Fri, May 11th - 7:22PM

I recently became of aware of an article going around on far left wing feminist web sites called Thomas Jefferson: The Face of a Rapist. This article states that Jefferson raped his slave Sally Hemings with no facts to back it up, the author Renee Martin, a black woman who lives in Canada, and works for the trash news service from Britain “the guardian” wrote this piece of trash and it has now traveled the Internet via the far left wing feminist web site circuit. A reading of The Hemingses of Monticello, also written by a black woman Annette Gordon-Reid will give a scholarly take on the Hemings-Jefferson relationship and by far the most in-depth and, insightful exploration of the Hemings story, it will considerably complicate the facile nature of Martin’s claims. It is certainly possible that Thomas Jefferson was simply a rapist as so many slave owners were. The surviving evidence of the Jefferson/Sally Hemings relationship mitigates against such an idea, and to gloss over that does both parties a disservice. Gordon-Reid does conclude that, for a variety of complex reasons, Jefferson & Hemings probably had feelings for one another. Martin also states that the only slaves that Jefferson freed were the children of Hemings, another false statement. It is not correct that “The only slaves that Jefferson freed were the children of [Sally] Hemings." That is a widely repeated error. He freed Sally's sons Eston and Madison Hemings in his will, but his will also freed Burwell Colbert (butler and artisan), Joseph Fossett (blacksmith), and John Hemmings (joiner/carpenter; he spelled his surname with the double mm). All of these men were part of the extended Hemings family. John was Sally's half-brother. Scholars have suggested that Jefferson's long-standing favoritism toward the offspring of Betty Hemings, Sally's mother, might have been the motivating factor.

With respect to slaves, Jefferson actually did more during his life against slavery than most other men of his time -- and deserves the credit for the principles in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal" -- which in the hands of Lincoln and Divine Providence, eventually freed the slaves -- at a great price of human blood in the Civil War.

Jefferson's anti-slavery efforts include:

1. Introduction of a bill in 1769 the Virginia legislature to abolish the importation of slaves into that state.

2. Inclusion of an anti-slavery provision in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

3. Initiated the Congressional ban on slavery in all federal lands in 1784 (his effort to extend the act to the 13 states lost by only one vote).

4. In 1808, as President, he signed into law a bill banning the slave trade with Africa.

While Jefferson did not free all of his slaves on his death (as did Washington), a law passed in Virginia in 1806 required that the legislature pass a special bill that would attest to the exemplary behavior of each slave to be freed. If freed, the slave had to leave the state without his or her family. Jefferson was not in favor of this law. Further, Jefferson trained his slaves in skills that would be useful when they were free. He believed that to free them first would be irresponsible -- since they would be homeless and without family.

To those who are willing to read and search for themselves and discern the honest from the dishonest, and the man of moral principle from one who is not, I believe the truth becomes clearer as to the greatness and stature of Thomas Jefferson.

Wed, Feb 22nd - 8:28AM

George Washington was the fifth of Augustine Washington's ten children, who was a Planter and was part owner and director of an iron mine.
Washington never attended any school or college, he was educated as a child by his father and brother, and also self-educated as he became an adult. Washington was a "Low Church" Anglican, the branch of the Anglican Church that took the Bible literally and would be considered "true" to the Bible by evangelical Christians today. Married Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6, 1759, she was a widow; they were both 27 years old. George and Martha never had any children together, George had bouts with both smallpox and tuberculosis earlier in life and these may have left him unable to have children. In spite of their inability to have their own children, George and Martha raised two children from her first marriage: John Parke Custis known as "Jackie" and Martha Parke known as "Patsy". John Parke Custis served as an aide to Washington at the Battle of Yorktown, he contracted camp fever and died on November 5, 1781, after this, George and Martha Washington raised John's two children: Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. Washington's first involvement in the resistance against Great Britain was in 1769 when he introduced a bill in the House of Burgesses calling for a boycott of all British goods, the bill was written by George Mason, the boycott was in response to the Townsend Acts, a set of laws created by Parliament that taxed imports to the American colonies, the colonists believed the acts were illegal and violated their rights as British citizens. The Second Continental Congress formed the Continental Army and made George Washington a general. He started training his 14,000 men. On April 19, 1775, war broke out between the colonies and Great Britain. This was the Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Washington took his men across the Delaware River, but the Redcoats couldn't cross it because they didn't have boats. General Washington thought his army should fight defensively, meaning not fighting unless they had to, but he saw a perfect chance to attack the British. On Christmas Eve, they attacked the Redcoats' camp at Trenton. Washington's men really trusted him. Once in the middle of a battle, Washington rode out on his horse and waved his hat at his men. This made them fight harder. The Americans won battles because they were fighting on their own soil for their own country, and they were Patriots who would never give up. During the terrible winter at Valley Forge, Martha Washington came to help the soldiers that were sick. They went without food for weeks but the soldiers held up till the food came. France wanted to help the Americans win, so they sent ships, soldiers, weapons and money. Benjamin Franklin had convinced France to join the American side in the spring of 1778. By October, 1781, the colonists were ready to trap the Redcoats. They circled around the city of Yorktown, Virginia, where the huge British army was located, attacked them and won the Battle of Yorktown. This ended the major Revolutionary War fighting. The Peace Treaty of Paris was signed on Sept. 3, 1783.

