Historical Parallels: From Kansas-Nebraska to Obamacare
by Alan SnyderOne must be careful not to draw exact parallels between a historical event and a current situation, at least not without sufficient evidence. I want to be cautious. However, as I was teaching a class on the Civil War era last week, I noticed what appeared to be a rather striking similarity in the fate of the Democrat party in the 1850s and that same party today.
Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas
Here’s the history: In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois made an all-out push for a bill he sponsored called the Kansas-Nebraska Act. On the surface, it sounded good—let settlers moving into those areas decide for themselves whether or not slavery should be allowed. Douglas referred to his plan as popular sovereignty, and he saw no problem with it because for him slavery was not a moral issue. Whatever the people decided was fine.
Yet for many others, it was a moral issue, and an increasingly contentious one. The ideological divide between North and South was growing. Further, what Sen. Douglas’s bill did was to alter the agreement the Congress had reached back in 1820 with the Missouri Compromise. At that time, Congress decided to draw a line extending west from the southern border of Missouri that forbade slavery in any territory north of that line.
Douglas’s proposed law would erase that line and provide those who promoted slavery the opportunity to spread it further north. Most Americans were content with the former compromise; they were not content with Douglas’s scuttling of that earlier agreement.
One of the books I’m using in my course, Nicole Etcheson’s Bleeding Kansas, explains the ensuing problems cogently:
Political observers at the time openly speculated that Douglas had backed Kansas-Nebraska to build southern support for future presidential bids. Instead, Douglas found himself rebuilding his political base in Illinois. … The Illinois legislature pushed through resolutions supporting Douglas. Intended as a vote of confidence, the resolutions succeeded only because of heavy political pressure. Without such pressure, support for Douglas and his bill faltered. On his return to the west, Douglas was unable to make himself heard among his own constituents. For two hours, hecklers in a Chicago crowd shouted him down as he attempted to speak. He finally gave up. Douglas himself noted, “I could travel from Boston to Chicago by the light of my own effigy.”
The groundswell of protest against the bill threatened the Democratic party’s integrity. Reports of Anti-Nebraska meetings testified that citizens had signed petitions without respect to party differences. Among the petitioners were Democrats in opposition to their own party. Kansas-Nebraska was indeed a major blow to the party. In 1852, Democrats had won all but two of the northern states, but just two years later, they lost all but two northern states and the Whigs gained control of the House. Indeed, only seven of the forty-four northern Democrats who had voted for Kansas-Nebraska were reelected in 1854.
What are the salient facts? First, we have a bill being pushed that most people opposed; they were happy with the status quo.Yet it gets through Congress due purely to political pressure. Meetings are organized that include citizens from all parties, people who are drawn together in opposition to a bill they loathe. The author of the bill, Douglas, is despised by those who once supported him. The outcry against a bill that was rammed down the throats of the populace led to a major electoral revolution. Democrats who had voted in favor of this bill went down to defeat—and not just a few of them, but the vast majority.
Is it really that hard to see a parallel with the current Democrat agenda? While the reasons for opposing the Obama administration’s policies take into account more than one piece of legislation, the healthcare fiasco certainly has taken center stage over the past two years. It was a bill that most of the people opposed, as evidenced by the townhall meetings before it passed and the opinion polls ever since.
The Tea Party, which is comprised of Republicans, distressed independents, and disgusted Democrats, has led a groundswell of protest against an Obamacare bill that was rammed down the nation’s throat. The political primary season produced an unprecedented number of victories for this protest movement. Only two years after winning solid electoral support nationwide, the Democrats now face a possible repudiation of historic proportions.
The parallels seem clear to me; only the last part remains to be manifested. A few weeks from now, we’ll know if the comparison will be valid on every point. Let this short history lesson provide some measure of encouragement—what happened before can very well happen again.
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40 Comments
In this case I hope that knowing history will not prevent us from repeating it. Ann Coulter as a guest speaker at a gay gathering? [Homocon?] There's hope for us yet.
