Callie

=__Ulysses S. Grant__=

= =

= =

==

=__Info__=

Name: Hirman Ulysses S. Grant Nickname: Lyss How He Got His Name: The parents of Ulysses were having a hard time picking a name for him, so they had relatives put name suggestions in a hat. Name Origin: Ancient Greece Political Views: Union Date of Birth: April 27, 1822 Hometown: Point Pleasant, Ohio Education: U.S. Military Academy, West Point NY Favorite Subject: Math Religion: Methodist Relationship Status: Married to Julia Boggs Dent Hobbies: Horseback riding, mathematician, fishing, ice skating, and training horses Employment: Veteran of the Mexican War fought under Zachary Taylor Career: Soldier Political Party: Republican Quotes: -"I was not studios in habit, and probably did not make progress enough to compensate for the outlay of board and tution" - Ulysses S Grant on his education -"I did not like to work; but I did as much of it, while young, as a grown men can be hired to do these days, and attend school at the same time" -Ulysses S Grant on working -"Circumstances always did shape my course different from my plans" -Ulysses S. Grant

=Status Updates=

1. 1649 Frederick Douglas's first issue of the North Star was published. Go buy a copy! Support the African Community.
===2. Compromise of 1850 passed. Henry Clay proposed this compromise, California enters the union as a free state, the slave trade was abolished in D.C. and the rest of the Mexican Cession was divided into two territories in which the issue of slavery will be decided by popular sovereignty. Some great changes were made this year but much more is still to be done.===

6. March 1855, 5,000 pro slavery residents of Missouri crossed over into Kansas to cast votes for legislature. With all of the votes from the Missouri residents a pro slavery legislature was elected.
===7. 1857, Dred Scott was denied U.S. citizenship. Not only was Scott denied citizenship but it was ruled that African Americans could not become U.S. citizens because they were inferior to whites. Congress does not have the right to deny his citizenship! He should have been a freed man like everyone in that courthouse and should have the same rights as them too. We must take a stand.===

10.1860, only four days after Abraham Lincoln was elected president South Carolina left the Union. They saw Lincolns win as a win for abolition and didn’t want slavery to be abolished in their state.
===11. 1961 The war begins. Clean your rifles. You cant always fight fire with water, sometimes you need to use fire in order get to the best solution. Africans are being treated like less than human. Stand up and fight for what's right.===

13. 1865 The thirteenth amendment was added to the constitution ending slavery!! All the battles, all the blood shed, all the lives lost wasn't for nothing. We created a revolution.
=Notes= = =

Note #1
The first records of Africans in American are found in the Chesapeake in 1619. When they first arrived they were treated as indentured servants. Planters gradually started switching from indentured servants to slaves because slaves were cheaper and when slaves had children those children became slaves too. As time went on Africans who came into the country began lying about their religious backgrounds and as a result any African who entered the country, regardless of religion was sold into the slave trade. Slavery became so bountiful in the United States because there was a lot of land that needed to be cultivated, and slaves did the job for no money. Slaves were brought to American on a route called the middle passage. Once slaves were captured they were inspected, branded, and imprisoned until the ship was full with enough slaves to sail back to the United States. Slaves are packed into the holds of the ship; each slave has about as much room as a person has in their coffin. The conditions in the bottom of the ship are so awful that before reaching the United States some slaves die of disease, suffocation, or violence. To avoid the harsh conditions many slaves either killed themselves or jumped off the ship and stayed under water long enough to drown.

Although slavery was greatly accepted by many there were lots of negative opinions to slavery when it first began. A religious sector of the Protestant church called the Quakers rejected it, and took a public stand against slavery as early as 1688. In spite of abolitionists efforts, by 1660 slaves were treated as inferior to whites by law. Slave codes were created in 1705 to further prevent social equalities. For instance in Chesapeake slaves were prevented to read, write, or bare arms. These codes also prevented slaves from escaping.

Slavery is an awful institution that mentally, emotionally, and physically degrades blacks, tears apart families, and ruins the economy. Something needs to be done to stop this awful institution. Stand up and fight for an equal government!

Note #2
My country is being torn apart over an issue that should be easily resolved. Everybody deserves the right to freedom, this was written in the founding documents of the United States, so why should it be different for people from Africa? Why do they not deserve freedom just like everyone else? If all men are created equal, shouldn’t they have the same rights as me?

How did this hate towards Africans originate? I don’t understand. I mean, yes, they do represent free work, but there are more humane ways to get work done for a low cost. Plus, if the use of slaves were terminated more people would be able to find a job. Will using free labor have a sour effect on the economy over time?

Supporters of slavery are committing a crime of hypocrisy. This situation is comparable to the Revolutionary War although the Revolutionary War was over a less inhuman situation it was still fought to gain freedom. If the Founding Fathers and so many other inhabitants of the United States got freedom from England, then why shouldn’t slaves get freedom from their masters? People wanted freedom from England because of all the taxes and tariffs; they never had to go through whipping and beating. If they gained freedom over an increase in taxes, then slaves should gain freedom from being mentally and physically abused. Not only does the union need to be prepared but also African Americans need to be liberated from their oppression.

The Declaration clearly states, “ We hold these truths to be self –evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Nowhere in this document does it say ONLY white men deserve Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Nowhere on this document does it say that blacks are inferior to whites, it states that ALL men are created equal. People need to start remembering the ideals in which the United States was founded. Being physically, mentally, and emotionally degraded is not in any way shape or form “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” and that is what Africans go through everyday.

This is why I choose to fight for my country in the war. Africans in this country have a voice but no one is willing to listen to it. I, as a white male, have the power to take those voices and make a change. My fellow union soldiers and I will not only be fighting for the freedom of slaves, we will be fighting for the equal rights of all, no matter what race.

Note #3
As of now the country is in major turmoil. Although the war has finished the fight is not over. We still face the challenge of rebuilding the South and patching up the holes in America.

 The South especially was decimated by the war. Houses were crushed, infrastructure ruined, and families torn apart. We are faced with reconstruction and reorganization. President Johnson (Democrat) in my opinion is ill suited to the challenges of rebuilding this once great nation. Johnson lacks President Lincoln’s political skill and is unwilling to compromise. He also prefers a government run by whites, which will recreate inequalities between whites and blacks. President Johnson’s plan allows for ex-confederates to take charge of Reconstruction. The Confederates will do everything within their power to give blacks as little rights as possible. They will try to make the laws of this country as similar to the ante bellum South as they can. The thirteenth amendment may have abolished slavery but ex-Confederates will do anything in their power to find loopholes in the constitution and create an unequal country. The constitution has too much room for negotiation. The Johnson administration is stuck in a rut and is loosing its direction.

 The North and South were separated by their views on slavery; right when that issue was resolved another country separating issue arose. Should blacks be able to vote? Radicals and moderates are butting heads at whether this constitutional right will be granted unto blacks. In order to unite the country this conflict must be resolved. I think that more Republicans need to be elected into congress because they have a clearer view on how to Reconstruct the South and repair that union. The United States has overcome many obstacles and I have faith that we can overcome this one too. In due time people will see, with a clear view, that all are created equal.

 The country needs to make some crucial decisions in order to reconstruct and reorganize the United States.