This morning I was going through a History lesson with two of my sons. We’re currently studying American History prior to the Civil War. It really sank in for me that America has always been a nation in conflict.
We tend to think that there was a Golden Age in America, when we all got along, and there was no conflict gripping our nation. While we may have had periods where outside threats have pushed our internal conflicts to the back burner, but the internal conflict has always been there.
We’re reading about the slave-era. Abolitionists working to end the “peculiar institution” as the southern slave-holding states liked to call it.
As our nation expanded and pushed against the Mississippi river, Free States and Slave States remained in balance. The population was greater in the North, so they had greater representation in the House of Representatives, but the South insisted that the Senate always remained balanced. They wanted to know that they could kill any bill threatening slavery in the Senate. We all remember reading about things like the Missouri Compromise, but do you remember any of the details in the greater back-and-forth that existed from the ratification of the Constitution right up to the attack on Fort Sumpter.
Do you remember the story of Texas? Do you know how it came to be? You probably know the story, at least vaguely, of the Alamo. You’ve heard of Samuel Austin. But do you know the greater story? I had forgotten most of it, if I ever learned it in the first place.
Samuel Austin went to Tejas, Mexico and established an American settlement. He was originally from Virginia, and was very much pro-slavery. This did not go well with the Mexican government, which did not have slavery. They set out to end the slavery in Austin’s settlement, which sparked a rebellion ultimately ending in the independence of Texas.
Southern pro-slavery Democrats immediately sought to admit Texas into the Union, hoping that it would tip the balance of power in their favor and forever solidify the institution of slavery in America. The North fought against it, fearing that Texas would not only tip the balance, but that Texas would be split up into numerous states, each with two pro-slavery Senators.
Ultimately, Texas was admitted to the union, but only by continuing the trend of balancing every new pro-slavery state with a new free state, and admitting Oregon at the same time.
Prior to reading about this particular battle in our history, we read of the border wars between Missouri and Kansas, and the despicable tactics used by southern pro-slavery Democrats when Nebraska was admitted. With Missouri’s admission to the Union, an agreement was reached that it would forever be the only slave state located West of the Mississippi and North of the 39°30′ line (which marks the southern border of Missouri.) When Nebraska became a territory, the Democrats maneuvered to throw out this agreement and “allow” Nebraskans to vote on whether they would do so as a slave state or free. They then sent numerous people to Nebraska territory to set up residence just in time to be able to vote on the issue and ultimately voted to create Nebraska territory with slavery.
We don’t hear much about this because, fortunately, Nebraska never had more than a few slaves. It also was established only a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War, making their pro-slavery status more-or-less moot rather quickly.
It has been reading this history, seeing the dirty tactics used by Southern Democrats, and knowing more about the history after the Civil War, that I realized that America has always been a nation in conflict. Subsequent to the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Democrats spread out around the country, being more than just a predominantly Southern party. They have always had an evil, despicable issue that they have fought to create or preserve. They have always resorted to vile tactics to do it; from stacking the voter base in Nebraska to pushing for widespread, unaccountable mailed ballots in our current election, they have always been willing to pull out all kinds of dirty tricks to seize power.
This is also why they want total control of the education system, nation-wide. It is repulsive to them that my boys would read American History and see what their heroes did to preserve the institution of slavery. Don’t let them get away with it. Do whatever you can to thwart them. Read history, and teach it to your kids.
As an aside, I’m glad to know in hindsight, that the powers of Good have won in Texas. The history is pretty ugly, but it’s great to see that Texas is now a haven for the Free within the Land of the Free.