Week 5 Blog Prompt

At the end of the trial in Merchant of Venice, justice and mercy were achieved.

Justice is fair and reasonable.

Mercy is the forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.

Why has justice been achieved? Was it true justice?

Shylock was punished, although it was Portia who manipulated the law to make him look wrong, and not because he had borne evil intentions. Certainly in the law justice has been achieved. But Shylock had sealed the bond legally and in the end had not laid a finger on Antonio. Did he truly deserve to be punished like this? True justice was not achieved! Also, Antonio had some responsibility for taking the bond too. But no punishment was given to him too.

Mercy?

The Duke spared his life and Antonio did not take half of Shylock's wealth for himself. By sparing him of worst things, they showed mercy to him. However, they did not show him it out of pure compassion. They probably wanted Shylock to have a slow painful life. Hence Antonio made Shylock renounce Jewism. Mercy was shown, however this is not exactly true mercy.

Week 4 Blog Prompt

In my personal view, I think that this letter serves as a great example of how we Singaporeans think of our education, and this, definitely has aroused my attention.

The tone of the letter written by the student is rather good, but sometimes, it is a bit too much. Firstly, I would like to comment on the point that she said that teachers do not explain things clearly, like the question "Why is carbon a non-metal?"

In my opinion, I think that all the why, what, who, how etc. questions, should not always rely on teachers to teach you. We must all learn to be independent and to learn how to study yourself and go into deeper research. This is also why you will see tougher questions in Science or other subjects, where a lot of research, notes, and a lot of self-study is required. Why is carbon a non-metal? This question can be solved if you go deep down into research, because you cannot expect your teacher to answer all of your questions. They do not have time too. Hence I do not agree with the writer. Yes, it is right that you cannot stop questioning, and children have a lot of curiosity in mind, but sometimes things have to be done yourself, rather than relying on others for help.

However, I do agree with her that memorization is not effective. Because memorization does not help in learning. If you only memorize, what if you met a phrase you do not understand? Do we even bother to check the dictionary, or go and research? If you memorize for the sake of getting good results for your teachers, your classmates, and your parents to see, then you are absolutely wrong. And this shows that you do not really understand the point of learning. You memorize so that you can apply those knowledge you have in the future, not just only for tests and examinations.

Let me make an example - Chinese idioms. Our Chinese teacher will test us 10 idioms every week. Yes, we have to memorize, and I believe that most of us only memorize the sentences only right? Memorization is no longer useful if you do not know what is it talking about, or the meaning of a sentence or phrase.

Also, if you only memorize, you will only know a limited amount of knowledge. The number of skilled people around the world is increasing. With that limited amount of knowledge, how are you going to face the society, where there will be all different kinds of challenges, and it is impossible to use only the few ways you 'memorized' to solve.

By ending my blog prompt, I think that the education system need to change as I think that it is already good enough. However, sometimes the attitudes of the students seriously need to change, because their way of learning things may not lead them to the road of success.

Week 3 Blog Prompt

In your opinion, is money or love more important?

Is money important in a relationship?

Yes, I agree that money is only a small factor in a relationship. Instead, I think that love is very important in a relationship.

There is no use if he/she is rich. The problem is that whether he/she has the love in you, and do you love him/her? Or both of you want to get married just for money? Money and love is both precious. But money can be replaced, but what about love? Love can never be replaced. We should not cheat others by getting into relationship with others just for money.

Nowadays, more teenagers are more towards money already. They only want to live off just because of money. Love is something money cannot buy with, and we should treasure love as much as we can. It does not matter about money. True love matters.

Week 2 Blog Prompt

In your opinion, how has war evolved from the past to present?

It takes away peace, it is happening for a very long time for the past thousands of years, it is something that nobody will want, and that is war.

But, how has war evolved from the past to the present? The common thing in war is still violence and killing. It takes away many innocent lives.

In the past, people fight with swords, cannons and arrows. Those are the basic weapons for going to war. However as the technology improves gradually, from time to time, guns, rifles, and stronger and more effective weapons were introduced into war with more effective power and more accurate killing.

Now bombs were created. This is why there are cases of terrorisms in the world. Even before that, there is a very serious case that happened - to Japan in the World War II. The U.S. army dropped atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They are extremely powerful and violence in war also hence increased. There is a lot of deaths and serious injuries by the radiation after the dropping of atomic bombs, unlike the past when there are fewer casualties in the war. Atomic bombs are made of chemicals. They are extremely dangerous and the consequences are unthinkable, because the evidence from the past stated that this had taken away many lives.

