Sat 4 Aug, 2007
Bicentennial of the abolition of the U.S. slave trade
Comments (24) Filed under: Bicentennial, HistoryTags: 1808, Abolition, Legislation, Slave trade, Thomas Jefferson
I congratulate you, fellow citizens, on the approach of the period at which you may … constitutionally … withdraw the citizens of the United States from all further participation in those violations of human rights … which the morality, the reputation, and the best of our country have long been eager to proscribe.
— President Thomas Jefferson, in his annual message to Congress, Dec. 2, 1806
With these words, President Thomas Jefferson proposed abolishing the U.S. slave trade, effective on January 1, 1808, when the constitutional prohibition on outlawing the trade expired. Within four months, both the U.S. and Britain had passed historic legislation outlawing their trade in human cargo.
On January 1, 2008, the U.S. will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the U.S. slave trade. At least, it may do so. Despite legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, it isn’t clear whether the U.S. will officially acknowledge, much less pause to observe, this early milestone on the road to abolition and racial equality.
For the first twenty years of its history, the United States was bound not to restrict the slave trade to its shores because of a compromise reached at the constitutional convention of 1787.1 A year before the compromise was to expire, Jefferson — who held an ambiguous position on slavery but had fought long and hard to end the slave trade — took a dramatic stance in favor of the total abolition of the slave trade. The very next day, on December 7, 1806, a bill to this effect was introduced in Congress, and after heated debate, the legislation was passed. Jefferson himself signed the bill into law on March 2, 1807.
Beginning in January 1808, the U.S. began to enforce this prohibition along its shores, as well as station naval squadrons along the African coast from time to time to search for offenders. Prior to the Civil War, the record of U.S. enforcement of the trade ban was decidedly mixed, and substantial illegal trading took place. But the outlawing of the slave trade by both the U.S. and Britain marked a major milestone in the fight against slavery. The ban restricted the growth of slavery and limited its spread within the new border states, which would affect support for the North and South during the Civil War. The prohibition also encouraged the growing abolitionist movement, lead to the view that slave trading was a crime against all nations, and helped to make slavery itself increasingly unthinkable during the course of the 19th century.
Yet the abolition of the British slave trade is far better known. The story of William Wilberforce, Olauda Equiano, Thomas Clarkson and other British abolitionists has been powerfully brought to our movie screens recently in the film Amazing Grace. And the United Kingdom is commemorating this bicentennial with leadership from the prime minister and the queen, with £20 million ($40 million) for exhibits and events; and with conferences, school program, stamps and coins.
Why isn’t the history of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade better known? In part, I think it is because we tend naturally to focus on the cataclysmic events of the Civil War and the abolition of chattel slavery in the South which accompanied that bloody struggle.
But the story runs deeper. To tell the story of the slave trade is to depart from the traditional narrative of Southern slavery and to tell the story of Northern ships, carrying Northern trade goods, with Northern financing and the involvement of thousands of ordinary, hard-working citizens. This is the story told in my family’s documentary, Traces of the Trade, and it raises troubling questions about the legacy of slavery for white and black Americans today.
On January 1, 1808, Absalom Jones delivered a sermon that issued a call:
Let the first of January, the day of the abolition of the slave trade in our country, be set apart in every year, as a day of publick thanksgiving.
In response, free black communities throughout the antebellum North appropriated New Year’s Day as a black Fourth of July.
I believe that the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade presents a historic opportunity to set the record straight: to reject the myth of Northern innocence and sole Southern guilt, and to tell a more nuanced history of ordinary people, and an entire nation, caught in the grip of a peculiar – and dreadful – institution. We can look around the world today and face the challenge of ending the forms of slavery that still exist. And we can rededicate ourselves to the sacred work of tackling the many legacies of slavery that have, in one way or another, shaped all Americans.
- “The Migration or Importation of such Persons … shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight.” U.S. Constitution, Art. I, sec. 9. [↩]
hi says:
very very good article helped me a lot sorry about the other comments
Traces of the Trade » Welcome to our blog says:
[…] political issues surrounding the slave trade and its legacy, including such topical issues as the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade and apologies for slavery and discrimination, and I write about some of these issues on my own […]
Venita Benitez says:
I enjoyed your article and know it will be very helpful to the folks attending my reception on August 23, 2008, in Dallas, Texas where we will celebrate both the Bicentennial of the abolition of the U.S. Slave Trade and Global International Slavery Remembrance Day for the 1791 Revolt and Aboliton of the Slave Trade. Thank you for writing this article. Most people don't understand that we have about 300 Million slaves in our world today, called modern day slavery. Mostly children from the ages of 5 to 18 years old. Sincerely, Global Slavery Remembrance Day. Venita.
