White Like Me

Today in class we watched a documentary called "White Like Me" it is about what it means to be white in america. In the beginning of the documentary they discuss the campaign of a Neo nazi and KKK member who tried to run for senator and governor of Louisiana. Whilst the man lost every election he participated in he got 60% of the white vote which is both disgusting and astonishing. 

The documentary then delves into the subject of how white people are treated in the hierarchy of society and how black people are treated in society. It concludes that white people are in the top rung of society whilst black people are in the lowest rung of society in the eyes of white people. 

The documentary goes on to say that as white americans we are born with better opportunities and a better quality of life then those of african americans. It goes on to say that since the founding of the United States african americans have been treated extremely poorly and much differently then there white american counterparts. It then starts to discuss the education system and the differences between white americans and black american students. It says that white students generally have it much easier then their black counterparts because there is no stereotypes it is just a normal white kid going to school and learning, however when it comes to black students there are many stereotypes which play into how black students preform in school. 

This documentary really shows that as white americans we really have no concept of the hardships african americans have gone through in the past and still go through to this day as citizens of the United states. We as white Americans have it easy so to speak, and cannot comprehend how hard it is to be a black citizen in this country. 

Klansville USA

Today in class we watched a documentary on the Ku Klux Klan. This documentary is specifically about the KKK during the 1960's in North Carolina, which became known as Klansville USA.

The KKK formed out of the wake of the civil war. It was formed by a group of decommissioned confederate officers in Tennessee in the year 1865. However the government quickly cracked down on KKK violence and the clan went dormant for about 50 years until the 1920's. The KKK's membership exploded in the 1920's it grew up to 4 million people in the united states. With that many members they helped control political elections and many other important social issues.

By the 1960's the KKK was a very strong organization, but the civil rights movement also became very big and clashes began to happen. As the civil rights movement grew the KKK grew right along with it. The KKK held hundreds of rallies and meetings in just north Carolina alone in the 1960's, these meetings could rally hundreds of thousands of people all in support of the KKK.

Eventually the clans strength greatly diminished after the leader was accused of siphoning money away from the KKK. Many of the members left the KKK shortly after he was found guilty of said embezzlement. However even in todays world the clan is still prevalent and is still in existence although not nearly as strong as they once were.

The March

The south was an awful place for African Americans even after their emancipation from slavery. This treatment and segregation of African Americans reached the tipping point in the 1960’s. Leaders like Martin Luther king Jr. Lead the march for the equal and just treatment of African Americans. Dr. King wasn’t the only leader fighting for the fair treatment of their people, many young people took up arms so to speak and helped lead the fight for their rights. Even white leaders were on the forefront of fighting for African American rights.

The way African Americans sought out justice was through peaceful mass, and minor demonstrations and marches. These demonstrations and marches paved the way for changes to happen, these changes didn’t happen after one or even 10 demonstrations and or marches but instead it happened after the constant marches and demonstrations that kept going on throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The exception was the march on Washington because that one demonstration and March drastically effected the movement for the fair treatment of African Americans. So many iconic things happened at this march, so many famous speakers and singers, and leaders spoke and were heard. Dr. Kings “I have a dream” speech was given at that march.  This event was the crucial turning point in the movement. And in my opinion the straw that broke the camels back and caused the necessary changes that were being sought after for so long.

A year after the march on Washington the civil rights act of 1964 was passed and African Americans got what they had been fighting for, for so long, Fair treatment under the law.

Fifth Blog Post

Todays blog post is going to be about the moot court going on in todays class. The moot court in todays class is Plessy V. Ferguson.

The first side of the argument is on the side of Plessy and is being argued by team Reagan. A black man who bought a ticket for a train ride, more specifically he bought a ticket for the white luxury cabin on the train which was illegal for black people to ride on and in. Plessy was arrested by police for this act. This team argues that the train company purposely set Plessy up willingly selling him a ticket in the luxury cabin, having an undercover officer in that train car ready to arrest Plessy among entrance to said train car. They argue that african americans under the law are said to have equal rights but in fact do not share equal rights white citizens.

The second side of the argument is in favor of ferguson and is being argued by team Red white and better than you. They argue on the side of the state and there argument is as follows. They argue that this is not a federal regulatory issue and having separate black and white train cars is for the publics safety, because there were so many african americans in the southern states. They also argue that its the states right to protect the publics safety and segregating train cars does just that by eliminating the possibility of conflict between white and black citizens. They also say that the act of Plessy buying a ticket for the white train car was not a set up on behalf of the train company instead it was actually a planned act by the civil rights group that Plessy belonged to. (Winners)

Fourth Post

Today in class we watched a documentary on the starting causes of the civil war. The civil war was a war between the northern and southern states of the united states. The southern states seceded from the union and tried to create their own independent confederate republic. The north would not let this happen and attacked to add them back to the united states. The civil war was the bloodiest war in the history of the united states and took the lives of over 600,000 soldiers and even more civilian casualties. This is not the most in depth description of the civil war but this post is about the causes of the war rather than the war itself.

