Thursday, December 01, 2005

The Last Time The Union Troops Pulled Out

The Last Time The 'Union Troops' Pulled Out And Left The Masses Safety To The Whims Of The Terrorists

How people's view of history is so folly. With all of the debate on the pullout of US forces (The Union Troops) from Iraq I thought that it would be interesting to do a recounting of a significant historical event and it's dire impact on the people who were left exposed to terror as a result of this backroom deal.

The results of the US presidential elections of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes, a Republican, and Samuel J. Tilden, a Democrat resulted in major contention. Though Tilden had more popular votes he was unable to acquire the necessary electoral college votes to secure the election. The returns from Oregon, Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana were disputed and challenged by Tilden. A successful appeal would have handed him the presidency.

In the year 1876 the United States had just finished a long and very bloody series of battle for it's soul, otherwise known as the Civil War. The Union Troops continued to occupy the Southern states that had been in rebellion.

In the gulf that was present between the two former enemies on the battle field was the key question about the newly freed Black Americans. The long held cultural norms in the South enforced the notion that the Black man was equal to a farm animal and that he had “no rights that a White man need respect”.

The Civil War successfully ended the brutal and inhumane practice of Slavery in the South from a legal statutory standpoint. The 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution said so. It would be a much larger challenge, however to put these words into practice as the human mind is a hard thing to change after it has been conditioned disregard the human rights of another set of human beings for all of their lives.

What the law was not able to do the armed force of the Union Troops that were present was able to do. With the presence of these troops the free Black man was able to make a small but significant transition from enslavement. He was challenged to formulate a new lifestyle from the ground up. The South was devoid of any organized economic system in the wake of the War. The US government implemented a “Reconstruction Plan” to rebuild the South after having been destroyed due to the battles that took place throughout the land. The Black man had to create an economic system by which he could eat, educate his children and operate the necessary government functions that were required in a civilized society.

The presence of the Union Troops allowed the “peace keeping” function to be removed from the Black man's plate for a short time. In addition to the issue regarding law enforcement within the Black community there was the prevailing force of the Confederate. Having just lost the war they had to yield their land but they were not about to let the Black man stand on his feet and rule them. They certainly had no intention of sharing power with a Black man, a being who just a few short years ago the Confederate could legally own and do as he pleased with.

While the Confederates were in their back beaten state there were several Black officials elected to the United States House from these Southern states and one Black man was elected to the United States Senate. Many of the current Historically Black Colleges and Universities were created during this time to educate the newly freed Black man for operation in the economy.

The Black man's future was by no means set during this time but he was surely in a much better state than he was under slavery. Had this course been maintained there is no doubt that our condition would be much different than it is today.

The Confederates upon seeing the slow rise of the Black man had realized that they could not continue to sit out the process of governing their lands. They saw the need to reengage in the process of governance and law enforcement in the lands that they once ruled. They agreed to take vows of loyalty to the United States as a condition of being readmitted into the Union.

The centerpiece to their strategy, however, was the need to remove the Union Troops from their lands so that they can return to power and do as they please absent any countervailing force to stop them.

The contested presidential election of 1876 proved to be the key point of inflection for them to achieve their goals. The Republicans wanted the presidency of the United States more than they sought to protect the civil and human rights of the United States. In the compromise that was reached with the Democratic Party it was agreed that the US presidency would be yield to the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for the removal of the Union Troops from Southern lands. The Southern Democrats wisely yield this particular battle in order to win the war. The Black man caught hell in the mean time.

As the former Confederates reestablished their control of the Southern lands absent any force to stop them all of the Black elected officials who had been sent to Washington had their offices summarily confiscated from them by the imposition of new laws and underhanded tactics aimed at reestablishing White supremacy in the South. The KKK was developed as a means of executing the ground strategy that the Southern Democrats had been implementing in the halls of legislation in the South and in Washington DC.

All of the famous “Black Codes” or “Jim Crow Laws” that we know of were created during this period of time as the Southern Democrat made sure that the 14th and 15th Amendment to the Constitution was made once again to be mere words without any relevance to the real world outside.

The Black man caught hell for the next 85 years as a result of the agreement to withdraw the troops that was made due to back room politics and political pressure.

As we remove the consideration of the political maneuvering and focus upon the impact on THE PEOPLE it becomes clear that the people who are in transition are at their most vulnerable state as they attempt to find their footing. Their every move is being hawkishly looked upon by their former oppressors who are only made to yield by the presence of an “occupying force”. It is presence of this “occupying force” that makes the difference between their advancing in freedom one day achieving the ability to defend themselves and their return to slavery and terrorism based on those who wish to destroy and and having them return to the days of ole.

I REFUSE to allow the notion of the nation-state to trump my promotion of what is best for this group of human beings who are made to suffer by the active terrorism of their oppressor. The “nation state” is a man made concept as we are told by so many in their commentary about European imperialism. Some people have assimilated more than they believe, able to take the position today about Iraq that was much like the position that was favorable to the Confederates. If only they could talk with their ancestors to hear their perspective on the issue.