The Past Remains in the Present #4

After my group presented out project to the class about Labor v. Big Business, five other groups went up and presented. Each group talked about the significance of People, Places, and Power. The other topics were, Immigration Europe, Imperialism in Europe and Africa, Native Americans, Asian Immigration, and American Imperialism. Each group used a background presentation, a video essay, and then ended with a Survey Monkey. The back ground presentation gave us an over view of the key terms and the topic itself. The video essay discussed three enduring understandings that gave us further insight into the theme, People, Places, and Power. Finally the Survey Monkey quizzed us on what we had just learned with some objective questions and some interpretation questions. Overall I learned a lot about the other topics from these presentations.

The first group that presented was Immigration Europe; people often tried to escape overbearing power to a place where they have more power. As a result, many Jews in Europe moved to America in order to do just that. When a lot of people come to one place at once there was to be a system in place to process them. This location was Ellis Island, everyone who wanted to enter the country from the east coast had to go through this place. With so many people coming from different places, they brought diseases and other conditions from their homeland, especially if they came from a poor place. Many of these people that came were discriminated against, mostly the Western European Jews. Many Jews came in order to escape religious persecution from wherever they were from.

The next group that presented was Imperialism in Europe and Africa. Imperialism mean that one country has domination of political, economical, and cultural life in another place or country. Western European countries expanded into Africa, anyone could claim land for their country in Africa. Merchant or soldiers from a Western European country could go into Africa and claim land. King Leopold had lots of power over the Congo people. He was a harsh and ruthless leader, he would cut people's hands off if they didn't produce enough rubber or ivory fast enough. King Leopold II of Belgium sent Henry Stanley to go to Congo to exploit the people there and make them work for nothing. As a result, the Congo people lost their culture to King Leopold.

The third group that presented was Native Americans. They talked about Kit Carson, he was a western pioneer and fur trapper, he was in charge of leading the attacks against the Navajos. The Navajos were a tribe that had to leave their homes and move to another place that was a 400 mile walk. The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs was suppose to bring the tribe supplies at the new reservation but they never did. This 400 mile walk was called "The Great Walk". The Indian Reservation Act was a law passed that put Native American tribes in the reservation lands. As a result there was a lot of violence and fighting. America assimilated the Natives by making them live like Westerners. The Navajos were the biggest tribe set in the south west, and they all had to move away from their home. Many died on the walk to the new reservation.

The fourth group to go up was Asian Immigration. This group talked about Angel Island which was located on the west coast, similar to Ellis Island. Everyone who was immigrated to the West Coast had to pass through Angel Island first. America passed the "Exclusion Act" which prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country unless they had already established their residency. Many Chinese used fake IDs to show that they are already residence in the country. Also there were many Chinese picture bride, they were women who married American men so that way they had established relations in America. There was a lot of discrimination and racism against immigrants. Sometimes they couldn't own or buy land or become real citizens.  Many whites didn't hire them because they were racist, and if they were hired they would have to work for low wages and were treated unfairly.

The fifth and last group to present was American Imperialism. The Monroe Doctrine, the Spanish American War, and the Treaty of Paris, allowed America to take Spanish land and expand their power. America had a feeling of nationalism, meaning that people were devoted to their country. As a result a Senator decided that they should try to push out Native American tribes and continue to expand their power. Also Western European countries expanded into Africa, so America must have felt some pressure to compete. They were working to become a major world power, so in order to be seen as one they would have to follow the path of the other European countries.

Overall I learned a lot about the theme People, Places, and Power from the other five presentation and from my own research on the topic Labor v. Big Business. We were able to see the different perspectives from people on the same topic. For example in Labor v. Big Business we learned about both the people who owned these big businesses and the people who worked for them. This gave me a better understanding of how things were back them, and how people were treated. I think every group did a good job on getting the main idea of their topic across and relating them to the theme People, Places, and Power.

