Trade policies: The WTO Success And Failures

Trade policies: The WTO Success And Failures A Review of the Theory Trade between nations has always been an intriguing issue. Some argue that there should be a complete allowance of trade between countries and on the other hand some say that this would be disastrous for many countries that would lose from such a decision. In understanding why would a country seek trading with other countries and whether free trade should be introduced in the world, we have to take into account some basic theories from the past. Adam Smith, was the first person to attempt to give a reason for this in the late 18th century. In his book, Wealth of Nations, he tried to give a good reason to promote free trade, through his absolute advantage theory. In his theory he first used a comparison between nations and households. The concept of this example was simple. The master of a family would never choose to produce something at home that is going to cost less by buying it. And this is a fact because doing so, he would gain more time to produce something else. This is the same case as for countries. A country would prefer to buy a product, if the cost of producing it, would be higher than buying it. This country would gain the opportunity cost of using the spare time from not producing that good, to produce something else. In order to show this, he used the term of absolute advantage of one country over another in producing a good. A country is supposed to have an absolute advantage in producing a good if a worker o f that country is able to produce higher amounts of this good than a worker of the same industry in another country. To define and measure this advantage he used labor productivity and production cost and compared them between countries. Thus, Adam Smith explained the benefits of free trade, and showed that trade helps every single country to make the most of its absolute advantage in constructing some products. Generally, the overall level of wages in countries is determined by absolute advantage, and trade patterns are determined by comparative advantage. To sum up with, a country is more affluent with trade, without being an disbursement to the other country. This theory was something very important for that period because it introduced the free trade idea to many governments. On the other hand, it had a big imperfection. In a case in which a country would have absolute advantage in all products over another country (and the world was following his  [1]  theory thoroughly), n o trade would occur between these two countries, because of no absolute advantage existence. This is when David Ricardo introduced his own theory of comparative advantage, to give an answer and solution to this imperfection. In his theory, he entails that a country doesnt need to have absolute advantage over another country in order to trade a good. He combined the theories of comparative advantage and opportunity cost, to prove that a country will export the goods and services that it can produce at a low opportunity cost and import the goods and services that it would otherwise produce at a high opportunity cost (Pugel, 2009). According to comparative advantage theory, the living standards of these countries are going to boost because of trading, because the resulting world pattern of production faces higher efficiency instead of each country producing only for its own market. If this theory is accurate, globalization is beneficial for every society, to the extent that living standards are higher and prices for goods are lower. In conclusion, Ricardo proved that advantageo us trade can arise even if one country is less productive at producing all products, on condition that, these countries will have different relative advantage or disadvantage on the production of different goods. An alternative to Ricardos model came up in the early 19th century. Heckscher-Olin theory, which predicts, that a country exports the product(s) that use its relatively abundant factor(s) intensively and imports the product(s) using its relatively scarce factor(s) intensively. The H-O theory focuses on another important source of production-side differences. There exist some basic assumptions that have to hold in order for two countries to trade goods with each other, according to H-O theory. First of all, there has to be a condition in which major factors of production are not found in the same amount in both countries and that these two goods being produced, will require either relatively more labor or relatively more capital. When a country has a relatively higher amount of capital, it specializes in producing capital-intensive goods, while on the other hand, the country with the relatively higher amount of labor, is going to specialize in the production of labor-intensive goods. Furthermore, another condition that has to stand is that there will be no movements of labor and capital between the two countries. In addition, these countries will have to be in a market environment in which, transporting goods between countries has no associated costs. The final assumption required, is that the citizens of these two nations have the same wants. To conclude with, the prediction that comes out of Heckscher-Olin theory is that a country exports products that use the countrys relatively abundant factors more intensively. They exchange these products for imports of products that have an intensive usage of the countrys relatively limited factors. Specialization in production and trade generates a higher standard-of-living for the countries involved, according to the H-O theory. The problem arising from this theory is that it is not taking the trade of capital goods into consideration. Moreover, capital and labor are fixed components endowed to each country. These main theories give emphasis to differences in production conditions instead of tastes. Ricardos argument was that, because countries have different comparative advantages in producing different goods, trade is profitable. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory agrees that comparative advantages in production are the basis for trade, but H-O explains comparative advantage in terms of underlying differences in factor endowments. Each country tends to export those goods that intensively use its relatively abundant factors of production (Pugel, 2009). The evidence is that the H-O theory explains a fine part of the worlds actual trade patterns sensibly well, but that some significant aspects of trade patterns do not square easily with H-O (Pugel, 2009). Most economists favor letting nations trade freely, with few tariffs or other barriers to trade. The striking consensus in favor of free trade is based primarily on a body of economic analysis demonstrating that there are usually net gains from free trade, both for nations and the world. Trade affects production and the quantity of consumption in a country. In the country importing a good, it is doing so, by raising consumption and by lowering the production of that single good. On the same time, it is raising production of that good in the exporting country, but we cannot be sure whether it is going to lower or raise the quantity of consumption of that single good. We can say that both countries gain from trade. That is because it makes, both the exporting as well as the importing nation, better off in the net national sense. Each countrys net national gains are proportional to the change in its price from its no-trade value, so the country whose prices are disrupted more by trade, gains more (Pugel, 2009). A further source of national gains from trade is that the variety of products that become available to consumers, increases through imports, because of the countrys opening to trade. The economic well-being of consumers increases when they are able to choose from a wider variety of goods. Another source of national gains, comes from international competition, which can lower the prices of domestic goods, bringing extra gains to home consumers. It is quite interesting to have a look on who are the gainers and who are the losers, from opening trade. To do so, we need to make a distinction between the short run and long run effects of open trade. In the short run, we can say that those consuming the goods being imported and those producing exportable goods, are the main gainers. To find losers and gainers from trade, in the long run, we need to examine the findings of the Stolper-Samuelson theorem. This theorem shows that in long run, a person that is making his living by selling a factor that is more abundant in his country, in respect to other countries, is able to gain from trade. And this is a fact regardless of the goods he might be consuming, or the sector he might be working in. On the other hand, a person that makes his living by selling a factor that is relatively scarce in his country, can lose from trade. Again, this is a fact regardless of the goods he might be consuming, or the sector he might be working in. But free trade is not accomplished due to trade policies and barriers that countries put up, according to their own benefits. Kinds of policies like these, with all their consequences are explained in the following section. Trade Policies and The Role of the WTO A tariff is a tax imposed by a country on the import of a good or service, which custom officials accumulate at the place of import. There are two major kinds of such taxes. A specific tariff is described as the total sum of money that should be given for each unit of import (dollars per ton of steel bars). An ad valorem tariff, is a percentage of the estimated market value of the goods when they reach the importing country (Pugel, 2009). In general, a tariff is going to be beneficial for domestic producers, competing against imports, but on the other hand, it is going to hurt all the domestic consumers that buy this imported good, forcing them to suffer from higher prices for the consumption of the same good. Furthermore the effect of a tariff that is not so high as to end the imports, for a government, is an increase on this governments revenue. This government could use this extra revenue for projects that will benefit the nations wellbeing. Through years, several empirical effect s of placing tariffs can be made. We can say that putting up a tariff reduces in almost every case the overall worlds, as well as, each nations welfare. Another impact of using a tariff is that it benefits those