Monday

Drawing a Line 

The Compromise of 1820

The Compromise of 1850

Dred Scott vs. Sandford

Runaway Slaves

“Our reason for taking the water
route was, that we were less liable to be suspected as
runaways; we hoped to be regarded as fishermen;
whereas, if we should take the land route, we should
be subjected to interruptions of almost every kind.
Any one having a white face, and being so disposed,
could stop us, and subject us to examination.”

Small Group Discussion:

Chapter X

1. What happened to Douglass almost every week for the first six months that he livedwithCovey?

2. Douglass says that he was "somewhat unmanageable" when he first went to live withCovey. How does Douglass describe himself after he had been with Covey for a fewmonths?

3. Summarize Douglass's thoughts when he looked at the ships on the Chesapeake Bay.

4. What did Covey do to Douglass when he (Douglass) became sick while fanning thewheat?

5. What did Douglass do as a result of Covey's treatment of him? What was the result ofDouglass's actions? What did Douglass do? 

6. What suggestion did another slave named Sandy Jenkins give to Douglass? What didDouglass do?

7. Describe the turning point in Douglass's life as a slave that happened when he was withCovey.

8. According to Douglass, what institution is the "mere covering for the most horridcrimes"? What type of slaveholders are the worst? Why does Douglass think this?

9. Describe Douglass's first attempt to run away. Tell who was with him, what the planwas, how far they got in the attempt, and what happened to each of the men after theywere caught.

10. What trade did Douglass learn? What was his situation at the end of a year of workingatthis trade? What was unfair about this situation

The Biblical Justification of Slavery

• "After his conversion, he found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty” (p. 67). [This is an important point that Frederick continues to make throughout the rest of the narrative.]
• "He would quote this passage of Scripture—’He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes’” (p. 68).

Bibilical Passage from Leviticus

• "Both thy bondman and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have, shalt be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land, and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you to inherit them after you; they shall be your bondmen forever. But over your bretheren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor."

"In almost every instance, the kind of slavery governed by Old Testament law was debt-slavery, where an individual would offer labor in exchange for an outstanding debt that he could not pay. The laws that govern such transactions are given to protect the rights of such slaves, who could only serve for a maximum of six years."

Watch closely and analyze the following clip from Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. What Saturnalian reversal do we see taking place here, and how does Tarantino  make a strong statement against the Biblical justification of slavery? This is brilliant stuff from Tarantino!!

Small Group Discussion:

Chapters XI, Appendix

1. Why didn't Douglass give all of the details of his escape?

2. How did Douglass feel about the underground railroad?

3. Master Hugh sometimes gave Douglass six cents of his wages after he had made sixdollars, supposedly to encourage him. What effect did this have on Douglass?

4. Why did Douglass want to hire himself out, even though Master Hugh took most of thewages?

5. When did Douglass succeed in escaping? Where did he go? How did Douglass feelwhen he arrived in the free state?

6. What motto did Douglass adopt in the free state. Why?

7. Who helped Douglass and what were some of the results of his help?

8. Describe how Frederick Bailey took the name of Douglass. Include all of the names heused, including the name his mother gave him.

9. What newspaper did Douglass begin to read? How did this newspaper affect his ideasand actions?

10. Summarize Douglass's thoughts on the type of Christianity that he calls theslaveholdingreligion.

Homework- Finish the book.

Tuesday

Closing Discussion on Douglass:

Small Group Discussion:

1.Is family history important in shaping a person’s identity? If so, how? If not, why not?

- In the first paragraph Douglass writes, "By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs,” What does Douglass mean in this statement? Then he states, “and it is the wish of most masters to keep their slaves thus ignorant."  Why would most slave masters want this?

- Toward the bottom of the second page Douglass acknowledges, “the whisper that my master was my father.”  Why does he use the word “whisper” in this sentence? Then he writes, “the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers”?  What does he mean by the “condition of mothers” and in what way do “the children of slave women…follow the condition of their mothers”?

- “By this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father.” What is the double relation of master and father?

2. What tools do human beings use to transcend difficulties?

- Describe the living conditions and rations of most slaves on Colonyl Lloyd’s plantations.  How did some slaves supplement their necessities?

- Douglass states, “The same traits of character might be seen in Colonel Lloyds slaves, as are seen in the slaves of political parties.”  In this passage Douglass is referring to the slaves that work at The Great House Farm.  How are they similar to “the slaves of political parties”?  Why does Douglass make this comparison?

- According to Douglass, what does the singing of a slave communicate? How does Douglass feel about slave songs?  In what way is slaves singing misinterpreted by some people? 

