Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White by David Barton; pages Pg. 13-21

 Pages 13 continued-21

-In, 1789 following the ratification of the Constitution, Congress expanded its fight to end slavery by passing the Northwest Ordinance 

–the Northwest Ordinance established how territories could become States in the new United States

-new states forbade slavery in any of the federal territories then held

-Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin all eventually came into the nation as free states

-slave states were dividing their own states to form new slave states from old ones like Kentucky formed out of Virginia, Tennessee from North Carolina

-on the federal level–progress was being made toward ending slavery and achieving full civil rights for black Americans

***In 1792, the Democratic Party was started by Thomas Jefferson (Democratic National Committee)

-the Democratic Party played a huge role in black political history

***in 1808, Congress continued its fight against slavery by abolishing the slave trade

Pg. 14-17 Rev. Absalom Jones

-the 1st black bishop of the Episcopal Church in America

-made a famous sermon commemorating the abolition of the slave trade

-delivered in the famous St. Thomas’ Church

-St. Thomas’ Church was the 1st black church in Philadelphia

-it was built in 1792

-under the leadership of 3 famous leaders: Rev. Absalom  Jones, Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence along with Benjamin Franklin, & co-founder of the first abolition society in America ), and Rev. Richard Allen 

Rev. Richard Allen

-a famous black minister who regularly preached at a large white mega-church before starting his famous Bethel Church and birthed the AME denomination

Bishop Jones Sermon in 1808:

-began with a scriptures

Exodus 3: 7-8 “I have seen the affliction of my people and have heard their cry, for I know their sorrows and heard their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them”

-these words are a short account of the circumstances which preceded the deliverance of the children of Israel from their captivity and bondage

-1: affliction consisted in their privation of liberty

-2: in this situation they were not forgotten by the God of their Fathers and the Father of the human race

-3: He came down from heaven in His own person in order to deliver them

Hebrews 13:8 “The God of heaven and earth is the same yesterday, and today, and forever

-He has seen the affliction of our countrymen with an eye of pity

-He has seen the anguish which has taken place when parents have been torn from their children and children from their parents with their hands and feet bound in fetters on board of ships prepared to receive them

-He has seen them exposed for sale like horses and cattle

-He has seen the pangs of separation between members of the same family

-though masters and mistresses have been deaf to their cries and shrieks, they have been heard in Heaven

-the ears of Jehovah have been constantly open to them

-He has heard our prayers that have ascended from the hearts of His people 

-just as the Jews, He came down to deliver our suffering countrymen from the hands of their oppressors

-He came down into the Congress of the United States last winter when they passed a law abolishing the slave trade

-we commence this happy day in united thanks

Luke 2: 13-14

-let the song of angels, which was first heard in the air at the birth of our savior

-let us sing psalms unto Him and talk of all His wondrous works

***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 public thanksgiving

“The Lord–on the day of which this is the anniversary–abolished the trade which dragged your fathers from their native country and sold them as bondmen in ... .America.”

1808

-very few know that Congress abolished the slave trade 

-slavery still had not been abolished in all the states, but moving in the right direction

Pg. 17- The Reversal of 1820

-most of the Founders Fathers were dead

-Thomas Jefferson’s party (the Democratic Party) had become the majority party in Congress

-with the new party in charge  a change in congressional policy emerged

-the recall of the 1789 lay prohibited slavery in a federal territory

-the Democratic Congress passed the Missouri Compromise in 1820

Missouri Compromise

-reversed the earlier policy, permitting slavery in almost half of the federal territories

-several states were admitted as slave States

***for the first time since the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, slavery was being officially promoted by congressional policy

-the only way for the Democratic Congress to promote slavery was to ignore the principles in the founding documents

John Quincy Adams 

-Founding Father & President 

“The first step of the slaveholder to justify by argument the peculiar institutions of slavery, is to deny the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence. He denies that all men are created equal. He denies that they have an inalienable right.”

