What Is Juneteenth?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday. As many people may not know or understand the meaning of Juneteenth, I will share part of the information in an article Alexandra Rainin the Deseret News. 

The end of slavery began when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The evil practice officially ended on December 6, 1865, when the Thirteen Amendment, which abolished slavery, was ratified by the States about a year after Congress passed the law.

Black Americans have commemorated Juneteenth – named for June 19, 1865, the day that Union soldiers delivered the message of liberation to slaves in Galveston, Texas. The following information comes from the article by Rain.

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, at the head of about 2,000 Union soldiers. There, he delivered General Order No. 3, which declared that “all slaves are free” – effectively liberating roughly 250,000 people in that area – and advised them to stay at their posts and work for wages. Across the former Confederacy, masters often waited until a government agent arrived, or after the harvest, to tell those they had enslaved that they were freed.

Nearly 40,000 Black soldiers died in the Civil War, fighting to free their people after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation made newly freed Black men eligible to serve in the military. About 198,000 took up arms in segregated units, notably marching with Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman in his famous march across Georgia and South Carolina to the Atlantic Coast, wrestling Atlanta and Savannah from Confederate control….

An early emancipation celebration was held in Galveston on January 1, 1866. A Galveston newspaper reported that hundreds of men, women and children gathered in the “colored church.” Among the speakers was Brig. Gen. Edgar Mantlebert Gregory. The Emancipation Proclamation was read from the pulpit and the congregation sang hymns like “John Brown’s body.” The first Juneteenth happened that summer, and soon came to embody the spirit of liberation, with “monstrous and brilliant” parades through the Texas city.

There is much more information in the article about the end of slavery. However, knowing the above information will help understand why Juneteenth is important to all of us, but especially to Black Americans. Understanding the meaning behind the holiday will make commemoration of it much more powerful.

Are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Racist?

             The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the recent announcement that both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are racist. This is according to the agenda for the Biden administration, and the National Archives is working with the regime. It has added a “harmful language alert” to the images of the Constitution and Declaration. Imagine that! This regime is condemning our founding documents because they do not approve of the wording found in them. Fox News is reporting that references to the two documents should no longer be known as “charters of freedom.”

            This is another attempt to show that America has been a racist nation from its beginning, and that the founding documents are rooted in racism and slavery. They claim that the Revolutionary War was fought over slavery, which is patently wrong. The American colonists fought for freedom to live according to their own consciences. The Constitution did not immediately end slavery in the nation, but the Framers included in the Constitution instructions of how to end slavery. Michael Austin gave the following explanation. 

All of this feeds into a larger narrative pushed by President Joe Biden and the left in general: the idea that racism and slavery are both rooted in the founding documents and that, therefore, America itself was founded on racist principles.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

America isn’t rooted in racism or even slavery. Quite the contrary is true: This country was built on the ideals of freedom and individual liberty.

            Austin then quoted historian Matthew Spalding, who pointed out in a 2002 report for The Heritage Foundation that many of the founding fathers were against slavery and attempted to end it. However, they were forced to work around the demands of the representatives from the southern states. They did not end slavery, but they “designed the founding documents so that slavery could one day be abolished.” Spaulding’s statement is as follows:

In order to get the unified support needed for the Constitution’s ratification and successful establishment, the framers made certain concessions to the pro-slavery interests. The compromises they agreed to, however, were designed to tolerate slavery where it currently existed, not to endorse or advance the institution.

            The bottom line is that the Constitution included a deadline of twenty years to end the importation of slaves. The importation of slaves stopped in 1808, as soon after the ratification of the Constitution as could be done.

Slavery

                    The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.9.1:  "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person."  In other words, Congress did not have power to stop any of the "existing" states from importing slaves or bond servants until 1808, but legislators could impose a tax of not more than $10.00 for each person.  This clause in the U.S. Constitution now serves only as a historic note and a reminder of the many compromises made in order to become the United States of America.

                    "This provision was the first milestone on the long road back from slavery.  This delay of twenty years was the price ten of the states were willing to pay in order to insure that the original union would include the three states of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.  Even in these states there was a growing sentiment in favor of emancipation, but they wanted more time to phase out their economic dependence on slavery.  South Carolina and Georgia were particularly adamant on the point.  North Carolina was open to persuasion.

