A Liberal Dose, January 12, 2023 "Why Nikki Haley Could Not Say the Word 'Slavery'"

 

A Liberal Dose

January 11, 2024

Troy D. Smith

“Why Nikki Haley Could Not Say the Word ‘Slavery’”

 

As you probably know, a couple of weeks ago Nikki Haley, at a town hall appearance, was asked this question by someone in the audience: “What was the cause of the Civil War?”

Her initial response: “Well, don’t come with an EASY question!” implying that this was an extraordinarily complex subject. She followed that with a long, rambling answer that, no joke, would take up this entire column if I quoted it verbatim. The gist was, she claimed the Civil War was about government overreach, “the role of the government and what the rights of the people are.” The questioner expressed shock that she could give such a long answer and not once mention slavery. “What do you want me to say about slavery?” she asked. This has proven to be very controversial, because reputable historians almost universally name slavery as the primary cause of that conflict, which is what we all USED to be taught in school, and USED to be considered common knowledge.

Surveys have shown, though, that more than half of Americans do not name slavery as the primary cause of the Civil War -and that number grows larger every year. Interestingly, the age group least likely to name slavery is those under thirty, which to me demonstrates the de-emphasizing of accurate history in public school in recent years, which is probably further demonstrated by the fact the age group MOST likely to correctly identify slavery is those over sixty-five. Also interesting: almost an equal percentage of Southerners and non-Southerners identify states’ rights as the primary cause of the war, so it’s not a regional thing.

Still, even given all that… most people I’ve talked to who do not believe slavery was the primary cause of the war will qualify their answer by saying things like “It wasn’t JUST about slavery” or “slavery was a factor, but not the biggest one.” Nikki Haley went on forever naming off (mostly irrelevant) things and never ONCE mentioned slavery at all. By the next day she was explaining herself: of COURSE it was about slavery, everybody knows that, she was just naming off the OTHER things. But that was not the question posed to her. She has also dug her hole deeper by saying (again, no joke) that she had Black friends growing up. And that no one cares except the media. And that the questioner was obviously a Democratic plant -as if only a Democrat would ask such a question or complain about her answer. Which is, actually, very telling.

Over the last several years, a certain segment of the Republican electorate -probably much higher among die-hard Trumpists -has embraced the iconography and history of the Confederacy, and minimized the role (in the war and in American history) of slavery. The fact that DeSantis criticized Haley’s response is especially rich, given that it’s his state that wants to teach kids slavery was beneficial for Black people because it taught them a trade. I think there are two things going on here: one, conservatives love a good states’ rights, anti-federal-government-intervention argument. Two, if the Civil War was not about slavery, then neither was it about race or racism, and we can therefore declare those things nonexistent.

Nikki Haley is not dumb. She knows that a good percentage of the Trump base that she wants to win over believe fervently that slavery was not the cause of the war, said belief reinforcing or buttressing a lot of their political beliefs (or vice versa). She knew an accurate answer would offend them and cost her their vote. Her (non)answer was purely political.

But the fact so many people are developing such views only emphasizes the need for teaching more accurate history -not less.

Many of you will not agree with my assessment about the basic question. Next time I’ll lay out why slavery is the only correct answer, with evidence.

 

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE

 

A Liberal Dose, January 4, 2023 "Three Years Ago This Week: Was It an Insurrection?"

 

A Liberal Dose

January 4, 2024

Troy D. Smith

“Three Years Ago This Week: Was It an Insurrection?”

 

 

Since last week, Maine has joined Colorado in ruling that the 14^th Amendment bars Trump from running for public office. As I wrote last week, the amendment is clear -the only question is, did Trump participate in an insurrection? His defenders (and quasi-defenders) keep pointing out that he has not been convicted of anything, and that is true -he is, in fact, about to go on trial. The problem is, if he gets elected president before those trials conclude, he can simply order the government to drop all charges and then that question will be moot. This is why the 14^th Amendment was proposed and ratified -the knowledge that someone who has clearly shown a past willingness to violate their oath to the Constitution might still be popular enough to get elected, and that is a threat to the republic. Trump has clearly shown what he is capable of, and is still flat-out telling us what he plans to do if he gets another shot at it. It’s going to be interesting to see what the Supreme Court rules, because I honestly believe it could go either way. Whatever they decide regarding the ballot issue will be the final word on that question, and I will accept it whether I agree with it or not. However, I continue to believe that it is my duty (and my right), and that of anyone who is paying attention, to keep sounding the alarm in hopes of getting through to some voters who might be on the fence or not paying attention.

