Do not forget that this nation began as a Confederacy.
Posted on 11/03/2015 6:52:26 AM PST by don-o
The Civil War is, as Shelby Foote noted, at the crossroads of our being. Looked at one way, it marked the end of a long struggle against slavery and the beginning of a long one for civil rights and racial equality. Looked at another, it marked the end of limited government and the beginning of the encroaching, ever-present Leviathan that exists today. These memories can be both in sync and in conflict. After all, it was the deployment of strong government in the form of a dominant army and the passage of federal amendments that played a large role in the freeing of American slaves. And yet, as the government's mechanisms for intruding into the lives of the American people increased from the 1860s on, racial discrimination and segregation remained entrenched - moral suasion had at least as much to do with a broad acceptance of racial equality as big government did.
(Excerpt) Read more at theimaginativeconservative.org ...
Do not forget that this nation began as a Confederacy.
I am not questioning Abraham Lincoln. He was an honest man and a founder of the Republican Party, which was instituted to eliminate slavery which he did. John Calhoun believed in human bondage and was dedicated to maintaining this awful practice in direct contradiction to the Declaration of Independence and any standard of decency. He was also a Democrat and a spiritual founder of practices such as Jim Crow which was the main purpose of the Democrat Party for 100 years after the war.
You’re right don-o, it is a well balanced article. Now I’ll read the posts to see how well FReepers can twist things up ;’)
Federalist/Anti-Federalist ping. This is a balanced and thought provoking article.
Exactly.
Lincoln said if he could “preserve the Union” without freeing a single slave, he would do so.
Not only that, he had a Democrat Congressman from Ohio arrested (and deported to the Confederacy, which sent him back) for opposing his policy.
The Imaginative Conservative is a terrific site, run by Kirkians with Hillsdale connections. Well worth reading.
In the case of the slaves, none at all . . . which is the irony of the "3/5 of a person" critique of the Constitution. Emancipation required the temporary elimination of the voting rights of all southerners, before universal male suffrage could be instituted. Since only the proslavery men were voting and the slaves were not, any "representation" at all was worse than none.
I point this out often. The Words of the Declaration of Independence say that "all men are created equal", but the spirit of the Declaration of Independence says the exact opposite. The Document was written by a very prominent slave holder, it was written for 13 states all of which were slave states, and the War for Independence was led by another Slave holder from Virginia.
It is historical revisionism to assert that the Declaration was intended to create freedom for slaves. It most definitely was not created for that purpose. That is just what subsequent liberal interpretation has wrung from the words of the Document.
As a matter of fact, the Declaration of Independence references the interference with slavery as one of the causes of separation.
"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us"Meaning Slave Rebellion.
It's ugly, but that is the actual history, not the history we wish it were. You have a point that it is against an acceptable standard of decency, but you do not have a point that it is contrary to the Declaration of Independence.
A simple reading of the Constitution itself would prove just that.
The Founders put the service or Labor clause specifically under the authority of the States in the Fourth Article, not under the powers of Congress in the first Article.
The ninth and tenth amendments were supposed to further insure it was up to the States whether to have slavery or not.
Attempting to 'end slavery' by any branch of government was, in itself, a treasonous act.
If the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln and Calhoun, the natural question is, "What/who is emblematic of the Democrat Party?"
HUH???
Wrong. Southern states were overrepresented by 6% from 1788-1865 by virtue of the 3/5 rule.
From the North’s perspective you are right. It is undeniable that the South saw Lincoln merely as President as a threat to slavery. From that perspective, it was all about slavery and nothing else. Terrific book by Huston called “Calculating the Value of the Union:” South had more value in slaves than all the RRs and textile mills in the north put together.
In my mind the presence of slavery in spite of the words in the Declaration is a direct contradiction to the written words. The people you mentioned, Jefferson and Washington, as well as Southern leaders and aristocrats right up to the Civil War violated the plain words agreed to by the founders. This was an error. Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and the post war Amendments corrected these obvious errors. Lincoln was a true follower of the Declaration of Independence and the prototype Republican. John Calhoun was a Democrat, continued in his erroneous ways, and served as the spiritual leader of Jim Crow Democrats. Abraham Lincoln and John Calhoun are not the same.
You are exactly right, and the Congress and President at the time of secession knew that too.
This might reflect media opinion at the time:
Washington March 3, 1861-——Tomorrow President James Buchanan
leaves office having served eight years as the fifteenth Chief Executive of the
United States. Although the secession came during his administration,
despite the withdrawl.of seven southern states, the remaining 18 are intact.
He leaves the United States Constitution residing undisturbed in the capital
in Washington. The House of Representatives and Senate will reconvene as
scheduled in five months. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney will preside over the
next term of the Supreme Court.
The Secretary of War, Joseph Holt reports no military activity in any areas
adjacent to the mason Dixon line. Army Commander General Winfield Scott
reports that the military is billeted as normal.
New York and Boston shipping houses are noting declines in imports landing
at their wharfs, but report that dry goods, machinery, passenger and mail
service with southern ports continues as usual.
With one exception, all federal facilities have been peacefully evacuated with
federal employees, their health intact, returning north by rail or ship.
Confederate government representatives are meeting in Washington with
officials to arrange for payment for these facilities and other debts resulting
from their withdrawal from the Union.
Last November, President Buchanan and Attorney General Black announced
that it was not within the authority of the government to institute military force to
address secession. He is to be congratulated for his respect for the constitution
and the peaceful lives of citizens everywhere.
Secession has removed slavery as an issue for either the courts or the territories,
and no longer preoccupies the interests of the legislature or press.
The following quote is from Mr. Buchanan's most recent address to Congress and demonstrates his respect for the country's future:
“Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and has been
implanted in the heart of man by his Creator for the wisest purpose;
and no political union, however fraught with blessings and benefits
in all other respects, can long continue if the necessary consequence
be to render the homes and the firesides of nearly half the parties to
it habitually and hopelessly insecure."
His commitment is manifest in the armistice arranged for Charleston and Pensacola.
It is now the responsibility of the next executive to maintain this peace.
You are interpreting the words with an anachronistic view of things. Jefferson and Washington, both slave owners, did not believe the "all men are created equal" verbiage was meant to apply to slaves. If they did, they would have freed their own slaves.
The primary purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to assert the natural law right of States to be Independent of the United Kingdom. It was most certainly not intended to free any slaves. The verbiage interpreted to mean that, was just a bit of Thomas Jefferson mischief which the Founders mostly ignored at the time.
The Founders were Pro-Slavery, or at least pro-accommodate slavery. Again, it is the ugly truth, but it is the truth, none the less.
The people you mentioned, Jefferson and Washington, as well as Southern leaders and aristocrats right up to the Civil War violated the plain words agreed to by the founders.
No they didn't. They simply did not see the larger meaning that other people would twist out of the words. When they contemplated the phrase "all men are created equal" they were applying it to themselves relative to the Aristocrats and King of England, not relative to the slaves, whom they considered to not be their equals at all.
But let's see what Thomas Jefferson said about how verbiage written on governing documents should be interpreted.
"On every question of construction let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit of the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
Lincoln was a true follower of the Declaration of Independence
The document which asserted that people had a right, given by God to leave a Union? Lincoln was a "true follower" of that document? Surely you jest?
"Four Score and Seven Years ago..." refers to 1776, the Year the 13 slave holding states broke away from the United Kingdom. You say Lincoln was on the "Pro break-away" side?
I would not be staking an argument for anything on the efficacy of James Buchanan. He is universally recognized as our worst President. In recent times he has risen to the status of our second worst President.
It was not so much a North verses South as it was a DemoRAT verses everyone else war.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.