Trail #3

 In the case of Brown v Board, it is a clear answer to why we should start integrating nonsegregated schools. One of the apparent reasons why we should stop segregation in schools is the religious aspect. Yes, our very own religion, if you look back at the bible, is evident on why we should no longer do this awful act that we have been doing for so long. 

Proverbs 14:31 states, "The one who oppresses the poor insults their maker." With that being said, not treating equality or insult or discriminating against people that god himself has created is not allowed. In that specific passage, they were talking about people with low incomes, not race, yes, but the same still applies to race. God made everyone, the men from Europe, Asia, and Africa. It does matter. God made them all, and to look at them less like the way we have been doing is the same as saying hey God, you have made a mistake, and I'm going to fix that by just putting all blacks in a place separate from us so we won't ever have to see your mistake. Do you honestly believe that God has made a mistake? Do you have the right to fix it if he did? If so, why do you? Are you a higher power than God? If you answer yes to all these questions, then sure, go ahead and continue what you are doing, but if you feel that you are an honest Christian and know that God does not make mistakes and you are not more powerful and knowing than he is. You should stop and change your actions immediately because you are insulting him. 

It is also said in Christianity that unity is a spiritual relationship. With that being said, blacks and whites both believe in Christianity. This forms a union bigger than what someone's race is. It's bigger than all of us. Yet many of you still try to justify your actions, which are selfish and only thinking about your benefit and trying to perceive the bible as what fits you best. Christianity was not meant to divide people but was meant to bring us all together as one, and segregation in schools is just one way we are constantly going against that. Do you honestly believe we should only be grouped as stronger people based on our appearance? Is that what happens in our religion? We group based on our looks and pretend as if everyone else just isn't there. 

In conclusion, the continuation of our segregated schools and much more is an insult to the religion we like to value so much. We want to hold our religion to such a high standard and love to force it onto many others, but how are you going to have others believe indeed and join in our religion after telling them, "Hey, if you look like this, we can't treat you the same?". The answer is you can't, and you won't. However, it is not too late to change. We can stop this unnecessary hatred and start by unifying our schools together. 

Reconstuction video

 In class, we watched the recognition video, which did a great job extensively showing the times during the reconstruction period and the many hate crimes against the black community. After the Civil War, many thought it would be changed for the black community, and they would now be treated as equals. Unfortunately, this was just not true. There were efforts made. For example, Lincoln was still pushing forward for more rights for African Americans, but then he was assassinated. After this, President Johnson came into office, but it was hard to see his views on everything because he was from the South but hated the plantation owners. So many people on both sides did not enjoy him, and he did not help make anything better in this country. 

Johnson created the Freedmen's Bureau, which got 850,000 acres of land for free men. For the southern plantation owners who wanted a pardon, they would have to contact him and beg for their land back personally. This caused outrage, and many southern landowners were furious. Soon, they returned the land to the Confederates and contracted back with the white landowners. 

After this, many white Southerners were still outraged and moved away from where they once were. So, they went into larger cities where many African Americans lived. This caused very high racial tension, and it started to spark riots and shootings across multiple cities. The most famous city this happened in was Memphis, which eventually led to the death of 48 blacks and the destruction of black churches and schools. Hate crimes like this were constantly happening around the country and caused many more deaths.

Overall, this movie demonstrated extensively how the black population in America was treated at this time and how the Civil War was not the end of equality but was just the beginning. 

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

Town Hall Meeting

 How many of you may not know me? My name is William Lloyd Garrison. I am a man from the New England area who had to learn how to support and educate myself after my father left me at age 11. By the time I was 13, I was in an apprenticeship with a printer and published a newspaper. I first joined the abolition movement at age 25. For most of my life, I have been constantly trying to end slavery. I even spent some time in jail for lying to a Newbury port merchant engaged in the coastal slave trade. Soon after my release, I published an article known as The Liberator. This article instantly became a controversial topic that spoke out against slavery in England and the United States. I start this article with a vital, clear purpose. Here are the first words: "I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation.… I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—AND I WILL BE HEARD." 

A year later, I founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society, and one more year after that, I founded the American anti-slavery society. Many of you here may wonder why I started all these anti-slavery organizations and wrote the Liberator. I had many talks with many black abolitionists and black Americans in general. Yes, Black Americans because that is who they are; they are Americans, and as Americans, they deserve the rights and social equity that other Americans have. Because of that, I continued to publish the Liberator every week for 35 years to speak out against this awful slave trade in this country. 

Without giving black Americans any rights, it's a disgrace to our country and national.

Sin to it as well. Enslavers have threatened me to be more moderate or to watch what I'm saying. Many of you may think that was bad for me, but I know that means they were getting scared. From that moment, my statements on slavery became more uncompromising towards the South. To the owner who told me to stop, I replied that slavery is a monster and should be treated as such. I used the newspaper to spread awareness and tell the rest of America what evil was happening in our country. I could not see how anyone on this earth could see why slavery is moral. That is why I could not stop writing. My morals would not let me. I believe in the Declaration of Independence, and when it said, "All men are created equal," it did not say all white men are created equal. It told all men that if they do not make changes soon, this will be the biggest insult to the Declaration of Independence we have done to this date. I led this effort to stop slavery and will not stop until it is done.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1561.html

https://www.nps.gov/people/william-lloyd-garrison.htm#:~:text=Speaking%20in%20Boston%27s%20Park%20Street,their%20%E2%80%9Chomeland%E2%80%9D%20of%20Africa.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Lloyd-Garrison

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1854-william-lloyd-garrison-no-compromise-evil-slavery/