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Hero: A hero is somebody who fights for what he/she believes in. They fight for something that will help many people and make their country a better place. A hero also helps the people around him/her. They also keep on going even if there are huge obstacles to overcome.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Erin Williams 11/29/09 Fire

Who’s Your Hero? A hero is somebody who fights for what she believes in. They fight for something that will help many people and make their country a better place. A hero also helps the people around her. They also keep on going even if there are huge obstacles to overcome. I think this is a hero because all these things are from the heart and that is where a hero starts. They fight for what they believe in. My hero is Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I think she is a hero because she believed in women having the right to vote and she fought to give them that right. In this essay I will prove Stanton is a hero because she fought for what she believed in to help many other women just like her. [|http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAWstanton.htm] [|http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/famous-moms/elizabeth-cady-stanton.php] __ [|http://womenshistory.about.com/od/stantonelizabeth/a/stanton.htm] __ Stanton lived from November 12, 1815 until October 26, 1902. She lived in New York City when she was not traveling promoting women’s rights. Stanton was trying to help women get the rights men had. She was trying to help because she believed in women having rights so she fought for it. She traveled, she and Susan B. Anthony started the National Woman Suffrage Association, and they edited and published a woman’s magazine; the Revolution. This was important because women wouldn’t have the right to vote if it wasn’t for her.

[|http://www.brynmawr.edu/library/exhibits/suffrage/nawsa.html][|http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/activists/stanton] __ [|http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/activists/stanton/friends_1] __

Stanton and Susan B. Anthony started the National Woman Suffrage Association. She had to overcome many obstacles to start this association. Can you imagine starting an association that many people were against? This meets my definition because she had to go over obstacles and fight for what she believed in to create the association. She created this association so women could get the right to vote. They held many conventions to promote women being able to vote. What they tried to do was get support from states. They believed state by state support would get the amendment passed. The association wrote books and pamphlets of strategies that are still around today. This gave women the right to vote. Starting this association had Stanton overcoming a lot of obstacles. “It requires philosophy and heroism to rise above the opinion of the wise men of all nations and races.” This shows us that you have to be smart and have heroic characteristics to win over the opinion of men.

[|http://www.brynmawr.edu/library/exhibits/suffrage/nawsa.html]

In 1848 Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. This meets my definition because they wrote the declaration to fight for what they believed in. Writing a Declaration of Sentiments must have taken a lot of work and they must have overcome many obstacles. They wrote this because they wanted to fight for women. They knew that women were born with the same amount of right’s as men. They both have the rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. They wrote this to get women their rights and to have women forever to have right’s. They wanted to stop having men abuse the rights of women. This impacted the lives of many women because now they have equal rights as men. “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men and women are created equal.” This shows us that you will always know that men and women are equal.

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Somebody who would have thought my person wasn’t a hero would be somebody who didn’t want women to have rights. Stanton fought for women to have equal rights as men. She fought for what she believed in and that was women rights. If somebody thought women shouldn’t have rights they definitely don’t think she is a hero because she fought for what she believed in. They fought against her. They complained, didn’t let her come into restaurants, and excluded her from the community. They tried to stop her from going to conventions and traveling. They didn’t want her to succeed at her mission. Even though she had a lot of people against her she was consistent. She never backed down. She wanted women to have rights so badly that she kept on fighting. She knew they couldn’t stop her.

[] Stanton’s legacy is the rights women have. She fought for them to have the same exact rights as men. If it wasn’t for her being a part of many conventions women wouldn’t be able to vote. Can you (women) imagine not being able to vote in any election including for President of the United Sates? This would be reality if it wasn’t for Stanton fighting. Her legacy is very important to women forever.

[] A 21st century problem is the War. We have been fighting with the Middle East for a long time and people are questioning if we should keep on fighting. I believe Stanton would tell us if we believe in fighting than keep on fighting, if we don’t believe don’t fight. She told many women through her newspaper the Revolution to fight for what you believe in. If you want to keep fighting then fight if you don’t want to fight then don’t fight. She gave many women advice back then and I think she would give great advice now.

