Lincoln Vs. Davis Essays - Stateless People, American Civil War

Lincoln Vs. Davis Charles Beard, a noted historian said that the American Civil War was a conflict between industry and agriculture. Alexander Stephens, a southern statesman said that the war was about states rights. Horace Greeley, a northern newspaper man, and prominent abolitionist claimed the war was fought over the issue of slavery. Abraham Lincoln said it was a struggle testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. Lincoln said his paramount object was to save the Union, and if he could accomplish that by not freeing any slaves, he would free none; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union. What would have happened if Davis would have said that his paramount object was to save the Confederacy, and if he could accomplish that by not freeing any slaves, he would free none; if he could save it by freeing all the slaves he would do it; and if he could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone he would also do that. What if he would have taken the attitude that what he did about slavery and the colored race would be done to help save the Confederacy? Jefferson Davis was profoundly dedicated to the cause that he led. Many prominent Southerners, including Robert E. Lee, were troubled in conscience by slavery. Davis never manifested any qualms about either slavery or secession. His support of state sovereignty and the Southern way of life was based on deep conviction. When Lincoln composed the Gettysburg Address he did not talk much about the way most historians perceive the war. It was his perception...The men who had died at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chancellorsville, Balls Bluff, Big Bethel, Shiloh...had not given the last full measure of devotion to free the slaves, nor to establish a modern nation nor to create an industrial empire. They died for the Union, and beyond that for the idea of democracy, so that the ray of hope sent forth by the American Revolution would never dim (Stephen E. Ambrose). The issue of the Civil War was democracy. Lincoln saw to it that the North fought to insure that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth. The constitution drawn up at Montgomery defined the new government as the creation of sovereign and independent states. Davis subscribed to the principles of state sovereignty but he was far less provincial in his views than were many of his fellow Confederates. As the South's chief executive he was tremendously handicapped by the deep and pervasive attachment of Southerners to states rights(Bell I. Wiley). Davis was also handicapped by the excessive individualism which characterized the South's ruling classes. The individualism was a product of the plantation system. Each planter was in effect a petty sovereign and his exalted status tended to make him self-reliant, proud, resentful of opposition, and averse to teamwork. Great men are never cruel without necessity. In war as in politics, no evil, even if it is permissible under the rules, is excusable unless it is absolutely necessary. Everything beyond that is a crime. Men who have changed the world never achieved their success by winning the chief citizens to their side, but always by stirring the masses. The first method is that of a schemer and leads only to mediocre results; the other method is the path of genius and changes the face of the world (Napoleon Bonaparte). According to his contemporary critics, Abraham Lincoln's Presidential record was notable for his despotic use of power and his blatant disregard for the Constitution. Lincoln ordered thousands of arrests, kept political enemies in prison without bringing charges against them, refused these hapless men their right to trial by a jury of their peers, and ignored orders from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to release them. In his first few months in office he made the most direct violations

Michael Jordan Essays - McDonalds High School All-Americans

Michael Jordan Essays - McDonalds High School All-Americans Michael Jordan Michael Jordan was born on January 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. He has two brothers, is married, and has three kids. He is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time (Kornbluth). My focus will be on his hardships, accomplishments, and people who influenced him. First, I would like to touch on some general information about Michael. He wears number 23 on his jersey because he considered it to be half of his brother's number, 45. He had wanted 45 because it was his brother's number and he deeply admired his brother, but he was on the same team as his brother so he needed to pick a different number. His most well known superstition is that he wears his University of North Carolina basketball shorts under his game shorts. When Michael was a kid, his favorite sport was not basketball. In fact, it was baseball. He was a pitcher on a little league team. He played baseball because he was short (Kornbluth). Later in his life, he would try to leave the NBA and play major league baseball. Michael was not always rich. His parents had to work two and three jobs each to support the family. Before Michael's dad built him a basketball court in his back yard Michael shot, basketballs into a trash can (Kornbluth). Michael was not always good at basketball, either. People told Michael that he was too short to play basketball. Michael now stands six feet six inches tall. He also went to the school gym before school to shoot baskets, stayed after school to shoot baskets, and could be found in the school gym on weekends shooting baskets. He also played his brother, Larry, one-on-one in basketball. His brother was only a year older than Michael was, but he was much better and taller than Michael was. Michael would often times lose and end up getting in a fight with his brother. This caused Michael to be extremely determined to succeed at basketball (Kornbluth). In his sophomore year of high school, he tried out for the Varsity team. He did not make it, so he was placed on the Junior Varsity team. On the J.V. team, he averaged 28 points per game. He thought this would get the attention of the Varsity team coach. It did. However, it was not in the way he hoped it would. The assistant coach for the Varsity team was sick so they needed someone to hand out towels to the players while on a playoff road trip. That is what Michael got to do (Kornbluth). When he finally got on the Varsity team in his junior year, he still worked hard. He practiced with both the Varsity and the Junior Varsity teams and continued to go to the school gym and work on his shooting (Kornbluth). Michael's hard work would attract many scouts from colleges (Kornbluth). He would go to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In college, he was a very good player. In his junior year, the Tar Heels went to the NCAA Championship game where he would hit a clutch game winning buzzer beater to win the NCAA Championship. In 1984, Michael played for the United States Olympic basketball team. Michael was among the best college players in the country and helped the team win the gold medal. Michael was also part of the 1992 United States Olympic basketball team. The team was composed of the best NBA players and was nicknamed "The Dream Team." This Olympic team also won the gold medal (www.unc.edu/~lbrooks2/jordan.html). Michael was drafted after his junior year in college and would be the third pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA Draft. He went to the Chicago Bulls, who at that time were a struggling team. With Michael on their team, they started to win. Michael was the NBA's rookie of the year in 1985. He would also be a NBA all-star in his rookie year and a NBA all-star game starter in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996. In 1988 Michael would win the first of four league MVP honors, the others being 1991, 1992, and 1996. He was