31 – How Did That Work?
So, Pilgrims, how did that work for us?
Is it possible to strive toward achieving important goals, but cause negative results based on processes used to accomplishment them? Some progress was made in efforts to end slavery in the United States during the 12 years from 1865 to 1877
Constitutional amendments were enacted including the 13th, outlawing slavery, the 14th, guaranteeing equal rights for all, and the 15th, guaranteeing voting rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 affirmed that all citizens would be provided equal protection of law, and defined the meaning of citizenship. The Military Reconstruction Acts were past and enacting over presidential vetoes. These important legal changes were enacted through congressional control of northern politicians known as the “Radical Republicans,” and during federal, military control of the former Confederate states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Republicans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Acts
During these 12 years, black Americans were able to exercise some degree of freedom with 1500 serving as government officeholders, including as members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. In 1877 Frederick Douglass became the first black U.S. Marshall. https://www.usmarshals.gov/who-we-are/history/historical-timeline
Do legal scholars still debate the constitutionality of the Reconstruction Acts and the processes for restoring the union? Did Congress successfully strip the Supreme Court of its constitutional role of reviewing the Reconstruction Acts to ensure the acts would not be ruled unconstitutional? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Acts
But did any of this bring about peace, tranquility, and a thriving economy to our nation? Was a large segment of national wealth destroyed by the war? Did Southerners rise up in violent objection to how the Radical Republicans used military force to accomplish their goals? Was there a progressive realization that northern states had been heavily dependent on the southern wealth that was lost?
How many Americans know the rest of what happened? Was the Compromise of 1877 also known as the Corrupt Bargain? Was there widespread fraud in the 1876 Presidential? Was an election process, not included in the U.S. Constitution, used to determine that Rutherford Hayes would become president? Although no written record can be found of the compromise, Hayes became president. Once in office he withdrew all military units from the former Confederate states and enforcement of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments was discontinued. Reconstruction ended and Jim Crow I started. Repression of black citizens continued for 80 years until the beginning of the 1950’s Civil Rights movement. What progress has been made regarding freedom and equality today? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1877

Is it possible the radical American abolitionist might have learned something from how France outlawed slavery through peaceful government actions while retaining the economic production of its lands? Although France experienced a false start during the Napoleonic Era, the nation succeeded in ending slavery in 1848, 13 years before the start of the American Civil War.
The French government recognized slave owners had purchased individuals as property based on an existing legal system that was being changed. Former slave owners were paid 126 million francs in gold for the freeing of about 250,000 slaves. Financial compensation for formerly enslaved people was determined by each colonial government with La Réunion at 711 francs per person, French Guiana (624 francs), Guadeloupe (469 francs), Martinique (425 francs), Senegal (225 francs), and Madagascar (69 francs).
France is known to have much better racial relations than the United States. Their government is legally colorblind and no ethnic or racial identifications are recorded in their national census. Does France follow Dr. King’s position that people should be judged based on their character instead of the color of their skin? Since the 1800’s France has been viewed as refuge for black Americans, escaping the bigotry here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans_in_France
Is it possible the American people should reevaluate our usual use of violence and listen to Dr. King’s recommendation? Should a new social pattern be initiated, involving public dialogues in which two people, holding differing views, are provided equal “statement” and “rebuttal” times followed by questions from the audience? Or is our society going to continue to experience a descending spiral of violence as witnessed in the family histories as reported in Mark’s videos? Will a continuing pattern of hate eventually result in the destruction for our nation through another civil war?
Joseph L. Bass, 1/26/2025