Civil War 1865 House passes the 13th Amendment

Civil War

1865

House passes the 13th Amendment

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On this day in 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in America.The amendmentread, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

When the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln’s professed goal was the restoration of the Union. But early in the war, the Union began keeping escaped slaves rather than returning them to their owners, so slavery essentially ended wherever the Union army was victorious. In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation.

In 1864, an amendment abolishing slavery passed the U.S. Senate but died in the House as Democrats rallied in the name of states’ rights. The election of 1864 brought Lincoln back to the White Housealong withsignificant Republican majorities in both houses, so it appeared the amendment was headed for passage when the new Congress convened in March 1865. Lincoln preferred that the amendment receive bipartisan support–some Democrats indicated support for the measure, but many still resisted. The amendment passed 119 to 56, seven votes above the necessary two-thirds majority. Several Democrats abstained, but the 13th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification, which came in December 1865. With the passage of the amendment, the institution that had indelibly shaped American history was eradicated.

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Trump Must Protect Religious Liberty

Trump Must Protect Religious Liberty

January 31, 2017

The White House announced last night that it would not reverse a 2014 executive order by President Obama and an earlier order which required federal contractors to give special employment rights to people based upon their identification as LGBTQ. The media is abuzz seeing an issue that could become a wedge between the administration and one of the key constituencies responsible for its election victory -- evangelicals and people of faith. I disagreed with the order when it was issued, stating it was unnecessary and that people should not be granted special rights based upon their sexual identity. Many people of faith were also concerned that the Obama executive order would conflict with a prior executive order protecting faith-based contractors.

During the general election I stated there would be areas of disagreement with Mr. Trump. But one of the strongest areas of agreement was and remains religious liberty. I am prayerfully confident that the president and his team will issue an executive order ensuring charitable and religious organizations are not prohibited, because of their biblical views of marriage and human sexuality, from receiving contracts or grants from the federal government in order to provide critical services to people in need, like refugees and the homeless.

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Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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Also in the January 31 Washington Update:

Following the Money in Macedonia

Trimming the Fat in Washington

A Storied Institution Falls to Social Pressure

A Storied Institution Falls to Social Pressure

A Storied Institution Falls to Social Pressure

January 31, 2017

On Monday, one of the largest youth organizations in the U.S., with a whopping 2 million members, capitulated once again to the demands of a small but vocal minority. The Boys Scouts of America (BSA) announced yesterday that it will allow biologically female children who identify as male to enroll in its male-only programs.

For an organization whose founding dates all the way back to 1910, and whose original purpose was to prepare young men for battle, this is nothing but a victimization mindset run amok.

In a formal statement published on the BSA's website, they indicated, "For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual's birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs. However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state. Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application."

Despite the BSA's claims that their decision was based on a bigger national conversation on gender identity, a case in Seacaucus, New Jersey may have ignited a firestorm leading to the BSA's decision. In December of last year, an 8-year-old girl who identifies as a transgendered boy was asked to leave her Cub Scout pack because of her birth gender. The BSA has since invited her to return, proving that if you complain loudly enough in America, you can get anything you want.

This isn't the first time the BSA has caved to political pressure. In 2013, the group decided to allow youth who identify as gay to be scouts, and amid heated debate in 2015, it lifted its requirement barring troop leaders and employees who identify as homosexual.

The BSA describes itself as provider of the nation's foremost "character development and values-based leadership training," whose mission is to "prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law."

What are those "morals" and "values," exactly? It seems they're the ones that represent a fluid idea of "gender," and a willingness to put political correctness above the wellbeing of the children in their care. The American College of Pediatricians released a powerful statement over the summer stating that allowing children to alter their gender identities was actually doing psychological and physical harm: "[H]uman sexuality is an objective biological binary trait: 'XY' and 'XX' are genetic markers of health -- not genetic markers of a disorder." For the BSA, it seems that's "no longer sufficient."

We've witnessed a continuing and disturbing trend in America, in which identity politics take precedent over morality, and where emasculation takes precedent over strength and honor. The BSA might need to revisit their own Scout Oath:

"On my honor I will do my best

to do my duty to God and my country

and to obey the Scout Law;

to help other people at all times;

to keep myself physically strong,

mentally awake, and morally straight.

While the oath remains solid, the organization is a hollowed-out shell modeling compromise of duty, and is a disservice to the boys they have pledged to serve. The Boy Scouts have succumbed to moral weakness, fearful to stand up to the insatiable demands of those pushing this agenda of twisted sexuality.

There is another scouting organization that actually still adheres to the core values of this oath -- it's called Trail Life USA. Churches involved in scouting should consider Trail Life as a great alternative.

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Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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Also in the January 31 Washington Update:

Following the Money in Macedonia

Trimming the Fat in Washington

Trump Must Protect Religious Liberty

Trimming the Fat in Washington January 31, 2017

Trimming the Fat in Washington

January 31, 2017

Joni Ernst, the Republican junior senator from Iowa came to Washington, D.C. with a promise to apply her pork-cutting skills to wasteful spending. Just ahead of Friday's March for Life, she announced that Planned Parenthood's war chest was next to get slashed.

