Week #4 Plessy vs Ferguson

In 1896 there was a case that involved Homer Plessy versus the Supreme Court judge Ferguson.  This case was about the “separate but equal” law.  Plessy was arrested for sitting on a white only area where blacks were not allowed to sit down, and was thrown off the train and booked to jail.  He later fought his case, but he failed to defend his case.  “The American Negro demands equality- political equality, industrial equality, and social equality; and he is never going to rest satisfied with anything less.” (p.41)  According to W.E.B. DuBois this relates closely to “Plessy vs. Ferguson” because what Plessy wanted was to be treated equal.  He knew what was going to happen to him if he sat in a white only area, but he believe he had equal amount of rights as the white man to sit anywhere he please because he paid to be there.  So he was not satisfied given the fact that he was removed from his spot, and later on arrested.  He fought for his civil rights.

Metacognitive Reflection

            Brayan Alvarado

            So some of the reading habits I have created for myself is when I am in my room, I must shut off every electronic.  I get distracted so easily, so easy that if someone text messages me; I forget what I previously read.  I can’t focus if there is noise or notifications ringing on my phone.  I must completely isolate myself from everything and everyone in order to fully focus.  Even while I am reading I must read the same line two or three times in order to full understand it.  I learned how important it is to highlight certain materials of the text in order to remember what I have read.  But once I am finished reading I could always look back on my notes and see what I previously read or wrote down that has importance.  I believe that the best time for me to fully be concentrated, to read is late at night when I lay in bed because I could easily grab a book and read it without any distractions.

Owl Creek Bridge

            Brayan Alvarado

            “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” is a short story about a southern man by the name of Peyton Farquhar.  This story takes place during the civil war.  Mr. Farquhar was a slave owner, and was devoted to the southern cause, and would help the confederates anyway he could to defeat the union.  But during scene III the author changes the verb tense and makes the scene very interesting.  So in the following blog I will be describing why the author wrote the scene, what the purpose is, and how the scene contributes to the meaning of the story.

            First, the reason the author wrote this scene is because he wanted to show the audience the point of view of a southern confederate.  Many people know the union’s point of view was to preserve the union and keep the states united.  But many didn’t know what it is like to be a confederate southerner.  So the scene describes what Peyton Farquhar last thoughts were before he was going to die and shows his emotion and surrounding moments before his death.

            Secondly, the purpose of this scene was to create the environment and scene in which a man’s final thoughts are, right before his death.  “At last he found a road which led him in what he knew to be the right direction.” (p.38)  A description in which the author uses, a shift of story where the reader believes it’s a dream.  The purpose is to make the audience use their mind to determine whether he is dreaming or still alive, or awake.

            Thirdly, the way this scene contributes to the meaning of the story, because the author reveals that his whole struggle of escaping was just an idea of what he had moments before his death.   The author uses present tense to make the ready visualize the emotion and surroundings Farquhar felt during his last moments.  “As he is about to clasps her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon, then all is darkness and silence!” (p.39)  An example of the present tense the author uses as Farquhar is about to grab his wife, death was upon him and just dies.

            In conclusion, “owl creek” is a short story that educates us about the civil war and what a southerner’s point of view is.  Not only does it teach us about the civil war, but also on how we are all humans and think alike regardless what side we are on.  So I have just described why the author wrote the scene, what the purpose is, and how the scene contributed to the meaning of the story.

Plessy Vs Ferguson

Christopher Gibson

Josh Overton

Gabriel Moreno

Brayan Alvarado

Plessy Vs. Ferguson

            The aftermath of the US Supreme Court ruling favoring Ferguson over Plessy in 1896 upheld the constitutionality of state laws, like Jim Crow Laws, under the doctrine “separate but equal” (Divine, Robert A, Pg 223). For what has been manipulated since their adoption during the 1860’s, the said Amendments were once again misinterpreted to regulate civil rights of colored citizens and promote mental self preservation amongst white men of that time. The firm understanding and support provided by Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan (The lone dissenting opinion) confirmed that the “court ignored the obvious purpose of the Separate Car Act” (Encyclopedia Britannica) passed by Louisiana in 1890. The “act imposed a badge of servitude” upon African Americans based on enforcing segregated cars on trains which are equal in assembly, but “presuppose the inferiority of African Americans” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Adolph Plessy should not have been denied access or give up rights based on the existing constitution. This argues that the Louisiana act directly violated the 13^th Amendment by enforcing second tier classes among citizens based on color, thus “imposing a badge of servitude” and verifying its unconstitutionality.

            Among the many view points and strategies used to bring light to the court was the 14^th Amendment.  Adolph Plessy argued the state violated the “Equal Protection Clause” that should have overturned Louisiana’s ruling and abolished the segregation act in place. As stated in “America Past and Present” section 1 “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” also “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Divine, Robert A, A-12). This suggests that all American born individuals are citizens of the United States; therefore, are protected by the constitution which is not prejudice. John Harlan believed the “constitution is color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Based on the expressed mind set, John Harlan seemed to be a man well ahead of his time through logic and interpretation of the constitution. The constitution should not be manipulated leisurely to comfort the political majority of any generation, but instead acknowledged and practiced as guidelines for equality amongst all citizens no matter their color.

