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The Abolitionist Movement pt 1
The Abolitionist Movement is said to have started in 1830, however, what its motives(and general goals) were had been around for as long as the problem it was trying to fix had been. Abolitionism was a movement to end slavery but now it was organized and became a form of classification. A person who hated slavery was no longer a fool(or northerner) but rather an Abolitionist. There were two major types of Abolitionists, Radical & Pacifist Abolitionists. -
The Abolitionist Movement pt 2
Then there were peculiar in-betweens like William Lloyd Garrison. He published a newspaper called the Liberator, its main purpose was to spread anti-slavery goals and ideologies. So his approach to abolishing slavery was fairly pacifistic, however, he would have gladly gotten into a fistfight to protect and support Abolitionism. He wasn't the only abolitionist to publish something. Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth (both previously enslaved) published biographies on the horrors of slavery. -
The Abolitionist Movement pt 3
They were taking down the institution by further exposing how atrocious it was. Though the book she published wasn’t a biography from the point of a slave, her book was still very impactful; Harriet Beacher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. The book was about the immorality of slavery and quickly grew to be the second most consumed book in the country, second only to the bible. -
The Abolitionist Movement pt 4
Her book was so popular that the southern states banned reading, selling, purchasing, and possession of the book as they were afraid that it would influence a slave insurrection. Even though the southern states did their best to avoid violence (ie. banning Uncle Tom’s Cabin) they couldn’t escape the Radical Abolitionists. These abolitionists thought that the only way to change the system was to hit it swiftly, directly, and powerfully, the most famous one being Harriet Tubman. -
The Abolitionist Movement pt 5
Harriet was a runaway slave who would periodically return to the south to free slaves via the underground railroad, a series of roads and houses that eventually ended in the free states in the north. Another famous radical was Nat Turner. He led the most successful slave rebellion in American history. He and several other escaped slaves successfully killed 57 white people over the course of two days and eventually escaped to the north. -
The Abolitionist Movement pt 6
The Abolitionist movement came to a close with the passing of the 13th amendment. -
The Alamo pt 1
The Alamo was the first major America-Mexico conflict. A bit of a setup, Texas was originally a Mexican territory. The Mexicans were getting ambushed by native tribes so they fled and invited the Americans to move in to act as a buffer between the Natives and the Mexicans. The land was still owned by Mexico so the Texans had to abide by Mexican law but the Texans didn’t like that because they greatly outnumbered the Mexicans. -
The Alamo pt 2
The Texans wanted to leave Mexico and become a part of the US but Mexico wasn’t a big fan of that, and that’s what led up to the fight for Texan independence and the Battle of Alamo. The Texans, prepared for battle, had set up shop in an old Spanish mission in San Antonio. The battle lasted only 11 days, the Mexicans came out on top. The Mexicans were led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. They killed every single American man stationed in San Antonio. -
The Alamo pt 3
The Mexicans had hoped that the American’s loss would ruin their spirit, but it backfired. The Americans rather rallied behind the loss to seek vengeance. The new forces in Texas captured Antonio(as a prisoner of war) and forced him to sign the treaty of Velasco, this treaty stated that Texas was no longer a Mexican territory. -
The Alamo pt 4
When Antonio was released back to Mexico he basically said that he didn’t want to sign the treaty and only did so because he feared for his life. Mexico invalidated the treaty and that was one variable that went into the Mexican War. -
Prigg v. PA pt 2
Prigg was a bounty hunter chasing after an escaped slave, however, that slave had chosen Pennsylvania as their safe haven. Prigg attempted to capture the slave but that went against local law. Prigg contested this and took Pennsylvania to court. The Court overturned Prigg’s conviction. -
Prigg v. PA pt 1
Pennsylvania was the first state to completely abolish slavery(1793). They passed personal liberty laws which made it illegal to ask a black person if they were free, a slave, or a runaway, it also prohibited the relocation of runaway slaves(bounty hunters or slavers could not capture their runaways and bring them back to their plantation). These laws posed to be a bit of a problem for one Mr. Prigg. -
