Sophie

= Sophia Henninger =

Mildred Barker, a fictional character of the Civil War, is portrayed in her 'Facebook' profile
=Status Updates:= 1850: Today the census results were released. 14% of the population is slaves, 3,200,600 out of 23,054,152 people in the United States are slaves.

1850(September): The Compromise of 1850 was passed. California became a free state while New Mexico and Utah territories have no slave restrictions.

1852: Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It’s selling quite well and seems to being having an effect on people. Hopefully it will bring people to their senses.

1854: The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed and now the area is open. People are going there to try and influence if the state will be a slave or free state.

1855: People are acting out against the Government in Kansas. It’s probably going to get bad, fast.

1856(May): Charles Sumner made a speech attacking his fellow senate members who are slave supporters. Then a few days later Preston Brooks beat him with a cane. He’s not doing to well.

1857: Tariff of 1857 was passed. The South is quite happy with it while people in the North, like myself, aren’t happy about it.

1858: Minnesota became a state. It’s a free state. The North is quite happy.

1859: John Brown attacks a city in Virginia. A man named Robert E. Lee had him and some of his associates hanged. This man isn’t messing around. =Mildred's Notes:= What is slavery and why does it exist? Slavery:
 * bondage: the state of being under the control of another person
 * the practice of owning slaves
 * work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay

That is how slavery is defined; but that’s only part of what it is. Slavery is rich, conceited white people thinking people, good people, are below them. Slavery is something in the past of many countries and something they all regret. The fact that it is part of their history is a burden to the countries, especially in the United States. An entire, bloody war was fought because of it. Slavery is millions killed, raped, and abused while millions of others just ignored it. Slavery is people being lazy and finding ways out of honest work. Slavery is a business. It exists //because// people are lazy. It exists because it’s great for the economy. It was nearly free labor, so the “Masters” didn’t have to pay wages just to obtain the slave initially. It existed (in the US) because our government saw a business opportunity and took it. They figured instead of having indentured servants, which had to be paid, why not just sell the people as property? And not just anyone, specific people, people who were of a certain religion and ethnicity were chosen. They were chosen because the people in power, old white men, decided they were lesser and didn’t even qualify as people so they were called property and sold like it. They decided, originally, that if you weren’t a Christian, you be a slave but it turned into a race game. Slavery is wrong and it exists because the people in power only have about lining their pockets with money.

What were the ideals for which the Revolutionary War was fought? The Revolutionary War was fought so those in the thirteen colonies could govern themselves instead of being under the dictation of the British Empire. They wanted freedom from an unjust power. The Revolutionary War was fought because the settlers didn’t want to pay the ridiculous fines the British were inflicting upon them, they didn’t want to be ruled by people on the other side of the world, and the British were making them pay lots of taxes. The British Empire was making the colonies pay a large portion of the debt from the French and Indian War so they didn’t have to pay as much themselves and because they felt that since the war wasn’t fought in Britain, they shouldn’t pay as much. They were also making the Americans pay many different taxes through acts, such as the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act. While still under the Empire’s control the Americans had no say in who was elected to Parliament, the people who were making laws that affected them directly. Frankly, the colonists were done with it. Against the Empire’s wishes, Americans began to stockpile weapons. At Lexington and Concord the first bullets of the Revolutionary War were fired. Despite the odds the colonists defeated the British and were able to claim their independence. Currently, the Civil War is raging and even though its matters are pressing enough, sometimes all I can think about are the similarities between these wars. So far, the Union is the underdog but so was the United States before and here we are. The Southern states are pounding our borders and killing our men, but just like the US, I think we will prevail.

Three Instances of Slavery Rebellion

As long as there has been slavery, there have been people trying to escape from it.
====People have organized riots, tried to runaway, and even simpler things like stealing from their masters. Though not all attempts were successful, they all had an effect on people. These are violent occurrences that probably could have been avoided.====

====John Brown in 1859 led a group of slaves and white abolitionists in the raid on Harpers Ferry. It was an armed riot and an attempt to take over an arsenal in Virginia. The attack was stopped by a detachment of Marines, led by Robert E. Lee. About twenty people died. John Brown was tried and found guilty of treason. He was hanged on Dec. 2.====

====Harriet Tubman resisted slavery in many ways. She is an extremely famous runaway because not only did she successfully run away, she helped many others escape as well. She led over 300 slaves to freedom in ten years and 19 trips back and forth. She also helped plan the raid of Harpers Ferry but on the actual day of the attack she was ill and unable to attend. Harriet Tubman was also a Union spy during the Civil War.====

====In 1822 Denmark Vesey attempted to lead a slave rebellion but was betrayed, captured, and hanged. He had planned to lead over 9,000 slaves and free blacks. It was scheduled for July 14, 1822 but Vesey was caught before it actually commenced. Someone betrayed him so Vesey was found out. He and 46 others, including four white men, were condemned. He was hanged on June 23 that same year.====

====In two of these three examples people were killed for trying to do what is right. The only reason the third wasn’t killed was because due to something unexpected, she could have been there. These people got killed for trying to help those less fortunate. Even though it could have been solved peacefully, they were doing what was right. God bless them.====

=Mildred's Picture:=

Quakertown, PA. The town gathers together for a meeting. Mostly discussing the inevitable Civil War.

The young man with the flag is my son. I’m proud of him but at the same time, I wish he’d come home.

I keep seeing pictures like this in the paper and I can’t help but look for my son’s face. I believe slavery is wrong but is it worth all these lives?

My daughter and I. We’re sending this picture to my son. He hasn’t seen his sister in over a year.

This is the back of our tailor shop. It’s where a major portion of our work gets done. It’s a humble shop.

This is an artist representation of the Civil War. I think this demonstrates it perfectly; Two stupid, dirty men killing each other over something that COULD be settled peacefully.

Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Southern Army. His men are trying to kill ours in the reckless, pointless war.

The more pictures I see like this the more nervous I get; I keep thinking “My son has to be in here”. May God bless him and keep watch over him.

=Bibliography= "Events Leading to War - A Civil War Timeline." //Civil War Home Page// 1997: n. pag. Web. 29 Mar 2010. []

Pillai, Prabhakar. "Slavery During the Civil War."//Buzzle.com// n. pag. Web. 29 Mar 2010. []

"Denmark Vesey." //Africa Within// 2001: n. pag. Web. 29 Mar 2010. []

"The American Revolution." //American Revolutionary War//n. pag. Web. 29 Mar 2010. []

"The African Diaspora." //WSU// n. pag. Web. 29 Mar 2010. []

"Harriet Tubman." //PBS// n. pag. Web. 29 Mar 2010. []