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Imho the Constitutional Convention is one of the most significant events in our history. & many compromises were made. Oddly enough, in his 'Cornerstone' speech, Alexander Stephens describes Jefferson's prescience, "in his forecast, (Jefferson as delegate) had anticipated this (the institution of slavery), as the "rock upon which the old Union would split."
There is no question that Slavery was one of the most controversial & hotly debated issues at the Convention.
Although the first debate over slavery concerned representation (see Article I, Section 2, Clause 3), the second debate arose when the Slaveholding delegates objected that an unrestricted congressional power to regulate commerce could be used against the Slaver States' commercial interests to restrict or outlaw the slave trade. See Article I, Section 9, Clause 1:
Nothing could be done for 20 years or until 1808! They could not agree & agreed to disagree with an expiration date.
Although Slaver States' delegates hoped opposition would weaken with time, this did not prove to be the case. As per Article I, Section 9, Clause 1; Congress passed & President Thomas Jefferson signed into law, a federal prohibition of the Slave trade, effective January 1, 1808, the first day that the US Constitution allowed such a law to go into effect.
& again, in his 'Cornerstone' speech, Alexander Stephens discusses what was commonly known at the time:
It is significant that the words Slave & Slavery are not used in the US Constitution of 1787. Also significant is the word Person is used rather than property.
It's also interesting to compare the US Constitution with the CSA Constitution. I know you've already done so but I also know you're interested in evidence & facts as related to this subject.
What this shows is that the seeds of the Civil War were being sown a long time.
To be honest I'm indifferent about removing the confederate monuments because removing them does not change history and just because those monuments and flags are not in front of a government building does not mean people won't have them on their porches or on their vehicles. It certainly does not make racism go away solely because an inanimate object has been removed.
I understand that removing a Confederate memorial won't end racism. Taking a flag down won't making it end.
That said, it is a start. It is going to take more profound changes toake racism and bigotry end. Taking down a Confederate monument is is saying "we will not allow this to stand. We won't honor this.". It is important to look at who put it up in tje first place and why.
I'm glad you changed your name. As someone who has made many mistakes in my life, some big & some small, I can say how freeing it is to admit a mistake, make amends or do what you can to rectify & to move on. Studying the past often turns up strange & sometimes ironic lessons. Fr'instance, the guy who created the 'Gadsen Flag' the 'Dont tread on me' flag was a slave trader. Don't tread on my right to tread on other people or don't tread on my right to trade other people. Crazy stuff, right?
Do you think Humanity has evolved from, for ex. the concept of, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it"?
After all, Slavery was legal. There may have been people who disagreed with Slavery yet were willing to defend to their death someone else's right to own another person as property.
& in the present day. For ex., are there people willing to defend to their death the Westboro Baptist Church's rights to picket funerals, spew their particular brand of hatred all around, etc.?
Seems as if it would make more sense to carefully consider defending something to your own death? Obviously, some perspective would be helpful here as not everything is worth dying for.
Apparently Slavery was a cause that people were willing to defend to their death. It seems unimaginable. Although people will most likely look back on our time here & find some things unimaginable as well.
I needed to do it. I couldn't in good conscious keep that name.
I would have never known that the Gadsden flag was created ny a slave owner. Ironic. On the other hand, I also did some research. The Gadsden flag was meant to represent the Revolutionary War. I understand that some of the generals were slave owners. That being said, the Confederate cause was rooted in keeping slavery.
This is what I see with humanity. There is a difference between not agreeing with something someone does, and making a moral judgment. You can disagree with a person's choice without it being morally bad, and for that, it can be defended. If it is something morally wrong, that is another matter. It is about common sense. Part of my believes humanity has alot work to do. Slavery is illegal now. Jim Crow is illegal. It doesn't mean there aren't those who want such policies to come back.
When it comes to the Confederate flag, a person has the right to fly it on his truck or porch. I can hate it all day, but it is his chpice. That said, I don't find myself defending that choice. WBC has the right to picket a soldier'sfuneral. Would I want to defend what they do? No. And it's ironic. Protest the funeral of someone who fought and died for their right to picket that funeral.
Many things are wrong. It doesn't mean that some people won't fight to the death to keep them around.
I understand that removing a Confederate memorial won't end racism. Taking a flag down won't making it end.
That said, it is a start. It is going to take more profound changes toake racism and bigotry end. Taking down a Confederate monument is is saying "we will not allow this to stand. We won't honor this.". It is important to look at who put it up in tje first place and why.
That's the problem with "Compromise."
One side always thinks "it's a start."
Whether it's the creeping incrementalism of gun control,
or the sanitizing of history. George Washington is next.
That's the problem with "Compromise."
One side always thinks "it's a start."
Whether it's the creeping incrementalism of gun control,
or the sanitizing of history. George Washington is next.
Do you know that for a fact? Do you really believe George Washington is next?
Yeah, Ol' George held slaves.
There are easier targets to hit first,
but they'll get around to him.
He might have had slaves, but the Confederates wanted to secede so that they could keep slavery around and expand it into the western territories. What do you think Bleeding Kansas was about?
Why honor a cause that was rooted in trying to keep slavery?
Hours after the New Orleans City Council and its mayor Mitch Landrieu signed an ordinance last week to remove four Confederate monuments, a coalition of preservation groups as well the Sons of Confederate Veterans sued to block their removal. The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in New Orleans, said the monuments' removal violated local law, federal law, the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution, according to the ABA Journal.
The Civil War ended 150 years ago. This is OUR collective history. Good, bad and ugly
If I had any money I'd donate to help. I'd also donate (if I had money) to help any Union Army, slave, D.A.R. (even though they are antisemitic) or any other part of OUR history that is being trampled
who decided that the confederate monuments had anything to do with racism. who decided it wasnt history. who decides that the MLK statues are not racist too.
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