...Much of America was overtaken by slavery for nearly two hundred and fifty years, dating back to the 1600’s in Jamestown, Virginia. In the 1850’s, slavery was widespread across the Southern states viewing blacks as inferior, which made the action morally acceptable in their eyes. Within the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was established, allowing slave catchers to travel into free states to capture runaway slaves and stating that private citizens must assist in capturing the slaves or else they’d be fined or jailed. Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and abolitionist, found the idea of taking part in such a wrongful system as the one that was put into effect by the compromise, to be completely immoral and wanted nothing to...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...Paper December 7, 2013 BGS 3996-The American Civil War Final Paper The American Civil War was a dark time in our nation’s history, but as with most events in history, there are both positive and negative aspects and conclusions to be drawn from this war. How someone views the positives vs. negatives is going to vary based on what side of the war they find themselves agreeing with and supporting. If your family had strong southern ties, what you view as a negative is likely to be seen as positive to someone from the northern states. This would especially be true when looking at the war from a “costs of war” perspective; it is arguable that the South lost much, much more in this war than just being defeated by the North. The damage to southern land, homes and plantations was devastating, but was also unavoidable given that the vast majority of all battles took place on southern soil. Also because of this, the southern states lost out on crops and experienced losses in production during the war. The destruction to southern soil made it nearly impossible for them to produce anything of value in the way of food. Southern soil isn’t ideal for crops like corn to begin with, and since so much land was destroyed, then chances of having any yields of crops that were able to produce food for southern soldiers and civilians was nearly impossible. In addition to the property damage and loss of crops experienced by those in the South, it is arguable that the families of the Confederate...
Words: 1223 - Pages: 5
...INVESTIGATIVE TEAM MEETING 1 WAS SLAVERY THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE CIVIL WAR? During the nineteenth century, slavery was the leading cause of the Civil War, due to differing views on this subject between the Northern and Southern states. The whole debate on slavery began during the Lincoln-Douglas Debate time period when Lincoln and Douglas debated on the Kansas-Nebraska Act stating that the state could choose for themselves the position their state was in for slavery. However, he was countered on his opinion when the Dred-Scott Decision passed through court that denied African American rights to be a citizen. This divided the country into further political parties which included Radical Abolitionists and “Fire-Eaters”, two extreme groups that fought for their beliefs on slavery. These political parties drove citizens to form strong beliefs and therefore split the country into two sides – the North and the South, the Free and the Slaves States, and the Republicans and the Democrats. INVESTIGATIVE TEAM MEETING 2 DOES LINCOLN DESERVE TO BE CALLED THE “GREAT EMANCIPATOR?”...
Words: 776 - Pages: 4
...Each one of these revolutions had major effects on changing things in America, for the bad and good. During the Jeffersonian revolution of 1800, Thomas Jefferson promised a future of equality for all Americans by convincing Americans and the world a government that would answer directly to the people and lead to a lasting national union. It would prove that free people could govern themselves democratically (The Yawp,). He reduced taxes and cut the government’s budget, he also made the Louisiana purchase in 1803 which effectively doubled the size of the US. He was a president that said “all men are created equal”, but yet enslaved more than hundred people over the course of his life. He did attempt to change some legislatives against slavery and had regret for its existence. At one point he wrote that he suspected black people to be inferior to white people in his Notes on the State of Virginia. But later conceded that servitude may have had an impact on black Americans abilities. He tried to advocate allowing private...
Words: 1019 - Pages: 5
...After that, a number of win and lose started structuring and coming up. In 1865, the Union victory may have given around 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South brought an extra set of challenges. But as a big meal for slaves, congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau in terms of helping the freed slaves translating from slavery. Sadly enough, Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th, 1865, he couldn’t even put his plan to the test by himself. After his death, several other political leaders emerged with plans in hand. Andrew Johnson was one of those Radicals who followed many parts of Lincoln’s big plan for Reconstruction. But in that blueprint, he wasn’t paying enough attention to the rights of slaves. Later on, the congress ended up impeaching President Andrew Johnson, although he was not removed from office at this time, he was basically without...
Words: 1208 - Pages: 5
...1 Defending the Defenseless During the American Revolution, slavery was in the process of being abolished in Europe and in the Northern states of America. Even though parts of the world were willing to free slaves, the Southern states found ways to defend slavery. In Paul Finkelman’s book Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South, Finkelman provides the writings of many white leaders from the South who believed that slavery was essential to America’s society. The white leaders who spoke about proslavery included a broad range of defenses to justify themselves because they wanted Americans to believe that slavery had a lasting impact economically, religiously, legally, and racially. One of the defenders in Finkelman’s book was Thomas R.R. Cobb. He justified slavery by arguing the effects of abolition in the United States. Cobb said, “The emancipated negroes do not enjoy full and equal civil and political rights in any State in the union, except the State of Vermont” (Finkelman, 79). He was convinced that those who became free of slavery did not live a better life. He believed that any African American slave who is free is not capable of living successfully and “His moral condition compares unfavorably with that of the slave of the South” (Finkleman, 79). This argument states that African Americans who are enslaved are in better hands with the slave owners and therefore they should remain as slaves. Cobb’s defense was justifiable because he...
