Discussion

There is no black race

There is no white race

" Whatever Adam called every living creature that was the name there of"
" Adam gave names to all". Gen.2:19

Allow me to introduce myself.

I am a member of the Human race (Homo Sapiens). The color of my skin is dark/light brown. I was born in America.These are characteristics of my identity.There is no ambiguity. My name is Human.

" I'm for truth no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for, or against.

I'm a Human Being,first,and foremost.And as such, I'm for whoever, and whatever benefits Humanity as a whole"

... (~ Malcolm X) .

The purpose of this site, is to provide a forum, for people to share in positive discourse. That promotes a better understanding of our global connectivity. And other topics of interest.

Welcome to SHaDES.

a=a: Law of identity: a, is equal to a, no more. no less. A thing is equal to itself. no more. no less.

Aristotle

Race: Is associated with Biology: In biology, races are genetically distinct populations within the same species; They typically have relatively minor morphological and genetic differences. THOUGH, All Humans, belong to the same species ( Homo Sapiens) and the same sub species ( Homo Sapiens Sapiens), there are small genetic variations across the globe that engender diverse physical appearances,

such as, variations in skin color.

Ethnicity: Is the term for the culture of people in a given geographic region. including their language ,heritage, religion and customs. To be a member of an ethnic group is to conform to some or all of those practices.

Race and Ethnicity: are distinct.Not interchangeable. For example,

a Japanese- American would probably consider herself a member of the Japanese or East Asian culture.

But, if she doesn't engage in any of the practices or customs of their ancestor, she might not identify with

the ethnicity, but might instead consider herself to be American.

It is widely accepted that Man's oldest common forefather was dark skinned, and that people became more pale as they moved further north out of Africa into colder climates with less sunlight

" comparisons between known skin pigmentation genes in chimpanzees and modern Africans show that dark skin

evolved along with the loss of body hair about 1.2 million years ago and is the ancestral state of all humans."

This is several million years after the time estimated for the * last common human-chimpanzee ancestor.

but at least 1 million years before the emergence of Homo Sapiens.

This suggests that the earliest species in Homo, may have had lighter skin,

but that the advantageous genes for dark skin were universal by the time of the first true humans.... wikipedia

The first modern humans evolved about 200,000 years ago in Africa.

When they lost their hair ( or at least most of it), they needed some other protection of their skin from the sun-otherwise

they are prone to develop melanoma.* melanin is such a protection, and the rate of melanoma is much lower in dark skinned people.

There is also a nice correlation between latitude and skin color- the more to the north (and to some degree to the south as well) you get, the lighter the skin color of the population gets.

reason for this is likely the better ability to synthesize Vitamin D( for which you need sunlight on the skin):

The lightening of the skin occurred after humans moved to Europe:

Melanin, is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms.

Melanin, is produced by the oxidation of the amino acid tyro-sine. followed by polymerization.

The pigment is produced in a specialized group of cells known as Melanocytes.

Melanin, is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms.

Melanin, is produced by the oxidation of the amino acid tyro-sine. followed by polymerization.

The pigment is produced in a specialized group of cells known as Melanocytes.

There are three types of melanin: eumelanin, pheomelanin, neuromelanin.

The most common is eumelanin, of which there are two types - brown eumelanin, and black eumelanin.

Peomelanin, is a cysteine - containing red polymer of benzothiazine units largely responsible for red hair among other pigmentation.

Neuro melanin, is found in the brain . though it's function is unknown.

In humans, melanin is the primary determinant of skin color.

The melanin in the skin is produced by melanocytes, which are found in the basal layer of the epidermis.

Although,, in general, human beings possess a similar concentration of melanocytes in their skin

The melanocytes in some individuals and ethnic groups produce variable amounts of melanin.

Some humans have very little or no melanin synthesis in their bodies,

a condition known as albinism.

Both pheomelanin and eumelanin are found in human skin and hair.

but eumelanin is the most abundant melanin in humans,

as well as the form most likely to be deficient in albinism.

Melanogenesis: ( in the skin) occurs after exposure to UV radiation, causing the skin to visibly tan.

Melanin is an effective absorber of light.

the pigment is able to dissipate over 99.9% of absorbed U V radiation.Because of this property,

melanin is thought to protect skin cells from UVB radiation damage, reducing the risk of cancer.

Furthermore, though exposure to UV radiation is associated with increased risk of malignant melanoma,

a cancer of the melanocytes, studies have shown a lower incidence for skin cancer in individuals with more concentrated

melanin, i.e. darker skin tone.

Three - fifths compromise 1787

A law that states that three out of every five slaves be counted as a person.

Reached among delegates during the 1787, United States Constitutional Convention.

whether and, if so, how slaves would be counted when determining a states population for legislative and taxing purposes

was important as this number would then be used to determine the "number of seats" that the state would have

in the United States House of Representatives for the next ten years.

The compromise solution was to count three out of every five slaves as a person for this purpose.

It's effect was to give the Southern states a third more seats in Congress and a third more electoral votes

than if slaves had been ignored, but fewer than if slaves and free people had been counted equally.

Independent Party 1789

George Washington became the 1st President of the United States.

