Week 8: Day 3

Today in class on Thursday, October 9th, we finished watching a video and finished filling in our worksheet. Then, afterwards, we went over questions on the worksheet that people may have missed. We talked about the tactical advantages that the North and South had against each other ,talked about what the Emancipation Proclamation actually did, and went on to start watching another video and answer questions on the respective worksheet. The video we are currently watching is about the beginnings of the civil war at Fort Sumter, and overviews of the first battles that took place during the Civil War. We did not finish the worksheet and will most likely be finishing it tomorrow

If the Confederacy won the Civil War?

After Mr. Stewart talked about the satire movie about what would have happened if the Confederacy had gained independence, I remembered this video.  This video goes into the possible scenarios if the Confederacy had, not necessarily won the Civil War, but dragged it on long enough for the Union have to let them go.  The creators don't go into very deep about the effects of what would have happened but rather their prediction on what would have happened afterwards.  Remember this is all up to opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtJkZxRocwM&list=TLXgd7Km-inQH0aIV9MkYRuXqzXoraUoeh

(I couldn't find the second video despite they saying there was.  And the comments are hilarious I would read them.)

Just a thought

A couple of weeks ago during dinner, somehow my family's conversation directed to Taiwanese Mandarin accents versus Beijing Mandarin accents. These two differ greatly, as Taiwanese Mandarin is marked by a very flat tone, while Beijing Mandarin has a distinct "-er" suffix on several characters. My parents declared that most Chinese people aspire to have the Beijing accent, as it seems elegant or something like that. I suddenly had this revelation that Taiwan is very similar to the US in this sense. Americans love British accents - heck, we love British culture even more - the tea, the music, the royal family. Taiwanese people tend to claim very defiantly that they are independent of the People's Republic of China, but they still are greatly affected by Chinese culture. Americans declared independence centuries ago, but we still rely on Great Britain greatly. It seems like those who fight for independence never get full independence, which may seem like a bad thing, but is actually quite nice - we get to develop our unique culture from the original.

"The Civil War" weekend reading

For any of you who are doing this weekend's homework (The Civil War reading--"The Clash of Amateur Armies" and "Real Warfare Begins") and are getting confused by the many generals and their military allegiance (especially the First Battle of Bull Run/First Manassas).  Here is a quick list of the Generals for each side for this weekend's reading so you don't have to look up each one if you forget :

Union--
Robert Anderson
Winfield Scott
Irvin McDowell
George B McClellan
Ben Butler
William A Harney
John Charles Fremont
William T Sherman
James B McPherson
Nathaniel S Lyon
Robert Patterson
Allan Pinkerton
Ulysses S Grant
Jenry Wager Halleck
Don Carlos Buell
George H Thomas
Andrew Foote
Samuel Curtis

Confederate--
Jefferson Davis
PGT Beauregard
Robert E Lee
Albert Sidney Johnston
Joseph E Johnston
Thomas J Jackson (Stonewall Jackson)
Barnard Bee
Leonidas Polk
George B Crittenden
Earl Van Dorn
John Bankhead Magruder

*Note:  A helpful resource for the First Battle of Bull Run is this animated map (used with the last 10 pages of the 3rd chapter)

Week 7 Day 3: DBQ PREPARATIONS

DBQ Information

Possible Documents:

1. Manifest Destiny quote by John O' Sullivan
2. Mexican Cession Map
3. Compromise of 1850 Map
4. Ostend Manifesto

Tasks: 

1. Organize ideas
2. Demonstrate knowledge with outside information
3. Set up the reader
4. Could ask why could there no longer be a compromise on the slavery question?
5. Theme: sectionalism

Summary of Lectures given during this Chapter:

First, there was the question of expansion, where the idea of Manifest Destiny was first introduced. With Americans eager for more land to support the growing population, the United States wanted to annex anywhere from no land to all of Texas, Oregon, and maybe even Mexico and Canada. How they were going to achieve this was unknown, but they knew war with Great Britain was not an option, for they wanted to avoid a two-front war. Because of this, they compromised with Britain and worked out the 49th parallel. In the Election of 1844, Polk won because he committed to the promise of expanding into Texas, while Clay did not take a firm stance. To gain support of the idea from the north, the Democrats simply stated that they were purely "re-occupying" the land that should be theirs. To enact this, Polk moved troops toward Texas, while Mexico moved their troops to what they thought was their defense line at the Nueces River. However, to Americans, who thought that Rio Grande was the boundary, it appeared as if the Mexicans were invading Texas. After the Americans beat the Mexicans, proving their military success to European countries, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, which gave fair terms to avoid an angry neighbor. A proposed addition was the Wilmot Proviso stating that slavery should not be enacted on any gained territory, upsetting pro -slavery people who argued that slaves are property, and by the constitution, congress cannot limit the right to property. 

