Review Blog (The Civil War and Changes in Post Cold War America)

The Civil War 
Question: In what ways did African Americans shape the course and consequences of the Civil War? Confine your answer from 1861 to 1870. 

As the Civil War began in 1861, there were many political reasons for which it began as well as the effects that were seen affected by the institution of slavery itself. Although it is widely taught that President Lincoln and the North immersed themselves in the fight for freedom, this was not entirely true.The North fought to preserve the Union and their values, while the south fought to preserve their southern values and their inalienable state rights. However, the corroboration of African Americans throughout the Civil War led to the significant alteration of the goals of the war, and later to the contribution of the new politics that followed post war.
From Source A, we see the question stated by Major Butler, "are they free?", referring to the fugitive slaves. and if so, "what do I do with them?". At the beginning of the war, when slavery was not the main point, many individuals asked the same question as Butler. Many people also adopted slaves as servants, cooks and soldiers. As the Union began to realize the usefulness of the slaves, the course of the war began to shift. The heart and the dedication of the African Americans who refused to "leave this land" in favor of heeding "the call to our suffering country", the North began to make abolition the primary goal of the war (Source B). By thrusting themselves in the war effort, African Americans changed the course of the war based upon political disagreements and state power into a wart to "terminate and forever prohibit" slavery (Source D)
This change was apparent when Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation. While this declaration only freed slaves in the areas of rebellion, it exhibited the change in purpose, and showed a moral side to the war that had not been shown before.Whereas Lincoln had taken a stance of neutrality, ("If I could end this war by freeing the slaves I would") the eagerness of African Americans to "stake their lives for us" ultimately persuaded him to make them a promise of freedom (Doc C). Furthermore, the willing participation and cooperation of the African Americans in the Civil War alongside the hopes of gaining their liberties caused a completely new course for the Union to follow. 
The outcome of the Civil War differed from what had been previously expected. What had once been focused upon the reformation of the U.S. and the institution of slavery in he new territories, now shone the light on the appeasement of the South. From the Republican Party of 1864, the creation of the 13th Amendment was necessary. Had African Americans not pushed as hard as they did, this would not have been so. The eventual creation and addition of the 14th and 15th Amendments which granted the voting rights and citizenship of African Americans only increased the aggravation of the South (Source H). The government was forced to focus the majority of LBJ's presidency on Reconstruction. African Americans were also supporters of Reconstruction, as shown by their involvement in the constitutional conventions (Doc J). Although grandfather causes and poll taxes eventually curtailed this involvement, African Americans were able to gain full citizenship and suffrage. Such feats would have been near impossible had they not become part of the war.\
African American involvement during the Civil War aided in changing the focus onto freedom which led to political change as the war drew to a close. Without this, America would not be the image of inalienable rights granted to the U.S. by the U.S. Constitution.

Key Terms
freedmen- former slaves who helped other slaves become free
Ku Klux Klan- white supremacist group
Copperheads- group of democrats who wanted peace with the confederates
fugitive slaves- wanted slaves



*NOTE
NO KEY TERMS OR ESSAY FOR POST COLD WAR AMERICA
CHECK PRESENTATIONS

Bob Dylan: Musician / The Chicago 7 Trial

 

     Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24th, 1941 in the city of Duluth, Minnesota. He grew up to become a musician, focusing on the genre of American rock and roll;  he performed with the pseudonym Bob Dyan at various clubs, eventually permanently changing it to his name. What was so influential about his presence in the music industry was his lyrics, which many regarded as not only catchy words but a type of literature unto itself. He wrote about important social issues as well as real life events, which captured and inspired the nation. He became an activist singer at the urge of his then girlfriend Suze Rotolo who's parents were union organizers and volunteers; his first activist song was "The Death of Emmett Till". He believed in the power of songs, the power that they could create and effect change in the world and in people's hearts.
    He wrote many songs that were concerned with racial issues such as "Oxford Town" (about the admittance of a black man into and all white school), but his song "Blowin' in the Wind" was the song to put him on the map as not only an activist but a popular singer as well; this now extended his influence and power to get his message out to people. However, because of the fact that so many Americans were beginning to endorse the Vietnam war, Dylan wrote to show his disapproval and his protests. He wrote the song "The Times Are A'Changing" before the public began to protest the war in 1963, which included many controversial lyrics such as "Come mothers and fathers/throughout the land/and don't criticize/what you can't understand/your sons and daughters are beyond your command." He was expressing the emotions parents were feeling such as anger and frustration at their helplessness while their children were sent to an unknown country to fight for a stupid war. Again, he believed in the power of music to send out his message to end the war and the suffering of millions of innocent soldiers.
    Much of the critique of Bob Dylan stemmed from whether or not he truly advocated for the things he sang about; whether or not he sang for the people of for the money. While many believe it was for the money, it was assured that he sang from the heart. He was also accused of lyric plagiarism, which was disputed and dissolved.


