Buffalo SOldiers

In class this past week we learned a lot about Buffalo Soldiers and Native Americans because we watched many videos and took specific notes on a class wide google doc about specific topics. We also read document and made questions that we will be seeing on the exam.This gave us key information as a class. Our essential question that we came up with as a class was "Was the discrimination that the Buffalo soldiers and Native Americans faced intentional or did the White settlers and federal government actually believe that what they were doing was just? "  

I believe that the discrimination that the Buffalo soldiers and Native Americans faced was definitely intentional. General Sherman's strategy of war was to remove the Buffalo soldiers. He would do anything to accomplish this. For example he basically destroyed all of their belongings. Native Americans were also forced out of their land and 90% of it went to Americans and the land that the Americans let the Native Americans have was useless. Farming was a big part of the Native Americans lives and the land they were given couldn't be farmed on. Also the government were against the Native Americans because they implemented the Dawes Act which enabled the government to take away Native American land. Native Americans were clearly discriminated against and that was not okay but they couldn't do anything to stop it.


Americans at this time basically bullied the Native Americans and the Buffalo soldiers. They took what they wanted and they gave them back the scraps. They set up the Native Americans to fail. The Native Americans couldn't do anything about it. Native Americans still feel the affects of this today.

Captains of Industry

In class this week we learned about Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller.  We all had a lot of fun creating our own lesson and presenting to our class.  We all gathered up and watched many ABC-CLIO clips as a class then read documents on Rockefeller and Carnegie.  Also we all took notes on one class wide google document and we made a 40 question test which will end up being our final.  I had a lot of fun during this lesson and I felt very independent.  Our essential question as a class is "Were Carnegie and Rockefeller robber barons or captains of industry?" In my opinion they were captains of industry. For example Rockefeller lowered the priced of his Standard Oil Company. This helped the economy tremendously. Also He gave back to society by helping education by giving his money. Carnegie also had a positive impact on the economy. Carnegie is well known for his strong production of steel in the U. S. He also used vertical integration, where raw materials were controlled, transportation was controlled and so was manufacturing and sales. He also built hundreds of libraries. Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller did a lot of things in their lives but overall in my opinion they were captains of industries not robber barons.

Making a Change

In class this week we discussed a lot about how enslaved people gained their freedom.  We discussed whether their freedom came from above which is people that had higher ranks in society or whether it came from below which is people of the lower classes.  We did many activities like discussing the social pyramid and watching Ken Burns Civil War Clips.  Also we were all assigned different documents to analyze and find quotes to answer various question. Also we analyzed this pictured of a slave kissing Abraham Lincolns hand.  Abraham Lincoln gave freedom to enslaved people by passing the emancipation proclamation.  I believe that freedom ultimately came from above because they passed laws to legal make enslaved people free.  On the other hand the people "below" forced their hand.  They stood up for what they believed in and they wanted freedom.  If it wasn't for the people below it would have taken a lot longer for enslaved people to become free.  I believe Lincolns actions were greatly impacted by the actions of the enslaved Americans.  They fought for their freedom and Lincoln the only right thing to do was pass the emancipation proclamation and make them free.  Lincoln was very fair to all people.  Overall freedom was granted by people from above but the people from below really forced the decision and that was the right thing to do.

Searching for a Victor

In class we all picked a battle that we would like to research. We then made a google document and it included the battle name, date of the battle, where it took place, the theater, and reasons for the results. After that we all made a QR code and a bitly and printed it out. The QR code would lead to the google document for your battle.  We went on a scavenger hunt scanner all the QR codes and copying the information about the battles.  Finally we went on a website called padlet and found trends on the theater of the battle and who was victorious.


The union was the ultimate victor in the western and naval theater, but the confederacy was the victor in the eastern theater.  For example in the battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana which took place in the western and naval theaters in 1862 the union was victorious. The confederates had to separate into two divisions and the union was held at the center of Louisiana. The union army was successful in almost all of the battles in the western and naval theaters. Also the confederates won most of the eastern battles. For example in the second battle of Bull Run on August 28-30 in Prince William County, Virginia the confederates were the victors. The union attacked but were devastated by the confederate artillery then the confederacy also counter attacked with 28,000 men. The battle led to a ratio of 13,830 dead union men and 8,350 dead confederate men. The union overall was the dominant force even though the confederacy showed resilience.


