Europe’s Thirst for Power; AKA Africa’s Struggle With Culture #4

The final step of this unit is the group presentations. For this assignment, each group presents their topic in the format of a brief power point, a videolicious, and an interactive survey. During each presentation, each student is expected to take notes and write a short summary of how each topic relates to the theme “People, Places and Power”. My summaries for each topic are written below.

Native Americans and the West: White settlers assumed power over both a place and its people: Native Americans in the West. Power was assumed by settlers based on their belief that they were culturally superior to the “savages”.

Labor vs Big Business: People with financial power, such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, use other people to gain more power and money. When people in power abuse subordinates, it can instigate revolts. Frick, for example, cut workers’ wages in order to be more successful, which caused the Homestead Strike.

Asian Immigration: Americans assumed a power over Asian immigrants, especially towards jobs. Acts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act were created to discriminate Asians. The place where a person comes from can impact how they are treated and their amount of power in a new place.

European Immigration:  When the Europeans faced discrimination and religious intolerance in their homeland, they moved to another place in pursuit of change. The immigrants suffered poor living and working conditions in America unfortunately. The power immigrants had in America was solely based on the place that they were born and their status as immigrants.

Imperialism in America:  Extreme nationalism and economic power caused Americans to believe they were superior over other countries. The Annexing of Hawaii and Spanish-American War both resulted from an abuse of power.

 

Europe’s Thirst for Power; A.K.A Africa’s Struggle With Culture #3

The first and final group activity for this unit was creating a power point, video essay, and survey about each topic. In my group was Jane D, Justin C, and Emily F. Each person contributed to my overall knowledge of the topic. Jane, for example, explained the force behind the rubber boom; she taught me that the Industrial Revolution created a growing need for rubber, which was also the time rubber was discovered by Charles Goodyear. I learned this information while Jane and I were making the power point presentation. Jane also helped me understand Congo’s position before European Imperialism. She explained that Congo was considered a free state before and during Belgian rule. Emily also added to my understanding of Imperialism in Africa. Emily clarified why the Force Publique dismembered natives’ hands. I previously assumed that dismembering the hands was a form of intimidation, but she explained that the hands were also proof that the Force was killing people. She also told me that the hands became a sort of currency in Congo. Justin expanded my technological intelligence during the group activity. He showed me how to import pictures into Google Docs, rather than pasting them in a document. Collaborating with others in a group is always beneficial in understanding information better. The group I worked with was extremely organized and truly helped me understand Imperialism to the fullest.

Despite my group’s effectiveness, we did have a long and bumpy process of creating the photo essay. We first decided which pictures to use in the video. That needed a great deal of collaboration and searching in all of the sources to ensure we all agreed on the same pictures. Next, we decided the order of the pictures, which was unanimous. After a script was written for each picture, we filmed the essay. This was where the problems began. Each picture on “Videolicious” can only have around 7 seconds of recordings. The original script was far too long to fit into the video, so we had to shorten it down. Despite our improvements, the script was still a bit long, and we found ourselves rushing through it to fit all of the information into the video. After multiple tries, our group got a system down and recorded the final video with no extra seconds. Creating the video included an assemblage of different steps, but my group was able to get everything done in time. Overall, our script was succinct and provided enough information. My group did well with making the subject clear and concise. The pictures we used are not very clear, though. It is somewhat difficult to see the pictures, but that was out of our control. I feel like I contributed a proficient amount during the assignment. I could definitely work on spreading out the work better, rather than piling myself with most of it. I liked my group and I think we all worked well and had equal amounts of participation.

Europe’s Thirst for Power; A.K.A Africa’s Struggle With Culture #2

As previously mentioned in the last post, my topic for this unit is “Imperialism: Europe and Africa”. For this assignment, an online interactive source was provided. This source was used to help deepen my understanding of the circumstances in Congo. The British Museum provided a multitude of sources in a student activity titled “The Wealth of Africa, Congo Free State”. The website was organized into five different “sheets”, each with a broad topic question and different sources to help answer the question. Pictures were also provided as sources. Primary sources were helpful to understand the situtation in Congo from many different historical perspectives The link is given below.

