Buffalo Soldiers

After the Civil War, the United States government wanted to expand the growing nation northwest, especially with he gold rush occurring. However, already living in the northwest were the Native Indians.  This caused tension between the Indians and the United States. The government sent the Buffalo Soldiers to fight and solve the issue with the Indians. Sadly, the Buffalo Soldiers were not treated the same as other soldiers. In fact, the Buffalo Soldiers, who were mostly African Americans, were discriminated against. This led to our class's essential question. It was, in what ways did the U.S. Government discriminate against buffalo soldiers and native Americans accidentally? And in what ways did they purposely discriminate?

The Nez Perce were a Native Indian tribe that was relocated and fought against the Buffalo soldiers.

The government was discriminatory to the Indians accidentally. They were accidentally discriminatory to the Indians because they did not want to force the Indians to relocate originally. The government gave the Indians land in the northwest of the nation in an attempt to avoid confrontation with them. But when with the discovery of gold on the west coast, settlers quickly started migrating into he Natives' land. This caused the Indians to look at the events as a discriminatory act by the government towards them. However, the government did not plan this and it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

Buffalo Soldiers

The government was purposely discriminatory to both the Natives and the Buffalo soldiers. They were discriminatory to the Indians because they caused them to migrate to a new home that the government chose. After invading their land, the government decided that the Natives would be moved and live in present day Oklahoma. However, during the migration from their old home to what would become their new home, the United States government harassed the Natives and shot at them killing some. Also the government attempted to force the Natives to leave their homes by getting rid of their food source on purpose and causing them to starve. They purposely discriminated against the Buffalo Soldiers in many ways. The government purposely gave the Buffalo soldiers horses that should have not been ridden by soldiers, guns that were in poor condition and would malfunction, old scrappy uniforms, and not very nutritional food or proper supplies. Also they would purposely send the Buffalo soldiers to fight in the worst conditions and the camps they would stay in were very poor.

In my opinion the government was trying to discriminate the Buffalo Soldiers and at first they were not trying to discriminate the Natives, but once they invaded their territory they became discriminatory. The government from the very beginning made sure the Buffalo Soldiers had the absolute worst supplies and preparation they could give. However, until the gold rush the United States government wanted to leave the Indians to be on their own and live in peace with them. But, greed took over and they wanted all of their land.

Did the Freedom of Slaves Come From Above or Below?

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. Thousands of people, from both the north and the south, died for one reason. That reason was the freedom of slaves. Although, in the beginning  the north and Abraham Lincoln insisted it was not about slavery many people knew it was.  Then when the 13th amendment was a passed in 1865 by congress the public wondered who really influenced the amendment getting passed. Was it from above (Lincoln and the government) or from below(slaves and public)? This led to our class lesson we analyzed documents, pictures, and videos to try and determine who 'gave' freedom to the enslaved Americans? Did freedom come from above or below? To what extent were Abraham Lincoln's actions influenced by the actions of enslaved Americans?

Freedom came from above in many ways. The obvious one is they are the ones who established the 13th amendment.  Also they gave support to the slaves from the very beginning even though they never fully admitted it. One individual, specifically, who was cautious about admitting how he felt was Abraham Lincoln. However, in his second inaugural address he finally stated that the slaves were and always were the cause of the war.  In the address he states, "These slaves constituted a powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of war". By stating this, Lincoln told the Union, the Confederacy, and the whole world that he and Washington were 100% supportive of freeing the slaves and he would do everything in his power to make African Americans no longer suffered from slavery.

Slaves arriving at Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi

Freedom also came from below, but in other ways. One way they fought against the South was they would pillage towns. In a letter written by a Union general about what he saw while walking through a town in the South he wrote, " after the enemy & citizens fled from the town, were committed by the negroes, before our troops reached the city— They seemed to be wild with excitement and delight" The slaves would run through cities after everyone left and take things for themselves and cause a raucous. Another example is the painting of slaves arriving at Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi. The vast numbers of slaves caused trouble for the Union soldiers because they did not know what to do with all of the ex-slaves. All these acts caused the government to have to work to find a solution of what to do with all the slaves quicker.

In my opinion, the freedom of slavery came above more than below. It was Lincoln and the Union who fought against the south and who created the amendment and laws that sanctioned slavery. I think the one thing that he slaves, or below, did to aid with the process of freedom was to make it come sooner. With all the pandemonium created by the slaves, it caused Washington to find a solution for them sooner so the chaos they caused would stop. Today there are many instances where the people from below influence the government and people from above to make decisions and make them quicker. An example is with the controversy of same sex marriage many protests caused the governments of each state to find a solution sooner, Also the solution they created would also have to cause the people from below to stop protesting. The public helps influence decisions made by the government through actions, and it will continue to work that way for as long the United States is a democracy.

