The Indian Wars

The Indian Wars was a time that saw some interesting actions by the United States government. There were policies used that saw the destruction of resources that had a much longer effect than what was thought. The wars started because the U.S. was expanding westwards, and the Native Americans didn't want to give up their land. The Buffalo soldiers, soldiers of color who fought in the Indian Wars for the U.S. saw the most combat action throughout the war. But did the impact of federal policy on the Native Americans and the Buffalo soldiers match the intent? Let's take a look at some examples.

One policy that the U.S. government used was a policy of total war. The U.S. military killed the buffaloes that the Native Americans depended on for food and clothing. In addition, many natives were put onto reservations. These reservations weren't sufficient enough to provide for the natives. Any Native Americans that rebelled were almost always killed. The battle at Wounded Knee, also known as the Wounded Knee Massacre, was the end of Native American resistance to whites. The Buffalo soldiers were treated harshly as well. They were tasked with tough missions and duties that no one else would do. They saw more combat than any other units during the Indian Wars.

This picture shows the path of the Indian Wars.

The impact of the federal policies did not match the intent at all. The native tribes lost a lot and gained almost nothing from it. The U.S gained land, but it could have been done differently. The Buffalo soldiers were still treated harshly. For these reasons the impact did not match the intent.

Sources:
"American Indians and Buffalo Soldiers, 1850-1900 (Visual)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 19 June 2015.

The Impact of Captains of Industry

During the 19th and 20th centuries captains of industry, controlled most of the business in the U.S. Two stood out more than the others. Those two were John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Rockefeller was in charge of oil, while Carnegie was in charge of steel production. While these men had a positive impact on society, they also had a negative impact on society. This was true for other captains of industry. Did the captains of industry have a positive or negative on the public?

Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1870. He became known as "the greatest business leader in American history". The Civil War helped him since he supported the Union, and he became a business mogul. He did help eradicate yellow fever and donated over 500 million dollars to charity and education. However, he bribed politicians to make laws that would favor his business. Many thought he was an underhanded businessman and was driven by greed, owing to the fact that he used cutthroat tactics to take over other companies. Carnegie started from the bottom and made his way to the top. He controlled the steel industry and was able to succeed when others were in debt. He was known all around. He helped make schools  and supported the government. He used ideas from Great Britain's steel industry. He also planned to destroy the steel workers union.

Carnegie cut salaries, but also gave out money to help
education and charities.

Both of these men had a positive impact on society as opposed to a negative impact. They helped to eradicate diseases. They also increased the influence of education by adding schools to the country. They were great men for leading the change in industry.

Source:"Forty-Millionaire Carnegie in his Great Double Role," The Saturday Globe, 9 July 1892; from David P. Demares

Who Really Gave the Slaves Freedom

In class recently, we were tasked with answering the question of who really gave freedom to the enslaved Americans. Some people say that it was Abraham Lincoln, while others say that it was the enslaved Americans. While Lincoln did issue the Emancipation Proclamation, if it wasn't for the freedmen who fought for the Union, slavery wouldn't have been abolished. Due to this, freedom came from below, not from above.

While the Emancipation Proclamation did allow all slaves in the Confederate to become free, there was still a war to be won. Many freedmen enlisted in the Union army and would go on to assist the Union in winning the war. There were many examples of black soldiers fighting to help secure their freedom when the war ended. Without the bravery of those men, the Union wouldn't have won the war, and slavery wouldn't have been abolished.

Black soldiers at Dutch Gap, Virginia.
The troops would contribute to the Union victory.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DutchGapb.jpg
File in public domain

Freedom comes from below, not from above. The people must fight for their freedom, even if the government make it a law that they are free. People will try to take away the freedom that you earn. With the recent events in Baltimore and the events with police treatment of blacks, people will have to change the treatment. It will be up to the people to pave the way, not the government. The people have to decide what is right and wrong themselves.

Civil War Scavenger Hunt

We recently did a Civil War scavenger hunt. Each of us were assigned a battle to research. We each made a Google doc and described which side won and why. We then made a QR code for our Google doc. We then placed the QR codes around the school and put the location of the next QR code in our Google doc. We then used Padlet to decide which side dominated each theater. We discovered that the Union dominated the Naval theater with superior boats. In the Eastern theater, the Confederacy dominated early on, but then the Union dominated later. In the Western theater, the Union dominated. Some common things that led to the outcomes of the battles were leadership and resources. At first, the Union had poor leadership, leading to many losses. That changed when Ulysses S. Grant took over the Union army. The South would lose many generals at the Battle of Gettysburg, and their leadership would be hurt. The North had more resources than the South, which allowed them to fight for longer. The total war policy adopted by the North would depleted the resources of the South faster, contributing to the surrender of the South.

Ulysses S. Grant, the Union general who helped to win the
war.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulysses_Grant_1870-1880.jpg
File in public Domain

The Election of 1860

When the election of 1860 took place, America was on the brink of war. Not with any other country, however, instead it was close to being at war with itself. While Lincoln (Republican) wanted to contain slavery, Douglas (Democrat) wanted slavery to be able to spread based on popular sovereignty. Breckenridge (Democrat) said that there should be no limits on slavery. Bell (Constitutional Union) wanted to preserve the Constitution and the Union, and keep slavery as it is. This amount of diverse opinions changed U.S. history. This would deepen the division between the North and the South.

