THE UNITED STATES IS NOT NOW AND NEVER HAS BEEN A RACIST NATION PART 3

The Civil War resulted in the final blow for the abolition of slavery in America, but the war to end slavery had been fought by many Americans, black and white, from the beginning.  In Part 3 I want to introduce you to some of the warriors who were and consistently fighting to abolish slavery long before the Civil War began.

 They were called abolitionists because they fought to abolish slavery.  One of the most influential abolitionists was a prominent Christian, journalist, and social reformer.  His name was William Lloyd Garrison.  I listed him as a Christian first because it was written of him, “The source of Garrison’s power was the Bible.  From his earliest days, he read the Bible constantly and prayed constantly.  It was with this fire that he started his conflagration.”  I happen to believe that God was actively calling out, and empowered certain men and women, to be his instruments to abolish the horrible institution of slavery from America. 

 In 1831, Garrison was fully aware of the power of the press to bring about political change.  He co-founded a weekly anti-slavery newspaper, called “The Liberator.”  He shared his passion for fighting the war against slavery, “I am in earnest.  I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard.  The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.”

 Garrison was one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society that fought the war against slavery from 1833-1870.  He published his paper in Boston and faced a great deal of opposition, even in the north.  A reward was offered for his capture and abduction to the south for trial; he was burned in effigy; some gallows was erected in front of his Boston office.  While he was relatively safe in Boston, at one point he had to be smuggled onto a ship to escape to England where he remained for a year.

 Garrison introduced “The Black List,” in “The Liberator.”  It was a column devoted to printing short reports of “the barbarities of slavery, kidnappings, whippings, and murders.”  Like the video of the tragic death of George Floyd ignited the new fight against racism today, the words of Garrison brought the ugliness and the reality of racism before the eyes of millions of Americans with his stories.

 One author wrote of him, “From the day Garrison established “The Liberator” he was the strongest man in America.  He was affected in his thought by no one.  what he was thinking, all men were destined to think. His power of arousing uncontrollable disgust was a gift, like magic; and he seems to sail upon it as a demon upon the wind.  Not Andrew Jackson, nor John Quincy Adams, nor Webster, nor Clay, nor Benton, nor Calhoun, who dance like shadows about his machine, but William Lloyd Garrison becomes the central figure in American life.  He vitalized and permanently changed this nation as much as one man ever did the same for any nation in the history of the world.”

 When you understand the real history of America includes thousands of unnamed men and women like Garrison through the centuries, you must admit that America cannot be called a racist nation.  Yes, some racists have always existed, but so have many others, at the same time, who abhorred slavery and paid a great price to fight the war to abolish slavery.

 William Lloyd Garrison’s passion and courage has influenced other great leaders who continued to fight the war against racism after his death.  The works and life of Garrison had a direct influence upon Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.  The former slave, Frederick Douglas, was mentored by Garrison, and in 1879 Douglas spoke at a memorial service for Garrison in a church in Washington D.C.  He said, “It was the glory of this man that he could stand alone with truth, and calmly await the result.”

 Other abolitionists, like Henry Stanton, Gerrit Smith, Charles Turner Torrey, and Amos Phelps wanted to form an anti-slavery political party and seek a political solution to slavery.  They formed the Liberty Party and nominated James Birney for president.    

 No one can walk the streets of the United States of America today without seeing that racism still walks the streets of the greatest nation the world has ever seen.  However, if you are honest, you must also admit that America has made a lot of strides since 1776 for racial equality.  The Emancipation Proclamation, the end of Jim Crow Laws, the civil rights laws of the 1960s, voting and electing a black president, producing more black billionaires than any other country, and I believe most Americans still have a desire to do even more for racial reconciliation.  

 The Constitution begins by admitting that the United States of America did not begin as a perfect nation, but their hope and prayer was that it would eventually evolve into a nation where every person would be granted the greatest gift, freedom.

 The preamble to the Constitution says that clearly.  “We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” 

 The contemporaneous meaning of the word “perfect’ was complete, finished, fully informed, confident, or certain.”  

 A “perfect” Union may have been an impossible goal for any nation to achieve, but it is a goal that we as Americans must continue to strive for in every generation.  We may never reach that goal of “perfection,” but we must never surrender that as our goal.

