Gone With the Wind Reflection

 Before starting the movie Gone with the Wind, I wasn't sure what I was going to think. With it being an older movie I just expected it to be boring and just another movie. But now after watching the movie, I know I found it more interesting than I anticipated. Watching the different relationships showed how different things were back then. 

The movie uses the relationship between Scarlett and Rhett to show how the war had an impact on everyone's life. Scarlett had just gotten married and had lost her husband to the war right after she had gotten married. Scarlett had to sacrifice staying with her parents by going and helping those injured from the war. With Scarlett's husband, she didn't seem to think he would be coming back from the war as she married him just to make another man jealous. She didn't even seem to be sad after she found out her husband wasn't returning since she ended up dancing with Rhett when she was supposed to be mourning. 

The bad part of this movie is that it doesn't seem to show how bad slavery was. The women encouraged their men to go fight in the war, which supported the south. It just showed how much those who they worked for depended on them a lot. Scarlett seemed to ask for a lot of help with tasks she could easily do herself.  

 I personally don't think that this movie would be as popular if it was released today. I feel like those that watched it didn't think anything wrong of how the slaves were treated. They used it almost as "validation." Those that watched it all had just dealt with the war and everything that happened. They were able to relate in certain ways that if it was made back then and released now, it could be less watched and talked about. I think if it was current and popular if it was released in todays time, it would be popular in a negative light rather than as entertainment. 

sources:

https://civilwar.vt.edu/gone-with-the-wind-1939/

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1490&context=honors-theses

Town Hall Meeting Reflection

In class, we had a town hall meeting where each person represented someone and shared that person's opinion on slavery, either for or against. Hearing the stories of those who were for slavery were the most interesting. Some of the opinions were so harsh and were not right. The first thing that I heard about was about how slaves were treated medically. There was one doctor who experimented on the slaves and did not use anything to help while they did their experiments.  Things like this showed how bad it was. 

One person said that slaves were okay because there were slaves in the Bible, which is completely wrong since slaves in the Bible were probably not treated the same. We should learn from history, not repeat it. Slavery then seemed to be so normalized that unless someone had a reason to be against it, everyone didn't seem to know how they would manage without it. 

We learned about Thomas Jefferson and how he thought a white man was more superior. There is so much wrong about that. He seemed to think that giving slaves jobs was doing those people good rather than bad as if there weren't other jobs out there. Without slavery, slaves would have been able to find a job to support their family since there would be spaces to be filled, but as a paid and fair employee. 

Andrew Jackson believed that white men couldn't do all of the labor so slaves were needed. Someone's skin color should not decide what job they have and how they are treated. He thought that slavery was more "cost effective" for others, which someone's life should be more valuable than having to be fair. He owned over 150 slaves and thought the economy would be bad without slavery. 

Even George Washington believed that slavery was good since he always had slaves. He believed that it was okay since slavery allowed his slaves to have food and housing and took off the pressure of having to find a job. He also believed that if slaves did all the work, the rest of the people were able to focus on other things like government.

All of the different arguments on why slavery would be good is all so wrong and I couldn't believe that people would outright say some of this stuff. It's crazy to me how much things has changed with time and that slavery was such an argument when it was clearly wrong. 

Frederick Douglas Game: Abigail Adams

 Good afternoon, 

My name is Abigail Adams and I believe that slavery is something that should be abolished. Slavery does not giving those that are working the freedoms that they should have that others are able to have. No matter what, someone should not be treated that badly and the only way to change this is to get rid of slavery. I said this when I wrote “I wish most sincerely there was not a slave in this province. It always appeared a most iniquitous scheme to me — to fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have.”

We are taking away basic freedoms that should be given and should not have to be earned since everyone should be equal, no matter what race and/or gender someone is. Both my husband John Adams and I agree that slavery is not fair and should be abolished. I have tried to work with my husband by writing to him while he is away so that I can help motivate him to share all of his opinions in Philadelphia. Since he is the second president of the United States, he should be able to have some say in everything. Because of how I feel, I consider slavery is so bad that it is a “sin.” 

I have told my husband that separating from Britain would be good since this would “make a new country” which would make “new laws.” With this new nation, there could be no more slavery, making this sin something of the past and giving past slaves the freedom that they deserve. We can make laws that are fair and include everyone. It also isn’t fair that those that are currently living their life as slaves are having to both do everything that is required of them but also having to fight for their own freedom. They need support from those around them too so that they can have a fair chance. Their voices won’t be heard like how men in government would be heard. This is why it is important that we all stand up for what we believe in.

In the south, there is too much of a dependence on slavery. I am shocked of the amount of it and how much it is depended on. Here we have a few staff members, but we have never had slaves, making us some of the only people in politics at the moment that don’t own slaves and depend on them. We are able to use staff rather than slaves and we hope that others can see this and try to do the same. Without slaves, we are able to be just as successful with everything compared to everyone else. 

With women not having as much of a say, it is important that I voice my opinion to John so that he is able to share it to those who make the opinion matter. Women don’t have a voice nowadays and everyone should be able to have their opinion to be heard. If women had a say too, there could possibly be more in favor of getting rid of slavery. 

sources:

https://foundersandslavery.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/abigail-adams-slave-owner-or-not/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%20wish%20most%20sincerely%20there,to%20freedom%20as%20we%20have.%E2%80%9D&text=Letter%20from%20Abigail%20Adams%20to%20John%20Adams%20on%20September%2014%2C%201774.

