Feasibility business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Feasibility business - Assignment Example Presently this soft drinks corner is furnishing a mixture of wonderful local wines, coffees, and several soft drinks along with some foodstuff as well. The future plan is to offer unparalleled Swiss based beverages which include imported cheeses, chocolates, pastries, local and imported coffees, and some related fast food or snack items as well. The major aim is to offer the customers with highest quality services and products to keep them staying again and again. We believe that by getting crucial financial support through the sale within first two years, our cafà © will be able to capture 10-20% of the cafà © industry at Ashland Oregon. The project has estimated that it will enjoy a 37.3% profit for its investment by the end of April, 2014. Cafà © house is a business combination of beverages and foodstuff that is readily available and dished up promptly at sites. This is multi-billion dollar business which in turn keeps on progressing extremely fast around numerous international locations. A cafà © house or franchise is somewhat different from fast-food points as it is recognized from nominal service and by refreshment items simultaneously which may be presented immediately soon after placing the order. The drinking stuff in conjunction with related eatables are usually prepared in volume upfront plus preserved hot for its reuse. Numbers of cafà © houses or beverage outlets are sections of some reputable restaurants or franchises, while standard drinking and eating products are supplied to each venue through main sites. As compared to some other food businesses, the budget fundamentals to set up a cafà © house are comparatively compact in USA especially at locations consisting of low and medium earning community. M ostly eateries wherever people sit a while and enjoy by drinking some coffees, wines or eating some readily made foodstuff are also measured as

The Priority for Glenmeadie's Innovation Efforts Essay

The Priority for Glenmeadie's Innovation Efforts - Essay Example Marketing experts should be aware that the product is the thing that they’re selling, and innovation in this field is also necessary to build a customer base. The purpose of this essay is to explore how Glenmeadie can balance their innovation efforts between the product and new types of marketing in an effort to impress new customers and build a loyal customer fan base, by using the Ansoff and 8Ps frameworks to provide an illustration on how best to tackle the issues at hand. Glenmeadie The information provided by Nunes & Driggs (2006) paints an outline of Glenmeadie. As a Scotch whiskey distillery, Glenmeadie has won 7 gold medals in one season on a national and international scale, suggesting an upmarket taste and therefore suggesting a target market of whiskey connoisseurs. The marketing campaign led by Bob consists of international efforts to put on Tastemakers events in 25 cities, starting in New York. The aim is to spend $15,000 on each event, offering tastes of various whiskeys and bringing in efforts from an apprentice distiller and buyers from local distributors. Glenmeadie is also trying to give a more personal face to the brand, having interactive websites and creating loyalty card programs. ... Rayport, Stephen Dull and Joe Scafido. Scafiado, a member of the executive council at Dunkin’ brands, raises concerns about the fact that the front- and back-house innovations programs seem to be presented as separate enterprise. This is mainly because they seem to have separate functions in marketing, with product development being considered part of back-room company enterprises and marketing focusing on customer involvement and sales. However, this is a limited perspective on the matter. At Dunkin’ brands, Scafiado brought together the culinary team and the operating specialists into one department, meaning that any culinary development is being innovated simultaneously with efforts on how to present this to the company. Herman, who is president of Lebanon, agrees that Glenmeadie should be focusing efforts on product excellence as well as drawing customers in with these innovative marketing campaigns. After all, it is the product that is being sold, not the marketing scheme. Rayport, founder and chairman of Marketspace, sees things differently. Although Glenmeadie has reported some stress on research and development budgets, Rayport suggests that this can only be a positive thing, even for Ellis, the distiller. Rayport even goes as far to suggest that Ellis’ argument against expansion in marketing efforts is a paradox, as Ellis cannot have the freedom to create and innovate in the distillery without an expanded market and expanded profits. Dull, vice president of strategy at Greensboro, sees things a little differently. Dull suggests that Glenmeadie is a luxury product, as a whiskey, and therefore the aims of the company to branch into mass-marketing are a mistake. Dull suggests that there hasn’t been much of an

