Above Or Below

The lesson this week was called, “Freedom from Above and Below. The essential question for the lesson is, “Who gave freedom to enslaved Americans? Did freedom come from above or below? To what extent were Abraham Lincoln actions influenced by the actions of the enslaved Americans?” To start this lesson off we did an activity in class where we had to screenshot a picture titled, “Freedom to Slaves.” We then used an app, Skitch, to insert text boxes and tried to interpret what the each person was saying in the picture. Afterwards we talked about the social pyramid during the beginning of the Civil War.The class came up with the ‘freedom from above’ is freedom that has been given to enslaved people in a high social standing, whereas ‘freedom from below’ is the same social ranking helped each other gain freedom. Our teacher then split us in small group as we discussed one of the four Lincoln Documents and looking for specific information. To finish the lesson we took notes on the thirteenth amendment and the formal announcement of abolishing slavery.

Freedom from above, meant the enslaved people gained their freedom from higher ranking officials. This image is showing Lincoln freeing a family of slaves, and them thanking him looking up at him as if he was better than them. This freedom would be from above because Lincoln has a higher rank. In the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln states that he considers all men to be free including slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation is an example of the freedom from above, because Lincoln declared all slaves to be free. Another example of freedom from above is an excerpt from President Abraham Lincoln’s Reply to an Open Letter from Horace Greeley, New York Tribune, 1862. Lincoln stated, “ I intend no modification of my oft- expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.” Lincoln wanted all men to be free, if that was going to save the Union. The thirteenth amendment was passed after the civil and approved by Lincoln. This amendment made the Emancipation proclamation permanent. Lincoln gave freedom from above to the enslaved people.

Freedom from below, meant people in the same social ranking helped each other gain freedom. During class we watched a video of fugitive slaves and how they had an influence on the government. Fugitive slaves kept bothering the generals and their armies, forcing them to take action. The generals wrote letters to the government asking what they should do about the slaves. In Lincoln's Second inaugural Address, he says, “ these slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. all knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.”  The picture below depicts a man rising his had and gaining freedom. This is an example of freedom from below because the man raising his hand is showing his freedom and we can infer that the man on the ground is helping him gain that freedom. Slaves gained their freedom from within and taking control.

Freedom from above and below are noticed in slavery, and the concepts  are still seen in society today. In Maryland there has been an outbreak, about the police force that has caused Baltimore to break out in riots. The citizens are angry with the police force and are displaying freedom from below, they are helping eachother to get what they believe in. The freedom from below is working because they have got the attention from the government. This makes the Government investigate the problem and think about what they can do to change it.