In one of the most infamous acts in human history, entire nations of people were forced from their lands. On what is called the "Trail of Tears," Indians died of cholera, exposure, contaminated food, and exhaustion.
The Trail of Tears was a really sad part of our American history. The new settlers took their land and treated them unfairly through our whole United States history. It's disturbing how unempathetic we were back in the 1800s towards Native Americans.
General Scott issued a proclamation that within a month every Cherokee man, woman, and child should be headed west. Scott's troops moved through the country-side, surrounding houses, removing the occupants, looting and burning the houses, and forcing the families into stockades. Men and women were run down in the fields and forests as the troops viciously pursued their prey. Sometimes the troops found children at play by the side of the road and simply herded them into stockades without the knowledge of their parents.
The horrors committed by General Scott shows that our sins still scar our country today. General Scott and his troops threw them out of their land where they were treated as criminals. They had no rights.
Literacy was a punishable crime for enslaved Africans in the South. However, by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1860, it is estimated that 5 percent of slaves had learned how to read, sometimes at the risk of life or limb.
I find it shocking that it is a crime for enslaved Africans could be punished for educating themselves. Education is a right of every individual in our American society.
The school committee was appointing inferior teachers to the all-black school and was not maintaining the school building. In 1833, a subcommittee issued a report on the conditions of the schools. The major conclusion of this report was that black schools were inferior to other schools in the quality of education and physical conditions.
African American schools in a segregated school system did not come even close to the standards set by white schools. This was illustrated by the quality of educations, their teachers and the physical conditions of the schools.
For some Americans, racism would always be cloaked in the mantle of patriotism.
I see this a lot in our society today with the representation of the American Flag. The use of the flag as a mantle of patriotism is an indirect parallel of white supremacy today.
"in various northern colonies, free blacks were barred from voting, attending the militia, sitting on juries," and in many places they were required to carry "special passes to travel, trade, and keep a gun or a dog. "
The marginalization of African Americans during that period of time was really disturbing. It is disturbing that they had limited rights in voting, sitting in juries, traveling rights, trade or keep a gun.
there was a hysterical fear among European Americans during the common school period that Africans and Indians would contaminate white blood. This fear resulted in a demand by some whites for laws forbidding interracial marriages.
It's pretty scary that our society in the 1830s was so segregated based on fear. The domination of European Americans during that period of time is appalling.
In a culture dedicated to pre-serving both a racial and social hierarchy, the notion of common schools for everyone in the South, even in theory, was repugnant.
The policies of the south where racism was so dominant, white and black students were unequal. The racist ideals in the south created a barrier for education of common schools. This reminds me of the time prior to Brown v Board of Education where there was "separate but equal" treatment between black and white students.
Man-ners and morals, hard work and diligence, honesty and punctuality were the only sure routes to success, the only safe pathways to national prosperity and personal happiness.
I believe that this statement held true until capitalism fully took over our society today. There are people that work hard, have good morals, are honest and timely still struggle. I think of individuals that work regular 9-5 jobs that have CEOs that are paid hundreds of times more than the ordinary citizen. I think we have lost our moral compass as a society today.
School textbooks, which largely defined the curriculum and determined classroom instruction, abounded with lessons on morality and character de-velopment. Textbooks were part of a larger disciplinary process that tried to re-inforce adult authority, morals, and literacy.
I really feel that this statement made schools feel very rigid in an instructional approach. I understand why they would enforce "character development and morality" but I feel that kids would not be very engaged in school. I believe that schools should be more engaging where students should have the ability to freely share their thoughts and build a better community.
Ray tried to teach youngsters how to determine crop yields in a particular field, the height of a tree as determined by its shadow, and profits turned on so many bales of cotton.
I believe that Joseph Ray had a really important practical approach to the role of education. Today our education system fails to address many of these real life scenarios that could be used for real world trade skills. As a single subject math candidate, Joseph Ray had the right approach to developing mathematics skills of his students.
"I want to see the chil-dren of the rich and the poor sit down side by side on equal terms, as mem-bers of one family-a great brotherhood.'' In the classroom, only individual merit mattered, not family wealth, and poor but talented and hard-working students could rise to the top and preserve a fluid social order.
I find this quote really important. One of the biggest foundations of my philosophy in equality is that kids deserve an equal education. No matter what their background was, I want kids to succeed based off their individual merit and not through wealth. I believe that hard work should be rewarded regarded of race or class.
The curriculum would enhance literacy and character development, weakening the specter of social conflict or class war while promoting a fluid social order and the com-mon weal.
The curriculum was not only designed to help with academic development and promote character development. The goals were to instill moral responsibility and ethical behavior. The curriculum was there to foster a more cohesive society. Schools were there to create citizens to contribute to the common good.
A former Whig named Abraham Lincoln endorsed public schools for their civ-ilizing and disciplinary qualities, and Radical Republicans after the Civil War demanded more educational opportunities for ex-slaves.
This is one major foundation for advocating for equality from president Abraham Lincoln. Public schools gives opportunities for ex-slaves to learn and grow as individuals.
They hoped that the fallen woman, the habitual drunkard, or the ignorant child could be set straight, sobered up, or educated by appeals to self-improvement or through the disciplinary power of institutions, which often bore the markings of reli-gious enthusiasm.
Reformers wanted to create an institution to create upstanding citizens which has a similar appeal to religious institutions. They wanted to ensure citizens followed a set of laws set in place by Evangelicals.
Symbols of both economic growth and moral degradation, cities contained millionaires and paupers, demonstrating the widening gap between extremes of wealth and poverty.
These issues have always bothered me between the society in the 1800s and the society today. The inequity needs to change with our public education system which I find as the first step in wealth inequality. I do believe that wealth inequality is much greater today compared to the 1800s.