Categories
Today

Madison and Freeing the Slaves

On March 16, 1995, the state of Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state of the Union to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment had been officially ratified in 1865, one hundred thirty years earlier.

James Madison, fourth President of the United States and “Father of the Constitution,” was born on this date in 1751.

Categories
Common Sense

Booker T. Washington

The world cares very little what you or I know, but it does care a great deal about what you or I do.


Booker T. Washington, Address to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Boston, Massachusetts (30 July 1903), printed in “Account of the Boston Riot,” Boston Globe (July 31, 1903).

Categories
Today

Two Very Different Men and Their Republics

March 15 was “the Ides of March” in the Roman calendar. On that date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death by a handful of prominent senators.

On the same date in 1783, General George Washington eloquently entreated his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. His plea was successful and the threatened coup d’état never took place.

Categories
Thought

Mary Ann Evans

There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.


George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, 1876.

Categories
Thought

Booker T. Washington

Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.


Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery, Chapter XI: “Making Their Beds Before They Could Lie On Them” (1901).

Categories
Today

Gold

On March 14, 1900, the Gold Standard Act was ratified, placing United States currency on the gold standard.

Categories
links

Townhall: Worst Actors in a Freedom-Destroying Drama

Friday’s events may cast a shadow upon the rest of the race — or serve as a spark to ignite a fiery finish of this campaign year. Click on over to Townhall, for Paul Jacob’s Common Sense perspective. Other links? Well, there are stories everywhere. But for the GOP also-rans complaining about the front runner, click over to the Washington Post.

And scroll on back to yesterday’s video.

The image, above, is of one of the protestors getting his flag up onto CNN’s cameras. The CNN commentariat did not see fit to mention it. I guess it would have broken the rhythm of most of the talking heads excoriating Trump for all the violence. I am sure they think Trump was responsible for protestors blocking ambulances, too.

Categories
Thought

Mary Ann Evans

Opposition may become sweet to a man when he has christened it persecution.


George Eliot, Scenes of Clerical Life, 1858.

Categories
Today

1862

On March 13, 1862, the U.S. federal government forbade all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.

Categories
video

Video: Silencing Trump With Mob Noise

So this happened:

I love a good protest. But a bad protest is where the protestors mob the event and shout down speech. That isn’t good protest. It is anti-free speech. It is bullying.

Things look like they are getting ugly this election year. The result could be chaos. But backlashes happen, and the protestors may have ensured that the man they say they oppose actually gets elected. We will see.

(The video was almost selected at random. Consider this a place filler. A historic marker.)