This week in class we learned about whether freedom came from above or below. The first thing we did in class was look at a picture of Abraham Lincoln helping slaves get back on their feet. Given this picture we had to write speech bubbles with things that both Abraham and the slaves would say. Here is an example from class of what is could look like.
Then we looked at the social pyramid of American society at the beginning of the Civil War to get a better understanding of who had more power over who, so in the end we would be able to determine if freedom came from above or below. After this we split up into groups and each were assigned one of Lincoln's documents. With this document you had to find a quote that fit into three categories; goal of war, position on freeing slaves and evidence of personal feelings on slavery. The three essential questions for this topic are, who 'gave' freedom to enslaved Americans? Did freedom come from above or below? To what extent where Abraham Lincoln's actions influences by the actions of enslaved Americans?
Abraham Lincoln was someone who gave freedom to the slaves, in the picture above it shows Lincoln helping a slave family become free. In Lincoln’s Open Letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, Lincoln stated that the cause of the war was mainly slavery. He also states his position on free slaves and his personal feelings on slavery. Lincoln states his position on free slave by saying, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it.” This shows that Lincoln will make whatever decision he has to to be able to save the Union. Lincoln’s personal feelings on slavery is that even though he wants slavery to end, as president of the Unite States he cannot make it his first priority. Also in the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, Lincoln wanted all slaves in the states to be free and he felt like freeing the slaves was simply an act of Justice. France and Britain could not consider allying themselves with the confederacy anymore, they had already outlawed slavery and now that the war was about slavery they could not side with pro slavery. The South was outraged that Lincoln could even say something, no slaves were released. They needed to fight twice as hard so that they could win the war by themselves without any foreign help.
The fugitive slaves did influence the government and Lincoln’s actions on slavery. The slave owners were telling their slaves that if they tried to talk to the Union soldiers then they would tie them up and told them that the soldiers were terrible people. This was to prevent them from joining these regiments. But eventually the word got out that they were lying and slaves started to go join the soldiers. The slave owners started writing to the government and the government did not know what to do with the extra people who they could not feed, and were not able to fight because they were not trained. This caused the government to realize that the war was really about slavery. Lincoln claimed that he did not do more for the abolition at this point in the war because he was afraid that if he abolished slavery that he would lose the support of the border states. He did not want to abolish slavery because he needs the resources these states provide to fight and succeed in the war against the south. Some factors that influenced the planning and the execution of the Emancipation Proclamation was that Lincoln’s cabinet advised him to hold back on abolishing all slavery. He only frees the slaves in the rebelling states and he issues the proclamation when the union has won a battle so this way the act does not look like an act of desperation to try to win, but rather a piece of value added to the war by the winner.
I think that the freedom of slavery came from below, meaning the slaves were the ones who made slaves free. I think that slavery came from below because if they never left their slave owners to join the soldier would the government never realize the real reason for the war, slavery. This is a picture showing slaves that left their owners and are meeting with union soldiers. These slaves are finally taking action on making sure they get their freedom.
http://www.edline.net/files/_DMF2g_/25617cd6768f5fcd3745a49013852ec4/Docs_XY_Above__Below.pdf
Today justice still comes from below. If people of lower power have a power that the people of the higher power overlook, the lower class people stand up for what they believe in and finally take action just like the fugitive slaves did to get their freedom back.
Sources:
http://www.edline.net/files/_DbH0m_/beb977bb964cfe7c3745a49013852ec4/Activity_4_Class_Notes.pdf
http://www.edline.net/files/_DMF2g_/25617cd6768f5fcd3745a49013852ec4/Docs_XY_Above__Below.pdf
http://www.edline.net/files/_DMF17_/2238431140fb386a3745a49013852ec4/Freedom_from_Above_or_Below_Documents.pdf
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