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Dorothy Copus Brush I enjoy stirring Much as I enjoy most musical shows, none stir
my patriotic juices as does 1776. The first time I saw
the show was also the first time I had ever heard of the controversy
over the slave trade which the first draft of the Declaration
of Independence attempted to abolish. In all, 85 changes were made in Jefferson's
first draft, but the really explosive issue was of slavery. To
those delegates from the South such action carried with it their
economic ruin. In the show, a delegate from South Carolina sings
the unforgettable "Molasses to Rum to Slaves." That
powerful song makes it painfully clear that unless slavery is
taken out of the Declaration, the document is dead. In fact, the final version does not make any
mention of slaves but refers to other persons. Compromise was
the only solution to this stumbling block. The final modification
instructed that Congress should not forbid the traffic of other
persons prior to 1808 for those states which existed in 1787.
The Continental Congress had passed the Northwest Ordinance just
a month earlier which provided that states north of the Ohio
River would be free of slavery. The compromise language was accepted
after more heated discussions but over the objections of Delaware,
Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Struggling in the oppressive heat in Philadelphia
and filled with the desire to return home, those on each side
of the debate felt they had prevailed. The antislavery men felt
that at a future time their arguments would see the end of the
practice. But the proslavery delegates hoped that after two decades
the matter would be forgotten. History proved both sides wrong. The issue simmered below the surface until
the early 1800s when it took center stage and once again compromise
was called into play. First was the Missouri Compromise of 1820
and later the Compromise of 1850, which was nullified in 1854
by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Tensions increased in 1857 over the
Dred Scott decision and finally Lincoln's election in 1860 split
the country even further. Less than a century after that great
Declaration of Independence was created, the first shot was fired
at Fort Sumpter in April 1861. Following years of battles, deaths and injuries
to hundreds of thousands and devastation of land and property,
the end came in April 1865. At least history marks that date
as the end, but for the people who lived through those years
the memories were never forgotten and were passed down through
generations until, even in 2001, they color the lives of many. 1776 began my
delayed odyssey through our past history. When Edward Rutledge,
the South Carolina delegate, sings "Molasses to Rum to Slaves,"
it accuses New Englanders as the breeders of slavery. His voice
is filled with venom as he tells of New England ships sailing
off to the Ivory Coast with rum and Bibles to trade for slaves
and he says, "T'isn't morals but money, gold." The
song continues with a description of the scene in Boston as slaves
stand on the auction block surrounded by white faces from New
England eager to bid. The song ends as Rutledge concludes on
the issue of buying versus selling of slaves with a question
to John Adams: "I give you Boston. Who stinks the most?" Without the Declaration of Independence, would there have been a United States? If you had been a delegate, would your vote have been yea or nay? Our founding fathers gave us a treasure but one flaw prevented it being perfect. |