EOTO #3 Reaction

 

This EOTO presentation was about events that happened throughout the Civil Rights movement that focused on segregation. The country was divided on race and people were not afraid to voice their opinions.

One thing that was discussed was the sixteenth street bombing. This event was new to me and I had never know that it occurred so it was helpful to have heard information on it. This church was in Birmingham, Alabama and was one of the first Black Baptist churches. This city was known to be very violent and had many bombing events. The sixteenth street bombing ended up killing twenty-two black civilians including four young girls. This church served as a meeting point for meetings and rallies for the community.

Another event that was discussed was the Ku Klux Klan also known as the KKK. This was a white supremacist group that during this time era focused on attacking Civil Rights activists. They used murder and violence to try and scare the activists. Throughout time this group had different Klans, the one we discussed was more specifically the second clan which did its focus on preserving segregation.

This presentation was extremely informational for me because throughout my years of taking history classes I honestly don't remember ever touching on these subjects. These events are important for our country and understanding of the Civil Rights era. The events that I named are just a few of the many that took place in this time period. In schools today, students need to spend more time learning about the Civil Rights era and the tragic but monumental events that helped end segregation in America.

Justice Harlan Dissent

 Justice Harlan believed that all me are created equal. That everyone in this country was equal. He believed that the "separate but equal" doctrine was simply unconstitutional. He states this "Our constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." This shows how Justice  Harlan believed more in equality and fairness than the color of ones skin.

Justice Harlan knew the constitution and amendments extremely well and used his knowledge to make his decisions. He used his knowledge specifically in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. Harlan really believed that everyone is equal. Ironically he was a slave owner which shocked me because of what he preaches. For being a white man who believed that all men are equal he received a lot of criticism. 

As to his knowledge of the 14th Amendment, Justice Harlan took it as it makes judging people by the color of their skin illegal. This then led Harlan to call out the state of Louisiana in the Plessy v Ferguson case. He called out the state by saying the having separate cars is illegal. Due to the state using the wording of the amendment to try and bypass what the law really means. By making the cars separate by color, Harlan knew that this was a violation of the amendment. 

By believing what he did, Harlan released some key points that not many other people thought of or believed. One of his famous points was  “in this country there is no superior, dominant ruling class of citizens,” and also stated how it is wrong to “regulate the enjoyment of citizens' civil rights solely on the basis of race.” These points that Harlan made were to express his point on how African Americans are not trying to win superiority, it is they just wanted to be treated as equal human beings.

https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1335/john-marshall-harlan-i

https://louisville.edu/law/library/special-collections/the-john-marshall-harlan-collection/harlans-great-dissent

Brown vs Board of Education

In my class, we had to do research and preform a speech as if we were in the case of Brown vs Board of education. I had to portray a member of the state that was fighting to keep segregated schools based on the religious point of view. This was informational to all because both teams made extremely valid points as to why schools should be segregated. Although we were playing the role of being "pro" segregation we all obviously agree how segregation was unfair.

 

Let me begin by asking you all a question. Would you like it if you sent your child to school to learn and they came home telling you stories about how someone was discussing different points of views on God? What would you do? Whites and Blacks believe different things. I personally would be incredibly angry if my child came home one day and said that a black child was discussing their religion with my child. Our children are sent to school to receive an education with children who are like them. In the state of Kansas, blacks and whites have separate schools for a reason to make sure everyone is with who they are supposed to be. The "separate but equal” doctrine was created for a reason. To make sure that treatment between races is fair. You don't see whites sending their children to black schools. God would not want us to. He gave us the opportunity to be separate for a reason and we should be following his wishes. God created us differently for a reason. Why are we trying to mix together when we were born to be separate. Those who are in favor of changing it will be punished. God sees everything. All is fair. There is a school for everyone. We go to separate churches and are taught and preach different ideas. Our children should be attending school with children they go to church with. The importance of associating our children with people of the same beliefs is one of the most important things. It is one of the only ways we will keep our religion strong. Overall, as a state we should not be allowing our schools to be mixed.The "separate but equal” doctrine is completely fair and was created for moments like these. Why should our state go against the laws and start mixing all together. Our children need us to stand up for them and for the better of them things should remain separated.

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka

https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment

EOTO

 

My part in the EOTO presentation was to elaborate on the 13th Amendment. Before doing research on the topic I did not know what this Amendment was. I am overall grateful that this class gives me the opportunity to learn more about the fundamentals of our country and read about things I wouldn't normally search on my free time. As a person would doesn't look into politics or history much, I actually really enjoyed researching this topic. From hearing about how law was a key part of the "Reconstruction Era" after the Civil War to discovering that Abraham Lincoln played a key role in passing this law.