Let’s look, once more, at what we have learned via the many investigations so far. Trump’s defenders continue to deny that January 6 was an insurrection, saying it was just a bunch of protesters who got carried away and who had no real ability to overthrow the government. That is not the complete truth, and it is not the point. We now have plenty of evidence that, although most of the participants were unaware of it, the event itself was planned and coordinated ahead of time. The goal was to prevent the certification, by Congress, of the electoral votes by the end of that day, as the Constitution requires. The accusation is that Trump not only planned the riot and stirred it up, but that he made no effort to stop it once it was underway, in hopes of stopping that certification -and that he and others had illegally conspired to set up fake electors to be used instead. That is insurrection.

I now want to address something that I have debated bringing up. I never thought I would see the day that my friend John Gottlied would impugn my integrity, attack my character, and literally call me a liar. Tying his assertions to a statement about me teaching young people is wildly irresponsible, because I think we all realize in our current environment there are people who might use that to threaten my job or even my physical safety. He was so confident in his statements it almost made me doubt myself, so I went back and re-read my own column that he was responding to.

In that column I listed off all the things Trump has been charged with, accused of, and/or found liable for. Whether you believe the evidence backs that up or not, it is a cold, hard fact that he HAS been charged, accused, and/or found liable for those things, which is exactly what I said. I then pointed out that, in the past, the mere accusation of such things would end someone’s political aspirations. There is not one untrue or misleading statement there. John concluded by saying (of himself) “I might disagree with other’s opinions but never intentionally mislead or insult.”

I invite you to re-read what I actually said and then his (extremely insulting) response. And then, by all means, do think for yourself.

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

 

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE

 

A Liberal Dose, December 28, 2023 "Disqualified? Trump and Section 3 of the 14th Amendment"

 

A Liberal Dose

December 28, 2023

Troy D. Smith

“Disqualified? Trump and Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment”

 

First, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas (or other holiday) and wish all a happy new year.

That said…. Boy, is this year ending with a political bang. As you probably already know, the Colorado Supreme Court has upheld a lower ruling that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection, and further ruled that -pursuant to Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment -he is barred from appearing on the presidential ballot in Colorado. The U. S. Supreme Court, which last week declined to expedite the decision about whether Trump is immune from prosecution because he was president, may agree to hear this case almost immediately. There is a lot riding on that SCOTUS decision. If they overturn the Colorado decision, everything will proceed as normal (if you can call what we do nowadays normal); if they sustain that Colorado decision, Trump may well be barred from appearing on ANY state’s ballots.

This has divided people along more than just political lines. Some people argue in favor of the Colorado decision, claiming it is an accurate reading of the Constitution and that the rule of law must be followed (“Let justice prevail, though the heavens fall”, as the Romans used to say). Others -and I’ve heard this from both ends of the political spectrum -say that voters alone should get to choose who to vote for as president. An opinion poll from Dec. 21 shows that 54% of Americans think Colorado made the right decision, while 35% disapproved of that decision (with 12% undecided). Not surprisingly, 84% of Democrats polled supported the decision. What I found surprising was that 48% of Independents supported Colorado, while only 35% disapproved -and that 24% of Republicans supported it with 66% disapproving. Why is that surprising to me? Significantly more Independents polled believe Trump should be disqualified to run for president than whose who disagreed. And while 24% is a small number, it means that one-quarter of Republicans think Trump should be disqualified -that is a minority, but a significant one. Not surprising: support for the decision is lowest in the South. Surprising: even so, in the South it is 48% in favor vs. 38% opposed.

Of course, opinions are like a certain body part: everyone has one, and everyone’s stinks except your own. So what are the facts? Let’s take a look at that 14^th amendment, one of the three “Reconstruction amendments.” Here is Section 3, in its entirety:

 “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

The original district court ruling said that this did not apply because it does not specifically mention running for president. Colorado’s Supreme Court overturned that ruling as erroneous, pointing out that the president is named as an office 28 times in the Constitution and that, as the wording was being argued in the 1860s, the question came up and one of the authors said that “any office, civil or military”, obviously included the office of president.

Not having participated in or supported an insurrection is a qualification to run, just like the fact a candidate must have been born a citizen, must be at least 35, and cannot serve more than two terms.

