Molasses to Rum, from “1776”
Molasses to rum to slaves!
Oh, what a beautiful waltz!
You dance with us, we dance with you,
In molasses and rum and slaves.
Who sail the ships out of Boston,
Laden with Bibles and rum?
Who drinks a toast to the Ivory Coast
Hail, Africa! The slavers have come.
New England with Bibles and rum!
Then it’s off with the rum and the Bibles, Take on
the slaves, clink, clink! Then hail and farewell to
the smell of the African coast!
Molasses to rum to slaves,
‘Tisn’t morals, ‘tis money that saves.
Shall we dance to the sound of a profitable
pound,
In molasses and rum and slaves?
Who sail the ships out of Guinea
Laden with Bibles and slaves?
‘Tis Boston can boast to the West Indies coast,
Jamaica, we’ve brung what you craves!
Antigua, Barbados,
We’ve brung Bibles and slaves!
Gentlemen, you mustn’t think that our northern
friends see our black slaves as merely figures
in a ledger. Oh, no, they see them as figures on
a block! Look at the faces at the auctions,
gentlemen, White faces on African wharves.
Seafaring faces, New England faces. Put them
in the ships, cram them in the ships, stuff them
in the ships! Hurry, gentlemen! Let the auction
begin! Yaha! Yahama cundah! Gentlemen, do
you hear? That’s the cry of the auctioneer:
Yaha! Yahama cundah! Slaves, gentlemen,
black gold, living gold! Gold from Angola,
Guinea, Guinea, Guinea! Blackbirds for sale!
Ashanti, Ibo, Ibo, Ibo! Blackbirds for sale!
Handle them, fondle them, but don’t finger
them. They’re prime, they’re prime! Yaha!
Yahamandah!
Molasses to rum to slaves!
Who sail the ships back to Boston,
Laden with gold, see it gleam?
Whose fortunes are made in the triangle trade?
Hail slavery, the New England dream!
Mr. Adams, I give you a toast: Hail Boston, Hail
Charleston! Who stinketh the most?
Wednesday, February
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Midterm #1: February 15th – 17th
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th
15
Wednesday, February 15th (NO FEE)
Thursday, February 16th -- $5 late fee
Friday, February 17th -- $7 late fee – must have the test in hand by 11:00 am
Review Room is closed February 14th – 17th for the week of the Midterm.
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Review Room will be opened again on Monday, February 20th to review the exam.
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Film: A More Perfect Union Wednesday, February 15th and Thursday,
February 16th @ 5:00 and 7:30 pm in 140 JSB
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Presidents Day Holiday:
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No class on Monday, February 20th
February 21st we will have Monday instruction
The American
Constitution
Part II
Creating the Constitution: The
Convention of 1787
“There has not been before or since so large a group of
talented, able, and dedicated men as those whom we call the
Founding Fathers of this nation.”
--Gordon B. Hinckley
A remarkable group of men
Absent but influential
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Purpose of the Constitution:
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To form a more perfect union
Establish justice
Ensure domestic tranquility
Provide for the common defense
Promote the general welfare
Secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves and our posterity
-- The Preamble
The Need for Compromise
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Representation
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The “Great Compromise”
Slavery
The Virginia Plan
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Proposed by VA Gov. Edmund
Randolph
Strong, central government
Bicameral legislature
Proportional representation
The New Jersey Plan
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Proposed by William Paterson
Single-house Congress, all states
equally represented
The “Great Compromise”
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Proposed by Roger Sherman (CT)
Bicameral legislature
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House: proportional representation by
population
Senate: equal representation by states
Federalism: The “most brilliant
achievement” of the Convention
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Sovereignty divided between states and
national government
Conflicting Views on Slavery
“The continuance of the
slave trade . . . ought to
be considered as justly
exposing us to the
displeasure and
vengeance of Him who
is equally Lord of all
and who views with
equal eye the poor
African slave and his
American master.”
--Luther Martin, Maryland
delegate
“Religion and humanity
have nothing to do with
it. Interest alone is the
governing principle with
nations. The people of
the southern states will
never be such fools as
to give up so important
an interest.”
--John Rutledge, South
Carolina delegate
The Constitution’s wording on
slavery
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Article 1, sec. 2, clause 3: Representatives and direct taxes
shall be apportioned . . . according to [the states’] respective
Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for
a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths
of all other Persons.
Article 1, sec. 9, clause 1: The Migration or Importation of such
Persons as any of the States now existing shall think
proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but
a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not
exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Article 4, sec. 2, clause 3: No Person held to Service or
Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into
another, shall in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein,
be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be
delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or
Labour may be due.
Franklin on compromise
“I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such,
[because] I think a general Government necessary for us . . .
[and] doubt whether any other Convention . . . may be able to
make a better Constitution.”
“I expect no better [constitution], and . . . am not sure, that
it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors, I
sacrifice to the public good.”
--Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, 1787
Protecting against
abuses of power
Virtue and Structure
Structural Solutions
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Structural devices
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
iClicker quiz: In the following clip, Senator
Lee charges Pres. Obama with violating
the Constitutional principle of Separation
of Powers by:
 A) Making an appointment without
seeking the advice and consent of the
Senate.
 B) Appointing a Democrat to a nonpartisan office.
 C) Making a recess appointment when
the Senate was not in recess.
 D) Creating a new branch of
government to protect consumers.
The United States
Constitution,
ratified by 9th
state in 1788