One commonality in the reason for the results is that the union had a lot more men then the confederacy. For example, in the battle of Spotsylvania on May 8th and 19th 1864 in Virginia  there was not clear victor but the confederacy failed to stop the union army. An estimated 18,000 men were killed from the union army and 12,000 from the confederacy. This shows that the unions numbers were just too much. Even though the confederacy killed more union soldiers than the number of soldiers they lost they still couldn't stop the union soldiers.  One commonality the confederacy had was most of the time they won it was from unexpected attacks. For example the battle of Chancellorsville on May 1 and 4th of 1863 confederate troops flanked the right side of the union army while they were still woods, while the union army was stunned they were able to kill stonewall Jackson.   This is one of many examples.


I had a lot of fun with all the activities that we did in class. I learned a lot about the civil war and the scavenger was a lot of fun.  I also learned a lot about technology by making a QR code and a bitly. I enjoyed walking around the school scanning the signs and copying down the information. I learned a lot about the union army and the confederate army. We learned a lot about the battles and the victors of them. Overall the Union was more dominant than the Confederacy. I really enjoyed this week of class.



Picture of the battle of Fort Donelson

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson

Election of 1860

Last week in class we made a short "Show Me" on the election of 1860. President Lincoln was victorious in this election which made him the 16th president of the United States of America. Also we watched a crash course video tht showed how the slavery issue caused a division for many things.  The results of theelection of 1860 represented the deep divisions of the south in many ways. For example Breckenridge believe in no limits on slavery and he won most deep southern states. Lincoln was against slavery so he obviously won many northern states. Bell wanted to preserve te constitution and the union as it is, including slavery and he won 3 states bordering the north and the south. Finally Douglas wanted to determine the spread of slavery by using popular sovereignty. He only won Missouri. This shows how America really wasn't agreeing at this point in time which led to the civil war. This map shows the states that each candidate won. At this time in America people had a hard time agreeing on anything and I'm happy we got over it. 

Also we made a short "Show Me" enjoy!

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=IOH7CIS

Stats and Strategies

In my info-graphic I tried to add the most vital information to show who had the advantage, either the north or the south.  The first fact I chose was the railroads.  The north had 21,700 miles of railroad and the south had 9,000 miles of railroad.  This gives the north the advantage because they could ship things farther.  If their soldiers need more supplies they can reach them with no problem.  The second point I added in my info-graphic was the total population.  There were 23,000,000 people in the north and there were 8,700,000 people in the south.  This gives an advantage to the north because most likely the north had more soldiers.  Also I added that the south had an advantage because they had the nations military colleges in the south and most of their officers sided with the confederacy.  This means they had more highly trained soldiers than the north.  Strategy gave an advantage to the north in my opinion.  One of the strategies by Lincoln was to create a blockade at all naval ports down the east coast all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  This was to stop the south from shipping cotton to Europe and stop southerners from importing manufactured goods they needed.  This cut off it's biggest money maker and didn't let them get the things they needed.  Money was a big part of the Civil War.  The north crushed the south in this category.  The north produced 1.5 billion dollars in manufactured goods and the south only produced 1.5 million dollars in manufactured goods.  This gives the north the freedom to spend more money on the supplies they needed.  This process helped me understand the situations faced by the Union and Confederacy at the start of the civil war.  For example I had no idea how much goes into the war before looking at this information.  Comparing these stats and strategies shows that the north definitely had the advantage entering the war.  Both sides had to deal with many situations before the war.  They had to worry about money to fund the war.  They had to get people to fight, and they also needed transportation to send there soldiers places and go to them if help is needed.  People definitely underestimate everything. that goes into consideration before a war.

TENSIOn between the states | Create infographics

Women's Reform

How did mid-19th century american Society react yo women's demands for equality? Does 21st century society still react differently to men and women?

