Power to the She and He

This week during class we learned about freedom of slaves coming from all levels of the social and economic pyramid. The essential question for this lesson is: Who gave freedom to enslaved Americans? Did freedom come from above or below? To what extent were Abraham Lincoln's actions influenced by the actions of enslaved Americans? In the 1800’s, almost all Americans of color were enslaved and worked on plantations. This week in class, we did various activities to help understand the enslavement during the 19th century. First, the class wrote our interpretations of dialogue for images of slaves and their owners. Next, we discussed what each of us thought what “freedom from above” and “freedom from below” meant. To understand Lincoln’s involvement in slavery, we read and analyzed each of the four Lincoln documents and watched a video about slavery in the Civil War on PBS.com. After completing all of the activities, the class was able to further our understand how people from different social classes can make a societal impact.

Throughout the nineteenth century, slaves were mistreated and deprived of freedom. It was hundreds of years until people began to take a stand and come face-to-face with the issue of slavery. Slaves themselves began to fight for justice, as well as larger public figures. In 1863, president Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln decided not to pass this act until the Union began to win more battles in the Civil War to prevent the proclamation from appearing as a final, desperate cry for justice. By waiting until the Union was likely to win the war, the proclamation would be perceived as a victorious establishment of freedom. This act enforced the freedom of slaves in any state and states that all slaves may be freed. However, all slave owners refused the Emancipation Proclamation to keep all slaves from leaving their plantations. Lincoln continued to fight for slave justice in his Second Inaugural Address and Gettysburg Address. In Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, he states, "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.” This well-known Lincoln quote supports the abolition of slavery and reminds the country of the rights granted to all in the Constitution. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address also supports these rights, stating, “While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war-seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation….These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than restrict the territorial enlargement of it.” Lincoln recognizes that slaves are desperate for justice and have caused a Civil War in doing so. Lincoln’s words as president made a large impact on the abolition of slavery, having been the large public figure that he was.

On the other hand, slaves did their part of fighting for their justice to eventually gain freedom from below. Slaves began to make a nuisance for the army and officers, eventually making themselves figures to the U.S. and congress and forcing the government to consider slavery policies. Fugitive slaves began to swarm and loot the cities, grabbing the attention of all. These large publicity stunts contributed immensely to the eventual freedom from slavery. By persevering through discrimination, slaves were able to declare freedom for themselves from below.

One example of freedom from above today is the recent Bruce Jenner incident that has spread worldwide. Bruce Jenner recently explained his intentions to become a woman in a recent interview. As a former Olympic athlete and step father of the Kardashians, Bruce Jenner is a huge public figure. Having revealed his sexuality publicly has caused a lot of controversy within the media, but has made a great impact on how sexuality is perceived. Being a public figure and role model,  Bruce Jenner has focused attention and brought support to the topic of gender identification. Just as Bruce Jenner has gathered support for the cause of gender identification, public figures such as Abe Lincoln were able to attract support towards slave freedom. Oftentimes, because someone is famous or perceived as a role model, they can impact our decisions and opinions about certain topics based on their own actions and opinions. Continuing to be proved today, change can be brought about by people from all different social levels. Regardless of social class, people can make a difference through determination and perseverance to change history.


Citations:
http://www.edline.net/files/_DMF3y_/4a7b01df19db2ad63745a49013852ec4/Freedom_to_the_Slaves.jpg

http://pagesix.com/2015/01/28/bruce-jenner-to-discuss-transformation-on-tv/

Why Did the Union Win the Civil War?

Last week in class, we completed a scavenger hunt around the school to gather information about the battles of the Civil War. To prepare for the game, each student was assigned a battle and created a Google doc briefly summarizing their battle, listing the battle name, date, location, theater, and victor. Students then created a QR code to scan into the document to allow others to scan the code during the scavenger hunt. After racing through the school to scan into various documents, the class reviewed the information. As a class, we used Padlet to discuss the essential questions and various battles. I enjoyed last week’s lesson as I felt that it gave us an unusual hands-on experience and allowed us to combine the use of technology with a game to learn about historical battles of the Civil War.

During the Civil War, there were three theaters known as the Naval, Western, and Northern Theaters. These theaters were solely based on the location of the battle. The naval theater was primarily dominated by the Union as a result of the Confederates not having enough money or naval power. For example, the Battle of Ironclads in 1862 was held in the naval theater and resulted in a Union victory. This battle was between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The CSS Virginia faced a defeat due to their short supply of ammunition and their fear of fighting during low tide. In the Northern Theater, the Confederates gained dominance. However, it was not until the latter part of the Civil War that the Confederates began to take control. The Confederates were able to gain dominance by the end of the war as a result of their strength and war tactics used on terrain. For example, during the Battle of Cold Harbor, the Union did not have a clear view of the Confederate positions due to the heavily wooded, uneven terrain. As a result, the Confederates were the ultimate victors. In the Western theater, the Union became the victors due to their insightful war strategies. For example, in the Battle of Shiloh, the Union surrounded the Confederates until they were forced to surrender, leading to a Union victory. Due to the Union victories in both the Western and Naval battles, the North was able to win the Civil War. Although the Union ended up being the overall victor of the war, the Confederates had their share of victories of battles and provided the Union with a worthy opponent.

Many of the results of these battles shared similar reasons for their outcomes. Often, the success or failure of military strategies determined the results of the battles. In the Battle of Bull Run, the Union military commander had overly complicated plans that were difficult for his troops to carry out, resulting in a Confederate victory. On the other hand, during the Appomattox Campaign, the Union army was able to defeat the Confederates by using responsive strategies. In this situation the Union army knew the Confederate army's intentions and beat them to Pittsylvania County where the Confederate soldiers planned on getting needed supplies.

Throughout the Civil War, the Union and Confederate armies used a variety of military tactics that resulted in both successes and failures. With strategic tactics and strength, the Union army was able to defeat the Confederates throughout a series of battles, resulting in a Northern triumph. After this week’s lesson and activity about theaters and battles of the Civil War, I have a much greater understanding about why the Union won the Civil War and how each opponent used various strategies to achieve successes.

F Block Padlet:

Union Victory- Civil War

Created with Padlet

http://thesouthwontriseagain.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/6/3/25637700/5466441_orig.jpghttp://thesouthwontriseagain.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/6/3/25637700/5466441_orig.jpg