North vs. South

My Info graphic's main goal was to display the information simply, but to explain the differences of either sides of the Civil war. I decided to only use graphs because I felt that they are the most efficient way to display information. The statistics that I chose were the main components that made one side strong. For example I showed the difference in Cotton production and population between the North and South. The population of the South is much smaller than the North, but the South controls Cotton production. The info graphic made it easy for me to see both sides of the war so that I could clearly see what each side had at their disposal.

A "game" of CHess: the battle between north and south | Create infographics

Why is there an Elephant in Alabama?

In the beginnings of the United States slavery was a main component to the society and the economy created by settlers of America. As time continued some felt that slavery was still needed and that it was necessary for slaves to exist. Others thought they should not even be around black people and that America should be a white only country. The side that won out today was neither slavery nor white supremacy, but the abolition of slavery entirely. This change took many years to occur and even a war to settle this conflict once and for all. Speaking about this topic became a problem in itself becomes of the sorrow and destruction that followed slavery in its wake.  The waters of america become filled with waves and no politician wanted to be the first one to dive in. Looking back into American history how do we know the debate over slavery was “the elephant in the room” for politicians in the U.S.A?

Politics in particular started to become a balancing act around 1820. As new territories started to be founded in the west both the north and south wanted to maintain power in congress. The south and the north both had the same number of states which meant that those who wanted slavery to be abolished and those who wanted slavery could both have their say. The Missouri compromise kept this balance and created an even split of 11 states to both the south and north. Similarly, in 1850 California attempted to be recognized as a state. Henry clay, senator of Kentucky, predicted this dispute and he proposed a 5-part compromise. After the victory in the Mexican war America had acquired more land. The land would be broken up into New Mexico,Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. These territories would let those who populate them decide whether or not they would be slave states or anti-slave states. In addition, the compromise would prohibit slave trade in Washington D.C, but one could keep their slaves if they had some preceding the bill. The Fugitive Slave Act was also drafted required slaves to be returned to their masters no matter the circumstances, and when the slave was caught a trial would occur and if the judge let the slave go free he would receive $5 and receive $10 if given back to the master. The 1850 compromise let the population decide whether or not the west would be anti-slavery or slaves states, stopped slave trade in the capitol (even though they allowed it), and encouraged the capture and favored those who returned the runaway slaves to their master. The Kansas Nebraska act was followed the 1850 compromise and allowed the north to build a railroad into the west, but the north was now allowed to own slaves. For the most part the north did not start to have slaves, but the borders of the south to the north did see some slave plantations.

American politicians tackled handling the dispute of slavery by avoiding to solve the problem directly. Most solutions did not drastically change slavery in America. The majority of ideas involved trying to sway what the population wanted so that eventually either slavery or anti-slavery won out. This would allow the politicians to avoid the topic and let the population choose what they wanted.

The class work was as followed, reading articles, creating a timeline of laws and bills that were passed, and class discussions on the information.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html

Article on 1850 Compromise

http://socialstudieswithasmile.com/Kensasnebraskaact.html

Slavery and its roots in the 19th Century

Slavery was once sadly a normal part of American society. It was not uncommon for people to own slaves or even to sell them to neighbors and give them to your family. How was it that slavery was able to become entrenched in American society, both economically and politically by the 19th century?

This question can be answered by looking into the constitution. For one, in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1  The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. This states that the importation of slaves can not be prohibited or taxed before 1808. After 1808 congress is able to put a tax on the importation of slaves, but the tax can't be above $10 per slave. This act of congress shows that slavery importation is not against the law, and has become economically sound that the government is willing to tax slave trade. In politics slavery was hardly ever disputed on whether or not it should exist in America. Most politicians had slavery and they became too important to the nation's economy to try to dispute whether slavery should be abolished or not.

How does a system of slavery on race affect human dignity? The dignity of the race that are able to be slaves is greatly diminished. Slavery gives unfair and unjust power to the owner of a slave for a slave is someone that is owned by another person. This power that is given to the owner is taken away from the slave diminishing the slaves persona  and personality. This system tends to ignore all characteristics regarding a human’s inner thoughts, ideas, and personality. A robot can be given a slave’s task and complete it just the same as a slave would. Slavery ignores who the person is and takes the body to do the work the owner doesn't want to do. The story of Prince is a prime example of this phenomenon. Prince became a slave in America and was used to work the fields and deliver crops to the market, but until later they found that he was an African Prince.  Slavery was an awful and cruel and it shall continue to be abolished and destroyed in the rest of the world.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US18-00.html

shows how important economically slaves were to the cotton production in the south

