"...but he and Judge Douglas argue that the authors of that instrument did not intend to include negroes, by the fact that they did not at once, actually place them on an equality with the whites. Now this grave argument comes to just nothing at all, by the other fact, that they did not at once, or ever afterwards, actually place all white people on an equality with one or another. And this is the staple argument of both the Chief Justice and the Senator, for doing this obvious violence to the plain unmistakable language of the Declaration. I think the authors of that notable instrument  intended to include all men."

What Abraham Lincoln is saying, is that Chief Justice Taney and Judge Douglas are arguing that the authors of the Declaration of Independence had never intended to consider all men created equal. They only intended to express that idea in regards to white people. They are basing that argument on the claim that the authors of that Declaration themselves, obviously did not feel that way in their own time when they were writing the document. Lincoln is saying however that even if you could make that argument it is still a bad argument because it is apparent in everyday life at that time that not all white men truly have equality among each other. He goes on to point out that the language of the Declaration is purposely plain and vague in order to include as much as possible. They say "all men" and do not specify any race because they must mean all men. He also calls what they are doing to these words is violence. What he means is that twisting words in this very important document in order to make a point for the sake of a certain agenda in nothing short of maliciously disgracing the ideas that make this country great. Those words were written to explain why one group people has no right to tyrannically rule over another group of people, and to justify why they have the right to govern themselves as their own nation. Using those same words to explain how blacks and white are in fact not equal, Lincoln saw as an act of violence to the Declaration.

I chose this quote because something in the lecture that stood out to me was the fact that all elected officials in higher levels of office came from middle and upper classes. This meant that many needs of the lower classes were not being met because politicians were first taking care of those in the same circle as them and were out of touch with what life in America was truly like for the masses. This relates to what Lincoln said about how even different groups of white people in this country don't truly have equality. There was a class system even among people of the same race which arguably still exists today.

Contrabands of War

Contrabands of war were escaped slaves that fled to Union camps after the Union had moved into the southern states. Many slaves were returned to their masters because the war was not yet over and slavery was not yet made illegal meaning these people were still technically the private property of American citizens. However, many escaped slaves were permitted to stay at the camp and were used mostly for manual labor. They used the word “contraband” as a term to show that they were taking these people away from southerners as an act of war and using them as a resource against their enemies. Many of the “Contrabands of war” proved to be very useful and effective. Calling them contraband, however, still refers to them as property and makes it seem like they are being treated as less than human all over again.

Soon these escaped slaves started setting up camps of their own near the union camps and soldiers began educating adult and children. In 1863 the government began enlisting African Americans as soldiers, and many of these contrabands of war enlisted in the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the war, more than one hundred of these camps existed in Union patrolled areas of the south including one on Roanoke Island where more than 3000 former slaves established a self-sustaining community.

Alfred R. Waud. Contrabands Coming into Camp. Drawing. Chinese white on brown paper. Published in Harper's Weekly, January 31, 1863. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-6173/LC-USZ62-14189 (4-1)

Timothy O'Sullivan. Fugitive African Americans Fording the Rappahannock River. Rappahannock, Virginia, August 1862. Copyprint. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-B8171-518 (4-4)

Contrabands, Camp Brightwood.
Washington, D.C., ca. 1863. Carte de visite.
Gladstone Collection, Prints and Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-6158 (4-9)

 

Fighting For Freedom

Christian A. Fleetwood was one of fourteen black soldiers who fought in the Civil War and received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service. Details of his actions that led to him earning that medal can be found in his journal he kept during his time at war. His journal also includes details about President Lincoln visiting the front lines in 1864.

Many African American troops did not see nearly as much action as they wanted to because much of the time they were used for manual labor supporting the white regiments. However they still participated in many skirmishes and major battles. When wounded in battle they were often treated in areas where supplies were stored instead of being allowed to rest next to wounded white soldiers. Even though they had a hard time getting the pay they were promised and that pay was less than what a white soldier received, these black troops still displayed great loyalty to the Union Army and the cause. Their actions also went underappreciate as only white soldiers received promotions to high ranking positions despite the commendable performances of many black soldiers.

There were also thousands of soldiers that served at sea in the navy during the Civil War. The most famous was named Robert Smalls. He was able to take over a Confederate ship and sail back into Union territory becoming captain of that vessel. He was later elected as a Reconstruction Congressman.

