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