Anyone for a quick history lesson?

[angakkuq459]

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--The Declaration of Independence

Great words, and just as true as ever.
All human beings are by their very nature endowed with the right to life, the right to liberty (freedom, self-determination), and to pursue whatever career or lifestyle they wish (so long as they do no harm to any others).
Slavery flies in the face of this idea.
And the Founding Fathers knew this. Jefferson and Washington owned slaves (though I believe Washington insisted that his slaves be freed upon his death), and they understood that this was a problem. One of the points against George III of England listed in an earlier draft of the Declaration of Independence was that he had allowed the slave trade to continue.
But the essence of politics is compromise--there were representatives from the southern colonies in Philadelphia at the Continental Congress, and slavery was a way of life already there.
It was going to come up eventually.
In the famous Amistad case (the movie actually utilizes Supreme Court transcripts, though it takes certain creative liberties), John Quincy Adams, former President of the United States and at that time a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, predicted that the only way the issue of slavery would be solved was by civil war--"And when it does, may it be, finally, the last battle of the American Revolution."
And that's pretty much what happened. The American Civil War--though arguably fought over other issues as well as slavery, though slavery became the defining issue after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued shortly after the Union victory at Antietam Creek--would eventually solve the issue of government-supported slavery (and race-based slavery, at least in America) once and for all.
But unfortunately, that's not the end of it.
If only it was.
Slavery is about as old as human history, and something that old is incredibly difficult to wipe out.
But it has to be done.
And when it is done it will, as former President John Quincy Adams said, "the last battle of the American Revolution."
What do you think?

[trikari]

The older the idea is, the harder it is to erase because it is burned into out soul. We are who we are, but is that really who we are? People thought that African-american people were only slaves made to do labor, but is that really who they are? Are we really who people say we are? Is it imprinted in us not to do anything about human trafficking? The real question is: "Who will help us stand up for those in need?"

[Ravyn Crescent]

The hard part about the African Americans case, is that... we weren't capturing people and dragging them here. We were purchasing them from other Africans.


There was a time where blacks and whites lives as equals. They were gladiators at times and there have been many connections. It seems the more we "civilize" ourselves, the more we revert in our ways.

I think you bring up an interesting point, but abolishment is nothing new. Since there have been slaves, there have been people saying it is wrong.


I think the current problem is many don't want to work for something so hidden. Plus, they worry about the danger they'll be in by doing it. But we aren't. We'll fight ^_^ We just need to start getting others to join us!