Slavery in the Bible

 Slavery is widely known as a controversial issue during the Civil War. However, it is also an issue of biblical times. The Bible has many instances in which it condones, and condemns slavery. There are many verses, that talk about slavery and how slaves should obey their masters. In the same sense, there are many things from the Bible that can be used to confirm that the Bible condemned slavery, such as the ten commandments. 

When thinking about slavery, many minds go straight to the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. However, when slavery relates to the Bible, the circumstances were slightly different. Race-based slavery was not used; however, economic-based slavery was used. Most slaves in Christianity had to sell themselves because they were in a debt they could not repay, so they sold themselves instead. On the other hand, some were born into slavery and had to fulfill that. Ephesians 6:5 states, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ”. This verse outlines that Christianity condoned slavery. Additionally, Colossians 4:1 states, “Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” This verse helps support the idea that even though the Bible does not directly say that slavery is acceptable, it still summarizes how masters should have treated their slaves. 

Another instance in which the Bible condones slavery is in Leviticus 25:44-45, “As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property.” This example contradicts the statement that all men are created equal. The Bible is supposed to be thought of as a comfort to all people and something they can turn to in times of need. Instances like these show that even the Bible has its flaws.

The Bible does also condemn slavery. In the Bible, there are different things written that can be interpreted that slavery should be condemned. In 1 Corinthians 7:23, it says “you were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” Saying that we were “bought with a price” is talking about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could be forgiven and be able to live an eternal life. Saying “do not become slaves of men” is telling us that the only person we should be completely committed to is God, not an earthly figure.

There are only a few times in the Bible when we are directly told how to live rather than interpreting. One of these times are the ten commandments, which slavery can be considered against these commandments. One of the commandments that slavery goes against is told in Exodus 20:15 which is “You shall not steal.” The people who had slaves were robbing the slaves of their freedom and also are not paying them a fair wage or some not even paying them, making this against one of the ten commandments.

 Also, the ten commandments tells us to “not covet your neighbor’s house.” This is interpreted as you shouldn’t take something that is not yours. They are taking people as slaves away from where they originally were and are taking away their chance to go do something different since they are taking away freedom and control. The Bible tells us to treat others how we would like others to treat us, making it that slavery isn’t right. We should all be equal in each other’s eyes since we should love our neighbors. Those that had slaves would not want to be put in the same positions that they put their own slaves into. 

The Bible has both support for condoning and condemning slavery. The Bible says that we should obey those that are our masters on earth, but the Bible also says that slavery isn’t right since it is taking away from what slaves deserve to earn. The Bible didn’t directly support slavery, but it told us that slaves should obey their masters and that their masters should treat them fairly since God would treat everyone the same and fair. If slavery is a sin, that sin should be forgiven with Jesus dying on the cross and it should be something of the past. 

Boles, John B. “The Origins of Proslavery Christianity: White and Black Evangelicals in Colonial and Antebellum Virginia. by Charles F. Irons. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. XIV + 366. $24.94 Paper.: Church History.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 28 May 2009, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/abs/origins-of-proslavery-christianity-white-and-black-evangelicals-in-colonial-and-antebellum-virginia-by-charles-f-irons-chapel-hill-university-of-north-carolina-press-2008-xiv-366-2494-paper/A81504046926DA56F2F34F27E62F929B.

ProQuest | Better Research, Better Learning, Better Insights. https://www.proquest.com/.

Siliezar, Juan. “A Harvard Exhibit on Christianity and Slavery.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 7 Jan. 2019, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/a-harvard-exhibit-on-slavery-and-christianity/.

Slavery and Christianity in the British West Indies - JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3161292.pdf.

“Slavery and Christianity.” CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Slavery and Christianity, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14036a.htm.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the United States is known as the most powerful judicial court. The Supreme Court has had nine justices be a part of the court at a time since the Civil War, which consists of eight associate justices and then one that is the chief justice. Every year the Supreme Court is sent about seven thousand cases to review, which they hear about 150 cases. The Supreme Court is able to figure out how a rule should be applied, while looking at how it should be interpreted. With this power they are able to know the relevance of a law and use these cases as evidence for their ruling.

The role of the Supreme Court is to interpret the constitution.  It is known to be the "last resort" as it can help someone if they feel like the previous ruling is incorrect or unfair. The court is also able to protect by denying laws that are against both the constitution and civil rights that are protected. Doing all of this allows the court to set limits on the government. These limits make it so that laws will not take advantage of minorities. Having the Supreme Court allows our freedoms to be protected. 

The Supreme Court isn't required to look at any certain cases. The cases that they choose are ones that they feel are currently relevant or do involve something that needs to be interpreted. They will also look at a case if two other courts have found different rulings on the same case, which helps settle the issue. 

Other than interpreting the constitution, a big role of the Supreme Court is judicial review. Judicial review was established during the case of Marbury v. Madison. This case helped established that the court can declare something within legislation or the executive branch unconstitutional. This makes it that the other branches are staying within the guidelines of the constitution. 

sources: https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/about

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-judicial-branch/#:~:text=Although%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20may,a%20law%20should%20be%20applied.