Plessy V Ferguson Reaction Post

    Cons of Plessy V Ferguson

    The Reconstruction era was the period after the American Civil War from 1865 to 1877, during which the United States faced several challenges, the main one being Separate but equal. After the north defeated the south, anti-slavery leaders in Washington drafted the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, aka the Reconstruction Amendments. 

 

    The 13th Amendment forever abolished slavery as an institution in all U.S. states and territories. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws”. Lastly the 15th amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote.

    Things leading up to the case of Plessy v Ferguson were becoming more in favor of African Americans. So many changes in the country, a lot of black progress, like 6 black members joining the board of congress. Also blacks and whites working together in the republican party. America had made some significant changes, so much we should thinking about these issues in a different way. This discrimination of Plessy v Ferguson is a portrayal of the constitution. This type of system affirms the value of white supremacies.

 

    The Lack of equality should not be seen in America, we are living up to the founding principles of the generation. If the court does not remove these laws, it sets an unethical tone for the rest of the country. It’s an economic waste of money, segregating the carts and doubling the cost. Dishing out extra money for no reason just really doesn’t make sense and is unnecessary.

This case is a legal dispute about a point of law and it’s a protection clause about the 14th amendment. The word equality has nothing to interpret, it's either equal or unequal. Rights are a special type of rights because they are a fundamental, personal right is the strongest right because it’s mentioned in the constitution.The constitution is color blind, blind to class. Discrimination like separating the carts defeats the whole purpose of the 14th amendment.

Pros of Plessy V Ferguson 

Slavery may have ended; however, it was replaced with other forms of discrimination. They may have not been as brutal as slavery but there were under laws like the black codes that created a discriminatory environment. It was like slavery without the slavery. African Americans have equal legal status but not social status.

 

Plessy violated the 14th amendment; it doesn't hold up because the 14th amendment was about granting citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws”.

 

African Americans nearly say the carts aren’t equal but that’s a matter of their opinion. If we didn’t have these carts, we would have chaos and violence. Slavery fits are tradition of states’ rights. Slavery is not a federal issue, clearly this issue doesn’t reside at the federal level but at the state level. Having this type of system, this is about the 10th amendment. We have a system that has an underclass, we have to have that workforce and the whole economy is based on that.

 

Plessy V Ferguson - mock trial post

    Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before the court today to defend the state’s law of segregating railroad cars. Being on the pro slavery side of the debate, Speaking from facts not feelings, If slavery was suddenly to stop, the South's economy would be really hurt. Southern Slave owners depend on slave labor for everything and so does the economy. If slavery stopped; the cotton businesses would fail, the tobacco crops would wither away, and rice wouldn't make money anymore.

  

    Not to mention that the South grows sixty percent of the world's cotton and provides about 70 percent of the cotton consumed by the British textile industries. Slave labor also pays for a substantial share of the capital, and manufactured goods that lays the basis for American economic growth. Slavery also generates wealth by contributing to infrastructure development, in the form of roads, ports, and other facilities. These investments help stimulate economic growth. 

  

 

  Slave owners benefit from the wealth generated by their enslaved labor force, which was used to invest in various economic activities, like buying more land which would give more goods to the economy, benefiting it financially. Slaves serve as the largest financial asset to America. So why would we take that away? This would cause a lot of people to go without jobs, causing everyone to lose money in the end.

  

    Not to mention things would get messy with the constant fights and bloodshed. To sum it up we need to have a system with social class. Someone will always be at the bottom, and someone will also always be at the top with higher status and more power. This is important and inevitable to recognize because if you do make more money, you will get the benefits that come with it, like being respected more. It’s what makes our system work and how we have always functioned, it organizes us into groups with certain similarities keeping us in line so the system can run smoothly and efficiently.

Reaction Post - Fugative Slave Act

 The Fugitive Slave Act is also known as the Fugitive Slave Law. By 1843, hundreds of slaves successfully escaped to the North. Slave owners were furious that their slaves ran away from them. A law, known as the Fugitive Slave Act, was passed on September 18th, 1850, by the 31st United States Congress to address this problem, This act was a part of the Compromise of 1850. This law required escaped slaves to be captured and returned to their owners. 

