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David Lockmiller · 06-20-2019, 09:36 AM

(06-19-2019 09:30 PM)Dave Taylor Wrote: I have always been impressed by the words of historian Ta-Nehisi Coates who spoke today in support of the creation of a congressional committee to study reparations.

Coates also wrote a very long piece regarding reparations for the Atlantic a few years ago.

[The following are a few of the facts that I garnered from your post.]

President James K. Polk traded slaves from the Oval Office.

We invoke the words of [] Lincoln because they say something about our legacy and our traditions.

Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, a reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history.”

What exactly does Mr. Coates say about Lincoln ending slavery in the United States, both as a candidate for the United States Senate and as President of the United States? And, what does he say about all of the white men and their families that suffered in the American Civil War that ultimately ended slavery in the United States forever and maintained the Union? I presume he did not skimp on the discussion of these important related subjects!

And, regarding President James K. Polk, U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln did his utmost to prevent President Polk from invading Mexico with his "spot resolutions." Representative Lincoln also introduced a resolution during Polk's administration to end slavery in Washington DC (I hope that Mr. Coates specifically referenced this fact in his Atlantic article). And, finally, there is the fact that President Polk in his voluminous memoir does not mention the name of Abraham Lincoln even once.

I presume that Mr. Coates' Atlantic Magazine article is filled with references of how President Abraham Lincoln ended slavery in the United States forever with both his Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Certainly the black slaves at the time appreciated the efforts of President Abraham Lincoln. I hope that Mr. Coates adequately acknowledged President Lincoln's and white Union soldiers' contributions in this result. If not, then shame on Mr. Coates because he is not being fair and just (in my opinion)! He himself has failed to "reconcil[e] our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history.”