James says:
I agree, Venita, that modern-day slavery and human trafficking are extremely serious crimes, and that the United States can, and should, do more to combat these crimes, both within our borders and elsewhere in the world.
However, I think it's important to describe the problem accurately. The U.S. is not in violation of its own ban on the slave trade, nor the international legal prohibition on the slave trade. The reason is simple: the U.S. is not engaged in human trafficking, at least not in the sense that you mean it here.
I believe your complaint is that private persons are trafficking in human beings, and that the U.S. isn't doing enough to stop it. I agree with you, and the facts bear this out.
Also, the state of Texas does not see anywhere close to 25% of all human trafficking today. Most human trafficking does not, in fact, involve the U.S., which is a very important fact if we're to understand how much effort to focus on domestic law enforcement, and how much on international efforts. Is it possible that you meant that 25% of all human trafficking into the U.S., a relatively small part of the total, comes through Texas?
venita Benitez says:
America has broken the law. I, Venita Benitez being of sound mind, state on this day, Tuesday January 18, 2011, that America is braking its own law and is in direct violation a crime against humanity, the total abolition of the slave trade. On December 7, 1806, a bill to this effect was introduced in Congress, and after heated debate, the legislation was passed. Thomas Jefferson himself signed the bill into law on March 2, 1807. The ban restricted the growth of slavery and limited its spread within the new Border States, which would affect support for the North and South during the Civil War. The prohibition also encouraged the growing abolitionist movement, lead to the view that slave trading was a crime against all nations, and helped to make slavery itself increasingly unthinkable during the course of the 19th century. I am sadden by current news reported by the Dallas Morning News in December 2010 and in January 2011 by Attorney General Gregg Abbott and Texas Governor Perry that twenty five percent (25%) of human trafficking (modern day slavery) is imported through the State of Texas. America is breaking the law of a bill signed on March 2, 1807. When will we end slavery conditions in America? It is a known fact that the State of Texas got the news of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation two years later. Did we (the State of Texas)not get the news of the prohibition of the slave trade, total abolition of the slave trade?
Venita Benitez says:
Thank you James, I feel much better with knowing that we (the U.S.A) are not breaking any laws. I truly see and understand your point that we are not in voiolation of its own ban on the slave trade, not the international legal prohibition on the slave trade because "the U.S. is not engaged in human trafficking". Thanks again for your information because this subject is dear to my heart. James, please read below:
Human trafficking is a serious issue around the world as well as within the United States. This year, 2010, marks the first time that the United States has ranked itself in the Trafficking in Persons Report alongside other countries, according to Secretary Clinton. Finally the government is publicly announcing that this is and has been a problem in America. Still with little media coverage, many Americans are unaware of the extent of human trafficking that goes on within the United States.
What is Human Trafficking?
According to the US Department of State, human trafficking is any situation where one person “holds another person in compelled service”. This can mean many things from forcing another person to complete manual labor or holding them until they work off a debt. In many cases it translates to sex trafficking for the sex industry. Adults and children are both targets for traffickers but the current trend is women and young girls with 12 to 17 year-olds being the top choice for sex slavery.
Trafficking Statistics
At the time the Department of State compiled the 2010 report:
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• 12.3 million people were being trafficked around the world
• Only a little over 49 thousand victims had been identified
• Only a little over 4 thousand successful prosecutions took place in 2009
• 114 of those prosecutions were from the Department of Justice Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit
• 151 of convections were because of the Innocence Lost Initiative as they identified 306 child victims within the US
Trafficking Within the US
The Department of State lists that most of the people trafficked in the US are for the sex industry; to repay a debt; or for labor such as domestic, dancing, and agriculture. The US citizens that are forced into trafficking are commonly used within the sex industry. These include children that had run away from home or were homeless due to other reasons.
In 2009 some police departments were still arresting children for prosecution and treating victims as criminals which has been a problem since the beginning. Most young children don’t have the opportunity to see anyone outside of the people who are abusing them so they don’t have an opportunity to tell someone. All victims are manipulated, lied to, abused, or threatened into silence. The ones that do come forward do it even though they are afraid they will be killed for talking.