groups that produce goods or services that can be used as substitutes for the taxed import. Another kind of trade policies is the nontariff barrier (NTB) and it is a policy that governments use in order to reduce number of imports. This is accomplished by several effects. For example, the cost of getting imports into a market is increased, and also it generates uncertainty over the conditions under which imports are going to be allowed. This is different than a usual import tariff. The most common nontariff barrier is import quota, with which, a government can restrict the import of a product into the country, above a specified limit of total quantity, during a period of time. The direct effect of NTB is on quantity. Protectionists and government officers might decide on putting up quotas instead of tariffs for many reasons. One of them is that a quota, guarantees that there is a strict limitation on the imports quantity, quite the opposite to a tariff. A result of such a quota, is that government officials end up with greater power. Furthermore, there are some other nontariff barriers. One of them is the voluntary export restraint (VER), which is a case in which an importing country government pressurizes with many ways the foreign exporting country to restrict its exports to this country. Just like an NTB, the direct effect of VER is on quantity. Voluntary export restraint results in the form of a cartel among the foreign producers, who agree not to export a good to the importing country that negotiated the VER. This leads to an increase of the foreign countrys price for this specific good, as well as a decrease for the revenue of the importing government because it suffers from the cut of a tariff for this imported good. To sum up with, VERs have negative effects on the welfare of both the importing and exporting nations, who suffer from higher prices and lower variety of the goods being cut from exports and imports. Another nontariff barrier, is a tariff-quota. This kind of a barrier, allows imports with a low or zero tariff into the country, but up to a specified quantity, and imposes a higher tariff on imports above this quantity. In this way it manages to have a direct effect on quantity of imports, because, by placing a very high tariff, it makes the import above the specified quantity unaffordable. A further nontariff barrier, is the Government procurement. This is a case, when a government that buys a quantity of a good, is placing law and government rules that favor local products. This barrier has direct effects on the quantity and the cost of importing this good. Moreover, another NTB is the, Local content and mixing requirements. With this barrier governments succeed a direct effect on the quantity of an import, by requiring a specified use of local labor, materials, or other products. An additional NTB is, Import Licensing ,which, by requiring from importers to apply for approvals for intended imports accomplishes direct effects on the cost of the import and also it creates uncertainty on whether this import is going to be made. Protectionism against import competition for a product has several results. First of all, it is clearly beneficial for domestic producers, by increasing the domestic production of a product. In addition, it harms domestic consumers on the purchase of this product, who suffer from higher prices. Furthermore because of protectionism, this product faces a decrease on its domestic consumption. It is probably harmful for the importing nation as a whole and furthermore, it is almost surely harmful for the world as a whole. On the other hand protectionism results in increasing government revenues and, in addition, the distribution of income or well-being in the country is being altered. Evidence (that associate trade with economic growth and jobs) [1,500] These are some of the reasons for the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO espouses three major principles: first of all, reductions of barriers to trade, furthermore, nondiscrimination principle (MFN), and finally, reduction of unfair encouragement for exports. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed in 1947 by 23 countries and focused directly on international trade issues. From 1948 to 1994, the GATT was putting up the rules on which world trade was accomplished. GATT was provisional with a limited field of action, but in its over 47 years of existence it succeeded promoting and securing the liberalization of much of world trade. With continuous reductions in tariffs it resulted in very high rates of world trade growth. During the Uruguay Round, the rush of new members confirmed that the multilateral trading system was recognized as an instrument for development and economic and trade improvement. Under the GATT, eight rounds of multilateral trade negotiations were pursued by the member countries, with the purpose of lowering barriers. In the first five rounds they based their discussions on reductions of tariff rates, using item-by-item negotiations, where there was an agreement that the largest trading countries would reduce tariffs, extend them to all members, keeping the MFN nondiscrimination principle in mind. This means that GATT did not address other areas of trade, for example agriculture and services, even though they represented a considerable share in world trade. Through years, GATT was facing more and more problems because of its structure. Globalization of the world economy was ongoing, GATT rules were not covering trade-in services, which was becoming more and more interesting for countries, and international investment had expanded. World merchandise trade was further increasing and this was tied up closely to the expansion of services. These and other reasons were convincing enough for GATT members to attempt to reinforce and extend the multilateral system. That effort resulted in the Uruguay Round, the Marrakesh Declaration, and the creation of the WTO (World Trade Organization). The World Trade Organization An international agreement in the early 1990s led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 1995. The WTO took the place of GATT as its physical expand and since then it is the organization that supervises the worldwide rules of policies being kept by several countries towards international trade. It provides the round-table for negotiating global agreements to improve these rules. The governments that had signed GATT were known as GATT contracting parties. Since they signed the new WTO agreements, they officially became known as, WTO members (World Trade Organization).Today the WTO has 153 member countries and an overall budget of 189 million Swiss francs for 2009. The WTOs headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The WTO is making decisions in some quite unusual processes. There are two primary models of decision-making: decision by consensus and decision by voting. For general decision-making, WTO kept on acting like GATT, in making decisions by consensus. In consensus decision-making, the minority will normally go along with the majority unless it has a serious objection (Matsushita, M., et al). Then the majority will not make decisions using voting but it will discuss the objections of the minority. This decision-making process is always taking a great deal of time. In the WTO, only when a decision cannot be taken by consensus there is usage of voting decision- making. In the Ministerial Conference and the General Council, decisions are taken by a majority of the votes cast, unless otherwise specified in the relevant WTO agreement (Matsushita, M., et al). There are several ways of looking at the WTO. Its an organization that seeks the liberalization of trade. It is a forum where governments can negotiate trade agreements. Fundamentally, it is a place where member countries try to sort out some trade problems they might be facing with each other. The first step is to discuss. The organization was born out of negotiations, and everything it does is offering the table on which, optimal solutions can be made. Its a place for governments to settle trade disputes. Regularly, incompatible interests are involved within trade relations. Agreements, including those thoroughly negotiated in the WTO, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation (World Trade Organization). That is the purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the WTO agreements (World Trade Organization). It operates a system of trade rules. The WTO agreements, wh ich are negotiated and signed by the worlds trading countries, provide the legal essentials for international trade. They are fundamental contracts, that bind governments on keeping their trade policies within settled limits. Although the negotiations are being discussed and signed by governments, the main goal is to help exporters and importers as well as producers of goods and services, carry out their business. And all this, while governments will be able to meet social and environmental principles. The whole system has an overriding purpose to help trade flow without restraints, whenever possible, because this is something crucial for economic development and well-being. That partially means removing barriers. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy (World Trade Organization). In other words, the rules have to be clear and unsur prising. World Trade Organization is running under certain trade principles. According to these principles, the trading system should meet some requirements, such as, trade without discrimination, freer trade, predictability on trade issues by the governments, promotion of fair competition and encouragement of development and economic reform. Under the WTO agreements, countries are not allowed to discriminate between their trading associates. This principle is known as most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment (World Trade Organization). This principle suggests special treatment, but in fact it means non-discrimination. Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. (World Trade Organization). Free trade is another aim of the WTO. This aim suggests lowering trade barriers through negotiation. This is one of the most clear ways to encourage trade. The multilateral trading system is an attempt by countries to make the business environment stable and predictable (World Trade Organization).WTO tries to improve predictability and stability through binding and transparency. With these factors stable, investment is encouraged, jobs are created and consumers can fully enjoy the benefits of competition. The organization also seeks on promoting fair competition while discouraging unjust practices such as export subsidies. The final principle under which the organization is running, is that trade should be more beneficial for less developed countries. The WTO is paying extra attention on the least-developed countries. All the agreements recognize that they must benefit from the greatest possible flexibility, and better-off members must make extra efforts to lower import barriers on least-developed countries exports (World Trade Organization). Nowadays, most of the WTOs members are developing countries. Because of their number, because they are gaining more importance in the global economy, and because they increasingly seek to trade as a crucial tool in their development efforts, they play an increasingly significant and vital role in the WTO. Developing countries are a group with very different concerns and views. The organization deals with the different needs of developing countries in several ways. First of all, the WTO agreements enclose special provisions on developing countries, providing them with special rights and special treatment than other members. For example, there might be some provisions, which allow developing countries to be treated more favourably by the developed countries, than the rest WTO members. In addition, the organization offers extra time for developing countries to accomplish their obligations. Moreover, it makes agreements that offer provisions, designed to increase trading opportunities fo r such countries, through greater market access. *Rounds of negotiations (2000) Through the years of their existence, GATT and WTO have started several rounds of negotiations to achieve the liberalization of trade and further reduction of tariffs and other policies standing against trade. These rounds are often lengthy, with an example being the Uruguay Round which lasted seven and a half years. Trade rounds can provide an important advantage. Instead of negotiating on a single issue, they offer a package approach to trade negotiations, which can sometimes turn to be more fruitful. This is a case, because the size of the package can imply more benefits for participants who can seek advantages across a wide range of issues. It can be easier for an agreement to be achieved, through trade-offs . This has political as well as economic implications. Developing countries and other less powerful participants, face a greater chance to influence the multilateral system in a trade round than in bilateral relationships with major trading nations (World Trade Organization). In December 1945, 15 countries had already started negotiations to decrease and bind customs tariffs. Considerable tariff reductions were accomplished in the first round, which took place in Geneva. This round, started on April 1947 and lasted for 7 months. By the time the deal was signed on 30 October 1947, the number of member countries had increased to 23. These negotiations achieved the signing of GATT and in addition, it resulted in 45,000 tariff concessions, affecting $10 billion of trade (World Trade Organization). For almost half a century, the GATTs basic legal principles remained much as they were in 1948 and efforts to reduce tariffs continued (World Trade Organization). This was achieved through the trade rounds, which were a series of multilateral negotiations. The leading steps forward in the liberalization of international trade, were achieved because of these rounds which were held under GATTs support. The next round, Annecy, started on April 1949 and finished 5 months later. 13 countries participated in these negotiations, which resulted in the exchange of some 5,000 tariff concessions by the countries (World Trade Organization). Negotiations continued in the Torquay round. They started on September 1950 and finished 8 months later. In Torquay, the result was that countries exchanged some 8,700 tariff concessions, cutting the 1948 tariff levels by 25% (World Trade Organization). 26 Countries continued negotiations in Geneva, on January 1956. The major subjects that were covered in this round were not only tariffs, but also the admission of Japan. Geneva II round of negotiations, achieved new reductions in tariffs of $2.5 billion (World Trade Organization). As did the Dillon Round in September 1960, from which, further tariff concessions that were worth $4.9 billion of world trade, were achieved (World Trade Organization). To achieve more extensive tariff reductions, the Kennedy Ro und (1963-1967), covered subjects not only on tariffs but also on anti-dumping. The 62 countries that participated in this round for 37 months, made the agreements so that the industrialized countries would use a formula to decrease all nonagricultural tariffs. The results from these agreements were substantial. They achieved tariff compromises worth $40 billion of world trade (World Trade Organization). In addition, the average tariff was decreased by 38 percent for non-agricultural imports into industrialized countries (World Trade Organization). The Tokyo Round started on September 1973 and lasted for 74 months. It included negotiations over tariffs, non-tariff measures and framework agreements. It achieved tariff reductions worth more than 300 billion dollars (World Trade Organization). Up to this point the achievement of all these negotiations is that they led to substantial reductions of tariffs, but on the other hand, they had let non-tariff barriers (NTBs) rise in importance. GATT members started discussing about NTBs in a more serious way. They tried to find ways of addressing these excluded sectors. This stood until the Uruguay Round successfully covered them. The Uruguay Round (1986-1994) kept on going, with usage of ways for cuts, with negotiated exceptions. It resulted on an agreement to allow full access for clothes and textiles from developing countries and intellectual property rights were extended. Furthermore governments agreed to limit their use of domestic content requirements. Industrialized countries nonagricultural tariffs fell by an average of 33 percent and 38 percent, respectively (World Trade Organization). The agreements also included new codes on customs, such as, import licensing and procedures, subsidies, safeguards and dumping. The last r ound of negotiations under the GATT was the most ambitious and most successful international economic negotiation since Bretton Woods (World Trade Organization). The World Trade Organisation was launched in 1995, and since then, it has held five Ministerial conferences. The Doha Ministerial in 2001, was marked by the core concern, that the multilateral trading system should benefit the developing countries which constitute about two thirds of the WTO members. The entire package is called the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Key elements of the striving agenda include significant liberalization on trade of agricultural products, drop of nonagricultural trade tariffs, reductions of nonagricultural goods tariffs, trade in services liberalization, provision of assured access on low-cost medicines for developing nations, and refinement of rules, governing various NTBs. The Doha declaration tried to help developing countries to obtain a share in the growth of world trade according to the needs of their economic development. It pledged that, through two key routes. First of all, by reducing import tariffs it tried to improve market access to the North ern markets for developing countries. Furthermore by phasing out domestic and export subsidies. After failing to begin the new round at the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle in 1999, the next conference was in Doha, Qatar, in 2001. Developing countries were considering that the Uruguay Round was unfair for them. They incurred substantial costs by accepting the mandatory NTB rules and the mandatory protections of intellectual property, but their benefits of greater access of export markets in the industrialized countries were limited by the slow end to the VERs on clothing and textiles and by the lack of actual liberalization of agricultural trade. Developing country governments pushed for a development round and vowed to be more active in the negotiations (Pugel, 2009). A special agreement led to the Information Technology Agreement of 1996. Each country involved in the agreement (initially 23 countries) was obligated to eliminate tariffs on imports of information technology goods and software. By 2007, 70 countries had embraced this agreement, so that 97 percent of international trade in these products is now free of tariff. Second, the developing countries that have joined the WTO since 1995 minimized their actual tariff rates as a condition for joining and accepted bound rates equal to, or very close to, their actual rates. The Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancà ºn, in September 2003, was proposed as a stock-taking conference where members would come to an agreement on how to complete the rest of the negotiations. But the meeting was soured by discord on agricultural issues and ended in deadlock on the Singapore issues (World Trade Organization). In 2003, member countries agreed to improve the rules on intellectual property to allow developing countries to import low-cost broad versions of patented drugs in health emergencies, however, there has been little progress. The major area of disagreement has been agriculture, for which, neither the United States nor the European Union has been willing to offer sufficient liberalization. The United States has resisted meaningful cuts in its subsidies to domestic agricultural production, and the European Union has been unwilling to offer sufficient cuts in tariffs and other barriers to agricultural imports. Without adequate progress on agriculture, the devel oping countries led by India and Brazil, have been unwilling to offer much in other areas of the agenda (Pugel, 2009). Further progress in narrowing members differences was made at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005, but some gaps remained unbridgeable and Director-General Pascal Lamy suspended the negotiations in July 2006 (World Trade Organization), though discussions continued at a less formal level. Efforts then focused on trying to achieve a breakthrough in early 2007 (World Trade Organization).

