This letter is from Dan Pipes, a retired US Army/VTARNG COL who lives in Fairfield. As we celebrate our newest national holiday, I pause to reflect on the context of the times, both then and now. We can all rejoice on Juneteenth.
It is difficult today to understand just how devastating the Civil War was for our nation. But before I go down that path, we should also celebrate the Constitution, which inevitably set the stage for the Civil War. The words that begin the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence are clear.
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal...
” Our nation was founded with this promise of equality. The Federalist Papers and countless other documents and records show how this issue simmered until it finally burst into flames in 1861. Back to the Civil War.
Juneteenth rightly celebrates the end of the agonizing and horrible institution of slavery. We should use this day to remember not only those freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, but those who fought and died to make it happen. The slaves were unable to free themselves.
Juneteenth was not realized by some happy accident of time and circumstance. Given the population of the United States in 1860, and using the low side of military casualty estimates for the war, the 650,000 Civil War casualties (not including any civilian deaths) would be 6.4 million deaths in today’s America.
Think of that. The same number of deaths that Jews suffered in the horrific concent.