Slave Narrative

Kentucky Narrative, Volume VII

Summary

This slave narrative is about an interview with an ex slave named Dan Bogie. He has a mother and a father named Abe & Lucinda Wheeler. His father was born near Spoonsville and his mother was born in Garrard County. Dan had one sister who was born in 1860 and is now dead. Dan then talks about how he lived in a one room, one bed cabin. Abe was a slave of Talton Embry and his farm joined the Wheeler's farm. Dan also says that he does not remember his grandmother and that he didn't have to work slave days because his parents did most of the work. Food was cooked in an oven in his yard and it would be served around 4 o'clock. Water would be collected in troughs by maple trees. In the winter Dan wore linen clothes, there were 4 slaves, and on Saturdays he would go fishing. 

Reflection

Based on what I've read from this slave narrative, I can conclude a couple of things. The main idea of this interview with Dan Bogie is about his life basically. Back then people were slaves and had to work very hard to live. Dan only had one room for a house and that was what it was like for him back in the day. There was barely any freedom for the blacks and kids didn't have electronics to play with like we do today. Life of slavery was very harsh especially for the blacks.

Kentucky Slave Narrative- Dan Bogie

Tecumseh Speech Paragraph

                           Tecumseh, a Shawnee Leader, gave a speech to the Osages in the Winter of 1811 and presents two themes such as survival and unity. In the speech, he says, "They cannot run fast, and are good marks to shoot at: they are only men; our fathers have killed many of them; we are not squaws, and we will stain the earth with red blood." Tecumseh says this because his men will not fear the white people and do whatever it takes to survive. Also in his speech, Tecumseh says, "We must be united; we must smoke the same pipe; we must fight each other's battles; and more than all, we must love the Great Spirit: he is for us; he will destroy our enemies, and make all his red children happy. He says this because they will take a stand and fight beside each other as one, so that their Great Spirit can make them happy. Throughout Tecumseh's speech, he presents themes of survival and unity to describe his feelings towards the white people and that his men will take a stand against them.

Tecumseh

Timeline of Slavery in America

-Slavery began in the 17th century and slaves were moved out of Africa.

-In 1619, the first 20 slaves were shipped to Jamestown.

-By the late 18th century, slaves would pick cotton from plantations.

-During 1793, a cottongin was created to boost production.

-In 1847, Fredrick Douglas saw a newspaper called, "The North Star".

The Supreme Court had a case called the Dred Scott case in 1857.

-Abraham Lincoln was elected as 16th President in 1860.

-March of 1861, 7 states had succeeded the Union.

-In 1862, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery.

Slaves Being Shipped Into Boats

Slaves  Picking Cotton On A Plantation

Abraham Lincoln as 16th President

Election Day

                                Election Day is on this Tuesday November 4th of 2014. This day is held every 4 years for people to vote for their next President. Election day was determined in the 1800's to be on the first Tuesday of November because farmers/travelers where able to vote at that time. The states that have Election Day as a civic holiday are Delaware, Montana, Ohio, Kentucky, Hawaii, New Jersey, West Virginia, New York, and Puerto Rico.


United States House of Representatives:


Name: Nikki Tsongas

Political Party: Democratic


United State Senators


Name:Edward Markey

Political Party: Democratic


Name: Elizabeth Warren

Political Party: Democratic

Massachusetts 3rd District

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Name: David Nangle

Political Party: Democratic


Massachusetts Senate


Name:Elieen Donoghue

Political Party: Democratic

3 Branches of Government

Charlie Baker

Massachusetts State Flag

"Do They Miss Me At Home?"

                                               Dear Family,

                                                             I am writing to you today to tell you about what I'm going through. At this moment, I'm currently located west of the 13 colonies on the Oregon Trail. The reason why I left was because I wanted to move to the Oregon that has free land, large forests, and is free from diseases. Although I'm going somewhere that will give me great opportunities, the journey so far has been rough and harsh. Here's what I've been through.

