Sherman's march Study overview -S.S and SP

“I would make this war as severe as possible and show no symptoms of tiring till the South begs for mercy.”
A. Information on this topic
1. Bio of Sherman
a. Later drafted to be president (interestingly with strong southern support), but declined
2. Sherman’s tactics
a. Sherman, grant and Lincoln on strategy
i. Sherman and grant
1. “we were as brothers”-sherman
2. Some say the partnership secured victory in the civil war for the north
ii. Sherman abandoned union plan to move from Atlanta to Mobile
1. From a military standpoint, the port was already blockaded, so it was useless to the south
2. On the other hand, if Sherman advanced toward savannah and Charleston, which were capitals and major urban centers, therefore crippling morale
3. Sherman wanted to invade deeper, but Lincoln was hesitant, especially before an election
4. However, with Grant’s approval, Lincoln agreed
iii. Anaconda plan
1. The union’s initial anaconda plan was to strangle the south from all sides, and it worked well in the beginning, but Sherman’s march was the final blow. Sherman led his union troops through the heart of the south, burning three capitals and making the civilians feel it.
b. Abandoning front line and supply lines
i. In order to reach deep into enemy territory, Sherman had to abandon union supply lines
c. Total war and foraging
i. Sherman’s foragers became known as “bummers” and often ignored sherman’s rules
d. Separation of armies (divide and conquer)
i. Sherman separated his troops into two wings,
1. Gave support to each other
2. Stated within forty miles
e. Moral attack by attacking capitals and urban centers
i. Took state capitals to reduce morale
ii. Offered Sherman 25,000 bales of cotton from savannah and savannah itself to Lincoln for Christmas
iii. Showed the south that it couldn’t protect itself
3. Effects
a. Destruction of the Southern Economy-Manufacturing-Railroads / Sherman’s neckties
b. Idea of total war reduced morale
c. Less than 600 of 60,000 men lost – less than 1%
d. Helped Lincoln get elected in 1864
e. Destroyed over $1 billion
f. Captured three state capitals
g. Hastened victory dramatically
h. Effects on the South at the end of the war, reconstruction, and after reconstruction
i. Increased desertion rate in lee’s arm, as men came back to tend their homes
4. Popular public opinion
a. in the north about the idea of how they should fight total war or not-Lincoln’s Speech at the beginning of the war
5. Campaigns of Sherman’s March
a. Atlanta
i. Defended by general Joseph johnston
ii. A series of small skirmish before battle at atlanta
iii. Atlanta burns
iv. Railroad lines cut
v. Retreating confederate army did sizable damage to Atlanta when leaving – they burned buildings and armory
vi. Battle of Kennesaw mountain in which confederates won after Sherman feigned attacks on both sides
b. Savannah
i. Confederates tried to cut union supply lines to Sherman
ii. Hardee defended savannah with 10,000 troops, but fled before Sherman attacked
iii. Lincoln’s election in between
iv. Sherman gives Savannah to Lincoln for Christmas
v. Made Sherman very famous in north
c. Carolinas
i. Sherman feigned right and left, but ultimately forged straight ahead to real target, Columbia
ii. Columbia burns
iii. Manifestation of total war belief that war would end quicker if people personally felt it
iv. Destruction of public buildings
B. Conclusion
1. Sherman’s march reduced southern morale, and ended the war quickly. Sherman’s victories in the campaign of Atlanta helped Lincoln win the election of 1864.
2. Sherman later called to be drafted for president (with southern support, interestingly) but he declined

Texan Independence

By: Dan K (Champ Kind), Paul Z (Ron Burgandy), Veronica (Veronica Corningston aka the expert), and Saadebling El Texan

I. Americans began to settle Texas
1. Stephen F. Austin inhereited land in Texas
2. Agreed on a compromise with the Mexican government
a) Americans would become Mexican citizens
b) Americans would adopt the Catholic religion
c) Mexican government would allow the U.S. to settle Texas
3. Soon enough Americans outnumbered Tejanos two to one
4. Texas held three communities
a) Americans
b) Tejanos
c) Comanche Indians
II. Events that inclined Texas to revolt
1. 1831 - Mexico abolished slavery
a) Loss of unpaid labor-->severe blow to the cotton economy
b) Reminded citizens of the tolerant official view of slavery held in the U.S.
2. Mexican government abolished U.S. immigration
a) Many residents were outraged if they had relatives in the U.S.
3. Mexico placed heavy duties on importation of foreign goods
a) Loosened ties between U.S. and Mexico
4. 1833 - General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came to power
a) Pledged to consolidate power
b) strengthen national unity
c) Many American Texans wanted to continue their ways of self government
i. this rise of a Mexican nationalist to power alarmed them
III. War
1. War broke out in 1835
2. The Texans gained indepedence
3. Sam Houstan was the first President of the Republic of Texas
4. Texas was annexed by the U.S. in 1844
---All of this was due to the expansionist policies of Polk


Anchorman is really really cool.

