Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War

Louisa May Alcott’s Experience as a Civil War Nurse, and Her Writing Career

December 1862 - January 1863

“Georgetown Hospital was, like most army hospitals at the time, an inherently unhealthy place. It was damp, stuffy, and stinking, inadequately supplied, crowded, chaotic, and filthy”.This is an example of what it was like for Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War which took place in the 1800s. Before I started my research I didn't know much about Louisa May Alcott. I heard Mrs. Gleason talking about a book, about a Civil War nurse, which happened to be Louisa May Alcott. This caught my interest right away. I decided that I wanted to research her. From there I did some background research, and it lead me to the topic question, what did Louisa May Alcott do in the Civil War? My topic relates to class because in class we are learning about the Civil War and Louisa May Alcott was a nurse during the Civil War. This topic matters to me because I have been interested in going into the medical field for a while. My Nana is a great Nurse and I want to be as amazing as her someday. Nursing has always interested me and I wanted to find more out about the nursing and medical care during the Civil War.

Nancy Porter. “Louisa May Alcott in her mid-twenties, `Jo` of Little Women.” Nancy Porter Productions, Inc. http://www.alcottfilm.com/louisa-may-alcott/photo-gallery/

This is Louisa May Alcott in her mid- twenties

To read more, click here

Who is Abdul Rahman, the Prince Among Slaves?

This is a picture of Prince Abdul Rahman. 

Valleys, Mountains, and Beautiful Things

Abdul Rahman lived in the capital, Futa, Jallon, Africa. There was many valleys and mountains. Rahman described it as a beautiful and urban area with a strong government. He had an education was wealthy, and the descendant of a king. He lived with his wife and child. Rahman was a Prince and the commander of 2,000 men. 

Captured and Sold

Rahman and his army just defeated their enemies and were on their way home when they got ambushed. Rahman said his men dropped like rain. They were ambushed by a rival of their tribe, rahman's father's enemies. They dragged Rahman and his men to sea, barefoot. They were sold as slaves for gun powder, muskets, and rum. All the captives were put in a dark dungeon, chained and crammed. Dead bodies were thrown overboard. There was little food. Many had cuts and wounds. 

Life of a Slave

Thomas Foster is a hard working business man and farmer. The captives from the ship were now being sold in the Americas. Thomas bought two slaves for 930 pesos. One of those slaves was Abdul Rahman. The other slave was one of Rahman's men. Foster lived in Mississippi, but he was from South Carolina. Abdul was rich, and then poor when coming to the Americas. Rahman tried to explain to Foster that he was a prince, but he took it as a joke and started calling him Prince. Rahman tried to escape the plantation but he soon realized that the return to Africa would be impossible. He was no longer a prince. Rahman returns to the plantation because he realizes that his old life is gone and he has no where to go. Surprisingly, when he returns he doesn't get a punishment. Abdul gets married and has nine children. Abdul brought a lot of success to the plantation. He was familiar with the cotton crop and he could plant a lot of cotton from the skills he learned in Africa. Abdul wanted to earn some money so Foster allowed him to sell crops and vegetables that he grew. One day when Abdul was at the market selling crops, John Cox recognized Abdul. John served as the ships servant that Abdul was brought over on. Abdul saved him. John asked Abdul to go to his house but Abdul said he couldn't leave his potatoes. John offered Foster money to free Abdul but Foster refused to sell him because Rahman keeps all the slaves in check and if he sold him his profits would go down. Abdul brought so much success to the plantation so he would never sell him. Andrew Marschalk is from New York and he is a newspaper publisher. He brought a printing press with him. Rahman asked him if he could send a letter to his family back in Africa. Rahman finally sends a letter to his family. What makes him do this is he starts thinking about his future. His family would be torn apart. Foster raped his daughter. He is concerned about the future generation.  Andrew ends up publicizing Rahman's story. 

