Slavery in America

Abraham Lincoln did not free the slaves.

I always thought slavery was about black people. I was wrong. The first settlers into the continent were the British, who settled in Jamestown in the early 1600’s. Slavery had already been established in many other countries for many years. The slaves themselves were black and white, and even non-Christians. Almost all of the blacks were from Africa and were Muslim. They worked side by side. Slavery was a means of labor. They called them indentured slaves, and after a certain number of years in servitude, you would be rewarded by the companies, with either land and/or money, and then set free. This was a legal contract for labor.
In the beginning there was little hint of racism, but there was a deliberate decisiveness against non-Christians. This was a remnant of the Middle Ages, which is a whole other story in itself. Its ironic, thinking back over the centuries and even today, that we continue to hate and kill each other over peoples religion and the land they embed themselves too, because quite simply, “they don’t believe the way I do”. Every time a president, a King, a Czar, or an Emperor became too sympathetic to one religion or a race of people, they were toppled very quickly.
In Jamestown, some slaves, black and white, worked out their servitude and later owned land. They had the same rights as others, and in some cases, black owners had black and white labor.
Then there were the native Americans. They were already here when the British arrived. The Indians, who were offered servitude, did not want to work the servitude. They already had their own lands, and were perfectly comfortable living off the land and being self sustaining. Besides, what were they going to do with money? Why would they buy back land that they already hunt and gather their food, and claim as there own to begin with. No one challenged them on this point until later years. As long as the settlers left them alone, then there were no problems.
Slavery evolved. Over a period of years, whites began to get more rights as a slave and freed after servitude, and blacks would become slaves for life. Being a slave for life, first began as a form of punishment, and later as a permanent fixture to being a slave when they were brought to America. This led to all black slaves being enslaved for life. The cultivation of sugar, cotton and rice, are what made the Americans, north and south, and the British very rich over the years. Later called
“ The Triangular Trade ” between America, British, and Africa. Americans trade cotton to the British to make cloth, the British trade cloth to Africa for slaves. The Africans made a lot of money off these trades, but as history will tell, the British boot made its way into Africa at a later date. British aggression is another story altogether.
In the middle of the 1700’s, southern America was producing or cultivating and northern America was refining and shipping. It gets more complicated, when the American Revolution takes place. The thirteen British colonies form a Union. The Constitution says nothing about slavery, but does say “all People are created equal”. Slavery for the most part was in the southern colonies, and in the north there was very little slavery that still existed. From this period up to the Civil War, there was a growing resentment among northerners against the southern slave states. Abolitionist societies were formed against slavery, which led to a very uncooperative north toward southern slave ownership states. Slave laws or slave codes, as the south called them, were not being enforced by the northerners. If a slave ran north to free himself and later captured, he was to be returned to his owner in the south. This was suppose to be the cooperation among states of the union, and written in their “contract with America”. These slaves were not being sought and the slaves that were captured, were not being returned to their owners. The southerners were also upset that when the Union Army took the Indians off the land, in southern states, the Federal government declared some 20 million acres of these southern states for themselves in the early 1800’s.

" I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the Negro should be denied everything." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston, Illinois" (September 18, 1858), pp. 145-146.

I always thought Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Although the Republican Party platform was against slavery, Lincoln was not an Abolitionist. Slavery was not part of Lincoln’s platform when he ran for President. Within six months after Lincoln became President, the old southern slave states seceded from the Union and the Civil War began. South Carolina was the first state to secede. This state was part of the old thirteen British colonies. Understand that the old British colonies were forced into their “contract with America”, after the American Revolution. Their contract says they may declare themselves sovereign as an independent nation itself. In their secession documents, they say the northern states have not lived up to what they were supposed to do, mainly the cooperation among fleeing slaves. Other southern states then followed in the secession forming the Confederacy. Lincoln would not let the free black in the north fight the southerners when the Civil War began, even though they volunteered. Lincoln was under a lot of pressure from the Europeans, and he was afraid the Europeans were going to form their own coalition with the south. The Europeans had already abolished slavery, and Lincoln needed their support. It was only under this pressure, and this political move, two years after the war started, did he write the Emancipation Proclamation that gave black slaves freedom. It was, at this time he then allowed blacks to fight southerners in the Civil War. Black soldiers were paid less than white soldiers. The Emancipation Proclamation gives all Americans the same rights, including the right to vote. But blacks were not allowed to vote until 1965, over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written. Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War that ensued did not give freedom to Black Americans.
The aftermath of the Civil War was like a cake. It looked like a cake, smelled like a cake, and tasted like a cake, but it was not a cake. Black freedom in America was to become a process that even to this day is still in motion. After the Civil War, discrimination against blacks and others up to the 1960’s was rampant. Black communities began to “maroon” themselves. In the white communities, discriminating among business and public areas with signs that state “whites only”. I have never understood the white supremacy mentality. The white capitalist that settled in this country, now with all the money, and with authority over all other races, becomes completely blind to the fact that men are created equal. Why did white America not learn a lesson from WWII, when the white supremacist of Germany, exterminated the Jews with their “final Solution”? They began this movement in 1937, a long time prior to WWII. Legislation was passed in Germany to legalize racism aginst the Jews. This was also supported at the time by Europe. How could we ever condemn the German’s, when America was caught up in the same racial discrimination? You mean it was alright to have lynching and hangings of blacks in America, but it was not alright to have ethnic cleansing in Germany? With this said, then why wasn’t America an ally with Germany? Where does this hatred come from? I advocate that hatred and violence are to be learned behaviors. Obviously this hatred has been passed from generation to generation from our forefathers among white authority. Why did our Presidents before Kennedy, for 100 years, all the way back to Lincoln, do nothing concerning human rights? Were they afraid of another Civil War, or even assassination? We allowed states to re-write their own state constitutions, which included an outline to qualify to vote. You must be able to read and write and sign a signature. These constitutions knew before they wrote them that the illiterate black Americans, who had been denied education for many years, could not qualify. In 1969, voting restriction’s were abolished by Congress. Beginning in the 1960’s, came a huge Civil Rights movement. It was not coincidence, that the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X took place during this time period.

P.S. Bless Alex Haley(1921-1992), and his book "Roots". Who followed his family back seven generations to tell the story of "Kunta Kinte". In January of 1977, all of America was glued to their television to watch this amazing story unfold for eight consecutive nights.