Hot Cup of SS_Conversations with Christina: 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Reconstruction Plans

After the intense four long years of battle, the American Civil War was finally over. However, the cost for freedom was great and many lives were changed for the worst. The main disadvantage was that now the United States were split, divided between the north and the south. Another harm was that there were many African Americans that didn't know what to do with themselves now that they were free. To solve this, Lincoln started creating reconstruction plans in 1863. However, he was murdered in 1864, which made it a lot more difficult to carry them out. After his death, Johnson took charge as the 17th president of the United States and tried to continue with Lincoln's ideas. In 1865 he argued that their goals have been met, so there was no reason to advance in planning. The Congress did not agree with his position, so in 1866 they broke from him, and eventually got enough votes to revoke his vetoes. With this new power they implemented "Radical Reconstruction" in 1867. With this plan blacks began to receive opportunities to start lives for themselves; education, voting rights, jobs.

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Alexander H Stephens and Secession in GA

Alexander H. Stephens had a humongous impact of the secession of Georgia. In 1871, when the Georgia special convention was held to decide whether to secede, he was their governor. He was not for seceding, however his opinion was that if the government kept letting the north nullify the Fugitive Slave Act, then they should secede.
Stephens was also was apart of the Confederate Congress and elected Vice President of the Confederacy. While in office he did not voice his opinions about state's rights. Even though he was a supported of slavery, he still helped pass the Compromise of 1850.
When Georgia elected him as their senate in 1866, the republicans were furious and proceeded to kick him out of office.

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Henry McNeal Turner

Henry McNeal Turner was a prominant African American leader during the Civil War. He held a prestigious position as the first black chaplain in the United States Colored Troops. He was also involved with the Freedman's Bureau. After he moved to Macon and was elected as the state legeslator. He was a bishop during his lifetime as well. As you can proably tell, Turner lived as a jack of all trades, until the Jiw Crow Laws were set. He, enfuriated by the laws, became an active supporter of black nationalism. Soon he was looked upon as the symbol of african americans' rights.

Thanks to these websites for making this blog possible:

www.wikipedia.org
www.theforgottenprophet.blogspot.com

Freedman's Bureau

Freedman's Bureau was an organization that aided newly freed African Americans. The bill that created the Freedman's Bureau, Freedman's Bureau Bill, was passed by Abraham Lincoln in March 1865. It was intended to last only approximatly one year after the Civil War ended, just long enough to help get the freedmans in the south on their feet.

Their goals were to get African Americans jobs working with whites as equals, not as the dominants and the submissives. They wanted the blacks to be bank owners, or entrepeneurs, or business men. They wanted them to become people who added to the economie's success, in a way more than just picking cotton.
However, when a community has been one way for a while, it's hard to break their habits, but the Freedman's Bureau was dedicated. They expanded the time limit of the bill to ensure the freedmen were okay. Soon after, the Freedman's Bureau was doing much more than helping them to start businesses and to educate, it started a program to find their lost families. Imagine being seperated from your mother or father or sister and brothers for decades, and thanks to the help of this organization, you can finally be reunited.

Even though their chains from slavery were broken, they weren't guarenteed a good life. The Freedman's Bureau was the push they needed to start their lives as free, independent African Americans.

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Union Blockade of Georgia's Coast

The Union Blockade, in general was a way for the union to block the trading of goods, weapons, and supplies for and from the confederates. It was implemented on April 19, 1861 by Abraham Lincoln. This plan required the control over twelve major ports; New Orleans, Louisiana, Alambama, Mobile, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Wilmington, and North Carolina. The reason why the blocking of Georgia was so important was because it was the home to Savannah, a prominant port city. This strategy was an essential part to the Union's victory in 1864.

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Sherman's Atlanta Campaign/ March to the Sea

Atlanta Campaign

William T. Sherman

The Atlanta Campaign is not just one battle, but several. The reasons for these battles are both political and strategic. Since Sherman's troops had invaded most of Georgia, the confederates fled to Atlanta and made it their camp group. Sherman's plan was to block their line of supply; the rail center. That way the confederates had no way of getting the necessary items to survive, they had no choice but to surrender. With the surrender came glory and trust. During this time (1864) Lincoln was working to get his 2nd term in office. Since the citizens were sick of war and what came with it, Sherman's big win put their faith back in the hands of the union and most importantly Lincoln.