Outline for Bear Flag Revolt

Outline

-The war with _________________ began in May ________

-The ________________________ was a declaration of California’s independence

-The ethnic majority in California was ______________________ with a white minority

-A small group of white settlers at ____________ asked ______________ to surrender

-Settlers were motivated by the Mexican War and the policies of ___________________

-The Republic of California lasted for 26 days before being taken over by the U.S.

(Answers)

-The war with Mexico began in May 1846
-The Bear Flag Revolt was a declaration of California’s independence
-The ethnic majority in California was Mexican with a white minority
-A small group of white settlers at Sonoma asked General Vallejo to surrender
-Settlers were motivated by the Mexican War and the policies of Santa Anna
-The Republic of California lasted for 26 days before being taken over by the U.S.

Casey, Thomas, Richie, Katharine.

Opening of Japan

I. Opening of Japan
A. Matthew C. Perry
1.Led four ships into Tokyo bay
2.seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world
B.Reasons for Reconnecting with Japan
1.Open the ports of China, and annex California to establish large pacific trading
2.Japan was thought to have vast deposits of coal for the new American steam ships on their journey to China
3.Safer harbors, assistance in shipwrecks, and reliable supply stations
4.The Americans also wanted to extend their Manifest Destiny to Japan
a.They wanted to modernize the Japanese and Chinese people
b.They thought the protestant Christianity would be accepted where Catholicism was previously rejected
C.First Arrival in Japan
1.July 8, 1853 Perry came with both firepower and gifts, which were all meant to impress the Japanese of western superiority
2.He wanted to have the Japanese waters to be safe for shipwrecks, supplies, and re-fueling
a.His audacity and willingness to use force convinced Japan to accept his letter
D.Return to Japan on March 31, 1854
1.Perry came with more men the next spring with more men to get an answer from Japan
2.Japan opened up two ports to Americans, allowed rights for shipwrecks, and allowed consuls to live in the port cities
-KB,GS,KS,AZ

the Election of 1844

The Election of 1844
Dante Knudson
Carlyn Nordeman
Oliver Dinallo
Christina Cantu
I. Candidates
a. John C Calhoun (Whig)
b. James K. Polk (Democrat)
c. Van buren (Splits the vote)
II. The Election
a. Polk wins with 40,000 votes
b. But sweeps the electoral college
c. Wins on an expansionist platform
III. Results of the election
a. United states will expand
b. Country divides over slavery and sectionalism revives
c. Feel that expansion in south will unfairly aid slavery,
d. This leads to the national party system breaking down

Overland Trails (Oregon Trail)

Overland Trails (Oregon Trail)
By: S.D., K.K., S.S., R.W.

Overland Trails Background

* 2,000 mile trip from Missouri River to Oregon and California took 7 months (15 miles/day)
* West along Platte River, cross Continental Divide at South Pass (Wyoming), trail along Snake River (Idaho), Oregon’s Blue Mountains and rafting down Columbia River (California--cross Humbolt Sink and Sierra Nevadas)
* Slow, dangerous, expensive, tedious, exhausting
* 5,000 settlers to Oregon by 1845 and 3,000 settlers to California by 1848
* Some arrive by ship, but too expensive

Motives

* Promise of economic opportunity (Panic of 1837)
* Healthy surroundings (malaria-prone Midwest)
* Sense of adventure, curiosity
* Women idealized as “Pinoeer’s Search for an Ideal Home”

Traveling

* Few traveled alone because need help to ford rivers or cross mountains with heavy wagons
* Family, join larger group “train”, “pilot” fur trapper, semimilitary constitution for a leader, occasional dissent
* Start as soon as prairies green (grazing)
* Men move equipment and animals
* Women cook and keep track of children
* Community help if fatality to arrange burial and support survivors

Difficulties

* Dangers from Indian attack small (increased with Gold Rush, white attack Indians more common)
* Cholera (thousand a year 1849-1850s), drowning, shooting and ax accidents, children run over

End of Overland Trails

* 1860—300,000 people reach Oregon or California
* “Pioneer tales” show heroism rather than truth
* Transcontinental Railroad completion in 1869 ended wagon train era

Oregon Boundary Disputes

I.Causes of the Dispute
-1792 British claim Oregon
-British trading is successful with Hudson Bay Company
-1805 Lewis and Clarke build American Fort Clatsop in Oregon
-occupy land together
-War of 1812 Treaty of Ghent does not settle who owns Oregon, leaves 10 years of joint occupation
-Americans begin westward expansion and come across Overland Trails to Oregon
-significant American population; call for Oregon to become an American Territory in 1830s-1840s

II.Settling of the Dispute
-1844 James K. Polk becomes President and promises to go to war if U.S. does not get Oregon up to the 54' 40' line
-British won't give in; Polk actually does not want to go to war
-agrees to James Buchanan's Treaty of Oregon
-U.S. gets up to 49th parallel

California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush
By S.H, S.P., J.H., and M.L.