Women's Rights

How did mid 19th century American society react to women's demands for equality? Even though women started to have a strong movement to gain women's rights, men are still viewed as being better than women. Women still had to do a majority of duties around the house, while men went to work. Women had take care of children and dogs, make clothes, and other housework. The women also had to entertain everyone in the house as well. Laws were also set up so that women are not treated the same as men.  It was considered improper for women to speak in public, and until 1839 women were not allowed to own any property. In a majority of states it is legal for a husband to beat his wife, and women could not vote on any state in the union. These are just some of the many unfair laws that are set up by the government. Does 21st century society react differently to women and men. Personally, I feel that it is mostly equal treatment between men and women, but there are certainly some differences. For example the treatment of women and men when it comes to dating and relationships they can be seen as very different. If a man goes on a lot of dates he is considered  as more of a positive than if a women were to go on a lot of dates. A Philippines commercial shows some of these differences on how women and men are thought as in the same scenarios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K2kfgW7708&feature=youtu.be
http://www.edline.net/files/_AIGnD_/6df91fdbe19f85633745a49013852ec4/Laws_and_Practices.pdf

Temperance Primary Source

The Inverse Square Blog. August 5, 2005. Accessed January 12, 2015. https://inversesquare.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/best-recent-save-the-planet-idea-water-use-division/

The author had no clear opinion on the event, but used the picture in his blog. The author used this picture to make a joke about water and alcohol and used the picture to grab the attention of the reader. The author isn’t very trustworthy from looking at the site, but doesn't say anything about the temperance movement that would be questionable. The picture itself is a political cartoon made promote the “Woman’s Holy War”. The goal of this poster is to try and promote other people to stop drinking alcohol altogether and to introduce people of this movement. The picture shows how strongly people tried to promote the abstinence of drinking, as well as create a force behind their ideas. The limits of the document is that it is a picture and it is limited by how people view the image. The cartoon does not give you a complete picture of the event, it merely shows the propaganda of the movement. The author does not have an opinion on the picture and does not use any supporting evidence. The author is only using the cartoon to make a joke that he came up with.    

Andrew Jackson

The essential question Is Andrew Jackson's long-standing reputation as "the people's president" deserved? Why? Why not? In a way Andrew Jackson was and was not  “the people's president" . First of all, Andrew Jackson’s Spoil system gave jobs to people who voted for him in the election and these jobs would be given out if he won. Even if this may seem beneficial Andrew had to get rid of 1900 officials to fulfill his claim, which begged the question is it better to support Andrew or to  be good at your job? Second, Andrew Jackson pushed the Native Americans off their land to farther out west so that America could expand. Many people did not like the Natives, but just as many thought that they were peaceful people which started conflict.In addition, the native americans killed some of his family members so this probably had helped to sway Andrew’s mind. Lastly, Andrew Jackson did not support the National Bank because in his eyes it gave more power to the wealthy and further increase the wealth gap. Other politicians thought that Jackson was trying to start a war between classes, while he thought he was protecting the people. This shows from different perspectives Andrew Jackson could be seen as "the people's president" ,but for the most part he did what he wanted to do which is why I don’t believe he deserves it.

Andrew Jackson Skit
Kevin- Andrew Jackson
Squiggly- Indian Chief
Mike- narrator
Mark and Sam- Indian Bystanders
Corey- cameraman
Eric- props
Narrator: In a nation, Andrew Jackson wants to expand the United States, but the Cherokee Indians are in his path. Looks into the distance.
Andrew Jackson rides his mighty steed into the scene.
Indians are mid powwow. (http://youtu.be/ZNuNsKwG1RI)
Indian chief: Hello, Jacksana.
Andrew Jackson: What does that mean?
Indian chief: Devil.
A: Why do you refer to me as such?
I: You try to take our land, demolish our people and move us west, yet before you were loyal to us. Why do you do this?
A: We wish to expand our territory. You shall move voluntarily, or you will be subject to the laws of the United States.
I: We wish to remain on the land of our fathers. We have a perfect and original right to remain without interruption or molestation.
A: Then we will have to use force.
I: The west is a mysterious place. There are other tribes there, who speak different languages. We will not fit in. If staying means dying, then so be it.
A: That is your choice.
I: We are an independent nation, we do not have to abide by your laws.
A: Yes you do.
Andrew Jackson turns to leave, rides away on horse.

The Essential questions were How should we define democracy? How democratic was the United States in the early 1800's?   We learned about the United States and their democracy through reading articles on the time period and then making a poster out of the information.