John L. O’Sullivan/Manifest Destiny pt 1
John L. O’Sullivan started the idea of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the idea that Americans had a God-given right to move West. This led to things like the Oregon Trail(from the East to Oregon), and the Mormon Trail(the East to Utah). This was a fairly problematic idea because it conflicted with several treaties that the US had signed with native tribes. However, westward expansion led to some good things like the California Gold Rush of 1849. -
John L. O’Sullivan/Manifest Destiny pt 2
West-Ward Expansion, though it may have been fortuitous, was also very dangerous, it was a long, treacherous journey. The best example of this is the Donner party. The Donner party was a group of travelers who tried a shortcut that led through a mountain. However, they passed through the mountain during a snowstorm which trapped them on there for days. They ran out of food and had to use cannibalism. Other parties dealt with less severe health problems like dysentery, fatigue, and heatstroke. -
Mexican-American War pt 2
The Americans didn’t like this so they sent troops to the land in between the two rivers, and boom, there was a war. This war acts as a bit of a catalyst in the separation between North and South. The North didn’t like the war because they thought that the South would try to push slavery into any newly gained territories. Anyway, back to the war, the Mexicans lost and were forced into signing the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. -
Mexican-American War pt 1
As stated earlier the fight for Texan independence was the primary thing behind this war. The war started over a border dispute between Mexico and Texas. The Texans wanted to establish the Rio Grande River as the southern border, however, Mexico had said that the real border was the Nueces River(it was farther north than the Rio Grande). In an attempt to prove supremacy the Mexican government sent troops to the land between the two rivers to claim it as Mexican territory. -
Mexican-American War pt 3
This treaty forced Mexico to agree to a business deal that a US Ambassador(essentially), Mr. Slidell, had tried to make 1 year before the start of the war. This treaty ceded New Mexico, Arizona, California, and all the territories north until the 45th parallel to the United States. Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande being the southern border of Texas and the US paid their claims to Mexico. -
Mexican-American War pt 4
Then followed the Gadsden Purchase. The US bought the southern portions of New Mexico and Arizona from Mexico and finalized the US border to look like what it does now. -
Compromise of 1850 pt 1
This compromise was the final work of Henry Clay in response to the North's concerns about the South spreading slavery through newly acquired territories after the Mexican War. This compromise made California a free state, left New Mexico and Utah open for slavery if their populations approved, banned the slave trade in D.C., and set the new Fugitive Slave Act. This new Slave Act was devastating. -
Compromise of 1850
The act said that any black person(free or runaway) could be sent/returned to a plantation if they were simply accused of having run away, this act even subjugated the personal liberty laws in Pennsylvania. When a black person was accused of being a runaway they were taken to court. Judges were paid per case, 10$ to rule them as a runaway and 5$ to rule them as free. There was a very vague description put out, which applied to most black men, this put even free black men in danger. -
John Brown/Bleeding Kansas pt 1
John Brown was a Radical Abolitionist who was spoken to by god. He was sent on a holy war to Kansas to end the expansion of slavery. Kansas was already in turmoil over the expansion of slavery within the state. Unfortunately, the South had already set up shop in Kansas, they had set up Border Ruffians. These ruffians set up camps across the border to keep Northerners out so they couldn’t vote against slavery. -
John Brown/Bleeding Kansas pt 2
This led to what is known as Bleeding Kansas. There was a series of short battles and conflicts between the Northerners and Southerners within the territory. Then came John Brown. His main plan was to inspire local slaves to join his cause. He set himself up in a fort, unfortunately, no rebel slaves joined him. -
John Brown/Bleeding Kansas pt 3
It was just him, his sons, and a few friends, vs pro-slavery advocates. However, he did successfully hold them off for a bit until the US Army showed up and crushed his weak and poorly planned crusade.