Tags
Abraham Lincoln., Alexander Stephens, American Government, American History, Civil War, Human Equality, patriotism, Rebeillion, Slavery, States/ Rights
When a truck sails by with Confederate flags flapping in the wind, consider the ugly history streaming in its wake. Those who venerate the Confederacy are aligning themselves with with slaveholding and slave-dependent ancestors who formed a confederacy of southern states by annulling their compact with a Federal Government that was run by a newly elected majority of abolitionists. (And, by the way, they lost the four year grueling battle.)
The seceding states argued that States’ Rights were being violated because the northern states failed to uphold the Fugitive Slave Act. They argued that the Union is a compact that could (and should) be annulled if the states are not satisfied with what they receive in return from other states and/or from the federal government. Sounds familiar, no?
From their perspective, the fact that northern states largely ignored the Fugitive Slave act negated the alliance of southern states with the northern controlled government.
Make no mistake. The confederacy was born of an economic dependence upon the abomination of slavery. In 1861, newly elected vice president of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens. postulated at a rally that the Confederate government rested on the “great truth” that the Black man “is not equal to the white man; that…subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.” Stephens told listeners that the Confederate government “is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”
Just think about the implications of those sentences. Look your black neighbor in the eyes and educate him about his subordination to the superior race.
In 1861, Northerners rejected this radical attempt to destroy the principles of America codified within the Declaration of Independence. They understood that it was not just Black rights at stake. The belief of Stephens, “that some men were better than others, are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world,” proclaimed Abraham Lincoln. “You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden…. Turn in whatever way you will—whether it come from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent….”
So no, I hold no reverence for the false patriots who fly the confederate flag, who storm the halls of our government draped in Confederate symbolism. These people are not patriots. They are traitors.
Saddest reality of all is that should their “chosen” (who chose whom?) candidate win in November 2024, they will become the newly enslaved masses. They will have supported the dismantling of all the protections that have made America a great nation. They are the tools of an individual who cares only about himself. He cares about his family and “friends” only as long as they remain loyal to him and can carry his legacy forth.
References
American Battlefield Trust. The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States. Primary Sources. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states
American Battlefield Trust. The Reasons for Secession: A Documentary Study. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/reasons-secession updated Oct 2023 Retrieved April 13, 2024.
Cleveland, H. (1866) . Alexander H. Stephens in Public and Private with Letters and Speeches. Retrieved April 13, 2024. https://substack.com/redirect/478f72f6-12c5-4c75-bf26-b6c48d8be0aa?
Richardson, H.C. (20204, April 12) . Letters from and American. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-12-2024
grizrich said:
Very well written. Brittan banned slavery in 1834. The South hung on due to economic greed to Ole King Cotton and free labor. The true demise of the south was hatred some of which continues to this day.
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rangewriter said:
First of all, thank you. High compliment coming from a writer of your caliber.
Secondly, yes. I’m astounded by how similar certain political/social perspectives of the 1860s-70s are to perspectives that bolster today’s brand of Confederacy worshipers. I’ve been reading about U.S. Grant, a book written by Ron Chernow. I realize that although the Confederacy capitulated, the battle for hearts and minds continued. For a few decades it simmered under the radar and in the form of Jim Crow. But the extremist “me first” movement has blown the lid off.
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gerard oosterman said:
In Australia we are still trying to come to grips with ‘the stolen children’. Children that were taken away from Aboriginal parents and put into religious orphanages. ‘Australia day’ is celebrated to still continue on in a fashion that this country was discovered by Captain Cook and declared Terra Nullius, completely ignoring that Australia was peopled for at least 40 000 years already.
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rangewriter said:
Similar sad and stupid story here in America and also in Canada with regard to their indigenous peoples. However, both countries have made inroads into changing child welfare laws and social services for tribes. Why do some people presume that their skin is the chosen, the smarter, the more deserving than someone else’s? Hubris and indoctrination, I think play a role.
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oldandblessed said:
History is a great teacher, and we are the dumbest of students. I’m tempted to elaborate on that, but I think the not so dumb will get the meaning.
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rangewriter said:
I get it and I agree.
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catterel said:
Well put – Cassandra!
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rangewriter said:
Sad state of affairs.
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robert quiet photographer said:
Difficult times ahead of us I’m afraid.
History is supposed to teach something about life, but it seems not many people desire to learn.
Australia, America, Canada, Ireland… and probably many other countries we do not know yet with such terrible stories of stolen children…I am always without words about these atrocities…
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rangewriter said:
The only consolation for growing old is the nearing dark abyss. 🥹
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