The Past Remains in the Present #3

Our groups topic was Labor v. Big Business, and we had a group of four people. They really helped me understand the power aspect of the theme. The people and the places were pretty straightforward and I understood those well, but I didn't quite understand the power part. My group members helped me understand the significance and emphasis on Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Morgan. They explained what Vertical and Horizontal Consolidation were and their role in big business. I also had a better understanding of the difference between inventors and investors. Both are very important, but I learned through my group that the investors were the ones that created these huge businesses. Also my group helped expand my knowledge on the difference and similarities between Trusts and Cartels. We all worked together to come to a common understanding of each word and their significance. Overall working in a group was not only enlightening but also quite entertaining. It is a lot more fun to be able collaborate and share ideas with your peers rather than just keeping it to yourself in your own mind.

The video essay was something I've never really experienced before. It was interesting to do any I think my group did a good job on it. The whole thing was quite a learning process, we learned that we could only have a maximum of 10 pictures, and a maximum of a 60 second presentation. This created a few problems for our group that we had to work together to solve. The reason it was a problem was because our group had already started to find a ton of pictures and we had already wrote the script. As a result we had to cut down the pictures and shorten the scripts which was a little difficult. Also we learned that our pictures had to be wide screen, so then we had to go and edit all our pictures so they would fit properly in the application. Overall I thought that the idea was great, if we knew about the limitation before hand we could have planned accordingly. But overall I thought that it was a good experience and that it taught us as a group that we have to be able to be flexible and make changes. Next time I personally would like to make sure I get a role in the presentation part of the project. This time I spent a lot of time getting pictures, cropping them, and making the Survey Monkey. As a result I didn't get to really work on the background presentation, or on the script for the video essay. Overall it was nice working in a group and the video essay was a great idea.

The Past Remains in the Present #2

Introduction:

In class we did an interactive activity online, the objective of the activity was to read and analyze 10 documents and sort them into three categories. Based off the documents you have to decide what those three categories are and which document falls under which. All 10 documents were based on the Homestead strike, where workers at Carnegie Steel Company protested against their low wages and unhealthy working conditions. The three categories were the three perspectives of the strike, the workers perspective, the companies perspective, and the newspapers perspective. This activity gave an overall understanding of the experience of working for a big business.   


Key Terms:
Patents- license that gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention.

Productivity- the amount of goods and services created in a given period if time

Steel- is lighter stronger and more flexible than iron

Thomas Edison- made the energy source of electric power widely available

George Westinghouse- improved upon Edison's invention to invent alternating current

Samuel Morse- created the telegraph

Alexander Graham Bell: invented the talking telegraph in 1876

Railroads: transcontinental railroad connected Nebraska to Sacramento. Two railroads companies contracted to build it, the Union Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad.

Bessemer process- made it easier and cheaper to remove the impurities in steel and made it possible to mass produce steel

Henry Bessemer- he created and patented the Bessemer process

Brooklyn Bridge- the longest in the world at the time. It was designed by a German immigrant, John A Roebling and was made out of steel

Robber barons- used to describe the powerful industrialists who established large businesses in the late 1800's.

John D Rockefeller: Formed the standard oil company in 1870. He used certain tactics and deals to drive his competitors out of business and then he bought their refineries. He spread his wealth by moving into copper, iron, coal, shipping, and banking industries.

Andrew Carnegie: embraced the concept "money could make money". 

Social Darwinism: wealthy were most valuable group in society. Argued that Society should interfere with competition as little as possible. Argued that society would benefit from the success of the fit and weeding out.

J.P Morgan- controlled 4 completed or almost completed railway systems. He had started before the war, was the son of a banker who began selling stocks for the railroads.

James Duke-  used a new cigarette rolling machine that could roll up to 100,000 cigarettes a day, in 1890 he combined the four biggest cigarette producers to form the American Tobacco Company.

Gustavus Swift- a Chicago butcher put together the ice cooled rail way car with the ice cooled warehouse to make the first meat packaging company.

Edwin L Drake- worked for Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, he was sent to drill for oil, a new concept that would make obtaining oil much cheaper

Piecework:-workers received a fixed amount for each finished piece they produced. Forced workers to work fast and efficiently

Sweatshop- a place where most piecework occurred, workers worked long hours for low wages.

Division of Labor- factory workers performed one small task over and over to improve efficiency

Frederick Winslow Taylor- set out to improve worker efficiency in steel plants and therefore increase profits

Socialism- an idea that some were drawn too in this time, system that favors public instead of private control of the means of production.

Labor Unions: organizing among workers in certain trades, helped members in bad times. Called for shorter workdays, higher wages and better working conditions.