AMERICA IS NOT NOW AND NEVER HAS BEEN A RACIST NATION PART 2

The effort to abolish slavery in America began even before the signing of the Declaration. However, the financial advantage of free slave labor, and the value gained in the buying and selling of slaves prevented the new nation from abolishing slavery in 1776. The dependence on slavery, with all its evils, was driven by an even greater commitment to gaining wealth. The elite class that had gained wealth from a slave economy used their influence to stop the condemnation and abolishment of slavery at the birth of the nation. The war against slavery and racial discrimination was not won with the Declaration of Independence. It would ultimately require a Civil War to end that affliction, and we are still fighting to abolish the consequences of that affliction in 2021.

The American economy in 1776 was a “slave based” economy. Historically, slavery has been based upon economics, not skin color. In the great Roman Empire from ¼ to ½ of the people in Rome were slaves of all skin colors. We see the same thing happening today in China and other nations that use slave labor from among their own people, even children, and force them to help satisfy the greed of the ruling elite class.

Many of the slave owners in America didn’t hate their slaves. They simply loved money more than they loved people. A nation is in a dangerous position when they love money and use people, instead of loving people and using money. Twelve of the first eighteen presidents owned slaves. Even though Thomas Jefferson called slavery an “Abominable crime” and tried two times to bring emancipation, yet he enslaved over 600 people and still owned slaves when he died. As a man of wealth, he struggled with the moral and financial dilemma he faced between money and slavery. He described it as being like, “Holding a wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him or, let him go.”

The First Continental Congress was the governing body with delegates from all 13 Colonies. They met from September 5, 1774 until October 26, 1774. They were the body that would coordinate resistance to British rule during the first two years of the Revolutionary War. As a personal note, my fourth great-grandfather, Charles E. Stewart, was a delegate from New Jersey, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the army. He was appointed Commissary General of Issues for George Washington in 1777.

At the time of the Second Continental Congress in 1775, the issue of slavery was still being widely discussed by many leaders in America. However, with the end of the war and independence from England won, the war against slavery was becoming the most controversial issue facing the new United States. The Revolutionary War had ended and the real war that would abolish slavery was beginning to build momentum.

Before the Revolutionary War evangelical Christians were the primary opposition to slavery and the slave trade. Many Americans were fighting to eliminate slavery before the war. In 1735 the House of Commons in England had already banned the use of slaves in the colony of Georgia. However, it wasn’t because of a spiritual or moral concern. They believed they wouldn’t need slaves there because they were going to make their money with silk and wine. In 1750, the ban on slavery in Georgia was lifted by the House of Commons in England.

In 1807 others who opposed slavery in the United States Congress made the import of slaves a crime. It was another gradual step won by those who were fighting the war to abolish slavery. In the years from the war to 1804, all the northern states won the battles to abolished slavery, either immediately or gradually. No southern states abolished it. The Emancipation Proclamation in 1865 was the ultimate step that officially ended slavery in America.

After the Revolutionary War people came from all over the world to be a part of what was called, “The Great Experiment.” Up until now people had only known the rule of kings, queens, Tsars, dictators, emperors, Pharaohs, lords, and other despots. Now the government would be a democracy and ruled by the people. It would be a country where “all men are created equal.” The battle for freedom had been fought and won. However, the war for “all” men to be considered equal would still be fought by many others in the generations to come. Even into 2021. The Northwest Ordinance is another great example of the truth that the United States is not today, and never has been a racist nation. It was officially titled “an Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North West of the Ohio River,” and was adopted by the Confederation Congress on July 13, 1787. It encompassed the region lying west of Pennsylvania, north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes. It established a government for the Northwest Territory. It also outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and other matters. The most controversial matter to be voted on was whether slavery would be allowed in the Northwest Territory granted by England as part of the treaty that officially ended the war. When the Confederation met to vote on the Ordinance, President Jefferson had made it clear that he wanted slaves to be allowed in that territory. Any states from there would be slave states. Rev. Ephraim Cutler, a member of the council in Ohio, had been a staunch abolitionist. On the day the vote was to be taken, he became very ill and sent word he could not attend the meeting. Rufus Putnam and another man went to his house and carried him to the to the convention on a stretcher. Cutler said later, “I went to the convention and moved to strike out the obnoxious matter and made my objections as forcible as I was able. It cost me every effort I was capable of making, and it passed by one vote only.” Years later it was written, “To Ephraim Cutler, more than to any other man, posterity is indebted for shutting and barring the doors against the introduction into Ohio of the monstrous system of African Slavery.”

