As John C. Calhoun: Proslavery Activist

 This is a speech I wrote based off research I found on John C. Calhoun. To give a little background, Calhoun was a prominent figure in Congress and a spokesman for the slave-plantation system during the years 1817 up unto his death in 1850. 

 

I, John Calhoun, born March 18, 1782, in South Carolina, believe that slavery is necessary for our economy. President Andrew Jackson passed a series of tariffs in 1828 and 1832 that sacrificed our agrarian interest in cotton and other cash crops that depended on slave work to benefit the North's industry. Although as Vice President, I wrote theSouth Carolina Exposition and Protest" for the states to have the right to nullify this unconstitutional government action. We have little representation defending us, the slaveholding South, and that goes against the concurrent majority. To govern by the numerical majority alone is to confuse a part of the people with the whole. This concept prevents the North from being a tyrant, trying to rule the nation with those dumb anti-slavery laws since they have most of the population. We are already moving towards tyranny with them trying to take our slave-based economy away. I will not compromise on this issue; this calls for a civil war. The "South cannot remain here in an endless struggle in defense of our character, our property, and institutions. " If the North doesn't stop this "we must become, finally, two people... Abolition and the Union cannot coexist."  

Our economy depends on slavery. To destroy slavery would be to destroy a powerful symbol of what motivated the Southern man to improve himself. Maybe you Northerners don't understand that cotton is labor-intensive, for the more money our white men make, the more fields, meaning more slaves needed. Our slave system is superior to the “wage slavery” you Northerners have. The master invests in his slaves making it economically unreasonable for them to mistreat them or ignore their working and living conditions. In the North, the free laborer was as much a slave to his employer as was the black man in the South, he lacks the protection the black slave enjoyed from a fatherly master. So, the ownership of slaves became a measure of status and upward mobility. 

 

Slavery is a positive good. It is a win-win situation. The master got his labor, and the slave received a standard of living far above what he could achieve on his own. The African race is inferior mentally, physically, and morally to us whites. They need to be Slaves. Look at the living conditions up North... the free blacks live in poverty, proving the blacks cannot even exercise their freedom positively. Never has the black race been so civilized and so improved. It came as a low, degraded savage, and we took it under our wing to care for it. It is unable to gain the quality of life we provide it. For it to be free and compete with us would be catastrophic. It wouldn't have the same quality of life that it did as a slave. Slave owners provide from slaves from birth to death. Even if slavery were to end, which would be wrong, Africans would become extinct in the time since they were inferior, at least as slaves gives it security and makes it useful.

 

Short Videos for Further Information:

5 Minute Biography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0EhTQ6LAkY

Nullification Crisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfQf208o3eI

“Slavery a Positive Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN3ntiErGU0&t=7s

 

 

 

Religious Arguments For or Against Slavery

Many religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam were in support slavery. 

The Bible, the book for Christianity, states in Ephesians 6:5 for "Slaves, obey your earthy masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ." The Bible later says in verse 9 that masters should treat their slaves the same way. A slave is to serve wholeheartedly since the Lord will reward the slave whether they still hold their slave status or become free. 

In Judaism, the Torah defines slaves in two categories: the Eved K'naani (non-Jewish slave) and the Eved Ivri (Jewish slave). The K'naani slave refers to a who remains a slave for the rest of their life. The Ivri slave is an indentured servant that is trying to pay off debt for their family. The Ivri is set free after working for a certain amount of time.

The prophet Muhammad himself owned slaves. He did insist that if you owned slaves that they would be treated well. Even though slaves were treated as property, they were also treated as human beings. Islam continuously emphasized the importance of treating slaves with kindness and compassion. In the Hadith of Jami' Tirmidhi, one of the six books of recorded sayings of Prophet Muhammad, it says, "Allah has made some of your brothers as slaves under your care. So, whoever has his brother under his care, then let him feed him from his food and let him clothe him from his clothes. " Unlike Judaism, where they can enslave other Jews, Islam does not allow Muslims to enslave other Muslims.

Dating back to the 1800's many religious figures have been against slavery for many reasons. 

In David Walker's Appeal In Four Articles, he indeed argues about the wrongings of slavery and religion. In an article written by the Young American Republic who referenced Walker's article, it says "Walker argues that it is divinely wrong to support slavery, referencing many different periods in history that prove the immorality of slavery, "Indeed, how religion was and is conducted by the Europeans and their descendants, one might believe it was a plan fabricated by themselves and the devils to oppress us.'"

 In addition to this article, many figures throughout history have had the same mindset as Walker. These include William Wilberforce, Frederick Douglass, Nehemiah, The Quakers, and Richard Allen. 

In particular, Wilberforce, who was twenty-one when elected into Parliament, used his platform to speak and fight against the slave trade. Sadly, William Wilberforce passed away three days after his final bill in the British Parliament was passed. Still, under his leadership and before his passing, the anti-slave trade reformers convinced Parliament to close the African traffic in 1806. Thankfully, with his heart for ending slavery and persistence, slavery was banned in the British colonies in 1833.

The article also claims “The primary argument against slavery by Christians was that it was immoral in the words of the bible. This really began to pick up speed - the argument between the religious support or repremandment of slavery - in the 1850s.”  In addition to Walker’s article, the Young American Republic sources  William Hosmer, Slavery and the Church, (Auburn N.Y., William J. Moses, 1853), 99 as they added to their writing: "It is not denied that the slave holder may be converted and become a Christian; he is not beyond the reach of grace, but in order to obtain it (grace) he must renounce his sins. The drunkard may become a Christian, yet not without putting away his drunkenness; mercy is gained only by repentance. Still further, it is not denied that men may be Christians ... Having premised these things, we shall now present the argument against the religious character of slave-holders. 1. Slave-holders cannot be Christians, because slavery is sin."²

Not only does religion argue for both also against slavery. People can take different scriptures to justify their actions. As people continue to practice religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, arguments for a topic as controversial as this one can still be found in their texts. 

