Don't know much about history--Obama Civil War Edition
Washington Times:
Slavery was finally ended by Republicans who pushed legislation and Constitutional amendments over the objections of the Democrats. One of the ironies of the war is that if the slave states had remained in the union, the Republicans would not been able to pass the amendments freeing the slaves.
The fear of the slaves states is that the Republicans would eventually have the votes as more states were created and let into the union that did not permit slavery. That is why bringing in new states became so contentious. It should also be noted that some of the opposition to allowing slaves in the new states was based on a desire to exclude blacks from their population.
My study of that era led me to the belief that there were many inept politicians on both sides. The war did produce some good generals like Stonewall Jackson who was probably the best one, and eventually US Grant.
President Obama called on nations Tuesday to end the modern slavery of human trafficking and, in the process, got his U.S. Civil War history a bit garbled.
In making an impassioned plea for the international community to crack down on trafficking, Mr. Obama pointed out that his speech at the Clinton Global Initiative was taking place a few days after the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862.
“With the advance of Union forces, it brought a new day — that all persons held as slaves would thenceforth be forever free,” Mr. Obama said.
Actually, the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in 10 Southern states who were, at the time, mostly beyond the control of the federal government. And the document didn’t free an estimated 500,000 slaves in four slave-holding border states — Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware — that were loyal to the Union. Slavery was ended in those states by various state and federal actions later on.
...Since slaves were considered property, Lincoln lacked the ability to free them because the Fifth amendment required that it be done by "due process of law." In fact the document was mainly a meaningless thumb in the eye of the states who had succeeded.
Slavery was finally ended by Republicans who pushed legislation and Constitutional amendments over the objections of the Democrats. One of the ironies of the war is that if the slave states had remained in the union, the Republicans would not been able to pass the amendments freeing the slaves.
The fear of the slaves states is that the Republicans would eventually have the votes as more states were created and let into the union that did not permit slavery. That is why bringing in new states became so contentious. It should also be noted that some of the opposition to allowing slaves in the new states was based on a desire to exclude blacks from their population.
My study of that era led me to the belief that there were many inept politicians on both sides. The war did produce some good generals like Stonewall Jackson who was probably the best one, and eventually US Grant.
Comments
Post a Comment