He was not formally affiliated with any Political Parties during his two terms in office and therefore

classed as an Independent.

All members of the new government supported him as an impartial president and wanted to give the Constitution

a fair trial.

The Independent Party focused on the establishment of the Constitution.

The First Party 1792-1824:

The political party system that existed in the United States between roughly 1792, and 1824.

It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states:

1793,The Fugitive Slave Act:

was an act of the United States Congress to give effect to the fugitive slave Clause

of the Constitution, which was later superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment

the former guaranteed a right for a slave holder to recover an escaped slave.

The Act, " An Act respecting fugitives from justice,and persons escaping from justice, and persons escaping from the service of their masters,"created the legal mechanism by which that could be accomplished.

The Act was,strengthened at the insistence of the slave states of the South by the Compromise of 1850,

which required even the governments and the residents of free states to enforce the capture and return of fugitive slaves.

This law put fugitive slaves at risk for recapture for the rest of their lives,but some slaveholders did not think it was strong enough. It also classified children born to fugitive slave mothers as slaves and the property of their mother's master for

the rest of their lives.

The Federalist Party, 1797: created largely by Alexander Hamilton, and the rival Jeffersonian Democratic- Republican Party,

formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison,usually called at the time, the "Republican Party".

Federalist Papers:

John Adams is elected president for the Federalist Party who believed that the new central government ,

and the well educated , wealthy classes, should be given the power of government.

The Federalist Papers explained the Constitution to the American people and promoted the concept of Federalism.

Anti-Federalist Party:

Believed that the vast majority of ordinary less educated people, had the skills and common sense required

to run the government.

The Anti-Federalist Party was opposed to the John Adams, and the Federalist Party.

The Federalist were dominant until 1800, while the Republicans were dominant after 1800.

Republican Party:1798

The Anti- Federalist Party was renamed as the Republican Party

reflecting the ideals of Republicanism supporting states rights and a strict interpretation of the constitution.

Democratic - Republican Party: 1798

( Jeffersonian Republicans)

The Federalist tried to discredit the Republicans to convey the extreme and radical actions taken in the name oof democracy during the French Revolution. However, the Jeffersonian Republicans admired the strong

anti-monarchist sentiments of the French and their belief of the principle of government by the people -

so the name " Democratic- Republican " stuck.

Democratic - Republican Party 1800:

Thomas Jefferson, leader of the Democratic - Republican Party, was elected the third president of the United States.

The Democratic -Republican Party adhered to the Constitution in order to limit the powers of the federal government

and was strongly opposed to aristocracy, monarchy, corruption and elitism.

Democratic-Republican Party1809:

James Madison followed Thomas Jefferson as leader of the Democratic- Republican Party.

Fall of the Federalist Party 1815:

The Federalist bitterly opposed the rising power of the Democratic- Republicans and held secret meetings at the Hartford

Convention to air their views reproaching Madison's administration and the war of 1812.

Some delegates favored secession.

The war of 1812, ended with a sense of victory and sealed the destruction of the Federalist Party.

The secrecy of the Hartford Convention discredited the Federalists who were seen as too extreme and disloyal

and even branded them as traitors

Democratic -Republican Party 1817:

As there was now only one political party ( Democratic- Republican) this led to a more stable government and heralded the "era of good feelings".

During the two term presidency of James Monroe.

Era Of Good Feelings:

Phrase coined by Benjamin Russell, in the Federalist newspaper, Colombian Centinel,on Jul.y 12, 1817.

following Monroe's visit to Boston Massachusetts,as part of his good-will tour of the United States.

New Paragraph

Missouri Compromise1820:

Legislative compromise between pro- and anti slavery parties in the run-up to the American Civil War.

That provided for the admission of Maine to the United States as a free state along with Missouri as a slave state.

thus maintaining the balance of power between North and South in the United States Senate.

As part of the compromise, slavery was prohibited North of the 36,30 parallel, excluding Missouri.

Congress passed the legislation on March 3,1820,

Dred Scott :

Dred Scott, was an enslaved man in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom, and that of his wife

and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case of 1857 Popularly known as the Dred Scott case.

Dred Scott was a slave and social activist who served several masters before suing for his freedom.

His case made it to the Supreme Court ( Dred Scott v. Sandford) prior to the American Civil War.

Dred Scott was born into slavery sometime in 1795, in Southampton County, Virginia.

He made history by launching a legal battle to gain his freedom.

After his first " owner " died, Scott spent time in two free states working for several subsequent owners.

Shortly after he married he tried to buy freedom for himself and his family, but failed.

So he took his case to the Missouri court, where he won, only to have the decision over turned at the Supreme Court level.

An event so controversial it was a harbinger for Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and

inevitably of the Civil War.

On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford was issued.

11 long years after the initial suits. Seven of the nine judges agreed with the outcome delivered by

Chief Justice Roger Taney,who announced that

"slaves were not citizens of the United States and therefore had no rights to sue in Federal Courts:"...

They had no rights which the white man was bound to respect."

*The decision also declared that the Missouri Compromise , was unconstitutional. and that

Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery.

The Dred Scott decision sparked outrage in the Northern states and glee in the South,

The growing schism made Civil War inevitable.