Risk Assessment. The business of Tesco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk Assessment. The business of Tesco - Essay Example Tesco has its retail stores spread over 14 countries all over the world and also holds the leading market share in the retail markets of UK. The primary products of Tesco include the retail grocery items and other retails consumer products that are being sold through its departmental stores, supermarkets and the retail chains. The economic liberalization policies adopted by the policy makers have resulted in the increase in the number of players in the retail grocery markets of UK and in other countries. In order to attain sustainability of business, Tesco has diversified its product portfolio with the activities of retailing of clothes, electronic items, music DVDs, books , financial services, etc (Tesco 1). Vulnerability to risks The business of Tesco which is spread in several countries all over the world is vulnerable to several risks. A list of risks to which the business of Tesco is vulnerable has been given in tabular form below. Sl. No. Risk 1 Interest Rate Risk 2 Foreign Cur rency Risk 3 Liquidity risk 4 Credit Risk 5 Insurance Risk The two major risks to which the business of Tesco is most vulnerable are the interest rate risk and the foreign currency risk (Frank 174). Due to the increase in interest rates as an outcome of the monetary policy, the interest payout in the form of debt liabilities are likely to increase (Weston 24). This would result in increased cash outflows which reduce the net income of the group and also lesser repayment of debt and liabilities. This is risky for Tesco as they would continue to have higher proportions of debt with respect to the equity (Tesco 1). The foreign currency risk is the uncertainty that Tesco faces due to the fluctuation of currencies in the local markets. As a result of the depreciation of the local currency, the currency conversion rates between the local currency and Pound Sterling would be affected (Cowan 96). This poses the risk to Tesco as foreign currency fluctuation would result in reduction of reven ue earnings of the group and the volume of profits repatriated to the home country would also decrease (Whaley 226). Probability The probability of the two risks, namely the interest rate risk and the foreign currency risk have been explained as follows based on the information available from the annual reports of Tesco and the events that have occurred in the last financial year. The interest rate risk poses uncertainty to Tesco as the company is subject to fluctuation of interest rates by the central banks in several countries (Sullivan and Sheffrin 172). As per the information available from the annual reports of Tesco, it has been observed that the company had to bear the cost of increase in the interest rates implemented by the central banks. As monetary policies and in order to control the inflation rates in the economy, the increase in the interest rates has been implemented by the central banks in many countries where Tesco runs its operations (Brown 341). Thus the cost of d ebt incurred by the company has increased (Handlechner 36). The probability for the fluctuation of interest rates has been assumed to be 60% looking at the trend of impacts on the financial parameters of Tesco’s performance. It is highly probable that the foreign currency conversion rates are further going to fluctuate as the economies are in the mode of restructuring after the occurrence of the global financial crisis (Hennessy and Zechner 271). The uncertainty in the foreign currency conversion is likely to have a cascading effect on financial performance of Tesco. The cost of finance obtained by Tesco in the local mark

Health Care Costs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Care Costs - Assignment Example Physicians will benefit from the experience if they focus on a medical specialty that will lower the costs and improve health care quality with better patient outcomes (Porter & Teisberg, 2004). Health care reforms are expected to add 32 million people to those who are already covered and this will put new pressures on the system (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). There are ways to reduce costs like putting caps on prices and taxation of hospital income. Recommendation – one measure is tort reform (Brill, 2013) by re-inserting the â€Å"safe harbor† provision. This defense against medical malpractice lawsuits will address most of the costs involved in health care delivery by doing away with unnecessary procedures, tests, and treatments which are costly and being ordered by doctors just to be on the safe side. Feasibility – a â€Å"safe harbor† provision is viable because doctors will not be accused of medical negligence. If standards of care and treatment comply with benchmarks in medical practice and considered adequate, doctors will not charge so much or order so many tests. Hindrance – a barrier to this solution is political partisanship and strong political lobby. The medical-health care industry complex spent about $5.36 billion which is three times what is spent by the military-industrial complex for lobbying Washington so there is strong resistance. Address the central issue – implementing tort reforms will remove a major incentive for doctors to practice defensive medical practice by ordering so many unnecessary laboratory tests. This is one of the main cost drivers in health care and so tort reforms will encourage doctors to be more prudent; taxation will just make hospitals increase their billing to make up for the tax. If a cap is put on prices, it will not work either because quality might suffer as a result. Brill, S. (2013, February 20). Bitter pill: Why medical bills are killing us. Time Magazine. Retrieved

Diversity and Ethics in Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversity and Ethics in Leadership - Essay Example Likewise, workplace has become increasingly diverse. Diversity not only means a variation of visible traits like age, gender and color, but also involves the underlying varying factors as religion, nationality, education, perspectives and interests (Burrows, 2007). Employees tend to indulge in dysfunctional conflicts with their colleagues over matters of no organizational relevance or significance. Their conflicting notions generate repulsive forces and they fall apart. This causes them to work for individualistic interests. The ultimate sufferer is the organization for whom they are supposed to work. Employees satisfy their personal egos on the cost of work. This has exposed the business entrepreneurs to new challenges in the workplace. Leaders, therefore, assume huge responsibility of making their decisions compliant with the ethical standards in all respects. Compliance with the demands of justice and integrity have always been considered a fundamental trait of transformational leadership (Hood, 2003, p. 264). Ethics are the cardinal basis of distinction between right and wrong. However, organizations often tend to overlook the ethical concerns of their proceedings in an attempt to maximize monetary benefits. â€Å"The pressure to succeed is driving some leaders to explore ways to shortcircuit the system, but the temporary gains of such deception generally are outweighed by the long-lasting damage† (Hermond, 2006, p. 2). The conventional cost benefit analysis business entrepreneurs make in order to make important business decisions is often ignorant of their ethical implications on the society. The question arises, â€Å"Ethics is a vast subject. How can a businessman decide what minimum ethical level to respect?† The empirical answer lies in respecting the individual’s religious beliefs on the least, though the subject is actually too vast and debatable to be generalized. Diversity that matters is

Development of the United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

Development of the United Kingdom Essay Officially known as the Republic of Ghana, it was Europe’s first trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa – initially trading in gold and then later as a primary supplier of slaves. Although it was subsequently colonized by the British, it later became the first country in Africa to obtain independence from its colonizer (BBC News). Ghana came into existence in 1957 when what was then known as the Gold Coast acquired its independence from the British. Situated along the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa (see U. S. State Department map reproduced below), the country occupies an area of about 238,538 sq. km. composed of plains, rainforest, and some scrubland (U. S. State Department). Its capital city is Accra (population: 3 million) and the other principal cities are Kumasi, with an estimated population of 1 million, Tema (500,000), and Sekondi-Takoradi (population: 370,000). English has been designated official language of the Ghanaians but several dialects are spoken like Akan, which is spoken by about 49% of the population, Mole-Dagbani (16%), Ewe (13%), Ga-Adangbe (8%), and Guan, the dialect of 4% of the population. Sixty-nine percent of its estimated population of 23 million are Christians while 15. 6% are Muslims. Indigenous religious beliefs are being practiced by 8. 