Brady Blog

Today we had a group hold a mock trial fighting the case of Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka. This trial occurred in Kansas during the year of 1954. One side fought the segregation of the schools, while the other group fought to end segregation in schools. The students used different ways to fight their point whether it was through religion, ethics, or morals.  This case started in 1951, when a school in Topeka Kansas, refused to let African American Oliver Brown into the academic building. She was then forced to take a bus to a school much further away, to a segregated school district for Black children only. The Brown family and 12 others were in the same situation. They decided to create a class action lawsuit in the U.S. federal court versus the Topeka Board of education. The court decided that the segregation of the children was unconstitutional and the segregation in the school district would stop. This overruled another popular case Plessy V. Fergusson, which called for...

  Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is probably known as one of the biggest Anti-Slavery advocates in the 1860’s. There is however, a little bit of a common misunderstanding held by everyone. Lincoln was not considered an abolitionist. Abe was on that believed that slavery was morally wrong and should not be allowed. But one thing stood in his way and that was the constitution. The founding fathers when writing the constitution did not mention slavery once and beat around the bush of the idea.  Lincoln did similar actions while addressing the issue. In a three hour speech in Peoria, Illinois, Lincoln addressed his moral, legal, and economic opposition to slavery. He later admitted he did not know how to deal with the system during the current political system. Abolitionists on the other hand had a plan and were ready to complete it. They believed it should immediately be abolished and all slaves should be free. They unlike Lincoln did...

  Today in class we covered the historical Supreme Court case of State V. Mann. One group of students fought for the state of North Carolina and a slave named Lydia, while the other side fought on the side of slave owner John Mann. The trial was fought through different viewpoints like economics, religion, ethics, history, norms, laws, as well as many other points. In 1829, Elizabeth Jones owned a slave that went by the name of Lydia. Lydia was then sent to fellow slave owner John Mann in Chowan County to work. She was getting beat and whipped by Mann and she felt like she had enough of it. She decided to try to run from Mann. Mann decided to shoot Lydia in the back with a gun. Mann was then fined by the state of North Carolina $10. Mann believed he should not have to pay this fine since she is only a slave. He took it to court and in the end won the case. Mann was given his money back by the state. The conclusion of the case stated that slave owners hold all power over slaves as t...

  Amistad Mutiny was a slave rebellion including 53 slaves, that occurred on July 2nd, 1839. This rebellion took place on the ship Amistad off the coast of Cuba causing many legal problems during the American abolition movement. The uprising slaves killed the captain and cook on the boat, however, they spared the Spanish navigator so they could sail back home to Sierra Leone.  Two months later, the ship was seized by the United States Navy. The Amistad was then towed and taken back to New London where the mutineers were held in jail. The Spanish embassy demanded them back leading to a trial to be held in 1840. New England abolitionist Lewis Tappan was siding for the African captures and U.S government took on the pro-slavery side. The judge of the case, Andrew Judson, ruled the slaves on the ship as victims of kidnapping. The Supreme court upheld the lower court and private and missionary societies donations helped the surviving African Americans home. Only thirty five of the ...

       Slavery has been a dividing factor of the United States and people for hundreds to thousands of years. Not only did slavery spark the Civil War in America, but led to multiple opposing views on this toxic act. Many political figures also had opposing views on slavery. For example, Abraham Lincoln, our president from 1861 to 1865, worked to abolish slavery in America. There were other leaders, including Andrew Jackson, who was pro-slavery.  Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States. Jackson was born on March 15 1767, growing up in South Carolina. He grew up in the south surrounded by a culture consisting of many plantations. His father actually raised Jackson on a plantation. President Jackson actually owned as many as 161 slaves at one point in his life. He used these slaves to his advantage, by building up wealth and even taking some to the White House. Unlike northern abolitionists, Jackson fell victim to Pro-slavery views. This was ...

For many years slavery was the dividing factor of the United States acting as a divider between many people. For 70 years America was stuck in a civil war between those who are pro slavery, and those against it. Many people pointed to religious works that would either support or refute slavery. The Bible was a major piece of work many Christians used to argue their points. Today the Bible will be shown in the ways it was against slavery or for slavery.  The Bible has been known to condemn slavery today for many obvious , and also was against it hundreds to thousands of years in the past. Throughout the bible there are many example and quotes that prove slavery should be condemned. One of the most iconic quotes against slavery comes from the chapter of Exodus 21:16. The reading states, “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” According to this quote in the bible it is clear that Chrisiantiy was against slavery. The reading s...

The Supreme court is a group of 9 prestigious judges all chosen by the president of the United States. As power goes, the Supreme Court is under the three branches of the government. Those 3 groups are the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches. Each week these judges are sent hundreds to even thousands of petitions. The cases are then distributed to the different justices. The supreme court is obviously divided and will be for many years to come. However, this does not mean the cases are rigged or biased. During review, the justices will read through the petitions with an open mind. Keep in mind only 2 percent of the petitions are actually sent to the Supreme court, so many of the cases sent in, are declined. After reading, the judges then must come together and make an agreement on whether or not the case shall be taken to the court. Once the case is taken to the Supreme Court, both of the sides are given 30 minutes to speak to the judges and respond to any questions the ju...