JFK library assignment - Church Bombing

One of the primary sources I chose is this letter written by James DeSane. This source stuck out to me because it was written by a thirteen year old boy! I was shocked to see someone so young so involved and interested about the issue of segregation and equal rights. I was impressed that this boy felt a strong pull at the event in Alabama when he is from New York. This source provided new insight to me because I was not aware on what the scope of the impact of this event really was. I discovered that people took notice and people of all ages were unsettled by the tragedy of the church bombing, young, old, black or white, it affect many people and the way they were seeing the people of America. 

This next source that drew my attention because it is obviously a political cartoon. The picture is captioned "No Color Line Up There, Is There Lord?" and shows a man standing at the rubble of the 16th street Baptist Church holding what we can assume to be one of the little girls who died as a cause of this bombing. I liked that this was a part of the reaction that the town had, that they were crying out for something to give them a sense of safety and piece and sort of pointing a finger at all of those who agree with segregation, making them see that this is a real and direct cause of their callousness. I gained a better understanding of how people reacted and how they were really trying to communicate with Washington to avoid instances just like the tragic bombing of 16th street baptist church.

 


The first source I decided to go with is this letter posted to the president, John Kennedy form Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  This letter goes into detail on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s disapproval of the situation in Birmingham. He conveys his disgust with the sad event of people having their lives threatened while attending Sunday school. Even more so there is the sad fact that these are children that lost their lives in a problem that is so much bigger than them. I found this interesting because King is such an influential person and there is no end to the attempts to change the outcome of this city and their history of bombing. King is calling out the President saying that this is not how America should run, there should be change happening if only to prevent more innocent lives being lost.




CONCLUSION:

These three sources span the time from the day of the bombing to the reaction and the rippling effects this had on the country. I choose this topic because I actually visited the 16th street Baptist church when I was in Birmingham and it is still an iconic peice of history for the community today. I realized through my searching on this website that history has a way of effecting people in a much wider scope. This event cause four deaths and it is not just the families of those children killed, but an entire nation mourning and asking for a change. I understand more clearly now that this event was surrounded by influential people showing concern and it was a bit of  a wake up call to the president. They seemed to understand the finality of a death and the gross level this segregation and discrimination had reached when many people thought that would soon be a thing of the past. I really enjoyed looking through this website and seeing what artifacts, and recordings revolved around this particular event. The church bombings were so exceptionally sad because negro people could not even feel safe going to church, which to me seems like a extreme breach in personal rights. John F. Kennedy was really tested throughout his presidency on how he would respond to such delicate situations and these sources help the reader to see what people were truly trying to convey. Equality should not be an issue it should simply just be the way we live.

Two Women and their work for change.

This exhibit will focus on two great women of history. The focus will be on the mighty Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and her connection for women's rights and civil rights. This will close in on the effects Marian Anderson, big time African American singer, had on the country through the workings of Eleanor. The history and brief biography can be seen through pictures of each women and will extend into the story of how their paths crossed and what was accomplished by them without either women realizing that this one event could change the way America sees human rights. The story takes root in the event of the talented Marian Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial. This singular event holds so much importance in both women's lives. While Eleanor and Marian never became close and did not continue to work with each other this occasion shows well how very powerful Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt is. The courage, bravery, and passion for change it took for each women to commit to the event and take the actions to change could not be done by the weak of spirit. Rather Marian is just one example of the imprint Eleanor left during her time as first lady. The year is1939, the place Washington, DC and the environment was still a racially segregated city of Washington DC. 

The "First Lady of the World"

Throughout Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, Eleanor traveled extensively around the nation, visiting relief projects, surveying working and living conditions, and then reporting her observations to the President. She was called "the President's eyes, ears and legs" and provided objective information to her husband. She also exercised her own political and social influence; she became an advocate of the rights and needs of the poor, of minorities, and of the disadvantaged. The public was drawn in by the First Lady's exploits and adventures which she recounted in her daily syndicated column, "My Day". She began writing the column in 1935 and continued until her death in 1962.

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured above), was First Lady for 12 years. An outspoken advocate of social justice, she became a moral force during the Roosevelt administration, using her position as First Lady to promote social causes. 

 February 26, 1939 - Was the date of resignation from the Daughters of the American Revolution. This was a direct result of the organization adhering to local racial restrictions and refusing to rent its Constitution Hall for a concert by opera singer Marian Anderson. While she was not responsible for, nor attended the ensuing public concert by Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial two months later, she strongly supported it. Two months after that, she had Anderson sing in the White House for the King and Queen of England.

