Without Life, Nothing Matters.

July 2nd, 1864

"The Escaped Slave And The Union Soldier." ¹

THE ESCAPED SLAVE AND THE UNION SOLDIER
Civil War Harper's Weekly, July 2nd, 1864, page 422,428

"SURELY not the least interesting of the varied war pictures which we present to our readers this week will be two sketches on page 428-one, the picture of a Negro slave, who fled from Montgomery, Alabama, to Chattanooga, for the express purpose of enlisting in the army of the Union; the other, a picture of this same negro, endowed for the first time with his birth-right of freedom, and allowed the privilege dearer to him than any other - that of fighting for the nation which is hereafter pledged to protect him and his. Are these not affecting pictures which are here presented to us? On the one side, the poor fugitive oppressed with the weariness of two hundred long miles of dusty travel, a journey interrupted by a thousand necessary precautions, and harassed by timid suggestions of a fate more horrible than death if he is discovered; with his meagre covering of rags about him: and on the other side, the soldier crowned with freedom and honor. Can we not at length have faith in that heroism which has been so gloriously illustrated at Wagner and Olustee and Petersburg, and which, in the face of the Fort Pillow massacre, yet offers itself afresh in the person of a poor fugitive, who, from the heart of the enemy's country, gives himself, at the risk of death or of a torture worse than death, to a cause simply because it is inevitably associated, with the problem of his freedom?" ²

July 2nd, 1964

The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Was Landmark Legislation.

"The United States will not be fully free until all of its citizens are free." ³ — John F. Kennedy

Following the Civil War (1861-1865), the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed which prohibited racial discrimination in housing (without any enforcement provisions) and a trio of constitutional amendments. ⁴ Specifically and in order, the Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) ⁵ to the Constitution of the United States of America abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) ⁶ to the Constitution of the United States of America was adopted on July 9th, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Era Amendments (1865-1877) ⁷ and addressed citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws. Finaly, the Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) ⁸ to the Constitution of the United States of America prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". ⁹ Nevertheless, in the South many states condoned violence from White supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) ¹⁰ and devised poll taxes,¹¹ literacy tests,¹² "Jim Crow" laws,¹³ "Black Codes," ¹⁴ the "One-Drop Rule" ¹⁵ and other similar legal constructs to keep Black Americans disenfranchised.

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., revealed at Toronto, Canada, Friday that he had been invited by President Kennedy to submit for his signature a Second Emancipation Proclamation. The invitation came after Dr. King visited the White House for a discussion of the segregation problem. The document will be ready before May 17, Dr. King said." ¹⁶ — The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King

For the next eighty (80) years, after the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877), the Congress of the United States of America did not pass a single Civil Rights act. ¹⁷ At last, in 1957, it established a Civil Rights section of the Justice Department, along with a Commission on Civil Rights to investigate discriminatory conditions. ¹⁸ In 1961 John F. Kennedy entered the White House as President of the United States of America,¹⁹ he initially delayed anti-discrimination measures,²⁰ however with violent protests throughout the racially charged and divided South (including Birmingham, Alabama,²¹ where the local police brutally suppressed nonviolent demonstrators with dogs, clubs and high-pressure fire hoses) Kennedy finally decided to act. So in June of 1963 he proposed legislation that would be by far the most comprehensive Civil Rights legislation to date and ultimately would become the Civil Rights Act Of 1964.²² The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public.²³ While for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the Civil Rights Act Of 1964 was nothing less than a "Second Emancipation Proclamation," follow-up legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965,²⁴ which prohibited literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices and the Fair Housing Act of 1968,²⁵ which banned discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of property was still needed.

July 2nd, 2014

Today The Babies Are Not Free . . .

"It has been 50 years of Civil Rights struggles and 395 years of oppression against Blacks, and still today in the 21st century the babies are not free and the wombs of women are still endangered. Let our people go!" ²⁶ — Dr. Alveda C. King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

