Ulysses S Grant one of the Greatest Battlefield Leaders Essay Example for Free

Ulysses S Grant one of the Greatest Battlefield Leaders Essay Ulysses S Grant, the Eighteenth President of the United States of America, and often credited as the man who was single handedly responsible for ending the Civil War served his country during the years from 1869 to 1877. He was born the son of a poor tanner from Ohio, in the year 1822. He was a rather average student, and apparently, he went to West Point against his will, where he managed to graduate at the middle of his class. After graduation, the young Ulysses Grant started to work at his father’s leather store in the state of Illinois, and this is where he was working still when the Civil War in which he was to play a major role in his future broke out. It is said that it was this work in his father’s tannery that Ulysses Grant developed a great proficiency and ability in handling equestrians, a trait that was to help him in his later endeavors and battles. It was in the years immediately after his graduation that Grant served in the Mexican War. The young soldier would win two brevets for his meritorious conduct during the War, but all the same, he absolutely detested the war, and wanted no part of it at the time. In 1848, Grant married Julia Dent, the daughter of a rich plantation owner, and immediately afterwards, he was sent on garrison duty to the Central Northeast of the United States of America, where he served until 1854 when he chose to retire under a cloud of rumors about his drinking habits. The young man was thereafter appointed by the then Governor to act as the Commander to a disorderly and unruly volunteer regiment, also known as ‘Governor Gate’s Hellions’. Experts say that it was Ulysses Grant’s expertise and command and presence that managed to bring this regiment of volunteers into some sort of shape, so that at the end of 1861, the brigade was much better organized, and Ulysses rose to the rank of Brigadier General of Volunteers. (Ulysses S Grant n. d) The young tanner Ulysses Grant soon rose to the rank of General, and he was one of the people of the world who was considered to be a ‘true world leader,’ viewed by the people of the world at the time as the ‘Hero of Freedom’ or even as the â€Å"King of America. † In the words of Lord Provost in 1877 when he was addressing a crowd of fifty thousand people or more, â€Å"Grant had proved himself the Wellington of America†¦the great and good Lincoln struck down the poisonous tree of slavery; but Grant tore it up by the roots†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Grant the World Leader n. d) In the year 1861, Ulysses Grant a completely unprepared attack on Missouri as the Brigadier of his regiment, and he was forced to retreat with severe losses. Not allowing this to deter him in any way, the brave and resolute man engaged the help of the navy and took Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Hugely successful in these attacks, the pleased Governor accorded him the title of Major General. (About Grant n. d) When Abraham Lincoln was transferred to Washington, there was in fact no single General who would be able to control the West. This was the time when Grant and John McClernand began their struggle for control, and McClernand obtained permission to launch an attack on Vicksburg in Mississippi, even though it appeared that Vicksburg was an unlikely target for the Union attack. The Confederates had however already fortified their position on a bluff over the Mississippi river, and this fact made it almost impossible for the Union forces in New Orleans to join forces with Grant’s army in the state of Tennessee. In 1862, Grant became aware of the plan that McClernand had created, and that he was now planning to make his move. As a result, he appointed William T Sherman in charge of a second prong of attack on Vicksburg, hoping that Sherman would be able to beat McClernand at his own game. Sherman failed however, and the armies set up camp near the Louisiana borders, and Abraham Lincoln sent spies to find out whether or not Ulysses Grant was in reality worthy of command. Interestingly enough, this spy soon became one of Grant’s staunchest supporters and loyal fans, impressed as he was by the man’s integrity and uprightness, complimented by his total lack of interest in the politics of his time, and a desire to get involved in them. This was the time when Ulysses Grant made up his mind that he would try to take Vicksburg from the North, and he soon set about digging trenches and started the effort of moving his troops up from the city. He organized a troop of Navy gunboats to run past the blockade that had been set up at Vicksburg, so that they could help him in his efforts. Now, both Sherman and McClernand were under Grant’s steady control and able leadership, and they led their troops to a strong rout of Confederate troops and managed to isolate them. However, this effort proved to be a disaster, because Grant lost almost 3,200 men. Nevertheless, this gave Grant an opportunity to develop a brand new strategy, a strategy that had ever been attempted before, cushioned by the fact that Grant was aware that he had many more men to lose than his enemy had. This prompted him to launch attack after brutal attack on Vicksburg, until he finally agreed to settle for a siege. It was in July 1863 that John Bowen, an old West Point friend of Grant’s, arrived at the camp so that he could begin the process of negotiations for surrender of the city. Ulysses Grant was stubborn that he would only entertain a complete and an ‘unconditional surrender’ and it was the next day when the Battle of Gettysburg ended that Vicksburg capitulated and surrendered. Grant became a hero. (Ulysses S Grant n. d) One must bring to mind certain important points, facts that would show Ulysses Grant as a man full of character and also as a man with flaws, flaws that he made concerted efforts to overcome, only to move on to become one of the most respected men of all time in America, and to become known as one of the ‘Greatest Battlefield Heroes’ of the world. Vicksburg in Mississippi was an extremely well protected fortress for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In 1863 Ulysses Grant as the Union General attacked Vicksburg with the primary intention of eventually taking over the entire city. Although he was prevented from doing so, Grant had made up his mind to launch the attack, and this he did, and he settled himself down to a six week siege, displaying