Click to access CongoFreeState_Students_WkSheets_UPDATED.pdf

Key Terms:

Berlin Conference– meeting of European powers in 1884 to prevent violence in colonization; took place in Berlin, Germany with no Africans invited

Brussels Conference– meeting in 1876 where Leopold proposed a protectorate over Congo

Direct rule– sending officials and soldiers from country of power to administer their colonies and turn them into provinces; practiced by French

Dr. David Livingstone– best known explorer-missionary who crisscrossed Africa for 30 years; he wrote about the natives with sympathy, was opposed to slave trade and believed the only way to end it was to share Christianity with interior of Africa; blazed the trail for journalist Henry Stanley

Explorers– in the early 1800’s, explorers like Mungo Park and Richard Burton began to push into the interior of Africa; they endured great hardships, were fascinated by African geography, but didn’t understand African natives

Force Publique– military force stationed in Congo through direct Belgian rule. Served as the backbone to the rubber boom, enforcing intimidation in local villages

Imperialism– the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region

Indirect rule– using sultans, chiefs, or other local rulers to govern colonies and encouraged local children of ruling class to get education in country of power to “westernize” new generation of leaders; practiced by British

King Leopold II– Belgian King who hired Stanley to explore Congo River basin and arrange treaties with African leaders; he spoke publicly about a civilizing mission to carry light to barbarians, but privately dreamed of conquest and profit; his activities set off a scramble by other European nations

Liberia– independent republic since 1847, where some free blacks from US settles

Maxim gun– British advance used in persuading Africans and Asians to accept Western control and defeat forces; Invented by Sir Hiram Maxim

Menelik II– emperor of Ethiopia who made many advances; he used profits from ivory sales to buy modern weapons, hired European advisors to teach soldiers how to use guns, army conquered neighboring lands, planned modern roads and bridges, and set up western schools; is hailed by Africans for his victory over Imperialism

Missionaries– Catholics and Protestants sought to convert Africans to Christianity; they built schools, medical clinics and churches; they took a paternalistic view of Africans where they saw them as children in need of guidance

“New Imperialism”– European embarked on a path of aggressive expansion in the 1800’s encouraged by their new economic and military strength

Protectorate– local ruler left in place, but was expected to follow advice of European advisers on trade or missionary activity; cost less to run than a colony and didn’t require large military commitment

Rubber boom– in the early 1890’s, a worldwide need for rubber increased drastically, causing prices to raise; served as a money-maker for Leopold, who was in debt from Congo investments, because rubber vines grew abundantly in Congo

Sphere of influence– an area in which an outside power claimed exclusive investment or trading privileges

William Sheppard– black American reverend who was sent by the Southern Presbyterian Church to be a missionary in Congo

Enduring Understandings:

People oftentimes feel empowered when united culturally, but if the power is too strong, the group’s efforts for reform will be unsuccessful.

• The men of Congo had no motivation to harvest rubber and refused to do it, until the Force Publique began taking women and children hostages as an incentive for the workers to meet the quota (King Leopold’s Ghost, 160)
• Africans resisted against European powers. The Algerians battled the French for many years, The Zulus and Asante both battled with the British. Most of these efforts failed. Ethiopia was one of the few successful resistances against European Imperialism. (World History, 324)
• The whole population of Congo resisted Western brutality, but nevertheless, the population decreased from the living conditions under Leopold II , “The population of the entire state is said to have declined from some 20 million to 8 million.” (The Wealth of Africa, 5)
• If a village refused to accept the rubber regime, Belgian troops would shoot all people in sight as a tactic to force the village into their control (King Leopold’s Ghost, 165)

The power structure of a given place influences the culture and beliefs of its citizens.

• West Africa in the early 1800’s was a largely Muslim empire as a result of Muslim leaders like Usman dan Fodio (World History, 319)
• The Transatlantic Slave Trade was banned in the early 1800’s by European nations, but it took many years to end it because of leaders’ continual violation of the law (World History, 320)
• King Leopold’s thirst to lead rubber trade with Congo drastically impacted the culture and living conditions; women and children were taken for hostage, kept in unsanitary living conditions, and sold back to their families for goats-only after the rubber demand was met. Because of this, men changed their labor strictly to rubber-collecting, in order to stay out of harm from the Force Publique. (King Leopold’s Ghost, 161)
• Menelik II was emperor of Ethiopia and used European weapons and education systems to create a strong army. Menelik was able to use European technology to defeat other European colonies, which caused the civilians to worship him and follow his beliefs (World History, 324)
• “In the lake district things are pretty bad… Whole villages and districts I knew well and visited as flourishing communities in 1887 are today without a human being; others are reduced to a handful of sick or harassed creatures who say of the government: ‘Are the white men never going home; is this to last forever?’” (The Wealth of Africa, 5)

When the motivation of a power is mainly economic, laborers under the rule suffer greatly from intense pressure to thrive.

