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fandomhigh2017-01-09 05:47 am
wefindintheashes) wrote in fandomhigh2017-01-09 05:47 am
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Hands On History of the American Civil War, 2nd Period (1/9)
There were fewer books on the desk this week, which was an improvement for faith in the teachers' ability to explain the subject matter. Maybe. Probably.
Oh, just go with it.
"Alright, it seems to us that a number of the class know about the war and the other half--" Goody struggled for a polite way to say 'My god, you're all from other planets/are pink/possibly an alien.'
"The other half of you aren't from around here, exactly," Nathan supplied. Because he'd danced this dance before. "So, the best place to start here is probably going to be... the start."
And for that, Nathan was Goody's savior. "The primary cause, contrary to the attempts by many, many, many of my Southern compatriots to say otherwise, was slavery and if it should be allowed within our nation. Although, at first, most of the fuss was over if we should allow it past the Mississippi River. And then after that, it was over the 36th parallel as a boundary."
"For the sake of being able to protect what they viewed as their right to keep slaves," Nathan said, frowning a little as he spoke, "seven states chose to renounce their attachment to the Constitution... They were choosing to secede. They formed a government to rival President Lincoln's, complete with a rival president of their own by the name of Jefferson Davis. They demanded that any property of the United States government sitting within their borders be surrendered to them. Secession, after all, wasn't strictly prohibited in the Constitution that they were attempting to separate themselves from."
Goody huffed out a little laugh at that. "By basically copying the very same constitution and method of government. States' rights is what they say now, but I can assure you that the Confederacy actually gave more power to that idiot Davis than was granted to Lincoln at the time."
There really ought to be a rainbow with 'the more you know' in the background, but you'll just have to imagine it yourselves instead.
"Now, once these seven had left the union, there was an… altercation, shall we say, at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina."
"Confederate forces - those would be the ones trying to secede," Nathan said, "demanded the surrender of the Union force of 85 soldiers who were holding the fort at the time. They refused, and so the next morning the Confederate batteries opened fire. For thirty-four hours. The first two hours of which saw no return fire. The fort wasn't equipped to hold off a force the size of the one that was attacking them, about five-hundred men strong. They didn't even have fuses for the exploding shells."
Which was something of a technical difficulty, right there.
"When Major Anderson surrendered the fort, there had been no casualties suffered at all. No injuries. No wounded. No men missing or captured. At least, not until an accidental explosion the day after, when Anderson wanted to have a 100-gun salute before turning the fort over." Nathan smiled wryly. "They reduced it to a 50-gun salute after one gunner was killed and the other was mortally wounded."
So. That hadn't gone well.
"Bless them for trying," Goody said, making the slightest face. "Now, during this little scuffle, there were actually two forts in Charleston. The older and far less impressive Fort Moultrie where Major Anderson had actually been stationed. And the more imposing Fort Sumter that was damn near unmanned. Anderson had orders to do as best for his men, so, in the middle of the night, he moved his garrison over to Sumter."
He graced the class with a smile. "And my compatriot, Mr. Algren, assures me that we will be able to reenact this move with something called a danger shop?"
"Oh, you're going to like the danger shop," Nathan said, smirking faintly. "Just, brace yourself for a moment. It might be a bit jarring."
A moment of poking at the room's controls, and then suddenly their classroom scenario was significantly more... outside. And look! For the sake of historical accuracy, the students were all supplied with heavy equipment to lug around. In the dark. Nathan was really dedicated to making sure they had an authentic experience.
"Danger shop."
"...how lovely," Goody said wanly.
Oh, just go with it.
"Alright, it seems to us that a number of the class know about the war and the other half--" Goody struggled for a polite way to say 'My god, you're all from other planets/are pink/possibly an alien.'
"The other half of you aren't from around here, exactly," Nathan supplied. Because he'd danced this dance before. "So, the best place to start here is probably going to be... the start."
And for that, Nathan was Goody's savior. "The primary cause, contrary to the attempts by many, many, many of my Southern compatriots to say otherwise, was slavery and if it should be allowed within our nation. Although, at first, most of the fuss was over if we should allow it past the Mississippi River. And then after that, it was over the 36th parallel as a boundary."
"For the sake of being able to protect what they viewed as their right to keep slaves," Nathan said, frowning a little as he spoke, "seven states chose to renounce their attachment to the Constitution... They were choosing to secede. They formed a government to rival President Lincoln's, complete with a rival president of their own by the name of Jefferson Davis. They demanded that any property of the United States government sitting within their borders be surrendered to them. Secession, after all, wasn't strictly prohibited in the Constitution that they were attempting to separate themselves from."
Goody huffed out a little laugh at that. "By basically copying the very same constitution and method of government. States' rights is what they say now, but I can assure you that the Confederacy actually gave more power to that idiot Davis than was granted to Lincoln at the time."
There really ought to be a rainbow with 'the more you know' in the background, but you'll just have to imagine it yourselves instead.
"Now, once these seven had left the union, there was an… altercation, shall we say, at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina."
"Confederate forces - those would be the ones trying to secede," Nathan said, "demanded the surrender of the Union force of 85 soldiers who were holding the fort at the time. They refused, and so the next morning the Confederate batteries opened fire. For thirty-four hours. The first two hours of which saw no return fire. The fort wasn't equipped to hold off a force the size of the one that was attacking them, about five-hundred men strong. They didn't even have fuses for the exploding shells."
Which was something of a technical difficulty, right there.
"When Major Anderson surrendered the fort, there had been no casualties suffered at all. No injuries. No wounded. No men missing or captured. At least, not until an accidental explosion the day after, when Anderson wanted to have a 100-gun salute before turning the fort over." Nathan smiled wryly. "They reduced it to a 50-gun salute after one gunner was killed and the other was mortally wounded."
So. That hadn't gone well.
"Bless them for trying," Goody said, making the slightest face. "Now, during this little scuffle, there were actually two forts in Charleston. The older and far less impressive Fort Moultrie where Major Anderson had actually been stationed. And the more imposing Fort Sumter that was damn near unmanned. Anderson had orders to do as best for his men, so, in the middle of the night, he moved his garrison over to Sumter."
He graced the class with a smile. "And my compatriot, Mr. Algren, assures me that we will be able to reenact this move with something called a danger shop?"
"Oh, you're going to like the danger shop," Nathan said, smirking faintly. "Just, brace yourself for a moment. It might be a bit jarring."
A moment of poking at the room's controls, and then suddenly their classroom scenario was significantly more... outside. And look! For the sake of historical accuracy, the students were all supplied with heavy equipment to lug around. In the dark. Nathan was really dedicated to making sure they had an authentic experience.
"Danger shop."
"...how lovely," Goody said wanly.
Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
RE: Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
Lecture
Re: Lecture
Or, well. It certainly looked like she was taking notes. Anyone looking over her shoulder would see an impossibly detailed sketch of their two teachers arguing over a pillow fort.
March
Re: March
Pinkie liked the Danger Shop. She didn't even seem to mind the fact that she was given a cannon ball to lug around.
Like she didn't know how to handle a cannon.
"Can we visit a fairy tale castle next?"
Re: March
Re: March
She shrugged, settled and tied her things securely, and headed off.
Talk to the Teachers
Re: Talk to the Teachers
Which he honestly counted as a win.
This was only because there were no explosions or gunfire. Natch.
Re: Talk to the Teachers
It was either going to be that, or the other end of it, after the battle, where the Union forces ferried their way back out again and were hailed as heroes back home. Either way, so long as there weren't explosions or gunfire, he was happy.
Let's see if they could come up with ways to avoid either for the remainder of the semester.
OOC
Re: OOC
Re: OOC
Re: OOC