ABORTION takes the life of an innocent human being and the death toll is staggering. The number of babies aborted each year worldwide equal more than fifty-seven million 57,000,000.²⁷ The number of babies aborted throughout the world since World War II is more than 1.6 billion.²⁸ The top three (3) countries in number of abortions annually are as follows: (1) Red China with over eleven million (11,000,000), (2) the Former Soviet Union with over six million (6,000,000) and (3) the United States of America with over one million (1,000,000).²⁹ The former Soviet Union has the highest abortion|birth ratio in the world at three-hundred (300) abortions for every one-hundred (100) live births, and declining.³⁰ The city with the highest abortion|birth ratio in the United States of America is Washington, D.C., at two-hundred and sixty-five (265) abortions for every every one-hundred (100) live births.³¹ The total number of abortions in the United States from 1967-2014 has taken over fifty-six million (56,000,000) lives.³² That's more than the entire population of eighty-two (82) of the largest cities in the United States of America.³³ Since September 11th, 2001, America has aborted more than fourteen (14) million babies.³⁴ By way of comparison, that's more than twice the number Jews killed during the Nazi Holocaust (6,000,000).³⁵ Between 1864 and 1968, 4,946 Black Americans were lynched.³⁶ That's 47.7 per year. By way of comparison, the number of Black American babies aborted between 1973 and 2014 exceeds more than nineteen (19) million.³⁷ Thats more than 450,000 per year. The number of all American battle deaths since 1776 exceeds six-hundred and fifty-thousand (650,000) lives lost in war.³⁸ By way of comparison, the number of lives lost to abortion in the United States of America between 1967-2014 exceeds more than fifty-seven million (57,000,000).³⁹ The ratio of American abortions to battle deaths in all American wars is 87.6 to 1.⁴⁰ The number of Americans of all ages and races murdered daily by handguns is twenty-eight (28).⁴¹ By way of comparison, the number of American babies of all races killed every day by abortion is over three thousand (3,000).⁴² The fertility rate of women in the United States, which measures the number of expected births the average woman will have in her lifetime, dropped to under 1.87.⁴³ This rate (a record low) is below replacement level (2.1 births per woman), the level at which a given generation can exactly replicate itself.⁴⁴ To make matters worse, the total fertility rate has not been above replacement level since 2007, and it has dropped every year since.⁴⁵ The record is clear, very clear. Abortion in the United States of America has taken more lives than any weapon formed against us to date.

In My Opinion

It's Time For A Third Emancipation Proclamation.

"Like the United States Supreme Court of 1857 held that 'persons of African descent cannot be, nor were ever intended to be, citizens under the United States Constitution,' the United States Supreme Court of 1973 has held that the pre-born is not a person within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. However this year the Alabama Supreme Court recognized the pre-born child's inalienable right to life inherently possessed by every human being. Since 1973 over fifty-five (55) million lives have been lost to abortion. Oh My God! In my opinion, the time has come for the Pro-Life movement to push long and hard for a Third Emancipation Proclamation, legally freeing and protecting the pre-born child by love and by law." — Walter B. Hoye II

Today the original Emancipation Proclamation is rarely considered a legal document and is somehow disconnected from the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court has never adjudicated its meaning or interpretation. At best, the Emancipation Proclamation is viewed as a historical artifact and is often brought out simply to dress up an opinion or to illustrate a point. It seems whatever legal weight it might have had on Thursday, January 1st, 1863 was superseded by the succeeding events of the Civil War itself and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) of the United States Constitution adopted on Wednesday, December 6th, 1865. The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 or the "Second Emancipation Proclamation" is clearly recognized as a legal document. While it is easy to see how the Civil Rights Act Of 1964 emulated the Civil Rights Acts Of 1866, 1871, 1875, 1957 and 1960 ⁴⁶ and laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act Of 1968 ⁴⁷ in the fight for freedom for Black Americans, it is also easy to see how America has struggled with the concept "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" ⁴⁸ applying to all human beings.

So when Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore wrote in his opinion that "an unborn child has an inalienable right to life from its earliest stages of development" and then adding "I write separately to emphasize that the inalienable right to life is a gift of God that civil government must secure for all persons born and unborn" ⁴⁹ I felt new hope and promise for the future of humanity. However, when Alabama Supreme Court Associate Justice Tom Parker wrote the majority decision saying: "It is impossible for an unborn child to be a separate and distinct person at a particular point in time in one respect and not to be a separate and distinct person at the same point in time but in another respect. Because an unborn child has an inalienable right to life from its earliest stages of development, it is entitled not only to a life free from the harmful effects of chemicals at all stages of development but also to life itself at all stages of development. Treating an unborn child as a separate and distinct person in only select respects defies logic and our deepest sense of morality." ⁵⁰ I was inspired and emboldened, sensing now is the time for the Pro-Life movement to start pushing long and hard for the rights of all human beings. When Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act,⁵¹ a renewed sense of impending success for the Pro-Life movement soared within me as Florida was added to a growing list of states seeking to protect the human rights of unborn children. According to Clarke D. Forsythe, my friend and Senior Counsel for Americans United for Life (the legal architects of the Pro-Life movement), "State protection of the unborn child as a person is no longer a novel thing. It grows year by year, state by state, and the public supports it." ⁵² Protecting the human rights of all human beings from the womb to the tomb (by love and by law) is what the heart of the personhood movement is all about. In my opinion, personhood is what humanity looks like whole and what the Pro-Life movement looks like victorious.

Hmmmm … 

Can't you hear it?

We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,⁵³ that every day abortion on demand is legal and the needs of women and children go unmet, their voices grow louder and louder.

What are they saying?

The divinely inspired witnesses are saying the promissory note ⁵⁴ of personhood is overdue and the time for a Third Emancipation Proclamation has come.

I say yes!

What say ye?

Brothers, we need to talk.