Fun Fact:

Amelia Earhart was supposed to teach Eleanor Roosevelt how to fly.

Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Speech

This short video clip is a real recoding produced by the FDR library and show Mrs. Roosevelt as an independent thinker, who takes time to educate the world and share her ideals, and the importance of human rights.

Writtings and artifacts

This is a telegram sent from the first lady to John Lovell, Jr. of Howard University. February 26, 1939

Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when it barred the world-renowned singer Marian Anderson, an African American, from performing at its Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Following this  the federal government invited Anderson to sing at a public recital on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The DAR had adopted a rule excluding African-American artists from the Constitution Hall stage in 1932 following protests over "mixed seating," blacks and whites seated together, at concerts of black artists. On February 26, 1939, Mrs. Roosevelt submitted her letter of resignation to the DAR president. Mrs. Roosevelt told her readers of her daily column that in this situation, “To remain as a member implies approval of that action, therefore I am resigning.”

 

View of 75,000 people gathered to hear recital by Marian Anderson at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939
(National Archives, Still Picture Branch, 306-NT-965B-4 )

Sketch of the 1939 Lincoln Memorial Concert drawn by artist Mitchell Jamieson for his mural in the Interior Department Building, Washington, DC.

See a rough draft of Eleanor's news column speaking about the DAR here.

Who is Marian Anderson?

Marian Anderson was born in 1897 in South Philadelphia. At the heart of their community stood the Union Baptist Church. It was within these walls that Marian first began to sing. In this church was where she was soon ushered into the adult choir and her talent began to shine through at the age of 14. The church started a fund called the "Marian Anderson's Future Fund,"because they had such great faith in her ability to go far. Italian voice master, Giuseppe Boghetti remembers this first meeting as occurring "at the end of a long hard day, when I was weary of singing and singers, and when a tall calm girl poured out ‘Deep River' in the twilight and made me cry." While Philadelphia conservatories turned Marian away with the refusal, "We don't take colored," she quickly acquired influential fans who would aid her career. She went on to participate in a competition and that win prompted a European tour that brought about great fame among the people of Europe and she turned into a coveted performer. Despite the fact that she was the country's third highest concert box office draw, Marian was still subject to the racial bias of the time, especially in the United States.  The situation with the DAR brought about action by the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and she was invited to sing at the steps of the Lincoln memorial on Easter Sunday. Feeling the meaning of the occasion, Marian had tears in her eyes when she delivered "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and "America" with heart-breaking pathos. The event was so momentous and inspiring that the D.A.R. finally invited Marian to sing at the Hall in 1943 for a war relief concert. At that event, both black and white concert-goers attended.

Marian Anderson was the first African American invited to perform at the White House

FUN FACT: 
 In 1958 she was officially designated delegate to the United Nations, a formalization of her role as "goodwill ambassador" of the U.S. she played earlier, and in 1972 she was awarded the UN Peace Prize.

Marian Anderson Sings at Lincoln Memorial

This video show Marian Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln memorial Easter Sunday 1939. The recording allows you to hear her famous voice ring out to the ears of 75,00 people of all races gathering to hear a free concert and come together to her an African American singer preform in spite of the support against the concert.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this stroll through a little piece of history. As you may have realized these two women have been extremely influential in multiple aspects. Eleanor Roosevelt is arguably the most influential first lady in history and her efforts to expel civil injustices has had rippling effects that spill over into even today. Marian Anderson crushed cultural boundaries and united people pf all races with her melodious voice and pride in her talent. Both women effected the others cause in positive manors and the singing at the Lincoln memorial that Easter Sunday was just one small example of what can happen through a few simple decisions. The aim of this exhibit was to show how history can intertwine and effect change without people realizing it. Thank you for your interest and please feel free to further your interest through perusing some of these links and learning more aout these two amazing women of history.

Click Here to be taken to the official FDR museum website

Sources

Works Cited

"Anna Eleanor Roosevelt." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.

"Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum." Franklin D. Roosevelt

Presidential Library and Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.

Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartman. The American Promise 5^th edition A history of

the United States, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s., 2002. Print.

Roosevelt, Eleanor. The Autobiography Of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York : Harper &

Bros., 1961. Print. 

Roosevelt, Eleanor. This I Remember. New York: Harper 1949. Print 

10 Things You May Not Know About the Roosevelts." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 20
             Dec. 2012. Web. 13 May 2014.

