An American History Lesson

You could spend your hours in worse pursuits than following the historical gems put up over at The American Catholic.  There are times – times, mind you – that I almost feel subversive visiting there.  That’s because thoughtful articles bringing up key moments in our history are often touched upon.  Take this one, which brought out of the dusty vaults of my memory a moment in history that was quite the talk when I was growing up, but I’ve not heard about in years.

Of course the take in many circles would be ‘Racist!’  Why?  Because.  America always has been, and always will be a racist country.  Except for that elite group of historical figures who comprise the progressive Trail of Blood, almost anyone in history will be smacked down with our righteous and unforgiving condemnation as the racists that they most certainly were.

In this case, it is Daniel Webster’s speech defending the Compromise of 1850.  In our pop-app generation, the important words are slavery and compromise.  Which mean, of course, that Webster must have been a racist who just loved him some slaves.  Sadly, that is about the level of discourse that passes for historical study today. Nonetheless we have individuals like Donald McClarey who remind us there is a better, more thoughtful approach to the subject.  It doesn’t demand you agree that Webster’s was the best or only option.  But it does demand that you approach the facts and evidence with the possibility that history is more than the two groups made up of evil people there, and over here, me and the awesome heroes.