This one’s got Hillary’s fingerprints all over it — Obama’s forbears were slaveholders
Posted on March 3, 2007
…in the category of “Article Most Blatantly Meant to Damage One Candidate and Benefit Another”…
Baltimore Sun: A new twist to an intriguing family history
Many people know that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas.
But an intriguing sliver of his family history has received almost no attention until now: It appears that forebears of his white mother owned slaves, according to genealogical research and census records.
The records - which had never been addressed publicly by the Illinois senator or his relatives - were first noted in an ancestry report compiled by William Addams Reitwiesner, who works at the Library of Congress and practices genealogy in his spare time. The report, on Reitwiesner’s Web site, carries a disclaimer that it is a “first draft” - one likely to be examined more closely if Obama is nominated.
According to the research, one of Obama’s great-great-great-great grandfathers, George Washington Overall, owned two slaves who were recorded in the 1850 census in Nelson County, Ky. The same records show that one of Obama’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, Mary Duvall, also owned two slaves.
The ONLY reason I can imagine for a stupid story like this being written is because some political operative planted it in the media. What is all the more obvious is that it is meant to hurt Barak Obama’s standing in the eyes of black voters, who Hillary covets more than any other constituency. This nearly makes me want to set up a PAC on behalf of Obama to help him win the Democrat primaries. Hillary is the most dangerous presidential candidate in many years. She is foaming at the mouth in her hunger for power. She CANNOT be allowed to ascend to the White House.
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31 Responses to “This one’s got Hillary’s fingerprints all over it — Obama’s forbears were slaveholders”
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Why would this hurt barack obama with black voters?…….most blacks are descendents of slaves and slave owners.
No, most blacks are not the descendent od slaveowners.
If you can’t see the implication of accusing someone of having such a family history, you are blind Chris.
Al Sharpton just found out he is a descendent of slaves once owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond. We all know Strom Thurmond had a black child, that child had black children. Those black children are descendents of slave owners, period.
I’m sure the story must have been planted by someone. But why do you suspect Hillary? I mean, FOX and others on the right have been doing their darndest to undermine Obama with those references to his middle name, the fake madrassa story etc. You’re not saying that only the Hillary camp fears Obama are you?
Hilary Clinton will never have my vote. She is the most calculatibng polition in modern
times. Trying to make Obama responsible for what donors say, inviting herself to Selma after
Obama was requested by organizers and this revelation about the history of great-great-….
grandparents is absurd. The American people need to wake up and see that we will be the lucky
ones if we get a president Obama. I hope the average person can see through Hilary’s slash and
burn politics and choose someone with the integrity and leadership of Obama. I have no confidence
in them…they gave us George W. Bush.
Sorry about the typo on the word that should be “politician”.
Being a descendent of slaves and a descendent of slaveowners are two completely different things.
The Sharpton situation is completely different from Obama’s.
What you say about Thurmond (we don’t “know” what you claim, do we?) doesn’t prove that all blacks are descendents of slaveowners, so I don’t know why you even included it.
No Michael, not at all. But based on the the past few weeks’ events, it sounds reasonable. In the grand scheme, Hillary stands to gain the most from the fall of Obama. That is beyond dispute.
Condoleeza Rice is a descendent of a slave owner. The same man that traced Obama’s ancestors also traced Rice’s. He found out that one of Condoleezas Great Great Grandparents was a plantation owner in Alabama, he had a child with a black slave.
glib, chris didn’t say “most blacks are not the descendent od slaveowners” he said “most blacks are descendents
of slaves and slave owners”. taking statements out of context to make a point is counter productive and shows a willingness
to distort the facts. the fact that obama’s relatives may have owned slaves is no issue whatsoever and to say it does
indicates ignorance on the part of those that do. common sense dictates that obama could not possibly be responsible for
things that happened before his birth. just as americians alive today owe no reparations to descendants of slaves.
Are they really serious? If his mother is a white woman from Kansas, why wouldn’t her ancestors have owned slaves? What does this have to do with Obama?
…but I agree with Tom and Jeannie that this revelation won’t hurt Obama. Why should it?
And it appears, according to one genealogist at least, that Barack Obama is also related to George Washington, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, Gen. George Patton and Quincy Jones.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/502292p-423555c.html
Which of course tells us just as much about his character or fitness for high office.
“the fact that obama’s relatives may have owned slaves is no issue whatsoever and to say it does
indicates ignorance on the part of those that do. common sense dictates that obama could not possibly be responsible for
things that happened before his birth. just as americians alive today owe no reparations to descendants of slaves. ”
Um, Tom, did you even read my post? You accuse me of “taking statements out of context,” yet you miss the entire point of what I wrote. I completely AGREE with what you’ve said above. Not sure how you could have missed it.
Regarding Chris — he continues to cite examples that he seems to to think “proves” his “point.” I think you need to scold him instead of me. The point I have made is that there is a duh-stinction between being a slave and slaveownner and that the accusation that Obama’s forebears were slaveOWNERS is much different from them having been slaves (which I realize is not the case with Obama either - another thing being used “against” Obama in relation to the black vote).
Well to get back to the point, Glib, it seems to me that an awful lot of conservatives have as much to gain from the fall of Obama as does Hillary. I think many on the right would dearly love to have such a polarizing figure as Hillary representing the Dems come 2008. They want to knock Obama out early, so that’s why this story is just as likely to have come from them.
My posts seem to have been blocked under my earlier name. Oh well, one more comment and I’m done. Glib, it seems to me that an awful lot of conservatives have as much to gain from the fall of Obama as does Hillary. I think many on the right would dearly love to have such a polarizing figure as Hillary representing the Dems come 2008. They want to knock Obama out early, so that’s why this story is just as likely to have come from them. Or is that too obvious?
