Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Plan on seeing the movie "Lincoln"? Keep this in mind...
By, Chris Rossini
1832 -- Lincoln begins his political career in the Illinois legislature
- “I presume you all know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have
been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature.
My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman’s dance. I am in
favor of a national bank…in favor of the internal improvements system and
a high protective tariff.”
1838 -- Lincoln's corporate welfare brings Illinois to its knees
William H. Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner and one of his closest friends, wrote:
- “Every river and stream…was to be widened, deepened, and made
navigable. A canal to connect the Illinois River and Lake Michigan was to
be dug…cities were to spring up everywhere; capital from abroad was to
come pouring in; attracted by the glowing reports of marvelous progress
and great internal wealth, people were to come swarming in by colonies,
until in the end Illinois was to outstrip all others, and herself become
the Empire State of the Union.”...
- “The internal improvement system, the adoption of which Lincoln had played such a prominent part, had collapsed, with the result that Illinois was left with an enormous debt and empty treasury.”
- “The internal improvement system, the adoption of which Lincoln had played such a prominent part, had collapsed, with the result that Illinois was left with an enormous debt and empty treasury.”
But back to Lincoln. You'd think that after such a disaster, one would lose all credibility and trustworthiness.
Nope! When it comes to government, nothing succeeds like failure.
1858 -- The Great Emancipator on the black & white races
Lincoln's words from the famous Lincoln vs. Douglas debate on Sept. 18, 1858:
- "I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of
bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white
and black races, [applause] that I am not nor ever have been in favor
of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold
office, not to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition
to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black
races which I believe will for ever forbid the two races living together
on terms of social and political equality."
The dreadful political party that we're still battling today began with Lincoln.
Please don't fool yourself into thinking that somehow The Republican Party, that was born in tyranny, will end up getting taken over by Libertarians; and the country will return to the freedom-loving days of the founding fathers.
No.
It surely can't happen that way.
The Republican Party, since day one, and all the way up to today, is no friend of liberty. The saying "by their fruits, ye shall know them" speaks volumes here. It reminds you to look at the root.
The root of The Republican Party tree lies here in 1861. Don't ever expect it to grow the fruits of liberty.
Before moving on, let's not skip past Lincoln's first inaugural address. He touched on the question of slavery and quoted one of his earlier published speeches:
- “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no
lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.”
Many Americans (educated by their government, of course) believe that "The Civil War" was fought to free the slaves. This is just not true. This was a war over Southern secession.
The war is misnamed. It was not a Civil War. The South had no interest in taking over the Northern government.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wanted to make clear to the North that the Confederates did not constitute a threat to the government in Washington:
- “We seek no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any
kind…all we ask is to be let alone.”
Lincoln's response? He outright refused to see the commissioners, and also refused to recognize the Confederate government.
Whether the South wanted conquest or not made no difference. It was the economic policies of the South that enraged the North.
You see, the Confederate Constitution created, in essence, a free trade zone with opposition to protectionism. It stated:
- “but no bounties shall be granted from the Treasury; nor shall any
duties or taxes on importation from foreign nations be laid to promote or
foster any branch of industry.”
This was in stark contrast to the North's high-taxes and protectionism. And remember what Lincoln said when he entered politics: "I am in favor of a national bank…in favor of the internal improvements system and a high protective tariff."
Free Trade? Ha!
The North was in no way going to allow the South become an attractive market for the rest of the world, while at the same time, pricing out the North.
On Apr. 2, 1861 The Newark Daily Advertiser, warned ominously that Southerners had apparently “taken to their bosoms the liberal and popular doctrine of free trade” and that they “might be willing to go…toward free trade with the European powers” which “must operate to the serious disadvantage of the North” as “commerce will be largely diverted to the Southern cities.”
This is America...the "land of the free"...and if there's one thing that will not be tolerated, it's free trade.
When Lincoln was in Congress, he had no problem with secession. In a speech on Jan. 12, 1848, he said:
- “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the
right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new
one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right
- a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this
right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing
government may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people, that
can, may revolutionize, and make their own of so much of the territory as
they inhabit.”
As President, Lincoln called secession the “essence of anarchy.”
In other words, if the South wanted free trade, then it was time for Lincoln to invade.
Now the fun begins....
1861
- Apr. 19, Lincoln imposed a blockade on Southern ports of South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Did Congress declare war? No. Constitution violated.
- Apr. 20, Lincoln ordered the Sec. of Treasury to spend public money for defense without congressional appropriation, violating the Constitution.
- Apr. 27, Lincoln made the unprecedented move of suspending, through an unconstitutional order, the writ of habeas corpus, or the protection against unlawful imprisonment.
- Lincoln signed a warrant for the arrest of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court because the Judge rendered an opinion that Lincoln acted unconstitutionally by suspending the writ of habeas corpus.
- Lincoln had U.S. Rep. Clement Vallandigham of Ohio arrested for “disloyal sentiments and speeches.” Vallandigham opposed the Morrill Tariff and the central bank.
- An estimated 13,000 Northern citizens were detained for merely expressing opposition to the war. This group contained hundreds of newspaper editors and owners. None of these people ever heard evidence against them and were never brought to trial.
- During the war, adult male civilians in the South were compelled to take a loyalty oath to the federal government or be shot. In the words of Justice Benjamin R. Curtis, Lincoln had established “a military despotism.”
1862 -- What's war without paper money to pay for it?
In the Legal Tender Act of Feb. 1862, Congress authorized the printing of $150 million in new “United States notes” (Greenbacks) to pay for the growing war deficits. “In God We Trust” was also introduced on the U.S. dollar in 1862 when it’s gold backing was dropped.
2012?...No change...Worldwide military empire...constant war....all financed with electronic digits and enforced with legal tender laws.
Here's a heads up though...Eventually (like Lincoln's Greenbacks) the money becomes worthless.
1862 -- The Great Emancipator on freeing slaves
Lincoln wrote to Horace Greeley:
- "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and
is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union
without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by
freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing
some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about
slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save
the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it
would help to save the Union."
In the interest of brevity, I'll end with a quote from H.L. Mencken. He talks about Lincoln's absurd claim, in The Gettysburg Address, that Northern soldiers fought for the cause of self-determination:
- "It is difficult to imagine anything more untrue. The Union
soldiers in the battle actually fought against self determination; it was
the Confederates who fought for the right of their people to govern
themselves. The Confederates went into the battle free; they came out
with their freedom subject to the supervision of the rest of the
country."
Sadly, for generations to come (including us) the power of centralized government in America had only just begun.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/11/plan-on-seeing-movie-lincoln-keep-this.html --
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