   

Urdang, Ivy P. "Franklin And Eleanor Roosevelt: Human Rights And The Creation Of

The United Nations." OAH Magazine Of History 22.2 (2008): 28-31. Academic

Search Premier. Web. 4 May 2014. 


Video Links:  
http://youtu.be/9yzakVOdh6k
       From the official FDR library YouTube account.

             

http://youtu.be/mAONYTMf2pk

Blog 8

Harry Lamin was a soldier in World War I. He is a brother to Kate, Mary, Annie, and Jack. He served in the 9th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment seeing front line action in Flanders and Northern Italy from the end of 1916 to January 1920. He wrote letters during his time in his Battalion about his war experiences, conditions during the war, and keeps in touch on family affairs. His letters allude to many of the rough conditions we know were prevalent in World War I. For example, the short trousers that they had for the summer months, may make sense when thinking it is hot outside, but when you learn what was in the trenches and what they were standing in, often water, mud, remains, long pants would have surely been welcomed. Also,the letter mentions the trenches being a cramped place where bullets were flying and enemies were constantly bombarding. The secondary source about the battle of  Passchendaele talks of mud so deep they had to take six men to carry wounded or dead soldiers off of the battlefield. This specific battle had approximately 250,000 deaths because of the atrocious living conditions. The men were forced to live like barbarians because they were short of food, shelter and had to deal with over three feet deep mud. The summer that year was the rainiest one on record in years which was why the battle was so drawn out. The mud made for impossible battle conditions and it was the most the soldiers could do to stay alive. Harry seems to avoid going into great detail about these moments. I can understand why this particular battle might have been one he would most happily forget, to see such destruction and to be living in such a horrible environment must have been life altering. Therefore he chose to leave out many of the details for the letters he wrote back home about. He shares the simple things that happen more openly and tries to cover sad moments with a nonchalant response. Specifically when talking about his CO dying he called him a good man and did not elaborate more. I would assume that these letters were Harry’s way of keeping a connection to reality and a grip on his sanity. It seemed in his letters when he would ask for news on such trivial things, it was a way for him to have some peace of mind, that not everyone lived as he was at the time, that there was life happening “normally” even in the midst of the war. His style is shirt, friendly and as positive as any soldier could muster I am sure.

One of the picutre of the muddy battle of Passchendaele

Labor Leader

"When people ask me why are the immigrant families so poor?" I wonder if they are blind or just that naive. They are poor because of the outrageous hours and pay the industry owners pay them. They work until they are hurt or sick, they work hours no sane human would choose to work, and they get paid hardly enough to survive on. I feel sorry for those with families to take care of, they are having to put their children into the sweatshops and are living just to work. THese immigrants all came over to this country in hopes for a better future. They were under the impression anyone could make in America. They did not realize they would be the ones working in factories with little to no guidelines or standards for wages and treatment Therefore, poverty being a part of the immigrant life was almost not a question. They went where they could get work and then were taken advantage of because they were seen as basically expendable. I for one feel that labor unions are a undoubtable art of the future. Once you treat someone as an animal for long enough they start to lose their desire to work for such a leader. No one wants to be poor, everyone just wants a fair chance to make it.

Blog #6 Free laobor

The expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans of the time including myself. Some pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean. Well I have to say once we all heard Independence had been won in the Revolution and reaffirmed in the War of 1812 we felt pretty good about spreading our boundaries west. The spirit of nationalism that swept the nation and I was no stranger to it. It was partially the "every man is equal" mentality that fueled many of up northerners to follow west and dream of conquering all the way to the Pacific ocean. Me and my family may fall on some hard times in the travel, not really knowing what to expect but planning to make a life for ourselves in a new land. We agree that free labor is the best route to bring over to this new land.We want to have a chance to farm this land and make some money out of it, to support our family and have a booming economy. I would tell my none too wise southern brethren that slave labor is not the best choice because it takes away the jobs for hard working white men. We want to have plenty of options for the men who settle in the new territory and get involved in farming, we want then to know they can get hard working men that are not slaves.

Manifest Destiny

Blog 5 Federalist

The federalist most basic quality is that they support the Constitution. They believed that in levels of government and separation of powers as being vital to their governmental positions. The separation of powers into three independent branches protected the rights of the people. Each branch represents a different aspect of the people, and because all three branches are equal, no one group can assume control over another. A listing of rights can be a dangerous thing. If the national government were to protect specific listed rights, what would stop it from violating rights other than the listed ones? Since we can't list all the rights, the Federalists argued that it's better to list none at all. The country would prosper with the Constitution because the Federalists were much more organized and had a greater following of "important" states. If the country decided on using the articles of confederation it would prove to be weak and ineffective. Overall the Articles of Confederation would cause to country to be held back from growth and would create a land of disorder. The best choice for America to take at this point in time would undoubtedly be the Constitution because it would later include a Bill of Rights, one they had time to draft it and would protect the rights of the individual.

