Harriman Beepat        

Prof. B Murdaco

POL 166

December 3^rd 2013

 Assignment Due 12/3: Choose a passage from the Gettysburg Address or the Second Inaugural Address. Write out the passage and interpret its meaning and explain why you chose it.

“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”

An atheist I am not! But I am not religious either. The suffering that goes on today and in the past is inconceivable. My choice for this assignment, reflect my feelings about slavery, not only in this country, but worldwide. How can someone subject another to his will of total subservience?  Has anyone, after reading about slavery, wondered if there is a God? Such suffering and hardship, with seemingly no end in sight for these unfortunate souls. First the Native Americans, then the indentured whites and finally the stolen Africans, for two hundred and forty six years, this barbaric and savage institution existed. Finally in 1865, Lincoln emancipated all people in bondage and spoke about it, with reference to the bible. In his speech, he was trying to reconcile the two sides by reminding them that they were all Christians who believe in the same God. Both people in bondage and owners thought God as they perceived him to be, was on their side, and even though both sides suffered tremendously in the Civil War, ultimately, the sin of slavery was purged and that was the underlying consideration for the war.

Harriman Beepat

Prof. B Murdaco

POL 166

November 26^th 2013

Assignment Due 11/26: Choose a passage from Lincoln's speech on the Dred Scott case, interpret it and explain how it relates to class.
From the African-American Odyssey website, from the Civil War section, choose two parts, and summarize and explain them. If they include pictures, copy and paste the photo or image in your paper. 

"The Constitution was ordained and established by the people of the United States, through the action, in each State, of those persons who were qualified by its laws to act thereon in behalf of themselves and all other citizens of the State. In some of the States, as we have seen, colored persons were among those qualified by law to act on the subject. These colored persons were not only included in the body of ‘the people of the United States,’ by whom the Constitution was ordained and established; but in at least five of the States they had the power to act, and, doubtless, did act, by their suffrages, upon the question of its adoption."

Slavery was truly an inhumane institution. For hundreds of years this travesty in American history flourished with the protection of the United States Government and Constitution. Though the black man was instrumental in the fight for independence, and in the making of the Constitution, they were still viewed as non-citizens of this country, and as such were not entitled to the protection of its courts and laws. In the Dred Scott decision, it states that a black man cannot sue in the United States Courts, and secondly, that Congress cannot prohibit slavery in the different states of this country. Lincoln stated that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” This clearly refers to slavery in the South and free blacks in the North. And it further indicated that slavery was at the root of the division in the nation. This paragraph illustrates the constant struggle black people endured to get equal rights and protection in this country. From the birth of this nation to the Jim Crow era, this struggle continues to the present day.  

 

"Contraband of War"--African American Fugitives To Union Lines

Alfred R. Waud. Contrabands Coming into Camp. Drawing. Chinese white on brown paper. Published in Harper's Weekly, January 31, 1863. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-6173/LC-USZ62-14189 (4-1)

As Union armies moved into the South, thousands of slaves fled to their camps. Although some Union officers sent them back to their masters, others allowed them to remain with their troops, using them as a work force and dubbing them "contraband of war." Of this sketch, Waud, who photographed the "contrabands" and then prepared the drawing for the newspaper, wrote: There is something very touching in seeing these poor people coming into camp--giving up all the little ties that cluster about home, such as it is in slavery, and trustfully throwing themselves on the mercy of the Yankees, in the hope of getting permission to own themselve and keep their children from the auction-block. This party evidently comprises a whole family from some farm.

Union General Benjamin Butler first coined the term “Contraband of War or Seized Property.” He used this phrase to describe the slaves that fled to the “Yankee” military camps as they marched through the south. Before the Emancipation Proclamation, questions arose concerning the legal status and the practical treatment of slaves who escaped across Union military lines.  The Confederacy insisted that the Union abide by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and return the slaves to their masters.  In May 1861, Union general Benjamin Butler refused to comply, and labeled the runaway slaves, whom the Confederacy considered property, as “contraband of war” (i.e., seized property).  This practice went on for nearly a year, as there was no official policy concerning this act. Consequently, some Union commanders offered shelter to fugitive slaves, while others turned them away. 

Freedom's Eve--Watch Night Meeting

Heard and Moseley. Waiting for the hour [Emancipation], December 31, 1862. Carte de visite. Washington, 1863. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-6160 (4-21a)

On New Year's Eve many African American churches hold prayer and worship services from the late evening until midnight when they welcome the new year with praise, thanksgiving, prayer, and confession. These services are called watch night meetings. December 31, 1862, was a very special evening for the African American community, because it was the night before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing all the slaves in the Confederate states

With anticipation of freedom at last hovering in the air, most free men and women attended churches to ring in this most auspicious year. This is when the slaves from the South will be freed permanently with the Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on the first day of the New Year of 1862. In the above picture, both whites and blacks prayed n their various churches, waiting for the stroke of midnight and the beginning of the New Year.

Harriman Beepat

Prof. B Murdaco

POL 166

November 19^th 2013

Assignment Due (11/19): Choose a passage from Stanton or Anthony and one from Douglass. Write out the passage and explain what the author is saying and how it relates to the themes of the lecture, and then explain why you chose this quote.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitles them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.