3. How does dehumanization render a person powerless?

- Why is Mr. Austin Gore seen as a "first-rate overseer"? Why is this description ironic?

- What does Douglass mean when he says, “"He dealt sparingly with his words, and bountifully with his whip, never using the former where the latter would answer as well."  How do Mr. Gore’s actions reflect the slaveholders’ maxim?

- Douglass states that Mr. Gore’s crime “was not even submitted to judicial investigation.”  Why? 

4. How does education give us power?

- Why does Douglass choose to alter his behavior around Sophia Auld?  How does he act differently?

- How does Mrs. Auld change, and why?

- According to Douglass and Mr. Auld, keeping slaves illiterate allow the slave holders to keep them enslaved.  What evidence do they give to support this claim?

- What does Douglass hope to gain by learning to read? 

5. Why is learning to read is so important to practicing freedom?

- Why is it ironic that Douglass bribed the white boys to teach him to read? How is his life different from theirs?

- Why would Douglass avoid giving the names of the boys who taught him to read?  Why does Douglass find this statement ironic: "It is almost an unpardonable offence to teach slaves to read in this Christian country."

- After reading “The Columbian Orator” Douglass states this about his writings: “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts.”  What does the word tongue mean in this sentence?

- What prediction did the slave holder make about what would happen if Douglass learned to read?  Did it come true?  Explain. 

- When Douglass states, "I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out," What is the horrible pit he speaks of? 

6. Does doing harm to another harm the wrong-doer as well? ch8

- In this chapter Douglass states, "At this moment, I saw more clearly than ever the brutalizing effects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder."  What evidence does Douglass give to support his claim that slavery is brutal for slaveholders as well as slaves?

- In the second paragraph, Dougalss states, “We were all ranked together at the valuation.”  Who are the “we” he is talking about?

- Douglas describes in great detail what he supposes his grandmother’s experience to be after being set out on her own.  Why does he tell this story?  What was the effect of this experience on him?

- Why does Douglass include the poem by John Greenleaf Whittier after he tells the story about his grandmother?

7. How do people justify wrongdoing to others? ch9

- What is different in Douglass’ life that may affect him now knowing the date?

- Thomas Auld violates one of the few rules of decency that most slave owners adhere to.  What is this unspoken rule, and how does it affect Douglass?

- Douglass states of Captain Auld, “After his conversion, he found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty.” How does Captain Auld justify his actions as a slave-holder with religious reasoning? Give examples from the text to support your answer. 

- What does Douglass mean when he says, "Here was a recently converted man, holding on upon the mother, and at the same time turning out her helpless child, to starve and die! Master Thomas was one of the many pious slaveholders who hold slaves for the very charitable purpose of taking care of them."

8. What is humanity? ch10

- When Douglass states that, "Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!"
 how does this passage portray the mental and emotional state of a slave who has been dehumanized? What images does the passage bring to mind?

- Re-read the passage Douglass writes after he fights with Mr. Covey. What does Douglass mean by, “however long I might remain a slave in form, the day has passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.”

- What is the purpose of including the religious imagery in this passage: "from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom"?

- Compare the passage after Douglass’ fight with Mr. Covey to his description of being "broken" by Mr. Covey? How does the language Douglass uses in each passage differ? How does the language demonstrate Douglass’ mental and emotional state during each event?

9. Can people truly rise to great expectations? ch11

- What is Douglass argument about escaped slaves recounting their methods of escape, and what reasons does he give to support his claim?

- At the end of his autobiography Douglass spoke about his initial difficulties speaking publically about slavery: "It was a severe cross, and I took it up reluctantly. The truth was, I felt myself a slave, and the idea of speaking to white people weighed me down. I spoke but a few moments, when I felt a degree of freedom and said what I desired with considerable ease." The Pygmalion effect (otherwise known as a “self-fulfilling prophecy”) refers to he situation that occurs when great expectations are placed upon people, and as a result they perform better. How does Douglass’ belief in himself, and the belief that others have in him, help him to succeed in this new forum of public speaking?

Homework- Read about Manifest Destiny.

Wednesday

Manifest Destiny

Origins of the Term

• Conveniently, in the 1840’s there emerged a term that would renew a sense of national identity, addressing these economic and national demands. In 1845, editor John L. O’Sullivan wrote a powerful and influential essay that presented a defense and inspiration for the seizure of western lands. The movement he describes was not discussed in terms of economic gain or advantage though. He wrote:
• “.... the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federative development of self government entrusted to us. It is a right such as that of the tree to the space of air and the earth suitable for the full expansion of its principle and destiny of growth.”

