An American History Lesson for Pat Buchanan

I did not hear right wing talking head Pat Buchanan's remarks on African American history the other day on MSNBC. According to an account on the Huffington Post, Buchanan and host Rachel Maddow had a hot exchange during which Buchanan said:

"White men were 100% of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100% of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, 100% of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to 100% of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built basically by white folks, who were 90% of the nation in 1960 when I was growing up and the other 10% were African-Americans who had been discriminated against."

The video of the exchange: http://www.wikio.co.uk/video/1410248

The Huffington Post story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/16/rachel-maddow-duels-with_n_237036.html

I can't begin to dismiss all of the inaccuracies and flawed logic contained in this statement. But it is an appropriate day tell you that on July 18, 1863 nearly 100% of the Union soldiers who died while storming Fort Wagner in South Carolina were black. These were the men of the famed 54th Massachusetts Regiment who fought and died in the tragic battle that was made famous in the film Glory. Pat Buchanan's words are an offense to their honor and sacrifice. (Yes, Mr. Buchanan, there have been other movies about the Civil War besides Gone With the Wind.)

If you haven't seen the film Glory, it recounts the true story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first officially organized and recognized all-black fighting units in the Civil War. The regiment was organized in March 1863 after the Emancipation Proclamation was officially announced by President Lincoln. The men were commanded by white officers, including Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, whose parents were abolitionists.

At first consigned to work details, the 54th eventually saw combat. In its most famous engagement, the 54th led the assault on Fort (Battery) Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina. The battle came fifteen days after the Battle of Gettysburg concluded.

In the fierce fighting, Colonel Shaw was killed leading his men --116 of whom died in the fighting Colonel Shaw's body was thrown into a mass grave with his men, which the Confederates thought was an indignity. However, Shaw's family considered it a badge of honor. One of the Regiment's men, Sergeant William Harvey Carney, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, one of the first black soldiers so honored.

Of course, the 54th Massachusetts was only one small group of more than 250,000 African American soldiers who served in the Union armies during the Civil War. So, yes, it was not just white men fighting in the Civil War. Black soldiers served, fought and died in every American conflict since the Revolution. There were freedmen at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. George Washington tried to prevent black enlistments, but eventually needed these men to fight. These facts are part of America's Hidden History, but were ignored in 100% 0f my textbooks, which were definitely 100% written by white men.

Yes, no black men signed the Declaration. They were consigned to the plantations of many of the men who did the signing, putting food on their tables and money in their purses. They did not sign the Constitution. They were held in "Involuntary servitude," recognized by that document and the Framers only as "three-fifths of a man." Thomas Jefferson was elected President in part because slaves inflated the number of Electors in the slave-holding states. After his election in 1800, Jefferson was derided as the "Negro President."

And of course, those black men built the nation's capital -- not as free laborers but as slaves. They, along with the black women and millions of other immigrant laborers of all colors, also built this nation -- its rails, canals, factories, bridges and dams.

Yes, Mr. Buchanan even a few Irishmen helped too. Although they had to face plenty of discrimination as well. On that note, it was not until 1836 that a Catholic -- Roger Taney who delivered the dreadful Dred Scott decision which said slaves were property and had no more rights than farm animals -- sat on the Supreme Court. It would be 1894 before a second Catholic was appointed. The Supreme Court was not only a white, male bastion, but a Protestant one as well.

On a night when we honor the memory of Walter Cronkite, one of America's greatest television journalists and a man who was dedicated to the truth, it seems particularly sad to have to correct the shameful errors of a man whose swagger and clever phrase-making keep him on the television screen, in spite of his tainted views.

I don't know if Pat Buchanan is a racist. I can't say what is in his heart. But I do know when he spouts words like these, he is just an ignorant old man --"Full of the sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Follow Kenneth C. Davis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kennethcdavis

Comments

[Rjchinook]

In 2004 the U.S. Government acknowledged the influence of the Iroquois Constitution on the U.S. Framers. The Smithsonian also noted the similarities between the two documents, as well as the differences. One significant difference noted was the inclusion of women in the Iroquois Constitution, one group among many that the framers of the U.S. Constitution did not include women

http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2004/September/20040924120101AKllennoCcM9.930056e-02.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois_Confederacy#Example_to_the_United_States

[dolphy]

I'm so sorry to also tell Pat that his civilized Greeks went to Northern Africa to get higher eduction and get more civilized.

[TJCole]

Doesn't Pat realize, we need Affirmative Action so as to maintain our Racist Local School Funding System...?

[olmossy]

God. The Reps must be so proud of Pat. He just so exemplifies their total stance.

[olmossy]

BTW How many wars did Pat and Dick ever fight in ?

[jimsrule]

Pat Buchanan is a RACIST pure and simple. The real story here is not his racially biased view of history or his disregard for facts, but the fact that a major American TV network actually pays this bigot to spew his racial garbage. It is no coincidence that the recently released set of Nixon tapes contains Nixon mouthing his own brand of racism talking about the need to prevent bi-racial marriages. Why no coincidence you ask? Buchanan was Nixon's Communication Director. It is also worth noting that is runs in the family. His sister Bay, also a mouthpiece for a major network, has as the executive director of an anti-immigration group she help found a man who was convicted of assaulting a black man and shouting racial slurs while doing it. Ms. Buchanan's defense - "we all deserve a second chance.." the Buchanan's should be declared America's First Family of Racism!!

[LiberalForever]

The Civil Rights Act of the 1960's created the party we call Republican today. Hiding behind a thin veil of racism for many years, they are finally losing it emotionally after having their *ss kicked so soundly by Obama.

They are truly repulsive. I am ashamed to even have them in my country.

[eroy22312]

Them first man to die for the flag we now hold high was a black man.

His name was Crispus Atticks.