In conclusion, war has indeed evolved a lot from the past to present. Now with high technology and skilled force in the world and fierce competition, the swords, arrows are pushed aside and guns, rifles, rockets are being introduced.

Book Review 1 - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns recounts the experiences and emotions of two Afghani women, Mariam and Laila, whose lives become entangled with the history of recent wars in their country. Mostly bleak and heartrending, their story does offer the promise of hope and happiness in a land ravaged by warfare, gender conflicts, and poverty.

Her future husband is Rasheed, a successful shoemaker in Kabul. He is a big man, and his size alone frightens Mariam when she first sees him. Before she leaves her father’s side, Mariam swears she will never again speak to him for not allowing her to stay in his house.Rasheed believes that a man should rule over his wife. He does not allow Mariam to go outside without him, and she must also dress in a burka whenever they leave the home. Mariam, however, remains in Rasheed’s relative good favor until she has a miscarriage and fails several more times to bear a child. With each of his wife’s miscarriages, Rasheed becomes crueler and more distant. Soon she is routinely beaten for trivial and often made-up reasons. Laila’s mother dotes on her sons and mostly ignores Laila. Her mother falls into a deep depression when her sons go off to war and then are killed. The Russian and Taliban armies intensify their clashes, and one day a missile destroys Laila’s house. Her parents are killed, and Laila is injured.

One day, Tariq, the boy who grew up in Kabul with Laila returns. He expresses his love, and Laila takes him to see his daughter, whom Laila has been forced to place in an orphanage so the little girl would be guaranteed food. Rasheed has lost his business, and money is scarce. When Rasheed finds out that Tariq is back and has been to the house, he beats Laila. His rage intensifies when Laila talks back, and he tries to strangle her. Mariam, fearing for her friend’s life, hits Rasheed in the head with a shovel, killing him. In order to save Laila and the children, who might be implicated in the murder, Mariam turns herself over to the Taliban. She is sentenced to death.

Laila and Tariq run away with both children and live in Pakistan. But after the United States invades Afghanistan, the family returns to Kabul. Their love for each other, as well as their love for their homeland, despite its cruelties and harshness and hardships, ends the novel on a high note, suggesting the possibility of a better future.

29th June 2011

Q: Young men in Singapore, including you, will have to go to National service. Why do you think that National Service is compulsory in Singapore and why is it so important? In the poem, the speaker expresses his love for his country England. Do you find this same spirit of patriotism in Singapore? Why? Do you think you have this same spirit of patriotism for Singapore? Why?

A: One important reason for implementing compulsory National Service is that it encourages the young to learn to serve the society. When they realize how they are a part of society and have a stake in whether it flourishes or flounders, they will come to appreciate what has been given to them by the country in terms of security, education and other privileges as citizens. Thus, it is essential that the young serve the society so that they will not take the life they enjoy for granted.

Furthermore, a short stint in serving the country will instill a sense of belonging in the young. They will feel a sense of ownership on the land they call home, which is important to foster a strong generation of responsible people. When the young experience the need for defence or participation in the community, they will see that they have a stake in the society and have much to offer.

Maybe perhaps some people in Singapore will show the spirit of patriotism. There are news, even shown online that a maid helping a soldier to carry his bag. This has obviously shows that that particular soldier took his life for granted, also unable to take care of himself, to be independent, relying on her maid to carry his own bag.

I will, I ought to have the same spirit of patriotism as the speaker of the poem called “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke. I am now living in a very safe and sound place, also leading a peaceful life in Singapore. Hence we cannot take this privilege for granted. Also, I am a Singaporean, and I sing the National Anthem and the Pledge, this is why I have to love and respect Singapore.

