The assignment that I choose to reflect upon is the Celia, A Slave chapter 3-5 discussion.

This
was a reading assignment, but also we had to talk about the trial of an enslaved woman, which at
her time period there was a great divide of abolitionist and Pro-Slavery supporters. This was an
important case in Americas history because it had legal implications and precedent to future
rights of enslaved people in America. After reading the book it helped me tie in the importance
of this case and how it correlates to slavery sentiments in the 1800s. This assignment I feel
helped me understand and develop analytical skills because we had to discuss about Celias trial
and in doing so we learned how court systems of the 1850s functioned. I also learned that
historically some trials were not about seeking justice, but rather it was a fight for political views
in society. This type of trial which is more about politics rather than serving justice, which still
goes on in our society today. The discussion also help my analytical skills because it helped me
compare what I know of the justice system in our society and made me compare and contrast the
investigation methods and due process of accused criminals. I feel that after doing this
assignment I have learned that the justice system and politics of historical times were more
similar to our current legal and political systems of our current time period than I previously
thought. One last way it had help me in my analytical skills was it helped me comprehend the
methodology and strategy of a lawyer to help defend accused criminals. I learned that a good
way to convince a jury and sway their judgements is to help make the accused relatable so that
the jury could put themselves in their shoes. This discussion assignment really help me connect
with the significance of Celia and the perspective views on slavery of historical times.
My goals for my next assignment is to work on my reading skills. I feel that reading is a tedious
task to me and it takes me about 30-40 minutes of reading before I can fully concentrate and read
undistracted. I need to learn how to be efficient with reading so that I can do my reading

assignments in a timely manner which would help me cut down on time spent on my homework.
I will work on my reading skills by turning off the television and by turning off my phone so that
I can concentrate on my reading distraction free. Overall I feel that the Celia discussion for this
week really help me understand why we are reading this book and how it has historical
significance in regard to U.S. history. It also gave me a deeper glimpse into the societal structure
of the 1800s I enjoyed reading, discussing and answering this weeks discussion about Celia, A
Slave and it aided me in understanding the story.