by Bruce Gourley From its earliest days, the colonial experience in the New World was infused with human inequality. Theocratic colonies through both government institutions and establishment churches refused to allow freedom of conscience or religious liberty. Many poor whites were indentured servants and many blacks either indentured servants or slaves. White women were denied…
The American Civil War did not occur within a vacuum. Years of political discourse, regional maneuvering, and ideological dueling between the northern and southern states led to the break up of the United States and the war that followed. African slavery, existent in America since early colonial days, stood at the heart of the political…
Today is Charleston’s first Emancipation Day, three years after former President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. In the heart of the former Confederacy and accompanied by the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, thousands, many of whom are Baptists, participate in the parade, listen to speeches, and eat barbecue. The South Carolina Leader describes the scene:…