p5.+Dixiecrat+Bloc



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Group Members and Roles  =Group Slogan = //You choose: Our slaves or our graves.//
 * Charles Pickney (Hayley), Speaker
 * Roger Sherman (Andre), Debate
 * Tylie, Writer
 * Felicia, TV Advertisement
 * Cara, Photographer
 * Halina, Photoshop and Radio Advertisement
 * Maddie, Radio Advertisement
 * Vanessa, Print Journalist

=What Your Group Wants -- Plan for New Constitution= The Dixiecrat Bloc wants to create a Constitution that favors the South's needs such as slavery. The main delegates for the party - in this case Charles Pinckney and Roger Sherman - will argue to keep slavery alive by keeping taxes on slave-trade low or nonexistent, and allowing their slaves to count as some representation in the South's population for the purpose of voting in congress. The Dixiecrat Bloc argues that slavery is necessary to the economy and that America could not possibly prosper without it at that time in history. =Bullet Points of Your Plan= =Orator: Text of Your Speech=
 * We would like a clause inserted in the Constitution that forbids Congress from outlawing/taxing slaves or the African Slave Trade, atleast until 1808.
 * We request a 2/3 Majority Vote in both houses before any restrictions on trading are passed.
 * We would like slaves to count as 3/5 of a person for voting and taxation in Congress.
 * We want to get rid of the word "slave" and replace it with "persons held to service" (Or as Andre says, "them hard workers")

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 Constitutional Convention: The Dixiecrat Bloc

Good afternoon fellow delegates, my name is Charles Pickney and I represent the Dixiecrat Bloc and the hard-workin’ people of South Carolina. Now, I’m here today to address an issue that many of ya’ll seem a bit confused about, and that’s the issue of slavery. We folks from the south //know// slavery, and we understand its crucial role in creating a strong economic foundation for America. Right now, America is sufferin’, especially in the Deep South states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. I might could say that our hard-earned independence has made our pride strong, but I can NOT say the same about our economy. It has left profitable plantations destroyed and abandoned, and has killed many of the very people who provide our nation’s families with jobs, homes, and food. In order to create the kind of prosperous country that we //all// want to live in, slaves must remain as a part of the American culture. Now, there are some radical people in this room who disagree with me, namely those in the Crispus Attucks Coalition, but I would like to give these people a piece of my mind. And, don’t get me wrong, they have some good ideas, but there is no way that their plans for the abolition of slavery could take place at this time. If the government listened to them, and made foolish actions against the importation of African slaves, the South would be forced to secede from the Union. We would rather be our own country. In fact, we’d rather be under the rule of the English, than give up slaves who have so deeply influenced our states and our culture. The Crispus Attucks people like to say things such as “Slavery just isn’t right” or “doesn’t it seem wrong?” But to them I say, check the tags on your cotton sweaters, the rice in your bowls, and the tobacco in your pipes. People rely on slavery much more than they realize. And the slaves rely on us, as well. We feed them, shelter them, clothe them, and turn them into good Christian people. Abolitionists claim to have God on their side, but I ask ya’ll this: Would God rather have these people runnin’ around, confused and polytheistic in the untamed wilderness of foreign Africa, or quietly prayin’ in the Christian churches of America? Let us save these Pagans from themselves, and from their country. Let us give them all they need in exchange for the servitude they provide us, servitude in tasks that white hands cannot toil. Let us thank them, and acknowledge our reliance upon them, and keep them as an integral part to our culture. There are a few things that us Southern people insist on in this convention. For one thing, we would like a clause to be inserted into the American constitution that explicitly forbids congress from outlawin’ or taxin’ slaves in any way. This preventative action would reassure us that we can buy and trade slaves freely. Also, we are fearful that our voices and our votes will be crushed by the more populous states, so we demand that our slaves count for some representation in our population. We know that many of ya’ll at this convention would oppose Southern States counting their slaves for full representation in Congress, so we are willing to compromise to a 3/5 count for each slave. Also, we support less national regulation of trade and would prefer it to be viewed as a local issue, therefore we ask for there to be a 2/3 majority vote in both houses to enact tariffs, quotas, or embargoes. The South //insists// that its needs be met, or we will remove ourselves from the Union entirely. The abolitionist argument just doesn’t add up; It is “all hat and no cattle”. They fail to realize that the moral aspects of the controversy of slavery cannot be dealt with as a whole nation; it is up to individual states and individual people to decide what they think is morally correct on this issue. What we have is an economic nationwide crisis that needs to be addressed in the most efficient way possible and that IS slavery. Let’s keep the states strong by allowing the hardest work to be done by the people who can do it the best. Slavery is the very foundation that holds our precarious country up while it threatens to collapse. It is our history and it must also be our future. So fellow delegates, please support the Dixiecrat Bloc’s demands on the issue of slavery, because y’all know that you get to choose: Our slaves or our graves!



=Debater: Possible Objections to Plan and Your Replies=
 * Objection 1:** Slaves are not fed well, treated well, and paid at all. No slavery!
 * Rebuttle 1:** There are 700,000 slaves in America, currently. The united States does not have enough money to pay these slaves, and they must be dicisplined to work and produce mass amounts of food to be distributed all over the U.S.


