With the exodus of many high paying jobs, it maybe 2008 but the City of Fort Wayne is a throwback to 1968 when it comes to the rights of workers, especially African-Americans, Latinos, and other ethnic groups in the area. A city that practices nepotism and cronyism, and even political appointments and even sometimes political favoritism, although both parties are politically the same in upholding its long protected status quo for city leadership.
Former Mayor Graham Richard Opens Obama HQ in Fort Wayne from Jeff Pruitt on Vimeo.
A city steeped in traditions and customs to avoid change. A city with practices that support exclusion rather than inclusion contrary to Obama's message of change.
Indiana territory was part of the larger Northwest Territory. But by 1816 Indiana territory's population was large enough to become a state. Becoming a state in the in the Northwest Territory required a Constitution. And the governing document for the state would require a provision forbidding slavery and indentured servitude. not outlawed, but forbidden in order to become a state. In essence, the provision banning slavery was not simply because of sympathy towards enslaved African-Americans, but to discourage settlers from bringing more African-Americans into NWT. George Washington's, the surveyor,envision a place for raced white males to govern without British rule or slave products or the Native of the land.
This new place would be populated with raced white male laborers. Laborers who would outnumber the raced whites in the southern which was full of enslaved laborers. Washington would give land to entice raced white males to the new territory. The Northwest Territory Ordinance, has a provision in it governing the distribution of land to these new settlers. The new world would become a place ruled by those who were privileged, raced white man only. The NWTO required five thousand free men to began the territory transformation. Those males who were allowed to participate in a leadership role in this ruling class had to own at least two hundred acres of land. Those who owned at at least fifty acres of land were not allowed leadership position but they were allowed to vote for leadership.
This voting right was important because under the NWTO, voting would be only by the raced white male population who owned a certain amount of land. This meant that foreigners and others would count for growing the population but would not have any say in the development of the state. To become a state, a territory only had to have sixty thousand people living in its borders, not all landowners. Some foreigners came over to the new territory as indentured servants, to help work the land, in hope of owning their own land. These indentured servants would be bonded to the contract for seven years, to pay off their debt. But these folks could not be eligible to vote. These raced whites were disenfranchised right along with freed African-Americans. Even those they owned the necessary amount of land, they were not allowed to vote. This re-enforced the governing body only being raced white males with large land holdings. This policy would create conflict among the various class of raced white folks. But that would not be the only conflict.
Some of the earlier settlers were not pleased with policies that were in conflict with the provisions banning slavery. The reason for the discontent was that some of these settlers had enslaved laborers and were not willing to give up their enslaved laborers. This right to own laborers or not dispute would grow as the preferred new raced white settlers were bringing in slave labor from the south. While the earlier settlers could not purchase any new enslaved laborers. This conflict grew among the settlers, who pointed at the provision in the governing document that forbid slavery was not being enforced equally amongst the settlers.
Governor Arthur St. Clair decided to protect these earlier settlers and ignored violations of the governing document. The next Governor saw that the preferential treatment of the first settlers would discourage new landowners who owned enslaved laborers. So Governor William Henry Harrison opened the door to a new type of slavery, called contracted indentured servitude for life. Under the scheme of contracts, landowners would have their enslaved African-Americans agree to labor for these landowners for a specific time frame. This was a form of sponsorship into the free world, as a different type of enslaved labor.
The catch was that, these illusory contracts. Contracts for long term servitude that were not entered into freely. Many African-Americans could not read and the contract were for a life time and included the binding of their children to such contracts. This meant that those African-Americans coerced into signing these contracts would be enslaved for life. The dispute under the Indiana Constitution would not addressed until a new governor of Indiana, Jonathan Jenning is questioned about the constitutionality of the practice of slavery under the Indiana Constitution.