Now that we have a simple background of what the civil war actually was lets look at some of the causes of the war.
Cause 1- Slavery
A) The north apposed slavery, and did not allow it.
B) The south depended on slavery, and considered it a way of life and a necessity.
C) The souths primary source of income was the farming of cotton and tobacco, this required many laborers, and in the south those laborers were slaves. Slaves therefor drove the southern economy and way of life.
Cause 2- The abolitionist movement up north.
A) Southerners detested northern abolitionists, and there movement, as it caused uprisings and insurrection among southern slaves, which made up a third of the southern populace.
B) The abolitionist movement encouraged southern slaves to escape to the northern free states, as well as painting southern slave owners as barbarians.
Cause 3- Women
A) Women lead a lot of the abolitionist movement, this angered southerners greatly as they did not value women and felt that it was a slap in the face the they held power over them.
Cause 4- Slave holding, and free states
A) Decisions about which states would be free states and which states would be slave holding states caused serious conflicts between northern and southern people.
Cause 5- The election of Abraham Lincoln as President
A) Southerners detested Lincoln
B) fearing that southern states will not be represented fairly they start to secede and create the confederacy.

Third Post

Court case State V Mann:

Defendant: John Mann

Crime Charged: Assault and battery

Chief Defense Lawyer: No record

Chief Prosecutor: No record

Judge: Thomas Ruffin

Place: North Carolina

Date of Decision: December 1829

Verdict: Judgment reversed, and judgment entered for the defendant

SIGNIFICANCE: A Southern judge with little sympathy for slavery rendered a powerful and logical pro-slavery opinion, further entrenching Southern slavery, while opening it to Northern attack.

North Carolina had fewer slaves than most other states in the future Confederacy. But in the two decades leading up to the Civil War, that state's Supreme Court produced one of the most notorious pro-slavery opinions in American history.

In 1829 Elizabeth Jones, who owned a slave named Lydia, hired her out for a year to John Mann of Chowan County. Lydia was unhappy with the arrangement, and at one point Mann decided to punish her, possibly by whipping her. But Lydia escaped during the punishment, and began to run away. Mann shouted to her, ordering her to stop, but Lydia continued to run. Mann then shot and wounded her. Such, at least, was Mann's story.

The circumstances were so odd, however, that a local grand jury took the unusual step of indicting Mann for assault and battery against a slave. During the trial, the judge told the jury that if it believed that the punishment Mann inflicted was "cruel and unwarrantable, and disproportionate to the offense committed by the slave that, in the law the Defendant was guilty," particularly since he was not even her owner. This is obviously exactly what the jury thought, for it found Mann guilty. Mann then appealed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Thomas Ruffin was the chief justice of that court, and the appeal put him in a very bad position. He disliked the idea of slavery, and he was horrified that a white man had used such violence against a black woman. On the other hand, he could not escape the fact that slavery was perfectly legal in North Carolina. Torn between his sense of justice and his sense of duty to the law, he penned a startling opinion.

"A Judge cannot but lament, when such cases as the present are brought into court," he began. "The struggle … in the Judge's own breast between the feelings of the man, and the duty of the magistrate, is a severe test." But despite his veiled denouncement of the evils of slavery, Ruffin then proceeded to side with the law. "It is criminal in a Court to avoid any responsibility which the laws impose. With whatever reluctance therefore it is done, the Court is compelled to express an opinion upon the extent of the dominion of the master over the slave in North Carolina."

Read more: State v. Mann: 1829 - In Defense Of Slavery - Court, Lydia, Judge, and Carolina - JRank Articles http://law.jrank.org/pages/2446/State-v-Mann-1829.html#ixzz3RSTjd3FA

Class Findings:

Group Trippy- Arguing on behalf of John Mann they argue the owner has absolute power over his or her slave. Therefor John Mann had the right to do whatever he wanted to his slave, even though it was only a leased slave. And the fine that was imposed on him was wrong because the whole case was invalid on the pretext that he was within his lawful rights to do what he wanted to his slave. On top of this they argue that the judge himself broke Carolina law by ruling in favor of a fine on Mann. (Winners of the case)

Group Starbucks- Arguing on behalf of the state, the state found that Mann was not the absolute owner of the slave because it was a lease not an outright ownership to mister Mann Therefor the fine imposed on him was valid under the law. They argue that this is a moral case, they argue that people are not property because it is implied that property can not think for itself weather it be a pen or a pig, however a person can think for themselves weather that person is a slave or not. They also found in the bible that owning slaves is punishable by death. (D.J. Killed it with his argument and in my opinion would have won the case for his team.)

Second Post

Todays post will about the issues and conflicts arising in France, or I should say that have been arising for a while. In France today specifically in Paris, there has been a drastic rise in anti semitism and anti muslim thought and actions. Just two weeks ago there were 2 Jewish hostages taken shortly after the terrorist attack and hostage taking in a school in Paris.

I think things in France are quickly deteriorating and the world will soon see a great deal of conflict in Europe and especially in France. Only time will tell but it will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

That will be all for my post for today, stay tuned for my next one.