American society didn't give any attention to women's demand for equality in the mid-19th century and that is not right.  They all thought women were supposed to cook, clean, and take care of the children, basically they were like maids and had to wait on their husbands at every beckoning call.  For example the image below some of the things women had to do.  Making sure the house was cleaned, watching children, fixing broken items in the home, taking care of animals, helping children with school work, making clothes for family are just a few of many things women had to do.  They really didn't have many rights either.  They had to fight and earn everything they had.  You'd think after all they did they could at least be treated equal, but no they were still treated as the inferior race.  There were many women who protested for equality and many failed, but they kept fighting.  In my opinion women being trapped in the house is a waste of talent.  They could be changing the world and achieving their dreams but they're basically held back from doing what they want.  That is just demoralizing in my opinion.  Luckily after many hard fought campaigns and protests women are equal with men and that's the way it should be.  

In the 21st century I feel like people still act differently to men and women.  There are definitely still some stereotypes of women.  For example many people always think of the women staying home with the children and having too cook and clean.  For example in many baby commercials it's always a mom and her baby and that;s not always the case.  The world has had a substantial change in a good way also.  Women have just as many rights as men and can do everything they can.  I also believe a women hasn't been elected president because some people still believe that a woman couldn't run our country but I believe they are just as capable as men.  Also I believe we will have a woman leading our country and that will be a huge step in destroying those stereotypes.  

As a nation we have made tremendous strides in woman equality.  I have a great amount of respect for women that stand up for their rights.  Women were treated very poorly and that is just not okay and I am glad we made a change.  Women are treated equal today and that is the way it should be.  Women deserve everything they have and they deserve equal right also.  

Elephant in the Room

The debate of slavery was "the elephant in the room" in the early 19th century for American politics because everyone knew it was a problem but, they knew it was just going to lead to a big disagreement. In class we read passages and articles and took notes on events like the Missouri compromise of 1850, the Gadsden purchase, the Lincoln and Douglas debates, the Kansas Nebraska Act and a couple more. Obviously many people had different views of slavery an the north and south were divided. The north was anti-slavery and the south was pro-slavery. 

Missouri compromise creates an even split of 11 slave states and 11 free states. This means slave states and free states have an even number of votes in the senate. Also, all new territory north of the 36 degrees 30 minutes latitude line will be free in the future. "The compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do-- it kept the nation united-- but the solution was only temporary. Over the next decade the country's citizens became divided over the issue..." This show that a disagreement was doomed to happen and it's difficult to find a permanent solution because people always want more. 

In the Kansas Nebraska act it broke the rules of the Missouri compromise. It let slavery extend past the line they set. Also it did enable anti-slavery people move out west which can lead to more free states. Many people didn't like this for example Charle Sumner wrote a letter to the president and he said "It is the rape of a virgin Territory, compelling it to the hateful embrace of Slavery; and it may be clearly traced to a depraved desire for a new Slave State, hideous offspring of such a crime, in the hope of adding to the power of Slavery in the National Government." This shows that there was still a huge problem the north and south just can't agree on. Charles summer strongly states his opinion that we should not have broken the Missouri compromise because slavery might spread and can add power to slavery in the national government. 

 

Also the Dred Scott decision of 1857 was a very big event. Dred Scott, an enslaved man living in Missouri, filed suit against his owner.He argued he and his wife Harriet were free because they once lived with their owner in states and territories where slavery was illegal. The court didn't agree with them and ruled against Dred Scott 7 to 2. In an article on the Dred Scott case it states "The court think the affirmative of these propositions cannot be maintained." This basically shows that there isn't many ways to get out of slavery. His argument was valid but the courts found away around it. They basically said that he didn't have the right to file a law suit because he's black. This is another reason why no one wanted to discuss the "elephant in the room". 

The caning of Charles Sumner was a huge event aswell. Senator Charles sumner gave speech that was named the crime against Kansas. In the speech he attacked southerners for forcing slavery on his territory. 2 days later Preston Brooks was angered by the speech and he beat him with a cane.  Never recovered from these injuries. 

Slavery was ahi he problem and everyone was aware. Nobody wanted to discuss this because they knew what was coming later. Violence is never good for a country and they knew that was coming. It too them a long time to finally solve this problem. 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html

http://www.edline.net/files/_BWH0Y_/e42eb7fac3a9a6113745a49013852ec4/The_Crime_Against_Kansas.pdf

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933t.html

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner

Antebellum Slavery

Slavery became economically entrenched in America in the early 19th century because the slaves produced a lot of money for the U.S.  Cotton was a huge money producer in the early 19th century and the slaves would pick cotton all day and this produces millions of dollars per year. This gave a huge boost to America's economy. If they abolished slavery the production of cotton would drop tremendously which would lead to the loss of money for the U.S. 