to all his tremendous patience and intelligence in waiting for what he thought he would eventually obtain. Grant cut off all supply lines to the city, and fired upon Vicksburg constantly. At this point, several of the city’s residents moved out of the city to escape the firing taking place, and into caves in the nearby hills. Ulysses Grant also moved too close for comfort at times, so close that, as historians state, at several points in time, both Union and confederate soldiers were so close that they could shout across at each other and be heard clearly. By the time it was the month of June, Grant had brought in eighty thousand Union troops for the capture of Vicksburg. On the forty fourth day after Grant had launched his attack on Vicksburg, things had gone out of control there were no supplies to the town, and the city newspaper ‘Daily Citizen’ was forced to print its news on wallpapers. It was reported that the General Ulysses S Grant probably wished to celebrate the Fourth of July â€Å"dining in Vicksburg†. On July 4th, in reality, Pemberton surrendered to the Union General, and Grant’s men added a paragraph to the newspaper article that Grant had indeed managed to dine in Vicksburg on July Fourth! (General Ulysses S Grant attempted to take Vicksburg n. d) Grant’s military leadership during the Vicksburg assault is one of the most talked about events in American history. One of the reasons may be that Vicksburg was a city of tremendous importance, strategically, to the Union. The final campaign in Vicksburg under the able leadership of Ulysses S Grant is also one of the most remembered events in American history. This was the campaign in which Grant marched some forty five thousand of his men across Milliken’s Bend in Louisiana in March 1863. Grant had divided his troops into three main corps under the leaderships of Sherman, McPherson and McClernand and marched them across to Hard Times Landing in Louisiana. From this point forward, the troops were ferried across the river to Bruinsburg by boats, no small feat at the time. The first battle was therefore fought at Fort Gibson, a battle that ended in an easy victory for Grant and his men. In the aftermath of this victory, Grant became supremely confident, and also became victorious in campaign after campaign. However, despite all his victories and his by now good reputation, own after plenty of hard work and effort, Ulysses Grant was gradually becoming known as a ‘drinker’. It was this drinking habit that caused him to lose, rather quickly, the hard won respect of his fellow men and his fellow campaigners at battle. It was in all probability this same drinking habit that may have caused Grant to choose inept leaders for his constituency in later years when he was to become the President of the United States of America. Ulysses Grant was also to prove to be absolutely inept at statecraft. This led him to choose and appoint four judges to the Supreme Court in a completely inefficient manner; in the words of biographer McFeely, â€Å"He chose them with about the same discernment that went into his selection of consuls and postmasters. † (Kammler, Dan n. d) Abraham Lincoln himself acknowledged personally the spirit of courage and bravery and fortitude that Ulysses Grant had displayed during the Vicksburg campaign, and as a token of his gratitude and indebtedness to the soldier, he appointed him the ‘Commander of all the US Armies’ with the rank of Lieutenant General. One must remember that this was perhaps the very first time in history that a soldier after George Washington had held a rank of such great importance. After this appointment as Commander, Ulysses Grant worked tirelessly to occupy Robert Lee’s rebel army situated towards the East, while the Union troops worked in the South, destroying homes, farms and factories. This was one of grant’s cleverer campaigns, and it worked; Lee surrendered in 1865, bringing to a final end the four bloodiest years of the ongoing Civil War. Grant was of course commended for being a Hero of the Civil War, for it was his plan that brought in the much sought after victory. (Ulysses S Grant 2007) Ulysses Grant went on to accept the Republican nomination and to being appointed as the President of the United States of America, even though he despised politics, and wanted no part of it. The brave hero worked hard at trying to bring the North and the South together, and contributed his might to solving the several problems if the American government at the time. However, Grant was never acknowledged as an able political leader, and becoming better known for his financial scandals, he retired and started to write his own wartime memoirs for a price to support his family. He died in July 1885, and he was honored with a solemn and large funeral procession in New York, with several hundreds of people personally acknowledging him for the great and brave soldier and military leader he had been during his lifetime. References Ulysses S Grant (n. d) The White House Retrieved December 9 2008, http://www. whitehouse. gov/history/presidents/ug18. html Grant the World Leader (n. d) Ulysses S Grant Homepage Retrieved December 9 2008, http://www. granthomepage. com/grantleader. htm About Grant (n. d) Ulysses S Grant Thinkquest Retrieved December 9 2008, http://library. thinkquest. org/3055/netscape/people/grant. html Ulysses S Grant The Vicksburg Campaign (n. d) Retrieved December 9 2008, http://www. sparknotes. com/biography/grant/section7. rhtml General Ulysses S Grant attempted to take Vicksburg (n. d) America’s Story Retrieved December 9 2008, http://www. americaslibrary. gov/cgi-bin/page. cgi/jb/civil/vicksburg_1 Kammler, Dan (n. d) Ulysses S Grant Retrieved December 9 2008, http://www. lib. niu. edu/1993/ihy930228. html Ulysses S Grant (2007) People and events Retrieved December 9 2008, http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/amex/grant/peopleevents/p_ugrant. html

Health and Safety in Social Care Essay Example for Free

