Journey Through Slavery part 4 - Judgement Day

William L. Garrison

The end of one era led to an entirely new one; it has now gone from thirteen states to twenty-four. Butler Island was as old as the nation itself; Pierce Butler was to inherit part of the richest family fortune around. His grandfather was a Major and signed the constitution himself; he also helped draft the Fugitive Slave Act. Butler's wife was an abolitionist, however, and urged him to slowly let go of slaves and grant them their freedom. Her name was Fanny Kemble, a famous actress at the time  lacks everywhere were affected by slavery, yet there were over 200,000 free slaves in both the North and South combined. William Lloyd Garrison, a white abolitionist, was blamed for the death of David Walker due to his anti-slavery newspaper; he was part of an immense trend of abolitionists that threatened the nation's way of life, it's foundation. Many whites knew that slavery was immoral, but many more thought that to get rid of slavery would cause greater entropy among all citizens and slaves of the nation. What completely rocked the world as they knew it was women and black abolitionists were brought onto and spoke fr the movement; they were given no mercy, however, and were stoned and burned to death. Racial supremacy for the whites was big in those days; employment, citizenship, etc. was valued and given to whites since they were better than everyone else. During the Jacksonian era, slavery was also increased due to the westward expansion; Native Americans were displaced and their land was taken. The more land, the more plantations, the more cotton, and the more slaves. In my opinion, slavery was a difficult issue as it tied into both the Northern industry and Southern tradition, two very vital parts of American life as they knew it.

http://www.ushistory.org/us/28a.asp

Journey Through Slavery part 3 - Brotherly Love

   The state of the situation that African Americans was inspiring due to their pushing and pushing of the promises made by white men in the Constitution, such as Thomas Jefferson's "all men are created equal", yet Jefferson himself owned slaves. There was no truth in his words, since he made excuses that blacks were naturally inferior to whites; the could not be seen as equal to the rest of the world. The saying "Practice what you preach" would not apply to him since he in fact could not turn away free labor; this free labor was also the source of he immense wealth that many southerners experienced. There was however, a small sliver of hope for the blacks when Richard Allen, a black man, gained his own freedom and started crusading for the equality of blacks.

   Allen was a Methodist preacher in 1786 and started the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the year 1794, the first denomination to be lead by blacks. At this church, there were many meetings held to discuss ways of gaining freedom for blacks; there were even spoken words by the ACS. The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, however, slashed that sliver of hope; the South needed laborers to work the machines which highlighted the importance of slavery. The cotton gin, although important to the industrialization of our nation, was in my opinion a downfall to the abolition movement since slaves were used to it. The revenue made by the machine was a plus to the South's economy. On the first of January in 1808, the transportation, importation and trade of slaves was made illegal and no longer allowed in America; this did not loosen the hold the south had on slaves, but made it stronger and tighter. 

http://www.history.com/topics/cotton-gin-and-eli-whitney

The Battle of Antietam

    The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg happened on Sept. 17, 1862; it was mostly centered in the South. Attacks were made on Confederate General Robert Lee's troops by the troops of  Major General George McClellan and Major General Joseph Hooker around Antietam Creek in Maryland.  Major General Ambrose Burnside joined the fight against the confederates with Hooker and McClellan, however Confederate Major General A.P. Hill fought back Burnside, driving his forces back. Despite his small numbers, Lee sent all of his men to the line and was able to hold his own against McClellan's forces, although McClellan was able to keep Lee from invading Maryland, making this a strategic Union win. There was a total of 12,400 casualties, 2,100 being killed and 22,720 Confederate casualties, 3,650 being killed. It was a battle in the West, it being closer to the Mississippi River.
     This battle was important because the Union troops were able to push back the Confederate troops to behind the Potomac River; also, McClellan was able to keep Lee from invading Maryland. It also affected the confederacy as it kept them from gaining aid from Britain or France. General McClellan's military career was also effectively ended by President Lincoln, as he was disappointed in his lack of organization. The battle however, was considered a turning point in the war, as it ended Lee's invasion of the North.

Battle of Antietam

Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan