For Black History Month, I'll be re-reading my Thomas Sowell book collection, re-watching Alan West speeches, and Sundays will be dedicated to listening to Pastor Manning.
Today is a good day to die.
I didn't say for whom.
Posted on 02/01/2011 10:14:11 AM PST by ExGeeEye
In April of 1790, a black male slave child was born into the ownership of William Ellison of South Caroline. In keeping with the custom of the time, he was registered in the Ellison stock-book by the name of "April" (for the month of his birth) "Ellison" for his owner.
Apprenticed at 12, he was taught the trades of carpentry, blacksmithing and machining, as well as how to read, write, cipher and do basic bookkeeping. On June 8, 1816, his owner appeared before a magistrate (with five local freeholders as supporting witnesses) to gain permission to free April, now 26 years of age.
April Ellison set up shop and began manufacturing, among other things, cotton gins. In 1820 he petitioned to change his name to "William Ellison, Jr." for business purposes. His request was granted.
In time the black Ellison family joined the predominantly white Episcopalian church. On August 6, 1824 he was allowed to put a family bench on the first floor, among those of the wealthy white families. Other blacks, free and slave, and poor whites sat in the balcony. Another wealthy Negro family would later join the first floor worshippers.
He became one of South Carolina's major cotton gin manufacturers, selling his machines as far away as Mississippi. From February 1817 until the War Between the States commenced, his business advertisements appeared regularly in newspapers across the state. These included the Camden Gazette, the Sumter Southern Whig and the Black River Watchman.
In 1838 Ellison purchased on time 54.5 acres adjoining his original acreage from one Stephen D. Miller. He moved into a large home on the property. What made the acquisition notable was that Miller had served in the South Carolina legislature, both in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, and while a resident of Stateburg had been governor of the state. Ellison's next door neighbor was Dr. W.W. Anderson, master of "Borough House, a magnificent 18th Century mansion. Anderson's son would win fame in the War Between the States as General "Fighting Dick" Anderson.
By 1847 Ellison owned over 350 acres, and more than 900 by 1860. He raised mostly cotton, with a small acreage set aside for cultivating foodstuffs to feed his family.
William Ellison died December 5, 1861.
You likely did not learn this in school.
Ellison's success was due in no small part to his use of slave labor. At first he rented the slaves of others, then began buying, and even (illegally) breeding slaves for sale. In 1840 he owned 30 slaves, and by 1860 he owned 63. His sons, who lived in homes on the property, owned an additional nine slaves.
Ellison and family were by no means unique. According to federal census reports, on June 1, 1860 there were nearly 4.5 million Negroes in the United States, with fewer than four million of them living in the southern slaveholding states. Of the blacks residing in the South, 261,988 were not slaves. Of this number, 10,689 lived in New Orleans. The country's leading African American historian, Duke University professor John Hope Franklin, records that in New Orleans over 3,000 free Negroes owned slaves, or 28 percent of the free Negroes in that city. In 1860 there were at least six Negroes in Louisiana who owned 65 or more slaves The largest number, 152 slaves, were owned by the widow C. Richards and her son P.C. Richards, who owned a large sugar cane plantation. Another Negro slave magnate in Louisiana, with over 100 slaves, was Antoine Dubuclet, a sugar planter whose estate was valued at (in 1860 dollars) $264,000. That year, the mean wealth of southern white men was $3,978 (4).
The Ellison family actively supported the Confederacy throughout the war. They converted nearly their entire plantation to the production of corn, fodder, bacon, corn shucks and cotton for the Confederate armies. They paid $5,000 in taxes during the war. They also invested more than $9,000 in Confederate bonds, treasury notes and certificates in addition to the Confederate currency they held. At the end, all this valuable paper became worthless.
As worthless, may I say, as the perpetual whinging of the professional victim class today.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellison , http://americancivilwar.com/authors/black_slaveowners.htm
I was watching public television the other day and that black professor (I don’t remember his name, went to the beer summit with zero) showed Chris Rock that his ancestors had been slaves held by American Indians. Blew his mind. He said something to the effect of, “I don’t know how to feel about that. I always considered both blacks and Indians as being suppressed by whites.” And so on.
If he had lived today, he’d surely be a transfer payment slave on the Democrats’ Plantation, where no black is allowed to succeed lest he vote Republican. Congratulations, Liberals.
