The Challenger Address Essay Example for Free

The Challenger Address Essay Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th United States President after winning against the Democratic Challenger Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election. Reagan won by attaining 50. 7% of the popular votes in that particular election. It can be said that the beginning of his term was not that pleasing. On his first year of term, he fired 11,345 air traffic controllers who, according to him violated the regulation of the government that prohibits unions from striking. Also, it had been said that unemployment in the United States increases to 10. 8%, which is greater than any time since the great depression during his first year in position. However, this percentage dropped during the rest of his presidency. It can also be said that after his first term, Reagan gained the respect and trust of the American people by being nominated for the second time as the president of the United States on the 1985 presidential election in which he was elected by landslide, having unprecedented number of votes. It was also said that during his years of presidency, restoration of prosperity was viewed by the people as well as global peace. It was also in the year 1986 that the income tax code was revised by Reagan wherein millions of people with low income were exempted. The year 1986 is not just a year of development in terms of social conditions in the United States; it was also a time wherein space exploration was greatly admired. By that time there had been several developments and expeditions that can be considered successful. Thus, the people especially Americans were very enthusiast to explore and to achieve greater heights in terms of space travel and exploration. However, this year was also a tragic time for the space exploration era when the Space Shuttle Challenger explodes a short while after lifting off, leaving none of the seven crews alive on January 28, 1986. The public was shocked at what they witnessed. Also, by that time, President Reagan was planning to deliver a speech to the American people but was compelled by the tragedy of the Challenger. Thus, President Reagan delivered a speech concerning the accident rather than the one that he intended to deliver to the people. This speech was well known as the â€Å"Challenger Address†. The accident had a great impact in the American people. The main reason was stated by the president himself in his â€Å"Challenger Addressed†. There had been a history in space exploration wherein lives were lost, three of them. The accident happened around 19 years before the Challenger tragedy. Although there had been cases of death regarding space exploration, the fact that the tragedy happen in mid air shocked the Americans and the whole world as well. There had never been any accident regarding space exploration that happened a few seconds after the shuttle’s takeoff. Two interpretations can be given why the speech of President Reagan was known as the â€Å"Challenger Addressed†. The first is, it was given that title since the shuttle was named Challenger. However, looking at the contents of the â€Å"Challenger Addressed†, it can be said the word Challenger does not refer to the name of the shuttle but rather to the contents and message of the speech. The president is challenging the nation to continue their search and to never lose heart in space exploration because of the Challenger accident. There had been several components of the speech that makes it effective and appealing to the American people. The very first part of the speech that Reagan used to encourage the people to pursue space explorations was by calling the astronauts heroes, Reagan stated, â€Å"We mourn seven heroes† (Reagan, 1986). He also states that the astronauts were well aware of the dangers that they must face but have overcome it. The president also showed his sympathy with the people especially the family of the astronauts. In order to gain the sympathy and heart of the people, they must know that you are one with them, in spirit and emotions. President Reagan expressed his anguish and mourned not only with the families of the astronauts but with the whole nation as well. At the beginning of his speech, President Reagan sympathized and mourned with the nation in order to appeal to them. However, his tone was developed in the succeeding paragraphs, from appealing to encouraging. He did this by saying, â€Å"The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave† (Reagan. 1986). These statements surely challenged the people at that time. The impact of the tragedy was reduced in an instant. The president also stated his desire to talk to the people of NASA and to tell and show them that their efforts are well appreciated as well as their sacrifices and bravery and encourage them to pursue their search despite the Challenger accident. Another part of the â€Å"Challenge Address† was the story of Sir Francis Drake, a great explorer who lived by the sea and died on it. President Reagan uses parallelism to connect the present situation into another situation in the past. Thus, those who died in the tragedy are compared to and are paralleled with Drake that creates a good impression for the seven crews of the Challenger. Just as Drake was considered a great man, they too are considered heroes and great explorers. President Reagan ends his speech by saying that the memories of the seven crews will never be forgotten. Thus, showing that they are valued as well as their sacrifices and hard work will never be in vain. This was also important in order to encourage the youth in pursuing to be an astronaut because of the fear that was established by the Challenger accident. It is important to know that your hard work is acknowledge by the society in general in order to be motivated and to pursue a certain career. One of the main factors why the speech was effective was the image, personality and credibility of the speaker. Being the president that time, people will surely listen to what the Reagan has to say. However, in terms of astronomical knowledge and the risk and sacrifices needed on being an astronaut, he cannot be considered a pro. There will surely be different sides of the address; it may either encourage the audience while others may see that the President was in no position to make such address. In every issue, there is always a positive and as well a negative aspect. However, it can be said that President Reagan was able to really challenge the people to search for greater achievements in terms of space exploration and taking the Challenger tragedy as a part of reaching greater knowledge and understanding of the universe, that every quest has its own risk as well as sacrifices that has to be overcome to really success in that particular area. The occasion or the time in which a speech was delivered was also a very important factor for a speech to be effective. The â€Å"Challenger Speech† will not have the same impact if it was delivered without such event, the Challenger tragedy, happening. Thus, the situation or the tragedy is a very big factor why the address made by President Reagan caught the attention of many people by that time and as well as the attention and interest of the people in the contemporary time. There are a lot of things that has to be considered in order to make an effective speech of which four components are primary; the speaker, the audience, the occasion and of course, the speech itself. It can be said that the â€Å"Challenger Address† by former President Reagan is effective because these components had been addressed properly. The speaker is credible enough for the people to listen to what he has to say as well as the occasion needed to gain the attention and interest of the audience. Of course, the audiences were concerned about the situation because of the impact of the tragedy. And of course, the speech itself was well made, something that is expected for a United States President. References Michigan State University Libraries. (No Date). Space exploration. Retrieved January 30, 2008 from http://www. lib. msu. edu/publ_ser/docs/displays/Displaymarch03. html. Reagan, R. (1986). The space shuttle ‘challenger’ tragedy address. Retrieved January 30, 2008 from http://www. americanrhetoric. com/speeches/ronaldreaganchallenger. htm. The White House. (No Date). President Ronald Reagan 1911-2004. Retrieved January 30, 2008 from http://www. whitehouse. gov/history/presidents/rr40. html.

Music Industry Struggles to Get Cell phone?s Numbers :: essays research papers

â€Å"Music Industry Struggles to Get Cell phone’s Numbers†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a new trend bringing together cell phones and digital music called ringtones. These ringtones are customized ringers that a customer can download directly to their cell phone. This business has seen quick and expansive growth in the past 2 years and is expected to grow for at least a couple more years. Initially cell phones came with just a handful of default ringers the user could choose from, but now they are able to download digitalized versions of their favorite song. Some new phone technologies even allow the ringers to include actual samples of real music including vocals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ringtone market is a strong competitor with the online music market. The ringtone version of rapper 50-Cent’s song â€Å"In Da Club† actually outsold digital sales of the song. This is impressive because this ringtone was only 30 seconds, had no vocals, and priced at nearly two dollars was twice the cost of downloading the full digital song from Apple’s iTunes digital music store. Customers of Sprint bought 500,000 copies of Beyone’s â€Å"Crazy in Love† at $2.50 a piece. Estimates of world wide sales claim that ringer sales in 2003 reached nearly $3 billion. According to BMI, the royalty collection group, the American market was between $66 and $68 million in 2003 and is expected to reach $240 million in just the first 6 months of 2004.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The licensing of music to be turned into a ringer faces several legal issues. All parties involved in originally creating the music must agree to have their music digitally recreated as a ringer. The article reports that many songs, especially in the rap industry, involve many collaborators which further extends the licensing dilemma. The hit song â€Å"Yeah† by Usher took over 6 months to reach ringtones because one of the many parties involved held out in tough negotiations. While the major online ringtone publishers face these legal battles, there is another ethical issue that arises concerning the grey-market operators that provide cheap versions of hits without licensing. Further, this is legal discussion as to who should be getting the bigger piece of the royalties involving the ringtones. The publishing companies turning out the digital ringers typically get 10% of the sale price or 10 cents while the master ring tones that include actual song sample s bring in nearly 30 cents.