                    "Originally, all of the colonies had slaves and bond servants.  (The slave market in Boston was located on the Boston Common.)  Several thousand free blacks also had slaves.  However, many of the religious leaders had been campaigning against the importation of slaves almost from the arrival of the first boatload in 1619 when a cargo of captured Africans was brought to Jamestown in a Dutch ship."  (See W. Cleon Skousen, The Making of America - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p 466.)

                    The importation of slaves and bond servants into the United States was not permitted after 1808; however, the "institution of involuntary servitude" (Skousen) continued in operation until it was ended by the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

                    Numerous Founders had strong feelings about the need to end slavery and found it necessary to compromise their feelings for the sake of the Union.  When Thomas Jefferson first drafted the Declaration of Independence, one of the grievances listed against the King was "the fact that they would not allow the American colonies to outlaw the importation of slaves" (Skousen).  The fact that the Founders were willing to wait twenty years to stop importing slaves shows that they obviously wanted everyone to know that they desired the end to slavery and were writing the conditions to end it.  Americans in most of the original states understood that slavery was morally wrong, but they had many questions about making it an economic reality.

                    "It is significant that the words slave and slavery are not used in the Constitution of 1787, and that the Framers used the word person rather than property.  This would assure, as Madison explained in The Federalist No. 54, that a slave would be regarded `as a moral person, not as a mere article of property.'  It was in the context of the slave trade debate at the Constitutional Convention that Madison argued that it was `wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in men.'

                    "Although Southern delegates hoped opposition would weaken with time, the practical effect of the clause was to create a growing expectation of federal legislation against the practice.  Congress passed, and President Thomas Jefferson signed into law, a federal prohibition of the slave trade, effective January 1, 1808, the first day that Article I, Section 9, Clause 1, allowed such a law to go into effect."  (See Matthew Spalding, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p 151.)

                    The Founders wanted to stop slavery but knew the abolition of it would take time.  Meanwhile, they allowed import taxes to be imposed.  "Import taxes were both a revenue-raising device and a means of regulating the kind and quality of persons coming into the country.  The southern states agreed to a tax to cover expenses of an inspection to exclude convicts and undesirable persons, but insisted that the tax be limited to $10 so that it would not become prohibitive and restrict importation altogether."  (See Skousen, The Making of America, p 471.)

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was one of the greatest men who ever lived. As the first Republican to become President of the United States, he led our nation during the Civil War, the bloodiest war and greatest crisis our country has known. Through his great leadership, Lincoln ended slavery and kept the Union from splitting apart. Americans and all people who love freedom should have a special place in their hearts for Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln on February 12, 1809, in Hardin (now Larue), Kentucky, on a farm located on the South Fork of the Nolin River, about five miles south of Elizabethtown. His ancestry has been traced to a weaver named Samuel Lincoln who emigrated from Hingham, England, to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1637. The Lincoln's lived on the farm where Abraham was born for two years and then moved to another farm about ten miles away. Abraham and his older sister Sarah went to a long schoolhouse where they learned reading, writing and arithmetic. The Lincolns were apparently as well off as any of their neighbors. Sarah and Abraham were well fed and well clothed for the times. A third child, Thomas, died in infancy.

In 1816 when Abraham was about seven, the family moved to Indiana where they could buy land directly from the government. Thomas did not believe in slavery, and Indiana had no slavery. They arrived in early winter. Abraham helped his father clear trees from the 160 acres of land and build a three-sided shelter of logs. A fire on the fourth side burned continually. The family lived in the shelter until they finished a cabin and moved into it in February 1817.

By that time Abraham was eight years old and was large enough to swing an ax. He carried an ax with him most of the time that he lived in Indiana and considered it to be "the most useful instrument." Maybe he carried it for protection because bears and other wild animals roamed the remote area.

Life improved and became happier until Nancy died in October 1818, apparently from "milk sickness," an illness probably caused by poison that the cows ingested when eating snakeroot. She was buried on a hill by the cabin. Sarah, age 12, kept the house for more than a year before Thomas returned to Kentucky and married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow, on December 2, 1819. Thomas had known the widow before her first marriage. She brought her three children, aged 12, 8, and 5, with her. The blended family apparently lived together in harmony.

Abraham lived on the Indiana frontier until he was 21, but long before he was 20, he was 6 feet 4 inches tall. He was thin, awkward, big-boned and str5ong, with his strength in his chest, legs and especially in his arms. He had coarse black hair that stood on end, dark skin and a homely face.

