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The Elephant in the Room

In our last lesson of the causes of the civil war, we discussed a huge topic in America that can be called an "elephant in the room" which basically is about a topic that is large enough to matter but is ignored, and this lesson had to do with slavery in the early 19th century. We were told to answer the following question;"How do we know the debate over slavery was the 'elephant in the room' for American politics in the early 19th century?" In order to better understand this “elephant” we first needed to learn about events that contributed to it, one of which was the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise took place in 1820, and it split apart the 22 states; eleven being slave controlled states and 11 being free states, which gave both sides the same number of votes in the Senate. This Missouri Compromise stated that all states above the 36 degrees latitude line would be free states if they were to form in the future. Sometime around 1849, there was a huge gold rush in California, which caused people to flock there, and eventually it gained enough people to request stateship as a free state In 1950.  However, this caused an unbalance in the senate. so a man named Henry Clay proposed what was called a 5-part compromise. In order to understand what this compromise was, we looked at the article "The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act". This article listed the five parts to the compromise as the following.  The first part of it was that Texas would claim the disputed land and be granted 10 million dollars that it could use to pay off its debt to Mexico, which appeased pro-slavery people because it was further south, leaving a greater chance that it could become a slave state. The second part was the territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah would be categorized, but their standing point would be determined by popular vote, and  the decision would be made by the people when they applied for statehood. The third part of the compromise was that slave trading would be removed in the District of Columbia, and even though slavery would still be allowed it satisfied anti-slavery advocates. The fourth part of the compromise was the agreement that California would be admitted as a free state.This, however, imbalanced the senate voting system, so the the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, which required citizens to help recover slaves that fled north, and it denied a fugitive's right to trial.  Not only that, but it made many things easier for slaveowners. Eventually, we were split into groups in order to construct a timeline of all of the events.  The debate over slavery was the 'elephant in the room' because all of the topics discussed had to do with balancing out state power and nothing to do with the s. Slavery was obviously the elephant in the room, and it needed to be a bigger deal to politicians.However, these aren’t the only things that make slavery “the elephant in the room.”

A Timeline of the Elephant in the Room

On the Timeline, we also uncovered more events, such as the Gadsden Purchase, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, The Caning of Charles Sumner, The Dred Scott Decision, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, and John Brown's Raid. These events further prove that slavery was the elephant in the room, and was clearly a thing that was an obvious issue but was not discussed enough. The Kansas-Nebraska Act took place in 1854 and made the Missouri Compromise void, meaning that there could be slave states above the previously set line. This act made it easier for southerners to expand slavery northward, which allowed for them to grow more cotton and have more plantations. Another important event was Bleeding Kansas, started by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which resulted in a lot of violence and attacks between pro-slavery and anti-slavery advocates. Not only that, but the Caning of Charles Sumner proved that even the most civilized people would fight over slavery laws. In 1856, Senator Charles Sumner delivered a speech called The Crime Against Kansas,and he attacked southerners in this speech for forcing slavery on territories. He also made bold insults against a Senator and a member of the House of Representatives and this senators nephew  was angered by Sumner's remarks and was determined to defend the honor of the south. Two days after Sumner's speech, Brooks approached Sumner at his Senate desk and violently assaulted him with his cane. People across the south voiced their support for Brook, but Northerners were furious. Another event that proved slavery was the elephant in the room was the Dred Scott Decision in 1857. Dred Scott was an enslaved black man living in Missouri. He filed a suit against his owner, and argued that he and his wife were free because they had once lived in states where slavery was illegal, but the Supreme Court ruled against the Scotts, and there were 3 outcomes from the Dred Scott Decision. Slaves, because they were not citizens, were denied the right to sue in court. Enslaved people could not win freedom just by living in a free territory or state, and the Missouri Compromise ruled unconstitutional and all territories were open to slavery, which was a step in the wrong direction for the abolishment of slavery. What they were doing made no sense because the Missouri Compromise in 1820 was made to keep certain states free, but they got rid of the compromise in 1854 with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and then decided that  all territories were open to slavery, which shows that people only cared about political arguments and not about the slaves themselves, further proving that slavery was infact the “elephant in the room”

A Before and After Map of the Kansas-Nebraska Act’s effects.

