06/19/2020
Today is an important day in American history. Celebrated as Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the liberation of those who had been held as slaves in the United States.
As part of the commemoration of this day, we are sharing the below article detailing the part played by the Democratic party in the Lehigh Valley. Here are a few quotes from the article:
- “Democrats of the Lehigh Valley opposed the Republican administration's war. They were suspicious of the shifting justifications for it. They weren't interested in fighting to free anyone.”
- “History books seldom tell the story, but local dissent during the Civil War was part of a significant Northern campaign to leave the South alone, even as a separate nation. At the time, The Allentown Democrat was the most popular English-language paper in a borough of 8,000”
- “The Democrat was a zealous advocate of the region's Democratic Party. Throughout the Civil War, it railed against Lincoln and his policies.”
- “The Allentown Democrat appealed to readers who were indifferent to Southern slavery, uninspired to defend the Union”
- “The newspaper rejected the idea that black people were equal to whites. It reported that Lincoln's policies already had burdened the North with the cost of caring for thousands of runaway slaves.
"Abolitionism, in its blind and crazy attempt to set free a few millions of African slaves, better off here in the condition of slaves than in their native country, has brought the terrible calamity of substantial slavery upon the masses of our laboring white men and women," The Democrat said.”
This is just a small sampling of the history of the local Democratic party. For more details please read the entire article. With the current calls to remove confederate monuments and dismantling of historic institutions of racism, one must wonder when one of the greatest institutions of racism, the Democratic party will be called out.
Advertisement Local News News Civil War divided Lehigh Valley By By Frank Warner of The Morning Call May 16, 2013 | 12:13 PM Democrats of the Lehigh Valley opposed the Republican administration's war. They were suspicious of the shifting justifications for it. They weren't interested in fighting to....