The war against slavery and discrimination has always been fought by white and black Americans, and that is who is still fighting the battles in 2021. Even before the Civil War, there has always been a righteous people in America who not only hated slavery, but passionately fought against it. It took too many years to get the Emancipation Proclamation. It took too many years to get to 1960s Civil Rights laws. It is taking too many years to release the God-given talent, intelligence, creativity, and wisdom possessed in the people of color. Racism and slavery have been a cancer in America from the beginning. However, we cannot lose sight of the many warriors, of all colors, who have fought the good fight through the years. We cannot allow a few racial zealots to condemn every white person as evil. I know the war hasn’t been won yet, but no one can deny that many battles have been won through the years because white and black Americans have sacrificed their lives in this war. I believe many more in the years to come will continue to fight the battles and one day that war will be won by them.

This great nation was founded upon a biblical principle, “All men are created equal.” One day we will all realize God’s truth; life is stronger than death, truth is stronger than lies, good is stronger than evil, and love is stronger than hate. STILL TO COME; Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, Abolitionists; Frederick Douglas; Jim Crow Laws; and the words of black historical leaders who I believe agree with me, that America is not now, and never has been a racist nation.

The United States is not now and never has been a racist nation – part one

If you listen to the news in America, and see the violence in our streets, you may believe the mantra of some who proclaim daily that the United States is and always has been a racist nation. The reason why some people passionately condemn America as racist is because they don’t know the true history of America.

They point to 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to America as if every person in America supported slavery and owned slaves. They embrace and focus on the failures and flaws of some people in America and ignore the successes and victories that were present in other Americans who were fighting against slavery at the same time. I have always been a student of history. In fact, I majored in history at Belmont University in Nashville. I also wrote a devotional book, entitled, “Today’s a Special Day.” I shared a historical event that happened on each day and ended with a spiritual application of that event.

I believe that one act, one war, one law, one mistake, one person, or one organization doesn’t communicate or reveal the heart of a nation. The history of every nation, and indeed every family, is filled with both positive and negative days of good and evil. The United States has faced both good and bad days, and we should not ignore any of them.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 ended the 300-year rule of the Romanov family and Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The soviets later became the communist party and immediately began to destroy the historical monuments of the past. Statues came down, pictures were destroyed, books were burned, and the history of that nation was condemned and buried in the chaos. After a couple of generations, a new history had been written and replaced the true history of Russia. Does any of that sound familiar to you?

The United States began with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the 13 original colonies. Thomas Jefferson penned the powerful words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” At the same time those words were adopted and celebrated, there were millions in slavery in America that contradicted those words. Those in slavery had no rights in their lives. They had chains not freedom. Happiness was nothing but an elusive dream. If America wasn’t a racist nation Thomas Jefferson would at least have included something to offer the hope of freedom to the millions of Americans in slavery.

The truth of American history is that Thomas Jefferson, in his first draft of the The Declaration of Independence did recognize the issue of slavery. He blamed King George with these words; he wrote the king “waged cruel war against Nature itself, violating its most sacred Rights of Life and Liberty in the Persons of a distant People who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into Slavery in another Hemisphere, or to incur miserable death, in their transportation thither.”

Those words condemning slavery produced a heated debate in 1776. Jefferson blamed the delegates from South Carolina and Georgia, and Northern delegates who had financial investments in the lucrative Atlantic slave trade for the forced elimination of his words from the Declaration. The ultimate battle in 1776 was for independence. If all 13 colonies were not united in the battle for freedom, they could never defeat the great military forces of England. Eliminating the battle over slavery had to be sacrificed in 1776 in order to win the battle for freedom from England. However, the battle for Jefferson’s words, “all men are created equal” to be applied to those in slavery would continue and never stop. In fact, the battle continues to this day.

Today we divide states into red states and blue states. In 1776 they divided the colonies into free or slave colonies. The truth is that in 1776 slavery existed in all 13 colonies. Pennsylvania became the first state to abolish slavery in 1780. By 1860, the start of the Civil War, there were 33 states, 18 were free and 15 were slave states. If you want to know why good people do bad things the answer is, follow the money. The south had 60% of the wealthiest people in the United States. Per capita income in the south was $3978 in 1860. In the North it was only $2040. The desire for money is still one of the most powerful forces in America. It causes many today to sacrifice their character, morals, and integrity to accumulate it. How much money do you need to be happy? More than you have today!

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of selling the Soviet Union atomic secrets in 1953. Their crime, and other Americans like them, allowed the Soviet Union to become a super power and plunge the world into a Cold War that continued for more than 20 years.

Most Americans didn’t own slaves in 1860. One statistic I read said only 4.75% in the south owned slaves. In the north it was only 1.26% who owned slaves. The problem back then is the same problem we face today. Those who lived on the large plantations were the “ruling class.” They made the laws and used their money to control the people.

