Please review the instructions on the right, when finished write a reflective essay related to the text that presents your ideas, insights, beliefs, and teaching strategies related to the text. The template on the right is provided to assist you in writing your essay; however, bloggers are not required to use the template.
44 Comments
Lisa Beard
3/27/2017 08:42:35 pm
Chapter 3, A Just War, chapter 4 Death and Destruction in the Civil War, and chapter 7 How Did Freedom Come, combine to address three main things about the Civil War: 1) what made it the kind of a war it was 2) destruction the war left and 3) how freedom came.
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Cindy Ness
4/3/2017 11:34:29 am
Lisa,
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Lisa Beard
4/19/2017 08:46:52 pm
Cindy, Can you tell me why it is saying my replies are successfully posted, but they are not showing up? Janica had the same thing happen to her earlier today. I have done 5 on blog two, but they cannot be read. We just need to make sure you are getting them I guess. Thanks...
Erin OBrien
4/18/2017 09:41:37 am
Lisa, the quote about motivation for going to war (to make war vs. to stay together) is so interesting to me. Both sides saw their motivation as moral and the right thing to do for THEIR people. It just so happens that one side was thinking for only half the nation while the other was thinking on a larger scale. But even that being said is not everyone is going to agree with what the federal government sees as 'the right thing to do'. This is not a one size fits all nation. Which continues to prove the point that this is probably the most complicated war we've experienced based on you can't say one thing started it, and only one thing was affect afterwards.
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Lisa Beard
4/19/2017 08:14:31 pm
Erin, I agree - one side was thinking for only half the nation, or literally, for just themselves, and the other half was about everyone else. Like in everything, not everyone will ever see things the same all of the time. I guess that is why we have the freedom of choice. I just do not understand why some people think that freedom can infringe on others' freedoms. I realize however - this is just the way things roll...
Janica
4/21/2017 06:41:25 pm
The north and the south were literally physically next to each other and proximity can often be a problem. It's not like they could separate. I think the motivation for war was who should share the national debt and what portion of the territories should the confederate states be allowed to continue with slavery. Would slavery benefit the Union or would the price in the long run be to costly? This conflict could have become America's weakness, but instead became its strength.
Daron Gatherum
5/14/2017 09:27:36 pm
Lisa,
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Paul Noble
4/3/2017 07:58:51 am
Periodically, the question is posed, “what is the price of freedom?” While said query is usually uttered rhetorically, nevertheless, a closer consideration will render better understanding of how freedom is obtained and maintained. When the 59 men who signed the Declaration of Independence did so, they devoted their “[their] lives, [their] fortunes, and [their] sacred honor” to the ideals and work of founding a new nation. For all of them, the price to be paid included all or part of what they had promised. “Four score and seven years” later, in the midst of a bitter conflict over what constituted freedom, Abraham Lincoln referenced the thousands of soldiers whose lives were lost during the Battle of Gettysburg as having given their “last full measure of devotion.” Whether a soldier fighting for the South or one from the North, being willing to die for what you believe to be freedom does, indeed, represent the highest level of consecration. And so, the question is once again proffered, “What is the price of freedom?”
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You question about freedom made me think. Ideally freedom should not come at a cost and be completely free. What is the price of peace? I'm sure that the cost of the Civil war would be looked upon by favor by the African Americans, but might the Mexicans see this war differently? Admittedly, “Freedom” means entirely different things to these two audiences. Some food for thought.
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Janica
4/21/2017 09:27:26 pm
Sorry, I meant your, not you. This is what happens when you are trying to do homework and babysit grandkids!
Kyler Bingham
4/26/2017 05:02:54 pm
Excellent post Paul. Agreed, action or the willingness to act is paramount to instilling freedom. Many look to others to act for them, but it all comes together when the majority of people are willing to put themselves on the line for their ideals and what they believe.
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Daron Gatherum
5/14/2017 09:32:19 pm
Paul-
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Janica
4/6/2017 03:11:47 pm
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Janica
4/6/2017 03:13:46 pm
As a student in history class I was taught as so many other students that the Civil War was fought simply because of slavery and that it was all because of Lincolns efforts. Yes, it was the main contention, but was also about the South not wanting the federal government to tell them how to run their affairs and according to Chapter 7 the slaves were very instrumental in their attainment of freedom. This was a point I had never considered or had even read. I then had to ask myself another important question, “Why were the slaves not given the credit due them in their part of this great drama called the Civil War?” and realized that to this day no one wants to give African Americans any credit in gaining their own freedom.