The only question, then, is: did Trump participate in or support an insurrection? I’ll address that next week -on the anniversary of the insurrection.

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

 

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE

 

A Liberal Dose, Dec. 21, 2023 "It Is Not Just Donald Trump That Is on Trial"

 

A Liberal Dose

December 21, 2023

Troy D. Smith

“It is not just Donald Trump that is on trial”

 

As you read this, the Supreme Court is in the process of deciding whether or not to hear an expedited case brought by special counsel Jack Smith on whether Trump, as a former president, has blanket immunity from criminal charges for anything he did while in office. That is Trump’s claim, a claim that would be tested in court in March and, should he lose there, he has announced he will appeal. Smith’s intention is to skip over all the appeals and go straight to the Supreme Court right now -not on the merits of the case itself, but just on the question of presidential immunity -a move that has precedent. The same approach was taken half-a-century ago to make Nixon immediately turn over the Watergate tapes instead of dragging out the process for years. Trump’s goal is to delay the actual trial as long as possible, and all his other trials as well, in hopes the presidential election will occur before any judgments are reached against him and he will win -making himself immune and forcing all cases to be dropped.

Trump is currently under indictment in four different criminal cases, with over 90 charges against him. There are so many crimes it is hard to keep straight, so let’s tick them off:

1.       There’s the one in question, in which the Justice Department has charged Trump and several accomplices with conspiring to prevent the lawful certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory, by various means including the disruption of Congress by a riotous mob and, more to the point, by participating in an illegal scheme to replace legitimate electors with fake pro-Trump electors.

2.       A second case, also federal, in which Trump is charged with illegally taking -and repeatedly lying about and refusing to give back -classified documents.

3.       A state case in Georgia, wherein Trump and various accomplices (including Rudy Giuliani) are charged with conspiring to coerce the Georgia state government into falsifying the election results.

4.       A state case in New York, wherein Trump is accused of illegally using 2016 campaign funds to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels and keep her quiet about their affair. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has already served time in prison for his role in this transaction (a role played under Trump’s direction).

Those are just the criminal charges, there are many civil actions as well. For example, Trump has already been found liable in New York for years’ worth of illegal business practices, which could cost him his New York businesses and even the right to do business in that state. The judgment against Trump has already been made, right now the court is just trying to decide how big the fines should be.

Trump was also found liable for the sexual assault, battery, and defamation of E. Jean Carroll in a department store in the mid-90s (after she had made fun of him). The jury did not find him liable for rape, only sexual assault, but the judge later explained that in most other states the attack would qualify as rape -New York’s definition of the crime is extremely narrow and specific, in a way I’m not sure I can describe in a family newspaper. The judge’s clarification came after Trump tried to sue Carroll for calling him a rapist after the trial. The judge responded that, actually, that’s what he is.

Any single one of those things, proven or not, would be enough to keep any normal person from being considered as a viable candidate for anything. Yet Trump is the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination, and has a real chance of being elected president again. He has so much support, most Republican challengers are afraid to anger his base by condemning his behavior.

The fact that is even a possibility is an indictment against the Republican Party and anyone who can still support this reprobate.

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

 

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE

 

A Liberal Dose, December 14, 2023 "Understanding the Past is the Key to the Present AND the Future"

 

A Liberal Dose

November 30, 2023

Troy D. Smith

“Understanding the Past Is the Key to the Present AND the Future”

Recently my friend John Gottlied complained that I had spent two columns in a row talking about how bad Trump and the Republicans are rather than being balanced and talking about what I am for, instead of what I am against. In both his recent columns, he has zeroed in on one of the many points I made (such as arguing semantics on whether Trump’s claims of election fraud were thrown out of court 60+ times disproves them) and ignored all the others. This is like if I wrote a column saying that Trump kicks children, eats people’s pets, and runs rabbits, and John responded in-depth about how technically Trump doesn’t run rabbits he just walks them very fast, plus Democrats often frighten rabbits as well. He also said that my specialty is history but I, and other historians, don’t understand the present very well. I’m going to address those points.