Abraham had less than one year of formal schooling. Because books and paper were scarce, he made his own arithmetic textbook - and several pages still exist. He worked his arithmetic problems on a wooden board which he "erased" by shaving the board clean so he could use it again and again. He walked long distances to borrow books. Some of the books he borrowed were Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrim's Progress, Aesop's Fables, a history of the United States and a schoolbook or two.

When Abraham was 14 91823), his parents joined a Baptist church, but Abraham never joined a church and never attended church regularly. The bitter rivalry among the denominations might be the explanation for his lifetime avoidance of church. He was very religious and knew the Bible thoroughly. His later writings and speeches had many Biblical quotes. He kept a Bible on his desk in the White House and read it often for comfort and guidance.

Abraham read another book while young that really impressed him. He spoke about it in later years before the New Jersey Senate: "May I be pardoned if, on this occasion, I mention that away back in my childhood, the earliest days of my being able to read, I got hold of a small book, such a one as few of the younger members have ever seen, Weem's Life of Washington. I remember all the accounts there given of the battle fields and struggles for the liberties of the country…. And you all know, for you have all been boys, how these early impressions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for."

Abraham was a good speaker and story teller and was a favorite in his neighborhood. He also was a hard worker. He made his first money rowing passengers out to a steamboat waiting mid-stream in the Ohio River. He later (1828) helped take a flatboat loaded with farm produce to New Orleans. This trip was his first view of life beyond his community. His sister died in childbirth this same year.

In 1830 Thomas moved his family to a farm ten miles west of Decatur, Illinois. Lincoln moved with his family and stayed a year to help plant the first crops and split rails for a cabin and fences. In the spring of 1831 he was hired by a trader to take a flatboat to New Orleans and later to clerk in his new store in New Salem, Illinois. In New Salem, Abraham read the writings of the English dramatist William Shakespeare and the Scottish poet Robert Burns. These works and the Bible were his favorite things to read. The clerking job did not last long so Abraham joined the militia during the Black Hawk War and served for 90 days. After the war he had a chance to buy a New Salem store on credit in partnership with another man. The partnership got deeper and deeper in debt and eventually failed. Abraham was appointed post master of New Salem and worked with the county surveyor. He earned his living from odd jobs and the fees from his two public offices. His partner died, leaving Abraham with the debts of the partnership . It took Lincoln several years to pay off the debts, but his integrity in doing so helped earn him the name of "Honest Abe."

Abraham studied law and became a lawyer in New Salem. He moved to Springfield with everything he owned in his saddlebags. In Springfield, Lincoln met a visitor from Kentucky by the name of Mary Todd. After a stormy courtship, they married on November 4, 1842. Lincoln was 33, and Mary was 23. They had contrasting personalities but a loving marriage. The couple had four sons: Robert Todd, Edward Baker (died at age 4), William Wallace (died at age 11 in the White House, and Thomas, usually called Tad, died at age 18 in 1871).

Lincoln became a successful lawyer and politician. The family lived comfortably and usually employed a servant to help with the housework although Lincoln often milked the family cow and cared for his horse. He served four terms in the Illinois legislature. While in Springfield, Lincoln made a connection with my family. One of my great-great-grandfathers moved to Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, about 1838 and lived there about two years before moving to Nauvoo, Illinois. While living in Sangamon County, my ancestor drove a carriage for Abraham Lincoln during the time that Lincoln was a member of the State Legislature. Lincoln served a term in the United States House of Representatives and campaigned for various presidential candidates. He always opposed slavery but never became an abolitionist. He considered slavery to be evil (morally, socially, and politically) and something to be eliminated.

Lincoln revered the Founding Fathers and believed they had promised freedom and equality in the Declaration of Independence. He looked to Thomas Jefferson for his democratic principles and Alexander Hamilton for his economic principles.

Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature again but resigned to run for United States Senator. He lost the first election, joined the two-year-old Republican Party and campaigned for Republican candidates. In another campaign for United States Senate against Senator Steven A. Douglas, Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other…."

Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates, and seven were scheduled. Douglas won the election, but their debates made Lincoln a national figure. Lincoln received the Republican nomination for President and easily won the election. By the time he became the 16th President on March 4, 1861, seven Southern states had withdrawn from the Union and four more states followed later. These eleven states became the Confederate States of America.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Lincoln did everything he could to keep the Union together. He felt that the breakup of the American nation would be a tragedy for all Americans and cause all people to suffer. He believed that the United States was an experiment to see if people could govern themselves. He considered the central issue of the Civil War to be the fate of world democracy.