5% of Ghanaians. Although it existed as a democratic republic since its independence in 1957, the constitution of Ghana took effect only on January 7, 1993 (U. S. State Department). The cultural practices of Ghanaians which are mainly related to â€Å"conception, childbirth, and childrearing† consist of some harmful customs and traditions. One of these is â€Å"female genital mutilation (FGM). † This is a procedure which is conducted to partially or totally remove the external genitalia of a girl to turn her into a real woman. Another is a belief in dietary taboos which often leads to anemia or nutritional deficiency on the part of pregnant women. In Ghana, when a marriage does not produce an offspring after two years, it is considered defective. After a woman gives birth, the Ghanaians believe that burying the placenta near the house of the family would prevent the child from growing up into an errant or rebellious individual. In addition, they would wait for eight days after birth before naming the child and treating the umbilical cord with herbal preparations (Nyinah). Ghana is rich in natural resources with gold and cocoa being two of its major dollar earners. Its other export products are timber, diamonds, aluminum, tuna, manganese ore, and bauxite. In spite of this, the country still relies heavily on the assistance of international financial and technical institutions to remain viable. Thirty-five percent of its gross domestic product comes from the agricultural sector which also accounts for 55% of total employment in the country, mostly in the form of small landowners. Aside from seeking debt relief in 2002 under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program, Ghana was also one of the beneficiaries of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative which came into force in 2006 (CIA World Factbook). As of 2006, total exports reached an estimated $3. 9 billion while imports totaled $6. 8 billion. Identified trade partners were the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, France, Spain, Nigeria, the Netherlands, and Togo (U. S. State Department). Statistics gleaned by Global Health Reporting. org from the CIA World Factbook and a report published by UNAIDS in May 2006 about the global epidemic on AIDS showed that as at end of 2005, an estimated 29,000 had already died from AIDS in Ghana, leaving behind them about 170,000 children below 17 years old who had lost one or both parents to the disease. The same sources also revealed that by the end of 2005, there were 320,000 Ghanaians who were living with HIV/AIDS, 25,000 of whom were children below 14 years old. Aside from AIDS, another major health concern of the country is malaria. With about three million new cases being reported every year, malaria accounts for approximately 61% of total hospital admissions in the country among children below five years old (Global Health Reporting. org). In its fight against AIDS, malaria, and other diseases which have been plaguing Ghanaians, the country has received varying degrees of support from international organizations such as the World Health Organization, Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank, the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Accra Daily Mail, 3/17 as cited in Global Health Reporting. org). On March 17, 2008, a campaign named â€Å"Voices for Malaria-Free Future† was launched in the country to educate the people about the techniques and the key concepts and practices used in fighting malaria. Rosemary Ardayfio, who represented the media in the launching ceremony, announced the formation of the Media Malaria Network composed of journalists from the print and online organizations. Ardayfio explained that aside from recognizing the role of the different media organizations in malaria advocacy, the network specifically aims â€Å"to disseminate information about the use of insecticide-treated nets and appropriate medication† (Global Health Reporting. org). Ghana was among the 177 countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol which aims to require industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to prevent global warming (UNFCCC). In addition, Ghana was also a party to other international agreements governing hazardous wastes, biodiversity, endangered species, law of the sea, ship pollution, environmental modification, ozone layer protection, wetlands, and tropical timber (CIA World Factbook). The Republic of Ghana faces a bright future. It is endowed with plenty of natural resources. Its leadership has commitment itself to free and compulsory basic education. In fact, its â€Å"free, compulsory, universal basic education (FCUBE)† which was launched in 1996 has been labeled the â€Å"most ambitious pre-tertiary education programs in West Africa† (U. S. State Department). It has also been described as a â€Å"well-administered country by regional standards† and considered a model for economic and political reforms in the region. And, most of all, a major oil reserve was discovered in 2007 (BBC News). For these reasons alone, the country and its people have no reason to remain impoverished. Works Cited BBC News. â€Å"Country profile: Ghana. † International version. 6 February 2008. 22 March 2008. http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355. stm CIA World Factbook. â€Å"Ghana. † 6 March 2008. 22 March 2008. https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh. html Global Health Reporting. org. â€Å"Ghana. † 22 March 2008. http://globalhealthreporting. org/countries/ghana. asp? collID=11id=144malID=187 tbID=188hivIC=189malIC=190tbIC=191map=192con=Ghanap=1 Nyinah, S. â€Å"Cultural practices in Ghana. † World Health. March-April 1997. 22 March 2008. http://www. popline. org/docs/1204/126178. html UNFCCC. â€Å"Kyoto Protocol. † 22 March 2008. http://unfccc. int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830. php U. S. State Department. â€Å"Background note: Ghana. † January 2008. 22 March 2008. http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2860. htm

