American Foreign Policy in a New Era Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 23

American Foreign Policy in a New Era - Coursework Example Realism approach was dominant theoretically during the cold war. Realism portrays international affairs as the pursuit for power among self-centred states that is a cynical representation of prospects that mitigate war and conflict (Jervis, 2005). Realism approach was dominant during the cold war since it offered powerful and easy definitions of imperialism, alliances, war and other international events. Realism adopted a consistent competition analysis that was fundamental in the American-Soviet conflict. Challenges to realism originated from liberal theories. Liberalism argued that interdependence on the economy discouraged nations from using force because warfare threatens prosperity of all sides (Jervis, 2005). The other school of thought argued that the manifest democracy derived peace across the world based on the claim that democratic states were peaceful compared to authoritarian states. The third school of thought believed that international institutions could encourage nations to forego gains that were greater than cooperation (Jervis, 2005). While liberalism and realism focused on factors that led to material growth such as trade and power, constructivist approach concentrated on the effect of ideas (Jervis, 2005). Constructivist theories do not assume that states seek survival only. Ideally, these theories argue that states are a product that is malleable for historic and specific processes. The approach pays more attention on the root course of a change compared to liberalism and realism.

Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 by J.B. Lippincott Company in Philadelphia & New York. This is the only book that Harper Lee has ever written. It is also one of the best-loved novels in American literature, winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Lee is a very private person who doesn’t grant interviews, although her literary agent says she divides her time between her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama and New York. She also enjoys reading, and her favorite authors are Jane Austen, Charles Lamb, and Robert Louis Stevenson. She has said that her novel about a white southern lawyer defending an innocent black man is not autobiographical. But her father was a lawyer, and the inspiration for the character Atticus Finch.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl named Jean-Louise Finch, who they call Scout, her brother Jeremy, nick-named Jem, and many other characters. Their father Atticus, who is a lawyer, had been given a case to handle and did not have a choice but to receive it and work his best for his client. The case was about an African man, named Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white woman. This case causes many problems that they have to deal with everyday. The entire town turns against them saying that Atticus is a â€Å"nigger-lover.† Even Atticus’ family turned against them, which really hurts Scout, especially when her cousin Francis says â€Å"I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-† (Harper 91).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism is a major theme in this story along with growing up. Throughout the story the reader sees how Scout and Jem are afraid of Boo Radley because they think he is a monster and try to tease him. Later in the novel they are no longer afraid of him and no longer interested in teasing him. Another example of their maturity is how they view people. When Scout and Jem see how Tom Robinson is treated just because he is black, they begin to understand the meaning of prejudice. Throughout the trial Scout watched and believed that Tom will be found innocent. Instead he is found guilty. Her disappointment in the verdict makes Scout question the idea of justice. Scout and Jem also think that their dad isn’t like any other fathers in school, but as the book goes on, their attitude towards their father has changed, which is another sign of maturity.

