Spiritualists, Abolitionists, and Socialists—An unholy trinity

By Al Benson Jr.

Contrary to the politically correct of our era, there are some things the Lord sees as an abomination besides the supposed sin of “white racism.” Deuteronomy 18:10-12 gives us a small sampling. Scripture says: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

An Encyclopedia of Religion published by the Philosophical Library in New York in 1945 says of Spiritualism that it is: “A religious-philosophical cult which is given to the study of psychic phenomena and which holds that these are to be explained in terms of discarnate spirits who have a lively interest in the living. Spiritualism was formerly inaugurated (at least in this country) in 1848,…” In 1848, gee, what a surprise! It seems that 1848 was a banner year for all sorts of apostate goings on, from the socialist revolts in Europe that gave us “Lincoln’s Marxists” to the advent of Spiritualism here. Don’t supposed there are any connections do you? Naw, all sheer coincidence—nothing to see here folks, just move along.

I recently came across an interesting site on the Internet (another reason it has to be “regulated” for our own safety and good) called http://www.alternatehistory.com that gives a brief overview of Spiritualism for many of the years in the 19th century. For 1848 it states: “Failed revolutions in Germany and other parts of Europe. The 48’ers, as they are called, are settlers from Germany across the Mid-west. Mostly leftist in their views, some out right Communist, they are open to conversion to the Spiritualist movement, except for the extreme Communists who view all religious ideas as evil. In 1860, they will vote for Lincoln and, some say, turn Iowa, Illinois and Indiana from Douglas to Lincoln, winning the election for him.” Then they go on to 1858: “The Spiritualists support Lincoln in the state election, although he still loses. It is greatly rumored, correctly, that Lincoln is a member of the Spiritualists. Most Abolitionists are Spiritualists, or share some views with them. Mainstream Churches have begun to be influenced by the Spiritualists, mostly in ideas of Mediumship…1859—Spiritualist John Brown leads a revolt of slaves at Harper’s Ferry. It fails.” Brown was an abolitionist/terrorist, but I’ve never heard of him being a Spiritualist up to this point. But the article continues: “1860—American Civil War. Volunteers from the Midwest introduce ideas of Spiritualism to other groups of people. 1 out of 4 Union soldiers are foreign born, a majority of which are German Spiritualists. One such German Spiritualist is Charles Schurz.” I think, here, the author must be referring to Carl Schurz because I couldn’t find a Charles Schurz anywhere having to do with that time period. Although I did find one reference which mentioned that he had a sister in Chicago that was into Spiritualism. And in researching for this article I came across a book, The Psychic Life of Abraham Lincoln written by a Susan B. Martinez, and it listed some of Lincoln’s friends who were Spiritualists—and on the list were Robert Dale Owen, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglas, and Carl Schurz. This is the first I ever heard of Schurz being a Spiritualist—if this is accurate. When Donnie Kennedy and I did our research for Lincoln’s Marxists we came across a ton of information on Carl Schurz. We still have it, filed along with documentation on all the 48’ers we wrote about in our book, and I don’t recall seeing anything about Schurz having a connection with Spiritualism. Author Ann Braude in her book Radical Spirits doesn’t mention Carl Schurz either, and she pretty well covered the Spiritualist Movement in this country during the 19th century—from a positive viewpoint.

Braude noted that: “Radical abolitionists, in turn, found in Spiritualism a religion in harmony with their individualist principles. Abolitionist’s interest in both woman’s rights and Spiritualism derived from their fierce loyalty to the principle of individualism.” This goes along with what I stated about the Abolitionists in an earlier article, that they had an agenda that encompassed far more than the slavery issue. They were, in fact, the change agents of the 19th century. And Braude observed, on page 27 of her book: “As already noted, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison was an early convert and remained loyal to the movement until his death. The famous Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, talked to spirits…Mary Todd Lincoln spoke with her dead son, Willie, and brought mediums into the White House, where they conducted séances for senators and cabinet members.” And Lydia Maria Child wrote in 1862 that “Spiritualism is undermining the authority of the Bible in the minds of what are called the common people faster than all other causes put together.” That also from Braude’s book on page 28. Take a look at what Child was saying. The aim of Spiritualism was to undermine the authority of Scripture. The Abolitionists often did the same thing and the Socialists had this as a main part of their agenda. If you don’t think so, then read The Communist Manifesto.

