The Thirteenth Amendment

The thirteenth amendment is probably the most controversial amendment to be passed in the history of our government. This amendment, which our sixteenth president Abraham Lincoln desperately needed to be passed, was finally passed on April 8, 1864 after long weeks of debate. It would set in motion the end of the civil war which had claimed over 600,000 lives at this point, and it would free the slaves. However, getting to this point where it was added to our constitution was no easy task.

This law was incredibly difficult to pass at this time. If the slaves were all of a sudden set free in the southern states, four million of them, the scare of job scarcity might become a reality to racist white people who view themselves as supreme to the uneducated, African-Americans. Also, racism played a huge role in the freedom of slaves in America. As I said, many people at this time saw themselves as superior the African-Americans and they did not want them in their society. The final issue that caused the long debate over this amendment was the fact that if the slaves were set free, that would mean they would have rights that white men had such as voting. This would complicate the 3/5 compromise set in place a long time ago.

Through all of these difficulties, President Lincoln needed this amendment passed, desperately. At this point in the Civil War, over 600,000 Americans had been killed. To cease the madness and bring America back to one strong union, this amendment needed to be passed. However, Lincoln had to pull a few strings that some may say would be “corrupt”. He offered lame duck democrat’s jobs such as mayors and post masters in order to get their support in the ratification of this amendment. Politically, it is corrupt, however, desperate times call for desperate measures and I believe it was just for Lincoln to do this. America was at its breaking point and what was done had to be done, in order to save the union.

In the end, the amendment was ratified and reconstruction could finally begin. Thus ending the war, and bringing America back to its original state; as one.

AMENDMENT MEMES

This meme is describing our fourth amendment right. Any American has the right to deny any police officer entrance onto their property without a warrant.

This meme is showing your average patriotic American holding an American flag in one hand, and a shotgun in the other. This is describing the second amendment in our constitution; the right to bear arms.

Succession from the U.S:  Petoria

 

When Peter Griffin finds out that he is not eligible for a tax refund, Peter decides to succeed from Quahog, and create his own country which he calls Petoria. It is an Oligarchy government run by his family of six. At first, he enjoys being his own country, however, this is short lived when he start taking advantage of his rights.

 He enters the United States and does whatever he pleases because he does not live in a federalist government anymore. He drinks as much beer as he wants without paying for it, steps on grass that says “do not step on” and steals his own neighbor’s pool! The American government is soon fed up with his shenanigans and eventually take away the basic utilities that his country relies on:  water, and electricity. After several weeks of struggling with food, Peter finally surrenders when faced by an American tank, and a large missile in his front yard.

 

Life goes back to normal for the Griffins, and they remain United states citizens, after realizing how much the U.S. government does for Peter and the rest of the United States Civilians.

Ratifying Our Constitution

 

After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, America was in need of a serious change. The wealthy and educated politicians of each state all agreed that a new constitution was in order, however, the federalists of the north, and the anti-federalists of the south, had their differences.

 

The federalists believed in a strong, centralized government. Not too strong, of course, but stronger than the articles of confederation were. Anti-federalists did not like how this was going. They saw too much power in the government which would take away the rights of the American people. Also, the American people felt as if they weren’t represented enough in the decision making of ratifying the new constitution. Only the rich and educated made these decisions and the poor and uneducated were not represents well.

 

In the end, the constitution was finally ratified, and it has been the major document keeping our country together for centuries. It is not perfect, but it was better than the Articles of Confederation by a long shot.

Firm League of Friendship?

 

That’s exactly what the Articles of Confederation were. It was a connection between all of the 13 states that fought against the British in the American Revolution. This was America’s first attempt at establishing a central government for the new land that they could call their own.

 

Scripted in 1781, this document was quickly replaced eight years later due to the large amount of weaknesses and flaws that eventually led to Daniel Shay’s rebellion, which could have ended disastrously.

 

The government was totally unstable. States were printing their own currency, states had their own militaries, there was no executive branch to pass any acts by congress, and to get a passed act, there had to be a 9/13 vote which is unfair. States were all represented unfairly. Each state was basically just its own country that was friendly with the rest of the states. It was a broken government that needed some serious adjustments.

 

Finally, after eight long years of frustration, the united state came to the conclusion to abolish that document and start fresh, thus The Constitution was born.