          The Declaration of Sentiments, written by Elizabeth Stanton, copied much of the language of Thomas Jefferson’s original independence declaration. This was done purposefully, with the intention of pointing out both its similarities and its supposed inclusion of all United States Citizens, whether man or woman, and their stated equality. The Sentiments declaration begins: "When, in the course of human events," a "portion of the family of man" finds it necessary to assume a new position, it must explain its course of action. It continues: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal." The document lists men's oppressions against women, which include monopolizing almost all profitable employments; keeping woman sub-ordinate in church and state; and working to destroy their confidence in their own powers. Cady’s resolutions to overcome these realities, proposed providing full information concerning laws controlling women's lives, and ending different standards for manners, and morality in men and women. Sixty-eight women and thirty-two men signed the document, which remained a force in the women's movement of the nineteenth century supporting suffrage. I chose this paragraph; because it directly refers to the fight by women for suffrage and to the Abolitionists for freedom, with both advocating Civil Disobedience to achieve their objectives. Elizabeth Cady’s was first introduced to the suffering of women when she worked in her father’s law office. This caused her to initiate the fight for women’s rights as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. Her main issue was the suffrage of women. This she thought was essential in women achieving equality, and though initially a suffragist, she became involved in the Abolitionist movement, through the efforts of her husband and also her friend Frederick Douglass, an ardent Abolitionist.

There’s a good time coming boys, a good time coming, Wait a little longer. We may not live to see the day, But earth shall glisten in the ray Of the good time coming; Cannon balls may aid the truth, But thought’s a weapon stronger, We’ll win our battle by its aid, Wait a little longer."

Frederick Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all people, he famously quoted, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”  Douglass like Elizabeth Cady believed in Henry Thoreau’s teachings of Civil Disobedience. He was both an Abolitionists and supporter of women rights and believed in gaining freedom from slavery through non-violence. I chose the above paragraph as a fitting testament to his belief that change can be achieved through peaceful means and by negotiation.

Harriman Beepat

Prof. B Murdaco

POL 166

November 12^th 2013

Assignment (Due 11/12): Choose one passage from Thoreau write out the passage and interpret them and explain why you chose them.

“I HEARTILY accept the motto,—“That government is best which governs least;” and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe,—“That government is best which governs not at all;” and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.”

          Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience or Resistance to Civil Government,” was initially written to express disagreement with resisting the institution of slavery, the bad treatment of Mexico by the United States, standing up to the government if necessary, the evils of government, and about the importance of non-conformity. Thoreau used the beginning of his essay to make the claim that government should be minimized. He further points out that government is as likely “to be mistreated” as it is to be a mechanism of change, and it should therefore have a reduced role in society, if any at all. I choose the opening paragraph of “Civil Disobedience,” to more or less draw attention to the way that the United States government fails to take care of its most vulnerable people. A perfect example is the Affordable Care Act. This federal program mandates everyone who does not have health insurance, to purchase policies by a set date, and if this is not done, they will be fined. To me this is just another example of too much government, and I fail to see how this is the government’s idea of taking care of its citizens.

 Go to the link for African-American Odyssey and under the section Abolition choose two topics from part 1 and part 2, research these topics, and summarize them and explain how they relate to the readings by Thoreau.

Part: 1...Popularizing Anti-Slavery Sentiment… Slave Stealer Branded
Massachusetts sea captain Jonathan Walker, born in 1790, was apprehended off the coast of Florida for attempting to carry slaves who were members of his church denomination to freedom in the Bahamas in 1844. He was jailed for more than a year and branded with the letters "S.S." for slave stealer. The abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier immortalized Walker's deed in this often reprinted verse: "Then lift that manly right hand, bold ploughman of the wave! Its branded palm shall prophesy, 'Salvation to the Slave!'"	John G. Whittier. "The Branded Hand." Philadelphia, ca. 1845. Leaflet. Rare Book and Special Collections Division. (3-15)

           After his release from jail, Walker’s supporters in the north celebrated his freedom. He, like Thoreau, an abolitionist, wrote about the evils of slavery and the hypocrisy of the United States government in their support of this most despicable act. Walker and the former slaves would recount their harrowing experiences, before audiences for the sake of raising concern, and funds in the north for the abolitionist cause.

Part: 2… Militant Abolition… John Brown's Raid

John Brown. Address of John Brown . . . Sentence of Death; For his heroic attempt at Harpers Ferry. . . . Boston: C.C. Mead. Broadside. Rare Book and Special Collections Division. (3-6)	More than twenty years after the militant abolitionist John Brown had consecrated his life to the destruction of slavery, his crusade ended in October 1859 with his ill-fated attempt to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in western Virginia. He hoped to take the weapons from the arsenal and arm the slaves, who would then overthrow their masters and establish a free state for themselves. Convicted of treason and sentenced to death, Brown maintained to the end that he intended only to free the slaves, not to incite insurrection. His zeal, courage, and willingness to die for the slaves made him a martyr and a bellwether of the violence soon to consume the country during the Civil War.

         An abolitionist just like Henry Thoreau and Captain Jonathan Walker, John Brown tried unsuccessfully to incite the slaves and fellow abolitionist in Harpers Ferry to take up arms and revolt. Thoreau wrote a plea of leniency for Captain John Brown,  weeks after John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, and repeated several times before Brown’s execution on December 2, 1859.