If you look at all of this together, it would seem that the Confederacy was combating much more than just the Union armies, as bad as they were. There were spiritual issues involved in the War of Northern Aggression that are never brought up in the “history” books. All they ever prattle about is the slavery issue and the Abolitionist’s own leaders admit that, over and above that, they had other agendas in mind, some closely paralleling those of the Marxists.

The “late unpleasantness” was, at its core, a war of theologies every bit as much as one of economic issues. And because it was a theological war it was also a culture war—and this is why it has never really ended for the Yankee/Marxist mindset—they only told us it did, and unfortunately, we took their word for it.

We have got to get it through our heads that “those people” are still at war with us and they will be until they manage to destroy our culture, with its Christian roots, and our heritage. Folks, we have got to learn to start fighting back and not be content to just lay prostrate with the dictator’s boot on our necks. There are some ways you can fight back.

Take your kids out of their propaganda mills and if you can’t afford a good Christian school then teach them at home. It’s not as hard as most of you have been led to believe it is. Start educating yourselves while you still have the Internet so you realize what’s going on in the country. That takes a little bit of work but it can be done, and when you do start to learn some truth, put it in letters to the editor of your local paper. They haven’t been totally censored yet. I know lots of folks that write letters to the editor and get them printed. And start seceding from the Sodom on the Potomac culture around you. I realize this all flies in the face of the Reality Show mentality you are bombarded with, but be willing to forego that rather dubious pleasure for the sake of your children and grandchildren because, in the final analysis, you are doing this for them, not yourself. And if you are a Christian, then you should be doing all this to further the Kingdom of God, because, in the end, that is the Kingdom that will triumph and it would be nice to be able to say that, by God’s grace, you had even a small part in that victory.

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A Trip To Northfield

By Al Benson Jr.

I recently returned from a trip to Minnesota, not the warmest place in the country this time of year. I visited with folks I’ve not seen in several years and it was a good reunion, even if the temperature hardly ever got up to freezing.

While there I got to go over to the town of Northfield, which should be a familiar name to many who study history, and particularly to those who have studied some of the personalities on both sides during the War of Northern Aggression. Northfield is a nice little town of about 20,000 and much of the architecture in the center of town is still of the type you saw in many parts of the country, particularly the Midwest, South and West during the late 19th century. Much of it looks very little changed since that time. Over the years we’ve been in many towns across the country that have sought to retain their original flavor and we enjoy them very much. Modern I am not. I like the older, traditional things, which, I suppose, makes me somewhat of an anachronism to the modern or post-modern (or whatever they call them nowadays) crowd.

Anyway, one of Northfield’s claims to fame is that Jesse James and his gang tried to rob the First National Bank there on September 7, 1876. That might seem a long way out of traditional Jesse James territory, but there were reasons for this particular expedition.

To understand that Jesse James was more than just your ordinary bandit out to steal whatever he could, you have to understand the conditions that prevailed in Missouri before, during and after the War of Northern Aggression. Missouri was a state in which slavery existed before the War, but, as an aside, it also existed in Minnesota before the War. I recently read an article on the Internet entitled Slavery at Fort Snelling (1820s-1850s). The article noted: “The officers and civilians in and near Fort Snelling (Minnesota) who used slave labor were in violation of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which stated that slavery was forbidden in the territory gained through the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36 degree-30 degree latitude line (except within the boundaries of the state of Missouri). Slavery had existed in this region prior to the Compromise, however, and it continued in spite of it.” History books ever bother to mention that? Slavery in Minnesota—what a surprise!

At any rate, the state of Missouri, because slavery existed there, had had, from about 1854, problems with the state of Kansas, which was fast turning into an Abolitionist’s paradise, which it still is today. You can still feel the “we love John Brown” atmosphere in Eastern Kansas as you pass through it even today. But, as the number of abolitionists increased in Eastern Kansas, most of them being from the Northeast or Upper Midwest, so did their desire to “free” the slaves in Missouri, right across the border. Unfortunately for the folks in Western Missouri, the Kansas abolitionists had a decidedly socialist “redistribution of the wealth” attitude in which they felt it their bounden duty to redistribute everything and anything they could purloin in Missouri over into Kansas. Once the War commenced Kansas brigandage was given the cloak of federal legality and yesterdays thieves became today’s Yankee/Marxist brigadier generals.

