Mental Disabilities And The Death Penalty - 1259 Words

Mental Disabilities and the Death Penalty Image a life where you have difficulty defending yourself and nobody can clearly understand you. Now visualize trying to convince others that you are innocent of a crime. Since the early 80s, more than sixty mentally ill criminals have been executed the US (Mental Illness on Death Row). This paper will discuss the relationship between the law and the challenges faced by mentally criminals from tries to appeals and execution. It provides examples of some of the more famous cases of the execution of the mentally ill and describes current legislative. But we would try answer the whether the mentally disabled criminals should be charged with a death penalty. Throughout this paper, we will use Borromeo s definition of someone with mental issues. He stated mental retardation is a lifelong condition of impaired or incomplete mental development... ( Borromeo 178). Some examples of these illnesses include but are not limited to major depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorde r and borderline personality disorder . Since 1976, all capital trials in the US are divided into two phases. The first phase is when they question is whether the defendant is innocent or not. If the defendant is found guilty then he or she is eligible for the death penalty. In the second phase of the trial the jury will decide whether to recommend a life sentence or a death sentence for the defendant. These phases include interrogation, mitigation,Show MoreRelatedA Study On Death Row Inmates Essay1722 Words   |  7 Pagespsychiatrist at New York University, Dr. Lewis, has conducted a study on death-row inmates, how their brains work and what affect the damage had on their conviction. By doing so Dr. Lewis paved the way for other researchers, such as Kent Kiehl and Jonathan H. Pincus to study the brains of violent criminals looking for a answer as to whether or not these criminals should be incarcerated. Over time research has been conducted focusing on mental illnesses and brain damage as the cause of violent acts inste adRead MoreThe Court For Hear Death Penalty Cases897 Words   |  4 Pagesarticle, â€Å"Supreme Court to Hear Death Penalty Cases,† in The New York Times; Adam Liptak talks about two different death penalty cases to be heard in October 2016. Case number 15-8049, Buck v. Stephens, is to be heard over whether or not race should one of the factors associated with future dangerousness. Buck, an African American male, was convicted for killing his former girlfriend and her friend, in front of her children. Buck is being sentenced for the death penalty because Texas law allows thatRead MoreThe Death Penalty Laws Date1505 Words   |  7 Pagesestablished death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes (History of the Death Penalty 1). Executions back then relied on more torturous methods without regard to the executed. As the use of the Death Penalty was issued out, its popularity spread throughout the neighboring countries and has become more refined for modern use. In June of 2004, â€Å"New York’s death penalty law was declaredRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Not A Moral Form Of Society906 Words   |  4 Pagesmurderers by doing the exact thing that they were convicted for? Today, in the United States, the death penalty is an inalienable part of society and its legal system that many are in favor of, but one that many are also strongly against. The death penalty is hypocritical, is not a deterrent, is much more costly than life in prison and is sometimes a wrongful conviction. The death penalty is not a moral form of the justice this nation is built around. Everyone makes mistakes, although someRead MoreThe Effects Of Capital Punishment On Society1516 Words   |  7 Pagesthat were punishable by death in its infancy in America ranged from stealing fruit to murder. Capital punishment met its turning point from a simple punishment of all crimes to only extremely violent crimes in the mid nineteenth century (â€Å"Part I: History of†, 2014). Capital punishment has had a turbulent history, filled with multiple question as to what crimes should be punishable by death. Many articles have been written on how certain crimes can be deemed punishable by death. It is questionable whetherRead MoreThe Death Penalty Was The Babylonian King Hammurabi1539 Words   |  7 PagesName: Victoria Ming Topic: The Death Penalty I. Intro/Background A. History: 1. An early supporter of the death penalty was the Babylonian King Hammurabi. In his set of laws, he set the legal punishment â€Å"an eye for an eye†. This popular phrase was used to punish criminals with death for 25 crimes, although murder was not one of them. 2. By the 10th Century BC, hanging, drowning, boiling, and burning, were added as ways for punishing simple crimes, or even for actions that today would not be consideredRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is An Act Of Justice1217 Words   |  5 PagesSince the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the death penalty in 1976, there have been 1,434 executions in the United States (Death Penalty Information Center). Today, a debate quickly erupts when discussing the death penalty as a form of punishment in America’s Criminal Justice system. Some perceive the Death Penalty as an act of justice, while others believe it is unconstitutional. There are currently 31 death penalty states and 19 non-death penalty states in the U.S. Although opponents view thisRead MoreArgumentative Essay On The Death Penalty989 Words   |  4 Pagescommonly known as the Death Penalty. The Death Penalty is killing someone as a punishment for a crime through legal terms. In 2014, six hundred thirty-four people that are 18 years and older out of one thousand seventeen people were in favor of the death penalty (Gallup). We use this punishment to serve justice for the life of the victim that has been taken. I am in favor of the death penalty and it should be issued in all states for people who commit heinous crimes. The death penalty is constitutionalRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is An Effective Deterrent1359 Words   |  6 PagesOn the other hand, the anti-death penalty arguments claim that the death penalty is oppressive toward lower class and people of color, wasting the limited resources, and it often hurt innocent people. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent because it is not applied consistently, as there is only a small fraction of first-degree murders who received death sentence, and even then they do not represent the worst cases of murders. Most of theRead MoreCapital Punishment Is Not A Better Than Life Imprisonment1400 Words    |  6 Pagesguidelines for what is punishable by death, but mostly murder or other capital offenses are what is punished. Capital punishment is not a better answer than life imprisonment. Capital punishment is wrong because there is a possibility of killing an innocent or mentally ill person, there is no evidence that it is deters crime, the cost is extremely expensive, and there is inconsistency in choosing a punishment for crime. Many people have been sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. Innocent

Literacy Is An Understanding Of Text - 1686 Words

Introduction â€Å"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you† (King). This quote by B.B. King may not have much to do with literacy, but it struck a chord with me and my own literacy education. Literacy to me is a competency in a certain subject area, not necessarily relating to reading and writing, but for the most part correlated with that topic. Literacy is an understanding of text, not just being able to read it out loud, but being able to to comprehend what is being read and being able to write. Emergent Literacy I can remember at a very early age my parents reading to me. I was fortunate that my father was in school during my three to five year old ages, so he was around a lot. We would always go†¦show more content†¦Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K uses engaging phonics-based activities, music videos, and online games to give your child a strong foundation in phonemic awareness. Each unit concludes with a storybook you read to your child, specially written to support what your child just learned. Each lesson takes only about 20 minutes a day† (Hooked on Phonics). I do not know how much I actually learned from this, but I remember that my father practiced this with me, which made it seem important. My father was in the military, so he was not always around, so when he spend his time with me, doing things like Hooked on Phonics or reading to me, it gave those things a precedence. School I attended a small, rural Missouri school from Kindergarten to first grade and my memories of this place was that there was a big emphasis on reading. I can picture the large (which may only seem large to little kindergarten eyes) library where the teachers would drop us off and we would have an interactive story time with the librarian. The school also had a few reading incentive programs. One example was this board in the hallway that was a roadway with cars traveling down it. The more books you read, the farther your car got along and you would reach different incentives. It might be something simple, like a book or a pencil, but near the end there were incentives such as lunch with the principle or a

Civil War Flags Essay Example For Students

