President Day will offer some more renditions on the theme of Abraham Lincoln freeing the enslaved African-Americans. History tells us, that Lincoln did not free African-Americans but amendments to States' Constitutions. In honor of black history month, I repost this article:
Obama Significant standing on Illinois's Capitol Steps
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 Northwest Territory required a Constitution. The governing document for the state would be its constitution required a provision in it forbidding slavery and indentured servitude but not entirely outlawed.
There was a reason for wording used to draft the document. In essence, banning slavery was not simply because of sympathy towards enslaved African-Americans, but to discourage settlers from bringing more enslaved African-Americans into NWT.
George Washington's, the surveyor,envisioned a place for raced white males to govern without British rule or slave products or 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 state occupied by huge numbers of enslaved laborers.
To entice raced white males to give up their enslaved laborers, Washington would give them land if they came to the new territory. The Northwest Territory Ordinance, had 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 men only.
But, NWTO required five thousand free men to begin the territory transformation into a state. 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 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 by only the raced white male population who owned a certain amount of land.
ASland governed by the minority.
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 a contract for seven years, to pay off their debt. But these folks could not be elible to vote. These indentured raced whites were disenfranchised right along with freed African-Americans. Even if they owned the necessary amount of land, they were not allowed to vote. This re-enforced the governing body principle that only raced white males with large land holdings. This policy would create conflict among the various class of raced white folks.
It would be a wealthy raced white male landowners ruling class that would govern the development of the state. But that would not be the only conflict.
Some of the earlier settlers were not pleased with the new policies that were directly in conflict with their ownership of slave laborers. 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 dispute on the right to own laborers or not would grow as the new preferred raced white settlers from the south were bringing in slave labor. While the earlier French settlers could not purchase any new enslaved laborers. This conflict grew as the French settlers pointed at the provision in the governing document that forbid slavery was not being enforced equally.
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 wanted to keep enslaved laborers.
So Governor William Henry Harrison opened the door for voluntary servitude, 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 were illusory contracts to bring in the forbidden slave trade.
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, and not of their free will, into signing these contracts. The slavery 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 just because her enslaved mother gave birth to her did not determine whether or not she too was enslaved. Polly assertion was that because she was born in Indiana, a state with a governing document 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, Polly mother belonged to a french fur trader. This ruling freed the children born to 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's 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-Americans 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 and 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 helped save the union, President Linoln had to rethink his position. But in 1862, after news of the emancipation proclamation, national freedom, African-Americans from the south began 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 and did not want freed African-Americans. 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.
From The Trajectory of African-Americans to Fort Wayne, Indiana: Colored by a Badge of Inferiority written by Jacqueline Dowdell
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-American from its state's constitution had to be revised to include African-Americans as a citizen, based on the United States Constitution. The Constitution in which Barbara Jordan was so fond. Obama standing on Illinois state capitol steps, is a reminder, that African-Americans can run for President. Lincoln's Constitution states Obama is a citizen, he is the right age, he is therefore qualified. 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. One vote, one voice.
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