Abraham Lincoln - Symbol of the unlimited possibilities Essay Example for Free

Abraham Lincoln Symbol of the unlimited possibilities Essay There are few men whose characters are so extraordinary that they can be credited with saving a nation. The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was one such man. More than one hundred years after his assassination, ‘Honest Abe as he has become known, shows no signs of losing his touch. He sits enshrined in his own monument with his famous words etched in stone around him. He commands respect, honour and the everlasting thanks of the American people. More than a thousand books have been published on his life and deeds. This is the man who not only freed the slaves but who held the nation together through the terror of the Civil War. His bloody assassination has become the nightmare scenario of legend. The myths that make up the story of Abraham Lincoln have been re-told many times. At their root is the story about the boy born into the Kentucky wilderness, who had less than a year in total of formal schooling. That same boy went on to become Americas most famous President. Lincolns rise from a poor pioneer family who taught himself to become a lawyer is the story of the American dream. From state legislator to his nomination as Presidential candidate that dream is the stuff of legends. He has become a symbol of the unlimited possibilities of American life. To appreciate the bravery and the courage that Lincoln undoubtedly showed, it is not enough to say that he saved the Union. Neither is it enough to say that he braved his critics to bring in emancipation and to end the appalling slave trade. To fully understand Lincolns achievements, is to try and gain an insight into American society of that time. The republic was only a matter of a few decades old. In this melting pot of nationhood and states, political feelings ran high. Lincoln, above all, saw himself and his countrymen as inheritors of a sacred trust. He believed that democracy was entrusted into his hands and those of his countryme n. He was prepared to stand up and fight for those beliefs. The fact is as laudable as these sentiments were, there could not possibly have been a more difficult time to try and put them into practice. The issue of slavery above all others dominated the day. It would split both politics and the country as a whole. Abraham Lincoln was not in two minds about slavery. He found it abhorrent. The fact is that many states, primarily in the North, stood against slavery. Many in the South did not. They were afraid that a Republican President effectively from the North would try and abolish slavery throughout the nation. Lincoln was elected President for his first term in 1860 at the point when a huge part of the Union, threatened to break away over the issue of slavery. The situation was for Lincoln neither a reason for secession nor Civil War. In his inaugural address he spoke about the need to find a peaceful way forwards. In spite of Lincolns plea, the Confederacy broke away and on March 4 1861 and the country erupted into the Civil War he had feared above all else. That scenario was a nightmare of complications and strategies that had to be won inside a cauldron of dissent. There was no road map. There were no precedents for dealing with states that had succeeded. Lincoln was at heart and by trade, a lawyer. He was not a soldier. However he did not flinch from his duty, or from the task in front of him. Where lesser men might have lost heart, Lincoln began the long struggle towards unity and reunification. When he judged that the time was right, he announced the abolition of the slave trade, issuing the emancipation proclamation on January 1st 1863. The war took a heavy toll. Lincoln mourned the tragedy of lives lost on the battlefield. His speech after the battle of Gettysburg on November 19th 1863 is one of the most moving and famous of all elegies for fallen soldiers. In spite of high casualties and falling morale, when Atlanta finally fell to the Union, Lincoln was re-elected for a second term. Lincolns second inaugural address is according to some, one of the greatest of all his speeches. In it, he looks forwards not only to the coming end of the war but also towards the future. His plea should never be forgotten, Malice towards none: Charity towards all. Part of Abraham Lincolns legacy is the fact that he was very much a human figure. We know many details of his life including that of his courtship and quiet marriage to Mary Todd. Theirs was tender and loving relationship scarred by loss and tragedy. Of the four sons born to them, only one grew into adulthood. The quiet and loving home life the president enjoyed was in stark contrast to the violence and hatred that was tearing the nation apart. After the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomatox on April 9 1865, a weary nation waited to see what Lincolns response would be. An expectant crowd gathered outside the White House. Lincoln addressed them for the last time. In his speech he tackled the thorny issues of reuniting a country split by war. In that same speech he talked about the rights of freed slaves. He now talked openly about black suffrage. Listening in that crowd was one John Wilkes Booth, a racist and a Confederate who vowed that this would be Lincolns last speech. Indeed it was. Booth assassinated the President on April 14th 1865. Mary his wife was sitting beside her husband as they watched a play. She was holding his hand as he was shot. She never recovered fully from his death. It was a death that Lincoln himself had reportedly foreseen in a dream some three days earlier. The assassination of Lincoln stunned the nation. His body was mourned for three weeks at it was toured through the cities of the North. Public grief was immense for perhaps the most extraordinary figure in political history. Today the image of the gaunt tall and severe man is as familiar to us as our own fathers. Indeed to many, Abraham is the Father figure of America. We can only hope, like so many before us that we too can live up to the vision and the dreams that he left for us. Behind his statue lie the famous words of the Gettysburg address, in which the president extolled, That this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall never perish from the earth. They are words that are as relevant to us today as the day on which they were first spoken. How ironic then that in the same speech the President said that the words spoken there would not long be remembered. Fortunately, for every US citizen, he was wrong! His words, his deeds and his hopes, like those of any father, are his legacy to all his children. Sources used in this speech and related information Abraham Lincoln Birthplace http://lincoln.hodgenville.net/lincoln/ Abraham Lincoln On-line http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/last.htm CV for Abraham Lincoln http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~sldavis/firstsite/index.htm

