EOTO Blog Post

During class on Tuesday October second, groups presented their EOTO. The first group supported anti slavery movements. The first person did the underground railroad which helped over 100,000 slaves escape. Harriet Tubman was said to be the leader of this movement, The next person did Uncle Toms Cabin. Uncle Tom had helped slaves from the capture. one thing I learned that his book had created big controversy. The next was the Wilmot Proviso. The purpose of this was that none of the places around the Mexican American War were allowed to have slaves. This was an act and many people were said to have harsh feelings about it, including people in the south. Eventually this bill was declined in 1846 and although that was bad, it helped raise awareness of the anti slavery movement. The next was the Nat Turner Rebellion. He was a slave that was sick of his mistreatment. This revolt killed both whites and blacks. This outbreak helped people see how the slaves had felt. It was also one of the biggest slave revolts of the century. Although it got out there and people found out, it kinda hurt the slaves, as people were killed over this. The last member of this group did Harper's Ferry. This was a raid that killed many people in 1859. This was a white man who was an abolitionist. He was sentenced to death and led many people to know about his thoughts.

The Second group had Pro Slavery events. The first one was the Kansas Nebraska Act. This act allowed for the people to decide if they wanted slavery of the north territory of Nebraska and Kansas as the name states. This started in 1854. The Next was the Cotton Gin. This was helpful for slaves, as it was faster and better than the original was that the slaves were doing it. This invention increased slaves because now they could do it faster and the owners needed more slaves to help with this high demand crop. Without this invention the pro slavery movement would not have helped the south as economically as it did. She added very good facts about cotton that supported her topic. Last but not least, was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. This law was to help the taking back of runaway slaves. Slave owners were able to re claim their slaves. People who saw slaves on the run had to return them to their owners. Anyone caught hiding, or help slaves who did not return them would be charged and punished for what they did. Any one who helped slaves could have been charged $129 dollars or 6 months in prison.

All these events helped shape the past as we know it today. I learned a lot more then I would have if we did not do this. Obliviously slavery is a terrible thing and I applaud the people who had to support events that supported slavery. Everyone in the class did a great job at researching and presenting their event. Like I said before, I learned alot!