal with the legal issues of an infringing trademark. While specific jurisdiction may not apply in this case, it is possible that general jurisdiction may apply if Atherton’s products are accessible to customers in Australia, either online, through mail order or any other means of access. Any contract of purchase that is entered into by an Australian customer will entitle the case to be valid within Australian jurisdiction. Cyberspace has been defined as â€Å"the total interconnectedness of human beings through computers and telecommunication without regard to Physical geography.† (Gibson 1984) and â€Å"crime has ceased to be largely local in origin and effect† (Liangsiriprasert v United States). Crimes could be multifaceted and multinational, raising issues of local jurisdiction. In the case of DPP v Sutcliffe, the stalking victim and the effect of the accused’s actions occurred in Canada, but Australian Courts had necessary jurisdiction in the matter, due to exercise of personal jurisdiction based on conduct. This case demonstrates that in the case of serious crimes, the validity of local jurisdiction may be automatically established. Personal jurisdiction may also be exercised in cases that do not offend â€Å"traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice† (International Shoe v. Washington). However, this may not apply in Constance Anny’s case since th e matter concerns a potential business infringement of a trademark. Jurisdiction was a limiting factor in Macquarie Bank Limited & Anor v Berg, because the defendant was not in Australia and had not agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of New South Wales. The US website of the defendant contained derogatory material about the Plaintiff Company, therefore the Plaintiff sought to

Aristotles Political Virtue and Modern Conceptions of Citizenship Essay

Aristotles Political Virtue and Modern Conceptions of Citizenship - Essay Example Aristotle's beliefs still hold relevance in today's conceptions of citizenship. Aristotle writes that prior to inquiring about the attributes and essences of government a person must find an answer to the question "What is a state" (Book 3, chapter 1, 1275a). In Politics (1252-3), Aristotle states his belief that humans came together out of a common need, thus the formation of cities and city-states. Cities served as a means to better control the residents within a given country or empire; the city still served as the most effective point of contact between the people who ruled and those they ruled over (Freeman, 1999). With this thought in mind, a city would seem to run much more effectively while under the administration of one leader--so perhaps a civilisation could too. It is evident, therefore, that we must begin by asking, who is the citizen, and what is the meaning of the term For here again there may be a difference of opinion. He who is a citizen in a democracy will often not be a citizen in an oligarchy (Book 3, chapter 1, 1275a). Aristotle also commented that besides the citizens, states are comprised of other elements, such as a working class, a rich class, and a poor class (Politics, Book 4, chapter 4). The working class, which was in the middle of the two extremes, Aristotle believed to be the most capable of following rational principles. His logic was simple: those people who appeared to have to much in the way of luxuries would not be likely to submit to other citizens' authority, while those who were extremely lacking in even the basic necessities of life would likely feel too degraded to obey another's rule. Therefore, a working class would help to balance the few, wealthy elite with the many, antagonistic poor (Politics, Book 4, chapter 4). Aristotle had gone on to specify the many different groups within these three basic types, to include: military, husbandry, traders, artisans, magistrates, serfs and labourers. As has happened several times throughout history, the existence of inequality between rich and poor sparked tensions between these social classes. Contrary to previous tribal or contemporary feudal societies, Athens at this point in time did not boast any priestly class. For as culturally diverse as the world is becoming, a political community can only flourish is there is at least an agreement on the rules (Financial Times, 2005); this notion of politics is very broad. Included with this idea of politics are methods for choosing who will hold executive, judicial, and legislative powers and what the holders of these powers are entitled to do (Financial Times, 2005). Politics concerns the rights of individual citizens

Improving Quality of Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Improving Quality of Work - Essay Example Performance objectives will become the basis for daily activities such as achieving work limits that will motivate the workers to become more productive. Presence of supervisors on site of works will trigger workers to become more vigilant and responsible for every action. Giving workers sufficient break periods to relax from heavy work stress. Restricting staff members to talk to each other will help workers focus on their assigned task. The work could be done fast and accurate when the workers are in focus of what they are doing. However, the manager had forgotten to conduct an intensive study on the other possible causes of low productivity level of the department. The manager should have also given instruction to the supervisors to submit the situational reports, the problems arising within the department, and recommendation of how these problems should be attained. Interviews should be conducted among workers. Are all workers satisfied with the incentives they are receiving from the company All of these reports are required so that the management could identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current system of works, and the different policies implemented in the department. For instance in our case, processing of complains requires more paper works than can be accommodated by the worker. After analysis of these reports, the management should have to develop a new system of works, new sets of guidelines for the department. In our study, the manager should have proposed to used new working procedure or should adopt the use of technology for processing of complains. The management should also offer trainings to upgrade their workers skills to a level that could be helpful to the department. Case 2 - The Investigative Auditors Department Case The proposal of the manager of the investigative auditors department to provide an annual performance incentive program based on actual number of cases detected, will help solve the problem at some level. If incentives and salary adjustment would be based primarily on the number of fraud cases detected, it will surely increase the motivation of the investigators to conduct massive investigation to detect cases of welfare fraud. But there are factors that are forgotten by the manager. Aside from providing more incentives based on cases detected, the manager should also give transparent follow-up action to case findings. Each cases detected should be dealt with immediate and appropriate action as a sign of giving credits to the investigators who had detected the case. The manager should develop sets of well-defined policies and procedures in dealing with every detected cases and it should be strictly implemented. The manager should propose a transparent system of imposing of penalties and this system should be strictly followed. Major cases should be dealt with bigger penalties. In this manner, investigators will feel that their efforts were highly appreciated, which will motivate them to give more dedication to their works. Conducting trainings on effective investigation is required to upgrade the investigative abilities, and introduction of new systems that will enhance the investigative