Slavery Entrenched

Since the foundation of the United States, many problems have arisen in its society, such as temperance and domestic violence, but one of the biggest problems that Americans ever faced was slavery.  In class, we had to answer the following questions,”How did slavery become economically entrenched in American Society by the early 19th century?”,” How does a system of slavery based on race affect  human dignity?” and lastly, “What human characteristics does such a system tend  to ignore?”  Slavery became entrenched in american society because slavery was mainly used to harvest crops from the south, primarily cotton.  This cotton would then be transported into the northern states, where there were many manufactories for it to be refined and sold for a higher price.  Slavery became such an essential part of life particularly for the southerners, as it generated great wealth for them at little to no cost.  During this time period, people thought that slavery was declining, as shown in this article on cotton and slavery.  However, this was completely the opposite once the cotton gin was developed, and slave population soared, and the average price for slaves was estimated to have tripled between 1794 and 1825 because plantations could now process cotton dozens of times faster.  From 1800 until 1820,  the slave population in america rose to an estimated 62 percent!  In order to better understand this trend of population growth, we took a look at an interactive map that shows the increase of slavery in specific areas throughout that time period, primarily in the southern states.

A Picture before the cotton gin was developed.  

a picture after the cotton gin was developed.

After we learned about the growth of slavery and its causes, we decided to learn about how a system of slavery based on race affect human dignity, and what human characteristics does such a system tend to ignore?  In order to answer this question, we were then given a person who fought for or against slavery and learned about their actions, and I was assigned John Brown. John Brown was an abolitionist against slavery who murdered slave owners in response to their actions, and he did not believe that slavery could be solved peacefully, and pushed to arm slaves and cause rebellions.  His plan to arm these slaves was by attacking a southern military base in order to steal tons of muskets and ammunition, but his plan didn’t turn out so well and he and his men were either killed or captured and John ended up being  hung for his crimes. As a result of Johns failed attempt at starting a rebellion, he did became a martyr for the abolitionist’s cause.  Although his actions may have seemed completely idiotic, he helped to  inspire northerners to fight for the antislavery cause and helped to grow tensions that eventually lead up to the Civil War.

Finally, we were shown a movie called A Prince Among Slaves. In this video a young African prince named Abdulrahman is captured and is sold as a slave. Abdulrahman is treated cruelly, and is abused by his captors, whom completely ignore his royalty. Through his life, he proved himself to be a leader among slaves, and also saved the life of a white doctor who later tries multiple times to free him from his slavery.  After the government hears about him being a prince, they decide to set him free because they believe that he is Moroccan, who was one of America’s closest allies. The life of Abdulrahman shows the extreme dehumanization that slavery causes,which is shown through the course of his life. In the beginning, Abdulrahman was born to be a king but instead was forced into slavery for a majority of his life, and he never returned to his homeland.  Slavery is formed in such a way that character and individualism are ignored, and instead race is used to show whether or not somebody is worthy of respect, and was one of America’s greatest obstacles in its society.  

Women's Reform

In class the other day, we were asked the question of how American society reacted to womens' push for equality in the 29th century, and does 21st century America still treat women differently?
In order to better explore this belief, we looked into many reports of women fighting for their rights and equality, and discovered that many people today believe that by ignoring women's equality the issue would simply go away, but obviously they were wrong.  In July of 1848, the Senecca Falls convention was held with over 30 men and women pushing for gender equality, and in the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, women speak about how they have been oppressed by men and they call for change and equality for all.  I feel like in today's society, people think of both genders as being equal, yet women are still opressed when it comes to their abilities and expectations in life.