Ralph Waldo Emerson

Personal Statement:
Hello. My name is Ralph Waldo Emerson. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25, 1803. I loved to be taught by my aunt, Mary Moody Emerson. She was by far my best teacher and had a very positive effect on my life. My father died when i was eight. I began school when i was nine and i attended Boston Latin School in 1812 and later on, in 1817, i attended Harvard College. I was named class poet in my junior year and i graduated with a rank in the middle of my class. I wasn't the best student. I later on moved to a more tropical climate and started my career as an author.
Issues:
I took part in intellectualism, abolitionism, and religion. My goal with the transcendentalism movement was to praise the individual rather than society, as society corrupts individuals. My motives were religious because i believed that everything was divine.
Solutions:
I was involved in the transcendentalist movement, which encourages people to pursue their own style rather than copying their predecessors. People can discover things that rules sometimes wont let them. They may experience a deeper spiritual sense by their own will. My movement was successful because it influenced my peers to pursue their own style and their own view.
Relationship with Others:
I believe that education is important but authors don't necessarily have to do exactly as they are taught. I'm also against slavery and i told speeches to people in order to abolish slavery.

Dorothea Dix

Personal Statement: Hello, my name is Dorothea Lynde Dix. I was born on April 4, 1802 in Hampden, Maine. I shared a small cottage with my parents and two younger brothers. My father, Joseph Dix, is a religious fanatic and a minister. Because my family is quite poor, I traveled to Boston to live with my grandparents, and then with my aunt in Worcester, Massachusetts. I began my teaching career at age fourteen, in my own home. Three years later in 1819, I founded the first school for girls with a charity school that young poor girls can attend for free. I spent my days teaching in the morning, and reading and writing throughout the evening and night. My most famous work is a textbook that goes by the name of "Conversations of the Common Things", published in 1824. In 1827, I was diagnosed with tuberculosis. I went on a retreat in the fall of 1830, and when I returned I continued teaching followed by taking care of my ill grandmother. I was so overwhelmed that I collapsed and lost the use of one of my lungs. Then, I moved to Liverpool, England for eighteen months in hope of a recovery. In England, I learned of two very important men that inspired me to investigate the dangerous situation of the insane in the United States. Their names were Philippe Pinel and William Tuke. After my grandmother passed in 1837, I received an inheritance that freed me from working as a teacher. I regained my strength and visited a jail in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. They led to to these filthy jail cells that were occupied with a number of mentally ill women. Shocked by this, I visited another 500 towns with the results of finding more mistreated mentally ill women. I was enraged. 

Issues: I was an american activist that believed that the mentally ill should not be mistreated. I strongly believed that they could be cured and helped and I took a large part in mental health reform and education. Also, I was trying to enforce the idea of equality for women as much as I possibly could.

Solutions: To solve this issue, I created schools and the first mental asylums. I wrote many memorials to state legislatures, demanding to protect my suffering gender. My petition was passed and a bill which provided funds for the mentally ill at the Worcester State Hospital. I extended this and brought this issue to the federal courts. Congress denied my requests. I wanted to begin a new project that proposed that revenue collected from the sale of public land to be used to establish a federal fund for the mentally ill, blind, deaf, and mute across the nation. They disregarded my requests until 1854, after I described all of the disturbing things I saw at the jails. My bill was vetoed but my determination did not end there. I was not being heard loud enough. My determination led me to form institutions and asylums that treated the mentally ill with proper care in North America and Europe.

Relationship to others: At the dinner party I would be most comfortable talking to women rights activists such as Catherine Beecher, Margaret Fuller, and Angelina Grimke. Also I would like to sit with people who are interested in education reform. I would not feel comfortable sitting next to Susan B. Anthony because she is a feminist.

Andrew Jackson

Hello, My name is Andrew Jackson. I was born March 15, 1767 in the Wax haws region of the Carolinas. I am not sure if I am from North or South Carolina as the borders were not clear in the remote region. My parents were Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson. My father passed away three weeks before I was born. I received an informal education at the local school. The school was know as the old field school. I am known mostly for my career in politics and in the military. I was appointed colonel of the United States army and led our troops to important victories such as the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the Battle of New Orleans. I was also the seventh president of the United States where I served two terms. Before becoming President I was senator of Tennessee. I have helped the United States by winning the last battle that helped us win the War of 1812, paid off the national debt, installed the spoils system, and cleared up land in the east for settlement.

Issues

During my time as President I contributed to the economic reform in order to try and make more opportunities for the common man and not just the elite. I also tried to reform politics with my attempts to abolish the electoral college, installing the spoils system, and signing the Indian Removal Act. I believe what I am doing is the right thing to do as the United States should be for the common man. I am suppose to be the representative of the people and I will fight so that they can have the same opportunities as the elite have.