Works Cited:

Divine, Robert A. "Appendix" America Past and Present. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Education/Longman, 2011. A-12.

Divine, Robert A. "Page 223" America Past and Present. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Education/Longman, 2011. A-12.

“Plessy V. Ferguson.”  Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online,

                Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, 2012. Web.

Journal Prompt #1

1. Brainstorm what you know about the Civil War.  What year?  Who was president?  How did the war start?  What was the outcome?

The Civil War was one of the most bloodiest war of all times recorded in the United States.  It was a battle fought within  the States between the Union and the Confederate States.  In other words, the North v.s. the South.  This war lasted from 1861-1865 a total of 4 years.  This was was the result of 2% of the United States population's death.  Approximately 620,000 people died, which was a lot considering the time they lived in.  If that 2% was applied to our time it would have been approximately over 1 million people.  The president during the Civil War was Abraham Lincoln and he was in favor with the Union, and his Vice president Johnson, was a confederate.  The reason president Lincoln had Johnson, a confederate as vice president was because he wanted to show the country  that he wanted to keep the Union between the States.  The war started because Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union, he never mention anything about demolishing slavery, nor black rights.  The outcome of the Civil War was to reconstruct the government therefore created Civil Rights.  Later created the 13th Amendment and more that ended with slavery, by doing this, it was like nothing ever happened.  Days later after the Civil War was over and, the union won, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.

Amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were created right after the civil war.  So in the following blog I will be describing the following Amendments of the United States of America.


Amendment XIII (13th)
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

What this Amendment does is that it completely eliminates slavery from the United States right after the Civil War of 1861.

Amendment XIV (14th)
Section 1
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.  No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

What this Amendment does is protects all citizens from States who want to create their own laws.  For example, before this Amendment was created many States had their own law within their boarder lines almost as if they were a different country.  So what the 14th Amendment did was to stop any laws that violated the civil rights of the people who belonged to the nation.  It also gave citizenship to those who are born  or Naturalized in the United States.  They mainly did this because of many African Americans were not considered citizen because of slavery, and racial discrimination.

Amendment XV (15th)
Section 1
The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridge by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2
The congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

So what the 15th Amendment does is give the people the right to vote, no matter what your race, color, or even in your previous life you were a slave.  The only mistake this Amendment has is that it does not mention anything about gender, so this will later become an issue in the United States.

                                                                   Work Cited

Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010.

I am...

Brayan Alvarado

English 1A

“I am…”

            I am Brayan Jhonny Alvarado, I am 21 years old and this is a blog about who I am and what defines me.  This is currently my 5^th semester here at San Jose City College.  The first thing I will describe in the blog is who I am, what my goals are, my hobbies, my family.  The high school I attended and graduated from is Lincoln High School, class of 2009.

            First, I am a current student at San Jose City College my goal is to transfer as soon as possible to a 4 year university.  The reason I want to transfer is because I want to receive a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering.  By achieving this goal I am confident that I will have a good paying job.  Getting a job at The Apple Company is my dream job.  What helped me decide what I wanted to major in all started when I was 8 years old because my mom took me to the museum in downtown San Jose, and they had a workshop that allowed everyone to make their own computers from recycled hardware, that companies no longer needed.  So I was there creating my computer out of cardboard boxes and recycled chips and put it together, so that was when I fell in love with computers.  Later did I realize math was highly involved, and liked it even more because I am excellent with numbers.

            Second, I have many hobbies over the years of my life, I have learned to do many productive things and some not so productive.  For example, some of my productive hobbies I enjoy doing is to play soccer because I have been playing this sport since I was 1 year old, and actually got into my first official team at the age of 4 and was the leading goal scorer.  My next hobby I also enjoy doing is Martial Arts, it has taught me to discipline my mind and actions.  Another hobby I have is attending a church group, the reason I enjoy that is because they have taught me the true values of life, for example not to be so center minded.  My final hobby is not so productive but I enjoy it a lot as well and that is to play Xbox live, it is really fun to play when there is absolutely nothing to do.

            Third, there is a long history about my family and struggles, I always thought my life was perfect until my parents had immigration issues.  Because of immigration issues our family was separated for a total of 6 years.  My mother and sister were living in México, while my dad and I stayed here in the United States.  Eventually there were able to fix their documents and we were reunited once again but it was never the same as it was before.  This life experience motivated me to be someone in life to show the world that even with our family being separated because of immigration issues it only made me stronger and did not stop me from being successful in life.  Because I know I’m not the only kid that went through a tough separation.

            In conclusion, these are a few things that describe who I am.  My life is not perfect but I learned through experiences that anything in this world is possible.  My parents gave me wonderful attributes and made me the man I am today.  If it was not for my parents, I would have been a lost soul doing nothing with my life.  So I am very grateful for what I have in my life and what I have been though because it only made me better as a person.