The Civil War probably destroyed any hope Lincoln had for happiness in the White House. Besides dealing with the Civil War, he wrote most of his own letters and all of his speeches. He spent hours each week visiting with anyone who chose to call. In all his years as President, he spent less than a month away from Washington. He found carriage rides relaxing and enjoyed the theater. White House dinners and receptions were simply duties to be performed, and his frequent visits to army hospitals brought great pain to his gentle soul. He read Shakespeare or the Bible for solace late at night.

Mrs. Lincoln was suspected by many as being disloyal because she had close family members fighting in the Confederate army. Lincoln grieved deeply at the death of their son "Willie" on February 20, 1962, but Mrs. Lincoln could not be comforted.

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. He named the states and parts of states that were in rebellion and said that slaves there "are, and hence forward shall be, free." In reality, the proclamation freed no slaves. It applied only to territory controlled by the Confederates and could not be enforced by federal officers. Lincoln encouraged slave owners in Union states to free their slaves in exchange for government financial help, but his advice was not followed. The Emancipation Proclamation did however have long range effects. It showed other nations that the war had a high purpose. It also prepared the way for the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment was adopted in December 1965 and ended slavery throughout the United States.

Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at dedicatory services for a cemetery on the Gettysburg battle field. He prepared his address carefully and made final changes at Gettysburg. People who heard him speak knew that his declaration that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" would last as long as democracy lived.

With a few Union victories behind him, Lincoln won reelection. His second inauguration took place on March 4, 1865. In his address, he explained that the Civil War was being fought to abolish slavery. He said that the Civil War was the result of the nation allowing slavery and urged the people to keep their faith in God strong.

The war wore on Lincoln. He didn't sleep well during crises, his eyes were ringed with black, his face was gaunt and deeply lined. He had no time for relaxation and ate irregularly. He continued to receive widows and soldiers who came to the White House. He was very humble but had confidence in his own judgments. He used persuasion to lead the people.

General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Lincoln gave his last public address on April 11, 1865.
On the evening of April 14, 1865, Lincoln attended a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington. Just after 10:00 P.M., John Wilkes Booth shot the President in the head from the rear of the presidential box. Booth was a well-known actor and broke his leg leaping to the stage to escape.

Lincoln was carried unconscious to a nearby house. He was surrounded by his family and governmental officials when he died at 7:22 A.M. on April 15, 1865. Even enemies praised his selflessness and kindness. Millions lined the railroad tracks to watch his burial train go past. He was buried May 4 in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.

Booth fled to Maryland on horseback but was later trapped in a barn in Virginia where he was killed. Eight people were accused of conspiring to kill Lincoln and other governmental leaders. After being tried, four were hanged on July 7, and four were sent to prison. One of those four died in prison, and the other three were pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869.

Facts and information for this blog post are from an article by Gabor S. Boritt, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, pp 310-327.

Frederick Douglas

2010-6-2 Frederick Douglas Frederick Douglas (1818?-1895) became the leading voice of American blacks in the 1800's. Douglas was born a slave but became a noted reformer, author, and orator. He spent his life trying to abolish slavery and fighting for black rights. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, near Easton. He was sent to Baltimore to work for a relative of his master at age 8. The wife of his new master helped him to educate himself. He later worked as a caulker in a shipyard making ships watertight. He escaped from his master in 1838 and went to New Bedford, Massachusetts. In order to avoid capture, he changed his name to Frederick Douglas. He found work as a caulker, but the other men refused to work with him because he was black. He did other jobs such as collecting rubbish and digging cellars. At a meeting of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society in 1841, Douglas had the opportunity to share what freedom meant to him. His speech impressed the society, and he was hired to lecture about his experiences as a slave. He protested in the early 1840's about segregated seating on trains by sitting in cars reserved for whites and had to be dragged from the white cars. He also protested against religious discrimination by walking out of a church that kept blacks from participating until whites finished. Douglas published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas in 1845. He went to England because he feared that his book would reveal that he was a runaway slave. He continued to speak against slavery and found friends who raised money to buy his freedom. Douglas returned to America in 1847 and founded the North Star, an antislavery newspaper, in Rochester, New York. He charged that white immigrants were hired before black Americans. Douglas led a successful attack against segregated schools in Rochester. His home was part of the underground railroad, a widespread system which helped runaway slaves reach freedom. Douglas helped recruit black soldiers for the Union Army during the Civil War. He discussed the slavery issue several times with President Abraham Lincoln. He recorded deeds in the District of Columbia, 1881-1886, and served as United States minister to Haiti, 1889-1891. He expanded his autobiography twice - My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and Life and Times of Frederick Douglas (1881). Facts for this post came from an article by Otey M. Scruggs in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p 314.

