Key terms
Key concepts
Readings
Activities
Discussion questions/points
Applying the Science of Society: The African slave trade, capitalism, and the ideology of race
Key terms
Base / superstructure
Productive forces
Productive relations
Property relations
Objective / subjective
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Key concepts
The purpose of the class is to examine history from the standpoint of dialectics. Thesis and antithesis emerge simultaneously; the struggle between them develops in stages and the transformation from one quality to the next (in this case politically) is dependent upon the introduction of a new and alien element into production. Change in the economy is the basis for the introduction of new ideas into society. These new ideas are the mobilizing force for new, transforming social action.
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Readings
"Historical Materialism: The Civil War in the United States" (Institute resource paper #9).
Marx, Karl. "The North American Civil War".
Marx, Karl and Engels, Frederick. "The Crisis in England". From The Civil War in the U.S.
McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom. 1989. pp. 11 – 17; pp 78 – 91.
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Activities
Examine a topographical map of the eastern United States (east of the Mississippi). Identify transportation routes that would be available to people using only trails and rivers. Consider the natural barriers to trade that existed before the opening of the Erie Canal. Consider how trade changed with the opening of transportation routes to the west.
Prepare a report on Elijah Lovejoy. Who was he? What did he do? What effect did his murder have on people?
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Discussion questions/points
1. How does geography affect the development of human societies? How does technology affect the role of geography?
2. What happens when new productive forces are introduced into society?
3. Why did the balance of power in the United States shift from the Southern planters to the Northern industrialists?
4. Why did the war to preserve the union become a war to abolish slavery?
5. What role did the struggle for ideas – propaganda - play in the period leading up to the Civil War?
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