On Monday, Ernst introduced a Senate bill eliminating federal funding for Planned Parenthood and overturning Obama's rule barring states from doing the same. The bill's working title is the "Protect Funding for Women's Healthcare Act," and it will re-direct funding to other eligible women's healthcare providers for important services like diagnostic laboratory and radiology services, immunizations, well-child care, prenatal and postnatal care, cervical and breast cancer screenings, and more.

But Ernst didn't stop there. She's also announced she has a bill ready that will overturn Obama's end-of-term gift to Planned Parenthood: Title X family planning grants. In a last ditch effort to buoy the work of the largest abortion provider in the country, Obama used federal legislation at the end of December to blockade states' ability to determine for themselves who the best family providers for their citizens might be.

Together with Representative Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Ernst co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Examiner on Friday in which she noted that the former President's end-run around the will of the people would be reversed. Ernst said that America was in a new era, and told readers: "[W]e will continue to work together this year to undo the damage done by the Obama administration."

Later that day at the March for Life, Ernst took the dais before the enthusiastic crowd, and reminded the marchersthat she'd worked to halt federal funding for Planned Parenthood in 2014, but had been unsuccessful. "Back then, we didn't have a president that respected life…Thankfully, today is different. Today, we have a pro-life president! We as a pro-life community honor the civil liberties, independence, and strength of a woman -- all women. And that means both supporting mothers and rising up to protect the most vulnerable in our society -- the innocent babies who are unable to defend themselves."

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Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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Also in the January 31 Washington Update:

Following the Money in Macedonia

A Storied Institution Falls to Social Pressure

Trump Must Protect Religious Liberty

Following the Money in Macedonia

Following the Money in Macedonia

January 31, 2017

What would Open Society Foundation (OSF) president and fund manager George Soros want with the small, landlocked nation of Macedonia? As it turns out, plenty. The Daddy Warbucks of progressive causes is working overtime to weaken European borders and facilitate the flow of refugees from the Middle East by sending money to disrupt nations holding both democratic elections and cracking down on illegal immigration.

But he hasn't done it alone. The U.S. State Department has been working right alongside him.

The aid that the U.S. has provided to Macedonia during their long friendship has been channeled through the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID). While the U.S.' goals for Macedonia include benign statements on investing in democracy, the State Department began favoring partnerships with Soros' long litany of organizations in 2012. These organizations are anything but democratic. Instead, they are pushing progressive, violent, and radical ideals throughout Europe. Soros owns or controls over 60 NGO's in Macedonia -- the same ones that receive grants from the USAID program! Among other efforts, Soros has been funneling USAID money into the Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) -- the country's former Communist party.

Yes, U.S. money has been going to support the communists in Macedonia.

Macedonia's prime-minister-elect Nikola Gruevski had harsh words for Soros: "His [Soros'] foundation, in finances and human resources is the most powerful foundation in the world that has political goals…After a while, entire institutions, ministries, perhaps governments and their intelligence services are infected with his views, his ideology, his views and goals."

The people of Macedonia are so tired of Soros' 25-year history of meddling in their country that they've banded to form Stop Operation Soros (SOS). At a recent press conference, the SOS co-founder Nikola Srbov stressed, "The Open Society Foundation, operating under the Soros umbrella, used its funding and personnel to support violent processes in Macedonia. It has monopolized the civil society sector, pushing outside any organization which disagrees with the Soros ideology." Srbov specifically called out the USAID program, saying that SDSM has been supported through USAID and the U.S. had been exerting direct political influence in Macedonia. He told the press that now, in the Trump era, Americans need to know the truth.

The same man who helped the terrorist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt, funded the violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., and channeled millions into Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's election campaigns is now trying to crush democracy in the small nation of Macedonia with State Department dollars.

But a Soros-less State Department could be underway. Recently, the State Department was gripped by a mass exodusof top officials. Most notable was the resignation of Patrick Kennedy, the undersecretary for management. While he was a career diplomat, Kennedy was anything but squeaky clean. During the congressional investigation of the bungled Benghazi mission, House GOP investigators faulted him for failing to provide adequate security. Kennedy once again took center stage during the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server when an FBI witness said Kennedy had offered a "quid pro quo" to another FBI official in the attempt to suppress evidence that would undermine Hillary Clinton's claim not to have classified information on her server.

Department spokesperson Mark Toner (a former Obama White House spokesperson) indicated that turnover is the norm when the White House changes hands from one political party to another, and that some of the resignations were expected. But considering Trump's follow-through on the recall of ambassadors and envoys from overseas, it may well be that the Trump administration realizes a housecleaning is necessary. It will also require leadership that is unafraid to take on the imbedded liberal special interests at the State Department.

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Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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Also in the January 31 Washington Update:

Trimming the Fat in Washington

A Storied Institution Falls to Social Pressure

Trump Must Protect Religious Liberty

Chris Kyle's Iraqi Interpreter Defends Trump's Travel Ban

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As seen on The First 100 Days

The Iraqi man who worked as "American Sniper" Chris Kyle's interpreter during the Iraq War says he agrees with President Donald Trump's travel ban, and he has some strong words for the protesters who are resisting the executive order.

On "The First 100 Days" tonight, Martha MacCallum was joined by the interpreter, Johnny Walker, and Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle.

Walker said that he feels safer after the order, which bars visa entry to the U.S. for 90 days for people coming from seven countries: Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia.

READ FULL ARTICLE

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