Rebecca Ann's Blog

  What I learned about the Positives and negatives of the Reconstruction era. I learned that the 13th Amendment immediately freed over 100,000 slaves from the states of Kentucky to Delaware and that this Amendment was a response to President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Which was brought on January 1,1863 where Lincoln gave the authority to employ African Americans in a military capacity.  Freedmen’s Bureau, this act was considered one of the key factors of the Reconstruction era. Where it created a great improvement for the lives of a lot of freed slaves by providing protection. Including food, shelter, land, and other hospitality aspects. They also provided school establishments and offered legal assistance. Though their major goal was to give slaves rights and the ability to participate in political parties.  The reconstruction policies are known as “40 Acres and a Mule” would offer long-awaited economic justice to African Americans. Was a promise by Union Gene...

In our second mock trial, our case was Plessy v. Ferguson. Plessy was a man that considered himself to be “seven-eighths Caucasian and one-eighth African blood” though he presented himself as a proud black man. Plessy is allegedly arrested for sitting in a white train car and is sent to the United States Supreme Court to undergo trial. In his trial, he argued that the Louisiana segregation law violated his civil freedom and the 14th amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. While the whole Supreme court argued the decision that justified the constitutionality of racial segregation by the "Separate but equal" doctrine. Meaning that Plessy’s civil freedom rights were not violated since they had a car for African Americans as well. There was only one man that objected. Justice John Marshall Harlan, the dissent of the case. He objected the Louisiana statute should not stand. For under this statute they are regulating a seat on a train on the basis of color, neither the passengers nor...

  In January of 1863 after the Civil War, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that stated: “that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free.” Lincoln also helped approve the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. This was considered a great success for African Americans with their long-drawn-out fight for equality. Though they rejoiced with what has happened a lot wanted to interfere with the steps forward of African Americans in the United States. A lot of the local governments created things such as Jim Crow laws that fought to legalize racial segregation to stop African Americans from having equal rights. When this started Americans went into what is known as the Reconstruction Era. This proceeded with all the steps forward in Black progress being paused until the civil rights movement  After this happened violent groups started to surface; the most popular one was the Ku Klux Klan also known as the KKK. Popular in the south, the KKK was a ...

  What I learned from our EOTO. We went over the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I learned that this book had a huge impact on our history till this day and that one of the main impacts was that it showed how it is so important to fight for justice against the slavery that happened.  We also learned about John Brown’s raid. The raid consisted of a small group that attempted a raid against a federal armory in what is now known as West Virginia. Their goal was to start an army of enslaved people to end the institution of slavery.  One topic that I was sort of familiar with that I enjoyed learning about was the Underground railroad. We learned about how from 1810 through about 1850 the underground railroad helped around one hundred thousand slave guild their way to freedom.  Bleeding Kansas is what they called it. We learned that bleeding Kansas was caused by the Kansas and Nebraska act, and was one of the key factors that started the acts in the civil war. They repea...

 Our defendant John Mann was charged with battery against Lydia for shooting her and was fined $10, but Lydia is in fact an African American slave. If Mann is being charged with assault? Assault towards what? Today African American slaves are not considered United States Citizens, but how can a person be charged with battery if it’s towards someone who is not considered a citizen of the United States let alone not a person at all? Slaves are owned by masters and have been considered as property. If Lydia is considered property why should there be a charge for shooting something that is your own property? Although Mann did not formally own Lydia. She was hired by Mann from Elizabeth Jones. Meaning Mann did have authority over Lydia. Therefore, Lydia is Mann’s for the time he rents her and he should be free to do what he likes. Property owners are entitled to the authority of using their property how they choose.    In our state of North Carolina, it was subjective for sla...

One of the biggest things people turn to in hard times and decisions is religion. While the bible is open for interpretation; one issue about the Bible, for those who look into it, is whether the Bible condemns slavery or not. There have been many arguments about how the bible almost seems like it supports and encourages slavery. However, depending on how you look at it and in what parts of the bible you look in, I feel, make a huge impact on your opinion. I am a strong believer in Christianity; my whole life I grew up as a Roman Catholic so I was intrigued by what research I would find working on this assignment. I started out looking through the Old Testament of our Bible and what I found was honestly quite confusing. There was a time the Bible encouraged slavery, specifically in the Old Testament. While in the New Testament the idea of slavery made a turnaround where I would find religious text such as Exodus 21:16 , where it says, "And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, ...

         The minstrel shows, also known as minstrelsy. Was a popular form of American showcase of racist entertainment throughout the late 18th century. These shows were intended as comic entertainment of racial stereotypes of African American slaves. Minstrelsy was commonly performed by a group of white males that tended to be traveling musicians who would mock African American slaves in comic skits they would perform in minstrelsy. These white individuals would paint their faces black and sing and dance around a stage with a racist demeanor behind them. This American theatrical hit their most popular in theaters between 1850 and 1870, then started to die down in live-action theater performances. Although it disappeared from theaters, it did not vanish completely. It became more popular during the early 20th century and premiered on radio, television, and even motion picture industries in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The most popular performer i...