The class started a new lesson called "freedom from above or freedom from below". The essential questions of the lesson were, "Who 'gave' freedom to enslaved Americans? Did freedom come from above or below? To what extent were Abraham Lincoln's actions influenced by the actions of enslaved Americans?"The questions were asking;How did the slaves become free? Did their freedom come from the help of a higher authority or did it come from taking action to be noticed? To what point did Lincoln's action affected by the slaves actions? To answer these questions, we did several class activities. Some of the activities included the class analyzing documents, drawing a social pyramid, and watching several Ken Burns video clips.
Enslaved Americans got their freedom from above that was influenced by acts of freedom from below. An example of freedom from above was when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation stated, "all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free". It allowed for only slaves in the rebelling states to be free. It influenced slaves to leave their plantations. Another example was during the Gettysburg address. Lincoln based this speech on the equality of people. He stated, "that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." He emphasized the equivalent amount of freedom each human deserves. This was a beginning act to freeing slaves and it came from above.
Enslaved Americans got their freedom from above that was influenced by acts of freedom from below. An example of freedom from above was when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation stated, "all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free". It allowed for only slaves in the rebelling states to be free. It influenced slaves to leave their plantations. Another example was during the Gettysburg address. Lincoln based this speech on the equality of people. He stated, "that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." He emphasized the equivalent amount of freedom each human deserves. This was a beginning act to freeing slaves and it came from above.
On the other hand, slaves got freedom from below to attain attention from higher authority. In a letter from General Ambrose E. Burnside to Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton mentions how slaves were flooding into the cities that the Union army had taken over. The slaves were able to bring attention to the general and take action.
The image presents slaves walking into Chickasaw Bayou where the troops are. They are there to be noticed and so others can take action.
Finally, on April 8, 1864 senate passed the 13th amendment that presented, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The 13th amendment formally abolished slavery in the U.S. It took Lincoln awhile to official lay abolish slavery but the slaves were able to fight for their right and get their freedom.
I think that the slaves got their freedom from below because if they did not take action to be noticed, they would have never got the help from higher powers such as Lincoln, the senate and others in order to be free. The freedom from above made it so that people with higher power could help abolish slavery but with the acts of freedom from below.
An example from modern day "freedom from above" are the acts of police brutality. Police have been taking advantage of their authority. Recently, 25 year old Freddie Gray was taken into custody for possession of a switchblade. While being transported, Gray fell into a coma and later was pronounced dead. Witnesses believe that the cause of his death was to the excessive use of violence when arresting Gray. There have been many other events of police brutality. An order for change there have been ongoing protest on the injustice in the "justice" system. People are taking actions from below to get changes from above.
