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Conflict Of Interest
A Weekly Column By Walter B. Hoye II

In the abortion debate, is there a "Conflict of Interest" within the Black community and among her leaders?

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Issue No.: 2012.107

UnExpected Outcomes (5)

"It's Not About Slavery" (19th Century) "This war must go on till the last of this generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight our battle, unless you acknowledge our right to selfgovernment. We are not fighting for slavery; we are fighting for independence, and that or extermination we will have." Jefferson Finis "Jeff" Davis President of the Confederate States of America 1 Did Black American Slaves Fight For The Confederacy?
"The free colored population love their home, their property, their own slaves and recognize no other country than Louisiana, and are ready to shed their blood for her defense. They have no sympathy for Abolitionism; no love for the North, but they have plenty for Louisiana. They will fight for her in 1861 as they fought in 1814-15." A letter written to the New Orleans' Daily Delta (December 1860) referencing Black American participation in the Louisiana Campaign of December 13th, 1814 2,3

Yes, Black American Slaves served as Confederate soldiers! Here's the story. In January of 1864, with the defeat of the South all but certain and since the Confederacy was "not fighting for slavery," Confederate Major General Patrick R. Cleburne, proposed using Slaves as confederate soldiers. In return for their loyal service to the noble ideals of the Confederacy, the Slaves would be offered their freedom if they fought and survived. 4 This proposal was met with abject abhorrence and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America quickly rejected it and wrote clearly that he thought it was:

" injurious of the public service that such subject should be mooted or even known to entertain by persons possessed of confidence and respect of the people. If it be kept out of the public journal its ill effect will be much lessened." 5
However, the Confederate Army suffered massive defeats in the spring and summer of 1864 and with her manpower and morale depleted by the winter of 18641865, President Davis was forced to change his mind. William Smith, Governor of Virginia, said:

"With two hundred thousand Negro soldiers already in the Union Army, can we hesitate, can we doubt, when the question is, whether the enemy shall use our Slaves against us or we use them against him; when the question may be between liberty and independence on one hand or our own subjugation and utter ruin on the other." 6
Apparently Governor Smith did not like the idea of his faith-filled and freedom loving Antebellum South lacking liberty, independence or being subject to subjugation. Still, the debate over using Black American Slaves as soldiers in the Confederate Army raged on in the Confederate Congress in 1865.

Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, the very powerful Confederate Senator from Virginia and caustic critic of Confederate President Jefferson Davis feared, such legislation would trigger Slaves running away in mass to join the Union Army said: "Negroes now are deterred from going to the enemy only by the fear of being put in the army. If we put them in they will all go over." 7
At the heart of this debate was the issue of freeing the Slaves to fight for the Confederacy. Henry Cousins Chambers, who killed his opponent for Confederate Congress, William Augustus Lake, in a duel in 1861, represented Mississippi in the First Confederate Congress and the Second Confederate Congress from 1862 to 1865.

It was the Honorable Mr. Chambers from Mississippi who said he was ashamed to debate the question. Since the Confederacy was "not fighting for slavery," Mr. Chambers expressed his heart felt sentiments this way: "All nature

cries out against it. The Negro was ordained to slavery by the Almighty. Emancipation would be the destruction of our social and political system. God forbid that this Trojan horse should be introduced among us." 8
Many viewed this proposal as a measure that would threatened the very foundations of the Confederacy. However, in the end, a compromise was reached and on March 13th, 1864 Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who made it clear that the Confederacy was "not fighting for slavery," signed a narrowly passed bill that did not include a provision to emancipate those Slaves who left the plantations to fight for the Confederate Army. 9 Facing their own "subjugation," "utter ruin" and the "destruction of [their] social and political system," should the South lose the war, the Confederate Congress chose to leave the freedom of the Slaves up to the individual states and General Order No. 14 (click here or on image to the left to enlarge and read) was officially issued setting a fixed number of 300,000 Slaves for the Confederate States Colored Troops. 10

"It's Not About Abortion" (21st Century) "This all deals with women's health. Everything has been resolved. Everything. It's an ideological battle. It has nothing to do with fiscal integrity in this country." Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (Democrat, Nevada), the morning of the Friday, April 8th, 2012 deadline for the federal government's fiscal year 2012 budget 11 Did The Federal Government Almost Shut Down Over Abortion?
"A woman's ability to decide how many children to have and when, without interference from the government, is one of the most fundamental rights we possess. It is not just an issue of choice, but equality and opportunity for all women." Barack Hussein Obama II, as a United States Senator 12

On Thursday, April 7th, 2011 the nation was facing the possibility of the federal government shutting down if President Barack Hussein Obama II, the Democrat-Controlled Senate and the Republican-Controlled House in Congress cannot agree with a final 2011 budget by Friday, April 8th, 2011. 13 With the federal government twenty-four (24) hours away from shut down, Republican-Controlled House passed their third (3rd) Continuing Resolution (CR) to carry the federal government for at least one (1) more week. 14 However, the President Barack Hussein Obama II and the Democrat-Controlled Senate have rejected the latest

Republican-Controlled House proposed CR because it contains a policy rider in it that would cut abortion funding. According to a CNN report dated, on Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 10:54 A.M. (EST), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat, Nevada), admitted that "the abortion issue is the lone remaining stumbling block for negotiators trying to reach a budget deal that would stop the federal government from being shutdown." 15 In the end government shutdown was averted. When the Republicans agreed to drop their demand to defund Planned Parenthood and the Democrats agreed to much larger budget cuts, on Friday, April 8th, 2011, just before 11:00 P.M. (EST) House Speaker John Andrew Beohner (Republican, Ohio) announced a deal was done just before the midnight deadline. 16 Like it or not

It's All About Abortion.