Health and Safety in Social Care Essay The mission : The prevention of death, injury and ill health to those at work and those affected by work activities. †¢ Shocking failures – it’s why we need to obey the law We know it’s an extremely important aspect of care. We know there’s been a lot of debate about how to improve it. We know there have been high-profile cases where it’s failed miserably. But do we really understand what safeguarding means on a day-to-day basis for everyone involved in providing or receiving care? And there’s been much discussion about whether ‘adults at significant risk’ is better. Sometimes there’s confusion between safeguarding and adult protection, which relates to investigation of abuse rather than it’s prevention. †¢ Health and social care workers – protecting the vulnerable The terminology can be an issue in itself. We now refer to ‘adults at risk’ after the Law Commission’s report on adult social care pointed out that the previously acceptable term ‘vulnerable adult’ could suggest that the cause of abuse was located with the victim, and didn’t place responsibility with the actions of others. The commission found that people saw the term as â€Å"stigmatising, dated, negative and disempowering†. †¢ Part of a system  Legislation, regulation and guidance are becoming clearer and more consistent, with the implementation of the Law Commission recommendations on adult protection and making safeguarding adult boards – which already exist in most local authorities – mandatory.But there’s still a lot to learn, not least about what constitutes a safeguarding issue and what relates to everyday management, staff practice, quality and safety. Without that clarity, people may worry about over-reacting or taking the wrong action.

Discuss With Reference To Edwin Chadwick History Essay

Discuss With Reference To Edwin Chadwick History Essay Dependent upon which historical field of study one has worked within, the image of Edwin Chadwick has, in past historiography, been somewhat polarized. Within the context of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, we are given an insight into the evil Edwin, the villain of poor-relief. His part in the creation of a deterrent system that focused upon indoor relief within the dreaded workhouse as its focus, made him unpopular contemporaneously, and historically. However, on the flipside of this coin, as one might expect, is an image of a man of morality. This Chadwick, unlike his earlier guise, has been heralded by historians as one the great figures and proponents of public health. His Sanitary Report (1842) was and is, seen as the pioneering piece of reformist literature that ignited the flame of public health in England.  [2]   Here I have shown the two sides of Edwin Chadwick. These two seemingly separate entities have been analysed by historians.  [3]  Yet, it seems that until recently, Chadwick within the public health context has avoided the scrutiny that the earlier poor law associated Chadwick has suffered. This can be attributed to a great degree to the early historiographical appreciation (or rather a lack thereof) of the new poor law. This image of the cruelty and amorality of the Amendment Act and the negative appraisal of the poor law post-1834 began with Beatrice and Sidney Webb. Their famous, and numerous, volumes on English local government have largely been discredited by current historians as somewhat ahistorical. It is sometimes far too easy to place upon a contemporaneous historical context modern attitudes and ideals. Early historical attitudes surrounding the new poor law suffered from this contemporary grafting. In the same vein, the historiography of public health in relation to Chadwick can be viewed as teleological. If not teleological, then it certainly suffered from a lack of questioning of Chadwicks public health ideals, especially those expounded in his Sanitary Report. The limitations of this historiography are being remedied by a current crop of historians, including Christopher Hamlin, Mary Poovey, and slightly earlier by Anthony Brundage.  [4]  The veneer of the Sanitary Report is being wiped away to expose the complexity of Chadwicks intentions hidden within the grain. Historians such as Hamlin have emphasised the political nature of Chadwicks Report. This new appraisal of the Chadwick of public health has narrowed the gap between the Chadwick of the poor law. There is only one Chadwick. This essay will hopefully disprove this duality of Chadwick, and emphasise the similarities between Chadwicks attitudes within a poor law context and those within the Sanitary Report. There a re politically charged threads that link his work within the Royal Commission for the poor law, between 1832 and 1834, to that of his 1842 Sanitary Report. Both the poor law and sanitation were components of Chadwicks wider reformist vision not only for England, but for Great Britain.  [5]  Chadwicks national picture of social organisation and improvement through centralised governing bodies, self-supervision, surveillance and discipline was based upon the assemblage of a mass of evidence and information. Centralisation, discipline, and statistics are the key threads to understanding Chadwick the politician, if he was such at all. Integral to an understanding of Chadwicks political persuasion is the influence of Jeremy Bentham and his Utilitarian principles.  [6]  This is a thread that shall run through and alongside the other threads; it is certainly a significant aspect of the politics of Chadwick. Some historians suggest that Chadwick was a product of Benthamite principles.  [7]   Therefore, a study of Chadwick without the inclusion of Jeremy Bentham would be a considerably diminished understanding of Chadwicks politics. The themes of Utilitarianism run throughout the work of Chadwick. His ideas on the makeup of the English or even British state are based largely upon the teachings of Bentham.  [8]  The Poor Law Commission within Chadwicks conception of administrative bodies was along very similar lines to that of Benthams Indigence Relief Minister. Furthermore, the later General Board of Health for which Chadwick can be attributed, was similar in many ways to the Minister of Health posited by Bentham. It is certainly clear that Benthams principles had a significant impact on Chadwicks ideas of central organization and administration.  [9]  Historians such as John Roach and Anthony Brundage have attributed this shaping of Chadwicks mind to Benthams Constitutional Code. This period of Chadwicks life, when living with Bentham, and helping him draft the C onstitutional Code, is posited as one of the most significant and influential periods in moulding his political, social and structural outlook. Yet, as Helen Benyon has suggested, after Benthams death, his pupil can be seen to depart somewhat from his code.  [10]  This divergence can be seen throughout Chadwicks career. For example, Bentham considered a royal commission to be an instrument of monarchical tyranny.  [11]  Yet as is well documented, Chadwick was heavily involved in such commissions, including his part in the Royal Commission on the poor law, for which he played a significant role. He even headed the Royal Commission on factories, and played an encouraging role in the commission that resulted in the passing of the Public Health Act in 1848. This divergence is not necessarily negative. In many respects, a royal commission was a fashionable tool of the Victorian period which engendered reform. Therefore, we can see Chadwick as merely using the political avenues th at existed to promulgate his own reformist ideals. In addition, much of what Chadwick created out of these commissions, in administrative and organizational terms was relatively utilitarian. This theme of centralisation and will be detailed in the proceeding section. One sticking point can be seen in Chadwicks opposition to universal political enfranchisement, something which Bentham certainly advocated towards the viability of democracy. This shift from Benthamism is certainly significant for later analysis of Chadwicks conception of social organisation within his Sanitary Report. This should not detract from the far-reaching effect that Benthams ideology had upon the later work of Chadwick. He was not a complete product of Bentham, his own past and ideological makeup mixed and fused with the latent Benthamite principles, the most significant of which can be seen in Chadwicks wholly national picture of reform and improvement towards intervention, and inspection through centralisation. Following this train of thought, we move into a key area of Chadwicks ideology. Centralisation was a significant aspect of the Chadwick model of organisation. It has its origins in Benthamism; of a considerably national and uniform system of institutional organisation.  [12]  An important factor in this is the Whig government from the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Act throughout the 1830s. As Brundage has suggested this Whig government presided over the most extraordinary periods of government growth in British history.  [13]  Reforms in areas such as the factories, the poor laws, education and police, all involved the growth of central government. There is a definite Benthamite flavour to this reformism. And this influence could be seen not only in the figure of Chadwick, but in moderate positions of power. Yet Chadwick is, for the purposes of this essay the most significant individual. His centralising vision is certainly along utilitarian lines. This was Bourne out of an abstr act and conceptual definition of paternalism which could be grafted onto his model of centralised government. However, the Whig governments idea of paternalism was along the more traditional lines of maintenance of the dominance of local government. The Whigs were open to government growth, yet only to uphold and strengthen this traditional paternal hierarchy.  [14]  In this respect one can see Chadwicks visions of central organisation as perhaps being moulded by his contemporaneous reality. England was more an agglomeration of counties, parishes, and common law courts than a state.  [15]  For his centralised vision to be accepted, he would have to make concessions. The structure of organisation and administration for which he provided for the poor law is a prime example of such a concession. He created the central body of the Poor Law Commission, the inspectorial and supervisorial enforcer of uniform relief, whilst keeping the local organs. However, these local unions presi ded over much larger geographical districts than under the old poor law, amalgamating several parishes together. Along with this example under the poor law, the earlier Factory Act, or Althorps Act passed in 1833 is probably a more significant indicator of the central interference of Chadwick. It was the first piece of legislation in Britain based on a major inquiry by experts entailing inference by the central government, supervised by agents of central government.  [16]  This centralised and uniform state driven ideology can even be identified within Chadwicks Sanitary Report. His vision of a national network of pipes, pumping fresh water into the homes and flushing out waste gives a very vivid image of state uniformity.  [17]  Furthermore, for the enactment of such a large scale task, he emphasises the need for a centrally organised system of expertise and authority. In 1848 the General Board of Health was set up. One can identify within Chadwicks work an overarching refo rmist vision. Within both the poor law (for which Chadwick has been negatively appraised) and the creation of public health (for which he is the patron saint) one can identify a continuity of his administrative vision of centralised institutions based upon authority, supervision and uniformity. In this respect, the gap between the Chadwick of the poor law and the Chadwick of public health converge to create Chadwick the reformist; a man with a national vision of improvement and Benthamite tendencies. Here a brief example of the importance of Benthams influence upon Chadwicks ideology might shed some light on Chadwicks policies. Anthony Brundage suggests that Benthams Panopticon plan is a physical representation of the concept of the tutelary State which Chadwick championed during the 1830s and 1840s. It resembled the Panopticon in its thoroughness, tidiness, and also its intrusiveness.  [18]  This design was intended for use in prisons or even workhouses, as an optimized system of surveillance. Yet here it brings to life, if only in image form, the importance of uniformity, and central authority in Chadwicks vision of the state. An important fact was that from the viewing tower all cells could be viewed, yet from the cells the central tower was not visible. This is an interesting aspect to consider in the context of Chadwicks vision, especially that of social improvement. Another significant thread of Chadwicks social vision is its disciplinary thrust. Both during his time within the poor law and public health domains there can be seen a subversive attempt by Chadwick to create an improved social body. The most troublesome of which was the labouring class. To understand the political nature of Chadwicks work, one needs to place it in its historical context. The most significant context is that of the Chartist movement. Emerging in the early 1830s and then re-emerging in the late 1840s, they were perceived as a very real threat to the Whig government of the time. The Chartist movement emerged out of the London Working Mens Association set up in 1836 by William Lovett. He later produced the Peoples Charter with Frances Place. They called for universal male suffrage. For the Whig government there was a very real fear that revolution could occur at any moment.  [19]  France was not so far away, and their recent history still lived fresh in the memory. There were several bouts of protests and marches by the Chartists, especially within urban areas. Some of which ended in violence, and the deaths of several Chartists. The Chartists movement was a rally point of sorts for the poor and disenfranchised labour population. Within this context one can understand the political nature of Chadwicks Sanitary Report in particular through his mouldin g of public health which incorporated a social preponderance. In addition to this context is that of the earlier disappointment at the inadequacies of the 1832 Parliamentary Reform propounded by Charles Greys Whig government. Along with this was the creation of the new poor law in 1834; the poor harvests during 1836 and 1837.  [20]  This context set the scene in which Chadwicks social and disciplinary ideas can be situated. Mary Poovey identifies Chadwicks attempt, through sanitary reform, to organise and control the labouring classes.  [21]  I use control here in the loosest sense of the word. Perhaps, as used earlier, discipline may be a more apt term. Chadwick, within the Sanitary Report, narrows public health to sanitation. Here one can identify Chadwicks divergence from the alternative attitudes towards public health such as existed in France, or even those attitudes of his British contemporaries, mainly within the medical sphere. He follows an environmental cause of disease through filth theory. This however, does not only constitute the physical illness, but Chadwick also incorporates psychological and social disease as being caused by this accumulation of filth.  [22]   His main focus is upon the labouring or working class, especially those within slums and residences of particular depravity. In a sanitary context these areas were identified by Chadwick as areas with the highest mortality rates. The other focal point is that of the importance of domesticity, and the cleanliness of the labourers domestic sphere not only towards the prevention of disease but also towards his social improvement.  [23]  Using rather selective evidence, (an issue that will be further elaborated upon in a later section), Chadwick identifies place and class as the most significant determinants in the causation of disease. In this way he proved that the most important factor in the spread of disease was not only material filth, but where you lived.  [24]  Chadwick discounted completely the workplace. With the aforementioned political (Chartist) context in mind, one can identify the disciplinary thrust to Chadwicks Sanitary Report. The politicisation of the labouring classes was to both Chadwick and the Whig government a significant concern. Within the Sanitary Report Chadwick discourages those same labouring men from homo-social activity within any sphere, but particularly that of the public house. Chadwick links the frequenting of such places of vice as a product of the depraved condition of the domestic sphere which was its self a consequence of filth and disease.  [25]  As aforementioned, many middle-class commentators were concerned with the working classes use of public space, especially that of public houses. These were not only associated with alcoholism and disorderly behaviour, but more significantly as places for radical labour organisation especially that of trade unionism.  [26]  In emphasising the importance of the domestic sphere Chadwick links the labouring mans individual identity to his family over any homo-social association. The growing urbanized and capitalist formation of England should be borne in mind. The industrialization of England during this period brought with it the emergence of the capitalism and the importance of the free market. In such a context the middling-classes also emerged and gained a foothold within this new state.  [27]  Furthering this idea of discipline and social ordering it is clear through the Sanitary Report that Chadwicks ideal for which the labouring class should aspire to be was certainly that of the middling class: the class who best fitted into the formation of Britain as an industrialising and capitalist nation. The middling class were seemingly more civilised than the labouring class, and more importantly they enjoyed lower rates of mortality. However, unfortunately for Chadwick, they were politically enfranchised.  [28]  This final issue as has been mentioned was significant. And within Chadwicks own work it creates a certain paradox.  [29]   Throughout his Sanitary Report Chadwick emphasises the importance of the respectability of domesticity, and improvements of the labouring class through the investment in institutions of savings, schooling, respectability and religion. Chadwick generalises the domestic values of the middle class to represent the whole of English society. Emphasising the importance of appropriated behaviour and their distinction from the frugality of the aristocrats and the licentious working-class, Chadwick establishes the naturalness of middle class living habits and the superiority thereof in both health and longevity.  [30]  Yet whilst placing this carrot of improvement in front of the labouring man, Chadwicks emphasis upon improvement is kept within the domestic sphere, thus allowing for sanitary and social improvement. This domestic emphasis limits the working man, actively avoiding and denying the political collusion that the middling classes enjoyed. In this way Chadwick allowed the laboure r only part of the carrot of improvement.  [31]  Chadwick, therefore, denies members of the labouring population the opportunity of establishing the kinds of relationships with each other that facilitated the consolidation of the middle class as a political entity.  [32]   In this respect one sees the attempt by Chadwick to discipline the labouring class through guidance and their own self-discipline. What is more significant here is how Chadwick is able, in the climate of a reluctant-to-reform government, to get sanitary reform passed. This can be attributed to a number of factors; most importantly, Chadwick was able in his report to incorporate the social into sanitation. Chadwick attributed filth theory not only to the causation of physical disease, but also to the causation of alcoholism and more significantly the labouring mans potentially revolutionary behaviour.  [33]  Chadwick addressed the political issue of the day whilst explicitly avoiding overtly political rhetoric. He made political unrest a sanitary issue. By masking those social issues with the sweeter taste of health and sanitation, Chadwick makes his vision easier to swallow for a reluctant government. This as Hamlin rightly points out is the true nature of Chadwicks Report. It wa s essentially a political piece of work, with social reorganization hidden behind the guise of disease prevention and public medicine.  [34]   This material and domestic focus allowed for Chadwick to avoid the issue of poverty as a determinant of disease. Chadwick discounted issues such as adequate food, clothing and sufficient wages as consequential to health. Although seemingly avoiding the issue of the poor law, Chadwick is inadvertently addressing the problem. His vision of sanitary improvement was intended to improve the very class for whom poor relief was a viable option. If through sanitation their physical, and psychological state could be improved then they would be less depraved, less inclined to drink and perhaps less likely to need to be relieved. Statistical information was not only a phenomenon of the Victorian period; it was also a powerful reformist tool, pioneered by the social reformist James Phillips Kay.  [35]  Information and evidence are significant factors in the understanding of Chadwicks work both within the Royal Commission for the poor law and within his Sanitary Report. Chadwick was quick to utilise the power of information to further his reformist plan. This is evident throughout his work on the Royal Commission of the poor law, and of the Factories, and certainly within his Sanitary Report.  [36]  Influenced by his contemporary James Phillips Kay, Chadwick embarked upon the use of statistics and evidence for reformist purposes. This would seem a noble endeavour, classically associated with the reformist movement, in work such as the aforementioned Kay, and many others seeking to improve England. Chadwick was shrewder with his statistical evidence. Many historians suggest that he used only those statis tics which would further his preconceived notions and aims. This is certainly evident mostly starkly, as Christopher Hamlin among other historians have identified, within the Sanitary Report.  [37]   Chadwicks narrowing of public health to that of sanitation is the prime example. Chadwick ignores completely the medical aspects of public health, refusing to include the medical profession into his vision. Furthermore, his emphasis upon the environmental cause of disease through filth completely ignored not only substantial evidence from physician such as Alison who exampled a complexity of issues to disease causation, but also his contemporary and friend James Phillips Kay. This narrow focus and selective evidence can be seen as a way of Chadwick avoiding certain issues for which he was reluctant to attribute to the health of the labouring class; that being poverty and the new system of poor relief. Chadwicks focus upon the physical moved the focus away from claims by Poor Law medical officers that harsh Poor Law policies were the cause of illness and disease  [38]  Thus, for Chadwick to avoid confirming in writing that his already hated poor law was also a cause of disease; he had to change tact and use statistics to prove otherwise. If hardship produced illness, a PL founded upon disincentives to seek relief was counterproductive and morally indefensible.  [39]  Chadwick took the same attitude with the compilation of his evidence within the poor law commission. He used and selected the right evidence that would bolster his policy. There was opposition, yet Chadwick seemed, and did, amass voluminous amounts of evidence that supported his claim.  [40]  Chadwick throughout the period applied statistics to bolster his preconceived cause. He was so successful that he not only managed to enact his reforms, but also, made those reforms seem like the only viable reality. Chadwick was certainly an active reformist during this period, and even before.  [41]  With regards to whether Chadwick was a politician in disguise, is certainly nuanced and complex. He was not a political figure; he was a reformist, and a civil servant of sorts.  [42]  Yet he certainly played the political game. He was active in much of the policy making that occurred during this period and had a significant role in the two most significant areas of reform; the poor law; and public health, for which he essentially established in England, if on somewhat narrower definitions than that of his French counterparts.  [43]  This in itself is an example of his attempts at creating a new social picture of England. His national vision extended from a centralised institutional authority to a mass social body. Everything Chadwick attempted was on a national scale. His vision of the improvement of Great Britain is evident in most of his works. And he was determined to have this visi on become a reality. His selective use of evidence, the focus of his Sanitary Report, the Royal Commission on the poor law, certainly sways one in the direction of politician in disguise. Much of his work in contemporaneous context had subtle and subverted political agendas. The poor law was based on a deterrent system, which aimed at the reduction of expenditure. This is a more explicit involvement. Yet the Sanitary Reports is a prime example of a politician in disguise. The overarching focus upon the health of the labouring poor is punctuated by the inclusion of discipline and social organisation. Yet for all these aspects, Chadwick was certainly more a product of his Benthamite roots. A man heavily influenced by Benthams Constitutional Code, but with his own individual drive and aspirations. In this way, improvement and reform were his true aims. He had a vision for the makeup if Britain and was determined to see that his ideas were realised, even if that meant making certain concessions to make it more appealing to government, and at times to cover his own back. One could suggest, especially within the Sanitary Report, that Chadwick chose sewers and water in a narrowing of public health because of their political innocuousness. He can be seen to actively avoid any explicit association with the politics of this area. Chadwick, unlike many of his Utilitarian contemporaries, was seemingly more inclined to diverge slightly from his Benthamite past if it meant the success of his policies.

