Free Republic

The Framers structured the Constitution to lead the new Republic to the ultimate end of slavery but were unable to set a time frame for its abolition. The story comes to us from James Madison’s classic Notes of the Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787.The discussion on slavery at the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 centered on two issues: 1. how to count the slaves in the apportionment of members in the popularly elected House of Representatives and; 2) setting an end date for the slave trade.Three distinct groups clashed on the assignment of House...

Here are seven Christian individuals or movements that helped end slavery in America.1. The QuakersThe Quakers were the first. The first official protest by a church against slavery in America was the Germantown (now part of Philadelphia) Quaker Petition Against Slavery in 1688. Soon, Rhode Island Quakers, led by Moses Brown (1738 –1836), pioneered freeing slaves; they founded the Providence Society for Abolishing the Slave Trade. John Woolman (1720-1772) devoted himself to campaigning against slavery, in 1754 writing Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes. His work was carried on by Benjamin Lundy (1789-1833), who edited the magazine Genius of...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man who drove the car that helped pull down the statue of a Civil War hero and abolitionist outside of the Wisconsin state Capitol during a night of protests in 2020 has been sentenced to six months in jail. The statue of Hans Christian Heg was toppled and beheaded during a protest in downtown Madison in June 2020 against police brutality. Protests began a month earlier over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and flared up again that June after Madison police arrested a Black activist. Kelsey D. Nelson, 33, was sentenced for...

Gov. Josh Shapiro Thursday boldly called on legislators to abolish Pennsylvania’s costly, ineffective and immoral death penalty. In urging legislators to act, an unprecedented move, Mr. Shapiro showed some sorely needed leadership from the governor’s office. Unless Mr. Shapiro engages the legislature, the death-penalty statute will endure. He needs to take the lead in persuading the Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate to approve bills that would repeal it. Former Gov. Tom Wolf refused to do that. In making his statement a month after his inauguration, Mr. Shapiro signaled that getting state government out of the business of killing people will...

The three jurors who voted against the death penalty for Parkland killer Nikolas Cruz did so based on “mitigating circumstances” from Cruz’s life. They made the wrong call, but their rationale is superior to the reason many will agree with the sentence: a blanket opposition to the death penalty. Public support for capital punishment has slid over the last 30 years, remaining a majority opinion but barely so. Those who oppose death as a punishment often have kind, even noble intentions. Yet their well-meaning beliefs do not translate into justice or the common good. The death penalty is consistent with...

Although presented in the film as an underdog, the real-world version of the kingdom is notable for its vast contributions to the Atlantic slave trade, and its brutality toward its captives from its subjugated neighbours.Viola Davis’ latest action film, “The Woman King,” glorifies the Agojie, the female fighting force of the west African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. Although presented in the film as an underdog, the real-world version of the kingdom is notable for its vast contributions to the Atlantic slave trade, and its brutality toward its captives from its subjugated neighbors. The movie, which is currently...

As a citizen historian, I find it both "funny" and annoying how skewed history is and how few treat leftist historians compared to their leftist journalist counterparts. Its a huge problem for us. Pimping a new book that he will hope you will buy, Andrew Roberts (the Book's author) writes this glowing piece for The Smithsonian about you know, George III, he wasn't all that bad of a guy! Hey I have an idea. Maybe we should've stayed under monarchism. That whole "liberty thing"? Perhaps that's overrated. Sarcasm aside, take a look at paragraph number 2: We can now see,...

The Biden administration promoted a handbook urging teachers to 'disrupt Whiteness and other forms of oppression' in their Department of Education guidance on reopening schools, it has been revealed. The government document published this year linked to the Abolitionist Teaching Network's 'Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning' in a section describing how schools are a 'microcosm of society' and conversations essential to 'race and emotional learning' should be 'anchor tenets' in schools. The Department of Education handbook on how to welcome children back to classrooms following COVID states that schools have a share of $122 billion...

Our history and our heritage are being shoved by rioters, looters, and anarchists down the memory hole. This is year zero on their calendar. Everything that came before and every struggle for freedom and human dignity by patriots of all colors is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is now. The only thing that matters is what they tell you. How we got here and what makes us who and what we are may not be pretty or politically correct but it is important. We can’t know where we’re going if we don’t remember where we’ve been. The canceling of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Senate has unanimously passed a resolution to recognize Juneteenth as a federal holiday, commemorating the glorious day Republicans freed the last of the Democrats' slaves. "We are so proud to show the world how not racist we are by officially recognizing the day the Republicans came charging in to free all our slaves," said Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer. "Yeah-- we Democrats did a little 'whoopsie' with that whole slavery thing, but the Republicans corrected it. Thanks, Republicans!" During this year's Juneteenth, the nation will gather to celebrate the American political party that was founded on protecting human rights...