Human Trafficking Will Not End By Itself
As long as there are markets for children and adults within the sex and labor industries, there will be human trafficking. As long as there are children living on the streets in America, there will be a constant supply of children for the sex industry. As long as Americans are content to look the other way in regards to the sex industry, children domestics, and child pornography there will be human trafficking within the United States.
Read more at Suite101: Human Trafficking in the United States http://www.suite101.com/content/human-trafficking…
Statistics Global
• 600,000 – 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year. (U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 3, 2005. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606….
• 80% of the 600,000-800,000 individuals trafficked across international borders are women and girls and up to 50% are minors. (U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606….
• 1 in 5 Pornographic images is of a minor. (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement) Defenders fact sheet at http://www.thedefendersusa.org/common/defenders_s…
• 1 in 5 youth who regularly uses the Internet has been sexually solicited or approached (Center for Crimes Research, University of New Hampshire) Quote found on Defenders fact sheet at http://www.thedefendersusa.org/common/defenders_s…
• “The average age of entry into prostitution is between 11-14 years old.” (Demand by shared hope international. Pg 86)
• “The vast majority of women in prostitution do not want to be there. Few seek it out or choose it, and most are desperate to leave it. A 2003 study in the scientific Journal of Trauma Practice found that 89 percent of women in prostitution want to escape prostitution. Children are also trapped in prostitution—despite the fact that a number of international covenants and protocols impose upon state parties an obligation to criminalize the commercial sexual exploitation of children.” (U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 3, 2005. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606….
• “Few activities are as brutal and damaging to people as prostitution. Field research in nine countries concluded that 60 to 75 percent of women in prostitution were raped, 70 to 95 percent were physically assaulted, and 68 percent met the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder in the same range as treatment-seeking combat veterans and victims of state-organized torture.” (U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 3, 2005. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606….
• Human Trafficking is now recognized as the second largest criminal industry in the world.”
• 27 million people worldwide are in some form of slavery. (Houston Rescue and Restore coalition website – http://www.houstonrr.org)
• Human trafficking is a 32 billion dollar industry (Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition website – http://www.houstonrr.org)
• 18,000 people are brought to the U.S per year in some form of human trafficking and an additional 30,000 are trafficked thru the United States on their way to other countries An additional 244,000 American minors are trafficked within the United States into some form of sexual exploitation. (Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition website – http://www.houstonrr.org)
Texas
• “Recently the I-10 corridor between El Paso and Houston was identified as the main human trafficking route, and Houston is recognized as one of the main hubs and destinations for traffickers.” http://www.childrenatrisk.org/childrenatrisk.cfm?…
• “The I-10 corridor is a hotspot for transportation of trafficking victims.” http://www.cahthouston.org/news_and_resources
• “Houston is well known as a set up for ‘training brothels’”. http://www.cahthouston.org/news_and_resources
• 25% of all human trafficking victims are in Texas (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)
• 30% of all human trafficking tips to the National Rescue Hotline came from Texas (Polaris Project)
• Texas and the Southwest border continue to serve as the biggest point of illegal entry into the U.S., largely because traffickers are able to get aliens across without documents.
Facts (DDH/HRRC Fact Sheet) Victims of sex trafficking can be women or men, girls or boys, but the majority are women and girls. There are a number of common patterns for luring victims into situations of sex trafficking, including: • A promise of a good job in another country • A false marriage proposal turned into a bondage situation • Being sold into the sex trade by parents, husbands, boyfriends • Being kidnapped by traffickers Sex traffickers use a variety of methods to “condition” their victims including starvation, confinement, beatings, physical abuse, rape, gang rape, threats of violence to the victims and the victims’ families, forced drug use and the threat of shaming their victims by revealing their activities to their family and their families’ friends. Victims face numerous health risks. Physical risks include drug and alcohol addiction; physical injuries (broken bones, concussions, burns, vaginal/anal tearing); traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting in memory loss, dizziness, headaches, numbness; sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, UTIs, pubic lice); sterility, miscarriages, menstrual problems; other diseases (e.g., TB, hepatitis, malaria, pneumonia); and forced or coerced abortions. Psychological harms include mind/body separation/disassociated ego states, shame, grief, fear, distrust, hatred of men, self-hatred, suicide, and suicidal thoughts. Victims are at risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – acute anxiety, depression, insomnia, physical hyper-alertness, self-loathing that is long-lasting and resistant to change (complex-PTSD). Victims may also suffer from traumatic bonding – a form of coercive control in which the perpetrator instills in the victim fear as well as gratitude for being allowed to live. Victims of trafficking are forced into various forms of commercial sexual exploitation including prostitution, pornography, stripping, live-sex shows, mail-order brides, military prostitution and sex tourism.