Don't wake up the libtards with facts...LOL
The beer summit Harvard professor name is Skippy Gates.
read later
While the posting was true, it is not politically correct, therefor will never be allowed to be taught in schools. Much like the fact that 60-70 thousand blacks fought for the south( Southern army was integrated). Up until the Northern media and Hollywood vilified the Confederate flag ( 1950-1960’s) many Southern Blacks had confederate flags in their home. The KKK flew ONLY the U.S. flag,never the Confederate battle flag that many Southern black fought under.
mark
For Black History Month, I'll be re-reading my Thomas Sowell book collection, re-watching Alan West speeches, and Sundays will be dedicated to listening to Pastor Manning.
For BHM, I’m gonna watch “Stomp the Yard”, and that cinematic wonder, “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.”
What is notable about the case is that Mr Johnson himself was black, and one of the first blacks to come to Jamestown in 1619, as an indentured servant.
Sure there are examples of slaves that were allowed an education and who earned their freedom. But I am not sure of your point.
While I think using the shortest month of the year for “Black History” month is some white guy’s idea of a bad joke, I don’t think it is reasonable to hold up a single example of anyone as a reason to perpetuate the slave class.
While there might have been 250,000 free negroes in the south before the war, there were still, by your numbers, some 3 million or so who were slaves.
Slavery was an abomination. No grey area about it. We talk about “Free Republic” and every person has the God given right to be free.
That said, I agree that generations of freed slave ancestors need to move on from the civil war and their treatment. I believe that there are a lot of white men and women who are very willing to give any other free person in this country a hand up. But that requires getting up off your ass to take the hand when it is offered to you. AND, there is a moral obligation to turn around, and help the next person in line.
Louis Gates.
Sarcasm aside, "Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo" was a cinematic tour de force, and was the most awesome movie of 1984, IMO.
from Wiki:
Critical reception
New York Press film critic Armond White considers it to be "superb."[4] Roger Ebert gave the film a three-star review, despite most critics rating Breakin' 2 poorly.[5]
I agree that generations of freed slave ancestors need to move on from the civil war and their treatment.
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LOL. Soon to regret this comment, but there are a handful of unreconstructed southerners on this board who would benefit from that very same advice.
Put on the flame proof suit my friend....
Put on the flame proof suit my friend....
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Nah, they are unlikely to come here and read this thread. There is nothing to draw them, no mention of Lincoln, no mention of slavery as the cause of the war, you know, the stuff that drives them crazy.
Slavery was an abomination.
Agreed.
...I don’t think it is reasonable to hold up a single example of anyone as a reason to perpetuate the slave class.
Again, agreed.
But I am not sure of your point.
Solely this: Mr. Ellison was a free Black man who himself owned 60+ Black slaves and participated actively not only in their purchase, use, and sale, but also in deliberately causing Black children to be born for the purpose of selling them. Additionally,
While there might have been 250,000 free negroes in the south before the war, there were still, by your numbers, some 3 million or so who were slaves.
Among whom Ellison was not at all unique in practicing slavery, and was indeed not the worst offender of his race.
Understand?
Actually that statistic is misleading and those figures cannot be true. If one looks at the 1860 census figures for Orleans Parish, subtract the free black male and female children (on the assumption that they wouldn't be slave holders), assume that most black male adults were married to one of the black female adults, and for the 3000 black slaveholder figure to be true virtually every black family in the city owned a slave. And that 72% of all slaveholders were black, in spite of the fact that free blacks comprised less than 7% of the total population. In short, those statistics don't make any sense whatsoever.
OK. I understand your point, but it is going to be lost on the majority.
I mean, there are people who view the people of history through our eyes and our values/norms.
It was “normal” for southern farmers to own slaves. It was “normal” for us to not trust the “Japs” during the forties. It was “normal” for us to just want to kill as many of them with nukes as we could.
I agree, we need to keep all of this stuff in its proper context.
Personally, I think Black history month is stupid.
When my kids were in middle school, we had a party at our house. There were probably 20 kids here. Throughout the day i asked them what MLK was famous for. A vast majority—a super majority—told me that he freed the slaves. If this is the best that they can do for BHM, they should just can it and use the month for review.
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