• Any villager who didn’t meet the rubber quota faced a chance to be flogged, executed, amputated, or their villages could be set on fire (The Wealth of Africa, source 2, pg 4)
• “Not only did rubber collection provide no profit [for the Africans], but it also caused a crisis of subsistence because villagers could not tend to their plots when they were most needed.” (The Wealth of Africa, source 2, pg 5)
• Daniels once wrote that Leopold’s state in Congo was less of a state than a trading company. His main focus was profits, rather than the health of natives. (The Wealth of Africa, source 4, pg 6)
• Leopold himself even admitted that “there have been cases of misjudgement on the part of Congo officials. Most likely cruelties, even crimes have been committed.” (The Wealth of Africa, source 1, pg 6)

The years of European Imperialism were those of economic success for King Leopold II and Belgium, but not for the rest of Congo. The rubber boom in the early 1890’s forced hard labor on the natives, but resulted in immense wealth for Leopold. Healthy, able-bodied men especially suffered during the rubber boom, because they were the only laborers chosen to harvest rubber.  These able-bodied men lived in villages and were at the bottom of the power structure during this time period. The men of Congo underwent

Mutilated victims (The Wealth of Africa, source 4, pg 5)

multiple hardships. For one, their wives and sometimes their children were taken as hostages by the Force Publique to create incentive to work (King Leopold’s Ghost, 161). In order to get their family members back, the village men had to gather enough rubber to meet a given quota. According to Ascherson, “In late 1907, [the British] Vice-Consul Armstrong found that Africans were being obliged to work an average of twenty days a month solely to pay the rubber tax” (The Wealth of Africa, 4). If these taxes weren’t paid, troops were sent to spread fear in the village by killing men (The Wealth of Africa, source 8, pg 4). As seen in the picture to the right, the troops oftentimes cut off hands as proof that cartridges weren’t wasted. All of the strain, time, and intimidation that resulted from rubber harvesting left the men of Congo with no profits; in fact, working for the Force Publique forced the laborers to neglect their own crops (The Wealth of Africa, source 2,  pg 5). King Leopold’s power over Congo is ultimately represented in the picture below. His had control over the quality of villagers’ lives, as symbolized by the snake wrapped around the villager. The picture is accompanied by the caption “stifled in coils of rubber”(The Wealth of Africa, source 4, pg 4).  The snake strangling the man is also symbolic of the negative impact the rubber boom had on villagers. Village men of Congo underwent extreme hardship, both mentally and physically. King Leopold and the Belgian government inflicted fear and pain into the lives of all natives during Imperialism in Europe. 

 

 

 

 

Europe’s Thirst For Power; A.K.A Africa’s Struggle With Culture #1

“People, Places and Power” is quite a self-explanatory theme; people, places, and power all influence events in history and give explanations as to why certain things happened. History would not be made if were not for people, both individuals and groups. As for places, they act as a form of identity of people, depending on the culture and resources of the location. Power can be control of both places and people. The unit focuses on people, places and power and how this theme relates to one of six student-choice topics. No matter which topic a student has chosen, each student is assigned four reflections. These reflections each are in different formats; ranging from blog posts to class presentations, most assignments are individually graded. For this unit, my topic is “Imperialism: Europe and Africa.”

Key Terms:

African Elite– western-educated upper class

Berlin Conference– meeting of European powers in 1884 to prevent violence in colonization; took place in Berlin, Germany with no Africans invited

Direct rule– sending officials and soldiers from country of power to administer their colonies and turn them into provinces; practiced by French

Dr. David Livingstone– best known explorer-missionary who crisscrossed Africa for 30 years; he wrote about the natives with sympathy, was opposed to slave trade and believed the only way to end it was to share Christianity with interior of Africa; blazed the trail for journalist Henry Stanley

Explorers– in the early 1800’s, explorers like Mungo Park and Richard Burton began to push into the interior of Africa; they endured great hardships, were fascinated by African geography, but didn’t understand African natives

Imperialism– the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region

Indirect rule– using sultans, chiefs, or other local rulers to govern colonies and encouraged local children of ruling class to get education in country of power to “westernize” new generation of leaders; practiced by British

King Leopold II– Belgian King who hired Stanley to explore Congo River basin and arrange treaties with African leaders; he spoke publicly about a civilizing mission to carry light to barbarians, but privately dreamed of conquest and profit; his activities set off a scramble by other European nations

Liberia– independent republic since 1847 where some free blacks from US settles

Maxim gun– British advance used in persuading Africans and Asians to accept Western control and defeat forces; Invented by Sir Hiram Maxim

Menelik II– emperor of Ethiopia who made many advances; he used profits from ivory sales to buy modern weapons, hired European advisors to teach soldiers how to use guns, army conquered neighboring lands, planned modern roads and bridges, and set up western schools; is hailed by Africans for his victory over Imperialism

Missionaries– Catholics and Protestants sought to convert Africans to Christianity; they built schools, medical clinics and churches; they took a paternalistic view of Africans where they saw them as children in need of guidance