We still have a ruling class today and it isn’t the politicians. It is the billionaire business people who buy the politicians. My history professor in college made this statement in class, “The merchants start the wars, not the politicians.” I believe that is still a true statement in 2021.

From the foundation of our great nation there have always been those who were racists and manipulated black and white people for their own personal benefit. However, there have always been Americans of every color who fought against slavery and the problems it causes. Yes, we have always had citizens who were racists and bigoted because of the color of a person’s skin. However, we also have always had citizens who were not racists and not bigoted because of the color of a person’s skin. Men and women who were willing to fight and give their all to make America a nation where “All men are created equal.”

They are the people who fought and defeated slavery and made America the greatest nation this world has every seen. We still have a long way to go, but our true history teaches me that we have come a long way since 1776, and we will continue to strive to be “one nation under God” until we achieve the words, I believe, were given by God to Thomas Jefferson, “All men ARE created equal.”

by Dr Ron Stewart

The German philosopher, G. F. Hegel, is credited with making this statement; “All we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”  I think I understand what he meant by his statement, and I agree with him to a certain extent.  However, all of us have learned some negative things from our past and repeated them, because they helped us get something we wanted.  I also understand that what is happening in the United States of America today is following a tragic and historic pattern learned from others in the past who also attempted to gain control of a nation by using any means necessary.

In the first part of the 20^th century the world was experiencing a tremendous industrial revolution that would give rise to the middle class.  Science was developing miracle drugs that would eradicate many dreaded diseases.  Agriculture was producing more food to feed the world than ever before.  The dawning of the 20^thcentury produced many reasons for people to be optimistic about the gains that were possible in the new century.

It didn’t take long for the old lessons learned from the past centuries to be tried again to dominate and control others in the 20ty century.  What was called, “The war to end all wars,” began in 1914.  This time, the ones who didn’t learn from history in Germany were responsible for the deaths of 40 million people in the world and the wounding of 21 million other victims.  Some in Germany thought they could use the old tactics they learned from history to dominate the world in 1914.  They ultimately failed!

Evil always has a beginning.  Fear always has a beginning.  The rise of one man in that “War to end all wars” was a soldier, just a corporal in the German army, who was the beginning of the end for another 75 million who would die in World War II.  Adolph Hitler used the lessons he learned as a German soldier in World War I, and from history to, conquer the world.  He came within one battle of dominating and controlling the world like no other leader since the Roman Empire.

Everything rises or falls on leadership.  Adolf Hitler was an evil leader who learned from history how to gain control of people.  What did Hitler learn from history that would enable him to destroy a generation, and come so close to altering the direction of human civilization?  First of all, he believed he had a calling in life.  I believe I had a calling on my life and it motivated me in everything I have done.  As a soldier he was a victim of gas warfare.  He was taken to a German hospital for treatment.  During his hospital stay he experienced what I call a “Defining Moment” in his life.  In his book Hitler describes how he heard an inner voice speaking to him.  The voice said to him, “Free German people and restore Germany’s greatness.”  Hearing that voice, Corporal Hitler determined his calling in life was to be in politics.  He wrote of that experience, “And so it was that I was determined to go into politics.”  That inner voice was his motivation to do whatever was necessary to establish the Third Reich and dominate the world for a thousand years.

All of us have had defining moments in our lives.  It is a time when we face a choice that will alter the direction of our lives from that moment.  You may call it a decision, a choice, an impulse, a desire, a temptation, or a calling from God.  I don’t doubt that Hitler heard an inner voice, because I believe there is an evil voice that historically has called men to go against the will of God.  I also believe he probably thought it was the voice of God calling him.  The man who murdered 6 million Jews also said, “I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty.”  It wasn’t God’s voice but it was an “almighty” evil voice.

Hitler soon realized he was a natural born public speaker.  He also realized the power in the words of a leader to manipulate people.  He studied opera singers to learn how to use dramatic motions, and inflections in his voice to produce emotions in an audience.  He spoke to huge crowds of Germans and used dramatic settings, pageantry, and words of hate to control the emotions of his audience.     

From his writings we can see how he had learned from history to motivate and use the emotions of his audiences.  He said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”  It is obvious to me that some leaders in the 21^st century are following the words of Hitler’s strategy today.  Our former President was called a racist every day for the last five years.  His enemies said he was a racist, but they never demonstrated any evidence of their charge.  Protecting our borders from outsiders isn’t racism, it’s the President’s job to protect American citizens.  Yet millions of Americans must have been deceived by Hitler’s strategy and voted against the former President because they heard that lie every day in our media.