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Patrick Tolman
4/19/2017 02:17:34 pm
What I appreciate most about these professional development opportunities is the chance to expand our own understanding of these historical events. Even as social studies teachers there is too much history and too many viewpoints about that history to know it all. I am glad that I have also been able to learn things that I didn't know in reading this book (most of which was in Chapter 2 about the Mexican War). Thanks for sharing your own personal insights and learning.
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Lisa Beard
4/19/2017 08:07:29 pm
Patrick, This has, without a doubt, been an eye opening learning experience for me. Mostly, I have learned just how much I did not learn in history class or since. My husband, a veteran, knows a great deal about history, so I rely on him to explain a lot to me. Literally, everything we have read in this course has been learning from the beginning. My greatest background knowledge up until now has come from historical literary works. It has been a rewarding challenge for me try and make sense of it all.
Janica
4/21/2017 06:33:12 pm
I too appreciate this professional opportunity and have already learned so much. The fact that I am an English teacher and not a History major makes this class, the info, and the upcoming trip so very exciting. Language Arts and History often merge at many connecting points. We are reading a book on civil rights in my class and I have been able to add so much after reading our last assignment. Yes, this is truly a wonderful opportunity to read and discuss these pertinent topics.
Amy Dalley
5/11/2017 10:59:37 am
Patrick-
Melinda Reay
5/7/2017 06:13:25 pm
Janica,
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Lisa Beard
4/6/2017 03:57:53 pm
Like Janica, as a student in history class I do not remember the Civil War being about anything but slavery, and I remember being confused as to how one human race could feel they had the right to "own" another person, of any race. I believe I was in high school when the movie Roots came out, and I am haunted to this day from the horrific autrocities slaves endured. I also never understood that while Lincoln was always sympathetic to the slaves, and believed it was wrong, he still did not see the races living peacefully amongst themselves and tried to have the blacks colonized. I was actually disappointed to learn that it wasn't until the blacks enlisted and fought that Lincoln gained a respect for them. I was glad that he came to the reality zation that you can't have men fight a war only to be sent away in the end. A favorite quote about war is "All gave some, some gave all." To me, this is the price of freedom.
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Patrick Tolman
4/18/2017 12:26:09 pm
“War is hell, war is cruelty, and you cannot refine it.” William T. Sherman (p. 32). This statement echoes my feelings after reading these chapters. No matter the jus ad bellum or the jus in bello, war is death, destruction, and devastation. The justification for war (considered just by those on either side) or the conduct of those fighting in the war are considered and may impact the outcome but it certainly doesn’t disprove what Sherman said. It doesn’t seem to matter if the Civil War was a total war or not (although the book gives this a thorough consideration) it remains the most shattering war for Americans. In addition considering the outcome of the war also has many different viewpoints. The arguments made in these chapters as they relate to the subject of this blog post “the price of freedom” simply point to one overwhelming fact that the price was high.
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Lisa Beard
4/19/2017 08:32:41 pm
Patrick, I agree, "war is hell", and even worse when it involves family killing family, and neighbors killing neighbors; that makes it that much more heart wrenching. I am not sure a price can be put on freedom. In some instances, I am not sure when all is said and done, anyone wins because there is so much loss. In the Civil War however, obviously those fighting for the freedom of slaves won - slaves won - but nevertheless, as the saying goes, "freedom is not free."
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Erin OBrien
4/18/2017 01:03:45 pm
Much like the author I was not a student of the Civil War from a young age. I grew up in New England where the Civil War was taught as the moral moment to end slavery and that’s all I understood. The North was right and the South was wrong. It wasn’t till my senior year in high school in a high-level history class that I even learned that the majority of the south didn’t own slaves, and all the other economic, political, and regional causes of the Civil War. But the more education I got in college the more I truly understood how complicated and confusing the Civil War was. While reading chapter two I still learned something new, I knew the land was acquired from Mexico was around this time, I knew the California Gold Rush was around this time, and I knew that creating new states was highly controversial around this time but I hadn’t figured out how to tie all these events together. After learned all of this my first thought was I am a well educated student of history, if I couldn’t connect all of these dots how could the average soldier volunteering for the Civil War? How did they even know what they were willing to sacrifice their lives for? When I ask that question that is when I realize how much this war cost. Both sides were asking their young men to go fight and die in the bloodiest war in American history without really understanding every aspect of this conflict. Maybe they had an idea of what they were willing to die for but did they really know everything was going to change? When I think of the price of freedom I think how much is the war going to cost, how many lives will be lost, how many diseases and wounds will be inflicted, but these chapters put it into perspective that you can’t measure the cost of this war because so much was changed, so much was affected, and no one really knew why.