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"I grew up like a neglected weed -- ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it." This quote from Harriet Tubman shows me how horrible her life was before she was free. All the other slaves felt the same way. She wanted to save them once she was free. She knew this was going to be hard but if you set your mind to something you will always accomplish it. My person is Harriet Tubman. She conducted the Underground Railroad and saved numerous slaves. My thesis is that if you set your mind to anything you will accomplish it. [] She was born in 1820. But because she was a slave they did not record her birth date. Harriet was born on Edward Brodas plantation near Dorchester County, Maryland. She was trying to help all of the slaves escape and give them freedom. She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Slaves were treated so poorly that she wanted all slaves to have freedom. She knew that all people are created equal. Her actions were important because she changed how people treated African Americans. [] [] She was a conductor of the Underground Railroad. During a ten year span she made nineteen trips to the south to help free slaves and helped over three hundred slaves escape. But, she never lost one passenger.. She was a leader on the underground railroad."And, as she once proudly pointed out to Frederick Douglass, in all of her journeys she "never lost a single passenger." [] [] They had all slave owners and law enforcement looking after them. Some slaves wanted to quit in the middle of the Underground Railroad. She was not losing a passenger so she told them that she would kill them if they surrendered. She was wanted by a lot of people. They were hunting for her. She had to be very careful and always watch her back. “She warned her escapees that, if any of them even considered surrendering or returning, the penalty would be death." [] [] She had to be very responsible, sneaky, and determined. She showed other people that if you set your mind to something you are able to accomplish anything. She wanted to save slaves. That is very hard because they were always watched by their owners and couldn't go to a lot of places. But, she was going to save them. She learned that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. “ They litter the forest floor, sometimes inches deep, nature’s bed of nails. The seedpods of the sweet gum tree, they are large, round, and covered with spiny, prickly burrs. The spines pierce the calloused, unprotected feet of terrified runaway slaves. Struggling to contain the involuntary impulse to wince in pain, the fugitive slaves hesitate, knowing a moment taken to pause or cry out could end their dream of freedom.” [] [] I know a thesis of if you set your mind to anything and you can accomplish it sounds like something from a magazine. I never had the evidence that it was true but when I researched Harriet Tubman I found out it is true. She had to out think everybody, the police and all slave owners. Before she went on a trip to the Underground Railroad she needed to prepare. Maybe some food and some basic supplies. But she mostly needed to prepare mentally. She was going to be taking care of and leading slaves through the Underground Railroad in the middle of the night with people looking for them. If any slave wanted to surrender she threatened their life. She was a very tough women but for a good reason. She set her mind to freeing slaves and she saved over three hundred. []

**The Battle of New Orleans** **The Levee at New Orleans during the Civil War** || On April 28 the fleets of [|Farragut] and [|Porter] were within the Mississippi River, the former in chief command of the naval forces; and General Butler, with about 9,000 troops. was at the Southwest Pass. The fleets comprised forty-seven armed vessels, and these, with the transports, went up the river, Porter's mortar-boats leading. When they approached the forts their hulls were besmeared with mud, and the rigging was covered with branches of trees. So disguised, they were enabled to take a position near the forts unsuspected. The Mississippi was full to the brim, and a boom and other obstructions near Fort Jackson had been swept away by the flood. On April 18 a battle between Fort Jackson and Porter's mortar-boats was begun. The gunboats supported the mortar-boats. They could not much affect the forts, and on the night of the 23d the fleet started to run by them, the mortar-boats helping. The perilous passage of the forts was begun at 2 A.M. The night was intensely dark, and in the gloom a tremendous battle was waged. The National naval force was met by a Confederate one. In that struggle the Nationals were victorious. While the battle was raging near the forts, General Butler landed his troops, and in small boats passed through narrow and shallow bayous in the rear of Fort St. Philip. The alarmed garrison surrendered to Butler without resistance, declaring they had been pressed into the service and would fight no more. When the forts were surrendered and the Confederate gunboats subdued, [|Farragut] rendezvoused at Quarantine, and then with nine vessels went up to New Orleans. There a fearful panic prevailed, for the people had heard of the disasters below. Drums were beating, soldiers were hurrying to and fro, cotton was carried to the levee to be burned; funds in the amount of $4,000,000 had been carried away from the banks, and citizens, with millions in property, had fled from the city. When Farragut approached (April 23), General Lovell and his troops fled: the torch was applied to the cotton on the levee, and 15,000 bales, a dozen large ships, and as many fine steamers, with unfinished gunboats and other large vessels, were destroyed in the conflagration. The citizens were held in durance by Farragut's guns until the arrival of Butler on May 1, when the latter landed with his troops, took formal possession of the defenseless town, and made his headquarters at the [|St. Charles Hotel]. The loss of New Orleans was a terrible blow to the Confederates. ||
 * **New Orleans; Civil War Battle Of** —The national government resolved during the winter [|1861]-62 to repossess itself of [|Mobile], New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and [|Galveston], and to attempt to acquire control of the lower Mississippi and Texas. The Department of the Gulf was created, which included all these points, and GEN. BENJAMIN F. BUTLER was placed in command of it. It was proposed to send a competent land and naval force first to capture [|New Orleans]. || [[image:http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/new%20orleans/battle5.jpg width="300" height="163" caption="New Orleans Levee" link="http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/new%20orleans/battle6.jpg"]]
 * [|General McClellan] did not think the plan feasible, for it would take 50,000 men, and he was unwilling to spare a man from his army of more than 200,000 men lying around Washington. [|President Lincoln] approved of the project, and [|Mr. Stanton] said to General Butler, " The man who takes New Orleans shall be made a lieutenant-general." Butler called for troops. New England was alive with enthusiasm and furnished them, in addition to her thousands in the [|Army of the Potomac]. He sailed from [|Fort Monroe], Feb. 25, 1862, with his wife, his staff, and 1,400 New England troops. Storms and delays made the passage long, and it was thirty days before he landed on dreary Ship Island (his place of destination), off the coast of Mississippi, where there was an unfinished fort. The Confederates of that region had taken possession of that island and the fort in considerable force. During their occupation of it for about four months, they made it strong and available for defense. They constructed eleven bomb-proof casemates, a magazine and barracks, mounted twenty heavy [|Dahlgren guns], and named it Fort Twiggs. When a rumor that a strong naval force was approaching reached the island, the Confederate garrison abandoned the fort, burned the barracks, and with their [|cannon] fled to the mainland. On the following day, a small force was landed from the National gunboat Massachusetts, and took possession of the place. They strengthened the fort by building two more casemates, adding [|Dahlgren] and rifled cannon, and piling around its outer walls tiers of sand bags six feet in depth. They gave to the fort the name of their vessel, and it became Fort Massachusetts. When General Butler arrived, there was no house on the island, and it was with much difficulty that a decent place of shelter was prepared for his wife and his military family. General Phelps was there with New England troops, so also were [|Commodore Farragut] with a naval force, and [|COMMODORE D. D. PORTER] with a fleet of bomb-vessels to cooperate with the land force. At a short bend in the Mississippi River, 60 miles below New Orleans, were Forts Jackson and St. Philip. These, with some fortifications above and obstructions in the river below, were believed by the Confederates to make the stream absolutely impassable by vessels. There were then 10000 troops in New Orleans hinder [|Gen. Mansfield] Lovell. One of the New Orleans journals said, in a boastful manner, "Our only fear is that the Northern invaders might not appear. We have made such extensive preparations to receive them, that it were vexatious if their invincible armada escapes the fate we have in store for it."

