Anthony Burns Case: Impeding Federal Extradition

Winston Churchill’s History of the English Speaking Peoples [1995 Barnes & Noble p. 376] narrative on anti-slavery forces resistance upon Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854 passage in the US Senate (re)affirmed the principle of “popular sovereignty” triggering the Anthony Burns [https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/burns-anthony-the-trial-of-1854/] incident in Boston. The Compromise of 1850 included a Fugitive Slave Act requiring slaves be returned to owners, even if in a free State and legislated the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves. Churchill asserts ‘innumerable’ minor incidents, but one day after the Kansas-Nebraska Act came into force, a Boston mob attempted to rescue Burns from deportation. Sound familiar?

Long time readers know I’m no fan of Churchill, his fingerprints are on many of the woes we suffer today. Perhaps what makes Winston’s follies most frustrating is his profound understanding of history and intuition shown in his writings of this sort illustrating the evolution of past ‘sanctuary cities.’ He detailed [still on p. 376] “It took a battalion of artillery, four platoons of marines, the sheriff’s posse, and twenty-two companies of the militia to line the streets and bring the slave to the ship at Boston wharf.” Churchill then quoted Morison and Commager’s Growth of the American Republic [vol. i, p. 622] “It cost the United States about a hundred thousand dollars to return the slave to his master. The real bill came later, and it was paid in blood.” For perspective, $100,000 purchased 5,000 ounces of gold in 1854, approx. $16 million today.

While Compromise Tariffs [1832 and 1833] averted war between States following the Tariff of Abominations [1828] triggering the Nullification Crisis, tariffs returned to the 20% average dutiable rate ‘benchmark’ with the Tariff of 1857. It wouldn’t be until the protectionist wing of the Whig Party morphed into the newly formed Republican Party that excessive Tariffs would be looking for ‘Judas rhetoric’ to advance their desired corporate welfare transfers in their platform plank for return of tariffs to 1828 levels. Churchill foreshadows what Boston’s resolve would ‘progress’ into... Article 3, Section 3 Treason in Baltimore (on Patriot’s Day for those who appreciate irony) April 19,1861 - First Blood in actual war between States.

One of many brilliancies designed into the US Constitution is averting civil war - i.e., two or more factions in conflict over the same government. A sovereign State(s) is free to exit, as they did the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union; militarily forcing a State(s) is treason, as Massachusetts did to Maryland. Allowing exit instead of a hegemonic union is what peaceful transfer of power [ https://www.alabamagazette.com/story/2021/01/01/opinion/peaceful-transfer-of-power-pax-romana-style/2063.html] may be, under circumstances of this sort. Imagine if Massachusetts and other States appalled by fugitive slave laws had exited the Union so those like Anthony Burns wouldn’t be compelled to return/deported and slaves would’ve had closer safe haven than Canada. Sadly, they were ripe for a corporate welfare political prostitute like Lincoln to use in accomplishing desired wealth transfers militarily instead of peaceful exit. Importation of slaves (Jefferson compromised to 1808 instead of 1789] had been abolished and State, etc. emancipations were working as designed. In the State Massachusetts shot up drawing First Blood in war between our States, 49% of Maryland Blacks were free.

If States had left the Union making slavery less tenable for slave owners, one may make the case the last slave State in the Americas would’ve ended in the late 1890s with Brazil before mass mechanization. Sad the legacy put on Blacks in our now forced coalition of states... that the ‘civil war’ of hegemony was to free slaves - many of whom had already been freed, freed themselves and/or were on the path of overcoming this detestation on their own accord. Much to admire w.r.t. Crispus Attucks and Black Soldiers not duped by the British in the American Revolution/War of 1812 to Black Confederates fighting against hegemonic union. Most Blacks were not given anything and those in fact emancipated were given very little, yet saddled by progressives who championed a debt not owed and white supremacy.

Many States which championed accomplishing things militarily in the 1860s now cry foul when troops come into their subjugated state uninvited. Article 1, Section 8 makes clear calling forth the Militia [recall the 22 companies Churchill referenced above?] for endeavours of this sort - the National Guard is not Constitutional and been terribly misused these past several score. Kudos to James Hines writings and efforts against ending State militias to impose a national guard, along with libertarian Patrick Merritt’s efforts in Alabama to protect our guardsmen from abuse and misuse. I’ve included the 1861 Governor responses to Lincoln’s call for militia/troops to commit Article 3, Section 3 treason against their State in several past columns.

Deportations, tariffs, suspending writs of habeas corpus, fiat money gone wild, etc. is no surprise to those aware of US history and don’t look to late night TV show hosts like Colbert or reality TV show stars like Trump for perspective. I have no illusion about ‘the peaceful transfer of power’ we suffer from DC under our hegemonic “Pax Americana.” Sad to witness so many defending Biden and Trump, blind to their own interest instead of seeing two demons serving the same evil one. I understand why so many politburo members fear for their lives knowing how evil they’ve become from DC to my local corrupt county commissioners. Perhaps the best illustration was Felon Hubbard locking down Goat Hill when he first learned of the sniper shooting spree when Alabama’s Speaker of the House. I also have no illusions about the future of people suffering Roman type hegemony choosing the path of Barabbas over Jesus Christ.

This is what happens when peaceful divorce is impossible [https://www.alabamagazette.com/story/2021/02/01/opinion/those-who-make-peaceful-divorce-impossible-will-make-domestic-violence-inevitable/2084.html] violence not seen since a group from a US territory showed their disdain for federal occupation and control back in 1954.

Jan. 6th is what true civil war looks like after failure to allow peaceful exit of sovereign State(s) or occupied territories. Again, civil war is fighting for control of the SAME government. Wise founding fathers’ design made civil war unlikely at best, foolish at worst – a State no longer wanting to be in the voluntary coalition would exit. I have no doubt Trump will be another Lincoln, he has the bust on his oval office desk to signal it while espousing the zeitgeist Judas rhetoric of fentanyl, eating cat and dogs, etc.

Few presidents showed more courage and sagacity than Buchanan trying to allow the peaceful transfer of central/federal power to a new coalition of States without bloodshed. After South Carolina seceded Buchanan asserted:

“Apart from the execution of the laws, so far as this may be practicable, the Executive has no authority to decide what shall be the relations between the Federal Government and South Carolina. He has been invested with no such discretion. He possesses no power to change the relations heretofore existing between them, much less to acknowledge the independence of that State. This would be to invest a mere executive officer with the power of recognizing the dissolution of the confederacy among our thirty-three sovereign States.”

President Buchanan understood an integral part of guaranteeing republican forms of government within a sovereign State is the right of the people in each State to independently determine their desire to remain in any coalition/confederacy of States. No Legislature or Governor (of a State like South Carolina, seceded from the USA/changed to the CSA or from a State like Maryland, still in the USA) asked for federal troops to address civil unrest or insurrection within their State when considering the Force Bill. Not getting the February 1861 Force Bill from Congress after President Buchanan makes it clear he will not commit Article 3, Section 3 treason pressed Mr. Lincoln and the Republicans’ orchestration of military action before Congress reconvenes to accomplish their desired transfer of wealth and power.

President Buchanan adhered to the letter, Spirit and pre-Lincoln tradition of the Constitution, unwilling to fail his oath of office and step outside his authorization at perhaps the most difficult time since the Nullification Crisis. He understood there are no enumerated powers for the executive to act unilaterally, esp. in this manner not authorized. This is well reasoned by Buchanan in his following words:

“The question fairly stated is, has the Constitution delegated to Congress the power to coerce a State into submission which is attempting to withdraw or has actually withdrawn from the Confederacy? …After much serious reflection I have arrived at the conclusion that no such power has been delegated to Congress or to any other department of the Federal Government. It is manifest upon an inspection of the Constitution that this is not among the specific and enumerated powers granted to Congress, and it is equally apparent that its exercise is not ‘necessary and proper for carrying into execution’ any one of these powers.”

Little wonder why pro-government/soviet historians unanimously place Buchanan as the worst president. Alas, the Republicans (since inception) have been more interested in using the tax code to pick winners/losers and redistribute wealth to specific interests over the general welfare, how many lives are damaged/destroyed in the process are of increasingly less concern. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth has been observed about the five deaths on Jan. 6th. I couldn’t help but think how much blood has been spilled and sacrificed on this esteemed altar of democracy via undeclared wars, subsidized abortion, wrongful takings, disuniform immigration and tariff policies, treaty violations, etc. these past several score as a forced coalition instead of the republican form of government joining independent, sovereign States guaranteed in the Constitution. There was a time we understood Greek history of standing divided, tall and strong against the united monolith of Persian tyranny. The Peloponnesian War further showed enough Greeks were also willing to stand strong and divided against the monolith of Athenian tyranny – sometimes the ‘good guys’ win…

THE VIEWS OF SUBMITTED EDITORIALS MAY NOT BE THE EXPRESS VIEWS OF THE ALABAMA GAZETTE.