Harold Abrahams

Contradicting Statements Slavery has always been an extremely controversial topic, especially when intertwined with the United States the “freest” nation. As in any other cases, there are always multiple point of views. In slavery the most prominent ones being abolition and pro-slavery. Unlike other differences that could be resolved easily, the issue of slavery took many decades and lives to eventually become resolved. Yet, even to this day, there are multiple opinions surrounding slavery. The…

Frederick Douglass was enslaved in 1818 but his age was not known, as he did not know his actual birthdate. He was the father of the Civil Rights Movement. Having former experience with slavery, he had knowledge to be a lead abolitionist. When he was moved to work for a man named Edward Covey, also known as the “slave-breaker”, his spirit was nearly destroyed. However, he fought back, remained strong, and began to write his autobiography. His book, The Narrative, opened many people’s eyes about…

In the midst of the Civil War and in the wake of the bloodiest battle in American history, where nearly 52,000 Americans lost their lives, and just as many lost their will to fight, Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address to a crowd of 20,000 relatives of the deceased. Only an afterthought following the main eulogy, Lincoln’s address would go onto be the most celebrated speech in American history. From the first words of his address, Lincoln establishes a reverential, formal tone. He…

“The Union armies had captured larges sections of the South, and some states were ready to have their governments rebuilt”. The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction was used to reconstruct and reunify the United States (“Lincoln”). Abraham Lincoln had a plan to begin rebuilding the United States. He did this in 1863, with his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. The reason Lincoln created the proclamation was to determine how the Southern states would be restored under the…

Historical Background/Purpose of Speech Frederick Douglass was a man of great passion and a true activist for slavery and the slaves involved. From the time he was born to the age of 7, Douglass was a slave himself, being whipped and malnurtured by his slave owners (“Frederick Douglass - Father of America’s Civil Rights”). He spent most of the early years of his childhood with his grandparents, and never saw his mother but a few times before she died and never knew his father which was a white…

Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave and black abolitionist, delivered his speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” to emphasize the hypocrisy of Independence Day in America. Douglass’s purpose was to gain support from the group of people who have yet to choose one side or the other by pointing out the hypocrisy in the idea of freedom when only a fraction of Americans were truly free. He adopts a frustrated tone in order to convey to America, especially abolitionists, the mistreatments…

With the election of Lincoln came a deadly strife. By February of 1861, the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had all left the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Northerners, including Lincoln, were dead set against secession and believed that it was illegal. Thus, the newly inaugurated President Lincoln vowed to use military force in order to preserve the nation. Yet, he seemed to skip over an equally big issue dividing the…

He worked in many government projects, such as deciding whether or not the United States should annex the Dominican Republic. He also continued to write books, give speeches, and act as an advisor for the presidents succeeding Abraham Lincoln. While most people accepted these great advancements in the society, Frederick saw something he considered to be even better. He wanted to make voting for African Americans even more possible. However, he was met with harsh resistance from…

1. The Mexican War - The Mexican-American War began in 1846 when President Polk sent a United States representative make an offer of purchasing California and parts of New Mexico from the Mexicans. He also requested to settle the border territory claims in Texas. The US offered $25-$30 million, along with $3 million in relief debt for American citizens. The Mexican government refused to meet with the representative, causing Polk to order US troops to move into the disputed territory to protect…

This paper explores two published articles that highlight the key components on self-actualization (SA) and reaching optimum human potential. The article that was assigned for reading, is written in a very black and white format that wraps ideas around examples only modern societies could easily relate with, whereas the article that I personally chose, demonstrated an investigation of ideas between Western psychology and the Buddhist tradition of Theravada. Contrastingly, the assigned article…