Ronald Reagan - Campaign Speech at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California

May 12, 1966

Ronald Reagan was in the middle of running for the governorship of California in the mid 1960's when the free-speech movement was going on in the United States. Reagan saw this as an issue with American society stating, "its charges that the campus has become a rallying point for Communists and a center of sexual misconduct." When discussing the issue in his campaign speech, Reagan made sure to express that our society has driven off of its rightful course and have taken a path of wrong. Reagan believed that these rallies, riots and filthy-speech movements (as he called them) were getting out of control and there was nobody that was putting an end to it. You had students protesting and speaking out for free-speech, civil rights and speaking out against the Vietnam War.

When trying to make his point to the American people, Reagan used the example of a school dance, where the only lights that were on were those coming off of the projector screens. He goes on to state, "Three rock and roll bands played simultaneously. The smell of marijuana was thick throughout the hall. There were signs that some of those present had taken dope. There were indications of other happenings that cannot be mentioned here." From this statement it shows that Reagan saw free-speech and wide spread love to be morally wrong and not the way a society should be acting. He believed that Americans were being frowned upon for acting in this sort of manner and that it needed to be stopped immediately.

Reagan wanted public hearings to be held for all of those that were involved and they should be made examples of. He also believed that the American people had a right to know exactly what was going in Berkley, California. "The citizens who pay the taxes that support the University also have a right to know that, if the situation is as the report says, that those responsible will be fired, that the University will be cleaned up and restored to its position as a major institution of learning and research."

"Those things could be done and should be done. The people not only have a right to know what is going on at their universities, they have a right to expect the best from those responsible for it."

Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States of America delivered his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861. In this address the president spoke to the South about his proposed policies. He expressed his plans to "hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government", he called the Union "indissolvable" to prove that secession was impossible, and he promised never to be the first to attack but to only defend the country against enemies.Lincoln's deepest desire was to see the Union as a whole, rather than seeing it torn apart by the people within it.

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Davis's Message To Congress

On April 29, 1861, Jefferson Davis called the Confederate Congress together for a meeting in which he discusses the reasons for secession and the theory of the Union. He also asks for permission to ready the defenses of the country after Abraham Lincoln had declared war. His main reasons are based on the North's attempts to abolish slavery and having power in Congress. After the war with Great Britain, he says the states made a compact that said "each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right to which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assembled." The Articles of Confederation contained a clause that prohibited changes unless the Legislatures of every State agreed to it, but then the Constitution was ratified on the grounds that only nine states ratified it. Davis thinks the "creature has been exalted above its creators", with the national government being the creature and the States being the creators. He then goes on to defend slavery by saying that "In moral and social condition they had been elevated from brutal savages into docile, intelligent, and civilized agricultural laborers, and supplied not only with bodily comforts but with religious instruction."

The Black Code of St. Landry's Parish, 1865

When the slaves were emancipated after the civil war, Southern communities were discontent with this, so they passed "black codes" in order to maintain control of black citizens. Mississippi and South Carolina were the first states to pass these regulations. Later, other states followed.

"Section 2. Be it further ordained, That every negro who shall be found absent from the residence of his employer after 10 o'clock at night, without a written permit from his employer, shall pay a fine of five dollars, or in default thereof, shall be compelled to work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided."

The quote is important because it shows that these regulations did not allow freedmen to move around freely as they please. They were subject to as much oversight, authority, and supervision as possible.

"Section 13. Be it further ordained, That all sums collected from the aforesaid fines shall be immediately handed over to the parish treasurer."

This is an important quote because these regulations tried to limit freedmen's not only physical limitations, but economical limitations as well.

"Section 5. Be it further ordained, That no public meetings or congregations of negroes shall be allowed within said parish after sunset;" and Section 6 prohibited "declaim to congregation fo colored people."

These are important parts of quotes because they showed that African American social and political organizations were feared. When united, they posed as a threat to White authority and order.

The Dred Scott Decision

In the vein of a southern controlled federal government, the case of Dred Scott V. Sanford resulted in a decision against the slave Dred Scott, and set a precedent later overturned by the 14th Amendment. Dred Scott, was a slave who attempted to sue his master for his own freedom but the vote resulted in a 7 to 2 tally, against Scott. The precedent stated that Congress has no authority to prohibit slavery in Federal territories and by extension, no slaves have the right to sue due to their not being citizens of the United States. This concept of Dred Scott not being a citizen was derived from the Constitution, specifically, the 3/5th's clause or compromise. This case was one of the many events that created tension between abolitionists and slave owners, which eventually lead to the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was a document written by Abraham Lincoln along with the consent of his cabinet. The main point of the Emancipation Proclamation was the freedom of slaves in Confederate States. This document also allowed freed slaves to enlist in the Union's military causing up to 200,000 former slaves to enlist. Lincoln wanted to cause an uprising of slaves in Confederate States in hopes that many slaves would run away to the North and join in the Union's cause. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation put the abolition of slavery as the primary goal of the Union's objectives. One of the more important reasons why Lincoln created this document was to keep Britain from aiding the Confederate States. If the British decided to aid the Confederate States, after Lincoln created the Emancipation Proclamation, than Britain would be aiding slavery which they had already abolished.

The Drummer of Antietam

The ballad speaks about a drummer boy who meets his fate with death, among hundreds of soldiers who are dead as well, at the battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam was a 2 day long fight that occurred between the days of September 16 and September 18, 1862, although most of the battle took place on September 17th. It is considered one of the bloodiest single-day battles of the Civil War because no matter how hard the Union attacked,the Confederates would match their attacks equally even though the ratio of the troops were about two to one; there were about 23,000 casualties. As close as the battle seemed, the Union won the battle.

