The only debate is over which newscaster can get better ratings riling people up over this media distraction. Having said that, the argument that slavery is a states-rights issue is vaguely relevant to those (like the governor here in Nevada) who feel Obama’s health reform bill is unconstitutional because of states-rights concerns.
Yeah, it’s all pretty cut and dried, eh? A source that this blog links to mentioned that before 1915 the history books were very different with regard to the fact that the ding-danged English started the civil war. History — learn it or repeat it, slave.
There are more de facto slaves in America now than before the Civil War according to experts.
Bickering about old history isn’t solving the problem of present-day slavery.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Cornerstone_Speech
“But not to be tedious in enumerating the numerous changes for the better, allow me to allude to one other — though last, not least. The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution — African slavery as it exists amongst us — the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the “rock upon which the old Union would split.” He was right. What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the “storm came and the wind blew.”
Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery — subordination to the superior race — is his natural and normal condition. [Applause.] This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth. This truth has been slow in the process of its development, like all other truths in the various departments of science. It has been so even amongst us. Many who hear me, perhaps, can recollect well, that this truth was not generally admitted, even within their day. The errors of the past generation still clung to many as late as twenty years ago. Those at the North, who still cling to these errors, with a zeal above knowledge, we justly denominate fanatics. All fanaticism springs from an aberration of the mind — from a defect in reasoning. It is a species of insanity. One of the most striking characteristics of insanity, in many instances, is forming correct conclusions from fancied or erroneous premises; so with the anti-slavery fanatics; their conclusions are right if their premises were. They assume that the negro is equal, and hence conclude that he is entitled to equal privileges and rights with the white man. If their premises were correct, their conclusions would be logical and just — but their premise being wrong, their whole argument fails. I recollect once of having heard a gentleman from one of the northern States, of great power and ability, announce in the House of Representatives, with imposing effect, that we of the South would be compelled, ultimately, to yield upon this subject of slavery, that it was as impossible to war successfully against a principle in politics, as it was in physics or mechanics. That the principle would ultimately prevail. That we, in maintaining slavery as it exists with us, were warring against a principle, a principle founded in nature, the principle of the equality of men. The reply I made to him was, that upon his own grounds, we should, ultimately, succeed, and that he and his associates, in this crusade against our institutions, would ultimately fail. The truth announced, that it was as impossible to war successfully against a principle in politics as it was in physics and mechanics, I admitted; but told him that it was he, and those acting with him, who were warring against a principle. They were attempting to make things equal which the Creator had made unequal.”
Slavery was the heart of the succession. Spoken from the very mouth of the Vice-Present of the CSA.
The Confederate should be taught the same way as we teach about The Nazis. As a period of time filled with diabolic men set upon destroying freedom and equality for all humans.
There is no difference between the hatred of the African slaves or the European Jews. Hence the same disgust should be used with the CSA as with the Third Reich.
Cursor_
23 & 7
Cursor and Howard agree on something?
did hell freeze, are pigs flying, world peace realize, major legislation passed with bipartisan support?
I’m pleasantly stunned
So instead of simply hijacking the month by passing out copies of Frederick Douglass’ books and educating people under the umbrella of “Confederate History Month”, they try to suppress it. Suppress instead of transform, that’s the way modern libtards work. Showing people the horrors of slavery while claiming to be participating in an official program would have been creative and subversive, but it’s more important to make a big show and try to link modern Republicans with slavery.
And of course it would be pointless to point out that 90% of the slaves in the New World were not in the United States, but in the Caribbean and South America. Equally pointless to point out that most of those slaves died within 2 years. But they were enslaved by Portuguese and Spaniards…and Non-Americans who do bad things are exempt. How many slaves in the Arab world? At least hundreds of thousands, but it’s not PC to care about them. They offer no angle to attack people to the right of DU bloggers.
I’ve yet to figure out why John allows his blog to spew such obvious and tired leftist propaganda when he himself seems far less liberal and far less partisan.
Hey Cursor_, google Judea declares war.
If the North started the war to end slavery, why did Missouri remain a slave state, but fought for the North?
Think Monsanto. Based in St Louis, MO, and heavily involved in the slave trade.
woody
I think whenever politicians do something controversial like this they are trying to distract you from other things they are doing like selling out your jobs/country/right to multinational corporations.
It is a diversion. To be ignored.
Just remember: only the rich and corporations owned slaves.
Corporations are just as much of a threat to your freedom today as 200 years ago.
New Rule: Everything older than 100 years must be remembered as an example of when life was oh, so much gooder than today.
Men were men. Women were women. Every thought was honest, fair and downright worthy.
The ideals of The South are a perfect example. We can build a white utopia, given our own voice in the matter, because God knows, all men are pure of heart.
And to sweeten the pot: We don’t have to work when we can buy slaves to do that for us. Workable, killable, fuckable, they just make life easier to cope with.
So now it is up to us. We who live today, to celebrate that which has been lost. And no fair chatting up the slavery thing.
When I first heard of the proposed confederate history month,I though it was silly and a waste of time.
But, after reading some of the ignorant posts on this subject here, I’m thinking we actually need it.
Wow.
Ignorance everywhere; and people wonder why our schools are such crap when garbage that keeps appearing in the comments on this blog is so prevalent.
“History months” are designed to raise awareness and to promote the suggested topic. They are usually designated for groups and people that we should be proud of, venerate, and use as examples.
The Confederacy was not such an example of something to venerate. It was a token government, promoted by the British in the hopes of taking back some of their colonies, and primarily interested in keeping the status quo of the south, which was wealthy land and slave owners and poor everyone else.