Too controversial to retain the Scott's as slaves, after the trial, Mrs. Emerson remarried and returned Dred scott and his family to the Blows who granted them their freedom in May 1857.

That same month, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech discussing the Dred Scott decision on the anniversary of the

American Abolition Society.

Eventually, the 13th and 14th amendments to the constitution overrode this Supreme Court ruling.

Dred Scott and his family stayed in St. Louis after his emancipation, and he found work as a porter in a local hotel

But after only a little more than a year of true freedom, Scott died from tuberculosis on September 17, 1858

Dred Scott's wife Harriette, survived him by 18 years.

Placing pennies( displaying the face of Abraham Lincoln) on Scott's headstone has become a local tradition

over the decades. The pennies are believed to be a tribute to President Abraham Lincoln, who in 1863,issued the Emancipation Proclamation to free slaves. The commemorative marker next to the headstone reads

" In memory of a simple man who wanted to be free."

Abraham Lincoln:

Abraham Lincoln: won the Republican nomination for president in 1860.On Jan.1, 1860

March 4,1861:Abraham Lincoln, inaugurated president.

March 11, 1861: The Confederate States Of America adopts a constitution. The confederacy consists of seven states of

the deep south. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

April 12, 1861: South Carolina troops fire on the federal arsenal at Fort Sumter.

The Civil War begins.

When the American Civil War (1861-65) began,President Abraham Lincoln carefully framed the conflict,as concerning the preservation of the Union rather than the abolition of slavery. He knew that neither Northerners nor the residents of the border states would support abolition as a war aim.

But by mid - 1862,as thousands of slaves fled to join the invading Northern armies, Lincoln was convinced that abolition had become a sound military strategy as well as the morally correct path.

The President's role as commander in chief empowered him to seize enemy property used to wage war against the United States. Slaves were the most conspicuous and valuable such property.They were later declared "contraband of war" by General Benjamin Butler,commander of Union forces. In May 1861, which provided a legal rationale for the seizure of slave property. By 1862, the trickle of escaped slaves had become a flood. In March 1862, Congress enacted a new article of war, forbidding army officers to return fugitive slaves to their masters. It became a war for freedom.

Most Republicans were convinced that the war against a slave holders rebellion, must become a war against slavery itself, and they put increasing pressure on Lincoln to proclaim an emancipation policy.

By 1862, it was clear that he risked alienating the Republican's.

Confiscation Act August 6, 1861:

Was an act of Congress during the early months of the American Civil War permitting court proceedings for confiscation of any property being used to support the Confederate independence effort, including slaves.

Lincoln was convinced to sign the legislation, which he did on August 6, 1861.

Due to the fact that the bill was based on military emancipation, no judicial proceedings were required

and, therefore Lincoln gave Attorney General Edward Bates, no instructions on enforcing the bill.

Within a year of it's passage, tens of thousands of slaves had been freed by the First Confiscation Act.

With respect to slaves, the act authorized court proceedings to strip their owners of any claim to them but did not clarify whether the slaves were free.

As a result of this ambiguity, these slaves came under Union lines as property in the care of the U.S. government.

Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation:

President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War,

announcing that if rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union by Jan.1,1863, all slaves in the rebellious

states would be free.

This transformed the fight to preserve the nation.

In July 1862, President Lincoln read his "preliminary proclamation" to his cabinet, then decided to wait for a Union military victory to issue it.

On September 22, 1862 , following the victory at Antietam,he signed the preliminary Emancipation proclamation ,

formally alerting the Confederacy of his intention to free all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states.

One hundred days later,with the Confederacy still in full rebellion, President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation.

January1,1863: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect

As soon as a slave escaped the control of the confederate government, by running away. Or, through advances of federal troops. The former slave becomes free.

The proclamation ordered the freedom of all slaves in ten states.

The proclamation was issued in January, 1863. based on the presidents constitutional authority.

It was not passed by congress.

Some self emancipated themselves by joining the ranks of the Union soldiers, as the fighting neared the place they happened to be.

Stripped of their ancestral identity,: Most continued to identify themselves as they always had. They remained as the symbol of all things bad. "black" in meaning. The polar opposite of the symbol of all things good. Black.This is how they were defined. But,this is not who,or what they were. Jan.30 1989. in response to a demand to sever all ties with anything that associated them with the degradation of slavery. The term negro (black, in Spanish) no longer would define them as a people."This is deeper than just name recognition"said Mr.Jackson(Jesse) who along with others,called for the change at a news conference in late December. " Black tells you about skin color and what side of town you live on. African - American evokes discussion of the world. Leaders of the movement say they want to shift the definition of the group from the racial description, black. To a cultural and ethnic identity that ties the group to its continent of origin, and fosters dignity and self-esteem" ...The New York Times,Jan 31,1989

.After much discussion,this is still not who they were. They were now, black. But, in name only. Not in fact.

Some where gathered together and were formed into Confiscation Camps:

" I had crossed the line . I was free; but there was no one to welcome me, to the land of freedom.

I was a stranger in a strange land".