             I was with a group of farmers that had a small wagon that we put our stuff into. I knew the trip was going to to be long since the whole trail is 2000 miles. I packed whatever I could bring to have with me; flour, bread, coffee, rice, beans, sugar, salt, tools, clothing, etc. The trail began in Missouri and I found myself and my group along with 200,000 others travelers. All of us were desperate so my group started right away once our wagon was ready. It was suggested to bring cash since there were forts along the way to buy food. I only had 10 dollars.

           Along the trail my group went, I noticed a couple of things that stood out to me. One thing that happened was that some people would die from hunger or diseases. Other people such as women would be pregnant and have to give birth off road. It's a horrible sight out here and I'm struggling every minute. I've visited unique places such as the Cumberland Gap. About a couple of days ago, I heard about the tragic tale of the Donnor Party. What happened was that their wagon broke down in the Truckey Pass and lived out in the cold. With little to no food, they eventually turned into cannibalists and died. There were only a couple of survivors to tell the tale.

           So this is the end of my letter. I know you miss me so much and I do too. I hope that everyone back at home are doing well. I don't think that we'll ever meet again so acknowledge that this is the last farewell. My future plans is to basically finish the trail and to end up in Oregon.Thanks for reading this letter.

                                                       

                                                                                        Sincerely,
 
                                                                                                  Jim

The Cumberland Gap

Wooden Wagon

The Oregon Trail

Lewis & Clark Blog

The Lewis & Clark expedition was the first American expedition to cross the western part of the US. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led the expedition team in May of 1804 from St. Louis to the Mississippi.

Map of the expedition

May 27th, 1804

Lewis and Clark had 2 canoes filled with deer skin and settled in near the Gasconade River which is 154 yards length.

Gasconade River

August 9, 1804

Lewis and Clark found an elk crossing a river and returned near where there boats were camped.

Elk crossing a river

November 29th, 1804

Lewis and Clark discovered that the depth of the snow at the time was 13 inches.

Snowy village

Journals of Lewis and Clark

Boston Marathon Bombing (Constitutional Issues)

On April 23rd, 2014, Boston had a terrorist attack during the Boston Marathon. This resulted in 3 deaths and numerous casualties. The bomb was set off my suspects Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Tamerlan was killed during the time by police and his younger brother Dzhokhar was caught in a boat and arrested. Below are the 5 Constitutional issues that were brought up due to this tragedy.


Miranda Warnings

Dzhokhar taken into custody

The custody of Dzhokhar was taken into place when police forces discovered him in a boat of a nearby backyard. He suffered from severe wounds and was taken to a nearby hospital. There's a debate about the Miranda Rights of Dzhokhar and a trial for him will be in the near future.







Death Penalty

Remains of pressure cooker used as a bomb

A pressure cooker was used as a bomb during the Boston Marathon bombing along with other explosive material. After Dzhokhar was caught, police determined whether or not that he should receive the death penalty as a punishment. The bombs he used were considered as "weapons of mass destruction" and was charged for that matter. Since the bombing took place in the state of Massachusetts, no death penalty can be given unless Federal prosecutors decided to look further more into Dzhokhar's case. Due to investigation still taken action into the whole story, a trial for Dzhokhar will be a while from now.





Guns

Shootout in Watertown moments after the bombing

A shootout occurred several moments after the Tsarnaevs escaped in a getaway car from the bomb scene. This happened in Watertown and Tamerlan ended up being killed by police during the shooting. Due to the brothers firing a ton of bullets at the police troopers, it has been concluded that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar had a ton of ammunition. Shortly before the shootout, the Tsarnaevs shot and killed an MIT officer before escaping in the getaway car. The guns that they were using were unregistered according to police.

Immigration

Tamerlan boxing

Dzhokhar wrestling

The Tsarnaev brother were Russian and immigrated over to the US. While in the states many months before the bombing, they would practice after school sports like boxing and wrestling. To many people, the brothers seemed like good friends. There hasn't been any arrest records of the Tsarnaev's in the past before the bombing incident.

