Uncle Toms Cabin

Hello my name is Tom, and I am a former slave living in Greenville, South Carolina. I was brought over here by the white people. I'm a son of slaves and for many years now I have seen what the white people have done to us time after time. My life on this plantation has been awful as far back as I can remember. I used to work for a wealthy plantation owner but then I was bought by master Simon Legree. In my life I had been whipped several times but this master would whip me for no reason, no reason at all. I would wait all day for the sun to fall back and the sky so me and my friends could have us a good old time, singing and dancing to those african drums. That was the only freedom that I would ever see when it came to living life on the plantation. Everyday was hard and there wasn't no breaks. From dawn till dusk we worked those fields of cotton and only dreamed about escaping to another land far from here. One day my dream became a reality when I realized that my friend Eliza had escaped to freedom up north. I say it was my dream because I knew that I would never see or smell freedom, so I lived my life through those young people who still had a chance. I thought it would be a hard journey for her, and from what I heard it was. With the Fugitive Slave Act being put into place I would think she wouldn't make it but old Lize did and I have to admit that I'm proud.

I think that slaves during this period we're realizing more and more the power that they had. Not only we're they starting to speak freely but the thought of escaping and putting it into practice was becoming no longer a dream but an reality. Uncle Tom's Cabin was an inspiration to slaves and it showed northern white people just what they we're up against. These southern slave owners could care less about the feelings of their slaves. As long as they got the work done without any mouth they we're ok. When Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote this book I do believe that she went through great controversy about it. In the end I believe that she was happy at what she had done. She had gave America a different perspective on the way that they saw blacks during this time and for some that was all that was needed. Through this piece of work Stowe gave the blacks credit that had never been given before and to me that's what makes this book so great. The fact that someone was willing to stand for what was right and not for what everyone else was doing.

Lincolns Assassination

I was two houses down when Lincoln was taken from Ford theatre to a nearby house. I wasn't really sure what was going on until I saw them coming across the street with Lincoln. I was sure what to do. I didn't even knew what had happened. It turned out that Lincoln was shot by a man named John Wilkes Booth. I was devastated when I heard what had happened. I didn't even know what to think. Sadly the President did not survive. The country surely will have to pull itself together to fix this tragedy. This is a sad day in America. I don't know what to do hopefully the new president will make the right decisions.

Poor Lincoln

Hello Fellows. I wish this latest entry could be cheerful, but I struggle now to hold back the tears that are stinging my eyes. Yesterday on April 14, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. I guess it is my duty to tell the tale, though I know not if I will be able to finish it. I was in Ford's Theatre watching the play Our American Cousin. I sat close to the stage and President Lincoln with his wife was behind me. in the theatre's balcony. All the sudden I heard the sound of a gunshot, I will never forget it, and I looked behind me to see Mr. Lincoln slumped forward in his chair. A man that I later learned was named Mr. Booth jumped from the stage but his foot was caught in the Treasury flag and he fell right behind me. He jumped up and yelled something about avenging the south and ran out. I am now on a horse in a group with some union soldiers searching for Mr. Booth, and I promise, we will find him.

All this thought of death and politics has caused me to think of a question. I am now pondering this question over with a Union solider. I wonder if the use of force can preserve a nation. My union solider friend, being involved with the army, naturally said yes. He says if you can point a gun at someone they will do what you want. But that is where I disagree. I believe that you cannot force someone to do something that they truly do not want to do. For this reason I believe that free will and opportunity are what can preserve a nation not force. The members in our nation must be able to make their own decisions if this nation is going to be preserved.

The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by Abraham Lincoln. It was to honor the men that had died for our country. This even proves that military does affect the nation and preserves it.
In the speech Abraham uses a statement, " these dead shall not die in vain", this statement is explaining that the men that fought for us should be honored, and not forgotten. The Gettysburg address was an important and significant event in our history. In the was 9,000 men from the South and 5,000 from the North died. This amount of people was a great decrease in our nation at the time, it not only was a loss of husbands, fathers, and men; but a loss of fighters and population. This speech not only showed people how important these men were, but also what a great loss it was to our nation; it helped them see how we should take care of our nation and preserve it.