Cost-Effective Service Excellence: Lessons from Singapore Airlines

Cost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines is well known as a paragon of in-flight service. It is also a remarkably efficient and profitable airline and has been for decades. Loizos Heracleous, Jochen Wirtz and Robert Johnston explain how it combines service excellence with cost effectiveness. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has achieved the Holy Grail of strategic success: sustainable competitive advantage.It has consistently outperformed its competitors throughout its 30-year history. In addition, it has always achieved substantial returns in an industry plagued by intermittent periods of disastrous under-performance (see Table 1). Cost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines SIA has done this by managing to navigate skilfully between poles that most companies think of as distinct – delivering service excellence in a costeffective way. SIA’s awards list is long and distinguished.In 2002 alone it won no less tha n 67 international awards and honours including â€Å"best airline† and â€Å"most admired airline† in the world in Fortune’s Global Most Admired Companies survey. Spring 2004 G Volume 15 Issue 1 Business Strategy Review 33 Since Michael Porter’s influential suggestion that differentiation and cost leadership are mutually exclusive strategies and that an organisation must ultimately choose where its competitive advantage will lie, there has been fierce debate about whether a combined strategy can be achieved – and sustained over the longer term.SIA is proof that the answer to both these questions is positive. So, how does it consistently deliver premium service to demanding customers in an industry where both price pressures and customer expectations have been continually rising? In common with many other organisations with a reputation for providing excellent service, SIA has top management commitment to service, customer-focused staff and systems , and a customer-oriented culture. However, our research into SIA, spanning many years and at all levels in the organisation, has uncovered a umber of insights into developing and maintaining a reputation for service excellence that is applicable to a wide range of service organisations. Ultimately, SIA’s success is attributed to a customer-oriented culture, its recognition of the importance of its customers. â€Å"Our passengers are our raison d’etre. If SIA is successful, it is largely because we have never allowed ourselves to forget that important fact,† says Dr Cheong Choong Kong, former CEO of SIA. However, what distinguishes SIA’s culture is that these are not just abstract, â€Å"motherhood† statements.The values of cost-effective service excellence are enshrined in a unique, selfreinforcing activity system that makes the values real for all employees. We found that the five pillars of this activity system (see Figure 1) are: G rigorous ser vice design and development G total innovation (integrating continuous incremental improvements with discontinuous innovations) G profit and cost consciousness ingrained in all employees G holistic staff development; G reaping of strategic synergies through related diversification and world-class infrastructure.Rigorous service design and development Twenty years ago Lyn Shostack complained that service design and development is usually characterised by trial and error. Unlike manufacturing organisations, where R&D departments and product engineers were routine, systematic testing of services, or service engineering, was not the norm. Things appear to have changed little since then. SIA, however, has always regarded product design and development as a serious, structured, scientific issue. Performance metrics Revenues $m SIA United Northwest Continental American DeltaBA Cathay KLM Quantas 5,133 16,138 9,905 8,969 18,963 13,879 12,103 3,903 5,788 5,207 Net income (loss) $m Net profit margin (%) Operational profit margin (%) Revenue / cost ratio Revenue per $1,000 labour cost Net income per Load Tonne – Km $0. 001 343. 2 (2,145) (423. 0) (95. 0) (1,762) (1,027) (206. 1) 84. 2 (138. 2) 212. 3 6. 68 —— —— —— —— —— —— 2. 16 —— 4. 08 10. 4 —— —— 0. 016 —— —— —— 2. 73 —— 6. 83 1. 12 5,310 0. 81 2,279 0. 92 2,499 1. 02 2,969 0. 88 2,361 0. 93 2,266 0. 99 3,581 1. 03 3,989 0. 9 3,739 1. 07 3,995 2. 73 (10. 53) (3. 06) (1. 02) (8. 64) (6. 27) (1. 55) 1. 03 (1. 35) 2. 54 Table 1 Singapore Airlines’ performance relative to competitors Sources: Annual Reports for the airlines’ most recent financial year. IATA World Air Transport Statistics 2001; www. exchangerate. com (past rates based on respective report dates). 34 Business Strategy Review Spring 2004 G Volume 15 Issue 1 Cost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines Cost Effective Service Excellence Ingrained profit consciousness Rigorous service design Figure 1The five pillars supporting SIA’s cost-effective service excellence SIA has a service development department that hones and tests any change before it is introduced. This department undertakes research, trials, time and motion studies, mockups, assessing customer reaction – whatever is necessary to ensure that a service innovation is supported by the right procedures. Underpinning continuous innovation and development is a culture that accepts change as a way of life. A trial that fails or an implemented innovation that is removed after a few months are not seen as problems.In some organisations personal reputations can be at stake and so pilot tests â€Å"have to work†. At SIA a failed pilot test damages no-one’s reputation. In some organisations, service, and indeed product, innovations live beyond their useful years because of political pressure or lack of investment resources. SIA expects that any innovation is likely to have a short shelf life. The airline recognises that to sustain its differentiation it must maintain continuous improvement and be able to kill programmes or services that no longer provide competitive differentiation.According to Yap Kim Wah, senior vice-president, product and service: â€Å"It is getting more and more difficult to differentiate ourselves because every airline is doing the same thing†¦the crucial fact is that we continue to say that we want to improve. That we have the will to do so. And that every time we reach a goal, we always say that [we’ve] Cost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines got to find a new mountain or hill to climb†¦you must be able to give up what you love†. Customers as well as competitors raise the stakes for SIA.A company with a high reputation attracts customers wi th high expectations. SIA’s research team has found that SIA draws a disproportionately large number of very demanding customers. â€Å"Customers adjust their expectations according to the brand image. When you fly on a good brand, like SIA, your expectations are already sky-high. And if SIA gives anything that is just OK, it is just not good enough,† says Sim Kay Wee, senior vice-president, cabin crew SIA treats this as a fundamental resource for innovative ideas. Weak signals are amplified.Not only written comments but also verbal comments to the crew are taken seriously and reported back to the relevant sections of the airline. An additional source of intelligence is SIA’s â€Å"spy flights†, where advisors travel with competitors and report on their offerings. Finally, SIA recognises that its competition does not just come from within the industry. As a rule, SIA sets its sights high and instead of aiming to be the best airline its intention is to be the best service organisation. To achieve that, SIA employs broad benchmarking not just against its main competitors but against the best service companies.Spring 2004 G Volume 15 Issue 1 Business Strategy Review 35 Holistic staff development Total innovation Strategic synergies NewsCast High flying: but also ‘outstanding service on the ground’ â€Å"It is important to realise that [our customers] are not just comparing SIA with other airlines. They are comparing us against many industries, and on many factors. So when they pick up a phone and call up our reservations, for example, they are actually making a mental comparison, maybe subconsciously, to the last best experience they had.It could be a hotel; it could be to a car rental company,† says senior vice-president, product and service, Yap Kim Wah. â€Å"If they had a very good experience with the hotel or car rental company and if the next call they make is to SIA, they will subconsciously make the compari son and say ‘How come you’re not as good as them? ’ They do not say ‘You have the best telephone service system out of all the other airlines I’ve called’. Being excellent, our customers, albeit subconsciously, will benchmark us against the best in almost everything. Total innovation: integrating incremental development with unanticipated, discontinuous innovations An airline has a multitude of sub systems, such as reservations, catering, maintenance, in-flight services and entertainment systems. SIA does not aim to be a lot better but just a bit better in every one of them than its competitors. This means constant innovation but also total innovation in everything, all the time. Importantly, this also supports the notion of cost effectiveness.Continuous incremental development comes at a low cost but delivers that necessary margin of value to the customer. â€Å"It is the totality that counts. This also means that it does not need to be too expensive. If you want to provide the best food you might decide to serve lobster on short haul flights between Singapore and Bangkok, for example; however, you might go bankrupt. The point is that, on that 36 route, we just have to be better than our competitors in everything we do. Just a little bit better in everything.This allows us to make a small profit from the flight to enable us to innovate without pricing ourselves out of the market,† says Yap Kim Wah. While cost-effective, incremental improvements are an important basis for its competitive advantage, SIA also implements frequent major initiatives that are firsts in its industry, both on the ground and in the air. One example is its â€Å"Outstanding service on the ground† programme. This initiative involved working with the many other organisations that impact on customer service before and after a flight to ensure a seamless, efficient and caring service.SIA’s latest service excellence initiative, cal led â€Å"Transforming customer service† (TCS), involves staff in five key operational areas – cabin crew, engineering, ground services, flight operations and sales support. The programme is about building team spirit among staff in key operational areas aimed at ensuring that the whole journey from the purchase of the ticket onwards is as pleasant and seamless as possible. SIA employs an innovation approach called the â€Å"40-30-30 rule†. It focuses 40 per cent of the resources on training, 30 per cent on the review of process and procedures, and 30 per cent on creating new product and service ideas.In addition to continuous incremental innovations, SIA’s reputation as a service innovator is also based on unanticipated, discontinuous innovations in the air. Examples of current innovations include the full-size â€Å"space-bed† and on-board email and Internet services in business and first class. In addition, SIA has made the strategic choice to C ost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines Business Strategy Review Spring 2004 G Volume 15 Issue 1 be a leader and follower at the same time. It is a pioneer on innovations that have high impact on customer service (for example in-flight entertainment, beds and on-board email).However, it is also a fast follower in areas that are less visible from the customer’s point of view. In doing so, SIA relies on proven technology that can be implemented swiftly and cost-effectively. For example, SIA’s revenue management and customer relationship management (CRM) systems use proven technology where its partners had the experience to ensure a smooth and costeffective implementation rather than going for the latest technology, which would not only be much more expensive but