Hitler believed this about his own people, “The masses are feminine and stupid, only emotions and hatred can keep them under control.”  He continued, “I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.”  Some leaders are using this same tactic today.  They use slanderous lies, and false accusations to heighten the emotions of people in order to create hatred.

Hitler was willing to tell any lie to get his desired response.  He told his followers why he wasn’t afraid to his lies, “The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.”  He was convinced Germany would win the war, so he was willing to say anything and do anything to win an election or a war.  One of his first public speeches was entitled, “Why Are We Anti-Semitic?  His lies about the Jewish people would be his primary weapon to create the hatred he needed to gain power.

Calling a person a racist, a liar, or a Russian agent, doesn’t make him a racist, a liar, or a Russian agent.  Leaders today, who use lies to attack their opponents are simply using a weapon that Hitler used to kill over 60 million people in the world.  Like Hitler, they must believe, “The masses are feminine and stupid, only emotions and hatred can keep them under control.” 

Another principal Hitler learned and used from history was the power of violence.  From the beginning of his political career, he tried to promote hatred and violence against the Jewish people.  He blamed them for the depression of the 1930’s.  He also promoted physical violence against the Communist Party that was very strong in Germany.  His National Socialist party and the Communist party looked like two different armies wearing uniforms and fighting and killing each other in the streets of Germany.

Listen to Hitler’s plan to use violence from his own words, “The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence.”  “Kill, destroy, sack, tell lies; after victory nobody asks why,” he wrote.

“The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate.”  Hitler promoted street battles between his party’s soldiers and the Communists.  When Hitler became Chancellor on March 23, 1933, one historian wrote, “Democracy died in Germany.”  The leaders of the Communist party were the first in Germany to be sent to concentration camps after the street battles.  While all this was going on Hitler wrote about another lesson he learned from history, “To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.”  That part of Hitler’s plan is being promoted in the United States today.

We all remember the riots and violence in 2020 in Seattle, Oregon, Philadelphia, Wisconsin, and all across America.  In many cases the local authorities allowed them to continue.  Perhaps they have learned the same lesson Hitler learned about the value of hatred and violence. 

Another lesson Hitler learned from history is that you must control the media to gain power.  On his climb to political power, he created his own newspaper called, “The Racist People’s Observer.”  If any newspaper criticized his government, they were silenced by his guards.   The media that supported him were promoted.  The media that opposed him were censored.  The media in America have for years have used their power to guard the American people from power hungry politicians and corrupt businesses that would seek to use their power to take advantage of our democratic free enterprise system.  

The most obvious failure in our democratic republic today is the biased, partisan, bigoted, prejudiced, and one-sided political support of some of the media.  Newspapers, TV, high tech, magazines, with few exceptions have not been honest and fair in presenting the facts to the American people.  The first amendment gives every Americans the right to freedom of speech.  Today that constitutional freedom is being threatened by the giant media who seem to have the freedom to censorship.     

Hitler also learned from history that to maintain control you must control the youth.  He said, “He alone who owns the youth, gains the future.”  Thousands of German young people were sent to military camps and brainwashed to believe the doctrine of the party.  Books that didn’t support his party were burned.  Universities were forced to support him.  His primary weapon, anti-Semitism, permeated the universities.  Many leaders who spoke against and opposed Hitler mysteriously disappeared at night.

Listen to how Hitler manipulated the manipulated German people to gain control of their children.  “The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people.  As long as a government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”  “

Closing our schools because we are told it is in the best interest of our children, without scientific evidence, falls in line with Hitler’s strategy.  

While Hitler was repeating the lessons he had learned from history in order to control the world, he was hypocritically declaring his desire for peace.

I repeat the quote by G.F Hegel: “All we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”  I hope that isn’t true.  History teaches us how evil men carry out their evil dreams.  Those who possess the same evil dreams today will no doubt employ the same evil methods used in the past.

I close with one last quote from Corporal Hitler.  “I shall never believe what is founded on lies can endure forever.  I believe in truth.  I’m sure that, in the long run, truth must be victorious.”  What he called truth was nothing but lies. 

What this madman called truth cost the lives of at least 75 million people.  I have preached for 50 years that love is stronger than hate, life is stronger than death, and truth is stronger than lies.  I am convinced the answer to the hatred, division, and lies that are sweeping our great nation today can only be found in following the truth.  His name is Jesus.  There is only one valid source of truth for all of us.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”