The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey - Essay Example German families in the New Orleans area claimed that Sally was in fact the child of immigrants who had died and that the girl was subsequently indentured by an unscrupulous owner and later sold into slavery. The main question raised by the piece is whether Sally really was a German girl or whether she was just a clever slave who was grabbing at her once chance for freedom. The fact that the color of a person's skin was the basis of whether they could be enslaved or not shows the racism that was at the heart of this culture. It is fascinating that the case revolved around the fact of whether Sally was German, and thus not deserving of slavery rather than the fact that slavery was morally objectionable per se. The idea that color and slavery were indelibly linked was starting to be threatened by the inter-breeding that had been occurring between slaves and whites for generations. By this time, just a decade before the American Civil War would end slavery, many slaves looked as white as their masters. Thus the very basis of slavery - the supposed inferiority of black races - was called into question by the continuum of color that then existed in America. The lack of certainty as to race was reflected within the legal system, in which slaves were regarded as property and yet, paradoxically, could also have legal representation within trials. Thus if a slave was accused of murder he/she had the right to legal representation, although as the author shows, the degree to which this right was enforced depended very much upon individual circumstances and the judge who was available. Bailey essentially shows a society that is ripe for change. The mysterious origin of Sally Miller reflected the complexity of race that was characteristic of America by the mid nineteenth-century. The simple duality of "slave" and "master" was increasingly being challenged on an ethical and legal basis. Slaves could buy their freedom and many tried to make their way to Northern states where slavery was already abolished. The idea that the identity of a person was set as "slave" or "non-slave" is shown to be too simplistic by the case of Sally Miller. If Miller was indeed of German origin, then a person could move from non-slave to slave because of bad luck and unethical businessmen. If a slave was lucky, earned enough money or had an enlightened master, he could become a non-slave. To conclude, the fact that the case was never resolved in a concrete manner shows the history is often not as certain as many people would like. The actual origin of Sally Miller will probably never be known now, any more than it was proved in the court case. What emerges is the terrible manner in which immigrants were treated in America at this time, even those from supposedly privileged countries such as Germany. The book also shows the complex legal environment of America at the time, and gives a view of the legal position of slaves that has seldom been considered before. Ultimately the book shows the mystery of human nature and identity, especially racial identity. If a slave is more white than her master, what is the basis for the slavery if it is based upon the supposed superiority of whites over blacks The answer was that slavery was based upon cruelty and exploitation rather than any rationally identified differences between races.

M1A2- Leadership and Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

M1A2- Leadership and Ethics - Assignment Example The rumors were about the managing Director embezzle the company’s resources. To add on that, the aspect of mismanagement, where employees were not included in planning and the issue of ethnicity and racism was so much in practice. This caused a lot of unrest among the staff that the managing director went into hiding. The situation was so bad, that even the organizational output decreased tremendously. The breech in ethical principles and etiquette cost the organization a great deal, as they had to come up with strategies on guidance and counseling for all the staff members to reach and address the root cause of the problem. Hence, the inter relationship between values, morals and work ethics was established in a bid to solve the crises. According to Duska (1998), values refer to the definition of the good and bad in society. Moral values are those attributes that are upheld and valued in the society. Typical values include honesty, integrity, compassion, courage, honor, resp onsibility, patriotism, respect and fairness. By that definition, one could categorize the values listed above (honesty, integrity, compassion †¦) as â€Å"moral values† - values derived from a higher authority. When one acts in ways, which are consistent with our beliefs (whether secular or derived from a moral authority), we will characterize that as acting ethically. Hence, for one to be ethical, they need to posses ethics and moral values. According to Naagarazan (2006) the strategies to address the ethical crises apply in real life, whereby one attends therapy sessions and guidance and counseling in case, they face conflicts at home and the workplace. These tactics instill self-confidence in the individual, in that they are able to address and face their problems. This strategy is therefore effective in both the work place and real life situations. Reference List Duska, R. F. (1998). Education, leadership and business ethics: Essays on the work of Clarence Walton. K luwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht Naagarazan, R. S. (2006). Textbook on professional ethics and human values. New Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers: New Delhi. A true leader should be able to address the specific organizational requirements while rendering his or her duties of ethical leadership. Discuss how you think virtues of character and leadership skills are acquired or developed within specific organizational contexts. For any given organizational framework, analyze parameters that will help you identify principles of best practice for leadership development. Identify and analyze attributes and competencies of effective leadership that can help implement these principles of best practice. Sucher (2008) wrote that, some of the leadership traits like humility, aggressiveness, and patience are innate, in that one is born a leader. They are nurtured in the day-to-day handling of the people in the organization. On the other hand, there are those traits that are acquired th rough practicing leadership for example, conflict resolution and team building. There are also those traits in leadership that are acquired through training, for example, listening and empathy skills from guidance and counsel ling classes, conflict resolution and team building from the managing people courses that people attend. Peterson & Sondergaard (2008) asserted that an organization that experiences effective ethical leadership, experiences high output. The staff on the other