Civil War Flags Essay The Color Bearer Tradition The War Between the States was the heyday of American battleflags and theirbearers. With unusualhistorical accuracy, many stirring battle paintings showthe colors and their intrepid bearers in the forefront of the fray or as arallying point in a retreat. The colors of a Civil War regiment embodied itshonor, and the men chosen to bear them made up an elite. Tall, muscular menwere preferred, because holding aloft a large, heavy banner, to keep itvisible through battle smoke and at a distance,demanded physical strength. Courage was likewise required to carry a flaginto combat, as the colors â€Å"drew lead like a magnet.† South Carolina’sPalmetto Sharpshooters, for example, lost 10 out of 11 of its bearers andcolor guard at the Battle of Seven Pines, the flag passing through four handswithout touching the ground. Birth and Early Life in Charleston Born in Charleston in 1824, Charles Edmiston and his twin sister, Ellen Ann,were the third son and s econd daughter, respectively, of newspaper editorJoseph Whilden and his wife, Elizabeth Gilbert Whilden. The births of twomore sons, Richard Furman in 1826 and William Gilbert in 1828, would completethe family, making seven children in all. Young Charles’ roots ran deep intothe soil of the lowcountry. His Whilden ancestors had settled in theCharleston area in the 1690’s, and an ancestor on his mother’s side, the Rev. William Screven, had arrived in South Carolina even earlier, establishing theFirst Baptist Church of Charleston in 1683, today the oldest church in theSouthern Baptist Convention. Like many Southerners who came of age in thelate antebellum period, CharlesWhilden took pride in his ancestors’ role in the American Revolution,especially his grandfather, Joseph Whilden, who, at 18, had run away from hisfamily’s plantation in Christ Church Parish to join the forces underBrigadier General Francis â€Å"Swamp Fox† Marion fighting the British. At the time of Charles’ birth, the family of Joseph and Elizabeth Whildenlived comfortably in their home on Magazine Street, attended by their devotedslave, Juno Waller Seymour, a diminutive, energetic black woman known asâ€Å"Maumer Juno† to four generations of the Whilden family. Raisedby Maumer Juno from the cradle, Charles soon developed a strong attachment tothe woman an attachment that would endure to the end o f his life. Theprosperity of Joseph Whilden and his family would prove less enduring,however, and business reversals, beginning in the late 1820’s, combined withJoseph’s stroke a few years later and his eventual death in 1838, wouldreduce his family to genteel poverty. To help make ends meet, Maumer Junotook in ironing. Despite a lack of money for college, young Charles managedto obtain a good education. Details about Charles’ schooling are sketchy, butthe polished prose of his surviving letters reflects a practiced hand and acultivated intellect. Charles’ admission to the South Carolina bar atColumbia in 1845 is further evidence of a triumph of intellect and effortover financial adversity. In the closing decades of the antebellum period, when Charles Whilden wasgrowing up in Charleston, the city was the commercial and cultural center ofthe lowcountry as well as South Carolina’s manufacturing center and mostcosmopolitan city. By the time Charles Wh ilden reached adulthood, however,the Charleston economy was in decline, and the city’s population wouldactually diminish during the decade of the 1850’s. Not surprisingly, after abrief attempt to establish a law practice in Charleston, Attorney Whildenchose to seek his fortune outside his home town. But the practice of law inthe upcountry town of Pendleton also failed to pan out for Whilden. Confronted with a major career decision, Whilden elected not only to leavethe law but also to leave the Palmetto State for the north. The 1850 federal censustakers found Charles Whilden living in a boardinghouse in Detroit, Michigan, where he worked as a clerk, probably in anewspaper office. Speculation in copper stocks and land on Lake Superior soonleft Charles deeply in debt to his youngest brother, William, who had builtup a successful merchandising business back home in Charleston. Desperate toget out of debt, and perhaps longing for adventure, in the spring of 1855Charles Whilden signed on as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army. After anarduous two-month trek from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Whilden arrived in theold Spanish city of Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory, on August 27, 1855, wherehe took up his duties as civilian private secretary to the local garrisoncommander, Colonel John Breckinridge Grayson of Kentucky, who would laterserve the Confederacy as a brigadier general in Florida. Life in New Mexico Territory When Whilden arrived in Santa Fe, the city had been under U.S. jurisdictionfor only a few years, and the population was overwhelmingly Hispanic andRoman Catholic, causing the Baptist Whilden to complain, in an early letterto his brother William in Charleston, that â€Å"there are so many Saints daysamong these Hottentots, that it is hard to recollect them.