Confederate States of America

The government for the Confederate States of America was organized and named in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 4, 1861. Six southern states seceded or left the government of the United States in 1860 and 1861 after Abraham Lincoln was elected President but before he was in office. They feared that his election might cause problems with their right to own slaves. South Carolina was the first state to withdraw from the Union on December 20, 1860. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana followed in January 1861. Texas seceded in March 1861 and was followed later in the year by Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This made eleven states in the Confederacy. The South did not invent the idea of a state withdrawing from the Union. It was a common belief throughout the United States that individual states had formed the Union and therefore had the right to dissolve. In fact, there were states in New England who wanted to secede during the War of 1812 because they did not want the war. When the first six states organized the Confederate States of America, they chose Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as President and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia as Vice President. Their term of office was one year. After the permanent constitution was adopted, they were elected to six-year terms. Six distinguished Southerners were selected for the Cabinet. The temporary capital was Montgomery. After Virginia joined in the secession movement, Richmond became the capital in May. "The Constitution of the Confederacy adopted in March 1861, was modeled after the United States Constitution. But it contained six important differences. 1) The president's and vice president's terms were six years. The president could not serve successive terms. 2) Cabinet members received seats in Congress and had the privilege of debate. But they could not vote. 3) Foreign slave trade was ended but not slavery. 4) Congress was forbidden to make appropriations for internal improvements, to levy a protective tariff, or to give bounties. 5) A two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress was necessary to admit a new state into the Confederacy or to make appropriations not requested by the heads of departments through the president. 6) The president could veto single items in appropriation bills" (Thomas L. Connelly). The states that seceded hoped to leave the Union peaceably, and there were people on both sides of the issue who worked hard to prevent war. All their efforts failed when Fort Sumter was fired upon on April 12, 1861, to start the Civil War. There were slave states, known as the border states, that did not leave the Union. They were located between the North and the Deep South. Both the North and the South tried to gain their support. North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee joined the Confederacy while Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri stayed in the Union. Later in the war West Virginia was formed when the western counties of Virginia seceded from the South. The states of Kentucky and Missouri were both divided. Even though both states stayed in the Union, each had secessionist groups that set up separate state governments. These groups sent representatives to the Confederate Congress, which is the reason why the Confederate flag has thirteen stars on it when only eleven states seceded. Confederate ships were granted the same privileges as United States ships in foreign ports and on the open seas even though they were not recognized as a separate nation. Before the division, the wealth of the United States was mainly in the North, and the South did not have sufficient resources to be taxed. This caused the Confederacy to be at a financial disadvantage in the war. It began printing money early in the war, but the paper was soon worthless. Southerners bought government bonds and gave liberally to the Confederacy, but even their loyal financial support could not create resources that didn't exist. During the early part of the war, the Confederates were winning. Union forces lost at Fredericksburg in December 1862. Northern armies had better access to materials and supplies and gradually turned the tide, starting in 1863. Union forces had ammunition, food and clothing supplied while Confederates often went without vital supplies. Richmond fell to Union troops on April 3, 1865, and the Confederate capital moved to Danville, Virginia. The Army of Northern Virginia, which was the main Confederate army, surrendered on April 9, 1865. Confederates believed that the way of life that they were defending was good, and they made great sacrifices in life, health, and property in the war. They finally had to yield to a greater force. The Civil War left a spiritual wound in the Union, which took many years to heal. The spirit of the nation was mostly healed by the early 1900's even though problems concerning race continue to plague this country. I hope and pray that the day soon comes when all Americans will understand that we are all brothers and sisters, spiritual children of one God who are all created equal. Facts for this post came from an article by Thomas L. Connelly in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp 931-933.

