Three Examples Of Social Reform

This world is in need of heroes, big or small, to change the world and make it a better place for the future. Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Harriet Tubman in America, and Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, rose up in their society from the support of their advocates to the hero by changing something in the world and inspiring others to fight for a cause. Even though these individuals fought to enact change in this world for different causes, they all worked to make it a better future for others.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are still considered two of the most influential writers of their time. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a lecturer, essayist, and poet, Henry David Thoreau is his student, who was also a great essayist and critics. Both men extensively studied and embraced nature, and both men encouraged and practiced individualism and nonconformity. In Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self Reliance" and Henry David Thoreau's book "Walden" and essay "Resistance to Civil Government ("Civil Disobedience")", both thinkers speak about being individual and what reforms and changes need to be made in society. Thoreau stayed with Emerson for a while and was affected by his ideas, especially relating to the individual and

Gandhi, King, and Mandela each fought for their causes with a method that was very rarely used but even less rarely successful. Their efforts at peaceful protest without retaliation to attacks were successful in overthrowing trans-continental rule and ending segregation of races. Gandhi transformed the idea of non-violence into a way to fight for freedom and justice which would ultimately end in success and

The theme of Henry David Thoreau and his book Walden, is the effects of oppression. In his book he wants to get away from the industrial society. “Escape the trappings of industrial progress ” (Thoreau). He isolates himself from the outside world and chooses to live alone in the middle of the woods. He is living in a world of oppression because he is in isolation and believes in living life simply.

What Kind of person does Henry David Thoreau seem to be? How would you characterize his state of mind and emotion as he composed “Civil Disobedience”?

One great example of this would be Doctor Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela. Martin Luther King was an activist and

They were all forces who saw that the world needed change and they each had their own ways in ensuring there was change. Malcolm X was a civil rights activist who used violence to make his voice be heard. He practices violence because he saw no power in verbal fights with people who seemed weak. Nelson Mandela was a civil rights activist but most famous for helping bring an end to apartheid. He led peaceful protest and the armed resistance movement. Mahatma Gandhi the leader of the Indian independence movement whose profound spiritually and belief in justice inspired the world. Gandhi revered the world over his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance. Each of these activist goals were to end social injustices. Although they fought and died supporting civil rights to day discrimination is still evident. When we wake up to the news every morning to see how the world is changing in such a bad way. Immigrants still faces issues entering a country that they only came to, for better opportunities. Police brutality against minorities, the killings of the young and innocent. People who can’t be comfortable in their own skin because they are afraid of what this and that person might say. It is very disappointing knowing that so many people throughout our history fought for equality so that today the world would run peacefully and it is not the case.

During the time from the 1890s to the 1920s a period of social and political reform took place in the United States known as the Progressive Era. “The era saw the expansion of political and economic freedom through the reinvigoration of the moment for woman suffrage, the use of political power to expand workers rights’ and efforts to improve democratic government by weakening the power of the city bosses and giving ordinary citizens more influence on legislation.” The progressive reformers from this time gained a majority of their support from the education middle-class of urban areas. Another term used to describe these reformers is Muckrakers.

Following the welfare reforms that were introduced by the New Labour Government in 1997, the coalition Government has developed, extended and continued welfare-to-work programmes (Deacon and Patrick, 2012). The Government’s ‘rehabilitation revolution’ saw policies designed to reduce reoffending, and as a consequence resettlement initiatives emerged with welfare-to-work programmes (Ministry of Justice, 2010). Since the implementation of the ‘Work Programme’ in 2011, welfare provision has seen a high influx of ex-offenders and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement (MAPPA) participants referred to programmes (Gov.UK, 2016). The main provider in Wales has delivered learning and development provision to approximately 24,000 ex-offenders (Working Links, 2013). The ultimate aim of the provider is to ensure participants secure sustainable employment. Accordingly, front-line staff have undergone specialist training to deal with ‘risk’ and mentor clients with complex and multiple needs. However, there is a dearth of research focusing on this contemporary phenomena. Considering the pivotal role employment schemes play in rehabilitating offenders, it is of paramount importance to determine whether or not the Governments confidence in employability schemes is justified.

Different attitudes to social welfare reforms from the 19th century onwards depended on what lifestyle a person was living in. If a person was wealthy, they enjoyed an easy life. However, on the other hand, if the person was poor then that would make their life harder and difficult to live. Any able-bodied poor person able to work did not receive help from the authorities. They only entered the workhouse because they were desperate. People within the workhouses lived in terrible conditions, overcrowded, poor hygiene. Another name given to the workhouse was ‘’the slums’’ (Tom, 2016). Strict rules were put into place. If rules were broken severe punishment would follow. Inmates of the workhouse were treated harshly. They all worked long hours

Throughout the play the authors discuss transcendentalism in Henry Thoreau’s life by choosing moments, from his life, where he is

Thoreau takes great pains to describe each character, even down to the farmer’s “wrinkled, sibyl-like, cone-headed”[3] infant in chapter 10, “Baker Farm”. He makes sure his readers understand the unique attributes of each individual in his experiences. As Thoreau once said, “It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate.”

Jacob Riis fought for social reform and helped pass the first significant legislation to improve the state of affairs in immigrant neighborhoods. To do this he wrote a book called How the other Half Lives which is about how the living conditions in New York slum such as apartments called tenant housing. Another person who wrote a novel to show the harshness of city life but in this case it was meat packing factory worker life was Upton Sinclair. He titled the book The Jungle. This book succeeded to set up a system called the meat inspection law in 1906 more laws followed preventing packers from adding fillers and inspectors were put in every meat plant in the country. but this was not all Sinclair wanted he cared how the people were being treated

“…this government never of itself furthered any enterprise…” (Thoreau, 1). Thoreau states his belief that the government never has its people in mind and only takes action when it will benefit the few rather than the majority. In this elaborate rant, Thoreau criticizes the government and the people who fail to make change in the country. Thoreau heavily relies on ethical and logical appeals to convey his clear message. “This is the whole history of ‘My Prisons’” (Thoreau, 10). Although Thoreau talks about how it is unethical for the country to go to war and promote slavery, to get people to sympathize with him, Thoreau summarizes his experience in jail for partaking in civil disobedience and not paying a tax. This anecdote depicted the country in a terrible light due to Thoreau’s description of the hateful jail experience. Although this strategy does emotionally appeal greatly to the audience, the full essay isn’t effective. Thoreau discusses many topics ranging from his personal experiences to flaws in the government, people, and legislature. In the eighteen pages of “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau does not use transitional phrases when he switches between topics. Rhetorical questions’ abundance distracted the readers and it more than likely made them forget about the central theme. “Now what are they? Men at all? Or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?” (Thoreau, 2). Rhetorical questions are used to evoke thought, but the use of some of them when they are not even related to the main message can distract the audience and make them think about something completely different. Thoreau also alluded to different events and people of the time. He also tended to allude to specific excerpts in literature in which he felt were related to what he was discussing. “Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, as his corse to the rampart we hurried; not a

“Thoreau walking” was written by Henry David Thoreau who has abundant of love for nature and walking. I believe “Thoreau walking” to be such a great lecture that instantly grab your attention and pull you in as you read it. The more you read you become more and more interested. In addition, I believe everyone may have a different interpretation and understanding to Thoreau lecture and that what makes it so great. I found myself reading the lecture couples of time to have my own understanding of what Thoreau is saying and what he meant in each line. Furthermore, Thoreau does not only talk about his love for nature and walking he also expresses his opinion about problems that are going on around him and in the society, that he did not