The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment on College Campuses Essay -- Exemp

The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment on College Campuses One night, â€Å"Amy,† a student at State, was hanging out with some friends in her room. â€Å"A bunch of people were there, and one guy I didn’t know was obviously drunk and kept asking me out. I tried to brush him off, and didn’t take it seriously because he was drunk. I left to go to sleep. â€Å"He followed me to my room and kept banging on my bedroom door, trying to push it open and asking me to talk to him. I talked to him for a little while just to appease him.† Finally, the guy’s friends coaxed him away from Amy’s door. â€Å"I don’t know if that’s sexual harassment,† she said. â€Å"I wasn’t worried that he was going to assault me. The whole thing was just annoying.† Judging by the numbers, this true story is not just an isolated case. Sexual harassment occurs in a variety of forms at State, and often goes without recognition. Harassment is difficult to define, and even harder to discuss. It can happen at Tap or Valentine, and it ranges from an unwanted advance to physical assault or rape. Particularly in a college environment, harassment is often both elusive and pervasive. Here at State, sexual harassment is making its presence felt. During the 2003-2004 school year, nine cases of harassment, seven cases of sexual assault, and five cases of rape were reported, compared to eight cases of harassment, seven assaults and five rapes last year. The statistics from 2002, however, provide a stark contrast to the last two years. These numbers may be part of a larger problem. Statistics show that there seems to be an increase in cases of sexual harassment at colleges around the country. Date rape has become the most common violent crime on college campuses today. About one out of s... ...ary action. Krull said, â€Å"I feel we are working towards a system which is supportive of victims/survivors, encouraging them to come forward to get emotional support for these painful situations.† What steps can be taken by both individuals and the student body in order to prevent and eliminate these occurrences? â€Å"My hope is that as a community we can treat each other with more respect,† said Krull. â€Å"The way to do this is to have open dialogues about how we deserve to be treated, what we think and how we perceive things differently.† â€Å"One of the most important things is to establish a no-tolerance policy,† said Bucknell-Pogue. â€Å"If people aren’t telling offensive jokes, the whole philosophy of campus life would change. We have to be supportive of each other and accept that different people are comfortable with different levels of contact and types of behavior.†

Essay on Eating Disorder - Think About Thin :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Think About Thin "From now on you'll eat what I tell you to .... this is the last time you'll refuse to eat. From now on..." ...Be pretty, but beauty is only skin deep. ...Be sexy, but not sexually active. ...Be happy, but please others, first and foremost. ...Be thin, but stay healthy. ...Be thin. ...Be thin. It sunk in. We received the message. Like everything else, it sunk in. It sunk in with magazine covers and standards and scales and diets. It sunk into the minds of seventy percent of the young women between the ages of 14 and 24 and how many can wiggle free from it? Maybe you were someone who thought the "Am I fat?" question and answer period was unique to you? Unless I have my facts wrong, if we don't eat, we die. Even with that common knowledge, there are still people who don't eat. Those people will die. It is the reality of an eating disorder. Blame the media or the culture or the "distorted society' in which we live. It's the models. It's the parents. It's the kid who called you obese when you were five. We all wonder who is leading the revolution that is wasting people away. Let us worry more for the ones who follow. The question should not be why anorexia and bulimia start, but why they don't stop. Anorexia and bulimia are the biological diseases that mirror the "distortion of a natural human response to famine." Psychologists, social scientists, historians, and physicians seek to explain the contemporary causes of eating disorders. We have statistics and case studies. We focus on the root of the problem. We examine whether the instinct to control has gone awry or the problem of low self-esteem has made a permanent mark. Essay on Eating Disorder - Think About Thin :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics Think About Thin "From now on you'll eat what I tell you to .... this is the last time you'll refuse to eat. From now on..." ...Be pretty, but beauty is only skin deep. ...Be sexy, but not sexually active. ...Be happy, but please others, first and foremost. ...Be thin, but stay healthy. ...Be thin. ...Be thin. It sunk in. We received the message. Like everything else, it sunk in. It sunk in with magazine covers and standards and scales and diets. It sunk into the minds of seventy percent of the young women between the ages of 14 and 24 and how many can wiggle free from it? Maybe you were someone who thought the "Am I fat?" question and answer period was unique to you? Unless I have my facts wrong, if we don't eat, we die. Even with that common knowledge, there are still people who don't eat. Those people will die. It is the reality of an eating disorder. Blame the media or the culture or the "distorted society' in which we live. It's the models. It's the parents. It's the kid who called you obese when you were five. We all wonder who is leading the revolution that is wasting people away. Let us worry more for the ones who follow. The question should not be why anorexia and bulimia start, but why they don't stop. Anorexia and bulimia are the biological diseases that mirror the "distortion of a natural human response to famine." Psychologists, social scientists, historians, and physicians seek to explain the contemporary causes of eating disorders. We have statistics and case studies. We focus on the root of the problem. We examine whether the instinct to control has gone awry or the problem of low self-esteem has made a permanent mark.

