African-American Civil War Memorial, Washington DC
I posted this a year ago. Somehow, I doubt that instruction in the history of this nation has improved.
From the Kent, Connecticut DISPATCH:
Monday is Memorial Day, the day Americans pause to honor all the soldiers who died serving their country. Kent will have a parade and the veterans from Kent will honor their fallen comrades, stopping at each of the cemeteries in town to pay homage.
The parade also stops at the monument in the center of Routes 7 and 341, where a student from Kent Center School will read the Gettysburg Address and another student will play taps on the trumpet, followed by a second student playing the echo. Not many people know why the parade stops at the monument and its connection with Memorial Day.
The 30-foot-tall gray granite obelisk in the center of the intersection’s proper name is “Soldiers Monument,” and was erected by the people of Kent in 1885 to commemorate the soldiers from Kent who fought in the Civil War and dedicated the following year. The monument has stood silently for 121 years, reminding passersby of the 150 men from Kent (three of whom are listed as “colored”) who left farms and businesses, wives and sweethearts, friends and family to fight for an idea.
They went off to war as young men, believing that the Union was worth saving and, perhaps, that no man should own another; that the principals laid down in the Constitution, just 72 years old in 1861, and the rights and liberties it guaranteed, were worth their sacrifice.
After observing the developing tradition in the former Confederate states of setting aside a day to bedeck the graves of the war dead, Maj. John Logan, head of the Union Army, established May 5 as Decoration Day, a time for the newly reunited nation to decorate veterans’ graves. Soon after, the date was changed to May 30, perhaps because flowers would then be in bloom all over the country.
After World War I the observation was expanded to honor all those who died in all of America’s wars and the name was changed to Memorial Day.
We honor those who fought and died for a united nation and against slavery. We also honor the ultimate sacrifice made by those Americans who fought against that standard.
Sadly, our land is now governed by those who would have opposed this war — using the same platitudes and slogans offered up by Confederate politicians. The war which claimed more American lives than any war in our nation’s history.
This is a video known as “The Civil War in 4 minutes” – extremely succinct and moving. Unfortunately the original youtube link with the artist credit is long gone.
http://tinyurl.com/32br6h
I remember too well. Thanks to all service men and women that I’m not typing in Japanese or German right now. And since the powers that be have mandated your presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, please kick some terrorist butt and come home safely.
SDF – Here’s where it originated.
#2. Amen, Bubba.
#5, I didn’t mean to ignore those who served in Korea or Vietnam, my apologies if you were offended.
Just got back from the Indy 500. They played Taps and then the whole crowd broke into loud applause, as if dead soldiers is something to cheer about. I wanted to throw up.
They fought against slavery? They fought because most were made to.
#8
And to fulfill the interests of a few too.
Yup, I imagine we can still find a few rednecks, today, who wouldn’t oppose slavery…or support any kind of fight to end it.
Well, it seems the pro-slavery commenters don’t like your entry, Eideard. Try not to cry:).
Moss, I think Angel meant to fulfill the interests of four million slaves and the rest of the population. (Whether they realized ending slavery was a good thing or not.)
And, Dwight meant to say that thousands of slaves risked death by running away from the Confederacy to fight for the Union because they were hypnotized. Anything not to recognize bravery in black folks, you know?
#8 and #9 Shameful and ignorant.
I guess the stories of Douglas’s writings and his beautiful oratory were all lies. Sgt. William Harvey Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was dragged kicking and screaming to the front, and his medal is not deserved. Douglas’s sons and many more blacks like them were held at gunpoint to join and fight what they considered an evil system, we could go on.
Most white confederates and union members were made to fight also, usually to serve some interest or the other, that is what war is all about, what we do not question or insult is the bravery and commitment made by people for a just cause, unless some evidence can be borne to show otherwise. Baseless racist nonsense is no good here.
#8 and #9 Shameful and ignorant.
I guess the stories of Douglas’s writings and his beautiful oratory were all lies. Sgt. William Harvey Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was dragged kicking and screaming to the front, and his medal is not deserved. Douglas’s sons and many more blacks like them were held at gunpoint to join and fight what they considered an evil system, we could go on.
