Lincoln movie response

Political cartoon from civil war era showing Lincoln's struggle with slavery

1. Lincoln was uncompromising because he was very forceful about getting the 13th amendment passed and would not back down from this position. He also did not let anyone's view of it not being successful stop him and stuck with his belief slavery was wrong because everyone was equal. Thaddeus Stevens was uncompromising because he also wanted slavery abolished but would not admit he thought them all equal in humanity. He just said he wanted them all equal under the law. They were able to compromise on ending slavery, but wouldn't compromise on their own beliefs.

2. The movie shows us how Lincoln's views on abolishing slavery morph from unsure into complete necessity like the letters. This is shown because in the beginning of the movie he is unsure to end it when talking to the soldiers and his wife because he does not know if it will work or not. Then, he slowly changes his mindset into one that believes it most be ended to stabilize the union. This is shown because he begins to dedicates all his time into ending it and when he angrily runs out of patience about the last votes.

3. He believed it was essential because if slavery was not abolished the union would fall apart and his number one goal was to keep the union together and end the war.

4. It complicated the union and confederate peoples views on slavery because it showed they were not clear cut black and white. For example, it showed how some of the republicans did not want slavery to end because they did not think slaves were equal to them and were scared they would outnumber them.

5. The people resisted the abolishment of slavery because they were scared. The whites feared that if the slaves were freed and made equal they would create a rebellion against the whites and outnumber them. They were also worried that they would have the same power as them in government and voting. They did not resist it because of "property rights."

Civil War Letters

The underlying, overarching theme: Honor

Letter 1:

Sayles's letter to his wife.

Captain James A. Sayles was a union soldier fighting in Bottoms Bridge, Virginia near the Chickahominy river. He is writing to his wife, Florence Lee, on June 11, 1864 about how he was highly thought of, how excited he was to go work in General Wilson’s army, and sharing his anxiety over some of his fellow soldiers getting sick because his unit was camping near the river. Letter 2:

Ballou's letter to his wife

Major Sullivan Ballou was a union soldier who fought in the First Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia. He is writing on July 14, 1861 in Camp Creek to his wife Sarah about the upcoming battle because he knows he may perish, so he wanted to give her closure. He shares how much he loves her and their 2 boys, but not to mourn him because they will meet again. He was not anxious or worried about dying because he loved his country so much, believes he should if God wills it, and wanted to follow in the footsteps of the revolution soldiers because he respected them greatly.
Letter 3:

Scott's letter to his wife

Captain Charles M Scott was a union soldier writing to his wife, Anna, on April 7, 1862 from the Pittsburgh Landing. In the letter he was telling her about the losses of his fellow beloved soldiers in the Battle of Shiloh. He is also explaining how some of the men tried to swim away and he thought them to be the greatest of cowards because they were not willing to fight for their country and their fellow soldiers. Letter 4:

Squire's letter to his parents

Capt. Watson Squire was a union captain writing to his parents on May 21, 1861 in Elmira, NY. He was telling them how he thought war was very necessary and defeating the Confederacy was an even more important cause then the Revolutionary War. He believes this because he sees the Civil War as defending the “doctrine of self-government” and even if they lose would rather have tried to fight it in honor. He is telling his parents not to worry about him because he is happy with the honorable path he chose, but will try to come home even though he accepts and is okay that he may not.

Letter 5:

Grant's letter to his sister

L.A. Grant was a union soldier writing to his sister, E.G. Sayles, on July 8, 1864 from the 1st Vermont Brigade. He is writing to her to tell that her son was captured by the confederacy, but he may be alive so not to assume the worst. He also emphasizes how honorable he was and that when he was captured he still conducted himself with bravery.

Sign:

This collection of letters from various Union soldiers, Capt. Sayles, Major Ballou, Capt. Scott, Capt. Squire, and L.A. Grant, displays an overwhelming theme of Honor. These letters compellingly evidence that we can presume the majority of Union soldiers felt a consuming love of their country and had extreme patriotism, shown through their willingness to fight. They believed in their cause and would die fighting for it. Thus, in their view any man who would not was the worst kind of dishonorable coward. This led to a strong sense of camaraderie, developing within all the soldiers due to their shared belief that the honorable way was to fight for their country and fellow men. Do you believe Americans in today’s time would heed this call to fight because of their honor? And, if not, then why do you think so many have willingly joined the Army? Hopefully, these impactful, ardent soldiers can inspire us now through their legacy to posses and display a great sense of honor, patriotism, and bravery. Would you stand strong for a cause you wholeheartedly believed in even in the face of death?