In 1862 the United States government abolished slavery in Washington D.C. with the Emancipation Act. Slave owners were compensated with $300 for each slave they were forced to set free. On the fourth anniversary of the holiday which became known as Emancipation Day, over 5,000 African Americans marched past over 10,000 sheering spectators into Franklin Square where the parade was concluded with ceremonial services. Soon after, the Emancipation Proclamation was passed and all slaves in the Confederate States were declared forever free, even though during the slavery era of this country, free blacks were already forming communites and owned homes and businesses.

First African Church, Broad Street.
Richmond, Virginia, 1865.
Copyprint.
Prints and Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number: LC-B8171-3368 (4-3)

F. Deilman.
Celebration of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, by the colored people in Washington, April 19, 1866.
Wood engraving.
From Harper's Weekly, May 12, 1866. Copyprint.
Prints and Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-33937 (4-11)

Unidentified sailor.
Carte de visite.
Gladstone Collection, Prints and Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-6159 (4-10)

Wounded Colored Troops at Aikens Landing.
Stereograph.
Gladstone Collection, Prints and Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-6157 (4-8)

Frederick Douglas

“When they are dragged from their houses and hung upon lamp-posts: when their children are torn from their arms, and their brains dashed out upon the pavement; when they are objects of insult and outrage at every turn; when they are in danger of having their homes burnt down over their heads; when their children are not allowed to enter schools; then they will have an urgency to obtain the ballot equal to our own.”

In this quote, Douglas is saying that it is more urgent for black Americans to obtain equal rights than it is for women and that the issue needs to be addressed first for blacks before it is addressed for women. He feels this way because he sees the everyday life of a black person as being more much more dangerous than the everyday life of a woman but society targets black people, inflicts more violence on them and has fewer reservations with doing so because blacks have fewer rights protecting their safety. Two examples he gives are the fact that black children are kept out of schools and the fact that black people are often pulled out of their homes and hung until dead for many reasons. He points these two things out among other things as examples of fears not faced by white women but are faced by all black citizens every day. Black children were denied an education and therefore had to work much harder to achieve a lower standard of living because not having equal rights meant they could be kept out of school simply because a particular community decided white people are better than black people. Blacks also had so few rights at the time that if black person committed a crime, was accused of committing a crime are just offended the wrong person for whatever reason, that person could be hung without a trial with little if any consequences to those committing the violent act. He recognizes the importance of women’s suffrage and agrees that it is necessary for women to gain equality, but also feels that the issue should be addressed for black people because in the meantime, blacks are fearing for their physical safety at any given moment and need these rights simply to survive where as women need these rights just to improve the quality of their lives.

I chose this quote because it illustrates just how difficult it was to be a black person I this time period with very clear cut examples. We have been talking about civil disobedience as a method to getting a point across and for a suppressed group that is sometimes the only way to be heard, however it was inspiring to read a passage where a black man was simply stating these horrifying fact to an audience and being heard without having to do something drastic to get their attention and get arrested in the process. It also relates to this week’s material because in the lecture it was said that blacks gained freedom and more rights long before women achieved the right to vote, however we all know that equal rights for all were not officially instated until the 60’s and even arguably to this day, some people and communities don’t recognize equal rights. I agreed while reading the passage that the group that was more in danger should get the political attention first but it would have more productive I think if the two groups stayed united throughout the whole movement as a campaign for equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender or race. They movement started off that way but for several reasons split into two more specialized organizations.

Susan B. Anthony

“And had your honor submitted my case to the jury, as was clearly your duty, even when I should have had just cause of protest, for not one of those men was my peer; but, native or foreign, white or black, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, awake or asleep, sober or drunk, each and every man of them was my political superior; hence, in no sense, my peer.”

What she is saying in this passage is that her trial was unfair and the way it was conducted was inconsistent with the principals governing how a trial should be run. She admits she has broken a law but has done so because it is an unfair law and the only way to show people how unfair it was as a law, was by intentionally and willingly getting arrested for breaking. But even when guilty, someone is supposed to get a trial by a jury of his or her peers. However because the people on her jury had more rights than she, they were by definition not her peers. The benefit of a jury of your own peers is to help ensure that there will be as little bias as possible because it is that much easier to be bias against someone who you hold yourself above. It is easier to discriminate against someone when society has rules in place that encourage discrimination. Having a group of men decide your verdict after being arrested for a crime that is only a crime in the first place because you are a woman seems unfair by design. At another point in the passage she talks about how her closing statement was the very first time through the course of this trial she has been given the right to speak for herself. In fact, during the closing statement the judge continuously interrupted her saying that the court could not allow her to continue, when giving a closing statement is another right that she is supposed to have. So even continuing to talk at her own trial was another form of civil disobedience because she was doing the opposite of what an authority figure was telling her to do and making a point of injustice in doing so.

