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Alphascendant -> RE: Basic Functioning of Government (3/28/2010 1:03:11 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: tazzygirl
The founding fathers also believed the Land of the Free was for white men only, if you recall. Shall we return to the state of true slavery and the belittlement of women? Our founding fathers were simply men trying to do their best to establish and run a new country. Guess what? They made mistakes, just like any other man would.
As far as the oath, depends on which version. But they all say.. do no harm... not that they cannot turn someone away.
I don't think they were envisioning the country being ran as one entity, but allowing the states to remain sovereign. The political motives of the men who framed the constitution were probably quite different than the pilgrims who first settled here.
It appears as if the earliest slaves brought here, to meet labor needs, could actually earn their freedom as indentured servants. Their rights to vote did not begin to be abolished until
late in the 17th century, probably for much the same reason immigrants are not permitted to vote now. Only the wealthy could afford true slaves, sort of like trying to find one on this site.... Without the resources that the precursors to today's corporations could provide, those that could afford slaves, the war against England may not have been won.
Almost 90 years before the revolution, some Quakers in Germantown wrote a petition against slavery. The Stono rebellion, Bacon's Rebellion, the New York Slave Insurrection, slavery indeed was a big issue by the time the Revolutionary era arrived and the petition addressed that as the topic of human rights became formalized with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Following the Revolution, some of the newly formed independent states began to ban slave trade, it was a state issue, not a federal issue. Get it now? It was not banned by the Constitution until most of the states had already banned it.
Interesting how someone professing to be a slave complains about a white man's attitude towards women's rights and slavery. As far as doing no harm by turning somebody away, here's a little story: Years ago, three of us were riding around , drinking, and we got stuck in the middle of a muddy field. Two of us got out to push. As the car began to move, we hopped on the trunk, it seemed the logical thing to do in case the car got stuck before getting back out to the road, we would be right there to help continue the momentum. As the car got back on the road, the driver accelerated. We had to have been doing at least 50 mph on that dirt road, when my friend began to slowly slide off the trunk. I was doing all I could to maintain my own grip, but could not bear to watch my friend fall, so I reached out to give him a hand. When he grabbed hold of it we both tumbled off the trunk. Luckilly, we were pretty drunk and didn't get too hurt. My friend was pretty pissed at the driver, I was just happy to be in one piece. So, by not lending him a hand, I was doing him no harm?
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