“New Imperialism”– European embarked on a path of aggressive expansion in the 1800’s encouraged by their new economic and military strength

Protectorate– local ruler left in place, but was expected to follow advice of European advisors on trade or missionary activity; cost less to run than a colony and didn’t require large military commitment

Rubber boom– in the early 1890’s, a worldwide need for rubber increased drastically, causing prices to raise; served as a money-maker for Leopold, who was in debt from Congo investments, because rubber vines grew abundantly in Congo

Sierra Leone– British colony made in 1787 in West Africa for former slaves

Sphere of influence– an area in which an outside power claimed exclusive investment or trading privileges

William Sheppard– black American reverend who was sent by the Southern Presbyterian Church to be a missionary in Congo

Enduring Understandings:

People oftentimes feel empowered when united culturally, but if the power is too strong, the group’s efforts for reform will be unsuccessful.

• The men of Congo had no motivation to harvest rubber and refused to do it, until the Force Publique began taking women and children hostages as an incentive for the workers to meet the quota (King Leopold’s Ghost, 160)
• If a village refused to accept the rubber regime, Belgian troops would shoot all people in sight as a tactic to force the village into their control (King Leopold’s Ghost, 165)
• Africans resisted against European powers. The Algerians battled the French for many years, The Zulus and Asante both battled with the British. Most of these efforts failed. Ethiopia was one of the few successful resistances against European Imperialism. (World History, 324)

The power structure of a given place influences the culture and beliefs of its citizens.

• West Africa in the early 1800’s was a largely Muslim empire as a result of Muslim leaders like Usman dan Fodio (World History, 319)
• The Transatlantic Slave Trade was banned in the early 1800’s by European nations, but it took many years to end it because of leaders’ continual violation of the law (World History, 320)
• King Leopold’s thirst to lead rubber trade  with Congo drastically impacted the culture and living conditions; women and children were taken for hostage, kept in unsanitary living conditions, and sold back to their families for goats-only after the rubber demand was met. Because of this, men changed their labor strictly to rubber-collecting, in order to stay out of harm from the force Publique. (King Leopold’s Ghost, 161)
• Menelik II was emperor of Ethiopia and used European weapons and education systems to create a strong army. Menelik was able to use European technology to defeat other European colonies, which caused the civilians to worship him and follow his beliefs (World History, 324)

While studying history in school, Europe and the Americas are most often the topic of study. But what about Africa? The topic “Imperialism: Europe and Africa” focuses on African countries before European colonization in the late 1800s and how Imperialism impacted the culture, living conditions, and economic situation of countries in Africa. Pertaining to the theme “People, Places and Power”, the European Imperialism in Africa is a prime example of a repressing power, which affected both the people and geography. King Leopold II of Belgium was the epitome of a dictator (World History, 321). The place Leopold ruled over was Congo; a country that journalist Henry Stanley was ordered to explore and make treaties with African leaders (World History, 321). Congo’s geography was an unexpected perk for King Leopold. Wild rubber was native to Congo, and served as a huge profit for an indebted Leopold (King Leopold’s Ghost, 159). On the other hand, the natives of Congo did not profit from the rubber boom; according to Gondola in 2002, “The Force Publique arrived in a village and began looting it in retaliation for the villagers’ refusal to carry out orders. The soldiers then attacked the villagers and seized their women, whom they declared as hostages until the chief could bring in the required quantity of rubber…” (The Wealth of Africa, 4). The events in Congo exhibit how much of an impact a country power can have on the native people and how drastically a place can change under certain rulers.

 

DBQ: North or South: Who Killed Reconstruction?

1876 marked an important year in American history; that year marked the 100^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and, ironically, the ending of Reconstruction. Although this year marked the 100th anniversary of a document symbolizing freedom, it also marked the end of civil rights for blacks. Reconstruction, by definition, is “the process by which the states that had seceded were reorganized as part of the Union after the Civil War” (from dictionary.reference.com). Reconstruction began directly after the Civil War’s close in 1865 and ended in 1877. A group known as Radical Republicans worked to help all  freedmen gain rights, but white supremacist groups interfered.  Despite the efforts of Radical Republicans, Reconstruction began to die down in America. Although both the North and the South played a role in ending Reconstruction, it was Southern intimidation and violence that was most responsible.

The North was not the leading reason Reconstruction ended, but the distracted and slightly racist attitude of Northerners contributed to it. Reconstruction was not the only problem in America during the 1860’s. Therefore, national issues became a hindrance to the government and restricted it from properly handling the situation. In an excerpt written by

“U.S. ‘In For It.’ I hope I shall get to the bottom soon.”

