Class Update: 11-19-12 and 11-20-12

I realize now that with the preparation for homecoming and the hypnotist show, I forgot to make a class update post on Tuesday. Here it is! On the nineteenth in class we talked about Uncle Tom's Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. We talked about how slaves were captured and the fugitive slave act, which encouraged Northerners to help return fugitive slaves. It was sickening to discuss how the slaves were hunted down by dogs, as if they were animals or some kind of prey. Fugitive slave cases were taken so seriously that even the small acts that Northerners did such as feeding or housing fugitive slaves could get them jail time or a hefty fine. The next day we completed multiple worksheets on the Nebraska-Kansas Act and what was known as "Bleeding Kansas". These explained the creation of Kansas and Nebraska and allowing them to have a popular vote on the topic of slavery. This caused a huge commotion and many deaths as pro- and anti-slavery activists alike tried to gain control of these lands. I was shocked to hear about the attack between a Northern Senator and a Southern Representative and that despite beating someone nearly to death, the Southerner never received jail time. Many people can't believe the dirty politics and slander that occur today, but nothing compares to this incident over 150 years ago!