#Presidents and Slavery

[deadpresidents]

James K. Polk was rare among Presidents in that he didn't just inherit slaves. Polk, like [Andrew] Jackson, actively -- but secretly -- bought slaves while President. Unlike Jackson, however, Polk didn't buy them in Washington, D.C., but secretly back down south. Why the secrecy? Because during his career, Polk straddled the lines between slaveholders and abolitionists, never completely joining either side. Polk was already a major slave owner when he became President but was very cautious about letting people know about his ownership of other people. Perhaps he was afraid of the American people -- especially abolitionists -- finding out that he was buying children. "Of the nineteen slaves Polk bought during his Presidency, one was ten years old, two were eleven, two were twelve, two were thirteen, two were fifteen, two were sixteen, and two were seventeen," said William Dusinberre, author of the great Slavemaster President: The Double Career of James Polk (BOOK | KINDLE). "Each of these children was bought apart from his or her parents and from every sibling. One or two of these children may possibly have been orphans, but it would strain credulity to suggest many of them were." So Polk, who needed more labor for his plantation, did what most rich politicians would do in his situation: he found a way to increase his personal wealth without his constituents finding out about it. He set up agents to buy the slaves in their names and then transferred them to his possession at home... ...He even made sure he had plausible deniability. Dusinberre noted that Polk -- living in a pre-Civil War America -- made sure that while he bought slaves in the White House, he never used his Presidential salary. "He used his savings from his salary to pay campaign debts, to buy and refurbish a mansion in Nashville, and to buy U.S. Treasury certificates, but never to buy slaves," Dusinberre said. "Evidently he distinguished (between) his private income -- from the plantation --(and) the public salary he received from government revenues. Thus, if the public had ever learned of his buying young slaves, he could always have truthfully denied that he had spent his Presidential salary for that purpose. Polk may have been careful about how he bought his slaves because he knew slavery was an evil institution. But Polk kept his slaves throughout his life and didn't even free them upon death, leaving that for his wife.

-- A closer look at the extent of President James K. Polk's record as a slave owner while he was in the White House, including a troubling tendency towards buying children and separating them from their families.

This excerpt is from Jesse J. Holland's excellent and very revealing book, The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO).

[belliesandburps]

Interactive - Favorite Burp Scenario

I need something to take my mind off the fact that we are home to the dumbest, most bigoted fucking assholes on this planet, and I feel like a lot of you probably feel the same way right now. So, how about another interactive game? Send me character requests via my askbox here and I will respond with my favorite burp scenario to imagine for them. (Note, ideally, keep it to characters I know or that you think I may know)

[sjw-irritant]

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday declined to say slavery was a cause of the Civil War, arguing instead that it came down to “the role of government.”

At a New Hampshire town hall, a voter bluntly asked Haley, “What was the cause of the Civil War?”

Haley, the former South Carolina Governor and former U.N. ambassador who is aiming to present herself as the top Republican alternative to former President Donald Trump, gave a lengthy answer but did not mention slavery — the primary cause of the war.

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley said at the beginning of her response.

She went on to say: “I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people.”

“Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life. They need to make sure that you have freedom,” she said.

“We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.”

After the voter responded by saying he found it “astonishing” that Haley had not used the word “slavery” at any point in her answer, she asked, “What do you want me to say about slavery?”

Haley then moved on to the next question.

The exchange drew a swift response from Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. “This isn’t hard: condemning slavery is the baseline for anyone who wants to be President of the United States,” he said in a statement.

President Joe Biden also responded with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, "It was about slavery."

Haley’s campaign responded by citing remarks she made addressing the issue during a New Hampshire interview Thursday morning.

“Yes, we know the civil war was about slavery,” Haley said in the interview. “But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it. Never let anyone take those freedoms away again.”

The response to Haley’s town hall comments follows similar criticism that a GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, faced over his remarks about state standards that teach about the “personal benefit” Black people derived from slavery.

