Class Updates: 12/11/12 and 12/12/12

Yesterday in class (12/11/12) we read primary source document about South Carolina’s secession from the Union. We answered questions about the primary source documents and had a discussion on the reasons why they thought they could secede.  Their main argument was that they had made an agreement with the other states, and they didn’t keep up with the agreement. When the other states broke the agreement South Carolina had the right to be a free independent state.

Today in class (12/12/12) we took notes by comparing the Constitution and the New Orleans Newspaper. The Constitution stated that the president was required to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.”  He must also enforce, or carry out all federal laws. The New Orleans Newspaper said Republicans saw slavery as a system of weakness.  The newspaper stated the Republicans would continue to work to demolish slavery, and the succession of the Confederacy was an act of self-defense. The southerners were now considered to have lost “their way of life.” The Newspaper truly discriminated Abraham Lincoln who refused to see the seceded states as actual countries.

Class Updates: 12/7/12 and 12/10/12

On Friday (12/7/12) we didn’t have class due to the half day. Today in class (12/10/12) we started are new unit on the Civil War. We received worksheets that were about Abraham Lincoln’s idea of “liberty to all”; he compared this to “silver settings” and an “apple of gold”. The “silver settings” represent the government which has the duty of protecting the “gold apples”. The gold apples represent the people who give the government power.

Class Updates and 30 day challenge: 12/5/12 and 12/6/12

Yesterday in class (12/5/12) we had an EdCafe on the 1850s most popular celebrities. It was very hard to convince people that David Wilmot was at the top. Although David Wilmot came up with the idea of the Wilmot Proviso which ended slavery in land acquired in the Mexican-American War, his proposal was rejected. Abraham Lincoln ended up winning the majority of votes in our class. Today in class (12/6/12) we had our test on the 1850s.

My 30 day challenge finished strong! I went for a jog last night before bed.

Timeline 3: Events for the 1850s

Class Update and goal: 11/30/12 and 12/3/12

In class on Friday (11/30/12) we had a substitute teacher. We received a packet which talked about several political scenarios which could have caused the south to break away. Today in class (12/3/12) we discussed a political cartoon from the presidential election of 1860. The cartoon showed the two main candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas fighting over a map of the United States; they were particularly fighting over the western states.  The Political cartoon also showed John Bell trying to glue the map back together while John Breckinridge handed it up to him.  

My 30 day challenge isn’t going to well. I don’t want to go for a jog tonight because I have hockey in the morning and I don’t want to be achy for my second practice of the season. I will definitely go for a jog tomorrow night.

Class Update: 11/28/12 and 11/29/12

Yesterday in class (11/28/12) we discussed the Douglass Lincoln Debate more and then learned about John Brown and Harper’s Ferry. During the Illinois Election for U.S senate, Stephen Douglas created the idea of popular sovereignty using the Kansas Nebraska Act. His opponent Abraham Lincoln wanted to end the expansion of slavery. During Harper’s Ferry John Brown wanted to steal weapons from a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA. His plan was to give the slave weapons and the slaves would then form an uprising. He then thought other slaves from the south would also join the uprising. John Brown and his men were captured in the arsenal by marines. John Brown was hanged for his crime on December 2^nd, 1859.

Today in class (11/29/12) we read primary source documents on John Starry’s, Robert E. Lee’s, and John Brown’s account on the attempted uprising. I thought it was very interesting that John Brown claimed he didn’t mean to kill anyone and that his only intent was to free the slaves. John Brown stated: “That was all I intended. I never did intend murder, or treason, or the destruction of property, or to excite or incite slaves to rebellion, or to make insurrection.”

My 30 day challenge wasn’t a go tonight. I had my first hockey practice at 6:00 o’clock this morning and I’ve been feeling really swore.

Class Update: 11/26/12 and 11/27/12

Yesterday in class (11/26/12) we read about the Dred Scott case. In this case Scott was suing Mrs. Emerson for “false imprisonment” and battery. It was very common for slaves who were taken from to free land to sue their masters and receive freedom. Scott mainly argued that he was held illegally and that he had been taken against his will to a slave territory state after he had already been free in a non-slave holding state.

Today in class (11/27/12) we read about The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. We also watched a clip in a movie from the 1940s which contained parts of the speech. The debate was between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Lincoln opposed slavery and popular sovereignty while Douglas strongly encouraged slavery. After watching the movie clip we filled out a chart which compared Lincoln and Douglas’s speeches.

My 30 day challenge is going great, after the Thanksgiving break I have a great reason to go for a jog.