Note(s):

Dennis Howard is founder and president of The Movement for a Better America, a non-profit, Pro-Life educational organization. As a researcher, Dennis correctly forecast the market crashes of 1974, 1987, and 2000 well before they happened. He estimates that the U.S. toll in lost GDP because of abortion already exceeds $50 trillion and will continue rising at a rate of $2.5 trillion a year. While he sees a major crisis still ahead for America and the world, he is not a long term pessimist. He is available as a strategic marketing consultant to other Pro-Life organizations, and is currently writing a book on Pro-Life Strategies for the 21st Century. To invite Dennis as a speaker, contact him at Movement for a Better America, P.O. Box 472, Mt. Freedom, NJ 07970-0472.

Reference(s):

01. Harper's Weekly "The Escaped Slave And The Union Soldier", Civil War Harper's Weekly, July 2, 1864 (http://bit.ly/1qaAOmY).
02. Ibid. Harper's Weekly newspapers were the primary source of information for people who lived at the time of the War. There were hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and millions of readers. Today, these original documents serve as an important research tool enabling the serious student to gain new insights into the war.
03. Civil Rights Act, A&E Television Networks, LLC (http://bit.ly/1udSFsU).
04. Civil Rights Act of 1866, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/R4nxzU).
05. Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/IvE2At).
06. Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1p0Nek7).
07. Reconstruction Era, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1ggIlJ4).
08. Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1fgUfXu).
09. Ibid.
10. Ku Klux Klan, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1d4pdhu).
11. Poll Taxes, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1iStNC4).
12. Literacy Test, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1rhoCR7).
13. Jim Crow Laws, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1m3U5SG).
14. Black Codes, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/SYkhWP).
15. One-Drop Rule, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1jml1Ag).
16. The King Center, "Second Emancipation Proclamation", Established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change ("The King Center") has been a global destination, resource center and community institution for over a quarter century. (http://bit.ly/1oDjoSG).
17. Reconstruction Era, op. cit.
18. Civil Rights Act, op. cit.
19. John F. Kennedy, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/ILYJbm).
20. Civil Rights Act, op. cit.
21. Birmingham Campaign, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1lGrhEE).
22. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1lKpJ9u).
23. Ibid.
24. Voting Rights Act of 1965, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1lTwxil).
25. Fair Housing Act of 1968 (i.e., Civil Rights Act of 1968), Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1ihoRfo).
26. Dr. Alveda Celeste King, "50th Civil Rights Commemoration Must Include Mothers And The Unborn", May 21st, 2014 (http://bit.ly/1kwG7vg).
27. Dennis M. Howard, "The Abortion Index", The Movement for a Better America, Inc., P.O. Box 472, Mt. Freedom, NJ 07970-0472. Not for reproduction without permission. Notes: Basic Data drawn from the U.S. Statistical Abstract, and World Almanac with projections and analysis by the Movement for a Better America. Abortion data based on published data from Guttmacher Institute. For permission to distribute copies of The Abortion Index, write to: Movement for a Better America P.O. Box 472, Mt. Freedom, NJ 07970-0472 (http://bit.ly/18oqGSm).
28. Ibid
29. Ibid
30. Ibid
31. Ibid
32. Ibid
33. Ibid
34. Ibid
35. Ibid
36. Ibid
37. Ibid
38. Ibid
39. Ibid
40. Ibid
41. Ibid
42. Ibid
43. Jonathan Liedl, "Catholic Experts React To Historically Low Fertility Rate In America", Demographic and fertility authorities point to self-centeredness and marital instability as causes of the decline, and they warn of long-term consequences. June 12, 2014 (http://bit.ly/1y0gYzj).
44. Annalyn Kurtz, "Baby Bust: U.S. Births At Record Low", Demographic and fertility authorities point to self-centeredness and marital instability as causes of the decline, and they warn of long-term consequences. September 6, 2013 (http://cnnmon.ie/1bvRUFS).
45. Ibid
46. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1lKpJ9u).
47. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Op. cit.
48. United States Declaration of Independence, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/1irp4uA).
49. J. D. Heyes, "Alabama Supreme Court: 'An Unborn Child Has An Inalienable Right To Life'", Monday, May 19th, 2014 (http://bit.ly/1mNAWIk).
50. Steve Straub, "Alabama Supreme Court: Unborn Child Has 'Inalienable' Right To Life 'At All Stages of Development'", April 22nd, 2014 (http://bit.ly/1lFZH4o).
51. José Patino Giroña, "Bill Prompted By Abortion Pill Case Bow Law", The Tampa Tribune, June 20th, 2014 (http://bit.ly/1lU1d9h).
52. Clarke D. Forsythe, "Saving Personhood" Growing Number Of States Protects The Unborn Child, The Washington Times, Friday, October 21, 2011 (http://bit.ly/oAXW00).
53. Hebrews 12:1 (ESV), "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," (http://bit.ly/1ofZr0P).
54. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech, March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963, Historic Documents, USHistory.Org copyrighted by Independence Hall Association (http://bit.ly/1ofZr0P).