Gerald Danzer, he explains how “many Northern voters shifted their attention to such national concerns as the Panic of 1873 and corruption in Grant’s administration” and as a result “the tide of public opinion in the North began to turn against Reconstruction policies” (C). Northern neglect was not intentional, but instead resulted from the multitudinous problems America was facing at the same time. The cartoon to the right is another source depicting Northern distraction. Ulysses Grant is portrayed diving into a barrel in an attempt to sort through all of the nation’s issues (C). The barrel is America and the act of Grant digging through it is metaphorical of sorting through the abundant troubles in the nation. At the same time, he cannot see anything beyond the barrel, which is symbolic of his distraction.  Along with said distraction, there was lingering racism in the North. Even though the North was typically free of prejudice, there were traces of racism in Northerners. The Boston Evening Transcript, a pro-freedman newspaper, published a letter claiming that “the blacks, as a people, are unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties” (D). Blacks may have been free from slavery in the North, but they were not seen as equals and were not trusted to run in government. The picture to the right further proves Northern racism. This drawing was the cover of Harper’s Weekly and was made by a Northern artist (D). The black men are drawn with animal-like qualities to put the message across that black people are savages and cannot be trusted in government. Northerners may have contributed to the end of Reconstruction, but their distraction and racism was not as severe as the South’s actions.

When compared to the North, the South appears extremely abusive and hostile; it was Southerner’s violence and harsh intimidation that were ultimately responsible for the end of Reconstruction. Not only was the South racist, like some Northerners mentioned above, but many Southerners acted on this racism in harsh ways. Acts of intimidation and violence in the South greatly affected the citizens and political activists working towards Reconstruction, black and white alike. White supremacist groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, sparked fear into Southerners. One visual from the Independent Monitor depicts two white men being hung (A). One man is holding a carpet with “Ohio” written on it, to symbolize his position as a “carpetbagger” (A). A donkey with “KKK” written on its back symbolizes the driving force behind the hanging, the Ku Klux Klan. This picture was made to spark fear into the viewers, especially people from the North who moved South to support freedmen and Reconstruction. These people were known as carpetbaggers.  A cartoon published in Harper’s Weekly portrays another scene of intimidation; two white men are holding guns up to a black voter’s head with the hope of persuading him to vote for the Democrat candidate (B). The picture is accompanied by the caption, “Of Course he wants to vote the Democratic ticket” (B). In this situation, the white men are trying to end support of Radical Republicans and force blacks to vote for Democrats. On top of intimidation, violence was used by white supremacists to incite fear. The Ku Klux Klan used violence to persuade voters to choose Democrat candidates over Radical Republicans, as seen in the picture above. A testimony given by Abram Colby, a black elect to the Georgia State Legislature, demonstrates that the KKK targeted government officials as well. Colby testified, “On the 29^th of October 1869, [the Klansmen] broke my door open, took me out of bed, took me to the woods and whipped me three hours or more and left me for dead” (B). The KKK used violence in hopes of influencing Colby to give up his position in office to a white man.  This incident with Colby is an example of what blacks were exposed to daily while living in the South. White government officials were targeted as well. The North Carolina State Senator John Stephens was “stabbed five or six times , and then hanged on a hook in the Grand Jury room” (A). No one was safe from the wrath of the KKK in South. Regardless of race, white supremacists did everything in their power to prevent Reconstruction from continuing in America. Through the use of violence and intimidation, Southerners worked to run Radical Republicans out of government and end Reconstruction.

The South was the main destructive force behind the close of Reconstruction, with some contributions from the North. Southern supremacists such as the Ku Klux Klan used intimidation and violence to spark fear into freedmen, Radical Republicans, and other supporters of Reconstruction. The North was less prominent in their corruption; it was their distraction and lingering racism that assisted in ending Reconstruction. Nevertheless, the South brimmed with voting pressure and supremacist violence towards all citizens supporting Reconstruction. Even if the North had not neglected the wrongdoings in the South, it would have taken a great amount of energy to stop the violence.

Bibliography

A

Albion Tourgee, Letter on Ku Klux Klan Activities. New York Tribune, May 1870.

Independent Monitor, September 1, 1868. Alabama  Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.

B

Abram Colby, testimony to a joint House and Senate Committee in 1872.

Harper’s Weekly, October 21, 1876.

C

Gerald Danzer et al., The Americans, McDougal Littell, 1998.

Harper’s Weekly, 1876.

D

Heather Cox Richardson, The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2001.

Harper’s Weekly. March 14,  1874.