 

Officials that did not arrest runaway slaves who could be fined up to $1,000. This act was one of the main factors that sparked the American Civil War. Some free states did believe the Fugitive Slave Act was unfair. These states passed personal liberty laws that gave fugitive slaves a trial before returning them back to their owners.

 

Northerners resisted the Act because it made them responsible for enforcing slavery even though they were abolitionists. By 1861, Congress passed the Confiscation Act which prohibited slave owners from recapturing their slaves who ran away. James Mitchell Ashley tried to get the Fugitive Slave Act repealed in 1863, but the bill did not get passed by the committee. The Fugitive Slave Act was revoked in June of 1864. 

 

Reconstruction Video Blog Post

 Most of us know that our country fought a civil war in the 1960s, but no one really knows the tragedy that came after, which was the reconstruction era. The reconstruction era was an exciting time but also it had a lot of backlash and depression. Reconstruction meant storing the United States back to a union. The reconstruction era was a process by which American society tried to come to terms with the consequences of the civil war. On April 9th, 1865, Palm Sunday marked the end of the civil war.           

 

 However White southerners couldn’t accept the 4 million slaves as equal members of their society. It was Apparent that the north and the south saw reconstruction quite differently. From the war's first days, legions of slave people defied their masters. By the summer of 1862 many slaves found safe haven. Shortly after 1865, ads were being placed in newspapers. African Americans wanted to build the life they ever got to have. They longed for things they couldn’t have, like the right to own land, the right for education, and the right to marry. They also were trying to reconnect with their families that they got separated from.

 

While Abraham Lincoln was in office, he believed black people deserved the write to vote. This unfortunately was the last speech he got to deliver before he was assassinated on April 14th. Hours after Lincoln's death, Andrew Johnson was sworn in. Few imagined Johnson would ever ascend into presidency. Andrew was the first man in this country made president by an assessed bullet. Johnson grew up in the south as a democrat, he also grew up poor. Which gave him perspective. Now with Andrew Johnson in office, White southerners were having a hard time accepting the fact that slavery was dead.

 

When laws started to change, and when black men heard they could enter the army, 180,000 answered the call; most of them were slaves. The role of black soldiers would ensure that it would end emancipation. 100 years after emancipation black people were still fighting for their rights. A system functioning without race is still something we are working for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Anti-Slavery Society post

     The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison, Arthur Tappan and Frederick Douglas, that lasted from 1833 to 1870. William Lloyd Garrison was an American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. Arthur Tappan an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. Frederick Douglas was an American slave and an abolitionist.

       The American Anti Slavery Society was part of a larger religious revival that believed slavery was a sin, and that slaveholders were sinners. Knowing that slavery was illegal, if not under the Constitution, then certainly under natural law. The society had agents that traveled throughout the country producing lectures, distributing anti-slavery journals, and organizing local anti-slavery societies. It petitioned Congress to end slavery immediately in Washington and in any Federal territories. There was much opposition to the Anti-Slavery Society in the North, especially from business owners who depended on imports from the slave states. Abolitionists had their efforts proved to be extremely effective, focusing attention so much on slavery that it made it difficult to ignore. However, attention is not all good, the society was considered controversial, and its activities were sometimes met with violence. Tension was so heightened; Abolitionists had threatened to destroy the unity of the nation until there was justice. Eventually there were more than 400 chapters and by 1838 the number had grown to 1,350, with more than 250,000 members. members protested the African slave trade, the perpetual bondage of its captives, and the practice of separating enslaved family members by sale to different masters.

    As the nineteenth century progressed, these groups sent petitions with thousands of signatures to Congress, held abolition meetings and conferences, boycotted products made with slave labor, printed mountains of literature, and gave innumerable speeches for their cause.Ultimately, the American Anti-Slavery Society was the largest and most influential abolitionist organization in the United States.