• Interestingly enough, California was considered to be of little value until the gold rush of 1849, not many people there
  
• Discovery: on January 24, 1848, James Marshall discovered flakes of gold at a mill race in Sutter's Mill, causing the famous California Gold Rush to ensue
• Who came?
• "Forty-niners" gave up homes, jobs, families, and previous lives to seek their fortune in California during the gold rush years of 1848-1855
  
• 80% Americans from every state in the union
• 20% from other countries, Europe, Asia, and Latin America
• By land or sea
• Caused a major population boom in California, especially in port cities of San Francisco and San Diego
• San Francisco's population jumped dramatically, 1848: 1,000 --> 1850: 35,000
  
• What was life like in California during the Gold Rush?
• Varying, but mostly unsatisfactory
• Many came to seek their fortunes, but only a handful became very successful
• Many returned home with little or nothing or worked for larger mining companies for little wages
  
• Ironically, more people profited from supplying the gold miners with food, shelter, clothing, entertainment, etc. were more successful than the gold miners themselves
• Mining camps' living conditions were bad
• Gold > adequate food, shelter, and community bonds (greed, greed, greed! :DDD)
  
• Much violence, mostly from racist attitudes, especially to Chinese, Mexicans, and African Americans
• Took away potential jobs, your culture is just...weird, and it's our--Americans'--gold, not yours, it's on our land and since you're not a native of this country, you don't deserve to be here
• "Jumped" them--aka mugging and/or killing--or took legal action as a means to get rid of them, immigration restriction laws (Chinese) and legal orders to take away their land
• Eventually abandoned after gold rush ended ("ghost towns")
  
• Effects:
• Short-term: new mining techniques and California became largely successful
• Became a state in 1850, only two years after the Gold Rush began
• Huge population and very profitable farming and mining industries
• Culturally-diverse and -sophisticated
  
• Long-term: environmental and social damage
• Californian NA's basically exterminated
• Californios, descendants of Spanish-Mexicans, kicked off their land
• Racism

Horace Mann

My name is Horace Mann. I am an educator, a politician, and active member of the schooling community. I have found myself engaging in almost every aspect of reformation. As secretary of the Massachusetts Commission to Improve Education I strongly agree in a “common school”. This is a system of schools that are open to everyone regardless of race or social class. The government, state and national, should take a greater role in regulating free education. My Antioch College has high standards to most colleges. It is the first school to teach women and blacks as equals. Our female faculty members are considered equals to their male counterparts. Being a member of the House of Representatives gives me ample amount of opportunities to campaign against slavery as well as further expanding the common school. I take an active role in the temperance movement, trying to ban the selling of alcoholic beverages. The Unitarian religion took me in as a member. There I met many of my friends including William Ellery Channing and my wife Mary Peabody.

Robert Owen

Hello there, my name is Robert Owen and I am a British utopian socialist. I lived a majority of my life in Manchester, England, which was where I accumulated a great deal of wealth from managing cotton textile mills. In 1800, I moved to Scotland to become the manager of the New Lanark Mills. As the owner of these mills, I implemented a more humane employment system. For example, I refused to hire children younger than ten years of age and the children that I did hire were given a decent amount of breaks and ample educational opportunities. Among the adult workers I employed, I tried to discourage them from performing immoral tasks, such as drinking too much alcohol. As my career progressed, I began to develop a vision for a utopian society throughout my mill towns. I believed I could establish a new definition of human nature in my towns, where humans would be healthy, rational, and tolerant. Each town would govern itself and hold its property in common. In 1816, I presented these ideas to the citizens of my mill towns. As of now, my mill towns are still a work in progress, but before long I hope to create a perfect society so that I can spread my ideas to all of England!

Angelina Grimke

My name is Angelina Grimke. Some people call me “Nina.” I am an abolitionist and believe in anti-slavery. I was born on February 20th, in Charlestown South Carolina. My parents belonged to the Episcopalian Church and as did I. When I was thirteen, for my confirmation, I was supposed to recite the required pledge. I didn’t agree with the pledge therefore I would not follow through on my confirmation, so I converted to Presbyterian faith. .As a little girl I’ve been witnessed to slavery and I’ve seen the suffering the go through, so I am determined to speak out. I first wrote an anti-slavery letter to William Lloyd Garrison that was published in his Liberator newspaper. I also published a pamphlet titled “An appeal to the Christian women of the south.” In this she called for Christian women to come and speak about the anti-slavery cause. I also performed many religious services to my family slaves. I believe that slavery is a violated of Christian law and human rights. After much confusion and controversy I finally became a Quaker and moved to Philadelphia. I joined many societies to promote anti-slavery such as: American Anti-slavery Society and Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.

