Kiona-Benton High School
Benton City, Washington
War and Peace Essay
Teacher:Dea Podhajsky
Robert Gray
12th Grade
War and Peace
If Cicero had to become the leader of Greece he would probably have been one of the weakest leaders in the world. His statement, I prefer the most unjust peace to the more just war that was ever waged, proves my reasoning. Cicero is saying that if he were George W. Bush, the president of the United States of America, he would let Osama
Bin Ladin goes because he does not want to go to war with Afghanistan.
I think that if any leader thought like that today many people would wonder why he or she was their leader. I know that a statement like that from President Bush would turn many heads in disgust today. I like how President Bush is handling the Afghanistan situation. From what Cicero said, he would probably have just put his head down and walked away from the problem because he would rather have peace than war.
Cicero, also known as Marcus Tullius, was a Roman writer, statesman, and orator. Although he had a distinguished political career, he is best known as Rome's greatest orator and as a man of letters. He was born in Arpinum. As a youth he studied law, oratory, literature, and philosophy in Rome. After brief military service and three years' experience as a lawyer defending private citizens, he traveled to Greece and Asia, where he continued his studies. He returned to Rome in 77 BC and began his political career, aligning himself with statesman and general Pompey the Great. In 74 BC he entered the Senate.
Another very powerful man from the past who would probably make a good leader in today’s society is Andrew Carnegie. He once said “To kill a man will be considered as disgusting in the twentieth century as we in this day consider it disgusting to eat one.” I like this statement because he realizes that people are getting desensitized to killing everyday. He knows that people today are going to be so used to death that when it does happen, it won’t even make them think that someone like themselves just had their life taken from them. I think that if Andrew were a leader of today he would make it a point to try and change people’s thoughts about death. I think that it would be a good thing for today’s society to have a reality check on what death really is.
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-born American. He was a leading steel manufacturer and one of the wealthiest individuals of his time. He used his huge fortune to establish many cultural, educational, and scientific institutions. While working for the Pennsylvania Railroad, Carnegie invested in several iron companies. One was the Keystone Bridge Company, which built iron railroad bridges. He also purchased stock in an oil company and in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company, which manufactured railroad sleeping cars. Carnegie left the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1865 to run his businesses.
In 1872, Carnegie traveled to Europe to sell bonds to European investors.
During his travels, he realized that the demand for steel would increase in the years ahead and decided to enter the steel industry. In 1873, he and several partners bought land near Pittsburgh and established the J. Edgar Thomson Works, which became the largest and most modern steel mill of its time.
A nationwide business slump occurred in the United States from 1873 to 1879.
Despite the slump, Carnegie expanded his steel company. During the early 1880's, business revived, and the demand for steel increased. Carnegie's mills earned millions of dollars. Another business slump began in 1883. Most steel companies suffered, but Carnegie's firm continued to expand. In 1883, Carnegie purchased the Homestead Works, one of the largest competing steel mills. He also bought a majority of the stock in a coke company established by Henry Clay Frick, an American industrialist, and made Frick one of his partners.
In 1892, Carnegie combined three of his companies and formed the Carnegie Steel Company. Frick became chairman of the new firm and took responsibility for its daily operation. Carnegie handled the company's investments and long term planning.
Carnegie's financial success resulted partly from his sales ability. He also outbid his competitors and created a talented management team. In addition, he expanded during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors cut back their investments. Carnegie thus enlarged his facilities inexpensively and could meet the increased demand for steel during years of economic growth. Carnegie basically created a monopoly on the steel industry.
I agree with the statement, “The thing that makes like so cruel is that everyone has such good reasons.” I think that this statement is true because there are different reasons for people to do one thing. For example, the terrorist attacks on the US I see it as an act of war, and that Afghanistan had no reason to do it except for the fact that they just wanted to kill Americans. I know that they had a reason for it. They say they did it because of religious beliefs. To there people, as bad as it may sound, there was no wrong done. The majority of their population feels as if they did the right thing.