Classroom Post 20

Saturday, December 1st, 2012

In class Thursday, we read an account of John Brown's raid on Harper Ferry, Virgina. Brown was a northern abolitionist who had cone to believe that the only way to end slavery was through violence. So he lead a group down to Harper Ferry, where they killed five people, including a free black man, in order to take control of the federal arsenal. The idea of this was to inspire the slaves to rebel and to arm them, freeing all the slaves in the area in one fell swoop. Of course, this attempt failed. The marines came, led by Robert E. Lee, and captured Brown. He was put on trial in Virgina courts and sentenced to death for treason. He was considered a martyr for the abolitionist cause by northerners. It was interesting to see such a misguided attempt at freeing slaves. Up until this point, the northerners seemed to be rather passive towards the south, with the exception of Bloody Kansas. This seemed to be a very important step towards the civil war.
In class on Friday, we had a substitute. He passed out a packet containing excerpts from several documents from the time, mostly detailing the southerners' opinions about the northerners. It was an interesting read, as it gives some insight as to the minds of those in the south and why they made the decision to from the Confederacy. For the most part, their anger was completely understand. Politicians gave examples of violence from the northerners, their unwillingness for compromise, and the automatic judgement of those who lived in the south. As someone who believes slavery was horrible, it was interesting to see their side of it. It's kind of like how I've always wondered about what England teaches their kids about the revolutionary war, or what Germany teachers their kids about Hitler. It was their side of the events leading up to the civil war, and in a way, their anger was just as justified, although some of their principles were misguided morally.

30-Day Challenge!

Thursday, Day 24: "There it is again. That itch. Go down go down go down go down go down..."
"The urge to jump... You know where it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It was our instincts testing us, calculating whether or not we could reach the next branch."
"No, that's not it. That's too kind... It's not the urge to jump, it's deeper than that... it's the urge to fall." -Doctor Who, series 2, episode 9, "The Satan Pit" (One of the very best episodes in the entire series)

Friday, Day 25: "WINTER GUARD OMG!"

Saturday, Day 26: "No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for like, ten minutes?" -The Incredibles