Native Americans and Buffalo Soldiers

During the civil war, the slaves of america were freed. After hundreds of years of captivity, they were finally free and able to do whatever they pleased; or at least that's what they thought. A series of black codes and other restrictions were passed by many southern states. This means that they could only do certain things for work, like sharecropping or tenant farming. Many of these freemen opted out of these options and chose to be buffalo soldiers for the US army. These were regiments for the US army that usually fought the Native Americans in the west. In the west, land was becoming more and more precious. The United States were looking to expand, and the west was the best option for them. The only thing in their ways was the Native Americans. There were many battles that took place during this war, and the Buffalo Soldiers ultimately won. But the Americans claimed they were doing a good thing for the Native Americans, because they thought their ways were inferior to theirs. In the end. What the Americans did to take Native American land was an act of war, and not an attempt to actually make their lives better. 

The americans moved west after the civil war. They needed the land for various things such as natural products, gold, and crops. They used these newly freed slaves to fight the native americans who occupied the land. In the 1840’s-1860’s the Nez Perce moved to smaller reservations. Life as a Native American wouldn’t be the same ever again. In 1860, gold was discovered in the west. This caused an influx of easterners to move west as a way to make money. In the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Native Americans were able to fight of the Americans, surround them, and then won the battle. This was one of the only battles that they won. The Americans flooded the region with troops and defeated the Native Americans. Next came the Long March of the Nez Perce. During this march, half of the 400 Native Americans died. There was nothing they could do about it because the Americans over power the Native Americans. In 1887 the Dawes Act was passed, allotting certain parts of Native American land to the Native Americans. The things that America did were not good for the Native Americans at all. They fought them in more than 100 battles, made them move off their land, and killed countless numbers of their people. This was, in no way, trying to help the Native Americans. This was solely a way for them to take their land and utilize the gold and land that the Native Americans had. 

Carnegie and Rockefeller

After the civil war, industry boomed. The country that was once in shambles needed to turn around and become a powerful nation once again. There were businesses being created all the time, and the market was being flooded. Thus came Survival of the Fittest, in a business sense. The companies that didn't have the funds, the brains, and the power to stay alive and sell product during this time were eliminated. Along with this, the government took the Laissez Faire, which was the policy that they would leave the businesses alone. Corporations flourished because the companies needed money and the people wanted shares in these new, big, companies. Two men at the forefront of this movement were Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller. Some argued that they were robber-barons, a person that was unsportsmanlike. They bought out and destroyed rival companies, bribed government officials, created giant monopolies, and more. Others would say they were Captains of Industry, who were business leaders in the country. Carnegie and Rockefeller were Captains of Industry because they advanced the quality of business and product for American citizens.


Carnegie is a Captain of Industry for many reasons. First, he revolutionized the steel industry in America. He used the strategy of vertical integration, which means that he owned all aspects of the supply chain. This means that he can control the business from top to bottom, and this maximizes his profits. His steel industry in America eventually passed that of Britain. He also wrote the book Wealth, which was about the upper class Americans of the time. It was about proper etiquette, and more importantly what you should do with your wealth. He said that if you were wealthy, you should give back, to improve the quality of the community as a whole. This was important for him because he came from a very poor childhood, and he knew that giving back would help kids like he was when he was young. He gave millions to the advancing of education, the creation of public libraries, and promoting world peace. Because of the way he was able to get large amounts of steel for such a cheap price through his connections in England, he shut down most of the other steel manufacturers in America. In the end, Carnegie is a Captain of Industry because he created one of the largest businesses in America and he was able to give much of his profits back to charity as well.

