Abraham Lincoln. His Life and Achievements Research Paper

Abraham Lincoln. His Life and Achievements - Research Paper Example He was a man of character, integrity and strength. In the present discourse, an attempt is being made to understand Lincoln’s life, achievements, struggles, failures and their impact on America based on existing literature. Lincoln’s childhood: Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12 1809 in Kentucky to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. His childhood was something that even Lincoln was never excited about because of the poverty and other challenges he had to face (Charnwood, 13). Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. His enduring struggle was to end slavery in America and to economically transform the nation. As a young boy, Abraham Lincoln was involved in helping his father and his neighbors (p. 15). Lincoln owes his mental qualities to his mother as well as his step mother. Lincoln’s step mother was instrumental in the minimal education that he received with parental support. Lincoln has the ability to attract crowd even from his earlier years of adolescence. This is evident from Charnwood’s statement, ‘Lincoln was a person of high consideration among the lads of his age and company’ (p.20). Literature related to Lincoln’s reading habits highlights his immense love for reading and reading habits. During his teenage, he read books like Aesop’s Fables, Robinson Crusoe, The Piligrim’s Progress, A History of the United States, Weem’s Life of Washington and even Revised Statuses of Indiana (Charnwood, 21). Even before he reached the age of 20, Lincoln had a deep understanding of how his nation functioned, the principles policies and its governance (Tarbell, 34). Lincoln left his home at 22 and settled in New Salem, Illinois, which were the foundational years for his future. Based on his own efforts, Lincoln acquired some formal education for next few years; he entered the legal profession at the age of 27 (Wilson, 15-19). His achievements in the field of law studies and the profession are attributed to his own hard work and constant struggle. His struggles in the profession of law as well as politics have been immense and are epitome of an ideal le ader and a winner ever since he was elected as the President. Political affiliation: Abraham Lincoln’s first successful electoral is associated with the Sangamon County as the surveyor in 1834 and followed by the Illinois house of representatives as a representative for the Sangamon County in 1836. Lincoln was elected for the Illinois legislature during subsequent 3 years (Chin, 34). As explained by Mansch, Lincoln’s entry into politics is associated with the Nebraska Bill and did succeed in winning a seat in the Illinois legislature around 1854 (p.41). But, Lincoln resigned this post because he wanted to challenge Stephen Douglas, who was responsible for opposing anti-slavery. At this time, Lincoln struggled to gain political identity. Lincoln was deeply moved by the group fighting against slavery, known as free-soilers or anti-Nebraskans that was formed during 1854. At this time, Lincoln knew that he wanted a stable party that shared his political ideals and could be lieve in creating a prominent party of the future. Two years later, i.e. in 1856, different groups with these ideals supporting anti-slavery gathered in Bloomington, which Lincoln attended. Lincoln appropriately used this opportunity to bring together various groups that were fighting against slavery, poverty, and for democracy. Lincoln’s deep desire to abolish slavery and achieve a liberal democracy had made him say, ‘I have no objection to ‘fuse’ with anybody provided I can fuse on ground which I think is right’ (qtd. in Mansch, p.41). Lincoln’s personal experiences with the blacks were minimal, yet he was aware of the slavery

Cell Phone Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cell Phone Use - Essay Example During the early periods, cell phones were considered as a luxury and only the business class was able to tolerate its expenses. Today, almost every individual coming from different classes use cellular phones during their everyday life. These devices are utilized by individuals in various aspects of their everyday life; these devices are even commonly used while people are moving from one place to another. A huge population of drivers have reported using cell phones while they are driving. Increase in number of people using phones while travelling have resulted in several road accidents and have not only led to damage to assets but have even resulted in several deaths. These incidents have made policy makers stand against the use of cellular phones while driving and these concerns have been addressed through restrictions through rules and regulations. Jurisdictions that have not yet levied such bans are even debating over banning the use of cell phones while driving. This paper will argue on why the use of cell phone should be banned or restricted during driving and what measures are already in place to control this act. Body There have been various changes in trends on who uses cell phone devices and for what purposes, they are using these devices. According to Cain and Burris, the number of people using these devices for family business elevated from 40% to 61% during the era of 1990 and 1998 (Cain, 1999). The NHTSA reports that the 15% of individuals who have not graduated from high school, 26% of individuals who have graduated from high school 30% of those who have not yet completed collage and 40% of those who are collage pass outs are cell phone users (NHTSA, 1997). A common application of the use of this device is during driving a vehicle. The NHTSA and Cain and Burris reported that around 90% of the owners of mobile phone use the device during driving. The PCIA have reported that those who use mobile phones for over 1 hour per month account for 15% of the owners of this device, those who use it less than one hour but more than half an hour account for 15% of owners, those who use it between ten to thirty minutes account for 20% o the owners and those who use it more than one minute but less than 10 minutes account for 39% of the owners (PCIA, 1999). An accident can result not only in loss of property; it even results in loss of life. When an accident takes place, the people involved directly in the accident can experience hurt at the level of getting minor injuries to the extent of losing their lives. Accidents can lead to heavy damages to very expensive vehicles, along with the incident of damaging public assets. Other expenses or negative impacts of an accident include; loss of working hours, insurance cost, legal costs and huge health care bills. In case of an accident taking place in urban regions, huge traffic jams take place due to which the emergency service providers may not be able to respond in a timely manner and people end up losing their lives. The negative effects of a collision caused due to usage of hand held phones during driving have increased the concerns of policy makers, organizations and insurance companies and various other stake holders. When drivers use cell phones during the act of driving, they are indulged in various activities related to the use of cell phone while driving. Drivers engage in actions such as finding the device, dialling the number, sending and receiving messages and ending the call. These activities do not only distract drivers physically but even emotionally. Drivers are emotionally distracted if they are being a part of an emotional conversation. Odgers stated that drivers are highly distracted during the