Here are the latest primary sources from our group. Firstly, we have the slave codes of Washington D.C., circa 1860, here. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sthtml/stpres02.html The slave codes show the extent to which Washington was still very much a Southern city, and how much there were in restrictions on the movement of slaves in the area. The documents are provided courtesy of the Library of Congress, and provide a window into the effects of slavery on the legal system.
Our second primary source is a bit shorter than the first, but shows the length of one Southern politician's famous career. At this site, http://c.cf7.si.edu/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?PrimarySourceId=1057, you get to read John C. Calhoun's last speech, in which he makes clear his, and the South's, desire to expand slavery all the way to the Pacific coast. The speech shows some of the problems the United States had with the massive acquisitions it made due to the Mexican War of 1846-1848. For many Americans, the question of what would happen to the newly gained territories, as well as other territories in the Midwest, would be the central issue of the 1850s.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Primary Sources October 23, 2008
This week, we showcase two primary sources covering the late Antebellum period. The first one is an excerpt from a book entitled The Gathering Storm, which was featured in J. William Harris' book Plain Folk and Gentry in a Slave Society. The excerpt talks about the effect slavery had on the Southern economy as a deterrent to growth. While Helper's text tries to stay away from criticizing non-slave holding whites, he still condemns slavery on the basis of its economy.
The site the excerpt is post to, digitialhistory.com, offers many sources across American history, and is a very good website for searching for primary documents.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/retexas
The second primary document was found by using a word search for U.S primary documents. One of the web sites that showed up was Documenting the American South. This web site is a reliable source because it is sponsored by the University of North Carolina. The document that was chosen dealt with Texas concerns with rejoining the Union. The person who wrote the document was R.J. Townes, and it was approved by Texas House of Representatives. Then the resolution was sent to Jeff Davis to be read. The House of Representatives of Texas wanted it to be clearly stated to the North. The southern states did succeed from the Union just to protect the institute of slavery. They dissolved their relationship with the Union to “preserve their freedom and their sovereignty to govern themselves as a free nation”. The House also wanted it to be known that they did not approve the North’s tactics of fighting the war. The North used criminals and outlaws to fill the ranks of their armies. Also, the North refused to trade prisoners during the war, and that the term “Yankee” will always be looked down upon with disrespect in the South. Texas wanted the war to be over and have a time of peace between the states, but they wanted to keep their independent from the North. It is stated in the document that “if the horrors of the war could be swept from their memories that their past experiences in the Union would still keep them form a re-union with the North”.
It is clearly seen in the resolution that Texas is still does not like the North. Texas is upset with the outcome of the war, and does not want to rejoin with the North. Texas disapproved the way the North fought the war, and thought they used barbaric tactics. They believe that the North will press their views on the South, and they will louse their independence they once had. Texas still wants to keep the institute of slavery alive. But, they know that this is not possible.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Primary Sources October 16, 2008
The primary source was found by using a word search for primary southern documents. The word search led to the website www.ourdocuments.gov. The website is sponsored by the United States National Archives and Records Administration. I believe this is a reliable source, because the government holds all original documents and this website is used in many research projects. The primary source that is used is President Andrew Jackson’s message to Congress on Indian Removal in 1803.
Jackson’s message begins with announcing that two main Indian tribes have agreed to the terms of the American government to move to another territory. Jackson insists that the move must be done quickly for the protection of American citizens and Indians. He also lists many of the benefits that will result form the Indian removal such as opening of all Tennessee and Louisiana land, and further separation of Indians from settlers. Jackson then describes how good of a deal the government is giving the Indians, and how any white man would jump at the chance to be given land and place to live. He agrees that forcing them to move from their homes where their ancestors lived will be tuff. But, he maintains that this is what the Americans did to come to this land, and it is what their children will to in their life time.
Jackson believes this is a great victory for the government. The newly acquired land that is now available will flourish with new towns and agricultural land. Even though Jackson mentions the removal of the Indians from their homeland will be tuff on them emotionally. You can tell that he does not really care for the Indians at all in the way he describes them in his message. He uses the words savage, red skin, and uncivilized numerous time throughout his message to describe the Indians. At the very end of his message, Jackson says this is the only way to save the Indians from “utter annihilation”, which is probably what he would prefer.Another primary source we found online is at this website: http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/7897401/benton/calhoun_340113.html It is the recording of statements said in the United States Senate on January 13, 1834, mostly by Senator John C. Calhoun. Here, he argues that the North has already impressed its will upon the South, and he also argues against the Bank of the United States.
This came at a moment of near crisis for the United States. Already, Calhoun has turned away from his old nationalist leanings towards sectionalism, favoring South Carolina about the protection of the Union. The language he uses, suggesting the South is under threat, is a preview of even more incendiary language that will be used up until the start of the American Civil War.
We only stumbled upon this website by accident. It is, unlike most other sites cited by our group, not directly linked to a university. Still, it has plenty of content to make itself somewhat useful, especially when analyzing events up until the Civil War. Here is the main page to show its additional offerings:
http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Primary Documents October 9, 2008
Here are the two latest primary documents are group has discovered on the web.
The first is a letter written by Henry Clay during the disputed election of 1824, in which Andrew Jackson won more popular and electoral votes than his rivals Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford, but was unable to garner the necessary electoral votes to win the majority required for gaining the presidency. Henry Clay's letter, found on a website of digital history available courtesy of the University of Houston and its collaboration with several groups, describes the current situation that the election is in. Clay realizes that the election will go to the House of Representatives, a situation which was unprecedented in American political history. He devises strategies by which he could win, Adams could win, and how Jackson could be victorious. Such a letter shows the closeness of the election of 1824, an election which only delayed the rise of Andrew Jackson by four years.
The second website is on the Nullification Crisis of 1833, and specifically shows a copy of the Force Act, designed to keep any state in the Union and make them follow the tariff laws, even if they are against them. The document, provided by the Library of Congress, shows the law that Congress passed in order to prevent South Carolina from rebelling against the tariff. Both of these websites, rich in content and in primary sources, provide some good information for anyone studying the Jacksonian period.
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