Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Antebellum Culture
Although the United States got off to a pretty good start after the revolution, some issues started to become apparent during the early 19th century. A new generation was taking the reigns of the country, people who weren't around during the revolution. The government was also being modified, as the United States pretty much came up with its own system of government. People were unsure about the new things going on politically. Also, Americans started to think that slavery may not be as justified as they thought. As slavery rebellions started to occur, people's thoughts about it changed. Earlier, they believed that the slaves were accepting of their situation, and that they were treated as family. However, with news of rebellions such as the one on the Creole, and Toussaint's role in the Haitian Revolution, it became clear that the slaves were being mistreated. Because of this, and dwindling trust in the government, new societies started to come up involving equal rights for all people, instead of just equal rights for all white men. Various abolitionist and women's rights organizations were started, and these ideas began to spread. Some organizations released statements saying that mothers have the duty of being good role models to their children, and making sure they grow up to become good Christians, and just good people in general. As America developed in the early 19th century, certain societies formed to try to change America for the better in ways they didn't think the government could.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
• Hello Sam,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Lisa and I am from the Oregon Episcopal School. I found it very interesting that people thought that the slaves were “okay” with their situation. People were probably blinded and didn’t want to realize that the slaves were in an unfair situation. A lot of people do the same thing with homeless people. They see them and think, “oh well that’s their life”, or the just ignore them completely. People do this because it they admit that the people need help, they feel bad by not doing anything. Thanks for your post!
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
DeleteI agree it would make since for people to ignore the slaves' situation, since their labor drove the country at this time. I think it's a little different than the homeless, though, since you actually see homeless people on the street, but most people never saw slaves. But i agree people would probably prefer to live guilt-free and not know how the slaves were being treated.
Thanks for your comment,
Sam
Hey Sam,
ReplyDeleteI am Christian Thompson from Starmont High School in Arlington, IA. Good job on your blog! You hit some interesting key points. It's interesting how much society has changed since then. It's a good thing we did change to treat everyone more fair but the US doesn't value morals like we used to. Nice work!
Hi Christian,
DeleteIt's definitely better to have everyone equal today, as it makes the country for unified. I can't say for sure I know what you're referring to by saying we don't value morals anymore, but it does seem like the government is ignoring the lower class these days.
Thanks for the comment,
Sam
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ty Brown from Starmont High School. I enjoyed the points that you made in your post about how the slaves had to rebel to show that they were being treated unfairly. In some places I'm sure the owners treated their "slaves" properly and as family as you stated however as we know most did not and this all forced our nation to change in order to make sure everybody got a chance and that everyone could be happy in the land of that free.
Hi Ty,
DeleteIt does seem like there could have been better ways to handle plantation labor than harshly treating people who were whisked away from their home country. If we were able to find more civil replacements for slavery, all the disaster in the south after the Civil War could have been avoided, not to mention slavery just wasn't right.
Thanks for your comment,
Sam
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI think you made some very interesting points in your post. It is interesting how we can change our views when we once believed something different. It is a good thing we can change our views once we realize what is right and what is wrong. I agree with Christian above, we do not value morals like we used to. Keep the interesting posts coming!
Hi Skylar,
DeleteIt is good that we can change our views, but it's too bad that it takes such a long time. It took about 100 years after abolition for blacks to have equal rights throughout the country, and there is still a lot of racism in certain parts of the country.
Thanks,
Sam
I think you made some very interesting points in your post. It is interesting how we can change our views when we once believed something different. It is a good thing we can change our views once we realize what is right and what is wrong. I agree with Christian above, we do not value morals like we used to. Keep the interesting posts coming!
ReplyDeleteThis is Brian Goedken from Starmont High School. You have some interesting facts about slavery and how it was unfair. Know we now everyone has equal rights. Also that many things have changed over the years to slavery and to the government. It’s good to see the government changing many things over the years to make life more equal for everyone. Many people thought that slavery was ok and that it was good for thoughts people. Know we have machinery for replaying slavery to make it a lot easier and more fair to everyone
ReplyDeleteHi Brian,
DeleteThat's an interesting thought about how machinery has replaced slavery. I wonder if slavery would have stuck around longer if it weren't for the industrial revolution. It certainly would have been more difficult to eliminate slavery without the development of factories.
Thanks for your comment,
Sam
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteYour post is really interesting! I know people back then thought that slavery was acceptable, but I never realized that they thought slaves were okay with their situation. I can't imagine how anyone could believe that, but I guess it wasn't really something that people paid attention to because it didn't affect them. I definitely think it's good that America has continued changing for the better, and trying address problems in the government and society. When you say that organizations formed to help in ways the government couldn't, do you think the government should have taken more responsibility in promoting equal rights and things like that? Great post!
-Olivia
Hi Olivia,
DeleteI think the government should have realized earlier that everyone wasn't getting the equal treatment they deserved. Then again, even if they had, they probably didn't think that it was as important as other issues there might have been in the country, since the US hadn't been around for long. Then again, if everyone could've just agreed to give everyone equal rights, it wouldn't have taken up much time anyway, but politics doesn't seem to work that way for some reason.
Thanks,
Sam
Hey its Colt from Starmont! Such a nice, well educated and thought out post. This supports my idea that religion has played such a big role in the making of this country. I worry about the people who bicker about too much religion in the US. If the morals and values of Christianity got our country to where it is, why would it be a good idea to stray away from the bread and butter of this great nation? Great job!
ReplyDelete-Colt J
Hi Colt,
DeleteI think religion is an important part of a country's culture, as there are a lot of things about America that come from various religions, and it does seem that religion makes people more inclined to have good morals. However, because there are so many cultures in the U.S., separation of church and state seems inevitable, since there isn't one true religion of America anymore.
Thanks for your comment,
Sam