Women In The Us Essay, Research Paper

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln

entered office at a critical period in U. S. history, just before the Civil War, and

died from an assassin’s bullet at the end of the war before the greater

of the conflicts could be resolved. He brought to the office personal integrity,

intelligence, and humanity, plus the wholesome characteristics of his frontier

upbringing.(Fuhrman, Joseph) He also had the liabilities of his upbringing he was self-educated,

culturally unsophisticated, and lacking in administrative and diplomatic skills.

Sharp-witted, he was not especially sharp-tongued, but was noted for his warm

good humor. Although relatively unknown and inexperienced politically when

elected president, he proved to be a consummate politician. He was above all firm

in his Convictions and dedicated to the preservation of the Union.

Lincoln was perhaps the most esteemed and maligned of the American presidents.Generally admired and loved by the public, he was attacked on a partisan basis as the man responsible for and in the middle of every major issue facing the nation during his administration. (Fuhrmann, Joseph) Although his reputation has deflated with changing times, he was clearly a great man and a great president. He firmly and fairly guided the nation through its most perilous period and made a lasting impact in shaping the office of chief executive.

Once regarded as the “Great Emancipator” for his forward strides in freeing the slaves, he was criticized a century later, when the Civil Rights Movement got

momentum, for his caution in moving toward equal rights. (Mitchell, Nelson)

However towards the end of his presidency many people were quoted

to say ?a poor and uneducated man succeeding in business or politics became

more of a rarity and the exception.? The feeling behind that statement was not

shared by many people of that time. Most thought that Lincoln was a very honest

man that did his job well. Over all Lincoln was a one of the greatest men of his time.

Long before his death and even before he served as president, the country loved George Washington. As Commander-in-Chief, he was escorted to the battlefields by parades of cheering supporters. Even before winning anything, Washington was showered with accolades, including an honorary Doctor of Laws from Harvard. After achieving victory at Yorktown, celebrations and parades overwhelmed him in every large town as he slowly made his way back north.

At the time, a handful of lawmakers expressed reservations about Washington’s fame. John Adams and Alexander Hamilton worried that such excessive worship of one man could lead to dangerous abuses.(Ascher, Abraham) Adams pleaded for calm and reason instead of the “superstitious veneration” paid to Washington. Hamilton chose to keep quiet regarding Washington’s unsettling rise to power, but privately suggested the Washington had honored the fame for himself Thomas Jefferson criticized Washington for his slow intellectual capacities and mind not “of the very first order.”Outside the closed doors of statesmanship, however, the public’s declarations of Washington’s greatness drowned out any allegations of power-mongering or murmurs of resentment.(Ascher, Abarham) Washington himself was very concerned about his own reputation and cringed in evident pain at attacks on his motives and character. But the cheers and accolades that accompanied any visit he made to an American town helped to reassure him that the people themselves held him in the highest regard.? Several, in fact,

wished that he would crown himself king–an ironic example of the lingering traces of

respectability to which the idea of monarchy still made some claim in America?.(Ascher, Abraham). As you can see America thought Washington was wonderful self-confident man that had no doubt in his ability to run the country. What America did not know was that Washington was very doubtful as to what he could do. This problem was masked by the love of America that made Washington look like ?put together man? . When his own friends and collages knew the real truth. However Washington did do a good job of telling the people what they wanted to hear and making them feel safe. The fact that a he could say just what the public wanted to hear of their country gave them a sense of freedom and indifference.

Most opinions about Washington were not bad overall he was a good man that just got jaded by people telling him just how great he was. At the end of his term in office in office most would say that he left this country better than it was when he had first begun. He was a good man that might have made a few human mistakes along the way. Washington did much good for America also he nearly dubbed its size. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors but most would say Washington did his job and did it well.

“I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people,” said Rosa Parks on the occasion of her 77th birthday. Parks, known as “the mother of the civil rights movement” made history on December 1, 1955 when she refused to give up her seat for a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Parks was arrested for her defiance and she agreed to challenge the segregation order in court. After this tactic failed Parks and others organized the Montgomery bus boycott: “For a little more than a year we stayed off those busses. We did not return to using public transportation until the Supreme Court said there shouldn’t be racial segregation.”

Parks and others lost their jobs and she was harassed and threatened. The boycott held and an important corner was turned in the movement. Parks and her family eventually moved to Detroit, where she worked for many years for Congressman John Conyers. She founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development to offer guidance to young African-Americans in preparation for leadership and careers. Rose Parks is held in very high esteem in most peoples eyes. She is one of the most widely known African American in American history. ? I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don’t think there is anything such as complete happiness. It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say you’re happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I haven’t reached that stage yet.? Rosa Parks made this statement several years after she stood up for what she believed in. After reading this quote you can see that Rosa is still not satisfied with racial equality in America. Martin Luther King states that Ms. Parks has probably done more for the black movement then himself. As most Americans know Martin Luther King has made tremendous improvements in the way African Americans are treated in America today. In another quote Rosa Parks states that ? I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice an prosperity for all people?. By reading this quote you can see that Parks not only wanted equality for African Americans but for all Americans that have issues with injustus. Martin Luther king Jr. stated that Rosa Parks loves all people of all kinds. Ms. Parks has come a long way from where she started so many years ago.

Bibliography

Work Cited

I. Ascher, Abraham. George Washington, [On line] Available http://www.dana.edu/~dwarmor/rdk.htm. December 12, 1999

II. Fuhrmann, Joseph Lincoln Chronicles of Men in History. New York: HJ Publishing Company. 1983

III. Steen, A. Rosa Parks. Praegar publishers: New York, 1990.