EOTO/Trial Reaction

During the reconstruction era, African Americans were free from slavery, and granted citizenship. However, this was not the end of racism and segregation.The Jim Crow era began and African Americans were treated terribly. They would be beaten up and sent to prison for so much as using the same public accommodations.

The Case of Plessy V Ferguson:  Homer Plessy is an octoroon, which means he could often pass as a white man. In the state of Louisiana there are railroad segregation laws and Plessy bought a first class ticket on  the white cart. He was beaten up and arrested. This case made segregation legal under the separate but equal doctrine. 

While this did hinder the African American population during the Reconstruction Era, there were some things that came to their benefit. One of these is the 14th Amendment. This Amendment to the Constitution granted citizenship and equal rights to all persons born in the United States of America. This provided African Americans with legal protection against being enslaved, or being dehumanized. It forbade states from depriving them of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

EOTO 14th Amendment

    The 14th Amendment was submitted for ratification on June 16, 1866 and was finally ratified on July 28, 1868. This amendment to the constitution was also known as the Reconstruction Amendment. It granted citizenship to all persons, including the formerly enslaved, born or naturalized in the U.S. It prohibited states, specifically southern states, from denying African Americans life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It also nullified the Three Fifths Compromise by granting African Americans citizenship.     

   Later sections of the Amendment allowed the federal government to punish those states who violated their citizen’s rights to vote. States would do this by reducing their representation in congress. Section three states that, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability”. 

    One more thing that the 14th Amendment did was state that the federal and state governments did not have to pay any debts incurring from the former confederate states. Section 4 states, “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void”. Section 3 prohibits former civil and military office holders who supported the Confederacy from holding any state or federal office. Section 5 allows congress to enforce these regulations by stating that, “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article”. 

   Overall, the 14th Amendment benefited the African American community by allowing them to finally be considered citizens of the United States and prevented all state governments from taking away their life, liberty, or property. 

Trail/EOTO Reaction

   

     Both the trail and EOTO presentations were executed very well. It was incredibly interesting to hear about pro and anti slavery arguments in very different ways. The mock trial allowed for students to create their own arguments for both sides and almost pretend to be an attorney back in the 1820s and 1830s. The EOTO was almost lecture styled. Students would create presentations and teach their peers about events that both helped and hindered African Americans during the civil war. 

    One of the trial arguments that was very strong and really stuck out to me was the "victim blaming" argument. This was a side to the trial process that I was very familiar with; however, I was not familiar with this style being used in a trial over the debate about slaves rights. I felt that this form of argument really relates to recent cases. 

    A topic in the EOTO lectures, that was interesting to learn about, was the Missouri Compromise. I had briefly written about the Missouri Compromise in my historical overview, but it was cool to learn about it a little more in depth. The Missouri Compromise really hindered African American slaves because it gave the state of Missouri the freedom to become a slave state. While it stated that Maine was a free state, it started a major sectional antagonism  between the northern and southern states in the U.S. 

Gone With the Wind Reflection

 

  Gone With the Wind is a historical romance movie which was an adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel. It takes place in the old south during the Civil War and later, the Reconstruction Era. This film stares Scarlett O'Hara, who is the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. She lives with her family and her slave mammy. She falls in love with a man named Ashley Wilkes, who later marries his cousin. Scarlett later marries a man named Charles to make Ashley jealous. Charles enlists in the Confederate Army, and later dies. As a newly widowed woman, Scarlet begins to show interest in Rhett Butler, a man she had met at Ashley's engagement party. As the Union army destroys the city of Atlanta,  Scarlett finds her deserted hometown, and vows to protect her family. 

    This film portrayed a different side of slavery that is not commonly talked about. It shows the house workers as oppose to the field workers. Mammy is one of the characters that represents a house worker. The women generally worked in the house as maids, nannies, etc. These women basically raise the children and in some cases worked as wet nurses. This was something that really resinated with me while what Mammy's character. 

  Another scene that resinated with me was when Scarlet danced at the charity event. Charles had just passed and there are specific rules set for those in mourning. When Scarlet danced in her all black dress those rules were violated, but she did so anyway. This was a very powerful scene for me to watch, it truly felt like I was in that time period watching this moment. 

Town Hall Reaction

 

          The town hall meeting presentation was a very interesting way to learn about the constant and very tense debate over the abolition of slavery. It was amazing to see all of my peers commit  to their characters while teaching us about their figures beliefs and arguments. The arguments were well constructed and really reflected the historic figures' opinions, actions, and contributions to the debate. 

        I decided to research Nat Turner, a slave that led a very gruesome insurrection that ended with many white families brutally murdered. I found it very interesting to be able to go more in depth on the thoughts and feelings of an enslaved African American man. Reading and reciting some of Turners confession was very moving and provided an explanation of why he did what he did. 

 

  One presentation that really resinated with me, was Abby Elburn's. Abby presented as Harriet Tubman and taught us about her journey to freedom. One thing that I had learned was that Harriet Tubman had narcolepsy. It was very interesting to learn more fun facts about everyones characters; it really helped me understand why they were on either side of the debate.