Online Learning 24th May

Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson

America did not foreseeGreen, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!Expecting others to pay a high price.Now thinking twice?Toll on the innocent and unborn.Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.All the deceit continues to spread.Nefariously America led astray -Generations untold WILL pay -Execrable effects of agent orange spray!Hubert Wilson

Task 1:

Information: Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF security service. Together with a dozen or so intelligence school graduates, they prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas. They were sent to Vietnam or other places in Southeast Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in the 6924th Security Squadron, Da Nang, which is an Agent Orange hotspot. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska along with the 6984th Security Squadron, which was a far more contaminated environment than Da Nang. After staying there for about 18 years, he started to have unexplained headaches and limb pains. His central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progessive limb pains etc. No doctors have been able to diagnose the illness. Since his brain is still functioning moderately well although he has mobility issues, he has decided to turn to writing. - Rainbow Death

This poem speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare that has caused appalling death and suffering, not only to the Vietnamese, but even the USA themselves, which means both sides are affected. Agent Orange is contaminated with TCDD, which is very dangerous. During the war, about 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, with 500,000 children born with birth defects.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was the most widely used in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production, dioxins were produced as contaminant, which caused numerous health problems to millions of people exposed to it.

The poem, Rainbow Death, is written by Hubert Wilson, to remind everyone in the world that "wars aren't over when the wars are over". Although this sentence may seem contradictory, but it basically means that even though wars have ended, but the effects of the war still remains, which shows the danger of modern warfare. It will not only affect the generation at that time, but also affects the younger generation --> Newborn babies are either dead or born with defects. This also shows the danger of starting a war and tells people to think twice before starting a war.

Source: http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow

Setting of a story

It is night time, but it seemed so bright. I was in the wooden house, staring at the serene sky with a huge full moon "shining" in front of me. However, I felt so lonely. I am the only person living on the huge grassland...

MY STORY

“Hey! Wake up! You are gonna late for school!”

“Urgh… why so early wake up? I don’t want to go to school…”

“Quickly!”

“Mmmm…” he groaned.

This is what normal pupils do whenever before they go to school – sleep as long as they can. Staring at our breakfast is not interesting, this is what they will do:

“Mum, why bread and milk every day?”

Groaning early in the morning? For me, I am not like this. Bread and milk? Fine with me! My point is to eat very quickly so that I can go to school as early as possible, which I like to. My mission is to the first person to arrive to class, but always got took over by my classmates. I hate the crazy traffic. Sigh, why do I have to hear horns from cars at least once in a day? I don’t know why, I feel very disgusted by the loud and awful sounds of the horn. I also hate the stairs in my school. Why do I have to climb up six storeys to my class? Plus every storey has three flight of stairs.

Wow. I have to climb up the stairs eighteen times.

Oh no. Looks like I’ve moaned and groaned early in the morning! But not about breakfast.

School is cool; I’ve met all kinds of teachers, male or female, the kind of hair, very special. But I am always afraid of teachers, especially fierce ones. There is one incident that had made me so embarrassed in front of my class, but in my heart, I felt very angry and hurt. This had happened very long ago, when I was Primary One. In class…

I’ve wet my pants.

That time I was so scared that I burst into tears. All my classmates stared at me blankly, and then looked at each other. Finally, they shook their head. Suddenly I stopped crying. I immediately ran to my teacher and asked her whether I could go to the toilet.

“NO!” She yelled at me. I was so shocked and immobilized. Again, I screamed and sobbed. This time my classmates started to stand around me and comforted me. Then I stopped. With my spectacles filled with lots of tear drops, my face seemed weird. Oh, now the laughter had filled the class.

Till now, this incident is still very memorable, because that is my only time that I have wet my pants. That class was also extremely interesting. Everyday all we know is to laugh and laugh. So loud that teachers nearby have to tell us to keep quiet.

I love recesses. I love the food! I can eat all kinds of food. That’s why I will probably be the first one to run down the six storeys and go to the canteen to eat. Food is now quite expensive nowadays. In my school, the economic rice’s price increased thirty cents. From two dollars to two dollars and thirty cents for 4 vegetables and rice which is around at the same price at coffee shops and hawker centers. But no one could wait to go to the Western Food stall to have a sumptuous meal. Grilled Chicken, Fish and Chips, Pork Chop, all these food made our saliva to drip. However, the sad thing is, teachers releasing us late, running slower than others, could break our hearts, because they will always have a lot of people lining up. No choice. Hungry people might just run to the other stalls, since there are also delicious food like noodles and Malay foods. But for non-hungry students, they wait patiently to get that fresh aroma of that chicken. Some tricky people, if they did not cut the queue, then they will ask their friends to buy for them. Inconsiderate people. Forget them.