Harriett Tubman

New Paragraph

" Freedom, are we there yet"

Lost ! After the first few steps across the property line they were prohibited from crossing, they found themselves

homeless, and alone in an unfamiliar , hostile world.Some would eventually return to the only life they had ever known,

plantation life the life of a slave. This was the beginning of a "new" way of life, that being sharecropping.

March 1867, the Radical Republicans effected their own plan of reconstruction, again placing Southern states under

military rule. They passed laws placing restrictions upon the President.

When Johnson allegedly violated one of these, The Tenure of Office Act.by dismissing Secretary of War

Edwin M. Stanton.

The House voted eleven articles of impeachment against him.

He was tried by the Senate in the spring of 1868 and acquitted by one vote.

Sharecropping was a system which allowed the land owner to maintain and finance the farm.While providing a way in which the ex slave could scratch out an existence for himself and his family.to remain in familiar surroundings.

Ex slaves, and poor Caucasians participated in share cropping.

:Thirteenth Amendment:

Passed by the Senate on April 6, 1864

Passed by the House on January 31, 1865,

Ratified by the required number of states December 6, 1865,

Adoption Proclaimed by Secretary of State , William H. Seward December 18, 1865

It was the first of the Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.

Since the American Revolution, states had divided into *states that allowed or states that prohibited slavery.

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery.

Slavery was implicitly permitted in the original Constitution through provisions such as Article 1, section2, clause3,

commonly known as the "Three Fifths Compromise,

which detailed how each slave state's enslaved population would be factored into its total population count

for the purposes of apportioning seats in the United States House of Representatives and direct taxes among the states.

The post-war status was uncertain . For the many slaves declared free by Abraham Lincoln's 1863, Emancipation Proclamation. On April 5, 1864, the Senate passed an amendment to abolish slavery.

Though the amendment formally abolished slavery throughout the United States, factors such as "Black Codes"

white supremacist violence, and selective enforcement of statutes continued to subject some freedmen to involuntary labor, particularly in the South.

Section 1.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have a dutly convicted , shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Freedmen's Bureau Bill:March 3, 1865

The Freedmen's Bureau was a federal agency established on March 3, 1865 just before the end of the Civil War,

during the Reconstruction Era.

The Freedmen's Bureau was established to help and protect emancipated slaves (freedmen) during their

transition from slavery to a life of freedom.

The Freedmen's Bureau was originally created towards the end of the Civil War under President Lincoln's emergency war powers as part of the United States Department of war.

The official name of the title was the 'Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands'.

The Freedmen's Bureau was established due to the pressure and concern of members of the Abolitionist Movement for newly emancipated slaves.

The number of newly emancipated slaves (freedmen) totaled 4 million at the end of the Civil War.

The Freedmen's Bureau provided food, housing and medical aid to Freedmen.

It also established schools and offered legal assistance to those in need.

The Bureau was intended to last for the duration of the Civil War, and for one year afterwards,

however it continued until July 1, 1869.

The purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau was to;

* perform relief work for all poor people in the war stricken areas in the South

*The regulation of conditions of freedmen labor.

*The administration of justice in cases concerning the Freedmen.

*The management of abandoned and confiscated property including the redistribution of abandoned lands to former slaves.

* The support of education.

In reality, the Freedmen's bureau also organized the ex-slave votes in the South for the Republican Party.

The Freedmen's Bureau was created to aid and protect emancipated slaves in their transition from a life of slavery to freedom. It also offered help to poor whites in the South.

Who opposed the Freedmen's Bureau:

The Freedmen's Bureau was opposed by organizations in the South such as the Ku Klux Klan.who intimidated the agents.

Resistance to the Bureau was also encouraged by President Andrew Johnson's administration who were influenced

by the lenient policies of the President.

The result of this was eventually restored to the original owners.

The Freedmen's Bureau failed totally in establishing the freed slaves as landowners.

The Freedmen's Bureau operated as a political mechanism, organizing the ex-slaves for the Republican Party.

These political activities were strongly resented and made the Freedmen's Bureau hated in the South..

April 9,1865, Robert E. Lee, surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.

signaled the End of the Civil War.

Lincoln's last speech:April 11,1865, was about reconstruction, a subject that had occupied a large part of his mind from the beginning.

Under the terms of his Proclamation of Amnesty and reconstruction, issued on December 8, 1863,

loyal Louisianans had organized a new state government.

They had also adopted a new state Constitution that abolished slavery.

To persuade Radical Republicans that he took seriously their concerns that abolishing slavery was not enough

and that more needed to be done.

Lincoln publicly embraced limited suffrage of the ex-slaves.

" It is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise ( privilege or right of voting in an election of public officers). is not given to the "colored" man.

I would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent and on those who serve our cause as soldiers".

Lincoln had previously supported suffrage in a private lette to Louisiana's Governor Michael Hahn written in March 1864.

Now he publicly endorsed the step.

John Wilkes Booth, was among the crowd who listened to Lincoln's address.

Hearing the call fr limited suffrage for the ex-slaves, Booth declared " that is the last speech he will ever make".

A conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln was already afoot.

But Lincoln's speech on April 11, and his call for suffrage, led to the tragic event of April 14,

when Booth made good on his word.

April 14,1865:Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln:

President Andrew Johnson:

The looming showdown between Lincoln and the Congress over the competing reconstruction plans never occurred.