† So isolated wasSanta Fe from the U.S. that mail reached the city only once a month fromMissouri. Looking on the bright side of his cultural and geographic isolationin New Mexico Territory, in a letter written in May 1856 Charles expressedhis intention to William to remain in New Mexico until â€Å"I have paid up all mydebts, for I can do it better out here, than in the States, as there are noconcerts, Theatres, White Kid Gloves, Subscriptions to Charities or churches,or gallivanting the ladies on Sleigh rides and c to make a man’s money fly.† Whilden’s duties as Co lonel Grayson’s secretary were relatively light,leaving him ample time for other pursuits perhaps too much time for his ownfinancial good. His April 30, 1857 letter home to Charleston states: â€Å"Inaddition to the offices I hold in this Territory of Warden of a MasonicLodge, President of a Literary Society, member of a Territorial DemocraticCentral Committee c †¦, I have lately added that of Farmer.† Dreaming ofmaking enough money to satisfy his debts to William and to establish a lawpractice in Texas, Charles had purchased a 16 acre truck farm near Sante Fe,establishing his claim as a â€Å"farmer.† Alas, the farm would prove to beunprofitable. In his spare time, Whilden also occasionally edited the Santa Fe newspaperwhen the regular editor was busy. During the Presidential election campaignof 1856, Whilden penned an editorial supporting the renomination of PresidentFranklin Pierce, a pro-Southern Democrat, and he expressed the hope in aletter to Willia m that Pierce would be re-elected and â€Å"give me a fat office.†Whilden’s hope for a political sinecure also proved to be a dream. Marriage was another unrealized dream. After his own marriage in 1850,William Whilden badgeredhis elder brother to end his bachelorhood and tosettle down. In December 1854, when he was stillin Detroit and aged 30, afriend had tried to interest Charles in marrying his fiftyish, red-headedaunt. Seizing the opportunity to turn the tables on William, Charles wrote toWilliam not to be surprised if he married the woman and took up William onhis standing offer to permit Charles to honeymoon at William’s stylish newhome in Charleston. Whatever romantic aspirations Charles may haveentertained when he arrived in New Mexico, the dearth of eligible women inthe territory soon quashed. In a letter to William written seven months afterhis arrival in Santa Fe, Charles could count only six unmarried Americanladies in all of New Mexico, none of whom , however, lived in Santa Fe. However boring it may have been, life in Santa Fe also afforded Whilden timefor puffing his meerschaum pipe, reading his subscriptions to the pepperyCharleston Mercury newspaper and thehighbrow Russells Magazine and reflectingon the mounting sectional tensions of the prewar years. In a letter toWilliam dated March 26, 1856, Charles complained that the â€Å"Government isbecoming more abolition every day† and he predicted that the â€Å"Union may lasta few years longer, but unless a decided change takes place in Northernpolitics, it must at last go under.† The War Begins Events would prove Whilden correct. On December 20, 1860, delegates to theso-called Secession Convention, meeting in Institute Hall in downtownCharleston, only a short distance from Charles Whilden’s boyhood home onMagazine Street, unanimously adopted the Ordinance of Secession, taking SouthCarolina out of the Union. The bombardment of Fort Sumter in CharlestonHarbor four months later heralded the beginning of the shooting war. A lesser man than Charles Whilden might have been content to sit out the warin New Mexico Territory. After all, Whilden had been gone from the South formore than a decade. He was fast approaching 40. Whilden’s frequentdenunciations of abolitionism in his letters were based on principle, notpolitical expediency or financial self-interest. Apart from a nominal,undivided interest in his beloved Maumer Juno that he shared with hissiblings, Charles held no slave property. Furthermore, he was more than 1,000miles from South Carolina, with little money for travel. But Charles Whildenwas no ordinary man. Undeterred by the obstacles confronting him, Whildenresolved to answer South Carolina’s call to arms. According to a reminiscencewritten in 1969 by his grand niece, Miss Elizabeth Whilden Hard ofGreenville, South Carolina, the â€Å"only way he could get back to Charleston wasby the Bahamas, and on his way back to Charleston the ship was wrecked,he spent some time in an open boat, suffered sunstroke, and as a result hadepileptic attacks.† The date of Whilden’s harrowing return to Charleston is conjectural, as noneof his correspondence from the early war years has survived, but the likelydate is late 1861 or early 1862. Whilden’s Confederate service records in theNational Archives in Washington, D.C. commence with his enlistment in 1864,but Miss Hard’s reminiscence may be correct that her Great Uncle Charlesâ€Å"enlisted a number of times, but when he had an epileptic attack would bedischarged. Then he would go somewhere else and enlist again.