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Erin OBrien
4/18/2017 03:17:25 pm
Continued (not everything pasted over)
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Janica
4/21/2017 05:42:19 pm
Erin,
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Lisa Beard
4/19/2017 08:43:43 pm
Erin, I am reading a lot on here how many of us didn't learn as much in history class as maybe we should have. One thing that frustrates my husband, who knows and understands a great deal about history, is that history is continually being rewritten. Maybe that is part of the confusion for so many. We read something in one history book, only to read something different, about the same thing in another resource. Since we get our history from journals and such things, it makes sense that there would be some variation - even the placement of a comma, or the absence of one, will completely change the meaning. That being said, I really like how you brought out the break down in casualty numbers. It really does reveal a great deal when looked at that way.
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Kim Ball
4/27/2017 08:51:42 am
Lisa,
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Kyler Bingham
4/20/2017 06:46:05 pm
BLOG POST #2
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Janica
4/21/2017 05:34:46 pm
Kyler,
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LeNina Wimmer
4/23/2017 03:51:46 pm
Blog #2 the Price of Freedom
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LeeAnn Hyer
5/4/2017 02:17:26 pm
I still think that states rights was a major factor in the progression to the Civil War. It is still an issue that we grapple with today. Yes, slavery was an issue as well but was it the major impetus that pushed us to war? I think the secession of states/ preservation of the union was the reason the war began and the slavery became a reason to fight.
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LeeAnn Hyer
5/9/2017 08:35:07 am
I just watched an interview with Condoleezza Rice and knew that I needed to share this quote with you:
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LeNina Wimmer
5/9/2017 07:09:51 pm
I LOVE IT!! what a great analogy!!
Daron Gatherum
4/27/2017 11:21:40 am
Chapters 3, 4, and 7
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Kim Ball
4/27/2017 08:07:12 pm
Blog #2 The Price of Freedom
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LeeAnn Hyer
5/4/2017 02:05:48 pm
Kim,
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Melinda Reay
5/7/2017 03:23:08 pm
Kim -
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Andrew Spratt
5/16/2017 07:34:35 am
Kim, I also felt repulsed by some of the behavior and violence described in these sections. With a war so costly and ultimately unjust, at least in some ways, on both sides, one can't help but wonder if it was all worthwhile.
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Andrew Spratt
4/29/2017 04:56:27 pm
The Civil War is an interesting study in cost versus benefits. On the one hand, the Civil War was clearly an awful affair. In terms of deaths and property damage, it was the most devastating war America has ever been involved in. Sherman’s quote that “war is Hell” is truly applicable to the civil war. Northerners likely felt that their entire nation was coming apart at the seams. Southerners, meanwhile, must have been terrified that their own national government had turned on them and was intent on destroying their homes, their property, and their lives. The ugliness, terror, and loss of the war is difficult to imagine from a modern perspective. It’s interesting that both sides believed they were fighting for liberty and justice. In a sense they truly were, they were just approaching the question of liberty from two different perspectives.
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Kim Ball
5/1/2017 07:07:40 pm
Andrew -
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LeeAnn Hyer
5/1/2017 11:04:06 am
Blog #2
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Andrew Spratt
5/16/2017 07:39:01 am
I like how you point out that this is largely a war being fought for freedom, and that's something most of our students haven't been forced to think about too much. What I find interesting is that both sides believed they were fighting for freedom, just different definitions of the concept. I'm going to have to try to convey to my students in the future the two sides of this war a bit better.
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Melinda Reay
5/1/2017 07:56:41 pm
Blog 2 - The War That Forged a Nation, Chapters 3, 4, 7
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Amy Dalley
5/9/2017 11:56:30 am
While reading the assigned chapters, I had many thoughts as to how these chapters should affect my teaching history. First, I feel like I grew up learning that slavery was the main reason for the Civil War. The idea of preserving the “Union” never seemed to really stick. Now, I understand that it has been a million years since I’ve been in High School and I know that my brain probably didn’t really record everything that the teacher said, but without the fight for the Union the issue of slavery would have been moot. If the preservation of the Union hadn’t been so important, it would have been okay to just part ways- free country and slave country. As a history teacher, I need my students to understand what the price of freedom was/is.
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