Dred Scott Decision

The United States Supreme Court ruling known as the Dred Scott Decision was made in 1857 and was morally wrong. It is important for all mankind to understand what happened in this case and why it was a bad decision. The ruling declared that no black person - free or slave - could claim citizenship in the United States. The decision also declared that slavery could not be prohibited in the United States Territories. This ruling moved the United States one step closer to civil war because it caused angry resentment among Northerners. This decision also had great influence on the introduction and passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment was adopted in 1868, extended citizenship to former slaves, and gave them full civil rights. A little background information on the case may be helpful to you. Dred Scott was a slave who belonged to John Emerson of Missouri, a state where slavery was legal. Emerson, a United States Army surgeon moved in 1834 to Illinois, a state where slavery was illegal. They later moved to the Wisconsin Territory where the Missouri Compromise prohibited slavery. Emerson returned to Missouri in 1838 and died there in 1843. Scott sued three years later to obtain his freedom from Emerson's widow. The Dred Scott case was based on the argument that he was a free man because he had lived in a free state (Illinois) and a free territory (Wisconsin). A decision by the state circuit court was for Scott. This decision was later reversed by the Missouri Supreme Court. In the meantime, John F. A. Sanford became Scott's legal owner. The case was moved into a federal court because Sanford did not live in Missouri. This court ruled against Scott, but the case went to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled with a majority of 7 to 2 that Scott could not bring a suit to federal courts because he was black and blacks were not citizens of the United States. The Missouri Compromise was discussed as part of the Dred Scott case because there was a growing desire in the nation to know if it was constitutional even though it had been repealed in 1854. The Supreme Court decided by a smaller majority that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney spoke for the majority in explaining that blacks could not claim United States citizenship. He also argued that slaves were property and that Congress would violate a slave owner's constitutional right to own property by forbidding slavery in the territories. Shortly after his case was heard by the Supreme Court, Dred Scott was sold. His new owner set him free two months after the decision. Slavery is morally wrong. It is an evil practice that deprives human beings of the divine right of agency. The Dred Scott decision was especially evil because it used the rule of law to keep a human being in slavery. I am grateful that there was a majority of morally correct people in our nation who forced an end to the practice of slavery. Facts for this post came from an article by Stanley I. Kutler in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p 345.

