“We want to make this a national monument to the ‘Invisible Founders,’” said the Rev. Larry Walker, a trustee at Montpelier, the home of James Madison, father of the Constitution, in announcing plans to build a national slavery monument right on the grounds of Madison’s home. The Montpelier board is planning on a massive scale: “Our memorialization project is not going to be limited to a bench and a plaque,” Walker declared, as the board compared the projected monument to the Lincoln Memorial. If this thing is built, future visitors to Montpelier will come away with one overwhelming message: James Madison was an evil man who enslaved other human beings.
Board chairman James French showed the photo of the Lincoln Memorial in order “to illustrate…our desire to create a national monument for the legacy of those who were enslaved.” Montpelier CEO Elizabeth Chew said that the plan for a national slavery monument was one of “big future projects” planned for Montpelier. The board announced its big monument plans on Sept. 17 at a little-noticed panel session (the video of the session has all of 91 views as of this writing), “Equal Power-Sharing at Montpelier,” at the mansion’s David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center. The New York Post has noted that David M. Rubenstein, who got the visitor center named after himself by donating millions to Montpelier, is “on the boards of the globalist World Economic Forum, China’s Tsinghua University, and the Council on Foreign Relations, among others.” What a surprise!
Larry Walker explained, according a Saturday report in the New York Post, that he believed that slaves “deserve equal credit for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights because their labor financed the private lives of Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and many of the nation’s early leaders.” Why choose Madison’s home for the slavery monument when others among the Founding Fathers also owned slaves? Apparently because he was unrepentant: “Madison owned 38 enslaved African Americans when he died in 1836 — and unlike George Washington, freed none of them in his will.” Nor did Madison denounce slavery even while owning slaves, as did Jefferson. Walker asserted: “The home of the Constitution should be the place that recognizes the contributions of descendants of the enslaved communities across America.”
Before wokeness took over Montpelier and the rest of the Western world, it was generally understood that human beings were complex, and that a man could be heroic in one way even while having blind spots and weaknesses. Madison was much more than just a slaveowner, and according to the Post, “critics and historians say such a memorial would upend the fourth president’s legacy and become the center of attention at his own home.” Oh yes indeed. Historian Douglas MacKinnon declared: “These people are doing what any totalitarian regime would do. They want to create a whole new narrative not based on reality. As they say, the victor gets to write the history — and now our history is being rewritten before our eyes.”
That’s right. The woke have won the culture, or want us to believe that they have, and so they’re recasting American history as one of racism, white supremacy, colonialism, and other assorted evils. MacKinnon added: “A monument honoring America’s slaves is a worthy goal. But the only reason to build it at the home of James Madison is if you aim to deny, demean, and dismiss him by focusing on his weaknesses and not his massive contributions.”
That’s exactly what the Montpelier board wants to do. The Left hates James Madison, as well as Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers, for exactly the same things that make him great and worthy to be celebrated: Because he fought against tyranny. Because he helped create a free republic. Because he placed statements in those founding documents that would ultimately lead multitudes of the citizens of the new nation to believe that slavery was wrong and immoral and give their lives to bring about its abolition.
Madison is just the sort of man whom the fascist thugs of Antifa, busy smearing ACAB on the sides of buildings and hurling obscenities at police in pursuit of their vision of socialist utopia, and their moneyed backers despise and fear. They want Americans to hate America and the Constitution, so that they won’t defend either, and will submit meekly to their authoritarian vision. The example of James Madison could inspire Americans instead to work to save the free republic he did so much to leave for us. Can’t have that. Madison’s name must be made anathema to Americans. That’s the point of this national slavery monument at Montpelier.
Jeff Bargholz says
All of these Madison haters are evil men and women, many of whom support infanticide, which is far more evil than even slavery ever has been. And Madison helped stop the African slave trade which originated in Africa with black slave traders selling their “fellow” blacks to any buyers, while these contemptible prigs who hate Madison don’t give a rat’s ass about the African slave trade which STILL EXISTS in black Africa.
Just the usual hypocritical, leftwing, anti white, racist scum who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a US memorial and really shouldn’t live in America at all.
David Ray says
Hear, hear! 🍻
(I couldn’t have said it better)
Kasandra says
Wish there was still a “like” function for the comment but, since there isn’t, I’ll just say you nailed it.
Joy Brower says
Hear! Hear!! Every time I read where some misguided leftist wants to rewrite history to fit THEIR communist narrative, my blood boils!
Lightbringer says
“…shouldn’t live in America at all.”
They ought to be thrown out. If they don’t like it here there are plenty of third-world crapholes they can live in where slavery is still widely practiced.
cedar9 says
After Clays first time in Africa with his ‘rumble in the jungle” fight with Forman a reporter ask what he thought of his motherland, Clay said he was glad his great granddaddy got on that boat.
David Ray says
Good observation.
I read about that quote in Dinesh’s book “What’s so Great about America”. (Damned good book.)
Lightbringer says
Dinesh has an immigrant’s passionate love for America and his writing reignites that love in all patriotic native-born Americans.
Mike says
I am a first generation American and now I get to pay reparations to people who can’t even spell their supposedly former homeland name.?
Lightbringer says
Of course. It’s only fair, isn’t it? (/sarc/) I’m second-generation and share your feelings.
Gail says
I’d rather see Montpelier shut down and torn down rather than defaced in this manner.
Lightbringer says
Me too.
Genie says
Watch out these assaults on national museums are just the beginning. Art museums found lacking in wokrness will soon become targets of the racist equity crowd. Agree with Gail’s comment: board up the museums and monuments until sanity prevails.
Jeff Bargholz says
Maybe the “woke” Nazi will allow museums of “degenerate” art to display what they hate? Naw. They’re much more fascist than the Nazis were.
internalexile says
As National Lampoon magazine put it many years ago–“No mo’ o’ yo’ mo’ fo’ bizness, whitey!”
Jeff Bargholz says
Good one. I missed that edition.
Lightbringer says
Good idea.
Steven Brizel says
This is cancel culture at work
Dale Moreland says
Read Federalist 42. Madison intentionally and wisely set in motion an irreversible process that that in a short amount of time would result in not only a deterrence of slave importations, but also a total abolition of the barbarous practice, not only here in the US, but also with a view to the emancipation of the African’s European brethren. If they build anything else in Montpelier, it should be a huge tribute to the man who godly and benevolent vision ended slavery in this nation. Martin Luther King Jr had a “Dream” speech without the vision, action and courage of James Madison. They should make a statue or a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr shaking hands with James Madison and saying “Thank you.”