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Is life really black or white?

for the #unitedstatesofamerica . America was under attack from the British on September 1814 and the growing debate was brewing regarding slavery in the South and outright bigotry in the North. The British had sacked Washington and torched the White House and thousands of negros (black, brown and carmel complexion individuals) were fleeing captivity from both white and negro slave owners. The war of 1812 could be considered as the turning Point of the American saga that pitted individuals against each other that either hoped to keep kidnapped individuals in bondage or afforded the same rights as European immigrants. The British needed help desperately because of the casualties being racked up on #American soil so the practice of conscription (forced draft) of American sailors to fight for the Royal Navy. This practice of conscription reminds me such much of the conflict during the #vietnamwar.

Now this the other half of the story that was either deleted from American history books or told only to college students during psychology courses. The British knew negroes could help them turn their dire situation around so they promised refuge to any enslaved negro who escaped their enslavers, raising fears of a large-scale revolt. For all those that escaped slavery would be awarded land after their service. Thousands from Virginia and Maryland, escaped and joined the British. I wonder if this is the promise of 40 acres and a mule? The British kept their word to Colonial Marines after the war, refusing the United States’ demand that they be returned and providing them land in Trinidad and Tobago to resettle with their families.


A 35-year-old lawyer named Francis Scott Key would later write a 4 verse poem that only the 1st verse would be sang at sporting events nationwide. If we really want to expose the ugliness of racism in America than the verse of

No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave should be included The racism and bigotry would extend to the Andrew Jackson administration, (the face on the $20) where Scott Key served as the district attorney for Washington, D.C., increasing enslavers’ power throughout the south. He strictly enforced slave laws and prosecuted abolitionists who passed out pamphlets mocking his jurisdiction as the “land of the free, home of the oppressed.” I ask that everyone reading this post please contribute to the story with their comments.


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