The President was assassinated on April 14,1865. His successor, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, lacked his predecessor's skills in handling people; those skills would be badly missed. Johnson's plan envisioned the following;

* Pardons would be granted to those taking a loyalty oath.

* No pardons would be available to high Confederate officials and persons owning property valued in excess of $20,000

A state needed to abolish slavery before being readmitted.

*A state was required to repeal its secession ordinance before being readmitted.

Left as his successor, Andrew Johnson, as president to preside over the coplex process of incorporating former

Confederate states back into the Union after the Civil War. And establishing former slaves as free and equal citizens.

After Lincoln's death, Johnson announced his own plan. It differed only slightly from Lincoln's.

He excluded high ranking Confederates and wealthy planters from the oath, but did pardon 13,,000

while contending that "white men alone must manage the South".

The first action the Republican majority took was to enact the first Reconstruction Act,in spite of Johnson's veto. This act split the South into five districts.

In each district soldiers of the United States would enforce martial law.

While Congress repudiated Johnson's plan for reconstruction.

Johnson sought to destroy the Congress's plan as well. The Congress relied on Secretary of War Stanton

to carry out their policies.

Black Codes:

The Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866 in the United States after the American Civil War.

with the intent and the effect of restricting ex-slaves freedom , and of compelling them to work in labor economy

based on low wages and debt.

Black Codes were part of a larger pattern of Southern whites, who were trying to suppress the new freedom

of emancipated slaves, the freedmen.

Since the colonial period, colonies and states had passed laws that discriminated against " freed slaves".

In the South, these were generally included in "slave codes".

The goal was to reduce influence of freed men ( particularly after slave rebellions) because of their potential influence on slaves.

Restrictions included prohibiting them from voting

, bearing arms, gathering in groups for worship, and learning to read and write.

A major portion of these laws was to preserve slavery.

they were particularly concerned with controlling movement and labor , as slavery had given way to a free labor system.

Although Freedmen had been emancipated , their lives were greatly restricted by the black codes.

The defining feature of the black code was broad vagrancy law, which allowed local authorities to arrest freed people

for minor infractions and commit them to involuntary labor.

This period was the start of the convict lease system,also described as "slavery by another name"by Douglas Blackmon

* Vagrancy laws in the 1860's:

applied to those people who moved from place to place without regular homes or work.

It was a law that made these people work for three months at a stretch and on escaping they were chained and forced to

work.

April 9,1866, Civil Rights Act of 1866:passed April 9, 1866,

under the full title of "an Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights

and furnish the Means of their Vindication".

detailed the rights of all U.S. citizens, including the right to buy and sell property , engage in business, and make contracts,sue , and give evidence in court. The Civil Rights Act of 1866

Was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law.

intended to protect the civil rights of the descendants of slaves.

legislation passed by congress in 1865,and vetoed by President Andrew Johnson.

In April 1866, Congress again passed the bill to support the Thirteenth Amendment..

Johnson again vetoed the bill.

but a two-thirds majority overrode the veto to allow it to become law without presidential signature.

The purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, was to protect ex- slaves from legislation in the Southern States such as the Black Codes and the Vagrancy Laws.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, also gave further rights to the freed slaves.

Ku Klux Klan:

Ku Klux Klan:

Was organized in early spring 1866. The name "ku klux"was a derivative of the Greek word Kuklos, meaning "band" or "circle". for the remainder of 1866 there is little evidence that the klan was involved in vigilantism as new "dens" were formed for social purposes in many of the surrounding counties.

In February 1867 Tennessee enfranchised freedmen, and Republicans established local chapters of the Union League,

a political arm of the party, to mobilize the new voters. In some respects the kkk became the conservative ex-confederates

answer to the Union League, a rallying point for white democrats determined to drive freedmen, Republicans, and their allies from the polls.

During the spring of 1867 the kkk's innocent beginnings began to give way to intimidation and violence as some of its

members sought to keep freedmen in their traditional place.

The reorganization of the klan into a political and terrorist movement began in April 1867,

when the states Democratic Party leadership met in Nashville . An invitation, for a gathering of members at the "Maxwell House hotel", where Tennessee's conservative Democrats, provided for greater control of an expanding kkk.

A prescript established administrative protocols and established the need for secrecy.

Former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was elected the first and only Grand Wizard.

In 1868 a revised prescript declared the klan the defender of the Constitution of the United States and the

protector of the orphans and widows of Confederate dead.

Once the dens took up political terrorism and racial violence as its primary purpose,they fed on local reaction to threats to conservative political control and white supremacy rather than to any coordinated direction on the state or county level.

After the election 1868 Klansmen attacked ,whipped, and murdered men, and women whenever they found their

activities offensive, Freed people who exhibited too much independence, established schools, or assumed positions

of leadership were singled out for harsh treatment.

After the North defeated the South in the Civil war, politicians were faced with the task of putting together the

divided country back together.

There was great debate about how severely the former Confederate states should be punished for leaving the Union.

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 laid out the process for readmitting Southern states into the Union.