Participation :: essays papers

Participation When the McDonald's patron in suburban Johnson County ordered a coffee and got a Coke, he came face to face with a Midwest labor pool truth. Non-English-speaking immigrants are an increasingly large part of the labor force -- not just in the Sun Belt states but in the upper Midwest as well. The fast-food worker, who spoke Spanish and had trouble understanding the man's order, was one of tens of thousands of Hispanics who entered the Midwest job market in the past decade. Without them, economists say, the long-running labor shortage, particularly in entry-level jobs, would be even more severe than it is. For some business patrons, the immigrant influx means occasional difficulties in communication. For some business owners, immigrant labor -- both documented and undocumented -- is the only way to fill jobs that otherwise would go begging. The most recent measure of unemployment in the Kansas City area, taken in May, was 2.8 percent. Missouri's jobless rate was 2.6 percent; Kansas' rate was 3.2 percent. Unemployment throughout the Midwest is well below 5.5 percent, which is considered full employment. Michael Barrera, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, said the chamber had charted an explosive growth in the metropolitan area's Hispanic, blue-collar, minimum-wage work force, especially in Olathe and northeast Kansas City. Also, Barrera said, the 1990s brought a large increase in the number of entrepreneurial Hispanic immigrants, seen particularly in the blossoming of small stores and restaurants in Kansas City, Kan., and northeast Kansas City. The Hispanic chamber has no estimate of the size of the area's Hispanic work force, but Barrera said the Hispanic population may have grown to as many as 100,000, up from 58,000 in 1996. Throughout the Midwest, Hispanic immigrants are finding work. Census data, updated in 1998, found that 220,000 workers in the West North Central states were of Hispanic origin, up from 93,000 10 years earlier. The Census Bureau defines the West North Central region as Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota. Similar findings were reported last week by the Bureau of National Affairs Inc. in its "Daily Labor Report 2000: Regional Outlook on Labor Markets." The bureau said Illinois now had the nation's fifth-largest Hispanic population, the highest ranking among states not in the Sun Belt. In Illinois and the other Midwest states, the bureau said, Hispanic immigrants are working in construction, restaurants, small manufacturing and farming.

Medea Essay

In Euripides’ play â€Å"Medea† the main character is a powerful, but controversial woman – Medea herself. Reading the story some people might be confused with the actions that the protagonist decides to take. She is violent, vindictive, bloody and seemingly crazy. By looking at actions alone, Medea would certainly be considered evil. However, the author creates a character decidedly more complex. We can see it through the background story of the character and development of the play’s plot.That is why I think the full presentation of the character in the work makes people react more sympathetically towards the character. As the Nurse at the beginning of the story tells, Medea gave up everything she had to be with Jason. She left her family, and even killed her own brother to be able to run away with him. Medea, who has been dishonestly betrayed by her husband, uses revenge to punish him for his deeds and to seek the rewards which it offers to  ones prid e.The reader begins to feel pity for the main character and even excuse her actions. That is a result of identification with Medea, as a cheated spouse. In any kind of relationship during life, people expect fidelity, so they clearly understand why she wanted revenge. Medea’s other main reason why she took such a bloody revenge on Jason, was the fact that, she was under a spell, that Athena cast on her. Thus her actions are not completely under her control. The love spell is so strong, that the protagonist decided to kill even her own kids.She wanted him to feel the mutual pain, she went through after the betrayal. At the end the story Jason stays without descendants or wife, and on a foreign land, what makes him unable to improve his social status. At this point of the story the reader understand, that Medea is not completely mentally healthy, so they don’t judge her as harshly, as an absolutely conscious person. At the end I would like to mention about the other reas on, why Medea decided to kill her children. Her main purpose was to look out for what was â€Å"best for her kids†.She thought it would be better to kill her children then to leave them for her enemies that they would soon have to face, after her exile. Medea suspected that they might get killed out of revenge for what she did to the princess and the king. The reader starts to sympathize her, because of the tough decision she had to confront as a loving and carrying mother. For some people Medea might be seen as a cruel and evil character. However, I certainly can state that the reader tend to sympathize her more, by looking at the whole character, instead of only judging her by the actions.The character was under a very powerful love spell and moreover, she had been betrayed by her beloved what might led her to put those drastic plans into actions. Furthermore, Medea was trying to do the best she could for the children, despite of the tragic ending that was either way about to happen. All those circumstances definitely led her to an emotional instability and also to choose the bloody path of revenge. Probably she would have never done all this without provocation.