Unconstitutional Acts

Congress, the President and the Supreme Court each are to use the Constitution of the United States of America as their premier governing document.  At times, one or more of these bodies have overstepped their authority and gone beyond the powers given them by the Constitution - committing thereby an "unconstitutional" action.

In our modern society, there has been a lot of talk about Obamacare as an unconstitutional act - the 10th Amendment states  

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Therefore, some hold that healthcare is not within the powers of the federal government.  The Supreme Court held that it could be, due to the power of Congress to levy taxes and the authority of Congress to regulate the market - thus the health insurance market as well.

Executive orders have been another hot topic - when are they appropriate and when do they step out of the Executive branch's line of power?

During war times, these lines become even more unclear.

The following article provides interesting insight into some of the decisions Lincoln made and how controversial they were - at the time and still today.

https://www.civilwarhome.com/pulito.html

Try to discuss with your family what, if any, Unconstitutional Acts do you (or would you) support?  If there are any, why?  What reasons might someone choose to support or deviate from the Constitution?  

The Battle of Antietam

Antietam was a completely different story - Lee had a full-sized army that was spent, exhausted, and hungry.  They were winning and had pushed McClellan from Richmond, the Confederate capital.  He was confident invaded Maryland, also hoping he could convince to join the Confederate cause.  He gave a speech from Jefferson Davis telling Maryland they were liberated from the Union.

He was successful in his invasion until two Union soldiers found 3 cigars wrapped in some paper.  The paper was a copy of Lee's battle plan.  McClellan takes 18 hours to plan his move, during which time a Maryland citizen who was a Confederate supporter rode hard to Lee and informed him.  Lee is able to put soldiers in place to slow McClellan's approach and then set up a good defensive battleground - at Antietam.

Watch how this battle unfolds, with the two largest armies in the divided nation:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/antietam-animated-map

This battle was the bloodiest single day in the entire civil war, and in all of US history.  Many blame McClellan for not pushing through and following Lee on his retreat, believing that they could have fully ended the conflict here.

Still, the Confederates did retreat, and Lincoln called it a victory for the Union - and announced the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Battle of Shiloh

We talked a little in class about numbers of casualties, what a casualty means, and why these two battles were so important, but especially about the experiences of the soldiers and what the battle of Shiloh may have been like for the soldiers who were there.

Remember, what each side believed was true about the other determined a lot of their actions in what they did here.  Johnston and Beauregard attacked ultimately to fight a smaller army, Halleck commanded Grant to wait ultimately to get a larger army with Buell.  Grant and his other generals did not trench in or watch because they believed there was no threat, and Sherman in particular possibly because he may have wanted to prove himself sane and able.

To get an idea of what happened during the battle, watch this video:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/shiloh-animated-map

Shiloh was incredibly important for both sides in discovering what this war was going to become - both felt it would be a quick affair before this.  It was also instrumental in training (or killing, in the case of Johnston) the generals who would move forward for the war, and for the soldiers in "seeing the elephant" - or recognizing what battle and war truly are.

How would the war have changed if Grant, Sherman and Prentiss had watched and prepared?  Is it possible to always be prepared?

What if Johnston and Beauregard had been able to attack even a day earlier?  Or if they hadn't attacked?

Generals, Part One

     As we just don't have enough time in class to go over the details of the lives of people we meet in our Sword of Freedom journey, I've included three biographies of Generals involved in the opening scenes of the Civil War. 
     Please, in your family, discuss these three questions: 
           1.  What qualities of leadership contribute to the most supporters in times of peace? in times of stress/crisis?
           2.  What qualities in leaders cause others to change their lives?
           3.  What makes a person decide to follow/support a cause?

 

Robert E. Lee

J.E.B. Stuart and George B. McClellan



Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (This site has a series of short videos that play at the top but load very slowly.  Please read the short biography at the bottom as well.)

Fort Sumter and First Manassas/First Bull Run

We were unable to get to the meat of these battles in class on Friday.  Please watch these sequences in order and take notes. 


Fort Sumter


 
First Manassas/First Bull Run

Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom's Cabin- Could she be the 'little lady who started' the Civil War?

Here is a clip from a larger series shown on PBS a few years ago, specifically chronicling Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Dred Scott vs. Stanford

Watch this short video clip involving the Dred Scott decision.

Public Virtue & the Antebellum Period

What is Public Virtue?  Can it mean different things at different times?

Virtue is defined 10 different ways in Webster's 1828 dictionary, including terms such as "strength," "bravery," "moral goodness," and "acting power."  In what ways do you have and show public virtue?  Your parents, family, neighbors, friends?  Do each of these parties display a different public virtue in different circumstances or places?  How is their public virtue affected by their allegiances?  How is yours?

For you, when would it be a public virtue to stay home and take care of community and family, and when would it be a public virtue to leave your family and fight?

During the Antebellum Period (the time before the civil war), congress became increasingly divided over the issue of slavery, rather than by party lines (Republican, Democrat, Whig).  The tension grew as succession was threatened and a true compromise that would settle the issues seemed further and further from reach.  The compromises that were eventually reached in both 1820 and 1850 were simply miracles.

Look over the events as the Missouri Compromise was debated, and read over the letter excerpts and how succession was a real concern and threat over 30 years before the civil war, and the stress the political leaders felt as they worked through this time.  Can you imagine how our country would handle these conversations now in congress and between the President and his cabinet?  What would your public virtue call you to do?
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/missouri.html

Here's a site that gives a very basic review of the Compromise of 1850:
http://www.compromise-of-1850.org/summary/
and explains how it came to actually pass and some of the roadblocks - remember that congress then was broken, much like our congress has been - meaning that many members of congress were not willing to compromise at all, so nothing could actually get passed or agreed upon.

Do we have a duty, and public virtue, that calls us to compromise?  Or a duty or public virtue to stand firm?  Ask yourself and your family when it's worth compromising, when you can't, and what the consequences of either choice are.  In today's issues, what would you be willing to give up, and be willing to stand for?  On immigration and deportation of illegal immigrants versus granting asylum?  On taking orders and honoring your superior rank versus following your moral compass?