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ESSAY WRITING SAMPLE: MEETING OF THE MINDS

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MEETING OF THE MINDS

World historical personalities refer to famous figures who contributed greatly to shaping the progress of human beings (MacMillan, 2015).  As a matter of fact, these people influenced the human civilization history and the greater world civilization. Indeed, study of these legendary individuals helps to understand the world history in clear manner. Some of the world history personalities include Napoleon Bonaparte, Oliver Cromwell and Richard Nixon (MacMillan, 2015). Without a doubt, if these three people met in a park today, they would have a lot to talk about each and every person describing his life, accomplishment and challenges. To illustrate, a conversation between the three word historical personalities would look like this:
Napoleon Bonaparte: Hello Oliver and Richard.
Oliver Cromwell and Richard Nixon: Hello too Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte: Hope you guys are doing fine. Let me start by introducing myself. I am Napoleon Bonaparte and people also call me Napoleon I. Most importantly, I was not only a French military leader but also an emperor who conquered many territories in Europe in 19 century (Roberts, 2014). As matter of fact, my accomplishments were very beneficial to France and had great impact on Europe’s balance of power.

I was born in Ajaccio on August 15, 1769 on the Corsica Island to Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte. I was the second born of the eight of my parent’s children and despite the fact that that our family was a member of the Corsican nobility we were not rich (Roberts, 2014).   .Notably, France acquired Corsica from Italy one year before I was born. Precisely, I went to school in mainland France where French language was taught and later graduated from a French military academy. After school I decided to join the French army where I started as a lieutenant (Freidmont, 2010).

Before I came to power France was in an economic, social and political crisis (Roberts, 2014). As a matter of fact, what was accomplished during the French revolution was destroyed in the course of directory government. To illustrate, there was financial crisis, inflation, power struggle and religious chaos. Indeed, there are several things that I accomplished when I came to power in 1799. For instance, I made the Concordat agreement of 1801 with the Pope (McLynn, 2011). Basically, this agreement was meant to restore the relationship between the state and the church which had already been destroyed during the revolution. Of course, this had rational importance because it not only made Catholic a state religion but also guaranteed freedom of worship.

In addition, I made it possible for people to own land freely which was not possible during the French revolution. Consequently, this led to an increase in production which reduced starvation and famine. Moreover, I restructured the French administration, which brought an end to problems like embezzlement and corruption. Undeniably, the government system I introduced is still used in France presently (McLynn, 2011). Furthermore, I reformed France Education system where I built secondary schools and military schools. As a military leader, I emphasized on science and math to facilitate improvements in the army. Most importantly, I established the University of France which had branches all over the country (Freidmont, 2010). This created a society of diligent people who served the country effectively.

Equally important, I reformed the France commercial and industrial sectors. To illustrate, in 1800 I established France Central Bank which gave loans to manufactures and traders. Consequently, there were more than 2000 milling industries employing people by 1815. Notably, the most remembered accomplishment that I made was the creation of legal laws commonly referred to as the Code Napoleon (McLynn, 2011). The fact that there were no clear legal laws governing France called for formation of a good legal system. In particular, this code had various codes which included the civil code, commercial code, criminal code, penal code and the military code. As a matter of fact, the codes were later adopted by many European and America countries. Additionally, I worked hard to modernize and perfect the French army. This enabled me to not only conquer new territories but also to introduce French rule in the new states. Equally important, I introduced the royal decoration legion of honor which was meant to honor individuals with military and civilian accomplishment (Roberts, 2014). Up to now, this the highest France decoration.

Although I accomplished a lot during my time, I had weaknesses which show I am human since no one is perfect. Firstly, I was stubborn which is evident in the way I fought numerous wars to acquire new territories. As a matter of fact, my lust for power and more territories made me to use a lot of the state resources on military which would otherwise have been used for other pressing matters. Again, I did not know when to stop. For instance, I forcefully recruited men into the military in order to meet my ambitions of ruling the whole of Europe. Meanwhile, my ambitions made other Europeans countries to come together which led to my defeat in 1815.Thank you guys for listening to me. Let us have someone else tell us about his life.