Privacy

Footage of a security camera showing the Tsarnaevs before the bombing

Thermal photo of Dzhokhar hiding in a boat

Security footage was used to determine the suspects of the Boston Marathon Bombing. Above shows both Tamerlan and Dzhokhar walking before the bomb was set off. There were also shown in security cameras next to where the bomb was set of and when the it exploded. The description of the backpack used to hide the explosives matched with one of the Tsarnaev's backpack. The other picture above shows a thermal photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a boat on someone's backyard in Watertown. Police used thermal footage to easily see him in the boat since it was dark out. Thermal devices are used mainly for that reason and also for searching for drugs but this was awared to be violating the Fourth Amendment. This amendment is stated for citizens' houses to not be searched using thermal imaging devices without search warrant.

Compromises Of The Constitution

                 During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, 2 compromises where established within the states. The First compromise was the Great Compromise. This compromise was an agreement that the legislative structure and representation that each state would have according to the Constitution. On May 29th of 1787, a proposal of the creation of the bicameral legislature was stated by Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph. The bicameral legislature allowed both houses of each state to be proportional with its population.  Candidates for the higher house are nominated through the state's legislature while the candidates for the lower house are nominated by the people of each state. This proposal was also called the Virginia Plan and this allowed equality to the people. In the end, the representation of the House issue continued with an agreement for further deliberations which led to the Three-Fifths Compromise.

The Great Compromise

                       Then there was the Three-Fifths Compromise was a debate about whether slaves should be counted in the total population of a state. In article 1 of the Constitution, it says that 3 out of 5 slaves are counted as 1 non-slave person. Northern States wanted the slaves to be counted more than the Southern States did due to taxes paid to the federal government . After the Civil War ended, slavery was abolished. This set all of the slaves free which stopped the compromise. Later, there was the 14th amendment which stated that everyone in the states shall be counted for the representatives.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Declaration of Independence

*Meanwhile On Twitter*

Thomas Jefferson: Yo King George, you awake?

King George III: *wakes up* What?...

Thomas Jefferson: It's me Thomas.

King George III: Oh, your that delegate from the 13 colonies. Pfft, nerd.

Thomas Jefferson: I have something important to talk to you about.

King George III: Speak as you wish patriot, I'm curious as to what you have to say.

Thomas Jefferson: It's regarding to independence.

King George III: Go on.

Thomas Jefferson: I, as well as the 13 colonies, wish to declare our independence from your Empire.

King George III: What makes you people from getting your independence. 

Thomas Jefferson:  We the People have the right to create a new government so we can have security.

King George III: Where's the proof of your statement? Remember Thomas, I'm a King, not a little boy. If you want something done then show me how it will be done. 

Thomas Jefferson: Very well. As I was saying, the right to create a new government is stated in the Declaration of Independence. Also, I have 3 grievances from the 13 colonies that I will show to you.

King George III: What are these 3 grievances you speak of?

Thomas Jefferson: The 3 grievances are the following. In recent years, you have refused the colonists the right to representation. You allowed your British Navy to influence the patriot sailors into fighting against our people as one of your men. Lastly, you closed local Boston ports due to the Boston Tea Party by punishing all, rather than the guilty. 

King George III: These grievances you've mentioned are absolutely true. However, what have you done with these grievances to support your statement.

Thomas Jefferson: The colonies have appealed your decisions, making them open to the public. We've done this by adding the grievances in our Declaration of Independence. 

King George III: It seems that you've been asking for independence a long time now. I've been reviewing all of your appeals and petitions for independence. Well, it doesn't matter. You still won't get your independence!!!

Thomas Jefferson: Well I guess we can't make any agreements anymore!


King George III:  I've had enough of you nonsense! Further connections between Britain and America are over! Good day to you. 

Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson 

King George III

You can find more about the Declaration of Independence here

The French & Indian War

                                                             
                             The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Year's War, started around 1754. The war took place in North America and was fought between Great Britain and France. Also, the Native Americans parted with the French as allies during the war. The cause of the war occurred when there was an argument of the control of both the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers. After the dispute between Britain and France, violence broke out into the Battle of Jumonville Glen which happened in May 1754. The results of the war ended in 1763 with a British Victory over France. The British then departed from the colonies and after the war, the Treaty of Paris was signed.

Map of the French & Indian War

More details about the French and Indian War can be found here