Without Lincoln delivering the speech, I don't believe it would of had the effect on our nation as it did. Lincoln was a great leader and friend. People respected him and his words. From his first speech to his last Lincoln and The Gettysburg Address will never be forgotten. It had a great impact on our nation, and to answer the question, yes. I think that this event along with the military does help preserve our nation. These events are what make us who we are today. We have not only become stronger, but more aware of what may come. We've had many great leaders, and that's what you need to have a strong nation.

Carpetbaggers.
Now I must admit that when I first stumbled upon the term carpetbagger I was greatly mistaken in my understanding of its definition.
I had just finished a gunslingin raid when I heard tell of carpetbaggers commin to the south!
I immediately set out for to see this sight for my own eyes - after all it had been a while since I'd seen anyone successfully put an entire carpet into a bag.
Upon my arrival I was mildy dissapointed

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

The 13th amendment was created after the Emancipation Proclamation was passed stating the slaves being free. This amendment let the slaves be free but the problem was that once the are freed what will the south do. Who will work the land? The rich was no longer rich, the poor was still poor. The slaves had no where go. Then there is the 14th amendment giving the African American the right to be a citizen in the U.S. Now that they are citizens where do they go. All they know how to do is farm.

The African Americans now has the right to vote also thanks to the 15th amendment. This voting right is not as easy as it seems because they must know how to read and they cant because the were refused the right to learn as a slave so really have any education. This amendment really is defeating the purpose because the white people at time intimidated the blacks and it made the not want to vote. These rights really don't help at all.

The Gettysburgh Adress ( forever remembered)

Can the use of force (military and political) preserve a nation, actually yes it can in more ways then one. For example, the Gettysburgh Adress which is a speech that was given by Abraham Lincoln to dedicate the burial of men whomhave given their life to our nation. The speech itself is full of emotion and honesty the speech truly shows the wide range of respect of all men whom have given their life to our nation. " these dead shall not die in vain" is a memorable quote from the speech, it is pretty much saying that it means alot that the men died for such a cause. The Gettysburgh Adress occured around the year 1863 and is still in effect in our history.

Its not common to hear that in a war 9,000 men from the south and 5,000 men from the south have died. The Gettysburgh Adress, a political force can most definatly preserve a nation because its presenting an issue, arising a solution, and leting others know. As to wether others agree or not its still molding, shaping, and preserving the nation all on its own. Thanks to a simple speech delivered by someone so valuable our very own Abraham Lincoln we now proudly respect and care so deeply for the men who die living the lives of a soldier. Live on soldier, may your souls rest in peace, you will be forever remembered and honored.


Aubrey Jackson
Period 4th

Destruction for Preservation?

Does destruction help to preserve a country? The Civil War, which took place in 1861-1865, answers this question without a doubt. During the Civil War, a Union general, T. Sherman, led a march along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Sherman and his regime burned down houses, destroyed crops, and massacred Southern citizens with the upmost force. This costly event for the South was called Sherman's March and took place during the fall of 1864. This caused much devastation for the South because this destroyed the source of their economy, crops, and left many people homeless and suffering at the loss of family and friends. This piled onto many other previous losses such as the Battle of Gettysburg and spelled disaster for the South.
As stated before, does destruction upon a nation help to preserve that nation? Prosperity and progress may help in preservation, but attacking another part of nation only to add to the already suffering losses of a war is certaintly not the way to go. Having to repair land and replant crops is not only a hassle, but it takes money. War also destroys ties between groups not only in nation, but outside a nation such as when ties with England were damaged during the war and that's where much of our economy processes through. No good can come of destruction when trying to preserve a nation, it's pretty much defeating the purpose of preservation.

Hello my name is Tom and I am a former slave living in the south. After the civil war was over we were freed and granted citizen ship. But even though we were free we were still slaves in our own poverty. Discrimination was a very big deal in this time. Because we were "free", this made many people in the south uncomfortable and wanted to keep us out of any political airfares. For example if we could not read some difficult peace of writing we were not allowed to vote. The south also made laws that restricted our freedoms. They were called Jim Crow Laws. They made separate water fountains for us and different telephone booths for us . And if a former slave was hurt or needed to go to the hospital white doctors and white nurses were not allowed to treat us. We also had to go in the back door to a restaurant if we wanted something nice to eat.