America’s Bipolar Phase

The Civil War began as an equal battle between the Union and the Confederacy; the early battles resulted in wins from both opponents. By the battle of Gettysburg, though, the tables began to turn. This battle was fought in Pennsylvania, which was Union territory. The outcome of the battle greatly favored the Union, and was the first sign of the Union’s superiority over the Confederate army. The charts below give figures of the casualties after the battle; even though the numbers are relatively similar, the ratios between soldiers and deaths were drastically different. Where both armies averaged around 20,000 casualties, the Union army had 918,000 soldiers while the Confederacy only had 278,000 (according to Doc B). Along with soldiers, the Confederacy lost important war figures during the battle of Gettysburg. In General Lee’s letter to the Confederate President Davis, written on July 4, 1863, he names multiple Generals that died or were wounded, and also added that the Confederacy’s “losses embrace many other valuable officers and men…” (taken from Edline, http://www.edline.net/files/_zGHaC_/07d31f6f8504e9f13745a49013852ec4/Gettysburg_DBQ_-_Student_Version.pdf ). This battle proved to be such a turning point, that it caught President Lincoln’s attention, causing him to write the Gettysburg Address. At this point in time, the Union had a clear advantage over the Confederacy, which is why this battle is considered a turning point.

Taken from Edline.

As the Civil War progressed, the Union army developed a new tactic in winning: total war. While the Union occupied the South, they enacted total war, which is defined as “a war that is unrestricted in terms of weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objects pursued” by Dictionary.com. Union general Grant’s first act of total war was a siege, which is defined as “a tactic in which an enemy is surrounded and starved in order to make it surrender”, according to “The Civil War- A Total War” (accessed on Edline). This was an extreme measure in order to gain possession of Vicksburg, the only city on the Mississippi River that the Union didn’t control. Although this technique was successful, it was very devastating to the civilians living in Vicksburg. Grant continued to create total war, and advised his officers to follow in his footsteps. After receiving a letter from Grant that commanded him to “do all the damage to railroads and crops” as possible, Sheridan devastated the Shenandoah Valley and reported that Southerners were “getting sick of the war” as a result. Sherman was another officer that followed the total war strategy. Even though his tactics caused around 17,000 Confederate deaths, he believed that “the crueler it [war] is, the sooner it will be over”. Even though the above officers destroyed Southern town through total war, it served as an efficient way to shorten the war. Total war was an intelligent, though aggressive, tactic that the Union used to pressure the South into surrender. The act may not have been moral, but was beneficial to the Union’s success and in ending the Civil War.

Taken from Edline

With total warfare came a quicker ending to the Civil War. For the most part, the nation celebrated the ending of a long and challenging war. Soldiers especially were glad with the termination of war, for obvious reason. Fireworks were lit in Washington D.C, because civilians were relieved to have the war over. Some Southerners were somber due to the loss of slavery, but overall most were glad the war would no longer disrupt their lives. Unfortunately, not all Americans were happy with the results. A group of conspirators against the government formed, with the goal of overturning the government. John Wilks Booth is a well-known member of this group. His assassination of President Lincoln caused a nationwide grieving. The picture to the right exemplifies how distraught Americans were from the death of their beloved president. The nation celebrated the end of the war, but grief came along with it when Lincoln was assassinated soon after.

Taking all the credit: Lincoln or Christopher Columbus?

When Americans think about Abraham Lincoln, they think of his famous Emancipation Proclamation. In his speech, made on January 1, 1863,  Lincoln enforced that “all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…” (taken from the Lincoln Document Edline folder). As the title of the post suggests, Lincoln is portrayed as the main reason for slave freedom (just like Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America), but that is not necessarily the case. Even though Lincoln was a supporter of abolition, he had ulterior motives. In his second Inaugural Address in 1865, Lincoln said that “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” It was obvious that Lincoln would do almost anything to end the war and preserve the Union; he abolished slavery as a tactic to unite the country. Seeing enslaved Americans upset Lincoln, but this was far out-weighed by his desire to unite the country.

In order to truly understand the situation, one must know the difference between

Source: http://www.edline.net/files/_yXJi3_/8944017b9bf96e4f3745a49013852ec4/Activity_5_-_Lincolns_Changing_Views_on_Slavery_-_Gallagher.pdf

“freedom from above” and “freedom from below”. Freedom from above, as it pertains to slavery, would be government and people of high standings giving freedom to the slaves. The picture to the right is what freedom from above was envisioned as during the Civil War, with President Lincoln directly granting a slave his freedom. Freedom from below would be people in low social status, like slaves, helping themselves to become free.