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    The Chicago 7 trial, or also known as the Conspiracy Seven, was a group of 7 defendants (Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner) who were charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot among other things. They attempted these crimes during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The eighth member had his trial cut during the proceedings.
     These young people were accused of breaking the Rap Brown law, which stated it was illegal to cross state lines in order to riot or conspire to use interstate commerce to incite rioting. They also organized protest marches and rock concerts at the Democratic National Convention, where conflicts between the police and the protesters turned into a full-blown riot. This also included the commonly used tear gas and police beating, as shared by every other riot; the press was there as well, denouncing the supposed overreaction by the police. Bobby Seale, mentioned above, was a defendant who protested loudly in the courtroom against the judge, calling him racist after he was not allowed a separate trial (he wanted his own lawyer who was recovering from surgery). Seale was eventually given a separate trial, after being gagged, and given 48 months in jail.
     The other activists were encouraged to follow Seale's actions; they disrupted the trial as much as they could. Eventually they were found in contempt and sentenced to 29 months in jail. Kunstler, one of the seven, was given 4 years for referring to the judge's courtroom as a "medieval torture chamber". Five of the seven protesters were given lesser charges. From the testimony of the Timothy Leary, we also find a recount of the how he became aquainted with Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman.

(Video of the Chicago 8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a-sFuzmloE

(Testimony of Timothy F. Leary, a Democratic candidate for Gov in Cali. )
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/chicago7/leary.html

Carter Cartoons

This political cartoon is picture of President Jimmy Carter telling 3 dictators to embrace in a group hug. All three dictators, which include Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin who led the country of Germany, are pictured as sullen and grimacing; they are clearly unwilling to acknowledge each other. President Carter is pictured as oblivious to the obvious tension of the three men. This was drawn in order to picture the naivete of Carter, just as he was when he brought together the President of Egypt and the President of Israel into an agreement where neither would fight the other. This was drawn by cartoonist Jerry Herbert.

The political cartoon above depicts a translation of the Middle East talks that President Carter. The mechanic comments on the obvious stall of the car, which is missing basically all of the parts to make it run, yet assures the owner that eventually it will. Like the talks, it would obviously take time, yet it would take too much time to do the things they want. It is making fun of the talks and the absurdity of them. This was drawn by cartoonist Jerry Herbert.

The image above depicts a talk between Carter and Fidel Castro, former dictator of the country of Cuba. It shows the obvious evil done by Castro yet Carter is still surprised by his action. The picture was published by cox and forkum.

President Jimmy Carter

         We have all heard about great presidents like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln; but have you heard about Jimmy Carter?He was born in Southern town of Plains, Georgia. You were Southern, liberal, soft spoken, and an evangelical Baptist, meaning that he was not only very religious but believed in a
literal interpretation of the bible. He grew up on a farm, a peanut farm and would own a peanut farm all of his life. He attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, graduating top in his class with a degree in nuclear engineering. He served six years in the United States Navy as an officer aboard a nuclear powered submarine before returning to Georgia to run for congress. He became the youngest congressman in the history of Georgia. He eventually ran for president in the 1977 elections, and won; he was seen as trustworthy.

      As president at the time, Carter was left with many obstacles to overcome, mainly from the last presidency; he was left with an un-trusting nation due to the scandalous actions of former President Nixon. Although President Johnson also attempted to help the nation before Nixon as well, he merely accomplished creating ideas but not putting them into action.Carter also took care of the energy crisis, an aggressive Soviet Union, Iran, and many other things. He pardoned over 10,000 people who refused to join the army for the Vietnam war, simply because they were exercising their rights; this was one of many humanitarian actions he did in order to begin to gain back the trust of the American people. He also helped in the Camp David Peace Accords, where President Aware Al Sedate of Egypt and President Meantime Begin of Israel signed a peace accord, and both countries would no longer fight. He also created the Delta Force, which was a team equipped and trained to respond to crises quickly and professionally.

Dorothea Lange - Try the Train

 

     This particular photo by Dorothea Lange is called, "Toward Los Angeles". It was taken in March of the year 1937. 