A system of slavery based on race can affect human dignity because when you become a slave you are pretty much stripped of your rights. You work long days and make little to no pay. You are treated like an animal in most cases. Your owners also view you as a piece of property which is just shameful. This affects human dignity because you're given no respect and people make you feel worthless which makes people lose dignity. 

A slavery system like this can ignore many human characteristics. When you have a slave owners don't care about how they are as a person. For example these people don't care if you're nice or mean. They only care about your physical appearance and health. The owners buy the slaves to work and that's it. Han characteristics were over looked all the time during these times. Personally slavery is distrusting to me. I don't like the fact that it's a part of American history. All of these people were treated so poorly and owners didn't care about their characteristics at all. 

Slavery Entrenched

Slavery became entrenched both economically and politically. Slavery gave a big boost to the American economy. Also slavery made congress put in new laws for the slaves and slave owners. 

Slavery gave the American economy a big boost. Most of the slaves worked I the south on plantations. The slaves would work long, hot, draining days for no pay. In 1860 the south grew 2.28 billion pounds of cotton. Cotton exports produced $191.8 million. Was 57% of the nations revenue. The produces a lot of money for America an boosts the economy substantially. Usually slaves in the north worked in textiles and needed cotton from the south.  Also many laws were implemented. For example Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 in the constitution basically  states that if a slave escapes and is found by someone the slave must be returned to the original owner. There were many more laws made because of slavery. That just shows how important slavery was to the U.S. and that is why it was entrenched. 

Prison Reform

Dorothea Dix played the biggest part in the prison reform.  She would go into jails to teach Sunday school to the prisoners.  She couldn't help but notice that these jails didn't have good conditions, but most importantly she noticed that they had mentally insane people locked up.  She immediately stood up for her beliefs and took action.  Dorothea Dix wrote letters and sent them to the legislatures of the state to bring this problem to their attention.  In a letter Dorothea wrote to a legislature she says "I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience."  This shows that she really cared about this topic and she needed a change.  She fought long and hard for this change.   Her efforts were very successful and she made several institutions for the mentally insane across the country.




The author of this letter is Dorothea Dix and she led the prisons reform.  The others purpose of this article is to bring this problem to the eyes of legislation.  This source is very trustworthy because it is just a copy of the letter that Dorothea Dix wrote herself.  When Dorothea Dix taught Sunday school in the prisons she noticed that there were mentally insane people there and she had to take a stand.  That led to her writing this letter.  This teaches you how bad these prisons were and how much she really believed that this needed to be changed.  This letter is very descriptive and it gives you a full description of the event.  The author believes that this is a huge problem that needs to be resolved immediately.  The author is trying to convince the reader to make a change to the prisons as soon as possible and she stands by her beliefs.





Dix, Dorothea. “Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts On the Conditions of the Prisons.” Accessed January, 1843. http://www.teachushistory.org/second-great-awakening-age-reform/resources/memorial-legislature-massachusetts.

Defining Democracy

Democracy is a system of government in which everyone has a say. In America today we use democracy. This means we all have a say about political decisions like who our president is. I believe this is the best and fairest system of government. This also is a nice system because the candidate that has the most votes by the people wins the race. The majority of the people determine certain decisions. In the 1800s they were very democratic. For example they had the right to vote on different things. They had the opportunity to vote for the president but women didn't have voting rights like men did which isn't fair. They gave the people a day and that's what I believe is most important. 

The People's President

Andrew Jackson has earned himself many different nicknames, but I do believe he deserves his longstanding label as "The People's President". One reason he deserves to be called “The People’s President” is because he was known for defending the United States, even before he was president, by serving as a general in the War of 1812. Another reason is that in the election of 1824 Jackson won the popular vote against John Quincy Adams. Even though Jackson did not win the whole election, he won the peoples vote by a big majority. And finally Jackson deserves to be known as the “People’s President” because in 1828 he gave white, common men the right to vote, which expanded suffrage. In result the property requirement for voting was eliminated in most states, which made for a more democratic election. For these many reasons, Jackson deserves his long lasting reputation as "The People's President".