Lincoln Homework Questions

Max Miller

1. To what extent was Lincoln "uncompromising"?  To what extent was Thaddeus Stevens (leader of the Radical Republicans) "uncompromising"?  What were they willing to compromise on?  What were they not willing to compromise on?

Lincoln was uncompromising on the basis that he wanted to get the 13th amendment passed and was willing to do anything and everything to secure the votes, despite many setbacks and many people telling him to stop and telling him that the amendment would not get passed. Thaddeus Stevens was uncompromising in the fact that he was strongly against slavery and he was willing to take any pressure that resulted from him being so against slavery. Despite taking a constant barrage or insults he was uncompromising in his beliefs and views never straying from his core value and support for the 13th amendment. They were willing to compromise on a lot of things such as peace talks with the south, but they were never willing to compromise on the 13th amendment always doing things that defend and gather much needed support, but never compromising the amendment itself. 

2. To what extent did the movie provide evidence of Lincoln's perspective as depicted in the Lincoln letters?

The movie provided certain evidences of Lincoln's perspective such as the ones depicted in the Lincoln letters. In the Lincoln letters he is always against slavery on a moral and humane standpoint shown in the movie where he constantly feels sadness for the slaves and knows that what is happening is not right. But In the Lincoln letters he is increasingly in support of a law that would abolish slavery and uses the constitution to back up his claim, because in the constitution it says "all men are created equal" which is uses a lot to support the amendment both in the Lincoln letters and in the movie. Lincoln is also feeling a sense of increasing urgency to have a law passed that would abolish slavery both in the movie and in the Lincoln letters.  

3. Why did Lincoln believe the 13th Amendment was essential?  

Lincoln had always wanted to abolish slavery and he realized that an amendment would be needed to do that since the Emancipation Proclamation did not guarantee the abolishment of slavery in all states. He also believed it was essential because when the southern states joined the union again because their defeat was only a matter of time at that point the chances of the amendment being passed would be extremely slim so it was essential to pass the bill now where the chances of success would be greatest. 

4. How did the film complicate the narrative that the North was against slavery and/or for racial equality, while the South was for slavery and against racial equality?

The film complicated this narrative because it showed that not everybody in the North was against slavery and for racial equality. It showed that people in the North were not always against slavery in fact there was a large divided opinion among the North about the issue of slavery. 

5. For what reasons did people seem to resist the ending of slavery?  Did the film depict this as a matter of concern for property rights, or something else?  

A reason people seemed to resist the ending of slavery was because they were concerned about the repercussions that all of those free slaves would cause and what that would do to the various aspects of life in the United States and how it would change with the freeing of slaves.  

Civil War letters: Max Miller

Civil War Letters

Hazard Stevens first letter to his mother. September 16, 1861. He tells his mother about all that has happened since he first arrived to fight and sends his love to his brothers and sisters.  

The Coast Survey Office sending a letter to Margaret Hazard Stevens offering condolences for the loss of one of her husband Isaac Stevens who died fighting in the war. 1862. The Coast survey office goes on to note the significant achievements and legacy that Isaac accomplished and left behind. 

Hazard Stevens letter to mother. September 16, 1864. He notes how both sides are on the defensive and the only occasional action is skirmishes between both sides. Wishes his love for the family and wants a letter back soon. 

Page 4 of a total of 7 pages written by soldier Hazard Stephens letter to his mother.Written on April 10, 1865. He notes many things such as when General Lee surrendered people were throwing Confederate money in the streets, he also noted how happy he is that the war is over and expects to be home soon. 

Page 3 of 3. Hazard Stevens writes to his mother Margaret Hazard Stevens again. April 17, 1865. Stevens is busy in post war activity and he and his peers are shocked at Lincoln's assassination.  Stevens also desperately wants to see his family and also wants to know his they stand in terms of money. 

These letters are between Hazard Stevens, and his mother who it is clear he loves very much. Hazard Stevens is a soldier for the Union during the civil war. The letters he writes to his mother Margaret Hazard Stevens are written between September 16, 1881 and April 17, 1865. They detail Hazard Stevens journey in the civil war from when he just starts out as a soldier to when the civil war is finished and he is coming home. Margaret Hazard Stevens' husband is also a soldier for the union in the war but ends up being killed. Although we do not have the letters she writes back to her son Hazard it is clear by Hazards response letters that he is very worried about his families well being such as their state of mind and their state of wealth after his fathers passing. Along with his letters detailing his journey through the civil war from start to finish Hazard Stevens is constantly reminding his mother to send his love to his sisters and his other family members as they are very worried about him after his fathers passing. The relationship between Hazard Stevens and his mother is one of extreme worry and adventure as he is excited to tell his mother of all his accomplishments, but he is also very worried about his family and wants to come home as soon as possible and is very eager to come home once the war ends and based on his responses to his mother, she is also very worried about him. Proving that the strength of family can not be separated by a war. If you were in Hazard Stevens situation how would you react? How often would you write to your own family? What would you write about? Would you be as worried for them as they are for you? 