Oliver Cromwell: You are welcome Napoleon and thank you very much for telling us about who you are.
Richard Nixon: Thank you a lot for that history about your life. Personally I have known more about you than I did before. For me, I was the 37th president of the United States of America and I served from 1969 to 1974. Most importantly, I am remembered as the only president to have step down before the end of my term. Before I became the president, I was a republican congress man and a Californian senator. In addition, I was the 36th vice president of US from 1953 to 1961.

BANK CULTURE

I was born in Yorba Linda, California on 9th of January 1913 to Francis Anthony Nixon and Hannah Milhous Nixon (Black, 2008). We were five boys and I was the second born of my parents. My parents struggled to raise us through operating a gas station and grocery store. I went to Whittier College for my undergraduate studies after which I did law at the Duke University School of law and graduated in 1937. Later, I worked in the US Navy Reserve and joined politics in 1946 where I was elected as a congress man.

I vied for presidential candidate against John F Kennedy after claiming the republican presidential nomination in 1961. Although I lost, this was one of the closest elections in America history Weiner, T. (2016). I decided to return to California and practice law where I ran for governorship and lost. In 1968 I was elected the president of US at a time when there was change and disturbance in the country (Weiner, 2016). To illustrate, there was a division among Americans on Vietnam War, racial violence and women demanding for equal treatments. To solve this, I created the Vietnamization strategy, which was meant to withdraw American soldiers from the Vietnam and train Vietnamese soldiers to tackle defense issues.

Equally important, during my presidential term I called for reforms in health care, environmental policy, welfare and energy (Thomas, 2015). Notably, my aim was to base the policies on national standards and even though I did not succeed, I managed to establish several offices which were beneficial to the people. For example, I formed the office of management and budget, and office of Energy policy. Furthermore, I created an Environmental Protection Agency and gave support to the 1970 Act of Clean Air. Moreover, I called for broadening of US civil rights in order to include sex discrimination and later signed the Title IX law, which prohibited discrimination based on sex (Weiner, 2016).

Most importantly, my visit to China in 1972 led to good international relationship between US and China. Later in the same year, I formed the Anti- Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Former Soviet Union (Weiner, 2016). Equally important, I inflicted price and wage controls for 90 days, and I was the one and only president who was able to achieve a balanced national budget in the history of US. In addition, I headed Apollo 11 landing on the moon which marked an end to the moon race (Black, 2008).

Despite all these achievement in my life time, a met challenges which showed the weak side of me. Personally, I do not trust people easily. After I was elected as the president in 1968 I trusted nobody expect my close friends. Consequently, I employed people to spy and even break into democrat headquarters to fix voice recorder. Eventually, the congress exposed my acts, which came to be known as the Watergate scandal (Weiner, 2016). As a result, I decided to resign as the president to avoid impeachment. Thank you very much for listening to my life story guys.
Napoleon Bonaparte and Oliver Cromwell: You are welcome Richard.
Oliver Cromwell: As for me, I was an outspoken English political and military leader who later became the lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Despite the fact that I am one of the popular individuals in English history, I started my life as an ordinary man. I was a man with no military training when English civil war started in 1642. Nevertheless, I rose into power and took the leadership of the three kingdoms within ten years. Al though I did not have the name of a king, I had great authority and power that had never been enjoyed by any king (MacMillan, 2015).

I was born on 25th of April 1599 in Huntingdon to Elizabeth Steward and Robert Cromwell. I went to school to Huntingdon Grammar School and later joined Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge (Gaunt, 2004). Precisely, I never finished school because I returned to Huntingdon when my father died to help my family. In 1628 I was elected the Member of Parliament for Huntingdon which was the last parliament because King Charles 1 refused to form one for 11 years (Fraser, 2001). Later in 1640 there was a parliament call and I returned as the Cambridge Member of Parliament. During the break of English civil war, I had no military experience other than experience as a militia in the local country. Meanwhile, I formed a cavalry band after blocking silver shipment from reaching the king. I played major part in the victory of parliament and by 1648 I was commanding the New Model Army whose main aim was to stop rebellion.