How the Characters of the Scarlet Letter Represent Sin :: English Literature Essays

How the Characters of the Scarlet Letter Represent Sin Lexico Publishing Dictionary at Dictionary.com defines sin as; 1. A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate, and 2. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong. These who definitions cleary represent the sin in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, through the characters Hester Prynne, her daughter Pearl, Dimmesdale the father, and Chillingworth, Hester's husband. Hester Prynne, the wearer of the famous scarlet letter that gave the novel it's name, is the story's source of the unforgivable sin that tears through the community of Boston in the 1600's. Hester's future and reputation in her small home town were changed forever after she was sentenced to wear the beautifuly embroidered scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her days in the village. This letter on her chest forces her to be a public outcast, and a symbol for everyone else around her to look at, as a sinner. As Hawthorne describes it, "It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself" , it did just that. Hester soon realizes that she is in a world of her own now, and must deal with this punishment as she has brought it onto herself. Since the scarlet letter itself represents sin, it brings about her isolation from the world and shows her sin will affect her own livlihood. Also, things such as guilt and lonlines s are concequences of her sin, that she must learn to deal with. But probly the most important symbol of her sin is her daughter Pearl, as she is living evidence of the adultery between Hester and Dimmsedale. Pearl, the outcome of the relation between Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, is the very embodiment of Hester. Pearl represents them same thing the scarlet letter represents in once sense, as both are bound to Hester forever and are both outcomes of her sin. Both Pearl and the letter A add to the anguish and pain that the scarlet letter offer from her mother's sin. Pearl is not just a reminder of the deed like the scarlet letter, but actually helps in the torturing of her mother without knowing it. As it did to Hester, the scarlet letter became a big part in Pearls life. Pearls attraction to it drove her mother into even more suffering.

Disability Affects Devleopment

3. 3 – Explain how disability may affect development Children with a disability may be subjected to prejudice or discrimination at school. They may be bullied or ridiculed by other students which will affect their self-confidence and in turn affect their learning capabilities and development. Disabilities are categorised in different forms i. e. learning or physical. Learning disabilities which affect development could be. Autism; autism is a developmental disability which affects how a person relates and communicates with other people and the world around them.A child/young person with autism finds it difficult to understand facial expressions or the tone of a voice. They can feel lonely and cut off from society as they avoid social interaction. This could affect their ability to development or interact in social settings or in the classroom. Dyslexia; is a difficulty in learning to read. A child/young person suffering from this may become frustrated and problems could arise at home or in school, behavioural problems could also be seen, as well as the child becoming unmotivated or developing a dislike for school.If dyslexia is undetected then this will affect their development at school and could spoil any chance of achievement. Cerebral palsy; cerebral palsy is a condition which affects the movement, posture and co-ordination of a person. A child/young person with this disability may only be affected physically with this disability while others could be affected by seizures, epilepsy or difficulties with speech and language. The social model of disability. In the 1970’s and 1980’s a civil rights based approach was developed by disabled people.Buildings were built in such a way that there was no access for wheelchairs. Information was produced in a way that disabled people could not use. Attitudes and stereotypes about a disabled person prohibited a disabled person from having the same opportunities as an able bodied person. Special servic es were created that kept disabled people segregated and cut off from everybody. The medical model of disability. Under this model a disabled person was defined by their illness or medical condition. If they did not fit into society then they were institutionalised or kept isolated at home.A disabled person had no options over: What school they attended, what support they received, If they were allowed to work and where they could work. Overall in the last fifty years there has been a huge step in thinking when it comes to the care and education of disabled children and young people. in the past the social and medical mode of disability meant that opportunities for learning and developing were denied for those with disabilities. However, today there is a different approach and majority of settings look for ways of increasing learning and development for disabled children and young people.

The Cause And Effect Of Deafness - 1231 Words

About ninety percent of the global population has the ability to hear the sound of their family s voice, hear their favorite songs, hear their own voice, these are just a few sounds that sadly are taken for granted by many people, and unfortunately many will never get to experience. About 10% of the Global population is affected by some percentage of hearing loss with hundred twenty four million people affected from a moderate level to a severe deafness. Deafness is caused by different situations. Research shows that two to three out of thousand children in US are born deaf. There is no actual cure for deafness, but in 1982 the invention of cochlear implants gave profoundly deaf and severely hard of hearing individual the chance to experience sound in a completely new way. This electronic device that is implanted in the brain behind the ears can give deaf individuals hearing ability. While many people can agree this invention had changed the way the world sees deafness, opinions diff er on whether a deaf child needs the implant to be successful. Despite objections by activists in the Deaf community that cochlear implants destroy Deaf culture, children who cannot hear should receive the surgery as a way to improve their communication skills, increase their educational options, and improve their career opportunities. In many ways, deafness is hardest on children. Language is learned from hearing it spoken by parents and other. Deaf children struggle with communicating moreShow MoreRelatedDeafness : What It Is?1083 Words   |  5 Pages What is deafness? Deafness is very different to people’s general perception of what it actually is. The most common view is that it is a complete loss of hearing however deafness is defined as the lack or loss of the ability to hear. You can either be born deaf or gradually lose the ability to hear later on in life (Presbycusis). 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