Thomas Jefferson and Slavery in Virginia Essay Example for Free

Thomas Jefferson and Slavery in Virginia Essay At the bottom it was slavery that divided Virginia along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Most members of the convention have agreed with the opinion of the distinguishing delegate, James Monroe, that â€Å"if no such thing as slavery existed.. the people of our Atlantic border, would meet their brethren of the west, upon the basis of a majority, of the free white population.† But slavery existed, largely as an eastern institution; and it demanded protection from mere numbers both in the state and in the federal government. By-passed in the convention, the dreaded issue, swollen by the hopes and fears of a terrible torrent, soon locked Virginia in another great debate that ripped wide the seams Jeffersonian heritage. In the year 1831, a fanatical slave preacher, Nat Turner, and his band massacred about sixty white people, where most of them were women and children. This was by far the bloodiest events in the annals of American history. Jefferson once said, â€Å"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only form basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gifts of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? In deed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.† Converting crisis to opportunity, many Virginians hoped for the realization of Jefferson’s cherished goal of gradual emancipation, trusting as well that Virginia’s lead would â€Å"impart a resistless impulse† to the whole South. Once again, Jefferson provided the moral justification for western interests, which coincided with emancipation. The House of Delegates referred the slavery question to a special committee dominated by the eastern conservatives. But before the committee could submit its report, debate erupted in the House on two resolutions which instructed the committee to contradictory courses of action. Thomas Jefferson Tandoph, for the liberals, asked the committee to report on the expediency of placing before the electorate a plan of gradual emancipation. Children of slaves born on or after July 4, 1840 would become the property of the state when they came of age, and would be colonized outside the United States when the return from their labor met the expenses of their removal. This was, in essence, â€Å"the plan of Mr. Jefferson,† as everyone recognized; the plan broached by him in the Notes of Virginia slavery debate was also a debate on Jefferson. Standing on the natural rights philosophy, the reformers argued that slavery was both an injustice to the Negroes land a curse to the whites. The principles of American liberty, they said, embraced the whole of humanity. Let the master debase the slave’s humanity, pervert his feelings, muffle his reason, still â€Å"the idea that he was born to be free will survive it all. It is.. a torch lit up in his soul by the hand of the Deity and never meant to be extinguished by the had of man.† The slave system weakened the moral restraints of Christianity. It made industry dishonorable. It retarded popular education and free inquiry. This was another example of how Jefferson’s striking language became â€Å"stereotyped in the public voice.† No other words from his pen, or perhaps from any pen, were more often quoted as gospel by anti-slavery men. Jefferson’s â€Å"false picture† of Virginia society, â€Å"has gone forth to the world as our true character as Benjamin W. Leigh complained in the press. The defender of slavery worked mainly with the ideas of their conservative predecessors in the convention of 1829; however, they introduced not important modification. They were forced to contend now not only for the supremacy of the master race. Defending racial inequality and slavery as laws of nature, attested by all history, the eastern delegates superimposed a still nebulous ideology of white supremacy upon the older conservative ideology of property. The slaves, they said, were happy with their lot, and the whites were more equal and more republican because of this labor system. Increasingly, throughout the South, racial inequalities would be substituted for economic ones, color would become the badge of aristocracy, and class issues would be smothered by the blanket appeal to racial solidarity. Pro-slavery ideology divided society not between the rich and the poor but between the whites and the black. Having assailed the natural rights premises of the reformers, the conservatives went on to argue that emancipation was impractical. What better proof was wanted that Jefferson’s own conduct – he never liberated his slaves, but â€Å"perpetuated their condition by the last solemn act of his life; which is sufficient.. to put to flight all the conclusions that have been drawn from the expressions of his abstract opinions.† His scheme of emancipation was only a day dream. He never went before the public as its advocate. Posterity could not venture what he dared not attempt: â€Å"The fragments of a great man’s thoughts are not only valueless but dangerous. The same genius which conceived them is necessary to fill up their details.. When Hercules died, there was no man left to left his club.† Many things foredoomed the Jeffersonian plan to failure; none, however, was as significant for Jefferson’s place in the southern imagination as the doctrine of state rights. Jefferson, as its champion, had often condemned federal intervention of any sort with slavery in the states. Finally realizing in 1824 that Virginia could never bear the financial burden of compensation and colonization, he put aside his constitutional scruples and proposed the diversion to the states of federal revenue from the public lands in order to effect emancipation. According to Thomas R. Dew wrote in his influential Review of the slavery debate the whole movement of emancipation, â€Å"is but too well calculated to furnish the political lever by which Virginia is to be prised out of her natural and honorable position in the Union..† The reformers hoped that the flood of light turned upon slavery in 1832 would result in its early extinction. But Carolina Nullification, not emancipation, was the absorbing issue of the succeeding session of the legislature, and from this state rights crisis the promising onto-slavery movement never recovered.

