Civil War: Lincoln Overview

Now for all of you that don't know, I am obsessed with the movie Lincoln! I mean who isn't! Unless you are not a lover of history, you should like the movie. Maybe not to the extent of me, but still like the movie.

Well after I saw the movie and read Chapters 20-21, I was thinking of a lot of "what if" situations. Like what if the Democrats weren't stupid enough, in the election of 1860, to split the Democrat vote 3 ways, between Stephen Douglas, John C. Breckinridge and John Bell?.. ABRAHAM LINCOLN WOULDN'T OF BECOME PRESIDENT AND OUR COUNTRY WOULD BE LOST!!! Okay so that might be a little bit dramatic, but the country as we know it today as, wouldn't probably exist. I never really realized how important Lincoln was to this country. I mean I knew that he did some important things to this country. He changed the course of history with his actions as a leader of this country.

I don't think there are many things that Lincoln could do to prevent to war from happening. The Confederate states really didn't like him as President. Hense the states seceding when he was elected president in 1860. Lincoln was a Republican who wanted to end the extension of slavery (which the south did not agree with). It was hard enough for Lincoln to keep the border states on his side for the most part. The border states were democrats but Lincoln knew he was ion the brink of war so he needed to make sure when the war started they were on his side.

At the battle of Fort Sumter, which I am sure you all know pretty well by now, was the turning point for weather or not the border states would become part of the Union or the Confederate states. They say that if the union fired first, the border states would of sided with the confederacy. Later on in 1861 part of Virginia broke of to become part of the Union states. This was known as West Virginia. Just think about it, if the border states didn't join the union, the civil war would of been profoundly different.

So now jumping forward to the Thirteenth Amendment (this is the part were I try not to geek out about Lincoln). This was a very hard thing for Abraham Lincoln to do in 1864. You don't realize how hard it was for him to get it passed in the house of representatives. When the idea was came to the table, the justification for wanting to get this passed was to get it legalized. The Emancipation Proclamation was  just freeing the slaves in the South. But Lincoln was afraid that if after the war the freed slaves would then be put back into slavery after the war. I mean the Emancipation Proclamation didn't legalize anything. The south didn't pay any attention to it what so ever.

Now to relate this to modern day, well I guess when West Virginia became a state it would become a state forever, duh!. But really if all this didn't go down in 1861, we wouldn't have another state. Also another thing since the civil war, Thirteenth Amendment, and the Emancipation Proclomation happened, our country has grown. I mean look we have an African- American president, Obama. In the movie Lincoln an African- American Soldier said that "maybe in 100 years we could have one of us become the president". I believe we made that standard, maybe not as fast as the character wanted it but it still happened and that amazing!!!!!!!

So here is the nail biting question, If you were a house of Representatives, and a border state congressman back then would you of passed the Thirteenth Amendment? why?

Thank You for listening to my rant about the civil war and Lincoln. :)

Irish Immigrants Journal Entry

1850

America is not what it seems. When I herd about this land of freedom and opportunity. I thought that I would have choices and live free of the criticizing in my homeland Ireland. But I am criticized all the time for my religion. I practice the Roman Catholic church ways. 

The protestant and the Congregational churches think us Catholics as a invasion and need to be taken care of.  This does not make sense for a place that is said to be a land of freedom. The Americans started this Antiforeignism movement. They believed that they needed to keep the country pure of the american people. Which means that want to stop immigration in the U.S. The Know- Nothing party, was a group of people that was known for their secretiveness. The only reason they made this group was because the overload of immigrants. Especially us, the Irish Immigrants. 

The Irish were not always on top of the totem pole. Actually we were never on the tip of the totem pole. After awhile we started to be a majority of the police departments in the city. But once we started to get a foothold in society. Tammany Hall, which was the first gang in america, exploited us immigrants when it came to voting for anything. We didn't have any privacy at all. 



  

Point of View From Revolutionary Wa

Year 1775


The war is getting difficult. The British army is getting stronger and has more war supplies then us patriots have. The British have the Hessians or German Soldiers. They are brutal and are very good at what they do. But I noticed that they don't have the same fight and intuition as my fellow patriots do. The British also have no food like us. I wonder how they survive like us. 
British are getting weak and are bringing in the Loyalist in the colonies and some black slaves. They are promising them freedom if they join. I don't believe they are going to keep there word on that. I heard a rumor that the British are having troubles with commanding things because of there distance from there home base in England. 
Us Americans are not having a good time. We hardly have any training in battle compared to the British. We don't have a good sense of unity. I have no idea really what to do. Our men need some work at military camps if we want any chance against the British army.  
Many colonist are jealous about other colonies. Not sure why but its a sense of who is stronger and has more troops in different colonies. 
Not everything is bad though. We have George Washington as a General. He is such an inspirational person to lead us into battle. Also I herd that we are getting French aid. 
The days grow longer and the winters are difficult to bare. I believe we are going to get through the war and defeat the British Army.  
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This can relate to today current situation in Iraq. The soldiers there are going through rough times but are going to get through it. They always have high hopes.  

Religious Diversity

Even though the English came to Virginia.
Many of them were not there to enforce religion.
But to focus on the tobacco company.
But never mind that information.

These so called Pilgrims came to the Plymouth region.
Where the puritan religion came to stay.
Although they wanted to build a community of holy society.
Some puritans questioned the puritan way.

The woman who came to be a dissenter
Of the puritan religion.
Her name you should ask?
Anne Hutchenson, I say.

Now she wasn't the only dissenter
That was in trouble, with the puritan community.
Rodger Williams, a puritan minister,
Also questioned the so called religion.

What did the puritans do to these antinomianist you ask?
Banishing them from there community.
Williams built this Baptist church, that rubbed the puritans the wrong way.
It gave people the freedom of religion.
Which the puritans did not posses.

Maryland was this Catholic haven.
Now it wasn't all ice creme and candy.
They were surrounded by colonies that were protestant.
So they made the Act of Toleration.

It only saved the the Catholics, that's great, you think.
The Atheist and Jews were prosecuted for there ways.
Not believing in Jesus, now that's a violation,
Of the European society.

Georgia, the buffer colony.
A diverse melting-pot community.
Lutherans, Catholics and Scots, oh my.
Catholics, the only ones that had an opinion about this matter.

Last but not least, there is Pennsylvania, the home of the Quakers.
Known as the friends that filled society.
Founded by the well known William Penn, who made a liberal community.
Churches that went the different path of the normal religious ways.

To your comprehension.
You have learned the religion
In the colonial times in the British colonies.  
Now use this information on your AP EXAM.