Tests always freaked me out. It is not that I hated tests, but it is really scary. Walking towards the teacher and taking the test paper. The atmosphere is tense. Afraid because I did not dare to see my marks. What if I did badly? Screwed by my parents, I cannot sleep, my favourite things will get confiscated, I will have to stay back after school for afternoon classes, the feeling is awful. What if I did great? Yay! Compliments, compliments, and compliments. And what if I am just one mark lesser than Grade A? I will be angry, my parents will be angry, I will feel utterly upset too.

Sadly, my school that there are only Chinese and very few Eurasians and of other races. I wish I could interact with more people of different races. I want; I really want to know about their culture and life besides researching online, because yes, oral sources seemed more reliable than ‘Wikipedia’.

Singapore is a great city. Even though it is a small country, a ‘red dot’ in the map, it has a lot of things that had made other tourists say ‘Wow!’. Especially what made Singapore so attractive is the new casino – The Marina Bay Sands. It is tall, beautiful, and gorgeous in the interior. And the Sentosa, the thrilling roller-coaster that make tourists go crazy. Speaking of roller coasters, I would say that I am really afraid of roller-coasters.

Just not ago, during the December holidays, my family and I went to Shenzhen, China to tour. Then we came to this place to play all sorts of fun games and stuff. After that, we’ve passed by a roller coaster track. There are other two or three pretty scary ones but this one is the ‘non-scary’ one. But it turned that me screaming all the way for one minute, I guess.

Also, the food was also amazing in Singapore, regardless of race of the food. Nasi Lemak is cool, Roti Prata is also one of my favourites, and grilled fish is tasty! I love Singapore; I love the education in here, creative and great, even though I have to wake up early in the morning…

~The End~

(998 words - 2 words lesser than 1000)

Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused--
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"--sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"


Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka uses irony to depict the absurdity of racism in his poem, "Telephone Conversation.

The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, "How nice!" when I said I had to work all weekend. A technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated. In the figure of speech, emphasis is placed on the opposition between the literal and intended meaning of a statement; one thing is said and its opposite implied, as in the comment, "Beautiful weather, isn't it?" made when it is raining or nasty. In sarcasm ridicule or mockery is used harshly, often crudely for destructive purposes. The landlady is described as a polite, well-bred woman, even though she is shown to be shallowly racist. The speaker is described as being genuinely apologetic for his skin color, even though he has no reason to be sorry for something which he was born with and has no control over. In this short poem, I can see that the speaker is an intelligent person by his use of high diction and quick wit, not the savage that the landlady assumes he is because of his skin color. All of these discrepancies between what appears to be and what really is create a sense of verbal irony that helps the poem display the ridiculousness of racism. "The price seemed reasonable, location / Indifferent". The first sentence of the poem introduces the theme of the following poem and also informs us that things are not going to be as straightforward as they appear. The speaker is rudely denied the ability to rent the property because of bias towards his skin color. "Caught I was, foully". After this introduction, the speaker begins his "self-confession" about his skin color (line 4). It is ironic that this is called a self-confession since the speaker has nothing that he should have to confess since he has done nothing wrong. He warns the landlady that he is African, instead of just informing her. "Caught I was, foully" he says after listening to the silence the landlady had responded with. "I hate a wasted journey—I am African". The landlady, on the other hand, is described with nothing but positive terms. The speaker mentions her "good-breeding," "lipstick coated" voice, "long gold-rolled/Cigarette holder," all possessions that should make her a respectable lady (lines 7-9). These words describing her wealth are neutral in regard to her personal character, but allow that she could be a good person.

Historical Background - Part 2

The Civil Rights Movement

a) It began on 1955 and ended on 1968.

b) The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights in Southern states. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and 1968, particularly in the South. By 1966, the emergence of the Black Power Movement, which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975, enlarged the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from oppression by white Americans.

Many of those who were active in the Civil Rights Movement, with organizations such as NAACP, SNCC, CORE and SCLC, prefer the term "Southern Freedom Movement" because the struggle was about far more than just civil rights under law; it was also about fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality.

The movement was characterised by major campaigns of civil resistance. During the period 1955–1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities. Federal, state, and local governments, businesses, and communities often had to respond immediately to crisis situations which highlighted the inequities faced by African Americans. Forms of protest and/or civil disobedience included boycotts such as the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) in Alabama; "sit-ins" such as the influential Greensboro sit-in (1960) in North Carolina; marches, such as the Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) in Alabama; and a wide range of other nonviolent activities.