Rockefeller and Carnegie, Robbers or Innovators?

Carnegie

          For this lesson and the next two, my class is taking a different approach to learning the material. Instead of the usual where you would listen to the teacher, follow her instructions, and take notes on the material she tells, we are giving the opportunity to learn everything on our own. As a class we watched videos and looked at primary sources about Rockefeller's and Carnegie's contribution to history. We then took notes as a class on a google document. Finally, we came up with an essential question for this unit and we created 40 questions that would eventually be on my classes final exam. The essential question we came up with was, were Carnegie and Rockefeller robber barons or captains of industry?  
In my opinion, both Rockefeller and Carnegie were captains of industry. Also they were men who very generous. Although Rockefeller

Rockefeller

was accused of using illegal tactics and cut throat tactics to get his money, he did do good in the world. One thing he did was cut down the prices of his product. This was good for the economy and had the public crawling to him. So, although many newspapers and people despised Rockefeller, many continued to buy his products because he brought a new type of way to run business. Another good thing he did, is he quietly gave back to the public. While the newspaper industry attacked him, Rockefeller would donate some of his money to charity and educational institutions. Just like Rockefeller, Carnegie did make a lot of money, but he gave back to the public as well. Carnegie gave millions of dollars to advance education. establish public libraries, and promote world peace. Along with that he advanced U.S. economy by coming up with a new more efficient and cost effective way to manufacture steel. Without these men the economy during mid 1800's would have not been merely as important.

Bill Gates

             There is no question that Rockefeller and Carnegie probably made their money without being completely honest or fairly, but they left a positive effect on humanity. They helped out in advancing the economy by cutting prices and creating new efficient way to manufacture products. But, they also helped out society. This shows that it's not how you make the money, but what you do with the money you have. Another rich man, today, who is positively affecting society is Bill Gates. Gates is worth an estimated $65 billion and he has decided to give away all his money to help those less fortunate than him. Already he has given $28.5 billion to multiple charities. One thing he focuses on are diseases that kill people, especially children. One disease that he has focused on recently is polio. Bill and his wife, since 2013, are in the process of investing $1.8 billion over the next six years to foundations looking to find a  cure for polio. Gates is just one example who is using his money to make a difference just like Rockefeller and Carnegie. In a sense, if none of these men had money, they would not be able to contribute to the world what they have. Without Rockefeller and Carnegie, the U.S. we know today would not be the same.



Sources
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/bill-gates/9812672/Bill-Gates-interview-I-have-no-use-for-money.-This-is-Gods-work.html
http://www.edline.net/files/_EfGYe_/f55c55cde748ef0d3745a49013852ec4/John_D_Rockefeller_Bio.pdf
http://www.edline.net/files/_EfGX5_/a11882b861a51a603745a49013852ec4/Andrew_Carnegie_Bio.pdf
http://www.edline.net/files/_EfHIe_/cf8ad07e3892cfd73745a49013852ec4/Doug_Ernst-Inquiry_Lesson-Robber_or_Captain.pdf

The Theaters of the Civil War

          The Civil War was divided into three sections, or "theaters"; they were the east, the west, and the naval theater. When a battle was fought one thing that was looked at was what theater it was in. In class we learned about battles in different theaters by doing a scavenger type activity. Each student researched a specific battle and wrote down where the battle took place, who won the battle, what theater it was in, and details about the battle on a shareable google document. Every student then put up a QR code, that sent you to the notes for the battle, in different places around the school and the class spent a couple days going around getting information for all battles researched. After this we came together and discussed trends and who won each theater on a padlet.

Created with Padlet

          The results of each theater relate to the ultimate winner of the war, the north. In the west, from the beginning of the war, the union dominated. Using their overpowering numbers they were able to overwhelm the confederate armies and push farther and deeper into the south. Also with lack of basic resources like ammunition and food the confederates had they were unable to withstand the union attack. In the eastern theater it was pretty even for who won it. In the beginning the confederacy controlled the eastern theater. With their tactic of just waiting and defending, their job was to just make sure that the union didn't advance of have a decisive win, and if this happened they considered it a win. But, as the war progressed the ammunition and other supplies was dwindling for the confederates and they did not have enough manufacturing to make more quick enough, so the union began to take control of the eastern theater by the end of the war. For the naval theater the clear winner was the union. Before the war even began, the union had a strong and established naval army which helped them succeed throughout the war. Looking at the success of the union in all three theaters it makes a lot of sense that they were the eventual victors of the war.

http://quizlet.com/17153995/civil-war-and-reconstruction-flash-cards/

            Throughout the war some commonalities were very apparent. For the union in all battles that they over numbered the confederacy in, they usually ended up being the victor. Another commonality was in most of the battles the confederates ran out of either food, ammunition, or both. For the confederates most of their wins came when the union wasn't expecting an attack. Wether it was an ambush or just the union wasn't expecting the confederates few wins came usually when the union wasn't prepared. These were the commonalities that were present during the Civil War.