Americas Communism Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist Essay -- Explora

BLACKLIST - A list of persons who are under suspicion, disfavor, or censure, or who are not to be hired, served, or otherwise accepted. -- http://www.merriam-webster.com/ During the late 1940’s and throughout the 1950’s, there was a great fear of Communism in America and abroad. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) was created in 1938 as a means to investigate and weed out Communists and Communist supporters from American society. Its first major attack was on the Hollywood film industry. Blacklisting of Hollywood writers, actors, producers, directors and others suspected of Communist affiliations began with the committee's hearings in October of 1947, and flourished throughout the 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy conducted â€Å"witch hunts† in an attempt to find and eliminate suspected Communists. The Hollywood Ten, a group of distinguished writers and directors, were cited for contempt of Congress and jailed for failing to cooperate with the house committee. As World War Two ended, and the once widely popular and accepted Communist movement began to fade away, Congress started becoming highly concerned with the possibility of a Communist revolt. People in influential positions, such as Senator Joseph McCarthy, believed that such an uprising would begin from within Hollywood, as there were many popular and powerful directors, producers and writers there, who had easy access in reaching people across over America (Cole Hollywood Red). The Senate committee believed strongly that left-wing ideas were a threat to traditional American society and its values. Meanwhile, the FBI was intent on crushing any possible skirmishes before they could start by infiltrating the communist party; dividing the party a... ...h such a basic issue of free speech could be discussed (Rosenfeld A27). WORKS CITED Matwisky, Peter. The Red Scare In Hollywood. Web 23 Apr. 2015. http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/redscare/hollywood.html Bernstein, Walter. Inside Out. New York: Knopf, 1996. Cole, Lester. Hollywood Red: The Autobiography of Lester Cole. Palo Alto, CA: Ramparts Press, 1981. Dick, Bernard F. Radical Innocence: A Critical Study of the Hollywood Ten. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1989. Georgakas, Dan. "Hollywood Blacklist" Web 23 Apr. 2015. http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/blacklist.html McGilligan, Patrick. Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. Rosenfeld. â€Å"Looking back on the Blacklisted.† The Washington Post. A27. The Front. Dir. Walter Bernstein. Perf. Woody Allen. 1982.