DeSantis was asked in July about the Florida Board of Education’s wording in its guidance for teaching about slavery and said, “I didn’t do it, and I wasn’t involved in it.” He went on to say, “I think what they’re doing is, I think that they’re probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into, into doing things later in life,” referring to enslaved people.

Haley was Governor when South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its Capitol following the 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. She has previously talked about how the shooting was the most difficult time for her emotionally as Governor.

[nando161mando]

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[malkaleh]

I said this in a reply to @lorata but as someone who does love the cottagecore aesthetic the capital is absolutely doing the most disturbing versions you could imagine and then some.

(Also listen if I ever write more TWW Hunger Games there will be giant mutant turkeys sorry to CJ there this is not funny but also darkly funny)

(Danny is like seriously, the fuck was with the turkeys and CJ is like, look it was some long lost holiday bullshit thing you should know nimrod, you’re from the capital and Danny is like look, I know Panem Festivals are not it but National Murder A Giant Bird Day)

[fictionadventurer]

The fun part of digging into history from multiple different sources is that you start to piece together information about people across different eras, until history starts to feel like a massive crossover event involving surprise guest stars.

For example:

The book about Lincoln's Cabinet presents William Seward as the expected Republican candidate for the 1860 election. As they discuss his backstory I'm like, "Oh, he's Seward the anti-slavery New York Whig who influenced Zachary Taylor." And then they mention Seward becomes Lincoln's Secretary of State.

And I'm like

Wait a minute...

SEWARD'S FOLLY???

HE'S BEEN THE ALASKA MAN THIS WHOLE TIME???

An emergency trip to Wikipedia confirmed that he was. Which feels much stranger than it probably should, but in high school, all the Alaska stuff was presented as completely separate from the Civil War, so it's taken me a long time to put the pieces together. Still kind of fun to make connections like that, though.

[thedepressedjuggalette]

Project 2025 Leader Mark Krikorian ADMITS to being a CHAMPION FOR HAITIAN SLAVERY!

These are the people who want Trump to be President.

[alostwanderernotfound]

On Securing Freedom of the Union

Summary: Jesus then went on to working in the equivalent of consulting roles, charity work, intelligence, national security, & military roles to aid in various nations around the world & fend off apocalyptic prophecies God had showed to him many years ago. Jesus’s teachings seemed unwelcome by many Christians, so he moved on from it.

Serving in the army, navy, national guard, Air Force, marines, multiple Seal Teams, marines, rangers, NATO, military police, many more sports & various military commander posts internationally- he went wherever God & the people asked for their assistance.

During the American Revolution his fellow soldiers hung up a “George Washington is A Coward Sign” on a building after we had won. They also replaced the American flag he hung up after they won with a British one, to imply he was a traitor. They did not know I was spending my time as a spy overseas & actually signed the document in England that won the war & secured our independence & freedom. I held back tears as I saw the sign fall. It was unsafe to speak of in the moment, for all of us. I had served as George Washington the Military Commander & spy, as Thomas Jefferson overnight to let the daytime President rest & do the Louisiana purchase, & rose to be Lincoln & work to win the Civil war when the slavery bell tolled once more. The angels switched back and forth with another to aid anywhere they could. Jesus tended to stay in positions of low spotlight for that is how he so preferred it.

God said his life was to be of suffering and he believed it. Time and time again- he believed it.

“God has done nothing for me” is a common belief. How different all our lives would be if it were so true.