March to the Sea

Sherman's March to the Sea, also known as the Savannah Campaign, started on November 15 1864. It is notorious for being the cause of the most civilian destruction of the Civil War.
At this time, Sherman was desperate to put an end to the war, so he constructed a dangerous, irrational, illogical, and brilliant plan that would turn out to be the reason for the Union's win.

Sherman's goal was to capture the city of Atlanta, and the way he sought to do that was by going through and eradicating everything in sight. His troops destroyed industry, infrastructure, and civilian property. David J. Eicher says Sherman "defied military principles by operating deep within enemy territory and without lines of supply or communication. He destroyed much of the South's physical and psychological capacity to wage war." However, it was a necessary sacrifice to make, because in the next couple of months the Confederates finally surrendered.

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Sharecropping

During the Civil War Reconstruction era there were many farm owners who could not afford to keep their property running efficiently because of their lack in funds. Therefore they created a solution called "sharecropping". Sharecropping can be defined by looking at its name, the sharing of crops. An owner of a farm could allow a person to raise crops on their land. At the end of the year the farm owner would collect a portion of the profits.
The system of sharecropping seems simple and efficient, and in the beginning it was. However, overtime it became into a never-ending circle of debt. People quickly realized that sharecropping wasn't the best way to become independent individuals.
{Sharecroppers= people who could only offer their labor}

Tenant Farming

Tenant farming is similar to sharecropping. The difference is who the farm owner is working with. Sharecroppers are people who can only offer their labor and aren't very strict over what profit they get back.The tenant farmers however, were a lot more self-sufficient. They owned their own tools, supplies, and plow animals. They also would make sure to get more than half of the profits.

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Chickamauga

The Battle of Chickamauga was fought on September 19–20, 1863. It was led by the union general William Rosecrans, and the confederate's Braxton Bragg. Rosecrans objective was to reconquer Chattanooga by attacking and forcing the Confederates troops out. Every man fought hard and desperately, however on the 20th Rosecran discovered he had a break in his defense lines. Once Bragg discovered this he used it to his advantage. He sent 1/3 of the union army towards that gap and eventually won the battle. This was a very important win for the Confederates because it marked the end of the Chickamauga Campaign.

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Monday, March 4, 2013

Andersonville Prison

Confederate Captain Sidney Winder went to Andersonville in November of 1863, to see whether it was was a potential location for a prison for captured Union soldiers. After a thourough inspection, he decided it was a sutible location because of a couple reasons. The first was that it was close to the Southwestern railroad, which made transporting goods alot easier. It also had a good water supply. Andersonville was also a very small populated town and would be an easy target to overtake.
And thus, Andersonville prison became notorious. A place where every soldier dreaded to end up, because once you got there, you would die there.

Thanks to these websites for making this blog possible:

encyclopediaofalabama.org
www.nps.gov

Ku Klux Klan

One word to sum up this group of pathetic, heartless, abhorent devils: terrorists. The Ku Klux Klan was a group of people who, like many others believed that whites were a superior race. However, they didnt want to use blacks as slaves, they instead dispised them and decided they didnt diserve to live on earth. So they took it upon themselves to hunt, torture, then kill african americans.

They dressed in white robes, masks, and pointy hats. They wanted their identities to be kept hidden as well as looking frightening. But in reality they looked ridulously idiotic walking around in those costumes.

Unfortunatly, in the 1870s there were hundreds of thousands of members of the Ku Klux Klan. As time past their numbers diminished. Now, even though the times of rasism seems gone, there are still around 8,000 Ku Klux Klan members hidden in secret around the US.

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Kansas-Nebraska Act

The main purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska act was, YUP! you guessed it, to create Kansas and Nebraska. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise, which stated that there had to be a balanced amount of free and slave states. This was good news to southern states, however the northerners did not like the idea that a state could choose whether or not they allowed slavery, depending on popular sovereignty There tension inside Kansas as well, because their people had different views on slavery. This led to a civil war, which was later named 'Bleeding Kansas'. Kansas was admitted as a free state.

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13th, 14th, 15th Amendment!

13TH AMENDMENT

After two long years (ever since it was passed by Senate on April 8, 1864) the 13th amendment was finally passed on December 6, 1865. It stated that the owning of a slave was illegal! It was one our of the three Reconstructive amendments set after the Civil War.

