Classroom Post 19

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

In class yesterday, we studied the Scott v. Sandford case of 1857. Dred Scott was a slave who sued his owner for freedom, as other slaves had done at the time. Scott had a family and had been brought to a free state to live and work as a slave, then brought back to a slave state. He was suing his owner for "false imprisonment" and battery, mainly arguing that because slavery was prohibited in free states, he had become free when his owner moved there. When he was taken back into slavery states, he argued that it was against his will. As the case traveled up through the courts, the main debate became as follows: are slaves people, and therefore would be affected by such laws, or were they property, in which case their owners could take them wherever they wanted without a problem. Unfortunately for Scott, the supreme court ruled that slaves counted as property, and he was deprived of his freedom. This was a result of the political climate after "bloody Kansas" and other violent incidents leading to the civil war.
In class today, we watched a movie clip of the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, two candidates for the Illinois senate position in 1858. Douglas wanted to be President someday, so his way of getting votes and pleasing everyone while still addressing the slavery issue was to never voice his own opinion on slavery, but to answer every question concerning views on slavery with something along the lines of "I believe the people should decide." He even says at one point that the best way to be a country would be if every state did it's own thing and left the others alone. Lincoln, on the other hand, was clearly against slavery, although not for black rights. He believed that the Declaration, which said that all men are a created equal, entitled the blacks to their natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was cool to watch the debate reenactments, and I was actually engaged in what was being said and the climate around the debate. I think we should do more of that, if it's available.

30-Day Challenge!

Tuesday, Day 22: "And one day, Buttercup realized that whenever Westley said 'as you wish,' he was really saying 'I love you.'" - Princess Bride

Wednesday, Day 23: "I can see that we will share all that love implies. We will be the perfect pair, rather like my thighs!" - Gaston, Beauty and the Beast on Broadway