Victims trafficked into prostitution and pornography are usually involved in the most exploitive forms of commercial sex operations. Sex trafficking operations can be found in highly-visible venues such as street prostitution, as well as more underground systems such as closed-brothels that operate out of residential homes. Sex trafficking also takes place in a variety of public and private locations such as massage parlors, spas, strip clubs and other fronts for prostitution. Victims may start off dancing or stripping in clubs and then be coerced into situations of prostitution and pornography.
James says:
Venita, I may not have been clear enough. Human trafficking is a very serious problem, as I've indicated, and certainly there is significant trafficking into the United States. There was no need to post anything here to make that point.
But those are crimes committed by private persons, and not by the United States. The U.S. government has an obligation to do more to prevent such crimes. But it is no more guilty of them than it is guilty of grand theft auto because some U.S. citizens commit that crime.
So the international prohibition on the slave trade does not apply, nor is the U.S. in violation of its own 1808 ban on the slave trade by U.S. citizens.
This is, in other words, not a problem of a rogue nation violating the law. It is a domestic and international law enforcement problem that the U.S. is trying to combat–and could, and should, do more to address.
venita benitez says:
James, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." We the People are not feeling secure about modern-day slavery. We the People establish for the United States of America. James, are you providing to me that the U.S. government came up with this ACT only because U.S. citizens committed the slave trade violation? THINK ABOUT THE CIVIL AND GET GET BACK WITH ME. Why was the 1808 ACT established?
James says:
"James, are you providing to me that the U.S. government came up with this ACT only because U.S. citizens committed the slave trade violation?"
Venita, what else do you think the 1807 act abolishing the slave trade was intended to do?
All the evidence I've seen suggests that the act was intended to prevent U.S. citizens from engaging in the international slave trade, as well as to prevent foreign nationals from trading in slaves to the U.S.
I'm not sure why you've been concerned that the act didn't prevent the U.S. government from engaging in the slave trade. The U.S. government did not engage in that business, there was no reason to believe that it would, and, in fact, it did not and does not engage in slave trading to this day.
I gather you're concerned that international slave trading occurs, and that the U.S. might do more to stop it. So am I. The question of how much any government will do to stop others, including its own citizens, from illegal activity is a very important one. But it is distinct from an accusation that the government itself engages in such activity.
venita benitez says:
James, you are correct on all counts, and please trust me when I say that I understand everything about the ACT, I really do.
With your help, I agree, America is not breaking the law. I am just very sad to face the fact that in 2011 we still have not banned slavery in America.
Just so you really know that I truly understand the 1807 ACT I'm sharing … "The ten sections of the 1807 act were designed to eliminate all American participation in the trade. Section 1 set the tone. After January 1, 1808, it would "not be lawful to import or bring into the United States or the territories thereof from any foreign kingdom, place, or country, any negro, mulatto, or person of colour, with intent to hold, sell, or dispose of such [person] … as a slave, to be held to service or labour.""
If I could make a wish come true, my wish would be that the ACT included the word "humans". We have too many children and trafficking in persons. Too many humans.
Thanks James.
James says:
Venita, I disagree that we haven't banned slavery in the United States. It's very much against the law, and the government regularly investigates and prosecutes violators. This is like saying we haven't banned murder, just because there are still murders here every year, and far too many of them.
What we haven't done is to eliminate the practice of slavery, and I agree we could be doing more to address it.
As for the wording of the act, it does not need to include the word "human." The importation of any human being as a slave into the United States, regardless of age or race, is illegal.
venita benitez says:
James, where does it say in the ACT "The importation of any human being as a slave into the United States, regardless of age or race, is illegal" prove it to me! I know it is somewhere else but not in this ACT.
James, who is "we"? "What we haven’t done is to eliminate the practice of slavery, and I agree we could be doing more to address it." "we" the United States or "we" the citizens? Does it really matter? WE ARE ONE!!!