14TH AMENDMENT

The second Reconstructive Amendment was passed on July 9, 1868. In it, it had three different laws. The first was Citizenship Clause. This clause states that African American should be looked upon as citizens of the United States of America. The second was the Due Process Clause, which forbade governments to deprive "life, liberty, and property" without a fair reason. The last was the Equal Protection Clause. It stated that every race should get equal rights to education.

15TH AMENDMENT

The 15th amendment simply states that every race should get the right to vote.

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The Speech that Changed Lives

Emancipation Proclamation

On January 1, 1863 Abraham Lincoln recited The Emancipation Proclamation. A document that was said to be the most important and influential speeches he gave.This document freed more than four million of the slaves held in captivity. However not all of them were freed seamlessly. 20,000 to 50,000 of the slaves in the Confederate states were freed instantly, but their was no way to enforce the law in the rebellious states as well as the border states until the Union army came. Therefore it took a while longer for those slaves to be liberated. When the Union started taking over those states, the slaves finally got their freedom.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Alexander Gardner Pics!

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Election of 1860

For every election there has to be one republican candidate and one democratic. The democratic candidate for the election of 1860 was Stephen Douglas, the republican was Abraham Lincoln. The republicans choose Lincoln as their candidate because they believed he could win the Electoral College by taking New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. They thought this because he had become something of an inspiration to the people. The election was very close. Lincoln won just barley, receiving 180 electoral votes.

The votes of the Electoral College were split among four candidates in the 1860 presidential election. The states that Lincoln won are shown in red, Breckenridge in green, Bell in orange and Douglas in brown.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Bloodiest Day & Bloodiest Battle

Antietam

The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862 in Maryland. Unlike the majority of the battles, Antietam only lasted one day. And within that one day, there was 22,717 casualties. That was the largest amount of tolls in a day in, not only the Civil War, but in American history.

This battle was also very signficant because it was inconclusive. Everyone believed that McClellan should have won. This is because the Union outnumbered the Confederates 2-1 and McClellan already knew Lee's battle strategies. However, with Lee's and his troops' bravery and determination they put up a admirable fight.
Antietam was the battle that inspired Abraham Lincoln to create the Emancipation Prolomation. This document freed slaves living in the rebellious states, however not the border states. It also made a collasol change to the war.With it, people started seeing the war as a war, but instead a fight for what's right. The other big change that came with the Proclomation was that African Americans were able to join the forces. This immensly increased the number of troops the Union had.

Gettysburg

The battle of Gettysburg, was fought on July 1–3, 1863. In this three day battle, there were between 46,000 and 51,000 casualties, the largest amount of all the battles of the Civil War. This battle was very significant because it was the supposed "turning point" of the war. This win for the Union granted them a huge advantage.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Uncle Tom's Cabin's Impact

No, Uncle Tom's Cabin is not a house in the woods with a cozy fireplace and loads of hot chocolate. It was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. The book was written to show her anti-slavery views. Although it was claimed to be the "most popular book of the century", many despised it and the message it gave. It was said that it "helped lay the groundwork for the civil war". This is because it gave people a idea of what slavery truly is, how horribly the slaves were treated. It open their eyes to how disgusting the attitudes of some whites were, towards the blacks. After the book was published many people turned anti-slavery.

Thanks to these websites for making this blog possible:

www.wikipedia.org
utc.iath.virginia.edu

Monday, February 11, 2013

Dred Scott and the Unconstitutionals

Dred Scott was a courageous and brave man. He was also a slave, a husband, and a father. He wanted the best for his family, which he believed was his job to give them. Therefore, he was determined to get them their freedom. After failing to buy them out of slavery, he decided to sue. The reason he believed this would/should work, is because he lived in a free territory.
Many believed that he would win the case and their freedom because there were many other cases similar to his that have won. However he lost the case because he " failed to provide a witness to testify that Scott was in fact a slave belonging to Eliza Emerson." He sued again, and lost again.

Scott's News Trials

However, that didn't stop Scott. When he was sold to Sanford, he decided to sue him as well. The Supreme Court's decision was that it wasn't their problem or job to deal with slaves in the territories. This is because they believed that slaves weren't protected by the Constitution since it states "...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property..." and they believed the slaves to be the property of their white counterparts. Also, since Scott was African American, they didn't see him as an American, so they didn't think he had the right to sue in a federal court. Therefore, Dred Scott and his family stayed enslaved. However, the fight was far from over. People against slavery were infuriated by the Supreme Court's decision. Here's an excerpt of a article that was written by an angry citizen:

The Courageous Dred Scott

"The three hundred and forty-seven thousand five hundred and twenty-five Slaveholders in the Republic, accomplished day before yesterday a great success — as shallow men estimate success. They converted the Supreme Court of Law and Equity of the United States of America into a propagandist of human Slavery. Fatal day for a judiciary made reputable throughout the world, and reliable to all in this nation, by the learning and the virtues of Jay, Rutledge, Ellsworth, Marshall and Story!