Words: 1323 - Pages: 6
...Chapter 16 THE SOUTH AND SLAVERY, 1793–1860 1. Part Three Introduction This introduction gives you a preview of the authors’ answers to certain key questions about the causes and consequences of the nation’s “awesome trial by fire,” the Civil War. Look at this section and list three major questions you think the authors will be addressing in the next seven chapters. (1) (2) (3) 2. Southern Economy and Social Structure a. Explain the connection between the invention of the cotton gin by Eli _________ in 17___ and the rapid expansion of short-staple cotton production based on slave labor in the South. If the cotton gin actually made picking seeds from cotton much easier, why did planters perceive a vastly increased need for slave labor? b. Cotton was king in both the South and in Britain. By 1840, cotton amounted to _____percent of U. S. exports and accounted for more than _____percent of the world’s supply. Britain’s economy was based on cotton textiles, and Britain got _____percent of its fiber supply from the South. (No wonder Southerners thought England would “be tied to them by cotton threads” in the event of conflict with the North.) c. List two negatives of this Southern plantation economy mentioned by the authors. (1) (2) d. Although most slaves were owned by the large-scale planters, most slave-owners held only a few slaves each, and often worked together with them in the fields. The chart on p. 353...
Words: 1591 - Pages: 7
...Reconstruction Period was a time of readjustment. Southern whites wanted to keep African Americans as slaves and they rejected social equality. African Americans wanted their full freedom and land of their own. There were constant hindrances such as race riots and acts of violence against African Americans. There were two senses during the Reconstruction Era: the first covers the complete history of the entire U.S. from 1865 to 1877 following the Civil War; the second sense focuses on the transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877 as directed by the President with the reconstruction of state and society. Reconstruction was an era in the United States history after the Civil War, in which federal government set the conditions that would allow rebellious southern states back in the union. The ultimate goal of reconstruction was to readmit the south in ways that was acceptable to the North. This meant full political and civil equality for blacks and denial for the political rights of whites. 1865-1877 in the U.S. history, was a period of readjustment following the civil war. The defeated south was ruined, physical destruction brought upon by the invading union forces were great, and the old social economic order founded on slavery had collapsed with nothing to replace it. There were 11 confederate states that needed to be restored to their positions in the union. Radical Republican leaders argued that slavery and the slave power had to be permanently destroyed...
Words: 1231 - Pages: 5
...Consequently, there were both many positive and negative effects that occurred as a result of these changes. However, these developments affected the North and the South in great ways. The differences between the two eventually caused a good amount of tension because they were moving in completely different directions with culture, political views, and economies. As a consequence of poor farming conditions and a mass amount of immigrants coming into America, the Northern states developed into an economy based on industry and manufacturing. The North was mountainous with rocky soil and rapid rivers. It had long cold winters and mild summers which were not suitable for cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, sugar, rice, etc. They had to focus heavily on industrialization due to the resources they had available to them, such as iron and coal that was abundant. Using these resources as an energy source, the North constructed factories that produced textiles, furniture, tools, etc. Since factories were producing a mass amount of goods in a short amount of time, they exported their goods to the West and South. Trade was easier in the North, due to the amount of canals and railroads that connected major cities and towns to one another. To keep these factories running, they needed unskilled workers who would monitor the machines, work for low wages and lengthy hours in hazardous conditions. Many of these factories used woman and child labor, and unlike the South slavery was outlawed. Because of...
Words: 1161 - Pages: 5
...Week Six Assignment: Slavery a look at discrimination and predujice historical events that provided the foundation of slavery within the U.S Slavery is fundamentally an economic phenomenon. Throughout history, slavery has existed where it has been economically worthwhile to those in power. The principal example in modern times is the U.S. South. Nearly 4 million slaves with a market value of close to $4 billion lived in the U.S. just before the Civil War. Masters enjoyed rates of return on slaves comparable to those on other assets; cotton consumers, insurance companies, and industrial enterprises benefited from slavery as well. Such valuable property required rules to protect it, and the institutional practices surrounding slavery display a sophistication that rivals modern-day law and business. Not long after Columbus set sail for the New World, the French and Spanish brought slaves with them on various expeditions. Slaves accompanied Ponce de Leon to Florida in 1513, for instance. But a far greater proportion of slaves arrived in chains in crowded, sweltering cargo holds. The first dark-skinned slaves in what was to become British North America arrived in Virginia -- perhaps stopping first in Spanish lands -- in 1619 aboard a Dutch vessel. From 1500 to 1900, approximately 12 million (Ronald L. F. Davis, Ph. D, 2011) Africans were forced from their homes to go westward, with about 10 million of them completing the journey. Yet very few ended up in the British colonies...