     The men exhibited in the photo are only two of the millions of immigrants that moved from either across the border or from the American Midwest in order to find labor jobs in California. During the Great Depression was the highest peak of displaced farmers who sought work and moved out to the west coast. Wages were decreasing and the number of laid off farm workers was increasing; all in all, it was a bad time to be a farmer. The problem of the time when this picture was taken was the inequality and disparity that the farm laborers were forced to endure while on the job. The government was not doing anything effective to give aid to the farm workers, especially those who were Mexican or Mexican American; white government officials were even claiming that these specific immigrants made up half of the unemployed in California while white trade unions blamed them for the loss of available for white men. 

      A solution to this problem was the protest of this horrible mistreatment, which many groups did do. However, there were laws created (vagrancy laws) which gave officials the right to arrest and even give the workers to other farm owners to "pay off their debt"; eventually they were repealed in 1941 as they wee found unconstitutional. The creation of individual farm workers unions was the only solution to the problem until the convergence of two major unions which bore the United Farm Workers of America, most commonly associated with the great Cesar Chavez. Up to this day, the struggle to bring these workers all the rights they deserve is still being fought, although there have been successes.Dorothea 

Russia

     World War I was known as the war to end all wars; it was an international fight between the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allies (France, Britain, and Russia) with one of the main the underlying causes being imperialism. The Russian Empire was a country that became involved by mere alliance with no true dog in this dogfight.
     Russia entered the war when Germany declared war on the country just as Austria was declaring war on Serbia after the assassination of Franz Ferdinad of Austria by Gavrilo Principo: this action was what got the ball rolling and soon he world became involved. Russia was experiencing the after effects of the July crisis, which was a bundles of consecutive conflicts in the ten years before the WW. The country was in a poor economic state and led to their dependence on the foreign investment from France; this led to a mutual growth of both countries, with Russia's defense building back up. The Tsar Nicholas II had made his cousin the Grand Duke Nicholas  as leader of the entire Russian army, made up of around 1.2 million men, with groups of cavalry and infantry going towards Germany and towards Austria Hungary; the rest were in defense of their proper land. In August of 1914, the Battle of Tanneberg was one of the first defeats of Russia against the Austrians after a number of victories, with more than thirty thousand Russia soldiers having lost their lives. In most of 1915, Russia's forces were forced to retreat even further, with them having fought back and then driven back once again. In March of 1917, the Tsar Nicholas resigned his position with the takeover of a newer government from the Bolsheviks; this group allowed Lenin and Trotsky to enter Russia and start a revolt against Russia's involvement in the war. July of 1917 was Russia's final invovlement in the war, which was the people's attempt to remove themselves and state their independence; they threw down their weapons and ran for their lives in protest. After the October Revolution, the fighting ceasedThe Bolshevik leaders were ultimately successful in their civil war.
       Approximately one million seven hundred thousand Russian soldiers died during World War I. Foloowing the war, Russia was hit with a famine as well as a harsh winter.

Progressive Characters

                                                                Theodore Roosevelt

   Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt was born in New York City; he was a sickly child, and was bedridden for most of his childhood. When he was older, and gained more strength, he participated in as many recreational activities as he could, wanting to take in as much exercise and freedom as he could. Eventually, he went to Harvard, graduated, and took his place of duty in the NYC Police Force; he was taught that a life of service was a worthy life, and created a police force to be reckoned with.
    In Roosevelt's term as president, he created the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which ensures that meat and other foods were healthy and the Square Deal which aided the poor and the needy. He also added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and stated that the U.S. would get involved with Central and South America if European countries attempted to invade. Roosevelt also created the Progressive Party in an attempt to run for president again and make real progressive change.
   Teddy Roosevelt tried to make progressive change in a way that helped the lower working class have a fighting chance against the bigger corporations who owned them. He was the first president to ever side with workers who were striking against the unfair working conditions; he even threatened the owners with military attacks if anything were to "happen" to the workers. He also tried to instill a sense of duty in Americans to offer aid to other countries like his father and grandfather had instilled in him.
                                                                   Woodrow Wilson

     Woodrow Wilson was initially a bookworm in his younger days before he became president; he graduated from Princeton, gaining a Ph.D and eventually becoming the university president. However, before he became university president, he was a teacher at the university for quite some time. He also created the idea of Moral Internationalism while immersed in his academics.
      Wilson's idea of Moral Internationalism was that the United States owed it to themselves and other countries to be involved in foreign affairs due to their power and wealth; it was also believed that freedom and democracy should be brought to other places as well. He also created the 14 Points, which were 14 ideas that kept a progressive pace plan; these were also known as ideas which would better the country and lead into a greater social change.  One more thing Wilson attempted to do was try to pass the Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace settlement to end World War I.
     Wilson's attempt to bring progressive change to the U.S. Moral Internationalism and through the League of Nations. The idea of Moral Internationalism was to help the nation become more politically involved in the foreign affairs of the world, therefore exposing them to other realities other than their own. The League of Nations was one of the 14 Points; it called for a council of leaders from all over the globe and discussions of how to solve worldly problems would follow.
                                                                        Ida Tarbel 