"The Wound Dresser" by Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was known as the "Poet of Democracy." In 1855 he published his first edition of Leaves of Grass, a book of poems; he continued to publish throughout 1892, completing nine successive editions.

"During 1862 Whitman left Brooklyn to search for his brother George who was listed as missing after the Battle of Fredericksburg. Shocked by the plight of the wounded in Washington’s military hospitals, Walt secured a Civil Service post and, in his spare time, made nearly 600 hospital visits. These visits provided ample material for The Wound Dresser."

[Excerpt for The Wound Dresser by Walt Whitman]

Bearing the bandages, water and sponge,

Straight and swift to my wounded I go,

Where they lie on the ground, after the battle brought in;

Where their priceless blood reddens the grass, the ground;

Or to the rows of the hospital tent, or under the roof'd hospital;

To the long rows of cots, up and down, each side, I return;

To each and all, one after another, I draw near--not one do I miss;

An attendant follows, holding a tray--he carries a refuse pail,

Soon to be fill'd with clotted rags and blood, emptied and fill'd

again.

I onward go, I stop,

With hinged knees and steady hand, to dress wounds;

I am firm with each--the pangs are sharp, yet unavoidable;

One turns to me his appealing eyes--(poor boy! I never knew you,

Yet I think I could not refuse this moment to die for you, if that

would save you.)

Walt Whitman decided to write his poem on the Civil war, from the perspective of a wound dresser; this aspect of the poem is very important. Because he does this, he shifts the focus from the heroic and courageous aspects of war to the suffering of the wounded. This shift of focus is evident in the second stanza, which states "many the hardships, few the joys, yet I was content." This focus on the less courageous aspects of war substantiates Whitman's determination to confront poetry with a "rude American tongue." He is not afraid to delve into war's horrific aspects such as the "amputated hand" or the "putrid gangrene." We clearly see Whitman's social democrat traits in this poem.

"I Sing the Body Electric," by Walt Whitman

-Brian Hanley

“I Sing the Body Electric,” is a poem written by Walt Whitman. The poem is a celebration of the human body. It breaks away from the Christian notion of dualism where the body and soul are separate and the body is the source of corruption for the mind. In his work Whitman celebrates the very essence of bodily flesh and declares its beauty. This poem is a response to those who doubt the body. In the second section of the poem Whitman claims that the human body, female and male, is perfect. He expresses his sensual desire for the human body in this section. “I loosen myself, pass freely, am at the mother’s breast with the little child, Swim with the swimmers, wrestle with the wrestlers, march in line with the firemen.” Whitman in his poem is able to find a link between the body politic and the erotic body; “the man’s body is sacred and the woman’s body is sacred,” which means all bodies, everyone, is sacred, even the “dull-faced immigrants [who] just landed on the wharf.” Everyone has a place in the great democratic scheme.

Whitman’s poem is a justification for his own bodily yearnings. In his poem his does not overcome his sexual appetites but he legitimatizes them. Whitman says the body is electric and filled with energies and desires and they are a current of emotion and humanity that make up the body of the soul and the soul of the body, making them one.

Walt Whitman is exclaiming the harmony and perfection of the oneness of body and soul. The ending or climax of the poem is a listing of the wonders of the body, moving from top to bottom, head to toe and then inside and how they work. At the end he says the body and soul are one, or the body is soul actually.

Walt Whitman: I Sing the Body Electric, 1855

Walt Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric" from Leaves of Grass
Verses 7 & 8


7


A man's body at auction,


(For before the war I often go to the slave-mart and watch the sale,)


I help the auctioneer, the sloven does not half know his business. Gentlemen look on this wonder,


Whatever the bids of the bidders they cannot be high enough for it, For it the globe lay preparing quintillions of years without one


animal or plant, For it the revolving cycles truly and steadily roll'd.


In this head the all-baffling brain,


In it and below it the makings of heroes.


Examine these limbs, red, black, or white, they are cunning in


tendon and nerve, They shall be stript that you may see them.


Exquisite senses, life-lit eyes, pluck, volition,


Flakes of breast-muscle, pliant backbone and neck, flesh not


flabby, good-sized arms and legs, And wonders within there yet.


Within there runs blood,


The same old blood ! the same red-running blood! There swells and jets a heart, there all passions, desires, reachings, aspirations,


(Do you think they are not there because they are not express'd in parlors and lecture-rooms?)


This is not only one man, this the father of those who shall be


fathers in their turns, In him the start of populous states and rich republics, Of him countless immortal lives with countless embodiments and


enjoyments.


How do you know who shall come from the offspring of his offspring through the centuries?


(Who might you find you have come from yourself, if you could trace back through the centuries ?)


8


A woman's body at auction,


She too is not only herself, she is the teeming mother of mothers, She is the bearer of them that shall grow and be mates to the mothers.


Have you ever loved the body of a woman?


Have you ever loved the body of a man ?


Do you not see that these are exactly the same to all in all nations and times all over the earth ?


If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred, And the glory and sweet of a man is the token of manhood untainted,


And in man or woman a clean, strong, firm-fibred body, is more beautiful than the most beautiful face.


Have you seen the fool that corrupted his own live body? or the


fool that corrupted her own live body? For they do not conceal themselves, and cannot conceal themselves.