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Post by alabamamtnman on Mar 1, 2007 17:11:10 GMT -5
does noone remember that King Day was actually already a state recognized holiday for decades? Yes it was Robert E Lee day first. THen they started calling it King/Lee day now they just eliminate the white guy and call it King Day.
Of course lets forget that the Lee holiday was legally recognized in 1889 over 100 years before King.
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Post by clinthall on Mar 2, 2007 0:35:39 GMT -5
Well, what has Robert E. Lee done for you lately?
MLK's legacy is all around us. I thank God that because of his efforts my children won't have to grow up under a government that expressly relegates Black Americans to second-class status. King had grave flaws--his Communist connections, his numerous affairs--but such profound social changes could not have been midwifed by a mediocre individual. Flawed or not, King was a great man, a giant of the twentieth century, and--whether you admit it or not--we are all in his debt.
Remember, too, that King wasn't the first Great American to have flaws. Thomas Jefferson likely sold his own children into slavery. You celebrate Jefferson? Then celebrate King, too.
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Post by espy on Mar 3, 2007 1:15:57 GMT -5
Im glad he MLK made advances for blacks, I dont think that I could stand to see signs that said "whites only" and such, the blacks of today do not deserve reparation from what happend during slavery times they just need to be treated equally, and for the most part now they are.
now what we have is the minority mexicans screaming they arent being treated fairly. they are right, they get free medical care, they dont get half the punishment americans get when it comes to breaking the law, they get social services without proof of who they realy are, they get govenment loans to start business', they get auto loans easier....and on and on....I would say that they are not being treated fairly with the rest of us, there getting treated better.
Robert E. Lee...hmmm....I dont remeber him doing anything constructive.
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Post by alabamamtnman on Mar 3, 2007 8:38:23 GMT -5
Unlike media created heroes, Lee doesn’t have a hint of scandal that has to be covered up. The facts of his life may be recounted without modification. Theodore Roosevelt characterized Lee this way: "the very greatest of all the great captains that the English-speaking peoples have brought forth." Lee is also venerated in Europe as evidenced by this tribute by Winston Churchill: "one of the noblest Americans who ever lived."
In 1998, a Midwestern college decided to publish a book about the persons they considered to be six authentic heroes of our nation. They selected George Washington, Daniel Boone, Louisa May Alcott, George Washington Carver, Robert E. Lee, and Andrew Carnegie. Excellent choices; a group of outstanding people and a selection made without kowtowing to current political trends.
Robert E. Lee vigorously opposed slavery and as early as 1856 made this statement: "There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil." Lee also knew that the use of slaves was coming to an end. Cyrus McCormick’s 1831 invention of the mule-drawn mechanical reaper sounded the death knell for the use of slave labor. Before the Civil War began, 250,000 slaves had already been freed.
Robert E. Lee did not own slaves, but many Union generals did. When his father-in-law died, Lee took over the management of the plantation his wife had inherited and immediately began freeing the slaves. By the time Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, every slave in Lee’s charge had been freed. Notably, some Union generals didn’t free their slaves until the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
Periodic reports detailing their carnage were sent to General Halleck in Washington who shared them with President Lincoln. In a typical report issued on September 17, 1863, Union General Sherman added this comment; "We will remove every obstacle-if need be, take every life, every acre of land, every particle of property, everything that to us seems proper." Halleck showed this report to Lincoln, who enjoyed it so much that he demanded that it be published. When Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania, many Southerners hoped that he would give the Yankees a taste of their own medicine. But Lee was a man of integrity. Not only did he prohibit "wanton injury to private property," he also ordered his soldiers to pay for any supplies taken from civilians.
Never the less, current biographies continue to enhance Robert E. Lee’s well-earned reputation. One journalist, after reviewing many of these new histories made this comment. "The South may have succumbed to overwhelming military force, but it triumphed in at least one sense. It produced perhaps the greatest symbol to come out of America’s most disastrous conflict, someone who combined combat and moral excellence and who, once defeated, worked to heal the wounds of war. It is a record that deserves to be retold constantly."
Years after the war, Lee still commanded respect in both the North and the South. On one occasion he was approached by a group of businessmen concerning a questionable commercial venture. After offering the General $50,000, they told him; "You will have to do nothing. All we want is the use of your name." Robert E. Lee’s response was what we would have expected;
"Sirs, my name is the heritage of my parents. It is all I have, and it is not for sale."
Its all there in the history books. Much more than I put here. You should try reading it sometime.
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Post by brandon on Mar 6, 2007 4:16:12 GMT -5
Thomas Jefferson likely sold his own children into slavery. I never saw that on the History Channel.
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Post by espy on Mar 7, 2007 10:57:43 GMT -5
Thomas Jefferson also had a black mistress.
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Post by dixiepixie on Mar 7, 2007 11:11:12 GMT -5
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Post by clinthall on Mar 7, 2007 19:43:03 GMT -5
Yep. Jefferson liked the ladies.
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