       Ida Tarbel was born in rural Pennsylvania in 1857 to a family of teachers and farmers; she grew up in a tough love environment which led to the success of her and her father's wildcat oil wells. Tarbel attended high school only after John D. Rockefeller had 'acquired' her father's business and graduated from Allegheny College; she was the first women to attend and graduate from the college. She earned a degree in chemistry and taught high school science in Ohio, eventually leaving the job for a more fulfilling life.
      Tarbel became a writer; more specifically, she began to write investigative journalism pieces. She also wrote a biography of Madame Roland (important figure in the French Revolution) which exposed her writing style to McCLure's magazine; she right away took a job at the magazine, becoming head writer and editor after writing a 10 part series on the life of Abraham Lincoln. She also wrote a 19 part series on the life and business of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller in order to expose the corrupt business deals that had cost her father and other farmers their land.
      Tarbel was a muckraker, meaning she wrote facts which in turn exposed the truth; this was how she had exposed the corruption of the oil company. Her writing led to an investigation of the Standard Oil Company and its disbandment into six different companies, effectively ending Rockefeller's reign.
                                                    Robert La Follette "Fighting Bob" 

      Robert La Follette was born in Wisconsin in 1855; he was raised on a farm and used this to help his own fight for the poor. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin and was the first on his family to. He then became the District Attorney and was eventually elected to the House of Representatives where he began going after corrupt politicians from both Democrats and Republicans.
      He created the ideas of initiative, which was the ability of citizens to make and pass a law without help of legislature, and referendum, which was the ability to end an elected official's time in office before the next election. He also began The Wisconsin Idea to try to give the government back to the people and give America more of a direct democracy in order to take away power from the corrupt elite (corporations and parties). La Follette also ran and was elected Senator of the state of Wisconsin; he was one of the few that went against Wilson's declaration of war, openly speaking against it in public speeches.
      La Follette was open to speaking his opinions whether or not they were deemed necessary or even wanted; he was especially prone to making speeches which gained him many enemies; these speeches made him susceptible to being accused of treason. He also felt that both natural born and immigrants alike had a duty to keep on the values that drove the American spirit during the country's revolution days. Everyone had a right to speak their mind.
                                                                 John D. Rockefeller

      John D. Rockefeller was the second oldest of a group of six children to a farming family in upstate New York City; he attended school and after high school went to the Folsom Mercantile College and finished a bookkeeping course. He began to work as an assistant bookkeeper at the Hewitt and Tuttle Firm. After many promotions, Rockefeller formed his own business with a partner, later turning it into an oil refinery business, renaming it Standard Oil.
     Rockefeller was a master at monopoly, meaning he was in control of all the oil in the Ohio region with no competition. He also learned how to control the means of production, completely dominating the oil business and every part of production. Predatory pricing was also a useful method of his; he would lower his prices to less than his competitors, and when he bought them out, the prices skyrocketed with no other place to buy his product as he was the only producer.
     Rockefeller's business endeavors soon came to an after interference with muckracker Ida Tarbel and her infamous 19 part series of his life and corrupt business. His company was forced to break up into six different companies, effectively ending his reign. He became a philanthropist, and gave his money away to may organizations until his death in 1937.
                                                                    Eugene V. Debs

    Eugene V. Debs was born in a German family in Terre Haute, Indiana; life as an immigrant was difficult, yet their knowledge was as vast as the family library.  His family opened a general store and later became trusted members of the community; after finishing high school, Debs went to work at the Union Pacific Railway, but left the dangerous job to do union work and became a union activist.
    After creating the American Railway Union, he ventured far and wide to gain rights for workers, even opening a publishing company to get the voices of the workers and their situation heard. He and the ARU stood behind the Pullman Strike and gave the workers their support, although Debs was jailed for having been involved. The Great Railway Strike was one of his proudest moments, giving all he had into helping the workers earn their rights.
    Debs was a progressive reformer at heart, from his creation of the ARU to his endorsement of the Women's Suffragist Movement. He even continued his talks and motivation while he was in jail, uplifting the jailers and prisoners alike. He died in his home in Terre Haute after having met President Harding on an invitation to the White House.