   

Gone with the Wind reflection

    The movie I’m reviewing is called Gone with the Wind, a 1939 film directed by Victor Fleming. The story takes place in Georgia, during the civil war and the reconstruction periods. It stars a spoiled, southern belle named Scarlett O’Hara who is shielded from most of reality. Scarlett is a daughter to a wealthy plantation owner. It also stars Rhett Butler, who is a prominent, charming visitor from Charleston. Both characters compete for their romance. The beautiful Scarlett starts off as vain, stubborn, and self-centred because that’s how she was raised. She wasn’t taught how slavery was bad or how morally wrong it was. She was taught that they were there to serve her and take her orders. However, once the war turns her life upside down, she goes through significant changes in her character development. Her determination and survival skills are what ultimately help her stay alive. An example of her showing her determination is when she loses her home, loved ones, and still agrees to fight, “I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.” Her perseverance is clearly showing, she knows now that nothing is going to be handed to her anymore and she must fight for what she needs no matter the price.

        Now talking more into Scarlett and Rhett’s relationship. When they first met Rhett was an outsider, black sheep, and gambler, who was known for getting expelled from west point.Scarlett was known for being obsessed with a man named Ashley. However, when he rejects her that gives Scarlett the rash decision to marry Ashley’s brother, Charles. Who she clearly doesn’t love but does it anyways because she wanted to be married. While Charles is at war he gets killed and makes Scarlett a widow. While Scarlett is distraught over Charles, Rhett tries to get her attention. Isolated, an in-morning Scarlett takes Rhett’s attention but gets attached. Rhett knew he didn’t want to marry her but kept being flirtatious. Eventually Rhett kisses Scarlett but must leave her to go fight in the war. Which causes Scarlett ultimate heartbreak and determination to push through and survive no matter the consequences. She knew she had to do it for herself which is what she ended up accomplishing.

State V Man blog post

Julia Smedira 

 State V Man Reflection 

     In this Mock Trial, what was debated was, a man named John who is a slave owner and a woman named Lydia, who is a slave. John was giving Lydia a hard time, which caused her to run away. So, he decided to shoot her in the back. He was fined $10 for this incident. We are arguing if this crime should be upheld. Man is anti-slavery while state is defending John. 

     Starting with Man, there first point being, we are not a religious country, but many of our norms, customs, and laws go back to christen value and the 10 commandments which state, “Though shall not kill” even to a slave because Lydia is still a human being. Second, John committed Assault and Battery. He intentionally hurt Lydia and attempted to murder her, which means he did break the law. Thirdly why John is in the wrong is an economic reason. If we have an economy based on slaves, then the well-being of the slaves is detrimental. If we harm the slave, then the slave will not be able to perform its role in society. Harming a slave is harming the economy. Slavery shouldn’t be tolerated and crushes the reputation of the United States. Slavery has left an emotional whole in our society. Lastly for man is, Lydia wasn’t owned by John. He hired her for work, and there for didn’t have the right to punish Lydia. Lydia belonged to Elizabeth Johns. It was a common practice during this era to lease a slave to someone else, that being John. Some say that even though John rented out Lydia he has the right to punish her, however this is not true. He doesn’t have the right to punish her because of property ownership. You can’t damage that person’s property therefor John broke the rules.

     Now discussing the states side and why John is innocent. We need to think of the time period and the mindset of people back then. Opinions of slavery in the north and south were different. The north was anti-slavery, and the south was pro slavery. John shouldn’t pay the fine, in this time slavery was perfectly legal in the south. Therefor It was Lydia’s fault, she didn’t play her role, she created this conflict. Then John under all the norms and customs at the time back then as a slave owner, acted logically from keeping her from running away. This was a case of self-defense, because if she had run away, she could have been a danger to the community. We can’t have this lawlessness, with the underground railroad having slaves go up north. There needs to be ownership and control. If you take away ownership and control the whole system falls apart, concluding he was acting responsibly and shouldn’t have to pay $10.