Words: 1337 - Pages: 6
...Veer Shah AP United States History DBQ Essay #3: “American period between 1860-1880” The historic period prior to the 1860s was the most underlying era in American society as it led to the bloodiest war in the American history, the Civil war. Prior to the Civil war, the American politics were sectionally divided between the Northern Republicans and the Southern Democrats. The political culture was almost saturated as both sections had realized that the numerous compromises would only provoke questions and dissimilarities between them, with the largely interfered question of slavery and suffrage. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had been implemented as a nationwide direction towards admitting states with reference the 36° 30´ latitude line, either as a free-state (above line) or as a slave state (below the line). Despite of the temporary success of the compromise of 1820, it was repealed by the Stephen A. Douglas in 1854 in his Kansas-Nebraska Act. Likewise, the Compromise of 1850, created by the Great Compromiser, Henry Clay, was an effort to preserve the Union by settling the issue of slavery in the newly acquired territories from the Mexican-American War. Although it assured a temporary peaceful settlement between the sections, it failed to give birth to the Civil war and the rise in sectionalism. Although all these compromises had served their desired intents, politically as well as socially, in turn, they only played a catalyst role in increasing the tensions...
Words: 2988 - Pages: 12
...The Era of Imperialism During the late 1900’s Europe decided it was in the nation’s best interest to expand their territory and bring inferior race’s under its control. The Europeans would not be the first to expand however they did go one step further, choosing occupied areas. Africa, Asia and the Pacific were three of the first areas to be conquered and permanently occupied. Industrial Revolution empowered Europeans in a way they hadn’t been empowered before; industrialization and technology changed the very nature of imperialism. The European’s possessed knowledge of technology and fire power that no one else could compare to. The Europeans felt that it was their duty as well as their right to progress the rest of human civilization by teaching them their own western ways. Because the Europeans reaped the benefits of profit and global power they felt as if they were justified in their actions. Regardless of how powerful the Europeans were, not everyone shared their views. People questioned their motives and claims of everyone benefiting from the European-style colonization. Eventually those who became subject to the Europeans, became aware of the own lost culture and ways, this began the protest of anti-colonial nationalist. Justifications of Imperialism “Something else is needed for France: that she cannot merely be a free country, that she must also be a great country, exercising all of her rightful influence over the destiny of Europe; that she ought...
Words: 1494 - Pages: 6
...being the “Turning point of the civil war” and the second being the “Turning point of Industrialization and Urbanization”. In the “Turning point of the civil war” we will peer into several possible outcomes of the “Reconstruction Period had Abraham Lincoln survived”. In the “Turning point of Industrialization and urbanization we will also investigate “Industrializations effect on the average working American” and touch on “How state courts served to discriminate against non-white citizens and immigrants”. Finally we will conclude with “The New America”. My view on how the events of the past shaped America into the wonderful nation I am so proud of today. Turning Point of the Civil War America could not be the honored country that it is today had it not been for the turning point of the civil war. In the mid-1800s the Northern and Southern states were divided on many differences. A major difference that lingered after the signing of the Constitution was slavery. You have the Northern statesmen who firmly oppose slavery and the Southern statesmen who strongly favor it. Our country was not only divided by slavery. Another level of division was the conflict concerning tariffs. In the South statesmen opposed tariffs on imported goods but the Northern statesmen who represented manufacturing companies demanded tariffs to ward off foreign competition. Tensions and conflict between the North and South increased as new states were added into...
Words: 1206 - Pages: 5
...are seeking self-identities through media as opposed to the traditional practices from their parents. The media portrayals of African Americans has had a detrimental effect on the lives of African Americans through misrepresentations of countless acts of violence, ignorance, destined poverty, and second class citizenship. The Huffington Post reported “In the United States there are approximately 18 million black men, and nearly 161 million women of all races. According to the Sentencing Project the total number of women incarcerated in America is about 200,000. Even more shocking despite the population of black men being about a tenth the size, there are nearly 4 times as many black men incarcerated in comparison to women of all races in the U.S.” The respectable Rev. Jessie Jackson states the violent exploitations through media are not mere imitations of reality but yet creating reality for blacks. The media is reaching a vast majority through music, television, newspapers, movies and magazines explicating drugs, sex and violence grasping the attention of blacks through relations. However, not all blacks identify with the self-mutilations portrayed in the media. Also, there is an immense amount of underrepresentation of the positive perspectives of African Americans in the media. African Americans have no positive correlations between what is shown through the media and themselves when forming identities for themselves, especially since this is the primary source of information...
Words: 1820 - Pages: 8
...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON’S UP FROM SLAVERY By VIRGINIA L. SHEPHARD, Ph.D., Florida State University S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery 2 INTRODUCTION Booker T. Washington’s commanding presence and oratory deeply moved his contemporaries. His writings continue to influence readers today. Although Washington claimed his autobiography was “a simple, straightforward story, with no attempt at embellishment,” readers for nearly a century have found it richly rewarding. Today, Up From Slavery appeals to a wide audience from early adolescence through adulthood. More important, however, is the inspiration his story of hard work and positive goals gives to all readers. His life is an example providing hope to all. The complexity and contradictions of his life make his autobiography intellectually intriguing for advanced readers. To some he was known as the Sage of Tuskegee or the Black Moses. One of his prominent biographers, Louis R. Harlan, called him the “Wizard of the Tuskegee Machine.” Others acknowledged him to be a complicated person and public figure. Students of American social and political history have come to see that Washington lived a double life. Publicly he appeased the white establishment...
Words: 13713 - Pages: 55
