Arguementative Essay Topic

I chose to argue why "The United States should go to war against the Confederate States in order to preserve the Union," from a northern perspective. I chose it because it seems like the one I know most about. I have learned that when writing about something, you should choose an argument or subject that you excel at. I think how I can explain that by using my background knowledge on The Civil War, and use many outside sources that are credible. I will use strong words that put my point across that "this is why we need to go to war." I will try to do my best like I did on my first essay.

Rest of Fredrick Douglass Reaction, Questions, and Comments

I thought this was the best chapter for Douglass. At first, Douglass is still in Baltimore working for Master Hugh. I learned that he sometimes would give some money back to Douglass. I would be livid because I worked hard for my pay, and in reality, only get back 5 or 10 cents! I would be a little relieved since I got some money back. However, this just made Douglass more lonesome for freedom. Douglass asked for some freedom from Master Hugh, to start his own business. I thought it was a good idea, Master Hugh agreed, but under one condition, Douglass would have to pay 3 dollars on Friday of every week.I thought that it was reasonable, just 3 dollars for freedom. After this, he left for a conference and came home to an angry Master Hugh. He said that he needed to ask permission to go out on his payday. I thought this was stupid since because he gave him freedom, and couldn't wait one minute later to get his pay. After this, Douglass protested against Master Hugh, and didn't work for an entire week. Hugh warned Douglass of what would happen next. I thought this was good for Douglass since he can exercise his rights. I then thought of the consequence, and thought it would be a good idea to leave the home and work. The next week, he pocketed almost 9 dollars. The next week, almost 10 dollars, and Master Hugh acknowledged that and gave him 25 cents, larger than usual. I thought that Douglass was now being appreciated for what he did. On 9-3-1838, Douglass ran away and succeeded. He didn't know what to do in NY, and was picked up by a Mr.Ruggles, who gave him shelter, and a home. He also got married at this place. I liked Mr. Ruggles's character since he housed a number of Negros. Douglas moved to New Bedford, with his wife. I thought it was nice for him to be free, and protest his rights as a free American. He attended anti-slavery conferences, and that is where he became one of the most powerful voices against slavery. I liked this because he lived in heck for all of his life, and finally goes against the people who detained him for so much of his life. Overall, I loved this chapter compared to all other chapters.






Questions:
Why did Douglass call the Underground railroad the upper-ground railroad?
Why did Douglass trust no one, even though he is in a free state?
Comments:
I hate how some people take every dime that someone makes.
I disliked how Douglass didn't go into detail about how he ran away.

Reaction to Chapter 10 and Questions and Comments

I thought this chapter was one of the best I have read so far. Douglas, left Mr. Covey's farm to go live with Mr. Freeland. Mr. Freeland was a great master, he fed the slaves well, he worked them hard, but not to hard. I thought this was a master with some sanity inside him. Even though he was a great master, Douglas had a yearning for freedom. A small group of people and Douglas made a plan to row up Chesapeake Bay to freedom. I thought this was the final major bound to their freedom. I also believed that it would succeed, however, I was wrong. They were eating breakfast when their masters rode in on their horses, and hauled them away. I thought this was sad since this was a major morale booster and was almost foolproof. After this, Master Thomas sent Douglas back to Master Hugh in Baltimore. I thought that this was a good thing for Douglas since he was closer to his freedom. There, he started working again, and got into a fight with one of the white workers. I thought that this was a serious blow to Douglas's freedom. Master Hugh took Douglas to a lawyer, but couldn't go to court unless a white person testified for Douglas. I strongly disliked how they treated black people, for crying out loud, he got his eye punched out! I then thought that it was complete and utter stupidity to turn down a slave who was treated very poorly and couldn't see out of his eye! I know this is bad, but it is nowhere near as bad as being whipped until his back ad valleys and ridges. All in all, I thought it was a great chapter and was way better (by miles) compared to other chapters.





Questions:
Why did the owners give the slaves time off?
How did Master Freeland know about the plan to run away?
Comments:
I hated how the masters would sometimes stuff their slaves until they burst.
I strongly disliked how Master Hugh would take Fredrick's hard earned money.

Chapter 8, 9, 10 t Page 41 Questions and Comments

Chapter 8

Question: Why did Master Anthony not leave a will?

Comment: I hated what Master Andrews did to Fredrick Douglas's brother.

Chapter 9

Question: Why is Master Thomas so mean after being raised by a kind master?

Comment: I liked how Douglas now can tell time and how he told what went through his mind about the meeting.

Chapter 10 up to Page 41

Question: Why did Mr. Covey send him to get wood even knowing he never drove oxen before?

Comment: I liked how Mr. Covey actually worked with the field hands.

