The history of the Democrat party is rooted in racism. It was southern democrats who were slave owners, with a strong desire to maintain the premise of free labor via slavery. Between 1861-1865, many states called themselves withdrawing from the union and formed the Confederate States of America (CSA). The eleven states of the CSA, in order of secession, were: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. These events of secession took place prior to the election of Abraham Lincoln. Most notably, the CSA commissioned three Confederate Battle Flags, to represent their newly formed union. Although the Confederate Flag is synonymous with slavery, it’s democratic foundation, is widely overlooked.
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The movie “Lincoln” depicts the struggle President Lincoln faced trying to save the union, as a whole, and appease both Northern and Southern states. The election of 1860, saw the Democrat president James Buchanan being succeeded by the first Republican, Abraham Lincoln. The Republican Party had a stronghold in the north (union) states.
The north was not a fan of slavery. The Civil War commenced April 12, 1861, a month after Lincoln took office, when Confederates fired shots at the Union held Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Civil War lasted between 1861-1865 as seen in “Glory”.
President Lincoln came to the conclusion that slavery was wrong and issued the Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863, which declared slaves free in the confederate states. President Lincoln would be assassinated April 15, 1865. By December, of the same year, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declared there would be no further distinction made between “free” and “slave” states. As a direct result of Republican’s freeing slaves, Blacks joined the Republican Party.
Blacks would later switch to the Democrat Party, after the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Between 1933-1938, the “New Deal” established many programs, following the Great Depression, which were to provide relief, recovery and reform. This political realignment was critical for it strengthened the Democratic Party with the very people they once wanted to receive free labor from.
Therefore, the Confederate Flag doesn’t represent Republican ideology it’s rooted in Democratic principles.
As Blacks chastise other Blacks, for remaining Republican, most notably Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and best-selling author Larry Elder, it is no wonder Malcolm X famously called Democrats “political chumps“, for overwhelmingly voting democrat.
Justice Thomas recently joined the majority of the justices in overturning a ruling allowing the confederate flag to be on Texas license plates and Larry Elder, constantly questions why Blacks are Democrats.
The Los Angeles Times and its publisher Austin Beutner revealed their racism publishing this article titled “Supreme Court errs on Texas’ Confederate-themed license plates“. Their reasoning? If a state allows vanity license plates, they can’t pick and chose which ones are acceptable. The justices ruled, in essence, that state sponsored racism is a no-no. The California legislature approved a law, late last year, that bans the display of confederate flag paraphernalia on state property.
In the wake of the Charleston shooting, by domestic terrorist Dylan Roof, discussion has resurfaced over the flying of the confederate flag, on the states capitol. Its removal will evidently never happen since there is a law preventing its removal, unless its for maintenance purposes. It is also padlocked to the pole.
The real question becomes: why do Blacks support a party so heavily rooted in racism?
2 Comments
History is history and can not be changed. However, in the past 150 years, the attitudes, opinions and actions of people have changed dramatically. I do believe that the majority of white folks today, and I include myself, do regret what happened in the past and are trying very hard to make amends and insure that history does not repeat itself with regard to race relations. Unfortunately there will always be a few like Dylann Root who just don’t get it. And, as for that law about the confederate flag, laws can be changed and I predict that this law will change in the near future.
“The real question becomes why do Blacks support a party so heavily rooted in racism?”
Because times and parties change.
In the 1960s, the Republican Party started its ‘Southern Strategy’, to make its message appeal to racist whites in the south. In a sense, the strategy worked, because the Republicans have mostly had a lock on the South since then. But even the Republicans are starting to see that it was a long-term mistake, which is why the Republican chairman issued a half-hearted notpology in 2010:
“Why should an African-American vote Republican?
“You really don’t have a reason to, to be honest — we haven’t done a very good job of really giving you one. True? True,”
“…We have lost sight of the historic, integral link between the party and African-Americans,” Steele said. “This party was co-founded by blacks, among them Frederick Douglass. The Republican Party had a hand in forming the NAACP, and yet we have mistreated that relationship. People don’t walk away from parties, Their parties walk away from them. For the last 40-plus years we had a ‘Southern Strategy’ that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South.”
In 1948, racist Strom Thurmond ran for President as a Democrat. By 1964, he had switched parties to be a Republican.
KKK member and neo-Nazi David Duke switched from Democratic to Republican.
It’s true that if you look back in history, the Democratic Party was the party of slavery. But in my mind that hardly compares to the fact that the Republican Party is the party of racism right fucking now.