Attack On Ft.Sumter

It was midday and the shells from the iron ships were still raining down upon us while we waited and tried our best to return fire with the cannons. The supplies promised by our captains haven't arrived yet and most of the men are becoming solomn and the moral is very low. So far we haven't been able to push the Rebels away any further. It seems increasingly difficult to return fire when they stay out of our cannons range. We've been told that reinforcements arn't going to be coming, so while we stay here and wait for some type of reprieve from the attack we pray that something will happen to slow down the destruction of this stone prison we have become prisoners of. Lincoln has refused to send any type of military aid, and many of the men have been very open about their new founf opinions of him after hearing this desicion. But I believe he may have a reason that he has seen that we may not understand. All I know is that if this attack continues much longer it really won't matter for any of us.

During the attack of Fourt Sumter President Lincoln had to consider whether or not to send military troops to aid those in the fort. As he pondered this question he realized that if he did send an army into the South they would see it as a blatent attack and the Civil War would have started right then and there. Well, Lincoln knew this so he decided upon aiding the troops more vaguely by sending extra supplies and more items needed by the men occupying the fort. By doing this he proved that you don't need a military presents to help bring order back into a situation. Just by helping the men inside the fort be bale to stay there longer and eventually wait out the atttack the southern rebels finally gave up.

Lincoln Assassination

April 14, 1865 Lincoln was assassinated at Fords Theater watching a play. John Wilkes Booth shot him in the back of the head with a handgun. After the shot was fired, Booth jumped off the balcony, ran off the stage, and out the back door. Lincoln was quickly rushed across the street to a house where he was examined by a doctor. It had done major damage to his brain and he later died. A train went through America so that people could pay their respects as his corpse traveled to his hometown of Springfield. Booth was a southern sympathizer and killed Lincoln due to the outcome of the war. He was later killed by union soldiers in a barn fire.

I think that the use of military force can unite a nation. The cause of it was due to arguments from the civil war, however, the majority of people had feelings of sorrow when Lincoln was killed. Millions went to visit the train that he was carried back on. It took the train 14 days to get to Springfield because there was so many people. The bringing together of this nation was short lived in this manner. Had Booth discussed his feelings by debate then 2 deaths could have been avoided but may have caused arguments. Finding the balance was what the nation needed. There was no room for another war but still conflicts to be completely peaceful. Force provided fast action which is really useful for some people, in this case was Booth. He got what he wanted right off the bat but it united the nation for some time. In the end force united a nation, but only for a short lived time.

Gettysburg Address

Dear Diary,




Lincoln presented his speech today. I'm so glad they are burying those bodies because they have made the town stink of an awful odor. Those boys need a proper burial because they fought for this country and they have love ones. Lincoln's speech is going to be in history someday. He said that the boys on both sides fought for this country and they will dedicate the land for them because all men are created equally. I agree with what he said, in that, our job is to bring the nation together. He feels that we have to keep this nation together and honor what the soldiers fought for.

I smelt the smell of those soldiers for days. They just left them out there and didn't bother to do anything about it. It was making our whole town smell of dead, rotting corpse. I'm so glad that Lincoln is doing something about this. Though we had to let him know all these bodies were lying around. Not only did we have our soldiers lying around but we had the Confederate's dead soldiers smelling up our town also! Our men deserve better! They fought for us and don't deserve to be left out there for days. None of the fellow soldiers they fought with even blinked an eye at the decision of leaving them there.

sincerely,
Fran

Lincoln Assassinated

Dreadful news appeared in today's paper. On the headline appeared in big words "Lincoln assassinated". How could this happen, how on Earth could this happen? John Wilkes Booth that confederate supporter that's who! The slim ball of an actor, he is murdered our dear president. Five days after the end of the Civil War Booth as well as other confederate supports tried to find out a way to kill President Lincoln. The original plan was to kidnapped the president, but it was best decided to kill him instead to see if the south would rise again. To make matters worse I saw Booth that night just before he killed the president! I was at the local tavern, a few blocks away from Fords Theatre. Anyway I received word that the president was attending to one of the plays that was playing at the theatre. As relaxed myself at the bar I saw Booth walking out of one of the private rooms. I simply remarked, "You not acting tonight Boothy my boy!" In response he turned to me and gave me a disgusted look. I knew Booth for a long time and that night he looked different. I looked restless, jittery, and abrasive. If only I knew what he was going to do, I could have stopped him. After he looked at me he place his hat on his head a rode off into the night. That was the last that I seen of him.

