Debate Essays

Before engaging in the debates with Senator Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln was relatively unknown in the political world and was just beginning his career in politics. Abraham Lincoln’s reputation was just starting to grow, and his life was about to make a drastic change. The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 were a turning point in Abraham Lincoln’s political career. After being nominated to the Illinois legislature, Lincoln gave his famous “House Divided” speech which caused much grief between the North

The Debate Memory can be so fickle.  Like some great book that is slowly loosing its pages, you begin with an entire novel full of details and descriptions and, if you're not careful, you end up with nothing more than the cover and the brief synopsis on the back page.  My novel on the subject of the end of summer school debate has lost its share of pages but the back-cover synopsis, the essence of the entire experience, is still with me. “We are about to begin our annual debating tournament

The Debate of Abortion After more than a quarter-century of frenzied debate and denunciation (which began well before Roe v. Wade), one might think not. But there is at least one viewpoint that polls indicate is widely held but that is hardly ever heard amid the screams of ''Murderer!'' and ''Keep your rosaries off my ovaries!'' It deserves a full and reasoned exposition, however; it might even shed some light on the controversies about the confirmation of Dr. Henry Foster as Surgeon General and

The philosophical debate begins as Socrates states that a true philosopher “has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die”, although suicide is not acceptable. Cebes is confused by what seems to be a contradiction because for those who would consider death a blessing, cannot take their own lives, but must wait for their lives to be taken from them. Socrates explains that the “gods are our guardians, and that we are a possession of theirs”, and so have no right to harm ourselves. True philosophers

William Shakespeare’s works being just that is a notion most accept; however, there has been a lot of evidence and arguments by historians, who opt to challenge this notion, arguing that Shakespeare was the pen name of Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford had to conceal his authorship for social and political reasons. After careful examination of historian’s evidence this theory doesn’t measure up and it was indeed Shakespeare, who was the genuine author. The world has come to accept that William Shakespeare

The Roommate Debate College is a life altering experience. It is a place where you leave anything and everything you have ever known, to come to a place where nothing is familiar. The summer before your freshman year of college can be a nerve racking experience. You anxiously wait for the day when the mailman will bring you that envelope that holds your fate. Enclosed in this envelope is the name of your roommate. Your roommate can have the biggest influence on your freshmen year. They can turn

Chagnon Debate In Patrick Tierney’s article “The Fierce Anthropologist,” he discussed the faults that are, or may be, present in Napoleon Chagnon’s anthropological research of the Yanamamo, or “The Fierce People,” as Chagnon has referred to them in his best-selling book on the people. Due to Chagnon’s unparalleled body of work in terms of quantity and, as many argue, quality, Marvin Harris draws heavily on his research to support his point, which is that the origin of war is ecological and

The Dam Debate In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, John Muir, a naturalist, and Marsden Manson, an engineer for the city of San Francisco, engaged in a heated debate over the construction of a dam in Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Muir wanted to preserve nature for the future, so he objected to the dam because he felt it would destroy the beauty of the area. On the other hand, Manson believed building a dam would provide water and electricity to the thousands of people who lived in the city of San

One subject in society that is greatly debated is abortion. The debates are basically divided into 'Pro-Life' and 'Pro-Choice'. Pro-life supporters want abortion to be illegal and not performed anywhere. Pro-choice supporters want the choice to be up to the woman and no one else. There is no ethical way to decide between the two subjects and it's all based on what the person's moral values. Abortion is the termination of an unwanted pregnancy by loss of or destruction of an egg, embryo or fetus

Drugs Debate "Junk yields a basic formula of "evil" virus: *The Algebra of Need*. The face of "evil" is always the face of total need. A dope fiend is a man in total need of dope. Beyond a certain frequency need knows absolutely no limit or control. In the words of total need: "*Wouldn't you*?" Yes you would. You would lie, cheat, inform on your friends, steal, do *anything* to satisfy total need. Because you would be in a state of total sickness, total possession, and not in a position to act in

Compare and contrast the Hamilton and Jefferson debates. What was the conflict? Hamilton and Jefferson were both appointed to Washington's cabinet. Hamilton was the secretary of the treasury and Jefferson became the secretary of state. Creating a cabinet was only one of several precedents set by Washington in areas where the Constituton was silent or unclear. Hamilton and Jefferson had very different opinions. This undoubtedly caused them to debate heavily during the times they served this position

The "Mommy Track" Debate As more and more women continue to move into the workplace, hot debate has arisen surrounding the issues of work and family balance. Many female managers and professionals with young families are leaving the fast track for what has become known as the “mommy track.” Today, as young people are applying for jobs, many now take into consideration a company’s values of a work and life balance. Some say that the pressures of maternity are becoming an obstacle for many

The Condom Distribution Debate The topic of condom distribution in public schools has caused many heated debates throughout our country in the last decade. Proponents of distribution state that free condom distribution will ensure that teenagers will practice safe sex and that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy will decline. Opponents of distribution state that free condom distribution will encourage sexual activity and foster the idea that premarital sex is acceptable.

protect its citizens. It is in this way that the United States government must proceed to achieve its greatest goal of societal welfare by exercising the security of our nation. Now on to the core of the affirmative case: My first contention in this debate is that sanctions aim to modify behavior, not punish. Sanctions do not exist to ostracize or punish, but rather they encourage a change of policy that leads to compliance with standards of international law. One of our goals is to change or destabilize

The Genetic Screening Debate Within the past thirty years, researchers have found strong evidence linking genes and disease. The development of predictive genetic tests followed shortly after the isolation of certain candidate genes. Although predictive genetic screening is only available for a handful of diseases, its effects and ramifications have become hotly debated issues in a wide range of areas, from government to religion. The debate began in the 1993 when researchers isolated the BRCA1

Prepare for a Debate "People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." This quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton rings true when taking into consideration any domestic argument. Debating is a method used to argue a topic between individuals or team members. Generally debating is used to maintain order while the opposed argue. Here are some helpful guidelines for the preparation of a three aside parliamentary style debate. Firstly, when preparing for a three aside parliamentary style debate you must

Buffalo Restoration Debate Restoration of the Bison is something that has been going on for the past two decades. As a matter of fact, several Native American tribes have come together to form the Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) which has been set out to bring bison back onto the American plains in the midwest. Bison have an intimate relationship in the traditions and rituals of Native Americans. The importance of bison within the culture has made bringing back the bison an important issue

How the Pendulum Swings: The Nature-Nurture Debate One of the most intriguing science-and-culture debates of the twentieth century is that of the origin of behavior. The issue that has its roots in biology and psychology is popularly framed as the "nature versus nurture" debate. At different points in time, consensus has swung from one to the other as the supposed cause of our actions. These changes are not only the result of an internal dynamic but were subject (as they are today) to external

On Thursday, February 18th at 4:00 pm I attended my first ever debate at California State University of Northridge, in Manzanita Hall 230. I had always been interested in debate but never came around to diving deeply into the topic. Seeing this class option as I signed up for spring term classes got me excited and interested in learning more about this field, and as I entered the Aronstam Library on Thursday, I felt even more excitement and intrigue because I felt that even though I wasn't debating

Darwin and Gamble's Debate Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" gives a human face to Darwin and Gamble's academic debate concerning natural selection. In the story, Georgiana has a birthmark on her cheek that has been visible her entire life, but was just starting to agitate her husband, Aylmer. He used science to successfully rid his wife of the birthmark, but the procedure was fatal. The process that the couple went through appears to be a response to the theory of natural selection, with