The "UnTransacted Destiny"

- “The untransacted destiny of the American people is to subdue the continent --- to rush over this vast field to the Pacific Ocean --- to animate the many hundred millions of its people, and to cheer them upward...to teach old nations a new civilization---to confirm the destiny of the human race...

-  "Divine task! Immortal mission! Let us tread fast and joyfully the open trail before us! Let every American heart open wide for patriotism to glow undimmed, and confide with religious faith in the sublime and prodigious destiny of his well-loved country.” - William Gilpin (journalist speaking to the U.S. Senate 1846)

A Capacity for Wonder

• “Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving glow of a ferryboat across the Sound. And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes – a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Wild West

• “But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” - Huck Finn
• “It should not be denied. . . that being footloose has always exhilarated us. it is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west.”--Wallace Stegner

The Emblematic Hero of the West- Daniel Boone

• The emblematic hero of Manifest Destiny was Daniel Boone.
• Frontier scout, real estate speculator, and discoverer of Kentucky.
• Boone was the man who mediated between savagery and civilized authority.
• A midpoint between the “savage” indian and the “civilized” colonizer.

Exodus- Movement of the People

• By the 1850’s, the chief metaphor of Western movement was biblical, and not classical.
• The narrative of Exodus was taken up where the Puritans had left it, and Daniel Boone became Moses, leading the people to the Promised Land.
• George Caleb Bingham, “Daniel Boone Escorting the Settlers Through the Cumberland Gap”

The Course of the Empire

• In 1861, the federal government commissioned Leutze to paint a mural on the west stairway of the Capitol building.
• This particular project was meant to show Northern confidence. 
• The Stars and Stripes being passed at the apex of the painting conveyed that only the Union could carry Americans into the golden future of westward expansion. 

On a Mission from God

• “Manifest Destiny is a nineteenth-century belief that the United States had a mission to expand westward across the North American continent, spreading its form of democracy, freedom, and culture. The expansion was deemed to be not only good, but also obvious ("manifest") and certain ("destiny"). Many believed the mission to be divinely inspired while others felt it more as an altruistic right to expand the territory of liberty. Originally a political catch phrase of the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the territorial expansion of the United States across North America.
• John Gast, “American Progress”

Thursday

Intro to Webquest 

Webquest - Your goal is to have well-supported answers to the following questions and potential essay questions. 

Questions- Read through these questions carefully before you move on to the resources. Once you understand the questions, move on to the resources section and read through those sites carefully. As you come across information that you can use to answer one of these questions, write it down. 

What were the causes of the Civil War?

Causes

How did the North and South develop economically?

Economic Differences Between the North and South

What was the Crittenden Compromise? Was it able to pass both Houses of Congress? Explain.

Crittendon Compromise

Which states seceded before the attack on Fort Sumter?

Secession of Southern States

Attack on Fort Sumter

Which states seceded after the attack on Fort Sumter?

Secession of Southern States

Attack on Fort Sumter

Describe the progression of the secession. What do you notice about the pattern and timing?

Secession of Southern States

Why did the South believe it could win the war despite numerical and other disadvantages?

Southern Confidence

Why did the Confederacy’s bid for international support fail?

Diplomacy and the Civil War

How did the wartime hardship in the North and South contribute to class animosity?

Class Conflict in the Union and Confederacy

What were the major battles and who were the key players? Why were the siege of Vicksburg and the Battle of Gettysburg crucial to the outcome of the war?

Battles of the Civil War

What was the Gettysburg Address and what was Lincoln’s message?

The Gettysburg Address

How did the United States reconstruct themselves after the war?

Reconstruction

Was the Civil War inevitable? Defend your position.

Was the Civil War Inevitable?

Historyplex

The Big Question

The process of compromise that had successfully contained tensions between slave and free states since the nation’s founding collapsed with secession. Why did compromise fail? Discuss attempts to resolve the issue between 1846-61.

Brilliant military strategy alone did not determine the outcome of the Civil War. Victory also depended on generating revenue, material mobilization, diplomacy and politics. In light of these considerations, explain why the Confederacy believed it would succeed, and why it ultimately failed. Despite loathing slavery, Lincoln embraced emancipation as a war objective late and with great caution. Why? In you answer, trace the progression of Lincoln’s decision, considering how legal, political, military, and moral concerns influenced his policies.

Lincoln’s Leadership During the Civil War

Lincoln’s Leadership in Wartime

Homework- Finish Webquest.

Friday

The Legacy of Lincoln - Artists’ reaction to the death of Lincoln

Homework- No homework!