The Misunderstanding of Internet Freedom

The Misunderstanding of Internet Freedom The public governance has been a significant part of every system. People as citizens always discuss their opinions with each other. In accordance with the system which they are ruled, their discussions have an effect on the rules and regulations of the government. In modern societies which embrace democracy as management system, the influence of public determination is predominant. As it is mentioned above sharing and declaring public decision is the milestone of governance in such societies.Therefore, the more advanced ways people have to communicate, the more they can contribute to the improvement of democracy. If it is compared with the past, people have faster, cheaper and much more effective communication tools in order to exchange and spread their ideas. The Internet and new communication technologies enhance democracy by making any kind of information accessible and by providing people with rapid and cheap communication. The Internet e nables the improvement of democracy because it gives people the opportunity to be aware of current issues. It offers a wide range of information to everyone regardless of their status.People who are interested in a topic can access plenty of data about what they are looking for. It is not anymore the case that people have to delve into books in libraries in order to find a useful resource which contains relevant information. People already have a well-organized library which searches and introduces them to the most appropriate information on their subjects – The Internet. In addition to individuals, many non-governmental organizations and any other social groups that share common ideas can publish their arguments and spread them across the world.For example, human rights organizations use the Internet to advocate their arguments. L. Pal reveals that the international human rights movement has grown hugely since the 1950s when approximately 38 non-go0vernmental organizations w ere identifiable, to around 14,500 by 1994 (qtd. Brophy and Halpin 353). The new ICTs (information and communication technologies) and the Internet provide people with advanced opportunity to declare their opinions and to contribute to democracy.To illustrate, (International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development) ICHRDD started to use electronic publications and participated in the PeaceNet Human Rights gopher service that retrieve important data published by other organizations (354). The information becomes accessible to all concerned workers and volunteers so that they will be more sophisticated in their fights and they are able to defend their arguments. (Brophy and Halpin 356). The new information communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet contribute to development of democracy because they facilitate communication with rapid and cheap tools such as e-mails.It is stated by Brophy and Halpin that â€Å"Electronic communications and networking cut through th e barriers of time and distance, facilitating the finding of information in a way previously impossible. † (353). Likewise to the authors statement, instead of costly phone calls or even more incommodious face to face meetings, electronic communications enable people to communicate or exchange their ideas in a rapid way whether they are at the opposite sides of the world. ICTs help citizens to contribute to democracy because they make mobilization of people more effective and cheaply.They also provide circulation of information through networks, and they strengthen NGOs so that capacity of governmental agencies is limited (Brophy and Halpin 354). As it is mentioned above, ICTs enhance contributions of citizens to democracy because they transform people into aware, active and investigative elements of democracy. They enable people to discuss and question conviction, and come up with new perspectives and creative resolutions. Inherently, there are people who deny the contributio n of the Internet freedom to democracy.It is also argued that the Internet makes things worse in terms of liberalization. Evgeny Morozov who is an expert on interaction of digital technologies and democracy believes that authoritarian governments hinder democracy from developing by censoring the Internet or attacking web-sites (1). Besides, there are some governments that censor web-sites which advocate child abuse, cyber-crimes, and terrorism (Ash 8). They also legally or illegally gain access to e-mail account, spy on searches and so on (Ash 7).These examples might seem to be assaults on privacy or obstacles to the improvement of democracy. But your privacy is not more important than the welfare of your country and children. You cannot jeopardize your country and children while some terrorists threaten benefits, security, and economy of your country or pedophiles abuse your children physically or psychologically. It should be preferred to protect your country and your children to your privacy. As a result, it is legitimate and reasonable to block websites like this.Besides, the reliability of governments is controversial. Everybody might not be satisfied about government’s implementations. However, the ones who elect the government are the majority of society. People are given the right to choose the people who will govern them. Of course, they can question the practices and submit their thoughts through NGOs and so on. But they should also be respectful to the will of the public. In conclusion, the role of public in governance is significant in all modern democracies.The more people declare their thoughts the more they can contribute to democracy. With the developing technologies and the Internet, people are more likely to communicate, exchange ideas and search for what they need. New ICTs such as e-mails and electronic documents enable people to enhance democracy. On the other hand, in order to prevent illegitimate censoring and regulations by gover nments, we should implement all laws in the online world as well. Finally, we should use our right to elect cleverly and declare our views through NGOs in an appropriate way.References Ash, Timothy Garton. â€Å"Internet Freedom†. freespeechdebate. com. N. D. Web. October 2012. Brophy, Peter, and Edward Halpin. â€Å"Through the Net to freedom: information, the Internet and human rights†. jis. sagepub. com. Journal of Information Science. 24 March 1999. Web. October 2012. Morozov, Evgeny, and Joanne J. Myers. â€Å"The Net Delusion : The dark side of Internet freedom†. Carnegiecouncil. org. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. 25 January 2011. Web. October 2012.

Music Is An Essential Part Of Our Social Environment

SOUNDS The beauty of music regardless of genre and form is truly amazing. It allows us to express joy, anger, sadness, love, pain, and bittersweet moments that we experience in our lifetime. Creating music can be simple or complicated, and it all depends on how we create it. We can create music easily with our bodies by tapping our shoes and snapping our fingers, or we can make it a more complex task by using our voice and musical instruments. Music is definitely an essential part of our social environment because it makes our lives more lively, interesting, and passionate. Moreover, music inspires not only musicians, singers, or compositors, but it also inspires dancers. Dancers that glide their feet, turn around, and jump at the rhythmic sounds while moving along with the music is what I find most captivating. I think that music transcends time because people of all ages can find a way to enjoy and express themselves through music. At last, I attended a ballet show at the Dance Theatre of Dalton, and enjoyed the dance as much I enjoyed the music. My favorite pieces of the night were the following: Touch The Sky, A group of twelve girls were standing proud and ready at the stage. All wearing beautiful dresses and a pair of glittery green wings. Their hair was fixed in a hair bun at the top of their heads, and also wore a bit of makeup that illuminated their smiling faces. The music started, and it was a familiar song â€Å"Touch The Sky†, by Julie Fowlis. This song is veryShow MoreRelatedImportance Of Art And Its Effect On Society1435 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Art in Society Art is often marginalized and left aside in favor of serious fields, like math and science; it is generally seen as an extra and as something purely recreational – icing on the cake. However, it is an essential component of any even moderately healthy society. 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