Distance Education Essay Example for Free

Distance Education Essay Similarities and Differences Between Richard Henry Lee and Abraham Lincoln A reserved man, Abraham Lincoln rarely talked about his childhood. He was â€Å"also embarrassed by his crude family background. † (Gienapp, 1) He also knew little about his ancestry, save for what his father Thomas repeatedly narrated about his grandfather being killed by Indians â€Å"while laboring to open a farm. † (Gienapp, 1) He was born in a one-room log cabin, built by his own father. He grew up on a farm, which was at first rented, but eventually was paid for by his father from his painstaking labor as carpenter and cabinetmaker. Although he was barely literate, he performed several official duties and appeared several times in the local records of his community, having a scrupulously honest and moral reputation. On the other hand, Richard Henry Lee was the scion of one of the colony’s first families. The first Richard Lee came from Worcester, England where their family was into the manufacture and trade of cloth. Upon the deaths of his parents, their mother’s brother was awarded guardianship of him and his three brothers. Richard was sent to America to help expand the family business. Twenty-five years since his arrival in Jamestown, Richard Lee had amassed 10,000 acreas, three plantations in Jamestown and established an impressive commercial empire that spanned both sides of the Atlantic. The civil war in England and the Cromwellian interregnum had little affected the Lee businesses. By the restoration, Richard had decided to move his family to England, grooming the eldest, John, for eventually assuming control of the family business in England and America. Upon Richard’s death at forty-five, he had successfully ensured that his three sons would continue the family’s flourishing transatlantic commercial empire. John and Richard II returned to the colony and divided management of the business. The third son, Francis, stayed in London as their father wished, to be the family’s London commercial agent. This second generation of Lees shifted the family business from fur trading to tobacco, showing an adaptability to challenges within the economy and Virginia’s provincial government. When Richard II became the family’s patriarch, he learned the advantage of fostering cordial relations with the provincial government as the surest way of retaining royal patronage. This practice was continued by the third generation of Lees. Thus, despite the disarray in their transatlantic interests following the death of their London sibling, Thomas, the third patriarch tended to political matters in Virginia and shied away from their London affairs. Thomas entered the political arena; with a short-lived first attempt, the second was not only successful in the House of Burgess but advanced further to the Council of State. His marriage produced six children, one of whom was Richard Henry. Richard Henry Lee was ten when the family moved into the comfortable Stratford Hall. His boyhood was spent running â€Å"around the plantation grounds, making friends with the children of the slaves living on the plantation, unfettered by parental supervision†. (McGaughy, 17) In stark contrast, Abraham Lincoln’s life was that of a typical pioneer farm boy: doing chores, such as hauling water and chopping wood, and helping in the fields. The area was heavily wooded, and since he was remarkably strong for his age, the tall youngster was soon set to work clearing land with an axe. He later recalled that from then â€Å"till within his twentythird year, he as almost constantly handling that most useful instrument – less, of course, in plowing and harvesting seasons. † (Gienapp, 3) Thomas Lee devoted a â€Å"tremendous amount of time and energy making sure his sons were prepared to assume their legacy when the time came. (McGaughy, 18) He understood the value of providing his children with formal education. Three different tutors catered to the children’s needs in reading, writing, mathematics, Greek, Latin and religion. In addition the children were introduced to dance, music appreciation and performance lessons seriously. They were later sent to England to continue their studies. This, perhaps, more than anything, else fostered a close bond between him and his children. The sudden deaths of both parents when Richard Henry was in his teens was strongly felt. He isolated himself from the rest of the family and articulated his feelings in a poem that was later inscribed on Thomas’ gravestone. The last verse was concluded with â€Å"what limit can there be to our regret at the loss of so dear a friend† (McGaughy, 