Hussien
Nasser
AFAM
2100 – The New Jim Crow
Professor
Young
9
February 2017
Civil War
The class discussion on Civil War came together and made
what I have been taught about the Civil War more detailed and broader. In high
school, middle school, and elementary School, the Civil War was taught on a
general level and not on a broader aspect like class discussion. I was taught
that the
Civil War simply started due to tariffs, a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of
imports or exports. South Carolina leaving the Union followed by other states
joining together and creating the Confederate States of America was also
another cause that I learned about the Civil War. This led to the Civil War
resulting in over 600,000 deaths and many being wounded. Slavery was also a
reason to the separation of states. It was taught however on a brief spectrum. In
high schools and elementary schools, teachers are taught in my opinion to keep
the real truth away from students. Not the real truth necessarily but information
that will open up our eyes and make us to think in-depth about the
reasons we
learned the Civil War or other wars actually occurred.
After class discussion,
the Civil War was caused from slavery and the transition from agricultural
system to an industrial system. Slaves would work in cotton and large mining
fields. After the creation of the cotton gin, it made the production of cotton
easier and more efficient. It helped the South economy resulting in the demand
for more slaves. The government then placed tariffs on raw and manufactured
goods causing the South to pay a high amount of taxes and importing goods to
the North. After slavery, the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution was the next
spark to the Civil War. States were given full access to creating their own
laws as well as each stated having the same number of senators; however, the
number of representatives was based on population. This affected the South in a
negative way because the North would be given more power in the house of
Congress. The next cause was the abolitionist movement and northern
abolitionist fighting to abolish slavery. For example, William Lloyd Garrison
and his newspaper The Liberated became
popular as he wrote continuously to justify slavery and the need for it to be
abolished. The last spark that caused the Civil War was the creation of the
Republican Party by Abraham Lincoln and his predecessors. The Republican Party
wanted to stop the expansion of slavery which caused the South to become
furious. All of these were the causes toward the Civil War as discussed in
class. It made it come together with what I have been taught in high school and
elementary school and that it was caused from the separation of stated and the
creation of the Confederate States of America.
An interesting question
that I have is “How does a President who does not support social and political
equality amongst everyone become President of the United States of America?”
This is also an important fact that I was not taught prior to class discussion.
It fascinates me learning how much power whites had during this period. White
individuals could literally fool, trick, or just walk themselves into power. I
also wonder to myself, “How did whites feel when mistreating blacks?” Did the
thought of what if this was my son, brother, or sister ever come in mind. It
amuses me because I personally would at least get a spark of sympathy or some
sort.
