Losing my EdCafe Virginity

Last Friday was my first EdCafe ever! Overall, I enjoyed the EdCafe and the way everything was set-up. It was fun being able to choose the sessions to attend and since everyone had the freedom to choose their topic, most of the sessions were passionate and productive. The freedom EdCafe’s offer are really beneficial to students like me, because they are much more hands-on and are easier to contribute thoughts in a smaller class environment. One thing I would change to make it better would be to extend the time each group has to meet. The 12 minutes we were given was barely enough to cover all material that was planned for each group to discuss; 30 minutes or more sounds like a reasonable time range for groups to discuss in depth. Being able to both lead and attend sessions was a great way to explore many different topics about slavery.

The first time slot was my turn to lead. The topic me and Gabriana covered was titled “Changing Perceptions Toward Slavery: Free People vs Slaves”. Our topic focused on how Black people thoughts varied from when they lived free to after they became enslaved. Our presentation was very interesting, in my opinion, and the attendees in our group seemed to understand and enjoy the questions we asked. I felt comfortable leading the session because there was a small group of about 6 people and no one was rude or interrupted me. I did well with keeping conversation moving; if the conversation started to dwindle down me and Gabriana posed new questions or added comments. There was one point where the questions we asked were getting very similar responses, so I made up a new question on the spot that helped to add to the conversation. Next time it would helpful to use props or visuals to improve our session. Using visuals would definitely add to our session.

The last two slots were when I attended other sessions. I honestly feel that I was a good attendee. I contributed often and made good points, especially if they were contradictory to other people’s in the group because then I helped to continue the conversation. I restrained from contributing too much because I didn’t want to be a hog and steal time from letting other people contribute. During Jane and Isabella’s session I couldn’t take as many notes because the conversation was very fast-paced and I was contributing a lot. I did have a chance to copy the points Isabella wrote on the board as the session continued. Nick and Russ’ session was completely different; since I was the only attendee it was very easy for me to take notes because the pace of the session depended on me alone. Obviously I participated in this session because the conversation moved along how I responded to their questions. It was probably easier being an attendee because the pressure wasn’t on you to keep the conversation going.

In conclusion, I liked the format and result of the EdCafe. I look foward to doing more in the future (hopefully with food) !

Were Americans in the Antebellum North truly abolitionists?

Source: http://www.edline.net/files/_wdH5g_/0b60daeaa9738f2d3745a49013852ec4/Unit_4_Activity_5_Doc_2_Cotton_Prod_v_Slave_Pop.pdf

The typical label of the anti-slavery North during the 1800s can be questionable once a historian looks deeper at the facts. Factory owners inhabited the North along with a surprising amount of anti-abolitionist civilians. Together, these groups of people put their personal priorities over the abolitionist movement.

Industrialization was a large institution in America, but was mostly settled in Northern areas such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Industrialization and slavery go hand in hand; factories gave a high demand for raw materials, which were collected by slaves in the South. As a result, most factory owners put their interests in profit rather than in abolition. The chart to the right gives statistics on the increase of factories, which caused an increase in pounds of cotton consumed per week and an increase in slave population. These figures were clearly related; with the increase of factories in the North came with it an increase of slave labor in the South. Factory owners allowed this to continue because of their greed. If slavery was allowing them to profit, why would they help to end it?

Factory shareholders were not the only group of Northerners to disapprove abolitionism, though. While speaking in Boston, in the early 1830s, the famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison was chased by a mob of men threatening to lynch him. Garrison’s radical words caused an anti-abolitionist meeting to be held at Fanueil Hall on August 22nd, 1835, as written in the broadside below. The address sates “that the rash doings of those who advocate the immediate abolition of Slavery result in much mischief to our common country.” Bostonians met on this date, along with the mayor of Boston, because they believed abolitionists caused problems ” which threaten to disturb the harmony” of the Union.  Similar to avaricious factory owners, citizens of the North were more interested in maintaining a peaceful Union than fighting for the freedom of slaves.

Source: http://www.edline.net/files/_wdH6e_/1e7358e1d069737c3745a49013852ec4/Unit_4_Activity_5_Doc_8_Broadside.pdf

The North was a place where black people could live freely, but also doubled as a leading cause of slavery and a hostile environment for abolitionists.  As Charles Sumner said in 1848, there was an “unhallowed union” between “the lords of the lash and the lords of the loom”. In other words, people of North were just as dependent on slavery as their counterparts in the South, due to their selfishness.