p5.09+Dixiecrat+Bloc+Page



**Group Members and Roles **


 * Emily - Leader/Debater/Editor/Co-writer/Radio Ad
 * Karen - Speaker/Debater/Editor/Graphic/Video/Radio Ad
 * Danielle - Co-writer
 * Michael - Photographer
 * Sabrina - Journalist & Wiki

** Group Slogan **

"Less help, less food. Good food comes from servitude."

 ** ﻿ What Your Group Wants **** -- Plan for New Constitution **

Roger Sherman from Connecticut

-There should be no tampering with the slave trade until 1808.

-In the Constitution, slaves should be referred to as "persons of servitude" (as they shall be referred to here from now on).

-Congress should have the ability to establish tariffs and embargoes by a simple majority.

Charles Cotesworth Pickney from South Carolina

-There should be a clause in the Constitution that expressly forbids Congress from outlawing or taxing the importation of persons of servitude.

-The government should take no action at all against the importation of persons of servitude from Africa.

-Persons of servitude should be counted as 3/5 of a person if counted by Congress for representation.

-There should be less national regulation of trade, thereby providing more local freedom. Should tariffs, quotas, or embargoes be proposed, a 2/3 majority in both houses would be required for them to pass. ** Bullet Points of Your Plan **

-Ensure that the united colonies stay united -- if the South's rights to hold slaves are restricted, we will break away.

-We are at the convention to focus on the economy and government, not on morals.

-The nation is dependent on slavery - rid America of their slaves and face the collapse of the economy (which we're trying to fix).

** Orator: Text of Your Speech **

(Charles Pickney) I am a Southern politician.

I was born and raised in the South, and I plan on dying in the South. It's what I know, and it's what I'm familiar with. The Crispus Attucks Coalition here are all from the North. They don't know what it's like to be in the South, to be in a society with slavery. They have no concept or idea what our way of life is like. They're simply making assumptions based on what they believe is 'moral' and gambling with the well-being of a people they've never even met. Morality has nothing to do with it. They don't know the South. They don't have the kind of insight I have into the situation. They never will know the South, because the South can see reason and can understand why slavery needs to stay.

Slavery is the thread that is holding us together. If it is abolished, I can promise you that this nation will unravel (without the South) and right back into the arms of Britain.

This is why I stand before you to insist that Congress should be forbidden to outlaw or even tax slavery, or enact anything in regards to the importation of slaves. To try to regulate any trade, especially slavery, would result in economic catastrophe, I can guarantee this. The Southern people rely on slavery to sustain their culture, and if you rob them of their means of living, you rob America's means of living. Abolish slavery, and this nation will wither and die with it.

We are a country of choice. We can choose our place and object of worship, our business and career, our prospects and most importantly, gentlemen, we can choose whether or not to own slaves. Choice defines America, and when options are taken away and laws are imposed on the people, you have a revolution on your hands.

The South has chosen, and will always choose slavery because it is the lifeblood that sustains the Southern people, white and black alike.

There are currently 700,000 slaves in America. If we free those slaves, as the Crispus Attucks Coalition proposes, what will become of them? They have been born and raised in slavery, and they must die in slavery. They do not know how to read, or write, or run a business, or do anything other than pick cotton. Their masters who took care of them would no longer there to look after them. Free the slaves, and you expose them to disease, starvation, and financial hardship. Free the slaves, and they'll have to work for their old masters just as hard as they always did for a pittance no one could possibly survive on. Their old masters won't be bound to help them out anymore. They'll be alone, economically, religiously, and politically. No one will have any interest in showing them the light and teaching them how to live a good life anymore. Take away their masters, and they will have nothing.

We have a duty to the Africans of America, to take care of them and to ensure they get representation as well, which is why I propose a 3/5 compromise, where each slave is counted as 60% of a white person for purposes of representation. Now, I know some of you- namely, the Crispus Attucks Coalition - disagree with me, but that's why it's called a compromise. We need to work together to solve this issue, not stubbornly pursue something like the abolishment of slavery that just isn't economically viable right now.

The good intentions of the Crispus Attucks Coalition are undoubtedly misguided. They don't understand that by trying to help the slaves, they only do harm - not only to the whites, but the blacks as well.

When you steal a black bear from the zoo, and release it into the wild, it dies because it can't take care of itself. The zookeeper is distraught, and you should feel guilty over your sin. The slaves of America are just like that bear. Keep them in bondage, and they prosper. Deny them care, and they shall go extinct. 

** Debater: Possible Objections to Plan and Your Replies ** Objection: Slavery is immoral.

Our response: Morality is beside the point. Servitude stimulates the economy and keeps the entire Southern portion of America running.

