Reconstruction Era EOTO

    The Reconstruction Era is one of the most important era's in U.S history today. The 13th 14th and 15th amendment are also known as the reconstruction amendments which were a huge part of rebuilding the south after the war. The 13th amendment was passed by Congress but wasn't ratified until almost a year later. This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except for those who are actually convicted of a crime. The 14th amendment was passed by Congress on June 13th, 1866 and was ratified over 2 years later on July 9th, 1868. This was actually not a newly written amendment it was actually a previous amendment that was revised and state that "any person born or naturalized in the U.S is a U.S citizen" therefore this amendment gave African Americans rights. The last of the reconstruction amendments was the 15th amendment which gave African Americans the right to vote. Even though this amendment was ratified there were still people trying to prevent blacks from voting. 

The East St. Louis Massacre

On July 3rd in East St. Louis, Illinois a heated labor dispute turned into a deadly rampage where whites began brutally beating and killing A.A. The riots lasted 3 days and the death toll had been 39 A.A’s and nine whites, although many people believe believe over a 100 A.A’s were killed. In a addition 6,000 African Americans were left homeless due to all of the damage caused to the black communities.  This multi-day massacre has been described as "One of the worst cases of labor-related violence in 20th-century American history". In the aftermath of this riot at the end of July over 10,000 African Americans marched in a silent protest through the streets of New York City in condemnation all the massacre.

Pro slavery Vs. Anti Slavery

    My last blog post was written about a man who basically goes against all of my morals. In class we were split into 2 sides pro slavery and anti slavery, then we were split into 2 different topics. One side argued State vs. Mann and the other was Pro slavery people vs. Anti slavery people. My side of the classroom had to take notes on the State vs. Mann case I found myself once again disgusted with our history. The State V. Mann case argued if or if not the slave owner John Mann should be punished by being fined $10 for shooting the slave Lydia in the back. The State started their argument off by saying that a slave owner Arthur William Hog whipped his slave to death for dropping a mango. Arthur was later hung as his punishment, therefore John Mann should also be punished even though Lydia didn't die. The anti slavery side continued by saying that John Mann only made things harder for himself by shooting Lydia because if she can't function, she can't work, he will also have to pay for her to be fixed up, and he could have permanently damaged her so she may never be able to work again. To conclude they said that since John Mann rented Lydia he is liable for the damages he causes to her under the contract he signed.  

    The Pro Slavery side of the classroom arguedon behalf of John Mann saying that he should have the  $10 returned to him because he didn't kill the slave Lydia. During this time Jim Crow Laws were in place which were also known back then as slave codes which stated that the slave can be punished, and the owner can not be punished if they accidentally kill the slave. Therefore John Mann is protected by the laws for shooting Lydia. Back then slavery was for economic purposes so slaves were in a sense property, they didn't even get citizen ship either. To conclude, the side of John Mann stated that even God accepts slavery. Even though religion doesn't hold up in court, the court ruled in favor of John Mann and returned the $10 to him. After hearing the verdict I was in complete shock I really felt that the Pro Slavery side had a very strong argument but I guess laws are laws and there is no bending them. 

James Henry Hammond

My name is James Henry Hammond, I was born on November 15, 1807 in South Carolina. My political career started in 1835 when I was elected to serve in the United States House of Representatives for a year. From 1842-1844 I was the 60th Governor of South Carolina, and following that, in 1857 I was chosen by the state legislature to be the United States Senator for South Carolina after the current Senator died unexpectedly. My term as US Senator only lasted 3 years because South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860.

After marrying my wife Catherine Fitzimmons Hammond I acquired 22 square miles of property, several plantations and houses, and over 300 slaves, along with a boatload of money. I am a democrat and am known best for being an outspoken defender of slavery and a proponent of states rights. I am probably most known for a speech I gave to the US Senate on March 4, 1858, which outlined my famous Mudsill Theory.

The Mudsill Theory states, “In all societies that must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life." This class makes it possible for the higher class to move civilization forward.1 Since my pro-slavery friends and I believe that the Africans are inferior to white people, slavery gives them a purpose, offers them protection, and allows the progress of white society to continue. 

In this speech, which became known as the “Cotton is King” speech, I also say that slaves in the South “are happy, content, uninspiring, and utterly incapable, from intellectual weakness, ever to give us any trouble by their aspirations.”2  The manual laborers in the North who work harder than our slaves are paid very low wages, and are basically slaves, in fact they are worse off  because we provide for our slaves. 

I am a proud pro-slavery southerner who believes that Africans are better off as slaves, and that slavery is necessary to support the elite white class. This kind of support is important so that the whites the superior race can continue to lead our society to greatness!

Supreme Court post

Supreme Court Video

    Before watching this video I honestly couldn't tell you much about the Supreme Court, but after watching it I realized it is much more than any ordinary court room -- it is far more important. The decisions of the Supreme Court tell the President, Congress, and the states what they may or may not do, the decisions of these nine justices become the law of the land. The supreme court gets about 7,000 request to hear cases every year but only grant certiorari to only about 100. My grandfather was lucky and in 1980 his case was one out of those 100. 

    FCC (Federal Communications Commission) V. WNCN Listeners Guild asked the Supreme Court to decide if a group of citizens could stop a radio station from changing its format from classical to rock music. This case came before the Court when they granted certiorari to the US court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In this case, the Court ruled that the Listeners could not prevent the change in format because that would violate the First Amendment rights of the owners of the radio station. One of those owners was my grandfather. I agree with the Court’s decision to allow radio station owners choose the formats for their radio stations because if they didn’t they would be controlling the expressions and voices of the people who own the stations which goes against the First Amendment. 

This video really educated me on how the rulings of the Supreme Court can impact our everyday lives right down to the kind of music we listen to daily.