12/18 - 12/19 Class Update

Yesterday, we talked about habeas corpus and whether or not President Abraham Lincoln was justified in suspending it. We also talked about a couple of cases and if we agreed with the reason that their writ of habeas corpus was suspended. It seemed that most of the class agreed that anyone who said something, rather than actually doing something, shouldn't have their writ of habeas corpus suspended.

Today, we took Powerpoint notes on the Civil War until 1862. President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to defend the Union for approximately 90 days. By July, 1861, the volunteers were near the end of their enlistment and hadn't really seen any action yet. The battle of Antietam led Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

12/14 & 12/17 Class Update

On Friday, we spent the entire class period in the media lab working on North v. South worksheets/presentations, where we will get our information for a writing assignment. My group had the economic balance and overall, the North won for that topic.

Today, we did a Battles of the Civil War QR scavenger hunt. This one was much easier than the  QR scavenger hunt we did first quarter because we could look up the dates in the textbook. 

12/11 - 12/12 Class Update

Yesterday, we read the South Carolina "Secession Declaration" in groups. We filled out a worksheet about the document and discussed our answers, which led to a very heated discussion over whether or not South Carolina was allowed to secede or not. 

Today, we compared the Constitution and a New Orleans newspaper editorial about the job of a president and how it related to the secession of South Carolina and the lower south. We also read Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address and answered questions about it. Apparently Lincoln defines secession as "the essence of anarchy."

12/7 & 12/10 Class Update

On Friday, we didn't have class due to the half day.

Today, we filled out worksheets. They were about the proverb, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver," the Declaration of Independence, and a speech by Abraham Lincoln. The first two were to help us understand what the latter was talking about. We determined that the United States Constitution exists for liberty, but not the other way around.

11/29 & 12/3 Class Update

On Friday, we had a sub. We did a packet (which wasn't the work that we were supposed to do). The sub told us to keep eating white bread if we have a suicide wish. Then he told us to eat blueberries. It was quite strange.

Today, we looked at a political cartoon from the election of 1860. In it, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were fighting over land in the US, John Bell was trying to clue the map back together, and John Breckinridge was either taking away the southeast or helping John Bell glue the country back together.

My goal's going well. I'm going to sign up for the pit band for Anything Goes, so I'll have a lot of practicing to do even after the 30 days is up.

1850s Timeline