Noted legislative achievements during this phase of the Civil Rights Movement were passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964,^[1] that banned discrimination based on "race, colour, religion, or national origin" in employment practices and public accommodations; the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that restored and protected voting rights; the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965, that dramatically opened entry to the U.S. to immigrants other than traditional European groups; and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, that banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing. African Americans re-entered politics in the South, and across the country young people were inspired to action.

c) 1. Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

Spring 1951 was the year in which great turmoil was felt amongst Black students in reference to Virginia state's educational system. At the time in Prince Edward County, Moton High School was segregated and students had decided to take matters into their own hands to fight against two things: the overpopulated school premises and the unsuitable conditions in their school. This particular behavior coming from Black people in the South was most likely unexpected and inappropriate as White people had expectations for Blacks to act in a subordinate manner. Moreover, some local leaders of the NAACP had tried to persuade the students to back down from their protest against the Jim Crow laws of school segregation. When the students did not accept the NAACP's demands, the NAACP automatically joined them in their battle against school segregation. This became one of the five cases that made up what is known today as Brown v. Board of Education.

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision regarding the case called Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in which the plaintiffs charged that the education of black children in separate public schools from their white counterparts was unconstitutional. The opinion of the Court stated that the "segregation of white and coloured children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the coloured children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group."

The lawyers from the NAACP had to gather some plausible evidence in order to win the case of Brown vs. Education. Their way of addressing the issue of school segregation was to enumerate several arguments. One of them pertained to having an exposure to interracial contact in a school environment. It was said that it would, in turn, help to prevent children to live with the pressures that society exerts in regards to race. Therefore, having a better chance of living in democracy. In addition, another was in reference to the emphasis of how "'education’ comprehends the entire process of developing and training the mental, physical and moral powers and capabilities of human beings”. In Goluboff's book, it has been stated that the goals of the NAACP was to bring to the Court’s awareness the fact that African American children were the victims of the legalization of school segregation and were not guaranteed a bright future. Without having the opportunity to be exposed to other cultures, it impedes on how Black children will function later on as adults trying to live a normal life.

The Court ruled that both Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which had established the segregationist, "separate but equal" standard in general, and Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education (1899), which had applied that standard to schools, were unconstitutional. The following year, in the case known as Brown v. Board of Education, the Court ordered segregation to be phased out over time, "with all deliberate speed".

2. Albany Movement, 1961–1962

The SCLC, which had been criticized by some student activists for its failure to participate more fully in the freedom rides, committed much of its prestige and resources to a desegregation campaign in Albany, Georgia, in November 1961. King, who had been criticized personally by some SNCC activists for his distance from the dangers that local organizers faced—and given the derisive nickname "De Lawd" as a result—intervened personally to assist the campaign led by both SNCC organizers and local leaders.

The campaign was a failure because of the canny tactics of Laurie Pritchett, the local police chief, and divisions within the black community. The goals may not have been specific enough. Pritchett contained the marchers without violent attacks on demonstrators that inflamed national opinion. He also arranged for arrested demonstrators to be taken to jails in surrounding communities, allowing plenty of room to remain in his jail. Prichett also foresaw King's presence as a danger and forced his release to avoid King's rallying the black community. King left in 1962 without having achieved any dramatic victories. The local movement, however, continued the struggle, and it obtained significant gains in the next few years.

3. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–1956

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks (the "mother of the Civil Rights Movement") refused to give up her seat on a public bus to make room for a white passenger. She was secretary of the Montgomery NAACP chapter and had recently returned from a meeting at the Highlander Center in Tennessee where nonviolent civil disobedience as a strategy had been discussed. Parks was arrested, tried, and convicted for disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. After word of this incident reached the black community, 50 African-American leaders gathered and organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott to demand a more humane bus transportation system. However, after any reforms were rejected the NAACP, led by E.D. Nixon, pushed for full desegregation of public buses. With the support of most of Montgomery's 50,000 African Americans, the boycott lasted for 381 days until the local ordinance segregating African-Americans and whites on public buses was lifted. Ninety percent of African Americans in Montgomery partook in the boycotts, which reduced bus revenue by 80% until a federal court ordered Montgomery's buses desegregated in November 1956, and the boycott ended.

A young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr., was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that directed the boycott. The protest made King a national figure. His eloquent appeals to Christian brotherhood and American idealism created a positive impression on people both inside and outside the South.

d) John F. Kennedy

e) It abolished slavery as a legal institution in the United States. The one irreconcilable difference between the North and the South during a time when our country was expanding was the introduction of slavery into new territories. In fact, the main prelude to the bloodbath to come was in "Bleeding Kansas" during the late 1850's as people actively killed one another over the question of slavery. It took two additional amendments to the U.S. Constitution and an additional hundred years of civil rights struggle to completely erase the stain of slavery, but the Civil War and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation began the process. The war settled once and for all an issue not addressed in our Constitution: Does an individual state have the right, through the will of its people, to dissolve its voluntary affiliation with the Federal Union? Jefferson Davis and his cohorts in the eleven states of the Confederacy thought yes and convened state conventions to dissolve their relationship to the federal government. Abraham Lincoln saw the secessionist movement as an unconstitutional attempt to nullify a presidential election. Lincoln, therefore, saw the issue as a simple matter of preserving the democratic process. No government, Lincoln said, could have in its philosophy the means to destroy itself. The issue that was left out of our Constitution, that could not be resolved by peaceful consensus,was settled by the Civil War. The North won, and the seceded states were eventually reabsorbed into the Union.

The Civil War united the country as never before. Prior to the four-year blood bath, there was no particular sense of nation and commonality among the individual states. Sectional differences and profound resentments brought on by slavery, and egalitarian issues brought on by industrialization and immigration in the North became a toxic brew that could only boil over into the struggle our Civil War became. When the North won the struggle through force of attrition and overpowering industrial strength, the South had to succumb and accept what they already knew was true: The United States was an indissoluble country and their future was with the Union. Before the Civil War, sentences began with, "The United States ARE" After the war, it became, "The United States IS"

The war resulted in accelerating invention and technology. Battles on the scale of Gettysburg, for example, required advances in weaponry, transportation and logistics. The lessons learned in troop movement, supply, and armament were carried over into an exploding industrial revolution that followed the U.S. Civil War. Just four years after the War, the country's rail system became bicoastal as the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met at Promontory Point Utah.

There were, of course, other significant outcomes of the Civil War. For example, with over one million men mobilized, and the war finished, the United States could once again assert its prerogatives in the Western Hemisphere. One striking example of this was the 1862 French occupation of Mexico and their installation of a puppet "emperor" Maximilian. It was the pressure from the United States, no longer encumbered by internal matters, that caused the withdrawal of French military support and the collapse of their bogus emperor.

There was the human element that the tragedy of war always highlights. Families who lost sons, brothers, and husbands in the carnage of the ghastly battles of the war had their lives altered forever. Young soldiers fortunate enough to survive had their outlook and perspective of their country likewise altered. At the upper echelons of the military, leaders like U.S. Grant became wildly popular and brokered that popularity into political office. A succession of five presidents following the Civil War (Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and McKinley) were all veterans.

Finally, no discussion of the outcome of the U.S. Civil War would be complete without acknowledging the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, who had no precedent to follow in his quest to keep our country together, was perhaps the single most important influence on the outcome of the Civil War. It was Lincoln's desire to "let em up easy" and allow the defeated South to return to the Union peacefully and without rancor. What could have degenerated into a conflict with the defeated Confederate armies melting into the countryside to wage a protracted struggle, actually resulted in our country's reunion.

f) - (giving my opinion in the future)

Montgomery Bus Boycott and Scottsboro trials

a) Scottsboro trials

The prisoners were brought to court by 118 Alabama guardsmen, armed with machine guns. It was market day in Scottsboro, and farmers were in town to sell produce and buy supplies. A crowd of thousands soon formed. Courthouse access required a permit due to the salacious nature of the testimony expected. As the Supreme Court later described this situation, “…the proceedings…took place in an atmosphere of tense, hostile, and excited public sentiment."