People could no longer compromise on the slavery question. With the expansion of territory people were forced to choose a side, and be either for or against it. The proposed solutions are as follows. Use the Missouri Compromise ideas, but California did not want to split into two, setting the precedent for Texas to split, and gain more representation. Territories could determine their own stance with popular sovereignty, but the other side would always be unhappy. The South viewed abolitionism as an attack on themselves, not slavery. The Election of 1848 was unlike any other where proposed candidates seemed like the opposite of their traditional parties, in order to appeal to the other side. With sectionalism and therefore extremism increasing, a compromise needed to be made. In the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico were determined with popular sovereignty, Texas gives up its tumor for financial aid, the slave trade is abolished in Washington DC (represents liberty) and the north would enforce the fugitive slave law. However, this was only passed as each proposal was voted on individually, and passed with a majority. There was no real agreement. 

The Kansas-Nebraska Act eliminated any chance of compromise when it disregarded the Missouri Compromise. The Act was designed to help make the train stop in the north at Illinois by Steven Douglas, in order to stimulate Illinois's economy. However, because Kansas and Nebraska were on Louisiana Territory and he promised the south to use popular sovereignty to decide the slavery question, not Missouri Compromise rules, he killed the one compromise that was working. Sectionalism was now more extreme than ever as people were forced to take a stance on the slavery question, thus splitting the nation into the North and the South, the Republicans and the Democrats.. 

Possible Outside Information

1. Eli Whitney's cotton gin created the need for slavery, making cotton profitable, but needing cheap labor to keep it that way. 
2. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin which discussed the splitting of families, as well as the slaves analyzed like animals during slave auctions. She was an abolitionist, also fighting for women's rights, and her book exposed the inhumane actions slavery encouraged. 
3. The American Colonization Society was founded to move slaves to the Republic of Liberia, for people believed the only way to get rid of the problem slavery posed was to return the people to its original source. 
4. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass highlighted on the conditions of slavery from his point of view. In one part of the story, he describes himself witnessing the whipping of his aunt. This exposed the cruel actions of the slave owner onto his slave. He also gained support for the abolition movement when he said that slave owners ruled by fear.
5. Poor relations with Britain occurred when the British investors lost their money after the Panic of 1837. There was a "war of words."
6. The Wilmot Proviso was passed in the house, not the senate, because the house of representatives was based on population, which was concentrated in the north. 
7. The Ostend Manifesto was a secret document sent to Spain offering to buy Cuba. When northerners expressed outrage that the South was trying to spread slavery, the south argued that northerners were trying to kill it, with more anti-slavery territories. Thus, actions cancelled each other out. 

Week seven day four (or three): The Great Triumvirate

As we learned in class, the Great Triumvirate was the name given to the group of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun. These three men dominated American politics for much of 19th century, wielding influence from the War of 1812 until the early 1850s. These three men, despite their huge differences in background and style, were remarkably similar in their careers and are inseparable in discussions of 19th century politics.

Henry Clay was the oldest of the three, born in Virginia in 1777. He first served as a Senator from Kentucky in 1806, and stayed in politics until his death in 1852. He ran for president three times, losing all three (in 1824, 1832, and 1844). Despite the bad presidential election record, he served as Secretary of State once and Speaker of the House of Representatives three times. Clay is probably best known for his title of the Great Pacificator or the Great Compromiser.  His idea to help pacify the relations between President Jackson and the South over tariffs in 1833 (creatively called Clay's Compromise Tariff of 1833), and he was the one who first thought of the Great Compromise of 1850.

Daniel Webster was rather stereotypically northeastern in his political choices, usually looking out most for the industrious New England. He was largely considered the greatest orator of his time, and used his talents well. He was the most vocal unionist, and his debate against states'-rights advocate Robert Y. Hayne is famous. He served as Secretary of State twice.

As Webster was very northeastern, John C. Calhoun was amazingly southern. He was one of the most vocal politicians for states' rights, especially during the Nullification Crisis, and was also actively pro-slavery. He served as vice president for two very different presidents: John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

Despite their differences, all three shared an opposition to Andrew Jackson, though all for different reasons. Clay didn't like the man who'd beaten him; Webster (the New Englander) didn't like Jackson's new style of democracy and anti-bank policies; Calhoun hated how Jackson treated the south, even going so far as to resign from the position of vice president.

More on the debate about what should be taught in US History...

Check it out if you like...

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-colorado-schools-fight-20141001-story.html#page=1