Blog #4 Stamp Act

Stamp Act Project

Why did the British believe it was necessary to tax the colonists?

They realized that they were still "under their control" and they did not want to let them off easily. The British used this as a way to keep the new world in check and maintain control over the general wealth and prosperity. The tax came from the monarchy as a reminder that Great Britain was still their mother country and they still had to pay their dues. They found it excessive to be taxed on every piece of paper they needed, in cases such as marriage invitations they had to pay outrageous and “unjust” tax on a very simple product. They believed that Great Britain should not have such control over their prosperity. The colonists actually began to protest this act before it was even officially put into effect. These protests began as positions and refusal to pay the tax but eventually caused property damage.

What was the Stamp Act and what was taxed?

It is “an act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America”. In other words it was an act created by Great Britain to put a tax on any form of “paper” whether it be parchment or animal skin, if it is written on, copied or used in books, the tax was placed per sheet of paper. The papers had to be stamped and them the tax was collected in America and sent to Great Britain.

Franklin said external tax is a duty laid on commodities imported which is added to the first cost. People usually like external taxes because if they do not like it they can choose not to pay it. However an internal tax is forced from the people without their consent, if not laid by their own representatives. It is difficult to find a way to use internal taxes without creating unrest in the people being taxed. He believes that parliament would continue this Stamp act even though Franklin thought that Americans would be much happier with parliament if the Stamp Act was repealed.

What is this source?

Source: National Humanities Center

PUBLIC PROTESTS AGAINST THE STAMP ACT: NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Gazette, 20 November 1765

Saturday 19th- Describes a meeting of people who hung an Effigy by the neck and then later was consumed by the flames for being in support of the Stamp Act. After they gathered men together and forced them to drink to Liberty, Property and No stamp duty. Thursday 31st- The townspeople had an Effigy of Liberty who was put in a coffin and was set to be buried but they first checked for a pulse, finding on they also set him on the bonfire.Saturday 16th- They approached a distributor of stamps and forced I'm into resigning from his position and gathered him into a chair and marched around the courthouse cheering. They all paraded with LIBERTY stitched into their hats and served the man the best liquors they had. The average towns person was dealing with paying a tax for each and every single piece of parchment that they needed, for any occasion. That put new unexpected money burden on the commoners, which made many turn to violent protests to show their displeasure with the Stamp Act.

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Read page 10 (primary source)

Who is the author of this source and who do you think his intended audience is?

Peter Oliver was the author of this source and from what I gathered from this source, he is writing to the rebels and anyone who is in protest of the stamp act. The author speaks of the betrayal of his brother and all that he has lost through that traumatic experience. Because of those experiences he has hard feelings toward the British parliament and resents the tax, and supports those who go against it. He talks about the mob that broke into the Office of the Register of the Admiralty. They broke in and smuggled things. The author was written in protest of the Stamp act.

Read pages 13 & 14 (primary source)

I think that the targeted audience the colonial assemblies are going for  are those who have been negatively affected by the stamp act. They want their boycotts to target those who are doing the taxing, they want to make the Stamp taxes to be aware of the effects of the tax on the townspeople. The people of Pennsylvania are having trouble with it and the representatives of the  town are complaining that the Stamp act is causing general unhappiness.

Read page 16

Even in today’s world, being so far in the future from this event, we can conclude that this source effected the past as a primary source. Those effects that it had on history make it appear to be a secondary source to us. This source was written during the time period and tells of the happenings of society but also explains the reactions people felt during the time. It is still something regarding history but written in that time so to them it was not the first account of something happening but to us it was a historical document written during the time period the event took place.

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17.

These articles included primary and secondary sources, which I found to be really interesting, I knew what a primary source was but I did not think so much about it being written like the language the people would be speaking in at the time of the newspaper airing. I found that new perspective to be quite enlightening into the thoughts of the people experiencing this time in history. I feel that knowing these accounts of protest and unrest brings to light a whole new perspective on the issue. I was aware that the Stamp act was something that was generally disliked and something that caused distrust between the colonies and British government, however I now understand that this affected families and left scars of betrayal on people.