The 13th Amendment was passed in 1865, towards the end of the Civil War to try and abolish slavery for good. It was passed as the first Amendment of the “Reconstruction” the period after the Civil War and made slavery illegal in the United States of America. This was passed to try and end slavery in the United States. The law however did pass at the Senate level but did not make it pass the House, which then caused President Lincoln to push and have it go pass Congress. Lincolns actions had the House pass the law in 1865.

“13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865).” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment. 

History.com Editors. History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/thirteenth-amendment. 

U.S. Senate: The Senate Passes the Thirteenth Amendment, 11 Mar. 2022, https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/senate-passes-the-thirteenth-amendment.htm. 

National Geographic Society, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/13th-amendment-united-states-constitution. 

Plessy v Ferguson

 

The case known as Plessy v Ferguson was an important case in American history. A man named Homer Plessy refused to sit in the Blacks only train car even though he was only 1/8th black. This took place in 1896 in the state of Louisiana where Black and White people had to ride the train in separate cars. Plessy fought that the this law violated the 14th Amendment which stated that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." 

This case took place in the "Reconstruction Era" which was the period of time that took place after the Civil War. This time was when slavery was becoming abolished in America and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments arose. These Amendments were created to focus on making sure African American citizens were treated equally. In the state of Louisiana where the Plessy v Ferguson case took place, they had there own la known as "Separate but Equal". This law was made to ensure that the races had everything "equal" but would still be separate. This was believed to still be following the 14th Amendment. 

 

The state of Louisiana declared the "Separate but Equal" doctrine as constitutional, which then caused Homer Plessy to lose this case. The doctrine was claimed to be constitutional as long as whites and African Americans got the same treatment at all places they went to. To the government this was fair as long as everything was equal. Overall, the Plessy v Ferguson case would be seen as unconstitutional now but back then in Louisiana it was seen as there was nothing wrong. 

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/plessy-v-ferguson

"Band of Angels" Reflection

 In the film, "Band of Angels" we got to see and understand a different view of slavery. In the other film we watched known as "Gone with the Wind" we see slaves get treated more harsh and very disrespectfully, in this film we see them get treated like people.

In this film we see a woman named Amanda Starr who had just found out that she was part African American be put up for auction and bought by a man named Hamish Bond. Amanda was then living in Bonds house with other slaves but noticed how respectfully Bond treats his slaves. She refused to believe that all of this had happened to her and refuses to leave her room and even look at Bond. Bond ended up letting Amanda go and even though she left she eventually went back to him because she realized that she loved him.

This movie is mainly about a Southern romance between a "slave" and a white male who became a former slave owner. What we began to notice is the difference in how the slaves were treated in this film vs. "Gone with the Wind". The movies were released almost 20 years apart and we can see the difference in the times.As time progressed we see that slaves were treated more like people and with respect. They were not working under people who would abuse them, they were working for people who actually cared about them. They were housed and clothed and cared for. Overall, based on this film we can see how slaves eventually were treated more as people and less disrespectful.

Town Hall Reflection

 As someone who isn't a huge history fanatic, I actually enjoyed the Town Hall meeting activity. Learning about different historical figures in the slave era was very eye opening to be because it was great to hear about people besides Abraham Lincoln. When I used to think about the slave era I would think about Abraham Lincoln and Rosa Parks, now I learned names from both sides of the argument. We had both pro slavery and anti slavery representatives in this assignment.

Andrew Jackson was one of the historical figures that was named during our presentations. He was known as one of the largest slave owners in the U.S., so the anti-slave supporters hated him. I knew that he served as a President of the U.S. but I didn't know that he was such a big supporter in slavery. Jackson firmly believed that men should have slaves so do all their work for them and that they should just sit back and worship their land. As someone who does not know a lot about past Presidents, I am extremely shocked that people from the north would vote for someone like Jackson as President. We have seen that more people lived in the Northern part of the United States than the South. The North had a lot of anti slavery supporters so after hearing that a President was such a big supporter of slaves I am surprised he was voted for. 

Overall these were just a few things that I learned from the Town Hall presentations. One big thing that I took away was that I learn better from activities like this than textbook readings or lectures. Having an activity that is like this where it is interactive allows me and other students to get involved in learning. Now in the year 2022 slavery is immoral but going back in time and seeing peoples point of views of the idea of slavery makes me have a clearer understanding of how bad it really was. Without this activity I would never have learned what I did.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrew-Jackson

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/abraham-lincoln/