The Slavery Effect In Todays Society

The Slavery Effect In Todays Society In the eighteenth century there were an estimated six million slaves in the world. That number, large as it was, does not come close to the number of slaves in todays society. The current worldwide estimates are over twenty-seven million. Every year seventeen thousand slaves are trafficked into the United States, of that number, eighty percent are women and fifty percent of those (seven thousand) are children. Seventy percent of the females are imported for prostitution. It is astonishing how even though slavery is not seen or heard of much in todays society it still exists heavily and quietly affects our everyday life. It is extremely sad, yet, regretfully true. The history of slavery dates back to 1780 B.C. though laws have been passed in most countries that prevent, or at least lessen, slavery, it still exists today. By definition, slavery means the complete ownership and control by a master: to be sold into slavery. Slavery indicates a state of subjugation or captivity often involving burdensome and degrading labor. Slavery occurs when people -known as slaves- were placed in servitude as the property of a household or company. Slaves are deprived of their personal freedom and compelled to perform labor or services. Slaves are the properties of another person, household, company, corporation, or government and are unable to leave or have any freedom. Primarily slaves were sold amongst companies, corporations, governments, or people. The practice of exporting slaves is called slave trafficking. Slavery is currently found in many countries all over the world. In other countries, though known by another name, it is still slavery. In Canada sl aves are called servants and in Nordic countries they are called thralls. In the year 1670 the first African slave was introduced to America. The slaves of that time period were treated poorly; most were beaten with whips for the slightest infraction. Most, were simply tired, hungry or thirsty; some just too old to do the work and were brutally beaten to death. Many slaves would die of illnesses like malaria or yellow fever because of their limited immunities to these diseases. Others died from malnutrition, poor living conditions, and exhaustion; there was a very high mortality rate among slaves. To this day slaves are still exploited all over the world even though we actually do not see it or hear about it. Although in most countries in todays society traditional slavery has been abolished, it still exists in some countries and much of the slavery that exists is done so illegally. Some of the countries that have abolished slavery are the United States, Africa, many European countries, and China. Though abolished, it still exists, just using a different title. The highest percentage of slavery that is seen in todays age is child labor. Many countries have enacted child labor laws, protecting the rights of children. Typically children are not allowed to work until they reach the age of fourteen. There are children as young as four working on plantations. Most child labor laws state that only children over the age of fourteen can work between the hours of seven in the morning until nine at night and no more than forty hours per week or eight hours in one day excluding school da ys in which they can work after school until 8:00 PM. Children, prior to the age of 18 must get a work permit filled out by their school before they are allowed to work; these children must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average in order to continue their employment. In many countries this is not the case and the childrens primary duty is work. These children do not have the chance of an education. Child labor is not the only form of slavery still in existence. Some companies maintain a policy of only enslaving adults, while others only employ children. Many children who are put into slavery end up working in clothing manufacturing plants also known as sweatshops. A sweatshop is a factory where workers make products in very poor working conditions. Child labor is also abused in harvesting cotton, fruits, and vegetables. Many slaves also work in sugar cane and coffee factories. The selling of females, as disgusting as this may sound, is still a common practice in some countries. Young women are often sold by their families for marriage, domestic uses, like cleaning and cooking, while others are sold into sex trafficking and were forced into prostitution. Many children are taken from their families to become soldiers. Countries such as Lebanon and Colombia regularly enlist young children to carry guns and become soldiers of war. Rarely is this considered a form of slavery, yet by definition, it is. As you can see there are many types of slavery that still exist today. The following exhibits how the name has changed but the practice is still the same. Bonded Labor occurs when people have taken a simple loan for something such as medicine, food or housing for themselves or their family and to pay it back they are put to work by the lender creating a type of slavery. With bonded labor often the child of the debtor are put to work in order to pay the bond. Early and Forced Marriage is the parental practice of selling off daughters as they reach adolescence. Daughters are sold for monetary gain. Frequently, there are also religious reasons for this practice. Their families give the girls into arranged marriages. They have no choice as to who they are to marry. Once married they are owned by their new husband. Forced Labor is where a person is forced into work by the threat of physical harm. Much like the slavery that we read of in our history books, these slaves work out of