Slavery in the United States and American Civil War
Joshua Brackenridge
January 25, 2013
Period 6
TITLE
The American civil war was the beginning slavery, but ending slavery came with many consequences and lost lives. Many authors have written songs, books and poems about the civil war; the most interesting thing is that they all have their own point of view. Three selections which portrayed the enemy in different ways are: “swing low sweet chariot”, “Willie has gone to the war”, “go down Moses”. Each of these selections presents a unique perspective of the enemy, as seen through the author’s eyes. For an African American slave, the enemy was the white man and the hypocrisy he exhibited, and for a mother who loses her son to the casualties of war, the enemy was the war itself. The following paragraphs will further discuss how each selection portrayed the enemy.
In “swing low sweet chariot” the enemy was the white man or slave holder. Swing low sweet chariot was an old Negro spiritual song. This song told the slaves that they were going to be brought to freedom or heaven. It was sung when it was time to escape. The slaves thought of swing low sweet chariot as Moses and the Israelites. Moses guided the Israelites across the Jordan River to freedom from the Egyptians. The Moses of the slaves was Harriet Tubman, and she was coming to take them across the Ohio River to freedom or heaven.
The poem “Willie has gone to the war ‘’the enemy is war. The enemy is war because Willie mother doesn’t want him to go. Then she loses him in the war.
In the last poem “go down, Moses’’ the enemy is pharaoh. Pharaoh is the enemy because he is keeping the Israelites captive as slaves. God is telling Moses to go down and have pharaoh release the Israelites.
January 25, 2013
Period 6
TITLE
The American civil war was the beginning slavery, but ending slavery came with many consequences and lost lives. Many authors have written songs, books and poems about the civil war; the most interesting thing is that they all have their own point of view. Three selections which portrayed the enemy in different ways are: “swing low sweet chariot”, “Willie has gone to the war”, “go down Moses”. Each of these selections presents a unique perspective of the enemy, as seen through the author’s eyes. For an African American slave, the enemy was the white man and the hypocrisy he exhibited, and for a mother who loses her son to the casualties of war, the enemy was the war itself. The following paragraphs will further discuss how each selection portrayed the enemy.
In “swing low sweet chariot” the enemy was the white man or slave holder. Swing low sweet chariot was an old Negro spiritual song. This song told the slaves that they were going to be brought to freedom or heaven. It was sung when it was time to escape. The slaves thought of swing low sweet chariot as Moses and the Israelites. Moses guided the Israelites across the Jordan River to freedom from the Egyptians. The Moses of the slaves was Harriet Tubman, and she was coming to take them across the Ohio River to freedom or heaven.
The poem “Willie has gone to the war ‘’the enemy is war. The enemy is war because Willie mother doesn’t want him to go. Then she loses him in the war.
In the last poem “go down, Moses’’ the enemy is pharaoh. Pharaoh is the enemy because he is keeping the Israelites captive as slaves. God is telling Moses to go down and have pharaoh release the Israelites.