13th Amendment

Max Miller
13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment states "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." in Section 1 and in Section 2 it states "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." Ratified: December 6, 1865. 

The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to slaves in southern states that seceded from the Union. And still allowed for the practice of slavery in the 5 border states that were apart of the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation did give a much needed morale boost it was solely dependent on the Union winning the war against the south. When the Union won the war and the southern states were now apart of the Union once again, the 13th amendment was passed that granted the freedom of all slaves. 


A Man knows A Man- Political cartoon

Sources-
OurDocuments.gov- Where it goes in depth into the difference between the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment
New York Divided Documents website- Primary source database where picture was found
History.com-General Info on 13th amendment

US History-Flag Research

Max Miller 

1.  While the origin of the very first American flag is unknown, On June 14,1777, the Continental Congress established an official flag for the United States. This was called the First flag act. While the design of the first american flag is unknown it is known that it was created by seamstress Betsy Ross. 

2. Upon my research, the United States flag has changed 5 official times, but many changes to the flag have been made since its creation. Changes mostly include an addition and reordering of the starts to accommodate new states. I knew that the flag had been changed many times because of the addition of new states but, I was surprised to find out that the flag has only officially been changed 5 times, Two acts of congress and 3 executive orders from presidents since its creation. 

3. A number of factors contributed to the look of the flag, such as the stars and stripes and the addition the new stars for new states. My research lead a surprising discovery, there is no official reasoning or meaning to the colors used in the flag, but there are many different people who claim what the colors mean although there are different claims.

4.
A: Today the United States flag stands for many different things, my research of what people think the meaning of it are lead me to different articles where people say that the flag means a variety of things, such as a pro-war symbol, a symbol for nationalism, and popularly today as a form of protest, but a common thread among the majority of my readings agree that the flag stands for freedom.

B:  The flag of the United states has been around for a while and has developed many nicknames to compliment it, such as; stars and stripes, old glory, red,white and blue, and the American Flag I was surprised to find out that the proper term is "the Flag of the United States of America" and the American Flag is correctly a nickname. People are not certain where these names originated from and I think that can tell us that the flag has been around for a very long time thus it picked up alternative names.

C:Popular music mentions the flag a fair amount, I think that this is because the flag is a very popular symbol that is used to associate with freedom, and it shows the pride and nationalism of some artists.

5. In my opinion I think that the evidence that shows that the flag is generally understood, as something worthy of respect would be the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem where people look at the flag with respect every time.

6. My research lead me to the conclusion that the Flag itself is not a controversial symbol, with some exceptions. But it is agreed that there are disrespectful ways to use the flag that are argued about, an example of this would be using it to protest mainly burning it as a form of protest.

These American Flag themes sunglasses is only 1 product among the many sold on Amazon

Sources:
Huffington Post: 13 unknown things about the US flag
US News: The politics behind the US flag specifically the History
Britannica: Great complete source about the majority of the things that relate to the flag
US Flag.org: Where a lot of my general information was from 

Annotated and Annotated sources

Annotated definition 

Merriam Webster 

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word "annotated" means: to make of furnish critical or explanatory notes or comment. 

In the Cambridge dictionary the word "annotated" means: to add notes or remarks on a piece of writing:

Cambridge 

Also according to Collins it says "supplied with critical of explanatory notes"

Citation

1. When Bess is citing his sources, the first time he needs to cite something he will completely cite something, but if he has to cite something more than once he will abbreviate it the second time and so on. He considers a complete citation; title, last name, page number, year published and publisher.

2. Based on these examples, annotated means that, the author put his own less formal personal thoughts and opinions into the writing through his footnotes and citations used.

3. Yes, there are sources in the notes that are not mentioned directly and explicitly in the text itself. The rule that makes that determination is that if the same information is used in a different way or it appears on a different page then it required a separate citation for the same information.

4. There are sources in the notes that are not mentioned directly and explicitly in the text itself, The Sermon quoted in Henry,"Banishing the Coercion of Despair" because it was 3rd source, and Rene Girard because the information from Rene Girard was not directly read by Bess instead it was in Milgrams' research which was already cited so there was no need to cite the information by Girard.

5. While Bess is working with many primary and secondary sources extensively, his work is original because although he uses many sources he applies his own ideas to his argument using more than one source to support the argument that he makes. 

Introduction to Text:Max Miller

1. My event, the Louisiana purchase is in chapter 7 of the text, on page 231 and 232.

2. My topic can be found under the heading "The Federalist Legacy" and the subheading "The Diplomacy of John Quincy Adams.

3. The Louisiana purchase is discussed as a product of the federalists and all of their achievements, saying how it was one of their greatest achievements, and all that it did for the country. It is also an example of the legacy that the federalists left.

4. Upon reading the section, I learned that John Quincy Adams helped negotiate the treaty that ended the War of 1812, and how the Louisiana Purchase helped eliminate the threat of border wars.

6. Book

7. 
Louisiana Purchase land

8. The purpose of today's work is to practice using the blog while learning more about our timeline event, using the textbook and its features such as; headings,subheading,images,captions and index