(Blog #3)No Way! No Chains!

Dating back to the 1800's many religious figures have been against slavery for many reasons. 

            In David Walker's Appeal In Four Articles, he indeed argues about the wrongdoings of slavery and religion. In an article written by the Young American Republic who referenced Walker's article, it says "Walker argues that it is divinely wrong to support slavery, referencing many different periods in history that prove the immorality of slavery, "Indeed, how religion was and is conducted by the Europeans and their descendants, one might believe it was a plan fabricated by themselves and the devils to oppress us.'"

                                                                        

 In addition to this article, many figures throughout history have had the same mindset as Walker. These include William Wilberforce, Frederick Douglass, Nehemiah, The Quakers, and Richard Allen. 

                                            William Wilberforce (below)

                          

                                        Frederick Douglas(below)

                                        The Quakers(below)

            

                                                    Richard Allen(below)

In particular, Wilberforce, who was twenty-one when elected into Parliament, used his platform to speak and fight against the slave trade. Sadly, William Wilberforce passed away three days after his final bill in the British Parliament was passed. Still, under his leadership and before his passing, the anti-slave trade reformers convinced Parliament to close the African traffic in 1806. Thankfully, with his heart for ending slavery and persistence, slavery was banned in the British colonies in 1833.

The article also claims “The primary argument against slavery by Christians was that it was immoral in the words of the bible. This really began to pick up speed - the argument between the religious support or repremandment of slavery - in the 1850s.”  In addition to Walker’s article, the Young American Republic sources  William Hosmer, Slavery and the Church, (Auburn N.Y., William J. Moses, 1853), 99 as they added to their writing: "It is not denied that the slave holder may be converted and become a Christian; he is not beyond the reach of grace, but in order to obtain it (grace) he must renounce his sins. The drunkard may become a Christian, yet not without putting away his drunkenness; mercy is gained only by repentance. Still further, it is not denied that men may be Christians ... Having premised these things, we shall now present the argument against the religious character of slave-holders. 1. Slave-holders cannot be Christians, because slavery is sin."²

            Not only does religion argue for both also against slavery. People can take different scriptures to justify their actions. As people continue to practice religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, arguments for a topic as controversial as this one can still be found in their texts. 

Bibliography:

http://projects.leadr.msu.edu/youngamerica/exhibits/show/antislaveryreligion/antislaveryreligionusa 

https://restavekfreedom.org/2016/08/05/5-religious-figures-who-stood-against-slavery/

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/amabrel.htm

https://aaregistry.org/story/british-abolitionist-william-wilberforce/

https://time.com/5614930/frederick-douglass-fourth-of-july/

https://quaker.org/who-are-quakers/

https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Richard_Allen

(Blog #1)The Supreme Court: Law and Order

The Supreme Court is the most powerful judicial body. It has the ability to tell the president and states what they can and can't do. What isn't known so much is that John Marshall was the first supreme justice.

As it is known, the Supreme Court has nine justices. Currently, these present-day justices are John G. Roberts, Jr.,(Chief Justice of the United States), Clarence Thomas(Associate Justice), Stephen G. Breyer(Associate Justice), Samuel A. Alito Jr.(Associate Justice), Sonia Sotomayor, (Associate Justice), Elena Kagan(Associate Justice), Neil M.Gorsuch(Associate Justice), Brett M.Kavanaugh(Associate Justice), and Amy Coney Barrett(Associate Justice). 

We were told to watch a video about the Supreme Court and take notes. After watching the very inspirational video, this is what I got from it. We think of the Supreme Court as gods yet they are just people, not disembodied spirits. The only difference they have is the power they hold. The justices reach a verdict in quiet and their power rests in public faith. These nine powerful people use the two-hundred-year-old constitution to help do just that.

Although they hold much power, they do make mistakes. The first being the Dred Scott case which self-inflicted war, as the court ruled that blacks can't be citizens. Click the link below to find out more about that historical case.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/dred-scott-case

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The nine justices get a minimum of 100 cases every week but they also meet weekly to discuss which case to preside. What we now know is that the Court has no secrets and most likely can keep any (shhhhhh). Ironically, one judge on the majority side has to write an opinion as to why the judges sided with who they sided with. That not only puts on the pressure but sometimes the majority becomes the minority since the judges could change their minds.