Return to Africa

Foster finally decides to free Rahman, but only under one condition. Rahman has to go back to his country and can never go back to the US. Rahman goes to the North, where he meets President John Quincy  Adams. Rahman told his children before he left that he would buy them free. Rahman went to Ohio. That was the first time in his life that he was in a place with no slaves. John Quincy Adams says he will give rahman money to purchase freedom for his children. But he soon declines when he finds out that Rahman isn't really from Morocco. The American Colonization Society is an organization that helps former slaves/free blacks get back to Africa and try to spread Christianity. Rahman goes to work in boston with Donald Walker to earn more money. In the end, his plight to free his children is unsuccessful. He sadly only raised half of the money he needed to free his children. Rahman returns to Africa without his children, but now Rahman is free. 

Bibliography

Prince Among Slaves. Dir Bill Duke & Andrea Kalin. PBS. 2008

Shayla Flannery Twenty Dollar Bills Harriet Martineau

      In History, we had to imagine that the United States Treasury intended to issue limited editions of bills honoring important figures in the struggle for democracy in American history. They were seeking nominations for people who played an important role in American history in the early 19th century whose impact has been forgotten or ignored. I think Jackson should be replaced on the twenty dollar bill after the limited edition series is over for many reasons.
Jackson was very popular with the people. Ten of thousands of people went to his inauguration. Mostly, everyone was thrilled he was president. Some people considered him man of the people. Some reasons of how he was a man of the people are, he was a war hero. People liked that. People also wanted to be heard. He was also considered not a man of the people. One why is, he wasn't representing ALL the people. He didn't represent African Americans, and Native Americans.
Jackson played a big roll in the patronage/spoils system. Overall, I think that Jackson used patronage/spoils system. In Document I, Jackson appointed a former criminal, Swartwout, to collect taxes in New York. Swartwout was a supporter of Jackson. He stole $1.2 million and ran. This is blatant patronage/ spoil system. Jackson gave a supported a job and he stole an enormous amount of money.
Jackson was against Indians living on 'their land'. He said Whites wanted to settle there, and in Georgia, and even more so when they find gold. Some say that Cherokee isn't actually a nation and can't claim to own that land. Cherokee wanted to stay so they became civilized. Some things they did to become more civilized were, they worked to make themselves fit into society, dressed like whites, learned to speak, read and write English, built their homes in white style (log cabins), and learned to farm in white style. Cherokee brought a case all the way to the United States Supreme Court saying their removal was illegal. The Supreme Court sided in their favor. Andrew Jackson ignored their ruling. This is yet again, another reason why Jackson should be replaced on the twenty dollar bill.
Jackson should be  replaced on the twenty dollar bill after the limited edition series is over because he didn't represent all the people, used patronage/spoil system, and ignored the Supreme Court's ruling about Indian removal.

This is a picture of Andrew Jackson. Who should be better known as 'King Andrew I'

Revolutions of 1830 and 1848

1)       In class, we did a project on The Revolutions of 1830 and 1848. Each group had one revolution to focus in on. What caused the Revolutions was social and political discontent. It sparked revolutions in France and also inspired revolts in other parts of Europe. My group studied The French Revolution of 1830. French Revolution of 1830 link

2)       Some historians have concluded that the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 were failures. However, I think that they should receive some credit for progress in the long struggle toward greater democracy. For example, the Polish Revolution wasn't as much of a failure as people claim it to be. It is said that Poland was a failure because they gained independence but, Russia soon came and took their independence from them. It wasn't a failure because their revolution inspired other countries to fight for their independence from foreign powers. Also, people rallied to ideas of their country, like patriotism. Another example is, the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Their Revolution wasn't a failure because Belgium gained their independence from Holland. They also had their own constitution. That is one step closer to democracy! Also, they are still independent today. The last example is the Hungary Revolution of 1848. People might say that some evidence of failure is, Hungary was taken over by Austria. They tried to win independence from Austria but failed. Yes, that is true but, Louis Kossuth created a declaration, which is one step closer to a democratic government. Those are some reasons why I think the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 should receive some credit for progress in the long struggle toward democracy.