It would be an African-American woman that would challenge the practice. In 1820, Polly, challenged the legislators' meaning of the the clause forbidding slavery. Polly, an African-American was the daughter of a woman who was enslaved. Antione Lasselle gave Polly to Hyacinth Lasselle. a french fur trader. Polly was the daughter of a woman who was bought by Isaac Williams who lived at Kekionga, a slave owner. Polly believed that birth from an enslaved mother did not determine whether or not she was enslaved. Polly believed because she was born in Indiana, a state that forbid slavery determined her status in the new world. The Judge of the newly established Indiana Supreme Court agreed with Polly and stated she was not considered enslaved.
This ruling was not necessarily in Polly best interest as much as it was in the best interest of the State of Indiana. Indiana wanted to rid the territory of French settlers. This ruling freed the French enslaved laborers. To protect their property rights, the French began to migrate toward Canada. The court did not honor the French rights under the Deed of Cessation to own slaves. The French abandoned land would be confiscated and sold to raced white males. But the court did not stop at driving out the French. The African-Americans population would be the next group that would be targeted for exile.
Mary Clark took on the challenge of the racialist practice of coercing African-Americans into slavery with slave like terms embedded in the indentured servant contract. In 1821, Clark believed her long term contract was a form of indentured servitude. The Indiana Supreme Court agreed. The Court found that her binding contract was odious to the purpose for establishing the provision forbidding indentured servant and ordered Clark discharged from her contract. This ruling addressed the state's laissez-faire lack of enforcement toward migrating slave labor. And at the the same time freed Mary Clark, and other African-Americans indentured servants. Two African-Americans women fought for their own freedom long before Abraham Lincoln's election as President in 1860.
However, after these battles were won,a movement began to rid Indiana of these free African-Americans. The movement would speed up the ousting of the French. It discouraged new settlers from bringing in enslaved laborers from the bordering states. This Back to Africa movement would take care of the problem of the south, discarding of the old and unwanted African-Americans onto Indiana soil.
Governor James Ray required certificate of freedom for African-American coming to Indiana to prevent slave labor. If African-Americans did not voluntarily return back to the south, Indiana would send them back to Africa. Later, a bond would have to be paid by those attempting to bring African-Americans into Indiana. If Indiana could no longer have non paid African-Americans workers, they did not want them on the land. Indiana did not want African-Americans competing for paid laborers positions.
The Indiana Constitution was revised in 1851 with strong language, to exclude African-Americans from the soil of Indiana, making it a crime for African-Americans to set foot in Indiana. By 1857, Chief Justice Roger Taney issued a ruling under the Dred Scott case that allowed even free African-Americans in northern state to be forcefully returned to the south back into slavery. Three years later, Lincoln would support this back to Africa movement theme, in his expressed sentiment of wanting to maintain the new republic without African-Americans during his time as President.
This was to discourage African-Americans from migrating to the north. However, after African-Americans from the south participated in the Civil War and help save the union. But in 1862, after news of the emancipation proclamation, national freedom, African-Americans from the south became their journey to the north. The North was not prepared for the number of African-American flowing into their towns and did not want them. The south wanted African-Americans as non paid laborers. African-Americans found themselves battling for full participation in the new world as citizens. Citizenship that was so easy given to others coming to the new world.
Many do not want Senator Barack Obama for President, simply because he is an African-American. in 2008. Obama standing on the steps of the capital that excluded African-Americans from its state's constitution. A constitution that had to be revised to include African-Americans as citizens, which violated the United States Constitution.
Obama standing on the steps of the Illinois state capitol was a reminder of the African-American right to run for President. Justice John Marshall Harlan,stated in his dissenting opinion, a lone voice, in Plessy,
Our Constitution is color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land.
People are not colorblind when it comes to equal rights for all its citizens, and our state laws are a reminder of that fact. Fort Wayne is a city that needs to hear from Obama as to why it needs to change and why the citizens of Fort Wayne can no longer wait on traditionalists to make that change for their families.
One vote, one voice.
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