fear of violence. Slavery by Descent means simply that a child is born into slavery. The parents are slaves, thus the child is a slave. It just continues generation after generation. Trafficking, according to the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (C.A.S.T.), is the recruitment and transportation of persons within or across boundaries by force, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them economically. Trafficked people most commonly work in sweatshops, restaurants, on farms, in manufacturing, prostitution and as private domestic workers Sadly, many parents end up giving their child into slavery to pay off a debt or simply sell their own children for support their families. Many young women are raped by their owners ending up pregnant thus bring more children into the life of slavery. This article could have been written in 1808, or 1908, but sadly, it is being written in 2008. Youd think that in todays civilized society that slavery would truly have been completely abolished, however, the name has just been changed. Slavery affects todays society so much, even though we do not notice it, slavery is everywhere. Next time youre in a department store, pick up some of the products and look to see where they were manufactured. It is highly unlikely that it will have the name of a country with strict child labor laws in place. There are U.S. companies that even move their manufacturing plants outside of the U.S. in order to employ children at a lesser cost. It is extremely hard to believe but most products we use on a daily basis were produced in countries that allow this type of slavery. Products such as sugar, shoes, tea, coffee, chocolate, fruits, and vegetable are made by modern-day slaves. The U.S. Department of Labor disclosed that our countrys largest retailer, Wal-Mart, was fined a measly 135,000.00 for violating child labor laws. The violation: Children operating chain saws and box crushing machinery. Toys-R-Us was cited for working 14-year-old children late into the night. The management for this huge corporations stated that they misunderstood the child labor laws pertaining to how long they could work a fourteen-year-old child. While driving through a large city, maybe in the seedier part of town, notice the young girls on the streets. Where did they come from? Did slave traffickers transplant them here? Are they runaways with no other alternatives? Think about the practices of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. How is what was going on in Eldorado, Texas any different than sexual slavery? Over 200 women and children were recently taken from this remotely locate temple only after a teenage girl reported that she was being held there against her will and had been forced to marry a fifty year old man as well as have his child. Though illegal, it goes on unknown to most of us to this day. Most of us, unknowingly, support these new forms of slavery. We buy the products from the companies that employ these workers. We, as a nation, do little more than smirk when we read about the religious organizations that condone arranged, under-aged marriages as well as polygamy. In conclusion, though you may not see it, slavery still exists. It has taken on new forms. The name has changed. It doesnt look the same as we have read about in the history books but by any other name it is still slavery. Think about it next time you buy that cute tank top or stop in for your favorite latte.

Diamonds Are Forever (from Sierra Leone), Kanye West

Diamonds are Forever (from Sierra Leone), Kanye West The famous song â€Å"Diamonds are Forever (from Sierra Leone)† is not only a good song that is sung by a legendary music artist, Kanye West, but it is a hidden message political song that is directly talking about the precious blood diamonds from the southern countries of the continent Africa. When someone hears the two words â€Å"blood diamond,† most would probably assume that the diamonds are from Africa and that there are many people who die trying to mine for them.In reality, a blood diamond, also known by the names of conflict diamonds, converted diamonds, hot diamonds, or war diamonds, is a diamond that is mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts or a particular warlord's activity. These terms are particularly used in the context of diamond trading to indicate the negative effects for the sales of these said diamonds. Most of the blood diamonds are mined particularly i n Africa, where around two-thirds of the entire world's diamonds are extracted from.Overall, the main political issue that this song is referring to is the cold fought war for the control over Africa’s’ blood diamonds. The reason the country Sierra Leone is mentioned in the song is because of the huge war situations that the blood diamonds have caused. A little knowledge about this particular conflict; from the years of 1989 to 2003, the country of Liberia was engaged in a civil war. In the year of 2000, the United Nations accused Liberian president Charles G.Taylor of supporting the Revolutionary United Front insurgency in neighboring the country of Sierra Leone with weapons and proficient military training in exchange for blood diamonds. In the year of 2001, the United Nations applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August of 2003, Taylor stepped down as the president, and after being exiled from Liberia to Nigeria, faced trial in The Hague. On July 21st of 2006, Taylor pleaded not guilty to the charged crimes against humanity and war crimes of which he was found guilty in April of 2012.It’s not too easy to tell if the diamond in the middle of a gold ring is a true blood diamond or not. In reality, there is no way to tell by looking with the