32). The other Thomas, Thomas Lincoln, on the other hand, was barely literate and did not put much value on education. Abraham and his sister Sarah attended local schools for short periods only and by the time he was seven, Abraham still could not write. Yet, even as a child, Abraham exhibited a burning desire for knowledge and self improvement. He was described to have no energy for anything except reading. He read and re-read the limited books that his stepmother, though illiterate herself, valued knowledge, brought to their house. His father did not approve of his constant reading. â€Å"Thos Lincoln never showed by his actions that he thought much of his son Abraham when a boy,† one Hanks family member noted, adding, â€Å"He treated him rather unkind than otherwise. † Dennis Hanks admitted that Abraham’s father sometimes â€Å"slash[ed] him for neglecting his work by reading. †(Gienapp,7) This would explain Abraham’s closeness to his stepmother as his friend, rather than his father, unlike the Lees. â€Å"He later said that she had been his best Friend in this world and that no Son could love a Mother more than he loved her. † (Gienapp, 5) He supported himself by manual labor until he reached twenty one and he had moved to New Salem, Illinois where he continued his self-education while working as storekeeper, militia captain and postmaster. He lost in his first bid for the state legislature but won a seat as a Whig 2 years later. He served four terms and gained state-wide popularity for his homespun wit and integrity. This time, Lincoln began his private study of the law, borrowing books from a local attorney, and earned his license to practice in 1836. He settled in Springfield, the new capital, after his marriage to Mary Todd of Kentucky and became one of Illinois’ ablest lawyers. He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1847 for a single term, during which he gained attention for his opposition to the Mexican War and the institution of Slavery. He switched to the new Republican Party in the next election and ran for the U. S. Senate against Stephen A. Douglas, to whom he lost. The race attracted national attention because of the widely reported debates over the issue of slavery in the territories. Ironically, his winning opponent had unknowingly granted him the break not only to resume his political career, but set him on his path to the White House. This was the Kansas-Nebraska Act which repealed the original prohibition of slavery in the region of the Louisiana Purchase and replaced it with popular sovereignty to decide on the status of slavery. The ensuing â€Å" hell of a storm† (Gienapp, 49) correctly predicted by the proponent, Senator Stephen Douglas, brought together Whigs, Democrats, Free Soilers in indignant protest. Pondering Douglas’ motivations and the significance of this legislation, Lincoln seemed more withdrawn than usual on the circuit. Back home in Springfield he began reading the congressional debates on slavery, taking notes at the State Library for future use. (Gienapp, 49) On February 27, 1869, he delivered his famous Cooper Union speech, where he lambasted the federal government on the slavery issue, to an influential audience. In July, he won the nomination for presidency on the third ballot at the Republican convention. The following November, Lincoln won over 3 other candidates with only 40% of the popular vote. This was unacceptable to Southern politicians; South Carolina, quickly followed by 10 other states conveniently used this pretext to secede from the Union. When he arrived in Washington for his inauguration as the country’s sixteenth president, the Confederate States of America had been formed. In 1747 Thomas Lee had been appointed president of Virginia’s Council of State. Two years later, he assumed the governorship. As a tobacco planter, he was concerned with having access to western lands, target for England’s and France’s rivalry for dominance in North America. With other planters, they directed their efforts toward trade and cultivation of new lands for tobacco production. Thomas established the Ohio Company of Virginia, which had been likened to the Virginia Company established in 1606, from which the Jamestown settlement sprung. His will gave one of his two full shares to his eldest son, Philip. The second full share he divided equally among the younger sons led by Richard Henry. The two oldest sons realized the significance of active association in the Ohio Company and in Virginia politics. In their father’s absence, they could only achieve any gains if they put family above personal interests. Richard Henry decided to fulfil his father’s aspirations. Richard Henry and his cousin Richard â€Å"Squire† won a seat each in the House of Burgesses. They were shortly followed by Thomas Ludwell and Francis, both Richard Henry’s brothers, and another cousin Henry. Within one election cycle, the Lee family once again emerged as a powerful voting bloc in the House of Burgesses, especially when combined