Since Obama is not back enough, it does not matter if his great, great, great ,oh-so-great grandpappy owned slaves!
Anyway, Obama is a smoker and we should find out more about his next door neighbors.
This way we can avoid the real issues of our county.
I agree with you about Hilary’s fingerprints. She should just stop it!! But, on the other hand maybe not. The more little nasty things she does the more she will show her desperation and meaness. She just might get blamed for every cloud in his siver lining……..GOOD! Hilary’s family history just might include slaveholders or at least bigots. That’s a part of American history. If you’re black you are most likely decendent of a slave. If you have white blood and most of us (African Americans )do…than you are a decendent of that owner who raped or used your great-great-great-great-great grandma. They have so far only found insignificent things to dig up on Barack. By the way Hilary he still smokes cigarettes occasionally…..lack of judgement??
Most African Americans ARE the descendant of both slaves and slave owners. One study I read suggested that black Americans are MORE likely to be descended from slave owners than are white americans–this due to the prevelance of rape between slave-owner and slaves, and the fact that the majority of white people at any given time did not own slaves.
Hey Markwell–
Sources? Those are some pretty fantastic claims to leave standing alone.
I’d be interested in the “one study” to which you refer.
All this, of course, is straying off the original topic…
I’ll leave it cuz I don’t want to try and google it up right now, and you’re right–it is off-topic.
I think the point is that all the candidates in this race certainly have slave-owner ancestors at some point in their history. Slavery has been practiced by every racial group on this planet and if you go far back enough every living one of us has both slaves and slave-owners in our genetic legacy.
Including Barack Obama. Surprise surprise.
I would say the vast majority of Black folks, if they traced their roots, would find that they are indeed the the decendants of both former slaves and former slaves owners - and in many different ways. For example, my great-great-great grandmother was a slave in Mississippi and Texas - she had a son by a white man after slavery had ended. That white man is, of course, my great-great-great grandfather, and he was a slave-owner at different times in his life.
So, I (and the rest of my family) are decendants of both former slaves and former slave owners.
Rodney King perhaps was right, “Let’s get along”.
The circumstances of our birth is irrelavant. It is what we do with our life that defines us.
Hillary Clinton assuming the presidency would be an unmitigated
disaster for the American people, as elaborated on in my book on
Hillary and 2008, “Hillary Clinton Nude: Naked Ambition, Hillary
Clinton And America’s Demise.” Devoid of any real qualifications,
vaulted into front-runner status based solely on her name and
relationship to a previous (and disgraced)White House occupant,
Hillary Clinton represents the triumph of celebrity politics over
proven leadership experience and skills.
For everyone who has written that whether or not Obama, or anyone else for that matter, had long-dead ancestors who were slaveowners is absolutely meaningless — I agree completely!
The sad truth is that in politics, it seems to matter to someone…or if it doesn’t those someones think that black voters are so easily manipulated that such chatter will sway a large number of votes (an abhorrent idea to be sure)…because the topic comes up somewhere in nearly every election cycle. I just find it so interesting that someone would be trying to tar Obama.
The reason I don’t think it is someone from the right advancing this non-story is because if a conservative got busted with this, imagine the “outrage.” What’s more, this story surfaced in the MSM, which would seem to have no stake in hurting Obama to the advantage of opponents on the right but might have such an agenda for a a more favored and powerful opponent on the Left.
Glib, the right hasn’t worried about being busted passing around other similar stories, so why would it be worried this time? Besides, if the story is true (and nobody has come up with anything so far that disproves it), then why wouldn’t a site like MSM carry it? Finally, why do you think everybody has an agenda? I know it may be hard to believe for a contributor to a site with “Stop ACLU” pasted all over it, but not everybody posts stories because of a particular agenda. Hillary is evil, I grant you that, but not everything evil in this world is her doing, and I think she’s being unfairly maligned this time.
“Finally, why do you think everybody has an agenda?”
C’mon bro…everyone has an agenda. You, me, everyone.
Presidential elections are the dirtiest of all political contests and Hillary is the “dirtiest player in the game.”
I was merely musing. As a matter of fact, I THINK this is the first post in which I’ve mentioned Hillary…ever, so I am fully aware that she’s not responsible for ALL evil in the world. A good portion of it of course….
Yes, well, I thought it would be hard to believe.
But I think that’s half the problem with politics nowadays - everybody suspects everybody else is either terribly evil or hoplessly naive. According to this way of thinking, everybody’s got an agenda so their motives are always suspect.
Anyway, that’s it from me. Keep on musing.
It’s hardly surprizing that Obama’s has slave owners in his family tree. Virtually all Americans, regardless of their race or ethnicity, have ancestors who owned slaves. Many African Americans who researched their family trees would be shocked to discover that have black as well as white ancestors who were slave owners. In the United States, free blacks as well as whites owned slaves (one of the South’s biggest slave owner was a freed black man notorious for his harsh treatment of his slaves). The percentage of free blacks who owned slaves was small, as was the percentages of whites who owned slaves, but the intricacies of the genetic pool guarantee that virtually everyone is related to them. African Americans who traced their heritage back to Africa would discover that virtually all their African ancestors were involved in the slave traded. The African tribes ran the “supply side†of the Atlantic slave trade. The ancestors of Hispanic Americans owned both black and Indian slaves. American Indian tribes practiced slavery both before and after the European discovery of America. The Cherokee Nation, for example, recently voted overwhelmingly to revoke the tribal citizenship of about 2,800 descendants of Cherokee slaves.
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