Defense attorneys

The pace of the trials was extremely fast before the standing-room-only, all-white audience. The judge and prosecutor wanted to speed the nine trials to avoid violence, so the first trial took a day and a half, and the rest took place one right after the other in just one day. The Judge had ordered the Alabama bar to assist the defendants, but the only attorney who volunteered was Milo Moody, a 69-year-old attorney who had not defended a case in decades. The judge persuaded Stephen Roddy, a Chattanooga real estate lawyer, to assist him. Roddy admitted he had not had time to prepare and was not familiar with Alabama law, but agreed to aid Moody. He agreed, "I will go ahead and help do anything I can." Against accepted practice, Roddy presented both the testimony of his clients and the case of the girls. Because of the mob atmosphere, Roddy petitioned the court for a change of venue, entering into evidence newspaper and law enforcement accounts describing the crowd as "impelled by curiosity". Judge Hawkins found that the crowd merely curious and not hostile.

The attorneys were not given time to conduct an investigation, nor to research the law. There were three trials, and some of the defendants were juveniles tried as adults.

Norris and Weems trial

Clarence Norris and Charlie Weems were tried first. During prosecution testimony, Victoria Price stated that she and Ruby Bates witnessed the fight, that one of the black boys had a gun, and that they all raped her at knifepoint. During Attorney Roddy's cross-examination, Price livened her testimony with "wise cracks" that brought roars of laughter. Dr. Bridges testified that his examination of Victoria Price found no vaginal tearing, and that she had had semen in her for several hours. Ruby Bates failed to mention that either of the girls were raped until she was cross-examined. The prosecution ended with testimony from three men who claimed the black youths fought the white youths, put them off the train, and “took charge” of the white girls. The prosecution rested without calling any of the white youths as witness.

During the defense testimony defendant Charles Weems testified that he was not part of the fight, that Patterson had the pistol, and that he had not seen the white girls until the train pulled into Paint Rock.

Defendant Clarence Norris stunned the courtroom by implicating the other defendants. He denied participating in the fight or even being in the gondola car where the fight took place, alleging that he saw the rapes by the other blacks from atop the next boxcar. The defense put on no further witnesses.

During closing, the prosecution thundered "If you don't give these men death sentences, the electric chair might as well be abolished." The defense made no closing argument at all—not even against the death penalty for their clients.

The Court started the next case while the jury was still deliberating the first. The first jury deliberated less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict and imposing the death sentence on both Weems and Norris.

Patterson trial

The trial for Haywood Patterson occurred while the Norris and Weems cases were still under consideration by the jury. When the jury returned its verdict from the first trial, the jury from the second trial was taken out of the courtroom. When the verdicts of guilty were announced, the courtroom erupted in cheers, as did the crowd outside. A band, there to play for a show of Ford Motor Company cars outside, struck up Hail, Hail the Gang's All Here and There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight. The celebration was so loud that it was likely heard by the second jury inside. After the outburst, defense moved for a mistrial, but Judge Hawkins denied the motion and testimony continued. The second trial continued.

During the second trial’s prosecution testimony, Victoria Price stuck with her story mostly, stating flatly that Patterson raped her. She also accused Patterson of shooting one of the white youths. Price also volunteered "I have not had intercourse with any other white man but my husband. I want you to know that."

Dr. Bridges repeated his testimony from the first trial. Other witnesses testified that "the negroes" had gotten out of the same gondola car as Price and Bates, and a farmer claimed to have seen white women [on the train] with the black youths.

Patterson defended his actions, testifying again that he had seen Price and Bates in the gondola car, but had nothing to do with them. On cross-examination he testified that he had seen "all but three of those negroes ravish that girl,” but then changed his story, claiming he had not even seen "any white women" until the train "got to Paint Rock".

The younger Wright brother testified that Patterson was not involved with the girls, but that nine black boys had sex with the girls. On cross examination, Roy Wright testified that Patterson “was not involved with the girls, but that, “The long, tall, black fellow had the pistol. He is not here.” He claimed to also have been on top of the boxcar, and that Clarence Norris had a knife.

Co-defendants Andy Wright, Eugene Williams, and Ozie Powell all testified that they did not see any women on the train. Olen Montgomery testified that he sat alone on the train and did not even know any of it had happened at all. The jury quickly convicted Patterson and sentenced him to death by electrocution.

Powell, Roberson, Williams, Montgomery and Andy Wright trial

This trial began within minutes of the previous case. Again the jury had to be sent out while the previous trial’s guilty verdict was read.