Emma Willard

Hello all! My name is Emma Willard. I was born in 1787 and was one of seventeen growing up. Throughout my childhood my father, Samuel Hart, pushed education. I was being educated beyond belief. In 1802, I attended school at the academy in Berlin, CT. After a quick two years, I began teaching there! By 1806, I had charge of the whole academy. However, I continued to look for educational opportunities that would be good for me. I decided to move down to New York and raise money to build an all girls school. It was part of my philosophy to have girls be just as educated as the men were. I wasn’t teaching anymore at this time but I published many textbooks and writings for my students to use. For the rest my life I remained running my new school and recruiting girls to join.

NEAL S. DOW

Good evening, the name’s Neal, Neal Dow. Originally, from Portland, the center of the rum trade with the West Indies, I have seen the evils of alcohol first hand as a young child. When I took the office as the governor of Maine, it was a goal of mine to make a movement towards temperance, realizing that I could more effectively reform Maine with legislature. In 1851, I passed a law through our legislature that became known as the Maine Law. Maine became the first and leading “Dry State” with many states to follow. The Maine Law prohibited the production and sale of alcoholic beverages within the state. I have pushed my ideals of temperance and prohibition on a national and international scale, even as I faced much opposition to my legal opinions. For example, Maine is full of immigrant drinkers and other middle-class drinkers. Their opposition led to the rum riot, in a sad attempt for them to acquire alcohol. Despite this, I firmly believe that reform in the name of temperance is still possible.

Sylvester Graham

I invented Graham Crackers in 1829. I am a Presbyterian minister and avid vegetarian, who promotes the use of coarsely ground wheat flour for its high fiber content. The flour was nicknamed "graham flour" after me, the main ingredient in Graham Crackers.
I believe that his vegetarian diet was the cure for things like alcoholism. In 1850 I helped found the American Vegetarian Society. My followers are known as Grahamites, which kind of sounds like a bit sized cracker. My followers made great contributions to American Culture. Two of my followers, John and Will Kellogg invented corn flakes. Due to my success with Graham Crackers, I later invented the Graham Diet. I thought that my diet would stop people from having impure thoughts. I was also a strong believer in abstinence.

Lydia Maria Child

Hello, my name is Lydia Maria Child. I am an abolitionist, a supporter of women’s rights, and a firm believer in equality between all of mankind. Black or white, man or woman, it is important that each member of this world is granted an equal chance at life. I have dedicated my life to pursuing these ideas and informing the public of them. I believe that the rights of women depend first on the abolition of slavery. Once slaves have been freed, both blacks and women, who are seen as inferior by white men, can rise to a level of equality with these men. I wrote a book in 1833 called An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans. This book voiced my opinion: that all slaves should be emancipated immediately, under any and all circumstances, and that the owners of these slaves should not be compensated for the freeing of their slaves. This book was not warmly received by most Americans- particularly in the South- but was significant because it was one of the first books of its kind. It proved that slaves were every bit as capable intellectually and socially as the white man. An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, in addition to my rigorous work in the American Anti-Slavery Society, and as editor of the National Anti-Slavery Standard, caused some to call me the "First Lady of the Republic." As far as my actions in women's rights, I was a founder of the Massachusetts Women's' Suffrage Association. I also wrote The History of the Conditions of Women in Various Ages and Nations which, through its thorough description of the great responsibilities and challenges that were faced by women, encouraged numerous women's' suffrage movements in the future. This book also encouraged contemporary women to support the Abolitionist movement. As a result, hundreds of women took their first political action by writing anti-slavery petitions. While my true passion lies in abolition and justice for slaves, I am also committed to equality, between black and white and men and women.

Joseph Smith Jr.

Hello all. I am Joseph Smith, Prophet and founder of the Jesus Christ Church of Latter-Day Saints. I was born in Sharon, Vermont, in 1805. My parents, Joseph and Lucy Smith, were devoutly religious and spared no pains to instruct me in the Christian Religion. Members of the Latter-Day Saints movement believe that all other religions are incorrect based on a great vision of God and Christ I experienced in 1820. Jesus Christ and God the Father descended from Heaven and instructed me that “Christianity had fallen into apostasy.” The angel Moroni gave me the Book of Mormon, which details the story of ancient Jewish peoples’ journey. I then founded the Church of Christ and created an almost totally self-sufficient and self-contained community. We are successful economically AND spiritually. Under Mormonism, all who live by the Gospel will be saved. Christ’s work compels people like me to serve others. Unfortunately there are those who would persecute worshippers of our faith. I and followers of the church have been attacked, threatened, arrested, and driven from our homes. We are now stationed in Nauvoo, Illinois, being forced from New York, Ohio, and Missouri.