Democrats in Congress

-added pro-slavery laws

1850 Fugitive Slave Law

-law required Northerners to return escaped slaves back into slavery or else pay huge fines

-the law became little more than an excuse for southern slave-hunters to kidnap Free Blacks in the North and carry them into slavery in the South

-if a black was simply accused of being a slave (if free or not) was denied the benefit of both a jury trial and the right of habeas corpus

-blacks had no rights with had been explicitly been given under the Constitution

-northerners warned freed black people and the height of use was the underground railroad 

-this las was disastrous for blacks in the north

-the north helped thousands of slaves escape the south all the way out of the United States into Canada

**escape the reach of the Democrats’ Fugitive Slave Law 

Pg. 19 1854

-Democrat controlled Congress passed another law strengthening slavery

Kansas-Nebraska Act:

-Democrats in Congress has already expanded the federal territories in which slavery was permitted through their passage of the Missouri Compromise

-this retained a ban on slavery

-Democrats repealed the earlier restrictions to fight to keep slavery so introduced into parts of the new territory where it previously had been forbidden increasing the national area in which slavery would be permitted

-this law led to what was called “bleeding Kansas” where pro-slavery forces came pouring into that previously slave-free territory and began fighting violent battles against the anti-slavery inhabitants of the territory

***this Kansas-Nebraska Territory is not the same area of Kansas and Nebraska as known today

-In 1854, it included  part of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota

-Democrats were pushing slavery westward across the nation, coast to coast

Pg. 21 May of 1854

-anti-slavery Democrats in Congress and in other political parties formed a new political party to fight slavery and secure equal civil rights for black Americans

-they called it the Republican Party because “they wanted to return to the principles of freedom and equality set forth in the governing documents of the Republic before pro-slavery member of Congress had perverted those original principles” (Pg. 21).

Charles Sumner:

-U.S. Senator and one of the 1st founders of the new Republican party 

-he had taken the seat from the great Daniel Webster

-he had a record of promoting civil rights

-he had championed the desegregation of public schools in Boston which he argued before the State Supreme Court

1856:

-Sumner gave a 2-day long speech in the U.S. Senate against slavery

-after the speech he was beaten unconscious by Democrat Representative: Preston Brooks (South Carolina) 

-Brooks was seen as a southern hero and easily re-elected to Congress

-it took 3 ½ years for Sumner to recover

***Sumner returned to the Senate and the 1st speech he delivered was again against slavery

Facebook Posted Thoughts: Discouragement and Perseverance

 “The wind does not break a tree that bends ” which is an African proverb. It advises against rigid stubbornness in the face of challenges. True strength lies in the ability to adapt to changing circumstances rather than resisting them. To bend takes humility to accept your own weaknesses and the wisdom to know when you need to adjust. Pride leads to destruction.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

I have been wallowing in discouragement lately. I know that it is a normal human feeling, but I get disappointed that I don’t pull out of it faster. If you, like me, are feeling discouraged don’t beat yourself up for not trusting God. Situations can appear so overwhelming that we forget God’s faithful character. I have to remind myself that the feeling of discouragement can be powerful but God’s Word is more powerful.

“Be strong and courageous Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

I am retiring from a career because of the discouragement I feel about the public school system. I watch these educators celebrating student anti-ICE protests. Vilifying law enforcement is wrong on so many levels. Instead of teaching them to productively address the policies and procedures, they aid in filtering hatred toward human beings just doing their jobs. These agents have families. I watched students in our own town holding up FU signs, spewing hateful words, and even throwing objects at cars. These young people even turned on the police that were there to protect and keep them safe. It is happening in many cities. A student recorded shouting she would shoot conservatives if she had a gun. This anger will spill out on school campuses. Conservative students are made to feel unsafe if they support any form of uniformed officers. There is a video of a student punching another student because of his conservatism. This division is only going to get wider unless the conservative and religious communities get involved. That is where I get discouraged the most. Where are the church leaders telling congregations to get involved and bring some resolution by holding public school systems accountable.

The largest teachers union passed an anti-ICE resolution at their annual convention 7 months ago in July. It commits to help “organize against ICE raids and deportations.” The teachers unions are behind these anti-ICE protests. Calls ICE actions “Kidnapping.” Florida Education Association press conference speakers endorse student political activism as ‘rational’ and ‘required’ (February 2026). We are seeing this agenda play out in every city across America. Students are turning violent which doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a downstream effect of being told opposing views are evil and must be shut down.

Ex. A liberal woman in Maryland, Nancy Krause, weaponized CPS against Calvert County high school students for starting a TPUSA chapter at their school.

https://defendinged.org/investigations/a-sunrise-movement-training-guidebook-calls-for-students-to-take-action-monthly-to-disrupt-business-as-usual-to-bring-about-a-political-revolution/?vcrmeid=Jm57PCrhAUqSEM2ysfgVLA&vcrmiid=G0XiCG7JWEe_bdtOvjQ-3g&segment=OC0226NL

Trying to counter these indoctrinating ideologies can be immensely discouraging. When I feel like this I do turn to reading Jeremiah when he was feeling discouraged. He was warning his whole nation who would not listen to him. He was beaten and placed in stocks for faithfully speaking God’s words. He dealt with humiliation, public punishment, and I am sure loneliness.

