AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

I wrote that among the various estimates--100 thousand to 60 million--for how many slaves were killed by American citizens, I thought--but knew I did not know for certain--the correct number was less than 600 thousand following the adoption of the USA Constitution March 4, 1789.

My point was that USA governments were not ever responsible for killing millions like european and asian governments.

Re: slkshock7 (Post 3725221)

slkshock wrote:

Don't know about the rest of you conservatives out there, but I'm increasingly encouraged by the growing backlash against Obama's over-reach. There's an emerging feeling of resurgence and confidence in the GOP as Obama's initiatives fail, his policies go down in flames and his popularity sinks.

I wonder, which of his initiatives have failed?

cyclo wrote:

Re: slkshock7 (Post 3725221)

slkshock wrote:

Don't know about the rest of you conservatives out there, but I'm increasingly encouraged by the growing backlash against Obama's over-reach. There's an emerging feeling of resurgence and confidence in the GOP as Obama's initiatives fail, his policies go down in flames and his popularity sinks.

I wonder, which of his initiatives have failed?

Which of his initiatives have succeeded?

The verdict just came down on Congressman William Jefferson - D - LA - guilty on multiple counts of bribery. No word on what the sentence will be yet, but it could be severe. Possibly well over 200 years.

A president does not succeed by signing bills or initiating executive orders. He succeeds by solving problems, and not by making existing problems worse or creating new problems. Obama has made existing problems worse (e.g., increased deficits and increased unemployment) and he has created a new problem (e.g., decreased the USA's GDP ).

No inhabitants of North or South America were American citizens of the United States of America before March 4, 1789.

American citizens did not exist prior to March 4, 1789, because the United States of America did not exist prior to March 4, 1789.

Slavery did not exist in the United States of America prior to its existence, but did exist in North America.

Slavery was not legal in the United States of America until the United States of America existed.

Slavery was legal in the United States of America from March 4, 1789 to December 6, 1865.

Slavery ceased being legal in the United States of America on December 6, 1865.

My point about the 100 year period July 4, 1776 to July3, 1876 was that Americans killed less than 600 thousand slaves in that period, not 60 or even 6 million. While that is horrible enough, it is no where near as horrible as the millions of civilians European and Asian governments killed in the 20th century.

War and violence

While epidemic disease was by far the leading cause of the population decline of the American indigenous peoples after 1492, there were other contributing factors, all of them related to European contact and colonization. One of these factors was warfare. According to demographer Russell Thornton, although many lives were lost in wars over the centuries, and war sometimes contributed to the near extinction of certain tribes, warfare and death by other violent means was a comparatively minor cause of overall native population decline.[19]

There is some disagreement among scholars about how widespread warfare was in pre-Columbian America, but there is general agreement that war became deadlier after the arrival of the Europeans and their steel weapons and firearms. The Europeans brought with them gunpowder and steel weapons, which made killing easier and war more deadly. Over the long run, Europeans proved to be consistently successful in achieving domination when engaged in warfare with indigenous Americans, for a variety of reasons. One of the major reasons was the staying power of the Europeans, who could call on a far ranging supply network if required, and could sustain a conflict over several years including the winters if necessary. Almost no Indian tribes had the stored resources to sustain a war for more than a few months. Massive death from disease certainly played a major role in the European conquest, but also decisive was the European approach to war, which was less ritualistic than in native America and more focused on achieving decisive victory. European colonization also contributed to an increased number of wars between displaced native groups as they fought over who should have first access to the new weapons and tools.[20]