IF it was promoted as the “Civil War History Month”, I’d have been all for it, as you could then debate various aspects of the war and the people involved.
The Confederacy was a colossal waste of manpower and resources, on all sides, for NOTHING. It proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Americans have to stay together to solve their problems, not break into little groups and then pretend they are better for it.
In any case, it’s Virginia, which I specifically left so I wouldn’t have to deal with their southern charm back-handed bigotry and ignorance. The northern part of the state continues to try to bring the rest of the state into the 20th century, which will only happen when they can solidly out vote them all or just break off and build their own state.
It’s amazing how stupid people are these days.
Confederate History Month? A great opportunity for lots of educational displays of the conditions on slave ships (which often lost more than half their “cargo” in the crossing) and what it really meant to be “sold down the river.” I think a lot of younger people today have no idea…
Thanks, Cursor_, for such an excellent statement of the facts.
#31 I also concur with Cursor_.
However, the worse kept secret is most CHM supporters merely want to display their eBay confederate flag and their gun to show how manly they are.
Do you really think the profile of this group is proficient in American history?
Both sides are assholes about this issue.
The black reporter saying “I know something about slavery” is such a bullshit comment, and could be considered a reverse-racist remark.
Being black has nothing to do with knowing about slavery or not. That’s like me saying “I know about Haggis, because I’m part Scottish, but I’ve never eaten it.” …total bullshit statement.
She knows as much about slavery as any one else who’s been educated in public schools while in history class. It’s not like she was ever a slave, or her mother, or grandmother. She may have had first hand experience with racism, bigotry and segregation, but that’s FAR FAR and removed from what SLAVERY is.
Every black person alive today is at least several (maybe less) generations removed from the time of slavery. Plus not every black person in the US now had ancestors who were slaves. So why do we continue to keep kissing their asses about this issue when no one alive today is responsible for it anymore?
Why can’t we just GET OVER this? I’m sick and tired for apologizing to any ethic group about what this country may have done to them over 100′s of years ago. GET OVER IT ALREADY!
#33–say Frag==are you really this stupid, blind, or just spinning your ass off???
Who exactly is kissing anyone elses ass?
Have you ever apologized for anything??
I doubt it in both cases.
So simple minded you are, its the basis for everything evil I can think of. People alive today were prevented from voting because of the color of their skin. Does this happen to EVERY black, yellow, red, brown man? No. Is that the standard an outrage has to meet before you will acknowledge it?
What a silly person you are.
At the time of Lincoln’s inauguration, and even up to the shooting at Fort Sumter, there were more slave states in the Union than in the Confederacy.
#33,
It would be like saying, “I’m a Jew, so I know something about the holocaust”.
Black people get racism rubbed in their face constantly, with intensities raging from casual unthinking prejudice to outright hatred. Knowledge of slavery is a remembrance of cultural history, sadly.
Hey, how about a KKK Appreciation day in Alabama too! Similarly, it’s JUST a Christian men’s social group (officially). They love the confederate flag and what it “stands for”…which is…er…love and respect I guess, right? (cough)
Seems to me that the War of Independence, from the rule of Great Brittan, lasted a lot longer than the US Civil War did. Like from 1776 to 1812, if you want to get technical about it. But we, in the US, only devote one lousy day to remembering it. That would be the Fourth of July, of course. Why the hell isn’t there an “Independent Month”?! Instead we’ve got a ridiculous “Confederate History” month, which commemorates what? The LOSING SIDE?! Keeping an old wound open and festering, for something that 99.9% of Americans don’t give a rat’s ass about. Yeah, we’ve sure got our priorities straight in America. If you ask me, we deserve all the crap we inflict upon ourselves. We’ve got to be one of the most politically immature and ignorant peoples on the earth. Still arguing over the States’ right to deny human beings, their God given rights, based on skin color. And let’s make sure nobody forgets a civil war, supposedly fought because of that. Except it was really about maintaining the immoral economics of cheap slave labor. And the plantation owners who stood to loose their monopoly of the Cotton industry. And probably the tobacco industry stood to hurt somewhat, too. But just like today, the rich and powerful, con so many of the rest of America into fighting their battles for them. In the name of some trumped up, misdirected cause. Like the Tea Party, opposing any changes Obama and the Democrats propose. As if George Bush made the world perfect during his eight years. Maybe perfect of the super rich. They sure don’t want their perfect world of tax shelters to change.
Well the next civil war isn’t going to be the South vs the North. It’s going to be the unemployed vs WALL STREET and Congress. Because the nation’s wealth only seems to be flowing back and forth between these two.
#11 – BTW, the Pledge of Allegiance wasn’t recognized by Congress until June of 1942. So it was probably for the purpose of war propaganda, that they decide to make it official. Before that, it had been meant to commemorate Columbus Day. Not as something recited every school day. Or at all official government functions.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931. [to quote Wikipedia] Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom.
So once again, just before two major world wars broke out. The US got the song to stir hearts to do battle. What are the odds, eh?
Here’s a simple test that could be put by students when confronted with the teachers with certain passions.
In the 1860′s when the ‘house divided’ issue occurred, when was the dialog ever stated that would have gone along the lines
You can keep your damned institution of slavery as long as you stay in the union.
Did this dialog occur? If not then the issue of slavery was a side issue and correctly is not part of the reasons why the south split.
You are seriously deluded if you think men of that time sacrificed themselves for the black man. You probably have a passion for ‘attention seeking’ for an absolutely undeniable ‘most important’ cause of US history, just get your timing right.