After execution of King Charles 1 which I supported the commonwealth of England was formed and I was appointed a member of the council which exercised legislative and executive power in England. In 1653, I became the lord protector of the Common Wealth of England where I shared my power with the council of state and the parliament (Fraser, 2001). My regime brought order and peace, and marked an end to the English civil war. During my life i accomplished many great things. Firstly, I was a politician and I never feared to speak my mid out. To put it differently, I was a politician who never feared to mock oppressive laws. Most importantly, I proposed the establishment of yearly parliament where i insisted that parliament rather than the king to be choosing army generals.

Furthermore, I was a military commander who facilitated the wining of the civil war by the Puritans (Gaunt, 2004). Even though I had no military training, I was naturally capable and soon was promoted to lead an army cavalry. Of course, my military abilities brought an end to the civil war with the parliament as the winners. Again, I helped to build the New Model Army which was the first national Army. As a matter of fact, this army not only helped the parliament to win the civil war but also formed the foundation for the present British Army.

Moreover, one of my achievements that is not popular is my contribution in helping to build the Royal Navy. Indeed, it was my government that formed a permanent navy to replace the previous temporary one. Notably, my navy fought one of the hardest sea wars against the Dutch and won it (Gaunt, 2004). Equally important, I helped to remove social hindrances to the progress in the army. In other words, my military force focused on the ability of a person rather   than on the position one occupied in the society. For example, one of the army leaders was a butcher before the war started.

In addition, I made England to be a strong and respected country. To illustrate, my government spent revenue in an effective manner and due to maintenance of a strong navy, Britain grew to become one of the leading and most powerful country in the history (Fraser, 2001). My army and Navy promoted the interests of England and despite the fact that could not Capture Cuba from Spain, I was able to capture Jamaica which enabled me to expand my empire. Moreover, I was able to establish a government that guaranteed freedom of worship and religion. Notably, it was during my rule that Jews who had been chased away from England were welcomed back.

Equally important, I formed a fair and efficient government for England. As the Lord Protector of England I made laws to be less cruel and I removed death penalties for some crimes. In particular, I insisted on efficiency and honesty in my government and required judges to be fair and diligent (Fraser, 2001). Additionally, I played a part in democracy development in England. Of course, winning the civil war was a way of ensuring that England would never be ruled by any monarch on its own. Furthermore, I was the only leader who ruled England as a republic. In other words, I served as the lord protector of England, Ireland and Scotland and turned down any efforts to make me king. Precisely, I institutionally and constitutionally brought unity between England and Ireland using a common parliament (Gaunt, 2004).

The fact that I achieved a lot during my life time does not mean I did not have weaknesses. My hatred toward Spain made Britain to suffer an economic loss. To put it differently, I focused too much on the Spanish war, which made Britain to lose its trade to Dutch. To sum up, I was so obsessed with building a strong army that I decide to raise tax to finance the military activities which was detrimental to the economy. Thank you very much guys for listening to my life story.
Napoleon Bonaparte: You are welcome Richard and it has been a pleasure listening to you.
Richard Nixon: we are very grateful Richard that your shared your story with us. Thank you very much.

References
Black, C. (2008). Richard M. Nixon: A life in full. New York: Public Affairs

Fraser, A. (2001). Cromwell, the Lord Protector New York: New York: Groove Press

Freidmont-Barnes, G. (2010). Napoleon Bonaparte. Oxford: Osprey Pub

Gaunt, P. (2004). Oliver Cromwell. New York: New York University Press

MacMillan, M. (2015). History’s people: Personalities and the past. Toronto, Anansi Press

McLynn, F. (2011). Napoleon: A biography. New York, Arcade pub

Roberts, A. (2014). Napoleon: A life. New York, Viking.

Thomas, E. (2015). Being Nixon: A man divided. New York, Random House

Weiner, T. (2016). One man against the world: The tragedy of Richard Nixon. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin

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By Hanna Robinson

Hanna has won numerous writing awards. She specializes in academic writing, copywriting, business plans and resumes. After graduating from the Comosun College's journalism program, she went on to work at community newspapers throughout Atlantic Canada, before embarking on her freelancing journey.

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