[Theo]

"I don't know if Pat Buchanan is a racist. I can't say what is in his heart."

Give yourself, and the rest of us, some credit. Yes, we do know what is in Buchanan's heart. He's not shy about sharing it at all. And yes he is a racist. His decision to dismiss the contributions of women and minorities to this nation isn't the product of ignorance. It is a conscious act meant to degrade those he believes are beneath him. I'm sure he has heard the names Betty Ross and Crispus Attucks, but chooses to ignore them because he thinks they are beneath his notice.

[DinkSinger]

Mr. Buchanan's claim that "White men were 100% of the people that wrote the Constitution" may very well be wrong. During Alexander Hamilton's lifetime is was often called a Creole by his opponents, who intended it as a slander. There is a tradition in the Caribbean nations where he was born and raised that his mother was in fact a Creole.

I don't know about the men who died at Vicksburg, but I do know that Captain. Ely S. Parker, a Seneca, was the chief engineer of the 7th Division at the siege of Vicksburg. Parker had first studied law, but when he applied to the bar was turned down because he was not a citizen. (Native peoples were not admitted to citizenship until 1924). Parker then became a civil engineer. Parker, who had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, was military secretary to General Grant and was present at the Appomattox Court House surrender. On that occasion, General Lee expressed shock that a black man should have such an important position. When he was informed that Parker was an Indian, Lee apologized and said "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker replied "We are all Americans, sir." It would be nice if Mr. Buchanan could take those words to heart.

[DinkSinger]

I now have found that Buchanan is wrong about those who died at Vicksburg. An important battle of the Vicksburg campaign was fought at Milliken's Bend, LA, on June 7, 1863. Milliken's Bend was the site of Federal supply depots and hospitals, Jefferson Davis had personally ordered it be attacked in an attempt to relieve the siege of Vicksburg. Milliken's Bend was successfully defended, primarily by black troops, 95 of whom lost their lives for our nation.

Buchanan, whose ancestors fought for the Confederacy, may not have known about the black regiments that participated in the VIcksburg campaign because the two monuments to them in the city were removed in the 1940s.

It is also ironic that Vicksburg is the site of a National Cemetery where 17,000 the Federal dead from all over the Mississsippi Valley were reinterred. While 75% of these honored dead are unidentified, it is estimated that at least one-third are African-American.

[offred]

Those two monuments were melted down during the shortage of useful metals in the early stages of World War II. Many other monuments were also used for their metal content during the last Great War. But they have long since been replaced. The National Park directors, however, have not seen fit to replace the mementos dedicated to the valor of the African American men of Milliken's Bend and Port Hudson, the other crucial Confederate strongpoint on the Mississippi.

[Easyrollins]

Sorry for the grammar, can't write when emotional

[Easyrollins]

As a person of color I would call him a racist, every point spoken by this man is false and dsihonest, and has been use by racist as an excuse for their actions and beliefs. Maybe you can give the benefit of doubt by I would see him as a racist and treat as such. Not worth debating with, for his views are long held and deep seated, and to his dying day he will hold on to to those beliefs no matter what. For him I am invisible, I don't matter, My entire existence is unfortunate to him, and a detriment to his world. He is the man who fought for slavery and did not own a slave, he see himself as better than me, and he needs that beliefs, it's his crutch, the holds his world together. He in good conscience can vote no to health care, civil rights, voters rights, abortions rights and a whole host of human concerns because his core beliefs sets him apart from all who are not within his world view.

[AbstractionAction]

Brilliant article. Thank you for talking about the history that even "Black History Month" fails to signify: the sacrifice of blacks (and millions of other "minorities") who helped build this country.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

The Maddow / Buchanan discussion was the
clearest example of the left / right mindset rift.
Maddows emphisis was all about; what's good for society
is good for the individual.
Buchanan's emphisis was all about the fundimental
capitalist flaw; what's good for an individual is good for society.
Narcisism is a devistatingly destructive force.

[boopboopadoop]

You may be making a good point, but I was too distracted by all the spelling/p­unctuation errors to take this post seriously...

Maddow's emphasis

fundamental

narcissism

devastatingly

Bad grammar is rampant on HP. I can only conclude that no one knows how to spell
anymore - or that no one cares.

[reasonshouldrule]

Maybe you should stop blogging because many bloggers ignore some spelling and punctuation conventions in their haste to get a point across. In fact, English words have changed their spelling over time and will continue to do so as users of the language make mistakes or spell words in ways that are more intuitive. The blogs are the last place we need a prescriptive English purist. The important thing in any language is if the point is understood by most people.

[dolphy]

There was this basketball player who, during timeouts, corrected the grammar of his teammates. He was good in grammar but was a lazy and lousy player. In the end, he was fired.

[ThePeacemakers]

When we still have to have this type of debate and when there's an economic system brewing that will bring this country a lot more closer to slavery than we are ready to admit, it's time to head them off at the pass.

We need an Anti-Slavery movement and FAST. If for no other reason than to pressure biz leaders and congressional leaders on exactly what they think of the concept of slavery.
Time to separate the men from the boys.

Next time it won't be just "one race".

[pfrogger]

no surprises here.
Pat is part of the old all-white vanguard of an obsolete age when separation was equal in the eyes of many. go to a Southern state, take a vote to see if separation is equal in their eyes. you'd be surprised at the results.
they keep repeating the same lies, and many misinformed, undereducated, intellectually incurious followers will repeat these lies at the top of their lungs. Fox News is the epitome if this success. it says a lot about America that they are allowed to get away with it. Split the population on useless differences while the corporate barons gather more wealth and power. It's been done for centuries in this country, why would things change?
hope lies in the mass education of facts and evidence of the masses. but that's just not likely in this country.

[Gidster]

Excellent post!