A Critique of the Research Article Essay Example for Free

A Critique of the Research Article Essay A Critique of the Research Article: Methadone/Buprenorphine and Better Maternal/ Perinatal Outcomes: A Meta-analysis Abstract The purpose of this research article is to discuss lower risk drugs such as Methadone and Buprenorphine given to Heroin addicted pregnant patients to create better neonatal and maternal outcomes. This research articles discusses the gold standard of treatment for better neonatal and maternal outcomes. Keywords: heroin, neonatal, maternal, outcomes, methadone, buprenorphine, gold standard treatment A Critique of the Research Article: Methadone/Buprenorphine and Better Maternal/ Perinatal Outcomes: A Meta-analysis Methadone is a synthetic opioid. It is used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive and reductive preparation for use by patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937. Methadone was introduced into the United States in 1947 by Eli Lilly and Company. The principal effects of methadone maintenance are to relieve narcotic craving, suppress the abstinence syndrome, and block the euphoric effects associated with opiates. When used correctly, Methadone maintenance has been found to be medically safe and non-sedating. It is also indicated for pregnant women addicted to opiates. (doi:http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/methadone) The theoretical study was not discussed in the articles but Roy’s Model identifies the elements considered essential to adaptation and describes how the elements interact to produce adaptation and thus health. Methadone helps the pregnant opioid dependent individual adapt to a lower risk drug and produces an overall healthier maternal and prenatal outcome. Middle Range Theory is less abstract and narrowed in the scope than conceptual models. These types of theories focus on answering particular practice questions and often specify such factors: patient’s health conditions, family situations and nursing actions. While researching this topic there were areas that were discussed, about patients being afraid to seek Methadone treatment and prenatal care because they were ashamed of how health care professionals would view them. It was also stated that patients in better overall health and less family related stress situations would more than likely be the ones to receive proper prenatal care and seek Methadone treatment. Opioid dependent pregnant patients and their fetus have more physical, mental and psychological issues. (Kaltenbach, Berghella, Finnegan, 1998). Opioid dependent pregnant patients are at an increased risk for preterm delivery and low birth weight. (Fajemiroku-Odudeyi et al. , 2005). To lower the health risks, pregnant women who are opiate dependent have been treated with methadone maintenance, the standard of care for several decades. (Jones et al. , 2005). Another treatment option became available when the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of buprenorphine maintenance therapy in 2002, which is another substitute for methadone. The research article â€Å"Opioid Dependency in Pregnancy and Length of Stay for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome† examines 152 opioid-dependent pregnant women on methadone maintenance therapy (n=136 the participants that are using methadone) or buprenorphine maintenance therapy (n=16 the participants that are using buprenorphine) during pregnancy and their neonates. The neonates were born between January 1, 2005 and December 2007. The use of methadone in opioid dependent pregnant women lowers maternal morbidity and mortality rates and promotes fetal stability and growth compared to the use of heroin (Ludlow, Evans, Hulse, 2004). Continuous methadone treatment during pregnancy is associated with improved earlier antenatal care (Burns, Mattick, Lim Wallace, 2007), compliance with prenatal care and better preparation for infant care and parenting responsibilities (Dawe, Harnett, Rendalls, Staiger, 2003). Stabilization on methadone avoids the dangers of repeated intoxication and withdrawal cycles. Methadone has to be picked up by the patient at the treatment facilities. Attendance at these facilities allow pregnant patients opportunities to receive essential antenatal care and advice for a healthy pregnancy, which some of the patients otherwise may not receive. While conducting this research it was not clearly evident what was being researched until the conclusion of the results was determined. Based on the number of participants depended on the outcome of the better treatment. Therefore the results are not as accurate as could be if there were a larger amount of participants. There were no violations of patient rights with the methods used. The research article â€Å"Methadone in pregnancy: treatment retention and neonatal outcomes† examines three different groups of women: a group who entered continuous treatment at least one year prior to birth, a group who entered continuous treatment in the 6 months prior to birth, and a group whose last treatment program prior to birth ended at least one year prior to birth. Births that occurred after 1994 were selected for this analysis. Overall, 2 993 women were on the methadone program at delivery. The number of births rose steadily from 62 in 1992 to 459 in 2002. A particular strength of the large sample size was the ability to examine the effect of treatment retention on key neonatal outcomes. Among mothers on methadone at delivery, early commencement on methadone was associated with increased antenatal care and reduced prematurity. This is consistent with previous research that has shown that methadone in conjunction with adequate prenatal care promotes fetal stability and growth. Ethics approval for the project was granted by the NSW Department of Health Ethics Committee. All data was provided to the researchers’ only once full identification of records had taken place with password protected computers and firewall protection. This method was used to protect patient’s rights. Based on a large sample size, researchers were able to examine the effects of treatment retention on key neonatal outcomes. Although researchers had a large sample size based on certain ethical restrictions, limited the amount of information given to researchers, which waived the outcomes of individual’s results not being totally accurate. The research article â€Å"Methadone and perinatal outcomes: a prospective cohort study† examines A total of 117 pregnant women on methadone maintenance treatment recruited between July 2009 and July 2010. Measurements information on concomitant drug use was recorded with the Addiction Severity Index. Perinatal outcomes included pre-term birth (