also carry a higher implementation risk.Profit-consciousness ingrained in all employees Though SIA is focused on the customer and providing continually improving service, managers and st aff are well aware of the need for profit and cost-effectiveness. All staff are able to deal with the potentially conflicting objectives of excellence and profit. This is created by a cost and profit consciousness. â€Å"It’s drilled into us from the day we start working for SIA that if we don’t make money, we’ll be closed down. Singapore doesn’t need a national airline.Second, the company has made a very important visionary statement that â€Å"We don’t want to be the largest company. We want to be the most profitable†. That’s very powerful,† says senior vice-president Yap Kim Wah. Performance related reward system Team concept Peer pressure to perform Ingrained profit consciousness Related diversification High profitability Cost Effective Total innovation Service Excellence Strategic synergies Competitive intelligence, spy flights Extensive feedback mechanism Benchmarking against best-in-class Holistic staff development Suppo rting infrastructure Rigorous service designDemanding customers Developing the Singapore girl Figure 2 Singapore Airlines’ self-reinforcing activity system for developing cost-effective service excellence. Cost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines Spring 2004 G Volume 15 Issue 1 Business Strategy Review 37 As a result, any proposed innovation is analysed very carefully on the balance of expected customer benefits versus costs. Station managers and frontline staff constantly trade-off passenger satisfaction versus cost effectiveness – the customer has to be delighted but in a costeffective manner.Second, and like many service organisations, SIA has a rewards system that pays bonuses according to the profitability of the company. The same formula is used throughout the company. As a result there is a lot of informal peer pressure from individuals within the organisation; staff and managers appear quite open in challenging any decisions or actions if they see resources being wasted or money being inappropriately spent. SIA builds team spirit within its 6,600 crew members through its â€Å"team concept†, where small teams of 13 crew members are formed and then fly together as far as possible for at least two years.This leads to the development of team spirit and social bonds within the team that reinforces the culture of cost-effective service excellence and the peer pressure to deliver SIA’s promise to customers. Developing staff holistically Senior managers say that â€Å"training in SIA is almost next to godliness†. Everyone, no matter how senior, has a training and development plan. New stewardesses undergo training for four months, longer than any other airline. This includes not only functional skills but also soft skills including personal interaction, personal poise and the emotional skills involved in dealing with demanding passengers.In addition to training, SIA also encourages and supports acti vities that might on the surface be seen as having nothing to do with service in the air. Crew employees have created groups such as the â€Å"Performing Arts Circle†, staging full-length plays and musicals, the â€Å"Wine Appreciation Group† and the â€Å"Gourmet Circle†. These activities help to develop camaraderie and team spirit as well as personal knowledge of the finer things in life, which feeds into the service the crew delivers in the air. Achieving strategic synergies through related diversification and world-class infrastructure SIA uses â€Å"related diversification† to achieve ost synergies and at the same time control quality and enable transfer of learning. Subsidiaries serve not only as the development ground for management skills and a corporate rather than a divisional outlook through job rotation but also as sources of learning. In addition, related operations (such as catering, aircraft maintenance, airport management) have healthier p rofit margins than 38 the airline business itself because competitive intensity is lower and the industry structure is more favourable.SIA Engineering, for example, ensures that SIA does not pay expensive aircraft maintenance fees to other airlines; rather, it sells such services to other airlines at healthy margins. SIA’s fleet, the youngest in the world, ensures low maintenance costs, low fuel expenses and high flight quality. SIA’s Inflight Catering Centre produces SIA’s own inflight cuisine, ensuring high quality, reliability and responsiveness to customer feedback, but also caters for other airlines at a healthy margin. SIA’s SATS Group subsidiary manages Changi Airport, which is regularly voted the best airport in the world.This airport management and infrastructure entices passengers who are travelling on to Australia, New Zealand or other countries in the region to pass through Changi and to choose SIA as their carrier. SIA’s subsidiaries o perate under the same management philosophy and culture that emphasises cost-effective service excellence. Even though they are part of the group, they are quoted separately on the Singapore Stock Exchange and are subject to market discipline with clear profit and loss expectations. In SIA the conventional wisdom of outsourcing (outsource â€Å"peripheral† activities and focus on what you do best) does not apply.External suppliers would not be able to offer the value that SIA’s own subsidiaries can offer it. This kind of related diversification within SIA leads to strategic synergy in terms of reliability of key inputs, high quality, transfer of learning and cost effectiveness. Loizos Heracleous ([email  protected] edu. sg) is associate professor of strategic management at the National University of Singapore. Jochen Wirtz ([email  protected] edu. s g) is associate professor of marketing, director of the APEX-MBA (Asia-Pacific Executive MBA) Program, codirector of the UCLA-NUSEMBA Program, and a member of the management committee of the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore. Robert Johnston (bob. [email  protected] wick. ac. uk) is