On February tenth they left. My son and husband went to join the union and go to Ship Island on February 25, 1862. I had heard that the voyage was rough and it took them roughly a month long.When they got there the confederates fleed. They took some of their supplies but the Union is so strong they recovered.They made two more casements and brought in many mounted guns. On April 15,1862 I received my first letter.

Dear Mom, We arrived after a long voyage. We miss you so much it hurts. Dad and I are in charge of maintaining the fort. We have gotten word thatWe are receiving help from Commodore Farragut and Commodore D.D. Porter. We already know that General Mansfield of the confederates has put logs and other obstacles in the Mississisppi River so it is impossible to get a ship by. We have not gotten any closer but I just know that we are going to win no matter what.

Love Your son, Michael

When I read this letter my heart sank. How are they going to win if there are huge obstacles in the way? But on the Brightside maybe they wont fight if they are in charge of maintaining the fort. I needed to talk this over with someone so u decided to go over my neighbors house. Mary was so sweet and her husband John has a lot of Knoledge about the war. When I showe d them the letter Mary began to cry but John just read. “ I misss them so much Lizzie \, I don’t know how you can deal with it. I said, well I go day by day and just pray. Later John said, Lizzie I think they will be perfectly fine. They have backup on the water and on land. But, all we can do is pray and hope for the best. Hearing all this it made me feel better, but even mor anxious to get my next letter.

With about 9,000 troops the Union headed up she Mississippi. They had around 47 vessels and went onward. Porter’s mortar-boats leading, thay had so much mud and branches on their boats that they blended in and could sneak behind the confederate lines. Thay were blessed because a few days earlier a flood came and moved all the obstacles out of the Unions way. On April 18th a battle between Fort Jackson and Porters army began. They gought all day and night. On April 23 the confederates fled. The Union was victourios During the battle, General Butler landed his troops and in small boats passed through the bayous in the rear of Fort ST. Philip.When the troops confronted the troops at the fort they surrendered immedietly and sayed they ere forced to fight by the confederates. When the forts surrendered and the fight was over Commodore Farragut went with nine ships to New Orleans. People at New Orleans were very scared and fled. But before they fled they burned 15,000 bales of cotton, dozens of ships, and the people took away atleast 4,000,000 dollars from the bank so the Union wouldn’t have anything. When Farragut arrived he had everything under control until General Butler came on May 1st and took possession of the town. The Union won and gained New Orleans.

I never got another letter. I was ery happy when I got the news that only 37 men were killed and 149 injured. I wondered if either one of my boys made it out alive. On July 14 I got a wonderful surprise. I went outside to beat the rug and walking down the street was Robert and Michael. I ran and cried, and hugged and kissed them. I have never been this happy in my entire life.