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Trench Warfare at Petersburg

Trench Warfare at Petersburg

Ulysses S. Grant

      The American civil war was the bloodiest war in American history with the greatest deaths yet recorded, it was initiated on April 12, 1861 and finally concluded on May 10, 1865. Growing issues between the Northern and Southern states involving tariffs, railroad taxes, and especially slavery were what caused this war. the Southern states felt that as an independent nation they would succeed and decided to secede, they were known as the Confederate states and had Robert E. Lee as their military general. The northern states however, were known as the Union and had Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederate capital was Richmond and Ulysses S. Grant thought that if his army could take over Petersburg ( an important supply center for 

Robert E. Lee 

the capital which had 5 railroads and various roadways ) then they could destroy Richmond. They fought for four days starting June 15th but when Grant realized that it was useless, he ordered his army to siege operations (this was the longest siege in American war history). Grant ordered the roadways to be destroyed but the siege lasted a total of ten months. finally on April 2nd, Grant ordered an attack on Lee's men, which were then destroyed. Luckily for Lee, he was able to escape on time. The Petersburg siege and battle went on from June 15, 1864 to April 6, 1865, it had the involvement of over 180,000 soldiers, 8,150 Union casualties, and 3,236 casualties for the Confederate states.

      The Battle of Petersburg was such a significant one because it basically resulted in the destruction of roadways that supplied Richmond, the Confederate capital. Robert E. Lee was able to escape Petersburg along with his soldiers the night the battle ended. this meant that Petersburg was left in the hands of the Union. Additionally, since the Union was now in charge of the most important supply center for the confederate capital, there was only a certain amount of time until the South would finally surrender. On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox, Virginia. 

Siege of Petersburg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkE3v5dyKYU

Journey through Slavery part 4 - Judgement Day

Journey through Slavery part 4 - Judgement Day 

      Today Pierce Butler is commemorates as one of the founding fathers. He was born on July 11^th in

Pierce Butler

1744. He was a soldier, planter and statesman. He was the representative for South Carolina during the Continental Congress, Constituitonal Convention and for the US Senate. He publicly spoke out in favor of slavery for both personal and political reasons. He also introduced the Fugitive Slave Clause during the Constitutional Convention. The Butler Island Plantation was one of the largest rice plantations in the South. More than 500 enslaved African Americans worked the plantations which fundamentally made the Butler family one of the riches in the United States. During this time it was thought that the demoncracy was in the hands of the white men, slave owners of course. More money was being spent on slavery than any other investment in the Unites states. There were over two million enslaved blacks and were worth approximately a billion dollars in total. Most of the cotton, worldwide, was being proeduced and exported from the south. This required labor, hard labor, all done by the slaves. Cotton production was the basis and foundation of ship building, shipping, and even factories, etc.

Harriet Ann Jacobs was born on February 11^th in 1813, in North Carolina. She underwent the

Harriet Ann Jacobs

hardship of being a slave including sexual abuse by her owner since the young age of fifteen. Despite the fact that the owner had the government on his side, she had he will, desire, and determination to be freed from slavery. When Jacobs was twenty-one years old she finally decided to run. She first hid in the Cabarrus Pocosin swamp then ran to her Grandmother’s shed. She believed that hiding in a shed habituated by rodents was better than undergoing the cruel life she had as a slave. She hid in her grandmother’s shed for seven years. Through a small hole she used as a window she saw her cruel owner and even her children, whom she couldn’t speak to but didn’t dare leave behind.  During this time slaves disappeared overnight and it was a great disadvantage to the slave owners, they lost a great amount of money. After all, they were losing their free labor. Additionally, any attempt to escape slavery was considered an act of rebellion.

David Walker

During this crucial time period in history free blacks were a great threat to slavery. There was a total of 182,000 free blacks living in the South and a total of 137,000 living in the north. Not only was slavery a growing issue but so was abolitionism, at least to most of the white population it was. Slavery in the South had a unforgettable impact on every black person in the country where ever it was that they were. Even if they weren’t enslaved, most free blacks were greatly discriminated but also segregated. In the north, segregation was a major issue in schools and even in churches that claimed to support the abolitionist movement. Laws even prohibited intermarriage between blacks and whites. David Walker was born on September 27, 1797 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was an outspoken African America, but had never been enslaved, unlike his own father. In 1829 he started his own private war, which was fought to condemn both racism and its foundation, slavery. He fought in favor of all African Americans and their right to be free and treated as citizens of the United States. 

PRIMARY SOURCE: http://www.yale.edu/glc/harriet/15.htm

Journey through Slavery part 3 - Brotherly Love

Journey through Slavery part 3 - Brotherly Love 

Journey through Slavery part 3 covered the obstacles that Africans and African Americans underwent during the late 18^th century as well as the 19^th century. The age of Enlightenment was introduced during this time and it basically gave people faith that the human race could be improved or even perfected. I personally agree with the historians that express the idea that slavery was a contradiction to this crucial time in history. The American Revolution (1763-1787) was a time during which Americans yearned and fought for their liberty from British rule. When the revolutionary war ended in 1787, Britain no longer had control over America, Americans were free. However, 19.3% of the American population was African American with a total of 757,208. There were 697, 681 slaves with a total of 92% of slaves.

Thomas Jefferson

On September 29, 1789 George Washington which then held presidency elected Thomas Jefferson as the first Secretary of State. At that time Jefferson was Minister to France. He was well-known as the author of the Declaration of Independence and gained fame by laying the foundation of the American democracy. During the revolutionary war Jefferson stated and claimed, "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL". He believed that it was invalid/immoral for one man to own another as property. Despite his words and beliefs, Jefferson himself owned approximately 130 slaves. His excuse was that blacks were naturally inferior to whites and that is why it was his duty to stand on their side and protect them. Because they were like children, they could not protect themselves. I believe that even though Jefferson owned slaves his excuse might have been justifiable if thinking from a historical point of view. Additionally, he was one of the first to write about the idea that blacks and whites could not live together in equality. He even warned that slavery could result in rebellions.

Banjamin Rush

Richard Allen was born into Slavery on February 14, 1790, in Delaware. Luckily for him, he successfully bought his freedom. As a free black man, Allen dram of founding his own church. He wanted to prove that despite their color and the segregation they underwent, blacks had the capability of succeeding just like the whites. In 1794 he was able to found the African Methodist Episcopal Church and is now known as a minister, educator and writer. Not only were blacks able to prove themselves as capable to succeed thanks to individuals such as Richard Allen but also during the Yellow fever epidemic of 1973. Sanitation was so horrible that the death rates increased dramatically. Benjamin Rush, a significant physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence was known as a friend of the Blacks. He contributed in helping Allen found his church. During the epidemic he introduced the idea that blacks were immune to the fever which is when they
came to be handy to the whites. They cared for and nursed the ill; however, in the end the plague ended up killing off both the white and black population.

PRIMARY SOURCES:
Testimonies from three of Jefferson's slaves.
1. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/cron/1873march.html
2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/cron/1873israel.html
3. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/slaves/memoir.html