With this in mind, enslaved Americans gained their freedom from both above and below. Support from the President and the Union army contributed to the success; Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a major turning point in the war. The Emancipation Proclamation instated that all Confederate states or those in “actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States” can no longer practice slavery legally. As the war went on, the Union army also played a role in helping slaves from above. During battle, the Union army was stationed in the South, and provided a safe place for slaves to live freely. The Emancipation Proclamation also stated that all slaves “will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places”, where they could not be enslaved. Union camps were like a save-haven to all runaway slaves from their plantations. This help from above was limited, though. The Emancipation Proclamation was only in effect in the Confederate states; the four border states of Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Kentucky were still in the Union, but they all had slavery. The slaves made up for the lack of help from above by putting matters into their own hands. In fact, the majority of the help slaves had was from below. In a letter from General Ambrose E. Burnside to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, dated March 21, 1862, the South was described as “being overrun with fugitives from surrounding towns and plantations—”. The slaves forced their problem on to the Union army, in hopes that something would be done. The engraving seen below is a more accurate depiction of the slaves freedom, rather than the picture of Lincoln above. The engraving, titled “Slaves from the plantation of Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrive at Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi”, 1863, shows a Union camp filled with slaves; most slaves escaped their plantations and made themselves known tot he Union arm, where they could live safely.

Source: http://www.edline.net/files/_yXJhV_/a60c5c6262cc5f073745a49013852ec4/Docs_XY_Above__Below.pdf

For the most part, the slaves’ freedom came from “below”, with some additional help from above. Even though the Union government and President Lincoln supported the slaves’ cause, it was the actions the slaves took themselves that greatly contributed to their emancipation.

Breaking the “Sphere of Domesticity”

The picture above is a portrayal of women’s “sphere of domesticity” during the 1800’s. Included in the sphere is cleaning, taking care of children, cooking, tending to husband, sewing, and other domestic work. The sphere symbolizes the very monotonous and restrained life women led in the past. It wasn’t until the Civil War that women began to shine as leaders and intelligent beings.

Women such as Alice Chapin and women in Ohio are examples of the typical woman during the Civil War. Alice Chapin’s husband enrolled to fight in the war, despite her pleading for him to stay home with their son. Alice’s role in the war was typical for wives at the time; she sent her husband care packages with food, soap and stamps. She only sent these packages to her husband, though, and chose not help other soldiers in need. The women in Ohio, formally known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, also gave aid to soldiers in the Civil War. Unlike Chapin, these women were committed to helping all soldiers fighting, not individual family members. These women were a huge help to the cause by sending clothing, blankets, and food to the soldiers. Even though these women had an impact during the Civil War, their actions fit strictly in the “sphere of domesticity”- women serving men.

On the opposite side of the spectrum were women like Rose O’Neal Greenhow and Martha Coston, who were considered to live far outside of the sphere. A perfect example of a woman who broke the boundaries is Rose Greenhow. Rose was a widowed spy for the Confederacy, and refused to let the Union army stop her. Even when she was put under house arrest for 5 months and jailed for 4, she never buckled under the pressure. Greenhow was an extremely successful Confederate spymaster and was also one of the first women to be jailed. Greenhow’s persistence and disobedience against the Union law set her drastically apart from the typical women in America. Martha Coston proved to be much less wild as Rose Greenhow, but was extraordinary nevertheless. Martha was forced to continue her late husband’s work on flare signals in order to sustain her 5 children. Her husband had begun the experiment, but left Martha with very few instructions and formulas. It was Martha’s intelligence and perseverance that allowed her to patent red, white and blue flare signals for the army to use during war.Both of the women mentioned above were examples of the evolution of women during the Civil War; the war brought with it the motivation for women to excel in life and strive beyond society’s standards.

Would History Ever Be Made if Self-Preservation Was Everyone’s Priority?

(In the point of view of an 18 year-old recruit from Reading)

No matter the circumstances, war is always dangerous. Whether there are guns, swords or sticks involved in battle, no battle is safe for a soldier. I have heard rumors about the great advancements being made in today’s wars. People warn me not to join the war and save my myself instead. How could I just sit around when I was asked to help the people of the Union in battle? It will be difficult to leave my family and friends behind in Reading. Being so young makes it even more difficult because I have my whole life ahead of me, I’m only 18!  Nevertheless, I must trade my life for the well-being of thousands of other people, especially to end the unfair institution of slavery.

Word of mouth has gone around about the change in technology. If I am recruited to the navy I will get the chance to ride on an iron-clad! How cool is that? Iron is strong and can withstand hard blows, which is helpful for the soldiers’ aboard. The Confederacy may have the Merrimack with 10 canons, but it will be no match against our Monitor with a revolving turret. The two moving canons are sure to lead us to naval success. If I’m not recruited to the navy I’ll most likely be using those scary new guns, rifled muskets. Those inch-long lead bullets are not something to reckon with; those things are sure to kill when hit in the gut and causing amputations if hit in the arm. Besides those deadly weapons, the Union is known for the patented railroad artilleries, military telegraphs, and repeating guns. If you don’t believe the rumors, watch below to see for yourself.