President Joe Biden signed Juneteenth into law as a federal holiday on Thursday. Biden said that Americans “must” and “ought to” observe it — though he spent half a century in public office before doing anything about it. Sine June 19 happens to fall on Saturday this year, the federal government will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 18, meaning that Biden shut down the entire U.S. government on short notice. (Remember that, the next time Democrats complain about a budget impasse.) Juneteenth, also called “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day,” celebrates the day in 1865 on which Union soldiers informed black...

Growing up in Texas, Juneteenth has been a holiday for me all my life. A time to BBQ, a time to pray, and a time to celebrate freedom. A time to reflect on June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops. This was two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had become law on January 1, 1863. Imagine Major General Granger walking through the streets of Galveston reading General Order No. 3 out loud in front of homes, courthouses, businesses, and churches....

At least eight global companies identified as benefitting from China’s enslavement of Muslim minorities published statements celebrating Juneteenth, an American holiday marking the end of slavery in the country. A Breitbart News analysis found that the eight companies are Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, Apple, FILA, General Motors, Google, Nike, and Ralph Lauren. Three other companies identified as benefitting from forced labor by Muslim minorities in China — Sony, H&M, and Gap — were more cautious in their approach, issuing statements on social media against hatred and racism and in support of diversity on the days ahead of July 19 without...

A Michigan movie theater company organized a Juneteenth Film Festival and the Democrat attorney general threatened to “criminally prosecute” the organizers. Emagine Entertainment announced it would hold the event at a Royal Oak theater to “honor the work of black actors, screenwriters, and filmmakers,” Fox 2 reported. But Attorney General Dana Nessel quickly intervened because it allegedly violated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders still shuttering portions of the Michigan economy.

Former Vice President Joe Biden did not sponsor or co-sponsor any of the six bills recognizing Juneteenth during his time in the U.S. Senate, though he is now attempting to champion the holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the day that slaves in Galveston, Texas, were informed — on June 19, 1865 — that they had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln in the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years before. A search of GovTrack records of congressional bills, which is a complete record of all legislation dating back to 1973 — the year Biden entered the Senate — finds that Biden neither...

On Thursday Joe Biden, a lifelong racist, signed a law making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

President Biden on Thursday signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, turning the oldest celebration of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. into the country’s newest national holiday. “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments … they embrace them. Great nations don’t walk away, they come to terms with the mistakes they’ve made. In remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow stronger,” Biden said at a signing ceremony at the White House attended by Vice President Harris, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other lawmakers. “The truth is, it’s simply not enough to...

Republican Sens. Ron Johnson and James Lankford on Wednesday introduced an amendment proposing to replace Columbus Day with Juneteenth as a new federal holiday to avoid putting the U.S. “further in debt.” Johnson, R-Wis., and Lankford, R-Okla., rolled out their proposal as an amendment to bipartisan legislation rolled out by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, last month that would make Juneteenth a federal holiday. “In response to a bipartisan effort to give federal workers another day of paid leave by designating Juneteenth a federal holiday, we have offered a counterproposal that does not put us further in debt,” Johnson said Wednesday....

Republican senators Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) and James Lankford (R., Okla.) introduced an amendment Wednesday that would replace Columbus Day with Juneteenth as a federal holiday. The proposal, which follows last week’s introduction of a bipartisan Senate bill by Senator John Cornyn (R., Texas) that would establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday, is aimed in large part at offsetting the cost associated with Cornyn’s plan. Each new federal holiday costs an estimated $600 million in paid time off for government employees, according to a Fox News report. “Throughout our history, we have strived to become a more perfect union and...

Republican senators are debating whether Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, should replace Columbus Day on the federal government's list of official holidays. A bipartisan bill sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to make Juneteenth a federal holiday is being held up by an internal Senate GOP squabble. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), an outspoken budget hawk, doesn't want to add another paid holiday to the calendar. Johnson says if Juneteenth is made a federal holiday, another paid federal holiday should come off the schedule. He's proposing scrapping Columbus Day but is open to...