That's the problem with today's society. Military force doesn't solve anything! Actually I would commence military force the last result to solve any negotiation. Every person should negotiate first before taking action. Booth never did dicussed the situation with President Lincoln. Booth first did what he thought was right, by killing the president to solve of what he thought was right. I don't know what Booth was thinking, but becasue of his actions of killing the president by "military force" only made America stronger. Of coarse America could have used President Lincoln for rebuilding the south, but in the end Booth didn't want to take that chance.

Lincoln's Assasination

Dear Diary,

It's April 14, 1865, a very sad day indeed. When I read the paper this morning I saw the horrible news. Pres. Lincoln has been assasinated. We were just united as a nation a few days ago. The paper said he was shot by a man name John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater.What is going to happen now that he is gone? Johnson is now president, but he fighting the Congress over everything. The south is going to be under military control. I never believed in the fighting and yet I'm being treated like a prisoner of war in my own country. This is not going over well with the men who are still alive. I am afraid this forced peace will not hold, but we have to hope that it will.

Do I believe that the use of force can preserve a nation? Well, it depends on the situation. The Civil War was a very difficult situation. The decision to use military force after the assasination of Lincoln was probably a very good idea. The man who shot Licoln, John Wilkes Booth, was a southern sympathizer. Therefore he was probably expecting the north to crumble without proper leadership. It did not because of the political force used in the Congress. In the case of the assasination, the use of force probably saved this nation. However, If the military manner that was used in dealing with the south had never stopped, this nation would not exist. Only after it ended, did we truly begin to heal as a nation.

Perserving the Nation with Laws and Amendments

The use of political force has an impact on the nation, but it doesn't complete the job. They three amendments were created to help the slaves. The three amendments were making the slaves free, making them a citizen, and allowing them to vote. People were forced to accept the slaves when it came to laws. They had to let them be free and allow them to vote, but in their mind they could think what they want. Politically speaking the nation could be united, but mentally the were all still separated. They created intentional problems when they were creating these amendments. For example, the voting right, yes they were allowed to vote, but when going to vote they would make it hard for them to use this right. They made it so it would be hard to read, or so they couldn't understand it. Which didn't allow them to use their earned rights. They were still not united.

You can try to force people to be united. It takes a lot to make a nation actually become united. It's not just something that laws and amendments can do by itself. They may appear to be united as one; however, they were really all separated still. People thought since they created these amendments that everyone would be equal and accept each other. People still judged and didn't accept others. Laws created can't determine if the nation is united. They may help, but it is up to the people to help create a united nation.

Amendments 13, 14, 15

I's remembas it like yestaday. I was out on da farm, plantin some tobacco seeds fo' masta. And then that's when Uncle Tom came runnin ova to me. I aint know what he's was talkin 'bout, but alls I heard was that we was gon' be free. Mr. President Lincoln finally passed that law to make us free. He been sayin' he was goin to, but I ain't pay him no mind! But God was I happy to be free...it was the 13th Amendment they say. Then, afta that...lotta folks was talkin 'bout us coloureds not being able to vote. It was a buncha commotion bout that...so we was complainin and they tolds us that we can't vote cuz we aint what they call citizens. So that's when they made the 14th Amendment. It let us black folk or coloureds become citizens. I was happy cuz that means I had me almost every right as the white folk, except I still couldn't vote. But I was a citizen...and citizens should be able to vote! So, then...it was anotha Amendment, number 15. It says that me and all my othat coloured folks can vote just like white men! I just couldn't believe it...it just kept gettin betta! I knews all them songs to my Lord would pay off...God had really brought us throughs and I's a just jumpin fa joy, even as I tellin yalls 'bout it right nows...

EQ: The use of force (military/political) can not preserve a nation. In fact, using forces seems to bring the opposite of preservation to a nation. Throughout history, including the Civil War and Reconstruction, forces have been used to preserve the nation...and the attempt failed! During the Civil War, the North and the South had a military force attacking the enemy. The North was using military forces to bring the Union back together; Sherman's March consisted of General William T. Sherman trecking throughout the South, burning down everything in his way. The result? A million dollars worth of physical damages, a price the United States would have to pay during the Reconstruction. Also, as for political forces....during the Reconstruction, President Andrew Johnson tried time and time again to use his political forces to preserve the nation. He wanted the Reconstruction to be left for the President alone...using his own political force to bring the nation together again. The result? Many debates and even an impeachment. So, therefore; in conclusion, I must say that using any kind of force, such as military or political, can not preserve a nation.