 * Objection 2:** It is inhumane to own slaves! It is unethical and unjust!
 * Rebuttle 2:** in the Bible, in Leviticus 25: 44-46, it is states that "Your male and female slaves are to come from nations around you; you may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but yuo must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthelessly." We are allowed to own slaves!


 * Objection 3:** Slaves do not contribute to our economy!
 * Rebuttle 3:** Slavery is the main lifeline of which our country still depends on today for economy. Without slavery, there would be a lack of food and crops, which creates inflation on the overpriced food that is even left, which leads us straight into a depression. Slavery must remain as a principle standard of U.S. economy and food production.

=Why Our Plan is Good:= =Print Journalist: Write Up of Convention Activity= It is the summer of 1787, the sun is shining brightly on the Pennsylvania State house where delegates met together to discuss the failure of the Articles of Confederation, more specifically the nation’s economy. We all know the Articles of Confederation was not what we intended it to be, but what prevents our nation is our lack of agreeing on a solution to fix this great nation of ours. Virginia, New Jersey, the Crispus Attucks, the Dixiecrat Bloc, and the Great Compromise were all waiting eagerly to voice their opinions on what they believed would be the best and most reasonable solution. James Madison represented the Virginia Plan. He preached the idea of a 3 branch system, each run on “justice and honor to our country”; he mentioned the theory of checks and balances and having two houses, a house of representatives and a senate. The audience was captured emotionally and spiritually when he stated, “ We know we can be great, now we must prove it.”, they cheered when he stated that would “no longer taxed without representation” but the tide quickly turned when he stated that since “All men are created equal” each vote is equal. New Jersey imparticularly hissed and booed when he stated that the reason behind this was “so that smaller states would not over rule” besides “ One voice does not speak at the same caliber as ten voices may speak”. Next came William Patterson voicing his opinions based on the New Jersey plan. While the audience was not as favorable towards him, especially when he bravely said that Virginias plan proved how selfish and unfair they were since they would complicate everything, he did make the point that with the Virginia Plan the “small states would get run over” and even threatened to leave than be part of the Virginia Plan. He stated that size only matters to the Virginians because then votes would be unequal since Virginia is significantly bigger than smaller states like New Jersey or Rhode Island. He proposed the suggestion that more power goes to congress and he, like the Virginia Plan supported a 3 branch Government. With two different opinions heard the Great Compromise made the fair and agreed upon statement that “Democracy must stay”. The crowd cheered when Benjamin Franklin proposed that a “fair and balanced voting system was crucial”. He took into consideration that for Virginia size matters and acknowledged that New Jersey did not think it was fair and therefore suggested that each state would have two representatives and our great nation would have a Congress split up into the House of Representatives and the Senate. When the Crispus Attucks commenced their ideas, half the crowd cheered when George Mason stated that “Slavery was a violation of the Declaration of Independence” and that “ slavery is wrong”. He also stated that slaves are the same as us they just have a darker shade of skin, but George Mason is of white complexion, so he therefore is ignorant of how the slaves really feel providing our great nation with crops and labor. He also said that restrictions on slaves should be put in place and that government should direct trade, but if he really wanted to abolish slavery why not make a plan to eliminate it quickly? He stated that he had faith in our country but he is willing to wait months maybe even years for his “dream” to become a reality, this just proves that he himself does not even believe his plan. And even worse, he lied to the people, he preaches about abolishing slavery and was humiliated when he admitted that he was a slave owner himself! The best delegate was saved for last, Charles Pickney represented the Dixie Crat Bloc group. Parts of the crowd that were from the south cheered when he firmly stated “ We know slavery”. He mentioned that “saves must remain” to help with the economy and efficiency of our great nation. He defended the argument that slavery was morally wrong, pointing out that the southerners feed them, clothe them and turn them into Christians. He even said that they are “willing to compromise to a 3/5 count for each slave” The crowd cheered when he also mentioned that he asked for there to be a “2/3 majority vote in both houses to enact tariffs, quotas, or embargoes” He insisted that these needs must be met and threatened that the south would be forced to make their own country for the continuance of slaves. He also pointed out that the silly Crispus Attucks argument was “ all hat and no cow” recognizing that “people rely on slavery much more than they realize.” Without the hard work and dedication of the salves we would not have our grocery stores, prices on food would rise which would lead to inflation ultimately resulting in a depression and everything we worked for and fought for would be for nothing. When George Mason tried ignorantly suggesting that poor whites can take up the labor of slaves for pay Roger Sherman rebutted saying that such an act would only prove that only our slaves can perform such a task since the whites would have no chance of surviving. With the Crispus Attucks Coalitions arguments having no substantial nor logical reasoning, the Dixiecrat Bloc won the votes of the audience influencing them to choose slaves versus our cold and dark graves!
 * Slaves contribute to the economy.
 * Slaves have built the past of America and therefore need to build the future.
 * Slaves should not be disregarded in our nations count for population.
 * Slavery is what America needs to succeed at this time in history, all modifications should be reserved for a later date when America stand on a stronger economic foundation.

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