Mother Ann Lee

Greetings to you all! My name is Ann Lee, but I am also known as “Mother” Ann Lee. Ever since I was young, I have believed in sexual freedom and celibacy. I was forced to marry my husband, and no other woman should have to go through with that. I, therefore, took the initiative and jumped into the reform movement, creating the Shakers; a group of Quakers who condemned marriage. We believe that by giving up sexual relations, you can attain perfect holiness. Our methods of “shaking” and “dancing” purge the spirit of sins by the power of the Holy Spirit. You must also accept equality for women and men alike, if your soul is to be saved. Of course, this reform movement will be hard, but you must “Do your work as if you had a thousand years to live and as if you were to die tomorrow." (a quote by yours truly [,me]) I currently emigrated from England to escape religious persecution, and quite frankly, the warden was getting tired of seeing my face. I arrived in this country on August 6, 1774, and I have lived in New York City for two years, regrouping my fellow Shakers. We then moved to Watervliet, a town a little bit from Albany, New York, where my Shaker community has developed and thrived. We even went on a missionary journey to find converts in Massachusetts and Connecticut. We realize how radical our ideas are, but we believe that this is the only true way to happiness and purity. "We [the Shakers] are the people who turned the world upside down." (another quote by me.)

Sojourner Truth

My name is Sojourner Truth, and I was born as Isabella Baumfree in 1797 on the Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh estate, a Dutch settlement, in upstate New York. I was then sold to John Neely, along with a herd of sheep, for $100. Neely's wife and family only spoke English and I received frequent beatings due to miscommunications. It was during this time that I began to find refuge in religion by beginning the habit of praying aloud when I was scared or hurt. In 1810 I was sold off again to John Dumont of New Paltz, New York. Dumont had promised me my freedom, but when he denied it I escaped and arrived at the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagener. During my time with the Van Wageners, I had a life changing religious experience and became inspired to preach. I also devotedly attended the local Methodist church and, in 1829, I left Ulster County with a white evangelical teacher named Miss Gear. I settled in New York and joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts. This group was founded by abolitionists to promote cooperative and productive labor. They were strongly anti-slavery, religiously tolerant, women's rights supporters, and pacifist in principles. In 1843, I took the name Sojourner Truth, meaning a traveling preacher.(. In 1854, at the Ohio Woman's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, I delivered my speech with the legendary phrase, "Ain't I a Woman?. Later I became involved in the Spiritualism religious movement through a group called the Progressive Friends. This group stood for abolition, women's rights, non-violence, and communicating with spirits. During the Civil War I spoke for enlisting black troops for the cause and freeing slaves. In 1807 I also campaigned for the federal government to provide former saves with land in the new west. I then spent a year in Kansas helping refugees and speaking in white and black churches trying to gain support for the "Exodusters" as they tried to build new lives for themselves.

Mary Lyon

Hello! My name is Mary Lyon and I was born on February 28, 1797 on a remote New England farm. I acquired my first teaching job at the age of 17 years old. My job paid me 75 cents a week. However this was far less than the pay a man would get for the same position as a teacher. Nonetheless I had a passion to work hard and improve my teaching. But maintaining a classroom was always a hard task. During this time I moved around a lot- sometimes only staying five days at a house and then moving on. Despite my low pay I realized as I was teaching that I wanted to further my education, even if it would be a financial burden on me. I tried to enroll in schools regardless of how long the trips were, and over the next twenty years I taught at other schools in western and eastern Massachusetts, and in southern New Hampshire. And as my experience grew I became able to manage schools and had an urge to expand academic opportunities for young women. I eventually founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary after much turmoil and hardships and I set standards so that this was not just another school but one that would prove separate from other women seminaries. My goal was to create a school with a curriculum equivalent to those at men's colleges, minimum entrance age of 17, low tuition, rigorous entrance examinations, permanence, domestic work by students, independence, and a wide base of financial support. “There is nothing in the universe that I fear, but that I shall not know all my duty, or shall fail to do it.” But in the end I was able to get a charter in 1836 and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary finally opened on November 8, 1837 with 80 students. My aim was to give an opportunity for women to break the traditional roles of society and better their education. “ I have the greatest confidence that a system might be formed by which all the domestic work of a family of 100 could be performed by the young ladies themselves, & in most perfect order, without any sacrifice of improvement in knowledge or refinement. Might not this simple feature do away much of the prejudice against female education among common people? If this prejudice could by any means be removed, how much would it do for the cause.”

Catharine Beecher

Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Catharine Beecher and I grew up in New York with my parents and sister. I am the daughter of Rev. Lyman Beecher, who from the start, placed an emphasis on education. But this was quite hard for me, being a girl. Now, I have devoted my life to women and expanding their educational oppurtunities. I started speaking out for women wen my younger sister Harriet Beecher Stowe and I published a book about guidance for women to maintain a financially stable home called The American Women's Home. I feel that women should be more involved in teaching and education. They are always involved in the "ornamental" activities such as piano and weaving while the young men and boys are getting educated. I have founded several academies for young women that focus on the physical, moral and intellectual development of the students. I have a vision that everyone should be educated, and will be someday. Women who do teach should recieve a more decent paying for doing this because they have a gentle nurturing and natural talent for teaching the children. All in all, I want to raise the status of American Women, just as they deserve it.