Chapter 8,9,10 to Page 41 Reflection of Narritive of the Life of Fredrick Douglas

I thought the whole area that I read was kind of up and down. I really like that Douglas was treated well throughout the entire chapter. In the chapters I read, Master Thomas took Douglas from Master Hugh, his brother. I felt bad for Douglas since he left such a good home and was once again forced to work hard hours of Master Thomas plantation. Douglas was then sent to Mr. Covey, a well know “nigger breaker” and worked hard hours, sometimes until midnight. What I liked about Mr. Covey was that he actually worked in the fields with the slaves. I also liked how he always gave enough to eat while on his plantation. While here, Douglas met another slave named Sandy, who gave Douglas a root, which if placed correctly in a pocket, would keep you from being whipped. After Douglas obtained the root, he ran into Mr. Covey in the barn. This time instead of being whipped, Douglas stood up for himself. I thought that it was about time for a slave to stand up for what he believes in. I also, when reading this, was surprised that Douglas had so much spunk in him after being treated so horribly and whipped so many times. I thought, when Douglas ran away to Master Thomas, that he had the guts to run to the North and the will to be free. After that, he went to a Master called Mr. Freeman. I thought that he was definitely the nicest Masters in all of the USA at the time. All slaves were worked, but weren’t worked to death. The slaves had cots in their quarters. Finally, they had plenty to eat here. Even though the slaves were happy here, they formulated a plan to sail up Chesapeake Bay and go further north once they couldn’t go any further.

I thought that it was a foolproof plan to make all the followers free, but was broken up by the masters. They all ended up being taken to jail and were separated. I just felt awful that they were so close to getting freedom, but had their dreams crushed under a 5 ton wall. Overall, Douglas was very close but ended up at the mercy of the masters, which is how all slavery stories’ go.

Question and Comments Chapters 5,6,and 7

Chapter 5Me
Question 1: Why did Colonel Lloyd get rid of Fredrick Douglas?
Comment: I think that Douglas should feel praised, to be chosen out of thousands to go to Baltimore.
TJ
Question 2: How come Fredrick Douglas described how the children ate their food.
Comment: I think Douglas was telling the people how they ate to show how the owners treated them.
Chapter 6
Me
Question 3: Why did Douglas go into so much detail about what Mrs. Auld looked like and acted like?
Comment: I thought it was nice how Mrs. Auld taught him the ABC's and how to read.
TJ
Question 4: How come Mr. Auld got mad at his wife for showing Douglas how to read and write?
Comment: Because at the time period if you had knowledge, you had power at that time.

Chapter 5,6,7 Response for Narrative of Fredrick Douglas

These chapters were a lot better than the other ones, so far. Douglas was sent away from the Great House Farm plantation to a townhouse in Baltimore. He was treated very well there, he got fed better than he ever did, and the wife taught Douglas the ABCs. The husband, Mr.Auld, got very livid at this but the damage was done. Once Douglas learned the ABCs, he then learned how to read, the how to write. These chapters were better because it had no real horrible discipline. All in all, he started learning, and then was gonna "take all the ell."

Chapter 2,3,4 Response on Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas

I thought the chapters were appalling still. It went into detail about allowance and what he did on the field and went more into detail of being a slave. I talked about yearly allowance, what clothes slaves got, and what season the clothes were for. Douglas also talked about the plantation owner, Colonel Lloyd. He also talked about how the plantation was like and how slaves were honored to go work on the The Great House Farm. The only bright part of these chapters was the new overseer, Mr. Hopkins who was a kind overseer. He took no joy from whipping people and all slaves called him a good overseer. Then, it all turned upside down because Mr. Hopkins was replaced by Mr. Gore, his name suited him perfectly since he blew the brains of a slave that was just trying to recover from his whipping. It also had another person who was killed because a slave was on his property. The slave was fishing for oysters when he walked onto another plantations property, and the owner killed him. Overall, these chapters were really appalling.

Amistad Reaction

I thought the Amistad, the part that we watched, was a very accurate movie that really describes what went on around the ship. I thought it was a sad story about how random people got taken from their country. I would of jumped off the ship when near to the coast. I would of done this because it wasn't worth staying in the horrible conditions and other stuff like that. I would of  kept the baby, and still jumped off the ship because the baby doesn't deserve to go through that and have to experience slavery. I also would of possibly let the baby at the village for neighbors to care for.

My Reaction to Chapter 1 of "The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas"

I found chapter one of "The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas" very disturbing. The first couple paragraphs were about his background, his name, his age, his parents, and all that stuff. Then Fredrick Douglas goes more into detail about what happened on the plantation. He talked of the plantation owner and his personality. The worst part was when he talked about the punishments that people went through. The whip lashings were horrendous and plain horrible about what people did. What was the worst about the chapter was when he talked about the overseer Mr. Plummer. I strongly disliked how Mr. Plummer would whip slaves until they bled, and also disliked how he would enjoy the whipping of a person on their backs. I really disliked how they treated slaves as well. Slaves are humans as well as any white man, some of those slaves could of created a cure for cancer. They could of also sloved something else if they weren't slaves. On a lighter note, he said ow his mom would sneak off the plantation to see him. It takes serious dedication to sneak off a plantation, knowing you could be shot any minute.