Thursday, December 18, 2008

 

This Day in the History of Curing National Defects

On this day in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect. It had been proposed and passed by Republicans in the House and Senate and sent to the states for ratification. With Georgia's assent on 12/6/65, the number of states necessary was reached (although ratification was not complete) and the announcement came nearly two weeks later. The Amendment reads:

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

It is often said by nit-picker, anti-American types that Abraham Lincoln freed no slaves. That may be technically correct due to his assassination, but he provided the moral leadership to get the amendment started and the absolute leadership to preserve the Union so that the slave freeing, when it came, was in each state and territory of our nation.

A nearly fatal flaw in our constitution was fixed by amendment within 80 years. Changing the minds of the average Democrat, particularly in the South, took a little longer.

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Comments:
Rog,

Claiming the moral high ground for Republicans is OK but remember that all the southern Democrats or Dixiecrats are now Republicans.

T
 
Not correct. There are plenty of Democrats in the South and most of them are decendent from Southern Democrats. There was no huge switching of racist Democrats to racist Republican because the Democrats took the lead on civil rights in the 60s and 70s. First, there are very few racist Republicans and second, hatred of blacks is not the end all and be all of most political motivation in most Americans.
All the southern Democrats...are now Republicans Have you written anything more absurd in your life?
 
Probably, but methinks that you protest too much and are revisionist to boot.

T
 
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