Edgar Allen Poe is best remembered for his dark tales of the macabre, but many readers aren't aware of his personal political views and how they informed his writing. Poe did not write extensively or comprehensively about the abolitionist movement. We do know some of his thoughts on the issue from  book reviews that he published in various publications in the 1830s and 40s. Much of his criticism of abolitionists concerned not the essential principles of the cause but what he viewed as the anti-slavery fanaticism of many Northern editors and writers that prevented the publishing success of Southern identified writers like himself. 

"Like most of the political issues of his day, Poe did not write extensively or comprehensively about the abolitionist movement. What little that is known of his views of abolitionism is recorded primarily in book reviews that he published in various publications in the 1830s and 40s. Much of his criticism of abolitionists concerned not the essential principles of the cause but what he viewed as the anti-slavery fanaticism of many Northern editors and writers that prevented the publishing success of Southern identified writers like himself. "¹

Teens with strong social support networks are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and are more likely to experience unintended pregnancy.  Two important factors in social support networks are parental involvement and the peers that teens spend time with.  Teens with parents who are more involved tend to choose to delay sexual initiation, whereas teens whose friends engage in risky sexual behaviors are more likely to engage in the same behaviors.

"Social support networks are important for the health of adolescents. One important part of social networks for adolescents is parental involvement. Adolescents whose parents are more involved tend to choose to delay sexual initiation and are at a lower risk for unintended pregnancy (Hoskins & Simons, 2015; Viner et al., 2012). In addition to parental involvement, the peers that teens spend time with also have an impact on pregnancy rates. Females who have friends that engage in risky sexual behavior are more likely to engage in the same behaviors and are more likely to experience unintended pregnancy (Hoskins & Simons, 2015)."¹

The killing of the albatross is especially shocking because it seems to come out of nowhere, with no motive on the part of the mariner.  Such an emphasis on the lack of motive or foresight is especially interesting given Coleridge's own subscription to the Unitarian moral theory, and the emphasis placed on motives in the designation of responsibility within that moral code.

"It is within this already disoriented field that the crucial moment of the narrative occurs: the slaying of the albatross. There are two especially strange elements to this killing. Firstly, as many critics have pointed out, it happens without any apparent foresight or motive. In one stanza, the Mariner is describing vespers in the moonlight; in the next, the Wedding Guest is shocked by the terror in the Mariner's face: the killing simply happens. This is particularly interesting given the weight that the Unitarian moral theory to which Coleridge subscribed at the time placed upon motives, since the determinative effects of motives were, in their compatibilist analysis of volition, the only marks of responsibility."¹

The Supreme Court of the United States of America serves an important function as one of the three branches of the federal government. The court hears many types of cases,a nd their rulings can have far reaching effects.  For example, in 2007, the court heard a case in which the state of Arizona issued a proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency, requesting that pollution permitting authority be handed over to the state.

The first case, the National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, exemplifies cases in which the Supreme Court has been called on to interpret the exact meaning of the ESA and its limitations.  In this case, the state of Arizona issued a proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency, requesting that pollution permitting authority be handed over to the state.