Radical Republicans:

* Radical Republicans: a member of the Republican party:
The Republican Party at its formation during the 1850s was a coalition of Northern altruists, industrialists, former "Whigs",
practical politicians, etc. While not publicly committed to abolition of slavery prior to the Civil War,the party nonetheless, attracted the most zealous antislavery advocates.They called themselves "Radicals" wit h a sense of a complete permanent
eradication of slavery and secession-ism, without compromise. They were opposed during the war by the moderate Republicans (led by President Abraham Lincoln),by the Conservative Republicans,
and by the pro-slaver and anti-Reconstruction Democratic Party as well as by conservatives in the South and Liberals in the
North during Reconstruction.
Radicals led efforts after the war to establish civil rights for former slaves and fully implement emancipation.
After weaker measures resulted in 1866, in violence against former slaves in the rebel states,

Radicals pushed the Fourteenth Amendment and statutory protections through Congress.
They disfavored allowing ex-confederate officers to retake political power in the South and emphasized equality, civil rights and voting rights for the "freed people", i.e. people who had been enslaved by state slavery laws within the United States
During the war, Radical republicans opposed Abraham Lincoln's initial selection of General George B. McClellan, and his efforts to bring seceded Southern states back into the Union as quickly and easily as possible.
The Radicals pushed their own reconstruction plan, through the congress in 1864.
But Lincoln vetoed it and was putting his own presidential policies in effect by virtue as military commander in chief
Lincoln's last speeches show that he was leaning toward supporting black suffrage, the enfranchisement of all freedmen, whereas Vice Pres. Andrew Johnson, was opposed to this.

New Paragraph

Following the Congressional elections of 1866 elections, the Republican Party controlled more than two-thirds

of the seats in both houses of Congress.

As a result of the Republican election victory , the Congress now dictated how the reconstruction of the Union would proceed.

Radicals pushed for the uncompensated abolition of slavery. After the war, the Radical Republicans demanded civil rights U.S. slaves including measures ensuring suffrage. They initiated the various Reconstruction Acts, and limited political

and voting rights for Confederate civil officials and military officers.

They fought U.S. President Andrew Johnson, who repeatedly vetoed these bills,favored allowing the individual Southern states, to decide the rights and status of former slaves as freedmen, without interference from the Federal government.

To take the issue out of Johnson's reach, Congress chose to address civil rights with a constitutional amendment,and

June 13, 1866, Congress approved a joint resolution proposing a five part amendment to the constitution.

Fourteenth Amendment:

The Fourteenth Amendment: Adopted on July 9, 1868,

guaranteed equalrights for all and citizenship for ex-slaves and all.

The Amendment originated after the civil war, when congress ( esp. the Radical Republican) faction attempted to

pass legislation securing civil rights for the recently emancipated slaves.

Fourteenth Amendment:

The opening sentence of Section 1 of the 14th,Amendment defines U.S. citizenship: " All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

This repudiates the Supreme Court's 1857, Dred Scott decision,in which Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote, that a negro, even if born free, could not claim rights of citizenship under the federal constitution.

Section 1's, second clause: " No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. "This greatly expanded the civil and legal rights of all American citizens by protecting them from infringement by the states as well as by the federal government.

The third clause: " nor any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law," expanded the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment to the states as well as the federal government.

In it's later sections, the 14th Amendment authorized the federal government to punish states that violated

the citizens right to vote.

Reconstruction Act Of 1867:

Congressional Republicans again joined forces to pass the Reconstruction act.

This act voided the state governments formed in the South under the presidential plans and instead divided

the south into 5 military districts

The states were required to grant the freedmen the right to vote and to ratify the 14th Amendment.

Congress required that each state draft a new constitution, with would have to be approved by Congress.

President Johnson's vetoes of these measures were overridden by Congress.

Presidential Reconstruction: lasted from 1865 to 1867.

Andrew Johnson , as Lincoln's successor , proposed a very lenient policy toward the South.

He pardoned most Southern whites, appointed provisional governors and outlined steps for the creation of new state governments.

Johnson felt that each state government could best decide how they wanted blacks to be treated.

Many in the North were infuriated that the South would be returning their former Confederate leaders to power.

They were also alarmed by Southern adoption of Black Codes, that sought to maintain white supremacy.

Recently freed blacks found the post war South very similar to the prewar South.

The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868

The amendment originated after the Civil War. when Congress (esp. the Radical Republican) faction

attempted to pass legislation securing civil rights for the recently emancipated slaves.

Thaddeus Stevens:

Representative Thaddeus Stevens, introduced a plan in late April,that combined several different legislative proposals

( civil rights for the freedmen, how to apportion representatives in congress, punitive measures against the former

Confederate States of America, and repudiation of of Confederate war debt),into a single constitutional amendment by June 1866,

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT:

Prevented ethnicity from being used to disenfranchise men.

Fifteenth Amendment: granted men(former slaves) the right to vote,by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of ethnicity, color or previous condition of servitude."

Although ratified on February 3,1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century.

Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise

the descendants of slaves.

It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of these Americans in the South were registered to vote.

Ratification of these amendments became a requirement for Southern states to be admitted into the union.

Although these measures were positive steps toward racial equality, their enforcement proved extremely difficult.

Presidential Reconstruction: lasted from 1865 to 1867.