The striking parallel between the Democratic Party, then and now, is that they really do NOT care what the people they are supposed to represent want…with the exception of the radical participants! We shall see the outcome in November…they will fall into cession in a more dramatic way!
When elite politicians FORGET that truly "We The People" are in charge and not themselves, they tend to "Overreach".
This is a decent analogy. The simple fact is that those in power today are out of touch with "We The People" either intentionally (i.e. they ae forcing unwanted change to meet their agenda) or accidentally (i.e. they are clueless elitists who have no idea how much we HATE their idea/ideals).
Regardless WHY, the fact is they are out of touch and the public is fed up.
I hate Bill Clinton, but at least he governed by polls and he realized when he had stepped in sh!t and would try to wipe his feet. ObaMao and his regime of forced change for the worse clearly is in the sh!t up past his knees and has NO CLUE…
Excellent article Mr. Snyder.
I do not believe the left is 'out of touch'.
They are power mad, and plan to take whatever they can get away with, and the believe they can get away with a complete revolution and effectively overturning the constitution.
The people are simply in the way, and are to be defeated.
They work against us, to enslave us. They are not out of touch, they know exactly what we want and they despise it.
I love this story — people spontaneously rose up like the Tea Party to say NO to expanding slavery in 1854. Within months they formed the Republican party. The Dems owned both houses of congress and the presidency and wanted to expand slavery to every new state.
Within 6 years the Republicans owned both houses and Lincoln was inaugurated. Within 30 days of inauguration shots were being fired by the South at Sumter. Hundreds of thousands of Republicans died to free the black slaves, the first time in recorded human history one race fought itself to free another.
The Tea Party is the same type of movement, standing up against economic enslavement of all Americans to the Federal Reserve and to statism/socialism.
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Excellent article and good similarities shown. My only objection with your premise is the map included. Texas was annexed as a state in 1845 and therefor, in the context used, should be shown as such and not 'New Spain'. By the time period you are discussing Texas was already a state….and was a slave state at that.
Nice Job Mr. Snyder, I certainly agree your article draws significant parallels here.
I also agree with your statement "Only two years after winning solid electoral support nationwide, the Democrats now face a possible repudiation of historic proportions."
The irony is rich indeed, to think of the similarities in Obama 's political career and that of Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois …..
There are allot of parallels between then and now. The Dems are out of touch on purpose. They will do what they want, when they want, the hell with us.
They will do and say anything to give themselves more power, and to stay in power. As an example, this story from above the fold on BG…. http://bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view.bg?...
Watch out in November and beyond, they are not going to give in easily.
Gee, all the TP members and fellow posters need to get informed and improve your attention span/ sarc
Its too bad this is not recognized very well in black history about how slavery was overturned. The Demcratic party is always more interested in persnonal power than freedom- and arbiturary power over others is what slavery was built on.
Precisely, the Dems are old and useless and out of touch with America .For once in a long time the TP represents the will of the people and might put up with the Republicans for now. but when the Dems are destroyed it could be TP vs.the rich Republicans.
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
James Madison
Nice post
"While the reasons for opposing the Obama administration’s policies take into account more than one piece of legislation, the healthcare fiasco certainly has taken center stage over the past two years."
While I agree that obamacare fits the parallel quite nicely, the origins of the Tea Party movement was stimulus, tarp, omnibus (all excessive spending bills), then onto governmental intrusion and taxes (cap and trade), and culminating with health care. So the revolt that we're seeing today might even run deeper than the one referred to in this article, since the earlier revolt centered around a single issue, and today's revolves around an entire governing philosophy.
Other than that, I can see this scenario playing out in a similar way. We just need to remember that today we're also dealing with the potential for MASS voter fraud, which might still skew the full depth of the voter's discontent.
What, to be a "free American" started in our life time….? Those from the 1800's and before are our legacy. I'm proud to know those of that time have the same reaction as most of us today. I'm proud to be with them.