Self Reflection on Developing Confidence

Self Reflection on Developing Confidence Competence is difficult to measure and define because it is a complex concept (FitzGerald et al., 2001). As many people wrongly think, competence is not simply the satisfactory performance of a set chores; competence is much wider than that. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (2011) defines competence more extensively as the putting of skills, knowledge ,attitudes, values and power to perform that base productive and or better accomplishment in a professional area. Competence is one of the five main constructs of caring behaviours. To be able to demonstrate caring attitude as a well-trained professional nurse, one must first be a competent practitioner of the nursing profession. For a nurse to be fully competent there is the need to have a sound knowledge based on my area of specialty in other to function independently with confidence. Smith Straham (2004) identifies that the ability to teach requires considerable amount of confidence in ones professional career. A nurse who lacks confidence as a tutor is not probable to give up control of the ward or classroom to students. High self-efficacy is also really needed from me as tutor. One most significant aspect about teaching is that it also helps you develop your knowledge. Feeling unsure and uncertain as a nurse is not a good quality, I need to gain confidence as well as I have gained experience. As a staff nurse teaching student nurses is an important part of my duty, student will always turn to me for assistance and guidance in clinical care. Normally student nurses find it easier to approach newly registered nurses to ask for support and counselling. RELATING MY SKILL TO SECTION With latest exclusion of stimulated experience, traditional methods to clinical education in nursing have not been changed substantially for years. In this olden model, faculty instructors give instructions and evaluate learning for a group of 8 to 10 students and work as clinical experts and supervisors for them. Patient assignments are always received in advance and clinical experiences are planned for by reviewing procedures, pathology, drugs and nursing interventions. When teaching I interact with the student through the patient assigned to them but I lack confidence which is unprofessional. My priority though is my patient care first and the learning student a secondary concern. Their primary relationship normally is with faculty members. My duty also as a tutor in the ward is to work simultaneously with the students each day. Sometimes the presence of students in the ward can be seen as burdensome and interferes with my ability to provide patient care. Raines (2006, Pp. 8) stressed that nurses make a huge difference in also helping students have clinical competence and skills. When student nurses are allocated to staff nurses they begin to appreciate the full range of professional nursing roles and responsibilities but in a case where the staff nurse assigned to a student nurse lacks confidence what would the student feel? Clinical practice competence and skill competence both relies on role competence (ORourke, 2006). COMPETENCE AND NMC (NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL) The National Council of State Board of Nursing (2005) defines competence as the power to act and apply Knowledge, interpersonal, directing and psychomotor skills to nursing practice role.Tiley (2008) noted that there is no definite and welcomed definition of competence in nursing education and practice. Notwithstanding competence is defined in unlike ways, there is a common goal: to guarantee nurses have the information, skills and power to perform duties expected and required for their practical settings. The word competence is acquired from Latin and it means having important qualities and abilities to function in a distinguishing ways. Nagelsmith (1995) explains the basis of professional competence as a set of vital and appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes. There are different essential features needed to achieve competence: Perseverance of Knowledge, skills and abilities needed for graduates of nursing education programs, based on principles and legal necessity; Pertinence to current practice; Registration and licensing examinations by board of nursing; Board of nursing persistent education requirements for licensing; Employer watching carefully of required staff development modules, finishing of courses, demonstrations and examinations; Guidelines and accreditation for nursing practice. In addition, competences are required in practice as a profession because it is needed to always exercise ones professional responsibility and practice. Nursing and Midwifery council (NMC) included competence as a constituent in professional practice because as a professional you must keep your skills and knowledge current throughout your working life. Specifically you should take part as a matter of usual practice in learning activities that grows your competence and accomplishment. To practice capably in learning activities that develops your competence and performance. To practice capably one must have the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for lawful, safe and productive practice without direct supervision. One must recognise the extent of his or her professional competence and only attempt practice and accept responsibilities. It was also stated that if an area of practice is beyond ones level of competence or outside your area of specialization, you must get help and supervision. One also has a responsibility to assist the progress of students of nursing, midwifery and health visiting and others to cultivate their competence. Having accountability to deliver care based on current proof, best practice and where appropriate, validated research when available. RATIONALE WHY I NEED TO DEVELOP COMPETENCE IN THE CHOSEN AREAS Safe nursing practice in my chosen area, mental health at this level is typified by the use of nursing process to treat people with truly existing or potential mental health problems or psychiatric disorders to: advance and promote health and safety I should be able to evaluate dysfunction: help persons to get back or improve their coping abilities, increase strengths and stop further disability. In contributing to safe practice to the people in the society i have to develop my competence in a wide sphere of interventions ,including health promotion and health maintained plan of action, intake screening and assessment and triage, case management, milieu therapy, promotion of self care actions, psychobiologic interventions, health teaching, giving advice, critical situations care and psychiatric restoration. The nurse maintains accountability for maintaining competence in this area of mental health nursing practice through life long learning. Competence is an essential component in my professional responsibilities. Professional responsibilities also need me to recognise limitations and put myself in settings and duties that allows me to function safely. Minimum vital competence for safe practice is also essential for me they include essential features such as basic principles of nursing, critical thinking, interpersonal relations and areas of ethics. There is a lot of risk involved working as a mental health nurse; preventing suicide depends on the nurses ability to know about a persons suicidal risk status. In most cases mental health nurses are the most competent to attempt a full risk assessment of a suicidal patient. The general health professional is frequently placed in place of activity where potential patient suicide risk is sure through direct account from the patient, noting of behaviour or from patient history examination. In this clinical place of activity, the general nurse or allied health professional responsibility is to carry out a brief risk assessment and then refer to the suitable mental health professional for an inclusive psychiatric assessment (Department of Health, 2004). SELF ASSESSING AND MAINTAINING COMPETENCE IN THE CHOSEN SKILL In the field of nursing competence is required for nurses to make safe clinical decisions. Other methods for evaluating competence include self-assessment and the development of professional portfolios. The usefulness of self-assessment has helped me to maintain and improve competence in the aspect of teaching student nurses who wants to learn more in the area of mental health nursing. My individual competence has improved as I become more experience and the knowledgeable. In complying with my duties as a mental health nurse in supporting other skills development i will participate in team meetings where equal opportunities are given to share knowledge and ideas with colleagues. I will also engage in a teaching programme either as an instructor or a study under a preceptor. In addition improve my clinical practice by with self or others.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Essay -- Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens In Great Expectations, Dickens wants to explore what it means to be a gentleman in the rapidly changing Victorian England. He suggests that money is not everything, but you need some to get yourself started in the world. Being a gentleman means that you have to be moral, kind, courteous, hard working, financially independent and educated. Pip’s experiences of social class, in some ways mirror those of Dickens’ childhood. Dickens’ parents were middle class but moved down the class ladder when they moved house, (they moved from quite a nice house into a slightly smaller house in a slightly less desirable area, over and over again, due to financial problems, hence moving down the class ladder) which happened quite often. We say that they have downward social mobility. In the early stages of Great Expectations, Pip experiences many different types of social classes. These include the criminal class and the upper class, two very different classes. Dickens explores the idea of a modern gentleman through Pip’s experiences; at the beginning of the novel, Pip is in his own village, surrounded by people just like him and of his own class. Then, he is taken to Satis House where he meets Estella, who is of a much higher class. Estella changes his views on becoming an apprentice to Joe in the forge; previously Pip looks forward to it, thinking that it is the best thing in the world, but he changes his views drastically after he meets Estella because he believes that Estella will think that he is even more common than she already does. Jaggers, who is a lawyer representing Pip’s benefactor, comes to see him and informs him that he will inherit a grand property later in life... ...nce again, thanks to Pip. Pip discovers that Mr. Jaggers’ housekeeper, Molly is Estella’s mother and that Magwitch, his benefactor, is her father. Orlick, who used to be one of Joe’s apprentices, confessed to attacking Mrs. Joe after he attempted to murder Pip. He is sent to the county jail after breaking into Mr. Pumblechook’s house. Magwitch has a struggle with Compeyson, the man who stood up Miss Havisham on her wedding day and ruined her life, and Compeyson dies, after betraying Magwitch. After being abroad for 11 years, Pip realizes that he has neglected Joe and Biddy and apologizes to them when he comes back, a self-made man. He realizes that his ways must change and begins the long and difficult process of becoming a true gentleman. He also goes to Satis House and visits Estella. He sees that she is no longer as black-hearted as she used to be.

media Essay -- essays research papers

The ‘media’ as a whole plays a major part in one’s life. Media messages can be presented in many ways from reading newspapers to watching news on television from the comfort of your own home. However, the most important factors are how the news is retrieved and portrayed by an individual or a group of individuals as each individual has the right to accept what they believe not what they are manipulated to believe or to accept. There are various issues that can be looked at to conclude whether or not there is such thing as free, unbiased media, to define this topic it is too broad to study itself so it will be broken down and researched in small parts. Bias in different context will be analysed and shown how it is interpreted. Theorists will be researched such as: Rupert Murdoch and Noam Chomsky taking his views into consideration as well as elaborating on them. The approach taken to tackle this area of study will show clear evidence of where the information has b een taken from as this will enable the reader to make their own judgment as to whether there is such thing as free, unbiased media. Can it be argued that there is such thing as a free, unbiased media? Bias is based around media organisations made up of journalists and news producers presenting particular stories and the selection of which stories to cover with an uneven viewpoint, these particular stories may refer to accusations of either censorship or propagandism. Individuals perceiving various media messages can receive these in different contexts such as socially, ethically, economically and politically. There are different categories of bias that can be looked upon when presenting media messages to individuals such as: ethnic bias which includes nationalism and regionalism, corporate bias involving advertising and political campaigns, social bias that contains overall bias of reporting to favour the status class, political bias regarding the split in political slant and sensationalism about manufacturing or distort news as a purely commercial product. Temporal bias is known when media are biased toward the immediate, when media organisations decide to take up a story that is happening immediately. News has to be new and fresh, this news has to be ever changing even when there is a small amount of news to cover. There are other forms of bias such as status quo bias, narrative bias, fairnes... ...close look at the records shows Murdoch has imparted his far right agenda throughout his media empire† (Center for American Progress). An example of being bias would be that Murdoch is blamed for presenting partisan media coverage for political groups that publicise policies and conclusions to draw attention to his commercial benefit showing that media bias is involved from the beginning, middle or end and is often encouraged by politicians to persuade him favourably to cover their campaigns. An additional example of the contradiction of the theory of unbiased media would be that of Venezuela and Chavez. In this instance a democratically elected president was over thrown from his position by the media industry (the Venezuela army and influences from the U.S). The effect Rupert Murdoch has had on the media industry is substantial, setting up an empire that is forever growing. This clearly shows who the media is owned by and how much power they posses, this can determine on what is presented to the public from a single point rather than all angles of a specific story and through not one source of media but several forms of media even though some maybe bias and contain propaganda.

Thomas Jefferson Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction Thomas Jefferson spent most of his career in public office and made his greatest contributions to his country in the field of politics. He loved liberty in every form, and he worked for freedom of speech, press, religion, and other civil liberties. Jefferson was the 3rd president of the United States and best remembered as a great president and as the author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's interests and talents covered an amazing range. He became one of the leading American architects of his time and designed the Virginia Capital, the University of Virginia, and his own home, Monticello. He greatly appreciated art and music and tried to encourage their advancement in the United States. He also won lasting fame as a diplomat, a political thinker, and a founder of the Democratic Party. Early Life Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, the family farm in Goochland County, Virginia. He was the third child in the family and grew up with six sisters and one brother. Two other brothers died in infancy. His father, Peter Jefferson, had served as surveyor, sheriff, colonel of militia, and member of House of Burgesses. Thomas' mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, came from one of the oldest families in Virginia. 	Thomas developed the normal interests of a country boy, such as hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and canoeing. He also learned to play the violin and to love music. When Jefferson was fourteen, his father died. Since he was the oldest son he became the head of the family. He inherited more than 2,500 acres of land and 20 slaves. His guardian, John Hairvie managed the estate until Jefferson was twenty-one. 	At the age of nine, Jefferson began studies under a tutor. He learned Latin, Greek, and French. In 1760, at the age of sixteen, he entered the college St. William and Mary at Williamsburg. There, young Jefferson met two men, William Small and Judge George Wythe, who would have a great influence on him. Small was a professor of mathematics at the college. Small introduced his "...eager young disciple...(Worldbook)" to Wythe, one of the most experienced lawyers in the province. Through Small and Wythe, Jefferson became friendly with Governor Francis Fauquier. These four spent countless evenings at the governor's mansion, talking and playing chamber music. 	Jefferson spent two yea... ... Jefferson prepared a written vocabulary of Indian language. He arranged for the French sculptor Jean Houdon to come to America to make a statue of George Washington. Jefferson also posed for Houdon and for the famous American portrait painter Gilbert Stuart. He enjoyed playing the violin in chamber music concerts. Jefferson also founded the University of Virginia, "Of which he was very proud (Internet)". He died in 1826, and left his family deep in debt. The Executor's Sale in the winter of 1827 put up for sale 130 of his slaves. They sold all of his possession's in three years. Conclusion 	Thomas Jefferson was a great and powerful leader who led a full and successful life in America. Even as a young boy, Jefferson was an independent thinker, which led him into a career in politics. Jefferson also was a great writer and inventor. Some of his writings include the Declaration of Independence and the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, both which shaped the nation into what it is today. Jefferson helped set a standard for the United States as well as the rest of the world. Without him, the United States would not be the land of justice, liberty and the free.

The Election of 1860

By the election of 1860 profound divisions existed among Americans over the future course of their country, and especially over the South's â€Å"peculiar institution,† slavery.During the presidency of James K. Polk (1841-1849), the United States had confirmed the annexation of Texas to the Union, negotiated a treaty with Great Britain for the Oregon territory up to the 49th parallel, and, as a result of the Mexican War, added California and New Mexico as well. The American eagle now spanned the entire continent, a source of nationalistic pride to those who thought expansion was the fulfillment of both God's will and America's mission to spread its republican institutions.But national exuberance turned sour when Americans confronted the issue of whether slavery should follow the flag into the new territories. During the 1850s, different views about slavery's expansion and its place in America's future fueled suspicion and bitterness between northerners and southerners. In Kans as, the question of whether the territory would be opened or closed to slavery erupted in violence and political unrest.â€Å"Bleeding Kansas,† the treatment of fugitive slaves, and other issues involving slavery strained and then shattered the nation's two-party system which had served for a generation to weld sections and interests into two powerful national institutions. Of the two major parties, the Whig organization totally succumbed in the mid-1850s to the sectionalizing effects of the slavery issue and ceased to operate as a national party.Like the country, the Whig party could not exist half slave and half free. Meanwhile, the Democratic party managed to remain intact throughout that decade, but slavery acted like a solvent to weaken its bonds. Increasingly, its powerful, predominantly southern wing was at odds with a smaller, northern contingent.The campaign of 1860 accurately registered the country's precarious condition after a decade of sectional turmoil. The lead ing political organization in the North was the Republican party. It was composed of former Whigs, a smaller number of ex-Democrats, as well as members of other parties, including some who had previously supported antislavery parties, such as the Liberty party, which had sought to end slavery by political means.Like any party, the Republican party contained a broad spectrum of opinions on many issues, including slavery. But most Republicans were, like Lincoln, moderates who were positioned between the more radical and conservative elements of their party.The key to the Republican party's success was its position on slavery. It opposed the expansion of slavery and called upon Congress to take measures, whenever necessary, to prevent its extension. It condemned slavery as an immoral institution, a relic of â€Å"barbarism,† and most Republicans thought that by confining slavery within its present boundaries, the institution would be placed on the road to eventual extinction.The party was, therefore, a genuine anti-slavery party, but most Republicans rejected a more radical stand that would associate them with abolitionism.The party, for example, upheld the constitutional sanctity of slavery within the South, and a significant minority (including Lincoln) were willing to support a constitutional amendment forever guaranteeing against congressional interference with slavery in the states.Republicans also acknowledged the legitimacy of the fugitive slave clause of the Constitution and accepted its enforcement by proper laws. Republicans, therefore, separated themselves from abolitionists who agitated for a quicker, immediate, end to slavery, and the adoption of measures, such as the emancipation of slaves in the nation's capital, which would render slavery insecure in its present boundaries.At the same time, moderate Republicans also distinguished themselves from the more egalitarian racial program of abolitionism. Most Republicans accepted the principles of the Declaration of Independence as assuring black people certain rights now and, perhaps also, as ultimate goals to be fully realized sometime in the future.But they disavowed measures that would immediately bring about true equality between the races. Lincoln, who may have been somewhat more conservative than the core of his party, declared himself against equal rights in voting and officeholding, and he advocated the colonization of blacks to lands outside the United States, an idea that was anathema to abolitionists. Southerners, however, hardly distinguished between the different antislavery and racial views of the Republicans and abolitionists.The Republican party's opposition to the expansion of slavery, therefore, encompassed a distinctive moral protest against slavery itself, but also contained, at least for many Republicans, a racial concern that the territories be reserved primarily for free white people. In addition, the Republican mainstream associated a free labor soci ety with economic opportunity, hard work, upward mobility, liberty, morality, and other essential elements of a true republic.Slavery, on the other hand, was associated with economic backwardness, aristocracy, violence, illiteracy, intemperance, and immorality. Worse yet, Republicans viewed slavery as an aggressive institution, whose leaders, in alliance with sympathetic northerners, were conspiring to spread this cancer throughout the nation.This idea of a â€Å"Slave Power Conspiracy,† which Lincoln boldly proclaimed in his â€Å"House Divided† speech to the Illinois Republican convention in June 1858, identified the party with democratic ideals and provided a shorthand expression of northern resentment against the South's political clout. Although a minority section, the South had disproportionate influence in national politics, and frequently scuttled measures desired by many northerners, such as higher tariffs to protect manufacturing, or homestead legislation to provide free land for western settlers.VIDEO: A House Divided (1.9 MB)In May 1860, the Republicans gathered in Chicago for only their second national convention and nominated Lincoln as their candidate. The platform held that the â€Å"normal condition† of all territory was â€Å"freedom.† The platform also endorsed measures to encourage industry, a homestead act, and a transcontinental railroad.VIDEO: Lincoln's Nomination (2.1 MB)As for the Democratic party, the corrosive effect of slavery finally made itself felt on this national institution. For years, Democrats had united behind the doctrine of popular sovereignty. Popularized by such prominent party leaders as Lewis Cass, its nominee in 1848, and Stephen A. Douglas, Illinois's eminent and ambitious United States senator, popular sovereignty left the question– whether slavery should be permitted to expand into a territory– up to the people in the territory.Popular sovereignty promised to keep the subj ect of slavery out of the hands of politicians in Washington, and to give it, instead, to the people, the territorial citizens, most directly involved. The doctrine sounded democratic, fair, and practical.But popular sovereignty proved a hollow idea. Most northern Democrats assumed that, under this doctrine, slavery would never actually expand into territories. Climate, terrain, the swift movement of free state settlers into the West, and other considerations would discourage slaveholders from entering the territories.Thus, the initial settlers in a territory would favor free labor and would take measures to keep slavery out. Fairly applied, popular sovereignty would hold the territories (or virtually all of them) for the North without insulting the South by explicitly excluding slavery under federal authority.Republicans, however, denounced popular sovereignty as inadequate to prevent the spread of slavery, and morally bankrupt because it implied that a decision for slavery was mor ally equivalent to one against. Equally problematic was the view of most southern Democrats, who interpreted popular sovereignty to permit and even protect slavery in the territories throughout the entire territorial stage.Southerners insisted that slaveholders had the same constitutional right as nonslaveholders to bring their property, including slaves, into the territories. Moreover, since the territories were the common property of all the states, slaveholders must have equal access. For the South, the question of whether slavery would actually go into a territory was of less moment than establishing the principle that slavery must have equal standing to free labor.Honor and security demanded that slavery be treated as no less sacrosanct than freedom. Southerners, therefore, interpreted popular sovereignty to mean that only at the very end of the territorial stage, after slavery had been permitted to take root, could the citizens of the territory declare against the institution. There could be free states in the United States, but no free territories.These different definitions of popular sovereignty, which actually expressed variant attitudes towards slavery itself, came to a head when the Democratic party assembled in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1860. Southern Democrats insisted that the party endorse the idea of a federal slave code for the territories.This would secure the rights of slaveholders to enter the territories throughout the territorial period. When the majority of delegates refused to accept the southern position, delegates from the deep South states, plus a few from the upper South, marched out of the convention. The remaining delegates, after failing to nominate a candidate, adjourned to meet again in Baltimore in June. The only political party with a truly national constituency was now split asunder.The following June 1860, efforts to reunite the Democratic party failed, and Democrats met in two separate conventions in Baltimore. The predominantly northern wing nominated Douglas, and adopted a platform upholding popular sovereignty without mentioning a federal slave code, and leaving it to the Supreme Court to determine the specific powers of a territorial legislature. Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia was selected as Douglas's running mate.The southern Democratic wing nominated the present vice president of the United States, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, as its presidential candidate, and Joseph Lane of Oregon as his running mate. The southern Democratic platform affirmed the right of the federal government to protect the slaveholder's equal right to settle in a territory.Further complicating the election was the formation of a fourth political party, the Constitutional Union party. Composed of conservative members of the moribund Whig and Know Nothing parties, the Constitutional Union party denounced the major parties for inciting sectional divisions, and appealed for a popular, patriotic rallying to th e cause of the Union.Its convention, which met in May 1860, also in Baltimore, nominated John Bell, a Tennessee Whig, for President, and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for vice president. The party's conservative appeal attracted a following, especially in the border states; throughout the South, it constituted the main opposition to the Breckinridge ticket.The campaign of 1860 demonstrated that a national political system was no longer operating. The contest was actually two elections, one in the North and one in the South. In the North, the Lincoln and Douglas forces vied for victory; in the South the contest was between Breckinridge and Bell. The sections were insulated from each other.Lincoln did not even appear on the ballot in most southern states, and only in a few northern states did Breckinridge muster any discernible support. In the end, Lincoln won the election by carrying seventeen free states, while Breckinridge triumphed in eleven slave states. Neither candidate captu red a single state in the opposite section. Bell and Douglas trailed far behind.The highly sectionalized nature of the campaign meant that northerners and southerners waged battle against a shadow opponent. Lincoln refused to issue public assurances to the South that he would uphold slavery in its present confines. Nor did southerners have to pay heed to the Republican party's official denunciation of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia.This attack on a federal arsenal in the fall of 1859, by the Ohio abolitionist did not provoke the intended insurrection of slaves, and ended in Brown's capture and hanging.The raid sent shock waves through the South. Despite Republican disclaimers, southerners readily linked the party to abolitionism and the violent overthrow of slavery. Similarly, northerners, swept up in the renewed Lincoln-Douglas contest, paid insufficient heed to the intensity of anti-Union feelings in the South.Although neither Breckinridge nor Bell threatened secess ion, they often challenged each other in the South as to who was the more loyal to southern rights and interests. The air was filled with frequent warnings that Lincoln's election would justify secession.

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay

Should a man whose actions created a wave of genocide and killed thousands of innocent natives be considered a hero? In today’s time, Christopher Columbus is known through the United States as the one who found the country we currently live in. But is that actually true? Over many years, his history has sparked a day that is a remembrance of his â€Å"discovery†. I believe that he is the mastermind behind the genocide of over 250,000 Native Americans, while others believe that he was only a man with a passion for exploring. I personally believe that Christopher Columbus had not a single good intention when he first stepped foot on the Americas back in his time and showed negative glory for his nation, discovery and personal glory. Christopher Columbus found the Americas, but today he takes credit for discovering a new world. Native Americans had been living in civilizations across North and South America long before Columbus had â€Å"discovered† it. This journey has now ruined many of those enslaved, and impacted as well as his precious reputation. With his expedition, he exposed countries to new disease, violence, and slavery. His â€Å"discovery† led him to ruin the America’s of its natives and its resources. These horrible actions should be added to Columbus’s reputation, which shows him to be a villain in American history. Christopher Columbus had evil intentions from the start of his voyage when he promised to repay, Spanish monarch and founder of Columbus’s travels, with gold, spice, and other servants. When he first arrived in what he thought was Asia, he quickly gathered the natives and introduced them to slavery. He also returned to Europe with the Native American’s possessions. In a resource I studied clearly and bias freely I read the following:† †¦, a sailor called Rodrigo saw the moon shining on white sands, and cried out. It was an island in the Bahamas, in the Caribbean Sea. The first man to sight land was supposed to get a large reward, but Rodrigo never got it. Columbus claimed that he had seen a light the evening before. He got the reward. We humans today know that when something new comes into the picture, something old must come out. No matter which side people choose, they all agree that Columbus made a major impact on the Americas.