The 1950’s and 60’s Civil Rights

(1) Trumans civil rights committee: In 1947 Trumans Civil Rights Committee recommended laws protecting the right of African Americans to vote and banning segregation on railroads and buses. It also called for a federal law punishing lynching. He issued executive orders ending segregation in the armed forces and prohibiting job discrimination in all government agencies. (2) Brown V. the Board of Education (1954): In 1954 the Supreme Court made one of the most important decisions in its long history. It decided in the case of Brown v. Board Of Education of Topeka that it was unconstitutional for states to maintain separate schools for African American and white children. This case over turned the â€Å"Separate but equal† doctrine established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson back in 1896. (3) Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955): After the supreme court decided to end segregation, African Americans started to speak out more about their racial opinions. In Montgomery, Alabama, a bus boycott ended with a victory for the African Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama segregation laws were unconstitutional. During the boycott a young African American Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. became well known. Throughout the long contest he advised African Americans to avoid violence no matter had badly provoked by whites. Rosa Parks tired of sitting in the back of the bus, and giving up her seat to white men. One weary day she refused to move from the front of the bus, and she became one of history†s heroes in the Civil Rights Act movement. (4) The Civil Rights Act: In 1964 congress passed a Civil Rights Act prohibiting racial discrimination in restaurants, theaters, hotels, hospitals, and public facilities of all sorts. This civil rights act also made it easier and safer for Southern Blacks to register and vote. Laws were passed to help poor people improve their ability to earn money, a program to give extra help to children at risk even before they were old enough to go to school, and a program to train school dropouts. (5) The Great Society: These actions were very popular. Johnson easily won the 1964 presidential election and then proposed what he called the Great Society program. This was Johnson†s plan. He would work to improve the lives of all people, but especially the poor and the powerless. Programs were aimed at helping every segment in society. (6) Passive Resistance: After Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully led the African Americans through the bus boycott, he became a national figure. Every where he preached the idea of non- violence or passive resistance as the best way to achieve racial equality. † Nonviolent resistance is not a method for cowards† he said. One must â€Å"accept blows from the opponent without striking back†. Love, not hate or force, was the way to change people†s minds. 1. † Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice†. 2. † Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!† 3. † I have a dream that one day this great nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘ We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.†

Twelfth Night: How does Act one, scene 1-3, serve as an effective opening to the play?

1. How does Act one, scene 1-3, serve as an effective opening to the play? Comment especially on the way in which Shakespeare establishes the overall atmosphere, main characters, important relationships and key elements of the main plot and subplot. In Act 1, scenes 1-3, there are many ways to which these scenes provide an effective opening to the play. Individually, these scenes each serve a different aspect, which contributes to an effective opening. In Act 1, scene 1, Orsino is introduced into the picture, with his whining and pining towards this love for Olivia, with much exaggeration, due to the excessive use of imagery, and gives us one of the central theme of the play – transient and complex love. Act 1, scene 2 displays Viola and the Captain, and how Viola appears naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, but is actually a strategist, and plans to disguise herself to get protection and also get closer to Orsino – causing a confusion in gender, identity, and intention. Scene 3, however, gives us another side of the play, where minor characters are introduced, vulgarism used, coarse jokes cracked, simply having this crude addition to the play. Henceforth, we can see that these 3 scenes at the beginning of the play serve as an effect ive opening to Twelfth Night. Scene 1 is set in Duke Orsino's room, who is the Duke of Illyria, a fictional place. This creates a fairy-tale like impression, with an anticipation that the ending would be like in fairy tales – happily ever after. This brings forth an exotic, unknown feeling towards the play, a fairy-tale like atmosphere. In scene 1, the scene starts with Orsino's cries of how love is torturing him, using a series of imagery, such as extended metaphors, personifications, and similes, characterising this play by rich language, and immersing us into the romantic mood of love, and the central theme of fickle love in this play. The speeches he delivers are in verses, and the ending speech ends off effectively with a rhyming couplet. The poetry and music, the use of rich, sensuous imagery of beauty and nature, set a romantic tone of the play. This can be seen evidently from how he begins with ‘If music be the food of love, play on'. This line creates a mood that is suitable for what he is talking about – love. In addition, scene 1 is the introduction scene, in which we can gather many first impressions, be it for the characters, or the theme of the play. Hence, from scene 1, our first impression is formed that the main theme of this play is love that is uncertain, ever changing, unpredictable, fickle, inconstant and transient. This impression is formed from how Orsino is dependent on the mood and feels that the right atmosphere is integral to love. Henceforth, we get an implication that he is more in love with being in love than in love with Olivia, the real, true person, showing that love can c hange in the twinkle of an eye, an important point in respect to the theme of this play. In scene 1, we are also given an idea of the character traits of both Olivia and Orsino. This serves as an effective opening to the play as, the mood of the play is exaggerated and unrealistic. Hence, as both Olivia and Orsino are exaggerated people who indulge in their own feelings rather than genuine feelings for others and Orsino is one who is exaggerated in his use of language, with similes, puns, metaphors and personification, they set the mood straight and prepare us for the type of play we are going into – a comedy that is amusing and unrealistic. Olivia is seen as exaggerated and highly emotional as she announces that she is going to mourn for 7 years, due to the unfortunate death of her dear brother. This public display of mourning gives a sense of the fact that she is wallowing in self-pity and at the same time, enjoying the attention. This contributes to the theme of exaggeration and gives a superficial view to the play. Furthermore, Orsino's cry of despair is filled with emotion, desire and dejection, and allows us to pity him, yet be ridiculed by how he is in love with being in love. This adds to the humour and light-hearted, comic tone of the play, as Orsino is an exaggerated character, and sets us to indulge in this mood of romance, from the ending rhyming couplet Shakespeare uses to add a tone of romance, and show that love is not dependable, and is always changing, inconstant. This is shown in the rhyming couplet, ‘Away before me to sweet beds of flowers! Love thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers.' This romantic couplet shows how Orsino is dependant on the external environment, thus bringing forth the theme of transient love. Also, Orsino begins his exclamations with the word, ‘O'. This brings about a sense of dreaminess, and reinforces the unrealistic and comic theme of this play. In addition, both Orsino and Olivia's names start with the letter ‘O'. This gives a re-emphasis on the dreaminess of this play. Orsino's speech in scene 1 proves to be an effective contribution to the opening, firstly, to bring forth the themes of this play, and secondly, to display Orsino's personality, and reinforce the themes of this play, to prepare us for a play that is full of humour and unexpected happenings. Through this scene, Olivia is compared to Orsino, and evidently, they are similar in that they are both exaggerated and emotional, adding to the touch and theme of this play. Inclusive in this play is the start of love in the plot. In this scene, we are told that Orsino is in love, or rather, infatuated with Olivia. Hence, we are informed