Hello my name is John Humphrey Noyles, and I was born in Brattleboro, Vermont in the year of 1811. I came from a well-established family. My father John and my mother Polly taught me as a young child to fear the Lord, and this influenced my entire life. Later in life as i began to study at Yale, I came to understand the way of salvation labeled Perfectionism. This idea of Perfectionsim later became the basis of the Oneida Community that i founded in New York. years later. The Oneida community is based on the teachings and practices of mutual criticism, complex marriage, and male continence. This is a Utopian community that is intensely concerned about God's will. Our community is is not only successful because of our tight knit society, but also because of out many economic ventures. We are farmers, saw millers, blacksmiths, silk producers, and silverware producers (which is our main source of income). Our perfect society believes that God has returned, making it possible for Christ's millennial kingdom, and to be free of sin in this world not only heaven.

Arthur Tappan

Arthur Tappan
“You can go wrong with charity.”

Hello! My name is Arthur Tappan and I am from the state of Massachusetts. I am a wealthy business man, I am against the institution of slavery it is an inhumane practice that should be ended as soon as possible. However let me start off with the beginning of my life; I was born May 22, 1786 in a wonderful little town Northampton Massachusetts. At the age of 15 I moved to Boston because my strict religious up bringing. The main part of my reason to move was to enter the dry goods business. About 6 years later I moved that business to Portland Maine. In 1809 I moved the business to Montreal Canada. Even then I still struggled with my business then the outbreak of the war of 1812 didn’t help the situation at all. After that I thought it would be a wise business decision to move back the business back to the states since at that time there was plenty of economic prosperity. Yet even then it still was having trouble. After all of that moving those business decisions were all cahoots so in the year 1826 I decided to open a new business in New York City this business imported silk products. Now it’s about time isn’t it? This new business that I started with my brother was successful. Not only that I made plenty wealth off of it. Ha I made so much wealth I felt like I just robbed the Spanish armada. Cash for gold anyone? No just kidding, but in all seriousness it was very successful, unfortunately the panic of 1837 made me close its doors. However at the dawning of a new decade my brother and I pulled out another business trick that was up our financial sleeve. This new business was profitable it was the first credit rating business in America. However it’s kind of lucrative. Now enough of successful businesses let me tell you something about me I am a very conservative person when it comes to moral outlook. Early on in my life I have used some of my wealth towards philanthropy by helping missionaries, universities, and seminaries theological intellect. In 1827 I established a newspaper called The New York Journal of Commerce. My whole reason for this newspaper was to advertise immoral free advertisements for the public. Some of my other supported movements were temperance, the anti tobacco movement, and I believed that on the day of the holy Sabbath we should go out of our way to observe this holy day of rest. However it was till the later parts of my life until it became completely devoted to the abolitionist movement. I was the founder and president of the American Anti-Slavery Society I also had William Lloyd Garrison join me however I left when he tried to tie my group into other reform groups. This led me to create another reform group called the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. In the 1840’s my brother and I took a political approach to it by voting for the liberty party yet we were unsuccessful. By the year 1850 the passage of the fugitive slave law was passed I was deeply angered and so I publically announced that I supported the Underground Railroad. So is mankind perfect? No! We are far from my friends. Can the legislation change human behavior? Defiantly especially if it is beneficial to the majority, we should also look for immediate changes to society in emancipation were to occur. The only way we are going to fix slavery is if society plays an active role in the anti-slavery campaigns. Also what makes a good society is slavery free and morally clean society. Also I agree with Harriet Beecher Stowe that the passage of the proslavery laws in the year 1850 was a step back for our cause and movements.-S.S.

Elijah Parish Lovejoy

I am Elijah Parish Lovejoy, a publisher of antislavery editorials in the states of Missouri and Illinois. Born in Maine, I have been a minister, an editor of newspapers, and finally an anti-slavery reformer. After my first editorial in Missouri, a mob destroyed my press, and I moved to Alton Illinois (Perhaps opposing slavery while in a slave state was a bad idea…). I set up a new press, only to have it destroyed again by a mob and thrown into the Mississippi! After this occurred several more times, a militia of 60 men had gathered to defend my press. When a mob gathered, we attempted to protect it by remaining in our warehouse. When I exited the building with several others of the militia to stop a person attempting to set fire to the roof, I was shot five times, and then died.

William H. McGuffey

Salutations fellow reformers. My name is William H. McGuffey. I am a well-educated man who not only attended Washington College, but was the president of two other colleges later in my life. Currently I am the chair of the Department of Moral Philosophy at the University of Virginia. You may have heard of my McGuffey’s Reader. These are the texts books I created that are used widely across the country in schools to teach children both educationally and morally. The lessons they learn in my books make them become better morally and ethically with lessons about stealing, alcohol, poverty, and others. These lessons I try to teach them are part of my goals as a reformer. In one of my readers a poor young boy discusses how his parents are "very good to save some of their money in order that I may learn to read and write." This portion of my reader is obviously referencing tax-supported public schools, which are among one of my reform goals. The messages I try to show to children in my readers reflect my personal moral beliefs and my reforming goals. Up to this point in my life I have created a very successful textbook, and will continue to spread my moral messages to the youth of our country.

