Slavery Abolitionist vs. Slave Holders Essay Example for Free

Slavery Abolitionist vs. Slave Holders Essay Slavery. This was the cause of major debates in American history that contributed greatly to the differences developing between the northern and southern states of America during the 1800s. These differences would eventually lead to the Civil War, which would cause the still newly formed America to diverge. During the debates over slavery, both the abolitionist and the slave holders fought diligently to protect what they thought to be the best intentions for America and for themselves, but because these two sides were so conflicting in their arguments, it was inevitable that the debate over slavery would eventually end in drastic measures. Although the two sides disagreed on ideas, each had valid points to contribute to their cases. The Abolitionist, or those who wanted to abolish slavery, believed that slavery violated many rights and beliefs held by the American nation. They argued that capturing others and forcing them into labor was a direct violation of the constitutions inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Even though at the time we were plagued with extreme racism against blacks (some to the extent of believing that blacks were of a sub-human species), the abolitionist argued that everyone should be given the opportunity to have these rights, regardless of race. They strengthened this point by using scriptures directly taken from the Christian bible. Scriptures such as Matt 7:12 do to others what you would have them do to you,backed up their point that capturing others for forced labor was morally wrong. Other scripture such as Col 4:1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven, aided their next major argument against slavery; the treatment of slaves. Many slave holders, or to the slaves, masters, were brutal in the treatment of their laborers. Cruel forms of punishment were used against those slaves who were rebellious or did not work to their masters standards, but rarely did a slave holder kill their slaves. At up to $2000, the were much too valuable property to simply kill. This treatment outraged the abolitionist, and the debate raged on. The slave holders of the south presented many valid arguments. The southern states stated that abolishing slavery would be devastating to the economy of  America. Three of the nations largest crops, cotton, tobacco, and rice, were profitable only because of slave labor. Such a large amount of workers were needed, that slavery was one of their only options that would not cost more than the money they made from their cash crops themselves. Slavery was cheaper because the slaves worked consistently, as opposed to laborers of the north who were in constant competion of each other, and in and out of work. If slavery were to be outlawed, these crops would eventually fail, causing an economic turmoil in the nation. Profits made from trading with other counties would plummet and, the north would also be greatly affected because the only way many of the industrial workers in the north could afford clothing was to wear those made of the cotton imported from the south. This led to their next point against abolitionist. Wage Slavery. Although abolitionist believed the north was giving their civilians their freedom rights, the only choice for most of the northern laborers was to work or starve. Many parents were forced to sell their children into contracts with companies as soon as they were old enough to work (5-6 yrs. old by northern standards), just so they could help their families survive. The south argued that working conditions for children laborers in the north were worse than their slaves of the south, and at wages of just cents a day, and no guarantee of food, shelter, or clothes, the slaves were virtually living in a paradise. The slave holders also used the bible to their advantage, much like the north. Verses such as Col 3:22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord., not only strengthened the souths case morally but it was also useful in keeping their slaves in line during sermons when they were christianizing them. The most prominent point though, was that slavery, was legal. Both the north and the south contributed many viable points, but in the end, slavery was abolished. Its final days ended when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all of the enslaved blacks of the south. Even though the north won, I believe the answer to this debate over slavery lays somewhere between both arguments. All great societies throughout  history have been built largely on slavery, but the oppressing of a people for racial reasons is what I believe to be morally wrong. Whether strong-willed opinions or compromise wins out is always up to us as a democratic nation.