Why The North won the Civil War

The North won the Civil War since they had more soldiers, better transportation, and higher production. Even though the South had more slaves, the slaves were against them. By having more ways to manufacture goods, the war effort increased. Because of this the North won.

Why Is There An Elephant Here Again?

During the early 19th century, American politics had an "elephant in the room". No, not an actual elephant. The "elephant in the room" was slavery. Slavery was a major topic in the early 19th century. The divided opinion about slavery would eventually lead to the Civil War. But there were several events that would lead to this.

One of these events was the Compromise of 1850. One thing that was a result of it was called the Fugitive Slave law. It required citizens to help return escaped slaves. This was great for people in the South, but awful for the people in the North. In addition, the Gadsen Purchase allowed a southern transcontinental railroad, allowing more pro-slavery people to settle in the South. The Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 showed that some were willing to deny rights to the minorities, while others decided that it was wrong to deny the minority their rights. John Brown's raid in 1859 would show how far people were willing to go to make their point. Brown was hung for his attack on a federal arsenal in order to arm the anti-slavery settlers. These events would slowly tear the U.S in two and cause the Civil War.

Slavery:A Struggle of Race and Basic Rights for Humans

In the 1800s, cotton trade was an important business in America. And since it was hard work, and workers would have to be paid, slavery increased as a way of labor. Since slaves didn't have rights they could be worked until exhaustion. With the cotton boom, slavery became more and more entrenched in America. Slaves were treated as property and not as people. Slavery affected the dignity of the enslaved and because of this they weren't even seen as people.

The Cotton Gin

The cotton gin allowed cotton to be grown in even more areas since it allowed for the separation of cotton seeds to be easier. Slavery grew due to this. Slaves weren't even counted as whole people within the Constitution. Instead, they were counted as 3/5 of a person. This lowered the dignity of many slaves and this is why people treated them as property,

The Rights of Women

Women's rights have dramatically changed throughout history. Women began to gain more rights during the 19th century. A declaration of rights was issued by women. American society reacted in many different ways. Still, to this day, society react differently to men and women.

The reactions to the Seneca Falls varied. Seneca Falls is where the declaration of rights was written for women. Some people supported it, while others opposed it. Others yelled at those who opposed it, saying they didn't have any good reasons to oppose it. Many people were glad women were working on the right to vote, since that could cause even more change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K2kfgW7708&feature=youtu.be

Today, society still views men and women differently. Men are seen as stronger individuals, but there are many circumstances where that is not the case. Some jobs are seen as men only or women only jobs. This, of course, is not true. There was a time when women weren't allowed in the military, but now that's changed.

Jails vs. Asylums: The Criminal vs. The Insane

 Dix, Dorothea. "Dorothea Dix Speaks on Behalf of Insane Persons, 1843." Http://wadsworth.cengage.com/. 1843. Accessed January 12, 2015. http://wadsworth.cengage.com/history_d/templates/student_resources/0030724791_ayers/sources/ch11/11.4.dix.html.

About two years since leisure afforded opportunity and duty prompted me to visit several prisons and almshouses in the vicinity of this metropolis. I found, near Boston, in the jails and asylums for the poor, a numerous class brought into unsuitable connection with criminals and the general mass of paupers. I refer to idiots and insane persons, dwelling in circumstances not only adverse to their own physical and moral improvement, but productive of extreme disadvantages to all other persons brought into association with them. I applied myself diligently to trace the causes of these evils, and sought to supply remedies. As one obstacle was surmounted, fresh difficulties appeared. Every new investigation has given depth to the conviction that it is only by decided, prompt, and vigorous legislation the evils to which I refer, and which I shall proceed more fully to illustrate, can be remedied. I shall be obliged to speak with great plainness, and to reveal many things revolting to the taste, and from which my woman's nature shrinks with peculiar sensitiveness. But truth is the highest consideration. I tell what I have seen--painful and shocking as the details often are--that from them you may feel more deeply the imperative obligation which lies upon you to prevent the possibility of a repetition or continuance of such outrages upon humanity. If I inflict pain upon you, and move you to horror, it is to acquaint you with sufferings which you have the power to alleviate, and make you hasten to the relief of the victims of legalized barbarity.

Springfield. In the jail, one lunatic woman, furiously mad, a State pauper, improperly situated, both in regard to the prisoners, the keepers, and herself. It is a case of extreme self-forgetfulness and oblivion to all the decencies of life, to describe which would be to repeat only the grossest scenes. She is much worse since leaving Worcester. In the almshouse of the same town is a woman apparently only needing judicious care, and some well-chosen employment, to make it unnecessary to confine her in solitude, in a dreary unfurnished room. Her appeals for employment and companionship are most touching, but the mistress replied "she had no time to attend to her."


Dorothea Dix wrote this and spoke to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1843 on behalf of those who were imprisoned for being insane and without proper treatment. Her goal was to reform the prisons by creating a place for the insane to be separate from the criminal. She was a leader of the prison reform movement. Her goal here was to convince those in the Legislature to create laws that would provide care to the insane. Her letter describes the horrid conditions of those that were mentally insane, how they were beaten and chained. They were abused because they had problems that weren't properly addressed.