Town Hall Reaction
The Town Hall was great to listen to and watch. All the students portrayed different key figures and their voices to persuade their point of views on pros and cons of slavery. This topic was a very complex subject because it's a dark subject in the United States history.
Most of the leaders like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John C. Calhoun, and Jefferson Davis was for pro-slavery. The reason for their beliefs is that they thought they were providing the common man with the benefit of cheap labor. The enslaved workers helped keep faming alive in the country. This was also great for helping provide food on the table for the owner's families. A lot of the leaders felt that this was acceptable because the slaves were paid with water, food, and a place to live for their services. This helped with the economy to have slaves working on the farms and plantations because it was hard to recruit white laborer to the farm. There were also many leaders including John Breckinridge, saying that since slavery was not mentioned in the bible negatively, it was acceptable. John Calhoun felt he was protecting his white Southerns by defending American Slavery. They felt the value slaves gave to their owners is larger than the value of their freedom.
Slaves did not feel like they were protected. They were treated like property. Slaves got abused and beaten to keep them in line especially if they were working too slow or tried to run away. One slave that was lucky enough to escape from Maryland was Frederick Douglass. He taught himself to read and write and went on to become a prominent activist, author and public speaker.
Abraham Lincoln was by far the great abolitionist! He was against slavery. He felt it was an injustice, and that all people should be treated equal. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, calling to liberate all enslaved people in the United States. Millions of enslaved people were declared forever free. Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War and his commitment to ending slavery marked a turning point for American history.
Reference links:
No comments:
Post a Comment