The conspiracy is nearly completed. The Legislation of the Republic is in the hands of this handful of Slaveholders. The United States Senate assures it to them. The Executive power of the Government is theirs. Buchanan took the oath of fealty to them on the steps of the Capitol last Wednesday. The body which gives the supreme law of the land, has just acceded to their demands, and dared to declare that under the charter of the Nation, men of African descent are not citizens of the United States and can not be — that the Ordinance of 1787 was void — that human Slavery is not a local thing, but pursues its victims to free soil, clings to them wherever they go, and returns with them — that the American Congress has no power to prevent the enslavement of men in the National Territories — that the inhabitants themselves of the Territories have no power to exclude human bondage from their midst — and that men of color can not be suitors for justice in the Courts of the United States!"

This case also made it seem as if slavery was starting to catch on and expand. Therefore, the Northerners were a little frightened for what was to happen next. However, it turned out to work in their favor. The few Southerners that were anti-slavery finally put their foot down and decided to stand up for their views. This caused the Republican party to strengthen.

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

The States With Power

MISSOURI COMPROMISE

In 1820, the Congress believed that the way to compromise between the southern and northern states was for there to be an equal amount of slave and free states. So this law was their way of trying to make peace.
36°30′ north was a line used to divide slave and free states west of the Mississippi River, with the exception of Missouri,which became a slave state. Because of this Maine entered as a free state, so the states would be balanced out.

TARIFF, NULLIFICATION CRISIS, + STATES' RIGHT

The government put a protective tariff on imported goods in 1828. They did this to protect the Norths' economy, which it did. However, the Southerners had something to say about it. It did them a great disservice, because it increased the cost of goods not made in the US, which they bought often. Their economy wouldn't last long if it continued, so they decided to revolt. With James C. Calhoun as their leader, they made a declaration to not follow the law: a nullification. To avoid war, the government lowered the tariff.

COMPROMISE OF 1850

The Compromise had 5 major points:

Texas present day borders are set in exchange for US assuming dept
The land that used to be Texas was divided into NM, AZ, UT, and NV
Slavery was abolished in Washington DC
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed; a.was controversial b.required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves c.denied jury trials d.claim process was easier e.more federal officials
California becomes a free state

The Georgia Platform was a document that stated it was in agreement with the Compromise, and that they believed that this was the solution to their problems.

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Slavery- Inside the Torment

Slavery was a time of pain, frustration, and constrictions. There were so many rules and restrictions put on the lives of African Americans. They were treated as objects or pets to be sold and bought whenever their masters pleased.

They suffered through many hardships, consisting of...

whipping and beating (were killed if they fought back)
the separation of their families
all rights are taken away (including free market, freedom of speech,etc.)
weren't allowed to be educated
got a myriad of diseases
sometimes even beat by the own kind (drivers)
lived in horrible conditions
malnourishment

Some additional Facts...

Black men married white women, ensuring that their children would be born free.

The nature of the slave family depended on what type of farm they lived in. For example larger farms, such as rice plantations, would most likely keep the family together. This is because with larger plantations, more slaves are needed.

By the early 1700s, southern slave owners finally realized that it is profitable to let slaves marry. The more children made and not needed, the more they could sell, the more money they got. However northern slave owners did not agree and did not approve of marriage among slaves.

Owners often sold young girls, especially the light ones, to prostitution

When a master died, his slaves will be distributed to his children or sold

Female slaves sometimes had to breast feed the white babies

Parents hoped their kids with die to relieve them from their grief

Newly freed slaves often go searching for their long lost kin

Slavery, although a horrid time, was beneficial to our society. We would not only be a lot less advanced in electronics and even business, but we would might have had been all the same race. Everyone would be a mix of this or that, and although some people might see this as a plus, i believe it would take away from each of our uniqueness. If everyone on the planet was one culture, one race, then what would you have to learn. People travel the world to learn about others ethnicity's, however what would they learn if we were all the same.

If you are really interested and want to learn a little more about their history go to this website:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1609-1865/essays/aafamilies.htm

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