Manifest Destiny Essay

The belief in Manifest Destiny, America’s right to expand westward, was popular among the Democratic Party, which paved the path for conflict in U.S. politics. In the 1840’s, Manifest Destiny was used as justification for the annexation of Texas, the war with Mexico, and to acquire portions of Oregon from the British. The debate over whether America really had a manifest destiny to expand all the way west or if it was used as an excuse to acquire more land led to debates in U.S. politics. Advocates of manifest destiny, mostly democratic, argued that the U.S., as a more advanced culture, had a God-given right to expand its borders. They believed the expansion would civilize the West and America’s democratic, cultural, and religious values would benefit the Native Americans. In addition, supporters would argue that the belief would strengthen the union, making it invulnerable. On the opposing side, consisting mostly of the Whig party, the God-given right to expand all the way westward at the price and rights of thousands of innocent natives was blasphemy. The Whig party was not manifest destinies only critic, abolitionist, fearful of slavery spreading, argued that the constitution did not give the country the right to gain new land and the country’s vital institutions would suffer as A merica was spread too thin. Look more:  essays on manifest destiny Texas’ sought to join America as a new state, after it gained independence from Mexico and had a revolution. The process of expansion in which newly democratic and free states would seek entry into the United States, rather than the U.S. extending its government over unwanting people was ideal. The Democratic Party was threatened to fall apart if Texas entered the Union, as it would become another slave state and this forced both Presidents Jackson and Van Buren to decline Texas’ plea. During the election of 1844, both Henry Clay of the Whig Party and Van Buren of the Democratic Party were against the annexation of Texas, this displeased the Democrats as they wanted to gain Texas so they dropped Van Buren in favor of James Polk, who was for adding Texas as another slave state. Polk cleverly tied Texas’ annexation into the Oregon dispute, the controversy over Oregon’s border. In 1846 the dispute was settled over the Oregon Treaty where the British relinquished its holding to the lower Colombia basin. This appeased expansionist in the north, who fought for Oregon and expansionist in the south, who focused primarily on Texas. After Polk’s election, he moved to occupy a free portion of Texas that was still claimed by Mexico. This sparked the Mexican-American War in 1846, were there were calls for â€Å"All Mexico†, mostly from Eastern Democrats, however Mexico’s annexation brought up much debate. If Mexico were to become a part of the United States it would mean millions of non-white Mexicans would become U.S. citizens, something Americans were not too keen on. The racist aspect of Manifest Destiny considers inferior Mexicans unqualified to become Americans whereas the mission aspect of Manifest Destiny dictates that Mexicans would become improved under American democracy. The â€Å"All Mexico† movement quickly abated with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 which granted Alta California and Nuevo Mà ©xico to the United States, both of which were sparsely populated with Mexicans. After the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, disagreements over the expansion of slavery made further annexation by conquest too divisive to be official government policy. The belief in Manifest Destiny in the 1840’s greatly influenced both U.S. politics and policy and is to blame or thank for Americas expansion from â€Å"sea to shining sea.†

How the McCormick Reaper Revolutionized Farming

Cyrus McCormick, a blacksmith in Virginia, developed the first practical mechanical reaper to harvest grain in 1831 when he was only 22 years old. His machine, at first a local curiosity, proved to be enormously important. In the decades following McCormicks first attempts to bring mechanical aid to farm work, his invention would revolutionize farming in the United States and around the world. Early Experiments McCormicks father had earlier tried to invent a mechanical device for harvesting but gave up on it. But in the summer of 1831 the son took up the job and labored for about six weeks in the family blacksmith shop.   Confident he had worked out the tricky mechanics of the device, McCormick demonstrated it at a local gathering place, Steeles Tavern. The machine had some innovative features that would make it possible for a farmer to harvest grain faster than could ever be done by hand. As the demonstration was later described, local farmers were at first puzzled by the peculiar contraption that looked like a sled with some machinery on top of it. There was a cutting blade and spinning parts which would hold grain heads while the stalks were being cut. As McCormick began the demonstration, the machine was pulled through a wheat field behind a horse. The machinery began to move, and it was suddenly apparent that the horse pulling the device was doing all the physical work. McCormick only had to walk beside the machine and rake the wheat stalks into piles which could be bound as usual. The machine worked perfectly and McCormick was able to use it that year in the fall harvest. Business Success McCormick produced more of the machines, and at first, he only sold them to local farmers. But as word of the machines amazing functionality spread, he began selling more. He ultimately started a factory in Chicago. The McCormick Reaper revolutionized agriculture, making it possible to harvest large areas of grain much faster than could have been done by men wielding scythes. Because farmers could harvest more, they could plant more. So McCormicks invention of the reaper made the possibility of food shortages, or even famine, less likely. It was said that before McCormicks machinery changed farming forever, families would have to struggle to cut enough grain during the fall to last them until the next harvest. One farmer, highly skilled at swinging at scythe, might only be able to harvest two acres of grain in a day. With a reaper, one man with a horse could harvest large fields in a day. It was thus possible to have much larger farms, with hundreds or even thousands of acres. The earliest horse-drawn reapers made by McCormick cut the grain, which fell onto a platform so it could be raked up by a man walking alongside the machine. Later models consistently added practical features, and McCormicks farm machinery business grew steadily. By the end of the 19th century, McCormick reapers did not just cut wheat, they could also thresh it and put it into sacks, ready for storage or shipment. At the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, McCormick exhibited his latest model. The American machine was the source of much curiosity. McCormicks reaper, during a competition held at an English farm in July 1851, outperformed a British-made reaper. When the McCormick reaper was returned to the Crystal Palace, the site of the Great Exhibition, word had spread. In the crowds attending the exhibition, the machine from America became a must-see attraction. In the 1850s McCormicks business grew as Chicago became the center of the railroads in the Midwest, and his machinery could be shipped to all parts of the country. The spread of the reapers meant that American grain production also increased. It has been noted that McCormicks farming machines may have had an impact on the Civil War, as they were more common in the North. And that meant farmhands going off to war had less impact on grain production. In the South, where hand tools were more common, the loss of farm hands to the military had much more impact. In the years following the Civil War the company founded by McCormick continued to grow. When workers at McCormicks factory struck in 1886, events surrounding the strike led to the Haymarket Riot, a watershed event in American labor history.