with their many friends and allies, (McGaughy 42) Richard Henry became the spokesman of his family and the Northern Neck proprietors in the capital. He served on several important committees that soon put him in a position that challenged Speaker-Treasurer John Robinson’s role as leader in provincial politics since 1738. While the governor and the Speaker-treasurer disputed over provincial leadership, Richard Henry worked actively to continue the war against the French. Among his duties was monitoring the British and colonial forces by regular correspondence with the highest ranking officers in Virginia’s colonial militia. By the time the Board of Trade had authorized the immediate separation of the offices of speaker and treasurer, the governor had announced vacation of his post and returning to England. Richard Henry’s role in the effort to separate the offices of speaker-treasurer helped establish his leadership position in the House. His former tutor Alexander White wrote to congratulate him, though surprised, â€Å"at how quickly Lee had challenged the established leadership in the House so soon after winning his first election. † (McGaughy, 44). Abraham Lincoln entered the presidential office conscious of his lack of administrative experience. But as president and commander in chief, he learned from his mistakes. In his Inaugural address he tried to woo the Secessionists back to the Union, which responded with bombarding Fort Sumter. Lincoln reacted with a firm hand; he declared a blockade of Southern ports, authorized the suspension of Habeas Corpus in areas threatened by pro-secessionists. Lincoln’s conservatism made him accept the fact that only a vigorous war would restore the Union, which was his primary aim. This strengthened his will to win, despite enormous battle casualties and strong political opposition, from his own cabinet members and radical fellow Republicans. He was careful not to alienate his basic constituency, the citizenry of Northern and Western states, while advancing the progress of the war. He carefully worded his Emancipation Proclamation to avoid offending loyal but slave owning states in the Union. Like Lincoln, Richard Henry Lee had a similar affinity for books, which was revealed most when he became a family man and had his own home, Chantilly, away from Stratford Hall. He built an impressive library with almost 100 titles, covering historical topics and biographies, not to mention scientific, theological and philosophical studies, plus various literary works of Shakespeare, Milton, Jonathan Swift and Laurence Sterne. He had conservative views about slavery, himself. like many of his contemporaries, (Lee) expressed contradictory views toward slavery, expressing their hatred of the institution yet refusing to abolish it because he and other planters needed slave labor to run profitable tobacco plantations. (McGaughy, 63) Richard Henry’s defiance of convention is best exemplified by his reaction to the enactment of the Stamp Act. He launched his own protest separate from his peers; he led a procession to the county courthouse parading effigies of Mercer, the Crown-appointed stamp distributor for Virginia and George Grenville, Britain’s lord of the treasury. Ultimately, Richard Henry’s concerns for his and fellow planters interests overtook the interests of the Crown in Virginia and the colonies. A series of legislations made for the evolution of Richard Henry from loyal British subject with the interests of the Crown at heart (in the footsteps of his father and grandfather) to American revolutionary. Their distinct childhoods and family backgrounds in no way prevented the occurrence of similarities in their personalities, ambitions, careers, and family lives, not to mention their fathers with the same first names. The antislavery borne out of Abraham Lincoln’s parents’ Baptist faith had been internalized in him that he could not not fight for it. His gentle nature was overcome by his fierce resolve to win the war. But, as mentioned above, he also exercised prudence in words to avoid rocking the boat of his constituents who may have been loyal but were still slaveowners. As a revolutionary, Richard Henry Lee evolved. It could be described as almost like a natural evolution, if one traces a person’s loyalty and interests originate from the self, radiating to the family, to the immediate community and the larger community. When it came to a conflict of interests between his own as a planter, a family man, and Representative of his community as opposed to the interests of the Crown, it is easy to deduce whose side he would take. More so, when the interests of the Crown were to the detriment, loss and eventual harm to his family and community. The goals of both Abraham Lincoln and Richard Henry Lee reveal their deep patriotism and mature adherence to what their country (province, as in Lee’s case) had evolved into. Their political careers were run within a framework of what can be now termed â€Å"public service† in their hearts.