For this blog post I am supposed to talk about a few examples of emotions and attitudes expressed in current times toward different ethnic or religious groups. And to see whether people and their acceptance of different cultures and freedom of religion changed from the 1870s to the present day.

I definitely think that in regard to the recent election this topic is very relevant. Compared to the 1870s there is an immense difference in the way people are treated because of their cultures and religion. However I would say that religion has lost a lot of respect since then. People don't really discriminate based on religion but they tend not to take it very seriously either. In that aspect I think we have gone backwards since the 1870s. As far as cultures are concerned I also think we have come a long way, while the laws haven't really changed the people have. In the 1870s there was a lot of very open racism in our country. And though that problem hasn't been solved even today we have come a long way since then. There is a lot less anger and inherent dislike towards people who are different now and more of a prejudice and disrespectful culture now. Of course not everyone is like that, those are just the extremes of each time period.

13th, 14th and 15th Amendment

In my research of the Civil War I had to learn a bit about these three amendments. So I will write a small tidbit about each one.


13th Amendment
        "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This was the amendment that officially set slaves free in all of the United States. Not only in the specified free states, and it was vital in ending the war.

14th Amendment
        The 14th amendment was passed so that all people would have equal rights, meaning that you couldn't refuse to do things for people because of their skin color or where they were from.

15th Amendment 
        "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This was another step toward not just freedom for the African Americans but equality as well. There were quite a few loop holes that people found to avoid this amendment.

Blockades Good vs. Bad

In my past weeks reading about the Civil War I read about the Union blockade and the battle between the newly made ironclad ships Virginia and Monitor. The Virginia, previously known as the Merrimack, was attacking the Union blockade and doing a very good job of it, they had destoryed about half of the ships in the blockade. A blockade seems like a good idea to protect your land from naval attacks, but it also closes off trade coming in from the water. It encourages conflict that may possibly have been avoided otherwise. The unions blockade did it's job so it could be said that it was a good use of a blockade. Whether a blockade is neccesary or not is very dependent on the situation.

Manifest Desitny

Today I will be writing about an event in history called Manifest Destiny, which took place around 1845-1860.  Basically what Manifest Destiny was that the people who were expanding into America felt that taking the land from the people living there was justified and that the US was meant to own that land. Historians say that manifest destiny was an idea mostly adopted by Democrats. The Whigs were against the fighting conquest of America.

            I found the whole idea of manifest destiny quite fascinating actually. The idea that somehow, by living where they were born, the Native Americans were keeping the settlers from having land that was “rightfully theirs.” In my opinion I don’t think that what the American settlers did to take over the land was justified at all. Looking back it’s hard to say whether it was inevitable or not since we now have taken over all of the land. At the same time, expanding and concurring is part of being a growing country. So I don’t think there is particularly anything wrong with going to war for a piece of land because you want to expand. The problem comes from killing people for being on land that you think should be yours and say that it gives you the right to control in before you’ve won it.

On to Oregon

My next book of the school year is a book called "On to Oregon".  This book is about the Sager family and their journey to Oregon. The main character of the book is teenager John Sager. John has never been the most obedient kid. And this story shows how he must put his childish ways behind him and step up to lead his siblings on a great journey across the country. The book was very engaging all the way through and I really enjoyed it.

The Great Turkey Walk

My second book to blog is The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr. This book is about a young man named Simon Green. As far as intelligence goes, Simon doesn't have much. After spending three years in 3rd grade, he is graduated early and told to spread his wings and find something else to do. So Simon decided to go into the the turkey business. One of the farmers in his town has an extreme surplus of turkeys and Simon decides to buy them and walk them all the way to Denver where they sell for a significantly higher price. Along the way Simon has many interesting adventures. A circus muscle man who turns out to be his long lost father, a run away slave, Indians, and a girl whose entire family died and left her alone on their land. Something new is happening around every turn for Simon in his quest to prove his worth.

Wait for Me, Watch for Me, Eula Bee

Well school is starting again so it's time to get back to my blog.
This post will be about a book I read for history called Wait for Me, Watch for Me, Eula Bee, by Patricia Beatty. This takes place during the Civil War and is about a boy named Lewallen Collier. At the beginning of the book Lewallen's father and oldest brother leave their family to go fight in the war. But while they are away, tragedy strikes. Indians attack the area and kill everyone in Lewallen's family except for Lewallen and his sister, Eula Bee. I don't want to give away much of the story, but the rest of the book is about Lewallen's daring escape from the Indians and his quest to reclaim his sister. Along the way he befriends some surprising characters. I learned a lot about different relationships between peoples during the time of the Civil War and overall I really enjoyed this book!