I love talking about inevitabilities, b/c usually from a historical standpoint, everything looks like it had been destined to happen. 

Looking back at the pivotal years that you were just tested upon, 1860-61, think about a few of the key turning points and discuss whether or not you think the Civil War was inevitable. 

• Did the compromises have to fail?  
• Once Lincoln was elected, did several of the Southern states have to secede?  
• Once the Confederacy was formed, did the attack on Fort Sumter have to happen?  And once that occurred, was war inevitable? 
• What if Lincoln had focused predominantly on ending slavery as the main reason for war instead of saving the Union during the first two years of the war? 
• How would the war have changed if McClellan had LOST the battle of Antietam?   There were several swings of “fate” that went into this battle and the days leading up to it (finding Special Orders No. 191 wrapped in 3 cigars; the Confederate sympathizer warning Lee of the order being found; McClellan waiting many hours to pounce on Lee which gave the ol’ grey fox time to regroup at Sharpsburg; Union General Mansfield of XII Corps being killed as soon as his attack began; McClellan holding back the middle reserve V Corps and ineffectively using VI Corps; Confederate General A.P. Hill’s in-the-nick-of -time rescue of the CSA’s right flank after Burnside’s men finally got across the bridge).  (General Mansfield).

Afterwards, it looks as if Antietam, and not Gettysburg, could be the most important battle of the war.  This isn’t because of the staggering losses or b/c it stopped a Confederate invasion (there will be another one at Gettysburg) or because it swung momentum back to the Union side temporarily (b/c it will most definitely swing back to Lee’s side again and again).  Antietam was key b/c Lincoln released the Emancipation Proclamation four days later and changed the entire scope of the war from not only being about saving the Union but also fulfilling the promise the Founders made in the Declaration – “all men are created equal.” 

  Burnside’s bridge today.

So, pick one of the following bullets above and explain why you think a particular point might not have been so inevitable or fated to happen.  Please use specifics from video or notes or discussion or reading (all of the above is fine) and complete by Thursday, May 14.  Thanks.

 150 words minimum. 

Odd tidbit: Firefighter from Connecticut thinks he’s a reincarnation of Confederate General John B. “Shot-5X” Gordon.  http://www.psychicsahar.com/artman/publish/article_258.shtml  Excerpt below:

“Not only are the pictures of both Keene and Gordon incredibly and uncannily striking, but the fact that they both share the same six placement of scars on their bodies just adds that much more credibility to the entire story. Keene presents such compelling evidence, that one comes away with wonderment. Even parallels with their writing styles are pretty incredible!”

  Apparently it’s not only Keene that thinks he’s the reincarnation of a Civil War general; the article states that a couple other members of the same firehouse feel that they are reincarnated members of Gordon’s same unit.   Here’s Keene’s website: http://www.confederateyankee.net/  He’s been on TV a lot. 

Editor’s note: I will not criticize reincarnation, nor will I judge by the guy’s picture whether he was Gordon in a past life, but I guess the saying goes that if you believe in something hard enough…

One of the things I try to do as a history teacher is to give you both sides of the issue and not just present it from one side only.  I believe that does a disservice to you and to the subject matter, and by examining both sides can push you to think more critically about that subject. 

As if you haven’t figured out, our central theme this semester is Abraham Lincoln.  He’s been called Honest Abe, the Great Emancipator, and the Rail Splitter (in reference to his frontier days of chopping wood).  As Dr. Henry Louis Gates mentioned in the Today broadcast we watched yesterday, Lincoln’s picture was in almost every black American’s household along with a picture of Jesus. 

In this six minute interview, Dr. Gates gives a more human (and complex) side of Lincoln that few of us may know. Lincoln did not argue, initially, for full and equal rights for black Americans.   During the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, Senator Douglas was race-baiting his opponent by calling him a “black Republican”  and asking the audience (knowing full well what the answer would be) if the men in the audience would like their daughters and wives to ride in a carriage with Frederick Douglas. 

So Lincoln had to respond to these charges and distance himself; otherwise he’d lose the race.   He said soon after this charge that he’d rather no sooner take a black woman for his wife than consider black people his equals.  Sounds racist to 21st Century ears, right?  Well, it is, no doubt.  But within the context of what was going on, America was a very white, racist nation at that time.  Dr. Gates even mentioned the Illinois law that disallowed any black people from settling in that state.        Betcha didn’t know he was a punk rocker!

Here’s Dr. Gates’ website for his documentary, Looking for Lincoln.  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/lookingforlincoln/   Also, take the Myths and Misconceptions quiz and see if you can beat my score – 12/15. 

The fact that there even is a Republican Party, a group created after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed for slavery to be voted on in the territories, founded on anti-slavery principles, was, in some ways, amazing.  And by 1858, the year of the debates, the anger over slavery had intensified even more after the Dred Scott decision (1857) by the Supreme Court that allowed slavery to spread from coast to coast.  Yet, still in Illinois, there was a sizable Democratic majority to elect a state senate that favored sending Stephen Douglas back to the U.S. Senate for another 6 years. 

My question is: when you learn new information about the person from history (like we are with Lincoln), warts and all, does this lessen your image of that person or does this new info give you a better picture of that historic icon?   Even if the picture isn’t a pretty one, taken within the context of the time period, the person can be better understood as to why he/she felt that way or said what they said. 

Here, visiting General McClellan in the field after the battle of Antietam, you can really get an idea of how tall he is. 

150 words minimum – Due Monday, March 16th – before class begins.

I’ve been wondering, with the 2008 election in full swing, how Abe Lincoln would do against the other candidates.  It’s something that I’ve mused about for a while now, especially when I saw John Kerry, an Abe-Lincoln look-alike if there ever was one, try to pretend he had something in common with the average working man in 2004.  Kerry rode a Harley, went hunting, rode a windsurfer, and visited Lambeau field and pretended to be a NASCAR fan.  I guess his handlers thought that the average guy couldn’t identify with a multi-millionaire, so they forced him to play somebody he wasn’t. 

So, what would Abe do in 2008?   Would he go bowling?  Would he go chugging a beer and a shot of whiskey?  Would he tell stories about his humble upbringings?  What about the log cabin story? 

And what about Lincoln’s image?  He’s not a handsome fella, and though Mary Lincoln tried hard to get him to dress like the wealthy lawyer he was, there were times he looked like a rube.    What would be his campaign slogans?   Would he have enough money for the campaign? 

How would Lincoln handle the inane questions from debate moderators?  Would reporters tell stories about Abe and Mary’s stormy marriage?   Would they dig up stories about his friends, Joshua Speed and William Herndon?  Instead of slavery, where would Lincoln stand on abortion?  The war in Iraq?  Fixing the economy and oil prices?  Which party would he find a home in? 

What qualities do you look for in your president?  Are there any of the three candidates that match your ideal qualities?  Would Lincoln’s honesty get the best of him? 

Here’s an interesting comparison between Lincoln and Obama and Stephen Douglas.  http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/obama-closer-to-douglas-than-lincoln.html 

Another comparison between Obama and Lincoln.  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/on-barack-obama.html

Historian Garry Wills compares Obama’s recent speech on race in Philadelphia to Lincoln’s Lyceum speech in February 1860.  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21290

Your response should be a minimum of 200 words.  Due Wednesday, April 30th.