Solutions
In trying to increase the economic opportunity of the common man and stop with the advantage only going to the elite, I was able to veto the recharter of the Bank of the United States. After I was able to veto the bank without any major backlash I took out the funds and put them in many smaller banks that some called "pet banks." The bank was no more and the economy was successful for a while. I saw a problem with the theory of the electoral college and saw to get it abolished in order to increase the freedom of the people.  I have tried with no success tried to lobby for a new amendment that would abolish the electoral college. At my annual message to congress I pushed to try and make this a reality, but sadly was not supported by the majority. I also looked to fix the theory of who holds a job in the federal department. My idea was to start practicing what is now known as the Spoils System. This helped rotate those who were in holding office to lower the corruption rate that was present. Some people saw this as me trying to increase the corruption as I was possibly hiring and rewarding friends and those who helped with my campaign. Finally I helped to free up land for those farmers to increase the commerce of the south.  Through congress I signed the Indian Removal Act to free up land in the East. Some of the opposition said that it was imhuman and was stealing the land from the Native Americans, but they did not see that I was actually trading their land for some new land they would settle in the west. Being away from our civilization would make it easier for them to keep their own culture.

Brigham Young

Personal Statement

• Born on June 1, 1801 in the city of Whitingham, VT.
• Formal education was minimal, was apprenticed to be a carpenter, painter, and glazier.
• American leader in the LDS movement, president of the LDS church, and governor of the Utah territory. Led foundings of the precursors to the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
• Built many temples around the United States, expanded Mormonism, and helped settle much of the American Midwest.

Issue(s)

• Brigham Young was involved in the issue on Mormonism, and to be more specific Mormon polygamy.
• Brigham Young was all for Mormon polygamy as he practiced the belief himself.
• The source of Young’s motivation was mostly religious as the issue had to do, well, with religion.
• Fought for the freedom of practicing Mormon religion and setting up their churches.
• Lack of purification of the Mormon church and religion (in his opinion).

Solution(s)

• Blacks in the Mormon religion were treated as equals until Brigham Young. He announced a priesthood ban which prohibited all men of black African descent from holding the priesthood. He did this to purify the Mormon religion as “ if the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so”( Brigham Young). He believed in this so he set out to ban all blacks to purify the religion.
• Brigham Young was successful in banning blacks from priesthood up until 1978(which obviously happened after he died). In 1978 the new president of the church, Spencer W. Kimball, allowed blacks to enter priesthood again. He did not want to change anyone’s point of view, just purify the Mormon church as he wanted it to be.
• As Brigham Young did live at a time where racism and slavery existed, no one really contradicted him or gave him any criticisms on his first issue of purifying the church. He just got away with what he wanted to do, and it lasted 130 years without anyone doing anything about it.
• He took charge of the Mormon exodus in Illinois in the wake of the Church’s expulsion from Missouri.

Relationship to others

• Brigham Young had a strong connection with the issue on education. As he believed that all ( Probably meant white men) should be educated he led foundings to two schools. One of which was the University of Utah, and the other, named after himself, Brigham Young University.
• I would like to sit with Joseph Smith, as he was the founder of Mormonism and we would most likely get along and have an engaging conversation. I would not like to sit with a Quaker, an example of which would be Angelina Grimke.

Sidenote

Brigham Young was a decent businessmen as he engaged in a variety of enterprises, some of which included transportation and manufacturing. By the time of his death, his personal fortune was calculated at $600,000 making him the most successful Utah businessman up to that time.

Lucretia Mott - Abolitionist & Women's Rights Movement

Personal Statement: My name is Lucretia Mott and I was born in January of 1793 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. I was the second child of eight. At the age of thirteen I was sent to the Nine Partners Quaker Boarding School in New York. I became a teacher after I graduated and when I realized that male teachers were paid three times more than female ones, I became interested in women’s rights. I eventually became a Quaker minister and with the help of my husband, James Mott, traveled. James created the American Anti-Slavery Society and I was the only woman to speak at the organizational meeting. After the Civil War, I was elected the first president of the American Equal Rights Association

Issue: I was very involved in the anti-slavery and women’s rights movements. As I was motivated by religion, I believed that slavery was evil. I believe that women and men should have equal rights and that slavery should be abolished. Even though I faced persecution from others, I stayed involved and worked hard, keeping a balance between running my home well and being a part of the movements.

Solution: I believe that the way to end these problems is to spread the word about these issues and think about the morality of them. I attended many conventions and debates that inspired me to travel and spread the word to everyone else. I became a Quaker minister and traveled giving sermons that included anti-slavery sentiments. My husband created the American Anti-Slavery Society and I attended all three national Anti-Slavery Conventions of American Women, the General Anti-Slavery Convention. Inspired by the debates I listened to, I continued travelling in the United States and gave speeches at many big towns and even arranged to meet with slave owners to discuss the morality of slavery. I had an active role in the abolition and suffrage movement until my death. I founded and was involved in many organizations and associations and even founded a college. My goal was eventually achieved as slavery was abolished, after which I advocated for suffrage for African Americans.

