Day: September 15, 2022

Lewis And Clark

I apologize for being tardy in my replies but with heat raging here in the South and my A/C craps out I have been in no mood to sit and type.

News these days is boring at best….so why not learn something?

Part 3–the Lewis and Clark Expedition

We have been taught from our early years about the history of this country….problem is most of the stuff taught has been sanitized…..I try to teach some of the stuff that has been left out of our history instruction.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring the lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. The excursion lasted over two years: Along the way they confronted harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, treacherous waters, injuries, starvation, disease and both friendly and hostile Native Americans. Nevertheless, the approximately 8,000-mile journey was deemed a huge success and provided new geographic, ecological and cultural information about previously uncharted areas of North America. 

The rest of the story…..

As Lewis and Clark prepared for their expedition into the western territories, the United States government gave them numerous goals to accomplish. Foremost, they were to find a “Northwest Passage” of water that connected the rivers of the Atlantic to the rivers of the Pacific, allowing for continuous water travel across North America. (The men would fail this mission, as the Northwest Passage turned out to be a myth.) Furthermore, they were to keep detailed records of the plants and animals of the West and to map out as much of the territory as possible.

But an often-ignored goal of the Lewis and Clark expedition was to gain the loyalty of the Native American tribes of the West. As the Corps of Discovery encountered new tribes on its push to the Pacific, they informed the Native people that they were living on land that was now part of the United States. According to the University of Virginia, Lewis and Clark would offer gifts to the tribes — from knives to peace medals — and encourage the Native people to obey their new “Great Father” in the East (a patronizing reference to President Jefferson). But the Corps of Discovery also demonstrated the steep price of disobeying the United States: In front of each tribe, they would fire off their guns in a display of military power.

Read More: https://www.grunge.com/235028/the-messed-up-truth-about-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/

There was so much more to this expedition than taught…..the trip was not as successful as Jefferson had wanted….but it was a great PR opportunity but sadly it did not last very long.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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Is Slavery A Dead Issue?

We are taught that the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln officially ended the institution of slavery in the United States……

For those not sure what the Proclamation was truly all about…..

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that as of January 1, 1863, all enslaved people in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

Lincoln didn’t actually free all of the approximately 4 million men, women and children held in slavery in the United States when he signed the formal Emancipation Proclamation the following January. The document applied only to enslaved people in the Confederacy, and not to those in the border states that remained loyal to the Union.

That is the short definition and an intro to the next thought in this post….

There are 5 states that will be voting on the slavery issue in 2022……

The 2022 elections have already shaped up to be among the most politically-charged midterm elections in some time. Among the many political races and laws that will be on the ballot in November, several states will be voting on a question that most of us had assumed had been settled long ago: rather to officially abolish slavery. Here’s what to know before voting in November.

Despite conservative attempts to whitewash history in recent years, those of us with even a cursory understanding of American history generally believe that slavery was abolished in the United States as a result of the Civil War. That is technically true. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Over time, every state in the U.S. has ratified the 13th Amendment, although the last state to do so was Mississippi in 2013.  (Of course it was)

The “except as a punishment for crime” clause in the 13th amendment, however, allowed southern states to criminalize Blackness in ways that let them retain some degree of forced labor, and over time it has contributed to the problem of mass incarceration in the U.S. The exception clause found in the 13th Amendment is similar to language found in the laws of several states. Five of those states — Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont — will vote in November on whether to remove those clauses from state law.

Instagram account @so.informed posted a series of graphics explaining the particular questions on the ballots of each of these five states. All five states’ referendums proposed removing slavery or indentured servitude clauses from their state’s constitutions. If passed, the Tennessee and Vermont proposals would additionally add language to those states’ constitutions specifically clarifying that slavery or other forms of involuntary servitude are forbidden under all circumstances. The Alabama proposal, however, would result in the state “removing all racist language” from its constitution.

https://blavity.com/five-states-to-vote-on-slavery-yes-slavery-in-november

So after over 100 years the institution and the wordings are not over…..the fight continues.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Then Vote!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”