professor of operations management at Warwick Business School. Bringing it all together: building a self-reinforcing activity system How, specifically, do these elements lead to costeffective service excellence? The five pillars of SIA’s cost-effective service excellence are made real through a self-reinforcing activity system of virtuous circles (see Figure 2). The cultural values of cost-effective service excellence are more than just abstract ideas.They are ingrained into the minds of both employees and organisational processes. This may help to explain why SIA’s competitive advantage has been sustained for so long. While it is easy to copy single elements, it is much harder to reproduce an entire, self-reinforcing system. I Resources: Porter M. , Competitive Advantage, Free Press , New York, 1985 Shostack G. L. , Designing services that deliver, Harvard Business Review, vol 62, no 1, JanuaryFebruary 1984 Cost-effective service excellence: lessons from Singapore Airlines Business Strategy Review Spring 2004 G Volume 15 Issue 1

How Did the Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Essay

Abraham Lincoln was Born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. Lincoln Died on April 15, 1865 at the age of 65 Lincoln’s Formal education was limited to 18 months of schooling. Prior to politics Lincoln was a lawyer Lincoln served as an Illinois state legislator, member of the House of Representatives and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate. Elected President in 1860; Lincoln served from 1861-1865 as the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln wanted to evoke a Spirit of reconciliation with the states that had seceded! because he didn’t want to dissolve the union IN COMPLIANCE with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you brieï ¬â€šy and to take in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the President â€Å"before he enters on the execution of this office.† I do not consider it necessary at present for me to -Timeliness discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement. Apprehension seems to exist among the people of -Lincoln Openly Addresses prominent issues of the Southern States that by the accession of a the time. Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that I have no purpose, directly or -Antithesis indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no -Parallelism lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations and had never recanted them; and more than this, they placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read: Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes. I now reiterate these sentiments, and in doing so I only press upon the public attention the most conclusive evidence of which the case is susceptible that the property, peace, and security of no section are to be in any wise endangered by the now incoming Administration. I add, too, that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be given will be cheerfully given to all the States when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause—as cheerfully to one section as to another. There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions: No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and the intention of the lawgiver is the law. All members of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution—to this provision as much as to any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms of this clause â€Å"shall be delivered up† their oaths are unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they not with nearly equal unanimity frame and pass a law by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath? There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by national or by State authority, but surely that difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him or to others by which authority it is done. And should anyone in any case be content that his oath shall go unkept on a merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be kept? Again: In any law upon this subject ought not all the safeguards of liberty known in civilized and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so that a free man be not in any case surrendered as a slave? And might it not be well at the same time to provide by law for the enforcement of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that â€Å"the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States†? I take the ofï ¬ cial oath to-day with no mental reservations and with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules; and while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much safer for all, both in ofï ¬ cial and private stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed than to violate any of them trusting to ï ¬ nd impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional. It is seventy-two years since the ï ¬ rst inauguration of a President under our National Constitution. During that period ï ¬ fteen different and greatly distinguished citizens have in succession administered the executive branch of the Government. They have conducted it through many perils, and generally with great success. Yet, with all this scope of precedent, I now enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional term of four years under great and peculiar difï ¬ culty. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted. Lincoln’s Inaugural had many important points that are critical to understanding the time. Point One: He promoted and promised-Strongest possible federal support for the Fugitive Slave Law and the service/labour clause. There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions: No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and the intention of the lawgiver is the law. All members of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution—to this provision as much as to any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms of this clause â€Å"shall be delivered up† their oaths are unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they not with nearly equal unanimity frame and pass a law by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath? There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by national or by State authority, but surely that difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him or to others by which authority it is done. And should anyone in any case be content that his oath shall go unkept on a merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be kept? Again: In any law upon this subject ought not all the safeguards of liberty known in civilized and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so that a free man be not in any case surrendered as a slave? And might it not be well at the same time to provide by law for the enforcement of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that â€Å"the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States†? Timeliness There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions: No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Here Lincoln uses a direct reference to a portion of the constitution under debate. -Timeliness. . Lincoln wanted to see that the Laws of the Union, be abided by all states. Being The President-Elect, Lincoln knew it was his job to uphold the laws. I take the ofï ¬ cial oath to-day with no mental reservations and with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules; and while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much safer for all, both in ofï ¬ cial and private stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed than to violate any of them trusting to ï ¬ nd impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional. It is seventy-two years since the ï ¬ rst inauguration of a President under our National Constitution. During that period ï ¬ fteen different and greatly distinguished citizens have in succession administered the executive branch of the Government. They have conducted it through many perils, and generally with great success. Yet, with all this scope of precedent, I now enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional term of four years under great and peculiar difï ¬ culty. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted. I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself. I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself. Eloquence Timelessness Perpetuity. The Constitution was established â€Å"to form a more perfect union† than the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union had been, which was explicitly perpetual in name and text, and thus the Constitution too was perpetual. He added that even were the Constitution construed as a simple contract, it could not be legally rescinded without an agreement between all parties. Lincoln didn’t recognize the Confederacy and attempted to reunite the Union in his 1st inaugural He looked at the Constitution as a contract and that A group can breach a contract but legally they are still bound to it. Again: If the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it—break it, so to speak—but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it? Descending from these general principles, we ï ¬ nd the proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual conï ¬ rmed by the history of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. And ï ¬ nally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was â€Å"to form a more perfect Union.† But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is less perfect than before the Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity. It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances. Lincoln during his speech told his audience that there wouldn’t be an invasion of the southern territory unless it were necessary for him to uphold his obligation to hold, occupy and possess the property and places belonging to the Federal government. Therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the -Timeliness laws the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in -Civil war was about to begin all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part, and I shall perform it so far as practicable unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisite means or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will -Subtle Warning constitutionally defend and maintain itself. -Timeliness In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power confided to me will be used to hold, -Lincoln is Speaking Directly to Secession and occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the approaching Civil War. Government and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere. Where hostility to the United States in any interior -Here we See Lincoln’s point that locality shall be so great and universal as to prevent competent resident citizens from holding the Federal offices, there would be no invasion for the there will be no attempt to force obnoxious strangers among the people for that object. While the strict legal right may south unless it were necessary to do exist in the Government to enforce the exercise of these offices, the attempt to do so would be so irritating and so so to uphold the government or to nearly impracticable withal that I deem it better to forego for the time the uses of such offices. defend the union. There would be no invasion of the South unless such were necessary for him as President to fulfill his obligation to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the federal government. The Mail would Continue The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts of the Union. So far as possible the people everywhere shall have that sense of perfect security which is most favorable to calm thought and reï ¬â€šection. The course here indicated will be followed unless current events and experience shall show a modiï ¬ cation or change to be proper, and in every case and exigency my best discretion will be exercised, according to circumstances actually existing and with a view and a hope of a peaceful solution of the national troubles and the restoration of fraternal sympathies and affections. That there are persons in one