I think it is a shame how unfair our so called sophisticated judicial system can be even to this day. Truly having a jury of your peers is something extremely difficult to pull off. It is hard enough getting a full twelve person jury of people who actually want to participate, let alone who want to be objective and fair at the same time. If I were on trial for something, I would want a jury of people who do not feel socially or politically separate from me. I want a jury of people whose verdict could affect their lives as well. Men convicting a woman for voting has no impact on their lives because it means nothing changes and they remain in the higher position on an uneven playing field. However, if a man was on trial for an act of civil disobedience, a lot more thought would have gone into that verdict for declaring him guilty could set a president and have an impact on the freedom of all other men, including the men on the jury.

“Now, what are they? Men at all? Or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power? Visit the Navy-Yard, and behold a marine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as it can make a man with its black arts – a mere shadow and reminiscence of humanity, a man laid out alive and standing, and already, as one may say, buried, under arms with funeral accompaniments, though it may be.”

What this quote is saying is that a man who blindly follows orders is no longer a man. When someone only does what they are told by some person in power they have never met and who has no moral grounding, they lose any element of humanity they may have had in the first place. He uses the American soldier as an example. He is saying that the American government has created people using “black arts” or evil ways. He is also saying that people not taking any responsibility for the laws that they agree to follow is the main reason it is even possible to create a soldier. When men have respect for a set of laws without even thinking about what they have respect for, you end up with a group of people who will do whatever they are told and are therefore less human than those who actually consider their actions and strive to do what is right. He is also saying that men should expect to have the right to do what they feel is moral.

I chose this quote because it deals with the dangers of not committing civil disobedience at a time when someone may see it is necessary. I agree that people, especially people who claim to be free, have a responsibility to think for themselves and think about how their actions infringe on the freedoms of others. A failure to do so results in a society of mindless drones at the service of and loyal to a power they have never seen or met and only has its own best interests at heart. This is why Thoreau argues that we not only have an interest in committing civil disobedience, but also an obligation.  I also agree that being free and thinking for yourself makes you more of a human being than mindlessly following a set of rules imsply because it is more convenient and comfortable.

 

Christian Arguments against Slavery

Benjamin Lay was a Quaker who was avidly against slavery and did much through his writing and actions to speak out against slavery. He is best known for writing a book entitled, All Save-Keepers that Keep The Innocent in Bondage, Apostates, which he wrote and published without seeking the proper approval from his community. He also publically declared that the principals in this book were based on Quaker principals without permission which at the time was a serious crime. He was also known for giving a talk during a “Meeting for Worship” or a Quaker service, going into great detail about the evils of slavery. This talk ended with him stabbing a bible with a sword. The bible was rigged so that red juice would come out making it appear that the bible was bleeding. His intention was to symbolize the fact that blood was on Quakers hands for not taking a stronger stance against slavery. As a result he was disowned by his community shortly after. This is related to our reading this week for two reasons. The first reason is that his actions are good examples of civil disobedience. He broke the rules of his community intentionally because he felt they were immoral and willingly accepted the consequences in order to make a point. The reason civil disobedience makes such a big impact is because you are willing breaking a rule. Willingly accepting the consequences is also part of the point. It distinguishes the offender from those committing crimes for personal gain or out of passion by showing that you are willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of doing the right thing. It is also related to our reading this week because like Thoreau, he felt that the people had an obligation to correct laws in their own society that are immoral. He put the blood on the hand of any Quaker who did not take a stance the same way Thoreau felt people who passively accept immoral laws are almost just as much a part of the problem.

 

Slave Stealer Branded

Jonathan Walker was a ship captain who was known for treating slaves and free black people around him with the respect of equals. He was arrested for trying to help seven runaway slaves escape to freedom by using his boat to sail to neutral territory somewhere in the Bahamas. This was a crime because at the time, any runaway slave was supposed to be returned to his or her owner. It was considered stealing someone’s personal property. As a result of committing this crime the U.S. government had his branded with the letters “S.S.” which stood for “Slave Stealer.” He was also jailed for fifteen days which is how long it took for supporters of his pay off a $150 fine. A group of abolitionists even raised money to take care of his family during his imprisonment. This relates to the lecture this week because it is another example of civil disobedience. He saw a certain law as unjust, the law being the right for white Americans to own slaves, and decided to take action against that law. In helping slaves escape he was taking away the legal right for the owners of those slaves to keep their property. He put his life at risk for the sake of freedom. He also risked his family’s safety not knowing that people would step up and help them as well.