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.