† Confederateservice records are notoriously incomplete, and it stands to reason thatCharles Whilden would not have risked life and limb returning to Charlestononly to avoid military service once home. Irrespective of whether or not he had seen prior service, Whilden demonstrably enlisted â€Å"for the war† at C harleston on February 6, 1864, as aprivate in Company I (known as the Richardson Guards) of the 1st Regiment,South Carolina Volunteers. Lieutenant Wallace Delph enlisted Whilden, and thelieutenant can be forgiven if he looked askance at his new recruit. By moststandards, Whilden was a marginal recruit. Though intelligent and patriotic,Whilden was also in his 40th year, the red hair of his youth turned grey. Hisurban background and string of sedentary occupations better suited him fora Richmond clerkship than active service in the field. On top of everythingelse, Whilden was epileptic. Whilden’s new regiment was a proud outfit. The 1st Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, was known popularly as â€Å"Gregg’s lst SouthCarolina† after its first colonel, Maxcy Gregg, in order to distinguishthe regiment from several other South Carolina infantry regiments alsoidentified numerically as the â€Å"lst Regiment.† The successor to a regimentorganized by Col. Gregg in December 1860 for six-months service, the 1stRegiment, SCV, was arguably the very first Rebel infantry regiment. At thetime of Whilden’s enlistment, the regiment was part of Brigadier GeneralSamuel McGowan’s brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia. At one time partof A.P. Hill’s vaunted Light Division, McGowan’s South Carolinians had won areputation for hard fighting on many a bloody field. That reputation wasshortly to be put to its sternest test at a strategic Virginia crossroadsvillage known as Spotsylvania Court House. The Fight at the Mule Shoe Following his repulse at the Wilderness on May 5 and 6, 1864, Union Generalin Chief Ulysses S. Grant ordered the Army of the Potomac to move southeastabout 12 miles to the vicinity of Spotsylvania Court House (NPS Web Site),hoping to get between the Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond. GeneralRobert E. Lee, however, was quicker, and elements of the Confederate FirstCorps arrived at Spotsylvania Court Ho use just ahead of the Federals. Overthe next few days a series of collisions in the area occurred as both sidestook up positions and brought up additional units. The Army of NorthernVirginia settled into a defensive line at Spotsylvania that bulgednorthward in the center to form a salient or â€Å"mule-shoe,† with elements ofLieutenant General Richard Ewell’s Second Corps defending the mule-shoe. At first light on May 12, nearly 19,000 men of the Union II Corps, takingadvantage of ground fog, attacked the tip or apex of the mule-shoe, quicklyoverwhelming Major General Edward Johnson’s 4,000-man division defending theapex. Once inside the mule-shoe, the Federals threatened to advance southwardlike a tidal wave. Only their own disorganization and a series of desperateConfederate counterattacks halted the Union advance before it resulted in ageneral rout. With most of Johnson’s Division dead or prisoners, a considerable segment ofthe works inside the apex of the mule-shoe was unoccupied by any Confederatetroops. To correct this, General Lee forwarded two brigades from the ThirdCorps, Harris’s Mississippians and McGowan’s South Carolinians, during themid-morning hours of the 12th. With a cheer and at the double quick,McGowan’s Brigade advanced towards the tip of the mule-shoe in support ofHarris’s Brigade, sloshing through rain and mud and under heavy fire. At the head of each of the brigade’s five regiments, two soldiers carried theregimental state flag and the national battleflag. The blue silk state flagfeatured a palmetto tree encircled with a wreath of oak and laurel leaves;the national battleflag displayed the familiar blue, starred St.Andrew’scross dividing a red field. When the regular color bearer was shot, Whildeninsisted upon bearing his regiment’s national colors into the fight, althoughhe was not a member of Company K, the regiment’s color company. LieutenantJames Arms trong, the commander of CompanyK and Whilden’s messmate, relented,though, according to Armstrong’s postwar account, Whilden was â€Å"feeble inhealth and totally unfitted for active service†¦. In fact, he was stumblingat every step.