Rockefeller was also a business leader in America. He started the Standard Oil Company, which became the biggest oil company in America at the time. He did this by buying up his rival companies and destroying them, giving himself a monopoly on the oil industry. Because he did this, he was able to make the price of oil much cheaper, (as there were no competitors) which was beneficial for the people of America. Many people were opposed to Rockefeller's ways of business. First, many people lost jobs when their companies were destroyed by Standard Oil Company. Also, it was frowned upon to use these tactics in business. With his great wealth, Rockefeller gave money for the advancements of education, medicine, and science. While many of Rockefeller's business tactics may seem like that of a robber baron, Rockefeller was a Captain of Industry because he grew into a business leader of America whose successful model of business gave Americans to have a cheaper source of oil.


Carnegie and Rockefeller

Freedom from Above or Below

In class we talked about the freeing of slaves. But how the slaves were freed, and who freed them is still not 100% credible to one person or a group person. Our question in this unit was "who really freed the slaves?" There are two sides to this. One is the higher power, the few people at the top of the social pyramid who have the power and ability to abolish slavery. But the other side is the numerous people at the bottom of the social pyramid, the slaves, or the lower class citizens. In class, we went over 4 documents that Lincoln wrote regarding slavery, including the Gettysburg address and the Emancipation Proclamation. More information on these can be found in the 2nd paragraph. We also watched some video clips about these documents and how they affected the nation. We looked at some pictures, such as the one below, that helped us understand the issue.



Freedom From Above
Abraham Lincoln is a great example of someone who shows his ability to help the anti slavery cause and help with freedom from above. The first example is the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln says "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Lincoln is telling the nation that he knew all along that the purpose for the war was to eliminate slavery. Even though it may not have seemed like it at first, it was the overall goal the entire time. Also, in the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln says "the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free..." Using his power, Lincoln is able to officially free the slaves. They can no longer be slaves, and have all of the rights that the white men have. Freedom from above is usually caused by a person of high power using his or her power to help the lower class citizens. In this case, Lincoln uses his executive power as president to free the slaves.

Freedom From Below
The slaves of the south wanted freedom, and they will take action to do so. In Document X, it says talks about a town that had been abandoned by the people living in it when Union soldiers came through it, but now there were freemen rummaging through the remains. Later during the war, another group of Union soldiers come through the town to find all of these freemen, and they were forced to take them along. Similarly, in Document Y, a large group of freemen come to a resting group of Union soldiers, and force themselves on the union soldiers. In both of these situations the slaves force themselves on the Union soldiers. While this may not have been best for the Union soldiers at the time, they were okay with it because it was their goal in the war to free the slaves and help the freemen.


My Opinion
I think, that in the end, freedom comes from below. While this may not always be the case, I think that it is this way most of the time. For example, in Baltimore, there were riots for weeks and weeks following police brutality. While this is still an ongoing issue, it made leaps and bounds towards a lessening of excessive police force in America. And this is because the people of Baltimore decided to do something about it. Instead of waiting for someone with power to come in and say something, the people did something to make change. I think it is this way most of the time because the few people at the top are often more worried about other matters, but when large issues are brought to their attention, they will usually act.

Civil War Battles Scavenger Hunt

The civil war was long and brutal, with many battles being fought and many lives being lost.  In class we were each responsible to research one battle and note the victor, theater, and other important facts about the battle in a Google Document. You can see my google doc here.  Next, our class put a QR code and a bitly on a piece of paper and hung them all over the school. We took down the information  on a battle and then went to the next battle, which was located somewhere else in the school. Once we had notes on all 20 battles, we came back to class. Next, on Padlet, we wrote about the trends in the war. We wrote about who won the battle, where they won he battle, and why they won.  These facts are important about our understanding in who won the war. Below is the padlet we made in class.

Created with Padlet

It is clear throughout the entire war that the union was the more powerful force. In the Western theater they won most of the battles. They had the same success in the naval theater. In the Eastern theater, the war was more split. The confederacy won the majority of the battles early in the war. Near the end on the war, the Union took control of the eastern theater and won the war.