Andrew Johnson, as Lincoln's successor, proposed a very lenient policy toward the South.

He pardoned most Southern whites, appointed provisional governors and outlined steps for the creation of new state governments.

Johnson felt that each state government could best decide how they wanted blacks to be treated.

Many in the North were infuriated that the South would be returning their former Confederate leaders to power.

They were also alarmed by Southern adoption of Black Codes, that sought to maintain white supremacy.

Recently freed blacks found the postwar South very similar to the prewar South.

Ulysses S. Grant: May 24,1868,

Ulysses S. Grant accepts the nomination by the Republican Party for President of the United States.

November 3, 1868, Grant is elected President of the United States.

March 4, 1869: Grant is inaugurated 18th president.

February 3, 1869,

President Grant signs the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Giving all men the right to vote.

May22, 1872:

Grant signs the amnesty bill for former Confederates.

November 5,1872,

Grant is re-elected president.

Beginning in 1873,

a series of Supreme Court decisions limited the scope of Reconstruction-era laws

and federal support for the Reconstruction Amendments, particularly the 14th and 15th,

which gave the ex--slaves the status of citizenship and the protection of the Constitution,

including the all important right to vote.

March 1, 1875:

Civil Rights Act passed

May 29,1875:

Grant announces he will not run for a 3rd term as president.

June 22,1870,

At Grants request, Congress establishes the Department of Justice in order to ensure justice for the newly freed slaves and their supporters.

July 22,1870,

Grant orders troops to North Carolina to suppress Ku Kux Klan violence.

April 20, 1871:

Congress passes the second Enforcement Act, Known as the Ku Klux Klan act to suppress white leagues from

denying Freedmen their rights.

February 28, 1877,

Rutherford B. Hayes is declared president.

March 4, 1877:

Rutherford B. Hayes, becomes the 19th President of the United States.

Rutherford B. Hayes:

As results trickled in, on November 7, 1876, Democrats crowned Samuel, Tilden as the victor. with a winning popular

vote margin of 250,000. But four states - Florida,Louisiana, South Carolina,and Oregon quickly became areas of contention.

Rutherford B. Hayes, needed 185 electoral votes.

He had 165, to Tilden's 184. Twenty electoral votes were in doubt.

To break the logjam, Congress appointed a special Electoral Commission to investigate the results.

Five Republican Congressmen, joined Five Democrats and Five Supreme Court Justices. To come to a majority vote

of 8-7 in favor of Hayes. Hayes, was President Elect by one commission vote.The narrowest margin of victory.

That decision did little to soothe the incensed Democrats.Extensive filibustering took place that delayed acknowledgement

of the Commission's decision. Rumors began to swirl that Tilden's more ardent supporters might show up to Washington

armed; With an eye on kidnapping Hayes.

On the trip to Washington, Hayes and his wife got the official announcement.

March 2, The Democrats finally ceded their point, albeit with concessions:

They would gain a Democrat postmaster general.

as well as the removal of federal troops from government buildings,

effectively ending Reconstruction.

New Paragraph

Presidential Election of 1876:

The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed presidential elections in American

history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York out polled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes' 165, with 20 votes uncounted.

These 20 electoral votes were in dispute: in three states (Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina).

each party reported its candidate had one the state, while in Oregon one elector was declared illegal ( as an elected

or appointed official") and replaced.

The 20 disputed electoral votes were ultimately awarded to Hayes after a bitter legal and political battle giving him the victory.

These three states were the last three former Confederate states governed by the Republicans.

Congress set up a special commission to decide the election, and a compromise was reached.

According to the compromise of 1877, the three Southern states would give their 20 disputed electoral votes for president to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes,

But Democrats would be allowed to take control of the governments of those states.

February 28, 1877,

Rutherford B. Hayes is declared president.

March 4, 1877:

Rutherford B. Hayes, becomes the 19th President of the United States.

The Compromise of 1877:

By the 1870s, support for the racially egalitarian policies of Reconstruction, as may whites had resorted to intimidation and violence to keep ex-slaves from voting and restore white supremacy in the region.

Many historians believe that an informal deal was struck to resolve the dispute: The Compromise of 1877.

In return for the Democrats acquiescence in Hayes' election., the Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the south, ending Reconstruction.

The Compromise effectively ceded power in the Southern states to the Democratic Redeemers.

As the 1876 election approached, the Democrats chose as their candidate Governor Samuel B. Tilden of New York,

while the Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, governor of Ohio.

On election day that November, the Democrats appeared to come out on top, winning the swing states of Connecticut

Indiana, New York, and New Jersey.

By midnight Tilden had 184 of the 185 electoral votes he needed to win,

and was leading the popular vote by 250,000.

November 7, 1876,Election Day.

Samuel J. Tilden wins the popular vote over Rutherford B. Hayes,

but does not have enough electoral college votes to win election.

The Republicans refused to accept defeat, however, and accused Democratic supporters of intimidating and

bribing ex-slave voters to prevent from voting in three Southern States- Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

As of 1876, these were the only remaining states i the South with Republican governments.

With both sides accusing each other of electoral fraud, South Carolina, along with Florida and Louisiana

submitted two sets of election returns with different results.