James Buchanan

James Buchanan (byooKANuhn) (1791-1868), the fifteenth President of the United States, may go down in history as our worst President because he was in the White House when our nation started to break apart and did nothing to stop the secession. There were many issues that divided the North and the South, but slavery was the main argument. Buchanan was personally against slavery. While he was President he insisted that slavery was protected by the Constitution and that the law must be obeyed. In 1860-61, seven of the fifteen slave states seceded from the Union. Buchanan refused to use force to keep them in the Union, hoping they would return on their own. He worried that all the slave states would leave if force was attempted. His policy delayed the Civil War until he was out of office. His reason for the delay of war was to allow Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to try a peaceful settlement. James Buchanan was born in a log cabin in Stony Batter, near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1791. His father, James Buchanan, Sr., came from Ireland in 1783 after being invited to come by an uncle living near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Speer, his uncle's neighbor, and opened a country store. James and Elizabeth had eleven children with young James being second oldest. He learned arithmetic and bookkeeping while working in his father's store. He studied Greek and Latin with the village pastor and then attended Dickenson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was expelled for breaking rules but returned to earn scholastic honors. Buchanan, a supporter of the Federalist Party, favored a strong central government and opposed a second war with Great Britain. When the War of 1812 started he volunteered as a private to help in the defense of Baltimore. He served two terms in the Pennsylvania legislature from 1814 to 1816. He then retired from politics and went back to practicing law in Lancaster. He fell in love and became engaged to Ann Coleman in 1819. After a misunderstanding with James, Ann went to Philadelphia to stay with a married sister - and died there. There was never any proof of it, but rumors were that she killed herself. James never married due to his grief. He was the only President who never married. Buchanan was described by his nephew as being "tall - over six feet, broad shouldered, with a portly, dignified bearing…; his eyes were blue, intelligent and kindly, the peculiarity that one was far and the other near sighted which resulted in a slight habitual inclination of the head to one side…." Buchanan served in the United States House of Representatives for ten years, being elected in 1820. He supported the unsuccessful campaign of Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, in 1824. After Jackson was elected President in 1828, he appointed Buchanan minister to Russia in 1831. While minister Buchanan negotiated the first trade treaty of the United States and Russia in 1832. He returned home in 1833 and was elected by the Pennsylvania legislature to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate in 1834. He served there until 1845 when he resigned to accept the position of secretary of state under James K. Polk. As secretary of state, Buchanan completed the steps to bring Texas into the Union as a state. Mexico didn't recognize Texan independence and wouldn't accept peaceful negotiations. After the Mexican War, the United States acquired the entire Southwest. At this time the United States and Great Britain both occupied the Oregon area. The United States claimed the entire region. Buchanan was in charge of negotiations and eventually agreed to compromise on the line that forms the current border with Canada. The Democrats lost the Presidency in 1849, and Buchanan retired to Wheatland, his estate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania . He ran for President in 1852, but Franklin Pierce won the Democratic nomination and the election. Buchanan was appointed minister to Great Britain. While there he was instrumental in an attempt to purchase Cuba from Spain. He was nominated for President in 1856 and won the Presidency with a large electoral majority. His administration was a continuing struggle over slavery. Abolitionist authors stirred up New England. The debates between Lincoln and Douglas in Illinois focused on the immorality of slavery. Buchanan's support of the Dred Scott Decision hinted at Southern favoritism as did the number of Southerners invited to White House social functions. In the fight to determine statehood for Kansas, he favored the idea of letting the people decide if they wanted to be a free state or a slave state. This stand angered Northerners. Northern candidates who opposed the President won a majority in both houses of Congress in 1858. In addition, there was wild speculation in western land and railroads, which caused an economic panic. Many banks, factories, and railroads went broke, and thousands of unemployed workers stood in line for free food. At the same time, women's outfits included hoop skirts and beaver hats trimmed with ostrich feathers. Mail was delivered in the expanding West by Pony Express riders. Buchanan received greetings from Queen Victoria over the first Atlantic cable. Americans enjoyed horse-drawn sleighs and a new song entitled "Jingle Bells" in the winter. There were brilliant social activities in the White House during the Buchanan years. Harriet Lane, Buchanan's niece and ward, served as White House hostess and hosted almost continuous receptions and balls. To provide flowers for the numerous galas, Buchanan added a conservatory to the White House. Buchanan was not nominated to run for a second term in 1860 and did not even want to run. The period between Lincoln's election and his inauguration was a difficult time for Buchanan. South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, and then became one of the six states that formed the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. Buchanan said that there was no "right of secession" but admitted that the Constitution gave no legal way to stop it. Buchanan refused to surrender Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, when a commission from the state made the request. Several members of his Cabinet resigned, some thinking that he was too hard on the South and others thinking he was not hard enough on them. When Buchanan agreed to allow a steamer to take supplies to the fort, troops from South Carolina opened fire on the vessel on January 9, 1861, and forced it to turn back. Buchanan would not regard the attack as an act of war, and he had several reasons for his action: 1) No blood had been spilled; 2) he did not have an army big enough to fight a war; 3) he wanted to hand the government to Lincoln with an opportunity to settle the problem peaceably. Lincoln continued the Buchanan policy until April 12, 1861, when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter. The South instigated the war, and Lincoln had no alternative than to fight to preserve the Union. Buchanan retired to his estate at Wheatland where he followed the events of the war and wrote a book defending his policies. Harriet Lane and James Buchanan, a nephew, lived with him at Wheatland. Buchanan died on June 1, 1868, and was buried in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Wheatland has been restored and furnished in the Buchanan style. World events in the time of President Buchanan included: 1) In its Dred Scott Decision, the Supreme Court on March 6, 1857, said that Congress could not prohibit slavery and denied United States citizenship rights to all blacks; 2) The first passenger elevator was installed in 1857; 3) The first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858; 4) The Lincoln-Douglas took place; 5) Thousands of prospectors flocked to Nevada in 1859 because of the discovery of silver and gold in the Comstock Lode; 6) The first oil well in the United States started pumping oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859; 7) The Origin of Species appeared in 1859. Facts for this post came from an article by Phillip S. Klein in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp 668-672.

The Civil War

I questioned the name of this war because I connected the word "civil" with "civility," which means polite behavior or courtesy. I discovered that "civil" means having to do with citizens, such as civil service or civil rights. This definition means that the name of the war makes sense: it was a war between the citizens of the nation.

The Civil War was the greatest crisis and bloodiest war that the United States has ever experienced. It took more American lives than any other war in history and divided families and communities as well as the nation. It was basically between people in the Southern States who wanted to preserve slavery and an agricultural way of life and people in the Northern States who wanted a more modern way of life and to end slavery.

The Civil War started on April 12, 1861, when Southern troops fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. It ended four years later on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The United States in 1861 had 19 free states and 15 slave states.