Following the Revolutionary War Washington returned to work with his plantation - Mount Vernon. In 1787 there was a call for a constitutional convention to meet in Philadelphia and write a constitution for the United States. 56 persons were asked to meet for this purpose; one of the men selected from Virginia was George Washington. Washington in every way, shape, and form was a leader. His very presence was extraordinary even to all of the leaders of all the states. He was appointed president of the constitutional convention. When the Constitution was completed Washington was selected as the first President of the United States. He served two terms (1789 to 1797). Washington did not belong to a political party he was against parties because he thought they created too much division, he was considered to be the informal figurehead of the Federalist Party. Washington was not elected by the people. He was appointed by the signers of the Constitution of the United States. They were unanimous in their choice. Washington is often revered for his retiring from public service and going back to private life, rather than seeking to extend his power as many monarchs did, thought to be very shy and reserved, was believed to be very humble, not even wanting positions of power, turned down a $25,000 salary (an enormous amount of money at the time), known for his motto "Deeds, not words," not concerned about leaving a "legacy". December 14, 1799 at age 67, Washington became ill after spending all day December 12 on horseback in snow and freezing rain, he awoke the next day with a cold, fever and throat infection, these turned into pneumonia and possibly laryngitis, Washington apparently died of asphyxiation as a result of all these complications.

“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

GEORGE WASHINGTON, Farewell Address, Sep. 17, 1796

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Tue, Feb 21st - 5:30AM

Thu, Feb 16th - 6:22AM

56 men signed the Declaration of Independence and took the follow words not only to heart but many took them to their graves "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."

Read their Bio's at:
 
FoundingFathers

Then tell me what leader today would sign and pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor today for our Country? I can’t think of any one in Congress or in power today who would sign such a document and follow through on that kind of commitment to their Country.

Sun, Feb 12th - 8:20AM

Abraham Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847-1849. His foray into national politics seems to be as unremarkable as it was brief. He was the lone Whig from the state of Illinois, showing party loyalty, but finding few political allies. He used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848. His criticism of the war made him unpopular back home and he decided not to run for second term, but instead returned Springfield to practice law. By the 1850s, the railroad industry was moving west and Illinois found it becoming a major hub for various companies. Abraham Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad as its company attorney. In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and allowed individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. The law provoked violent opposition in Kansas and Illinois. And it gave rise to the Republican Party. This awakened Abraham Lincoln’ political zeal once again and his views on slavery moved more toward moral indignation. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856.

In 1857, the Supreme Court issued its controversial decision Scott v. Sanford, declaring African Americans were not citizens and had no inherent rights. Though Abraham Lincoln felt African Americans were not equal to whites, he believed the America’s founders intended that all men were created with certain inalienable rights. Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. In his nomination acceptance speech, he criticized Douglas, the Supreme Court, and President Buchanan for promoting slavery and declared “a house divided cannot stand.” The 1858 Senate campaign featured seven debates held in different cities all over Illinois. The two candidates didn’t disappoint the public, giving stirring debates on issues ranging from states’ rights to western expansion, but the central issue in all the debates was slavery. Newspapers intensely covered the debates, often times with partisan editing and interpretation. In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas, but the exposure vaulted Lincoln into national politics.
In 1860, political operatives in Illinois organized a campaign to support Lincoln for the presidency. On May 18th at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Abraham Lincoln surpassed better known candidates such as William Seward of New York and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio. Lincoln’s nomination was due in part to his moderate views on slavery, his support for improving the national infrastructure, and the protective tariff. In the general election, Lincoln faced is friend and rival, Stephan Douglas, this time besting him in a four-way race that included John C. Breckinridge of the Northern Democrats and John Bell of the Constitution Party. Lincoln received not quite 40 percent of the popular vote, but carried 180 of 303 Electoral votes.
Abraham Lincoln selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals, including William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates and Edwin Stanton. Formed out the adage “Hold your friends close and your enemies closer”, Lincoln’s Cabinet became one of his strongest assets in his first term in office… and he would need them. Before his inauguration in March, 1861, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union and by April the U.S. military installation Fort Sumter, was under siege in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. In the early morning hours of April 12, 1861, the guns stationed to protect the harbor blazed toward the fort signaling the start of America’s costliest and most deadly conflict. Abraham Lincoln responded to the crisis wielding powers as no other present before him. He distributed $2,000,000 from the Treasury for war materiel without an appropriation from Congress; he called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without a declaration of war; and he suspended the writ of habeas corpus, arresting and imprisoning suspected Confederate sympathizers without a warrant. Crushing the rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, with its preceding decades of white-hot partisan politics, was especially onerous. From all directions, Lincoln faced disparagement and defiance. The Union Army’s first year and a half of battlefield defeats made it especially difficult to keep morale up and support strong for a reunification the nation. With the hopeful, but by no means conclusive Union victory at Antietam on September 22, 1862, Abraham felt confident enough to reshape the cause of the war from “union” to abolishing slavery. Gradually, the war effort improved for the North, though more by attrition then by brilliant military victories. But by 1864, the Confederacy had hunkered down to a guerilla war and Lincoln was convinced he’d be a one-term president. His nemesis, George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, challenged him for the presidency, but the contest wasn’t even close. Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 243 Electoral votes. On March 28, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Virginia, surrendered his forces to Union General Ulysses S. Grant and the war for all intents and purposes was over. Reconstruction began during the war as early as 1863 in areas firmly under Union military control. Abraham Lincoln favored a policy of quick reunification with a minimum of retribution. But he was confronted by a radical group of Republicans in the Senate and House that wanted complete allegiance and repentance from former Confederates. Before a political battle had a chance to firmly develop, Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, by well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln was taken from the theater to a Petersen House across the street and laid in a coma for nine hours before dying the next morning. His body lay in state at the Capitol before a funeral train took him back to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.

"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's 'House-Divided' Speech in Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858.