Although Missouri was considered a “Union” state, though I believe their governor did sign a secession ordinance, the federal armies invaded Missouri, and treated the state’s citizens as prisoners of an occupied state. Lots of good Missouri folks sent their sons off to fight for the Confederacy, but some stayed on at home to try to protect their families and property from the “benefits” of Yankee occupation, and those “benefits” were substantial, especially if you owned anything the Yankees wanted. Missouri resisted—and its resistance forces were called “guerillas, bushwackers,” etc. Families who had sons in the Confederate service were special targets of Yankee beneficence. Jesse James was once, when he was fifteen years old, beaten by Yankee soldiers because he would not reveal the whereabouts of his brother, Frank, who had been fighting for the South, and his stepfather had also been hanged by Yankee soldiers for the same thing. He did survive the hanging but it was no great benefit to his health, being an elderly man.

When the War finally ended and Yankee/Marxist charity was fully able to reign, those who had fought against it in Missouri were promised amnesty if they would come in and surrender. Jesse James and some others rode in to surrender and the generous Yankee soldiers shot him. It was almost the identical situation portrayed in the “Outlaw Josie Wales” movie where “General” Jim Lane, the infamous Kansas Redleg, said of the Southern boys that surrendered “They were decently fed and decently shot.” I guess a bit of that sort of amnesty went on in Missouri that the “history” books forgot to mention.

And, after the War, the Yankee bankers took over in Missouri. Marley Brant, in her book Jesse James—The Man and the Myth observed that: “The Eastern power elite decided to expand its domination of the area after they had gained control of the majority of the Midwestern banking institutions.” Does that little fact give you any inkling as to why the James Gang and others went after the banks? The Yankee/Marxists had made their lives miserable, even those who were allowed to surrender without being shot. This was the only way they could fight back—in effect, steal from the thieves that had stolen from them.

Which brings us to Northfield in Minnesota. Ms. Brant stated, on page 176 of her book that: “Bill Chadwell (one of the James Gang) was in immediate agreement. He was familiar with Northfield and gave his associates some very interesting information. Chadwell informed them that Adelbert Ames and Benjamin Butler were prominent citizens of the town. These two men were no doubt recognized by Frank and Cole as two of the foremost carpetbaggers who took advantage of the people of the South after the war. Ames had been elected governor of Mississippi (a “reconstruction” governor) several years before but had been impeached by that state’s legislature earlier in the year…He eventually showed up in Northfield to join his father and brother. Ames bought a major interest in the Northfield mill operations with money said by those sympathetic to the South to have been obtained from his carpetbagging activities. Ben Butler also had carpetbagging interests in Mississippi and relocated to Northfield…The Southerners had nicknamed him Spoons as a reflection of their opinion that he would steal even his grandmother’s silverware. Chadwell told Jesse and the others that both of these men kept their money in the First National Bank of Northfield. The thought of robbing two representatives of the carpetbagging community must have delighted the members of the gang.” Not mentioned was the fact that Butler was also the infamous “Beast” Butler of New Orleans infamy and that Adelbert Ames was his son-in-law. The carpetbag fraternity that had stolen the South blind was well represented in Northfield.

Ultimately the robbery attempt failed and Bill Chadwell, who was to guide the gang safely back out of Minnesota, was killed, which fact left the gang to try to find its way to safety on its own. In the end, only Jesse and Frank James escaped. The Younger brothers and the others were either killed or captured.

Many over the years have wondered why the James Gang picked a bank so far north to attempt to rob. Most of their robberies had taken place in Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas, and even one in West Virginia, so one in Minnesota seems out of character for them until you understand just a bit about the miserable carpetbaggers and their “reconstruction” governments in the South after the War. The James Gang was, in effect, trying to steal from the thieves. The War did a lot of damage to the South and to the country as a whole. The “reconstruction” instituted by the Yankee/Marxist government in Washington never really ended—it just expanded quietly and without fanfare until we now have it nationwide—via the Patriot Act, Obamacare and a host of other federal programs, all for our “benefit” so we are told, yet they never seem to benefit us as much as they seem to benefit those who institute them, and that ain’t by accident, boys, it’s by design. Connect the dots, folks, and learn to “follow the money.” In 1876, Northfield was one of the dots.