The union won most of the battles in the western theater mainly because they had more troops. They consistently outnumbered the confederate troops. They consistently had a surplus of supplies which the confederacy didn't allowing them to excel in long battles. In the Battle of Vicksburg and the Chattanooga Campaign the Union outnumbered the Confederacy, forcing them to lose the battles in the end. In the naval theater, the Union also won many of the battles. Again, they had a more supplies and a better strategy than the confederacy. In the battles on Fort Donelson and Fort Henry. They won by great military decisions by Grant, a Union commander. The eastern theater was different. At the beginning of the war, the confederacy won most of the early battles. In the battles of Fairfax County and Prince William County, and the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Confederate soldiers held their positions and battled off the Union soldiers, which was their war plan. Near the end of the war, things changed. In the last battle on the war, the Appomatix Campaign, the Union were victorious. In a final confederate defeat, they slowly escaped some Union forces. The confederacy surrendered on April 9, 1865.

Battle of Chickamauga

Election of 1860

In class we learned about the election of 1864. We talked about the events leading up to it, such as Harper's Ferry and Scott v Sanford. We talked about the candidates, and the winner, Lincoln. We also talked about the aftermath of the war, when the southern states seceded from the union. This split of the United States strengthened an ongoing debate about slavery, which split the union and the confederacy apart even more.






The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, at the Capitol, Washington, March 4, 1861.  1861-03-16, Homer, Winslow.

[Reissue, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, June 27, 1857, courtesy of National Park Service, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial]

“An Old-Time Photographer and His Reminiscences,” Photographic Times and American Photographer (New York) 25:681 (5 October 1894): 226. In Gary W. Ewer, “The Daguerreotype: An Archive of Source Texts, Graphics, and Ephemera. http://www.daguerreotypearchive.org/texts/P8940004_BRADY_PHOTO-TIMES_1894-10-05.pdf .

Newberry Library. "Our Banner in the Sky." Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North.http://publications.newberry.org/digitalexhibitions/exhibits/show/homefront/introduction/introbanner.

Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor
1861

Finkelman, Paul. His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid. University of Virginia Press, 1995.

Stats and Strategies

Civil War | Create infographics

In my infogram, I decided to put a map at the beginning to show what states were being controlled by who. I think this is important to begin the infographic because it gives you an initial idea about who owns what and how things are layed out. Next, I showed the three people to show you that 1 out of 3 people owned slaves in the south. This is important because it shows that millions of people owned slaves. Next I showed some important factors of the war, and what quantities the north and south had. This shows how each item could have impacted the war. Next, I showed the Northern and Southern advantages. This is important because it gives information on how both sides created their military strategies. Lastly is a picture of the northern war plan. Below that are the northern and southern war strategies. These are important because you can see how the strategies go against each other and who had what advantages. This helps you understand what the sides were going through because you can see that each side had strengths and weaknesses, and it shows how they will use their strengths and exploit their opponents weaknesses.

Slavery Entrenched

         In the early 19th century, slavery became entrenched in US society. At the turn of the decade, slavery was slowly dying out. The only cotton that was efficient to harvest grew only on the coasts, so most of the slaves were located there. The problem with the inland cotton was that there were seeds in it that took too long to pull out one by one. A young man named Eli Whitney, a recent Yale graduate, needed money to pay off debts. He went down south to Georgia to become a tutor on a plantation. While in Georgia, Whitney learned about the challenges of growing cotton, and was encouraged to find a solution. Thus he created the cotton gin, which he patented and made large profits from. This invention spread across the southern states and revitalized the slave industry. In 1790, two years before the invention of the cotton gin, there were 690,000 slaves in the United States who produced 1.5 million pounds of cotton. By 1860, there were 4 million slaves who produced 2.28 billion pounds of cotton. This was 57% of America's export revenue, at a total of 191.8 million dollars. The price of a slave went from $500 to $1500 during this time period as well. It is clear that the invention of the cotton gin caused an economic uproar in America that caused the number of slaves and the export revenue in the south to grow exponentially.


Cotton Gin



How does a system of slavery based on race affect  human dignity?What human characteristics does such a system tend  to ignore?