First, and foremost, the reason I spent two weeks in a row talking about the “badness” of Trump and what he has turned the Republican Party into is that it has become an existential threat to democracy and we all need to sound the alarm. I don’t say that lightly. Both George Bushes, Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney -all those guys were normal politicians. I disagreed with them, vehemently on some things, but I did not have a legitimate fear that they might destroy America, nor had that idea ever entered my mind about anyone. Joe Biden, too, like Obama and the Clintons, is just a normal politician. You might not like his policies, and you might wax poetic about how he is wrecking the country (like I did with George W.), but everyone understands that nothing he or any other politician does cannot be undone when the next party inevitably comes to power.

Trump is different. He has shown us what he is, and what he wants to be, and the only thing that stood in his way last time was that many of his own people had a conscience and a sense of duty to the Constitution (though it took them an awful long time to find it), which he would correct if he got back into office. It is precisely my understanding of the past that enables me to recognize this and compels me to cry it from the rooftops. Consider:

A cartoonish rabble-rouser comes along who has the power to sway a significant minority of the population by appealing to the racism of some, to their base and violent passions, and their outrage at the establishment for “selling them out.” He gives them groups to blame all their woes on, and encourages them to do so. His every word is hung onto by thugs, many of them mentally disturbed, who are eager to go into violent action to win his approval. He is underestimated by opponents who think he is too buffoonish for anyone to take seriously, and by the conservative establishment who believe they can use his popularity to gain/maintain political power for themselves and control him (but they can’t). He uses his often-imaginary enemies and conspiracy theories to justify terminating the rule of law, and using it instead as a cudgel against his opponents. He does all this by insisting only he can make his country great again. Most of his countrymen ignore his antics and just go along, even as it gets worse and worse, and later claim they had no idea it would get so bad, oops.

Am I talking about Hitler, Trump, or any number of past wannabe dictators? I guess it depends on whether enough people pay attention. I can tell you this, though, what I describe is the very sort of tyrant the Founding Fathers warned us about and tried to circumvent in the very Constitution Trump said we should terminate to return him to power. BECAUSE THEY KNEW HISTORY.

Note: this column was scheduled for November 30. In the two weeks since then, Trump has announced he will only be “a dictator on Day One.” That’s like a fox saying he will only eat chickens on the first day you let him into the henhouse. Meanwhile, all the conservative Republican leaders I mentioned by name above, and others, have sounded a warning that America needs to take him at his word and recognize the threat he poses to democracy.

Bear in mind -returning to history -everyone who supported Hitler was not a racist or a violent thug. Most were just normal people who went along because they liked some things about him and ignored the rest. But history does not give them a pass, because it was all right there in front of their eyes and they refused to see it.

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE

 

A Liberal Dose, November 22, 2023 "Tennessee Wants to Reject 1.8 Billion Dollars in Education Funding"

 

A Liberal Dose

November 22, 2023

Troy D. Smith

“Tennessee Wants to Reject $1.8 Billion of Education Funding”

 

 

Tennessee -where we’re always the first to jump out of the plane, because we skip the line where they’re handing out parachutes. This time we are -once again -in the news because of education. Our legislature has spent two weeks discussing the possibility of rejecting almost 2 billion dollars of federal education funding, which would make us the first state to ever do so -because federal money comes with “burdensome stipulations” such as paperwork. When educators brought before the panel were questioned about which stipulations felt burdensome to them, they couldn’t think of any. They did say that education needs more money, not less. About ten percent of students are directly affected by the federal funds under discussion, mostly low-income kids and students with disabilities. It is worth noting that no parents or local advocacy groups were allowed to speak… but two out-of-state conservative groups were.

One argument is that Tennessee has a pretty sizable treasury surplus, and could make up the difference in much of the federal funding lost if this goes through. This raises the question: what could the state accomplish if they used part of that surplus on top of the federal funding to improve education? They could pay teachers more, provide incentives for people to become teachers in the first place (which is increasingly hard to convince people in red states to do nowadays, as teachers are treated like third-class citizens), replace some of the state funding withdrawn from higher education over the last couple of decades, or maybe even replace some of the classroom libraries our laws have bullied and intimidated teachers into removing. I don’t know about you, but if I were a public-school teacher I would feel far more burdened by the oppressive and ridiculous education laws passed by our state legislature the last few years than I would by any federal mandates. Public school teachers I’ve talked to are terrified to breathe funny for fear it might hurt someone’s feelings and get them fired.