Collective Bargaining: a price that some Labor Unions used, process where workers negotiated as a group with employers. Workers acting as a group had more power than a single worker acting alone.

Pinkerton Detectives: The Carnegie Steel Mills in Homestead hired these men in order to protect and take back their mills against the strikers. They hired these men because the town Sheriffs tried to bring order to the strikers but were unsuccessful. As a result they decided to not get involved because if anything wrong happened they would be blamed. But even the Pinkerton men were unsuccessful in taking back the mills; it got to the point that the Governor of Pennsylvania had to call the whole state Nation Guard to bring order to Homestead.

Enduring Understandings:  

1. Lots of the new inventions had a lot to do with communication, transportation, and production. It was becoming easier to communicate with far away places, making America a little smaller and more easily accessible. This allowed businesses to expand and be able to operate in more than one location, as well as giving them the ability to sell their product to more than one market.

• Samuel Morse patented the telegraph and perfected it, send first message in 1844. Many telegraph companies joined together and created the Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1870 they had 100,000 miles of wire and sent 9 million messages, by 1900 they owed over 900,000 miles of wire and were sending 63 million message per year. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• The federal government financed and invested in the transcontinental railroad that went from the east coast to the west coast they contracted two private companies, the central pacific railroad company and the union pacific railroad company. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• Henry Bessemer patented the Bessemer process that made it easier and cheaper to remove the impurities in steel. Before the nation depended on iron for railroads and buildings but now that it was easier to use steel the tides will turn. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13) 

2. Many families had no other choice but to work long hours in the factories and have their children work as well, therefore the kids wouldn't get a good education and get a better life or job. This made the poor, poorer, and the rich, richer. It was a cycle of people who couldn't afford to get a good education and improve their life style or their children's lifestyle. These big corporations paid their employees low wages and made them work so many hours that they didn't even have a chance to work their way, or educate their way out of this terrible cycle. 

• In 1890 the richest 9% of Americans held nearly 75% of the nations wealth. Many people suffered. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• Children who worked in the factories often became stunted in both body and mind. Factory workers were ruled by the clock, discipline in the factories was strict. Often fined and fired workers for being late or talking. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• In the 1880's children made up more than 5% of the industrial labor force! nearly one in 5 children between the ages of 10 and 16 were employed. This meant they had to leave school and never got a good education. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• The working conditions and wages were so bad at these big companies, that the workers created unions. A Union is an organization of workers in certain trades, they helped members in bad times. They called for shorter workdays, higher wages and better working conditions. The reasons they formed Unions is because it because it gave the workers more power and say.

3. In ordered to start a company and compete with the other big businesses it was necessary to either have a lot of money to begin with, or to have a new invention that starts its own industry.

• Carnegie Steel: Andrew Carnegie invested his 50,000 salary into a steel company.
• Consolidation: gaining control of the many different businesses that make up all the phases of a products development.
• Horizontal Consolidation: involves bringing together many firms in the same business.
• Samuel Morse the inventor of the telegraph founded Western Union
• Alexander Graham Bell inventor of the telephone founded AT&T
• Thomas Edison inventor of the light bulb founded General Electric

Reflection:

The people at the bottom of the power structure were the workers, they were paid low wages and were forced to work in terrible condition. They were all poor and uneducated, they didn't have time to go to school because they had to work all day in order to make enough money to eat. As a result, the workers came together to form a labor union so they could empower themselves with numbers. They believed that if they all united together they could force the company into paying them more and given them better working conditions. This worked a little, things were getting better slowly and the company and the union negotiated contracts. But finally the company had enough with dealing with the union and decided going back to the old ways. The Carnegie Steel Company fired all their workers in Homestead, and told them to reapply individually. The workers were all out of jobs, had no education, and barely had any money. They had no where else to go and nothing else to do, so they decided to protest, strike, and riot. The union and the Carnegie Steel Company tried to negotiate a deal, but the CEO of the company was very stubborn. From the worker perspective they had no power of the rich big businesses, except in numbers. The workers took over Homestead and rioted, the Governor had to send in the national guard to control the riots. Overall the workers in those days were stuck in an endless cycle, they had to work long hours for low wages in terrible conditions, and they couldn't get education because they had to work in order to make enough money to buy food.  