that the overall atmosphere of this play is that of romance, and u ncertain love, love that seems to change at the snap of a finger. In the following scene, Viola is introduced into the scene. An effective opening it is, as in this scene, Viola's personality wins over one's heart, for she is straightforward, and witty, and though manipulative, yet gives us an impression that she is a person of action, and intelligence, and is rational and practical, in a huge contrast to Orsino, who is irrational and emotional. This scene contributes in developing the character, Viola, who is the protagonist of the story, as this scene gives us a clear perspective as to what kind of a person Viola is. Disguise and deceit is also entered in this particular scene. In addition, act 1, scene 2, is set in the outdoors, near the sea. This creates a mood of activeness, and perhaps adds to the theme that love is ever changing, full of action. This could also display the dramatic, stark change, full of impact, adding to the fast and active pace of the play, hence giving a light-hearted, lively, almost ‘bouncy' mood of the play. There after, it emphasizes on how the events and happenings of the play are unpredictable and full of variety, and not monotonous, slow-moving ones. This also sets a contrast between scene 1 and 2. Also, scene 2 is in a rather heavy tone, in comparison to scene 1, as there is a sense of uncertainty here. Viola does not know whether Sebastian, her twin brother is alive. She shows optimism, and this serves as a contribution to the effectiveness of the opening of the play, to allow us to show interest and look forward to what's happening next in the play, and anticipate it. In addition, in scene 2, Viola introduces one of another central theme of the play – disguise and identity confusion. This adds to the opening as a good introduction to the play, as we are immediately set with the main themes of this play, in scene 1, of uncertain, ever changing love, and in scene 2, disguise. Disguise is an important aspect of the play, and plays an important part in adding suspense, tension, and climax. It generates several interesting situations to advance the plot, and adds to the comic aspect of this play. Furthermore, it creates confusion and adds to the plot to create and contribute to the overall uncertain and unrealistic theme of the play, and causes one to wonder about the rest of the play, and continue reading it, due to interest in the plot. Also, at the end of scene 2, Viola is going to be disguised as a eunuch. This is a symbol of gender uncertainty, and shows forth another aspect of the play – confusion over gender. This gender uncertainty is another part that adds to the development of an interesting plot. Moreover, in scene 2, a good testimony of Olivia is described in the speech between the captain and Viola. In this manner, Shakespeare builds credibility for his characters, and displays the fact that main characters must be essentially good to fit in to the light-hearted tone of a comic play. This is an important contribution to the opening of the play, as we do not have a bad impression of the main characters for long, but actually grow to like them due to certain characteristics they display. A meaningful part is within scene 2, which is how the nature of human greed is displayed in the speech exchange between Viola and the captain, as the captain is overwhelmed by flattery and agrees to help Viola. Overall in scene 2, we are given an idea that Viola is interested in Duke Orsino, and tries to get closer to him, creating this love triangle, which moves the plot forward. This impression is formed from â€Å"For such disguise that shall become/The form of my intent†. The intent here refers to how she wants to cover up her true identity and gender, and at the same time, cover up the other hidden intention of getting closer to Orsino. All these emphasize on the main theme, and give us a better perspective of disguise in the play, contributing both to the plot and effectiveness of the play, with a sense of excitement and gives variety to the plot of the play. Going on to scene 3, we have been introduced to the main characters of this play – Orsino, Olivia and Viola. Finally, we are introduced to some of the minor characters of this play – Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria. A change from speaking in verses and poetry, to thus in prose, sets us right away to the fact that, these characters we are going to be introduced to next would be minor characters, those of a lower class or position, more unimportant. This is an effective part in the opening, to prepare us well for the play, and inform us that, since these are characters of a lower position, some of their jokes could be more coarse and vulgar, and prepares us for it. This can be seen in many areas, for instance, â€Å"What a plague†, a slang, and â€Å"accost is, front her, board her, woo her, assail her†, in this case, a sexual word play, directing towards Maria and Sir Andrew. Sir Toby does this publicly, in front of Maria, showing his uncultured and unrefine d nature. This is all expected, as they are of a lower class, and less refined, and more barbaric in a way. This scene is also a much more light-hearted toned scene compared to many other scenes in this whole play. There is a smart exchange of puns and word play between Maria and Sir Toby, as they add to the humour of this play, quarrelling and giving their different opinions toward Sir Andrew. This brings forward the subplot, giving us an idea that Maria and Sir Toby are witty characters, though unimportant, being the minor characters, and more unrefined, uneducated, yet they are clever, and are able to change a word, to their own benefits. For instance, Sir Toby, when being insulted by Maria, says â€Å"Why, let her except, before excepted†. He plays with the word except, and puns. The word ‘except' being seen in two ways, in the first manner, ‘let her disagree, before giving me an exception' and next, except and accept, sounding the same. This could mean, ‘let her disagree, before accepting me'. This is an interesting and witty part in the play, and particularly in this scene, we can tell that humour is being brought forth, and adding to the comical purpose of this play, an important setting of mood in the beginning, to tell us that the play we are about to go deeper into, is light-hearted, and comical. Besides these points, scene 3 introduces Sir Andrew, a gullible, stupid, dim-witted man, who foolishly thinks that he is a suitable suitor for Olivia. He creates a comical scene, and brings the play closer to our hearts, as we laugh heartily at how Sir Toby and Maria poke fun of Sir Andrew, and insult him, making use of his stupidity and denseness. This is an attractive contribution to the opening of the play, as we are immersed in the light-hearted scene of the play, and immediately get a feel of the whole play's atmosphere. We are humoured by the comic display of the three minor characters, Maria, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby, and this brings forth the importance of the minor characters in the subplot of the play, and gives us an idea of both the subplot and how it gradually develops in telling us a theme, and sets as a good opening to the play, to prepare us for the play ahead. They give us a good start in bringing out one of the central themes of the play, breaking apart conventional definitions of identity and status, where Sir Toby actually publicly makes fun of both Maria and Sir Andrew, at their expense, and Maria is able to quarrel with Sir Toby, though she is a lowly maid. All in all, the initial three scenes of Act I are very useful in serving as a good and effective opening to the play, and truly prepares us for Twelfth Night – an irrational, improbable plot and play, focusing more on the essence of comedy which have elements of philosophical depth and melancholy, and the themes of love and disguise, full of twists, changes and confusion. With each scene complementing each other, we are welcomed into the play, with an outstanding opening. 8. As an audience, how does Scene 1-3 serve to arouse our interest and expectations? Throughout Scene 1-3 of Act 1, there are many ways as to which they serve to arouse our interest and expectations, and lead us deep into the play, and keeping us there, to look forward to the following scene, and on, keeping us fired up, and interested to go on. This is made possible, due to the building up of tension, and the plot, inclusive of the subplot, which arouses our interest, and allows us to await the next scene, with much anticipation as to what is going to happen next. The characters described also serve to arouse our interest and expectations by having special personalities, which we do not see day by day. Also, their character traits are special, and somehow, cause us to like and admire them, and at the same time, quite dislike them. This is an interesting and complex idea in the play, and attracts our attention, and causes us to wonder how these characters would end up, and what would happen to them, and their lives. The imagery used also amazes us and cause us to read deeper into the play, and understand more about it. The relationship formed between characters creates many different twists to the plot, for instance, the love triangle between Olivia, Viola and Orsino. The confusion of the relationships and plot adds to the plot and keeps us interested. Also, we are not yet told as to whether Viola's brother, Sebastian is actually alive, from, â€Å"O my poor brother! and so perchance may he be†, she is more hopeful than sure. This gives us a sort of anticipation, and we try to guess whether or not Sebastian is alive, in fact, hope sincerely that Sebastian is alive, as we can feel the hurt of someone losing a loved one. Initially, when Orsino, one of the protagonists of the play is introduced, we get an impression that he is emotional, and wallows in his own emotions, being egoistic and superficial. He is more in love with himself, and the idea of being in love, much more that being truly in love with the person Olivia. This can be seen from how he is very much dependant on the external environment of the surroundings to get into the mood of love, and feels that the right mood is essential for love. This is seen from, â€Å"If music be the food of love, play on† and â€Å"Away before me to sweet beds of flowers/Love thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers†. From thus, we are curious as to how, Orsino, such a person who likes to whine, and fickle, guided by emotions, could be one of the main characters of the play, henceforth, we go on to grow in interest towards the play. We are also amazed at his level of intellectual abilities, and how he is cultured, using descriptive imagery, to express his indulgence in love. His use of flowery language emphasizes on a tone of exaggeration, towards the play, and enacts his nature of being exaggerated, which we later realize in the same scene (scene 1), is similar to Olivia. From this, we can see that Shakespeare arouses our interest by giving us an opportunity to have our own stab at analyzing and comparing the main characters. We are drawn into the play by this, and go deeper into the play, to find out more about these interesting characters. Furthermore, in scene 1, we are introduced and immersed into the atmosphere of love, and romance. This is set in by Orsino's speech, always revolving around love, and his rich use of imagery, his exaggeration in his speech. All these provide comical devices, for instance, the exaggeration in language. Orsino exaggerates what he says, and â€Å"These sovereign thrones, are all supplied, and fill'd/Her sweet perfections with one self king!† sends forth this impression that Orsino is egoistic, and exaggerative. This sets the tone of amusement, of the unbelievable, the unrealistic. The imagery also adds to the mood of sentimentality and romance, atmosphere of love and emotions. Thus, we are attracted by the use of language, the exaggeration of it, and drawn by the character Orsino, his infatuation toward Olivia, and we start to wonder, whether this unrequited ‘love', or infatuation, would get any results, or end up to be anything good. Also, the similarities between Orsino and Olivia stirs up our interest and curiosity towards them, and we have an urge to know more about them, and learn more about how the plot slowly develops. From initially, we know that Orsino loves Olivia, but Olivia does not wish to show any affections for men at this moment, as she has lost both her father, and her brother, males who were her most loved ones. This is a development of the plot, and we slowly comprehend how the relationships between characters are, and their nature surfaces, and we grow to admire or dislike or like them. In scene 1, the conflict and struggle within Orsino himself is evident, as he feels strangled, tortured by this love, and wants the love to die so it would no longer torment him. We, however, pity him, as he believes himself to be really and totally in love with Olivia, when actually, he is more in love with himself and the idea of love. We sympathise with him, but at the same moment, cannot seem to convince ourselves, that Orsino is a gullible and blind lover. This is shown from how can clearly say that â€Å"O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou†, yet not be able to realize that his own love for Olivia is merely an infatuation, and at any point of time, could just die, and disappear, within the snap of a finger. From this, we are further indulged in Twelfth Night, as our interest towards the plot and characters grow. The use of word play in scene 1, â€Å"hart† and â€Å"heart†, adds to the wit and comical display of the play and arouses our interest. Besides this, the many references to nature in his speech, with â€Å"beds of flowers†, and â€Å"music†, we are reminded of images of true nature and beauty, overwhelming, and sets an underlying tone, of optimism, and allows us to be light-hearted, and look forward to the rest of the play. Also, the play is set in the land of Illyria, which is a fictional place, hence giving room for our imaginations to run wild, and imagine this place to be similar to that of fairy tales, and allows us to float in our dreams of a perfect place, where such situations seem to happen very often, and love and romance surrounds the land. This brings us back fond memories of fairy tales, and our hopes are rekindled, as we enter into an unrealistic play, where things that happen are more improbable, and certainly, very unlikely to happen to us in everyday lives. Valentine, one of Orsino's servants, as we can tell from his name, is a contribution to the romantic tone and atmosphere of the play. Olivia, another protagonist of the play, is introduced into the play, through Valentino, and we are given an idea that she is also a highly emotional and sentimental person, rather superficial, trying to earn attention and pity in her mourning towards her dead brother, as she is said to be â€Å"In her cloistress, she will walk veiled† and â€Å"eye-offending brine†¦all this to season a brother's dead love†¦keep fresh in her sad remembrance†. From here, we are told that she wants to always remember the feeling of losing her brother, which shows her superficial understanding towards true love, and feels that the external mourning, would provide a true sense of sincerity and genuine love, which as we can tell. This is a contribution towards the main plot of the story, as another main character of the play is introduced to us, and we are given an idea of the protagonist, and we start to desire to know more about these characters. In scene 2, Viola, the main character of the play is clearly introduced into the play of Twelfth Night, set in the coast, contrasting between the settings of the previous scene – Orsino's room. There is a change in speed, from one of slow moving, to one that is active, and not passive. This is a vast change, and hence, we are pushed forward towards the fast pace of eh play, and we are drawn towards the unpredictability and variety of events. We, as the audience are affected by this change, and are excited, and are interested towards the play, and the plot. Also, in this scene, the theme of disguise and uncertainty in gender, identity and intentions is entered. We are quickly accustomed towards this theme, as Viola decides and plans to disguise herself as a eunuch, a symbol of uncertainty towards gender. All these draws us towards the play as we learn more about the characters, and in fact, go deeper into the play, and start to appreciate the use of words, the way they speak, and the themes they bring out. There is also a contrast between scene 1 and 2, as scene 2 is set in a more heavy tone, more serious. Viola begins the scene by asking about the foreign land she is in, before asking the captain about her brother, to find out whether he is alive. We are thrown into a fit of guessing within ourselves, and wondering whether Sebastian, Viola's twin brother is alive. Also, we are given an idea that Viola is interested in Duke Orsino, from, â€Å"Orsino!†¦He was a bachelor then†, as she mentions nothing else, but the fact that he was single and available then, suggests her previous interest in Orsino. Hence, she tries to get closer to him, by disguising herself, and creating this love triangle, which moves the plot forward. We are henceforth attracted to these building up of the plot, and stay interested in the play. Scene 3 follows to provide us with an idea as to who the minor characters of the play, the people of the subplot are, and how they are like. Sir Toby, Maria and Sir Andrew are thus introduced into the scene, with Sir Toby and Maria with differing opinions towards Sir Andrew. They play with each others' words, and we are attracted by their witty nature, and grow to like them, although Sir Toby is a rather rough person, less cultured, and more vulgar, and rough, from how he uses slang like, â€Å"What the plague†. We are also, prepared for the roughness of language, for they are speaking in prose, and hence we can tell they are of a lower position and class. The jokes Sir Toby cracks are coarse, and at the expense of others, and some, sexual puns, catering to audience of less educated families, and people, who are less cultured. In addition, Sir Andrew, a dim-witted man, is the laughing stock of the scene, as he is dense, and slow to understand the puns and word play Sir Toby and Maria wittily speak. He is poked fun at, and still, does not know what is going on. We are ridiculed at his stupidity, but at the same time, can't help laughing and enjoying his existence in the play, to create the comical effect of the play. Another theme of the play, the overturning of positions, of how Sir Toby can overturn Olivia's quiet home, to that of a place of uncivilized behaviour. Therefore, the 3 initial scenes each have their own ways of arousing the attention of the audience, and keep us glued to the play, and not lose interest in just a moment, due to the comical effect of the play, and the different interesting and amusing characters of the play, and the gradually developing plot and subplot of the play.

Harriet Tubman A Women In US History - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2768 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Harriet Tubman Essay Did you like this example? Harriet Tubman was a well renowned public figure and a heroine who is popularly remembered for her contribution to the history of the United States. At the same time, Tubman is recognized as the most important symbol in the anti-slavery era. In fact, the actual activities she took part in her entire life made her prominence undisputable (Larson). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Harriet Tubman: A Women In US History" essay for you Create order In addition, she is the third most identified as an African American historical figure. Harriet was a political activist who was active as early the 1820s.Tubman escaped slavery to become an activist (King et al.). She played a very crucial role in bringing an end to slavery for the black people, bearing in mind that she was brought up in a community where there were entitled in slavery for a long period of time during those eras. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the underground rail tracks. Her efforts were significant in that they brought a great change for the blacks in the United States. Harriet Tubmanrs Early Life Harriet Tubman was born between the years 1820 and 1825 in Dorchester County, Maryland in a family of nine children. Too unfortunate for her, both her parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green was enslaved. She was named Araminta Ross. Most of her siblings had been sold to slavery. (King et al.). At the same time, she was deeply religious and her beliefs gave her confidence in enslaving her family and friends. However, she remained illiterate throughout her entire life. Harriett Tubmanrs life was generally characterized by hardships. She was subjected to physical torture which caused her permanent injuries. She recounted on these scars in her entire life. Between freedom and slavery, there seemed a huge boundary for them. Harriet was hired at the tender age of 5, as a babysitter. However, she preferred working in the plantations despite the hard activities that were there rather than being subjected to a white woman in household chores (King et al.). During her teenager age and working as a slave, she was hit with a metal object. The instance happened after a refusing to chase after a slave who had left the fields without permission. Unluckily, she obtained head injuries that gave her a real struggle with hallucinating and strange dreams throughout her tender age. Harriets grandmother is believed to have found a way into the United States during the transatlantic slave trade. In this case, their origin is traced to be Ghana, particularly the Ashanti tribe of West Africa. She was married in the year 1844 to John Tubman who was a black free man. Despite marrying a free man, she remained a slave and worked in the plantations for the white men (Siener and Chambers). During this period of marriage, Araminta changed her name to Harriet to honor her mother. However, the couple did not bear any children since they feared that he or she would be enslaved. As a result, they parted ways and in 1869 Harriet married a veteran named Nelson Davis with whom they adopted a child named Gertie. A few years later, her employer passed on and in this case, her family was at the risk of being sold. To avoid this, she escaped to Philadelphia through the Underground Railroad. The railroad also facilitated the escape of thousands of slaves to different parts of North America. After the escape, she went on settled and started working as a conductor on the railroad. Later on, she returned to Maryland on several occasions where she successfully rescued her family and at least 300 slaves before the start of the civil war (King et al.). During the civil war, she served as a cook, nurse, and a teacher. Tubman also had a role in the relocation of slaves. This made her join the scouting movement in which she hunted down enemy camps. The most important task that she took part in which she accompanied Colonel James Montgomery was to raid a gunboat in South Carolina. The reason behind this target was to enable those slaves who were unlucky to escape to find their way into the Union Lines. As a result, the raid played an important role in the liberation as more slaves successfully escaped. Tubman continued with similar missions while at the same time playing her role as a nurse. Tubmanrs later life At the end of the civil war, she relocated to New York with her family. During this period she continued to be a necessary figure and fought against racism and women rights, she firmly stood for women suffrage and led them in the fight for allowance in the voting system. Tubman traveled to various parts of the United States to advocate for the rights of women (Larson). Despite her elderly age, Tubman still had the desire to yet fulfill another dream. She established a home for the aged. She also engaged in a long time struggle for recognition for her service during the civil war. She made use of her actions while in the civil war and worth noting is that was a speaker in The National Federation of Afro American Women during its first immediate conference. As she aged, Tubman struggled with headaches and seizures. At the same time, her childhood trauma plagued her to an extent that she had a brain surgery. However the operation did not bear fruits and in this case, she experienced much pain to an extent that she had requested for anesthesia, or a being gunned down by a bullet. Later on, she passed on as a result of Pneumonia and was laid to rest in Auburn. Influences that shaped Tubmanrs career, her personal life, and her family during her era Several factors can be traced back to the time of Tubman which had might have had an impact on her lifelong passions of liberty, equality and self- determination. To start with, Tubman was born in a humble family and was subjected to slavery and torture by the white men who had employed her parents (Timeline of the Life of Harriet Tubman: Harriet Tubman). In her life history, we are made to believe that she was born as a slave and she could only alternate only between walking and running like her fellow thousands of slaves hoping that she would one day be free. This unbearable condition opened her mind and as a result, she figured out ways in which she could fight for freedom. In addition, to skills for adaptation, Tubman gained a great insight in the ability to endure hardships through experience with slave owners. When hired out by Brodess, she was frequently whipped and bore these scars for her entire life. We are told that during this period she was rented to a mistress, who ordered her to perform domestic duties (Timeline of the Life of Harriet Tubman: Harriet Tubman). She had no experience to perform the duties and as a result, she used to be punished severely at the same time she was struck with a metal by a slave owner nearly killing her. This exposure made her learn about cruel individuals and how to endure them. This is reflected in the context when she returned to Maryland to rescue her people. Therefore encounter with slave owners impacted her personality which she later on used as a perfection in her career. Consequently, the experience with slave owners she learned that the life of an enslaved individual was not permanent. Tubmans parents were answerable to different slave owners. Her family members kept on relocating to different places over time and the marriage system that existed during that era changed with time (Larson). As a result, she was made to appreciate the fact that life and other factors were subject to timelines. Therefore she had to be ready at all times to accommodate new relationships and conform to changes in the environment. We can assert this as we see that she was ready to settle with another partner during the civil war. This was necessary for her quickly come up with an effective resolution to a condition. This had a role to play in her career. At the same time, during that period the United States was a capitalist state. During her slavery experience, she managed to appreciate the capitalist system. Importantly is that she could be given an opportunity to hire herself while paying a fixed annual fee to her employer in return of the favor extended to her (King et al). Familiarizing with the capitalist system made her appreciate the freedom of having capital that later impacted her goals. In addition, we are told that during the era of civil war, she could work with no pay. The absence of the knowledge of capitalism would have failed because she could not have managed to fund her goal in the liberation of African American slaves. The Underground Railroad itself had significance in the career of Tubman. She operated as a conductor and this facilitated her ease locomote freely. This acted as a network since she could easily access other regions in Maryland (Siener, and Chambers). In this way she was able to have concepts on the situation in which the people were going through there. She effectively utilized this as a chance to spy on the southern regions in which she was able to identify the areas in which slavery was the word of the day similar to her origin. This factor played an important role in future practice. That is, we later see Tubman using the Underground Railroad to liberate the slaves. Furthermore, the American civil war influenced the development of her career. During this period, she was a nurse, spy, and a cook at the same time. Her little contribution in the war made her known to an extent that she was offered a position to be a scout (Siener, and Chambers). Once she accepted the offer she was able to meet influential individuals from diverse backgrounds and locations. Most of them were powerful and here she learned the idea of manipulation for her to get the required intentions. Moreover, she managed to develop her communication skills which she later used in the suffrage movements and fighting for the right of women. This polished up her career. Tubmanrs contribution in the United States The famous activist made numerous contributions that impacted the state in a number of ways. It is necessary to understand what her biggest accomplishments were during her lifetime. Some of the contributions are expounded below. First, Harriet Tubman was unconditionally aimed at the abolition of the slave trade by all means possible. Her exposure to slavery for many years was a major contributor to this fight (Siener, and Chambers). At the same time, her experience in leading slaves along the Underground Railroad was significant and also taking into consideration that she was familiar with the land. Moreover, she recruited individuals who were formerly slaves to hunt down for rebel camps and liaise with her on the movements of the Confederate troops. Using all these techniques, she luckily managed to bring many people from slavery to freedom. This pursuit of freedom was a very important contribution. Secondly, Harriet made an indisputable contribution during the American civil wars. In fact, she was the first woman to lead a military expedition in the history of American wars. (Larson). Moreover, she served as a cook and nurse in the Union Army. Additionally, she acted as a spy during the war. During the war, she still had the ambition to liberate slaves. As evidence, she helped out more than 700 slaves to escape torture. In addition, during her late life, she still reinvented herself where she advocated for women rights in her suffrage movements Tubmans Controversy One of the major controversies that Tubman was involved in is based on the liberation of the slaves through the Underground Railroad. She contradicted her statement when she was asked the manner in which she managed to enslave hundreds of African Americans via the railroad during the American civil war (Larson). Her response was self-centered and staged. She answered that she could have saved thousands of them, if only she convinced them that they were slaves. In this context, we are left in suspense wondering what her implication was. As a matter of fact, we would expect a more meaningful response. For instance, she could have mentioned the reasons why it was only possible to liberate hundreds of slaves and not thousands. This was a major controversy during her time period. Obstacles that Tubman faced Despite her greatest successes in her life by helping save thousands of slaves in the Underground Railroad, Harriet failed to follow any rules. Most of her missions were led by her own manipulated rules (Timeline of the Life of Harriet Tubman: Harriet Tubman). However many people could say that was a true inspiration. What led Tubman throughout her mission in the United States was the quote Failure is the secret to success. Another failure that we can trace in her life, though personal, is that she did not maintain her marriage with her first husband. So unfortunate, she did not manage to give birth to children. Though the condition during that era was a little bit complicated it would have been a wise idea to sire children who could take after her and continue with her fruitful efforts. At the same time, she advocated for capitalism which occurred and at the same time torturing the backs of the enslaved population. Through this, the rise of American power found its way to trade founded on colonialism. Europeans could buy products from slavery camps which were plantations (Coker). The increased production of cotton facilitated the continuation of the slave trade so as to meet the demand. This capital investment that made use of paper money really had a role in the continued slavery of Tubman and her people. In this case, she failed in the manner that while she was still working in the plantation she could be hired out other people and in return, she could bribe her boss. This can be seen as a betrayal to her own people. Challenges that Tubman Faced Tubman was challenged in helping slaves to escape without being harmed. She could try all means avoid these. During her early life, she faced physical torture from her employer. For instance, she obtained a head injury while trying to defend a slave who had left the field without permission and this condition persisted up to her later years (Coker). At the same time, she could suffer from hunger while she was young and as a result, she had to struggle with her parents to get the daily bread. Moreover while working with the white woman as a babysitter, she could be heavily beaten as she did not have any experience in domestic duties. How Tubman faced obstacles Tubman was a religious and devoted woman who used this as a weapon to keep her moving on every time. Another way in which she faced obstacles was by hardening herself. For instance, despite the many years in torture and slavery, she was still focused on her goal to bring slavery to an end (King et al.). Her persistence and stronghold on advocating for justice really helped her overcome the obstacles that she faced in her career. In addition, her quote Failure is the secret to success. Was also an encouragement in her life. All the above made her successfully advance on her career successfully. Tubmanrs triumphs Most of the successes that Tubman achieved have been seen throughout the paper. However, we will have a short recap over the same. To start with, Tubman managed to successfully free a large number of slaves who had been captured in various parts of the United States. Secondly, she was able to form troops from the ex-slaves who assisted her to liberate other slaves within a short period of time. She also owned a land which was later on donated for the needy. Nevertheless, she was involved in movements that advocated feminism and the rights of women. Also, she worked as a conductor in the Underground Railroad for 11 years. Her contribution to the civil war as a nurse and a cook at the same time cannot be neglected. Conclusion Harriet Tubman is one kind of a hero who has changed the lives of many. She is a great inspiration to the people of the United States and the whole world as a whole. She is a role model to others and itrs our moral obligation to support such leaders for a better tomorrow.