New England

From: jkingantiquearms@bellsouth.net
To: bennet@bennetkelley.com

Mr. Bennet,

I also encourage you to read the letter below which I wrote to National journalist Ellen Goodman who is employed by the Boston Globe newspaper.

Dear Mrs. Goodman,

I Just Finished Reading Your Article "Senators Past Is Not Forgotten" In Which You Are Highly Critical Of Sen. Trent Lott. You Quoted Southern Writer William Faulkner "The Past Is Never Dead. It Is Not Even Past." Does This Apply To Massachusetts And The Rest Of New England Or Only To Southerners?

Massachusetts Was The 1st Colony To Legalize Slavery By Statute In 1641. Four New England States, Along With New York, Were Responsible For The Vast Majority Of The Slave Trade From The Mid 1600’s Until It Ended On April 21, 1861.

On That Date The U.S. Sloop Of War "Saratoga" Captured The Slave Ship "Nightingale" With 900 Slaves Aboard. This Slave Ship Was Owned, Manned And Equipped By The City Of Boston, Massachusetts. The Captain Of The Ship Saratoga Was John Julius Guthrie, A U.S. Naval Officer, Who Soon Resigned And Joined The Confederate Service. This Is A Matter Of Record On File At The Navy Department In Washington. The Last Capture Of A Slaver Was By A Southern Officer And The "Good" People Of Massachusetts Were Engaged In Slave Trading Even At The Beginning Of "The War Between The States" (CIVIL WAR).

The 1st Slave Ship In America "The Desire" Was Fitted Out In Marblehead, Massachusetts. Dubois, A Famous Black Historian Wrote "The American Slave Trade Came To Be Carried On Principally By United States Capital, In United States Ships Officered By United States Citizens And Under The United States Flag."

Mr. Cecil Chesterman, A Distinguished English Historian, In His "History Of The United States" Says On This Point, "The North Had Been The Original Slave Traders. The African Slave Trade Had Been Their Particular Industry. Boston Itself Had Risen To Prosperity On The Profits Of The Abominable Traffic." Mr. Chesterman Asks "What Could Exceed The Hypocrisy Of New England Men Who Reproach The South With Grave Personal Sin In Owning Property Which They Themselves Sold Southerners And The Price Of Which Is Still In Their Pockets".

Thomas Jefferson Introduced Into The Declaration Of Independence In 1776 A Protest Against The Slave Trade Which He Withdrew At The Request Of New England. Every Prominent Man In Virginia At This Period Was In Favor Of Gradual Emancipation And There Were More Than Five Times As Many Members Of Abolition Societies In The South Than In The North.

The "Hartford Courant" Newspaper In July 1916 Said "Northern Rum Had Much To Do With The Extension Of Slavery In The South. Many People In Connecticut And Massachusetts Made Snug Fortunes For Themselves By Sending Rum To Africa To Be Exchanged For Slaves And Then Selling The Slaves To Southern Planters." The Continental Monthly" Of New York Stated In January 1862 That Boston, New York, and Portland Were The Principal Ports Of Slave Dealers And The Trade Added Much Wealth To The Region.

Furthermore New England Was Responsible For The “Alien And Sedition Acts" Which Would Today Be Considered Extremely Racist. In 1741 Your Sister Northern State Of New York Burned Hundreds Of Black Slaves At The Stake Because They Feared A Slave Rebellion. Later In 1863 During The Draft Riots New York City Residents Hung A Free Black From Every Light Pole In The City And Burned The Black Children’s Orphanage Because They Did Not Want Blacks To Get Their Jobs While They Were In The Union Army.

The People Of New England have Always Been Hypocrites. You Are Carrying On The Tradition Either Knowingly Or Through Ignorance.

James W. King
Albany Georgia