Mississippi forgot to outlaw slavery...seriously.

[Misterian]

Stuff like that sometimes makes me feel ashamed that I live in this country.

I face-palm myself at this.

 

[BandicootPower]

I don't know much about this topic, I'm just some British dude but how I see the issue is that in terms of the political process ratifying the amendment means nothing at a legal level. But to be the last state to do it? 18 years after the state voted to ratify the motion? This is news and a big deal. Not because Mississippi is obviously a state of racists (different time and a place for that discussion) but for this to allow to happen it's clearly poorly managed, unchecked and unaccountable. It reflects the State's congressmen extremely poorly and is a shambles of the democracy America so vehemently stands for.

 

[emeraldrafael]

...
Then when we got to North Carolina, there was a fossil museum in the town we stayed at which had lots of dinosaur bones and teeth dating back to 100,000,000 and 300,000,000 BC. Needless to say, we saw a broad spectrum of opinions in the short span of 10 days.

Its not the souths complete ignorant and there's only two people in the entire area that follow science. if youre near/in any city big enough to support a large population and be a city marker on the map they'll proably have something like this and not all just be total bible followers.

Besides, you were in a baptist church. Id expect that from one of them, they're one of the uber sects of the christian faith.

 

[lacktheknack]

Sounds like simple forgetfulness to me.

I mean, my province has outlawed water troughs in my front yard if they remain empty. I know someone with one in their front yard, though, and the police don't care because its irrelevant now.

Standing water. Depending on the climate and altitude that can be a real health hazard. You know mosquitos and all that.

Then why did the trough have to not be empty? It has to be always full, according to unenforced law. That seems more likely to cause a standing water hazard.

Also, we're planted next to the slowest-moving river ever (parts of it actually move backwards). And we are frozen so often that mosquitoes keep a reign of terror for about three months a year.

I don't think standing water is the reason.

 

[Olas]

Not that there wasn't enough evidence of it already, but this is the biggest one broadcasting just how backward they are.

Yep we're all a bunch of backward hacks who marry our cousins and fly confederate flags. No joke. I'm cleaning my shotgun as I type this. There's no way this was an accident. Sure, nobody living in my state has ever owned a slave, or even known someone who owned a slave, and over a third of our population is black, but that doesn't mean we don't all secretly support it.

But in all seriousness, this thread is getting offensive. Some of us actually do believe in evolution, gay marriage, global warming, gun control etc.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

It was also illegal for women to wear trousers in Paris until very recently.

 

[lacktheknack]

Sounds like simple forgetfulness to me.

I mean, my province has outlawed water troughs in my front yard if they remain empty. I know someone with one in their front yard, though, and the police don't care because its irrelevant now.

Standing water. Depending on the climate and altitude that can be a real health hazard. You know mosquitos and all that.

Then why did the trough have to not be empty? It has to be always full, according to unenforced law. That seems more likely to cause a standing water hazard.

Also, we're planted next to the slowest-moving river ever (parts of it actually move backwards). And we are frozen so often that mosquitoes keep a reign of terror for about three months a year.

I don't think standing water is the reason.

Oh sorry I misread, yeah that is weird.
Did your town have a cavalry base nearby at some time in the past?

This city DID grow outwards from a military fort, but it didn't specialize in horses.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Was there slavery happening there because of this oversight? No? Then it is just silly government red tape again.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

I'm just glad that they changed it .. people always try abusing the laws if it even has the slightest 'hole' in it.
So outlawing slavery was a nice move on their part, because even though the constitution is the over-law, people can say the state never carried it out on it's own terms.

But yeah, to overlook that.. mmh. I bet this might make certain people look into every state's terms to see if they can get away with something. Most likely not though, people will just completely break the laws because people can despite the consequences.

In this case it was a federal ammendment, so it was illegal everywhere. Ammendments need to pass with 3/4ths of all states ratifying them and are then part of the constitution (the highest law in the land, to which federal, state, and local governments are all subservient). If you tried to own slaves in Mississippi before this it would still be illegal since it is in the constitution. Mississippi just saw that it was already written into the consitution by 3/4ths vote, and therefore law and just went "why bother?" for about a hundred years.

 

[dyre]

I don't really think this is a fair point to bring against Mississippi. It's not like their state assembly had a 130 year filibuster against ratifying the 13th amendment. And I'm sure you don't really think the denizens of Mississippi are actually still pro-slavery. They may be backwards and racist,

I never said anyone in Mississippi was still pro-slavery.

but I'm willing to believe the delay in ratifying the amendment was simply because no one cared enough to push the issue, not because they still harbor grudges against Abraham Lincoln.

That's exactly my point. Not enough people in Mississippi cared about proving they were no longer pro-slavery to follow through with a fairly simple governmental procedure.

Which is really pretty shameful.

I don't really see that they should feel that the need to prove they're "no longer" pro-slavery, considering the people among them who were pro-slavery probably all died a century ago? Meh, I guess if you want to hate the rednecks, go ahead. I don't really care about them enough to defend them further

 

[J Tyran]

I think that the US will, in all practicality, take away the right to vote in general, and instead of forcibly quartering soldiers will instead forcibly invade the privacy of anyone that the government deems "suspect," without any evidence, without any ability to seek counsel, without any right to a speedy public trial by a jury of his peers...

Oh, hey, wait, that last part (everything but the voting) is already happening. The US government CAN imprison anyone, for anything, with zero evidence, zero trials, zero contact with a lawyer, solely by claiming that you are a "suspected" terrorist.

Thats not how it works, why rile everyone up by taking away their "rights"? Easier to keep people feeling secure in democracy and operate the puppets from behind the scenes. Done right most of society will step right in line, feed them a bit of media and let them go through the farce of a democratic process and its all gravy. Start clamping down to hard and people will kick back, even if you can maintain control it makes the process much more difficult and expensive.

Laws, red tape and bureaucracy can do more for an oppressive government than secret police and black hoods.

 

[Dinwatr]

First, how many of you have actually BEEN to Mississippi? If you don't say "Oh! I have!" or at least "I know a guy who lives there!" please stop talking about Mississippians as if you know them. You're arguing from ignorance, which is no better in politics than in evolutionary biology.

Second, I grew up in a state they forgot to sign into the union for over a hundred years. These things happen, believe it or not, and it means precisely NOTHING. Unless you're willing to argue that the ENTIRE BLOODY NATION was racist against Ohioans, anyway. After all, it's the exact same argument.

This is particularly true in the case of the 13th Amendment, for two reasons: first, it didn't matter how Mississippi voted. They were bound to it, regardless. Second, Mississippi has bigger issues to worry about than some, let's be honest here, extremely shallow and petty political stupidities (again, they are obliged to abide by the law; their ratification is nothing more than empty showmanship). For example, a huge portion of their state is on a sinking pile of river muck that will, eventually, be below sea level. That kind of thing gets your attention.

As for benefits, the only benefits anyone will gain from this is that a few politicians will get their names in the paper, and stand a slightly better chance to get re-elected. Again, it's pointless showmanship.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

It certainly is nothing more than a simple case of forgetfulness, but I can't help myself but picture a sort of Colonel Sanders-ish personification of the Old South finally throwing his fan to the ground in a fit of rage a few centuries after the effective end of the slave trade.

"Gosh darn it, them Northerners done took it all away from us!"

Me: "Uh, you're kind of late to the party, Stereotypical Fat Man in a White Suit..."