Always a good read Mr. Snyder. Extend the analogy out a few more years too Harpers Ferry, Ft. Sumter. Barry’s standing on top of a powder keg, while playing with matches. His direct assault on the Constitution, and the American culture, is overt, and counter to what makes this country great, rugged individualism, can do attitude, exceptionalism. Let us pray that the ballot box continues to work. Come on 11/2/10-12-14-16-18…
Let's hope the country can free itself and our children from economic slavery this time around.
This shows me just how out of balance things have to become before the people wake up. Without a radical Obama presidency, we'd still be hitting the snooze button.
I missed the parallel as presented. One was a moral issue and the other was a political issue where the issue was being used to gain more control over the lives of Americans for the purposes of furthering a bankrupt political philosophy dedicated to the idea that a corrupt ruling-class could be perpetuated by virtue of legislation that made it impossible for people to oppose the government because the government could end their access to basic human services that would have otherwise been controlled by free-market processes.
Maybe that's not too far from the mark after all. Nice article, sir. I like the way you rolled it out. I was worried that using slavery and Douglas was a bit of over-hype, but in the end, we know that Obamacare was enacted as the means to control human behavior for the sake of allowing the liberal-progressive ruling-class to continue sustaining its power into perpetuity at our sole cost and risk.
Federalist #51
Then there is this;
Whensoever therefore the legislative shall transgress this fundamental rule of society; and either by ambition, fear, folly or corruption, endeavor to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people; by this breach of trust they forfeit the power the people had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves to the people, who have a right to resume their original liberty, and, by the establishment of a new legislative, (such as they shall think fit) provide for their own safety and security, which is the end for which they are in society.
John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government, Ch. XIV, sec. 222
True. There should have been a Tea Party during Bush's presidency as he was spending like a madman too. His response to 9-11, create a new, expensive and redundant federal bureaucracy, Homeland Security while making it easier for Saudis to get visas.
Excellent article, and a good "catch" on the similarities.
One thing we should find a way to get into the conversation, though, is to make it clear that the Progressives' plans for "redistributing the wealth" are not being promoted for the benefit of the American "poor." Their intention (and grim determination) is to 'level the field' for those in emerging nations at the expense of ALL income-levels here, not just "the rich."
A lot of Democratic Party rank-and-file voters assume "redistribution" will put a few extra dollars in their pockets — not in the plans! This is a push for global redistribution, and those in the current ranks of the "disadvantaged" in the US have no idea just how "disadvantaged" a New World Order will be for them, and for all of us.
"Let this short history lesson provide some measure of encouragement—what happened before can very well happen again."
From your lips to God's ear!
The Federal Government makes a big mistake in manipulating and Dictating to a Free Republic. The people will rise up!
History is such a wonderful teacher. The control of people has always been the aim of the party Democrat. In pre-civil war it was the continuation of slavery. When they lost the overt battle for slavery, they switched to the covert form of slavery, JimCrow laws, segregation, poll taxes, literacy tests, all crafted to hinder newly freed slaves from gaining parity. Now the party Democrat uses progressive polocy combined with government largess to inslave millions by making them dependent upon the government rather than themselves. It is time, once and for all to delcare what is obvious, the party Democrat is evil.
In some ways, the tea parties are changing the Republican Party into something new, just as the Free Soil movement changed the Whig Party into something new. I suspect the "old guard" Whigs did not like what was happening, and maybe even resented all the new people who became involved in politics.
The Democrats, then and now, seized the moral low ground for themselves.
Lets hope today's Republicans also follow the Whigs into the history books, to be replaced by a Constitutionalist Party, or something like that.
Thank you sir!
I still can't fathom why folks haven't yet figured out why the Dems are so hell-bent on ignoring us and making this power grab at this time. Isn't anyone paying attention to what is going on in the world?
My desire is to have the TP continue to strengthen for many years to come– eventually repealing laws, programs and constitutional amendments that are not consistent with Constitutional principles. My worry is that once the economy returns most of us will return to our homes, put the blinders back on, and figure the problem is solved. Any way to combat this inevitable inertia?