Most white confederates and union members were made to fight also, usually to serve some interest or the other, that is what war is all about, what we do not question or insult is the bravery and commitment made by people for a just cause, unless some evidence can be borne to show otherwise. Whether you are cynical or racist these kinds of comments does no good here.
Come on, think a little will ya? As far as the Civil War, race and slavery weren’t even introduced until well into the war. Kind of like making the world safe for democracy in WW1, or democracy in Iraq after the weapons of mass destruction didn’t pan out.
Of course it’s always easier to eat the crap that is spoon fed you.
(and whiteman, please list the type of appropriate comments that in the future would be good here.)
#14, Wrong.
Most soldiers were volunteers although there was conscription. Most Generals were reluctant to have “colored” soldiers in their ranks. When present, they were seldom front line troops, usually being used for dirty jobs such as teamsters, cooks, latrine diggers, and the like. Although the North wanted to abolish slavery, blacks were still not seen as the equal to whites.
Slavery WAS the central theme behind the politics of the war. The growing anti slavery movement of the North had convinced the South that they would have to leave to Union if they wanted to hold onto the life they held dear. The issue of slavery was clouded by the legalese of “States Rights” but make no mistake, it was all about the South’s right to remain slave states.
#15 has gotten it right,
wong ? Where did you learn American history? Where are you purchasing your history books?
The rejection of the spread of slavery triggered Secession, so even if a man was fighting only for the preservation of the Union he would automatically find himself embroiled in a conflict with slavery at the heart of it, if you are simple minded you will believe that all wars are fought with a single unified idea quite often wars are fought with selfish ideas in mind, a mixture of different feelings, mindsets and interests. It is erroneous to believe that because slavery was at the heart of the conflict that all northerners were lovers of black people or all were fighting to free blacks first and foremost. That said though, there were many whites who wanted to overcome the power of the white planters in government and get rid of something that they thought an ugly scar on their country even if they did not like blacks. The Confrontation that led to the Missouri compromise probably would not have happened if all views of slavery in the country were the same.
The white man’s view at that time, of his superiority may have been weighing very little on the mind of the black man who at the time must believe there was no way to convince the whites otherwise , rather escape from the system, the raw selfish idea of preserving himself would have taken center stage. Hence running away or fighting when of course he sees that the country was divided and he has hope if he joins one side or the other, for how much worse their predicament could be even if they lost. They could only hope that their situation would improve if the north won, and it did, even if it took another hundred years.
Do you believe the blacks at that time did not believe they should fight irrespective of any white man’s view of them? Do you believe that no white people at the time believed that the system of slavery was abhorrent and evil, and would fight to remove it? The fact that even before the war Elijah Parish Lovejoy died for his abolitionist ideas is testament to the fact that all white people cannot be treated the same, even in those days. Alexander Hamilton spoke of the stupidity and waste of slavery and in the end it is immaterial whether he secretly disliked black people or whether he entertained any notion of his superiority to them. This does not detract from the dignity of opposing such a system. The same goes for Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, the Shaw family and many more. The black man could not care less of the secret beliefs of these white leaders; their primary concerns were about their continued support for abolition, these people were risking a lot to remove the evil shackles of slavery for whatever reason, and hence there were confidence in them to help with their cause.
The appropriate comments that should be posted here must be based on historical facts, opinions must be based on sensible analysis and not historical nonsense such as this; “race and slavery weren’t even introduced until well into the war” it is foolish to say because the Emancipation Proclamation came later in the war that slavery was not an issue in relation to the start of the war, it only made the end of slavery a central goal, are you sure you are talking about the American civil war?
Frederick Douglass is a great American whether the powerful white planters in American politics then, thought they were superior to him or not, black soldiers in the civil war showed bravery and sacrificed their lives for a just cause, whatever the aim of some white politicians at the time or whether they were latrine diggers before. They should be honored and respected. If you know of text anywhere that points to the ideas you are referring to, please point to it and use historical facts to substantiate what you are saying otherwise, you are just being a mischievous cynic or a blundering conspiracy theorist.
Slavery’s not dead:
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in their luxurious Long Island home and abusing them for years have been indicted on federal slavery charges.
http://tinyurl.com/2vxgls
Double post.
#14, 16, & 17,
well written posts.
Podesta, Very articulate and well researched. Bonus point.