The Past Remains in the Present #1

The assignment of this project is to learn about a certain group of people in post Civil War America. The three major themes that we will be focusing on are People, Places, and Power. Meaning who were the people involved, where did these events take place, and who had power over what. My topic is Labor v. Big Business, this is a topic that I find very interesting; especially because these companies are still relevant in today's society. These corporations are still big businesses, and its very interesting to learn how and where they came from. 

Key Terms:
Patents- license that gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention.

Productivity- the amount of goods and services created in a given period if time

Steel- is lighter stronger and more flexible than iron

Thomas Edison- made the energy source of electric power widely available

George Westinghouse- improved upon Edison's invention to invent alternating current

Samuel Morse- created the telegraph

Alexander Graham Bell: invented the talking telegraph in 1876

Railroads: transcontinental railroad connected Nebraska to Sacramento. Two railroads companies contracted to build it, the Union Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad.

Bessemer process- made it easier and cheaper to remove the impurities in steel and made it possible to mass produce steel

Henry Bessemer- he created and patented the Bessemer process

Brooklyn Bridge- the longest in the world at the time. It was designed by a German immigrant, John A Roebling and was made out of steel

Robber barons- used to describe the powerful industrialists who established large businesses in the late 1800's.

John D Rockefeller: Formed the standard oil company in 1870. He used certain tactics and deals to drive his competitors out of business and then he bought their refineries. He spread his wealth by moving into copper, iron, coal, shipping, and banking industries.

Andrew Carnegie: embraced the concept "money could make money".

Social Darwinism: wealthy were most valuable group in society. Argued that Society should interfere with competition as little as possible. Argued that society would benefit from the success of the fit and weeding out.

J.P Morgan- controlled 4 completed or almost completed railway systems. He had started before the war, was the son of a banker who began selling stocks for the railroads.

James Duke-  used a new cigarette rolling machine that could roll up to 100,000 cigarettes a day, in 1890 he combined the four biggest cigarette producers to form the American Tobacco Company.

Gustavus Swift- a Chicago butcher put together the ice cooled rail way car with the ice cooled warehouse to make the first meat packaging company.

Edwin L Drake- worked for Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, he was sent to drill for oil, a new concept that would make obtaining oil much cheaper

Piecework:-workers received a fixed amount for each finished piece they produced. Forced workers to work fast and efficiently

Sweatshop- a place where most piecework occurred, workers worked long hours for low wages.

Division of Labor- factory workers performed one small task over and over to improve efficiency

Frederick Winslow Taylor- set out to improve worker efficiency in steel plants and therefore increase profits

Socialism- an idea that some were drawn too in this time, system that favors public instead of private control of the means of production.

Labor Unions: organizing among workers in certain trades, helped members in bad times. Called for shorter workdays, higher wages and better working conditions.

Collective Bargaining: a price that some Labor Unions used, process where workers negotiated as a group with employers. Workers acting as a group had more power than a single worker acting alone.

Enduring Understandings:  

1. Lots of the new inventions had a lot to do with communication, transportation, and production. It was becoming easier to communicate with far away places, making America a little smaller and more easily accessible. This allowed businesses to expand and be able to operate in more than one location, as well as giving them the ability to sell their product to more than one market.

• Samuel Morse patented the telegraph and perfected it, send first message in 1844. Many telegraph companies joined together and created the Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1870 they had 100,000 miles of wire and sent 9 million messages, by 1900 they owed over 900,000 miles of wire and were sending 63 million message per year. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• The federal government financed and invested in the transcontinental railroad that went from the east coast to the west coast they contracted two private companies, the central pacific railroad company and the union pacific railroad company. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13
• Henry Bessemer patented the Bessemer process that made it easier and cheaper to remove the impurities in steel. Before the nation depended on iron for railroads and buildings but now that it was easier to use steel the tides will turn. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13) 

2. Many families had no other choice but to work long hours in the factories and have their children work as well, therefore the kids wouldn't get a good education and get a better life or job. This made the poor, poorer, and the rich, richer. It was a cycle of people who couldn't afford to get a good education and improve their life style or their children's lifestyle. These big corporations paid their employees low wages and made them work so many hours that they didn't even have a chance to work their way, or educate their way out of this terrible cycle. 