Once again Victoria Price repeated her testimony, adding that the black boys split into two groups of six to rape her and Ruby Bates. Price also accused Eugene Williams of holding the knife to her throat, and accused all the other boys of having knives. Under cross examination she went into detail, adding that someone also held a knife to the white boy, Gilley, during the rapes.

This trial was also interrupted for a guilty verdict from the previous trial, this time without uproar. Ruby Bates then took the stand to identify all five defendants as among the twelve entering the gondola car, putting off the whites, and “ravishing” her and Price.

Dr. Bridges was the next prosecution witness, repeating his earlier testimony. On cross examination, Bridges testified detecting no movement in the spermatozoa found in either woman. He also testified that defendant Willie Roberson was "diseased with syphilis and gonorrhea, a bad case of it.” He also admitted that Price told him that she had had sex with her husband and that Bates had earlier had intercourse as well.

The defense then called the only witnesses they had had time to find—the defendants. No new evidence came up.

Next prosecution witnesses testified Roberson had run over train cars leaping from one to another, and that he was in much better shape than he claimed. Sim Gilley testified that he saw "every one of those five in the gondola", but did not confirm that he had seen the women raped.

The defense again waived closing argument, and surprisingly the prosecution then proceeded to make more argument. The defense objected vigorously, but the Court allowed it.

Judge Hawkins then instructed the jury, stating that any defendant aiding in the crime was as guilty as any of the defendants who had committing it. The jury began deliberating at four in the afternoon.

Roy Wright Trial

The prosecution agreed that 12-year-old Roy Wright was too young for the death penalty and did not seek it. The prosecution presented only testimony from Price and Bates. His case went to jury at nine that evening, with both juries deliberating at the same time. At nine on Thursday morning April 9, 1931 the five defendants in Wednesday’s earlier trial were all found guilty. Roy Wright's jury could not all agree, and was declared a hung jury that afternoon. All the jurors agreed on his guilt, but seven insisted on the death sentence while five held out for life imprisonment. Hawkins declared amistrial.

Death Sentences

The eight convicted defendants were assembled on April 9, 1931 and sentenced to death by electrocution. The Associated Press reported that the defendants were "calm" and "stoic", as Judge Hawkins handed down the death sentences one after another.

Judge Hawkins set the executions for July 10, 1931, the earliest date Alabama law allowed. While appeals were filed for them, the Alabama Supreme Court issued indefinite stays of executions just seventy-two hours before they were scheduled to die. Their cells were next to the execution chamber, and they heard the July 10, 1931 execution of William Hokes later recalling that he "died hard". This is why it is so significant.

b) – (give answer in the future)

c) All of the people who did the trials will be sentenced to death.

Trials of a true Southern Belle and Southern Gentleman

a) Southern Belle must learn how to cook, do needle work and have ballroom dancing skills. Southern Gentleman must be kind, honest, and lastly, respect a lady.

b) They cook, do needle work and dance.

Harper Lee

a) Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American authorbest known for her 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Despite being Lee's only published book, it led to Lee being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007. Lee has also been the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, but has always declined to make a speech.

Other significant contributions of Lee include assisting her close friend, Truman Capote, in his research for the book In Cold Blood.

b) Early life

Nelle Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her mother's name was Finch. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who served in the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and was best friends with her schoolmate and neighbour, the young Truman Capote.

In 1944, Lee graduated from Monroe County High School in Monroeville, and enrolled at the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery for one year, and pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama from 1945 to 1949, pledging the Chi Omega sorority. Lee wrote for several student publications and spent a year as editor of the campus humor magazine, Rammer Jammer. Though she did not complete the law degree, she studied for a summer in Oxford,England, before moving to New York City in 1950, where she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC.

Lee continued as a reservation clerk until 1958, when she devoted herself to writing. She lived a frugal life, traveling between her cold-water-only apartment in New York City and her family home in south-central Alabama to care for her father.

c) Novels written by her:

§ To Kill a Mockingbird. (1960) New York: J. B. Lippincott.

§ "Love—In Other Words". (April 15, 1961) Vogue, pp.64–65

§ "Christmas to Me". (December 1961) McCall's

§ "When Children Discover America". (August 1965) McCall's

§ "Romance and High Adventure" (1983), a paper presented in Eufaula, Alabama and collected in 1985 in the anthology Clearings in the Thicket.

§ Open letter to Oprah Winfrey (July 2006), O: The Oprah Magazine

d) Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

e) "I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected."She said.