Who is "destined?"

Manifest destiny is a fascinating concept, particularly due to ownership.  The idea of destiny certainly has a religious connotation, but the American concept of manifest destiny went far beyond that.  Is there a common thread in these articles in terms of ownership?  How do the authors of the pro-manifest destiny pieces justify their right to expand westward?  Additionally, how do the critical pieces (i.e. British cartoons), argue against these principles?

Finally, why was Mexico so crucial?  How does it connect to our conversations about slavery?

I know this was a long reading assignment...thanks for bearing with me.

What causes a crisis?

Historians usually refer to the period before the American Civil War as a crisis in some way.  The crises took many forms, however--sectional, social, and they even transcended directly into the polical arena (i.e. the caning of Charles Sumner).  After reading the introductory piece on the war's causes, what stands out to you the most as a cause of crisis?  Defend your position--as we all know, there were myriad causes to this war.

Garrison--Pioneer or Safer Option?

This piece says quite a bit about Garrison's background as an original gradualist and colonizer, and his shift towards preaching for immediate abolition.  Why do you think Garrison was the "founder" of the American abolition movement if there were others before him (especially Quakers) who did not receive much of a spotlight?  What was it about Garrison's personality, background, and evening timing that put him into the limelight for the abolition movement?

The Language of Abolition

Clearly, these are two drastically different articles.  One is written by a man who is about to die for his crimes.  Another is a legal document that provides a loophole to the fugitive slave law.

Yes, unfortunately, most legal documents are written in this obscure and difficult style--but why is that?  Why is it so difficult to read them?

What strikes you about John Brown's speech?  Would you have said anything different if you were in his shoes?

Worker psychology

Again, sorry this is late!  I want to expand on our comments today about the psychology of the workplace.  Is there value to the argument that a slave perpetually in fear will work harder than the free worker who loves his/her job?  How do tonight's articles (as well as our articles from the past) elaborate on this?

Pro-Slavery Arguments in the South

First off--apologies that this blog is delinquent (ask Abdoulaye about my cat attack, and you'll understand why...)

Anyway, here are tonight's questions:

Consider both the strengths and weaknesses of all the defenses of slavery.  Were any of the documents particularly convincing/not convincing to you?  Why?

Specific examples are always helpful here :)

Also, at the end of your post, tell us what you plan to follow as your political hotbed topic.  If there are overlaps, I'll try to divvy them up so that we don't have too much repetition but that you still have a topic that interests you.  Prepare to share some recent news about your topic next time we have an hour period (Tuesday).

Resistance movements

After reading about the exposure of slavery and cohabitation in the cabins, discuss some of the different forms of resistance they exemplify.  Connect specific examples from the articles to at least two of the themes we have already discussed.