Abraham Lincoln said that the country was "a house divided." There were many basic differences between free and slave states besides slavery; therefore, there were numerous reasons for the war. The root cause was slavery but there were differences in economies, ideals, and ways of living.

The conflict over slavery began in colonial times when most Americans considered slavery to be evil. Numerous of our Founding Fathers wanted to end slavery, but they had to compromise over it to get the Constitution written and ratified. Many Northerners in the early 1800s thought slavery was wrong, and Abolitionists there started a movement to end slavery. Most Southerners believed slavery was good even though only 25-35 percent of them were members of slave-owning families.  

The Compromise of 1850 was made in Congress in an attempt to settle the slavery question. It allowed new territories to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery. It also admitted California as a free state. This compromise included a fugitive slave law that required Northerners to return runaway slaves to their owners. Northerners resisted this law by operating the underground railroad, a system of safe houses and escape routes for runaway slaves. Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was one of the most effective attacks on slavery and the fugitive slave law. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you read it.

In 1854 Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The act created Kansas and Nebraska as territories and allowed slavery in them. It also said that when the people in the territory organized as a state, the people could decide whether to continue slavery. Kansas voted against slavery and joined the Union in 1861 as a free state.

In 1857 the United States Supreme Court tried to settle the slavery issue with its Dred Scott Decision. Dred Scott was a slave who claimed freedom because he lived in a free state and territory for a time. The Court ruled that no black could be a United States citizen and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories. This ruling aroused anger in the North and showed that the courts didn't have the answer.

In 1859 John Brown and his followers tried to start a slave rebellion by seizing the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, VA (now West Virginia). Brown was captured by Colonel Robert E. Lee the next day. He was soon convicted of treason and hanged. Many Southerners blamed the North for plotting to force an end to slavery.

Abraham Lincoln joined a new political party called Republicans and was elected President in 1860. He won all the electoral votes from every freed state except New Jersey, which gave him four of seven votes. He won the electoral vote but gained only 40 per cent of the popular vote. Almost none of the popular vote came from Southerners because they were afraid he would end slavery or at least restrict it. By the time he was inaugurated, seven Southern states - South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas - had seceded and established the Confederate States of America. Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee joined the Confederacy after Fort Sumter, for a total of eleven Confederate states.

Staying loyal to the Union were California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

The territories of Colorado, Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington were also on the Union side. Each side included slave states located on the border where some citizens supported the North and some supported the South. Border states on the Southern side were Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The western part of Virginia remained loyal to the Union and formed the new state of West Virginia in 1863. Border states that stayed in the Union were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, but groups in both Kentucky and Missouri seceded, set up state governments and sent representatives to the Confederate Congress.

When the Civil War first started, neither the North nor the South planned to draft soldiers, but as the war continued both sides started drafting men. The Confederate army reached its peak in 1863 and then started declining in numbers. The Union army continued to grow. After the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln announced his decision to use black troops. About 180,000 blacks served in the Union army, two-thirds were Southerners who had escaped to the North. About 20,000 blacks were in the Union navy.

Most of the Civil War was fought from Pennsylvania to Georgia and from Virginia to Memphis and New Orleans. By 1864 the Confederate army was declining due to battle losses, war weariness, and Northern occupation of large areas of the Confederacy. Southern railroads had almost stopped running, and supplies were short. The war finally ended when Union armies crushed Confederates enough to force surrender.

The Union won the war and THEN started showing their humanity by helping to rebuild the South. The Civil War took a great toll on our nation. About 620,000 soldiers died, almost as many as the combined American dead of all other wars from the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) through the Vietnam War (1957-1975). Both North and South suffered economically, but direct damages were most severe in the South. Towns, farms, industry, and trade as well as lives of men, women and children were ruined in the South. The entire way of life in the South was destroyed.

The Declaration of Independence states "all men are created equal," but America remained the largest slave-owning nation in the world until the Civil War. Soon after the end of the Civil War, Americans ratified the Thirteen Amendment to the Constitution, which officially abolished slavery throughout the United States. Even though Congress passed the Civil Rights Amendment in the 1960s, there are still problems in our nation about a real or at least perceived inequality for blacks.

The Civil War did establish two facts: 1) Every human being has the right to be free and 2) No state has the right or power to end the Union. Many of the facts and information for this blog post are from an article written by Gabor S. Boritt, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 614-635.