• In 1890 the richest 9% of Americans held nearly 75% of the nations wealth. Many people suffered. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
•  Children who worked in the factories often became stunted in both body and mind. Factory workers were ruled by the clock, discipline in the factories was strict. Often fined and fired workers for being late or talking. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13)
• In the 1880's children made up more than 5% of the industrial labor force! nearly one in 5 children between the ages of 10 and 16 were employed. This meant they had to leave school and never got a good education. (American History: Pathways to the Present Chapter 13) 
  
  
  Reflection:
  The major theme of this project is of course People, Places, and Power. My topic is Labor v. Big Business, so far my understanding of the topic is that in the late 1800's there was an surge in the number of new inventions. These inventions led to the founding of these mega- cooperation that are still around today. Companies like AT&T, Western Union, General Electric, Westinghouse, and many more were started during this time period. These companies were founded by the inventors who created the technology. For example, Alexander Grand Bell the inventor of the telephone started AT&T. Samuel Morse the inventor of the telegraph founded Western Union. These companies developed a monopoly in their given industry. The reason for this is because the inventors were the ones who started the actually industry. Their was no such thing as the telecommunication industry until Samuel Morse and Alexander Grand Bell invented the telegraph and telephone. Having a monopoly over an entire industry not only makes individuals very rich, but it also gives them a lot of power. It gives them power over other people and the money they make allow them to expand to different they company to other places. Overall my topic is about big businesses (including their founders) and their interaction with the common people all over America.
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

The Inevitable Death of Reconstruction by the South

Reconstruction was going to be killed sooner or latter and one way or another. The election of 1876 would be an election that changed the course of our nation for a 100 years to come. The election was between Rutherford B Hayes, the republican candidate and eventually the winner, against Samuel J Tilden, the democratic candidate. Tilden won the popular vote and Hayes won the electoral vote, after three states were given to him. The three states were Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana; this was the Compromise of 1877. The Democratic Party gave Hayes the 20 electoral votes, and in return the Republican party promised to withdraw troop from the South. Prior to the election, America was in a state of Reconstruction. This period occurred after the Civil War from 1865- 1877; many positive changes took place during this time, but after the election it took a turn for the worst. Reconstruction took place because America had to rebuild the south from the devastation of the war and integrate the new free blacks into their society. Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment in order to make this transition smoother. The 13th Amendment ended slavery, the 14th gave black Americans citizenship and civil right, and the 15th made it illegal to deny someone their right to vote based on race. Although there were some groups that still resented Freedmen and their new rights. The Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist group that opposed Reconstruction and rights for freedmen. Meanwhile, there were groups that supported Freedmen and their right to vote, such as Carpetbaggers and Scalawags. Carpetbaggers were white northerners that went south to help Freedmen. Scalawags were white southerners that supported Freedmen and Carpetbaggers.  Another group that strongly supported Freedmen in their own remark were Radical Republicans. They were northern Republican Congressmen that supported African-American citizenship and they wanted punishment for the Confederates. It's important to know the reasons why Reconstructed ended and who was responsible for it. When slavery was abolished there were many people who remained racists against blacks and were not happy about their freedom. Many different groups in different parts of the country took actions that would eventually result in the end of the Reconstruction period. Although both the North and the South played a role in ending Reconstruction, the South would have killed it eventually if they continued to keep terrorizing anyone that advocated Reconstruction in the South. 