Sources

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-bible-was-used-to-justify-slavery-then-africans-made-it-their-path-to-freedom/2019/04/29/34699e8e-6512-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml
• https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/4713562/40HadithLectureNotes/40onSocialJustice-Week-30.pdf
• https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml
• https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/does-the-bible-condone-slavery/
• http://projects.leadr.msu.edu/youngamerica/exhibits/show/antislaveryreligion/antislaveryreligionusa
• https://restavekfreedom.org/2016/08/05/5-religious-figures-who-stood-against-slavery/
• http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/amabrel.htm

What are your 8 Values of Free Expression?

 What are your 8 Values of Free Expression?

 

Overview

The eight values of free expression allow America to be the democracy that we see today. With these expressions, Americans can participate in political elections, talk back to the government, and rant on Twitter. These examples happen because we are given the eight values of free expression. In this post, I will talk about the Marketplace of Ideas and an example of how it is used currently and why I feel it is an essential free expression for people to use.

 

Marketplace of Ideas

 

John Milton’s suggestion of marketplace of ideas is known as the discovery of truth. John Milton wrote a book titled Areopagitica which responded to England’s Parliament to restrict licensing and censorship. Milton thinks that we should be able to read different things in the press and choose the right one based on reason without the government taking that ability away. For example, in 2020, China put into place social media censorship relating to the failure of the Chinese government to control the spread of the Coronavirus outbreak. Because of this, people in China did not know how to take the necessary precautions allowing the spread of the virus to be faster. The virus spreading quickly in China prevented the world from preparing how to respond to this new virus. 

 

 

Although the Chinese government started censoring their people because of the coronavirus, the American government has a well. When the coronavirus first started, I remember government telling people to stay home to prevent the virus from spreading; information was given via social media and news outlets. But that came with a cost: a new pandemic as formed, a pandemic of misinformation. With the increasing use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, millions of people have interacted in ways never seen before. Think about it this way. At the time of writing this blog, I have 1,055 "followers" on Instagram. If I make a post or share someone else's post, those 1,055 people can see it, whether that be correct or false information. Then those 1,055 people can share it, and now it has spread to thousands of other people off of just one post I made regardless of its fast or not. 

This phrase, a pandemic of misinformation, was used by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a virtual press conference at UN headquarters in New York. He said that only "verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis" should be taken in to combat this new pandemic of misinformation. Journalists are becoming victims to the constraints and restrictions put on them for just doing their job. 

 

 

 

I think the marketplace of ideas is important because people should speak freely on the internet. To me, there shouldn't be restrictions when putting things out on the internet. The truth will win at the end of the day. We should listen to the journalists doing their job and do our research when questioning a source instead of just believing anything on the internet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Role of the Supreme Court

 

History of Supreme Court

During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, delegates needed a third branch to perform checks and balances over the legislative and executive branches. This branch was known as the judiciary branch. A couple of years later, the first US Congress created the Judiciary Act of 1789, establishing the first Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial court located in the Capitol (building pictured above). The courts were initially made up of 6 justices (judges of the Supreme Court), a chief justice with five associate justices. The first Chief Justice was named John Jay under President George Washington. 

 

Evolution of the Courts

It wasn't until Chief Justice John Marshall (above), appointed by Thomas Jefferson, did the Supreme Court grew in power. During 1801-1805, his time as a justice, he established the power of "judicial review" over Congress, deeming Congress's acts as unconstitutional. 

The size of the courts grew over time from George Washington's 6 Justices to now the 9 Justices we see today.

How Justices are Appointed and Confirmed

According to the Constitution, Article 2, Section2, Clause 2, the President can nominate anyone as a justice with no qualifications as to who he appoints. The Senate can confirm or deny the President's nomination; this is one of the ways the legislative branch and executive branch can perform checks and balances towards the judiciary branch.

 

How long do Justices’ serve?

Justices have a term called tenure, which means that judges have a permanent position in the Supreme Court. Justices can serve their whole life unless they are impeached and convicted by Congress, resign, or retire. 

How do they pick cases?

Justices see over 7,000 cases every year from October to June but only take about 100 lawsuits under the legal term "certiorari." Certiorari is when a higher court (such as the Supreme Court) issues a writ or order is reexamines a lower court's decision. A "rule of four" is used to determine which cases get seen, meaning that four of the nine justices agreed to take on the matter. 

Decisions about the Cases

A usual vote would be 6-3, 7-2, or 5-4. A rare vote would be a unanimous vote where all the justices agree 9-0 since they usually pick complex cases that encourage debate.

Famous Cases you may have heard of that set precedent

·      1803: Marbury v Madison which created judicial review

·      1896: Plessy v Ferguson which upheld Jim Crow laws, 'separate but equal

·      1954: Brown v Board of Education which made racial segregation in schools unconstitutional 

Find out more, Check out 

·      Shorter video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsFJukDFBWo

·      Longer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTVvZ1Sdkaw

·      SCOTUS blog: http://www.scotusblog.com

Sources: 

·      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo

·      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8qSuWxcG8&t=622s

·      https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/constitution

·      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States