William Cullan Bryant

I’m pleased to join you all tonight.

A gathering of the giants of our day

Though I prefer to avoid the public light

I admit I could not stay away

I was raised under a privileged roof

By a righteous mum and dad

My reading scripture by four gave proof

I was to be a clever lad

Since those days I’ve loved to learn

And read and ‘specially write

Which, lead me to poems, essays in turn

And lets me voice my current fight

I’m truly a federalist to the bone

A strong government is the key

Just laws to protect our rights

Is the way to keep us free

For long I’ve been a poet great

Meditating deep with my verse

While it’s complexity gives it weight

Its bore to commoners is its curse

I was a lawyer by profession

Though now have taken to the press

Where, though it has caused tension

I dare touch that issue we must address

For while we sit hear sipping tea

Awaiting the soup to boil

Down south poor men like you and me

Finish this day’s toil

I love this country just like you

This holy coalition

But I’d as soon see it torn in two

To fight for abolition

I’m shy however and will quiet now

I’m modest and humble to say the least.

So come, these dark words I shan’t allow

Drain your cups and begin the feast!

Noah Webster

Hi, my name is Noah Webster. I am generally considered the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”. At the time, elementary schools were crowded with up to seventy children of all ages in one-room schoolhouses with poor equipment and untrained teachers. This alone would it make it hard enough for children to learn even without the fact that there wasn't a standardized English grammar and spelling system. Our education system was outrageously antiquated and impractical. With that thought in mind, I published a three volume compendium A Grammatical Institute of the English Language made of a speller, grammar, and a reader in 1785 and An American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. Commonly considered by many to be the first dictionaries created in the United States (and the predecessor of the modern-day Merriam-Webster), the speller was nicknamed the “Blue-Backed Speller” and was the best-selling American book of the mid-19th century. I tried to make the dictionary simple with rules for spelling and pronunciation. With this in mind, I replaced words such as “colour” and “centre” with “color” and “center” respectively. Since British English was too unnecessarily complicated and aristocratic, my dictionary allowed for more “Americanized” spelling.

Susan B. Anthony

Hello my name is Susan B. Anthony. I was born in West Grove, Massachusetts being the second oldest of my seven brothers and sisters. I was born into a family of Quakers, and was a very precocious child, learning to read and write when I was three. I later went to public school but my father quickly took me out and started to home school me himself. Later in life I went to a Quaker Boarding School in Philadelphia. When I was 29 I started getting involved in conventions relating to temperance and the anti-slavery movement. However, I felt most strongly about gaining women's rights. I then became involved with issues concerning women's suffrage and equal rights for all. In Seneca Falls I met Elizabeth Caddy Stanton and created the National Women's Suffrage Association. This focuses on gaining women's right to vote after the American Equal Rights Association was voting on allowing African Americans to gain suffrage but not American women. This is completely unfair and I will not stand for it!

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Hello, my name is Harriet Beecher Stowe, and I am an enthusiastic activist in the fight against slavery. I believe that the enslavement of fellow human beings is inhumane, wrong, and injust. "The enslav[ement] of the African race is a clear violation of the great law ["all men are created equal"] which commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves." I have always disapproved of the slave institution, but when the Missouri Compromise and Fugitive Slave Acts of 1850 were signed into effect, I was outraged.

I wanted to change the country, I wanted to "write something that would make this whole nation [see] what an accursed thing slavery is," and so I did. In 1852, I published Uncle Tom's Cabin, a tale exposing the evils of slavery, and it became an instant bestseller. "I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw because as a Christian I felt the dishonor to Christianity--because as a lover of my county, I trembled at the coming day of wrath." People across the country are now demanding America deliver on her age-old promise of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all.

But no matter how far the abolition movement has come, it has not affected the present system of government very much thus far; slavery is still not abolished. We cannot achieve social justice under the present legislature. A good society would come about from the abolishment of slavery and by the common people's participation in social and government affairs.

