Juneteenth

The state of TIAH

June 19th, 2006

in 1861, as he began his second term in office, President Walt Whitman issued the Emancipation Proclamation, famously declaring that, “The Constitution stands for all people, or it stands for no one.” The Proclamation made slavery illegal within the borders of the United States, bringing the young nation more in line with the European monarchies, most of whom had abolished slavery years or even decades before. Many citizens of the southern states were opposed to this new law, and mounted the infamous Southern Insurrection against Whitman, but without broad popular support, they were only able to sustain their fight for a couple of years before Comrade Whitman was able to bring them back within the American fold.

in 1862, with Union troops pressing on their border and a distinct lack of the support from Europe that they were expecting, the Confederate Congress reached a conclusion that had been bitterly debated for weeks. They issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that any male slave within the borders of the Confederate States of America that took up arms for the CSA would, from that day forward, be freed from servitude, as well as all members of his immediate family and his descendants, if any. This swelled the ranks of the CSA as slaves joined in droves to free themselves and their families from their bondage, and with this new-found wealth of manpower, the Confederacy was able to drive off the Union and maintain their independence.

in 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued 2 years before, reached slaves in Texas who were still in bondage. Since Texas had left the Confederacy in 1862, it had successfully fought off Union attempts to bring it back under American control, but with the prospect of freedom before them, the quarter-million people who were enslaved by Texas rose up and began their own civil war inside the Texas Republic. Besieged within and without, the Texas government had no choice. If they were to retain their independence, they could not fight both the slaves and the Union, so the government announced that slavery was abolished within the borders of the Texas Republic. June 19th became a national holiday for Texans of African descent, who then joined in the war against the Union to keep Texas independent.

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect The Civil War to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

Get yourself into TIAH!

And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

The Forum lives again!

Good long fiction from the AH. See a review of Warp at Universe Pathways Magazine

Help the Alternate Historian keep the site from growing stale!
My email address for contacting me with your writing samples, or good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Thanks again!

You can also visit the Co-Historian's store -