Relationships: I agreed with the movement going for equality of marriage and worked with Stanton in regards to women’s rights. I would feel comfortable sitting with anybody that was anti-slavery and anyone that has possibly dipped into the women’s rights movement. I would not like to sit with anyone that’s a slave owner or that’s pro-slavery.

Dorothea Dix

Personal Statement: 

Hello, my name is Dorothea Dix and I was born on April 4, 1802 in a quaint Maine town known as Hampden. I grew up with my parents but fled to my grandmother's house at the age of 12 to escape from my abusive and alcoholic father. While my childhood with my parents was rather hard it was the only time that I got an education, because shortly after I moved in with my grandmother I began teaching children in a school that I opened in an attempt to give poor and neglected children a fair educational opportunity. Along with teaching children, I also volunteered to teach the women at a women's prison which is where I began to notice the injustice regarding the treatment of the mentally ill prisoners. Such a sight gave me the motivation to push for reform of the prisons and mental hospitals, and it was my efforts that put an end to the cruel and torturous treatment of mentally ill patients.

Issues:

I am an American activist on behalf of the mentally unstable and have dedicated a majority of my life in an attempt to better both the mental facilities and the treatments of those patients. Ever since I began teaching at the women's prison I realized the cruelty behind the care of the inmates with mental disorders. I was both shocked and appalled at the fact that these poor people were subjected to abuse; lack of food, drink, clothing, and proper bedding; and forcibly chained up because of a mental disorder that's far out of their control. With the motivation of my religious ways, I refused to stand by idly while these people suffered simply because of poor care.

Solutions:

My strong objection to the treatment of the mentally ill in both the prisons and hospitals led me to work for reform of not only the physical being of the locations but also of the system. It was a big and difficult task however I was determined to make the change and give mentally ill patients the help and treatment they need and deserve. In order to make such a change possible I worked to pass legislation that would grant these patients a proper facility to stay in rather than be locked up along with dangerous prisoners. After many attempts, laws were passed and the change slowly became evident. Aside from legal action, my attempts could be considered successful simply because I was able to get the word out and raise awareness of the issue at hand. While unfortunately many people believed that the treatment of the mentally ill was fair thus looking down on me and my efforts, it didn't stop me from doing what's really right and fighting to spread awareness and change regarding the cruel treatment of the mentally ill.

Relationship to Others:

Aside from my own attempt to reform the prisons and asylums, there were many other reforms circulating the nation. I resist the abolition movement and that along with my undecided stance regarding the abolition of slavery brought much controversy and criticism on my behalf. On the other hand, I find the education of women to be very critical; however I never joined a feminism movement or publicly announced my support for the cause which is why being around feminists such as Susan B. Anthony would be rather uncomfortable.

Horace Mann

Personal Statement:
    My name is Horace Mann and I was born on a lovely afternoon of March 4 in 1796.  I was born in my small house located in Franklin, Massachusetts.   Mostly self taught, I was twenty years old when I was admitted to the sophomore class at Brown University.  At the university I took interest in politics, education, and social reform.  At my graduation I gave a speech on advancement of the human race to benefit mankind.  After graduating from Brown I practiced law until I was a representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833.  From 1835 to 1837 I served in the Massachusetts Senate.  While I was in senate, the quality of education was suffering.  In 1837 when the state created the first board of education I was the secretary.  I started a biweekly journal called Common School Journal in 1838 for teachers.  As the secretary of education I increased the funding of schools and improved the preparation and support of teachers.
Issues:
  During my life I spent majority of the time improving the education system.  My most controversial work was my advocacy of nonsectarian religious education.  I believed that children attending public schools should be taught the ethical principles common across Christianity not those doctrines which were disagreed upon by sects.  My approach was criticized by many as anti-Christian or seen as a reflection of my Unitarianism beliefs. My motivation for this comes from my brother's funeral when the Calvinist priest preached that my brother, who had died of drowning, was going to burn in hell for dying in the unconverted stage.  At that moment I commenced my belief in Unitarianism.
Solution:
  As a solution to the depreciating quality of education I came up with six principles of education.  The first being citizens can't have both ignorance and freedom. The second being the education should be paid for, controlled, and maintained by the public.  The education should embrace children of different backgrounds.  The education should be nonsectarian.  The education should be taught using tenets of free society.  The education should be provided by well trained and professional teachers. I face opposition from clergymen everywhere for my stance on education being nonsectarian.
Relationship to Others:
  I would feel most comfortable sitting next to Rev. Theodore Parker who often praised my work for abolition.  I believed in the importance of public education as a mean of creating a just society.  In one of my speeches to the House I said; "slavery would abolish education, if it should invade free state; education would abolish slavery, if it could invade a free state."