The concept of black confederates is one that I find quite interesting. While it is known that African American slaves were used by the Confederate army for labor and other non-combat roles, the use of slaves as combatants is one that I personally find rather bothersome. While there are two different opposing viewpoints to the civil war; the northern view of freeing the slaves and the southern view of states rights, the fact remains that the south did indeed have slaves. The idea that slaves would willingly fight for those that imprisoned them and forced them to work for their entire lives, in my opinion does not hold water. While there very well may have been a few cases in which freed African Americans fought for the south, or in which slaves fought in exchange for their freedom, the idea that there were a substantial number of southern slave-combatants to me is absurd. Personally, I would view it from the perspective that if I was to be oppressed for a system my entire life, I would have no incentive to support it, and if anything, rebel against it at the first chance I had.

The concept of boundary transgression as discussed in class today is one that I find particularly interesting. The idea that we have boundaries, constructed and instilled in us from an early age, is fascinating.  Furthermore, I support the idea that by transgressing those boundaries, we create something that can not be categorized, which in turn makes us uncomfortable. The idea that the minstrel show falls into this category of transgressing boundaries is an interesting one, however it has merit. As it is well known, the minstrel show relies on people “blacking up” in order to put on these outlandish acts. However, what I find particularly interesting is the fact that, if a white person or an African American blacked up, it was acceptable, however if an African American performed the show without makeup, the radiance would go into a state of anarchy. Therefore, I would say that the minstrel show was created as a way to tread close to the boundaries of post-civil war America but does not cross it. Since the main theme of the minstrel show is that people are “blacking up”, the audience knows that besides the act on stage, the performers were still white. Therefore, I feel the minstrel show was created as a way for performers to circumvent transgressing boundaries by applying a topical fix (the ability to “black up”) to a complex issue (the greater racism in society, and in particular the inability for African Americans to perform onstage)