section or another who seek to destroy the Union at all events and are glad of any pretext to do it I will neither afï ¬ rm nor -Antithesis deny; but if there be such, I need address no word to them. To those, however, who really love the Union may I not speak? Friday, November 7, 2008 23 Before entering upon so grave a matter as the destruction of our national fabric, with all its beneï ¬ ts, its memories, and its hopes, would it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it? Will you hazard so desperate a step while there is any possibility that any portion of the ills you ï ¬â€šy from have no real existence? Will you, while the certain ills you ï ¬â€šy to are greater than all the real ones you ï ¬â€šy from, will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake? Reconciliation Timely All profess to be content in the Union if all constitutional rights can be maintained. Is it true, then, that any right plainly written in the Constitution has been denied? I think not. Happily, the human mind is so constituted that no party can reach to the audacity of doing this. Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a plainly written provision of the Constitution has ever been denied. If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might in a moral point of view justify revolution; certainly would if such right were a vital one. But such is not our case. All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are so plainly assured to them by afï ¬ rmations and -Periodic Sentence negations, guaranties and prohibitions, in the Constitution that controversies never arise concerning them. But no organic law can ever be framed with a provision speciï ¬ cally applicable to every question which may occur in practical administration. No foresight can anticipate nor any document of reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions. Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered by national or by State authority? The Constitution does not expressly say. May Congress prohibit slavery in the Territories? The -Parallelism Constitution does not expressly say. Must Congress protect slavery in the Territories? The Constitution does not expressly say. From questions of this class spring all our constitutional controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities. If the minority will not acquiesce, the majority must, or the Government must cease. There is no other alternative, for continuing the Government is acquiescence on one side or the other. If a minority in such case will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which in turn will divide and ruin them, for a minority of their own will secede from them whenever a majority -Timeless refuses to be controlled by such minority. For instance, why may not Speaks to nation at anytime anyplace. any portion of a new confederacy a year or two hence arbitrarily secede again, precisely as portions of the present Union now claim to About unity. secede from it? All who cherish disunion sentiments are now being educated to the exact temper of doing this. Is there such perfect identity of interests among the States to compose a new union as to produce harmony only and prevent renewed secession? Plainly the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, -Periodic and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Sentence Whoever rejects it does of necessity ï ¬â€šy to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible. The rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy or despotism in some form is all that is left. I do not forget the position assumed by some that constitutional questions are to be -Parallelism decided by the Supreme Court, nor do I deny that such decisions must be binding in any case upon the parties to a suit as to the object of that suit, while they are also entitled to very high respect and consideration in all parallel cases by all other departments of the Government. And while it is obviously possible that such decision may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect -Periodic following it, being limited to that particular Sentence case, with the chance that it may be overruled and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be borne than could the evils of a different practice. At the same time, the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably ï ¬ xed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal. Nor is there in this view any assault upon the court or the judges. It is a duty from which they may not shrink to decide cases properly brought before them, and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn their decisions to political purposes. One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be -Antithesis extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The fugitive-slave clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave trade are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry legal >Timely- obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think, Slavery-Major debate in country. can not be perfectly cured, and it would be worse in both cases after the separation of the sections than before. The foreign slave trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately revived without restriction in one section, while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the other. Physically speaking, we can not separate. We can not remove our respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of >Timelessness our country can not do this. They can not but remain face to face, and -Unity intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is -Separate it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make treaties -relevant-still today easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot ï ¬ ght always; and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on either, you cease ï ¬ ghting, the identical old questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you. This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of the fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are desirous of having