Today in History we watched a video about Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglass's speeches. Lincoln thought that the nation should not be divided into slave and free, the Dred Scott case was unconstittuional and not a fair decision for slavery because Dred truely was supposed to be free, wanted slavery to be abolished, and thought America being divided was not a good solution. Douglass's speech was a lot different. Douglass spoke of how he thought that disturbing the topic of slavery would only cause chaos, and he agreed with the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case.
In English today we began talking about Huckleberry Finn. We began class by receiving loads of papers for our notebooks including the Anticipation Guide for Huckleberry Finn. This guide had many statements on it requiring you to fill out how much you agree with each one. The statement I used for the second part of the Anticipation Guide was: If something is wrong to everyone else it should be wrong for you. I strongly disagreed with this statement because everyone is different and entitled to their own opinions on things. If everyone thought the same things were wrong, then there would be no diversity.
In my opinion, Abraham Lincoln's speech was far better than Douglass's. Lincoln supported his theorys better and just took an overall better approach to the subject. Douglass came across as lazy because his veiw was just to leave it alone and not cause chaos. Lincoln knew that in order to be affective in this matter, choas would need to happen, otherwise how would he get other's attention pointed towards his veiw.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
11/22/11
Today in History we talked about the Dred Scott Case. Dred Scott was a slave who sued his masters for his own freedom living in the North in a free state. When this case was heard, it was decided that Dred would not be given freedom because he was tequnically not a citizen, but also not considered a person. Dred attempted to gain freedom more than once, but was still not given any. Many slaves similar to Dred sued their master's for similar reasons, but suprisingly they won in court. This showed the dividing of the nation because the courts across the nation had very different opinions on the matter.
Today English was once again taken up by our in class essay.
When hearing this case, I thought that it was incredibly unfair. The nation did not handle this matter fairly because some slaves were given freedom while others were not, but all were equal in the matter. Why should some slaves be treated fairer than others? All slaves trying their masters for freedom should have been given the benefit of the doubt because they all deserved freedom.
Today English was once again taken up by our in class essay.
When hearing this case, I thought that it was incredibly unfair. The nation did not handle this matter fairly because some slaves were given freedom while others were not, but all were equal in the matter. Why should some slaves be treated fairer than others? All slaves trying their masters for freedom should have been given the benefit of the doubt because they all deserved freedom.
11/21/11
I can not blog about History or English today because we dropped History and in English the whole class period was taken up by an essay.
11/17/11
Today in History we annalyzed a painting named The Modern Medea. In this painting, two African American people lay dead on the ground, while a distraught crowd is gathered around them. On one side of this crowd is a group of men looking frightened and suprised and on the other side is a woman looking angry and frantic while small, afraid looking African American children desperatley cling to her. At first glance it looked as though this was a slave family being killed for escaping, but after annalyzing the painting for a while, we were told the true meaning. The Mother in this picture was the real killer, murdering her own children in the hope that they would escape the horrors of slavery.
I dropped English today (so sad).
This painting made me think a lot about how terrible slavery truley was. If African American people were willing to take death instead of face slavery, you know it had to be awful. After seeing this painting, I was horrified by the woman's actions. This woman did not even give her children the chance to live. She took their lives thinking it was for a good reason, but she really had no way of knowing how their fates would have ended up. What if her kids would have grown up to become important people in History? What if one of them even was destined to become the first African American president. Of course, we will never know because this woman had to take matters into her own hands and end their lives before they even had a chance to really live.
I dropped English today (so sad).
This painting made me think a lot about how terrible slavery truley was. If African American people were willing to take death instead of face slavery, you know it had to be awful. After seeing this painting, I was horrified by the woman's actions. This woman did not even give her children the chance to live. She took their lives thinking it was for a good reason, but she really had no way of knowing how their fates would have ended up. What if her kids would have grown up to become important people in History? What if one of them even was destined to become the first African American president. Of course, we will never know because this woman had to take matters into her own hands and end their lives before they even had a chance to really live.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
11/16/11
Today in History we discussed and did worksheets on slave laws. On these worksheets I thought California should be admitted as a free state, slavery should discontinue at all costs in the capitol, there should not be a tougher fugitive slave law (or any fugitive slave law for that matter), popular sovereignety in New mex. and Utah, and texas staying the same size. I thought these because I think in all these decisions, the anti-slavery options would benefit the greater good the most because abolishing slavery would set free tons of people and save many lives and also prevent wars over slavery.