Meanwhile, in Oregon, the states Democratic governor replaced a Republican elector with a Democrat

( alleging that the Republican had been ineligible),

thus, throwing Haye's victory in that state into question as welll.

To resolve the dispute, Congress set up an electoral Commission in January 1877, consisting of five representatives,

five Senators and five Supreme Court Justices.

The commission's members included seven Democrats, seven Republicans and one independent justice David Davis.

When Davis refused to serve, the moderate Republican Justice Joseph Bradley was chosen to replace him.

During the commission's deliberations, Hayes' Republican allies met in secret with moderate southern Democrats in hopes of convincing them not to block the official counting of the votes through filibuster and effectively allow Haye's election.

In February, at a meeting held in Washington's Wormley Hotel, the Democrats agreed to accept a Hayes victory

and to respect the civil and political rights of Freedmen,

On the condition that Republicans withdraw all federal troops from South, thus consolidating Democratic control

in the region.

Hayes would also have to agree to name a leading southerner to his cabinet and to support federal aid

for the Texas and Pacific Railroad, a planned transcontinental line via a southern route.

On March 2, the congressional commission voted 8-7 along party lines to award all the disputed electoral votes to Hayes.

Hayes was inaugurated on March 5, 1877.

Democratic Redeemers:

were the Southern wing of the conservative, pro-business faction in the Democratic Party. They sought to

regain their political power and enforce white supremacy.

Their policy of redemption was intended to to oust the Radical Republicans, a coalition of Freedmen, "carpetbaggers , and "scalawags".

They generally were led by the rich planters, businessmen, and professionals, and they dominated Southern Politics I

most areas.

During Reconstruction, the south was under occupation by federal forces, and Southern state governments were dominated

by Republicans, elected by freedmen and allies.

Republicans nationally pressed for the granting of political rights to the newly- freed slaves as he key to their becoming full citizens.

The Thirteenth Amendment (banning slavery)

The Fourteenth Amendment( guaranteeing the civil rights of former slaves and ensuring equal protection under the laws)

and The Fifteenth Amendment ( prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on grounds of race, color, or previous condition

of servitude),enshrined such political rights in the Constitution.

Hiram Revels:

Blanche

Numerous Brown educated and freed people moved to the south to work for reconstruction.

Some were elected to office in the southern states,or were appointed to certain positions.

The Reconstruction governments were unpopular with many white southerners,

who were not willing to accept defeat and continued to try to prevent brown poltical activity by any means.

While the elite Planter class often supported insurgencies,violence against freedmen and other Republicans

was usually carried out by other whites:

The secret Ku Klux Klan chapters developed in the first years after the war was one form of insurgency

Politicians:Blanche , Revels

Abolitionist, Fredrick Douglass

Electoral College:

The United States Electoral College is a body of electors established by the United States Constitution, constituted

every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and the vice president of the United States.

While the electoral vote has given the same result as the popular vote in most elections,

this has not been the case in a few elections, including the 2000 and 2016 elections.

The Electoral College system is a matter of ongoing debate, with some defending it and others calling for its abolition.

Supporters of the Electoral College argue that it is fundamental to American federalism, that it requires candidates to appeal to voters outside large cities, increases the political influence of small states, discourages the excessive growth of political parties and preserves the two - party system,and makes the electoral outcome appear more legitimate than that of a nationwide popular vote.

Opponents, of the Electoral College argue that it can result in a person becoming president even though an

opponent got more votes( which occurred in two of the five presidential elections from 2000 to 2016);

that it causes candidates to focus their campaigning disproportionately in a few "swing states" while

ignoring most areas of the country;

and that its allocation of Electoral College votes gives citizens in less populated rural states as much as

four times the voting power as those in more populous urban states.

Polls since 1967 have shown that a majority of Americans favor the president and vice president being elected

by the nationwide popular vote, instead of by the Electoral College.

In the 1870s, Paramilitary organizations, such as the white league in Louisiana and Red Shirts in Mississippi and North Carolina, under mined Republicans, disrupting meetings and political gatherings.

These paramilitary bands also used violence and threats of violence to undermine the Republican vote.

Shades of Humankind."We are the world".

Beautiful Shades of Brown

Define who you are. Not who/what you wish to be. You can be whatever you wish, in name only. Not in fact.

The Law of Non-Contradiction: 'Nothing can both be and not be.' In other words: "two or more contradictory statements cannot both be true, in the same sense, at the same time" :

Words have definitions. If the word has an infinite number of meanings, reasoning would be impossible.
For not to have one meaning, is to have no meaning. And if words have no meaning our reasoning with
one another has been annihilated.

Human's: this is who we are, no more...no less.

Kente, known as nwentom in Akan, is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Akan ethnic group. of South Ghana. Kente is made in Akan lands such as Ashanti Kingdom. Kente comes from the word "kenten", which means basket in Akan dialect.Asante.Akans refer to kente as nwentoma,meaning woven cloth.

Brown Spectra of Color

Email: census@theshades.org

New Paragraph

" Whatever Adam called every living creature that was the name there of"" Adam gave names to all". Gen.2:19

" Whatever Adam called every living creature that was the name there of"
" Adam gave names to all". Gen.2:19