History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

History - Essay Example In 1850, there was the compromise, famously known as the compromise of 1850. This involved California applying to be part of the Union, this upset the balance of Free states and slaves as California sought to be a free state. The agreed compromise was that California would be admitted as a Free State translating to abolishment of slave trade in Washington D.C, however, the rest of the States won from Mexico would keep their slaves and lenient laws would be passed in this regard (Gallagher 19). In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed and this sought the assistance of Northerners in capturing runaway slaves. The Act also passed that fugitives would be arrested without warrant and would not be granted a fair trial. This read to the writing of the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Beecher Stowe’s in 1952. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska act was passed this gave the residents autonomy to decide their position on slavery (Gallagher 20). There was an illegal voting that translated t o a civil war this resulted after Missouri residents rigged in favor of slavery. In 1857, the Dred Scott case was heard, Dred an enslaved man argued for his freedom after his master’s death. ... In the elections of 1860, Lincoln who was a Republican won the elections. This prompted secession by the South, who had threatened to withdraw from the Union in the event Lincoln won mainly due to his stance on slavery. The southerners seceded in 1860 forming the Confederate States of America, these elected Jefferson Davis as president. The secession set the stage for a war that would put to test the strength of the American republic, the Civil War (Gallagher 21). How & Why the Union defeated the confederacy Going into the war, the North had some definite advantages. One of the advantages was in the numbers; the North had 22 million people compared to the population of 9 million in the South. Out of the 9 million people in the South only 5.5 million of them were whites. The other advantage was in the industry capacity, by the time of the war the North was producing 94% of the total firearms present in the United States. The Confederates had to rely on firearms supplied by the Europea n trade partners. The trade would later be suppressed by the Union (Gallagher 30). The Union used its superior naval machinery to disrupt the trade which largely took place in the sea. Finally, the Union benefited from the fact that four slave states stack with the Union, these were Delaware, Missouri, Maryland and Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln’s role Abraham Lincoln was the president of United States at the time of cessation by the Southerners, also referred to as the Confederate States. Being the president, he felt he had a duty to protect the Union and ensure that all the States remained United. Therefore, his main role in the Civil War was his stance that the secession was illegal. By declaring it illegal, he set the stage for the War

Magnesium analytical methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Magnesium analytical methods - Essay Example Magnesium is an important element in medicine, industry, consumer products and biology.Understanding the analytical methods for interpreting magnesium levels is crucial to chemical analysis across a diverse range of scientific and industrial endeavors. In order to better understand magnesium and its interactions, it is important to examine fundamental of the element that have been previously pioneered. This knowledge sets the stage for application of contemporary techniques to produce new and exciting results in magnesium analysis. The element Magnesium has the chemical symbol Mg, as appears on the periodic table. The atomic number for the element is 12 and the average atomic mass of its isotopes is 24.3050. It is a group IIA element (Group 2) also referred to as the alkali earth metals. The most common naturally occurring isotopes, or those that are stable under standard conditions are the three stable isotopes, 24Mg, 25Mg, and 26Mg, although nineteen radioisotopes that range from 1 9Mg to 40Mg have been isolated; however, these unstable isotopes commonly decay to atoms of sodium or aluminum depending on their weight and composition [2]. Of the stable isotopes 24Mg is the most abundant, accounting for approximately 79% of Earth’s magnesium [5]. The most common oxidation state for magnesium is the state that corresponds with its noble gas valence configuration, Mg2+, a state which is responsible for the majority of compounds formed by magnesium [2]. Compounds may appear with oxidation numbers as small as zero in some cases, however, as magnesium is found in a great diversity of naturally occurring compounds. Magnesium commonly forms chlorides (MgCl2), oxides (MgO), and hydrides (MgH2) [5]. Because of its historical relevance, it is no surprise that magnesium compounds were studied as early as the 1700s, when the physician and chemist Joseph Black, who is sometimes credited with the discovery of magnesium, reported initial research on magnesium compounds. This pioneer work paved the way for the acceptance of magnesium as an element, though it was nearly half a century later when pure magnesium metal was able to be first produced, partially due to the strong binding of magnesium to other elements in compounds [5]. The English chemist Humphry Davy first prepared pure magnesium by developing a system to pass an electric current through molten magnesium oxide (MgO), causing the compound to decompose into its component elements magnesium and oxygen gas as follows: 1.2 Abundance and Common Compounds Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element on the earth, appearing in the earth’s crust, surface minerals, and seawater predominantly. The name magnesium dates back centuries. In fact, due to the large occurrence of magnesium in geological samples, the name was selected in honor of a region in Greece known as Magnesia which contains large supplies of magnesium compounds [5]. The element magnesium forms 2.3 percent by weight, 2.0 perce nt by molar fraction, and 0.3 percent by volume of the earth’s crust. Additionally the element commonly is found in seawater and tap water [1]. Several well known magnesium materials that occur in the earth have been known for centuries. One such material is calcium magnesium carbonate, or dolomite, which has the formula CaMg(CO3)2, which is used as a building material [5]. Another example is magnesium sulfate, or Epsom salts, which have the formula MgSO4. Epsom salts occur naturally and are used in cosmetics and bath products. Magnesium is also estimated to be a common element throughout our solar system, estimated to contain seven hundred parts per million by weight and thirty parts per million by moles magnesium [5]. Magnesium ions have been role to play important biological roles in nucleic acid biochemistry, enzyme activation, and many other biological systems [3]. In recent years increasing emphasis has been places on the