naked eyes or even under a jeweler’s gem magnifying glass. Many influences about blood diamonds have been made famous. Some examples include the song â€Å"Diamonds from Sierra Leone† and the famous movie â€Å"Blood Diamond. † After listening to the song by rapper Kanye West, it sends out a deep message about what is going on in Africa on the war of diamonds. The music video that goes along with the song is also very powerful.A lot of the lyrics in the song include hidden descriptive messages about what happens because of these blood diamonds. Not nessacerily about blood diamonds, but what is happening to the southern African countries and what is happening to the pe ople who are forced to mine diamonds. In many cases, children are kidnapped and forced into slavery and forced to mine for diamonds. In other cases it is adults who are kidnapped from their families and forced to mine. After performing some brief research about the forced slavery for mining the diamonds, rebellion is typically not an answer.In simple prospective, people who are forced into the mining slavery are given simple choices; mine for diamonds or be killed, or mine for diamonds or you will be forced to kill your family and then you will be killed. This is just a sickening way of realizing that the diamonds on any wealthy persons’ fingers could not have only cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars, but also cost hundreds and hundreds of innocent lives that will never be remembered. In connection with the message to what the song â€Å"Diamonds are Forever† is trying to tell the whole world is that hundreds of thousands of people have died in Africa’s ongoin g diamond wars.One of the challenges now that we come face to face with is to prevent warlord empires from kidnapping and recurring, and to get diamonds to a safe place where they can be an engine of growth in the 15 African countries where they are mined, instead of a scourge. One of the verses from the song that really stands out to me is: â€Å"†What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man? † They pray for the death of our dynasty like Amen. Right here stands a man, with the power to make a diamond with his bare hands†¦ † This verse really stands out because of what it means to me.I believe it means that we are asking if people who are mining for diamonds are okay. In response, all we hear are the prayers that ask for the fall of their country, because people are being forced to exchange their enslaved lives for blood diamonds. But in reality, nobody knows who the â€Å"we† are and nobody knows who the people mining are because their lives have already been traded for diamonds. In simple words spoken by Kanye West himself, â€Å"Little is known of Sierra Leone, and how it connects to the diamonds we own. †

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Biography Examples

Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as America’s 32nd President. He came into power during The Great Depression and is one of the leaders who made a great impact in American economy and politics. His famous for championing for the New Deal; that was geared towards lifting America out of it then economic crisis. Both his critics and supporters would agree that he was one of America’s most influential presidents. Below is a short biographical account of Roosevelt’s life, political career and contributions to the American economy. Early Life and Education Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. Both his parents, James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano were form wealthy New York families of English decent. His early life was mostly influenced by his mother who was more dominant in his parenting than his father. Coming from such a wealthy family, Roosevelt grew up privileged. This life exposed him to several sports like polo, golf, shooting, sailing and rowing. He also travelled frequently to Europe; which made him fluent in French and German languages. Roosevelt went to Groton School which was a boarding school in Massachusetts. During his period in school, Roosevelt was greatly influenced by his head teacher, Mr. Anderson Peabody who taught them the responsibility of a Christian in uplifting the less fortunate in society. He later joined Harvard where he studied economics. He was the editor in chief of The Harvard Crimson Daily Newspaper. His fifth cousin Theodore Roosevelt became president during this period. President Theodore Roosevelt was his role model and a big influence in his leadership. He graduated from Harvard in 1903 with and received an honorary LLD from Harvard in 1929. Roosevelt married Eleanor, his fifth cousin who he met at a White House party. They got engaged when Roosevelt was 22 and Eleanor was 19. Despite resistance from his mother, they got married in 1905. His mother was a frequent visitor in his home in Springfield where they settled. This made the wife a bit uncomfortable. Between 1906 and 1916, they had all their six children, closely spaced. The marriage was however, not without scandal as Roosevelt had a long standing affair with a secretary, Lucy Mercer and also an alleged affair with his private secretary. Political Career Roosevelt was a democrat; he first vied for political office in 1910. He contested for the New York State Senate in Duchess County. His success in this election is attributed t his wealth, family name and great influence of the Roosevelt family in Hyde Park. Roosevelt got associated with a group, which opposed Tammany Machine. He led the group in campaigning against this group’s chosen candidate for the New York senate. His success in this put him in the national limelight and made him known to many. He was reelected to senate in 1912 and served as the chairman to the Agricultural Committee where he introduced many successful bills on farm and labor. He resigned from New York State Senate in 1913 and took up his appointment as Secretary to the US Navy. This appointment was by Woodrow Wilson who Roosevelt had supported in opposition to the Tammany Machine. Roosevelt made an attempt in running for U.S New York Senate seat and was defeated. This was attributed to the lack of support from Wilson’s side; this saw the victory for the candidate sponsored by the Tammany Group. The period during World War two saw Roosevelt try to introduce measures to support the war and combat the enemy. He was also in charge of dismantling the troupes after the war. He resigned from the position of Assistant Secretary to the Navy due to a much publicized sex scandal. He was chosen as the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States by the 1920 Democratic National Convention. At this point he returned to practice law in New York but was poised to come back to politics. In 1921, Roosevelt suffered from an illness that was thought to be polio; this paralyzed him from the waist down. However, he never let the disease put him down. His condition was well kept from the public and he always appeared in public without a wheelchair. Between 1929 and 1932, Roosevelt served as New York State Governor. His first win was by a slight margin. During this period, he mended fences with most of his political enemies, including the Tammany Hall brothers. Presidential Elections and Presidency Having massive support from a populous state, Roosevelt stood a better chance of clinching the democratic nomination for the top presidency. Following his nomination, Roosevelt formed a coalition that included William Randolph Hearst, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., William Gibbs McAdoo and John Nance Garner who was given the vice-presidential nomination. This group brought together several different groups including minorities. It came to be known as The New Deal Coalition. Roosevelt was inaugurated as United States president on March 4th 1933. At this time America was going through its worst depression. Many people were jobless, several homes had been lost, famers were making losses and the cost of living was unbearable for many. This saw Roosevelt’s fierce intervention that was radical and impacted the poor and the vulnerable. This became known as ‘The New Deal’; which had its supporters and critics. Impact on the Economy through ‘The New Deal’ Policy The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 caused an unprecedented depression in American history. At the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the New York governor. With the Help of Harry Hopkins and Frances Perkins, he established the New York Emergency Relief Commission which was a great success that saw him win the Democratic presidential candidature for the 1932 general elections. This was due to his proposal of the New Deal. The depression greatly affected the economic status of women and the poor. About 20% of women in America were unemployed. For those who were employed, earnings were relatively low. However, the Civilian Conservation Corps taught women to be independent and created employment vacancies in some agencies of the new deal. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) focused on empowering farmers and creating job opportunities in the less modernized regions where these people lived. A hydroelectric power plant was revived to provide cheap power, control floods and provide recreational facilities for the residents. This would favor the Black Americans. The Farm Security Administration (FSA) offered â€Å"over $1 billion towards the establishment of camps for migrant workers.† Mexican Americans were to reap the benefits of this provision. The Indian reorganization act of 1934 was enacted to bring to an end the disposition of tribal lands. Furthermore, it was to deliver the unallocated lands to the native groups. This was good for the natives. Owing to this, the New Deal was acclaimed for addressing the woes of the minority groups who had been pressed by discrimination and racial segregation. The three main things that the New Deal sought to address; unemployment, recovery and structural reforms greatly impacted the lives of women and the underprivileged. Even though the New Deal had its failures, its successes can be seen on the improvements that it brought to American women in job creation and policy change. Due to the success and popularity of the New Deal, his second presidential bid against Alf Randon was won with a landslide. The Democrats also won a majority of seats.  Ã‚   The two- term legislation had not taken effect and this saw Roosevelt go for a third and fourth term. Roosevelt saw America through the World War two and spearheaded major legislations and US involvement in the war. His health started failing in 1944 and died of a massive stroke on 29 April 1945. Roosevelt’s journey to the presidency was long and can be viewed as inevitable, owing to his background and place in the society. His legislations and policies, especially The New Deal; stood up for the poor even though he was from a privileged background. Indeed Roosevelt’s leadership made a great impact in America’s history and destiny. Bibliography Ellis, Halley. The New Deal and the Problem of Monopoly. New York: Fordham University Press, 1995 Burns, James Macgregor. Roosevelt (vol. 1).New York: Easton Press, 1956 Jean, Smith Edward. FDR. New York: Random House, 2007 Winkler, Allan. â€Å"The New Deal: Accomplishments and Failures.† Banking: Senate. 32009. http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.ViewFileStore_id1022a46e-33f1-4d4d-ac38-381541c0d2ff