Tag Archives: Slavery

The Civil War Was Fought Over Slavery. Period.

Posted on May 25, 2013 at 12:30 pm by Bob Cesca

David Frum wrote a nice piece about this topic in the context of commemorating the 25th anniversary of Battle Cry of Freedom. His salient points: From time to time, we hear denials of the centrality of slavery to the Civil … Continue reading →
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Posted in Civil War | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Better Late Than Never?

Posted on February 18, 2013 at 2:30 pm by JM Ashby

The state of Mississippi apparently didn’t ratify the 13 Amendment until last month. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, was ratified in 1865. Lawmakers in Mississippi, however, only got around to officially ratifying the amendment last month … Continue reading →
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Posted in Epic Fail | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Long Shadow of Barack Obama’s Inauguration

Posted on January 21, 2013 at 7:33 am by Bob Cesca

My Inauguration Day column begins like so: President Obama was officially sworn in yesterday for his second term as chief executive and, this afternoon, he’ll be ceremonially sworn in with all of the usual Capitol fanfare and speeches. While not … Continue reading →

Posted in The Daily Banter | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Grappling with the Conundrum of ‘Django Unchained’

Posted on January 10, 2013 at 7:18 am by Bob Cesca

My Thursday column: I don’t mean to step on Chez Pazienza’s toes as the unofficial The Daily Banter Movie Guy, but I wanted to take some time with the new Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained; partly because racial issues and … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Civil Rights and the History of Party Platforms. And Ann Coulter.

Posted on September 24, 2012 at 7:19 am by Bob Cesca

My rather long Monday column covers the ideological and platform shifts of the parties from 1860 to present day, and how Republicans like Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck are lying about it. While I was reviewing some of my Civil … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Genealogists: POTUS is Descended From Slaves

Posted on July 31, 2012 at 10:00 am by JM Ashby

According to a team of genealogists working for Ancestry.com, President Obama’s ancestral roots can be traced back to one of the first documented slaves in America. And this connection is on his mother’s side of the family, not his father’s. … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Mandatory TV Viewing

Posted on February 27, 2012 at 11:46 am by Bob Cesca

PBS has produced a wonderful documentary based on Douglas Blackmon’s groundbreaking book, Slavery By Another Name. The story reveals the unspoken history of “neo-slavery” in America — a phenomenon that lasted until around World War II. African Americans by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Racism | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Slave Tells Former Master to Suck It

Posted on February 2, 2012 at 12:49 pm by Bob Cesca

This is fascinating. Historians discovered this 1864 letter from a former slave to his former master. Dayton, Ohio, August 7, 1865 To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

African-Americans and Studying the Civil War

Posted on December 8, 2011 at 9:34 am by Bob Cesca

Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote a phenomenal piece in The Atlantic’s Civil War commemorative issue, and he laments that so few blacks are students of the Civil War, noting that it was “their” war. And for black people, there is this—the burden … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on April 3, 2011 at 12:37 pm by Bob Cesca

“Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is … Continue reading →

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