Objection: Slavery in the Constitution will ensure our certain doom. God will seal the nation’s fate!

Our response: The Bible outlines how to treat your persons of servitude and says nothing about releasing them. Therefore, God will not smite us.

Objection: This goes against the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal!

Our response: The Declaration is not a theological document but rather, a political document. The “all men are created equal” is referring to white males who have rights. This does not even extend to women, certainly not persons of servitude!

** TV Radio Spot **

** TV Ad **

** Journalist: Write-Up of Convention Activity **

Delegate Edmund Randolph opened the Constitutional Convention last Tuesday with his speech advocating the Virginia Plan. Randolph spoke of the need for more balance in the government and proposed a bicameral legislature with representation by population. Directly after Randolph’s speech, a delegate from the New Jersey Plan took the podium, speaking out against the Virginia Plan and instead suggesting a unicameral legislature under which all states would be represented equally. Finally, the Great Compromise was presented as the solution to the problem – a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal representation for all states.

This is, of course, the abbreviated version, and the Great Compromise wasn’t exactly accepted as soon as it was proposed. Anyone present at the Constitutional Convention (which met to revise the Articles of Confederation but evolved into an attempt to construct a new government and federal Constitution) could attest to the energy in the room whenever any delegate approached the podium and the tension between opposing groups. Everyone brought strong opinions and were loath to quickly abandon what they stood for. As a result, the convention was mottled with arguments and faintly marked with the prospect of compromises, as well as frequently speckled with threats that groups would break away from our new nation if goals were not met. Luckily, as of yet none have made the mad dash for Canada or Spanish territory.

The second conflict was introduced as the Crispus Attucks Coalition began to speak. When they preposterously stated that slaves are equal to white men, the dissent of some in the audience (most notably the Dixiecrats) was made present. Comments rang throughout the room questioning the speaker’s affirmations: How could a slave and a white man be equal? It was nonsensical and left many in a state of confusion.

Finally, all present at the convention were so privileged as to hear from Charles Pickney, a Virginian delegate sent forth by the Dixiecrats. It was clear from the start that Pickney not only knew what he was talking about, but that he also had the charisma needed to captivate the audience. Pickney, with his charming Southern accent and sophisticated fashion sense, put the restless colonists at ease as he spoke of his own experience with the Southern way of life and why he believes that slavery is crucial for our nation. During his speech, he was both firm and respectful to his opposition, calmly assuring the Crispus Attucks Coalition that although they may have their differences, it was necessary for them to “work together to solve this issue, not stubbornly pursue something that…isn’t economically viable right now.”

Following the speeches, two delegates from each group gathered to debate the issues at hand. Virginia and New Jersey battled back and forth, attempting to persuade each other that their plan was more fair or better for the nation, while the Great Compromise tried to reintroduce their plan as a compromise between the Virginia and New Jersey plans. Their words, however, were lost during the back-and-forth arguments.

Sadly, the Crispus Attucks Coalition did not seem ready to make a compromise either – for much of the time, they were too hung up on morals and the question of whether slavery is morally “right” to truly consider the Dixiecrats’ proposition of a 3/5 Compromise (where a slave would count as 3/5 of a person for purposes of representation). Naturally, the intelligent Dixiecrats patiently related to their colleagues that it was time to fix the government and the economy, not to debate morals. Following this, one Dixiecrat said, “Morality is something you decide for yourself—not for the entire nation.” This fit very nicely with what appeared to be one of the themes of the Dixiecrats, neatly summed up in this sentence taken from their final statement, “Protect America’s right to choose.” It appeared that the Dixiecrats were strong advocators of the very democratic idea that the people should have the right to choose whether or not they personally want to hold slaves.

By the end of the convention, although a conclusion was never formally reached, the delegates at least appeared to be considering the compromises that had been introduced. More importantly, many eventually consented to partake in a forced group hug, which might have been the most important achievement of the whole convention. Could this mean unity and the end of threats to break away? However, if the initial hesitation and mutual outright refusal of the Crispus Attucks Coalition and the Dixiecrats to embrace are any indication of what might lay ahead, our fair country may be in some trouble somewhere down the road.

** Comments from Rival Plans **

Apparently Dixiecrats eat their babies. Love from the Cripus Attucks Coalation.

You evil mutants. - with all due respect, the Cripus Attucks Coaliation

Whyyy does everyone spell "Crispus" wrong? They can't spell coalition either.

Just want to say, your video is amazing. -Dixiecrat Bloc P.1

Love your graphic, Dixiecrats rule! <3 Dixiecrat Bloc Period 3

** Pictures **