Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Yesterday in class we talked about Abraham Lincoln and his decision to suspend habeas corpus, or the writ of liberty. He did this because he felt threatened by the actions taken against the Union and against the Civil war. Since the states were in "rebellion" Lincoln deemed it necessary to suspend habeas corpus. This gave generals and officers the right to hold peopl without a just cause. Today in class we focused on the beginning of the civil war, and war leaders such as Lee and Tomas Jackson. Thomas Jackson received the name "Stonewall" Jackson after refusing to move andtreat to Union forces. He is claimed to have stood "like a stone wall" and inspired others to "determine to die here" and "conquer." The Confederates won the first major battle of the Civil War at th Battle of Bull Run. Later, they felt the need to win a battle on northern soil in order to get England to ally with them, which would never have happened anyways.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The past teo days in class we have been focusing on the secession of South Carolina. South Carolina believed they had a just reason to leave the Union because they weren't being listened to and felt targeted by the north. They felt it was their right to leave the Union as they had the right to "alter or to abolish" their existing government. Abraham Lincoln believe that South Carolina had no reason for leaving the Union. All the states signed the Constitution, and all states must agree to void that document. Therefore, South Carolina could not secede because not all states said that it could.

Monday, December 3, 2012

On friday we had a sub. He was from Chicago and said we were all eating unhealthy. We did a packet on secession, which happened when the south wanted to separate from the Union; it was an idea. The packet was kind of confusing because the primary source document didn't really make sense. Today in class we looke at a caricature cartoon about the election of 1860. There were four major parties; northern democrats, southern democrats, republicans, and constitutional party. The republicans were against slavery, while the southern democrats wanted to spread it. The northern democrats wanted to have popular sovereignty. The constitutional party just wanted everyone to get along. Lincoln won the election.


I have reliezed my goal is actually going better than I originally thought. Between dance and track I'm stretching at least once a day six times a week. Anyways, even though I haven't been really doing it all the time, it wasn't a complete waste.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Today in class we read worksheets on John Brown. John Brown was an abolitionist that wanted to take control of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry in Virginia. He was warned against this course of action by Frederick Douglass, and in the end, ten of his men were killed, seven were captured, and five escaped. John Brown himself was sentenced to hanging.

Goal: So I figured out the days I have track and dance I stretch. All the others, not so much.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The past two days in class we focused on the Dred Scott case. Dred Scott was a slave that was trying to sue his masters for his freedom. Unfortunately, he had bad-timing, and if he had addressed the case at an earlier date, he probably would have won. Today in class, we focused on Abraham vs. Stephen Douglas in the Senate race. Abraham was one of the first Republicans, that strongly opposed slavery. Stephen Douglas believed it should be up to the state to allow or abolish it.

My goal: Yeah so my goal isn't going very well. I occasionally do it, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The past two days in class we have been talking about the Missouri Compromise. The compromise gave the Senate equal power between slave states and free states. However, it gave far more land to the free North than it did to the slave South.

My goal is not going well. However, I have been trying to every other day.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The past two days in class, we focused on slavery and how slaves escaped their horrendous predicament. In the early stages of slavery, slaves worked on plantations that farmed cotton, tobacco, rice and other crops. However, when the cotton gin was introduced, the plantation owners focused their attention on cotton, as they could produce more at a time thus making the production more profitable and making the slave owners wealthier. Today we learner about the emancipation, or freeing, of slaves. Most slaves wanted freedom from thei masters, and some, in order to obtain this freedom, ran away. While some did it independently, others relied on the Underground Railroad, which was a system that transported slaves from the south to the free north. Along the trail, there were many stops where black slaves could stay on their journey. These houes were owned by abolitionists, people that wanted to end slavery.


My goal is not going so well. I often find myself feeling that sleep is more important.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The past two days in class we have been talking about slavery. Yesterday, we focused on two actual accounts of slavery; one being from a slave girl, and the other from Olaudah Equiano. The account of the girl is much nicer than Olaudah's story. The girl was a slave, but her master was kind, and her father was in relation to her. He knew where she was, and how she was doing. Olaudah was a child soldier, and then take onto a slave ship and later sold as a slave. He was treated very poorly; he was beaten, forced to eat, and chained together with other slaves. He could not escape for fear of surviving and having a far worse punishment than death. Today in class, we focused on supporters and opponents of slavery. The supporters were both government officials from the south that had some degree of education. The opponents of slavery were poor, not formally educated, and did not hold government positions. They were from middle-east to northern states.

My goal is to stretch at least once a day.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Today in class we watched a voicethread on the paintings and artwork of the American Revolution. Many of the artwork symbollically represented the Revolution, such as aWatson and the Shark. It represented Britain (the shark) and Watson (the colonies) struggling for the advantage. The loss of Watson's leg symbolized the breaking away from Britain, and the outcome was to show that both would be prosperous.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Today in class we talked about the draft of the Constitution. The Constitution basically was a list of reasons why America was breaking away from Britain. This included unfair laws, no representation, and many others.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Today in class we presented our life size replica models. I found everyone's person very interesting,and most of them I did not know. It was a real learning experience. For example, King George in his spare time likes to farm. I though this was strange because he was a King and he spent his time doing common-people things like farming. There is no actual proof that Betsy Ross created the first flag, but was only credited with it. There were many things I learned in class today.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The past two days in class we have been focusing on the events leading up to the Revolutionary War and the war itself. Yesterday in class, we learned about "the shot heard round the world" and read different articles concerning who fired it (personally i think it was the colonists). Today, we learned about the Battle of Bunker Hill, which ironically was fought on Breed's Hill. Although it was ultimately a loss for America, the colonists had less casualties than the British.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Yesterday in class we did another EdCafe. My topic was the Boston Massacre. Compared to the last EdCafe, i think this one was more educational but didn't serve the same purpose. Last time, we focused on our opinions on matters; this time it was trying to learn the facts. There was not time to form or discuss an opinion. It was harder to lead a discussion because the people in your group did not know about your topic, and therefore could not express their thoughts.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Today in class, we were separated into groups and made a google presentation of a topic that we were given. My topic was the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre started when a group of 60 colonists started throwing snowballs at a British gaurd. The gaurd called for help, and accidentally, a few shots were fired. Although the commotion didn't last very long, it was a major turning point in the Patriot's realization that something needed to change about their government and Britain ruling them.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Today im class we did an EdCafe activity. I think it went really well. We, as students, were able to discuss the first ammendment while only reseaeching one part of it. We still learned the other parts of the first ammendment but able to discuss them in depth. The only thing hard about the EdCafe was finding things to talk about. For some things, such as Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly, it was hard to find things to talk about, as these seemed pretty staright forward. It was also difficult to know what to talk about and where the focus should be.

Monday, September 24, 2012

The last day in class we learned about the ammendments of the Constitution. Today in class, we did an activity that focused on a "real life" example. In the activity, we had to find appeals for different cicumstances using different ammendments from the constitution. The ammendments protected people's right such as; freedom of religion, right to a trial by jury, as well as the right to assemble peacefully.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The last two days in class we talked about the Constitution and the Branches of Government and the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. There are three Branches of Government; Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. The Judicial branch challenges laws and decides if laws conflict with the Constitution. The Legislative Branch helps to create laws that they think will be efficient and important for society. They can overpower a presedential veto by a 2/3 vote. The Executive branch reviews a bill from Congress and decides whether or not to put it into action. Today, we learned about the Federalists vs. the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists support the Constitution by saying it's needed to avoid an anarchy. The Anti-Federalists believe that the Constitution would be a step back for the United States. They said that since it has no Bill of Rights, there are no rights for the people.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Today in class we talked about the different Plans brought up to elect and appoint a president of the United States. There were three different plans; the Virginia Plan, th New Jersey Plan, and the Hamilton Plan. The Virginia Plan had one president that was elected by National Legislature. The President served for 2 or more yearsand couldn't run for re-election. The President was allowed to execute laws. The New Jersey Plan involves more than one presidentand they are elected by the United States in Congress. The term is for two or more years, and they are able to control the military and excute laws. The Hamilton involved one president, and were elected by Electors chosen by the people. The president can rule for life, as long as they dont break any laws. The president under this Plan is able to create treaties, start wars, execute laws, and pardon offenses.