Blog 6

       The time period immediately followed by the Civil War is known as the Reconstruction. Several changes were made during this time period to benefit slaves. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in states that were still in rebellion against the United States. This did not apply to states such as Missouri, Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware and parts of Virginia and Lousiana which were still occupied by Union troops. Slavery wasn't completely abolished until nearly three years later in 1865. The 14th Amendment was made to guarantee the rights and security of free people. It also greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to Americans. The 15th Amendment gave all MEN the right to vote and stated that they could not be denied this by race, color or previous servitude. Besides those Amendments, Black Codes were also formed. Each southern state had different codes that intended to keep African Americans in a state similar to slavery. This outraged the North as well as free African Americans still living in the south. Even though three Amendments were made during the Reconstruction, free slaves didn't have the life promised by the law. Racial discrimination and prejudice still existed in society. All in all free slaves did not have it much better after the Civil War, but at least some progress was being made.

Blog 5

        After the Civil War, Lincoln had a Reconstruction plan containing several ideas and processes to "clean up." An idea he suggested was to grant amnesty to the south. Lincoln wanted peace and forgiveness now that the war was over. I think his idea of amnesty was very generous, unfortunately the south didn't agree. They took more offense to this because the whole reason they were fighting was to break away from the Union - not to become closer to them. I believe if the Union did not offer forgiveness to the Conferderate states then there would have been more conflict and chaos.

Blog 4

     In every war, soldiers have a purpose for fighting. Whether it be for land, natural resources, money or power, the importance of the issue determines well how the soldiers fight. I believe a moral idea like freedom can help win a war because the soldiers are more motivated. Sure, exemplary weapons and commanders would contribute to how well an army performs but even with the best resources, the army still wouldn't be at its best. Union soldiers were fighting to keep the states united and give the slaves an opportunity at freedom. Confederate soldiers were fighting to break away, not stay together. Somehow, I think this reason wasn't as effective as the one the Union soldies faught for. Even though Lt. Col. Chamberlain had lost many troops since the beginning of the war, he still found a way to motivate his men to keep fighting. I believe this aspect is a very beneficial quality to have.

Blog 3

                                          "That government is best which governs least"
                                                         - Henry David Thoreau

        This quote is implying that a government which has the least say or amount of power is better for the people. The author holds high standards for the citizens decisions rather than our government's. The idea produced from this quote is almost a governmentless society with excessive freedom to the people. I disagree with this statement because too much freedom can be dangerous and self destructing. We need guidelines in our life to keep us on track and balanced. Any society with too much power, either in the government or people, can cause corruption.

Blog 2

      The way we teach children about history is different than the way it actually happened. Even though kids aren't supposedly old enough to know what exactly happened, we tell them a simpler version of the story. If we take this much time to make up stories about our history for the sole purpose of them being able to learn it, shouldn't we just use that time to tell them the truth? It's harder to be re-taught something once you've learned it another way. Kids grow up thinking the Native Americans and Pilgrims gathered around a campfire and shared one, big, happy feast on the first night. Oh, how contraire to what really happened! If they knew that the Native Americans and Pilgrims did not get along, then we could elaborate on that topic when they're older. At least then they'd have the right idea of how things were. Kids don't necessarily have to know everything about what happened and how it did, but they could be a little closer to the truth than what they are being taught now.

Blog 1

         Countries should not leave out parts of their history, even if they portray a negative image. It's natural for countries to be patriotic and want to be considered "good", but this feature shouldn't be based on lies or better referred to as "accidentally" leaving pieces of vital information out. The United States, as well as any other country, doesn't want to admit that they were the cause of something unfavorable. Recall how long it took before the oil spill could start to be cleaned up. Companies refused to help because they didn't want to take the blame for the accident. Oil was left pouring into the ocean because other companies didn't even want to be associated with the problem. If people spent less time trying to blame one another, issues could be solved so much faster. During World War II, for instance, most Americans can easily state the we were bombed by the Japanese at Peal Harbor on December 7, 1941 - a date even I can remember. But could most students tell you what happened on August 6, 1945? I bet they couldn't, unless they were extremely literate on world history and had a knack for remembering dates. This is the day that we, American citizens, bombed the Japanese at Hiroshima. We attacked a major city full of civilians and killed thousands of innocent people. The Japanese attacked us at one of our major Naval Bases. Even though neither of these actions are acceptable, at least the Japanese didn't bomb our city with civilians. We purposely bombed their city to kill as many civilians as we could to try to end the war. This piece of history isn't completely left out, but it isn't taught as much as our side of the story was. Unfortunately, only the author or winning side gets to publish their story and be in the history books. It is important to confess to our problems because it helps us to learn from them. If we don't make known what we did wrong then how can it be preventable? By making our country not look as "good'' as it seems today, we could educate other countries about the mistakes we made and ways to prevent them from happening again. In the long-run, it should be a decision worth the temporary shame.