My Own White Guilt

[brtmchl]

Slavery was a world wide epidemic! Not an American Institution.
Slavery has plagued every race and religion known to man. Whites, Blacks, Asians, Muslims, Christians, Jews.
Slavery in Africa has existed throughout the continent for many centuries. Debt slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, and criminal slavery were all practiced in various parts of Africa and some believe still exists.
Slavery was part of this country long before it was a country and The Constitution was written. When Dutch trading ships started showing up in Africa, warring tribes started capturing and selling their neighbors rather than killing them. The first 19 or so Africans arrived ashore near Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, brought by Dutch traders who had seized them from a captured Spanish slave ship. In 1692 French explorers Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette discovered slavery among the Indians in Illinois. Indians captured women and children from other tribes to be used as slaves.
The first black slaves of record in Illinois were brought by Philipe Francois Renault in 1719
When the British settled, about 600,000 slaves were imported into the Thirteen Colonies constituting 5% of the twelve million slaves brought from Africa to the Americas. The great majority of African slaves were transported to sugar colonies in the Caribbean and to Brazil. Since people of African origins were not English subjects by birth, they were considered foreigners and generally outside English Common Law. During most of the British colonial period, slavery existed in all the colonies. People enslaved in the North typically worked as house servants, artisans, laborers and craftsmen. The South depended on an agricultural economy, slaves there worked primarily in agriculture. Many Scots-Irish, Irish and Germans came to this country in servitude to pay their way. Historians estimate that more than half of all white immigrants to the English colonies of North America during the 17th and 18th centuries came as indentured servants.
British rule allowed Slavery in The New World, in fact The Slavery Abolition Act wasn't written in Parliment until 1833. Slavery was officially abolished in most of the British Empire on in 1834. However, only slaves below the age of six were freed in the colonies. Former slaves over the age of six were redesignated as "apprentices", and their servitude was abolished in two stages; the first set of apprenticeships came to an end in 1838, while the final apprenticeships were scheduled to cease on in 1840.

Slavery in the United States was the legal institution that existed in the United States of America in the 17th to 19th centuries. Slavery had been practiced in British North America from early colonial days, and was recognized in the Thirteen Colonies at the time of the United States' Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The Constitution wasn't clear on the subject of slavery. On one hand it recognizes Slaves as only Property but later, thanks to the 3/5 rule it acknowledges Slaves as a partial person or depending how you look at it not equal to the whole of a person.
Section 9 of Article I forbade the Federal government from banning the "importation" of persons that state law considered "proper to admit"
Article V prohibited amending those portions of Section 9 before 1808. By prohibiting changes for two decades to regulation of the slave trade, Article V effectively protected the trade until 1808, giving the States 20 years to resolve this issue.
Delegates approved Section 2 of Article IV, which prohibited states from freeing slaves who fled to them from another state, and required the return of chattel property to owners.
In a section negotiated by James Madison of Virginia, Section 2 of Article I designated "other persons" to be added to the total of the state's free population, at the rate of three-fifths of their total number, to establish the state's official population for the purposes of apportionment of Congressional representation and federal taxation.

Most of the information above can easily be found on Wikipedia.

But, Thanks to Lincoln, Emancipation was passed ( which in my opinion was a test balloon for the 13th Amendment) as well as the 13th Amendment clearly abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

My question is: why is there any question as to whether Lincoln only wanted to do this or only wanted to do that? Slavery is bad! Especially through the eyes of a 21 century person. Oh wait! Lincoln and his administration DID something about it. He abolished it! Clearly, redefining the Constitution without ambiguity. All the while preserving The Union. I'm tired of White guilt. I'm tired of acting as if America was the monster of the world with its institution of Slavery. No corner of the World is above guilt.

As for my own White guilt:
My 6th Great Grandfather Joseph Malcolm Sr. came to this country a Scotts - Irish immigrant as an indentured servant In the late 1700's.
After paying his debts he located in Pendleton Co, Virginia. I have a copy of a census report from 1820, at the age of 80, Among those counted in this census are his wife Dorothy Polly Lewis and 3 un named Slaves. No names just 1 female age 14- 25, 1 male age 14-25, and 1 male age 26-44. Number of persons engaged in Agriculture 3.

I also have a Great Grandma Mary Hutchinson of Wayne County WV who after her first husband died married Absalom P Booth in , haven't found any connections.