The Second Amendment & Slavery

by KrisAnne Hall, JD

 

In an TMZ interview with Larry King recently it was said that the 2^nd amendment was created by “Southern senators so they could ward off slaves uprising.”  Yes there was slavery in the colonies and it was not confined to the South. Yes there were pro-slavery states pressuring convention delegates.  However not everyone was pro-slavery and the right to bear arms was not something foisted upon the nation by those who wanted to continue the abominable trade. The oversimplification in the Larry King interview of this complex history presents a sad distortion and denies many honorable and brave people of color their proper station in history.

It doesn’t take extensive research to discover that the very first man to give his life in our battle for independence was a freed slave by the name of Crispus Attucks.  Crispus Attucks not only gave his life so we could be free, but was one of the most honored patriots of this time.  The Boston Globe reported that Attucks’ funeral was the most attended funeral in the history of Boston.  This armed, freed slave fought for our freedom.

American history also reveals battalions of freed slaves that fought for our independence.

Peter Salem was one such hero.  As a freed slave, Salem is credited with having killed Major Pitcairn, resulting in the American victory over the British troops in the very famous battle of Bunker Hill.  Salem would receive many honors for this feat, even the praise of General George Washington.  This armed, freed slave fought for our freedom.

Americans should learn of the Bucks of America, Ned Hector, and of the George Middleton, a free black man and colonel in a Massachusetts Militia.  Middleton was a hero among those who fought in our war for independence.  Upon his retirement from duty, in 1796, Middleton started the “African Benevolent Society,” a charitable organization to care for the needs of the widows and orphans of those black soldiers who fought in our war for Liberty. All those armed, freed slaves, fought for our Liberty.

Mr. James Forten the son of free blacks, at 14 years old, heard the public reading the Declaration of Independence in the streets of Philadelphia.  Forten then joined the Navy to fight against the British oppression of the American colonists.  He was taken captive and given the option of living with a captain of the British Navy as a slave companion of the captain’s son.  Forten was told he would have comfort and provision like he had never known in America, if he would only agree to stop fighting and return to his life as a slave in Britain.  Forten, as a young man, responded: “I have been taken prisoner for the liberties of my country, and never will prove a traitor to her interest!”  He ended up spending 7 months in a British prisonship for his devotion to freedom and liberty.  This armed, free black man, fought for our freedom.

Let us not forget Prince Whipple, the freed black man who fought along side General George Washington and is seen in the very famous painting of Washington crossing the frozen Delaware River.  These are but just a few examples of the many armed freed slaves who fought for the new America.  .  Several of our States had a provision, that gave permanent freedom to all slaves wanting to fight for Liberty and independence.  This history means there are some free men who gave their only free breath so America could be free and Americans do not even know their names.

I could write extensively of the reams of documented conversations in which the American founders held the right to bear arms out to be an essential right to protect a nation from government tyranny and oppression, not a means to subjugate slaves. In fact, the man known as the Father of the Bill of Rights, George Mason from the southern colony of Virginia, notably created the Fairfax Resolves of July 1774 which declared that slavery should be done away with. This matched the strong sentiments he expressed in an essay in 1773:

“That slow poison…is daily contaminating the minds and morals or our people. Every gentleman here is born a petty tyrant. Practiced in acts of despotism and cruelty, we become callous to the dictates of humanity, and all the finer feelings of the soul. Taught to regard a part of our own species in the most abject and contemptible degree below us, we lose that idea of dignity of man which the hand of nature has implanted in us for great and useful purposes.”

One cannot look at the strong abolitionist sentiment in many of the founders’ writings and accept such a simple broad-brush of history as put forth by Larry King and others like him. Many in our founding, both black and white fought against the evils of slavery. Many fought for it. Eventually good triumphed over evil. To trot out racial division every time we want to win an argument, not only dishonors all of those who sowed seeds and spilled blood to move us closer to liberty for all, it threatens to grow an irrational hatred that serves the best interests of no-one.

We need a renewed vigor for truth in history in America.  We need to learn about the Liberty we possess that so many before us fought to secure.  We cannot preserve our freedoms while denying the history that won them.  Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.

Liberty First University has courses particularly to educated on this history and the principles that drove the creation of our Constitutional Republic.  Please visit www.LibertyFirstUniversity.com and review the following courses to better educate yourself against these errors of history:

1. Slavery and the American Founders
2. Forgotten Founders
3. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: The Second Amendment

States Ignoring the Constitution & Rule of Naturalization
By KrisAnne Hall, JD

An Illegal Alien has been appointed to California government and has become the poster child for WHY our founders delegated to Congress the power to create a Uniform Rule of Naturalization.

Ironically, there was a discussion during the ratification of our Constitution on why it was necessary to establish a Uniform Rule of Naturalization. Once again, a disregard for the Constitution and its intent has America experiencing a crisis that our founders sought to prevent.

Prior to our current Constitution, under the Articles of Confederation, each State was left to determine, independently, the terms of citizenship. James Madison, Father of the Constitution, wrote in Federalist 42;

“The dissimilarity in the rules of naturalization, has long been remarked as a fault in our system…”

Madison goes on to describe the condition of confusion thrust upon all the States because of a lack of standard for the benefits of citizenship. For example, one State would establish a very lax standard for citizenship where another State would establish a very strict standard. This disparity created chaos when people would travel or move from one State to another. Madison asks the question, what would happen if a person who is banned from citizenship in one State, obtains citizenship from another State and then demands the benefits of citizenship from that State from which they were originally banned?

“An alien, therefore, legally incapacitated for certain rights in the latter, may, by previous residence only in the former, elude his incapacity;”

Madison then explains to avoid these consequences both “embarrassing” and “potentially very serious” our Constitution delegated the authority to Congress to establish a uniform rule to obtain the benefits of citizenship.

Liz Mateo, claiming those benefits of citizenship through the State of California, is not a citizen by the terms established through the Constitution by law. Mateo has lived her life experiencing the benefits of that citizenship she does not legally hold. She got a doctorate level of education from Santa Clara University School of Law. When she graduated, she was not grateful for these benefits, however, she declared, “[E]verything is dedicated to Oaxaca, Mexico!! to that land that I miss so much.”

In addition to her education, Mateo has now been appointed to serve within the California State government. As a new member of California’s representative government, one of her chief concerns is that illegal aliens are “under represented” in American government. Mateo clearly has a great deal of confusion about the terms of citizenship established by law. One can only imagine the chaos that would ensue if Mateo were to leave California and expect to experience these same benefits in a State that is actually complying with the terms of citizenship created through the Constitution. As Madison supposed, what will also be the more “serious consequences” when people like Mateo continue to expect the benefits of citizenship while remaining ignorant and even hostile to the Constitution itself? And what will be the “serious consequences” in all of America if we continue to ignore these historical truths by allowing States like California violate the supreme law of the land?

The governors of every other States must immediately take a stand against this violation of the Constitution. Each State should issue resolutions of condemnation and sanctions against California until they come into compliance with the terms of the Constitution. The people must demand that the federal executive branch continue to enforce the Uniform Rule of Naturalization, even in California. If California refuses to come into compliance with the Constitution the other States need to have a serious discussion amongst each other and Congress regarding the ability of California to remain a part of the Union.

States like California are not just ignoring the Constitution, they are also ignoring the history and wisdom used to write the Constitution. Their blatant disregard is thrusting America into the embarrassment and chaos our founders actively sought to prevent.

Learn what you need to know about our Constitution and government at www.LibertyFirstUniversity.com

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