the National Constitution amended. While I make no recommendation of amendments, I fully recognize the rightful authority of the people over the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the modes prescribed in the instrument itself; and I should, under existing circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity being afforded the people to act upon it. I will venture to add that to me the convention mode seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, instead of only permitting them to take or reject propositions originated by others, not especially chosen for the purpose, and which might not be precisely such as they would wish to either accept or refuse. I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitution— which amendment, however, I have not seen—has passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, including that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular amendments so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable. The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have referred none upon him to ï ¬ x terms for the separation of the States. The people themselves can do this if also they choose, but the Executive as such has nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer the present Government as it came to his hands and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his successor. Antithesis – I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battleï ¬ eld and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our ELOQUENCE- nature. Friday, November 7, 2008 30 Effectiveness -One month Later the Civil War Began. -Awkward, what Lincoln had to say to the audience was irrelevant. -Shortly After his speech many of the southern states seceded. -Rather Tedious and Defensive. -In the Shadow of future speeches, Gettysburg, Lincoln second inaugural. -They didn’t have that much effectiveness for what ensued. Abraham Lincoln Transformation Period 1861-1865. The South wasn’t thrilled with Lincoln’s Election. Lincoln’s election left the south with no other option but secession-out of dislike or fear of Lincoln. Over the next four years the country would experience wars that impacted not only the ideologies of countrymen but President Lincoln as well. Through these events we see how Lincoln’s role as President led to the transformation of a nation and himself as a public ï ¬ gure. Timeline of Events April 12, (4:30A.M.) 1861 — Attack on Fort June 1861 — Four Slave States Stay in the Sumter. President Lincoln planned to send Union. Despite accepting slavery, Delaware, supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri didn’t join advance as an attempt to avoid hostile actions. the Confederacy. Although divided in their South Carolina didn’t trust Lincoln; the loyalties, a combination of political commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, was maneuvering and the Union military asked to surrender immediately. Anderson maneuvered these states from secession. offered to surrender, only once his supplies had been exhausted. His offer was met with rejection and The Civil War began when Ft. Sumter was ï ¬ red on. April 1861 — Four More States Join the Confederacy. The attack Sumter prompted four more states to join the Confederacy. With Virginia’s secession, Richmond was named the Confederate capitol. Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln didn’t want to upset bordering slave- holding states so in an attempt to soothe things over, Lincoln resisted the demands of many Republicans for complete abolition. In 1861, Congress had passed an act stating that all slaves employed against the Union were to be considered free. In 1862, another act stated that all slaves of men who supported the Confederacy were to be considered free. Gettysburg July 1-July 3 1863 — Gettysburg. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural November 1864 — Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected. The Republican party nominated President Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate, and Andrew Johnson for vice-president. Context The country had been through terrible conditions due to the war. The ground was muddy- wet weather was uncomfortable and it was cold – yet thousands upon thousands arrived on capitol grounds in Pennsylvania to hear Lincoln speak in hopes for change and an end to war. Context Continued Times had changed. For the ï ¬ rst time ever, Black Soldier’s were allowed to attend a presidential Inaugural – a monumental change in American History. Licoln’s Second Inaugural Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential ofï ¬ ce there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the ï ¬ rst. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed ï ¬ tting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public -Periodic declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which Sentences still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chieï ¬â€šy depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. Past history of the war On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to -Antithesis avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, urgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.! -Timeliness Hopes for the Future One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which -Will of the God the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conï ¬â€šict might cease with or even before the conï ¬â€šict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. â€Å"Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.† If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God -Timelessness wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and ï ¬ fty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said â€Å"the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.†! With malice toward none, with charity for all, with ï ¬ rmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to ï ¬ nish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may – achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.! Timelessness -Effectiveness