Bonus question: Let's say the Republicans/TP take back Congress in 2010 and get the economy truly moving again. The result is going to be significant inflation (hopefully not hyper-inflation), but nonetheless we are going to choke on all of the TARP money that is sitting in banks today. This is inevitable. The only way to get this money sucked back into the Treasury is to raise interest rates. So, by 2012, will the people be wanting Obama back in the presidency and the Dems back in control of Congress?
The larger question is: How fickle are the American people? Honestly, I don't have much hope.
In the spring of 1855, the territorial government of Kansas held an election to fill seats in the territorial legislature. The pro-slavery factions of Kansas and Missouri, led by Democrat politicians and given voice by Democrat newspapers, were determined to dominate the political process in the new territory so that they could create a pro-slavery constitution. To this end, these party leaders publicly and unashamedly encouraged and then facilitated mass voter fraud. On election day, thousands of Missouri residents flooded across the border and, using threats of violence to intimidate poll workers, proudly voted illegally. Pro-slavery candidates gained control of the new legislature by a large margin. The creation of the so-called 'Bogus Legislature' and its subsequent activities – its provocative, aggressive pro-slavery program – ushered in a period known to history as 'Bleeding Kansas'. Open warfare broke out between pro- and anti-slavery forces in 1856. Dozens of men were killed.
The national Democrat leadership of the 1850's, which was dominated by Southern, pro-slavery politicians and their Northern sympathizers, believed that the creation of new, free states would signal the beginning of the end for their 'peculiar institution'. They were willing to use any means to preserve their wealth and their positions of influence. Their moral corruption and intransigence in the defense of their ideology were the fundamental causes of the Civil War.
The national Democrat leaders of today, a group of urban, far-left elitists, are attempting to preserve, against the tide of history, a failed, anachronistic ideology. The political culture that they have created has provided them with wealth and unprecedented political influence. They will not return power to the people willingly. They will use ALL means at their disposal to maintain their power, including voter fraud. We must all be vigilant on November 2nd.
The last thing that this country needs is a 'Bogus Legislature' in Washington, D. C.
The map illustrates the Missouri Compromise of 1820, not Kansas-Nebraska.
Democrats tried to expand slavery in the 1850s. No surprise there. Democrats trying to bring about slavery now. If you can't see the parallel, you're blind. This party never seems to change all that much. It fluctuates between moderately horrible and totally horrible, depending upon what it thinks it can get away with at the moment. It's no wonder the Communist Party in American disbanded back in the 60s. They were just duplicating the effort of the Democrats.
Glaring similarities
U.S.A.———————————Zimbabwe
Obama——————————-Mugabe
his flunkies————————-his flunkies
chaos——————————–chaos
Exactly, hence my objection to it's inclusion in this 'debate' if you will. Why use a 30 year old map (as of the time being discussed) to illustrate the point? I agree with his premise, simply thought the use of this particular map to reinforce it was ill chosen.
He put the map in the middle of the paragraph about the Missouri Compromise and how the Kansas-Nebraska act undid it.
Here, try this one:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c...
the tea parties are changing the Republican Party into something new
Unfortunately, I was shocked when my Boehner said, "it's just like the old way."
Great article here. a tad off topic but not really.. Leonard Peikoff has a great book titled The Ominous Parallels. it details the premise that , each of the philosophic principles essential to the rise of Nazism in Germany has a counterpart in present-day America.
"If you do not wish to be a victim of today's philosophical bankruptcy, I recommend The Ominous Parallels as protection and ammunition. It will protect you from supporting, unwittingly, the ideas that are destroying you and the world."
— Ayn Rand
I agree. A coup d etat attempt is the only explanation.
well they ARE out of touch. The left has far less private sector experience, and therefore are out of touch with the majority.
They despise us, because they can't understand why we care more about eachother than fulfilling a hippie's dream society.
What concerns me is that even after the vote, the conflict of ideals in only 7 short years became the conflagration that was The Civil War….Bleeding Kansas is considered a major stepping stone that led to the conflict.
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