Today in english i spent the class carrying out an errand for Mrs. Davis
By reading Frederick Douglass's book, I have learned a lot about the life of a slave and the History of slavery. I have learned how severely the slaves were treated and also how many people veiwed them. Slaves were not even veiwed as people, they were veiwed as property. People back then sometimes considered slaves as 3/5 of a person. In my opinion, slaves are just as much people as anyone else. Just because they looked different, they were treated unfairly.
Today in english i spent the class carrying out an errand for Mrs. Davis
By reading Frederick Douglass's book, I have learned a lot about the life of a slave and the History of slavery. I have learned how severely the slaves were treated and also how many people veiwed them. Slaves were not even veiwed as people, they were veiwed as property. People back then sometimes considered slaves as 3/5 of a person. In my opinion, slaves are just as much people as anyone else. Just because they looked different, they were treated unfairly.
11/15/11
Today in history we shared our results on the worksheets given last class. This time we discussed how the Constitution was against slavery. My part which was the preamble to the Constitution was against slavery in many ways. First of all it starts out by saying "We the People of the United States" which would include the slaves living there. It then goes on by ensuring things like domestic tranquility, justice, liberty, etc.. These things are all very beneficial things to our country and if we did not have them, slavery would not have been abolished.
Today in English we worked more on our Frederick Douglass packets. I used this class period to read a lot more of the book. Something ineresting that I read was how Colonel Lloyd protected his garden. He protected it by placing tar around it so that any slave caught with tar on their clothing could be immediatly found guilty of stealing or trespassing in the garden. I thought this was clever because it was a foolproof plan and made the slaves terrified of getting any tar on their clothing.
Colonel Lloyd's sytem of using tar was a lot like the modern day security system that stops theifs from stealing clothing. If somebody wants to steal clothing, there is a device on it that is filled with ink and explodes if you dont get it removed in the store. This is a lot like the tar idea because if you do steal the clothing, you can be caught because you couldnt remove the plastic security device or it will explode ink all over the clothing, making them pointless to steal in the first place. Who would've thought that colonel Lloyd and modern day clothing stores had anything in common?
Today in English we worked more on our Frederick Douglass packets. I used this class period to read a lot more of the book. Something ineresting that I read was how Colonel Lloyd protected his garden. He protected it by placing tar around it so that any slave caught with tar on their clothing could be immediatly found guilty of stealing or trespassing in the garden. I thought this was clever because it was a foolproof plan and made the slaves terrified of getting any tar on their clothing.
Colonel Lloyd's sytem of using tar was a lot like the modern day security system that stops theifs from stealing clothing. If somebody wants to steal clothing, there is a device on it that is filled with ink and explodes if you dont get it removed in the store. This is a lot like the tar idea because if you do steal the clothing, you can be caught because you couldnt remove the plastic security device or it will explode ink all over the clothing, making them pointless to steal in the first place. Who would've thought that colonel Lloyd and modern day clothing stores had anything in common?
Monday, November 14, 2011
11/14/11
Today in history we re-read the bits of the constitution we were given the previous class, but this time we looked for how they were unsupportive of slavery. When re-reading the preamble to the constitution, my group noticed that the six things the goverment promised were all very unsupportive of slavery. How could a document that ensured things such as liberty and justice be supportive of something as cruel as slavery?
Today in English we worked more on our Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave packets. I used this class period to read more. In the chapters I read today, they mentioned a lot about how the overseers acted. Overseers were basically chosen for how cruelly they would treat the slaves. A "first-rate" overseer was someone who was extremely cruel, persevering, proud, and ruthless. Something interesting about the overseers that we're mentioned in the book is that their names match their personalities. The worst of the overseers last names just happen to be Severe and Gore. The overseer with the normal last name also happened to be the nicest.
The overseers of this book remind me a lot of prison guards. Just like overseers, prison guards are in charge of keeping their prisoners in order. If one of them escapes, the prison guards must do anything they can to keep them from escaping. The slaves were also much like prisoners because they were being held against their will. The difference between slaves and prisoners is that slaves never got a choice in their fate, they are only held there because of their skin color.
Today in English we worked more on our Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave packets. I used this class period to read more. In the chapters I read today, they mentioned a lot about how the overseers acted. Overseers were basically chosen for how cruelly they would treat the slaves. A "first-rate" overseer was someone who was extremely cruel, persevering, proud, and ruthless. Something interesting about the overseers that we're mentioned in the book is that their names match their personalities. The worst of the overseers last names just happen to be Severe and Gore. The overseer with the normal last name also happened to be the nicest.
