American Civil War

Okay, once a week, I have a class on the American Civil War, from 7-10, three hours. Some of my friends made some funny faces when I tell them this, but it's not too bad. The book that we're reading out of, Ordeal By Fire, by James McPherson, is amazing, really well done. It's kinda ironic that we haven't even gotten to the Civil War yet- the class is exploring every aspect of the war, it's causes, ramifacations, politically, socially, economically and morally. Thus far, we've had a detailed look at slavery, it's root causes and effects on the American Culture at the time. Tonight's class was about the politics leading up to the war, and how the institution of slavery effected everything. There were a number of things that I really learned tonight, and last class. The main thing was how bad it got, and some of the things that both sides did. The South, for example, passed a number of state level laws that prohibited anti-slavery talk or promotion. And because they had the majority in the House of Representatives, they passed what's called the Gag Rule, in which any abolitionist motion was promptly taled and not paid attention to at all. Really bad stuff, against the Constitution and the 1st Amendment.
Now, with that scary thought off my mind, I have homework to finish before the AM.