John Brown was a antislavery activist that lived in the 19th century. While many questioned his tactics, others supported his cause. He was loved by many northerners, but hated by the southerners. He is most famous for breaking into an armory in Harper's Ferry, Virginia. His goal was to seize weapons to give to slaves in order to start a rebellion. His plan was not a success. Local troops killed 8 of the men with Brown, and a detachment of US marines captured Brown. 3 months later, he was hanged for treason. Some payed respect for John. Others called him a martyr for America's freedom. The people of the south thought that he was outrageous. What brown did may not have been right in all people's eyes, but the end goal was worth it in the end.





John Brown

In Futa Jallon, Africa, slavery was different. The main religion was Muslim, and all non Muslims were the slaves. In Futa Jallon, ethnicity didn't matter. Religion was so important to them, that it didn't matter what your skin color was, only what your religion was. Also, the generation of slave children were given freedom and were allowed to own slaves of their own. They could own land and harvest crops, just how their masters had done to them before. In Natchez, Mississippi, the story was different. Slavery was based on race. The owners were brutal. There were large numbers of slaves concentrated on large plantations. The owners of these slaves were only the few, rich white plantation owners. The free blacks had limitations on what they could do and what choices they could make. The slaves were so desperate to see their families that they would sneak out and endure the punishment just to do so. The rich people from America always wanted more slaves. Ships of white men would go to Africa and ambushing colonies and taking their men to become slaves. The African people had to submit because they did not have the guns that many American men had.



Natchez, MI Slave Auction








Mapping History Activity
Cotton Gin Reading
John Brown Document

Elephant in the Room

In the 19th century, slavery was the center of everything. Anyone running for office needed to voice their opinion on the debate. Some argued for change, and others wanted to keep the same ways. The arguments boiled into new laws, and eventually war. In class we researched 8 events that led to the beginning of the civil war.

Kansas-Nebraska Act
After the creation of a transcontinental railroad in the south, the north felt like they needed the same. Unfortunately, it would have to go through Kansas and Nebraska, which were unorganized states at the time. Thus the Kansas-Nebraska act was created. It stated that Kansas and Nebraska would have slavery based on popular sovereignty. It also gave the north permission to make a transcontinental railroad. This was good for the south because it gave southerners the ability to spread slavery into the north, where it had not been allowed before. It was good for the north because they would move people and product to the west, which they couldn't have done before.

Bleeding Kansas
As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska act, people from all over the country flooded into Kansas and Nebraska to populate them. Whether these two states had slavery or not depended on the people who came. This caused fighting for the land and the state as a whole. There were two capitals in Kansas. The antislavery capital was Topeka, and the slavery capital was Lecompton. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was an antislavery activist. He gave the speech "The Crime Against Kansas." This was a speech against the southerners for trying to take Kansas as a slavery state because it was in the north. He specifically spoke against a senator from North Carolina, Andrew Butler and his proslavery views.

The Caning of Sumner 
After Sumner's two day speech, many people were done with hearing from him. A man from the House of Representatives named Preston Brook, who also happened to be Andrew Butler's nephew, approached Sumner. He took his cane and severely beat Sumner. This showed that the controversy of slavery can cause even the most civilized people to resort to violence. This was good for the northerners because it gave the south a bad image.

The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave from the south who traveled to the north with his owner with his wife Harriet. His owner died there, so Scott argued that he should become free. The case was called Scott v. Sanford, and it was brought all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. They voted 7 to 2 against Scott. There were 3 important changes that came of this case. Slaves were denied the right to sue in court, slaves could not have freedom from just living in free states, and all territories were open to slavery. This was a huge loss for the north because all northern states could be open to slavery now, as well as many slaves having even more restrained rights.

It is clear that from these events and the others listed on the timeline above that war was brewing. It was bound to come, but when it would come was yet to have come.