James, "eliminate the practice of slavery"! I like this… now go out there and sell it!
eliminate the practice of slavery
eliminate the practice of slavery
eliminate the practice of slavery
eliminate the practice of slavery
eliminate the practice of slavery
I like it! I'm going to use it.
James says:
Venita, I didn't say that those words appear in the 1807 act. In fact, I specifically said that the word "human" "does not need to" appear in the act.
So I don't know why you're agreeing with my statement about the law ("I know it is somewhere else") but demanding to find it in that particular legislation. Why does it matter that in 1807, Congress only found it necessary to ban the importation of non-white people as slaves?
"Does it really matter? WE ARE ONE!!!"
I'm not sure I agree that the people of the United States, and the United States, or its government, are truly one.
But I certainly agree that when I say "we" haven't eliminated the practice of slavery, that applies both to the people and to (the government of) the United States.
If you truly believe in eliminating the practice of slavery, I would suggest that you forget about two-hundred-year-old legislation that doesn't obligate anyone to do more about eliminating slavery, and focus on what it would take to actually reduce or eliminate slavery.
venita benitez says:
"If you truly believe in eliminating the practice of slavery, I would suggest that you forget about two-hundred-year-old legislation that doesn’t obligate anyone to do more about eliminating slavery, and focus on what it would take to actually reduce or eliminate slavery."
James, I am focus … see you in 2019. and, we must never forget about two-hundred-year-old legislation. This legislation does obligate us to do more. If we don't obligate to learning complete past slavery we can never eliminate or reduce modern-day slavery.
"Venita, I disagree that we haven’t banned slavery in the United States. It’s very much against the law, and the government regularly investigates and prosecutes violators. This is like saying we haven’t banned murder, just because there are still murders here every year, and far too many of them."
James, "According to estimates by the United nations, there are close to 300 million slaves in the world today. Millions more men, women and children are exploited in conditions that closely resemble slavery. An estimated 246 million children between 5 and 18 years old live in slavery" That's 546 million slaves according to: Published in 2007 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France ISBN 978-92-3-104019-1 TELL ME ABOUT The Slave Trade. America pays the highest donations to the UN and UNESCO.
"The U.S. government has an obligation to do more to prevent such crimes." "It’s very much against the law, and the government regularly investigates and prosecutes violators." "This is, in other words, not a problem of a rogue nation violating the law. It is a domestic and international law enforcement problem that the U.S. is trying to combat–and could, and should, do more to address."
James, just say you don't have a clue.
"So the international prohibition on the slave trade does not apply, nor is the U.S. in violation of its own 1808 ban on the slave trade by U.S. citizens."
"Venita, I didn’t say that those words appear in the 1807 act. In fact, I specifically said that the word “human” “does not need to” appear in the act."
James, it should had said "human beings".
James says:
Venita, this is the last time I'll say this: the 1807 act banning the slave trade did not involve any steps to abolish slavery, much less to root out hidden slavery or to end slavery in other nations. These are noble goals that I fully support, but they are not advanced in two-century-old legislation, but instead by modern laws.
I agree that there are a great many slaves in the world today, and that the U.S. can, and should, do more to help end modern slavery. But that doesn't mean that the U.S. hasn't outlawed slavery, and isn't actively working to end it, both here and abroad. The fact that the U.S. is the highest financial contributor to the U.N. and UNESCO only supports that argument; it doesn't undermine it.
Venita Benitez says:
James,
Some of the Confederates were working for the government starting with its very own president of the confederates and our (U.S) secretary of war, Jefferson Davis. After the civil war, did some of the “former” confederates have seats in congress given to them? Almost half of Congress were made up of confederates after the civil war!!! The government was involved in slavery. How could you not see this James? How could you say that the government never was involved in slavery before…? How could you say this….
Venita
The federal government is morally accountable for its support of a deeply entrenched racial hierarchy and its failure to repair the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow.
James says:
Venita, I've said frequently on this blog that the U.S. government was deeply involved in slavery and, later, the racial hierarchy of the Jim Crow era. I've also said repeatedly that the U.S. has never repaired the consequences of either slavery or Jim Crow.
Naturally, many federal officers from southern states joined the Confederacy during the war. And many representatives elected to Congress from southern states following the war had been on the southern side during the war. These facts don't have anything to do with whether the federal government was involved in slavery; indeed, many of these individuals were opposed to slavery, even if they sided with the Confederacy.