Jeremiah chapter 31 starts by describing his profound national grief over the loss of faith in God. But the tone of the chapter shifts from his great discouragement, sorrow, and loss to God’s promise of restoration, hope, and return of the ultimate comfort and redemption through Christ.

When I ask if I am making a difference or not feeling like I am making a dent in my efforts to restore faith into our education system I need to turn my eyes and prayers upward.

“Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:16).

If you are feeling discouragement today then pray with me as I ask God to help me discern Your voice from the enemy. Help me see when it is the negative voice of the spirit of discouragement whispering in my ears and have the strength to reject it. I choose to trust You and Your promises, no matter what I face. I know Your mighty hand will prevail. Jesus knows all my worries and comforts me because He cares about everything in my life. I know God uses even trouble for His glory, so let me be a continued source of encouragement and hope.

God Bless you all,
dreamsdontfade.com

This song is just the perfect pick me up in the way I have been feeling lately.

I've been acting
Like a brave heart
I've been playing
All their favorite parts
But it's been heavy on my bones
It's been weary on my soul
Would you lift me up?
Would you lift me up?
When the world gets cold
And it's all too much
Sometimes I need somebody to remind me what I'm made of, oh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGX7nY8YQ04&list=RDvGX7nY8YQ04&start_radio=1

Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White by David Barton; pages Forward-13

 Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White by David Barton

-African Americans originally came to America unwillingly, having been stolen and sold by Muslim slave-catchers in Africa to Dutch traders journeying to America in 1619

“Their ancestors came here years ago against their own will; and now this is their only country and their only flag. They have shown themselves anxious to live for it, and to die for it.” Howard Taft

-James A. Garfield, American's 20th President, personally witnessed the final chapter in the deliverance of African Americans from slavery in America 

-He fought to abolish slavery as a Union General during the Civil War and afterwards as a Member of Congress, voted for the abolition of slavery and led in the passage of almost two dozen civil rights bills

-America’s first African American political history truly is an incredible story but much of the early history is now unknown

-most history is taught only about Dr, Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. Dubois, and Malcolm X

-But not about Joseph Hayne Rainey who overcame slavery as Speaker of the U.S. House

John Rock

-the first African American admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar

“I am certain that it was no easy task to compress into a single volume the American Negro’s century-long struggle to win the full promise of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.” President John F Kennedy

***The story of African American history is part of American history

-the stories of the sacrifice, courage, and patriotism of our African American heroes

Ex. Richard Allen, Henry Highland Garnet, and John Roy Lunch 

Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White

A Primer on African American Political History:

James Armistead:

-a black patriot and spy who helped make possible the 1781 Yorktown victory during the American Revolution that established America as an independent nation

Peter Salem:

-a black patriot who was the hero of the 1775 Battle of Bunder Hill; he also fought a son the legendary Minutemen and was a soldier at the Battles of Saratoga and Stony point

-there is a monument erected to his memory in Massachusetts to commemorate his life and deeds

1776-picture crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night

-two men depicted at the from of the boat include Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell

-two black patriots who served with George Washington and other American generals during the Revolution

**Few are aware that many of the soldiers who fought during the American Revolution were black

**the American Revolution had integrated units as compared to the later segregated units in the Civil War

William Nell:

-an award winning young black historical scholar in Boston during the 1830’s who studied law and became the first black American to hold a post in the federal government

-in 1852, he authored “Services of Colored Americans in the Wars of 1776 and 1812,” and three years later he penned “The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution.”

Black Political History:

-gaps of true history and historical figures are missing being taught in schools today

Ex. students learn that the first slaves sailed up the James River in Virginia in 1619 and thus slavery was introduced into America

Omissions:

-few learn about the first slaves that arrived in Massachusetts Colony set up by the Christian Pilgrims and Puritans who arrested the ship’s officers and returned the kidnapped slaves to Africa at their own expense

-students know of Thomas Jefferson, signer of the Declaration of Independence & founding father, owned slaves; but no mention of the other among the 56 who were anti-slavery leaders

Among them: 

Samuel Adams, Stephen Hopkins, Benjamin Rush, Elbridge Gerry, James Wilson, John Adams, Rover Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, John Witherspoon, and may other anti-slavery founders 

***Black History too often is presented from a southern viewpoint; yet there should also be included is the northern viewpoint

-the full story of  history in general is essential but in particular is the African American political history

-the northern viewpoint is written by famous black historians such as William Nell, Carter Woodson, Benjamin Quarles, Joseph Wilson, Booker T. Washington, Edward Johnson, and others 

