Jefferson Memorial update will acknowledge slave owner record

That ought to be suffcient to provoke a leftist demand for its destruction within the present climate of hysteria. Good thinking!

I saw a talking head today voice approval for the Jefferson plaque on the basis that more information is always good. To show my sympathy for the cause of providing extra truthful information at memorials, I supportively offer the proposal that a plaque may be in order at the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to show that,

• his birth name, Michael King, was never changed

• he plagiarized his doctoral thesis

Perhaps in addition to a plaque entry, there could be an audio listening area of the FBI tapes with the married minister bumping uglies in various motel rooms.

And there is the end of the I Have a Dream speech, vaguely similar to a prior oration of Archibald Carey:

[Carey, 1952]

We, Negro Americans, sing with all loyal Americans:

My country ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrim’s pride
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

That’s exactly what we mean — from every mountain side, let freedom ring. Not only from the Green Mountains and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire; not only from the Catskills of New York; but from the Ozarks in Arkansas, from the Stone Mountain in Georgia, from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia — let it ring not only for the minorities of the United States, but for … the disinherited of all the earth — may the Republican Party, under God, from every mountainside, LET FREEDOM RING!

[King, 1963]

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrim’s pride
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire!
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York!
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi!
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

And they might as well note that the tune of My Country Tis of Thee is the British national anthem, God Save the Queen, or King as it may be.

SOURCE:

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/magazine/what-an-uncensored-letter-to-mlk-reveals.html

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2407403/Sex-tapes-FBI-smears-double-life-human-saint-The-Martin-Luther-King-story.html

Perhaps in addition to a plaque entry, there could be an audio listening area of the FBI tapes with the married minister bumping uglies in various motel rooms.

Sometimes two at a time.

Sometimes two at a time.

Not what you meant, but I can provide another for the thoughtful critic who observed that more information is better.

Perhaps the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (9 volumes, including the Index volume) could be made available at the Lincoln Memorial. It is considered the gold standard for authentic Lincoln quotes. Also, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln about the Matson case where Lincoln represented a slave owner seeking the return of his slaves.

http://www.papersofabrahamlincoln.org/Briefs/briefs47.htm

Ashmore for use of Bryant et al. v. Matson (Coles County Circuit Court, October 1847)

In 1845, Matson brought five of his slaves, Bryant and her children, into Illinois. In 1847, he planned to take these slaves back to Kentucky. The slaves believed that they were free because Matson brought them to a free state, and they sought refuge with Rutherford and Ashmore. Matson declared that the slaves were runaways, and the sheriff took them into custody and placed them in jail, from which the court would sell them to the highest bidder. Ashmore, on behalf of the slaves, sued for a writ of habeas corpus to free the slaves. Matson retained Lincoln, who used the doctrine of comity to argue that slave owners could use their slaves for labor in Illinois as long as the slaves were in transit. The court ruled that bringing slaves into Illinois was in "contravention of the Constitution of Illinois" and that Matson forfeited all title to the services of Bryant and her children. The court ruled for Ashmore and declared Bryant and her children free.

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Lincoln positively said the damnedest things. The elision of the N-word is mine, and not in the original.

CW = Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Roy P Basler, Editor, Rutgers University Press (1953). Volume and page number are indicated. Links go to an online copy but I drew the quotes from my hardcover book copy of the 9-volume edition of the Collected Works.

CW 3:77

Speech at Carlinville, Illinois

August 31, 1858

He [Lincoln] said the question is often asked, why this fuss about n-----s?

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CW 3:495

Speech at Elwood, Kansas

December 1 [November 30?], 1859

People often ask, "why make such a fuss about a few n-----s?''

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If emancipation were to produce a greater evil, even to the cause of human liberty itself, what was that evil thing? Amalgamation.

CW 2:130

Abraham Lincoln
July 6, 1852

HONORS TO HENRY CLAY

He did not perceive, that on a question of human right, the negroes were to be excepted from the human race. And yet Mr. Clay was the owner of slaves. Cast into life where slavery was already widely spread and deeply seated, he did not perceive, as I think no wise man has perceived, how it could be at once eradicated, without producing a greater evil, even to the cause of human liberty itself.

What exactly is this thing Lincoln called "the White Man's Charter of Freedom?" Was that what the declaration that all men are created free and equal was?

CW 2:130

Eulogy on Henry Clay

July 6, 1852

HONORS TO HENRY CLAY

But I would also, if I could, array his name, opinions, and influence against the opposite extreme—against a few, but an increasing number of men, who, for the sake of perpetuating slavery, are beginning to assail and to ridicule the white-man's charter of freedom—the declaration that "all men are created free and equal.''