If you're simply suggesting that many people involved in the federal government in the 19th century had been supportive of slavery, I agree with this. In fact, I'd go further than you do: this applies not just to those who sided with the South, but to many federal officials from the North, the Midwest and the West.
Venita Benitez says:
Hi James. Thank you.
James,
Do you think it was fair for the Confederates in Congress and the former owners of acres to snatch back the 50 acres given to each freeman (freemen) shortly after the association of Lincoln? Most of the confederate soldiers received this land as well as the confederates placed in Congress. Do you know if any of the (former Slaves) Black Confederate Soldiers received any of the land taken from the freeman as their fellow confederate comrades?
Venita
James says:
Venita, I don't believe there was anything fair about how the federal government treated former slaves after the Civil War.
However, General Sherman's Special Field Orders, No. 15, was reversed by President Andrew Johnson, not by former Confederates in Congress. Moreover, the land in question was returned to its original owners, not to Confederate veterans or former Confederates in Congress.
All of this is consistent with the notion that the Union was never interested in granting freed slaves any form of compensation for their suffering. In this, the North and South, the Blue and the Grey, were united all along. It did not take former Confederates to undermine the idea of "40 acres and a mule."
Venita Benitez says:
James, I disagree.
I believe President Andrew Johnson and former Confederates in Congress worked together to reverse General Sherman’s Special Field Order, No.15 (50 acres NO mule) Mules were never included in Special Field Order, No. 15. And yes I do believe Confederate veterans and former Confederates in Congress received land from that reversed order.
“In North Carolina, President Johnson appointed William W. Holden as provisional governor, and many Confederates were pardoned. Jonathan Worth, wartime state treasurer, then defeated Holden for the governorship, and many former Confederate officials were elected to Congress. Congress, however, refused to seat these delegates on the grounds that they had been disloyal to the Union and freedmen were being mistreated (via the "Black Codes").”
James, how many former Confederate officials were in Congress when President Andrew Johnson reversed Special Field Order No. 15?
Why did President Carter reinstate Jefferson Davis citizenship? After all, Davis had been dead for over 100 years… Do you have any idea why President Carter did that? Just asking…
My GGG Great Grandfather was a Confederate Soldier. So were some of my GG Great Uncles.
James says:
Venita, history records that Sherman's field order was reversed by Andrew Johnson in 1865 and the land given back to the original owners. The Confederate states did not begin to regain admission into Congress until 1866. Therefore, President Johnson could not have been working with former Confederates in Congress to reverse that order, nor could former Confederates in Congress have been given the land.
The passage you quote refers to the election of former Confederate officials to Congress from North Carolina after that state was readmitted to Congress in 1868.
It's certainly true that former Confederates worked hard during Reconstruction to undermine progress for black Americans and to establish the Jim Crow system. But the story of Sherman's order illustrates how complicit the rest of the nation was in the racial vision that would lead to Jim Crow laws and practices throughout the nation.
"James, how many former Confederate officials were in Congress when President Andrew Johnson reversed Special Field Order No. 15?"
None. That order was reversed in 1865. Tennessee was readmitted to Congress in 1866, and no other states would rejoin Congress until 1868.
James says:
By the way, Venita, there's a reason why I try to set the historical record straight on issues like these.
Our nation has long perpetuated a series of highly damaging myths about our history of slavery and race. These myths, arising partly out of nothing more than false assumptions over the generations, have created the impression that the North was relatively uninvolved in slavery, that the Civil War was waged to abolish slavery, and that the racial problems of the Jim Crow era were confined to the South.
I believe that these historical misunderstandings have grossly distorted our contemporary dialogue about the legacy of slavery and about today's racial ills. Once the record is set straight, people are able to come together to have honest conversations and work together on where we go from here. But this process requires a deliberate effort to cast aside the historical narratives handed down from previous generations and to look carefully at the established historical record.
This isn't, in other words, about historical details that don't matter. Nor is it about whitewashing the past. Instead, it's about ensuring that in our zeal to blame the traditional villains — southern slaveowners, Confederate officials — that we don't inadvertently hide the complicity of others.
Venita Benitez says:
James,
We believe in the same. TRUTH, it is our only hope. I'm ready to learn.
Thank you. I will be back soon…. I need to get several bids out over the next two weeks. I Promise, I'll be back.
Blessings.
Venita
Venita Benitez says:
Okay…I'm back. I would like to talk about Virginia, the Civil War and as well as, a little bit about the King James charter for the settlement of America 1606.