As for tactics, the Confederacy has mixed up their game plan quite a bit. Their ironclad, the Merrimack, has so much confidence to sail right up to the Union fleets and fire their cannonballs. The Merrimack even had the audacity to ram our ships so close that the muzzles were nearly touching! This does not resemble the Confederate’s defensive strategies that were used before. The Union has adapted to this tactic though. In a battle of ironclads, we fired at a very close proximity to the Merrimack, causing five collisions. The Confederacy’s tactic towards surrender is to destroy their ships rather than surrender it. Ha! How pathetic. To understand the navy tactics just watch the clip below.

Weapons in this war are very much ahead of the tactics, causing high number of casualties. I have heard that “almost one of four” Confederate generals die in this war, “compared with 1 of 10 Union generals”. That’s one reason to join the Union side- less deaths! My neighbor, a practicing doctor, has explained to me the medical aid being provided to injured soldiers. I was told that ” Of the 250 Confederate generals who were wounded, 24 underwent amputations.” The cause of amputations are the Minié bullets I previously mentioned. My neighbor explained that “The shattering, splintering, and splitting of a long bone by the impact of a minié or Enfield ball were, in many instances, both remarkable and frightful.” Chloroform is always used in amputations for anesthesia. Instead of an amputation, surgeons can also perform a resection, which requires “cutting open the limb, sawing out the damaged bone, and then closing the incision”. It may seem better than an amputation, but keep in mind there is a large chance of bleeding or infection. Amputations also have a higher rate of survival with three out of four.

(The real source of last paragraph: Terry L Jones, “Under the Knife”, The New York Times, November 17, 2012. Accessed March 4, 2012. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/under-the-knife/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&pagewanted=print&_r=1)

Well, I’ve decided to be noble and join the cause. It sounds quite frightening, though. Hopefully I am the small minority that has no injuries. I know my parents will be proud of my courage. It is human nature for me to put myself over others, but what would life be like if everyone put their safety before their country?

Civil War Battles Scavenger Hunt

To anyone outside of Mrs. Gallagher’s history class, a scavenger hunt would be a fun game where little hints are hidden on paper with clues handwritten on each one. Ha, us Gallagherians laugh at that outdated game; We brought scavenger hunts onto a whole new level. Each student in the class (with an exception of a few groups of 2) was assigned a battle that occurred during the Civil War and was expected to research it. The information found about the date, location, victor, reasons for success, and a picture were then put onto a Google Doc in order for other to view it. Linked underneath this paragraph is me and Julie’s Google Doc as an example. The next step of the assignment was to create a QR code with the link of the Google Doc, as an easy way to access the document without having to

Photographer: Gabriana Fodera

type in an extremely complicated URL. Once everyone printed out their QR code, we met in class to coordinate where each battle would be placed in the school and to put directions to the next stop on each Google Doc. The planning took a little bit of time, but we were able to begin the virtual scavenger hunt on Thursday! In order to actually do the scavenger hunt, each student needed a device with QR Reader downloaded. My personal technique was to scan the QR, copy the information on the Google Doc, then paraphrase that information on my Evernote. Seen to the right is a lovely picture of me scanning a QR during the activity with my white iPhone 5c. The scavenger hunt lasted two class periods and then we did a follow-up activity on Padlet, which allowed each person to post a comment on the pattern of victors during the Civil War. The link to Padlet is underneath the link to my Google Doc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x7ixQoGKKAeyVeF8jkiM2ACkK44dBzjYq9k42mWnZBA/edit

This lesson focused around two essential questions; the first one was “Who was the ultimate victor in each of the theaters of war: East, West, Naval?”. Using Padlet, our class answered this question. In the East theater, the Confederacy was mostly dominant earlier in the war, in Battles like Fort Sumter and the First Battle of Bull Run. The Union won Gettysburg,  Antietam, and the March to the Sea near the end of the war, which ultimately decided the victor of the Civil War. The Union was also victorious in the Naval and West theater, except for the Battle of Chickamauga , as a result of a Union military mistake.

The second essential question stems off of the first: “What are some commonalities you can identify in the reasons for the results of the battles?”. With Northern victories, the abundant railroads and large army population assisted the Union to defeat the Confederacy, as seen in the Battle of Shiloh,  Vicksburg, and Chatanooga. The Union troops outnumbered the Confederacy two to one, which helped them win the battle.The Confederacy, on the other hand, tended to succeed during defensive battles; one example of this  was the First Battle of Bull Run. Because the Confederacy was defending their own land, it was difficult for the Union to to invade.