Sarah Grimke

Hello, I am Sarah Grimke and I am an abolitionist and a social activist, I do not support slavery despite being the daughter of a slave holding family. My sister, angelina Grimke and I helped start the anti-slavery and women's rights movement in the United States. Even though my sister was born thirteen years after myself we became very close and I became a mother like figure to her. Growing up in a male dominated slave holding southern family was difficult because of our viewpoints, but we belived all people are created equal. My family was very religious and we attended Episcopal services every sunday. And I taught Bible stories to slave children but we weren't allowed to teach them to read When I was 26 my father became deathly ill and I went tp philadelphia, to stay with him and I became very close to him, While I was there I met Johm Woolmen and converted to his Quaker Faith, and soon angelina followed. In philadelphia, we became Very active in the Quaker Church and the abolitionist cause, We taught weekly prayer and participated in local charity work. The meetings we spoke at attracted many people and grew so large, that we became the first public female speakers in America. We challenged traditional social customs but becasue of being a women we were openly criticized however our strong beliefs on anti slavery and on an equal society, we helped the cause dramaticall.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I’ve been a believer in feminism and women’s rights since I was a young girl. My father’s devastation over my brother’s death made me determined to prove I was just as valuable and intelligent as any boy. I was shocked after hearing Father, who was a successful lawyer, tell abused women that they had no legal alternative but to tolerate the mistreatment by their husbands. I was only a child, but I still was able to see how twisted it was that women were denied equal rights. My cousin, Gerrit Smith, an abolitionist, exposed me to the world of reform. Through him, I met the abolitionist leader Henry B. Stanton, who I quickly fell in love with and married. On our honeymoon, we attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. I was outraged that women delegates were not allowed to speak or vote at the convention. My anger was shared by my dear friend Lucretia Mott, and we agreed to hold our own women’s rights convention when we returned home. In the meanwhile, my husband and I moved to Seneca Falls, New York, where I raised our five children. Lucretia and I weren’t able to put our plan into action until 1848. I organized America’s first women’s rights convention in my own town of Seneca Falls. I wrote a Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after the Declaration of Independence. I rightly argued that women were created equal to men. Although there was opposition, even from my husband and father, I talked the convention into approving a resolution calling for women’s suffrage. Equality is still far away, and it is sure to be a struggle, but I am dedicated to this cause.

Frederick Douglass

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, my name is Frederick Douglass, and today I stand before you as a friend, an associate, and a man of firm beliefs. Born a slave, I, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey educated myself and fought back against the oppressiveness which held me down. At twenty-one years of age I escaped from my master, and in fear of recapture, shortened my name. Newly christened as Frederick Douglass, I began my mission. Actively speaking out against the cruelty of slavery, I published my autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and founded the antislavery newspaper, the North Star. I worked in conjunction with my abolitionist colleagues, attacking the hypocrisy of segregated schools and providing support to my courageous brothers and sisters traveling the Underground Railroad. My work was long and hard, my days tireless and exhausting, but in standing for the rights of my people, I not only worked to fulfill my own dreams, but also the dreams of the oppressed men and women who struggled alongside me each and every day.

Frances Wright

Hi, my name is Frances Wright. I am a women and I was born in Scotland where I was fascinated about books about the United States. When I was in my mid-20s, I took a two year tour around the United States. After this tour I was able to gather enough information about Americans and their attitudes to write a book in 1821 called Views of Society and Manners in America that stated their ideas about American patriots. When I again returned to America I bought land in Tennessee called Nashoba where I recruited slaves and abolitionists because I planned to have the slaves work for their emancipation but this ended up failing because I encouraged free love. However, I did later pay for slaves to be transported to Haiti where they were free. I went on an anti-clerical tour against religion and this made me unpopular. During these speeches I talked about how capital punishment should be abolished and how there should be women’s rights. I was well received in New York City however, and I moved there and became a leading figure in the progressive working class politics. In 1831 I married Guillaume D'Arusmont and had a child which died shortly after. My husband and I divorced in 1852 and I stopped lecturing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” Humanity is in grave danger of devolving itself. Think for yourself. This is all I ask of our species, that we may recognize the beauty of nature and of result ourselves. What we are told to do, what we are made to do, is not what we are. Thought, and its practice, is an individual’s work. A perfectly harmonized existence belongs to man if we can free ourselves of precedents and the expected way of existing. Make no mistake I am a simple man. However my thought is sometimes too complicated for my speech. And as you may be able to detect, oratory is not my strong point. Writing is my most effective operation. I am merely an author and a philosopher. An observer of God’s world. My dream is for each and every man to stop and see the purity of nature, of his being, and of America, and that the only thing of importance is living without fear of not following the previous.

“The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.”

William Lloyd Garrison

I am William Lloyd Garrison, the writer of The Liberator, the most radical anti-slavery newspaper available. I was born in 1805 in Newburyport, Massachusetts and had to survive selling molasses candy and delivering wood. I joined the Abolitionist movement when I was twenty-five years of age, and became affiliated with the American Colonization Society. However, their plans to send all free blacks to Africa became distasteful to me because most of the other members hoped to expand slavery by getting rid of freed slaves. After leaving them I joined the Genius of Universal Emancipation Newspaper, a paper entirely about gradual emancipation of slaves. After gaining further experience writing for Genius, I created The Liberator, now available on a weekly basis. I am also a co-founder of The American Anti-Slavery Society, and we are entirely focused on emancipation of all slaves. I am the most radical Abolitionist so far, and I hope to completely end slavery forever! Oh, and by the way I’m not welcome in the state of Georgia, have been stoned nearly to death, I was almost lynched in Boston, I public burned a copy of the Constitution, and I’ve been arrested in Baltimore; but it was all for my principles.