Breaking Society’s Rules :: Essays Papers

Breaking Society’s Rules American literature often examines people and motives. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, and in Arthur Miller’s dramatic classic, The Crucible, people and motives often depict patterns of Puritans struggling for life during a precarious time. Guilt and shame can tear a person's soul away. The inevitable consequence of sin is the immediate reaction of guilt, shame, and remorse. For example: John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Reverend Dimmesdale have all committed a sin or sins and are feeling extremely guilty about it. They want to be forgiven, but they have no strength and are cowards. Forgiveness can only be obtained when these characters find the strength within themselves to speak the truth. The first to commit a sin is John Proctor, the husband of Elizabeth Proctor. John is a good man until Abigail Williams comes into his life. John lives in a house feeling empty and thinking his wife does not love him. Lust is a very powerful feeling, and it tempts John right into bed with Abigail. Unfortunately once he commits adultery, Elizabeth does not forgive him. She finds ways to punish John and make him feel more remorseful. For example, Reverend Hale asks John to recite the commandments, and he forgets one, Elizabeth then says sarcastically, â€Å"Adultery, John.† Elizabeth responds in such a manner that John feels overwhelming pain in his heart. Naturally, Elizabeth feels guilty as well. She tells John, â€Å"I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery.† Elizabeth feels as though she is to blame for John committing adultery. She is a mother and, of course, Elizabeth will be consumed with taking care of their children, cooking, cleaning, etc. At first, Elizabeth does not recognize John pulling away from her and turning towards Abigail. Soon after Elizabeth finds out John committed adultery with Abby, she fires her. Later on in the novel Elizabeth is accused of being a witch and John goes to court to prove Abigail is lying.