The South played a major role in ending Reconstruction. The Ku Klux Klan was the biggest threat to Freedmen, Scalawags, and Carpetbaggers. They were a presistent group that was ruthless in their methods of terrorizing anyone who wasn't with their cause. These white supremesist groups grew more and more popular and powerful in the south. With this power they were able to scare anyone and everyone that protected blacks. Albion Tourgee a white northern soilder, became a judge in North Carolina after the Civil War. He is wrote this letter to Senator Joseph Carter Abbott (Doc A). A State Senator was stabbed 5 or 6 times by Ku Klux Klan members, Senator Joseph Stevens (R) was attacked in the Grand Jury Room in the court house. Tourgee believed that he is going to be killed next by the KKK. He saw what they did to the Republican Senator and is scared that it will happen to him. The Ku Klux Klan had enough power in the South to walk into a Grand Jury Room and kill a white politician. White supremacy and violence in the south resulted in the ending of reconstruction. Republicans in the south and Freedmen were scared and so they had to back off the white southerns, because if they didn't the KKK could kill them. Blacks must be more scared than the Republicans because if the KKK is powerful enough to kill a State Senator in a court house then they could do alot worse to Freedmen. Another example of the Ku Klux Klan's power in the south is Abrham Colbies testimony to a joint house and senate committee in 1872 (Doc B). He was a former slave who was elected to the Georgia State Legislator. He voted for a Radical Republican and the KKK whipped him and beat him, they wanted him to vote for democrats. The KKK would threat black voters to vote for the democratic party, they used fear tactics and scarred people into doing it. In the image provided by Haper's Weekly its easy to see that two white men are holding a gun to a black mans head and forcing him to vote for democrats. The KKK and the south killed reconstruction because they stopped blacks from participating in government. Overall the south and espcially the Ku Klux Klan ended reconstruction, they scarred everyone in the south with brute force and murder. Even if the North continued to be supportive of Reconstruction, the south would continue to be violant.

The North began to lose intrest and focus on the South and Reconstruction. Bigger and newer problems arose in the North that the government had to pay attention to. In The Americans it talks about how Presdent Grant was trying to get to the bottom of all the corroption within his administration and he was only paying attention to those problems and not the issues in the south (Doc C). The people in the north were also losing faith in the situation in the South. Reconstruction had been going on for 10 years so people began to care less and less, but the violence and problems in the south continued. The north might have began to give up on Reconstruction after ten years, but the South was the one that continued to reject and supress Freedmen. Although even the white northerns believed that blacks were not completely equal to them. The north helped get blacks freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote, but they didn't completely believe that they deserved to be in office. In this image that was the cover of Harper's Weekly, which was drawn by a white northern illustrates that the white population thought freedmen were not capable to run the government, because they were thought to be uneducated (Doc D). But whites did think they were capable to run their own lives and do their own thing. Most northers were anti slavery, but they didnt believe blacks were equal to whites. The North may have not continued to completely support Freedmen in the south, but they didn't directly do anything that harmed Freedmen. The South was the one that constantly harrassed and attacked Freedmen, they were the reason reconstruction was neccessary.

The South killed reconstruction by terrorizing and killing anyone and everyone that supported Freedmen. The Ku Klux Klan killed politicians and freedmen; they used fear tatics to scared many more people that supported blacks. Carpetbaggers were scarred of white supremesist groups, and they would return back to the north. Scalawags who were from the south would stop supporting blacks because they feared for their own lives. The south was the reason the north gave up their support for Freedmen; they didn't want to support blacks if it meant risking their own life. Also after ten years of supporting Reconstruction the north had other problems that they had to address. There was corruption in the President Grants administration and a winfall of problems to deal with. The South killed reconstruction by simply not accepting Freedmen and their civil rights. 

Document A: Albion Tourgee, Letter on Ku Klux Klan Activities. New York Tribune, May 1870.

Document B: Abrham Colbies testimony to a joint house and senate committee in 1872

Document C: Gerald Danzer, The Americans, McDougal Littel. Secondary source and a textbook. The image is from Harpers Weekly, 1876.

Document D: The cover of Harper's Weekly, March 14, 1876

     

By the Numbers

North vs South 1860 Total Population | Create Infographics

The Infogram first has a pie chart that shows the total population of the north and the south in comparison to one another. Clearly the north has way more people than the south does, it seems that out of the total population of the United States of America only a little over 25% live in the south. Meaning a little under 75% are in the north. We wanted to emphasize the importance of the population because ultimately the side that has more people will have the bigger army. Which means over time as the casualties add up the north will have more people to recruit from, meaning they can replace their soldiers more than the south can. After the chart of the total population, we have a chart that address that three topics that we believe support the war. The total population addresses the war directly and the army size. This table shows that figures for the three things that support a war and that are taken into consideration for tactics during the war. The three things are, number of industrial workers, value of manufactured goods, and railroad mileage. The reasons we chose to include these three is because the number of industrial workers effects the number of guns and ammunition that are produced. Clearly the Union had more workers, which as a result means that their army was better supplied. The value of goods comes into play in the case of economy. The north was producing a lot more goods so their economy was better, meaning that they had more money to spend on the war. They could use this money for anything they needed from tents to new inventions. Lastly, we included the railroad mileage, this was important in the role of the tactics and strategy the armies would use. Railroads are an efficient and fast way of transportation. The Union has a lot more railroads so they could move their army from one place to another quicker than the Confederate army. This Infogram addresses the situations that are directly related to the war and things that are indirectly related to the war.    