13th amendment

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction" (Primary Documents in American History)
The 13th amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865.
The emancipation proclamation only freed slaves living in non-union states, whereas the 13th amendment freed all slaves in the US. (PBS: Emancipation Proclamation)

13th amendment political cartoon depicting Lincoln ending slavery

The US Flag

America's Symbol of Freedom and Rights: the Flag 

The flag symbol originated in 1775 on American ships in New England water flying a liberty tree flag.

The flag has evolved greatly to change the colors used because the colors represent things, to include all 13 colonies, and to have all the states symbolized. One of the first flag changes was in 1775 when red and white stripes were added to the original tree flag. Then in 1776 Betsy Ross made a red and white striped flag with a blue corner that had 13 stars. After this template was created each time a state was added a new stripe and star were too so this happened in 1795, 1818, 1819, 1820, 1822, 1836, 1837, 1845, 1846, 1847-48, 1851, 1858-59, 1861, 1863, 1865, 1867, 1877, 1890, 1891, 1896, 1908, 1912, and 1959-60. The flag has not undergone any major changes since this because no new states have been added.

There are many purposeful design elements chosen on the flag such as colors, stripes, and stars. The stripes represent the 13 colonies and the stars represent the 50 states. The colors are also symbolic with red meaning valor, blue meaning justice, and white meaning purity.

The American flag represents freedom, unity, liberty, and unalienable rights. I think this meaning is overall very widespread and viewed as a positive symbol because many schools and other establishments, sport games, etc all say the Pledge of Allegiance together in unity and with pride.

Our flag has been nicknamed Old Glory, Stars and Stripes, or Star-Spangled Banner. These nicknames. These nicknames have usually originated from soldiers or art pieces such as poems or songs. For example Star Spangled Banner originated from a Francis Key poem and Old Glory came from a war veteran. This shows our culture at the time highly valued veterans and art forms such as writing or music.

You could learn that the flag represents freedom and that our country has extreme patriotism to the flag though the country genre. Some of these songs include, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue”, “American Soldier”, “It’s America,” etc.

I can tell our flag is very respected because it is used to honor the dead by flying at half mast, it is praised by all American people, it represents our veterans and their bravery, and it has a song dedicated to it that is sung throughout the entire US.

The flag itself does not represent any controversy, however, there are many controversial, disgraceful ways to use it. For example, when laid flat the union stars should be left, on top. When the flag is raised or lowered everyone should face it with their right hand over their heart, and the flag should never be touching anything below it or pointed at something.

Sources

PBS, History of the American Flag

From this source i got one of the nicknames i mentioned above, the colors symbolism, and the appropriate customs of how to handle and respect the flag.

US History, Flag Timeline

From this source i learned and saw all the different flags the US has been through and all the changes to it. I also got all the dates I used from this source for answer #2.

Washington County Pilot, American Flag, a Symbol

I learned about what morals and values the flag represents and that one can legally do whatever they want to a flag because it represents freedom and your rights.

Ranker, Country Songs about America

I needed songs to list as examples and this website was very helpful and provided me with hundreds of songs about the American flag and patriotism.

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is an alphabetically organized list of sources that includes the author's comment about each reference used under the source listed. The authors comment under each source could be about examples of other sources with same opinions, how the author used it, or if they would recommend it.

Purdue/Owl: What is an annotated bibliography

From this source I got an understanding of what an annotated bibliography is and the general length of it. I also learned what the difference between a regular, abstract, and annotated bibliography are. I would recommend this source because it explained it very well.

University of Maryland: Examples of Annotated Sources

I used this source to understand what annotated sources looked like and what information they include in different forms of writing like APA or MLA. 

Articles of Confederation Post

Confederation Map

Articles of Confederation is located in chapter 6 page 187.

The term “The Articles of Confederation” is a main heading itself.

The text is discussing this topic as a main headed topic because the Articles were very important and paved the way for the Constitution to later come. The Articles were part of the larger event of the Patriots creating a central government.

I learned more about why it was created: to create a central government with limited powers.

I learned more what the goal of it was: to create a union where each state can keep its sovereignty, freedom, and independence. I learned more what its powers were: declare war, make treaties, borrow and print money, adjudicate disputes between states, and take funds from states for common defense. And, i learned it was ratified in 1781.

America's History Book 

This blog post is about learning more about Articles of Confederation within historical context and learning how to use the book and hyperlink.