† Watching Whilden struggle to keep up with his command,Armstrong offered to relieve Whilden of the flag and to carry it himself. Frees - The Metamorphosis of Holden in Salli EssayGiven to Whilden when he was furloughed to Charleston in August 1864, theflag was in his possession when he died about two years thereafter. About 15 years after the war, Edward McCrady, Jr., a prominent Charlestonlawyer who had captained the color company of Gregg’s 1st South Carolinaearly in the war and had later risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel of theregiment, petitioned William Whilden to turn over the battleflag that he hadinherited from his brother Charles. McCrady had possession of the regiment’sblue state colors, and he professed a desire to reunite the two flags. In aletter written on New Year’s Day, 1880, McCrady pled his best case, pointingout that his regiment had carried the battleflag â€Å"in every battle until May1864? and that, for years during the war, he had â€Å"lived with the flag inhis tent, and slept with it by his side in the bivouac.† After consultinghis three surviving b rothers, two of whom were Baptist ministers, WilliamWhilden declined McCrady’s request, essentially on the grounds thatMcCrady had no higher claim to the flag than any other veteran of theregiment. In declining, however, Whilden indicated a willingness to entrustthe flag to a collection of Confederate relics. Following William Whilden’s death in 1896, custody of the battleflag passedto William’s daughter, Mrs. Charles Hard of Greenville. In 1906, Mrs. Harddelivered up the flag to her Uncle Charles’ old friend and messmate, JamesArmstrong, a postwar harbor master of Charleston who had commanded the colorcompany of Gregg’s 1st South Carolina at Spotsylvania. In his letter to Mrs. Hard expressing his appreciation for the flag, Armstrong promised toâ€Å"communicate with the other officers of the Regiment in regard to sending theflag to the State House to be placed alongside of the blue State flag.†Armstrong assured Mrs. Hard that, â€Å"until sent there it will be kept in afire proof vault.† Time passed, and the battleflag remained with the aging Armstrong. Finally,in 1920, Mrs. Hard wrote to Armstrong about the flag. Rose McKevlin,Armstrong’s nurse, responded, informing Mrs. Hard that Armstrong’s leg hadbeen amputated the prior month as a result of a wound he had suffered atSpotsylvania more than half a century previously. The letter explained thatArmstrong had tried to convene a meeting of the surviving officers to discussthe flag but that he had failed to do so, and it concluded with the promisethat Armstrong, being the senior of the two surviving officers of theregiment, would send the flag to the Secretary of State in Columbia to beplaced alongside the blue state colors of the regiment already there. Although the evidence is not conclusive, the old soldier evidently made goodon his nurse’s promise on his behalf by turning over the battleflag tothe state before he died. . PRINCIPAL SOURCESused in preparing this essay1. James Armstrong and Varina D. Brown, â€Å"McGowan’s Brigade at Spotsylvania,†ConfederateVeteran, vol. 33 (1925), pp. 376-379. 2. J.F.J. Caldwell, The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians, KnownFirst as â€Å"Gregg’s,† andSubsequently as â€Å"McGowan’s Brigade† (Dayton, Ohio: Morningside Press, 1984reprint of 1866ed.). 3. Compiled Service Record of CharlesE. Whilden, 1st Regiment, South CarolinaVolunteers,Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizationsfrom the State ofSouth Carolina, War Department Collection of Confederate Records, RecordGroup 109, NationalArchives, Washington, D.C. 4. Fairfax Downey, The Color-Bearers (Mattituck, NY: J. M. Carroll Company,1984). 5. William D. Matt er, If it Takes All Summer, the Battle of Spotsylvania(Chapel Hill: University ofNorth Carolina Press, 1988). 6. John Hammond Moore, editor, â€Å"Letters From aSanta Fe ArmyClerk, 1855-1856, CharlesE. Whilden,† New Mexico Historical Review, vol.40,no.2 (April 1965),pp. 141-164 (relating to letters from CharlesE. Whilden to his brother,WilliamG. Whilden, orMrs.WilliamG. Whilden, the originals of which are in the South CarolinianaLibrary). 7. John Belton O’Neall, Biographical Sketches of the Bench and Bar of SouthCarolina(Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, Publishers, 1975), Vol.II, at p.614. 8. Noah Andre Trudeau, Bloody Roads South, the Wilderness to Cold Harbor,May-June 1864(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1989). 9. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Seventh Census of the United States, 1850, Cityof Detroit, WayneCounty, Michigan, Schedule1-Free Inhabitants, National Archives MicrofilmPub. No.T-6, ReelNo.146, p.8 (reverse). 10. CharlesE. Whilden Letters, 1855-1856, MSS in the South CarolinianaLibrary, University ofSouth Carolina, Columbia, SC. 11. CharlesE. Whilden Letters, 1854-1920, MSS in the South CarolinaHistorical Society,Charleston, SC (which collection also includes letters of Edward McCrady,Jr., WilliamG. Whilden,Mrs. Charles Hard and Rose McKelvin respecting the battleflag of Gregg’s 1stSouth Carolina and atypescript of Ella Hard’s October23, 1969 letter to the Director of Archives,Columbia, SC,respecting her great uncle). 12. Ellen Whilden, Life of Maumer Juno of Charleston, S.C., A Sketch ofJuno (Waller) Seymour(Atlanta, GA: Foote Davies, 1892).

Persuasion Essays - Social Psychology, Attitude Change, Persuasion

Persuasion Persuasion is the force exerted to influence behavior that includes a reflected change in attitude. Everyday we are bombarded with messages from people who wish to influence our behavior and attitudes. Persuasion can be used to accomplish good as well as bad, though, in my paper I will refrain from making value judgements and only report the factual aspects. I will discuss the two basic routes to persuasion, the elements involved, and ways to protect current attitudes and behaviors from change. When trying to persuade someone, there are two different methods from which to choose-the central and peripheral routes. The central route persuades by using direct arguments and pertinent information. The peripheral route persuades people by association with incidental cues that are pleasing to the senses. The central route is used to reach people who are more motivated and analytical, while people who are less analytical and less involved aremore likely to be influenced by the peripheral route. In advertising a combination of the two is common and effective. Computer ads relyprimarily on the central route, because their target audiences are perceived as highly analytical. Promotion for alcohol and tobacco products employ the peripheral route because they wish to draw attention away from thepossible negative effects that they are, in reality, associated with. To truly understand the effects of persuasion it is necessary to break the actdown to its smaller components. The for elements of persuasion are 1.) The communicator, 2.) The message content, 3.) How it is communicated, and4.) The receiver of the message. The content of the message is important but also whoever gives the message has an effect on people?s acceptance ofit. The major determinant of the communicator?s success are his/herperceived credibility and attractiveness. Credibility, or believability isdetermined by the communicator?s appearance as an expert or as someone who can be trusted. Expertise is established when the communicator is introduced as someone who has a great deal of knowledge concerning the topic of conversation. When the communicator relays viewpoints that areidentical to the audience she/he will be perceived as smart. Also, to project animage of expertise it is necessary to speak confidently and withouthesitating. Trustworthiness of the communicator is assumed if direct eye contact is used and speech is rapid. If the speaker is seen as not trying toinfluence or is arguing a position that is against their personal interest theywill be considered trustworthy. An attractive communicator has certain qualities, like physical appeal and similarity, that draw in theaudience. If the arguments of the attractive speaker are more readily accepted, central route persuasion has occurred or if we are persuaded by the unconnected positive association between the communicator and theproduct there has been peripheral route persuasion. When statements are made toa group by someone from the same ethnic background, the group is morewilling to listen. It appears true, the belief that we like people who aresimilar to us- and if we like someone we are more open to their suggestions. The second element of persuasion, the content of the message, deals with the specific type of messages that work best to convince. Emotional messages are most effective on less educated people, while rational appeals tendto score better with analytical or well educated people. Discrepancybetween the message and receiver opinion often effects whether persuasionoccurs. A credible communicator is most effective when arguing an extreme position and someone who is not viewed as credible is best off giving a viewpoint where there is a moderate discrepancy. Communicators must decidewhether to put forth a one-sided or two-sided appeal. One-sided appeals work bestwith those who already agree. Two-sided appeals work best with people who are initially opposed to your idea. Also message acceptance is effected bywhen it is heard and when the argument against that message is heard. Primacy affect states ?Other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence.?(1) The primacy effect works only whenboth messages are heard at once, with a period of time passing before responding. In a situation where a message is given followed by alengthy period of time, and then the second message is given, the response is usually to accept the second message. This is recency effect.?Information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects areless common than primacy effects.?(2) How the message is communicated, thethird element to persuade, stresses the importance of message delivery. ?Communication is the most important and complex thing we do. It canshape our careers, our lives, and our world... You can control the outcome of your important interactions if you control your communication style.?(3) The studies have shown that interpersonal contact