       

Morality of Slavery in Early America

          In the 19th century, as the United States started to grow economically, slavery started to become entrenched inside the United States. In 1790 there were 690,000 slaves in America and they were located in the Chesapeake area and the Carolinas. Also during 1790 only 1.5 million pounds of cotton were produced, and it was considered an insignificant part of the nation's economy. However, by 1860 3.954 million were spread out throughout the nation, mostly in the south. And, in 1860 cotton accounted for 57% of the nations total export revenue, 2.28 billion pounds were produced, and it was valued at $191.8 million. This was no coincidence that both of these were increasing around the same time; they came hand in hand. Another part that contributed to both was the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney. This made farming cotton a lot easier, so more production of cotton called for more slaves to work the fields. An interactive map shows the increase of both cotton production and slave population. The south was where cotton was produced, so they depended on slaves. In the north slaves were mostly used as servants, but the textile mills in the north needed the cotton from the south. This shows that the whole economy relied on slavery and cotton production.

          The system used for slavery where it was based on race affects human dignity because it implies that just because of the color of your skin you are automatically considered more or less than another human being. From the beginning of slavery in the Americas, African Americans were told they were less than the whites. Through verbal and physical assault from the whites, the African Americans started to believe this. Then, the government started creating laws that degraded slaves even more. In Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Founder's Constitution it states "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person." This is saying that before 1808 importing slaves would not be taxed, but after 1808 they could be, but it could not exceed $10 for each slave. This is putting a price tag on a human being which is taking away their dignity. With laws like these African American slaves were never given a chance to think that they were equal.

          This system of race ignores the liberty and equality of all men and women.  It forces people to think that they are either inferior or superior to others around them. It also created people, who think they are superior, to think of excuses that makes it seem that they are not objectifying a specific race. One example was in George Fitzhugh's "Cannibals All!" he states "The Negro slaves of the South are the happiest, and, in some sense, the freest people in the world." By saying this he shows how ignorant he and all of his followers are for coming up with a statement that covers the truth. Him saying that the slaves were more free than the whites is like if I said that animals in zoos are more free than humans like you and I. With comments like these made by the southerners, the honesty and compassion in whites from the south disappeared as the desire for wealth and greed flourished.

Interactive map:

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US18-00.html

Understanding History Through Art

          For the election of 1860, instead of using usual documents and notes to learn about this crucial point in American history, we looked at art. Using the "The Civil War in Art" website we gathered information, and created a presentation about the election of 1860 using educreations. The election was one of the most crucial elections in the history of the United States. With the debate over slavery reaching a boiling point and war being seen as the only resolution, everyone knew that the outcome of the election would ultimately decide how soon the war would begin. With Abraham Lincoln (against slavery) winning the election the separation of the nation began. As southern states seceded one after the other, Lincoln's attempts to convince them to join the nation again seemed futile and war was imminent. As all of these events unfolded and the war began the public looked to artists for news on the situation. Through art artists were able to tell stories about the war. It was also an easy way for the public to catch up on the latest events. As the war progressed art became more and more popular for a way to get news.

https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/the-election-of-1860/30122342/?s=rTwIFC&ref=app

Strategies and Resources Leading into the Civil War

          An info graph is a way to show information about certain events or topics. To make an info graph you need to first get an understanding of the topic. Then researching topics within your topic is another important part. With the research you can make graphs, charts, and other types of visual ways to show statistics or information. You can edit these visual types of displaying information to be appropriate to what topic you are researching. After the graphs and everything you can add descriptions to explain your graphs even further. This offers a way for visual and reading learners to understand the topic. For this specific info graph it was on the resources of both sides before and during the Civil War. These statistics showed that the North held more advantages than the South did. The population and railroad mileage, to me, seemed to be very strategic advantages for the North. With that many more people in the North (21.5 million) than the South (9 million) the army for the North could have very well tripled the size of the South's before the first battle. The railroad mileage is also important because it offered easy transportation for the Union army. With easy access to transportation supplying armies with food, weapons, and soldiers would be easier. However the South did have a major resource; they had seven of the eight military colleges. The only thing better than large numbers is having a leader who knows what they're doing. This is exactly what the South had, so they're tactics would most likely be better than the North's. Even with that advantage the resources indicated that the North would end up victorious.

A nation divided  | Create infographics