To follow up on the activity we did last week reading documents about slavery, we made Venn diagrams about the readings on Monday. Every document discussed the life of a slave, but one talked about how wonderful the life of a slave was under a kind mistress, while the other talked about how slaves experienced whippings and hardships. After that activity, we filled out tables about the opponents of slavery (William L. Garrison, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass) and the defenders of slavery (John C. Calhoun and James H. Hammond).
Today, we compared the opponents and defendents of slavery. The opponents lived in New England or the Middle Colonies, where slaves were not as common. They had experienced poverty and hardships, and were likely not well educated. The defendents usually had money, were well educated, and held government positions. I was not surprised by these tendencies, as people who suffer from slave-like conditions would be more likely to speak out against slavery rather than educated people who do not experience the harshness of slavery.
We were also told to watch a TedTalk on goals today. The speaker said that a habit can be set in 30 days as long as it is repeated every day. For example, the speaker chose to ride his bike to work every day, and has still kept the habit. The challenge for our class is to choose a goal to better ourselves that we can achieve in 30 days. My goal will be to keep a journal every day for the next 30 days. I have always wanted to keep a journal, but have never committed to it. I think it will help me organize my thoughts about what happens daily in my life. I can't wait to see if I can form a habit over the next 30 days.
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