Women's Reform

In mid 19th century America, there was a demand for women's equality. In the picture above, there are circles around some of the items that a mother may have to take care of. She would have to teach the kids how to read, take care of the baby and the dog, as well as various other things. They were expected to do all of the household chores. While this may seem like a typical household, it would likely be a little different. It would probably be more hectic, The children might not be getting along, and the mother might be cooking a meal for her husband who will soon arrive at home.

In 1848, a list of Laws and Practices was made. This enraged many women because there were some rules that were just inhumane. A woman was not allowed to speak in public, divorce their husband, or go to college. Later that year, in July of 1848, many women met in Seneca Falls for a convention. They felt it was necessary for them to voice their opinion and have more equality in life. They created a list called the Declarations of Sentiments and Resolutions, in response to the Laws and Practices, that voiced the opinions of women. It starts by saying all of the things that men restricted women from doing or having, like the ability to own property of even keep their wages. Next, it lists all of the things that the women want, like having the ability to do what they want in society and that men and women were created equal and should be treated this way. There were various newspapers that responded to the events at the Seneca Falls convention. In one, called the Oneida Wig, they were very much against the convention and the ideas portrayed there. "This bolt is the most shocking and unnatural incident ever recorded in the history of womanity. If our ladies insist on voting and legislating, where, gentlemen, will be our dinners and our elbows?" This is completely wrong. They literally treat their wives as slaves. They think that the women's ideas are merely jokes and that they don't matter, when they truly deserve to be treated better. Some newspapers, like the National Reformer, were for the movement. They wrote "...they will carry a weight of argument which the cobwebs of misinterpreted authority and special pleadings of those who only wish for equal rights for one half of creation, can never answer." They speak of the words that the women say, and that they are legit and have true meaning. They say that these words can not be responded upon by men because they make sense and they can't use the typical excuse that they would normally use.

Unfortunately, women are not treated the way that they should be, even today. The video from above is a Pantene commercial showing the stereotypes placed on women today. One example is the first one, where they show the man as a boss, but the woman as bossy. It just shows you that the issues of women in the workplace were not only issues then, but still now. I think that the overall idea of sexism still lies in society today, While it may not be everyone, you seem to see sexism in society more than you might assume. Overall, in this time period, women were treated poorly, and even their largest attempts at having more of a role were not always successful.

Nature

Waldo Emerson, Ralph. Nature. September 9, 1836. Oregon State. http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-emerson-a.html#Chapter I. 1/11/15. 

"Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, -- master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.
The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me, and I to them. The waving of the boughs in the storm, is new to me and old. It takes me by surprise, and yet is not unknown. Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right.
Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both. It is necessary to use these pleasures with great temperance. For, nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. To a man laboring under calamity, the heat of his own fire hath sadness in it. Then, there is a kind of contempt of the landscape felt by him who has just lost by death a dear friend. The sky is less grand as it shuts down over less worth in the population."

Emerson was one of the most prominent transcendentalists. He really believed in nature and the power that it could bring someone. He was always enjoying and connecting to Nature and making his observations using metaphors that painted a vivid picture in your head. The purpose of him writing this document was to write about his observations, but also to share his opinion on certain aspects of nature. This source is very trustworthy because Emerson is a revered author and his writing is admired by many. During this time period, many people believed in the upcoming industry of America, but Emerson was just the opposite. He wanted to keep the simple aspects of life, and wanted others to incorporate transcendentalism into their lives. The document teaches you that Emerson was not just someone was against the way the world was becoming; he wholeheartedly believed that connecting with God and nature was the best way to live your life. What Emerson is saying in his writing is not all true; some of it come from his imagination. He will explain what he sees, and then writes about how it makes him feel and what it means to him. Emerson's opinion on Nature is that it is a peaceful place where you can connect with yourself and God. He appreciates the serenity of nature and all aspects of it. Emerson is trying to convince the reader that normal life is ok, but taking a step back and appreciating the little details can make you happier and a better person.