How Language Develops in Children

For every parent, language development in their children is a fundamental aspect that must be given importance as many parents are concerned about the progress of their children when it comes to learning to speak and to understanding words and their meanings. The child’s communication skills are further developed through the interactions they have with other people. That’s why parents must continually provide the interaction needed so that their children’s progress is continuous and steady. Language development is defined as the process in which young children understand and communicate language during early childhood. Rafanello says that it is acquired more quickly in the first five years of a baby’s life (1). The amazing thing is that even before the baby is born, he can differentiate native language and other languages. This is because when they are still inside the womb, they hear and respond to familiar voices, especially the mother’s. An infant’s brain goes through changes after birth. Trillions of pathways develop between brain cells, and these pathways will allow the baby to learn and think, and then talk, and whatever stimulation a baby has during the early years of his life will mold and strengthen these brain pathways. Caregivers of these babies, especially the parents, need not worry because there are so many opportunities for a child’s language skills to be further enhanced. Rafanello added that the experiences of an infant with language in interaction with parents and other people around him will impact his overall development (1). A baby communicates through facial expressions, coos, gestures and verbal cries. In the article â€Å"Language Development in Children,† it says that even before a child can speak, he can understand words. It also adds that the language spoken to a baby from birth will enable him to comprehend the words and later on speak them. Language development in babies starts through gestures and facial expressions. Through these, a baby can express his comfort or discomfort, unpleasantness and even satisfaction. There will be words that will have emotional significance on a baby, and these are usually the words that he will pay attention to. A study showed that as early as twenty-four weeks, an infant can differentiate between â€Å"bah† and â€Å"gah.† Another study showed that a month old infant can â€Å"associate sucking behavior to the sounds of â€Å"b† and â€Å"p.† Later on in his life, he will learn to â€Å"babble† and form his own language (â€Å"Language Development in Children†). It is of importance that parents talk to their children, as this stimulation with the language environment has value. It is said that a baby learns to connect words with his emotional experiences and this will provide him the motivation to talk, or to express his feelings through â€Å"babbling.† As the baby grows, he will attempt to create sounds in trying to communicate with the people around him. A study cited in the â€Å"Language Development in Children† showed that when a person pronounces words very clearly to an infant, it will help the infant to understand. This is a very important measure of a baby’s language development so that he can comprehend words and their meanings. A baby will also learn that his babbling will gain the attention of those who are around him. Listening is an important step before a child can learn. When a baby listens to a lot of things, he can develop and expand his vocabulary and improve his IQ. This is also the result of a study of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Aside from the larger vocabulary, a baby’s language skills are more complex when they are raised in high-quality child care environment (Rafanello 1). Moreover, â€Å"live† language can tremendously improve the language skills of child. To be able for children to comprehend language, they must hear it in association with what happens around them. Through this, language does not become merely noise. Another important thing for a parent to remember is talking directly to the baby even before he can talk back. This facilitates understanding of a word or words that are spoken many times. The best and natural way for a baby to learn the meanings of words is talk to him in relation to what is happening. Actions and descriptions of objects or thoughts will also help the baby to associate words with them. A study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) showed that a positive interaction is connected with language development. Furthermore, a child can learn better through language-based interactions with his parents or the people around him. At times, a baby repeats a word many times, such as â€Å"bah† in reference to the same object. When he grows, he learns to speak other sounds. For instance, a baby can make sounds when he is in his crib. When his mother approaches and talks to him, the baby’s sounds become frequent. This is a very significant step as it opens another opportunity for the speech development of a child. If a baby is stimulated, he will use his vocal cords many times. This also makes way for increased social stimulation from other people to him. The following presents the language development of children at certain ages. Even before birth, language development takes place, especially when a mother constantly talks to her unborn child. According to Alic, infants become familiar with the human voice. She adds that infants pay more attention to a human face, more importantly when it is talking. At infancy, babies either quiets down or smiles when they are spoken to. Turning towards familiar sounds and voices are also characteristic of infants. Moreover, they communicate through chuckling, gurgling, whimpering and cooing. They can also produce sounds such as â€Å"ohh† and â€Å"ah.† They also communicate and express their needs through crying. Between three and six months, an infant can show responses to changes in a tone of voice. He also learns how to vocalize his pleasure or displeasure. Moreover, he laughs, sighs, squeals, blows bubbles, babbles and sputters loudly to get the attention of people around him. He also learns t use gestures to communicate his desires. Additionally, he can cry differently if he is in pain or hungry. An infant this age can also shape his mouth to change sounds. His new collection of vocabulary includes sounds such as â€Å"b†, â€Å"m† and â€Å"p† (Alic). Six to twelve months of age marks the most critical period for receptive language development. Receptive language development is the infant’s ability to comprehend language. During this age, an infant responds to their names. He also learns how to listen keenly to speech and other sounds. He expresses his moods through body language and sound. He can also play with sounds. Aside from these, he can respond to friendly or angry tones and can repeat syllables. He also communicates through imitation of intonation or speech sounds. At this age, he uses his tongue to change sounds and babbles with as many as 12 sounds in a singsong pattern. He can also make long sounds (Alic). In his seventh month, an infant can vocalize syllables such as â€Å"Dada† or â€Å"Mama† (Child Development Institute). Rafanello added that at this stage, an infant’s babble has long and short group of sounds such as â€Å"tata upup bibibibi.† His vocabulary now includes one or two new words such as â€Å"bye-bye,† â€Å"dada,† â€Å"mama,†, â€Å"no,† or â€Å"uh-oh† (6). An infant between nine and 12 months can listen when he is spoken to. Moreover, he can give responses to simple requests. He also recognizes the names of his family members and even the names of common objects. He also understands the word â€Å"no.† He repeats sounds, exercises intonation, uses the words â€Å"dada† and â€Å"mama† for any person, connects voices and names with people, makes use of sounds other than crying for their needs or to get attention, shouts and screams, knows their own names, understands gestures babbles two to three syllable repeated sounds. By 12 and 18 months of age, a toddler can now use partial words, recognize names, laugh appropriately, use words that start with â€Å"b,† â€Å"c,† â€Å"d,† and â€Å"g,† make gestures and say â€Å"no,† understand and follow directions, and ask for help using sounds and gestures. He can also use complete words and understand certain words, such as â€Å"up,† â€Å"down† and â€Å"hot.† Moreover, a toddler this age learns to form sentences by putting two short words together. This age also marks the toddler’s understanding of words associated for everything; their language development is steady. Alic says that the majority of a toddler’s first words are universal. They consist of names of foods or family members. By the age of 18 to 24 months, a toddler has a collection of 20 to 50 intelligible words. He can now say more words each month and put two words together such as â€Å"more cookie† (Rafanello 6). His vocabulary also consists of nouns. He can follow simple commands and use two pronouns correctly. The pronouns I, me and you are commonly used. He also follows command such as â€Å"show me your eyes.† A two- to three-year old toddler is able to use short sentences to ask for things, and he has a word for almost everything. Those around him can understand his speech (Rafanello 6). His vocabulary now consists of 400 words, which include names. As early as this age, the toddler can repeat the stories, songs or rhymes he hears. He can also describe his experiences through three- to five-word sentences. By three to four years of age, a child can talk through sentences that have four or more words. If a child attends preschool, he can talk about the activities he does there. He can also converse with others and ask questions. At this age, he can use pronouns correctly. His collection of vocabulary is much bigger, usually consisting of 900 to 1,000 words (Alic). At this age, a parent is suggested to communicate with his child through self-talk, which is another way of enhancing language development. The parent can start by telling his child â€Å"I am picking up your toys.† When a child is aged four or five, his language skills further develops. According to Rafanello, a child this age exhibits ease in communicating with adults and children. However, he may have difficulty with certain sounds, such as j, l, ch, r, s, sh, th, v, z. He has the ability to speak with lots of details (6). He can now describe things and has a better grasp of number and time concepts. Moreover, he knows things about himself, such as his age. His understanding of number concept includes counting from one to ten. Language development can be further developed through continuous interaction with the people around the child. Language development can also be enriched when a child is exposed to an environment rich in language and language-based interaction. If a parent regularly reads and talks to his child, it can have an impact in the child’s ability to communicate with others. However, a parent must remember that the ability of children to learn is not the same for everyone. While one child may show quick progress, such as forming a sentence, another may have problems dealing with speech or language delay. There are times when a child exhibits mild or temporary delays. These delays can affect about six percent of children. There are factors which can affect the delays. A child may be experiencing genetic disorders, hearing impairment or development disorders. The good thing is if these disorders are detected earlier, they can be treated or prevented in their early stages. Although children show different rates when it comes to language development, it is best not to compare a child’s language development with another. Parents must make sure that the language development of their children is steady, and not just fast or slow. They must also provide an environment where their children have a room to learn things. Aside from this, parents must assist their children’s development in any way possible. Works cited Alic, Margaret. â€Å"Language Development.† 2007. About.com. 9 December 2007 < >. â€Å"Language Development in Children.† Child Development Institute. 9 December 2007 . Rafanello, Donna. â€Å"Facilitating Language Development.† Healthy Child Care America, Summer 2000: 1-6.      

