Research Paper on:
Tools and 'King Leopold's Ghost' by Adam Hochschild

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
with the sole objective to amass a fortune while at the same time rule with an iron fist, author Adam Hochschild illustrates how one of the kings most prized tools  for achieving his objectives were in the form of human beings - the gross exploitation of African slaves. That Leopold was wholly capable of stuffing his incoming ships with  an abundance of ivory and rubber, only to turn around with nothing more than a collection of firearms and soldiers spoke to the vast amount of slave laborers he employed  as a means by which to load his seaworthy vessels. The clamor that arose from such human rights atrocities quickly swept across both Europe and the United States when  George Washington Williams and William Sheppard disclosed intimate details about the inhumane situation. Joseph Conrad, a pivotal element to the entire sordid episode, set the mood for King Leopolds  use of such "tools" by contending how he was "so horrified by the greed and brutality among white men he saw in the Congo that his view of human nature  was permanently changed" (Hochschild PG). The extent to which Hochschilds book addresses the early impact of the African slave trade is both grand and far-reaching. Defined as a breakthrough  for human rights, the significance of his account speaks to the notion of struggle amidst pursuit of a life embraced by freedom. Indeed, Hochschilds treatment of how African-Americans evolved  into the slave trade is indicative of a much more significant challenge than most will ever realize; in essence, the author illustrates the dichotomy of slavery within an otherwise free  and democratic society by transporting readers back in time when the color of ones skin was the only determining factor that cast the black community into enslavement under Leopolds reign.