The time? Simple. It was Saturday morning
For once, I was productive at that time of day watching a segment, writing a bit and taking care of laundry.
Yes, I agree it was 'fluff', compared to what the topic normally is surrounding Beck. But I also wanted to see if I could look at him with a more neutral eye. Since he was on a topic that is a hobby of mine (American History), I could certainly claim to be educated on it. Yet, still, I learned some things. To paraphrase Glenn Beck "Who knew there was a *textbook* in 1855 called 'Colored Patriots'"??? I certainly didn't.
Now, if he'd had more time, I don't know what he might have come up with as the reasons behind WHY this part of our history (and it IS *our* history - not Black History or White History - it's HISTORY) has been erased. It especially surprised me that people in the audience who had been to respected colleges and took ENTIRE COURSES that were supposedly DEVOTED to 'Black History' and 'Black Studies' didn't know this stuff. You'd think that was the FIRST place you'd find this information!
Finding those portraits of black Texas legislators in a CLOSET BEHIND A STAIRCASE in the Capitol building???
I liked the line "this is one time where the losers got to write the history books" (referring to the Confederacy about blacks).
Now - I just looked up the Confederate constitution here:
http://www.usconstitution.net/csa.html
In his discussion proposing that "state's rights" was a canard and the real reason was slavery, Beck said their COnstitution forbade outlawing slavery and that their Constitution said "the slave-holding states of.." I went looking for that. Here's what I found..
Quote:
Article 1. Section 9.
4. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.
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So there's the ban on outlawing slavery...
Article 4, Section 3:
Quote:
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3. The Confederate States may acquire new territory; and Congress shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the Confederate States, lying without the limits of the several Sates; and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form States to be admitted into the Confederacy. In all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected by Congress and by the Territorial government; and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories shall have the right to take to such Territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States or Territories of the Confederate States.
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So there it is - to join the Confederacy, you have to be a slave state. So much for 'states rights'.
The only place I saw them mention the term 'slave-holding state' was in reference to importing 'negro slaves' from slave-holding states of *The United States*. I guess they didn't want cheap imports as they banned the practice.
As far as the preamble, well:
Quote:
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We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character...
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I don't know where Beck got the idea for his comment. He said he was reading an actual copy of the Constitution in a museum in Richmond. Since so much of the rest of his comments were spot-on, I don't think this was much of a mis-step.
EDIT: Wikipedia suggests that the CSA banned the slave-trade becuase they feared foreign governments wouldn't recognize the new country and also to protect the MD/VA internal slave-trade as they had yet to join the Confederacy.