[thoughtportal]

The horrors perpetrated by the founding fathers

[daimonclub]

Juneteenth or Freedom Day

Juneteenth Emancipation Freedom Day Juneteenth or Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, annual holiday celebrated on June 19 in the United States to commemorate the ending of slavery. History of America is incomplete without the Juneteenth because We Americans believe in respecting freedom and the notion of it. Juneteenth marks the end of slavery and begining of a new era where men and women had the basic human rights and they could live life on their own terms. Slavery was a curse to the society and now that it’s gone, let’s celebrate Juneteenth in a grand manner! The essence of life is when it is enjoyed with a dash of freedom. Juneteenth will always be remembered as it freed hundreds and thousands of souls trapped in the net of slavery! Without freedom life would be like a thirsty man on a sea. You can see water everywhere but drink nothing and eventually die deep within due to thirst (thirst of freedom). Wishing you Juneteenth remembrance. The celebration of abolition of slavery is one of the biggest steps in the history of the nation and hence it needs to be celebrated with great joy! Happy Juneteenth! Celebrate freedom like never before on this Juneteenth because at the end of the day nothing matters more than a happy mind.

Juneteenth or Freedom Emancipation Day Without much to speak, the Juneteenth is one of the most important days on the calendar. Happy homecoming to the feeling of freedom. Can you imagine a life that was owed to others and you would be constantly used by others as their slaves? No, right ? Thanks to Juneteenth for happening! You can rule people’s hearts but not their lives and this is what Juneteenth day reminds us always. Freedom is basic! Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, annual holiday celebrated on June 19 in the United States to commemorate the ending of slavery. For more than a century, Juneteenth was observed mainly in Texas and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. In recent decades, communities across the nation have adopted the holiday. June 19 marks the day in 1865 when word reached African Americans in Texas that slavery in the United States had been abolished. More than two years earlier, on New Year’s Day, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Delivered during the American Civil War, this proclamation ordered the freeing of all slaves in states that were rebelling against Union forces. The proclamation had little effect in Texas, where there were few Union troops to enforce the order.

Juneteenth Freedom Day Holiday African American residents of Austin, Texas, celebrate the “freedom day” festival known as Juneteenth. The annual holiday, celebrated June 19th, commemorates the date in 1865 on which General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to force renegade slave owners to release their slaves. Before Granger’s arrival, slaves in the region did not know that they were legally free, even though the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 had freed them more than two years previously. Today Juneteenth is celebrated throughout the country, but festivities are especially prominent in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. News of the proclamation officially reached Texas on June 19, 1865, when a Union general backed by nearly 2,000 troops arrived in the city of Galveston. The general, Gordon Granger, publicly announced that slavery in the United States had ended. Reactions among newly freed slaves ranged from shock and disbelief to jubilant celebration. That day has been known ever since as Juneteenth, a name probably derived from the slang combination of the words June and nineteenth. Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas the following year. Within a few years they had spread to other states and became an annual tradition. Celebrations often opened with praying and religious ceremonies and included a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. A wide range of festivities entertained participants, from music and dancing to contests of physical strength and intellect. Food was central to the celebrations, and barbecued meats were especially popular.

Juneteenth parade celebration In the late 19th century, African Americans in the largely segregated South began migrating north and west in search of a better life. Many of these blacks transplanted their Juneteenth celebrations with them. African Americans continued to migrate from the South to other parts of the country during the late 1930s and 1940s. By World War II (1939-1945), however, Juneteenth celebrations began to decline. Historians cite several reasons for this. Many African Americans, removed by 70 years or more from the 1865 emancipation, were less inclined to carry forward the enthusiastic celebrations of earlier generations. In addition, some historians note that many African Americans wanted to distance themselves from vestiges of slavery. Interest in Juneteenth celebrations further waned during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, when the holiday was associated with past repression and segregation. In some southern cities, Juneteenth was the only day each year when all-white local governments would permit African Americans to use city parks and zoos. In 1980 Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas. Since then, observance of Juneteenth has spread to other parts of the United States. Today, Juneteenth celebrates freedom for African Americans in addition to many other themes, including education, self-improvement, African American accomplishments throughout history, and tolerance and respect for all cultures. Festivities may include parades, picnics, tributes and speeches, music, gospel performances, exhibitions, baseball games, rodeos, and other activities. Around 24 states and the District of Columbia are set to legally recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday this year, according to a Pew Research Center analysis which forecasts that more states will recognize it as a paid holiday next year. Since the holiday was signed into federal law, multiple states have had Juneteenth as a paid holiday for employees.

