Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Other Essays Essay

Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Other Essays - Essay Example This paper will highlight which justification of the two camps was more persuasive to the public as well as the reason why the battle to win the public’s heart was important. Slavery was prominent in America in the 19th Century. In his sixth debate, Lincoln-Douglas said that domestic slavery, a â€Å"disturbing† and â€Å"dangerous element,† was existing in America (Lincoln-Douglas, Lincoln-Douglas 6th Debate 1858). Abolitionists fought to end slavery. Slaves underwent many hardships, as revealed by Frederick Douglass in his narrative. Such hardships included slaves working in huge plantations and were treated as animals. There were no laws that could protect slavery and the atrocities against them were never talked about. However, the abolitionists’ efforts to end slavery were resisted by the slaveholders, who felt they could be deprived of their rights should they lose the slaves. Slaveholders had a belief that in order for them to prosper economically, they had to keep slaves. Therefore, the continuation of slavery was essential. It was evident that African slaves provided cheap and readily available labor. Furthermore, the slaveholders feared for their own safety should the slaves be freed, since, according to them, the slaves might take over or revenge on their former masters. This triggered the most proactive, bitter and bloody struggle between the antislavery (abolitionists) and the proslavery (slaveholders) in the United States in the mid-19th Century. Abolitionists such as Thoreau made efforts to fight slavery. In his Civil Disobedience and other Essays, Thoreau talks about the necessity to give priority to the conscience of an individual over the demands of the law. He strongly criticizes the institution of slavery. He disputes the assertion that the government gets its power from the majority since this group is the strongest, and not because they have the most legitimate viewpoint (Thoreau 1993, p2). In this regard, Thore au continues to assert that individuals have the obligation to do what, according to their conscience, is right and not to blindly follow the law that favors the majority. When the government is unjust, people are supposed to refuse the law and distance themselves from such a government (Thoreau 1993, p7). Additionally, people should see to it that they educate themselves on the legitimate law and fight for their rights. This assertion is depicted when slaves began to read and were enlightened about the injustices they were facing (Douglass 2005 p29). The slaves and the abolitionists started fighting to end slavery because people tended to hold dear their own prosperity and liberty. Slavery has been the main threat of people’s liberty and prosperity, and this already worsening condition cannot be improved by enlarging slavery (Lincoln-Douglas, Lincoln-Douglas 7th Debate 1858). Therefore, abolitionists realized there was need for united efforts to improve the status of the bla ck population, which was being abused through slavery. Slaves regretted their own lives and wanted to empower themselves so that they can attain freedom (Douglass 2005 p30). While abolitionists were empowering themselves in order to attain freedom, slaveholders were having sleepless nights. Several slaveholders struggled to oppose the positive efforts that were being administered by the abolitionists. Most slaveholders found

Ethical Issues in OB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Issues in OB - Essay Example Besides reputational loss, these frauds and/or scandals have caused significant financial impact on their businesses resulting in their closure. Hence, it is extremely important for organizations to formulate strong ethical principles and practices, which need to be followed by the organization, its leaders and its employees. In fact, ethical standards/principles promote the organization and its products/services to a large extent. Therefore, organization’s success largely depends upon its ethical standards besides other factors related to business and its management. Moreover, ethical standards form the guiding principles for various managerial decisions that get stuck in different types of dilemmas. Ethics involves moral issues and choices and deals with right and wrong behavior (Luthans, 1998; p.72). This behavior is with respect to employees, managers, organizations to the environment etc. The most significant role in maintaining ethical standards is played by members in t he leadership positions. Ethical behavior is demonstrated by the leaders in maintaining business ethics on a regular basis. For people in the leadership role, their character is extremely important to make an impact. This character is judged based on their actions and not words. Hence, ethical behavior becomes all the more important for leaders. In her article in the Forbes, Chairman of the board at Deloitte & Touche, Sharon Allen (2007) puts it, â€Å"ethical leadership counts--on the job and everywhere else that our employees and fellow citizens watch, assess and ultimately transform the examples of leaders into actions of their own.† This clearly exemplifies what kind of impact leaders can have on their followers through ethical behavior. Further Allen (2007) explains that behavior of leaders give their followers clues about their personal value systems and set an example for the behavior that is considered as right. If leaders expect their followers to exhibit and adhere to specific business behavior, then such behavior has to be demonstrated by the leaders. If they lack or fail to do so, then followers will emulate their leaders’ behavior, even if unethical. Recently, the New York Times reported internal charges levied against one of the union leaders of the Service Employees International Union for improper usage of funds official funds, which was not accounted for in the right manner. This report stated, â€Å"The charges accuse Mr. Raynor of falsely stating that he had 10 meals, costing $186 to $275, with a male union lawyer instead of the person he had actually dined with: Alex Dagg, a female executive vice president of Workers United and one of its Canadian directors. The charges call for ousting him from his Workers United and S.E.I.U. posts, and state that he had falsified union records and made improper personal expenses† (Greenhouse, 2011, March 30). This charge is a serious offence because the union leader falsified organiza tion’s money and also provided misleading information. If this behavior is ignored, then it might encourage sequence of such behaviors, which his followers too might adopt. In order to promote ethical behavior, organizations adopt ethical practices such as organizational values and ethical standards in all actions and communicating the same to its employees through various media. Ethical standards have to pertain to