"...To associate the 1776 American flag with slavery is to miss the purpose and genius of the American Revolution.
...Slavery was abhorrent and did exist in the colonial era, and for decades afterward.
Slavery existed for millennia before there were any colonists in America, and unfortunately, it still exists now.
Slavery did not solely exist in America in 1776.
It was not uniquely American.
And the American Revolution was not fought for or about slavery.
...The American Revolution took place in the context of an age of revolutions against monarchy and hereditary government.
It set in motion a series of events that turned the average person into a citizen rather than a subject.
This was a deeply profound paradigm shift in the human mind and condition, we can scarcely understand how profound today....Among other things, the 13 stars on Ross’ flag represent the art and power of compromise.
The colonies disagreed deeply on many issues.
Slavery was a key source of disagreement.
Most of the founders opposed it but knew they could not forge a new nation and abolish slavery at the same time.
...It’s a near miracle all 13 colonies agreed on enough to be united symbolically on the flag.
Fourscore and seven years later, a scholarly president declared the nation had been re-forged – without slavery, a sin paid for in blood.
...The founders did not get everything perfect in 1776.
They knew this better than we do.
Winning independence was not the end, but the beginning.
But they also understood they were creating a constitutional system which would allow a perfecting of freedom to begin.
It was an experiment.
They did not know if it would succeed, or last more than a generation or two after them.
It has, but our system needs an educated and virtuous citizenry to function. The founders understood this too..."
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