Celebrate Juneteenth States With Juneteeth As Paid Holiday According to The Pew Charitable Trusts: New York, Maine, Louisiana, Illinois, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, and Texas, which was  the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1980. Georgia, Ohio, Nebraska, Maryland, South Dakota, Colorado, Connecticut, and Delaware, Alabama recently recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday, according to News Observer. You can also read some articles about other Festival and Holiday Days: Martin Luther King Day   January 17, 2022 Saint Valentine's Day  February 14, 2022 Presidents Day   February 21, 2022 Saint Patrick Day  March 17, 2022 April Fools Day  April 1, 2022 Good Friday April 15, 2022 International Worker Day  May 1, 2022 Memorial Day    May 30, 2022 Juneteenth Holiday  June 20, 2022  Independence Day  July 4, 2022 Labor Day  September 5, 2022 Halloween or all hallows eve  October 31, 2022 Thanksgiving Day  November 24, 2022 Black Friday Day  November 25, 2022 Christmas Holidays   December 25, 2022 Chinese New Year  February 1, 2022 Read the full article

[unabashednightmarepizza]

Just so you all know... I'm actually about to have a heart attack because of the elections... I wanna cry and shit like that 😭

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The woman whose story Alabama Sen. Katie Britt appeared to have shared in the Republican response to the State of the Union as an example of President Joe Biden’s failed immigration policies told CNN she was trafficked before Biden’s presidency and said legislators lack empathy when using the issue of human trafficking for political purposes.

“I hardly ever cooperate with politicians, because it seems to me that they only want an image. They only want a photo — and that to me is not fair,” Karla Jacinto told CNN on Sunday.

CNN’s Freedom Project, which seeks to raise awareness about modern-day slavery, previously profiled Jacinto’s story.

Jacinto told CNN that Mexican politicians took advantage of her by using her story for political purposes and that it’s happened again in the United States.

“I work as a spokesperson for many victims who have no voice, and I really would like them to be empathetic: all the governors, all the senators, to be empathetic with the issue of human trafficking because there are millions of girls and boys who disappear all the time. People who are really trafficked and abused, as she [Britt] mentioned. And I think she [Britt] should first take into account what really happens before telling a story of that magnitude,” Jacinto said.

During the Republican response to Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday, Britt said, “When I first took office, I did something different. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas, where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12,” before saying, “President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable.”

Jacinto said she met the senator at an event at the southern border with other government officials and anti-human-trafficking activists, instead of one-on-one as Britt stated. She also said that she was never trafficked in the United States, as Britt appeared to suggest. She was not trafficked by Mexican drug cartels, but by a pimp who operated as part of a family that entrapped vulnerable girls to force them into prostitution, she said.

Jacinto said she was kept in captivity from 2004 to 2008, when President George W. Bush was in office and when Biden was a senator.

CNN reached out to the senator’s office seeking comment Sunday.

Sean Ross, Britt’s communications director, told The Washington Post that the senator was talking about Jacinto and disputed that Britt’s language was misleading.

Asked by Fox News’ Shannon Bream on Sunday whether she meant to give the impression that the story had taken place during Biden’s time in office, Britt responded: “No, Shannon,” before criticizing the president’s border policies.

“I very clearly said I spoke to a woman who told me about when she was trafficked when she was 12. So I didn’t say a teenager, I didn’t say a young woman, a grown woman. A woman, when she was trafficked, when she was 12,” Britt said.

In a prior statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Britt’s office neither confirmed nor denied Britt was sharing Jacinto’s account, but said the story the senator told “was 100% correct.”

[nando161mando]

Kaiser workers win big after largest healthcare strike in US history