- - - - - - - - - -

CW 2:276

Speech at Peoria, Illinois

October 16, 1854

In our greedy chase to make profit of the negro, let us beware, lest we "cancel and tear to pieces'' even the white man's charter of freedom.

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From the famous Last Best Hope of Earth Speech,

Annual Message to Congress

December 1, 1862

CW 5:534-35

[excerpt]

The District has more than one free colored to six whites; and yet, in its frequent petitions to Congress, I believe it has never presented the presence of free colored persons as one of its grievances. But why should emancipation south, send the free people north? People, of any color, seldom run, unless there be something to run from. Heretofore colored people, to some extent, have fled north from bondage; and now, perhaps, from both bondage and destitution. But if gradual emancipation and deportation be adopted, they will have neither to flee from. Their old masters will give them wages at least until new laborers can be procured; and the freed men, in turn, will gladly give their labor for the wages, till new homes can be found for them, in congenial climes, [Page 535] and with people of their own blood and race. This proposition can be trusted on the mutual interests involved. And, in any event, cannot the north decide for itself, whether to receive them?

CW 5:537

We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We—even we here—hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best, hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.

December 1, 1862.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN

And really, the people should know that when Lincoln spoke of the Last Best Hope of Earth, he spoke of Gradual Emancipation and Deportation. They deserve and need context to acquire the full flavor of Lincoln. Many may not automatically appreciate that Lincoln spoke of freeing slaves in the South that the North could refuse to accept.

...getting an update to include that he was a slave owner.

All but four of the presidents before Lincoln and both of the presidents after him owned or inherited slaves. (12 out of 18, I believe)

Should we revise all historical monuments in the USA to include all of the dirty details of history just so some SJWs will be able to sleep better in their onesie or romper at night?

Maybe they should start chiseling away at Mt Rushmore while they are at it...

Should we revise all historical monuments in the USA to include all of the dirty details of history just so some SJWs will be able to sleep better in their onesie or romper at night?

I was illustrating absurdity by being absurd. Using SJW logic, many memorials and much of our history would have to be erased. Some non-slave owners found other ways to run afoul of SJW standards.

Oh, and read how Lincoln either rented 14-year old Ruth Burns, later Stanton, who was either a slave or an indentured servant. And Mary Todd Lincoln is famous for saying, "One thing is for certain; if Mr. Lincoln should happen to die, his spirit will never find me living outside the boundaries of a slave state."

http://www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org/Newsletters/3-3.pdf

For the People
Volume 3, Number 3
Autumn 2001
Springfield, Illinois

Did the Lincoln Family Employ a Slave in 1849-1850?
by Allen C. Guelzo

The link goes to the Abraham Lincoln Association. The author is a professor of the civil war era and has published numerous books about Lincoln.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_C._Guelzo

Allen Carl Guelzo (born 1953) is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program.[1]

Rachel A. Shelden says that for two decades Guelzo,

"has been at the forefront of Civil War–era scholarship. In particular, he has focused his analytical efforts on the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, publishing books covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the origins of the Emancipation Proclamation, and Lincoln's presidential leadership, among others."

[snip]

Should we revise all historical monuments in the USA to include all of the dirty details of history just so some SJWs will be able to sleep better in their onesie or romper at night?

That begs the question... are there any statues of Martin Luther King around? I understand his personal life was somewhat short of sainthood quality.

To show my sympathy for the cause of providing extra truthful information at memorials, I supportively offer the proposal that a plaque may be in order at the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to show that,

his birth name, Michael King, was never changed

he plagiarized his doctoral thesis

Perhaps in addition to a plaque entry, there could be an audio listening area of the FBI tapes with the married minister bumping uglies in various motel rooms.

That's mighty white of you. Thanks for contributing to our national dialog on honesty about race.     : )

They put one up on the Mall in D.C., privately funded some years back.

Wiki: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Created by a Chinese sculptor with Chinese laborers (who didn't get paid) and from Chinese stone quarried under inhumane conditions, there were many complaints that the laborers were exploited and that American labor and American stone should have been used. The Chinese sculptor had a career of producing Mao Tse Tung statues for the Chinese commies and many people think that this MLK statue looks a lot like Mao.

There were complaints that the King family tried to get big payoffs from the memorial fund to use his words and likeness. Sounds like they made a million or more but I have no exact numbers or good reporting.

And it does look more like Mao than MLK to me.

USAtoday: MLK Jr. memorial confronts controversy, 2011