Scavenger Hunt!

The class did a Scavenger Hunt in class, we learned about 20 of the major battles of the Civil War. Each student was assigned one of the battles to do a little bit of research on. We typed up out research on a Google Doc that we made public so other students in our class can access it. The research covered the basic information of the battle as you can see in the example Document in the link below. We took the link of our Google Doc and created a QR code, and printed it out for quick and easy access. All students have to do is scan the QR code with their mobile device and they are instantly brought to the Google Doc page where they can see the information about the battle. Each student was assigned a number which they wrote on their QR code. Then they found the people who had the number before and after theirs, we told the people before us where we will place our code, and we asked the people where they will place their code. Once we had the location of the next code after ours, we wrote it down on our Google Doc, so when people finished looking at one QR code they had direction to the next one. The QR codes were hung up on wall all across our school. Once we finished learning about all 20 battles we went back to class and created Padlets to discuss what we had learned and patterns we had noticed.  

Created with Padlet

The Union was winning many of its battles in the west, some of the battles they won were, Battle of Fort Donelson Long, Battle of Shiloh, and the Siege of Vicksburg. The Union had lost one battle in the west, they lost at the Battle of Chickamauga. But they had lost many more battles in the East compared to the West. In the East they lost the Battle of Fort Sumter, Battle of Bull Run, and Battle of Fredericksburg. Also at the Battle of Hampton Roads which is the Naval Theater the battle was considered a draw with no definite winner. The Union and Confederate Ironclads were locked in a battle for almost four ours, although the Confederate ship had to retire, the battle was considered a draw. The Confederate army seemed to be winning in the Eastern Theater as seen in the Battles of Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville as many of these were stated before. The Padlet above shows which side was dominate in which theater and the battles that support that. 

Created with Padlet

The confederates won a couple of battles by outsmarting the Union, they even won many battles that they were outnumbered in, one example being the battle of Chancellorville. The Union defeated the confederacy because they had advantages. They had more people to fight and more troops. The amount of troops overwhelmed the Confederates in battles such as the Appomattox campaign and the Battle of Fort Henry. The Union also had a greater supply of resources and weapons because many industrialists lived in the north. The Confederates weapons did not match up to the Unions like in the Battle of Baton Rouge and the Battle of Gettysburg. The Padlet above discusses how and why each side won the battles they did and ultimately how the Union won the war as a whole. Its clear that the Union had the upper hand in many ways and that the Confederacy had to be more conservative with their measure and had to outsmart the Union in battle not out-power.   

Women in the Civil War

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During the Civil war many women chose to take different actions, some were inside the sphere of domesticity, others were outside, and some were both. The sphere of domesticity includes actions such as, cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, maintaining the house, and other things of that nature. Actions outside the sphere of domesticity would include, fighting in the war, getting a job, speaking in public, flirting with men, and anything that is not "lady like" or not performing a "women's duties". We see many examples of women that do one or the other and we even see some women that begin their life one way and change over time.

For example, Harriet Jacob lived her whole life outside of domesticity. She was a journalist and a writer. Jacobs worked for "The Liberator", she set up donations for black refugees, she was a black women who was a former slave. Jacobs wrote articles about black refugees in the North that came up from the south. She helped collect clothes and food for them, which might be considered inside the sphere, but it was the way she did it and who she was that makes it outside the sphere. Being a former slave and even more a women, public speaking on such topics was considered way outside the sphere.

This quilt square above shows talks about many women from the Civil war period. It explains what each women did, whether or not they fell within the sphere of domesticity and much more. It provides an image to give a visual representation of the women and their actions. Sometimes women went outside of the sphere because of special circumstances, but other times they did it for no real reason at all except for the fact that, that was who they naturally were. They are individuals, and each of these women chose to do something different, sometimes its clear whether they are within the sphere or not, and sometimes its sort of on the boarder.