The overseers of this book remind me a lot of prison guards. Just like overseers, prison guards are in charge of keeping their prisoners in order. If one of them escapes, the prison guards must do anything they can to keep them from escaping. The slaves were also much like prisoners because they were being held against their will. The difference between slaves and prisoners is that slaves never got a choice in their fate, they are only held there because of their skin color.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
11/10/11
Today in History we went to the computer lab to look at an interactive map. This map had lots of information on it about which states had large slave populations and which did not. The states in the south had many slaves because slavery was very popular in the south. The states in the North did not have a large slave population because the North was not as supportive of slavery of the south.
Dropped english due to ACT testing.
When learning about which states had more slaves, it lead me to thinking about the civil war. Because the South was so supportive of slavery and the North was not, it lead to their different opinions clashing and to a war breaking out. This map lead me to see that different opinions on slavery was the cause of the civil war.
Dropped english due to ACT testing.
When learning about which states had more slaves, it lead me to thinking about the civil war. Because the South was so supportive of slavery and the North was not, it lead to their different opinions clashing and to a war breaking out. This map lead me to see that different opinions on slavery was the cause of the civil war.
11/9/11
Today I dropped history.
Today in English we worked more on our Frederick Douglass packets. For this whole class period, I dedicated my time mostly to answering the questions on the slave songs. Something I learned about their songs was that they were very metaphorical so they could express their feelings without the slave owners knowing what they were singing about. I also learned that the slaves sang more when they were sad because it was a way to let out their feelings and make them feel better.
When learning about the double meanings of the slave's songs, it reminded me of learning about the Underground Railroad in 6th grade. This was when a bunch of slaves were lead to the freedom of the North. During this event, the slaves made quilts with hidden meanings as well. What looked like an ordinary pattered quilt would really end up being a secret map that showed the slaves which houses were safe houses and which were not. Overall, the slaves were very clever by keeping their true intentions a secret.
Today in English we worked more on our Frederick Douglass packets. For this whole class period, I dedicated my time mostly to answering the questions on the slave songs. Something I learned about their songs was that they were very metaphorical so they could express their feelings without the slave owners knowing what they were singing about. I also learned that the slaves sang more when they were sad because it was a way to let out their feelings and make them feel better.
When learning about the double meanings of the slave's songs, it reminded me of learning about the Underground Railroad in 6th grade. This was when a bunch of slaves were lead to the freedom of the North. During this event, the slaves made quilts with hidden meanings as well. What looked like an ordinary pattered quilt would really end up being a secret map that showed the slaves which houses were safe houses and which were not. Overall, the slaves were very clever by keeping their true intentions a secret.
11/8/11
Today I dropped History due to signing up for testing for ACTS
Today in English we got a new book called The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave. Along with the book we were also given a large packet to fill out while reading. This book is about a man named Frederick Douglass that grew up as a slave. So far in it he talks a lot about how in-humanely the slaves are treated. He recalls at one point how even his own aunt was tortured nearly to death in front of him by being repeatedly whipped.
When reading about how awful life was for slaves, it made me feel extremely grateful that in our society today we do not have slaves. If we did, life would be so miserable. Even if i were not a slave, I would feel awful for those who were slaves. The slaves are tortured, overworked, and given little food and clothing. If slaves were around today, I would definatley try to help fight for their rights.
Today in English we got a new book called The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave. Along with the book we were also given a large packet to fill out while reading. This book is about a man named Frederick Douglass that grew up as a slave. So far in it he talks a lot about how in-humanely the slaves are treated. He recalls at one point how even his own aunt was tortured nearly to death in front of him by being repeatedly whipped.
When reading about how awful life was for slaves, it made me feel extremely grateful that in our society today we do not have slaves. If we did, life would be so miserable. Even if i were not a slave, I would feel awful for those who were slaves. The slaves are tortured, overworked, and given little food and clothing. If slaves were around today, I would definatley try to help fight for their rights.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
11/7/11
Today in history we listened to the speech of Frederick Douglass. His speech was all about how independence day was not a happy holiday for the slaves. Even though America now had freedom, the slaves had none. After hearing this speech, we examined paices of the constitution and found out how it supported slavery. my group examined the preamble and in it it stated that slaves would not be allowed to gain independence because it would disrupt this newfound domestic tranquility. Slaves, also not being American citizens would not be given freedom by this document.
dropped english
Learning about Douglass's veiws on independnce day made me feel like they did not spend enough time on the constitution. I think they should have taken the time to figure out rights to give to the slaves. They should have taken the time to reason with slave owners before writing this important document. If they had done this, the constitution would not seem so supportive of slavery.
dropped english
Learning about Douglass's veiws on independnce day made me feel like they did not spend enough time on the constitution. I think they should have taken the time to figure out rights to give to the slaves. They should have taken the time to reason with slave owners before writing this important document. If they had done this, the constitution would not seem so supportive of slavery.
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