EOTO React

 The EOTO presentations this week were pro vs anti-slavery. Each team took a different side of the argument and presented their reasonings for why they were right, and the others were wrong. It was similar to a lecture on why they were right. Each team brought up outstanding arguments on why we should either keep or abolish slavery.

One of the best points that I heard, which I liked for the anti-slavery side, was if enslaved people are so crucial for the economy, then why do you treat them like they are worthless? I liked this because many treated enslaved people as if they were useless but then kept arguing that it was a need for them. Anytime that you need someone in your life or if they are constantly helping you, you don't treat them like they are worthless, but you treat them with a high level of respect, and you try to help them back. For the enslaved people, this was not the case, and unfortunately, they were treated like wild animals. 

Another exciting thing that they talked about was the Missouri Compromise, which I found super interesting because I knew a little bit about it. Still, I only knew a little once the presentation, which affected me a lot more. The compromise was trying to keep the U.S. equally divided and not unbalanced, so the way they did this was by making Maine a free state and Missouri a slave state. They also had this line on 36 & 30 degrees dividing the United States vertically, allowing slavery below it but not slavery above. 

Overall, this debate was super exciting and informative. I think the slave side brought out a more substantial reason why slavery should be abolished, but I feel that the pros brought out strong sides as well, tuning the class into a super informative and entertaining lesson.  

Gone With the Wind

 Gone With the Wind is an award-winning movie that has been touching the hearts of viewers for almost a century now. This movie is set in the Civil War era and tells the story of a woman named Scarlett. She ends up falling in love with a man named Ashley Wilkes, who is marrying her cousin Melanie Hamilton. Scarlette ends up marrying a man named Charles to try and get him jealous. Soon, the war starts, and Charles dies, but Scarlett instantly goes back and sees Ashley. After the war comes into the town that they live in, she now sees how violent the war was and how devastating it was to the United States. There are soldiers played face down, dead, which seems to be miles long. The movie continues to be exciting, with Melanin having the baby during the time that their house is under attack and in danger. 

The younger house enslaved person that they are with helps deliver the baby, which becomes a huge success. The young house enslaved person goes to get Ashley, who picks them up in his carriage and drives them north to find Scarlet's mother, which, after a challenging journey, they end up doing. Unfortunately, Ashley doesn't make it. He stops and realizes all the bad he has done and wants to change that, so he goes back to help fight in the war. 

Overall, watching this movie won the hearts of many Americans for many reasons. The first is the plot. It was a super engaging plot that kept viewers on the edge of their seats most of the time and wanted them to root for Scarlett the whole time. The following reason is it hit on areas of the Civil War that many don't think about and made us as Americans think about our dark past, which made us feel emotional about the subject.

Town hall reaction

 During our last town hall meeting, it got very intense. Men and women argue back and forth about the abolition of slavery. They all had arguments for different reasons, with an excellent point to back them all up. I was arguing for the anti-slavery side during this meeting. Still, after hearing from others, I can see why this was such a controversial technique, not just for the rights of African Americans but for economic reasons as well. 

There were some excellent points on each side, but I found a few very interesting and important. If people argue for slavery because it helps the economy so much, why not treat the enslaved people like they help that much? I found this super interesting because people want them to help themselves but proceed to treat them like they are worthless. 

Another interesting point was how many presidents in the past enslaved people. I just thought it was a few, but it turns out that 12 U.S. presidents in history have enslaved people. This is super interesting because these men were running our country at the time, and some even argued against enslaved people even though they enslaved people. 

This last town hall meeting was very beneficial and opened our eyes to a considerable debate. I feel that many of us before just thought that we argued slavery because it was just wrong to do to a human, but it turns out it was much larger than that and could cause physical and economic effects on the United States. Therefore, this town hall meeting was terrific for clarifying that for all of us.

State V Mann

 In the case of State v. Man, it was perfectly acceptable for John Mann to shoot his slave in the back. It is evident in the law that this action is allowed and was her fault by fault for running away. Multiple laws say that this action was justified. 

The most obvious thing is that enslaved people were property to the owners. The owner has total power over what the enslaved people can and cannot do. This means the owner can also treat and discipline the enslaved person in any way he may seem fitting. We have slave codes that say they may not travel without permission and also clearly define that enslaved people are an owner's property. 

Mr. Mann's slave tried to run away which is considered traveling without permission, and we just made clear that it was against the slave code to do so. Therefore, he took reasonable action to stop this crime from being committed and did no wrong in doing so.

This enslaved person was also full of anger when trying to run away. She was desperate, angry, and there was no telling what she would've done if she could leave. She had no money and nowhere to go therefore.  She could've robbed people for money, assaulted them, or murdered them. You could argue that John Mann was doing more good by 

shooting her than letting her go because she may have harmed others. Many punishments allow lashes or torture, but death is ultimately acceptible when a threat is evident. And that's what was happening. If he let her run,if he did nothing, other enslaved people would have done it too, leading them to let loose wild in a town that now would be extremely dangerous. For these reasons, you can now see that it was highly acceptable for a man to shoot his slave. 

https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/slavesfree/slavesfree.html

https://www.ncpedia.org/slave-codes