Why Is the G.O.P. Fighting to Preserve Monuments to Traitors in the Capitol?

[David Lockmiller]

(06-21-2020 08:25 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  It's not just Confederate leaders. Statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Francis Scott Key have also now been toppled.

I was just at the Ulysses S. Grant bust (now gone) at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. I almost could not believe that the bust of the man who defeated General Lee, and thereby saved the Union for democracy without slavery, had been the objective of protesters in favor of the "black lives matter" movement.

As I was viewing the paint damaged pedestal, a middle-aged white woman voiced her opinion that she thought that Grant was a Confederate general. I informed her that Grant was a Union general and had defeated General Lee to save the Union. She took the correction in nonchalant stride."Whup, wrong number." (those were not her spoken words).

The Francis Scott Key much, much larger memorial was close by and on each of the four sides is a stanza from the National Anthem, as I recall from previous examination of the structure. [I did not go over to see the damages.] According to the news reports on TV, Francis Scot Key had been a slave owner and that is the reason his memorial had been targeted by protesters.

"Shoot first, and read the history books later" should have been the motto for the protesters. And, this stoppage of traffic on the major bridges by protesters must truly be annoying to ordinary citizens stuck in non-moving traffic for hours as a penalty for what happened a century and a half ago.

"No sacrifice is too great . . . when the sacrifice is being made by others."

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(06-21-2020 10:57 AM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  After all, Lincoln did once entertain the idea of sending black people back to Africa, and he did say that his foremost goal was to keep the union together, not to free the slaves.

Slaves were brought over in slave ships and placed in holds that were jam-packed with people and little food and water provided; tens of thousands must have died in the journey under these conditions. When you calculate the cost of returning four million former slaves to Africa on passenger ships in 1865, the costs would be staggering and this calculation assumes that after 200 years there were would be ample places in Africa willing to accept these former slaves.

We have had discussions here ad nauseum about slavery being a states right issue, supported with guarantees in the Constitution. The slave colonies would not have signed their approval of the Constitution without these guarantees.

Early in President Lincoln's first administration, he said to John Hay: "I consider the central idea pervading this struggle is the necessity that is upon us, of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose. If we fail it will go far to prove the incapability of the people to govern themselves." (Team of Rivals, page 356.)

The capability of the people to govern themselves is called a democracy.