3)

This is a picture of Louis Kossuth. He was the President of Hungary. He created a declaration of freedom of the press. He also created a declaration of independence. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajos_Kossuth#Success

Friday's Activity and description of Communism Vs. Invisible Hand

On Friday's class we did an activity with Hershey kisses. Mrs. Gleason passed out Hershey kisses. Some people had three. Some people had two. Then, two people had 10. The kisses were distributed unevenly. Then we played rock paper scissors. If you lost you gave the other person a Hershey Kiss. If you won you received one. Once you ran out of Hershey Kisses you sat down and couldn't play anymore. This represented Capitalism. It was freedom of competition, you chose how much to play and who to play with. It was also private ownership of industry, each student started with his or her own candy. It also resulted in unequal economic classes, some people won, but most people lost. It also showed class struggle, our complaints during the game of how it was unfair. Lastly, it also showed workers' revolt, our arguments about fairness and attempts to get back into the game. Then, Mrs. Gleason collected the candy and redistributed them, evenly, so everyone had three Hershey kisses. This represented Socialism. It showed the government ownership of industry when the teacher collected the kisses. It also showed the goal of economic equality. This was showed y redistributing candy to all the students evenly. Lastly, it showed aims for classmate’s society by each student having an equal amount of candy. Then, we were asked if we would risk playing rock paper scissors again. You didn't have to play and if you wanted to keep your candy you stayed seated. This represented Communism. It showed the goal of class’s society achieved by students refusing to play the game and agreeing to share the candy. It also showed that no government was needed by the teacher no longer needing to supervise the candy distribution. I think the lesson was fun because we got to eat candy and we also learned how each type of government worked in a fun way. However, I also think that is was frustrating because when some people had more you wanted more too. 

A) Marx's theory on how the poor would help themselves is, Communism. This was the first theory he came up with. The theory was that everyone got equal amounts of everything. But, without the governments supervision. His second theory was Socialism. This was the same idea as Communism except, the government is in charge. 

B) Smith's theory on the "invisible hand"* is Capitalism. There would be no government involvement in the economy. It is the idea that if the economy is left alone, a "helping hand" works everything out. So basically, the economy will always work itself out. Smith thinks this would benefit the poor because if one store has a higher price then customers will automatically go to the lower priced store, so this forces the first store to lower its prices. Then, it is all about who has better products.

I think that Capitalism and Socialism are the best solutions. This is what the United States consists of. We are called a mixed market economy.* I think this is the best solution because the government isn't too involved, but also the economy takes care of itself and works itself out. 

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulyVXa-u4wE

*Knowledge from Intro to Business

Socratic Seminar Discussion

In Tuesday's class we had a discussion about Child Labor. One of the main questions was, would you buy products made with child labor?

One key point I brought to the discussion was, before we researched I didn't really know that child labor existed. I also said how I thought the conditions they worked in were surprising. For example, while they were working on the fields, pesticides were being sprayed which can be very bad for they health. Another thing I said during the discussion was, I think that mostly the children should decide whether or not they should work. They should obviously discuss it with their parents. But, I think it is mainly their decision whether they work or not.

One key point brought up by another student that I found influential or important is, they would buy products made with child labor because there really isn't a good way to tell whether or not it was made with child labor. Another key point brought up by a student is they would want to buy products made with child labor because the reason why the children are working is to earn money and they can't earn money unless people buy their products. the last key point that I found interesting from a student was, they wouldn't buy products made from child labor because they don't like the conditions that the children work in and they think it is wrong.

I think our group did well on many things. One thing we did well on was speaking loudly. Another thing we did well on was, communicating with each other and responding to each other. One thing we can improve on is, making sure everyone gets to speak. Another thing we can improve on is, getting rid of the awkward pauses.

Industrial Revolution Statistics Graph and Explanatory paragraph

For this assignment we had to create a graph to the data we received with a partner. We then typed an explanatory paragraph below explaining the graph and an "I see... It means...".

In 1834 the slave population was on the rise and due to this rise the cotton bale production grew due to the higher demand. From 1834-1858 the slave population nearly doubled. This resulted in the cotton bale production doubling. The more slaves there were the more cotton was produced.