Define and Explain Revolution in Astronomy

Revolution is an important concept to understand when youre studying the stars. It refers to the movement of a planet around the Sun. All of the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun. The path of the earth around the sun which is one complete cycle of an orbit is approximately 365.2425 days in length. Planetary revolution can sometimes be confused with planetary rotation but they are two separate things. Difference Between Revolution and Rotation While revolution and rotation are similar concepts each is used to describe two different things. Planets, like Earth, revolve or travel around the sun. But the Earth is also spinning on what is called an axis, this rotation is what gives us our night and day cycle. If the Earth didnt spin then only one side of it would face the sun during its revolution. This would make the other side of the Earth very cold as we need the sun for light and heat. This ability to spin on an axis is called rotation. What Is a Terrestrial Year? A full revolution of the Earth around the Sun is known as a terrestrial, or earth year. It takes roughly 365 days for the Earth to complete this revolution. This is what our calendar year is based on.  The Gregorian Calendar is based on the revolution of the earth around the sun to be 365.2425 days in length. The inclusion of a leap year, one where we have an extra day happens every four years to account for the .2425. As Earths orbit changes the length of our years changes as well. These types of changes usually happen over millions of years. Does the Moon Revolve Around Earth? The moon orbits, or revolves, around the Earth. Each planet affects the other one. The moon has some interesting effects on the Earth. Its gravitational pull is responsible for the rise and fall of the tides. Some people believe that the full moon, a stage in the moons revolution, causes humans to act strangely. However, there is no scientific proof to back up the claim that strange things happen during the full moon. Does the Moon Rotate? The moon does not rotate because it is gravitationally locked with the Earth. The moon has synched up with the Earth in such a way that the same side of the moon is always facing the earth. This is why the Moon always looks the same. Its known that at one point the moon did rotate on its own axis. As our gravitational pull on the  moon got stronger the moon stopped rotating. What Is a Galactic Year? The time it takes for the solar system to orbit the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is referred to as a galactic year. Its also known as a cosmic year. There are 225 to 250 Million terrestrial (earth) years in one galactic year. Thats a long trip!