-although the history of black Americans begins in 1619 with the arrival of the first slaves in America, the political history of black Americans actually begins much later, in 1787-the year in which the American political system was constructed 

-the year in which the Constitution was written

***today critics assert that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document as they point to the Three-Fifths Clause, claiming that the Constitution says that blacks are only three-fifths of a person

-this has been refuted 

Fredrick Douglass:

-the famous abolitionist investigated this claim

-he was born into slavery and remained a slave until he escaped to New York in 1838

-3 years after his escape, he delivered an anti-slavery speech in Massachusetts

-he was hired to work for the the state’s anti-slavery society

-he served as a preacher at Zion Methodist Church

-during the Civil War, he recruited the first black regiment to fight for the union

-he advised Abraham Lincoln on the Emancipation Proclamation and other important issues

-following the Civil War, he received Presidential appointments from Republican Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James A. Garfield

-Democrat President Grover Cleveland removed Frederick Douglass from office

-Republican President Benjamin Harrison reappointed him 

-Douglass studied under abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison who taught him that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document

-Douglass’ earlier writings reflected this same sentiment

-After doing his own research, Douglass concluded that the Constitution was not a pr-slavery document but an anti-slavery document

His words:

“Upon a reconsideration of the whole subject, I became convinced…that the Constitution of the United States not only contained no guarantees in favor of slavery but, on the contrary, it is in its letter and spirit an anti-slavery instrument, demanding the abolition of slavery as a condition of its own existence as the supreme law of the land.” 

“The Constitution is a glorious livery document.”

“Now, take the Constitution according to its plain reading and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. On the hand, it will be found to contain principles and purposes entirely hostile to the existence of slavery!”

Douglas interprets the Three-Fifths Clause:

-he understood that the Three-Fifths Clause dealt only with representation and not the worth of any individual (representation)

-the Constitution had established that for every 30,000 inhabitants in a state, that state would receive one representative in congress

-the southern states saw this as an opportunity to strengthen slavery since slaves accounted for much of the southern population (almost half of the inhabitants of South Caroline was slaves)

-slave owners could just count their slaves as regular inhabitants, and by doing so could greatly increase the number their pro-slavery representatives in Congress (South’s flawed Perspective)

-the anti-slavery Founders from the North strenuously objected to this plan

-slave owners didn’t consider their slaves to be persons; these slave owners were therefore using their “property” to increase the power of the slave States in Congress

-the anti-slavery leaders wanted Free Blacks counted, but not slaves if counting slaves would increase the power of slave owners

***they understood that fewer the pro-slavery representatives to Congress, the sooner slavery could be eradicated from the nation

Gouverneur Morris:

-signer of the Constitution and a strong opponent of slavery

“Upon what principle is it that the slaves shall be computed in the representation? Are they men? Then make them citizens and let them vote!”

-he objected to counting slaves because he didn’t want to reward slave-holders and increase their power

Luther Martin:

-ardent anti-slavery delegate at the Constitutional Convention

“No principle can justify taking slaves into computation in apportioning the number of representatives a State should have in the government; it is absurdity of increasing the power of a State in making laws for freeman in proportion as that State violates the rights of freedom…It encourages the slave trade and makes it the interest of the States to continue that infamous vile traffic so that slaves could not be taken into account as men or citizens”

**several other Founders including James Wilson and Elbridge Gerry–even used the slave-holders own argument against them 

-anti-slavery founders didn’t want to count them as slaves, but as free men as equal citizens who can vote

-slave owners wanted more pro-slavery representation 

-the anti-slavery Founders argued that if the South was going to use their “property” in order to get more pro-slavery representation in Congress then North would count its “property” including sheep, cows, horses, etc.…

-the South objected just as strongly to this proposal as the North had objected to counting slaves

***the final compromise was that only 60% of slaves, that is Three-fifths, would be counted to calculate the number of southern representatives in Congress

-it would take 50,000 slaves rather than just 30,000 before slaveholders States could get an additional representative in Congress

-this greatly reduced the number of representatives in congress from States with extraordinary large slave populations

 ***the Three-Fifths Clause had nothing to do with the worth of any individual; in fact, Free Blacks in the North and the South often were extended the full rights of a citizen and regularly voted–both in the North and the South

***the Three-Fifths Clause had to do only with representation: it was an anti-slavery provision designed to limit the number of pro-slavery representatives in Congress

Fredrick Douglass:

took the time to to study the Constitution and therefore emphatically declared that the Constitution-all of the constitution-was anti-slavery