Could it be that the “burdensome stipulations” of the federal government includes things like diversity programs, academic freedom, and education standards that reflect the truth of our history (and our present) and recognizes that there are a lot of different kinds of people in America and that’s all right, rather than the politicized, propagandistic, majority wishful thinking that our Republican legislators prefer? Could it be that many Republican politicians would like to have even more power to control what teachers teach and how they teach it, and what kinds of people are benefited by various educational programs, without the federal government being able to interfere -and they’re willing to shoot themselves (and all of us, and our kids) in the foot to do so? And what happens when there is an economic downturn in Tennessee (no bubble lasts forever) and all that surplus disappears? That is a second barrel waiting to shoot their (and our) other foot.

Notice that it is not educators asking for this to be done. Educators’ voices, in fact, are being ignored -as they always are. I’ll keep saying it as long as I have breath left in my lungs: leave teachers alone and let them to their jobs, which they are trained to do (and you are not), and give them all the financial support they need to do that job effectively. Because it is the single most important job in this country -our whole future depends on it. For all the folks out there who want one political party to have absolute control of what your kids are exposed to, for fear it may be something you don’t like, consider this: one day those kids will be applying to colleges, grad schools, or jobs in other states with more opportunities… and they’ll be woefully unprepared to compete against kids from states where the teachers are supported and students are allowed to learn.

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE

 

A Liberal Dose, November 16, 2023 "Civic Virtue, Duty, and Honor: The Sad Decline of the Republican Party"

 

A Liberal Dose

November 16, 2023

Troy D. Smith

“Civic Virtue, Duty, and Honor: The Sad Decline of the Republican Party”

 

I write this the day after Veterans Day -and, for various reasons, service has been on my mind lately. Last week, I co-taught a class on facilitating civil discussion with visiting retired Major-General Edward Dornan, a 1983 graduate of Tennessee Tech. He asked how many of the students present had considered pursuing public service, and pointed out that there were many ways to do so without donning a military uniform. There was one half-raised hand. This motivated me to talk briefly about a subject dear to my heart, republicanism, a theme I will return to soon.

Another service-related thing that got me thinking was seeing a Nashville news station interview with my dear friend Jim Sutcliffe (age 101), decorated WWII veteran and German POW camp survivor. Jim’s story, which many of you know, is inspiring. It made me think of several other WWII vets I’ve been privileged to know and whom we’ve lost in the past few years. These were men (and there were plenty of women, too) who were willing to put their lives on hold for years, and to risk losing those lives or suffering horrible injury, to protect democracy from the threat of fascism.

My father and all three of his brothers served in uniform during the Vietnam era. They all survived, but the two who saw combat were deeply scarred by it. I myself did not follow that tradition (though many of my good friends from high school did); when I was a senior my goal was to do preaching and mission work. And I did, full-time, for three years -a little of it here in White County, but also in South Florida and New York City, serving in French-speaking congregations and working with Haitian immigrants. Neither South Florida nor New York City were very safe places in the ‘80s (heck, for that matter, neither was White County). Despite the fact I was carrying a Bible instead of a gun, my life was legitimately threatened on several occasions. I’ve stared down the barrels of guns multiple times. I’ve walked into drug deals and stumbled onto murder scenes. I did it out of a sense of duty to God and love for neighbor. So, though I did not serve in uniform, I served… and am much the better for it.

Back to republicanism, with a small “r.” That is the principle espoused by the founding generation -that a representative democratic republic cannot survive unless its citizens have civic virtue -unless they are willing to shoulder burdens that are onerous to them, but which must be done, for the greater good of the community. To provide for the general defense and promote the general welfare… in order to form a more perfect union.

And then I think of the man many Americans chose to be their president, and are seeking to return to that office, Donald Trump -a man who has never done anything that did not immediately and profoundly benefit himself. A man who has referred to our honored military dead as losers, to those who have served in uniform as saps. Who did not want to have grievously wounded veterans messing up his photo ops and making him look bad. Who did not want to honor fallen WWII heroes because of a little rain and pouted about it. And I wonder what has happened to the Republican Party.

I never fully agreed with many of the precepts of conservatism -but there were conservative politicians I respected, and trusted to be good people, and to have the greater good of the country foremost in mind, even if I disagreed with them about how. But it is now the Party of Trump -of selfishness, ego, and vanity. They never encourage you to help people -only to jealously guard your own benefit. They barely even give lip service anymore to Jesus and all the things he said were important.

 

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE

You can find all previous entries in this weekly column HERE

A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE

Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com

The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE