Interactive Information

The North vs. The South:        THE CIVIL WAR | Create infographics

Last week in Honors History 10, our class researched the statistics of the beginning of the civil war. With many resources that Mrs. Gallagher gave us, we were able to compare and contrast several aspects of the north and the south in 1861; the populations, economies, military strategies, advantages and disadvantages. The essential question we were asked to answer was: How did the differences between the North and the South affect each region's strategy and success in the Civil War? With the given sources, I created an infographic on Infogram, a visual, interactive image to represent information and data. I found that broadcasting information in this way is much easier to comprehend and appreciate. The interactive aspect of the infographic makes the differences and similarities between the Union and the Confederacy very clear. I am very thankful that Mrs. Gallagher introduced me to this new tool, I will definitely be using it more often.

The Elephant in America

Last week in Honors History 10, we learned about the last cause of the civil war. This final lesson was called "The Elephant in the Room", and idiom for the indisputable but ignored issue of slavery in America. In class, we organized ourselves into small groups, and learned about the events that took place in the newly formed western US. The north and the south began to disagree with how to distribute slavery in the country.

The first picture is of my groups timeline, consisting of 8 major events that lead up to the debate over slavery and the civil war. The events above the timeline are the cons of abolishing slavery, and the events below the line are the pros of abolishing slavery. Most 19th century southerners supported the events above the timeline, while most 19th century northerners supported the events below the line. 

4 of the 8 major events were the Missouri Compromise, Bleeding Kansas, the Caning of Charles Sumner and the Dred Scott Decision.  

The Missouri Compromise was a multi-part compromise created by Henry Clay in an attempt to resolve the conflicts between the north and the south.  The first two  solutions were that the new southern state, Missouri, would enter as a slave state, as long as the new northern state, Maine, entered as a free state.  Another compromise was that slavery would not exist above the 36 degree latitude line in Missouri.  

'Bleeding Kansas' refers to the riot that broke out in Lawrence, Kansas, where a group of pro-slavery southerners attempted to rebel against the anti-slavery advocates.  John Brown and his sons ended up massacring 5 of the pro-slavery men.

 The Caning of Charles Sumner took place right after Sumner's fiery 2-day speech on the slavery conflict, in which he targeted Andrew Butler, the senate of South Carolina.  Butler's nephew, Preston Brooks, beat Sumner in his chamber with a cane in response to the speech.

Dred Scott was a Missourian slave who traveled to Illinois with his owner because of his owner's relocation.  Illinois was declared a free state, which meant Scott was living on free soil.  After a long period of time, Scott and his owner were again relocated back to the slave state of Missouri.  In Missouri, Scott's owner died.  Scott went to court, seeking freedom because he had lived on free soil for such a long time, and had no living owner.  The case got bought to the US Supreme Court, where Scott was never granted freedom, because the court ruled him as a non-citizen, granting him no rights. The effects of this decision were that slaves were denied the right to sue in court, enslaved people could not be granted freedom by living on free soil, and the Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional (because all territories were technically open to slavery).

Making the timeline was a really helpful way to understand the events that lead up to slavery, and to see how they had effects on each other.  

Speeding Slavery

Although slavery has not been around for many years, it will always be a problem and will continue to cast a shadow on the world forever.  In the early 19th century, the total slave population had risen to approximately 1,191,000.  Slaves were in demand because of the booming cotton business.  Slaves were rapidly being brought into the country and transported to the new states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Louisiana.  In 1820, the U.S. was producing about 160 million pounds of cotton a year, and cotton accounted for 32% of the nation's export revenue, mostly in the south.  As new lands were being opened, slaves were being brought into the country to be scattered there.  With the intensity of the cotton business increasing, the slave population nearly doubled.  Halfway through the 19th century, the cotton industry was the largest in the south, producing about 1,000,000,000 pounds of cotton.  The slave population had risen to about 3.2 million.  Every decade, the amount of cotton produced had risen greatly, as had the slave population.  

The Founder's Constitution mentioned slavery in many articles.  One clause that stood out was  "No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.".  This means that if a slave were to escape from their master and into a free state, the slave would not be considered free.  If the slave were to be caught, they were to be returned to their owner.  This law made it clear that slaves were not treated as people whatsoever, more like property.  

The Founder's Constitution

In class, we also read an article called Cotton is King: Slavery is Entrenched in American Society.  It said that people in the American society genuinely believed that slavery was in decline, with so many slaves escaping and being freed.  In 1793, a man named Eli Whitney invented a revolutionary machine called the cotton gin.  The invention of the cotton gin made it easier to take the seeds out of cotton, making it an easier crop to produce.  Whitney's invention doomed the slaves, giving them more work to do.  As I pointed out earlier, the cotton industry grew greatly, as did the slave population.  

Whitney's Original Patent for his Cotton Gin

Next in class, we focused on one of the more difficult parts of slavery: morality.  Nothing about slavery is moral in any way.  It is just the opposite.  In the 19th century, and person of color or of African was considered a slave, not a person.  For example, we watched a docudrama called Prince Among Slaves, a story of Prince Abdul Rahman, from Futa Jallon, Africa.  Prince was very influential in his land, and had many responsibilities.  He ended up being captured, taken to America and sold to a white master in Mississippi.  The whites regarded him as any other slave, and treated him pretty poorly.  Little did they know, he was a man of power and wealth back at his home where he should've been.  This documentary showed that the whites did not care about slaves' personal lives or family lives, they just treated them like slaves. 

After the docudrama, our class split up into groups and each researched an abolitionist.  John Brown was a militant abolitionist who led a raid on a federal armory called Harpes Ferry, in hopes of giving the stolen weapons to slaves so they could become free from their masters. He was very opposed to slavery. Brown also took part in the underground  railroad, gave land to free African Americans and eventually established the League of Gileadites, a group formed with the intention of protecting black citizens from slave hunters.  Brown was a ruthless man, but he had good intentions.   

John Brown and a some descriptions
of him.

Caught in the Imperfection

Since the beginning of time, men have always been deemed superior to women.  In the mid-19th century, women in America had to do certain things, and were excluded from some things that only men could do.  Women spent most of their time indoors at home, raising children and completing household chores.  Below, the photo shows a typical 1800s mother, taking care of her baby,  entertaining her other children, and maintaining a calm environment.  It is clear to see that the father is not home helping his wife.  Gender equality has been a long struggle, and is still a problem today.

A Typical 19th-Century White Woman in Her Home

  
The Seneca Falls Convention and Society's Reaction
In 1848, the first women's rights convention was held in New York.  There, women's voting rights were publicly addressed for the first time.  Also, the Laws and Practices of Women were demanded to be changed.  The Laws and Practices of Women clearly stated that women didn't have the same rights as men, women weren't supposed to speak publicly, and in some states, it was even legal for a man to beat his wife.  Most American men reacted negatively; they enjoyed being superior.  Some newspapers offered their opinions, too.  The Oneida Whig paper wrote very negative things about the demands.  However, on August 30, 1848, the National Reformer published an article supporting the Seneca Falls Convention.  The National Reformer wrote: "...we would ask but for one valid reason why woman should be deprived rights as an intelligent being...".  Finally, women's rights advocates had their voices heard and understood by logical humans.

Inequality Today
I must begin this last piece by stating that I am in no way a feminist, nor am I a "meninist".  In the video we watched in class, you could see a man and a woman being described with the same words, but being represented differently.  In most cases, the man's representation was positive, and the woman's was negative.  Being only 15, I have never experienced the wrath of gender inequality, but the female and male extremist advocates make me not want to stand up for my own gender.  I do not believe that women should be treated like they were treated in 1848, but I strongly believe that women need to recognize they are strong, and should fight for themselves as individuals, not attack the entire male gender for something not everyone has done.  Many women are fighting for equal rights, and they are certainly making more of an impact today than they did in 1848, but the world will never be perfect.....

Philippines Pantene Commercial 2013-

Women Against Labels