Indeed history repeats itself. Just like it was about slavery in the past, it's about abortion today. It's been over forty-five (45) years since abortion was legalized in America. 17 Since 1967 over fiftyfive (55) million lives have been lost to abortion on demand. 18 That's over fifty (50) million more lives than the documented number of United States military dead, wounded and missing since 1775 (2,527,494) 19 or almost one percent (1%) of the world's population to date. 20 In the past forty-five (45) years abortion has taken over fifty-five (55) million American lives, more than twenty-two (22) times the totality of lives loss in ALL the wars America has ever fought in one-fifth (1/5th) of the time. Both the Democrats and Republicans seem to be blind to the social, economic and spiritual impact of fifty-five (55) million unborn Americans missing in action. Fifty-five (55) million lives is 30 percent (30%) of the entire generation under forty-five (45) or seventy-two percent (72%) of all the babies born during the Baby Boom from 1945 to 1963. 21 Apparently, the Democrats would rather shut down the entire federal government before defunding the largest abortion provider in the country with tax-payer dollars. Apparently, the Republicans would rather fund the largest abortion provider in the country with taxpayer dollars before shutting down the entire federal government. Either way, the

largest abortion provider in the country continues to get funded. Apparently, political compromise is not the way to end the shedding of innocent blood through abortion on demand.

In Ecclesiastes 11:5 (GodsWord), King Solomon said: "Just as you don't know how the breath of life enters the limbs of a child within its mother's womb, you also don't understand how God, who made everything, works." 22
Apparently, King Solomon is right and what we don't know is killing us. However, at this point, I'm beginning to suspect that our problem is not, that we don't have at least some idea of when life begins. As the years roll by and the number of lives deliberately destroyed in the womb of their own mothers continues to rise higher and higher, it's becoming apparent to me that as a country, we don't care enough about when life begins to bring an end to abortion on demand. Apparently, we care more about our own lives and the quality thereof than we do about the lives of the most innocent and vulnerable among us. Like it or not, when it comes to ending abortion

IT'S JUST ABOUT US!

Brothers, we really need to talk.
Reference(s): 01. Jefferson Davis, as noted by James R. Gilmore, otherwise known as "Edmund Kirke" on Friday, July 22, 1864 and documented in "The Political History of The United States of America During The Great Rebellion 1860-1865 (Studies in American history and government)" by Edward Mcpherson. See Google Books (http://bit.ly/Ig7s1R). 02. Jonathan Sutherland, "African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1" (http://bit.ly/HztrQo). 03. The "Action of 13 December 1814 (Louisiana Campaign)" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://bit.ly/InUITf). 04. Patrick Cleburne, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://bit.ly/HsNdQt). 05. President Jefferson Davis, "African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1," (http://bit.ly/I8yjKQ). 06. William Smith of Virginia, "African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1," (http://bit.ly/HqHzgJ). 07. Robert Hunter of Virginia, "African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1," (http://bit.ly/IggU56). 08. Henry Chambers of Mississippi, "African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1," (http://bit.ly/HzCh0M). 09. "Confederate Law Authorizing the Enlistment of Black Soldiers, as Promulgated in a Military Order" (http://bit.ly/HowhVI). 10. Ibid. 11. CNN Wire Staff, "Shutdown Looms," Cable News Network (CNN), April 8th, 2011 at 10:54 A.M. (EDT) (http://bit.ly/HBlr4p). 12. Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America and author of "Why NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorsed Barack Obama" posted on May 14, 2008 (http://huff.to/SYqHy). 13. Jeneba Ghatt, "Abortion politics and the government shut down," The Washington Times, posted on Thursday, April 7th, 2011 (http://bit.ly/hD8Feu). 14. Ibid. 15. CNN Wire Staff, "Shutdown Looms," Cable News Network (CNN), April 8th, 2011 at 10:54 A.M. (EDT) (http://bit.ly/HBlr4p). 16. Alan Silverleib and Tom Cohen, "Democrats, Republicans agree on a budget deal," Cable News Network (CNN), posted on April 9th, 2011 at 12:27 A.M. (EDT) (http://bit.ly/eHMKZs). See also "John Boehner Discusses Budget Deal, Says GOP Won't 'Roll Over' On Debt." Huff Post Politics, Posted on April 4th, 2011. House Majority Speaker John Andrew Boehner has this to say: "I think NOT raising the debt limit would have serious, very serious implications for the world-wide economy and jobs here in America. But having said that, we're just not going to do the typical Washington thing, roll over, increase the debt limit without addressing the underlying problem (http://huff.to/f8QFqK)." Apparently, the Republicans will raise the debt limit as well as Democrats, but in their own way. 17. National Abortion Federation (NAF), "A Timeline of Reproductive Rights," Colorado is the first state to liberalize its abortion laws in 1967 (http://bit.ly/8Xjio6). 18. Dennis M. Howard, The Movement for a Better America, Inc., "America's Silent Killer: 55.3 Million Lives Lost!" (http://bit.ly/IprTXN). 19. United States Military Casualties Of War, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/flhGiq).

20. United States Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov). 21. Dennis M. Howard, The Movement for a Better America, Inc., "America's Silent Killer: 55.3 Million Lives Lost!" (http://bit.ly/IprTXN). 22. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Bible.cc provides a parallel, verse by verse view of 8 translations (http://bit.ly/I659tF).

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